Planes, trains, and automobiles

By Dnoll
Actually, there aren't any planes or trains on my mind now, just cars or to be more specific, Drivers licenses. We had to go to the Misrad ha Rishoui to try, once again, to get our drivers licenses going. This was the third time we had been there. It is in Haifa, a 30 minute drive for us, and the first time we went we forgot our Todat Oley (New Immigrant Passport) and had to turn around. Adele and I got a little divorce on the ride home but made up later. the second time we went they told us that we didn't need to be there yet and told us we needed to get some paper work started and to go to an optometrists office in a nearby mall (we call the mall "Scud Mall" because Saddam shot one at it while it was still under construction during the gulf war. on the way to the Scud Mall we had another little divorce but made up in the mall by forgetting all our little problems by, yes you guessed it, shopping. after we waited in line for almost an hour we got into the optometrists office and got the Tofus, (official paper work? sounds like soy bean curd to me). we got the eye exam in the same office, conveniently, and then we had to go to our Kupat Holim (Socialized Medicine Doctors Office) to get a medical checkup. so, now that we had the paperwork all filled out and our Tudat Oley in hand we were going to get it done, (I said "were", didn't I?) at the Misrad ha Rishui we were told that Since Adele had her drivers license stolen last Summer and the replacement didn't have the right date she now needs to deal with the DMV in Colorado to get the right paper work from the States before she can get her drivers license here. after the adjustments that this balagan made are completed (cross your fingers) she will need to make another trip to the Misrad Ha Rishoui and the next step is two or three drivers lessons and a driving test, ( not written, driven) to then get licenses. Yaay! Or should I just say Oyy! I guess they figure that if you can get through all the hoops to get a license you can't help but be ready for the Indie 500 and that is what it is here sometimes on the roads. Once again I am going to shout out about how I DONT HAVE TO DRIVE TO WORK! 5 or 10 minute walk, right from my house. That is definitely a YAAY! Today we decided to look at the dreaded budget. we entered all the credits and debts, or should I say pros and cons and (assuming we didn't forget something) at the bottom we found that if we don't spend anything on any superfluous items we may have about n's2000 ($458 at today's exchange rate) at the end of the month to put into an account that we can use for saving, going out, or maybe travel! Hey, maybe on a plane or a train! You know how that stuff works, we shall see... Josh got into a big brawl at school. he was tired, from setting his alarm early in the morning to watch BobSpog (Sponge Bob) and got into a scuffle with one of his friends, who had some other friends who decided to pound Josh. the two kids had to be held apart by each's respected friends and they all worked it out after a meeting with the secretary that day and the teacher the next. I guess they are all friends again now. Maybe it is a Middle Eastern hot head thing or maybe it is a Josh thing. Probably both. Josh is also changing big time now. Don't tell anyone but,... he kissed a girl for the first time (I think) at a little Bat Mitzvah party. He was so funny when he came home. He wanted to know about how it was for me when I was young but didn't want to give me any information about why he was asking. When it got pretty suspicious he just said that he needed to talk to his big brother first. Cute, cute, cute! All I heard Zach say was "you beat me by three years!" now I can say - OYY VA VOYY! With good reason. Zach had his little party that I wrote about last time and it seemed to go quite well for him. We were told by all the (Originally) Americans here that we needed to stay in the house, check up on him occasionally or just worry about it. We were told by all the Israelis that we should not worry about it for a second, that we should trust him and to give him some space. We, as responsible parents tried to do both. We left the house while they had the party and then we came back home about a half of an hour before we said we would. They were all sitting properly on the couch in the living room drinking soda and tea and having lovely little conversations! For the rest of the night until about 2:30 they were all very quite and eventually all fell asleep. In the morning we discovered that 7 or 8 people had slept over and they all were very polite, thanking us for the party multiple times before they left at about noon. Different world here. Zach was very industrious and cleaned up most of the mess and also thanked both his Mom and I many times for a very successful little party. He is a really nice kid. We are very impressed by his ability to blend into a new world here so quickly. Many blessings to you all and to wrap it all up for today, If you actively think of life as being too short, it may actually feel just right. Notice everything you can and think about what you noticed at least one more time. And... Always Love yourself.
Love from the Holy Land,
Drew.

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