Sunday, February 21, 2016

Birthday Dinners And A Cacophony Of Germs

Last week was an exciting week full of birthdays and celebratory dinners. Family members began to trickle in from all over the country on Wednesday evening.

Thursday night we gathered in a new restaurant for a tasty and festive dinner celebrating my grandfather and mothers birthdays which are only a few days apart. We ate, sang and made merry before dispersing to our respective lodgings.

My school finally put up the list of hospital placements for this coming semester. I managed to nab a spot in the hospital that Freddie works at so it looks like I'll be spending a lot more time with The Freddie's in Petach Tikvah.

Freddie and The Munchkins stayed over at the Sun-house and we spent Friday morning running some errands. We went to the mall where I bought a brand new pair of white sneakers to wear for my clinical hours in the hospital.

Shabbos was fun. Apparently, 'tis the season for coughing and sneezing. The family had gathered for a fun filled weekend and so had all of their germs. By Friday night most of us were downing chicken soup with fervor hoping it would cure our various ailments.

We took turns using the netipot before lunch and drank lots of tea throughout the day. Despite our sniveling noses the weather was surprisingly pleasant and The Munchkins decided that a visit to the park was in order. The park brigade was assembled and  made their way to the yellow park armed with snacks and drinks.

After shabbos we packed up and headed out, leaving The Crazy Lady and The Mad Man to ward of the cesspool of germs that we had brought to them. They had somehow managed to remain uncontaminated throughout the weekend. I wish them well and hope that they stay that way.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

"I'll Just Wing It"- Me (about something that I most definitely should not wing)

The last five months have been both the shortest and longest five months of my life. Somehow an entire semester went by and I barely remember a thing. A couple of weeks ago I overheard my classmates making plans for study groups and then suddenly finals were upon us yet again.

In my opinion, not that anybody's asking, finals seem to come around far to often. Luckily for me, I think I finally started to get the hang of studying and everything seems to be going smoothly (for now).

Who knew that reading over notes and cutting back on TV time can actually help you pass exams? Because like everything else in life that requires forethought and planning, just winging it isn't the most spectacular of plans. Someone really should have told me that last semester.

Now that finals are almost over I've had a lot of spare time on my hands. I've been spending most of my time annoying The Crazy Lady and The Mad Man in an attempt to make up for all the time that I wasn't home during the semester. I can tell that they really like having me at home because so far they've only asked me when school starts again two or three times.

Who knows what else I'll get up to with my new found freedom. It'll probably involve a lot of watching TV.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Heroism, its not for everyone.

Some people are born heroes. Brave, courageous and destined for greatness.
Others are, well, not. Born to stand on the sidelines watching. And dare I say, waiting, to be saved.

Our story begins with a man. An ordinary man who yearned for meaning in his mundane life. A man who dreamed of being a hero.

He worked as a security guard in the Azrieli mall and took his job very seriously. Standing tall he surveyed the area ready to jump into action, should the opportunity arise.

It was a normal day for our presumed hero. The mall was bustling with shoppers eager to find the best deals on end of the season clothes. The store he was working in front of had a big red "SALE" sign standing to his right. It was a bright eye-catching sign and the shoppers were taking notice.

As the day wore on our protagonist grew weary. His shoulders sagged as he struggled to stay alert. Things were generally quiet and he didn't think anyone would notice if he rested his eyes for just a moment. Bleary eyed and semi-awake, he almost didn't hear the commotion in the store behind him.

The tall man running out of the store with a bundle of clothes under his arm jolted the guard awake. Alarms blared as the stolen clothes passed the doorway of the store.  The guard stood wide-eyed, heart pumping, formulating a plan.

Adrenaline rushed through him as he took in the scene. This was his moment, his time to shine.

                                                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It had been a seemingly normal day for me too. I had taken my last exam earlier that very morning and was on my way home for the weekend. As I waited on line to get onto the escalator I noted that the mall seemed to be busier than usual, or at least this particular escalator was.

The crowd surged and I found myself on the escalator. As we neared the halfway point a big red "SALE" sign came into view. Still on the escalator I watched as a tall man ran out of the store with a bundle of clothes beneath his arm and set off an alarm. The bleary eyed guard at the entrance to the store seemed to have no intention of stopping the thief.

                                                                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Seemingly out of nowhere, our hero sprang into action. Flying out of the store she tackled the thief. Grabbing onto the cute top in her size that she had her eye on before it had been snatched away by an unusually tall man. The top was 30% off and she had waited all season for it to go on sale, there was no way she was letting go.

A crowd began to gather to watch the peculiar sight. A petite woman with fiery red hair was clinging onto the arm of a rather tall man who seemed to be in quite the hurry to get away. Her purse flailed wildly on her arm threatening to fly off at any moment as the thief desperately tried to shake our hero loose but still, she held on.

The struggle continued for a few more seconds before the thief decided to cut his losses and get out of the mall before things got messy. Our hero fell to the floor as the thief relinquished his hold on her precious top. The crowd began to cheer.

Heart still pumping, the security guard walked over to our fallen hero and picked the stolen goods. Raising the clothes triumphantly in the air he turned to his adoring fans. It was just how he had always imagined it, he could swear he heard them chanting his name.

Chest puffed out and standing tall, he smiled to himself as he walked into the store feeling like he had conquered the world.