thursday arrived

just in case my earlier confusion hadn't been removed, i went to the post office to pick up what i thought would be the rest of pg's present, and found my brand new copy of thursday instead. still a good start! then all the buses drove past me on my way to catch them, all early. there was me, running alongside the last one with sandals that don't hold very well...

and then the bus turned out to have a weird configuration - something about the back window becoming a wall with a tiny window at its top. it seemed like it made the bus seem bigger.

i left my wired at home so i continued reading brave new world on my iphone instead. i thought about it today - i really have become dependant on this little device. yes, yes, i know it's not *really* as good as an android phone, but it doesn't matter. it's what i had to take and i'm really pleased that i did.

on arriving on campus: the old dude who passed me dressed sharply but with his formal shirt unbuttoned to expose his 300 t-shirt must be cool.

first class was boring. second class was incredible. in spite of the student day celebrations waking the dead for miles around, the class we were in is on the bunker level and we weren't bothered at all. i had a few observations to impart, and was well pleased when our lecturer, instead of his usual derision, stopped on two of them, thought a bit, and then stated: "that's really good." i'm starting to pick up all sorts of interesting bits and pieces in shakespeare and i'm loving it immensely. it's like i've begun to understand the code ^_^

student day: meh, less exciting now that i'm a student. wish fulfilment - i know where i was for the last one and i'm still excited about my present situation :D
i bought a super-expensive hamburger (probably should have just gone to the cafeteria), chatting with classmates until pg arrived. we bought lunch, and just before we found a spot to sit with it, i received a phone call from an unidentified caller. there was a lot of noise, so i told her to call back in twenty minutes; she agreed.

---twenty minutes later we were standing in a quiet spot behind one of the buildings, with pg laughing at me for being so precise. is it too much to ask that when someone has accepted terms that they abide by them? apparently. because i eventually received the call about an hour later, while sitting with friends near a stage.

so there i was, laying on the ground with a finger pressed hard into one ear and the other squished by my phone, having a long heart-to-heart with the manager i spoke to the last time. please notice what i wrote then about strikes. because i explained to her, in no uncertain terms, that while i appreciate her getting in touch with me and i appreciate her efforts (and she really did try) to keep me paying, my policy being great is entirely hypothetical until such time as i really need it and if they're treating me like this now then i'm out.

i'm not a number, i'm a free man! [you know it]

your breach of faith, my money, and you'll be having no more of it. when she repeated the sentiment expressed by the salesman that "none of the other insurance companies are any better" i was prepared: "maybe. but the other companies haven't made me unhappy yet, so they've all got one up on you guys." fool me once...

---i was tired and neither pg nor i were particularly impressed by the concert line-up, so we decided to make a move. the bus we hopped on has a vending machine after the first row. i'm sure i've mentioned before the atrocities committed against passengers, upstanding or not - the drivers all suffer from klapvoet, the inability to perform acceleration / braking gently. and they take corners at high speed; i sometimes get motion sickness from just sitting, standing is great exercise for snowboarding, and there i was putting coins in a tiny, coin-sized slot while being thrown around roughly.

i did get my drink, though. i feel like i worked for it.

---we stopped to shop for iron-on transfer paper, and i asked if there's a student discount. "hush!" she loudly whispered, we do have a student discount but you know how israelis are - if other people get wind of it they'll all magically become "students"...

what the hell is the point of having a student discount if you don't want to tell anyone about it?! this is not a good marketing strategy.

we had a pleasant evening that involved good dinner and two great episodes of one piece amongst other things, and i've been very busy for the last couple of hours writing this, handling another blog that i've just started and planning gleefully.

now to handle my snail-mail and then i guess i'll get some work done. i'm feeling better today - perhaps it was tuesday's crazy exercise that wiped me out.

---i totally forgot to mention a video i saw a couple of days ago that's really touching: the power of words