It Will Be Fine
So I went to get tested for Covid-19 this morning , or we call it in our house, the ronnies. I have been feeling under the weather, sore throat , headache, fatigue and a bit of congestion. I figure it can one be of twenty different things ,
or Corona.
I have to tell you I was very impressed on how efficient the whole process was. My wife called Maccabi, which is the HMO we have here. They said a doctor would call at 4:40 pm, ask me some questions, and determine if I should take the test.
You can imagine my surprise when the call came in at 4:42.
It seems I passed his test ( a new experience for me) and I was given a prescription to my account, for a Corona test. He told me someone would call within 2 hours to arrange a time.
I got the call in about an hour. I made an appointment for a drive through test for this morning at 8:55 am in Kfar Saba, which is normally 15-20 minutes away.
I got there in 20 min, which was 10 minutes early, I went on the line and was out of there 10 minutes later.
I am writing all this because with all the waiting for everything, and dealing with rude people on lines , etc. ,this was actually as pleasant as experience as you would be likely to get anywhere. That was nice considering I was test for the ronnies.
Very impressive.
I am to find out within 48 hours and will keep you posted.
Something crazy is going on. I took a break writing this and I needed a copy of a check I wrote two years ago. In the USA you go online and get it. Here you can only go 6 months back
Start Up Nation
So I emailed the guy at the bank, which is also new as up until 2018 everything had to be done by fax, and asked him for a copy. I figured I would have it in a week after a few more requests.
I got it in 2 minutes.
Strange.
I switched my cable service. I was not happy with what I had and switched to YES since they have an all new digital system. When the guy came to install it, I asked him to set the menu to English. This has always been an option with other companies. He said the only options were Hebrew and Russian. I told him I would not be able to use the system. He said do not worry, they are upgrading the system in a few days and it will be in English. He even called his supervisor, who confirmed.
After a week we had someone call YES for us ( I have to pay someone to make these phone calls as they are impossible even for accomplished Hebrew speakers) and he was assured that the update would happen on June 23rd .
It didn't
We are now switching to their other system which requires an ugly satellite and for some reason costs more.
I don't want to always be complaining.
There are some things here that are far superior than those in the states.
For example, parking garages. Here most new parking garages have a light above spots to tell you if they are available and payment is done automatically.
Also, we went to the beach last week, and after I parked I got a text saying that my car was at the beach and asked if I was aware of that. It seems my car alarm works for big brother.
Freaky
Lastly, we went to Jerusalem last week. This is a big deal for me. I don't like to go there. Surprisingly, I was happy to see that they take the whole mask thing more seriously . Where I live it seems that anyone in workout clothes, even if they are old and walking like snails, thinks they don't need masks. I am told the mask is primarily to prevent the person wearing them from spreading the disease , not the other way around.
What does that say about those selfish people who refuse to wear them.
Bastards
Every time I see someone like that I feel like coughing in their face, but I don't do stuff like that anymore.
Too bad.
Back to Jerusalem.
We had a great time, got to shop in the shuk, see some friends and went to our first restaurant since all this started. It was an Asian place. Normally I would skip that but the people we were going with lived in China for 9 years, so I figured they knew what they were doing.
They did. The place was called NAYA. It is about a 5 minute drive outside the city. I did not have the sushi, because that is awful everywhere here, but what we did have was very good.
Just hoping I didn't get a side order of ronnies by accident.
to be continued...