Adam (Not) in the Army

Signing Off

2008-05-07T01:29:00.003+03:00

It's been a few good years here on the blog, but it's finally time to move on. Or at least that's what my wife tells me. But seriously, it's on to bigger and better things as my blog and Michelle's blog combine (much like Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Heart) to form a new blog: Shainkeit.

What does this mean for the average reader? Not so much. Just that you'll now get my posts sandwiched around to multiple posts from Michelle. And let's be honest here, is there anyone out there who wasn't reading Michelle's posts anyways?

So update your links! Rebookmark your bookmarks! Subscribe to the new RSS feed! And learn how to program that danged VCR!

Because a whole new Shain thing is coming your way.

Disclaimer: "Whole new Shain thing" may bear striking resemblance to old Shain thing.

More on Babson

2008-03-31T19:39:00.002+03:00

Many of you might not be familiar with Babson, so I thought I should explain a little bit more about the school.

The campus is located in Wellesley, Ma. The MBA program has two very distinct features. First, it is a very international program, with nearly half of the students in the program coming from outside of the US. Second, the program is highly focused on entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship saturates all elements of the school. The idea is to instill a mindset that will prepare you to innovate whether you are starting a new company or working for a large corporation. A byproduct of this emphasis is that the MBA program is very hands-on and disciplines are often integrated.

Babson also excels at its chosen field. For the 15th straight year, Babson was ranked the #1 MBA program for entrepreneurship by US News and World Report.

Like I said before. Go Beavers!

No Harvard For Adam

2008-03-29T23:13:00.003+03:00

The other day I received the official notification letter from Harvard informing me that, though they appreciate my application, they cannot offer me a place in their incoming class. The rejection wasn't especially surprising given that I was not invited to interview. The best I could really hope for was to be wait-listed without an interview.

What does this mean for me?

In truth, not a whole lot. In my best case scenario I was hoping to be have decide between attending Harvard at full cost and attending Babson with a scholarship. I can't honestly say which school I would have picked, but now I don't have to worry about making that decision.

Who needs Harvard? Let's go Beavers!

Uncle Sam Thanks You

2008-03-08T22:47:00.003+02:00

Tonight Michelle and I filed our yearly taxes online. It was the first year that either of us has filed (as opposed to somebody else filing for us). Everything was going great until we got the end of the form. We owed the government money! What's up with that?

We're coming back to America. Uncle Sam should be paying us for our troubles. Not the other way around.

Sheesh

Deposited

2008-03-07T16:29:00.002+02:00

Two posts in one day! This has got to be some kind of record.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I just paid the deposit to enroll at Babson. I'm (technically) still waiting on Harvard, but as of about 3 minutes ago, I will either be studying at Babson next year or be $1000 poorer.

Time Is On My Side?

2008-03-07T15:05:00.005+02:00

Well...I'm caught up. Not really. But I've decided that instead of trying to back-post and re-create the magic that was Boston/Italy/Jerusalem Ball, I'm just going to move forward.

Something that I have realized recently (as noted by an earlier post) that my time in Israel is quickly running out. It's reached the point where I have begun to think about things that I want to do in Israel before I leave. It's hard to believe that I can now measure our time remaining in months as opposed to years.

I guess for the next few months I'll try to reflect on my time in Israel and my quickly approaching future in America.

Just thought that I would give everybody a heads up.

PS If people are interested in one of the aforementioned February activities, post a comment and I would be happy to post something.

Oh Me Oh My

2008-02-27T22:30:00.006+02:00

How quickly a month goes by. Of course, the time does tend to fly when you yourself are flying...to Milan...to Boston...to Milan...to Florence...to Rome...to Israel. OK, so we might have taken trains to Florence and Rome, but believe me, the time still flew by. And we got back to Israel just in time for good friends to fly to us for their vacation!

There is so much to talk about that I almost don't know where to start. I would promise to start blogging about it every day, but hey, I'm no Lex Friedman. Let's just hope that I can post two to three times a week (already a stretch) until I'm caught up.

I do want to update everybody about one thing though. I have been accepted to the FW Olin School of Business at Babson College. I am still waiting to hear from other MBA programs, but I am very excited about this opportunity.

If you have any experience with the Babson MBA program, its graduates, or MBA programs in general feel free to share your stories with me. I would love to hear them.

Also, if you haven't already seen the link on Michelle's blog, check out our photo album from Italy!

And So It Begins

2008-01-27T23:17:00.000+02:00

Tonight Michelle and I bought packing boxes as we begin hauling our belongings back the US. We know that we'll be moving back to the States in mid-July, so we are taking advantage of our trips next week, in April, and May (only me) to schlep as much stuff back as we can.

Right now we are focusing on books. With a little luck, we'll be able to bring back ~130 lbs of books next week. As packing material, we'll use all of the linens and pillows that we can spare.

On an aside. I just learned that the term "linens" encompasses all of your fabric home goods except clothing. That's your towels, sheets, tablecloths, and napkins (if you are fancy shmancy like us :) ). Who knew? Answer: Probably everybody else except me.

Anyways, as we begin emptying our apartment we can no longer avoid the fact that we'll be leaving Israel in less than 6 months.

Here's Your Rock Back

2008-01-23T00:06:00.000+02:00

I'm done living under it. Between work and business school applications I've been a pretty busy of late. Now I have down time galore...except that I'm still busy at work, am getting ready for our trip to the States and Italy, and am about to receive another infusion of Remicade. This vacation will have been well earned :)

PS How amazing is it that Michelle and I get to be back for Super Bowl weekend while the Patriots are shooting for a perfect season?!?!?!? After missing two Red Sox championships and a Patriots championship it will be nice to be in town for a title game. We're having a Super Bowl party in Canton as that will give people their best chance at catching us before we head to Italy (we are in the States for less than four days - including Shabbat). Want to come? RSVP via e-mail!

Mares, Does, and Adam

2007-12-09T21:51:00.000+02:00

A few months ago I met with an osteopath to discuss alternate approaches to treating my Crohn's disease. The doctor turned out to be more of a dietitian and he recommended a cleansing diet that amount to eating very little for about a week followed by a week of eating only slightly more. Rather than go to extremes I tried to focus on slowly changing some aspects of my diet that the doctor felt were not particularly good for my condition. One of his recommendations was to replace my standard breakfast of cereal and milk with oatmeal. And he wasn't referring to flavored instant oatmeal.

So for the past few weeks I have been experimenting with eating oatmeal several mornings a week. I can't say that I feel much better Crohn's wise (I would give myself a 3.5/10 on the sickness chart but on my way up) but it is probably a little healthier than the processed cereals.

I have been experimenting with different ways to flavor the oatmeal and the best recipe I have found so far uses salt, cinnamon, a splash of orange juice and teaspoon of sugar. I'm looking for new and exciting recipes though so if you happen to be an oatmeal connoisseur, feel free to send some of your favorites my way.

Supporting The Bro

2007-11-28T23:15:00.000+02:00

My brother Danny is currently gallivanting around Europe. This isn't particularly noteworthy since he has been doing it since September. Why blog about this now you ask? Today just happens to be my brother's 23rd birthday. So happy birthday Danny, where ever you are (Budapest).

You may know Danny or you may not. In either case you can help him out. A few weeks ago Danny was pickpocketed and lost a substantial amount of his remaining cash. I set up a quick site where people can donate/give a birthday present using Paypal. If you know Danny or are just very nice feel free to chip in.

The site is http://adam.j-town.com

You can also check out Danny's blog at http://awesomeeurotrip.blogspot.com

Face Novel

2007-11-04T23:18:00.000+02:00

It seems that now days facebook is all the rage. College kids love it. High school kids love it. Older people are confused by it (but still love it). And investors most certainly love it. I have to admit, I still don't completely see the point. I see how it's easier to maintain a loose relationship with a long-lost pal by being "facebook friends" but is my 5-10 minutes a day really affecting my life? I have to admit that I don't quite understand how people manage to spend hours and hours a day on the site.

On the other hand, I understand extremely well while facebook received such a high valuation (15 billion smackers!). It's because what seems like an innocuous site connecting you to old friends and turning you into a zombie is in reality an Internet marketer's wet dream. Users on facebook are only to happy to update and update and update and update all of their personal information. This is information that marketers can use to segment the facebook community so that their ads are shown to extremely specific demographics. I highly doubt that most facebook users realize that their personal data is not only being shown with their friends, but also being sold to the highest bidder. To make matters worse, I'm not so sure that facebook is secure. A friend of mine recently created a group on facebook. The group was Israel themed. Within a week the group had been hacked to show an Israeli map with an overlay of the Palestinian flag and all content changed to anti-semitic anti-Israel rhetoric. There was also a new group administrator named Salahaddin Salam. Despite numerous requests facebook won't explain how this could have happened and will only respond that the issue is now closed. It just leaves us to question just how secure all of that personal data stored on facebook really is. Check out the screenshot of the hacked page below.

Of course all of this overflows into the dialog currently raging regrading Internet privacy. Marketers wanted to be able to embed a cookie into every browser so that all of your juicy personal information could follow you around the Internet and let marketers show extremely targeted advertisements. Marketers also wanted to track your movements on the Internet to further target their ads. Essentially, they want to have all of your personal information and know everything you do online. Sounds a little big brother-esque to me. Kudos to AOL for creating a "do not track" list which allows you to opt-out of this kind of targeting is being likened to the "do not call" lists that stop tele-marketers from interrupting your dinner.

We'll see what happens as the debate about Internet privacy continues (Congress is getting in on the act) but bottom line people, be aware of what you put online. And who could potentially be watching.

Foiled Again?

2007-10-26T03:14:00.000+02:00

Given that the Red Sox are in the world series for the second time since I've made aliyah, nobody should be surprised that at least one blog post was devoted to the olde towne team. I was recently discussing with a friend the difference between the Red Sox championship run in 2004 and their current campaign. Our conversation mainly revolved around the impact of the curse being broken, a topic that was also touched upon in this Boston Globe editorial. Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled that the Sox won in 2004 and wouldn't have it any other way - especially how they came back from being down three games to none against the Yankees. But I wonder to what extent the identity of Red Sox Nation was lost when the curse was broken. For years (86 of them) generations of Red Sox fans were united by their shared agony. In years past, when the fans had their collective hearts broken, they at least were secure in the knowledge that they were apart of something bigger than themselves. In that way, the curse served to unite Sox fans and gave them a chance to be a part of something bigger than themselves. In a way, it was a kind of group masochism where you were bonded to your fellow fan through the shared experience of dashed hopes. Now that we are the fullfilling our pre-season playoff expectations we can appreciate the excellent play of the team, but if the quality of play slips will the Nation dissipate without it's previously unifying force now removed? Worse yet, if the Red Sox continue to win, will fans become spoiled and expect a world series every year? Could we become the Yankees of the 21st century?

I guess we'll just have to win and find out.

To Everything There is a Season

2007-10-19T03:27:00.000+02:00

Just like the holiday season in America, as soon as the fall holidays end the Israeli marketing machine moves on to the winter festivities. That means that as soon as Sukkot ended sufganiyot (jelly donuts) began appearing in bakeries and supermarkets - tasty treats are affiliated with Chanukah. However, that isn't the only change that comes after Sukkot. Traditionally, Israel has two seasons, Summer and Winter. It's easy to tell the difference. In the winter it rains. In the summer it doesn't. Also the summer is hot. Yesterday formally marked the beginning of winter as we had the first rain of the year. In a country known for its "issues" with safe driving, the first rain is an especially dangerous occasion. That's because dust accumulates on the roads all Summer until the first rain turns it into a slick oil-like substance. As you can imagine, bad driving conditions combined with bad Israeli drivers leads to chaos of the highest degree. Sometimes it's nice not having a car.

Safe-ty First

2007-10-10T00:40:00.000+02:00

Today I walked down to the post office to check my work's post office box. This is not an uncommon occurrence as I regularly deal with invoices and receiving payment. What made this afternoon's trip "special" was that in addition to the regular mail, we received a package. We hadn't ordered anything so I was quite surprised when I was asked to sign for a heavy, medium sized box.

Playing around with unknown packages from unrecognized senders is not widely considered "intelligent" in Israeli circles but I figured that since the unibomber is out of circulation, the chances of a terrorist targeting a small web design business were highly unlikely.

Upon returning to the office I opened the package with my boss, who was similarly baffled by the unexpected package. Inside we discovered a mini-electric wall safe. The kind you would find in a hotel room closet. After verifying that nobody in the company had ordered the safe, we called the distributor for some clarification.

Turns out that the safe was a gift from our ISP. We had just ordered a new firewall from them, and despite the fact that we subsequently canceled the order, they wanted to help us stay "safe" in the real world too. It was a nice, albeit corny, gesture.

Vive La France

2007-09-18T22:01:00.000+02:00

As much as I love French fries and French toast, this post is dedicated to actual Frenchmen. The kind who come from France. The explanation for my new francoplilia is that French investors have purchased our apartment and seem content to continue renting the apartment to us. I know that we have a lease, but our lives will be a whole lot simpler if we're on the same page as our new landlords. Especially if that page involves us staying in the apartment.

Now, I must provide the disclaimer that I have not actually met or spoken to the new landlords yet. Everything I know comes courtesy of the previous landlord's real estate agent - who was very surprised that the new landlords hadn't introduced themselves yet. I'll know more after talking to the new landlords, but for now all signs seem to point towards us staying in the apartment. Not a bad start to the Jewish new year.

Easy and meaningful fasts to everyone. And may you all have good final final inscriptions in the book of life.

And It's Nice To Be Back Jay

2007-08-31T12:16:00.000+03:00

In case the title doesn't make much sense, I'm imagining that I am on the Tonight Shown with Jay Leno and he just said "It's nice to have you back with us Adam." It's a metaphor where my blog is Jay Leno and I am me.

I haven't written in some time because I have been busy. Busy at work. And busy at home. The work part is relatively straightforward. Lots of work means working lots of hours spent working, which means less free time for blogging. Busy at home involves using what free time is left for things other than blogging. I'm glad that I could clear that up for everyone.

What have I been doing with my free time instead of blogging, you might ask? The short answer is, trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. The more I think about what I would like to be doing, the more I think I would like to be entrepreneurial. I want to be responsible for something and I want to make big-picture decisions. Unless you know somebody who would like me to take over their business, I'll probably have to start a business myself. But what business to start? That's the big question. And unfortunately, the answer is, I don't know. That's problem #1. My second problem is that I need a partner. I'm familiar enough with myself that I know that I need someone to bounce my ideas off of and to be accountable to. I feel (justly or not) that when you are working with somebody else you are a part of something that is now bigger than just you, and that is a strong motivational factor for me. Just like in problem #1, however, there is an inherent question here. Who is that partner? Again, I do not know.

One option, that I am strongly considering, to help determine these answers is business school. From what I have read, business school will give me an opportunity to meet new people with different backgrounds and industry experiences. It will give me an opportunity to build a strong network of peers who can help answer these questions and provide support to any business venture that may be created. Business school will also provide me with tools and skills for helping to grow and develop my business.

At the moment I am considering several top tier schools (such as Harvard, MIT, U Chicago, Northwestern) who I feel will best help me to reach my goals and put me in the best position possible to answer the above questions. These schools also have extremely strong "brands" giving the degree value both in the US and in Israel. It is fortunate that such well respected schools are also located near family (mine in Boston, Michelle's in Milwaukee).

Of course, regardless of what I determine is the best course of action for me, the admissions committees still have to agree.

Thank You Sir May I Have Another

2007-07-22T22:45:00.000+03:00

In preparation for the Jewish people's collective day of mourning I decided that a trip to the dentist was in order. It started out well enough. The dentist was happy that I was only in for a cleaning and nothing worse, and was quite impressed with my previous dentist's workmanship (points for Dr. Heinberg). In fact, things looked so rosy in my mouth that he almost didn't take x-rays. But he did. And upon inspection of said x-rays he found a cavity. A large cavity. A cavity that, had it been on any non-molar tooth, would have probably resulted in a root canal. On the bright side though, he was able to better show me Dr. Heinberg's excellent work on the x-rays. He numbed me up, cleaned my teeth, and filled the cavity. It was all relatively quick and painless. Tisha b'Av here I come!

On The Mend

2007-07-19T20:43:00.000+03:00

Good news on the knee front. It's still a little tight, but I was able to run on it this morning.

On an unrelated note, tonight the next Harry Potter movie opens in Israel. Michelle and I will be catching the 10:30 show. Apparently all of Michelle's friends have been attempting to predict what will happen the end of the last book (due out this weekend) so I thought I would chime in. Really I don't have much to lose. If I'm right, I come off looking like a genius. If I'm wrong, I'm just another guy who got it wrong. Really, I don't know why everybody isn't doing it. Oh wait. they are.

Let me preface this by saying that I haven't read anybody else's predictions so if my prediction is the same as somebody else's I'll just have to chalk it up to mutual genius.

OK. We know that two main characters will die. We also know that either Harry or Voldemort has to die. Or Neville or Voldemort has to die. The prophesy is kind of vague like that. We have also been told repeatedly that Harry's biggest weapon is his capacity for love. With all of that in mind I predict that both Harry and Voldemort die (did you see that one coming?!?!?!). I see it working out like this: Voldemort is toying with Harry and tells him that he has to watch his friend die. Harry dives in front of the killer spell to save his friends and dies in the process. Because Harry is a horcrux Voldemort ends up killing himself as well. The prophesy was really talking about Neville (who maybe delivers the death blow to Voldemort). The end. Just remember that you heard it here first.

My B(ad)

2007-07-18T21:45:00.000+03:00

So, about that last post. When I said that I was going to start stepping again. Didn't really work out that way. Unless you are living in opposite land, in which case I was stepping every day.

I guess it doesn't really matter now though, because while I haven't been stepping, I have been running. Or at least jogging. About 2 miles each morning this week (give or take) with some interval sprints at the end. I'm incredibly out of shape but any exercise is good exercise right?

All I really needed was a running partner and now that Meg is here I'm off to the races. Except that today my knee started hurting. Here's to hoping it feels better in the morning.

Step In Time

2007-07-04T22:44:00.000+03:00

I was going to post a while ago about the "other" thing that I was doing to shed a few pounds about a month ago. But then a funny thing happened. I stopped doing it. As such, it didn't seem very appropriate for me to post about it. Was is this mysterious "it" that I was doing? Nothing other than Kathy Smith's Step Aerobics DVD that Michelle bought a while ago. Why am I suddenly posting about this now? Because I'm going to start doing it again starting tomorrow morning. Traveling knees, here I come.

Been There, Done Everything

2007-06-27T23:27:00.000+03:00

Well, my requisite 3-4 weeks have passed so I guess it's time for another post. For the first time in a while I did have something quite large coming up on my radar - my trip to the States for my brother Danny's graduation. Unfortunately for the blog, the trip was a big surprise and the blog has a way of letting things "slip," so I had to keep it in the dark. I am happy to report that the trip was a smashing success, albeit a short one. I was able to surprise the bejesus (do you think the a-jesus gets jealous that it always get passed over for the b-jesus?) out of my Danny and spend lots of time with my family and friends. The only sad part of the trip was the flight home, which both came too quickly and was run by Al Italia (which means it was a terrible experience).

Seriously. Never fly them.

Sugar High

2007-06-01T17:23:00.000+03:00

"I gotta have it, really need it to get by"

So says a young Renée Zellweger in the movie Empire Records. Now, I'm as big a fan of sugar as the next guy, but several years ago my love of sugar was put into focus. In a philosophy class we were discussing the concept of desire. Do our desires control us or do we control our desires? To answer the question, I decided to go without sugar (or at least sweets) for 1 week. The results of my little experiment were startling. Over the course of the week I had cravings for sugar. Strong cravings. Cravings that made me realize that sugar is in fact addictive. And as we all know, breaking an addiction is never fun. Another startling observation was that after about a week the cravings stopped. I still liked sugar, but I didn't NEED it as I did before. Having a cookie became a choice instead of a compulsion.

I bring this up because in a recent attempt to shed a few pounds I stopped eating sweets. I again had cravings, but as before they subsided after about a week. I'm happy to report that I am now sugar clean.

If you don't believe me, give it a try yourself. One week. No sugar.

Let's see who is really in control. You or your desires.

Is Your High School on the List?

2007-05-22T10:17:00.000+03:00

Because rankings are oh so chic, Newsweek has listed the top 1257 public high schools in the US. Sadly, although not shockingly, Canton is not on the list. Michelle's high school is listed at 520 though, further proving that i have married up :)

Check out if your high school is on the list here.

Scabby No More!

2007-05-22T09:06:00.000+03:00

In response to Meg's comment, yes, it is a term of endearment. Now scab covered or scaly...I'm not so so sure. But in any case this question has now become academic as Michelle is no longer a scab because the strike has officially ended!

Ho Hum

2007-05-21T20:10:00.000+03:00

Readers of this blog may ask themselves "why hasn't Adam posted in a almost three weeks?" I could list all sorts of silly explanations but let's just cut to the chase. I haven't posted because unlike my scabby wife, not so much is going on with me. So I'll just talk about TV.

Michelle and I like TV but unfortunately we've reached the time of year where TV shows go to sleep for the summer. We have a couple of shows remaining, but after this week we are pretty much out of new programming.

Throughout the year we have been following several series including Heroes, American Idol, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, and Studio 60 (until it was cancelled). However, our favorite TV show of the year was called Jericho. We loved the acting. We loved the writing. The show even made Michelle cry. More than anything, the show had a very "real" feeling to it. It was so good that CBS decided to cancel it after only one season.

You can read about the campaign to try to save Jericho here. Most fans are hoping that at the very least CBS will give some closure to the series after ending the season on a cliffhanger, but personally I'm still hoping that CBS comes to its senses and brings the show back.

I don't want a Jericho movie. I want another 7 years of quality television entertainment.

Happy Yesterday!

2007-05-02T23:01:00.000+03:00

Several months ago I stumbled upon an musician named Jonathan Coulton. I think he is great (in fact he reminds me of Lex). In honor of Jonathan Coulton (and funny musicians everywhere) it is my pleasure to present: The first of May, by Jonathan Coulton.

**NOTE** This is not a family friendly song. Do not listen to this if you are friends with your family. Or if you do not want to hear explicit (although funny) lyrics.

Feel free to download longs - smiley face = free. I recommend "Ikea," "Chiron Beta Prime," and "Mandelbrot Set" among others.

Who's The Boss?

2007-04-26T22:06:00.000+03:00

Clearly Michelle is the boss (not Tony Danza). She said that she will post when she is ready and not before.

To all my peeps expressing sadness over the loss of a puppy. Word to your sympathy. Your strength is my strength. Be strong.

So Long Pup, We Hardly Knew You

2007-04-26T00:34:00.000+03:00

I would normally make a joke here about how Sandy's inability to spell "grammar" (as pointed out by Alex) was the straw that broke the camels back. Darned dog couldn't even use the spell-check correctly. But I'm not. Because I'm sad. I'll leave the explanation of why we brought Sandy back tot he JSPCA to Michelle, but the more important thing for you to know right now is that Sandy is no longer with us and that makes me sad.

All things considered she was a relatively well behaved puppy. She had that "I'm a puppy. Play with me!" appeal plus she enjoyed cuddling (or lying on top of us while being petted) which was particularly nice while we were watching TV.

I think there is a certain pureness about something that simply wants to play all of the time and I am attracted to that pureness. You can't say no to that kind of pureness. It's nice to have a friend who just wants to play all day. It's a little like being a little kid again.

She also reminded me how much I miss Shadow (my dog at home).

Even though it is for the best, and even though we only had her for a week, I still feel like my world is a little emptier right now.

More Sandy

2007-04-20T01:05:00.000+03:00

I'm lying on the bed. Whuf.

I like Michelle. She is my friend. She is so much bigger than me. I need to learn better grammer. Whuf.

Puppy Pictures!

2007-04-20T00:45:00.000+03:00

I would like to introduce the newest member of the Shain family (Israel branch) - Sandy!

We got her from the SPCA and I'm pretty sure that her father had some pinscher in him and that the mother was responsible for the light coloring and floppy adorable ears. She has the short hair of a pincher (although the coat seems a little richer) and as far as we can tell she doesn't shed at all.

I'm sure that Sandy will provide many wonderful post-worthy stories as she grows up, but for now, here's Sandy.

Hi. I'm Sandy. I'm a puppy! Whuf!

News That Can't Wait

2007-04-19T12:36:00.000+03:00

Passover was great. I'll have lot's to post about later....but first:

WE HAVE A PUPPY!!!!

Pictures to follow later tonight....

Busy Busy Bee

2007-03-30T00:40:00.000+02:00

I got a haircut. Since practically nobody voted I guess people don't really care.

Anyway, this week has been incredibly busy. Like really really busy.

Anyway, I can hear the shuttle honking so I better run. To America. Well....I could if I wanted to.

I Want to be Lex

2007-03-22T16:45:00.000+02:00

Many of you are probably familiar with my friend Lex who has a knack for both creating funny videos and winning contests. I too contributed recently to a funny video, and despite lacking Lex's professionalism and experience, I think it came out well. The video was created for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's Project Reconnect to help raise interest and awareness in the Kol Dichfin program. The program helps arrange for college students and unaffiliated young adults attend Passover seders. In order to appeal to this younger audience, Project Reconnect commissioned a "viral" video be produced. Prepare to be infected:

I Wasn't Kidding

2007-03-19T23:21:00.000+02:00

In an the previous post my hair is now HUGE. It hasn't been cut since the wedding (over 6 months and counting). Check out the HUGE-ness!

The big question now is what exactly to do with all of this hair. I have an appoint to get it cut on Thursday, but I don't know exactly what I want to do with it. Should I return to the army approved short haircut, the intermediate version I wore to my wedding, or something else altogether? I'm open to your thoughts and ideas - short? long? Mr-T style mohawk? It will be up to America to decide (while I reserve the right of presidential veto of course). If you're super creative you can even create hair mock-ups that I will post online to help sway voters' opinions. Let the photoshopping begin!

Same Old Same Old

2007-03-15T00:18:00.000+02:00

I offer no excuses for my recent lack of blogging, only explanations. And I hope that these explanations will evoke enough empathy and understanding that I will merit forgiveness or at the very least fill you in satisfactorily on the events of the past month (which is the whole point of the blog in any case).

Three things contributed to my lack of blogging:

1) We had close friends from the States visiting with us for a week. While their presence was great for Michelle and me, it was not so good for the blog.

2) As soon as those friends left we experienced a crisis at work. I don't want to go into the details of the predicament, but it required putting in a lot of additional hours and left little time or energy for blogging.

3) Throughout the entire time I have been gradually getting sicker and sicker as I am overdue for my next infusion of medicine. It wouldn't have been such an issue except that by the time I had the time to start blogging again; I simply wasn't up to it. It was enough of a struggle staying productive at work.

All that being said, I am receiving my next infusion on Sunday which should represent a turning of the proverbial corner for me health-wise. I should have more energy, be happier, and have more of an inclination to post.

Also, as some people have noticed, my hair is HUGE. It really is. I haven't cut it since the wedding. HUGE.

I Knew It

2007-02-16T16:46:00.000+02:00

The two people who commented on my last post non-withstanding, I knew that nobody really used facebook for anything. It's like a toy that you play with but that push-comes-to-shove you don't really need. I was reading recently that people on linked-in (a business oriented social networking site) are more likely to receive a job offer if they have more "friends" but I'm still not sold on the concept. I still haven't had a chance to explore the facebook developers site but I'll try to give it a once over and post about it soon. I'll also be posting soon about how American Idol has been absolutely terrible this year.

Face + Book = Thoughts

2007-02-11T23:44:00.000+02:00

As I alluded to in the previous post, I have recently joined facebook. My motivation for joining was three-fold. First, I figure that as an internet / web professional I should probably have a better idea of what these social networking phenomena are all about. Second, I recognize that networking could eventually lead to additional opportunities, professional or otherwise. Third, my brother was like "Adam, you so need to get on facebook." Number three was the straw that broke my proverbial camel's back.

Now that I've started playing around with facebook, it's time to share my initial thoughts with the world. I was a big fan of instant messaging in college and loved obsessively checking people's away messages. It wasn't so much that I was stalking people as it was that I liked knowing what everyone was doing. Now that I am slightly removed from college I can't say that I feel the desire to be as constantly aware of other peoples' daily everything. On a certain level, I just don't care. I enjoy checking in on my close friends, but my peripheral friends are peripheral for a reason.

I also have issues with the "more=better" philosophy of social networking sites. They encourage you to expand your networks to the point where it is no longer meaningful for somebody to be your friend. Personally, I believe in quality over quantity. I want it to mean something that a person is my friend and not merely an acquaintance. Unfortunately, there is a negative stigma attached to the rejection of somebody's friend request. I think this is especially true if you actually know the person but are not particularly friends with them. You may even like the person, but is he or she really your friend?

A third, more topical issue I have with the site is the way that groups work. As far as I can tell, the default setting is that you can see the profile of people with whom you share a network. This is not true of people with whom you share a group membership. This means that I can see the profile of most people who are registered in the Israel network, but not the profile of a much more closely related group member. Maybe this wasn't so much of an issue when people were joining facebook and then starting groups for existing facebook members, but now groups should be one of the primary network building tools - especially for people joining later than many members of the group.

I don't mean to be overly negative. Facebook has put me in touch with people who I haven't seen or spoken to in years who I will hopefully reconnect with (as they are currently in Israel) but in general I just don't see the usefulness. I understand the basic human need to be social and I recognize the potential strengths of building a large network of friends, however for me something is still missing. I feel like the true power of these sites remains untapped. They are huge databases that need to be utilized.

I recently peeked into the developers section of facebook and it may represent a way to take advantage of the massive amounts of data that facebook collects. I'll take a closer look in the coming week.

Until then, here is a question or two for all of your fbookers out there: What do you use facebook for and what do you think are its biggest strengths (or short-comings)?

Happy Birthday - Part 2

2007-02-06T01:27:00.000+02:00

Tonight Michelle and I finally had enough time / were healthy enough to go out for my much anticipated birthday dinner. We ate at our favorite Asian restaurant Sheyan. It was yummy. Even better than Taam China if you can imagine that. Then we went home. Then we joined facebook. (Maybe you got one of my initial facebook friend invites.)

I have long sworn off joining facebook. I'll post about why I pulled a 180 and decided to join plus my initial thoughts on the site tomorrow or the next day. Right now it's sleepy time.

Long Hours, Cold Season

2007-02-03T23:26:00.000+02:00

I must admit, not much has happened lately. Recently, things have been rather sluggish. I've been working a lot and Michelle and I have been passing a cold back and forth. I can feel my next "turn" in my throat right now.

In other news Michelle and I are thinking of getting a puppy. Michelle wants a pure-bred but those things are flipping expensive, so we might get a mutt from the pound/SPCA. I mention this because tonight while we were at the mall we saw a young couple tie up a puppy outside one of the entrances because, shocker, they don't allow dogs in the mall. It was cold and rainy outside, and they weren't just running in, they were going to see a movie. Michelle engaged them in conversation to let them know that several people were looking at the dog and considering "rescuing" it. The couple said that they had asked the guard at the gate to let people know that the puppy’s owners were inside. When Michelle asked them if they asked the guard how long she would be at the gate, a sort of dumb look came across one of the couple’s faces. They replied that they would go check and turned back towards the mall entrance. We didn’t see them come back to the mall so hopefully they took the puppy home.

These are bad people. They don't deserve to have a puppy. Especially not a cute, friendly puppy that we may or may not have played with before accosting its owners.

The Deal With Dearth

2007-01-23T23:52:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the delay. I've been a little bit under the weather of late.

A few months ago I was speaking with a friend and we were shocked to find that we both mis-knew a word. We both thought the word "viscous" meant that something was fluid. In reality, it means exactly the opposite - that something is sticky. Somewhere along the line we had both mis-learned the word. To this day I feel like a little part of my past is flawed.

I bring up this story because recently I was on the opposite ends of one of these linguistic flip-flops. It happened with the word "dearth." On several occasions in the past two months I have used the word several times only to find that my fellow conversee believed the word to mean the exact opposite of its definition. I even went so far as to ask several co-workers straight up what the definition was. Everyone was wrong.

Before you go Google the definition, ask yourself, what does dearth mean? What do I mean if I tell you that there is a dearth of equipment. I totally expect all readers of this blog to know correct definition (wink wink).

What I find especially interesting is not just if you knew the word or not, but whether you thought it had the exact opposite meaning. Leave a comment saying if you got it right or not. It will be like an informal poll.

Real Definition

It Was Golden

2007-01-15T21:55:00.000+02:00

Oh what a night. Late December nineteen eighty-eeeee. What a very special time for me. 'Cause I was born on such a night. That's right. In case anyone forgot (or didn't know) I recently celebrated a birthday. But not just any birthday, it was my golden birthday. To anyone who doesn't know what that is, feel free to send me gold. Bullion is acceptable. Bars are preferable. For those of you who are too sly to fall for my clever rouse, I'll save you the trouble of looking up "golden birthday" in wikipedia. A golden birthday is when your age is the same as the day of the month you were born on. I turned 26 on Dec. 26th. That made me golden.

I didn't get awesome cosmic powers or Eddie Murphy to be my personal comedic savior, but I did get nice gifts from friends and family and a nice dinner out with Michelle.

Lawyer Land

2007-01-10T23:37:00.000+02:00

I'm late. I'm sorry. A guest spent the night on Sunday night. Plus there was the Patriots game. That doesn't really account for all of the lateness though. Most of it was due to late-night video game playing. In any case, on to the post....

Contrary to most people, I have a fond spot in my heart for lawyers. To me, there is something pure about the law. It represents order and unbiased logic. It is the system of rules by which we live, and a lawyer delves into this lake of purity to find the great fish of truth. I actually considered going to law school before realizing that I really didn't want to do all of the grunt work that young lawyers need to do in order to make the big $$$ to pay off student loans. 100 hour weeks also aren't very appealing.

Recently, I had an encounter with my landlord's lawyer (or the lawyer of the late father, I'm not really sure). I had heard that he was a respectable fellow and contacted him in hopes that he could act as a bridge between my landlord and me. I reasoned that I could have a constructive conversation with the lawyer and that the lawyer could then have a constructive conversation with my landlord. (If you are wondering why I couldn't have a constructive conversation with my landlord just read back a few posts.)

When I arrived at the lawyer's office I quickly saw that my expectations would not be met. Instead of acting in good faith, the lawyer tried to bully me. He said that I had a problem and that my lease was not valid. I remained civil and refuted every one of his potential arguments concerning the validity of the lease. Of course it didn't hurt that I had received legal counsel confirming that the lease is indeed valid. The whole conversation really brought out the (potential) lawyer in me and I genuinely enjoyed the game of negotiating/posturing. I would like to think that I handled the situation with grace and that one of us left the office with dignity. But then again, he is a lawyer, so I'm not sure how much dignity he has to lose. (See how quickly I've become jaded with the field.) The result of the meeting was that I am supposed to call the lawyer back with approximate damages caused by the landlord breaking the lease and he now knows that Michelle and I won't be pushed around.

A tangent to the story:

The discussion with the lawyer included a type of bullying that I find incredibly childish. My position entering the discussion was that our lease is valid and that Michelle and I have consistently acted in good faith. The lawyer's position was that our lease is not valid due to reasons explained in a previous post. The lawyer's argument of choice for helping to determine the matter was to tell me that I am wrong and that he is right. Does this strike anybody else as incredibly stupid? OK, so you say the lease is not valid. Well I say the lease is valid. So there. If the lease is indisputably not valid, we wouldn't be having the conversation in the first place. We are meeting because the validity of the lease is in question.

It also bothers me that while the lawyer may think he is acting in the best interests of his client (it would certainly be best for them if we just gave in to all of their demands) I don't think he is acting in the best interests either of the law or the client. He had the opportunity to broker a deal that both sides could agree to live with, at minimal cost to his client, but instead chose a confrontational approach that will end up costing his clients more. In that regard the lawyer was truly acting in his own best interests. The longer this gets drawn out, the more meetings he has, the more times he has to appear in court (if it gets to that) will mean more money for him. To be honest, he has little incentive to reach a mutually agreeable solution quickly. My father explained to me that often times lawyers will reject a settlement with an insurance agency and prepare for trial. Immediately before trial they will settle the suit for the exact amount they could have settled for initially. There was never any intention of going to trial, but this way the lawyer gets to bill a whole heck of a lot more.

Pundits banter about the degree to which lawyers and malpractice suits have contributed to the rising cost of health care in America. I wonder if anyone has ever quantified the degree to which the legal profession has increased the overall cost of either general insurance or even of cost of living. Seriously, the number must be out there somewhere.

Scheduling Note

2007-01-05T00:31:00.000+02:00

Work has been pretty hectic of late. I'll probably even head into the office tomorrow (Friday is the beginning of the weekend in Israel). In light of this and due to the fact that people are visiting, I am going to push back the upcoming posts 2 days each. Don't yell at me. I am giving you fair warning.

'Tis The Season

2007-01-04T23:58:00.000+02:00

" 'Tis the season..." The phrase is oft repeated this time of year. It's a time for families. It's a time for rest and relaxation. And it's a time to be jolly. But not in Israel. Here late December means very little. There are a few parties and maybe people take some time off of work if Chanukah is towards the end of the month, but otherwise its a pretty normal time. I realized recently that this was the first late December of my entire life that I have had to work. Needless to say, it was a sad time for me.

The good news is that despite my lack of vacation, many friends have been able to use their breaks to come and visit. The other week, while out to dinner with visiting friends, Michelle and I randomly bumped into other visiting friends. Tonight we had dinner with a different friend and tomorrow we are hosting yet another visiting friend from the States. And of course next week we'll be hosting again. It's great. We are vacationing vicariously.

Seriously though, it has been wonderful to see so many friends over the past couple of weeks, and we are looking forward to more friends who will be visiting in February. Michelle and I are truly lucky to have friends who care enough to visit Israel, and more importantly, who like us enough to let us know that they are coming.

Landlord Problems (Again)

2007-01-02T00:46:00.000+02:00

Happy New Years!

As others around the world ring in the new year with streamers and noise makers, Michelle and I get to anticipate another year of landlord issues. We had thought that our landlord issues were behind us, but little did we know that they would once again rear their ugly head.

When our current landlord inherited the apartment from her late father (for whom she had been the legal custodian) we didn't think that much would change. She had effectively been our landlord for the past year, while her father was infirmed, and while we had a few bumps earlier in the year our relationship now seemed fine. Even when our landlord decided to sell the apartment she assured us that the lease would be honored and that we would not be forced to move.

That was until she realized that the lease was extended longer than she thought. She called up furious and was extremely nasty. She accused me of being underhanded, of writing in the extension without her knowledge, and of taking advantage of her while her father was on his deathbed. I explained to her that I had acted in good faith and referred her to e-mails where she had been made explicitly aware of the length of the desired extension and had agreed. Her response was to continue being mean and threatening. She said that we could either reduce the length of our lease or go to court.

About 15 minutes later my landlord called back and said that the lease wasn't valid in the first place because her father had died, meaning that she was no longer the legal custodian, and therefore lacked the authority to sign the lease in the first place. I pointed out that the lease was signed before we were aware of her father's passing. She again was mean and threatening.

Funny how after pointing out to her that she had accepted the terms of the extension, she suddenly decided that the lease is not valid.

What really gets me is that throughout our (Michelle's and my) entire time as tenants in the apartment we have acted in good faith. We care for the apartment and have treated our landlord with respect. In spite of this, our landlord chose to attack and demean us in an attempt to bully us into shortening our lease. She could have asked about the extension politely. She could have appealed to our sense of decency as a woman who had just lost her father and who may have mistakenly or unthinkingly signed a now problematic (to her) extension. If a mistake was made, we should be able to talk about the ramifications of that mistake and search for possible solutions. Instead, the landlord attacked our character and took zero responsibility.

It's shaping up to be a "great" new year.

Resolutions Galore

2006-12-30T18:29:00.000+02:00

As we turn the page on yet another year I have decided to make several resolutions for the upcoming year. These resolutions have been prompted by a recent funk (which I attribute to actually working in late December for the first time in my life). I am going to go to sleep earlier and get to work earlier. I am going to start working out again. I am going to limit my recreational computer time. I am going to blog more.

I know, the "I will blog more" speech is a little old by now, but this time I mean it. I haven't blogged a lot lately. I had an excuse. The resolution is my way of getting over my problem.

To prove that this isn't just talk I am happy to publish a schedule of my next five blog posts. I have scheduled them for every-other day to give me a little flexibility. Posts may come a day early or a day late.

Monday, January 1 - Landlord Problems (Again)

Wednesday, January 3 - 'Tis the Season

Friday, January 5 - Lawyer Land

Sunday, January 7 - It was Golden

Tuesday, January 9 - The Deal with "Dearth"

Ker-Splat

2006-12-11T23:24:00.000+02:00

As Meg so poignantly pointed in her recent comment, I have been a little slow on the blog lately. I know that I've gone through stretches like this in the past, and that I had pledged to be more prompt in my posting this time around but I swear, it's not my fault. I actually have a somewhat legitimate excuse. My computer died. I've also been quite busy at work, but that's almost a secondary issue. From a psychological standpoint I've found it hard to blog fro other computers (either Michelle's or my new one at work). I had developed a sense of intimacy and openness blogging on my old computer, which has been difficult to recreate. I know that I'll have to move on, but I'm just asking for a little patience. Give me a chance to develop a relationship with my new computer options. I don't have a good ending for this post. That's what happens when you start a new relationship. You have moments of awkwardness. Like this one.

Back On The Juice

2006-11-19T21:25:00.000+02:00

As many of you probably know, I haven't been feeling particularly well of late. This is part of that “Crohn’s” package I bought 6 years ago. Boy was that a rip-off. Anyways, I signed a no-backsies agreement so I guess I’m stuck with it for now. A bureaucratic mess-up left me Remicade-less so my doctor and I thought it might be a good opportunity to see if the Crohn’s would stay in remission. While I have no advanced degree in medicine, my doctor has no such excuse. In honor of his mistake, I received another infusion of Remicade last Thursday. Now I can feel better.

Success!

2006-11-14T01:07:00.000+02:00

Yes that’s right. My tryout for the Israel baseball league was extremely successful. I successfully navigated my way to Tel Aviv. I successfully paid my entrance fee. And I successfully filled out my injury waiver. I also successfully met league founder Larry Baras and former GM of the Red Sox Dan Duquette. Unfortunately, that’s where the success ended. It is my sad duty to inform all of my loyal readers that I did not make the initial cut.

It was a good experience though. Meeting people who are running the league definitely gave me a leg up in terms of trying to volunteer administratively for the league. It was also interesting to see what a tryout is like, and to see what they are looking for in terms of talent. I also had a bunch of fun. I can’t even remember the last time I took a ground ball.

Two particularly interesting notes that I discovered about myself:

1) I am out of shape. I knew that being sick and not working out for the past two months wouldn’t help, but can it really have hurt that much? I don’t know if it was my Crohn’s acting up or what (it hasn’t been playing nice lately) but after doing remarkably little physical activity at the tryout I was INCREDIBLY sore afterwards, and the day afterwards, and two days afterwards. We’re talking full body pain. Standing up and sitting down could take upwards of two minutes (unless my muscles gave out and I simply fell over). Personally, I think my brain was so hyped up for the tryout that it psychosomatically made my muscles sore.

2) I don’t have a strong arm. I used to have one, but apparently I left it behind in my youth. It’s weird when something is ingrained in your psyche and then you find out that it isn’t really true. I don’t know if my muscles simply degenerated but I swear my arm used to be above average. I guess that was when I was above average height and weight and not 5’5”. That’s also around the time that I stopped receiving coaching so I’m sure my technique remains that of a 12 year old. You know what they say. Old dreams and identity defining traits die hard.

Tryouts Tomorrow

2006-11-09T23:55:00.000+02:00

Bright and early tomorrow morning I am heading out with Michelle to Tel Aviv. Why so early? It’s not to avoid the traffic from the gay pride parade if that’s what you are thinking. Tomorrow morning at 8:30 is the Israeli tryout for the inaugural season of the Israel baseball league. The league is being funded by a Boston entrepreneur and Dan Duquette (former general manager of the Boston Red Sox) is in charge of player development. I know that I don’t have a chance of actually making the league because they are filling it with players that can actually, well, play. But the tryout should be a fun time. How many people do you know who get to try out for a professional baseball league?

What I am really looking to do is make some connections with the people working on the administrative side of the league. I would love to volunteer to help the league and get some experience working in baseball. How cool would that be? I’ll tell you. It would be very cool. So cool that I would need a new cool cell phone so I could talk to my new cool friends all of the time. It’s ok though. We can still be friends. If you’re cool.

Signed, Seal, and Delivered

2006-10-31T22:09:00.000+02:00

Or at least signed. Since Meg apparently doesn't like being held in suspense...On Sunday morning I went to my landlord's office to sign an extension of the lease. The situation was actually a bit peculiar. My landlord is actually the legally appointed guardian for the real landlord who suffered a stroke shortly before we originally moved in to the apartment. When I arrived to sign the lease, the legal appointee was on the way to the hospital as the landlord's health was failing. I spoke with the appointee and we agreed that the appointee's assistant would sign the lease in the appointee's name. I'm not sure how legal the whole thing was, but I figure as long as we were in agreement it should be fine. As I was leaving the assistant's office we received a phone call informing us that the landlord had passed away. It is slightly intriguing to me that if I had arrived an hour later (after the landlord had passed away) I probably would not have been able to sign the lease as at that point the legal appointee would no longer have authority and the landlord's lease would need to be enforced to determine ownership of the apartment. I'm hoping that everything pretty much stays the same when ownership of the apartment gets sorted out. I mean, we do have a legal lease. I think.

Also, happy birthday Mom. I love you.

Signing On Sunday

2006-10-27T10:53:00.000+02:00

When I wrote my last post I was reasonably upset. As such, I was probably a little too harsh on my landlord. Despite our previous differences, the e-mail was apologetic, and I do believe the landlord that the whole deal with the government worker came as a surprise and was not malicious. At worst, our landlord is simply not very experienced.

Over the past week I have been e-mailing with the landlord in an attempt to convince the government worker that because the apartment involves additional costs (things that should be fixed that cause us additional expense) it is reasonable to leave the rent at its present level. Our landlord could have passed the buck and blamed the rent hike on the government worker or emphasized the fact that the government worker wanted the rent raised even higher, but instead our landlord helped us out and the other day we heard back that the government worker approved keeping the rent at its current level.

We sign the extension first thing Sunday morning. Let’s hope nothing changes before then.

Not Happy

2006-10-22T00:35:00.001+02:00

I was going to write a nice long post about Lex and Lauren, their new child, and Lex's kindred spirit (who I found online). That post will have to wait though as I just got an e-mail from our landlord that really brought me down.

We had basically agreed on extending the lease and were set to have a meeting on Tuesday night to wrap up the details and sign. The terms of the lease were going to stay the same except that we were going to request that either the landlords fix the problem that prevents the apartment from receiving hot water in the winter from the building's central heating, or to lower the rent to cover the cost of heating water in an electric boiler.

Tonight the landlord e-mails and says that she is bound legally to have the lease approved by another party because she is acting on behalf of her father, and that party is requiring her to raise the rent. This may be legitimate but it still has really pissed me off.

The pissed-offiness is compounded by the fact that we have had several problems with our landlord over the course of the year and are model tenants. We pay the rent on time, cause no damage, are clean, and get along with the neighbors.

We thought that our living situation was relatively settled until Michelle finished her degree. Now I'm not so sure.

Spread The News

2006-10-22T00:32:00.000+02:00

Lex and Lauren have a baby!

Blame It On Barak

2006-10-12T19:21:00.000+02:00

Blame it on Barak. Not the former Prime Minister of Israel, but the ISP. As I noted earlier after we had switched ISPs we began to experience packet loss and weren't able to stream the slingbox. We knew the problem was with our ISP because friends on different ISPs were able to stream the slingbox without problem.

After a couple of rounds of tech support we finally solved the problem. Barak assumes that most of its customers are Israeli and thus surf Israeli sites (in Hebrew) or occasionally some European sites. As such, the default account is optimized for accessing Israeli and European sites. Reaching US sites takes slightly longer as the request takes a more circuitous route. If people are surfing in Israel and Europe it doesn't really hurt, and Barak doesn't have to pay for more direct routes to the US. In our case, however, it did make a significant difference both for the slingbox and our normal web usage. Once tech support recognized the problem they were able to set us up on a specialized account optimized to the US. If you are having problems with Barak I suggest you call them and explain what the problem might be.

In the meantime we'll be watching our new favorite shows on the slingbox (Studio 60, Heroes, and Jericho). Now if only Scrubs would premier already.

Pre Internet Solution Post

2006-10-06T16:37:00.000+02:00

With the help of Barak tech support we have solved our Internet problems. A full report of the solution will follow shortly.

Sukkot is Here

2006-10-06T16:29:00.000+02:00

Yep. Sukkot is right around the corner. Avid readers of Michelle's blog may have seen pictures of the prefab Sukkah that we built. The pre-fab Sukkot are great and almost everybody has them. On the night after Yom Kippur when we put up most of the Sukkah, you could hear the cling-cling-cling of other people hammering down their pre-fab pieces as well. I must admit though, it does kind of feel like cheating. Our ancestors used these Sukkot as shelter while they harvested the fall crop. Heck, 10 years ago people were still banging 2x4s together to make a Sukkah. I think it took us a total of 15 minutes. And that includes unwrapping the poles.

One of the nicest things about Sukkot in Jerusalem is, well, the Sukkot. They are everywhere. We are eating in ours tonight, and then I have taken upon the mission of eating in every single Sukkah the city has to offer. It's like speed dating, only with food. And Sukkot. And they don't bring the Sukkot to you. I'm going to try anyways.

Jewgley Goodness

2006-09-29T17:20:00.000+03:00

Everyone should check out this new site that I made called Jewgle. It's awesome and I made it all myself. OK, so really Lex made it. But it's still cool. You should check it out.

Slung

2006-09-29T17:08:00.000+03:00

First off thanks to everyone who chipped in with bbq chicken tips. And by everyone I mean Nikki. Also, word to Sharon Ravid. Just because she asked.

Many of you probably know that Michelle and I use a slingbox to stream American TV over the internet to our computer. The system has worked pretty well but depends on one critical element: Your Internet not being lousy (Note: My father hates the term "suck" and prefers the word lousy to describe something sub-par - maybe it'll catch on). We recently changed our Internet service provider to capitalize on the offer of free Internet that Michelle receives with her student union dues. The only drawback is that the new ISP drops our packets. In layman's terms it loses information (or at least has problems sending/receiving them sequentially). The doesn't impact our normal Internet surfing but causes the slingbox transfer rate to essentially grind to a halt. We tested with other ISPs and there is no question that the problem is with our ISP. And until they fix it our slingbox is effectively slung.

I'm New At This

2006-09-22T15:19:00.000+03:00

I guess now that I am married I am supposed to suddenly become domestic. Apparently that includes a membership into the master grillworkers club. Now I can cook up a wicked hotdog or burger, and even do a decent job with steak, but I am a relative newcomer as far as barbecuing chicken is concerned. This wouldn't be such a bad thing except that we were counting on this instantaneous expertise the other night for dinner. Needless to say, it didn't go well. I think the coals I used (a generic matchlight knock off) didn't burn very hot, and I might not have used enough of them. After a ridiculously long time the chicken appeared to be cooked through, but the meat thermometer never hit about 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The results were mixed at best, and took several HOURS to produce. The good news is that things can only get better. Unless they get worse and I give somebody food poisoning.

Anyone have any bbq chicken tips?

And Again

2006-09-22T15:09:00.000+03:00

Just in case, for some reason unknown to me, you check my blog before you check Michelle's you should head over to her blog to see some pictures posted from the Sheva Brachot reception in Israel. I particularly like the picture of my father pretending to be an airplane. Also check out the picture of me jumping in sync (with legs raised) over a jump rope with Michelle's Rosh Yeshiva. It's a classic tradition and I recommend it for all events including birthday parties and circumcisions.

Worth Repeating

2006-09-19T22:25:00.000+03:00

Well hello to the two of you who still check this blog obsessively. And to those of you with RSS readers (visit the blog too. Give a brother's site a hit!). As probably everyone and their mother knows I just PICTURES got married and was on a whirlwind tour back to Israel for another party and time with the parents and inlaws. It was PICTURES pretty crazy. I'm sure glad that things are restful now and there are no High Holiday coming up. Phew.

Anyways, one would think that I have lots of new blog material. You're wrong. The most exciting news I have to PICTURES report is a repeat of Michelle's post - but it's worth repeating.

The photographer has posted our pictures online. All 1250 of them. Free for you and me to look at and download. He had to lower the quality of the pictures to put them online, but they look fine on a PICTURES computer and he will be sending us a cd with the full resolution images. If you see pictures that you would like to make into prints just let Michelle or me know and we'll send you the high-quality version.

So look at our pictures. They are great. Power to the Hengky.

http://treasurememories.com/michelleadam/index1.htm

Quirky

2006-08-21T02:02:00.000+03:00

Short sentences. I like 'em. Tonight at least. Don't know why. Gotta go with the flow.

Time's a Tickin

2006-08-21T01:58:00.000+03:00

I'm getting married soon. Under two weeks. I'm flying to Boston soon. Under 4 days.

If you want to hang out or catch up let me know. Quick. Because before you know it I'll be married and back in Israel. Like a Fox. Quick.

Sheesh

2006-08-21T01:56:00.000+03:00

You ask for comments. You get comments. You answer the questions in the comments. People stop commenting. I don't get it.

I'll respond to Lex's questions soon. I'm getting married. Cut me some slack.

All Over The Road

2006-08-11T14:07:00.000+03:00

I let you guys drive and I have to say, it feels like I'm trying to turn off the freeway between exits. Some people are joking. Some people are serious. But who should I answer? Let's start with the real drivers. The upscale chauffeurs on the highway of my blog. The drunken fools I will answer later.

Work is going well. Right now I am essentially holding down the fort until my boss returns from the states. It involves a little bit of everything and is helping me to get a better understanding of how the business runs as a whole. My primary responsibilities remain taking care of billing and Internet marketing, but right now I am also having more contact with clients.

In terms of travel plans, Michelle and I are leaving on the night of the 23rd and arriving the 24th. We'll hang out in the States for a little while, get married, and hot-tail it back to Israel for the reception here.

For those of you who read the comments you would see that Lex posed several interesting and challenging questions. So interesting in fact that they shall get their own post in the next few days. I will answer the ship in a bottle question as a video recorded song. If you give me $5000.

I have saved the Red Sox question for last because it almost sickens me to think about how the Sox are playing right now. It's not good. Not good at all. I give them one week to right the ship and start having fun again, otherwise it won't really matter who you root for because the Sox will have dropped way behind in the standings. I will root against the Yankees regardless. They are evil. That part doesn't change.

Keep the questions coming.

A Whole New Ballgame

2006-08-07T18:18:00.000+03:00

I have a point to make in this blog. But first, a rant. Last night I was following the Red Sox game on ESPN gamecast. I watched as Jonathan Papelbon give up a home run in the 8th inning to reduce the Red Sox lead to 6-5. I then watched the Red Sox nearly blow the lead in the 9th inning before Papelbon closed out the game. Or so I thought. Apparently ESPN got the score wrong. Really, the aforementioned home run tied the score at 6-6. The Red Sox lost in the 10th inning. I thought they had won. When I later saw the correct final score I was mad. Very mad.

Anyways, it has become clear to me that I am a terrible blogger. I want to restrict myself to funny anecdotes and stories about my life in Israel, but then procrastinate until the stories are no longer relevant or until I have so many stories that some end up falling by the wayside. I don't end up posting as often as I should, and I have no idea if I am actually providing my readers with what they want. To that end we are going to try something a little different. From now on my posts will be comment driven. This means that I will directly respond to comments. If a bunch of people comment that they want to know what I ate for breakfast, my next post will address the issue. Ask about the war. Ask about the job. Don't ask about time in Vegas when I was really drunk. I don't remember anyways.

So now you're in the drivers seat. What do you want to know?

Where Have You Been?

2006-07-28T18:29:00.000+03:00

Dear Blog,

Where have you been lately? Is everything OK? I keep checking back but you haven't been updated in a while. I'm eager to hear all of the news about Adam. I mean, there are rockets falling all around him right? No? Well I'm glad to hear that he is safe. What about his work? He got a new job? No, I hadn't heard. No kidding, he's doing internet marketing and business development for a web design company. That sounds really interesting. I hope Adam writes more about it soon. Pass that along for me will you? Thanks. I'll check in soon to see if he has updated.

Have a good Shabbat,

-Me

She Finally Did It

2006-07-07T17:49:00.000+03:00

My father once told me that he never had any gray hair before he had kids. I can't say the same. In fact, I can't say that I never had a gray hair before I got married. I can however say that I never had a gray hair before being engaged to Michelle. That's right. You heard it here first. Michelle gave me a gray hair (and then promptly pulled it out for me). I blame her. It's her fault. I may now officially be addressed as Old Man Shain.

Holidays and New Beginnings

2006-06-21T00:35:00.000+03:00

A few weeks ago I celebrated the Jewish holiday of Shavuot in Jerusalem with several friends. To be in Jerusalem for Shavuot is special because not only are you in Jerusalem for one of the pilgrimage holidays, but after a traditional all night study marathon you can join thousands of people walking down to the Western Wall to pray as the sun rises. That's what we did. It was great. Almost equally exciting was the fact that Shavuot morning happened to be fairly cool. Last year it was excruciatingly hot. You can imagine that staying up all night, trying to focus while praying, and then having to walk home in oppressive heat can detract somewhat from the overall religious experience.

The holiday of Shavuot commemorates receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. It is a new beginning of sorts, and as such, I will highlight the fact that I have recently begun searching for a new job. Yep, my time at ITS has come to a close and now I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life. I've considered most aspects of business, consulting, working for a non-profit or a think-tank, politics among other things but to be honest I'm still not sure exactly what I want to do. I want to contribute and have responsibility. I want to be able to think and problem solve. Making a boatload of money would be nice too. Anyone have any suggestions?

Rain-Check

2006-06-20T00:13:00.000+03:00

I know I promised a post, but I'm tired. There will be a post tomorrow. It will deal with Shavuot and my search for new employment. I've been busy.

I Just Stuck Myself in the Palm with a Knife

2006-06-01T00:55:00.000+03:00

OK, so the title isn't really related to the post at all, but it just happened and I thought you should know.

Anyways....

I tend not to get political in this blog space, but I'm going to venture in that direction a little bit. I've been wondering about something and maybe somebody can figure it out for me. Basically, my question is: What happens when democracy goes wrong? What I mean by that is what happens a population democratically votes against peace and freedom? What if Iraq had elected a government whose platform included fighting off the American infidels and establishing an oppressive religious theocracy? They didn't. But what if they had? In the recent Palestinian elections, Hamas won a majority of the parliamentary seats. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, and continues to deny Israel's right to exist. Is this a win for democracy and freedom? Recently, the more moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, threatened Hamas that he would hold a national referendum to determine if the Palestinian people want a Palestinian state along side Israel (using the 1967 borders). Who knows if Israel would even go for this, but there is a more troubling question: What if the people vote against it? What if the Palestinian people vote against a two state solution and for the destruction of Israel?

Let's all give a big hip-hip hooray for democracy.

Joe Did Oato Did Joe (Dum Doo Doh Doh Doh Doh)

2006-05-30T07:57:00.000+03:00

The other evening Michelle and I were invited to an a cappella show in which one of our friends was performing (and the musical director). We both really enjoyed the show. For me, the show was also somewhat nostalgic. I was a proud member of Manginah, Brandeis’s co-ed Jewish a cappella group, for four years but have not sung in an organized capacity since then. I must admit that I miss it. The dohs, the jingas, the bow-wows. I miss them all. And don’t get me started on vocal percussion. I’ve recently started looking for a group to sing with so maybe I’ll reclaim my glory days and relive my recently departed youth. Maybe we’ll even take a world tour….of the east coast.

Like A Light Switch

2006-05-21T22:50:00.000+03:00

It's that time of year again. The Omer. The 49 days that are counted between the first night of Passover and Shavuot. During this time it is traditional not to do several things - at least during the first 32 days. You don't get married. You don't cut your hair. You don't shave. Tradition being what it is there are several variations regarding the degree to which you do not do these things. Normally I hold that it is acceptable to shave for Shabbat (you can ask me why later) however, this year the timing worked out that for the first two weeks of the Omer I didn't shave. I figured that if I was that far along, I might as well not shave at all. I was getting my Omer on. Then, on the 33rd day, I got it off.

Omer on.

Omer Off.

Part 2

2006-05-15T22:33:00.000+03:00

Every good writer occasionally needs a kick in the pants. I am proof that bad writers need them to sometimes. Yesterday my mother told me that the reason she enjoys Michelle’s blog more than mine (and subsequently posts more comments) is because Michelle’s posts are more interesting and provide more insight into our lives in Jerusalem. Mine are just rants about things that bug me. Anyways, now that my dream for a utopian blogging/commenting site has died I guess I might as well just post.

Several weeks ago an anonymous commenter said “which Sox should I follow?” This is an issue that I must immediately address. Being from Boston I have a “modest” passion for all Boston sports teams, most notably the Red Sox baseball team. These are the Sox that we should all follow and support. And such you should also hate the New York Yankees, their rivals.

On that subject I present this story for your amusement:

With an impending wedding, Michelle and I have decided that we need to get into shape. No point getting married if you can’t look fabulous doing it right? To further this endeavor we recently went to a local sporting goods store to purchase some light dumbbells. Inside the store I found a stand with several rows of baseball hats. For some reason (probably a Yankee fan’s doing) Yankee hats were on display in the front of 6 of these rows. Being a good Red Sox fan I promptly covered each Yankee hat with one of a different team. Michelle thought I was crazy.

Interlude

2006-05-01T12:38:00.000+03:00

Before I get to the second part of last week's post, I would like to direct your attention to the links at the side of the page - specifically to the link for the Kosher Blog. It was not until last week that I realized that due to a typographical error, the link actually pointed at the wrong site. The Kosher Blog is a great food site that I wholeheartedly support. If you enjoy Kosher food I'm sure you will too.

On Point Part 1

2006-04-28T16:32:00.000+03:00

Over the past few weeks I have been encouraging (ok, demanding) that people respond to my blogs by posting comments. My purpose for this obstinacy is to try to create a more interactive "community" of AdamArmy readers. Instead of me speaking and you all checking in on my life, I would like to engage in more of a two-way conversation.

In the spirit of comments I would like to take a look at some of the ones I have received.

First off, I would like to juxtapose the two comments on my last post. They both represent (in my opinion) reactions to my request for comments. To summarize, the first comment criticized me for demanding comments and said (in a joking tone) that if I blogged more frequently and about more interesting subjects I would stand a better chance of receiving feedback. The second comment inquired as to how I "broke" Passover (in a popular Italian restaurant near our apartment - not to exciting, but very tasty).

One post was negative. One post was constructive. My demands for comments is not forcing you to think of some response to my post (although they are always welcome). It is also your vehicle for digging a little deeper into my life. It gives you a modicum of control over the content of this blog. Unless I don't want to address your post. Then you're just plum out of luck

I was going to tell a story relating to a comment from several posts ago, but I think this post is long enough, so check back in the next day or two for part 2.

It Figures

2006-04-18T16:57:00.000+03:00

There is, roughly speaking, one day of Passover left (in Israel). And for that reason I did not buy the Kosher for Passover maple syrup or tomato sauce that I found in the supermarket. The deals off. No trade.

Also, to whomever left the inappropriate comment on my last post: Do it again and I'll simply remove the comment. People can have whatever opinions they want, but if you want to leave that opinion on my blog it must be substantiated. At the very least, it must relate to the post. And for the record, it is you who suck.

Pessach Ramblings

2006-04-14T17:58:00.000+03:00

First off I would like to thank everyone who commented on my last post. If you didn't comment last time don't fret, you can comment on this one.

Secondly, being in Israel I only had one Seder this year. Awesome.

What wasn't awesome was the difficulty I had of doing my Passover shopping this year. You would think that it's easier to find Kosher for Passover food in Israel, but it's just not true. At least not in the neighborhoods in which Michelle and I tend to shop. There was lots of non-Kosher for Passover food and the food that was Kosher seemed haphazardly placed throughout the supermarkets (we went to 2 different ones). To top it all off, there was no maple syrup, pancake mixes, or cake mixes. There wasn't even any tomato sauce (I had to buy tomato paste for making matza pizza). I guess because there are Kosher restaurants open the supermarkets figure you can just eat out. I guess next year I'll just have to shop in Meah Shearim (a super ultra-orthodox neighborhood).

So happy Passover to all of you in the states. Enjoy your Kosher for Passover supermarkets and aisles. Would you trade them for only one night of Seder and some Kosher restaurants?

Take 2

2006-04-10T15:19:00.000+03:00

OK. I thought we had a deal here people. I blog. You comment. It's pretty straightforward. On my last post I received comments from only two (wonderful) people. And one of them was just yelling at me to blog. Well, I'm sticking to my guns and from now on will not blog unless you guys hold up your end of the bargain. Besides, why the shyness? Would it help you to respond if I left questions to you in my posts?

How Time Flies

2006-04-04T20:15:00.000+03:00

Oh what difference a month makes. It seems like only yesterday my fingers were type type typing away, informing everyone of my new job and reflecting on my old one. In the spirit of a new baseball season (which began yesterday for Red Sox fans) I suggest we start with a clean slate and let bygones be bygones. We should squabble no more about who blogged when and who commented last, but rather stand united in our dream of another Red Sox championship and consistent blogging/commenting. With this noble ideal in mind, I will be the bigger person and take the first step towards making our dream a reality.

The last month has been a pretty eventful one. But before I get into all the details though let me shed some light on my new employment situation. I work for a start-up company by the name of Internet Traffic Solutions. We do internet marketing and I specifically work with web analytics and pay-per-click marketing campaigns. Because I don't really have much work experience, and virtually none in this field, I have been learning a ton. It really is a whole new world. One advantage I do have is that the web analytics is similar to research I conducted for my Master's degree. Basically, you have a bunch of data and you try to make sense of it. I can do that. There is also a fair amount of testing/research done in optimizing a web site's usability. And as we all know, a web site that is easier to use is going to be more profitable. It has also been really interesting to see the inner-workings of a start up. It's amazing how fluid and fast-paced the life of a new business is.

OK, I did my part. Now you all have to visit my site repeatedly and leave comments. Then I'll post again. I promise. Seriously. I already have the next post written.

Reflections On IDT

2006-03-03T00:18:00.000+02:00

It is now 2:30 in the morning and I am not at work. On a Thursday night no less (which is the beginning of the weekend in Israel). After working the overnight shift for slightly over two months it's somewhat of a relief to have a more standard schedule. It will be particularly nice tomorrow night on Shabbat. For the past two months I had to flip my schedule around and usually ended up somewhat dazed and incomprehensible by the end of dinner. It also made waking up for Shabbat morning services an adventure.

Now that I've finished at IDT I though it would be nice to share some of my thoughts about my time there:

First and foremost, I want to say that enjoyed my time at IDT. Despite the difficult hours, the atmosphere was great and comprised a diverse, fun group of people. The work wasn't overly stimulating, but it was my first experience with sales and I think I learned a reasonable amount in a short period of time. One thing about working for the AOL cancellation department - people keep calling. And while I didn't love being on the phones, I certainly didn't loathe each incoming call. Overall I was happy in my job and I certainly wasn't seriously looking for a position elsewhere.

Second, I think IDT offers an important service to the English speaking community of Israel (people travel for almost 3 hours each way to work there) and it's really a win-win situation. For the employees, IDT provides a job in English at a more than reasonable Israeli salary. In many cases these employees are new immigrants who lack the connections or language skills to land a job in their given profession. IDT provides them with an Aliyah "grace period" where they can acclimate to society and learn Hebrew without starving. Extensive research has proven that there is a high correlation between starvation and Yeridah (people leaving Israel). It's also beneficial for IDT (and companies that it outsources for) because it can employ over-qualified native English speakers for what amounts to a low wage by US standards.

Good for us. Good for them. But now on to bigger and better things.

My Kingdom For A Filing Cabinet

2006-02-27T05:00:00.000+02:00

I have never been a particularly organized person. I have also never had to pay bills before. Now that I'm becoming an uber-adult I thought that it would be helpful (i.e. that Michelle could help me) to organize all of my documents into a filing cabinet. Unfortunately, Israel didn't agree. Much to my dismay, when I went shopping today, I found it incredibly difficult to find a filing cabinet. And when I finally did find one (after searching like 20 million stores) it was ridiculously expensive. This explains so much about Israelis...except why they are such terrible drivers.

Growing Up

2006-02-26T06:26:00.000+02:00

Last Tuesday, I participated in a long standing tradition that marks my formal induction into adult society - I gave notice. Yep, as of next Tuesday night/Wednesday morning I will no longer be working for IDT. Instead, I'm going to trade the "D" for an "S," shift over the "T" and work for a new company by the name of ITS. While I genuinely enjoyed my time at IDT, the new job presents a great opportunity and it's a challenge that I am looking forward to. Real real world, here I come!

Check in soon for more news on the new job, reflections on my time at IDT, and exciting news about an army buddy.

In Case You Haven't Heard

2006-02-19T07:20:00.000+02:00

Michelle and I are engaged. This should come as no surprise to most of this blog's readers. But just in case you, or any of the North American Olim in Israel missed it, Nefesh B'Nefesh (an organization that helps Jews form North America make aliyah to Israel) chose to excerpt my marriage proposal from Michelle's blog to publish in their newsletter. I hope this doesn't count against my 15 minutes of fame. If it does, can I borrow some of yours?

Card Times

2006-02-08T01:18:00.000+02:00

The other day I received a birthday card from my family. It had taken a while to get to Israel and then I had to pick it up at the local post office. Why would I have to go pick up a birthday card you might ask. It's because this was one big birthday card. It had to be that big to contain all of the love that my family sent me. At least that was what the card said. When I was looking at the card I was trying to remember the last time my family had sent me one of the giant cards. I remembered being on Kibbutz, but I just couldn't place to occasion. Then it hit me. I received one for my birthday last year. It seems hard to believe that I've been in Israel for that long. For some reason two birthdays seems somehow substantial. That revelation plus the warm notes made me a little homesick. Thanks everyone for sharing your best wishes and love over the course of the last two months.

MVP

2006-01-29T19:25:00.000+02:00

I feel as if my posts have become boring of late. Yes, I can update everyone on some of the day-to-day events of my life, but where are the crazy anecdotes? Where is the witty commentary? The truth of the matter is that now that I am working odd hours, my life has pretty much settled down into a steady routine of work, sleep, talk about wedding, work more etc. I guess this is the "real world" that everybody is always talking about.

On the work front my training class had our "graduation" this past week. Basically what this means is that we start making our real salaries, receive our commissions, and need to screw up a whole lot more in order to get fired. One personal bright spot was during graduation when I was named the training class MVP for my training performance and helpfulness to others.

So that's about it for me right now. Work, sleep, and wedding. Life as normal. Oh yeah, and the Palestinians elected a recognized terrorist group that refuses to disarm and openly calls for the destruction of Israel as their political voice. Like I said, life as normal.

I'm Certifiable!

2006-01-17T10:31:00.000+02:00

During the training phase of my new job (which I am currently in) we learn the process that AOL wishes us to employ when we receive phone calls. At some point, everyone working on the project becomes certified in this technique and in doing so becomes eligible for additional bonuses. Also, if you don't get certified in a certain amount of time I'm pretty sure they fire you. Or at least yell a lot. In general, people graduate from the training program and become certified sometime within the first month or two. A select few become certified while still in the training phase, and ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that I am now one of the few, the proud, the certified. I'm also a marine. And that's really me in the commercial. I underwent a magical transformation and killed that beast thing in the volcano. But this whole being certified thing is even cooler.

Like Call Me OK?

2006-01-10T20:08:00.000+02:00

Ring ring......"Hello, this is Adam at America Online. I apologize if you had to wait on hold. What can I do for you today?" That would be what I would say....if I were me. That's right. My new job is working in an IDT (a large telecommunications company) callcenter doing outsourced customer service and billing for AOL. It's just my way of giving something back. And they pay pretty well. Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned, it's an overnight shift, 11 PM - 7 AM. Good times for the Adam-meister.

Not Good

2006-01-05T06:54:00.000+02:00

Israel Channel 1 has just reported that following a CT scan Sharon has been taken back into surgery. It doesn't take a degree in neuroscience to know that this is not a good sign.

Uh-Oh

2006-01-05T06:44:00.000+02:00

Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel has suffered from a sizable stroke. His doctor left the hospital refusing to comment. At 6:45 Israel news is going to broadcast a report on his condition. Sharon would almost surely have won the upcoming elections in March. Now the entire political situation in Israel is going to be thrown into a state of disarray. This is big. Real big.

She Won!

2006-01-01T06:51:00.000+02:00

I know that all of you want to know about my new job, but there is more important news that takes precedence, so you'll just have to wait.

Since the beginning of Hanukkah Michelle and I have been playing an neat little game that I encourage all of you to try. It bears a certain resemblance to the game con artists play in the subways of New York City. After candle lighting on the first night of Hanukkah I brought Michelle into my bedroom where eight identical ring boxes were lined up on the bed. The rules of the game were simple. Each night she would select one of the ring boxes. One of the boxes contained her engagement ring, while the others contained other various Hanukkah presents. I thought it would be a fun game. Thankfully Michelle did too. While she had "suffer" through other assorted (but still very nice) gifts the first three nights of Hanukkah, I am proud to report on the fourth night Michelle found the ring box she was really looking for. I got down on one knee, proposed, and she said yes. We are now engaged. We will be married. It's going to be an extremely happy new year. I wish you all the same.

Happy Birthday To Us All

2005-12-26T17:50:00.000+02:00

In honor of my birthday I have decided to give all of you a present. My new contact information. It's like a check. Only better.

Adam Shain
3a/14 Amatzia St.
Jerusalem 93148
Israel

And that's not all. I have a new phone number too:

02-563-3887 (011-972-2-563-3887 from the states)

Oh yeah. And I have internet now so I can blog more frequently.

And I have a job. Tune in for the details.

I'm a Jerusalem-ite!

2005-12-06T21:22:00.000+02:00

You would think that when a person is unemployed, he would have loads of time to blog. When you have nothing better to do blogging early and often doesn't seem like to much to ask. As it turns out, unemployment appears to elicit even more sporadic blogging from yours truly. This is because in my current unemployed state my schedule has become even less defined. Instead of taking advantage of my time to blog, I procrastinate, feeling secure in the knowledge that I will have plenty of time to blog tomorrow.

Well, tomorrow has finally come. And so has some big news.

I have an apartment. A really nice apartment. In Jerusalem. It's nice. Here is the story:

A week and a half ago I was looking for apartments and had already looked at two rather dingy, unattractive places when I arrived to view a third. My hopes were not high. The apartment was in an excellent neighborhood and was more modestly priced than the two other unacceptable apartments. Much to my surprise, the apartment was beautiful. It was recently renovated and was fully fully furnished (as opposed to the other apartments which were only partially furnished). I was amazed that the apartment was still available and offered to give the caretaker a deposit on the spot. She informed me that somebody else was supposed to bring a deposit but that if I brought her the money the next morning I could have the apartment. When I called the next morning to confirm our appointment, I was shocked to learn that the other perspective tenant was bringing the caretaker her deposit that day. She had seen the apartment first and therefore had the first option on the apartment. I was devastated. I sulked the entire weekend.

Finally, it was time to move on. I started looking at more apartments and eventually found one that was acceptable. It was smaller and a little farther than the "dream" apartment, but that dream had died. As I was preparing to drive down from Haifa to sign the lease I received a phonecall from the caretaker of the first apartment. The perspective tenant had been flaky. The apartment was mine if I wanted it. I did.

I finished moving all of my stuff in today. I am officially a Jerusalem-ite. Now all I have to do is unpack.

Figuring Things Out

2005-11-23T16:24:00.000+02:00

I am living in limbo. I have no home. I have no job. I play internet poker all day. Life could be worse. Until I find a job I'm living with my best friend Avi in Haifa. Other than the fact that I'm a little far from Michelle it's an almost perfect situation. In terms of work, I've been looking at a number of different business oriented opportunities in Jerusalem. I don't know exactly what I want to do, so I'm open to anything from sales, to marketing, to business development. Ideally, I would like to find a job in a business strategy consulting firm and would even consider commuting to Tel Aviv if the right opportunity presented itself. That basically wraps up what I do with my days. It's not so exciting. It's unemployment.

Same Blog Space, New Blog Name

2005-11-16T18:00:00.000+02:00

Until this blog gets a totally new title, it shall hereby be referred to as "Adam not in the army." I know that you're all stunned by my creativity, but if you can think of a better name post it as a comment. That way everyone can see the suggestions, vote on the one they like best, and I'll chose whichever one I want.

Happy Birthday Mom

2005-10-31T07:40:00.000+02:00

See above. My mom is great. I love her very much.

In Town When The Sox Win

2005-10-31T00:28:00.000+02:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's true. I was in town when the Sox won the world series. Of course the town was Chicago and the Sox were white. Not exactly last year in Boston but I guess beggars can't be choosers. Anyways, my time in Chicago was great, although the Sox winning really didn't make much of an impact. Just like if I had been in Boston last year. Not.

Bus Ride From Hell

2005-10-27T01:23:00.000+02:00

Today I ended the Wisconsin portion of my trip when Michelle and I took a shuttle from Milwaukee to O'Hare airport in Chicago. Michelle was to fly back to Israel and I was being picked up by my aunt. Everything was going fine until the bus started leaning to one side. The bus driver pulled over to the side of the road and re-inflated the bus (think hydraulics here people). After continuing for a few bouncy miles the bus driver pulled over again. The bus would go no further. We sat on the side of the road for the next 45 minutes as everyone wondered if they would make their flights or not (except me). Finally, after transferring busses and sitting in traffic we arrive at the airport an hour and a half late. Michelle didn't miss her flight. She is still in the air. That's why I get to blog about our crappy bus ride and she doesn't.