Ordination

Garden of Gethsemani

Yesterday being Sunday, I decided not to do anything much. I just wanted to rest in bed. I'm still a little lightheaded and was afraid walking long distances would make me faint. So Buddy and JJ also had a good time ... quality time with me. Buddy must have been traumatized badly when I was hospitalized. No food for 2 days. Now he refuses to leave me ... literally clinging with his claws into my T-shirt and refusing to let go. Now he even sleeps with me at night on my chest.

I'm getting back to normal and today is my first day of work after a week in recuperation. Lots of workload especially with the Printing Press ... books for repair, rebinding, payments. I'm still waiting for the Press to send down the load of books this afternoon.

11 new deacons

Last Saturday 11 of my students were ordained deacons. Because the Thai seminarian had no family or friends here in the Holy Land, he asked me to support him and dress him in the dalmatic. I went down to the Basilica with a few of our guys and sisters ... as I was afraid I might faint along the way. Gethsemane is 10 minutes down our road in the Kidron Valley. After the homily and helping him wear the dalmatic and stole I walked home to rest. I could not stay for the whole Mass as I was exhausted.

Tomorrow the govt has allowed the controversial Flag March to take place. It was cancelled halfway through 3 weeks ago when Gaza fired rockets into Jerusalem to protest the March. It's the israeli celebration of the conquest of East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan in 1967. The March goes through the muslim quarter and that provokes alot of tension and anger from the arab population. We've been warned not to go out tomorrow ... I guess there'll be a curfew for us since we stay right in the heart of the muslim Quarter. So it'll be another day for me to rest. 

Sick 2

Protests

I was warded in hospital the past days for observation. Apparently my black-out on Tuesday night might have been a small blockage in the blood vessel to my brain. It was a little too late to trace it as I went to hospital only 48 hours later. My bp was high 163/97. The docs brought the bp down to 131/74 in 2 days and gave me medicine to dilute my blood. My dizziness is very much reduced today and I'm discharged to come home. 

The hospital stay was quite unexpected so I brought nothing along with me. A friend came at 11pm with toothbrush, toothpaste and towels. What was missing was my phone charger. For 2 days I had no calls or messages. I could actually rest. And it was awfully quiet because there's no TV in the room. And being tied to a drip I couldn't go out of my room. I was only very worried about Buddy and JJ ... no one fed them.

Today I'm much better. The dizziness is minimal but I still feel weak and sometimes I cannot find the words to speak, or remember things. Next week I must go to the neurologist, and cardiologist and pulmonologist. It'll be an expensive and time-taking affair. I'll just have to bear with it.

On my way home from hospital, I passed by the protest at Sheikh Jarrah. Arabs and jewish supporters had gathered to protest the eventual forceful eviction of 4 families so that jewish settlers can take over the homes. This was one of the causes for the war last month. Now we learn that the cancelled Jerusalem Day March will take place on Tuesday next ... but the rally will stop at Damascus Gate and this will cause more tensions with the arabs. I just hope no violence will result. 

Sick

Streets back to
normal

So I blacked out yesterday in my office. My windpipe was in spasms and I couldn't breathe. There was this deep sleepiness, very calm, everything went quiet. Next I woke up but in total confusion. I didn't know where I was, what I was doing, what time .... total lost of consciousness of my surroundings. I was frightened. I couldn't recognise where I was. It took some 10 minutes before I came round to realising where I was. That was about 7pm. I stayed in my office till 10pm when my friend from the Chinese restaurant finished work and picked me up in his car to bring me home. I was afraid of going home alone on foot ... if I might black out again. I was feeling weak.

Today I'm still feeling weak and dizzy. I stayed in bed all day. I guess I was too exhausted and stressed. It wasn't an anaphylactic shock ... I know what that is. Been in Emergency Room 10 times already for that. The windpipe spasm was strange ... I had it once when I was given a medicine which had this side effect. But yesterday I didn't take any medicine other than my daily ones. It's scary. I'm still very dizzy so I'll go to bed.

Just a bit of news ... the forest east of Jerusalem are on fire. The weather has been very hot and dry ... 32 degrees today, and fires have been breaking out everywhere. This one is close to Ein Kerem ... where the Churches of the Visitation and St. John the Baptist are located. Hopefully no one is injured.

Ice cream

Ben Yehuda Mall on Sunday

There's been tensions around our area again. Protests against the forced evictions of arab families in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan had led to clashes with the police. Also a joggathon organised by local arab youths from Sheikh Jarrah to Silwan (3.5km) was aggressively broken up at the ending line by police even tough the youths were in festive spirit and there were no signs of violence. A local activist was arrested but at the police station, croweds came out in support which led to police firing stun grenades to disperse them. I happened to be on my way  home from a walk out to the New City when it happened. Someone said there's always trouble wherever I go. Wonder if that's a compliment!

My ice cream

So yes, Sunday was my off day. I've been very stressed with work and problems and just needed to go out for a walk. It's been more than 2 weeks since I went to the New City. Went to buy birdseed for Buddy and JJ, then rewarded myself to an ice cream cone ... in this hot 28 degree weather. The streets were relatively crowded. Most restrictions on outdoor activities have been lifted. Dining indoors and out are possible ... so lots of people are just spending time eating. I enjoyed my ice cream cone ... vanilla and cherry. It tasted really good ... after 2 summers in lockdown.

I've been planning to go to Jaffa for a month's summer holidays. But I'm not sure if it'll be possible. I hear there're still racial tensions there.But it'll be nice to be by the sea again ... it'll definitely be less tense than Jerusalem. And I deserve it. A good meal at Thai House or Peking Duck is also planned ...  and our twin seminarians are hoping to come along! They enjoyed very much the Thai lunch we had there 2 summers ago. I hope this dream will come true. It's been a very difficult year last year ... and we need to pick up life where we left off. Also it'll be helping the local economy!

Goodbye

 

Sr. Amrutha

Today Sr. Amrutha, one of our sisters working in our house, returned to India after 3 years of service. She was very enthusiastic in her work here and joined in all the major celebrations in the Holy Places so she could experience the Holy Land at its best ... in the liturgy. We wish her all the best in her new mission in India.

I'm having a bad headache since yesterday. I know it's exhaustion. I've not slept well for the past nights and I've overworked this week. Too stressed. The pain is sharp and only on the left side of the head. Excruciating. I hope to sleep early tonight ... if I can. Maybe I should take some natural medicine for relaxation and sleep. I've been buying them for the children and old people in Gaza as they are traumatised after the 11 day war. They're scared to sleep because a bomb might fall on them. I guess right now, I'm no better than them. 

My librarian is finally back from hospital but she can't speak due to her throat operation. So I still had to stay at work till the library closes. Hopefully next week I can take time off, and she can start talking again so my presence is not necessary. 

Tomorrow is Sunday ... I intend to wake up late. That's my first step in taking stress off.

Summer

Planting lettuce

Yesterday saw 781 viewers ... and I didn't update the blog for 2 days. The stalkers are not leaving me alone.

Well, we're in June and the summer weather is hitting us hard. Daily temp runs around 30 degrees but the nights are chilly. Yesterday evening at 6pm, I| had to wear a hoodie to walk home as there was a very strong chilly wind blowing. The holiday mood is in the air ... and I'll try this year to go on vacation ... like I've been trying for the past 10 years.

Vegetable planting doesn't stop even in summer. The other day I went down to our vegetable garden and the provincial house and they had transplanted lettuce seedlings into the ground. The melons are also fruiting, as are the grapes. Kiwi fruit will fruit only in winter but the vines are huge, growing by the shade. I like to take a walk around the vegetable garden ... it's a little but of greenery and life in an otherwise concrete jungle.

Tensions are potentially brewing as engineers are warning the wooden bridge bringing non-muslims into the Al Aqsa compound, is falling apart. But any replacement would provoke a strong reaction from the muslims who see this as another attempt to incur into muslim space. I guess there'll never be a shortage of reasons if violence is the aim. Last night a group of extremist jewish youths who pass by our street every Friday and Saturday to spit at us, decided to walk down our street at 10pm, vandalising arab cars and shouting zionist slogans. The arab neighbourhood came out and a scuffle broke out directly below my window. Police came to protect the jewish youths and sent them off while keeping the arabs at bay. And the youths walked off encouraged, emboldened and stopped at our door to spit at us.

End of restrictions

Kindergarten kids going out

June has begun. The half year mark has been reached ... in 30 days we'll start the second half ... and then the countdown to Christmas will begin. Sounds exaggerated but time really flies, and it'll be as I described it.

As it is, exams have begun in all the schools around the country. Students are walking everywhere listlessly with books in their hands and blank stares in their faces. It's that zombie period before entering the exam room.

Kindergarten kids though have no exams. For them it's fun time before the Summer Holidays begin and they won't see their friends again. Due to Covid lockdown, many kids are losing in developing social skills. School interaction will rough down their edges and learn to give and take. That's more important than formal lessons on maths and science.

The weather continues to be very hot. There's no news about the forest fires so they much be under control. In 24 hours we might just get a new govt. And all Covid restrictions will be lifted in a couple of days. The rapid vaccination  programme is a great success and it's too bad many countries can't follow it either because they have no vaccines available or they lack the infrastructure to do it.

I've been getting a headache the past 2 days ... probably from exhaustion and lack of sleep. The muezzin starts to call for prayer at 3.30am which technically is 2.30pm solar time ... and that means no more sleep after that, because within 15 mins begins the recitations from the Quran for 15 mins and then the very loud call to prayer at the first rays of the sun ... which is at about 3.55am (technically 2.55am solar time). How I dream of hearing the waves form the ocean and the smell of sea-air ... Jaffa in summer ... but I guess I'll probably go when the racial riots calm down.