Friday, 7 October 2016

I got up a little late this morning but still went out for a walk for about an hour, stopping to buy challah before returning home. I also took several pictures, including today's pic of the day, a bee going about her business in a flower:

I taught only 2 units of Berlitz today: 11:45-1:15.

I had half a yellow bell pepper, a cucumber, a tomato, weenies wrapped in tortillas, and 4 cookies for lunch.

I generally had quite a bit of trouble getting motivated today, but, in the end, I did manage to get the weekly chores done.

As the day came to a close, I lit candles, drank a little sweet red wine, and ate some challah to welcome Shabbat Shuva, the Shabbat of Return.

Then I went for another walk, stopping several times to rest, think, and enjoy the evening.

I walked a total of 7.4 kilometers.

For Shabbat Shuva, I leave you with this quote from the High Holy Day prayers, noting that it is very near the BEGINNING, before we have really even made our requests for pardon and forgiveness:

ויאמר יי סלחתי כדברך

And the Eternal said, "I have forgiven as you requested."

Thursday, 6 October 2016

I had a little trouble going to sleep last night, but I still got to sleep pretty early. Nevertheless, I slept late and didn't go out for a morning walk at all.

I taught only 4 units of Berlitz lessons today: 9:15-11:30 and 2:45-3:30.

I did more work on my symphony today, and the first movement's basically in shape now. It's time to let it rest. I think I'll now start working on the second movement. Getting started will be the hard part, but at least I do have some vague ideas of what I want to do.

I had half a yellow bell pepper, a cucumber, 2 tomato and cheese sandwiches, and some Moroccan-style cookies for lunch.

In the early evening, I went out for a wonderful long walk around the big loop, extended a little. I took 14 photos along the way, including today's pic of the day, a view across Nakhal Garuf to the hills on the other side with the moon up in the left corner, shortly after sunset:

I walked a total of 6.3 kilometers today.

Wednesday, 5 October 2016

I got up very early this morning after sleeping really well, and I went for a walk around the full big loop plus an extension or two. I only took a couple of pictures, but one of them is today's pic of the day, a beautiful red lily by the highway 12 kikar:

I was scheduled to teach 5 units of Berlitz lessons today, but two 2-unit lessons were both no-shows, so I actually only taught 1 unit (I get paid for all 5, though): 9:15-10:00, 3:30-5:00, and 6:00-7:30.

I walked over to the Shufersal on Y'rushalayim HaShlema to do a little shopping (and get a little more exercise) after my morning lesson. They didn't have the pita that I was hoping to find (they often don't have it, even at the big Shufersal), but I bought a few other items.

I got quite a bit of work done on my symphony today. I completely rearranged the orchestra into a rather unconventional seating arrangement, but it definitely improved the separation of the various sounds. I put the woodwinds on the extreme left, the string on the extreme right, and the brass in the center. I'm very pleased with the results. I also continued editing levels of various instruments to improve the balance and make sure that parts are heard the way they should be.

I had a tomato, a cucumber, a vegetarian shnitzel, a some cookies for lunch at home.

I walked a total of 8.8 kilometers today.

Tuesday, 4 October 2016

I got to bed early, slept well, but still got up late this morning. Nevertheless, I still went for a walk around the big loop. I took a lot of pictures, mostly of flowers. I also got a very special treat. When I was nearly back home, there were some people high up on the peak of a hill near Harim Road and the outdoor gym who were blowing a shofar! I could barely see the people, but I could hear the sound, loud and clear.

I spent quite a bit of time today working on my symphony. I adjusted attack speeds and volumes, and and I played around with the locations of the instruments and the size of the room.

For lunch, I had lettuce and tomato salad and weenie sandwiches with ketchup.

In the evening, I went for another walk on a route partly similar to the big loop and of nearly the same length. Again, I took a lot of pictures, including today's pic of the day, a view of an airplane coming in over the Red Sea to land at our airport, taken from a hill behind the hospital:

I walked a total of 10.9 kilometers today.

Monday, 3 October 2016 - Rosh HaShana 5777

I got up late this morning since I didn't get to bed until after midnight last night. So, of course, I didn't go out for a walk.

I was lazy quite a bit today, but I did spend time at several different points editing my symphony. I'm doing it carefully, and the results are worth it.

I had tomato and lettuce sandwiches (with old-style mustard) and beans and weenies for lunch.

In the late afternoon, after the sun had gone behind the mountains, I went out for a short walk. It was still too hot to walk very far, there was NO wind at all, and I didn't feel very energetic. At least I got out for a little bit and took today's pic of the day, a lovely view in Canada Gardens:

In the evening, I had some popcorn, somthing I hadn't eaten for quite some time.

I walked a total of only 1.1 kilometers today.

Sunday, 2 October 2016

I slept well, got up early, and took a nice walk around the big loop this morning. I took a couple of pictures, the first of which is today's pic of the day, a view of Haggai Road, the Red Sea, the pergola at the highway 12 kikar, and Aqaba, all several minutes before sunrise:

After breakfast, I walked down to the pet shop in town to get a mouse for Goldfinger. I rode the bus back home, though.

I did quite a bit of work on my symphony today. I'm going through it very carefully, adjusting attack speeds, volume controls, and other parameters, and even making some changes to the instrumentation. It's beginning to sound nicer, which is motivating me to keep working on it. It's also like a little window into the musical "me" of 40 years ago, different but quite recognizable.

I did a little grocery shopping at the Elimelech Supermarket. Then I had a salad, cheese and tomato sandwiches, and a few cookies for lunch.

I had signed up with an organization called Keep Olim in Israel to be matched for a Rosh HaShana dinner, and so that's how I ended up having a wonderful holiday meal with a BIG Israeli family. I didn't even try to keep track of how they were all related, but they were very nice people, and I had some great conversation with some of them (in English). I sat next to Jerry, another guy from California whom I had met previously but didn't actually know very well. Then, the couple that we were talking with offered both of us a ride home, saving me from having to walk.

I walked a total of 10 kilometers today.

Shabbat, 1 October 2016

I slept well last night, got up early this morning, and went for a nice long week. It wasn't the big loop, but it was another loop of about the same length. I walked down Argaman to Khativat HaNegev, up Ein Yahav to Sheshet HaYamim, up Dvora HaNvia to Harim, and down Zaharon to get back home. I took several pictures along the way, including today's pic of the day, the blossoms of the acacia tree (at least I think that's what it's called):

I had my traditional Shabbat lunch: a salad, and eggs and rice with added garlic powder and seeds.

I was pretty lazy for much of the day, but I did make a little progress editing the first movement of my symphony. In particular, it sounds much better after I added the reverb.

In the late afternoon, I talked with David's sister in Ohio, who is doing quite well now.

In the evening, I went out for another walk for about an hour, taking a couple more pictures.

I walked a total of 9.8 kilometers today.