Last night we had a little problem right around midnight with David getting up and being a little confused. By the time I had cleaned up and gotten him back to bed, I was so wide awake that I lost at least 2 hours of sleep time. So I got up quite late in the morning and didn't go out to walk at all. David, of course, remembers NONE of this.
This morning we went up to חי בר Khai Bar, the wild animal park and nature preserve just south of Yotvata. This is about the 3rd or 4th time we've been there, but this time we timed it so that we'd be out there driving when they fed the animals, which brought them out quite close to us. At one point, there were 3 ostriches pecking on the car at the same time! I took quite a few pictures with my iPhone, but I haven't even looked at them yet.
After that, we continue north for our now-regular Shabbat lunch at Kakao, at Kibbutz Yahel.
In the late afternoon we talked for a while with David's sister in Ohio, and then went over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt. We stayed for a little longer so that I could watch the show. This time, only the guy performed.
I watched several video lectures for the coming week of my Survey of Music Technology class. Now he's introducing us to Reaper, the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), that we will be using for this class. It's quite interesting.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
Friday, 30 August 2013
I got up early this morning and walked all the way to the gym and back. I didn't, however, work out there because I wanted to leave plenty of time later to go down to the bakery, where I got challah, and the candy store.
I taught on one 2-unit Berlitz lesson today: 9:00-10:30. It was an individual student, a German-speaking Swiss woman whom I have taught before and who is very nice.
We ate lunch today at Il Pentolino. We had our usual choices there except that they didn't have whole-wheat spaghetti today. Also, my Palermo sauce was not NEARLY as good as it usually is. Oh well.
I finished all of the first week's activities for my Survey of Music Technology course. In the last couple of videos, the professor went into some detail about how graphs showing frequency components of a sound are made. He did not describe exactly how Fast Fourier Transforms work, but he did show some of the trade-off in using them and what they can be useful for besides just displays. In particular, they can allow you to change the speed and the pitch of sounds independently, something which can NOT be done in the usual representations of digital music (or analog, for that matter!). This was definitely something beyond what I learned in my previous class.
We took a short drive up the Arava this afternoon, going only as far as Samar.
We lit candles, drank sweet wine, and ate whole-grain challah to celebrate the beginning of Shabbat this evening.
I taught on one 2-unit Berlitz lesson today: 9:00-10:30. It was an individual student, a German-speaking Swiss woman whom I have taught before and who is very nice.
We ate lunch today at Il Pentolino. We had our usual choices there except that they didn't have whole-wheat spaghetti today. Also, my Palermo sauce was not NEARLY as good as it usually is. Oh well.
I finished all of the first week's activities for my Survey of Music Technology course. In the last couple of videos, the professor went into some detail about how graphs showing frequency components of a sound are made. He did not describe exactly how Fast Fourier Transforms work, but he did show some of the trade-off in using them and what they can be useful for besides just displays. In particular, they can allow you to change the speed and the pitch of sounds independently, something which can NOT be done in the usual representations of digital music (or analog, for that matter!). This was definitely something beyond what I learned in my previous class.
We took a short drive up the Arava this afternoon, going only as far as Samar.
We lit candles, drank sweet wine, and ate whole-grain challah to celebrate the beginning of Shabbat this evening.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Thursday, 29 August 2013
I got up a little late this morning because I had had trouble getting to sleep last night. However, I still managed to walk to the highway 12 kikar and back.
I was scheduled to teach 9 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one lesson (2 of those units) turned out to be a no-show: 9:00-10:30, 2:30-4:00 (the no-show), 4:00-5:30, and 6:00-8:15.
We ate lunch today at Café Café at Ice Park. I had their בוקר מקסיקני boker meksikani ("Mexican Morning"). It's basically an omelet with tomato in it, corn chips, salsa, and cream cheese, with bread and a salad on the side. I find the "salsa" a bit amusing, sort of half-way between Mexican salsa and סלט טורקי salat turki ("Turkish salad"). Nevertheless, it's quite a nice meal.
I also managed to watch several more video lectures for my Survey of Music Technology class, which I enjoyed.
I was scheduled to teach 9 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one lesson (2 of those units) turned out to be a no-show: 9:00-10:30, 2:30-4:00 (the no-show), 4:00-5:30, and 6:00-8:15.
We ate lunch today at Café Café at Ice Park. I had their בוקר מקסיקני boker meksikani ("Mexican Morning"). It's basically an omelet with tomato in it, corn chips, salsa, and cream cheese, with bread and a salad on the side. I find the "salsa" a bit amusing, sort of half-way between Mexican salsa and סלט טורקי salat turki ("Turkish salad"). Nevertheless, it's quite a nice meal.
I also managed to watch several more video lectures for my Survey of Music Technology class, which I enjoyed.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
I had a little trouble getting to sleep last night, and I also woke up quite a bit during the night. I didn't get up until after 7:00, which is VERY late for me. But I did feel that I had gotten enough sleep, and I definitely felt MUCH better than yesterday. Of course I did NOT have time to go for a walk.
I taught only 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 11:00-12:30 and 4:00-5:30.
I watched several more lecture videos for my new class, Survey of Music Technology. Much of the material so far is similar to what I learned in my previous music class, but a few things have been new, and, of course, the professor has different ways of presenting them. Later, there will be many things that will be different from the previous class.
We ate lunch at Kakao at Ice Park today. David had Tel Aviv French toast, and I had their Kakao toast. Both were good.
After my last class, I walked over to the doctor's office (about 6 short blocks away) for the appointment that I had scheduled this morning. Berlitz requires a letter from one's doctor in order to claim a sick day.
Later in the evening, I took out the trash and took more than 60 plastic bottles to the recycling bin.
I taught only 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 11:00-12:30 and 4:00-5:30.
I watched several more lecture videos for my new class, Survey of Music Technology. Much of the material so far is similar to what I learned in my previous music class, but a few things have been new, and, of course, the professor has different ways of presenting them. Later, there will be many things that will be different from the previous class.
We ate lunch at Kakao at Ice Park today. David had Tel Aviv French toast, and I had their Kakao toast. Both were good.
After my last class, I walked over to the doctor's office (about 6 short blocks away) for the appointment that I had scheduled this morning. Berlitz requires a letter from one's doctor in order to claim a sick day.
Later in the evening, I took out the trash and took more than 60 plastic bottles to the recycling bin.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
I woke up this morning with a headache and just not feeling good in general. I didn't go out at all, and I took 400 mg of ibuprofen right away. But the headache only got worse. I didn't even eat any breakfast. Finally, I decided I'd better not try to teach, and so I contacted Berlitz and took a sick day. I didn't even feel like going to the doctor, though, so now I'll have to do that tomorrow since Berlitz requires a doctor's letter for all sick leave.
After I had taken a bit of a nap, or at least a good rest in bed, in the late morning, I felt a little better. I fixed some lunch for David at home, but I only ate a container of plain yogurt myself.
By late afternoon, I was feeling somewhat better. We talked with David's sister in Ohio. After that, we went over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt, which I was able to eat without any problem. From there, we drove to Shufersal where David waited in the car while I did the weekly grocery shopping. By the time I got home, I was pretty tired but glad that I'd managed to get the groceries.
We'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. I have to get an appointment with the doctor in any case, but, if I feel pretty good, I'll teach the 2 lessons that are scheduled for me.
After I had taken a bit of a nap, or at least a good rest in bed, in the late morning, I felt a little better. I fixed some lunch for David at home, but I only ate a container of plain yogurt myself.
By late afternoon, I was feeling somewhat better. We talked with David's sister in Ohio. After that, we went over to Ice Park for frozen yogurt, which I was able to eat without any problem. From there, we drove to Shufersal where David waited in the car while I did the weekly grocery shopping. By the time I got home, I was pretty tired but glad that I'd managed to get the groceries.
We'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. I have to get an appointment with the doctor in any case, but, if I feel pretty good, I'll teach the 2 lessons that are scheduled for me.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, 26 August 2013
I got up a little late this morning but still managed to walk to the highway 12 kikar and back.
I taught 6 units of Berlitz lessons today (although one student was a no-show): 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30 (the no-show), and 5:00-6:30.
We ate lunch today at Café Greg at Ice Park. I had a sabich salad.
I ran several errands after lunch. First, I went to the pharmacy to pick up our monthly supply of medicines. Then I went to the iDigital store (iDigital is Apple's rep here in Israel) to get cordless ear buds for David. Paired with his iPhone, these work better than his PocketTalker hearing device (they were also more expensive, though). Finally, I went to the SuperPharm at Mercaz Big to get new dark glasses for me since both temple pieces broke on my old ones.
After my last class, we went back to Ice Park for frozen yogurt.
I taught 6 units of Berlitz lessons today (although one student was a no-show): 9:00-10:30, 11:00-12:30 (the no-show), and 5:00-6:30.
We ate lunch today at Café Greg at Ice Park. I had a sabich salad.
I ran several errands after lunch. First, I went to the pharmacy to pick up our monthly supply of medicines. Then I went to the iDigital store (iDigital is Apple's rep here in Israel) to get cordless ear buds for David. Paired with his iPhone, these work better than his PocketTalker hearing device (they were also more expensive, though). Finally, I went to the SuperPharm at Mercaz Big to get new dark glasses for me since both temple pieces broke on my old ones.
After my last class, we went back to Ice Park for frozen yogurt.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Sunday, 25 August 2013
I got up a little late this morning but still walked to the highway 12 kikar and back.
We ate breakfast a little early and got right on our way to Tel Aviv. David had an appointment with the dentist there at 1:30. We arrived at the office about 15 minutes before his appointment time. When the dentist finished, we learned that David would need another appointment to finish the work. But the good news was that they were able to schedule for TODAY at 4:00 p.m. So, we ate lunch and spent a little time in the Steimatzky bookstore that is there, and then we went back up for the second appointment, which was with a different dentist. I think this is all that will need to be done.
Our trip up and back was pretty uneventful. On the way up, there was a HUGE traffic stoppage in the other direction (southbound) not too far north of Be'er Sheva. It was due to 2 trucks that had collided with each other. By the time we came back that way, much later of course, it had been cleared.
I used Waze to help me find the most efficient ways in and out of Tel Aviv. It's pretty good. We call the (female) English-speaking voice "Shoshana" and have a lot of fun listening to her say things like: "In 1 km, turn right." and "In 400 m, at the roundabout, continue straight." I plug my phone into the car stereo's aux input, so her voice comes from the car speakers, loud and clear!
We ate breakfast a little early and got right on our way to Tel Aviv. David had an appointment with the dentist there at 1:30. We arrived at the office about 15 minutes before his appointment time. When the dentist finished, we learned that David would need another appointment to finish the work. But the good news was that they were able to schedule for TODAY at 4:00 p.m. So, we ate lunch and spent a little time in the Steimatzky bookstore that is there, and then we went back up for the second appointment, which was with a different dentist. I think this is all that will need to be done.
Our trip up and back was pretty uneventful. On the way up, there was a HUGE traffic stoppage in the other direction (southbound) not too far north of Be'er Sheva. It was due to 2 trucks that had collided with each other. By the time we came back that way, much later of course, it had been cleared.
I used Waze to help me find the most efficient ways in and out of Tel Aviv. It's pretty good. We call the (female) English-speaking voice "Shoshana" and have a lot of fun listening to her say things like: "In 1 km, turn right." and "In 400 m, at the roundabout, continue straight." I plug my phone into the car stereo's aux input, so her voice comes from the car speakers, loud and clear!
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