i almost forgot about my shoes. i've been irritated by how unsafe they are to clean, so this is the before/after from this afternoon:
.jpeg)
Showing posts with label clothing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clothing. Show all posts
Friday, July 12, 2024
Monday, April 22, 2024
the sim
i'm tired, i'm sore, and we're leaving in an hour to drive for an hour or two to our cousins' seder. i've just had four cups of water after realizing that the only liquid i'd consumed today was black coffee. ugh.
firstly, today was a huge day for us and mr smear: i've bought him a sim card, and given him my huawei, and he now has his own phone. well, shit.
secondly, it was a big morning in the mall, and then when we finally got home my mom called to ask us to take some chocolates as well. i walked to the chocolatier (cardinal) on ibn gvirol, amazing vegan stuff but no hechsher. i walked back to leonidas, nothing gift-like that was vegan. i then walked all the way to max brenner, arrived before they closed and finding a couple of items that reasonably fit the criteria for a gift.
i returned home with sore legs and 10.5K steps on my watch. i tried resting, but found that hard to do with mr smear very noisily playing among us and gd struggling with our old iron that almost destroyed her shirt (fortunately our neighbors could help us out with theirs).
oh! she very successfully made potatoes in the oven today. she's now rather embarrassed that she's been ovening wrong all these years, but we're very glad we don't have to buy a new one just yet.
...
gd and i had a very difficult conversation this morning, one that lots of jews are having right now: how do we celebrate our freedom, when we have up to 129 hostages still trapped in gaza?
Monday, February 18, 2019
don't shoe forget about me
new rules:
1. don't buy cheap shoes
2. don't buy shoes over the internet
3. don't take brand advice when buying shoes, not even from a professional. try on all the damned shoes until you find the right ones.
i've been suffering for months with the shoes i bought, and decided this morning that i couldn't take it any longer. amidst a bunch of other things gd and i needed to do today, we stopped at a shoe store and i tried on a couple of pairs, and walked out wearing a pair that give good support and make me feel like i'm floating. i can't believe i've suffered for so long and wasted so much money, the gods know how much influence this has had on my back problems.
1. don't buy cheap shoes
2. don't buy shoes over the internet
3. don't take brand advice when buying shoes, not even from a professional. try on all the damned shoes until you find the right ones.
i've been suffering for months with the shoes i bought, and decided this morning that i couldn't take it any longer. amidst a bunch of other things gd and i needed to do today, we stopped at a shoe store and i tried on a couple of pairs, and walked out wearing a pair that give good support and make me feel like i'm floating. i can't believe i've suffered for so long and wasted so much money, the gods know how much influence this has had on my back problems.
Friday, November 15, 2013
news blast part i
it's been a good week, and so busy that i'm now trying to post this as quickly as possible before heading off to the gym and then entertaining. this is a particularly difficult task because i've just gotten up from a long and desperately needed nap and i'm still groggy. [failed, had to wait until after training, dinner and board game]
--- tuesday:
i tried the mustache thing for movember before showering and going to bed, and decided that i simply cannot leave the house looking like a used car salesman. i decided that i'll have to find another way of spreading awareness. i was thinking of just stopping random strangers and asking "excuse me, sir, when last did you have a professional insert a finger up your bum?" but considering the fact that i'm spending most of the rest of the month either in the village or in a fighting gym it doesn't seem like the wisest of plans.
since tuesday my toilet's been busted, and i have to manually control the tank refill every time i flush if i don't want my bathroom to flood. this is properly annoying and the caretaker is dragging his feet as usual :@
...
real winter has begun! we're expecting another spike on the weekend, but other than that we've been exclusively sub-zero and it's awesome :)
note to self: the problem with good gloves is that if your hands are cold before you put them on they'll stay cold even in your pockets.
...
class: wow, i have zero patience for people who don't make an effort. it's so obvious that the weakest link isn't making any effort outside of the class and she's doing a fantastic job of wasting our time.
on a completely different note, i'm finding myself (almost) addicted to the tiger balm i'm using for my neck. rubbing it on my nose to shield me from the stench of smelly girl takes me back to the days of deeply inhaling it on ecstasy, even though in that context it was much more pleasurable.
...
the homeless one-armed man at guy-concordia set his begging cup on the slope of the escalator, removed his prosthetic to use as a barrier and was playing skeeball with a large collection of pennies. this would have been funnier if he didn't scream curses every time he missed because the constant stream of people on either side kept freaking out.
on the way out of the station some activist noticed me looking at his posters (it wasn't clear what he was on about) and when i continued walking he shouted "okay, just stick with the opinions you've been fed by the media". when i called him out for being pretentious and condescending without knowing anything about my opinions he told me "you don't have to take it the wrong way".
"is there a right way?!"
...
my new fillings were all wrong, so i had a painful lunch while waiting for the dentist to return and then climbed back into the chair feeling as if monday night's visit hadn't ended. he did a lot of filing but now that two days have passed i think i'm going to have to go back again. :(
...
i sat at cafe depot drinking coffee and reading bone (it's a great way to get comfortable reading!) and was joined a while later by the guy from saturday. it's official: trading private english lessons for private french lessons is a jolly good deal!
there was a man sitting next to us who i overheard saying that he'd come for the poetry last week. i unfortunately didn't get an opportunity for a random discussion with him...
... speaking of which, after the slam finals on the weekend i've been inspired to write again, and i've spent a fair amount of time working on a couple of the ideas i've had since. hopefully i'll be ready to share soon [vfmp just reviewed one and it made him laugh, it can't be all bad].
...
i had dinner with godmother. the evening was pleasant but yang was behaving really badly and i felt progressively less comfortable. there's something very wrong with that kid, he makes a great case for setting boundaries for one's children.
...
over the course of the day i learned a very important lesson about not eating while wearing my new sweater: i'm not materialistic at all, but i've become really attached to it and it's so bright and loud it needs to be kept totally clean. when i got home i rushed to scrub the front with dishwashing liquid (my answer to everything) and chuck it in the washing machine so that it'd be done before they locked the laundry room. success! it came out all shiny :)
...
facebook: a flood of meh to counter the intriguingly insightful and interesting week before, but i'm still spending a stupid amount of time reading my feed. i really need to quit that.
[continued...]
i tried the mustache thing for movember before showering and going to bed, and decided that i simply cannot leave the house looking like a used car salesman. i decided that i'll have to find another way of spreading awareness. i was thinking of just stopping random strangers and asking "excuse me, sir, when last did you have a professional insert a finger up your bum?" but considering the fact that i'm spending most of the rest of the month either in the village or in a fighting gym it doesn't seem like the wisest of plans.
since tuesday my toilet's been busted, and i have to manually control the tank refill every time i flush if i don't want my bathroom to flood. this is properly annoying and the caretaker is dragging his feet as usual :@
...
real winter has begun! we're expecting another spike on the weekend, but other than that we've been exclusively sub-zero and it's awesome :)
note to self: the problem with good gloves is that if your hands are cold before you put them on they'll stay cold even in your pockets.
...
class: wow, i have zero patience for people who don't make an effort. it's so obvious that the weakest link isn't making any effort outside of the class and she's doing a fantastic job of wasting our time.
on a completely different note, i'm finding myself (almost) addicted to the tiger balm i'm using for my neck. rubbing it on my nose to shield me from the stench of smelly girl takes me back to the days of deeply inhaling it on ecstasy, even though in that context it was much more pleasurable.
...
the homeless one-armed man at guy-concordia set his begging cup on the slope of the escalator, removed his prosthetic to use as a barrier and was playing skeeball with a large collection of pennies. this would have been funnier if he didn't scream curses every time he missed because the constant stream of people on either side kept freaking out.
on the way out of the station some activist noticed me looking at his posters (it wasn't clear what he was on about) and when i continued walking he shouted "okay, just stick with the opinions you've been fed by the media". when i called him out for being pretentious and condescending without knowing anything about my opinions he told me "you don't have to take it the wrong way".
"is there a right way?!"
...
my new fillings were all wrong, so i had a painful lunch while waiting for the dentist to return and then climbed back into the chair feeling as if monday night's visit hadn't ended. he did a lot of filing but now that two days have passed i think i'm going to have to go back again. :(
...
i sat at cafe depot drinking coffee and reading bone (it's a great way to get comfortable reading!) and was joined a while later by the guy from saturday. it's official: trading private english lessons for private french lessons is a jolly good deal!
there was a man sitting next to us who i overheard saying that he'd come for the poetry last week. i unfortunately didn't get an opportunity for a random discussion with him...
... speaking of which, after the slam finals on the weekend i've been inspired to write again, and i've spent a fair amount of time working on a couple of the ideas i've had since. hopefully i'll be ready to share soon [vfmp just reviewed one and it made him laugh, it can't be all bad].
...
i had dinner with godmother. the evening was pleasant but yang was behaving really badly and i felt progressively less comfortable. there's something very wrong with that kid, he makes a great case for setting boundaries for one's children.
...
over the course of the day i learned a very important lesson about not eating while wearing my new sweater: i'm not materialistic at all, but i've become really attached to it and it's so bright and loud it needs to be kept totally clean. when i got home i rushed to scrub the front with dishwashing liquid (my answer to everything) and chuck it in the washing machine so that it'd be done before they locked the laundry room. success! it came out all shiny :)
...
facebook: a flood of meh to counter the intriguingly insightful and interesting week before, but i'm still spending a stupid amount of time reading my feed. i really need to quit that.
[continued...]
Saturday, November 02, 2013
rethreading
last night i pulled my '99 special pants out of the (clean) laundry basket and the lace snagged, dragging it halfway around the back and after wasting a fair amount of time and energy - destroying a needle trying to be clever - i gave up, took it out completely, tied a knot in it and began rethreading. it was a big job, but a good excuse to spend three hours this afternoon watching life of pi and after porn ends.
the former is a good movie, not a great one. if it was cut down by about an hour it would feel about right. the latter? meh, whatever. my fingers: sore. my pants: sorted! i'm pleased even if i'm shocked at just how much effort that took. lesson learned: tie knots in both ends just in case.
--- last night i got into bed and only then realized that i'd forgotten to shower and brush my teeth. the former provided me a good excuse to shave in the morning in spite of my early morning sparkiness, the latter gave me an opportunity to down another protein shake before bed. i felt like my body needed that.
...
in general i had better timing this morning. but it was too hot!! the temperature shot up overnight and it was warm and rainy. i was sleepy and in need of good stretching the whole class - though some of it was fun - and at one point i was so tired that my brain refused to allow new words in :(
after class i met vfmp at starbucks, where i tried and failed to order my coffee in french. which is sad, because a soy latte in french is a soy latte. after chatting and finishing it we did some costume shopping, which was more fun when not alone, stopped for a lecture about incense by a cute indian girl and then had lunch at propulsion. it was a bit expensive but absolutely delicious!
i was totally weirded out before we left because the radio was playing an orchestral version of the angry birds theme. really?
i didn't have the energy to shop for builder bars so i came home to nap, which didn't really happen. the rain turned into crazy winds halfway through the day and large sections of the island have lost power, so everyone's on their way here for an evening of thunderstone.
a decent excuse to tidy up a bit :P
--- i just read an article on office jargon and it amuses me that this is precisely how megaman talks.
the former is a good movie, not a great one. if it was cut down by about an hour it would feel about right. the latter? meh, whatever. my fingers: sore. my pants: sorted! i'm pleased even if i'm shocked at just how much effort that took. lesson learned: tie knots in both ends just in case.
...
in general i had better timing this morning. but it was too hot!! the temperature shot up overnight and it was warm and rainy. i was sleepy and in need of good stretching the whole class - though some of it was fun - and at one point i was so tired that my brain refused to allow new words in :(
after class i met vfmp at starbucks, where i tried and failed to order my coffee in french. which is sad, because a soy latte in french is a soy latte. after chatting and finishing it we did some costume shopping, which was more fun when not alone, stopped for a lecture about incense by a cute indian girl and then had lunch at propulsion. it was a bit expensive but absolutely delicious!
i was totally weirded out before we left because the radio was playing an orchestral version of the angry birds theme. really?
i didn't have the energy to shop for builder bars so i came home to nap, which didn't really happen. the rain turned into crazy winds halfway through the day and large sections of the island have lost power, so everyone's on their way here for an evening of thunderstone.
a decent excuse to tidy up a bit :P
Thursday, October 24, 2013
unemployment stasis - part ii
[... continued]
i'd been planning on sparring but i was completely broken. i had a hot bath which helped a little, had a long chat with aota in which i heard that everyone's miserable without me and that megaman is properly making a fool of himself - i'm very glad my final memo didn't include what i thought of him, because i've now heard that the ceo is describing him in precisely the terms i wanted to use. good. they know.
it's finally cold enough to wear my new under armour storm hoodie! it's beautiful and wearing it makes me feel like i'm making a statement :P
i've even had to break out my mittens. winter's coming!!!
--- thursday:
i had drinks with tilt and stayed over at her place because it was really late. after a long night on an uncomfortable bed we left with my feeling pretty conflicted. this sucks, because i really like her and i don't want to mess her around. we shared a crisp, sunny montreal morning stroll to the metro: there's little more awkward than waiting on opposite sides of the tracks :P
i got home feeling absolutely exhausted, and didn't feel much better even after a nap. i finally went to subway for a surprisingly crappy sandwich then came here to starbucks to write this (i've exceeded my monthly 90gb internet limit!), ran into a guy i used to work with who seemed excited to talk to me about projects now that i'm unemployed, and am now off to a doctor's appointment that i've been putting off for about half a year.
i'd been planning on sparring but i was completely broken. i had a hot bath which helped a little, had a long chat with aota in which i heard that everyone's miserable without me and that megaman is properly making a fool of himself - i'm very glad my final memo didn't include what i thought of him, because i've now heard that the ceo is describing him in precisely the terms i wanted to use. good. they know.
it's finally cold enough to wear my new under armour storm hoodie! it's beautiful and wearing it makes me feel like i'm making a statement :P
i've even had to break out my mittens. winter's coming!!!
i had drinks with tilt and stayed over at her place because it was really late. after a long night on an uncomfortable bed we left with my feeling pretty conflicted. this sucks, because i really like her and i don't want to mess her around. we shared a crisp, sunny montreal morning stroll to the metro: there's little more awkward than waiting on opposite sides of the tracks :P
i got home feeling absolutely exhausted, and didn't feel much better even after a nap. i finally went to subway for a surprisingly crappy sandwich then came here to starbucks to write this (i've exceeded my monthly 90gb internet limit!), ran into a guy i used to work with who seemed excited to talk to me about projects now that i'm unemployed, and am now off to a doctor's appointment that i've been putting off for about half a year.
Monday, October 14, 2013
the storm - part i
holy shit, it was the calm before the storm. the end of the work week got progressively worse, culminating in my walking into a private meeting with megaman on friday afternoon - with my phone set to record - wherein he verbally abused me for most of half an hour in spite of his realizing halfway through that i'd been right all along. something he said during the meeting about the cto's attitude towards me changing, whether true or not, made me realize that his reports to them count in spite of their history with me and if i allow him to continue my professional reputation will be jeopardized.
i'm not certain how much it really matters to my next potential employer, but i do know how much it matters to me. and on a more immediate note, fighting with my boss is not at all pleasant* and perpetually being charged with "damned if you do, damned if you don't" tasks makes me feel like i'm trapped in a padded cell.
* even if causing him to drop his facade in front of others was just a teensy bit satisfying
i spent most of friday and the beginning and end of saturday so upset and unable to collect my thoughts that i was on the verge of an anxiety attack. i woke up at 4am angry and worried and with the taste of bile in my throat.
my mum helped me gain a little perspective, and i've prepared myself for resignation. i think and i hope that i'm doing this the right way, i'll do my best to remain professional. i feel like it's time for full-time french and some personal projects.
--- thursday:
i tried to wake up at 1.30am to speak to the mortgage bank but as i stood next to my computer i felt like the world was dropping out from beneath me. i hurriedly returned to bed and tried and failed a couple more times before eventually getting it together at around 3am. it felt like a live nightmare followed by a call to the mortgage bank that made me hate them more than i thought possible. of course, i was unable to get back to sleep after that.
i've mentioned that creepy grin cheshire cat lady uses, there was something unnerving about watching megaman turn an exact copy of that grin back on her during the morning meeting. it's not clear if she realized what he was doing.
a summary of my interactions with megaman on thursday:
(him) "prioritize these tasks."
"no, you."
"i insist."
"okay, we should begin with this one..."
"no, you definitely shouldn't do that."
"how about you prioritize?"
--- because hating my mortgage bank wasn't enough for the day's list, the vending machine supplier decided to remove our favourite cookies. i discovered this when one of the developers asked me for coins for the machine, and we were both horrified when we saw that the delicious, vegan-friendly "cookie club" cookies had been replaced by "cookie star" crap. it was a travesty!
i called up the suppliers, who explained that while they cannot guarantee that the desired cookies would be returned they were also not at liberty to disclose where those cookies were sourced. the nerve! so i hunted the supplier down myself, got in touch with them and found that they're happy to deliver to our office at half the price per cookie.
screw you, vending machine people. screw you.
--- we work in cubicles, and sound travels well throughout the office. creeper told me he'd had trouble finding vegan food the night before.
"the reason i'm trying not to eat meat or dairy is because my wife and kids are away this weekend, so i'll be trying dmt."
my brain froze.
"you know what dmt is?"
"the drug?" i asked hesitantly.
"yeah! i mean, it's a long weekend so i figure i might as well enjoy a good trip!"
holy crap (O_o)
--- the it guy seems to have sensed that his theft might have consequences and seems to think i'm a good confidant. he's apparently interviewing for other jobs now because "interviewing when you have a job is like walking into a club alone when you have a girlfriend."
i wish that didn't apply to my own situation so well.
...
our sister company provides a service that they've left entirely unprotected and open to the internet. when i sent a mail describing the authentication requirements we have their star it guy responded by calling the open access a "feature" :S
--- i was a little tired when i left for class. i made it in time for jiu-jitsu and there were only two of us so it was basically a private lesson. the instructor asked if we felt ready to grade, we didn't have anything to lose so we both gave it a shot. the other guy really wasn't ready, but me? i was awesome! i got through the tough "everyone always fails on these ones" moves easily, and was almost done when he asked me to do a chest-to-chest sweep.
the chest-to-chest sweep is the first one you learn, it's the most basic. and i failed. i launched my body up to do it, and for the first time since my first class i froze and didn't know how to proceed :(
anyway, the monster who was with me was oddly shy but happy to let me do as many exercises as i wanted so i got really good practice. odder than him being shy was him deciding that he was done fifteen minutes early. that was strange, but let me catch the second half of the advanced kickboxing class. it was one heck of a warm-up for the beginner's class, and i learned a lot (especially how to kick: upgrade!) even though i was completely broken by the end.
the girl who kind of invited me out the other day? totally ignored me. weird!
as happens every now and again, i had no appetite. i chugged a protein shake and went to bed early.
--- as i climbed into bed i discovered the codex seraphinianus. i don't even know how to begin processing something so magnificent! so i've pre-ordered a copy for myself :)
--- friday:
i woke up exhausted but otherwise feeling good, in serious need of a massage. good thing is was feel-good friday :P
first success of the day? i've been wearing my awesome orange troop jacket home from training and it smelled of sweat; i decided to rinse it and hope that wouldn't do any damage. it didn't, it dried quickly and it smells fine. superb!
first fail of the day? noticing that my septum is swollen. now i'm worried about nasal polyps. gods, i hope i don't have those.
i wonder if my subconscious knew how badly the day would go when it decided to play linkin park - in the end's chorus over and over during the morning meeting. or how cheeky it was being when it brought out becker saying "anger... ooh, go with that" as i pissed off megaman the first time.
i'm convinced that he's dishonest because he's incompetent.
--- nin - hesitation marks is growing on me. bnw and her husband told me that hearing songs from it at the concert had changed their minds, and now that i've given it another chance i'm finding myself likening it to pretty hate machine. satellite feels good.
great friday night boxing training, not-so-great sparring but with the guy who'd previously upset me but at least it was a considerable improvement over that last time. i'd left the day behind for an hour or two, but afterwards i was so focused on the shit at work that i went shopping instead of heading straight to vfmp :$
i was a little late, but there was plenty of vegan feast left and we followed it with about five hours of thunderstone and way too many freshly-baked cookies.
--- saturday:
i slept decently in spite of thinking about work before and after. i had a good smoothie breakfast, chatted with my mom and then headed to old montreal for the day.
[continued...]
i'm not certain how much it really matters to my next potential employer, but i do know how much it matters to me. and on a more immediate note, fighting with my boss is not at all pleasant* and perpetually being charged with "damned if you do, damned if you don't" tasks makes me feel like i'm trapped in a padded cell.
* even if causing him to drop his facade in front of others was just a teensy bit satisfying
i spent most of friday and the beginning and end of saturday so upset and unable to collect my thoughts that i was on the verge of an anxiety attack. i woke up at 4am angry and worried and with the taste of bile in my throat.
my mum helped me gain a little perspective, and i've prepared myself for resignation. i think and i hope that i'm doing this the right way, i'll do my best to remain professional. i feel like it's time for full-time french and some personal projects.
i tried to wake up at 1.30am to speak to the mortgage bank but as i stood next to my computer i felt like the world was dropping out from beneath me. i hurriedly returned to bed and tried and failed a couple more times before eventually getting it together at around 3am. it felt like a live nightmare followed by a call to the mortgage bank that made me hate them more than i thought possible. of course, i was unable to get back to sleep after that.
i've mentioned that creepy grin cheshire cat lady uses, there was something unnerving about watching megaman turn an exact copy of that grin back on her during the morning meeting. it's not clear if she realized what he was doing.
a summary of my interactions with megaman on thursday:
(him) "prioritize these tasks."
"no, you."
"i insist."
"okay, we should begin with this one..."
"no, you definitely shouldn't do that."
"how about you prioritize?"
i called up the suppliers, who explained that while they cannot guarantee that the desired cookies would be returned they were also not at liberty to disclose where those cookies were sourced. the nerve! so i hunted the supplier down myself, got in touch with them and found that they're happy to deliver to our office at half the price per cookie.
screw you, vending machine people. screw you.
"the reason i'm trying not to eat meat or dairy is because my wife and kids are away this weekend, so i'll be trying dmt."
my brain froze.
"you know what dmt is?"
"the drug?" i asked hesitantly.
"yeah! i mean, it's a long weekend so i figure i might as well enjoy a good trip!"
holy crap (O_o)
i wish that didn't apply to my own situation so well.
...
our sister company provides a service that they've left entirely unprotected and open to the internet. when i sent a mail describing the authentication requirements we have their star it guy responded by calling the open access a "feature" :S
the chest-to-chest sweep is the first one you learn, it's the most basic. and i failed. i launched my body up to do it, and for the first time since my first class i froze and didn't know how to proceed :(
anyway, the monster who was with me was oddly shy but happy to let me do as many exercises as i wanted so i got really good practice. odder than him being shy was him deciding that he was done fifteen minutes early. that was strange, but let me catch the second half of the advanced kickboxing class. it was one heck of a warm-up for the beginner's class, and i learned a lot (especially how to kick: upgrade!) even though i was completely broken by the end.
the girl who kind of invited me out the other day? totally ignored me. weird!
as happens every now and again, i had no appetite. i chugged a protein shake and went to bed early.
i woke up exhausted but otherwise feeling good, in serious need of a massage. good thing is was feel-good friday :P
first success of the day? i've been wearing my awesome orange troop jacket home from training and it smelled of sweat; i decided to rinse it and hope that wouldn't do any damage. it didn't, it dried quickly and it smells fine. superb!
first fail of the day? noticing that my septum is swollen. now i'm worried about nasal polyps. gods, i hope i don't have those.
i wonder if my subconscious knew how badly the day would go when it decided to play linkin park - in the end's chorus over and over during the morning meeting. or how cheeky it was being when it brought out becker saying "anger... ooh, go with that" as i pissed off megaman the first time.
i'm convinced that he's dishonest because he's incompetent.
great friday night boxing training, not-so-great sparring but with the guy who'd previously upset me but at least it was a considerable improvement over that last time. i'd left the day behind for an hour or two, but afterwards i was so focused on the shit at work that i went shopping instead of heading straight to vfmp :$
i was a little late, but there was plenty of vegan feast left and we followed it with about five hours of thunderstone and way too many freshly-baked cookies.
i slept decently in spite of thinking about work before and after. i had a good smoothie breakfast, chatted with my mom and then headed to old montreal for the day.
[continued...]
Friday, October 17, 2008
the tail
right now, i'm both happy and hurting. no, i'm not having one of those masochistic moments. i was sitting at coffeeholic, enjoying my iced-coffee and happily awaiting the arrival of my roast-beef salad when the kid called, informing me that an obscure package had arrived via ups that needed paying for. i didn't recognize the name of the sender nor the company listed (amplifier?!), so i told him not to accept it. when i got home i discovered that it was my penny arcade order. i'm glad / very, very lucky that i managed to get the delivery dude to come back.
i'm excited over the gear that arrived, the books are sweet and the hoodie is super-frikkin' awesome. the poster's a lot smaller than i expected, but that's my fault.
what's painful is that i had to pay NIS 250 for the shipping, because they chose ups. they didn't use ups last time, so i didn't really think that sort of thing would happen. after a pleasant chat with a really sweet-sounding girl in their israeli operations centre, i understand two things:
1) if possible, don't use ups
2) if you must use ups, you have to specify in advance that your order of less than $1000 MUST NOT be regarded as high-priority. you see, if it's a cheap package then they assume you simply didn't spend enough.
"awful" doesn't have an 'e' in it. fine. i get it.
the ups package is what i thought i was going to the post office to pick up this morning, but i was wrong. that pick-up was for this month's wired. they simply don't fit in our mailbox. speaking of wired, the last two copies really helped me get through the past week.
i just got mail from the hospital. i tried to arrange an appointment with them over the phone, but that's not their policy so i had to send them my referral by fax - a horrible story in and of itself.
the mail tells me that i have an appointment with them in just over a week - a date that is simply impossible for me to make.
now i can't get hold of them by phone. they suck.
my snowboard vacation is paid for! now i just need to sort out the transport and everything will be fine ^_^
the last week:
i was super chilled on friday morning, and i got almost all of my homework done on the train. after a lot of bus station confusion we boarded with a girls' platoon, and were informed that we were forbidden to talk to the ladies for the last two weeks of the course.
not a chance.
i've been ill since friday. sickly, exhausted (physically and mentally), a little dizzy at times... it hasn't been too much fun.
friday night i finally clicked with a bunch of the guys, including one of our commanders, over a conversation about movies and gaming. i almost put myself in a bad place when i performed the monster-hands thing from pan's labyrinth: there was a long moment when i thought i'd made a terrible call, and then the dawning of recognition crossed the commander's face and he stopped thinking i was a complete nutter.
reading about shai agassi was quite a pick-me-upper.
i had some strange dreams this past week. a few nights i couldn't sleep at all, during one i managed to kill a mosquito that had been driving me nuts for five hours by slamming my head down on the pillow when the buzzing reached my ear.
we were tested in a number of ways this week - the last period is one of intense paranoia and any mistake could fail us. in fact, a large number of people said goodbye yesterday, and although a couple of the decisions pleased me (the sneaky kid's gone, for example), there were a few that have me quite disappointed. having my commander sit next to me for half an hour, watching me pass by 2% and then making fun of me on his way out the class was not pleasant.
sport's day sucked. i was only told a minute before the volleyball game began that i wasn't in the team anymore. that stung.
ah, that reminds me. there are a number of cadets with me that think that because me hebrew isn't as good as theirs that i'm stupid, and stupid enough that i don't know that they're laughing at me - to my face - and then pretending to be friends afterwards. it's incredibly unpleasant.
in fact, it's specifically that bunch of people that makes me feel like finishing this course is something of survival and not achievement. i haven't actually enjoyed the last couple of months, just a couple of moments here and there. i'm fantasizing about airports and my imaginary apartment that i haven't seen yet. that's where my head's at about 90% of the time.
--- why was i thinking about unity?
it was a cold night, and the queue outside the club was doubled back around the parking lot. i'd been inside, dancing like a maniac, my shirt had been off for a while and i was enjoying that clean-sweat feeling. i felt the desire to go to the petrol station to get myself some chocolate, and i headed down the stairs.
i stood at the door, watching the rain drizzling down on the people waiting in line, and seeing everyone huddling together and trying to keep somehow dry struck a chord deep inside me.
i decided that there was no way that i was going to run to the petrol station.
i walked - slowly - all the way there, and all the way back, having made a conscious decision to *enjoy* the sensation (i had waterproof pockets, so i wasn't concerned). i knew i would be warm enough to make the journey, and that i'd dry off (or not :P) by dancing... all in all, not a tremendously ridiculous call to make.
i will never forget the shock and awe that seemed to ripple through the crowd. nor the comments that i overheard, repeated in various forms: "wow! i want whatever that guy's had!"
nope, i wasn't on drugs, people. just will and perspective.
--- during the last couple of days i really bonded with some of the guys from the first leg of the course. we're all more or less in the same head-space for the first time since we arrived at our current base, and i finally feel connected again.
apparently i'm still considered a new immigrant as far as the idf is concerned. i don't think this scores me any points, but it's good to know :P
watching a few minutes of some random soccer game, i realized what it is about being a spectator that doesn't appeal to me. if i can't learn anything useful, i don't want to watch.
football (soccer, like), for instance, can be extremely interesting as far as plays are concerned, but overall there's no real strategy involved. watching extreme sports is fun because i fantasize about actually doing those things, even if i'm psychologically limited to staring at the screen (after a couple of nasty rollerblading accidents i've never fully regained my confidence).
anyway, the course is almost done and everybody's going crazy, and now i'm going to see about dealing with my computer issues so that i can upload some designs.
[this post written from ubuntu. i can't figure out how to uninstall / reinstall hardy heron.]
i'm excited over the gear that arrived, the books are sweet and the hoodie is super-frikkin' awesome. the poster's a lot smaller than i expected, but that's my fault.
what's painful is that i had to pay NIS 250 for the shipping, because they chose ups. they didn't use ups last time, so i didn't really think that sort of thing would happen. after a pleasant chat with a really sweet-sounding girl in their israeli operations centre, i understand two things:
1) if possible, don't use ups
2) if you must use ups, you have to specify in advance that your order of less than $1000 MUST NOT be regarded as high-priority. you see, if it's a cheap package then they assume you simply didn't spend enough.
"awful" doesn't have an 'e' in it. fine. i get it.
the ups package is what i thought i was going to the post office to pick up this morning, but i was wrong. that pick-up was for this month's wired. they simply don't fit in our mailbox. speaking of wired, the last two copies really helped me get through the past week.
i just got mail from the hospital. i tried to arrange an appointment with them over the phone, but that's not their policy so i had to send them my referral by fax - a horrible story in and of itself.
the mail tells me that i have an appointment with them in just over a week - a date that is simply impossible for me to make.
now i can't get hold of them by phone. they suck.
my snowboard vacation is paid for! now i just need to sort out the transport and everything will be fine ^_^
the last week:
i was super chilled on friday morning, and i got almost all of my homework done on the train. after a lot of bus station confusion we boarded with a girls' platoon, and were informed that we were forbidden to talk to the ladies for the last two weeks of the course.
not a chance.
i've been ill since friday. sickly, exhausted (physically and mentally), a little dizzy at times... it hasn't been too much fun.
friday night i finally clicked with a bunch of the guys, including one of our commanders, over a conversation about movies and gaming. i almost put myself in a bad place when i performed the monster-hands thing from pan's labyrinth: there was a long moment when i thought i'd made a terrible call, and then the dawning of recognition crossed the commander's face and he stopped thinking i was a complete nutter.
reading about shai agassi was quite a pick-me-upper.
i had some strange dreams this past week. a few nights i couldn't sleep at all, during one i managed to kill a mosquito that had been driving me nuts for five hours by slamming my head down on the pillow when the buzzing reached my ear.
we were tested in a number of ways this week - the last period is one of intense paranoia and any mistake could fail us. in fact, a large number of people said goodbye yesterday, and although a couple of the decisions pleased me (the sneaky kid's gone, for example), there were a few that have me quite disappointed. having my commander sit next to me for half an hour, watching me pass by 2% and then making fun of me on his way out the class was not pleasant.
sport's day sucked. i was only told a minute before the volleyball game began that i wasn't in the team anymore. that stung.
ah, that reminds me. there are a number of cadets with me that think that because me hebrew isn't as good as theirs that i'm stupid, and stupid enough that i don't know that they're laughing at me - to my face - and then pretending to be friends afterwards. it's incredibly unpleasant.
in fact, it's specifically that bunch of people that makes me feel like finishing this course is something of survival and not achievement. i haven't actually enjoyed the last couple of months, just a couple of moments here and there. i'm fantasizing about airports and my imaginary apartment that i haven't seen yet. that's where my head's at about 90% of the time.
it was a cold night, and the queue outside the club was doubled back around the parking lot. i'd been inside, dancing like a maniac, my shirt had been off for a while and i was enjoying that clean-sweat feeling. i felt the desire to go to the petrol station to get myself some chocolate, and i headed down the stairs.
i stood at the door, watching the rain drizzling down on the people waiting in line, and seeing everyone huddling together and trying to keep somehow dry struck a chord deep inside me.
i decided that there was no way that i was going to run to the petrol station.
i walked - slowly - all the way there, and all the way back, having made a conscious decision to *enjoy* the sensation (i had waterproof pockets, so i wasn't concerned). i knew i would be warm enough to make the journey, and that i'd dry off (or not :P) by dancing... all in all, not a tremendously ridiculous call to make.
i will never forget the shock and awe that seemed to ripple through the crowd. nor the comments that i overheard, repeated in various forms: "wow! i want whatever that guy's had!"
nope, i wasn't on drugs, people. just will and perspective.
apparently i'm still considered a new immigrant as far as the idf is concerned. i don't think this scores me any points, but it's good to know :P
watching a few minutes of some random soccer game, i realized what it is about being a spectator that doesn't appeal to me. if i can't learn anything useful, i don't want to watch.
football (soccer, like), for instance, can be extremely interesting as far as plays are concerned, but overall there's no real strategy involved. watching extreme sports is fun because i fantasize about actually doing those things, even if i'm psychologically limited to staring at the screen (after a couple of nasty rollerblading accidents i've never fully regained my confidence).
anyway, the course is almost done and everybody's going crazy, and now i'm going to see about dealing with my computer issues so that i can upload some designs.
[this post written from ubuntu. i can't figure out how to uninstall / reinstall hardy heron.]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)