Day 201 (hangin')

Labor day: a day in which we rest from labor. Not celebrated in Israel on the first Monday of September, unless one of the family members works American hours.

We had a nice, relaxing day, ending with the little zoo that's about a half-hour away.

In the morning, we got a call from an accountant's office. We met him at the fair for immigrants a few weeks ago, and we've been trying to set up an initial consultation since then. Since we're constrained by American working hours (see above), and the accountant is based out of Ramat Gan (which is not particularly close to us), finding a mutually agreeable time has been rather difficult. In fact, it's been so difficult that we've decided not to work with this guy (as wonderful as we are sure he is), and look for someone closer to home, instead. Unfortunately, we've had a hard time communicating that to the accountant's Israeli secretary. Being nice and tactful and non-confrontational, and all.

Back to today, when we got two calls from the secretary. The second time she called, I spontaneously decided to be blunt and clear. After all, I read about being blunt and clear and concise in an article about Israeli communication styles that I read in ulpan. So I thanked her for the office's tremendous efforts to get together, but since we're so inflexible, we'll have to go with someone closer. She said that the accountant is so, so flexible, and she's sure we can arrange a meeting any time that's good for us. I thanked her again, and told her we will find a different accountant. Okay, have a good day, all the best. Done! Oh, the feelings of victory and freedom and jubilation and pride! I can't believe I just did that, but yay and yay and yay.

In the evening, Husbinator and I took BSM (or BSM and I took Husbinator, depending how you look at it) to the little zoo that BSM and I visited recently. We had a nice time looking at and feeding the animals. We also ate lots and lots of fresh figs, since the little zoo is full of fig trees. So, so yummy. When we were done, Husbinator finally saw BSM go down (and up) a slide. Fun for the whole family! Only 5 shekel a head! It was a very nice outing.

In other news, later tonight, it was really cool. As in, I sat outside for a bit and got a little too chilly. Aaaaaahhhhhhh.