weekend in Haifa

My weekend was relatively uneventful since I stayed in Haifa and caught up on work and sleep. On Friday night I went to services at a Reform synagogue called Or Hadash (i.e. New Light), then out to dinner and to a bar with friends. On Saturday I went for a run in the park and felt my heart leap to my throat when I noticed that the young boy I passed was playing with a gun. I realize the gun must have been a toy (really, it must have been a toy, right?), but I question the judgment of any parent who would allow a little boy to run around with such a realistic-looking firearm. I mean, the Middle East has plenty of real weapons; I see no need to add fake ones to the equation.

Today I went to a local hospital to take a physical fitness test, which is a required procedure for anyone who intends to play a team sport. The doctor I met was from Uruguay, so we spoke in some combination of rudimentary Spanish and English. The fitness test turned out to be a treadmill-based endurance test. During the test my thorax was decorated with a handful of sticky electrodes that were hooked up to a loud, beeping monitor. I guess my heart passed the test since the technician said something in Hebrew and then sent me on my way.

As I returned home in the dark, one of my feline nemeses slipped through my legs and into the suite. Unfortunately this occurs with some regularity, and it usually takes me several minutes of prodding to get the cat out. But I simply could not convince this one to leave without risking bodily injury to myself, so I had to sacrifice a rather expensive can of tuna to lure him out onto the patio. The same cat sits outside and hisses so loudly some nights that I am unable to sleep. I guess I am no longer the indiscriminating animal-lover that I used to be.