Worthy cause

This is worth breaking my vow of silence...
She's back! Go read, your prayers are needed.

Taking a breather

First off, a big, fat, sloppy, Valentines kiss to all 3 of my readers.

However, it ain't all kisses, because, as Oates said to Scott: "I am just going outside and may be some time".

Just too busy right now to blog.

I've loaded a few of my favourite pics in the flickr box, just below the poll on the right of this page...take a look, but only if you start missing me.

In the meantime, thanks to Steven for this, it put a smile on my face. Kind of sums up the management round my neck of the woods:

Having a ball

Holy crap.

Tasteless

This song was last night voted the best British song of the last 25 years. And there I was, seriously contemplating a return to the land of sheep in fields, fish'n'chips and chavness...

At least us East Sussexians are smiling, eh little sis?

30 years old, about bloody time!

Saturday saw mrs. anglosaxy celebrate her 30th birthday and finally join the rest of us mature, wise 30-somethings. As she had been whining about turning 30 for some weeks, I decided to wind her up a little bit and surprise her with a few friends at a fancy restaurant. Trying to keep this secret was the hardest part, as she kept on at me for days, trying to find out if we were doing anything special.

Anyway, I settled on Space. A nice place, great service and great food, but probably a teeny bit too fancy for our crowd. And one of those places that takes a while to warm up, atmosphere-wise. But all-in-all, a great night.

OK, time for some pictures:

This first shot is me training Israelis how to use a knife and fork...



This shot is of L and E, trying to flirt with the cameraman...or the barman...or whoever was wearing trousers...



This next shot demonstrates 4 different trains of thought in one picture:
From L to R -
1. Mmmm, but don't you think Condoleezza's visit will spark a new rush of optimism?
2. He, he, he, you're so funny...
3. Hi cameraman, take my picture, I'm cute...
4. This is interesting, but where did that handsome barman go?



This last pic is of the legendary Kinky. Please note that the picture has NOT been digitally altered. Ha ha.

Infiltrated?

There's a new girl in town. Yep, the corridor has been designated a 'cram-em-all-in' zone, and our numbers have gone up 50%. All respect for 'personal space' will completely go out of the window (the one that doesn't open...) when O gets back (start of next week). And not that I've got anything against people that are challenged in the physical features department, but the need for eye candy in this corridor has reached new levels...

Anyway, the new girl seems very professional if a little weird. Might be me getting paranoid, but I have this feeling she thinks I'm taking the piss out of work, what with my denim jacket look this morning...or could she be a plant sent in by management to bring down anglosaxy? Over the weekend I was checking who's linking to anglosaxy and was surprised to see a couple of references to work blogs and my inclusion in a 'bad boy' list. Some might say it's time to boot my picture from the blog but fuck it, life is short.

Last night's 30th birthday celebration for mrs. anglosaxy will be reported on later...with pictures, because I know you want to see pictures of sexy girls chatting up barmen and anglosaxy stuffing his face...don't you? I might have to do some photoshopping to protect the innocent...

three zero

mrs. anglosaxy reaches the big 'three zero' tomorrow. I've bought her this (the lower right picture - or the upper right picture in the grid of 9 pics on the right of the page), and arranged a surprise do with 10 of our friends. She doesn't have a clue. In the meantime, I don't have a clue where this 'do' is going to take place, but I'll guess I'll work on that tomorrow.

Fockers

Went to see Meet the Fockers tonight at the very impressive Cinema City. It was a little light relief after a long afternoon fixing a leaking sewer pipe, which involved first smashing through a plaster wall to get to the actual pipe. You don't want me to describe the smell that was wafting through the anglosaxy castle today...Anyway, back to the movie: not bad, though a little disappointing, especially after being such big fans of the first movie. Sure, there are some great moments, but the crowd's spontaneous burst of applause at the end of the movie surprised me. I guess the numerous Yiddish and Hebrew/Israeli references won the locals over...

As a side point, I'm always wondering whether a complex with 21 screens can actually make any money, considering the obvious investment they originally made. I guess they must be doing OK, the place always seems to be packed.

Company day

Today was company day. A celebration for all those who got big pay rises (management), and for all those who got exactly 0% rises (the serfs). The location: Latrun (well, the tanks were impressive). The talk was all "power-positioning", but the only power position I could relate to was sitting on the lav and exorcising all my stomach's contents after last night's football fest (the less said about that the better...). The worker of the year: O! I like to think I played a part in her success. Ha ha.

Signs of winter in Israel, part IV

Mrs. anglosaxy is modelling this year's winter look. A sumptuous fur-lined jacket, complete with hood. Dog optional. 25 degree heat mandatory (this picture was taken on Saturday, believe it or not, when Tel Aviv was cooking).



Anyone else notice that ugly brown line on the horizon?

Wow! Couldn't see that coming...

This might be a bit tricky, but try and give it a go - Think of a number between -1 and 1. Double it. Double it again. Multiply this by 3. What do you have? That's right, nada. And that's what I got in yesterday's salary review (sponsored by Corridors Anonymous, Inc.).

One month ago, maybe two, this would have been the catalyst for me to pack my bags and move on, especially with the bullshit excuses for not giving me a raise - "We don't know where we stand with you, whether we'll get a full year from you..." - er, OK, but what about the last 4 years without a raise? What about the project I'm just about to start which will save you thousands of dollars? Big, fat LAME written all over this...but I don't really care, honestly, it was exactly what I was expecting and when the time comes, I'll remember this (and the rest of the items on my list). I actually smiled as I came out of this meeting, believe it or not.

Fireball

I love those sunsets when the sun seems like this big, orange fireball on the horizon, peeking out from under a bank of clouds, slowly sinking into the sea. I was on my bike the other day and as I passed through the Old Tel Aviv port, I looked over my shoulder and caught this one...

Some killers for you

I know. I'm a little behind. But please, if this was 10 years ago (or pre-Internet), I'd still be in the dark next Xmas...

May I introduce - The Killers. Just my cup of tea, thank you. This one, their album Hot Fuss, is going to be glued in the car CD player for the coming weeks.

My Friday night started promisingly, as I took mrs. anglosaxy for some ice-cream (not just any ice-cream, but Dr. Lek) and then to the gas station to pick up some milk and bread. Eh? Not bad or what? Never let it be said that I don't know how to look after my woman. This was followed by mrs. anglosaxy promising to cycle over with me to Leo Blooms for some Kilkenny, but, as I can hear her snoring on the sofa, I guess that idea was just an idea...bless her little cotton socks.

So, it's back to some killing: "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier"...

Can't you take a hint?

Sometimes I just can't hack it with the in-laws. Especially when I've had a long week and mrs. anglosaxy wants to go visit. Last night we went over, and as usual, what we planned on being a lightning visit turned into a Big Event. That means momma and poppa anglosaxy have to put on this big show and invite everybody round. First it's mrs. anglosaxy's brothers, who came straight from work, then their wives...and then one of the wives, who is 8 months pregnant didn't fancy coming over. Cue non-stop pleas for her to come over. I lost count after the 15th plea...I mean, isn't it a teeny weeny bit too much? She obviously didn't fancy coming over, and yet they wouldn't leave her the fuck alone. At one point it got embarrassing. I'm just glad she didn't cave in.

So, as the in-law tribe settled in for the feast and the after dinner chat session, me, for the first time in my life, I watched a game of basketball (yep, Maccabee Tel Aviv) from start to finish. Un-fucking-believable.

Those Jewish and Israeli bog awards

I've just read Imshin and was gobsmacked to see her endorsement for anglosaxy as the best 'Life in Israel' blog. For those of you who don't know, the Jewish and Israeli Blog awards are currently in progress, and I know anglosaxy was nominated, amongst many others, for the best 'Life in Israel' award. I haven't mentioned it up to now, because I didn't really expect to win anything, and don't feel particularly "Jewish" or "Israeli". I'm just a guy married to a girl, in Tel Aviv, telling it as it is.

I appreciate the votes, I really do, but I ain't doing this blogging malarky for awards. If it puts a smile on one or two of your faces then great, that'll do me. And anyway, now that Imshin, the original Queen of the Israel blogging scene, has endorsed me, who needs a blog award?! I feel like I've already won something!

My trunks are packed, mr. spammer

In my work Inbox this morning...

Your night has been confirmed with Janice.
Time: Evening
Location: Her Home within 1 mile of you
Attire: Dress casual, bring swimwear
Expectation(s): Pizza/movie, then the "real" fun...or whatever comes first.
Quote from Janice: "My husband is out of town for the whole week. If
the first affair goes over well, let's just say it will be a wild week. Bring
your trunks for the hot-tub too. I have all my lingerie ready for this. Can't
wait to meet you."

MS finally get something right

Well, after hours spent trying to wipe out the spyware from my computer and getting my hijacked browser back, I'm pleased to report that Microsoft's Anti Spyware Beta did the job. After trying Adaware and Spybot, and rebooting and rescanning and repulling my hair out, I tried the MS software late last night. It failed to mop up everything on it's first run, but did the trick on its second. And the validating your Windows issue...er, you can get round it, if you really need to...gold star to Markussss.

Migrating to Firefox tonight. Just one question: when people say it doesn't work with all sites, what does this mean exactly? Will I be able to still view and access the site, or will it be a complete navigational nightmare?

Nice work Blogger!

Fecking hell...
*in a puff of smoke it was gone*
You might notice that the whole of my right side has disappeared. All I did was add a link to my list of fave blogs, and hey presto, it was gone. Can't seem to get it back either, my template is pretty well empty...
What with the bastard spyware rampant on my home computer, I've decided to quit working with computers and return to pen and ink.

Under attack

I confess. I clicked when I shouldn't have clicked...
My home computer is being attacked by spyware, it's making surfing difficult. Been running Adaware and AVG constantly the last 2 days but it just won't heal...just to give you an idea of the scale of the attack, Adaware came up with 800 critical objects last night.
Anyone recommend a top anti-spyware (not anti-virus), preferably a freebie?

Mama used to say, take your time young man...

*Ha! Manages to squeeze mrs. anglosaxy's fave 80's track (anyone can give me the group?) into the title of this post. Ingenious!*

Got a call yesterday from one of the companies with whom I was involved in a series of job interviews back in December. After a month without hearing from them, they have decided to invite me in for a fourth interview. The interview: a forum of the existing 9 writers asking me a series of questions to verify whether I'm [ their company ] compatible. Er, sorry, but I'd rather wash me hair...Are you having a fecking laugh? Sounds like it'll be easier becoming Prime Minister...

Because this company is big in the software world, I guess they thought they could take their time. I guess they thought I'd be happy to twiddle my thumbs for a month. I also guess they thought they might find better than me what with the series of ads I spotted in the last month. I'm guessing they're wrong...aside from my commitment to the asylum corridor for the coming weeks, this company has well and truly taken the piss, especially after they were the ones pressuring me to reschedule my diary because 'the position needs to be filled quickly'... Feck off.