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...
Monday, September 15, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
I was due...
I guess you could say I was due for a profoundly awkward moment. I am somewhat prone to these, but have not had one for quite some time. So, it really was not all that surprising yesterday when I had one.
Yesterday, Oren, Avi, and I took a field trip to Jerusalem to meet with a potential client that the three of us would be working for together. The project is helping restore the original Prime Minister's mansion that was the home to many of Israel's great PM's (Ben Gurion, Golda Meir, Levi Eshkol, etc.). The plan was that Oren and Avi would manage this process, while I would raise the funds for it. The organization that we were hoping would hire us is the Levi Eshkol Foundation, which is run by Prime Minister Eshkol's wife. She has been unwilling to undertake this project herself, as she is 80 years old, and the goal of yesterday's meeting was to convince her that, although we are young, we are all very capable and competent people.
So, about half way through the meeting (which was mostly in Hebrew, meaning I understood about 15% of what was being said), I asked Mrs. Eshkol where her bathroom was. I did not find anything strange about this, but apparently I chose to ask this question at an unexpected time, because Mrs. Eshkol found it to be funny. I made my way to the bathroom trying to figure out why she found it so funny, and as I washed my hands I decided to ignore it, and reminded myself that the whole point of this meeting was to come across as capable and competent so that she concludes that we can be trusted with this important project. And that is when I realized that I had locked myself in the bathroom.
It was an old-fashioned lock that is not at all uncommon in Israel- the kind that has the big key hole and the huge key that you turn to lock or unlock. I am familiar with these locks from living here for a year, so this should not have been a problem. However, as I turned and turned, and pulled the key out and put the key back in, and turned some more, I realized that the door was not unlocking. I immediately began to feel claustrophobic, as this bathroom was barely big enough for the toilet and sink that were in it, and as the room started to close in, I kept turning the key and trying to wiggle it in the "magic" way that would unlock the door.
It was at that point that I heard Avi's voice on the other side of the door asking tentatively "Debbie? Are you okay in there?" Apparently my frantic key turning had been so noisy that it drew attention away from the meeting of 6 people that was occurring in the other room. I responded by telling him that I can't seem to unlock the door, which is when I hear Mrs. Eshkol from the other side of the door asking urgently "Did you lock the door?? We never lock the door here because it gets stuck!" I silently thought to myself that knowing that before I went to the bathroom would have been useful, but was interrupted by Avi who told me that he grew up with a lock like this and if I took the key out of the lock, he thought he could open it from the outside. Over the next few minutes, I started wondering how much of a dent this scenario would put in my efforts to appear capable and competent, when finally the door swung open and I was free! I then had the distinct pleasure of walking back into the meeting room where the other 4 people were sitting at the meeting table waiting for me to get released from the bathroom and, as professionally as possible, sat down and continued the meeting.
Fortunately, even with my awkwardness, she still decided to let us manage this project, which means much more quality time at Mrs. Eshkol's apartment where there will be no more locking of any doors. Ever.
Yesterday, Oren, Avi, and I took a field trip to Jerusalem to meet with a potential client that the three of us would be working for together. The project is helping restore the original Prime Minister's mansion that was the home to many of Israel's great PM's (Ben Gurion, Golda Meir, Levi Eshkol, etc.). The plan was that Oren and Avi would manage this process, while I would raise the funds for it. The organization that we were hoping would hire us is the Levi Eshkol Foundation, which is run by Prime Minister Eshkol's wife. She has been unwilling to undertake this project herself, as she is 80 years old, and the goal of yesterday's meeting was to convince her that, although we are young, we are all very capable and competent people.
So, about half way through the meeting (which was mostly in Hebrew, meaning I understood about 15% of what was being said), I asked Mrs. Eshkol where her bathroom was. I did not find anything strange about this, but apparently I chose to ask this question at an unexpected time, because Mrs. Eshkol found it to be funny. I made my way to the bathroom trying to figure out why she found it so funny, and as I washed my hands I decided to ignore it, and reminded myself that the whole point of this meeting was to come across as capable and competent so that she concludes that we can be trusted with this important project. And that is when I realized that I had locked myself in the bathroom.
It was an old-fashioned lock that is not at all uncommon in Israel- the kind that has the big key hole and the huge key that you turn to lock or unlock. I am familiar with these locks from living here for a year, so this should not have been a problem. However, as I turned and turned, and pulled the key out and put the key back in, and turned some more, I realized that the door was not unlocking. I immediately began to feel claustrophobic, as this bathroom was barely big enough for the toilet and sink that were in it, and as the room started to close in, I kept turning the key and trying to wiggle it in the "magic" way that would unlock the door.
It was at that point that I heard Avi's voice on the other side of the door asking tentatively "Debbie? Are you okay in there?" Apparently my frantic key turning had been so noisy that it drew attention away from the meeting of 6 people that was occurring in the other room. I responded by telling him that I can't seem to unlock the door, which is when I hear Mrs. Eshkol from the other side of the door asking urgently "Did you lock the door?? We never lock the door here because it gets stuck!" I silently thought to myself that knowing that before I went to the bathroom would have been useful, but was interrupted by Avi who told me that he grew up with a lock like this and if I took the key out of the lock, he thought he could open it from the outside. Over the next few minutes, I started wondering how much of a dent this scenario would put in my efforts to appear capable and competent, when finally the door swung open and I was free! I then had the distinct pleasure of walking back into the meeting room where the other 4 people were sitting at the meeting table waiting for me to get released from the bathroom and, as professionally as possible, sat down and continued the meeting.
Fortunately, even with my awkwardness, she still decided to let us manage this project, which means much more quality time at Mrs. Eshkol's apartment where there will be no more locking of any doors. Ever.
Monday, September 1, 2008
The definition of insanity?
I believe that it was Einstein who said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again while expecting different results. It was with this thought in mind that I entered into my second Bikram Yoga class last night. If you recall from my post awhile back, I tried Bikram Yoga a few months ago and absolutely hated it. I was miserable. And, as Oren recalls, I have never given him such angry looks as during those hot and painful 90 minutes in that steamy room. However, for some unknown reason, perhaps because I've started to like the pilates so much, I decided I wanted to try the hot yoga again and see if I would have a different result. Surprisingly, the result did change! By no stretch of the imagination did I enjoy it, but I did not hate it. And, afterwards, I felt so good and relaxed and I slept better than I have in a long time. I don't see myself becoming a regular, but I definitely would not rule out trying it again. You never know- maybe next time I will actually like it!
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.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Blog is Back
That's right, I'm back on the blog! After a long break from blogging, I have decided that it is time to start up again for two reasons. First, I enjoy having records of my "memorable" experiences here in Israel. Second, my friends and family apparently enjoyed the blog quite a lot, and after my cousin recently told me that for her, it was like her weekly dose of "Sex and the City" (minus the fact that it is her cousin writing, minus the fact that it is Tel Aviv and not New York, etc.), I decided, that since she is at home with three little boys (two of which are twins!) I could, at the very least, do this for her and give her something to read during nap time :-)
So, I am currently sitting in a cafe sipping my cafe kar (iced coffee) and munching on my muesli, and feeling a constant throbbing of pain in my legs. This constant throbbing is thanks to a new hobby I have acquired in recent weeks known as Reformer Pilates. A new studio opened a few blocks from us and I figured "why not try something new?" Reformer Pilates is similar to the Pilates that you are probably familiar with, except the entire class takes places on these big wooden machines that look like Midieval torture devices (for a photo- http://pilates.about.com/od/gettingstarted/ss/ReformerAnatomy.htm). There are springs, and boards, and chains, and loops for arms and legs. It looks quite intimidating, but it provides a really great and productive work out that I usually enjoy very much. However, on this last occasion (on Monday), I got a little lazy in class and did not "maintain my core" in the way that I was apparently supposed to, and over-extended what I believe to be my long adductor (one of the muscles on the inner thigh). I admit, it does make me feel quite athletic to have strained a muscle from such enthusiastic (or, in this case, lazy) exercising, but I would prefer feeling less athletic to having a strained muscle. I guess this will teach me to maintain my core from now on...
Besides my new-found athletic side, all is well here in the Holy Land. I just returned from 2.5 weeks in the states, part for business, part to visit family and friends. Oren just spent 10 days in Japan on a government trip, from which he brought us back many beautiful things that are now on display around our apartment, including a red silky "summer kimono" for me. I look very Asian when I wear it. My business continues to grow and evolve, and I think that now that I am almost a year into this whole "running a business" thing, I am actually feeling like I am getting the hang of it. I have crossed the income threshold that requires me to upgrade my status from "tiny business" to "small business" and I am looking to possibly hire my first employee in coming months, so that will be very exciting. Oren is in the process of starting his own consulting business with his friend Avi, so our apartment has become a busy office space, housing two new businesses. The fun part is that some of our clients overlap, so the three of us have the opportunity to work together which is always a good time.
Israeli politics have become increasingly interesting lately with Prime Minister Olmert deciding to step down and calling a Primary Election. Coincidentally, I am friends with people who work with 3 of the 4 candidates who may become Prime Minister, so I am enjoying seeing this election from both an insiders and outsiders point of view. I am constantly comparing election styles here to what I know and studied in the states (it is what my Masters Degree from GWU is in), and I am constantly surprised by how much more sophisticated campaigning is in the United States. This makes sense, as we have been doing and studying campaign strategy much longer in the states than they have in Israel (I'm not even sure that they have someone here who actually studies it...), but it still surprises me how much room there is for professional campaign management and strategy here.
On a totally separate note, I have to express my enthusiasm over all of the "Pink Berry" copycats that have been popping up all over Tel Aviv. I'm sure most of you are familiar with this concept by now, as I know they are all over the East and West Coasts (and Chicago... and one in Minneapolis that I found while I was home). It is one of my new favorite things and I am highly obsessed with it. Our favorite shop is just a 5 minute walk from our apartment called Kafoo (which means "frozen" in Hebrew). It truly thrills me that, for all of the things that Israel may be lagging behind in (ex. customer service, having quality ziplock bags, campaign strategy, etc.), that a few brilliant people recognized the value in opening Pink Berry style yogurt shops here. After all of this writing about it, I think I have to sign off now and go get some Kafoo (with mango, granola, and bittersweet chocolate- YUM!) I hope to update the blog at least once a week from now on, and hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
Off to Kafoo!
Debbie
So, I am currently sitting in a cafe sipping my cafe kar (iced coffee) and munching on my muesli, and feeling a constant throbbing of pain in my legs. This constant throbbing is thanks to a new hobby I have acquired in recent weeks known as Reformer Pilates. A new studio opened a few blocks from us and I figured "why not try something new?" Reformer Pilates is similar to the Pilates that you are probably familiar with, except the entire class takes places on these big wooden machines that look like Midieval torture devices (for a photo- http://pilates.about.com/od/gettingstarted/ss/ReformerAnatomy.htm). There are springs, and boards, and chains, and loops for arms and legs. It looks quite intimidating, but it provides a really great and productive work out that I usually enjoy very much. However, on this last occasion (on Monday), I got a little lazy in class and did not "maintain my core" in the way that I was apparently supposed to, and over-extended what I believe to be my long adductor (one of the muscles on the inner thigh). I admit, it does make me feel quite athletic to have strained a muscle from such enthusiastic (or, in this case, lazy) exercising, but I would prefer feeling less athletic to having a strained muscle. I guess this will teach me to maintain my core from now on...
Besides my new-found athletic side, all is well here in the Holy Land. I just returned from 2.5 weeks in the states, part for business, part to visit family and friends. Oren just spent 10 days in Japan on a government trip, from which he brought us back many beautiful things that are now on display around our apartment, including a red silky "summer kimono" for me. I look very Asian when I wear it. My business continues to grow and evolve, and I think that now that I am almost a year into this whole "running a business" thing, I am actually feeling like I am getting the hang of it. I have crossed the income threshold that requires me to upgrade my status from "tiny business" to "small business" and I am looking to possibly hire my first employee in coming months, so that will be very exciting. Oren is in the process of starting his own consulting business with his friend Avi, so our apartment has become a busy office space, housing two new businesses. The fun part is that some of our clients overlap, so the three of us have the opportunity to work together which is always a good time.
Israeli politics have become increasingly interesting lately with Prime Minister Olmert deciding to step down and calling a Primary Election. Coincidentally, I am friends with people who work with 3 of the 4 candidates who may become Prime Minister, so I am enjoying seeing this election from both an insiders and outsiders point of view. I am constantly comparing election styles here to what I know and studied in the states (it is what my Masters Degree from GWU is in), and I am constantly surprised by how much more sophisticated campaigning is in the United States. This makes sense, as we have been doing and studying campaign strategy much longer in the states than they have in Israel (I'm not even sure that they have someone here who actually studies it...), but it still surprises me how much room there is for professional campaign management and strategy here.
On a totally separate note, I have to express my enthusiasm over all of the "Pink Berry" copycats that have been popping up all over Tel Aviv. I'm sure most of you are familiar with this concept by now, as I know they are all over the East and West Coasts (and Chicago... and one in Minneapolis that I found while I was home). It is one of my new favorite things and I am highly obsessed with it. Our favorite shop is just a 5 minute walk from our apartment called Kafoo (which means "frozen" in Hebrew). It truly thrills me that, for all of the things that Israel may be lagging behind in (ex. customer service, having quality ziplock bags, campaign strategy, etc.), that a few brilliant people recognized the value in opening Pink Berry style yogurt shops here. After all of this writing about it, I think I have to sign off now and go get some Kafoo (with mango, granola, and bittersweet chocolate- YUM!) I hope to update the blog at least once a week from now on, and hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
Off to Kafoo!
Debbie
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Customer Service
Well, once again it seems I have been slacking on the blog writing. I do apologize. I think it is because I have been doing so much over-communicating for work, that my personal communicating has started to slack, which is lo tov (not good). I am going to try very hard to stay on track with the blog now... maybe even schedule some "blogging time" in to my handy little blackberry calendar. I must admit, I tried going without a blackberry for my first two months here, and since I got it in November, it has so hugely simplified my life that I can voluntarily say that I am dependent on it and dread the thought of losing it or breaking it. I will never forget when my former boss called us (us being my office) to tell us that she had dropped (or thrown) her blackberry in the toilet and my former co-worker/one of my favorite people Heather had to fake power of attorney (you can actually print off these documents online) in order to get my boss another blackberry. However, I digress...
Things here in the holy land have been rocking and rolling- literally. On Friday, I experienced my first earthquake! It was pretty minor- a 5.3 on the scale, but it was the strangest sensation and I didn't even know what it was until later that day when I saw it in the news. I was just sitting in a cafe (Max Brenner, for those of you who can appreciate how wonderful the cafe was that I was sitting in) reading the newspaper and all of a sudden, I felt like I was sitting on a floating dock, like the floor below me was kind of bobbing up and down in a gentle rolling motion. I looked around to see if anyone else noticed, and no one seemed to, though I saw that my coffee and orange juice were oddly swishing around in their glasses. As quickly as I noticed it, it stopped, and I wondered briefly if I had some sort of equilibrium imbalance, and then shrugged and went back to my newspaper.
On the work front, things continue to be busy. I spent the past 3.5 weeks trying to figure out how to get paid by 5 separate clients who want to be invoiced in 5 different ways and at 5 different times and in 5 different formats. It doesn't help that two of the groups are two of the most bureaucratic organizations in, probably, the entire world- the Knesset and the United Nations. And, of course, the Israeli mentality doesn't help the situation, as they seem to have no sense of urgency when it comes to paying someone.
It was due to this situation that I had my biggest "battle" since the Mango "incident." The United Nations, being incredibly bureaucratic, required not only a formed filled out with all sorts of random bank information, but also required a letter from the bank verifying the different information... in English. As you may know, the banks in Israel are one of the biggest pains to deal with and something I dread. Part of it is the fact that very few people at my bank speak any English, but even more so, the bank system here is about 20 years behind the US bank system. For example, because I opened my account at the Sheinken branch, that means the only branch I can do anything at is the Sheinken branch. Although Discount Bank has many many branches around Tel Aviv, if I wanted to deposit a check at the Ben Yehuda branch of Discount Bank, they look at you like you are an alien and the conversation goes something like this: "we can't do this, we are not your branch" and then I say, "but, you are still Discount Bank, so you should be able to deposit this check into my account" and then they say "but we don't know you" and then I say "but you have my ID to verify that I am Deborah Stein" and then they say "but, we don't KNOW you." Silly, right? But as silly as that sounds, they are actually serious when they say it.
So, I knew that getting a letter in English from my bank verifying my account information was going to be a miserable task. Oren came with me, and we explained my situation to a man at the bank, and his reply is "We don't write letters here." Oren explained to him that I need this letter in order to get paid, and he stares back at us again and says "We don't write letters here. Bank policy." So, conveniently (or sometimes inconveniently), my bank branch is split in half by a street, so it is one branch, but is two buildings on either side of the street. So, we walk across the street, and approach someone in that building, and ask them for a letter, and they say "sure" (so much for bank policy). After handwriting for them what the letter should say, they give me a copy (with still a few typos, but I was ready to take what I could get), and I fax it to the UN people. A week later, thinking I am all set and done with the letters and crap, I get a call from the UN saying that my bank information does not match because I have two account numbers and they cannot accept this. Now, this is true, I do have two account numbers... for no good reason except that when my bank merged with another bank, they neglected to coordinate their computer systems, so I literally have two account numbers for the same account at their bank, and because it is completely irrational, the UN is having none of it.
So, at this point, I am ready to cry, because I cannot bear the idea of having to go back to the bank and try to get another letter from them in English, so Oren suggests I try using my bank in DC, PNC Bank. I figure, I have nothing to lose, so I give them a call. I am not exaggerating when I say that, within 5 minutes, the friendly woman at PNC was able to give me all of the information I needed, and then offered to fax, email, and mail a copy of a letter verifying my bank info to both the UN and me. I was so overwhelmed with appreciation that I almost sent this woman flowers, but instead opted for a glowing email to her manager going on and on (literally) about how amazing she was and how helpful their bank was, etc. It still makes me smile as I write this because it was such an amazingly positive experience. Sigh.
In other news, we hope to be moving on March 1 into our new apartment. It is finally starting to look like a real apartment, with windows and walls, and such. It is getting very exciting and I can hardly wait!
Alright, I am now going to go start figuring out my flights for my March trips. As I mentioned awhile back, I will be in the states for some work and fun on the following dates:
March 15-16- DC
March 16-17- NYC
March 18- DC
March 19- Chicago
March 20-23- MN
March 24- Chicago
March 25- Boston
March 26- DC
March 27- Back to Tel Aviv
It's going to be a crazy 12 days, but I hope to see many of you while I am the respective cities.
Hope all is well, and I promise to be a better blogger in the future!
XOXO,
Debbie
Things here in the holy land have been rocking and rolling- literally. On Friday, I experienced my first earthquake! It was pretty minor- a 5.3 on the scale, but it was the strangest sensation and I didn't even know what it was until later that day when I saw it in the news. I was just sitting in a cafe (Max Brenner, for those of you who can appreciate how wonderful the cafe was that I was sitting in) reading the newspaper and all of a sudden, I felt like I was sitting on a floating dock, like the floor below me was kind of bobbing up and down in a gentle rolling motion. I looked around to see if anyone else noticed, and no one seemed to, though I saw that my coffee and orange juice were oddly swishing around in their glasses. As quickly as I noticed it, it stopped, and I wondered briefly if I had some sort of equilibrium imbalance, and then shrugged and went back to my newspaper.
On the work front, things continue to be busy. I spent the past 3.5 weeks trying to figure out how to get paid by 5 separate clients who want to be invoiced in 5 different ways and at 5 different times and in 5 different formats. It doesn't help that two of the groups are two of the most bureaucratic organizations in, probably, the entire world- the Knesset and the United Nations. And, of course, the Israeli mentality doesn't help the situation, as they seem to have no sense of urgency when it comes to paying someone.
It was due to this situation that I had my biggest "battle" since the Mango "incident." The United Nations, being incredibly bureaucratic, required not only a formed filled out with all sorts of random bank information, but also required a letter from the bank verifying the different information... in English. As you may know, the banks in Israel are one of the biggest pains to deal with and something I dread. Part of it is the fact that very few people at my bank speak any English, but even more so, the bank system here is about 20 years behind the US bank system. For example, because I opened my account at the Sheinken branch, that means the only branch I can do anything at is the Sheinken branch. Although Discount Bank has many many branches around Tel Aviv, if I wanted to deposit a check at the Ben Yehuda branch of Discount Bank, they look at you like you are an alien and the conversation goes something like this: "we can't do this, we are not your branch" and then I say, "but, you are still Discount Bank, so you should be able to deposit this check into my account" and then they say "but we don't know you" and then I say "but you have my ID to verify that I am Deborah Stein" and then they say "but, we don't KNOW you." Silly, right? But as silly as that sounds, they are actually serious when they say it.
So, I knew that getting a letter in English from my bank verifying my account information was going to be a miserable task. Oren came with me, and we explained my situation to a man at the bank, and his reply is "We don't write letters here." Oren explained to him that I need this letter in order to get paid, and he stares back at us again and says "We don't write letters here. Bank policy." So, conveniently (or sometimes inconveniently), my bank branch is split in half by a street, so it is one branch, but is two buildings on either side of the street. So, we walk across the street, and approach someone in that building, and ask them for a letter, and they say "sure" (so much for bank policy). After handwriting for them what the letter should say, they give me a copy (with still a few typos, but I was ready to take what I could get), and I fax it to the UN people. A week later, thinking I am all set and done with the letters and crap, I get a call from the UN saying that my bank information does not match because I have two account numbers and they cannot accept this. Now, this is true, I do have two account numbers... for no good reason except that when my bank merged with another bank, they neglected to coordinate their computer systems, so I literally have two account numbers for the same account at their bank, and because it is completely irrational, the UN is having none of it.
So, at this point, I am ready to cry, because I cannot bear the idea of having to go back to the bank and try to get another letter from them in English, so Oren suggests I try using my bank in DC, PNC Bank. I figure, I have nothing to lose, so I give them a call. I am not exaggerating when I say that, within 5 minutes, the friendly woman at PNC was able to give me all of the information I needed, and then offered to fax, email, and mail a copy of a letter verifying my bank info to both the UN and me. I was so overwhelmed with appreciation that I almost sent this woman flowers, but instead opted for a glowing email to her manager going on and on (literally) about how amazing she was and how helpful their bank was, etc. It still makes me smile as I write this because it was such an amazingly positive experience. Sigh.
In other news, we hope to be moving on March 1 into our new apartment. It is finally starting to look like a real apartment, with windows and walls, and such. It is getting very exciting and I can hardly wait!
Alright, I am now going to go start figuring out my flights for my March trips. As I mentioned awhile back, I will be in the states for some work and fun on the following dates:
March 15-16- DC
March 16-17- NYC
March 18- DC
March 19- Chicago
March 20-23- MN
March 24- Chicago
March 25- Boston
March 26- DC
March 27- Back to Tel Aviv
It's going to be a crazy 12 days, but I hope to see many of you while I am the respective cities.
Hope all is well, and I promise to be a better blogger in the future!
XOXO,
Debbie
Saturday, January 12, 2008
It's been awhile
I have now received a few notes from people asking why the blog hasn't been updated lately, so now that I have slowed down for a moment, here we go with some categorized updates with apologies to those who have not had the blog as a means of procrastination at work lately:
Family Visit
The Stein family has come and gone from Israel on their first ever visit to the Holy Land and I am pleased to report that we had a fantastic time. They got here at the end of December and stayed for 10 days that were jam-packed of sites, history, quality time, and, of course, lots of food. We basically ate our way through Israel and loved every moment of it. We had a fantastic tour guide named Hannan who provided on-going entertainment while driving us through the winding mountain roads in his Volkswagon stick-shift 10-seater van, and by the end of the 10 days, he was like another family member. The family had such a great time that they are already planning their next trip for June!
Work
The business has really taken off in the past month. As things have evolved, the business has now split into two branches- political and non-profit. The political side is still called DLS Consulting and I am now managing two members of Knesset and am in discussions to work for a few mayors and one more member. The non-profit side evolved through a meeting with a group here that represents some Dutch foundations that give to Israeli philanthropies. They decided that they want to open a fundraising branch of their company called Quantam and have asked me to be a partner in their efforts and act as the Vice President of Resource Development. In this position, I will manage their 10 current clients and will likely merge my non-profit clients that I originally agreed to work with under the umbrella of Quantam. So, needless to say, things have gotten a bit busy over here, but I love the challenge and all of the new people I am having the opportunity to work with. Also, thanks to work, it looks like I will be in the states in mid-March in DC, NYC, and Chicago (and then, of course, a few days in MN) which will be a lot of fun.
Apartment
The apartment renovations are going strong. The walls are going up and after Monday, all decisions and choices will be complete. We are hoping to be moving mid-February... fingers crossed!
Random story
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from our interior designer, Shimirt, around 9pm. Assuming it was about the apartment, I answered. She told me that she had a strange request- her fiance was helping one of his clients create an advertisement for a new product that was made in the style of a cartoon that was to be shown to prospective investors in the USA. They had given it to professionals to do the voiceovers, but the woman who had done the voice for the "Mother" in the cartoon was apparently a heavy smoker and her voice sounded more like an old man than a sweet mother. The realized this that evening and had to submit the advertisement the next day, and they needed someone with an American accent to do the voice of the "Mother" and asked if I could do it. I said, sure, why not, and they told me they could be here to pick me up and take me to the recording studio in 15 minutes. So, 30 minutes later, I was in the recording room with the headset on and microphone in hand doing the voice of "Mother." Apparently, they were thrilled with the final product, so if all else fails, I guess I can always try a career in voiceovers...?
Yesterday was reported to be the coldest day of the winter here... it was 50 degrees and sunny! Not too shabby, eh?
Hope all is well!
Family Visit
The Stein family has come and gone from Israel on their first ever visit to the Holy Land and I am pleased to report that we had a fantastic time. They got here at the end of December and stayed for 10 days that were jam-packed of sites, history, quality time, and, of course, lots of food. We basically ate our way through Israel and loved every moment of it. We had a fantastic tour guide named Hannan who provided on-going entertainment while driving us through the winding mountain roads in his Volkswagon stick-shift 10-seater van, and by the end of the 10 days, he was like another family member. The family had such a great time that they are already planning their next trip for June!
Work
The business has really taken off in the past month. As things have evolved, the business has now split into two branches- political and non-profit. The political side is still called DLS Consulting and I am now managing two members of Knesset and am in discussions to work for a few mayors and one more member. The non-profit side evolved through a meeting with a group here that represents some Dutch foundations that give to Israeli philanthropies. They decided that they want to open a fundraising branch of their company called Quantam and have asked me to be a partner in their efforts and act as the Vice President of Resource Development. In this position, I will manage their 10 current clients and will likely merge my non-profit clients that I originally agreed to work with under the umbrella of Quantam. So, needless to say, things have gotten a bit busy over here, but I love the challenge and all of the new people I am having the opportunity to work with. Also, thanks to work, it looks like I will be in the states in mid-March in DC, NYC, and Chicago (and then, of course, a few days in MN) which will be a lot of fun.
Apartment
The apartment renovations are going strong. The walls are going up and after Monday, all decisions and choices will be complete. We are hoping to be moving mid-February... fingers crossed!
Random story
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from our interior designer, Shimirt, around 9pm. Assuming it was about the apartment, I answered. She told me that she had a strange request- her fiance was helping one of his clients create an advertisement for a new product that was made in the style of a cartoon that was to be shown to prospective investors in the USA. They had given it to professionals to do the voiceovers, but the woman who had done the voice for the "Mother" in the cartoon was apparently a heavy smoker and her voice sounded more like an old man than a sweet mother. The realized this that evening and had to submit the advertisement the next day, and they needed someone with an American accent to do the voice of the "Mother" and asked if I could do it. I said, sure, why not, and they told me they could be here to pick me up and take me to the recording studio in 15 minutes. So, 30 minutes later, I was in the recording room with the headset on and microphone in hand doing the voice of "Mother." Apparently, they were thrilled with the final product, so if all else fails, I guess I can always try a career in voiceovers...?
Yesterday was reported to be the coldest day of the winter here... it was 50 degrees and sunny! Not too shabby, eh?
Hope all is well!
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