Lazarus Day

Woven palms for sale

After the clashes yesterday marking Land Day ... today was relatively calm. Damascus Gate was crowded again with peddlers and shoppers. But police and soldiers are still stationed in strategic places.

Tomorrow Holy Week begins. The Palm Sunday procession will start from the church of Bethfage down the Mt. of Olives, through the Kidron Valley and ends at the Church of St. Anne (Bethesda Pool). It'll be pretty crowded and its the only time Christians can parade publicly without fear of attacks from Jews and muslims on account of their sheer numbers (and police protection).

My palm

Streets in the Christian Quarter are being filled with beautifully woven palm branches. They range from 25 shekels to 15 shekels for the ornate ones, and 1 shekel for single blades woven into a cross. After all these years here without a palm, I decided to buy one. This is my first palm in 20 years.

Today, the day before Palm Sunday is Lazarus Day, a commemoration of Lazarus' revivification and preparation for Jesus' own resurrection. There's a solemn mass at the church in Bethany - the traditional home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Well if its anything to go by, we hope this Holy Week will revive the hopes and aspirations of the small and beleaguered community of christians in this land. After all, christianity started here.

Land Day

Group of police in black

Land Day on a Friday is never good ... the potential for violence is doubled. Land Day is when Palestinians of the north and south express their indignation of having their land confiscated by Israel. There was a mass call to converge onto Jerusalem, while Palestinian refugees in the neighbouring countries were called to break through the borders to invade Israel. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=264144  It was extremely tense to say the least. Israel closed the borders of all the P.A. territories and the military were stationed at the borders. Internally police forces tripled especially in the Old City. Arabs below 45 yrs were forbidden from entering the City. Violent clashes took place in several hot spots. http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=264147

Quiet El Wad street

I managed to snap a shot of the relatively quiet street in the Old City ... but it may be hard to see the mass of police at the end of the street. Damascus Gate was closed off to young arabs and most of the bedouin women were not allowed to sit and sell there. Most moved into El Wad further inside the City near the 3rd Station. Still the Friday muslim crowd was there, albeit much smaller due to the tight control of the Israeli police.

Despite the tension, the Way of the Cross was celebrated but under police protection. It's the last Way of the Cross before Holy Week which begins in 2 days time. Shops in the Christian Quarter are already selling Easter eggs and other Easter stuff.

Meantime we switched to daylight saving last night. I overslept. Oh well, I guess many others did too. it takes a little getting use to. Some places like Ecce Homo hostel still did not switch their clocks and there was confusion at the reception desk.

Francesco our resident pigeon

And above all this tension and confusion, I saw Francesco, our all brown adopted homing pigeon sitting up on our terrace balcony, looking down in glee at the buffoonery of humans. He's the smart one. High above, sitting at the edge ... he seemed to rule the City. Land Day? He prefers the skies!

Hebrew fortune cookie

Well if I thought the hectic running up and down was over, I was wrong. Work load left and right. But I could have coped if not for the dreadful pain in my elbows, especially the left one. Haven't slept well all these weeks because the epicondylitis is simply awful. And worse as I rushed up and down to get my work done, I smashed the left elbow twice into the door. Excruciating.

That evening when I had dinner with Emmanuel at Beijing's, there was the usual (sic) chinese fortune cookie delivered with the bill. First fortune cookie I've seen written in hebrew. Well after reading them, we decided to exchange fortunes ... but since Emmanuel's augured a good future, we decided he should keep his as he wants to complete his PhD as soon as possible. See if you can translate mine!

The weather has been erratic ... sunny but cold and cloudy interchanging within minutes. No wonder everyone is sniffling and wiping their noses from cold. You never know what to wear when going out ... too much or too little.

And that may be a problem for tomorrow when Palestinians celebrate "Land Day" - to commemorate Israel taking the land away from them. Like last year, plans are drawn to organise a mass fly-in by hundreds of Palestinians to Ben Gurion airport to swarm it. Palestinian refugees in neoghbouring countries are encouraged to come back and reclaim the land. Those in the territories are planning to march into Jerusalem. Israeli security is on high alert ... but I guess the deciding factor is the weather. Fluctuating hot and cold will drive everyone sick and that might be the deterring factor. Man lose, weather win. Wonder what a hebrew fortune cookie would say to that.

At last!!!

What a day. Went early in the morning 1 km away to get a document to apply for my visa. Got it after 45 mins. Then I couldn't call the visa dept. for an appointment because I had no credit in my phone. All the shops around don't do topups through the internet. So I rushed 1 km up the hill to Arik to get it top-upped. Good to see Arik again ... haven't seen him in 2 weeks. Then in his shop, I got a call to say I must go straight to the visa dept. Though it was closed, they'd informed security to let me in. But I had to go immediately. Ran down the hill 1km to the visa dept. Ran up one floor and went to the counter. The lady said "Too bad. We have no internet line now. You must wait." So I waited. And waited. After 2 hours I was deadly famished so I went down to Meir's Gelateria to eat a waffle. Couldn't get a cappucino because the machine was not working. Set there for another hour. Then went up again to be told the line isn't yet connected. Come back later. So went down to Signora Lelia's photo shop to belly-ache about the system that doesn't work. She fully understood and offered me a cup of coffee to calm me down.

Judas Trees in flower

Decided to go back again to the visa dept. immediately and was told come back later in the afternoon ... no line connection yet. Then rushed home 1km away to use the toilet because my diarrhea wasn't good. There are hardly any public toilets in Jerusalem!!!! Went back to the Visa Dept. 1km away. Finally the computers were connected. Got my visa after a 5 and a half hour wait. Nerve wrecking. And it was freezing cold and raining.

However I snapped a pic of the Judas Trees in front of the Visa Dept. that were flowering. Beautiful sight of violet flowers all over the trees while the branches remained bare of leaves. A small consolation to an otherwise crazy day.

Sushi at Sakura

Later in the evening went out with a friend for dinner at Sakura. Simple meal but it was comforting to be able to relax again. My knees and my feet were painful to say the least after all that running around. A little sushi did alot of good!!! Then we went to Habibi's for a drink and nargile before going home.

It had been a tiring day ... and I'm totally exhausted from the running up and down. Hope this is the last time I have to go through this crazy day again.

Hail again

Mamilla Pool with water

Went back to Kiryat Atidim to collect the rest of my documents. Another US$100 of transport expense, another 3 hour journey back and forth. It's unbelievably expensive living here. And there was a shower of hail in mid-morning while I was traveling. Well rain has been forecast for this week and the sky seems to be right on track. The Mamilla Pool is still filled with water from the rains and snow of the past month. Nice to see it with water again ... it's been dry these several years. It was here that thousands of christians were slaughtered by the Persians in the early 7th century.

Got home and even before I could sit down, got a call to go to Immigration immediately. It's a kilometer away uphill and I rushed up ... only to be told I have to come back tomorrow morning. This is crazy. I was extremely tired and unhappy. Then as I was sitting in the shop of Signora Lelia - catching my breath and complaining to her - got a call from a friend who was coming to the Old City for lunch. He asked me to join him. So I met him in the Muslim Quarter. We had a nice and very local kabab with pita. Then we went for a carrot juice, and then tea and nargile, and then he went to buy coffee beans and olives. And he showed me some sights that I didn't know existed even though I love here only a couple of hundred meters away. Eye-opening! Well this nice afternoon made up for the horrid morning at the bureaucratic inferno.

Road-divider tulips and pansies

The canaries have started nesting - some 12 eggs in all but 4 were later abandoned. Too bad. Hope the rest will hatch as we lost 6 canaries last year to the cold.

Regarding the gangfight, I hear one has gone to jail (one of the two brothers) and others injured have been treated. I think there was a pow-wow yesterday and things are back to normal. So now we wait for the next fight .....

Gangland fight

What a bash up yesterday in front of our front door! Arab thugs hired to bash up two shop-keepers over business rivalry - not that those two shop-keepers are nice people. But in typical Hollywood fashion, about 4.30pm a black van crashed up our street in front of our door, about a dozen young thugs with metal bars and bats jumped out, and bashed up the two shop-keepers and smashed up their shop. Chaos in the streets. Panic. Hundreds of pilgrims got caught up and ran pellmell. We had to close our doors for safety. Tourists trapped in our courtyard were let out from a backdoor. Soldiers and police came in and the thugs fled. What a melee .... A few minutes later I saw another group of young tough thuggies (about 20) coming up to defend the shop. They had their own bats and bars .... and a huge monster pitbull which they chained to the main door of the shop. The street remained tense the whole night and even into this early morning. Most were closed even at their usual opening times. It was only much later that some surrounding shops began opening up a tourist groups flowed in. Well, I think as is usual in these areas, there'll be a pow-wow later when both parties will sit down to discuss a peace deal. Heads of both families or communities will lead the pow-wow over cigarettes and coffee.

Shaqshuka on Annunciation Day

So 20 years have flown by. Very quick. Its the feast of the Annunciation and most people have gone up to Nazareth for the feast.

Mass was celebrated on Mt. Calvary this morning. Several concelebrants: Shi, Johnny, Pedro, Niccacci, Matteo, a guest from South Africa, Fan as deacon. The sisters of Mother Teresa were there, Mara from the Silent Workers, Hidri, Emmanuela from Telepace, Antonio from St. Saviour's, Mila and Huang from the Dominicans, Molly from Singapore and another Singaporean volunteer at Ecce Homo and several other people. Mass was as solemn as you can make it in 25 mins with Gloria, Credo and homily. Remembered you all at Mass there. Gist of the homily: be another angel Gabriel, announce good news to everyone, tell them "Be not afraid! The Lord is with you".

It was good to meet with Sr. Molly again. Knew her back in Singapore some 25 years ago but lost contact all these years. She's doing a sabbatical course at the White Fathers' in St. Anne's (Probatica Pool).

Al fresco breakfast at Kadosh

After Mass we walked to Kadosh Restaurant for breakfast. Can't believe they only asked for croissant and caffe-latte. So I ordered shaqshuka for them. They never tasted it before. It's poached eggs in spiced tomato sauce with bread and pesto. Supposed to be a north african breakfast created during Ottoman times and inculturated into Israel. I think they liked it. As usual I had a sahlab. And no one among them knew what it was. Sigh ... they should come out more often and experience local life and culture.

After breakfast, walked up Ben Yehuda with Hidri to buy some cakes for my kitchen staff (Khalil, Nadia, Firas), the doorman Majed and his sons, and the nuns working at our place. It was an expression of my thanks for their care, concern and hardwork all these years. So I bought a kilo of black forest and cheesecake and another kilo of strudel. Gave some of the strudel to Mother Teresa's sisters on the way home, and they gave me a huge tupperware of pancit that they cooked for me. The staff and nuns enjoyed it. Nadia baked some sfiha (mini-pizzas with lamb meat) for me. I can't possibly eat all that so I split the pancit into two packs, as also the sfiha. One will go to Osvalda, our librarian and best friend all these 20 years. The other pack goes to Camillo, my new friend from Colombia who works as a volunteer at Gethsemani - he has no dinner included in his volunteer package.

Tonight the students at Ratisbonne are organising a party. Will be there at 7pm. They're fantastic guys and I'm sure I'll enjoy the evening with them.

Thanks to everyone for the journey these 20 years. Its been a hard walk, but worth it. No regrets, no regrets.

Borat Borat Borat

Had the best laugh ever! When Kazakh gold medalist took to the podium for the national anthem, they played spoof Borat anthem instead. Hahahahahahahahahaha http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17494812

The group at St. Joseph's

Thanks to the group that offered Mass for me. Tomorrow morning on Mt. Calvary I'll offer Mass for all of you. Thx for journeying with me, all of you. Thx for listening to my constant complaints and aches and pains .... it made the journey more fun and palatable. Thx for laughing with me, crying with me. Thx for being there when I needed it.

It's been a long journey ... and I've made it so far ... across countries, cultures, war and peace. Perhaps its the Borat in me that was my survival kit - outrageous and unconventional, satirical and sardonic ... I think I take the gold medal for that; and you can play Borat's anthem.

Our daily bread

World Water Day was celebrated yesterday. Don't know if you knew that. I did the CNN WWD quiz and failed miserably : 0/10. A little water education is required on my part.

The death of the Toulouse killer leaves more questions than answers. One thing for sure, the fear of individual terrorists is now greater than institutional terrorism. The war on terrorism must change tactics and  strategies if it wants to stay one step ahead.

Boy carrying bread for sale

And while tragedies ebb and flow through our Middle Eastern streets, everyone tries to live as normal a life as possible. Life must go on ... despite the setbacks. I took this pic of a bread-seller carrying his bread out of Herod's Gate to sell for breakfast. Its a daily scene here, but probably a rare sight in your part of the world. I wondered what story that guy had to tell: if his siblings are too poor to continue studies, if a member of his family is addicted to drugs, if he lives in a windowless cistern called a house, if his mother was sick and has no money to pay the medicine bills, if his selling bread is the only means of income to support his family. He is strong, he is young... on his head is not a board full of bread; it is a load of worries, responsibilities and the solution to escape from it all - if only someone would buy the bread first.

A sad piece of analysis on the future of Christians in the Middle East. Ever increasing violence and persecution will eliminate the roots of Christianity, its cradle and hearth. http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/the-future-looks-bleak-for-middle-east-christians-1.420140  But as if any one else in the rest of the world cares. I think we who live in the Middle East have resigned ourselves to the fact that the Christians in the rest of the world live in their local insulated spheres of belief .... they may be christian but they have lost being "catholic". The sense of universality, collectivity, unity has long been eroded. I wonder what a christian in a wealthy country thinks when he/she says "Give us this day our daily bread"; and what a persecuted christian in the Middle East thinks when he/she prays the same verse. I wonder if "daily bread" means the same thing to both christians.

False alarm

The little crowd

Yesterday was the 3rd Lenten Pilgrimage Mass - this time held at the Flagellation Chapel. It is a very small place so more than half the church was filled by the clergy. The crowd that came had to sit mostly in the courtyard. Wasn't a huge crowd but enough to fill half the courtyard. Most were nuns and friars, with only a couple of lay people. The Gospel is the Passion according to John and is sung in 3 parts. Next week the pilgrimage Mass will be celebrated at the Condemnation Chapel.

Bird's eyeview

Yesterday there was panic and chaos in Tel Aviv .... for a while. The war siren sounded as a test run but the public were poorly informed so confusion and panic set in.  http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/i-was-in-the-shower-and-thought-missiles-were-falling-on-israel-1.420081  If they had only lived in Jerusalem ... we get this almost every other week. In fact we're so used to it, if the real thing happened, we'd not take it seriously.

If there's any panic in Jerusalem, it's when Israeli police enter schools during school hours to arrest arab children for throwing stones.  http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-s-border-police-entering-east-jerusalem-schools-in-search-of-stone-throwers-1.419851  I'm against kids throwing stones; I think it should be stopped. But to kidnap kids off the streets or crashing into schools with weapons is crossing the line. I wonder why war sirens don't sound when these raids take place.

Mother's Day

Kids on holiday today

In Palestine and the arab world, Mother's Day is celebrated on March 21st. Today school children seem to have a holiday. Shops selling flowers, guys buying them for their mothers. Kitsch toys and souvenirs for Mothers' Day pack the shops in the streets - all made in China. Well I guess its a good excuse for people to take a break from the tensions and war. Let them enjoy.

The elbow epicondylitis is crippling me as I can no longer hold moderate-weight objects. The brace helps but it cuts off circulation of the blood if I wear it for too long. I'm definitely not going to a physio as it'll cost an arm and a leg. But I also need it to heal fast. Any remedies you can suggest?

Tourist group at the museum

I was surprised to find the Damascus Gate museum has reopened. It used to be the City Gate and military post of Aelia Capitolina (the romanised city of Jerusalem in 130 AD). I remember it had several chambers, exhibiting artifacts from that era. I should go back and have a look ... it might have new stuff in there.

A very sad scene on the Mount of Olives today - the 3 french killed in the Toulouse shooting were buried here: Rabbi Sandler and his two sons aged 3 and 6. I can't imagine the sheer and awful distress of Mrs Sandler whose world has turn upside down. She lost her entire family. What a terrible day for her... on Mother's Day.

The Ladder

Finally and finally I got my document. Sigh of relief. Travelled the usual 90 km to get there, spent over US$100 on transport and after many apologies from the Consul, I got my document.

Safra Square and the date palms

The weather is still very chilly despite the sun shining. Yesterday the weather forecast website read 6 degrees but feels like -4. It certainly did. Freezing. But in Netanya today it was about 24 degrees and very humid. Felt more like summer. This evening it's alot more warm ... so much so that the bats are out. They're fruit eating bats and there were dozens flitting round the date palms of Kikar Safra (Safra Square) - they're huge things, about a foot in length. People stopped to look at this wondrous sight as they bite on ripen dates while in flight, causing the fruit to fall on the ground. You can't see the bats in the photo but they're there ... too quick for the camera to snap.

Had a nice slow dinner with Leonardo at Pera e Mela (Pear and Apple) - an italian restaurant of 20 years standing. Owners and cooks are italians. Good homemade fare. I'm not particularly fond of italian food, but this was ok. Hope my stomach doesn't rebel tonight.

Saw parts of the funeral of Pope Shenouda live broadcast on computer. Total and utter chaos at St Bishoy Monastery where the pontiff was to be interred. The police simply lost control and the crowds surged toward the hearse.

The infamous ladder

Well everyone is talking about Easter. It'll be more calm this year as the Orthodox Easter falls a week after ours. Less confusion in the Holy Sepulchre, less tensions. I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the "Status Quo Ladder" that is put out during Lent in the Holy Sepulchre ... a relic of times past, dictated by the Status Quo law. Nobody remembers why it was put there, but it must be there. I guess life sometimes is like that - we do things that many times we don't even know why, maybe simply out of habit, without reflecting or evaluating. Perhaps the uncontrollable chaos at the Pope's funeral was something like that. We just feel better doing it ... and we feel uncomfortable and insecure if we don't. I wonder why. What's your "status quo ladder" in life?

Utter despair

Today is the feast of St Joseph, spouse of Mary, protector of the Holy Family. Although there were celebrations all around the country for this feast, I was totally out of sync. Thats because my document is here in Tel Aviv but I can't get it because the clerk working at the Singapore Consulate is utterly incompetent. She doesn't work everyday and she didn't and still doesn't do anything to help a citizen of Singapore .... but she gets paid by Singapore taxpayers. I am boiling mad. Her two best answers today when I called to insist I get my documents tomorrow morning - 1) "I'm not in the office now so I can't tell you anything. Not working hours"; 2) "We're a consulate not an embassy. We don't open everyday." I have reached from anger to despair .... I see that a Singapore citizen means nothing to the Consulate here even though it receives its salary from Singapore taxpayers.

In the meantime we received news just a few hours ago that yesterday's bomb explosion in Aleppo, Syria occurred at our Franciscan Church and monastery. Part of the building walls have been destroyed. Luckily the children of the care centre had been evacuated a few minutes earlier otherwise there would have been many dead and wounded. Despair .... St Joseph protector of children, pray for them.

Pope Shenouda R.I.P.

Coptic Pope Shenouda died yesterday. Head of the largest Christian Church in the Middle East, Pope Shenouda had to steer the church through rocky times and time again, even being exiled, he managed to serve as the bulwark and protector of the Christian minority in a muslim nation. Today the pope was placed on his throne as people came to pay their respects. He will be buried soon. It might be news to you that the title "pope" was first used by the Coptic Patriarch and then later assumed also by the Bishop of Rome. In Jerusalem, Coptic and Ethiopic christians have been mourning and carrying pictures of the pope in the streets.

Very well done

The weather has become so very cold, everyone is complaining. The wind is not biting or cutting - it slices right through bone and sinew. It's nothing like we've experienced in these past 10 years. Yesterday evening I went out with a friend to a bistro that caters for orthodox Jews. Photos of rabbis hung on the wall. All the patrons were in black and white. It was very funny, I thought at one moment. Anyway I had a forbidden piece of cappuccino cheesecake which tasted really good .... I took it only because my friend said he'd share half with me. Luckily he took most of it, thus saving me from a bad reaction of diabetes.

Cactus parade

Today I had to go to Tel Aviv to retrieve a document ... but the office was not opened. Walked down the Boulevard, had an orange juice at my usual Arcaffe. Haven't been here for so many months. The Boulevard still looked familiar, though very cold from the strong winds. The koi were still in the pond in the middle of the Boulevard. Caffes and restaurants were less crowded, and the few patrons huddled indoors. Al fresco dining was out. Few trees had their leaves on ... and a lovely bed of cacti in front of a typical Telavivian bauhouse caught y attention. An ordered parade of rounded thorns - so emblematic of the bureaucratic and human foibles that make the retrieval of my documents an impossible task.

Saturday

Sunrise

It feels almost like summer if you judge by the time of sunrise. This morning I was surprised to see the sun rising at 5.17am. Really early .... but the very cold wind tells me Spring is reluctant to leave. My weather forecast website say 8 degrees but Praveen says his site knotched 4 degrees. It certainly feels like it. People are all wrapped up despite the lovely sun shining now. Crispy and cold.

Fan, Huang, Shi & Kang (L-R)

This morning was a crazy rush of activities. Hate it especially when you have implant and elbow problems. Had a class, meantime a guest came, then an emergency call came. Finally had time to go out to lunch with the chinese group of students. We're getting quite a big group - Fan who's a permanent deacon from Ottawa but originally from Hong Kong; Huang a layman from Montreal but originally from ShanDong; Shi from Hebei and Kang who's originally spanish but is now 18 years in Taiwan. I hear there's also a Singaporean student around but I couldn't contact her. Lunch was at Legacy's since the whole of West Jerusalem is closed due to Sabbath. I couldn't eat anything as I felt very unwell. Just had a small bowl of mushroom soup.

Yesterday's Marathon went well despite the heavy shower of hail and rain at 10am. Many braved the awful weather and completed most of the 32 kms. Security was tight as only yesterday a soldier was stabbed on the Light Rail.  http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=262119

Meanwhile tensions were high in some parts of the country as Palestinians demonstrated right after noonday prayers. Some were injured, one by a police dog (Belgian shepherd) who refused to let go.  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/several-injured-in-friday-west-bank-demonstrations-1.419118

Stabbing

Fra Ovidio R.I.P.

Fra Ovidio died 2 days ago. He's a robust spanish friar who was in charge of our religious objects. Many groups that come here would have known him. After several years of suffering cancer, he finally died in the infirmary. Always a brave man, typically spaniard ... right up to the end. I've known him since I was a student here 20 years back. Can be gruff but always with a soft spot. He always offered me coffee and cakes (from Spain) whenever I stop by his office. Always with a crackling laugh and a slap on the back ... and his memorable "Bueno!" God will reward him abundantly. R.I.P.

The weather has turned cold and rainy again. The wind is biting icy. Still the Jerusalem Marathon went ahead this morning. 32 km in all. I wonder how many people actually took part. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/thousands-set-off-for-the-second-jerusalem-marathon-1.418968

Beginning of warmer days ...

Despite the change in weather, al fresco cafes are opening up ... a sure sign that summer is round the corner, if not already in. The occasional shower sends patrons scattering indoors but soon they're out again with their coffee and cakes. Can't wait for summer holidays to come.

Meantime I have to deal with the pain - implant and epicondylitis. My face is still swollen and the pain though reduced is still lingering. Am on painkillers ... which is killing two birds with one stone since it also helps with the pain on the elbows. My left arm is still braced with wrist and elbow guards.

Yesterday a soldier was stabbed while riding the Jerusalem Light Rail. Awful ... and just in the height of the Gaza-Israel bombings. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-soldier-stabbed-on-jerusalem-light-rail-1.418835  Tensions are high and everyone is unhappy that relationship between arabs and jews have soured again. Now it's suspicion and anger and hatred ... the fragile peace we've enjoyed the past year all shattered by one act of violence. Now we'll have more security checks in the City Gates, in street corners ... more obstacles both physical and psychological. It makes living here a wearisome chore.

Re-crowned

A beautiful flowering tree

Made a 7 km journey by foot, up and down 2 steep hills at 7.15am, cold wind blowing ... to get to Dr. Serge the implant surgeon. I was the first patient. He put the crown back into the implant but without anesthesia. It hurt and still does. Had to take 2 painkillers when I reached home (by foot of course) but it doesn't seem to work. What a awful pain .... it's giving me a headache now. And a fever. Hope the crown will stay in place for another 2 years. No chewing gum now.

Ghostly skeleton of tree

And my epicondylitis on both elbows are not any better. Dr. Serge suggested buying a laser machine called "B Cure" which he used to heal his tennis elbow. When I walked home, I passed by the pharmacy and asked how much it cost. Answer "Over 2000 shekels" .... my answer "forget it". I'll live with the pain.

The weather is beautifully sunny but a very cold wind is still blowing. Every Wednesday of Lent a pilgrimage Mass is sung in a church that commemorates the Passion. 1st week was at Dominus Flevit, today at Gethsemani, next week at the Flagellation, 4th week at the Condemnation. The Passion of John's Gospel is sung in its entirety. Very long liturgy.

My mud pie dessert with ice cream

Last night I went out for a nice warm meal with Praveen. It's been quite some time since I ate something full. As usual it was a piece of baked salmon - the only thing I can eat without throwing up or end in a diarrhea. Chef Joseph was very nice and came to offer a small glass of Arak (aniseed liqueur) which we drank together. It was good - it warmed up the body and it stopped the pain in my implant. For dessert I couldn't resist my usual chocolate volcano (aka mud pie) ... Praveen warned me of my diabetes ... but since I was going to walk 7 km today, I thought I could take one. It was very very nice. Chef Joseph had just baked it fresh and the chocolate was bitter dark from Belgium. Even Praveen had one and he liked it very much.

Useless cease-fire

A cease-fire was announced this morning between Gaza and Israel but missiles continue to be fired from Gaza into Israeli cities. Over 200 missiles have been fired into Israel these past 4 days and Israel has struck Gaza 37 times in all. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/some-200-rockets-hit-israel-since-start-of-latest-gaza-escalation-1.418173  The non-compliance by the Palestinians is not due to Hamas, which governs Gaza, but its rival Islamic Jihad who is firing the rockets in defiance of Hamas ... in a bid to prove its power independent from Hamas. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/the-reasons-behind-islamic-jihad-s-incessant-rocket-fire-at-israel-1.418075

This escalation of violence is not helping anyone ... but we should have expected it. It's close to the Jewish feast of Passover and usually some form of violence precedes such feasts.

Trouble in the South

Heavy shelling between Gaza and Israel has gone on for the past 3 days. It's the worst we've seen in these recent months. The Sisters of Mother Teresa were nearly bombed as missiles landed close to their convent. They are very heroic and are determined to stay with their orphans, handicap and elderly people who cannot run away. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/gaza-rockets-strike-40-km-south-of-tel-aviv-on-fourth-day-of-heavy-barrage-1.417992  FIghter jets were flying overhead this morning ... that means a bombing raid in Gaza.

All braced up

The tennis elbow is really hurting on the left arm and I cannot hold anything with it. So after alot of nagging from Melissa (aka "the Mouth" that never stops nagging!! hehehehehe) and 1000 shekels poorer, I got a wrist and elbow guard. Must say it sure helps hold the elbow in place and the pain is much less. Am also taking pain killers ... but they ruin my stomach.

The weather has gone all crazy. Yesterday was almost 30 degrees but today it got all cloudy and humid again. The temperature is falling and the forecast for tomorrow is rain and 4 degrees. No wonder everyone is sick. Today the sky was all yellow. There was a sandstorm in the south I guess.

Another week has begun. Its getter closer to Holy Week. The Lenten rigours are still in action: Saturday vigil at midnight with prayers and procession in the Holy Sepulchre, Fast and abstinence on Fridays .... hopefully all these penances and devotions will reach heaven and the bombings in the south will stop and people on both sides of the border get some peace.

Hot Sunday

Tourists are back

An extremely hot day for Spring - 29 degrees. It was practically summer. Yet people went about with jackets and jumpers because once in a while a cold wind blows. Tourists are returning by the droves. As Easter draws near, even more crowds are expected.

Tulips in the park

The weather is sparking a flurry of blossoms all over. Tulips in the parks are all in bloom. The bulbs that I planted last Autumn have also blossomed. Beautiful colours and scents. Everyone is pleased ... not least me ... as all my hard work is now coming to fruition.

There was some tension in the southern area of the City. Helicopters have been flying overhead all morning and military presence in the City. Nevertheless locals continued to trade and enjoy the fine weather in the Damascus Gate market.

My freesia bouquet

Let's hope this momentary peace will hold up as christians wait for Christmas and Jews wait for Passover. A final pic of a lovely freesia in blossom spells hope.

Earthquake

Earthquake in northern Israeli. The Sea of Galilee and the city of Tiberias felt tremors up to 3.7 on the Richter. http://www.jpost.com/Sci-Tech/Article.aspx?id=260936

My crown problem is such a frustration. If I wait for 3 days for the dentists to open their doors, the gums would shrink around the implant and it would make recapping it painful if not difficult. I can remember the pain the last time when I had to wait for 5 days before having it recapped. Let's hope Dr Arye is available first thing Sunday morning.

The Purim spirit is still floating in the air. Kids still wear costumes around town. It's a long weekend here so the festivities will continue for a while yet.

Had a good laugh when a friend from the Territories called to complain that his girlfriend is not talking to him. I'm his Wailing Wall. Anyway I succeeded in making him laugh again and we ended up laughing about life and its foibles. Well everyone has his/her moments of earthquakes ... big or small. Its times like this that you find out who your friends are.

Purim

A little chinese princess

Today is Purim - the feast that commemorates the Jews outsmarting their Persian persecutors. Hmmm rather telling if you consider Israel now and its rhetoric against Iran (aka Persia 2000 yrs back). Read the Book of Esther for the whole story. A very fun feast ... everyone, yes everyone from 1 to 80 were dressed in costumes, hats and masks throughout the country. Parties everywhere. Some govt. offices are closed but note: it's not properly a religious holiday because this feast was not sanctioned by God (cf Passover, Pentecost and Tents).

Fairy wings and all ...

The crowds were so large in Mamilla Mall during the day, police had to man the traffic around it. And in the evening the crowd was so immense in Ben Yehuda the roads around it were closed. People were having fun, and shops were racking in the bucks.

In Tel Aviv it was the same. Young and old were dressed in costumes and enjoying the lovely sunshine. It was 18 degrees today. But as usual, when great crowds swarm the streets on feasts like this, security presence is not wanting. Soldiers by the dozen are stationed every few metres.

Arik my good friend

Just down the street, East Jerusalem is another world. Dark, cold and quiet ... no sign of joy. Well it's mainly muslim and Palestinian after all. But it goes to show the great divide in this country and City.

Well it would have been fun for me today except that I had to go back to Kiryat Atidim to ensure my passport application went through. Over 90 kms away, cost me over US$100 to get there and back ... all because the secretary is lazy, negligent and never handed my application despite me having gave the document 4 times in the last 5 months.

Then tired and still boiling mad, I had to go for a meeting at 7pm in the New City. On the way there, the crown of my implant fell out. What a Purim!

Sponging off S'pore taxpayers

Russian Orthodox hostel

Another uneventful day weatherwise. The sun was shining and the temp. reached 18 degrees. Most of the bulbs are flowering ... which is a sure sign that the cold spell is over. The tourist crowds are coming back. Mostly asians though ... they seem to be the only ones with money nowadays. Europeans are a rarity with the exception of some german groups. The Cypriots are coming in droves, as are east europeans and russians. Its the Orthodox Lent and they usually come to spend Lent here till Easter. Since they only eat boiled veggies and water for 40 days, they're not likely to help the economy much ... except for the crosses that they buy. The huge monasteries in the Russian compound, confiscated and occupied by Israeli authorities since the war, have partly been restituted to the Russian Orthodox church. Built a century ago, these huge buildings served as both hostels for pilgrims and monasteries for monks and nuns. The famous tower now flies the Russian Orthodox flag -  a sure sign they've repossessed the building.

Well to say that it was uneventful today is not really true. I was boiling mad. The secretary of the Consul General here who was supposed to help my application for a new passport did nothing with my application, went on a month long vacation, told no one about it and now I'm stuck with a big problem. She came back to work today and I called her and she had the cheek to tell me to send my application directly to Singapore on my own! What the heck? She's getting paid by S'pore taxpayers' money but she's not doing her job for Singaporeans here in Israel??? You guys out there ought to go and complain to the MFA. Yes I'm still boiling mad!

More snow pics

Some of my students

Just downloaded some awesome snow pics from my students who live in the upper part of the New City. They had more snowfall than us in the Old City which is too compact and overcrowded. Well it was a memorable day - the snow that fell after many years.

Meantime its been nothing but rush rush rush the whole day .... from morning at 8am nonstop. Bought medicine, had 1 minute meetings with several sisters who needed help for the poor, been to the Post Office, then back to the Pharmacy, then back to the nuns. My legs were wobbling and I was so tired and hungry I almost fainted.

Independence Park under snow

Came home and had some yoghurt to stop the stomach cramps. When will they realise I'm no longer young and can't do all these running up and down the moutains of Jerusalem like I use to?

The weather has turned around. It was very warm today - 18 degrees although a cold wind still blows. I think the tortoises have come out of hibernation to eat. The canaries were singing like crazy ... and a couple have started building nests.

A snowed out street

I've been thinking of some old friends and was hoping to see them. I mean those here in Israel. Don't know why this nostalgia ... old age I guess. And I had a wonderful surprise ... and old classmate (like way back in 1980 Hwa Chong JC) managed to trace me and wrote an email. Voila! Surprise indeed!!! Good to know she's doing well ... and of course she had to remind me that we're almost into the "big five-zero". Gosh how time flies. Half a century gone. Time to get my rocking chair out.

Haman's ears

Another exhausting day ... woke up at 3am to prepare for classes. Then it was this work and that work. Didn't have time to finish the cleaning of my room that began yesterday. Finally had some time to rest at noon ... only to be woken up several times by phone calls. All emergencies ... someone's kids in hospital for operation, someone needed medicine because of cancer ... so I had to run around the City buying medicine, updating on the situations of the poor who are being sponsored by your generosity. All are in the care of Mother Teresa's sisters.

Haman's Ears

Purim begins on Thursday ... but already in bakeries, eateries and supermarkets the festive cookies are selling like hotcakes. It's Haman's Ears - Haman being the Persian enemy who tried to slaughter the Jews in Persia but failed due to the bravery of Jewish Queen Esther. Read her book. The cookies are baked with dates or some other sweet sweet filling. Nice stuff - bad for diabetes.

As for the weather, it was dull and cloudy. Also cold. The ground is always wet and slippery. But the people are coming out of their homes and the markets are back to its normal crowded noisy atmosphere.

Transfiguration clouds

Old City practically invisible

An extremely foggy morning. Most of the Old City was fogged over, as was the Mt. of Olives and the surrounding region. Nice though because today's Gospel reading was the Transfiguration ... "and a cloud overshadowed them".

Rains returned sporadically throughout the day and it was very very cold. Everyone was well wrapped up ... except for the crazy tourists who meander through the wet and slippery streets, trying to squeeze their money's worth of their trip, almost everyone stayed indoors. In fact, many shops didn't even open.

Mt. Scopus disappears

I stayed most of the morning at home cleaning up the room that was terribly untidied and muddied because of my trips outdoors. Didn't manage to do everything as I was feeling terribly weak. Gave Mr. Fish fresh water in his tank ... he's getting very playful. Swims up to the surface whenever I'm near his tank. I usually whistle and tap his tank ... and today he stuck his head out of the water and made a jump towards me. Good thing the glass lid was on. He's behaving like a dog ... hmmmm like Rex. Miss him lots.

Har Gau, Siu Mai - my brunch

I think I was very hungry - that's why I felt weak. So lucky me .. I found in the sisters' freezer a pack of frozen Har Gau and Siu Mai that I bought some time ago but forgot about it. Steamed them up and ate them for brunch. Yummy. They're made in Vietnam and don't contain pork because of the country's kosher laws. I think it was mainly fish meat inside. Anyway it was good to have some warm food in the tummy.

Later in the afternoon I had to go and do some shopping - groceries, medicine and stationary. Met Hidri at the supermarket and we walked and chatted for a while. He was sick last week because of the cold, and I bought him a radiator. He's much better now. And he gets pretty cheeky now as well. I'll have to keep him in check.

Day after

So the first snowfall (and probably the last) has past. It sure caused a flurry of excitement all over the country, especially in Jerusalem where snow has not fallen in over 4 years. Photos flood social network sites ... each one more beautiful than the previous. But there were also dangers when it snowed - traffic accidents and deaths. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/seven-year-old-girl-dies-after-being-swept-into-west-bank-stream-1.416115

It was sunny again in the morning but it felt even colder than yesterday when the snow fell. Drizzle continued the whole day and evening. When the snow fell, it was 8 degrees. Later at midnight yesterday, more snow fell and the temp. was around 3 degrees. This afternoon it felt like 1 degree with the sun shining through the drizzle!!!

And as a matter of interest - the first International Pomegranate Symposium was held in Tel Aviv. The fruit is touted as the "fruit that saved the world". Well it's medicinal properties are quite well known in many civilisations ... so perhaps there's some truth to that. http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=260156

Holy spirits 

So nothing much happened today ... except for the excited chatter of yesterday's snow. The cold has certainly encouraged everyone to sip a little liqueur to warm up. Looks like the liqueur bottles themselves need a little warming up!

Snow videos

Snow!!!

Hail fell before the snow

Finally it is snowing! School throughout the City is canceled. Kids (and adults!) are out in the streets celebrating.

Quite a heavy fall of snow

A pigeon scurries away from the snow

Hail covering the courtyard

A light coating of snow