I talked to Naomi today. Now I understand she just wants to have a good time with a good friend in Italy. She doesn't want me as anything more than that, and although she wants to go where the locals go, she isn't going to go off with some Italian guy and leave me alone. She said we'll get one room with two beds. At least I know what she wants. If I go to Italy with her as a friend and without any expectations to become anything beyond that I can enjoy myself and not be disappointed.

Tonight I'm leaving for the airport and tomorrow I'll reach the States. I probably won't write blog entries from there, since I doubt I'll have enough privacy near a computer. So I assume my next entry will be in August.

Things did not go as planned. Naomi had a test today so she called me from the university and told me to come see her. By the time I came she was with 3 other friends. We all went to a restaurant together and we didn't have any privacy, and we couldn't talk about the trip to Italy, because she doesn't want our friends to know about it. Later, she called me and I told her I had a good time, but I was sorry we didn't have time alone. She sounded surprised. I said, "You know, good friends can want to be alone too." So she said "Yes, but it sounds more like a boyfriend and girlfriend." Then she added "Or two people who are going abroad together." That confused me. But I couldn't talk to her more about it, because I was watching my nephew, and at that point she also heard him in the background so she said she'll let me watch him and that we'll talk later.

While I was still watching my nephew I sent her an SMS saying I hope I didn't startle her by saying that I wanted the two of us to be alone. She replied by saying that it was totally okay, because we already discussed this a while back. I assume she meant the time she told me she doesn't date classmates (see June 6). I SMS'd back that she just sounded surprised, and that's why I wrote that last message. I didn't get a reply to that. I later wrote her another SMS, kind of an ice-breaker, about my nephew wanting to put lipstick on me (on my hand, so my hand would kiss some piece of paper). I still haven't talked to her since.

I'll call her tomorrow. I think we better discuss what she wants to do in Italy. Today she said she wants us to meet guys and girls in Italy, and "worst case scenario we'll have each other" (and no - not that kind of have, the word she used in Hebrew doesn't have that meaning). So I said "that's the worst case scenario?" And she said "Well, not the worst, somwhere in the middle." So this doesn't sound promising. I think I've jumped the gun on this one again. The same mistake twice with the same girl - how stupid of me.

The food I made yesterday was supposed to last for today too - that's why I made three different dishes for just four adults and one little kid. However, my sister and I discovered this morning that there was a short circuit in the kitchen and the refrigerator didn't work all night. So now the chicken dishes I made are probably all bad, so we have a problem with what we'll eat today. We'll have to make something else, but we don't have any ingredients, and finding an open store in Israel on Saturdays isn't easy.

Just remind me next time to go to the switchboard if there's no light in the fridge...

The food came out great. I made three things:

1. Chicken in soy, ketchup and honey sauce (came out best).
   
2. Chicken in Coca-Cola (came out very good, though since I used some soup powder it tasted a bit like chicken soup).
   
3. Baked potatoes with rosemary (also came out very good).

I like the whole chef idea. I think I'll do this again, not only when my parents are out of town.

I talked to Naomi today. It's her birthday, and mine is next week, so I suggested we go out to celebrate our birthdays together next week. She said yes, as long as she doesn't have to stay at home. So that will be my chance to check what she expects from our trip to Italy, and whether we're going just as friends or as more than that.

PS: I've decided what to make tomorrow for my sisters, brother-in-law and nephew. Chicken in soy and honey and baked potatoes. Wish me luck.

Today there was a surprising twist in the Naomi plot. She called me and said that because of her birthday and because of all of what she did to help her family with their problem (which isn't over and isn't getting better, and I don't even know what it is yet), her parents are giving her a trip to Italy as a present. She asked me if I want to come with her, just the two of us. She said that we trust each other, so that's why she wants to go with me.

So now I'm confused. Are we going as platonic friends or as something more? I need to make that clear next time I see her.

She joked about each of us finding an Italian there. Then she said, "actually you already have an Italian" - since she's half Italian I assume she referred to herself. She also joked about me bringing her a cute American from my trip to the States. Maybe I should have said "you already have an American", since I'm half American myself.

She wants to go in September. We haven't talked about details yet. I'm curious how many bedrooms she'll want... Next week I'll make sure to meet her before I leave for the States. If I don't get things clear about where our relationship stands it'll drive me crazy during my trip.

Besides, it won't hurt to be able to say to my American friends and family, "after this trip, I'm going to Italy with my girlfriend".

I had my last test today and I think it went well. Tomorrow, a home-test will be published on the Internet, and I have to turn it in within two weeks. Because of my flight, I'll have to turn it in earlier.

I haven't seen Naomi yet. She's still at home because of her problem. I hope she'll come soon. Maybe she'll tell me what's wrong when she sees me. I'm very confused. We talk every day a few times, we both call each other a lot. She keeps telling me that she likes it when we talk, because it makes her feel better. I'm not sure if she means it as a platonic friend or as something more. I've been wrong about this with her before, so I don't know what to think now.

I just saw Bibi Netanyahu on TV. I feel like puking whenever I see him, no matter what he's talking about.

Tomorrow I'll watch my nephew for two and a half hours while my sister goes to the university to do her research. The ABA kindergarten works only 3 days a week, so she usually needs help the other days.

By the way, next weekend I'll be the cook. I haven't decided what to make yet.

Good news. I got 85 and 93 in the the second and third tests. Those are excellent grades. Today I had a test that everybody said was unfair - it was multiple-choice, with questions about all kinds of petty points. I hope it will turn out okay, since the make-up test is just hours before I have to leave for the airport. Hopefully, it'll be fine. I gotta be optimistic.

I'm worried about Naomi. It seems she has some problems at home. I don't know what it is, she isn't willing to tell me at this point. She has to stay at home to take care of something. I have a feeling it's something really bad, maybe a terminally ill family member or something like that. She is very pessimistic and sounds a bit depressed. She says talking to me on the phone makes her feel better. Maybe she'll trust me enough sometime to tell me what's going on.

It's sad that those two 29-year-old Iranian siamese twins died after the operation to seperate them.

My mother travelled to the States yesterday. My father will join her on Thursday - then I'll have the house totally to myself for two weeks till I myself leave for the US. Of course, I'm sure my sister Shira will come with my nephew a lot, and my other sister Yael, who studies in Jerusalem, will be here on the weekends.

This would be a great time to have a girlfriend, with the house being empty and all at my disposal for two weeks. But I don't have a girlfriend. So bummer.

No new grades yet, by the way.

It's July, my favorite month of the year. For one thing, it's the beginning of summer, and near the end of it awaits my birthday. This year I'll be in the United States on my b-day. It should be quite an experience (though I've already had a few birthdays there).

I was at my cousin's son's briss today. I came in before the rest of my family and the first thing my aunt did was volunteer me to be the video-cameraman. So I filmed the guests coming in, but I didn't film the briss ceremony itself (who'd want to watch that again?). I ended up filming a total of six minutes only, but hey, I was nice enough to stand there with the camera. People who don't know me might have thought I was a hired cameraman.

I forgot to write this in the blog before - I had a nest on the ledge of my window, and a pigeon layed two eggs there. They've been there for about a week. This morning I saw that one egg was missing, then a few hours later the second egg was missing too, but there were no chicks. I went to the back yard to see if the eggs fell there and there's no trace of them. So this is a mystery - no broken eggs downstairs, no eggs at all, and no chicks. And the pigeon stopped coming. All that is left is an irritating ugly nest.