Recap

images
Originally uploaded by holylandhipster.

So much has happened in the last couple of weeks, and I'm already starting to neglect my blog, so I decided to skip an extra 30 minutes of sleep and write a bit about what I've been doing.

First things first! It's official, I am now 100% an Israeli citizen. I went to the Israeli Consulate here in New York City and waited on line for 3 hours to get my passport and Israeli ID #. If you've ever been to the Israeli Consulate in New York then you've been to hell and survived. At first, I didn't understand why it was only open to the public from 9:00 - 12:00, until I saw the line. It appeared absolutely endless! They clearly need the hours between Noon and 5:00 pm to service everyone who shows up between 9 - Noon!

This time, I came armed with my iPod and some new tunes. I recently downloaded the new Black Keys album and was really getting into Loon by Tapes N' Tapes when I met a lovely Israeli woman who was standing in front of me. Poor woman, she just needed to sign a piece of paper in the presence of someone from the Consulate. She too ended up waiting for more than two hours. Anyway, we chatted in line and she gave me tons of good advice regarding neighborhoods to live in. Around 2:30 pm, I had an Israeli ID # and was $60 lighter when I headed home in good spirits.

Passport is now officially checked off of my pre-Israel list. Mazal Tov to me.

Next, it was on to finding a place to live in Tel Aviv. I had originally thought I would want to live in Givat Shmuel near school but, after chatting with a LOT of people in Israel, I've been headed in the Central Tel Aviv area. I also found this guy on Google named Zeev Goldberg, who specializes in short term rentals in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and we had a nice chat about what I'm looking for. I'm hoping that by Monday I'll have a good idea as to what will be feasible given my budget. I'm hoping a one-bedroom apartment won't be out of the question :)

With looking for an apartment in Israel well underway, I was able to turn my attention to my awesome apartment in Manhattan. It is really hard leaving my pad, which I've been living in for the past 4 years! Besides the fact that my rent is really reasonable, I live in an amazing location! So, given that I have about 5 weeks before I have to clear out of my place, I turned my attention to the things that I have in my apartment. I have to sell just about everything! My avenue of choice, of course, is Craigslist. I am happy to report that I sold my blender! For a sweet $25 no less! I think I actually paid $30 for it, so I'm really excited that I was able to get a half decent price.

Tonight, I uploaded photos of my dishware, some sushi plates, my table and chairs and a great set of 6 wine goblets. Not to be boring, but it will be much more manageable for me to think about packing up the joint with a lot less stuff in it. It's funny to see what I've accumulated over the years! Clearly, I like sushi. I found a bag with 67 pairs of chopsticks. I wonder if I can sell those on Craigslist too. Hmmm, food for thought.

OK, I'm off to monitor my Craigslist postings!

Song of the Day Better by Regina Spektor. Awesome tune!

Happy Father's Day Dad!