Good thing about living in Israel – Number 65

October 9, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General 

The importance given to Israel’s efforts to get into the World Cup compared to the Major League baseball playoffs is roughly like placing China next to Micronesia.

If you don’t pay attention, America’s national past time will pass you right by. Which for this Red Sox fan is exactly the correct amount of focus that the American League playoffs deserved.

So less than 24 hours after the Bosox were eliminated in the first round, I found myself cheering with my fellow Israelis as the National Team played some other team from some other country in a sport that just doesn’t seem very exciting to me. And even though they won, their chances of becoming eligible for the World Cup diminished to nearly impossible.

So now I found myself switching allegiances from a team that’s a reigning World Series champ, but only guarantees that status one every 86 years, to a team that wins, but manages to lose.

For a Red Sox fan, that’s my kind of team.

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Israel 2: Faroe Islands 1; France 1: Switzerland 1

October 9, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General 

Up until last night, the sports columnists were still pretending that Israel had a realistic chance of getting to the 2006 World Cup. But that was before the national team’s fairly pathetic showing last night against the Faroe Islands in the World Cup qualifiers. And, worse, the tie game between Switzerland and France which really sealed our fates.

Despite Israel’s sad 2-1 victory over the Foroyars (we should have beaten them a lot more soundly), we still had a slight chance of getting to the World Cup had France beaten Switzerland. But the two tied and the gig was up.

It’s kind of sad. A few months ago we were still reveling in our chances to get to the World Cup for the first time in 35 years. Now all we can revel in is the fact that the national team managed to get through the 10 qualifier matches without losing. Unfortunately, in order to get ahead, not losing just isn’t good enough.

(Originally posted at Sha!)

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Where’s the catch?

October 6, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General 

The price of petrol going up has become another of the certainties in life. Midnight hikes, announced on the news are the signal to head for the filling station and so it was that this Saturday night saw me heading not for my nearest petrol station but the one in which the system of queuing was least likely to lead to an argument over who was there first.

A little off the beaten track, it was not as full as I’d expected perhaps because I’d managed to beat the rush by heading off as soon as possible after Shabbat but there was still something of a tailback, largely because only 2 of the pumps were operating – par for the course I suppose but I assumed the worst when one of the attendants started to make his way down the line and a couple of cars raced off the forecourt.

“I’m out of 95 Octane but you can have 98 Octane for the same price” he told me. Confused I contemplated what he had told me “98′s a better petrol right?” I asked, wondering if I’d missed some vital detail. “Absolutely” he reassured me. I sat there, waiting and wondering where the catch was. Surely there was no obligation on the petrol station’s part to sell a more expensive product at a lower price because all the cheaper (but in no way cheap) stuff had gone? The customer is there, he’s going to buy whatever you charge him because he can’t be bothered to move on in search of 95 somewhere else.

My turn came around and I rolled up to the pump – “can I fill it myself” I asked, knowing that it’s cheaper that way. When I received an affirmative reply I got straight down to work, checked that the appropriate price was listed (it was – 98 same as 95 with the same reduction for self fill), filled up and was on my way, double and triple checking the payment slip.

One day on I’m still none the wiser as to where the catch was. Alon petrol station, far end of Derech Hebron, no arguing about queues, reductions for self service and clearly know a thing or two about customer service.

Gilly

(This post was orignally published at “If I forget thee…“)

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