Willy is nowhere to be found. He has been feeling under the weather for days, and doesn’t let me treat him. I came home this afternoon and he wasn’t in. I looked for him outside, but I don’t know where he is hiding, so now I’m worried. Hopefully he’ll come back home tonight, so I’ll be able to take him to the vet tomorrow.

Sad memories of Belle come to mind. I don’t want Willy to be hurt in any way.

As I write these words, Willy just jumped in and on top of the telly. I’ll see if I can do something for him, and we’re going to the vet first thing in the morning.

The past year was a lot about music. Well, work and music, but I’d rather not think about the former right now. I did manage to hang on to my new year’s resolution from last year and keep up with new music, as well as listening more to the classics. Due to a side project I also got to learn more about certain subjects in music, and it felt good to be educated. All these mean that I have spent quite a lot of time and money on new music this year. In front of me there is a pile of 13 CDs that were issued and purchased in 2005, which means I had a lot more to chose from this year than I did previously. The list of top five will not include the CDs I bought which were not issued in 2005, or the ones that I listened to and decided to skip (though they probably didn’t have much chance of getting into the list anyway). It also does not include recent CDs which I haven’t had the chance to listen to yet. So, here goes…

	5. The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan – The latest from my beloved White Stripes is the proof that Jack and Meg are now settling very well into their Big Celebrity Name status. No more indie manifestos. It’s time to give out the big sound that we have learnt to expect from the White siblings. It’s good but predictable, so it only made it as last in the list, and maybe there were others that were more worthy, but The White Stripes just had to get in. The cover photo is brilliant.
	4. Kaiser Chiefs, Employment – They were everyone’s prediction to be the ones who will make it in 2005, and they did not disappoint. Employment is the kind of album that sticks to your head and doesn’t let you stop humming the music. My favourites are I Predict A Riot (and probably everyone else’s as well), and What Did I Ever Give You? which unfortunately did not make it as a single.
	3. Gorillaz, Demon Days – Who would have thoughts that four cartoon characters could make such good music? Demon days includes collaborations with the best of talent, and it proves that Damon Albarn’s project is not at all two-dimensional. The music has a message to pass on, and we better listen up.
	2. Fischerspooner, Odyssey – I only got into the tent at the Wireless Festival to get away from the rain, but I got hooked. Fischerspooner’s amazing beats would make any Electronica fan jump around, and even though I am not that much into “electroclash”, I did enjoy this album tremendously.
	1. Arcade Fire, Funeral – This must be everyone’s favourite. My American readers may protest that the album was issued in 2004, but as it was out in the UK only in 2005, and since I only got to know it so late, I allow myself to include it on the list, and no less than the top spot. The Arcade Fire sound maybe a bit bombastic with almost a whole orchestra, but it does take faculty to make such an ensemble not sound overpowering. The Arcade Fire are no doubt original. They do it like it was never done before, and they do it well.

As I did have a lot of music to choose from this year, I can also point out some of this year’s disappointments:

1. Coldplay, X&Y – Once a light-weight indie band has grown commercial and mainstream. Once they were fun, and now they are every 12-year-old’s favourite band. It’s time to give the crown back to Britney and get back to your roots.
2. The Dandy Warhols, Odditorium Or Warlords Of Mars – The proof that too mach drugs can indeed break down creativity.
3. Beck, Guero – I do like Beck very much. I think the man is a genius. Maybe I just expected too much, and was disappointed to listen to an album which rates as mediocre.

There was much thrill, excitement and fear before yesterday evening. It was not the wait for Christmas presents or holiday cheer; it was something much bigger than that. It was a small step taken by us, but a large step for our relationship. Last night, I met E’s parents.

I don’t think E. was as scared or anxious as me, but for me it was a bit thing. Not something that is easily done. It is not just a meeting with two people, it is a symbol for the seriousness of our relationship, where it is no longer just us doing the best we can to keep together and enjoy every second we have. It is an announcement of our connection to the outside world, and to the very scrutinizing eyes of the people who care the most, and the people who might have the most expectations from us for the future.

It has been planned for a while, a place was sought in which such a meeting will be easiest on us all, and arrangements were made. I thought for days about what I was going to wear or things I was going to say. I consulted with E. about the outfit in the morning, and made sure to be there on time despite the harsh rain that didn’t let up all day.

It wasn’t at all like I expected. I thought there will be an interrogation (just like the one I know my parents will give E. when they meet him). There was nothing of the kind. Just a calm conversation in which I didn’t really have much to say. I felt a bit out of place, so I just kept quiet most of the time. I hope they didn’t mind much. I am still a bit uneasy about their possible reaction. I’ll have to ask E. about it. Meanwhile, it turns out that I am invited for more family events, the first one being a Chanukah party tomorrow. I think this will be too fast for me.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Watching other people’s travel photologs makes me want to go away somewhere. Disconnect from the pressure of being here, get away from the dead-end job, the traffic and the unstable weather, taking E. with me and escaping to a place I’ve never been to before, where I do not understand the language and can revel in new exciting sceneries.

Sophie, thanks for the inspiration.

This weekend the rain has finally started falling over Israel, and when it starts, it does it with vigour. On Friday evening, while I was on my way to E’s it rained so hard I could hardly see the road in front of me, and had to slow down to a snail’s speed on the highway, as did all the drivers around me. By the time I got to E’s area and found a parking space the rain subsided and it wasn’t too hard to open my umbrella and walk down the street. However, as soon as I reached the first crossing I realized the worse part about such rains in a country that is built for sunshine. The drains just can’t take the might of the water, and the road was flooded.

There was no way a chicken like me could wade over that river, so I walked down the street, hoping to find a shallow part in which to cross. The next route was even worse. As I still wanted to get to E’s at least partly dry, I waved a taxi to take me just one block across the flooded streets of Tel Aviv. It would have been embarrassing if the driver has not made good use of that short time to agree with me about the horrible state of drainage.

Maybe I should start a gondola business.

Yesterday I opened my wallet to get out my credit card and pay for fuel, when I realized something was missing… My favourite piece of plastic was gone!

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Oh my god! (And I’m not a religious person, so such a thought rarely crosses my mind). Now there will be phone calls to make, ensure nothing was charged, get a new one issued, and wait for it to be sent to the bank… so much hassle, not to mention the potential financial damage.

It was time for calm down and think sensibly. Where could it be? Where did I last use it? I got to the conclusion that I last saw it on Sunday evening, when I paid for my shopping at the supermarket. I couldn’t remember putting it back in my wallet.

The first thing I did when I got home was to go through my receipts and find the supermarket’s phone number. The woman on the other side was very helpful, keeping me waiting as she checks and then… “No, sorry, I can’t find a card with your name”. Now it was time to panic! I almost begged her to check again, which produced the response: “Hold on, yes… there is something here at the back…yes, it’s yours”. For some reason she was very amused when I started breathing again.

Today my credit card and I were reunited. It was a very emotional meeting. The card was pulled out of a big pile in the supermarket’s drawer (yes, I’m not the only one who’s head isn’t quite connected to the rest of her body), and so far there haven’t been any strange charges that I could notice. All is well, it’s time to breath.

Just when I think there is no chance for any notable music event to ever happen in Israel, Depeche Mode are announcing that they are coming for a visit!

Tickets are not yet on sale, but you can be sure that I will be there when they are. Veggie Vampire, have you got yours yet?