MY PRIMITA LEORA's DRAWINGS - SUPERBE, EXTRAORDINAIRE, MAGNIFIQUE!

books, books and more books

Since my high school years, I was always attracted to intellectual types.

When serving at the IDF I met a young intellectual man that was to be my boyfriend. At the beginning we were just friends and I was attracted to his outstanding intellectual and analytical faculties. At age 22 he already had a Cum Laude BA in physics and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was studying his Master in Philosophy at Tel Aviv University. Today he is a professor who teaches in one of the most prestigious Universities of Europe.

In any case, what I want to state is that I always was attracted to man who read books… eventually my romance with this physician guy was not to last, since he decided to marry a previous girlfriend of him who also studied Philosophy… he was the one who INTRODUCED ME TO MY PRESENT HUSBAND, James, being aware of my dual attraction to handsome men who read books…

Today, after being married for almost sixteen years, the BOOKS are NO LONGER the OBJECT of my attraction, but on the contrary, a real BURDEN… not in vain, psychologists warn you about the major "qualities" that initially attract in a certain person being transformed with the passing of the years in GENUINE BURDENS.

In this video, taken by my eldest son, you can see exactly what I mean…

Painting lesson

at the beach with the medusas...

A successful MASSAGE

About two months ago, before going to a trip to Paris and knowing that upon my return, I would be starting a new job, my twin sister, Gabrielle, invited our sister in law and me to a MASSAGE.

My twin sister asked for a "simultaneous" session for the three of us, and, as well, requested a LADY THERAPIST for the session; she was told that the outmost will be done in order to get three ladies for us…

The great day came and there we were, the three female-musketeers waiting for our massage in "Namal Tel-Aviv".

Upon arrival we were told that, regretfully, one of us would have to be attended by… by… by…. A MAN !! – immediately my sister in law was discarded from this [alarming] possibility since she was the first who demanded being attended by a woman… Before I could even utter a word, my assertive [and not very courteous] twin pointed at me and declared clear and loud: "she is ready to be attended by a man !"

This "attack" took me by surprise and before I could said something, the secretary of the SPA said that he is the best therapist of the place, to which my sis declared that she changed her mind and is prepared to go for it… at this stage I decided to put my [unmassaged] foot down and stated: I WILL GO FOR THE MAN !

The male-therapist was a nice young man that seemed to be quite professional; upon entering the therapy-room he asked me what kind of massage I preferred (something like a rare, medium, done version adapted to the therapeutical arena) and I told him to do whatever he considered necessary…

The massage began and already at its first stage, I was complemented for my wonderful leg muscles… I told him that I go periodically to the gym and he said that IT SHOWS… at this stage I was still happy about my [courageous] decision to go for the male since, I must confess, that I was flattered by the comment, geee, imagine how many biceps he sees per day, he surely knows something about gymnastic-byproduct… the session progressed and now my therapist asked why did he feel that my upper back muscles where tense, to which I replied that I had a difficult time during the last months… maybe it was a mistake to detail why my muscles were tense, but from this point my semi-professional therapist was trying to engage in SMALL TALK with me, which was not quite my idea of a relaxed massage…

The 50 minutes of the massage were, all in all, a SUCCESS, he clearly knew what he was doing from a physical point of view and was able to relax all the tense muscles of my back…

When the session was over I preferred not to look into his eyes but, to my dismay, I noticed I had no small change bills for leaving him a tip, as customary … I went to get change and came back to him, handled (without looking at him) the 20 NIS bill and thanked him for the massage, to which he answered while softly squeezing my arm: NO NEED REALLY, I REALLY ENJOYED IT !!!

Cat in Montmartre Cemetery

Last month I visited Paris,

My husband could not join me, so I planned to go with a friend, but then, an attractive translation project came along, my friend could not come and, finally, I decided to go by MYSELF.

It's a kind of VIPASANA visiting a big city by yourself; you can do whatever you want all day and choose the sights and sites that you prefer to see.

This time it was the first time I was abroad since IMA died… friends have already told me that the first year of mourning is extremely difficult since there are many "first events" that you do for the first time without the loved one… indeed IT WAS difficult, the simple fact that I could not share my experiences – as I always used to – with my mother was very hard for me…

In any case, I decided to visit the famous Cemetery of Montmartre, which I found extremely peaceful and aesthetic. At a certain point a cat caught my eye since it was sitting calmly among the graves…

Of course, you cannot avoid thinking about your own death, that shall come one day and seize you from the world of the living; and, subsequently, about your present life, and whether you are living it in a worthful and meaningful manner…

Personally, I have spent nine years of my life studying philosophy, and on the past years I have been focusing in psychology and meditation techniques… I must say that, although all these studies allow you to understand that the existential issue is, in fact, the most intense and demanding quest for the thoughtful mind, yet, in order to find some meaning and peace of mind, it is imperative to find a daily meaning to our lives, which, in most cases, involves giving love and affection to other persons or living souls.

In the material modern world of today, which is full of noise and constant interruptions, I would recommend everyone to invest the time for going for a peaceful walk in a cemetery…

[This post also appears on my "oncological blog", which I started after my mother died, six months ago]

Splendid PARIS

Café Nimrod

http://www.cafenimrod.com/

During the last month I have been having breakfast every Sunday on a beautiful enchanted café in "Namal Tel-Aviv" ("namal" means port/harbor in Hebrew) called Café Nimrod. Just to remind you – I have the time for having coffee since one month ago I got a layoff notification from the high-tech company I was working in (see previous post on the subject).
The reason I came on Sundays is that it's the working day of my CLEANING LADY (who thanks g o d has not quitted the job yet as her predecessors did…).

What I am going to tell you is a very SAD ISRAELI STORY, another one of so many tragic ones that characterize this unique country of brave people who have no choice but to fight for their mere right to exist…

So… Today, for the first time, I noticed that the MENU itself was actually a dedication to a fallen IDF officer called Nimrod Segev who was killed in action on the Second Lebanon War. It quoted a letter written by the late Nimrod to his wife on the day that he was called to "miluim" (reserve duties). In this [probably last] letter, written in a highly poetic and emotive language – Nimrod relates to his beloved wife, Iris, that he received a phone call from the recruiter army officer. He tells her how weird he felt taking the kids to the KINDERGARTEN in the morning, and combating the enemy on the evening of the very same day… a reality that characterizes ONLY ONE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD - ISRAEL. In Nimrod's own words: "I am a high-tech engineer from Ramat Gan (he worked in Microsoft-Israel) that took his children to the KINDERGARTEN in the morning and combats the enemy in the evening of the same day, but, nevertheless, I do it willingly in order to maintain my peace of mind".

As his brother, Ehud Segev, tell us, Nimrod's tank was demolished by a direct Hezbolla missile, his wife received the tragic notice of his death in "tu be av" the Hebrew Valentine's day…The coffee house was founded in his memorial by his good friend and his only brother, as a TRIBUTE to Nimrod's LOVE for LIFE . Yehi zichro baruch.

GIANT FISH

Layoff notification

The original purpose of this blog was to: a) write about the problems and dilemmas that are facing modern Israeli women of today; b) write and English blog that will be read by my English speaking relatives abroad (in addition to my Spanish blogs :) ; c) self-check my English writing skills (due to the fact that till the present day I have defined English as a passive language and not an active one). ).

Yet, I have found comfort and solace writing about my experiences on the young Tel-Aviv arena of dating and nightclubbing…

Being a woman at her late thirties, I already know that life is full of surprises and unexpected events… less than two months ago 39% of our company's shares were bought by new shareholders… a big announcement was made, there was a BIG party with a famous Israeli band and lots of dancing, good energies and hopes were spread around, and then, all of a sudden about 8 employees were dismissed to their homes…. Me among them (the SEO team was dismissed and its services will be performed by an outsourcing company that belongs to one of the new shareholders…)

It is NOT NICE to get a layoff notification, not nice at all, but I guess this is one of the aspects of the High Tech arena…

Maybe my future posts will be about my interviews…

flowers for everybody

Dead Sea - January 2008

This picture was taken today at the DEAD SEA