It’s about starting over . com

The question of how often a blogger should post to his or her blog often comes up. Some say several times a week, some say several time a day. I seem to post a few times each year! Doesn’t make me the most active blogger in the blogesphere, but…well…

In a few days, it’ll be the Jewish New Year–Rosh Hashanah. Time for new-year’s resolutions, no? You guessed it, one of mine is to post more often. I hope it won’t go the way of most new-year’s resolutions–if I end up pulling it off, I’ll also make an effort to tell more people about my blog.  Meanwhile, let me give you a recap of what’s been going on in my life over the last year:

• Made it through another year at Rimon! Got almost straight A’s too! Not bad for a returnee! Had some exciting achievements along the way. It hasn’t been easy though, no one should think I’m skating through this. I should mention that I repeated two first-year courses by choice. I really needed to learn the material more thoroughly than I had when I took them the first time.
• Raised my placement rating at Rimon from 222 to 4443. A major accomplishment.
• Established the Israel Wholistic Forum–a forum for English speaking people who live in Israel and are into all things holistic, organic and spiritual.
• After a lot of agonizing, I finally decided what to do about my house–I’ve rented it out for the year, and will most likely sell it by the time the rental contract ends.
• I sold or gave away most of my belongings and moved into a tiny, two-room apartment five minutes from Rimon! Wow, easy words to write out, but emotionally, one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. Why? Good question! I haven’t the slightest idea, especially considering that I’ve moved so many times in my life. I don’t think it was the letting go of my belongings–the truth is that I had accumulated so much crap! And believe me, I still have a lot. At any rate, it’s a good thing. I’ve cut out a time-consuming commute (which means I’ll have more time to study) and cut WAY back on my expenses. I’ve heard it say that gas is so expensive here that most Israelis spend more on gas than they do to buy their cars. That’s a pretty grim thought considering that the price of cars here is really high (taxes of close to 100%). Right now, gas costs around $6.50 to $7.00 per gallon, depending on the octane you use. Obviously, if I drive a lot less, upkeep will cost a lot less. All this should amount to less stress too. BTW, my apartment may be small, but it’s classy! And my landlord is a doll.
• I applied for another achievement-based scholarship at Rimon. Decisions will be announced sometime in October. Wish me luck!
• I met with a Berklee representative to see if transferring there and getting a scholarship is really a possibility. It is, but after weighing the options, not until the 2010/11 school year. Now that’s an Orwellian date!
• Yesterday, I auditioned for a student ensemble. It was my first audition of this type. Hmmm, lots to say about that. Definitely worth a post. Decisions will be announced within two weeks.
• Took an online guitar course, which should help me to establish financial credit in the US. Okay, that might be worth a post too. I haven’t finished the course yet–I still have two more lessons to complete.
• And what am I doing now? Well, school doesn’t start until the beginning of November, so I’m going to spend this month getting my new apartment organized, working a bit, taking some private lessons and reviewing material in preparation for the coming year! And blogging, yes, blogging.

Off to do those last two guitar lessons! Take good care of yourselves!