Angel

Carepack of thai food

 The past 2 days I was confined to bed because of a severe cold. The medicine made me very sleepy and I was totally out of action. It was devastating ... I felt very weak and dizzy. The only ones who had a good time were Buddy and JJ, who spent 2 whole days with me. I guess I haven't spent much time with them the past weeks, so they made up for it ... playing around my books and computer.

Thursday night I had a surprise visit from a parishioner from Jaffa, a very active and generous member of the community who heard that I was ill. She bought my favourite food from Thai House restaurant in Tel Aviv and brought them to me - Pahd Thai, Pahd Si Yew and she added some har gao (shrimp dumplings). It was a fabulous carepack which made me feel better. God bless her. She was on her way to Gethsemani where she volunteers to wash and iron the altar linen. And she travels 70 kms to do that. Everyone here knows her generosity., always coming to the aid of others. An angel.

Covid Delta infections were 2400+ yesterday. I'm getting nervous having to go out to buy medicines or bread. I'm not even feeling secure wearing a mask as the virus variant is said to be super-infectious. And with the heatwave hitting 35 degrees today, it's giving me a terrible headache. I'll need to rest extra this weekend and stay indoors, drink lots of fluids and keep taking my cold medication. 

Appointment fail

Bread vendor at Herod's Gate

For some strange reason I've caught a cold. Running nose, slight fever and congested head. And the heatwave has hit 35 degrees today. My nose is now raw from blowing into tissues. It actually hurts.

A typical event in Israel today ... I had an appointment with my doc at 9.30am. Arrived at 8.45am to join the queue for registration. When it reached my turn, I was told the doc isn't working in the morning. I asked why was I given an appointment in the morning when they knew he wasn't working. No answer. I was told he might come in the afternoon, and if I wanted an appointment at 4pm. I said yes ... I might come if he might come. Went home. Decided not to go at 4pm.

Bread vendor at Damascus Gate

Infections continue to rise above 2000 a day. Green Pass system will be in effect meaning all indoor events will require participants to hold a Green Pass or certificate to prove they had been vaccinated. Masks are required in all indoor activities. Things ay get stricter if the spike of infections is not arrested. And summer is a bad time as everyone is out and about because of the holidays.

Am going to rest early now as I'm feeling unwell.

Humanitarian run

Nablus City Centre

 Yesterday morning I felt very sick ... the whole night I was wheezing and had difficulty breathing due to phlegm accumulation, and I didn't have the strength to cough it out. That meant walking around the terrace for a couple of hours. I really wanted to sleep but if I did, I'd choke to death. 

In the morning, our students were telling me not to go to Nablus as I looked very ill. But I had to as there were medicines and food to deliver to the MC sisters for the poor. The journey is long and tedious, about one and a half hours through the mountains of Samaria. And the sun beats down relentlessly. The danger is falling asleep at the wheel as the road is long and the heat makes you drowsy. Once there in Rafidya, a suburb of Nablus city where the convent is situated, I left the bags of clothes, food and medicines with the sisters, chatted with the inmates in their care home and then celebrated Mass for them as they haven't had a priest in the city for some time. Then it was the long journey home at noon ... the sun being even more harsh. This is probably my last humanitarian run to Nablus this summer. I no longer have money to pay the transport to get and back. 

Fruit from the fields

City life in Nablus continues despite the spike in Covid Delta infections. Inoculation in the Palestine Territories is low and infection rates are high ... yet people don't wear masks, never keep distance and marketplace mentality dominates. It's frightening. Yesterday alone Israel recorded over 2000 new infections and talk is a possible partial lockdown. In Palestine there are no records of infections ... it's surreal ... like it doesn't exists. We'll see the consequence in the next few years.

Meantime the journey back also provided a view of life in the agricultural fields ... lots of fresh fruit and vegetables being sold along the street. And its very cheap as they're sold directly by the farmers. No middle-man, no franchise shops that take commissions. Life here is alot more simple. I saw lots of children and young people, working in car-repair shops, farming in the fields, serving in restaurants ... they will never see the sea, know what an airport is like, travel in a plane or train, so many things that we take for granted. They will die in their villages. And yet they are happy and content. Sure they'd like to enjoy all our modern amenities, but they recognize the fact that their situation is limited in opportunities, and they accept it. There's nothing much they can do when their govt doesn't do anything to better their lives and the Israeli wall surrounds them like an open air prison. 

I felt sad seeing all that, feeling all that. Very sad. 

High BP

Peaches in
Municipality
square

Well the projected rain never came, though the humidity did. At 5am the sky was overcast with rain clouds and the ground was wet with dew. I took a quick walk around the terrace as I had to cough up the phlegm choking me. I saw the full moon over the western sky and it was wonderfully bright and huge.

The weather has been great for people to go to the beach, but unfortunately people from the mountains and deserts who seldom if ever see the sea, should never swim. 7 people drowned in several different beaches in 24 hours. I just wondered why desert bedouins want to snorkel when they don't know how to swim. Even a 10 yr old boy was drowned. Terrible.

And down south, Gazans are flying incendiary balloons into Israel again. With the heatwave, many have caused fires in the dry fields and forests.

On a happy note ... I love the fruit on the trees this summer. There's actually a peach tree in Municipality Square full of fruit. And nobody stole them!

My blood pressure shot up to 170/97 last night and I felt really sick ... nausea, headache, dizzy. I immediately used my diabetes test kit to prick 2 fingers and lose blood. Buddy and JJ sensed something was wrong as they flew over on my shoulder squawking while blood dribbled down the wash basin. The bp went down to 150/85. But I kept myself lying in bed so the bp doesn't rise again. This morning it remained high and I felt unwell. I'll seeing another doctor this coming Thursday. I hope things might change from there.

Cool day out

Busker at Zion
Square

 It's been a cool break from the heatwave today ... it's very cloudy and a cool wind from the Mediterranean Sea is blowing inland. I took advantage of this to go for a long walk ... as advised by the doc to keep my sugar level and bp down. Romeo our Cameroon student came with me ... I enjoy chatting with him and he's always generous in helping me carry my stuff. Today I bought birdseed for Buddy and JJ, half a dozen green mangoes for the MC sisters in Nablus and we got croissants from a french patisserie on our way home. That was a 2 hr walk covering 4 km. And I didn't feel tired or suffered from breathlessness, due to the cool weather. I really liked it. I didn't feel sick at all.

Last Friday was rather tense as it was the last day of Eid al Adha. Thousands of muslims entered the Old City to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and police were at every corner. Metal barriers were set up at our street (as usual) to control the crowds ... but I think more to separate the muslims and the jews going to the Wailing Wall should there be a clash. Today police are noticeably less but they still are very strict and stopping young muslims and checking their details. Very intimidating.

Out in the New City though, life seems to be normal. Buskers are out performing and cafes are filled with people. Though the covid infection is over 1000 a day, people still feel confident after the successful vaccination programme. I still wear my mask though ... not taking any chances.

Healthwise my bp continues to be around 150/85 which is high for me. I'll have to consult some other doctor to get it reduced as it makes me dizzy all the time. And I have terrible headaches all night.

Rain in summer?

Sleeping cat in the heatwave

 The weather has strangely turned very humid ... especially at 4 and 5am. There is so much due the ground is wet by 6am ... and the grey clouds blowing from the Mediterranean Sea is cool and damp. Rumour says it'll rain tomorrow. I think unlikely though it has happened before ... drizzle in summer.  It'll be a welcome break from the heatwave that's overwhelming us.

I was at the doctor's the past few days, doing tests. The doc thinks he might know what's causing my huge fluctuation in bp. Anyway he's given me a pill to take for 5 days and I must monitor my bp twice a day during that time. Let's see what happens next week.

I'm so much to stay home and rest but some work just must be addressed ... especially the financial kind. Lots of payments for books and binding ... it's never ending. I just want to yell "Give me a holiday" ... because everyone else is already away for theirs ... and I'm still stuck with work. I am mentally and physically exhausted. One redeeming factor today was a visit from Fr. Gabriel the Eritrean chaplain for Geez Rite Catholics. He's a good friend and we can chat ... well mainly he needed help for some things so we discussed possible solutions before he talks with his patriarch in Ethiopia. We take turns celebrating Mass for the Eritrean Catholics here in Jerusalem.

Today our sisters cooked chicken curry with a pack of Nonya Curry spices from home. No coconut milk here ... but it tasted wonderful all the same. I didn't have breakfast or lunch so rice and curry at 6pm was a great meal.

Nablus visit

Bringing donations
to Nablus

 Yesterday morning was rather busy. I had to bring donations of clothes and food to the MC convent in Nablus. It's far and yesterday's car ride took 2 hours. Getting out of Jerusalem was a nightmare because yesterday was the 1st day of Eid al Adha - the muslim feast recalling Abraham sacrificing Ishmael (not Isaac). Over 100,000 muslims from around the country converged into the Al Aqsa Mosque and our streets were packed. All the roads around the Old City were blocked with tour buses bringing muslims from all over the country. And police were everywhere.

But once out of Jerusalem, the streets were very empty ... and the only road that leads from Jerusalem to Nablus across the Samaritan mountains was easy to travel. In Nablus, I saw for the 1st time, the city empty. All shops closed. All businesses closed due to the Eid. It was easy to reach the convent. I had brought along our 2 sisters working in our kitchen as they have never been here. We had Mass at the convent and then a visit to Jacob's Well where the parish priest - an old greek orthodox - showed us around and explained many things that I did not know. He actually painted all the icons in the church himself. The well is ancient and believed to be dug by Jacob himself ... and later Jesus met the Samaritan woman here.

At Jacob's Well

Back at the MC convent, the sisters cooked lunch for us which was always very nice. Then we left for Mt. Gerizim and visited the ancient sanctuary of the Samaritans. The weather was scorchingly hot at 35 degrees or more but there was a strong cool breeze in Samaria. We got home by 3pm ... we started at 8am - and I was very tired so I slept through the rest of the evening.

Dumplings

Giovanni makes dumplings

 An infernal day of 35 degrees ... it was so hot I can't find the words to describe it. Suffice to say your skin sizzles when you go out. This heatwave will go on for a couple more days before cooling down a little at midweek. The muslims begin their feast of Adha tonight ... in the middle of the heatwave. Thousands have been crowding into the Old City to get into the Dome of the Rock where Abraham attempted to sacrifice Ismail (jewish version is Isaac). But the heatwave and crowds ... I just cannot imagine how anyone can survive that.

Giovanni's dumplings

Yesterday I went to my office to work ... where there's an aircon. The Chinese sisters called to say Giovanni our volunteer journalist is learning how to wrap Chinese dumplings and lunch is ready. So I went over to see how he managed. No bad for a first try. I couldn't eat much as the weather was too hot to eat a full meal.

I rested early as the weather was really intolerable. I couldn't read or write. Even Buddy and JJ were restless. Let's hope there'll be a breeze tomorrow. I must go to Nablus, about 100km away in the central highlands. It's not fun when it's hot. 

Unwell

Manger of Christ

The past 3 days were terrible ... with my bp jumping from 125/76 to 169/95. It made me very sick so I went to the doctor's. The bp was 136/80 and the doc said to observe for the next 2 days. Wasn't much help as I really wanted some medicine to bring the bp down. Yesterday I was back at the infirmary clinic and the doc did a few tests measuring my bp ... while lying down, standing, walking, sitting. The fluctuation was significant and the doc said it's more important to stabilise the bp than to bring it down, since my minimum when lying down is 125.67. Any lower would be more dangerous than a high bp. Doc thinks it also has to do with food ... not just a question of salt but me eating leftover food cold from the fridge. It gives me diarrhea and other gastro-intestinal problems that affect the bp. And he's right. Last week, twice while in the toilet my bp dropped to below 120/70 and I almost fainted, with cold sweat and shivering. Good thing I had Buddy and JJ with me ... they seem to know that I'm not well and they scream and bite my ear to keep me conscious.

Birth spot of Christ

I had the chance to go to Bethlehem and pray for you all at the spot of Christ's birth and at his manger. The basilica was closed but I called one of the friars to open the door for us. We had the entire basilica to ourselves. It was surreal. Then we (me and Fr Abraham, our filipino student who just graduated) went down to M. Teresa's convent to deliver medicines and celebrate Mass because it was the superior's feastday. After that we walked to Bethlehem University to visit the Theresian sisters who work in the library there. Then it was home again by bus. I walked for more than 6km. My legs are very tired and my left ankle is swollen. 

Covid Delta cases has shot up to 1000 cases yesterday. Mask is compulsory for all indoor events and shops. But other than that, life is as normal. People treat it now as a simple flu since majority are vaccinated. Only the ultra-orthodox and arab communities are infected with ti as they are not vaccinated. I continue to wear my mask, wash hands and stay away from crowds. 

Today is Tisha B'Av ... the jewish commemoration of the destructions of the Solomonic and Herodian Temples in 587 BC and 70 AD on the same day. Jews will try to entire the Al Aqsa compound to pray and arabs are ready to resist. Police are everywhere in the Old City, metal barriers are set up at every street corner. And hundreds of jews are milling around our streets, barefoot or in slippers, to get to as close to the compound as possible. They are unshod today because it's a symbol of their mourning.

Sick

Fresh fruit

I'm feeling very sick today ... the bp was 170/98. I was very dizzy and nauseous ... so I quickly pricked my finger with the diabetes test kit and let out some blood. This time I had the presence of mind to do it in the sink because the last time I had blood all over my room floor. The bp dropped to 160/97 but still it's high. I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to do. I feel sick.

Anyway despite that, I had to go to Bethlehem to deliver 6 kg of noodles to the MC convent to feed the poor. There was some traffic jam along the way but I got there quick enough and came home immediately. I don't want to be out in this 32 degree weather longer than I have to.

There's been a terrorist attack a few minutes ago at the Qalandya Checkpoint. A palestinian opened fire at israeli soldiers there. Not sure if anyone was injured but the attacker was arrested. Just when we thought the violence had ended and summer would pass quietly by ....

Agapanthus treat

Agapanthus in the park

The temp now at 3pm is 32 degrees and by the weekend, it will reach 35 degrees. The sun scorches the skin ... it is that hot. And there's no breeze today nor clouds. I really want to stay home this week ... going out in this heat, with my high bp and asthma ... it's a deadly combination.

Well at least the summer flowers are enjoying this heat. Agapanthus are flourishing everywhere, as are marigolds and zinnias. These are very tough plants that can bloom under the burning heat of the Middle East ... but they need alot of water in the evenings though or they'll die the next day. In the park, huge swaths of blue and white agapanthus are in bloom, and it's an amazing sight. Very calming and even deceptive of the heat as their delicate tiny blossoms sway about while butterflies and bees fly around them. It is treat to walk among them.

Swathes of agapanthus

Bad news ... there were over 700 new cases of Covid Delta here. It's no alarm though as most are little symptoms and rarely are the cases requiring hospitalization. Still it is a threat to people like me who are high-risk, and especially after I've suffered embolism.  I'm still with my mask ... regardless of what people say or laugh. My bp is still high .. 140+/9-+ ... and I still suffer from giddiness and nausea. I still go daily for acupressure sessions with the chinese sisters, and I hope in the long run it'll re-balance my body. What I lack is sleep ... and I'm not sure if I can catch up with that as this morning students were banging on my door, waking me up and asking for stuff that doesn't really involve me ... like if I have shekels to change for dollars. This summer heatwave is driving people mad.

Unplanned visit

Inside Damascus Gate

 I've done my best today to rest. Thanks to Fr Romeo who went to the Ivrea Convent to celebrate Mass on my behalf, I had a less hectic early morning. And I could go early at 7am to the Chinese Convent to get my acupressure massage to lower by bp. The sisters had planned to visit the Israel Museum with Fr. Abraham ... but he couldn't come in time as he was stuck in the Dead Sea with a group of migrant workers. So after the session I suggested we go visit the Jewish Quarter instead. It was all unplanned but I thought I should do something for the sisters as they have been taking care of me since I had the embolism. They cooked food everyday for me ... mostly vegetables like bitter-gourd, green papayas and other soups to reduce the bp and sugar levels.

Fresh veggies

So we visited the Herodian Quarter which consists of 5 houses (ruins) of High Priests from 2000 yrs back. Along the way we also saw the German Teutonic knights' church and the Temple Institute. It was noon by the time we completed our visit. It was rather enjoyable as there was no pressure on timing or destination ... just spontaneous choices.

The sisters had cooked Chinese flat bread for lunch for me, and I had 4 pieces stuffed with lettuce and onions. Then I slept through the afternoon with Buddy and JJ on my shoulder. They had been very good ... except for JJ occasionally getting naughty and nibbling on my computer cables.

I hope tomorrow will be the same ... no stress, no datelines, just rest.

Quiet day

Jungle petshop today

 Today was a decidedly slow day as I had planned. That didn't mean I slept in. I woke up at 2.30am and did some reading before going down at 3am to drink some hot water to soothe my asthma. Another student was also there, so we chatted and ate a very early breakfast of turkey hotdogs (which I bought the day before) and buns. By 4am I started doing the weekend chores ... preparing the laundry, cleaning the room, watering the plants, throwing the garbage ... there's alot to do. 

At 8am I had to walk to the Rosary Sisters convent in west Jerusalem, to meet up with the filipino community because they had brought fresh kangkong and green papayas planted in the coastal city of Netanya 120km away. It was very nice of them ... I cooked in the kangkong in sambal immediately when I got home. The green papayas are for the MC sisters in Nablus who make wonderful chutney.

Chapel of the Ivrea sisters

On the way home, I stopped by Jungle Petshop to say hi to my friends working there, and watch the fish in the tanks. I bought some pastries at English Cake bakery ... something which I have not done for the past 1.5 years. Then passing by Hillel Cafe, I met 2 of our students having brunch. I joined them for a cup of coffee and they went off to buy some computer stuff, while I walked home slowly under the 32 degree heat.

The afternoon passed slowly as well ... between drowsing off with Buddy and JJ, and cleaning the room. The 2 birds were having some great quality time with me and they refused to go to sleep at sunset, so I had to carry them to their roost to make them sleep.

I'm planning to have a very quiet week. One student has offered to celebrate Mass at the Ivrea convent on my behalf so I can rest in the mornings. I'll not go to work in both libraries. Instead my plan is to rest and get my BP down to 110/70 again. That means letting the Chinese sisters do acupressure massages and reflexology as well.

Seafood market

Weekend seafood
market

 The past few days was very uncomfortable ... I was very listless, lacking concentration and energy. The 30+ degree weather wasn't helping much. I had a terrible headache, and I still have difficulty breathing when I walk. Dizzy and nausea as well. The BP remained in the 130+/90+ and that makes me feel very ill. The chinese sisters have been giving me acupressure massages and that helps me sleep deeply each night ... though lowering the BP will take time.

I've tried to get out of my room at sunset to walk around and lower the BP. It's usually to the bakery at Musrara open market about 800m away. There's always a large crowd, with a few people wearing masks. The Delta plus variant is spreading rapidly here but no one seems to bother because the symptoms are light and there are not many serious consequences. Unless it's on someone like me .... it would be devastating.

Yesterday being Friday ... the first day of the weekend here, the seafood stalls were brimming with produce from the coastal cities. I saw huge squid and crabs and fish for sale. Most customers packing the stalls were asians ... filipinas, chinese and indians. Arabs are conservative eaters and dare not try anything outside of their bedouin cuisine. Jews wont eat it because it's not kosher. For asians, it's a rare treat that's available only on weekends, and it's very costly. A kilo of anything would cost US$15 at least. I'd love to cook some things with those fresh seafood ... but the price is too forbidding. Anyway I need to watch my diet ... to lower my BP and sugar levels.

I intend to take the next few weeks slowly. No stress. It'll be my "summer holiday." That means I might switch off my phone.

Futile

1500 yr old church in Samaria

 I wanted so much to stay home and rest today but as usual there are so many demands cannot be rejected. An account had to be opened with the Post Office tax dept. and a consignment of books was scheduled to arrive this morning from our printery. Under the hot sun, I slowly made my way up to our offices 1km away, feeling still dizzy and nauseous as my bp is still 140+. Reached the Printery office only to be told the books are not ready and may only come this afternoon. Went to our finance dept to resolve the taxation account, and the worker took a day off. I just wanted to cry. It took me so much effort to walk up ... and nobody, nothing was around. It's so surreal ... and nightmarish.

Incised cross from
the church

I walked home slowly in the heat ... my ankle hurting and with difficulty breathing. School kids were going to summer camp ... which takes a load off working parents. Summer camp here means going back to school for half a day ... with play activities, sports and nearby excursions. It's not much, but for most of these underprivileged kids, it's a nice break. I have always wanted to organise a summer camp based on religious formation for the kids... but never found the help I needed. Maybe one fine day my dream will come true.

The heatwave is still hovering over us. Luckily my old portable aircon still works and with the cool air in my room, the nasty insects don't come to bother me. It's all weather driven ... anything beyond 32 degrees and those bloodsuckers are flying about. Below 25 degrees and they disappear.

I'm hoping to finally get some rest now. Photos of the ancient church ruins of St. Mary built by Emperor Zeno at the top of Mt. Gerizim to replace the Samaritan Temple after their revolt was squashed.

Day out

donations at MC
convent

Today I made the long journey to Nablus to bring medicine, clothes and donations to the Missionaries of Charity. They haven't had Mass for a week as the parish priest there is constantly going out for weeks and abandoning the parish. I celebrated Mass for them. It's been well over a year since I visited them. Sr. Joan had recovered from a fall and a broken hip. Sr. Joshita is new and is fitting in well. The rest of the community: Sr. Mary Emma, Sr. Jeanne and Sr. Ambrosina are all doing well. I'm glad for them.

On the way I paid a visit to my friend Ilan who's the manager of the Mt Gerizim archeological site. The site is as usual quiet. But up on the mountain, the panorama of Nablus and ancient Shechem is breathtaking. And there was a cool crisp wind blowing to offset the heatwave.

Anyway I'm exhausted. I need to rest. More news tomorrow.

R.I.P.

 I managed to buy an insect repellant and it seems to be working against those horrible mosquito-like insects that have very sharp bites and causes a lot of itching. Problem was I forgot about it and left it in my office ... so last night I was bitten alive by those horror blood-sucking monsters. 

Mass at MC convent

Yesterday I received news that my only surviving maternal aunt passed away. It's very sad ... but I'm happy she passed away peacefully from old age. She was 90+ years old. I told the MC sisters and they spread the news to their other 3 communities in the Holy Land and they started offering prayers for her. This morning I went to their Bethlehem community to bring medicine and clothes for the poor, and celebrated Mass there with the sisters ... offering the Mass for the soul of my aunt.

Nationwide the violence and clashes seem to have stopped. It's all in the weather ... when it gets as hot as this heatwave hitting us right now ... some 40 degrees ... no one is going out to fight and throw stones. Mother Nature has a way to control human behavior.

Healthwise my BP is still fluctuating between 160/97 and 131/77. It may not be much to you, but for me it's definitely high. Eveyrone is telling me the big one is going to come ... this is just a warning sign. Well I really don't know how to prepare or prevent the big one.

Terror mosquitoes

Sunrise at Palm Plaza today

A very busy morning for me today. I started working at 4am: throwing out the garbage of the community which means carrying the sacks down 5 floors and bringing them to the dumpster out in the streets, then preparing the bread for the community breakfast, then watering the plants in the courtyard because the heatwave is withering every single tree and flower. Then it was shower time and cleaning the room before going to the Ivrea Convent for Mass at 5.50am which is 1km away. 

After Mass there I had to walk 3km across the City to the western side where I had to celebrate Mass for the Ethiopic community at 8.30am. Though the chapel is quite far away, I enjoy going there because the eritreans and ethiopians are such nice people ... very shy and spare in speech ... but very devoted and pious. And their singing is legendary.

Mosquito bitten

After that 2nd Mass, I walked back to my office at New Gate because I was simply too tired.  My bp was 147/89 ... which may be normal for some people but it is high for me. The heatwave didn't help. I stayed in my office with the aircon on in order to keep my temp down and hopefully lower the bp. There I repotted the mostera plants at the library door that were getting too old and lanky. The 4 pots were heavy and repotting them into bigger pots required alot of energy. Still I managed to do everything alone ... which is a good sign.

The tiny "mosquitoes" ... I think they're something else ... continue to torture everyone. They're so small you hardly see them but their bite is 10 times worse than mosquitoes. Spraying repellant only helps for a short while. I hope the heatwave ends as it's encourage these bloodsuckers to proliferate. Sometimes they give me a fever and nausea, but the worst is the itch. You just want to peel off your flesh. It's the perfect torture ... it drives you mad without killing you.

Heatwave continues

Buddy is molting

 The heatwave continues to beat down on us. I think it's around 40 degrees now. The ground is seething with heat. I'll need to spray water over our terraces to keep the rooms below cool and avoid cracks in the terrace. The heat is quite capable of cracking the seams due to expansion.

And both birds are molting because of the heat. It's a mess. Feathers everywhere. Buddy plucked a tail feather yesterday and started playing with it like a quill. They enjoy the cool in the toilet and stay most of the day in there. As I've been home for the past 3 days, they have had lots of quality time playing with me, eating with me ... and especially napping together. Buddy sleeps on my shoulder and JJ sleeps on my knee. They get pretty calm after their sleep ... which is generally from 7am to noon and then from 1pm to 5pm. Yes they sleep alot but when they're awake, it's eating and playing non-stop. 

My blood pressure has been very high today ... 160/97. Felt terribly giddy and nauseous but phone calls kept coming that I must go to work. 3 meetings and one search for books because a student from Haifa University needed them but cannot come over. I need to get them scanned and emailed. 

I am really hoping for the next month will be quiet and relaxing so my health can get back to normal. But I'm not optimistic.

Early dementia?

Sprinklers at Rockefeller Park 

 It's bad enough that the heatwave is upon us ... now we're attacked by mosquitoes and ticks. Everyone is getting bitten. Both my feet are dotted with red bite marks that itch terribly. Ticks from stray cats are everywhere and a walk through the streets will ensure feet bitten by hundreds of wandering parasites. The stray cats are a major problem in the Old City ... but without them the rats will proliferate.

Unfortunately I have to walk through those streets every morning because I've been assigned to celebrate Mass for the Sisters of Ivrea who live 1km away from the Old City in the neighbourhood of Wadi Jooz (Kidron Valley). It's a nice walk as the sun is already up ... the sun rises at 2.30am now. By 5.30am when I go to their convent, it's bright, hot and sunny. Some kids enjoy their holidays and come early to Rockefeller Park to play. The sprinklers are on early in the morning as well, so the kids play around the water. The air is rather clean at that time so I take a slow walk around and breathe in some clean air which I cannot get in the Old City.

Ancient olive trees

I had another class this afternoon ... but I was struggling so hard to find the words. I could hardly finish a sentence ... the words are stuck in my head. It's alot more serious than last week. I can see it's deteriorating. People tell me I'm overworked and stressed. But that's not going to stop the workload. I can feel the physical and mental exhaustion weighing down like the heatwave.  I might just slowly lose my cognitive senses and get dementia.