unusually usual

i slept in a bit this morning, and was a bit hurried in my mission to renew my passport. i began reading the great gatsby on the way, sort of in preparation for a paper i'll have to write in another month or so. the snowboarding gave me an edge when it came to reading while standing on a bus with the driver pumping the brakes.

they all pump the brakes. and the gas. can they not see that they have passengers? do they not feel the lurching themselves?

the process of applying could have been worse. unlike when i was a soldier, i didn't have to remove my belt and boots and hold up my pants with my hand to go through the metal detector. on approaching the window i immediately complained about having to fill out a long form, and was spoken to sharply about their being forbidden to assist. so i settled down, and discovered that i only needed help with one word. one word, out of a whole form? brilliant!

that should've been it, but then i was hit with the wonderful news that the new passport would cost me a hefty NIS 260. bummer :(
and i'm going to have to hang on to the old passport for the visas. *sigh*

i went from there to work, and aside from a fun lunch break with sammy was there for the next nine hours. most of that time was spent fiddling and fighting with the SVN. while that made for a totally frustrating day, i was less stressed than i've been for a while (mainly because i wasn't in a hurry to deploy anything) and i walked out satisfied with a job well done. even if we did have to undergo two managerial-pomp meetings too many.

it amuses me that my bosses are always quick to pick up that i don't like office politics and i don't play ball with bullshit. i had to promise not to get involved with something that's likely going to become a mess: not my problem.

the flash boss called me up to confuse me with tax issues - at least he's good enough to offer to take me to see the collectors and sort that shit out. i'd rather not have half my pay deducted automatically. to make things more cheery, i received an email from someone new praising my cv and inviting me to be in touch when i'm willing to work slave hours, and another informing me that a fairly well-paying job as a personal secretary has been snapped up by someone else.

*sigh*

prior to rollerblading i sent a submission to voices: Post Modernist Stress, training wheels, bridge song and observations for a nicely-rounded celebration of the arbitrary. it would be so nice to get published!

the route was very cool, and we were joined by eddy, who gave us some really useful tips. we were accompanied by police on wheels, and in the meeting that followed it was decided that we're alright - legitimacy!

surprising.

pg and i had a fight over pet names: she called me a name that i didn't appreciate, and i asked her not to. she then repeated it a couple of times, after which i threatened to throw water on her if she continued. when she again called it, i threw a little water. the last one got her the rest of the bottle (admittedly, there wasn't really very much left so it was more symbolic than anything else).

then she was upset with me for wetting her. *facepalm*

right - now it's time for the poetry reading for tomorrow.