22 Days: Sure Fire Litmus Test

I’m making this quick. What a friggin’ day.

Yesterday’s job interview was not a job interview but a bizarre, “maybe you can kind of sell our services on a casual basis…”

Today I had a wine tasting in Petah Tikvah, a kind of farther off suburb, which in Tel Aviv terms is really really really far. It took me over an hour to get there, the wine shop tells me I’m an hour and a half early, proceed to tell me to take a walk and come back. For the love of pete! And here it is:

I walked around this crumbly old town for over 20 minutes without finding one single coffee shop. Not one. Not even a restaurant that makes coffee. Nada. A few kiosks. Lottery ticket booths. A couple of hummus and falafel joints. Nothing that resembled civilization. No place for a quiet cup a joe. And this is Israel. A cafe society. You can’t walk around Tel Aviv without finding one!

The tasting ended up being a complete dud, too. No takers. The worst tasting ever. It was a Russian-run store, and everyone who walked in bought cheap vodka, cheaper beer, or cigarettes…many people buying a couple of loose cigarettes.

So now I know. You enter a random town. Seems like a decent place. Good veg market. Nice residential areas. But there are no cafes. It ain’t a place you wanna spend any time.

No coffee = no culture.

23 Days: Go go Gadget gumption!

gump·tion (gmpshn)
n. Informal
1. Boldness of enterprise; initiative or aggressiveness.
2. Guts; spunk.
3. Common sense.

I have a job interview of sorts today.  It came about casually.  Met “the boss” at a BNI (business networking) meeting last week, and he kind of loved me, wrote notes to me during the meeting, told me he could probably help me out, that sort of thing.  It’s an insurance company for travelers, both in Israel and abroad, mainly specializing in health care.  And it’s a big company.  A good one.  I’ve bought from them before.  Last week, in fact.  Renters’ Insurance.  So…why do I feel nervous?  I tried to confirm the interview by emailing him politely. Never responded.  Yes, it’s Israel.  I saw him write the appointment in his diary when I was with him, so, like, I should just show up, right?  And who knows if there is an actual job for me…it could be an informational thing…or a nicety.  He made it seem like he doesn’t like some person who is working for him now is some position, and wouldn’t I like to take her place….whatever.

I’m going to shower.  I’m going to dress well.  I’m going to get there early.  I’m going to eat something for breakfast.

And then it will happen.

And afterward, I go for Chinese medicine and acupuncture!  Hoorah!  I love those days.  I only wish my income was more stable because every time I do something like this…acupuncture, see my therapist, it’s hard for me to really enjoy it because I wonder how much longer I’ll be able to afford it, or whether or not I’m already going into debt over it.  These are currenly quite necessary expenses for me…so maybe I’ll just really go for that job today.  Who knows?  It could be the best thing to ever happen to me.

Until I get the book published, that is.  Time to grow some balls, darlin’!

Enjoy this video that never ever fails to make me smile (it may not let me embed, but go to the link!)…Good day to you all!

25 Days: Productivity plus a lot to snicker about!

Yes! I had a good day. It was the day and it was done! I made lots of phone calls and ran errands and went all over town and applied for jobs and even, yes, even worked on editing my manuscript! Glory Hallelujah!

And guess what. Tomorrow will be the day again. All over again. But better. Hooray!

But now onto some hilarious news and stuff I’ve dug up from the web.

• The security of the new head of MI6, Sir John Sawers, has been compromised.  How?  His wife posted all sorts of family photos, vacation photos, and pics of their friends, revealed the location of their home, their kids’ whereabouts, etc, etc, etc…on Facebook!  With no privacy settings in place!  Hardy, har, har.  Way embarrassing.  Read on…
• My male cat, the one who somehow “fell out” of a 4th floor window, got checked out at the vet’s today.  He seems normal, maybe a little bit more fussy than usual except…he’s got anal leakage.  Yeah.  Nasty.  You don’t need the long story…he’s gonna be fine, for sure.  But I learned today what his real weight is.  And it’s scary.  I thought, sure, he’s over 5 kilos, maybe close to 6…  My big fat cat weights 7.6 kilos.  On an empty stomach in the morning.  That’s 16.72 lbs!!! As soon as he’s healthy, he’s going on a strict vet-prescribed diet.  Period.  No diabetic cats will be created under my roof, no sirree bob!
• I’m always interested in the bizarre ways people find my odd anonymous personal blog.  One of the big search triggers is “Pompeii,” seeing as I wrote a decent post with lots of raunchy photos from my visit there.  Often people search for sex in Pompeii or Pompeii brothels.  Well, today, I found something so hilarious, it’s almost touching.  Real graffiti from Pompeii.  Not kidding.  People never change.  Seriously.  A couple thousand years, and it’s all the same.  A few choice samples:

Restitutus says: “Restituta, take off your tunic, please, and show us your hairy privates”

Amplicatus, I know that Icarus is buggering you.  Salvius wrote this

The one who buggers a fire burns his penis

Lesbianus, you defecate and you write, ‘Hello, everyone!’

Floronius, privileged soldier of the 7^th legion, was here.  The women did not know of his presence.  Only six women came to know, too few for such a stallion.

Theophilus, don’t perform oral sex on girls against the city wall like a dog

Defecator, may everything turn out okay so that you can leave this place

I have buggered men

It took 640 paces to walk back and forth between here and there ten times

I don’t want to sell my husband, not for all the gold in the world

So…do go read all of them, will you?  I’m not pulling your leg.  They’re all real.  Archaeologically documented and everything.  Dirty macho bragging graffiti as science, art, and a piece of history.  Fits, doesn’t it?  The best place an archaeologist can find info on a long-gone society is in its trash heap.