On the move

• Early rising at the Kibbutz.
• Breakfast with Spesh's Mom. She made coffee poorly. I drank it gratefully.
• Train to Tel Aviv. I got a second coffee at the station.
• Met by car. Drop off driver.
• Drive from Tel Aviv towards Jerusalem to activist summer camp.
• Spesh gives spiel, in Hebrew. I sit some distance away and read. Later, I nap.
• Drive to the university. Sit in Spesh's office and wait for students who don't arrive.
• Notice the sign for the tiny crowded office reads, "Post Doc Room." I point this out to Spesh. He says, "They won't dare call it an 'office'."
• Lunch. Schnitzel for me, veggies for Spesh.
• Snap at Spesh for being on the phone all the fucking time. "If you don't have time for me, set me free. I'm with you but you're not here. And I can't even tell what you're talking about." (98% of his phone conversations are in Hebrew.)
• He apologizes and says it's out of his control.
• I say, "There's a lot of things I could say…but, I just don't enjoy it."
• He says, "I can understand that."
• Things are actually better after that.
• We drop off the car. Take a taxi home.
• I'm hot and exhausted. Spesh uses the computer. I start to read then fall semi-asleep.
• I tell Spesh, "I want to take a shower."
• "You know, we have a water shortage, this isn't Canada!"
• I stare, silent.
• "Why are you asking to take a shower, like you need permission?"
• "I'm asking because I need a towel! That's the polite way to ask!"
• "Ok, fine, I'll get you a towel!"
• And he did. I took a shower and felt much better.
• I did some writing, he did some calling.
• We were invited to dinner at Gal's. The call came at 6pm, we left around 7:45 and walked about half an hour to her place.
• I was coated in sweat when we arrived. Other than that, I didn't mind the walk.
• Dinner was good--another vegetarian special.
• She had a friend staying there who I mistook for her boyfriend.
• I had quite a pleasant conversation with him.
• Wonder what he thought of Spesh and me.
• Spesh practically fell asleep after dinner.
• I tell him, "We're taking a taxi home." He didn't argue.
• We got home and went to sleep right away.
• I still woke up earlier than necessary. What can you do?

Grateful for: good friends.

Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport: 8/2/2007