Blog/June 2012/Jun 1st

June 1st (See this week's devar torah)

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Hi, again!

We managed to have a very pleasant shavuot holiday on Sunday. It was pleasant firstly in that shavuot is a pretty low-key holiday and it was a quiet day. Pleasant also in that it immediately followed shabbat, so we were calm and quiet going into the yom-tov. Also because we had good company and enjoyable meals. And lastly, pleasant in that it made the work-week shorter. What's not to like?

It was a fruitful (short) week! Esther was trying to rent a car for us for our upcoming US junket, and stumbled upon the fact that we can get a free membership in the Israeli equivalent of AAA simply because we have a Bank Leumi credit card. So we went there, and for free -- got international driver's licenses, a MEMSI membership as well as a AAA membership, which will prove useful on this trip. Did I mention that we got this all for free? Wow! Anyway, we did arrange (locally) to rent a car in the US, for the same price we would have been able to get in the US, but supporting our local economy. Don't cha just love it?

We also have been noticing, Esther and I, that our arms have been steadily getting longer over the past few years. It turns out that an optician can correct that defect! So we went to get prescription glasses ... and mirabile dictu! -- our arms returned to their nominal lengths and we can read small print again. B"H! I might also point out that they used an automated refractometer, which quickly and accurately diagnosed our eyesight corrections. Why didn't my optometrist in the US ever use one?

Esther was called back to her dressmaker for the "fitting", and found out she's slowly disappearing! Sarah will get fitted next week. I had my suit dry-cleaned (60 NIS at Davidka Laundry). Next week, B"H, we'll take care of the few remaining things on our list of "to dos" before the trip. However, we still have not received the invitations we're supposed to give to our Israeli friends and acquaintances, so if we don't get any next week we'll send out alternate invites to the sheva` berakhoth. Don't despair!

I released version 1.20 of zemanim, which includes "alarms" as well as some other changes. I'll probably make one more feature-release, and then just let it ride. At the moment, there are almost 100 users, which is pretty amazing to me.

What else? We donated blood after getting an SMS that donations were needed. The seasonal return of the djukim has occurred, so we're having the guy come next week to spray. It's odd that they wait exactly one year from the last spraying! We got a notice this week from the City Hall, informing us that they were going to change our water meter, and that they noticed the pipe leading to our inside plumbing was "rusty and loose", so we have to replace it or pay them to replace it. Being a concerned home-owner, I examined said pipe and noticed that it is plastic and short, so it is neither loose nor is it rusty! As our neighbor the plumber said: "even in Israel they haven't invented plastic that rusts". So I called the City Hall and told them I don't need to replace the pipe. They told me "don't worry, just ignore the letter". Why? "Because we sent out three hundred letters to your neighborhood, probably only one hundred actually need to fix their pipes". Say what?!?!

I'm also working on the devar torah I'll say at Daniela's wedding. So many ideas, but I have to keep it relatively short and accessible to everyone who'll be attending. Fortunately I still have time to work on it, and it's coming together nicely. More on that after the wedding, B"H!

On a humorous note: riding the Jerusalem Light Rail the other day, a guy gets on after me with a stroller and stands behind me. An Arab lady says to him (in perfect, unaccented Hebrew): "turn that stroller around!". He had it facing the window, and the sun was directly on the baby's face, making him cry. The lady then started muttering to herself about how "men don't know how to do anything"...

Trying to recover from the excessive food intake from last shabbat followed by yom-tov, we're taking it easy this week: zucchini soup, various salatim, tuna salad, deviled eggs, green beans, crispy-baked chicken, Lancashire hot-pot (without the butter, of course), rice, some kind of fruit tart or something, and banana cake

Until next week,
shabbat shalom

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