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!