Ides of March

Palm plaza ... freezing cold

Yesterday was the Ides of March ... the day Julius Caesar was murdered. The weather here was unbelievably cold. Daytime was about 12 degrees and the night was 5 degrees. Winter just didn't want to go away. The wind was extremely strong and very cold. Walking home after work was a torture. I had a down-jacket plus a woolen jacket on. I still felt the cold. I think Holy Week will be the same ... every year it rains.

Cafe Cafe at Jaffa Gate

I was told that Cafe Cafe had reopened but inside the Old City at Jaffa Gate. It is a cafe chain like Roladin and Aroma here in Israel, except that Cafe Cafe had only one outlet at Mamilla Mall which closed. With the proliferation of 5 shekel cafes like Cofix which sells everything at only 5 shekels, most of these cafes have closed as people no longer can afford to eat in these places. So just to see if it was true, I went to Jaffa Gate to check it out while on my way home from work last night. And there it was, next to the Christian Information Centre. But it was really tiny: 3 tables for 2 inside and 3 tables for 3 outside. And you have to squeeze through to get to the counter. Well it's nice to know Cafe Cafe has reopened but let's see how long it will last. The economy is killing everyone and Cafe Cafe would have to rely on tourists to stay alive.

Soldiers have tightened their control of the Old City today. Multiple stop-and-search of arabs at every street corner. It's humiliating. Yesterday evening an attempted car-ramming took place south of the Old City ... the female driver was shot dead I think. no one else was hurt. With the on-going infighting in the Palestinian government, and same thing in the Israeli government ... things have stalled, tensions are rising. Trump's ambiguity is being interpreted to the advantage of both sides. There is so much confusion and the people are feeling restless.

Healthwise I've had no asthma attacks so far. That's really good considering I usually have 10 or more attacks a day. However I still very confused and moments of memory lost. Maybe it's the lack of magnesium or potassium again. I'll have to get it checked.