Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Aliyah Update: Of Books and Cars



I had fully intended on going to the gym after work today. I was in good spirits despite feeling a bit on the low end thanks to some dehydration and sun sickness from Sunday -- mostly because I received, signed, and sent off a signed lease for my apartment in Nachlaot, Jerusalem, Israel! Yes, it's a done deal, folks.

But I didn't go to the gym. No, instead I went to the Post Office to inquire of M-Bags. The conversation went something like this:

Me: So, I read about M-Bags online, and I'm moving to Israel and want to know what the pricing looks like.
Him: M-Bags? Wheewww. Haven't had an M-Bag in a while. (Looks to coworker) Do we still do M-Bags?
Coworker: Depends what she's shipping.
Me: Books.
Coworker: Books, yeah, we do.
Him: Okay, so, you just package them up and bring them in.
Me: Um ... I need to know the pricing. Can you tell me the pricing?
Him: Sure, just ... (futzes with computer) I can't seem to find it. (To coworker) Where is it?
Her: International.
Him: Let's see ... okay ... let's say 50 pounds ... looks like ... (Makes a face like he just saw his first $100 bill, and turns the computer screen to me).
Me: $180? That's not so bad. Okay, thanks.

The funniest thing about all of this was that he didn't say the price of shipping 50 pounds of books. He just turned the screen. Like it was too obscene to say out loud. What he doesn't know is that shipping something like that usually costs upwards of $300 to $600 internationally.

$180 isn't bad, but not ideal. I might have to pare down what I'm taking and figure out what books I can ship back to my parents for storage. If you have other suggestions, please let me know. (Note: I already sold a ton, have more to donate, and bought a Kindle with the sold-book earnings.)

After the trip to the post office I decided to do the big, bold thing and head to the Toyota dealership. Gulp. Lucky for me, my car is prime for buy-back by the dealership, and one of the guys said he has someone in mind to buy it with cash. So, either way, he's going to get my car bought for me -- for more than I currently owe on it, which is a huge, huge, huge blessing.

Seriously, is something going to go wrong at some point? Will the shoe drop? Or is this what it feels like when you're finally on the path that HaShem wants for you?