*** yesterday ***
i needed to wake up at 10am, so of course i woke up at 08.30.
stupid, stupid human body.
i made all the calls i needed to make, the main one being to a decidedly unfriendly russian woman who had no intentions - whatsoever - in the direction of being helpful.
today was Domestic Day I, which went fairly smoothly. i went shopping, and remembered everything except the acid, which it turned out wasn't totally necessary.
some other time.
for the moment, i managed to clear all of grootbek's stuff out the bath (most of it was COVERED with black, smelly, slimy mold-creatures), and did as good a job of cleaning it as can be expected without going the heavy-duty chemical route.
i also cleaned out my industrial garbage can, which has been evolving for the past few months.
it introduced me to it's friends, millions of tiny bugs that cling to plastic and solidify.
all this was lovely to touch, and i am most grateful that the rubber gloves i bought managed to hold out - i really did expect them to be destroyed by the time i was finished with them.
and i cleaned my bedroom and bathroom floor. tomorrow is Domestic Day II, which involves cleaning the rest of the apartment.
oh, goody.
i went shopping with her for art supplies, and then had pizza for lunch / supper.
it was at this place called pizza slice, which is owned / run by an ice-cream chain (does this sound familiar?), and it's the only pizza parlour i've found in israel that does REAL pizza. american style (or south african style, whichever) - the standard israeli pizza is pretty gross.
at home: talked on irc and messenger, and played cs on the neojapangz server. hido - you were only on for one death. and you didn't say hi.
tsk, tsk.
i went with her to play pool for a bit. she's going to be really good if we play more.
*** today ***
it's late, i'm tired, and i'm falling asleep as soon as this is posted.
i woke up around 08.30, and i almost felt rested - it's just that now i'm feeling sick. i think it's a summer-cold thing, but it could have waited just a liiiitle bit longer (like, a few more weeks). i hate being sick when i'm a) by myself and b) busy doing stuff.
i completely forgot that i agreed to be in a panel for prospective students to our university, and got a call at 10am reminding me for 11am.
i was reading the mind-rape thing that's posted on psychotic american's site (new works). i really couldn't stop reading it. if nothing else, it's fascinating.
anyway, i managed to get to campus in time (in spite of my preoccupation), but i had to blade so i was all sweaty.
the panel: i was told we'd be there to answer questions. what actually happened was we sat there while other people talked crap, we introduced ourselves, and "boom", that was all she friggin' wrote.
i hate speaking in public, and i really didn't NEED for all those kids to know that much about me.
i feel cheated, somehow.
i came home, planning a few hours sleep, but instead played cs on the neojapangz server again. i have learned something about myself, but i'm not sure if i'm going to "fix" it.
i HATE waiting for the other guys to strike first. HATE it.
I just HAVE to run in, guns blazing. and i generally don't get any frags before i die, but i do a lot of damage and i clear the way for the next guys.
i think that's good enough - and i don't give a crap if i don't get points or score because of it.
i can't help but wonder if i'd do that in real life.
the only crap thing is watching these bozos on my team fuck it up anyway.
and some idiot kept exploding grenades at the beginning of the round, right next to us...
i met this guy a while ago - i'll call him petrol (there's actually a very good reason for this).
he and some friends are playing a vampire campaign, and he knew i'd be interested (he works at a store called freak). he called me this morning, and we arranged to meet at his place at 17.00 to begin character creation.
i never thought they'd expect THAT much detail. i'm going to be taking this a lot more seriously from now on. and there's still a whole lot of stuff i have to research on the web - like popular spanish names in the 1820's, and the speed at which tortoises grow.
the funny thing was that my automatic reaction was to come up with details that would make things easier for the creation, but then two steps later i'd get stuck in an even bigger mess because of it.
i learned though, now the only difficult thing is adding other people to the mix.
and i had a headache (i'm really not sure if i'm sick, or just really, really tired). if i use my nose and throat as indicators, then i need to call a doctor.
but i've been invited to a beach party that starts about half an hour ago, and i really am going. screw you, nose and throat!!!
...she's away for two days, so i can go without any worries about not spending the time with her - it's her fault, now :D.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
29/07/03
*** yesterday ***
the rest of my day can be best described by the words "tekken", "counterstrike", "irc", and "wiki".
sammy came over for the first two, irc just happened as usual, and editing the wiki until about 01.30 or something was a direct result of the conversation in the aforementioned chat.
*** today ***
this morning was insane. i got to sleep around 2am, and woke up at 8. if you've read the previous few logs, you'll notice what i find to be a pretty distressing pattern.
mild hallucinations while talking to a co (commanding officer) are not appreciated at all.
the story is fairly simple. my co was too busy to deal with me, so he sent me to someone else. she listened to what i had to say, understood perfectly, and went to discuss it with him.
when she came back, she informed me that i'm not being thrown out, and not only that, but that if i need an extra semester i might be given permission!
this basically means that i don't have to find another place to live, i don't have to move out, and i don't have to go to the army right now. i feel like there should be more to write - this is HUGE.
but now for the big news:
(there's not enough space to express myself using exclamation marks)
the only problem is that there's a chance that i might lose my job if i take so much vacation. i'm writing this while waiting to speak to the boss, and while i really don't want to lose this job, i really need the holiday - also it's not like my mother would understand.
not that that's the only reason.
i have great plans to see everyone, and do everything, and sleep, and eat decent food, and go to clean beaches, and decent movie theatres, and not have to sweat twenty-four-seven.
so it's definitely a case of "one holiday, coming up".
oh, almost forgot - the reason that they make you wait to find out if you passed or failed the driver's exam, is because someone shot their tester when they discovered that they failed.
yet another tale of "sad but true".
*** later ***
IT - IS - SO - HOT.
i just had a shower, and the first thing is did after turning off the water was start sweating again.
which is why i had the shower in the first place.
at least i have my trusty fan beside me. hmmm. i think i'll take a photo - after all, it IS my most prized possession right now, not including my ticket to sa.
on my way home, i went shopping for soap and dark chocolate. and then made a pass by the driving school and received my "license".
it's a form that i have to send, along with NIS 250 (just over R400), in order to receive my license by post.
gee, thanks.
anyway, i resumed work on our marketing project, which was basically correcting 8th grade spelling and grammar - whoever said that american high-school graduates were functionally illiterate (and we're talking about someone that did well in a good school) wasn't joking.
she came over for about half an hour, just to show off (she'd been shopping). she bought platform sandals, which are really cute (i can't believe i'm thinking this, but anyway), and i have to say that she is SO incredibly sexy when she's about my height (she's tall)...
i'm considering myself quite fortunate.
*sticking out my tongue at the world*
after she left, i finished correcting the project, sent it and stored it.
i think it's the first task i've completed in a long time.
the target of that statement: i really can write the driver now, and i STILL haven't touched it.
ANYways, i played some cs, with 31 other people, and it was most enjoyable. much more fun when it's less personal. and the battles are epic.
just before i showered, i washed the dishes, and discovered that our sink is alive. i had a small skirmish with the creatures who've made it their home, and i think i won, as water drains properly again.
at some point in the next couple of days, i'm going shopping for weapons of anti-fungal doom - i will destroy this fearful monster and all of its allies.
and our bath is filled with stuff, that i think is from grootbek, and it's hard to identify anything in there.
enough is enough - the american way of student life will not win!
i think i'm going to pour industrial chemicals on the lot of it and see what happens.
i've had the lost prophets' song shinobi vs. dragon ninja stuck in my head all day - so i've just turned it on. she should be finishing babysitting soon, and then it's off for coffee we go.
good day - good night!
the rest of my day can be best described by the words "tekken", "counterstrike", "irc", and "wiki".
sammy came over for the first two, irc just happened as usual, and editing the wiki until about 01.30 or something was a direct result of the conversation in the aforementioned chat.
*** today ***
this morning was insane. i got to sleep around 2am, and woke up at 8. if you've read the previous few logs, you'll notice what i find to be a pretty distressing pattern.
mild hallucinations while talking to a co (commanding officer) are not appreciated at all.
the story is fairly simple. my co was too busy to deal with me, so he sent me to someone else. she listened to what i had to say, understood perfectly, and went to discuss it with him.
when she came back, she informed me that i'm not being thrown out, and not only that, but that if i need an extra semester i might be given permission!
this basically means that i don't have to find another place to live, i don't have to move out, and i don't have to go to the army right now. i feel like there should be more to write - this is HUGE.
but now for the big news:
i have permission to leave the country for TWO MONTHS
which means a two month holiday to south africa for me!! yippee!!(there's not enough space to express myself using exclamation marks)
the only problem is that there's a chance that i might lose my job if i take so much vacation. i'm writing this while waiting to speak to the boss, and while i really don't want to lose this job, i really need the holiday - also it's not like my mother would understand.
not that that's the only reason.
i have great plans to see everyone, and do everything, and sleep, and eat decent food, and go to clean beaches, and decent movie theatres, and not have to sweat twenty-four-seven.
so it's definitely a case of "one holiday, coming up".
oh, almost forgot - the reason that they make you wait to find out if you passed or failed the driver's exam, is because someone shot their tester when they discovered that they failed.
yet another tale of "sad but true".
*** later ***
IT - IS - SO - HOT.
i just had a shower, and the first thing is did after turning off the water was start sweating again.
which is why i had the shower in the first place.
at least i have my trusty fan beside me. hmmm. i think i'll take a photo - after all, it IS my most prized possession right now, not including my ticket to sa.
on my way home, i went shopping for soap and dark chocolate. and then made a pass by the driving school and received my "license".
it's a form that i have to send, along with NIS 250 (just over R400), in order to receive my license by post.
gee, thanks.
anyway, i resumed work on our marketing project, which was basically correcting 8th grade spelling and grammar - whoever said that american high-school graduates were functionally illiterate (and we're talking about someone that did well in a good school) wasn't joking.
she came over for about half an hour, just to show off (she'd been shopping). she bought platform sandals, which are really cute (i can't believe i'm thinking this, but anyway), and i have to say that she is SO incredibly sexy when she's about my height (she's tall)...
i'm considering myself quite fortunate.
*sticking out my tongue at the world*
after she left, i finished correcting the project, sent it and stored it.
i think it's the first task i've completed in a long time.
the target of that statement: i really can write the driver now, and i STILL haven't touched it.
ANYways, i played some cs, with 31 other people, and it was most enjoyable. much more fun when it's less personal. and the battles are epic.
just before i showered, i washed the dishes, and discovered that our sink is alive. i had a small skirmish with the creatures who've made it their home, and i think i won, as water drains properly again.
at some point in the next couple of days, i'm going shopping for weapons of anti-fungal doom - i will destroy this fearful monster and all of its allies.
and our bath is filled with stuff, that i think is from grootbek, and it's hard to identify anything in there.
enough is enough - the american way of student life will not win!
i think i'm going to pour industrial chemicals on the lot of it and see what happens.
i've had the lost prophets' song shinobi vs. dragon ninja stuck in my head all day - so i've just turned it on. she should be finishing babysitting soon, and then it's off for coffee we go.
good day - good night!
Monday, July 28, 2003
28/07/03
*** yesterday ***
fuck me, but what a lousy day.
i woke up at 06.50, after getting about five hours' sleep, for a driving lesson. i don't *DO* early morning.
she came over, which would have been great, except that i was forced to watch crossroads.
she wanted to see it BECAUSE it's such a bad film. after suffering for 3/4 of the movie, i started to find it funny. i was amusing myself with really mean comments, and immediately quoting the really, REALLY stupid lines - until my antics began annoying her (italics for both reasons, now). so i had to stop, and the rest of the movie was just no fun at all.
it was such a DEEP movie.
i played some cs, which would have been great except that all of my favourite servers were full, and the server i ended up on was populated by a bunch of lame-ass biznatches.
i did okay, but the last few rounds were really frustrating - i don't like being on my own against six campers.
i was on my way to a meeting with SSSO (i'm helping her to write a guide for new students), when i got a phone call from the academic secretary of our university.
now, to put this in perspective:
about four or five months ago, i was court-marshalled because i changed study courses without asking permission from my commanding officer (co for you non-military types).
i received probation.
he agreed to let me continue studying, on the condition that i would finish my degree by the end of the next academic year.
since then i have been in the offices of the business school at least once a week, sometimes as much as three times in a day, harrassing them and trying to find out whether or not i can finish in the given time.
now, here's where the israeli attitude comes into play:
every time i've been there, the secretary (the one in charge :P), has told me not to worry, everything will be fine, everything's being sorted out, and i'm not going to have a problem getting what i need.
and that everything would be sorted out tomorrow. or the next week, latest.
and everytime i've questioned this, i've been sent away, and told i'm too paranoid.
so yesterday i get this phone call, and i rush off to university. and when i get there - surprise, surprise - i'm told "nope, sorry, can't help you". they tell me now that there is no way that i can complete my degree within a year.
my co informed me before our agreement that if i'm thrown out of my unit, then i will be given approximately three weeks to sort out my shit before being drafted into regular service.
which means i now have to start looking for a place to live, and get everything (like social security, and tuition payments) sorted out on the double.
or triple, in my case.
if i'd been told about this three months ago, i would have had time to get my shit together. maybe even have come down to cape town on holiday, but now there's almost no chance of me receiving permission to go, because if i'm not in the academic corps then i have no right to take a holiday.
and i can't lie to him, and i can't not tell him - either way he'll find out and i'll go straight to prison when i get back.
thanks for caring, fucking dibs (Dumb Israeli Bastards).
so i went home, the meeting having been postponed until 18.00, and i was talking to firstfallen and shadowslight on irc when i remembered that there was a cd i was looking for.
so i went into grootbek's room, hoping to find it. what i found was a drawer packed with about fifty cds of mine, most of which i hadn't lent to him (our argentinian flatmate told me he'd caught him in my room, but i had no proof), a few of which i'd asked him for and he was adamant that he'd returned, and a couple which he denied having, and one that i lent to him about six months ago (metallica and justice for all original) which he kept telling me was in haifa (city in the north).
and not only that - but they'd all been thrown in carelessly, and some of them are now scratched to shit.
let's just say i'm a leeeeeetle annoyed. i'm seriously contemplating fucking him up chronically, regardless of the legal and academic consequences.
however, i'd rather do something personal and painful, but i'm all out of ideas. if you have any suggestions, please contact me.
i'm going to add the mail i sent him to the dear grootbek section of my mental masturbation page.
so, i went to SSSO's place to help with the guide - we made a good start, but it's going to take a while.
we had a pretty good supper, and then i went home to shower and sleep.
she came over, and i didn't get to sleep until 1am.
*** today ***
i woke up at 6am, had a driving lesson from 06.30, and then had the exam from 07.30, and effectively it lasted about an hour. the test itself was maybe twenty minutes, but i had to drive one instructor to his car, then pick up another one and take him somewhere else, and so on.
and the test didn't go so well. it's now 16.30, and they still haven't called me to tell me if i passed or failed - i think this is a really shitty system.
*** NEWS FLASH (17.01) ***
while writing this log i took a break to make myself a late lunch (spaghetti and tuna), and i got a phone call from my driving instructor, congratulating me on getting my license.
YAY!!!
after the exam, she and i went to tel-aviv to visit the art museum. we felt so cultured!
we went first to get breakfast and coffee on ibn gvirol (pronounced ihb-n gveerall), one of tel-aviv's main roads. it's always nice doing that - you can FEEL you're in the middle of a big city, sitting outside on the pavement - and it's the first time that i've felt on holiday since, well, i don't remember when.
i'm sure it was in cape town.
*** note to self ***
stop eating so many marshmallows.
we then went to the museum. absolutely amazing exhibits: they had one on impressionism, one for female artists, i can't for the life of me remember the name of the third exhibit's artist (it's a long russian name), and one of paintings from the 1300's onwards.
there were two paintings in the female artists' exhibit that really caught me. i stood there gaping for a few minutes before she (there're those meaningful italics again!) dragged me away, and everything after that, including original monet, picasso, dali, and a host of other big names i don't quite recall, looked empty and pointless.
i'm going to have to go spend a day staring at them.
oh - fyi - it costs roughly R60 as a student to enter, and R80 as an adult.
lovely.
cultured swindlers.
on the way back i received a call informing me that the papers i need, both for the army, and for my tuition, were ready. so we stopped at the university to get them, and i gave her a quick tour of the place.
the university president is a great appreciator of the arts, so we have a really beautiful statue garden, and pieces all over campus - it was kind of like an extension of the museum trip.
and that was my day until now. i await the rest of it with baited breath (tuna, of course. but you knew that).
fuck me, but what a lousy day.
i woke up at 06.50, after getting about five hours' sleep, for a driving lesson. i don't *DO* early morning.
she came over, which would have been great, except that i was forced to watch crossroads.
she wanted to see it BECAUSE it's such a bad film. after suffering for 3/4 of the movie, i started to find it funny. i was amusing myself with really mean comments, and immediately quoting the really, REALLY stupid lines - until my antics began annoying her (italics for both reasons, now). so i had to stop, and the rest of the movie was just no fun at all.
it was such a DEEP movie.
i played some cs, which would have been great except that all of my favourite servers were full, and the server i ended up on was populated by a bunch of lame-ass biznatches.
i did okay, but the last few rounds were really frustrating - i don't like being on my own against six campers.
i was on my way to a meeting with SSSO (i'm helping her to write a guide for new students), when i got a phone call from the academic secretary of our university.
now, to put this in perspective:
about four or five months ago, i was court-marshalled because i changed study courses without asking permission from my commanding officer (co for you non-military types).
i received probation.
he agreed to let me continue studying, on the condition that i would finish my degree by the end of the next academic year.
since then i have been in the offices of the business school at least once a week, sometimes as much as three times in a day, harrassing them and trying to find out whether or not i can finish in the given time.
now, here's where the israeli attitude comes into play:
every time i've been there, the secretary (the one in charge :P), has told me not to worry, everything will be fine, everything's being sorted out, and i'm not going to have a problem getting what i need.
and that everything would be sorted out tomorrow. or the next week, latest.
and everytime i've questioned this, i've been sent away, and told i'm too paranoid.
so yesterday i get this phone call, and i rush off to university. and when i get there - surprise, surprise - i'm told "nope, sorry, can't help you". they tell me now that there is no way that i can complete my degree within a year.
my co informed me before our agreement that if i'm thrown out of my unit, then i will be given approximately three weeks to sort out my shit before being drafted into regular service.
which means i now have to start looking for a place to live, and get everything (like social security, and tuition payments) sorted out on the double.
or triple, in my case.
if i'd been told about this three months ago, i would have had time to get my shit together. maybe even have come down to cape town on holiday, but now there's almost no chance of me receiving permission to go, because if i'm not in the academic corps then i have no right to take a holiday.
and i can't lie to him, and i can't not tell him - either way he'll find out and i'll go straight to prison when i get back.
thanks for caring, fucking dibs (Dumb Israeli Bastards).
so i went home, the meeting having been postponed until 18.00, and i was talking to firstfallen and shadowslight on irc when i remembered that there was a cd i was looking for.
so i went into grootbek's room, hoping to find it. what i found was a drawer packed with about fifty cds of mine, most of which i hadn't lent to him (our argentinian flatmate told me he'd caught him in my room, but i had no proof), a few of which i'd asked him for and he was adamant that he'd returned, and a couple which he denied having, and one that i lent to him about six months ago (metallica and justice for all original) which he kept telling me was in haifa (city in the north).
and not only that - but they'd all been thrown in carelessly, and some of them are now scratched to shit.
let's just say i'm a leeeeeetle annoyed. i'm seriously contemplating fucking him up chronically, regardless of the legal and academic consequences.
however, i'd rather do something personal and painful, but i'm all out of ideas. if you have any suggestions, please contact me.
i'm going to add the mail i sent him to the dear grootbek section of my mental masturbation page.
so, i went to SSSO's place to help with the guide - we made a good start, but it's going to take a while.
we had a pretty good supper, and then i went home to shower and sleep.
she came over, and i didn't get to sleep until 1am.
*** today ***
i woke up at 6am, had a driving lesson from 06.30, and then had the exam from 07.30, and effectively it lasted about an hour. the test itself was maybe twenty minutes, but i had to drive one instructor to his car, then pick up another one and take him somewhere else, and so on.
and the test didn't go so well. it's now 16.30, and they still haven't called me to tell me if i passed or failed - i think this is a really shitty system.
*** NEWS FLASH (17.01) ***
while writing this log i took a break to make myself a late lunch (spaghetti and tuna), and i got a phone call from my driving instructor, congratulating me on getting my license.
YAY!!!
after the exam, she and i went to tel-aviv to visit the art museum. we felt so cultured!
we went first to get breakfast and coffee on ibn gvirol (pronounced ihb-n gveerall), one of tel-aviv's main roads. it's always nice doing that - you can FEEL you're in the middle of a big city, sitting outside on the pavement - and it's the first time that i've felt on holiday since, well, i don't remember when.
i'm sure it was in cape town.
*** note to self ***
stop eating so many marshmallows.
we then went to the museum. absolutely amazing exhibits: they had one on impressionism, one for female artists, i can't for the life of me remember the name of the third exhibit's artist (it's a long russian name), and one of paintings from the 1300's onwards.
there were two paintings in the female artists' exhibit that really caught me. i stood there gaping for a few minutes before she (there're those meaningful italics again!) dragged me away, and everything after that, including original monet, picasso, dali, and a host of other big names i don't quite recall, looked empty and pointless.
i'm going to have to go spend a day staring at them.
oh - fyi - it costs roughly R60 as a student to enter, and R80 as an adult.
lovely.
cultured swindlers.
on the way back i received a call informing me that the papers i need, both for the army, and for my tuition, were ready. so we stopped at the university to get them, and i gave her a quick tour of the place.
the university president is a great appreciator of the arts, so we have a really beautiful statue garden, and pieces all over campus - it was kind of like an extension of the museum trip.
and that was my day until now. i await the rest of it with baited breath (tuna, of course. but you knew that).
Saturday, July 26, 2003
26/07/03
*** yesterday ***
i was SO tired yesterday morning, that i began doing really strange things.
this wouldn't have been a problem, but i was on a call, and while this woman was talking to me i put a pretzel in my mouth.
i wasn't thinking at ALL about the fact that i'd need to speak in a second, and when she stopped speaking i had to talk through it.
which sounded most strange, and all the other helpdesk agents noticed.
shenanigan:
noun: reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
at least the rest of my shenanigans weren't on live calls.
i got to sleep around 07.00 / 07.30, and woke up at 12:40. my lesson was due to start at 13.20, but i got a call almost immediately after waking up, informing me that i should be ready at 13.00.
ugh.
so i didn't have coffee - plunged straight into driving k53-style, and when i got home all i could think about was sleeping.
she came over for the afternoon, and we passed out until about 18.30.
i went for supper at my cousins', which was really nice, but i ate way too much.
she and i went to see finding nemo last night.
AWESOME, awesome movie - i had my mouth hanging open for most of it. visually, it's stunning. literally.
but i can't see it being for kids - there were a few scenes which scared the crap outta me, like seeing bruce for the first time...
after the movie we went and played in the park - always nice. when i got home i was completely exhausted, and almost passed out on my way to bed.
*** today ***
i've just woken up, i think. it's now 11.42, i've had breakfast, and i think i'm about to go back to sleep.
alright, maybe some cs first.
i really don't think i'm going to do anything important today.
*** later ***
let's see - i had breakfast, played counterstrike, cleaned my fan, watched invader zim episodes, watched queen of the damned (interesting but unemotional) with her, played some more cs, went out for supper, did my laundry, and i'm about to go to bed.
oh, and i had a good lunch in there somewhere.
i don't think i used my brain the entire day. i'm kinda proud, actually - that was exactly according to plan :D.
i was SO tired yesterday morning, that i began doing really strange things.
this wouldn't have been a problem, but i was on a call, and while this woman was talking to me i put a pretzel in my mouth.
i wasn't thinking at ALL about the fact that i'd need to speak in a second, and when she stopped speaking i had to talk through it.
which sounded most strange, and all the other helpdesk agents noticed.
shenanigan:
noun: reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
at least the rest of my shenanigans weren't on live calls.
i got to sleep around 07.00 / 07.30, and woke up at 12:40. my lesson was due to start at 13.20, but i got a call almost immediately after waking up, informing me that i should be ready at 13.00.
ugh.
so i didn't have coffee - plunged straight into driving k53-style, and when i got home all i could think about was sleeping.
she came over for the afternoon, and we passed out until about 18.30.
i went for supper at my cousins', which was really nice, but i ate way too much.
she and i went to see finding nemo last night.
AWESOME, awesome movie - i had my mouth hanging open for most of it. visually, it's stunning. literally.
but i can't see it being for kids - there were a few scenes which scared the crap outta me, like seeing bruce for the first time...
after the movie we went and played in the park - always nice. when i got home i was completely exhausted, and almost passed out on my way to bed.
*** today ***
i've just woken up, i think. it's now 11.42, i've had breakfast, and i think i'm about to go back to sleep.
alright, maybe some cs first.
i really don't think i'm going to do anything important today.
*** later ***
let's see - i had breakfast, played counterstrike, cleaned my fan, watched invader zim episodes, watched queen of the damned (interesting but unemotional) with her, played some more cs, went out for supper, did my laundry, and i'm about to go to bed.
oh, and i had a good lunch in there somewhere.
i don't think i used my brain the entire day. i'm kinda proud, actually - that was exactly according to plan :D.
Thursday, July 24, 2003
24/07/03
i got about seven hours of sleep this morning! YES!
i woke up around 08.30, made some important calls, and discovered that i didn't need to go anywhere until 14.00.
i watched some zim, studied from the msdn (i found what i was looking for - i think i've pretty much got the hang of it), and read a bit.
i'm trying desperately to think of what else i did, because that CAN'T be it!
the driving lesson went much better than yesterday's - still not great though, and i keep doing strange things with the clutch.
oh well.
my exam's now definitely on monday. i have a lesson tomorrow, and i think that's it...
i'm actually kinda nervous about it - this style is really demanding!
i just remembered a rather disturbing thing that happened during the lesson - a case of double israeli mentality.
(1) some woman pulled out in front of me, in spite of the fact that she could see that she was definitely going to hit me - and then (2) the driving instructor turned the wheel towards her! in order to "teach her a lesson", apparently.
whatever.
i requested that he kindly not touch the steering wheel again.
ever.
i've watched some more invader zim, played some cs, and botched a website intended to make viewing the archives of hell sweet hell speed-browsable.
i'm off to work soon - good lord - but this is going to be a looooong night.
i expect to update a bit later.
*** later ***
what i didn't expect was to not be working for the first event, so i came here approximately six hours early.
GREAT.
but it does give me time to read webcomics, chat online, and be paid for studying drivers.
but no cs breaks, and no zim.
that might be healthier, actually...
i woke up around 08.30, made some important calls, and discovered that i didn't need to go anywhere until 14.00.
i watched some zim, studied from the msdn (i found what i was looking for - i think i've pretty much got the hang of it), and read a bit.
i'm trying desperately to think of what else i did, because that CAN'T be it!
the driving lesson went much better than yesterday's - still not great though, and i keep doing strange things with the clutch.
oh well.
my exam's now definitely on monday. i have a lesson tomorrow, and i think that's it...
i'm actually kinda nervous about it - this style is really demanding!
i just remembered a rather disturbing thing that happened during the lesson - a case of double israeli mentality.
(1) some woman pulled out in front of me, in spite of the fact that she could see that she was definitely going to hit me - and then (2) the driving instructor turned the wheel towards her! in order to "teach her a lesson", apparently.
whatever.
i requested that he kindly not touch the steering wheel again.
ever.
i've watched some more invader zim, played some cs, and botched a website intended to make viewing the archives of hell sweet hell speed-browsable.
i'm off to work soon - good lord - but this is going to be a looooong night.
i expect to update a bit later.
*** later ***
what i didn't expect was to not be working for the first event, so i came here approximately six hours early.
GREAT.
but it does give me time to read webcomics, chat online, and be paid for studying drivers.
but no cs breaks, and no zim.
that might be healthier, actually...
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
23/07/03
*** yesterday ***
funny thing - as soon as i finished writing yesterday's log, i discovered that we didn't have any work to do. and that was HOURS after we got there.
obviously, no-one else is concerned about company resources, either.
so i took the bus home - reading my brand-spanking new, pretty darn cool book (pandora).
only comment i have so far is that the beginning's NOT amazing: if she were just writing, and not TO this "david" person, it would be much better.
although, come to think of it, maybe two thousand years could turn one a tad senile.
she picked me up from the bus station (on foot, no less) and we went to eat falaffel. it was good, but neither of us had any appetite (so why did we go?), and the owner got upset because he thought there was something wrong with them...
aaaaaaaanyways.
i walked her home, and then went on a tour of all the driver's eds in our city. i really should put the word city in quotation marks. it's a very technical definition.
i found three places - in the first, no-one understood a word i said, in english or hebrew. the second seemed nice. the third one had this really freaky dude, who started telling me what an idiot i was for not signing up with him immediately. and trying to convince me that he's not a liar.
* sense of impending DOOM *
so i did something i've never done before. in hebrew, i screamed at him and told him exactly how i felt, and that he had no right to demand anything from me. and that i had every right to check out all the schools before deciding.
and so on.
i'm actually very proud of myself.
later on, she phoned me to tell me that her friend went to the second school, and that it's a good one - so i've decided to go that route too.
i watched some more invader zim (it really bites that i know that there exists only a finite number of them).
and slept for a bit.
and ate peanut butter sandwiches for supper.
and watched about twenty minutes of dracula 2000.
and went with her to the beach, until about 2am.
and showered.
and crashed.
*** today ***
it's 09.23, and i already have something to add.
i'm DYING.
i woke up around 07.30 or something, and i couldn't get back to sleep AGAIN, and then this guy, from the first school i went to, phoned me to arrange a lesson for today.
even if i hadn't already made up my mind, he's the only one there who speaks any english, and it sounded like stephen hawking on a slow day.
so, trying not to hurt his feelings, i promised to call back.
i'm still deciding whether i'm going to or not.
call him back, that is.
i just got back from the second driving school - they don't open until 10am, so i thought to myself "great! i walked all the way here for nothing".
at least i had time to write this.
on my way home i got bon jovi's if i was your mother in my head, so i'm listening to the keep the faith album while writing this.
i still dig this music. i'm going to watch some ZIM!!! and then go get a driving lesson. i'm actually quite excited - chances are i'll be doing the exam on monday!
*** later ***
well, i've now had a driving lesson. i'd completely forgotten what driving miss daisy was like - at one point i got so confused that i forgot to put in the clutch when i came to a stop.
urk.
i hope i can relearn the stupid driving style of doom before monday. failing something like this could be shameful.
i'm TIRED. more sleep. MORE - SLEEP! NEEEEEEED more sleep.
yeeeeeees.
can you tell i'm under the influence of ZIM?
*** later ***
i played some cs - my aiming's improving, while my sense of self preservation is lessening: i'm always first to the door, and first to die.
she came over for a few hours - we both passed out and woke up around 21.15, by which stage she was already late for coffee with a friend.
at least i'm not the only one who does that.
i turned on the tv during supper, and watched serendipity. i feel so good now!
*sigh*
i have a plan. i'm going to finish the work on the drivers. i don't know when, and i certainly don't know how, but i'm going to.
funny thing - as soon as i finished writing yesterday's log, i discovered that we didn't have any work to do. and that was HOURS after we got there.
obviously, no-one else is concerned about company resources, either.
so i took the bus home - reading my brand-spanking new, pretty darn cool book (pandora).
only comment i have so far is that the beginning's NOT amazing: if she were just writing, and not TO this "david" person, it would be much better.
although, come to think of it, maybe two thousand years could turn one a tad senile.
she picked me up from the bus station (on foot, no less) and we went to eat falaffel. it was good, but neither of us had any appetite (so why did we go?), and the owner got upset because he thought there was something wrong with them...
aaaaaaaanyways.
i walked her home, and then went on a tour of all the driver's eds in our city. i really should put the word city in quotation marks. it's a very technical definition.
i found three places - in the first, no-one understood a word i said, in english or hebrew. the second seemed nice. the third one had this really freaky dude, who started telling me what an idiot i was for not signing up with him immediately. and trying to convince me that he's not a liar.
* sense of impending DOOM *
so i did something i've never done before. in hebrew, i screamed at him and told him exactly how i felt, and that he had no right to demand anything from me. and that i had every right to check out all the schools before deciding.
and so on.
i'm actually very proud of myself.
later on, she phoned me to tell me that her friend went to the second school, and that it's a good one - so i've decided to go that route too.
i watched some more invader zim (it really bites that i know that there exists only a finite number of them).
and slept for a bit.
and ate peanut butter sandwiches for supper.
and watched about twenty minutes of dracula 2000.
and went with her to the beach, until about 2am.
and showered.
and crashed.
*** today ***
it's 09.23, and i already have something to add.
i'm DYING.
i woke up around 07.30 or something, and i couldn't get back to sleep AGAIN, and then this guy, from the first school i went to, phoned me to arrange a lesson for today.
even if i hadn't already made up my mind, he's the only one there who speaks any english, and it sounded like stephen hawking on a slow day.
so, trying not to hurt his feelings, i promised to call back.
i'm still deciding whether i'm going to or not.
call him back, that is.
i just got back from the second driving school - they don't open until 10am, so i thought to myself "great! i walked all the way here for nothing".
at least i had time to write this.
on my way home i got bon jovi's if i was your mother in my head, so i'm listening to the keep the faith album while writing this.
i still dig this music. i'm going to watch some ZIM!!! and then go get a driving lesson. i'm actually quite excited - chances are i'll be doing the exam on monday!
*** later ***
well, i've now had a driving lesson. i'd completely forgotten what driving miss daisy was like - at one point i got so confused that i forgot to put in the clutch when i came to a stop.
urk.
i hope i can relearn the stupid driving style of doom before monday. failing something like this could be shameful.
i'm TIRED. more sleep. MORE - SLEEP! NEEEEEEED more sleep.
yeeeeeees.
can you tell i'm under the influence of ZIM?
*** later ***
i played some cs - my aiming's improving, while my sense of self preservation is lessening: i'm always first to the door, and first to die.
she came over for a few hours - we both passed out and woke up around 21.15, by which stage she was already late for coffee with a friend.
at least i'm not the only one who does that.
i turned on the tv during supper, and watched serendipity. i feel so good now!
*sigh*
i have a plan. i'm going to finish the work on the drivers. i don't know when, and i certainly don't know how, but i'm going to.
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
22/07/03
*** yesterday ***
right. i couldn't sleep AGAIN on Sunday night, at least not before 1 or 2am, and i was up again at 05.30.
i'm REALLY crap at waking up early.
i repeated the whole mission to holon. at the halfway point, the central bus station in tel aviv, i stopped to get a cup of coffee. and this weird old dude sat down next to me and began singing.
singing, shouting, same difference.
especially at 07.30. i gave him this dark look, and was about to ask him to kindly go strangle himself, when suddenly my previous experience (wisdom) kicked in and reminded me that that might very well make it worse.
so i gave him this pitying look and ignored him. and he went away!
good for me. *patting myself on the back*
when i got to holon, i sat down at the counter, gave the mean old *expletives deleted here* "woman" my stuff, and she stamped it all and signed, and gave it back.
i was in shock. she was still being unpleasant, but she did her job, and she did it quickly - i've never had that experience in a government bureau before.
i then had to get to a beach in tel aviv for our status meeting. the concept of a work meeting on the beach was weird - but we weren't really given a choice... the bus driver agreed to tell me when we got there, but he forgot about me and i got off the bus 3 stops past the beach.
CRAP.
as if i haven't done enough walking and been late enough this past couple of weeks.
and i was tired. did i mention i was tired? i was REALLY tired. not to mentioned tired.
as usual, i was the first person to get to the beach.
i then discovered that this was a compulsory meeting, but not a serious one - we were required to chill together, or have fun, or whatever.
at least they brought breakfast.
i've posted some pics of the meeting in the gallery.
around 11am i decided genoeg is genoeg, and went home.
i'm sure that i've already mentioned being tired.
it's approximately half and hour's walk from the beach to the closest busstop on a route home. i don't know how else to write that sentence.
i crashed for an hour, and then sammy invited me to a gaming session. of course, i couldn't not go. so we played starcraft, which was fun, until we realized that at some point we'd been disconnected - so we compared our strategies and quit.
i got home, i think, around 19.30. i made a pitiful attempt at reading shakespeare: i started with a comedy of errors, gave up (too difficult), and started on a midsummer night's dream. cute beginning, but i just couldn't concentrate.
made myself a styling supper (sezchuan), and watched tv until she came over.
i haven't seen her in a week - a very long week, so we played catch up for a few hours before deciding to call it a night.
*** today ***
i had to be up at 08.00. instead, my stupid, mean body woke up at 06.30, and i tried for an hour to get back to sleep, before giving in and getting up.
and it's not like i got enough sleep.
also, i'm having trouble breathing at night. i really need to get that sorted out, but then again i've been saying that since i was a kid, and every year it's the same shit.
so i walked to campus, gave some documents to my friend (social security sorter-outer (SSSO)), and walked to the OTHER other side of herzliyah, to try setting a date for my driver's exam.
firstly, it worries me that the policeman outside the police station, which is next door to the DMV herzliyah, couldn't tell me where to find said DMV.
secondly, it turns out that only a driving instructor can set a date, so i'd walked more than an hour for nothing.
while i was in the area of the mall, i went window shopping, and discovered two anne rice books, pandora and vittorio, for less than R30 each. NICE.
* NEWS FLASH (12.40) *
i just got a call from the psychotic american who's in my group for the marketing assignment - grootbek still hasn't sent us the project, and we have four days to hand it in.
i'm going to post the letter i just sent to him under mental masturbation.
i'm at work now - i'd better go earn some cash.
right. i couldn't sleep AGAIN on Sunday night, at least not before 1 or 2am, and i was up again at 05.30.
i'm REALLY crap at waking up early.
i repeated the whole mission to holon. at the halfway point, the central bus station in tel aviv, i stopped to get a cup of coffee. and this weird old dude sat down next to me and began singing.
singing, shouting, same difference.
especially at 07.30. i gave him this dark look, and was about to ask him to kindly go strangle himself, when suddenly my previous experience (wisdom) kicked in and reminded me that that might very well make it worse.
so i gave him this pitying look and ignored him. and he went away!
good for me. *patting myself on the back*
when i got to holon, i sat down at the counter, gave the mean old *expletives deleted here* "woman" my stuff, and she stamped it all and signed, and gave it back.
i was in shock. she was still being unpleasant, but she did her job, and she did it quickly - i've never had that experience in a government bureau before.
i then had to get to a beach in tel aviv for our status meeting. the concept of a work meeting on the beach was weird - but we weren't really given a choice... the bus driver agreed to tell me when we got there, but he forgot about me and i got off the bus 3 stops past the beach.
CRAP.
as if i haven't done enough walking and been late enough this past couple of weeks.
and i was tired. did i mention i was tired? i was REALLY tired. not to mentioned tired.
as usual, i was the first person to get to the beach.
i then discovered that this was a compulsory meeting, but not a serious one - we were required to chill together, or have fun, or whatever.
at least they brought breakfast.
i've posted some pics of the meeting in the gallery.
around 11am i decided genoeg is genoeg, and went home.
i'm sure that i've already mentioned being tired.
it's approximately half and hour's walk from the beach to the closest busstop on a route home. i don't know how else to write that sentence.
i crashed for an hour, and then sammy invited me to a gaming session. of course, i couldn't not go. so we played starcraft, which was fun, until we realized that at some point we'd been disconnected - so we compared our strategies and quit.
i got home, i think, around 19.30. i made a pitiful attempt at reading shakespeare: i started with a comedy of errors, gave up (too difficult), and started on a midsummer night's dream. cute beginning, but i just couldn't concentrate.
made myself a styling supper (sezchuan), and watched tv until she came over.
i haven't seen her in a week - a very long week, so we played catch up for a few hours before deciding to call it a night.
*** today ***
i had to be up at 08.00. instead, my stupid, mean body woke up at 06.30, and i tried for an hour to get back to sleep, before giving in and getting up.
and it's not like i got enough sleep.
also, i'm having trouble breathing at night. i really need to get that sorted out, but then again i've been saying that since i was a kid, and every year it's the same shit.
so i walked to campus, gave some documents to my friend (social security sorter-outer (SSSO)), and walked to the OTHER other side of herzliyah, to try setting a date for my driver's exam.
firstly, it worries me that the policeman outside the police station, which is next door to the DMV herzliyah, couldn't tell me where to find said DMV.
secondly, it turns out that only a driving instructor can set a date, so i'd walked more than an hour for nothing.
while i was in the area of the mall, i went window shopping, and discovered two anne rice books, pandora and vittorio, for less than R30 each. NICE.
* NEWS FLASH (12.40) *
i just got a call from the psychotic american who's in my group for the marketing assignment - grootbek still hasn't sent us the project, and we have four days to hand it in.
i'm going to post the letter i just sent to him under mental masturbation.
i'm at work now - i'd better go earn some cash.
Sunday, July 20, 2003
20/07/03
i went to bed fairly early last night, but i couldn't get to sleep until around 2am.
i woke up at 05.30, got my shit together and got on the bus. it took about 1.5 hours to get there, but i made my way to the DMV equivalent and found the person that i needed to speak to.
big, horrible, ugly, mean-looking woman.
i thought to myself, "just be friendly, be nice, everything will be fine".
so i was - and then she told me i needed a medical. which i was told numerous times i didn't need. also, it doesn't make sense, because i'm converting my license, not getting a new one.
so i said, "are you sure?"
and then the monster came out. she got really upset, and said, in a non-too-pleasant tone, "I'M the one who decides WHO needs WHAT!"
so, thinking that i'd actually like to get my license, and that this uberbitch could stop me, i got VERY polite, and apologized, and left.
another 1.5 hours back. UGH.
organized a doctor's appointment, which lasted around ten minutes. thank god my doc's alright.
i then went to campus, to be told that the documents i need for the army aren't ready yet - should be, theoretically, tomorrow.
hopefully, sometime this week.
also, i received a promise that the social security people will call me sometime.
great.
i came home, and began sorting out my delicious (can i call it that?), newly-collected collection of invader zim episodes (epidodes - it's easier to type).
while doing that, i received a call from someone whose son is coming to our university. she wanted to see what the apartments were like.
turns out, her other son is one of my least favourite people in the whole world - made quite a lot of trouble for me in high school, and the idea of living with his brother is just weird. it was a long time ago, but it's still strange, and uncanny.
disturbing, even.
anyway, so we spent the afternoon discussing all sorts of stuff, i won't bore you with the details, but it really is freaky how connected everyone is.
just when i thought that i was safe from other south africans...
i mean, i only moved to a different city to get away from them, and now they're on my doorstep?
thanks, ye gods.
i went grocery shopping - heavy-duty shopping, and then passed out for a bit. i may have played cs first, i'm not sure.
my mom calling woke me up, and as soon as i put the phone down, hido invited me to cs on his server.
it is now established that i suck. but not THAT badly. i wasn't the worst person on the server, at least. and i got SOME frags. so i don't feel so bad.
although at the beginning, i did want to cry...
it's WAY past my bedtime (tomorrow morning, 05.30 again), and i still have to eat and shower.
i think i'll just go do that now.
i woke up at 05.30, got my shit together and got on the bus. it took about 1.5 hours to get there, but i made my way to the DMV equivalent and found the person that i needed to speak to.
big, horrible, ugly, mean-looking woman.
i thought to myself, "just be friendly, be nice, everything will be fine".
so i was - and then she told me i needed a medical. which i was told numerous times i didn't need. also, it doesn't make sense, because i'm converting my license, not getting a new one.
so i said, "are you sure?"
and then the monster came out. she got really upset, and said, in a non-too-pleasant tone, "I'M the one who decides WHO needs WHAT!"
so, thinking that i'd actually like to get my license, and that this uberbitch could stop me, i got VERY polite, and apologized, and left.
another 1.5 hours back. UGH.
organized a doctor's appointment, which lasted around ten minutes. thank god my doc's alright.
i then went to campus, to be told that the documents i need for the army aren't ready yet - should be, theoretically, tomorrow.
hopefully, sometime this week.
also, i received a promise that the social security people will call me sometime.
great.
i came home, and began sorting out my delicious (can i call it that?), newly-collected collection of invader zim episodes (epidodes - it's easier to type).
while doing that, i received a call from someone whose son is coming to our university. she wanted to see what the apartments were like.
turns out, her other son is one of my least favourite people in the whole world - made quite a lot of trouble for me in high school, and the idea of living with his brother is just weird. it was a long time ago, but it's still strange, and uncanny.
disturbing, even.
anyway, so we spent the afternoon discussing all sorts of stuff, i won't bore you with the details, but it really is freaky how connected everyone is.
just when i thought that i was safe from other south africans...
i mean, i only moved to a different city to get away from them, and now they're on my doorstep?
thanks, ye gods.
i went grocery shopping - heavy-duty shopping, and then passed out for a bit. i may have played cs first, i'm not sure.
my mom calling woke me up, and as soon as i put the phone down, hido invited me to cs on his server.
it is now established that i suck. but not THAT badly. i wasn't the worst person on the server, at least. and i got SOME frags. so i don't feel so bad.
although at the beginning, i did want to cry...
it's WAY past my bedtime (tomorrow morning, 05.30 again), and i still have to eat and shower.
i think i'll just go do that now.
Saturday, July 19, 2003
19/07/03
i have no clue what time i got to bed this morning.
what i do know, is that playing cs until early hours of the morning when you have to be up before 10am is a bad idea. i had to stumble out of bed, brush my teeth, and get dressed, all before i could open my eyes this morning, so that i could be in time for a breakfast at a friend's place.
at least the breakfast was nice.
she helped me figure out what was going on with my social security problem, and we'll deal with it sometime during this week. probably by going there in person and screaming at those retarded monkeys until something gets done.
i watched a movie today - unfaithful - very well made, rather unsettling movie.
i spent the afternoon playing cs and sleeping.
and watched a couple of invader zim episodes.
i like invader zim.
i have the theme tune stuck in my head.
i gave up, and uninstalled bittorrent today. it's a nice idea, but there're two things very wrong with it.
1) chances are you're the fool uploading, not downloading.
2) it takes all the space from the beginning. on a 10GB harddrive this is unacceptable.
basically, i'm sticking with kazaa (lite, i'm no luser).
i've decided that i'm going to holon tomorrow morning (driver's license). i'm guessing i'll get there and be told that i haven't brought something, but it's a risk that i'll have to take.
so tonight: not on e: i'm going to play some cs, and get some shuteye.
what i do know, is that playing cs until early hours of the morning when you have to be up before 10am is a bad idea. i had to stumble out of bed, brush my teeth, and get dressed, all before i could open my eyes this morning, so that i could be in time for a breakfast at a friend's place.
at least the breakfast was nice.
she helped me figure out what was going on with my social security problem, and we'll deal with it sometime during this week. probably by going there in person and screaming at those retarded monkeys until something gets done.
i watched a movie today - unfaithful - very well made, rather unsettling movie.
i spent the afternoon playing cs and sleeping.
and watched a couple of invader zim episodes.
i like invader zim.
i have the theme tune stuck in my head.
i gave up, and uninstalled bittorrent today. it's a nice idea, but there're two things very wrong with it.
1) chances are you're the fool uploading, not downloading.
2) it takes all the space from the beginning. on a 10GB harddrive this is unacceptable.
basically, i'm sticking with kazaa (lite, i'm no luser).
i've decided that i'm going to holon tomorrow morning (driver's license). i'm guessing i'll get there and be told that i haven't brought something, but it's a risk that i'll have to take.
so tonight: not on e: i'm going to play some cs, and get some shuteye.
Friday, July 18, 2003
18/07/03
*** yesterday ***
well, i got up fairly early again.
for nothing, again.
i really don't like getting up early in the morning.
i tried working on the drivers doohickey - i've decided i really have no freakin' clue what's going on. i understand each step, but i really don't know how to use the damn thing.
this is like a new kind of torture device. i can make decent cash if only i can learn how to do this.
ooh, hell is a place on earth... (bad 80's reference)
basically, i spent the day in front of the computer again. my brain is abuzz with radiation and i'm seeing scan-lines everywhere. i really need a break.
i couldn't even bring myself to play counterstrike.
i set myself up with a sourceforge account, and i'm planning on putting some of my ideas online.
i really wanted to make money out of them, but i really don't think it's going to happen. so maybe the credibility will do me some good.
i've already begun writing the documents, i just have to make a cute little website, and then post it, and see what happens.
it's kinda sad though. these are MY babies.
*** today ***
it's now 04.30, and i've been at work since 22.20. i've been writing the documents, and doing a leeeeetle bit of timewasting, and even answered a few calls.
and i only fucked up one helpdesk report :{o> (i have a beard now that she's gone for the week. i've been eating food with amba on it, too, which is this nuclear stuff which tastes amazing, but leaves your breath foul for days).
*** later ***
i was meant to go to holon, a really shitty city south of tel aviv, but JOSH didn't answer his phone until it was too late to go, so that didn't happen.
would have been nice, could have chilled the weekend, and spun on his decks, and then sunday could have made a really short trip to the DMV equivalent to sort out my license conversion.
but NOOOOOOOOOOO.
basically, i spent the day in a stupor - slept sporadically, and played some cs, and read online comics, and searched in vain for my poetry collection.
i really hate losing stuff, and the past few days i've thought of loads of things that i haven't seen or heard or smelled in ages, that i just can't find anywhere...
at least i finally found my id documents.
i finally realized, after watching a few invader zim episodes, why moonflake kept saying "disgusting human worm-babies". it's contagious.
what worries me is, kids are allowed to watch this stuff? damn, but modern cartoons are DANGEROUS.
hido will appreciate this more than anyone else: i have learned, the hard way, that i absolutely stink at counterstrike. i'm not going to stop playing, but i can't keep my average score:death ratio to more than 1:10.
except when i play on crappy servers. which is sucky.
not that i haven't had some satisfying kills, but i really need to improve my aim.
i forgot to go shopping today - this weekend is going to be survived with peanut butter sandwiches and spaghetti with olive oil.
and water.
bugger.
well, i got up fairly early again.
for nothing, again.
i really don't like getting up early in the morning.
i tried working on the drivers doohickey - i've decided i really have no freakin' clue what's going on. i understand each step, but i really don't know how to use the damn thing.
this is like a new kind of torture device. i can make decent cash if only i can learn how to do this.
ooh, hell is a place on earth... (bad 80's reference)
basically, i spent the day in front of the computer again. my brain is abuzz with radiation and i'm seeing scan-lines everywhere. i really need a break.
i couldn't even bring myself to play counterstrike.
i set myself up with a sourceforge account, and i'm planning on putting some of my ideas online.
i really wanted to make money out of them, but i really don't think it's going to happen. so maybe the credibility will do me some good.
i've already begun writing the documents, i just have to make a cute little website, and then post it, and see what happens.
it's kinda sad though. these are MY babies.
*** today ***
it's now 04.30, and i've been at work since 22.20. i've been writing the documents, and doing a leeeeetle bit of timewasting, and even answered a few calls.
and i only fucked up one helpdesk report :{o> (i have a beard now that she's gone for the week. i've been eating food with amba on it, too, which is this nuclear stuff which tastes amazing, but leaves your breath foul for days).
*** later ***
i was meant to go to holon, a really shitty city south of tel aviv, but JOSH didn't answer his phone until it was too late to go, so that didn't happen.
would have been nice, could have chilled the weekend, and spun on his decks, and then sunday could have made a really short trip to the DMV equivalent to sort out my license conversion.
but NOOOOOOOOOOO.
basically, i spent the day in a stupor - slept sporadically, and played some cs, and read online comics, and searched in vain for my poetry collection.
i really hate losing stuff, and the past few days i've thought of loads of things that i haven't seen or heard or smelled in ages, that i just can't find anywhere...
at least i finally found my id documents.
i finally realized, after watching a few invader zim episodes, why moonflake kept saying "disgusting human worm-babies". it's contagious.
what worries me is, kids are allowed to watch this stuff? damn, but modern cartoons are DANGEROUS.
hido will appreciate this more than anyone else: i have learned, the hard way, that i absolutely stink at counterstrike. i'm not going to stop playing, but i can't keep my average score:death ratio to more than 1:10.
except when i play on crappy servers. which is sucky.
not that i haven't had some satisfying kills, but i really need to improve my aim.
i forgot to go shopping today - this weekend is going to be survived with peanut butter sandwiches and spaghetti with olive oil.
and water.
bugger.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
16/07/03
*** yesterday ***
last night hido introduced to me to a site, where i can find out my friends' nicks on irc.
so i've been using it a lot - playing catch up for the first time in AGES.
*** today ***
i really didn't do anything useful today. i suck.
last night hido introduced to me to a site, where i can find out my friends' nicks on irc.
so i've been using it a lot - playing catch up for the first time in AGES.
*** today ***
i really didn't do anything useful today. i suck.
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
15/07/03
*** early morning ***
i went for a walk, as my mum told me, and it turned out to be an okay idea - i definitely didn't feel worse, and i did buy something to drink on the way back.
i managed to get onto a cs server :) - the only problem is once you start playing you completely lose track of time.
i meant to stop playing around 00.30, and it's now 02.30 and i still haven't gone to sleep.
i sucked at the beginning, but then i picked up my game later on. but it took me ages to get the ten or so frags that i did, and i really can't tell if these guys are that good or if my aiming is that bad.
time will tell.
good night.
*** later ***
i have the most comfortable bed in the whole world.
thank you, bed.
i woke up at 08.30 to try to sort my life out. at this rate, this is never going to happen... i made some calls, discovered that i didn't have to leave my room, and started playing cs - again.
between maps i did my washing, moved a step forward in gaining ftp access to the site i'm supposed to be working on (they keep changing the username/password, and then wonder why i'm not doing anything), and i think at some stage i had breakfast.
details.
i got a really important phone call, just as i turned a corner and into the barrel of someone's gun, and i had to be polite and friendly when all i could think of was "you killed me!".
eventually, around lunchtime, or a little later, i went to the shops to organize a lock for my door - if i'm going to sa for a couple of months then i'm not leaving it open.
i got back, installed the lock, and continued playing.
i forgot to mention that today was a beautiful day - i was meant to go surfing this morning (finally, we have some waves), but i forgot. turned out to be a good thing though.
herzliyah had another sewerage leak today, so the water's crap. and this happens regularly.
you'd think in a country being terraformed they'd use the shit for fertilization, and stop dumping (tee hee) it.
but then, you'd think they'd have set up desalinization plants already.
enough politicking: i got my fifth of six results today, and it is 73%.
quite frankly, i don't give a crap if i got one of the lowest scores, it's good enough for me.
it's looking more and more like i'm going to be studying next year...
imagine. me with a degree.
i've spent the rest of my day playing - in the last two maps, i managed to keep my score higher than my deaths! i'm very excited, these guys are good and i'm starting to return to my original 1337 skills.
if i ever seriously type something like that - i EXPECT someone to shoot me.
it's stoopud.
i've just had supper, and i'm seriously thinking of playing some more...
oh, yeah - i had a breakthrough this morning with the drivers - i've been studying this driver, which looks really complicated and is difficult to understand, for two weeks now.
this morning i realized that i don't have to deal with it at all, so i've wasted a lot of time...
only problem is that now that i know how to do it, in my head it's done, and i have no inclination to finish it.
typical.
i went for a walk, as my mum told me, and it turned out to be an okay idea - i definitely didn't feel worse, and i did buy something to drink on the way back.
i managed to get onto a cs server :) - the only problem is once you start playing you completely lose track of time.
i meant to stop playing around 00.30, and it's now 02.30 and i still haven't gone to sleep.
i sucked at the beginning, but then i picked up my game later on. but it took me ages to get the ten or so frags that i did, and i really can't tell if these guys are that good or if my aiming is that bad.
time will tell.
good night.
*** later ***
i have the most comfortable bed in the whole world.
thank you, bed.
i woke up at 08.30 to try to sort my life out. at this rate, this is never going to happen... i made some calls, discovered that i didn't have to leave my room, and started playing cs - again.
between maps i did my washing, moved a step forward in gaining ftp access to the site i'm supposed to be working on (they keep changing the username/password, and then wonder why i'm not doing anything), and i think at some stage i had breakfast.
details.
i got a really important phone call, just as i turned a corner and into the barrel of someone's gun, and i had to be polite and friendly when all i could think of was "you killed me!".
eventually, around lunchtime, or a little later, i went to the shops to organize a lock for my door - if i'm going to sa for a couple of months then i'm not leaving it open.
i got back, installed the lock, and continued playing.
i forgot to mention that today was a beautiful day - i was meant to go surfing this morning (finally, we have some waves), but i forgot. turned out to be a good thing though.
herzliyah had another sewerage leak today, so the water's crap. and this happens regularly.
you'd think in a country being terraformed they'd use the shit for fertilization, and stop dumping (tee hee) it.
but then, you'd think they'd have set up desalinization plants already.
enough politicking: i got my fifth of six results today, and it is 73%.
quite frankly, i don't give a crap if i got one of the lowest scores, it's good enough for me.
it's looking more and more like i'm going to be studying next year...
imagine. me with a degree.
i've spent the rest of my day playing - in the last two maps, i managed to keep my score higher than my deaths! i'm very excited, these guys are good and i'm starting to return to my original 1337 skills.
if i ever seriously type something like that - i EXPECT someone to shoot me.
it's stoopud.
i've just had supper, and i'm seriously thinking of playing some more...
oh, yeah - i had a breakthrough this morning with the drivers - i've been studying this driver, which looks really complicated and is difficult to understand, for two weeks now.
this morning i realized that i don't have to deal with it at all, so i've wasted a lot of time...
only problem is that now that i know how to do it, in my head it's done, and i have no inclination to finish it.
typical.
Monday, July 14, 2003
14/07/03
the last two days have had some pretty good moments, but my mood is severely shitty and i wanna break something.
*** yesterday ***
she slept here on saturday night, which was nice, but she had to be out of here around 7am, so i had to be up at that time to let her out.
i was supposed to go to campus, to sort out my social security problems, and to get some more results.
i also wanted to watch the rugby (sa vs. aus) which was at 9am.
i didn't do either, however surprising. i didn't go to the university because i was a) bombed and b) the person i needed to see wasn't in, and i didn't watch the rugby because i forgot (i was supposed to be in the university).
so i arbed around and wasted a perfectly useful morning.
*** the big news ***
early yesterday afternoon i discovered that my entire fucking pc (EVERY exe file) was infected with a virus. so i installed some antivirus software, but couldn't finish setting it up before i had to go to taekwondo.
that was extremely agitating.
taekwondo practice was with a group from kfar sava (the next city after ra'anana), in their gym. they're not olympic tkd, so the style's different - they do basic grappling and their legwork sucks.
they train in a bomb-shelter in the middle of a dump (not literally, but close). as you get to the entrance, the first thing that hits you is the distinctive lack of oxygen. the further down the steps you go, the more it smells like urine. and when you get to the bottom, it feels like someone's stuck your head in a heated urinal filled with vomit.
if you think my description's over-the-top, try to imagine doing heavy exercise and trying not to breathe at the same time.
oh - i don't think i emphasized the heat enough. it was like a really stuffy sauna.
there were two of us training, and we had to show up the other group (it's part of the training, apparently), and by the end of the two hours i was tired, soaked, sore, and willing to embrace death with open arms. i was also really frustrated - i've been doing tkd for myself, and i really didn't enjoy that training one bit.
i came home early, and began sorting out my machine. i really wanted to see her before she went off to camp for a week (as an instructor, bastards. i am NOT a paedophile.), but she had things to do and could only make it late (23.00).
i made myself supper, and arbed around until she got here, and while we were talking we both passed out.
we woke up sometime in the early morning (i'm guessing 1am, it's an easy number), both quite wobbly (it's been a tiring week for both of us), and we said goodbye and she went home.
*sniff*
*** today ***
i got up around 9am, and finalized the virus cleaning process. i then bladed to idc (the InterDisciplinary Center - my university), and received some extremely pleasing news - i received 85% for our exam in critical thinking, and 77% for macroeconomics!
i don't care if 85% was an average grade, and i honestly thought that i'd failed macro... so i'm happy with that.
i also discovered that in two years i've achieved 100 credits, and i have 28 more to go to get my degree. now unfortunately, that means a LOT of courses in my final year, but there's now a good chance that i'll do it, and that means that i can finish the degree before going to the army.
obviously, i still have to convince the army of that. but if i can, then i can go to sa on holiday in august.
i'm not holding my breath, though.
after eating a heavy lunch in the campus cafeteria (which is actually quite good), i made my sweaty way back home, and then went to work, to sit in on the usual, pointless status meeting.
and got suckered into doing some QA - so i only got home around 20.30.
at least the pay's good.
it's now 21.30, and i was supposed to be at tkd an hour ago, but after last night i just don't care.
and i'm annoyed at my argentinian flatmate, who left the boiler on, the gateway machine off, and has left all the american's dishes to me.
sod them both.
i'm now tired, and lonely, and restless - i don't want to sleep, and i don't want to do anything else.
maybe counterstrike will help - if it doesn't annoy me more by not connecting to any servers.
wake me when it's over.
*** yesterday ***
she slept here on saturday night, which was nice, but she had to be out of here around 7am, so i had to be up at that time to let her out.
i was supposed to go to campus, to sort out my social security problems, and to get some more results.
i also wanted to watch the rugby (sa vs. aus) which was at 9am.
i didn't do either, however surprising. i didn't go to the university because i was a) bombed and b) the person i needed to see wasn't in, and i didn't watch the rugby because i forgot (i was supposed to be in the university).
so i arbed around and wasted a perfectly useful morning.
*** the big news ***
early yesterday afternoon i discovered that my entire fucking pc (EVERY exe file) was infected with a virus. so i installed some antivirus software, but couldn't finish setting it up before i had to go to taekwondo.
that was extremely agitating.
taekwondo practice was with a group from kfar sava (the next city after ra'anana), in their gym. they're not olympic tkd, so the style's different - they do basic grappling and their legwork sucks.
they train in a bomb-shelter in the middle of a dump (not literally, but close). as you get to the entrance, the first thing that hits you is the distinctive lack of oxygen. the further down the steps you go, the more it smells like urine. and when you get to the bottom, it feels like someone's stuck your head in a heated urinal filled with vomit.
if you think my description's over-the-top, try to imagine doing heavy exercise and trying not to breathe at the same time.
oh - i don't think i emphasized the heat enough. it was like a really stuffy sauna.
there were two of us training, and we had to show up the other group (it's part of the training, apparently), and by the end of the two hours i was tired, soaked, sore, and willing to embrace death with open arms. i was also really frustrated - i've been doing tkd for myself, and i really didn't enjoy that training one bit.
i came home early, and began sorting out my machine. i really wanted to see her before she went off to camp for a week (as an instructor, bastards. i am NOT a paedophile.), but she had things to do and could only make it late (23.00).
i made myself supper, and arbed around until she got here, and while we were talking we both passed out.
we woke up sometime in the early morning (i'm guessing 1am, it's an easy number), both quite wobbly (it's been a tiring week for both of us), and we said goodbye and she went home.
*sniff*
*** today ***
i got up around 9am, and finalized the virus cleaning process. i then bladed to idc (the InterDisciplinary Center - my university), and received some extremely pleasing news - i received 85% for our exam in critical thinking, and 77% for macroeconomics!
i don't care if 85% was an average grade, and i honestly thought that i'd failed macro... so i'm happy with that.
i also discovered that in two years i've achieved 100 credits, and i have 28 more to go to get my degree. now unfortunately, that means a LOT of courses in my final year, but there's now a good chance that i'll do it, and that means that i can finish the degree before going to the army.
obviously, i still have to convince the army of that. but if i can, then i can go to sa on holiday in august.
i'm not holding my breath, though.
after eating a heavy lunch in the campus cafeteria (which is actually quite good), i made my sweaty way back home, and then went to work, to sit in on the usual, pointless status meeting.
and got suckered into doing some QA - so i only got home around 20.30.
at least the pay's good.
it's now 21.30, and i was supposed to be at tkd an hour ago, but after last night i just don't care.
and i'm annoyed at my argentinian flatmate, who left the boiler on, the gateway machine off, and has left all the american's dishes to me.
sod them both.
i'm now tired, and lonely, and restless - i don't want to sleep, and i don't want to do anything else.
maybe counterstrike will help - if it doesn't annoy me more by not connecting to any servers.
wake me when it's over.
Saturday, July 12, 2003
12/07/03
What a long, long time it's been since my last update. i feel like reality has struck with painful precision - and yet i know that it has yet to unleash its worst.
*** yesterday ***
yesterday was a beautiful day on the kibbutz, although i was exhausted and it took me a couple of hours to get up.
i ate chocolate cake for breakfast, played some stupid game on the pc, and went for a couple of short walks (shopping without money).
it was then "pack and go" time. it was already getting hot, and i really didn't want to leave.
the bus ride was quite long - i met a rather interesting soldier who had very little english, so i got a bit of hebrew practice, and we had a fairly comical conversation.
she picked me up from the busstop, and i went to her place (parents away) to pig out and rest.
she went out for a few hours, and when she returned we went to sleep.
i had some SERIOUSLY messed up dreams last night - nightmares within nightmares, which i thought only happened in bad movies. my deepest sympathies to all those who've had that experience.
*** today ***
the day started off slow, had a few minutes of regular time, and returned to a pace that is absolutely destroying me.
i have work to do, plenty of it actually, and i just can't get around to doing it.
the invader zim download finally finished, but unfortunately episodes 12 and 13 are fucked. oh well. but i watched the first three and they are GOOD.
i had leftover pizza from a few days ago and it didn't kill me. not yet, anyway. i'm taking this as a good sign.
tomorrow morning, fox sport is covering the opening game of the tri-nations rugby... i actually want to watch. what absolutely bites is that i have to be up and outta here early to go and sort out the mess at wingate, caused by the Very Responsible Organizer Person neither answering his phone, nor responding to his voice mail.
biznatch.
i gotta get away from this pc. my brain's buzzing.
*** later ***
i had a shower, which was the first proper one in days (does nobody in this country keep soap in the shower?), and was on my way to bed when she called, and told me to be ready in ten.
we went shopping for a friend of her's, who's about to go into the army - so as usual all my advice was ignored until the last minute...
but we managed a rather nice, and useful gift. based both on the needs of someone in basics, and girly properties that cannot be fully understood by any heterosexual man.
after i got back, i watched yet another episode of hunter x hunter, and then decided to give counterstrike another chance.
THAT was by far the most brilliant decision of the day.
my average ping was about 200, and so i played, and played, and played some more (this is about three or four hours). and it has been fair, and i have played well.
some of the guys on the server were REALLY good - there's was a constant challenge and loads of frustration, but nothing that could take away from my sheer delight at finally being able to play the damn game!
side note: sniping in the middle of a gun battle is f**king insane - the adrenaline kicked in and i managed six frags within fifteen seconds... oh yeah!
*** yesterday ***
yesterday was a beautiful day on the kibbutz, although i was exhausted and it took me a couple of hours to get up.
i ate chocolate cake for breakfast, played some stupid game on the pc, and went for a couple of short walks (shopping without money).
it was then "pack and go" time. it was already getting hot, and i really didn't want to leave.
the bus ride was quite long - i met a rather interesting soldier who had very little english, so i got a bit of hebrew practice, and we had a fairly comical conversation.
she picked me up from the busstop, and i went to her place (parents away) to pig out and rest.
she went out for a few hours, and when she returned we went to sleep.
i had some SERIOUSLY messed up dreams last night - nightmares within nightmares, which i thought only happened in bad movies. my deepest sympathies to all those who've had that experience.
*** today ***
the day started off slow, had a few minutes of regular time, and returned to a pace that is absolutely destroying me.
i have work to do, plenty of it actually, and i just can't get around to doing it.
the invader zim download finally finished, but unfortunately episodes 12 and 13 are fucked. oh well. but i watched the first three and they are GOOD.
i had leftover pizza from a few days ago and it didn't kill me. not yet, anyway. i'm taking this as a good sign.
tomorrow morning, fox sport is covering the opening game of the tri-nations rugby... i actually want to watch. what absolutely bites is that i have to be up and outta here early to go and sort out the mess at wingate, caused by the Very Responsible Organizer Person neither answering his phone, nor responding to his voice mail.
biznatch.
i gotta get away from this pc. my brain's buzzing.
*** later ***
i had a shower, which was the first proper one in days (does nobody in this country keep soap in the shower?), and was on my way to bed when she called, and told me to be ready in ten.
we went shopping for a friend of her's, who's about to go into the army - so as usual all my advice was ignored until the last minute...
but we managed a rather nice, and useful gift. based both on the needs of someone in basics, and girly properties that cannot be fully understood by any heterosexual man.
after i got back, i watched yet another episode of hunter x hunter, and then decided to give counterstrike another chance.
THAT was by far the most brilliant decision of the day.
my average ping was about 200, and so i played, and played, and played some more (this is about three or four hours). and it has been fair, and i have played well.
some of the guys on the server were REALLY good - there's was a constant challenge and loads of frustration, but nothing that could take away from my sheer delight at finally being able to play the damn game!
side note: sniping in the middle of a gun battle is f**king insane - the adrenaline kicked in and i managed six frags within fifteen seconds... oh yeah!
Thursday, July 10, 2003
10/07/03
i discovered last night that the girl that i met at the busstop was in the same class as her best friend! small world indeed.
i went to bed around midnight last night, or thereabouts (i think, at any rate), but i couldn't get to sleep until around 1 or 2am. i was finally relaxed for the first time in months, and it's as if my brain was on fire!
i kept having all these really good ideas, and i just HAD to write all of them down.
i woke up around 05.30, tired but my mind was still hyperactive: i lay there for an hour and a half unable to sleep, just thinking. around 7am i got up, wrote down some of my thoughts, and took the dog for a run around the kibbutz.
afterwards, i went for communal breakfast, which is nice and easy, and i learned a really nifty trick for removing the shell from boiled eggs.
i swam for a bit - but when i say a bit i mean i swam three lengths and just couldn't do any more.
and i used to be a good swimmer. it kinda sucks to be all out of breath when you haven't done anything.
so i spent the day chilling.
yep, that's what i do when i come here.
the ceremony / celebration / show was nice, the food was both good and plentiful, and now it's time for some sleep.
more is nog 'n dag.
i went to bed around midnight last night, or thereabouts (i think, at any rate), but i couldn't get to sleep until around 1 or 2am. i was finally relaxed for the first time in months, and it's as if my brain was on fire!
i kept having all these really good ideas, and i just HAD to write all of them down.
i woke up around 05.30, tired but my mind was still hyperactive: i lay there for an hour and a half unable to sleep, just thinking. around 7am i got up, wrote down some of my thoughts, and took the dog for a run around the kibbutz.
afterwards, i went for communal breakfast, which is nice and easy, and i learned a really nifty trick for removing the shell from boiled eggs.
i swam for a bit - but when i say a bit i mean i swam three lengths and just couldn't do any more.
and i used to be a good swimmer. it kinda sucks to be all out of breath when you haven't done anything.
so i spent the day chilling.
yep, that's what i do when i come here.
the ceremony / celebration / show was nice, the food was both good and plentiful, and now it's time for some sleep.
more is nog 'n dag.
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
09/07/03
i had serious pizza-dream last night.
and i feel compelled to share it. any analysis will be welcome, although anyone who's nasty about it gets a ten-pound hammer up the bunghole.
*** dream starts ***
it started off with me and her going to some dingy metal / rock club. we were parking off outside, and i had to go inside to get something.
instead of being bounced, i was put on a bus which went to a place that looked remarkably like glengariff road. but there was a kiosk / corner cafe in a side street that was definitely israeli.
i was then walking through the streets with this guy, who i didn't want to be walking with, and we were joined by someone else whose face i couldn't see.
i had on me a pentax camera that my mommy had given me before we left.
these two guys were trying to get the camera, and were going to kill me for it - strange thing was that all three of us had our hands tied to the front of our pants, and our pants were hanging around our thighs, so we were "running" very slowly.
so it was kinda like the slow-motion running away dream, but not quite.
*** dream ends ***
i woke up at 08.30 this morning to go to work, and my legs HURT. but i got dressed and made it outside just in time to get a ride with sammy.
unlike yesterday. i couldn't wake up yesterday.
work went smoothly - i goofed off for an hour, and we managed to get the job done in record time (i AM efficient, if nothing else), and i got a ride home with sammy again. i really like his new car - it's a citroen xsara, very slick and cute.
i went with her to have coffee, and to buy a card for my cousin's batmitvah - a picture she took was used for an advertisment on the back cover of a major art magazine! so we bought a copy along with the august wired, which i plan on reading on the bus tonight (if i don't pass out immediately).
so that's it then - i'm off in a bit (after a shave, of course) to greener pastures (literally), although i'll probably be able to update this from there.
if not - miss me.
*** later ***
god, it's so nice up here! everything's green, there's less heat and humidity, and everything is so laid back and chilled that one can't help but relax.
sometime in the past couple of months i bought my cousin a little elephant (she collects them), and this afternoon when she was helping me buy a card, we found another one: this one a toy where you press the button underneath and it collapses.
you know the type i'm talking about.
anyway, my cousin absolutely LOVED both of them - i am most pleased. the birthday / batmitzvah girl will be getting a present from sa, and hopefully i'll be buying and carrying it personally.
i had an interesting experience waiting for the bus here today - i met this girl many months ago while waiting at a busstop in herzeliya, and we talked for a while before going our separate ways.
very interesting girl, with a brother in japan and a sister in china somewhere, and with plans of her own to go thereabouts. plus she's semi-goth / semi-hippie. only problem at the time was that she was a little young for me, or i would have considered getting her number.
so i was sitting on the wall by the busstop, reading my new magazine, when i heard someone say, in hebrew, "your name's [my name here], right?".
so i look, and i'm STRUGGLING to remember her name, because it's not a common one. i got close (i remembered the translation had something to do with an eye), so she was impressed, and we resumed where we'd left off.
once again, i didn't get her number. this time, though, was only because of her - i don't want this girl to think i'm interested.
however, if there's a next time then i think i will get it - you never know who's good to know.
they have this cute concept in israel - "third time's an ice-cream". it doesn't translate well directly, but basically it's a warning: when you do something to someone three times, like stepping on their heels, you have to buy them an ice-cream. it applies for stuff like meeting people coincidentally too, so next time, whoever says it first gets one.
i just can't get over the atmosphere here - i adjusted immediately on arrival. it's nice that it's almost as if i hadn't left, and the last time that i was here was over two and a half months ago.
i know this because i was here the weekend she and i decided to hook up.
awww.
that's about it for today (i think it's been enough). it was all in all a really nice day.
and i feel compelled to share it. any analysis will be welcome, although anyone who's nasty about it gets a ten-pound hammer up the bunghole.
*** dream starts ***
it started off with me and her going to some dingy metal / rock club. we were parking off outside, and i had to go inside to get something.
instead of being bounced, i was put on a bus which went to a place that looked remarkably like glengariff road. but there was a kiosk / corner cafe in a side street that was definitely israeli.
i was then walking through the streets with this guy, who i didn't want to be walking with, and we were joined by someone else whose face i couldn't see.
i had on me a pentax camera that my mommy had given me before we left.
these two guys were trying to get the camera, and were going to kill me for it - strange thing was that all three of us had our hands tied to the front of our pants, and our pants were hanging around our thighs, so we were "running" very slowly.
so it was kinda like the slow-motion running away dream, but not quite.
*** dream ends ***
i woke up at 08.30 this morning to go to work, and my legs HURT. but i got dressed and made it outside just in time to get a ride with sammy.
unlike yesterday. i couldn't wake up yesterday.
work went smoothly - i goofed off for an hour, and we managed to get the job done in record time (i AM efficient, if nothing else), and i got a ride home with sammy again. i really like his new car - it's a citroen xsara, very slick and cute.
i went with her to have coffee, and to buy a card for my cousin's batmitvah - a picture she took was used for an advertisment on the back cover of a major art magazine! so we bought a copy along with the august wired, which i plan on reading on the bus tonight (if i don't pass out immediately).
so that's it then - i'm off in a bit (after a shave, of course) to greener pastures (literally), although i'll probably be able to update this from there.
if not - miss me.
*** later ***
god, it's so nice up here! everything's green, there's less heat and humidity, and everything is so laid back and chilled that one can't help but relax.
sometime in the past couple of months i bought my cousin a little elephant (she collects them), and this afternoon when she was helping me buy a card, we found another one: this one a toy where you press the button underneath and it collapses.
you know the type i'm talking about.
anyway, my cousin absolutely LOVED both of them - i am most pleased. the birthday / batmitzvah girl will be getting a present from sa, and hopefully i'll be buying and carrying it personally.
i had an interesting experience waiting for the bus here today - i met this girl many months ago while waiting at a busstop in herzeliya, and we talked for a while before going our separate ways.
very interesting girl, with a brother in japan and a sister in china somewhere, and with plans of her own to go thereabouts. plus she's semi-goth / semi-hippie. only problem at the time was that she was a little young for me, or i would have considered getting her number.
so i was sitting on the wall by the busstop, reading my new magazine, when i heard someone say, in hebrew, "your name's [my name here], right?".
so i look, and i'm STRUGGLING to remember her name, because it's not a common one. i got close (i remembered the translation had something to do with an eye), so she was impressed, and we resumed where we'd left off.
once again, i didn't get her number. this time, though, was only because of her - i don't want this girl to think i'm interested.
however, if there's a next time then i think i will get it - you never know who's good to know.
they have this cute concept in israel - "third time's an ice-cream". it doesn't translate well directly, but basically it's a warning: when you do something to someone three times, like stepping on their heels, you have to buy them an ice-cream. it applies for stuff like meeting people coincidentally too, so next time, whoever says it first gets one.
i just can't get over the atmosphere here - i adjusted immediately on arrival. it's nice that it's almost as if i hadn't left, and the last time that i was here was over two and a half months ago.
i know this because i was here the weekend she and i decided to hook up.
awww.
that's about it for today (i think it's been enough). it was all in all a really nice day.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
08/07/03
*** yesterday ***
i woke up at 7am to go to the wingate institute, in an attempt to discover the truth behind the language barrier.
on the way (between bus stops), i was introduced to this really crazy pet shop. when you walk in, it's an ordinary pet products store. if you know where to look, there's a hidden flight of stairs, and when you go down them, you find yourself in this enormous pet store, with rabbits and hamsters and dogs and cats and birds, and more fish than you can stick a shake at!
anyway, we eventually got there, and i was introduced to the organizer of the course. he's quite a nice man, and seemingly smart - but he talks a lot. and he repeats himself a lot. i think he was trying to impress something upon me, but it meandered off somewhere and got lost.
anyway, i got some of the course material, got booked for the algometric exam (the test to see if you're going to die real soon), and an explanation of how it's my problem if i'm unable to complete the course. R10,000 on the table, i'm doing some severe thinking about it. especially considering that i don't have that kind of money.
i got home, and made what i consider to be a valiant attempt at reading the book on anatomy. it only took me about twenty minutes to read and understand the first paragraph, which is in pretty good time for me.
and i even remember most of the words.
but it's still not good enough to read a book a week and be able to understand and answer questions in an exam. even though the material's fairly simple.
i bladed to training around 16.30, i trained real hard and stretched a lot until 22.00, and got home around 23.00.
broken.
at one point during the training i had a really freaky experience. i've seen people with sweat dripping from their faces, as it's hot and humid and we're training seriously. but for a few seconds sweat was literally pouring down my face, like when you dribble water out of a bottle.
insane.
*** today ***
i got to sleep last night at around midnight, and i was meant to get up at 7am again for a taekwondo fighting lesson. i have no recollection of turning my alarm off (a feeling not wholly unfamiliar to me), and i was woken by my instructor asking me where the hell i was.
after several failed attempts, i gave up trying to get out of bed and called in damaged.
it's now 12.11 as i write this, and i am HURTING. i have so much stuff that i've got to do, and i am completely wasted. and all sorts of weird dreams last night didn't help.
on the positive side of things, today's gaming day - a few hours of multiplayer half-life and starcraft with sammy.
*yay*
*** later ***
i didn't suck in starcraft! he still destroyed me, but i put up a decent fight (i was human, he was protoss), and i learned a lot for next time.
i love human beings. never could figure them out, but they're a very sweet moronic race. we should do something about that.
i don't know how to explain what happened today - but it was very, very stupid.
*** later ***
i got her to watch thursday with me, and surprisingly enough, she actually enjoyed it!
and here i was thinking that she had no taste (she hated akira and refused to watch johnny mnemonic after the intro).
and i enjoyed watching it again too.
supper was a typical israeli pizza - by sa or usa standards we wouldn't touch it, by israeli it was pretty good - it's hours later and i'm stuffed. i reckon it's pizza-dream time soon.
i tested command & conquer: generals: it is pretty and it runs on my machine. what i didn't realize is that i had about 50MB left on my harddisk after installing, which explains why it ran slowly and with a few jumps.
i really need a harddisk with more than 10GB on it.
anyone caring enough, mail me and i'll set up one of those whatsits that allows people to donate money to me.
i have been inspired by the wiki system - i'm considering putting up a section for recent changes. i hope it's reasonable.
i woke up at 7am to go to the wingate institute, in an attempt to discover the truth behind the language barrier.
on the way (between bus stops), i was introduced to this really crazy pet shop. when you walk in, it's an ordinary pet products store. if you know where to look, there's a hidden flight of stairs, and when you go down them, you find yourself in this enormous pet store, with rabbits and hamsters and dogs and cats and birds, and more fish than you can stick a shake at!
anyway, we eventually got there, and i was introduced to the organizer of the course. he's quite a nice man, and seemingly smart - but he talks a lot. and he repeats himself a lot. i think he was trying to impress something upon me, but it meandered off somewhere and got lost.
anyway, i got some of the course material, got booked for the algometric exam (the test to see if you're going to die real soon), and an explanation of how it's my problem if i'm unable to complete the course. R10,000 on the table, i'm doing some severe thinking about it. especially considering that i don't have that kind of money.
i got home, and made what i consider to be a valiant attempt at reading the book on anatomy. it only took me about twenty minutes to read and understand the first paragraph, which is in pretty good time for me.
and i even remember most of the words.
but it's still not good enough to read a book a week and be able to understand and answer questions in an exam. even though the material's fairly simple.
i bladed to training around 16.30, i trained real hard and stretched a lot until 22.00, and got home around 23.00.
broken.
at one point during the training i had a really freaky experience. i've seen people with sweat dripping from their faces, as it's hot and humid and we're training seriously. but for a few seconds sweat was literally pouring down my face, like when you dribble water out of a bottle.
insane.
*** today ***
i got to sleep last night at around midnight, and i was meant to get up at 7am again for a taekwondo fighting lesson. i have no recollection of turning my alarm off (a feeling not wholly unfamiliar to me), and i was woken by my instructor asking me where the hell i was.
after several failed attempts, i gave up trying to get out of bed and called in damaged.
it's now 12.11 as i write this, and i am HURTING. i have so much stuff that i've got to do, and i am completely wasted. and all sorts of weird dreams last night didn't help.
on the positive side of things, today's gaming day - a few hours of multiplayer half-life and starcraft with sammy.
*yay*
*** later ***
i didn't suck in starcraft! he still destroyed me, but i put up a decent fight (i was human, he was protoss), and i learned a lot for next time.
i love human beings. never could figure them out, but they're a very sweet moronic race. we should do something about that.
i don't know how to explain what happened today - but it was very, very stupid.
*** later ***
i got her to watch thursday with me, and surprisingly enough, she actually enjoyed it!
and here i was thinking that she had no taste (she hated akira and refused to watch johnny mnemonic after the intro).
and i enjoyed watching it again too.
supper was a typical israeli pizza - by sa or usa standards we wouldn't touch it, by israeli it was pretty good - it's hours later and i'm stuffed. i reckon it's pizza-dream time soon.
i tested command & conquer: generals: it is pretty and it runs on my machine. what i didn't realize is that i had about 50MB left on my harddisk after installing, which explains why it ran slowly and with a few jumps.
i really need a harddisk with more than 10GB on it.
anyone caring enough, mail me and i'll set up one of those whatsits that allows people to donate money to me.
i have been inspired by the wiki system - i'm considering putting up a section for recent changes. i hope it's reasonable.
Sunday, July 06, 2003
06/07/03
last night i spoke to my instructor, who's no longer certain that i should go to the instructor's course.
this morning i went to sort out the social security issue. it turns out that they can't really help me, but we've managed to delay their retribution a bit.
i went to get my results.
for the BIG exam of the semester, investment theory.
i
got
this is abso-$#%@ing-lutely AMAZING!!!
i'm going to arb around campus for a bit, dancing my little jig, generally being happy. this is SUCH a relief.
*** later ***
she's gone to her prom. without me.
hmmph. oh well, not much i can do. i went shoe shopping with her this afternoon, so i think i've done my bit.
grootbek convinced me to accompany him to the mall this evening, which was the biggest mistake. he went shopping for his sister and mother - as if this afternoon wasn't enough!
do i LOOK like a shopping fairy?
i did get ice-cream out of him, so i suppose it's all right.
so the good news is, we're rid of him for MONTHS! he's on his way back to the states tonight.
i've inherited his full length mirror, mosquito killer, and a box of really sugary american candy.
um, so that just about covers everything. except for the fact that i just discovered, while closing my room up in preparation for the airconditioner, some alien creature has been laying eggs on my windowsill.
i ain't never seen shit like that before in my life - i used a dustpan and some tissue, and they're probably going to hatch in our trash can and get revenge by morning.
oh, yeah, and i played counterstrike today.
in spite of the lag - roughly 500 on average, i still maintained 2nd place with seven or eight people on each team. i'm still good! i was worried. the only thing that kills me is the lag, for which there's no real solution. there aren't any israeli servers, and our connection's not that good (i'm behind an xp system...)
i got a call from the drivers dude - turns out i don't need to know all the shit i've been studying. ignoring the waste of time and brain-power (lacking), this is pretty good news. only the description he gave me seems too simple.
i wonder if i'm gonna get fucked again.
oh well. there's nothing to lose but sleep. and dignity.
and money. and err... i better stop there.
this morning i went to sort out the social security issue. it turns out that they can't really help me, but we've managed to delay their retribution a bit.
i went to get my results.
for the BIG exam of the semester, investment theory.
i
got
84%!
this is abso-$#%@ing-lutely AMAZING!!!
i'm going to arb around campus for a bit, dancing my little jig, generally being happy. this is SUCH a relief.
*** later ***
she's gone to her prom. without me.
hmmph. oh well, not much i can do. i went shoe shopping with her this afternoon, so i think i've done my bit.
grootbek convinced me to accompany him to the mall this evening, which was the biggest mistake. he went shopping for his sister and mother - as if this afternoon wasn't enough!
do i LOOK like a shopping fairy?
i did get ice-cream out of him, so i suppose it's all right.
so the good news is, we're rid of him for MONTHS! he's on his way back to the states tonight.
i've inherited his full length mirror, mosquito killer, and a box of really sugary american candy.
um, so that just about covers everything. except for the fact that i just discovered, while closing my room up in preparation for the airconditioner, some alien creature has been laying eggs on my windowsill.
i ain't never seen shit like that before in my life - i used a dustpan and some tissue, and they're probably going to hatch in our trash can and get revenge by morning.
oh, yeah, and i played counterstrike today.
in spite of the lag - roughly 500 on average, i still maintained 2nd place with seven or eight people on each team. i'm still good! i was worried. the only thing that kills me is the lag, for which there's no real solution. there aren't any israeli servers, and our connection's not that good (i'm behind an xp system...)
i got a call from the drivers dude - turns out i don't need to know all the shit i've been studying. ignoring the waste of time and brain-power (lacking), this is pretty good news. only the description he gave me seems too simple.
i wonder if i'm gonna get fucked again.
oh well. there's nothing to lose but sleep. and dignity.
and money. and err... i better stop there.
Saturday, July 05, 2003
05/07/03
i woke up around 10/11am this morning, and immediately glued myself to my pc.
i spent the day watching the two hunter x hunter episodes and reading mac hall. also made many futile attempts to play counterstrike: i paid approximately R200 to be told by servers all over the world that i'm using the wrong protocol.
i washed ALL the floors in our apartment today - i'm quite proud of my level of sophisticated domestication.
while i was waiting for the floor to dry, i turned on the tv, and AI was showing.
i'd forgotten what a serious, sad film it is. also, just how long it is...
we had a "do" at my cousins' place tonight, and i ate so much it's unbelievable. 400g steak, juicy and so tender that when i touched the knife to it it opened up like a blooming flower.
add to that four or five kebabs, and a general assortment of veggies, by the time i was done i could barely breathe.
i have to be up early tomorrow morning to go to the wingate institute (to sort out all the details of my taekwondo teacher's course), and then it's mad rush time for our marketing project, which grootbek was so nice enough as to not only leave for the last minute, but he's leaving on monday for the states.
i don't care if i've mentioned this before, it pisses me off. but i'm not freaked out about it.
what will be, will be - it's really not my fault that we're in this mess, and if it comes to the worst i'll go and explain the story to our lecturer.
at least my psychotic american "friend" who's working with us will back me up.
due to heavy feasting tonight i shall as a baby sleep.
*** later ***
surprise. anyways - i managed to get onto a cs server! 1.6 even! and the game was smooth, although i lagged twice and both times died from it... :(. but all in all i'm a happy non-camper!
i spent the day watching the two hunter x hunter episodes and reading mac hall. also made many futile attempts to play counterstrike: i paid approximately R200 to be told by servers all over the world that i'm using the wrong protocol.
i washed ALL the floors in our apartment today - i'm quite proud of my level of sophisticated domestication.
while i was waiting for the floor to dry, i turned on the tv, and AI was showing.
i'd forgotten what a serious, sad film it is. also, just how long it is...
we had a "do" at my cousins' place tonight, and i ate so much it's unbelievable. 400g steak, juicy and so tender that when i touched the knife to it it opened up like a blooming flower.
add to that four or five kebabs, and a general assortment of veggies, by the time i was done i could barely breathe.
i have to be up early tomorrow morning to go to the wingate institute (to sort out all the details of my taekwondo teacher's course), and then it's mad rush time for our marketing project, which grootbek was so nice enough as to not only leave for the last minute, but he's leaving on monday for the states.
i don't care if i've mentioned this before, it pisses me off. but i'm not freaked out about it.
what will be, will be - it's really not my fault that we're in this mess, and if it comes to the worst i'll go and explain the story to our lecturer.
at least my psychotic american "friend" who's working with us will back me up.
due to heavy feasting tonight i shall as a baby sleep.
*** later ***
surprise. anyways - i managed to get onto a cs server! 1.6 even! and the game was smooth, although i lagged twice and both times died from it... :(. but all in all i'm a happy non-camper!
Friday, July 04, 2003
04/07/03
all things considered today was a nice, nice day.
i woke up sometime between 10am and 12.00, after going to bed at around 5am (cross-eyed, mind you), and the first thing i noticed was a big fat roach swimming in our toilet bowl.
i really hate those things, so i had two things to do.
1) clean my room
2) buy roach killer
cleaning my room was a bitch - i haven't even thought about it in more than 6 months, and my room is still in cardboard boxes from my last move.
so i had to take everything out, which was not so simple, and found a shirt to mop the floor with. and used my bedside trash can as a bucket.
while i was at it, clearing out small colonies of rather advanced creatures (performing small experiments with their eggs, and so on), i decided to re-arrange a little, with interesting results. the only thing is, i couldn't find anything decent to get rid of roaches, and i was forced to settle on spray, which is far from ideal (especially considering that dead roaches attract their friends. imagine if humans were like that!).
while i was out shopping, i actually bought (exchanged money for) the original half-life. i spent most of the day upgrading and trying to connect to the neojapangz server.
this was not meant to be.
hido finally uploaded the missing hunter x hunter episodes! i can finally put this series to rest!
i finally got the vodacom sms doodah working - go take a look.
that's all the big news.
it's very late, and i'm practically dead, so i'm gonna try to get some rest before tomorrow hits me.
i woke up sometime between 10am and 12.00, after going to bed at around 5am (cross-eyed, mind you), and the first thing i noticed was a big fat roach swimming in our toilet bowl.
i really hate those things, so i had two things to do.
1) clean my room
2) buy roach killer
cleaning my room was a bitch - i haven't even thought about it in more than 6 months, and my room is still in cardboard boxes from my last move.
so i had to take everything out, which was not so simple, and found a shirt to mop the floor with. and used my bedside trash can as a bucket.
while i was at it, clearing out small colonies of rather advanced creatures (performing small experiments with their eggs, and so on), i decided to re-arrange a little, with interesting results. the only thing is, i couldn't find anything decent to get rid of roaches, and i was forced to settle on spray, which is far from ideal (especially considering that dead roaches attract their friends. imagine if humans were like that!).
while i was out shopping, i actually bought (exchanged money for) the original half-life. i spent most of the day upgrading and trying to connect to the neojapangz server.
this was not meant to be.
hido finally uploaded the missing hunter x hunter episodes! i can finally put this series to rest!
i finally got the vodacom sms doodah working - go take a look.
that's all the big news.
it's very late, and i'm practically dead, so i'm gonna try to get some rest before tomorrow hits me.
Thursday, July 03, 2003
03/07/03
i've been trying all day to get the vodacom internet sms whatsit to work, and now i'm not sure if it does or doesn't. thanks to synkronos for the inspiration and advice (things not to do).
i haven't even thought of touching my tron game, and i definitely can't read the ddk stuff now.
my brain is fried and yet i still feel compelled to abuse my 'puter.
instead of studying today, i played starcraft (did a bang-up job on level 10, when the zerg overran i destroyed the little bastards), and read a bit of count zero.
invader zim is 20% and climbing, albeit ever so slowly. i kinda imagined that bittorrent would be faster than kazaa: i'm such a dreamer.
we have a marketing project that's due on wednesday - this is the biggest contributor to our final grade (ie if we don't do well i FAIL, regardless of supplementary exams). and grootbek, who's in charge of our group, is leaving on monday for the states. and we haven't even begun the nasty stuff yet. bugger.
the exam in corporate law was okay - i spoke a lot of legalese (read: crap), and generally bullshitted my way to filling in 85% of the paper. i was only 70% of the way through when i realized that we only had half an hour left...
*scribble* *scribble*
after the exam i chilled with the guys who work in our campus computer labs - every thursday evening is "happy hour", lots and lots of free booze and munchies. jack daniels and jonny walker type of booze, with some cheap tequila and vodka (written wodka in israel) thrown in.
i didn't drink. not for any other reason than that i had to go to training tonight. not that i could so much as walk in a straight line, but anywho i bladed there and absolutely killed myself with warmup and stretching.
and then there was fighting. twice i got kicked in the head, one of those to the eye, and i was tired, and hurting all over.
the guys i train with realized tonight, for the first time, that i really don't know how to fight. i kept trying to explain to them that the gold medal i won was a fluke, and they thought that i had a problem with self-confidence, so they kept telling me that i'm fine.
it's infuriating to watch yourself screw up and then have others tell you it's okay, like you're some sort of retard.
err... sorry, challenged person.
one of her best friends (male) has a visitor (female) from the states, so we took them out to play pool in ra'anana. it was quite fun, although i'm the only one who really knows how to play (she's getting better, but it takes time).
if there's one thing they know how to make in this country, it's ice-cream.
i haven't even thought of touching my tron game, and i definitely can't read the ddk stuff now.
my brain is fried and yet i still feel compelled to abuse my 'puter.
instead of studying today, i played starcraft (did a bang-up job on level 10, when the zerg overran i destroyed the little bastards), and read a bit of count zero.
invader zim is 20% and climbing, albeit ever so slowly. i kinda imagined that bittorrent would be faster than kazaa: i'm such a dreamer.
we have a marketing project that's due on wednesday - this is the biggest contributor to our final grade (ie if we don't do well i FAIL, regardless of supplementary exams). and grootbek, who's in charge of our group, is leaving on monday for the states. and we haven't even begun the nasty stuff yet. bugger.
the exam in corporate law was okay - i spoke a lot of legalese (read: crap), and generally bullshitted my way to filling in 85% of the paper. i was only 70% of the way through when i realized that we only had half an hour left...
*scribble* *scribble*
after the exam i chilled with the guys who work in our campus computer labs - every thursday evening is "happy hour", lots and lots of free booze and munchies. jack daniels and jonny walker type of booze, with some cheap tequila and vodka (written wodka in israel) thrown in.
i didn't drink. not for any other reason than that i had to go to training tonight. not that i could so much as walk in a straight line, but anywho i bladed there and absolutely killed myself with warmup and stretching.
and then there was fighting. twice i got kicked in the head, one of those to the eye, and i was tired, and hurting all over.
the guys i train with realized tonight, for the first time, that i really don't know how to fight. i kept trying to explain to them that the gold medal i won was a fluke, and they thought that i had a problem with self-confidence, so they kept telling me that i'm fine.
it's infuriating to watch yourself screw up and then have others tell you it's okay, like you're some sort of retard.
err... sorry, challenged person.
one of her best friends (male) has a visitor (female) from the states, so we took them out to play pool in ra'anana. it was quite fun, although i'm the only one who really knows how to play (she's getting better, but it takes time).
if there's one thing they know how to make in this country, it's ice-cream.
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
02/07/03
i think i have low-grade insomnia. err... i *think* that's the way to say it.
i finally went to sleep around 2am, woke up around 9am and just could not keep my eyes closed.
and the heat is so uncomfortable - i've just been feeling crappy all day.
bearing in mind our law exam is tomorrow afternoon, this is what i did today (until 20.00 that is):
28 days later is a great film. the cinamatography is excellent, the story is good, and the protagonist is great. the only problem i have is a rather major one - i think the movie would have been a LOT scarier if instead of silly b-movie type monsters, they'd stuck with the story and made it really angry people. much scarier, when your enemies are not restricted to stereotypical zombie attacks.
they don't sell toy boats/ships in my entire city. i went to every f#$@ing toy store, and there're a lot, and i didn't find a single one.
and it's a country that's proud of it's navy, too.
i actually bought healthy food today - and enough to last a couple more. i even bought fruit, which is such big news that i'm mailing my mother just to tell her.
it's now 20.13, and way past time to begin the studies...
*THAT SINKING FEELING AGAIN*
*** later ***
that sucked. i couldn't concentrate on the material - it's all legalese (OBviously), and i'm still buggered from not sleeping properly.
however, i'm coming up with all sorts of other bright ideas - for instance how to cover the vodacom sms site so that you only have to fill in the phone number and confirmation mail once.
i'll probably have that up VERY soon.
i went to get myself a midnight snack (i've been eating pita and humus all day - i WILL get gas from this, i'm sure. note: humus is a bean), and got caught by two tekken players. out of 15 games i lost one. i would be quite impressed and proud if only i hadn't been beaten by a completely lucky run - i know how grootbek plays and he had no clue what he was doing.
it sucks to see so much effort (by us trying to teach him) go to waste.
i've been reading william gibson's count zero for the last few days - it's VERY good. no wonder he got such acclaim (yes, i HAVE read neuromancer - this is cooler).
i finally went to sleep around 2am, woke up around 9am and just could not keep my eyes closed.
and the heat is so uncomfortable - i've just been feeling crappy all day.
bearing in mind our law exam is tomorrow afternoon, this is what i did today (until 20.00 that is):
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they don't sell toy boats/ships in my entire city. i went to every f#$@ing toy store, and there're a lot, and i didn't find a single one.
and it's a country that's proud of it's navy, too.
i actually bought healthy food today - and enough to last a couple more. i even bought fruit, which is such big news that i'm mailing my mother just to tell her.
it's now 20.13, and way past time to begin the studies...
*THAT SINKING FEELING AGAIN*
*** later ***
that sucked. i couldn't concentrate on the material - it's all legalese (OBviously), and i'm still buggered from not sleeping properly.
however, i'm coming up with all sorts of other bright ideas - for instance how to cover the vodacom sms site so that you only have to fill in the phone number and confirmation mail once.
i'll probably have that up VERY soon.
i went to get myself a midnight snack (i've been eating pita and humus all day - i WILL get gas from this, i'm sure. note: humus is a bean), and got caught by two tekken players. out of 15 games i lost one. i would be quite impressed and proud if only i hadn't been beaten by a completely lucky run - i know how grootbek plays and he had no clue what he was doing.
it sucks to see so much effort (by us trying to teach him) go to waste.
i've been reading william gibson's count zero for the last few days - it's VERY good. no wonder he got such acclaim (yes, i HAVE read neuromancer - this is cooler).
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
01/07/03
today was long, yet i accomplished nothing. i woke up around 10am to phone this guy at the wingate institute in order to negotiate my way into the course despite my distinct lack of hebrew.
he was a complete bastard. i couldn't get him to budge on anything. i phoned my instructor afterwards, and after twenty minutes with her on the phone, he eventually buckled, and agreed to allow me a translator.
i've been invited to go to my cousin's kibbutz next week, as her daughter's having her batmitvah ceremony. two or three days by the pool there won't kill me.
ummm. i played lots of starcraft today.
we had a special training in taekwondo forms today - three hours of pain and dizzy spells, and then getting told i wasn't doing my best when i was just proud of myself for not falling down.
i just got home from studying for our corporate law exam. we have fourteen cases to go through, all in perfect legalese, and all i could think of was "must - sleep".
well, i know what i'll be doing tomorrow.
studying.
i know, that wasn't obvious.
i'm so messed up that when i got home i had a really dumb argument with grootbek, who's convinced that i was smoking dope. you know, red eyes, vacant look, and (ok, i don't have a clue how to finish the sentence).
he was a complete bastard. i couldn't get him to budge on anything. i phoned my instructor afterwards, and after twenty minutes with her on the phone, he eventually buckled, and agreed to allow me a translator.
i've been invited to go to my cousin's kibbutz next week, as her daughter's having her batmitvah ceremony. two or three days by the pool there won't kill me.
ummm. i played lots of starcraft today.
we had a special training in taekwondo forms today - three hours of pain and dizzy spells, and then getting told i wasn't doing my best when i was just proud of myself for not falling down.
i just got home from studying for our corporate law exam. we have fourteen cases to go through, all in perfect legalese, and all i could think of was "must - sleep".
well, i know what i'll be doing tomorrow.
studying.
i know, that wasn't obvious.
i'm so messed up that when i got home i had a really dumb argument with grootbek, who's convinced that i was smoking dope. you know, red eyes, vacant look, and (ok, i don't have a clue how to finish the sentence).
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