Ikea and the army

It’s time for another army update. I now have a small pillow to rest my head on, another box checked on the two page list I have been carrying around. My friend Moshe recommended bringing a small pillow, as they don’t have pillows in the army. The little time you have to sleep should be on something soft, as opposed to a pile of rocks or in the mud. I still don’t know what my basic training is going to be like, but from what I have heard, it involves mud and tents. I still think going in December has to be better than August. In any case, I am Canadian (as the beer commercial goes) I should be better suited to freezing cold than blazing heat. Getting back on track, I found myself in Ikea yesterday and came across their wonderful mini pillow, which cost 10 shekels and rolls up into a tiny bag. I think its going to be perfect to roll up and tuck away in my backpack. I tested it out last night to ensure it works properly, and I slept great. Now all I have to do is replace the bed for a sleeping bag, and the room for a tent, and I’ll be good to go. I am slowly getting all the things on my list; I hope to get most of my shopping done sometime next week. I think know a few people who are going in with me, so hopefully there will some familiar faces. With exactly ten days (to the minute) left to go, its making me really ponder what army life is going to be like. Hopefully there won’t be any digging, but I am sure it will be like a dig, too little sleep, too much fun with your new friends.

I just read a horror story about Machal, I guess I am lucky to be in Shlav Bet. I think these guys are going to be on the same base as I am. I am not sure if we are going to be doing our tiranut (basic training) together, but we should all be going to the same place, Mikveh Alon.

Moving right along, I had a great time in Ikea yesterday. I think it was the first store that was really American (or Swedish) and was like an exact replica of the one in Toronto. Change the signs from Hebrew/English to English/French and I could have been back in Canada. The best thing about Ikea was the food; we had a wonderful breakfast of salad, coffee and hot pretzels. This then gave us the energy to walk around the enormous store for another hour, returning to the cafeteria for lunch. Even though all the food was kosher, I was afraid to try the Swedish meatballs. I had a salad, vegetable soup in a bread bowl (for the first time ever), huge spaghetti with meat sauce, three rolls, and unlimited soft drink refills. I would say it was the best meal of the day, but our friend took us out for a spectacular dinner, but more about that later. If you order something of Israeli origin, like schnitzel, they stick a little Israeli flag in it. If you order something of Swedish origin, it comes with a little Swedish flag in it, and so on. I really had a great time in the store, and it wasn’t just the shopping, food, or cartoon network playing on a projection TV. I impressed the kids sitting around eating lunch with my Johnny Bravo impersonation, although it may have been the dozen Coke refills doing the talking.