T is the daughter of an old friend of As. She has been an incredible resource whenever A is in Israel. It turns out the apartment we rented is literally next door to hers. T gives us advice about the neighborhood, restaurants, shops, etc. In a jetlagged blur over our first few days she mentioned “we should plan something for Sylvester” or “we need to think about Sylvester…” these comments slid between conversations on several topics and got lost. I did wonder who he was and why she was so worried about him. A few days later I was reading TimeOut Israel when Sylvester 2014 appeared as a headline. I thought T was talking about a friend - “we should plan something for Sylvester”…“we need to think about Sylvester…”

It turns out Sylvester is the Israeli word for New Years Eve. Israelis already celebrate the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah in early September. It means ‘head of the new year’ and is celebrated over two holy days devoted to the anniversay of Adam + Eve. A symbolic way of wishing one another a sweet new year on Rosh Hashanah is by eating apples dipped in honey.

Apparently Sylvester was a Pope early on who converted the Roman Emperor to Christianity and died on December 31st. So they celebrate his death the way we do - parties, alcohol, countdowns and kisses. TimeOut listed the hot concerts and venues to get advance tickets which is great if you get the magazine in November when it is released. It also cautioned one not to plan too far in advance as the best parties and invites tend to be spontaneous. (Tel Aviv is very much like LA in their ’spontaneousnesss’). T used her connectedness to try to get reservations at some of the cooler spots but everyone had been booked for weeks. We were able to get tickets to a jazz concert but it was standing room only and being trapped in a club with loud music and standing for hours wasn’t our idea of a good time. We decided to stay in and watch movies so we told T to go off with her friends and we went to Delicatessan (the Joans on Third of Tel Aviv) to stock up on food and beverages for the evening.

Around 4 o’clock Ts brother called to see what our plans were. He worked at Google and wondered if we were interested in going to the Google Sylvester Party? We almost caused a family feud by saying yes, (T wasn’t invited because she didnt have As tech pedigree) but we went anyway.

It was basically an office party with lots of young nerdy guys (but more handsome than our nerds) with pretty dates. The space was industrial, ceilings with exposed ducts and flourescent tubing, on the 26th floor of an all glass building with spectacular views. In addition to a Sushi Bar and a Candy Bar they had Burgers and Chinese - distinctvely American food. Distinctively un-American was the quality of their cocktails but I am finding that at most restaurants here! Everyone was super-friendly and welcoming.

The most interesting nerdy-guy watching for me was the one wearing the google glass. It looked like he had a pregenancy test tucked over his ear where some people place their pencils. His head and neck seemed to be doing an inordinate amount of work juggling the group conversation and the incoming notifications or alerts appearing on the small screen. He would be talking with friends and suddenly jerk to his left and dart both eyes to the upper right side of the glasses where he was obviously receiving some kind of message or issuing some kind of command. We left Ts brother shortly after midnight watching Red Band where the two lead singers danced with giant muppets singing “Stuck in the middle with you.” Apparently it's a very hot band here.

So it was a Happy Sylvester for us! I wish you all the same!

Lots of Love, D.