since i've been getting up at 6:30 on most mornings, i guess my body has gotten used to not sleeping past a certain hour. even though i went to sleep at 3:30am last night and was hoping to sleep at least until 10 o'clock, i have been up since 8:30 and have not been able to go back to sleep. i've been lying awake thinking about things i have to do tomorrow at work (something i usually try not to do) and how i'm going to be working out my finances this coming month, what with the amsterdam trip coming up and what have you. additionally, i've been lying here thinking about whether or not i should take my bike out this morning because of how tired i actually am and how late it is now (i prefer the really early hours). i suppose i should, since i think i will feel like a blob later on if i don't.
all of that aside, i had a really good friday yesterday. starting from my AM bike ride, followed by a really long visit to the studio - which included the usual fun company plus an actual concrete plan for some ink that i will be getting next friday. after that i hung out with daniel for a bit and that was followed by a late night visit with yahel and then a really good movie that left us both a little shocked.
yahel and i have been catching up on lost years and nostalgia as well as getting to know each other again. it appears that we are simply meant to be friends. we get along perfectly and love each other very much. every now and again one of us will say or do something (that we have been doing our whole lifes) that will trigger a 'holy crap, i remember you doing that!' reaction. it's extremely amusing. both of us have been constantly debating whether or not we would be successful at gathering the rest of the 'group' for an evening or whatnot, since obviously everyone has gone their own way in life and one of us is even already married (that would be my ex). either way, as it turns out, on this upcoming thursday there is a show that carries some serious nostalgic weight for the both of us. and although we were not planning on seeing each other until after her return from england next month, it looks like we're going to see this show before she leaves.
yes, strange and wonderful things have always happened to me around this girl. i still can't believe i have her back in my life.
anyway, it looks like i'm going to drag my ass out of bed now and go biking after all. i'll be nice and awake when it's time for lunch with rona. yay! =)
there are some things you notice when the streets are empty and you have a chance to take things in, riding your bike around the city at 7am...
...like the fact that mike's place is till going strong and there is an outdoors bar that's still packed with people who want to drink. and then there is the startling issue of having nudists on the tel-aviv beach when the beach is not nudist. in other parts of the city it becomes apparent that it doesn't matter what time you head out, there will always be someone you know to run into. this morning i bumped into a couple of girls i know who were just heading home from a night out. the other morning i saw someone who was heading to work... there are also the many puke puddles from the night before, that you don't really notice once the streets are full of people. mostly because they've already been trampled and there's nothing left, but also because you really just can't see the sidewalks. admittedly, this is something one would find more on friday and saturday mornings - if only because thursday and friday nights are the time to go out and party. it's quite amusing, really. and finally, you just notice how beautiful the city is at 7am, when it's nice and cool and the only people out are other bike riders, people walking their dogs and some people heading to work.
at 8am it's always time to head home. it's getting too warm to enjoy the ride anymore and the day is really starting to pick up its momentum.
music: noise from outside mood: catching my breath
6:30am - wake up 7:00am - leave the house for a bike ride 8:00am - come back home, take a shower and get ready 9:00am - leave the house for work
yes, i think i should start getting used to this. i mean, if all i'm going to do after work is sit at home and be a couch potato, i might as well take advantage of the fact that i fall asleep early anyway and get up for a ride each morning.
on friday something amazing happened to me. this is the deal:
since i've been back in israel (and even a little before that), i have been trying to find individuals from a certain group of people who were really good friends of mine for about four years - around the time i was at the end of my army service. because i remembered that they were all into high-tech stuff, i figured that i'd be able to somehow find them online. somehow. when that didn't work, i tried finding them in the phone directory. but that didn't work either.
on friday i decided that it was too nice outside to stay in another entire day. and since i didn't go out the night before and i was awake at the ass-crack of dawn - i got myself together and headed out. i didn't care where i was going, i just wanted to walk around. as i walked by the huge line of people that were waiting their turn for the ATM (it's always an insane line there on fridays), i was about to do what i usually do - tap one or two of them on the shoulder and inform them that there is, in fact, another ATM across the street. you see, israelies are not yet used to the ATM-at-the-deli thing. so as i go to tap this person on the shoulder, i find myself standing face to face with a girl who was my best friend for four years. she is also the one who introduced me to my first love, whom i dated for three years. she is one of the 'group.'
we were both shocked. and not just slightly. i hugged her like i don't think i've ever hugged anyone before in my life. i was standing beside a really good friend whom i had not seen in nine years (yes, i'm old enough for things like this to happen =P). we walked around a bit, i helped her carry some bags she was schelpping around for her niece's/nephew's birthday. then we parted ways and said we'd do some catching up later on. while i went on my way - i was still overwhelmed by the intensity of what i had just experienced.
the rest of the day was nice enough. i visited vision and the bloom (it's always cool on a friday afternoon) and then went to have my usual coffee/food with chen. later on, yahel (my long-lost friend) and i did hang out. we drank wine and talked for about five hours when i decided that i should probably go home. she told me she was not really in touch with these people anymore, but knows how to contact them. she also told me that this ex of mine had recently gotten married, but didn't invite any of these friends to the wedding. odd, because they were his life for most of his existance. i'm seriously dying to see them all. how weird would it be if i called them up out of the blue to see if they wanted to get coffee or something? heh.
so it seems as though i will be going to amsterdam. i have been trying to organize myself so that lucid and i can meet there the way we did in berlin. i think it will work, though i have made some decisions today without her. i honestly hope things work out.
i was originally just going to go for a weekend - the way i did last time. but when i told my boss that i was going to take a couple of days off at the end of april, he said 'isn't that when we have our convention?' which it is. he suggested that i move my vacation over slightly so that the end of it falls at the beginning of the convention so that i can join them. so now, instead of only being there for 3-4 days, i will be there for eight. three of which are work-related.
last night daniel came over to watch the (second) season finale of carnivale. we started watching it a while ago and kinda made sure that we watched every few episodes together. since the series is pretty intense, we assumed the finale would kick ass. it was ok. which was slightly on the disappointing side. as of now there are only two seasons. on one hand it would be really stupid if they made another one since the whole point was the rivalry of the two main characters, which only sorta came to a close. picking it up again where they left off might be dragging it on for just a little too long. on the other hand, they really did leave room for it to evolve into something more. i have to admit that since i was so into it, i would probably go on to watch more if they ever made it. as of now they have not.
i need more such things to follow. it's fun! =D *goes into collection to pull out twin peaks*
i have come to notice something that i don't think i've seen anywhere else: lots of the lingerie shops in tel-aviv (or at least on alenbi) are combination lingerie/yarn stores. what's up with that?
and on that note, i finally bought some new bras. it's SO much fun to wear something of quality again! heh.
so my neck and my nose are mostly better. and yesterday pretty much ruled. i was at the beach from 11am till about 5pm - first with bareket and then with michal. no, it wasn't for the purpose of swimming or tanning (ew), but rather just to be outdoors during the beautiful weather we were having. there was brunch and frisbee, among other nonsense. to top it all off, i actually went to get my bike!!
so yesterday should repeat itself as often as possible.
oh yea, i'm dumb and didn't think to put sun block on and now my face is slightly red. i guess i'll know for next time.
a couple of beers with brunch on the beach, followed by a walk along/in the water... there are many reasons i love living in tel-aviv. one of them being that i live right up the block from the beach.
so one of the side effects of not doing a damn thing on friday night is waking up at ass-o'clock on saturday morning. nothing wrong with waking up early. the only thing is that there's no one to talk to since most people were out drinking etc the night before and are now sleeping it off.
i want to go get my bike today. daniel's visit (with his bike) yesterday made me miss that thing. not only that but i think it's supposed to be nice out today. this makes me either want to go riding or find michal and go throw a frisbee on the beach or something.
but alas, everyone is still sleeping.
i hope i manage to do something that involves physical activity today...
started the night at a friend's birthday. she was celebrating at a place that i would never have gone to unless instructed to. which i was. it was the trendiest (is that even a word?) bar ever. but i had fun cuz i got to see people i don't see very often.
then i headed over to the alternative cuz there was someone there i wanted to see. i got to hang out with him a while and talk (as much as possible with that crazy volume). i also managed to do something i haven't done in years... bang my nose on my own knee (you know, head-banging and shit), which surprised me and brought tears to my eyes. lol. when i was leaving i got an sms from another guy i haven't seen in weeks. he had just gotten there. i met him outside, we walked and talked a little (*ahem*) and then we ran into some more people we both know.
during the ride home i learned that there are/were some fires in alabama. this did not get me excited. what was exciting was the fact that the place that the fires took place in was a town called 'enterprise.' LOL. i didn't know there was a place with that name. hey, i'm not happy that people got hurt, but i am happy to learn about a trekkie town =P
when i got out of the cab some guys tried to pick me up. that never works.
not sure why i'm in a silly mood. no good reason. perhaps it has to do with my usual evening activity... maybe it's leaking into the rest of my life. it's not bad, though.
on a completely different note, the drainage system in tel-aviv is kind of a joke. this morning when i was getting ready to go to work, i heard it start pouring. so i changed my shoes to platforms and took my umbrella. i was still going to walk. let me tell you, if i wasn't wearing those shoes, i would have been soaked by the time i got to work. there are rivers running through the streets of tel-aviv. literally. thank god for platforms.
other than that, i have a bunch of plans for tonight. something that i usually don't have on any night. but there is a birthday i have said i would go to and someone i want to see elsewhere. i'm hoping i'll have fun. i really am going to try and keep an open mind. wish me luck so that i don't end up bored out of my mind again =P