*** yesterday ***
gandalf's itself sucked - they played really dodgy hip-hop and jungle. mordor (upstairs) was pretty cool. i have no idea how to dance (neither does anyone else), so i was kinda uncomfortable at first, but i did have fun. and i saw a couple of people i've been itching (well, not really) to meet, and lots of arb metal freaks which made me feel at home.
some bastard there, just arrived from the sepultura concert, was carrying one of the drummer's drumsticks - lucky prick!
i decided to have a tequila, and was re-shocked when i discovered that it only costs R10 (like, about the same as a BAR of chocolate in israel), as opposed to R45 (about the cost of a fast-food meal in israel).
*** today ***
i woke up horribly this morning - i'm going to attribute it to having a drink and headbanging last night. i drove my mom to work, managed to just miss rush-hour traffic on the way back (almost got in the middle of a four car accident, though - i do hate bad drivers), and went to tkd.
fortunately, because there were only three of us, we spent the hour session stretching - it's been a long, long time, and i actually enjoy that kind of pain... they've taught us some good things in taekwondo.
when i got home, i had a shower, some strawberry pops (!), and then i just passed out for three hours, having some REALLY crazy, freaky, and outright disturbing dreams. and i'd been sleeping in a fairly awkward position, which didn't help much.
unfortunately, it means i haven't got enough time to do all the things i was meaning to do today...
go me.
*** later ***
i taped dragonball z and spongebob squarepants, and i'm waiting for my mum to finish watching the documentary on the twin towers so's i can watch them.
i went to cafe erte with SaGiRL, and we talked for a LONG time. she sent me a barrage of sms's, so when i got home i had a proper online sms conversation (i'm so not going to try teaching her to use irc), and now i'm downloading critical updates and wondering why ms outlook web access is so shitty - i can't delete my email for some reason, and i have limited space.
F$#%.
Thursday, September 11, 2003
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
10/09/03
hmmm. it feels as if it's been a long, long time since last wednesday (my last update), and much has happened to this li'l ol' brain, so i may not be able to remember things as accurately as i'd like.
one of the cuter things, though, is that while backing up my mum's computer, i discovered a partial journal entry from way, way back, in august '99.
it's of the date i wrote of in my post-hoc journal: my first trip, so i'm going to attempt to fuse the two at a some stage.
i have so little inclination to write these logs while i'm on holiday - even when i have nothing to do, it's so nice to just sit and stare out the windows...
we've had nothing but amazing sunsets the whole week.
*** 4th ***
i discovered, to my dismay, that i cannot install windows 2000 on my mum's pc, as there's something wrong with it. it would have been nice if the message had told me what specifically went wrong - i retried the installation with various combinations of hardware enabled, and they all failed.
so it's back to windows '98. but we have no drivers, and the rescue cd i made before i left in 2000 has gone missing.
i've been looking for things to do while i'm here, and shadowslight was telling me about something that he needs at work. drivers related, oddly enough.
i had the car, so i drove there for a visit. while we talked business, he burned me a really useful cd, with all sorts of funky programs for a newly installed computer.
i picked up my mom, of course going through my friend, mr. rush-hour traffic, and she dropped me off at shadowslight's house for our fortnightly movie night.
we watched clerks, which is a great film. and we watched all the dvd extras, which were cute.
instead of watching another movie, we played a game called munchkin fu, which is basically a spoof of magic: the gathering, and pokemon style card games.
instead of saying good night, and going home, three of us decided that playing pool would be a good idea. and it so was! i won most of my games (or at least, i didn't lose them - potting the black isn't a good way to finish), and generally just enjoyed the atmosphere, and looking at the pretty malay / indian girl at the table next to us. just looking, mind. i haven't been able to get her out of my mind the whole week, especially when i see good-looking women.
*** 5th ***
the most important part of my friday was going for a run. i haven't done anything more strenuous than playing counterstrike in a long time, and neither my muscles, nor my respiratory system, were prepared for the damage that i was about to inflict upon them.
after a hundred or so metres, i was buggered, but i carried on regardless, forcing myself, metre after metre (whether sprinting, jogging, or walking), to carry on.
eventually i found myself on the other end of mouille point. Very Far Away. i stopped and asked some guys if they would time fifteen (15) seconds for me, so that i could check my pulse. apparently their watches didn't work, because according to my count i should've been dead already.
and as tired and worn out as i was, i was barely sweating.
i then stretched for about fifteen minutes, with my muscles going into heavy spasm, and plenty of cramping. by the time i was done, there wasn't a fibre of my being that wasn't hurting.
i began the journey back. still attempting to run as fast as i can, when i got about halfway back i discovered that i had only half an hour in which to return home, shower, and get all the way to milnerton again.
i did my very best to sprint home - i could only run for small stretches, but i made it just in time.
my mum and i began the search for installion cds - there are quite a few boxes lying around labelled "arbitrary stuff", containing all sorts of surprises. one of the odd items that turned up, was a pine-cone given to me on (i think) the last day of matric (1998), by a girl a couple of grades below.
awww.
soon after, people began arriving for friday night supper. my cousins came first. after exhausting himself playing with a light switch, their little one passed out on the couch.
then came my sister's brood, along with her dodgy friend. who i shall refer to as dodgy friend.
dodgy friend was completely, utterly drunk. normally, she likes to test people, pushing them to see how much it takes to get them angry / upset. friday night she was even worse than usual.
that was incredibly annoying. also she'd acquired some pretty good dope, and kept trying to whisper that to me. she'd cup her hand over her mouth, and say, slowly and loudly, "hey, adam, i - have - some - really - good - stuff, it's - swazi."
when i attempted to shush her, she said (faster and way more quietly), "you're too paranoid. nobody cares!"
yeah, we can ignore my cousin, sitting right next to me, with this mortified expression on her face. genius.
supper itself was amazing (my second mom did GOOOOD), and aside from dodgy friend making some extremely unpleasant conversation, it went okay.
*** 6th ***
my legs were hurting when i woke up, but i got dressed and went to taekwondo anyway.
taekwondo here is on a totally different level from that in israel - they're way into fitness and strength, and they're also very, VERY polite. to an extreme.
i - was - DYING. i just couldn't keep up. saturday mornings are for the more advanced practitioners, and everyone else seemed only too happy abusing their bodies... i couldn't just stop. hell, i wasn't even given permission to get water about halfway through. we're spoiled in israel, we are.
the big mistake, however, was a very silly one: someone kicked a focus pad out of our instructor's hand, and it landed at my feet. my automatic, israeli reaction was to throw him the pad.
whoops.
as the pad left my hands, everyone, including me, gasped in shock - all i could think of was "oh my god! what have i done?!"
my aim was good, but as the instructor made no attempt to catch it, the pad landed at his feet. i then, abashed, slowly walked up to him and picked it up, but there is a specific way to give someone something, and i totally forgot how, so i had another reason to be embarrassed.
i still have to formally apologise, as i didn't get a chance at the end.
i left taekwondo in serious pain - i pulled both major muscles in each leg, so walking became unbearable.
during the two hour tkd lesson, we had a half an hour talk by some guy from the AGA (AIDS Global Advocacy, i think), from new york, rattling off all sorts of statistics about HIV/AIDS and giving us sage advice.
i suspected from the beginning that he was infected, so when he told us i wasn't surprised. what really took my breath away, was when he told us that he's 58 years old - he looks like he's in his early 30's!
"no way," we all said.
after tkd, shadowslight picked me up from my place, and off we went to forest hill - the most absurdly large university res complex i could imagine. there are seven buildings!! crazy...
oh, and shadowlight's driving is really not as bad as everyone makes out.
anyway, there were relatively few CLAWcreatures at the party, and i ended up sitting in the corner with the girl who gave me the pine-cone i mentioned earlier.
is that not a freaky coincidence?!
the food was good - unfortunately, i only found my shrimp once i'd already eaten all the noodles, but hey... and the white-rabbit sweets always go down well!
duncan arrived, i believe, during the let's-throw-sweets-into-some-girls-cleavage game, and we began the tekken tournament. okay, we first had to carry the tv and playstation up a couple of flights of stairs (with me whining about my legs all the way - EVERY step hurt). synkronos joined us, and we soon had a merry little session going.
the kid with the mohawk, who's place we were playing in, consistently beat me with king (i was using anna), and we definitely need a rematch. other than that, i won almost all my games. my hands were shaking a bit, though, as it's been a while and i do have to take care of my reputation :)
orange-juice's cousin (i can't think of a nick for her) offered me a ride home, but due to her not-so-l33t driving skills (which i think are intentional) i had to drive. interesting. her car's name is brumhilda, which at first was a little worrying, but i kinda got used to it fairly quickly.
a little later, i went shopping with my mom, and we bought a really cute little fly gun: i stuns them from 30 - 60cm away! requires some aiming skills, however.
i went over to dirk diggler's chick's place, where we watched the tail end of me, myself and irene, and ordered st. elmo's subs for supper (very nice). as soon as the kids went to bed, the bong came out...
four hits later, and i was so stoned i couldn't move. i stopped being able to feel my legs (a very good thing), but unfortunately, i was lying across a single couch (a very bad thing), so when i left at 3am my legs were in a slightly worse state...
i remember feeling very good, and laughing my ass off at some comedians, although i'm certain if i'd been sober i wouldn't have found it at all funny.
i remembered to floss before going to bed.
*** 7th ***
went with my mom and aunt for bottomless coffee (2 cups) and chicken-mayo sandwiches at starke ayres. on my way out, i walked straight past ork_khrist: i wasn't looking in his direction, but even if i had been, i almost wouldn't have recognized him - he's looking human! all neat and tidy, very strange. fortunately, he saw me, so we talked for a few seconds before my mum became impatient and phoned me.
*** 8th ***
i paid a really sucky visit to the dentist, which achieved nothing and got me two more appointments (?). i spent the rest of the day watching tv and reading (the jester - james patterson and andrew gross).
after my mom returned from work, i got use of the car, so i drove to shadowslight's for monday night tv, hawaiian pizza, and a mint magnum.
the city at sunset from his place is absolutely phenomenal.
*** yesterday ***
i woke up for early morning torture - i made myself jungle oats for breakfast, packed my bag for tkd, and walked in the rain (more of a drizzle, really) to the bus shelter.
some girl walked across the road, to the shelter, wearing her tkd pants, so i commented that training in wet pants would be a bitch. when someone asked where the bus was, i asked her if we would be on time, and she said that we would.
she was completely surprised to see me at tkd. i'd thought that what i'd said would've given it away.
training was only one hour, but it felt like four. we worked so hard, and did so many painful things... about halfway through i pulled a muscle in my back, but at least my legs are working again.
sort of.
the last exercise literally almost killed me. i couldn't see straight, i was having trouble breathing, and my body just refused to carry on. the others with me even tried to help me, to no avail... i did score a ride home, though, so i can't complain too much.
when i got home, it took me a while before i'd regained enough energy to take a shower, and after putting on clean, warm clothing i was still sore, tired, and feeling a bit sick.
i spent the rest of the day looking for a massage (damn massage therapy for becoming so popular - everyone's fully booked), and otherwise did nothing but read and watch tv.
spongebob squarepants totally r0xx0rs.
when my mom got home we moved garages - this involved a bit of heavy lifting, so i got some more exercise. yippee. we then went to a presentation entitled "he's a jew too", about the connection (conflict) in israel between judaism as a nationality and judaism as a religion. interesting, but all the people involved were from jerusalem, which is quite isolated from the rest of the country.
oh well.
*** today ***
it's 01.25 and i'm still not in bed - i'm busy installing ie6 and it looks like it's gonna take a while. damn dial-up.
*** later ***
tkd this morning was much, much easier (ie. my legs aren't broken). we just did forms, and i was constantly reminded by our instructor that we do it differently here. as if i couldn't see that for myself.
i went to the oral hygienist today, which is probably the reason i've been pigging out on chocolates for most of it.
dragonball z is cool, hunter x hunter is better, and also suitable for kids.
dirk diggler just left - he came over hours ago for a quick visit, and my mom and i conned him into some heavy lifting. our old garage is now completely empty.
and while he was here we purchased a pair of goggles online for me, from the link in my favourites. we decided on black-framed wolfpack. i can't wait for them to arrive! i only hope they'll get here before i leave.
with my luck...
aside from that, and watching too much tv, i can't think of anything else i did today. i have to find out about the sepultura concert afterparty - the concert was sold out before i got here, but i may as well get something...
one of the cuter things, though, is that while backing up my mum's computer, i discovered a partial journal entry from way, way back, in august '99.
it's of the date i wrote of in my post-hoc journal: my first trip, so i'm going to attempt to fuse the two at a some stage.
i have so little inclination to write these logs while i'm on holiday - even when i have nothing to do, it's so nice to just sit and stare out the windows...
we've had nothing but amazing sunsets the whole week.
*** 4th ***
i discovered, to my dismay, that i cannot install windows 2000 on my mum's pc, as there's something wrong with it. it would have been nice if the message had told me what specifically went wrong - i retried the installation with various combinations of hardware enabled, and they all failed.
so it's back to windows '98. but we have no drivers, and the rescue cd i made before i left in 2000 has gone missing.
i've been looking for things to do while i'm here, and shadowslight was telling me about something that he needs at work. drivers related, oddly enough.
i had the car, so i drove there for a visit. while we talked business, he burned me a really useful cd, with all sorts of funky programs for a newly installed computer.
i picked up my mom, of course going through my friend, mr. rush-hour traffic, and she dropped me off at shadowslight's house for our fortnightly movie night.
we watched clerks, which is a great film. and we watched all the dvd extras, which were cute.
instead of watching another movie, we played a game called munchkin fu, which is basically a spoof of magic: the gathering, and pokemon style card games.
instead of saying good night, and going home, three of us decided that playing pool would be a good idea. and it so was! i won most of my games (or at least, i didn't lose them - potting the black isn't a good way to finish), and generally just enjoyed the atmosphere, and looking at the pretty malay / indian girl at the table next to us. just looking, mind. i haven't been able to get her out of my mind the whole week, especially when i see good-looking women.
*** 5th ***
the most important part of my friday was going for a run. i haven't done anything more strenuous than playing counterstrike in a long time, and neither my muscles, nor my respiratory system, were prepared for the damage that i was about to inflict upon them.
after a hundred or so metres, i was buggered, but i carried on regardless, forcing myself, metre after metre (whether sprinting, jogging, or walking), to carry on.
eventually i found myself on the other end of mouille point. Very Far Away. i stopped and asked some guys if they would time fifteen (15) seconds for me, so that i could check my pulse. apparently their watches didn't work, because according to my count i should've been dead already.
and as tired and worn out as i was, i was barely sweating.
i then stretched for about fifteen minutes, with my muscles going into heavy spasm, and plenty of cramping. by the time i was done, there wasn't a fibre of my being that wasn't hurting.
i began the journey back. still attempting to run as fast as i can, when i got about halfway back i discovered that i had only half an hour in which to return home, shower, and get all the way to milnerton again.
i did my very best to sprint home - i could only run for small stretches, but i made it just in time.
my mum and i began the search for installion cds - there are quite a few boxes lying around labelled "arbitrary stuff", containing all sorts of surprises. one of the odd items that turned up, was a pine-cone given to me on (i think) the last day of matric (1998), by a girl a couple of grades below.
awww.
soon after, people began arriving for friday night supper. my cousins came first. after exhausting himself playing with a light switch, their little one passed out on the couch.
then came my sister's brood, along with her dodgy friend. who i shall refer to as dodgy friend.
dodgy friend was completely, utterly drunk. normally, she likes to test people, pushing them to see how much it takes to get them angry / upset. friday night she was even worse than usual.
that was incredibly annoying. also she'd acquired some pretty good dope, and kept trying to whisper that to me. she'd cup her hand over her mouth, and say, slowly and loudly, "hey, adam, i - have - some - really - good - stuff, it's - swazi."
when i attempted to shush her, she said (faster and way more quietly), "you're too paranoid. nobody cares!"
yeah, we can ignore my cousin, sitting right next to me, with this mortified expression on her face. genius.
supper itself was amazing (my second mom did GOOOOD), and aside from dodgy friend making some extremely unpleasant conversation, it went okay.
*** 6th ***
my legs were hurting when i woke up, but i got dressed and went to taekwondo anyway.
taekwondo here is on a totally different level from that in israel - they're way into fitness and strength, and they're also very, VERY polite. to an extreme.
i - was - DYING. i just couldn't keep up. saturday mornings are for the more advanced practitioners, and everyone else seemed only too happy abusing their bodies... i couldn't just stop. hell, i wasn't even given permission to get water about halfway through. we're spoiled in israel, we are.
the big mistake, however, was a very silly one: someone kicked a focus pad out of our instructor's hand, and it landed at my feet. my automatic, israeli reaction was to throw him the pad.
whoops.
as the pad left my hands, everyone, including me, gasped in shock - all i could think of was "oh my god! what have i done?!"
my aim was good, but as the instructor made no attempt to catch it, the pad landed at his feet. i then, abashed, slowly walked up to him and picked it up, but there is a specific way to give someone something, and i totally forgot how, so i had another reason to be embarrassed.
i still have to formally apologise, as i didn't get a chance at the end.
i left taekwondo in serious pain - i pulled both major muscles in each leg, so walking became unbearable.
during the two hour tkd lesson, we had a half an hour talk by some guy from the AGA (AIDS Global Advocacy, i think), from new york, rattling off all sorts of statistics about HIV/AIDS and giving us sage advice.
i suspected from the beginning that he was infected, so when he told us i wasn't surprised. what really took my breath away, was when he told us that he's 58 years old - he looks like he's in his early 30's!
"no way," we all said.
after tkd, shadowslight picked me up from my place, and off we went to forest hill - the most absurdly large university res complex i could imagine. there are seven buildings!! crazy...
oh, and shadowlight's driving is really not as bad as everyone makes out.
anyway, there were relatively few CLAWcreatures at the party, and i ended up sitting in the corner with the girl who gave me the pine-cone i mentioned earlier.
is that not a freaky coincidence?!
the food was good - unfortunately, i only found my shrimp once i'd already eaten all the noodles, but hey... and the white-rabbit sweets always go down well!
duncan arrived, i believe, during the let's-throw-sweets-into-some-girls-cleavage game, and we began the tekken tournament. okay, we first had to carry the tv and playstation up a couple of flights of stairs (with me whining about my legs all the way - EVERY step hurt). synkronos joined us, and we soon had a merry little session going.
the kid with the mohawk, who's place we were playing in, consistently beat me with king (i was using anna), and we definitely need a rematch. other than that, i won almost all my games. my hands were shaking a bit, though, as it's been a while and i do have to take care of my reputation :)
orange-juice's cousin (i can't think of a nick for her) offered me a ride home, but due to her not-so-l33t driving skills (which i think are intentional) i had to drive. interesting. her car's name is brumhilda, which at first was a little worrying, but i kinda got used to it fairly quickly.
a little later, i went shopping with my mom, and we bought a really cute little fly gun: i stuns them from 30 - 60cm away! requires some aiming skills, however.
i went over to dirk diggler's chick's place, where we watched the tail end of me, myself and irene, and ordered st. elmo's subs for supper (very nice). as soon as the kids went to bed, the bong came out...
four hits later, and i was so stoned i couldn't move. i stopped being able to feel my legs (a very good thing), but unfortunately, i was lying across a single couch (a very bad thing), so when i left at 3am my legs were in a slightly worse state...
i remember feeling very good, and laughing my ass off at some comedians, although i'm certain if i'd been sober i wouldn't have found it at all funny.
i remembered to floss before going to bed.
*** 7th ***
went with my mom and aunt for bottomless coffee (2 cups) and chicken-mayo sandwiches at starke ayres. on my way out, i walked straight past ork_khrist: i wasn't looking in his direction, but even if i had been, i almost wouldn't have recognized him - he's looking human! all neat and tidy, very strange. fortunately, he saw me, so we talked for a few seconds before my mum became impatient and phoned me.
*** 8th ***
i paid a really sucky visit to the dentist, which achieved nothing and got me two more appointments (?). i spent the rest of the day watching tv and reading (the jester - james patterson and andrew gross).
after my mom returned from work, i got use of the car, so i drove to shadowslight's for monday night tv, hawaiian pizza, and a mint magnum.
the city at sunset from his place is absolutely phenomenal.
*** yesterday ***
i woke up for early morning torture - i made myself jungle oats for breakfast, packed my bag for tkd, and walked in the rain (more of a drizzle, really) to the bus shelter.
some girl walked across the road, to the shelter, wearing her tkd pants, so i commented that training in wet pants would be a bitch. when someone asked where the bus was, i asked her if we would be on time, and she said that we would.
she was completely surprised to see me at tkd. i'd thought that what i'd said would've given it away.
training was only one hour, but it felt like four. we worked so hard, and did so many painful things... about halfway through i pulled a muscle in my back, but at least my legs are working again.
sort of.
the last exercise literally almost killed me. i couldn't see straight, i was having trouble breathing, and my body just refused to carry on. the others with me even tried to help me, to no avail... i did score a ride home, though, so i can't complain too much.
when i got home, it took me a while before i'd regained enough energy to take a shower, and after putting on clean, warm clothing i was still sore, tired, and feeling a bit sick.
i spent the rest of the day looking for a massage (damn massage therapy for becoming so popular - everyone's fully booked), and otherwise did nothing but read and watch tv.
spongebob squarepants totally r0xx0rs.
when my mom got home we moved garages - this involved a bit of heavy lifting, so i got some more exercise. yippee. we then went to a presentation entitled "he's a jew too", about the connection (conflict) in israel between judaism as a nationality and judaism as a religion. interesting, but all the people involved were from jerusalem, which is quite isolated from the rest of the country.
oh well.
*** today ***
it's 01.25 and i'm still not in bed - i'm busy installing ie6 and it looks like it's gonna take a while. damn dial-up.
*** later ***
tkd this morning was much, much easier (ie. my legs aren't broken). we just did forms, and i was constantly reminded by our instructor that we do it differently here. as if i couldn't see that for myself.
i went to the oral hygienist today, which is probably the reason i've been pigging out on chocolates for most of it.
dragonball z is cool, hunter x hunter is better, and also suitable for kids.
dirk diggler just left - he came over hours ago for a quick visit, and my mom and i conned him into some heavy lifting. our old garage is now completely empty.
and while he was here we purchased a pair of goggles online for me, from the link in my favourites. we decided on black-framed wolfpack. i can't wait for them to arrive! i only hope they'll get here before i leave.
with my luck...
aside from that, and watching too much tv, i can't think of anything else i did today. i have to find out about the sepultura concert afterparty - the concert was sold out before i got here, but i may as well get something...
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
03/09/03
*** 31st ***
i don't really recall much about sunday. i was meant to visit my cousin, who cancelled, and then went with my mum to have supper with some family friends. which was really nice. although i was the designated driver, i still got a bit tipsy, and almost fell off my chair when i sat down... thanks to the gods nobody (ie. my mum) noticed.
*** 1st ***
i spent the morning hacking and coughing, and most of the day in front of the tv, reading.
i watched the first fifteen minutes of casablanca, which looks really good! i always thought it was about a guy named casablanca...
i made my way to cape technikon, to visit a friend of mine. he was really busy, so i hung around and we talked while he worked, when he finished we moved over to mr. pickwick's, for a quick coffee, before i got on the road to milnerton to fetch my mum.
with stop-go traffic all the way.
i joined moonflake and shadowslight for monday night tv again. i had a bacon & avo pizza, medium size, for R29.
it took a while for the price to sink in.
oh, and it was AWESOME pizza.
*** yesterday ***
i finally got to bed around 2am.
i was woken around 8am, and given about ten minutes to get ready before driving my mother to work, so i could get the car for the day.
my cough was still aggravated, but everything felt much, much better than in the previous few days. the lung butter's still there, but it's not moving around as much.
i went to two banks, attempting to open an account just for the purpose of internet purchases, and was refused dice both times (umm, i'm trying to play with the expression "no dice").
it took effort, on my part, just to be refused... a tad disappointing.
i met up with campey on campus (should write a song with that title), and we went to the cafeteria for some coffee. i managed to spill samoosa juice (curry, foolish human) on my GIR shirt.
grrr.
and a bee bathed in my coffee.
grrr.
after borrowing campey's student card, i left for the library, with the intention of learning about this new-ish microsoft voodoo, .NET.
i got lost in the library. it took me a while just to figure out that i was in completely the wrong place, and then a (much shorter) while to figure out how to use the search tools, which aren't labelled in any useful way.
i then took the useless part of the book's library code to the librarian, who fortunately managed to find it anyway.
and now i know how to use the library. i'm so proud of me!
i sat for about half an hour, until i decided that i now know enough to use .NET in any language: whatever they call it, think of it all as java, and everything works out just fine.
actually, from that point of view, it would appear that m$ has managed to do a good thing. but i'm sure the demons will pop out of the stonework soon enough...
i returned the book, and moved over to NCc. (IMHO, a much better way of writing Nescafe Cafe Cafe Cafe, as it includes the echo effect). Met up with a few CLAWcreatures while waiting for moonflake to arrive. which she did.
about this time the puns began flowing freely from my lips, and only slowed, much later, under extreme duress.
after a while of catching up, and poking fun at tall people, we went to get sandwiches for lunch, and paid a visit to campey and d@vid, who were all Very Busy.
moonbase commander is a very cool game.
moonflake gave me a ride to my car, and my trusty steed hobbled me through some more stop-go traffic for the next few ages, and deposited me outside my mom's office.
and there our long-faced metaphor ends.
getting directions for my cousin's place was a complete nightmare, and after much aggravation i got in the car, with only a rough idea of where i was going.
the completely useless drivers on the road didn't improve my mood. the only thing that kept me relatively sane was the other drivers also becoming irritated with the useless ones, so there were a few of us, chasing them, howling in rage.
after only one minor error, lasting about two or three kilometres at the most, i found what (or where) i was looking for.
my cousin and his girlfriend are staying in a large, pretty apartment, with lightswitches that make sense, and a ps2 with gta3 (vice city).
i'd seen gta3 before, but i'd never played it, and i must say it's just as cool as gta2, with better graphics, vehicles, and weapons.
couldn't ask for much more.
we had grand lasagne while watching saturday night fever (one of my favourites), and i thoroughly enjoyed myself.
when i got home, my mom and i started watching alice in wonderland (whoopi goldberg version), which i'd only seen about five minutes of with sandman -
that night we went to lizards, and he introduced me to a friend of his, using (as is normal) his first name only.
i had no way of knowing that this was a man with a traumatizing full name, and when he said his first name, i quoted "well, that's not your fault."
he then attempted to bludgeon me to death with a pool cue.
i passed out soon after that line, and only woke after the movie had ended - so i took my medication (for the cold, you scum), and went to bed.
*** today ***
this morning, the lung butter came back, with great vengeance and a bit of furious anger.
i read a bit, watched some tv, did some sit-ups and push-ups in lieu of going out and getting some real exercise, watched alice in wonderland, and i'm currently attempting to figure out what the rest of my day is going to look like.
alice in wonderland, the whoopi goldberg version, is at some points extremely in tune with the book. however, the majority of it, including the moral of the story, is tone deaf. THERE IS NO MORAL.
that having been said, i quite enjoyed it (when i could keep my eyes open, i had to keep rewinding), and it had a great cast (i only wish they would have included there names in the credits). the girl who played alice reminds me a lot of russel crowe.
go figure.
i went to town to pick up some stuff from a friend, played around online for a bit, and then drove him home.
i watched caddyshack, which was cute, but not very funny, and passed out soon after.
i don't really recall much about sunday. i was meant to visit my cousin, who cancelled, and then went with my mum to have supper with some family friends. which was really nice. although i was the designated driver, i still got a bit tipsy, and almost fell off my chair when i sat down... thanks to the gods nobody (ie. my mum) noticed.
*** 1st ***
i spent the morning hacking and coughing, and most of the day in front of the tv, reading.
i watched the first fifteen minutes of casablanca, which looks really good! i always thought it was about a guy named casablanca...
i made my way to cape technikon, to visit a friend of mine. he was really busy, so i hung around and we talked while he worked, when he finished we moved over to mr. pickwick's, for a quick coffee, before i got on the road to milnerton to fetch my mum.
with stop-go traffic all the way.
i joined moonflake and shadowslight for monday night tv again. i had a bacon & avo pizza, medium size, for R29.
it took a while for the price to sink in.
oh, and it was AWESOME pizza.
*** yesterday ***
i finally got to bed around 2am.
i was woken around 8am, and given about ten minutes to get ready before driving my mother to work, so i could get the car for the day.
my cough was still aggravated, but everything felt much, much better than in the previous few days. the lung butter's still there, but it's not moving around as much.
i went to two banks, attempting to open an account just for the purpose of internet purchases, and was refused dice both times (umm, i'm trying to play with the expression "no dice").
it took effort, on my part, just to be refused... a tad disappointing.
i met up with campey on campus (should write a song with that title), and we went to the cafeteria for some coffee. i managed to spill samoosa juice (curry, foolish human) on my GIR shirt.
grrr.
and a bee bathed in my coffee.
grrr.
after borrowing campey's student card, i left for the library, with the intention of learning about this new-ish microsoft voodoo, .NET.
i got lost in the library. it took me a while just to figure out that i was in completely the wrong place, and then a (much shorter) while to figure out how to use the search tools, which aren't labelled in any useful way.
i then took the useless part of the book's library code to the librarian, who fortunately managed to find it anyway.
and now i know how to use the library. i'm so proud of me!
i sat for about half an hour, until i decided that i now know enough to use .NET in any language: whatever they call it, think of it all as java, and everything works out just fine.
actually, from that point of view, it would appear that m$ has managed to do a good thing. but i'm sure the demons will pop out of the stonework soon enough...
i returned the book, and moved over to NCc. (IMHO, a much better way of writing Nescafe Cafe Cafe Cafe, as it includes the echo effect). Met up with a few CLAWcreatures while waiting for moonflake to arrive. which she did.
about this time the puns began flowing freely from my lips, and only slowed, much later, under extreme duress.
after a while of catching up, and poking fun at tall people, we went to get sandwiches for lunch, and paid a visit to campey and d@vid, who were all Very Busy.
moonbase commander is a very cool game.
moonflake gave me a ride to my car, and my trusty steed hobbled me through some more stop-go traffic for the next few ages, and deposited me outside my mom's office.
and there our long-faced metaphor ends.
getting directions for my cousin's place was a complete nightmare, and after much aggravation i got in the car, with only a rough idea of where i was going.
the completely useless drivers on the road didn't improve my mood. the only thing that kept me relatively sane was the other drivers also becoming irritated with the useless ones, so there were a few of us, chasing them, howling in rage.
after only one minor error, lasting about two or three kilometres at the most, i found what (or where) i was looking for.
my cousin and his girlfriend are staying in a large, pretty apartment, with lightswitches that make sense, and a ps2 with gta3 (vice city).
i'd seen gta3 before, but i'd never played it, and i must say it's just as cool as gta2, with better graphics, vehicles, and weapons.
couldn't ask for much more.
we had grand lasagne while watching saturday night fever (one of my favourites), and i thoroughly enjoyed myself.
when i got home, my mom and i started watching alice in wonderland (whoopi goldberg version), which i'd only seen about five minutes of with sandman -
that night we went to lizards, and he introduced me to a friend of his, using (as is normal) his first name only.
i had no way of knowing that this was a man with a traumatizing full name, and when he said his first name, i quoted "well, that's not your fault."
he then attempted to bludgeon me to death with a pool cue.
i passed out soon after that line, and only woke after the movie had ended - so i took my medication (for the cold, you scum), and went to bed.
*** today ***
this morning, the lung butter came back, with great vengeance and a bit of furious anger.
i read a bit, watched some tv, did some sit-ups and push-ups in lieu of going out and getting some real exercise, watched alice in wonderland, and i'm currently attempting to figure out what the rest of my day is going to look like.
alice in wonderland, the whoopi goldberg version, is at some points extremely in tune with the book. however, the majority of it, including the moral of the story, is tone deaf. THERE IS NO MORAL.
that having been said, i quite enjoyed it (when i could keep my eyes open, i had to keep rewinding), and it had a great cast (i only wish they would have included there names in the credits). the girl who played alice reminds me a lot of russel crowe.
go figure.
i went to town to pick up some stuff from a friend, played around online for a bit, and then drove him home.
i watched caddyshack, which was cute, but not very funny, and passed out soon after.
Sunday, August 31, 2003
31/08/03
*** 27th / 28th ***
i was feeling quite sick (i think i got a cold - my throat's been killing me, and my post-nasal drip's come back from a long vacation to say hello), so i spent these days doing pretty much nothing at all.
i watched five movies: the green berets, the cell, the green mile, real-life serial killers, and cobra.
about 2am on the 27th, i received an email from grootbek. i'll post my response in mental masturbation.
*** 29th ***
i returned the videos just before 10am, and aeroplane came to pick me up about half an hour later.
first stop was his girlfriend's apartment, which she was in the process of moving out. we listened to some music, looked at some artwork, and were then joined by two of his friends, who shall rename maneless.
they'd bought an ENORMOUS roll of bubble-wrap, for packaging the big things (like tables), which was the biggest tease ever.
while we were talking, i was unconsciously popping the bubble-wrap encasing one of the tables, which was really upsetting aeroplane.
we continued talking for a bit, shunted some of the stuff to the cars, and then we were on our way to the comic book store.
scoring some frighteningly powerful stuff on the way - two tokes and i was trashed... but then, so was everyone else.
oh, and we stopped to get breakfast / lunch (this is an argument with no conclusion).
let's just say that cavendish can be most entertaining / confusing in a state like that - we got lost a couple of times before we remembered our destination.
the comic book store is not really my thing - it's great for the first few minutes, but there's only so much time i can spend looking at models of aliens, the predator, neon genesis evangelion's eva units, akira's tetsuo, and clive barker's gruesome (yet most compelling) 12" gore fest, to name a few.
after what seemed like an hour, the guys had had enough, and finally bought some rather nice stuff (i never understate...).
getting back to the car involved crossing a rather busy main road, and in the state we were in, that was quite a hairy experience.
for those of us who'd called our earlier "meal" lunch, the munchies were tapping on our shoulders, and tugging on our clothes.
for those of us who'd called it breakfast, it was lunchtime.
none of us got anything to eat, however, but we all agreed that supper would consist of home-made subs.
we visited a liquor store, and went off to aeroplane's hangar (house, sometimes i just can't help myself). we prepared the punch (some vodka, some energy drinks, some lemon twist, and "stuff".
we all went to misky's place, to drop off the boxes, drink some coffee, and almost converse. i was still a bit fuzzy around the edges, and my mouth and brain weren't quite on speaking terms.
we were all dragged along on a mission to find a trailer, which bombed, and then went back to the hangar (there we go again), for drinks, and subs. all of which were really, really good.
pre-movie, we stopped off at one of the guys' place to get royally %$!@ed, and left for tyger valley about five minutes before the movie was due to start.
we made it JUST in time for the movie. bad boys ii was totally satisfying - some of the gore was a tad unnecessary, but everything was done, IMHO, perfectly. in my head it's all one movie - they were utterly consistent, and i was completely blown away.
*** yesterday ***
i arbed around most of yesterday. i've been reading terry pratchett's the colour of magic for the past few days, after finishing a most disappointing vittorio. most of the two anne rice books were really good, and very interesting. however, she has no idea when to stop - the intro to pandora, and the selected and annotated bibliography in vittorio were not only unnecessary, but just plain BAD.
i've only ever read the colour of magic in its graphic novel form, and i have to say that this is much funnier.
my mom convinced me to join her for a walk along the beachfront at some point in the early afternoon. it was really beautiful, and it was the first sunny, warm day since i left israel. and it's not humid, so i can actually enjoy the heat without sweating.
we stopped for coffee at the newport deli (some classy little cafe / coffee shop), after running into some cousins there, and afterwards we were joined for the walk back.
during which we ran into some other cousins.
i decided to take a nap, and left the tv on for ambient sound. muthafunstas put celine dion on, and i was woken with an urge to strangle small furry animals. stupid, ugly canadian witch.
i really can't think of a nickname for the friend of mine who came over yesterday afternoon. we talked for ages, had stir-fry for supper, and watched most of traffic before remembering that we were supposed to be going to town with dirk diggler's crew.
we went to a place called velvet lounge, i think, which is a really sweet bar / pub / club type thingy, managed by diggler's girlfriend's brother, and a friend of ours from waaay back.
really nice pool tables, at R2 a pop, and i got me a free whiskey (which tasted a little watery, but hey).
we then moved on to the fez, where me and the friend with no nick were de-selected (weren't dressed smart enough), so we came up with a contingency plan which involved meeting up with diggler at cafe erte.
when we got there, he sent us an sms to say that he'd gone home.
bastard.
we discovered that the first half an hour of internet access is free, so we sat with don pedro and chocolate milkshake, tapping and clicking away...
we tried to find the trance party at culemborg (after i, still in my trashed state from the day before, not helped by the whiskey, got lost in town), but gave up when there was no sound to be heard anywhere in the vicinity.
so i dropped him off on the other side of the mountain, and made my loosely controlled way (drunk-driving style, just without the drunk part) back home, had a bath, and crashed.
i woke up this morning barely able to breathe, and have spent a most charming couple of hours coughing and producing elephant-cries for the neighbours.
i was feeling quite sick (i think i got a cold - my throat's been killing me, and my post-nasal drip's come back from a long vacation to say hello), so i spent these days doing pretty much nothing at all.
i watched five movies: the green berets, the cell, the green mile, real-life serial killers, and cobra.
about 2am on the 27th, i received an email from grootbek. i'll post my response in mental masturbation.
*** 29th ***
i returned the videos just before 10am, and aeroplane came to pick me up about half an hour later.
first stop was his girlfriend's apartment, which she was in the process of moving out. we listened to some music, looked at some artwork, and were then joined by two of his friends, who shall rename maneless.
they'd bought an ENORMOUS roll of bubble-wrap, for packaging the big things (like tables), which was the biggest tease ever.
while we were talking, i was unconsciously popping the bubble-wrap encasing one of the tables, which was really upsetting aeroplane.
we continued talking for a bit, shunted some of the stuff to the cars, and then we were on our way to the comic book store.
scoring some frighteningly powerful stuff on the way - two tokes and i was trashed... but then, so was everyone else.
oh, and we stopped to get breakfast / lunch (this is an argument with no conclusion).
let's just say that cavendish can be most entertaining / confusing in a state like that - we got lost a couple of times before we remembered our destination.
the comic book store is not really my thing - it's great for the first few minutes, but there's only so much time i can spend looking at models of aliens, the predator, neon genesis evangelion's eva units, akira's tetsuo, and clive barker's gruesome (yet most compelling) 12" gore fest, to name a few.
after what seemed like an hour, the guys had had enough, and finally bought some rather nice stuff (i never understate...).
getting back to the car involved crossing a rather busy main road, and in the state we were in, that was quite a hairy experience.
for those of us who'd called our earlier "meal" lunch, the munchies were tapping on our shoulders, and tugging on our clothes.
for those of us who'd called it breakfast, it was lunchtime.
none of us got anything to eat, however, but we all agreed that supper would consist of home-made subs.
we visited a liquor store, and went off to aeroplane's hangar (house, sometimes i just can't help myself). we prepared the punch (some vodka, some energy drinks, some lemon twist, and "stuff".
we all went to misky's place, to drop off the boxes, drink some coffee, and almost converse. i was still a bit fuzzy around the edges, and my mouth and brain weren't quite on speaking terms.
we were all dragged along on a mission to find a trailer, which bombed, and then went back to the hangar (there we go again), for drinks, and subs. all of which were really, really good.
pre-movie, we stopped off at one of the guys' place to get royally %$!@ed, and left for tyger valley about five minutes before the movie was due to start.
we made it JUST in time for the movie. bad boys ii was totally satisfying - some of the gore was a tad unnecessary, but everything was done, IMHO, perfectly. in my head it's all one movie - they were utterly consistent, and i was completely blown away.
*** yesterday ***
i arbed around most of yesterday. i've been reading terry pratchett's the colour of magic for the past few days, after finishing a most disappointing vittorio. most of the two anne rice books were really good, and very interesting. however, she has no idea when to stop - the intro to pandora, and the selected and annotated bibliography in vittorio were not only unnecessary, but just plain BAD.
i've only ever read the colour of magic in its graphic novel form, and i have to say that this is much funnier.
my mom convinced me to join her for a walk along the beachfront at some point in the early afternoon. it was really beautiful, and it was the first sunny, warm day since i left israel. and it's not humid, so i can actually enjoy the heat without sweating.
we stopped for coffee at the newport deli (some classy little cafe / coffee shop), after running into some cousins there, and afterwards we were joined for the walk back.
during which we ran into some other cousins.
i decided to take a nap, and left the tv on for ambient sound. muthafunstas put celine dion on, and i was woken with an urge to strangle small furry animals. stupid, ugly canadian witch.
i really can't think of a nickname for the friend of mine who came over yesterday afternoon. we talked for ages, had stir-fry for supper, and watched most of traffic before remembering that we were supposed to be going to town with dirk diggler's crew.
we went to a place called velvet lounge, i think, which is a really sweet bar / pub / club type thingy, managed by diggler's girlfriend's brother, and a friend of ours from waaay back.
really nice pool tables, at R2 a pop, and i got me a free whiskey (which tasted a little watery, but hey).
we then moved on to the fez, where me and the friend with no nick were de-selected (weren't dressed smart enough), so we came up with a contingency plan which involved meeting up with diggler at cafe erte.
when we got there, he sent us an sms to say that he'd gone home.
bastard.
we discovered that the first half an hour of internet access is free, so we sat with don pedro and chocolate milkshake, tapping and clicking away...
we tried to find the trance party at culemborg (after i, still in my trashed state from the day before, not helped by the whiskey, got lost in town), but gave up when there was no sound to be heard anywhere in the vicinity.
so i dropped him off on the other side of the mountain, and made my loosely controlled way (drunk-driving style, just without the drunk part) back home, had a bath, and crashed.
i woke up this morning barely able to breathe, and have spent a most charming couple of hours coughing and producing elephant-cries for the neighbours.
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
26/08/03
*** 24th ***
the airport run was crap. i hate driving in the rain, and i had to circle the airport parking bays twice before finding a place to sit and wait.
i then drove to some business park, where the two of them moved to my sister's car, and i had to drive home alone.
i met up with them at her place, we got stoned, talked crap, and i vaguely recall walking home and going to bed at some stage.
*** yesterday ***
my other mom made a batch of her famous chocolate chip cookies yesterday, and i got to clean the batter from the bowl!
dirk diggler came by, and we made our way to uct on our way to visit a friend of his.
i introduced him to david (still not 1337 script) and campey, and we met up with moonflake and sat at nc^3 (nescafe cafe cafe cafe) with coffee and muffins.
now that it's vac (i'd never heard of it, damned lazy capetonians) it's really difficult to find a jammie taxi, so we drove to pick up diggler's car, dropped moonflake's shiny kadett at her place, rented stark raving mad from the dirty corner cafe in rondebosch, and zoomed off to the electrician (helicopter electrician)'s place.
nice little apartment, with a REALLY pretty setup consisting of cd-j's, turntables, and a mixer, all really flash and shiny.
the movie was great - loads of fun, really good atmosphere, and it's the first time i've seen stiffler (i never remember his name) not playing a doodyhead.
we then moved over to shadowslight's place, for spaghetti bolognaise (with cheese!), and watched all the monday night tv series' before heading home and crashing.
*** today ***
i woke up way too early this morning. i don't know why, but i'm back in cape town, on holiday, and yet i'm still diurnal.
stupid body.
i had breakfast and watched soapies, got fed up and went on a mission (sans objectives).
i had a haircut, which so far seems decent (no camera, no photo's), rented two videos, and took them to my sister's place, to watch in comfort.
i had trouble at the video store, because, as i only discovered when i tried to take them out, my niece has incurred a debt of R30, almost two months ago, and STILL hasn't paid it. and i didn't have enough money on me.
and she tells me that i'm anal-retentive and paranoid, because i get upset when she does this kind of thing. whatever happened to the phrase "don't make your problems, my problems"?
fortunately, the guy from the store knows me well enough...
i now can't believe that i hadn't seen bram stoker's dracula before - i've been missing so many movie references, for instance the entire vampire hunter: d movie.
the movie was most entertaining, and VERY surprising (great cast!). everytime i saw gary oldman, all i could think of was "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. your time for revenge, is at hand.".
i had trouble staying awake during the wind in the willows, as it was freezing cold and i was lying on an extremely comfortable couch. it's a really good film, the casting is superb, and i felt that it has the same feel as the book.
soon after my sister got home, my mom came over for some coffee. afterwards, we went to her best friend's parents, to provide some elderly technological assistance (teaching them how to use a portable telephone, ag shame), and then came home for a really decent meal and a repeat of the wind in the willows (my mommy likes that stuff, too).
the airport run was crap. i hate driving in the rain, and i had to circle the airport parking bays twice before finding a place to sit and wait.
i then drove to some business park, where the two of them moved to my sister's car, and i had to drive home alone.
i met up with them at her place, we got stoned, talked crap, and i vaguely recall walking home and going to bed at some stage.
*** yesterday ***
my other mom made a batch of her famous chocolate chip cookies yesterday, and i got to clean the batter from the bowl!
dirk diggler came by, and we made our way to uct on our way to visit a friend of his.
i introduced him to david (still not 1337 script) and campey, and we met up with moonflake and sat at nc^3 (nescafe cafe cafe cafe) with coffee and muffins.
now that it's vac (i'd never heard of it, damned lazy capetonians) it's really difficult to find a jammie taxi, so we drove to pick up diggler's car, dropped moonflake's shiny kadett at her place, rented stark raving mad from the dirty corner cafe in rondebosch, and zoomed off to the electrician (helicopter electrician)'s place.
nice little apartment, with a REALLY pretty setup consisting of cd-j's, turntables, and a mixer, all really flash and shiny.
the movie was great - loads of fun, really good atmosphere, and it's the first time i've seen stiffler (i never remember his name) not playing a doodyhead.
we then moved over to shadowslight's place, for spaghetti bolognaise (with cheese!), and watched all the monday night tv series' before heading home and crashing.
*** today ***
i woke up way too early this morning. i don't know why, but i'm back in cape town, on holiday, and yet i'm still diurnal.
stupid body.
i had breakfast and watched soapies, got fed up and went on a mission (sans objectives).
i had a haircut, which so far seems decent (no camera, no photo's), rented two videos, and took them to my sister's place, to watch in comfort.
i had trouble at the video store, because, as i only discovered when i tried to take them out, my niece has incurred a debt of R30, almost two months ago, and STILL hasn't paid it. and i didn't have enough money on me.
and she tells me that i'm anal-retentive and paranoid, because i get upset when she does this kind of thing. whatever happened to the phrase "don't make your problems, my problems"?
fortunately, the guy from the store knows me well enough...
i now can't believe that i hadn't seen bram stoker's dracula before - i've been missing so many movie references, for instance the entire vampire hunter: d movie.
the movie was most entertaining, and VERY surprising (great cast!). everytime i saw gary oldman, all i could think of was "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. your time for revenge, is at hand.".
i had trouble staying awake during the wind in the willows, as it was freezing cold and i was lying on an extremely comfortable couch. it's a really good film, the casting is superb, and i felt that it has the same feel as the book.
soon after my sister got home, my mom came over for some coffee. afterwards, we went to her best friend's parents, to provide some elderly technological assistance (teaching them how to use a portable telephone, ag shame), and then came home for a really decent meal and a repeat of the wind in the willows (my mommy likes that stuff, too).
Sunday, August 24, 2003
24/08/03
*** 22nd ***
yesterday's surfing was AMAZING. words cannot do justice to the beauty and majesty of the ocean and mountains surrounding the spot that we went to, just further down from gordon's bay, where the waves were just right (about two or three feet, i think), the sun was shining, and even getting hit in the head by the crash of the wave could not deter me from heading back out again and again.
my muscles are all sore, though.
but it's a good kind of pain.
my mum wasn't feeling well, so i was nominated as designated driver, and i had to drive two of our elderly relatives quite a ways, when it was my first time driving on the left-side in six months.
the way to supper was okay, but on the way back, i was concentrating so hard on keeping them feeling safe, that i went through a red light... and i don't know if i was caught or not, but it's a potential R1000 fine...
supper was great - at one point the conversation got a little out of hand (penguin testicles), and i received a powerful reminder of the cultural differences in senses of humour. there were about four or five minutes where i could barely breathe, i was laughing so hard.
after dropping everyone back on our side of the mountain, i made my way back to rosebank, to moonflake's (and sandman's) housewarming.
it was really nice seeing all those people again, and i really enjoyed the evening in general. also, campey loaned me a phone, which makes everything here a hell of a lot easier.
afterwards, i made my way to gandalf's. there were lots of really annoying kids, and there was lots of really bad music accompanying them.
firstfallen, duity and i moved over to stones, for a few games of pool (which were quite fun), and then it was time to go home for some sleep.
*** yesterday ***
my mom and i very busily did nothing for the majority of yesterday, until about 17.00, when it was time to get ready, and go to the LARP.
the LARP began just over an hour late, and that hour was absolutely appalling. the new kids are as reserved, introverted, and cynical as we weren't - with scarely any sense of humour / imagination between them. i found two of them, the entire evening, with potential - the rest are all merely sublime.
the LARP playtest was fun, however - i was given very little information, and discovered that my character was in a position requiring a lot of attention being paid to everything around him, and a lot of work (half the duties of running a ship), so i was kept busy, and interested, the whole night. i also managed to accomplish my objective, so all-in-all i was most satisfied.
we finished rather late, so i went home and slept.
*** today ***
i woke up this morning with a craving for an interesting breakfast, so i infiltrated my sister's fortress, and ousted her kids from theirs. this included an eggy snackwich, and a bowl of nutri-k (an EXCELLENT idea - thank you, kellogs).
i went with my mom, my niece, and one of my mom's best friends, for a quick trip to the jewish library, and a quick megastore run.
my mom and i then went to the waterfront, bought a few pairs of socks for me, and then went with another friend of hers to some coffee shop, where i got myself a fantastic waffle, with ice-cream, and then ditched them to meet up with a really good friend of mine, whom i shall hereforthwith (unless put under duress) refer to as aeroplane.
we went off to town, to have a couple of drinks and play pool at stones. the pool was great, but the drinks (two bottles of hunter's dry for me) went straight to my head, and #@$!ed me up chronically.
it HAS been a while.
we went off to a really good friend of his, whom i've met before, and listened to some rather good tunes he's been working on, before returning home and passing out (still heavily under the influence. what a loser!).
almost immediately after i woke up, my mum returned with one whole roast chicken, rice, some munchies, and other assorted goodies. it's now a little bit after dinner (it takes a while to type, as i've said, and it takes simply FOREVER to upload!).
i'm off in a couple of minutes, to fetch my sister and her dodgy best friend from the airport, and after that i'm open to suggestion. which there's so much of here, i don't know what to do with it!
this entire city is my happy place.
* sigh *
yesterday's surfing was AMAZING. words cannot do justice to the beauty and majesty of the ocean and mountains surrounding the spot that we went to, just further down from gordon's bay, where the waves were just right (about two or three feet, i think), the sun was shining, and even getting hit in the head by the crash of the wave could not deter me from heading back out again and again.
my muscles are all sore, though.
but it's a good kind of pain.
my mum wasn't feeling well, so i was nominated as designated driver, and i had to drive two of our elderly relatives quite a ways, when it was my first time driving on the left-side in six months.
the way to supper was okay, but on the way back, i was concentrating so hard on keeping them feeling safe, that i went through a red light... and i don't know if i was caught or not, but it's a potential R1000 fine...
supper was great - at one point the conversation got a little out of hand (penguin testicles), and i received a powerful reminder of the cultural differences in senses of humour. there were about four or five minutes where i could barely breathe, i was laughing so hard.
after dropping everyone back on our side of the mountain, i made my way back to rosebank, to moonflake's (and sandman's) housewarming.
it was really nice seeing all those people again, and i really enjoyed the evening in general. also, campey loaned me a phone, which makes everything here a hell of a lot easier.
afterwards, i made my way to gandalf's. there were lots of really annoying kids, and there was lots of really bad music accompanying them.
firstfallen, duity and i moved over to stones, for a few games of pool (which were quite fun), and then it was time to go home for some sleep.
*** yesterday ***
my mom and i very busily did nothing for the majority of yesterday, until about 17.00, when it was time to get ready, and go to the LARP.
the LARP began just over an hour late, and that hour was absolutely appalling. the new kids are as reserved, introverted, and cynical as we weren't - with scarely any sense of humour / imagination between them. i found two of them, the entire evening, with potential - the rest are all merely sublime.
the LARP playtest was fun, however - i was given very little information, and discovered that my character was in a position requiring a lot of attention being paid to everything around him, and a lot of work (half the duties of running a ship), so i was kept busy, and interested, the whole night. i also managed to accomplish my objective, so all-in-all i was most satisfied.
we finished rather late, so i went home and slept.
*** today ***
i woke up this morning with a craving for an interesting breakfast, so i infiltrated my sister's fortress, and ousted her kids from theirs. this included an eggy snackwich, and a bowl of nutri-k (an EXCELLENT idea - thank you, kellogs).
i went with my mom, my niece, and one of my mom's best friends, for a quick trip to the jewish library, and a quick megastore run.
my mom and i then went to the waterfront, bought a few pairs of socks for me, and then went with another friend of hers to some coffee shop, where i got myself a fantastic waffle, with ice-cream, and then ditched them to meet up with a really good friend of mine, whom i shall hereforthwith (unless put under duress) refer to as aeroplane.
we went off to town, to have a couple of drinks and play pool at stones. the pool was great, but the drinks (two bottles of hunter's dry for me) went straight to my head, and #@$!ed me up chronically.
it HAS been a while.
we went off to a really good friend of his, whom i've met before, and listened to some rather good tunes he's been working on, before returning home and passing out (still heavily under the influence. what a loser!).
almost immediately after i woke up, my mum returned with one whole roast chicken, rice, some munchies, and other assorted goodies. it's now a little bit after dinner (it takes a while to type, as i've said, and it takes simply FOREVER to upload!).
i'm off in a couple of minutes, to fetch my sister and her dodgy best friend from the airport, and after that i'm open to suggestion. which there's so much of here, i don't know what to do with it!
this entire city is my happy place.
* sigh *
Friday, August 22, 2003
22/08/03
this is done, more or less, in a hurry. i still have other stuff to do, like sleeping. and using this computer is a bitch.
*** 19th ***
as i left the apartment, with my heavy, wonky handluggage in one hand, dragging along my suitcase (17kg's) in the other, the handle of said suitcase broke. so i was forced to actually carry the damn thing.
not that i don't need the exercise...
at the ra'anana bus station (which isn't really in ra'anana), some german guy was struggling to explain himself to the bus driver, and he turned to me to translate. fortunately, he didn't use any big words, but i found it cute that my hebrew is finally at a level where SOMEONE thinks i can speak. even if it is just a tourist.
go on, laugh. i don't care.
i don't remember that bus ride ever taking so long. and it was horribly squished, with many unpleasant looking people.
i'd placed a lock on my bag. i thought this was a good idea. especially considering the fact that all my important documents were in it.
but unlocking/locking one's handluggage everytime one wants something is not easy. it was a mission just to check if i hadn't managed somehow to misplace my tickets (standard paranoia), or to get my book out, or put it back...
the security check wasn't too bad. there's always a little stumble whenever they try to figure out which language to speak to me in. my first few words out, in hebrew, are normally good enough for them to begin speaking in a totally different language.
once we settled on english, this woman began firing off all sorts of questions and explanations so quickly, that i had to ask her to slow down and repeat them. i felt a bit stupid.
the guy checking the suitcase was kind enough to remove the useless remaining bits of plastic, and everything from then on was smooth.
while attempting to go through to the gates, i was blocked by a woman mumbling something completely unintelligable and frantically gesturing to me and my trolley
it took me a while to realize that she was struggling with the english word "trolley"...
NIS 23 (R30) for a small, nay, tiny sandwich, and NIS 8.50 (R12) for a can of coke. now, i'm terribly sorry, but this is altogether too much.
i settled for an average chocolate brownie and filter coffee. which was still expensive. i wrote the following in my real-life journal (which i never use):
i'm really happy that i'm going home. i just got upset about paying more than R30 for filter coffee (not very good) and a small brownie (not fantastic). what's more upsetting is that i just remembered that it's a fair price for this country.
some old guy was trying to understand the vending machine, so i began reading the instructions in english and translating them to hebrew for him (neither of us had seen the hebrew instructions attached carelessly to the bottom...). the instructions include waiting for sixty seconds before opening the can.
so i waited ten seconds, aimed at him, and said "i think the sixty seconds are up!". it didn't explode all over the place, but i wonder who got away with sueing a vending machine company!
the 767 is AMAZING! i can keep my legs straight for the entire duration of the flight! there was a group of kids (i'm guessing sixteen-year-olds) who were flying for the first time. the kid in the seat next to mine had no clue, and every time i gave him advice or answered a question, i heard a small echo pass through their seats, which was cute.
two of the girls were REALLY good-looking, and one of them was wearing a fairly skimpy outfit, and stood next to me for about half the flight, leaning over me to talk to her friends. the paedophile signal was going off in my head, but i knew that if i said anything it would be perceived as hitting on her, so i just curled up and tried to ignore her.
supper was an okay-ish turkey sandwich. thank you, el-al! just before supper, the kid in the seat next to me was given one ferrero roche chocolate by a friend of his. he wasn't in the mood, so he offered it to me, and of COURSE i accepted! i did tell him, as soon as i took it, that in the morning he'd regret giving it to me. when he told me that he was already regretting it... i ate it. i've become totally mean lately.
*** 20th ***
breakfast was a cheese blintz with raisins. yuck.
having been warned of the current temperatures in south africa, and hearing that the ground-temperature in johannesburg was one degree celcius, i put on all my winter clothes, including my beanie. i was cold on the plane anyway, and it seemed like a good idea.
soon after i put it all on, some woman started commenting that i was correct and (blah blah blah), and i very soon felt silly and self-conscious, i removed the beanie.
getting out of the plane wasn't so bad. not nearly as cold as i'd expected.
i HATED waiting for my suitcase. i was feeling ill, listening to pantera, all sorts of annoying people pushing and shoving around me, and my bag happened to be one of the last off the plane...
unfortunately, moonflake's tao was proved wrong, as the first piece of luggage was claimed about a quarter of the way around.
customs: not knowing one's home address always seems dodgy. i had to find someone with a pen to help me, and we basically spent two minutes going through the entry form, making scratches and doodling, until eventually even he gave up and sent me through without checking me.
mr paranoid walked again through the jo'burg airport. those people are just SO creepy.
as i got to the service counter for nationwide airlines, some guy walked off cursing them for their shitty service.
turned out that the flight he'd been on had been cancelled, and they couldn't give him a ticket for said flight. some people are just brilliant.
i found them to be really pleasant and helpful. what bothered me, however, was them giving me my ticket sans asking for id.
check-in was smooth, and pleasant. the person i spoke to was not only polite, but outright friendly.
still no id checking.
if i had been any male, knowing my name, i could have taken my ticket from the service counter and gotten myself to cape town. does anyone else find this worrying?!
at least, unlike in israel, i didn't have to argue my way into getting a tray for my metal items (for the x-ray).
some things in life simply amaze me.
i only realized that i didn't have my jersey after about ten minutes. fortunately, after a slightly wobbly walk (a bit tired), i found the security office and retrieved it. i'm always surprised when things go my way.
breakfast consisted of simba salt and vinegar, lemon twist, and much later some filter coffee from the w-cafe (wimpy? coffee??)
after getting on the plane, i found my seat with someone else in it. after some initial confusion, as she didn't know that it wasn't hers, she found out where she was meant to be, and i moved there.
i had a brief conversation with the woman sitting next to me, and just before take-off, because she knew that i wanted to sleep, she moved to a seat further back and left me with three seats to myself!! i was most grateful, and as soon as we hit the skies i lay down and passed out.
waking up for the beverage and meal trolleys, of course.
i hate airplane toilets. i hate airport toilets even more.
i had to try not to cry when we got off the plane. everything here is so incredibly beautiful...
the luggage took ages to arrive, but mine was one of the first this time, so i walked out fairly soon. the drive home was breathtaking.
my mom's new apartment is really nice. it has great views, and wall-to-wall carpeting.
obviously, the first thing i did was put my sim card in my shiny new phone. the woman at orange GUARANTEED me that the phone would work outside of israel, but i turned it on and received a "phone restricted" message.
scaly, incompetent BITCH.
i went shopping with my mommy, at a supermarket that i haven't been to in years - i didn't even know that it still existed!
after shopping was done, i went off with my niece to visit the magic dragon. he's a very small, yet extremely powerful dragon.
dirk diggler came by, and we chilled and talked kak for a while before we moved over to my place, for some more of the same.
after he left, i had a nice hot shower (would have been better if it didn't take so #@$!ing long for the hot water to get to the shower...). my bed - is - AMAZING. and warm, and fluffy.
*** yesterday ***
i slept like a baby, huddled in my huge duvet / blanket combination. and woke up to a cold-footed cup of coffee while staring at the most beautiful scenery in all the world. how can one stay upset in a place such as this?!
i took a black taxi (i'll probably describe these someday, under mental masturbation) to town, and then a train to rosebank. i went on the jam-packed jammie-taxi-thingy to campus, got directions to the nescafe cafe cafe cafe, and after saying hi to some old friends, i made my way there.
the new CLAWs are depressing. they're just a handful of intraverted, boring, serious people. no fun at all. no sense of humour either, apparently, as i made an "inspection" and got no response. nada. just blank looks. this group is shameful, and in a way they don't DESERVE the CLAWroom that was so evilly taken away from us.
there is no more CLAWroom! it's only just sunk in today, and it's crap!
so moonflake and david (i'm NOT typing in 1337-script) each showed me where there offices are, and we ran into campey (read the elephants entry in my post-hoc journal), and we all had a bit of a chat. or a few chats. we talked for a while, really.
i had a steers burger for lunch. that was nice. and cheap, too - it's so nice to compare costs when i'm here (but so shitty to do when in israel).
we walked from campus to moonflake's (and sandman's) new place, which is quite fine (read VERY nice, aside from the couches being pink. but they are comfy...), and moonflake made a mean stew (hah, almost wrote stu).
after supper we were off, in moonflake's shiny kadett, to shadowslight's. a few of the old CLAWmembers came, and we watched desperado and se7en.
there is no way to make fun of the movie se7en.
what was disturbing, though, was getting a call from my mother on his landline, when i hadn't told her where i was going. hmm...
creepy.
*** today ***
i had a half a cigarette this morning with my coffee. i'm so glad i quit - it tasted kak and i'm still feeling a little woozy. i went shopping with my other mom, she bought me a hake & chips gatsby for breakfast, and now i'm off somewhere with dirk diggler for a surf somewhere.
it's too cold for me to type properly. my fingers are constantly numb.
*** 19th ***
as i left the apartment, with my heavy, wonky handluggage in one hand, dragging along my suitcase (17kg's) in the other, the handle of said suitcase broke. so i was forced to actually carry the damn thing.
not that i don't need the exercise...
at the ra'anana bus station (which isn't really in ra'anana), some german guy was struggling to explain himself to the bus driver, and he turned to me to translate. fortunately, he didn't use any big words, but i found it cute that my hebrew is finally at a level where SOMEONE thinks i can speak. even if it is just a tourist.
go on, laugh. i don't care.
i don't remember that bus ride ever taking so long. and it was horribly squished, with many unpleasant looking people.
i'd placed a lock on my bag. i thought this was a good idea. especially considering the fact that all my important documents were in it.
but unlocking/locking one's handluggage everytime one wants something is not easy. it was a mission just to check if i hadn't managed somehow to misplace my tickets (standard paranoia), or to get my book out, or put it back...
the security check wasn't too bad. there's always a little stumble whenever they try to figure out which language to speak to me in. my first few words out, in hebrew, are normally good enough for them to begin speaking in a totally different language.
once we settled on english, this woman began firing off all sorts of questions and explanations so quickly, that i had to ask her to slow down and repeat them. i felt a bit stupid.
the guy checking the suitcase was kind enough to remove the useless remaining bits of plastic, and everything from then on was smooth.
while attempting to go through to the gates, i was blocked by a woman mumbling something completely unintelligable and frantically gesturing to me and my trolley
it took me a while to realize that she was struggling with the english word "trolley"...
NIS 23 (R30) for a small, nay, tiny sandwich, and NIS 8.50 (R12) for a can of coke. now, i'm terribly sorry, but this is altogether too much.
i settled for an average chocolate brownie and filter coffee. which was still expensive. i wrote the following in my real-life journal (which i never use):
i'm really happy that i'm going home. i just got upset about paying more than R30 for filter coffee (not very good) and a small brownie (not fantastic). what's more upsetting is that i just remembered that it's a fair price for this country.
some old guy was trying to understand the vending machine, so i began reading the instructions in english and translating them to hebrew for him (neither of us had seen the hebrew instructions attached carelessly to the bottom...). the instructions include waiting for sixty seconds before opening the can.
so i waited ten seconds, aimed at him, and said "i think the sixty seconds are up!". it didn't explode all over the place, but i wonder who got away with sueing a vending machine company!
the 767 is AMAZING! i can keep my legs straight for the entire duration of the flight! there was a group of kids (i'm guessing sixteen-year-olds) who were flying for the first time. the kid in the seat next to mine had no clue, and every time i gave him advice or answered a question, i heard a small echo pass through their seats, which was cute.
two of the girls were REALLY good-looking, and one of them was wearing a fairly skimpy outfit, and stood next to me for about half the flight, leaning over me to talk to her friends. the paedophile signal was going off in my head, but i knew that if i said anything it would be perceived as hitting on her, so i just curled up and tried to ignore her.
supper was an okay-ish turkey sandwich. thank you, el-al! just before supper, the kid in the seat next to me was given one ferrero roche chocolate by a friend of his. he wasn't in the mood, so he offered it to me, and of COURSE i accepted! i did tell him, as soon as i took it, that in the morning he'd regret giving it to me. when he told me that he was already regretting it... i ate it. i've become totally mean lately.
*** 20th ***
breakfast was a cheese blintz with raisins. yuck.
having been warned of the current temperatures in south africa, and hearing that the ground-temperature in johannesburg was one degree celcius, i put on all my winter clothes, including my beanie. i was cold on the plane anyway, and it seemed like a good idea.
soon after i put it all on, some woman started commenting that i was correct and (blah blah blah), and i very soon felt silly and self-conscious, i removed the beanie.
getting out of the plane wasn't so bad. not nearly as cold as i'd expected.
i HATED waiting for my suitcase. i was feeling ill, listening to pantera, all sorts of annoying people pushing and shoving around me, and my bag happened to be one of the last off the plane...
unfortunately, moonflake's tao was proved wrong, as the first piece of luggage was claimed about a quarter of the way around.
customs: not knowing one's home address always seems dodgy. i had to find someone with a pen to help me, and we basically spent two minutes going through the entry form, making scratches and doodling, until eventually even he gave up and sent me through without checking me.
mr paranoid walked again through the jo'burg airport. those people are just SO creepy.
as i got to the service counter for nationwide airlines, some guy walked off cursing them for their shitty service.
turned out that the flight he'd been on had been cancelled, and they couldn't give him a ticket for said flight. some people are just brilliant.
i found them to be really pleasant and helpful. what bothered me, however, was them giving me my ticket sans asking for id.
check-in was smooth, and pleasant. the person i spoke to was not only polite, but outright friendly.
still no id checking.
if i had been any male, knowing my name, i could have taken my ticket from the service counter and gotten myself to cape town. does anyone else find this worrying?!
at least, unlike in israel, i didn't have to argue my way into getting a tray for my metal items (for the x-ray).
some things in life simply amaze me.
i only realized that i didn't have my jersey after about ten minutes. fortunately, after a slightly wobbly walk (a bit tired), i found the security office and retrieved it. i'm always surprised when things go my way.
breakfast consisted of simba salt and vinegar, lemon twist, and much later some filter coffee from the w-cafe (wimpy? coffee??)
after getting on the plane, i found my seat with someone else in it. after some initial confusion, as she didn't know that it wasn't hers, she found out where she was meant to be, and i moved there.
i had a brief conversation with the woman sitting next to me, and just before take-off, because she knew that i wanted to sleep, she moved to a seat further back and left me with three seats to myself!! i was most grateful, and as soon as we hit the skies i lay down and passed out.
waking up for the beverage and meal trolleys, of course.
i hate airplane toilets. i hate airport toilets even more.
i had to try not to cry when we got off the plane. everything here is so incredibly beautiful...
the luggage took ages to arrive, but mine was one of the first this time, so i walked out fairly soon. the drive home was breathtaking.
my mom's new apartment is really nice. it has great views, and wall-to-wall carpeting.
obviously, the first thing i did was put my sim card in my shiny new phone. the woman at orange GUARANTEED me that the phone would work outside of israel, but i turned it on and received a "phone restricted" message.
scaly, incompetent BITCH.
i went shopping with my mommy, at a supermarket that i haven't been to in years - i didn't even know that it still existed!
after shopping was done, i went off with my niece to visit the magic dragon. he's a very small, yet extremely powerful dragon.
dirk diggler came by, and we chilled and talked kak for a while before we moved over to my place, for some more of the same.
after he left, i had a nice hot shower (would have been better if it didn't take so #@$!ing long for the hot water to get to the shower...). my bed - is - AMAZING. and warm, and fluffy.
*** yesterday ***
i slept like a baby, huddled in my huge duvet / blanket combination. and woke up to a cold-footed cup of coffee while staring at the most beautiful scenery in all the world. how can one stay upset in a place such as this?!
i took a black taxi (i'll probably describe these someday, under mental masturbation) to town, and then a train to rosebank. i went on the jam-packed jammie-taxi-thingy to campus, got directions to the nescafe cafe cafe cafe, and after saying hi to some old friends, i made my way there.
the new CLAWs are depressing. they're just a handful of intraverted, boring, serious people. no fun at all. no sense of humour either, apparently, as i made an "inspection" and got no response. nada. just blank looks. this group is shameful, and in a way they don't DESERVE the CLAWroom that was so evilly taken away from us.
there is no more CLAWroom! it's only just sunk in today, and it's crap!
so moonflake and david (i'm NOT typing in 1337-script) each showed me where there offices are, and we ran into campey (read the elephants entry in my post-hoc journal), and we all had a bit of a chat. or a few chats. we talked for a while, really.
i had a steers burger for lunch. that was nice. and cheap, too - it's so nice to compare costs when i'm here (but so shitty to do when in israel).
we walked from campus to moonflake's (and sandman's) new place, which is quite fine (read VERY nice, aside from the couches being pink. but they are comfy...), and moonflake made a mean stew (hah, almost wrote stu).
after supper we were off, in moonflake's shiny kadett, to shadowslight's. a few of the old CLAWmembers came, and we watched desperado and se7en.
there is no way to make fun of the movie se7en.
what was disturbing, though, was getting a call from my mother on his landline, when i hadn't told her where i was going. hmm...
creepy.
*** today ***
i had a half a cigarette this morning with my coffee. i'm so glad i quit - it tasted kak and i'm still feeling a little woozy. i went shopping with my other mom, she bought me a hake & chips gatsby for breakfast, and now i'm off somewhere with dirk diggler for a surf somewhere.
it's too cold for me to type properly. my fingers are constantly numb.
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
19/08/03
picture this: a really old, fat woman slowly makes her way onto the bus. she's wearing a t-shirt, white, with pink sleeves. on the front it says "LEGENDS", on the back, it says "MONROE" with the number 6 below it.
that takes balls.
i woke up at 8am, had a HUGE eggy breakfast, and bladed to the other side of herzliyah. picked up the documents, and decided to take the bus back.
ran into the bus-stop girl (i forgot to ask for the ice-cream, but there wasn't any time anyway. she was in army uniform and running for a bus that i couldn't take...)
i got sick of waiting for the bus, and bladed home. i realized when i got here that i too less time than the bus would have.
hmmph.
i then went to tel-aviv, handed the student authority the letter that SSSO helped me write, and then returned home. i really like walking the streets of tel-aviv, they have a very special atmosphere. lazy and busy at the same time.
in cape town we just get the lazy feeling :P.
i'm now packing, making sure i have everything, and then in a couple of hours i'm LEAVING!!!
i'm very excited.
that takes balls.
i woke up at 8am, had a HUGE eggy breakfast, and bladed to the other side of herzliyah. picked up the documents, and decided to take the bus back.
ran into the bus-stop girl (i forgot to ask for the ice-cream, but there wasn't any time anyway. she was in army uniform and running for a bus that i couldn't take...)
i got sick of waiting for the bus, and bladed home. i realized when i got here that i too less time than the bus would have.
hmmph.
i then went to tel-aviv, handed the student authority the letter that SSSO helped me write, and then returned home. i really like walking the streets of tel-aviv, they have a very special atmosphere. lazy and busy at the same time.
in cape town we just get the lazy feeling :P.
i'm now packing, making sure i have everything, and then in a couple of hours i'm LEAVING!!!
i'm very excited.
Monday, August 18, 2003
18/08/03
i had a revelation this morning! although i wish i'd had it sometime when i was a kid...
at about 6am, i woke up with, as per usual, a blocked nose. unable to breathe comfortably, i decided to stop trying altogether. after repeating this until bursting point (i can hold my breath for approximately thirty seconds) about three times, my nose unblocked!
and then i was so excited that i couldn't get back to sleep anyway.
at 09.45 i was informed that my 10 o' clock meeting with SSSO was postponed until 15.00. wonderful.
i went to the bank, found out that everything is in order. i then went off to orange, in order to check that my account was paid up, and to have them take a look at my phone.
i've just returned, with a shiny new 6310i, and the knowledge that i don't have to worry about the cash while i'm abroad.
but now i have to get myself an icon and a ringtone.
mmmm... shiny.
i'm meeting with petrol today at 17.00, to finalize (uh, start working on) my vtm character. so i'm gonna do some more research (bullshitting) before then.
aaaaand played some more cs. i logged on to a german server this morning, got two frags, got shot, and disconnected. that was FUN! i'll think of a name for that tactic later.
*** later ***
petrol called to cancel, so all i had to do was drop off his vtm book at the freak store, and buy myself an ice-cream.
i finished up a whole bunch of stuff (bad english, don't care) with SSSO, but we might have to meet up later to work on the guidebook for new students.
at least i have a bit more time now.
tomorrow morning, however, will be most interesting. i have to be at my cousins' at 9am to take some papers, and then in tel aviv before 11am, which is not that simple. possible, not simple.
and after that, all i have to worry about is final packing, and getting myself to the airport!!
w00000000000000000000000t!!! (look which meme *I* got hold of)
goddamn, i'm so nervous now, and there's nothing to do till tomorrow. i'm shaking i'm so excited - and (ooh, sms received, my phone is SOOOOO pretty!) i dunno how i'm going to handle tonight... i think i'm going to drool myself to death.
at about 6am, i woke up with, as per usual, a blocked nose. unable to breathe comfortably, i decided to stop trying altogether. after repeating this until bursting point (i can hold my breath for approximately thirty seconds) about three times, my nose unblocked!
and then i was so excited that i couldn't get back to sleep anyway.
at 09.45 i was informed that my 10 o' clock meeting with SSSO was postponed until 15.00. wonderful.
i went to the bank, found out that everything is in order. i then went off to orange, in order to check that my account was paid up, and to have them take a look at my phone.
i've just returned, with a shiny new 6310i, and the knowledge that i don't have to worry about the cash while i'm abroad.
but now i have to get myself an icon and a ringtone.
mmmm... shiny.
i'm meeting with petrol today at 17.00, to finalize (uh, start working on) my vtm character. so i'm gonna do some more research (bullshitting) before then.
aaaaand played some more cs. i logged on to a german server this morning, got two frags, got shot, and disconnected. that was FUN! i'll think of a name for that tactic later.
*** later ***
petrol called to cancel, so all i had to do was drop off his vtm book at the freak store, and buy myself an ice-cream.
i finished up a whole bunch of stuff (bad english, don't care) with SSSO, but we might have to meet up later to work on the guidebook for new students.
at least i have a bit more time now.
tomorrow morning, however, will be most interesting. i have to be at my cousins' at 9am to take some papers, and then in tel aviv before 11am, which is not that simple. possible, not simple.
and after that, all i have to worry about is final packing, and getting myself to the airport!!
w00000000000000000000000t!!! (look which meme *I* got hold of)
goddamn, i'm so nervous now, and there's nothing to do till tomorrow. i'm shaking i'm so excited - and (ooh, sms received, my phone is SOOOOO pretty!) i dunno how i'm going to handle tonight... i think i'm going to drool myself to death.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
17/08/03
this morning began at 10.00 with a half-hour's walk, to the other side of town, to my cousins' for breakfast.
i then walked back in time for the plumber.
it woulda been nice if he'd shown up.
in the end, two maintenance workers were sent in his stead, and they did a quick job, and the toilet stopped it's leaky behavior, and life more or less resumed it's normal pace (after a desperately needed pit-stop).
i bladed to idc, took my financial statements, managed to delay my advance payment (they wanted $1000 by the end of this month... yeah, right), waited for half an hour to be told i couldn't meet with SSSO, said goodbye to everyone (again), and returned home.
i started the packing, for real. sammy came over to borrow my movies while i'm gone, and then went off to do his own packing (moving house, slightly more arduous than mine).
after getting quite a lot done (though not nearly enough), i took a cs break, which lasted quite a lot longer than expected.
as usual.
suppertime now, spaghetti with tuna again.
*** later ***
while eating, i watched this israeli sitcom/comedy called life's not everything, and i understood pretty much everything, and it wasn't so bad!
two very strange things.
must be all the excitement about going (coming?) down to cape town.
i then walked back in time for the plumber.
it woulda been nice if he'd shown up.
in the end, two maintenance workers were sent in his stead, and they did a quick job, and the toilet stopped it's leaky behavior, and life more or less resumed it's normal pace (after a desperately needed pit-stop).
i bladed to idc, took my financial statements, managed to delay my advance payment (they wanted $1000 by the end of this month... yeah, right), waited for half an hour to be told i couldn't meet with SSSO, said goodbye to everyone (again), and returned home.
i started the packing, for real. sammy came over to borrow my movies while i'm gone, and then went off to do his own packing (moving house, slightly more arduous than mine).
after getting quite a lot done (though not nearly enough), i took a cs break, which lasted quite a lot longer than expected.
as usual.
suppertime now, spaghetti with tuna again.
*** later ***
while eating, i watched this israeli sitcom/comedy called life's not everything, and i understood pretty much everything, and it wasn't so bad!
two very strange things.
must be all the excitement about going (coming?) down to cape town.
Saturday, August 16, 2003
16/08/03
*** yesterday ***
the drivers guy wasn't pissed off with me for not doing the work - in fact he was downright friendly!
just when you think you've seen it all.
i went to say goodbye to her parents yesterday. which was a mite uncomfortable, but nonetheless it went okay.
last night we watched whale rider - great movie! it's a modern day fairytale - i couldn't help myself, and cried a little at the end, but it's a most enjoyable film. there wasn't a moment that i wasn't entertained.
*** today ***
she slept over last night. when she left, i had a really good breakfast (scrambled egg on toast, vanilla dessert, chocolate milk, and orange juice), and then began packing. i was sure that i could get online and check my mail at the same time...
wrong.
i've spent the past four hours or so in simultaneous conversations with at least six different people, and i haven't got any packing done. at least i did some laundry though.
i'm SO excited!! i've spent today bouncing up and down, because i'm leaving in THREE DAYS.
THREE - count 'em!
i'm been making lists of the things i need to take, and everyone's contact information, and i've begun planning my first couple of weeks already.
some of it may prove damaging to my lungs and liver, not the least of which will be surfing over the weekend.
but i suppose that'd be damaging to my bones and muscles too.
the only really sad news is that she's leaving tomorrow.
the drivers guy wasn't pissed off with me for not doing the work - in fact he was downright friendly!
just when you think you've seen it all.
i went to say goodbye to her parents yesterday. which was a mite uncomfortable, but nonetheless it went okay.
last night we watched whale rider - great movie! it's a modern day fairytale - i couldn't help myself, and cried a little at the end, but it's a most enjoyable film. there wasn't a moment that i wasn't entertained.
*** today ***
she slept over last night. when she left, i had a really good breakfast (scrambled egg on toast, vanilla dessert, chocolate milk, and orange juice), and then began packing. i was sure that i could get online and check my mail at the same time...
wrong.
i've spent the past four hours or so in simultaneous conversations with at least six different people, and i haven't got any packing done. at least i did some laundry though.
i'm SO excited!! i've spent today bouncing up and down, because i'm leaving in THREE DAYS.
THREE - count 'em!
i'm been making lists of the things i need to take, and everyone's contact information, and i've begun planning my first couple of weeks already.
some of it may prove damaging to my lungs and liver, not the least of which will be surfing over the weekend.
but i suppose that'd be damaging to my bones and muscles too.
the only really sad news is that she's leaving tomorrow.
Thursday, August 14, 2003
14/08/03
*** yesterday ***
aside from waiting in line for over half an hour, things went pretty smoothly!
once i started getting angry and assertive with the "lady" (actually, she wasn't so bad) behind the counter, she got quite helpful and we managed to pretty much sort things out.
now, in the morning (right after work), i just have to go to the bank, the post office, and back there, and then we're quite done.
sammy and i played some tekken before he gave me a ride to work. we signed in, played snooker for an hour, and then joined everyone else for a pretty heavy session at work (lots of stupid people calling).
*** today ***
we're about to begin another session, but i have a few minutes to spare.
i have to email this driver guy, and i've been working on my vtm character, with tons o' help from my co-workers. only sammy knows what it's for, but everyone's had fun participating anyway.
first call - here we go.
*** later ***
work turned into a nightmare nearing the end. we had a lot of very stupid people, who were incredibly difficult to deal with, and all of us were really tired.
i got home around 6am, passed out on the couch, and set my alarm for 08.00.
i woke up around 08.45, had a cold shower, and went to the bank.
the bank experience was pleasant - i had no problem drawing the money i needed to pay social security, and i received my renewed visa card, which is much prettier than the old one.
i paid the social security, made a few important calls on my way home, got home, washed the dishes, and am currently sorting through my niece's belongings to find her army call-up papers.
fun, fun, fun!
i've got loads to do today; this includes meeting up with JOSH, who i think is somewhere in the greater tel-aviv area, and sorting out my vtm character.
she's nowhere near completion, but she's off to a good start. which is a rather nice feeling.
i have to say that i'm feeling pretty good on this complete lack of sleep, and i've begun wondering if maybe i haven't just been overdoing the zzz's.
it could just be the timing - being diurnal has destroyed my body in all sorts of gruesome ways, and not sleeping at night feels more right.
*** later ***
i couldn't get hold of JOSH, as he left his phone at home this morning. so instead of meeting, we talked for fifteen minutes, and we'll have to see each other when i get back.
she came over, so i postponed the character construction session till monday.
she's moving to a distant city on sunday, so this is our last time living so close together for a LONG time.
and i'm not going to get to see her for two months! :_(
i've been constructing lists of the things that i need to do, both before i leave on tuesday, and once i'm in sa.
there's a lot of stuff to do before i go.
but DAMN - i am SO excited about going home!!!!
thanks moonflake and shadowslight for the advice (i needed help sending a really uncomfortable email today).
aside from waiting in line for over half an hour, things went pretty smoothly!
once i started getting angry and assertive with the "lady" (actually, she wasn't so bad) behind the counter, she got quite helpful and we managed to pretty much sort things out.
now, in the morning (right after work), i just have to go to the bank, the post office, and back there, and then we're quite done.
sammy and i played some tekken before he gave me a ride to work. we signed in, played snooker for an hour, and then joined everyone else for a pretty heavy session at work (lots of stupid people calling).
*** today ***
we're about to begin another session, but i have a few minutes to spare.
i have to email this driver guy, and i've been working on my vtm character, with tons o' help from my co-workers. only sammy knows what it's for, but everyone's had fun participating anyway.
first call - here we go.
*** later ***
work turned into a nightmare nearing the end. we had a lot of very stupid people, who were incredibly difficult to deal with, and all of us were really tired.
i got home around 6am, passed out on the couch, and set my alarm for 08.00.
i woke up around 08.45, had a cold shower, and went to the bank.
the bank experience was pleasant - i had no problem drawing the money i needed to pay social security, and i received my renewed visa card, which is much prettier than the old one.
i paid the social security, made a few important calls on my way home, got home, washed the dishes, and am currently sorting through my niece's belongings to find her army call-up papers.
fun, fun, fun!
i've got loads to do today; this includes meeting up with JOSH, who i think is somewhere in the greater tel-aviv area, and sorting out my vtm character.
she's nowhere near completion, but she's off to a good start. which is a rather nice feeling.
i have to say that i'm feeling pretty good on this complete lack of sleep, and i've begun wondering if maybe i haven't just been overdoing the zzz's.
it could just be the timing - being diurnal has destroyed my body in all sorts of gruesome ways, and not sleeping at night feels more right.
*** later ***
i couldn't get hold of JOSH, as he left his phone at home this morning. so instead of meeting, we talked for fifteen minutes, and we'll have to see each other when i get back.
she came over, so i postponed the character construction session till monday.
she's moving to a distant city on sunday, so this is our last time living so close together for a LONG time.
and i'm not going to get to see her for two months! :_(
i've been constructing lists of the things that i need to do, both before i leave on tuesday, and once i'm in sa.
there's a lot of stuff to do before i go.
but DAMN - i am SO excited about going home!!!!
thanks moonflake and shadowslight for the advice (i needed help sending a really uncomfortable email today).
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
13/08/03
wow! today is the first day that i haven't felt the URGE to write these logs.
*** yesterday ***
yesterday morning, i made a laughable attempt to work on the drivers. at this point i admit defeat, however, i do NOT have the courage to face the guy who wanted this! i don't know what i'm going to tell him!
she and i went out for coffee, then to the beach, and then i returned home for some sleep and cs before going to work.
i had the first telephone, so i was almost constantly busy for about half of the night. i made some really dumb mistakes, and now that i'm working alone, i really don't have any excuse...
we all ordered supper from a pizza parlour. i got bacon and mushroom - a really, really good pizza.
*** today ***
i felt like complete and utter crap when i got home. i suspect it was a case of pizza revenge.
but that's okay. had a shower, and crashed around 07.30 (AFTER watching invader zim).
i was told on sunday that i'd be working tonight from around 21.30. sammy called at 13.30 to tell me we have to be there by 18.30.
DAMN.
so i'm most definitely awake now. i'm off, soon, to the social security place, for an hour's exercise in futility, and then it's off to work i go.
hi ho, hi ho.
*** yesterday ***
yesterday morning, i made a laughable attempt to work on the drivers. at this point i admit defeat, however, i do NOT have the courage to face the guy who wanted this! i don't know what i'm going to tell him!
she and i went out for coffee, then to the beach, and then i returned home for some sleep and cs before going to work.
i had the first telephone, so i was almost constantly busy for about half of the night. i made some really dumb mistakes, and now that i'm working alone, i really don't have any excuse...
we all ordered supper from a pizza parlour. i got bacon and mushroom - a really, really good pizza.
*** today ***
i felt like complete and utter crap when i got home. i suspect it was a case of pizza revenge.
but that's okay. had a shower, and crashed around 07.30 (AFTER watching invader zim).
i was told on sunday that i'd be working tonight from around 21.30. sammy called at 13.30 to tell me we have to be there by 18.30.
DAMN.
so i'm most definitely awake now. i'm off, soon, to the social security place, for an hour's exercise in futility, and then it's off to work i go.
hi ho, hi ho.
Monday, August 11, 2003
11/08/03
*** yesterday ***
i spent yesterday at the azrieli centre (that mall again) with her, instead of going to the beach as we'd originally planned. it was probably cleaner, but a lot more expensive - now we're going back to the penny-pinchers' plan.
we watched the new movie spirited away, which was incredible! and it's what i expect of anime, so it was a lot of fun to see it on the big screen.
*** today ***
i JUST finished converting all the logs into xml!
now, this would be GREAT news, but i JUST discovered that you can't view xml in a dialog box. so i have to come up with another way, or all my hard work becomes completely, utterly pointless.
i think i'm going to cry.
i still have to work on my vtm character - i haven't really spent much time on it, and i STILL have to work on this damn driver - i really hate the mess i've made for myself.
*** later ***
i just remembered - fanta has come out in a new flavour in israel:
lemon and elderberry.
*** later ***
i feel like crap - i did NOTHING today. i kinda started on the drivers thing, but i'm considering giving up. and i played cs most of the day.
i spent yesterday at the azrieli centre (that mall again) with her, instead of going to the beach as we'd originally planned. it was probably cleaner, but a lot more expensive - now we're going back to the penny-pinchers' plan.
we watched the new movie spirited away, which was incredible! and it's what i expect of anime, so it was a lot of fun to see it on the big screen.
*** today ***
i JUST finished converting all the logs into xml!
now, this would be GREAT news, but i JUST discovered that you can't view xml in a dialog box. so i have to come up with another way, or all my hard work becomes completely, utterly pointless.
i think i'm going to cry.
i still have to work on my vtm character - i haven't really spent much time on it, and i STILL have to work on this damn driver - i really hate the mess i've made for myself.
*** later ***
i just remembered - fanta has come out in a new flavour in israel:
lemon and elderberry.
*** later ***
i feel like crap - i did NOTHING today. i kinda started on the drivers thing, but i'm considering giving up. and i played cs most of the day.
Saturday, August 09, 2003
09/08/03
the party was cute - the foam definitely had potential, but i didn't really feel comfortable. the fact that lots of underage girls were running around half-dressed and soapy didn't help.
i didn't know where to look, and i felt so DIRTY.
i had a beer, and half a screwdriver, and i haven't really been affected (my body's responding a little slower, but that's not unusual).
the music was absolutely aweful.
i've been inspired, however, to write about my birthday last year - there were some similarities... but above all, i really missed her tonight.
i didn't know where to look, and i felt so DIRTY.
i had a beer, and half a screwdriver, and i haven't really been affected (my body's responding a little slower, but that's not unusual).
the music was absolutely aweful.
i've been inspired, however, to write about my birthday last year - there were some similarities... but above all, i really missed her tonight.
Friday, August 08, 2003
08/08/03
i'm writing this in a hurry - i'm on my way for a foam party (snicker) and i'm still dressed in decent clothing...
we went shopping in afula today, it's strange to see all the same stuff, at much cheaper prices.
and what the hell is the "shopping" thing? everyone seems to think i'm into it - hell, i may start getting used to it.
i bought a plain white vest.
i plan on making a GIR shirt, that says "i LOVE this show!".
i finished anne rice's pandora today, and i feel better educated for it.
and that pretty much describes my day. i'll post later or tomorrow concerning the party.
we went shopping in afula today, it's strange to see all the same stuff, at much cheaper prices.
and what the hell is the "shopping" thing? everyone seems to think i'm into it - hell, i may start getting used to it.
i bought a plain white vest.
i plan on making a GIR shirt, that says "i LOVE this show!".
i finished anne rice's pandora today, and i feel better educated for it.
and that pretty much describes my day. i'll post later or tomorrow concerning the party.
Thursday, August 07, 2003
07/08/03
i woke up at 04.30 this morning, but i managed to get back to sleep, which i continued to do until about 10.30.
i had a shower, had the dog take me for a walk (i shuffled for a kilometer or two, i didn't have the energy to walk, even), and then returned to the house, and continued to sleep.
i was woken up for lunch. we went to the dining hall, ate, and when i returned i went back to sleep.
i went with my cousin's son to the small shop they have here, we had supper when we got back, and we've been messing about on the computer (arguing about music and movies), and we're either going to watch boondock saints (my seventh or eighth time), or go to sleep.
i had a shower, had the dog take me for a walk (i shuffled for a kilometer or two, i didn't have the energy to walk, even), and then returned to the house, and continued to sleep.
i was woken up for lunch. we went to the dining hall, ate, and when i returned i went back to sleep.
i went with my cousin's son to the small shop they have here, we had supper when we got back, and we've been messing about on the computer (arguing about music and movies), and we're either going to watch boondock saints (my seventh or eighth time), or go to sleep.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
06/08/03
*** yesterday ***
we didn't go out last night. hence the lack of an update.
*** today ***
i got to bed around 01.30, and woke up around 05.30 - and haven't been able to sleep since.
i've just been developing my idea for an anti-spam system, so i've been rewriting the definition document i wrote a while ago, and i've suddenly thought of another way of doing it.
here i go again.
i really need to sleep though.
*** later ***
i couldn't focus enough to finish re-re-redefining the document, and i discovered that i couldn't focus enough to play cs, either.
at about 07.30, i had raisin-bran for breakfast, at around 08.30 i phoned SSSO, and afterwards finally managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours.
after i woke up, i began readying myself for my four night trip up north - packed my clothing, sandals, vampire the masquerade book and character-so-far, and remembered to bring my phone charger and a couple of movies (boondock saints and tank girl).
aaaaaaand then resumed converting logs to xml.
i went with her to the mall for some coffee. or, rather, ice-coffee and hot chocolate.
and a really good sandwich (anti-pasta with cheese!).
i discovered that i'd left my toothbrush at home, so we went all the way back to central herzeliyah, and then all the back to the industrial zone, where she dropped me off at the busstop.
i read on the bus, but mainly to keep myself awake.
that was a REALLY long-ass bus ride.
i've been falling all over myself for the past couple of hours - we just had supper, i'm talking on irc, and as soon as i'm done with this log, i'm going to have a cold shower and go to bed.
good night.
we didn't go out last night. hence the lack of an update.
*** today ***
i got to bed around 01.30, and woke up around 05.30 - and haven't been able to sleep since.
i've just been developing my idea for an anti-spam system, so i've been rewriting the definition document i wrote a while ago, and i've suddenly thought of another way of doing it.
here i go again.
i really need to sleep though.
*** later ***
i couldn't focus enough to finish re-re-redefining the document, and i discovered that i couldn't focus enough to play cs, either.
at about 07.30, i had raisin-bran for breakfast, at around 08.30 i phoned SSSO, and afterwards finally managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours.
after i woke up, i began readying myself for my four night trip up north - packed my clothing, sandals, vampire the masquerade book and character-so-far, and remembered to bring my phone charger and a couple of movies (boondock saints and tank girl).
aaaaaaand then resumed converting logs to xml.
i went with her to the mall for some coffee. or, rather, ice-coffee and hot chocolate.
and a really good sandwich (anti-pasta with cheese!).
i discovered that i'd left my toothbrush at home, so we went all the way back to central herzeliyah, and then all the back to the industrial zone, where she dropped me off at the busstop.
i read on the bus, but mainly to keep myself awake.
that was a REALLY long-ass bus ride.
i've been falling all over myself for the past couple of hours - we just had supper, i'm talking on irc, and as soon as i'm done with this log, i'm going to have a cold shower and go to bed.
good night.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
05/08/03
*** yesterday ***
last night was pretty chilled; i continued to convert my logs to xml (this is taking FOREVER), played some cs (i'm really getting better, although i don't FEEL the difference when i play. weird.), and then went with her to put petrol in her car.
*** today ***
today has been partly cloudy, yet with plenty of sunshine.
woke up fairly early this morning, had a good breakfast (sunshine), played some cs (sunshine), and then went to retrieve a package from the post office.
turned a corner on the way there, and there was no way that i could have avoided the spatterings of dogshit that were EVERYWHERE (thundercloud).
dog-owners suck, 'cause they can never be bothered to a) ensure that their dogs don't leave a mess where people will walk, or b) clean up after them.
IF YOU DON'T WANT THE RESPONSIBILITY, DON'T GET THE FUCKING DOG.
i then discovered that i'd walked all the way across herzliyah to the wrong post-office (cloud).
i never knew that there was one right across the road from our apartment.
found the post-office, and discovered, to my dismay, that the package was one i had sent four months ago to jax, and that she'd never collected it (cloud).
i was expecting either a package from grootbek (he's warned me one's coming), or my SUNGLASSES from ROY.
our argentinian flatmate got really upset with me today, 'cause i made fun of him watching soap opera's (cloud).
she picked me up, we left her car at the train station, and took the train to azrieli center (big mall) in tel-aviv (sunshine).
we went shopping, played airhockey, had sushi and noodles for lunch, shopped some more, and then took the train back (plenty of sunshine).
i've been converting more logs to xml - it's taking much longer than i expected - and after writing this i'm gonna do baked potatoes and noodles (or did i get mashed potatoes?) for dinner, and play some cs.
we're probably going to watch another movie tonight, and of COURSE i'll be updating this (i really am addicted).
last night was pretty chilled; i continued to convert my logs to xml (this is taking FOREVER), played some cs (i'm really getting better, although i don't FEEL the difference when i play. weird.), and then went with her to put petrol in her car.
*** today ***
today has been partly cloudy, yet with plenty of sunshine.
woke up fairly early this morning, had a good breakfast (sunshine), played some cs (sunshine), and then went to retrieve a package from the post office.
turned a corner on the way there, and there was no way that i could have avoided the spatterings of dogshit that were EVERYWHERE (thundercloud).
dog-owners suck, 'cause they can never be bothered to a) ensure that their dogs don't leave a mess where people will walk, or b) clean up after them.
IF YOU DON'T WANT THE RESPONSIBILITY, DON'T GET THE FUCKING DOG.
i then discovered that i'd walked all the way across herzliyah to the wrong post-office (cloud).
i never knew that there was one right across the road from our apartment.
found the post-office, and discovered, to my dismay, that the package was one i had sent four months ago to jax, and that she'd never collected it (cloud).
i was expecting either a package from grootbek (he's warned me one's coming), or my SUNGLASSES from ROY.
our argentinian flatmate got really upset with me today, 'cause i made fun of him watching soap opera's (cloud).
she picked me up, we left her car at the train station, and took the train to azrieli center (big mall) in tel-aviv (sunshine).
we went shopping, played airhockey, had sushi and noodles for lunch, shopped some more, and then took the train back (plenty of sunshine).
i've been converting more logs to xml - it's taking much longer than i expected - and after writing this i'm gonna do baked potatoes and noodles (or did i get mashed potatoes?) for dinner, and play some cs.
we're probably going to watch another movie tonight, and of COURSE i'll be updating this (i really am addicted).
Monday, August 04, 2003
04/08/03
*** yesterday ***
we went to see good bye, lenin! last night - in german with both hebrew and english subtitles.
really good film, loads of fun to watch, but serious and somewhat educational (for us non-germans) as well.
we had our first fight last night - it felt quite shitty.
*** today ***
well, i know why i was feeling tired yesterday - i'm SICK. i don't know what it is, but my sinuses are working overtime, and i'm REALLY tired, and i keep needing to pee.
i can't believe i just said that, but it stays.
i've slept until 11am, but although i should probably stay in bed, i received a call asking me to come to work. considering that i've skipped out of work on thursday night, i feel i may as well suffer a little bit.
it's just that i feel like i'm on thin ice ANYWAY with the boss (as i've said, i'm going to south africa, with or without permission), so i may as well not rock the boat too much - i'll fall off the side otherwise.
by myself.
the other phone call i got was with regards the student authority - i've received an offer to help me write the letter, now i just have to find a convenient time.
i just remembered, i received a rather interesting call yesterday - one of the guys i used to work for, who screwed me out of TONS of money, phoned to tell me that he has a contract for me - writing some form of loader software that keeps source code encrypted until transport.
now i'm wondering if i can do it in reasonable time, and if i'll get paid for it.
as it is, i still haven't written the driver yet, and i'm sure the guy's either found someone else, or going to be REALLY upset with me.
*** later ***
i'm just finishing up at work - i'm feeling a little better (i haven't passed out yet), and sammy and i are almost on our way home.
that is, we WOULD be but i can't seem to find him.
i got some more details on that job i was offered - it sounds like a bad joke - they want me to write software that requires me to decompile an executable, and i know EXACTLY how that's not going to happen.
i wanted to write something specific, but i really can't recall now.
oh well.
maybe i've just become addicted to writing these logs...
NAAAAAAAAAAAH.
we went to see good bye, lenin! last night - in german with both hebrew and english subtitles.
really good film, loads of fun to watch, but serious and somewhat educational (for us non-germans) as well.
we had our first fight last night - it felt quite shitty.
*** today ***
well, i know why i was feeling tired yesterday - i'm SICK. i don't know what it is, but my sinuses are working overtime, and i'm REALLY tired, and i keep needing to pee.
i can't believe i just said that, but it stays.
i've slept until 11am, but although i should probably stay in bed, i received a call asking me to come to work. considering that i've skipped out of work on thursday night, i feel i may as well suffer a little bit.
it's just that i feel like i'm on thin ice ANYWAY with the boss (as i've said, i'm going to south africa, with or without permission), so i may as well not rock the boat too much - i'll fall off the side otherwise.
by myself.
the other phone call i got was with regards the student authority - i've received an offer to help me write the letter, now i just have to find a convenient time.
i just remembered, i received a rather interesting call yesterday - one of the guys i used to work for, who screwed me out of TONS of money, phoned to tell me that he has a contract for me - writing some form of loader software that keeps source code encrypted until transport.
now i'm wondering if i can do it in reasonable time, and if i'll get paid for it.
as it is, i still haven't written the driver yet, and i'm sure the guy's either found someone else, or going to be REALLY upset with me.
*** later ***
i'm just finishing up at work - i'm feeling a little better (i haven't passed out yet), and sammy and i are almost on our way home.
that is, we WOULD be but i can't seem to find him.
i got some more details on that job i was offered - it sounds like a bad joke - they want me to write software that requires me to decompile an executable, and i know EXACTLY how that's not going to happen.
i wanted to write something specific, but i really can't recall now.
oh well.
maybe i've just become addicted to writing these logs...
NAAAAAAAAAAAH.
Sunday, August 03, 2003
03/08/03
*** yesterday ***
i spent most of yesterday learning xml, and am currently in the process of converting all my log files.
this is EXTREMELY labour-intensive and time-consuming, which is the reason for the conversion in the first place.
took me way too long to get smart, though.
but, i HAVE learned something new! xml may be easy - manipulating the xml through xsl can be a BITCH if you don't know where to get help, and it's not quite immediately available on the web.
aside from reading, xml'ing, and playing counterstrike, i didn't really do much.
she came over, and we went for a long walk, which involved lots of sweets and ice-cream, and i managed to convince her to allow me to post better pictures of her.
it's really hard to get someone who's camera-shy (although a great photographer!) to pose.
so i've uploaded the new photo's, and by her demand removed the old one. i hope you're satisfied (you know who you are).
*** today ***
and it's now very late (00.12), and time for munchies and bed.
and a shower. mustn't forget the shower.
and brushing my teeth. mustn't forget brushing my teeth.
*** later ***
ok - the main lesson learned from today is DON'T EAT LOTS OF HUMUS, ESPECIALLY NOT FOR BREAKFAST.
i have gas.
this morning was great - went with her to the beach, had lots of fun (in spite of the fact that i know about the recent sewerage problems), and shared a huge greek salad for lunch.
i managed to find someone to cover for me at work on thursday, so now i can go up north to visit my cousins!
and chill by their pool for a few days.
i then received a rather disturbing phone call. the student's authority are supposed to be paying a rather substantial part of my tuition - $3000.
when i went there to organize it, they told me that my grades for last year weren't good enough, so i should come back when i've passed all my courses for this year.
i passed all my courses this year.
now she tells me "no, sorry, you're too late. you had to have requested it by april in order to qualify."
BITCH!!!
is she THAT stupid, that she thought that i'd get my grades before i took the courses? so now i have to write them a letter explaining what happened.
and she's a really mean russian woman, and to cap it off, she refuses to acknowledge (say that word like they do in c&c red alert) that i can't speak hebrew properly, so she rushes all her sentences in an effort to make me realize how vastly superior her language skills are.
i have that postal feeling.
i got to watch the grand prix today! unfortunately, i had to watch it on one of the german channels, and it just wasn't as exciting. commentary always helps.
she came over around the middle of it, and, as could be expected, completely disrupted it.
*GLOOM*
i've been feeling rather strange today - quite tired really. maybe it's from the seawater. whichever.
i'm off now, gotta go shopping for healthy stuff. and draw some cash too, we're going to see a movie tonight. i think it's the new disney one.
i spent most of yesterday learning xml, and am currently in the process of converting all my log files.
this is EXTREMELY labour-intensive and time-consuming, which is the reason for the conversion in the first place.
took me way too long to get smart, though.
but, i HAVE learned something new! xml may be easy - manipulating the xml through xsl can be a BITCH if you don't know where to get help, and it's not quite immediately available on the web.
aside from reading, xml'ing, and playing counterstrike, i didn't really do much.
she came over, and we went for a long walk, which involved lots of sweets and ice-cream, and i managed to convince her to allow me to post better pictures of her.
it's really hard to get someone who's camera-shy (although a great photographer!) to pose.
so i've uploaded the new photo's, and by her demand removed the old one. i hope you're satisfied (you know who you are).
*** today ***
and it's now very late (00.12), and time for munchies and bed.
and a shower. mustn't forget the shower.
and brushing my teeth. mustn't forget brushing my teeth.
*** later ***
ok - the main lesson learned from today is DON'T EAT LOTS OF HUMUS, ESPECIALLY NOT FOR BREAKFAST.
i have gas.
this morning was great - went with her to the beach, had lots of fun (in spite of the fact that i know about the recent sewerage problems), and shared a huge greek salad for lunch.
i managed to find someone to cover for me at work on thursday, so now i can go up north to visit my cousins!
and chill by their pool for a few days.
i then received a rather disturbing phone call. the student's authority are supposed to be paying a rather substantial part of my tuition - $3000.
when i went there to organize it, they told me that my grades for last year weren't good enough, so i should come back when i've passed all my courses for this year.
i passed all my courses this year.
now she tells me "no, sorry, you're too late. you had to have requested it by april in order to qualify."
BITCH!!!
is she THAT stupid, that she thought that i'd get my grades before i took the courses? so now i have to write them a letter explaining what happened.
and she's a really mean russian woman, and to cap it off, she refuses to acknowledge (say that word like they do in c&c red alert) that i can't speak hebrew properly, so she rushes all her sentences in an effort to make me realize how vastly superior her language skills are.
i have that postal feeling.
i got to watch the grand prix today! unfortunately, i had to watch it on one of the german channels, and it just wasn't as exciting. commentary always helps.
she came over around the middle of it, and, as could be expected, completely disrupted it.
*GLOOM*
i've been feeling rather strange today - quite tired really. maybe it's from the seawater. whichever.
i'm off now, gotta go shopping for healthy stuff. and draw some cash too, we're going to see a movie tonight. i think it's the new disney one.
Friday, August 01, 2003
01/08/03
i just got back from the party, and it was REALLY good. the dj played hard psychedelic, with very little that wasn't beat-iful.
i had to walk there, which was insane. it's on the other side of a different city, effectively, and it took more than an hour and a half to get there.
which gave me time to realize that i've made plans to go up north to visit my cousins, and at the same time put myself down to work those days.
so at 9am i'm off to work, to try to fix this.
DAMN.
but i feel SO much better for going - i didn't realize how much i needed that.
i going to try taking her along for the next one...
*** later ***
i just got off from playing cs, and there's this warehouse map, really tiny, and i OWNED - i was taking out two or three guys at a time!
then i was doing well on the cs_office map, and *I* got disconnect for high ping. it (my ping) was just FINE by me - i wish the server would just let ME choose!
i made an attempt at using xml for the logs, but unfortunately, i have no clue where to find a tag that allows me to use html.
i basically spent today sleeping. i remembered to shop, ate pita and humus for both lunch and supper (i wasn't really hungry, and i'm still VERY tired), and read some more of anne rice's pandora. it's really getting along nicely - it's much more entertaining than the movie queen of the damned.
and it's intelligent, too. i'm feeling more educated already.
i finished the mind-rape story (see the psychotic american's home page), and if you can get through it it's actually worth it - i haven't been so amused since terry pratchett's jingo (the line near the end about / from nobby nobbs)!
it's basically a long-running collection of fridge quotes...
that's almost it for me - i'm gonna try to find that xml thingy, and then i REALLY need a visit from the sandman.
i had to walk there, which was insane. it's on the other side of a different city, effectively, and it took more than an hour and a half to get there.
which gave me time to realize that i've made plans to go up north to visit my cousins, and at the same time put myself down to work those days.
so at 9am i'm off to work, to try to fix this.
DAMN.
but i feel SO much better for going - i didn't realize how much i needed that.
i going to try taking her along for the next one...
*** later ***
i just got off from playing cs, and there's this warehouse map, really tiny, and i OWNED - i was taking out two or three guys at a time!
then i was doing well on the cs_office map, and *I* got disconnect for high ping. it (my ping) was just FINE by me - i wish the server would just let ME choose!
i made an attempt at using xml for the logs, but unfortunately, i have no clue where to find a tag that allows me to use html.
i basically spent today sleeping. i remembered to shop, ate pita and humus for both lunch and supper (i wasn't really hungry, and i'm still VERY tired), and read some more of anne rice's pandora. it's really getting along nicely - it's much more entertaining than the movie queen of the damned.
and it's intelligent, too. i'm feeling more educated already.
i finished the mind-rape story (see the psychotic american's home page), and if you can get through it it's actually worth it - i haven't been so amused since terry pratchett's jingo (the line near the end about / from nobby nobbs)!
it's basically a long-running collection of fridge quotes...
that's almost it for me - i'm gonna try to find that xml thingy, and then i REALLY need a visit from the sandman.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
31/07/03
*** yesterday ***
i needed to wake up at 10am, so of course i woke up at 08.30.
stupid, stupid human body.
i made all the calls i needed to make, the main one being to a decidedly unfriendly russian woman who had no intentions - whatsoever - in the direction of being helpful.
today was Domestic Day I, which went fairly smoothly. i went shopping, and remembered everything except the acid, which it turned out wasn't totally necessary.
some other time.
for the moment, i managed to clear all of grootbek's stuff out the bath (most of it was COVERED with black, smelly, slimy mold-creatures), and did as good a job of cleaning it as can be expected without going the heavy-duty chemical route.
i also cleaned out my industrial garbage can, which has been evolving for the past few months.
it introduced me to it's friends, millions of tiny bugs that cling to plastic and solidify.
all this was lovely to touch, and i am most grateful that the rubber gloves i bought managed to hold out - i really did expect them to be destroyed by the time i was finished with them.
and i cleaned my bedroom and bathroom floor. tomorrow is Domestic Day II, which involves cleaning the rest of the apartment.
oh, goody.
i went shopping with her for art supplies, and then had pizza for lunch / supper.
it was at this place called pizza slice, which is owned / run by an ice-cream chain (does this sound familiar?), and it's the only pizza parlour i've found in israel that does REAL pizza. american style (or south african style, whichever) - the standard israeli pizza is pretty gross.
at home: talked on irc and messenger, and played cs on the neojapangz server. hido - you were only on for one death. and you didn't say hi.
tsk, tsk.
i went with her to play pool for a bit. she's going to be really good if we play more.
*** today ***
it's late, i'm tired, and i'm falling asleep as soon as this is posted.
i woke up around 08.30, and i almost felt rested - it's just that now i'm feeling sick. i think it's a summer-cold thing, but it could have waited just a liiiitle bit longer (like, a few more weeks). i hate being sick when i'm a) by myself and b) busy doing stuff.
i completely forgot that i agreed to be in a panel for prospective students to our university, and got a call at 10am reminding me for 11am.
i was reading the mind-rape thing that's posted on psychotic american's site (new works). i really couldn't stop reading it. if nothing else, it's fascinating.
anyway, i managed to get to campus in time (in spite of my preoccupation), but i had to blade so i was all sweaty.
the panel: i was told we'd be there to answer questions. what actually happened was we sat there while other people talked crap, we introduced ourselves, and "boom", that was all she friggin' wrote.
i hate speaking in public, and i really didn't NEED for all those kids to know that much about me.
i feel cheated, somehow.
i came home, planning a few hours sleep, but instead played cs on the neojapangz server again. i have learned something about myself, but i'm not sure if i'm going to "fix" it.
i HATE waiting for the other guys to strike first. HATE it.
I just HAVE to run in, guns blazing. and i generally don't get any frags before i die, but i do a lot of damage and i clear the way for the next guys.
i think that's good enough - and i don't give a crap if i don't get points or score because of it.
i can't help but wonder if i'd do that in real life.
the only crap thing is watching these bozos on my team fuck it up anyway.
and some idiot kept exploding grenades at the beginning of the round, right next to us...
i met this guy a while ago - i'll call him petrol (there's actually a very good reason for this).
he and some friends are playing a vampire campaign, and he knew i'd be interested (he works at a store called freak). he called me this morning, and we arranged to meet at his place at 17.00 to begin character creation.
i never thought they'd expect THAT much detail. i'm going to be taking this a lot more seriously from now on. and there's still a whole lot of stuff i have to research on the web - like popular spanish names in the 1820's, and the speed at which tortoises grow.
the funny thing was that my automatic reaction was to come up with details that would make things easier for the creation, but then two steps later i'd get stuck in an even bigger mess because of it.
i learned though, now the only difficult thing is adding other people to the mix.
and i had a headache (i'm really not sure if i'm sick, or just really, really tired). if i use my nose and throat as indicators, then i need to call a doctor.
but i've been invited to a beach party that starts about half an hour ago, and i really am going. screw you, nose and throat!!!
...she's away for two days, so i can go without any worries about not spending the time with her - it's her fault, now :D.
i needed to wake up at 10am, so of course i woke up at 08.30.
stupid, stupid human body.
i made all the calls i needed to make, the main one being to a decidedly unfriendly russian woman who had no intentions - whatsoever - in the direction of being helpful.
today was Domestic Day I, which went fairly smoothly. i went shopping, and remembered everything except the acid, which it turned out wasn't totally necessary.
some other time.
for the moment, i managed to clear all of grootbek's stuff out the bath (most of it was COVERED with black, smelly, slimy mold-creatures), and did as good a job of cleaning it as can be expected without going the heavy-duty chemical route.
i also cleaned out my industrial garbage can, which has been evolving for the past few months.
it introduced me to it's friends, millions of tiny bugs that cling to plastic and solidify.
all this was lovely to touch, and i am most grateful that the rubber gloves i bought managed to hold out - i really did expect them to be destroyed by the time i was finished with them.
and i cleaned my bedroom and bathroom floor. tomorrow is Domestic Day II, which involves cleaning the rest of the apartment.
oh, goody.
i went shopping with her for art supplies, and then had pizza for lunch / supper.
it was at this place called pizza slice, which is owned / run by an ice-cream chain (does this sound familiar?), and it's the only pizza parlour i've found in israel that does REAL pizza. american style (or south african style, whichever) - the standard israeli pizza is pretty gross.
at home: talked on irc and messenger, and played cs on the neojapangz server. hido - you were only on for one death. and you didn't say hi.
tsk, tsk.
i went with her to play pool for a bit. she's going to be really good if we play more.
*** today ***
it's late, i'm tired, and i'm falling asleep as soon as this is posted.
i woke up around 08.30, and i almost felt rested - it's just that now i'm feeling sick. i think it's a summer-cold thing, but it could have waited just a liiiitle bit longer (like, a few more weeks). i hate being sick when i'm a) by myself and b) busy doing stuff.
i completely forgot that i agreed to be in a panel for prospective students to our university, and got a call at 10am reminding me for 11am.
i was reading the mind-rape thing that's posted on psychotic american's site (new works). i really couldn't stop reading it. if nothing else, it's fascinating.
anyway, i managed to get to campus in time (in spite of my preoccupation), but i had to blade so i was all sweaty.
the panel: i was told we'd be there to answer questions. what actually happened was we sat there while other people talked crap, we introduced ourselves, and "boom", that was all she friggin' wrote.
i hate speaking in public, and i really didn't NEED for all those kids to know that much about me.
i feel cheated, somehow.
i came home, planning a few hours sleep, but instead played cs on the neojapangz server again. i have learned something about myself, but i'm not sure if i'm going to "fix" it.
i HATE waiting for the other guys to strike first. HATE it.
I just HAVE to run in, guns blazing. and i generally don't get any frags before i die, but i do a lot of damage and i clear the way for the next guys.
i think that's good enough - and i don't give a crap if i don't get points or score because of it.
i can't help but wonder if i'd do that in real life.
the only crap thing is watching these bozos on my team fuck it up anyway.
and some idiot kept exploding grenades at the beginning of the round, right next to us...
i met this guy a while ago - i'll call him petrol (there's actually a very good reason for this).
he and some friends are playing a vampire campaign, and he knew i'd be interested (he works at a store called freak). he called me this morning, and we arranged to meet at his place at 17.00 to begin character creation.
i never thought they'd expect THAT much detail. i'm going to be taking this a lot more seriously from now on. and there's still a whole lot of stuff i have to research on the web - like popular spanish names in the 1820's, and the speed at which tortoises grow.
the funny thing was that my automatic reaction was to come up with details that would make things easier for the creation, but then two steps later i'd get stuck in an even bigger mess because of it.
i learned though, now the only difficult thing is adding other people to the mix.
and i had a headache (i'm really not sure if i'm sick, or just really, really tired). if i use my nose and throat as indicators, then i need to call a doctor.
but i've been invited to a beach party that starts about half an hour ago, and i really am going. screw you, nose and throat!!!
...she's away for two days, so i can go without any worries about not spending the time with her - it's her fault, now :D.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
29/07/03
*** yesterday ***
the rest of my day can be best described by the words "tekken", "counterstrike", "irc", and "wiki".
sammy came over for the first two, irc just happened as usual, and editing the wiki until about 01.30 or something was a direct result of the conversation in the aforementioned chat.
*** today ***
this morning was insane. i got to sleep around 2am, and woke up at 8. if you've read the previous few logs, you'll notice what i find to be a pretty distressing pattern.
mild hallucinations while talking to a co (commanding officer) are not appreciated at all.
the story is fairly simple. my co was too busy to deal with me, so he sent me to someone else. she listened to what i had to say, understood perfectly, and went to discuss it with him.
when she came back, she informed me that i'm not being thrown out, and not only that, but that if i need an extra semester i might be given permission!
this basically means that i don't have to find another place to live, i don't have to move out, and i don't have to go to the army right now. i feel like there should be more to write - this is HUGE.
but now for the big news:
(there's not enough space to express myself using exclamation marks)
the only problem is that there's a chance that i might lose my job if i take so much vacation. i'm writing this while waiting to speak to the boss, and while i really don't want to lose this job, i really need the holiday - also it's not like my mother would understand.
not that that's the only reason.
i have great plans to see everyone, and do everything, and sleep, and eat decent food, and go to clean beaches, and decent movie theatres, and not have to sweat twenty-four-seven.
so it's definitely a case of "one holiday, coming up".
oh, almost forgot - the reason that they make you wait to find out if you passed or failed the driver's exam, is because someone shot their tester when they discovered that they failed.
yet another tale of "sad but true".
*** later ***
IT - IS - SO - HOT.
i just had a shower, and the first thing is did after turning off the water was start sweating again.
which is why i had the shower in the first place.
at least i have my trusty fan beside me. hmmm. i think i'll take a photo - after all, it IS my most prized possession right now, not including my ticket to sa.
on my way home, i went shopping for soap and dark chocolate. and then made a pass by the driving school and received my "license".
it's a form that i have to send, along with NIS 250 (just over R400), in order to receive my license by post.
gee, thanks.
anyway, i resumed work on our marketing project, which was basically correcting 8th grade spelling and grammar - whoever said that american high-school graduates were functionally illiterate (and we're talking about someone that did well in a good school) wasn't joking.
she came over for about half an hour, just to show off (she'd been shopping). she bought platform sandals, which are really cute (i can't believe i'm thinking this, but anyway), and i have to say that she is SO incredibly sexy when she's about my height (she's tall)...
i'm considering myself quite fortunate.
*sticking out my tongue at the world*
after she left, i finished correcting the project, sent it and stored it.
i think it's the first task i've completed in a long time.
the target of that statement: i really can write the driver now, and i STILL haven't touched it.
ANYways, i played some cs, with 31 other people, and it was most enjoyable. much more fun when it's less personal. and the battles are epic.
just before i showered, i washed the dishes, and discovered that our sink is alive. i had a small skirmish with the creatures who've made it their home, and i think i won, as water drains properly again.
at some point in the next couple of days, i'm going shopping for weapons of anti-fungal doom - i will destroy this fearful monster and all of its allies.
and our bath is filled with stuff, that i think is from grootbek, and it's hard to identify anything in there.
enough is enough - the american way of student life will not win!
i think i'm going to pour industrial chemicals on the lot of it and see what happens.
i've had the lost prophets' song shinobi vs. dragon ninja stuck in my head all day - so i've just turned it on. she should be finishing babysitting soon, and then it's off for coffee we go.
good day - good night!
the rest of my day can be best described by the words "tekken", "counterstrike", "irc", and "wiki".
sammy came over for the first two, irc just happened as usual, and editing the wiki until about 01.30 or something was a direct result of the conversation in the aforementioned chat.
*** today ***
this morning was insane. i got to sleep around 2am, and woke up at 8. if you've read the previous few logs, you'll notice what i find to be a pretty distressing pattern.
mild hallucinations while talking to a co (commanding officer) are not appreciated at all.
the story is fairly simple. my co was too busy to deal with me, so he sent me to someone else. she listened to what i had to say, understood perfectly, and went to discuss it with him.
when she came back, she informed me that i'm not being thrown out, and not only that, but that if i need an extra semester i might be given permission!
this basically means that i don't have to find another place to live, i don't have to move out, and i don't have to go to the army right now. i feel like there should be more to write - this is HUGE.
but now for the big news:
i have permission to leave the country for TWO MONTHS
which means a two month holiday to south africa for me!! yippee!!(there's not enough space to express myself using exclamation marks)
the only problem is that there's a chance that i might lose my job if i take so much vacation. i'm writing this while waiting to speak to the boss, and while i really don't want to lose this job, i really need the holiday - also it's not like my mother would understand.
not that that's the only reason.
i have great plans to see everyone, and do everything, and sleep, and eat decent food, and go to clean beaches, and decent movie theatres, and not have to sweat twenty-four-seven.
so it's definitely a case of "one holiday, coming up".
oh, almost forgot - the reason that they make you wait to find out if you passed or failed the driver's exam, is because someone shot their tester when they discovered that they failed.
yet another tale of "sad but true".
*** later ***
IT - IS - SO - HOT.
i just had a shower, and the first thing is did after turning off the water was start sweating again.
which is why i had the shower in the first place.
at least i have my trusty fan beside me. hmmm. i think i'll take a photo - after all, it IS my most prized possession right now, not including my ticket to sa.
on my way home, i went shopping for soap and dark chocolate. and then made a pass by the driving school and received my "license".
it's a form that i have to send, along with NIS 250 (just over R400), in order to receive my license by post.
gee, thanks.
anyway, i resumed work on our marketing project, which was basically correcting 8th grade spelling and grammar - whoever said that american high-school graduates were functionally illiterate (and we're talking about someone that did well in a good school) wasn't joking.
she came over for about half an hour, just to show off (she'd been shopping). she bought platform sandals, which are really cute (i can't believe i'm thinking this, but anyway), and i have to say that she is SO incredibly sexy when she's about my height (she's tall)...
i'm considering myself quite fortunate.
*sticking out my tongue at the world*
after she left, i finished correcting the project, sent it and stored it.
i think it's the first task i've completed in a long time.
the target of that statement: i really can write the driver now, and i STILL haven't touched it.
ANYways, i played some cs, with 31 other people, and it was most enjoyable. much more fun when it's less personal. and the battles are epic.
just before i showered, i washed the dishes, and discovered that our sink is alive. i had a small skirmish with the creatures who've made it their home, and i think i won, as water drains properly again.
at some point in the next couple of days, i'm going shopping for weapons of anti-fungal doom - i will destroy this fearful monster and all of its allies.
and our bath is filled with stuff, that i think is from grootbek, and it's hard to identify anything in there.
enough is enough - the american way of student life will not win!
i think i'm going to pour industrial chemicals on the lot of it and see what happens.
i've had the lost prophets' song shinobi vs. dragon ninja stuck in my head all day - so i've just turned it on. she should be finishing babysitting soon, and then it's off for coffee we go.
good day - good night!
Monday, July 28, 2003
28/07/03
*** yesterday ***
fuck me, but what a lousy day.
i woke up at 06.50, after getting about five hours' sleep, for a driving lesson. i don't *DO* early morning.
she came over, which would have been great, except that i was forced to watch crossroads.
she wanted to see it BECAUSE it's such a bad film. after suffering for 3/4 of the movie, i started to find it funny. i was amusing myself with really mean comments, and immediately quoting the really, REALLY stupid lines - until my antics began annoying her (italics for both reasons, now). so i had to stop, and the rest of the movie was just no fun at all.
it was such a DEEP movie.
i played some cs, which would have been great except that all of my favourite servers were full, and the server i ended up on was populated by a bunch of lame-ass biznatches.
i did okay, but the last few rounds were really frustrating - i don't like being on my own against six campers.
i was on my way to a meeting with SSSO (i'm helping her to write a guide for new students), when i got a phone call from the academic secretary of our university.
now, to put this in perspective:
about four or five months ago, i was court-marshalled because i changed study courses without asking permission from my commanding officer (co for you non-military types).
i received probation.
he agreed to let me continue studying, on the condition that i would finish my degree by the end of the next academic year.
since then i have been in the offices of the business school at least once a week, sometimes as much as three times in a day, harrassing them and trying to find out whether or not i can finish in the given time.
now, here's where the israeli attitude comes into play:
every time i've been there, the secretary (the one in charge :P), has told me not to worry, everything will be fine, everything's being sorted out, and i'm not going to have a problem getting what i need.
and that everything would be sorted out tomorrow. or the next week, latest.
and everytime i've questioned this, i've been sent away, and told i'm too paranoid.
so yesterday i get this phone call, and i rush off to university. and when i get there - surprise, surprise - i'm told "nope, sorry, can't help you". they tell me now that there is no way that i can complete my degree within a year.
my co informed me before our agreement that if i'm thrown out of my unit, then i will be given approximately three weeks to sort out my shit before being drafted into regular service.
which means i now have to start looking for a place to live, and get everything (like social security, and tuition payments) sorted out on the double.
or triple, in my case.
if i'd been told about this three months ago, i would have had time to get my shit together. maybe even have come down to cape town on holiday, but now there's almost no chance of me receiving permission to go, because if i'm not in the academic corps then i have no right to take a holiday.
and i can't lie to him, and i can't not tell him - either way he'll find out and i'll go straight to prison when i get back.
thanks for caring, fucking dibs (Dumb Israeli Bastards).
so i went home, the meeting having been postponed until 18.00, and i was talking to firstfallen and shadowslight on irc when i remembered that there was a cd i was looking for.
so i went into grootbek's room, hoping to find it. what i found was a drawer packed with about fifty cds of mine, most of which i hadn't lent to him (our argentinian flatmate told me he'd caught him in my room, but i had no proof), a few of which i'd asked him for and he was adamant that he'd returned, and a couple which he denied having, and one that i lent to him about six months ago (metallica and justice for all original) which he kept telling me was in haifa (city in the north).
and not only that - but they'd all been thrown in carelessly, and some of them are now scratched to shit.
let's just say i'm a leeeeeetle annoyed. i'm seriously contemplating fucking him up chronically, regardless of the legal and academic consequences.
however, i'd rather do something personal and painful, but i'm all out of ideas. if you have any suggestions, please contact me.
i'm going to add the mail i sent him to the dear grootbek section of my mental masturbation page.
so, i went to SSSO's place to help with the guide - we made a good start, but it's going to take a while.
we had a pretty good supper, and then i went home to shower and sleep.
she came over, and i didn't get to sleep until 1am.
*** today ***
i woke up at 6am, had a driving lesson from 06.30, and then had the exam from 07.30, and effectively it lasted about an hour. the test itself was maybe twenty minutes, but i had to drive one instructor to his car, then pick up another one and take him somewhere else, and so on.
and the test didn't go so well. it's now 16.30, and they still haven't called me to tell me if i passed or failed - i think this is a really shitty system.
*** NEWS FLASH (17.01) ***
while writing this log i took a break to make myself a late lunch (spaghetti and tuna), and i got a phone call from my driving instructor, congratulating me on getting my license.
YAY!!!
after the exam, she and i went to tel-aviv to visit the art museum. we felt so cultured!
we went first to get breakfast and coffee on ibn gvirol (pronounced ihb-n gveerall), one of tel-aviv's main roads. it's always nice doing that - you can FEEL you're in the middle of a big city, sitting outside on the pavement - and it's the first time that i've felt on holiday since, well, i don't remember when.
i'm sure it was in cape town.
*** note to self ***
stop eating so many marshmallows.
we then went to the museum. absolutely amazing exhibits: they had one on impressionism, one for female artists, i can't for the life of me remember the name of the third exhibit's artist (it's a long russian name), and one of paintings from the 1300's onwards.
there were two paintings in the female artists' exhibit that really caught me. i stood there gaping for a few minutes before she (there're those meaningful italics again!) dragged me away, and everything after that, including original monet, picasso, dali, and a host of other big names i don't quite recall, looked empty and pointless.
i'm going to have to go spend a day staring at them.
oh - fyi - it costs roughly R60 as a student to enter, and R80 as an adult.
lovely.
cultured swindlers.
on the way back i received a call informing me that the papers i need, both for the army, and for my tuition, were ready. so we stopped at the university to get them, and i gave her a quick tour of the place.
the university president is a great appreciator of the arts, so we have a really beautiful statue garden, and pieces all over campus - it was kind of like an extension of the museum trip.
and that was my day until now. i await the rest of it with baited breath (tuna, of course. but you knew that).
fuck me, but what a lousy day.
i woke up at 06.50, after getting about five hours' sleep, for a driving lesson. i don't *DO* early morning.
she came over, which would have been great, except that i was forced to watch crossroads.
she wanted to see it BECAUSE it's such a bad film. after suffering for 3/4 of the movie, i started to find it funny. i was amusing myself with really mean comments, and immediately quoting the really, REALLY stupid lines - until my antics began annoying her (italics for both reasons, now). so i had to stop, and the rest of the movie was just no fun at all.
it was such a DEEP movie.
i played some cs, which would have been great except that all of my favourite servers were full, and the server i ended up on was populated by a bunch of lame-ass biznatches.
i did okay, but the last few rounds were really frustrating - i don't like being on my own against six campers.
i was on my way to a meeting with SSSO (i'm helping her to write a guide for new students), when i got a phone call from the academic secretary of our university.
now, to put this in perspective:
about four or five months ago, i was court-marshalled because i changed study courses without asking permission from my commanding officer (co for you non-military types).
i received probation.
he agreed to let me continue studying, on the condition that i would finish my degree by the end of the next academic year.
since then i have been in the offices of the business school at least once a week, sometimes as much as three times in a day, harrassing them and trying to find out whether or not i can finish in the given time.
now, here's where the israeli attitude comes into play:
every time i've been there, the secretary (the one in charge :P), has told me not to worry, everything will be fine, everything's being sorted out, and i'm not going to have a problem getting what i need.
and that everything would be sorted out tomorrow. or the next week, latest.
and everytime i've questioned this, i've been sent away, and told i'm too paranoid.
so yesterday i get this phone call, and i rush off to university. and when i get there - surprise, surprise - i'm told "nope, sorry, can't help you". they tell me now that there is no way that i can complete my degree within a year.
my co informed me before our agreement that if i'm thrown out of my unit, then i will be given approximately three weeks to sort out my shit before being drafted into regular service.
which means i now have to start looking for a place to live, and get everything (like social security, and tuition payments) sorted out on the double.
or triple, in my case.
if i'd been told about this three months ago, i would have had time to get my shit together. maybe even have come down to cape town on holiday, but now there's almost no chance of me receiving permission to go, because if i'm not in the academic corps then i have no right to take a holiday.
and i can't lie to him, and i can't not tell him - either way he'll find out and i'll go straight to prison when i get back.
thanks for caring, fucking dibs (Dumb Israeli Bastards).
so i went home, the meeting having been postponed until 18.00, and i was talking to firstfallen and shadowslight on irc when i remembered that there was a cd i was looking for.
so i went into grootbek's room, hoping to find it. what i found was a drawer packed with about fifty cds of mine, most of which i hadn't lent to him (our argentinian flatmate told me he'd caught him in my room, but i had no proof), a few of which i'd asked him for and he was adamant that he'd returned, and a couple which he denied having, and one that i lent to him about six months ago (metallica and justice for all original) which he kept telling me was in haifa (city in the north).
and not only that - but they'd all been thrown in carelessly, and some of them are now scratched to shit.
let's just say i'm a leeeeeetle annoyed. i'm seriously contemplating fucking him up chronically, regardless of the legal and academic consequences.
however, i'd rather do something personal and painful, but i'm all out of ideas. if you have any suggestions, please contact me.
i'm going to add the mail i sent him to the dear grootbek section of my mental masturbation page.
so, i went to SSSO's place to help with the guide - we made a good start, but it's going to take a while.
we had a pretty good supper, and then i went home to shower and sleep.
she came over, and i didn't get to sleep until 1am.
*** today ***
i woke up at 6am, had a driving lesson from 06.30, and then had the exam from 07.30, and effectively it lasted about an hour. the test itself was maybe twenty minutes, but i had to drive one instructor to his car, then pick up another one and take him somewhere else, and so on.
and the test didn't go so well. it's now 16.30, and they still haven't called me to tell me if i passed or failed - i think this is a really shitty system.
*** NEWS FLASH (17.01) ***
while writing this log i took a break to make myself a late lunch (spaghetti and tuna), and i got a phone call from my driving instructor, congratulating me on getting my license.
YAY!!!
after the exam, she and i went to tel-aviv to visit the art museum. we felt so cultured!
we went first to get breakfast and coffee on ibn gvirol (pronounced ihb-n gveerall), one of tel-aviv's main roads. it's always nice doing that - you can FEEL you're in the middle of a big city, sitting outside on the pavement - and it's the first time that i've felt on holiday since, well, i don't remember when.
i'm sure it was in cape town.
*** note to self ***
stop eating so many marshmallows.
we then went to the museum. absolutely amazing exhibits: they had one on impressionism, one for female artists, i can't for the life of me remember the name of the third exhibit's artist (it's a long russian name), and one of paintings from the 1300's onwards.
there were two paintings in the female artists' exhibit that really caught me. i stood there gaping for a few minutes before she (there're those meaningful italics again!) dragged me away, and everything after that, including original monet, picasso, dali, and a host of other big names i don't quite recall, looked empty and pointless.
i'm going to have to go spend a day staring at them.
oh - fyi - it costs roughly R60 as a student to enter, and R80 as an adult.
lovely.
cultured swindlers.
on the way back i received a call informing me that the papers i need, both for the army, and for my tuition, were ready. so we stopped at the university to get them, and i gave her a quick tour of the place.
the university president is a great appreciator of the arts, so we have a really beautiful statue garden, and pieces all over campus - it was kind of like an extension of the museum trip.
and that was my day until now. i await the rest of it with baited breath (tuna, of course. but you knew that).
Saturday, July 26, 2003
26/07/03
*** yesterday ***
i was SO tired yesterday morning, that i began doing really strange things.
this wouldn't have been a problem, but i was on a call, and while this woman was talking to me i put a pretzel in my mouth.
i wasn't thinking at ALL about the fact that i'd need to speak in a second, and when she stopped speaking i had to talk through it.
which sounded most strange, and all the other helpdesk agents noticed.
shenanigan:
noun: reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
at least the rest of my shenanigans weren't on live calls.
i got to sleep around 07.00 / 07.30, and woke up at 12:40. my lesson was due to start at 13.20, but i got a call almost immediately after waking up, informing me that i should be ready at 13.00.
ugh.
so i didn't have coffee - plunged straight into driving k53-style, and when i got home all i could think about was sleeping.
she came over for the afternoon, and we passed out until about 18.30.
i went for supper at my cousins', which was really nice, but i ate way too much.
she and i went to see finding nemo last night.
AWESOME, awesome movie - i had my mouth hanging open for most of it. visually, it's stunning. literally.
but i can't see it being for kids - there were a few scenes which scared the crap outta me, like seeing bruce for the first time...
after the movie we went and played in the park - always nice. when i got home i was completely exhausted, and almost passed out on my way to bed.
*** today ***
i've just woken up, i think. it's now 11.42, i've had breakfast, and i think i'm about to go back to sleep.
alright, maybe some cs first.
i really don't think i'm going to do anything important today.
*** later ***
let's see - i had breakfast, played counterstrike, cleaned my fan, watched invader zim episodes, watched queen of the damned (interesting but unemotional) with her, played some more cs, went out for supper, did my laundry, and i'm about to go to bed.
oh, and i had a good lunch in there somewhere.
i don't think i used my brain the entire day. i'm kinda proud, actually - that was exactly according to plan :D.
i was SO tired yesterday morning, that i began doing really strange things.
this wouldn't have been a problem, but i was on a call, and while this woman was talking to me i put a pretzel in my mouth.
i wasn't thinking at ALL about the fact that i'd need to speak in a second, and when she stopped speaking i had to talk through it.
which sounded most strange, and all the other helpdesk agents noticed.
shenanigan:
noun: reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
at least the rest of my shenanigans weren't on live calls.
i got to sleep around 07.00 / 07.30, and woke up at 12:40. my lesson was due to start at 13.20, but i got a call almost immediately after waking up, informing me that i should be ready at 13.00.
ugh.
so i didn't have coffee - plunged straight into driving k53-style, and when i got home all i could think about was sleeping.
she came over for the afternoon, and we passed out until about 18.30.
i went for supper at my cousins', which was really nice, but i ate way too much.
she and i went to see finding nemo last night.
AWESOME, awesome movie - i had my mouth hanging open for most of it. visually, it's stunning. literally.
but i can't see it being for kids - there were a few scenes which scared the crap outta me, like seeing bruce for the first time...
after the movie we went and played in the park - always nice. when i got home i was completely exhausted, and almost passed out on my way to bed.
*** today ***
i've just woken up, i think. it's now 11.42, i've had breakfast, and i think i'm about to go back to sleep.
alright, maybe some cs first.
i really don't think i'm going to do anything important today.
*** later ***
let's see - i had breakfast, played counterstrike, cleaned my fan, watched invader zim episodes, watched queen of the damned (interesting but unemotional) with her, played some more cs, went out for supper, did my laundry, and i'm about to go to bed.
oh, and i had a good lunch in there somewhere.
i don't think i used my brain the entire day. i'm kinda proud, actually - that was exactly according to plan :D.
Thursday, July 24, 2003
24/07/03
i got about seven hours of sleep this morning! YES!
i woke up around 08.30, made some important calls, and discovered that i didn't need to go anywhere until 14.00.
i watched some zim, studied from the msdn (i found what i was looking for - i think i've pretty much got the hang of it), and read a bit.
i'm trying desperately to think of what else i did, because that CAN'T be it!
the driving lesson went much better than yesterday's - still not great though, and i keep doing strange things with the clutch.
oh well.
my exam's now definitely on monday. i have a lesson tomorrow, and i think that's it...
i'm actually kinda nervous about it - this style is really demanding!
i just remembered a rather disturbing thing that happened during the lesson - a case of double israeli mentality.
(1) some woman pulled out in front of me, in spite of the fact that she could see that she was definitely going to hit me - and then (2) the driving instructor turned the wheel towards her! in order to "teach her a lesson", apparently.
whatever.
i requested that he kindly not touch the steering wheel again.
ever.
i've watched some more invader zim, played some cs, and botched a website intended to make viewing the archives of hell sweet hell speed-browsable.
i'm off to work soon - good lord - but this is going to be a looooong night.
i expect to update a bit later.
*** later ***
what i didn't expect was to not be working for the first event, so i came here approximately six hours early.
GREAT.
but it does give me time to read webcomics, chat online, and be paid for studying drivers.
but no cs breaks, and no zim.
that might be healthier, actually...
i woke up around 08.30, made some important calls, and discovered that i didn't need to go anywhere until 14.00.
i watched some zim, studied from the msdn (i found what i was looking for - i think i've pretty much got the hang of it), and read a bit.
i'm trying desperately to think of what else i did, because that CAN'T be it!
the driving lesson went much better than yesterday's - still not great though, and i keep doing strange things with the clutch.
oh well.
my exam's now definitely on monday. i have a lesson tomorrow, and i think that's it...
i'm actually kinda nervous about it - this style is really demanding!
i just remembered a rather disturbing thing that happened during the lesson - a case of double israeli mentality.
(1) some woman pulled out in front of me, in spite of the fact that she could see that she was definitely going to hit me - and then (2) the driving instructor turned the wheel towards her! in order to "teach her a lesson", apparently.
whatever.
i requested that he kindly not touch the steering wheel again.
ever.
i've watched some more invader zim, played some cs, and botched a website intended to make viewing the archives of hell sweet hell speed-browsable.
i'm off to work soon - good lord - but this is going to be a looooong night.
i expect to update a bit later.
*** later ***
what i didn't expect was to not be working for the first event, so i came here approximately six hours early.
GREAT.
but it does give me time to read webcomics, chat online, and be paid for studying drivers.
but no cs breaks, and no zim.
that might be healthier, actually...
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
23/07/03
*** yesterday ***
funny thing - as soon as i finished writing yesterday's log, i discovered that we didn't have any work to do. and that was HOURS after we got there.
obviously, no-one else is concerned about company resources, either.
so i took the bus home - reading my brand-spanking new, pretty darn cool book (pandora).
only comment i have so far is that the beginning's NOT amazing: if she were just writing, and not TO this "david" person, it would be much better.
although, come to think of it, maybe two thousand years could turn one a tad senile.
she picked me up from the bus station (on foot, no less) and we went to eat falaffel. it was good, but neither of us had any appetite (so why did we go?), and the owner got upset because he thought there was something wrong with them...
aaaaaaaanyways.
i walked her home, and then went on a tour of all the driver's eds in our city. i really should put the word city in quotation marks. it's a very technical definition.
i found three places - in the first, no-one understood a word i said, in english or hebrew. the second seemed nice. the third one had this really freaky dude, who started telling me what an idiot i was for not signing up with him immediately. and trying to convince me that he's not a liar.
* sense of impending DOOM *
so i did something i've never done before. in hebrew, i screamed at him and told him exactly how i felt, and that he had no right to demand anything from me. and that i had every right to check out all the schools before deciding.
and so on.
i'm actually very proud of myself.
later on, she phoned me to tell me that her friend went to the second school, and that it's a good one - so i've decided to go that route too.
i watched some more invader zim (it really bites that i know that there exists only a finite number of them).
and slept for a bit.
and ate peanut butter sandwiches for supper.
and watched about twenty minutes of dracula 2000.
and went with her to the beach, until about 2am.
and showered.
and crashed.
*** today ***
it's 09.23, and i already have something to add.
i'm DYING.
i woke up around 07.30 or something, and i couldn't get back to sleep AGAIN, and then this guy, from the first school i went to, phoned me to arrange a lesson for today.
even if i hadn't already made up my mind, he's the only one there who speaks any english, and it sounded like stephen hawking on a slow day.
so, trying not to hurt his feelings, i promised to call back.
i'm still deciding whether i'm going to or not.
call him back, that is.
i just got back from the second driving school - they don't open until 10am, so i thought to myself "great! i walked all the way here for nothing".
at least i had time to write this.
on my way home i got bon jovi's if i was your mother in my head, so i'm listening to the keep the faith album while writing this.
i still dig this music. i'm going to watch some ZIM!!! and then go get a driving lesson. i'm actually quite excited - chances are i'll be doing the exam on monday!
*** later ***
well, i've now had a driving lesson. i'd completely forgotten what driving miss daisy was like - at one point i got so confused that i forgot to put in the clutch when i came to a stop.
urk.
i hope i can relearn the stupid driving style of doom before monday. failing something like this could be shameful.
i'm TIRED. more sleep. MORE - SLEEP! NEEEEEEED more sleep.
yeeeeeees.
can you tell i'm under the influence of ZIM?
*** later ***
i played some cs - my aiming's improving, while my sense of self preservation is lessening: i'm always first to the door, and first to die.
she came over for a few hours - we both passed out and woke up around 21.15, by which stage she was already late for coffee with a friend.
at least i'm not the only one who does that.
i turned on the tv during supper, and watched serendipity. i feel so good now!
*sigh*
i have a plan. i'm going to finish the work on the drivers. i don't know when, and i certainly don't know how, but i'm going to.
funny thing - as soon as i finished writing yesterday's log, i discovered that we didn't have any work to do. and that was HOURS after we got there.
obviously, no-one else is concerned about company resources, either.
so i took the bus home - reading my brand-spanking new, pretty darn cool book (pandora).
only comment i have so far is that the beginning's NOT amazing: if she were just writing, and not TO this "david" person, it would be much better.
although, come to think of it, maybe two thousand years could turn one a tad senile.
she picked me up from the bus station (on foot, no less) and we went to eat falaffel. it was good, but neither of us had any appetite (so why did we go?), and the owner got upset because he thought there was something wrong with them...
aaaaaaaanyways.
i walked her home, and then went on a tour of all the driver's eds in our city. i really should put the word city in quotation marks. it's a very technical definition.
i found three places - in the first, no-one understood a word i said, in english or hebrew. the second seemed nice. the third one had this really freaky dude, who started telling me what an idiot i was for not signing up with him immediately. and trying to convince me that he's not a liar.
* sense of impending DOOM *
so i did something i've never done before. in hebrew, i screamed at him and told him exactly how i felt, and that he had no right to demand anything from me. and that i had every right to check out all the schools before deciding.
and so on.
i'm actually very proud of myself.
later on, she phoned me to tell me that her friend went to the second school, and that it's a good one - so i've decided to go that route too.
i watched some more invader zim (it really bites that i know that there exists only a finite number of them).
and slept for a bit.
and ate peanut butter sandwiches for supper.
and watched about twenty minutes of dracula 2000.
and went with her to the beach, until about 2am.
and showered.
and crashed.
*** today ***
it's 09.23, and i already have something to add.
i'm DYING.
i woke up around 07.30 or something, and i couldn't get back to sleep AGAIN, and then this guy, from the first school i went to, phoned me to arrange a lesson for today.
even if i hadn't already made up my mind, he's the only one there who speaks any english, and it sounded like stephen hawking on a slow day.
so, trying not to hurt his feelings, i promised to call back.
i'm still deciding whether i'm going to or not.
call him back, that is.
i just got back from the second driving school - they don't open until 10am, so i thought to myself "great! i walked all the way here for nothing".
at least i had time to write this.
on my way home i got bon jovi's if i was your mother in my head, so i'm listening to the keep the faith album while writing this.
i still dig this music. i'm going to watch some ZIM!!! and then go get a driving lesson. i'm actually quite excited - chances are i'll be doing the exam on monday!
*** later ***
well, i've now had a driving lesson. i'd completely forgotten what driving miss daisy was like - at one point i got so confused that i forgot to put in the clutch when i came to a stop.
urk.
i hope i can relearn the stupid driving style of doom before monday. failing something like this could be shameful.
i'm TIRED. more sleep. MORE - SLEEP! NEEEEEEED more sleep.
yeeeeeees.
can you tell i'm under the influence of ZIM?
*** later ***
i played some cs - my aiming's improving, while my sense of self preservation is lessening: i'm always first to the door, and first to die.
she came over for a few hours - we both passed out and woke up around 21.15, by which stage she was already late for coffee with a friend.
at least i'm not the only one who does that.
i turned on the tv during supper, and watched serendipity. i feel so good now!
*sigh*
i have a plan. i'm going to finish the work on the drivers. i don't know when, and i certainly don't know how, but i'm going to.
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