How to Avoid Death by Drowning

I was about to watch the latest Shameless episode and/or continue the aimless Facebooking that has become the main constitution of my free time of late, when I became aware (via Facebook, of course) that this person has yet again updated his Israel blog.  His number of entires is now up to an impressive 30, while mine are at a measly 13 (granted, mine are longer--yes, you're right).  Since I know that I'll likely be met back at Brandeis with an "I blogged more than you did!" or two (or three...or an infinite number) if I don't step it up, I've decided to do just that.
A bunch of music-related things have happened to me in the past few days (What? A musical discussion topic in Rhythm and Muzika? Shocking...).  My friend Jeremy had said earlier in the semester that he'd help me with my (very) amateur a cappella arrangement of Gavin Degraw's "Chariot," and it looks like tomorrow morning will be day one of the process.  I hope to be able to put the parts that I've sung into Garageband onto an actual virtual music score (that sounds oxymoronic, but what I mean is a real, computerized music score), both to make it easier for me to move on with and edit the arrangement, as well as to learn more about how to write music.  The notes I can figure out, but the timing was a real challenge when I tried to do this myself before--so hopefully I'll learn something here that will make me better able to arrange songs on my own in the future.
Music-related event number two: we started our volunteer projects in Haifa today, and Jeremy and I are hoping to start a music activity with the kids at the community center.  They have some really sophisticated recording technology, so one idea--if the kids are interested--is to teach them songs and record a few tracks for a CD.  If we sang some English songs along with the Hebrew ones, we could also integrate some English teaching through the music.  If it all works out, I think it could be a really great project on many levels!
Music story 3: I signed up to audition on Sunday in Tel Aviv for a Jewish singing competition run by the Masa organization.  The prizes are pretty intense--recording with an Israeli star, going on a combined touring/voice training trip around Israel in August, and more things that I cannot remember--but to be perfectly honest, I'm going to the audition simply for the experience.  The chances of winning are super slim, but I figure that that gives me more of a chance to breath--literally--and enjoy a low-pressure audition in which I can practice not being nervous at this type of thing for once.  Plus, for all of my talk (actually, "all of my thought" might be more accurate) about how my dream is to be singing/playing guitar one day on the street/in a cafe/in my room and be noticed by the right people who could make my dream music career a reality, I would be incredibly silly not to go to Tel Aviv on Sunday.
It's like that joke about the man who's about to drown in a flood and waits for G-d to save him: a boat passes by and he doesn't take it; a helicopter drops a rope down but he refuses; a whale swims by and he doesn't climb on.  Ultimately he drowns, and up in Heaven asks G-d why He didn't send him any help--to which G-d replies that He sent him a boat, a helicopter and a whale, but the man simply wouldn't take the help that was sent his way.
I do NOT want to be that dead man--literally or metaphorically speaking.