Bucking Broncos, et al.

Let's just say that I pulled myself away from the Internet radio broadcast and went to sleep mid-way through the 2nd quarter the other night, and it's a decision I don't regret. I'll admit, I did wake up occasionally over the course of the night, imagining a miraculous comeback and another unbelievably sweet, utterly undeserved victory. But it was not meant to be. Now what am I looking forward to? Next Sunday night's game against the Redskins. It will be on TV. At 4am. Horse shit.

As I was walking to Ulpan today, I discovered horse shit on the sidewalk. And it wasn't in a neat and tidy pile either. It looked as though several people had tracked through it, and to be honest, it didn't appear to be particularly fresh. And this isn't the first time this has happened, either. This brings me to an issue that should get much more press than it does in Israel and abroad: Shit all over the sidewalk. It's literally everywhere in this country. I imagine that American cities had a similar problem until fairly recently, when cities began enforcing strict fines for not curbing dogs. Either this concept hasn't yet arrived here, or no one cares about having shitty shoes all the time, but it's really getting on my nerves. I mean, walking at night on the sidewalk is a scary thing. I'm considering starting a grass-roots campaign. Okay, glad to have gotten that off my chest.

Another thing that's bugging me has nothing to do with Israel. What's the deal with this Alito nomination? It's all been said already. The President missing a great opportunity to unite with a moderate, the impending nuclear option debate, the real possibility that this could hamper a woman's right to choose in the near future. It goes on. So though I have nothing to add to the debate this minute, I just shake my head from afar about the whole thing. But for the good news, we're going to spend $7.2 billion dollars to fight the pandemic that may or may not come. And if you don't want to hunt down pandemics and kill them where they live and breed, then truly you hate freedom.

I've been on a bit of a seesaw in terms of finding a job here. Before I got here, I was told that I wouldn't need a work visa or citizenship to work here. I've learned, however, that a work permit is generally required by law-abiding employers and regulators tend to frown upon illegal workers. Then I also was told that acquiring a work visa was a difficult process, almost impossible for someone like myself looking for part-time work. Then I learned that getting a work visa is actually pretty easy, so long as your employer is willing to write a short letter to the appropriate government official. So as of now I'm actively looking for work. I have some good leads, and hope to be settled on something by early next week. It should be just in time to learn that the office that handles foreign work visas will be closed until February for renovations or something unfortunate like that.

On a more positive note, Annie started working this week. On an altogether neutral note, I really should get around to cutting my hair. On a less positive note, I can't seem to find blueberries in this country. Okay, I did find a bush not far from our place with berries that looked like blueberries, but I was afraid that they were poison. If I ate one poisonous berry, I'd probably live, right?