banks

My friend Mia made aliyah this week. It was incredibly exciting for so many reasons... having a good friend in the country, getting to pinch Mia's cheeks. But what really made me happy was when she changed her facebook status to "Mia hates banks." Oh, new olim and the challenges they will encounter!

a dialogue on the Katamon social scene and life in general

This post is back after a brief hiatus. I'll deal with the consequences :-)

The other person's screenname has been changed for their protection and to, as I put it, "prevent scaring off the ladies." The name "fwb" has been used because it just seemed appropriate.

7:12
Beqx
i was about to make fun of you about something from before but i decided not to
though it would have been a general commentary on the katamon scene so maybe i can just reword it, hm
7:13
FWB
i've stopped going to the tuesday night shiur, u should be impressed with me
7:14
Beqx
im so proud of you!!
dated/lost interest in all the girls there, i understand
oops the comment came out anyway
just not in the context about the nbn seudat shlishit being to celebrate the "new crop"
but anyway..
7:15
FWB
i never liked the shiur anyways. and it's getting less popular and i never had much success
i have to keep my eyes open
the new crop is always the best hope

Beqx
sigh, new crop...
i hope theyre all under 30
7:24
FWB
well, when you see a girl for me, let me know
even you being antisocial is probably more social than me
7:24
Beqx
will do
hey i need to meet more girls
its impossible to make female friends
no girls want to talk to other girls
its ridiculous
guys just play basketball and poker
girls are awkward
7:25
FWB
and no girl will go over to talk to a gy
guy
i don't play poker. but basketball is correct
7:25
Beqx
that lasts like a week and then all the girls realize how dorky the guys in katamon are
7:25
FWB
but we're nice guys
7:26
Beqx
nice.. awkward.. dorks... i never said its a bad thing
its just the reality of katamon social events
7:26
FWB
i always freely admit I'm a complete idiot

7:30
Beqx
this conversation is making me want to be antisocial again maybe on shabbat i'll just hide in my room and play with my trains
7:30
FWB
i'm getting depressed myself
but u antisocial is still quite social
7:30
Beqx
but new crop! get excited!
7:30
FWB
eh, won;t be different from any other
see, I'm jaded
7:31
Beqx
you havent been here for that long
so sad
7:31
FWB
true
7:31
Beqx
i was jaded five minutes after getting here
7:31
FWB
also true

7:35
FWB
i want to stop aging
7:36
Beqx
maybe shira and i can come up with a potion
like our other potions
7:36
FWB
we could use a good mid-twenties crisis
7:37
Beqx
i think i had one- it was called making aliyah
and im still early 20s
7:37
FWB
i was trying to take an average of us
7:37
Beqx
hhhmm
what would a mid-20s crisis entail?
7:37
FWB
still trying to figure that out
what do teenagers do these days?
7:38
Beqx
uuummm
pretend to be 20?
i think they make up relationship crises and overdramatize everyhing in their lives.... oh wait, sounds like katamon
7:39
FWB
u need to get over katamon or go live in a hut
an igloo will also work
7:39
Beqx
oohh then i could have snow
Beqx
maybe teenagers do fun things like squirt ketchup at cars from bridges
im just thinking bart simpson here
7:41
FWB
do a prank phonecall.
ask for Amanda. Amanda huginkiss

FWB
what's the options then?
7:46
Beqx
flicking things at the backs of peoples heads at NBN seudat shlishits?
7:48
FWB
options what to do as we grow older
7:49
Beqx
that sounds like something that needs a list. but shira isnt here so i have no one to make lists with
you dont think we should flick things at people?
7:50
FWB
too unrealistic
on that note, i'm off to do some shabbos
good to talk. be my girl-lookout pleae
later

When your world shrinks very fast

I just came home from a wedding on Har Tzofim. The chuppah had a stunning view of the entire city. The bride was my friend Ruti who was briefly in ulpan with me, I ran into her once on the street, and she invited me to her wedding. In ten days I'm going to the wedding of the girl who sat in front of me on my aliyah flight. I've only seen her twice (briefly each time) since then. And she invited me to her wedding. Such is life in Israel.

Ruti's chatan gave a lengthy speech in which he seemed to personally thank each person in the room. There is one person he mentioned who was not at the wedding. Batsheva Unterman was killed in yesterday's attack in town leaving her husband and six month old child behind. When I got home from the wedding I saw a sign on my street announcing that the location of the shiva is the building right next to mine. It makes sense-- Batsheva and her family would often host Dov, Ruti's husband, for shabbatot so that he could be near Ruti who was living around the corner.

Yesterday probably around the time of the attack I was waiting at the 13 bus stop at the end of my street with Tamar, the kid I am taking care of for the summer. When we got to the bus stop we had barely missed a bus and while we waited two buses passed in the other direction. I don't know if one of those buses is that one that was smashed into, or maybe it was the bus right before it. But maybe. The timing was about right.

The wedding tonight was very small with a collection of family and various friends from different parts of Dov and Ruti's lives. And there were a lot of kids there. It's hard to imagine that one of the guests was supposed to be Batsheva and that one of the kids who should have been there tonight is now without a mother.