I'm supposed to be grading papers...

...so of course I'm blogging instead.

Here's the lowdown:

1- The landlord announced his intentions today of raising our rent by 300 NIS per month. Given that we are already paying the high end of market rate, we are not happy. (Get this: he says he's raising the rent because his expenses are so high, because we keep breaking things. Like, um, the refrigerator engine melted because of us? What? And, oh yeah, the other thing that broke was a mezuza case because his movers broke it when he decided to replace a perfectly good closet. Seriously. What?) Liza and I discussed our options, and at the moment we feel the best option is to move out rather than keep bleeding out rent money. We're hoping to find a place together, but that would mean finding a decent place that we can afford, in a neighborhood that is close to Emek for me, and near certain bus lines for her. A little tricky. So the possibility also exists of splitting up, which might mean I'm going back to living alone. Not good. More updates when I know something.

2- I was hit in the head! Hard! I was getting out of a taxi, and reminded the driver that I've got stuff in the trunk. While I was getting my stuff, he started driving away! With the trunk open! And my stuff inside! I started yelling at him to wait, and he stopped, and I ran a few steps to the car and reached in to grab my bag, when the trunk door came down. On my head! Hurt like hell. I ended up sitting with ice on my head for an hour. It's a few days later and it still hurts. For a while I thought about going to the doctor about it, but since I can walk in a straight line, exert pressure with my hands, focus with my eyes, and remember my birthday and who is president (of two countries) I guess I'm alright.

3- There was a huge HUGE storm here on Saturday. Turns out the people upstairs from me left their windows open, and their apartment became a lake. Water gushed out from beneath their front door and down all the stairs, like a waterfall. It was quite dramatic. Also it created water marks in my ceiling (which the landlord would blame me for, if he could, I'm sure). Unfortunately, Liza's room also got a bit wet. She was away in Europe, so I mopped up for her, arranged her wet things in a way they would dry, and even vaccuumed her carpet for her, which was not easy because all I have is a hand-held dust-buster. Am I a great roommate, or what?

4- Overall, though, things are good. My sleeping situation is greatly improved, and my productivity has increased as a result, which is fantastic. I've been keeping up with my "to do" list, can you believe it? I can, hardly. I've also been exercising more. Overall, a great feeling.

5- Teaching continues to go well. My students are very nice kids, in both programs. My bosses have gotten few reports about me, and those they got were positive, which means none of the kids are complaining and a few have gone out of their way to say good things. This indicates that classes are just fine from their perspective as well (no news is good news). Baruch Hashem.

6- Journalism assignments continue apace.

7- Did you know that you can remove rust stains from a porcelain bathtub by sprinkling either a) table salt and a little lemon juice or b) hydrogen peroxide and cream of tartar over it, allowing the paste to sit on the stain overnight, and then wiping it all away? Worked like magic (both ways). The internet is amazing.

Yes, my life is that exciting.

Ciao for now.