Friday, September 30, 2005

Big Army News

Well, it's the moment you've all been waiting for (delayed slightly by an unusually busy week and spotty internet access) - my big army news. I have started the process of ending my army service. That's right. Adam in the army will not be in the army for much longer. Things aren't finalized yet, but at this point I think I should be finishing in mid-November. I'm not sure what I'm going to do post-army, but I'm looking for a job in Israel (preferably in the Jerusalem area). The problem is, I don't really know what I want to do. If you've got any ideas what I should do with my life feel free to chime in.

Don't think that now that you know the big news you can stop checking the blog obsessively. The process still has to be finalized. And I still have to blog about my court martial.....

Sunday, September 25, 2005

The Call of the Sea

I don't know if I have blogged about it before, but every four months my garin has a seminar. We arrange for everyone to get the same weekend off from the army and try to do some sort of fun activity and spend some quality time together as a group. This time around we went ocean kayaking into the caves at Rosh HaNikrah. Simply put, it was awesome. Very fun, great exercise, quality hanging out time. We also got to "rest" afterwards on a beautiful beach. In addition to reminding me how nice it is to hang out with my army "family" it also reminded me how much I enjoy the beach and the sea. Crashing into the waves and bodysurfing to the shore reminded me of some of the great times I used to have on Cape Cod with my extended family. It's funny how easy it is to forget something that you really enjoy. Like the wonders of sunburns.

I know I know...where is the big army news? It's coming. This week.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Another Exception

I'll get to the big news. I swear. But first I have to relate my frustration with the Israeli healthcare system. The last time I received Remicade, about a month and a half ago, I was forced to pick up the medication in Tiberius - two and a half hours away from Tel Aviv (where the actual infusion was to take place). This time around I figured it would be simpler to pick up the medicine in Tel Aviv. My HMO had other ideas. This time, I will have to travel to Tzfat, almost four hours away, to get the medicine.

The funniest past of this whole ordeal was that the receptionist at the HMO branch referred me to the HMO's central phone service to get the pharmacy's phone number. When I contacted the central service I was informed that there is no HMO pharmacy in Tzfat. I hat the Israeli health care system.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Links and Comments

I know. I know. You are all waiting for my big army news. But in the meantime I'd like to point out the new links posted on the side of the blog and encourage you to visit all of these quality sites. I'm sure you'll find that Michelle's blog often details the ongoings of my life better than my own. But visit my blog first.

Somebody commented, "Adam. I love you." after my previous post. It was anonymous. I am intrigued. Michelle is jealous.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Teaser

One of my courses at Brandeis focused on how news is marketed and presented in different forms of media. For example, in television, news programs use "teasers," or short clips and headlines of upcoming news stories, to pique a viewer's interest and deter the viewer from flipping channels. In my case, I want the viewer to hit my site over and over again in anticipation of new exciting details of my life. In reality, however, my blog rarely works that way because I tend to live a pretty boring, down to Earth type of life. This week however I've got some material that will really knock your socks off. That's right. Big army news. The kind you can't miss.

In the meantime, here is a quick little anecdote: The other night in the army we ended up staying late photocopying, printing, and collating packets for a meeting the next morning. The task literally took hours as we coped with faulty copy machines and printing miscues. Not to mention have to collate everything by hand. If we had one halfway decent self-collating copier it would have saved us a ridiculous amount of time. Of all the things I miss from America, I never would have guessed that quality office equipment would have made my list. But it does now. That and Kinkos.

Remember, stay tuned for BIG NEWS (the capitalization increases the emphasis) about the army. And about my court martial. That will be coming up too.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Tribute

There are several recurring themes on my blog - the army, friends who visit, and my failure to post consistently. This blog will touch upon the last two. Last week, in Jerusalem, I ran into one of my former college suite-mates. Later that evening I reflected on the number of my friends who I have been fortunate enough to see over the last year and change. It seems like literally every few weeks or so I am having dinner with a friend who is visiting. Living in a foreign country is not an easy thing and army service is generally not considered to be a piece of cake. To that end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my friends and family members who have checked in - whether by phone, e-mail, or in person - for supporting me over the past year. I cannot properly express how much you all meant to me. Also, I want you all to know that I have decided to stop taking you for granted. That's right, from now on I pledge to blog more frequently and more regularly. As a sign of my commitment, I have decided that from now on, on nights when I am scheduled to blog, I will read no sports based web pages until I have blogged. I know. It sounds crazy. But it just might be crazy enough to work.