Alternately, "In Which Shani Learns the Perils of Prematurely Counting her Chickens." The downside to choosing the alternate title, however, would have been creating a blog with not one, but TWO posts in which the subject heading is devoted to the mention of poultry -- but this time the chickens are purely figurative, I assure you.
As you may recall, I posted recently -- well, not that recently, over two months ago -- about a job acceptance at the Israel Opera in Tel Aviv. The job was perfect for me; it required someone who speaks very good English, can read music, and has some knowledge about the workings of opera. Both the two big bosses at the opera house were very impressed with me, and the head of production management told me that I was hired.
Two months later, I got a phone call.
Now before I explain, yes, in a sense, I sat around waiting for them to call me for two months... I tried calling once, but I was told politely but firmly to sit and wait patiently. Their season hadn't started and they didn't need me yet. Fine. So I did other things in the meantime, moonlighting, exploring, etc, and waited, knowing that Ms. B had said "Welcome aboard!" and "you belong here, we'll call you immediately," and that everyone there agreed I was best suited for the job.
As it turns out, however, the Israel Opera in Tel Aviv has a policy against hiring family members of existing employees. My aunt, my mom's sister, works in the dress/costume department there, has for several years. Now, here is why this policy should not apply to me: a) I would be hired for an entirely different department, nothing to do with costumes; b) I have a CLASSICAL MUSIC DEGREE and all the skills required for the job, and am therefore not relying on nepotism to push me forward; c) for all intents and purposes, I am basically an "ola chadasha" (a person who has newly made his or her move to Israel, a movement that's encouraged greatly by the government -- there are packages of funding, tax breaks, free education, etc that are offered to Jews from other countries choosing to live their lives in Israel), and therefore my biological relationship to my aunt is irrelevant, as it's not as though I grew up on her block. I haven't lived in the same country as her for 23 years.
All of this being the case, however, the high-ups at the Israel Opera decided that none of it mattered. I am not as of this moment, while these people are in charge, authorized to work there. So, it's back to square one in terms of employment. I interviewed at Haaretz newspaper, the Israeli New York Times equivalent, but I'm not sure hard-hitting journalism is the first impression people get upon meeting me, so not holding my breath there -- on a related note, though, I am one step closer to fulfilling my life-long dream of becoming Eliza Doolittle. On alternate Fridays I can now be found at the Tel Aviv harbor market, selling loverly bunches of flowers. :)
In other news, four months have passed since I got here, and my family in Bloomington hit their winter break -- which means that I was graced with a visit!
First, ima got here (and is still here), followed by aba and Maya 10 days later. We had a great time, though it went by entirely too quickly, visiting family and friends, hanging out together, and generally catching up. It was (and is) so great to see them after four months -- we are a tightly knit family and this is the longest I have ever gone without seeing them. A bi-continental life has worked for me up until now, as my family has always been a part of my flip-flopping before, but this new-found independent lifestyle is going to take a bit more getting used to. Regardless, though, I am so glad they came, and just wish they could all have stayed longer, especially my dad and sister, who were here for such a short time!
My final bit of news for this post is that 10 days ago, I joined a vocal ensemble.
Now, when this ensemble was pitched to me, it was by my friend Zvika, who played the villain in Kismet. He used phrases such as "it's just for fun," and "we're all much much older than you, and far less professional," and "very few of us actually read music," and "we need sopranos" (yes, that one turned my head too)... the impression I got was that this ensemble was a completely amateur gathering of people who just do this in the evenings because they enjoy singing and have little else to do. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I told Zvika I would attend a rehearsal and see how I liked it.
The ensemble, Dominanta, sings only in Hebrew. It is an ensemble of contemporary Israeli music, both from the nationalistic era (the birth of the Israeli nation in 1948) and from more recent years. The entire ensemble consists of ten and a half people (the half being someone who fills in when she is needed) and a conductor/guitarist who have been singing together for over twenty years. Not only do they have such a ball that after a three hour rehearsal they sit around and keep singing because nobody wants to go home, but they have performed on television and with some of Israel's biggest names, including (for those of you who might actually recognize the names) Danny Sanderson and Israel Gurion, the latter of which is featured in an upcoming concert in April.
The long and the short of it are that I enjoyed every minute of the rehearsal, and "auditioned" right after -- and considering that almost everyone in the ensemble is fifty plus years old, I was welcomed with open arms and a great deal of enthusiasm. One of the members immediately drafted me for a vocal event he is arranging, as well, an evening of foreign songs in Hebrew translation, where I am to sing "HaChaim BeVarod" (originally "La Vie en Rose"), which I am also quite excited about! And I am already listed in the line-up for the evening as "Shani Wahrman, of Dominanta." :)
On that note, I will close this post. To those goyish friends of mine, a very Merry Christmas, and to all a Happy New Year!
