I know...

it's been quite a while. There's been so much going on I don't even know where to start. Shabbat dinner at our place with all the other MBA Israelis: 14 adults and six kids. Get-together at a friend's house with a real Christmas tree. Birthday party for Ariel, the expecting father from next door. Chanukka party at Libby's, with lots of delicious, home-made souvganiot, levivot (here better known as latkes), and other anti-diet dishes. Christmas shopping for my family. Interviewing with different agents and companies. One of them is a company that just got bought up by Symantec. That really made me smile. They are looking for a short-term contractor to finish up their upgrade guides, but because of our travel plans I am not an ideal candidate. However, the hiring manager mentioned they might need some help move their docs over to the new Symantec template after the release, and she would like to work with someone who is familiar with the process. Besides, I have an interview with the Tech Pubs Manager at PayPal next week. They don't have a current opening, but an interesting position for which I could be a great fit may open up at the beginning of next year, and she wants to meet me. So there's hope, it seems.

Yair throws off his diapers every day when we get home from school to put on the Spiderman underwear we bought him last week. He's usually doing fine for a couple of hours but then gets distracted and wets his pants. It has been like this for about a week and a half without any progress. He's not completely ready yet, I guess. But the time will come, I know that much.

He is still struggling with the new language. The other day at bedtime, he said to me: "Mama, I don't like kids who speak English." His German is fluent by now. Ever since August, he has been making progress at an incredible speed, without me asking him to make an effort. And because he is suddenly able to express himself without any problems in German, he grabs the phone from me whenever he realizes it's someone from Germany. Finally, he is ready to speak to my family. I guess that will be the best Christmas present of all. But English is still an issue -- and why shouldn't it. It takes time, even though I think he understands already quite a lot. Today we were listening to an interactive story of Dora the Explorer on the Internet, and when Dora shouted "Watch out!" he looked at me and translated for me. That was really cute. He also says "Done!" when he finishes something in school, and there are lots of other little words, phrases, and sentences he already knows. Exactly how many, we cannot know.

Oh, and I am beginning to feel really bad about the emails I owe people. I can't seem to find the time. Funny, isn't it, now that I am not working. Just know that I am not not in touch on purpose. Soon we will be in Israel for three weeks, and we will have to meet, so please plan with it!

Spiderman

After 800 miles, turkey, pumpkin pie, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and a glimpse at the smoke of the Malibu wildfires, we are back on Jackson Street. Yair shook hands with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, met Spiderman (though he was deeply disappointed by the fact that his all-time favorite spoke English, not Hebrew like the real Spiderman), pocketed clothes and toys, swept leaves in the backyard, bravely endured endless hours on the road, and made new friends.

And since Spiderman remains popular, Yair got himself yet another present today: Spiderman panties. His first. Panties, that is. What an incentive! He spent his first two hours ever without diapers, going potty three times. An incredible success. The hard part came afterwards, when he insisted on going to sleep without a diaper, too. There was much crying, screaming, ranting, clamoring until he finally caved in. To be continued tomorrow... After school.

Happy Thanksgiving

We are driving down to Los Angeles today, to visit relatives over Thanksgiving.

This week has been a bit hectic, with Yair being sick and me having another job interview on the phone yesterday. But we are now up for the drive.

No news

on the job front. I'm still waiting. I guess telecommuting is not an option, so maybe this first opportunity passed me by. With a little bit of luck, I may get another interview shortly, but this time, I am not going to open my mouth again.

Meanwhile, time is passing by rather uneventful. Today's highlight: An information session on potty training at the Family Resource Center, conducted by an 80-year-old former nursery school teacher. She was lovely. So sweet. Conclusion: Don't train. Wait. I am relaxed, at least about this chapter.

Have I mentioned Yair's imaginary friends, Meshek, Kakas, and Yaram? He's talking to them all the time. In his room. Under the shower. "Why are you crying? What? Don't cry! Mommy will be here soon." It's hilarious.

Tonight our smoke detectors went off. That was hilarious too. It scared the wits out of Yair, who came running to me, screaming. I started counting but eventually called the number for emergency maintenance, and within an hour someone showed up and shut off the noise. Right in time for me to get settled in front of the television, for a chapter of Grey's Anatomy. Now that Yair falls asleep by himself (at times comforted by his indispensable Winnie-the-Pooh phone), this is an option.

Just when you least expect it...

The phone rings. You answer in a rather stroppy way because really, you cannot take another of these commercial calls that usually come in around lunch time. Donate for fire fighters. Help in the war on drugs. Keep our children off the street. And that's just when the hiring manager of the company you interviewed with is on the line, all friendly, seemingly smiling, because guess what?! She really likes you and would want you to join her team, there are just a few little issues to get out of the way beforehand. Such as the distance. How would I feel about driving 50 miles every day? Telecommuting about twice a week? Well, well. Not really common at this company. People show up in the office every day. Hard to manage someone remotely. But you know what? "Let me think about it for a while." When we hang up, I realize that I haven't mentioned I would also like a reduction in hours. Can't do it otherwise. How many hours are we talking about anyway? 40? What about 30? 32? OK, 34 at the most. When I call her back, the mail box greets me. No one home. Is she gone for the weekend? I leave her a message asking to call me back. And now I'm waiting... Should I let this opportunity pass by? Or grab it with both hands to see what comes out of it?

What did I write yesterday? I only wanted to get accepted? Well. I got accepted!!!

Fender bender

And another nuisance. Three weeks ago, this woman bumped into my car. I was returning from school, with Yair sitting in the back, just taking a turn to drive into our parking space. She was backing out of hers, not checking her mirrors or looking over her shoulder (I just passed my driving test yesterday) when she crashed into my car's passenger side.

Grumpy, she got out of her vehicle, asked if "the baby" was hurt, then walked back to her Nissan Pathfinder to jot down her details on a piece of paper. She shortly apologized for not having her business card with her -- they had just stolen her wallet the night before.

To keep it short: I have been in touch with the insurance on an almost daily basis ever since. At least three times I retold the story, provided all the details, even faxed over a drawing of the accident. On Friday, the appraiser finally came to assess the damage. Then yesterday it turned out they haven't even decided on liability! And why is that? Because Mrs. Neighbor claims I was backing up too! I am still too stunned to actually stay calm. This is outraging. She is either blind or bold. I suppose she is both.

By tomorrow, the insurance will close its investigation and make a decision. I don't have any proof. I just hope the pictures of the damage clearly explain who hit whom, which force actually impacted on which car. Clearly, with a damage on the passenger side, I cannot really be the one to blame. Or can I?

Downhill

Did I mention that the interviews went great on Monday? Considering the fact they were my first interviews on American soil. But that was that. No follow-up phone call. No e-mail. And believe me, I wrote really fine thank-you notes to all the interviewers. Maybe not by the book, but surely individual.

I could tell myself that I don't really care. Because, after all, I'm generally convinced everything happens for a reason, and for the better. If they decided not to take me on, then at least I don't have to burden my days with two-hour drives in both directions. It makes life so much easier.

But the truth is: I do mind. Not because I wanted to hit the road so badly, but because I wanted to get accepted. Because now, I have to start all over again. Read the ads, write the cover letters, investigate who's the hiring manager, follow up if company X received my application. Over and over again. Who has power for that?

So for the time being, I'm keeping to books (just finished The Kite Runner and, finally! started the last Harry Potter) and housekeeping. And to the sweetest little boy on earth. No ambitions. I need a few days to put myself together again and dig myself out of the hole. But then I am going to tackle this job thing. Maybe all I really need to do is pass along my friend's line to potential employers, in case of doubt: "It's Jeanne, just hire her at her conditions :-)."

Addendum: Halloween in pictures

My first interview

You may be wondering why it has been so quiet around us ever since Halloween. The reason is that I am preparing myself for a day of interviews on Monday, with a company in Sunnyvale. That's far, yes, but I am totally excited. I'm also scared of what I may get myself into, but I'll think about that later. So please keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

Ooops, I haven't put up the Halloween pics yet. I'll do it after Monday, I promise. I haven't even looked at them myself yet. Oh oh, spaghettios... Yair's new favorite, picked up from his teacher. His English is improving daily: "Trashy town" (a story they read every day), "put the toys away" (part of a song they sing when cleaning up), "one, two, three, four, five," and "Mr. Donkey" (probably also picked up from a story, but I'm not sure).

Happy Halloween

Today's the night of all nights. Disguised as Captain Hook, Yair proceeded from house to house. Trick-or-treating. In the end, his pumpkin was full to the brim, his fingers sticky from all the lollipops he had had to test-lick, and his head so heavy and tired that he fell asleep on daddy's shoulder on the way back home. It was nice but not spooky. Pictures will follow.

The first jolt

... and I missed it.

Shortly after 8 p.m., my student calls, all excited. "Did you feel the earthquake?" Which earthquake? No idea. What is he talking about? I was getting the little man ready for bed. Stunned, my student shouts: "What do you mean, you didn't feel it? The whole building was shaking!" Really?

A few minutes later, a chat message pops up on my computer screen. Anke from around the corner. "Hi Jeanne! Was this your first earthquake in the Bay Area?" Well... maybe I did miss something?

I switch on the television. KRON TV is broadcasting a special news program. About an earthquake in the Bay Area. Magnitude: 5.6. Now that convinces me something was going on beyond my perception. But honestly -- I don't mind having missed it.

May earthquakes always pass us by unnoticed...

Job-hunting at Halloween

Today I plunged head over heals into job-hunting. Bought a file for my portfolio, cotton fiber paper to print my resume on, business card paper to print the business cards I designed. My resume is polished, my cover letter more or less in order. And in the afternoon, at a birthday party Yair was invited to, I made my first attempt at networking my way to a job, after learning that only about 20% of all open positions are actually advertised. One of the mothers turned out to be a Harvard-graduate who, for years, has been working for a consulting company in San Francisco. This company, it turns out, also gets requests for technical writing contracts. Now I am to enter my profile into their system and let the girl's mother know when I am done. She is Senior Vice President and General Manager. One of them. That's one step forward then, isn't it?

I do miss the easy, simple way of sending out your resume to a bunch of companies within 15 minutes, the way it is done in Israel. Here, finding a job is real work. It could be a full-time occupation if you wanted to. It is strongly recommended that you call up the companies after sending your application to affirm your interest in the position and improve your chances of your resume at least getting looked at. Better yet, before sending your application, call the company and find out who is the hiring manager. Then address your cover letter to him (or her). And call again afterwards to make sure it went through.

All the while, Shai is supposedly enjoying himself at his first Halloween party in San Francisco. Don't ask how he left the house. He put on one of my pajamas. Did I mention it's his first Halloween party? I tried to tell him that Halloween is different from Purim, in a sense. Aren't you supposed to wear something scary, or spooky, or extramundane? But for lack of a real costume, he wanted to be creative... I, for one, would have skipped the party.

For all those poor people

out there who are wasting hours to get the abc player and Fox on Demand player (both based on move networks software) run properly in Firefox on Windows Vista: The problem is that the player is not compatible with Firefox 2.0.0.8 for Vista. Here's the solution (so simple, really!):

1. Browse to your \Program Files\Mozilla Firefox folder.
2. Right-click the file firefox.exe and select Properties.
3. In the Properties window, on the Compatibility tab, select the Run this program in compatibility mode for check box, and then select Windows XP (Service Pack 2) from the list.
4. Click OK and restart Firefox.

Oh, and don't forget to pause Internet security protection at least for the time the data is loading. It works like a dream.

Now that I wasted a whole day on solving this issue (as if I didn't have anything else to do), I can retreat to the realm of dreams. I guess that's the technical writer in me. I should really go look for a job.

Yosemite impressions

As promised...

Pajama party?

Two weeks ago, Back-to-School Night was on. Because Shai had a long day at University, we decided to test if Yair was ready for his first pajama party at Yuval's house. And while Yuval's mother and I mingled with the other parents at school (who probably had more convenient babysitting arrangements), Yuval's dad was left in charge of the kids. If he did a good job? See for yourself.

English lesson

Before I forget, I need to document Yair's progress in English. This morning, while romping through our room, he shouted: "Ima, there's a pig!" (There was none!) And later today, when doing the dishes (one of his favorites lately), he handed me a clean bowl saying "This one is ready." I think that was the first time he used English intentionally and in the right context. I'm impressed.

Scenic weekend

We got back from Yosemite all exhausted, but we had a great time although we didn't get to see any black bears, mountain lions, or snakes. And the only scary spider that crossed my way was pinned to the wall in the Cafe of the lodge we were staying at. That one really freaked me out though -- it looked exactly (well, for me) like a tarantula, and I wasn't aware until then that this kind of species is native in this region. I was told it is not poisonous and that the ones to look out for are the black widows. "If you can't see where you put your hand, then don't put it," someone told me. He added that he hadn't seen any in the dorms or cabins yet. That was to comfort me. Nice try.

The first day we walked the 5 miles around Mirror Lake, which had completely dried up over the summer. That's called a seasonal lake. It's not that we had expected a lot of water; we knew that fall is not the best season to visit if your mind is set to torrents and waterfalls. But a bit. A tiny bit. Well, not here. Instead, we encouraged Yair to dig a whole in the remaining sandbox, but he didn't feel like it.

The second day we set out to climb all the way up to Vernal Falls. This time, we were prepared to see only a very thin, very modest waterfall, and that's what we got. But beautiful nonetheless. The Muir Trail was closed for maintenance, so we had to follow a detour, which took us disproportionately longer than we had expected. Which is why we left Yosemite much later than we had planned. Which is why we got home much later than intended. Which is why Shai had to spend the rest of the night preparing for the first day of the new semester. But then, that's nothing new to us. We never manage to leave on time. We are always late. And we had a great time, so why complain?

I'll put up a few pictures tomorrow.

Something to write about

This post is dedicated to those of you who complain that posting only once a week is unacceptable. From now on, I'll do my best to stop by once a day. But I can't promise. Tomorrow, for example, we're driving down to Yosemite for the weekend, so don't expect anything until, most probably, Monday. But then at least I'll have something to write about.

Yair dropped another English line today: "Wash your hands!" He usually connects phrases with specific situations at school. When I ask him "What does 'wash your hands' mean?", he wouldn't know. But when I inquire about when Elaine/Nicole/Lilly uses this sentence, he responds: "When we need to wash our hands." Curious, how the brain works. I'm completely fascinated by the way kids acquire languages.

Catching up

Again time is running and I can't find the time to write. Even without a job, work is piling up on my desk and the list of errands to run is getting longer each day. Sometimes I'm rushing around all day long, without even sitting down for a cup of coffee. This way, I passed my written driving exam yesterday with excellence. Now I have another three weeks to go until the behind-the-wheel road test. I'm quite optimistic I'll pass that one, too. It's my third driving test, after all. Germany. Israel. United States. I am convinced though that this is going to be my last one.

Meanwhile, Yair's English is catching up. "What's your name? What's your name?" he kept asking me today. "What does that mean?" I asked back. He didn't seem to know. The other day at lunch, he asked me: "You want to eat?" This time, he knew the meaning. According to Elaine, his class's head teacher, he already understands quite a lot.

Besides, I am suspecting he has fallen in love for the first time. He is in denial, but he keeps talking about Rachel, with a real American accent. "Ima, you are Rachel!" he tells me, sometimes the first thing in the morning. Rachel is a sweet little girl with special charm. Her mother is from Cambodia.

Oh, and Yair has started to skip his lunch-time nap. It's on and off. If he falls asleep in the car on the way back home from school -- fine. Otherwise, there's no way I can get him to nap at home. I don't really mind because that way, he's sound asleep by 7:45 at night. Like today. That's why I'm off now to enjoy my evening.

Surprise

in my mail box. Unsuspecting, I open the inconspicuous, white envelope addressed to me. Probably they need more documents. Proof of expenses. Maybe an appointment for fingerprinting, like my French friend received.

Then my fingers feel a thin, rectangular card the size of a credit card. I hold my breath. It can't be, impossible. Only a month has passed since I sent in the application! Now impatient, I unfold the single sheet of paper -- and there it is: my work authorization!

Happy as I am, now I no longer have any excuses to stay at home. Or have I?

Over the last few weeks, I have already sent out a few applications. I have even gotten in touch with a friend of the father of one of the kids at Yair's school, who is a technical writer and willing to get me in touch with people who may be able to help me track down some work. But now I should gear up and get more serious about finding a job. I should. I will.

At my own pace.

Perfect day

Time is passing by quickly now. How could I ever think I would get bored within a few weeks' time (those of you who told me I wouldn't, you were so right!)?

Autumn is here, and the nights are getting chilly. The mornings, too. The trees, though not as pretty as in New England or Germany at this time of the year, are slowly changing their color.

Today, Shai took a break from school, books, and studying, and we left early, heading north for wine tastings in Napa Valley.
Spotless blue sky.
Beautiful scenery.
Delicious wine.
Sweet laughter.
Nothing to add but pictures.



When Yair fell asleep by himself at night, waiving me good-bye when I left his room, after a few rounds of tight hugs and wet kisses, it was the perfect ending of a perfect day. No more impatiently lying or sitting beside him waiting for him to fall asleep. An unexpected but much hoped for present: I've got my nights back without trading in closeness and confidence. Thank you!

As a treat, here's last week's favorite picture, taken in Fairyland, Oakland.

Bookworm

Oh, the pleasures of a SAHM (stay-at-home mom) are many. Lately, I have found back to my biggest passion, my dearest hobby, my driving force: Words. Reading. Within two months, I have consumed more books than all of last year. I don't really have much more spare time for indulging in reading (why is this, I hear you wondering, you're a SAHM now!), but I don't care pushing off bed time because I don't need to get up for work. I do need to get up -- to get Yair ready for school, to argue over the Spider-Man outfit to wear, the breakfast to eat. Even the diaper is an issue now. Mick Mouse and Minny Mouse are accepted, Pluto is out, refused. Taken off. Thrown away. He'd rather wet his pants. Don't ask me how we ever get out of the house in the mornings, but we do. Eventually, we show up at school, a few minutes late only, nothing to speak of. Spider-Man enters the room, throws me a kiss, waves good-bye -- and off he goes, ready to play. While I need a strong cup of coffee because last night's book was all too captivating, the hours of sleep spare. You see, there is no pressure to function a hundred percent because there is a project to finish, a deadline to meet. It's just life. I read my book and retreat to bed when my eyes refuse to remain open any longer. I don't have the time, but I don't care about the consequences. So I'll go about the day with weary eyes, a dull head. Who cares? I read Elizabeth George's "What Came Before He Shot Her," Irene Dische's "Grossmama packt aus," and Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns." The latter I just stashed away, determined to get "The Kite Runner" as soon as I get the chance. My next reading, however, will be Harry Potter. The last one. I have the feeling I'll need tissues (again).

Girls' night out

The other night, I had my first girls' night out with two Israeli friends. The first pub we entered was cozy but too quiet for our taste. Didn't we deserve some action, some loud, funky music to make up for our new reality as stay-at-home moms with a student always on the run? After a few awkward moments, we decided to leave.

Back at the car, a Mazda MPV, I grabbed the outside door frame for hold while flinging myself onto the comfortable arm chair in the back. Then the driver's door smashed close and I heard myself shouting: "Open the door, open the door, my hand, my hand!" Seconds passed in which I could feel rubber sealing under my left middle finger and the completely closed metal door above it, squeezing the flesh at the top joint.

Finally, after a moment of slowly understanding the situation, my friend jerked open the door and jumped out of the car. I stared at my finger, hardly feeling any pain, stammering "It's not your fault, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gripped the frame, how stupid, how stupid!"

The door had cut deep into my finger, but luckily, we had parked close to a supermarket. My other friend was already running towards it, asking for ice and locating bandages. In the glaring neon light of the store, I stood shivering, on the brink of tears, assuring everybody I was alright, it only hurt a bit, it could have been worse. With a bandage and a plastic bag full of ice pressed on the wound, we returned to the car, all of us shaky and agreeing that after this, we definitely deserved a good pint of beer. Or two.

And so we moved on and I had one of the best beers I ever tasted. And another one thereafter. And by the time we went home, the ice had melted, the bleeding stopped, the pain subsided, and we decided we needed another girls' night out rather sooner than later.

Buddies

for life: Yairush and Yuvali. Aren't they sweet?

Home

That's it. We have a home. After three months of co-sleeping, Yair moved smoothly back into his own bed, without so much as the blink of an eye. All boxes are unpacked, books and clutter returned to their familiar places, pictures found their spot on the walls. Friends enter the apartment, stop at the door, and remark enthusiastically that this is probably the nicest place in the Village. Am I proud? I am just happy to have my home back. After all, it was the right decision to ship everything over. It was worth the waiting (and the money).

Between Tuesday and Friday, I hardly allowed myself any rest. Shai went about his usual study business, Yair was ordered to keep himself busy with all the new old toys in his room, and I opened and unpacked box after box after box. And believe me, there were many. Well over a hundred. But when I am motivated and determined, I can be very effective. See for yourself (OK, I admit, Shai helped a bit with the pictures):

YES!

Tuesday is the big day. Early in the morning, the container with our belongings will hit the road to Albany. I will be busy the rest of the week sifting the chaos. I can hardly wait! Ever since the good news arrived this afternoon I am suffering from exhileration attacks, much to the distress of my student, who is sitting at the kitchen table desperately trying to focus on a take-home exam.

Yesterday though, the world looked much different. In an attempt to be a good wife, I took one of these extremely sharp IKEA knives (no, not what you are thinking!) to cut my beloved a big chunk of water melon. The stupid knife went straight into my left thumb instead, thoroughly. Luckily, stiches weren't needed. After some stuporous attempts, we managed to stop the bleeding and apply a bandage. In the morning, Yair listened to the story, examined my thumb closely, and concluded: "Like Johannes!" Well, not quite...

Yair's English is slowly, slowly emerging (while he is still blowing my mind with his astounding improvement in German ever since we visited my family in early August), I believe, at least as a possibility. Yesterday after lunch, he suddenly exclaimed: "Standop, standop!" "Standop? Who says that?" "Elaine!" (his nursery school teacher) "And do you know what that means?" Fiercely shaking his head. "It means stand up." Later that day, at bedtime: "Hey, do you still remember what 'stand up' means?" Yair, swollen with pride: "Stand up!"
Well, well. I admit telling this story in English does not really help the plot, but you get the idea.

In the meantime, we are preparing ourselves for Yom Kippur. The apartment is spick and span, the fridge full (for the stopping meal, of course!), the time for cooking set aside. An easy fast to everyone, and Gmar Chatima Tova!

On the edge

No, our belongings haven't arrived. Yes, I. am. getting. extreeeeemely. impatient. I keep phantasizing about spending a cosy evening on the sofa by the window... The good news is that the ship entered Los Angeles harbor sometime last week, around September 5th. Ever since, the freight seems to be detained by customs. Somehow, though, we are hoping to have our things by the end of next week... Is that foolish?

I know I keep repeating myself, but once our apartment turns into a home and the computer is set up, I will resume my (more or less) daily posts. Until then, I continue climbing the walls in despair (just kidding -- it's not that bad).

Oh, and to all who did not (I apologize -- we probably did not have your email address!) receive our wishes for Rosh HaShana: A sweet and happy New Year!

First snapshots of a new life

Quickly, before the busy student awakes, a few snapshots of our new life. The truth is, though, that we have not taken too many pictures yet. Somehow, we keep forgetting our photo camera.

Today we took BART, the local subway system, to get into The City, that is San Francisco. My first time, after I have been here for more than two weeks. Finally, while climbing the stairs from the underground into the glistening sunlight, I got all excited. All of a sudden I felt the journey had begun, the big vacation, the great adventure. From what I have seen, and it isn't very much so far, San Francisco is a friendly city. Beautiful and full of life. We walked over to the Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, strolled through Little Italy and China Town, and spent a good deal of time (I, that is) rummaging at City Lights Books, San Francisco's most traditional bookstore. Before leaving the store, one of the books in a case at the very end of the bottom floor caught my attention: Eats, Shoots & Leaves. And for the sake of good old times and because it really interests me, I bought this entertaining book about English punctuation. Now there is one person out there whom I will always remember and think of a lot while reading this book. You know who you are.

When we got back home in the late afternoon, the neighborhood party in our courtyard was in full swing. A great way to get to know the faces and meet new people.

Well, the student woke up. Here are the pictures. I have no idea when next I will be able to write because, unsurprisingly, our container's arrival was delayed once more. From September 1st to September 4th, and last, according to a phone call Shai received yesterday, to the end of next week. I was hoping somehow we would have our belongings by Rosh HaShana, counting on our big dining table and the six chairs for a decent celebration of the Jewish New Year. But alas!, it is still written in the stars.

D-E-L-A-Y

Well, when I posted my last entry, I still thought the container ship with our belongings would arrive the next day and by the end of the week I would be busy unpacking, setting up the computer, and getting back to posting daily.

But then I learned that the schedule had changed: September 1st is the next estimated arrival time. Can you imagine how I screamed in frustration? Here I am with all these new impressions and experiences -- and I can't share them with anyone because I simply don't have the infrastructure. The few rare minutes the best (mostly absent) husband of all lets me occupy his laptop go by too quickly just by reading my emails.

So please forgive me. I will be back. I miss you all.

Alive and kicking

Just a short post to let everybody know we are alive and kicking.

The flight was bearable and far less problematic with a toddler than you would think, thanks to Yair being such a good little boy. Only the stopover in Las Vegas was extremely aggravating, but by now, that is already history.

University Village is definitely a great place to start this adventure, much like I imagine the community in a kibbutz. We are slowly but surely settling in, and once our belongings arrive and the computer is set up, I will hopefully be able to catch up with more details. Until then, I will keep you on tenterhooks...

And off we go...

Everything is packed, and tomorrow we are heading west. The last few days have been too nice to waste any time on blogging, but I'll put up a few pictures soon. If our container arrives on schedule, we should have our computer up and running by next week. So much for now -- Berkeley, here we come!

Yesterday's flood

was worse than that of 1961. By now, the water has retreated back to its river bed, leaving everything soaked and coated with a thick film of mud. Here are a few pictures for illustration.

The flood

If you are still wondering why the heck I am constantly complaining about the weather, maybe now you will understand: The worst flood in 46 years has hit the area. Last night around 21:00, the water left its river beds and flooded onto the streets, into basements and underground garages. Loose tree trunks still lying in the woods after storm Kyrill ravaged back in January are now drifting away as flotsam. In the neighboring village of Sichtigvor, the fire department has been pumping basements since shortly after midnight. The extent of the damage is said to be worse than that of Kyrill.

Addendum: Luckily, my parents live on a hill. When the air is clear, they have a panoramic view of the woods and the adjacent floodplain. Therefore, flooding has always been a problem others have to deal with.

The proof

We cannot leave the house. It is raining cats and dogs. Nonstop. While yesterday offered a short window of riding the bike and swinging at the playground, today even the rubber boots we bought for Yair a day after we arrived won't help us. We are restricted to four walls and a roof. Through the fog, we can hardly see the woods close by. We ate breakfast with the lights turned on. It is dreadful. And the worst: This time, there is no improvement in sight. Not until Sunday at least. Oh, I am longing for the Isreali sun. Hot as it may be, everything is better than this dull weather. Want some proof? Here you go...

Phenomenal

It is a phenomenon. Can anybody please explain to me why it takes five minutes to put a 2.5-year-old to sleep after lunch but close to an hour at night? I had been hoping for long, relaxing evenings in front of the television, watching one German movie after another, to make up for all the movies I will not be able to watch from now on (oh yes, I am going to miss that wonderful satelite dish on our Israeli roof; the one-hour time difference worked just perfect for me). Instead, I leave Yair's room weary and tired, night after night, about fifteen minutes before the credits show.

Am I on vacation? Yes. Does that mean I have more time for myself? No. Don't get me wrong: I am not complaining. I am enjoying every single minute with Yair. Oh, that closeness! That sweet smell! That compelling smile! Those arms around my neck! I would not want to miss these things for the world. But a movie... I would be happy to have that too. (And some time for reading all the books I have been trying to read for the last two years. That would be nice to have as well. But I am not mentioning that here.)

Because time is flying

and memories tend to fade quickly, here are a few July pictures, from the Mediterranean and the Red sea, taken by Savta Hana (thank you!).

Later this month, I will also post some pictures from our open house on July 28.

Modern communication

It is grey. It is rainy. Sounds familiar? Yes! We are back to the same old sh... I am not complaining though. Another week or so and we will be off to a better climate. At least we have found back to our old routine: Yair takes a nap after lunch and goes to bed at night at his usual time. A big relief .

And Shai? For all I know, he started his summer workshop yesterday, with math camp in the mornings and communications in the afternoons. About ten minutes before the first math session was to start, I received an SMS: "Can you please check in my calendar where the class will be held?" And because the world is a village and time is relative, I rushed off to the computer, logged on to his email, and checked his meetings. Less than five minutes later, his cell phone beeped, announcing an incoming SMS. He started his class on time.

I have not heard back from him since.

A little boy's sorrows

Sunshine is here, and we are all happy. I because life is just beautiful when everything is bright and sunny, and Yair because he can stroll around the garden, build castles in the sand, eat ice cream, ride his bicycle, and simple be a little boy. No wonder he fights off his afternoon nap screaming and kicking until he drops completely exhausted onto his pillow. (I should mention that the next low is approaching quickly, ready to hit us no later than tomorrow... with more rain than anyone would want.)

But not everything is mere mirth (David, this is for you).

Yair misses his daddy. Yesterday we called him -- he is settling in, with a new cell phone being his first acquisition --, and when I reached Yair the receiver, he pressed it firmly to his little ear, listening intensely for a few seconds. Then his face lightened up. "Shai!" he exclaimed (for some strange reason, he has fallen back into a habit long overcome, of calling us by our first names). "Eifo ata?" (Where are you?) Then, a little quieter: "Ani rotze otcha." (I want you.) For Shai, these few words were compensation enough for not having heard his son's voice for more than three days.

Yair is also afraid. Afraid I might leave him alone, vanishing to America just like his daddy. Once in a while, a few times a day, he looks at me and says: "Ima, al tilchi li leAmerica levad!" (Mommy, don't go to America alone!) Isn't it curious just how such a little brain works? How can he even think I would leave him here all by himself? Soon enough, we will board the plane just like his daddy. Together.

Walking on crocs

By the way, had it not been for my crocs, I would not have survived this past week. Naive as I was, I shipped away all of my solid shoes, convinced that a day or two of rain would be as bad as it could get (what the heck was I thinking, having lived in Germany for the better part of my life?!). As convenient as they are, wearing them every day, inside and outside, with socks or without, with casual jeans or classier pants -- I am sick of my crocs and dying to slip into a pair of sandals. Sunshine, where are you?!

All about the weather

It is cold. It is grey. It is rainy. And the worst: with the exception of one day, it has been like this ever since we arrived on Sunday. I knew, I knew there was another reason for moving to Israel in the first place, besides love. I actually thought I had overcome the need to talk about the weather all day long, every single day. But here, everything is back to as it used to be. Well. The forecast promises lots of sun for the weekend, so I am keeping up my hopes.

Shai boarded his plane yesterday morning. Don't ask how we ever got to the airport because I don't know. The hours before were a complete mess. So I will skip this part of the story and only tell that he arrived OK although they left Düsseldorf with an hour delay so that he missed his connecting flight in Las Vegas. He was booked on another flight and reached San Francisco about six hours late. Mickey picked him up, and right now they are both hopefully getting some rest.

As for me, I am about to take the little man to the doctor again. He is still with a fever, shiny eyes, running nose. His condition is improving, but with the weekend coming up, I don't want to run a risk. No wonder really, is it, with the weather being as it is. And back we are... It is a loop really. Everything starts and ends with this sh... weather.

Stopover

in Germany. At 12° Celcius, we are shivering through the days. Yair already caught himself a virus. He is caughing and has a temperature. Apart from that, we are hanging around the house in a state of utter listlessness. Complete lack of motivation. I find it hard to lift my hand to drink a glass of water. Or go to the bathroom. I guess this last month of constant pressure and hundreds of errands has taken its toll. I have no idea how Shai will find the power to get packed again and board his plane to San Francisco on Thursday.

In the meantime, Yair is improving his German. Or my parents their Hebrew. Or I my translation skills. However you want to look at it. We definitely need two more weeks here before we move on with our lives.

Final days

It has been a hectic month, this July, to say the least. But over the next few days, things are going to calm down. Today is my last day at work, and I am extremely proud that I have gotten through it without even shedding as much as a single tear. How afraid I was of this day to come! For weeks and weeks on end, the mere thought of leaving my work and these great people behind brought me to the brink of tears. And all of a sudden it is behind me, just like that. Tomorrow we are having a farewell party at Yair's preschool, on Shabbat everybody is invited over to our open house, and Sunday morning we will board the plane and take off to Germany to spend some time with my family before we move on. Finally, the time has come.

Attached

Last week I said good-bye to my hair dresser. And don't underestimate the emotions involved. It was much harder than you might think. Almost as hard as parting from my cleaning lady, which left me all crying. I have grown close to both of them over time. I will miss the juicy Friday-afternoon chats with her in the kitchen. And after all, he has done my hair for over six years. Six years! Well, I don't know what these things tell about me. But I am fearing the good-byes lying ahead of me. I will have to take in an extra dose of fluids, or else these coming weeks will leave me all wrecked up.

Daily wisdom

This is what came up this morning when I searched our database for open bugs...

The great thing about television is that if something important happens anywhere in the world, day or night, you can always change the channel.

And since there are no major issues to fix, I will start taking screen captures instead. Have a great day, everyone!

A bigger plan

Today I spent a great deal of my time thinking of my (supposed) future brother in law. He is a humorous, good-natured person, a young, talented carpenter who just graduated from a master course. Looking for a suitable new position, he meanwhile returned to his previous employer.

Fate had it that yesterday, while finishing up a piece of work, he moved his hand too close to a saw trying to remove a piece of wood. Two fingers got detached. Luckily, his co-workers immediately rushed over to help, and within a matter of minutes he found himself in a helicopter on his way to a hospital specialized in hand surgery. Another 5.5 hours later, during which doctors did a fine job reattaching the cut-off limbs to his hand, blood was back circulating in his fingers, and he could feel a slight pulse.

Thanks to his cool-headed, well-trained colleagues, he will be able to use his hand again eventually. Hopefully, he will also be able to return to his beloved profession. I am sending him lots of good thoughts and positive energy for a quick and uncomplicated recovery.

Somehow, I believe that everything happens for a reason. There is a bigger plan that puts everything into perspective, into a context of its own. But only later on will we see the whole picture, understand the reasoning behind it, the powers that be. If ever. At this stage, who knows what this accident was good for?

Daily life

I am gearing up at work, one last time. All of a sudden (though not surprisingly), there are so many things to deal with that I have hardly time to breathe. I am also attending to all kinds of other affairs: physicians, immunizations, bank issues, friends. Add a husband who keeps occupying the computer, and you are left with precious little time for posting anything out of the ordinary. At the moment, the very one is hiding in the bath room, taking a well-deserved shower, but soon he will peek in to claim his seat. Luckily, he has all kinds of excuses, the best being that he has to take this or that exam in order to prepare for business school. Can I refuse?

Love, Security, Routine

Today, we finally got to see a speech therapist with Yair. He has been stuttering for quite a while now, and since he talked like a waterfall before, telling all kinds of stories and whispering secrets into our ears, this is alarming all the more. We suspect the stuttering may be related to our moving to Berkeley, to all the changes we are currently going through. I actually thought that talking with him about the move as much as possible would be the wisest thing to do, but apparently it has just scared him and made his little world become insecure. After all, he is such a sensitive boy. And not even 2.5 years old.

Yael, the speech therapist, didn't really tell us anything new, anything we didn't already know. Stuttering is a common phenomenon in children his age. She played intensely with him for about half an hour, noted that the stuttering is rather mild and will most likely disappear over time, handed us a list of Dos and Don'ts that will help us support Yair's speech development the best we can, and wished us good luck. No therapy for kids under 4. But at least we got some expert advice before we leave. Hopefully, in a few months' time, things will have settled down and straightened out. Love, security, and routine are the keys.

The Journey Starts

Although I studied American literature (way back, in a distant life) and English has been my language at work for many years now, I have not dared to do any creative writing other than in German, my mother tongue. It is somewhat strange to actually get down a post in English. It simply doesn't feel natural. It is not the technical writing kind of style I have gotton used to. So used to that I catch myself erasing unnecessary words, avoiding wordiness at all costs, keeping sentences short, paragraphs to the point, words simple. Yes. That's what it has come down to. I constantly live in three languages, but each language has its clear time, place, and usage. And blogging in English has not been on the agenda. But as of today, I will do my very best.

Because today the journey starts. The boat leaves its sacred haven. Our belongings begin their long way across the ocean, to the other land, to the western coast, to the distant city that is going to be our home for the next couple of years or so. I know many tears will be cried over our departing. Hopefully, these little posts will help ease the pain. We are only leaving in order to come back. We will shed our own tears. We are not going light-heartedly. We will miss you dearly. Yet, we are determined to enjoy this time away from home. It's a chance, after all. To get to know the unknown, to breathe fresh air, to delve into new adventures. And to then return, embracing what we once left as the things we appreciate the most.