Well slap my butt and call me spanky! Do my eyes deceive me?? Am I really reading that the UN has adopted a resolution condemning suicide bombers against Israeli citizens?? Can this be that after 4 years and thousands of Israelis murdered and wounded the UN has finally recognized that this is WRONG?? Get your skates out, kids.... looks like hell is finally freezing over. Then again... condemning is hardly more than saying "Gee, I wish you'd stop doing that, it's not nice". But it's a start, and I'll take it. Now why do you suppose this only happened *after* Arafat died? Hmmmm.....

In other news a Gaza-born Canadian citizen has been convicted of plotting terrorist activities in North America (here's an article from a Canadian news site). It was only a matter of time before something like this came up, wasn't it? I have always said.... it will come to our soil again, just like 9/11. That day was the end of our innocence, and I hate to say it but I think it will only get worse with time. Now maybe people can understand why there are security cameras outside the Canadian Zionist Federation offices where I go for my Hebrew classes. We are the only office in the building with such security measures; you have to buzz to be let in and only after you have identified yourself and have been viewed through the camera. Paranoid? I think we have the right to be.

Speaking of Israel, on Sunday I caught a "travel magazine" show on tv called Discover Your World. This particular episode was all about Israel and all the wonderful things there are to see and do there. I was pleased as punch as I watched the show, happy to see Israel being portrayed so positively. I mean sure, the show was clearly taped about ...oh.... 20 years ago, judging from the clothing.... but the show stood the test of time. It showed the night life in Tel Aviv and Eilat, and showed the usual sites and history all over Israel. It was a fantastic show.

I had a dream the other night that I met a guy in Jerusalem named Mike Cartier. I wonder what that means, coz rarely do I dream of specific names, let alone remember them if I do. Hmph.

Last night I went to see The Pixies in concert, and let me just tell you... it was awesome! Don't know The Pixies? Well, they had a song called "Where is my mind?" on the Fight Club soundtrack (it was at the very end of the movie). And they had a song called "Wave of Mutilation" on the Pump Up The Volume soundtrack.
Anyway! The show was amazing, as they obliged and played all the good stuff that people are waiting to hear. The crowd was loud and enthusiastic despite being *drenched* from rain. Yes, it POURED rain last night, not snow. And parking was such that it was a loooong way to the concert hall, so everyone was soaked. A delightful feeling, really. But hey, eventually we all got dancing and singing and jumping around, and we dried off. I had a great time, glad I went.

Of course, all that rain turned to ice overnight as temperatures plummeted making the drive into work this morning an extra special event. A drive that usually takes me 20 -30 mins took an hour as there were accidents everywhere and road closures abounded. The most spectacular crash came when a guy spun out on a bridge (an overpass, where one highway crosses over another) and then went over the guardrail and crashed on the highway below!!! Check it out here; at least the guy was wearing his seatbelt unlike SOME people I know.
Meanwhile other parts outside Toronto are digging themselves out of the snow that still continues to dump on them... and I am green with envy. I'll trade rain for snow.

What else.....?
Oh!! I have a new love and it is Level 2000 with aloe. For those not in the know Lever 2000 is a soap, and once upon a time it was my favourite soap in all the land. That is, until I could no longer find the original scent, just crazy scents like "fresh rain" or some such nonsense. But all that changed when I bought the new soap last week that has aloe in it.... and let me just tell ya, it smells *wicked*!!! I am in soapy rapture every time I use it now. Go get some and see what I'm talking about. You'll love it too. As a side note.... why is Amazon.com selling soap???

Also, I am adding a few new blogs to my blogroll... heylady, Shane Duffy and Oleh Girl. I know nothing about heylady yet, but her blog seems amusing (and from India??). Shane is just getting started, so it might be nice if you go show him some support... words of encouragement are always nice. And Oleh Girl is being added because I am very interested in watching her story unfold as she plans her aliyah (move to Israel) for August 2005. Should be an interesting journey from New York to Israel.

And before I sign off I would like to say a big hi to two people who have e-mailed me recently. One is Alex, a lovely girl who has been staying in Israel for the last 7 months and studying at an ulpan (she goes home to the US in December). Thanks for your e-mail, it was great to hear from someone who has been where I am (struggling with a decision to go to Israel for a while or not).
And hi to a nice chap from Australia named Neil, who is a new reader and has been kind enough to e-mail me away from the blog to introduce himself and share a bit of his world. How nice is it to get to know people all because of a silly little blog?? Thanks to you both, it reminds me why I do this. :-) (oh and Neil... you may be interested in Rat's blog... he's down in Australia too!)