do i hear bells in the distance?

are they coming closer? i dunno. but our SC is angry with me, because i wasn't authorized to escort the two new kids yesterday. and neither of the TLs responsible for me thought to explain to him why i wasn't in the office this morning.

FAN-TASTIC.

he asked me if i don't have any work to do, to which i responded that i'm officially a pot-plant.
"you're only a pot-plant when you want to be; weren't you working on your old project?"
"yeah, but let's just say that no matter what i'm doing i'm not exactly earning my salary."
"whatever. next time, ask me first."

---
my bed was difficult to leave this morning, and i caught the bus and passed out. i'd confused two bus routes, and woke up in petach tikve (whoops), so i bought a bottle of coke and headed back. when i got to the building i was headed for, i discovered that the section that used to be stationed there had moved... this was a bit of a shock. i then ran into our base discipline officer when i left... this was also a bit of a shock. either he didn't recognize me, or didn't want to - that was alright with me.

i found the academic corps without too much trouble, dropped off the medical file and went to get my sat-phone upgraded. the signage was absolutely pathetic, and it took much longer to get there than it should have. the girl in charge was taking too long, so i skipped out for a double espresso and returned to upset the salesman. "phone only", i asked him, and he tried to impress upon the usefulness of bluetooth headsets. "yeah, but brad pitt..."

i didn't get to finish that sentence, because i was interrupted by the guffaw of one of the other representatives. i let him go on for a couple of chirps about how i shouldn't listen to celebrities.

"do you know what i was going to say about brad pitt, before you started mocking me?"
embarrassed silence.
"maybe not?"
"right. i was going to say that he acknowledged that even *he* could barely pull it off. and he's right. they make you look stupid."
"what?? no they don't!"
"okay, you keep wearing yours, i'll pass on mine"

actually, aside from the fact that i can't get my new phone to ring, it does everything in the same way and slightly better than the old one. could be worse.

on my way back i went searching for whoever could help me get my money back for the ambulance i paid for a couple of years ago, but nobody had a clue to whom to refer me. i gave up and stopped by the academic corps for a second cup of coffee (strong turkish, this time) and a chat with a guy i did the course in 2008 with, then had lunch in the officers' mess. the onion soup was particularly good.

i realized late that i'd forgotten to deliver something to the base i'd been on earlier, so after lunch i missioned back there (finding a shortcut) and was almost done for the day. i sat in the academic corps office until we all realized that they simply couldn't help me anymore, and i reported back to my now-previous TL that it was too late for me to return to base so i was going home.

on my way out i acquired a hebrew translation of joseph heller - catch 22 which will be donated to the new kids in the section to be read as part of their induction. it's better to meet those characters second hand before dealing with them in the flesh.

i arranged to meet with lipgirl on the beach [although she just called to bail], and daydreamed all the way back to tel aviv. i was getting ready to get up when the bus driver slammed on the brakes, causing me to fly forward and almost take out the two girls sitting facing me - i luckily managed to grab the window with two fingers, but was highly uncomfortable with the whole episode.

---
i've changed out of uniform, watched some full metal alchemist, napped for a bit, run laundry, talked to my SC... i'm now ready to make good on my promise to hit the beach. the hot,it's-gonna-be-a-sick-summer weather begs it.