Wednesday, 31 August 2016

I slept very well last night, got up a little late, but still went for a walk around the full big loop. It was lovely out! Today's pic of the day shows the Gulf with clouds over it and other clouds mostly obscuring the recently-risen sun:

I taught only 3 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:15-10:00 and 6:00-7:30.

After my first lesson, I did some grocery shopping at the Einat Supermarket (the 2nd closest one to me). I went there because I needed to get some cereal that they didn't have the other day at Elimelech Market, and, of course, I also bought other things I needed while I was there.

Then I spent the rest of the morning working on the first programming assignment for week 4 of my online class, Classification and Retrieval. I ran into some trouble. Although I eventually got my code to work without errors, the results are clearly NOT correct, and because of that I wasn't able to answer the last 2 quiz questions. I did the max 3 tries that are allowed every 8 hours, but still didn't get them right. Tomorrow, though, I'm guaranteed to getting them right at least on the 2nd try (because they're both multiple choice questions!). Then I'll have to start work on the 2nd programming assignment for this week.

I had a salad and vegetarian schnitzel for lunch at home today.

In the afternoon, I continued work on "recording" my orchestral pieces. This is a process called "bouncing to disk" and produces the type of audio files that can be played on a CD player. These are what I'll upload to CD Baby in order to sell them there and through MANY other channels.

I walked a total of 8.86 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 30 August 2016

I got up early this morning and walked around the big loop with a slight extension. It was very nice out. I petted 3 different cats during my walk, all regulars whom I frequently see. When the sun came out, it was hidden by a cloud at first. Today's pic of the day shows when it was just coming out from behind the cloud:

For WIZO today, David Bar-Chai played and sang for us, mostly songs that he had written, but a few well-known covers, as well. Everybody really enjoyed it.

I had a salad, breaded cauliflower florets, and falafel for lunch at home today.

I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons: 4:30-6:00 and 7:00-8:30.

I walked a total of 8.09 kilometers today.

Monday, 29 August 2016

I got up early this morning and went for a nice long walk different from the big loop but of similar length. I took several pictures, including today's pic of the day, a view of the sun just after it came up but was still partly obscured by a little cloud:

I was schedule to teach 8 units of Berlitz lessons today, but one 2-unit lesson turned out to be a late cancellation (for which I still get paid, of course): 10:00-11:30, 11:30-1:00, 4:30-6:00 (the cancellation), and 7:00-8:30.

I had a salad, beans and weenies, and 4 breadsticks for lunch at home.

I listened to all the tracks for my album of orchestral music and believe that they are all now ready to be "recorded". I began experimenting with that process on one of them and learned that I need to put an event after the last sound has faded to prevent the recording for cutting out too early. That's a VERY simple things to do.

I took advantage of the cancellation to make a quick trip over to Maccabi's Shakhamon clinic to pick up my referral to the cardiologist. I took the bus both ways (and rode with the same driver, since route 6 ends over in that area, and then route 5 begins shortly afterwards, obviously using the same bus and driver.

When I got home, I successfully made the appointment with the cardiologist for the 12th of September.

I walked a total of 7.03 kilometers today.

Sunday, 28 August 2016

I got up late this morning and didn't go out for an early-morning walk. I then ate breakfast early and walked over to my 9:00 appointment with my family doctor. I actually didn't need to speak with him, only to pick up some forms he had left with the secretary, but I had made an appointment and so spoke briefly with him.

I then took a bus back into town and went to the Maccabi nurses office there. I took a couple of pictures of pretty flowers as I walked from the bus stop to Maccabi, and one of them is today's pic of the day:

After a fairly lengthy wait, I got in to see a nurse. She set up an appointment for me to get a halter a week from Tuesday, which I will then wear for 24 hours to monitor my heart during that time.

After returning home, I tried to make a couple of other appointments. For some reason, I did NOT get a referral letter for the cardiologist, so I couldn't make that appointment. It may just be that the secretary missed it. In any case, I've written to my doctor about it, so I should hear back within a day or 2. The other appointment was for an echocardiogram, and I managed to get that for this afternoon.

I ate a salad of cucumber, red bell pepper, tomato, 1000 Island dressing, and seeds, plus some cheese and crackers for lunch at home today.

After lunch, I worked a little bit on one of my orchestral pieces, refining the dynamics. The differences are fairly subtle, but I do think they are an important improvement to make this piece sound more expressive and less robotic.

Then I took a bus over and got my echocardiogram done. It's done with ultrasound, and it's really quite cool. At several points, I could actually hear the sound of the blood sloshing through my heart!

Then I returned home and began work on week 4 of my online class, Classification and Retrieval. I watched all the video lectures and took the first quiz, which I managed to get 100% on at my 3rd attempt. Now all that remains is to complete the 2 programming assignments, and I have all week to do that (although I'll need to find a couple of fairly long blocks of uninterrupted time to do them and thus may not get to them until next weekend).

I walked a total of 5.82 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 27 August 2016

I slept well last night, got up early, and went for a great walk around the big loop, slightly extended. I took several pictures, including today's pic of the day:

After breakfast, I began watching the remaining lecture videos for week 3 in my online class. Then I took the last quiz for the week and got 100% on the first try, thereby completing the week.

Next, I listened to all the orchestral music that I'm going to put onto my upcoming album, in the order I plan to put it. As I had thought, it's generally in pretty good shape, but their are some tweaks that I can do to improve it in several places. I didn't do them yet, though.

I had a salad plus my traditional eggs and rice (with added garlic powder, salt, milk, and sunflower seeds) for lunch at home today. It was delicious!

I was mostly lazy in the afternoon, including a nap in my chair. Later, I talked to David's sister in Ohio, who's now back on dialysis after the failure of her transplanted kidney. She will probably be able to get on the list to receive another one, however.

I walked a total of 7.69 kilometers today, almost all on this morning's walk.

Friday, 26 August 2016

After I got up to pee around midnight last night I had trouble getting back to sleep, and so I ended up getting up late this morning. I only walked up to the bakery to buy challah before breakfast.

I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:00-11:30 and 11:30-1:00.

I had a salad, weenies wrapped in tortillas, and breadsticks for lunch at home today.

After lunch, I did the dishes, took a short nap in my chair, and then did the programming assignment for this week in my online class, Classification and Retrieval.

I finished the programming work just before it was time to light candles, drink some sweet red wine, and eat some challah to welcome Shabbat. Today's pic of the day is of my lit Shabbat candles:

I walked only 0.87 kilometers (870 meters) today: tto buy challah, and to do the recycling.

I leave you with these words from Psalm 34:

מי-האיש החפץ חיים אהב ימים לרואות טוב

נצר לשונך מרע ושפתיך מדבר מרמה

Who is the one who values life and loves days of seeing good?

Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.

Thursday, 25 August 2016

I slept very well last night, woke up refreshed, and got up early, but I didn't go out for a walk. Instead, I ate breakfast early so that I could walk over to my appointment with my family doctor at 8:10. It's a 2-kilometer walk, one way. After the appointment, I walked over to Ein Yahav but took a bus from there there the rest of the way back home.

My doctor was as surprised as I had been to learn about my atrial fibrillation. He said he would consult with the cardiologist later in the morning and call me back, which he did. The cardiologist instructed us to discontinue the Coumadin (blood-thinning medication) and, instead, to do a halter test. The details will be sorted out after the weekend, on Sunday.

I taught 5 units of Berlitz lessons today: 11:30-1:00 and 4:30-6:45.

I had a salad and 2 vegetarian shnitzels for lunch at home today.

After my last lesson, I had a nice talk with my friend who lives in Tel Aviv but who is currently on vacation in San Fransisco. It was very enjoyable!

As I was writing here, I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures all day today, so I snapped a silly selfie, today's pic of the day:

I walked a total of 3.01 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 24 August 2016

I got to bed a little late last night, but I slept soundly and well, and I woke up early. I went for only a medium-length walk because I needed to go down to Maccabi at 7:00 (when the lab opens) to get my blood work done. Of course, at that hour it was easy to walk down. In fact, the sun came up a little while after I left home, and today's pic of the day is of exactly that event (this photo is completely unedited -- not even cropped!):

I took a bus back home and easily ate breakfast and did the rest of my morning routine before my first lesson.

I taught 5 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:15-10:00, 11:00-12:30, and 3:30-5:00.

After my second lesson, but before lunch, I did a little grocery shopping at Elimelech Supermarket.

For lunch, I had a salad, falafal, and a few breadsticks.

After my last lesson, I caught the bus down to Maccabi again and got my second (and last) Clexane (I think that's what it was called) injection. Then I took another bus back home.

I walked a total of 7.76 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 23 August 2016

I got up early this morning, but I didn't go out for a walk because I needed to eat breakfast much earlier in order to get to my 8:30 appointment with my doctor. I did walk over to almost the far side of Shakhamon for that. He gave me all the orders I needed in order to get the tests whose results I have to take with me to my appointments with the anesthesiologist and the surgeon next week. I then took a bus back home.

After less than half an hour at home, I took another bus over to today's WIZO meeting. We shared stories from our school days, which was enjoyable for all of us.

After a little shopping at Shufersal, I took the bus back home.

I had a salad, beans and weenies, and a few breadsticks for lunch at home today.

I taught only one 2-unit Berlitz lesson today: 3:00-4:30.

After my lesson, I took the bus over to Maccabi to get the EKG done at the nurses' and to get the chest x-ray done.

The EKG offered an unpleasant surprise. The nurse who did it sent me immediately up to the doctor who is in charge of the nurses, and he explained to me that I have atrial fibrillation (a heart problem) and that it's dangerous! I had to go over to the pharmacy right away and get Coumadin pills and also injections (for the nurses to give me). The doctor explained that it takes several days for the medicine to build up in the system from the pills, so he ordered injections for today and tomorrow to get more of it in there quickly. I'll also have to go in every 3 days for blood work to verify that it's at the right level. All of this was a bit of a shock to me, since I have never had any kind of heart trouble before. So, it looks like the near future is going to be more of an adventure than I had expected.

After finishing at Maccabi, I walked to the SuperPharm down the street to get some mouthwash, since I had time before the next bus home.

When I got home, I had to schedule another appointment with the nurses for the injection tomorrow, schedule an appointment with my family doctor (for Thursday morning), write to Berlitz to cancel a lesson tomorrow so I can go to the nurses, send a request to Maccabi for the forms I'll need for my trip to Tel Aviv next week, and talk to one of the Berlitz managers about a student with very specific needs whom I'll be teaching tomorrow morning.

Needless to say, I'm getting to bed a bit later than usual tonight, and I have to go bright and early to Maccabi again tomorrow morning to get the lab work that the surgeon and anesthesiologist need done (the lab is only open in the mornings, and, of course, I have to be fasting for some of the tests).

Today's pic of the day is the only one I took today, a selfie from just a few minutes ago:

I walked a total of 5.5 kilometers today.

Monday, 22 August 2016

I got to bed late last night (after the play-reading group), and I also got up late this morning, so I only went out for a short walk. But it was still an enjoyable one, and I took a lot of nice pictures, including today's pic of the day, a view of the bicycle trails by the nearby desert hills in the early-morning light:

I taught 6 units of Berlitz lessons today: 10:00-11:30, 11:30-1:00, and 6:00-7:30.

The Ichilov Hospital called me today to schedule an appointment with the anesthesiologist and the surgeon a week from tomorrow. They did not schedule the surgery itself yet, but I presume that they'll do that at or after this appointment. I quickly made an appointment with my family doctor for tomorrow morning so that he can order the tests I need done. I have to take the results with me to Ichilov for that appointment, so I hope I can get that all taken care of in time.

I had a salad and veggie burger and cheese sandwiches for lunch at home today.

In the afternoon, I started work on week 3 of my online class, Classification and Retrieval, watching the first set of videos and passing the first quiz.

I also began looking more closely at what I need to do to get my album of orchestra music ready, and I began a list of tasks I'll need to do to that end.

I walked a total of only 1.73 kilometers today.

Sunday, 21 August 2016

I got up very early this morning and went for quite a long walk, a littler longer than the big loop, in fact. I took several pictures, of course, including today's pic of the day, a view of Aqaba and the Gulf from Khativat HaNegev Road:

Much later in the morning, I went to the optician's to get my glasses adjusted slightly, and I think they're sitting just a little better on my face now. Because of my strong prescription (and because of the multifocal lenses), it's important that they sit at exactly the right spot. After that, I did ran a couple of other errands in town, including getting a mouse for Goldfinger.

I had a salad, weenies wrapped in tortillas, and some cookies for lunch at home today.

In the afternoon, I napped a little in my chair, and I also read from the manual about how to actually record my music to audio files, something which I had only done with this setup once before, 2 or 3 years ago. It's quite simple, of course.

In the evening, I went down to Fay's for our play-reading group. This will be our last session until November, and we all enjoyed it, as always.

I walked a total of 10.12 kilometers today.

Link to my daily blog post -- great morning walk; running a few errands in town; weenies in tortillas for lunch; a short nap in my chair; reviewing how to record my music to audio files; and the last session (for now) of our play-reading group -- pic of the day: Aqaba and the Gulf VERY early in the morning -- total walking: 10.12 km

Shabbat, 20 August 2016

I got up early this morning, but I went on a different loop that was approximately the same length, overall, as the big loop. I took quite a few pictures, including today's pic of the day, a view of the Gulf and Aqaba well before the sun came up:

I spent much of the day working on my orchestral music, mostly listening, but also touching up several things. It's very close to finished now, but I'll still need to listen carefully and see if I can make a few changes here and there to improve and polish it.

I had my now-traditional eggs and rice for lunch today. I again added some sunflower seeds to the mix. I also ate a nice salad and a few cookies.

In the afternoon, I talked with David's sister, Joyce. She's in the hospital again because her transplanted kidney has failed. After they finish checking her out thoroughly, they'll release her, but she'll have to go back on dialysis, unfortunately.

In the early evening, after the sun was gone but before it got dark, I went out for a short walk in Canada Gardens. I didn't stay out very long because it was still pretty hot out.

I walked a total of 7.56 kilometers today.

Friday, 19 August 2016

I got up early this morning and took a nice walk around the big loop. The full moon was really beautiful this morning, but a little hard to photograph nicely. I took several pictures, but I couldn't decide between the full moon shot showing the 6 Shakhamon high-rises and the sunrise show, so I'll include them both as today's pics of the day:

On my way back, I stopped, as always, at the local bakery to buy a couple of small challot for Shabbat.

Before my class today, I did the weekly household chores.

I taught only one 2-unit Berlitz lesson today: 11:30-1:00.

I had 3 beets, a cucumber, a tomato, and 2 cheese sandwiches (with mayo and Dijon mustard on whole-wheat bread) for lunch at home today. Delicious and nutritious!

In the afternoon, I was mostly fairly lazy, but I did get some important touch-up work done on my orchestral setting of Avinu Malkenu.

In the evening, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate challah to welcome another Shabbat.

I walked a total of 7.35 kilometers today.

I leave you today with Hannah Senesh's beautiful poem, "Walk to Caesarea", a musical setting of which will be included on my upcoming album of orchestral music:

אלי, אלי

שלא ייגמר לעולם

החול והים

רישרוש של המיים

ברק השמיים

תפילת האדם

My God, my God

May these things never end:

The sand and the sea,

The rush of the waters,

The crash of the heavens,

The prayer of the human.

Thursday, 18 August 2016

I got up quite early this morning but did a slightly shorter walk on a different route. Still, I was out for nearly and hour and a quarter. I took several pictures, including today's pic of the day, a view from HaSporta'im ("The Athletes") Street shortly before the sun came up:

I spent almost the entire day working on my online class, Classification and Retrieval. Some of the programming was a little hard for me to figure out, and it really pressed my abilities in Python (the programming language we're using). In the end, though, I completed week 2 successfully.

I had a salad and a vegan shnitzel for lunch at home today.

I taught no Berlitz lessons at all today.

In the early evening, I did a little grocery shopping at Elimelech Supermarket.

I walked a total of 6.18 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 17 August 2016

I got up early this morning and walked around the big loop even though I felt a bit tired. I took only 2 pictures, the first just before the sun came up, and the second as it was actually rising. Today's pic of the day is the first one:

After breakfast, I still felt quite tired, so I lay down for a nap in my bed and actually slept about 2 more hours.

When I got up, I immediately set to work on week 2 of my new online class, Clustering and Retrieval. I took the first quiz three times, but because of a careless errors I didn't get it perfect yet and need to take it one more time. I'll do that first thing tomorrow.

I had 3 beets, breaded cauliflower florets, and beans and weenies for lunch at home today.

I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 4:00-5:30 and 6:00-7:30 (both level 5 students).

I walked a total of 7.2 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 18 August 2016

I got up a little later this morning, but I still went out for a nice walk. I walked a route that was a bit shorter than the big loop. I took a few pictures, the first of which is today's pic of the day, showing the view down Yotam Road from just beyond the Yitzkhak Rabin High School, some minutes before the sun came up over the Jordanian mountains:

At today's WIZO meeting, we shared stories of our siblings and childhood friends. I think everybody enjoyed it.

After I came home, I did a little more work on my music, and I think it's mostly ready now. I still need to listen carefully to all the tracks another time or two, and I'll probably make a few more tweaks, too.

I had a salad and veggie burger and cheese sandwiches for lunch at home.

I was scheduled to teach only one 2-unit Berlitz lesson today, but the student never showed up, so I was able to leave after an hour: 3:00-4:30.

I watched a little bit of TV in the early evening, something which I almost never do. But I just couldn't get very interested in any of it. I tried several different channels, including evening news (in Hebrew, which I followed better than I thought I would), the Olympics (track & field), part of some British comedy, part of some American comedy, and some Israeli program about black holes (with a very cute young physicist! -- and I understood more of what they were saying, too). It was something to do, but I'm afraid I've been away from TV so long that I really can't get much into it anymore. Maybe that's just as well, although I do need to practice listening to Hebrew more (it's tiring for more than a short time, however).

I walked a total of 5.61 kilometers today.

Monday, 15 August 2016

I had set my alarm for 5:00 this morning, but I woke up much earlier, despite having gotten to bed a little late last night. I actually got up by about 4:15. After a brief time outside with Pascal (it's an important tradition for him), I fed us both breakfast. I had originally thought I might have to eat at the airport, but I certainly got a healthier meal at home.

I started walking to the airport around 5:20 and got there in plenty of time to check in for my flight, which was at 6:40.

When I arrived in Tel Aviv, I immediately set out walking to the hospital. Since it was still quite early and there were some clouds in the sky, it was quite pleasant going, although I did get a little bit sweaty eventually.

I made it to the hospital and was in the urology department more than an hour before my 10:00 appointment, so I had to wait quite a long time there, especially since I didn't get in until at least 10:30. Part of the time while I was waiting, there was a Muslim Arab couple (identified by her attire) sitting next to me. Someone they knew who works at the hospital (in Purchasing and Supplies, according to his badge) came along, and the 3 of them chatted for some time, mostly in Arabic, but with a fair amount of Hebrew thrown in, too. This is actually a VERY typical scene in EVERY Israeli hospital I've been in (and I've been in quite a few of them!). There is absolutely NO such thing as apartheid, or even anything remotely resembling it here.

The urologist, Dr. Gal Keren-Paz, was absolutely excellent. We first talked in Hebrew, but when I didn't quite get something, he switched to fluent English. He carefully explained the whole situation, had obviously READ my file beforehand, and was very clear about options, pros and cons of different treatments, and possible outcomes. The news is generally very good. My chances of being cured are over 95%, and my chances of essentially no serious long-term impairments of function are about 70%. I was very pleased with everything and easily chose the surgery, which will be robotic. He said their secretary will call me soon to schedule the surgery (which should be within the next couple of months) and a visit with the anesthesiologist beforehand.

After the appointment, I walked over to the adjacent mall (within the same security perimeter as the hospital), and had my usual lunch there. I don't know what it's called, but it's delicious: a couple of eggs, together with mushrooms and cheese (I think) partially wrapped in a something like a thick pizza crust.

Then I used the Moovit application to smoothly catch 2 buses and get back to the airport about an hour and 45 minutes before my flight (at 2:00).

I took a number of pictures on both flights, as well as several in Tel Aviv. Today's pic of the day is the last one I took, just before we landed back in Eilat, showing the North Beach:

I took the #2 bus home from the airport because it was definitely too hot to be out walking for long. Somehow, though, the heat when I first step out of the airplane always feels so welcoming, and I know I'm home!

After resting and catching up on a few things, I walked over to Elimelech Supermarket to stock up on a few groceries. Then I got a nice amount of work done, touching up more of my orchestral pieces. Things are REALLY coming together nicely now with that project, and I'm very pleased.

I walked a total of 8.55 kilometers today.

Sunday, 14 August 2016

I got up early again and walked around the big loop, with a few extensions in fact. I petted 3 different cats during this walk, including one who has become a regular, on Harim Road near Ein Netafim. I took several pictures, including ones of both of the other 2 cats. Today, we'll have TWO pics of the day, one of Aqaba in the early dawn (about an hour before the sun came up), and the other of the calico cat that let me pet her:

After breakfast, I took the bus down to town to buy a mouse for Goldfinger (my snake) and cat food for Pascal (my cat). I got them both at the pet shop on HaTmarim Avenue, near Khativat HaNegev. Then I rode the bus back home and fed Goldfinger.

I spent most of the day working on my orchestral music. Several of the pieces are now in quite a bit better shape. I'm particularly pleased with the results in my setting of Esa Einai. This was always one of my favorites for organ, and now the orchestral version takes it to new heights.

I had a cucumber, 2 small tomatoes, and 2 cheese sandwiches (with mayonnaise and old-style mustard) for lunch at home today.

In the evening, I went down to Fay's house for the weekly meeting of our play-reading group. We had a good time, as always.

I walked a total of 8.75 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 13 August 2016

I got up early this morning and went for a nice walk around the big loop, with some minor variations that didn't affect the overall length. I took several pictures, including today's pic of the day, which shows a little fence that has been added to the landscaping in one part of the Nakhal Garuf Promenade since I last walked there:

I did a load of laundry today (I had also done one yesterday), so now nearly all my clothes are clean.

I got quite a lot of work done on my orchestral music today. Mostly, I'm battling the distortion monster (and winning!).

I had my usual eggs and rice for lunch today. I also added some sunflower seeds to the mix this time. In addition, I ate a nice salad.

In the late afternoon, I talked with David's sister in Ohio. She's continuing to feel better.

I walked a total of 6.56 kilometers today.

Friday, 12 August 2016

I got up extra early this morning and was out walking by 4:30. I headed up highway 12, hoping to get away from the city lights well before the light of day began to arrive. I did, mostly, but I still didn't see any meteorites, which I had thought I might, since we're in the middle of the Perseid shower. However, it was a nice walk anyway. I walked almost all the way to army base "Camp 396" before turning around.

Shortly after heading back, I met the first bicyclists going up the hill. In total, I met 25 of them during the course of my walk back down highway 12. In addition, 2 whizzed by on the other side of the road, riding downhill.

I took a few pictures along the way, including today's pic of the day, the sun just coming up over the distant Jordanian mountains and a nearby hill:

I returned home after a brief stop at the local bakery to buy challah, having been out about 2 hours and 20 minutes.

I easily got all the weekly household chores done before my lesson today.

I taught only one 2-unit Berlitz class: 11:30-1:00.

I had a salad and cheese sandwiches for lunch today.

I completed my Machine Learning: Classification class today with an overall average of 97.6%. I managed to get 12 out of 13 on the last quiz, even though I never got the program on which it was based right. In fact, I only got 10 out of 13 on my first try, due to a fair amount of intelligent guessing. I then started the next class in the sequence, Machine Learning: Clustering & Retrieval.

I got more work done on my orchestral music. I've got a fairly big problem that I've got to deal with, though. When I set the volume on my computer (playing through my headphones) on max, I'm getting quite a bit of distortion, especially from the brass, and to a somewhat lesser extent from the woodwinds. It's going to take quite a bit of editing on nearly ALL the pieces to make sure this doesn't happen in the end. I know what I can do; it's just quite a bit of work to do it while making sure the balance and expression don't get messed up in the process.

As the day drew to an end, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate some challah to welcome another Shabbat.

I walked a total of 8.67 kilometers today.

I leave you with these verses from Psalm 8:

יי אדנינו מה-אדיר שמך בכל-הארץ אשר-תנה הודך על-השמים

Oh Eternal One, our Lord, how powerful is Your name is all the earth,

You, who have set Your glory upon the heavens!

Thursday, 11 August 2016

I got to bed early, slept well, woke up early, and went out early for a nice long walk around a slightly extended version of the big loop. I took 3 pictures during the walk, and the 1st one, showing the 24-hour convenience store on Sheshet HaYamim before daylight, is today's pic of the day:

After breakfast, I did a little shopping at the Elimelech Supermarket.

I spent much of the morning working on my orchestral music. I'm in the process of transcribing my organ arrangement of "Y'did Nefesh" for orchestra. I'm nearly finished now.

A friend from Tel Aviv called this morning and we chatted a bit.

For lunch, I had a nice salad and weenies wrapped in tortillas.

In the afternoon, I continued work on my online classification class. I'm stuck right now at a checkpoint in the programming where I can't get my answers to match the correct ones given, but I don't know what the problem is. I'll look at it more tomorrow.

I walked a total of 6.52 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 10 August 2016

Despite getting to bed a little late last night, I woke up very early this morning and went for a nice walk around the big loop with a few small variations. I took 4 pictures including today's pic of the day, a view of the sun just appearing over the Jordanian mountains, framed by 2 of the Shakhamon high-rises:

I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 11:00-12:30 and 2:45-4:15.

I had a tomato and a vegetarian shnitzel for lunch at home today.

After my last lesson, I went over to the optician, who replaced the lenses of the glasses with new ones. My vision is now very noticeably better, especially in the left eye!

I got some good work done today on transcribing my variations on Y'did Nefesh (the longer tune) for organ to orchestra.

I walked a total of 7.36 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 9 August 2016

I got up early this morning and walked around the big loop. It was nice out, and I enjoyed the walk even though I felt a bit tired. I only took one picture, which shows the railing they added to the new access ramp at the Nakhal Garuf Promenade since the last time I was there:

I enjoyed the WIZO English speakers' meeting this morning, as always. Today, we shared interesting anecdotes from our work lives.

I had breaded cauliflower florets (that I had bought frozen) and tomato and cheese sandwiches for lunch at home today.

I was scheduled to teach only 4 units of Berlitz lessons today, but the 2nd lesson (2 units) turned out actually to be a no-show group: 3:00-4:30 and 7:00-8:30.

I spent a little time working on my orchestral music today, and I'm pleased with the bit that I got done.

I walked a total of 7.64 kilometers today.

Monday, 8 August 2016

I got to bed a little late last night, so I was somewhat surprised when I woke up and got up early enough this morning to get in a nice long walk. I didn't do the big loop, but the route I went was almost as long. I went up Argaman to Harim, then over to and down Ein Netafim to Sheshet HaYam, which I followed all the way to the edge of town, turning up Malkhat Shva ("Queen of Sheba") and following it over to HaSporta'im. From there, I cut across on a pedestrian-only, nearly level route home. I only took a couple of pictures, and one of them, a really nice one of pinkish white bougainvillea, is today's pic of the day:

I was scheduled to teach 9 units of Berlitz lessons, but the first lesson (1 unit) and the last lesson (2 units) both turned out actually to be no-shows: 9:00-9:45, 10:00-11:30, 11:30-1:00, 2:45-4:15, and 7:00-8:30.

I made a quick grocery shopping trip before eating lunch, for which I had some falafel I had just bought (frozen) and a large salad with added tomato, dried soybeans, and seeds.

In the afternoon, I was basically quite lazy when not teaching.

I walked a total of 6.38 kilometers today.

Sunday, 7 August 2016

I got up a little late today, but I still went for a walk for a little over an hour. It was similar to the big loop, but I went up Ein Yahav instead of going all the way to the Nakhal Garuf Promenade. Of course, I took some pics, including today's pic of the day, a view up Haggai Road from Sheshet HaYamim when the sun was hitting the hills but not yet shining on the valley:

I attended the Berlitz "brown bag" meeting online this morning but left after an hour (it's supposed to last only 1 hour, but she ALWAYS goes over).

Then I took the bus into town to do a few errands. I got the form for the flights to and from my urology appointment on the 15th at the Maccabi office. Then I walked across to the pharmacy and picked up my monthly prescriptions. After that, I went to a pet store on HaTmarim that has snakes and managed to get a mouse for mine. I have always fed him frozen/thawed mice before, but they didn't have any frozen, so I brought a live one home for him. Of course, Goldfinger was happy.

After I came home, I had cheese and tomato sandwiches (with a little old French-style mustard) for lunch at home.

In the afternoon, I did some work on my orchestral arrangement of Salomono Rossi's "Ein Keloheinu". I was working to improve the balance between the instruments, and it's definitely better now. I still need to tinder a little more with it, though, I think. I also positioned the instruments so that the brass are on the right and the woodwinds are on the left. This is important because they are playing the parts of 2 antiphonal choirs.

Later, I called the airline (Arkia) and booked my flights to and from Tel Aviv for the 15th.

In the evening, I headed down to Fay's house for our weekly play-reading group. I saw my bus go by just as I was going out the gate, so I walked down Argaman and caught it later on its route when it came back to Argaman. I enjoyed the group very much, as always.

I walked a total of 7.52 kilometers today.

Sunday, 7 August 2016

I got up a little late today, but I still went for a walk for a little over an hour. It was similar to the big loop, but I went up Ein Yahav instead of going all the way to the Nakhal Garuf Promenade. Of course, I took some pics, including today's pic of the day, a view up Haggai Road from Sheshet HaYamim when the sun was hitting the hills but not yet shining on the valley:

I attended the Berlitz "brown bag" meeting online this morning but left after an hour (it's supposed to last only 1 hour, but she ALWAYS goes over).

Then I took the bus into town to do a few errands. I got the form for the flights to and from my urology appointment on the 15th at the Maccabi office. Then I walked across to the pharmacy and picked up my monthly prescriptions. After that, I went to a pet store on HaTmarim that has snakes and managed to get a mouse for mine. I have always fed him frozen/thawed mice before, but they didn't have any frozen, so I brought a live one home for him. Of course, Goldfinger was happy.

After I came home, I had cheese and tomato sandwiches (with a little old French-style mustard) for lunch at home.

In the afternoon, I did some work on my orchestral arrangement of Salomono Rossi's "Ein Keloheinu". I was working to improve the balance between the instruments, and it's definitely better now. I still need to tinder a little more with it, though, I think. I also positioned the instruments so that the brass are on the right and the woodwinds are on the left. This is important because they are playing the parts of 2 antiphonal choirs.

Later, I called the airline (Arkia) and booked my flights to and from Tel Aviv for the 15th.

In the evening, I headed down to Fay's house for our weekly play-reading group. I saw my bus go by just as I was going out the gate, so I walked down Argaman and caught it later on its route when it came back to Argaman. I enjoyed the group very much, as always.

I walked a total of 7.52 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 6 August 2016

Even though I went to bed quite late last night, I got up fairly early this morning and walked all the way around the big loop, taking a few photos as I went. Today's pic of the day is the view up the beautiful Nakhal Shakhamon with Harim Road in the foreground:

In the morning, I managed to get a little work done on my orchestral music. I ported my organ arrangement of Salomono Rossi's "Ein Keloheinu" over to orchestra. It was originally written for 2 antiphonal choirs. In my new arrangement, the parts of one choir are given to the brass and the other to the woodwinds. I'll still need to do a little editing on it, but it already sounds quite wonderful.

I talked to my friend in Tel Aviv around noon for about an hour. It was very enjoyable.

I had my usual eggs and rice for lunch today.

In the late afternoon, I talked with David's sister, Joyce, in Ohio. She was finally released from the hospital yesterday evening. She's feeling better, of course, but will still need oxygen at night.

I walked a total of 6.15 kilometers today, all on my morning walk, of course.

Friday, 5 August 2016

I got up early this morning and took a nice walk around the big loop, taking several pictures. On the Nakhal Garuf Promenade, I saw an access ramp that they had completed since the last time I walked by there. Its picture is today's pic of the day:

After breakfast, I quickly got all the weekly household chores done before my first lesson.

I taught 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:45-11:15 (a Swiss student who will be moving to Perth, Australia, to continue doing similar work to walk he is doing in Switzerland and for the same company) and 11:30-1:00 (2 Danish women working for a company that will be switching its language to English soon and who both already have nearly-native level English, especially the one who's married to a British guy and even has a British accent herself!).

I had 2 veggie burger and cheese sandwiches for lunch at home today.

In the afternoon, my landlord came and fixed 2 problems: water dripping from the A/C unit onto my desk (which was due to the drainage line being clogged, which he easily cleared out with a handy little hand pump) and a loose kitchen faucet (which he easily tightened by going under the sink with a couple of tools). Both my landlord and his wife, my landlady, are really nice people.

In the evening, I walked over to Bassia and David's place for a lovely Shabbat dinner and some great conversation.

I walked a total of 9.13 kilometers today.

Thursday, 4 August 2016

Having taken no pictures today, I'll just use one of yesterday's for the pic of the day, a view of one of the Shakhamon high-rises from up close:

This morning, I just felt tired, so I slept in and didn't go out for any walk at all. In fact, I was pretty much lazy the whole day.

I had a salad and quesadillas for lunch today.

After lunch, I did a little grocery shopping at the Elimelech Supermarket.

I was scheduled to teach one 2-unit Berlitz lesson, but the student only came in very briefly near the beginning and then was apparently unable to connect again, making it a de facto no-show: 3:00-4:30.

I walked a total of only half a kilometer today.

Wednesday, 3 August 2016

I woke up refreshed this morning with a stanza of a hymn from my childhood going around in my head. It goes like this:

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?

It breathes in the air; it shines in the light;

It streams from the hills; it descends to the plain,

And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

The poetry (actually based loosely on Psalm 104) is quite lovely (at least in a Victorian way), and the sentiment is a nice one. It also helped set my mood for the whole day.

Even though I got up a bit late, I went for a fairly long walk. I took a number of photos, including today's pic of the day, a view of the Shakhamon green strip in the early-morning sunlight:

After breakfast, I set myself to work and finished week 6 of my classification by doing the programming exercises and correctly completing the quiz based on them.

Recently, I have been having a problem with my A/C unit occasionally dripping water onto my desk, which is right below it. This is potentially quite bad because of the electronic computer equipment on my desk, so I put a small trash can under the drip to catch the water. The trouble is that I had been using that can to collect my paper and cardboard for recycling. So I decided to go into town and buy another one to replace it in that function. I took the bus, found one identical to it at the same shop where I had bought it, and immediately took another bus back home. The whole trip only took about 45 minutes.

I had salad and vegan shnitzel for lunch at home today.

I was mostly lazy in the early afternoon and then taught my 4 units of Berlitz lessons, back to back: 4:30-6:00 and 6:00-7:30. Both lessons were with students I hadn't taught before but who will be regulars with me, the first in Argentina and the second in Germany.

I walked a total of 4.9 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 2 August 2016

I got up a little later this morning and went out for a somewhat shorter walk but still quite long. It felt noticeably warm out, and most of the time there wasn't much of a breeze, either. I didn't take any pictures at all, partly because of the haze and partly because I returned home just before the sun rose.

I chose a photo I took yesterday morning for today's pic of the day. It's yet another picture of some lovely, mostly white bougainvillea tinged with just a bit of pink:

The WIZO meeting this morning was enjoyable, as always. We didn't have any particular topic; we just talked with whomever we wanted about whatever we liked, in smaller groups.

I had an appointment with the social worker at Maccabi today at 1:00, and I then returned home.

I ate a salad, falafel sticks, cheese, and some breadsticks for lunch at home.

I was quite lazy all afternoon and even took a short nap in my chair.

I was scheduled to teach only one 2-unit Berlitz lesson today, but it actually turned out to be a no-show (and the same group was last week, also): 7:00-8:30.

I walked a total of 7.16 kilometers today.

Monday, 1 August 2016

Since I got to bed late last night, I also got up late this morning. I still went out for a walk, though, just a shorter one. I took several pics, including today's pic of the day, the sunrise over the Jordanian mountains:

I taught only 3 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:00-9:45 and 4:30-6:00.

After my first lesson, I set to work watching the videos for week 6 of my classification course, and I finished all of them, as well as the quiz based on them. Now I just have to do the programming exercises and take the quiz related to them.

Around noon, I got a call from the optician's office. They had forgotten to measure my frames, so I needed to go over so they could do that.

While I was over in that neighborhood, I ran into a couple of my WIZO friends who were eating outside a café. I sat down and chatted with them for quite a while. Even though we were outside in the middle of a hot Eilat summer day, we were in the shade, and there was a nice breeze, so it was actually quite comfortable. This is part of what I LOVE about Eilat!

I then returned home and had a salad and quesadillas for lunch.

I talked twice today at some length with my friend in Tel Aviv, and I really enjoyed it!

I walked a total of 4.62 kilometers today.