BSM woke up before I did this morning, and it took me a few minutes before I could go in and get him.
As I'm getting ready, I hear calling/crying (I'm coming, I'm coming!) which soon stops (good, he's entertaining himself), but is shortly punctuated by a thump and real crying (oh Gosh, he decided to jump up and down and now he's hit his head on the side of his crib: I'll be there in 20 seconds, just hang on!) which stops pretty quickly (hmmm?) and is followed by a small voice outside my door (ohhhhh, no, the day has come) telling me that a head has been bumped. On the floor.
I know I should take the side off of his crib, converting it to a toddler bed, but it's so convenient to be able to pen up the child when it's time for him to be sleeping! Maybe he'll forget he has this skill? At least for a few more days?
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
I Got a Job!
That about sums it up, no? But here's some backstory, anyway. Just a little backstory. The tiny bits of EVERYTHING I HAVEN'T BEEN WRITING ABOUT FOR THE PAST THREE MONTHS. (Well, not everything. The Saga of the Car also has yet to be penned.)
A year after making aliyah, having had a grand total of three (3) interviews for engineering jobs, I realized it was time to restart my job hunt, because this wasn't working. So I dug up the initial responses I got when I sent out my CV to everyone I knew, and started looking at leads that hadn't seemed relevant a year ago. One of those leads was from B2's rebbetzin (speaking of which, thank you Ema for passing my CV along to her), who suggested I look into "technical writing."
I contacted her friend the technical writer (whom I shall cleverly dub TW), and spoke with him for about 45 minutes. By the end, we were happily discussing minutiae such as when to use bullet points versus when to use numbers for lists. (For the curious, use numbers if the order matters, and use bullet points if the order of the steps is irrelevant.) Seeing that this was something right up my nerd alley, I got pretty excited. Then I realized that I have experience as a technical writer. Sure, I had just learned what "technical writing" means, but that can't negate the fact that as part of my previous job, I spent three years writing manuals for all of the lab tools and processes. Because it was necessary, and nobody else was doing it. And thus, I grabbed three years of experience in a job whose name I didn't learn until just now. Perfect.
On TW's recommendation, I joined a Yahoo group for technical writers in Israel, reading the chatter and keeping my eyes open for job postings. Shortly thereafter, I found myself living in a dream-like state: after essentially nothing for so long, I had five (5) interviews within two (2!) weeks.
Luckily, my favorite interview was for the job I actually got. Cleverly, the interview started with an hour-long exam, which essentially checked that I am actually capable of doing the job I came to interview for. Thankfully, if I've been gifted with one skill that's useful in school but not in real life, it's testing freakishly well. If you want me to learn a new skill really quickly, just give me a test. (Seriously, I had no idea what was going on at all for my first month or so of Differential Equations, but I still scored 40%-60% on the daily quizzes by just making stuff up. Because not to brag or anything, but it seems that I can cobble together almost half of basic Diff EQ as long as you tell me that This is an Exam.)
The technical writing exam consisted of two parts: the first question asked me to "document the following screen" and the blessed second question asked me to "edit the following documentation." Well, once I edited the horrific mess presented in the second question, I had a template of how to document the screen in the first question. So I did. And since my interview immediately followed my exam, I went into it confident, focused, and relaxed, which is not how I usually feel going into interviews. Gosh, I miss taking tests. If anyone knows of an analogous real-world situation that comes up reasonably frequently, please let me know.
So yeah. I came back three more times (they apologized about that: stuff kept coming up forcing the process onto separate days) and on the third visit I signed a contract. I start on Monday. The job is in Jerusalem, which, without traffic, is 25 minutes from me by car. It's a large company, and the employees seem very friendly. The manuals I will be working on will be in British English, so keep your eyes peeled for a plethora of unexpected u's and s's cropping up in the near future.
Since signing the contract, I've unsubscribed from So Many employment emails. I'm hoping to track down the last of the email sources and banish them before I start. Yay!
A year after making aliyah, having had a grand total of three (3) interviews for engineering jobs, I realized it was time to restart my job hunt, because this wasn't working. So I dug up the initial responses I got when I sent out my CV to everyone I knew, and started looking at leads that hadn't seemed relevant a year ago. One of those leads was from B2's rebbetzin (speaking of which, thank you Ema for passing my CV along to her), who suggested I look into "technical writing."
I contacted her friend the technical writer (whom I shall cleverly dub TW), and spoke with him for about 45 minutes. By the end, we were happily discussing minutiae such as when to use bullet points versus when to use numbers for lists. (For the curious, use numbers if the order matters, and use bullet points if the order of the steps is irrelevant.) Seeing that this was something right up my nerd alley, I got pretty excited. Then I realized that I have experience as a technical writer. Sure, I had just learned what "technical writing" means, but that can't negate the fact that as part of my previous job, I spent three years writing manuals for all of the lab tools and processes. Because it was necessary, and nobody else was doing it. And thus, I grabbed three years of experience in a job whose name I didn't learn until just now. Perfect.
On TW's recommendation, I joined a Yahoo group for technical writers in Israel, reading the chatter and keeping my eyes open for job postings. Shortly thereafter, I found myself living in a dream-like state: after essentially nothing for so long, I had five (5) interviews within two (2!) weeks.
Luckily, my favorite interview was for the job I actually got. Cleverly, the interview started with an hour-long exam, which essentially checked that I am actually capable of doing the job I came to interview for. Thankfully, if I've been gifted with one skill that's useful in school but not in real life, it's testing freakishly well. If you want me to learn a new skill really quickly, just give me a test. (Seriously, I had no idea what was going on at all for my first month or so of Differential Equations, but I still scored 40%-60% on the daily quizzes by just making stuff up. Because not to brag or anything, but it seems that I can cobble together almost half of basic Diff EQ as long as you tell me that This is an Exam.)
The technical writing exam consisted of two parts: the first question asked me to "document the following screen" and the blessed second question asked me to "edit the following documentation." Well, once I edited the horrific mess presented in the second question, I had a template of how to document the screen in the first question. So I did. And since my interview immediately followed my exam, I went into it confident, focused, and relaxed, which is not how I usually feel going into interviews. Gosh, I miss taking tests. If anyone knows of an analogous real-world situation that comes up reasonably frequently, please let me know.
So yeah. I came back three more times (they apologized about that: stuff kept coming up forcing the process onto separate days) and on the third visit I signed a contract. I start on Monday. The job is in Jerusalem, which, without traffic, is 25 minutes from me by car. It's a large company, and the employees seem very friendly. The manuals I will be working on will be in British English, so keep your eyes peeled for a plethora of unexpected u's and s's cropping up in the near future.
Since signing the contract, I've unsubscribed from So Many employment emails. I'm hoping to track down the last of the email sources and banish them before I start. Yay!
Monday, July 20, 2015
Identifying the Need
As we are wont to do, BSM and I stopped to look at the construction site two doors from our house on our way home from daycare today. Thrillingly, the two guys who were working (one of whom was sitting in the backhoe-loader) noticed us and waved hello. We said hello back, one of the guys mentioned the heat, and I made the obvious reply asking if they had water. Turns out they've got the hose, but that's about it. So I invited one of them to come back to the house and gave him a bottle of water, some ice, and some cups.
It turns out the guy lives in the Bedouin village that abuts our Yishuv, and as soon as he walked into our house, he offered to find us a cleaning lady. When we acknowledged the mess but declined, he offered to find us a gardener. When we turned him down again, he gave us his phone number in case we change our minds. And that, my friends, is how business is done in this country.
It turns out the guy lives in the Bedouin village that abuts our Yishuv, and as soon as he walked into our house, he offered to find us a cleaning lady. When we acknowledged the mess but declined, he offered to find us a gardener. When we turned him down again, he gave us his phone number in case we change our minds. And that, my friends, is how business is done in this country.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Making the Bezeq Guy Crazy
We switched internet providers recently, and Bezeq called to get us back. I totally blew the guy's mind when I refused to switch. I'm sorry, but for 15₪/month, switching just isn't worth the hassle.
And yes, Bezeq Guy, it will be a hassle. And no, the fact that Bezeq is a bigger company than 012 doesn't really make a difference to me. Sorry for blowing your mind.
Of course, other than the fact that I hate dealing with companies over the phone, and doubly hate doing so in Hebrew, there's nothing stopping me from going to 012 and asking them to beat Bezeq's offer...
And yes, Bezeq Guy, it will be a hassle. And no, the fact that Bezeq is a bigger company than 012 doesn't really make a difference to me. Sorry for blowing your mind.
Of course, other than the fact that I hate dealing with companies over the phone, and doubly hate doing so in Hebrew, there's nothing stopping me from going to 012 and asking them to beat Bezeq's offer...
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
BSM Update
One of the drafts in my blog is devoted to BSM. Because I assume we're all obsessed. Over the course of the last month or so, BSM has:
- Told a joke
- I asked him, "What does the bird say?" BSM grinned, exclaiming, "Hee-haw!" and burst out laughing.
- Understood a joke
- As Husbinator was giving BSM avocado, he said "Avocado? Avocado?" as is our wont when teaching BSM new nouns. Eventually, Husbinator switched to, "Abbacado?" BSM totally got the joke.
- Read me a book
- Because sometimes I just can't read him a book, so having him tell me what's in the pictures can be very useful.
- Got better at counting
- For example, BSM asked for some chocolate-covered-orange peel from the box I was holding. "Okay," I agreed. "You want one?" BSM looked me in the eye and answered, "Two. Onetwo." So we counted out two for him, "Ooooone? Twooooo?" As I put the second piece of chocolate in BSM's little hand, he changes his story: "Threeeeeee? Onetwothree?" Nice try, kid.
- Got better at colors
- He is still far from perfect, but he names the correct color at a slightly better rate than he would by random guessing. However, when asked what color something is, he will always respond with the name of a color. So that's cool.
- Ridden more buses
- He has learned that on buses, people go "up steps." This fascinates BSM.
- He's seen the heart of the city, where four cars driving on one block does not constitute heavy traffic. Wide-eyed, he looks out the window. "Many buses. Many cars. Many people."
- He's learned that on certain stretches of road, he can say, "Ahhhhhhhhhhh," and have it sound like he's saying, "Ahahahahahah." When this happens, BSM looks at me proudly and explains, "Monkey!" Yes, that is what a monkey says.
- Turned two
- Hearing BSM say, "Happy birthday!" even if he has no idea what a birthday actually is, is adorable.
- Also, he blew out his candles in one blow!
Monday, July 13, 2015
Design Flaw
In Israel, light switches are generally placed outside of the bathrooms. This takes some getting used to, but I can see the pros of this design choice. Sometimes, though, if there are both a two-year-old and a chair in the vicinity, the placement of the bathroom light switches is just ridiculous. Unless you are the two-year-old in question.
Osem Cakes
You know those pre-packaged Osem cakes? The ones that are invariably stale and terrible? (See below.)
Well, in Israel, they're fresh and pleasant to eat. We've (knowingly) had them thrice now, twice by our own choice, and they've been tasty every time. I'm still slightly in shock.
Well, in Israel, they're fresh and pleasant to eat. We've (knowingly) had them thrice now, twice by our own choice, and they've been tasty every time. I'm still slightly in shock.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
The Bright Side
The advantage of not having blogged for a really long time is that now I have a huge number of stories to tell. So if I feel like writing, but nothing's happened that day, I can be all like, "Hey, this funny thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago..."
Today, though, was not boring. I went to the kotel, which was good, and I went shopping afterwards, which was also nice. The excitement was the lady who found an abandoned handbag when we got off the train. We jammed the train door open and kept asking who forgot a bag (my voice being louder than hers, I helped with the interrogation), and when no one 'fessed up, we called over the nearby security guards, who seemed Highly Irritated and all came over to investigate.
I didn't see any change in traffic flow during the rest of my time in the general area, and I've heard nothing on the news, so I assume the handbag was simply a forgotten handbag. It wasn't until hours after I got home that I realized that as long as I was helping ask who forgot a bag, I should have asked in English as well as in Hebrew. After all, in addition to knowing how to speak from my diaphragm, I also know how to speak in the language most likely spoken by someone who would forget their bag at an Israeli train station.
Today, though, was not boring. I went to the kotel, which was good, and I went shopping afterwards, which was also nice. The excitement was the lady who found an abandoned handbag when we got off the train. We jammed the train door open and kept asking who forgot a bag (my voice being louder than hers, I helped with the interrogation), and when no one 'fessed up, we called over the nearby security guards, who seemed Highly Irritated and all came over to investigate.
I didn't see any change in traffic flow during the rest of my time in the general area, and I've heard nothing on the news, so I assume the handbag was simply a forgotten handbag. It wasn't until hours after I got home that I realized that as long as I was helping ask who forgot a bag, I should have asked in English as well as in Hebrew. After all, in addition to knowing how to speak from my diaphragm, I also know how to speak in the language most likely spoken by someone who would forget their bag at an Israeli train station.
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