Blog/January 2008/Jan 11th

January 11th (See this week's devar torah)
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Hi again!

Realizing that our cellphones are more expensive than they need to be, we decided to get different ones. That should be simple, right? Go to the store, get information on the plans and phones, make a choice and sign up. What could be easier? Well, we went to the Cellcom store in the mall here, because their plans are less expensive than the main rival Orange's plans. The man behind the counter explained the plans - after ten minutes we finally understood what he was saying. Then we asked which phones were in the plan, and he pointed to the entire display case. So we looked for a while and picked phones we liked. He then told us, "Sorry, that phone isn't in-stock". OK, so when will it be in stock? "We haven't had it for two months...". OK... so which phones do you have? "All the phones on this side, besides those two." So we looked and looked, and finally made our choices. He said, "That phone isn't in stock, I'll have to order it for you." We spent an hour of our time, and ended up with nothing. Now I ask you, does this sound like a person who is interested in selling phones? Doesn't Cellcom care they have nitwits selling their plans? Moral of the story: be very specific in your questions! We should have asked, "Which of these phones do you have here in the store, for sale now?"

Of course, the big news this week is the visit of King George II. Well, given the extreme security measures (key avenues in central Jerusalem shut down; over 10,000 police deployed to protect him; all 237 rooms of the King David hotel bought out to prevent "outsiders" getting close to him) it seemed like he should be called "King". Some in the Looney Left in Israel seemed to think we need a much more intimate relationship with the US, while our "partners for peace" didn't hesitate to bomb the American school in Gaza. They also sent gift-wrapped Qassam rockets to Sderot in his honor.

Even our humble town got in the act. Not only were we specifically mentioned by the Court Jester (I mean, our Prime Minister) in one of his performances before the King -- but the city stuck these notices in all the cars parked around town, the day before His Highness came to visit. The translation is: "Attention, residents of the city! Due to the visit of the President of the USA to Israel, there will be traffic problems, rerouting of traffic, road blockages and careful examinations at roadblocks." That's just the part in black background at the top! As it turns out, traffic wasn't so bad for me; in fact, it was better than usual since people were frightened into skipping work because they feared sitting in traffic jams. However, Esther got stuck for 45 minutes in the tunnel leading from Maaleh Adummim to Jerusalem, because the King changed his route.

Esther went to the Menachem Begin Heritage Center Museum, which is sort of a presidential library. Of course, due to the Imperial visitation, she was late getting to the tour. Like him or not, Menachem Begin was a mensch. He certainly wouldn't consider splitting Jerusalem. I wonder if the Court Jester is aware that the vast majority of Israelis are not interested in "negotiations" on Jerusalem?

This week Sarah got her mid-term grades. We were very pleased to see she's getting good marks - despite the difficulties with being uprooted from the familiar and having to contend with a new language. We're proud of how well she's adapting. I just have to make sure she doesn't get arrested for being an enemy of the state. Daniela is also doing well, but she's so busy we're afraid to bother her.

As I've mentioned before, we've purchased a place here - or rather, we are in the process of purchasing it. We have signed the contract and paid a down payment. Now we are working through the process of getting a mortgage. When we went to 'sign papers' at the bank, I thought it would take twenty minutes. I was wrong. It took well over an hour, and my hand is still sore from signing so many papers. Not only did we spend an hour actually signing, but we have all kinds of 'homework' to do - getting various forms and insurance policies and who knows what... it's a real eye-opener. Of course nothing in Israel is simple. There's also the halachic questions to be considered, e.g. whether taking a mortgage runs afoul the prohibition of taking a loan at interest! Nothing's simple ...

I know, I know -- I was complaining about heat... but that was back in August and September. Now we're freezing: the forecast is for freezing lows (1-2C, just over freezing) in Jerusalem. Here in the desert it is just as cold at night. Unfortunately, our defective air-conditioners don't heat the house very well (the one in our bedroom doesn't heat at all). The good thing is that we can use sweaters. Back in August, we didn't even give a second thought to being too cold. It didn't seem like a possibility. Well, it is, believe me!

Shabbat shalom!

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