I again got up early and got in a walk to the gym and excellent exercise there. On the way home, I did my stretches, too. It was warm enough that I felt comfortable wearing just a t-shirt, short pants, and sandals.
I had 11 units of Berlitz today (although one was an observation feedback session): 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30, 12:45-1:30 (the feedback session), 3:00-4:30, 4:30-6:00, and 7:00-8:30.
We made a quick trip again to Buddha Burgers for lunch. We both had vegan shwarma burritos.
Before my last class, I went down to the candy store and replenished David's supply of Snickers bars. They had completely run out.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
I woke up nice and early this morning but forced myself to stay in bed until 5:15. Then I got up and had a good walk and a good work-out, including stretches on the way back.
I taught 8 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, 12:00-1:30, and 5:30-7:00. This 1st and 3rd sessions were with the same student, so he had a LOT of English time today. The last lesson was with a group of students in Norway, all but ONE of whom are originally from Venezuela.
We ate lunch today at Buddha Burgers. I had their gluten-free vegan burger (which I hadn't yet tried), and David had their vegan roast beef burrito. We split a piece of vegan cheese cake and also each had a cookie for dessert. We're actually vegetarian, not vegan, but we certainly like the delicious vegan food they have there!
I started working on my next project today. We are limited to the Dorian mode on D for this one, and it also needs to be 30 seconds long. Furthermore, they even specified the tempo (240 BPM), which is rather fast. I think I've found a great solution, though. I'm going to do a setting of an old French noel that is in Dorian mode and sounds fine at this speed. Of course, I'll add some other stuff to it to make it interesting and also to fulfill some other requirements for the project.
The weather today was absolutely perfect! I had most of the windows open until 7:00 this evening, and it was not cold in here at all. I shut them then just to keep it from becoming too cold during the night, but I'm still sitting here at nearly 8:00 p.m. with my shirt off and feeling quite comfortable.
I taught 8 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, 12:00-1:30, and 5:30-7:00. This 1st and 3rd sessions were with the same student, so he had a LOT of English time today. The last lesson was with a group of students in Norway, all but ONE of whom are originally from Venezuela.
We ate lunch today at Buddha Burgers. I had their gluten-free vegan burger (which I hadn't yet tried), and David had their vegan roast beef burrito. We split a piece of vegan cheese cake and also each had a cookie for dessert. We're actually vegetarian, not vegan, but we certainly like the delicious vegan food they have there!
I started working on my next project today. We are limited to the Dorian mode on D for this one, and it also needs to be 30 seconds long. Furthermore, they even specified the tempo (240 BPM), which is rather fast. I think I've found a great solution, though. I'm going to do a setting of an old French noel that is in Dorian mode and sounds fine at this speed. Of course, I'll add some other stuff to it to make it interesting and also to fulfill some other requirements for the project.
The weather today was absolutely perfect! I had most of the windows open until 7:00 this evening, and it was not cold in here at all. I shut them then just to keep it from becoming too cold during the night, but I'm still sitting here at nearly 8:00 p.m. with my shirt off and feeling quite comfortable.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Monday, 28 October 2013
I got up very early this morning (not so surprising so soon after setting the clock back an hour!) and so got in a great walk, work-out, and set of stretches on the way back. I also was delighted to see my friend, Liz, out walking her big dog this morning. We enjoyed chatting for a bit, and I shared this little limerick with her, one that illustrates a little of the craziness of the English language:
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do?
Said the flea, "Let us fly!"
Said the fly, "Let us flee!"
So the flew through a flaw in the flue.
I was scheduled for 7 units of Berlitz lessons today, but the first student was actually a no-show: 9:00-10:30, 12:00-1:30, 4:00-4:45, and 5:30-7:00. The last lesson will be observed and I have to go to a feedback session on Thursday to talk about it. I never like these feedback sessions because it seems that no matter how well I think the lesson went, the observer always finds a million things that I should have done but didn't do. This makes it very hard for me to maintain my usually positive outlook on things, but I'll continue trying. :-)
We ate lunch at Café Café today. David had ravioli with tomato sauce, and I had nice whole-grain bread with various spreads.
The second week of my Programming for Musicians and Digital Artists class opened today, and I have already watched all the lecture videos for the new week. There were a lot less of them this time. The assignment for this week is going to be quite a bit more restrictive about what we can do, so I may find it harder to make interesting music, but I'll see what I can come up with. In fact, I'm rather looking forward to the challenge.
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do?
Said the flea, "Let us fly!"
Said the fly, "Let us flee!"
So the flew through a flaw in the flue.
I was scheduled for 7 units of Berlitz lessons today, but the first student was actually a no-show: 9:00-10:30, 12:00-1:30, 4:00-4:45, and 5:30-7:00. The last lesson will be observed and I have to go to a feedback session on Thursday to talk about it. I never like these feedback sessions because it seems that no matter how well I think the lesson went, the observer always finds a million things that I should have done but didn't do. This makes it very hard for me to maintain my usually positive outlook on things, but I'll continue trying. :-)
We ate lunch at Café Café today. David had ravioli with tomato sauce, and I had nice whole-grain bread with various spreads.
The second week of my Programming for Musicians and Digital Artists class opened today, and I have already watched all the lecture videos for the new week. There were a lot less of them this time. The assignment for this week is going to be quite a bit more restrictive about what we can do, so I may find it harder to make interesting music, but I'll see what I can come up with. In fact, I'm rather looking forward to the challenge.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Sunday, 27 October 2013
We went off of daylight savings time (called "summer time") here in Israel last night, so we got an extra hour. David and I actually went to bed a little later than usual, but I got up quite a bit later. Still, with the extra time I was able to get to the gym and exercise a bit well before breakfast.
We ate lunch today at Buddha Burgers. I had their shwarma tortilla roll and vegan cheesecake for dessert, and David had vegan weenies (with grilled onion and sauerkraut) and a 3-flavor mousse cup for dessert. Delicious!
After lunch I went to the pharmacy to pick up some additional things. David waited in the car.
Later in the afternoon, I did the weekly grocery shopping at Shufersal.
In the evening we went over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt. We also walked around the mall a couple of times for exercise.
After that, I did some reading in the book I bought that accompanies my programming course. Although it basically covers the same things, it goes into a little more detail and has additional examples.
We ate lunch today at Buddha Burgers. I had their shwarma tortilla roll and vegan cheesecake for dessert, and David had vegan weenies (with grilled onion and sauerkraut) and a 3-flavor mousse cup for dessert. Delicious!
After lunch I went to the pharmacy to pick up some additional things. David waited in the car.
Later in the afternoon, I did the weekly grocery shopping at Shufersal.
In the evening we went over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt. We also walked around the mall a couple of times for exercise.
After that, I did some reading in the book I bought that accompanies my programming course. Although it basically covers the same things, it goes into a little more detail and has additional examples.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Shabbat, 26 October 2013
I got up a little later this morning but still had time for a good walk and some exercise at the gym. It was quite chilly out this morning; I'm going to have to start wearing more than a t-shirt and short pants, I guess.
I finished my first assignment for my class, Programming for Musicians and Digital Artists. It's a simple 4-part harmonization of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". That may sound pretty easy, but I had to start with pretty basic things: simple oscillators (producing sine, triangle, sawtooth, or square waves), and we were limited to the programming concepts and structures that have already been introduced in the lectures. I ended up using 5 sine oscillators and one sawtooth oscillator. By using "for" loops I was able to create crescendi and decrescendi (gradual increases and decreases in the volume level, respectively). The final result sounds pretty good but, of course, very electronic and synthesized (because it IS!).
We took a drive today around the long loop, starting by going up highway 12. On the way back on highway 90, we stopped at Yahel for lunch. We ate at the Kakao restaurant there in the Tzel Tmarim center. I had Tel Aviv French Toast, and David had a small pizza.
In the late afternoon, we went over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt. David's legs were doing better today, so we also walked all the way around the big circle.
I finished my first assignment for my class, Programming for Musicians and Digital Artists. It's a simple 4-part harmonization of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". That may sound pretty easy, but I had to start with pretty basic things: simple oscillators (producing sine, triangle, sawtooth, or square waves), and we were limited to the programming concepts and structures that have already been introduced in the lectures. I ended up using 5 sine oscillators and one sawtooth oscillator. By using "for" loops I was able to create crescendi and decrescendi (gradual increases and decreases in the volume level, respectively). The final result sounds pretty good but, of course, very electronic and synthesized (because it IS!).
We took a drive today around the long loop, starting by going up highway 12. On the way back on highway 90, we stopped at Yahel for lunch. We ate at the Kakao restaurant there in the Tzel Tmarim center. I had Tel Aviv French Toast, and David had a small pizza.
In the late afternoon, we went over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt. David's legs were doing better today, so we also walked all the way around the big circle.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Friday, 25 October 2013
I again got up very early and got in a great walk and an excellent work-out at the gym. Later, I walked down, recycled the cardboard, and bought challah and candy for Shabbat.
I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30 and 10:30-12:00.
We ate lunch at Il Pentolino, having our usual favorites there.
In the afternoon and evening, I worked on my first project for my programming class. We are restricted to using the features of ChucK (the programming language) that they have already taught us, so some things are a bit more complicated than they would be otherwise, I think. What I'm doing is setting a very simple 4-part harmonization of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", which is surprisingly tricky when you have to start from the basics of sound and simple oscillators!
Of course, we also lit candles, drank sweet wine, and ate challah to welcome the Shabbat at candle-lighting time.
I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30 and 10:30-12:00.
We ate lunch at Il Pentolino, having our usual favorites there.
In the afternoon and evening, I worked on my first project for my programming class. We are restricted to using the features of ChucK (the programming language) that they have already taught us, so some things are a bit more complicated than they would be otherwise, I think. What I'm doing is setting a very simple 4-part harmonization of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", which is surprisingly tricky when you have to start from the basics of sound and simple oscillators!
Of course, we also lit candles, drank sweet wine, and ate challah to welcome the Shabbat at candle-lighting time.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Thursday, 24 October 2013
I got up early and got in another good walk and work-out this morning.
I had no classes in the morning, so I used the opportunity to go over to Maccabi (our HMO) with the papers from the ambulance company and from the ER (after David's fall a couple of weeks ago). They paid for half of the ambulance fee, but we don't know how much they'll pay for the ER yet. We'll get a letter from Maccabi about it.
At lunch time (12:00-2:00) we joined a group of other Anglos here in Eilat organized by Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN), the organization that helps Americans, Canadians, and Brits make aliyah. The meeting was at Il Pentolino, one of our favorite restaurants, and the food was paid for by NBN. It was really nice to meet the other Anglos, several of whom have only been here for a short time. They'll be sending us all the contact info of everyone there so that we can keep in touch. I hope we'll make some new friends this way.
I was scheduled for 6 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one student was a no-show: 2:30-4:00 (the no-show); 5:30-7:00, and 7:00-8:30.
After the first lesson, we went over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt.
I had no classes in the morning, so I used the opportunity to go over to Maccabi (our HMO) with the papers from the ambulance company and from the ER (after David's fall a couple of weeks ago). They paid for half of the ambulance fee, but we don't know how much they'll pay for the ER yet. We'll get a letter from Maccabi about it.
At lunch time (12:00-2:00) we joined a group of other Anglos here in Eilat organized by Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN), the organization that helps Americans, Canadians, and Brits make aliyah. The meeting was at Il Pentolino, one of our favorite restaurants, and the food was paid for by NBN. It was really nice to meet the other Anglos, several of whom have only been here for a short time. They'll be sending us all the contact info of everyone there so that we can keep in touch. I hope we'll make some new friends this way.
I was scheduled for 6 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one student was a no-show: 2:30-4:00 (the no-show); 5:30-7:00, and 7:00-8:30.
After the first lesson, we went over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
I woke up early and got up at just the right time for a great walk, a great work-out, and my stretches on the way back. The weather was absolutely perfect this morning, so the whole thing was just a big pleasure!
I was scheduled for 11 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one lesson (2 units) was a no-show: 9:00-10:30 (a student in Norway who supervises maintenance at a wind farm), 12:00-1:30 (a student in France who works for a Dutch company that staffs clinical trials of new medicines), 2:30-4:00 (2 students in Spain who are originally from France and work for a high-speed internet provider for businesses), 4:30-6:00 (the no-show, a Dutch student who recently relocated to the Boston area because of her husband's job), 6:00-6:45 (a Russian student who now lives in Bulgaria but this week is on vacation in the Canary Islands), and 7:00-8:30 (a student who works for Shell Oil in Brazil).
We ate lunch at home today: vegetarian weenies wrapped in large flour tortillas, and (for me) chips and salsa.
I also managed to watch several videos for my new class in programming for musicians. ChucK is such a cool programming language!
I was scheduled for 11 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one lesson (2 units) was a no-show: 9:00-10:30 (a student in Norway who supervises maintenance at a wind farm), 12:00-1:30 (a student in France who works for a Dutch company that staffs clinical trials of new medicines), 2:30-4:00 (2 students in Spain who are originally from France and work for a high-speed internet provider for businesses), 4:30-6:00 (the no-show, a Dutch student who recently relocated to the Boston area because of her husband's job), 6:00-6:45 (a Russian student who now lives in Bulgaria but this week is on vacation in the Canary Islands), and 7:00-8:30 (a student who works for Shell Oil in Brazil).
We ate lunch at home today: vegetarian weenies wrapped in large flour tortillas, and (for me) chips and salsa.
I also managed to watch several videos for my new class in programming for musicians. ChucK is such a cool programming language!
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
I woke up early this morning but really felt tired and so did not get up for a walk at all.
I taught only 5 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:00-12:15 and 2:30-4:00. I had also been scheduled for 2 more units (4:00-5:30), but that student canceled late enough yesterday for it to be a late cancellation (so I still get paid!).
We went to Café Café at Ice Park for lunch today. David had cheese ravioli with mushroom cream sauce, and I had stuffed mushrooms, a new dish for me which was very delicious! After eating, we drove over to the Yellow gas station next to the airport, filled up, and got the car washed.
After my last class, David took a shower (sitting on a plastic chair in the bathtub, as usual, and I made sure to be there to help him get out. We don't want any repeats of last week -- one cracked rib is enough!
Then we went to vote. Even though the polling place is at a school only one short block from here, I knew that David wouldn't be able to walk it, so we drove over and were VERY lucky to get a parking place right across from the entrance to the school.
These elections are held regularly every 5 years and are for local offices only. We choose a candidate for mayor, and we choose a party for the city council. There were LOTS of people over there, including people trying to get everyone to vote for their mayoral candidate or their party. The advertising and the hype is MUCH greater for these local elections than for the national ones, I think! Anyway, we got in, located the room we were assigned to, and they let me help David vote. We both voted for דובי כהן Dubi Cohen for mayor and for his party, מהפך Mahafakh ("turnabout"), for city council.
Today, I started a new online Coursera class. It's called "Introduction to Programming for Musicians and Digital Artists", and I love it already. We're learning to program in a language called ChucK written especial for this purpose, and one of the videos was a great introduction to ChucK by the inventor of the language! It's going to be really, really cool!
I taught only 5 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:00-12:15 and 2:30-4:00. I had also been scheduled for 2 more units (4:00-5:30), but that student canceled late enough yesterday for it to be a late cancellation (so I still get paid!).
We went to Café Café at Ice Park for lunch today. David had cheese ravioli with mushroom cream sauce, and I had stuffed mushrooms, a new dish for me which was very delicious! After eating, we drove over to the Yellow gas station next to the airport, filled up, and got the car washed.
After my last class, David took a shower (sitting on a plastic chair in the bathtub, as usual, and I made sure to be there to help him get out. We don't want any repeats of last week -- one cracked rib is enough!
Then we went to vote. Even though the polling place is at a school only one short block from here, I knew that David wouldn't be able to walk it, so we drove over and were VERY lucky to get a parking place right across from the entrance to the school.
These elections are held regularly every 5 years and are for local offices only. We choose a candidate for mayor, and we choose a party for the city council. There were LOTS of people over there, including people trying to get everyone to vote for their mayoral candidate or their party. The advertising and the hype is MUCH greater for these local elections than for the national ones, I think! Anyway, we got in, located the room we were assigned to, and they let me help David vote. We both voted for דובי כהן Dubi Cohen for mayor and for his party, מהפך Mahafakh ("turnabout"), for city council.
Today, I started a new online Coursera class. It's called "Introduction to Programming for Musicians and Digital Artists", and I love it already. We're learning to program in a language called ChucK written especial for this purpose, and one of the videos was a great introduction to ChucK by the inventor of the language! It's going to be really, really cool!
Monday, October 21, 2013
Monday, 21 October 2013
Again I got up early enough for a good walk to the gym. I felt a little tired, though, and had some sinus congestion, so I didn't work out today.
I taught 8 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, 3:00-4:30, and 6:30-8:00.
We ordered pizza for lunch today, and it was very good.
In the early evening, before my last class, we took a short drive down the coast to the border crossing to Egypt.
I taught 8 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 10:30-12:00, 3:00-4:30, and 6:30-8:00.
We ordered pizza for lunch today, and it was very good.
In the early evening, before my last class, we took a short drive down the coast to the border crossing to Egypt.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Sunday, 20 October 2013
I got up about the same time as yesterday and so had time enough for my walk and work-out.
This morning I went to the doctor to get all our prescriptions for the next 3 months. Later, after lunch, I went to the pharmacy to get them filled.
I got a letter the other day from the Israeli tax service saying that the State may owe me money. It instructed me to go to the post office with my ID and a blank check (with my ID number and the bank account number). I did that this morning, and the lady entered some things into the computer and gave me some kind of a receipt. Apparently, because I'm working but not making very much money, I'm going to get some put into my account. I have no idea how much or when it might happen, but it seems like a nice thing, in any case.
We ate lunch again at Buddha Burgers, trying some different dishes. Still very delicious!
After the pharmacy, I went to the pet store and bought a scratching post and some catnip. Then I continued to Shufersal for our weekly grocery shopping.
In the evening, I worked some more on my "House Sonatina". I think I've got a good rough draft of it now. Next, I'll do a lot of fine tuning, and perhaps I'll even add some additional tracks.
This morning I went to the doctor to get all our prescriptions for the next 3 months. Later, after lunch, I went to the pharmacy to get them filled.
I got a letter the other day from the Israeli tax service saying that the State may owe me money. It instructed me to go to the post office with my ID and a blank check (with my ID number and the bank account number). I did that this morning, and the lady entered some things into the computer and gave me some kind of a receipt. Apparently, because I'm working but not making very much money, I'm going to get some put into my account. I have no idea how much or when it might happen, but it seems like a nice thing, in any case.
We ate lunch again at Buddha Burgers, trying some different dishes. Still very delicious!
After the pharmacy, I went to the pet store and bought a scratching post and some catnip. Then I continued to Shufersal for our weekly grocery shopping.
In the evening, I worked some more on my "House Sonatina". I think I've got a good rough draft of it now. Next, I'll do a lot of fine tuning, and perhaps I'll even add some additional tracks.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Shabbat, 19 October 2013
I got up later this morning than yesterday but still had time for a good walk and work-out.
I began working today on a piece using some of the EarSketch sounds (from Georgia Tech and related to the Survey of Music Technology course I just finished) and REAPER. I'm calling it "House Sonatina", and the idea is to take the clips of house music from the library and put them together in a form resembling the classic sonata-allegro form. We'll see how it turns out -- it's coming along okay so far, I think.
We drove up to Yahel for our now-traditional Shabbat lunch at Kakao at Tsel Tmarim there. David had pizza (although I ate half of it), and I had their Tel Aviv French Toast.
We talked to David's sister in Ohio today, which was really nice, especially since we had NOT talked to her in more than 2 weeks.
Finally, we drove over to Ice Park and had frozen yogurt. David stayed in the car in the parking garage while I went in and got the food and brought it to him since his little toe has been giving him a lot of pain. Apparently he injured or perhaps also broke it when he fell the other day. We were so concerned with checking for head injuries and with dealing with the pain from his cracked rib that he didn't really notice the toe much until we left the ER. Anyway, there's probably not much that can be done for it, either.
I began working today on a piece using some of the EarSketch sounds (from Georgia Tech and related to the Survey of Music Technology course I just finished) and REAPER. I'm calling it "House Sonatina", and the idea is to take the clips of house music from the library and put them together in a form resembling the classic sonata-allegro form. We'll see how it turns out -- it's coming along okay so far, I think.
We drove up to Yahel for our now-traditional Shabbat lunch at Kakao at Tsel Tmarim there. David had pizza (although I ate half of it), and I had their Tel Aviv French Toast.
We talked to David's sister in Ohio today, which was really nice, especially since we had NOT talked to her in more than 2 weeks.
Finally, we drove over to Ice Park and had frozen yogurt. David stayed in the car in the parking garage while I went in and got the food and brought it to him since his little toe has been giving him a lot of pain. Apparently he injured or perhaps also broke it when he fell the other day. We were so concerned with checking for head injuries and with dealing with the pain from his cracked rib that he didn't really notice the toe much until we left the ER. Anyway, there's probably not much that can be done for it, either.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Friday, 18 October 2013
I woke up very early this morning and had a splendid walk and work-out. It was cool but with almost no breeze, so it felt just about perfect out.
Also before breakfast, I took my usual walk to recycle the cardboard boxes and to get challah and candy for Shabbat.
I taught 3 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30 and 10:30-11:15.
We ate lunch at Il Pentolino and had our usual dishes there.
In the evening, we lit candles, drank a bit of sweet red wine, and ate whole-wheat challah to welcome Shabbat.
The weather is just about perfect here now. We are using no A/C and have the windows open all day and most of them all night, as well.
Also before breakfast, I took my usual walk to recycle the cardboard boxes and to get challah and candy for Shabbat.
I taught 3 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30 and 10:30-11:15.
We ate lunch at Il Pentolino and had our usual dishes there.
In the evening, we lit candles, drank a bit of sweet red wine, and ate whole-wheat challah to welcome Shabbat.
The weather is just about perfect here now. We are using no A/C and have the windows open all day and most of them all night, as well.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Thursday, 17 October 2013
I had trouble sleeping for about the first half of last night and so didn't get up until very late. Obviously, I didn't have time to go out and walk.
I taught 6 units of Berlitz lessons today, although the first student turned out to be a no-show (after having called the office to tell them she'd be late): 10:00-11:30, 3:30-5:00, and 7:00-8:30.
We ate lunch at Chooka today. David had a nice rice dish with tofu, and I had my usual vegetarian sushi combo.
Later, we returned to Ice Park to have frozen yogurt.
I taught 6 units of Berlitz lessons today, although the first student turned out to be a no-show (after having called the office to tell them she'd be late): 10:00-11:30, 3:30-5:00, and 7:00-8:30.
We ate lunch at Chooka today. David had a nice rice dish with tofu, and I had my usual vegetarian sushi combo.
Later, we returned to Ice Park to have frozen yogurt.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
I got up nice and early this morning and got in both a nice walk to the gym and a good work-out while there. I also took time to do my stretches on the way back.
I taught 9 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 2:30-4:00, 4:30-6:00, and 6:00-8:15.
We ate lunch again at Buddha Burgers. David had a dish with whole-grain rice and white beans and vegetarian meatballs (actually made of gluten, and very tasty!). I had their shnitzel burrito (vegan shnitzel, of course), and, as usual, I finished much of David's meal. We also split a piece of vegan cheese cake which was better than many cheese cakes I've had that used actual milk products. The more we eat at Buddha Burgers the better we like it. There are still plenty of dishes there that we have yet to try, as well, so I'm sure we'll be going there quite frequently.
I taught 9 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-10:30, 2:30-4:00, 4:30-6:00, and 6:00-8:15.
We ate lunch again at Buddha Burgers. David had a dish with whole-grain rice and white beans and vegetarian meatballs (actually made of gluten, and very tasty!). I had their shnitzel burrito (vegan shnitzel, of course), and, as usual, I finished much of David's meal. We also split a piece of vegan cheese cake which was better than many cheese cakes I've had that used actual milk products. The more we eat at Buddha Burgers the better we like it. There are still plenty of dishes there that we have yet to try, as well, so I'm sure we'll be going there quite frequently.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
I woke up early this morning but felt too tired to get up and so slept nearly another hour. I didn't get out for a walk at all as a result.
I was scheduled to teach 7 units of Berlitz today: 11:00-12:30, 3:00-4:30, and 4:30-6:45. However, things didn't quite go as planned.
During my first class, David decided to take a shower. Our shower is also a bathtub, but we have a plastic chair that we put in there for him so that he can sit while he bathes himself. However, he is often quite unstable getting in and, especially, out. During my break, I was in the bathroom peeing when he got out and suddenly fell, with his head coming down right beside me! I really only caught exactly what happened out of the corner of my eye, since I wasn't looking that direction or even expecting him to be getting out at that moment.
Of course he complained of pain, mostly in his ribs. But what worried me was that he threw up shortly after falling. Because of that, we decided we had better call for an ambulance, and that's what I did. The paramedics checked him, got him up onto his feet (I certainly could NOT have done that all by myself!), and got him to his chair. We got him dressed, and then they transported him to the ER with me following right behind in my car.
After much checking at the ER to rule out more serious problems, they determined that one of his ribs had a small crack in it. It's not a serious problem, of course, but it's causing him plenty of pain, which won't be going away very soon, I'm afraid.
I had had to contact Berlitz, of course, so that they'd let the student I was teaching know that I wouldn't be back. Later, I had to call them from the ER to cancel my remaining lessons for the day (there went 5 units of pay!).
By the time we got out of the ER, it was about 3:30, and we hadn't had lunch yet, so we headed over to Il Pentolino for our traditional dishes there. We chose it mostly because we can almost always park right in front of the restaurant (which we did today, too), and so it's the place that involves the least amount of walking for David.
On the way home, I had to stop by the doctor's office with the prescription they had given me in the ER so that he could write a Maccabi prescription that I could actually get filled.
After bringing David home and resting a little, I headed out to the pharmacy. Of course, a lot of other people were also there by then, so I had to wait quite a long time, only to find out that the medicine (Tramadex) is not available ANYWHERE in the whole city. So, I headed BACK to the doctor's office to try to get a prescription for another medicine. But he just flat out said that there is no other pain medicine that we can safely give David because of all the meds he's on and because of the danger of ruining his kidneys (which are already marginal). So the strongest thing we'll be able to give him is Optalgin, a pain killer that's available over the counter here but is banned in the U.S. The main advantage of it is that it doesn't damage his kidneys as most others, such as ibuprofen, do.
So, it was a busy day. We're glad that David had no worse injuries than a cracked rib, but neither of us is looking forward to the weeks of pain ahead, obviously.
I have to add a postscript about hospitals and ERs here in Israel. The short story is that they are some of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse places imaginable. Anyone who thinks that Israel is even remotely like an apartheid state has NEVER spent even 10 minutes in an Israeli hospital or ER. For example, the main person examining David today was an African-American woman (yes, really American!) who is a medical student here in Israel. The physician supervising her and also doing some of the examining was almost certainly an Israeli Arab guy (fluent in Hebrew and English, although his native language is probably Arabic). Another physician working there was almost certainly Jewish, but I heard him say חג שמח (Happy Holiday in Hebrew) to a patient who, presumably, was a Muslim (since we are in a 3-day Muslim holiday). The guy who took David to x-ray and back was Russian, at least judging from his appearance. And that's just a tiny sample of a typical Israeli ER.
I was scheduled to teach 7 units of Berlitz today: 11:00-12:30, 3:00-4:30, and 4:30-6:45. However, things didn't quite go as planned.
During my first class, David decided to take a shower. Our shower is also a bathtub, but we have a plastic chair that we put in there for him so that he can sit while he bathes himself. However, he is often quite unstable getting in and, especially, out. During my break, I was in the bathroom peeing when he got out and suddenly fell, with his head coming down right beside me! I really only caught exactly what happened out of the corner of my eye, since I wasn't looking that direction or even expecting him to be getting out at that moment.
Of course he complained of pain, mostly in his ribs. But what worried me was that he threw up shortly after falling. Because of that, we decided we had better call for an ambulance, and that's what I did. The paramedics checked him, got him up onto his feet (I certainly could NOT have done that all by myself!), and got him to his chair. We got him dressed, and then they transported him to the ER with me following right behind in my car.
After much checking at the ER to rule out more serious problems, they determined that one of his ribs had a small crack in it. It's not a serious problem, of course, but it's causing him plenty of pain, which won't be going away very soon, I'm afraid.
I had had to contact Berlitz, of course, so that they'd let the student I was teaching know that I wouldn't be back. Later, I had to call them from the ER to cancel my remaining lessons for the day (there went 5 units of pay!).
By the time we got out of the ER, it was about 3:30, and we hadn't had lunch yet, so we headed over to Il Pentolino for our traditional dishes there. We chose it mostly because we can almost always park right in front of the restaurant (which we did today, too), and so it's the place that involves the least amount of walking for David.
On the way home, I had to stop by the doctor's office with the prescription they had given me in the ER so that he could write a Maccabi prescription that I could actually get filled.
After bringing David home and resting a little, I headed out to the pharmacy. Of course, a lot of other people were also there by then, so I had to wait quite a long time, only to find out that the medicine (Tramadex) is not available ANYWHERE in the whole city. So, I headed BACK to the doctor's office to try to get a prescription for another medicine. But he just flat out said that there is no other pain medicine that we can safely give David because of all the meds he's on and because of the danger of ruining his kidneys (which are already marginal). So the strongest thing we'll be able to give him is Optalgin, a pain killer that's available over the counter here but is banned in the U.S. The main advantage of it is that it doesn't damage his kidneys as most others, such as ibuprofen, do.
So, it was a busy day. We're glad that David had no worse injuries than a cracked rib, but neither of us is looking forward to the weeks of pain ahead, obviously.
I have to add a postscript about hospitals and ERs here in Israel. The short story is that they are some of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse places imaginable. Anyone who thinks that Israel is even remotely like an apartheid state has NEVER spent even 10 minutes in an Israeli hospital or ER. For example, the main person examining David today was an African-American woman (yes, really American!) who is a medical student here in Israel. The physician supervising her and also doing some of the examining was almost certainly an Israeli Arab guy (fluent in Hebrew and English, although his native language is probably Arabic). Another physician working there was almost certainly Jewish, but I heard him say חג שמח (Happy Holiday in Hebrew) to a patient who, presumably, was a Muslim (since we are in a 3-day Muslim holiday). The guy who took David to x-ray and back was Russian, at least judging from his appearance. And that's just a tiny sample of a typical Israeli ER.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Monday, 14 October 2013
I got up early enough to walk to the gym and back, but I didn't work out there at all today.
I taught only 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 12:00-1:30 and 5:00-6:30.
We ate lunch at Café Café at Ice Park today. David had shakshuka and I had east/west noodles (really, more east, as in Asian). I made the mistake of finishing David's dish, though, and therefore had quite a bit too must to eat. But at least it was fairly healthy.
In the evening we drove back over to Ice Park for our traditional frozen yogurt.
Yesterday and today, they have been planting a lot of trees and flowers and putting down an artificial turf lawn in the area around our parking lot, behind our building. It now looks MUCH nicer! However, I'm not very pleased about the motivation for it. It seems that the municipality did this, and the reason is quite simple: in 8 days, the mayor is up for re-election. My questions is this: is this kind of work REALLY the city's responsibility? If it is, why did they wait until now, just before the election, to do it? If it's not, isn't this a questionable use of public money? Either way, the mayor is basically using public money to try to get people to vote for him. I'd say that he lost my vote, except that I was already planning to vote for his biggest opponent, Dubi Cohen, whose writings I have been following and with whose plans I've been quite impressed.
I taught only 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 12:00-1:30 and 5:00-6:30.
We ate lunch at Café Café at Ice Park today. David had shakshuka and I had east/west noodles (really, more east, as in Asian). I made the mistake of finishing David's dish, though, and therefore had quite a bit too must to eat. But at least it was fairly healthy.
In the evening we drove back over to Ice Park for our traditional frozen yogurt.
Yesterday and today, they have been planting a lot of trees and flowers and putting down an artificial turf lawn in the area around our parking lot, behind our building. It now looks MUCH nicer! However, I'm not very pleased about the motivation for it. It seems that the municipality did this, and the reason is quite simple: in 8 days, the mayor is up for re-election. My questions is this: is this kind of work REALLY the city's responsibility? If it is, why did they wait until now, just before the election, to do it? If it's not, isn't this a questionable use of public money? Either way, the mayor is basically using public money to try to get people to vote for him. I'd say that he lost my vote, except that I was already planning to vote for his biggest opponent, Dubi Cohen, whose writings I have been following and with whose plans I've been quite impressed.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Sunday, 13 October 2013
I got up early enough this morning to get over to the gym and get in a decent short work-out.
This morning we went over and both got our annual flu shots. If you haven't gotten yours yet, I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. I've been getting them every year for at least 2 decades, I think, and I highly recommend them!
We ate lunch at Buddha Burger today. I ordered a shwarma burrito, and David ordered a roast beef burrito. Of course, EVERYTHING at that place is actually vegan, so no animals were killed or even disturbed. David was only able to eat about half of his, so I finished it as well as mine. Both burritos were delicious, but I think the shwarma was the best.
In the afternoon, I went to MaccabiPharm to get some more of David's anti-pain medicine (optalgin -- it's not sold in the U.S.). Then I proceeded to Shufersal to do the weekly grocery shopping.
In the evening, I spent some time listening to more of the sounds that are in the EarSketch library that I downloaded as part of my recently completed Survey of Music Technology class. I think I'd like to do some more composing using the sound samples, so I need to have a better idea of the resources that are actually available for this.
We also went over to Ice Park this evening for frozen yogurt. There was a complication, though. The yogurt at our regular place was not frozen hard enough, so they couldn't make any for us. We managed to find another place in the mall that was able to serve us our usual favorites.
This morning we went over and both got our annual flu shots. If you haven't gotten yours yet, I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. I've been getting them every year for at least 2 decades, I think, and I highly recommend them!
We ate lunch at Buddha Burger today. I ordered a shwarma burrito, and David ordered a roast beef burrito. Of course, EVERYTHING at that place is actually vegan, so no animals were killed or even disturbed. David was only able to eat about half of his, so I finished it as well as mine. Both burritos were delicious, but I think the shwarma was the best.
In the afternoon, I went to MaccabiPharm to get some more of David's anti-pain medicine (optalgin -- it's not sold in the U.S.). Then I proceeded to Shufersal to do the weekly grocery shopping.
In the evening, I spent some time listening to more of the sounds that are in the EarSketch library that I downloaded as part of my recently completed Survey of Music Technology class. I think I'd like to do some more composing using the sound samples, so I need to have a better idea of the resources that are actually available for this.
We also went over to Ice Park this evening for frozen yogurt. There was a complication, though. The yogurt at our regular place was not frozen hard enough, so they couldn't make any for us. We managed to find another place in the mall that was able to serve us our usual favorites.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Shabbat, 12 October 2013
I woke up a little late this morning, but I still walked as far as the gym and back but without working out there at all.
We again drove up to Yahel today for lunch at Kakao at Tzel Tmarim. David had Italian pasta salad (although I ate more of it than he did, I think), and I had khaloumi salad. Both were good, and they were ones we had never tried before.
This afternoon, I took the program of one of the best peer projects that I had graded for my Survey of Music Technology class and played around with it, tweaking various parameters to see what effect it might have. It was quite interesting. My next class, called Programming for Musicians and Artists, will begin a week from Monday. I'm really looking forward to it!
This evening we drove over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt.
We again drove up to Yahel today for lunch at Kakao at Tzel Tmarim. David had Italian pasta salad (although I ate more of it than he did, I think), and I had khaloumi salad. Both were good, and they were ones we had never tried before.
This afternoon, I took the program of one of the best peer projects that I had graded for my Survey of Music Technology class and played around with it, tweaking various parameters to see what effect it might have. It was quite interesting. My next class, called Programming for Musicians and Artists, will begin a week from Monday. I'm really looking forward to it!
This evening we drove over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Friday, 11 October 2013
I got up too late this morning to go out for a walk. I think I'm battling some sort of cold or allergy or sinus problem. It seems to be mostly okay in the daytime, though. I did do my regular Friday morning walk to recycle cardboard and buy challah and candy before breakfast.
I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:30-12:00 and 12:00-1:30.
We had our usual favorites for lunch at Il Pentolino.
In the evening, we lit candles, drank sweet wine, and ate challah to welcome Shabbat.
I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:30-12:00 and 12:00-1:30.
We had our usual favorites for lunch at Il Pentolino.
In the evening, we lit candles, drank sweet wine, and ate challah to welcome Shabbat.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Wednesday, 10 October 2013
I slept really well last night and got up early enough to get to the gym and do a short work-out.
I taught 10 units of Berlitz lessons today, although one student was actually a no-show: 10:00-11:30, 11:30-1:00, 3:30-5:00 (the no-show), 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.
We ate lunch at Chooka at Ice Park today. David had a dish we had never tried before with rice, tofu, and green curry sauce. It was delicious (I ate nearly half of it). I had their number 1 vegetarian sushi combination, my usual dish there, which was also very good. After we had eaten that, we walked over and had frozen yogurt for dessert.
I taught 10 units of Berlitz lessons today, although one student was actually a no-show: 10:00-11:30, 11:30-1:00, 3:30-5:00 (the no-show), 5:00-6:30, and 7:00-8:30.
We ate lunch at Chooka at Ice Park today. David had a dish we had never tried before with rice, tofu, and green curry sauce. It was delicious (I ate nearly half of it). I had their number 1 vegetarian sushi combination, my usual dish there, which was also very good. After we had eaten that, we walked over and had frozen yogurt for dessert.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
I woke up very early this morning and so got in a nice walk and a good work-out. It was VERY pleasant out today.
This morning I went to the bank to get my replacement bank card (for the one that I left at Café Greg a while back and they cut it up), then to the pet shop for more cat food and cat litter, and finally to Shufersal for the belated weekly shopping trip.
I spent most of the rest of the day working on my lengthy, illustrated blog post (on my old blog) about our wonderful trip to Aqaba and southern Jordan. Here's a link to that.
We ate lunch at Café Café at Ice Park today. We both had shakshuka, which was delicious. In the evening, we drove down to Ice Park again and had frozen yogurt.
This morning I went to the bank to get my replacement bank card (for the one that I left at Café Greg a while back and they cut it up), then to the pet shop for more cat food and cat litter, and finally to Shufersal for the belated weekly shopping trip.
I spent most of the rest of the day working on my lengthy, illustrated blog post (on my old blog) about our wonderful trip to Aqaba and southern Jordan. Here's a link to that.
We ate lunch at Café Café at Ice Park today. We both had shakshuka, which was delicious. In the evening, we drove down to Ice Park again and had frozen yogurt.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Tuesday, 8 October 2013
Today was our last day in Aqaba, and we returned home after lunch.
Before lunch, we drove up highway 15 in Jordan in the direction of Amman. Of course, we didn't go anywhere NEAR that far, but we did enjoy the beautiful scenery of the interior of southern Jordan. We then checked out of our hotel and took another drive down the South Coast of Jordan, going a little past the Tala Bay Resort. We returned to the area of our hotel, where there are plenty of restaurants, and ate lunch at one we hadn't yet tried, called Papaya. We split a pizza, which was quite good, and I had their cheese sandwich, which was okay, but not as good as the delicious one I had yesterday.
After lunch, we proceeded to the border, only stopping long enough to buy a couple of sodas to keep ourselves hydrated.
The trip back across the border was a little quicker than the other direction, but we did have to undergo some interrogation by Israeli security folks. I think we were far enough from the typical traveler (non-Israeli-looking Israeli citizens, not speaking Hebrew very well, driving our own car, etc.) to arouse some suspicion, but, of course, in the end there was no problem. It was especially exhausting for David, though, since he gets confused quite a bit these days and they, not surprisingly, wanted to interview us completely separately (in English, though). In any case, it felt very, very good to be back home in Israel!
After a good rest (including a nap for David), we drove over to Ice Park and got our traditional frozen yogurt.
Tomorrow, I'll try to write in more detail about our trip. I have uploaded my pictures from my iPhone to my computer and started editing them, but there's more to do. Here's my broadest feeling about this vacation: in terms of distance, we have surely never vacationed so close to home before, but in terms of culture, we have never traveled so far away. It truly was a trip "abroad"!
Before lunch, we drove up highway 15 in Jordan in the direction of Amman. Of course, we didn't go anywhere NEAR that far, but we did enjoy the beautiful scenery of the interior of southern Jordan. We then checked out of our hotel and took another drive down the South Coast of Jordan, going a little past the Tala Bay Resort. We returned to the area of our hotel, where there are plenty of restaurants, and ate lunch at one we hadn't yet tried, called Papaya. We split a pizza, which was quite good, and I had their cheese sandwich, which was okay, but not as good as the delicious one I had yesterday.
After lunch, we proceeded to the border, only stopping long enough to buy a couple of sodas to keep ourselves hydrated.
The trip back across the border was a little quicker than the other direction, but we did have to undergo some interrogation by Israeli security folks. I think we were far enough from the typical traveler (non-Israeli-looking Israeli citizens, not speaking Hebrew very well, driving our own car, etc.) to arouse some suspicion, but, of course, in the end there was no problem. It was especially exhausting for David, though, since he gets confused quite a bit these days and they, not surprisingly, wanted to interview us completely separately (in English, though). In any case, it felt very, very good to be back home in Israel!
After a good rest (including a nap for David), we drove over to Ice Park and got our traditional frozen yogurt.
Tomorrow, I'll try to write in more detail about our trip. I have uploaded my pictures from my iPhone to my computer and started editing them, but there's more to do. Here's my broadest feeling about this vacation: in terms of distance, we have surely never vacationed so close to home before, but in terms of culture, we have never traveled so far away. It truly was a trip "abroad"!
Monday, October 7, 2013
Monday, 7 October 2013
This morning I did NOT get up early, but I did get in a nice walk after breakfast (free here at the hotel, Al Qidra, in downtown Aqaba). I went down by the sea and walked as far as the giant Jordanian flag on the incredibly tall flagpole. Of course, I took LOTS of pictures, many of them of Eilat across the gulf.
We ate lunch at Vis a Vis, a restaurant almost directly across from our hotel. David had penne with a wonderfully rich cheese and cream sauce (I ate about the last third of it), and I had a very delicious multiple-cheese sandwich.
After lunch, we drove up the Araba, the valley that is known on the Israeli side as the Arava. We turned around at some point well north of Yahel and came back to Aqaba.
While David took his nap, I walked over to the souk district and enjoyed browsing hundreds of little shops selling everything from meat and other foods to women's clothes, jewelry, and household items. Some sold tourist items, but most were much more oriented to the local population, plenty of whom were out shopping in the cool of the evening. I also took some more pictures.
We ate lunch at Vis a Vis, a restaurant almost directly across from our hotel. David had penne with a wonderfully rich cheese and cream sauce (I ate about the last third of it), and I had a very delicious multiple-cheese sandwich.
After lunch, we drove up the Araba, the valley that is known on the Israeli side as the Arava. We turned around at some point well north of Yahel and came back to Aqaba.
While David took his nap, I walked over to the souk district and enjoyed browsing hundreds of little shops selling everything from meat and other foods to women's clothes, jewelry, and household items. Some sold tourist items, but most were much more oriented to the local population, plenty of whom were out shopping in the cool of the evening. I also took some more pictures.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Sunday, 6 October 2013
I got up early enough this morning to walk to the highway 12 kikar and back. I wore a t-shirt this morning, but it was still a little cool with the steady breeze.
After breakfast, I packed for our trip, and then we headed out. Our destination: Aqaba, Jordan, less than 10 km away as the crow flies, but a whole world away, culturally.
It took more than an hour and a half just to cross the border. On the Israeli side, we had to go to 3 different windows. This was partly because we were driving our own car across.
On the Jordanian side there was considerably more to do, again much of it because of our car. Basically, our car is officially registered in Jordan, and they switched the plates to Jordanian plates. Rosa (our car) looks very strange with her white plates instead of her usual yellow Israeli ones. I had to buy obligatory Jordanian insurance, too. Finally, though, we made it through without any problems.
We then drove on into Aqaba, grabbed a little to eat from a tiny market, and found our hotel, which I had reserved via the internet before we left.
While David took a nap, I went out around the neighborhood to find a place to change some more Israeli shekels to Jordanian dinars, which I finally succeeded in doing.
After that, we drove down the coast of the gulf on the other side, stopping to take pics in several places. Eilat so tiny a far away from over here! When we got to the boarder crossing to Saudi Arabia we had to turn around, of course. But we didn't return directly to Aqaba. Instead, we took an inland road that was built mostly so that trucks from the industrial area can proceed to the interior of the country without having to go through Aqaba. But it was quite an interesting and scenic route.
After returning to our hotel in Aqaba, we went out to eat at a nearby restaurant. David had linguini with a mushroom tomato sauce, and I had a Greek salad, which was surprisingly good. For desert, David had a rather dry brownie, and I had a banana split, which was good but, as far as I could tell, contained no banana!
Our hotel had upgraded us from the ground floor to the 2nd floor, but the WiFi doesn't reach our room, so I'm writing from the lobby.
After breakfast, I packed for our trip, and then we headed out. Our destination: Aqaba, Jordan, less than 10 km away as the crow flies, but a whole world away, culturally.
It took more than an hour and a half just to cross the border. On the Israeli side, we had to go to 3 different windows. This was partly because we were driving our own car across.
On the Jordanian side there was considerably more to do, again much of it because of our car. Basically, our car is officially registered in Jordan, and they switched the plates to Jordanian plates. Rosa (our car) looks very strange with her white plates instead of her usual yellow Israeli ones. I had to buy obligatory Jordanian insurance, too. Finally, though, we made it through without any problems.
We then drove on into Aqaba, grabbed a little to eat from a tiny market, and found our hotel, which I had reserved via the internet before we left.
While David took a nap, I went out around the neighborhood to find a place to change some more Israeli shekels to Jordanian dinars, which I finally succeeded in doing.
After that, we drove down the coast of the gulf on the other side, stopping to take pics in several places. Eilat so tiny a far away from over here! When we got to the boarder crossing to Saudi Arabia we had to turn around, of course. But we didn't return directly to Aqaba. Instead, we took an inland road that was built mostly so that trucks from the industrial area can proceed to the interior of the country without having to go through Aqaba. But it was quite an interesting and scenic route.
After returning to our hotel in Aqaba, we went out to eat at a nearby restaurant. David had linguini with a mushroom tomato sauce, and I had a Greek salad, which was surprisingly good. For desert, David had a rather dry brownie, and I had a banana split, which was good but, as far as I could tell, contained no banana!
Our hotel had upgraded us from the ground floor to the 2nd floor, but the WiFi doesn't reach our room, so I'm writing from the lobby.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Shabbat, 5 October 2013
I got up a little later this morning and so only walked to the highway 12 kikar and back. It was cool out, and there was a steady breeze. I was wearing a tank top, but I almost wished I had worn a t-shirt instead, especially on the way out, when I was walking against the wind.
I evaluated some more students' projects today (for my Survey of Music Technology class), so I've now done a total of 17 of them. It's fun to see what other people did!
We drove up to Yahel and had lunch at the Kakao at Tsal Tamarim there. David had pizza, and I had an omelet sandwich.
I deleted some music, some apps, and quite a few photos from my iPhone today, since it was getting a little full, and I didn't want to run out of space for new photos. Tomorrow, we take our first trip abroad since we arrived in Israel more than seven and a half years ago. Stay tuned for details!
This evening we took a quick drive over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt, which was yummy as it always is.
I evaluated some more students' projects today (for my Survey of Music Technology class), so I've now done a total of 17 of them. It's fun to see what other people did!
We drove up to Yahel and had lunch at the Kakao at Tsal Tamarim there. David had pizza, and I had an omelet sandwich.
I deleted some music, some apps, and quite a few photos from my iPhone today, since it was getting a little full, and I didn't want to run out of space for new photos. Tomorrow, we take our first trip abroad since we arrived in Israel more than seven and a half years ago. Stay tuned for details!
This evening we took a quick drive over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt, which was yummy as it always is.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Friday, 4 October 2013
I got up very early this morning and had a lovely walk to the gym and a thorough work-out while there. A little later, still before breakfast, I walked down to recycle the cardboard boxes and buy challah and candy.
I was scheduled for 4 units of Berlitz teaching today, but the second student turned out to be a late cancellation: 9:30-11:00 and 11:00-12:30.
We were going to eat lunch at Café Café at Ice Park today, but when we got there there were no parking places nearby, so we drove over and ate at Il Pentolino instead. But we did NOT have our usual dishes; David had cheese ravioli with Palermo sauce (MY usual sauce), and I had whole-wheat spaghetti with alio olio sauce (olive oil and garlic). For some reason, we waited quite a bit longer than usual for our food, but it was delicious.
This afternoon I listened to and graded quite a few more project submissions from fellow students in my Survey of Music Technology class. I've now evaluated a total of 13 people's projects. Some of them were really interesting music, too, and several also showed some good programming expertise!
This evening, we lit candles, drank sweet red wine, and ate whole-wheat challah to welcome Shabbat.
I was scheduled for 4 units of Berlitz teaching today, but the second student turned out to be a late cancellation: 9:30-11:00 and 11:00-12:30.
We were going to eat lunch at Café Café at Ice Park today, but when we got there there were no parking places nearby, so we drove over and ate at Il Pentolino instead. But we did NOT have our usual dishes; David had cheese ravioli with Palermo sauce (MY usual sauce), and I had whole-wheat spaghetti with alio olio sauce (olive oil and garlic). For some reason, we waited quite a bit longer than usual for our food, but it was delicious.
This afternoon I listened to and graded quite a few more project submissions from fellow students in my Survey of Music Technology class. I've now evaluated a total of 13 people's projects. Some of them were really interesting music, too, and several also showed some good programming expertise!
This evening, we lit candles, drank sweet red wine, and ate whole-wheat challah to welcome Shabbat.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Thursday, 3 October 2013
I got up a little later this morning but still had enough time to walk to the gym, go on the rowing machine for a bit, and return home.
I was scheduled for 7 units of teaching today, but the middle student turned out to be a late cancellation: 10:30-12:00, 2:30-4:00, and 6:00-8:15.
We ordered our favorite dishes from Il Pentolino today but that them delivered here instead of going out to eat.
I evaluated the work of 8 of my fellow students in the Survey of Music Technology class. I was only required to do 3, but I was interested in seeing was others did, and the system includes the possibility to evaluate as many as we like. I may even do a few more tomorrow and Saturday.
I was scheduled for 7 units of teaching today, but the middle student turned out to be a late cancellation: 10:30-12:00, 2:30-4:00, and 6:00-8:15.
We ordered our favorite dishes from Il Pentolino today but that them delivered here instead of going out to eat.
I evaluated the work of 8 of my fellow students in the Survey of Music Technology class. I was only required to do 3, but I was interested in seeing was others did, and the system includes the possibility to evaluate as many as we like. I may even do a few more tomorrow and Saturday.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
I woke up very early this morning and was out for my walk at about 5:30. I worked out at the gym but not too hard, then I walked back home, stopping for my stretches along the way.
I was scheduled to teach a staggering 13 units (9 hours and 45 minutes) of Berlitz lessons today, but one 2-unit lesson (at 3:00) was canceled last night (a LATE cancellation, which means I still get paid for it!), and the student for my last lesson (3 units) was a no-show (which I also get paid for): 9:00-12:00, 12:00-1:30, 3:00-4:30 (the late cancellation), 4:30-6:00, and 6:00-8:15 (the no-show).
We ate lunch at Buddha Burgers today. The branch in Eilat is quite new, I think. It's a totally vegan restaurant. We both had seitan burgers (seitan is cooked wheat gluten), which were delicious. We're definitely planning to go back and check out their other dishes, which also sound wonderful.
Since I only had to wait an hour for the no-show student (instead of the full 3-unit lesson of 2 hours and 15 minutes), we were able to go over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt. Yum!
I was scheduled to teach a staggering 13 units (9 hours and 45 minutes) of Berlitz lessons today, but one 2-unit lesson (at 3:00) was canceled last night (a LATE cancellation, which means I still get paid for it!), and the student for my last lesson (3 units) was a no-show (which I also get paid for): 9:00-12:00, 12:00-1:30, 3:00-4:30 (the late cancellation), 4:30-6:00, and 6:00-8:15 (the no-show).
We ate lunch at Buddha Burgers today. The branch in Eilat is quite new, I think. It's a totally vegan restaurant. We both had seitan burgers (seitan is cooked wheat gluten), which were delicious. We're definitely planning to go back and check out their other dishes, which also sound wonderful.
Since I only had to wait an hour for the no-show student (instead of the full 3-unit lesson of 2 hours and 15 minutes), we were able to go over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt. Yum!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
I woke up feeling very tired this morning and so didn't get up early enough to go for a walk. I didn't feel particularly tired during the day, though.
I taught 7 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:45-10:15, 2:30-4:00, 4:30-6:00, and 7:00-8:30.
We ate lunch at Il Pentolino, having our usual favorites there.
I taught 7 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:45-10:15, 2:30-4:00, 4:30-6:00, and 7:00-8:30.
We ate lunch at Il Pentolino, having our usual favorites there.
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