Difference between revisions of "Blog/May 2008/May 30th"

Latest revision as of 11:18, 6 June 2008

May 30th (See this week's devar torah)
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Hi again!

It's been a busy week, and a week of changes.

I finally got "reinstated" with the National Insurance Institute, so I was able to join the same 'health fund' that the rest of my family is in, and stop the 'supplementary private insurance' which was a constant drain on my pocketbook. But when I registered at the health fund, the clerk informed me that I was fine, and Sarah was fine, but Esther was not covered -- the NII had removed her eligibility! So she went to the NII's office here in Maale Adummim, and got it straightened out -- it was a mistake (of course!) but no one had bothered to inform her she wasn't covered. Now she's covered again, presumably -- we have to check on Sunday again. I must point out that the person here with whom Esther dealt at NII, was fantastic -- she didn't give up until she was able to get a concrete answer (and she had to call all sorts of places to clarify the situation).

We also got the car back from repairs. It looks better than when I first got it, so I better take good care of it. The leasing company actually brought the car out to my home, from Jerusalem -- that's service!

You remember the story of Cain and Abel, right? Cain kills his brother and has a 'mark' to distinguish him forever? When I first made aliyah in the early '80s, I went to the city of Akko to get listed with the Ministry of the Interior. The clerk who dealt with me was an Arab who didn't know much English; so he translated my middle name from "Kevin" to "Cain". At the time I didn't notice, and forever after my name has been "Ron Cain" according to the Israeli gov't. This time around, I specifically asked them to change my official name to just "Ron", which they did -- but the old name still appears on my ID card (just not as the primary name). But worse, is that when we opened our checking account at the bank, they had us listed with the 'old' names -- so "Ron Cain" is on all of our checks. <grrr>

Also, this week, we made the final payment to the owner of the house we're buying, so this Sunday we get possession (B"H!). That very day, the contractors will start demolishing, and hopefully the work will be (at least mostly) done before the last week of June, when we are scheduled to move in. They said they can do it -- now we'll see. Timing is everything; and our timing stinks. We had to transfer funds from the US, but the shekel strengthened even more against the dollar so our purchasing power has considerably diminished.

Really, I shouldn't complain. We don't have it nearly as hard as the poor folks aboard the space station. Their problem's a real pisser! They can't just go behind a tree, like some do in the Holy Land...

It's rare these days in Israel to find a public figure who can think rationally. The main group in power consists of utopian peace junkies who, despite all evidence to the contrary, cannot see we have no partners for peace. Even foreigners, companies such as VW and Honda see the truth for what it is. But maybe, just maybe, our enemies are changing?. Let's hope so, for their sakes as well as ours.

This shabbat we're honored to have a friend of ours from Seattle stay with us. She always makes us laugh, hopefully we'll make her laugh too. Best regards to her parents, Stephanie and Stan from us!

Sarah's perspective, unedited is here. Commentary there may or may not reflect the opinions of the owner of this site ...

Shabbat shalom!

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 {{blog}}
-{{bheader|May 23rd|Devar/5768/Bechukotai}}
+{{bheader|May 30th|Devar/5768/Bamidbar}}
 Hi again!
-This week was the end of my Mom's trip to the Holy Land.  We sent her back Monday night, and she arrived back in Seattle safely, B"H.  Given it was her first trip outside the USA, she did well and we hope she'll decide to make the trip again.  Now that she realizes that not all of us ride donkeys to work (but some of us do: I encounter a trio of donkey-riding Arabs every morning on my way to work).  And she didn't have [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211434085067&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull difficulties with security] in the airport, or [http://abcnews.go.com/Business/BusinessTravel/story?id=4904408&page=1 have to pay extra] for baggage.
+It's been a busy week, and a week of changes.
-My friend Dov-Ber alerted me to the [http://www.divestfromwar.org/ Seattle divestment campaign].  When I read stuff like that, it makes me thank God that I moved to Israel when I did.  I'm on all their "black lists" now: white, male, Jewish, Israeli and a "settler".  All I'm missing now is to become a multinational corporation.  Of course, another reason to be glad I'm in Israel is I don't need [http://abcnews.go.com/Business/BusinessTravel/story?id=4612991&page=1 one of these dorky things].
+I finally got "reinstated" with the [http://www.btl.gov.il/NR/exeres/2130471C-E92B-4194-AC9E-FF8FDDB955BD.htm National Insurance Institute], so I was able to join the same 'health fund' that the rest of my family is in, and stop the 'supplementary private insurance' which was a constant drain on my pocketbook.  But when I registered at the health fund, the clerk informed me that ''I'' was fine, and ''Sarah'' was fine, but ''Esther'' was not covered -- the NII had removed her eligibility!  So she went to the NII's office here in Maale Adummim, and got it straightened out -- it was a mistake (of course!) but no one had bothered to inform her she wasn't covered.  Now she's covered again, presumably -- we have to check on Sunday again.  I must point out that the person here with whom Esther dealt at NII, was fantastic -- she didn't give up until she was able to get a concrete answer (and she had to call all sorts of places to clarify the situation).
-This Thursday night was the beginning of {{wiki|Lag Ba'omer}}, which is the holiday where we burn down the town. There were bonfires everywhere, fueled by kids hauling everything combustible they could find.  We saw a boy maybe eight years old, hauling a very long tree branch.  There were people who had rented trailers for their cars so they could haul all sorts of wooden debris to the bonfires.  There were even people with shopping carts (they only cost five shekels!) full of combustibles.  People were "hanging out" around the fires, eating and just having a good time. This morning, the entire town smelled of wood smoke, and there isn't anything wooden left in the city, I think.  Daniela and her class went to {{wiki2|Meron_(Israel)|Meron}} for the holiday, along with an estimated 200 thousand others.  She says, "it was loud, crowded and smelled bad".
+We also got the car back from repairs.  It looks better than when I first got it, so I better take good care of it.  The leasing company actually brought the car out to my home, from Jerusalem -- ''that's'' service!
-In the meantime, our [http://bogieworks.blogs.com/treppenwitz/2008/05/identifying-wit.html friendly neighbors] decided that a pre-condition for talks to continue, is for them to [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126213 have a standing army].  Because, you know, they're afraid the Jordanians will invade them.
+You remember the story of Cain and Abel, right?  Cain kills his brother and has a 'mark' to distinguish him forever?  When I first made aliyah in the early '80s, I went to the city of {{wiki|Akko}} to get listed with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Interior_%28Israel%29 Ministry of the Interior].  The clerk who dealt with me was an Arab who didn't know much English; so he translated my middle name from "Kevin" to "Cain".  At the time I didn't notice, and forever after my name has been "Ron Cain" according to the Israeli gov't.  This time around, I specifically asked them to change my official name to just "Ron", which they did -- but the old name still appears on my {{wiki2|Teudat zehut|ID card}} (just not as the primary name).  But worse, is that when we opened our checking account at the bank, they had us listed with the 'old' names -- so "Ron Cain" is on all of our checks.  <grrr>
-This week I discovered that reinforced concrete is harder than the body of my car.  Every day, I make a somewhat complicated turn to get into my parking spot at work.  Every day, I go in reverse around a concrete pillar.  Every day I clear the pillar.  Well, not ''every'' day.  This week I didn't clear it -- I don't know how I misjudged, but I did.  So the car came to an alarming, sudden stop -- and my heart leapt into my throat.  B"H, I'm fine; the car, however, needs care (the rear left fender folded in, and presses the tire).  I called the leasing company, and they towed away that car and gave me a loaner in the meantime.  It's pretty embarrassing to be felled by a stationary object.  At least no-one got hurt (except my feelings).  I'm just glad my Mom was not here when it happened...
+Also, this week, we made the final payment to the owner of the house we're buying, so this Sunday we get possession (B"H!).  That very day, the contractors will start demolishing, and hopefully the work will be (at least mostly) done before the last week of June, when we are scheduled to move in.  They ''said'' they can do it -- now we'll see.  Timing is everything; and our timing stinks.  We had to transfer funds from the US, but [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126298 the shekel strengthened even more] against the dollar so our purchasing power has considerably diminished.
-In good news: Sarah took a "matkonet" (preparatory test) for one of her Bagrut (matriculation) exams, and got a 91; so we're all happy and she's feeling better about the Bagrut exams.  Only a few to go 'till the end of June, then we can sort-of relax (until next year).
+Really, I shouldn't complain.  We don't have it nearly as hard as the poor folks aboard the space station.  Their problem's a [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/05/27/space.toilet.ap/index.html real pisser]!  They can't just go behind a tree, like some do in the Holy Land...
+It's rare these days in Israel to find a public figure who can think rationally.  The main group in power consists of [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211434111426&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull utopian peace junkies] who, despite all evidence to the contrary, cannot see we have no partners for peace.  Even foreigners, companies such as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePBvl_Q2oEA VW] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiNA0cpCq4U Honda] see the truth for what it is.  But maybe, just maybe, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212041432454&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull our enemies are changing?].  Let's hope so, for their sakes as well as ours.
+This shabbat we're honored to have a friend of ours from Seattle stay with us.  She always makes us laugh, hopefully we'll make her laugh too. Best regards to her parents, Stephanie and Stan from us!
+Sarah's perspective, unedited [[Blog/May 2008/May 30th/Sarah|is here]].  Commentary there may or may not reflect the opinions of the owner of this site ...
 Shabbat shalom!
-{{nav|Blog|Blog|Blog/May 2008/May 16th|May 16th||}}
+{{nav|Blog|Blog|Blog/May 2008/May 23rd|May 23rd|Blog/June 2008/Jun 6th|Jun 6th}}

Difference between revisions of "Blog/May 2008/May 30th"

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Latest revision as of 11:18, 6 June 2008