and another thing!
I was sick this week with the flu. The stomach pains weren't so bad but the throat, man the THROAT! Hurt like it was on fire. Those soothing tablets didn't help a bit.
Ran is going to be homeless in just two weeks, so he's desperately looking for a new apartment. I've been looking at apartments with him, but because his budget is pretty low, it's been hard finding anything suitable. He'd like to stay in the Giv'ah because it's close to his work and he can walk to the university instead of pay for buses. But anything in his price range is really shabby, and well, gross. We saw an apartment last night that I thought was so horrible we just took off without even pretending we're interested in a room.
We did see one apartment in Giv'at Ze'ev that Ran liked. At first he wasn't sure because of the location. It's even more cut off from the city and is 20 minutes by bus ride to university. But when we got there the area is quiet, lots of stores, and even a small mall. And the price is ridiculous, so ridiculous in fact Ran is sure there's something fishy about the whole deal. He's convinced himself the students who live there now are MAFIA. Anyways, I really hope he'll get that place! With the price he should still be able to afford the monthly bus pass to school, and he could get a job in that area.
I went to the bank yesterday and IT WAS WEIRD.
My account used to be in the branch in the Giv'ah in Jerusalem, but last month DD took me to Caesarea to open a new account there. His bank account is also in that branch, and he wanted easy access to mine. Since he finances me I didn't care either way. So, I was supposed to go to my old branch here, sign some papers sent by the 'new' branch and get my new credit card and checks. It did not go smoothly.
Forget about the long wait and everybody arguing who's turn it is, blablabla, that's to be expected. The thing banks are notorious for is managing to screw up even the simplest things: First the clerk tells me I don't have any papers to sign for, she doesn't know what I'm talking about, and that I need to go to a different line to get my credit card and checks. OK, cool.
After I'm referred to the right line and finally get serviced the clerk tells me the other bank branch didn't send over the right paperwork so I can't get my new card and checks. 20 minutes go by and finally she comes back with the faxed paperwork. She gives me the checks and the credit card, and asks me for my old card. I ask her about the secret code for the card, and she tells me she'll give it to me in a second. So I give her the old card and she immediately cuts it to death. 5 minutes later she realizes that 'Oops!' She doesn't have the code for the new card. Great.
She calls the bank in Caesarea and they tell her the old code must work for this new card as well, then. That didn't sound right to me and I told her I was going to check it right then and there and what should I do when it doesn't work? She tells me I'll have to deal with the Caesarea branch if that happens, not her responsibility. OK.
Of course it didn't work. So I called DD who called his contact in Caesarea, who called the branch in J-M, and told me to come back and speak to this clerk, let's call him Yoseph.
Apparently, Yoseph got all the paperwork I needed to sign and the secret code for the new card and everything. And apparently it was my fault I don't have special powers and know exactly which clerk I need to approach. Not their fault for not writing a note in my file or anything. My fault. How could I be so stupid, right. The whole time I sat at his cubicle he was talking Arabic with I guess a friend of his and ignoring me. When I told him who I was and that he had my papers, 'the branch in Caesarea just spoke to you, right?' he just stared at me. STARED. It got awkward. So I asked him if he wants to see my ID. Then he got up, gave me a pile of papers to sign, and told me I can go.
WEIRD.
I guess he was mad at me for keeping his station open 5 minutes longer than he should have been. Next time put up a sign 'NAOMI S. COME HERE!'
Ran is going to be homeless in just two weeks, so he's desperately looking for a new apartment. I've been looking at apartments with him, but because his budget is pretty low, it's been hard finding anything suitable. He'd like to stay in the Giv'ah because it's close to his work and he can walk to the university instead of pay for buses. But anything in his price range is really shabby, and well, gross. We saw an apartment last night that I thought was so horrible we just took off without even pretending we're interested in a room.
We did see one apartment in Giv'at Ze'ev that Ran liked. At first he wasn't sure because of the location. It's even more cut off from the city and is 20 minutes by bus ride to university. But when we got there the area is quiet, lots of stores, and even a small mall. And the price is ridiculous, so ridiculous in fact Ran is sure there's something fishy about the whole deal. He's convinced himself the students who live there now are MAFIA. Anyways, I really hope he'll get that place! With the price he should still be able to afford the monthly bus pass to school, and he could get a job in that area.
I went to the bank yesterday and IT WAS WEIRD.
My account used to be in the branch in the Giv'ah in Jerusalem, but last month DD took me to Caesarea to open a new account there. His bank account is also in that branch, and he wanted easy access to mine. Since he finances me I didn't care either way. So, I was supposed to go to my old branch here, sign some papers sent by the 'new' branch and get my new credit card and checks. It did not go smoothly.
Forget about the long wait and everybody arguing who's turn it is, blablabla, that's to be expected. The thing banks are notorious for is managing to screw up even the simplest things: First the clerk tells me I don't have any papers to sign for, she doesn't know what I'm talking about, and that I need to go to a different line to get my credit card and checks. OK, cool.
After I'm referred to the right line and finally get serviced the clerk tells me the other bank branch didn't send over the right paperwork so I can't get my new card and checks. 20 minutes go by and finally she comes back with the faxed paperwork. She gives me the checks and the credit card, and asks me for my old card. I ask her about the secret code for the card, and she tells me she'll give it to me in a second. So I give her the old card and she immediately cuts it to death. 5 minutes later she realizes that 'Oops!' She doesn't have the code for the new card. Great.
She calls the bank in Caesarea and they tell her the old code must work for this new card as well, then. That didn't sound right to me and I told her I was going to check it right then and there and what should I do when it doesn't work? She tells me I'll have to deal with the Caesarea branch if that happens, not her responsibility. OK.
Of course it didn't work. So I called DD who called his contact in Caesarea, who called the branch in J-M, and told me to come back and speak to this clerk, let's call him Yoseph.
Apparently, Yoseph got all the paperwork I needed to sign and the secret code for the new card and everything. And apparently it was my fault I don't have special powers and know exactly which clerk I need to approach. Not their fault for not writing a note in my file or anything. My fault. How could I be so stupid, right. The whole time I sat at his cubicle he was talking Arabic with I guess a friend of his and ignoring me. When I told him who I was and that he had my papers, 'the branch in Caesarea just spoke to you, right?' he just stared at me. STARED. It got awkward. So I asked him if he wants to see my ID. Then he got up, gave me a pile of papers to sign, and told me I can go.
WEIRD.
I guess he was mad at me for keeping his station open 5 minutes longer than he should have been. Next time put up a sign 'NAOMI S. COME HERE!'