§183 Totalitarian underwear policy

Totalitarian underwear policy is a must when you’re potty training your child.

Even if it’s your 2-year old daughter, and if she early in the morning looks at you with her begging smiling melt-daddys-heart eyes and asks to change diaper and not put on underwear.

If you give in, your wife gets mad.  That’s what happened this morning.

So the last few days I have gone to sleep around 3 AM, when I need to get up at 6. This has been mostly, mainly and entirely because of the studies. But Monday evening the last paper was finally handed in. Now I can breath (read: study the first and second derivation of two-variable functions and Industrial concentration) for a while until May 9th.

So I thought “Tuesday evening I will go to sleep early and on Wednesday I can catch up reading and commenting all the blogs I’m reading”. Well “haha” reality said, and slapped me in my face. Tuesday I finish work at 19:00. Come home, eat, and then go to our congregation’s meeting. Annual financial report, discussions and ideas about activities, future, etc. I’m home again 22:30. I do the dishes till 23:30. Then I check the mailbox before we go to sleep. What do I find? A letter from the university “thankyou for applying to a scholarship for 2009. In order for us to take care of it we need clarifications and explanations on the following points: ‘blablabla’. Please send us this by April 30th the latest”. I realise that April 30th is tomorrow. So I sat at the computer writing that letter and printing the necessary documents they needed from the internet until 01:30. Today I faxed it from work. I tried to call and make sure they got it, but no answer…

Anyway, if I only finish the dishes really quickly (I’m almost done, only took a short blog pause) I’ll have time to study a bit more and go to sleep at a reasonable hour (before midnight).

Things are half crazy at work. I’ve been teaching Inbal how to do my job ever since I announced that I’m quitting. Now she is doing most of my job, training how to do it, and I check it. Basically she’ll be replacing me, and the new girl who starts on Sunday will be replacing her. Now I’m the master of the office, teaching the little ones how to to my job. Bwahaha! Work, little ones, work.

I hope I haven’t sounded too complaining and stuff. Life is basically good. Sure, it’s a bit crazy at work, but there’s that 20th of May as a light in the end of the tunnel. And sure, I’m a bit behind in my studies, but I enjoy every minute of my studies, even if they are a bit hectic. Besides, the hecticness only forces me to focus on the really important things, which is good, since I would probably run off to all kinds of side tracks just for the heck of it if I had the time, loosing track of the real studies. I do have the tendency of doing that.

Philosphical thought of the day: Is it ok to kill one innocent human being if it can save the lives of ten other innocent human beings? If not, how many people’s life must be at stake for it to be ok to kill one human? Or “how many human lives is a human life worth?”

I’m not going to answer that one. I’ll let you discuss it between yourselves, I don’t have time to indulge in discussions now.

And to all the people who write blogs I read – last time checked my RSS said “44 unread posts”, and I guess it’s climbing higher and higher with time. Now and today is not the time to catch up. Sorry.

Advice of the day: If you ever feel the urge to exercise – lie down until it goes away
Quote of the day: “It’s horrible to be intelligent enough to realise your potential, but also intelligent enough to know you do not have the ability to fulfill it”. (Translated from swedish – written as a comment on Peter Englund’s blog, by JennyMaria)
Feeling of the day: The moment’s feeling of panic you get when you walk around talking in your cell phone when you realise the phone is not in your pocket. It goes away when you realise you’re talking in it.
Occasion of the day: This evening and the day tomorrow is yom hashoah. The day of rememberance of the holocaust. We remember to ensure that it will never happen again. We must never forget. It did really happen.

El male rachamim dayan almanot veavey yetomim al na techeshe vetitapek ledam Israel shenishpach kemaim. Hamtse menuch nechona al knafei hashchina bema’alot kdoshim utehorim bezohar harakia meirim umazhirim linishmoteihem shel ravevot alfei Israel, anashim vanashim, yeladim veyeladot, shenehergu vanishchatu venisrafu venichneku venikberu chayim beartsot asher nag’a bahen yad hatsorer haGermani ugrurav. Kulam kdoshim utehorim, ubahem geonim utsadikim arzei halevanon adirey haTora. Began Eden tehe menuchatam. Lachen ba’al harachamim yastirem beseter knafav leolamim vayitsror bitsror hachayim et nishmatam, Adonai hu nachalatam veyanuchu veShalom al mishkavam venomar Amen

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§182 Mechanization, Utilization and Capital Intensity

I have a paper to hand in about mechanization, utilization and capital intensity by Tuesday. It’s about the relationship between the size of plant and capital intensity. The unit has 4 chapters:
-Capital and labor – relative prices and relative intensity
-Size of plant and capital intensity
-Government intervention and capital intensity
-Patterns of competition and capital utilization

I’ll be busy on Tuesday (and in any case my wife will be occupying the computer then as she happens to have a chat-class in her studies that evening). So basically I have this evening and tomorrow evening to finish this. And I haven’t read the 2 last chapters yet.

This means that until I’ve finished that:
-No more blogging
-No more blog commenting in other blogs.

I know we just started an interesting discussion about terrorism and its causes in Amber‘s blog, but it’ll just take too much time right now. Sorry. I’ll think about the stuff that have been said and come back with new force. Visionary gave me something to think about. I think I need to redefine terrorism… I’ll come up with something.

It’s 19:17. I have until midnight to
-Eat
-Do the dishes
-Learn all about government intervention and capital intensity as well as patterns of competition and capital utilization.

In other news, Emunah started potty training yesterday! Daddy’s big girl! 🙂 *proud*

The university has invited me to a lecture by professor Aharon Meir Asher of the Bar Ilan university about the Philisteic culture according to the excavations in Tel tzofit (philisteic Gat). I can’t go, but if anyone’s interested it’s in Tel Aviv on April 29th.

Man, I wish I could go on those things.

Yalla, gotta go.

I have fishes on my credit card

§181 Dr. Raphael Hirsch Biesenthal

This seems like an interesting guy:

http://hadavar.org/Biesenthaltest.html

I don’t know when above was written, but I quote:
“It is a matter for deep regret that these valuable Commentaries are out of print, and consequently out of circulation. ”

I happen to own two newly printed copies of the commetaries on Hebrews and Romans. Modified Hebrew to be understandable to the modern reader. Apparently, his commentaries on Luke and Acts are also available.
http://www.kerenahvah.org/Results.asp?txtSearch=3

I just need time to read it through. That may shed some light on my big question – was he a Messianic jew ahead of his time, or was he just another ex-jewish christian missionary?

§180 My wife has a blog

Hurry in and give her a comment.

http://holeycheese.wordpress.com

Just keep it clean…!

§179 Ma nishtana haLaila haze?

So finally I’ll publish some photos. This is from Pesach (Passover) yesterday evening. This was the first pessach that we celebrated only us together. Starting new family traditions is never an easy task. But since both me and Elisheva grew up with christmas celebrations, we can start from scratch and don’t come with our own baggage of how pesach “should be” because that’s how we grew up. Some other people need to have 2 different charosets to keep up with 2 different family traditions… =)

We started the pessach with letting Talitha have her meal, since there’s no chance she’ll ever make it through the entire haggadah. Letting her try to eat herself was no good idea though…

For you who know little or nothing about pessach, prepare for the below by reading
http://www.jewfaq.org/holidaya.htm or prepare to understand squat.

So here’s the pesach plate. Efraim made it at kindergarten.

Here we all are… Elisheva took the picture.

Here’s Elisheva with Talitha

Emunah is carefully listening to the Kadesh

Time for urchatz!

The Haggadah

Karpas

Karpas was not that tasty…

Yachatz went quickly. Kids just had to close their eyes while we hid the afikoman. After weeks of practice they sang “Ma Nishtana” together really well. Now we’re finally at the end of the Magid, after long readings, singing of Dajenu, and dipping fingers for the ten plagues, and can drink from the second cup.

A quick Rachtsa and then there’s the eating! Motsi Matsa, Maror, Korech – Charoset is yummi. Maror not so much. Now it’s finally time for Shulchan Orech!

Halfway from the meal we saw that Talitha was drifting off. Better give her her present quickly before she falls asleep.

After the meal it’s time for Tsafun – they found the Afikoman! Yeay, presents!

Big kids now – They each got their very own cup.

Then there was of course Barech, Hallel and Nirtsa in the end. Happy pesach!

———————————————————————
And now for something completely different. One week ago my parents and my two brothers came from Sweden. On Shabat, April 12th they came to Ma’ale Adumim to visit us together with my sister and her husband (then still boyfriend – it’s 2 days before the wedding).

Me, the kids, my mom and their presents: one dog each.

Wooden train

Emunah liked her new dog

Me, my three siblings and my three children. Left to right: Yossi, Taliah, Jonathan, me.

A mom and a dad added as well as two spouses on the floor.

Daughter Talitha, brother in law, Tal, and brother Yossi

Talitha with uncle Yossi

Since my birthday was only a month ago we pretended it was today, now that we were all here. My wife made a moose-warning-sign-cake (they have those in Sweden).

Of course I can cut the cake normally!

Nah, who am I kidding? Time to hunt down the Moose!

Siblings left after the cake. We took a walk to the playground with the kids and their grandparents. Here’s Efraim.

and Emunah

Me and my dad.

This is two days later – April 14th, the day of the wedding. I took the entire day off, so we took a walk in the morning to the shopping center.

And this is the day after the wedding. I’m at work, but my parents came by to meet their grandkids one more time before they went back to Sweden.

The photos of the wedding will be along sooner or later.

§178 Happy Pessach!

Happy holidays!

Some day I’ll have time to publish some photos of:
1 – Family from Sweden visit – one week ago
2 – Sister’s wedding – 5 days ago
3 – Pessach – a few hours ago

Inte rätt, inte rätt, inget som är förbisett! För att vår samling ska vara komplett har vi här en toalett och en klosett! /Magnus Härenstam, Fem Myror

§177 I quit my job today

The secret thing I did last week was to go on a job interview. The great news I got yesterday is that they’ll take me.

It’s a great job, including learning a profession (accounting) and the salary is almost twice as much as I earn now. Finally I’ll actually be able to provide for my family. No more loans!

Today I told my boss that I quit. I told her how much I’ll make and what position I’m getting. She gave me a big smile and said “Mazal Tov”. Phew!

I’m staying here a month to teach the others to do my job. From the middle of May my life is about to change forever. Basically this is what I’ve been waiting for since I finished high school.

Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam shehecheyanu vekiyemanu vehegianu lazman haze! Amen!