Back to the Dog-hair Days

Timing is everything, especially when it comes to subletting an apartment. After a brief freakout wondering if I’d be able to find somewhere (affordable) to live after the end of my program, I conveniently came across the opportunity to house/dog sit for Deborah, one of my bosses at Omanoot. She was also in a freakout situation while planning her month and a half long trip to the states and Africa; she didn’t want to have to board her dog for such a long period of time but didn’t trust anyone to watch him at her house. Ahh symbiotic relationships! We were able to help each other out by having me move into her apartment, watch her dog, and in turn, live rent-free for a month! Leo is a lab/boxer mix, and I was actually quite excited to have a dog waiting for me at home once again.

Cut to Tuesday, when I packed a suitcase of my things (Wow, how do I still have so much stuff here??) and used a cab to move from Yona Hanavi to Arlozorov. I’ve always hated moving, and have done it so many times, but using a cab to do so was a whole new experience. I actually missed my car in this situation. So...the apartment comes with a variety of pros/cons:

PRO: Living alone

CON: Living alone without a tv or a loud roomie….eerily quiet!

PRO: New neighborhood to wander, eat at all the cafes

CON: New neighborhood is farther from everything that has become second-nature to me in Tel Aviv

PRO: Dog in the house!

CON: Dog HAIR and smell in the house…daily sweeping necessary

PRO: My own bathroom

CON: Cockroach guests in my bathroom, as well as a shower that sometimes floods the bathroom when used

PRO: Lots of writing material J

In my first adventure, I entered the bathroom to find a GIANT cockroach passed away in the sink. As I contemplated how to get him out of there without touching, another friend tried to enter the bathroom window but I closed it in time. Said cockroach is still on display in my sink, as I haven’t the courage to get him out; the dustbuster wasn’t strong enough, and I think I would gag watching the dog eat it. For now, I will continue to brush my teeth in the kitchen sink.

Leo is a (dumb as rocks) sweetheart, and speaks both English and Hebrew. He’s definitely a chewer though. While a couple girls were staying here before me, he chewed through the internet cords, so I’ll have to get the company over to fix that before I go insane not having internet at home. Thank goodness for the abundance of wifi access at every nearby café in Tel Aviv! On my first day of leaving him home while I went to work, he decided to eat the good couch. Then when I covered the broken part with a sheet the next time, he chewed up the sheet to get to the couch. Great.

In my second adventure, I came home from walking Leo and sat on the couch. Within a few minutes, another GIANT cockroach scattered from underneath! Leo tried to help, but the cockroach ran to the fridge. I sprayed him dozens of times with bug killer from the fridge all the way to the bathroom. He continued to crawl up the wall, and I managed to open the window and get him outside. We’ll call that battle a draw. I survived, Leo survived, and so did the cockroach.

…Stay tuned for more adventures with Lindsay & Leo!

Hebrew phrases for today's post:

Ha'ramzor: street light (signal)

Keevoon: direction

Ech mageem le'sham?: How do you get there?

Leo, shev!: Leo, sit!

Kelev sheli achal et ha cable sheli!: My dog ate my cable!