Allergies

I have developed allergies. Poop.

I do not know to what exactly I am allergic. All I know is that my eyes are watery and itchy, my throat is clogged and uncomfortable, and my nose is sore and runny. If these symptoms sounds familiar to you, my sincere condolences.

I woke up this morning all cloggy and gross, but not a "I'm so getting a cold" gross, a different kind of gross. Yesterday my eyes had been red and itchy, and this morning was the same. So I took some antihistamines and decided to go in to work.

I have been so lackadaisical at work today, just filing and trying not to fall asleep. Ian and I have been bonding over boring office work, you know, the usual filing and data inputting and staring at a screen for so long you're afraid you'll be cross-eyed forever. I've had to keep my D&G shades on inside because the computer screen is way too bright to look at. It's been an interesting fashion statement apparently - everybody walks by me in the office, and it's always a "Wow, are you trying to make some sort of statement?" Yes. Yes, I am. My statement is that I am itchy and uncomfortable, so make fun of me at your own peril.

But Shila and Parwaneh have both told me that I should wash my eyes out with tea to feel better. Um, what? Isn't tea an astringent? Do I really want that cleansing my eyeballs? Apparently it's an old Persian remedy, so I'm waiting for the tea to cool off enough that I can pour it into my eyesockets without searing them. I'll let you know the results...

.....................

Alrighty, it's half an hour later, and I have garnered some valuable insights:
1. Try to find an actual eye wash station. It's much easier than pouring tea into your eye with a spoon.
2. If you're going to try the spoon manuever, make sure to be careful not to actually jab yourself in the eye with the spoon. It sort of defeats the purpose of helping your eyes when you accidentally blind yourself.
3. Make sure the tea is tepid. NOT HOT. This is extremely important. Again, you don't want to accidentally blind yourself by scalding your eyeballs.
4. Take your shirt off. You think I'm kidding, but who wants to try and explain why you have tea stains on your shoulders and collar afterwards?

All joking aside, my eyes really do feel quite a bit better now. I must have washed out all the offending materials. But I'm still going to leave the shades on. Now they're a fashion statement.
Like I always say, "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!"

A Farewell Tea Party

We had a small "office" farewell tea party for Matine on Wednesday morning of last week. It was very nice; we ate in the garden area behind the House of the Master where the Custodians live. We always try to arrange a little something for any staff who are leaving the department. Matine was REALLY surprised because he had only worked with us for two months.
Hey, everyone in the family is special....




Here's the gift we presented him with - a beautiful matted photo of the House of the Master from the 1920's (before all the renovations). Very cool!

Just a Day in the Life of Me

Today was so ridiculous, I have to give you a rundown of what happened. This was one of those days where you just have to laugh at the absurdity of it all or else you'll start crying hysterically and never stop.

7:00 am - Wake up and get ready for work.
7:50 am - Wait at bus stop for 7:55 bus.
8:10 am - Still waiting at bus stop for 7:55 bus. I meet up with Nagmeh from Personnel, and we decide to catch a taxi down to work. AS SOON as we decide that, THREE buses show up one behind the other. Sheesh.
8:20 am - Arrive at work. Parwaneh tells me I need to drive a bunch of carpets to the Seat roof where they are going to be sunned and cleaned. Cool. I have to drive through the Hatzionut gate down to the Pilgrim House, and I need to call Dispatch to unlock the gate for me. Daniel and I head to the gate and drive in. We load up all the carpets, careful to be out of there by 9:00 for the public tours to start.
9:45 am - Drive back to the office after dropping off the carpets at the Seat roof. Try and get some work done. Don't succeed particularly well.
11:30 am - Have to head up to the lunchroom for a production staff meeting regarding the Ihtifal play this upcoming month. Amelia calls to say she'll be late, so by the time she arrives, we end up only having about a twenty minute meeting before she has to head back to her office.
1:00 pm - Return to the office and try to finish some filing. Doesn't work; I keep getting interrupted. Matine and Kiv stop by to show me their new tattoos, and then Ian stops by for awhile before heading off to laminate things. Laminating...fun times...
2:00 pm - Parwaneh tells me I need to pick Synnove up at the Shrine of Baha'u'llah tonight after she's finished closing it, since she's been out there for the past ten days and needs to bring all her stuff home tonight. Which means that I have to drive out after Mr. Dunbar's class finishes at 9:00. Ok, this is going to be a long day...
4:00 pm - Call David, who's up with the carpets, to see if they can be picked up yet. I have another production meeting to get to at 5:40, and then Tai Chi at 6:00, so my schedule's a little tight. Turns out they're running a little late as well, so I can't go up to get the carpets until about 4:45.
4:45 pm - I pick up the finished carpets and head back down to the Pilgrim House. Before I go, I notice the rear tire of the car is almost completely flat, so I have to get it filled with air NOW if I'm supposed to drive to Akka tonight; I have no idea how late the gas stations are open here.
5:25 pm - I'm at the gas station panicking, because it turns out not only was there no air in the tires but there was also no oil or coolant in the engine, and we're out of washer fluid. While I'm still there, Parwaneh calls my cell to let me know I need to go back to the Seat and pick up the last remaining carpets and bring them back down. Yikes! I fill up the air in the tire, but I can't replace the oil myself so the gas station attendant is fixing the engine while I call Amelia in a frenzy and tell her I won't make either the meeting or the Tai Chi class. Frustration is totally setting in right about now...
6:00 pm - I'm back at the Seat getting the last of the carpets. I'm a little nervous about the tire, but we can watch it over the next few days to make sure it's not a permanent problem. David can't fit in the car with me on the way down, so I have the move the last carpets into the Pilgrim House myself. No problem except, when I'm leaving, I catch my arm on the doorhandle and wrench it pretty badly. That's going to leave a mark...
6:20 pm - Take a ten minute power nap in the parking lot.
6:30 pm - Race home to hop in and out of the shower and inhale some dinner quickly before Mr. Dunbar's class at 7:30.
7:15 pm - Find a parking spot down by Hagefen St. and sprint over to class. I'm desperately hoping there's a seat left in the front row, because if I sit in the back I know I'm going to doze off, and I don't want to start snoring.
9:00 pm - Dash out of class and hop in the car to quickly make my way out to Akka. I bring my ipod with me to listen to in the car in case I can't find a good music station on the radio, but I find a fantastic jazz program that mellows me right out. Until I hit the construction midway to Akka. Good Lord, I'm not supposed to relax today apparently. I put my ipod in and listen to upbeat 80's hits to put me in a better mood, and the traffic slowly clears up. There's nothing quite like belting out Aha's Take On Me at the top of your lungs to make you feel a whole lot better about life in general.
9:45 pm - Get to the Shrine and call Dispatch to let me in at the gate. It's actually pretty eerie driving through the property at night - I can't seem to keep the highbeams on; I have to manually hold the button down so I don't veer off the back road and into the olive grove. Finally I get to the Shrine and there are NO lights on the path; thank goodness I have a flashlight on my keychain, otherwise I would have had to use my cellphone as a light. But I soon meet up with one of the security guards on duty and feel much better.
10:00 pm - We grab Synnove's stuff and hop back into the car. At this point I'm so deliriously tired I'm babbling all the way back to Haifa. But we make it back intact and I drive to Hameganim to drop her off at home.
10:45 pm - Ok, turns out there was a soccer game tonight, and it's just letting out now. The road is absolutely jammed with cars and soccer nuts who are hopping back and forth between traffic. Just what I need in the middle of the night, to run over some crazy pedestrian. So we inch through the congestion for 15 minutes and finally make it around the roundabout to get to the other side of Hameganim and Synnove's flat.
11:00 pm - I am about to pass out at this point, but I turn the jazz station back on and drive up Ben Gurion Ave to take a look at the Terraces at night. The moon is absolutely enormous tonight, and driving up towards God's Holy Mountain, I feel an incredible sense of peace and well-being. It almost makes the day totally worth it.

Summer Cleaning

It's that time of year - the heat is oppressive, the sun is shining at full magnitude, and dust particulates in the air are at a minimum. It's time for summer cleaning!

During August and September, and into part of October, the Department of Holy Places takes advantage of the fact that there are no pilgrims in the Holy Land and does a thorough deep clean of all the Holy Places under our jurisdiction. It's pretty cool to think about what an amazing opportunity we have to take care of the places and relics that are such an integral part of the history of the Baha'i Faith. Even if that means cleaning a candelabra with a toothbrush for three days, everyone is so devoted to their service that it makes no difference what needs to be done.

I've been mostly in the office fielding phone calls and general office-ness, but occasionally I've been asked to chauffer people around while the carpets are being shuttled back and forth to be cleaned. It's a nice change of scenery to be out of the office once in a while, even if it is just for an hour or so.

Only problem - SO HOT AND STICKY!! Plus, where we happen to be sunning the carpets is on white marble rooftop. It's so ridiculously bright out there, I don't understand how the guys haven't gone blind yet. I almost wish I had snowboarding goggles to put on out there, it's that bright - it's like snowblindness. (Man, now I miss Canada and all that snow...)

This must be what it's like for all the gardeners out in the gardens every single day. I think I feel their pain now. I really feel for the CMD Floor Crew too; they're now doing the pressure washing of all the roofs and walls of the Arc buildings and they're out there every single day getting sunburnt and soaking wet. But, to tell you the truth, I'm sort of jealous because I want to use the pressure washers; they're so much fun to use! I think I'm going to volunteer to help the crew clean the roofs next year.

Anyhoo, I get to go up again this evening and pile all the carpets back into the car for the ride down to their homes. Sometimes this job really does have its perks.

Family ties

It was my sister's birthday yesterday, and I was FINALLY able to catch her at home on the phone! She just turned 23; where did the time go? I can't even describe how nice it was to talk to her and hear her voice; it's been really difficult being here without my best friend. :(

I also got to talk with Dad, which was really cool because he's hardly ever home either; he's usually out in the garden all day or working on the myraid rental properties he owns. It was very adorable - he kept grilling me about my job and whether or not I have a boyfriend. When I mentioned I might have someone in mind, he started giving me boy advice (which he has NEVER done before, except to say that I can't get married until I'm thirty, so it was pretty unexpected). Here's what Dad had to say about boys:

1. I should just be myself and they'll come flocking (hasn't worked so far)
2. They are proud and generally stubborn
3. They are actually shy
4. They are usually pretty oblivious (hell yes they are!)
5. Most of them like girls to make the first move (uh, what?)

I like the last one; who knew? I would totally make the first move, but generally I'm afraid of stepping on male ego. No one wants to feel the possible sting of rejection either - I guess neither sex has it any easier than the other. Dads are such a great resource, eh?

I was so glad to talk to Dad and Jaleh, but now I'm sad that I can't be there to celebrate with them. It's definitely one of my most difficult tests here to be so far away from my family with whom I am extremely close.

Today I'm going to try and get a hold of Mom; it's been too long since we've talked, and I'm sure she's come up with about a gajillion new poems for me to hear!

It's all Greek to me...

It's been several months since I arrived here in Israel, and I realised that I haven't posted any of the pictures I took during my stopover in Greece.

I met a very lovely older lady on the plane who took me under her wing when we arrived in Athens Airport. She was very sweet and we bonded on the bus that took us to the hotel that we were to stay at until our flights left later that night. We were given lunch and dinner there, as well as our own rooms and - thank GOD - showers!

Since I had several hours to kill until my flight late that night, I got directions from the concierge and made my way on the public transit line into downtown Athens.

The view from the airport

Driving along the road to Athens

My first glimpse of the Parthenon

An amazing view of the amphitheatre and surrounding area

The ruins of the Parthenon - spectacular!

Ooooooo, downtown Athens from above!

I met some students from Washington and they took my picture.

Looking back from whence I came...

Friday Night's Alright

Had a great Friday night tonight. It was a Serving the Divine Plan talk evening, so one of the Institute members gave a talk - Dr. Javaheri spoke about the protection of the Baha'i Faith, both from internal and external forces.

It was a very inspiring talk about how we should be constantly vigilant in our faith, with our morality and rectitude of conduct unquestionable. We need to always be excellent examples of patience, virtue, and love. There was a lot of historical talk as well, but I can't recall it all here.

After the talk, I had one of my first "girls' night only" evenings here! So much fun! Kat and I went to Kara and Anjali's flat, where there was popcorn, homemade muffins, and a whole lot of sweet girls and sweet conversation. To wind the evening down, Chantelle pulled out her short films from drama school back in New Zealand. Very fun; my favourite was the one depicting Purgatory as a hospital emergency room, complete with slutty nurse, kooky guidance counsellor, and a whole lot of dead people not realising they're dead. It was really good!

I should definitely make an effort to hang out with the girls more often. It takes a lot of energy to be around that much estrogen; it's a good thing I'm up to the task. I guess I'm more used to hanging out with my 2nd November boys, which is a lot of testosterone to deal with as well, but I know how to hold my own with those guys - it's mostly a matter of letting John think he's won an argument and then zinging him later. Good times.

I need to go to bed now - tomorrow morning's the Divine Plan seminars, so I should be well rested. Plus, I'm going to finish the rest of the Dune saga with the boys tomorrow. Yay!