Twas the night before new year...

I've been in Jerusalem for 24 hours or so... i went to the old city twice, once last night and once today... i can tell you that visiting the wall at night is absolutely, besides friday, the best time to see it as you avoid all the shit bags that come shake your hand, ask you if you're married, say a blessing for your well being and then ask for money, without having released your hands. they ask out of the goodness of their bearded pesa wearing hearts and if you look at their italian leather shoes your heart will melt with sorrow and compassion for these men of the wall, roaming for the goodness of jerusalem's poor. yeah... poor my ass... the old city during the day really irritated me. it was good to see the muslim quarter alive, its very lively there, dirty, bustling, crazy, noisey, but the liveliness was welcome. the difference between the jewish and muslim quarters is stunning, you will notice the poverty in the latter immediately. you definately feel off walking around there, but the food in the muslim quarter is amazing... absolutely amazing, had this dish made with goat chese, fried and in a sweet sauce with pistachio, definite artery clogger, but i could've eaten several orders of it and still wanted more. the dish is syrian, i hear the lebonese make the same thing, but its completely different from this syrian version we had. if you're wondering why my typing seems a little off its because i'm on oren's keyboard which is a bit funky, it has the slash key in a strange place and rather than struggle with caps, it's easier for me to barrel through this without... and here i must give a nod to my good friend grady_love a.k.a. john, he took me to the airport, the good irish man that he is... and he never capitlizes anything so i'll attribute my lack of caps to this trail blazer.

there are so many stories and observations i'd like to write down but time is nigh, oren just popped out of the shower and the night calls. the phone has been ringing off the hook with invitations for parties and celebrations to mark the new year. i do believe we're heading to someone's house first and then a club, an underground party, old school really, directions are kept secret until it happens... ilya, do you remember the good old days of raving in frisco with map points and crazy drives into the muir woods looking for the secret grove filled with satyrs and nymphs engaging in a bachic rite? well, maybe that's going a bit far, but it sounds like a hoot... so updates about my trip to caesaria, haifa, netanya and the bizarre place that is jerusalem will have to wait until, perhaps, i get back to tel aviv on tuesday and back onto erez's wireless where i have oodles of photos to upload... in the mean time.. l'shana tova... may old blah blah be forgot as the song goes... peace and brotherhood to all... and to all a good night...

health, wealth and happiness (in any order you wish)...

liebe,
-L

p.s. mom, the red string thing is a total scam... complete and utter, pisses me off like nothing else... not bringing them back, i'm morally opposed to them at this point. the money is collected by the ultra orthodox, for who, the needy, the poor? last i checked those fur hats and long silk coats aren't cheap... i refuse to contribute to the ones that refuse to serve in the army and seem more a blight than a blessing... and where in the bible does it say to wear a red string as a sign of a blessing, hm? no red strings for you... love ya ma!