Mission: Accomplished

A-Minus: 2 Weeks, 6 Days

And now for some good news... I PASSED the Professional Engineering exam! I am now a licensed P.E. After three years of exams, working, and studying, it's encouraging to have something to show for myself. At this point, I have met all of the goals I set for myself upon returning to America:

- I am out of debt.
- I have a P.E. license.
- I have a modest amount of money saved with which I can return to Israel
- I have lost 45 lbs.
- I have gained experience in my profession.

With victory in hand, it's time to withdraw from the Walnut Creek theatre of operations and redeploy on my next target.

So, what is my next target? Well, for the past few months, I have been nurturing a little plan. I have noticed that, at my job, I am almost always doing design and construction work for projects outside of the area, often as far away as Missouri or Washington. I have done all of my communications via email and have never had to actually visit a job site. That means that there is no technical obstacle to my continuing to do my job from Israel as a telecommuter. All I really need is an internet connection and a phone line, and now that internet phone is commerically available, I can get a local Walnut Creek phone number but answer the phone in Israel. I spent the last few months, in my tiny amounts of free time, typing up an official proposal and a resume to remind my bosses about all the projects I'm woking on. Despite the fact that I personally know it can work, I also know that my company is very conserviative and does business the old fashioned way. Also, they may think they can find someone to replace me quickly, or the workload may be slowing down, so I would give my proposal one chance in five.

This morning I came into the office and had copies of my resume and proposal all printed up and ready to go. Then the partner in charge of the mechanical engineering group marched into my office with a big smile and an extended hand.
"I want to congratulate you on your passing the P.E. exam!" he declared pumping my hand.
I looked down at the proposal in my hand, the first line of which says, "For personal reasons I will be moving to Israel on August 13th."
I quickly flipped the proposal over as he handed me an envelope. Inside the envelope was a bonus check for $500 ($286 after taxes) for completing the P.E.
"Thanks," I said as I sat back down. It just didn't seem right to snatch up the check and immediately declare I'm leaving. But time is running short, so perhaps tomorrow is the big day.

In the mean time I'm continuing my packing, selling, and trashing. And of course, like everyone else, I'm watching the news very closely. I'd be an idiot to pretend that the Islamic world is not waging yet another major war against the Jews. At the same time, I'm not going to let it sway my decision. Aliyah, like all mitzvot (Jewish commandments,) is a commitment to persevere through the good times and the bad. Unlike most of the other American kids in my ulpan,I didn't run away from Israel when the intifadah started in 2000, and I'm not going to let the Hezbollah, The Party of God (really, The Party of Satan) determine my future. Hassan Nasrallah does not have a veto on the Jewish right to live in the land of Israel. At the same time, I will not needlessly endanger myself, so no sightseeing on the Lebanese border for the time being.

But the war is having some impact on my aliyah plans. I shipped most of my books in M-Bags, on the slow boat to Israel assuming they would be there when I arrive. Now, because Hezbollah is bombing Israel's largest seaport in Haifa, most of the new olim (immigrants) are having difficulty getting their shipments. The port is closed as the dockworkers are spending most of their time in bomb shelters, like the rest of the north. And I have another bag to send. Unfortunately, I don't really have anything else to do with it, so I will probably just have to ship it and hope it makes it. Still, it's a small sacrifice given the round-the-clock bombardment the rest of the residents of the Galillee are living through.

May Hashem send a speedy victory to the Israel Defense Forces and bring Israel's soldiers back to their families safely. And may He send Hezbollah's terrorists back to their families in very small pieces.