A time to write

Good morning, I say, knowing full well that where ever you are, it might not be morning, or good, and knowing that the same could be said about where ever I am. But I say it because, darn it, that's just how people should be. So you'd better find a way to have a good morning or I will have to track you down and give you something to have a good morning about.

I'm here at my job, reflecting on where I am 2 and a half months in to my new life. Time to stop and count the roses before they hatch because they can't stand the heat. Or something like that.

So, updates: my degrees were recognized so now I don't have to fear them as I walk down an unlit alley. I just got a piece of paper that says that my US teaching degree has been recognized. That and 8 NIS gets me on the bus. I have to submit it to someone, get it signed and uploaded to something. So there is still stuff to do in that regard. Plus I have to start taking a weekly class (mostly virtual but 3 in-person meetings) and I don't know what the class is about. That should be exciting. I also submitted some letters attesting to the fact that I have been in the classroom for a long time so even though I'm a n00b, I'm an experienced one.

I still have concerns about my utilities. Am I using a lot? A little? Everything leans on the budget and the budget leans on my keeping track of things and that's not my strength. My lift arrived and there seems to only be one serious issue -- my dining room table is broken. I have submitted photos and such to the moving company but have not heard back. I'm waiting on leaving an online review until I see how they deal with this. I have had to order a new table (not cheap...so much for my budget) and will have to find a way to move the broken table out to the curb while I negotiate the arrival of the replacement (cf shipping weirdness in an earlier post). My apartment is now overfull of stuff (and boxes which I have to get rid of). After living out of a suitcase for 2 months, I find that I need very little else so all the clothes that arrived aren't even needed. Pots and pans (which I haven't used yet) are not essential as I have set up a schedule of food that doesn't require much more than the bits and pieces I initially brought with me (or was given by Heidi).

Side note -- I tried oat milk with my cheap corn-esque flakes yesterday. I imagine rice milk is like skim milk, almond milk is like 1% and oat milk is heavy cream. Moving on.

As I am settling in to a routine, I'm also trying to adjust myself to the ebb and flow of the work week here. By the time I finish my 2 classes on Sunday (I work from 8:30 to noon) my week is halfway done. This week, my 9th grade isn't meeting on Thursday so my week is 2/3 over already and by 2 this afternoon, I will be done. Yes, I have other things to do (that weekly teaching class thing, lots of grading and setting up future classes, running mundane errands so I can make sure I have a steady supply of fake corn flakes and something to pour on them) but it is weird to just putter around my apartment trying to not spend money or go quietly insaner, thinking about Shabbat plans on a Monday.

Thing is, I wake up and take stock on and realize, I'm in Israel. I live here now. This isn't a vacation and even though I am working part-time, the students see me as their actual, real teacher so I had better take it serious-like so I don't look like I'm not fully invested, drifting in and out and not caring in between.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Tomorrow will be, also. Nothing changes and everything changes and the only thing that is consistent is that some things will change maybe. I'm sure there's more, but I got the important things in here and without too much whining.