Is it finally over?

I just got off the phone with Bar Ilan, trying to work this out, and it’s still not worked out.

The Bar Ilan English department has this stupid thing called a B.A. exam, with very simple “See Spot run. Run Spot run” type questions, and, while there are no credits for it, you need to get a 60 on it in order to get your degree. I think the reason for it was that the English Department got burned too many times by Israelis who manage to get an A in Comparative Literature or write papers for Advanced Shakespeare, yet still not manage to be able to speak a word of English. Don’t ask.

I’ve been out of the country the last few times it was offered, or missed the deadline for registering for it for various reasons I won’t get into, but I’ve reached the point now where my not having taken it is the only thing holding me back from graduating (That, and a professor who still hasn’t graded a paper I turned in four months ago). So in order to take it now, I had to register with the status department (statoose) to register for a course not as a student, get special permission from the department, pay 10% of tuition for the pleasure, pay a fee-paying fee, pay a late fee for the fee-paying fee, and whatever else I don’t even remember anymore. It cost me something like 1500 shekels to register for this, and they told me to come back on January 4th to take the test.

So now January 4th is just around the corner, and I figured I’d be a little proactive and call the department to find out what time on January 4th the test is going to be, because the Bar Ilan website refuses to tell me. The Bar Ilan website is so screwed up that it refuses to even acknowledge that such an exam exists. Of course, when I call, they tell me that the B.A. exam has been cancelled (meaning that the website isn’t so screwed up after all – Bar Ilan University is screwed up), and that it is no longer required for graduation, and that they sent out a cancellation notice to everybody who was registered for it two months ago (If this is correct, then it was about a week after I registered for it). Except, it seems, to me.

So here I am, seemingly graduated retroactively two months ago on a technicality, assuming that I eventually pass on the paper I turned in four months ago for a Spring 2007 course. Mazal Tov to me?

Also, whatever happened to my money?

Downward Trends

This is what happens when you quit blogging for two years:

I blame Facebook. Whenever I have a thought or a comment to make, it just goes to Facebook, to somebody's wall, or a comment on a picture, or a note, instead of the blog.

Well, I supposed I'd better update everybody to my life. Sarah and I are having a baby in about another month and a half. Actually, I guess I haven't updated this blog in even longer than that. I got married! To Sarah Gold! (Now Pritzker). Life's pretty cool - I'm working for Re/Max in what may be the worst real estate market since Pompeii exploded, and we're living in Katamon.

Back to Facebook, what do people suggest I do? I could delete my account altogether (Something I really really do not want to do, not the least of reasons because of all the pictures I store there), I could change the password to something I'll never remember, rendering the account inaccessible (Something I accidentally did to my AIM account), or I could just not do anything, and let Facebook continue to suck the life out of me (Something I'll probably end up doing).

Hello.....echo.....

Does anyone out there still read this thing? I just bought my very first real domain, which is pretty cool... and then gave it to my wife to blog on. www.babythingsiwant.com. Check it out!

Sarah's other blog: www.sarinthecity.blogspot.com

And hopefully I'll start posting stuff to here again... to my now-empty audience.

If Lenny Bruce Were Here

A weekend spa on the Dead Sea - Goyish

Making the hotel separate swimming hours for men and women, and hang up plastic sheets over all the balconies to block view of the sea - Jewish

Calling the media when you arrive at your hotel only to discover that the hareidim have taken over - Very Israeli

Remember - Still Fiction. I'm Not an Idiot

There are so many things about Israel that are great, and yet so disappointing. Take, for instance, the mail boxes. All over the country, there are these gigantic green cylinders for mail. In America, they would just sit there, ugly ‘n all. In Israel, the cities commission children to paint them, and they look great! These colorful murals really brighten up city life, and take an otherwise unattractive yet essential feature, and turn it into something really beautiful.

On the other hand, these “paper only,” (or so says the stencil. I guess no packages) mailboxes service the worst postal service ever. I don’t think a single letter I have mailed has ever reached its destination.