Not sleeping in a bomb shelter... yet

(Originally sent to my update list on 14 July)

Hi.

Yeah, I know, long time, no write. Probably something like 10 or 11 months, actually. And while I keep meaning to do it, it just keeps getting away from me. I even tried blogging, but since I can never manage to get more than one or two entries done before slacking off for months, I haven't bothered lately.

But Mom politely asked me to write, because she's getting calls and e-mails checking up since, as my sibling said to me yesterday, "Israel has been in the news cycle."

So the short of what's been going on in my life is this:

The Jerusalem Post waited until I got up to Jerusalem to tell me they couldn't pay me, so I couldn't work at the paper. I searched for a job for three months before landing one doing administrative work at an American call center. I sort of moved up in rank there and now I do interviews and give people jobs. But my company's undergoing some turbulence at the moment, including lots of changes in management, so I don't know how much longer I'll stay there.

I lived on my friend's living room floor while I was job hunting, and for a bit afterward, and then I moved in with a 50-something-year-old British immigrant. Her son, who is awesome, is 21 and lived about three blocks from us. It was meant to be a temporary solution when I moved in there, and since we weren't compatible as roommates, it was a good thing it was temporary.

Temporary evolved into four months, and a month ago or so I moved into my own apartment. It's hard to believe how much more it costs than the gigantic flat I had in Hamtramck, and on an Israeli salary it's not easy to make ends meet (in fact, most Israelis don't), but I'm thrilled to be in my own place again, with my own room, bathroom, kitchen, etc.

I'm starting to build a support system here, slowly but surely. I have some adopted families in Arad and the north, and one of these days I'll get up the energy to find some in Jerusalem, too.

So that's my life, in the teensiest nutshell ever.

I have days where I love my job, and I have days where I hate it. It's not what I trained to do, but most Anglos who live in Jerusalem don't get to do what they trained to do. It's the price we pay for living in Jerusalem. Well, that and having to be under the scrutiny of the other six billion people on the planet, while also fearing for our lives if we ride busses or visit places where more than three Jews gather. But on a daily basis, it's the job thing that we deal with most, thank G-d. :)

Now regarding this war my tiny little country is in at the moment:

Unless someone specifically asks me, or I finally get to blogging, I'll try to leave most of my own political opinions out of this.

But here's the sitch(situation): An internationally-recognized sovereign territory (Israel) has been attacked by: A - an internationally-recognized, democratically-elected political body that also happens to be a terrorist organization calling for the destruction of Israel (Hamas), and B - a terrorist organization (Hezbollah) that operates in full view of an internationally-recognized, democratically-elected government of an internationally-recognized sovereign territory (Lebanon).

And, as Israel has done since the beginning, it is "exercising restraint" when it comes to defending itself. Considering Israel has one of the most powerful air forces and military structures around, dropping leaflets and making announcements before they bomb places where civilians might be, even though the terrorist organizations are purposely operating in civilian areas, sure feels like "restraint."

Here in Jerusalem, except for hearing some planes very high overhead, it's not hard to pretty much go on with our lives. That's quickly changing, however, as more and more of my friends and others are being called up for emergency military duty. One buddy of mine from work was able to and decided to decline going for emergency duty, because his brother is currently in Gaza, and another brother of his is coming back from England to join the efforts on our northern border.

And along with the (mostly) guys getting called up for duty, of course we're worried about our friends and families in the north. Since I first fell in love with Israel while living in Haifa, it's difficult to know I'm here "safe" in Jerusalem while my friends in Nahariyah, Carmiel, Tzfat (Safed), Haifa, and other places in the north aren't allowed to travel far from their homes, and have to clean out their protected rooms (that most people use as storage or the spare bedroom) to make room for their entire families.

Now for those who haven't followed as closely - Hezbollah never stopped firing rockets at Israel. It did, however, seem to fire them at less-populated areas, and they were more of a reminder to Israel that Hezbollah was there than they were actual attacks most of the time. It's interesting that Hezbollah decided to start raining down Katyushas around the rest of northern Israel on the day we begin our three-week mourning period for the destruction of the second Temple.

During this period of time, a commemoration of the time between when the walls around the Temple were breached and the actual destruction of the Temple, religious Jews refrain from having weddings, going to concerts, and do a few other things to remember that it's not supposed to be a "happy" time. The three weeks started with a daytime fast (yesterday) and will end with a 25-hour fast.

So as we were already feeling a little weak, we were constantly checking the news sites to see if anything else had happened, and to keep up with the situation. And for those of us who could not serve in the military, it was another reminder of how weak and helpless we are when it comes to defending our country.

And, of course, all of this started happening after we were attacked from within Gaza, an event that happened over a week before the attack from the north.

Thank G-d that we do still have a strong military, and hopefully our leaders will be strong enough to make the decisions and give the orders that will keep our sliver of land safe.

So, for me and the majority of my friends here, life goes on pretty much as usual, although with the additions of extra positive thoughts and prayers. And any of those you want to send our way will be happily accepted, as well.