Last Weekend I Got Arrested!

And boy did I enjoy getting frisked! Lol

It has been a while since I posted something, but to be honest, life hasn't been that interesting. I started working properly back in April, so that has been my major focus and life is pretty drab during winter...so havent been doing so much!

Last weekend my boss turned 30 and decided for his birthday he would have a scavenger hunt. It was by far the best birthday idea I have seen yet!

7 limosines were hired, filled with alcohol and we were split up into groups. We were given a list 3 pages long of all the things we could get that would earn us points...and at the end of the night points were tallied to see who the winner was.

My group consisted of me and 5 other guys from work, etc. So here are the pics of the night!!

Here we needed pics inside a fountain at Martin Place; a pic of one team member in the back of a police car (we managed to find a paddy wagon!); a pic of one team member hugging a bouncer!

Here we needed to take a group shot infront of the big Coke sign at Kings Cross; a pic of the group in the Tool Shed (the name says it all!); here we get a little excited with all the toys!

And here, with some sailors from the docked Kitty Hawk!

We had so many things we could have done, but in 2 hours it wasn't nearly enough time. Everyone had a ball and people all over the street were so curious as to what was going on when a limo pulled up and people were running about everywhere. We all went back to my boss' apartment after where we had more drinks, ate and tallied the points. A few people had gotten naked, bought hemorrhoid cream and met with streetwalkers...very interesting stuff!

Israel, how I miss you so! (sniff)

It was 1 year and 4 months....and it was time that flew so fast, it felt like I never left Sydney. Here I am back in my house, living with my parents and breathing fresh air. I hate memories...memories just mean that the particular moment in time is gone forever, and you will never get them back.

Well, enough wallowing. I guess it is best to show a snapshot of why I fell in love with Israel and why a good part of my heart still remains there...

Israel is a country of history, colour and culture. It is so alive that you can literally feel its heart beating as you walk its streets. It is small; both in land size and population (6 million people, the size of Sydney city, but for a whole country), yet its people are so highly diverse. My closest friends were from Colombia, France, Canada, America, Russia and among the Israelis, there backgrounds were Polish, Yemenite, Algerian, Persian, German...the list goes on. Because it is a city made of migrants from many countries, you see these influences in so much of the buildings, food, dance and lifestyle of Israel.

Tel Aviv was my home for my time in Israel, and Neve Tzedek was my pride and joy. The first area to be built outside of the Old City of Yafo, it remains small and quaint with a strong French feel. Below are just some images that will show how this little area breeds art, culture and tranquility.

My love for Israel also comes from the fact that this was my first venture out on my own. I lived for the first time on my own and learnt that taking responsibility for myself was more liberating than I could have imagined. It was my moment of growth; mentally, emotionally and spiritually. My greatest pride and joy comes in the form of Enzo; who kept me company and kept me from ever getting bored. (all the chewed furniture and holes in wall will long be a reminder of Enzo's existence once upon a time in Tel Aviv...). My second job working in a hanion (car park) taught me a lot. It gave me the time to think and reflect and opened my scope to a whole new world of opportunity.

But most importantly, and hence why I saved it for last, my greatest joy in Israel came from the wonderful people I met and incredible friends I made. We all came from different walks of life, different countries, experiences, professions, but in Israel we found a common bond and friendship that I know will last a lifetime.

My Ad-Gency crew; Wow!! Never in my life have I enjoyed to go to work each day. Never was there a dull moment. Each day presented something new, and even in times of great stress, we found room to laugh. Odette, Nechama, Vanessa, Ohad, Udi, Asaf, Ximena, Elinor and others (who although I don't mention, you know the times we have shared), you guys were the best bunch of people I could have hung around with for 9 hours each day!!! he he So much so, I was even happy to see you all after work too!!!

I felt so comfortable with you all, and the help and advice that each one of you has given to me, the laughter, the jokes, the sneaking out of the office, Level 15 bathrooms, Cpays Messenger, Ohad-save a night at Evita for me,Coffee Machine (Chocolata & Sahleb), Odette- my crazy partner in crime one day we will own Pizza Pazza, the Chicken Place, Birthdays, Vanessa - Time for Florentines, Nechama- We share our love for Nishikas, I could go on and on. I miss you all so much. I know that all our paths will cross in some way in the future. I wish you all only the best. Don't ever lose touch with me!!!

Clara, Amir and Jeremy. For you I have no words. Only hugs and kisses. I love you guys so much. You guys were by my side at every moment and became my family in Israel. Clara and Amir, I can never repay you for all the support you guys gave me. Clara you truly are my sister; I love you so much. Jeremy, my knowledge of backgammon is solely attributed to you!! Thanks for sitting with me and keeping me company those nights I worked at the hanion, for partying with me, bitching with me and laughing with me.

The Boys from the Hanion; yes it was strange to have me working there, but I became one of the boys and funnily enough enjoyed my whole experience there. Che, I will write that book and I will credit you for the title ;) (see pic in previous post)

Dima; I saw you every day that I lived in Neve Tzedek. We talked, we became good friends and I will miss you. I will miss talking to you for hours in front of Suzanna, meeting you at 2am and staying with you till your shift ended at 8am. I will miss u harrassing Enzo, bringing you Burekas when they gave you a double shift and most of all, I will miss the last moments we spent together. Yes, I am an optimist.

Yes, there is so much more, but too much that I don't have the energy to write about. I will be back in the future to visit, and hopefully with friends from Australia, so that they can also understand what I loved about it.

Here are some random pics to share with you all.

I Did It! I'm Back in Oz!!!

Yes, you read right. Only a few people knew so I could surprise the rest, but for several months now I have been organising myself so I could make my way back to Oz.

And here I am!!!

I just spent a great 3 weeks with my family in Malaysia celebrating Xmas and New Year, and now it is time to settle back down in Australia.

First my family (immediate and extended) decided to all head to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to have a big Xmas with my family there for my Grandmother. This was definitely something I could not miss. So, there started my decision to head home. Here is a pic of my mum seeing me for the first time (and as u can see, being very surprised!!!)

We had a great Xmas and New Year and I am so sad it's over. Here are some more pics of all the family and things we did and saw in Malaysia.

1. Mums side of family at Xmas in KL
2. Westwood Gals at New Years Party in Penang
3. Beware of the Monkeys!!! Yes, that's my bro Agee and his girl Katya, in the Botanical Gardens, Penang
4. Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang
5. My Sweet Grandma teaching us how to make Roti Jala

After Malaysia I stopped in Hong Kong for 2 days and my Aunty showed me a few of the hot spots to shop!!! Ahh, yeah, we kinda went crazy...Thanks Aunty Linda!!!

1. Enjoying Fish Congee, Soya Milk and (I can't remember the name!) in a small shop near the Flower Market
2. Me on the Harbour with Hong Kong Island skyline in the background

Leaving Israel was sad. I miss my friends like crazy. But we had a GREAT last few weeks, partying and simply just enjoying ourselves!!! I love u all soo soo much and I want to thank you all for all your love and support while I was there.

1. Me and My Carpark (Hanion) Boys
2. Crazy Gals - Me, Myriam and Clara
3. Jeremyyyy (said in French accent) giving me a farewell gift of Moroccan glasses
4. View from my apartment
5. Enzo getting spoilt by Dima
   

This ends a chapter in my life where I can say I honestly learnt the most about myself. I lived on my own by myself for the first time and literally just got real about life. I am a much stronger and better person from my experiences and am overly excited about my future adventures. (I will do a separate blog with more Israel pics)

Enzo my lil darling is in Australia too. Yes, he is already widely travelled at 1 yr old...to get to Oz from Israel he went to Vienna and Kuala Lumpur. Here I am visiting him in his quarantine cage in Sydney. You will be out on Feb 9th lil one, so not long now!!! Hang in there!!!

Well...cheers to some more crazy times down under and adventures ahead!!!

Glad to be back!

Life....1 BIG Question Mark?

I sat the other day and reminisced the days when my biggest worry was where or who to sit with at lunch, or begging my mum to let me go to a friend's house after school.

Now, over here, thousands of miles away from home, its a whole different ball game.

I am sitting here and dealing with:-
- visa/immigration issues
- I need to control my finances heavily since I have so many expenses to get back to Oz with Enzo
- my landlord to try and not get ripped off
- making sure my job is stable in an industry that is very shaky at the moment
- the opposite sex and all their complexities
- the "Ex"
- a continuing the search to find "myself" amidst the madness before I head back to Oz to start my life and settle down

I know that many people cannot understand my fascination with Israel...and it is not surprising considering how it is portrayed in the media...but this magical place with all its history is where I was destined to come from birth. I never thought I would walk the streets that Jesus carried the cross, or sit and look at the Mediterranean from the world's oldest port, Jaffa.

I have made some of my best friends here and gone through some hardships that have strengthened me and shaped me for the better (I think). Yes, I am far away...but like I was told when I left Australia, it is only a phone call or a plane ride to see everyone...the world is no longer such a big place.

I am facing some hard decisions these days and I pray I make the right ones. What to do, where to go?????

L'at L'at (Slowly slowly)

Impatience is a flaw I am learning to deal with. I am forever impatient to get what I want, and NOW!

This week I felt like several things had fallen into its rightful place. It had taken its time and every so often I am having new problems to deal with, but slowly slowly the gaps are filling in.

I was worried about work for a while as I had minor changes/additions to my current role that were taking some time to adjust to. Thankfully the last few weeks were spent arranging proper management for our new department and now the ever so French, Jacques is looking after us. He has done wonders in making sure we are comfortable and all our problems are fixed. Thus now, both Odette and I are feeling much better and more relaxed.

Outside of work, things have developed with that "special someone" I mentioned in my previous blog. He has brought a shade of excitement, happiness and butterflies into my life, and it has been wonderful to feel those feelings that I lost so long ago. Ladies; friend, boyfriend, colleague, etc, there is nothing like being surrounded by a complete gentleman! I felt like a little schoolgirl again as we had our first kiss. I think its a feeling that even at 50 yrs old, a woman still gets!

In regards to moving Lil Enzo to Sydney, I managed to get hold of 2 companies who have provided me with so much help that I feel a whole weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

And...to keep my options open, my work is trying to sponsor me to extend my work permit. This will provide me with much independence here as I will no longer be under "u know who's" thumb. This also provides me with much relief and makes me feel good that they value my efforts here. It is very kind of my new boss and I hope it works well.

Yes, money is very much an issue, but I am happy and content and loving the challenge of making it through these tough times. It's like Monopoly when you are scheming ways to pay the rent you anticipate landing on, on your next roll!!

Yes dearies, I plan on coming back, the only question is when??? Slowly slowly things will figure itself out.

A Whirlwind 3 mths!

Sometimes in life a tornado just swirls up and whips through. My last 3 months is best described as that.

I went to Malaysia and Australia to see my family and ended up being in hospital for 4 days with DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis). Yes, that's right. Most prone to the elderly, I ended up with it - a blood clot in my left calf. It was about 2 wks before I could walk properly and I have only now gotten to the end of my medication (blood thinners).

Other than that my trip was good. It was great to see my Grandmother who was in good spirits when I came, although it was ironic that she was visiting me in hospital. A BIG THANK YOU to my Aunty and Uncle (The Shakils) for all their help and care and also to Eli for keeping a blackmailing eye on me for my Grandma.

Australia was great. To see everyone again and eat my mum's homecooking was fabulous. It was sad to leave again, and much harder than the first time because after almost a year away I knew what it was like to miss them all.

During this time Israel went to war with Lebanon and as I checked my work emails, my father saw lists of public bomb shelters being sent to us by our company and emergency evacuation procedures being prepared. You can only imagine what my parents were saying to me as I said determinedly that I was going back.

My flight back was horrific. What should have been a trip of less than a day took 4 days! Yes, 4 DAYS! I ended up in Manila, Hong Kong, Paris, then finally Tel Aviv. Due to a typhoon my plane was diverted to Manila where I spent 1 night (great hotel though), then when finally I got to HK, I had missed all my flights and the next one wasn't till 3 days later. I waited in line with no food or drink for 12 hrs, saw several riots nearly start because of all the angry passengers and ended up being told they didn't know what to do with me.

At 2am, I left the counter and found myself a spot on the airport floor and tried to get some sleep (yeah right). The next morning I went back and forth, till I finally blew up and threatened that WW3 would erupt if I didn't find a way to get home. I was eventually put on a flight to Paris that night and given free use of the airport lounge where I could sleep, shower and eat. Once in Paris my journey did not end....I did the run around again as they wouldn't recognise my ticket...I eventually got to my flight on time and as I slowly breathed out, I was relieved to finally be going to Tel Aviv.

4 days in the same clothes was horrible...I finally arrived in Tel Aviv and as I expected, my luggage did not come with me...next step, apply to Lost Luggage and leave the airport with just my carry on and laptop.

I returned home to an empty apartment...just my things and my baby Enzo. Yes, what made the trip that bit harder was knowing that Nevo and I had finally ended it. We broke up!

He moved back to his mother's apartment and I came back to see how I could take Enzo to Australia. The 4 days were an emotional roll coaster and finally I could rest, breathe and purge myself of all my tears. Never in my life did I feel I needed to be as strong as I needed to be then.
Within the week, I had found a new apartment for Enzo and I, my work was great and I started the paperwork for Enzo's journey Down Under! I also got my luggage back! As sad as I was, I felt strong. At this stage, no one but my sister and friend Clara knew what was going on. Both helped me a lot and when I started work the day after I touched down, people at work were shocked but very supportive of me. I could not have made it without them. Also Nevo's younger brother and stepmum have been great and looking out for me. I thank them very much too for their kindness. It made a world of difference.

What amazes me is how everything can change in an instant. My life will no longer take the direction I expected it. Where I thought I was comfortable, I have to rethink and change. I will be honest, I am happier now. There is an energy I found within me.

My new apartment is great, I have a second job to save extra cash, that also keeps me busy. There is 'someone new' in the picture and socially, I have a great network of friends.

Thanks to everyone for being with me in this time. Things like this are not so easy, but when you are more than half a world away from your closest friends and family, in a country so different from your own, makes it that lil more difficult!

My big decision now is where I want to go next. Yes, most of you reading this say, "Come home to Sydney", but I really want London to be my next stop.

We will see where the winds blows. :P

Socceroos!!! Good Try!!!

I was walking on Shabazi St (main shopping street near my house) when I passed one of many cafes that have been set up with plasmas and wide screens for the World Cup (known as the Mondial here). I stopped to catch a glimpse before realising it was the Australia v Brazil game!

So there Enzo and I were, perched on the sidewalk with many other people on bicycles, etc who had gathered to watch the last 15 mins of the game. When people next to me realised I was Australian, they gave me sympathy with every good play by Brazil, especially the 2nd goal...what a disappointment....not to mention the near miss Australia had toward the end. Enzo was even dressed for the occassion in is all-black fur suit...he he...yes, this was something one of the guys noticed, although Enzo did jump and bark and throw his paws up when Brazil scored their 2nd goal.....I think all the noise got him excited!!!!

It was fun to sit and watch ur home team play and converse with people about the game. The highlight of the night for me was watching an old French couple (mid-late 80's) watch the game and walk hand in hand together after it was finished.....such a cute sight!!!

I didn't watch the whole game, but a guy I spoke to after tried to console me by telling me it was a hard 2 goals for Brazil......good try Aussies!!!

My Poor Little Enzo!!!

My poor little baby got scratched by a cat last week. He stuck his head in one of the bushes near our house and a cat surprised him and chased him out!!!

After a few hours we noticed that his eye was getting infected so the next day we took him to the vet and found 2 little scratches on his eye (not serious), to which we were given anti-bacterial ointment.

After 5 days we took the little one to the vet for his re-check and all looked great! We were told to continue with the cream for a few more days and he will be as good as new. We even gave him a booster vaccine for worms. He was on top of the world!

As we did our grocery for the week, we left Enzo at home because it was way too hot for him outside. We came home to find that his eye was looking a little puffy and swollen. We left it and later in the night I told Nevo that I didn't like it, it was looking worse, so Nevo called the vet. We were told it could be an allergic reaction of the vaccine with the eye ointment. So we stopped giving him the ointment and were told to wash his eye out every few hours.

My baby whined all night and Nevo and I woke up every few hours when he started whining to wash his eye over and over again (there was lots of liquid) and his eye contnued to get more swollen, and half of his face was also getting swollen. Thankfully, our vet was good and called us a few times a day to check on Enzo and on Sunday I had an appointment with the Vet to see what was going on.

Diagnosis: Yes his eye was infected and swollen. Why? Dr Tal said there had to be a foreign object stuck in his eye. We gave Enzo anaesthetic and as I held him, Dr Tal used surgical tweezers to fish around his eye...this grossed me out a bit so I had to look up.....the gasp from the vet shocked me as he pulled out what was stuck in my baby's eye.....

AN ALMOST 1 cm LONG CAT'S CLAW!!!!

We were both so shocked and he told us how lucky we were that Enzo wasn't blind or that the cat didn't scratch his eyes out!!! It was amazing how almost instantly Enzo's eye returned to normal and we will finish the medicine to make sure he heals well.

But really I have a great dog....he is so well behaved and good with all these things. He didn't flinch or whine at the Vet, and when we give him his medicine he sits there and lets Nevo to put his cream and drops. He no longer pees in the house...he cleverly waits at the door for us to take him out. My baby is growing up!

I will miss you Enzo when I go...lets hope daddy knows how to look after you!!!