The big gossip is that on Sunday I started another job! I am still keeping this one but now I work at a "real job" in the afternoon. When you have another job to challenge and stimulate you, it is really not bad to have a second job where you can do nothing. It works out very nicely- in the morning I read all my emails and do all the things I need to get done for myself, and in the afternoon I go on to the next place and actually work!
My big mission today was creating a detailed shopping list (or wish list) of things I want from America. My mother is flying there on Sat. night. I made a very nice chart broken down by store and even included pictures of some of the items.
I am also in the middle of researching cameras since I have yet to replace mine, which broke on a jeeping trip in Turkey (how cool do I sound?). The prices have really come down so I hope I can find a good deal for minimum dollars.
Since it is Channuka, a few people are on vacation and I had the office to myself for about a half hour this morning. That gave me just enough time to read the paper (for some reason we get it delivered everyday) and drink my coffee. Not a bad way to start the day.
Now it is time for lunch and then I am off! Have a good day.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Wake up and smell the donuts
Mmmm. The smell of donuts/sufganiyot. Today one of the boss people brought in fancy sufganiyot. They were really good! All different types- chocolate spread, halva, sprinkles. Israel has really gotten fancy with their donuts. I remember the days when you could only get jelly filling.
I realized that I have been promoting lots of sites- but I have yet to promote my own! So here is a link to my 3d animation video which I did as a final project in a class I took. Link. Worth seeing, if I do say so myself.
Another website that is a great find (courtesy of my father) is points.com. Apparently you can redeem frequent flier miles for gift certificates to clothing stores!
It is nice that people post a million pictures on facebook. One can waste quite a bit of time by flipping through everyone's party photos.
In case you didn't notice, today I worked the afternoon shift, which does have some advantages. By 4 or 5 everyone is pretty much gone so today I came prepared- I brought a book! Nothing like good old fashion entertainment.
I realized that I have been promoting lots of sites- but I have yet to promote my own! So here is a link to my 3d animation video which I did as a final project in a class I took. Link. Worth seeing, if I do say so myself.
Another website that is a great find (courtesy of my father) is points.com. Apparently you can redeem frequent flier miles for gift certificates to clothing stores!
It is nice that people post a million pictures on facebook. One can waste quite a bit of time by flipping through everyone's party photos.
In case you didn't notice, today I worked the afternoon shift, which does have some advantages. By 4 or 5 everyone is pretty much gone so today I came prepared- I brought a book! Nothing like good old fashion entertainment.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
New week
In case you missed it, a new week has begun. It is kind of sad to work on Channuka but in the real world very few places are going to give you off of work for eight days.
In the spirit of the holidays my uncle sent me this link: Senator Orrin Hatches a Hannukah Song. It seems that ever since Adam Sandler's Channuka Song it has become quite popular to write holiday songs. This link then led to another click- tabletmag.com. It is actually a very interesting magazine. I am happy to have another site to read on these long mornings.
And, since it is the holiday of presents, I did some online shopping at Old Navy. They are giving 20% off right now without requiring a minimum purchase- very rare for them so take advantage!
It takes a bit of dedication to keep up with all the events happening this week. I think I have it under control -not that I am necessarily going to everything, but at least I am aware and informed! I wonder how people who don't have spare time manage to know these things.
I came across a cute article about the Orbaum triplets: article. For anyone who has lived in Israel over 7 years, you probably read Sam Orbaum z"l's column in the Jerusalem Post, or maybe even his book. It is nice to hear how the girls are doing since we all had front seats to their childhood antics.
That pretty much sums up my morning. However, the day is much longer than the morning!
In the spirit of the holidays my uncle sent me this link: Senator Orrin Hatches a Hannukah Song. It seems that ever since Adam Sandler's Channuka Song it has become quite popular to write holiday songs. This link then led to another click- tabletmag.com. It is actually a very interesting magazine. I am happy to have another site to read on these long mornings.
And, since it is the holiday of presents, I did some online shopping at Old Navy. They are giving 20% off right now without requiring a minimum purchase- very rare for them so take advantage!
It takes a bit of dedication to keep up with all the events happening this week. I think I have it under control -not that I am necessarily going to everything, but at least I am aware and informed! I wonder how people who don't have spare time manage to know these things.
I came across a cute article about the Orbaum triplets: article. For anyone who has lived in Israel over 7 years, you probably read Sam Orbaum z"l's column in the Jerusalem Post, or maybe even his book. It is nice to hear how the girls are doing since we all had front seats to their childhood antics.
That pretty much sums up my morning. However, the day is much longer than the morning!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
I'm so excited...and I just can't hide it!
Awesome day! And the cherry on top is that things maybe changing with this work situation but I don't want to jinx it so you will have to stay tuned....
Besides that, I got money back from Snapfish! If you are keeping up with my blog you know that I made a photobook on snapfish only to discover that their discounts only work on the first 20 pages of the book. I wrote them a letter explaining why this is ridiculous- I could just make 2 books of 20 pages each instead of one book of 40 and get the discount- but it is a hassle for me and costs more for them. They agreed and credited me with the money..so I graciously took the customer satisfaction survey that they sent.
I spoke to my friendly neighborhood banker (end of the year and all that) and spent time looking at pictures on facebook and wishing all the birthday kids a happy birthday (why are so many people born on the 10th??).
Courtesy of my sister, who got this from someones facebook stat, I played the absolutely most ingenious games. The site is called "Can't you see I'm busy??" and is made specifically for people like me! They have games that, to the person passing by your desk, look like you are doing work when really you are playing. My favorite is a game in the bejeweled style (deleting same colors to clear the board) that is embedded in a PowerPoint slide! I think I should go work for them!
Then I took my slackeresness to a new level. I actually left the building to do an errand. Granted I was only gone 10 minutes (well 7 minutes if you want to be exact) but it feels so much more naughty than playing games at your desk.
I also dabbled in some semi- illegal activity of the downloading nature but no need to expand upon that!
I did a bit more scoping out of chamshushalayim activities so we have a fully packed night ahead of us. I am meeting a friend after I get out of this place and then, after the gym, the chamshushalayim celebrations will began....and won't end until 2 am!
Have a party filled weekend!
Besides that, I got money back from Snapfish! If you are keeping up with my blog you know that I made a photobook on snapfish only to discover that their discounts only work on the first 20 pages of the book. I wrote them a letter explaining why this is ridiculous- I could just make 2 books of 20 pages each instead of one book of 40 and get the discount- but it is a hassle for me and costs more for them. They agreed and credited me with the money..so I graciously took the customer satisfaction survey that they sent.
I spoke to my friendly neighborhood banker (end of the year and all that) and spent time looking at pictures on facebook and wishing all the birthday kids a happy birthday (why are so many people born on the 10th??).
Courtesy of my sister, who got this from someones facebook stat, I played the absolutely most ingenious games. The site is called "Can't you see I'm busy??" and is made specifically for people like me! They have games that, to the person passing by your desk, look like you are doing work when really you are playing. My favorite is a game in the bejeweled style (deleting same colors to clear the board) that is embedded in a PowerPoint slide! I think I should go work for them!
Then I took my slackeresness to a new level. I actually left the building to do an errand. Granted I was only gone 10 minutes (well 7 minutes if you want to be exact) but it feels so much more naughty than playing games at your desk.
I also dabbled in some semi- illegal activity of the downloading nature but no need to expand upon that!
I did a bit more scoping out of chamshushalayim activities so we have a fully packed night ahead of us. I am meeting a friend after I get out of this place and then, after the gym, the chamshushalayim celebrations will began....and won't end until 2 am!
Have a party filled weekend!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Only Wed??
Wow today was a slow one.
If you are looking for a job I have become a semi expert. I think I checked out 5 sites today. I read the nefesh bnefesh guide to employment and all their advice on different careers. I visited tons of links and checked out different jobs. Of course, I am not actively looking :)
I got so bored, I resorted to games. Yes, I am a bejeweled champion. Also movie quizzes and some shopping help the time past.
I chatted quite a while on gchat and was informed that, once again, our Wednesday Tiyul was cancelled (this time bad health). About 20 minutes later I was offered a babysitting job for the afternoon so I took it.
I went through a bunch of papers that I had brought with me. Bills and forms and faxes and maps and recipes. Orginazation is always more fun on someone else's watch.
That about did it for my exciting morning.
If you are looking for a job I have become a semi expert. I think I checked out 5 sites today. I read the nefesh bnefesh guide to employment and all their advice on different careers. I visited tons of links and checked out different jobs. Of course, I am not actively looking :)
I got so bored, I resorted to games. Yes, I am a bejeweled champion. Also movie quizzes and some shopping help the time past.
I chatted quite a while on gchat and was informed that, once again, our Wednesday Tiyul was cancelled (this time bad health). About 20 minutes later I was offered a babysitting job for the afternoon so I took it.
I went through a bunch of papers that I had brought with me. Bills and forms and faxes and maps and recipes. Orginazation is always more fun on someone else's watch.
That about did it for my exciting morning.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Planning stage
Today will more than make up for yesterday. One person away at the dentist and one on her day off= lots of undisturbed free time!
Once again, I researched all the things Chamshushalayim has to offer for this upcoming weekend. I made reservations for Thursday night at the Herzel Museum, which is one of the few places I have yet to visit. They must be filling up fast because the earliest tour she had to offer was 11:30 pm.
I am also planning our famous "Wednesday Tiyul". I had thought about going to Mazkeret Batya because I read about it in a tourism article on ynet. However, it seems the museum is only open on weekdays until 1:30 pm which is to early for us. So this one will have to wait for a Friday or real day off. By the way, they have a great website and quite a bit to do so it is worth checking out.
I emailed snapfish customer service about their stupidity. They have a ridiculous policy for sales on photobooks. They only give give discounts on only the first 20 pages but I want to print a book that is about 50 pages. With the current promo (35% off) I can only get $7 off because it is only for the first 20 pages. So I will split the book in two and order 2 books of about 25 pages each and get $7 off on each (I have done this in the past). I think this is insane because it costs snapfish more (they have to make 2 books instead of one) and is a huge hassle for me. All I want is one book but in order to get sales I have to make two!
Then there was the matter of jobs. I found something of interest for my sister and helped her write a response. That is my other "hat"- a job agency.
Now we are working on a shopping list for when I leave work. That is the great thing about email/chat and the great thing about working near the shuk!
Once again, I researched all the things Chamshushalayim has to offer for this upcoming weekend. I made reservations for Thursday night at the Herzel Museum, which is one of the few places I have yet to visit. They must be filling up fast because the earliest tour she had to offer was 11:30 pm.
I am also planning our famous "Wednesday Tiyul". I had thought about going to Mazkeret Batya because I read about it in a tourism article on ynet. However, it seems the museum is only open on weekdays until 1:30 pm which is to early for us. So this one will have to wait for a Friday or real day off. By the way, they have a great website and quite a bit to do so it is worth checking out.
I emailed snapfish customer service about their stupidity. They have a ridiculous policy for sales on photobooks. They only give give discounts on only the first 20 pages but I want to print a book that is about 50 pages. With the current promo (35% off) I can only get $7 off because it is only for the first 20 pages. So I will split the book in two and order 2 books of about 25 pages each and get $7 off on each (I have done this in the past). I think this is insane because it costs snapfish more (they have to make 2 books instead of one) and is a huge hassle for me. All I want is one book but in order to get sales I have to make two!
Then there was the matter of jobs. I found something of interest for my sister and helped her write a response. That is my other "hat"- a job agency.
Now we are working on a shopping list for when I leave work. That is the great thing about email/chat and the great thing about working near the shuk!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Slow going
Today was one of those annoying, useless days. My computer was not cooperating. Talk about slowwwwwwwwwww. Slow as molasses. Slow as traffic in Jerusalem. Slow as the light rail progress. Slow as progress towards the weekend. Slow.
Crash. Restart. Repeat.
Needless to say, I didn't get much done today (not that anyone notice since I didn't have any work work to do).
About my only success was printing out some long term paper for my sister. And eavesdropping on my boss who spent the ENTIRE morning on the phone. Apparently she is trying for a new record because she is still on the phone. At times she was even on two phones which I guess takes a certain talent. In case you were wondering, NONE OF IT was work related.
Of course the other secretary didn't even try to disguise her activities. She went shopping. Yes, shopping. Though I don't hold it against her because she generally does more work than anyone else here (besides maybe the accounting department).
All in all a wastefully facebook kind of day.
Crash. Restart. Repeat.
Needless to say, I didn't get much done today (not that anyone notice since I didn't have any work work to do).
About my only success was printing out some long term paper for my sister. And eavesdropping on my boss who spent the ENTIRE morning on the phone. Apparently she is trying for a new record because she is still on the phone. At times she was even on two phones which I guess takes a certain talent. In case you were wondering, NONE OF IT was work related.
Of course the other secretary didn't even try to disguise her activities. She went shopping. Yes, shopping. Though I don't hold it against her because she generally does more work than anyone else here (besides maybe the accounting department).
All in all a wastefully facebook kind of day.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Multi-task your way to riches
A new week has begun. Joy (insert sarcasm here). I only hope I can make it a lucrative one.
Began the morning with the usual emails, facebook, online sales, and skimming the new jobs out there (I am not actively looking but it can never hurt to be aware of what your options are).
I took a very interesting survey regarding the Jerusalem light rail. If you have lived in Jerusalem for over two years and are fluent in Hebrew, fill it out here. I think it is pretty obvious that most people who have lived in Jerusalem over the past two years are not huge fans of this project.
The highlight of my morning was earning some extra cash by doing a freelance translation for a former boss (Hebrew to English). This is what boring jobs are all about.
Also made some annoying phone calls (like to my school where the guy seems incapable of sending a stupid receipt). All in all, not a bad start to the week.
Began the morning with the usual emails, facebook, online sales, and skimming the new jobs out there (I am not actively looking but it can never hurt to be aware of what your options are).
I took a very interesting survey regarding the Jerusalem light rail. If you have lived in Jerusalem for over two years and are fluent in Hebrew, fill it out here. I think it is pretty obvious that most people who have lived in Jerusalem over the past two years are not huge fans of this project.
The highlight of my morning was earning some extra cash by doing a freelance translation for a former boss (Hebrew to English). This is what boring jobs are all about.
Also made some annoying phone calls (like to my school where the guy seems incapable of sending a stupid receipt). All in all, not a bad start to the week.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The internet is a wonderful tool
Today was spent on the internet.
1. Finding math games for my mother to use in school. I was not too successful. Most of the games are pretty boring!
2. Looking up all the resturants that have specials for tonight in honor of chamshushalayim. I think the final decision is "Kadosh" which I have never been to. This seems like a good oppurtunity to try something new.
3. Reading online news. Ynet has some good tourism articles about things in Israel. One I really liked is: article it has some ppossibilites for future Wed. trips.
4. Picking out a movie to see this afternoon. My friend has discount coupons so we will be seeing "My Sister's Keeper". I read the book so it will be interesting to compare with the movie.
5. Sharing some of the albums I uploaded on snapfish (emailed the links etc.) and checking out the sale of the day (buy one get one free on mugs. no thanks). No, I am not obsessed with snapfish! From the amount of advertising I give them you would think I work for them!
Have a great weekend!
1. Finding math games for my mother to use in school. I was not too successful. Most of the games are pretty boring!
2. Looking up all the resturants that have specials for tonight in honor of chamshushalayim. I think the final decision is "Kadosh" which I have never been to. This seems like a good oppurtunity to try something new.
3. Reading online news. Ynet has some good tourism articles about things in Israel. One I really liked is: article it has some ppossibilites for future Wed. trips.
4. Picking out a movie to see this afternoon. My friend has discount coupons so we will be seeing "My Sister's Keeper". I read the book so it will be interesting to compare with the movie.
5. Sharing some of the albums I uploaded on snapfish (emailed the links etc.) and checking out the sale of the day (buy one get one free on mugs. no thanks). No, I am not obsessed with snapfish! From the amount of advertising I give them you would think I work for them!
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
My travel agency is open for biz
Good news! If you are sick of hearing me talk about snapfish photobooks, you can breathe a sigh of relief. I finished it last night. However, the 50% off coupon turned out to be a hoax (you can only get $10 off max) so I will be checking their site everyday to see if any of the Christmas sales are good.
Since it is Wed., I researched our afternoon tiyul. I found one great article from Maariv that explains the trails and another site from the National Parks- in English! If the weather holds out, we will be hiking near Mitzpeh Yericho, north of Jerusalem.
My sister requested I find a recipe for carrots (we have 2 bags in the fridge) so I had a bit of fun with that. In the end, I printed about 10 different recipes ranging from low-fat carrot cake to a lentils and carrots dish.
Wearing my other hat of travel agent, I called daka90 and tried to find a ticket from NY to Israel so that my cousin can come visit us. The best they had was Iberia for $950. Not great but better than anything else I have found.
Since I was still bored, I called Arkia to see what they had to offer. I guess I got to the wrong department or they had to many calls because the guy took my number and said someone will call me back. They should be warned that if it isn't during working hours I don't have time to talk!
Next on the list was Issta. I didn't know they were so expensive. The "cheapest" flight they had to offer was for a flight on Friday/Shabbat that stops in the Ukraine! And that was $1060! The same Iberia flight that daka90 offered for $950 would cost $1064 with Issta. So consumers beware.
Let's see...what else did I accomplish. Oh! I left the office today! Yes, very excited. I went to buy some office supplies and, of course, do some errands for myself. I also ran into a friend so we chatted a bit and then I got a free newspaper so I now have something to read.
I guess all in all not a bad day. But I still have hours of work left!
Since it is Wed., I researched our afternoon tiyul. I found one great article from Maariv that explains the trails and another site from the National Parks- in English! If the weather holds out, we will be hiking near Mitzpeh Yericho, north of Jerusalem.
My sister requested I find a recipe for carrots (we have 2 bags in the fridge) so I had a bit of fun with that. In the end, I printed about 10 different recipes ranging from low-fat carrot cake to a lentils and carrots dish.
Wearing my other hat of travel agent, I called daka90 and tried to find a ticket from NY to Israel so that my cousin can come visit us. The best they had was Iberia for $950. Not great but better than anything else I have found.
Since I was still bored, I called Arkia to see what they had to offer. I guess I got to the wrong department or they had to many calls because the guy took my number and said someone will call me back. They should be warned that if it isn't during working hours I don't have time to talk!
Next on the list was Issta. I didn't know they were so expensive. The "cheapest" flight they had to offer was for a flight on Friday/Shabbat that stops in the Ukraine! And that was $1060! The same Iberia flight that daka90 offered for $950 would cost $1064 with Issta. So consumers beware.
Let's see...what else did I accomplish. Oh! I left the office today! Yes, very excited. I went to buy some office supplies and, of course, do some errands for myself. I also ran into a friend so we chatted a bit and then I got a free newspaper so I now have something to read.
I guess all in all not a bad day. But I still have hours of work left!
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