hydrophonic - aquabatics is freakin' brilliant! do you believe is making it difficult for me to concentrate :)
i told the kid that i don't think that a good morning pool game a "successful" day doth make :P
i had a great breakfast, we donated a ton of stuff at the synagogue (apparently it all goes to new immigrants, a cause i can identify with), we did some shopping, hung up the washing, found a potential apartment through a real-estate website (i'll check it out tomorrow), had an excellent dinner at jeremiah (solid chicken salad - at some point i'm going to start eating at home, but not yet), met up with our landlord to swap bank guarantees and in my case pay rent (stings as usual), and now i'm off to join my team-mates for "happy hour".
the cd case i bought earlier has helped me organize a bit more. it's unbelievable how much tidying and organizing i've had to do after not being here almost half a year. my space is almost comfortable, and i'm learning to toss out the old. slowly but surely.
i suppose it could be considered successful after all.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
cleared mind
this is kinda shameful - i haven't done anything but read comics and tidy my room for the last two hours. i don't have the desire to do anything right now, really.
i was wondering about sixto rodriguez.
i was wondering about sixto rodriguez.
broken smiley
it was a bit nippy today - good thing my mac hall goodies arrived. the XXXL broken smiley shirt just made my day ^_^
i had an excellent egg 'n avo breakfast at cafeneto with my mum, then walked to the absorption assistance agency to sort out my most-alienable rights. the woman was rather unpleasant, and then she took offence when i tried to understand how long my rights will continue to exist.
i walked home, picked up my id book and some cash and returned to get it stamped and sorted. good thing i had a book with me (mark twain - the adventures of huckleberry finn) because the systems were down... and we spent half an hour filling out forms for something unrelated to my request... and then another excruciating ten minutes on a visa application form (an international and cost-free one)... and then it took forever to figure out what she was on about as far as my request was concerned.
the fact that this all took about an hour - not including the quick break when one of her teeth fell out - and that my mother was waiting for me at the mall kinda set me on edge. the frustration i experienced while trying to be polite in the face of her overwhelming demonstration of complete and utter incompetence lasted a while after the experience was over.
colour me unimpressed.
at least lunch was good (the usual shinto always goes down well), and we organized a gift for my niece (25*) and bought the discworld graphic novels: "the colour of magic", "the light fantastic" for me.
totalwaste trivia: cuz's copy of the colour of magic was the first real graphic novel i ever read, and it was what got me reading discworld books in the first place.
pity i left all my book gift vouchers at home...
no bus for old men - waiting for bus 56 in the sun was unpleasant, and the bus to herzeliya was crowded. my mother wasn't feeling well and there weren't enough young 'uns prepared to stand.
i'm an expiry date detector: for the second time, i managed to pick the one item in the stack that wasn't good. today's was a chocolate bar.
i crashed for an hour or two, woke up feeling awful. my mother and i took the train to the airport, and sat down to eat and wash a beer down with coffee after dealing with remarkably stupid security personnel and an idiot who held up the check-in line. [um - not like robbed, like made us all wait for nothing for a very long time - and got the girl all defensive for everyone else]
so after a pleasant rip-off dinner and an interesting chat, we said our goodbyes and i went to wait for the train... it arrived an hour later, so i sat reading until then. i got back home just in time to watch house with the kid, showered and have (in my head) gone to bed. tomorrow morning we'll do the lincoln thing.
because we can.
* i told her i'm glad she made it this far, and her response was "i reckon you had something to do with it you really redeemed yourself at the hospital for trying to murder me in my youth" - a reference to an incident (once upon a time) when my father caught me trying to smother her with a pillow. times change, i guess :P
i had an excellent egg 'n avo breakfast at cafeneto with my mum, then walked to the absorption assistance agency to sort out my most-alienable rights. the woman was rather unpleasant, and then she took offence when i tried to understand how long my rights will continue to exist.
i walked home, picked up my id book and some cash and returned to get it stamped and sorted. good thing i had a book with me (mark twain - the adventures of huckleberry finn) because the systems were down... and we spent half an hour filling out forms for something unrelated to my request... and then another excruciating ten minutes on a visa application form (an international and cost-free one)... and then it took forever to figure out what she was on about as far as my request was concerned.
the fact that this all took about an hour - not including the quick break when one of her teeth fell out - and that my mother was waiting for me at the mall kinda set me on edge. the frustration i experienced while trying to be polite in the face of her overwhelming demonstration of complete and utter incompetence lasted a while after the experience was over.
colour me unimpressed.
at least lunch was good (the usual shinto always goes down well), and we organized a gift for my niece (25*) and bought the discworld graphic novels: "the colour of magic", "the light fantastic" for me.
totalwaste trivia: cuz's copy of the colour of magic was the first real graphic novel i ever read, and it was what got me reading discworld books in the first place.
pity i left all my book gift vouchers at home...
no bus for old men - waiting for bus 56 in the sun was unpleasant, and the bus to herzeliya was crowded. my mother wasn't feeling well and there weren't enough young 'uns prepared to stand.
i'm an expiry date detector: for the second time, i managed to pick the one item in the stack that wasn't good. today's was a chocolate bar.
i crashed for an hour or two, woke up feeling awful. my mother and i took the train to the airport, and sat down to eat and wash a beer down with coffee after dealing with remarkably stupid security personnel and an idiot who held up the check-in line. [um - not like robbed, like made us all wait for nothing for a very long time - and got the girl all defensive for everyone else]
so after a pleasant rip-off dinner and an interesting chat, we said our goodbyes and i went to wait for the train... it arrived an hour later, so i sat reading until then. i got back home just in time to watch house with the kid, showered and have (in my head) gone to bed. tomorrow morning we'll do the lincoln thing.
because we can.
* i told her i'm glad she made it this far, and her response was "i reckon you had something to do with it you really redeemed yourself at the hospital for trying to murder me in my youth" - a reference to an incident (once upon a time) when my father caught me trying to smother her with a pillow. times change, i guess :P
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
i woke up wrong today
i don't know why i woke up so early, i'll be back in bed in a minute to correct the error.
but i did find out that i was mistaken - i've been convinced for the last while that obama wouldn't have a chance because he's the right choice, and americans have a habit of shooting themselves in the foot. or their neighbours in the chest, whichever.
a smart man in the whitehouse?
top election moments '07 - '08
but i did find out that i was mistaken - i've been convinced for the last while that obama wouldn't have a chance because he's the right choice, and americans have a habit of shooting themselves in the foot. or their neighbours in the chest, whichever.
a smart man in the whitehouse?
top election moments '07 - '08
it's past 2am...
and i've only just regained access to the internet from my pc. getting the group file edited wasn't too difficult, but the lack of success with the wireless had me doing all sorts of strange things until an odd idea presented itself - and i switched usb ports.
and now it works. wonderful.
and now it works. wonderful.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
dutiful
well, we did the ra'anana run to see family and family friends - it was nice, both times right until the goodbyes and having to explain that the chances of them seeing me without my mum are pretty close to nil. and not because i don't want to see them, but because it's such a mission to get there.
my ipod lasted until i got home, but i'm glad that i didn't plug it in before i revoked my own administrator privileges - it was mostly out of frustration with the issues i was experiencing with my lack of authorization, so many things were going wrong that i figured maybe the checkboxes were inversed.
now i know differently.
so i'm downloading the ubuntu installation cd from the kid's computer with intent to rewrite the groups file. this shouldn't be too hard... he says suspiciously. and it'll only take another couple of hours to get here. i'm off to eat.
my ipod lasted until i got home, but i'm glad that i didn't plug it in before i revoked my own administrator privileges - it was mostly out of frustration with the issues i was experiencing with my lack of authorization, so many things were going wrong that i figured maybe the checkboxes were inversed.
now i know differently.
so i'm downloading the ubuntu installation cd from the kid's computer with intent to rewrite the groups file. this shouldn't be too hard... he says suspiciously. and it'll only take another couple of hours to get here. i'm off to eat.
trusted. bank guaranteed.
the banker was kind to me this morning, and my ipod's suffering from low battery syndrome and nothing more serious.
over an absolutely fantastic kiwi-muesli breakfast i discovered two interesting-looking apartments for sale, only one was a misprint and the other was sold by the time i picked up the phone :(
my pc's working, i have access to all my gadgets but no permission to use the network. it's a known bug but no less frustrating for that. the kid has thrown a palm-device my way, we'll see if it suits me. if nothing else i can see myself playing simcity on the shuttle :)
i met up with one of the guys from the completion for lunch, and aside from it being weird to eat in the mess hall in civvies i discovered that he and our commander are dating... hmmm...
i now know where to donate clothing in tel aviv - sweet! it's right near the lincoln which is as good an excuse to play pool as any! (we have free hours ^_^)
over an absolutely fantastic kiwi-muesli breakfast i discovered two interesting-looking apartments for sale, only one was a misprint and the other was sold by the time i picked up the phone :(
my pc's working, i have access to all my gadgets but no permission to use the network. it's a known bug but no less frustrating for that. the kid has thrown a palm-device my way, we'll see if it suits me. if nothing else i can see myself playing simcity on the shuttle :)
i met up with one of the guys from the completion for lunch, and aside from it being weird to eat in the mess hall in civvies i discovered that he and our commander are dating... hmmm...
i now know where to donate clothing in tel aviv - sweet! it's right near the lincoln which is as good an excuse to play pool as any! (we have free hours ^_^)
recycled
my room's tidier and i'm exhausted. it was a long, long day, and i promised myself that i wouldn't connect my pc until the havoc surrounding my bed had been reduced to piles of distinguishables.
i began the day at the bank, where i didn't actually get much done, then got into uniform to go buy my new one. quite a mission, that. it's far away on the induction base. i wondered if vision would meet me for coffee (she serves there), but i didn't get a response.
i eventually found the shop i was looking for, and it's a crap store. they go out of their way to make one feel as uncomfortable as possible, and then take forever to handle each purchase.
after going through all the motions, quite patiently, i reached my turn.
first order of business: the store's system hasn't been updated with my recent promotion, so i can't buy anything until that's dealt with. superb.
second order of business: there's no way to return a damaged item even if it was bought damaged. wonderful.
so i was sorta upset when i left, although i calmed down really fast when i decided that my base secretariat can deal with it next week... their fault, their clean-up.
on the way back i dealt with a crazy who was hunting for a political conversation with anyone he could - when we began ignoring him he starting singing at the top of his lungs until we got to his stop.
i saw a sign today, that went something along the following lines: guys! are you having trouble with your health or finances?
it's caused by your lack of respect for your sperm. avoid masturbation and sex out of wedlock and your luck will change!
on the way to meet my mum i picked up my pc - the guy had had difficulty with the aging video card so he simply slotted a new one in on his own account - i'm quite satisfied. so i'm now running 1gb of memory on a quadcore. sweet. gimp runs smoothly -
- but i haven't noticed any difference in sudoku performance. how disappointing.
a woman on a bicycle wearing stretchy pants that had hooked over the seat should have been pulled over for indecent exposure. yes, i know she's not a shemale but the effect is the same.
i have an issue with book shopping. i must own everything! i managed to not buy hans belting - hieronymus bosch: garden of earthly delights, but stephen and lucy hawking - george's secret key to the universe found its way out the door with me.
my mother now understands why i like the may apartment, and we were disappointed by an apartment that's in a perfect position but requires way too much work.
i finally know who to vote for in the municipals!
i spoke to the kid about the current apartment situation: he's been living with the new guy for a month or two and instead of being flatmates they're like two people who just happen to be in the same space. i'm now on a mission to fix that, and i've begun with example-setting (like doing all the dishes and folding his laundry). if he doesn't get the hint quickly then we're going to have a chat.
speaking of chats, i didn't speak to my SC today :/
i began the day at the bank, where i didn't actually get much done, then got into uniform to go buy my new one. quite a mission, that. it's far away on the induction base. i wondered if vision would meet me for coffee (she serves there), but i didn't get a response.
i eventually found the shop i was looking for, and it's a crap store. they go out of their way to make one feel as uncomfortable as possible, and then take forever to handle each purchase.
after going through all the motions, quite patiently, i reached my turn.
first order of business: the store's system hasn't been updated with my recent promotion, so i can't buy anything until that's dealt with. superb.
second order of business: there's no way to return a damaged item even if it was bought damaged. wonderful.
so i was sorta upset when i left, although i calmed down really fast when i decided that my base secretariat can deal with it next week... their fault, their clean-up.
on the way back i dealt with a crazy who was hunting for a political conversation with anyone he could - when we began ignoring him he starting singing at the top of his lungs until we got to his stop.
i saw a sign today, that went something along the following lines: guys! are you having trouble with your health or finances?
it's caused by your lack of respect for your sperm. avoid masturbation and sex out of wedlock and your luck will change!
on the way to meet my mum i picked up my pc - the guy had had difficulty with the aging video card so he simply slotted a new one in on his own account - i'm quite satisfied. so i'm now running 1gb of memory on a quadcore. sweet. gimp runs smoothly -
- but i haven't noticed any difference in sudoku performance. how disappointing.
a woman on a bicycle wearing stretchy pants that had hooked over the seat should have been pulled over for indecent exposure. yes, i know she's not a shemale but the effect is the same.
i have an issue with book shopping. i must own everything! i managed to not buy hans belting - hieronymus bosch: garden of earthly delights, but stephen and lucy hawking - george's secret key to the universe found its way out the door with me.
my mother now understands why i like the may apartment, and we were disappointed by an apartment that's in a perfect position but requires way too much work.
i finally know who to vote for in the municipals!
i spoke to the kid about the current apartment situation: he's been living with the new guy for a month or two and instead of being flatmates they're like two people who just happen to be in the same space. i'm now on a mission to fix that, and i've begun with example-setting (like doing all the dishes and folding his laundry). if he doesn't get the hint quickly then we're going to have a chat.
speaking of chats, i didn't speak to my SC today :/
Sunday, November 02, 2008
super-strong destroyer of door handles!
the immobiliser malfunctioned while my mum and i were at the mall this evening, so after stopping for a hamburger (or a number of little ones, it's supposedly an irish thing but you can colour me doubtful) we called the mechanic (at 9pm from tel aviv to herzeliya - i'm impressed!) to come and sort us out.
he rocked up in a battered old jalopy, and indicated that we should open the back door. i got the handle, and when he eventually opened from the inside and i handed it over he was pissed.
"it's not my car!"
"i didn't use force!"
"it's not my car! do you think the woman will care if i tell her you didn't use force?!"
look, the handle was bust and i'm the one who happened to pick it up. i'd only feel less sorry if my mum and i hadn't been giggling about the whole thing, and his getting more and more steamed only made us behave worse.
back to a most successful day:
he rocked up in a battered old jalopy, and indicated that we should open the back door. i got the handle, and when he eventually opened from the inside and i handed it over he was pissed.
"it's not my car!"
"i didn't use force!"
"it's not my car! do you think the woman will care if i tell her you didn't use force?!"
look, the handle was bust and i'm the one who happened to pick it up. i'd only feel less sorry if my mum and i hadn't been giggling about the whole thing, and his getting more and more steamed only made us behave worse.
back to a most successful day:
- my mum arrived at the coffee shop without a hitch
- the mortgage bank experience was smooth and we have a definite budget
- we've spoken to lots of agents and there're quite a few places to get through
- we saw an apartment that we actually rather like
- while mum napped, i got shopping done and sent in my computer for evaluation
- we sat over chivas and tennis with her grandfather
- i approved a solid upgrade for my pc - i was leaning towards it but the reasonable price convinced me
- after two malls, we found my mum sandals that she can walk around comfortably in
- we returned the car safely to her father, and i've decided to sleep here (her grandparents') tonight (both for the internet and because getting home at this hour is unlikely)
Saturday, November 01, 2008
sleeping like a baby
that was last night... and then this afternoon, both post-lunch siesta and the actual afternoon nap. the drive up to the kibbutz was alright, the drive back was bumper-to-bumper and although the car drives smoothly it's really, really loud.
and the second cd that my mum bought me (artifakt - the magus) was quite a disappointment; quite frankly the frequently recurring dentist's drill and lack of substantive beats got under my skin. i'm hoping that it's a problem with the equalizer, but i doubt it.
lunch was at a place called "sahara", right next to the base i guarded at in january 2005 [see entries for the 12th and 18th]. i had my internal map all backwards, as usual :P
my to-do list at the moment is focused on tomorrow morning's visit to the mortgage bank, somehow magicking my pc fixed (i'm thinking upgrade, it's long overdue an overhaul) and arranging a meeting with my SC. and doing some forward planning. right now just getting home and managing to clear my room would be good.
oh - i almost forgot! as of tuesday, i've been in the army for four years! looking back on my posts from then, it's hard to believe how much i've learned / changed over the years.
and the second cd that my mum bought me (artifakt - the magus) was quite a disappointment; quite frankly the frequently recurring dentist's drill and lack of substantive beats got under my skin. i'm hoping that it's a problem with the equalizer, but i doubt it.
lunch was at a place called "sahara", right next to the base i guarded at in january 2005 [see entries for the 12th and 18th]. i had my internal map all backwards, as usual :P
my to-do list at the moment is focused on tomorrow morning's visit to the mortgage bank, somehow magicking my pc fixed (i'm thinking upgrade, it's long overdue an overhaul) and arranging a meeting with my SC. and doing some forward planning. right now just getting home and managing to clear my room would be good.
oh - i almost forgot! as of tuesday, i've been in the army for four years! looking back on my posts from then, it's hard to believe how much i've learned / changed over the years.
eilat and back
there isn't much to do in eilat, aside from walk the promenade. so that's what my mum and i did for a day and a half - we walked and we talked (we talked a lot) and we sat down every now and again to eat or drink coffee.
the hotel was unsatisfactory as far as my mum was concerned, i was quite happy with it but my standards are kinda low at the moment.
this morning we took a bus back, me in my blues for the first time - a pity that the zip broke on the way :S
we had lunch at coffeeholic, i left my room in complete disarray and my computer's broken down properly (suspect: the power supply) to come to herzeliya and have dinner at her parents' place. everyone was excited for me, they broke out the champagne and presented me with a couple of stunning gifts, and the evening was loud and fun and filled with the joy of each other's company.
that's one of the kitschiest things i've typed in a while, but my mother and i have been having long conversations concerning family values and ours is a crazy and wonderful one... i'm really glad that i can appreciate it ^_^
her parents have given us use of their car for the weekend - i decided not to drive back to tel aviv because aside from being kinda tired, i'd have to find parking, tidy up my room, worry about my pc and get up relatively early in the morning. i'm happier staying here at her grandparents' place with my mum.
regarding the last couple of weeks:
there's a bunch of stuff i want to talk about and can't, and a bunch of stuff that i barely remember because it all flew by so quickly. lots and lots of marching was involved, many last minute items had to be dealt with and the last six months came to a rather discrete and sometimes surprising end.
it was only just over a week ago that it was announced that i would be attaining the rank that i was supposed to, and i'm extremely happy with that. my mother got to see me receive a highly respectable rank in a proper military ceremony and that satisfies me.
my team commander from the last few months had a few interesting things to say, and i've learned a lot about myself over the last three months (specifically about focusing my frustration and not stressing) that will take me some time to really tune into.
my commander from the first leg of the course (who my mother agrees with me is quite something) was glowing with pride: the course seems to have softened me, which is to say that i was too hard for the army. in my mind that shouldn't make sense, but that just shows that i have improved.
armed with that, i have attained a slight insight into the events surrounding my dating vision - if i wasn't accepting of myself how could i accept anyone else? a pity. i've thought about her a lot since it was her birthday yesterday, and i'm sad that i couldn't handle something that was so good.
but i've definitely gotten better. i told a couple of my cousins tonight bits of my history, specifically surrounding my siblings, and they were shocked and then laughing and saying things like "no wonder you don't have a girlfriend!". it's long past time for me to be finding myself a suitable girl and doing the family thing.
i'm going to have to work really hard to manage my spare time from now on to make sure that i get all the millions of things that i want to do done. from gym and sports to studies and art-relateds, seeing friends and catching up on movies and books...
and sometime this week i'm going to have to have a chat with my SC, he's managed to conveniently forget that i'm trying to move. i need his authorization to go for a second interview and he feels that he's invested too much in me to let me go.
i finally finished fall of hyperion! it's like watching the godfather - brilliant but horrifically slow. and then i read norah vincent - self-made man and it is a fantastic read. inspired and insightful, and filled with sardonic snickering.
my mind's fluttering from subject to subject, i'm going to go to bed before it sludges out my ears.
the hotel was unsatisfactory as far as my mum was concerned, i was quite happy with it but my standards are kinda low at the moment.
this morning we took a bus back, me in my blues for the first time - a pity that the zip broke on the way :S
we had lunch at coffeeholic, i left my room in complete disarray and my computer's broken down properly (suspect: the power supply) to come to herzeliya and have dinner at her parents' place. everyone was excited for me, they broke out the champagne and presented me with a couple of stunning gifts, and the evening was loud and fun and filled with the joy of each other's company.
that's one of the kitschiest things i've typed in a while, but my mother and i have been having long conversations concerning family values and ours is a crazy and wonderful one... i'm really glad that i can appreciate it ^_^
her parents have given us use of their car for the weekend - i decided not to drive back to tel aviv because aside from being kinda tired, i'd have to find parking, tidy up my room, worry about my pc and get up relatively early in the morning. i'm happier staying here at her grandparents' place with my mum.
regarding the last couple of weeks:
there's a bunch of stuff i want to talk about and can't, and a bunch of stuff that i barely remember because it all flew by so quickly. lots and lots of marching was involved, many last minute items had to be dealt with and the last six months came to a rather discrete and sometimes surprising end.
it was only just over a week ago that it was announced that i would be attaining the rank that i was supposed to, and i'm extremely happy with that. my mother got to see me receive a highly respectable rank in a proper military ceremony and that satisfies me.
my team commander from the last few months had a few interesting things to say, and i've learned a lot about myself over the last three months (specifically about focusing my frustration and not stressing) that will take me some time to really tune into.
my commander from the first leg of the course (who my mother agrees with me is quite something) was glowing with pride: the course seems to have softened me, which is to say that i was too hard for the army. in my mind that shouldn't make sense, but that just shows that i have improved.
armed with that, i have attained a slight insight into the events surrounding my dating vision - if i wasn't accepting of myself how could i accept anyone else? a pity. i've thought about her a lot since it was her birthday yesterday, and i'm sad that i couldn't handle something that was so good.
but i've definitely gotten better. i told a couple of my cousins tonight bits of my history, specifically surrounding my siblings, and they were shocked and then laughing and saying things like "no wonder you don't have a girlfriend!". it's long past time for me to be finding myself a suitable girl and doing the family thing.
i'm going to have to work really hard to manage my spare time from now on to make sure that i get all the millions of things that i want to do done. from gym and sports to studies and art-relateds, seeing friends and catching up on movies and books...
and sometime this week i'm going to have to have a chat with my SC, he's managed to conveniently forget that i'm trying to move. i need his authorization to go for a second interview and he feels that he's invested too much in me to let me go.
i finally finished fall of hyperion! it's like watching the godfather - brilliant but horrifically slow. and then i read norah vincent - self-made man and it is a fantastic read. inspired and insightful, and filled with sardonic snickering.
my mind's fluttering from subject to subject, i'm going to go to bed before it sludges out my ears.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
*LEVEL UP*
i'm still sorta in shock about the whole thing... it was tense right up until the ceremony on sunday, and the last two days were really emotional. i've got a hell of a lot to say, but i'm in eilat with my mother so i'll be logging off soon (i'm in a trashy internet cafe at the bus station) :P
Saturday, October 18, 2008
redemption for the day
i'm extremely pleased to announce that the battery recharged quickly and remained good until the job was complete. i have two too-short lines on the back - accidents happen - but all in all it was well done. the kid now knows a thing or two more than he did yesterday :P
the afternoon flew by, with an hour on the beach with my snowboarding trip organizer buddy, his mates and a beer, and the kid and i watched iron man when i got back.
it lived up to the hype - i was thrilled the entire film ^_^
we interviewed two people this evening: a cute psychologist and her dog, and an about-to-graduate engineer. both of them were good runners, but the girl won out. i needed a minute to deal with the dog, because cute as she is i've only ever dealt with troublemakers, but this time i won't be responsible for it and i can deal with making my belongings inaccessible :P
i had an interesting chat with the landlord, mostly about how the bank's going to buy my soul, and then the kid joined me for sushi (miso soup and sashimi / nigiri, a fantastic combination) which we finished with the ice-cream usual.
only one more week - it'll be a hard one, but if i can just keep it together for its entirety the this last chapter will be closed successfully.
either way, the holiday planning has increased in intensity :)
the afternoon flew by, with an hour on the beach with my snowboarding trip organizer buddy, his mates and a beer, and the kid and i watched iron man when i got back.
it lived up to the hype - i was thrilled the entire film ^_^
we interviewed two people this evening: a cute psychologist and her dog, and an about-to-graduate engineer. both of them were good runners, but the girl won out. i needed a minute to deal with the dog, because cute as she is i've only ever dealt with troublemakers, but this time i won't be responsible for it and i can deal with making my belongings inaccessible :P
i had an interesting chat with the landlord, mostly about how the bank's going to buy my soul, and then the kid joined me for sushi (miso soup and sashimi / nigiri, a fantastic combination) which we finished with the ice-cream usual.
only one more week - it'll be a hard one, but if i can just keep it together for its entirety the this last chapter will be closed successfully.
either way, the holiday planning has increased in intensity :)
it had to happen
i was demonstrating clipper operation [shaving my head] to the kid... when the clippers died. i have a bald stripe down the back and the front is decidedly random.
this wouldn't be such an issue if it wasn't illegal to shave one's head with a razor... and this afternoon i'm interviewing potential flatmates. this should be interesting.
this wouldn't be such an issue if it wasn't illegal to shave one's head with a razor... and this afternoon i'm interviewing potential flatmates. this should be interesting.
success! onward to breakfast!
i can't believe i slept more than four hours after the party! fantastic!
now for breakfast. i've been fiddling with my madam & eve archive for the past hour.
now for breakfast. i've been fiddling with my madam & eve archive for the past hour.
reverse anger management
i rather enjoyed the night out, some of it was awkward but it was mostly good fun. i left when i started going cross-eyed from exhaustion (i don't know why i'm not leaving this for when i wake up), and i scared the poor sod at the kiosk, who thought i was angry with him.
even when i went back to return the tortilla chips that were way past their expiry date i wasn't angry. oh, well. i think it's most likely my automatically-assumed attitude for the arsim around the docks.
even when i went back to return the tortilla chips that were way past their expiry date i wasn't angry. oh, well. i think it's most likely my automatically-assumed attitude for the arsim around the docks.
ubuntu's back!
SWEET! i'd forgotten just how good this interface feels. nystire sorted me out with a quick link, and everything's breezy again ^_^
now i'm off to party. i was feeling bad about something - i didn't update my dutch friend (the snowboard organizer) concerning payments, and i was worried that he was relying on my handing him the cash. it suddenly struck me that he's only here another day, so if there's a problem i can definitely help him out.
now i'm off to party. i was feeling bad about something - i didn't update my dutch friend (the snowboard organizer) concerning payments, and i was worried that he was relying on my handing him the cash. it suddenly struck me that he's only here another day, so if there's a problem i can definitely help him out.
a good green start
[
<- click here]
please, PLEASE click the above link, and beneath the picture click on the "Back" and then "Additional Views" links and tell me that this doesn't amuse you.
All feedback appreciated, and purchases are the most powerful form of flattery.
<- click here]please, PLEASE click the above link, and beneath the picture click on the "Back" and then "Additional Views" links and tell me that this doesn't amuse you.
All feedback appreciated, and purchases are the most powerful form of flattery.
Friday, October 17, 2008
i was sitting at a coffee shop,
having resumed reading the fall of hyperion, when i suddenly distracted myself with introspection and self-absorbed self-inflicted agitation.
a few days ago i began thinking about new beginnings, about throwing out the old and picking and choosing only for the now. letting go of old strings and loose threads, trashing the papers that haven't realized whatever potential i thought i saw in them and donating the irrelevant to whichever outfit will have it.
as a beginning, this led me to clear out numbers from my cellphone, that i suppose i'd been storing to keep a hold of the past. even the number of the gorgeous girl i met in canada, and my first girlfriend lake [mentioned a number of times, one day i'll tell the tale].
this fresh start aside, i began pondering the how and who of "me".
once upon a time i was an innocent and not particularly cynical child. my mum, concerned about my future, grades, and other stuff, took me to see some form of psychologist pathfinder-windreader witchdoctor who examined the results of my iq test in addition to some other parameters and said, "quite frankly, he can do pretty much whatever he wants".
i took that seriously, and i believe that i am capable of anything. "everything is possible" is one of my favourite expressions. the thing is, i have at my disposal infinite resources and interests:
it's having access to everything
wanting to experience everything
my desire to do it all the hard way
to write it all down
to sing it all
but there's only enough time for a tiny, tantalizing taste of the perfect pudding
this is life's mean trick as far as i'm concerned, and the source of all my pseudo-angst.
on an unrelated note, i forgot to mention: a couple of days ago i had a run-in with an ethiopian guy in our platoon.
for two months i've suffered his repeated attempts to impress me with his grasp of american culture, hip hop terminology and ebonics, and the ability to repeat the same two cuss-words for minutes on end without coming up with anything original.
he's a great guy, but he's israeli, not an african-american. so i told him that he's a white man pretending to be a black man inside a black man's body.
a few days ago i began thinking about new beginnings, about throwing out the old and picking and choosing only for the now. letting go of old strings and loose threads, trashing the papers that haven't realized whatever potential i thought i saw in them and donating the irrelevant to whichever outfit will have it.
as a beginning, this led me to clear out numbers from my cellphone, that i suppose i'd been storing to keep a hold of the past. even the number of the gorgeous girl i met in canada, and my first girlfriend lake [mentioned a number of times, one day i'll tell the tale].
this fresh start aside, i began pondering the how and who of "me".
once upon a time i was an innocent and not particularly cynical child. my mum, concerned about my future, grades, and other stuff, took me to see some form of psychologist pathfinder-windreader witchdoctor who examined the results of my iq test in addition to some other parameters and said, "quite frankly, he can do pretty much whatever he wants".
i took that seriously, and i believe that i am capable of anything. "everything is possible" is one of my favourite expressions. the thing is, i have at my disposal infinite resources and interests:
it's having access to everything
wanting to experience everything
my desire to do it all the hard way
to write it all down
to sing it all
but there's only enough time for a tiny, tantalizing taste of the perfect pudding
this is life's mean trick as far as i'm concerned, and the source of all my pseudo-angst.
on an unrelated note, i forgot to mention: a couple of days ago i had a run-in with an ethiopian guy in our platoon.
for two months i've suffered his repeated attempts to impress me with his grasp of american culture, hip hop terminology and ebonics, and the ability to repeat the same two cuss-words for minutes on end without coming up with anything original.
he's a great guy, but he's israeli, not an african-american. so i told him that he's a white man pretending to be a black man inside a black man's body.
cafepress isn't pretty
and i couldn't find the list of funny shirts, so i made three (which was a lot more of a mission than i expected) and i'll see if this proves worthwhile. i have this strange feeling that it won't.
lunchtime? i'm too lazy for anything else.
lunchtime? i'm too lazy for anything else.
an ode to hip-hop
when the margins are filled
but the page remains blank
empty barrels a'rolling
the epitome of swank
with your gold and your diamonds
and coloured hair flair
all your tinted accessories
and plastic dental care
of passion, of rage
you rave on your crate
but it's only cash that keeps you
bound to a nobody's fate
but the page remains blank
empty barrels a'rolling
the epitome of swank
with your gold and your diamonds
and coloured hair flair
all your tinted accessories
and plastic dental care
of passion, of rage
you rave on your crate
but it's only cash that keeps you
bound to a nobody's fate
blue moon rising
it's the shade of security
thrown when that clock strikes thirteen
when it all makes sense
and i remember who i am
when every ending is just that
when every dagger digs deep
when pulling teeth for pulling's sake
when talking and doing, both are cheap
my mirror squints back, puzzled
i blush, ashamed to look
i recognize myself, as if in a dream
a fantasy, mere folly, for i can't be
thrown when that clock strikes thirteen
when it all makes sense
and i remember who i am
when every ending is just that
when every dagger digs deep
when pulling teeth for pulling's sake
when talking and doing, both are cheap
my mirror squints back, puzzled
i blush, ashamed to look
i recognize myself, as if in a dream
a fantasy, mere folly, for i can't be
antidote
imprisoned, chained up inside this
statue of a body
reaching out, tendrils probing but
foiled, slapping uselessly against
his eyes' screen door
tortured, cleansed
scrubbed, tortured again
that cold statue trying to reshape
me
in his own grey image
wringing out these last drops
of rainbow gold
his iron slick sick grip
his black touch confounding intimacy
statue of a body
reaching out, tendrils probing but
foiled, slapping uselessly against
his eyes' screen door
tortured, cleansed
scrubbed, tortured again
that cold statue trying to reshape
me
in his own grey image
wringing out these last drops
of rainbow gold
his iron slick sick grip
his black touch confounding intimacy
acts of love
o' but to share a smile
filled with toothpicks
and a handshake
firmed with ice
for a hearty bear hug
through a vest of thorns
exchanging hats
filled with lice
my love for you is as the stars
pointy, and oft hard to see
make of all this what you will
i'll keep up this pretence of glee
filled with toothpicks
and a handshake
firmed with ice
for a hearty bear hug
through a vest of thorns
exchanging hats
filled with lice
my love for you is as the stars
pointy, and oft hard to see
make of all this what you will
i'll keep up this pretence of glee
the surprise of success
to be so tragically optimistic
to resent the present
in anticipation of that
shining
florescent future
when each step drags
mercilessly
wastefully, in light of its inevitability
to be in that future, but stuck in
the past, reforging unmade marks
does everyone fear his own mistakes so?
to resent the present
in anticipation of that
shining
florescent future
when each step drags
mercilessly
wastefully, in light of its inevitability
to be in that future, but stuck in
the past, reforging unmade marks
does everyone fear his own mistakes so?
the tail
right now, i'm both happy and hurting. no, i'm not having one of those masochistic moments. i was sitting at coffeeholic, enjoying my iced-coffee and happily awaiting the arrival of my roast-beef salad when the kid called, informing me that an obscure package had arrived via ups that needed paying for. i didn't recognize the name of the sender nor the company listed (amplifier?!), so i told him not to accept it. when i got home i discovered that it was my penny arcade order. i'm glad / very, very lucky that i managed to get the delivery dude to come back.
i'm excited over the gear that arrived, the books are sweet and the hoodie is super-frikkin' awesome. the poster's a lot smaller than i expected, but that's my fault.
what's painful is that i had to pay NIS 250 for the shipping, because they chose ups. they didn't use ups last time, so i didn't really think that sort of thing would happen. after a pleasant chat with a really sweet-sounding girl in their israeli operations centre, i understand two things:
1) if possible, don't use ups
2) if you must use ups, you have to specify in advance that your order of less than $1000 MUST NOT be regarded as high-priority. you see, if it's a cheap package then they assume you simply didn't spend enough.
"awful" doesn't have an 'e' in it. fine. i get it.
the ups package is what i thought i was going to the post office to pick up this morning, but i was wrong. that pick-up was for this month's wired. they simply don't fit in our mailbox. speaking of wired, the last two copies really helped me get through the past week.
i just got mail from the hospital. i tried to arrange an appointment with them over the phone, but that's not their policy so i had to send them my referral by fax - a horrible story in and of itself.
the mail tells me that i have an appointment with them in just over a week - a date that is simply impossible for me to make.
now i can't get hold of them by phone. they suck.
my snowboard vacation is paid for! now i just need to sort out the transport and everything will be fine ^_^
the last week:
i was super chilled on friday morning, and i got almost all of my homework done on the train. after a lot of bus station confusion we boarded with a girls' platoon, and were informed that we were forbidden to talk to the ladies for the last two weeks of the course.
not a chance.
i've been ill since friday. sickly, exhausted (physically and mentally), a little dizzy at times... it hasn't been too much fun.
friday night i finally clicked with a bunch of the guys, including one of our commanders, over a conversation about movies and gaming. i almost put myself in a bad place when i performed the monster-hands thing from pan's labyrinth: there was a long moment when i thought i'd made a terrible call, and then the dawning of recognition crossed the commander's face and he stopped thinking i was a complete nutter.
reading about shai agassi was quite a pick-me-upper.
i had some strange dreams this past week. a few nights i couldn't sleep at all, during one i managed to kill a mosquito that had been driving me nuts for five hours by slamming my head down on the pillow when the buzzing reached my ear.
we were tested in a number of ways this week - the last period is one of intense paranoia and any mistake could fail us. in fact, a large number of people said goodbye yesterday, and although a couple of the decisions pleased me (the sneaky kid's gone, for example), there were a few that have me quite disappointed. having my commander sit next to me for half an hour, watching me pass by 2% and then making fun of me on his way out the class was not pleasant.
sport's day sucked. i was only told a minute before the volleyball game began that i wasn't in the team anymore. that stung.
ah, that reminds me. there are a number of cadets with me that think that because me hebrew isn't as good as theirs that i'm stupid, and stupid enough that i don't know that they're laughing at me - to my face - and then pretending to be friends afterwards. it's incredibly unpleasant.
in fact, it's specifically that bunch of people that makes me feel like finishing this course is something of survival and not achievement. i haven't actually enjoyed the last couple of months, just a couple of moments here and there. i'm fantasizing about airports and my imaginary apartment that i haven't seen yet. that's where my head's at about 90% of the time.
--- why was i thinking about unity?
it was a cold night, and the queue outside the club was doubled back around the parking lot. i'd been inside, dancing like a maniac, my shirt had been off for a while and i was enjoying that clean-sweat feeling. i felt the desire to go to the petrol station to get myself some chocolate, and i headed down the stairs.
i stood at the door, watching the rain drizzling down on the people waiting in line, and seeing everyone huddling together and trying to keep somehow dry struck a chord deep inside me.
i decided that there was no way that i was going to run to the petrol station.
i walked - slowly - all the way there, and all the way back, having made a conscious decision to *enjoy* the sensation (i had waterproof pockets, so i wasn't concerned). i knew i would be warm enough to make the journey, and that i'd dry off (or not :P) by dancing... all in all, not a tremendously ridiculous call to make.
i will never forget the shock and awe that seemed to ripple through the crowd. nor the comments that i overheard, repeated in various forms: "wow! i want whatever that guy's had!"
nope, i wasn't on drugs, people. just will and perspective.
--- during the last couple of days i really bonded with some of the guys from the first leg of the course. we're all more or less in the same head-space for the first time since we arrived at our current base, and i finally feel connected again.
apparently i'm still considered a new immigrant as far as the idf is concerned. i don't think this scores me any points, but it's good to know :P
watching a few minutes of some random soccer game, i realized what it is about being a spectator that doesn't appeal to me. if i can't learn anything useful, i don't want to watch.
football (soccer, like), for instance, can be extremely interesting as far as plays are concerned, but overall there's no real strategy involved. watching extreme sports is fun because i fantasize about actually doing those things, even if i'm psychologically limited to staring at the screen (after a couple of nasty rollerblading accidents i've never fully regained my confidence).
anyway, the course is almost done and everybody's going crazy, and now i'm going to see about dealing with my computer issues so that i can upload some designs.
[this post written from ubuntu. i can't figure out how to uninstall / reinstall hardy heron.]
i'm excited over the gear that arrived, the books are sweet and the hoodie is super-frikkin' awesome. the poster's a lot smaller than i expected, but that's my fault.
what's painful is that i had to pay NIS 250 for the shipping, because they chose ups. they didn't use ups last time, so i didn't really think that sort of thing would happen. after a pleasant chat with a really sweet-sounding girl in their israeli operations centre, i understand two things:
1) if possible, don't use ups
2) if you must use ups, you have to specify in advance that your order of less than $1000 MUST NOT be regarded as high-priority. you see, if it's a cheap package then they assume you simply didn't spend enough.
"awful" doesn't have an 'e' in it. fine. i get it.
the ups package is what i thought i was going to the post office to pick up this morning, but i was wrong. that pick-up was for this month's wired. they simply don't fit in our mailbox. speaking of wired, the last two copies really helped me get through the past week.
i just got mail from the hospital. i tried to arrange an appointment with them over the phone, but that's not their policy so i had to send them my referral by fax - a horrible story in and of itself.
the mail tells me that i have an appointment with them in just over a week - a date that is simply impossible for me to make.
now i can't get hold of them by phone. they suck.
my snowboard vacation is paid for! now i just need to sort out the transport and everything will be fine ^_^
the last week:
i was super chilled on friday morning, and i got almost all of my homework done on the train. after a lot of bus station confusion we boarded with a girls' platoon, and were informed that we were forbidden to talk to the ladies for the last two weeks of the course.
not a chance.
i've been ill since friday. sickly, exhausted (physically and mentally), a little dizzy at times... it hasn't been too much fun.
friday night i finally clicked with a bunch of the guys, including one of our commanders, over a conversation about movies and gaming. i almost put myself in a bad place when i performed the monster-hands thing from pan's labyrinth: there was a long moment when i thought i'd made a terrible call, and then the dawning of recognition crossed the commander's face and he stopped thinking i was a complete nutter.
reading about shai agassi was quite a pick-me-upper.
i had some strange dreams this past week. a few nights i couldn't sleep at all, during one i managed to kill a mosquito that had been driving me nuts for five hours by slamming my head down on the pillow when the buzzing reached my ear.
we were tested in a number of ways this week - the last period is one of intense paranoia and any mistake could fail us. in fact, a large number of people said goodbye yesterday, and although a couple of the decisions pleased me (the sneaky kid's gone, for example), there were a few that have me quite disappointed. having my commander sit next to me for half an hour, watching me pass by 2% and then making fun of me on his way out the class was not pleasant.
sport's day sucked. i was only told a minute before the volleyball game began that i wasn't in the team anymore. that stung.
ah, that reminds me. there are a number of cadets with me that think that because me hebrew isn't as good as theirs that i'm stupid, and stupid enough that i don't know that they're laughing at me - to my face - and then pretending to be friends afterwards. it's incredibly unpleasant.
in fact, it's specifically that bunch of people that makes me feel like finishing this course is something of survival and not achievement. i haven't actually enjoyed the last couple of months, just a couple of moments here and there. i'm fantasizing about airports and my imaginary apartment that i haven't seen yet. that's where my head's at about 90% of the time.
it was a cold night, and the queue outside the club was doubled back around the parking lot. i'd been inside, dancing like a maniac, my shirt had been off for a while and i was enjoying that clean-sweat feeling. i felt the desire to go to the petrol station to get myself some chocolate, and i headed down the stairs.
i stood at the door, watching the rain drizzling down on the people waiting in line, and seeing everyone huddling together and trying to keep somehow dry struck a chord deep inside me.
i decided that there was no way that i was going to run to the petrol station.
i walked - slowly - all the way there, and all the way back, having made a conscious decision to *enjoy* the sensation (i had waterproof pockets, so i wasn't concerned). i knew i would be warm enough to make the journey, and that i'd dry off (or not :P) by dancing... all in all, not a tremendously ridiculous call to make.
i will never forget the shock and awe that seemed to ripple through the crowd. nor the comments that i overheard, repeated in various forms: "wow! i want whatever that guy's had!"
nope, i wasn't on drugs, people. just will and perspective.
apparently i'm still considered a new immigrant as far as the idf is concerned. i don't think this scores me any points, but it's good to know :P
watching a few minutes of some random soccer game, i realized what it is about being a spectator that doesn't appeal to me. if i can't learn anything useful, i don't want to watch.
football (soccer, like), for instance, can be extremely interesting as far as plays are concerned, but overall there's no real strategy involved. watching extreme sports is fun because i fantasize about actually doing those things, even if i'm psychologically limited to staring at the screen (after a couple of nasty rollerblading accidents i've never fully regained my confidence).
anyway, the course is almost done and everybody's going crazy, and now i'm going to see about dealing with my computer issues so that i can upload some designs.
[this post written from ubuntu. i can't figure out how to uninstall / reinstall hardy heron.]
Friday, October 10, 2008
to sleep in a few. promise.
i quote the email i received when complaining about having paid triple the international postage: "we do not refund shipping fees after the items have been shipped regardless".
evil sods.
in happier news, penny arcade's fallout 3 strip is complete.
and i've opened a shop on cafepress, now to fill it with goodies. when i have time, of course.
evil sods.
in happier news, penny arcade's fallout 3 strip is complete.
and i've opened a shop on cafepress, now to fill it with goodies. when i have time, of course.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
spree: spred. or spreed? how about sprud?
after some really, really good sushi and a fun chat with my favourite sushi chef (the korean guy i used to train with), i got all my shopping done:
* three awesome shirts from mac hall (one cthulu, one smiley, one mac hall)
* all five penny arcade books
* one super-awesome penny arcade poster (subway)
* one unmaintainably awesome penny arcade hoodie (white, and definitely men's this time)
the only thing that worries me is that on both orders the state is listed as IL, and i'm hoping fervently that the deliveries won't be made to illinois. and penny arcade's checkout got me all paranoid about my paypal credit limit, and after attempting to reconfirm my card ("but your card's fine"), i put in my details manually and hey presto! pots and pans! it all worked great.
now for that homework and packing i was so excited about. only a couple more weeks of this, though. that's kinda freaky.
oh, yeah. and nystire sent me this ubergeek link. it's quite cute.
* three awesome shirts from mac hall (one cthulu, one smiley, one mac hall)
* all five penny arcade books
* one super-awesome penny arcade poster (subway)
* one unmaintainably awesome penny arcade hoodie (white, and definitely men's this time)
the only thing that worries me is that on both orders the state is listed as IL, and i'm hoping fervently that the deliveries won't be made to illinois. and penny arcade's checkout got me all paranoid about my paypal credit limit, and after attempting to reconfirm my card ("but your card's fine"), i put in my details manually and hey presto! pots and pans! it all worked great.
now for that homework and packing i was so excited about. only a couple more weeks of this, though. that's kinda freaky.
oh, yeah. and nystire sent me this ubergeek link. it's quite cute.
what an odd sensation!
i just arrived home... as i left the kibbutz, the oddest sensation washed over me: i felt like i was 15 again, heading back home from playing pool with my buddies at the heartache & vine, a quaint old pub near glengariff road.
the day was chilled, now to try and enjoy a bit of tel aviv before hitting the homework and packing for the next week. and possibly doing some of that shopping i wanted to do today ;)
the day was chilled, now to try and enjoy a bit of tel aviv before hitting the homework and packing for the next week. and possibly doing some of that shopping i wanted to do today ;)
antisocial
i've spent a large part of today window shopping online, and now i think it's about time to rejoin everyone else on the couch.
i would have bought a bunch of mac hall merch, but their shop doesn't allow the selection of "Outside US". for three shirts and a hoodie, i hope they can fix this.
i then tried purchasing from penny arcade's store, but i'm not filling in all that data from a computer i don't trust. this time i'm in for books, a poster, and their awesome hoodie.
all that in addition to the dvds i need to own that i mentioned yesterday? and then i wonder where all my money disappears to.
a couple of interesting things i've come across today:
an article i agree with
a madam & eve strip that amuses me
an answer to my question about sugar and gas tanks
a poster i must have
i would have bought a bunch of mac hall merch, but their shop doesn't allow the selection of "Outside US". for three shirts and a hoodie, i hope they can fix this.
i then tried purchasing from penny arcade's store, but i'm not filling in all that data from a computer i don't trust. this time i'm in for books, a poster, and their awesome hoodie.
all that in addition to the dvds i need to own that i mentioned yesterday? and then i wonder where all my money disappears to.
a couple of interesting things i've come across today:
an article i agree with
a madam & eve strip that amuses me
an answer to my question about sugar and gas tanks
a poster i must have
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
back inside the green line
back on the kibbutz again - what a nice breath of fresh air! and i'd been dreaming about getting in the pool for days, so even though i'm incredibly self-conscious about my inability to swim lengths i really enjoyed immersing myself and chilling on the side with my freshly arrived copy of wired (only a couple of months late, bless the postal network).
i discovered my luck last night just before going to bed - something had been irritating my heel the entire day, and it turned out to be a shard of glass... and my foot's fine. the sock needed to be tossed, but that's alright.
it's a sharp turn from the beginning of the week, when i discovered how not to use a thermos.
the only time i've ever used one was in france, and then only for cold water. this led me to believe that pouring directly into one's mouth was an acceptable way to do things, only the scalding hot tea poured straight over my lower lip and chin and i was lucky enough that the burns didn't progress past first degree.
the week guarding settlements was mostly great but extremely tiring. we ate a lot of tuna at the beginning, but by sunday we were able to go shopping and we feasted on steaks, kebabs and chicken for the next three days.
our team covered two settlements, both of them really nice. i was hosted by a family for friday night dinner and not only was the food great, but the people were really friendly and interesting. the only issue was meeting them all for the first time, unfortunately sitting down directly under the spotlights next to the littlest daughter.
"he's sweating, daddy".
thanks, sweety, that made me a whole lot more comfortable.
i finally learned all the words to amazing grace (the original version), and i also learned not to engage in any debate that may at some stage include drugs. i seriously pissed off the guy i was guarding with when i tried to explain that part of the freedom that we fight for is the freedom to make mistakes.
we scored an hour and a half being thrown about in an armoured vehicle on friday. most of us slept fairly well.
our commander's incredibly amusing when he's not being serious, and we enjoyed the few days with him. he's an incredibly enthusiastic cook, and we got an opportunity to "break distance" and joke around a lot.
a couple of the shifts i pulled were serious physical exercise. dragging a heavy gate manually for the duration of the sabbath was hard work, but not nearly as hard as patrolling three hours on a rolling, rocky mountain top. i get breathless just thinking about it.
i watched bits of the saw iv while doing homework, and i've realized that it's a quadrilogy that needs to be viewed. my list of next-to-buy movies: thursday, independence day and of course, all of the pirates of the caribbean movies. how i haven't obtained those until now is beyond me. at least i got home to find starship troopers and the two bill hicks dvds on my bed.
i had a long (more than two minutes, probably less than five) chat with the new flatmate this afternoon about interviewing the kid's replacement. i told him that i'm most likely going to move out after january in any event, but that it's important that all three of us get along until then. i wonder how things're going to be when i get back home in a month's time.
speaking of which - we have approximately two weeks left of the course. it's awkward that on the one hand i can almost taste the end, and on the other i'm terrified that this is when i'm going to put a foot wrong somehow.
on the bus back to base last night, i suddenly had a craving for ice-cream. within five minutes after voicing this the bus pulled into a mall and we had a refreshment break, and the ice-cream was pretty good :D
i thought about two things on the bus to tel aviv this morning:
1) i caught one of my team-mates napping while on duty. he swears blind that it was no more than half a minute, but i had to report him anyway. i did it in a way that won't hurt him, but it was unpleasant nonetheless. you don't fall asleep at your post when the enemy's gate is less than 500m away.
2) singer. i think i need to tell her that we can't be friends anymore, because she's still under the false impression that we're going to get back together at some stage. our last talk was weird and it keeps replaying in my head.
i don't like burning bridges but this one is unhealthy.
i managed to get to the bank on time this morning, i went to transfer the cash for the snowboarding holiday. that turned out to be more complicated than i'd expected. i hope it goes well :S
right, now that i've gotten all that off my chest, it's time for a nap. for the past half a year i've been leaving out all the gory details, i hope i don't miss them one day when i decide to publish my more obscure experiences... like my national geographic moment when i entered the guard hut and a wasp was fighting with a giant moth (larger than my hand).
daylight savings time confuses things.
i discovered my luck last night just before going to bed - something had been irritating my heel the entire day, and it turned out to be a shard of glass... and my foot's fine. the sock needed to be tossed, but that's alright.
it's a sharp turn from the beginning of the week, when i discovered how not to use a thermos.
the only time i've ever used one was in france, and then only for cold water. this led me to believe that pouring directly into one's mouth was an acceptable way to do things, only the scalding hot tea poured straight over my lower lip and chin and i was lucky enough that the burns didn't progress past first degree.
the week guarding settlements was mostly great but extremely tiring. we ate a lot of tuna at the beginning, but by sunday we were able to go shopping and we feasted on steaks, kebabs and chicken for the next three days.
our team covered two settlements, both of them really nice. i was hosted by a family for friday night dinner and not only was the food great, but the people were really friendly and interesting. the only issue was meeting them all for the first time, unfortunately sitting down directly under the spotlights next to the littlest daughter.
"he's sweating, daddy".
thanks, sweety, that made me a whole lot more comfortable.
i finally learned all the words to amazing grace (the original version), and i also learned not to engage in any debate that may at some stage include drugs. i seriously pissed off the guy i was guarding with when i tried to explain that part of the freedom that we fight for is the freedom to make mistakes.
we scored an hour and a half being thrown about in an armoured vehicle on friday. most of us slept fairly well.
our commander's incredibly amusing when he's not being serious, and we enjoyed the few days with him. he's an incredibly enthusiastic cook, and we got an opportunity to "break distance" and joke around a lot.
a couple of the shifts i pulled were serious physical exercise. dragging a heavy gate manually for the duration of the sabbath was hard work, but not nearly as hard as patrolling three hours on a rolling, rocky mountain top. i get breathless just thinking about it.
i watched bits of the saw iv while doing homework, and i've realized that it's a quadrilogy that needs to be viewed. my list of next-to-buy movies: thursday, independence day and of course, all of the pirates of the caribbean movies. how i haven't obtained those until now is beyond me. at least i got home to find starship troopers and the two bill hicks dvds on my bed.
i had a long (more than two minutes, probably less than five) chat with the new flatmate this afternoon about interviewing the kid's replacement. i told him that i'm most likely going to move out after january in any event, but that it's important that all three of us get along until then. i wonder how things're going to be when i get back home in a month's time.
speaking of which - we have approximately two weeks left of the course. it's awkward that on the one hand i can almost taste the end, and on the other i'm terrified that this is when i'm going to put a foot wrong somehow.
on the bus back to base last night, i suddenly had a craving for ice-cream. within five minutes after voicing this the bus pulled into a mall and we had a refreshment break, and the ice-cream was pretty good :D
i thought about two things on the bus to tel aviv this morning:
1) i caught one of my team-mates napping while on duty. he swears blind that it was no more than half a minute, but i had to report him anyway. i did it in a way that won't hurt him, but it was unpleasant nonetheless. you don't fall asleep at your post when the enemy's gate is less than 500m away.
2) singer. i think i need to tell her that we can't be friends anymore, because she's still under the false impression that we're going to get back together at some stage. our last talk was weird and it keeps replaying in my head.
i don't like burning bridges but this one is unhealthy.
i managed to get to the bank on time this morning, i went to transfer the cash for the snowboarding holiday. that turned out to be more complicated than i'd expected. i hope it goes well :S
right, now that i've gotten all that off my chest, it's time for a nap. for the past half a year i've been leaving out all the gory details, i hope i don't miss them one day when i decide to publish my more obscure experiences... like my national geographic moment when i entered the guard hut and a wasp was fighting with a giant moth (larger than my hand).
daylight savings time confuses things.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
an almost normal off-day
i slept well, but woke up early. after scanning a couple of nursery rhyme sites [1 | 2] and finding what i was looking for, i went back to sleep for another few hours.
the kid and i got up around the same time, so when we met in the corridor we decided to go for a muesli breakfast at coffeeholic. damn, that's good muesli.
after i did some work on my book report, we went to the gym. it has been a long, long time, and i worked hard. we sat over protein shakes with one of the cute girls working there, and when we got home i worked some more. then we watched men in black 2, which is awesome. then i worked some more, while the kid made shakshuka, which we ate while watching a couple of episodes of how i met your mother.
now that i've scratched my current blobs of data onto a pad and finished most of my packing, it's time for bed.
oh, right: while looking for another source for my homework, i came across this video.
the kid and i got up around the same time, so when we met in the corridor we decided to go for a muesli breakfast at coffeeholic. damn, that's good muesli.
after i did some work on my book report, we went to the gym. it has been a long, long time, and i worked hard. we sat over protein shakes with one of the cute girls working there, and when we got home i worked some more. then we watched men in black 2, which is awesome. then i worked some more, while the kid made shakshuka, which we ate while watching a couple of episodes of how i met your mother.
now that i've scratched my current blobs of data onto a pad and finished most of my packing, it's time for bed.
oh, right: while looking for another source for my homework, i came across this video.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
over-filled belly
i eventually got around to starting my book report... after watching forgetting sarah marshall. fun movie. dinner this evening was great, but eating so much was exhausting work. we watched the israeli big brother for a bit, and i've been doing arbitrary and unimportant online stuff for the last hour and a half instead of sleeping.
must sleep.
must sleep.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
back to siesta
i'm after lunch, after laundry and after a good run with the kid on the beach. i'm more surprised at how much more fit i am than he is, as the biggest problem i have with the course i'm doing is that i'm not allowed to run.
i've learned to walk really, really fast (4km in under 26 minutes), but i'm not allowed to run.
last night's dinner was great, we all over-ate as per usual and the meringue was fantastic. the company was really good too.
on the way home i stopped by singer's for a visit, and i ended up sleeping over as i was completely bombed. one thing in particular that i dig about her apartment is that it's perfect for just zoning out while listening to music - i put on nagual sound experiment, and it just doesn't sound as good out of my (relatively) tinny speakers.
i've learned to walk really, really fast (4km in under 26 minutes), but i'm not allowed to run.
last night's dinner was great, we all over-ate as per usual and the meringue was fantastic. the company was really good too.
on the way home i stopped by singer's for a visit, and i ended up sleeping over as i was completely bombed. one thing in particular that i dig about her apartment is that it's perfect for just zoning out while listening to music - i put on nagual sound experiment, and it just doesn't sound as good out of my (relatively) tinny speakers.
Monday, September 29, 2008
the third last quick break
and we're counting backwards, so we're typing backwards (and this is just the quick summary):
i shouldn't have eaten 300g of ben & jerry's cake batter ice-cream. i'm already paying for it with a solid headache. the kid's appropriately snarky comment came too late to stop me. in my defense, the idea was to go out for coffee but all the coffee shops are closed due to tonight being the jewish new year. i'm nicely surprised :)
i shopped for the next two days and made myself a tuna salad while browsing online - it's shocking to be back in the real world again. here's the killer:
i booked myself onto the snowboard trip today. YEAH! i don't know how i'm going to organize the payment, but it's good that my name's down :)
i got my to-do items sorted today. i made a really awesome shirt as a goodbye gift for our commander, it's pink and sporting a really funny photo of him. he's not supposed to wear it, but it's funny as hell.
dedication - after searching almost every single arbitrary store on dizengoff, bograshov, king george and sheinkin, i accidentally walked into an oddities shop containing exactly what i was searching for: strap-on pockets for my overalls. with a cute and neither-here-nor-there design so it's good for all occasions.
i bought really shite gloves for the cold week ahead, but seeing as i'm not going to wear them for more than a few nights i didn't think it was worth investing. not like last time, when i bough a really nice pair and promptly lost them.
i went by the gym, and the manager gave me an extension (not free, but outside of the context of a contract) because i've been away doing military things for the last half a year. rather nice of him.
the post-office was closed. that sucks. but the kid did bring back my copies of men in black and its sequel, and after testing the sequel i'm convinced that i don't remember anything from the entire film. good buy!
i stopped by the bank to discover that the message that they left me really wasn't important. the thing i need to prepare for november will cost me NIS 700 if i get it from the bank, and pretty much nothing if i organize it at the post-office. i'll get around to it in november, then.
wake up at 4.30am, hurriedly cleaning for an inspection that never happened, and fairly pleasant bus / train rides home. the most complicated part of the day was and is answering all the wishes for a good new year - there's a bunch i really should have sent out but i don't have the energy.
yesterday we had our peer review, and i'm really glad it's over and there's nothing more to be done about it. there's a bunch of assholes who probably screwed the rest of us over, but as usual i couldn't be arsed to be involved and i hope that my score works out to be at least relatively fair.
yesterday morning we ran an orientation exercise in a small town, which was a lot of fun. the weekend was relaxed, and i got a lot of work done - i was meant to give a lecture yesterday that never materialized, so now i've got some time to practice. i still have to write that book report, so that's my plan for the next two days at home.
last week we ran simulations [like we did before], and i got put into two really uncomfortable ones. the first one was kind of alright, but not good, and the second one was so frustrating that in the middle of it i slammed my hand down on the table just to shut my fellow participants up, and broke my pen. my staring at the table and muttering "dammit, i broke my pen" wasted the effect that i'd managed to achieve.
oh, and volleyball over the weekend was a great success - i got picked for the sport's day team because i took a bunch of misfit beginners and explained the game to them, techniques last. by explaining strategy first and suffering a few learning losses, i got them to a point where nobody could get us off the court... including one of the commanders, who's quite impressed ^_^
there's a bunch of other things that happened during the last two weeks, but kc's coming to pick me up for the family dinner so i'll have to continue another time.
happy jewish new year!
i shouldn't have eaten 300g of ben & jerry's cake batter ice-cream. i'm already paying for it with a solid headache. the kid's appropriately snarky comment came too late to stop me. in my defense, the idea was to go out for coffee but all the coffee shops are closed due to tonight being the jewish new year. i'm nicely surprised :)
i shopped for the next two days and made myself a tuna salad while browsing online - it's shocking to be back in the real world again. here's the killer:
i booked myself onto the snowboard trip today. YEAH! i don't know how i'm going to organize the payment, but it's good that my name's down :)
i got my to-do items sorted today. i made a really awesome shirt as a goodbye gift for our commander, it's pink and sporting a really funny photo of him. he's not supposed to wear it, but it's funny as hell.
dedication - after searching almost every single arbitrary store on dizengoff, bograshov, king george and sheinkin, i accidentally walked into an oddities shop containing exactly what i was searching for: strap-on pockets for my overalls. with a cute and neither-here-nor-there design so it's good for all occasions.
i bought really shite gloves for the cold week ahead, but seeing as i'm not going to wear them for more than a few nights i didn't think it was worth investing. not like last time, when i bough a really nice pair and promptly lost them.
i went by the gym, and the manager gave me an extension (not free, but outside of the context of a contract) because i've been away doing military things for the last half a year. rather nice of him.
the post-office was closed. that sucks. but the kid did bring back my copies of men in black and its sequel, and after testing the sequel i'm convinced that i don't remember anything from the entire film. good buy!
i stopped by the bank to discover that the message that they left me really wasn't important. the thing i need to prepare for november will cost me NIS 700 if i get it from the bank, and pretty much nothing if i organize it at the post-office. i'll get around to it in november, then.
wake up at 4.30am, hurriedly cleaning for an inspection that never happened, and fairly pleasant bus / train rides home. the most complicated part of the day was and is answering all the wishes for a good new year - there's a bunch i really should have sent out but i don't have the energy.
yesterday we had our peer review, and i'm really glad it's over and there's nothing more to be done about it. there's a bunch of assholes who probably screwed the rest of us over, but as usual i couldn't be arsed to be involved and i hope that my score works out to be at least relatively fair.
yesterday morning we ran an orientation exercise in a small town, which was a lot of fun. the weekend was relaxed, and i got a lot of work done - i was meant to give a lecture yesterday that never materialized, so now i've got some time to practice. i still have to write that book report, so that's my plan for the next two days at home.
last week we ran simulations [like we did before], and i got put into two really uncomfortable ones. the first one was kind of alright, but not good, and the second one was so frustrating that in the middle of it i slammed my hand down on the table just to shut my fellow participants up, and broke my pen. my staring at the table and muttering "dammit, i broke my pen" wasted the effect that i'd managed to achieve.
oh, and volleyball over the weekend was a great success - i got picked for the sport's day team because i took a bunch of misfit beginners and explained the game to them, techniques last. by explaining strategy first and suffering a few learning losses, i got them to a point where nobody could get us off the court... including one of the commanders, who's quite impressed ^_^
there's a bunch of other things that happened during the last two weeks, but kc's coming to pick me up for the family dinner so i'll have to continue another time.
happy jewish new year!
Friday, September 19, 2008
flaked out and all soldiery
right - this was a HARD week. i was completely exhausted when i returned to base on sunday... exhausted to the point where the raising of a limb or the flexing of grey matter was a chore. with that as the background, sunday and monday were two of the most physically demanding days, both mentally and physically, that i've undergone in the last half a year.
this week was spent in the deep desert, being drilled and living like real soldiers, sleeping in crappy tents, dealing with no water, eating rations and trying to remain focused on the million-and-one different things that we had to remember for every step of the way.
without getting down all the details, i can say that on the whole i enjoyed the experience, although i got horribly sunburned and i had some frustrating moments with my platoon (although the team's getting on much better). i even managed to get a couple of good words out of my commander :)
today i got *really* lucky, after missing the bus from the base i hitched a lift with a cute major - she not only got me to a good place but she gave me a few pointers as well, and i managed to find a bus travelling from the previous base i was assigned to and they let me ride with them until be'er sheva. after three days without showering and working my ass off, i had a good shower before changing into my clothes for mmf's wedding and heading off to meet up with ru55's fiancee to get a ride to the event.
the wedding was really nice, we had a lot of fun, and i just completed my mission as designated driver.
now i'm at SxS's, about to crash for a couple of hours before heading back to base. my commander was so impressed today by my offer to do the book report on my partial reading of the hebrew one that he gave me an extension which will make all the difference! in addition, my day-job commander has okay'ed my vacation so although there's no "final" in the military i'm pretty darn close to it.
this week i was way more relaxed, and i've found my groove. it's a bit late as far as the peer-review is concerned, because there're a bunch of assholes who've been discussing openly how they're going to screw me over - but there's not much i can do about that so i'm just carrying on and hoping for the best.
this week was spent in the deep desert, being drilled and living like real soldiers, sleeping in crappy tents, dealing with no water, eating rations and trying to remain focused on the million-and-one different things that we had to remember for every step of the way.
without getting down all the details, i can say that on the whole i enjoyed the experience, although i got horribly sunburned and i had some frustrating moments with my platoon (although the team's getting on much better). i even managed to get a couple of good words out of my commander :)
today i got *really* lucky, after missing the bus from the base i hitched a lift with a cute major - she not only got me to a good place but she gave me a few pointers as well, and i managed to find a bus travelling from the previous base i was assigned to and they let me ride with them until be'er sheva. after three days without showering and working my ass off, i had a good shower before changing into my clothes for mmf's wedding and heading off to meet up with ru55's fiancee to get a ride to the event.
the wedding was really nice, we had a lot of fun, and i just completed my mission as designated driver.
now i'm at SxS's, about to crash for a couple of hours before heading back to base. my commander was so impressed today by my offer to do the book report on my partial reading of the hebrew one that he gave me an extension which will make all the difference! in addition, my day-job commander has okay'ed my vacation so although there's no "final" in the military i'm pretty darn close to it.
this week i was way more relaxed, and i've found my groove. it's a bit late as far as the peer-review is concerned, because there're a bunch of assholes who've been discussing openly how they're going to screw me over - but there's not much i can do about that so i'm just carrying on and hoping for the best.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
back into character
i forgot to mention a couple of amusing things from last night:
1) it turns out that both mmf and ru55's fiancee both share my low blood pressure / fainting problem. what are the chances??
2) ze german (hurricane) was sitting behind me while four of us played mario kart, and in frustration slammed his wii remote down, hitting me square in the head. i still find that amusing.
the afternoon was perfect - it's been a long time since i've enjoyed a civilized shower and after the excellent biltong and great steak leftovers (eaten after the belgian waffles, of course) i took another nap. we picked up yogi, went to mmf's and i split before they all headed off to his bachelor's party - now i've got packing and homework to do before hitting the sack.
i am really sad that this weekend has come to a close.
1) it turns out that both mmf and ru55's fiancee both share my low blood pressure / fainting problem. what are the chances??
2) ze german (hurricane) was sitting behind me while four of us played mario kart, and in frustration slammed his wii remote down, hitting me square in the head. i still find that amusing.
the afternoon was perfect - it's been a long time since i've enjoyed a civilized shower and after the excellent biltong and great steak leftovers (eaten after the belgian waffles, of course) i took another nap. we picked up yogi, went to mmf's and i split before they all headed off to his bachelor's party - now i've got packing and homework to do before hitting the sack.
i am really sad that this weekend has come to a close.
post zionist post nav
in the quickest summary ever, we spent a week in jerusalem visiting the sites and receiving a solid injection of zionism (and i've begun to grow fond of the city itself), and after a restful weekend reading and finishing projects we entered a week of introspection (personal review) and navigation (running around the desert hunting down little metal plates with numbers on them).
the most important item on the list of things to do is to calm down. i need to learn to chill out and takes things easy, and i'm still finding it hard to do. maybe it's the lack of minutes in the day, maybe it's the fact that i'm surrounded by idiocy, and perhaps it has to do with the fact that as much as i have what it takes to be an officer, my ability to express myself and my comprehension are limited and altogether it's a highly frustrating experience.
oh, and the bit where most of the people with me in the course are not my friends, we don't know anything real about each other and oftentimes don't even like each other might have something to do with it too.
right, the dailies (in case you were wondering, the summary ended after the first paragraph):
the essential books in my future home:
alice in wonderland
the complete narnia series
the science of discworld
speaking of which, i bought copies of dune, ender's game, the adventures of huckleberry finn, the rest of the sherlock holmes books and i think something else that i can't recall right now. the trip to the book store was enforced, my commander got permission for me to do the book report on an english book instead, which means that i have the same deadline and have to choose something i've already read. it's either dune or ender's game...
the nose-picker came up to me one evening and placed his hand on my neck: "they're sending me home". bummer, dude. i'm really glad i'd bought wet-wipes just in case...
jerusalem at 3am covered in fog makes me feel at home. the morning prayers at the western wall were quite special.
i sketched a portrait of a previous chief of staff while he talked to our battalion that was good enough that when the guy next to me glanced at it he laughed out loud... oops :S
the toilets in the hotel we stayed at read: "BOER OK".
my niece told me a story that does my head in.
parting of the jewish mourning process is to say a certain prayer (kaddish), and the belief is that every time we say this prayer the soul of the departed rises up to heaven. my father, not being particularly saintly, didn't cause us to scramble to prayers in the wake of his demise.
i personally, don't believe his soul deserves rest.
my niece explained that her father claims that my father came to him in a dream and complained that nobody had said kaddish for him and so he couldn't pass on to the next world. her father, being the self-righteousprick moron that he is, took it upon himself to say prayers.
last week i had a really odd dream, and one part of it remains clear as crystal. it's almost an exact copy of the scene from a clockwork orange of the man licking the warden's boots, with my now-ex male biological forbear doing the licking. it irks me to think that he might have found redemption, whatever form it may have taken.
i think that speaks rather lowly of me.
we paid a visit to david ben gurion's old house, and in the middle of a talk an interesting idea began to form in my mind. it's been developing since, and although my buddies just laughed at me when i gave it voice i think it's possibly a good direction to take when i finish with my military service.
the sneaky bastard finally pushed me to a point where i gave up trying, and then a few days later approached me and repeated my words back at me. i pointed this out to him, and since then he's been trying to be friendly - it's a pity for him that he's so untrustworthy.
our platoon leader opened a debate about zionism wherein i was the only person not allowed to talk... "yet". by the time he let me loose i'd prepared a speech - and a lot of people came to me afterwards to thank me for giving such a touching one. score!
we have a mouse in our room. the stories being told are getting more and more rediculous as the days go on, and we're hiding our food in the weirdest places. the problem with our mouse is that he's talented enough to open up boxes and packets.
it turns out i'm pretty damn good with finding my way around the desert - a pity that our team almost didn't get to try as our commander decided that we weren't prepared enough [of COURSE we can learn a full page of data by rote within fifteen minutes!]. i'd deliberately picked a difficult partner, and we spent the first session arguing constantly about directions (eventually he started listening to me). we've been described as r2d2 and c3po traversing the dunes :P
i improved my physical to such a drastic degree that further improvement is going to be really hard. i finally have real incentive to do push-ups.
this week was crazy as far as exertion and exhaustion were concerned - and not helped by my consuming an energy drink before the physical, which was then cancelled. i couldn't sleep that night, and was royally screwed for the rest of the week... up until thursday afternoon, at least, when i scored an hour and a half siesta in the kitchens ^_^
can, a short video of dick hoyt and his son, is really, really touching.
my SC [the pointy-haired boss] is a tosser, i think that's been pretty well established. i have no time to think during the course, let alone participate in a popularity contest - "man of the section" my ass. hell, i haven't even been in the office for half a year, and he thinks that voting should be my top priority :/
summer's coming to an end! fog in the morning!
i think the best skill i've acquired during the last four months is the ability to stay awake during boring lectures. i don't actually know how i do it, but i suspect it's got to do with my habit of listening to all the tiny noises around me - like papers shuffling and pens clicking. fascinating that in a big lecture theatre there's a constant symphony / cacophony.
the last day was mostly a bitch, and ended with a screaming match before going to bed without showering. i managed to get my sat phone fixed when we arrived back in tel aviv, bought the books, and returned home *just* too late to pick up my dvds from the post office :S
i did laundry, some important shopping, messed about on facebook, and went out for lunch and to meet up with egg. we paid the sports store a visit on the way back apropos snowboarding, and then i walked home to pack and be picked up by ru55, SxS, mmf and one of ze germans to come through to ra'anana for friday night dinner.
AWESOME dinner. proper steak and fantastic potatoes, and there're still leftovers!
we spent the evening / night / morning talking, playing scrabble and having a good laugh over monopoly [i won!], and at sunrise got into the pool for a couple of hours before getting to bed. i can't say that i've slept better than this in many months.
the most important item on the list of things to do is to calm down. i need to learn to chill out and takes things easy, and i'm still finding it hard to do. maybe it's the lack of minutes in the day, maybe it's the fact that i'm surrounded by idiocy, and perhaps it has to do with the fact that as much as i have what it takes to be an officer, my ability to express myself and my comprehension are limited and altogether it's a highly frustrating experience.
oh, and the bit where most of the people with me in the course are not my friends, we don't know anything real about each other and oftentimes don't even like each other might have something to do with it too.
right, the dailies (in case you were wondering, the summary ended after the first paragraph):
the essential books in my future home:
alice in wonderland
the complete narnia series
the science of discworld
speaking of which, i bought copies of dune, ender's game, the adventures of huckleberry finn, the rest of the sherlock holmes books and i think something else that i can't recall right now. the trip to the book store was enforced, my commander got permission for me to do the book report on an english book instead, which means that i have the same deadline and have to choose something i've already read. it's either dune or ender's game...
the nose-picker came up to me one evening and placed his hand on my neck: "they're sending me home". bummer, dude. i'm really glad i'd bought wet-wipes just in case...
jerusalem at 3am covered in fog makes me feel at home. the morning prayers at the western wall were quite special.
i sketched a portrait of a previous chief of staff while he talked to our battalion that was good enough that when the guy next to me glanced at it he laughed out loud... oops :S
the toilets in the hotel we stayed at read: "BOER OK".
my niece told me a story that does my head in.
parting of the jewish mourning process is to say a certain prayer (kaddish), and the belief is that every time we say this prayer the soul of the departed rises up to heaven. my father, not being particularly saintly, didn't cause us to scramble to prayers in the wake of his demise.
i personally, don't believe his soul deserves rest.
my niece explained that her father claims that my father came to him in a dream and complained that nobody had said kaddish for him and so he couldn't pass on to the next world. her father, being the self-righteous
last week i had a really odd dream, and one part of it remains clear as crystal. it's almost an exact copy of the scene from a clockwork orange of the man licking the warden's boots, with my now-ex male biological forbear doing the licking. it irks me to think that he might have found redemption, whatever form it may have taken.
i think that speaks rather lowly of me.
we paid a visit to david ben gurion's old house, and in the middle of a talk an interesting idea began to form in my mind. it's been developing since, and although my buddies just laughed at me when i gave it voice i think it's possibly a good direction to take when i finish with my military service.
the sneaky bastard finally pushed me to a point where i gave up trying, and then a few days later approached me and repeated my words back at me. i pointed this out to him, and since then he's been trying to be friendly - it's a pity for him that he's so untrustworthy.
our platoon leader opened a debate about zionism wherein i was the only person not allowed to talk... "yet". by the time he let me loose i'd prepared a speech - and a lot of people came to me afterwards to thank me for giving such a touching one. score!
we have a mouse in our room. the stories being told are getting more and more rediculous as the days go on, and we're hiding our food in the weirdest places. the problem with our mouse is that he's talented enough to open up boxes and packets.
it turns out i'm pretty damn good with finding my way around the desert - a pity that our team almost didn't get to try as our commander decided that we weren't prepared enough [of COURSE we can learn a full page of data by rote within fifteen minutes!]. i'd deliberately picked a difficult partner, and we spent the first session arguing constantly about directions (eventually he started listening to me). we've been described as r2d2 and c3po traversing the dunes :P
i improved my physical to such a drastic degree that further improvement is going to be really hard. i finally have real incentive to do push-ups.
this week was crazy as far as exertion and exhaustion were concerned - and not helped by my consuming an energy drink before the physical, which was then cancelled. i couldn't sleep that night, and was royally screwed for the rest of the week... up until thursday afternoon, at least, when i scored an hour and a half siesta in the kitchens ^_^
can, a short video of dick hoyt and his son, is really, really touching.
my SC [the pointy-haired boss] is a tosser, i think that's been pretty well established. i have no time to think during the course, let alone participate in a popularity contest - "man of the section" my ass. hell, i haven't even been in the office for half a year, and he thinks that voting should be my top priority :/
summer's coming to an end! fog in the morning!
i think the best skill i've acquired during the last four months is the ability to stay awake during boring lectures. i don't actually know how i do it, but i suspect it's got to do with my habit of listening to all the tiny noises around me - like papers shuffling and pens clicking. fascinating that in a big lecture theatre there's a constant symphony / cacophony.
the last day was mostly a bitch, and ended with a screaming match before going to bed without showering. i managed to get my sat phone fixed when we arrived back in tel aviv, bought the books, and returned home *just* too late to pick up my dvds from the post office :S
i did laundry, some important shopping, messed about on facebook, and went out for lunch and to meet up with egg. we paid the sports store a visit on the way back apropos snowboarding, and then i walked home to pack and be picked up by ru55, SxS, mmf and one of ze germans to come through to ra'anana for friday night dinner.
AWESOME dinner. proper steak and fantastic potatoes, and there're still leftovers!
we spent the evening / night / morning talking, playing scrabble and having a good laugh over monopoly [i won!], and at sunrise got into the pool for a couple of hours before getting to bed. i can't say that i've slept better than this in many months.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
too ready for bed
the twins: click to enlarge
the kid made really good dinner, and we both ate too much. on the way to eatliz, in the intensely disgusting humidity i suddenly felt ill, exhausted and on the verge of collapse. this feeling continued until jaguar superfiction began the warmup for eatliz. they were simply brilliant, and apparently the eatliz crew thinks so too. the main performance was superb as usual, and the new songs have me waiting for the next album to debut!
ran into my old math lecturer at the concert - didn't get a chance to talk to him, though. pity, he really did a good job with me in my final year, it's thanks to him and our constant fighting in class that i scored 100% and actually enjoyed myself.
i'm almost done packing, but i haven't done a damn thing as far as the projects i needed to complete are concerned. i need another weekend.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
humdrum
i slept quite a bit today, but definitely not enough. i caught up on a lot of webcomics, and i've begun packing. again. i spoke to my regular commander, and now that i understand where he fits on the scale i know just how to talk to him... like a subordinate. and it works :S
the kid just introduced me to redband, the israeli answer to flight of the conchords - it's really, really good.
i can't tune a guitar for shit. it's quite frustrating.
bullshit bingo is a game i want to play!
the kid just introduced me to redband, the israeli answer to flight of the conchords - it's really, really good.
i can't tune a guitar for shit. it's quite frustrating.
bullshit bingo is a game i want to play!
the incredible plan
right, what are the chances? i called up ze germans concerning our snowboarding adventure, and was informed that there's a large bunch organizing a chalet on the slopes of the french alps.
so i think to myself, i think, "hmm, that sounds like fun, but what if the dates don't work for me?", and i ask ze germans, i ask, "when are you planning to do this?", and they tell me, they say, "the last week of january"...
kind of strange that that's EXACTLY when i was planning to go, just like the last time. and this time it's with a whole group of friends at a special price. i like. i am satified. deeply satisfied. this could be good ^_^
the beach was nice, i had a really good time talking to my niece without all the nurses and doctors around, and this evening with singer was pleasant and comfortable... and she brought me back copies of johnny the homicidal maniac! sweet :)
now i need to clear my bed so that it can be put to the use it was intended for.
ah, yes: the two subjects of the afternoon.
1) inheritance
my brother who hath swindled his needy siblings and their progeny of much needed oodles of dough. may he have all the love that money can buy. yeah, it would have been nice if my sister's kids could have had their education paid for, but who knows, maybe it's better that they make it themselves. heck, they're doing well enough by themselves and that's satisfaction that can't be purchased.
2) mortgage
have cash, will borrow. mortgage is a question of perspective: are you paying off a huge debt, or are you increasing your initial investment incrementally and not paying rent to anyone else and living with a justified sense of permanence? and when that initial sum has increased enough you can buy up.
money most certainly does make my head go around.
so i think to myself, i think, "hmm, that sounds like fun, but what if the dates don't work for me?", and i ask ze germans, i ask, "when are you planning to do this?", and they tell me, they say, "the last week of january"...
kind of strange that that's EXACTLY when i was planning to go, just like the last time. and this time it's with a whole group of friends at a special price. i like. i am satified. deeply satisfied. this could be good ^_^
the beach was nice, i had a really good time talking to my niece without all the nurses and doctors around, and this evening with singer was pleasant and comfortable... and she brought me back copies of johnny the homicidal maniac! sweet :)
now i need to clear my bed so that it can be put to the use it was intended for.
ah, yes: the two subjects of the afternoon.
1) inheritance
my brother who hath swindled his needy siblings and their progeny of much needed oodles of dough. may he have all the love that money can buy. yeah, it would have been nice if my sister's kids could have had their education paid for, but who knows, maybe it's better that they make it themselves. heck, they're doing well enough by themselves and that's satisfaction that can't be purchased.
2) mortgage
have cash, will borrow. mortgage is a question of perspective: are you paying off a huge debt, or are you increasing your initial investment incrementally and not paying rent to anyone else and living with a justified sense of permanence? and when that initial sum has increased enough you can buy up.
money most certainly does make my head go around.
i believe
during the course of this week i was put in a situation wherein i had to deliver a speech defining the essentials of what i believe. i find that difficult to do in english, so to push it out in hebrew was quite a challenge.
i believe
i believe that there is no great thing that a man cannot achieve... although not always by the intended method, and even if he won't always see the results of his actions in real time - what's important is that he sees the results in his mind, and in the actions that he performs everyday.
a smart man can justify all of his actions.
maslow: of greater import than his physiological needs is man's aspiration to prove to himself his strength and his influence. it's far more difficult to influence for good, to save and to build as opposed to degrade and to damage.
it is easier to burn the book than to live according to it.
the most difficult decision to make is when to choose the easier path.
the difference between a civilian and a citizen* is that the citizen earns his rights.
a man without principles is only half a man, but every person needs to be ready to undergo re-evaluation of his principles. it is better to be half a man than to stand on principles that haven't been fully tested; in other words, it is the responsibility of every person to ensure that he really believes in what he stands for.
* there's only one word in hebrew for civilian and citizen (אזרח)
אני מאמין
אני מאמין שאין דבר גדול שבן אדם לא יכול להשיג... אלא לא תמיד בדרך המתוכננת, אלא אם הוא לא תמיד יראה את תוצאות פעולותיו בזמן האמת - העיקר שיראה אותן בראש, ובראשו במה שהוא מקיים ביום יום.
בן אדם חכם יכול להצדיק את כל מעשיו.
מסלו: מעבר לצורכים הביולוגיים כל בן אדם שואף להוכיח לעצמו את כוחו והשפעתו. הרבה יותר קשה להשפיע למען הטוב, להציל ולבנות בניגוד ללזלזל ולהזיק. יותר קל לשרוף את הספר מלחיות לפיו.
ההחלטה הקשה ביותר היא מתי לבחור את הדרך הקלה.
"citizen"-ו "civilian" ההבדל בין
הרוויח את זכויותיו "citizen"-הוא שה
בן אדם ללא עקרונות הוא רק חצי בן אדם, אבל כל בן אדם צריך להיות מוכן לעמוד בביקורת של עקרונותיו. עדיף להיות חצי בן אדם מלעמוד על עקרונות שלא עברו ביקורת - כלומר על כל בן אדם לוודא שהוא באמת מאמין בהם.
i believe
i believe that there is no great thing that a man cannot achieve... although not always by the intended method, and even if he won't always see the results of his actions in real time - what's important is that he sees the results in his mind, and in the actions that he performs everyday.
a smart man can justify all of his actions.
maslow: of greater import than his physiological needs is man's aspiration to prove to himself his strength and his influence. it's far more difficult to influence for good, to save and to build as opposed to degrade and to damage.
it is easier to burn the book than to live according to it.
the most difficult decision to make is when to choose the easier path.
the difference between a civilian and a citizen* is that the citizen earns his rights.
a man without principles is only half a man, but every person needs to be ready to undergo re-evaluation of his principles. it is better to be half a man than to stand on principles that haven't been fully tested; in other words, it is the responsibility of every person to ensure that he really believes in what he stands for.
* there's only one word in hebrew for civilian and citizen (אזרח)
Friday, August 29, 2008
spy games
you know, the more i think about the events that occurred the last few days the more certain i am that the sneaky kid is a plant. that it's his job to test us and push us and keep our commander up to date.
if so, it's a brilliant disguise. if not, well, i'm just going to have to get him to talk at my level and not his. if i could do it with piles, i have to believe that i can do it with him.
if so, it's a brilliant disguise. if not, well, i'm just going to have to get him to talk at my level and not his. if i could do it with piles, i have to believe that i can do it with him.
buggrit... gotta watch my back
so yeah, i've had breakfast and i'm off to the beach with my niece. singer's back, i'll have supper with her tonight and catch up, and everyone i'm responsible for is safe and sound.
1) i know i'm being monitored, that's par for the course [i really should'nt have, but i can't help myself], but the degree of accuracy to which my commander seems to understand what's going on is phenomenal. i talked to him about the incident, and it looks like he knows what's up, how and with who. i don't even want to know who his sources are.
2) i called the nose-picker to wish him a speedy recovery and a good weekend from the team... and he's informed me that he's going to be joining us come sunday. now i'm all paranoid again, and i think it might be time to buy wet-wipes for all the accidental contact and hand-shaking and so on. if there's one thing i've learned, it's to be very afraid of things like herpes.
shopping done. the sun is shining. it's time to go.
1) i know i'm being monitored, that's par for the course [i really should'nt have, but i can't help myself], but the degree of accuracy to which my commander seems to understand what's going on is phenomenal. i talked to him about the incident, and it looks like he knows what's up, how and with who. i don't even want to know who his sources are.
2) i called the nose-picker to wish him a speedy recovery and a good weekend from the team... and he's informed me that he's going to be joining us come sunday. now i'm all paranoid again, and i think it might be time to buy wet-wipes for all the accidental contact and hand-shaking and so on. if there's one thing i've learned, it's to be very afraid of things like herpes.
shopping done. the sun is shining. it's time to go.
from tragedy to success
thought for the week:
"what? you're stopping me for this shit? do you have any idea how much contraband i'm carrying?!"
the best moment of all the courses so far:
all the toilet stalls manned, and i read aloud one of the quotes. the guy in the stall next to me started giggling, and the rest of us got the giggles. we spent no less than five minutes all laughing raucously, getting more and more hysterical every time someone came in to use the urinals and got freaked out. best laugh i've had in years, and quite the bonding experience. and totally awkward.
worst item of the week:
one of my team got sent home, a herpes infection of the eye. that's pretty damn serious, poor bastard. i say poor bastard, i really do feel sorry for him, but at the same time we're all completely freaked out because we're all covered in minor injuries and we're terrified of infection. and aside from the usual unconscious touching of eyes and ears and so forth, this dude's a nose-picker [in other words, he's constantly doing things he's not aware of], making it all the worse.
i'm losing my voice due to all the green junk that i'm incubating in my lungs and throat. a dust allergy in the desert isn't cool.
my commander: he's, like, a commander-god. he's an expert in psychology, and a fantastic actor to boot - all this in addition to being the kind of commander that always behaves exactly as he should and doesn't miss a damn thing. i *wish* i'd had commanders like this during my service.
my mission:
my commander turned the first few days of this week into absolute hell for me, and i spent most of it trying not to cry from sheer frustration... but as of two nights ago i managed to prove myself to him and the last two days were awesome. i failed in a couple of my objectives, but i managed to bring the team closer together (even if it was initially out of anger with my management style) and everything wrapped up nicely. i'm actually proud of them at the moment ^_^
my abysmal failure:
i'm not counting the number of times i lost soldiers or delayed classes. what really got to me was one of my teammates, a kid who everyone agrees is not officer material, who keeps taking advantage of my inability to play word games in hebrew and throws a wrench into anything that works. he did something disgusting yesterday and i reported it to my commander, but he's only going to deal with the incident on sunday so i've no idea how this is going to go.
i have a feeling that things could go badly for me because he's a good talker and a sneaky, underhanded bastard. i tried to talk to him afterwards, but he doesn't get that i talk the way i talk because i am who i am, and he can't bring himself to listen to my point of view. i know that the rest of the team understands my position, but i don't really know if they have the power to keep him leashed.
this week we formally learned about command and management, and i sat in shock as it dawned on me that i was a terrible commander during the 2005 / 2006 episode. i mean, i knew i made loads of mistakes but there were essential things that i never even thought about implementing... that i'd never heard of. it's all starting to make sense!
anyway, there's still a bunch of things to get down (about ten or so more posts-worth) but i have got stuff to do.
"what? you're stopping me for this shit? do you have any idea how much contraband i'm carrying?!"
the best moment of all the courses so far:
all the toilet stalls manned, and i read aloud one of the quotes. the guy in the stall next to me started giggling, and the rest of us got the giggles. we spent no less than five minutes all laughing raucously, getting more and more hysterical every time someone came in to use the urinals and got freaked out. best laugh i've had in years, and quite the bonding experience. and totally awkward.
worst item of the week:
one of my team got sent home, a herpes infection of the eye. that's pretty damn serious, poor bastard. i say poor bastard, i really do feel sorry for him, but at the same time we're all completely freaked out because we're all covered in minor injuries and we're terrified of infection. and aside from the usual unconscious touching of eyes and ears and so forth, this dude's a nose-picker [in other words, he's constantly doing things he's not aware of], making it all the worse.
i'm losing my voice due to all the green junk that i'm incubating in my lungs and throat. a dust allergy in the desert isn't cool.
my commander: he's, like, a commander-god. he's an expert in psychology, and a fantastic actor to boot - all this in addition to being the kind of commander that always behaves exactly as he should and doesn't miss a damn thing. i *wish* i'd had commanders like this during my service.
my mission:
my commander turned the first few days of this week into absolute hell for me, and i spent most of it trying not to cry from sheer frustration... but as of two nights ago i managed to prove myself to him and the last two days were awesome. i failed in a couple of my objectives, but i managed to bring the team closer together (even if it was initially out of anger with my management style) and everything wrapped up nicely. i'm actually proud of them at the moment ^_^
my abysmal failure:
i'm not counting the number of times i lost soldiers or delayed classes. what really got to me was one of my teammates, a kid who everyone agrees is not officer material, who keeps taking advantage of my inability to play word games in hebrew and throws a wrench into anything that works. he did something disgusting yesterday and i reported it to my commander, but he's only going to deal with the incident on sunday so i've no idea how this is going to go.
i have a feeling that things could go badly for me because he's a good talker and a sneaky, underhanded bastard. i tried to talk to him afterwards, but he doesn't get that i talk the way i talk because i am who i am, and he can't bring himself to listen to my point of view. i know that the rest of the team understands my position, but i don't really know if they have the power to keep him leashed.
this week we formally learned about command and management, and i sat in shock as it dawned on me that i was a terrible commander during the 2005 / 2006 episode. i mean, i knew i made loads of mistakes but there were essential things that i never even thought about implementing... that i'd never heard of. it's all starting to make sense!
anyway, there's still a bunch of things to get down (about ten or so more posts-worth) but i have got stuff to do.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
shaved and off
it's been a nice morning. i might've slept a bit more, though.
fallout 3 has a release date! and a comic strip by penny arcade!
i've got another twenty minutes to remove my clothes from the lines, pack, and get back to work... hope it's a good week!
fallout 3 has a release date! and a comic strip by penny arcade!
i've got another twenty minutes to remove my clothes from the lines, pack, and get back to work... hope it's a good week!
the fainting
so i did some research into children's game, and selected "nose, nose, nose, mouth", "zombie" and "prohibited movements" to try and induce some team-spirit and discipline during the coming week.
i haven't had a chance to mention the incident of the week. we have ropes, and i'm pretty darn good at climbing them. unfortunately at the beginning of the week my left forearm began to ache after i came down from one of them. the pain went away after a few hours, but it was quite an irritation.
a couple of mornings later, in a sterling mood, i went up again on my way to kitchen duty. again it hurt, but hey, it was gonna go away, right? so i carried on with my duties, my arm hurting more and more as i went along.
around 6.30am we sat down to eat, and i was in torment. in addition to the extreme pain my arm was causing me, i burned my fingertips on piping hot boiled eggs... and then i began feeling awful. that really horrible feeling that i get when i'm about to faint. i rested my head on my other arm, thinking that it might just pass, and the girl sitting across from me began to worry when she noticed that i was in a cold sweat.
"no, no, don't worry, i'll be fine," i think i said. it was kinda hard to communicate. eventually someone carried me from the tables and they lay me down on the floor, and after about half a minute i was feeling considerably better. i was escorted to the clinic, where the medic almost went into shock - my blood pressure was at 80/24. my body temperature wasn't too hot either at 33o, but he calmed down when he checked me five minutes later and it had risen to 34o.
they left me to lie down in the back of the clinic for a couple of hours, and just as the pain in my arm began to ease up the doctor arrived. a couple of hours later and i got a chance to actually sit down with him, and he went over my files and explained to me very simply that i suffer from vasovagal syncope. put simply, i faint.
i have to do a "tilt-table" test. i *know* i have postural low-blood pressure, so going through the motions seems kind of silly.
from the wikipedia article: "The test ends when the patient faints or has other significant symptoms, at which time he or she is given medical attention"
fantastic.
i'd fool around with project euler, but it's already very late. and i have to pack in the morning.
ooh, forgot to mention: i now have a definite group of three friends for this season's snowboarding: egg, the mongoose and karnaf. ze germans are going to get back to me next weekend, and i've sent a message to SxS to see how serious he is. this is gonna be a good trip!
i haven't had a chance to mention the incident of the week. we have ropes, and i'm pretty darn good at climbing them. unfortunately at the beginning of the week my left forearm began to ache after i came down from one of them. the pain went away after a few hours, but it was quite an irritation.
a couple of mornings later, in a sterling mood, i went up again on my way to kitchen duty. again it hurt, but hey, it was gonna go away, right? so i carried on with my duties, my arm hurting more and more as i went along.
around 6.30am we sat down to eat, and i was in torment. in addition to the extreme pain my arm was causing me, i burned my fingertips on piping hot boiled eggs... and then i began feeling awful. that really horrible feeling that i get when i'm about to faint. i rested my head on my other arm, thinking that it might just pass, and the girl sitting across from me began to worry when she noticed that i was in a cold sweat.
"no, no, don't worry, i'll be fine," i think i said. it was kinda hard to communicate. eventually someone carried me from the tables and they lay me down on the floor, and after about half a minute i was feeling considerably better. i was escorted to the clinic, where the medic almost went into shock - my blood pressure was at 80/24. my body temperature wasn't too hot either at 33o, but he calmed down when he checked me five minutes later and it had risen to 34o.
they left me to lie down in the back of the clinic for a couple of hours, and just as the pain in my arm began to ease up the doctor arrived. a couple of hours later and i got a chance to actually sit down with him, and he went over my files and explained to me very simply that i suffer from vasovagal syncope. put simply, i faint.
i have to do a "tilt-table" test. i *know* i have postural low-blood pressure, so going through the motions seems kind of silly.
from the wikipedia article: "The test ends when the patient faints or has other significant symptoms, at which time he or she is given medical attention"
fantastic.
i'd fool around with project euler, but it's already very late. and i have to pack in the morning.
ooh, forgot to mention: i now have a definite group of three friends for this season's snowboarding: egg, the mongoose and karnaf. ze germans are going to get back to me next weekend, and i've sent a message to SxS to see how serious he is. this is gonna be a good trip!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
stubborn as a...
to all the winds, gods and other such entities, i have never seen anyone as stubborn as my niece. i walked into her room in the hospital as the doctors got there, and listened to them trying desperately to explain to her what was going on... eventually giving up and walking away.
she'd been trying to negotiate her way out of being sick, trying to rationalize them letting her go (and doing so in a rather unpleasant fashion), and doing an extremely good job of not listening. once they'd left, she tried to make sure that i understood just how obviously unqualified these doctors are.
now she's angry with me because i don't think that her discharging herself against medical advice is a particularly good idea.
anyway, i had breakfast with the mongoose and it was really good to see him, we had a lot to talk about and he even came up to pay my niece a visit.
around 4pm i left to play frisbee with karnaf in the park, stopping for an excellent sandwich and filter coffee on the way. after a solid couple of hours, covered in sweat and grass and with a slightly deeper tan (and sore fingers), i bought ginger ale, mountain dew, root beer and guarana and met up with the kid for a most decent bacon and cheese sandwich (i'm going back to a religious platoon tomorrow, i need reminders of my heathen-ness), showered, and went to mmf's to get my wedding invitation and play wii.
i suck at tennis.
speaking of weddings - of the two weddings that i wanted to go to they only authorized mmf's. i told the kid's brother that i wouldn't be making it to his and he commented that it's weird that i'm not being allowed to go... bummer. what's bothering me more than that is that the day after mmf's i'm going to have to return to base, which means i'm going to have to behave myself to a certain extent, and that makes me sad.
i've just got home and had a quick cold shower, briefly met the new flatmate (who does seem alright), and now i have to get ready for the next week. i'm getting tired just thinking about it.
she'd been trying to negotiate her way out of being sick, trying to rationalize them letting her go (and doing so in a rather unpleasant fashion), and doing an extremely good job of not listening. once they'd left, she tried to make sure that i understood just how obviously unqualified these doctors are.
now she's angry with me because i don't think that her discharging herself against medical advice is a particularly good idea.
anyway, i had breakfast with the mongoose and it was really good to see him, we had a lot to talk about and he even came up to pay my niece a visit.
around 4pm i left to play frisbee with karnaf in the park, stopping for an excellent sandwich and filter coffee on the way. after a solid couple of hours, covered in sweat and grass and with a slightly deeper tan (and sore fingers), i bought ginger ale, mountain dew, root beer and guarana and met up with the kid for a most decent bacon and cheese sandwich (i'm going back to a religious platoon tomorrow, i need reminders of my heathen-ness), showered, and went to mmf's to get my wedding invitation and play wii.
i suck at tennis.
speaking of weddings - of the two weddings that i wanted to go to they only authorized mmf's. i told the kid's brother that i wouldn't be making it to his and he commented that it's weird that i'm not being allowed to go... bummer. what's bothering me more than that is that the day after mmf's i'm going to have to return to base, which means i'm going to have to behave myself to a certain extent, and that makes me sad.
i've just got home and had a quick cold shower, briefly met the new flatmate (who does seem alright), and now i have to get ready for the next week. i'm getting tired just thinking about it.
visiting the sick
one of the things i came back home to do last night was laundry... the kid didn't think to get all of his done before i got back from a three week stint, did all of his as well, and instead of taking me five minutes to hang everything out it took about half an hour of wrangling and sukkling (struggling) with washing lines. by that stage it was too late to go back to the hospital to visit my niece. that sucked.
instead, i took the book i'm reading (ori ben ari - after me! [!אחרי]) to cafeneto for a roast beef sandwich. the book is absorbing, but i'm a slow reader and i have three weeks to produce a book report on it :(
after testing new dvds (full metal jacket and the back to the future box set) i settled on watching bad boys 2 - i'm SO glad i bought it, it's just as awesome as the first. i was planning on passing out in front of the telly, but it was simply too enthralling. i hadn't remembered a thing from the cinema.
i'm going back to the hospital in a few minutes, the mongoose is meeting me there for a cup of coffee before i go back inside.
in the three weeks that i've been out we've developed a serious cockroach problem.
i'm going to try to find time to write down some of the bits of the last month, but i'm starting to suspect that it's not going to happen.
instead, i took the book i'm reading (ori ben ari - after me! [!אחרי]) to cafeneto for a roast beef sandwich. the book is absorbing, but i'm a slow reader and i have three weeks to produce a book report on it :(
after testing new dvds (full metal jacket and the back to the future box set) i settled on watching bad boys 2 - i'm SO glad i bought it, it's just as awesome as the first. i was planning on passing out in front of the telly, but it was simply too enthralling. i hadn't remembered a thing from the cinema.
i'm going back to the hospital in a few minutes, the mongoose is meeting me there for a cup of coffee before i go back inside.
in the three weeks that i've been out we've developed a serious cockroach problem.
i'm going to try to find time to write down some of the bits of the last month, but i'm starting to suspect that it's not going to happen.
Friday, August 22, 2008
exhausted - no time to rest
the scribbles are as follows:
all that stress for no behaviour record + no lock, kitchen duty from hell pt. 1
6 in AM no sleep (eaten + too tall) - caught 10:01 [form] -
70% exam sleeping - 'orrible first lunch - entrance [ammo
clip issues] - the bus - hard morning no breakfast - studying
'til late. [haircut, first lie, mom at 11pm]
->physical:36 pushups + 36 mins + ההקדמה; half מסדר +recycle +kitchen
on time for bed, horrible throat, range 1
wasted for the מג"ד who woke me up (right place)
then the מ"פ (you're in)
name calling
clearing sandtables
a day of קצונות (rope + group pushups) after מד"ס
first friday night + dinner craziness
... and so it goes on, the scribbles getting tinier and tinier and the days getting longer and longer.
basically, it's been three ridiculous weeks. there're a lot of details i'll fill in once i've had some sleep, but right now i'm going back to the hospital. my niece is in israel, we had breakfast together, and then i had to rush her off to emergency (with which i'm becoming way too familiar)... she's being hospitalized for the weekend, and she's pissed.
all that stress for no behaviour record + no lock, kitchen duty from hell pt. 1
6 in AM no sleep (eaten + too tall) - caught 10:01 [form] -
70% exam sleeping - 'orrible first lunch - entrance [ammo
clip issues] - the bus - hard morning no breakfast - studying
'til late. [haircut, first lie, mom at 11pm]
->physical:36 pushups + 36 mins + ההקדמה; half מסדר +recycle +kitchen
on time for bed, horrible throat, range 1
wasted for the מג"ד who woke me up (right place)
then the מ"פ (you're in)
name calling
clearing sandtables
a day of קצונות (rope + group pushups) after מד"ס
first friday night + dinner craziness
... and so it goes on, the scribbles getting tinier and tinier and the days getting longer and longer.
basically, it's been three ridiculous weeks. there're a lot of details i'll fill in once i've had some sleep, but right now i'm going back to the hospital. my niece is in israel, we had breakfast together, and then i had to rush her off to emergency (with which i'm becoming way too familiar)... she's being hospitalized for the weekend, and she's pissed.
Monday, August 04, 2008
fingers crossed and eyes skywards
mmmm - slept well and slept late :)
now i'm off, and praying that everything goes as smoothly as it should.
arm transplants? having learned something new [and its history], i'm done online for the next while. have a great couple of weeks, everyone!
now i'm off, and praying that everything goes as smoothly as it should.
arm transplants? having learned something new [and its history], i'm done online for the next while. have a great couple of weeks, everyone!
Sunday, August 03, 2008
embrace change
wow - i'm really tired and i haven't packed yet. and i'm nervous as hell, not just because i haven't studied enough but also because there's a requirement i don't meet and it's possible that i'll arrive on tuesday and be sent home immediately. that would suck.
today started way too early, and i barely made the bus. business as usual. i had breakfast with one of my teammates, relinquished my weapon and verified that i didn't need to worry about uniforms. then i hit my office.
best part of the day: the massage chair. i hogged it for most of the morning, and it is goooooooooooooood.
today is the first time that our current team has been together, not just in a long time but two of them hadn't even met until this morning. there was lots to tell from all sides, an incredible amount of mail to deal with, and i spent the morning trying to sort stuff out and stressing.
lunch was alright, we had a team meeting afterwards - a lot of funny stories, but what was really nice was receiving praise for a project that i did on the side that's suddenly been put into use and is appreciated.
around 2pm i left the office to head for the city officer for a 3.40pm appointment (cutting it close considering the public transport issues), and as i walked out the building i saw someone from my unit start his car - i stopped him and discovered that he was going to the city officer too!
my experience at the city officer was stressful and unpleasant. they really tried to be helpful, but the problem i'm experiencing with tuesday's requirements isn't something that anyone can really help me with in good conscience. basically, i have an exemption from physical tasks because of my slipped disc, and i won't be accepted if i have any exemptions. no doctor would be willing to cancel an exemption for the obvious and completely reasonable fear of being held liable in case something happened to me.
i saw a couple of guys from the course, milled around, then headed off to my old base to go and say hi.
repeat: what a difference! it really does feel like coming home, the people are warm and it was great seeing everyone, catching up, talking about the future... i'm blown away as usual to discover that it's not just nicer in my head.
piles and i bussed home together (we're pretty much neighbours), and we had a rather intense discussion about work ethic, academia and life goals. liberating, and i think that on some level i might have gotten through to him. although past experience tells me he'll forget it all by morning.
i've spent the evening organizing for tomorrow / the next three weeks, interviewing a potential (kinda cute) flatmate, watching dr horrible's sing-along blog [brilliant!], eating with crash bandicoot and now trying to pack an enormous amount of gear into very tiny spaces. once i'm done i'll shower and pass out like a good little soldier.
today started way too early, and i barely made the bus. business as usual. i had breakfast with one of my teammates, relinquished my weapon and verified that i didn't need to worry about uniforms. then i hit my office.
best part of the day: the massage chair. i hogged it for most of the morning, and it is goooooooooooooood.
today is the first time that our current team has been together, not just in a long time but two of them hadn't even met until this morning. there was lots to tell from all sides, an incredible amount of mail to deal with, and i spent the morning trying to sort stuff out and stressing.
lunch was alright, we had a team meeting afterwards - a lot of funny stories, but what was really nice was receiving praise for a project that i did on the side that's suddenly been put into use and is appreciated.
around 2pm i left the office to head for the city officer for a 3.40pm appointment (cutting it close considering the public transport issues), and as i walked out the building i saw someone from my unit start his car - i stopped him and discovered that he was going to the city officer too!
my experience at the city officer was stressful and unpleasant. they really tried to be helpful, but the problem i'm experiencing with tuesday's requirements isn't something that anyone can really help me with in good conscience. basically, i have an exemption from physical tasks because of my slipped disc, and i won't be accepted if i have any exemptions. no doctor would be willing to cancel an exemption for the obvious and completely reasonable fear of being held liable in case something happened to me.
i saw a couple of guys from the course, milled around, then headed off to my old base to go and say hi.
repeat: what a difference! it really does feel like coming home, the people are warm and it was great seeing everyone, catching up, talking about the future... i'm blown away as usual to discover that it's not just nicer in my head.
piles and i bussed home together (we're pretty much neighbours), and we had a rather intense discussion about work ethic, academia and life goals. liberating, and i think that on some level i might have gotten through to him. although past experience tells me he'll forget it all by morning.
i've spent the evening organizing for tomorrow / the next three weeks, interviewing a potential (kinda cute) flatmate, watching dr horrible's sing-along blog [brilliant!], eating with crash bandicoot and now trying to pack an enormous amount of gear into very tiny spaces. once i'm done i'll shower and pass out like a good little soldier.
post-nightcap
it's late, i've actually had a drink (with ze germans and ru55), i'm mostly ready for the morning... but i haven't rested and i haven't studied nearly enough.
another spacex achievement!
there's still a possibility that potential enemies thrive on mars...
MTHEL appears to be operational!
another spacex achievement!
there's still a possibility that potential enemies thrive on mars...
MTHEL appears to be operational!
Saturday, August 02, 2008
distracted
i learned a bit, but i just couldn't get into it properly. i did eventually manage to find the american girl, the original alice has been digitized (and is beautiful), and here's a quick summary of the sderot attacks over the past eight years.
i tried watching preaching to the perverted, but it's a horrible movie and requires audience participation: i can't watch it alone.
i'm so glad there's good goa still being produced: i've been listening to a bunch of current goa compilations (goa 2008, progressive goa trance 2008, goa beach 2008 to be precise) this afternoon and it's a bit saddening that i'm probably not going to be able to make a real party until i get back to south africa.
we interviewed two potential flatmates today. the first unpotentialed [wow] himself on sight, he's probably over fifty and automatically doesn't fit with the program. the second guy was a bit... awkward at first, but seems pretty cool.
now to get ready for the morning... it's that time again :P
i tried watching preaching to the perverted, but it's a horrible movie and requires audience participation: i can't watch it alone.
i'm so glad there's good goa still being produced: i've been listening to a bunch of current goa compilations (goa 2008, progressive goa trance 2008, goa beach 2008 to be precise) this afternoon and it's a bit saddening that i'm probably not going to be able to make a real party until i get back to south africa.
we interviewed two potential flatmates today. the first unpotentialed [wow] himself on sight, he's probably over fifty and automatically doesn't fit with the program. the second guy was a bit... awkward at first, but seems pretty cool.
now to get ready for the morning... it's that time again :P
almost ready
hmm - i've been flicking between preparing for the week and staring at my monitor. i felt horrible this morning... *deep sigh*
totemism - etnica remixed is doing it for me at the moment.
there's a lot of linkage going around. the most important news is rather picturesque: fallout 3 is on its way, and some of these shots gave me goosebumps (specifically the shots of the pipboy, and the cityscapes are magic).
moonflake's description of tycho brahe's death is something that reading penny arcade always reminds me of... i don't know what made me check out wikipedia, which cites an alternative possibility.
if anyone can help me find the rss feed for ding!, please send me the link! or is it a subscription based feed? if so, i don't want in on principle.
speaking of which, scott kurtz mentioned triumph the insult comic dog at the comic con, and that set me searching. i found his bon jovi rip, the video of him poking fun at the republicans on global warming (and their general stance apropos religion and science), and a brilliant music video wherein he describes well everything i hate about hip-hip culture (or lack thereof).
totemism - etnica remixed is doing it for me at the moment.
there's a lot of linkage going around. the most important news is rather picturesque: fallout 3 is on its way, and some of these shots gave me goosebumps (specifically the shots of the pipboy, and the cityscapes are magic).
moonflake's description of tycho brahe's death is something that reading penny arcade always reminds me of... i don't know what made me check out wikipedia, which cites an alternative possibility.
if anyone can help me find the rss feed for ding!, please send me the link! or is it a subscription based feed? if so, i don't want in on principle.
speaking of which, scott kurtz mentioned triumph the insult comic dog at the comic con, and that set me searching. i found his bon jovi rip, the video of him poking fun at the republicans on global warming (and their general stance apropos religion and science), and a brilliant music video wherein he describes well everything i hate about hip-hip culture (or lack thereof).
no rest for the wicked
the shopping went smoothly, and i came back home with intent to crash.
that's an awful pun, i know. i spent my entire afternoon either playing crash or tracking people down on facebook. i lie when i say people, i mean person, and specifically the american girl. i realized about halfway through that it's possible that she doesn't have internet access... i know what it's like to be a lonely soldier. unlikely, but possible.
this evening, while the kid and i were taking turns with the controller, the temperature suddenly and dramatically increased from warm to sweltering - that's not supposed to happen. i felt horrible afterwards. i'm still not feeling 100%, and if i get another summer cold i'm going to be in deep shite come tuesday.
the kid and i took a taxi to ramat gan to watch the dark night. it totally rocks - solid and smooth.
now for bed.
that's an awful pun, i know. i spent my entire afternoon either playing crash or tracking people down on facebook. i lie when i say people, i mean person, and specifically the american girl. i realized about halfway through that it's possible that she doesn't have internet access... i know what it's like to be a lonely soldier. unlikely, but possible.
this evening, while the kid and i were taking turns with the controller, the temperature suddenly and dramatically increased from warm to sweltering - that's not supposed to happen. i felt horrible afterwards. i'm still not feeling 100%, and if i get another summer cold i'm going to be in deep shite come tuesday.
the kid and i took a taxi to ramat gan to watch the dark night. it totally rocks - solid and smooth.
now for bed.
Friday, August 01, 2008
the last week of midsection
overall impression: disgusting.
overall result: highly successful.
overall satisfaction level: "it's only just begun"
i've made mike and ike's known to my fellow soldiers, and now everyone's hooked ^_^
27th:
i arrived on base an hour early, which gave me a headstart on studying. we then went through the physical trauma of unpacking everybody's gear from storage... when only a third of us had arrived. in the heat, already tired, and all the group leaders had to do to make it fair and efficient was to wait an hour for the rest of the guys to pitch.
as it was, we spent the day wasting time, and it took me until the end to convince them to let me study whenever the clock strikes "game-time". i had a forrest gump moment stripping my weapon, and spent the evening in the kitchens washing dishes. while there, i met a beautiful american girl who seems rather nice.
28th:
i pulled a guard shift at 3am - please notice how they made an effort to keep their promise to catch me up, kitchen and guard duty in the same night in addition to the wasted hours beforehand. instead of going back to sleep, i studied from the end of my shift until sunrise, and passed out almost in time to wake up again.
in the morning, our particularly stupid (and loud) group leader pulled me and two others aside: "if you want to pray in the mornings, you either pray every morning or none. decide now."
not only was that a completely illegal command, but since the ensuing argument every time i did consider going to a service i thought of her and got pissed off, which for me ruined something that i was beginning to enjoy again. it took me a couple of mornings to become agitated enough to file a formal complaint, and i took her aside for a chat just before doing so. when i reported to her commander she took it better than i expected, so i guess the chat must have helped.
we spent the morning studying alone, in our tents, and it was the best study session we had the entire time. i was taken aside so that our officer could interview me - i didn't think to remind him to ask me about my future aspirations, so he dismissed me after i listed my hobbies. useful.
29th:
we had to wake up around 4.15am, and were surprised with 15 minutes to pack and stow all our gear. nice one. we were bussed to a different base to undergo the final physical and written examinations.
86 "special" situps: killer crunches that aren't very good for you. and they're not that easy to do. i got my partner to complete his for the first time, and i managed them all without any problems, but the fun part was the thirty or so that i didn't even notice because i was busy reciting "the spirit of the IDF". the group leader next to me was totally blown away, the guy assisting me was giggling, and the examining officer advised me to recite it in my head as the next base we'll be doing the physical on doesn't allow for that sort of thing.
bummer.
75 push-ups: i suck. i can manage 33, but my arms simply give out afterwards. i really need to work on that.
the 4km walk: i just can't do the power-walk. the slowest out-pace me by a couple of kph, and i'll admit it does look like i'm taking a stroll... but i'm not. i really can't walk faster than what i'm doing, and every single person who saw me called out to put my back into it or laughed at me. after about fifteen times i'd had enough and i'd lost my sense of humour, and shouted back "what, would you like me to put myself into a wheelchair for this stupid test?!"
that wasn't the right thing to say. i'm very lucky that the person in question was the same officer from the sit-ups and push-ups, who seems to be quite into me and wants me to pass. she gave me a short lecture on exactly how uncool what i said was, and then added another couple of things i need to watch out for. the bottom line is that in addition to her being right, and in addition to my needing to learn how to power-walk without screwing up my neck, i need to keep my cool.
about half of our group had to wait outside for the written examination... and i allowed myself a much needed nap instead of doing the last-minute studying that usually doesn't help anyway.
the big test: the very same officer (suspicious, much?) helped me out a lot with the hebrew... i actually felt the need to hint to make sure that she didn't help me with the subject material itself - at one point she saw where my mouse was hovering and gave me a look that i had to make an effort to ignore. i covered my screen with my hand and she got the idea :P
71 with a pass mark of 75 didn't do much for my head, but i didn't know at the time that it was only a partial mark and there would be a factor... my final mark was the second highest in the group!
we had a solid lunch, and then had to wait for another group to write theirs. none of us cared if they had an advantage (they'd heard a good amount of the answers from the previous examinees) because we had an hour and a half of solid siesta. imagine about 25 soldiers lying on the floor of a semi-abandoned military warehouse, snoring away in absolute bliss. that was the most perfect army afternoon i think any of us has ever had!
30th:
a small group of us spent the morning doing physical labour. i was assigned to two groups (again with the learning assistance, my commanders really cared), and while performing the tasks for the second one i managed to hurt my ankle :(
the man in charge of the first group laughed at me for only managing 33 push-ups the day before - the dude's a tank and can do 150 in a set. he stopped laughing when it came time to carry the gear - everyone, including him, struggled to pick up the single stacks and i was easily loping with a stack on each shoulder. neither of us can figure out what the deal is.
girl in the armoury: "do you want me to take your weapon?"
"i've got two shekels, how much of your time does that buy me?"
i'm really glad she didn't take that as sexual harrassment.
i was given my officer's review - and my only negative quality is my lack of trust regarding my group leaders. that's surprising... :S
at the tail end of our closing discussion with our course commander:
"do you want to say something?"
"no, i deliberately didn't put my hand up."
"so you have something to say."
"yes, but i don't want to say it."
"then tell me in private afterwards."
i didn't want my group to get the impression that i was making suggestions and comments behind their backs, so i did pipe up in the public forum. i told him that the group leaders are responsible for the lack of discipline, because if you shout a lot without actually punishing you're sending a simple message that's not very positive.
immediately, the group leaders and sergeants pounced: "it's suspicious that you didn't mention it before!". i managed to catch him afterwards and explain that aside from it not being my place to make that observation, i have no idea if it's a good thing or not that the group will be shocked into obedience when they get to the next level.
in the evening, i had my butt kicked while playfighting with a kid who knows karate - i've forgotten how to fight. he's good, but i should be better than i am. we then walked 3.5km really, really, really slowly. it was boring and unpleasant.
31st:
three faults in one morning. i switched off my alarm in my sleep, and i don't know why getting dressed took me so long - i arrived late to the first formation of the day. for my next trick i relied on someone else's timekeeping, and he was late for the following formation.
i can't recall the third fault right now.
while cleaning the toilets, i came across a giant moth, remarkably close in resemblance to a bat, both in ugly mug and in size. it was upside down, and to test its status i gave it a nudge... it didn't like that.
whenever we get into formation we need to provide a list with the locations of the group's absentees. yesterday morning, instead of writing on a piece of paper the list was written on the back of my undershirt, and when the group leader asked us where the list was somebody played james brown - i feel good and i performed a striptease... she was shocked, but it went down well ;)
after getting that over with, the american girl and i had breakfast together. an enjoyable discussion, i wish i knew which direction this is going in.
the officer who helped me out with tuesday's exam needed cable ties, and she noticed my dog-tags haven't been "fixed". she gave me her tag-covering and told me to keep it as a reminder, and to return it after the next phase of the course...
the names of all those who passed the course were read out loud with everyone together. i was completely apathetic until my name was read, and when i heard "pass" the sense of relief was overwhelming - i hadn't realized just how stressed i'd been.
one of the girls who passed managed to get permanently barred from the next phase... during a discussion with a high-ranking officer she couldn't keep her mouth shut. i sat horrified while listening to people saying things completely out of place, and the others involved were really lucky that one person's idiocy distracted the man from the rest of them.
the guy in the base cafeteria is a complete wanker. he can't keep track of cash, and he denied accepting NIS 50 from the girl after me in the queue when i saw him take it and stuff it in the cash drawer. eventually he gave her her money back - then gave me mine back, removing my purchased items and change from the counter before kicking us both out. on monday morning i WILL have him hung out to dry.
the arrival home: getting home, purchasing bad boys 2, full metal jacket and the back to the future trilogy on ebay, getting coffee and a super tuna salad while reading the fall of hyperion at coffeeholic, handling the laundry and chatting with my mum and my course commander... i'm totally impressed with myself that i didn't simply pass out until morning.
the closing party (this morning):
overall impression: disgusting.
overall result: i was there.
overall satisfaction level: trying not to retch.
the kids picked the place in the port that attracts the most arsim. some of the guys got way too drunk. the american girl and i had some good moments, and some completely arbitrary ones that stem from my inability to communicate in a club environment. the note we said goodbye on was lukewarm at best, which i'm taking as a bad sign :/
i played a solid half an hour of abe's exoddus before getting some sleep. i woke up around 10.30 to pick up crash bandicoot: warped... i'd forgotten just how addictive it is! now for the shopping.
overall result: highly successful.
overall satisfaction level: "it's only just begun"
i've made mike and ike's known to my fellow soldiers, and now everyone's hooked ^_^
27th:
i arrived on base an hour early, which gave me a headstart on studying. we then went through the physical trauma of unpacking everybody's gear from storage... when only a third of us had arrived. in the heat, already tired, and all the group leaders had to do to make it fair and efficient was to wait an hour for the rest of the guys to pitch.
as it was, we spent the day wasting time, and it took me until the end to convince them to let me study whenever the clock strikes "game-time". i had a forrest gump moment stripping my weapon, and spent the evening in the kitchens washing dishes. while there, i met a beautiful american girl who seems rather nice.
28th:
i pulled a guard shift at 3am - please notice how they made an effort to keep their promise to catch me up, kitchen and guard duty in the same night in addition to the wasted hours beforehand. instead of going back to sleep, i studied from the end of my shift until sunrise, and passed out almost in time to wake up again.
in the morning, our particularly stupid (and loud) group leader pulled me and two others aside: "if you want to pray in the mornings, you either pray every morning or none. decide now."
not only was that a completely illegal command, but since the ensuing argument every time i did consider going to a service i thought of her and got pissed off, which for me ruined something that i was beginning to enjoy again. it took me a couple of mornings to become agitated enough to file a formal complaint, and i took her aside for a chat just before doing so. when i reported to her commander she took it better than i expected, so i guess the chat must have helped.
we spent the morning studying alone, in our tents, and it was the best study session we had the entire time. i was taken aside so that our officer could interview me - i didn't think to remind him to ask me about my future aspirations, so he dismissed me after i listed my hobbies. useful.
29th:
we had to wake up around 4.15am, and were surprised with 15 minutes to pack and stow all our gear. nice one. we were bussed to a different base to undergo the final physical and written examinations.
86 "special" situps: killer crunches that aren't very good for you. and they're not that easy to do. i got my partner to complete his for the first time, and i managed them all without any problems, but the fun part was the thirty or so that i didn't even notice because i was busy reciting "the spirit of the IDF". the group leader next to me was totally blown away, the guy assisting me was giggling, and the examining officer advised me to recite it in my head as the next base we'll be doing the physical on doesn't allow for that sort of thing.
bummer.
75 push-ups: i suck. i can manage 33, but my arms simply give out afterwards. i really need to work on that.
the 4km walk: i just can't do the power-walk. the slowest out-pace me by a couple of kph, and i'll admit it does look like i'm taking a stroll... but i'm not. i really can't walk faster than what i'm doing, and every single person who saw me called out to put my back into it or laughed at me. after about fifteen times i'd had enough and i'd lost my sense of humour, and shouted back "what, would you like me to put myself into a wheelchair for this stupid test?!"
that wasn't the right thing to say. i'm very lucky that the person in question was the same officer from the sit-ups and push-ups, who seems to be quite into me and wants me to pass. she gave me a short lecture on exactly how uncool what i said was, and then added another couple of things i need to watch out for. the bottom line is that in addition to her being right, and in addition to my needing to learn how to power-walk without screwing up my neck, i need to keep my cool.
about half of our group had to wait outside for the written examination... and i allowed myself a much needed nap instead of doing the last-minute studying that usually doesn't help anyway.
the big test: the very same officer (suspicious, much?) helped me out a lot with the hebrew... i actually felt the need to hint to make sure that she didn't help me with the subject material itself - at one point she saw where my mouse was hovering and gave me a look that i had to make an effort to ignore. i covered my screen with my hand and she got the idea :P
71 with a pass mark of 75 didn't do much for my head, but i didn't know at the time that it was only a partial mark and there would be a factor... my final mark was the second highest in the group!
we had a solid lunch, and then had to wait for another group to write theirs. none of us cared if they had an advantage (they'd heard a good amount of the answers from the previous examinees) because we had an hour and a half of solid siesta. imagine about 25 soldiers lying on the floor of a semi-abandoned military warehouse, snoring away in absolute bliss. that was the most perfect army afternoon i think any of us has ever had!
30th:
a small group of us spent the morning doing physical labour. i was assigned to two groups (again with the learning assistance, my commanders really cared), and while performing the tasks for the second one i managed to hurt my ankle :(
the man in charge of the first group laughed at me for only managing 33 push-ups the day before - the dude's a tank and can do 150 in a set. he stopped laughing when it came time to carry the gear - everyone, including him, struggled to pick up the single stacks and i was easily loping with a stack on each shoulder. neither of us can figure out what the deal is.
girl in the armoury: "do you want me to take your weapon?"
"i've got two shekels, how much of your time does that buy me?"
i'm really glad she didn't take that as sexual harrassment.
i was given my officer's review - and my only negative quality is my lack of trust regarding my group leaders. that's surprising... :S
at the tail end of our closing discussion with our course commander:
"do you want to say something?"
"no, i deliberately didn't put my hand up."
"so you have something to say."
"yes, but i don't want to say it."
"then tell me in private afterwards."
i didn't want my group to get the impression that i was making suggestions and comments behind their backs, so i did pipe up in the public forum. i told him that the group leaders are responsible for the lack of discipline, because if you shout a lot without actually punishing you're sending a simple message that's not very positive.
immediately, the group leaders and sergeants pounced: "it's suspicious that you didn't mention it before!". i managed to catch him afterwards and explain that aside from it not being my place to make that observation, i have no idea if it's a good thing or not that the group will be shocked into obedience when they get to the next level.
in the evening, i had my butt kicked while playfighting with a kid who knows karate - i've forgotten how to fight. he's good, but i should be better than i am. we then walked 3.5km really, really, really slowly. it was boring and unpleasant.
31st:
three faults in one morning. i switched off my alarm in my sleep, and i don't know why getting dressed took me so long - i arrived late to the first formation of the day. for my next trick i relied on someone else's timekeeping, and he was late for the following formation.
i can't recall the third fault right now.
while cleaning the toilets, i came across a giant moth, remarkably close in resemblance to a bat, both in ugly mug and in size. it was upside down, and to test its status i gave it a nudge... it didn't like that.
whenever we get into formation we need to provide a list with the locations of the group's absentees. yesterday morning, instead of writing on a piece of paper the list was written on the back of my undershirt, and when the group leader asked us where the list was somebody played james brown - i feel good and i performed a striptease... she was shocked, but it went down well ;)
after getting that over with, the american girl and i had breakfast together. an enjoyable discussion, i wish i knew which direction this is going in.
the officer who helped me out with tuesday's exam needed cable ties, and she noticed my dog-tags haven't been "fixed". she gave me her tag-covering and told me to keep it as a reminder, and to return it after the next phase of the course...
the names of all those who passed the course were read out loud with everyone together. i was completely apathetic until my name was read, and when i heard "pass" the sense of relief was overwhelming - i hadn't realized just how stressed i'd been.
one of the girls who passed managed to get permanently barred from the next phase... during a discussion with a high-ranking officer she couldn't keep her mouth shut. i sat horrified while listening to people saying things completely out of place, and the others involved were really lucky that one person's idiocy distracted the man from the rest of them.
the guy in the base cafeteria is a complete wanker. he can't keep track of cash, and he denied accepting NIS 50 from the girl after me in the queue when i saw him take it and stuff it in the cash drawer. eventually he gave her her money back - then gave me mine back, removing my purchased items and change from the counter before kicking us both out. on monday morning i WILL have him hung out to dry.
the arrival home: getting home, purchasing bad boys 2, full metal jacket and the back to the future trilogy on ebay, getting coffee and a super tuna salad while reading the fall of hyperion at coffeeholic, handling the laundry and chatting with my mum and my course commander... i'm totally impressed with myself that i didn't simply pass out until morning.
the closing party (this morning):
overall impression: disgusting.
overall result: i was there.
overall satisfaction level: trying not to retch.
the kids picked the place in the port that attracts the most arsim. some of the guys got way too drunk. the american girl and i had some good moments, and some completely arbitrary ones that stem from my inability to communicate in a club environment. the note we said goodbye on was lukewarm at best, which i'm taking as a bad sign :/
i played a solid half an hour of abe's exoddus before getting some sleep. i woke up around 10.30 to pick up crash bandicoot: warped... i'd forgotten just how addictive it is! now for the shopping.
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