Tuesday, 30 April 2013

I took one of the "calming" pills last night, and, not surprisingly, I slept very well. I got up a bit late, but I was well-rested.

I taught 10 units again today (except that the first two were actually a late cancellation): 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, 3:00-4:30, 4:30-6:00, and 6:30-8:00.

We went to the old mall (Mul HaYam) and ate pad thai for lunch today. We hadn't done that in a long time.

Unfortunately, in eating David somehow loss of couple of the false teeth that have been loose in his (extensive) dental work. I looked everywhere for them but simply couldn't find them anywhere. It looks like we're going to have to try to arrange an appointment with the Maccabi dentist in Tel Aviv (at the Asuta Hospital) who did the work and get them (and another one he lost part of not long ago) replaced. This will be quite inconvenient and probably a bit costly, too, alas.

Monday, 29 April 2013

I took a Coldex pill last night, but NOT the sleeping pill, and I slept very well. I got up quite late, but I felt rested.

I taught 10 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:00-11:30, 12:00-1:30, 2:00-3:30, 3:30-5:00, and 5:00-6:30.

We ate a quick lunch at home between 1:30 and 2:00.

After my last class, we went over to Ice Park. David had an ice-café and I had edamame at Greg café.

Sunday, 28 April 2013

I didn't take the sleeping pill last night, so I didn't sleep quite as well, but I got enough sleep in the end, I think. I did go out for a walk and some stretches this morning. It was very nice out, especially in the green strip, where the birds were singing beautifully. I just stopped and sat on the bench and listened to them for a bit before continuing my walk.

Today I started orchestrating my arrangement of Avinu Malkenu. Because this piece needs to be so emotional and expressive I have to do a lot of fine editing for expression. I also found that some of the arrangement didn't work as well with strings, so I had to rewrite it a bit. I spent quite a bit of time working on all of this, but it's coming along slowly, and I think it will be very nice in the end.

We ate lunch at Greg café today. David had an omelet sandwich, and I had the salat toast. They didn't have any ice café, so we had milkshakes instead, David's chocolate and mine strawberry and banana.

I did the weekly grocery shopping at Shufersal late this afternoon.

Shabbat, 27 April 2013

Last night I took one of the "calming" pills that the doctor prescribed for me, and it really did help me sleep well. This was the first time I had even tried them. I don't want to take them much, though, because I want to stay FAR from becoming addicted!

This morning, we drove around the short loop before lunch. The haze was so heavy today that we didn't even get a glimpse of the Jordanian mountains, even when driving up the Arava.

We had soyaburgers at Barbis for lunch today. They always have a LARGE selection of sauces there, but today they had a new one, a plum sauce, and it was really delicious!

I did a lot of work on my orchestration today. My khanukah medley is now all arranged, although I'm sure I'll tweak a number of things before it's all over.

We talked for a while with David's sister again today, too.

Friday, 26 April 2013

I didn't sleep so well last night, but I think I got just about enough hours of sleeping in. I got up a good hour later than I had yesterday.

I went down to the bakery before my first class this morning and got challah and some other goodies.

I taught 4 units today: 9:30-11:00 and 12:30-2:00.

After my last class, we went over and ate lunch at Il Pentolino.

After we made Shabbat this evening, I did some more work on my orchestration of my khanukah medley. It's really sounding nice!

Thursday, 25 April 2013

Last night I slept well, and I got up early this morning, walked to the gym, worked out a bit, and walked home, stopping to do stretches in the pergola near the big kikar. It felt really good!

I taught 6 units today: 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, and 3:00-4:30. All but the first class were new students, having their first lesson. These 2 new ones will be my students for their full program, or at least that's how it's scheduled now. So, I'll have them both (separately) every Tuesday and Thursday.

At noon today, we got to meet David's new mobility instructor, Maya, who came to visit us for the first time. She will now be coming once a week (from the center of the country!) to help him with various things. It felt really good that things are finally beginning to move for David! She's very nice, and speaks English nearly perfectly.

After Maya left, we went and ate lunch at Ginger, an Asian restaurant downtown. David had eggrolls and miso soup, and I had one eggroll and rice with stir-fried vegetables, all very delicious (it's the exact same thing we had the last time we were there!).

We took a short drive in the Eilat Mountains this afternoon, then returned home.

This evening, I continued working on orchestrating my khanukah medley. I'm very pleased with how it's coming along. I have also decided to include the strings.

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

I slept well last night. I woke up a few times briefly but quickly went back to sleep again. The pain is becoming less and less of an issue, I think, for which I'm grateful.

I taught 6 units today: 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30, and 4:15-5:45. Both morning classes were level 1, the first a group of 2 students, and the second an individual student.

We had lunch at Greg café again today. David had tortellini with mushroom cream sauce, and I had their omelet sandwich.

I began work today on arranging my chaunkah medley, which I originally wrote for organ, for orchestra. I think it's going to be nice. I'm starting with the brass, plus bassoons, flutes, and clarinets, for the opening "Ma Oz Tzur". I may do the whole thing with only wind instruments, or I may decide to include some or all of the strings as well later on.

We had a nice long chat with David's sister after my last class today. Then we walked over to the green strip and sat on the bench there for quite a while. The weather was absolutely perfect out this evening!

Tuesday, 23 April 2013

I woke up quite a bit last night but had MUCH less trouble with pain. I think the 600mg ibuprofen pills are working the best so far.

I taught 6 units of Berlitz lesson today (although the first 2-unit student was a no-show): 9:00-10:30 (no-show), 2:00-3:30, and 5:00-6:30.

We had lunch at Il Pentolino today. David had mushroom ravioli with Roquefort sauce, and I had their Israeli breakfast (2 eggs, salad, bagel, olives, guacamole, soft cream cheese, and strawberry jam).

I spent some time today looking through the textbook I had many years ago for my college orchestration class. I look it might be good to remind myself about some of the things I learned way back then. Luckily, a lot of them are things that I don't really have to worry much about in my current work with the Synful Orchestra, eg. no need to worry about passages being too difficult for players, more freedom to experiment with various combinations and loudness levels (since they can be easily changed inside the computer), etc.

We drove down to Ice Park again after my last class and had frozen yogurt (again).

Monday, 22 April 2013

I slept well about 3/4 of the night last night. After that, the pain kept me from sleeping very much more although I did drift off a few more times, I think.

I taught 8 units today (but one class, 2 units, was a late cancellation): 10:00-11:30, 12:00-1:30 (the late cancellation), 2:00-3:30, and 5:00-6:30.

Because of the cancellation, David and I had time to walk over and sit on the bench in the green strip for a while before we ate lunch at home.

After my last class, we drove over to Ice Park and had frozen yogurts. Then we drove down along the shore to the border crossing to Egypt and back home again.

Sunday, 21 April 2013

I slept fine the first 4 hours or so last night but not well after that at all, so I went to the doctor again today. He ordered an x-ray to rule out other causes of the pain (which it did). Then he gave me some new medicines that will hopefully help me get better sleep.

Today was recycling day. I took plastic bottles, empty containers, paper, and cardboard to their respective recycle places. I also took out the trash.

We ate lunch at Greg again today. After that, I went shopping at Mercaz Big while David sat in the car listening to an audio book. I managed to find two pairs of short pants in bright colors (orange and a sort of intense purplish red) and a pink tank top at a discount store, paying only 120 shekels for all 3 of them.

I also did the weekly grocery shopping and got the new prescriptions filled at the pharmacy. All of that pretty much filled up my day.

Shabbat, 20 April 2013

I slept well last night, got up at a reasonable time, and felt quite rested.

Today, I did some significant work on my music. I'm setting my arrangement of BaShana HaBa'a for orchestra. The version I did for organ only had two stanzas, and I had already orchestrated them fairly well. My task today was to add a third stanzas, in a different key and with a different 4-part harmonization. After doing that, I chose instruments to bring out the various parts. I'm sure I'll still do some more editing to really finish it (and all the other pieces I working on, too, for that matter), but it's beginning to sound very nice now, so I'm pretty happy.

We drove up highway 12, along the Egyptian border (stopping to take some pictures of Egypt from a place with a nice view to the west), and then off to the right on a gravel road we had never been on before. The road was quite good except for some washboard effect, but it went much further than I had thought it would. Eventually, after getting to a slightly higher spot with a good view all around, we turned and headed back to town.

We drove directly over to Ice Park mall for lunch at Greg café. David had ravioli with tomato sauce, and I had Fatoush salad.

In the afternoon and early evening, we talked with David's sister and her husband in Ohio, and I did more work on my music.

Friday, 19 April 2013

I slept better last night than the night before, but I still really didn't get enough sleep.

I went to the bakery and got challah and other good things before my class this morning.

I taught only 1 class of 2 units today: 9:30-11:00.

We ate lunch today at Il Pentolino, having our usual dishes. It's kind of a Friday tradition now.

We took a drive around the short loop this afternoon and made Shabbat this evening, but, other than that, we just relaxed.

Thursday, 18 April 2013

I didn't sleep well last night at all. David was also up quite a bit, which didn't help, either. Anyway, I actually didn't feel particularly tired today, so I guess all is well.

I taught 10 units again today (although 2 were a late cancellation): 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30, 2:00-3:30 (the late cancellation), 3:30-5:00, and 5:00-6:30.

We ate lunch at home again today. We several different leftovers.

After my last class, we drove down to Ice Park and had ice-cafés and a small apple pie (with ice cream and whipped cream) that we split between us.

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

I again slept well last night. I even felt pretty rested when I got up.

I taught 10 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30, 2:00-3:30, 4:15-5:45, and 6:30-8:00.

Just after my 9:00 class started, I heard 2 or 3 booms (David was in the bedroom and heard them more clearly, and there actually were 3), followed by a wailing siren. It was Grad missiles, sent to us by a Salafist group, probably in the Sinai, just of the mountains from here. That was it, though -- nothing more through the rest of the day.

I ordered pizza for lunch and we ate it at home today, between 12:30 and 2:00.

Tuesday, 16 April 2013 (Yom HaAtzma'ut)

I again slept well last night and also woke up somewhat less tired. I didn't get up very early, though, since we had gone to bed an hour late last night because we watched the ceremony at Har Herzl marking the start of יום העצמאות Yom HaAtzma'ut (Israeli Independence Day).

This morning, I evaluated the work of 5 of my classmates for week 6 in my Intro to Music Production class, and then I evaluated my own work, as well. Then I filled out the post-course survey, making sure to let them know how much I appreciated the professor's truly excellent presentations and, in general, the way he ran the class. So, I'm now completely finished with this class. The only remaining thing will be to see how my classmates evaluate my week 6 work, which I can't do until next Saturday since the deadline for those evaluations isn't until Friday night.

David and I decided to have a picnic today to celebrate Yom HaAtzma'ut. We packed some food, including cheese, potato salad, and hard-boiled eggs, into an insulated bag with a couple of ice packs in the top of it. Then we headed out of town, stopping to fill the car with gas and to pick up a couple of bottles of cold PepsiMax.

Our destination was Mitzpe Ramon. We stopped there to pick up fresh bottles of PepsiMax and then drove to the pull-out on the road just before its plunges into Makhtesh Ramon (Ramon Crater). From there, the view of the makhtesh is breathtaking. We parked so that we wouldn't be in the sun, rolled down the windows, and enjoyed our picnic. Afterwards, we bought more cold PepsiMax and headed for home.

It was really a beautiful day in the desert today. The sun was warm, but the air was cool enough that we didn't need to use the A/C at all -- we just rolled the windows down to varying degrees, according to how much cooling we needed at any particular time and according to how the wind was blowing. I drove mostly at about 90 km/h, and our average fuel consumption for the trip was over 20 km/l (over 47 mpg!).

This evening, I looked for more classes that might interest me, and I found a really good one. It's called Survey of Music Technology, and it will involve both music composition and some computer programming. It sounds very interesting, and it will start a week from Friday. I'm looking forward to it already!

Monday, 15 April 2013 (Yom HaZikaron)

Last night I slept better than I had in a LONG time, thanks to the new medicine (Arcoxia) that the doctor gave me. I was still a little tired in the morning, but that's just because I still have some catching up to do on sleep, I think.

I taught 4 units of Berlitz today: 10:00-11:30 and 12:00-1:30. I had the afternoon off because my availability on the eve of a holiday is the same as on a Friday.

We ate lunch at home because all the restaurants were closed today for Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day). In the afternoon, we took a nice drive around the short loop. We stopped for a while by the road that goes to the Red Canyon trail head and just got out of the car and enjoyed the warm sun, the cool breeze, and the still beauty of the desert. We were less than 100 meters, I think, for the Egyptian border, and there was a tall hill just the other side of it. I took a few pictures, but I haven't uploaded them from my camera yet.

I took the final exam this evening for my Introduction to Music Production class. We were allowed to take it twice, with only our highest score counted toward our grade. The first time, I missed a couple of questions, so I took it again and got a perfect score. The questions were NOT the same the second time, so it obviously picks the questions again for each attempt.

We (well, actually I) watched the ceremony on Har Herzl on TV this evening. This is a tradition of ours that we actually had missed last year. It was nice to get back into it. It's always quite an impressive event, with great choreography and music, marking the transformation for the solemnity of Yom HaZikaron to the joyful celebration of Yom HaAtzma'ut (Independence Day).

The speaker of the Knesset gave a speech (in Hebrew, of course), and I think I understood about 40% of it. He was born in the Soviet Union, and he said that he never even dreamed of something like this when he was a boy.

Each year, 12 torches are lit as part of the program, but various people representing different aspects of Israeli society. Most are lit by just one person, but 2 or 3 of them were lit by two people together. Before lighting the torch, each person (or pair) gives a very short speech about whom or what they wish to honor. All the speeches start the people saying who they are and giving their parents' names, then saying how honored they are to take part in the ceremony marking 65 years of the State of Israel, and after their speech ending with the words ולתפארת מדינת ישראל ultiferet m'dinat yisrael ("and for the glory of the State of Israel"). I picked up a fair amount of what they said. There are also Hebrew subtitles, which occasionally help me a bit, but mostly I can't read them fast enough.

Sunday, 14 April 2013

I slept better last night. I still was a little tired in the morning, though.

This morning, I went to the doctor, and he gave me a prescription for a better medicine against my shoulder pain. He also examined my shoulder to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong with it.

We ate lunch at Chooka, an Asian restaurant at Ice Park. Both of us had sushi. Then we went upstairs and had mini-Cinnabons for dessert! Yum!

This afternoon I went out and did a number of errands, including having prescriptions filled, getting more cat food, purchasing a new trash can to separate out out recyclable containers from the trash, buying a flag (which, as it turns out, we won't be able to hang due to the lack of a pole!), snagging some more flip-flops, acquiring yet another pair of short pants, and doing the weekly grocery shopping.

In the early evening, David and I took a short walk, including two long rests sitting on benches in the green strip and just enjoying the unbelievably wonderful weather, warm with a delicious cool breeze!

In a few minutes (at 8:00 p.m.), a 2-minute siren will sound signaling the start of Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day), in which we remember all the soldiers of Israeli's wars and all the victims of terrorism. It's a very emotional day for Israelis since nearly these death's have affected nearly everyone's family. I'm sure that I'll never really be able to feel the pain that is so obvious here during this day.

Shabbat, 13 April 2013

I slept much better last night, but I still felt a bit tired in the morning. I think I'll go to the doctor tomorrow about my shoulder, just to see if there's anything better that can be done with it. It has now been over 5 weeks since I injured it.

We went for a drive around the short loop in the late morning and then went to Greg café for lunch.

I spent quite a bit of time today playing around with one of my synthesizers, getting more of a feel for how the parameters affect the sound. It can get quite complex, so I tried to start with some of the simpler stuff. It was interesting, in particular, to see how gradually raising the cutoff frequency in the filter could rather suddenly let higher harmonics pass as they got within the range it allowed through. I could actually hear some of the things that I've known for years about the physics of music.

I took a little time this afternoon to listen to all the orchestral music that I've worked on so far. I put all the pieces in the same reverb space, and the results are quite interesting. Generally, I'm pretty pleased with the sound I'm getting.

I've also been working on reviewing all the quizzes in my Intro to Music Production class so that I'll be prepared to take the final exam.

This evening, we went over to Ice Park again and I got frozen yogurts for both of us while David waited in the car. Afterwards, we drove up highway 90 as far as Samar and then drove back home.

Friday, 12 April 2013

I slept very poorly last night and had quite a bit of problem with low-level pain.

Before my first class this morning, I walked down to the bakery and bought challah and cinnamon rolls. On the way back, I also made a quick stop at the candy store.

I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:30-11:00 and 11:30-1:00.

We ate lunch at Il Pentolino, having our usual dishes there.

This afternoon I finished my last assignment for my Introduction to Music Production class and submitted it. Now I need to review the quizzes and take the final exam. The only thing remaining after that will be to assess the work of some of my fellow students, but I won't be able to do that until Tuesday after all assignments must be turned in.

This evening I have been experimenting with one of the synthesizers I have. I think I still want to play around quite a bit more with it, since I still don't fully understand the many different ways that the sounds can be modified. It very interesting stuff, though!

Thursday, 11 April 2013

I slept better than usual lately last night, but I still felt tired and achy when I first got up. As usual, all was well after I'd been up for a while.

I taught 8 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.

We ate lunch today at Café Café in the old mall (Mul HaYam). David had penne with a yam cream sauce, and I had Italian shakshuka.

I worked quite a bit on my homework assignment for the last week (week 6) of my Intro to Music Production class. I'm writing the main sections of music synthesizers (which, these days, are simply software on the computer). It's really very interesting!

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

I woke up with aches and some pain this morning. I got up a bit too early, but I couldn't lie in bed any longer. I felt better after a while, though.

I taught 6 units today: 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30, and 4:15-5:45.

We had soyaburgers at Barbis today for lunch, something we hadn't done in a while.

After my last class, we both had ice creams bars and then took a drive around the short loop. It was exceptionally clear and beautiful today. As we came in on highway 12, we got some fantastic views of Aqaba, Jordan, and Hakl, Saudi Arabia.

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

I slept quite well again but still didn't quite feel ready to go out for a walk this morning. The fact that it was still dusty in the air outside didn't help, either.

I had no classes this morning at all, so I took advantage of the time to get some other things done. I did a load of laundry, evaluated the work of the 5 other students in my class that I was assigned to assess, took out the plastic bottles to the recycle bin up the street, and paid the car registration at the post office.

For lunch, David and I went to Ginger, an Asian restaurant downtown. We had been there only once before, with friends who had made reservations for dinner there while they were visiting in town. David had miso soup and egg rolls, and I had one eggroll and a very delicious dish consisting of steamed rice with stir-fried vegetables in a nice light but sweet sauce.

I taught 6 units of Berlitz lessons today: 2:00-3:30, 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30. Actually, I'm waiting right now for the 7:00 student, who has not yet entered the classroom (although in 7:05). Perhaps this will be a no-show or a late cancellation (or maybe she's just running late).

Monday, 8 April 2013

I got another good night's sleep last night but still didn't quite feel up to going out for a walk.

I was scheduled to teach 8 units today, but the 12:00 class turned out to be a late cancellation: 10:00-11:30, 12:00-1:30, 2:00-3:30, and 6:30-8:00.

The late cancellation gave us much more time to eat lunch, but we still had to eat at home since all the restaurants are closed for Holocaust Remembrance Day today.

We took a drive around the short loop after 3:30. There was a dust storm that had already started somewhat earlier and still continues even now, so the visibility was not very good. Still, it was a nice drive.

Sunday, 7 April 2013

I slept quite well again last night and got up at a decent hour. I still didn't feel quite up to going out for a walk, though.

This morning I took the car in to the mechanic (the authorized Fiat garage here in Eilat) and they quickly verified that the problem was, indeed, the battery. They checked and found that today was the LAST day of the warranty, so I paid absolutely nothing for the new battery. How cool is that!

We got the car a much-needed bath today, and then went to lunch at Greg.

In the afternoon, I went to the Maccabi pharmacy for our monthly supply of medicines and then continue on to Shufersal to do the weekly grocery shopping.

In the late afternoon, as the sun was setting, we took a lovely drive around the short loop in the reverse direction. Just as we were coming to the Uvda airport, I saw a passenger jet landing there. When I got a little closer, I could see that there was already another one that had landed shortly before and was taxiing back to the terminal. This is the first time I have EVER seen ANY moving planes there!

Shabbat, 6 April 2013

I slept quite well last night but got up rather late. Still, at least I felt more rested.

Today I spent quite a bit of time on my class. The topic for week 6, the last week of the class, is synthesizers. I knew almost nothing about them before, but the teacher's presentations, as usual, were VERY good, so now I know much more. I also spent some time looking at synthesizers that were included with Digital Performer 8 and at a couple of free ones that I managed to download and install. It's a whole new world of musical possibilities!

We took a taxi down to the Ice Park (and, later, back) to eat at Greg café today. It was a little bit expensive, but it did get us out and about, something we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise due to the problem with our car.

David talked to his sister today, but I didn't join in most of the conversation, continuing instead to explore synthesizers.

David and I did take a walk in the lovely evening. On our way up the green strip, we ran into our 2 friends, Karen and Liz, who were walking their dogs and whom we hadn't seen in some time. We enjoyed a nice chat with them before continuing on our way. We sat on the bench up at the end of the green strip for quite a while, just enjoying the absolutely perfect weather!

Friday, 5 April 2013

I woke up quite early last night and had a lot of trouble getting back to sleep, mostly due to the small but persistent ache in my shoulder. As a result, I got up late but still had not really gotten enough sleep for the night.

I taught 4 units today: 9:00-10:30 and 10:30-12:00.

After the last class, David and I walked together down to the bakery to buy challah for Shabbat. We also bought a sort of twisted pastry-cake in a pan that look good (and it was!).

Next, we drove over to Il Pentolino for lunch.

Something is wrong with our car, probably the battery. Yesterday, when we came out after eating at Greg, the starter wouldn't turn the engine over at all. Luckily, there were some guys there with jumper cables, and they quickly hooked us up and got us started. This would NEVER have happened spontaneously like that in the States, I think! However, we knew that the problem would probably recur, and so we parked the car on Ein Gedi Street (the one from which we enter our parking lot) facing downhill. Sure enough, we had to roll-start it today but had no further trouble after that. At the restaurant, I also took care to park on the opposite side so that we could roll-start again, which we did. Obviously, we again parked it in the same place when we returned home. We won't drive it anymore, however, until we take it in to the mechanic on Sunday.

This afternoon, I finally finished work on my assignment for week 5 of my Intro to Music Production class. It was quite a bit more difficult this time because I had to actually record some music, pick some suitable reverb effects that would illustrate the class points, and figure out how to save it and then how to host it so that my fellow students assigned to assess it would be able to download and listen to it. But I solved the tech problems, wrote the necessary explanatory text, and turned in the whole thing this evening.

We lit candles, drank wine, and ate challah (singing the appropriate blessings, of course!) as usual to make Shabbat this evening. We also each ate a piece of the chocolate pastry-cake we had bought, I drank a glass of milk with a little Irish Creme Liqueur in it and David drank about half a shot glass of Sabra liqueur.

Thursday, 4 April 2013

My sleep was a bit broken up last night, and I woke up feeling very tired. I felt better after being up for a while, though.

I taught 10 units again today: 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30, 3:00-4:30, 5:00-6:30, and 6:30-8:00.

We went to Greg café for lunch around 1:00. David had sabich salad and I had fatoush salad. We brought most of David's salad and the 2 little loaves of bread that came with our salads home with us, however.

3 April 2013

I didn't sleep as well in the later part of last night and woke up a bit tired. However, I quickly felt quite a bit better after I got up, late.

I taught 10 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30, 2:00-3:30, 4:15-5:45, and 6:30-8:00. The 9:00 session was supposed to be a class of 2 students for their first lesson at level 1. But only one of them showed up, and it turns out that he is from Morocco. I don't know if he's still there or not, though, since most of the students from the company he works for are in Norway (including quite a few who are originally from various other countries, however). At level one, you don't find out very much, especially in this case because he was a true beginner.

We ate lunch at home today, using up some of the food we had brought home from the restaurants.

2 April 2013

I slept fairly well last night but once again got up feeling the effects of my cold rather strongly.

I was originally scheduled to teach 8 units today, but I got a call to substitute at the last minute for another class and so ended up teaching 10 units: 9:00-10:30 (the unscheduled one), 11:00-12:30, 2:00-3:30, 4:00-5:30, and 6:30-8:00.

We walked down to the local bakery and ate lunch there today.

We talked to David's sister a little after 5:30, and David continued even a little more after I had to go to my 6:30 class.

1 April 2013 (no fooling!)

I slept pretty well but got up late this morning feeling my cold rather strongly. Of course, I felt better after being up for a while.

In the late morning, we took a drive around the short loop in the reverse direction and then went directly to Ice Park for lunch at Greg café when we got back into town. I had Balkan-style kosher-for-Passover burekas, David had American toast (on kosher-for-Passover bread), and we split a kosher-for-Passover chocolate pastry. At least we get to try some interesting dishes during the holiday.

This afternoon I experimented more with reverb plugins to see what affect they would have on my music. I think I'm almost ready to actually record some examples for my week 5 homework. I may not get to it, though, until next weekend, since I'm going to be very busy with Berlitz lessons over the next few days.

David and I took a walk over to the green strip again this evening. We sat for quite a while on the bench by Ein Bokek Street and then walked up to the end of the strip and sat even longer on the bench up there by Harim Road. The weather was so wonderful out!