Year Four in Review

Four years is kind of a long time, about 15% of my life, or the length of a generation in high school or university, or the amount of time it takes for a professional sports team to win a championship, start sucking, and then get good again (not the Redskins), or the term of a United States president. I’ve now lived in Israel more than four years, and it feels so natural to me that I actually have to remind myself that I didn’t always know I’d make Aliyah.

I’ve found it difficult trying to review this year, not because nothing happened or because too much happened, but because what happened doesn’t really apply itself to review.

The company for which I worked was sold to another company and my job got moved in January to the Ra’anana industrial zone. I really, really, really did not want to join the company in the move. I looked for a new job, but didn’t find one on acceptable terms, and then decided to de-prioritize finding a new job and continue at least for a while commuting to Ra’anana. But the management of the new company had very little use for me, and I was asked several times over the course of a few months to quit. Finally I did quit, but I tried to do so in a way that reflected positively on me. It wasn’t easy, but I’m proud of it.

My new job – actually my first step toward a real career – involves internet marketing. And it’s in central Tel Aviv, which means I can walk to and from work whenever I want (I usually walk home). It’s a small internet startup. I like it and I’m happy.

Sharav is doing swell. I have worked really hard to train him. He still has a lot to learn, but even now I think he’s probably one of the best-trained dogs in Tel Aviv. All the time I get compliments from other dog owners and from random passersby about how well he behaves without a leash in public. People are always asking me if I trained him myself and if I’m a professional dog-trainer. Also, he’s exceptionally friendly and never barks!

Of course, I also get negative comments. Sometimes Sharav does something wrong and I’ll need to yell at him or pin him to the ground (establishing physical dominance is absolutely the first step toward teaching a dog anything, and there’s no reason it can’t be done safely and painlessly), and someone will come up to me and accuse me of having a violent temper, which is manifestly false. Or I’ll not let him tug when we’re walking with his choker collar, and some jerk will try to explain to me that I shouldn’t use a choker because because because because because because because. Approximately ten times out of ten, these people own dogs with terrible behavior problems caused by total lack of discipline because they saw on television that you should surround a dog with positivity and let him make sense out of life by himself. Go figure.

I’m in the middle of my third year living in the same apartment, which is longer than I’ve ever lived anywhere, except my parents’ house where I grew up. At this point I very much hoped to be living without a roommate, and for a time that seemed very possible, but in the end it didn’t work out financially and I’m now living not only with a roommate, but with two (they’re in the military and share a bedroom). I’m friends with both of them, and they are good roommates so far, so I’m happy with it. They also bring a lot of people over, and that’s a nice thing, because this is a fantastic apartment and it’s worth enjoying it.

I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, but stay tuned for more news about my long saga with NYU.

Finally, for anyone who was ever being kept updated on my health, it’s pretty much the same now as it was, except that I’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea and am getting fitted for a C-PAP next month. I can’t wait.

I try to get to Jerusalem about once a month, but maybe I’ll be able to go more frequently now that my job is in central Tel Aviv and I have roommates who are willing and able to help with Sharav.

Oh yeah, four years without a television and I’m finally getting one soon. I am psyched!

It’s been an interesting year. In a way, it’s been successful – the more time I live here, the more comfortable I come, the deeper my roots grow into the Tel Aviv pavement, and the easier it is to see my future unfolding here. But I’ve also had some roots ripped up – some very dear friends, people on whom I depended and who were like extended family to me, have left Israel recently and over the course of the past year for more promising or more fruitful lives in North America. Whether they stay in America temporarily or permanently, it will not be easy to adjust to an Israel without them.