Every time I have time to write I step outside and something happens.

Here life keeps a hefty pace....I walked out to the sea in a relatively moody mood to join the brooding Mediterranean and in trying to take my own picture with the stormy sea I encountered a cheerful 7 language speaking chap born in one of the old USSR countries who's been living in Vienna for 21 years. He had on a cold weather funny woolen hat with his ears covered and a pom pom only worn by people from cold places and he asked in his nostagically Russian accent to join me for the walk. He's been here a short time and is looking for friendly opportunity. He was carrying around Clementines all day looking for the right moment to eat them. So we chatted about language and Israel and being Jewish here and instead of being moody with the sea, we shared Clementines. It's hard to be in a bad mood here.  We went on or way and time with the windy sea spray made me laugh instead of introspect.

Last night Geora, my friend from the kibbutz stopped by. He was born here but grew up all his life in South Africa. He lit candles for the first time last night with me on my grandparents old menorah in my little apartment with candles from the shuk. Then went searching for sufganyot winding around the little streets here, where all the jelly doughnuts were eaten already, and onto the tumult of Allenby Street. We almost missed the wonderful site at the tattoo parlor.... as we reglanced past the rows of pictures of body parts pierced and tattoed, yes, we saw a flurry of joyful Black Hat religious Jews inside the tattoo parlor sharing Sufganyot and the joy of Chanukah with the tattoo folks. Everyones seems happy enough to partake.  It's everywhere here...

I woke up this morning and thought maybe I would have one sufganyah for each day of Chanukah. That's a lot of dough for me. So I figured I would just see what came to me and I went out for a walk....and right into Emanuel, my 5 foot 4 Hebrew speaking friendly plumber neighbor from across the street.  He was carrying freshly made levivot, doughnuts without the jelly or the hole.  And before I left the gate I had a steaming hot doughnut in my mouth. It all comes to you here....

Yesterday I went to acupuncture again. After the slush of water last time I was eager to see what this time would offer. I was on the table trying to figure out the immense pull of force that was merging my limbs into the table as the needles again pumped flow into my life force. I'm beginning finally to feel better... related to my birthday.  I've felt the movement of energy before in acupuncture, but never like this. It was so strong and mostly in my limbs, it really gave me wonder.  Like the ride at the amusement park where it spins so fast you stick to the wall with your whole body off the floor and just the pull of cytrificle force kneading you into wall. The pull of force was so strong I felt that my energy was somehow reorganizing to reverse direction from left to right.... to right to left. Like the way the language here is from right to left and the sea in on the west. And then from outside the window came this blasting Chanukah very Jewish ethnic sounding music..... bursting from some source right outside. It sang to me for quite sometime until the irony and humor of old DNA music being pumped into my needle points was fully appreciated. I think it's the only time I laughed while being needled.

Chanukah has brought itself to me every night so far for 5 nights. On the way back from the shuk found myself behind some of the family from this house.  I'm invited....Tonight Doda Sara, the 85 year old wonder of a tiny Yemite woman who owns this house had her whole mishpacha here for Chanukah and her birthday.  More levivot and sufganyot and the prayers for Chanukah and her grandkids playing Chanukah songs on their recorders and all the family singing old Yemenite songs.

Every time I walk outside.....