Gosh, how I HATE hospitals!
An anecdote from my past. When I was in my early twenties, towards the end of my military service, and being a plan-in-advance kind of personality, I wanted to decide which profession I was going to pursue. Namely, I wanted to decide what to study in the university. Since I'm usually thorough, I went to all sorts of institutions that provide information and offer consulting services to people looking for a career path that will suit their abilities. I also went to a graphologist, which actually was a very interesting experience. At the end of the session with her, she concluded with a very decisive recommendation that I should be a doctor. I thanked her politely, paid, and discarded the advice. If there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that I'm incapable of being a doctor.
Fast forward to yesterday evening, I got another reminder that I'd rather not spend any time in hospitals... I've been sick at home for several days. Yesterday, following strong headaches, I made the mistake of going to the doctor. He probably was over-nervous and interpreted the headaches as potentially meningitis, and sent me urgently to the ER, for ruling out this option. Had he asked me whether the headaches were constant or intermittent, I could have saved the dubious pleasure of visiting this horrible place. Even if you arrive at the ER mostly healthy, you start feeling sick very quickly. The in-vein device they leave in your arm the whole time, the face mask you have to wear, and most importantly the aching and suffering patients and their worried relatives around you are not conducive to feeling well.
I was happy and relieved to go home after a few hours. Nothing impressively sounding as meningitis or sinusitis. Just a mild flu, not even the popular swine variant :-)
But to be honest, my imperfect health in the last couple of weeks is only a secondary reason for not being at my best. The main reason is my beloved aunt, who fought breast cancer about 5 years ago. We all thought she defeated the disease, but she recently found out that the cancer has returned, and in a severe form. Since it's not about myself, I will skip the details and only say that she's very young, in her early fifties. For all of us - a big, fairly close and united family - this is extremely tough. We wrap and hug her with love and support as much as we can, but naturally that alone can't cure cancer.
There's the sadness I feel, and there's also sharing the news with Noga and Hadas, seeing them in their first experience of digesting such events. It's part of life, I know, but not a pleasant one :-(
Giora
Wednesday, November 18
Sunday, November 1
American Deja-Vu
I've been back in Israel for more than a week, very happy to be home again, with Anat and the girls. Two weeks away was a personal longest and way too long for me. But I still have thoughts to share about the US.
As I anticipated, this trip to the US was unusual for me, with a very strong sense of Deja-Vu. The differences between Israel and the US are striking, and you immediately feel them upon landing. Most notably, the mixture of people that one encountersg in the US is unique. You see all colors and ethnicities walking past you in the airport. I find it fantastic, and realized how much I missed it. You certainly don't get that kind of wonderful diversity in Israel...
Other than that, everything felt so very familiar. The huge and wide highways; the vehicles, twice the size of their counterparts in Israel and Europe; the endless commercials on the random radio station; the unbelievable politeness of sales people in stores. It felt like I never left, but still more than a year has passed since I actually did.
It clarified once again the fact that I could be happily spend my life in either the US or Israel. But it also made me confident that living here, in Israel, was indeed the right choice for us.
Giora
As I anticipated, this trip to the US was unusual for me, with a very strong sense of Deja-Vu. The differences between Israel and the US are striking, and you immediately feel them upon landing. Most notably, the mixture of people that one encountersg in the US is unique. You see all colors and ethnicities walking past you in the airport. I find it fantastic, and realized how much I missed it. You certainly don't get that kind of wonderful diversity in Israel...
Other than that, everything felt so very familiar. The huge and wide highways; the vehicles, twice the size of their counterparts in Israel and Europe; the endless commercials on the random radio station; the unbelievable politeness of sales people in stores. It felt like I never left, but still more than a year has passed since I actually did.
It clarified once again the fact that I could be happily spend my life in either the US or Israel. But it also made me confident that living here, in Israel, was indeed the right choice for us.
Giora
Saturday, October 24
Flying in a helicopter
Last night, just before departing back to Israel, I had a unique experience. My friend Dan, is very much into flying. Last year when we visited the bay area before going back to Israel, we all got a ride on a small airplane (the popular Bay Tour, see http://picasaweb.google.com/AnatGiora/SanFranciscoBayArea#).
But flying only airplanes is apparently not enough for Dan, and in the last few years he's into flying helicpters as well. So yesterday, we went on a short night flight in a tiny chopper. While flying in a small plane was very nice, flying in a helicopter is a whole new thing. The visibility was fantastic, and seeing the vast Bay Area, lit at night and expanded from San-Francisco 'till San-Jose is magnificent. Gliding 4 feet above the ground, before takeoff and after landing is somewhat freaky and mostly very enjoyable.
I had a great time, which was definitely better than the laternative, of catching some sleep before my flight back home...
Thank you Dan!!!
Giora
But flying only airplanes is apparently not enough for Dan, and in the last few years he's into flying helicpters as well. So yesterday, we went on a short night flight in a tiny chopper. While flying in a small plane was very nice, flying in a helicopter is a whole new thing. The visibility was fantastic, and seeing the vast Bay Area, lit at night and expanded from San-Francisco 'till San-Jose is magnificent. Gliding 4 feet above the ground, before takeoff and after landing is somewhat freaky and mostly very enjoyable.
I had a great time, which was definitely better than the laternative, of catching some sleep before my flight back home...
Thank you Dan!!!
Giora
Friday, October 23
Mighty Yosemite!
About a year ago, as part of our 3-months family travels in the western US, we spent 5 days in Yosemite. Not sure if we blogged about it back then, but the beauty of the park was shaded, to some extent, by the masses of people who flooded it. It just didn't feel like nature. Granted, part of the problem was that as a family it's very hard to get away from the most crowded spots.
So fixing that impression was high on my list for this visit. Together with Dan, a good friend I stayed with, and Tamar (a new friend) we went hiking in Yosemite over the last weekend. We embarked on an ambitious and difficult hike: from Yosemite Valley, through the Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, past the Half Dome and all the way to Lake Merced. About 20 km in a day, including circa 4000 feet (more than 1.3 KM) of elevation gain. We camped near the lake, in what most normal people would consider non-camping temperatures (just a bit above zero celsius in the cool of the night). Both Dan and Tamar are what you'd call hard-core hikers; to put things in perspective, while for me it was a challenging adventure, Tamar didn't even bother to sleep in a tent, and mostly seemed as if she went on a short stroll...
Along the lines of my recent "Getting Old" posting, I had some doubts whether my back and body in general will be happy with such an adventure. But I did just fine physically, and had an astounding weekend. Like many others, I think Yosemite is one of the most beautiful pieces of nature on our globe. The powerful waterfalls surrounded by mighty tree-less granite cliffs generate a scene which is impossible to describe. Once you get into the wilderness, away from the mass of visitors, the nature you're immersed in is awe-inspiring in a way no photograph can capture.
Combined with fabulous company, fascinating conversations and friendly whether (well, it hardly rained and certainly didn't snow!) I had such a wonderful weekend, that for a short while I almost forgot how much I missed Anat and the girls :-)
Giora
So fixing that impression was high on my list for this visit. Together with Dan, a good friend I stayed with, and Tamar (a new friend) we went hiking in Yosemite over the last weekend. We embarked on an ambitious and difficult hike: from Yosemite Valley, through the Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, past the Half Dome and all the way to Lake Merced. About 20 km in a day, including circa 4000 feet (more than 1.3 KM) of elevation gain. We camped near the lake, in what most normal people would consider non-camping temperatures (just a bit above zero celsius in the cool of the night). Both Dan and Tamar are what you'd call hard-core hikers; to put things in perspective, while for me it was a challenging adventure, Tamar didn't even bother to sleep in a tent, and mostly seemed as if she went on a short stroll...
Along the lines of my recent "Getting Old" posting, I had some doubts whether my back and body in general will be happy with such an adventure. But I did just fine physically, and had an astounding weekend. Like many others, I think Yosemite is one of the most beautiful pieces of nature on our globe. The powerful waterfalls surrounded by mighty tree-less granite cliffs generate a scene which is impossible to describe. Once you get into the wilderness, away from the mass of visitors, the nature you're immersed in is awe-inspiring in a way no photograph can capture.
Combined with fabulous company, fascinating conversations and friendly whether (well, it hardly rained and certainly didn't snow!) I had such a wonderful weekend, that for a short while I almost forgot how much I missed Anat and the girls :-)
Giora
Driving a Toyota Prius
Ever since we moved to Pittsburgh, in 2005, I wanted to own a Toyota Prius. I was literally fascinated with the Hybrid technology, and liked a lot the energy-efficient direction.
However, the car was so much more expensive from our used $5K Dodge Neon, and it made little sense to spend so much money on something that needs to get me from point A to point B. Even the subsidies Google used to grant for Prius purchasing in the US, when I worked for Google Pittsburgh, didn't make it a reasonable investment for us.
During my visit to California in the past two weeks, I came as close as it gets to owning a Prius (well, short of buying one). The rental company had them, for practically the same rate as the regular Chevies, and I was delighted! The sweet car drove smoothly and flawlessly around the Bay Area, to Berkeley (twice) and to Yosemite over the weekend. The vehicle is very quiet, the concept of pressing a button to ignite the car is neat and it felt like the gas it used for the whole period was equivalent to a daily commute of the average American Guzzler...
I'm tempted to consider buying a Prius in Israel :-)
Giora
However, the car was so much more expensive from our used $5K Dodge Neon, and it made little sense to spend so much money on something that needs to get me from point A to point B. Even the subsidies Google used to grant for Prius purchasing in the US, when I worked for Google Pittsburgh, didn't make it a reasonable investment for us.
During my visit to California in the past two weeks, I came as close as it gets to owning a Prius (well, short of buying one). The rental company had them, for practically the same rate as the regular Chevies, and I was delighted! The sweet car drove smoothly and flawlessly around the Bay Area, to Berkeley (twice) and to Yosemite over the weekend. The vehicle is very quiet, the concept of pressing a button to ignite the car is neat and it felt like the gas it used for the whole period was equivalent to a daily commute of the average American Guzzler...
I'm tempted to consider buying a Prius in Israel :-)
Giora
Sunday, October 11
Getting Old
I'm not getting any younger. Gotta face it and admit it.
While I'd like to think of myself as young in spirit, my body has clearly started signaling that it's no longer as strong as it used to be. One immediate implication is that I might need to give up playing basketball. Very sad, but probably the right thing for me to do. I threw out my back badly not too long ago, sending me to several painful days in bed, hardly able to sit, not to mention stand or walk. It used to happen every 5 years or so, but in the last couple years it became more like every 5 months. I should note that I'm very aware of my back problems, and I get Shiatsu treatments every week. I also tried Pilates for several months, with no obvious success. At the end of the day, I guess the violent nature of playing basketball, including sharp turns and sudden shocks is something I should be avoiding. But I need the exercise, and I loath swimming :-( We'll see, maybe I'll try football (the real game, not the American fake version :-)
This seems to be typical for my biological age (37), but it's hardly comforting.
Two weeks ago, I went on a "boys hike" with my two good friends, Tal and Ziv. That's sort of a tradition that was put on hold for several years, during which we didn't all live in Israel. We are experienced hikers. We chose one of the most challenging trails in Israel - the black canyon in the Zavitan creek in the Golan. It requires rappelling down high waterfalls, jumping into pools and swimming with your backpack soaked with water, and being very careful of slippery rocks. We hiked the trail easily, but kept laughing at ourselves: here we are, with 3 kids each, by our own standards out of shape, no longer reckless youngsters capable of everything. The sentiment of getting old and having less energy was definitely something we all shared...
But they say that with years comes wisdom, right?!
Giora
While I'd like to think of myself as young in spirit, my body has clearly started signaling that it's no longer as strong as it used to be. One immediate implication is that I might need to give up playing basketball. Very sad, but probably the right thing for me to do. I threw out my back badly not too long ago, sending me to several painful days in bed, hardly able to sit, not to mention stand or walk. It used to happen every 5 years or so, but in the last couple years it became more like every 5 months. I should note that I'm very aware of my back problems, and I get Shiatsu treatments every week. I also tried Pilates for several months, with no obvious success. At the end of the day, I guess the violent nature of playing basketball, including sharp turns and sudden shocks is something I should be avoiding. But I need the exercise, and I loath swimming :-( We'll see, maybe I'll try football (the real game, not the American fake version :-)
This seems to be typical for my biological age (37), but it's hardly comforting.
Two weeks ago, I went on a "boys hike" with my two good friends, Tal and Ziv. That's sort of a tradition that was put on hold for several years, during which we didn't all live in Israel. We are experienced hikers. We chose one of the most challenging trails in Israel - the black canyon in the Zavitan creek in the Golan. It requires rappelling down high waterfalls, jumping into pools and swimming with your backpack soaked with water, and being very careful of slippery rocks. We hiked the trail easily, but kept laughing at ourselves: here we are, with 3 kids each, by our own standards out of shape, no longer reckless youngsters capable of everything. The sentiment of getting old and having less energy was definitely something we all shared...
But they say that with years comes wisdom, right?!
Giora
New Beginnings
Dear family and friends,
Writing infrequently doesn't leave much room for sharing fine-grained thoughts and impressions. So I'll try to sustain more frequent updates.
Raising our magnificent daughters renders our days eventful. There's never a dull moment. Beyond the daily routine, however, I'd like to share two new beginnings I am particularly excited about.
Hadas started first grade this year. I didn't think I'd be as excited as I was when Noga did, but I was completely wrong. Experiencing the transition to school with her was (and is) fascinating. There are some difficulties of migrating from playing all day to studying, but for the most part she's very happy with her new environment. Most notably, watching her learning to read is unbelievable. I spend a lot of time reading books with her. Hadas reads aloud, and observing her rapid progress is simply astounding. A bright kid, she's already familiar with all the Hebrew letters, as well as the pronunciation marks ("nikud"). All of a sudden, letters combine into syllables, which then turn into words, which in turn are formed into full sentences. A brave new world is being opened for her and you can literally see and feel the wheels in her brain. You can almost touch her sense of accomplishment and joy in light of the new capability she is acquiring. Fantastic!
Noga, as I previously wrote, is going to attend a gifted program this year. Once a week, instead of school, she'll be going to "Oranim College", not too far from Haifa, for a full day where she will take several interesting classes with other gifted kids. A few months ago I went with her to an introduction day. The program, fully supported and partially funded by the Ministry of Education, looks very promising. The classes are very small in Israeli standards (at most 20 pupils per class), the teachers seem to be proficient and caring, and the subjects are diverse and intriguing, including art, juggling, aeronautics, zoology and more. It's no news that Noga is an extremely smart girl, but still, listening to the program director explaining that they accept only the top 1% of kids made me proud. Even more rewarding is seeing how excited Noga is towards the program, which is likely to alleviate the fact that at school, how to gently say, she's not being constantly challenged.
As the famous Israeli song goes: ילדים (ילדות, אצלנו...) זה שמחה
(translation: kids are happiness :-)
Giora
Writing infrequently doesn't leave much room for sharing fine-grained thoughts and impressions. So I'll try to sustain more frequent updates.
Raising our magnificent daughters renders our days eventful. There's never a dull moment. Beyond the daily routine, however, I'd like to share two new beginnings I am particularly excited about.
Hadas started first grade this year. I didn't think I'd be as excited as I was when Noga did, but I was completely wrong. Experiencing the transition to school with her was (and is) fascinating. There are some difficulties of migrating from playing all day to studying, but for the most part she's very happy with her new environment. Most notably, watching her learning to read is unbelievable. I spend a lot of time reading books with her. Hadas reads aloud, and observing her rapid progress is simply astounding. A bright kid, she's already familiar with all the Hebrew letters, as well as the pronunciation marks ("nikud"). All of a sudden, letters combine into syllables, which then turn into words, which in turn are formed into full sentences. A brave new world is being opened for her and you can literally see and feel the wheels in her brain. You can almost touch her sense of accomplishment and joy in light of the new capability she is acquiring. Fantastic!
Noga, as I previously wrote, is going to attend a gifted program this year. Once a week, instead of school, she'll be going to "Oranim College", not too far from Haifa, for a full day where she will take several interesting classes with other gifted kids. A few months ago I went with her to an introduction day. The program, fully supported and partially funded by the Ministry of Education, looks very promising. The classes are very small in Israeli standards (at most 20 pupils per class), the teachers seem to be proficient and caring, and the subjects are diverse and intriguing, including art, juggling, aeronautics, zoology and more. It's no news that Noga is an extremely smart girl, but still, listening to the program director explaining that they accept only the top 1% of kids made me proud. Even more rewarding is seeing how excited Noga is towards the program, which is likely to alleviate the fact that at school, how to gently say, she's not being constantly challenged.
As the famous Israeli song goes: ילדים (ילדות, אצלנו...) זה שמחה
(translation: kids are happiness :-)
Giora
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