Life as a lazy bum

It is a good thing that this week contained a Jewish holiday. Otherwise I would have been really bored. Really, I should know this by now, but I don't do well with long transition periods. I much prefer to go directly from one thing to another. However, I forgot this and did not even bother to look for jobs before I got to Israel, telling myself that I would take a week or two to adjust and do my job searching then. Really though, I should only give myself a day or two because after that I start getting antsy.

Given, my summer job options aren't really so hot. Since I am planning on traveling starting mid-August, I am really only looking for work for 2 months. That basically leaves you with waitressing, babysitting, and cleaning. I have already discovered that I do not enjoy working in restaurants. Plus, the only way to make any money doing that is to work for a fancy one and they are unlikely to hire me for such a short time. Babysitting is also problematic. Unlike in America, where I could charge $15-$20 an hour, here the average rate is 25-35 shek- about $6-$8. So we are back to cleaning. A job that is doable for short periods of time and makes twice as much as babysitting. However, I have run into a short hitch. I responded to a few ads on a local craigslist-esque site and have had a few calls in return. Then a man called me asking when I was available etc, normal cleaning questions. Until he asked if I would clean in the nude. (No, it was not a joke). I of course freaked out, yelled, hung up, and then stood in shock for a few minutes before ranting on about disgusting men. And then this creepy image keeps flashing back into my head, and aside from being a totally weird and disgusting request- who the hell would want to clean with no clothes on?!?- it also has made me rather wary about advertising online and having to deal with pervs. So I am going back to babysitting. It may not pay as well, but the chances of being asked to do it naked are nonexistent (I sincerely hope). Also, I have some leads on babysitting jobs so I would not have to advertise online.

Anyway, then Shavuot came around and I could stop worrying about boredom/source of income for a bit. Shavuot is the holiday where we celebrate receiving the Torah. There are two big ways of celebrating: cheesecake and staying up all night learning. I am not really such a fan of either ("She doesn't like cheesecake?!?"), so I was not really sure how I would be celebrating. Luckily my friends Avi and Chama were hosting a small "let's sit around and eat cheesecake and learn for a bit". I much prefer this to the larger shiurim/lectures going on all around Jerusalem which I have tried and failed to get anything out of for the past two years. Also, in addition to cheesecake, they had homemade ice cream which was WAAAAYYYYY more exciting for me. Though they had called it for an hour, we ended up hanging out and talking about the story of Ruth (which is what we read on this holiday) until about 2am, leaving me tired, happy, and satisfied that I had appropriately celebrated receiving the Torah.

And now it is time for Shabbat once again. Hopefully next week will be more productive.