You Give Me Fever

Anyone still out there? Sorry to have disappeared from blogland without a trace. Despite their best efforts, it wasn’t those commenting trolls from the last post who got my tongue. No, that role was admirably filled by the nastiest and most debilitating bout of the 'flu to have come my way in a good few years: Had to take several days off work, and everything. (So nb if I left a comment on your blog last week and it didn’t make any sense, well, that was why.)

Slowly now getting back into the daily grind at my jobs with lots of work piling up, me feeling guilty about having the audacity to have been ill while there is still a world to be saved, and all the while everyone keeps telling me how pale I look. Encouraging! But I think I’d actually have gone crazy staying at home for any longer- did I miss the “street”! That said, there was something vaguely comforting about having my worldview shaped for almost a week solely by internet news sites, blogs, Sky News and “London and Kirschenbaum” (a local current affairs show- Non-Israelis, think Newsnight on acid, hosted by two jocular grandpa types, with a side serving of impressive, dashing correspondents: alas I’m not culturally versed enough to provide a helpful comparison here with any countries other than Britain. But you get the picture) - such a diet of media fodder didn't require me to do any thinking of my own, which was just as well, because my brain wasn't really working.

Indeed, when not being cheered up the by the welcome presence of more visitors than I've seen in my flat all year (each of whom adhered very religiously to the strict “Flu = Fluids” principle and came bearing all manner of soup and related accessories- thanks, lovely folks!) the television made most amusing background noise. To the extent that I finally reached the point of cable overdose: wherein my medication wore off in time to catch the third screening of the same program on one day, I started wondering if I needed to move into the “Starting Over” House myself. I think that may have been the moment I began to will the various remedies (herbal and chemical) to actually work, as opposed to dutifully swallowing them while subconsciously enjoying the brief respite from my crazy life.

Unfortunately, even while high on the mad mix of pills, I still didn’t come up with any groundbreaking solutions to the regional conflict, despite mournfully staring at painful images from Bet Hanun, Sderot and the rest of the world which is none too cheery. The only conclusion I can draw at this time is that all involved leaders probably wouldn't be harmed by a few days on their respective sofas recuperating, vaguely introspecting and eating soup. I would however advise them to keep their reality TV intake to a minimum.

- Like I said, still buzzing from all the drugs. Soon I’ll start making sense again. Until that day, keep passing the come-down Strepsils.