*sigh*
i can't believe it's over, but the feeling remains ^_^
friday night we went to an AWESOME, AWESOME party - the music was incredible, and there were so many sexy, sexy female freaks. highlights: being able to headbang and mosh in spite of my neck. lowlights: hitting on the gorgeous bartender, apparently doing well... and finding out later that she's a lesbian.
i spent saturday doing lots of nothing. i slept (badly, my neck makes it difficult), read hebrew stories for children, and went for a walk in the afternoon - discovering a beautiful park right next door :)
in the evening, we went through to the lizard club, to sit, drink and smoke the weekend goodbye. i "suffered" from visual cortex overload - too... many... stunning... girls..., and walked home (not bad, 40 minutes slowly) to bed.
i had a WEIRD nightmare this morning. i was in an enormous research facility, something to do with aliens. something went horribly (of course) wrong, and resulted in a crazy battle against a giant alien mecha. an incredibly active dream, with quite unpleasant moments.
we did win, in the end, but with notable losses. and there was no sense of satisfaction - only devastation.
our team spent the morning cleaning and moving things around, and i just finished an extended lunch at a rather fancy restaurant in honour of the guy who's *just* been released.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Friday, January 28, 2005
*twinge*
i threw my neck out even more than usual yesterday, with some severe headbanging due to an AWESOME selection of music. i was mostly deaf until about 3pm...
was allowed in to a "pilots only" party, from where we went back to the same club/pub we visited on monday - only it was MUCH better than on monday. all three of us crashed and burned with totally amazing girls, and i'd had to enough to drink and smoke that i felt AWEFUL by the time we got moving, around 5.30 or so. my throat still hurts.
it was a beautiful day, and i did some shopping and cleaned house. now sitting at a friend's in holon, dunno what the night will bring.
was allowed in to a "pilots only" party, from where we went back to the same club/pub we visited on monday - only it was MUCH better than on monday. all three of us crashed and burned with totally amazing girls, and i'd had to enough to drink and smoke that i felt AWEFUL by the time we got moving, around 5.30 or so. my throat still hurts.
it was a beautiful day, and i did some shopping and cleaned house. now sitting at a friend's in holon, dunno what the night will bring.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
whatta week
i'm kinda in shock - the guy i'm replacing finished up today... i can't believe it's finally happened. everything's a mess in our section at the moment.
the welfare officer came to my place this morning to check that i'm not lying about my situation - she was quite shocked at my lack of belongings, but impressed by the pad. i like my new home ^_^
this weekend has one primary, one secondary aim:
primary - to party like hell
secondary - to get more organized with my apartment
over and out.
the welfare officer came to my place this morning to check that i'm not lying about my situation - she was quite shocked at my lack of belongings, but impressed by the pad. i like my new home ^_^
this weekend has one primary, one secondary aim:
primary - to party like hell
secondary - to get more organized with my apartment
over and out.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
umm. err. *urp*
alright. here goes, but this has been an annoying week.
today:
just finished a meeting at work - it's the first paid visit here this month. i'm feeling the squeeze (money, fool).
the army today was interesting. my commander finally started behaving like a commander, and i've been given a lot of reasons to relax. now to start feeling it.
yesterday:
i had a REALLY shitty day yesterday. was literally falling asleep at my desk. i went for a serious run in the evening though - it was AMAZING.
and discovered that the cheapest dental-floss available costs NIS 20! that's, like, R35. really unimpressed.
the day before:
spent most of the day avoiding my office. in the evening, i met up with the dog and we went off to herzliya. we missed all the places and people we intended to visit, but we did meet up with some others, and it was pleasant.
i've met this guy on the base who's fun to talk to, is a comic book freak, and is also a total party animal. he picked us up from my place, and took us to an AWESOME place in tel-aviv. we had a really good time, but getting to bed at 3am and waking up at 6.30am isn't so easy.
sunday:
i missed the last bus, and had a LONG walk home. it was refreshing, but did nothing for my sleep pattern.
today:
just finished a meeting at work - it's the first paid visit here this month. i'm feeling the squeeze (money, fool).
the army today was interesting. my commander finally started behaving like a commander, and i've been given a lot of reasons to relax. now to start feeling it.
yesterday:
i had a REALLY shitty day yesterday. was literally falling asleep at my desk. i went for a serious run in the evening though - it was AMAZING.
and discovered that the cheapest dental-floss available costs NIS 20! that's, like, R35. really unimpressed.
the day before:
spent most of the day avoiding my office. in the evening, i met up with the dog and we went off to herzliya. we missed all the places and people we intended to visit, but we did meet up with some others, and it was pleasant.
i've met this guy on the base who's fun to talk to, is a comic book freak, and is also a total party animal. he picked us up from my place, and took us to an AWESOME place in tel-aviv. we had a really good time, but getting to bed at 3am and waking up at 6.30am isn't so easy.
sunday:
i missed the last bus, and had a LONG walk home. it was refreshing, but did nothing for my sleep pattern.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
back to business
and a polite "suggestion" that i spend my day (8-5) sitting in my seat. the guys in my team have expressed their displeasure at my attempts to avoid them at all costs.
bugger.
so i'm super-bored by the material i'm studying, and i'm going to be in an even worse state when i finish the current book, 'cause then i have to return to reading in hebrew.
crap.
oh, well. yesterday, i waited for the bus, in the freezing cold, for over an hour - a kindly paratrooper gave me a ride to the bus station, and the trip went by very quickly. all thanks to the elegant universe. i'm loving this book!
an inspirational moment from my weekend: standing under a hot shower, when it's freezing outside, with the water running over your ears drowning out all sound.
perfect moment.
bugger.
so i'm super-bored by the material i'm studying, and i'm going to be in an even worse state when i finish the current book, 'cause then i have to return to reading in hebrew.
crap.
oh, well. yesterday, i waited for the bus, in the freezing cold, for over an hour - a kindly paratrooper gave me a ride to the bus station, and the trip went by very quickly. all thanks to the elegant universe. i'm loving this book!
an inspirational moment from my weekend: standing under a hot shower, when it's freezing outside, with the water running over your ears drowning out all sound.
perfect moment.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
whoa!
i've just discovered why people REALLY watch tennis. damn those girls' bodies are FINE. hell, yeah ^_^
aside from that, it's cold up in these here woods. mmmm hmm. i've been contemplating going for a run, but i think that's as far as that's going.
aside from that, it's cold up in these here woods. mmmm hmm. i've been contemplating going for a run, but i think that's as far as that's going.
Friday, January 21, 2005
hurrah for the weekend!!
right. this week taught me the value of the weekend...
in continuation of my previous post:
the city council gave me a tel-aviv resident's card! awesome! i swiftly proceeded to change my address at the post-office, and then made my way home, to sort out my laundry. and then to the base, to return my uzzi and magazines. i said hi to everyone, and then ran off as quickly as possible.
i made (what i consider to be) a valiant attempt at sorting out my work papers at the tax department. that quickly turned into a nightmare - those people SUCK. i gave up, and went off to work... erm, eat with the guys from work. i spent some time in the office, arsing around, before sammy gave me a ride back to my place to change (and drop off some of my computer stuff).
from there we went to play pool - the dog joined us about halfway through - and we had a really enjoyable evening.
wednesday was an absolutely miserable day. i suppose my attitude has a lot to do with it - i've become completely disillusioned by my teammates, who have done very little to impress me over the last few weeks. so i basically spent the majority of the day as far away from my office as possible.
in attempting to "reintegrate" into my base, we discovered that the unit i was assigned to for guard duty accidentally cancelled my membership in my normal unit - that's not only amusing, but causes all sorts of interesting paperwork problems. they've assured me they'll sort it out, but it kept me occupied for enough time.
i was thinking of going out on wednesday night, but crashed instead.
thursday morning found me in the same state of avoidance. i inquired about the donated washing machines (people take care of lonely soldiers!), and was informed that first they have to come to my home and make sure that i don't have one. fine - i don't have anything!
i spent most of the day reading, which sucked, and that about sums everything up. it just so happens that one of the guys in our web section is an absolute comic book freak AND works in a decent club in tel aviv AND is a graphic designer, who agrees with the ideas put forth at http://gotp.9k.com/... so we've begun (it's a slow process) putting together some videos.
on the way home, i called one of the cute girls the dog and i double-dated, who gave me the phone number of her friend and began telling me how wonderful she is. sounds like our argument was in vain, the girls have definitely decided for us :) after all that, though, i couldn't get through to the number, and there's been no response to the message i left. and everyone else i know was busy last night, so i spent a half an hour getting to know the area, and then got an early night.
this morning, i finally got a haircut, and then discovered that my relatives are in eilat for the weekend - but they've let me stay on the kibbutz anyway :) so i've got internet, and food, and tv, and all i have to do is look after the dog. i'm rather pleased.
gonna KoL a bit, do a bit of "work" (xml definition), and then waste my weekend.
in continuation of my previous post:
the city council gave me a tel-aviv resident's card! awesome! i swiftly proceeded to change my address at the post-office, and then made my way home, to sort out my laundry. and then to the base, to return my uzzi and magazines. i said hi to everyone, and then ran off as quickly as possible.
i made (what i consider to be) a valiant attempt at sorting out my work papers at the tax department. that quickly turned into a nightmare - those people SUCK. i gave up, and went off to work... erm, eat with the guys from work. i spent some time in the office, arsing around, before sammy gave me a ride back to my place to change (and drop off some of my computer stuff).
from there we went to play pool - the dog joined us about halfway through - and we had a really enjoyable evening.
wednesday was an absolutely miserable day. i suppose my attitude has a lot to do with it - i've become completely disillusioned by my teammates, who have done very little to impress me over the last few weeks. so i basically spent the majority of the day as far away from my office as possible.
in attempting to "reintegrate" into my base, we discovered that the unit i was assigned to for guard duty accidentally cancelled my membership in my normal unit - that's not only amusing, but causes all sorts of interesting paperwork problems. they've assured me they'll sort it out, but it kept me occupied for enough time.
i was thinking of going out on wednesday night, but crashed instead.
thursday morning found me in the same state of avoidance. i inquired about the donated washing machines (people take care of lonely soldiers!), and was informed that first they have to come to my home and make sure that i don't have one. fine - i don't have anything!
i spent most of the day reading, which sucked, and that about sums everything up. it just so happens that one of the guys in our web section is an absolute comic book freak AND works in a decent club in tel aviv AND is a graphic designer, who agrees with the ideas put forth at http://gotp.9k.com/... so we've begun (it's a slow process) putting together some videos.
on the way home, i called one of the cute girls the dog and i double-dated, who gave me the phone number of her friend and began telling me how wonderful she is. sounds like our argument was in vain, the girls have definitely decided for us :) after all that, though, i couldn't get through to the number, and there's been no response to the message i left. and everyone else i know was busy last night, so i spent a half an hour getting to know the area, and then got an early night.
this morning, i finally got a haircut, and then discovered that my relatives are in eilat for the weekend - but they've let me stay on the kibbutz anyway :) so i've got internet, and food, and tv, and all i have to do is look after the dog. i'm rather pleased.
gonna KoL a bit, do a bit of "work" (xml definition), and then waste my weekend.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
week OVER!
good lord. i'm still in shock.
good friday: i got TOTALLY lucky on friday ^_^
some dude was exempt from guarding at night, so i only had to do his night shifts - four hours a day, as opposed to eight? i slept the ENTIRE day.
oh, yeah.
saturday morning, i woke up too late for breakfast. i spent some time discussing trance with the "shin gimmel" (dude guarding the main gate), and he sent me to a friend of his on the base. not only did the dude provide me with breakfast, AND coffee, but it turned out he's a novice programmer wanna-be, so we talked for HOURS. it was fun :) and i got a lot of hebrew practise. i spent the rest of the day in his office, watching movies.
seriously, not the ordinary guarding week :P
in the evening, we ordered pizza, but the delivery guy had a puncture, which resulted in me getting 10 minutes to scarf half a pizza before running off to my shift. good pizza, and worth it, but i suffered afterwards.
on sunday, i had to resume morning shifts (i had only one left anyway), and some dude screwed me over - i had to guard a 5.5 hour shift. on the bright side, i was introduced to the kitchens, and they fed me like a (sort-of) king.
yesterday morning i again woke up too late for breakfast, but having been introduced to the kitchen staff meant i got a better organized one than the officers did. yeah, baby.
i saddens me to think how important food has become over a period of a week. as terry pratchett says: "civilation is only 24 hours and two meals away from barbarism". so true.
we spent the day on the bus, which was an aweful experience, but by the time i returned to my apartment i was so excited to be in civilization that i didn't know what to do with myself! well, sort of. i went to the toilet for the first time since friday morning - in the last week my body has really managed to impress me. from getting sick at the right time, to holding myself up during a faint, to not needing to use the facilities on base, everything's been just right :)
i joined the dog and a friend for a coffee / stroll evening, which was really nice. now, i'm on my way to the city council, to see if i can wrangle myself a "tel-aviv resident" card, and then it's a fun-filled day of returning gear, laundry, home shopping, and government bureaus. yee-hah.
good friday: i got TOTALLY lucky on friday ^_^
some dude was exempt from guarding at night, so i only had to do his night shifts - four hours a day, as opposed to eight? i slept the ENTIRE day.
oh, yeah.
saturday morning, i woke up too late for breakfast. i spent some time discussing trance with the "shin gimmel" (dude guarding the main gate), and he sent me to a friend of his on the base. not only did the dude provide me with breakfast, AND coffee, but it turned out he's a novice programmer wanna-be, so we talked for HOURS. it was fun :) and i got a lot of hebrew practise. i spent the rest of the day in his office, watching movies.
seriously, not the ordinary guarding week :P
in the evening, we ordered pizza, but the delivery guy had a puncture, which resulted in me getting 10 minutes to scarf half a pizza before running off to my shift. good pizza, and worth it, but i suffered afterwards.
on sunday, i had to resume morning shifts (i had only one left anyway), and some dude screwed me over - i had to guard a 5.5 hour shift. on the bright side, i was introduced to the kitchens, and they fed me like a (sort-of) king.
yesterday morning i again woke up too late for breakfast, but having been introduced to the kitchen staff meant i got a better organized one than the officers did. yeah, baby.
i saddens me to think how important food has become over a period of a week. as terry pratchett says: "civilation is only 24 hours and two meals away from barbarism". so true.
we spent the day on the bus, which was an aweful experience, but by the time i returned to my apartment i was so excited to be in civilization that i didn't know what to do with myself! well, sort of. i went to the toilet for the first time since friday morning - in the last week my body has really managed to impress me. from getting sick at the right time, to holding myself up during a faint, to not needing to use the facilities on base, everything's been just right :)
i joined the dog and a friend for a coffee / stroll evening, which was really nice. now, i'm on my way to the city council, to see if i can wrangle myself a "tel-aviv resident" card, and then it's a fun-filled day of returning gear, laundry, home shopping, and government bureaus. yee-hah.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
two sniffs and a sob
actually, one of those sniffs is a runny-nose sniff...
the last two days have been AMAZING - i've done nothing useful, just KoL'ed, caught up on news, watched tv, and movies including the hulk (three times now - rather good movie, surprisingly). and i've eaten well, and talked on messenger to friends and family i haven't spoken to in months.
and tomorrow morning, at 6.40, i have to be on the bus to afula... i am SO not looking forward to this weekend. but i do have a choice - i can guard this weekend, or i can guard the whole of next week including next weekend.
gee, SUCH a dilemma.
*sigh*
the last two days have been AMAZING - i've done nothing useful, just KoL'ed, caught up on news, watched tv, and movies including the hulk (three times now - rather good movie, surprisingly). and i've eaten well, and talked on messenger to friends and family i haven't spoken to in months.
and tomorrow morning, at 6.40, i have to be on the bus to afula... i am SO not looking forward to this weekend. but i do have a choice - i can guard this weekend, or i can guard the whole of next week including next weekend.
gee, SUCH a dilemma.
*sigh*
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
what an interesting week!
on sunday, i got up at 5.45, and finished packing and shaving and brushing my teeth at exactly 6.20. exactly the time the shuttle from the kibbutz to the bus station is supposed to leave.
by 6.30am, i'd had a morning run with 40kg on my back, and returned to the house for coffee, to wait until the next shuttle.
great start to the week.
i got to the base about 9.45, just in time to say a couple of words before my sergeant's promotion. the morning would have been uneventful, but just before lunchtime my commander gave me a huge surprise - a week's non-stop guard-duty on a base up north!
whee!
it just so happens that this week is completely NOT a good week to have this happen, and as far as normal army procedure goes, it's not legitimate to give a soldier only one day's warning.
but nevermind.
so i spent the rest of the day getting all my kit together, like a gun, flak-jacket and "working" uniform, and filling out forms and running them from place to place. it was great, really a lot of fun. honest.
my newly-made staff sergeant lent me his sleeping bag, and gave me a ride home with all my gear - was really nice of him. he's now the first person to see my new place :) he then gave me a ride to azrieli center, where i met up with the dog, and a few of his friends, for coffee. it was quite nice.
when i got home, i made my bed properly for the first time, and slept really well! unfortunately i had to get up at 5am. on the way to the base, i has plenty of time to think about how disappointed i am with my commander for not being able to bail me out of my situation, when he really should have.
let's just say that the start of my day wasn't exactly, well, cosy.
the first person to give me directions gave me particularly BAD ones, and had me walking around the base for about 20 minutes, with my kitbag on slightly lighter than the day before. fortunately my commander's girlfriend visited the base just before we left, so she donated a rather warm beanie to my cause - most appreciated :)
the bus ride to the new base was long, and really uncomfortable. i slept fitfully, and my neck HURT by the time we got there.
to my great amusement, we were deposited on a base very close to afula, and i've been assigned to the artillery corps for the week. i need to check if this was my cousin's base at any period in time.
now, this base SUCKS. it really is in the middle of nowhere, there aren't any real facilities (the bathrooms are AWEFUL), there's very little food (they forgot to feed us on our first night), and everything is generally crap. it is, however, very beautiful, and it's absolutely ENORMOUS. you can't walk from place to place.
it's also the kind of base where anytime that we are transported anywhere, we have to wear helmets - we're between arab villages, and they haven't told us yet just how real the danger is.
my first four hours guarding were hell. it is the most boring job, standing in a watchtower, doing ab-so-lute-ly nothing. very nice view, totally not worth it. and it is SO cold, so very, very cold.
as i said, they forgot to feed us after the first shift (i managed to pull the worst shift: 2pm-6pm, 2am-6am, every day for a week), and we're on alert (sleeping in uniform) until 9am each day, and all day on the weekend.
basically, not the best conditions ever.
at 11pm, three hours before my second shift, we were all woken up and made to stand in line for inspection. i felt really bad, and suddenly started feeling worse - and i blacked out.
i managed to stay on my feet, but the second my vision came back i lost control, and had to squat. after a few seconds, the commander who was speaking to us stopped, and asked if i was feeling okay.
i told him, in no uncertain terms, that i really wasn't.
he continued to look at me, then said, "okay, you look better now."
and they sent me off to guard.
that was, without any doubt, the worst guard duty i've ever had. it was freezing cold. i could barely keep my eyes open, and i didn't have the strength to stand. at 3am someone drove past, and filled my canteens with tea. or at least, he SAID it was tea. i'm convinced it was sugar-water. horrific stuff. but i didn't really have a choice, it was the only thing that could keep me awake. the view at 6am was simply stunning, but i had a really hard time appreciating it. if i was feeling better, i would have been really impressed. but i wasn't, and i had to keep forcing myself not to fall down the stairs. being dizzy in a watchtower is great.
i slept until 9am, woken up by the sun shining, the birds singing, and my alarm telling me that i was off alert. still feeling a bit crap, i bought a do-it-yourself, really unhealthy breakfast, had a shower that went from freezing cold to way too hot, and passed out on my bunk.
i woke up barely in time for lunch - i had such a *huge* appetite, that i only half-filled my plate with salady stuff and was done in about two minutes. i went to my new c/o, fifteen minutes before the next shift, and told him i was feeling aweful. he took me to the clinic, but the doctor was out - fortunately there was a field medic available, and she sent me off to the real doctor. my c/o came with me - it's in a village quite far away, and it took until 16.30 to get to see the doctor.
he was really worried, so he sent me off to the emergency unit at the hospital in afula. my c/o's c/o picked me up, took me to the base, and i quickly packed everything and went to the gate to find a lift. in my hurry, i forgot to pack the sleeping bag, and my toiletry bag. GENIUS. i managed to convince the soldiers waiting at the gate to let me take the first ride - they were really nice about it.
i got a ride straight to the hospital, and was there until about 7.30 or so. they were really thorough, did x-rays and blood tests and so on, and it turns out that i'm completely healthy! the doctor said it's probably a virus, and they've given me three days off.
it's like my body has come to my rescue. it's picked the PERFECT time to get sick :)
i made my way to the kibbutz, and promptly went to bed.
this morning, i called my new c/o, and he said he'll watch over my things till i get back - it looks like i'm going to have to guard the weekend, but that's way better than the whole week... i don't know what'll happen in terms of them finding me a replacement. it sucks that i'm screwing over the other guys who are guarding, but if they find a replacement then i'll have to do the whole thing again in a month or so.
i've just watched ridley scott's someone to watch over me (very pretty), and now i'm going back to bed.
by 6.30am, i'd had a morning run with 40kg on my back, and returned to the house for coffee, to wait until the next shuttle.
great start to the week.
i got to the base about 9.45, just in time to say a couple of words before my sergeant's promotion. the morning would have been uneventful, but just before lunchtime my commander gave me a huge surprise - a week's non-stop guard-duty on a base up north!
whee!
it just so happens that this week is completely NOT a good week to have this happen, and as far as normal army procedure goes, it's not legitimate to give a soldier only one day's warning.
but nevermind.
so i spent the rest of the day getting all my kit together, like a gun, flak-jacket and "working" uniform, and filling out forms and running them from place to place. it was great, really a lot of fun. honest.
my newly-made staff sergeant lent me his sleeping bag, and gave me a ride home with all my gear - was really nice of him. he's now the first person to see my new place :) he then gave me a ride to azrieli center, where i met up with the dog, and a few of his friends, for coffee. it was quite nice.
when i got home, i made my bed properly for the first time, and slept really well! unfortunately i had to get up at 5am. on the way to the base, i has plenty of time to think about how disappointed i am with my commander for not being able to bail me out of my situation, when he really should have.
let's just say that the start of my day wasn't exactly, well, cosy.
the first person to give me directions gave me particularly BAD ones, and had me walking around the base for about 20 minutes, with my kitbag on slightly lighter than the day before. fortunately my commander's girlfriend visited the base just before we left, so she donated a rather warm beanie to my cause - most appreciated :)
the bus ride to the new base was long, and really uncomfortable. i slept fitfully, and my neck HURT by the time we got there.
to my great amusement, we were deposited on a base very close to afula, and i've been assigned to the artillery corps for the week. i need to check if this was my cousin's base at any period in time.
now, this base SUCKS. it really is in the middle of nowhere, there aren't any real facilities (the bathrooms are AWEFUL), there's very little food (they forgot to feed us on our first night), and everything is generally crap. it is, however, very beautiful, and it's absolutely ENORMOUS. you can't walk from place to place.
it's also the kind of base where anytime that we are transported anywhere, we have to wear helmets - we're between arab villages, and they haven't told us yet just how real the danger is.
my first four hours guarding were hell. it is the most boring job, standing in a watchtower, doing ab-so-lute-ly nothing. very nice view, totally not worth it. and it is SO cold, so very, very cold.
as i said, they forgot to feed us after the first shift (i managed to pull the worst shift: 2pm-6pm, 2am-6am, every day for a week), and we're on alert (sleeping in uniform) until 9am each day, and all day on the weekend.
basically, not the best conditions ever.
at 11pm, three hours before my second shift, we were all woken up and made to stand in line for inspection. i felt really bad, and suddenly started feeling worse - and i blacked out.
i managed to stay on my feet, but the second my vision came back i lost control, and had to squat. after a few seconds, the commander who was speaking to us stopped, and asked if i was feeling okay.
i told him, in no uncertain terms, that i really wasn't.
he continued to look at me, then said, "okay, you look better now."
and they sent me off to guard.
that was, without any doubt, the worst guard duty i've ever had. it was freezing cold. i could barely keep my eyes open, and i didn't have the strength to stand. at 3am someone drove past, and filled my canteens with tea. or at least, he SAID it was tea. i'm convinced it was sugar-water. horrific stuff. but i didn't really have a choice, it was the only thing that could keep me awake. the view at 6am was simply stunning, but i had a really hard time appreciating it. if i was feeling better, i would have been really impressed. but i wasn't, and i had to keep forcing myself not to fall down the stairs. being dizzy in a watchtower is great.
i slept until 9am, woken up by the sun shining, the birds singing, and my alarm telling me that i was off alert. still feeling a bit crap, i bought a do-it-yourself, really unhealthy breakfast, had a shower that went from freezing cold to way too hot, and passed out on my bunk.
i woke up barely in time for lunch - i had such a *huge* appetite, that i only half-filled my plate with salady stuff and was done in about two minutes. i went to my new c/o, fifteen minutes before the next shift, and told him i was feeling aweful. he took me to the clinic, but the doctor was out - fortunately there was a field medic available, and she sent me off to the real doctor. my c/o came with me - it's in a village quite far away, and it took until 16.30 to get to see the doctor.
he was really worried, so he sent me off to the emergency unit at the hospital in afula. my c/o's c/o picked me up, took me to the base, and i quickly packed everything and went to the gate to find a lift. in my hurry, i forgot to pack the sleeping bag, and my toiletry bag. GENIUS. i managed to convince the soldiers waiting at the gate to let me take the first ride - they were really nice about it.
i got a ride straight to the hospital, and was there until about 7.30 or so. they were really thorough, did x-rays and blood tests and so on, and it turns out that i'm completely healthy! the doctor said it's probably a virus, and they've given me three days off.
it's like my body has come to my rescue. it's picked the PERFECT time to get sick :)
i made my way to the kibbutz, and promptly went to bed.
this morning, i called my new c/o, and he said he'll watch over my things till i get back - it looks like i'm going to have to guard the weekend, but that's way better than the whole week... i don't know what'll happen in terms of them finding me a replacement. it sucks that i'm screwing over the other guys who are guarding, but if they find a replacement then i'll have to do the whole thing again in a month or so.
i've just watched ridley scott's someone to watch over me (very pretty), and now i'm going back to bed.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
so fresh, so clean
ahhhh - after a week of baths, a good, strong, steaming hot shower has scrubbed my senses clean. sharp sharp :).
today was a great day. i got back into reading the elegant universe, and stretched out, and watched tv. go me! i've been convinced that going back in the morning is preferable, which gives me more quiet time, and much less stress with regards packing arrangements. i have a lot of what i need to take back with me, and i'm just feeling good.
on a totally different mode, i've been thinking about one of the girls the dog and i went on our "date" with, and realized why i'm so attracted to her - she's a bit of a bad girl. totally my style. i think i dated an innocent for a bit too long.
those're my thoughts for tonight. i'm generally satisfied with life.
today was a great day. i got back into reading the elegant universe, and stretched out, and watched tv. go me! i've been convinced that going back in the morning is preferable, which gives me more quiet time, and much less stress with regards packing arrangements. i have a lot of what i need to take back with me, and i'm just feeling good.
on a totally different mode, i've been thinking about one of the girls the dog and i went on our "date" with, and realized why i'm so attracted to her - she's a bit of a bad girl. totally my style. i think i dated an innocent for a bit too long.
those're my thoughts for tonight. i'm generally satisfied with life.
it's a beautiful day
(DUM, DUM, DUM DUM)
i feel rested, chilled, and in touch with the world again. emagin's z800 looks good to me, and i've finally gotten around to publishing the basic outline of my thoughts at Get off the Planet.
i've played lots of KoL, and my plan to arse around all day is in motion.
i feel rested, chilled, and in touch with the world again. emagin's z800 looks good to me, and i've finally gotten around to publishing the basic outline of my thoughts at Get off the Planet.
i've played lots of KoL, and my plan to arse around all day is in motion.
Friday, January 07, 2005
*STRETCH*
wow. the dog and i were both tired, but against our better judgement decided to go out anyway. we ended up, mysteriously, at the army hostel - i had planned to sort out my bedsheets there, but i couldn't get into my room.
figures. the locks work only AFTER i've left.
anyways, we met up with a couple of girls there that i met a few weeks ago, and joined them, or they joined us, in our search for something nice to do. we found a really nice bar - nice in that they served guiness, and played AWESOME music - and chilled for a good while.
afterwards, we returned with them to the hostel, and the good night was promising. all in all, a totally worthwhile evening, including the way - as we waxed philosophical and refined our theories of life, the universe, and everything.
the time of the test of the tower of babyl is upon us.
figures. the locks work only AFTER i've left.
anyways, we met up with a couple of girls there that i met a few weeks ago, and joined them, or they joined us, in our search for something nice to do. we found a really nice bar - nice in that they served guiness, and played AWESOME music - and chilled for a good while.
afterwards, we returned with them to the hostel, and the good night was promising. all in all, a totally worthwhile evening, including the way - as we waxed philosophical and refined our theories of life, the universe, and everything.
the time of the test of the tower of babyl is upon us.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
another week that was
damn, but i'm tired. i'm seriously looking forward to a quite weekend on the kibbutz... but first, a hopefully fun-filled evening to REALLY tire myself out.
my apartment is awesome. lacking in a few things, but i'm loving it.
i did absolutely nothing today on the base. that was because from the first moment i looked at the long hebrew document i was meant to read, i was on break. and i got a bit distracted - watching full metal jacket, and learning interesting things in java, will do that to you.
the dog has realized his mistake - turns out he's nothing more than a glorified techie, so now we're trying to help him get out of his unit. that's not a nice way to begin one's service, and i hope for his sake that it's possible.
my apartment is awesome. lacking in a few things, but i'm loving it.
i did absolutely nothing today on the base. that was because from the first moment i looked at the long hebrew document i was meant to read, i was on break. and i got a bit distracted - watching full metal jacket, and learning interesting things in java, will do that to you.
the dog has realized his mistake - turns out he's nothing more than a glorified techie, so now we're trying to help him get out of his unit. that's not a nice way to begin one's service, and i hope for his sake that it's possible.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
new year's...
that was a bit disappointing. i watched an excellent movie, and that was about as exciting as it got. and i don't even remember the name of the movie.
on saturday my "boss" helped me move my bed - i was seriously surprised that grootbek kept his side of the deal, and i got my bed back at ALL. my apartment is AMAZING, i'm absolutely loving it. now i just have to find a laundromat, and figure out the bus routes.
during the weekend, i figured out what i want to do with my life for the next couple of years. i'm about to become an activist, spreading my vision to as many people as possible. my message is simple: the world is going to end. and we can do something about it. now i need to write up a manifesto, and translate it, and stick it up on a website - then i can start seriously pushing my idea. it's not my idea really, i'm just determined to share it. damn memes.
yesterday was totally crap. i'm having serious hebrew issues again, and i was effectively banned from speaking in my office. after struggling the entire morning, i was suddenly informed that i had guard duty - they'd misspelled my name in the register, so i couldn't find it. guarding without a toothbrush and bedclothes is REALLY shitty, especially in this horrifically wintery weather.
fortunately, after only wasting about an hour at the armoury, they released me from my duties, postponing them for another day.
w00t. kind of.
today was a bit easier - i spent the morning reading with a dictionary, which sucked, but then hopped off to the induction base to meet, greet, and help out with some problems. was okay.
i was hoping the dog would join my unit - for purely selfish reasons, i need a friend i can speak to during the day. because we tried to pull him into our team, the other unit pulled even harder - it got to the point where they basically gave him whatever job he wanted.
bastard. i hope he's grateful.
so, yeah, time for a status meeting, and then i'm off for an evening of r&r.
on saturday my "boss" helped me move my bed - i was seriously surprised that grootbek kept his side of the deal, and i got my bed back at ALL. my apartment is AMAZING, i'm absolutely loving it. now i just have to find a laundromat, and figure out the bus routes.
during the weekend, i figured out what i want to do with my life for the next couple of years. i'm about to become an activist, spreading my vision to as many people as possible. my message is simple: the world is going to end. and we can do something about it. now i need to write up a manifesto, and translate it, and stick it up on a website - then i can start seriously pushing my idea. it's not my idea really, i'm just determined to share it. damn memes.
yesterday was totally crap. i'm having serious hebrew issues again, and i was effectively banned from speaking in my office. after struggling the entire morning, i was suddenly informed that i had guard duty - they'd misspelled my name in the register, so i couldn't find it. guarding without a toothbrush and bedclothes is REALLY shitty, especially in this horrifically wintery weather.
fortunately, after only wasting about an hour at the armoury, they released me from my duties, postponing them for another day.
w00t. kind of.
today was a bit easier - i spent the morning reading with a dictionary, which sucked, but then hopped off to the induction base to meet, greet, and help out with some problems. was okay.
i was hoping the dog would join my unit - for purely selfish reasons, i need a friend i can speak to during the day. because we tried to pull him into our team, the other unit pulled even harder - it got to the point where they basically gave him whatever job he wanted.
bastard. i hope he's grateful.
so, yeah, time for a status meeting, and then i'm off for an evening of r&r.
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