Peter, Paul and Mary wrote this week's theme song

Sorry Im a little late today (for those of you who were up at like 8 am pacing in front of your computer and waiting for this post), I was busy climbing rooftops and wandering through graveyards.

Anyway, this was a really full week. There were lots of visitors which led to lots of hanging out, hugging, and getting really excited. And a good amount of beer. But it was also the first week of the PresenTense Institute, meaning I got to meet all the fellows and find out all the things I had done wrong. I spent most of the week at work doing everything from fixing closets ( I am now the resident handyman) to setting up for speakers and I got alot of free food. (Actually, I think I only fed myself once this whole week). The fellows who have come into this program are incredibly cool people ranging from Brazilian reporters who live in Bejing to midwestern librarians who want to revolutionize Jewish education. So the up side of work this week was getting to meet all these people, getting to use my tools, and getting to eat out alot. The downside was, being the first week of a program, we realized all that we had done wrong, and all the things that had been lost in translation. They still like me and all, but there were some things that I messed up and some responsibilities that turned out to be too much for me, so that was tough to find out.

So I was feeling kind of bummed out at the end of the week, not to mention burned out from working my tush off, but then I got to go out with all my Maryland visitors and that just made it all better.

Oh, I also had the most amazing moment this week. In fact, none of this other stuff really matters. This was like the highlight of my month and everything else pales in comparison.

So, you know how people sometimes ask you for really random things like a rubber chicken or a television, and your like "Oh yeah, Ive got that right here in my back pocket" because who the hell carries things like that around with them? Well, my secret dream was to be able to say that and actually pull a rubber chicken out of my back pocket. So I used to carry really random things around in my purse like bubbles and clown noses. But my purse started to get heavy and no one was ever asking for anything I had (though I did get to give a little boy a toy once) so I stopped doing it. BUT this week, as I was getting ready to leave work, my boss turned to me and asked if I had a hammer. And I was like "WELL YES I DO, RIGHT HERE IN MY PURSE" and then I pulled a hammer out of my purse and he stared at me like I was Mary Poppins. GREATEST. MOMENT. EVER.

I have nothing else to say.

I am interested in seeing what type of responses this elicits

Wow, this was a really long week! And in the aims of making sure this post is not equally long, I think we are going to go back to the days of lists :)

Random events of the weeks and their corresponding smilies:

 My new bosses love me. They have promoted me to Institute intern, which still doesnt pay, but they assure me that all the other interns will be jealous.

 It is friggin hot here. I am constantly battling dehydration and its ensuing headaches.

 This week was full of lots of long conversations about feelings and political opinions and potential future plans. 

 My last boss from that stupid restaurant in Rehavia is an idiot. I went by to pick up my check and ended up leaving him a note because neither he nor my check were there. He has called me three times since then. Once, to tell me I have to come and fill out some form it didnt occur to him to have me fill out when I was actually working there or in the two weeks since I left. Then to tell me he had lost my hours and see if I still had them. And then the third time to tell me I had to come and fill out this form NOW because he had to fax it in in an hour. This appears to be a headache that will be staying with me for awhile yet. 

 Everyone is coming to Israel for the summer!!

 My health insurance is once again billing me when they shouldnt. When I tried to call and clarify, I put in my ID # and the machine told me they couldnt talk to me now and hung up. 

 I had to pee in a cup. In a very Israeli fashion, they did not give me a lid. And the bathroom was two floors up. 

 I had two job interviews this week. One was for a waitressing job that I dont really want, but also dont think Ill get because they wanted people with more experience. And the other one was for my exciting news.

- I am a little emotionally confused about this.

This week I went in for my Tzav Rishon. This is the first round of tests that you have to go through before joining the Israeli Army. It includes an interview, a medical exam, an intelligence test, and then a test that helps them determine what type of job you would be suitable for. In a few weeks they should send me a list of jobs they think I am suitable for and from there I can apply to whichever ones I want. I am technically on track to join the army now, but because I am volunteering, I can still change my mind without any consequences. 

I am not yet sure if this is what I want to do and alot depends on what type of job I could get. That being said, I think it is something that I will be really happy to have done. I know it will be hard for me, especially the whole independence thing, but I look forward to the challenge and how I will grow as a result. 

I am a little nervous about telling everyone, in case I end up not doing it for some reason, but this is the big thing going on in my life right now, and I guess I want to share that.

Also, just to clarify: I will not be a combat soldier. It is very hard for a woman to get a combat position, and I am too old (remember this is an army of 18 yr olds) and dont have the physical profile. I will also probably be volunteering for a year, two at most. And I have no idea what I will be doing yet. I also do not know when I will go in, though I would guess about 5-8 months. 

Anyway, that is my exciting news. Im sorry if that is not as exciting as a secret engagement or letting you all know that I am actually an alien or something. 

Shabbat Shalom, Happy weekend, and I hope to get lots of responses from this post. Otherwise I will have to start doing something even more drastic then moving across the world and joining the Israeli army.

I wish I could build a pool in my bedroom

I HAD A REALLY GOOD WEEK!

I just wanted to let you all know that in the beginning in case you dont have time to read the whole email. Or to catch your attention so that you then WANT to read the whole email. hmmm. (this is where I would insert the smiley that strokes its fake beard if there was one)

First things first, I went to an Israeli office, didnt have to wait in line for an hour, AND I had all the right paperwork!!! I did have to walk around the entire building (which was the size of a city block) before I found the entrance, got inside and found out I needed to photocopy everything in the 15 minutes before the office closed, which forced me to run (which i hate) in the hot summerness, BUT the lady in the office was NICE and let me come in even after she had closed! And once I went in, it took about three minutes and I was done! By next week I should have a paper that tells me my foreign degree has been recognized. Woohoo!

And, in the process of looking for somewhere to photocopy, I found a printshop! Its in this beautiful old arab building and has a gallery upstairs! They only do screenprinting and etching, both of which they offer classes in, and they have open studio hours!! Unfortunatly, I just missed the summer session, but I might be able to take classes in the fall :)

I also started my internship at PresenTense this week and Im really enjoying it. The people there are fun to work with and really love what they are doing. What are they doing, you ask? Well as they like to say, they are giving the next generation of Jewish leaders the tools they need to create social change in the world and in Jewish communities. Basically, every summer, they accept 16 or so fellows with ideas or projects that they want to get off the ground. This years projects vary from integrating arts into education, to compiling your own siddur (prayerbook) online. They have six weeks of training sessions and meetings and then they have a huge event at the end where they pitch thier project to investors. Anyway, I am the event planning intern, but I have a feeling I am going to be helping in alot of different areas.

Other that that, I was pretty lame this week. Its getting really hot, so I find myself limited to about one adventure a day, because by the time I get home from it I am so tired and hot I just want to lay on my cold stone floor and melt. 

I actually did have one exciting adventure- I went with my "lets go visit soldiers" group to deliver popsicles to the boys stationed near Shechem. Unfortunatly, about halfway there, the car broke down. So the only soldiers we got to give popsicles too were the ones that stopped to see why we were stopped on the side of the road. We ended up having to hitchhike back to Jerusalem, and by the time I got home I was in "lay on the floor and melt" mode.

I am going to leave you all with a cliffhanger and tell you that there is a very good chance that I will have very exciting news next week. And no, I am not telling you what it is. Mwahaha.