people say she’s crazy…

- The toilet paper in our hotel has puppies embossed on it. Also it is just shy of a grown-up sized roll, width-wise. It is actually quite adorable.

- Tonight on our way to the Western Wall, we witnessed the most intense catfight I have ever seen, and I mean catfight as in fight among cats, not two Orthodox women pulling off each other’s wigs over the price of a falafel sandwich. It was the loudest, mangiest thing I have ever seen, two black-and-white cats against an orange tabby, and it was a sight to behold. Ah, the Old City! Land of the Angry Felines! How do you say that in Hebrew?

- When we got to the Western Wall, just after I took a photo of it, I realized my cell phone was ringing. It costs me $2.49/min to talk AND $2.49/min even if you just leave me a rambly voicemail I don’t listen to (so don’t call me), but I can get texts for free. Except I haven’t gotten any texts since I’ve been here, despite the fact that JC had emailed to say he had texted and the fact that Twitter texts me all the damn time. This has caused some disappointment. Anyway, we’re approaching the wall and my phone goes crazy. I take it out, and lo: 48 hours worth of texts, delivered in one foul swoop. It felt good to connect to the outside world.

- Also it’s not weird to be texting at the wall. There are Orthodox men like, smoking and texting all over the place. Not, obviously, AT the wall, but, you know, in the plaza in front of it. Activities are pretty focused AT the wall. The women are neither smoking nor texting, as they need both hands to manage all of the babies.

-  Offensively bad puns of the day: “Theodore Hertzl’s daughter and grandson took their own lives. Or, committed Jewicide.” “Yad Vashem has a Hall of Remembrance? Our hotel has a Hall of Refrigeration.”