Two trips to the states and one primary election later, I am back and finally enjoying the "boring" routine of every day life again. I say "boring" because every day here always turns out to be the opposite of boring, but at least I have been able to wake up in the same city two days in a row and not live out of a suitcase. These are things many people take for granted! Not that I don't enjoy traveling for work- it is usually one of the most exciting parts of my job, being able to build relationships face to face and see people get excited about a cause. It's just that it can get exhausting!
However, I'm please to say that all of the exhausting efforts were worth it. I just finished an amazing fundraising trip with Elem, my client that works with Israeli youth who are in distress and/or homeless. This was no ordinary trip, as we brought with us Elem's president, former first lady of Israel, Nava Barak, and a young woman who lived on the streets for five years and who was helped by Elem to lead a normal life again. All together, there were 5 of us traveling for this "road show" and regardless of the logistics, weather, and other "challenges", the trip was a huge success. Such a huge success, in fact, that we are already planning our next trip for the beginning of February. No rest for the weary...
On top of this great success, the Kadima primary election was on December 17 and my client ended up getting the 11th place in the party! He was originally number 29, so this was a huge deal for him. Even better (for me), we ended up raising the third largest total amount of money for a Kadima candidate (there were over 70 candidates, and we were only beat by the Minister of Finance and the Speaker of the Knesset), and it appears that we were number one in raising money from Americans! Needless to say, I am quite pleased with myself.
Another highlight of Kadima's primary election was outcome of the campaign that Oren has been managing for the last 1.5 months. His candidate was the current Minister of Public Security, Avi Dichter, who had been appointed to his position years ago and therefore, he had never had to campaign for a place in the party before. There was a lot of pressure for Dichter to prove himself as someone who could be elected, not just appointed, so Oren and his staff ran an intense and country-wide campaign that proved to be very successful, as Dichter ended up in 9th place on the Kadima list (actually, the first two seats in Kadima were reserved for the chairman and her deputy, so technically, Oren's candidate ended up in 7th place)!
Oren's campaign ended the day before I returned from my business trip, so we decided to take the weekend and go to a luxurious spa up in the Carmel Mountains of Haifa. It was the kind of place where all of the guests (including us) walk around in white fluffy bathrobes and slippers the entire time, and spend our days rotating between soaking in the hot tub, relaxing in the turkish baths, eating, or getting some sort of massage treatment. I, personally, enjoyed a hot and cold stone massage which was, needless to say, a very unique experience. As with all vacations, this was far too short, but it helped recharge our batteries a bit before jumping back in to the work craziness.
On our way back from the spa, we stopped at a restaurant in Herzliya for dinner. It happened to also be the first night of Hanukkah, and I had one of my "this would never happen in the states" moments when the entire restaurant stopped what they were doing to light the Hanukkah candles together and say the prayers. It was a nice experience, and I hope that you all are having a Happy Hanukkah or Merry Christmas wherever you may be celebrating.
Love,
Debbie
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Times They Are A'Changin'
I'm sorry... I'm sorry! I know, it's been a really long time since I blogged and I know there are many of you are are upset about this. I'm sorry! I've been really busy!! With what, you ask? Well let's see...
I spent a very hectic two weeks in the USA on a business trip with Elem (my client that works with Israeli youth at risk). It was a successful, but exhausting trip. One of the best parts was being able to see some of my favorite people while in Boston and Chicago. I think that is one of the best parts of my job, is that it allows me to spend time with good friends- the kind of friends who you may not see for months at a time, but when you are together, it is as if time has never passed.
While I was in the states, I also spent a few days in Minneapolis with the fam. It was during this time that I helped my family pick out a new puppy!! His name is Teddy (because he looks like a teddy bear) and he is the cutest little thing you will ever see. Just to brighten your day, I am including some pictures of him. I hear from home that he is being a very good boy, and is bringing them a lot of joy, so I can't wait to see him in a few weeks when I am home for Thanksgiving.
It was also while I was in the states that an election was called in Israel. As some of you may know, an election can be called at pretty much any time here, and it just so happened to get called while I was in Chicago. This is a big deal for me, because one of my clients is a Member of Knesset whose re-election campaign began the day the election was called. Needless to say, we shifted into high gear very quickly (from the guest room at Lisa and Josh's apartment), and we are now intensely collecting the $100,000.00 that he is allowed to use towards his Primary Campaign.
If that were all I had to work on right now, it would be hectic enough, but I am also in the process of planning a huge trip for Elem that will take place at the beginning of December which is driving me up the wall. Planning a normal trip from another continent is challenging enough, but this time I am bringing an entourage of special guests and VIPs with me (one of them being Nava Barak, the former first lady of Israel) and we are doing some major events that are of very high importance to my client. So, I've been up until the wee hours of the morning for the past week either working on Yoel's fundraising for his Primary Campaign, or going back and forth with Boston and Chicago trying to get the details of our events nailed down.
And if THAT weren't enough to drive me cuckoo, an old friend called me a few days ago and told me that he decided to run for a seat in the Knesset, and asked if I could help him with his fundraising. So, make that TWO Primary Elections I am now raising money for, PLUS a massive high-level trip at the beginning of December. And, exhale.
Enough with all that. Many of you have asked me to react to Barak Obama winning the presidential campaign, and I must say, it is truly an exciting thing. As many of you know, I have not always been a 100% Obama fan (even though I had a facebook message the morning after the election from a friend reminding me that I had told him 3 years ago that Obama would be our next President when most people had still never heard of him), but I could not be happier or more impressed with the choice of so many Americans in this election. I could not believe when I woke up at 6:30am to learn that Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Indiana... all of them went blue! And furthermore, the voter turn out was incredible! I am even more thrilled with the fact that Obama chose Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff. Anyone who was worried that Obama would not surrounded himself with good people (or Pro-Israel people, for that matter) need not worry any more. I thought that was a very significant first move on Obama's part, and I can't wait to see what will happen next.
And with that, I will stop procrastinating and go back to raising money and planning VIP events for December. Never a dull moment, but I promise to start blogging regularly again.
P.S. Here are the pictures of Teddy. Enjoy :)
I spent a very hectic two weeks in the USA on a business trip with Elem (my client that works with Israeli youth at risk). It was a successful, but exhausting trip. One of the best parts was being able to see some of my favorite people while in Boston and Chicago. I think that is one of the best parts of my job, is that it allows me to spend time with good friends- the kind of friends who you may not see for months at a time, but when you are together, it is as if time has never passed.
While I was in the states, I also spent a few days in Minneapolis with the fam. It was during this time that I helped my family pick out a new puppy!! His name is Teddy (because he looks like a teddy bear) and he is the cutest little thing you will ever see. Just to brighten your day, I am including some pictures of him. I hear from home that he is being a very good boy, and is bringing them a lot of joy, so I can't wait to see him in a few weeks when I am home for Thanksgiving.
It was also while I was in the states that an election was called in Israel. As some of you may know, an election can be called at pretty much any time here, and it just so happened to get called while I was in Chicago. This is a big deal for me, because one of my clients is a Member of Knesset whose re-election campaign began the day the election was called. Needless to say, we shifted into high gear very quickly (from the guest room at Lisa and Josh's apartment), and we are now intensely collecting the $100,000.00 that he is allowed to use towards his Primary Campaign.
If that were all I had to work on right now, it would be hectic enough, but I am also in the process of planning a huge trip for Elem that will take place at the beginning of December which is driving me up the wall. Planning a normal trip from another continent is challenging enough, but this time I am bringing an entourage of special guests and VIPs with me (one of them being Nava Barak, the former first lady of Israel) and we are doing some major events that are of very high importance to my client. So, I've been up until the wee hours of the morning for the past week either working on Yoel's fundraising for his Primary Campaign, or going back and forth with Boston and Chicago trying to get the details of our events nailed down.
And if THAT weren't enough to drive me cuckoo, an old friend called me a few days ago and told me that he decided to run for a seat in the Knesset, and asked if I could help him with his fundraising. So, make that TWO Primary Elections I am now raising money for, PLUS a massive high-level trip at the beginning of December. And, exhale.
Enough with all that. Many of you have asked me to react to Barak Obama winning the presidential campaign, and I must say, it is truly an exciting thing. As many of you know, I have not always been a 100% Obama fan (even though I had a facebook message the morning after the election from a friend reminding me that I had told him 3 years ago that Obama would be our next President when most people had still never heard of him), but I could not be happier or more impressed with the choice of so many Americans in this election. I could not believe when I woke up at 6:30am to learn that Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Indiana... all of them went blue! And furthermore, the voter turn out was incredible! I am even more thrilled with the fact that Obama chose Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff. Anyone who was worried that Obama would not surrounded himself with good people (or Pro-Israel people, for that matter) need not worry any more. I thought that was a very significant first move on Obama's part, and I can't wait to see what will happen next.
And with that, I will stop procrastinating and go back to raising money and planning VIP events for December. Never a dull moment, but I promise to start blogging regularly again.
P.S. Here are the pictures of Teddy. Enjoy :)
Friday, September 19, 2008
A Big, Fat, Political Wedding
Last night, Oren and I were invited to attend the wedding of Oren's former boss' daughter. We actually have three weddings to attend this week, so this one did not particularly stand out to me as anything special when we RSVPed that we would attend. Yesterday was a crazy day for both me and Oren work-wise, so around 9:00pm, I got dressed up for the wedding, hopped in a taxi, picked up Oren on the other side of town where he had just left a campaign gathering for his candidate, and we rushed off to the wedding. When we were almost there, the traffic came to a standstill as a motorcade passed us by. Jokingly, I asked Oren if was Tzipi Livni's motorcade since she was just elected to be the new Prime Minister yesterday, and he replied, in complete seriousness, that it was actually Ehud Olmert's motorcade (aka the guy almost done being Prime Minister). I then, again, jokingly asked if he was coming to the wedding too and Oren, again in all seriousness, replied that yes, he was probably heading there as well. It was then that I realized that Oren worked for this guy whose daughter is getting married when the guy was the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister's office under Ariel Sharon, and since Olmert was the Deputy Prime Minister when Sharon was PM, it made a lot of sense that Olmert would attending and it made me wonder who else might be there...
So, we followed Olmert into the wedding, where he was whisked off to his roped off table in the corner that was surrounded by security guards. He later, on his way out of the wedding, said hello to Oren and I. He pretended to remember me from when we met last January and Oren took the opportunity to let him know that he has never been happier than since he left the government. Olmert seemed to appreciate that.
About 30 minutes later, I was sitting with a friend when I saw a nice looking old man walking towards us. I starred at him trying to figure out how I knew him, when I turned to my friend and asked "Is that Shimon Peres?" She confirmed that it was, in fact, the President of Israel walking around the wedding reception, and he then proceeded to come over, take my hand, and wish me a "Shana Tova" (Happy New Year). I wished him a "Shana Tova" back, and that was that.
After I got over the shock of Israel's President wandering around at someone's wedding, Oren and I decided it was time to go home. We were just about at the door when Oren noticed Tzipi Livni had just arrived to the party. This was by far the most exciting sighting of the evening, as I am a huge fan of hers and am so excited that she just was elected to be Prime Minister. She knows Oren from when he worked for Sharon, so we went over and said hello, and Oren introduced us, explaining to her that it was my first time voting in Israel and that I voted for her. She was genuinely excited about this, and I then proceeded to gush about what an honor it was to meet her and how excited I am that she is the new Prime Minister and that I know she will do a fantastic job, etc, etc. Probably a little bit much, but I was just so excited to meet her!
So, overall, it was a big, fat, political wedding- it's going to be difficult for the other two weddings this week to measure up!
So, we followed Olmert into the wedding, where he was whisked off to his roped off table in the corner that was surrounded by security guards. He later, on his way out of the wedding, said hello to Oren and I. He pretended to remember me from when we met last January and Oren took the opportunity to let him know that he has never been happier than since he left the government. Olmert seemed to appreciate that.
About 30 minutes later, I was sitting with a friend when I saw a nice looking old man walking towards us. I starred at him trying to figure out how I knew him, when I turned to my friend and asked "Is that Shimon Peres?" She confirmed that it was, in fact, the President of Israel walking around the wedding reception, and he then proceeded to come over, take my hand, and wish me a "Shana Tova" (Happy New Year). I wished him a "Shana Tova" back, and that was that.
After I got over the shock of Israel's President wandering around at someone's wedding, Oren and I decided it was time to go home. We were just about at the door when Oren noticed Tzipi Livni had just arrived to the party. This was by far the most exciting sighting of the evening, as I am a huge fan of hers and am so excited that she just was elected to be Prime Minister. She knows Oren from when he worked for Sharon, so we went over and said hello, and Oren introduced us, explaining to her that it was my first time voting in Israel and that I voted for her. She was genuinely excited about this, and I then proceeded to gush about what an honor it was to meet her and how excited I am that she is the new Prime Minister and that I know she will do a fantastic job, etc, etc. Probably a little bit much, but I was just so excited to meet her!
So, overall, it was a big, fat, political wedding- it's going to be difficult for the other two weddings this week to measure up!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Learning Hebrew: Take 4
I have recently started trying to learn Hebrew for the fourth time. The first time was from the 3rd to 7th grade where I was educated at the fine Minneapolis institution known as Talmud Torah (aka Talmud Torture). The second time was my freshman year of college when I suffered through a painful semester with Zvi who would constantly taunt me "Fo-coos Day-bee, Fo-coos!" The third time was last November in Ulpan where the demanding 25-hours a week of classes did not mesh with my starting/running a business. So, this time, I decided try something different. Instead of going the class route, I am working one-on-one with a tutor. I realized that one of the reasons I did not learn as much as I should have in my other attempts is because the classroom format allows me to zone out and not ask the questions I may have. I figured that when it is just me and the teacher, I cannot zone out and I cannot avoid asking my questions... and boy, do I have questions! Fortunately, I am always pleasantly surprised when my tutor has thorough answers to all of them!
My tutor is an American who moved to Israel 5 years ago and is just finishing her Master's degree in Hebrew. We meet three times a week for an hour each time, and even after just four classes, I already feel like I am understanding more of what I hear around me and I have become more comfortable trying to speak. She is so incredibly enthusiastic about how wonderful Hebrew is, that it has given me a renewed interest in learning the language. At every class, she will tell me one thing that she loves about Hebrew- for example, she loves that in Hebrew, we use the same word to mean "setting up two people" as we use for "stapler", the connection being that both the action of setting up two people and stapling things is the intention to "attach" one thing (person or paper) to another thing (person or paper). Cute, yes?
In other news, there is some new excitement on the professional front. Oren was just recently asked to manage the campaign for a woman who is running to be the mayor of a nearby city. This is something that he has always been interested in and studied while he was at Harvard, so having this opportunity is just fantastic. Unlike in the states, the campaigns here do not begin insanely far in advance, so he just signed on to the campaign today, and the election is in about 8 weeks. We are anticipating a crazy 8 weeks where he will be managing this campaign and still working with Avi on their business clients, but we are prepared and excited to make it all work. On top of this, the primary elections that will decide the next Prime Minister of Israel are on Wednesday, so between that and the campaign, I am looking forward to a lot of new political experiences in the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned...
My tutor is an American who moved to Israel 5 years ago and is just finishing her Master's degree in Hebrew. We meet three times a week for an hour each time, and even after just four classes, I already feel like I am understanding more of what I hear around me and I have become more comfortable trying to speak. She is so incredibly enthusiastic about how wonderful Hebrew is, that it has given me a renewed interest in learning the language. At every class, she will tell me one thing that she loves about Hebrew- for example, she loves that in Hebrew, we use the same word to mean "setting up two people" as we use for "stapler", the connection being that both the action of setting up two people and stapling things is the intention to "attach" one thing (person or paper) to another thing (person or paper). Cute, yes?
In other news, there is some new excitement on the professional front. Oren was just recently asked to manage the campaign for a woman who is running to be the mayor of a nearby city. This is something that he has always been interested in and studied while he was at Harvard, so having this opportunity is just fantastic. Unlike in the states, the campaigns here do not begin insanely far in advance, so he just signed on to the campaign today, and the election is in about 8 weeks. We are anticipating a crazy 8 weeks where he will be managing this campaign and still working with Avi on their business clients, but we are prepared and excited to make it all work. On top of this, the primary elections that will decide the next Prime Minister of Israel are on Wednesday, so between that and the campaign, I am looking forward to a lot of new political experiences in the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned...
Thursday, August 28, 2008
DNC
I am the first to admit that I have not missed being part of this year's presidential election. I feel, like many do, that it started waaaay to early and has, therefore, gone on for far too long. I have not missed the TV ads, the constant analysis on the 24-hour news channels, or the annoying phone calls (even though we actually do get a few since we have a 202 area code on our landline here). However, since the Democratic National Convention has started I have been obsessed. Waking up every morning and, for at least an hour, watching as many video clips as I can find of the previous day's speeches and analysis by a variety opinionated people. Once I look through all of the video clips, then I start looking for news articles about the previous day. And then, last but definitely not least, I go on facebook and look at pictures people have uploaded from the convention. Those are usually the best part, because they tend to include random celebrities who are attending the convention posing awkwardly with people who I maybe/kinda/sorta know from my time in DC but who I am, of course, friends with on facebook. It is my way of attending the convention vicariously through them. I have the most wonderful memories of the 2004 DNC in Boston, that I am truly sad to miss this one, however, I have decided that there is nothing that will keep me away from the 2012 DNC, wherever it may be.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Update...
Since I wrote that last post this morning, I was invited to attend the private ceremony for the anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in the Prime Minister's office by Oren's boss and sat two rows behind Prime Minister Olmert. Cool stuff.
Live from the Knesset
Boker tov (good morning)!
I am writing to you live from the Knesset (aka the Israeli Parliment- in DC, this would be the Capitol building). I am here at the Knesset in Jerusalem for the second time this week to start working on Yoel's fundraising. Monday was my first day here and, needless to say, it was quite interesting.
It started out with me going with Oren to his office in the building where the Prime Minister works (in DC, this would be the White House) and got a great tour from Oren. However, unlike a White House tour, I was able to actually walk into the PM's office and take a picture behind his desk, etc. It was pretty cool. I then made my way over to the Knesset where I went through some of the most intense security for the 2nd time in an hour (the first time was in the PM's office)... The security here to get into one of these buildings is like trying to get into the Captiol, White House, and Regan National Airport all put together. Ridiculous. But I do understand and appreciate it.
After finding my way to Yoel's office, I quickly bonded with his other staff members who are great and then got down to business. Yoel is going to be in the states for the GA in November and has asked me to plan a 4-state fundraising trip for him while he is there. This gives me roughly 3 weeks to make this happen, but I think we will make it work... anyway.
Right after I got to the Knesset, I had a meeting with another Member of Knesset who had heard about me and wanted to talk with me about doing some fundraising for her. It was a very interesting meeting and I am going to do a bit of research on her potential donor base and get back to her in a few weeks...
After spending some time with Yoel's intern, Nicole, who is assisting me, Oren and Avi came over to go to lunch with us in the Knesset dining room. Of course, during lunch, Yoel had to point out to me that I have been in Israel less than 4 weeks and I am sitting in the Knesset dining room which few people ever get to be in, but not only am I there, but I am there with a "Member of the Jewish Parliament" (I was able to quote that last part along with him- it is one of his favorite statements) and that I should appreciate how special that is. It was quite funny. One minute I am in Joe Lieberman's kitchen, the next I am in the Knesset cafeteria... crazy.
So, this next part can be appreciated by my fundraising colleagues... I am trying to see how the "American style" of fundraising works here, meaning very structured, very detailed, very "American". So, I spent my afternoon making a few call sheets for Yoel (we make these for American politicians to give whoever is making the calls a feel for who they are speaking with, the background of their relationship to the person, and specifically what to ask them- they are a pain to make, but expected by US politicians). Also, I only made about 4, because the chance of getting an American politician to make more than 10 calls in one sitting is a rarity, and I wanted to start slow with Yoel since this was new for him. So, around 5:30 I finally sit down with him to start making calls. He picks up his master list of contacts and points to one and says "I am going to call him." I say "Ok... but you know, I have these call sheets with our priority calls..." And he says "Ok... we will call them later, but I'm going to call him now." I say, "Ok... well, do you want to take a look at the purpose of these other calls so that you know what we are asking these people?" He looks, says "Very professional..." I say "Thanks..." and he says "Ok, I am going to call this person now" and just picks up the phone and starts making calls. At first, this worried me, because it was so much less formal than our "American" system. However, Yoel turned out to be a natural, and as we made calls, he would ask me if he was saying things appropriately, I would coach him on how better to say this or that, etc. So, he makes a few calls and I figure we're good for the night, as I didn't want to overwhelm him on his first time... but then he kept going. And going. And going. Yoel must have made about 40 phone calls which, at least from my experience with American politicians, is unheard of. It was ridiculous. And amazing. We were here until 9:30pm, picked up Oren, and then went to dinner until 12:30am. Needless to say, I was completely exhausted (it was my first full day of work in a month!) but really pumped about how productive it had been.
That was Monday. Yesterday, I worked like mad from home all day until I had my meeting with the accountant, during which, I filled out the necessary paperwork to officially establish my own business. So crazy. Yossi, my accountant (I've never had an accountant before!) is fantastic and I could not feel more comfortable knowing that he is handing all of my "stuff."
So, I am back at the Knesset today, having lunch with Oren and his boss, and getting ready to go over the status of our trip with Yoel later this afternoon. I'm going to get back to work, but wanted to give a quick update because it has been awhile and a lot has happened!
Hope all is well with you!
I am writing to you live from the Knesset (aka the Israeli Parliment- in DC, this would be the Capitol building). I am here at the Knesset in Jerusalem for the second time this week to start working on Yoel's fundraising. Monday was my first day here and, needless to say, it was quite interesting.
It started out with me going with Oren to his office in the building where the Prime Minister works (in DC, this would be the White House) and got a great tour from Oren. However, unlike a White House tour, I was able to actually walk into the PM's office and take a picture behind his desk, etc. It was pretty cool. I then made my way over to the Knesset where I went through some of the most intense security for the 2nd time in an hour (the first time was in the PM's office)... The security here to get into one of these buildings is like trying to get into the Captiol, White House, and Regan National Airport all put together. Ridiculous. But I do understand and appreciate it.
After finding my way to Yoel's office, I quickly bonded with his other staff members who are great and then got down to business. Yoel is going to be in the states for the GA in November and has asked me to plan a 4-state fundraising trip for him while he is there. This gives me roughly 3 weeks to make this happen, but I think we will make it work... anyway.
Right after I got to the Knesset, I had a meeting with another Member of Knesset who had heard about me and wanted to talk with me about doing some fundraising for her. It was a very interesting meeting and I am going to do a bit of research on her potential donor base and get back to her in a few weeks...
After spending some time with Yoel's intern, Nicole, who is assisting me, Oren and Avi came over to go to lunch with us in the Knesset dining room. Of course, during lunch, Yoel had to point out to me that I have been in Israel less than 4 weeks and I am sitting in the Knesset dining room which few people ever get to be in, but not only am I there, but I am there with a "Member of the Jewish Parliament" (I was able to quote that last part along with him- it is one of his favorite statements) and that I should appreciate how special that is. It was quite funny. One minute I am in Joe Lieberman's kitchen, the next I am in the Knesset cafeteria... crazy.
So, this next part can be appreciated by my fundraising colleagues... I am trying to see how the "American style" of fundraising works here, meaning very structured, very detailed, very "American". So, I spent my afternoon making a few call sheets for Yoel (we make these for American politicians to give whoever is making the calls a feel for who they are speaking with, the background of their relationship to the person, and specifically what to ask them- they are a pain to make, but expected by US politicians). Also, I only made about 4, because the chance of getting an American politician to make more than 10 calls in one sitting is a rarity, and I wanted to start slow with Yoel since this was new for him. So, around 5:30 I finally sit down with him to start making calls. He picks up his master list of contacts and points to one and says "I am going to call him." I say "Ok... but you know, I have these call sheets with our priority calls..." And he says "Ok... we will call them later, but I'm going to call him now." I say, "Ok... well, do you want to take a look at the purpose of these other calls so that you know what we are asking these people?" He looks, says "Very professional..." I say "Thanks..." and he says "Ok, I am going to call this person now" and just picks up the phone and starts making calls. At first, this worried me, because it was so much less formal than our "American" system. However, Yoel turned out to be a natural, and as we made calls, he would ask me if he was saying things appropriately, I would coach him on how better to say this or that, etc. So, he makes a few calls and I figure we're good for the night, as I didn't want to overwhelm him on his first time... but then he kept going. And going. And going. Yoel must have made about 40 phone calls which, at least from my experience with American politicians, is unheard of. It was ridiculous. And amazing. We were here until 9:30pm, picked up Oren, and then went to dinner until 12:30am. Needless to say, I was completely exhausted (it was my first full day of work in a month!) but really pumped about how productive it had been.
That was Monday. Yesterday, I worked like mad from home all day until I had my meeting with the accountant, during which, I filled out the necessary paperwork to officially establish my own business. So crazy. Yossi, my accountant (I've never had an accountant before!) is fantastic and I could not feel more comfortable knowing that he is handing all of my "stuff."
So, I am back at the Knesset today, having lunch with Oren and his boss, and getting ready to go over the status of our trip with Yoel later this afternoon. I'm going to get back to work, but wanted to give a quick update because it has been awhile and a lot has happened!
Hope all is well with you!
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