Long Hiatus in States is Over- Now Jobless Tel Aviv Blogger Starts Blogging again.

Well, I came back from my fantastic vacation in the States visiting family and friends in NYC and Chicago - and really felt like coming back was great, but at the same time, kinda awful.

Why was it great?
Because I missed Israel and I especially missed Tel Aviv. I always do. Plus, the weather we had in the States was notably sub-par, to put it mildly.

Why was it awful?
The vacation was too short. I had too much family to see, too many friends to see, too much shopping to do and too little time to do it.
But really, I could've handled that it it wouldn't have been so awful...if I hadn't lost my job the day I got off the plane.

(inseret wha wha sound here or a canned audience's cries of "awwwwww")

Yep, I know.

So, after a semi-nervous breakdown that lasted approximately two weeks, I find that I can hold my hands up to the keyboard and get back to blogging. Because, in the end of things this is really an opportunity that will allow me to focus on what I love to do and find a job that I love doing.

Sadly I was too busy wallowing in my own melancholy these past two weeks that you missed lots of awesomeness happening in Israel and especially in Tel Aviv. So let me give you a short run-down of the two events that I really should have covered...but completely neglected to blog about:

1) Yom Ya Zikaron (Memorial Day)
Not really a day of celebration, but rather a day when all of Israel comes together to commemorate any fallen soldier or victim of Terror. There are two sirens that sounds through the country twice- one on the evening when the Memorial Day begins and one in the morning of memorial day. When these sirens sound, the entire country comes to a halt and people stand for two mintues in silence.  When I say the whole country stops, I mean it. cars stop and pull over to the side of the road and pedestrians and cyclists stop waking in their tracks. Here's a taste of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSfvInbDjmk  and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYooy2KcKbE&feature=related

2) Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day)
Israeli flags hang everywhere and citizens, for a short while, allow themselves to feel really good about being Israeli. It's the beginning of spring- soon to be the beginning of summer, and this means it's the beginning of OUT DOOR FESTIVAL SEASON!Parties about everywhere. It's one of the only two nights where parties can go on all night long and police do not answer to any noise complaints.  You can be as loud as you want to be- until the wee hours of the morn.
Here are some clips of great public concerts and parties that happen on Yom Haatzmaut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hol6--SZOgc  \ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK2KFOObC80

Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) really kicked off the season, and now it's event after event after event.

So get ready for some fantastic updates as Shavuot is right around the corner!