Hot Water / Color Red / 2009

We live in an old apartment. As a result, things don't always work as they should..

A "for instance" is the shower. We're not able to have a decent hot shower.. the water is luke-warm and in these winter cold days, this is no fun at all!

You don't really come to appreciate hot water until you miss it. The shower in the morning that wakes you up, the water that cleans you and makes your skin and hair cleaner and nice-smelling..

The Text says "Red Color Real Time". The words "Red Color" are a code name for rocket/bomb/missile alarm. When they're broadcasted on the radio or public speakers, it means that you should take cover in a safe shelter.

So far the rockets hit cities in the south of Israel, and now they started coming closer.. as in my place of work town for instance. Now it's less of a cafeteria talk subject and more of a life threatening issue. To tell the truth, I'm taking it kind of non-shalantly. Maybe in a fatalist kind of way that says "what will happen will happen". It doesn't mean that I don't take care of myself and hid the alarms when they come. It's more that I don't get too scared and worried about it and take it in a more cynical and amused way than anything else.

1/1/2009 - Yesterday we celebrated the change of the gregorian year to 2009. I wish first and foremost, peace and love and prosperity for all. Not just my close and immediate family and friends but also those in the wider circle - old friends, fellow israelis, poor people, and all those who really need it in their lives. I want to give thanks for what I have and been blessed with: Love from my parents, sister, niece and nephew, and of course, my dear girlfriend. Economic stability, which is not to say economic freedom, but still is a LOT to be grateful for. My health and the health of those dear to me. We've been through tragedy and happyness this year, and I hope that even with the state of current events, that 2009 will be a happy and fruitful year.

Happy New Year!

Christmas / חנוכה Hanukkah

The time of Hanukkah & Christmas has come!

Two holy days of light and happiness and giving.

For Jews it's time to remember miracles and triumphs, and for christians it is time to give and receive gifts and bond with one's family.

In jewish tradition, from my own experience, every holiday is an excuse to eat - no matter if it's the traditional dishes or just good food. A lot of people gain extra padding during the holidays and Hannukah is even more so with all the fried goodness it holds :)

Winter amplifies this by pushing you towards hot dishes to keep your insides warm. It also makes you happy and satisfied, so In that respect, it's a good thing.

Back to the main theme - Holidays and especially these two - are a good time to bond with other people - whether it's your significant other, your sister, brother, parents, or simply friends.

To share the warmth, to share the happiness, to be together.

Shake a leg (or maybe better not)

This term has different meanings in the western and eastern cultures.

In the Asian culture, shaking your leg will make your money and/or luck go away.

In the western culture (I think it's mostly in the American sub-culture) it has the same meaning as "break a leg" or simply "good luck!".

I imagine that shaking one's leg would cause your clothes to shake and for your money to fall out (especially when you're a farm worker in the old days in china) and that might explain the Asian source of this expression.

As for the western one - shaking one's leg meant moving about and being busy with something productive - hence one's making his own luck and money.

Me? I'm trying to shake off that habit :)

The Darkness

Days comes and go, and there's a dread inside me. A feeling of futility. Like nothing I do actually matters.

It makes me feel powerless, weak both physically and emotionally. And it builds the darkness inside me. Feeds it. It's a disabling feeling.

At times like these, I feel rage and frustration on one hand, and no will to do anything on the other. Even so, I still have to work, and to handle myself with regard to my surroundings.

I keep fighting it, this diabilitating feeling. Because it makes me want to lose myself and drive people I love away from me. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

The best way to describe this feeling, is how you feel when you're just about to have a good cry. But it stays on the inside.. this wanting to cry, and grows stronger and bigger and choking.