Voting in Zefat

it is  4:30 p.m. in the holy city of zefat.  today is the mayoral election in zefat.  i haven't decided if i want to vote or not.  unlike the rest of the anglos in the old city, i don't have any issues.  my neighborhood is clean and the garbage is picked up pretty regularly.  they haven't destroyed any trees up here, either.  i guess i am complacent when it comes to the local elections.

 zefat is known for having a corrupt city government.  the majority of past mayors were under house arrest for absconding with city funds.  i have been here for nearly 30 years and i can't say that i have witnessed any real progress.  we do have a lot more people living here these days than in the past.  it has created a backlog in the bureaucracy.

i got up early to do some errands.  my grandson joined me at 6:30 a.m.   he was wet from pishing in his bed.  he wouldn't let me shower him so i washed him with a damp cloth.  he had a field trip because all of the gans were being used as voting places.  i went straight to the social worker this morning.  she helped me compose a note to the medical carrier to accept my invoice for a couple of taxi fares back from the hospital.  we shall see if they finally reimburse me or not.  i still have three trips that i haven't recieved invoices for.

i then took a cab down to town to the national insurance office.  it was completely empty.  it was very surreal.  usually by 9:00 a.m. it is already full and quite noisy.  i felt an outer body experience there.  there were only two other people there besides myself.  i was told that i did get my monthly stipend yesterday..  somehow, it didn't show up on my bank print out.  i proceeded to the water company and paid one bill.   apparently, i missed another bill.  i don't remember receiving it.  it will have to wait until the new year to be paid.  i was the sole person at the water company too.

i  then made my way over to the bank.  it was also pretty empty.  i picked up my checkbooks and strolled over to the city tax office.  i was once again, the only person there.  i paid my real estate taxes plus late penalties and went on to the medical clinic to pay my health insurance bill.  as i was leaving the bank, the clerk warned me that i mustn't bounce any more checks.  i tried to 'enlighten' her that most of the damage was done while i was away from zefat undergoing chemotherapy in tel aviv.  she made a call for me but i don't really know what was said. or resolved.  i  had to pay a small ransom in bank charges lately.

i ran into my best gal pal and we went out for chocolate milkshakes.   how yummy was that!  she had to get back to work so we didn't have a lot of time to schmooze.   i did some window shopping.  i was looking for chanukah coloring books or props.  i didn't see any.  i ran into a few acquaintances and discussed my  past illness and treatment for a while.  i waited for the bus to get back home.  i t was getting late and i needed to get to my grandson's gan.  it turns out that there weren't any buses running at the bus stop so i cabbed it.  i had the driver wait for me because i was spent by then.

we came home and i bathed my grandson.  i had bought him a jelly donut but the dog ran off with it.  what a bitch!  we munched out on some great whole wheat rolls and his mommy came home.  they all went out to the park.  i'm pretty tired.  i was expecting a female border next week.  someone saw my ad for the upstairs apartment and thought it would be great for this gal.  i really thought it was a done deal but it isn't going to work out.  most people prefer to live downtown.

in the winter, it's colder but a lot drier up here.  the houses in the old city tend to be moist and moldy in the winter.  i really didn't have the energy to clean the upstairs but i sure was counting on the money.  this is an old story.  something has to give.