Zombification of Michael
September 24th, 2011
Our neighbor's truck, as seen from our balcony.
Saturday, 12:01 AM
MEEOOWWW! HISS! SCREECH!
Rumble among the feral cats gathered below our balcony. Resolution of the conflict requires some time.
Saturday, 2:30 AM
BRAKES SCREECH! LID BANG! SHRILL WHISTLE! BACK-UP BEEPING! YELL TO MOVE TO NEXT DUMPSTER!
Trash collectors do their work at night in Nicosia. They reveal their exuberance.
Saturday, 3:00 AM
RRRROOOOAAAAARRRR!!!!!
Motorcycle race down Andreas Demetriou Street (in front of CAARI). Young men try to hit 100 by the end of the block.
Saturday, 3:30 AM
RRRROOOOAAAAARRRR!!!!!
Re-run of the motorcycle race down Andreas Demetriou.
Saturday, 5:30 AM
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! RUUUMMMBBBLLLE!
The neighbor begins his workday, hammering scrap metal in the back of his truck. Then he starts the engine and lets it idle. Yells Goodbye to his wife.
Saturday, 6:00 AM
MEEOOWWW! HISS! SCREECH!
Rumble among the six cats that live at the house below our bathroom window.
Saturday, 6:30 AM
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! YELL! YELL! YELL! YELL! RUUUMMMBBBLLLE! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Workers at the construction site behind CAARI are getting started on their work—hammering metal, shouting back and forth to each other, starting up the large crane they use and beginning to back up the machine, producing a very loud BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Saturday, 6:45 AM
We give up even pretending that we might go back to sleep. Oh, well, we need to go to the market by the old Venetian wall to get produce before the day gets too hot.
I notice lately that I have difficulty concentrating on my work. Maybe it is my age. I just don’t seem to have my normal energy level. Perhaps it is a dietary deficiency. Maybe I should go see a Cypriot doctor to help me figure out why I am often tired since coming to Nicosia.
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
September 26th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
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September 27th, 2011 at 5:21 am
Hi Mike,
So . . . you’ve written about the hot weather in Cyprus . . . Is it humid as well? We’ve had unusual humidity here in Portland, and there have been many comments from many different people about how the humidity just drains the energy right out of a person. Could that be a factor? Is the weather cooling off a bit more as the seasons change? Maybe there’s hope!
GinnyGinnyGinny
September 27th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
How did I miss this blog? I guess it was while I was away.
As usual, you are really hard on yourself. Remember that you have moved FROM a quiet (notice I listed quiet first), cool, rural setting, with everything you need almost at your finger tips, FROM a pool nearby to help you refresh your mind and energy level, FROM your buddies who speak the same language to laugh and talk with as they join you for a kayak adventure, and FROM familiar foods and flavors to satisfy your hungers TO a steamy hot, noisy, cramped apartment, where sights, sounds, and language are unfamiliar. Exciting as this is, it also produces stress! And stress zaps one’s energy and stamina!
You, maybe more than some I know, need sleep to reduce stress, and you can’t even get that!
Besides every birthday makes us take change with less grace!
Sorry, I couldn’t resist throwing that in since I have had so many birthdays! ):
I’m praying adrenelin from the unusual willpump energy into your being!
September 27th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Wow. All that noise on a Saturday? Hopefully Sunday will bring some quiet – or maybe you need another snorkeling trip???
January 11th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Very entertaining. We love Cyprus and cannot wait to get back to our apartment there later this year.