Cold December Rain

I would rather walk home in the winter rain than take the wet, odorous bus. The only major thing to watch out for, other than cars that can't brake in time, deep puddles, mud, and dropping your gloves when you reach into your pocket for a tissue, is walking too close to the curb. The image will forever stay etched in my mind - my close friend (who now lives in Smogville) was waiting for the green man to light up before the green bus passed and sent a tidal wave in her direction. It was a smiling happy waving friend closely followed by the classic "Home Alone"/Edvard Munch's "Scream".
Happy Winter!

What's the Rush?

I have some of my most profound thoughts while waiting for the green walking man.
Before I left the US to come on aliyah, I made it a point to not get annoyed with traffic and chose not to read newspapers. I felt that there must have been a reason for the delay and getting road rage was not going to solve it. The papers generally featured old bad news so I didn't put it on my reading list. Now I avoid jaywalking, especially when the brightly-vested are around, and scan the articles in order to move on to the puzzles page.
Happy Torch Lighting by firetruck or crane.

Nightscapes and Dreammares

Wild and crazy dreams. That's what happens when you sleep in a room with the heat turned up. It sets the stage for a fever-like evening of vivid sleep journeys. Then when you wake, you travel to the beaucratic land of 'mares: the income tax office. Did you know that there are 3 branches in Jerusalem and they have assigned themselves numbers. What they forgot to do was tell the public. And so we went to one branch and since the one we needed was not so far away; we walked it. After a bit of finding-the-right-floor, we obediently took a number (as though we were at the deli counter back in Jersey). At a certain point the red LCD went BACKWARDS. That my friend is how you know that you are in the right place.
All in all it was a worthwhile visit because the amount we owed, was in fact their error. In 2 weeks we should be rather wealthy or at least break even.

Factoid: The guy who discovered/invented X-Rays was named Roentgen. Doesn't your whole world just fall into place?

A Season

This time of year, when the real grass smells green and the fake grass needs no water; visit the circle at Hizkiyahu HaMelech for the latter. Autumn leaves have fallen yet no New England foliage preceded this event. There is the well-known PC desktop picture of Autumn, bright orange dressed trees lining a road. It makes me think of Unami Park and the swings that helped you fly into the treetops, if you pumped your legs hard enough. And when I learned to ride a bike, small, low to the ground and yellow and black. And while we are on the subject of glorious colors, check out this site, a bit of color synesthesia for you?

Stream of Consciousness

What happened to Wednesday? Was the weather cancelled? Or postponed? Was it forecast and then cast away? MrHawaiianShirt and I watch Heroes, an interesting series brought to us by the world of television downloads. There is bending of space and time, alter egos, brain-hungry bad guys, and those gifted with speedy cell regeneration. There is a book of scientific theories, an ethnic mix of cultural references, mind-reading, and 2 interracial couples. Why mention the latter? Click.