Me, MDA and a Boy Called Harry

What a busy week! I started the week with a huge exercise/drill. That kept me up on Monday night until 4:45 which was not fun. I got home at 6:30 the next day after a very long, exhausting day and crashed for a few hours. Wednesday I was back on base guarding which led to another night of being awake for almost 24 hours as I got up at 2:40 to guard and went to bed last night ad 1:30. Last night I went out with Nadiv and Ren to "Coffee Tree" in Kfar Saba. It's a cool little cafe/bar that I went to a few weeks ago and really like now. Adam and Ilan H joined us a little later.

My really exciting news for the week was that I got accepted to a program called Taglit, which means "Discovery". It is the Hebrew name for the Birthright Trips. What this means is that I will be accompanying a groups of American youth on a 10 day trip around Israel. I think this will be really cool and exciting because I will offer a unique perspective. Plus, it's ten days off from the army staying in hotels and having fun. I think it will be really enlightening for me and for them. I expect to learn a lot both about the country and myself. My trip will specifically be the Shorashim (roots) trip so check out some of the links and expect some cool stories and pictures when I come back in a few weeks.

Last Saturday night, Katz, Ren and I saw the new Harry Potter movie. As a HP fan I enjoyed it. Even though it was a long movie (2.5 hrs) it went by really quickly- which I guess is a good sign. With that said I was a bit disappointed. I thought it felt rushed. Big events in the book were short and small events were ignored. I guess you have to make sacrifices when turning a long book into a movie, but I'm not sure someone who hadn't read the book would have been able to follow. I think, as with most cases, the books are much better.

Last but not least: A few months ago I ranted a bit about how MDA (Magen David Adom) wasn't part of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Well now that they have created a third symbol, the religiously neutral "crystal" (a glorified square on it's side), the ICRC may see a new member. From what I remember reading, MDA will be able to operate with their symbol (the red star of David) within Israel's borders and outside they will be able to operate with the crystal with the star of David inside. I think I remember ranting about how Israel shouldn't have to make compromises and use a neutral symbol when the other major religions have their own symbols. I think that the current agreement is acceptable and is the best we would ever get. Nothing is final yet but overall I think this is a good thing.

That's what's on my mind for now. Sabbath time baby! Must shower and get ready.

PS: Added a few things on the sidebar. Check out the Hall of Fame posts or some of my random pictures on flickr. If you have some recommendations of posts to add to the Hall of Fame, drop me a note. Don't be shy, I won't bite...Too hard.