falling apart - grinning

yesterday:

i slept alright. the mongoose and i had a rushed get-up and run (not literally, though) to get to the base almost on time, i put some final touches on the presentation i've been working on, and then it was showtime.

it took a long time, and i took a metaphorical beating, but we all learned a bit, and overall the commanders are enthusiastic. unfortunately for the scout, i'm leaving in 26 hours or so, the dog (i think i'm going to begin calling him "spot") is on some course or other, and what remains of the "team" - just the scout - has been given a week to construct something for which the infrastructure just isn't ready yet.

sucks.

spent the rest of the day working, and teaching the scout more taekwondo - it was a lot of fun, and great exercise. and it really is pleasing to see him improve.

our team leader decided to do something risky with our servers, so i had to stay on base until everything was done to coordinate between all the involved parties.

fortunately i had work to do, or it could have been rather boring. went for a walk at one stage, ended up losing badly in a game of backgammon and talking to a couple of really cute girls - who informed me that the guard-commander's assistant (a guy in our section) got his finger sliced when checking a weapon. it always amazes me that they give these girls guns when they don't understand the basic principles of weapons-inspection. like, f'rinstance, DON'T RELEASE THE FUCKING CHARGING HANDLE WHEN SOMEONE'S FINGER IS IN THE EJECTOR PORT.

unfortunately, our team leader made a small miscalculation, and by the time 10.30pm rolled around it was clear that we were in deep shit. crazy organizing took place, i had to ensure that everyone would be in the right place at 7am.

i walked off the base at 11pm, having just been invited to yogi's birthday dinner. a seriously rushed shower and dress, and a taxi to a place called brown's.

nice place. awesome music. huge screen xtreme channel. amazing food. it was great seeing yogi, his bride-to-be, mmf, and friends. i drank too much.

taxied home, translating legalize over the phone for crasher, and got to bed around 2.30am.

today:

and woke up at 7.30 (i only overslept by an hour!) with a hangover. i bussed to azrieli, all the shops were closed. i bussed to the central station. all the shops were closed. instead of buying a starsign for a chain, i bought a little good luck symbol - last resort. went back to azrieli, still nothing doing: nothing's open before 10am. that's insane.

i realized on my way to the base that i'd left the guardian angel keyring at home. BUGGRIT.

i was so caught up in neverwhere that i missed my stop. that's rather unusual.

i arrived on base, my head still splitting, to a nightmare scene. our systems were still down, and everything in our supported section was being done by hand. suffice it to say that they weren't satisfied customers. until 11am we were all running around, and constantly working. not good for my brain.

the mongoose visited my office - that NEVER happens - and brought me the relevant cards we designed together. they came out beautifully. stunning, in fact. i also received a delivery, the contents of which i cannot disclose at the moment, and continued working.

our section commander accompanied me to the clinic, where he spoke to the idiot doctor on my behalf and organized me a temporary exemption from guarding. he then gave me a ride to my place, where i picked up the keyring, and then to the induction base.

one of the guys in my section organized for me to be met at the gate to the processing base, and he took me through to the office that produces dog-tags, and i walked out with an army-issued (that didn't cost NIS 100 or R150) dog-tag that states j-girl's name and the word "civilian" instead of her id number.

it's the shit. it's without a doubt the most styling army-produced thing i've seen. and it was my idea. i'm chuffed.

so i went to the releasing section, and organized the cards and gifts into envelopes that j-girl will receive at each stage of her release tomorrow.

sometimes, i'm just an absolute genius.

i bussed and trained to herzeliya - it took me from 4pm till 6pm to get to my cousins' place. had coffee, a good chat, and received things to transport to sa. i said goodbye, and walked to my boss's place. long, interesting talk - he was most upset with me, with good reason, because i assumed that i was the last person to know that the woman we work with gave birth, and didn't inform him.

dammit.

anyway, i got the form for my work permit, and then bussed back to tel aviv. i got home at 9pm, showered, dressed, packed to sleep on base, and arrived at work at 9.30. i've been completely wasted the entire night, and the phones just haven't stopped ringing. lots and lots and lots of stupid people.

we had good sushi, though.

so in another hour or so, i'll be walking off to the base, and going to bed. this time, i've given explicit instructions that the only person allowed to wake me up is j-girl. i'm totally looking forward to her getting released. in addition to the prezzies, i invited her out to dinner (woooooooo), but i'm not sure if she'll take me up on that. then it's pack bags, party, and i'm off to the airport.

OMFG!!!!