Frustrated on a Friday...

...By people who think I work for them when I don't.

I swear I have a sign on my head saying "Expect me to do your job for you".

Grrr.

That is all.

Have a good weekend. I'm going to find some wine.

"Still?!"

One of the best lines from Slumdog Millionaire.

But I am referring here to my headache, which started last Monday and has continued without pause. And it's still here. So you'll have to excuse me if I don't continue this post. Have to find some painkillers.

Have a fab weekend, everyone. Try to behave yourselves.

Friday ramblings

Here are the "boy" cupcakes I baked for that order last weekend. The colours have come out strangely in the pics. They're actually aquamarine, royal blue and lime green in colour, despite the fact that some of them look purple here.







How cute are the little cricket bat and ball decorations? Gotta love Kadies!






My piping bag broke in the middle of icing this lot. It was 10.30pm on a Friday night and the cupcakes were being picked up the next morning, so a plan had to be made. I took a little plastic sandwich bag, cut a hole in the corner, stuck my piping nozzle in the bag and finished the job just fine.

I would love a snazzy, proper piping set though. But I can't justify the expense (they range from R160 to R450 for the good sets) right now. I have other things to pay for, like putting new heels on my overworked winter work shoes before the cold weather arrives.

What's everyone up to this weekend? I'll be doing a big writing assignment, watching STOMP! (can't wait, even though I saw it a few years ago - best show ever), switching off lights for Earth Hour and watching the Australian F1 Grand Prix . Bring it on!


Have a good one.

I love my new gadget!

For Christmas TSC gave me this nifty little voice recorder. I have been wanting one for ages and I am loving it!

I used to have one of those old tape recorder dictaphones. Sorta like this:

Once, after taping an interview for a story, the thing fell off my car seat and the "record" button got switched on. I taped over the whole interview without knowing it. Since then I haven't trusted the things. The tapes stretch, you have to flip them over after 45 min and they are heavy to haul around in your handbag all day long.

My new little Olympus thankfully has a "hold" button, so hopefully there will be no more accidental over-recording. This amazing device can also record hours of interviews, save them in different folders, transfer them to my PC when I connect it via USB and all sorts of aother fancy things.

Fabulous!

Of course, I still take written notes during interviews anyway. Just in case ;-)

Anyway, just thought I would share my glee. I'm so much happier now that my foot is better! And it's Friday. Woohoo!

Have a good one, y'all.

Am I in the wrong hemisphere? And other randomness.

I'm sure this freak cold front got lost on its way to Russia or somewhere that is meant to be cold at this time of year. I mean there's snow on parts of the Drakensberg. In November!!! According to Google, Johannesburg is nine degrees Celsius today (48 degrees Fahrenheit). Usually at this time of the year it's about 25 degrees Celsius! Thankfully for Cape Town, the city seems to be enjoying weather that's a bit more pleasant than up here. Finally.

Now for many of you in the Northern Hemisphere, I know that nine degrees is not very cold. But consider that we generally have no central heating (in fact no heating at all in my office) and that South Africa is not geared towards the cold (it's difficult to even find cold-proof clothing here), and maybe you'll feel a bit more sympathetic. In fact, we had someone visit from Toronto, Canada who said that he'd never been so cold in his life as his winter stay in the Drakensberg in South Africa.

I suppose it doean't help that I have sopping wet hair. But I've never been a fan of hair dryers, so I often go out with wet hair, even in the middle of winter. And it doesn't seem to make me sick. I just wear a nice warm hat. Today it's a purple mohair one. If I had my camera handy I'd snap a pic.

At least it's FRIDAY! Woo hoo!

We have a sushi-making course this weekend. Yay! Can't wait. Except that it feels too cold for sushi. I want hot comfort food. Also, it means we have to be up early tomorrow morning. Blah.

Watched My Life in Ruins last night while making jewellery. Worst movie I've seen in awhile. Made Benjamin Button seem positively riveting in comparison.

Right... off to change my dinner menu for tonight. Was planning a nice summery menu for the new friends we're having over, but I think hot food is in order. Lasagne, perhaps. And warm pudding too. Any suggestions?

Have a fab weekend.

Word play on a Friday

Yay for Fridays!

I'm feeling the happiest I've been in almost two weeks, I think. I got a new commission from a magazine I occasionaly freelance to, which is good for my little business, and TSC and I got up early this morning and had a brisk walk around the neighbourhood before popping into Vida e Caffe for skinny cappuccinos, which made for a great start to the day.

It's nice to smile again. It's been a not-so-fun patch and I am not usually a miz person (well, as far as I know), so being so grumpy and unhappy for that long was just blergh. Yeah, that's a word. On this blog, at least.

Which reminds me... I know I have squillions of typos on this blog (for a journo I'm really rubbish at typing) and that I make up my own words (yay for neologisms), but I have been noticing a consistently misspelled word on other blogs that is driving me mad.

The word is "lose". As in, "If you steal my mug again you'll lose an eye."

But almost everyone spells this word "loose". As in, "When you smacked me in the head for stealing your mug again, I'm sure you knocked my brain loose."

Another example, this time using both words: "Seeing certain words spelled wrong makes me lose my temper and I have dreams of setting grammar tigers loose on all offenders."

I should have been an English teacher.

Scratch that. I wouldn't last a day!

Now that my grammar Nazi stint is over for the day (maybe), let me introduce you to some fantastic neologisms from this lovely site:

• copyrighteous, adj.
  Relating to a feeling of moral superiority based on one's responsible copyright views and actions.
• bad tongue day, noun
  A day in which a person frequently mispronounces words and stumbles over sentences.
• mental hairball, noun
  A word or phrase coughed up at random.
• slackademic, noun
  A perpetual student who prefers the safety and comfort of academic life over the trials and tribulations of the real world.
• agressocracy, noun
  A society in which the most aggressive members rise to the top.

And some more from this cool site:

• abstinate (ăb'stə-nāt')
  a. (v.) The act of not giving one's self to anyone, no matter how much they beg.
• backronym (băk'rə-nĭm')
  a. (n.) An acronym that was clearly thought of first, and the (usually dull minded) phrase was secondarily crafted to fit it. Example: Determined Involved Supermodels Helping to End Suffering: DISHES!
• camouflush (kăm'ə-flŭsh)
  a. (n.) The unnecessary flushing of a public restroom toilet to mask embarrassing bodily sounds.
• dark matter song (därk măt'ər sŏng)
  a. (n.) A song of such awfulness that it alone outweighs the rest of an artist or band's body of work.Example: "Shiny Happy People" is REM's dark matter song and "Walk of Life" is Dire Straits'.
• elbonics (el'bŏn'ĭks)
  a. (n.) The actions of two people maneuvering for one arm rest in a movie theater.

Have a fabulous weekend, all.

Pic post

Firstly, here are the long awaited hail images...

A hail stone in the palm of my hand

TSC pointing at the hail (in case I hadn't noticed it)

To show the scale...

And my feline creatures, just because they're gorgeous:

Sapphire, imitating a rubber band



Marble, giving me his opinion of my photography (the cat version of the middle finger)

Have a great weekend.

Lurk: To exist unobserved or unsuspected

It's Friday! Woohoo!

I feel like I've had an unproductive week. And I hate those. I've actually got quite a lot done for the morning job, but almost nothing accomplished for my freelancing. Blegh.

Anyhoo... I have a question that often goes through my head when I'm thinking about blogging (which is often):

Why do people lurk?

I usually come up with a bunch of answers (yes, it's like a little dialogue in my head. And yes, I am fully aware that makes me sound crazy. If the straight jacket fits...). Some of the possibilities I've debated are:

• People are voyeurs. We like to see without being seen, or read blogs without alerting anyone to our presence (I'm using the royal 'we' here despite the fact that I don't actually lurk on anyone else's blog).
• Perhaps lurkers feel no real need to comment. This might be particularly true on a blog that gets gazillions of comments on every post. It's kinda like, "Why should I bother? Everything's already been said." Or on blogs that focus on news, sports, tech or other info stuff.
• Maybe lurkers don't feel their comments would be funny / wise / insightful enough. I know that on some of the blogs I read, there are posts where I don't comment for this reason.
• I guess some lurkers can't comment / interact even if they want to. I know when our internet connection was running at dial-up speed, I couldn't comment on anything becuase it kept timing out.
• And I know that lots of lurkers don't know that lots of bloggers (like me, for example) prefer them to show themselves.

Any thoughts from any of you on lurking? Lurkers? ;-)

Well, have a fab Friday. Let's hope it goes quickly until close of business. Then things can slow down for the weekend.

Have a good one.

PS: See that pretty blue badge on the right for Blog Action Day? Dare you to join! This year's theme is Climate Change. Sign up NOW as it happens next week. Please? And thanks to Damaria for the reminder.

Happees

• It's Friday!



• I have the Jason Mraz album playing instead of Roo's usual blaring pop radio station.



• Went to a great new restaurant last night, Arzoo, serving "Incredible Punjabi Cuisine". They unfortunately don't have a website, but if you're keen to try their AMAZING chicken tikka marsala or lamb gosht badami, they're in the Bryan Park Shopping Centre and their telephone number is (011) 706 9345/6. The food is great, the lighting is... unusually and amusingly kitsch and the service is by far the best I've had in years. New favourite!



• I have finally decided what I'm going to buy with my Kalahari voucher from Angel and Glug. Thanks again, guys!



• I won tickets to Taste of Joburg from the competition on Glad to Be a Girl. How awesome?! I am so excited that I could jump up and down at my desk. Instead I'll just bounce on the exercise ball I sit on at my desk like a five-year old on a sugar high. Wheeeeeeee!



• Some of my favourite bloggers have been saying nice things about me and giving me awesome awards. Yay!

I got this pretty one from Angel and Louisa...

This one from Helen, for all the *ahem* honest scrap on this here blog thing...

And this specially-made one from Paula...

Thanks, guys! You really boosted my spirits!

I know I'm supposed to pass these all on, but I can't keep track of who's got them already, so I'm just going to dish out Paula's awesome "blog I read with my morning coffee" award to: Phillygirl (I know you don't do awards, but yours is one of the blogs I read first every morning), Slyde (I have a feeling you're also not an awards-fan, but tough) and Louisa (I smile every time I see your blog in bold in my reader).

I'm also supposed to write 10 random things about me, but I write random things every day (almost) here, so I'm going to skip that bit and just say...

Have a rad, fab, mad *insert other three-letter adjectives here* weekend, everyone!

10 random thoughts on a Friday

1. While fruit salad may be the healthiest breakfast option, my body is wired for wanting carbohydrates first thing in the morning. Can't seem to convince it otherwise.
2. Having volunteered to write the newsletter for the complex where I live, I have met with the trustees to discuss and now have a sinking feeling that my visions of designer formatting and entertaining snippets will be overruled by the trustee's wish for "pick up your dogs' poop" instructions. *sigh*
3. Law of client probability: the likelihood of all the bits of a project NOT being signed off before deadline is directly proportional to how much crap I will get into if the deadline is missed.
4. Saying "no" to potential freelance work, even if it means saving myself hours of sweat, blood, tears and possible suicide attempts is really difficult. Especially when the pay would have been good.
5. Walking through our neighbourhood with TSC, ice-lolly in hand, on a spring evening in the sunshine, marvelling at the gorgeous blossoms on the trees, satisfies my soul at its deepest level.
6. There are many clients that make me why I picked my line of work, and one or two who make it all worth it.
7. There are some people who deserve a degree in talking crap they are just so good at it.
8. I am always slightly terrified at pressing the "delete all" button on my digital camera, even if I know that I've saved my photos to three different locations.
9. I secretly fear that I will never want to have children. And that it makes me a bad woman. Also, if I were to be unable to have kids for any reason, I think my mother-in-law would see it as the biggest possible failure.
10. Sneezing annoys me. I wish it didn't. I know people can't help sneezing. But I HATE it. The worst is when I have to sneeze. It puts me in a bad mood. Thank goodness I don't suffer from hayfever.

That's what's going around my head this morning. What are your random thoughts?

Have a fabulous Friday and an awesome weekend!

It's Friday!!!

Yes, that statement even warrants more than one exclamation mark, which is usually a big no-no for me.

I'm still feeling blue (well, more sickly green), but I seem to have the tears under control today, which is a step in the right direction. At least I now have a facade of calm. And my rescue remedy back from TSC. Coincidence?

I still don't feel like going into what's making me miz (unusual for someone who generally wants to broadcast every issue to the world, or at least the blogosphere). I guess I feel that I don't want to focus on the rubbish stuff. Also, I don't feel like hearing everyone's advice. I know what I have to do, I know what I can't do, I know that this too shall pass, and that's all I need to know. Now I just need to put my head down, do what needs to be done and make the tough decisions when they come my way. But (there's always a but), just so you know... it's mainly work stuff. Just so nobody thinks it's about TSC, k?

Right, onwards to (80s) glory! I have my totally awesome outfit picked out, the house decked out with balloons and righteous 80s decor and tonight I'll do the food prep, so hopefully all will be ready for the valley girls and punk rockers to descend upon us tomorrow evening.

I always get butterflies before I throw a party, or even if I have a big group over for dinner. I think it's because my friends are from such different walks of life (from late teens to early sixties) that I worry whether everyone will get along and stress that someone will feel left out. But it always works out well and I end up having a great time, and I'm sure that will be the case here.

Now if I can just get my complicated cake right...

What's everyone else up to this weekend?

Weekend!

Yay! Yay! Yay!

I feel as though this week has dragged its heels like a stubborn five-year old on his way to a bath. But at last, the end has come.

Well, nearly. I still have a big client meeting this afternoon and loads of that intimidating freelance work to do before I can kick back and enjoy a curry with some of our neighbours tonight, but I can feel the relief already.

Although, I am still nervous about the meeting this afternoon. Firstly, I hate Friday afternoon meetings, because the thought of weekend plans makes concentration difficult. "Yes, I totally agree with your decision to relook your website curry... I mean copy. Sorry."

Secondly, this client is awesome, but incredibly intelligent (like genius level) and I feel like he talks over my head 90% of the time. And he talks super fast and in techie jargon, making the keeping up even more of a challenge. I'm always a couple of TLAs (three-letter acronyms) behind him.

Thirdly, he's not actually my client - I was brought in on this job by a colleague to do certain bits of it - so I need to not screw up, or I'll reflect badly on the person who recommended me.

Eeep!

I sometimes get terrified when I realise that this little business TSC and I started rests squarely in my hands at the moment (until his studies finish, at least. And probably beyond). It's my job to make it a success, and it's my responsibility if it all goes balls up.

But right now I'm going to try to forget that, make myself a cuppa and grab a rusk while I daydream of curry and my warm bed.

Have a fabulous Friday, people. I leave you with a funny from my inbox:

We are about to enter the braai (BBQ) season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity.

When a man volunteers to do the braai the following chain of events are put into motion: Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert ..
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

BBQ RULES
Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.


(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat.

Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.


More routine...
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.
(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed 'her night off' and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

Is it just me...

...Or is the blogoverse very quiet lately?

Thanks for all the supportive comments on yesterday's post, btw. I love all you blogland friends so much! You rock, guys.

It has indeed been an eventful decade (there's lots I didn't put down there), but on the whole the latter part has been good. There have been rough times, but nowhere near half as rough as many people have experienced.

Yes, I had an eating disorder. So what? It's taught me a lot, as has battling with chemical depression and all that jazz. I am now in a place where I can understand those things and other related illnesses in others much better and be more empathetic. And I can appreciate food and my happy moments like I never could before.

I've been fortunate enough not to have abusive people in my life, to have a wonderful husband, family and friends, and to have a roof over my head and clothes on my back. I am now generally healthy and much more secure in my identity, and I sincerely believe that nothing is wasted in the economy of God - everything happens for a reason.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... there's nothing that special about my story and I'm not looking for sympathy. There are people in this world who are far more deserving - those who have been through tragedies that most of us could never begin to imagine.

If what has happened in my life can somehow speak to you, awesome. I've learnt that the more open about my issues I am, the less power they have over me, and I'm happy to talk about my dark times and answer any questions if it will bring light to someone else. In fact, sometimes you may just have to tell me to shut up. Yesterday's post was very selfish - it's part of my "talk it out" therapy. But it's my blog, k? Kidding.

Please understand that I'm not making light of eating disorders or mental illness. They are conditions that are misunderstood and too many sufferers have to deal with the stigma attached to them. And they are more common than you may think. Of the 80-something girls in my grade at high school, I know of 11 of us who were battling an eating disorder. Those are just the ones I know of (most of whom saw the same pathetic specialist shrink that I did).

If people take one thing away from my experiences I want it to be that it is possible to recover. It's amazing just how resilient people are, and I've watched friends from abusive homes flourish, those with serious mental disorders find happiness and balance and even seen how something as devastating as the loss of a sibling has brought perspective and renewed generosity along with the pain.

Shew... that was a much deeper post than I expected it to be. Those damn alter egos... I guess I'll have to end with something silly - the regular Friday funny. So here it is. Yay for C&H!

Friday funny

So it's Friday. Yay! I get to see my bestest friend in the whole world today. She and her husband are up from Cape Town for work, so we'll meet them for drinks and a chat before they fly back tonight. Then we've got church conference for most of the weekend, and I'm hoping to squeeze in a visit to Taste of Joburg (gourmet festival) sometime too, probably tomorrow sometime.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Here's the Friday funny:

SPAGHETTI

For several years, a man was having an affair with an Italian woman. One night, she confided in him that she was pregnant. Not wanting to ruin his reputation or his marriage, he paid her a large sum of money if she would go to Italy to secretly have the child. If she stayed in Italy to raise the child, he would also provide child support until the child turned 18. She agreed, but asked how he would know when the baby was born. To keep it discrete, he told her to simply mail him a post card, andwrite 'Spaghetti' on the back. He would then arrange for the childsupport payments to begin.

One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife.
'Honey, 'she said, 'You received a very strange post card today.'
'Oh, just give it to me and I'll explain it later,' he said.
The wife obeyed and watched as her husband read the card, turned white, and fainted.

On the card was written: 'Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Three with meatballs, two without. Send extra sauce.

Friday funny and a quick update

We've finally found a social worker who will come and see our neighbours' kid, so that's good news. I've tracked down the phone numbers for the parents (like drawing blood from a stone with our helpful trustees) and she's trying to set up an appointment today. Will keep you posted.

Here is the picture of the house that is soon to be ours. I cannot wait!And here, are your Friday funnies:

Friday in the smelly office

Brrr... It is cold in my office. And stinky. TGIF, I guess, seeing I can go home a little early. And... I'M NOT SEEING ANY ESTATE AGENTS TODAY!

This is indeed a reason to celebrate. I don't have to be dragged through houses that are a) way out of my price range; b) hell holes fit only for complete destruction; c) so far away from the area we're looking in that we'd need to commute by plane.

I don't get it - how does "3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, with double garage" get translated in an agent's brain to "1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 parking"?!

And thank goodness TSC is in construction, because those agents will tell you anything to get you to buy. "That little crack there," they croon sweetly, pretending not to notice the rift as wide as my finger reaching from floor to ceiling. "That's nothing. A coat of paint will do the job."

Uh huh. That's about as likely as a band-aid fixing an artery that's been sliced open, dude.


Forgive me if any of you are estate agents. Maybe you're a nice person. The mess of morons (yes, that is the collective noun for morons according to the Doodles-dictionary) that I have met over the past month or so, however, has not left me much faith in your species.

Anyway... In other news (and I promise I will get over the subject soon), my birthday was great. Thanks for all the well wishes. If it wasn't for the damp carpet under my desk, I'm sure I've have felt all warm and fuzzy.

I was spoilt rotten (just like the carpet, which is spolit and rotten) and have lovely loot, including new oil paints and a beeeeg canvas, baking goodies, summer AND winter slippers (note to self: only hint for a specific present to one person); perfume and ANOTHER stick blender (note to self: clarify present hints with deaf grandparents. Electric beater and stick blender obviously sound similar. Or something).

Dinner was fab. If you're ever in Pretoria, visit Nuvo Cuisine. The best chocolate brownies I have ever had! Yum.

Right, I'm now over the birthday thing. For this year. And, to conclude this long-winded Friday post, and for the sake of tradition, here's a funny (or not so funny) for you:

Friday funnies

FOR THOSE WHO ENJOY LANGUAGE (OR SEVERE DISTORTIONS THEREOF)
Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine
A backward poet writes inverse.
A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
Practice safe eating - always use condiments.
A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.
Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.
Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.
When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.
What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway.)
A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed.
With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.
The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.
Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.
He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
Every calendar's days are numbered.
A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine.
A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.
Those who get too big for their breeches will be exposed in the end.
Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall.
Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.
Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
Acupuncture is a jab well done.

Blegh

Yes, an auspicious beginning, wasn't that?

That's how I feel - blegh. I worked till midnight after my dinner guests left last night, and then crawled into bed only to spend the rest of the night rushing to the toilet to throw up. I haven't thrown up in years, so I found this quite disturbing. I don't know whether I've got a tummy bug or if it's something I ate. Hopefully not the latter - don't want to have poisoned my guests! Although hubby seems fine.

Urgh. My stomach feels like it's trying to digest itself. I'm going to finish up my most urgent work taks and then go home to bed. Hopefully I'll get to spend some time sleeping there this time.

Anyway... wish me luck for my Saturday dinner with my gay uncle, his new Muslim boyfirend, my homophobic father, my teenage brother and his vegan girlfriend, my mad granny, carnivorous husband and my semi-normal mom!

Eep - it's Friday again!

Where does the week go?


Here's a funny for your Friday, which I imagine is folk etymology, seeing I can't believe it could be true:

Friday post

Wow! Another week has flown by. So loving some of the clients I'm working with (including the one with the blog). Not so much the one that's been giving us headaches because of an ad they flighted that has caused much offence. But I've learnt about PR crisis management.



In other news, I'm giving a beading lesson at the office this afternoon. Yay! I think the last time I gave anyone a lesson was in varsity. BossChick had this awesome idea of doing something creative every Friday, so last week we iced cupcakes and this week we're beading. I've brought a huge bag full of my bead boxes to the office, which I had to sort through last night. Poor TSC waited for ages for me to come to bed, because I was happily seated on the living room carpet, surrounded by beads and two naughty cats that were trying to steal them.



Grand Prix this Sunday. Yay!



Anyway... Friday Funny:

I [particularly like this pic, coz the kitty looks just like my Marble.