The Internet is Magic

Winnie (who drunk dialed me last night around midnight -- and btw -- I was NOT asleep -- I simply was avoiding antics, sorry, love you --- and another btw, the content of the message was pretty much limited to informing me about various post-drinking activities, so umm, thanks) -- told me I needed to blog. And I told him I had no good material. Not really true, b/c, if you read the majority of my posts, I wouldn't say that lack of good material has really ever stopped me before... But anyway, then he started babbling about "I wonder what life was like before computers..." and I thought, "hmm, so I do I. That's it! A blog entry." And then someone in reference to something or other was like, "the Internet is magic," and I had a name for it and everything.

So if you step back and take a look at what you do one any given day that relates to computers, it becomes apparent that your life would indeed be a much different entity sans Internet. For me, I think of it in different terms.

First, I'd def be more productive net/net, sans Internet:

-- I wouldn't have spent 15 minutes examining information re: this girl Margaret that I was friends in high school but haven't talked to in about 10 years. You see, she found me on Facebook. And that becomes grounds to let your curiosity run wild: What HAS she been doing for 10 years? I'm DYING to know! What is her relationship status? This is very important! How does she look in pictures? Can't spend another minute not knowing! And btw, if you're judging? Stop. I know you all do it. I left a housewarming party this afternoon, and a girl I met who wants to drinks sometime didn't ask for my number...but rather confirmed my last name...so she too can waste time...on Facebook.

In other ways, it would be, less flavorful:

-- I spent another 10-15 min this evening looking up the recipe for Benihana salad dressing. Yes, I said Benihana. Although some people, indeed some quite close to me, might call this a trashy restaurant destination, I did grow up in Indianapolis where pickin's are slim, and for some people, such as say, my brother, this was as good as eatin' got. And hence every March 22nd in my youth, you could find me there, celebrating Greggy's birthday. Anyway, point being, Google Benihana salad dressing and you pull up an extensive list of copycat recipes. I went w/ the one sourced from the Chicago Sun-Times. And I'll be making it very, very soon! Thank you, Internet, for enhancing my culinary life!

It would also be less connected and more laborious from a social standpoint:

-- I wrote an email to SV this morning that in my book was a bit overdue, just to catch her up on life including our recently discovered mutual connections, and in 10 min was able to write down what would've taken probably three times as much time on the phone. Of course, it's undoubtedly less personal...yes, I'll give it that. But hey, efficiency! me? Also got in touch w/ Rainer and Mari re: dinner this week -- Raine lives in NYC and Mari is somewhere in Europe I think, in fact, I don't even know, so this whole email think really expedited the planning process here and I'd say, enriched my social planning abilities. Thank you, Internet!

It would be less musical, and less 'teen:

In days of yonder, to obtain the latest and greatest pop hit, I'd have to make a trip ALL the WAY to Target or Best Buy to purchase a CD. Now, if I have the urge to listen to say, Bleeding Love, 7 times in a row, all I have to do is head to iTunes and pick up a copy. Quick quick quick! And I lost both the car ride and the plastic case that will eventually end up in landfill and turn into methane gas, so....I reduced my carbon footprint. Don't say I don't think about the environment!

I think from here the next logical point to move onto would involve work. But, that bores me, so I think, I'll just go w/ what I've got here. Oh! And btw -- pre-Internet, you never would've been able to even READ this! Hmm. You can interpret that, its benefits, its drawbacks, as you wish... But hey, just another piece of hay on the haystack... Who even says that anyway? As far as I see it? Quality of life: improved! Plus my MacBook sure is pretty. I conclude that indeed, the Internet sure is magic, and I'll stick w/ a computer-filled life.

My Rolls Are Famous!

Here at work, we're currently playing with our legal team on getting the right permissions/edits/etc. to get these videos posted up to our TMcgraw site that we created for our sponsorship. It's a long story, and one that is not very interesting -- but it is most definitely a pain in the ass.

Really what I've learned is something that I guess I could've probably figured out or just kind of knew anyway in these times where people just like to sue the pants of everyone -- that's it's next to impossible to use the images you capture at a random event without cutting through ~38 rolls of red tape. So I was pretty curious when I came across this article in Ad Age about people backing off Weight Watchers and the like b/c the tough economy makes the programs hard to afford: http://adage.com/article?article_id=128036

Not b/c of the article itself -- but b/c of the accompanying image of this woman's fat rolls.

I wondered what the release process looked like. So first there is a man out there who is following fat people around with a camera angling for shots. Is he like, "oh, yeah, that's great! turn to the left a little more! I'm really capturing that love handle!!" Or maybe, "oh, that's good! Those low rise jeans -- they're accentuating all the right things!!" I don't know, something like that.

So then he has to approach the subject, and he's all, "excuse me, can you sign this photo release? I want to use your image in Ad Age!" And the subject might be momentarily excited, you know, 15 min and all that, until she realizes how she's actually being featured. Or...then...is she still excited, b/c even 15 min of infamy beats no 15 min at all? I feel like these are all good questions to ask oneself over the course of a day. Although I might be a bit paranoid moving forward that there is some photog out there waiting to capture some super unflattering image of me for use in some random publication about something...unflattering. Although, I guess he'll have to get my release...so then...I can put that worry to rest. Phew.

Nipples and stuff.

I never did go to Cancun when I was in college, for spring break. Umm, I did go to Panama City, Daytona Beach, Key West, and Jamaica, so, I def had my share of trashiness, but I think maybe it's always been in my destiny to really do it, you know, like, DO the Senior Frogs thing.
So perhaps I should've seen it as reclaiming a bit of lost youth when I went to two illustrious bars (The Zoo, and then something next door, name forgotten) in Puerto Vallarta last week and got to umm, do it. What I'm now reflecting on is, why would anyone ever WANT to do it? This is what I witnessed:

1/2 of our party was on the dance floor, and 1/2 of us were sitting around sipping cervezas, and well me, I was sipping tequilas. With lime. One of those shot chicks comes over, right, and she has this bottle of something pink. When you were little, did you ever take amoxacillin (antibiotic)? I did. I often had ear infections when I was young young. It was delicious. Think and milky and pink, tasted like bubble gum. Anyway so her shot stuff looks pretty much like that. But while I thought "moxy" tasted delish, I predict this shit tasted disturbingly bad. I wouldn't know.

So she's really fierce-looking, this shot chick, right? She has long hair, she reminded me of Lara Croft a bit for some reason. Her lips were tightly locked around her whistle, and she didn't stop blowing that thing for a millisecond. Lungs of steel I tell you -- that woman should get a gig doing the Shofar at HHDs!!

Her little routine is something like this. She approaches a table of 4 guys. And does her routine (whistle of course going the whole time):
Guy 1: Approximately 4 shots of non-moxy down this throat. Shirt pulled up. Nipples tweaked.
Guy 2: Approximately 6 shots of non-moxy down his throat. Shirt pulled up. Nipples tweaked. LIT LIGHTER fanned over his nipples.
Guy 3: Approximately 10 shots of non-moxy. Nipples tweaked. Lighter trick.
Guy 4: Approximately 15 shots. Tweak. Lighter. ICE CUBES OVER NIPPLES!!!

The scary quotient was upped by the fact that shot girl had this what I interpreted as a really grim, dark look on her face. I think she might have been into S&M or something and she uses her job as an outlet. Perhaps she should consider employment at some other sort of "club." There were other less scary shot girls, too. There was one out on the dance floor, and I did mention that some of our crew was out on the dance floor as well. And a couple of them may or may not have had the pink shots. No nipple pinching or shirts lifted, but they did get their boobs jiggled. No other way to describe it other than boob-jiggling. Luckily I don't think my boobs are jiggle-able.

I must note, that I received a lot of slack from my ladies in PV for my lack of blogging. It has come to my attention that I have been usurped by anther blogging friend. I don't like that much. So that is why I decided to make this come back. Whether or not this comeback lasts...I couldn't say. I think I'll take it one day at a time. I'll leave you with a couple photos from Mehico. One as a shout-out to my ladies, and another just for general consumption, with a note that my mom informed me that she really liked this one and is printing it out for household display. I would like to point out that my mom insists on only showcasing pics of me in our house where I look 1) huge; 2) stupid; or 3) just plain really bad. So, gracias maman...and adios amigos.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!

I know it’s been like 40 days and 40 nights in the desert since I’ve written or actually like much more than that, but in honor of Passover I’m going to go with that simile. Anyway this is the first time since I can recall as of late that I don’t have meetings starting at 9am and given that work these days is nuts and I just need a break, I’m going to do what I’ve not done in so long, and blog.

Let me begin by giving a shout-out to Tully’s Coffee, who in honor of Earth Day and in partnership w/ SF BART is giving out free cups of coffee or free lattes to the masses. I don’t ever go to Tully’s, but free stuff is good, so I gave it a gamble. Hey, Tully’s: word of advice, if I may – you will NOT get repeat customers if you give them free coffee that tastes like absolute shit in a cup. I actually threw the coffee out. I couldn’t even muster taking one actual full sip for fear of barfing on my cube. Happy Earth Day.

Segueing into topic 2, let’s discuss what prevented me from having to take the 7 instead of 6 this morning as I ran a couple minutes late. I sat down to eat my egg and cottage cheese for breakfast and turned on the tv. My roommates were indulging in some Hills last night (I was working…), so when I turned it on, MTV’s morning top 10 videos were on. BTW, MTV ONLY plays videos before 8am on weekdays, in case you were curious if they every actually feature music on the MUSIC television station. So that said, the new Little Wayne video was on: Lollipop. It’s quite catchy. That’s why I was late. Had to watch it all. Then when I got in this morning I Googled the lyrics out of curiosity. I knew the song was rife w/ sexual innuendo given its title, but I had no idea. I blushed profusely and then cleared my Internet history.

Anyway, finally, topic 3: crack pipes. On Sunday morning, I opened the front door to clean off my shoe (had gotten some pebbles caked in from Golden Gate on Saturday) and Eliz walked out w/ me as we were chatting. There was a crazy man, complete with eye patch and brightly colored clothing, at the top of our stoop, organizing his…stuff. I saw paper clips, some rocks, I don’t know, other stuff. He looked up, made eye contact, said “good morning.” We said “good morning…” He apologized for the intrusion and then I walked back in and was like “Eliz! (harsh whisper) Shut the door!!” Five minutes later we went back out, and he was gone. But, he had left a crack pipe on our door step (small, clear glass tube, open at one end, stuffed w/ cottony looking stuff). Would’ve saved it, but Mana picked it up and chucked it into the street.

So that was very urban.

Anyway, now I actually do need to start doing work. So I bid you all adieu. Hope you haven’t forgotten about this blog and that someone actually does read this content, otherwise, I guess I just wrote a whole page of nonsense to myself.

A good crack.

I’m presently sitting at work working toward back-crack number 3. Is it odd to have a certain love-affair with cracking your back? I’m kind of obsessed. I actually have a specific standing routine which involves standing up very straight, bending fully over, then coming up and stretching into a standing back bend to help get a good crack. Although at work I just sit in my chair and reach my arms up and back. Then I typically say something like “Ruchers! You hear that?!” Or maybe, “Wowee! That was a good one!! A great crack!”

Anyway so this morning I was watching CNN while eating my eggs, a piece of which I dropped on my favorite pants, which sucked, but, I digress. Anyway. So there was this feature story about a woman who is a mayor of some small town, and on her MySpace page (yes, this mayor has a MySpace page…) she has a photo of herself wearing an (ugly) bathing suit (but looking pretty good) posing alongside a red pickup truck (reserve judgment! Reserve judgment!)

I guess her constituents discovered the picture and then outsed her from office. Seriously. So CNN is interviewing this woman, and they’re like, “So, are you regretting placing the picture up on your site?” Her response, “No, I don’t regret it at all. I can do what I want there, it’s ‘my space.’ That’s why they call it, “MySpace.” Really?? Is that why they call it that? What a profound statement.

This woman doesn’t need her mayoral career anymore anyway, given that she’s taken to selling people posters of the famed picture on the Internet.

I had an odd urge to write about 1) back cracking and 2) the CNN story. It could be disappointing that I’ve not posted in sometime and that I have again I’m posting mundane gibberish, but I think that I typically mostly post mundane gibberish, so I guess maybe it’s not surprising or a let-down after all.

A brief 2 weeks in review...

I am typing my very first entry from my own brand new MacBook.  It's a stunning, delicious work of art that, as I told Saujin earlier tonight (sorry I cut out; was figuring stuff out on this little toy), makes me want to weep.

But, you ask, why do I have a new computer? 

The answer lies somewhere in three life-altering events that all happened within the past 1.5 weeks: 

1)  I got robbed

2) 2 days later my car got hit (while parked)

3) I went to Mideivel Times 

I'll leave it to you to figure out which of those events (and for the record, they weren't really all that life-altering, not at all actually, and particularly number 3, it def wasn't life-altering...well I don't know, maybe just a little bit it was) was the one that leads me typing on a new MacBook.

Ok, fine, I'll help!  It was #1.  

See, ever since that whole failure on my part to pay it forward in a timely enough manner, my karmic balance has been totally out of whack.  That at least is my theory. I encourage you all to do what you can to keep your own karma in check, b/c it's a powerful thing, and a bitch, clearly. 

As far as the robbery goes, I discovered it two Fridays ago...came home from work and had been home for 1/2 hour or so before I went to turn on my old iPod and discovered that she wasn't there.  After verifying with Eliz that she did not borrow it, nor did I borrow hers, and then noticing my shitty old computer's absence, and then the absence of several necklaces, it became quite clear that some shithead invaded our sanctuary and took our stuff.  Bastard.  If I ever find that guy, I will bash him.  And, to answer your question:  he got in through the back door that leads out of our kitchen and down to our fenced-in patio, and likely, through an unlocked door, b/c we are occasionally idiots. 

The good news is that I had renter's insurance and voila!  New computer, new iPod, easy peasy. 

Anyway just really wanted to try out this keyboard here.  It's pretty much my bedtime now.  

The end. 

The Holy Land, Resumed

Israel Part II starts right here, right now. Get excited. Winnie: I'm writing this for you. Don't forget that.

Anyway, so after an overall mostly lame Day 2, I kicked off Day 3 with a lecture at 8:30am. Gee, that was fun. We heard three different speakers who were pretty much all across the board in terms of their topic and their ability to hold my interest. Speaker #1: Rabbi Asher Wade. Born a Methodist, he holds about 87 different degrees in higher education from esteemed schools, was once on staff at Cambridge, and was a Methodist Minister. Yes, Rabbi Wade was once a minister. How's that for a change of pace? Excellent speaking aside, I must focus on the truly important details here, and that includes the fact that Asher looked astonishingly like Santa Claus (it's his doppleganger I swear) and that he talked with an intonation like I've never heard before. I want you to hear how this guy would say "really?" b/c he did it drawn out over a 5-second stretch starting in a really low pitch and ending v. high. All I know is that across the remainder of the trip, everyone would say an Asher-style "really" on avg. 5 x/day. That was irritating. But, oh so fun.

Speaker #2: he sucked. Who cares.

#3: An Arab Muslim Jew living in Israel and a reporter for the Jerusalem Post. With loyalty to absolutely no side at all and highly inflammatory views of the government, I still am to this day trying to figure out how he's still alive. Insert shoulder shrug here.

Post-speakers, we headed out to Tel Aviv for the afternoon. Our destination was the Israeli Microsoft HQs, where we heard the head of the division speak. Personally, although I am an MBA who went on an MBA trip to Israel, I really had no desire to talk business over there. I have a job. And that is quite enough biz-nass for me. So the highlight of that trip was a visit to Coffee Bean. You travel to a country that speaks a language that is incomprehensibly ancient, and you can still get a damn 2% latte. Oh, and the highlight of the CBean trip was the highlight of the Tel Aviv trip was when my friend Mike tried to pay with money that had been printed so long ago that it was out of circulation. Upon handing it to the cashier, he was asked, "What [the hell] is this, [dude]?" (brackets indicate the tone communicated through facial expression alone) That was funny.

Of course we heard another speaker after this, but a nice change of venue - went to the home of one our trip mate's uncle's (Israeli dude). Good speaker; involved in Israeli TV industry. Told a story about prank-calling Ariel Sharon's wife and broadcasting it on network television. Didn't go over so well w/ his producer, but sure did entertain me.

Dinner was an all you can eat steak house. I don't know. I really like steak. But it's def not one of those foods I can eat in giant quantities. Especially when it's overcooked. And totally mediocre. But who needs good food when you have a little story time over dinner? Especially when you have a guy whose bright idea of "share something no one knows about you" prompts him to discuss the time he hooked up with some Australian chick in the bushes while away at boy scout camp. Hi friend, your audience? Contains a Rabbi and his family. Great choice of story.

Anyway. Can I mention what happened when were en route to go out post-dinner? Great, awesome. We're traipsing through the rain and mud along the Tel Aviv beaches, and we pass this one little shack-like bar, and this dude wearing a motorcycle helmet comes sprinting out and he's screaming, "help me!!! help me help me help me!" But he also like, waving a gun. So it's dark and this guy has a weapon and is dangerously close to us. We didn't so much help me. We kind of ran away. I think you would've too.

That set the theme for the night. Eventually we ended up at Whiskey a-go-go which is all red leather and banquettes and chandeliers and old Russian men. No sightings of all the beautiful people my friend Sumona promised me. Nope, def not, unless you count Winnie, who has gone totally Euro all the way, down to this diet which must consist of cigarettes and vodka given his skinniness. Joe, it works for you - but please don't stop eating altogether. Food: good!

So clearly seeing Winnie was a highlight; highlight #2 came with my cab ride, where our story-telling extraordaire friend told some story about dressing up like Zoro-ski, that's Zoro, but Jewish, as pointed out by Abe - hence making it funny... I really can't do this little vignette justice. Apologies.

So then, I am now through Day 3 and onto Day 4. I think that good things come to those who wait. You want good things, don't you? Don't you? You do. So wait for the next entry to see what Day 4 has in store...

On Karmic Energy, and Facebook.

So I guess it's been sometime since I've blogged. And wow now that I'm trying to right now I almost feel like I'm speaking in some sort of foreign language. I'm rusty! Gee golly, am I.

Ok so last Friday I was sitting waiting for Bart when this homeless dude approached me very hesitantly and finally got around to asking me for what he'd initially approached me about: needing $1.80 to get out of the rain and cold and go take a shower. I told him that I had no cash, but I totally lied as I really did have $1 on me. But I never give $$ on the street b/c I don't know there are one million people asking for it and it just becomes this inconvenience and you become this street-hardened quasi bitch. So after this particular incident I felt bizarrely terrible and was like "shit, I really should've helped that guy out."

And then it dawned on me that it was totally my turn to pay it forward and I didn't do it. That was it. You see, several days previous to that, I was leaving the Oakland APort (coming home from Sundance) at 1:30am on a disgusting, cold, rainy night. I realized I had $4 left from the weekend. As I went to pay my parking bill (CCard), I asked the parking attendant if she knew if the Oakland to SF toll was $4 or $5. She thought $5. I asked her if I could charge an extra $1 onto my parking bill and have $1 in exchange. She responded, no, but that she could just give me $1. I thanked her profusely. Turned out I only needed $4 not $5 so I am carrying around that donated $1.

It has since become imperative for me to pay forward that $1. But at this rate, I think the interest has compounded as it can only do on a Karmic $1, so now it's likely something like $5 at least that I need to pay forward. And I on this MISSION to get it done. Naturally, no opps presented themselves this weekend. Fortunately, I am sure that on my commute tomorrow I'll be able to get it done so I don't risk throwing off my Karmic balance. I think that's a very delicate thing in this world. Anyway, here's to good Karma to you all.

In other news, I would like to say a few words about how shittin' crazy this whole FBook ordeal has become lately. The other night, I logged onto FB to accept a few invites, and decided to play a bit and update my relationship "status" to "in a relationship." I was careful to click the little "x" on the box beside that status update on my news feed page. I can change it just to accurately reflect my personal state of being via the WWW, but I don't need to send it out like the Daily Candy to my 216 (right....) "friends," eh?

But, apparently I needed to go in and actually change security settings or something to prevent it from showing on other peoples' feeds... So the next morning I received no less than 15 emails, IMs, and/or FB messages inquiring about or noting my status change. It was crazy. My friend Katie R who lives in London and who I've not talked to in at LEAST 2 mos IMed me as soon as I logged in. Man alive. That is some kind of phenom. I now know that if there is any sort of news that I actually NEED to broadcast? FB is def the way to go...

Anyway, I do need to finish my Israel blog, but in the mean time I thought this would do. OH BTW, my little brother has decided to start blogging. Mine of course is much better than his. I will post the link in sometime, but right now I'm frankly too lazy to go find it in my email, so it will just have to wait. As will blogging any further cuz for now I think it's about to end this and wrap up my weekend. Sunday nights are the WORST!

Israel, Part I

Another trip, another dreadfully long blog entry. I can't help it. It's my own permanent record of my travels. I'll post in pieces so you can take it slow. Too lazy to post pictures in, so instead I have included a link to allllllllllllllll my pictures which are online - here you go:

http://picasaweb.google.com/linderms/IsraelDec2007

On that note...

Traveling

I took three flights and endured approximately 30 hours worth of travel to get the holy land. I did use the word endured and you would too if you spent over an entire day just getting somewhere. That borders on the ridiculous. Anyway, on my flight from LA to Zurich, I was asked shortly into my fight if I’d like to move to a back row by one of the stewardesses as I’d have access to two seats. Actually the stewardess cared little for my comfort and mostly wanted me to move so the family I had been sitting with could have an extra seat for their little munchkins. In fact, the row of seats she moved me to had non-working overheard lights and a busted tv monitor in the aisle seat (the preferred, clearly). That non-withstanding, I thought I was getting a sweet deal as when I sat down the 3rd seat in the row appeared unoccupied save for a lone sweatshirt. 1.5 hours later the seat still had no passenger. I continued watching my movie and dreaming about how awesome it’d be when I stretched out across the entire row. The movie ended; I finished off my red wine and took several Tylenol PMs in prep for sleep and just as I was about lay my head down, an Italian dude returned to the sweat-shirted seat and after a non-sensical exchange of words I confirmed that indeed he was there for the remainder of the flight. Foiled! Asshole.

Zurich

Zurich must be the most expensive city in the entire universe. A parking ticket in SF costs you $40. I bet in Zurich it costs you $240. We had a 5 or so hour layover in this incredibly cold city which warranted a trip out of the airport, enough time to wander the streets (and be cold) and eat dinner. We examined at least 7 menus and could not find a single damn restaurant in Zurich where one could eat a meal for less than around $30. In the end we ate at an Italian place where I consumed a bowl of soup and a plate of pasta that was essentially a chunk of carbs drowning in cream spiced up with some black truffles (if you’re going to eat in the most expensive city on earth, you might as well indulge). Aside from the fact that I have probably never eaten a single plate of food containing that many calories, I spent about $70 on my meal. I think I spent more on that one single dinner in my layover city than I did on the sum total of all meals I purchased in Israel.

Day 1

We arrived at the King Solomon Hotel in Jerusalem, most def not to be confused with the luxurious government-official-haven King David Hotel, at approximately 5am and I went straight to bed. After sleeping for a few hours we headed to breakfast (are you sensing this theme of sleep/eat/sleep/eat that I lived by for about 2 days straight) which for me on Day 1 as well as Days 2-10 consisted of large amounts of smoked fishes and Bulgarian Feta (my newest cheese of choice). I *think* I overate but I *know* for sure that Jocelyn liked it when I announced in the elevator that I was on the verge of exploding fish and cheese. The first activity of the day was an Orientation session. Game 1: that name thing where you sit in a circle and then recite the name and nickname of all the people that went before as well as your own. My favorite nicknames included:

1) “Just Dave:” Dave announced he has no nickname and therefore we sighed and agreed that we’d *just* call him *just* dave, which while I think is somewhat sad, is also quite entertaining.

2) “Kabob:” This kid Bobby told us that one of his nicknames is Kabob. And that he hates it. So what happens when you tell someone that? They call you that the rest of the trip. In fact, no other nickname was used as profusely as was Kabob. And after you called him Kabob, you’d giggle.

3) “Butterscotch:” Nickname of Layla, the soft-spoken, highly observant Orthodox girl on our trip. No explanation provided. I think that the contrast b/t person and name sans explanation is explanation enough for why that name is just so good.

Anyway. After our little get acquainted session, we departed for the Knesset - the Israeli Parliament – with this guy Ken who was our guide for a few days. He was terrible. I want to here make note of part of the dress code for the Knesset: “’Crocs’ shoes are not permitted unless they are black or navy.” Really??? Is that REALLY part of the dress code??? We met w/ a Knesset membr – Yoel Hasson – pretty cool stuff. He addressed his perspectives on Iran, the Annapolis Summit, keeping Jerusalem whole, refusing a Palestinian state, and Israel’s pro-Bush/pro-America sentiments. I love that Israel loves Bush when his own country has pretty much fallen completely out of love with him.

Daylight ended shortly after the Knesset and we headed to dinner in the Ben Yehuda district at Café Rimon. In my opinion, the meal consisted of Chinese food, Italian food, and Mexican food, all served with lots of hummus. I didn’t so much understand it. Anyway I lost my appetite sitting next to Ken, the atrocious tour guide with an ego the size of Masada who has not and likely will never learn how to shut the f up.

Dinner was followed by a lecture. I can’t remember who lectured or what he lectured on b/c I was falling asleep. So it must’ve been super great.

Luckily the day closed with our fist visit to the Western Wall, or the Kotel. There is really nothing on this earth like it. Visiting that wall makes Rome feel new. The Wall abuts land that pretty much was not the birthplace of Judaism but of humanity – how can you describe what you feel when you’re touching something so ancient? You also, while in the excavation tunnels of the Kotel, get as close as religiously permitted to the stone that marks the place where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac and the cornerstone of the oldest temple. The Holiest of Holies. Deeply moving and something that everyone must experience for herself.

Day 2

Day 2: Not fun. I ask you this: if you travel half way around the world to see one of the most historic lands on earth – do you hope to engage in team building activities while there? Do you want to do things like relay races on giant wooden stilts across a field specked with dog shit, or play pick-up games of red rover? No? Me neither. The rest of the day was filled with lectures. I knew that I’d have to attend said lectures, I knew that – but it’s still no easier to stomach. There were two highlights to the day:

• Visit to Yad va Shem – The Holocaust Museum, strikingly done. Just not enough time. And I got lost getting back to the bus. Yes, I got lost finding my way out of a museum. Are we really that surprised?
• Dinner – Went out for AJ’s bday. Best meal of the trip. Grilled meat and a great salad. And wine. Lots and lots of Israeli wine.