- I have been sick
- I am better now
- But I still sound like a drag queen
- Work is crazy - busy ghostwriting a book for a client on a crazy deadline
- Angel and Neel's wedding was DIVINE (and possibly the biggest blogging community event / Tweet-up in the country)
- Bloggers are always an interesting bunch to hang out with IRL
- We are (belatedly) celebrating my gran's 80th birthday with the family on Sunday
- We have had no water today
- Am craving a bath
- I'm very behind on blog-reading and will attempt to catch up soonest.
Monday, 26 July 2010
(very) brief update
In bullet format:
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Writing this from my bed
Don't be too jealous. I have confined myself to bed to try to get better before I really get sick. I have a horrid sore throat, throbbing headache and blocked ears, so it's lots of Med-Lemon for me, a scarf around my neck and an afternoon of trying not to let the laptop overheat on the bed covers while I work.
Seems to be working so far. Orange Strepsils (brand of throat lozenges) are awesome. So are lazy cats who keep me company and leftovers from last night's oxtail stew. Yum!
Less awesome is the fact that work needs to be done and I can't just spend the afternoon sleeping the sickness away.
It also feels a bit weird to be in bed without requiring a doctor's note for the boss. I almost feel guilty for not having permission to be sick ;-)
Seems to be working so far. Orange Strepsils (brand of throat lozenges) are awesome. So are lazy cats who keep me company and leftovers from last night's oxtail stew. Yum!
Less awesome is the fact that work needs to be done and I can't just spend the afternoon sleeping the sickness away.
It also feels a bit weird to be in bed without requiring a doctor's note for the boss. I almost feel guilty for not having permission to be sick ;-)
Monday, 19 July 2010
Realisation and a recipe
You know what I realised last night?
I don't get that heavy Sunday afternoon depression anymore because I don't have to face the PR job on the Monday morning. That's a very cool little piece of enlightenment for me.
It helps especially on weekends that have been really hectic and that just fly by, like this one. We had friends over for supper on Friday night, then another load of people to watch the (so-called) rugby on Saturday morning with a braai afterwards (which meant two sets of catering within the space of 24 hours). On Sunday we saw my folks for breakfast and then had a church meeting at lunch and then we were on duty at church from 5pm and did coffee with friends after that.
So much for a chilled first weekend without hosting World Cup guests!
When things are busy, it's funny how there are always precious little "ordinary" moments that stand out as highlights... sharing jokes with my parents, seeing everyone enjoying both puddings I made for Fri and Sat (chilled lemon cheesecake and chocolate marshmallow tart), watching a brilliant episode of Hustle with TSC and even realising that the lettuce from my garden tastes infinitely better than the lettuce from the supermarket (especially seeing all my lettuce-growing attempts before this have been dismal failures). I love little things like that.
Here's the recipe for the chocolate marshmallow tart. I think it originally came off the back of a Romany Creams box, but I lost the actual recipe years ago and now make up my version from memory...
Chocolate marshmallow goodness:
Yum!
I don't get that heavy Sunday afternoon depression anymore because I don't have to face the PR job on the Monday morning. That's a very cool little piece of enlightenment for me.
It helps especially on weekends that have been really hectic and that just fly by, like this one. We had friends over for supper on Friday night, then another load of people to watch the (so-called) rugby on Saturday morning with a braai afterwards (which meant two sets of catering within the space of 24 hours). On Sunday we saw my folks for breakfast and then had a church meeting at lunch and then we were on duty at church from 5pm and did coffee with friends after that.
So much for a chilled first weekend without hosting World Cup guests!
When things are busy, it's funny how there are always precious little "ordinary" moments that stand out as highlights... sharing jokes with my parents, seeing everyone enjoying both puddings I made for Fri and Sat (chilled lemon cheesecake and chocolate marshmallow tart), watching a brilliant episode of Hustle with TSC and even realising that the lettuce from my garden tastes infinitely better than the lettuce from the supermarket (especially seeing all my lettuce-growing attempts before this have been dismal failures). I love little things like that.
Here's the recipe for the chocolate marshmallow tart. I think it originally came off the back of a Romany Creams box, but I lost the actual recipe years ago and now make up my version from memory...
Chocolate marshmallow goodness:
- 1 packet Romany Creams or similar biscuits
- 250 ml cream
- 1 packet marshmallows
- 75g melted butter
- 200g milk chocolate
Yum!
Friday, 16 July 2010
Go away, winter
Sorry, DBAWIW, but this is indeed going to be a long weather ramble to the tune of "Jissis, it's cold!"
I'm so over this cold. At the moment I am sitting at my computer with my hot beanie thing on my lap with my cat sitting on top of it. This makes typing really difficult. Normally I would type for a bit, then warm my freezing fingers on the beanie and then type some more. Now it's become a delicate balancing act of trying to get my fingers to the beanie under the sleeping cat, who is starting to cut off blood supply to my legs. As Momcat wrote the other day, "I'm not just a glorified cat pillow!"
*Sigh*
I really am over the cold. I once wrote a post about things I like about winter, which was a concerted effort to find good things about the cold season. I read it this morning to remind myself of those things. But I am tired of winter now. Bring on spring!
I think the cold surprised a lot of our World Cup guests, who were expecting to find sunny South Africa nice and hot. In fact, one of our guests (from New York), said that her low point of her month in SA was the cold. New York may get far colder than Joburg, but The Big Apple is also far more prepared for that cold.
Ok, enough moaning. I am going to chuck the cat off my lap now and make myself a mug of tea to warm my hands.
I'm so over this cold. At the moment I am sitting at my computer with my hot beanie thing on my lap with my cat sitting on top of it. This makes typing really difficult. Normally I would type for a bit, then warm my freezing fingers on the beanie and then type some more. Now it's become a delicate balancing act of trying to get my fingers to the beanie under the sleeping cat, who is starting to cut off blood supply to my legs. As Momcat wrote the other day, "I'm not just a glorified cat pillow!"
*Sigh*
I really am over the cold. I once wrote a post about things I like about winter, which was a concerted effort to find good things about the cold season. I read it this morning to remind myself of those things. But I am tired of winter now. Bring on spring!
I think the cold surprised a lot of our World Cup guests, who were expecting to find sunny South Africa nice and hot. In fact, one of our guests (from New York), said that her low point of her month in SA was the cold. New York may get far colder than Joburg, but The Big Apple is also far more prepared for that cold.
Ok, enough moaning. I am going to chuck the cat off my lap now and make myself a mug of tea to warm my hands.
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Unimportant but interesting cultural lessons
It feels so good to be posting regularly again and getting all the nonsense in my head out onto the screen. *grin*
After all my "did you know" facts yesterday, I discovered something I didn't know, courtesy of our current guest, Ana.
Most Americans don't have electric kettles.
I had no idea! I don't know how I would survive without my kettle, especially during winter. For those of you who don't know what an electric kettle is... a pic or two:
Most South African households have an electric kettle in the kitchen. As we generally have electric stoves as opposed to gas ones, kettles heat up our water for tea or coffee more economically and much faster than boiling water on the stove. They are super useful things - aside from making tea, coffee, hot chocolate and Milo, I use mine to heat the water for pasta to boiling before I pour it into the pot on the stove, which makes it much quicker, or I boil the water for my hot water bottle, which I carry around the house with me in winter, seeing almost no South African home has central heating.
Anyway, I was just gobsmacked when Ana came to me and said, "I really like these tea water warmer things you have in South Africa. I'm thinking of taking one home with me."
Most Americans seem to have coffee percolators, and many of our guests have never seen a plunger / bodem before, which we use to make coffee. Pic:
I've learnt lots about our little cultural differences this World Cup. It's been good fun. For exmaple, I learnt that in Malaysia, it's common to add "La" at the end of a sentence as a space-filler. So you might stay, "Don't be like that, la."I think that's nearly as weird as the fact that we South Africans call traffic lights "robots" ;-)
After all my "did you know" facts yesterday, I discovered something I didn't know, courtesy of our current guest, Ana.
Most Americans don't have electric kettles.
I had no idea! I don't know how I would survive without my kettle, especially during winter. For those of you who don't know what an electric kettle is... a pic or two:
Most South African households have an electric kettle in the kitchen. As we generally have electric stoves as opposed to gas ones, kettles heat up our water for tea or coffee more economically and much faster than boiling water on the stove. They are super useful things - aside from making tea, coffee, hot chocolate and Milo, I use mine to heat the water for pasta to boiling before I pour it into the pot on the stove, which makes it much quicker, or I boil the water for my hot water bottle, which I carry around the house with me in winter, seeing almost no South African home has central heating.
Anyway, I was just gobsmacked when Ana came to me and said, "I really like these tea water warmer things you have in South Africa. I'm thinking of taking one home with me."
Most Americans seem to have coffee percolators, and many of our guests have never seen a plunger / bodem before, which we use to make coffee. Pic:
I've learnt lots about our little cultural differences this World Cup. It's been good fun. For exmaple, I learnt that in Malaysia, it's common to add "La" at the end of a sentence as a space-filler. So you might stay, "Don't be like that, la."I think that's nearly as weird as the fact that we South Africans call traffic lights "robots" ;-)
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Did you know?
Some random trivia from the huge files of nonsense in my brain...
- Tanzanite was originally called "blue Ziosite", but the name was changed to Tanzanite for the stone's origin on a recommendation from Tiffany's as it was felt that the word "Zoisite" was very close to the word "suicide".
- My name, Tamara, means palm tree in Hebrew.
- You have approximately 10 000 tastebuds on your tongue.
- The medical word for "man boobs" is gynecomastia.
- In Japan, sushi chefs spend their first year of training purely on hygiene.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Catch up post
Hello all. Life is slowly starting to return to some semblance of normality, whatever that may be.
The World Cup, glorious as it was, is over. We only have one guest left - a lovely girl from New York, who is set to leave on Thursday. TSC is back at varsity. And I, after what feels like forever, am back at my computer, doing some admin catch up and actually writing a blog post.
Well, trying to, anyway. I started writing this about an hour ago, but I keep getting distracted by emails coming in and the cats trying to sleep on my laptop.
Anyway, here are a few photos from the past few weeks:
The waterfall at Rustenburg Kloof, where TSC and I hiked for a picnic lunch when we took the Mexicans to their Rustenburg game. Such a divine day - lunch with a view, tennis and then watching SA beat France.
A maribou stork trying to relieve TSC of his gingerbeer at the Rhino and Lion Park during our visit there with the Malaysians. This bird is really playful, but really ugly. When we arrived, it was trying to play with the spotted genets through the fence.
Lazy wild dogs having an afternoon nap at the Rhino and Lion Park. This was the closest we've seen them and the Malaysians were super excited.
The world literacy display at Maropeng, where we took the Mexicans. I must say, it was wasted on them - they didn't bother to stop and read anything. Everyone told us how brilliant Maropeng is, but I must admit, I wasn't particularly wowed.
A 6 month-old Nile crocodile at Croc City. What a waste of time that was. We took the Chinese Canadians there and after a promising start looking at and holding various reptiles inside, which was great fun and very informative, we were led on a tour that took less than 10minutes and then waited nearly an hour for our hot chocolate (which was cold) and an expensive crocodile sosatie from the restaurant. They also have an animal petting area with some bunnies in very poor shape (the only water source is a dirty plastic container sunk partway into the ground, filled with brown water and bits of hay). I suspect that weekends, when they feed the crocs, would be more interesting, but I won't take visitors there again.
The penalty shoot-out (the first of the World Cup) between Japan and Paraguay. It was an exciting match.
The World Cup, glorious as it was, is over. We only have one guest left - a lovely girl from New York, who is set to leave on Thursday. TSC is back at varsity. And I, after what feels like forever, am back at my computer, doing some admin catch up and actually writing a blog post.
Well, trying to, anyway. I started writing this about an hour ago, but I keep getting distracted by emails coming in and the cats trying to sleep on my laptop.
Anyway, here are a few photos from the past few weeks:
The waterfall at Rustenburg Kloof, where TSC and I hiked for a picnic lunch when we took the Mexicans to their Rustenburg game. Such a divine day - lunch with a view, tennis and then watching SA beat France.
A maribou stork trying to relieve TSC of his gingerbeer at the Rhino and Lion Park during our visit there with the Malaysians. This bird is really playful, but really ugly. When we arrived, it was trying to play with the spotted genets through the fence.
Lazy wild dogs having an afternoon nap at the Rhino and Lion Park. This was the closest we've seen them and the Malaysians were super excited.
The world literacy display at Maropeng, where we took the Mexicans. I must say, it was wasted on them - they didn't bother to stop and read anything. Everyone told us how brilliant Maropeng is, but I must admit, I wasn't particularly wowed.
A 6 month-old Nile crocodile at Croc City. What a waste of time that was. We took the Chinese Canadians there and after a promising start looking at and holding various reptiles inside, which was great fun and very informative, we were led on a tour that took less than 10minutes and then waited nearly an hour for our hot chocolate (which was cold) and an expensive crocodile sosatie from the restaurant. They also have an animal petting area with some bunnies in very poor shape (the only water source is a dirty plastic container sunk partway into the ground, filled with brown water and bits of hay). I suspect that weekends, when they feed the crocs, would be more interesting, but I won't take visitors there again.
The penalty shoot-out (the first of the World Cup) between Japan and Paraguay. It was an exciting match.
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Sondela
Our bush getaway to Sondela was phenomenal. It's difficult to find the words to explain how much we enjoyed our time there. Squeals work best, I find.
We were at the magnificent Sondela Country House near Bela-Bela / Warmbaths for three magical nights. It's a five-star boutique hotel, but they had the most fantastic winter special on that meant it was more affordable than many three-star hotels.
In our few days there, I experienced many "firsts":
It was so good to be guests rather than hosts for a little while. The place is brilliantly maintained, has a great variety of facilities and, best of all, it's only an hour and a half away and it's warm!
I will attempt to stop gushing now, so here are some pics...
Me, milking a very patient cow:
Our King-sized bed:
The tame kudu doe that wanders around the property:
Very inquisitive mongoose:
The chalets also look brilliant - very private, in the middle of the bush, with a hot spa pool, col swimming pool, tennis courts and entertainment area. In fact, even the campsite looked really nice - shady, quiet and small.
I think we'll have to go back and try each ;-)
Ok, the gushing is really over now, I promise.
We were at the magnificent Sondela Country House near Bela-Bela / Warmbaths for three magical nights. It's a five-star boutique hotel, but they had the most fantastic winter special on that meant it was more affordable than many three-star hotels.
In our few days there, I experienced many "firsts":
- First time milking a cow;
- Having butler service (something to get used to, actually - it's a bit weird having someone just waiting around to do what you ask. We weren't very good at it);
- Going on a proper night drive (where I got to hold the spotlight);
- Seeing a bushbaby in the wild, jumping from tree to tree;
- Having a three-course gourmet meal served in our hotel room;
- Going on a "game drive" on bicycles (awesome!);
- Seeing a crimson-breasted shrike in the wild;
- Playing tennis while nyala watched;
- Being asked whether I wanted a goose down, duck down or feather pillow (?! I told them to surprise me. Have no idea which one I got in the end, but it was really comfortable);
- Having our car washed before we checked out, just as part of what they do for guests.
It was so good to be guests rather than hosts for a little while. The place is brilliantly maintained, has a great variety of facilities and, best of all, it's only an hour and a half away and it's warm!
I will attempt to stop gushing now, so here are some pics...
Me, milking a very patient cow:
Our King-sized bed:
The tame kudu doe that wanders around the property:
Very inquisitive mongoose:
The chalets also look brilliant - very private, in the middle of the bush, with a hot spa pool, col swimming pool, tennis courts and entertainment area. In fact, even the campsite looked really nice - shady, quiet and small.
I think we'll have to go back and try each ;-)
Ok, the gushing is really over now, I promise.
Saturday, 3 July 2010
One month down...
...Just one more set of guests to go.
But first a breather. We leave tomorrow for a little break before our last guests arrive on Thursday. CANNOT WAIT to chill and be a guest myself for a bit.
Just doing a bit of work now so I don't have to schlep it with me. I know - working on a Saturday night is lame. But not as lame as going for a mini-holiday and working straight through it.
Btw, anyone been to see a game live in 3D at the cinema? I'm keen to do that for one of the last matches, but wondering if it's worth it.
Have a good one folks. I plan to.
But first a breather. We leave tomorrow for a little break before our last guests arrive on Thursday. CANNOT WAIT to chill and be a guest myself for a bit.
Just doing a bit of work now so I don't have to schlep it with me. I know - working on a Saturday night is lame. But not as lame as going for a mini-holiday and working straight through it.
Btw, anyone been to see a game live in 3D at the cinema? I'm keen to do that for one of the last matches, but wondering if it's worth it.
Have a good one folks. I plan to.
Friday, 2 July 2010
Culture collision
At the moment we have the only guests so far that I haven't clicked with staying with us. They are two Chinese Canadian guys - father and son. The dad only speaks Cantonese and doesn't understand a word of English, so the son translates. I found them really awkward when they arrived on Wed, and by Thursday I had decided that nothing we could possibly show them in South Africa would excite them in the least as they seemed set on being unimpressed. But after a home-style SA braai last night, complete with TSC's magic braai broodjies (toasted sarmies made on the fire), they have lightened up a lot and we even sat around the table after dessert (another SA favourite - malva pudding with custard) chatting about our different cultures.
While I work today, TSC has taken them to the Rosebank African Craft Market and then to a dim sum restaurant I found in Illovo (the dad was originally a dim sum chef in Hong Kong, before they moved to Canada, so I'm hoping this place doesn't disappoint). After that, we're heading to Croc World and then they're off to tonight's game at Soccer City.
They leave tomorrow night and then on Sunday TSC and I are off to a warmer part of the country for three days to recuperate before our next (and last) guests arrive for eight days.
I just realised today that tomorrow it will be a full month that we've been hosting visitors. Now I understand why I've been a bit tired!
Off to get some work in before we see the crocs. Have a great weekend and please shout for Ghana at the soccer!
While I work today, TSC has taken them to the Rosebank African Craft Market and then to a dim sum restaurant I found in Illovo (the dad was originally a dim sum chef in Hong Kong, before they moved to Canada, so I'm hoping this place doesn't disappoint). After that, we're heading to Croc World and then they're off to tonight's game at Soccer City.
They leave tomorrow night and then on Sunday TSC and I are off to a warmer part of the country for three days to recuperate before our next (and last) guests arrive for eight days.
I just realised today that tomorrow it will be a full month that we've been hosting visitors. Now I understand why I've been a bit tired!
Off to get some work in before we see the crocs. Have a great weekend and please shout for Ghana at the soccer!
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Unexpected
It seems that we are going to the Japan vs Paraguay game in Pretoria this afternoon. Hope it's not too cold!
Sunday, 27 June 2010
As requested...
A short summary of the visitors we've had so far:
- 2 x crazy, fun-loving, affable, not-very-concerned-about-time Mexicans
- 1 x chilled, sweet, un-British Brit who lives in Barcelona
- 2 x lovely, can't-drive-a-stick-shift-but-game-for-anything-else, thoughtful Americans from South Carolina
- 2 x self-sufficient, quiet, pleasant New Yorkers (originally from the Philippines)
- 2 x generous, curious Canadians (1 of whom was born in Romania and grew up in Spain)
- 2 x relaxed, easy-to-talk-to Aussies who have been travelling for three months
- 2 x young, friendly Malaysians (at the stadium as I type)
TSC and I are loving it, although it is rather exhausting to host all these people. We are looking forward to a break next week between guests and are considering finding a nice sunny spot to getaway for a day or two and be looked after by someone else.
Three guests to go and then we're done. I'm going to miss the buzz and meeting new people, but I am so keen for some sleep!
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Monday, 21 June 2010
So out of the loop
I hate not blogging everyday. I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel at the moment though (are we human, or are we hamster?) with all that's going on.
At least we have a self-sufficient couple of guests staying with us at present, which means that yesterday we actually had a free day. They are New Yorkers, which may explain it. They have a rental car and we only see them briefly in the mornings before they disappear to explore Joburg or in the evenings before they go to bed.
I must say, it's a nice break from having guests who have totally underestimated the lack of public transport options in South Africa and need us to drive them everywhere. Shame, the last couple we had was also from the USA and they had a rental too. Problem was, they'd never driven a "stick shift" / manual car before, so it was pretty useless for them. They eventually handed it in early because trying to learn how to operate the gears at the same time as the clutch was just too much, especially seeing everything here is also on the opposite side of the vehicle and we drive on the other side of the road. Apparently renting an automatic is double the price though. They'd just assumed the car would be automatic and were REALLY surprised to find out that most of our cars here are manual.
Saw Toy Story 3 yesterday. LOVED IT. I was surprised by that. Sequels generally suck, but this was divine. I definitely recommend it.
Anyway, off to pick up the Mexicans from the Gautrain now, so must dash. Hope to be a better blogger this week!
At least we have a self-sufficient couple of guests staying with us at present, which means that yesterday we actually had a free day. They are New Yorkers, which may explain it. They have a rental car and we only see them briefly in the mornings before they disappear to explore Joburg or in the evenings before they go to bed.
I must say, it's a nice break from having guests who have totally underestimated the lack of public transport options in South Africa and need us to drive them everywhere. Shame, the last couple we had was also from the USA and they had a rental too. Problem was, they'd never driven a "stick shift" / manual car before, so it was pretty useless for them. They eventually handed it in early because trying to learn how to operate the gears at the same time as the clutch was just too much, especially seeing everything here is also on the opposite side of the vehicle and we drive on the other side of the road. Apparently renting an automatic is double the price though. They'd just assumed the car would be automatic and were REALLY surprised to find out that most of our cars here are manual.
Saw Toy Story 3 yesterday. LOVED IT. I was surprised by that. Sequels generally suck, but this was divine. I definitely recommend it.
Anyway, off to pick up the Mexicans from the Gautrain now, so must dash. Hope to be a better blogger this week!
Monday, 14 June 2010
Of vuvuzelas and V8s
What an awesome weekend!
Friday's opening soccer match of the World Cup between South Africa and Mexico had us all on the edge of our seats. The 1-1 draw was probably the best result for TSC and I, seeing we had two Mexicans staying with us ;-) At least relations were still friendly. I'd have loved our Bafana to win though, obviously.
Saturday turned out to be far more exciting than expected - we headed to the FIFA ticketing centre to see if we could still get tickets for any of the games, now that we have a better idea of what our guests are up to and when we will be free.
We managed to get Premier Tickets for the Nigeria / Argentina game at Ellis Park that afternoon. They cost a fortune, but we figured it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so we took the plunge and let our poor credit card take a beating.
In the afternoon, we travelled with our two Mexicans to the stadium, us wearing our SA kit (TSC insisted on wearing his Springbok jersey in support of the Boks, but he did let me paint our flag on his cheek) and them wearing their Mexican wrestling masks. While we drove we listened to the Afrikaans radio commentary of the Boks thrashing the French rugby team. The commentator was getting very excited when Gurtho Steenkamp charged down the field to score a try. The Mexicans obviously had no idea what was potting and asked us if Gurtho Steenkamp was some sort of rude phrase. We said yes, in a manner of speaking. If you're French, it is ;-)
It took us ages to get to the Park and Walk facilities at Athlone Boys' School. We walked almost 2km to the stadium, which I thought was great fun - families came out into the street to blow vuvuzelas and cheer on the groups walking to Ellis Park and enterprising locals tried to sell flags, vuvuzelas and other paraphernalia.
At the stadium, I stopped to paint South African flags on the cheeks of some Japanese visitors before we made our way to our box / suite. When we got there we discovered that we had no seats. Either FIFA oversold the seats available, or people had climbed into our box from the one adjacent, but there was nowhere for us to sit.
We were furious, having paid a huge sum for the tickets. Thankfully, there were two seats available in the box next to ours, which was filled with Nigerian fans. A kind Nigerian gentleman named Andrew let us sit next to him. When he invited us into their box at half-time for a drink and snacks, we realised (on seeing the bodyguards) that we were in the Nigerian presidential box!
Thank you, Andrew, whomever you may be. You saved our game.
It was another nail-biting game. We blew our vuvuzela until we were light-headed and cheered Nigeria on. Unfortunately, the hooligans from Argentina tried to hang one of their banners in front of our seats, but the police came along and took it down, putting an end to the fight (which was about to get physical) between the Nigerians and the Argentinians.
The game, as I'm sure most of you know, ended 1-0 to the Argentinian side.
We said goodbye to the Nigerians we'd met, after stopping to help them take photos of the group, met up with the Mexicans, walked back to the school, sat for 30min trying to get out of the parking field and headed to Nandos for supper.
Apparently our cricket team also performed well against the Windies, but aside from watching the game live, my favourite part of the weekend was last night's Grand Prix, which was epic. Not a single boring lap and my boys from McLaren came in first and second (and in the order I prefer). We watched with our Italian neighbours at our place, having taken the Mexicans to the airport for their two-day Cape Town joint.
What a cool weekend. Hope yours was good too!
Friday's opening soccer match of the World Cup between South Africa and Mexico had us all on the edge of our seats. The 1-1 draw was probably the best result for TSC and I, seeing we had two Mexicans staying with us ;-) At least relations were still friendly. I'd have loved our Bafana to win though, obviously.
Saturday turned out to be far more exciting than expected - we headed to the FIFA ticketing centre to see if we could still get tickets for any of the games, now that we have a better idea of what our guests are up to and when we will be free.
We managed to get Premier Tickets for the Nigeria / Argentina game at Ellis Park that afternoon. They cost a fortune, but we figured it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so we took the plunge and let our poor credit card take a beating.
In the afternoon, we travelled with our two Mexicans to the stadium, us wearing our SA kit (TSC insisted on wearing his Springbok jersey in support of the Boks, but he did let me paint our flag on his cheek) and them wearing their Mexican wrestling masks. While we drove we listened to the Afrikaans radio commentary of the Boks thrashing the French rugby team. The commentator was getting very excited when Gurtho Steenkamp charged down the field to score a try. The Mexicans obviously had no idea what was potting and asked us if Gurtho Steenkamp was some sort of rude phrase. We said yes, in a manner of speaking. If you're French, it is ;-)
It took us ages to get to the Park and Walk facilities at Athlone Boys' School. We walked almost 2km to the stadium, which I thought was great fun - families came out into the street to blow vuvuzelas and cheer on the groups walking to Ellis Park and enterprising locals tried to sell flags, vuvuzelas and other paraphernalia.
At the stadium, I stopped to paint South African flags on the cheeks of some Japanese visitors before we made our way to our box / suite. When we got there we discovered that we had no seats. Either FIFA oversold the seats available, or people had climbed into our box from the one adjacent, but there was nowhere for us to sit.
We were furious, having paid a huge sum for the tickets. Thankfully, there were two seats available in the box next to ours, which was filled with Nigerian fans. A kind Nigerian gentleman named Andrew let us sit next to him. When he invited us into their box at half-time for a drink and snacks, we realised (on seeing the bodyguards) that we were in the Nigerian presidential box!
Thank you, Andrew, whomever you may be. You saved our game.
It was another nail-biting game. We blew our vuvuzela until we were light-headed and cheered Nigeria on. Unfortunately, the hooligans from Argentina tried to hang one of their banners in front of our seats, but the police came along and took it down, putting an end to the fight (which was about to get physical) between the Nigerians and the Argentinians.
The game, as I'm sure most of you know, ended 1-0 to the Argentinian side.
We said goodbye to the Nigerians we'd met, after stopping to help them take photos of the group, met up with the Mexicans, walked back to the school, sat for 30min trying to get out of the parking field and headed to Nandos for supper.
Apparently our cricket team also performed well against the Windies, but aside from watching the game live, my favourite part of the weekend was last night's Grand Prix, which was epic. Not a single boring lap and my boys from McLaren came in first and second (and in the order I prefer). We watched with our Italian neighbours at our place, having taken the Mexicans to the airport for their two-day Cape Town joint.
What a cool weekend. Hope yours was good too!
Friday, 11 June 2010
Today...
...I am so proud to be a South African.
This country has its problems, but boy has it delivered this time. Viva Bafana Bafana!!!
This country has its problems, but boy has it delivered this time. Viva Bafana Bafana!!!
Midnight again
I seem to be up at this hour a whole lot over the past two weeks, whether because I've been on a crazy deadline for a massive (and by that I do mean insanely huge) freelance project or because I've been out at Montecasino with my two eternally energetic Mexican World Cup guests (as was the case tonight - in fact they are still there, at the Black Jack tables).
WOW. It's been insane.
And yet I'm so happy right now. Perhaps it's because that deadline for the massive freelance project is gone and the work is done, or perhaps it's because my guests have not burnt down my house, but turned out to be extremely cool people instead. Or perhaps it's because I've had a couple of glasses of red wine, or because my cat is sleeping next to me on the bed. Or because World Cup Fever has hit. Or because my head has gone loopy from all the vuvuzelas blown in my ears.
Who knows?
But whatever the case, I am exhausted and yet excited. And I am sorry I haven't read your blogs this past while, but I promise you that I have not even had time to learn the Diski or file the annoying hang nail on my right hand.
I will try to be better next week, when the Mexicans have gone off to Cape Town for a bit. Until then, I will dream of visiting Mexico in the brief periods its locals give me to sleep.
And think of the extra line to the song we've given them... Waka waka eh eh... gaan kak in die mielies ;-)
Feel free to translate in the comments sections for the readers abroad, all you saffers.
Oh, and have a happy first game today. Go BAFANA!!!
WOW. It's been insane.
And yet I'm so happy right now. Perhaps it's because that deadline for the massive freelance project is gone and the work is done, or perhaps it's because my guests have not burnt down my house, but turned out to be extremely cool people instead. Or perhaps it's because I've had a couple of glasses of red wine, or because my cat is sleeping next to me on the bed. Or because World Cup Fever has hit. Or because my head has gone loopy from all the vuvuzelas blown in my ears.
Who knows?
But whatever the case, I am exhausted and yet excited. And I am sorry I haven't read your blogs this past while, but I promise you that I have not even had time to learn the Diski or file the annoying hang nail on my right hand.
I will try to be better next week, when the Mexicans have gone off to Cape Town for a bit. Until then, I will dream of visiting Mexico in the brief periods its locals give me to sleep.
And think of the extra line to the song we've given them... Waka waka eh eh... gaan kak in die mielies ;-)
Feel free to translate in the comments sections for the readers abroad, all you saffers.
Oh, and have a happy first game today. Go BAFANA!!!
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Self-employed
Today I got up as usual, showered and got dressed for work. The difference was that when it came time to leave for the office, I pulled on my slippers, put in a load of washing and sat down behind my laptop at the dining room table (where the sun shines in through the window).
Yes, this self employment thing has its benefits. Aside from the sound of the washing machine and the builders somewhere in the complex, all is quiet. No incessant phone ringing. No annoying music playing (that always drove me mad at the office). I had done more by 9am this morning than I would normally have accomplished by lunch time at the office.
Of course, it also has its pitfalls. Like yesterday, when TSC was at home trying to study for his geology exam and the once-a-week cleaner and gardener we employ were also here. Between the vacuum cleaner, lawn mower and constant questions (What does argillaceous mean? Where's the tile cleaner? Can I cut this branch off?) I got nothing done. It was infuriating.
I'm guessing that Tuesdays will be my client meeting and outings days in future.
The cats can't quite decided whether me working from home is a good thing or not. On the one hand (paw) they know that I am now at their beck and call all day long. But on the other, they can't get up to mischief without me knowing about it either.
There's two sides to every coin, hey ;-)
Yes, this self employment thing has its benefits. Aside from the sound of the washing machine and the builders somewhere in the complex, all is quiet. No incessant phone ringing. No annoying music playing (that always drove me mad at the office). I had done more by 9am this morning than I would normally have accomplished by lunch time at the office.
Of course, it also has its pitfalls. Like yesterday, when TSC was at home trying to study for his geology exam and the once-a-week cleaner and gardener we employ were also here. Between the vacuum cleaner, lawn mower and constant questions (What does argillaceous mean? Where's the tile cleaner? Can I cut this branch off?) I got nothing done. It was infuriating.
I'm guessing that Tuesdays will be my client meeting and outings days in future.
The cats can't quite decided whether me working from home is a good thing or not. On the one hand (paw) they know that I am now at their beck and call all day long. But on the other, they can't get up to mischief without me knowing about it either.
There's two sides to every coin, hey ;-)
Friday, 28 May 2010
Amazing people rock my world
I am so blessed to have awesome people in my life. My family and friends are the best I could ask for and my husband is my personal Prince Charming. But I realised today that even some of the "peripheral" characters in my life are incredible.
See, I'm doing a workshop on personal branding and marketing next week and as an exercise before the event, we've been asked to contact 10 people we work with in some form or another (colleagues, mentors, managers, associates from places where we volunteer) and ask them for honest opinions on how they perceive us.
I sent out my email this morning and the responses I've had from people have been really touching, especially seeing I hardly know some of these people in a personal capacity. The fact they are willing to take time out of their hectic schedules to help me with this exercise is really sweet, but the fact that they are saying lovely things just makes me want to cry. I'm so grateful for the relationships I have in this world, both in my personal life and in my work capacity.
And it makes me realise how much impact a good compliment can make on someone. So I challenge you to find 10 people you come into contact with regularly and pay each of them an honest, agenda-free compliment over the next few days. You'll not only make them smile, you'll improve your relationship with them too.
Have a fab Friday.
See, I'm doing a workshop on personal branding and marketing next week and as an exercise before the event, we've been asked to contact 10 people we work with in some form or another (colleagues, mentors, managers, associates from places where we volunteer) and ask them for honest opinions on how they perceive us.
I sent out my email this morning and the responses I've had from people have been really touching, especially seeing I hardly know some of these people in a personal capacity. The fact they are willing to take time out of their hectic schedules to help me with this exercise is really sweet, but the fact that they are saying lovely things just makes me want to cry. I'm so grateful for the relationships I have in this world, both in my personal life and in my work capacity.
And it makes me realise how much impact a good compliment can make on someone. So I challenge you to find 10 people you come into contact with regularly and pay each of them an honest, agenda-free compliment over the next few days. You'll not only make them smile, you'll improve your relationship with them too.
Have a fab Friday.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
New and improved (please to ignore the oxymoron)
I have FINALLY updated my blogroll (thanks for the prompt, Cam). Not a simple process. It meant finally moving my feeds across to Google Feed Reader and weeding out all the blogs that are dormant, defunct or not on my reading list anymore to ensure that my subscriptions are all up to date. I think it's fine now. But if you think you should be on that list and you're not, please mail me at doodlesofajourno at gmail dot com because my brain is like a sieve and I can't promise that I've remembered everyone.
Let me say though, that if you have not updated your blog in months or years, if your blog is now private and you haven't invited me to read it or if I haven't stopped by your blog in more than six months, you won't be on the list. Sorry, folks. But as Run DMC said, "It's like that, that's just the way it is."
In other news, our church small group decided to go for a salsa lesson as a social last night at Marrakesh Lounge. It was good fun. You pay R50 for a beginners' lesson of an hour and then you can hang around, have drinks, watch the intermediate group and practise later on in the eve. We unfortunately couldn't stay much longer than our class as TSC had studying to do, but we had a great time and even ran into a few people we knew. The beginners' classes are great for singles or couples as you rotate partners and get to meet a bunch of people. There must have been about 40 of us there. If it weren't on a Wednesday evening when we have our small group we'd probably go more often.
Off to follow up with some difficult-to-pin-down interviewees for a big freelance project now. Seriously, some people think the world revolves around them. *sigh* Patience is required.
Let me say though, that if you have not updated your blog in months or years, if your blog is now private and you haven't invited me to read it or if I haven't stopped by your blog in more than six months, you won't be on the list. Sorry, folks. But as Run DMC said, "It's like that, that's just the way it is."
In other news, our church small group decided to go for a salsa lesson as a social last night at Marrakesh Lounge. It was good fun. You pay R50 for a beginners' lesson of an hour and then you can hang around, have drinks, watch the intermediate group and practise later on in the eve. We unfortunately couldn't stay much longer than our class as TSC had studying to do, but we had a great time and even ran into a few people we knew. The beginners' classes are great for singles or couples as you rotate partners and get to meet a bunch of people. There must have been about 40 of us there. If it weren't on a Wednesday evening when we have our small group we'd probably go more often.
Off to follow up with some difficult-to-pin-down interviewees for a big freelance project now. Seriously, some people think the world revolves around them. *sigh* Patience is required.
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