The Suitcase Fiasco

When I last left you I was patiently waiting to board the plane to Istanbul. We did eventually board the plane, an hour later.
Our connecting flight from Istanbul to Dublin started boarding at 12:15, our plane landed in Istanbul at precisely 12:55. That was a lot of shouting and pushing as everyone attempted to rush off the plane to their connecting flights. We finally made it off the plane and found the security guard who was in charge of getting the Dublin crew to the gate as fast as possible. Once everyone was more or less off the plane, the security guard took off waving her arms above her head and yelling for us to follow as quickly as possible.
We trotted along behind her until we came to security, they opened up two new lines and tried to hurry us through. It turns out that Istanbul has rather thorough security, laptops came out of their cases, shoes came off our feet and their were free pat downs all around.
The security guard in charge of us seemed unfazed by the fact that we were shoeless and confused, she waved her arms around some more and told us to hurry up. Semi assembled with shoes in our hands, we took off through the airport once again. Security guards were strategically placed along the way to shout what I can only assume were words of encouragement in heavy foreign accents. We made it to the deserted gate and threw our passports at the man behind the desk, he barely glanced at the passports as he hurried us onto the plane.
We found our seats, stowed our handbags and sat down feeling like we had just run a marathon.
The pilot announced that there would be a slight delay due to the fact that they were transferring luggage on to the plane. I watched them toss a bunch of suitcases onto the ramp and even managed to convince myself that I saw our bags going on.
The flight was more or less uneventful, we scrolled through the movies, ate some of our provisions and annoyed the person sitting in the isle seat.
After what seemed like an eternity, we arrived in Dublin. Exhausted and relived we made our way to baggage claim to find our suitcases. We watched the suitcases go round and round on the conveyor belt, patiently waiting for our bags to show up. The room emptied out, save for six or seven other passengers that had come with us from Israel. The nine of us watched one lonely brown suitcase go round until someone piped up and asked the question that we were all thinking, "Where the hell is my suitcase?". We all turned to look at the help desk debating whether or not all hope was lost. Finally, a brave soul went to the desk to ask what was happening. The helpful man behind the desk checked the computer and informed us that our luggage had decided to take an extended stay in Turkey. We all filled out our forms and were told that the luggage would be sent over on the first flight tomorrow morning.
The Crazy Lady and I grabbed our precious handbags and headed out into the rain to catch a cab. A cab driver named Alan drove us to our apartments pointing out various attractions along the way.
The receptionist was overjoyed to see us as we were the last people to check in. They were all out of single bedroom apartments (which we had initially booked), so she upgraded us to a double and sent us on our way.  The apartment is really nice and we each get our own room.
Luckily we shoved a pot and a pan (as well as a ladle and some other serving utensils) into one of the carryons. We made a quick stop at the grocery store where we bought potatoes, an onion, salt, and some eggs for breakfast tomorrow.
The crazy lady made potato soup for dinner while I futzed around on the interwebs. It's getting late and we haven't slept in a couple of days so I think we're gonna head to bed.
Hopefully the suitcases actually show up tomorrow!!!! :P

Minor Mishaps

The magical packing fairy proved to be a no show so I was forced to get the job done by myself. It didn't really take very long and I wondered why I didn't just do it the first night that I took the suitcase out.
Packing was done so I made some granola bars and cookies to take on the flight with us.
Our flight was called for 5am, at 11 I decided that it was time to get some shut eye so that I would be semi-alive for the flight.
Wake up time came a few hours later, we were in the car and on our way to the airport by 2am. We arrived at the airport and attempted to find the check in desk for Swiss Airlines, here's where things got interesting.... The lady at security waved us through and sent us straight to the desk to wait behind the mob that had already gathered there, without checking our passports.
It seemed kinda weird to us so we started asking around trying to figure out why there was no security and what had caused the mob of angry people in front of us. It turns out that there was no security because there was no flight, that sure explained the angry mob.
The airline was doing there best to reroute everyone but it was taking a while and people were getting antsy. We finally made it to the desk where they told us that could get us to Dublin today (yay!!) from Istanbul. They gave us a voucher for coffee and pastries to compensate us for the delay and drastic change in plans. The flight wasn't leaving until 9:50 and it was only 4 so we headed over to the coffee place to take advantage of the free food.
My father, who had stayed with us while we waited in line and had coffee, wished us the best of luck and headed home to wake the boys up for school.
The check in desk finally opened, we checked in our bags, grabbed our tickets and headed to security which only took half an hour. We wandered through Duty Free for a while before finding our gate and grabbing some seats to chill on. Now we're sitting here waiting to board, it should be any minute now!

How Not To Pack For Vacation:

Step juan: Take a bunch of stuff out of your closet and pile it onto your bed.
Step two: Add some underwear and maybe a few socks.
Step three: Realize that you need a suitcase to shove your leaning tower of clothing into.
Step four: Acquire suitcase.
Step five: Drag suitcase to your room and blankly stare at it until you decide that it's time for bed.
Step six: Shove all of your clothing into a basket and place it next to your suitcase for the magical packing fairy to find.
Step seven: Go to sleep and wait for the fairy to work her magic.
Step eight: Wake up in the morning to find your suitcase and clothes exactly where you left them.
Step nine: Blame disney for giving you unrealistic expectations of fairy's.
Step ten: Procrastinate (all day).
Step eleven: Glare angrily at your still empty suitcase while lamenting the fact that you don't own a robot to pack your bag for you.
Step twelve: Bed time! Sleep fitfully while envisioning multiple scenarios in which you're forced to walk around wrapped in a curtain because you were to lazy to pack your own suitcase.
Step thirteen: Wake up and trip over your still empty suitcase on your way to the bathroom.
Step fourteen: Procrastinate.
Step fifteen: Write a blog post about how not to pack for vacation.

Congratulations! You have now successfully avoided packing for your vacation despite the fact that you need to leave for the airport in a few hours. *clap clap clap*

Crazy Drivers

The last leg of chag was nice. We ate, sang and were merry. We went to Lori's for dinner and then Lori&co walked over to us for lunch. I tagged along with Lori&co when they decided to walk home. Buzzy and I ran amok in the park until chag ended and then Lori and I watched a few episodes of Gilmore Girls before I went home. 

Friday morning Lori kidnapped me and took me on some errands. We dunked our new wineglasses in dirty spiritual water and stopped at the grocery store for some broccoli. 

Dinner was delicious, my mom made a delectable savory lamb stew which we all enjoyed immensely. 

Lori&co came for lunch, we hung out all afternoon and then made pizza for dinner. 

This morning Lori&co, The Crazy Lady and I all ventured into the holy city for an adventure. The Crazy Lady and I went to the hair cutter place to get her hair cut while Lori&co wandered around the shuk. After the hair cut we found Lori&co and walked into town in search of buttons to put on a dress that my mother made for my niece. 

Sea was in town and came to hello/goodbye before The Crazy Lady and I embarked on our Ireland escapades. Speaking of which, our flight leaves at 5am Tuesday morning. I should probably start packing... :P

Shut Up Spalding

Bowling was a huge success! OK, so I probably wouldn't win any trophies at a bowling tournament (aside from the trophy for least points earned). Little animations played across the screen while the pins were being reset, most of my family members enjoyed funny scenes congratulating them on their spares while the screen taunted me by finding a myriad of ways to say "nice try". I did manage to get a spare and a strike in addition to my two fouls, so I'd say I did alright. 

My father showed off his mad skillz and the dibble proved to be a natural. Z won the first game with 110 points and Lori won the second with 108. 

After bowling we got some ice cream before getting in the car to head home. There wasn't much traffic and unlike on the drive there, we didn't get lost. Buzzy kept us entertained with his tricks while the dibble serenaded us from the backseat, the drive went by pretty quickly.

Back in the sunhouse we raided the fridge for chinese leftovers and ate a late lunch. 

Tomorrow is erev chag again, we should probably get on that... 

Out With The Old, In With The New.

Shabbos was really quiet, just me, my little brothers and my parents.
Friday night we enjoyed our dinner with the symphony of dying bugs in the background. Lunch was as quiet as dinner had been. I decided to walk over to Lori's to see how things were going there. Buzzy was the only one awake when I got there, we soon remedied the situation by annoying everyone else until they got up. I found some desserts on the table and we spent the remainder of the afternoon hanging out and eating way too much cake. After shabbos ended we decided that it was time to resume our Gimore Girls marathon. We watched a bunch of episodes and then Z drove me home.

Sunday was a lazy day, I spent the morning watching Scrubs and playing Pajama Sam. Pajama Sam proved to be harder than remembered and I eventually gave up and went to Lori's for dinner and a show. We had fauxwaiian chicken (fake Hawaiian chicken...) and pina coladas while we watched Americas Got Talent and Gilmore Girls.

My parents, Lori&co and I piled into our van and drove out to the Modiin mall for the afternoon.
My naot have been through quite a lot in the last three years that I've owned them and they showed it. My mom has been trying to get me to buy new ones but I haven't been able to find any in the style that I like. Apparently my shoe size is extremely common (European 39) because I checked four stores in the past few months but couldn't find my size in a normal pattern (I'm wasn't to keen on the shiny pink that they had in one store). We went into the naot store not really expecting much and asked the lady at the desk if she happened to have anything in my size. She went into the back and came back with a box of blue strapped sandals and asked me if the color was OK. I was slightly shocked at the fact that they actually had something in my size and thanked hashem that they were a nice color with a pretty pattern. I paid for the shoes and then put them on and wore them for the rest of the day.

Although the straps started out different colors, the soles started out the same....

I also managed to find a cute shirt, a belt, and a super comfy sweater. It was starting to get late and we all started getting hungry so we headed home to make dinner. 

We decided to make Chinese for dinner. General Tso's chicken, sweet n' sour chicken, beef and broccoli and lots of rice on the side. It was DELICIOUS! 

Tomorrow we're going to try to go bowling in Cholon. For some weird reason the place doesn't let you reserve a lane, it's sort of first come first serve situation. Hopefully it won't be too packed and we'll actually get to play! 

Jimbo

This years sukka comes fully equipped with a fan, water cooler, bug zapper, and comfy chairs.

The Freddies came for chag and dinner in our fancy sukka was as delicious as it was enjoyable. 

Thankfully there was no repeat of last years bug zapper fiasco wherein we saved a critter named Jim from the jaws of death using a trusty pair of salad tongs. 

The Bug Zapper Fiasco:

Jim was a praying mantis with a death wish, he tried to fly into the bug zapper multiple times but was to big to fit. On his second or third try he managed to get a few of his legs stuck in the outer layer of the zapper and spent twenty minutes or so waiting for his inevitable death while my little brother cried in the corner. After twenty minutes of staring at the critter in shock and dismay, my father decided that we had better do something. He approached the zapper, salad tongs in hand, and tried to pry Jim from the metal grate of death. The salad tongs eventually won the fight, Jim fell to the table with a thud as my father let out a manly shriek. The rest of us crowded around waiting to see what would happen. Jim lay motionless on the table, completely unaware of the chaos that he had created. 

We poked him several times and noted that he had lost a leg in battle but still, no change. We waited a few more minutes but it was obvious that he was no longer with us, we said good bye and went back to clearing the table. We were about to go inside when good ol' Jim started to show signs of life, it was a sukkot miracle! We found him a nice leaf to live on and then went inside to get some sleep.

Lori&co joined us for lunch along with another family from the next neighborhood over. The fan provided us with a nice breeze throughout the meal despite the seventeen people that were crowded around the tables. 

After lunch was over and the other family had said their good byes and headed home we went inside to enjoy the AC. Buzzy and the little munchkin ran wild and Oscar did his best to keep up with them. We played many games including "screech at the terrified cats(and maybe even pull some fur out)", dump the peas on the floor", and Oscars personal favorite "lick the small human in the face". 

The afternoon passed by rather quickly and we were saying good bye to everyone before we knew it.

Lori&co decided to go to Ikea this morning and offered to let me tag along with them. My mom gave me her list and sent me on my merry way. The place was packed but we managed to find all of the stuff that we wanted (and more). Z got some grub while Lori and I checked out, we ate in the little "eating area" before heading out to load up the car. The drive home was short and they dropped me off at my house with my goodies in tow. 

Now I'm sitting here smelling the delicious food that's being cooked for shabbos and wondering why I haven't eaten any lunch. I think it's time to scavenge for leftovers help clear out the fridge to make room for more food. After all, I'm nothing if not helpful. :)