I just got an email informing me that I was accepted to the program I wanted for my Masters degree! Woohoo!

My landlady is a bitch. There is no nice way to say it. As a disclaimer, I should add that my previous landlady was a sweetheart who did everything she could to be helpful and flexible and it was a pleasure to be both her tenant and her neighbour, so next to her everyone would look bad. Still my current landlady is so much worse that she is way beyond the comparison.

Another way to describe my landlady is that she is a professional renter. (An association comes to mind of another female profession that can be described in the same way). She does everything possible to get money out of me while keeping to the fine print of the contract and leaving no loopholes, while taking advantage of any unclear contractual situations in order to create an interpretation that will benefit her. Furthermore, since there is no authority in Israel that will protect the rights of renters and since every rent contract includes a waiver of any right the renter might have, there is nothing I can do about it.

If I knew about it from the start I wouldn’t have rented the flat from her, but she gave me a good impression until my first day in the flat. On that crucial day I found out that the toilet was blocked, and since I couldn’t get hold of her on the phone I ended up going to my parents that weekend every time I needed to use the facility. Seeing that my landlady did not return my calls, I called a plumber myself first thing on Sunday morning. Hearing of the possible expense, and even though it was obvious that I was not responsible for the damage, she refused to pay me back claiming that I should have waited for her husband to come over and inspect the problem.

It did not stop there, and I can tell a few more anecdotes, but the latest one happened today, just a short time before I am due to leave the apartment. The air-conditioner in the apartment is a very old model, which I guess has been out of production for at least 20 years. An appliance of that age is likely to brake at some time, won’t you agree? Well, it has, and in the past week it has only been able to extract any heat intermittently. When I told my landlady about it today, she said that it is probably just needing a change of gas, and therefore it is something I should pay for, as if it was cooking gas. It came out of her as if it is the most obvious thing! I just couldn’t believe the nerve!

Anyway, I’m happy to leave her behind as soon as possible.

The moral of the story – be aware of your landlord/landlady – you don’t know what monster you’ll end up with.

It is rare to see a research reported on NME, but this one made the music news: music is not only good for your health but also helps recovery. It is not surprising at all. A quick look through one news site only, without any searching, brought up five related articles related to recovery from a stroke, helping heart conditions, easing the pain of cancer patients, and general healing and therapy.

The special thing about the report in NME, apart from the unlikely magazine, is that it also includes other information on specific types of music and their uses. Did you know that giving a woman an MP3 player will encourage her to lose weight? (I’ll try that tomorrow). Did you know that Jazz can help one sleep? (That’s obvious – it’s sleep by boredom!).

From now on I will have a better answer to the repeated question – why do I like music so much?

Last Friday we went to see Juno in one of the last surviving real cinemas in Israel. A lot has been said recently (link in Hebrew) about cinemas not being what they used to be, so it felt like we are taking part in an activity that we are meant to tell about as an anecdote many years from now: “I remember the last time I went to a cinema that wasn’t a part of a multiplex and was not located in a shopping centre”. I was even a bit disappointed when I looked at my ticket and notice the logo of the chain that owns the place – I was hoping to be in one of the last survivors of the independent film theatre establishments.

It is likely that the Gat Cinema will sometime soon join the list of locations that have been turned into shopping centres or luxury apartment buildings. The elderly sleepy cashier who greeted us on Friday is a likely indication, as well as the fact that I couldn’t find a link to any site describing the place.

Maybe we are to blame. We find it more comfortable to go to a multiplex in which we have more choice, or we watch movies in high quality at home, and by doing so we are killing the old fashioned cinema. I must admit that I’m ambivalent about it. On the one hand, I am full of nostalgia for the old cinemas of my childhood. On the other hand, I believe progress should not be stopped. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt so bad about it if the architecture was preserved. Maybe if more entrepreneurs who take over the old buildings were committed to keeping their look and feel or at least their façade, like in the case of the old Esther Cinema which was turned into a hotel. I doubt Gat would be considered as one with architecture worth preserving, but there are other cinemas that are. Even if we do go with the flow, we should conserve the beautiful remnants of our history.

Another question comes to mind. Is this a process that only happens in Israel, or is this a global thing?

Happy List

1. GMAT is Done! – After more than three months without a life, the big day is finally behind me. Although I am very unhappy with the result, it will probably be enough to get me into the program I’m looking into. Now I’m waiting for a response from the university, so keep your fingers crossed for me.
2. Free time – Thanks to item #1 above, I finally get to catch up on a lot of things I missed out on. I get to watch movies and TV and listen to new music. I even have time to catch up with friends. Free time was never more appreciated.
3. A new project on the go – I started getting ready for my move in with E. I have already started getting some paperwork going, and published some ads to sell some of my stuff which I will no longer need. This project is both exciting and scary, but I’m hoping for the best. By the way, if you need a fridge, a baking oven with a stove or a dishwasher, let me know.
4. Juno – Yesterday we went to see Juno, and it was great. The movie is funny, with some teary moments, though I’m not a good example – I would cry while watching a cartoon. The soundtrack is also brilliant. It’s rare to see such a combination.
5. Valentine’s sweetness – E. gave me a lovely box of chocolates for Valentine’s. Although I’m not much of a romantic, the gesture was melting.
6. Fitness ahoy – Maybe it is too early to mention, but now that I have the time I finally intend to get back into shape. I will sign up to the gym E. is going to next week.

Sad List

1. Willy worries – Willy’s gum infection is becoming worse, and I’m worried. I had to take him to the vet twice last week, and he is still not eating. This might even count as two sad points.
2. GRE – E. is working hard towards his GRE exam next month. I know he will do just great, and I can’t wait until he gets more free time.
3. Giving up Willy – Due to our upcoming relocation, I will have to give Willy away. I don’t think he will be able to take the trauma of such a trip, so I will have to look for a new home for him. However, since he is not healthy, I want to find him the most loving home where he will be given a good care and this will be hard to find. The vet suggested that I start looking now, but just the thought of placing an ad saddens me terribly. I just hope I won’t have to give Sebastian up as well.
4. Moving – Although I am excited about moving in with E., I still hate moving.

After three months of hard work, and approximately four hours of a stressful exam, I am finally on the other side of the GMAT. I had high expectations of myself, and I was very disappointed with the result. Needless to say, it was very upsetting. So much so, that I couldn’t even sleep much last night. E. did the best he could to cheer me up, for which I am thankful.

I hope my score will be enough to admit me into the university program I applied for. If not, I’ll have to take another exam, and I really would rather give up on that experience.

So, what’s now? I might try to relax a bit, though I it is more likely that I will soon start to work on my next project – moving in with E. Meanwhile, I will probably catch up on more music, and there are about five kilos that I urgently need to shed so I better get back to the gym. I will also have to catch up on a lot of work, so life won’t get boring any time soon.

By this time tomorrow it will be over.

I completed my revision (although, of course, there is always more that can be done).

The results in my recent exercise exams were quite good, and I hope I’ll manage to keep that level tomorrow.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.