Beloved

I've been on a Shablool kick today, specifically the song Ma She'Yoter Amok Yoter Kachol (Whatever's Deeper Is More Blue). It's one of those songs you can just dance to in front of your mirror, perhaps with a hair brush in hand. Or while jumping on the bed. Or any other cliche activities that people perform while listening to awesome songs (driving with your hand out the window? standing outside of someone's window with a boombox over your head?).

My favorite video version is this one, because you can see my neighborhood in the distance, and Tel Aviv looked SO SHITTY when this video was made. Cracks me up. Just a bunch o' sand and dilapidated buildings. AMAZING. I think Arik is running around the beach I usually go to, which rules. One day, I will see him in Tel Aviv! He is the ultimate celeb sighting. And one day, Tel Aviv will look like this again, and I won't have to worry about people in huge skyscrapers staring at me while I sit on my balcony.
Here's the vid:

Unfortunately, the audio ain't too good on the Shitty Tel Aviv vid, so here's a better version:


<3

Arik is my favorite!*

*Except for when he sings cheesy, sentimental songs like Oof Gozal.

Look at Me, Busy as a Bee...

Damn, I am beginning to understand Israelis' obsession with New Age shit (yes, I am aware that I am Israeli and have always been into New Age shit, but let's just pretend I'm more of a foreigner than I really am and that the New Ageyness of Israelis is new to me).

It's just that you really have to be fucking zen to get through a day in Tel Aviv. Every day, I meet so many people I want to scream at, but I restrain myself. Like the scary frazzled woman on the bus today who was putting her bare feet on the seat in front of me. Or 99% of bus drivers. Well, okay, I guess my frustrations, as usual, mostly have to do with the bus, but ya know.

Thank God I do yoga. (I say this while dressed in full yoga gear even though I decided NOT to go to yoga after I put all my yoga clothes on. Instead I watched TV.)

And to think how much calmer I am now than I was when I first got here. (Did you know I've almost been here 1 year? OMG.) I was basically hyperventilating/crying every 2 secs 10 months ago, runnin round like a chicken with its head cut off.

Despite my current semi-calmness, I don't understand how I'm this exhausted every day simply from riding the bus, sitting in a cubicle, and riding the bus again. How does that tire a person so much? It just ain't right.

Maybe I should start doing meth?

Then I could be like this chipper young woman:



Hah, that never fails to crack me up.

Balloon Boys: What a Hoax!

I just got back from the Rabin rememberance rally. Never before have I seen so many 14-year-olds with Peace Now stickers! I felt like an alcoholic on Mardi Gras, like this is the one day a year when MY WAY is socially acceptable. Suddenly everyone was a leftist! People were signing up left and right for the Peace Now listserv. What is the deal?

And the 14-year-olds, oh the 14-year-olds. They really wanted our Peace Now balloons and would not shut up about them. "Can I have a balloon?" "No." "What if I sit here all evening? Can I get the balloon then?" "No, honey, but don't worry, there are lots of balloons out there that you can have in the future. Life is long." "But I want the balloon. Promise me you won't give the balloon to anyone else." "No."

Jeez Louise! The teens need to tone it down with the balloon-wanting!

Anyways, the rally felt self-congratulatory and fauxgressive. I mean, what was Ehud Barak doing there?! This event was as filled with hot air as our coveted Peace Now balloons.

In His Brain, There Are File Cabinets, and Secretaries Filing Their Nails... Downstairs

The other day, I was sitting around capitalizing words and changing verb tenses (probably) at work, when suddenly, I felt intense pain in my chest and stomach. Ouchies. I decided to take a cab home even though it cost 50 sheks, and the entire traffic-ridden way home I writhed in pain in the back seat. I dunno why my body hurt. It is a mystery. Waaaah.

While in pain in a cab, I heard an Israeli song on the radio that is totes trying to be Of Montreal circa Coquelicot.

This thing:



Is like that thing:



But not as good, obviously.