the kid and i just got back from cafeneto - extremely therapeutic. things with sunshine seem alright, and the kid participates when i let off steam... he's like a good therapist :P
today started off dodgy - the anguish begun the day before hasn't abated, and until a couple of hours ago things have just been snowballing (as in getting bigger and bigger, not as in clerks).
it was a mission to get piles to help me take the plastic bottles to the recycling bin this morning. once we were done, i specifically told him - twice to make sure - NOT to throw away the packet. the kid and i were laughing now about the stupid, completely uncomprehending look he gives. halfway back to the office i registered that he wasn't carrying anything.
"what the $#@! did you do with the packet?"
he looks at me totally innocently: "i threw it away. why do you ask?"
most of what i recall from my army day (due to some memory-suppression) is playing spider solitaire. i started the day watching demo videos of ruby on rails with brother bear - friggin' insane, the things they do. it's impressive as hell, and i hope i don't find an excuse to have to use it (i don't do web dev. even when i do, i don't).
in the afternoon, i managed to catch our branch officer earlier than i'd expected. we sat organizing, but there was yet another screw-up on the receiving end and it's out of our control as usual. this is all very frustrating, as i write this i have exactly 1 week and 6 days to go before my release. this is a another tense period of my life.
i organized entry permission for a friend who used to serve on our base, and we milled around for about half an hour before i got back to my solitaire. the late afternoon was a bit of a blur of interesting work-related discussions and me stressing.
-- lying to the cute, well-intentioned girl on the bus --
i hopped off the bus, and walked through to meet ru55's girlfriend and pick up my calculus book. it's bloody heavy. we chatted for 50 seconds, and then i made my way to work (bumping into my tallest's ex, turns out she lives in the area).
my mother sent me an email laughing at me for my idea of studying engineering: most of my family on my mother's side are either in that or medicine :P
work SUCKED. i've now gotten most of it out of my system, the remainder of the evening was insane because my manager was almost as pissed off as me, and demanded that i call the guy - i had to learn his name, find his phone number (harassing a girl i've never met in order to get it), and eventually settle for mass emailing anyway. all this while handling mmf's RFIs (he's tampering with a website) and SxS's girl-friend trying to set me up with some french girl.
the final straw, when i was running late for the bus, was getting into the elevator and feeling something sharp in the middle of my back. i tested with my hand, and there was definitely something bothering me (my heavy bag on my back, not smart to not deal with it). so i hurriedly dropped my bag and was halfway through ripping off the windbreaker when the elevator doors opened.
so i moved my little mission to the foyer, where the guard stared at me in disbelief as i, in disbelief, removed a thick, inch-long nail from centre of the windbreaker's back.
how it got there is an absolute mystery to me, but it's the perfect physical embodiment of where my head's at. i handed the bent nail to the guard as i left, and just made the bus.
inpassing.org is excellent
Showing posts with label my tallest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my tallest. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Monday, July 03, 2006
get out of the oven!
did somebody forget how hot and sticky it is in israel during summer? i'm dying here, people!
friday morning was grand - depressing, but nice in spite of the knowledge that i was leaving. woke up slowly, packed, and then we all went to the market to organize sushi. *excellent* sushi. the nice drive round parts of montreal i hadn't yet seen also went down well.
then we were off to the airport, for another tearful farewell (my aunt's good at that), and then i was rushed through to my plane to toronto (with a promise from the check-in counter that my luggage would go straight to tel aviv).
the first flight was alright, and in toronto i walked straight through to the shuttle to my next flight. i didn't see border control anywhere, so i guess i'm officially still in canada.
unfortunately, i had an hour to wait, and not only is the building non-smoking, but OUTSIDE TOO. the building is situated in the middle of all the runways... DAMMIT! so i bought a couple of magazines, munched some m&m's, and eventually we boarded.
a harsh, 12 hour reminder that aeroplane seats are designed for people without legs. not only was the kid behind me playing with his seatbelt the entire flight (enough clicking will get on your nerves), but the little girl in front kept holding down the button and bouncing back and forth. i went bananas, and nobody could stop her from doing it.
so yeah, that was a pretty sucky flight. i hear my mom's was worse, but that doesn't make me feel better. i think i slept about half an hour or so. i spent a lot of the waking hours hating myself for returning to uniform.
i discovered, to my complete and utter surprise, really, that my luggage is still in canada. notice the use of present tense. i hopped on the train (and luckily didn't get caught - i used my soldier's id for a free ride) and went to the base. aside from picking up my keys, and going for lunch with the kid (although after two weeks of good food, i couldn't bring myself to eat any of that crap), and some milling around and appreciating the beautiful bums the girls sport here, i waited two hours to speak to my commander. who managed to sneak out when i wasn't looking.
disappointed, i caught the bus home. my stuff's all there, which DID surprise me, and i showered and read myself to sleep.
aside from an hour or two in the late evening, when i spoke to my mom to hear about the horrors of her trip (and it really was horrific), i slept soundly until 3am.
AAARGH! and i'd slept too much, so i just lay in bed reading until my alarm went off. i shaved, and hurried off to the base (forgetting my shoes, so i'm stuck in uniform at work, which SUCKS), pretty much straight to work. oh, and i made a neat 9 month calendar (the amount of time i have left), with each month a picture of the appropriate phase in a foetus' development.
the work today (and i'll be continuing tomorrow) was extremely frustrating. my commander was in meetings the entire day, i literally didn't get two seconds to talk to him. i cleared out my 150+ new emails, sewed on one of my new ranks, and other than that had a particularly boring day.
i came straight to work, and have been in the thick of it since i got here. did some conniving with yogi. conniving is always fun. can't talk about it yet. sorry. and i have actually gotten a lot of work done. and eaten a good hamburger; i was desperate for food - i'm still not craving mess-hall trash.
considering the fact that the following thoughts consumed me for most of my trip, i've decided to jot them down:
i live in the future. i always have. it's why i dress the way i do, i why i plan do the things i haven't shut up about (IRL). so i'm constantly thinking about my possibilities, specifically from my release date next year.
1) i sign on 3 extra years, assuming that they make me an offer i can't refuse (and can't talk about, sorry)
2) i stay on at work a couple of months, to make starting money and enjoy a bit of summer out of uniform
3) i return to sa for a couple of months - i need minor surgery, and i'm not doing it when alone in israel
4a) i go off to japan, to seek work in vr / aerospace, and if i'm unsuccessful then just to have a holiday there and spend time with hido
4b) i go to the states, where i join SxS in building an empire (with me primarily focused on vr)
4c) i go to canada, to work in gaming / aerospace (they have some good places to start) or to do research in mcgill university (have contact, will travel).
so that's about it at the moment. not to mention much thoughts about starting a family; but those are just arbitrary.
right, i'm off.
friday morning was grand - depressing, but nice in spite of the knowledge that i was leaving. woke up slowly, packed, and then we all went to the market to organize sushi. *excellent* sushi. the nice drive round parts of montreal i hadn't yet seen also went down well.
then we were off to the airport, for another tearful farewell (my aunt's good at that), and then i was rushed through to my plane to toronto (with a promise from the check-in counter that my luggage would go straight to tel aviv).
the first flight was alright, and in toronto i walked straight through to the shuttle to my next flight. i didn't see border control anywhere, so i guess i'm officially still in canada.
unfortunately, i had an hour to wait, and not only is the building non-smoking, but OUTSIDE TOO. the building is situated in the middle of all the runways... DAMMIT! so i bought a couple of magazines, munched some m&m's, and eventually we boarded.
a harsh, 12 hour reminder that aeroplane seats are designed for people without legs. not only was the kid behind me playing with his seatbelt the entire flight (enough clicking will get on your nerves), but the little girl in front kept holding down the button and bouncing back and forth. i went bananas, and nobody could stop her from doing it.
so yeah, that was a pretty sucky flight. i hear my mom's was worse, but that doesn't make me feel better. i think i slept about half an hour or so. i spent a lot of the waking hours hating myself for returning to uniform.
i discovered, to my complete and utter surprise, really, that my luggage is still in canada. notice the use of present tense. i hopped on the train (and luckily didn't get caught - i used my soldier's id for a free ride) and went to the base. aside from picking up my keys, and going for lunch with the kid (although after two weeks of good food, i couldn't bring myself to eat any of that crap), and some milling around and appreciating the beautiful bums the girls sport here, i waited two hours to speak to my commander. who managed to sneak out when i wasn't looking.
disappointed, i caught the bus home. my stuff's all there, which DID surprise me, and i showered and read myself to sleep.
aside from an hour or two in the late evening, when i spoke to my mom to hear about the horrors of her trip (and it really was horrific), i slept soundly until 3am.
AAARGH! and i'd slept too much, so i just lay in bed reading until my alarm went off. i shaved, and hurried off to the base (forgetting my shoes, so i'm stuck in uniform at work, which SUCKS), pretty much straight to work. oh, and i made a neat 9 month calendar (the amount of time i have left), with each month a picture of the appropriate phase in a foetus' development.
the work today (and i'll be continuing tomorrow) was extremely frustrating. my commander was in meetings the entire day, i literally didn't get two seconds to talk to him. i cleared out my 150+ new emails, sewed on one of my new ranks, and other than that had a particularly boring day.
i came straight to work, and have been in the thick of it since i got here. did some conniving with yogi. conniving is always fun. can't talk about it yet. sorry. and i have actually gotten a lot of work done. and eaten a good hamburger; i was desperate for food - i'm still not craving mess-hall trash.
considering the fact that the following thoughts consumed me for most of my trip, i've decided to jot them down:
i live in the future. i always have. it's why i dress the way i do, i why i plan do the things i haven't shut up about (IRL). so i'm constantly thinking about my possibilities, specifically from my release date next year.
1) i sign on 3 extra years, assuming that they make me an offer i can't refuse (and can't talk about, sorry)
2) i stay on at work a couple of months, to make starting money and enjoy a bit of summer out of uniform
3) i return to sa for a couple of months - i need minor surgery, and i'm not doing it when alone in israel
4a) i go off to japan, to seek work in vr / aerospace, and if i'm unsuccessful then just to have a holiday there and spend time with hido
4b) i go to the states, where i join SxS in building an empire (with me primarily focused on vr)
4c) i go to canada, to work in gaming / aerospace (they have some good places to start) or to do research in mcgill university (have contact, will travel).
so that's about it at the moment. not to mention much thoughts about starting a family; but those are just arbitrary.
right, i'm off.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
weird, weird day
i crawled and slothed out of bed this morning, being extremely grateful for the presence of mind i'd had to shave before going to sleep. i rocked up at the city officer, and ended up with the worst dentist i've had so far. the anaesthetic was so bad that i suffered the pain of the drilling because i didn't want to have it redone.
nothing like spitting blood and metal in the morning. and the two newest fillings are clashing - i'm sure that's not right. i can't close my mouth comfortably.
after working an hour, i realized that i've been suffering a worse case of absent-mindedness in the army than i have with the medsupply prog. i discovered that my code has been fine the entire time, but i've been testing it with the wrong data.
DOH.
even the kid had a good laugh when he found out what i'd been struggling with.
funnily enough, my delegation skills have left me with nothing to do. once i completed my bit, the kid had to integrate it into his side, and as for the rest the dog is responsible for the final blow-out when he gets his shit working. so i spent the rest of the day finding ways to amuse myself.
i played volleyball for an hour or so - the firefighter was deliberately trying annoy me, and that annoys me. our team for the next game (next monday), which is against the other first-ranking team, is shite. all our good players are going to be unavailable.
i got a phone call from the american kid i took care of for my community service - a lot of gaming talk. i explained to him that it's nigh impossible for me to get to netanya, and i told him to bus down here sometime. i find it interesting that he looks to me for guidance with the real-world stuff - i must have done something right ;)
i sat with the mongoose for a few minutes on the design for our new project, and got our team-leader to agree with me on a name for the system. nexus, when spelled in hebrew, comes right out as an acronym for what it does. nice!
i spent the late afternoon eating salted liquorice and clearing email, and helping out the kid with his work. i ate a meagre supper on base, and bussed home discussing german vs. japanese with someone random. it was a beautiful evening, albeit chilly, and now that i've done my online stuff, i'm going to shower and crash early - i *am* worried about the examination tomorrow!
i'm currently holding my own in a cute hebrew sms conversation with j-girl - much easier when i get to think about what i'm saying ^_^
nothing like spitting blood and metal in the morning. and the two newest fillings are clashing - i'm sure that's not right. i can't close my mouth comfortably.
after working an hour, i realized that i've been suffering a worse case of absent-mindedness in the army than i have with the medsupply prog. i discovered that my code has been fine the entire time, but i've been testing it with the wrong data.
DOH.
even the kid had a good laugh when he found out what i'd been struggling with.
funnily enough, my delegation skills have left me with nothing to do. once i completed my bit, the kid had to integrate it into his side, and as for the rest the dog is responsible for the final blow-out when he gets his shit working. so i spent the rest of the day finding ways to amuse myself.
i played volleyball for an hour or so - the firefighter was deliberately trying annoy me, and that annoys me. our team for the next game (next monday), which is against the other first-ranking team, is shite. all our good players are going to be unavailable.
i got a phone call from the american kid i took care of for my community service - a lot of gaming talk. i explained to him that it's nigh impossible for me to get to netanya, and i told him to bus down here sometime. i find it interesting that he looks to me for guidance with the real-world stuff - i must have done something right ;)
i sat with the mongoose for a few minutes on the design for our new project, and got our team-leader to agree with me on a name for the system. nexus, when spelled in hebrew, comes right out as an acronym for what it does. nice!
i spent the late afternoon eating salted liquorice and clearing email, and helping out the kid with his work. i ate a meagre supper on base, and bussed home discussing german vs. japanese with someone random. it was a beautiful evening, albeit chilly, and now that i've done my online stuff, i'm going to shower and crash early - i *am* worried about the examination tomorrow!
i'm currently holding my own in a cute hebrew sms conversation with j-girl - much easier when i get to think about what i'm saying ^_^
Monday, May 02, 2005
where am i? why? HOW long??
what an interesting weekend!
yogi picked me up, we went to his parents place, and installed the program we wrote last year. and it worked first time - yeeee-hah! very exciting.
we went to my favourite pizza parlour, and had these folded-over pizzas (don't remember the name at all), which were truly excellent. visited ru55, chilled for a couple of hours, and then he gave me a ride to the lizard.
danced around with the guys until about 2.45, got home and into bed at 3.30.
woke up at 6.40 (thank the lord for automatic snooze, i would've missed the alarm).
got to the base, signed in and went for coffee. i took half an hour, so i was told off by my commander. as punishment, i have to read a lengthy user manual in hebrew and pass a test on it. that REALLY sucks.
at the same time, i discovered that i was supposed to guard yesterday.
i spent the morning making repeated phone calls to the asshole in charge of guarding. eventually ended up guarding anyway - although i did get a great shift. so i slept, none too comfortably, from 6pm till 5.40am, and went to guard for four hours. it was actually alright.
met some guy yesterday on the base who surfs - said he'll call me if they go on friday / saturday morning! w00t!!
spent the rest of the day in konenut (reserve), which was actually quite fun. a whole group of the guys want to train with me (taekwondo) - so cool!!
i just got home about an hour ago - i'm doing laundry, showering, then cleaning up for my "date" at 20.30 :) i wish my washing machine didn't smell mouldy... i'm not actually sure what part of it is producing the smell, which is infuriating.
yogi picked me up, we went to his parents place, and installed the program we wrote last year. and it worked first time - yeeee-hah! very exciting.
we went to my favourite pizza parlour, and had these folded-over pizzas (don't remember the name at all), which were truly excellent. visited ru55, chilled for a couple of hours, and then he gave me a ride to the lizard.
danced around with the guys until about 2.45, got home and into bed at 3.30.
woke up at 6.40 (thank the lord for automatic snooze, i would've missed the alarm).
got to the base, signed in and went for coffee. i took half an hour, so i was told off by my commander. as punishment, i have to read a lengthy user manual in hebrew and pass a test on it. that REALLY sucks.
at the same time, i discovered that i was supposed to guard yesterday.
i spent the morning making repeated phone calls to the asshole in charge of guarding. eventually ended up guarding anyway - although i did get a great shift. so i slept, none too comfortably, from 6pm till 5.40am, and went to guard for four hours. it was actually alright.
met some guy yesterday on the base who surfs - said he'll call me if they go on friday / saturday morning! w00t!!
spent the rest of the day in konenut (reserve), which was actually quite fun. a whole group of the guys want to train with me (taekwondo) - so cool!!
i just got home about an hour ago - i'm doing laundry, showering, then cleaning up for my "date" at 20.30 :) i wish my washing machine didn't smell mouldy... i'm not actually sure what part of it is producing the smell, which is infuriating.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
two days down
i feel like i've lost time...
the braai at SxS's place was awesome - saw a lot of friends i've been out of touch with, the food was great, and i thoroughly enjoyed playing texas hold'em, even though i got my butt whipped.
i left his place around 7am, went straight to the ministry of interior, to discover that they've moved, and i'll only be able to go from the 3rd... oh well. i arrived to a totally quiet base, spent the morning juggling between arbing and grafting.
at 3pm i asked for permission to leave, and my commander gave me an ultimatum: if i finished the prog i was working on successfully by 3.30, i could leave - if not, i leave at 8pm... not very nice, as i've never tried to run the damn thing before.
at approximately 3.25, i gingerly clicked the "work, dammit!" button - and i'll be damned, it ran first time! not only was i very excited, but my commander was severely disappointed, 'cause he had to let me go ^_^
we went to a tattoo parlour in dizengoff - a friend from the base's cousin works their, and i saw his portfolio, and had a chat with him. his work is AMAZING, and as far as money is concerned he said we can work something out. now i just have to do the damn thing.
and yes, i'm totally nervous about this.
humorous aside: we're going to redo their website for them (i hope i find the time). it's one way to pay for the tat ;)
the mongoose and i went to go pick up the tickets - getting lost on the way, but we succeeded in the end. we ate good shuwarma, then took the bus to holon. went to the video store - awesome video store - and got AvP and big fish.
omfg - my first opportunity to see AvP!! my enthusiasm wasn't enough, i was so exhausted that i fell asleep after about half an hour. i LOVED what i did get to see though, so there is hope.
i slept REALLY badly. in the early afternoon, we rushed to return the videos, and then had a brilliant breakfast. we sat down for some serious (read: very tasty) ice-cream, but had to take it with us as his mom came to pick us up.
i took the bus to tel aviv, and walked-very-fast home, where i showered and changed in about 2 minutes (no shit - i'm most impressed), as i was late for a date with this girl i met a few weeks ago.
i am one lucky SOB. the bus arrived AS i got to the stop (aided by a little running). i arrived with time to spare - so i treated myself to neil gaiman - american gods.
i couldn't remember how this girl looks, so i was more than pleasantly surprised when she arrived, and turned out to be FINE. very cute, very sexy. and really nice - we sat talking over coffee for about an hour before she left. unfortunately, as is not usually the case, i'm all enthusiastic, and i'm not sure how she feels - but the situation is definitely an improvement over the norm :D
i walked through to karnaf's pad, got my tickets and sat for coffee. i started reading the book, and the first few pages are simply great. good buy.
the mongoose picked me up, and we drove to get the last ticket, then stopped for a hot dog. damn kosher-for-passover rolls taste like crap. ran into an old friend from the university though, which was nice.
he just dropped me off, i'm doing laundry, planning on reading a bit, and then - who knows??
i really need to slow down my smoking, i'm way out of control.
i'm totally excited about the festival - we're leaving tomorrow!! this is gonna be killer.
the braai at SxS's place was awesome - saw a lot of friends i've been out of touch with, the food was great, and i thoroughly enjoyed playing texas hold'em, even though i got my butt whipped.
i left his place around 7am, went straight to the ministry of interior, to discover that they've moved, and i'll only be able to go from the 3rd... oh well. i arrived to a totally quiet base, spent the morning juggling between arbing and grafting.
at 3pm i asked for permission to leave, and my commander gave me an ultimatum: if i finished the prog i was working on successfully by 3.30, i could leave - if not, i leave at 8pm... not very nice, as i've never tried to run the damn thing before.
at approximately 3.25, i gingerly clicked the "work, dammit!" button - and i'll be damned, it ran first time! not only was i very excited, but my commander was severely disappointed, 'cause he had to let me go ^_^
we went to a tattoo parlour in dizengoff - a friend from the base's cousin works their, and i saw his portfolio, and had a chat with him. his work is AMAZING, and as far as money is concerned he said we can work something out. now i just have to do the damn thing.
and yes, i'm totally nervous about this.
humorous aside: we're going to redo their website for them (i hope i find the time). it's one way to pay for the tat ;)
the mongoose and i went to go pick up the tickets - getting lost on the way, but we succeeded in the end. we ate good shuwarma, then took the bus to holon. went to the video store - awesome video store - and got AvP and big fish.
omfg - my first opportunity to see AvP!! my enthusiasm wasn't enough, i was so exhausted that i fell asleep after about half an hour. i LOVED what i did get to see though, so there is hope.
i slept REALLY badly. in the early afternoon, we rushed to return the videos, and then had a brilliant breakfast. we sat down for some serious (read: very tasty) ice-cream, but had to take it with us as his mom came to pick us up.
i took the bus to tel aviv, and walked-very-fast home, where i showered and changed in about 2 minutes (no shit - i'm most impressed), as i was late for a date with this girl i met a few weeks ago.
i am one lucky SOB. the bus arrived AS i got to the stop (aided by a little running). i arrived with time to spare - so i treated myself to neil gaiman - american gods.
i couldn't remember how this girl looks, so i was more than pleasantly surprised when she arrived, and turned out to be FINE. very cute, very sexy. and really nice - we sat talking over coffee for about an hour before she left. unfortunately, as is not usually the case, i'm all enthusiastic, and i'm not sure how she feels - but the situation is definitely an improvement over the norm :D
i walked through to karnaf's pad, got my tickets and sat for coffee. i started reading the book, and the first few pages are simply great. good buy.
the mongoose picked me up, and we drove to get the last ticket, then stopped for a hot dog. damn kosher-for-passover rolls taste like crap. ran into an old friend from the university though, which was nice.
he just dropped me off, i'm doing laundry, planning on reading a bit, and then - who knows??
i really need to slow down my smoking, i'm way out of control.
i'm totally excited about the festival - we're leaving tomorrow!! this is gonna be killer.
Monday, April 18, 2005
bzzz *bop*
damn - i have a sunday AND a monday to recall, and my brain's been offline for both of them...
firstly - the apathy. the sheer, utter, and complete apathy. secondly - the weather.
both of them have caused me no end of sighing.
yesterday, the entire day, was a blur. sometime during the afternoon i developed a headache, which turned mean during the evening. spot went missing, and our section commander screamed at me for not being in touch with him, so in the evening i went to his place.
and found him. my commander called me a few minutes after he'd explained to me that we've been successful in bringing him to our section, to tell me the good news. good timing.
we went and played pool, then we waited for the bus for about half an hour, and my head was exploding.
i woke up this morning feeling better, but the weather did a superb job of bringing me down. the morning sucked, as we had to do an extra-strength clean of our office, but i did get plenty of time to read - i finally finished a study in scarlet, and i started reading terry pratchett - eric - i found the whole stuffed parrot thing too much, and my teammates kicked me out, still giggling hysterically and wiping tears from my eyes.
i met up with spot at the main gate, and started helping him with his "form hike". too bad they screwed something up at the main base, and now he has to do it all again tomorrow.
never mind.
oh - by the way - i scored 59% on the purity test. i'm actually quite embarrassed, and vow to improve my score. somehow.
spot and i then went to his "old" base - and like everyone in the region were attacked ferociously by gnats. gnats, gnats, EVERYWHERE. inhaled a few, got some in my eyes, my ears, clothing and hair were full of them. i hate gnats.
we had supper there, i stole some beautiful pictures from the psychotic american's new desk (he's green, he had it coming), and watched the closing ceremony for some course or other. stopped by spot's place on the way home, for coffee, and then made my way back here.
shower, and bed. that's all i have to say about that. i have this nagging feeling i'm forgetting something important, but never mind.
firstly - the apathy. the sheer, utter, and complete apathy. secondly - the weather.
both of them have caused me no end of sighing.
yesterday, the entire day, was a blur. sometime during the afternoon i developed a headache, which turned mean during the evening. spot went missing, and our section commander screamed at me for not being in touch with him, so in the evening i went to his place.
and found him. my commander called me a few minutes after he'd explained to me that we've been successful in bringing him to our section, to tell me the good news. good timing.
we went and played pool, then we waited for the bus for about half an hour, and my head was exploding.
i woke up this morning feeling better, but the weather did a superb job of bringing me down. the morning sucked, as we had to do an extra-strength clean of our office, but i did get plenty of time to read - i finally finished a study in scarlet, and i started reading terry pratchett - eric - i found the whole stuffed parrot thing too much, and my teammates kicked me out, still giggling hysterically and wiping tears from my eyes.
i met up with spot at the main gate, and started helping him with his "form hike". too bad they screwed something up at the main base, and now he has to do it all again tomorrow.
never mind.
oh - by the way - i scored 59% on the purity test. i'm actually quite embarrassed, and vow to improve my score. somehow.
spot and i then went to his "old" base - and like everyone in the region were attacked ferociously by gnats. gnats, gnats, EVERYWHERE. inhaled a few, got some in my eyes, my ears, clothing and hair were full of them. i hate gnats.
we had supper there, i stole some beautiful pictures from the psychotic american's new desk (he's green, he had it coming), and watched the closing ceremony for some course or other. stopped by spot's place on the way home, for coffee, and then made my way back here.
shower, and bed. that's all i have to say about that. i have this nagging feeling i'm forgetting something important, but never mind.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
stretched and wound and ready for bed... but no.
first, the day:
long, long day. i was late for inspection this morning, and instead of just walking past, stood there stupidly waiting for the guy inspecting. fortunately, i misheard the time i was told to meet them, and by the time i saw them they didn't feel like dealing with me.
spot spent his day leaving his base, on his way to us. we've basically chucked the rude kid off the team to make space - i hope this all works out.
my commander and i managed to piss off the section commander this morning - that really didn't go well. my commander filed a joke report that stated how absolutely
crap i am, and the section commander took it seriously... let's just
say he's not pleased with either of us.
i tried to quit smoking, but without motivation it really is impossible.
i've lost NIS 120 (in the form of hours playing pool), and face, but deep down inside i don't wanna stop.
worked hard most of the day, t'was interesting.
went on a semi-date with this cute girl i met last week... i really like her, and we had fun, but in terms of physical attraction i think she's just alright, so i'm not sure if i'll pursue...
aside: the sherlock holmes stories - they're incredible!
i just found out i've been invited automatically to the kibbutz for passover, so i'll be there.
i'm now beginning to work - i'm going to be wasted by tomorrow morning.
long, long day. i was late for inspection this morning, and instead of just walking past, stood there stupidly waiting for the guy inspecting. fortunately, i misheard the time i was told to meet them, and by the time i saw them they didn't feel like dealing with me.
spot spent his day leaving his base, on his way to us. we've basically chucked the rude kid off the team to make space - i hope this all works out.
my commander and i managed to piss off the section commander this morning - that really didn't go well. my commander filed a joke report that stated how absolutely
crap i am, and the section commander took it seriously... let's just
say he's not pleased with either of us.
i tried to quit smoking, but without motivation it really is impossible.
i've lost NIS 120 (in the form of hours playing pool), and face, but deep down inside i don't wanna stop.
worked hard most of the day, t'was interesting.
went on a semi-date with this cute girl i met last week... i really like her, and we had fun, but in terms of physical attraction i think she's just alright, so i'm not sure if i'll pursue...
aside: the sherlock holmes stories - they're incredible!
i just found out i've been invited automatically to the kibbutz for passover, so i'll be there.
i'm now beginning to work - i'm going to be wasted by tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
*deep sniff* *choke*
i've just woken up - doing some work and then on to acupuncture! w00t!
monday night's continuation: i found spot passed out on a bench, having been locked out of his apartment. went for coffee, then took a taxi to the pub. no cute, sexy friend. that sucked.
we met up with the mongoose and a few of his friends, it was a fun evening. got home around 3am.
woke up at 6.30am. i don't know how. yesterday was hot - really, really hot, and i was exhausted. but owing to my current job function, i have to set a personal example, and couldn't sleep at my desk. i had nothing to do the whole morning... so, on the plus side, the other south african on the base has sent me a huge collection of books in txt and pdf format, so i started reading some random things.
lunch really sucked.
early afternoon our commander came by for a visit - we started working on some things and decided to restart one of our servers. this turned into quite an adventure. i spent the rest of the afternoon working. afterwards, i went to the main gate to visit the mongoose, who'd had to rush off to the firing range in order to guard - this promises hilarious results when he gets court-marshalled (probably today).
his parents gave me a ride to azrieli, from where i took a bus, got home, cold showered, and crashed.
monday night's continuation: i found spot passed out on a bench, having been locked out of his apartment. went for coffee, then took a taxi to the pub. no cute, sexy friend. that sucked.
we met up with the mongoose and a few of his friends, it was a fun evening. got home around 3am.
woke up at 6.30am. i don't know how. yesterday was hot - really, really hot, and i was exhausted. but owing to my current job function, i have to set a personal example, and couldn't sleep at my desk. i had nothing to do the whole morning... so, on the plus side, the other south african on the base has sent me a huge collection of books in txt and pdf format, so i started reading some random things.
lunch really sucked.
early afternoon our commander came by for a visit - we started working on some things and decided to restart one of our servers. this turned into quite an adventure. i spent the rest of the afternoon working. afterwards, i went to the main gate to visit the mongoose, who'd had to rush off to the firing range in order to guard - this promises hilarious results when he gets court-marshalled (probably today).
his parents gave me a ride to azrieli, from where i took a bus, got home, cold showered, and crashed.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
cool cool.. the weekend!
right - today was weird and wobbly.
a) did as anticipated, arrived on base at 7.15 and left at 7.18, made my way to the medical base, and got my xrays done. cool sounding machine. luckily, through all the travelling and waiting, i got through the user manual for the RFID chips i'll be wrapping... a french company definitely in need of a better technical writer. in fact, if i hadn't taken so many computer science courses i wouldn't have understood a damn thing.
after waiting for the results for 20 minutes, i went to ask if i had time to get some breakfast - i got told the average wait for results is 1 - 1.5 hours.
fsck that.
so i went back to the base... stopping at the bank, quickly running home to get a change of clothing, and making it in time for the most awful lunch.
that didn't help much, considering i wasn't feeling good at all when i arrived. it's summer again - dehydration!!
b) first mails i received were from our absent commander - explaining to everyone in no uncertain terms that i am in charge. nice. and my team-mates' attitudes were noticeably improved.
spent the afternoon fixing bugs, cleaning the room, and working on important things, like my grid game. i missed the volleyball, but considering the state of my hand, it doesn't really matter.
c) dropped off my things at work, and met up with spot and the psychotic american (in uniform too), and we had coffee on dizengoff. it was actually really nice!
after the psychotic american left, i showed spot where a mutual friend of ours' lives... i was quite surprised to find it myself... and on the way to the bus stop we ran into a really cute, really nice french girl from his base. i HAVE to see her again.
d) made it back to work in time, and haven't shut up since. gotta work though... and i'm missing a good party tonight, which kinda sucks...
and i have no idea yet whether i'm staying in tel aviv tomorrow or not...
a) did as anticipated, arrived on base at 7.15 and left at 7.18, made my way to the medical base, and got my xrays done. cool sounding machine. luckily, through all the travelling and waiting, i got through the user manual for the RFID chips i'll be wrapping... a french company definitely in need of a better technical writer. in fact, if i hadn't taken so many computer science courses i wouldn't have understood a damn thing.
after waiting for the results for 20 minutes, i went to ask if i had time to get some breakfast - i got told the average wait for results is 1 - 1.5 hours.
fsck that.
so i went back to the base... stopping at the bank, quickly running home to get a change of clothing, and making it in time for the most awful lunch.
that didn't help much, considering i wasn't feeling good at all when i arrived. it's summer again - dehydration!!
b) first mails i received were from our absent commander - explaining to everyone in no uncertain terms that i am in charge. nice. and my team-mates' attitudes were noticeably improved.
spent the afternoon fixing bugs, cleaning the room, and working on important things, like my grid game. i missed the volleyball, but considering the state of my hand, it doesn't really matter.
c) dropped off my things at work, and met up with spot and the psychotic american (in uniform too), and we had coffee on dizengoff. it was actually really nice!
after the psychotic american left, i showed spot where a mutual friend of ours' lives... i was quite surprised to find it myself... and on the way to the bus stop we ran into a really cute, really nice french girl from his base. i HAVE to see her again.
d) made it back to work in time, and haven't shut up since. gotta work though... and i'm missing a good party tonight, which kinda sucks...
and i have no idea yet whether i'm staying in tel aviv tomorrow or not...
*blown away*
that was a crazy day.
no pizza nightmares, but waking up was still harsh. i went to the hospital, only to be informed that the secretary had got confused with my phone number, so couldn't get in touch with me to tell me that the appointment was moved to two days ago.
right.
so the appointment's next week.
i got back to the base to find serious problems. i tried fixing it, i did the same thing three times out of desperation, and when it didn't work (and due to other factors) i figured it was something else... so i gave them instructions on how to deal with it, and left for rehearsals.
later on i found out that my commander - aside from being upset with me for leaving them in the lurch - had gone into the office, done EXACTLY the same thing i did, and it worked.
colour me unimpressed.
the rehearsals were alright, but i had two lines to rap, and for some reason i just couldn't get them right the entire day.
i don't know why. maybe 'cause they don't quite make sense in english, but i think it was more the pressure.
so i screwed up the lines again in the actual performance... but it's okay, everything else was superb.
the event overall was actually quite nice. i got offered a ride home from the incredibly sexy girl who organized everything... and lives in my area... only to remember that i was supposed to visit my boss. she was kind enough to take me to herzliya and drop me off :) i like her...
i just got back now, busy studying RFID (OMFG i held one of the capsules that goes under your skin!!) all the way home. i forgot - AGAIN - to bring my referral with me. i don't know what the hell's wrong with my brain!! probably the same reason i can't handle my lines...
so i gotta go to the base first tomorrow, and THEN go to the medical base in rishon... i kill me. good night.
no pizza nightmares, but waking up was still harsh. i went to the hospital, only to be informed that the secretary had got confused with my phone number, so couldn't get in touch with me to tell me that the appointment was moved to two days ago.
right.
so the appointment's next week.
i got back to the base to find serious problems. i tried fixing it, i did the same thing three times out of desperation, and when it didn't work (and due to other factors) i figured it was something else... so i gave them instructions on how to deal with it, and left for rehearsals.
later on i found out that my commander - aside from being upset with me for leaving them in the lurch - had gone into the office, done EXACTLY the same thing i did, and it worked.
colour me unimpressed.
the rehearsals were alright, but i had two lines to rap, and for some reason i just couldn't get them right the entire day.
i don't know why. maybe 'cause they don't quite make sense in english, but i think it was more the pressure.
so i screwed up the lines again in the actual performance... but it's okay, everything else was superb.
the event overall was actually quite nice. i got offered a ride home from the incredibly sexy girl who organized everything... and lives in my area... only to remember that i was supposed to visit my boss. she was kind enough to take me to herzliya and drop me off :) i like her...
i just got back now, busy studying RFID (OMFG i held one of the capsules that goes under your skin!!) all the way home. i forgot - AGAIN - to bring my referral with me. i don't know what the hell's wrong with my brain!! probably the same reason i can't handle my lines...
so i gotta go to the base first tomorrow, and THEN go to the medical base in rishon... i kill me. good night.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
where am i?
i don't believe i just lost my post.
FSCK.
i just got back home, after waiting for a bus so long that it would have been way quicker to walk... although more painful, my right foot's been hurting the last couple of days.
1) i *HATE* the clinic on our base. almost everyone who "works" there sucks.
2) the problem kid's giving me grief, and i'm unimpressed.
3) we had tons of problems today, and i couldn't solve most of them - i found this extremely frustrating. only after i signed out and was on my way home, did my commander call and talk me through it all. all's well that ends well?
4) spot and i visited the new mall in my area, and then walked to the lincoln to play pool. i think i'm in love with the waitresses. dammit.
5) ate pizza for supper (anticipating nightmares)
FSCK.
i just got back home, after waiting for a bus so long that it would have been way quicker to walk... although more painful, my right foot's been hurting the last couple of days.
1) i *HATE* the clinic on our base. almost everyone who "works" there sucks.
2) the problem kid's giving me grief, and i'm unimpressed.
3) we had tons of problems today, and i couldn't solve most of them - i found this extremely frustrating. only after i signed out and was on my way home, did my commander call and talk me through it all. all's well that ends well?
4) spot and i visited the new mall in my area, and then walked to the lincoln to play pool. i think i'm in love with the waitresses. dammit.
5) ate pizza for supper (anticipating nightmares)
Sunday, April 03, 2005
whoa. damn. wtf just happened? where am i??
i *just* got home. from a crazy, crazy day. after an AWESOME weekend!
thursday:
arbed the day along with little bits and pieces of work. i was bombed completely when we got to the beginning of the guard cycle, but i was looking forward to a relaxed weekend nonetheless.
when i got back to my office, i got the coolest email!! i'm officially replacing my commander for two weeks, while he's on a course - that puts me in charge of three other people, one of whom is higher ranking. i'm rather proud. and my commander's rather upset that's he's been replaced by a private.
almost all of the girls guarding this weekend were either troublemakers, or crying and in shock. that SUCKED ASS.
during my first shift, i found out that all the work i've been doing the last few weeks (outside of the army) has been for nought. not a good feeling, but i've learned a lot, and the pressure for the coming week has been reduced considerably.
i was joined for my shift by the mongoose and a couple of other guys, and we had fun. after the shift, i had to change the clocks on our servers - there was a girl from our section on duty, so she came by and helped out a lot. only problem is that we spent over an hour working on one of them, only to give up and report this to my commander... who says "whoops! forgot to tell you that we don't need that one".
bastard. i WILL get him back for it.
the girl was really cute, though.
so, i got to bed really late.
friday:
aside from everything else, due to the shift from daylight savings time we lost an hour of sleep. and i forgot to change *my* clocks. i arrived late for my shift, and the rest of the weekend the officer in charge didn't get off my back.
it was a dark, dark, sunny morning. the sun shone - directly into my face. i'd forgotten my glasses. i was exhausted. the commanding officers were constantly around my booth, so i couldn't sleep. it SUCKED. and it lasted a looooong time.
also, i tried all day to come up with a way to get my commander back - and failed.
the other south african came by, gave me a bandage for my sprained hand (awww...), and joined me in a shopping spree. yes, i got permission to leave the base to get cigarettes and birdseed. i am cool.
i got given some lessons in outlook calendars, the password to the internet machine, and a cup of coffee. a good recovery for the morning, all in all.
one of the guards called me smelly. i decided to take a (LONG) shower BEFORE sleeping. i didn't get any more complaints after that :P
it was an absolutely STUNNING day. hot, with a slight breeze.
had some really interesting discussions, took a nap (missing lunch, waking up only for a quick and rather pointless inspection... seated...), and then went up for my night shift.
which involved reading, supper (we were relieved for half an hour)... and a cute incident where the officer didn't notice i was smoking while talking to him, during my shift, totally forbidden.
:P
yesterday:
couldn't sleep during the night, the girls didn't stop screaming and singing into the walkie talkie - i was going NUTS. the mongoose called around 2am, which woke everyone up and almost killed me.
the run-up to the shift sucked.
i started my day with coffee and birdseed - funny thing is after a major wrestle with the coffee machine, i got back 14 shekels for the 2 i put in! never mind.
the afternoon was relaxed - had some interesting conversations, and slept and chilled. the shower totally rocked ^_^
and i came up with a way to get revenge on my commander. life is good.
lunch didn't rock though. this soupy thing that vaguely resembled beans and potato stew.
ew.
and i spilled some on myself as we carried round to the guys guarding :(
the evening shift was great. the mongoose visited, bringing excellent food, and we spent a few hours hanging. after he left, i was surprised by the guy who interviewed me - bringing me chocolates! yay!
after the shift i spoke to my mom, and then happily went to bed. i even managed to convince the girls to quiet down.
today:
today was insane. i finally slept enough, and made it to my shift on time - including a < 5 minute shave! the shift ROCKED. i took the main gate, so i spent my morning chatting and flirting - and had people running around organizing me breakfast and coffee, everything was grand.
no, really grand - i totally enjoyed my weekend!!
i went straight from guard duty (with full rights to go home) back to my office, and got hit with a mass of emails - our systems were screwed. i spent a frantic couple of hours working on them, and when i was done, i had to deal with our two new kids - who are NOT being helpful at all. it's actually quite rough to be in charge. but i think (i hope) i did okay before leaving. i'm about to shower and go to the wedding - empty-handed and in uniform :$
thursday:
arbed the day along with little bits and pieces of work. i was bombed completely when we got to the beginning of the guard cycle, but i was looking forward to a relaxed weekend nonetheless.
when i got back to my office, i got the coolest email!! i'm officially replacing my commander for two weeks, while he's on a course - that puts me in charge of three other people, one of whom is higher ranking. i'm rather proud. and my commander's rather upset that's he's been replaced by a private.
almost all of the girls guarding this weekend were either troublemakers, or crying and in shock. that SUCKED ASS.
during my first shift, i found out that all the work i've been doing the last few weeks (outside of the army) has been for nought. not a good feeling, but i've learned a lot, and the pressure for the coming week has been reduced considerably.
i was joined for my shift by the mongoose and a couple of other guys, and we had fun. after the shift, i had to change the clocks on our servers - there was a girl from our section on duty, so she came by and helped out a lot. only problem is that we spent over an hour working on one of them, only to give up and report this to my commander... who says "whoops! forgot to tell you that we don't need that one".
bastard. i WILL get him back for it.
the girl was really cute, though.
so, i got to bed really late.
friday:
aside from everything else, due to the shift from daylight savings time we lost an hour of sleep. and i forgot to change *my* clocks. i arrived late for my shift, and the rest of the weekend the officer in charge didn't get off my back.
it was a dark, dark, sunny morning. the sun shone - directly into my face. i'd forgotten my glasses. i was exhausted. the commanding officers were constantly around my booth, so i couldn't sleep. it SUCKED. and it lasted a looooong time.
also, i tried all day to come up with a way to get my commander back - and failed.
the other south african came by, gave me a bandage for my sprained hand (awww...), and joined me in a shopping spree. yes, i got permission to leave the base to get cigarettes and birdseed. i am cool.
i got given some lessons in outlook calendars, the password to the internet machine, and a cup of coffee. a good recovery for the morning, all in all.
one of the guards called me smelly. i decided to take a (LONG) shower BEFORE sleeping. i didn't get any more complaints after that :P
it was an absolutely STUNNING day. hot, with a slight breeze.
had some really interesting discussions, took a nap (missing lunch, waking up only for a quick and rather pointless inspection... seated...), and then went up for my night shift.
which involved reading, supper (we were relieved for half an hour)... and a cute incident where the officer didn't notice i was smoking while talking to him, during my shift, totally forbidden.
:P
yesterday:
couldn't sleep during the night, the girls didn't stop screaming and singing into the walkie talkie - i was going NUTS. the mongoose called around 2am, which woke everyone up and almost killed me.
the run-up to the shift sucked.
i started my day with coffee and birdseed - funny thing is after a major wrestle with the coffee machine, i got back 14 shekels for the 2 i put in! never mind.
the afternoon was relaxed - had some interesting conversations, and slept and chilled. the shower totally rocked ^_^
and i came up with a way to get revenge on my commander. life is good.
lunch didn't rock though. this soupy thing that vaguely resembled beans and potato stew.
ew.
and i spilled some on myself as we carried round to the guys guarding :(
the evening shift was great. the mongoose visited, bringing excellent food, and we spent a few hours hanging. after he left, i was surprised by the guy who interviewed me - bringing me chocolates! yay!
after the shift i spoke to my mom, and then happily went to bed. i even managed to convince the girls to quiet down.
today:
today was insane. i finally slept enough, and made it to my shift on time - including a < 5 minute shave! the shift ROCKED. i took the main gate, so i spent my morning chatting and flirting - and had people running around organizing me breakfast and coffee, everything was grand.
no, really grand - i totally enjoyed my weekend!!
i went straight from guard duty (with full rights to go home) back to my office, and got hit with a mass of emails - our systems were screwed. i spent a frantic couple of hours working on them, and when i was done, i had to deal with our two new kids - who are NOT being helpful at all. it's actually quite rough to be in charge. but i think (i hope) i did okay before leaving. i'm about to shower and go to the wedding - empty-handed and in uniform :$
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