Well folks, it’s not quite mashiach (the messiah), but it’s close. My palm pilot has been resurrected from the land of insignificance.

I have to admit, it was rather liberating to not really have my own schedule for the past few weeks. Whenever someone wanted to plan something, I would defer to Julia, knowing that the number of events I was involved in without her could be counted on one hand. This sadly has come to an end, and yesterday I pulled out my handy little Clié and I began to enter events.

What has prompted this reemergence of technology into my life is, in fact, a rumor that has been spreading through the HUC community that I posses some talent at making Vonage phone routers work in this backwards country in which we live. Vonage, for those who do not know, is a company that provides a service making it possible for one to make phone calls over the internet directly to standard telephones. Conversely, it also allows us to have a US-based phone number that rings here in Israel (if you ask, and I like you, I’ll be happy to share our number with you). The trick is, they provide no technical support for connecting the service outside of the US, Canada, and the UK. So I have taken it upon myself to learn how on earth the Israeli high-speed internet system works, and I have started scheduling appointments with people from Julia’s class to install their systems.

Did I mention that a whole class of 4th year students is arriving within the next 2 weeks, and one of them asked permission to send my contact information out to all of them as a good resource to contact with Vonage problems?

Truth is, I enjoy setting up these contraptions. Not only have I learned a great deal about high-speed internet protocols and home networking, I feel like I’m making students’ lives a bit easier by keeping them connected with their loved ones at home. And the payment isn’t bad either. So far, I’ve received three chocolate bars and multiple promises of dinner. As one of my high school music teachers taught me, never pass up a gig that offers free food.

In addition to my new found role as the Israeli representative for Vonage tech support, I’ve also fallen into the most active social scene I’ve ever been a part of. In looking at my calendar, I discovered that I had plans for dinner or dessert every single night this week! Disregarding the fact that I have no idea how I’m paying for all of these meals, it’s been a nice change from my life in LA, where I often felt like I didn’t know who to call when I wanted to make plans. Even more amazing than the frequency with which we go out is the manner in which people relate to me as Julia’s fiancé. Never have I felt that I was just tagging along or just an “S.O.” The HUC community has truly been wonderful about making me feel like a valued member, not an associate member.

Speaking of going out, tonight we’re going for sushi for the first time since we’ve been in Israel. We’re very excited, as sushi was a virtual staple in our LA diet, so you can expect a full report here in the next day or two.