notquiteisraeli: (applejack work and school)
1. My interview with CELTA Athens went well, and they offered me a place in the course starting January 7. I have made a down payment on tuition to guarantee my spot. Yay!

2. Saw the cardiologist. Dr. Slutsky (stop giggling) treats a lot of young women, which is a plus. He ordered a stress echo so he can see the extent of the damage - if any - and decide how to prevent future damage. He specifically said that he avoids invasive testing unless absolutely necessary - a good thing. Blood tests have also been ordered. (If you think his name is funny, imagine the fun Israelis have with the name "Zona"...which is Hebrew for "whore".)

3. My brother-in-law Alon had his 50th birthday party, which was a romp. Good food, cake, sufganiyot, and lots of laughter. He's usually a pretty serious guy, so it was nice to see him loosen up and smile. The last time I saw him loosen up like this was at our wedding. He went out of his way to tell me that our present was the best present he could think of (we gave Alon and Sarah enough money to pay for a date night and volunteered to babysit the boys). Also he imitated a parrot that he knew when he was a kid that had interesting vocabulary. (The boys were out of earshot by then.) Hearing Alon croaking "Maniak! Maniak!" had everyone cracking up. (Maniak means "fucker".) All in all, a great night, well worth the drive to and from Tel Aviv.

4. Today I received a pre-order copy of Az Nashir: We Will Sing Again. It's an anthology of Israeli women's prayers written since October 7, in Hebrew and English. My friend Rachel Sharansky Danziger was one of the editors and contributors. It's really wonderful - a worthy addition to the Jewish tradition of women's private devotions.

5. On order: the Twin Peaks Tarot.

6. Eyal and I have already made our anniversary plans: we're seeing the Toscanini String Quartet in Tel Aviv. Strangely, my therapist was surprised when I told him, saying he didn't realize we were so much into classical music. Well, we are. Very, very, much. Particularly chamber music. A favorite of ours? Beethoven's cello trios, as performed by Daniel Barenboim (pig!), Pinchas Zukerman (cute smile!), and Jacqueline du Pre (team Jackie!).

7. On Wednesday, Eyal asked me if I'd ever heard of a card game called Munchkin. Long story short, a game night involving one of his co-workers and a couple other friends is in the works.
notquiteisraeli: (writing)
I'm doing a lot of writing these days. Granted, most of it is for my pre-course work for CELTA, so it's writing that's actually purposeful. Mind you I'm also writing about my life. [personal profile] bikergeek suggested the title for one in a tongue-in-cheek throwaway comment ("Four Months In The Life Of Anna Davidovna") but honestly, it fits. So thank you for that; if I get that one published, I'll dedicate it to you. I came up with a bunch of titles ("The Queen of Comedy," "Bedlam Girls," "War Bride," "Alice & Dorothy," "Shiksa Face," "Who's Your Daddy?" - among others). I know, roughly, where I want each piece to go. Getting there is a bitch and a half.

Naturally, because I'm writing, I'm also doing a hell of a lot of reading. For my course I have my books:

Learning Teaching: The Essential Guide To English Language Teaching Third Edition by Jim Scrivener
Grammar For English Language Teachers by Martin Parrott
Practical English Usage: Fully Revised Fourth Edition by Michael Swan
English Grammar In Use by Raymond Murphy

Fun stuff. Actually, I do enjoy my work for my course, so yeah, not bad.

For leisure I've been perusing Henry Beard's revised and updated Latin For All Occasions (Lingua Latina Occasionibus Omnibus). To improve my writing I've been taking notes on Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, which is one of the best books on writing ever, and the screamingly funny How Not To Write A Novel, by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman. The latter I recommend not only to writer friends but to anyone who enjoys reading.

I don't read a lot of fiction these days. I also read a lot of Jewish books; I have a considerable number of books on Jewish magic (not mysticism - magic, and yes, there's a difference) in addition to my devotional texts (prayerbooks, Tanakh, several collections of the Psalms) and my commentaries (I have Rashi on the book of Exodus as well as a modern translation of the 16th century Yiddish commentary known as the Tsena Urena). I consult my enormous Hebrew dictionary a lot (one of the few useful things my wasband left to me).

Writers usually start as voracious readers, I suppose, and if I'm going to be teaching the English language, I guess it's good to be the kind of person who appreciates it.

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