The great refridgerator challenge

You know how it's hard to sleep in a strange place? Well, that's basically how I felt last night. After Buggy and I had our final meat supper before the start of the 9 days, and figured out how to use the hot water in the apartment (it was actually quite comical!), and I watched two of my favorite Grey's Anatomy episodes, I just laid in bed and listened to the noises of the new apartment. To minimize the noises, I shut all the windows and also cut off all of the gorgeous breeze that you get in this apartment. I used the AC to cool the apartment down and, right before shutting the lights, I closed it off and opened the window in my bedroom. I could hear people walking and laughing outside, and also the creaks and some movement from our upstairs neighbors. It was a little weird, and also a bit scary (I have to admit) but I finally managed to get to sleep around 1:00 a.m.

The kids screaming and laughing next door woke me up at 7:00 a.m. The apartment is right next to a gan/kaytanah (summer day camp) and parents were dropping their kids off extra early! Oy, I'm not much of a morning person, but it was actually nice to hear kids. I'm sure that feeling won't last long!

I had to get up anyway and I shuffled from room to room, looking through bags and boxes, just to find all of the things I needed to get washed up and dressed this morning. Of course, I had to hop on the scale too, as is my morning ritual. Fortunately, even with all the crappy food I ate yesterday, the number didn't budge. That's a good thing for me!

Anyway, it was a good thing I got out of bed when I did because the Mei Eden guy came to deliver my machine and 3 waters at 9:15 this morning. He told me how much better it was to live in Jerusalem as opposed to Tel Aviv, and I just nodded my head, and he set everything up. At first, I had him put the 2 extra waters on the balcony, but he said it wasn't smart to keep them in the sun. In the morning, we don't have sun on the balcony but when it sets, that's when the sun really shines into this apartment. So, when he left, I moved the waters back into the apartment and I'm waiting for Buggy to finish his tests and come over so he can move the waters somewhere else. We'll find a place for them, somewhere.

And then, I sat down to the breakfast of champions in the new apartment. I had been saving this solid white tuna in water can for a special occassion and I opened it up and used some dijon mustard. With a big glass of diet coke with lemon, it was a fantastic breakfast! I can't wait for to get out to the fruit and vegetable store and start stocking up the place! I only have 2 cans of tuna left and I know Buggy is going to be hungry after his test.

The contractor and his worker showed up a few minutes ago and hence the great refridgerator challenge. For some reason, since my stolen wireless is very weak, I'm having problems uploading the photos of my fridge. But, it's MASSIVE. And, the space left for it is too small, as mentioned yesterday. Right now, they are shaving off the cabinets and raising them so that we can fit in the fridge. The contractor also noticed that all of the cable wires are outside of the wall, and he said it would be better to put them inside the wall. Hmmm, not sure what that means but will ask Buggy when he gets back.

Anyway, I love when Israeli worked show up and look at a job and then decide that they can do it on the spot. That's really, really great. I'd prefer to have that then someone who comes and tells me that it will take 2 weeks before they can do the job. This is teriffic. Plus, this way I can move the fridge out of the living room area and back into the corner where it belongs.

A couple of other people are supposed to come today to do some stuff in the apartment, which is why I'm just sitting here in my scrubs and a t-shirt and flip flops, chilling. I have some more unpacking to do but I'm too tired to even think about it. Maybe when Buggy gets back he'll help me sort some things out.

Will post pictures later when I get a better connection!

Crave of the Day is my Mom's baked ziti. With all the marinara sauce and two types of cheeses, it's really heaven. I promised Buggy I would make him my Mom's baked ziti, using 5% cheese of course, and he got really excited. With the 9 days upon us, we're going to be eating lots of pasta.

Holy City Home

I'm taking a break from unpacking to blog an I don't think I've ever been this exhausted. Last night, I didn't get to bed until 3:30 a.m. Between last minute packing and trying to prepare for the move, I was just too hyped up. But, I knew that I had the entire morning to sleep since the movers were coming until the afternoon.

My cell phone rang at 7:00 a.m. and I was jerked out of a deep sleep. The movers were downstairs. I laughed. I told him there was no way in hell I was letting him upstairs because I still had some packing to do and I was in bed! He insisted and I pushed back. I was holding 2100 shekel for these folks, he was going to have to wait. I jumped out of bed, called Buggy and woke him up, he was also up late helping me so he was in an even deeper sleep, and then I just raced around the apartment getting things done. I still had to pack 5 boxes, which included my linens and pillows and things! Buggy showed up just in time and he helped me get my stuff packed. Meanwhile, Itai called me and said that he doesn't want me to let the movers use the elevator. He said it wasn't meant for movers and they can't use it. I was frustrated with that but was happy that he was at least leaving to go to work and wouldn't be around to watch.

At 8:15, I was finally ready and dressed and Buggy let the movers up. I told them that they couldn't use the elevators for the boxes and they went off on me! They said the price they quoted was a price that included the elevator and they wouldn't have given me that cheap of a price if they knew they had to go up and down stairs. Finally, after some heated negotiations, I made them sign a form that said they were responsible for any damage to the elevator if they break it. And then, the movers got to work, and started loaded my boxes up and getting them out of the apartment. I was running back and forth to let them into the elevator and watching to make sure they wouldn't make any holes in the apartment walls. It was very stressful. At one point, I went out to watch the movers and the guy was smoking in the apartment hallway and then dropping the butts on the floor and grinding them out. I was not pleased with how filthy they were.

And then, the movers told me that they couldn't dismantly my bed. That the carpenter had messed up and they couldn't take it apart. At that point, Buggy ran to the parking lot to pick up the car so that we could head to his apartment in Jerusalem as soon as the movers were done. Well, I told him that he had to either figure it out or find another way to get the frame out of the apartment. He finally got his tools and took the frame apart and then the problem was solved. But, I saw that they were loading all of the bed parts into the elevator. At one point, the Hot cable guy came to pick up my modem and cable box and he shoved himself into the elevator with my mattress. I was NOT happy and told them that they couldn't do that. They promised they would only use the elevator for boxes. They tried to tell me to relax but I was really annoyed and, with less than 3 hours of sleep, I wasn't functioning well.

So, they finally loaded everything up and then one of the movers spent 15 minutes in the bathroom. It was gross. Thank god I hadn't packed the spray. Mr. no neck mover stopped traffic on Arlozorov (he was incredible looking, no neck, huge shoulders and chest and was "moving" me in sandals!) and we were off. Buggy and I were both so exhausted but we made it to the car and started driving to Jerusalem. I had also done some cleaning in the apartment as the floors were filthy, but I have to go back next Sunday for a meeting at misrad klita so I'm going to finish cleaning the place. I'm sure when Itai shows the apartment tonight he'll call me with some words about how dirty the place is. Oh well, he already has all my money, nothing more I can do about it.

Buggy and I beat the movers to his apartment in Katamon and were able to relax a little before they came to get his stuff. They only moved his computer desk, his foosball table, and three mini card tables. It took two seconds to do and then they followed us to the apartment in Baka. They moved everything in and I directed, while Buggy ran to the Makolet to buy them water and stuff. One of the movers got too rough with a door and now I need to have someone come and fix the little hole. We need to get a doorstop so it won't keep happening too. And then, they moved the refridgerator and just as we had feared, there is no enough room for it in the area that's left. Fortunately, the contractor who already did some work in this apartment, is doing work for our upstairs neighbors. He was in the building when the movers came and he came down and measured the area. He's going to be in the apartment bright and early tomorrow to shave off 10 centimeters for the fridge to fit.

And then I got to work, as Buggy chilled out because he has a big test tomorrow and I didn't want him overly stressed. And, little by little, I got things upacked. First, I tackled everything in the kitchen but the pantry items. Then, I put together my bedroom so I could have someplace to crash tonight. After that, I put together some of the electronic stuff. The shower guy stopped by to measure the bathroom for the glass door and so I had to stop and talk to him, and now I'm going to get to work putting the pantry stuff into the kitchen. After I'm done with the pantry, I'm going to stop for the evening. I'm so wiped, I don't know what to do with myself. I'm also pretty dehydrated, haven't gone to the bathroom since this morning, so I'm going to drink the water Buggy brought me and try to relax.

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy and early morning. A whole bunch of people will be in and out, including the Mei Eden guys and the contractor. He said he was going to be able to fix the area for the fridge, so at least that's good news. Tomorrow is also Buggy's big test, so I'm going to be solo for majority of the day. I think Buggy is going to have to pick me up some food since I'm going to be homeward bound until at least the afternoon.

Tuesday doesn't look any better as the cable guys are coming and we have to run out to do some errands with his family. In the midst of all this, I'm going to have to find some time to study for my final in a few weeks.

Good luck to me.

There is no Crave of the Day as all I want right now is my bed.

Till tomorrow's saga!

Dumbest Tap Ever

OK, look closely at these pictures folks. This is the dumbest tap to ever be put into a bathroom! In case you can't really tell from the pictures, the faucet on this tap is too long for the sink. In order for me to wash my hands so that water does not end up on my shirt or pooling down at my feet, I have to move the faucet to either the left of the right side of the sink. Forget trying to wash my face. That's a near impossibility! Fortunately for me, I am outta here in 5 weeks! That's right, 5 weeks, and whomever they end up getting to move in here will just have to deal with their stupidity.

What I don't understand is why the plumber, who spent all of 30 minutes in the apartment installing the thing he claimed would take 3-4 hours (minimum!) didn't call to tell them that this tap wouldn't work with the sink? How come he didn't let them know that they need to purchase a smaller tap? I mean, they could have come and measured the tap when my landlord's sister was in the apartment yesterday! Did she simply look at the sink and then went to the store and just picked out something cheap that closely resembled the old tap? That's really the only thing I can think of, cause otherwise it just doesn't make sense.

My landlord is not my favorite person these days. First, she called me at 7:45 a.m. to order me to stay home and wait for the plumber. I don't take too kindly to being woken up before 8:00 when it's not Wednesdays and I have to go to school. Then, she called again to tell me that she still needs to read over our lease agreement before our meeting on Friday (the exchange of funds for my final rent payment) when she can discuss with me leaving the apartment early.

WTF?

Where did that come from? When we spoke a few days ago, she didn't have any problem with me leaving. I was giving her plenty of time to find a replacement! In fact, I was giving her almost 60 as opposed to 30 days as stipulated. I'm not really sure what her end game is, but I will physically only have a certain amount of money on me on Friday. If she wants me, she's gonna have to tell me well in advance. And if she's thinking about messing with my security deposit, well, then it's all out war. There's only so much pushing I can take!

So today was very productive. I did my reading for class tomorrow, which included two 22 page stories! And, in the midst of printing out the second large story, my printer cartridge died on me. Unfortunately, I will not have any time to buy a new cartridge before the semester is over and so now I'm stuck. I'm hoping Buggy will be able to print some stuff out for me for class next week. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to find an Office Depot ASAP!

I'm about 12 pages into my final story for class and I'm stuck at an ending. I don't know what to do, as I must e-mail the piece out by tomorrow night. I could probably ask for a few more days, but I really want this to be done with. That way, I am left with only edits to my thesis proposal and my final paper for Professor Kramer's class, to do before the wedding. I am going to be happy once all my work for school is done, cause now it's time to focus on the move!

I need to find movers, reputable individuals who won't charge an arm and a leg and will be able to move my entire life from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. I also have to cancel my cable, but without changing my settings, so that my VOIP will work from the Jerusalem apartment. I have to deal with the Mei Eden people, since I want the water cooler moved to Jerusalem too, and I also have to figure out how I'm going to deal with changing my name.

I haven't told Buggy this, but it's going to be hard to change my name. I've been HolyLandHipster for 30 years! Going from HolyLandHipster to Mrs. Buggy is like creating a new person. And since Buggy's Dad has two brothers, and Buggy has two brothers, there are already 4 Mrs. Buggy's out there. There are no Mrs. HolyLandHipster's out there as The Dude is still single and both my sisters changed their names. I'm having a bit of an identity problem right now, grapling with the name change, and I don't know how it's going to play out. Can't I be married and we exist and HolyLandHipster and Buggy? Do we have to be Mr. and Mrs. Buggy? I won't do the whole HolyLandHipster-Buggy thing cause, well, that would be torture for our kids and I don't need to give the playground bully's any additional ammunition. Anyone else married out there have this concern before their big day?

Check out this site! I got this off of my Hungry Girl daily enewsletter. Apparently, if you go to this site: Naturopathy Works, you'll be able to figure out what your body is telling you when you have a craving. So, apparently, each time I want a big ol' piece of chocolate Babka or some cinnamon rugelach or an entire box of Dunkin Donut's Munchkins, my body really wants Chromium, Carbon, Phosphorus, Sulfur and Tryptophan! Hmmm, I guess it's gonna be turkey for dinner!

Crave of the Day is a pint of Ben and Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk, with its sweet cream cinnamon ice cream combined with chunks of oatmeal and fudge, it's a heavenly treat! What's not to like? I'll go for ice cream and cookies - together - any day of the week!