Much better today

Missed a couple of days' blog. The previous day I was pretty sick, so I slept as much as I could after taking medicine. Almost 10 other guys are severely down with the flu. I felt the flu coming so I took alot of vitamin C and flu tablets and kept myself in the room. Yesterday was much better but I had to go to the Franciscan Bookshop - and it was pouring. It didn't stop raining for 3 days - which is good but not when the flu bug is around. Everyone stays indoors, windows and doors are closed, so no proper air circulation and the bug spreads. I practically isolated myself in the room so as not to contact othres who might spread the bug to me.

It was still raining this morning but now it's stopped. The sun is back and we can finally open our windows and doors. I'm still cleaning up my room - can't imagine how a small room like mine can collect so much dust. Anyway during my self-imposed quarantine, Giovanni Loche and Massimo Carlino came to visit. We chatted alot and pranked around as usual. Apparently everyone noticed I wasn't at Mass yesterday and word spread that I was sick. Hhhhmmmm eyes everywhere......

Yesterday I decided to do something while in "quarantine" - started on a written assignment and just couldn't put it down till I finished the last page. That was 8 hours of flat-out work in front of the computer. My eyes ached terribly by 6pm and so I rested for an hour before dinner. The pressure started when another professor asked when I would submit another written assignment - aaaahhhhhh, gotta start work on that one today as well. Then there is another paper I have to hand in by April. And goodness knows what else. This semester is going to be tough.

Our retired Greek professor fr Cignelli returned home because his only living family (brother and family) all died in an explosion in the house. I didn't know anything about it because I was away with the group last week. Fr. Piccirillo (our head archaeologist) whispered it to me during dinner and showed me a newspaper cutting of the incident. It was tragic. They were making fire-works in their house when the gun-powder caught fire and the whole house exploded. 4 died. Fr Cignelli rushed home immediately (he's almost 75 I think). Today at 3pm is the funeral. We all prayed for him and his family during Mass today.

And the Lenten observance is strict this year - the superior decided no wine, fruit or meat throughout these 40 days. It wouldn't be harsh for me - unless they decide to take away the rice as well. I was thinking about all these deprivations and the reading from the Book of Esther at this morning's Mass. She had everything - she was queen of Persia; yet she felt she could do nothing to help her people in time of persecution. Then she realised it was not anything outside of herself (power, authority, military) that could bring about this help but her inner conviction that God will solve the problem if she only collaborated by simply being herself. So all the lenten deprivations should convince us that we rely not on these external things but rather the inner reality that brings meaning to life.