Fri, January 28, 2011 6:12:55 AMshabbat shalom 28.01.11 ...
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| Linda Olsvig-Whittaker |
Hi everyone, Here it is, the dead of winter, and I have the windows thrown open to air out and warm the house. It's about 18oC outside (uh, something like 60oF maybe) and the sun is shining. I just took a nap in the sun on the back porch. Times like this, I remember why I am in Israel and not Minnesota..... It's odd weather even though we usually have a kindly lull in January between the monsoonal rains of autumn and the European northern frontal rains of spring. January can often be dry and warm, followed by lots of rain or snow in February. So I see the neighbors, both Arab and Jew, scrounging for extra firewood just in case we have to batten down the hatches next month. I'm basking in the mild weather now, though, and feeling better than I did in two months. The move to the new office space is mostly over and we are settled in again. I'm getting out to do a bit of field work. I'm sitting with the researchers at Hebrew University that we contracted for remote sensing work, and determining which work they did is most useful. It's more like back to normal life again, and I'm grateful for normal routine for a while. Israel in general keeps the nose to the grindstone in January and February, when the weather outdoors does not encourage either play or war. (Yes, these things are weather driven, in case you didn't notice.) We just slog along through these two months, often with a bout of flu to lay us low, and usually do not have extra energy for much beyond routine. Then the spring sun starts warming our bones at the end of February and we perk up a bit. Start thinking about passover, hikes, summer vacation even. Or labor union strikes, or raising the ping pong level with Gaza. All signs of spring. I didn't get in the field this week but will be on Mt. Carmel next week so the office time was useful. Lots of writing to do. I'm happy to get back to being an ecologist (just got a paper accepted for publication this week on bird distribution patterns!) and getting away from being a database technician. The future gets a little more clear; as I divest from database development, I can pick up with conservation informatics, monitoring, survey methods, etc. Nice way to end a career in the next eight years or so. Not much more to mention. Our AA meeting in central Jerusalem got kicked out of its nest this week. After 30 years in the same location, the group had to relocate because the building was sold and the owners are relocating also. In the process, the Jerusalem Shalom Group has sprouted new groups. While the Shalom Group will move to the Musrara neighborhood community center, a new group has begun in Shamai Street and another one on Shai Agron, in a synagogue. So maybe the shakeup is good for us. We will have to start intergroup structure which we never had before, being just one group on several meeting days. I decided the Shai Agron group is most convenient to my home and needs some veteran support, so I'm shifting from the Shalom Group to the Shai Agron group. That means I will give up the treasurer's position. Shalom Group wasn't so happy about that because I had put the accounts in order and we started to show a healthy positive balance while I did this service. So I agreed to carry on the treasurer's job another three months until they vote in a suitable replacement. (Really, in a city of Jews, they want the goy to manage the money???) One nice thing: since you NEVER get a compliment in Israel, the closest you get is the loud protest when you stop doing what you are doing. So, I was complimented today. shabbat shalom, Linda |
http://shabbat-shalom-jerusalem.blogspot.com/
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