Mr. Charming

"Mommy..." The little man blows a kiss onto my cheek. "Your eyes are beautiful." "Really? Thank you, sweetie." "I mean the color." Gestures toward my eye shadow. "It's beautiful." Another tender kiss. "I also like your hair. I like it best if you do it this way." Pulls my hair back. "You mean a pony tail?" "Yes. A pony tail. I don't want you to cut it short again. Ever!" "We'll see about that." "Mommy?" Another kiss lands on my cheek. "Your ohrringe are beautiful, too." "You mean my earrings?" "Your earrings, yes. I like them. And your necklace, too. Actually everything. I like everything about you." Keep going, sweetie, keep going... "Tell me, honey. Do you also kiss the girls at school like that?" "Yessss..." "Who?" "Talia." "Only Talia?" "And Naomi. Naomi T." Says a 4-year-old. Does charm increase with age?

Back to routine

Call it laziness, call it writer's block, call it whatever you want -- I just couldn't write these last few weeks. I guess there were too many things we had to deal with. Germany, Israel, all of a sudden a job offer, the flight back, a hectic week of getting-back-to-routine, and then my first day at work on Monday.

I started at a company in Oakland, which is really close by. My manager agreed to flexible hours, organized a laptop for me, and is besides also a really sweet person. A good manager too, for all I can say after three days. It's tough at the moment though, it always is when you start a new job. At work, my head is spinning from information overkill. I am also having a hard time getting up in the mornings. It didn't really help either that my alarm clock decided not to go off today at 5:45.

Yair stays in school now until 3:30pm. Sometimes he naps after lunch, sometimes he doesn't, but he's taking it all really well. He's happy and sweet when I come to pick him up. He's such a good boy. "Where is mommy? Has she gone to work?" he asks in the mornings when he wakes up and finds me gone. No crying, no complaining. Today at dinner, he asked me: "Mommy, how was school today?" I:"It was nice. I slept on my mat next to Adi." He (rolling his eyes, laughing): "Mommy! You didn't go to school! You went to work!"

So yes. We're back.

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.

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 :-)."

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).

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.