Of echiums and finches

My echiums are finally
blooming

The bright summer weather of yesterday - 28 degrees - simply disappeared last night when a cold front hit us. The wind became stronger and icy ... and it even drizzled. We're expecting this dreadful weather for the next few days. But the flowers are blooming just as ever. My echium candidans which I grew from seed is finally flowering. The purple spikes of flowers are amazing.

And the canaries have nests, though it's still unclear if they'll all hatch. The zebra finches not only have nests and eggs, I think we have 4 new babies. It's difficult to know as the nests are covered and the babies only chirp to let you know they're there.

Zebra finches and a nest

For the past 48 hours I only had 4 hours of sleep. It was absolutely exhausting. Can it really be possible that work can be so demanding, it takes away even time for sleep? I'm actually working 20 hours a day for the past few days. I need a couple days off to rest. I really do.

And last night I went for vigils at the Holy Sepulchre. Chanted 3 psalms, 3 canticles and a procession around the Empty Tomb. Then there was Mass on Mt. Calvary after the procession. Finished at 3am. Then at 6am it was time for another Mass which I had to preside. Now that's the usual Lenten rigours we have here. Prayed for you all there.

And for the record, yesterday a leading rabbi has declared that it is perfectly kosher to plagiarize ... in fact it's a meritable act!!! I wonder what universities around the country will say to that!!

Friday is normal

An uneventful Friday ... despite the Mounted Police and soldiers. Nothing happened. Life went on as usual. And we are all happy. Muslims went to the Mosque to pray; Christians made the Way of the Cross; Jews walking to the Wailing Wall.

Tourists have suddenly flooded the City. Packed. No place in the streets to walk as these tourists inconsiderately block the entire streets taking photos, chatting, eating ... not giving a damn that we locals need to get to work. That's my nightmare. And reports have come out that an average chinese tourist spends about US$300 a day (not counting souvenirs) ... which makes him/her the highest spender among all tourists coming to Israel. And chinese tourists have shot up 60% in the last year, making it the fastest growing market.

Shlomzion Street: quiet
and tranquil

And the Pope's visit is going to be a big thing because he'll meet the Greek Ecumenical Patriarch in the Holy Sepulchre .... just as Pope Paul VI did with the then Patriarch Athenagoras exactly 50 years ago. Tourism will peak. Israel is hiring the best journalists to cover the event. It's a money-pulling opportunity that Israel's economy needs.

And I've managed to grab a few hours of sleep here and there today. My body is crumbling under so much work, it just shuts down and I'm knocked out. I'm hoping next week I have 3 full days of sleep. I need it. And the silent cold streets can be very calming as well, a therapeutic effect ... as I walk home late after work. It's like another world from the noisy unpredictable daytime that this City is.

Sincere thanks to Yvonne, the Cavero family, the RISERS and others for all your gifts of medicine, soup packs and goodies.

Salmon Baguette

Salmon bagueete and
Shaqshuka

I am so utterly exhausted. The work just does not seem to end. On the contrary more and more are piling up. I am simply crumbling under the pressure. I think that explains my constant diarrhea with whatever I eat. But that's not stopping me! I'm out to spoil myself this week ... I think I deserve it. I need a good break, a good long sleep (have been sleeping 3 hours a day for the past few weeks) and whatever food I can hold. This morning I decided on a salmon baguette for my brunch (the only meal I eat) while a friend had shaqshuka. Was ill after that, but it's not going to stop me from enjoying my anniversary and birthday. And I went out shopping ... yes, I did. Bought myself a pair of pants and a shirt. I deserve it. It's high time I thought about myself after years of taking care of others.

... and after all that blah blah blah ... it's back to work, sleepless nights, asthma, and work again. It was a nice dream ...

Feast of Annunciation

Mr. Bird enjoying a
stalk of celery

Yesterday was the Feast of the Annunciation. There was a big celebration in Nazareth which is the center of the Annunciation event. I couldn't do much celebrating as I was exhausted from Monday's teaching and work schedule: starting at 3am and ending at 5.30pm, running between schools and libraries, then meeting pilgrim groups at night till 11pm. I was utterly utterly exhausted. No meal or toilet breaks in between for 20 hours. I can't take it anymore. And today Wednesday is going to be just as bad. Teaching at the uni. 2 km away at 10am, finishing at 12.30m, then running back 2 km to video-conferencing another class. I am absolutely not looking forward to this semester. It is a semester from Hell. Utter misery.

The only one who's enjoying all this is Mr. Bird. He's getting terribly spoilt by me. Nowadays he enjoys a stick of celery and 2 walnuts for his breakfast. Then later he gets a slice of apple, a slice of bell-pepper and seeds, a bath in cold water before he goes to sleep for the rest of the day till I come home and play with him. I leave him outside the cage, and though he can fly away, he chooses to stay instead. He knows where the food is!

At Spaghettim

And talking about food ....  yesterday evening I had a little window of free time. 2 hours to celebrate a private moment ... so I decided to treat myself. Bought a pair of sports shoes for my daily walking to and from work/school (covering a total of 5 - 7 kms daily), then had a meal at Spaghettim. My good friend Firas came along. I had seafood spaghetti, a cheesecake and lemonade with naana (mint). It was really good. But I was terribly sick half hour after that. What a way to end a perfect meal for my 22nd anniversary. I really should go to have my checkup and op. but with this crazy schedule of teaching and working, there's no time even to die.

Middle of a riot

Soldiers blocking off
Damascus Gate seconds
before the charge

High drama on Saturday evening. I could see the police and soldiers were preparing for something in east Jerusalem as loads of military came. I was on my way to work. By 6pm I was ready to go home but found Damascus Gate blocked by soldiers. A few hundred arab youths were chanting slogans. Pretty normal, I thought. So I got further down the cavea to take photos. Then without warning, the youths began marching toward Herod's Gate. From my right I saw a cannister of smoke and bright light rolling a couple of meters. Before I could react, it exploded. It was a stun grenade from the police. Then 3 others followed. I was really stunned. The explosions blocked out your senses for several sseconds. A lady photo-journalist next to me was equally stunned. But not the arab youths who were used to this. They ran.

The moment the stun
grenades exploded

Since the soldiers blocked the entry into the Old City, the youths had to run toward the main road to East Jerusalem. Riot police were waiting while mounted police chased the youths from the back. Traffic halted, shop keepers rushed to save their stock from the rushing crowds, the massive police horses kicking everything in its way. Arrests were made. And of course ... the reason for this drama was the killing of 3 palestinian youths in Jenin by Israeli soldiers earlier in the morning.

That evening was a little too much for me and I didn't feel up to it to go for the Lent Vigils at the Holy Sepulchre at midnight. Decided to celebrate Sunday Mass at 5am instead. Then it was a whole Sunday morning of work. From drama to doldrums ....

Jerusalem Marathon

Mounted Police

This morning saw the Jerusalem Marathon underway. Crazy security issues. The entire eastern part of the Old City was closed off. And the marathon does not include inside the Old City. Yet our streets were blocaded, Damascus Gate and 2 other gates were closed, New Gate was empty because the main road was blocked off, even the train service stopped.

Water canon

Mounted police were at hand, hundreds of Border Police in riot gear, and metal barriers raised all over the Muslim Quarter. It was too much. A terrible exaggeration to treat all arabs as a threat. All people wanted was to continue to work and live ... but the closures today disrupted many things.

In fact since the previous evening, a curfew was issued for arabs in the Muslim Quarter to stay indoors. The street was deadly quiet when I passed by in the night on the way home from late work. A Border Policeman stopped me and told me to pull back my hood (it was cold). When I did, I took out my ID but he did not want to see it. He simply said "You speak arabic" and began questioning me in arabic. How in the world did he know that I spoke arabic?  The intelligence service here is scary!

Damascus Gate blocked off

But Friday muslim prayers went ahead with a fiery sermon by the Imam ... to a much smaller congregation at the Al Aqsa Mosque. Men below 45 yrs were prohibited from entering the Old City hence entering the Mosque. Anyway the marathon was won by a Kenyan in record time.

The only happy thing for me today was the opportunity to meet an old Druze friend who had gone to Canada to study. It was good to see him again.

Camembert cheese and mushrooms

The weather is cloudy and sunny in turn. Strangely hot and cold. Nobody likes it. It's making us all sick. It's not just cold and sniffles, but headaches, arthritis and other ailments. It's like winter and summer are fighting over spring. The nights have gone so cold, I need to turn on both heaters to keep warm.

While internal tensions seem to be cooling, border tensions are rising. Missiles from Syria were fired into the Golan Heights and Israel sent in fighter jets to bomb Syria. Don't expect a war though. Syria is too weak to do anything.

Camembert/mushroom
sandwich with a cup of hot
Sahlab

After another long day's work, I was hungry and went to have a sandwich. Camembert and mushroom submarine. With Sahlab. Potato chips don't seem to fit in but they served it anyway. Sounds fancy. tastes good ... but as usual I became ill immediately. And I only ate one quarter of it. How can I enjoy eating while not getting sick all the time? Dreadful misery .... Fortunately my Israeli friends were around at work. Haven't seen them for almost a week due to the Purim holidays. Had a nice chat with them. I had gone out to buy a carton of eggs (US$8) and one of the guys wanted to play football with it .... aaaggghhhh. The rest of the guys thought it was funny. I said if he'd pay me US$8, I'd let him kick all 30 eggs.