Why is always the irritating songs that stick in my head?

And does anyone know of a good dentist in the Fourways / Bryanston / surrounding area? Please mail me at doodles of a journo at gmail dot com if you have answers to these deep and meaningful questions. Thanks.





I thought seeing my brain has turned itself off today (like our electric gate, it tends to play up when it's raining), I would leave you with something that made me smile:



Have a good Thursday.

2nd post for the day (in which I over-think)

For the first time ever I am doing two posts on one day. The one below this one is just a boring diary-of-Tamara catch-up, which is probably tedious reading but is more for my therapy than your reading pleasure. So there. *pulls tongue*

This post though... is just something I've been thinking about for ages: Is my blogging bad for my writing?

I think it was Boldly Benny who has looked at this subject before, but it's something that's been bugging me. I'm someone who writes for a living and I keep wondering whether my self-indulgent rambling impacts on my "proper" writing (for lack of a better term) by teaching me bad habits.

I mean, essentially I write whatever I like here (although I do sometimes censor myself to keep anyone from getting in trouble or to protect myself and those I love), while my other writing has to be structured for a specific purpose. I can't just waffle about my feelings for a big financial story, for example. Or inject the slang words I blog with into web copy for a technical company (I have recently realised how often I use the word "awesome" as a description and that I tend to start sentences with "so").

On the other hand (and, proving my point, I am essentially "thinking out loud" or writing as I think here), maybe this blog allows me to clear my head and my heart to be focused on my pays-my-salary writing. Maybe writing this online diary of sorts (that usefully acts as an I-can't-lose-these-notes-coz-they're-not-on-paper record of things for me) gives me the outlet I need. I have always said it's my therapy.

I don't think I could consider giving blogging up. I have met such cool people through it and it really does help me to keep my head straight. I just sometimes find myself reading other people's blogs and admiring their writing style and thinking, "I should use my blog to develop my style - I should write properly like they do."

And yet, some of the blogs I read are on my list not for the writing but for the realness, which teaches me something else completely. Something that's not academic or even something I could put in words, but that benefits me enormously. Something about the human spirit - about laughing, sharing, sorrow and connection.

I don't know what I'm on about anymore. Give me your thoughts, please! They may be more coherent.

Can taking vitamins make you thirsty?

Seriously.

I started taking them a few days ago and I've been so thirsty! I normally don't drink much at all - a cup of coffee in the morning, a glass of water during the day, maybe two glasses of water or juice at home and perhaps a glass of wine. I know, I know... I should be drinking six glasses of water a day minimum aside from my coffee blahblahblah...

If you met me you'll know that I'm small - if I drank that much water every day, I would have to set up office in the toilet cubicle. I try. And I drink when I'm thirsty. I figure my body knows how much water it needs.

I wonder if it's the vitamins that are making me so thirsty? They also taste rubbish - you swallow the damn things and then burp vitamins all day long. Gross. And they do strange things to your pee... Why am I taking these again?

Sigh... I know - they're good for me. They happen to be luminous purple, which does make me question that. Can anything healthy really be the colour of a neon highlighter?

On a completely unrelated subject... Bloggirls this month is at my house. Yup - housewarming number two! So if you're a girl and you blog and you live in Gauteng, please come (and bring your partner and kids)! You can sign up here, along with the supper event happening this month too.

Lastly, here is a (not very good) pic of the mosaic mirror I've been busy with... I'm quite chuffed with the results. I promise you... it looks better in real life.

Restaurant review and random question

There are some weeks where I seem stuck for blog material and there are other weeks where I don't have enough days for all the posts I have in my head. This has been one of the latter. Today I decided to write about something that is old news, but I feel like getting it out of my head and onto the screen...

I went to a restaurant with my folks and TSC last weekend (Friday evening, to be exact) at the Irene Village Mall in Pretoria called Ala Turka that serves Turkish, Lebanese and Greek food. The place is beautifully decorated and even has a little shop inside that sells belly dancing clothing and so on.

We had tried to find the restaurant's details to make a booking beforehand, but seeing they had recently relocated to the centre from somewhere else, they weren't listed in the phone book. We decided to pitch up and try our luck anyway, and they told us they had a space for us upstairs. What they didn't tell us is that there is a live belly dancer on Friday and Saturday evenings and a R20 charge per person surcharge to cover this entertainment.

While the belly dancer was BRILLIANT (at one point she dances with a plate full of candles balanced on her head), I think we should have been told about the extra cost. Furthermore, every time she came out to dance, the music would be turned up to an almost unbearable level so that we couldn't hear each other across the table, even if we were shouting (it was quite embarrassing when the music went off and I was still busy shouting).

The room was also so dark that we had to take turns taking a menu to the bar area to try to read it under the light and make a decision. We eventually had our order taken. I chose the Sheikh Al Mihshi - a Lebanese dish. It's an oven-baked aubergine stuffed with lamb meat, herbs and spices, cooked in a tomato-based sauce, served with yoghurt and pilaf. TSC opted for the fillet with the house "special sauce". My mom had a meze platter and my dad ordered the lamb kofte.

Over an hour later, our food arrived. By this time, hunger pangs and loud LOUD music had made everyone rather grumpy. Thankfully, the food was amazing! My aubergine dish was like a little slice of heaven on a plate and TSC's fillet melted in my mouth. I didn't taste my folks' food, but I believe it was also very good.

So I think I'd go back to Ala Turka. But at lunchtime. When there's daylight. And no pumping music.

Now onto my random question... Any ideas what I can get my parents for their 30th wedding anniversary? I don't have that much money to spend and they have pretty much everything anyway. I've done photo collages, scrapbook albums, personalised calendars, theatre tickets and family photos before and I am stumped! The big day is 24 Feb, but they'll be away in Zanzibar for the week, so I've got a bit of time. Suggestions would be welcome.

Extremely random question

Who decided we should eat lettuce? I mean, I have nothing against it. It doesn't taste bad. In fact, it doesn't really taste. But who decided it should be on the menu? Did some ancestor way back take a stroll through the garden and think, "Wow, here's a weird kind of ball-shaped plant. Isn't that strange? Let us eat it. I'll call it... let us. Yes, what a good idea!"

It probably wasn't the same ancestor that said, "Ooh... here's a plant with pretty flowers and waxy leaves. Oh, Leander, don't you think we should eat it?"