Tonight, I watched sunset from the slats of my bedroom window, curled in a fetal position, where I had been for the past 15 hours. More on why later.
Observation: The sky over Tel Aviv, at sunset, turned a milky white as if preparing to weep snow. Being Israel, I half expected a miracle to occur and snow to blanket the area. As the time ticked on, the sky turned from milky white, to ashy grey, to darker grey tinged with army green. The image of Kansas during a pending tornado came to mind and I braced for G-d's wrath to come roaring down Allenby street in an ominous, billowing funnel aimed at taking out the stripclub at the corner. When nothing happened, I closed my eyes and simply rolled onto my back and waited for the ink to spill and for the sky to be completely covered in darkness. And only when all that was left were the purple rays of the fluorescent light from the hotel across the street shining through the slats, painting prison stripes on my cocooned figure wrapped tightly in my blanket, did I finally get up and say Hamavdil.
My second Shabbos in Tel Aviv is over.
The internet was down on Friday so I wasn't able to blog about my day. I started off by spending 2 1/2 hours at the laundromat up the block from my apartment (see photo for visualization). Another scorcher, and the only other customer was a 30ish man with a surfers built. He didn't speak Hebrew or English, and so we communicated comically using sign language. He signed for me to get my bag off of his machine so he could load the dryer, and I mimed for him to remove his sneakers from the second dryer so I could load my wash. He was finished before all my stuff even got into the dryer, and I was left to babysit my clothing in the airconditionless kiosk. I think I lost at least 2 pints of water while waiting for my laundry to be done.
As soon as I got everything back to my apartment, I hit the road again to take care of some very important business. I joined the gym on Ben Yehuda street. I walked back up there, sweating but not as much as I had been during the past few days, and met with Golan. Eran, who I had met with earlier in the week, was off. Golan spoke English and used to live in Los Angeles, where he worked out with the "stars", and I listened politely as he name-dropped. After signing up, and dealing with American Express to ensure that the large downpayment was in fact from me as opposed to someone who could have potentially stolen my card, Golan took me down to the training room floor to set up an appointment. At Pure, they offer you a free personal training session to set up a training routine. Now, I'm hoping to sign up with some one-on-one weekly training, as my experiences with Victoria the past four years have really paid off, but for now this will do. I met with Yehuda, who struggled to explain what exactly would happen during our meeting next week. Before we can begin, however, I have to have a "physical" with the gym's Dr., to make sure that I'm healthy enough to work out. That should be interesting. I think he's only going to take my pulse and listen to me breathe, but if he looks anything like Yehuda, I'll be fine with anything else he wants to do too (haha, sorry Dad!!!!).
I headed back down to my apartment to grab a quick catnap before meeting Jeff at shul. Since I knew the Friday night disco will be loud, and chances are I wouldn't be sleeping much, I was hoping the nap would help.
And of course I overslept. And, instead of getting up and hitting the shower to get ready before Shabbos started, I called the States to talk to my parents, and my Grandmother, and the Dude. I miss The Dude a lot, so I spoke to him longer then I should have, and that left me with very little time to get ready and walk back up to shul.
Which leads me to the state of my appearance when I got to shul. I have never sweated this much in my entire life. Not when I worked out with Victoria, not when I took boxing with Craig and Tony, not even when I walked the 35+ blocks from my office to my apartment during the 2003 NYC Blackout. Never. I looked like a drowned dog, bangs matted to my forehead, eyebrows tearing sweat droplets that were precariously close to stinging my eyes. Whoever said women "glow" instead of sweated never, ever, lived in Tel Aviv.
But even with all the sweating, someone still came over and introduced herself to me. We didn't get to chat very long, but it was really sweet of her to move across the room, open the chair next to mine, and say hello. At that very moment, it was really appreciated.
Of course, the walking wasn't done, as we headed towards our meal. I felt like a rat in a maze, following the guys blindly and trying desperately to get my barings (bearings sp?). The meal itself was really lovely. And, at this point, I am going to leave it at that. I'm making a conscious effort not to write about the people I meet who I am hoping to interact with on a day-to-day basis, and leave the blog to chronicle some of the other people/places/things I meet/see/do. That, and because I told Jef that I blog, and I don't need him reading about himself on these pages.
So, for all of my friends/family members, expect a detailed e-mail about Friday night.
What I will say about the meal, besides the fact that it was really lovely, is that I had a glass of wine with dinner. And that is why I spent the past 15 hours in bed. Between being allergic to wine (red wine sends me praying to the porcelin god, while white wine makes me nauseous and hurting with a migraine) and the fact that I was severly dehydrated when I got home, I spent the day sleeping fitfully, trying to drink water, and reading. Now, as my Father is reading this, I know he is shaking his head and wondering why I even had the wine to begin with. I thought about that this afternoon. Now, I passed when they offered me a sip from Kiddush, but then I spied my reflection in the bathroom mirror while going to wash for Hamotzei, and I knew if I didn't have a glass of wine to relax me I would have been self-conscious about my appearance all meal. I'm pretty self confident in general, but even I have my limits.
So anyway, it worked and I had a great time at dinner. In retrospect, the past 15 hours of pain were worth it. I'm just going to make sure I don't make it a habit.
Since I've arrived I've started and finished two books, one that was required reading for school, and the other that was a recommendation from a friend. I started Runaway by Alice Munro right before sunset this afternoon, and it's turning out ok.
So that, in a nutshell, was a brief look into the past 48 hours. I'm going to hit the showers and take some Advil before meeting Ari.
Shavuah Tov!
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
Don't Fear the Reaper
In the States, I was the girl who loved dating lawyers. I have a lot of friends and relatives who happen to be lawyers, we get on very well, so dating lawyers was no big deal for me. Don't get me wrong, I love a good chuckle over a lawyer joke just like the next gal, but I've never held this intense hatred for the species as many other people do. In fact, my own lawyer is making Aliyah with his family in a few weeks, and I can't wait to have him here! At the very least, he's someone I can turn to for troubleshooting.
So when I moved to Israel, I held lawyers in high regard and had warm and fuzzy feelings for the breed.
That was before I spoke with my landlords' lawyer about our lease agreement.
He was so considerate, called me bright and early this morning to wake me up.
Only to tell me that he can't rent me the apartment because I have no Israeli guarantors.
Motherf@*&*r!!
Israeli lawyers are seriously grim reapers. And they don't even try to hide it!! What's worst is the tone they use when they basically break the bad news. It was the same tone I would use to tell a fat person that dessert is served. Super sweet in delivery, but laced with a warning that partaking in dessert isn't necessarily the best thing you want to do when you have a few pounds to lose. Cause lord knows, I don't need someone having a heart attack at my kitchen table.
So we're in a clusterf**k. I have two options. Obtain a guarantee from the bank or provide 2 Israeli based guarantors. OK, I have no family or close enough friends in Israel to turn to, so where does that leave me? Hmmm, should I ask the guy I went on a date with this week to be my guarantor? I can just see how that conversation would go:
Him: It was really nice meeting you, I had a good time on our date. Would you be up for second date and a movie, perhaps?
Me: Sure, movie sounds great. You know what, it's my treat! Oh, and would you mind being my guarantor for $12,000 too? Don't worry, I'm good for the money, I'll even throw in dinner after the movie!
Hell, that's one way to get an Israeli paramour sprinting for the North! The line that used to get men running for the hills was, I want to marry you but no more. The aforementioned example takes the cake.
I know, what about approaching my bank for that guarantee? I mean, the bank won't even give me CHECKS for the next three months, so I can take out the money I've already deposited into my account, but I'm sure they would be happy to go out on a limb for me for $12,000 a year.
For a significant fee. But of course.
Welcome to my latest hurdle in Israel. Its been exactly one week since I've landed. There is no way in hell I'm letting this apartment get away, I just ordered an amazing bed! Oh no, this situation is going to be rectified if it's the last thing I do.
Song of the day: Don't Fear the Reapers remix by Caesars.
Bring it on lawyers!
So when I moved to Israel, I held lawyers in high regard and had warm and fuzzy feelings for the breed.
That was before I spoke with my landlords' lawyer about our lease agreement.
He was so considerate, called me bright and early this morning to wake me up.
Only to tell me that he can't rent me the apartment because I have no Israeli guarantors.
Motherf@*&*r!!
Israeli lawyers are seriously grim reapers. And they don't even try to hide it!! What's worst is the tone they use when they basically break the bad news. It was the same tone I would use to tell a fat person that dessert is served. Super sweet in delivery, but laced with a warning that partaking in dessert isn't necessarily the best thing you want to do when you have a few pounds to lose. Cause lord knows, I don't need someone having a heart attack at my kitchen table.
So we're in a clusterf**k. I have two options. Obtain a guarantee from the bank or provide 2 Israeli based guarantors. OK, I have no family or close enough friends in Israel to turn to, so where does that leave me? Hmmm, should I ask the guy I went on a date with this week to be my guarantor? I can just see how that conversation would go:
Him: It was really nice meeting you, I had a good time on our date. Would you be up for second date and a movie, perhaps?
Me: Sure, movie sounds great. You know what, it's my treat! Oh, and would you mind being my guarantor for $12,000 too? Don't worry, I'm good for the money, I'll even throw in dinner after the movie!
Hell, that's one way to get an Israeli paramour sprinting for the North! The line that used to get men running for the hills was, I want to marry you but no more. The aforementioned example takes the cake.
I know, what about approaching my bank for that guarantee? I mean, the bank won't even give me CHECKS for the next three months, so I can take out the money I've already deposited into my account, but I'm sure they would be happy to go out on a limb for me for $12,000 a year.
For a significant fee. But of course.
Welcome to my latest hurdle in Israel. Its been exactly one week since I've landed. There is no way in hell I'm letting this apartment get away, I just ordered an amazing bed! Oh no, this situation is going to be rectified if it's the last thing I do.
Song of the day: Don't Fear the Reapers remix by Caesars.
Bring it on lawyers!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Conversations with Other Women
Did you know that, on the breasts of female mannequins in Israel, the nipples are all erect? Not sure about the male mannequins but I nearly spit my Diet Nestea all over myself when I noticed the occurances of nippilitis in Tel Aviv. It made me want to bring all the mannequins a blanket.
Following my experience this morning, I decided I needed to burn off some energy and was about to walk up to my new gym, when I noticed a big sign on my front door. My landlord needed to "see me". Man, it felt like I was back at my old job and my boss was going to give me a tongue lashing for not getting the better hit/keeping the client happy/upsetting on of my underlings. I locked up and went down to their office, where I encountered both of my landlords. After helping them translate some things from Hebrew into English and vice versa (i.e. Maid Service, Aunt, Uncle and cousins) they informed me that my check didn't clear. Since they insisted I make it out in Hebrew, eventhough it's from an English bank, I was not surprised. But they still needed to be paid. In cash. ASAP. I didn't come to Israel with that much cash, and I had no idea I had to paid in bills otherwise I would have been better prepared, so I was kinda SOL (sh*t outta luck) and about to call in for reinforcements to wire them some cash, when they told me about the ATM machine that gives dollars.
For all those living in Tel Aviv who have American bank accounts, the Bank Leumi ATM machine on Ben Yehuda gives dollars. Don't get stressed out that the bills looked different then when you are at home. It's still good.
Well, I had to run to the ATM, take out the cash, and then run back since they both don't work tomorrow and were getting ready to leave for the night. That helped me burn off all that excess energy, but I wanted to walk back up to the gym and sign up nonetheless. That's when my cell phone rang and my friend Ilana from NYC was on the other line. She's in town for a wedding and we caught up a bit, it was really nice to hear her voice. I don't think I'll be able to hang with her though, she's in town for such a short period of time. We'll see what Sunday brings.
As we were chatting, I found myself heading back to the Dizengoff mall. I am running low on toilet paper and could stock up on groceries for the weekend, before the mad crush of people off from work hit the malls tomorrow. I've learned that lesson from last week, and hope to always avoid the malls on Fridays. But, I did a quick lap and realized that the new flick Conversations with Other Women was playing at 5:00 p.m. It was 5:05 and so I decided to cool off and see the movie at the same time. It was a good call. The flick was great and, since I loved Aaron Eckhart in Thank you for Smoking, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. Unfortunately, the movie was too short for my taste, and the next thing I knew the theatre doors were opening and spitting me back out into the humid air.
After picking up provisions at both Super Center and Tuv Taam, I headed back to my place. Before grabbing a bite to eat, I decided to stop into Tower records to check out the selection. Gal had mentioned the band Selfish Gene, so I decided to pick up their album. Big mistake. It's crap. Gal's musical taste is not that impressive. Anyway, I'm hoping to offload the CD when I meet up with Ari on Saturday night. I'll just tell him it's a present. If he hates it, I'll admit that I thought it was crap too. If he loves it, I'll know never to invite him to a concert.
Speaking of which, I looked into the bar that Squid is playing on Sunday night, and it's called The Minerva. When I asked Lior at Tower records about it, he told me it was the #1 lesbian bar in Tel Aviv. But he goes there frequently. Because they have great live music, not because the girls ignore him.
Hmmm, I wonder if I neglect to tell Jeff that it's a gay club if he'll be more or less inclined to join me.
Tomorrow is an easy day:
1) Pick up a bottle of Ketel One for my meal on Friday night (more about that after the weekend)
2) Do laundry (down to 2 clean pairs of underwear, so this is a must)
3) Hit the beach. I'd like some more color before school starts on Monday
Following my experience this morning, I decided I needed to burn off some energy and was about to walk up to my new gym, when I noticed a big sign on my front door. My landlord needed to "see me". Man, it felt like I was back at my old job and my boss was going to give me a tongue lashing for not getting the better hit/keeping the client happy/upsetting on of my underlings. I locked up and went down to their office, where I encountered both of my landlords. After helping them translate some things from Hebrew into English and vice versa (i.e. Maid Service, Aunt, Uncle and cousins) they informed me that my check didn't clear. Since they insisted I make it out in Hebrew, eventhough it's from an English bank, I was not surprised. But they still needed to be paid. In cash. ASAP. I didn't come to Israel with that much cash, and I had no idea I had to paid in bills otherwise I would have been better prepared, so I was kinda SOL (sh*t outta luck) and about to call in for reinforcements to wire them some cash, when they told me about the ATM machine that gives dollars.
For all those living in Tel Aviv who have American bank accounts, the Bank Leumi ATM machine on Ben Yehuda gives dollars. Don't get stressed out that the bills looked different then when you are at home. It's still good.
Well, I had to run to the ATM, take out the cash, and then run back since they both don't work tomorrow and were getting ready to leave for the night. That helped me burn off all that excess energy, but I wanted to walk back up to the gym and sign up nonetheless. That's when my cell phone rang and my friend Ilana from NYC was on the other line. She's in town for a wedding and we caught up a bit, it was really nice to hear her voice. I don't think I'll be able to hang with her though, she's in town for such a short period of time. We'll see what Sunday brings.
As we were chatting, I found myself heading back to the Dizengoff mall. I am running low on toilet paper and could stock up on groceries for the weekend, before the mad crush of people off from work hit the malls tomorrow. I've learned that lesson from last week, and hope to always avoid the malls on Fridays. But, I did a quick lap and realized that the new flick Conversations with Other Women was playing at 5:00 p.m. It was 5:05 and so I decided to cool off and see the movie at the same time. It was a good call. The flick was great and, since I loved Aaron Eckhart in Thank you for Smoking, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. Unfortunately, the movie was too short for my taste, and the next thing I knew the theatre doors were opening and spitting me back out into the humid air.
After picking up provisions at both Super Center and Tuv Taam, I headed back to my place. Before grabbing a bite to eat, I decided to stop into Tower records to check out the selection. Gal had mentioned the band Selfish Gene, so I decided to pick up their album. Big mistake. It's crap. Gal's musical taste is not that impressive. Anyway, I'm hoping to offload the CD when I meet up with Ari on Saturday night. I'll just tell him it's a present. If he hates it, I'll admit that I thought it was crap too. If he loves it, I'll know never to invite him to a concert.
Speaking of which, I looked into the bar that Squid is playing on Sunday night, and it's called The Minerva. When I asked Lior at Tower records about it, he told me it was the #1 lesbian bar in Tel Aviv. But he goes there frequently. Because they have great live music, not because the girls ignore him.
Hmmm, I wonder if I neglect to tell Jeff that it's a gay club if he'll be more or less inclined to join me.
Tomorrow is an easy day:
1) Pick up a bottle of Ketel One for my meal on Friday night (more about that after the weekend)
2) Do laundry (down to 2 clean pairs of underwear, so this is a must)
3) Hit the beach. I'd like some more color before school starts on Monday
Scrambled eggs
It's 3:00 pm and I just walked back into my apartment after an interesting morning running around Tel Aviv. But, at least I started my day on a really good note, because I cooked my first meal in country. As the photo proves, I can now make eggs! It was pretty simple and cooked up in no time. Always good to start a busy day with a good breakfast.
I then decided to go to the post office to check about health insurance. The way it works here is that you have to go to the post office to obtain the forms for the company you want to join, and once you have the forms only then can you apply in person at the right insurance company. However, when they put my name in the computer, I didn't show up and they said I had to go to the Bituach Leumi, which is the National Insurance Agency in Israel. My polite cab driver told me that, as far at Israel agencies are concerned, they are the worst. Plus, we didn't know the hours, so there was an off chance that they would be closed,
He waited for me in front of the entrance and, sure enough, they were closed. Only, I had missed getting in by 9 minutes!!!! That was really, really annoying. I got back into my waiting cab and decided to hit Herzl street to check out furniture stores. I went into a few stores, and measured and price checked on a few different items, specifically couches and tables. When it came time to check out a bed, I walked into one store and had a really good conversation with the owner. He named me a price that was pretty reasonable, but there was something a bit off about him. I can't explain what it was, but I just didn't have such a good feeling about everything. I wasn't looking to haggle with him though, I just wanted to get out of there, and so I told him I had to check in with the contractor and would let him know. In the meantime, I walked out and went into a few other stores, still feeling slightly uneasy.
That led me to another furniture store where I met Avi, the owner, whose selection and qaulity was heads and tails above the previous stores. We chatted for a while and I ended up buying a bed! It's really nice, in Vengar (color very close to a dark wood) and sized to fit my room. I ended up only getting one nighttable, because I'm not sure if I want my bed in the center of the room of flush against one wall. As I was leaving the store, however, the owner of the previous store was standing outside looking at me. It was a little freaky, he started to follow me from across the street, and then I ducked into another store and waited for him to return to his place of business. A little unsettled, Israeli store owners are soo passionate, I hopped a cab and headed back to my apartment.
That's when I met my religious cab driver, who decided to quiz my Yeshiva education. Sad to say, I completely failed. My parents are now shaking their heads in disgust over all the money they poured into my yeshiva education. He asked me what were the six brachot (blessings) you ONLY say six times a year. I honestly had no clue. The answers were: candles for Yom Kippur, Checking for Chametz before Pesach, the blessings over Matzah, Marror and redemptions and finally, blessing over the Elanot (the new buds of spring). The last one really just relates to Israel.
I tried to get out of the whole candle lighting one by falling back on my single status, and the fact that I've never lit Yom Kippur candles in my life (I've pretty much always been home for Yom Kippur and that's my Mother's department). Who knew that would be opening Pandora's Box. My Nahag (driver) was SHOCKED that I was still single.
And at 29!
Q: Why aren't you married?
A: You know, that's a question I've NEVER ever thought about or considered. It's a good one though. Let me mull it over and I'll let you know.
Silence.
Sarcasm, clearly, lost on this Israeli.
One week in Israel and here comes the lecture. Part of me wanted to tell him that I already have parents AND a Grandmother who handle the whole "when are you getting married" conversation, but I just had no energy to argue. So I listened to him drone on and on about the importance of marriage. And when he said to me: you know, you're not 17 anymore, I actually didn't respond. Just kept looking out the window and listened to his tirade.
So how did I get the conversation to stop?
You'll never guess.
Try.
I'll save you the energy. I agreed to go out with a friend of his. Because, as he so poignantly pointed out, you never know where it's going to come from. Or how you're going to meet your soulmate. Or who will be the one to set you up with your soulmate.
I'm hoping that Itzik (I think that's his name) who's 32, drives a cab, doesn't speak a word of English, lives in Bat Yam, and only wants to marry a "religious girl", knows what he's in for when he gives me a call.
At the very least, the experience will be something for me to write about.
I'm off to grab a bite to eat and make plans for tonight. I think it's time to go to the movies. Thank you for Smoking is playing across the street and I already saw it, but could definitely go for seeing it again.
I then decided to go to the post office to check about health insurance. The way it works here is that you have to go to the post office to obtain the forms for the company you want to join, and once you have the forms only then can you apply in person at the right insurance company. However, when they put my name in the computer, I didn't show up and they said I had to go to the Bituach Leumi, which is the National Insurance Agency in Israel. My polite cab driver told me that, as far at Israel agencies are concerned, they are the worst. Plus, we didn't know the hours, so there was an off chance that they would be closed,
He waited for me in front of the entrance and, sure enough, they were closed. Only, I had missed getting in by 9 minutes!!!! That was really, really annoying. I got back into my waiting cab and decided to hit Herzl street to check out furniture stores. I went into a few stores, and measured and price checked on a few different items, specifically couches and tables. When it came time to check out a bed, I walked into one store and had a really good conversation with the owner. He named me a price that was pretty reasonable, but there was something a bit off about him. I can't explain what it was, but I just didn't have such a good feeling about everything. I wasn't looking to haggle with him though, I just wanted to get out of there, and so I told him I had to check in with the contractor and would let him know. In the meantime, I walked out and went into a few other stores, still feeling slightly uneasy.
That led me to another furniture store where I met Avi, the owner, whose selection and qaulity was heads and tails above the previous stores. We chatted for a while and I ended up buying a bed! It's really nice, in Vengar (color very close to a dark wood) and sized to fit my room. I ended up only getting one nighttable, because I'm not sure if I want my bed in the center of the room of flush against one wall. As I was leaving the store, however, the owner of the previous store was standing outside looking at me. It was a little freaky, he started to follow me from across the street, and then I ducked into another store and waited for him to return to his place of business. A little unsettled, Israeli store owners are soo passionate, I hopped a cab and headed back to my apartment.
That's when I met my religious cab driver, who decided to quiz my Yeshiva education. Sad to say, I completely failed. My parents are now shaking their heads in disgust over all the money they poured into my yeshiva education. He asked me what were the six brachot (blessings) you ONLY say six times a year. I honestly had no clue. The answers were: candles for Yom Kippur, Checking for Chametz before Pesach, the blessings over Matzah, Marror and redemptions and finally, blessing over the Elanot (the new buds of spring). The last one really just relates to Israel.
I tried to get out of the whole candle lighting one by falling back on my single status, and the fact that I've never lit Yom Kippur candles in my life (I've pretty much always been home for Yom Kippur and that's my Mother's department). Who knew that would be opening Pandora's Box. My Nahag (driver) was SHOCKED that I was still single.
And at 29!
Q: Why aren't you married?
A: You know, that's a question I've NEVER ever thought about or considered. It's a good one though. Let me mull it over and I'll let you know.
Silence.
Sarcasm, clearly, lost on this Israeli.
One week in Israel and here comes the lecture. Part of me wanted to tell him that I already have parents AND a Grandmother who handle the whole "when are you getting married" conversation, but I just had no energy to argue. So I listened to him drone on and on about the importance of marriage. And when he said to me: you know, you're not 17 anymore, I actually didn't respond. Just kept looking out the window and listened to his tirade.
So how did I get the conversation to stop?
You'll never guess.
Try.
I'll save you the energy. I agreed to go out with a friend of his. Because, as he so poignantly pointed out, you never know where it's going to come from. Or how you're going to meet your soulmate. Or who will be the one to set you up with your soulmate.
I'm hoping that Itzik (I think that's his name) who's 32, drives a cab, doesn't speak a word of English, lives in Bat Yam, and only wants to marry a "religious girl", knows what he's in for when he gives me a call.
At the very least, the experience will be something for me to write about.
I'm off to grab a bite to eat and make plans for tonight. I think it's time to go to the movies. Thank you for Smoking is playing across the street and I already saw it, but could definitely go for seeing it again.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
The Squid and the Bank
I'm going to make every person frustrated with the Israeli government really jealous right now. I left my apartment at 10:30 this morning and it's now 2:30 p.m., I've been home for the past 15 minutes, and have already gotten my Teudat Zehut and opened a bank account. For the people who said that you could ONLY do one big thing in Israel a day, clearly they never met me.
I didn't sleep again last night and so I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. Jeff had mentioned that I should get to the Misrad Hapnim about an hour before it opened, and that just wasn't going to happen. Resound to the fact that I might have to spent all day there, I didn't schedule anything else for the day, and figured I would just wait my turn. By the time my cab pulled up in front of the building though, I realized that I had left both my book AND my iPod at home. That sucked. It's one thing to have to wait a long time, it's quite another to wait a long time and not have anything to do.
I waited on the first line to get my number and form to fill out before heading inside to the larger waiting area for my number to be called. My number was #164. The number they were serving when I walked in #98. Now that's priceless. I sat down with my form and pen and tried to fill it out as best as I could, given my not-as-great-as-I-had-hoped knowledge of Hebrew. Fortunately, enter Gal Ziv into the picture. I feel bad for him, he had no idea what he was getting into when he sat down next to me (or, come to think of it, did I sit next to him?).
Nevertheless, Gal was awesome and really helpful when it came to translating the paperwork. And then, we got to chatting, and Gal told me about this great band that I should check out called Squid. In fact, while we were on the phone, Gal called the lead singer of the band (Nir Geva) to get his Myspace page address. When I got back to my apartment, I went to the page, and the background photo is really cool. I love the drum sinking in the sea, it's such a classic rock image. The music isn't that bad too, and according to the site, the band is playing at Minerva on Sunday night (August 27th). It looks like they go on at 11:00 p.m., and since my first day of classes will be on Monday, I might not be able to go. That being said, the music was pretty good, so I'm going to try to make it. Hey, I'm not sleeping anyway, right?
Back to Gal, who as it turns out, works in film. In fact, his last short RomanticA was accepted into one of New York's downtown film festivals. According to one website, Gal Ziv was born in Israel; after he finished the Army, he went to study film in The U.S at the Los Angeles City College, USA, than transferred to Carl State University at Northridge. In 1999, he was the Director of photography of two short features: “Final Chapther 2K” and “Saram Saram”. In 1999 He then visited his country again to make his own short feature – “The Adventures of Lasal Laslangdin”. At the end of 1999, he came back to Los Angeles to finish his Degree in Cinema production.He recently finished his second short feature “RomanticA”. He lives in Israel, working in a Post Production company and continues to write and direct. So naturally, talking with Gal was pretty interesting, and since his number was 148 we chatted for almost an hour. Between Gal and Uri, I now have my entree into Israel's film community which will hopefully provide me with a lot more fodder for my own work.
By the time my number was called, I was prepared to fight the system. Fortunately, the system didn't require a war. Except for one little issue. They don't have proof I'm a Jew, because I don't have proof that my Mother is a Jew. OK, that was information no one told me I needed to have on me. Lucky for me, you can still get a Teudat Zehut without that information. All I have to do is bring them a letter from my parents Rabbi, along with a copy of my parents marriage certificate, and they will stamp my ID card with the appropriate information (i.e. that I am, in fact, a yid). The best part of the whole process is that they actually do the ID cards right then and there. And, since I brought 12 passport sized photos with me to Israel (I know, smart thinking!!), I was all set. I walked out of the building less than 2 1/2 hours since getting there, and quickly hopped a cab back towards my neck of the woods.
Meet David Magir, the nicest cab driver in all of Israel who doesn't speak a word of English. He taught me two important words:
1) Pekak - which is sortof like slang but literally means "cork of a wine bottle". They use that term to refer to traffic. As in, everything is shut in tightly because of the Pekak and we won't be moving until the lights change. It's not necessarily a word used with a patient voice.
2) Seforet Bidyoni - Creative Writer - someone who writes stories that come from my head. How cool is that? Now I know how to tell people what I'm doing here!
3) Noam - is not a name just for a boy, but can also be the name for a girl, as the case with David's granddaughter
So, David dropped me off at the Bank in my neighborhood (name of bank will NOT be disclosed in my blog because I am not a dumbass). The Bank was long, and as I was warned, full of vampires. Seriously, they charge you for everything! It's no wonder that more Israelis don't stuff their mattresses.
Here's a basic rundown:
1) To deposit an American check, it will cost $50 and take 1 month to clear. No matter the size of the American check
2) To deposit a travelers check, no matter the cost, is 65.35 shekel
3) There is a 10 shekel maintance fee, each month, on the account
4) There is a 1.20 shekel transaction fee for anything I do, whether it's writing a check or withdrawing money
There's more to the fees, but since they bled me dry at the bank, I have no more energy to include that information in this blog. The only "good" thing is that, once I get my student ID card, I will get some perks when I change my status, and I got a nifty little messenger bag and pens.
I felt pretty proud of my accomplishments today, which were suprisingly haggle free, and so I walked back to my apartment to burn off some excess energy. It's a gorgeous day outside, with the sun shinning and the breeze coming off of the water in steady waves. I think I'm going to treat myself and hit the beach for the first time since getting to Israel. And since some guy called me "whitey" two days ago, I think it's time I really work on my tan.
Tonight it's sushi dinner with Oren and one of his friends. I'm looking forward to seeing what Israeli sushi is like.
Song of the day: Morning Blues by Squid. The vocals are really great on this track.
I didn't sleep again last night and so I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. Jeff had mentioned that I should get to the Misrad Hapnim about an hour before it opened, and that just wasn't going to happen. Resound to the fact that I might have to spent all day there, I didn't schedule anything else for the day, and figured I would just wait my turn. By the time my cab pulled up in front of the building though, I realized that I had left both my book AND my iPod at home. That sucked. It's one thing to have to wait a long time, it's quite another to wait a long time and not have anything to do.
I waited on the first line to get my number and form to fill out before heading inside to the larger waiting area for my number to be called. My number was #164. The number they were serving when I walked in #98. Now that's priceless. I sat down with my form and pen and tried to fill it out as best as I could, given my not-as-great-as-I-had-hoped knowledge of Hebrew. Fortunately, enter Gal Ziv into the picture. I feel bad for him, he had no idea what he was getting into when he sat down next to me (or, come to think of it, did I sit next to him?).
Nevertheless, Gal was awesome and really helpful when it came to translating the paperwork. And then, we got to chatting, and Gal told me about this great band that I should check out called Squid. In fact, while we were on the phone, Gal called the lead singer of the band (Nir Geva) to get his Myspace page address. When I got back to my apartment, I went to the page, and the background photo is really cool. I love the drum sinking in the sea, it's such a classic rock image. The music isn't that bad too, and according to the site, the band is playing at Minerva on Sunday night (August 27th). It looks like they go on at 11:00 p.m., and since my first day of classes will be on Monday, I might not be able to go. That being said, the music was pretty good, so I'm going to try to make it. Hey, I'm not sleeping anyway, right?
Back to Gal, who as it turns out, works in film. In fact, his last short RomanticA was accepted into one of New York's downtown film festivals. According to one website, Gal Ziv was born in Israel; after he finished the Army, he went to study film in The U.S at the Los Angeles City College, USA, than transferred to Carl State University at Northridge. In 1999, he was the Director of photography of two short features: “Final Chapther 2K” and “Saram Saram”. In 1999 He then visited his country again to make his own short feature – “The Adventures of Lasal Laslangdin”. At the end of 1999, he came back to Los Angeles to finish his Degree in Cinema production.He recently finished his second short feature “RomanticA”. He lives in Israel, working in a Post Production company and continues to write and direct. So naturally, talking with Gal was pretty interesting, and since his number was 148 we chatted for almost an hour. Between Gal and Uri, I now have my entree into Israel's film community which will hopefully provide me with a lot more fodder for my own work.
By the time my number was called, I was prepared to fight the system. Fortunately, the system didn't require a war. Except for one little issue. They don't have proof I'm a Jew, because I don't have proof that my Mother is a Jew. OK, that was information no one told me I needed to have on me. Lucky for me, you can still get a Teudat Zehut without that information. All I have to do is bring them a letter from my parents Rabbi, along with a copy of my parents marriage certificate, and they will stamp my ID card with the appropriate information (i.e. that I am, in fact, a yid). The best part of the whole process is that they actually do the ID cards right then and there. And, since I brought 12 passport sized photos with me to Israel (I know, smart thinking!!), I was all set. I walked out of the building less than 2 1/2 hours since getting there, and quickly hopped a cab back towards my neck of the woods.
Meet David Magir, the nicest cab driver in all of Israel who doesn't speak a word of English. He taught me two important words:
1) Pekak - which is sortof like slang but literally means "cork of a wine bottle". They use that term to refer to traffic. As in, everything is shut in tightly because of the Pekak and we won't be moving until the lights change. It's not necessarily a word used with a patient voice.
2) Seforet Bidyoni - Creative Writer - someone who writes stories that come from my head. How cool is that? Now I know how to tell people what I'm doing here!
3) Noam - is not a name just for a boy, but can also be the name for a girl, as the case with David's granddaughter
So, David dropped me off at the Bank in my neighborhood (name of bank will NOT be disclosed in my blog because I am not a dumbass). The Bank was long, and as I was warned, full of vampires. Seriously, they charge you for everything! It's no wonder that more Israelis don't stuff their mattresses.
Here's a basic rundown:
1) To deposit an American check, it will cost $50 and take 1 month to clear. No matter the size of the American check
2) To deposit a travelers check, no matter the cost, is 65.35 shekel
3) There is a 10 shekel maintance fee, each month, on the account
4) There is a 1.20 shekel transaction fee for anything I do, whether it's writing a check or withdrawing money
There's more to the fees, but since they bled me dry at the bank, I have no more energy to include that information in this blog. The only "good" thing is that, once I get my student ID card, I will get some perks when I change my status, and I got a nifty little messenger bag and pens.
I felt pretty proud of my accomplishments today, which were suprisingly haggle free, and so I walked back to my apartment to burn off some excess energy. It's a gorgeous day outside, with the sun shinning and the breeze coming off of the water in steady waves. I think I'm going to treat myself and hit the beach for the first time since getting to Israel. And since some guy called me "whitey" two days ago, I think it's time I really work on my tan.
Tonight it's sushi dinner with Oren and one of his friends. I'm looking forward to seeing what Israeli sushi is like.
Song of the day: Morning Blues by Squid. The vocals are really great on this track.
Fireworks on the Beach
Tonight I had my first date in Israel. And I saw fireworks. Literally, we went to the beach in Tel Aviv where they have these bars/restaurants on the sand, and a few miles south of us in Old Yaffo there was this magnificent fireworks display. It was stunning. Oh, and the guy I went out with was a lot of fun too. Of course, turns out we went to camp together. Yup, having attended four sleepaway camps during my adolescent/pre-teen and teen years, this was bound to happen. We both spent Aidah Daled at Camp Moshava. Only, we both don't remember each other. It was pretty funny.
Today was a tough day, especially since the weather is really hot. I had to go to my apartment to meet with the contractor again, and together we had to call Bezeq about installing a phone line for my internet. Since the apartment has no AC, and is literally a 30 minute walk from the apartment I'm staying in now, I was losing water weight in buckets. The contractor had this great water from his home, he has a really powerful filtration system that made the water taste really clean and fresh. He offered to install one in my new apartment, for a significant fee of course, and I'm considering having him go ahead and do it. The water here is so bad, and I'm a big water drinker, that it will be worth the money I'd save on buying bottled water.
After working everything out with Bezeq, two hours later mind you and svitching all the way, I walked back down to my apartment and stopped at a few banks along the way. They all said the same thing: no bank account without a Teudat Zehut (Israel ID card), so that means tomorrow I will be spending all day at the Misrad Hapnim. I hear it will take me ALL day because the lines are out of control. But, since school starts on Monday, I have no choice but to take care of this tomorrow.
I grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading over to the #64 bus on Ben Yehudah Street. The stop is in front of the big El Al building but the bus comes only every half an hour. Final destination: Bar Ilan University, where I was to meet two new students in the program for a quick campus tour. So, it looks like I'm living really far away from school. Like, living in Queens and going to school in New Jersey far. The bus ride took almost an hour each way, and it wasn't door-to-door service. The campus, meanwhile, is really nice and I was actually looking forward to school starting on Monday. We spent two hours there before I hopped the #64 bus back to Tel Aviv. Thank g-d for my iPod, otherwise I would have gone crazy on the bus. That was one worthwhile investment.
Which leads us back to the date, which was very nice. In fact, when I got back to my apartment at Midnight, I realized that the time I spent with him was the first time since I got here when I actually feel well. It was amazing to not feel nauseous, and now I wonder if perhaps my not feeling well is a little psychosomatic. I've been pretty relaxed since I left, letting most things just slide and taking each task one day at a time, or so I thought. My head just didn't tell that to my stomach, which hasn't been dealing with the anxiety. That being said, I know that once I get settled and into a routine, things will be a lot better. For now, I'm just going to try to get together with as many people as possible, so that I'm not as lonely.
Tomorrow night it's dinner with Oren and one of his friends. His treat. Should be a lot of fun!
Layla Tov!
Today was a tough day, especially since the weather is really hot. I had to go to my apartment to meet with the contractor again, and together we had to call Bezeq about installing a phone line for my internet. Since the apartment has no AC, and is literally a 30 minute walk from the apartment I'm staying in now, I was losing water weight in buckets. The contractor had this great water from his home, he has a really powerful filtration system that made the water taste really clean and fresh. He offered to install one in my new apartment, for a significant fee of course, and I'm considering having him go ahead and do it. The water here is so bad, and I'm a big water drinker, that it will be worth the money I'd save on buying bottled water.
After working everything out with Bezeq, two hours later mind you and svitching all the way, I walked back down to my apartment and stopped at a few banks along the way. They all said the same thing: no bank account without a Teudat Zehut (Israel ID card), so that means tomorrow I will be spending all day at the Misrad Hapnim. I hear it will take me ALL day because the lines are out of control. But, since school starts on Monday, I have no choice but to take care of this tomorrow.
I grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading over to the #64 bus on Ben Yehudah Street. The stop is in front of the big El Al building but the bus comes only every half an hour. Final destination: Bar Ilan University, where I was to meet two new students in the program for a quick campus tour. So, it looks like I'm living really far away from school. Like, living in Queens and going to school in New Jersey far. The bus ride took almost an hour each way, and it wasn't door-to-door service. The campus, meanwhile, is really nice and I was actually looking forward to school starting on Monday. We spent two hours there before I hopped the #64 bus back to Tel Aviv. Thank g-d for my iPod, otherwise I would have gone crazy on the bus. That was one worthwhile investment.
Which leads us back to the date, which was very nice. In fact, when I got back to my apartment at Midnight, I realized that the time I spent with him was the first time since I got here when I actually feel well. It was amazing to not feel nauseous, and now I wonder if perhaps my not feeling well is a little psychosomatic. I've been pretty relaxed since I left, letting most things just slide and taking each task one day at a time, or so I thought. My head just didn't tell that to my stomach, which hasn't been dealing with the anxiety. That being said, I know that once I get settled and into a routine, things will be a lot better. For now, I'm just going to try to get together with as many people as possible, so that I'm not as lonely.
Tomorrow night it's dinner with Oren and one of his friends. His treat. Should be a lot of fun!
Layla Tov!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Mayor Mike's Revenge
Early this morning, somewhere in Mayor Mike's brownstone on 65th Street, he's counting his money in his silk boxers and laughing his ass at me. Big, screaming, howls of laughter. Choking on your tears, huge belly laughs. Need a drink to stop the pain from the all the laughing.
You get the picture.
And why is Bloomberg laughing at me? Why has he suddenly exacted his revenge? Because when he put a smoking ban in clubs and bars in Manhattan, I complained bitterly. V ociferously. To anyone who would listen. I screamed it was "unAmerican" to not be able to smoke while drinking at a bar. I signed petitions! I joined a Craigslist chain of like-minded people who felt my basic freedoms were taken away. I was not pleased.
And now, g-d what I wouldn't do for Mayor Mike to move to Tel Aviv and impose a cigarette ban? The streets of Tel Aviv has made me feel like Pig-Pen. I walk from cloud to cloud of tobacco and close my eyes, knowingf that by the time I get back to my apartment I'll stink like I smoked three packs in 30 minutes.
Mayor Mike is gleeful because he knows that my upstairs neighbor smokes while on the toilet, which is why my bathroom stinks like I've been smoking on my toilet. And, unless you're a Supermodel I once worked with (who will also remain nameless), my upstairs neighbor can smoke on his Mirpeset (balcony) like everyone else upstairs. He certainly isn't a Supermodel!
Karma, it's a bitch. Screw Carson Daily.
Song of the day: Smoke it by the Dandy Warhols. Cause no one can say that I don't have a sense of humor.
PS. This will be my last complaining post about smoking in Israel.
You get the picture.
And why is Bloomberg laughing at me? Why has he suddenly exacted his revenge? Because when he put a smoking ban in clubs and bars in Manhattan, I complained bitterly. V ociferously. To anyone who would listen. I screamed it was "unAmerican" to not be able to smoke while drinking at a bar. I signed petitions! I joined a Craigslist chain of like-minded people who felt my basic freedoms were taken away. I was not pleased.
And now, g-d what I wouldn't do for Mayor Mike to move to Tel Aviv and impose a cigarette ban? The streets of Tel Aviv has made me feel like Pig-Pen. I walk from cloud to cloud of tobacco and close my eyes, knowingf that by the time I get back to my apartment I'll stink like I smoked three packs in 30 minutes.
Mayor Mike is gleeful because he knows that my upstairs neighbor smokes while on the toilet, which is why my bathroom stinks like I've been smoking on my toilet. And, unless you're a Supermodel I once worked with (who will also remain nameless), my upstairs neighbor can smoke on his Mirpeset (balcony) like everyone else upstairs. He certainly isn't a Supermodel!
Karma, it's a bitch. Screw Carson Daily.
Song of the day: Smoke it by the Dandy Warhols. Cause no one can say that I don't have a sense of humor.
PS. This will be my last complaining post about smoking in Israel.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Nuts and ropes
Sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes, as evidenced by this photo, you really don't. I was starving this afternoon and was, once again, walking around the Dizengoff Mall and so I popped into Super Center to pick up some provisions. Since my eating is still really off, I decided that nuts were a pretty safe item, and picked up a bag of roasted peanuts and cashews. When I got back to my apartment, I opened the bag and pulled out this WAD of rope! If this was America, and that rope was a thumb, man would I be rich.
So today was my first really challenging day here in Tel Aviv. I dragged my exhausted body out of bed and walked back up to my soon-to-be-hood to open up a bank account. After following signs for English, I ended up sitting in the office of a gentleman who deals with International investments. Not the department I want. But he was more than happy to chat and then he sent me downstairs to the right floor. Or so I thought. My helper was some 20 year old Russian/Israeli whose English was horrible and who didn't even ask me the right questions. After filling out forms for 45 minutes, the bank manager told her she couldn't open up a foreign bank account if I was living in Israel. And, since I'm a citizen and will be living in Israel as a student for the next two years, I need to pack my stuff and head down to the Misrad Hapanim (Ministry of Interior) to get a Teudat Zehut (Israeli identity card). So, I thanked her profusely and headed out and over to some "familiar" ground. I have no idea if she told me the right thing, but I will do as directed and hope it enables me to open up an account.
Slightly frustrated, I decided it was time for a friendly face and so I stopped by to see Yoni at Psycho Tattoo at the Dizengoff Center Mall. Yoni was in the middle of a tattoo so I spent some time interviewing another artist for my story, which is coming together nicely. I just need to get it down on paper before class starts next week. Chances are, that won't happen unless I get my act together soon. Yoni came out to get me and brought me back to the room so I could observe him in action. It was really fascinating, the girl was getting the inside of her arm done (i.e. tattoo lingo is sleeve). Apparently, the entire sleeve has taken over 2 years to complete, as Yoni only comes back to Israel every 6-8 months. The colors he used were absolutely blindingly bright and vivid, it looked really nice on her. (Disclaimer: during the course of the day, I did NOT get a tattoo. So Mom, you can relax a bit). Yoni helped me with my cell phone and then I left him to start on another client.
I'm finally able to get into my VM too. I went back to the store where I bought the RAZR and David told me how to access the inbox. I was able to retrieve the five messages, one of which was left by my former client Oren. I represented Oren and his company, Oblicore (now defunct) from 2000-2001 and we had a really nice working relationship. When I got here, I sent him an e-mail and we've been in contact ever since. We're hoping to go out for some sushi either Wednesday or Thursday night, before he heads out East to the Canadian Rockies.
Which brings me back to my apartment and my meeting with Guy, the Yes Man about my VOIP and TV stations. It's essential, for work reasons, that I have my computer working when I move into my new apartment. So, Elon decided we needed to get this process started earlier rather than later, and hence the meeting with Guy. He first stopped by the apartment to meet with Elon about locations and wiring, and then he came down to my apartment to go over the contract and the services. Guy was great, and he used to live in Manhattan, so we had a lot to chat about. I gave him a bit of a hard time when he glossed over the adult packages (hey, just because I'm a woman, doesn't mean you should bring up the porn option with me!). He thought I was hysterical and went on and on about women and porn, which was a great conversation to laugh about. I really needed the laughing, it helped put the frustration of my day in persepctive.
I was too hot and tired to workout tonight, especially after all the walking I did this afternoon, so I'm staying in.
Plans for tomorrow include:
1) Going back to my apartment to meet with Elon and discuss where he's going to put the TV's
2) Meeting Y at Bar Ilan at 4:30 pm for the campus tour. Apparently another guy from the program is going to be there too (and he is bringing his Mother. No comment).
3) Dinner date. (Maybe more on this tomorrow)
4) Laundry (I found the Tide detergent and the dryer sheets, so I think it's time to try my hand at laundry in country. This should be an interesting experience.
PS. Props go out to the great salesman at Spa Siam who sold me this great lemon/grapefruit spreader of essence with tatton sticks from Thailand. My apartment is starting to smell much, much better.
So today was my first really challenging day here in Tel Aviv. I dragged my exhausted body out of bed and walked back up to my soon-to-be-hood to open up a bank account. After following signs for English, I ended up sitting in the office of a gentleman who deals with International investments. Not the department I want. But he was more than happy to chat and then he sent me downstairs to the right floor. Or so I thought. My helper was some 20 year old Russian/Israeli whose English was horrible and who didn't even ask me the right questions. After filling out forms for 45 minutes, the bank manager told her she couldn't open up a foreign bank account if I was living in Israel. And, since I'm a citizen and will be living in Israel as a student for the next two years, I need to pack my stuff and head down to the Misrad Hapanim (Ministry of Interior) to get a Teudat Zehut (Israeli identity card). So, I thanked her profusely and headed out and over to some "familiar" ground. I have no idea if she told me the right thing, but I will do as directed and hope it enables me to open up an account.
Slightly frustrated, I decided it was time for a friendly face and so I stopped by to see Yoni at Psycho Tattoo at the Dizengoff Center Mall. Yoni was in the middle of a tattoo so I spent some time interviewing another artist for my story, which is coming together nicely. I just need to get it down on paper before class starts next week. Chances are, that won't happen unless I get my act together soon. Yoni came out to get me and brought me back to the room so I could observe him in action. It was really fascinating, the girl was getting the inside of her arm done (i.e. tattoo lingo is sleeve). Apparently, the entire sleeve has taken over 2 years to complete, as Yoni only comes back to Israel every 6-8 months. The colors he used were absolutely blindingly bright and vivid, it looked really nice on her. (Disclaimer: during the course of the day, I did NOT get a tattoo. So Mom, you can relax a bit). Yoni helped me with my cell phone and then I left him to start on another client.
I'm finally able to get into my VM too. I went back to the store where I bought the RAZR and David told me how to access the inbox. I was able to retrieve the five messages, one of which was left by my former client Oren. I represented Oren and his company, Oblicore (now defunct) from 2000-2001 and we had a really nice working relationship. When I got here, I sent him an e-mail and we've been in contact ever since. We're hoping to go out for some sushi either Wednesday or Thursday night, before he heads out East to the Canadian Rockies.
Which brings me back to my apartment and my meeting with Guy, the Yes Man about my VOIP and TV stations. It's essential, for work reasons, that I have my computer working when I move into my new apartment. So, Elon decided we needed to get this process started earlier rather than later, and hence the meeting with Guy. He first stopped by the apartment to meet with Elon about locations and wiring, and then he came down to my apartment to go over the contract and the services. Guy was great, and he used to live in Manhattan, so we had a lot to chat about. I gave him a bit of a hard time when he glossed over the adult packages (hey, just because I'm a woman, doesn't mean you should bring up the porn option with me!). He thought I was hysterical and went on and on about women and porn, which was a great conversation to laugh about. I really needed the laughing, it helped put the frustration of my day in persepctive.
I was too hot and tired to workout tonight, especially after all the walking I did this afternoon, so I'm staying in.
Plans for tomorrow include:
1) Going back to my apartment to meet with Elon and discuss where he's going to put the TV's
2) Meeting Y at Bar Ilan at 4:30 pm for the campus tour. Apparently another guy from the program is going to be there too (and he is bringing his Mother. No comment).
3) Dinner date. (Maybe more on this tomorrow)
4) Laundry (I found the Tide detergent and the dryer sheets, so I think it's time to try my hand at laundry in country. This should be an interesting experience.
PS. Props go out to the great salesman at Spa Siam who sold me this great lemon/grapefruit spreader of essence with tatton sticks from Thailand. My apartment is starting to smell much, much better.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
I stink. Really badly. I just got back from a run/walk on the Tayelet and I'm hoping my stench will somehow mask the unbearable scent that has permeated every fiber of this apartment. Apparently, the gentelman who lived in this apartment before I moved in, was a chain smoker. He moved out, but his tobacco scent still lingers. Ah, to quote the Cranberries, Do you have to let it linger? Do you have to? Do you have to? Do you have to let it linger?.
Today was hot. Damn hot. Hot to the point that I sweated clear through my favorite Jcrew Fisher Island t-shirt. It didn't help that I walked from South Tel Aviv all the way up to North Tel Aviv in record breaking time. Still not sleeping, so I was behind the eight ball when I finally got out of bed this morning. I was meeting my new landlord/contractor at the apartment I am going to be renting for what will hopefully be the next two years.
And the place looks like something Ty Pennington (that's his name right, I never watched the show so I could be mixing him up with Jets QB Chad Pennington) could really sink his teeth into. For the lucky few would got to see the pics of the pad, you're probably thinking I should start looking for a new place since there is no way this apartment will be ready by September 6th.
But they didn't meet Elon, Superman contractor who is larger than life. Literally. The man makes Patrick Ewing look like a miget. And, together with Chi, his Asian assistant, they are going to make sure the place is perfect by the time I need to move in. I got really excited walking around the apartment, and it brought me back to last summer, when I represented Shane Reilly and her 30 day complete apartment makeover at One Beacon Court. Yup, the Bloomberg building that houses celebs like Beyonce' was the stage for her masterful work. And her client was just as celebritied as Beyonce', but for confidentiality reasons, I cannot disclose his/her identity. Nonetheless, I looked around the place and saw infinite potential.
Plus, I'm a sucker for a great bathroom. As those who know my apartment from back on the Upper West Side, they know that I took the tiny space because of the spacious bathroom. As a woman, let's be frank here, the bathroom is the most important room of the house. Whoever said it was the kitchen is freakin lying to you.
After chatting it up with Elon, I left him and Chi to get back to work and walked back down Ben Yehudah street to get to know my neighborhood. I discovered that the shul is across the street from a big Supersol, which is right next door to a gym.
I couldn't resist and have to go in to check out Pure. If I just walked around the gym, I would be getting a workout. The place is so far below surface level, it could have been used as a bomb shelter. I took a self-guided tour (apparently in Israel, they don't believe in personalized tours. They don't really care if you sign up or not, they know you will anyway so no need to sell you) and ended up in the office of Eran. He made me say "Manhattan" five times to revel in my Anglo-accent and then he got down to business. The business of trying to swamp apartments, of course. Eran was pissed that I gave up my pad on the 74th and Columbus, when I could have swaped with him for a few weeks instead. After apologizing profusely for my gross oversight, we chatted about the facilities, the classes and the trainers.
Here is when I talk about how much I miss my old trainer, Victoria. We worked out together at NYSC for almost 4 years, 2 of which were half-assed, the other two were hard-core. Victoria was perfect, she knew when to kick my ass and when to ease up on the workout. Plus, we both liked the same books, and she was always great when it come to dispensing dating advice. So, I asked Eran to introduce me to a good female trainer, and he demured. Apparently, the female trainers aren't that good, so he wants to introduce me to a great male trainer who also teaches the kickboxing class.
Given my graveyard of male trainers past: i.e. Tony, David, and Matt from the NYSC, this will be an interesting Shidduch. Let's see what transpires.
Former client Oren just called to invite me out to dinner, but given the late hour and my showerless state, I declined. I'm hoping to get together with him later on this week, before he heads out of country on vacation.
Tomorrow is supposed to be another scorcher. And now, I'm jut feeling Dirrty, so it's time to hit the showers.
Till tomorrow!
Today was hot. Damn hot. Hot to the point that I sweated clear through my favorite Jcrew Fisher Island t-shirt. It didn't help that I walked from South Tel Aviv all the way up to North Tel Aviv in record breaking time. Still not sleeping, so I was behind the eight ball when I finally got out of bed this morning. I was meeting my new landlord/contractor at the apartment I am going to be renting for what will hopefully be the next two years.
And the place looks like something Ty Pennington (that's his name right, I never watched the show so I could be mixing him up with Jets QB Chad Pennington) could really sink his teeth into. For the lucky few would got to see the pics of the pad, you're probably thinking I should start looking for a new place since there is no way this apartment will be ready by September 6th.
But they didn't meet Elon, Superman contractor who is larger than life. Literally. The man makes Patrick Ewing look like a miget. And, together with Chi, his Asian assistant, they are going to make sure the place is perfect by the time I need to move in. I got really excited walking around the apartment, and it brought me back to last summer, when I represented Shane Reilly and her 30 day complete apartment makeover at One Beacon Court. Yup, the Bloomberg building that houses celebs like Beyonce' was the stage for her masterful work. And her client was just as celebritied as Beyonce', but for confidentiality reasons, I cannot disclose his/her identity. Nonetheless, I looked around the place and saw infinite potential.
Plus, I'm a sucker for a great bathroom. As those who know my apartment from back on the Upper West Side, they know that I took the tiny space because of the spacious bathroom. As a woman, let's be frank here, the bathroom is the most important room of the house. Whoever said it was the kitchen is freakin lying to you.
After chatting it up with Elon, I left him and Chi to get back to work and walked back down Ben Yehudah street to get to know my neighborhood. I discovered that the shul is across the street from a big Supersol, which is right next door to a gym.
I couldn't resist and have to go in to check out Pure. If I just walked around the gym, I would be getting a workout. The place is so far below surface level, it could have been used as a bomb shelter. I took a self-guided tour (apparently in Israel, they don't believe in personalized tours. They don't really care if you sign up or not, they know you will anyway so no need to sell you) and ended up in the office of Eran. He made me say "Manhattan" five times to revel in my Anglo-accent and then he got down to business. The business of trying to swamp apartments, of course. Eran was pissed that I gave up my pad on the 74th and Columbus, when I could have swaped with him for a few weeks instead. After apologizing profusely for my gross oversight, we chatted about the facilities, the classes and the trainers.
Here is when I talk about how much I miss my old trainer, Victoria. We worked out together at NYSC for almost 4 years, 2 of which were half-assed, the other two were hard-core. Victoria was perfect, she knew when to kick my ass and when to ease up on the workout. Plus, we both liked the same books, and she was always great when it come to dispensing dating advice. So, I asked Eran to introduce me to a good female trainer, and he demured. Apparently, the female trainers aren't that good, so he wants to introduce me to a great male trainer who also teaches the kickboxing class.
Given my graveyard of male trainers past: i.e. Tony, David, and Matt from the NYSC, this will be an interesting Shidduch. Let's see what transpires.
Former client Oren just called to invite me out to dinner, but given the late hour and my showerless state, I declined. I'm hoping to get together with him later on this week, before he heads out of country on vacation.
Tomorrow is supposed to be another scorcher. And now, I'm jut feeling Dirrty, so it's time to hit the showers.
Till tomorrow!
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Shabbos was the bomb
In the war against jet lag, I am losing. Big time. After I lit candles yesterday, I got dressed and decided to go for a walk along the Tayelet (boardwalk). It was wonderful, while the breeze coming off of the water wrecked havoc on my hair and I bemoaned the fact that I spent the past hour under a hot iron and straightener. I walked up North until I hit the steps leading up towards the Carlton hotel, just before the marina. It took about an hour, there and back, and by the time I got into my apartment I was pretty tired. I quickly grabbed a bite to eat and went to bed, hoping that I would sleep straight from 9:00 pm until morning.
The sirens and thumping of disco music woke me up at 11:30 p.m. and I could feel my walls shaking to the beat of the music. With my eyes closed, I could practically see the flashing lights of the strobes and club sirens and I imagined the gyrating bodies glowing florescent in the black light. Sounds like downtown Tel Aviv was partying last night. Cars and vans kept driving past my windown and the music all had a similar theme - - hard core club mix. I half expected people to be dancing right outside my window, but merely spied lots of drunk folks dressed in their clubbing finest. I was taking this all in stride, until someone drove by and parked outside my window, listening to the BACKSTREET BOYS at louder than legal volumes! Clearly, Backstreet is back in Israel. I mean, if you're gonna wake me up with loud music, at least have the courtesy to play something that doesn't suck.
And now I was up. Wide. Awake. Had it been Saturday night, instead of Friday night, I would have put on a pair of jeans and gone out with the crowd. But, alas, I don't club on Shabbos and so I read my book by the light of the bathroom and thought about the answers to Slightly Mad's recent tag (which I'll address at the end of this post).
Six hours later, I was finally asleep (if you're keeping track, that means I didn't get back to sleep before 5:30 a.m.) And didn't wake up until 2:30 in the afternoon!
(Side note, but I'm watching some show on Channel Two right now and it's literally the Israeli Kevin Federline on TV! I hope to g-d he doesn't drop trau and start rapping).
I had plans for today that didn't quite happen, since I slept most of it away. Shul was obviously over and I looked, and felt, like a boxer who took one too many right hooks over night.
Yup. Two black eyes.
I checked on my water supply and, since I was down to less than half a bottle. decided to just spend the day resting and reading in bed. I was halfway into my new book, The Bitch in The House when I heard the commotion outside. Someone was yelling in Hebrew on a bullhorn and, in my sleepy haze, I didn't bother trying to decipher the words. From the tone, it sounded like an angry ice cream truckdriver barking out his wares, but minus the jingly music that brings the kids running back in the States. Once the sirens went off though, I decided it was time to take a look outside my window.
Less than 48 hours in country, and welcome to my first Chefetz Chashood (unknown object that could possibly be a bomb). And just my luck, the package was right on the corner.
I decided it was time to put on my bra. And some deoderant. And my contact lenses.
Semi-clothed, I yanked up the blinds and took in the scene. Israel's "bomb squad" consisted on ONE man. He was wearing a heavy flack jacket and a green motorcycle helmet with the visor pulled down. He was walking back and forth between the object and the truck, pulling on two long, white strings, and alternating between pushing up and down his clear visor. So interesting to watch him.
Meanwhile, three police cruisers had sectioned off the intersecting blocks (I'm on a pretty busy corner close to the beach, with 10 small hotels within the immediate vicinity, and loads of foot traffic on a Shabbos afternoon in the summer). It was rough taking in the entire scene and, had it not been Shabbos, I would have taken some photos. But I was captivated by Mr. bomb squad and the fact that the people who had to wait for him to blow up the package, were looking...PISSED!
Seriously, these folks did not want to wait for anything! They were arguing with the police officers who told them they couldn't continue walking to their destinations. When one officer's back was turned, three people who quickly sneak around him/her and walk towards the beach. Their facial expressions reminded me of the New York City subways, during rush hour, when there's a sick passenger on board. It's the cross between concern, inconvenience and hard core annoyance. You're concerned for the passenger because you'd be a really lousy person, with no heart, if you didn't feel bad for someone who got sick, inconvenience because it means that you'll be late for work, and really annoyed that it should happen while YOU were on that train.
And then the people started to turn around and run backwards. I'm not sure what Mr. bomb squad said to get people scared, but that's when I decided to drain the last of my water. If the place was going to go up, I was going to at least be well hydrated.
The end of this story is that, thankfully, it turned out to be a package of towels and no bomb. And Mr. bomb squad threw the contents of the package into the back of his truck, stripped down to his pants and sweated-through t-shirt, and then drove away.
Talk about adrenaline rush. My heart had been beating in my stomach the entire time and I with all this energy to burn all I wanted to do was change into my gym gear and go hit the bag for a while. But, there were still four more hours to Shabbos and I left my boxing gloves at home (I can't wait till the rents come with them in Oct., I could really use a good workout).
The rest of Shabbos was relaxing and uneventful. I'm thinking about popping an ambian tonight so I can try to get my body clock set with the rest of the Country before getting up tomorrow and going to meet my potential landlord at what will hopefully be my apartment for the next two years.
OK, and now on to answer the tag.
1. One book that changed your life?
Hmmm, this was pretty difficult, but I'm going to have to say "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri. I read one of her short stories while attending a Fiction Writing Course at the Gotham Writer's Workshop, and it inspired me to pursue my dream of becoming a writer. The rest of the book has kept me on the path to realizing my dream, which has led me here to Israel.
2. One book you have read more than once?
I have so many, it's hard to choose! I'm going to go with "Twelve" by Nick McDonnell. I was in awe that such an amazing book was written by a 17 year old, and it also helped that Hunter Thompson wrote such a glowing endorsement. The book lived up to its hype and is definitely a must-read (I found specific nuances that I missed the first couple of times around that really helped me get where the author was coming from).
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" by Michael Chabon. I absolutely adore this book, could read it over and over and over again. It has everything I could want to keep me interested: action, war, sexual ambivalence, coming-of-age, Jewish-in-theme, personal journeys, and the comics.
4. One book that made you laugh?
Easy. "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People: A Memoir" by Toby Young. I was rolling on the floor laughing with this one, as Young's hijinks with Graydon Carter and Vanity Fair were legendary.
5. One book that made you cry?!
I can't pick one, because two stand out in my mind. The first is "Eric" by Doris Lund. I read this in high school and cried each night until its completion. A true story written by a mother who loses her son to cancer. Her writing was superb, and so heartfelt, but it also gave the reader such tremendous insight and detail into Eric's perspecitve and the author's view of death and dying. I read this when I was a pre-teen and it left a huge impression. The second book is "The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu: The Commander of the Entebbe Operation 1963-1976". One of my heroes in life, this book made me shed many tears. How could you not while reading the personal and private thoughts of a man who died saving hundreds of Jews?
6. One book you wish had been written?
"Tripping on the Red Carpet: A tell-all memoir and survival guide to celebrity publicity". It would have been great if someone had written a book about the world of celebrity PR, before I decided to go into the field. With so many juicy stories out there, I bet it would be a best-seller!
7. One book you wish had never been written?
"Be More Chill" by Ned Vizzini. Another young wunderkid writer who had been hyped all over Manhattan, I had to read his books for a client. The first two were okay but this one was so terrible that, when I got to the ending, I literally yelled: "You've GOT to be kidding me" and then launched the book clear across the room. I didn't like the ending. Not at all.
8. One book you are currently reading?
In addition to the book mentioned above, I'm in the midst of "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. Been meaning to read that for years and have finally started. I'm not that far along and am still waiting for the magic to begin.
9. One book you've been meaning to read?
"Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I loved "Memiors of my Melancholy Whores" and so I wanted to read this and also "One Hundred Years of Solitutde". If Marquez is as good as Paulo Coehlo, I'm going to be a happy reader!
10. Now tag 5 people:
So, my five people don't have blogs but are voracious readers and I would love for them to post their responses to my blog!
Jenny S.
Julie W. (a.k.a Jules)
Ilya W.
Shulamit H.
Marnina A.
Layla Tov!
The sirens and thumping of disco music woke me up at 11:30 p.m. and I could feel my walls shaking to the beat of the music. With my eyes closed, I could practically see the flashing lights of the strobes and club sirens and I imagined the gyrating bodies glowing florescent in the black light. Sounds like downtown Tel Aviv was partying last night. Cars and vans kept driving past my windown and the music all had a similar theme - - hard core club mix. I half expected people to be dancing right outside my window, but merely spied lots of drunk folks dressed in their clubbing finest. I was taking this all in stride, until someone drove by and parked outside my window, listening to the BACKSTREET BOYS at louder than legal volumes! Clearly, Backstreet is back in Israel. I mean, if you're gonna wake me up with loud music, at least have the courtesy to play something that doesn't suck.
And now I was up. Wide. Awake. Had it been Saturday night, instead of Friday night, I would have put on a pair of jeans and gone out with the crowd. But, alas, I don't club on Shabbos and so I read my book by the light of the bathroom and thought about the answers to Slightly Mad's recent tag (which I'll address at the end of this post).
Six hours later, I was finally asleep (if you're keeping track, that means I didn't get back to sleep before 5:30 a.m.) And didn't wake up until 2:30 in the afternoon!
(Side note, but I'm watching some show on Channel Two right now and it's literally the Israeli Kevin Federline on TV! I hope to g-d he doesn't drop trau and start rapping).
I had plans for today that didn't quite happen, since I slept most of it away. Shul was obviously over and I looked, and felt, like a boxer who took one too many right hooks over night.
Yup. Two black eyes.
I checked on my water supply and, since I was down to less than half a bottle. decided to just spend the day resting and reading in bed. I was halfway into my new book, The Bitch in The House when I heard the commotion outside. Someone was yelling in Hebrew on a bullhorn and, in my sleepy haze, I didn't bother trying to decipher the words. From the tone, it sounded like an angry ice cream truckdriver barking out his wares, but minus the jingly music that brings the kids running back in the States. Once the sirens went off though, I decided it was time to take a look outside my window.
Less than 48 hours in country, and welcome to my first Chefetz Chashood (unknown object that could possibly be a bomb). And just my luck, the package was right on the corner.
I decided it was time to put on my bra. And some deoderant. And my contact lenses.
Semi-clothed, I yanked up the blinds and took in the scene. Israel's "bomb squad" consisted on ONE man. He was wearing a heavy flack jacket and a green motorcycle helmet with the visor pulled down. He was walking back and forth between the object and the truck, pulling on two long, white strings, and alternating between pushing up and down his clear visor. So interesting to watch him.
Meanwhile, three police cruisers had sectioned off the intersecting blocks (I'm on a pretty busy corner close to the beach, with 10 small hotels within the immediate vicinity, and loads of foot traffic on a Shabbos afternoon in the summer). It was rough taking in the entire scene and, had it not been Shabbos, I would have taken some photos. But I was captivated by Mr. bomb squad and the fact that the people who had to wait for him to blow up the package, were looking...PISSED!
Seriously, these folks did not want to wait for anything! They were arguing with the police officers who told them they couldn't continue walking to their destinations. When one officer's back was turned, three people who quickly sneak around him/her and walk towards the beach. Their facial expressions reminded me of the New York City subways, during rush hour, when there's a sick passenger on board. It's the cross between concern, inconvenience and hard core annoyance. You're concerned for the passenger because you'd be a really lousy person, with no heart, if you didn't feel bad for someone who got sick, inconvenience because it means that you'll be late for work, and really annoyed that it should happen while YOU were on that train.
And then the people started to turn around and run backwards. I'm not sure what Mr. bomb squad said to get people scared, but that's when I decided to drain the last of my water. If the place was going to go up, I was going to at least be well hydrated.
The end of this story is that, thankfully, it turned out to be a package of towels and no bomb. And Mr. bomb squad threw the contents of the package into the back of his truck, stripped down to his pants and sweated-through t-shirt, and then drove away.
Talk about adrenaline rush. My heart had been beating in my stomach the entire time and I with all this energy to burn all I wanted to do was change into my gym gear and go hit the bag for a while. But, there were still four more hours to Shabbos and I left my boxing gloves at home (I can't wait till the rents come with them in Oct., I could really use a good workout).
The rest of Shabbos was relaxing and uneventful. I'm thinking about popping an ambian tonight so I can try to get my body clock set with the rest of the Country before getting up tomorrow and going to meet my potential landlord at what will hopefully be my apartment for the next two years.
OK, and now on to answer the tag.
1. One book that changed your life?
Hmmm, this was pretty difficult, but I'm going to have to say "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri. I read one of her short stories while attending a Fiction Writing Course at the Gotham Writer's Workshop, and it inspired me to pursue my dream of becoming a writer. The rest of the book has kept me on the path to realizing my dream, which has led me here to Israel.
2. One book you have read more than once?
I have so many, it's hard to choose! I'm going to go with "Twelve" by Nick McDonnell. I was in awe that such an amazing book was written by a 17 year old, and it also helped that Hunter Thompson wrote such a glowing endorsement. The book lived up to its hype and is definitely a must-read (I found specific nuances that I missed the first couple of times around that really helped me get where the author was coming from).
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" by Michael Chabon. I absolutely adore this book, could read it over and over and over again. It has everything I could want to keep me interested: action, war, sexual ambivalence, coming-of-age, Jewish-in-theme, personal journeys, and the comics.
4. One book that made you laugh?
Easy. "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People: A Memoir" by Toby Young. I was rolling on the floor laughing with this one, as Young's hijinks with Graydon Carter and Vanity Fair were legendary.
5. One book that made you cry?!
I can't pick one, because two stand out in my mind. The first is "Eric" by Doris Lund. I read this in high school and cried each night until its completion. A true story written by a mother who loses her son to cancer. Her writing was superb, and so heartfelt, but it also gave the reader such tremendous insight and detail into Eric's perspecitve and the author's view of death and dying. I read this when I was a pre-teen and it left a huge impression. The second book is "The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu: The Commander of the Entebbe Operation 1963-1976". One of my heroes in life, this book made me shed many tears. How could you not while reading the personal and private thoughts of a man who died saving hundreds of Jews?
6. One book you wish had been written?
"Tripping on the Red Carpet: A tell-all memoir and survival guide to celebrity publicity". It would have been great if someone had written a book about the world of celebrity PR, before I decided to go into the field. With so many juicy stories out there, I bet it would be a best-seller!
7. One book you wish had never been written?
"Be More Chill" by Ned Vizzini. Another young wunderkid writer who had been hyped all over Manhattan, I had to read his books for a client. The first two were okay but this one was so terrible that, when I got to the ending, I literally yelled: "You've GOT to be kidding me" and then launched the book clear across the room. I didn't like the ending. Not at all.
8. One book you are currently reading?
In addition to the book mentioned above, I'm in the midst of "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. Been meaning to read that for years and have finally started. I'm not that far along and am still waiting for the magic to begin.
9. One book you've been meaning to read?
"Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I loved "Memiors of my Melancholy Whores" and so I wanted to read this and also "One Hundred Years of Solitutde". If Marquez is as good as Paulo Coehlo, I'm going to be a happy reader!
10. Now tag 5 people:
So, my five people don't have blogs but are voracious readers and I would love for them to post their responses to my blog!
Jenny S.
Julie W. (a.k.a Jules)
Ilya W.
Shulamit H.
Marnina A.
Layla Tov!
Friday, August 18, 2006
August 26th event
I had meant to post the information Mottie gave me, but forgot to add it to my last blog entry:
August 26th, 8:00 p.m. at Yafo Atika. The shindig is called Tikar Yidomim.
And there will be Ladino music :)
Song of the day: Out Here All Night by Damone.
August 26th, 8:00 p.m. at Yafo Atika. The shindig is called Tikar Yidomim.
And there will be Ladino music :)
Song of the day: Out Here All Night by Damone.
Walking into Walls
My favorite journalism professor at Queens College, Bill Neugebauer, (aka "Neuggie") once gave me some sage advice. He said, "never act like you don't know where you're going. If that means walking into a wall, then you walk into a wall and act that you had meant to do that."
Today, I walked into a lot of walls.
As expected, jet lag kicked in and I didn't get to sleep until 4:30 am. Good thing that a lot of my friends in the States were on IM, so at least I had company, I woke up to some pre-set random radio station and while it to me a while to understand the words to the song that was playing, when I did the translation from Hebrew into English in my head, it put a smile on my face. The chorus was "Ani Chozeret HaBayta". I'm returning home.
Think G-d's sending me a message?
That got me up and out of bed fairly quickly. I had a quick shower and got ready to head over to the Dizengoff Center Mall. Before I left the apartment, I called my friend Yitz's cousin Andrew, who is a founding member of the congregation I'm hoping to attention. Andrew was great and he gave me the 411 on the Minyan (service). He told me not to come to shul on Friday night because, unlike the Upper West Side, people don't really go. He also gave me the download for Shabbos and, if I wake up in time, I'm hoping to make it there tomorrow.
Armed with that knowledge, I strapped on my trusty Sketchers and hit the streets. With Neuggies words reverberating in my head, I consulted my map and quickly wrote out some notes. I was to take Allenby up to Pliskin, hang a right onto Bograshov and then that should take me straight to Dizengoff. When I got to the top of Bograshov, I saw the Dizengoff mall and was confronted with two options. One, go up this STEEP hill to what appeared was a parking lot and an entrance way. Or, two, walk around the block and hope there were entrances on that side.
I chose to go up the STEEP hill for cardio sake (see Victoria, I was thinking about ya!). That hill will have me hurting for days, talk about buns of steel! Somehow, I got inside the mall from the top and managed to make it into the building without security checking my bag.
No good. Lax security got me a little nervous, given where I was, but I quickly shrugged it off when I accidentally opened a random door to three people having a meeting.
See what I mean by walking into walls.
I apologized and hit the mall floors. And then it hit me. Friday the malls are NUTS! It's like going to the Roosevelt Field Mall in Queens on a Sunday, not something I want to do, But, with zero supplies and reinforcements in my apartment, and Shabbos fast approaching, I really needed to get some food.
I walked around the mall for 2 hours before I found the Super Center Supermarket. Now, I could have asked someone to point it out to me, but then I would have been able to find the cool stores or change cash. Somehow, I also managed to find Psycho Tattoo and I thought about going inside to say hello to Yoni and to meet Lior, but decided to come back later in the week. Hopefully, it will be quieter then. I also headed up to the movie theatre and was THRILLED to see that the new Aaron Eckhart/Helena Bonham Carter movie is playing here! I had wanted to see that flick before I left NYC, so now I know I'll have something else to do later on this week.
SuperCenter had some interesting items. I was so out of it though, I managed to buy a frying pan, some PAM but no eggs. Yup. I'm going to be frying nothing for breakfast on Sunday morning. What I really wanted were liquid egg whites, but I couldn't find any. Oh well, I'll keep looking. In the meantime, there were these food stands set up and I managed to find one with a Teudah (kosher certificate) and the woman behind the counter promised that the vegetables I bought were steamed and not cooked in oil. I got some sesame chicken (Of SumSum) and the vegees for dinner tonight.
By the time I walked back to my apartment, my dogs were barking and bleeding (my Vans ripped the hell out of my heels in the airport yesterday) and I had sweated through my t-shirt. Not too attractive.
After unpacking the groceries, I went to the Opera Promenade to see what movies are playing at that theatre. I am hoping to catch a flick on Sat night, unless I end up meeting my former client out for drinks. Anyway, I went to Aroma Cafe and ordered an Iced Aroma Diet coffee and was in HEAVEN! This stuff is better than a Starbucks Frappuccino and they even gave it to me with a tiny, little, chocolate bar. I took my yummy coffee and hit the beach. The wind was amazing, coming across the waves steadily, and the sun wasn't beating down too heavily. I sat down and started writing this blog entry in my notebook when Mottie walked by and asked me if I was writing HIM a letter. I laughed and said it was for my Mom, and he decided to join me on the Tayelet (Boardwalk). We ended up speaking for almost 45 minutes and I conducted the ENTIRE conversation in Hebrew. I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself, especially since we spoke about politics, my move to Tel Aviv, what I do for a living, etc. Mottie was pretty cool and then he told me about some big event taking place in Jaffa on August 26th. It sounds like it's Tel Aviv's version of Central Park Summerstage, with lots of live music and some dancing.
He was persistent on having me come, so I told him that my "boyfriend" and I would try to stop by. He seemed a little disappointed that I had an "Israeli boyfriend" but was pleased that I said we would stop by. (I hope that's the last time I need to lie about having a bf, but it was definitely heading in a direction I wasn't interested in).
Impressions thus far:
1) No iPods. I was surprised that no one else was walking around Tel Aviv listening to music. NYC is littered with people accessorized by the white headphones. But here, no one was plugged in. Made me stand out like a sore thumb.
2) Banana Hammocks - Seriously, this is a big problem. Not every guy should be wearing a banana hammock and yet, they all walk around proud as can be. It looked painful on some, and was just plain painful to see on others.
Well, I'm still struggling to figure out my cell phone, so I'm off to try and access my VM's. Apparently, I have four messages and I have no clue who could have already called me! If it's anyone who is reading this blog, I apologize for not returning your call! I promise I will as soon as I figure out how to get my messages.
Shabbat Shalom!
Today, I walked into a lot of walls.
As expected, jet lag kicked in and I didn't get to sleep until 4:30 am. Good thing that a lot of my friends in the States were on IM, so at least I had company, I woke up to some pre-set random radio station and while it to me a while to understand the words to the song that was playing, when I did the translation from Hebrew into English in my head, it put a smile on my face. The chorus was "Ani Chozeret HaBayta". I'm returning home.
Think G-d's sending me a message?
That got me up and out of bed fairly quickly. I had a quick shower and got ready to head over to the Dizengoff Center Mall. Before I left the apartment, I called my friend Yitz's cousin Andrew, who is a founding member of the congregation I'm hoping to attention. Andrew was great and he gave me the 411 on the Minyan (service). He told me not to come to shul on Friday night because, unlike the Upper West Side, people don't really go. He also gave me the download for Shabbos and, if I wake up in time, I'm hoping to make it there tomorrow.
Armed with that knowledge, I strapped on my trusty Sketchers and hit the streets. With Neuggies words reverberating in my head, I consulted my map and quickly wrote out some notes. I was to take Allenby up to Pliskin, hang a right onto Bograshov and then that should take me straight to Dizengoff. When I got to the top of Bograshov, I saw the Dizengoff mall and was confronted with two options. One, go up this STEEP hill to what appeared was a parking lot and an entrance way. Or, two, walk around the block and hope there were entrances on that side.
I chose to go up the STEEP hill for cardio sake (see Victoria, I was thinking about ya!). That hill will have me hurting for days, talk about buns of steel! Somehow, I got inside the mall from the top and managed to make it into the building without security checking my bag.
No good. Lax security got me a little nervous, given where I was, but I quickly shrugged it off when I accidentally opened a random door to three people having a meeting.
See what I mean by walking into walls.
I apologized and hit the mall floors. And then it hit me. Friday the malls are NUTS! It's like going to the Roosevelt Field Mall in Queens on a Sunday, not something I want to do, But, with zero supplies and reinforcements in my apartment, and Shabbos fast approaching, I really needed to get some food.
I walked around the mall for 2 hours before I found the Super Center Supermarket. Now, I could have asked someone to point it out to me, but then I would have been able to find the cool stores or change cash. Somehow, I also managed to find Psycho Tattoo and I thought about going inside to say hello to Yoni and to meet Lior, but decided to come back later in the week. Hopefully, it will be quieter then. I also headed up to the movie theatre and was THRILLED to see that the new Aaron Eckhart/Helena Bonham Carter movie is playing here! I had wanted to see that flick before I left NYC, so now I know I'll have something else to do later on this week.
SuperCenter had some interesting items. I was so out of it though, I managed to buy a frying pan, some PAM but no eggs. Yup. I'm going to be frying nothing for breakfast on Sunday morning. What I really wanted were liquid egg whites, but I couldn't find any. Oh well, I'll keep looking. In the meantime, there were these food stands set up and I managed to find one with a Teudah (kosher certificate) and the woman behind the counter promised that the vegetables I bought were steamed and not cooked in oil. I got some sesame chicken (Of SumSum) and the vegees for dinner tonight.
By the time I walked back to my apartment, my dogs were barking and bleeding (my Vans ripped the hell out of my heels in the airport yesterday) and I had sweated through my t-shirt. Not too attractive.
After unpacking the groceries, I went to the Opera Promenade to see what movies are playing at that theatre. I am hoping to catch a flick on Sat night, unless I end up meeting my former client out for drinks. Anyway, I went to Aroma Cafe and ordered an Iced Aroma Diet coffee and was in HEAVEN! This stuff is better than a Starbucks Frappuccino and they even gave it to me with a tiny, little, chocolate bar. I took my yummy coffee and hit the beach. The wind was amazing, coming across the waves steadily, and the sun wasn't beating down too heavily. I sat down and started writing this blog entry in my notebook when Mottie walked by and asked me if I was writing HIM a letter. I laughed and said it was for my Mom, and he decided to join me on the Tayelet (Boardwalk). We ended up speaking for almost 45 minutes and I conducted the ENTIRE conversation in Hebrew. I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself, especially since we spoke about politics, my move to Tel Aviv, what I do for a living, etc. Mottie was pretty cool and then he told me about some big event taking place in Jaffa on August 26th. It sounds like it's Tel Aviv's version of Central Park Summerstage, with lots of live music and some dancing.
He was persistent on having me come, so I told him that my "boyfriend" and I would try to stop by. He seemed a little disappointed that I had an "Israeli boyfriend" but was pleased that I said we would stop by. (I hope that's the last time I need to lie about having a bf, but it was definitely heading in a direction I wasn't interested in).
Impressions thus far:
1) No iPods. I was surprised that no one else was walking around Tel Aviv listening to music. NYC is littered with people accessorized by the white headphones. But here, no one was plugged in. Made me stand out like a sore thumb.
2) Banana Hammocks - Seriously, this is a big problem. Not every guy should be wearing a banana hammock and yet, they all walk around proud as can be. It looked painful on some, and was just plain painful to see on others.
Well, I'm still struggling to figure out my cell phone, so I'm off to try and access my VM's. Apparently, I have four messages and I have no clue who could have already called me! If it's anyone who is reading this blog, I apologize for not returning your call! I promise I will as soon as I figure out how to get my messages.
Shabbat Shalom!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
I've Arrived!!
I am here. I can't believe it. I really am truly here. This HolylandHipster is finally blogging from my temporary apartment in Tel Aviv.
It's so surreal.
I'm now going to bore everyone with the details of the trip before getting down to the really, really good stuff.
My parents took me to the airport last night and, of course, my bags were overweight. What did El Al really expect? Fortunately, Mom was being really generous (and Dad really didn't want me to turn around and move back in with them) so she paid for another suitcase. God bless her! We hung out until 9:00 pm before they decided to go home and get to bed and that left me 3 1/2 hours to hang at the airport. My flight was PACKED! They were offering people overnight stay in a hotel and a free roundtrip ticket to take another flight, but with my overweight bags already checked in, there was no way I was volunteering. I was ready to get here.
We finally loaded the plane and it was one of the most organized, efficient experiences. Seriously. El Al has really come a lot way. The entire trip, the staff on the plane was courteous, kind and prompt. Whenever I wanted more water, a stewardess was there with a glass. It was nice. Unfortunately, and I will dedicate an entire blog to this much later, the whole no-creams/no make-up/no deoderant on board was really a big hinderance for me. There were a number of guys I would have chatted with but without some newly sprayed deoderants, I really just didn't want to chance it. I was also dying for some lip balm. Fortunately, I made it through the 10 hours without my favorite plane products. Anyway, I sat next to a yeshivah bochur from Mexico! Didn't speak a word of English and was on the plane with a bunch of buddies from Mexico. Made me regret spending two hours talking to Moshe a few weeks ago when I needed to interview him about the Jewish community in Costa Rica. I could have interviewed David from Mexico instead. Between my zero-knoweldge base on Spanish and David's broken Hebrew, it would have been interesting. David was great seatmate though, we basically slept for most of the flight.
We landed and I situated myself between two guys, because I knew there was no way I could get my bags off of the belts. These guys were great, although one remarked that he wouldn't be going to the gym anytime soon since lifting my bag was harder than his workouts.
So, this guy I met online picked me up at the airport. Seriously. There are really nice guys out there. We have been e-mailing for a few months, he saw a post on Janglo that I had put up in July, and we've been e-mailing ever since. Anyway, he was amazing. Not only did he bring me a bottle of water AND maps of neighborhoods in Israel, he drove me to my apartment, and helped bring my bags up two HUGE flights of steps. Sadly, he had to bail after bringing my into my apartment, but he reaffirmed my faith in nice guys.
Now on to Zion and my apartment. Zion is THE MAN. Seriously, he was great. He waited for me to arrive tonight, putting off family dinner and everything, to show me the ins and outs of the building. Basically, the building is full. There are six French families, two Belgian guys, a single American girl and four Italian girls, all staying here. Not one Israeli. Anyway, Zion even drove me to the cell phone store on Allenby so I could pick up a new phone. Now tell me, what landlord in Manhattan would do that?
In the cell phone store, I was in and out in no time at all. I decided to go with the Motorola RAZR since it's so similar to my Samsaung faux-RAZR from home. In 15 minutes, I was good to go. I have a cell phone, a US calling card and more than 200 minutes of calls to Israel. I should be good for at least a few weeks.
And that brought my growling stomach to the AM PM store on Allenby. The selection was pretty interesting. I went straight to check on my American products and was shocked to see that bandaids are 11 shekel! That seemed pretty expensive to me. Anyway, I picked up a box of Honey Bunches of Oats (with almonds), 1% milk, a BIG bottle of Me-Eden water and some paper bowls and spoons. I made my way back towards my apartment and stopped by the fountain at the Opera Promenade (view in the photo above) to just sit for a minute and soak it all in.
My initial observations:
1) Where are the soldiers? This is the first time I've been in Israel and haven't seen Chayalim every where I turn. Are they still ALL up North?
2) I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the Stripclub near my apartment. It looks like Billystopless on 9th Avenue in the City. It was a little odd to see but funny nonetheless. First time I've seen that in Israel. I'll take a photo and will upload to FLICKR once I find my camera
3) Technologically, Israel has really evolved. My laptop is working beautifully with the wireless in the building, I've been in the country less than 5 hours and I'm already blogging, Zion and I chatted about his VOIP and SKPE, and my cell phone was up and running in 15 minutes. That was terrific.
4) I should have gone to the singles party at Mike's Place tonight but couldn't rally enough to go hunting for my jeans in my bags. Basically, there was an Anglo singles party at Mike's Place, which is a bar near the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, for singles in their 20's - 40's. It was nice to see the post on Taanglo, and even better to know that there is an active Anglo singles community in Tel Aviv
Jet lag just started to hit me and so I think I'm going to hit the hay and get ready for tomorrow morning's crazy day.
I miss NYC but man, is it nice to be here!
Song for the evening is One but the Mary J. Blige and U2 collaboration.
It's so surreal.
I'm now going to bore everyone with the details of the trip before getting down to the really, really good stuff.
My parents took me to the airport last night and, of course, my bags were overweight. What did El Al really expect? Fortunately, Mom was being really generous (and Dad really didn't want me to turn around and move back in with them) so she paid for another suitcase. God bless her! We hung out until 9:00 pm before they decided to go home and get to bed and that left me 3 1/2 hours to hang at the airport. My flight was PACKED! They were offering people overnight stay in a hotel and a free roundtrip ticket to take another flight, but with my overweight bags already checked in, there was no way I was volunteering. I was ready to get here.
We finally loaded the plane and it was one of the most organized, efficient experiences. Seriously. El Al has really come a lot way. The entire trip, the staff on the plane was courteous, kind and prompt. Whenever I wanted more water, a stewardess was there with a glass. It was nice. Unfortunately, and I will dedicate an entire blog to this much later, the whole no-creams/no make-up/no deoderant on board was really a big hinderance for me. There were a number of guys I would have chatted with but without some newly sprayed deoderants, I really just didn't want to chance it. I was also dying for some lip balm. Fortunately, I made it through the 10 hours without my favorite plane products. Anyway, I sat next to a yeshivah bochur from Mexico! Didn't speak a word of English and was on the plane with a bunch of buddies from Mexico. Made me regret spending two hours talking to Moshe a few weeks ago when I needed to interview him about the Jewish community in Costa Rica. I could have interviewed David from Mexico instead. Between my zero-knoweldge base on Spanish and David's broken Hebrew, it would have been interesting. David was great seatmate though, we basically slept for most of the flight.
We landed and I situated myself between two guys, because I knew there was no way I could get my bags off of the belts. These guys were great, although one remarked that he wouldn't be going to the gym anytime soon since lifting my bag was harder than his workouts.
So, this guy I met online picked me up at the airport. Seriously. There are really nice guys out there. We have been e-mailing for a few months, he saw a post on Janglo that I had put up in July, and we've been e-mailing ever since. Anyway, he was amazing. Not only did he bring me a bottle of water AND maps of neighborhoods in Israel, he drove me to my apartment, and helped bring my bags up two HUGE flights of steps. Sadly, he had to bail after bringing my into my apartment, but he reaffirmed my faith in nice guys.
Now on to Zion and my apartment. Zion is THE MAN. Seriously, he was great. He waited for me to arrive tonight, putting off family dinner and everything, to show me the ins and outs of the building. Basically, the building is full. There are six French families, two Belgian guys, a single American girl and four Italian girls, all staying here. Not one Israeli. Anyway, Zion even drove me to the cell phone store on Allenby so I could pick up a new phone. Now tell me, what landlord in Manhattan would do that?
In the cell phone store, I was in and out in no time at all. I decided to go with the Motorola RAZR since it's so similar to my Samsaung faux-RAZR from home. In 15 minutes, I was good to go. I have a cell phone, a US calling card and more than 200 minutes of calls to Israel. I should be good for at least a few weeks.
And that brought my growling stomach to the AM PM store on Allenby. The selection was pretty interesting. I went straight to check on my American products and was shocked to see that bandaids are 11 shekel! That seemed pretty expensive to me. Anyway, I picked up a box of Honey Bunches of Oats (with almonds), 1% milk, a BIG bottle of Me-Eden water and some paper bowls and spoons. I made my way back towards my apartment and stopped by the fountain at the Opera Promenade (view in the photo above) to just sit for a minute and soak it all in.
My initial observations:
1) Where are the soldiers? This is the first time I've been in Israel and haven't seen Chayalim every where I turn. Are they still ALL up North?
2) I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the Stripclub near my apartment. It looks like Billystopless on 9th Avenue in the City. It was a little odd to see but funny nonetheless. First time I've seen that in Israel. I'll take a photo and will upload to FLICKR once I find my camera
3) Technologically, Israel has really evolved. My laptop is working beautifully with the wireless in the building, I've been in the country less than 5 hours and I'm already blogging, Zion and I chatted about his VOIP and SKPE, and my cell phone was up and running in 15 minutes. That was terrific.
4) I should have gone to the singles party at Mike's Place tonight but couldn't rally enough to go hunting for my jeans in my bags. Basically, there was an Anglo singles party at Mike's Place, which is a bar near the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, for singles in their 20's - 40's. It was nice to see the post on Taanglo, and even better to know that there is an active Anglo singles community in Tel Aviv
Jet lag just started to hit me and so I think I'm going to hit the hay and get ready for tomorrow morning's crazy day.
I miss NYC but man, is it nice to be here!
Song for the evening is One but the Mary J. Blige and U2 collaboration.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
A Kept Woman
It's 12:50 pm and, at this time on Wednesday night, I should already be one hour into my flight. I can't believe it's really, finally, happening.
Today, I felt like a kept woman. Like all of those Upper West and Upper East Side married women who have nannies and spend the day grooming. And, the best part of the day, was that I was able to explore and say goodbye to four different neighborhoods!
My afternoon started in Midtown, where Teri at Salon Today gave me a full 60-minute signature massage that include hot stones and some hard-core massage therapy. Oiled and blissfully happy, I then got a manucire-pedicure from both Teri and Betty. The women in the salon were looking at me like I should have been somebody, with two women working on different appendages at the same time! The best part of the entire grooming affair was that I didn't pay a cent. My cousin and his girlfriend gave me a gift certificate for my birthday last year, and with the move imminent and the gift certificate coming up for expiration, I decided to treat myself before I left. It was a good decision. I am seriously stressed.
Next, it was on to Rockefeller Center for a quick bite to eat by the park. It was nice visiting my old stomping grounds from years working at a PR firm near NBC/AP and Fox News Channel. It was a gorgeous day outside so I got to eat my lunch and people watch, which is a serious hobby of mine.
Next, I hopped on a downtown C train and headed to see Rob, my hairstylist. While on the train, I ran into a guy from my old gym. It was funny. We worked out at the same gym for 4 1/2 years and he never even acknowledged me. Once I get on the same train as him (he?), it was like I was his long-lost best friend. Odd.
I finally get to Soho and, before my appointment with Rob, made my way to some of my favorite shopping destinations. Since I literally have zero room left in my luggage, I couldn't buy anything, but it was nice to be able to look around and appreciate the Fall fashion.
Somehow, Rob always manages to get me into trouble. I was just looking for a quick touch-up on my highlights and serious bangs trim, and he managed to convince me to go dark. Courtney Cox-Arquette dark. Like the cover of this month's Marie Claire magazine. By the time he wa finished with my color, I didn't recognize the person in the mirror. Fortunately, Mom was asleep when I got home, but I know tomorrow night she will be pretty surprised at the drastic new do!
From Soho, it was back onto the C train to meet Julie at Zen Palate. The absolute best vegetarian restaurant in town, Zen Palate is a grew place that is cheap, tasty, and caters to my vegetarian friend. We had a great dinner and then Juliet walked me to the bus to go up to the Upper West Side. When she started tearing up though, I almost broke down. I'm going to miss all of my friends and family so much, it's really starting to translate into some serious cold feet. As soon as the emotions start to get the best of me, I have to get away. So, I hugged her one more time and hopped into a cab, promising to see her in February and pledging to keep in touch.
So, in case you lost me, here's a recap. Queens to Midtown, Midtown to Rockefeller Center, Rock Center to Soho, Soho to Union Square, Union Square to Upper West Side.
I ended up at the UWS apartment of one of my guy friends so we could watch Weeds. The new season premiered on Showtime and, since I absolutely adored the first season, had to watch this episode before I left the country. I got to his place just in time for the episode and then, less than an hour later, we were saying goodbye and I was back in a cab heading home to Queens.
Tomorrow is my last day going into the City and I'm going to briefly be on the Upper West Side. It will be madness tomorrow as I try to get everything done before leaving for the airport.
Tonight, I just don't know what I'm going to miss more: my family and friends, or Manhattan?
Song for the evening: Forever by Turin Brakes.
Today, I felt like a kept woman. Like all of those Upper West and Upper East Side married women who have nannies and spend the day grooming. And, the best part of the day, was that I was able to explore and say goodbye to four different neighborhoods!
My afternoon started in Midtown, where Teri at Salon Today gave me a full 60-minute signature massage that include hot stones and some hard-core massage therapy. Oiled and blissfully happy, I then got a manucire-pedicure from both Teri and Betty. The women in the salon were looking at me like I should have been somebody, with two women working on different appendages at the same time! The best part of the entire grooming affair was that I didn't pay a cent. My cousin and his girlfriend gave me a gift certificate for my birthday last year, and with the move imminent and the gift certificate coming up for expiration, I decided to treat myself before I left. It was a good decision. I am seriously stressed.
Next, it was on to Rockefeller Center for a quick bite to eat by the park. It was nice visiting my old stomping grounds from years working at a PR firm near NBC/AP and Fox News Channel. It was a gorgeous day outside so I got to eat my lunch and people watch, which is a serious hobby of mine.
Next, I hopped on a downtown C train and headed to see Rob, my hairstylist. While on the train, I ran into a guy from my old gym. It was funny. We worked out at the same gym for 4 1/2 years and he never even acknowledged me. Once I get on the same train as him (he?), it was like I was his long-lost best friend. Odd.
I finally get to Soho and, before my appointment with Rob, made my way to some of my favorite shopping destinations. Since I literally have zero room left in my luggage, I couldn't buy anything, but it was nice to be able to look around and appreciate the Fall fashion.
Somehow, Rob always manages to get me into trouble. I was just looking for a quick touch-up on my highlights and serious bangs trim, and he managed to convince me to go dark. Courtney Cox-Arquette dark. Like the cover of this month's Marie Claire magazine. By the time he wa finished with my color, I didn't recognize the person in the mirror. Fortunately, Mom was asleep when I got home, but I know tomorrow night she will be pretty surprised at the drastic new do!
From Soho, it was back onto the C train to meet Julie at Zen Palate. The absolute best vegetarian restaurant in town, Zen Palate is a grew place that is cheap, tasty, and caters to my vegetarian friend. We had a great dinner and then Juliet walked me to the bus to go up to the Upper West Side. When she started tearing up though, I almost broke down. I'm going to miss all of my friends and family so much, it's really starting to translate into some serious cold feet. As soon as the emotions start to get the best of me, I have to get away. So, I hugged her one more time and hopped into a cab, promising to see her in February and pledging to keep in touch.
So, in case you lost me, here's a recap. Queens to Midtown, Midtown to Rockefeller Center, Rock Center to Soho, Soho to Union Square, Union Square to Upper West Side.
I ended up at the UWS apartment of one of my guy friends so we could watch Weeds. The new season premiered on Showtime and, since I absolutely adored the first season, had to watch this episode before I left the country. I got to his place just in time for the episode and then, less than an hour later, we were saying goodbye and I was back in a cab heading home to Queens.
Tomorrow is my last day going into the City and I'm going to briefly be on the Upper West Side. It will be madness tomorrow as I try to get everything done before leaving for the airport.
Tonight, I just don't know what I'm going to miss more: my family and friends, or Manhattan?
Song for the evening: Forever by Turin Brakes.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Limp
I only really listen to Fiona Apple when something is wrong. It's 12:40 am on Monday morning and I'm still up, listening to Fiona Apple. Clearly, something is going on.
Sunday was my designated packing day. And, being slightly anal and uber-organized, it took me a really long time to actually start putting things into my rolling duffels. First, I had to sit down and make a list of everything that is going into the bags. Then, I had to bring all the items on the list downstairs into my parent's living room. After that, I had to open any and all toiletries and place them in plastic bags (so they won't open and spill all over my clothing). After that, I had to divide everthing evenly, and cluster the split clothing/toiletries/books, etc. around the appropriate duffel bags. That all took me four and a half hours! Finally, it was moment-of-truth-time. Whether or not the duffel bags could hold all my stuff was going to be a BIG if! I took a deep breath and got started.
When I finished packing "duffel one" and started zipping up the case, I noticed a big RIP right by the zipper. Well, obviously this was the moment to freak out. One, because I am leaving in two days and don't have time to run out and buy another suitcase and two, because these suitcases are BRAND SPANKING NEW!!!
Samsonite is a brand now on my s**t list, man!
Fortunately, my brother had a huge rolling duffel bag that he uses when he goes snowboarding to Heavenly. After much cajoling and bribing (i.e. I had to throw out the garbage last night, clean the grill after dinner, etc.) I got his duffel and was able to repack.
Here's hoping that the rip in the suitcase, which fortunately happened two days before I am leaving to Israel, is the WORST thing to happen during this entire move to Tel Aviv.
Song of the early morning is Limp by Fiona Apple.
Layla Tov
Sunday was my designated packing day. And, being slightly anal and uber-organized, it took me a really long time to actually start putting things into my rolling duffels. First, I had to sit down and make a list of everything that is going into the bags. Then, I had to bring all the items on the list downstairs into my parent's living room. After that, I had to open any and all toiletries and place them in plastic bags (so they won't open and spill all over my clothing). After that, I had to divide everthing evenly, and cluster the split clothing/toiletries/books, etc. around the appropriate duffel bags. That all took me four and a half hours! Finally, it was moment-of-truth-time. Whether or not the duffel bags could hold all my stuff was going to be a BIG if! I took a deep breath and got started.
When I finished packing "duffel one" and started zipping up the case, I noticed a big RIP right by the zipper. Well, obviously this was the moment to freak out. One, because I am leaving in two days and don't have time to run out and buy another suitcase and two, because these suitcases are BRAND SPANKING NEW!!!
Samsonite is a brand now on my s**t list, man!
Fortunately, my brother had a huge rolling duffel bag that he uses when he goes snowboarding to Heavenly. After much cajoling and bribing (i.e. I had to throw out the garbage last night, clean the grill after dinner, etc.) I got his duffel and was able to repack.
Here's hoping that the rip in the suitcase, which fortunately happened two days before I am leaving to Israel, is the WORST thing to happen during this entire move to Tel Aviv.
Song of the early morning is Limp by Fiona Apple.
Layla Tov
Friday, August 11, 2006
Cigarettes and Alcohol
As usual when I sit down to blog, I went looking for some good tunes to accompany my writing. For some reason, I can't seem to find "Cigarettes and Alcohol" by Oasis in my iTunes but that song would have been perfect.
This morning, I felt like the drunk girl from The 40-Year-Old-Virgin movie but minus upchucking the shellfish sandwich. If you've seen the movie, you'll undoubtebly remember the hysterical car scene. Swap Steve Carrell out and put my 80+ year old Grandmother into the passenger seat, and we've got a bad movie. Now, before y'all start calling the cops and screaming DUI, I was NOT drunk. I wasn't even hung over. I was just exhausted from last night's farewell bash at Verlaine's on the Lower East Side. But, since I had promised Grandma to take her to buy shoes before I leave for Israel, that meant waking up at the crack of dawn after five hours of drinking and only 5 hours of sleeping and driving a few miles to the special shoe store. Fortunately, we made it there and back in one piece (and I even managed to parallel park without a problem), and Grandma even got a nice pair of Mary Janes out of the excursion.
So, last night was the final farewell get together before my flight to Tel Aviv next week. It was off-the-hook fun. Verlaine's is one of my favorite wateringholes in all of Gotham City, and my friend Gary (co-owner) took really good care of us. Loads of people showed up. Old work buddies: Vicky and her cousin Claire, Jill, Julie and Schuyler. My friend Zeke who I've known since we met at summer camp when he was 15 and I was 16, my entire Ulpan class including Rob (the absolute BEST baker on the Upper West Side), Orna and her boyfriend Lior, Bracha, her husband Yotam and their friend Mia, my friends Ron and Suzanne, and last but NEVER least, my writer friends Jules and Jenny who have been my partners in crime for the past 3 1/2 years.
It was overwhelming seeing everyone and I wasn't able to give everyone the one-on-one attention they deserved, but by the end of the night Julie, Jules, Jenny and I were able to grab a final drink and really talk. Someone had posed this question to me a few days ago, and I was curious to see their comments.
Question: You have 5 days left in New York City, what is the one thing you want to do (that you've never ever done) before you leave town?
Jenny: Go see The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway, jump on the Circle Line or take the Staten Island Ferry. Now, I've already been on the Ferry when Jules and I went to Across the Narrows for my birthday last year, but I've never done the Circle Line or been to that broadway show. Interesting choices and VERY Jenny, who is Queens of Manhattan Culture.
Jules: Go to Ellis Island and see where our families all came from. Now, this was pretty surprising coming from Jules, I actually thought she would tell me that we should take in one last concert at a new venue (i.e. one of the WIlliamsburg hotspots) but since everyone was coming up with touristy suggestions, I think this was a pretty good recommendation
Juliet: I actually cannot remember what she said! At that point of the evening, I was on my first Lemongrass Mule which had followed four Ginger-Ales (soo good it has Ginger-infused Sake, Ginger Beer and some other great alcohols, topped with a lychee nut). I think she suggested going to Roosevelt Island, but I'm not sure if that was also another Jenny suggestion.
As for what I'm going to do with four more nights left in the City, I honestly don't know. But, I'll be sure to blog about the experience as soon as I do it!
Song for the day: Get Your Freak On by Missy Elliott. For obvious reasons.
This morning, I felt like the drunk girl from The 40-Year-Old-Virgin movie but minus upchucking the shellfish sandwich. If you've seen the movie, you'll undoubtebly remember the hysterical car scene. Swap Steve Carrell out and put my 80+ year old Grandmother into the passenger seat, and we've got a bad movie. Now, before y'all start calling the cops and screaming DUI, I was NOT drunk. I wasn't even hung over. I was just exhausted from last night's farewell bash at Verlaine's on the Lower East Side. But, since I had promised Grandma to take her to buy shoes before I leave for Israel, that meant waking up at the crack of dawn after five hours of drinking and only 5 hours of sleeping and driving a few miles to the special shoe store. Fortunately, we made it there and back in one piece (and I even managed to parallel park without a problem), and Grandma even got a nice pair of Mary Janes out of the excursion.
So, last night was the final farewell get together before my flight to Tel Aviv next week. It was off-the-hook fun. Verlaine's is one of my favorite wateringholes in all of Gotham City, and my friend Gary (co-owner) took really good care of us. Loads of people showed up. Old work buddies: Vicky and her cousin Claire, Jill, Julie and Schuyler. My friend Zeke who I've known since we met at summer camp when he was 15 and I was 16, my entire Ulpan class including Rob (the absolute BEST baker on the Upper West Side), Orna and her boyfriend Lior, Bracha, her husband Yotam and their friend Mia, my friends Ron and Suzanne, and last but NEVER least, my writer friends Jules and Jenny who have been my partners in crime for the past 3 1/2 years.
It was overwhelming seeing everyone and I wasn't able to give everyone the one-on-one attention they deserved, but by the end of the night Julie, Jules, Jenny and I were able to grab a final drink and really talk. Someone had posed this question to me a few days ago, and I was curious to see their comments.
Question: You have 5 days left in New York City, what is the one thing you want to do (that you've never ever done) before you leave town?
Jenny: Go see The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway, jump on the Circle Line or take the Staten Island Ferry. Now, I've already been on the Ferry when Jules and I went to Across the Narrows for my birthday last year, but I've never done the Circle Line or been to that broadway show. Interesting choices and VERY Jenny, who is Queens of Manhattan Culture.
Jules: Go to Ellis Island and see where our families all came from. Now, this was pretty surprising coming from Jules, I actually thought she would tell me that we should take in one last concert at a new venue (i.e. one of the WIlliamsburg hotspots) but since everyone was coming up with touristy suggestions, I think this was a pretty good recommendation
Juliet: I actually cannot remember what she said! At that point of the evening, I was on my first Lemongrass Mule which had followed four Ginger-Ales (soo good it has Ginger-infused Sake, Ginger Beer and some other great alcohols, topped with a lychee nut). I think she suggested going to Roosevelt Island, but I'm not sure if that was also another Jenny suggestion.
As for what I'm going to do with four more nights left in the City, I honestly don't know. But, I'll be sure to blog about the experience as soon as I do it!
Song for the day: Get Your Freak On by Missy Elliott. For obvious reasons.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
15 Chayalim Killed
It's now 11:35 pm EST as I write this blog and, at this time next week, I should be getting on a plane bound for Ben Gurion airport. It's surreal. And what's worse, is that as my excitement grows for my move, soldiers and citizens keep dying.
15 Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon today, and what was I doing when this happened? I spent the day preparing for my trip to Tel Aviv. Blissfully happy.
The day was chock full of activities. I went to the gym this morning and got in 45 minutes of cardio. I then came home, showered, got dressed and went into the City to meet my Aunt for lunch at My Most Favorite Desserts. We had a really lovely, relaxing lunch. The weather in NYC today was gorgeous, low 80's with relatively low humidity and a light breeze that made sitting outside simply amazing. We then went to Lord and Taylor so I could shop for some more skirts to wear in the hot, Tel Aviv weather. We parted ways on Park Avenue and she gave me two gifts. One from her (money is always appreciated; thank you soo much Aunt Amy!!) and a present from my Aunt and Uncle in Florida (the journal and stationary set will really come in handy, thank you guys!!). Then I hit my absolutely favorite store in all of NYC: Duane Reade. For those reading my blog who aren't familiar with the chain of drugstores, Duane Reade is the Bergdorf Goodman's of toiletries. I decided I want to come to Israel with a month's supply of all of my usual products. One hour later, and toteing two HUGE bags of stuff, I made my way to Starbucks to wait for Scott.
Scott is one of my absolutely favorite people in the world. He was my very first boss when I started working in PR, and is the mentor responsible for my successful career. I worked for and with him for almost three years and it was amazing. The fact that we're still close, almost eight years after I started in the business, is really fantastic. I found it fitting that we went for drinks across the street from his office, the site of where it all began for me. Scott is actually the person responsible for my alcohol education when, after my first day on the job in 1998, he took me and a group of new colleagues to Park Avenue Country Club for "welcome drinks". I ordered a Bud Light (I had never been inside a bar before and that was what I knew from TV) and, after the bartender looked horrified with my order, Scott stepped in and saved me. Granted, I was drinking Corona's and Amstel Lights for a while after that day, but I was no longer ashamed to go out with folks from work. Tonight we just laughed and drank and had a good time. I'm really going to miss him when I go.
Of course, when I got home, I was no longer able to keep the media reports at bay and I tuned into Fox News Channel to hear the update. That's when I was informed about the 15 soldiers killed today. I immediately sat down at my laptop and did a google search for the one Chayal I know who is currently serving in the Golani brigade. I will have to blog about Dov at a later date; a man I haven't seen in more than 12 years who I'd love to reconnect with once I move to Israel.
I can't even describe how I feel as I type his name into the google and Ynet, Haaretz and Jpost search engines. For those few seconds, as the search looks for his name, my heart races with fear. And then, I am filled with relief when they can't find his name.
But the relief is truly fleeting, for I then go to the articles about the soldiers killed and read about their lives, their sacrifices, the people they've left behind, the loved ones who are now devestated and lost.
The dichotomy of feelings is really intense. I am elated that Dov has survived to see another day and, at the same time, devestated that someone like Staff Sergeant Michael Levin (Z"L) has been killed.
I wonder how people who have loved ones fighting in the North deal with those conflicting emotional responses. Does anyone else out there feel guilty that their child/husband/son/grandson/nephew/friend was spared but that means that someone else's child/husband/son/grandson/nephew/friend was sacrificed? I'd really love to hear from anyone who is dealing with this situation right now.
In the meantime, I continue to pray that the killing will stop soon.
15 Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon today, and what was I doing when this happened? I spent the day preparing for my trip to Tel Aviv. Blissfully happy.
The day was chock full of activities. I went to the gym this morning and got in 45 minutes of cardio. I then came home, showered, got dressed and went into the City to meet my Aunt for lunch at My Most Favorite Desserts. We had a really lovely, relaxing lunch. The weather in NYC today was gorgeous, low 80's with relatively low humidity and a light breeze that made sitting outside simply amazing. We then went to Lord and Taylor so I could shop for some more skirts to wear in the hot, Tel Aviv weather. We parted ways on Park Avenue and she gave me two gifts. One from her (money is always appreciated; thank you soo much Aunt Amy!!) and a present from my Aunt and Uncle in Florida (the journal and stationary set will really come in handy, thank you guys!!). Then I hit my absolutely favorite store in all of NYC: Duane Reade. For those reading my blog who aren't familiar with the chain of drugstores, Duane Reade is the Bergdorf Goodman's of toiletries. I decided I want to come to Israel with a month's supply of all of my usual products. One hour later, and toteing two HUGE bags of stuff, I made my way to Starbucks to wait for Scott.
Scott is one of my absolutely favorite people in the world. He was my very first boss when I started working in PR, and is the mentor responsible for my successful career. I worked for and with him for almost three years and it was amazing. The fact that we're still close, almost eight years after I started in the business, is really fantastic. I found it fitting that we went for drinks across the street from his office, the site of where it all began for me. Scott is actually the person responsible for my alcohol education when, after my first day on the job in 1998, he took me and a group of new colleagues to Park Avenue Country Club for "welcome drinks". I ordered a Bud Light (I had never been inside a bar before and that was what I knew from TV) and, after the bartender looked horrified with my order, Scott stepped in and saved me. Granted, I was drinking Corona's and Amstel Lights for a while after that day, but I was no longer ashamed to go out with folks from work. Tonight we just laughed and drank and had a good time. I'm really going to miss him when I go.
Of course, when I got home, I was no longer able to keep the media reports at bay and I tuned into Fox News Channel to hear the update. That's when I was informed about the 15 soldiers killed today. I immediately sat down at my laptop and did a google search for the one Chayal I know who is currently serving in the Golani brigade. I will have to blog about Dov at a later date; a man I haven't seen in more than 12 years who I'd love to reconnect with once I move to Israel.
I can't even describe how I feel as I type his name into the google and Ynet, Haaretz and Jpost search engines. For those few seconds, as the search looks for his name, my heart races with fear. And then, I am filled with relief when they can't find his name.
But the relief is truly fleeting, for I then go to the articles about the soldiers killed and read about their lives, their sacrifices, the people they've left behind, the loved ones who are now devestated and lost.
The dichotomy of feelings is really intense. I am elated that Dov has survived to see another day and, at the same time, devestated that someone like Staff Sergeant Michael Levin (Z"L) has been killed.
I wonder how people who have loved ones fighting in the North deal with those conflicting emotional responses. Does anyone else out there feel guilty that their child/husband/son/grandson/nephew/friend was spared but that means that someone else's child/husband/son/grandson/nephew/friend was sacrificed? I'd really love to hear from anyone who is dealing with this situation right now.
In the meantime, I continue to pray that the killing will stop soon.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Other Side of the World
Last night I got back from my vacation in Florida, and now the official count until the big move is 8 days! Less than a week away. Crazy.
The past three days were incredible though. I literally spent the entire trip on the beach, at the pool, or just hanging out with my family and friends. I didn't think about a thing. Not about the fact that I still don't have an apartment, or know what I'm going to do about a bank account, or what my official "status" will be when I'm in Israel. Nothing. I was on vacation and on the beach, and just enjoying my life.
On Saturday night, my friend Jason drove up from South Beach to where I was staying in Palm Beach and we went to see Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The movie was absolutely hysterical! We were in pain half of the time from howling with laughter.
But yesterday was really an interesting day. I started the early morning in Florida with a walk on the beach, and I ended the day sitting on the boardwalk with my friend Assaf here in Atlantic Beach (NY). Leaving Florida was sad as my cousins aren't really supportive of my move to Israel. I think it would be easier on them if the country wasn't currently at war. I know they have my best interest at heart, and they didn't spend the weekend trying to convince me to stay, which was really nice of them. At least they respect my decision to move.
The flight back wasn't as relaxing as I had hoped. First of all, actress Michelle Rodriguez from ABC's Lost was on my flight back from Fort Lauderdale. She was most recently arrested for drunk driving and was later killed off on the show (rumor had it that producers weren't happy with her). I was hoping she wouldn't start any trouble on the flight, I needed to get back to LGA quickly and really wasn't up for a diversion to North Carolina. Regardless, she behaved and all was well as I sat at my window seat and caught up on Fox News Channel.
At one point during the flight, I glanced out the window and saw a plane literally coming staight towards us. Now, I'm okay with sharing the friendly skies with other aircrafts. What I'm NOT okay with is, while in mid-air, being able to make out the name of the second plane flying seemingly straight towards us NOR being able to make out other people flying in that plane. My heart skipped a beat as I watched this plane come really, really close and thought about the irony of the moment. Michelle Rodriguez played a character on the hit show about survivors of an airplane crash. I hoped she wasn't that much of a method actor.
Thank g-d, we landed safe and sound and I was able to hustle it back to Queens in time to do my laundry, make some phone calls, catch up on all of my Israel-move related e-mails, before hopping into my car to run some errands for Dad. Around 5 p.m., Assaf decided last night was the only night we could get together before I moved and so he promised to take the subway out to Queens to hang out. Unfortunately for me, he wasn't able to get out here until after 10 p.m. I picked him up at the subway station in Forest Hills and took him to my absolute favorite spot in all of New York City. The boardwalk at Atlantic Beach.
I have some wonderful and painful memories on that boardwalk. My friend Shulamit and I celebrated our friend Debra's 21st birthday with a picnic at that beach and a really nasty bottle of sparkling peach champagne (only kosher champagne we could find in all of Kew Gardens Hills), my ex and I spent a relaxing summer afternoon there early on in our relationship which turned into a wonderful courtship, another ex broke up with me while we were on the boardwalk during Thanksgiving weekend, and then last night Assaf and I sat and watched the storms roll in with the waves, the lightning acting as a backdrop for a beautiful full moon, and the green light from the Great Gatsby beckoning us from the distance.
The whole evening was wonderful and sad at the same time. Wonderful because I was just happy to be in the moment. Assaf really opened up to me, which I found slightly unusual for the hard-core Israeli I've gotten to know over the past year. Rather than spending the time talking about the logistics of my move, he initially helped me navigate the Orange website earlier in the day, we talked about faith, religion, the meaning of life, our purpose in this world, etc. It was one of those conversations, engulfed in a setting that could have catapulted two people down a whole different pathway in their relationship. It was a moment that would have brought two different people closer together. One of those situations that Hollywood movies depict that rarely happen to people in real life, but on screen lead the main actors to realize that they are madly in love and can't spend any time apart. The precursor to a Garden State ending when Zach Braff's character gets off the plane to stay in New Jersey to be with Natalie Portman's character.
And that's why it was also really sad. Because there is no future for us. There won't be any Garden State moments. I won't be getting off of the plane next Wednesday night to stay in NYC to be with Assaf. And he won't be crying and waiting for me at the airport.
While I was really content in the moment, and I'm still so happy that we spent that time together last night, I keep hoping that somewhere in Israel resides my soulmate. He's just waiting for me to get there.
Tonight is the first of my three-night bon voyage celebratory dinners. My Upper West Side friends are taking me to dinner so I can say goodbye. I just hope I don't get too weepy.
Songs of the day include: Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol and Other Side of the World by KT Tunstall.
The past three days were incredible though. I literally spent the entire trip on the beach, at the pool, or just hanging out with my family and friends. I didn't think about a thing. Not about the fact that I still don't have an apartment, or know what I'm going to do about a bank account, or what my official "status" will be when I'm in Israel. Nothing. I was on vacation and on the beach, and just enjoying my life.
On Saturday night, my friend Jason drove up from South Beach to where I was staying in Palm Beach and we went to see Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The movie was absolutely hysterical! We were in pain half of the time from howling with laughter.
But yesterday was really an interesting day. I started the early morning in Florida with a walk on the beach, and I ended the day sitting on the boardwalk with my friend Assaf here in Atlantic Beach (NY). Leaving Florida was sad as my cousins aren't really supportive of my move to Israel. I think it would be easier on them if the country wasn't currently at war. I know they have my best interest at heart, and they didn't spend the weekend trying to convince me to stay, which was really nice of them. At least they respect my decision to move.
The flight back wasn't as relaxing as I had hoped. First of all, actress Michelle Rodriguez from ABC's Lost was on my flight back from Fort Lauderdale. She was most recently arrested for drunk driving and was later killed off on the show (rumor had it that producers weren't happy with her). I was hoping she wouldn't start any trouble on the flight, I needed to get back to LGA quickly and really wasn't up for a diversion to North Carolina. Regardless, she behaved and all was well as I sat at my window seat and caught up on Fox News Channel.
At one point during the flight, I glanced out the window and saw a plane literally coming staight towards us. Now, I'm okay with sharing the friendly skies with other aircrafts. What I'm NOT okay with is, while in mid-air, being able to make out the name of the second plane flying seemingly straight towards us NOR being able to make out other people flying in that plane. My heart skipped a beat as I watched this plane come really, really close and thought about the irony of the moment. Michelle Rodriguez played a character on the hit show about survivors of an airplane crash. I hoped she wasn't that much of a method actor.
Thank g-d, we landed safe and sound and I was able to hustle it back to Queens in time to do my laundry, make some phone calls, catch up on all of my Israel-move related e-mails, before hopping into my car to run some errands for Dad. Around 5 p.m., Assaf decided last night was the only night we could get together before I moved and so he promised to take the subway out to Queens to hang out. Unfortunately for me, he wasn't able to get out here until after 10 p.m. I picked him up at the subway station in Forest Hills and took him to my absolute favorite spot in all of New York City. The boardwalk at Atlantic Beach.
I have some wonderful and painful memories on that boardwalk. My friend Shulamit and I celebrated our friend Debra's 21st birthday with a picnic at that beach and a really nasty bottle of sparkling peach champagne (only kosher champagne we could find in all of Kew Gardens Hills), my ex and I spent a relaxing summer afternoon there early on in our relationship which turned into a wonderful courtship, another ex broke up with me while we were on the boardwalk during Thanksgiving weekend, and then last night Assaf and I sat and watched the storms roll in with the waves, the lightning acting as a backdrop for a beautiful full moon, and the green light from the Great Gatsby beckoning us from the distance.
The whole evening was wonderful and sad at the same time. Wonderful because I was just happy to be in the moment. Assaf really opened up to me, which I found slightly unusual for the hard-core Israeli I've gotten to know over the past year. Rather than spending the time talking about the logistics of my move, he initially helped me navigate the Orange website earlier in the day, we talked about faith, religion, the meaning of life, our purpose in this world, etc. It was one of those conversations, engulfed in a setting that could have catapulted two people down a whole different pathway in their relationship. It was a moment that would have brought two different people closer together. One of those situations that Hollywood movies depict that rarely happen to people in real life, but on screen lead the main actors to realize that they are madly in love and can't spend any time apart. The precursor to a Garden State ending when Zach Braff's character gets off the plane to stay in New Jersey to be with Natalie Portman's character.
And that's why it was also really sad. Because there is no future for us. There won't be any Garden State moments. I won't be getting off of the plane next Wednesday night to stay in NYC to be with Assaf. And he won't be crying and waiting for me at the airport.
While I was really content in the moment, and I'm still so happy that we spent that time together last night, I keep hoping that somewhere in Israel resides my soulmate. He's just waiting for me to get there.
Tonight is the first of my three-night bon voyage celebratory dinners. My Upper West Side friends are taking me to dinner so I can say goodbye. I just hope I don't get too weepy.
Songs of the day include: Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol and Other Side of the World by KT Tunstall.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Tisha B'Av and Amos Gitai
As Manhattan cooks in this unbearable heat, and shrouded by the hazy cloud of smog that has embraced this small Queens community, hundreds of people made their way to shul this evening to listen to Eicha. For the past eight years, since I first moved out of my parents home, I established a tradition for Tisha B'Av. On Tisha B'Av evening, I would attend Eicha services at the Spanish Portugese synagogue on the Upper West Side. The shul hands out flashlights and Kinot booklets and the tone of the fast is really established nicely. Immediately following Eicha, I would then engage in a "what is the meaning of life" conversation with the guy I was dating at the moment. That would take me well into Tisha B'Av morning, when I would finally get to sleep and wake up with at least 10 hours left to the fast. The afternoon was always the same, catch up on work e-mails before watching Exodus. I only watch Exodus on Tisha B'Av, that is my tradition. Until this year.
When I was moving out of my apartment, I decided to give away all of my VHS movies. When one of my newly married friends came by my apartment to pick up a number of items they were purchasing, they both mentioned that they had never seen Exodus. I gave them the movie under the condition that they too watch it on Tisha B'av. They agreed. The tradition has suddenly been paid forward.
Which means that I now have to find a new movie to watch during Tisha B'av. When I was younger and in summer camp, we would watch Operation Thunderbolt on Tisha B'Av. I went to sleep away camp from age 9 - 16, which means that I've seen the movie 7 times. And, as much as I think Yonatan Netanyahu is a true hero and that movie has inspired me in so many ways, it's time for me to find a new film.
I purchased Amos Gitai'sKippur back in May, right before the Tribeca Film Festival. Initially, I was planning on saving it for Tisha B'av afternoon, but I couldn't wait. Given the current situation in Israel, I feel it's particularly apropos to rewatch the movie again tomorrow. To summarize, Kippur is a story about Chayalim fighting during the 1973 Yom Kippur War in both the Sinai and Golan Heights. The film focuses on a group of Chayalim up in the Golan whose responsible for evacuating the wounded from the battlefield. It's a riveting portrayal of courage; a devestating depiction of heroism; an honest account of war.
There is one scene in particular that really resonated with me, and it involved the rescue group getting bogged down in mud while trying to evacuate a wounded soldier. The scene is at least 25 minutes long, as these men try and try to desperately move in the mud. In any other film, the scene would be comical and moviegoers would howl with laughter at their inability to gain an inch. But given the subject matter, this scene is heartbreaking to watch as you know that every minute is precious for the wounded soldier. I actually found myself wondering if they wouldn't get him out with enough time to save his life.
I highly recommend the film, and it's perfect viewing for such a somber day like Tisha B'av.
Have an easy and meaningful fast.
When I was moving out of my apartment, I decided to give away all of my VHS movies. When one of my newly married friends came by my apartment to pick up a number of items they were purchasing, they both mentioned that they had never seen Exodus. I gave them the movie under the condition that they too watch it on Tisha B'av. They agreed. The tradition has suddenly been paid forward.
Which means that I now have to find a new movie to watch during Tisha B'av. When I was younger and in summer camp, we would watch Operation Thunderbolt on Tisha B'Av. I went to sleep away camp from age 9 - 16, which means that I've seen the movie 7 times. And, as much as I think Yonatan Netanyahu is a true hero and that movie has inspired me in so many ways, it's time for me to find a new film.
I purchased Amos Gitai'sKippur back in May, right before the Tribeca Film Festival. Initially, I was planning on saving it for Tisha B'av afternoon, but I couldn't wait. Given the current situation in Israel, I feel it's particularly apropos to rewatch the movie again tomorrow. To summarize, Kippur is a story about Chayalim fighting during the 1973 Yom Kippur War in both the Sinai and Golan Heights. The film focuses on a group of Chayalim up in the Golan whose responsible for evacuating the wounded from the battlefield. It's a riveting portrayal of courage; a devestating depiction of heroism; an honest account of war.
There is one scene in particular that really resonated with me, and it involved the rescue group getting bogged down in mud while trying to evacuate a wounded soldier. The scene is at least 25 minutes long, as these men try and try to desperately move in the mud. In any other film, the scene would be comical and moviegoers would howl with laughter at their inability to gain an inch. But given the subject matter, this scene is heartbreaking to watch as you know that every minute is precious for the wounded soldier. I actually found myself wondering if they wouldn't get him out with enough time to save his life.
I highly recommend the film, and it's perfect viewing for such a somber day like Tisha B'av.
Have an easy and meaningful fast.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
I Wanna Turn the Whole Thing Upside Down
Its been one week since I've moved out of my fabulous Manhattan apartment and into my parents house. Whic means that in two weeks from tonight, I will be on an El-Al flight to Israel.
Destination: Tel Aviv.
Can ya feel the excitement building? I'm feelin' it!
So, I've neglected my blog for a week as I spent every waking moment unpacking boxes, closing out accounts, comforting scared friends and family members, editing documents for work, shopping, cooking with Mom, attending rally's in support of Israel and so on and so forth. I've been listening to a lot of good music to keep me relaxed and that means Jack Johnson is cued up on my iTunes. I also downloaded the ENTIRE first season of Showtime's Weeds and that, naturally, has also kept me chill.
Today is another day dedicated to running around and getting things ready for the big move. More on that later tonight.
For now, cue up Upside Down by Jack Johnson.
Enjoy!
Destination: Tel Aviv.
Can ya feel the excitement building? I'm feelin' it!
So, I've neglected my blog for a week as I spent every waking moment unpacking boxes, closing out accounts, comforting scared friends and family members, editing documents for work, shopping, cooking with Mom, attending rally's in support of Israel and so on and so forth. I've been listening to a lot of good music to keep me relaxed and that means Jack Johnson is cued up on my iTunes. I also downloaded the ENTIRE first season of Showtime's Weeds and that, naturally, has also kept me chill.
Today is another day dedicated to running around and getting things ready for the big move. More on that later tonight.
For now, cue up Upside Down by Jack Johnson.
Enjoy!
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