again: it's been a busy day :)
i just finished reading neil gaiman - coraline, it is absolutely wonderful and i highly recommend it - for kids and adults!
now i'm ready for bed.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
and another movie
what a way to spend a day: the last one was kalifornia. and i tidied and made lists, too.
i'm going to get ready for bed now.
i'm going to get ready for bed now.
neither
i didn't sleep, and i didn't make lists: so i've finally seen slumdog millionaire - it's great :)
and here's a link to all the classic memetic videos - i'm fascinated by prison thriller.
and here's a link to all the classic memetic videos - i'm fascinated by prison thriller.
nothing doing
i woke up late (yay!) and started with the last three episodes of how i met your mother (meh), and appropriately followed that with pink floyd - the wall. i thought it was beautiful and entertaining, but i can't say that i enjoyed it.
now i'm going to make lists. or sleep some more :)
now i'm going to make lists. or sleep some more :)
soaking edification
the girl's party had a long line and the bouncers were giving everyone grief, so i bailed and taxied to meet nystire's sister. on the way i'd run into a guy i used to work with, we exchanged cards. i still find that obscurely amusing.
the motorock is a traditional biker bar / rock club, just the right atmosphere and exactly the right crowd. the party was great fun, with only one near-incident (i wouldn't back down when some big dude threatened me after i'd spilled his beer - he was carrying behind someone wigging out to tool, what did he expect?!) and only a couple of drinks too many.
i haggled the taxi driver on my ride home out of 30%, and crashed into bed at around 4am. getting up three hours later *hurt*, and i felt physically ill (hello, giant hangover) the rest of the morning. in spite of that i managed to get to herzeliya and cash that forgotten cheque, and then made my way to ramat gan to discover how much my fixes will cost me.
that was when it became very, very cold. freezing, in fact, and my ski-jacket wasn't nearly enough. then it began to rain. it pelted down. today, all-in-all, was not the day for being outdoors.
i discovered that for the quoted price my agent gave me, i can get organized with all the fixes (aside from painting) and all the furniture i'll need. and in less time. that greedy bastard.
i was irritated at a couple of "renovators" lurking around the home center trying to steal away customers. shady bunch.
i wish i could forget all the sprayings we underwent at the bus stop from passing vehicles. some of them were blatantly on purpose. i got home, switched pants and shoes and picked up the fifth element, and walked through the storm winds and rain to lake's place to introduce her to it.
we both really enjoyed it (i've only seen it about forty or fifty times), and afterwards watched the first episodes of a series called snuff box. we found it decidedly unfunny, just artistically strange. i'd rather not see any more.
we played taki (like uno) while drinking wine and walked the dog in the rain, and then i came back home to sleep (hopefully late). my mum and i had a good catch-up, and i've agreed with her that i need to give myself enough time to sort out the new apartment and not be in too much of a hurry.
i'm feeling the hour and the week gone by, so i'm hitting the shower and then the hay.
the motorock is a traditional biker bar / rock club, just the right atmosphere and exactly the right crowd. the party was great fun, with only one near-incident (i wouldn't back down when some big dude threatened me after i'd spilled his beer - he was carrying behind someone wigging out to tool, what did he expect?!) and only a couple of drinks too many.
i haggled the taxi driver on my ride home out of 30%, and crashed into bed at around 4am. getting up three hours later *hurt*, and i felt physically ill (hello, giant hangover) the rest of the morning. in spite of that i managed to get to herzeliya and cash that forgotten cheque, and then made my way to ramat gan to discover how much my fixes will cost me.
that was when it became very, very cold. freezing, in fact, and my ski-jacket wasn't nearly enough. then it began to rain. it pelted down. today, all-in-all, was not the day for being outdoors.
i discovered that for the quoted price my agent gave me, i can get organized with all the fixes (aside from painting) and all the furniture i'll need. and in less time. that greedy bastard.
i was irritated at a couple of "renovators" lurking around the home center trying to steal away customers. shady bunch.
i wish i could forget all the sprayings we underwent at the bus stop from passing vehicles. some of them were blatantly on purpose. i got home, switched pants and shoes and picked up the fifth element, and walked through the storm winds and rain to lake's place to introduce her to it.
we both really enjoyed it (i've only seen it about forty or fifty times), and afterwards watched the first episodes of a series called snuff box. we found it decidedly unfunny, just artistically strange. i'd rather not see any more.
we played taki (like uno) while drinking wine and walked the dog in the rain, and then i came back home to sleep (hopefully late). my mum and i had a good catch-up, and i've agreed with her that i need to give myself enough time to sort out the new apartment and not be in too much of a hurry.
i'm feeling the hour and the week gone by, so i'm hitting the shower and then the hay.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
holidays are weird
electrocycle: complete
i actually managed to find the electronic recycling drop-off! the city council guy had me standing at the wrong gate, staring at a completely abandoned urban lot and telling me to ask the guy there where to go - and he'd *just* spoken to him, so we were experiencing different realities. i eventually gave up, went exploring, and got found.
my back and neck hurt a little from so much weight :(
the second payment was smooth, i invited the seller for coffee and we talked about all sorts of interesting things. i made her sign a receipt for the cheque, but i'm still nervous about her taking it without her lawyer witnessing the transfer.
i hopped off to my old base to have my photo replaced, which was quite painless. i chatted with a few of my old team-mates, had lunch on base with brother bear, ran into a few more old buddies on the way out and then returned to tel aviv.
i went home, bought my ticket for the איפה הילד (eifo hayeled / "where's the kid") concert (sweet!), and got a helpful - yet awkward - pointer from lake's friend.
i convinced the lawyer to see me on short notice, and got there in time to witness notary vs. mr. fixit, a man who has proven to me beyond any shadow of a doubt that it's a better idea for me to handle any fixes in my apartment myself. there really isn't any need to be so damn aggressive.
i went past the mortgage bank to hand in a bunch of documents and take out insurance, then rushed off to my branch to deposit a cheque for my mum... they wouldn't take it. so i'm going to have to go to herzeliya tomorrow morning before i visit the shower / floor places.
i paid mmf a surprise visit (well, it wouldn't have been a surprise if he'd answered my calls) and had a quick update over a good cup of tea, and then came home to finish up my resume and begin sending it.
i cancelled the job application on SxS's advice, i got in touch with him to find out a couple of details and he made a very valid point about it being a lot more useful for someone like me to get in touch with them by phone first.
now i'm off to have a birthday drink with the girl shadowslight's mum was using as an example, and then i'm off to the rock party for some thrashing.
i actually managed to find the electronic recycling drop-off! the city council guy had me standing at the wrong gate, staring at a completely abandoned urban lot and telling me to ask the guy there where to go - and he'd *just* spoken to him, so we were experiencing different realities. i eventually gave up, went exploring, and got found.
my back and neck hurt a little from so much weight :(
the second payment was smooth, i invited the seller for coffee and we talked about all sorts of interesting things. i made her sign a receipt for the cheque, but i'm still nervous about her taking it without her lawyer witnessing the transfer.
i hopped off to my old base to have my photo replaced, which was quite painless. i chatted with a few of my old team-mates, had lunch on base with brother bear, ran into a few more old buddies on the way out and then returned to tel aviv.
i went home, bought my ticket for the איפה הילד (eifo hayeled / "where's the kid") concert (sweet!), and got a helpful - yet awkward - pointer from lake's friend.
i convinced the lawyer to see me on short notice, and got there in time to witness notary vs. mr. fixit, a man who has proven to me beyond any shadow of a doubt that it's a better idea for me to handle any fixes in my apartment myself. there really isn't any need to be so damn aggressive.
i went past the mortgage bank to hand in a bunch of documents and take out insurance, then rushed off to my branch to deposit a cheque for my mum... they wouldn't take it. so i'm going to have to go to herzeliya tomorrow morning before i visit the shower / floor places.
i paid mmf a surprise visit (well, it wouldn't have been a surprise if he'd answered my calls) and had a quick update over a good cup of tea, and then came home to finish up my resume and begin sending it.
i cancelled the job application on SxS's advice, i got in touch with him to find out a couple of details and he made a very valid point about it being a lot more useful for someone like me to get in touch with them by phone first.
now i'm off to have a birthday drink with the girl shadowslight's mum was using as an example, and then i'm off to the rock party for some thrashing.
bad yoghurt
i had to throw breakfast out yesterday before narrowly missing the earlier train - meaning the train before the one that i was aiming to catch - and arrived in haifa quite comfortably and having made the right decision (to take one train earlier than was theoretically necessary, there were slight delays). the goto guy and i missioned to the mall for breakfast but all i could find was a jewish doughnut.
for anyone who's not sure what a jewish doughnut is, it's more or less in the shape of one, is spongy and covered in sugar.
the woman who met with us is the same one who has been ignoring my calls for the last year or so since i harassed her with a vexing problem that she didn't have the answer to. it was a "why" question, not a "how", regarding code that she's ostensibly responsible for.
i had three primary thoughts on my mind yesterday during the meeting, one personal, one work-related and one an extension on an old one of mine.
personal: i need to install a safe to protect my documents from water / fire damage.
work: i began the sentence with "i'm about to say something arbitrary and really stupid, but..." and by the time i'd finished it everyone was excited and trying to decide just how brilliant my proposed project would be ^_^ (later, my new TL would accidentally put a pretty effective brick in the works via a related conversation with our SC)
extension: apparently this one's really useless (i checked with some engineers), but i had this interesting vision of a space-based packet-sniffer latching on to satellites.
we had decent hamburgers for lunch, then returned to base to work in a manner that i can fairly describe as "not very hard". i did get an updated insurance quote, which took a long time.
we were going to watch invader zim in the office with as many of the section as were in, but in the end only three of us actually sat down for it. bummer.
the dinner was mostly good and the idan raichel project was really nice ("with felix on the generator!" - our announcer is a complete moron). it always bothers me that for military events everyone stays seated, so i made a point of standing. it took about three songs before i was no longer the only one.
i got a ride home, and realized as i arrived just how exhausted i was - so instead of going out i showered and crashed.
---
urgh :/
i feel sick. it wasn't exhaustion last night, but something far more sinister. it had to be now :S
flintstone winstons?!
for anyone who's not sure what a jewish doughnut is, it's more or less in the shape of one, is spongy and covered in sugar.
the woman who met with us is the same one who has been ignoring my calls for the last year or so since i harassed her with a vexing problem that she didn't have the answer to. it was a "why" question, not a "how", regarding code that she's ostensibly responsible for.
i had three primary thoughts on my mind yesterday during the meeting, one personal, one work-related and one an extension on an old one of mine.
personal: i need to install a safe to protect my documents from water / fire damage.
work: i began the sentence with "i'm about to say something arbitrary and really stupid, but..." and by the time i'd finished it everyone was excited and trying to decide just how brilliant my proposed project would be ^_^ (later, my new TL would accidentally put a pretty effective brick in the works via a related conversation with our SC)
extension: apparently this one's really useless (i checked with some engineers), but i had this interesting vision of a space-based packet-sniffer latching on to satellites.
we had decent hamburgers for lunch, then returned to base to work in a manner that i can fairly describe as "not very hard". i did get an updated insurance quote, which took a long time.
we were going to watch invader zim in the office with as many of the section as were in, but in the end only three of us actually sat down for it. bummer.
the dinner was mostly good and the idan raichel project was really nice ("with felix on the generator!" - our announcer is a complete moron). it always bothers me that for military events everyone stays seated, so i made a point of standing. it took about three songs before i was no longer the only one.
i got a ride home, and realized as i arrived just how exhausted i was - so instead of going out i showered and crashed.
urgh :/
i feel sick. it wasn't exhaustion last night, but something far more sinister. it had to be now :S
flintstone winstons?!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
nose &
(nose running in the background)
bad showerhead installation: i'd had a bit to drink and some idiot had hidden the pliers away. and i didn't need pliers, i spent an inordinate amount of time trying to unscrew the pipe the wrong way... because i was looking at the connector upside down.
once installed, it began to leak. at least there's a bit of pressure coming out the right parts this time, but it's still not good. i don't really care, though. i just hope it lasts until i'm out of here.
i just missed the bus to the electronic recycling point this morning, and instead hurried off to my old base for a very quick gift drop-off for brother bear and a short hello to everyone else. it's the first time they've seen me since my last promotion, and were quite impressed / surprised :)
the mortgage bank: fat wads of paper for signing. half a tree, and my signature couldn't hold. it's gone from my surname to a scribbled fishtail, and my fingers were cramping up from all the flourishing. the good news? the assessor himself got excited: we got a really good price!
on the way out i was hit with an insurance sale, now i just need one more quote before i make a decision. payments, notaries, a few more signatures... this is all a bit tedious, but it's finally happening!
i bought marmite on my way to the bus. i'm shocked at myself for blowing so much cash: R120 for 250ml. damn :/
i received a response to my complaint about the auto-subscription on a crap army magazine: no non-personal formal complaints can be accepted, and because the issue at hand is environmental all that can be done is a kind request to one of the IDF's chief pencil-pushers. terrific.
i had a shinto breakfast, and then (again) made a final visit to the new immigrant assistance office. they were ony slightly more friendly today, and i think i got what i wanted.
one of the girls from the snowboarding called me up about rollerblading - it had slipped my mind.
i heard an ad for american laser, only for the first time i registered that it's not a printer / insurance company (lack of context can do that), but an actual medical laser group. i find that to be an interesting misconception that i've been carrying around for eight years.
a lecture on financial responsibility: "you should save - and don't take out a mortgage!"
at least he mentioned that sometimes it is a good idea. and in my case, an excellent one ^_^
"roaches & boot": the kinder, in response to a list of ridiculously bad ideas for purim costumes, suggested that we all dress up as roaches and our SC can be a giant boot. in hebrew, the word for boot is also a way of calling someone a "nothing". my previous TL has agreed to consider convincing him to go for it :)
there's a wonderful israeli rock band called איפה הילד (eifo hayeled, or "where's the kid?") and something reminded me today that i was recently informed that they're getting back together for a concert soon... must - buy - tickets. i tried calling her (she introduced me to them), but she wasn't answering so i had to settle for a facebook message.
how sad.
the indian guy in my section fights with me about everything: but not about hip-hop or "eastern" wailing music. in fact, he was absolutely shocked when i made a number of statements that summed up his feelings so perfectly.
i did my laundry, but i'm sure my hearing's been damaged by the roadworks going on not twenty metres from the door. the steamroller was especially unkind.
no blading tonight: the group got started even before i'd left the base.
neil gaiman - coraline and david bodanis - electric universe are both competing for my attention - they're extremely absorbing!
bad showerhead installation: i'd had a bit to drink and some idiot had hidden the pliers away. and i didn't need pliers, i spent an inordinate amount of time trying to unscrew the pipe the wrong way... because i was looking at the connector upside down.
once installed, it began to leak. at least there's a bit of pressure coming out the right parts this time, but it's still not good. i don't really care, though. i just hope it lasts until i'm out of here.
i just missed the bus to the electronic recycling point this morning, and instead hurried off to my old base for a very quick gift drop-off for brother bear and a short hello to everyone else. it's the first time they've seen me since my last promotion, and were quite impressed / surprised :)
the mortgage bank: fat wads of paper for signing. half a tree, and my signature couldn't hold. it's gone from my surname to a scribbled fishtail, and my fingers were cramping up from all the flourishing. the good news? the assessor himself got excited: we got a really good price!
on the way out i was hit with an insurance sale, now i just need one more quote before i make a decision. payments, notaries, a few more signatures... this is all a bit tedious, but it's finally happening!
i bought marmite on my way to the bus. i'm shocked at myself for blowing so much cash: R120 for 250ml. damn :/
i received a response to my complaint about the auto-subscription on a crap army magazine: no non-personal formal complaints can be accepted, and because the issue at hand is environmental all that can be done is a kind request to one of the IDF's chief pencil-pushers. terrific.
i had a shinto breakfast, and then (again) made a final visit to the new immigrant assistance office. they were ony slightly more friendly today, and i think i got what i wanted.
one of the girls from the snowboarding called me up about rollerblading - it had slipped my mind.
i heard an ad for american laser, only for the first time i registered that it's not a printer / insurance company (lack of context can do that), but an actual medical laser group. i find that to be an interesting misconception that i've been carrying around for eight years.
a lecture on financial responsibility: "you should save - and don't take out a mortgage!"
at least he mentioned that sometimes it is a good idea. and in my case, an excellent one ^_^
"roaches & boot": the kinder, in response to a list of ridiculously bad ideas for purim costumes, suggested that we all dress up as roaches and our SC can be a giant boot. in hebrew, the word for boot is also a way of calling someone a "nothing". my previous TL has agreed to consider convincing him to go for it :)
there's a wonderful israeli rock band called איפה הילד (eifo hayeled, or "where's the kid?") and something reminded me today that i was recently informed that they're getting back together for a concert soon... must - buy - tickets. i tried calling her (she introduced me to them), but she wasn't answering so i had to settle for a facebook message.
how sad.
the indian guy in my section fights with me about everything: but not about hip-hop or "eastern" wailing music. in fact, he was absolutely shocked when i made a number of statements that summed up his feelings so perfectly.
i did my laundry, but i'm sure my hearing's been damaged by the roadworks going on not twenty metres from the door. the steamroller was especially unkind.
no blading tonight: the group got started even before i'd left the base.
neil gaiman - coraline and david bodanis - electric universe are both competing for my attention - they're extremely absorbing!
quoting backwards
earlier i sent my mum an email of my posts, now i'm posting what i sent her:
so basically, the bank has authorized me the extra in spite of their policy, and in case something goes wrong with that the seller has agreed to help me out by "authorizing" the change to be returned to me. it's all very complicated.
i just got a quote from the agent, and lake introduced me to a friend of hers (interior decorator) who showed me that the quote is almost twice what it should be. she can help me get sorted with around NIS 10k, which sounds much more doable.
the reason for the confusion is that because i'm in the army, when somebody authorizes something "in principle" i assume that it's not authorized, so it never occurred to me to make part of the second payment with the mortgage, which hasn't yet been authorized. israelis really do do everything backwards.
so now that everything's going smoothly (more or less), i'm going to bed and in the morning i'll file the formal mortgage application.
lake's friend is really pretty. the alternative line was nice - the new place is great, close to home, and one of the girls from my old team joined me to return my lemmus lemmus cd and have a couple of drinks and a lot of laughs.
now i have the dubious honour of installing the new pipe before showering.
so basically, the bank has authorized me the extra in spite of their policy, and in case something goes wrong with that the seller has agreed to help me out by "authorizing" the change to be returned to me. it's all very complicated.
i just got a quote from the agent, and lake introduced me to a friend of hers (interior decorator) who showed me that the quote is almost twice what it should be. she can help me get sorted with around NIS 10k, which sounds much more doable.
the reason for the confusion is that because i'm in the army, when somebody authorizes something "in principle" i assume that it's not authorized, so it never occurred to me to make part of the second payment with the mortgage, which hasn't yet been authorized. israelis really do do everything backwards.
so now that everything's going smoothly (more or less), i'm going to bed and in the morning i'll file the formal mortgage application.
lake's friend is really pretty. the alternative line was nice - the new place is great, close to home, and one of the girls from my old team joined me to return my lemmus lemmus cd and have a couple of drinks and a lot of laughs.
now i have the dubious honour of installing the new pipe before showering.
Monday, February 23, 2009
you did *WHAT* with a wet umbrella?!
i feel so ashamed :$
i was totally out of focus this morning, and when my ride's father pulled up and i got in their car i slid my wet umbrella across the seat - this really pissed them off. i can see why. i don't know what i was thinking.
otherwise it was a beautiful morning - fantastically beautiful, even. when i woke up we were in the middle of a dust storm, the windows glowing a dirty shade of red and everything hazy. fifteen minutes later and a thunderstorm broke pelting giant drops of water and turning every colour bright and the contrast up high: i really felt like i was staring into a giant screen!
even the hail was a pleasure, it's really unpleasant that we haven't had any rain this year and winter's almost over.
most of the morning was spent agitating over my program not behaving at all as i would like, and agitating even more over the mortgage bank issue. by the afternoon it was pretty much sorted out, but until then i was very confused.
i learned a lot today, had a lot of fun moments, and came back to buy a pipe for the shower (that only slightly irritated me) and pay the agent a visit. he gave me a quote that seems fairly respectable, but lake got hold of me earlier and she has a friend who's an interior decorator, we're meeting in twenty for coffee and a q&a session :)
i was totally out of focus this morning, and when my ride's father pulled up and i got in their car i slid my wet umbrella across the seat - this really pissed them off. i can see why. i don't know what i was thinking.
otherwise it was a beautiful morning - fantastically beautiful, even. when i woke up we were in the middle of a dust storm, the windows glowing a dirty shade of red and everything hazy. fifteen minutes later and a thunderstorm broke pelting giant drops of water and turning every colour bright and the contrast up high: i really felt like i was staring into a giant screen!
even the hail was a pleasure, it's really unpleasant that we haven't had any rain this year and winter's almost over.
most of the morning was spent agitating over my program not behaving at all as i would like, and agitating even more over the mortgage bank issue. by the afternoon it was pretty much sorted out, but until then i was very confused.
i learned a lot today, had a lot of fun moments, and came back to buy a pipe for the shower (that only slightly irritated me) and pay the agent a visit. he gave me a quote that seems fairly respectable, but lake got hold of me earlier and she has a friend who's an interior decorator, we're meeting in twenty for coffee and a q&a session :)
Sunday, February 22, 2009
ummm, *OOPS*. could suck.
today was a big "oh, no!", it turns out that by not making a crazy assumption a few months ago that the mortgage application would go through within a couple of days (because we all know how those turn out), the chances are slim that i'll be able to get the money for renovations from the bank.
this is really, really unpleasant news. in real terms, it means that i would have to move into an unrenovated apartment, get the deposit back from my current landlord, and somehow live and fix at the same time. considering the extent of the fixes (like replacing all the floors and the shower), that's pretty much impossible.
this sucks.
and of course, by the time i understood all of this, it was too late to call the mortgage bank. tomorrow's going to be a little stressed. my lawyer said that patching this now is really cutting it close :S
---
it was rainy today, and my umbrella was no good. i bought a new one, but managed to lose it later in the day (it was tied to my bag - i give up).
work was interesting: i found out why my code wasn't working, and it goes back to something we discovered a while ago: it's possible to compile with references to external variables... that don't exist. that way you can force garbage into memory almost at will.
once i discovered that that was the cause of my woes (most instructive ones, i've learned a lot while hunting the problem) it was impressively smooth sailing ^_^
so: yes! i learn!
i've borrowed a book called electric universe (david bodanis) - not to be confused with electric universe, creators of the track electronic pulsation off my first trance album - chronicling the history of electricity in a highly entertaining and informative manner.
---
tonight i went to meet with other alumni of the interdisciplinary center, herzeliya for a donation drive in aid of disadvantaged students. it was nice to be back there, and although not many people rocked up it was fun to catch up with those who did.
a lot of people were wowed by my uniform - it was a bit awkward but it's nice to be appreciated. after a private tour of the research facilities for a few of us, we were seated for the presentations: the president actually modified his speech so he could begin by bragging about me as a success story :)
the presentation was very nice, and reminded me of how simple it is to help out and how worthwhile. some people that i studied with cannot appreciate the experience as i did, the university staff really helped me in so many ways outside of the scope of the academia and it made all the difference.
this is really, really unpleasant news. in real terms, it means that i would have to move into an unrenovated apartment, get the deposit back from my current landlord, and somehow live and fix at the same time. considering the extent of the fixes (like replacing all the floors and the shower), that's pretty much impossible.
this sucks.
and of course, by the time i understood all of this, it was too late to call the mortgage bank. tomorrow's going to be a little stressed. my lawyer said that patching this now is really cutting it close :S
it was rainy today, and my umbrella was no good. i bought a new one, but managed to lose it later in the day (it was tied to my bag - i give up).
work was interesting: i found out why my code wasn't working, and it goes back to something we discovered a while ago: it's possible to compile with references to external variables... that don't exist. that way you can force garbage into memory almost at will.
once i discovered that that was the cause of my woes (most instructive ones, i've learned a lot while hunting the problem) it was impressively smooth sailing ^_^
so: yes! i learn!
i've borrowed a book called electric universe (david bodanis) - not to be confused with electric universe, creators of the track electronic pulsation off my first trance album - chronicling the history of electricity in a highly entertaining and informative manner.
tonight i went to meet with other alumni of the interdisciplinary center, herzeliya for a donation drive in aid of disadvantaged students. it was nice to be back there, and although not many people rocked up it was fun to catch up with those who did.
a lot of people were wowed by my uniform - it was a bit awkward but it's nice to be appreciated. after a private tour of the research facilities for a few of us, we were seated for the presentations: the president actually modified his speech so he could begin by bragging about me as a success story :)
the presentation was very nice, and reminded me of how simple it is to help out and how worthwhile. some people that i studied with cannot appreciate the experience as i did, the university staff really helped me in so many ways outside of the scope of the academia and it made all the difference.
a note on winter sensations
it was cold enough to wear pyjamas last night, and so cosy this morning on top of it being early and post-alcohol that i'm still struggling to not get back under the covers...
surprise! in german!
lunch was brilliant, especially the pavlova. the visiting cousins are really nice people, and we all had a good time. afterwards, i went to the third ear's bar for a surprise birthday party for ze germans.
to be or not to be is a wonderful film! a lot of the guys got upset when it began in german and with german subtitles, but that was soon corrected and popcorn could happily fly across the theatre.
afterwards, drinks, hamburgers and then coming home to be dribbled on (lukewarm, too), and now it's definitely time for me to sleep. i've just given up trying to buy a half past h8 cd (even downloading mp3s would've been acceptable) :S
to be or not to be is a wonderful film! a lot of the guys got upset when it began in german and with german subtitles, but that was soon corrected and popcorn could happily fly across the theatre.
afterwards, drinks, hamburgers and then coming home to be dribbled on (lukewarm, too), and now it's definitely time for me to sleep. i've just given up trying to buy a half past h8 cd (even downloading mp3s would've been acceptable) :S
Saturday, February 21, 2009
chicken-mayo
"rum and coke is like chicken-mayo - you never order it, but it's always great!"
gco called me up and gave me an address. it's on a long road, and by the time i'd realized that i should've taken a cab i was almost in ramat gan. as far as the weather was concerned, i was right to wear my ski-jacket and an idiot to forget my beanie :S
at least i was designated driver, so i didn't have to worry about a ride home :)
we all went to a club that's usually full of arsim - fortunately they all arrived much later so there was plenty of time to enjoy ourselves. i was annoyed at the woman in charge of the jacket store: it's bad enough she's charging NIS 16 to keep my clothing, but when she gets a 20 she takes the change as a tip?!
that came out of the bartender's tip. cow.
the music was really sexy electro, and although the dj didn't have much in the way of technical skill her taste was superb. i haven't had that much fun in a club in israel since - well, i refer to this post with reservation because the music was great and what happened with bt made it... not great.
i had a shower when i came home - although the word "dribble" is a more accurate description. if my flatmates don't fix the pipe soon i'm going to end up washing up in the sink. or breaking down and shelling out, and then taking the damn thing with me just to make a point.
i slept beautifully, and woke up to call my cousins and make sure i have a ride to lunch today: "oh, you're awake! i was going to call, but i saw 10 o'clock and thought 'no way'" - i have really considerate cousins ^_^
gco called me up and gave me an address. it's on a long road, and by the time i'd realized that i should've taken a cab i was almost in ramat gan. as far as the weather was concerned, i was right to wear my ski-jacket and an idiot to forget my beanie :S
at least i was designated driver, so i didn't have to worry about a ride home :)
we all went to a club that's usually full of arsim - fortunately they all arrived much later so there was plenty of time to enjoy ourselves. i was annoyed at the woman in charge of the jacket store: it's bad enough she's charging NIS 16 to keep my clothing, but when she gets a 20 she takes the change as a tip?!
that came out of the bartender's tip. cow.
the music was really sexy electro, and although the dj didn't have much in the way of technical skill her taste was superb. i haven't had that much fun in a club in israel since - well, i refer to this post with reservation because the music was great and what happened with bt made it... not great.
i had a shower when i came home - although the word "dribble" is a more accurate description. if my flatmates don't fix the pipe soon i'm going to end up washing up in the sink. or breaking down and shelling out, and then taking the damn thing with me just to make a point.
i slept beautifully, and woke up to call my cousins and make sure i have a ride to lunch today: "oh, you're awake! i was going to call, but i saw 10 o'clock and thought 'no way'" - i have really considerate cousins ^_^
Friday, February 20, 2009
faint paint smell
i prepped one of the blank canvases that's been lying around before making my way to lake's. we had coffee and cake and i proved to be a good influence and got her to fold her clothes. i tried teaching her the asian method, but it takes a while to get the hang of it.
i found dredg - same ol' road's music video. it's great.
i just bought squid's album - they're a really funky band!
and now, back to reading neil gaiman's coraline.
i found dredg - same ol' road's music video. it's great.
i just bought squid's album - they're a really funky band!
and now, back to reading neil gaiman's coraline.
skipping along
it was pouring, rain spattering off the array of vehicles by the side of the road. i walked in five minutes ahead of schedule to discover that i was the third party to arrive, the assessor was already at work and the nice old lady had already brought in what essentially amounts to a house-warming gift (the eyepiece for the door).
as is to be expected, the apartment looks bigger now that it's empty. it was a fantastic relief to discover that the hot-water cylinder and piping are all new, the tiles for the bathroom, entrance and kitchen don't need to be touched, and there's already a decent sliding security door to the patio. i can most certainly live with the pipes in the bedroom (although they'll need to be painted and played with), and there's already a fluorescent fixture in the lounge (which was one of the things i was planning to install). there's more than enough space for the cupboards i'll need, and that leaves me a happy camper.
it's nice to re-re-confirm that the right decision has been made - three months have passed since i last saw the place!
the assessor left satisfied, and that instantly reduces the stress to practically zero! all i have to do now is worry about renovations, and so far it's looking to be kinda fun :)
as is to be expected, the apartment looks bigger now that it's empty. it was a fantastic relief to discover that the hot-water cylinder and piping are all new, the tiles for the bathroom, entrance and kitchen don't need to be touched, and there's already a decent sliding security door to the patio. i can most certainly live with the pipes in the bedroom (although they'll need to be painted and played with), and there's already a fluorescent fixture in the lounge (which was one of the things i was planning to install). there's more than enough space for the cupboards i'll need, and that leaves me a happy camper.
it's nice to re-re-confirm that the right decision has been made - three months have passed since i last saw the place!
the assessor left satisfied, and that instantly reduces the stress to practically zero! all i have to do now is worry about renovations, and so far it's looking to be kinda fun :)
סנו (sano)
the bathroom air-freshener is called "fresh", with a font that's suggestive of the jungle.
i wonder if instead of fresh - lemon & papaya in a pleasant yellow can it shouldn't be fresh kill - lion and zebra in a red and black and white gore-fest with a matching odour.
i would definitely buy that.
i wonder if instead of fresh - lemon & papaya in a pleasant yellow can it shouldn't be fresh kill - lion and zebra in a red and black and white gore-fest with a matching odour.
i would definitely buy that.
"pay the man who cuts your breast"
that graffiti was scrawled over an advertisement for turkey, but in hebrew it also means "pay your plastic surgeon" :P
thursday:
the quote of the morning: "we ALWAYS have change"
... except for YOU. i started my day with an appointment to view blueprints. what do i know about blueprints? the assistant there assured me that they'd given me everything i needed for the assessor. i went to pay (NIS 4), and only had a 100 on me. the woman sent me upstairs to the cafeteria to get change, and arrived there just after i joined the queue to pick up her coffee. when she asked (on my behalf) if there was change, the above quote was the response.
when it got to my turn, the ex-russian lady took one look at me and said "no, i don't have change for you". everyone climbed in to the fray, the woman in front of me tried to start a "save the soldier" fund by pressing a shekel onto the folder i was carrying, the cute girl stirring her coffee offered to let me use her photocopy machine (the first woman shouted "no! it has to be done in our office!", and eventually i had to buy a croissant in order to break the note.
what a cow!
i *just* missed the bus, which complicated the route although i managed to arrive in herzeliya at around the same time. the bank experience was painless, but the continued travel back to tel aviv was tiring and involved a really dodgy kiosk that managed to sell me bottled water with floating things in it.
i had my favourite shinto breakfast for lunch, but it started tasting funny after a while and i suspect that that's due to me developing a slight cold.
i arrived on base while the rest of my unit was being carded (as i was on wednesday). the hallway contains a number of holographic photos, and as i squinted someone from my section walked past and yelled "it's a sailboat!". then we all got silly.
i got an unintelligible call on my satellite phone:
"you remember?"
"what?"
"do you remember about tonight?"
"what?"
"the blockade"
"what blockade? i don't know about any blockade"
"the blockade! don't you remember? you're closing the weekend!"
"did i get an email? why don't i know about this?"
"you're the NCO in charge of the blockade in [some random place] for this weekend!"
"ooooooh! do you know who you've called?"
"who have i called?"
i tell her.
"ooooooh! shit. sorry! bye."
peanut butter & marshmallows: a few weeks ago i bought marshmallows for the weekly unit meeting, but i couldn't get hold of smooth peanut butter so nobody else knew why. it's now become a trend, only the organizer's don't know why either... good thing i had skippy on hand, so we could set up a small chain to pass the improved marshmallows to our incredulous co-workers :)
we suffered a serious dust storm yesterday. makes for uncomfortable breathing and irritated eyes. i'm still blocked up :(
i've been having trouble with the assessor. i faxed him all the papers - and that's a lot of papers (8 minutes 51 seconds) - and he called me back to tell me that i'm missing a number of things and that he can't help me until i've sorted them out. which means making another appointment and i'm still not qualified to pick the right documents. he's a really mean dude and seemed to be making up words (he wanted what sounds like the russian word for accordian).
i called up my lawyer, who said he was just being difficult, and then i called the mortgage bank who gave me a recommendation for a really nice guy: he was really pleasant to talk to but he hasn't gotten back to me yet. i'm on a deadline, people! this process can't take this long!
your sex is on fire was stuck in my head for hours yesterday.
i finished shopping fairly quickly when i got home, and went to pay the agent - i got a kiss on each cheek and a cup of coffee for my troubles, i'd forgotten that i hadn't visited since before the signing. i've now paid the piper, now we'll see how great he is post-transaction :P
i spoke to SxS on skype while hunting wildly for the cheque my mom's friend gave me to cash... madness and frustration and i became convinced that it had somehow slipped into the suitcase that i threw out when i returned from my holiday. eventually i found it in an obscure pocket of my jacket. *snarls*
the kid arrived, we walked to yogo (the frozen-yoghurt bar) via the new apartment, where i examined the patio again and realized that while the burglar bars are intact, the roof isn't impregnable and in theory it's possible to rip through it. unlikely as hell, but i'm going to deal with it because i'm paranoid.
we went with piles' brother (they share a self-justification attitude) to the club, where we celebrated the release of one of the girls from our old team by suffering from all the smoke and talking shite. the background music was mostly pleasant, but i was way too tired to enjoy myself (most of the evening was focused on keeping my eyes open).
this morning:
dream theatre ticket: acquired.
[apparently they've been selling like hot-cakes! i'm really pleased.]
[the assessor *JUST* called, i've spoken to the seller and the agent, and we're all meeting today! SWEET!! (convenient ^_^)]
thursday:
the quote of the morning: "we ALWAYS have change"
... except for YOU. i started my day with an appointment to view blueprints. what do i know about blueprints? the assistant there assured me that they'd given me everything i needed for the assessor. i went to pay (NIS 4), and only had a 100 on me. the woman sent me upstairs to the cafeteria to get change, and arrived there just after i joined the queue to pick up her coffee. when she asked (on my behalf) if there was change, the above quote was the response.
when it got to my turn, the ex-russian lady took one look at me and said "no, i don't have change for you". everyone climbed in to the fray, the woman in front of me tried to start a "save the soldier" fund by pressing a shekel onto the folder i was carrying, the cute girl stirring her coffee offered to let me use her photocopy machine (the first woman shouted "no! it has to be done in our office!", and eventually i had to buy a croissant in order to break the note.
what a cow!
i *just* missed the bus, which complicated the route although i managed to arrive in herzeliya at around the same time. the bank experience was painless, but the continued travel back to tel aviv was tiring and involved a really dodgy kiosk that managed to sell me bottled water with floating things in it.
i had my favourite shinto breakfast for lunch, but it started tasting funny after a while and i suspect that that's due to me developing a slight cold.
i arrived on base while the rest of my unit was being carded (as i was on wednesday). the hallway contains a number of holographic photos, and as i squinted someone from my section walked past and yelled "it's a sailboat!". then we all got silly.
i got an unintelligible call on my satellite phone:
"you remember?"
"what?"
"do you remember about tonight?"
"what?"
"the blockade"
"what blockade? i don't know about any blockade"
"the blockade! don't you remember? you're closing the weekend!"
"did i get an email? why don't i know about this?"
"you're the NCO in charge of the blockade in [some random place] for this weekend!"
"ooooooh! do you know who you've called?"
"who have i called?"
i tell her.
"ooooooh! shit. sorry! bye."
peanut butter & marshmallows: a few weeks ago i bought marshmallows for the weekly unit meeting, but i couldn't get hold of smooth peanut butter so nobody else knew why. it's now become a trend, only the organizer's don't know why either... good thing i had skippy on hand, so we could set up a small chain to pass the improved marshmallows to our incredulous co-workers :)
we suffered a serious dust storm yesterday. makes for uncomfortable breathing and irritated eyes. i'm still blocked up :(
i've been having trouble with the assessor. i faxed him all the papers - and that's a lot of papers (8 minutes 51 seconds) - and he called me back to tell me that i'm missing a number of things and that he can't help me until i've sorted them out. which means making another appointment and i'm still not qualified to pick the right documents. he's a really mean dude and seemed to be making up words (he wanted what sounds like the russian word for accordian).
i called up my lawyer, who said he was just being difficult, and then i called the mortgage bank who gave me a recommendation for a really nice guy: he was really pleasant to talk to but he hasn't gotten back to me yet. i'm on a deadline, people! this process can't take this long!
your sex is on fire was stuck in my head for hours yesterday.
i finished shopping fairly quickly when i got home, and went to pay the agent - i got a kiss on each cheek and a cup of coffee for my troubles, i'd forgotten that i hadn't visited since before the signing. i've now paid the piper, now we'll see how great he is post-transaction :P
i spoke to SxS on skype while hunting wildly for the cheque my mom's friend gave me to cash... madness and frustration and i became convinced that it had somehow slipped into the suitcase that i threw out when i returned from my holiday. eventually i found it in an obscure pocket of my jacket. *snarls*
the kid arrived, we walked to yogo (the frozen-yoghurt bar) via the new apartment, where i examined the patio again and realized that while the burglar bars are intact, the roof isn't impregnable and in theory it's possible to rip through it. unlikely as hell, but i'm going to deal with it because i'm paranoid.
we went with piles' brother (they share a self-justification attitude) to the club, where we celebrated the release of one of the girls from our old team by suffering from all the smoke and talking shite. the background music was mostly pleasant, but i was way too tired to enjoy myself (most of the evening was focused on keeping my eyes open).
this morning:
dream theatre ticket: acquired.
[apparently they've been selling like hot-cakes! i'm really pleased.]
[the assessor *JUST* called, i've spoken to the seller and the agent, and we're all meeting today! SWEET!! (convenient ^_^)]
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
not a moment too soon
the machine's dead, and nobody's helping me. the shower pressure's down, and i've been told that the difference isn't noticeable (?!?!). i'm not even comfortable using my own freaking lounge, i've been putting my toothbrush head in my drawer because otherwise it gets moved around, i've got barely space for a bar of chocolate in the fridge, the toilet seat's always down (which means that it needs to be wiped every time because the tap spits), there are constantly dirty dishes in the sink (a relatively new development) and i have to wear pants between the bathroom and my bedroom (not even a metre). and with one flatmate i have to be super-nice, and the other i have to snare if i have something to say.
it's definitely time to start packing.
it's definitely time to start packing.
it doesn't wash
i don't freakin' believe this: the machine's broken and the water won't drain, so i'm off to the bloody laundromat at 10.40pm.
@#$@%^*$!
@#$@%^*$!
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