best day so far. no issues with security that i found horribly offensive, though i did get briefly metal detector-ed on the way into the mall. i've seen that happen to a few people other than me, and one of my coworkers had it happen to him today, so i guess it is what it is. at work, i felt useful for the first time since i got here. i felt like part of the team, i felt like people listened to me, and i felt like i contributed positively. even if you have no investment in what you do professionally, it is always a good feeling to contribute positively.

i took some decent pictures on the walk home. i think i'll pack the telephoto for tomorrow... though we are supposed to go to tel aviv after work, so maybe the 18-55 is still appropriate. its really fun to get out on a street you're not familiar with at all and see what strikes you. i tend to gravitate to the signs, because they are designed better than american signs (especially on the traffic front) and the absurdness of not understanding what the hell is happening on the sign hasn't gotten old quite yet.

thanks for the kind words, everyone who helped cheer me up. hopefully it keeps improving here.