Ramblings of a Single Mom

Picture updates

2008-11-02T21:52:00.014+02:00

Today I finally got round to downloading a bunch of pics off my camera from the last few months. I really do not take enough of them anymore... I used to take my camera EVERYWHERE with me, but it seems to have dwindled to the odd occasion now.

Anyway, here are some of the fun times we have had lately. A few weeks back we went up to my folks place in the country, and this little part of the world in spring time the wild flowers are spectacular.

The little monkey who doesn't seem to be able to keep a straight face for a photo anymore....

FINALLY summer has arrived in Cape Town.... well I may be a little late in reporting this, but with all the rain we had in Sep and early Oct it really did feel like winter would never end. Of course at the first appearance of that yellow ball in the sky that we had all but forgotten about it was time to head up to the dam.

Last weekend, on the spur of the moment (which is HIGHLY unusual for me as I normally like to have a little bit of order to the chaos that is my life) I decided to take the kids camping. We haven't done this is AGES, but there is a fantastic place about 2 hours drive from home where you can relax and do as little as you want and have decent ablutions facilities. Of course my first born (the water-baby) decided that even though the river was ICE COLD she wanted to spend all her time in it. I decided to brave it and very quickly changed my mind..... SHE IS MAD - IT WAS FREEZING.

Who could pass up waking up to this scene on your "door" step....

And then we get to HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEN...... I have never really been one for celebrating Halloween, it has never really been a big "thing" here is SA... but as we all become more and more globalised this tradition seems to be making it's was into the younger generation. Of course I was coerced into having a little "party" at home by the kids, complete with dress ups, pumpkin carving and late night "scary" movie.

And on that note.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

BLAST FROM THE PAST....

2008-10-21T19:55:00.002+02:00

and then some

Well all.. finally I have made my return to the world of blogging. The last 16 months have been crazy, it feels like a lifetime, yet at the same time it doesn't seem that all that much has changed.
The kids are growing up very quickly and work... well work is work.

However TODAY I had one of THE MOST MEMORABLE days in a long time... I finally, after 15 years, tracked down and got in touch with my BF from junior school days. We were INSEPARABLE up to Std 1 (grade 3 for everyone else) at which time her parents moved to the other end of the country. We kept in touch via snail-mail for 7 years, seeing each other a few times in between, but then inexplicably lost contact. She was one of those people that just always stays with you, in your mind, in your heart... and for a couple of years now I have been trying to track her down via the wonderful world of the Internet. Today, out of the blue, another school mate from way back when let me know that they found her. She is finally on FACEBOOK - YEAH.

We were both so excited to make contact again - I felt like a kid all over and sat at work with a Cheshire Cat grin on my face for the rest of the day.

This experience today was exactly what I needed... been having a lot of those "how the hell did I end up here" moments lately. You know... 30, single, 2 kids, full time job and NO social life to speak of. hmmmmm

Okay - quick update on the last year

1 - I got back together with the EX.... obviously I didn't learn my lesson the first time round. Anyway, he promised he had changed and I (for some unknown reason) decided to give him another chance (about the 325th). It lasted about 8 months before I realised that NOTHING had changed. I can however now say without any doubt that I gave it my best shot. Let's hope I have learned my lesson this time.

2 - My BABY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED - about bloody time too, they have only been together for 7 years now. I am so over-the-moon-happy for them. The big day is early December

3 - My Darling Girl went on her first overseas holiday and WITHOUT me. Her Gran went over to Oz to visit my ex-sister-in-law and nephews and decided it would be nice to take her with. It was such a FANTASTIC experience for her that I know she will never forget.

4 - After 4 years of procrastination I am finally getting round to that much needed maintenance and renovations at the house. I have started getting quotes in (accompanied by a mini-heart-attack with each one).... nnaaaaaa it isn't THAT bad, I had expected it to come to a small fortune and so far it is well within my budget. Now just to get the bank to play nicely and the work can start.

I have a couple of other projects on the go... but best leave something for the next post, and I promise it won't be another 16 months.

HUGS AND SMOOCHY KISSES

I'M BACK

2008-09-16T20:35:00.002+02:00

glitter-graphics.com

Out of the ashes and starting afresh

expect some changes coming your way soon

Fun Friday

2007-06-08T13:06:00.000+02:00

WICOE
(Women In Charge Of Everything)
is proud to announce the opening of its

EVENING CLASSES FOR MEN!
ALL ARE WELCOME
OPEN TO MEN ONLY

Note: due to the complexity and level of difficulty, each course will accept a maximum of eight participants
The course covers two days, and topics covered in this course include:

DAY ONE

HOW TO FILL ICE CUBE TRAYS
Step by step guide with slide presentation

TOILET ROLLS- DO THEY GROW ON THE HOLDERS?
Roundtable discussion

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LAUNDRY BASKET & FLOOR
Practicing with hamper (Pictures and graphics)

DISHES ; DO THEY LEVITATE/FLY TO KITCHEN SINK OR DISHWASHER BY THEMSELVES?
Debate among a panel of experts.

REMOTE CONTROL
Losing the remote control - Help line and support groups

LEARNING HOW TO FIND THINGS
Starting with looking in the right place instead of turning the house upside down while screaming - Open forum

DAY TWO

EMPTY MILK CARTONS; DO THEY BELONG IN THE FRIDGE OR THE BIN?
Group discussion and role play

HEALTH WATCH; BRINGING HER FLOWERS IS NOT HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH
PowerPoint presentation

REAL MEN ASK FOR DIRECTIONS WHEN LOST
Real life testimonial from the one man who did

IS IT GENETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SIT QUIETLY AS SHE PARALLEL PARKS?
Driving simulation

LIVING WITH ADULTS; BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR PARTNER
Online class and role playing

HOW TO BE THE IDEAL SHOPPING COMPANION
Relaxation exercises, meditation and breathing techniques

REMEMBERING IMPORTANT DATES & CALLING WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE
Bring your calendar or PDA to class

GETTING OVER IT; LEARNING HOW TO LIVE WITH BEING WRONG ALL THE TIME
Individual counselors available

1 year old and still going....

2007-06-05T11:45:00.000+02:00

With all the introspection over the last few weeks I ended up completely missing my 1 year blog-o-versary as well as my 100th post. So here is wishing myself a belated birthday.

What a year it has been.

I have had up's and down's to make any roller-coaster jealous. I have shared about my dating prospects and about the ex-from-hell (mostly responsible for the down's mentioned earlier). I have lost weight and gained weight.

I have shared about my children and how much they have grown over the last year. From ballet concerts to temper tantrums; morning cuddles to sleep deprivation; fevers to trend setting.

I have been to some FANTASTIC concerts here at home and on 2 PHENOMENAL holidays abroad.

I have met some incredible people in the blogosphere and even had the pleasure of meeting 2 of them in person.

WOW - it is not until you look back that you realise just how much has happened, most of it just fades into the background of your life... but when you write it down and share it with the world you have something everlasting to remind you.

Here's hoping I can fill the next year with as many memorable moments (but a few less dips in the roller coaster of life would be nice).

What do you want to be when you grow up???

2007-05-24T13:37:00.000+02:00

I still don't have an answer for that... What I do know is that I never planned to be, and don't really want to be, where I have ended up. The other problem is that I have never truly KNOWN what it is that I want to do.

I've tried thinking back to what I wanted to grow up to be when I was little and I honestly couldn't remember. I resorted to asking my mother... and the answer... a ballerina. Growing up to be 5'11" tall by the age of 13 didn't help that endeavour. The only other thing that I can remember is my brother and I planning how we would have a farm together one day where our parents would have a house as well. I was about 8 years old when this idea was hatched.

Oddly enough this farming thing is an idea that has taken hold of me again in the last year. I have realised just how much I detest living in the city. I do not like high rise buildings, I do not like traffic, I do not like smog, I HATE crowds of people, and I am sick to death of sitting in an office all day doing NOTHING meaningful. I love open spaces, I love being in the country and in the mountains, I love fresh air and peace and quiet.

Currently I sit behind a PC for 8 hours a day at the office designing and building systems so that some idiot in Copenhagen or London can track a box on a ship somewhere, and knowing the nature of the industry in 5 years time the entire system will be replaced anyway and no-one will remember that I have lost my sanity building the first one. I need a sense of purpose... I don't expect to change the world in one foul swoop... but I need to do something that makes a difference somehow, or at least something that gives me that sense of accomplishment that comes from seeing the fruits of your labour after a hard days work.

With the kids to think of I must also make sure that any risks I take right now are calculated ones.

1) Continue living in the suburbs where the kids can go the best schools and we can all continue living the life we have become accustomed to BUT that also means being able to support that life financially which in turn means staying in the industry that I am in. Basically everything stays as it is.

2) Leave the suburbs... sell the house and find a nice house in a countryside suburb. The kids can still go to good schools (very good schools depending on where in the countryside you are). I will still have to stay in the industry that I am in as changing careers would reduce my income substantially.

3) Leave the suburbs... and find a something that can support itself and the family... a piece of land that can produce enough income to pay for itself with enough to spare to put the kids in good schools and put food on the table. Easier said than done... but not impossible.

4) Any and all other suggestions are welcome :)

This will be the year of finding my purpose. I know it won't happen overnight, I know that I am going to have to stick things out for a bit longer BUT this will be the year of change

Out with the old... In with the new...

2007-05-18T11:59:00.000+02:00

For months now I have had this feeling that it is time to throw out the old and open my life up to new things.

I decided that the best place to start this is by rummaging through all the 'stuff' that I have collected through my life and that has always just moved along with me. Everything from letters I received from my closest friend when I was in Std 1 (grade 3 for all you young'ens) after she moved to Johannesburg to invoices and receipts from shopping trips last week.

I look at it all and think WHY?? why keep all this crap, then I pack it back in it's box and put in back in the cupboard (or under the bed). Don't get me wrong... you can see all the floors and table tops in my house, I don't have piles of things lying about that make it difficult to maneuver around my humble abode... but just having these things in my life is starting to feel like it is weighing me down.

Over the last few months I have had very good intentions of being brutal and getting rid of these old things but every time I open the boxes I stare at it all in disbelief then put it back and go do something else. Well, I am making it my mission this weekend to tackle at least 1 room (trying to do the whole house in one weekend is a task too daunting), and the first room to fall victim to the "De-Clutter M's life" campaign shall be the bedroom (loud applause and cheers of congratulations erupt as the other rooms know they are safe - for now).

I am even quite excited to know what treasures lay hidden, safely tucked away in boxes that haven't been opened in 8 years or more... I just need to learn to be brutal and get rid of the crap that is gathering dust and has no use in my life anymore.

So, raise your glasses and be upstanding for the toast..... "To making space for new and better things"
CHEERS

Fun Friday

2007-05-11T09:40:00.000+02:00

Some advice from DR Phil

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives? By following the simple advice I heard on the radio yesterday , I have finally found inner peace.

The phone in show was talking about the potential damage to our health of the stress we have in our lives. Dr. Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started and never finished."

So, this morning, I looked around my house to see all the things I had started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house , I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Vodka, a packet of Jaffa Cakes, the remainder of an old Prozac prescription, the rest of the chocolate cake, some Doritos and a Box of chocolates.

You have no idea how bloody good I feel!!!! The man is a Genius!

Sleep overs and BIG school

2007-05-10T09:14:00.000+02:00

Both my angels are growing up so quickly. On one had it is great to see the lovely young people they are turning in to (I seem to have done something right) but at the same time I want to freeze time and keep them they way they are now.

The big girl is going for her first sleep over at a friends house on Friday. I thought long and hard before deciding that she could go... the age old question of is she old enough? She is only 8 and I have to realise that I cannot hold on to her forever. Believe me I wouldn't let her go to just any old sleepover but this is with one of her best friends and I know the parents and it is just her going (i.e. not a house full of raucous girls). She has spent nights away from home before but that has always been with grandparents or her father, this is the first time away from family. I know she will be fine but can't help feeling like the 'good' years are gone... the years where mommy is everything... the centre of her life. She is also getting to the point where giving mommy a kiss goodbye in the morning at the school drop off is no longer acceptable - you never know who may be watching.

As for the angel boy... we are now going through the big school applications. Next year it is grade R for him and preparations for the next 12 school years of his life. Here the dilemma is... do I send him to the same co-ed school as his big sister or do I send him to the VERY good local boys only school (where his father is an "old-boy")??? Personally I prefer the co-ed junior school option when they are still young and developing their social skills. High school is a different matter though and I have no strong opinions either way. I know he would do well in either environment... decisions, decisions.

Back to Black

2007-05-04T13:40:00.000+02:00

I tried the pink... it simply didn't work for me... so back to the tested and LOVED black

------ UPDATE ------

I have some time on my hands here at the office and as you can see 'Ramblings' is CHANGING yet again. Comments / Suggestions welcome.

What a lovely modern age we live in

2007-05-04T09:20:00.000+02:00

that a person can get harassed by SMS...

Yup, this is the latest in the saga of my life. Someone has taken it upon themselves to sling accusations and slander, all of them baseless, in my general direction. And to top it off they are refusing to reveal who they are. It is obviously someone who knows me but they have gone to the trouble of acquiring a prepaid sim card for their phone (which ANYONE can get without having any trace of who purchased it) and using it for their 'fun-and-games'.

Luckily I have many contacts and they themselves have many... so I have managed to find out a fair deal of information... HOWEVER not WHO it is, and here is my problem. I do not know anyone who would have the motivation to do something like this and definitely no-one who WOULD actually do this. There is one possible culprit but I don't know enough yet to actually confront them about it (although I am still waiting for some information to come in).

This has all managed to get me more pissed off than I have been in a long time... whoever this is I will find them - I don't think they realise just who they are messing with.

I WILL FIND THEM

SAWASDEE KAA

2007-04-26T12:45:00.000+02:00

Another long absence I know... but it was spent in the beautiful, friendly, fantastic... THAILAND. 2 weeks away in this gorgeous country is enough to cure just about anything that ails you.

Except for the bloody long flights to get there and back (17 hour flying time each way) the holiday was magical.

To start the holiday off we spent 3 days in Bangkok... a sprawling city with over 12 mil inhabitants. We went Wat (temple) trawling till we were Wat'ted out... then spent a day at the zoo :) It is a magnificent zoo even though we felt like we were one of the attractions being the only foreigners there. The kids were the best, staring at us with coy little smiles and then the little hands come up and wave so enthusiastically... it was LOVELY.

'View from atop the Golden Mount Wat towards central Bangkok'

The Wat's were spectacular with their incredibly ornate decorations in blue's and green's and red's and GOLD LEAF EVERYWHERE. It is impossible to describe to you just how magical they were and most are under CONSTANT restoration of the murals etc.

The one thing you have to get used to over there is the HUMIDITY... and the fact that you WILL sweat all the time.... even at night.... and just resign yourself to that fact. Luckily water (ice cold water) is readily available around every corner.

From the hustle and bustle of Bangkok we headed down to the island of Koh Pha-Ngang and spent 5 days doing very little of anything. LOVELY.

'Me at the zoo with Henna tattoo aquired in Bangkok'

We stayed at the beautiful OceanView resort on the beach of Hat Khom on the quiet northern end of the island. With sunshine every day and cocktails apleanty I could not have asked for anything more. The snorkeling was phenomenal and spending a few hours in the water every day I ended up getting the back of my legs horribly sunburnt (you just don't realise how hot it gets when you are floating on the surface of the ocean). We also hired scooters for 2 days (my first time at the helm of one of these) and spent our time slowly driving from town to town taking in the beauty of the island and all it's inhabitants

"OUR" Beach

After 5 days we were very sad to be leaving this little peice of paradise... but leave we did to head over to the neighbouring country of Cambodia and to Angkhor. This is also a beautiful country with equaly friendly inhabitants although there is a level of poverty and sadness that reflects everywhere, even in the eyes of the smiling locals.

What a magnificent place Angkhor is... the grandure and the history is astounding. 2 days isn't nearly enough to do this place justice... and if you come make sure to pack in a good pair of walking shoes and are prepared to share the spleandour with the THRONGS of tourist that pass through every day.

'The GRAND Angkhor Wat'

From Cambodia we headed back to Bangkok and one more day, and one last visit to KhoSan Road (the backpackers haven). We had the good fortune of arriving back on the last day of their 3 day new years celbration and the end of the Songkrang (water) Festival. For 3 days straight the streets and lined with people throwing water at each other... with water pistols of all shapes and sizes and buckets and hosepipes and anything else that can hold the liquid. EVERYONE gets involved, including the local law enforcement and no passing person or vehicle is safe. IT WAS FANTASTIC.

This is truely one country (other than my home) that I could see myself living in quite happily, and a holiday I will never forget. Now to get back to planning and budgeting for my visit there next year :)

I have uploaded a sample (well 166) of photos here... this constitutes about 1/4 of the pics taken.

The BIG girl

2007-04-02T15:25:00.000+02:00

My first born is now 8 years old... man how time flies. I got to spend the day on Sat trying to keep an eye on 13 of the little blighters while at ten pin bowling. Then got them all hyped up on sugar and cake just in time for their parents to come and collect them...

Happy Birthday my Angel

Dinner

2007-03-29T10:35:00.000+02:00

In an attempt to ensure that I don't let yet another week go buy with out posting something... this is just a quick note to let you know that I am going to experience the Madame Zingara Theater of Dreams tonight. CAN'T WAIT. I will update you all tomorrow.

Otherwise here is a something to entertain you...

The "Middle Wife" by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that.

And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.
She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday."

"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!" This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!

"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there."

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another "Middle Wife" comes along.

Office Romances....

2007-03-23T11:43:00.000+02:00

"Have you ever been approached by a colleague..." he asked. He didn't even have to finish the sentence and I realised what he was asking. This got me to thinking about office romances/flings, the pro's the con's the hook-up's and break-up's

I have always been of the opinion that they are generally a bad idea, you know the old adage "don't dip your pen in the company ink pot" OR the lovely images invoked by "don't shit where you eat" (or something like that). Maybe it is because in my previous jobs I have never worked with anyone that has made me want to change that idea, but also the thought of what the hell happens when things go horribly wrong and you still have to work closely with this person, that I have never really given this much thought. However at my current job I have found myself rethinking my position.

I have known many people over the years who have met their future partners at work and all has gone very well for them, in fact I know of at least 2 couples where I am now, so obviously it can work but then I think you must know from the onset that there is more than just a physical attraction and you must both be looking for more than just a casual fling, or you both have to be the type of people that can separate work and pleasure and be able to not let the one effect the other... easier said than done.

ANYWAY, back to why I started this post...

I have two colleagues here who have made me rethink this idea... call them Mr X and Mr Y.

Mr X is oh soo cool and confident and self assured and would be great for a fling or casual booty-call (for lack of a better way to describe it) but I know that I am as far from his 'type' as it comes. He has the type of personality that draws people to him. A great guy, a good conversationalist, fun and sexy. The more I think about it the more I know that it wouldn't work and we would simply not be right for each other on all levels. So with him I am easily able to put those thoughts to the back of my mind and get on with life/work... now if only he would get out of my dreams (yup, twice in one week.... hmmmmmm)

Mr Y couldn't be more different from Mr X in appearance. He is as down-to-earth as it comes, a huge amount of fun, caring, gentle, funny, all around NICE GUY and bloody good looking to boot. He is everything I have ever wanted or looked for in a man but he is also UNAVAILABLE (and that is a boundary I am NOT prepared to cross). And believe me, if it wasn't for that last little detail, this notion of not mixing work with pleasure would have gone straight out of the window without even so much as a seconds hesitation. Now to perfect that human cloning thing :)

Anyway, just wanted to share my thought and ramblings... now it is your turn... have you ever? would you? how did it work out? don't be shy... TELL ALL

---------UPDATE ---------

Another thought/question connected to above and at the same time not...

At what point do you tell someone how you feel about them, even if you know that nothing more will come of it other than getting it out in the open, even if you have no idea how they will react all the time hoping that it won't f-up the friendship that you DO have????

Pic of the Week

2007-03-21T23:04:00.000+02:00

Pics from the paragliding experience...

Look carefully, I'm in the yellow canopy half way up the picture

Moments after my ever so graceful landing

The little one going on a low level flight of his own

If absence makes the heart grow fonder….

2007-03-19T14:20:00.000+02:00

Then you must all LOVE me by now :)

Dearest blog

I have been neglecting you over the last 2 months. Thinking back on the time that has passed it has been filled with adventure, excitement and celebrations… what a 2 month’s it has been.

Not long after my last communication with you I enjoyed the culmination of my 29th year on this planet in grand style with 3 separate celebrations. The first was a picnic at Kirstenbosch gardens with my nearest and dearest friends, catered for by the fantastic Ms C… much food and drink were had by all while enjoying the glorious summer Cape Town weather. On the evening of my birthday (which happened to be on a Wednesday this year) I was treated to a sunset cruise into Table Bay where we were graced by the presence of some Southern Right Whales which appeared almost within arms reach of the sailboat. The kids both thoroughly enjoyed the adventure even though we got DRENCHED by the waves splashing over the bow. The evening was then topped off by dinner at the Cape Town Fish Market at the V&A Waterfront… I would like to say that it was the perfect ending to a perfect day but unfortunately I cannot… I have always been an eager patron of this eating establishment often frequenting their stores at other locations in and around Cape Town but unfortunately this particular one cannot be complimented. The service was SHOCKING with us waiting a full 20 min before we were served (and by this time the kids were already tired as it was past their bedtime), the waitress was more interested in the store gossip that was circulating behind the counter then on our enjoyment of the evening, the food took a further 45 minutes to arrive and when it did they had managed to place the incorrect order for my daughter and as I wasn’t prepared to wait another 30 minutes to get it corrected I merely replaced her Cajun calamari with the regular calamari that arrived on my seafood platter. Seafood platter sounds yummy right, well aside from the overcooked mussels which could have been served as biltong, the rest was palatable. Needless to say, I shall not be visiting that particular store again. The third celebration was with my family, and a braai at my parents’ house, FANTASTIC. To top all that partying off I had a belated birthday lunch with an ever entertaining fellow blogger, friend and colleague Adumski today.

Besides the sunset cruise on my birthday, more excitement was had when I was treated to a tandem paragliding afternoon. WOW, how exhilarating. We gathered at La Med overlooking the ocean and sipping on cocktails while watching the previous group of gliders hovering over us before it was my turn to head up the hill. A short drive up Lions Head followed by a 20 min hike to the jump spot and we were there. While I stood taking in the splendor of the view over Camps Bay the glider was positioned, and after a short briefing by Barry on how to position myself and what to do to get in the air we waited for the perfect gust of wind and then… WE WERE OFF. OH MY GOD what an experience… I think we managed to stay airborne for about an hour… the conditions were absolutely perfect. At one point we were hovering over the top of the peak waving down at the people that had just completed the hike up the mountain. This was definitely an experience I will NEVER forget and will hopefully repeat one day soon. Unfortunately I didn’t take a camera up with me but I had someone waiting for me back at La Med who managed to get some fantastic shots of my experience which I shall be sending on to you soon.

I have recently also rekindled my love of camping, encouraged by a friend who goes camping regularly with her man, I was asked if the kids and I would like to join them over the weekend (past). My daughter had her school sports day on Sat morning and after that we drove up to Riverside campsite just outside of Roberston, and as the name suggests… right on the river. What a great weekend, the weather was perfect and we spent almost all our time either on or in the river. Canoeing, swimming, sunbathing, braai-ing, the gorgeous starry filled night sky that you never get to see when in town. The kids loved it and I was left wondering why on earth we don’t do that more often, definitely something to add to my list of resolutions, even if a bit late.

On another positive note, the BEFH and I went away for a weekend a while back… I KNOW I KNOW that sounds like a very odd thing to be doing but it was exactly what we needed. Some quiet time without the kids on neutral territory to talk and say everything that needed to be said and sort out this very odd relationship we have ended up with. We first drove up to a quaint little spot called Maitjiesfontain, what a lovely place, a little bastion of British colonialism. The ‘town’ is owned by one man and consists of a few houses (about 5), a post office, museum, train station, hotel, pub and one or two little gift shops. I don’t know if you could spend more than 24 hours there as there is literally NOTHING to do there besides the 10 minute red-bus tour up and down the main street, but I am very happy that I got to go there at least once in my lifetime. I would definitely recommend a visit and one night stop over there to everyone. We then headed off to Franschoek for the remainder of the weekend and stayed in a glorious B&B, ate toooo much, drank toooo much and talked till we had nothing more to talk about. It was really good. We have ended up with a good understanding of what we have (and what we don’t have) and can now hopefully get on with enjoying the friendship that we DO have. Knowing ‘our’ history, maybe I am being overly optimistic but for now all is good.

I have also recently started pursuing some big new dreams but those plans are all still in their infancy and I will elaborate in a future letter.

But for now I have given you the whirlwind highlights package of the goings on in my life lately and shall leave with the promise that I shall not neglect you for so long again.

Love and hugs and sloppy wet kisses
M

Horribly Overdue Holiday Update - WARNING picture intensive

2007-01-22T21:41:00.000+02:00

Try as I might I have simply not been able to trim down my daily journal to a manageable size for here so I am instead simply going to give you a highlights package and keep my daily ramblings to myself.

So here we go.... WARNING: picture intensive

The 6 flights I had to take on my holiday were all less than perfect, due to various reasons and the complete inability to do the online check ins as planned, I ended up in horrible seats each time (and being 5'11" having no leg room on an 8 hour flight is HORRENDOUS). When I left Cape Town the weather was a lovely 29 deg Celsius and landed 21 hours later to a refreshing 8 deg... bbbrrrrrrrrr doesn't even cover it.

Amman is in a word monochromatic. The exteriors of all the houses and buildings are covered in the same stone... some of it is smooth, some polished and slight variations in the colours make the city blend in with the surroundings... special permission is needed to add any colour, however the insides are a completely different story. The first highlight was the appearance of SNOW on my first day there, not allot but enough to cover the ground with a light dusting and, of course, to make snowballs (which I did). This was the first time that I had ever experienced snow and I had to go to a desert country to do it.

The next day we headed off to Jerash (Gerasa), which is considered to one of the most well preserved sights of Roman architecture outside of Italy. It was SPECTACULAR... I simply could not fathom the age of the place with most of it being established around the time of Christ. Artifacts have been found here dating back to the Neolithic age indicating that the site has been occupied for around 6 500 years. The oldest buildings and architecture we have in South Africa is from the 17th century. We spent 4 hours wondering the site, breathing in the architecture and enjoying the sounds of a traditional Jordanian band complete with BAGPIPES. Even though the sun was out we were still layered in jerseys and jackets and scarves and hats and gloves.

Food is a big part of life here and boy do they know how to do it... most meals were mezze's with flat bread, you know the kinds... lots of dips and fillers (humus, mutabal, fallafel, haloum) in the middle of the table and everyone just digs in. The local white wine is not much to write about... but the red went down really really well on these cold nights.

We then headed off to Petra once the roads had been cleared enough to make it through the pass. There was about 50-60 cm's of snow in the southern mountain areas and in most parts only enough space on the road for one car... so if you ended face-to-face with another vehicle you prayed it was at a section wide enough to pass or one of you ended up reversing till you found a spot (at times up to 2km's)... in the end we survived the 3 hour journey in tact. Petra is mind blowing, spectacular, breath taking... anyone who ever finds themselves in this part of the world HAS to make a trip to Petra (but budget on at LEAST 2 days to see most of it - and be prepared for lots of walking and hiking).

Winding our way through The Siq (a 1 km path through the mountain) you know that around one of the bends you will see the first view of The Treasury (made famous to the western world by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), and before you know it there it is in all it's massive glory. If you do come here make sure you enter the sight early (around 7AM) as it is quiet and you get to see the glorious pink and orange and red colours in the rocks that fade to grey in the noon day sun.

After taking in the awe of this site we headed off to climb the first of 2 mountains on that day. The 850 steps (taking about an hour to ascend) leads you up to The Monastery. The exhausting trek up ere is almost a required penance and preparation for this meditative place.

Click on the picture and see the person to get an idea of the scale of the place.

We spent about an hour up here feeling like we were on top of the world, before we headed back down and through the 'city' complex heading to our second mountain climb up to the High Place of Sacrifice. All along the main thoroughfare of Petra, now bustling with hundreds of tourist, are many many locals selling wares and each inviting you to join them for some Bedouin tea (which they make a point of telling us is for free). Along with these are the many donkey and camel 'operators' offering to take you to your destination.

After about another 45 min climb we reached the next destination which after all the ornateness below is rather unassuming... a large flat carved area with an alter and surrounded by raised stone seating. Apparently many years ago visitors to Petra would camp up here in summer sleeping under the starts. Following this tradition we lay on the rocks surrounding this one iconic place and had a short snooze soaking up the mid day sun warming the area.

The second day in Petra was spent exploring the low lying temples.. the Urn Tomb... the Royal Tombs... the Amphitheater... and I got to ride a camel.

After all the hiking my feet and legs greatly appreciated the relaxation at the Dead Sea the following day, which also happened to be New Years Eve. We opted for the quieter of the two parties happening at the hotel and ended up spending 4 hours eating a 6 course meal before blasting the new year in with trumpets and rattles and song. 1 January was enjoyed in the most incredible Spa I have ever been to... and one of my resolutions is to spend the 1st of Jan every year in a Spa.

Back to Amman for a one night stopover and then cross the border to Damascus, Syria. Now this is a city of conundrums... one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, old and run down except for the odd new hotel, and then there is the old city with it's narrow streets lined with little shops and restaurants surrounding one of the oldest biggest Mosques. Inside the buildings is some of the most ornate tile work and mosaics and embellished ceilings in golds and blues and reds.

And at night thousand of people line the streets. The place only livens up around lunch time but then it says open till 3 or 4 AM This is the place where people come to see and be seen. It is also so the only place that I would have felt more comfortable if I had a man accompanying me (and it takes a lot for me to admit that). The woman here generally go out in large groups or with a male family member... and being a head taller than most of the locals didn't help me blend in all that much. 2 Days here shopping my little heart out meant that the taxi drivers gave me very odd looks with they saw me with suitcase, backpack and a wrapped painting, but laden with gifts we headed back to Amman for the last 2 days of my 2 week holiday.

This doesn't do the place near enough justice... it was all spectacular, breathtaking and have given me memories to last a lifetime.

I have loaded 188 of the over 600 photos taken, here.... so please enjoy.

Words that I learnt while there (and please excuse the spelling... I have spelt them phonetically as you would pronounce them... more or less).
Thank you = Shoukran
response to that is Afwan
Hello = Marhaba... or the more traditional Salam Molekom (to which you respond Malekom Salam)
Goodbye = Masalama
No problem = Mishmushkala (love this one)
Right (directional) = Yameen
Left = Shmal
I also learned to count from 1 to 10 and to recognise Arabic numerals... well strictly speaking Indian... the entire Western world has adopted the true Arabic numerals (1,2,3 etc) here instead they use the Indian version.... OF COURSE.

Man there is just soooooo much more I would love to tell but fear I will bore you all to tears... you'll just have to go and experience it all yourself.

Filler Meme

2007-01-15T09:44:00.000+02:00

I am still busy putting together a post about my recent holiday but have to do ALOT of editing... while typing up notes from my journal I realised that it will be pages and pages and pages long so am putting together a highlights package to post here soon.

In the meantime I found this over at Aquila Online and enjoyed the results it gave.

Here are the rules:
1. Open your music library
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool - I know you have Celine Dion in there somewhere…

And here are my results:

Opening Credits: Metallica – Killing Time
Waking Up: Foo Fighters – The Deepest Blues are Black
First Day at School: The Calling - Adrienne
Falling in Love: Switchfoot – On Fire
Fight Song: Metallica – The Call of Ktulu
Breaking Up: Live – Good Pain
Prom/Matric Farewell: Prime Circle – Can’t Stop the Rain
Life’s Okay: Azam Ali – From Heaven to Oust
Mental Breakdown: Nirvana – Jesus doesn’t want me for a sun
Driving: Watershed – Return to me
Flashback: Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Hump de Bump
Getting Back Together: System of a Down - ATWA
Wedding: Counting Crows – Perfect Blue Buildings
Birth of a Child: Bon Jovi – I’ll be there for you
Death Scene: Counting Crows – Round Here
Funeral Song: Scissor Sisters – Take Your Mama Out
End Credits: Soundtrack De-Lovely (Elvis Costello) – Let’s Misbehave

Okay, now except for the fact that I have a very odd collection of music, that wasn't half bad :)

If you've read this consider yourself tagged (let me know when you post the results)

Back in body but mind still on Holiday

2007-01-10T12:20:00.000+02:00

I am back in warm sunny South Africa, but my mind is still on holiday in Jordan. What a fantastic time. I have sooo much to show and tell, but for right now am still getting my head around the fact that it is all over.

I took a note book with me and will be posting a LONG entry soon about all the happenings and some of the 400'odd pic's that I took.

I hope you all had a fantastic new year and that 2007 is treating you all well so far.

AND... She's off

2006-12-26T09:29:00.000+02:00

Okay well that is it for me for this year... in a few hours I'll be on a plane heading north (more or less). If I have access to a pc I'll post updates, but I am planning on spending my time on other things.

Hope you all had a terrific Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

See you in 2007.

'Tis the season to be silly... tra la la lala

2006-12-19T22:21:00.000+02:00

I have been on leave for a week now and for most people leave is a time for them to unwind, slow down, relax and recharge... however my week has been one of the most chaotic I have had in a while. Seeing as I will be away for 2 weeks I have been spending as much time as I can with my kids this week which has included everything from my boys birthday party, Carols by Candlelight, shopping, movies, clay cafe, beach, swimming, aquarium and everything inbetween.

I AM EXHAUSTED.

My little angel was spoilt as usual, gifts galore and a cake he loved. I have been trying to upload a pic of him with his cake but as yet blogger aint playing with.

Carol's by Candlelight is a yearly event at Kirstenbosch and a Cape Town institution. Every year about a week before Christmas thousands upon thousands of people congregate in the beautiful gardens in the spirit of the season. Anyone who lives in this beautiful city or visits it over the festive season, and has not yet attended this spectacle truly does NOT know what they are missing.

This is the third year running that I have gone, and the second that I have taken my kids along, and it is now becoming a family tradition. It normally runs for 4 consecutive evenings around the 16th of December. We arrived on Sunday evening around 6PM with a full picnic and heading off to meet with the friends waiting for us, and were confronted with the sight of people lined all the way up the hill and back down behind us waiting to get in. IT WAS PACKED. Everyone having a festive time... eating, drinking and merry making were definitely the order of the day (or night). Around 8PM, conveniently also around sunset, candles are lit and the carols are underway... led by the Cape Town Concert Brass Band and the Cape Town Male Voice Choir. What a sight to behold... thousands of candles swaying to the sound of carols being belted out by everyone there. If you haven't yet gone... GO NEXT YEAR... you will NOT regret it.

The Clay Cafe in hout bay is another fantastic spot to take your kids, or yourself, if you are looking to be creative for an afternoon. It is a pottery studio up on the hill overlooking the hout bay valley and over to the ocean where they make, paint and sell delightful african theme pottery. They also have a cafe where you can go and paint your own. You pay for the bisque and get 3 paint colours to use and then your imagination does the rest. Once you have created your masterpiece they fire it for you and then you return to collect your piece 2 weeks later. The kids absolutely LOVE it. They even cater for birthday parties... which is how we were first introduced to it. Another must do if you are in Cape Town.

Otherwise I am UBER excited about the upcoming trip, and if I am honest a little anxious. I know it is going to be great, fantastic, an experience to remember forever... however this is the first time that I will be leaving the kids for that amount of time... and it is the first time that I will be traveling alone (once there I will be meeting with a friend) but I have to get myself half way around the world by myself. And although I know I have nothing to be anxious about and that I am more than capable of looking after myself, I am still a little anxious. And then to top it all off... I checked the weather forecast for Jordan and Syria and I AM GOING TO FREEZE MY BACKSIDE OFF. When everyone else is coming to Cape Town at this time of year to bask in the 28 deg sunshine everyday... I will be leaving it to go to temp's of between -5 and 15 deg. Layering, it is all about layering :)

Holidays, cakes and tattoo's

2006-12-15T09:49:00.000+02:00

YEAH, today is my last day at the office, I am already in holiday mode. I won't see the inside of this place for another 3.5 weeks. HELL YES, this is long overdue.

Last Sunday the weather and water conditions turned out to be perfect and so we managed to go diving after all. Man it was great to be in the water again. We went to Oudekraal with a few other new divers (it was their very very first ocean dive) so a great way to get back into the swing of things as we took it very easy. The water was perfect with about 10m of visibility, however this also meant that it was quite cold (11 deg to be precise)... thank God for the 7ml two-piece wetsuit that attempted to keep me above freezing level. We also had the pleasure of seeing a baby electric ray... very rare to catch of glimpse of these around here, and if it wasn't for our dive instructors keen eye we would have missed it completely. Plans are to go again this Sunday... let's hope the weather plays along as it is the last chance I have before going away.

11 days to go... 11 days to go... 11 days to go... soon I'll start counting the hours, then minutes. I am soooooooo excited, although I realised yesterday that I need to stock up my winter wardrobe... but where do you think I can get winter clothes at this time of year (remember we in sunny South Africa are in the full swing of summer). When most people come here to escape the cold and snow I am doing the exact opposite. Oh well.. that is my mission for next week... find some winter clothes.

As for tonight... it will be taken up by baking the big-boy a birthday cake for the party tomorrow. He keeps changing his mind though as to what kind of cake he wants... so has left it to me to surpise him. I will post some pictures here once it is done.

Then finally... the tattoo hunt. I have found a few options but am still struggling to make up my mind. So... I am seeking input from all of you as to which one you like most... .I am leaning more and more to no. 9 (the numbers are beneath the images). I also quite like the Kanji symbols here.

My Baby is 4 today

2006-12-13T08:47:00.000+02:00

I cannot believe just how quickly the last 4 years have passed by. I must be doing something right though to have such a wonderful little angel in my life.

Happy Birthday My Boy

Searching for Inspiration

2006-12-08T10:18:00.000+02:00

Maybe it is just this time of year and my brain is slowly shutting down in preparation of the upcoming holiday (YEAH)... maybe it is the combination of too many functions (read alcohol) and not enough sleep... but I have been struggling to come up with any decent topics to write about and hence the SILENCE for the last week. Anyway, I am just going to ramble on here a bit about the goings on, or lack thereof, lately.

Well, as of last Friday, we are officially part of the B.I.G-Fish company and it is pretty much business as usual, except that they seem to be having some difficulty getting me onto their network which means that the WEALTH of information etc that is supposedly available for us is still out of my reach. Business as usual also means that I am once again left with NOTHING to do. We had started working on a new release of our project - as we had nothing else to do and instead of sitting here warming up the chairs we thought we would get some constructive work done knowing full well that the contract would eventually get signed as it is a rather critical project. HOWEVER B.I.G-Fish has decided to review all contract information and has told us to stop all work on this until it is signed.... expected D-Day for the big signing is end January (MAYBE). Thank God I only have one more week to sit here being a human-chair-warmer.

I am now getting extremely excited about my upcoming holiday. I'll be spending a week at home with the little'uns before Christmas and then on 26 December - off into the great blue yonder for 2 WHOLE WEEKS... Just me... No kids... No BEFH... No Work... No Nothing. This is soooo long overdue.

Oh... on another note... my wayward dive instructor got hold of me again this week. Now this is a LOOOOONG story, but basically I started a course early last year and just never finished it... for various reasons. I have done all the dives required with him and more... and had all but one lecture to complete and then to write the exam. Well he is now running another course that I am slotting into. This meant lectures last night to cover the topics I hadn't done yet, weather permitting a dive on Sunday and then the exam next Tuesday. I just realised this is the first time I have mentioned my diving here... that might be becuase the last time I got in the water was in February (long before I started this blog). I LOVE IT. It is one of the most amazing experiences I have had (and could ever have). To be under the water with only yourself (and your buddy), the peace and tranquility, the life... all you hear is the sound of your own breathing and maybe the occasional speed boat... It is truely amazing.

As for the upcoming weekend... busy busy busy again... starting this afternoon. Our team is having a end of year spit braai (the last in the silly-season-work-functions for me). Then tomorrow, myself and Ms C are going for a pamper session complete with facials and manicures/pedicures... this is my treat to her (and myself) as it was her birthda last week. Then on Sunday a dive if the water looks good... and inbetween all this I need to recap on all my dive notes in preparation for the exam on Tuesday.

Okay, well that is enough of my rambling for now :)

The rollercoaster is heading UP

2006-11-28T12:39:00.000+02:00

Life seems to be taking a turn for the better recently, things are just falling into place, the gods are smiling upon me, and the roses are in bloom.

Since the last altercation with BEFH he has left us alone... finally... and all is well with the world (well at least my little one). My immediate concerns were what about my holiday (I really really don't want to cancel), where will the kids go? What about the house (he and I are both the registered owners - i.e. he still owns half of MY house)? What about my sanity? What about the funds to sort out the previous issues (house and holiday)? But you know what... it is all taken care of.

So here are the updates:

The Little'uns - will be going to my folks for the two weeks that I am away. My mom was meant to be working for the first of the two but has told the powers that be (and there aren't many as she is one of the directors) that she will be available from home for the first week and on leave in the second. The kids love staying there and are already getting excited at the prospects of two whole weeks of being spoilt rotten.

The House - I started making inquiries with a lawyer about 2 months ago about what we need to do to get the house transferred solely into my name, and yesterday I fetched the papers from him that will allow this to happen. This did mean that I had to make contact with BEFH as he needs to sign some of the paperwork, but he isn't putting up a fuss about it (seems to have gotten the hint). This does however mean that I need to pay transfer costs on half the property value, which brings me nicely to my next point.

The Money - At first I thought that I would have to take out a loan to pay the costs for the house (there is no bond registered so wouldn't be able to dig into those funds) and was heading out to the bank today to talk to the manager about getting a personal loan. I also have an investment account with funds that I had saved up over the years, however I didn't think that there was enough there to cover even half the amount I needed and that I was intending to use for my holiday accommodation and spending money. I decided to stop on the way and check... just for good measure... and guess what, I have enough there to cover the transfer and all the peripheral costs involved and have enough to spare for my holiday. I'M OVER THE MOON

and lastly... The Holiday - EVERYTHING is done... all that is left to do is for me to get on the plane. The tickets are booked and paid for, the hotels are booked, the visa's are all sorted and back with me... now just to wait the last few days till I get on the plane and head off into the wild blue yonder.

Pirate for a night

2006-11-26T21:29:00.000+02:00

Friday night was our company's last ever year end function, as of 30 November we will no longer exist... small fish having been bought out by big fish, really B.I.G. fish. Anyway, being (currently) in the shipping industry the theme for the evening was imaginatively decided to be that of a Pirate Evening.

The venue was spetacularly decked out with black trimmings, tents, table cloths, silver place settings and candelabra's, what I can only assume was cottonwool threads made to look like cobwebs, eye-patches and gold and silver 'coins' on the tables, little rubber skeletons and bandana caps. Outside was a photographer set up to snap up pictures of all the happy couples in a lovely setting of treasure chests filled with coins and crowns (all plastic of course, not that that stopped people from walking out with most, if not all, of the evenings props). I arrived promptly at 6:45.. not the first, thank god, and was welcomed by delicious fruit-punch and rum (of course) cocktails. Slowly more and more people started trickling in until our numbers must have reached around 200 bodies, including Adumski and Yummy D, most with their partners (except for the three of us and a few others).

After everyone was seated the speeches started, including a video presentation of interviews and 'behind the scenes' goings on from within the company over the last 30-odd years that we have been in existence (can you believe there are a small handfuls of people who have been with the company since the year I was born and before). The drinks kept coming, for me white wine and cocktails - the kids were with their granny for the evening and I didn't have to hurry home - and then the food, which was unfortunately the lowlight of the evening.

The starters included a few pieces of greenery with a drizzle of roasted pepper, a few slices of feta and 5 (exactly 5) olives on every plate. Mains were a choice of half a chicken breast (cut in 5 slivers) with some rice and a small helping of veggies OR 2 cubes of sirloin with a spoonful of stirfry veggies. Dessert was something masquerading as a cheese cake. And then the music started.. I haven't been bombarded with that much 80's music since I attended my last wedding, but then again I am one of the youngest people in the company and this was right up everyone else's alley... and it was actually a BLAST. Seeing our MD on the dance floor (on of the first people up there as usual) bopping away with everyone else is a sight that I will call upon in memory whenever I need to smile.

I am normally very self conscious and almost uncomfortable in my own skin when it comes to being on a dance floor with everyone watching, but I threw caution to the wind and took the floor with Adumski to join the rest of our friends. I know, an odd word to use for colleagues, but that is the nature of the spirit we have in our company, everyone gets along and we have sooooo many CHARACTERS that every day and every event is always made enjoyable by them, and I have become friendly with many of my colleagues. And so we danced the night away.

The highlight of the evening was certainly sitting outside with Adumski and a few drinks and each of us with a crown (liberated from the photographers set props) on our heads, watching other people and how people change when they have a few drinks in them, with some of the most quiet placid people suddenly becoming boisterous and outgoing. We sat there chatting till we were LITERALLY the LAST two people to leave at 1:40AM.

The rest of the weekend started when I woke up at 7AM (damned that internal body clock) and then managed to coax myself back to sleep for another 2 hours before crawling out of bed around 9AM to fetch the kids and head off to the second booking of the weekend. My son's school carnival, which he has been looking forward to for weeks. The afternoon was spent relaxing on the couch and trying to find some energy for the evening poitjie at a friends house... now for those NON-SouthAfrican readers out there a poitjie is like a stew (normally mutton or beef, but in this case ox-tail) with everything thrown into a single pot on a fire and coals, and then left to simmer for most of the afternoon. It was a lovely evening, the kids thoroughly enjoyed it and my boy fell asleep on my lap after he had run off all his energy. All in all.. a lovely weekend.

Taking a tumble... and drama, drama, drama

2006-11-22T21:57:00.000+02:00

On Monday night I had a once in a lifetime experience (and no, that is not necessarily a good thing... just something I'll probably NEVER EVER do again). I went speed dating... yes you read that correctly... S.P.E.E.D. dating. The evening was immense fun, but that is purely due to the fact that I went with 3 girl-friends. The four of us are all single and thought this would, at the very least, be a fun experience.

ANYWAY, we arrived at the venue about 15 minutes early (as requested by the organisers) and got ourselves some drinks (mostly to settle the nerves) , all the while being eyed out by the 'men' sitting at the bar... these are the same 'men' we were to be dating shortly afterwards. All the ladies (all 11 of us) were seated one per table armed with a pen and paper. The men (all 6 of them) arrive taking up their positions and the evenings events are explained. We get 3 minutes in total to talk to eachother before the men are ushered on and moved to the next table. Only 3 minutes you say, for most of them we managed to fill that time easily, but when you are confronted with someone who answers every question in one-word-answers then those 3 minutes feel like a lifetime.

As you may have guessed there were NO real prospects, well at least not for us, I hope that some of the other woman there managed to find someone that they would like to see again, but for the 4 of us... NOT A CHANCE. The 1 hour worth of 'dating' was then followed by a meal (lamb and fillet and chicken skewers with veggies and potato wedges... followed by a delicious chocolate fondue). However, when you are flirting more with the waiters than the prospective dates you know the evening aint going well.

The highlight (or lowlight as it may be) was my glorious tumble down a flight of stairs... luckily no-one was there to witness the spectacular feat. This happened on one of my bathroom trips and while I was stone-cold sober. As I started down the stairs I managed 2 steps and as I took the third my heel BROKE... my favorite pair of shoes... BROKEN. So now I have some lovely reminders of the evening, a ginormous bruise on my hip and knee and a twisted ankle.

As for the DRAMA... which seems to be the trend in my entries lately... the BEFH has now completely gone over the edge. I will not divulge the details here but he definitely needs help. He has hit absolute rock bottom, and I am convinced he is trying to pull me down with him. There is nothing more that I can do... I am exhausted, done, finished. I can and will no longer be made to feel responsible for him (and by that I mean responsible for finding him help). I had a chat with his mother now and have filled her in as much as I can and told her that she now needs to sort her son out. After the latest incident I no longer WANT him around me or my children (even though he has once again done the "I don't/won't see them again" thing).

I know I never asked for this (or otherwise I am being punished for something I did in a past life). At least this time round I am not doing this alone and was on the phone with my mom again tonight. I really don't know what it had to come to this for me to realise that I always had her there for me, but I never asked before.

And to top all of this off, we had clients/colleagues down from Copenhagen for the last 3 days, which has required me to be bright and perky and alert for meeting after meeting after meeting.

Right now I need sleep, so that is it from me for now.

Pic of the Week - My Family

2006-11-17T13:51:00.000+02:00

A balletrina in the making... practicing for the upcoming exam... it really isn't easy always being the tallest in the class.

The light of my life... he is always ready with a smile and his laugh is contagious.

Here are my four legged and feathered children

Josie...

Mittens...

Nelson (the old man in the house)...

and lastly... Freckels

Taking back control... bit by bit

2006-11-16T22:46:00.000+02:00

I am slowly getting myself out of the really bad place I have been in for the last week. Taking control of my life again, or at least trying to. I finally stopped crying yesterday, then it turned to anger and at least that I can deal with, I can rationalise it, get to the source and change it.

So what has changed? Well for starters I am no longer letting BEFH have any control over my emotions, I will NO LONGER expend any energy on him even in the form of anger (which as I have discovered is the most energy sapping emotions there is), he is simply not worth that amount of energy. The second thing that changed is that I ended "it" (whatever "it" was) with Irish... turns out he was a cowardly bastard after all... and that is all I have to say on that matter.

I also had a nice long chat with my mother last night... I am not one who easily asks for help, even if it is just for me to talk to someone, and for some reason my folks are always last on the list of people that I do talk to... so anyway, one of my closest, bestest friends (Lady B) contacted my mom yesterday and that led to my mom popping in for a visit which ended up in us chatting for a few hours. As I discovered yesterday I am more like her than I ever knew (or would ever have admitted in the past)... we are both stubborn and hard headed and strong willed and independent souls who cherish that independence above all else. Anyway, I always knew, and was reminded again last night, that I have their support 100% and that I should never hesitate to ask for that support when needed.

And as for support... Ms C (I know you are reading this too)... thank you, thank you and once again thank you... you know why.

So, in honor of rediscovering some good feelings... here are 3 things that made me happy today

1. My children... they put up with sooo much from me, and even though they can push my buttons like no-ones business, they also know when I am down and are ever ready with hugs and kisses...

2. My family and friends that are always there when I need them most... my mom, Lady B, Ms C, Yummy D

3. A glorious summer day in Cape Town... yes it was a little windy (well maybe more than a little as I discovered when the wind almost took off my skirt when I tried to cross the road) but this is the most beautiful city to be in right now.

Hormones? maybe...

2006-11-12T11:29:00.000+02:00

I don't know what has got into me lately. The last two weeks I have been soo angry... angry at life, angry at God, angry at myself... and I am taking it out on the two people that spend the most time around me... my children. In the last two days this has suddenly turned to sadness... no, more than that... Heartache. The smallest things are setting me off, sitting here writing this post I am on the verge of tears for the 9th time today and about the 100th time this weekend.

I have been struck with an absolute feeling of despair, of confusion, of a lack of direction in my life... a feeling of existence instead of living. I have had a nervous breakdown before and been thrown into the grip of depression that only medical assistance could get me out of and avoid me taking my own life... I am NOT there now, I know the warning signs though and am worried that I may be heading that way again...

Yesterday I almost ended things with Irish... I had hit the lowest point of my day and he was the target of my aggression. Maybe I still should (end it that is) as I am no good to anyone at the moment... not that he would even know THAT... his list of priorities goes something like this:
work
socialising
work
mother
work
flat
work
dog
work
meeting new young single carefree childless spontaneous woman... no... GIRL

FUCK IT... why should I care, I have been the one saying all along that I don't want anything serious (and I DON'T). He has the potential to be a good, even a great, friend... and I am quickly ruining any chance of that at the moment. If he finds someone that is more suited to his way of life, then I am happy for him. I have witnessed him at his worst, with anger targeted towards a certain ex (of his) that was causing some problems in his life... and I stuck around... let's hope he can see my worst, and accept it. If not... then it is HIS loss.

You know what... I have just realised and remembered why I started this blog in the first place. It is a place for me to vent.. to let out these emotions and thoughts and ramblings instead of bottling them up inside as I always used to do. I am feeling a little bit better right now (even though I am sure it will be short lived - so expect an update this evening).

-------------------------------------------------------------------

*update*

Just when I thought my day was taking a turn for the better... when my ex-mother-in-law had taken the kids for a visit for a few hours, giving me a momentary respite and chance to breath and catchup on the housework that had been piling up this weekend, just when I had a quick lie down to recharge my batteries.... and I have a visit from BEFH!!!

This time he physically cornered me in the garden, again proclaiming his love and rambling on about how he should have fought for me when he had the chance. One of those many many many that I gave him through our 6 years of marriage.... or all the times I fought to save the marriage through our year of separation... including the times when I actually DID take him back only for him to fall straight back into his old habits...

Can you believe he physically stood in my way and wouldn't let me get past him. He even restrained me when I tried to get around him, and before you all shout domestic abuse... NO he did not strike me in any way. He doesn't operate like that... he is a manipulator of the mind and emotions. Normally I could put up with this, but he caught me at a week point today and for the first time in a long time he actually saw me crying, and I hate the fact that I let him see that he is getting to me, that he is having an emotional impact on me (even if it is anger and hate).

LIFE!!!

2006-11-11T16:23:00.000+02:00

It's the shit that happens while you are making other plans.

What are your views?

I'm tested, I know...

2006-11-10T20:58:00.000+02:00

I have had the most nerve wracking 28 hours of my life.

As you may know (or at least have guessed from the timer ticking down at the top of the site) I am going to Jordan at the end of the year. While there I have decided that I would like to see Damascus (Syria) at the same time. My tickets are bought, the hotels in Jordan booked and the next task was to investigate visa's.

Jordan was easy, they like South African's there. The visa's are free and you can collect them at the airport when you land, just show them your permanent SA passport and they give you the visa no-questions-asked. GREAT. THEN there is Syria. These can take up to a month to organise AND they require laboratory results of a recent HIV test. WTF was my first reaction...

Where the hell do I even start with this? was the thought going through my mind. I have had an aids test before for my life insurance policy earlier this year, but then they came to me to draw blood and then disappeared never to be heard from again. Well, my policy was approved so I assumed that the test result was negative. This time however, I had to purposefully find somewhere to specifically get tested for the HIVirus. The one place that I knew of close to my place of work seems to have closed (or moved or something, but no-one seems to know where it is). So, next best bet was my GP, luckily I had the paper to prove the visa requirement in response to the skeptical looks I got from him :)

"Do you have any reason to be concerned about the results?" He asked me.... well No, but you never really do know, do you?

Yes, I have started a new relationship recently, and yes I have taken a few unnecessary risks in the last year given our current AIDS situation in Southern Africa. You look at a person, take into account their history (or at least what they have revealed to you) and you take the precautions you deem necessary... but you can never be 100% sure until you are tested. So NO, I didn't feel that I had anything to be concerned about... However, think about what it is that is being tested... this is SERIOUS stuff, and to not be a little wary would be simply stupid.

So, anyway, this afternoon (about 28 hours after the blood was drawn) I returned to my GP to get my results. NEGATIVE.... YEAH.... THANK GOD

Now I can get my Syrian visa... let's see if they can get the paperwork done and get my passport back to me before I leave.

Soul mate: Fact or Fiction?

2006-11-06T20:52:00.000+02:00

My mind very seldom slows down (although many would dispute that), and over supper I found myself contemplating the existence of soul mates. This while gnawing down on chicken drumsticks. While eating with my hands my thoughts jumped to a particular friend who refuses to eat with his hands - even burgers and pizza's get the knife and fork treatment. This is someone who I actually have a fair deal in common with, but enough differences to keep me intrigued at the same time.

Then from here my mind made the giant leap to the concept of soul mates (of course). What makes a person a soul mate, is it the things you have in common or the things that are different, or maybe it is a combination of the two? Do soul mates even exist at all or is it all just a figment of our fairy-tail-stimulated-imaginations?

What do you think???? Have you found your soul mate? and if so, HOW do you KNOW that they are the one??? Is there only one perfect person out there for each of us (if any)???

I am by nature a romantic, so I do (or at least used to) believe in the existence of this mythical match, but my experiences over the last 29 years (okay well at least the last 10) makes me doubt this belief slightly. Then I think back to my grandparents who made it to their 52n'd wedding anniversary. Now no-one other than them will ever know if they truly did attain this magical match, but hope they did, and then I have a glimmer of hope that I might find MY match one day...

the power of music... and response to anon...

2006-11-05T11:47:00.000+02:00

Okay this is the hundredth time I am attempting to post this... blogger has been going into seizures since yesterday morning and keeps LOOSING my entries and comments.... AARRGGGGGGG. So here is the post that made it's first appearance yesterday.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This morning, getting into my car I found that there was very little decent music to listen to on the radio (as usual) and turned on my cd player. I had completely forgotten what was in at the time and was greeted by the following... Evolver: Stronger.

Music has always had a profound role in my life... there is almost never a time when there isn't something playing... like a soundtrack to my life. But the lyrics of this particular song were somehow just what I needed to hear this morning.

i see you there,
lying down when you should be getting up,
you in despair, all alone just take a stand,
you'll be alright.

all this time,
you found a way how to mend a broken heart,
look around and you will see the friends you got,
you not alone, no.

it gets stronger,
every little thing you do is bolder,
if you feel like crying, here’s my shoulder,
i aint afraid.

i see you high,
in the clouds don't care what the people shout,
you moving on with your life just take my hand,
we'll make it right.

looking back,
you wonder how you found the strength to carry on,
you needed time to make it right in your mind,
you are home... home

it gets stronger,
every little thing you do is bolder,
if you feel like crying, here’s my shoulder,
i aint afraid. i aint afraid.

I just wanted to share that with you all.

And to the anonymous commenter from last night on my post "A night to remember...", I have been trying to respond all morning, but blogger seems to have gone into shock and is refusing to update the comments... so here it is....

anon HMMMMMM I don't even know where to start in response to that.
Firstly, I love my kids more than you or anyone else could ever know and I am NEVER EVER EVER negative about their dad in front of them.

This blog is a place for me to vent and to talk and to blow off steam ANONYMOUSLY. Only a small handful of people here actually know who I am... and I have never used real names when referring to anyone.

As for Mr Irish... I do have peace in myself, but what is wrong with being with someone just for the sake of being with them... I have never had grand ideas of where this 'fling' is going. I am not looking for anything serious right now, he knows that, and we are both happy with where this is. As for a different type of man to love me for who I am and treat me the way I want to be treated... who ISN'T looking for that.

Friends... man, how pathetic do you think I am? Of course I phoned to find out what they were up to... and I do organise braai's etc. That was one particular night that I felt like going out and letting my hair down and unfortunately for me it was a last minute decision and everyone was busy.

Why the hell and I justifying myself to you, but you know what... keep your fingers crossed regarding the hunky locksmith :)

P.S. I must admit you have intrigued me... the fact that a complete stranger has taken any interest in my life based on my insane ramblings here :)

Please feel free to e-mail me and we can continue this discussion… InsanelySingle at gmail dot com

The BEFH: The Saga Continues

2006-11-03T11:25:00.000+02:00

Maybe it is just me (I doubt it), but just in case I am throwing this out for comment. My ex has decided that the following is completely logical and sensical... This is the culminating statement of last night's fiasco... "Well if I can't see you then I don't want to see the kids either!". WTF.

Someone please explain to me on what planet that makes sense. His 'explanation' of this statement is that he sees me and the kids as one unit and cannot separate his love for us. Therefore the fact that I have told him to fuckoff out of my life once and for all means that he feels he cannot stand to see the kids again either.

This all came about after I got home yesterday after my sons concert (which was soooo cute) to find that he had set up a complete candle lit dinner in MY lounge, and me completely loosing my cool and telling him it is unacceptable, unwanted, invasion of privacy (AGAIN), I'll be changing my locks and getting a restraining order against what I now consider to be a stalker. "But I die a little bit each time I walk away from you" he said... to which I responded that he must just fuckoff and die now as I NEVER EVER EVER want to see him again other than at kid exchanges.

AARRRGGGGGGGG

You know what... good riddance to bad rubbish is all I can say.

By the time he left I was soooo frazzled by the events of the evening, and was left quite upset and even sad... but let me explain why before you start thinking that I still have an iota of feeling for the man.

Why was I upset... well for 2 reasons... one selfish and one not

1. My children... How do I explain to them that their father doesn't want to see them again? Do I bother trying to explain it at all? As much as I can't stand the sight of him anymore, they do still need a father in their lives... Especially my son

2. My 'me' time (the time I had to myself when they went to their father) is now gone. It is not that I want to get away from my kids (couldn't be further from the truth). But those fortnightly breaks help me to restore some of my sanity, and unwind and have some adult conversation. My time to just do what I want, when I want and how I want. But more than THAT... what will I do with them now during my planned, booked and paid for holiday at the end of the year.

This is not the first time he has pulled this 'stunt', but the big difference is that in the past I would give in (due to above 2 reasons) and put up with him and his presence in my life. BUT NOT ANYMORE. As for the rest, well... I'll survive, I always do... and I am going to have to start relying on family more.

A night to remember... Fatal blogging mistake... And the EX from HELL

2006-11-01T09:22:00.000+02:00

WOW, WOW, WOW, Incredible, Fantastic, Spectacular... Last night was in a word... AMAZING.

This is the third time I have had the pleasure of seeing LIVE in concert in Cape Town and each time they get better and better - as does the crowd. I went with Ms C and met up with her sister and BIL. We also tracked down Adumski & Samwise and a few of their friends (A... You are off the proverbial hook for now). Later Yummy-D was spotted (although that is not a difficult thing as this 6'4" person stands out in the crowd a little) with L2.

It was an evening of incredible music and much dancing, singing (shouting) and FUN. The Parlotones were the opening act for the evening and they were also SUPERB... they had the crowd up and on their feet from the very first song and what followed was 4 hours of ROCK. YEEEAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH. Needless to say my feet and voice are suffering a little this morning... but it was WELL WORTH IT.

Irish was there aswell although he had managed to secure golden circle tickets with a backstage pass through a friend (proving again that it is WHO you know not WHAT you know that counts), and HERE lies my fatal blogging mistake. Not long after I met him I, in a moment of madness, told him about my blog. This has meant that I have been censoring my entries concerning him a little... but not any more.

IRISH... if you are reading this... please be warned that this is a place for me to vent anonymously and let off steam when needed... so keep that in mind when reading any future entries... better yet... stop reading them.

And now for the slimy, manipulative, bastard ex from hell.

Last week I told him about the fact that I had met someone... and that is all I told him. This then sent him into a 5 day sulk from which he emerged last night. Seeing as I was going out for the evening, he came to babysit the kids and in the 20 minutes that I was at home for a quick change out of work attire and freshening up to go out he cornered me and continued to profess his undying love for me.

AARRRGGGGGG, does this bastard just not get it. When we were married he was never around... when we were separated he couldn't give a flying fuck about trying to fix things... now, almost 2 years after we were divorced, after I have made peace with the fact that it is over and am no longer angry/depressed/sad, after I have moved on and a statement like that simply has NO MORE EFFECT ON ME... he has the audacity to tell me that he has never loved me as much as he does now, and how he can't live without me, and then fucking tries to kiss me. KISS ME.... it was all I could do not to bitch-slap him. He is a leach.... no... worse than that... he is a microbe that lives in the slimy scum of a leach.

For the sake of the kids I have been trying to keep a friendship going between him and I, but I simply cannot do this anymore. My life is complicated enough, and it is time to start removing some of these complications. I foresee all the locks at home being replaced very very soon, and all kid exchanges happening in public venues from now on. He is still their father and I will have to put up with him at all school events and important day's in their lives... but I will no longer tolerate him in MY home.

Pic of the week

2006-11-01T09:15:00.000+02:00

The great thing about being small is that your mouth is at just the right level to shovel food off your plate.

Careful inspection of the semi-precious gems at the Scratch Patch. Let's see if this one makes the grade and get's taken home.

My little sun god'let. He is MUCH more content to lie in the sun than get in the water.

And lastly my waterbaby.... getting her OUT of the water is next to impossible

LIVE in Concert TONIGHT

2006-10-31T12:40:00.000+02:00

7 hours and counting

Where did all my single friends go?

2006-10-27T19:46:00.000+02:00

I have found myself in an odd situation. I love socializing but the life I have led over the last 7 years has meant that I am sitting here tonight ACHING to go out and have a few drinks and dance and relax and socialize but have NO ONE to do it with.

When I was in high school and at varsity I had many many friends that I would do just this with. Not one weekend went by without a something happening till the wee hours of the morning. Then I got knocked up and married and THAT became my whole life for 6 years. I have completely lost contact with 99% of those friends (and only have myself to blame for that) and replaced them with equally good married or single-parent friends.

Don't get me wrong... They are great friends but it means that when I have a free weekend (kids with their dad) and want to go out on a Friday night I will have to do it alone...

Lady-B - at home with her family (husband and 3 sons) and enjoying some rare quality time with them
The Empress - out on a date with Mr S
Theater-girl - single, but has some function happening at the theater and can't go out, as much as she would like to
Adumski - well... Still working on that one... Never comes to any event I have invited him to, and so have got to the point where I am about to stop asking
Yummy-D - at home babysitting his daughter while his wife visits her ailing mother (now this one I can't fault)
Ms C - let's just say she is more of a homebody and really does not enjoy the club/pub scene much at all

Now I have found myself single again and desperately in need of building my circle of single friends... Somehow... hmmmmm. Bit of a catch 22 though because you need to be socializing to meet new people in the first place.

Anyway, on a cheerier note. I now have my tickets to Jordan in December in my hot little hands. It turned out a bit more expensive than expected as I completely overlooked the fact there people are traveling for pilgrimage at that time of year and the airline I wanted to fly with (one of the best and cheapest) - Qatar Airline - is fully booked. So have managed to secure myself place on an Emirates flight at twice the price. Oh well. I am still bloody excited though. Cannot wait. Leave 26 December 2006 and back 8 January 2007.

Doing the touristy thing...

2006-10-24T15:14:00.000+02:00

I have lived in Cape Town all my life, and one of the things that we Capetonians tend to do is take our beautiful surroundings completely for granted. However, having kids you get to enjoy some of the things you never took time for... let me explain.

On the weekend we had absolutely glorious weather. Now my normal weekend routine would be shopping and groceries and maybe some gardening and movies. However this weekend I decided to pack the kids and show them some of the sites that I haven't been too since I was a kid myself. So off we headed to Simon's Town (a quaint little naval town). Our first stop was Boulders Beach to see the penguin colony... and believe it or not this is the first time in my (almost) 29 years that I have been there. Here we were joined by a busload of German tourists. Unfortunately it was a little windy, but when did that ever stop a determined mother :)

After our commune with the little birds in their tuxedo's we headed back into the town itself and took a nice long walk along the main road stopping at some quaint bakeries and antique shops and all the typical beachy/tourist traps. This was followed up by a delicious meal at Bertha's - hmmmm calamari and kingklip. Here we were joined by no less than 2 busloads of Japanese tourists.

From here we took a scenic drive over the mountain to Noordhoek and then around the famous Chapmans Peak. This is a particular road that I used to travel often... when I needed a break, just to get away look out at the ocean and just chill. Unfortunately the vegetation in this area was destroyed in a massive fire a few years back after which the road was closed for a long time due to dangerous rock falls. After various rehabilitation efforts and massive nets were erected to catch these boulders, the road was reopened as a toll road. This was the first time since then that I actually drove on this road again. And it is still one of the most beautiful drives to do in the world.

This takes you in to Hout Bay and here we were greated with the site of a pod of Southern Right Whales playing in the bay. So we pulled off the road into one of the picnic spots and just stood and watched them for ages. What spectacular creatures. Then into Hout Bay for the most incredible ice cream you ever did eat.

Now THAT was the way to spend 6 hours in Cape Town.

Appreciate the little things

2006-10-24T15:09:00.000+02:00

One day...

The father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son... How was the trip?

It was great, Dad.
Did you see how poor people live? the father asked.
Oh yeah, said the son.
So, tell me, what you learned from the trip? asked the father.

The son answered:

I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end…

…We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond

…We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing?

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Alive and Kicking (almost)

2006-10-19T22:23:00.000+02:00

I have tried three times now to start this post... but my brain is simply not putting any coherent thoughts together. I have been ill for the last week and my head still seems to be suffering some side effects of the lack of nutrition. I have had a throat infection which has made eating almost impossible - however the doctor seems to have a sadistic side and prescribed the biggest bloody tablets he could find... two of them twice a day.

I have snippets of many things that I would like to tell you all about, so I am just going to let them be told in the way that they spill out onto my keyboard this evening.

I am the proudest mother in Cape Town this week. My daughter (grade 1) was awarded a merit award for artwork that was entered into the eisteddfod. A beautiful drawing of a flower. This time of year also starts getting very very busy with them. They have school concerts and galas and fetes and and and... I have completely lost track of what is happening to the point that I am writing EVERY SINGLE thing up on a calendar in the kitchen (something I really should do more often).

Irish is well... we are in contact every day even though we only get to see each other about once a week. I spent the day with him on Saturday again, visited with him mom... boy the stories she has to tell of her days as a doctor in the military and the things that used to go on at base. We took his 'son' Codi (a BEAUTIFUL red-and-white Siberian Husky) for a walk - or at least he took us for a walk... what a lovely animal. Irish loves him to bits and he (the dog) seems to have taken a liking to me as well. Add puppy-charmer to my resume. I have hunted the net looking for a picture that would do some justice to show you just how beautiful he is... but alas.. none to be found. I am just going to have to take some of my own and post here.

Oh, he (Irish) has also invited me to join him at his companies year-end function. Read what you will into that (or the fact that I have yet to invite him to mine... hmmmmmmm).

On other news, I noticed yesterday that posters have started going up around town for the LIVE concert at the end of the month. My tickets are secured (and safely locked away for the last month) and seeing these posters has really started to get me excited.

My brain is now completely on the fritz. See you all on the otherside of sanity.

Fun Friday

2006-10-13T08:53:00.000+02:00

Girls Night Out (and no! this is NOT me)...

The other night I was invited out for a night with "the girls". I told my husband that I would be home by midnight, "I promise!"

Well, the hours passed and the margaritas went down way too easily.
Around 3a.m., a bit worse for wear, I headed for home. Just as I got in the door, the cuckoo clock in the hall started up and cuckooed 3 times.

Quickly, realizing my husband would probably wake up, I Cuckooed another 9 times. I was really proud of myself for coming up with such a quick-witted solution, in order to escape a possible conflict with him.
(Even when totally smashed...3 cuckoos plus 9 cuckoos totals 12 cuckoos=MIDNIGHT!)

The next morning my husband asked me what time I got in, and I told him "Midnight". He didn't seem concerned at all. Whew! Got away with that one!

Then he said, "We need a new cuckoo clock."

When I asked him why. He said, "Well, last night our clock cuckooed 3 times, then said, "Oh shit.", cuckooed 4 more times, cleared its throat, cuckooed another 2 times, giggled, cuckooed twice more, and then tripped over the coffee table and farted."

Roll on Weekend

2006-10-12T11:34:00.000+02:00

Now THIS is the type of weather forecast I want to see before EVERY weekend.... ROLL ON SUMMER

New Years Abroad

2006-10-10T13:42:00.000+02:00

Up to now I have not mentioned my planned holiday to Jordan at the end of the year as it has been on-again-off-again planning. I started planning this holiday a few months ago and no sooner had I got some details together and the Israel-Lebanon 'thing' started. So I decided to hold off all plans until things settled down again. That happened and planning resumed only to hear the same day that the American embassy in Damascus was attacked. So on came the breaks once more.

HOWEVER, things have been very quiet, for a few weeks now at least, and I have decided to throw what little caution I had to the wind and go for it. It is not everyday that an opportunity like this presents itself and I am going to take it.

A very close friend of mine, one that I have known since high school days, is currently teaching in Amman, and I will be staying and traveling with her. She has worked in a few places already (including Japan and Casablanca) and has always said that I must come and and stay with her, but until now I have not actually taken her up on this. This will also be my first long holiday away from the kids (they will be staying with their father for 2 weeks) - excluding a 5 day business trip to Copenhagen last year.

Here are the plans so far.

Leave Cape Town on the morning of 26 December, aboard the ONLY airline that flies to that area of the world out of Cape Town (all other are ex- Johannesburg). After a 13 hour flight I will be overnighting in Doha (Saudi) and hopefully will be able to see some of that city before departing for Amman at noon the next day for a 2 hour flight to Jordan.

Then, spend a day and a half in Amman before traveling to Petra. A 2 day pass will give us ample time to walk the sites (possibly some horse / donkey riding) and take in the history of the place.

From Petra, travel up to the Dead Sea, and see in the New Year - I still cannot believe we are only 2 months away fro 2007 (I have only just got used to it being 2006). Spend my first day of 2007 soaking up the salt water and mud and shedding all the stress of the previous year gearing up for the new one.

Then a quick boarder crossing into Syria and up to Damascus (one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world) - oh the history, the culture, the art, the silver and of course the leather. I am going to be in shopping heaven. Giving ourselves about two and a half days to 'do' Damascus before heading back to Amman for my last day or two.

I then await the pleasure of the 15 hours in a confined space for the return flight. At least this time it will only be a 2 hour stopover before the long haul to Cape Town.

I AM SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED I cannot contain it any more.

Unexplained fevers and sleep deprivation

2006-10-06T12:59:00.000+02:00

Today I am exausted... my mind is no longer functioning correctly... and any form of coherant speach is not to be expected.

I have had (almost) no sleep in 3 days now. Why? because at this moment I have 2 sick children with absolutely NO explination of what is wrong.

It all started on Wednesday with my son (3yrs) complaining about not feeling well. Seeing as he is only in creche and won't miss anything by staying away, I left him at home with the nanny for the day. By the time I got back from work he had a raging fever - so off I dash to take him to the doctor. Full checkup and NOTHING... no ear infection, no throwt or lung infection, stomach is fine and no visual signs of meningitis (phew)... just a fever and a headache. And that is how it has continued since with him. Okay during the day, but at night a soaring temp and fever-shivers. The only course of action I can take is trying to cool him down and keep him dosed up on Ponstan and Panado.

But, wouldn't you know it... as soon as he is showing signs of getting better, my daughter (7yrs) comes down with what seems to be the same thing. Again, off to the doctor to do a check up and set my mind to rest that there isn't something more sinister going on, and again the same outcome. NOTHING.

While there the GP indicated that they had seen a number of similar cases over the last few days... unexplained fevers and headaches. The only idea being that it is some kind of flu virus doing the rounds in children and adults (which does not bode well for me...)

What all this has done to my sleep patterns is throw them into complete disaray... have you ever tried sharing a bed with two sick, feverish, restless children who insist on cuddling with mommy when they are not feeling well... in the infamous words of Faithless - "I can't get NO SLEEP"

New Discoveries... Meeting the Mother... and taking it as it comes

2006-10-03T12:28:00.000+02:00

Meeting the mother.... hmmmmm, yup... I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Irish on Sat eve IN MY PAJAMA's. Now here is a looooooooong story, but the highlights are as follows:

Irish was heading to my place for a movie and ... On the way he stopped to get take aways at Canal Walk... and then his car (BMW diesel) had a problem with the DDsomething (I'm NOT a car person). So being the good Samaritan type, off I head to assist.
Anyway, to cut this even shorter... we got a call from him mom for him to go help with something, so a quick stop at her house on the way to mine and I have the pleasure of chatting to her in my pj's. Now luckily my pj's are the kind that look somewhat like a nice track pants and t-shirt so I could get away with this.

Anyway, Irish has subsequently informed me (with a slightly shocked expression) that she actually likes me... it appears this is quite an achievement. Just call me the mommy-charmer :)
I seem to have a way with mothers, they all seem to think that I am sweet and innocent and trust their sons with me. Little do they know...

As for a progress report however, we have agreed to just take things as they come, no expectations of a particular outcome.

And now on to the new discoveries.... all thanks to Irish :) and in no particular order as they are all FANTASTIC

discovery no. 1:
ThinkGeek.com every geeks one stop shop for everything from lightsabers, t-shirts, plush toys, games, etc etc etc etc. This has already given me hours of browsing fun, and here is the link to my WishList. I have accumulated items to almost $300 and even though I will probably never ever get round to ordering them it is still a list of my favorite finds.... so far

discovery no. 2:
The Quote Database (aka bash.org)... anyone who has ever been on IRC or mIRC will appreciate this one. It is updated daily by fellow irc'ers with their favorite quotes or snippets of conversations had. Again, HOURS and HOURS of fun. As a start I suggest looking at the latest additions, but be warned... once you start you can't stop

discovery no. 3:
A decent ROCK show on the Radio... about bloody time is all I can say. I had the joy of listening to Barney Simon this week, standing in for the regular Mo G, on the breakfast rock show. All this on Radio 2000 (99.1 or 99.5 FM in Cape Town) of all places. WOW. But be warned... apparently it is between 6 and 9 am, however when I tuned in this morning I was woken by gospel. Now, I have nothing against gospel music... but when I am expecting Nickleback or Prime Cirlce or Parlotones it was a rude shock. They do however seem to continue the rock theme for most of the day as I discovered yesterday when driving home.

Fun Friday

2006-09-29T11:49:00.000+02:00

Thanks to The Yak for putting me on to this... the wiki Uncyclopedia... it is fast becoming my new favourite read

In particular the 'History of Cape Town'

If this is the only new site you add to your list this month it is well worth it.

Progress Report

2006-09-27T09:19:00.000+02:00

How much to divulge??? Knowing you all you will want every juicy saucy detail... but knowing me you'll know that I won't give it :)

Things with Irish are moving much faster than expected. I am thoroughly enjoying his company and the attention, being made to feel special again for the first time in a long time... and playing truant from work for 3 hours yesterday afternoon was lovely... sushi lunch and eachothers company.

(and I know you can all see the 'but' coming)

BUT here is my dilemma...
am I falling for him?
or am I falling for the attention that I am getting for the first time since my divorce?
and if it is the latter is that necessarily a bad thing?

I keep getting this feeling that I should be keeping my options open... BUT I am not someone who can do that... who can have a "relationship" (whatever that is) with someone and not give it all of my attention... BUT like I said, this is the first man after my ex and maybe I should just enjoy it for what it is and not over analyze things as I always do.

So far we haven't made any commitments to eachother (at least not verbal) and I have come to the conclusion that I will just enjoy the moments with him for what they are... those moments and nothing more.

God I love this City

2006-09-22T22:36:00.000+02:00

View of Table Mountain from Blauberg Beach... one of the most beautiful sites in the world.

Sunset from the same beach... who could ask for more.

Dinner and.... um....

2006-09-21T13:02:00.000+02:00

I have never been one to 'kiss and tell', but that statement by itself will hint at the goings on of last night.

Irish (as he will be known from now on) invited me to dinner and a movie at his place. Now considering that I had an office function on during the afternoon followed by drinks, I arrived at his house rather relaxed to start off with.

What a view from his place... over the city bowl and the entire bay, but very definitely a bachelors pad (not that that is a bad thing) going for the minimalist look. Dinner was lovely, accompanied by a bottle of wine and followed by a movie.... well almost. Unfortunately we got a little distracted and I missed most of it :)

I can definitely give him the two thumbs up in the kissing department though, so it seems that prospects are improving with this one :) I did however get home at a reasonable hour (if 11 PM can be considered reasonable on a work night) and am very much looking forward to the next one.

Better late than never

2006-09-20T11:01:00.000+02:00

YESTERDAY was International Talk Like A Pirate Day...
and thanks to Andrew I found this....

My pirate name is:

Mad Bess Rackham

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

All is quiet on the Western Front

2006-09-19T11:35:00.000+02:00

I know I know... blog of the week and then NOTHING, and to those of you concerned enough to e-mail me inquiring about my wellbeing... thanks.

Work has been keeping me rather occupied lately, that and a complete lack of anything interesting happening in my life (well almost) has meant that the interest level of anything that I may write about would be low enough to put even the most hyperactive 2 year old into a comma. Hence the quiet.

So this is just a quick note to blogland to say that I am still alive and kicking and to update on a few happenings.

Update 1: Car
My new baby is still driving like a dream. There was a minor problem with the central locking, but that was very quickly sorted out. My sound system has been getting WELL used, as anyone driving home in the afternoons would attest to after witnessing a silver Yaris with Prime Circle, Evolver and Tchaikovsky (don't ask) blaring out the speakers come roaring past them up Eastern Boulevard. I LOVE MY NEW BABY.

Update 2: Work
Even though I am rushed off my feet I AM BORED S#%$LESS at the moment. ENOUGH SAID.

Update 3: Weight
Well, I did fall off the wagon a little but have jumped right back on and am doubling efforts to get to my goal. Robert, you should start seeing movement in the meter again soon.

Update 4: Dating Prospects
Well, I can now say that I have met the first person (in person) off the site. I wouldn't class it as an official date, but coffee and ice cream and good company at the waterfront was how a lovely Saturday afternoon was spent. He seems to be a really nice guy... you know the kind I would normally dismiss (see previous posts about destructive patterns)... but I am still getting to know him and as yet cannot comment on whether this is going to go anywhere. At the very least, I think I have made a new friend.

That is it for now. Till life becomes more interesting.

-------------------------------------

*UPDATE*

I only just noticed now that I completely missed my 1000th hit. Yeah me... site counter now on 1279 so must have been a while ago.

I am BLOG OF THE WEEK - now where do I claim my prize

2006-09-15T14:06:00.000+02:00

Due to an absolutely CHAOTIC week at work I have only now had a chance to read through all my regular visits and catchup with what is happning in the world of those we have come to know over this medium... and guess what I found.... Michael as listed ME (lowly old me) as his blog of the week (see here) on the South African Blog Directory

This was just the pick-me-up I needed at the end of the week.

Laid Back West Coast Attitude

2006-09-07T09:26:00.000+02:00

3674-21A
Originally uploaded by m_from_ct.

I have finally gotten around to scanning in my pictures from the expedition to Die Strandlooper last month which brought back good memories. Among them (the memories and the photos) was this one... how to tell the weather - West Coast Style. Attched to the sign there is a rope leading down to a rock... on the sign is the following:

West Coast Weather
If the rock is :-
DRY:- It's a nice day
WET:- It's raining
WHITE:- Snow
BLACK:- Night
GONE:- A bit of fog

Self destructive patterns

2006-09-04T21:51:00.000+02:00

I had an epiphany on the way home today, sparked by a coincidental “non-meeting” – but I will get to that later. I realised that I am stuck in a vicious circle of self destructive behaviour. Maybe behaviour is not the right word… attractions then. Even though the men that I have been attracted to over the years have all been very different they all end up being completely wrong for me on so many levels.

Humans tend to focus on the negative, we all do it unless we have reached a point of consciousness where we can recognise our actions and thoughts as negative and reverse them, but if like me you haven’t, then those negative things in life... the ‘bad’ qualities in people that we would rather steer clear from are the things that are foremost on our minds, but the double edge to that sword is that we also tend to attract the things that we are focused on. The mind is truly a powerful thing… cruel at times, but powerful. So the more we try to find the negative things in people the more we WILL find them, either because we created them by looking for them or because we attracted them to ourselves in the first place.

I have been looking at (well at least thinking of) some of my past relationships tonight all because of a chance sighting. On the way home, driving along my usual route, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Eastern Boulevard I looked over to my left and saw someone I hadn’t seen in 9 years. When I was young and naive and let loose on the world at university, he was my first conquest (although I most certainly was not his first – or last for that matter). For a split second I thought, let me see if I can get his attention, maybe we can meet up (and then hook up)… and a split second after that I wanted to slap myself. This is a man that hurt me in ways that took years to heal, who showed me that the world is cruel and dark and unsafe, and that was when, like a bolt of lightning from the blue, I noticed what my mind was doing.

Thinking back on all these men/boys that have defined my relationships up until now I suddenly realise that the ones that were actually decent and gentle and kind are the ones that I always pushed away. The one that would cook me a meal and entertain me for the evening without trying to ‘cop a feel’ afterwards I always shrugged off as boring. The ones who would actually look out for me and stand up for me I would dismiss as old-fashioned.

BUT, the ones that I knew from the onset were nothing but trouble, the ones who were “worldly-wise” (although I am not sure how wise you can really be at 19/20), the smooth talkers who knew exactly what to say and do were the ones I was attracted to. They somehow radiate a sense of confidence of self-assurance, a coolness that is ever so enticing. They are the one night stands, the unreturned phone calls, the compulsive liars, the addictive personalise (both chemical and non), the manipulators and bastards.

Then there are the unavailable ones, the forbidden fruit. These are the ones that play on my mind, where I can drive myself insane without them ever realising that they are at the epicentre of my madness. The men that have already been snagged by woman who have absolutely NO IDEA just how lucky they are. Suddenly I feel like a kid who has been told they are not allowed to have that sweet and is about to throw a temper tantrum to try and get it.

Tonight for the first time my eyes are WIDE OPEN, I am seeing my behaviour for what it is, self destructive. What is done is done and there is nothing that I can say or do to magic it all away as if it never happened. I need to make peace with my past, acknowledge it for what it is (at the very least a learning experience) and put it behind me. As for my present, I need to accept the fact that certain people can only, and will only ever be friends and to cherish those friendships with very special people. My future… well who knows really. I am older and wiser but I have much yet to learn about true love… maybe now I will start opening my mind and attract Mr. Right.

Better than… ?

2006-09-03T11:52:00.000+02:00

Last week I decided it was time for some pampering and that a massage would be in order. It has been a good few years since I last had one and I really just needed to de-stress. Instead of going to someone who practices out of their house or has a small shop somewhere I decided to treat myself to the full SPA experience. So on Saturday morning I went off to the Vineyard Hotel Spa for a deep tissue massage (what they call their Ibu’s Secret).

After being welcomed, followed by a short wait in their relaxation area with a cup of green tea, this sweet Asian woman greeted me and led me into one of the suites. WOW, the rooms are beautifully decorated, each looking out onto a private garden, with sun streaming in through huge sliding doors. All the rooms have 2 massage beds for couples wanting to have the experience together, although for me only one was required. Each also has a spa bath and shower with relaxing music flowing through the hidden built in sound system and the room kept at a constant temperature through the air-conditioning system.

What followed can only be described as the most relaxing and sensual experience I have had in a long time. A full body deep tissue massage, from the tip of my toes to the top of my head, using oils with hints of spices that caused the whole room to fill with the most exotic aroma. Starting with the back and shoulders using just the right amount of pressure to work out all the kinks that had built up, down to the legs and feet, on to the stomach and arms and hands, then face and head and finished off with the neck and shoulders. A full hour of pampering.

I am a very tactile person and adore (crave maybe) contact with another person, and this for me was the ultimate indulgence. The only thing that could have toped this off was if it was HIM I was receiving the massage from… and here in lies the only problem with this experience. I can never turn my mind off. Even though this was incredibly relaxing, my mind is always active… normally it isn’t an issue, but during this experience I found that I just couldn’t get HIM out of my head. I kept having to jolt my mind and try to force myself not to think about him, which was only momentary until he popped into my thoughts again.

Once the session is over you are treated to hot, spicy, ginger tea and melon, and get to relax and take in the ambiance of the place before donning your clothes and making you way out the door, stopping to pay for the luxurious extravagance on your way out. For someone who hasn’t got any in two and a half years… it really was better then sex.

VIP Visitors

2006-08-31T09:48:00.000+02:00

After reading Kyk and Katt's volumous re-telling of the same, I fear that I will never do either of them any justice. They got to spend 4 glorious days in each other’s company and allowed me a momentary glimpse for a few hours on Sat.

The interactions started on Friday around lunchtime with taunting messages from Kyk about how they were enjoying the splendid spring day at Kirstenbosch. Unfortunately I did not get to see Kyk talking to the goose, the flowers or the butterfly... I missed the red-neck-teeth and talking to the turd-in-the-toilet... however having these events retold was a sight to see in itself as they were both still in hysterics.

Saturday evening was in a word... SUBLIME... Having met Kyk once before for coffee ("Kyk and coffee" HAHAHAHAH) I kind of knew what I was letting myself in for. When Katt said that she laughed so much that her cheeks hurt, she was in no way exaggerating. Kyk is truly one of the most naturally funny people I have met, it is absolutely effortless (or at least he makes it appear such).

They arrived bearing food and flowers, and after being ushered into the house carefully navigating the over excited kids and pets we settled into an evening of good food, good wine, excellent company and hilarious conversation. My house has what people fondly refer to as an open plan kitchen-dining room (which is a polite way of say crap small kitchen and dinning area shoved into one room) which at least makes it quite easy for people to sit at the table and hold a conversation with the person in the kitchen (in this case... Kyk).

Dinner was superb... all prepared for us by Kyk. Food always seems to taste that much better when someone else cook's it. And the conversation flowed from power tools and oversized drillbits to hunting, toy shopping, loves (of the current/potential and unrequired varieties), life and everything in-between.

After supper I was introduced to a new game... Pass-the-pig (you are now hearing from the self-proclaimed Regional Champ), followed by even more alchol (for Katt and myself) and ended with talk of elephants.

Definitely an evening worth repeating.

Fun Friday - Best Irish Joke EVER

2006-08-25T14:55:00.000+02:00

Paddy had been drinking at his local Dublin pub all day and most of the night celebrating St Patrick's Day. Mick, the bartender says, "You'll not be drinking anymore tonight Paddy". Paddy replies "OK Mick, I'll be on my way then."

Paddy spins around on his stool and steps off. He falls flat on his face. "Shoite" he says and pulls himself up by the stool and dusts himself off. He takes a step towards the door and falls flat on his face. "Shoite, Shoite!" He looks to the doorway and thinks to himself that if he can justget to the door and some fresh air he'll be fine.

He belly crawls to the door and shimmies up to the door frame. He sticks his head outside and takes a deep breath of fresh air, feels much better and takes a step out onto the pavement and falls flatonhis face. "Bi'Jesus... I'm fockin' focked," he says.

He can see his house just a few doors down, and crawls to the door, hauls himself up the door frame, opens the door and shimmies inside. He takes a look up the stairs and says "No fockin'way". He crawls up the stairs to his bedroom door and says "I can make it to the bed." He takes a step into the room and falls flat on his face. He says "Fock it" and falls into bed.

The next morning, his wife Jess comes into the room carrying a cup of coffee and says, "Get up Paddy. Did you have a bit to drink lastnight?". Paddy says, "I did Jess. I was fockin' pissed. But how'd you know?" "Mick phoned, . . . You left your wheelchair at the pub."

HAVE A TERRIFIC WEEKEND ALL!!

Yaris sir, That's MY car!!!!!

2006-08-24T11:12:00.000+02:00

Taking delivery this afternoon.... YIPPEE... HOORAY....

--------------------- UPDATE ---------------------

Typically the dealer made a boo-boo. I got there at 3PM after being told that the car should be ready around 12:30, only to find that I had to wait 30 min as it was still on it's way. Okay, fine that gives us time to get through the last of the paperwork, etc without me being distracted every 2 sec to stare in awe at my new vehicle. ANYWAY, 30 min pass and up pulls a brand new WHITE Yaris. I ORDERED A SILVER ONE.

So the rest of my afternoon was spent on the phone contacting insurance brokers to put make sure that my OLD car is still insured so that I can drive off with it (even though it is now owned by the Toyota Dealership as they baught is as a trade in), and take the 'new' car off the insurance. The dealer now has to phone the bank with the new car details (at least they have a silver one at their depot available for me tomorrow after it goes to have MY central locking and alarm system fitted)... the bank then has to draw up NEW papers for me to sign and then back to the dealer tomorrow. FUN FUN FUN

Who are we REALLY??

2006-08-22T13:25:00.000+02:00

On the weekend I had a discussion with a fellow blogger (over a cup of decaf Americano) about how we show different faces to different people and situations. How, for example, someone who is completely outgoing and extroverted on their blog can actually be very shy and quiet and melancholy in person. Or how we only show portions of ourselves and all of us have these HUGELY busy lives and things going on that no one ever really finds out about. I have always tried to be as true to myself as possible here, in other words the personality I have here is pretty much how I am (those of you who actually know me are welcome to comment on that one), BUT I will admit that there are large parts of my life that I do not mention here (or at least only hint at), but then again, I don’t talk about these things with anyone in the real world either (bestest bestest friend excluded). However, something momentous is happening in my life at the moment (not necessarily good, but positive in the long run) and I am going to loose my pensive self for the duration of this post and let you all in.

Background (in a nut shell)

My ex-husband is an emotionally manipulative, obsessive compulsive, jealous, control freak. Surprisingly though, when I was married to him I was young and naive in the middle of this and didn’t always see him for what he is, and when I did I would always try and make excuses for him and explain it away. It wasn’t until very near the end of my marriage that I started to really see him for what he is (something that everyone besides myself saw up to that point)… hindsight is 20/20 right? After a long drawn out divorce process of me trying to get us to come to some sort of agreement without getting lawyers involved only for him to change his mind or refuse to sign the papers at the 11th hour, I decided to go ahead with the original summons and just get the divorce. So in the end we parted (in the legal sense) with a basic divorce, visitation (I have custody) and maintenance amount set down. However, the house, which is still registered in both our names, remained as is. I honestly thought we could make this work, even with everyone telling me that all it is doing is giving him an in, a certain level of control over us as he still sees that house as his home.

Over the last 18 months he has slowly embedded himself back in our lives (or attempted to), he honestly thinks he can come and go as he pleases, that we will always be there to welcome him in. He even has the audacity to loose his temper at me if I decided to go with the kids and he comes around and we aren’t there. He insists on buying flowers (which he knows ends up in the bin) and gifts and offers of weekends away (if he had put in half this effort when we were married things may have turned out differently – well MAYBE), even after I turn down every single offer and tell him for the 100th time to drop the pseudo-family friendly-friendly bulls$!t. Whenever he finds himself backed into a corner there is one of two cards that get played… either the “woe is me, you only want everything, well then… take it all I don’t care” scenario gets played out OR the “I’m depressed and if I can’t see the kids everyday then I don’t want to see them at all, I’m going to work overseas or kill myself” scene. On the rare occasion, both – last night being case in point.

Growing up

I am, and have always been, the kind of person who tries to make sure that EVERYONE is happy. Putting everyone else’s feelings before my own, heaven forbid I should cause someone to be upset or hurt by something that I have said or done. Over the last year however I have made peace with everything that happened between us and am making a concerted effort to move forward with my life. And one of the big changes that comes with that is the realization that I need to come first sometimes, particularly when it comes to ‘HIM’. I have wasted far too much time and energy already trying to make sure I don’t ‘hurt’ him (can you believe it after all that he has put me through). I no longer allow myself to be manipulated by him.

LAST NIGHT

After yet another weekday visit which results in him staying for dinner, he phones me later in the evening going on about “family” trips away to Natures Valley at which point something in me snapped… a switch was suddenly flicked and the doormat that was… is no more. I am sick and tired of sugarcoating everything I say to him, and so laid out the law in no uncertain terms. NO weekends away are EVER going to happen. All gifts/flowers/choc/etc will end up in the bin. The happy-family crap is going to stop NOW. He needs to get out of his self-absorbed, self-centered little world and acknowledge and accept the part the HE played in the breakup of our marriage. And True to form, he pulled both ace cards out his sleeve. “You take everything and I am never seeing the kids again”. Now, I am not a bitch in any form, and as much as I am really tempted to do just that, I cannot and will not. I have never had any intention of keeping the kids from him or “taking him to the cleaners” leaving him with nothing. Although it is really tempting right now.

He no longer has any control over our lives.
I need to get hold of a property lawyer and figure out how much it will cost to buy him out of the house (and if I cannot afford to then it will be going on the market).

So, even though I am fluctuating between laughing/shouting for joy and crying/breaking down in a heap on the mat… I know that all this IS A GOOD THING. I am stronger for it and will come out on top in the end.

Who ever said life would be easy

My bed is not my own!!!

2006-08-18T10:51:00.000+02:00

Maybe it is a winter thing, hopefully, but over the last 3 months I can count on one hand the number of occasions that I have woken up alone in my own bed. Normally I am cramped, one dead arm because I have been lying on it most of the night as on my left is a little man and on my right a young lady. Yes, I have an extra length Queen size bed, which in any normal family would be more than ample, but not with these 2 additions. All 3 of us actually like to spread out, have our space around us and this is where the problem comes in. On a few occasions I have actually resorted to sleeping in one of their beds and let them have free reign over mine. Most nights they come through around 5:30 AM which is okay as I know my alarm clock (all 3 of them) will be shouting at me in an hour and I have already had a few hours undisturbed sleep, but on others it really is the middle of the night (read anywhere between 11PM and 3AM). Add to this that we are a snoring family and I am in real trouble. In particular my daughter… if I am not asleep again before her, I do not sleep for all the noise that emanates out of her.

Like I said, I am hoping and praying that the only reason for this mid-night-bed-swapping is because they are getting cold. ROLL ON SUMMER.

Yes, please roll on summer… I am now sick and tired of cold, wet, windy, winter. And in true form we are in for another rainy weekend (after a gorgeous week of sunshine while we all sit in our office block)… oh and the sun will return again on Monday morning… Joke: What comes after 2 days of rain in Cape Town? Monday!! (HAHAHAHA)

UPDATE: Early last week I recounted the story of a wrestling match that ended in my son going to crèche in his pj’s… well last Friday they decided to have a school wide pj day. All the kids, and ALL the staff came in in their pj’s and gowns and slippers for the day. I am SOOO proud of my little trendsetter :)

Weekend plans: NOTHING… well almost… besides a coffee ‘date’ with a friend and a trip back to the Toyota dealer. Maybe I will catch a movie, maybe stay in with a DVD and a warm fire… I love the fact that I can do EXACTLY as I wish.

HAVE A GREAT ONE ALL!!!!

Tattoo's...

2006-08-15T12:08:00.000+02:00

Last year I got my first tattoo... it was the marking of the end of a stage in my life. In January my divorce was finalised and in June I resigned from my job. So on the weekend after leaving said job and before starting the new one I went and got my first tattoo. The Bug Bit. It has now been just over 1 year and I am in the process of planning my second.

I already know what it is going to be, I am now just searching for the perfect design, a FIRE DARGON. I have always had a fascination with dragons, which started as recurring dreams in my childhood, and there is a particular image from these dreams that I am trying to put down into something that can be used as a tattoo.

Here are 2 images I have already found (from a site which watermarks the designs)... they are very different but both have something about them that I LOVE, and although I am leaning towards the second one, it is still not quite what I am looking for, and seeing as I will be branding myself for life it HAS to be perfect.

Updates...

2006-08-15T11:51:00.000+02:00

Update 1: Weight...
Another kilo down, which makes it a grand total of 3kg's in 3 weeks. At this rate I might just be at my goal by my birthday (here's holding thumbs)

Update 2: Cars...
I took the Toyota Yaris Sedan for a test drive over the weekend. VERY VERY NICE. AND they offered me more for a trade in on my Hyndai than the Hyundai dealership offered (without knowing the previous quote). Still want to have a look at one or two more before I make my final desision though.

Update 3: Online dating...
Well... what to say... every now and then one or two prospects come up, but so far nothing promising. Seriously thinking of updating my profile with messages like "NON-NEGOTIABLE means NON_NEGOTIABLE" & "If you are still legally married F@#K OFF" & "If you know you are not going to send more than one or two one-liners, then don't bother making contact in the first place."

Stop and smell the daisies...

2006-08-11T10:33:00.000+02:00

Here are a few pic's from our glorious trip up the West Coast on Wednesday.

Wonderful Womans Day

2006-08-09T21:38:00.000+02:00

Today was Woman's Day here in the beautiful South Africa, and mine has been absolutely fantastic. Originally the plan was to spend the day shopping for odds and ends for the kids (daughter has grown out of all her winter clothes again) and possible take a few more cars for test drives. But then, when I viewed the weather report yesterday and realised that we would be in store for a glorious spring day I changed all my plans. So this morning, after breakfast, I grabbed my camera, packed the kids in the car and headed up the R27 (a.k.a. West Coast road - aptly named as it runs all the way up the western coast of the country) in search of the renowned spring flowers which are reportedly in bloom a month early due to the rain this year.

WOW... and double WOW. We ended up in a dorpie about 200km's outside of Cape Town called Dwarskersbos and the surrounding veld was just bathed in beautiful white and yellow and orange and mauve flowers. It really was beautiful. We did the mandatory photo snaps with kids and flowers, a little walkabout to stretch out the legs and then turned the car around to start heading back, with the intention of grabbing lunch on the way.

Now, one of the very well known restaurants (and I use that word lightly - you'll see why later) is just outside of Langebaan and is called Die Strandlooper (literally translated into The Beachwalker). This is where I decided to pull in at noon for lunch not truely realising what lay in store for us. To set the scene... Die Strandlooper is quite literally on the rocks by the beach... there is no building to speak of, instead the tables are made out of cement with wooden planks for benches, open fires in rock mounds are everywhere. The atmosphere is completely relaxed. And the food... oh the food... It is a set price for adults, children under 12 pay per height and the under 5's eat free.

We started off with fresh home made bread straight off the fire with fresh cooked mussels (plain or garlic) AWESOME... this was followed by braaied Harder (a type of fish) DELLICIOUS... then seafood paella MOUTH WATERING... then lamb stew (yup lamb... couldn't quite figure that one out) DELECATBLE... then braaied Snoek ALL TIME FAVOURITE... then Stompneus (Stumpnose) and smoked Angel Fish INCREDIBLE... and to top it all off Crayfish tails WOWWIE. And along with all of these the fresh bread and home made preserves just kept coming. This entire EVENT takes about 3.5 hours to complete but it is the best spent 3.5 hours I have had in a long time. The kids were in heaven, they could run around on the beach (with buckets and spades provided by the restaurant) while I could sit back, enjoying the beautiful sun and having the most relaxing afternoon.

Family Update…

2006-08-08T10:45:00.000+02:00

Let’s start with the angels/demons (depending on the day).

What I have noticed is that they are never both angles or both demons on the same day. They seem to take turns with each, for example… Yesterday morning my daughter (the headstrong, stubborn, self confident, 7 year old) who is normally the SLOWEST person on earth when it comes to getting dressed in the morning, having to be reminded of every little thing from where her shoes are to packing her bag, decided that she was actually going to get herself up and dressed and packed all with out me having to say a word. ANGEL. My son on the other hand (the equally headstrong, but still small enough to be picked up and put in his place, 3 year old) decided that he was not going to get up, and when I did manage to rouse him from his slumber at around 7:30AM (when I should be heading out the door), he decided that he simply was not going to get dressed, this in turn led to a wrestling match with me pinning him down to get his pj’s off. Round one to mom. Now imagine little three year old tearing around the house in his undies, locating his pj’s and putting them back on in delighted defiance. He ended up going to crèche in his pj’s, with a change on clothes in this bag for when he decided to co-operate. DEMON. And in perfect contrast, this morning I was back to rushing her along while he quietly got himself dressed in his room. Maybe I should be grateful… single-handedly dealing with demon’s in stereo does not sound like a pleasant task.

Next update… the EX. Leopards will truly never, ever change their spots. This he proves to me time and time again. Friday being a case in point. Now that I am no longer the naive little girl that he married and am no longer susceptible to his manipulation and lies and deception I am able to see though all the afore mentioned and see him for what he truly is. That said, he doesn’t seem to realize this yet. Anyway, to cut a really really long story short, he pulled a typical stunt and completely dropped off the face of the planet on Friday, this being the day that he was meant to pick the kids up from school as they were to spend the weekend with him. I in the meantime ended up in the usual Friday afternoon chaos at the office, but seeing as no-one could track him down had to leave early to do the school run all the while trying to track him down (which I eventually did manage to do). He was holed up at his step mothers house (which he is house-sitting) with all forms for telephonic communication unavailable, that is at least until I rang the doorbell at which point everything miraculously started working. Now for those of you who don’t know the history here (which is most of you) he has a certain addiction to things far too readily available on the internet, and his step-mom’s house has a computer, a modem and a telephone line… not a good combination when he is added to the mix.

Oh... Life... what else can I say...

Decisions, Decisions!!

2006-08-07T16:20:00.000+02:00

I will be getting a New New car (as opposed to a new used car) that is one thing that I know definitively. Now the question is, what?

For the last four and a half years I have been driving my faithful Hyndai Accent 1.3 XS 1998 model. It is now starting to give me one or two indications that it is reaching it’s sell by date and is ready to be traded in for a newer better model. I know how much I have to spend so the next step is to go on the hunt via all channels available. I have narrowed the search down to the following….

The New Improved Hyndai Accent 1.6 HS

I took one of these for a test drive on Sat and was very impressed. The old Accent was also a very reliable and comfortable car to start off with, but the designers have put a lot of thought into the finer details where it comes to the comfort level of the driver.

The other options in contention for the title of Mom’s cab are the Toyota Yaris Sedan

and the Chev Aveo (and if blogger had been playing nicely I would have had an image of it aswell).

A colleague of mine then pointed me in the direction of cartoday.com (why, oh way I had never found this before is beyond me). This is definitely the one place anyone who is considering the purchase of a car (new or used) should know about. Anyway, on to the car comparison, excluding the new Accent as it is toooo new for this site, and it looks like the Toyota might be taking it – it is the only one that comes standard with a service plan.

So, next step… with Wednesday being a public holiday here in SA, and me making use of this by taking Thursday and Friday off, I will be going for a few test drives and visiting bank managers to organize financing.

Oh, this is just like being a child again… but, just like when I was a child, I can hear my mom’s voice saying… YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE ONE.

Fun Friday - for the women

2006-08-04T12:24:00.000+02:00

Pic of the Week

2006-08-02T09:47:00.000+02:00

This is definitley one of my favorite pictures of my daughter. It was taken on top of Table Mountain, could it be as long as two years ago. She really has grown up quickly.
And this little man is my son, attempting to help with the gardening at ouma and oupa's holiday house. This is also about a year old and he has changed soooo much in that last year. He is still my little blonde haired angel, and always will be.

Taste is all relative

2006-08-01T15:06:00.000+02:00

Someone asked me recently about my CD collection and what type of music I like. I have a very varied taste in music; basically it includes everything except Rap and Country (and even in these 2 categories there are a few that I will listen to). So, what I decided is to put my music player on random and cycle through the 1500 songs I have. Below I will list the artist, title and first line (as I hear them) of the first 15 songs that come on - might give a little insight into the chaos that is my mind.

1) Nirvana – Lake of Fire – Where do bad folks go where they die…
2) Kill ‘em all – Seek and Destroy – Scanning the scene in the city tonight, looking for you to start up a fight…
3) Seether – Broken – I wanted you to know, I love the way you laugh…
4) Linkin Park – Faint – I am a little bit of loneliness little bit of disregard…
5) Audioslave – Yesterday To Tomorrow – Beauty is what eyes behold…
6) Live – All over you – Our love is like water…
7) Maroon 5 – The sun – After school, walking home, fresh dirt under my fingernails…

At which point window media player “encountered a problem” and had to be restarted…

8) Savage Garden – Affirmation – I believe the sun should never set upon an argument…
9) Coldplay – Talk - Oh brother I can’t, I can’t get through…
10) James – Laid – This bed is on fire with passionate love…
11) Live – Take my anthem – War in me, war overseas, aint no difference between…
12) Robbie Williams – Karma Killer – Are you cut-up, or do you easily forget…
13) Metallica – Carpe Diem Baby - Hit dirt, shake tree, split sky, part sea…
14) Dido – Take my hand – Touch my skin and tell me what you’re thinking…
15) Eric Clapton – Wonderful tonight - It’s late in the evening, she’s wondering what clothes to wear…

Actually that might explain quite a lot… and Kyk, thanks for the inspiration.

The Good Weekend

2006-07-31T10:27:00.000+02:00

Well… good news point no. 1. This morning when I woke up and stared at the bathroom scale there were 2 things going through my mind… please don’t let it have gone up… and please don’t let it have stayed the same either. Not that I feel accountable to anyone other than myself on this issue, but I know now much effort I put in last week (and although I could definitely have been better, compared to my previous eating habits I was an angel). So very tentatively I got on the scale, looked down, got off and let out an almighty WOOP. DOWN 2 kg’s… YEAH. It is so incredibly motivating to actually see the results of your efforts, and this was just the best start to a week. Now to keep up the good work.

Good news point no. 2. No, I haven’t yet bought myself a scanner, however I have temporarily re-housed my brother’s one. This then made for endless amusement this weekend. I have been delving into my various boxes of photos and am slowly (very slowly… it is a VERY SLOW SCANNER) getting them digitized. I then also got myself a Flickr account (see funky little java thingy on the right hand side of page) and have been loading my pictures. However, in 2 short days I have reached my monthly bandwidth limit… luckily the month is over today, so from tomorrow I should be able to start uploading again. This will also give me time to scan the second pile in. At this rate I will be at it till Christmas, but I am having lots of fun in the process.

Good news point no. 3. For a few months now I have been um’ing and ah’ing over trading in my 8 year old Hyundai. The question has been, what am I going to get… should I go new or second hand, should I stay with comfy little 4 door sedan or upgrade to the likes of a Scenic. I am very happy with my little Accent and was ecstatic to hear this recently that they are coming back to SA. This morning my little jalopy is going in for a full valet and on the weekend I am taking the new Accent for a test drive and getting a valuation on my existing one for a trade in. If all goes well, I will be driving around in a brand spanking new car within the next few weeks… my first NEW car... no more second hands for me :)

And the best for last… Good news point no. 4. LIVE are coming back to SA for the third time in a series of concerts on their ‘Songs from Black Mountain’ tour. I was OVER THE MOON when I saw the ad on TV this weekend and immediately got on to computicket to find out the details. The tickets have not yet gone on sale, but as soon as they do you can bet I’ll be first in line.

Fun Friday

2006-07-28T10:51:00.000+02:00

Someone really should have put more thought into these.... enjoy, and have a GREAT weekend.

Step 1: Admit you have a problem

2006-07-27T09:31:00.000+02:00

OKAY, OKAY, I give… My name is M and I am a CHOCOHOLIC. I will openly admit that I am addicted to chocolate, in the true sense of the work “addict”. Smooth, creamy, milk chocolate to dark bitter-sweet Albany to chocolate on bread, in milk, with a little chili over fillet…Ohhhhhhhh.

Yesterday was the first day since… I don’t know when… I made it through the day without any chocolate, and this is no small feat. Normally, if I manage to keep myself away from the spaza shop downstairs in the building for an afternoon chocolate run (which on average includes 2 or 3 choc’s), I find myself in the throws of cravings in the evening at home, and heaven forbid there actually isn’t any in the house (which is unlikely as I would have eaten it already) then I start to raid the cupboards. Milo, Nesquick, chocolate spread… anything that will give me that satisfaction. This might also be a key factor to the constant weight gain.

Why is it that the things that are the worst for you, taste the best?

BUT Last night I managed, with much willpower, to beat those cravings into submission and stayed away. This is truly a momentous occasion for me, a turning point, the first step on the road to recovery :) I just had a revelation… all I did was swap my addiction to cigarettes… with chocolate. I guess there are worse things to be addicted to.

Pic of the Week

2006-07-26T13:42:00.000+02:00

These pic's were taken when my daughter was about 9 months old. We had just moved into our new home and were out exploring the garden together. I cannot believe how quickly time goes by... she is now 7 (going on 14), and thinks she knows everything, but she will always be my angle. I do miss these times though :)

Even back then you could see she wanted to be dancer... she has also always loved being in front of the camera.

Wacky Weekend (in no particular order)

2006-07-24T15:17:00.000+02:00

My Saturday evening was spent at Hanover Street at Grand West to see Scarlet Box, Evolver and Prime Circle live… WOW, Amazing, Incredible. I have been a Prime Circle fan for a while now, having first seen them perform when they were the opening act for Live, then again at the Coca-Cola Collab Massive Mix (a.k.a. METALLICA) concert in Cape Town. They are definitely one of S.A.’s foremost Rock bands. They never fail to entertain the crowds, and Saturday was no exception. It was also the first time that I have had the opportunity to see Evolver perform live and boy was it worth it. Their re-make of ‘play that funky music WHIITEE BOOOYYYY’ was awesome. Most people will recognize their hit ‘Let’s get naked’ if they hear it. I will definitely be looking out to see when they are performing in Cape Town again. All in all an INCREDIBLE evening.

This was without a doubt the highlight of my weekend, and seeing as the kids were with dad it didn’t matter that I crawled into bed at 2AM because I could sleep as late as I wanted anyway, which turned out to be 10:30AM. I then had to get up and try to get myself into a reasonable state before fetching the kids and heading off to a friends braai… the invite said ‘come rain, or snow’ we will be braai-ing… and would you know it, we had both. Well snow on the out-of-town mountains, but being true South Africa Manna they stood in the rain and continued with (what Katt has now coined) the meat-tanning session.

Here follow the 2 low points of my weekend…

No.1 – an ever more jealous ex-husband. Yes I said ex, why he thinks he has any right to be jealous is beyond me. And I am not even seeing anyone yet. I don’t know what has got into this man (and I use that term very loosely) lately. I am obviously sending out signals that I am (and have) moved on because he is using every available opportunity to question me about my whereabouts. What gives him the right to ask me questions about where I am going and whom I am going with? And to top it all off, he actually has the audacity to phone me on Saturday morning to check if I am alone, and not even subtly, he blatantly came out and asked me (WHAT THE F&*K). It is truly beyond me.

No. 2 – an impending wardrobe malfunction… well maybe not wardrobe. A couple of years ago I lost 20kg’s (it was needed after giving birth to my second child) and in the process I weeded out all the old clothes that I vowed I would never need again. In the meantime I also decided to give up smoking and have subsequently put at least half of that weight back on. I am now stuck with a wardrobe FULL of clothes that don’t fit me… AARRRGGGGG. I am determined not to go out and buy a whole new set of clothes as I WILL loose this weight (I will, I will, I will, I will). What I have decided is to give me the motivation I would report back here once a week on the progress…. That way I will have you lot on my case if it goes in the wrong direction (that is of course assuming that any of you actually give a shit about this – but at least I will have it on my conscience that it is out there in the land of the public blog for any and all to view). So on the right of the page (below my weekly glittery/blinky thing) will be a record of my progress. It will be set to 0kg’s and 0cm’s today and each Monday morning I will increment it by the amount of weight or centimeters lost in the last week (i.e. positive number means x kg’s lost) Let’s hope this works, if next week you see that it has disappeared completely you will know that it has all gone pear-shaped (literally)

Fun Friday

2006-07-21T10:31:00.000+02:00

Complements of Katt... and I hereby summarily TAG everyone who reads this... I will be checking up on you...

1. What is your full name now? Now that would be telling… sorry, but I am keeping my anonymity for now :)
2. What colour pants are you wearing now? Black
3. What are you listening to right now? AFI – Miss Murder (when I started this – now it is Metallica – Nothing Else Matters)
4. What was the last thing you ate? Chicken rooti – breakfast of kings and queens
5. Do you wish on stars? Absolutely
6. If you were a crayon what colour would you be? Purple (read whatever you want into that one)
7. How is the weather right now? Perfect Winter Day
8. Who's the last person you spoke to on the phone? Hhmmmm – let’s get with the times… last SMS to yummy-D
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Still getting to know her… but so far YES
10. How old are you today? 28 years young
11. Favorite drink? Mojito – and in the absence thereof, dry white wine (the cause of many a hangover)
12. Favorite sport? Watch=Most Anything, Takepart=Scuba Diving
13. Hair colour? Changes… at the moment Auburn
14. Siblings? A ‘baby’ brother… soon to be 27 years young
15. Favorite food? Sushi and Thai Food
16. What was the last movie you watched? At the cinema Superman Returns
17. Favorite day of the year? Don't have one
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Honestly don’t remember, probably of the stuffed variety
19. Summer or winter? Winter
20. Hugs or kisses? BOTH!
21. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate… did I say Chocolate
22. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes, please – or Blog It.
23. Who is most likely to respond? ??
24. Who is least likely to respond? ??
25. Living arrangements? MY OWN HOUSE (kind of – but that is a LONG story)
26. When was the last time you cried? Very nearly this week... otherwise a few months back
27. What is under your bed? Bags, boxes, stuff without anywhere else to go
28. Who is the friend you have known the longest? Carol (since high school)
29. What did you do last night? Out with friends (no alcohol this time)
30. Favorite smell? Fresh baked bread, fresh brewed coffee – oh and Jasmine in the morning outside my kitchen door
31. Favorite TV show? Many… CSI, Desperate Housewives, most crime drama’s
32. Happy in life? Depends on when you ask me…
33. What are you afraid of? Very little… well a little queasy with heights, and petrified of rejection (working on that though)
34. Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? Lightly salted
35. Favorite car? Jaguar XK8 – one day when I am all growed up
36. Favorite Flower? Yellow Roses, Sunflowers
37. Number of keys on your key ring? Which key ring… I have 3 of them
38. How many years at your current job? 1 year end of this month… previous job 5.5 years
39. Favorite day of the week? Saturday, don’t have to get up early and no work tomorrow
40. What did you do on your last birthday? Went to Dunes on Hout Bay beachfront with friends for sunset drinks
41. How many cities have you lived in? 1 – Cape Town born and breed
42. Do you make friends easily? Acquaintances, yes. Friends... no.

The morning after the night before...

2006-07-20T16:05:00.000+02:00

enough said

Never NEVER again.... at least till next time :)

AARRGGGGGGHHHHHH

2006-07-19T11:19:00.000+02:00

It’s amazing how one bad meeting, one stupid person, one idiotic comment can turn a person’s mood and start that ever quickening downward spiral into oblivion. That is exactly what happened to me yesterday.

It was going to be an average day, not too much work, not too little… just enough to keep me occupied for the day. And at the end of this perfectly average day I had a teleconference. So at 4PM I packed my bags, knowing that I had to leave straight after the meeting to be on time to fetch the munchkins from school, and walked into the meeting from HELL with dick-brain and fuck-face. Thank god these 2 wastes of space disguised as human beings are half way around the world or I might just have done something that would normally guarantee a person a stint in jail, but that of course assumes that the organism that is injured did in fact have self-awareness beyond that of an ANT to start with (no one goes to jail for stomping on an ant do they).

At this point I would normally detail the last 3 months of argument and banter with these idiots trying to convince them that we are right and they are wrong that led up to this infamous meeting, but I won’t (and if you knew any better you would be thanking me right now). Just trust me when I say that this was not the first meeting of its kind and is unlikely to be the last. But then again, if I was earning $180 per hour I might also be doing everything in my power to make this issue drag out as long as possible and milk it for all it’s worth, but what the fuck do we know… we ARE only the African Sweatshop after all.

Awesome Awesome BLOG THINGS

2006-07-17T16:06:00.000+02:00

Through my blog trawling today I found many sites (yes some of you even) that have glittery images. This led me to glitter-graphics. The only problem now is what to show here... there is far tooo much to chose from, so what I will do now is change it on a weekly (or so) basis. Anyway, glittery thing no.1 can be found on the right (under the world map).

A healthy dose of rejection….

2006-07-14T11:39:00.000+02:00

Over the last 2 weeks or so, after I took the ‘brave’ step out onto the e-dating circuit, I have been given a good lesson in humility and treated to many forms of rejection. Not that either was unfamiliar to me to start off with. Humility and humbleness have always been sown into the fabric of my being, I find it very difficult to ‘sell’ myself as I always, in everything I do, underestimate myself (or so I have been told by friends a colleagues alike). This is something I have been working on for the last year or two and have definitely taken giant leaps forward. I fill out all the forms describing myself as honestly as I can, fill out more forms describing the type of person I am looking for and then off we go on the merry hunt. One of the things this ‘site’ does is match up you criteria and descriptions with others to find the ‘perfect match’.

So, after perusing my matches I picked a few that really stood out for me and sent off those ever-dubious first contact messages. So far I have sent out 7 of these with the following outcomes…
3 - made idle chitchat for a few messages and then just stopped
2 - one or two messages followed with the statement “thanks for contacting but I need to carry on looking for that someone special” – oh but this did wonders for the self esteem
2 - simply ignored me completely (now, what is up THAT)

Then I realized that there are 4 types of people on this site (at least that I have encountered so far)

Too May Any – These are the ones that are completely vague about what they are looking for marking every single characteristic from location to age to current relationship status as ‘any’ resulting in a 100% match with the entire population. They are mostly harmless, but as far as I am concerned a complete waste of time and space.
Specifically Ignorant – This is a very interesting group. They are almost overly specific about their requirements, however when they actually meet one, they somehow come to the conclusion that that person is in fact NOT what they are looking for. Basically, they don’t really know what they want, but have this image of the perfect person (that doesn’t actually exist) and are in the never-ending pursuit thereof.
Honest creeps – These are oddly enough the most harmless of the lot as they are the easiest to spot. They are complete honest about the fact they are either swingers, married and looking for a little something on the side, or downright sexaholics.
Innocent Friendlies – These are the ones that are actually prepared to communicate with you and get to know you a little bit, however they lack that certain spark (for me at least). They generally initiate communication. Generally very mild mannered and gentle people. This might be where my problem is… I am notoriously attracted to ‘bad-boys’ and smooth-talkers.

All this is truly NO GOOD for an already battered and bruised self-confidence. But then again, maybe all that is just the pessimist in me talking :) So for now I shall continue in my pursuit of the ‘perfect person’, or at least one that thinks I might be, remembering that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger (only maiming you in the process).

Pic of the week

2006-07-12T09:01:00.000+02:00

A waterborne home complete with pot-plants. Again, this is from Copenhagen in one of the many canals around Christianshavn. This must be quite a way to live. Being completely mobile, home and all, gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'lock-up-and-go'.

Getting Feet Wet

2006-07-11T10:55:00.000+02:00

I have taken a little leap of faith (and those who know me will know why I say it that way). Recently I have posted an “ad” on a dating site. Actually I first created it last year sometime but very quickly got disillusioned by the whole affair after discovering that a lot of people really are not all they make out to be (particularly behind the safety of a computer screen), and subsequently hid my profile just to get away from the constant barrage of e-mails and contacts from married 67 year old men from Piketburg. Since then I have started to fine tune my instincts about people and decided to reactivate my profile and take out a 3 month subscription (you cannot actually communicate with anyone if you don’t have a subscription) and get my feet wet, test the waters and see what is out there one last time.

So far so good.

It has been a few weeks and I have made contact with a few people who, at this early stage in the game, seem to be really decent men. However it is early days yet and the pessimist in me says that it is bound to go wrong at some point… but I am learning to silence that little voice (by force when necessary). For right now I am getting to know a few people that I would otherwise never have met, and for what that is, it is great. If anything more happens, terrific, but that is a LONG WAY OFF yet.

One thing that I have noticed is the amount of divorced people out there. Maybe it is just me noticing these things more nowadays (like Michelle and her landies), but at least every second profile that I read the person has put down divorced as their current status. Which gets me thinking… what is the difference between divorced and single other than a state of mind (I have mine listed as divorced as well). Now there is something I can mull over for the day.

And before any of you ask… NO I will not tell you where or what the profile name is. I will keep you posted on progress :)

Someone to hold

2006-07-08T20:49:00.000+02:00

I have realised lately that my life is far too predictable and is becoming rather boring. I have also realised that I need to expand my group of friends. Even though I do have a few very close friends and others that are getting there I am stuck in the situation that our lives have moved on to the point that no matter how close we are I have ended up with NO-ONE that I can just call up when I have a free weekend and go out to movies/dinner/drinks etc. They are all either married with families of their own or live 20km's away.

So, here I am on a Sat evening by myself. Kids with their dad for the weekend.

Most people would jump at the opportunity to have some 'quiet time' by themselves and just veg, but there is only so much veging I can do. I know I know I am the only one who can change this, and no one is forcing me to stay in. I can take my camera and go for a drive, or go to movies by myself, or go for a walk on the beach. There are 101 things that a person can do by themselves quite happily. BUT I AM CRAVING COMPANY.

I am at the point that I can say with 100% certainty that I am over 'him' and ready to move on, not that I am looking for someone to spend the rest of my life with, I am just looking for someone to share today with, someone to talk to, adult conversation, adult company. I crave companionship.

The thing I miss most about being in a relationship is the physical closeness. Having someone to hold, to hug, to cuddle, to kiss. I am a very physical person and the lack of it is literally driving me crazy.

Why all the interest???

2006-07-06T09:06:00.000+02:00

Thanks a mil to [R] from iScatterlings for the tag that he has created for me. Oh and [R] don't worry about the 'ly'... I am sure that everyone here will agree that 'Insane Single' is a perfectly apt way to describe me :)

And the latest update from my country count... I can now add Venezuela, Namibia, Morocco, Japan, Hong Kong and Germany to my list. Although I am very interested by the fact that Singapore seems to have dropped off the chart. hhmmmmm. Switzerland... keep it up, you are steadily climbing up this list... Hoop Schwiiz!

Pic of the Week

2006-07-05T14:04:00.001+02:00

Also from trip to Copenhagen. Was out walking one evening and found this boy using one of the many statues/works of art in the city as his personal jungle gym. This giant anchor is at the top of Nyhavn street district. This is the 'tourist centre' of the city. Beautiful but expensive. Anyone would do very well walking 5 minutes into the centre of town and discovering some of the quaint local hangouts.

This was most amusing. During our stay in the city we discovered many of these glass boxes dotted around the city. Each one had a different colour and theme. I am not 100% sure but I think they has something to do with exhibiting various solutions that people had come up with regarding improving daily living.

Copenhagen truly is a beautiful city. Then again we were there in October with surprisingly good weather. I would love to go back in winter and see the snow and lights and giant outdoor icerink that is created around one of the circular grass relaxation spaces.

Fun Friday

2006-06-30T08:58:00.000+02:00

Another in what I am hoping to start making a regular feature here. Fun Friday.

Over the years I have amassed a HUGE amount of jokes, funnies and anecdotes. To all those who have sent these to me THANKS...

Below is a list of various things broadcasters have said... bringing into crystal clarity the TRUE meaning of the phrase "Think before you talk":

Michael Buerk watching Phillipa Forrester cuddle up to a male astronomer for warmth during BBC1’s UK eclipse coverage remarked: "They seem cold out there, they’re rubbing each other and he’s only come in his shorts."
Ken Brown commentating on golfer Nick Faldo and his caddie Fanny Sunneson lining up shots at the Scottish Open: "Some weeks Nick likes to use Fanny, other weeks he prefers to do it by himself."
Mike Hallett discussing missed snooker shots on Sky Sports: "Stephen Hendry jumps on Steve Davis’s misses every chance he gets."
Jack Burnicle was talking about Colin Edwards’s tyre choice on World Superbike racing: "Colin had a hard on in practice earlier, and I bet he wished he had a hard on now."
During the 1989 Masters golf tournament, commentator Richie Benaud observed: "Notices are appearing at courses telling golfers not to lick their balls on the green."
Clair Frisby talking about a jumbo hot dog on Look North said: "There’s nothing like a big hot sausage inside you on a cold night like this."
James Allen interviewing Ralf Schumacher at a Formula One Grand Prix, asked: "What does it feel like being rammed up the backside by Rubens Barichello?"
Steve Ryder covering the US Masters: "Ballesteros felt much better today after a 69."
The new stand at Doncaster race course took Brough Scott’s breath away … "My word," he said, "look at that magnificent erection."
Willie Carson was telling Claire Balding how jockeys prepare for a big race when he said: "They usually have four or five dreams a night about coming from different positions."
A female news anchor who, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn’t, turned to the weatherman and asked, "So Bob, where’s that eight inches you promised me last night?" Not only did the weatherman have to leave the set, but so did half the crew, they were laughing so hard.
US PGA commentator: "One of the reasons Arnie (Arnold Palmer) is playing so well is that before each tee shot, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them. Oh dear lord!! What have I just said??"
Metro Radio: "Julian Dicks is everywhere. It’s like they’ve got eleven dicks on the field."
Harry Carpenter at the Oxford / Cambridge boat race in 1977: "Ah, isn’t that nice? The wife of the Cambridge President is kissing the Cox of the Oxford crew."
Ted Walsh (horse racing commentator): "This is really a lovely horse. I once rode her mother."

Having read these again I can only but imagine the search hits that I may be getting now.

Have a great weekend all.

Photoblog

2006-06-28T14:53:00.000+02:00

During some free time today (which is a very rare event) I was browsing through some of my photo's that I actually have in digital format on my laptop... mostly pic's from a business trip to Copenhagen last year, and decided the following:
1. I want to start putting them on my blog for others to enjoy aswell
2. I need to invest in a scanner to get some of my better prints digitised
3. I must get back to some of my hobbies

So, here is pic no. 1. - Boats in Nyhavn, Copenhagen

and no. 2. - out to dinner with some colleagues

USELESS organs – a question of faith?

2006-06-26T10:52:00.000+02:00

After having suffered my 5th bout of tonsillitis in the last 6 years I decided to do a little research into this little organ that most people live the majority of their lives without.

As it turns out, I DID have mine removed when I was about 5 years old, but it seems they liked me soooo much and where living such happy lives that they decided to grow back… the little bastards. Apparently this is not uncommon and happens in an estimated 1% of people who have had theirs removed. It occurs when a small piece of the ‘organ’ is left behind and it then regenerates (much like broken/cut skin regenerates to heal).

BUT what does it do? And why do I need it?

On my merry search I discovered that this very question is in fact being used as a point of contention in the whole argument of evolution vs. creationism. Evolutionists say that the fact that we have organs that are of little or no use any more is proof that we do in fact evolve. However the Creationists say that these are NOT useless and, no matter how trivial, these organs do serve very important purposes.

Nowadays doctors are much more reluctant to remove these organs, unless something life threatening has occurred (i.e. burst appendix). If you really want to know more a very simple Google search (“vestigial organs”) will give you more than enough to numb anyone’s brains into a temporary comatose state.

This however got me thinking about my beliefs, and the question “Where do we come from?” and no… 42 did not work for me here.

I found that, as strong as my faith is, I also have a very analytical/scientific mind. I have to know why or how things work… faith only takes it so far. I do believe that we have evolved and that the bible is not meant to be taken literally but is rather a guide in our lives. However, science only goes so far. At some point we have to stop and say… okay but where did that come from… where did those first atoms that collided together originate? I am also very uncomfortable with the idea that all we are is a random meeting of molecules. A scientific eventuality of the right conditions to produce life. That implies that there is no meaning, no purpose, no goal, pure luck. And then, what is the point. That is FAR TOO DEPRESSING.

However, on the converse of this argument, I also don’t believe that every single step we take in our lives is pre-ordained or planned. I believe that we have been put here with a very definite purpose in life and the journey is to discover that purpose. In the end WE are in control of our own decisions and lives. How we choose to live it, and the rules that we chose to govern it, is our own decision to make.

May whichever God you pray to be with you on your search for purpose. And for those who choose no God… may you find all your answers too.

New MUST READ

2006-06-20T22:12:00.000+02:00

When browsing through my site meter, and in particular that page that tells me where the referals are coming from (or at least what the last page was that someone was on before they came to mine) I stumbled apon a GEM of a blog. ANTARCTICA!!!

It details the lives of a group of scientists in ANTARCTICA... and NO it is not nearly as dreary as it sounds. If it is the only new site you visit you have to check it out... if only for the "Men of the South Pole Calendar". You'll thank me later.

Among the other "referals" are the people we all know and love... Katt, Chitty, KN, Michelle and company. However some of the more bizaar one's include links from google/yahoo searches such as

"single mom blogspot"
"describe a single mom personality"
"good idea to date a single mom"

... and my 2 all time favourites...

"Reasons to Date a Rugby Player" and
"will young's mom" (I don't want to know ?????)

And as for the geographic make up of my 'visitors'... well the graph tells it all... GO SOUTH AFRICA GO....

'A' is for Apple

2006-06-14T13:45:00.000+02:00

Thanks to Chitty for tagging me with the letter 'A' and giving me the kick up the backside to 'put pen to paper' as it were. If you are wanting background as to what the hell this is all about read here...

My list of 'A' words:

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start
Alpha:
More than just being the first letter of the Greek alphabet, it is the universally accepted term to indicate 'the beginning'. Whenever I hear the world I am reminded of the biblical quote " I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end". Somehow that has always been an encouraging thought and fills me with a little hope. There is something greater out there and our existence here on earth is not merely a random chance meeting of compatible molecules.

Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic:
Yes, believe it or not this is an actual word. With fifty-two letters, this is a claimant to the title of the longest word in the English language. The word is attributed to Dr. Edward Strother (1675–1737), who devised it to describe the spa waters at Bristol/Bath, England.
OKAY then...

Africa(aka HOME):
Described in Wiktionary as follows "The continent that is south of Europe, east of the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Indian Ocean and north of Antarctica." Yes, but is is soooo much more than that. Africa is home... the motherland to all human beings (depending on which 'scientific' fad we are going through at the time).

Aquarius:
The Zodiac sign for the water carrier, covering January 20 through February 18. My Sign. I also found in my reading that the opposite to Aquarius is Leo… my ex's sign, which might explain a lot. I really must find out more about this and put it to good use when next I meet the supposed Mr. Right.

Attraction:
The Moon is held in its orbit by the attraction of the Earth's gravity
The new mall should be a major attraction
I felt a strange attraction towards the place

AIDS:
I cannot say that this is one of my favourite 'A' words, but it is definitely the one that has the most impact. An epidemic that we in sub-Saharan Africa (as we are now classified) know all tooooo well. In South Africa more than 5,500,000 people are living with aids. There are many studies and reports on this issue... here is but one "Worldwide HIV & AIDS Epidemic Statistics"

Unfortunately this is where the stamina ran out. Chitty, forgive me... I only made 6 out of 10 :)

T.G.I.F.

2006-06-02T09:52:00.000+02:00

Now that my PMS induced slump of this week is over I am gearing up for a FAB weekend. To all those who read my blogs this week and started thinking about life a LITTLE TOO MUCH... my appologies.

What is in store for me this weekend... well the kids are heading off to dad again today which means that I have about 48 hours of peace and quiet. Which will be starting off with a trip to the movies to see X3. I have put this off for a week so that I could see it with one of my BESTEST friends who arrived back in Cape Town from Jordan on Monday. On that note... from BLOGTHINGS

You Are Storm

Exotic and powerful, Storm descended from a line of African priestesses.
Emotions can effect your powers, but you are generally serene.

Powers: controlling weather, creating winds that lift you into flight, generating lightning

Which of the X-Men Are You?

Other that that I will be spending the weekend pampering myself. Now that my bank balance is looking a little healthier again after payday, it is time for some "me-time". I think a facial and massage are definitely in order.

Hope you all have a terrific weekend.

What is happening?

2006-06-01T10:36:00.000+02:00

These are some of the news articles over the last few weeks…

Matie's suicide devastates family
Hanged girl found under tree
Man hangs his three children
Teenage girl films her suicide
Mom, sons found hanged
Boy hangs himself in toilet
Man hangs kids, himself
Dad throws kids off bridge

Raped child fighting for her life
Man held for raping six-year-olds
4 arrested for gang-rape of girl, 11
Shocking SA child death stats
More than 25% of Cape schools 'at high risk'
Belgian student tells of gang-rape ordeal

And there there is the whole baby Jordan murder

WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR SOCIETY? And these are only the ones that made it into the news. I could only find ONE article reporting on someone actually asking questions of the government (DA slams govt over child abuse crisis)

Why is no one making more noise about this?
Why does everyone just get on with their lives as if this doesn’t affect them?

The news will run special report's on the f#@$ing ZUMA trial and BIRD FLU but are completely missing the plot when it comes to issues that REALLY MATTER in our society. Instead of arguing and second-guessing each other over who is going to succeed President Mbeki why not focus on the real future of the country. It doesn’t make a bloody difference who is in charge of the country if there is no one left in it.

Update - even more senseless

2006-05-31T14:07:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I wrote about the senseless death of an 11-year-old boy. Further to this I found out that this was in fact a suicide.

WHAATTT - was my immediate reaction. This is an 11-YEAR-OLD we are talking about. And to top it all off... his is the second suicide in his class THIS YEAR.

What thought process happened that made him feel this was the only solution?
Why did NO adults pick up that there was a problem?
Is there something else going on with these kids that NO ONE seems to be aware of?
What... why... WHY

What is going on in the world?
I actually cannot put anything coherent down on this matter… my mind is a complete mess I simply cannot fathom the enormity of this event.

Where is the sense in it all?

2006-05-30T09:01:00.000+02:00

I know I have been very quiet over the last week. I have had a fair amount on my mind and have been struggling to find ways to put it all in words… at least any combination of words that would make sense to anyone else.

Yesterday I attended the memorial service for my project managers’ 11-year-old son. This is the second death of a child we have had in the office in the last 2 months. The first was an 11-month-old girl (who had been born with a genetic defect). I don’t know which is worse, although I can’t imagine that I would be able to survive either event with my sanity in tact. Daniel died very suddenly and without any explanations last week. He was a perfectly healthy 11-year-old, joking about upcoming sporting events and being his usual talkative self in class, then gone, for no apparent reason. With baby Kendra they knew it was coming eventually, they knew what to expect and had time to prepare… though I by no means intend that it is ANY easier.

Life is so incredibly fragile, yet every day I see / hear about it being destroyed. The 9-year-old girl in a coma after a brutal attack and rape. A jealous girlfriend who plots the murder of his child. The estimated 12 % of our population (that is in South Africa alone) that is living with AIDS, including an estimated 230,000 children (world wide we are only beaten by Nigeria with + 290,000). And this is only the VERY TIP of the iceberg.

What kind of world are we bringing our children into… what kind of example are we setting? I feel sick to my stomach every time I think about this too long. I look at my children and I wonder whether I am doing the best thing for them staying in this country… but then again, where else would I go (short of camping out on a deserted island for the rest of our lives).

Human being are a terrible specieds. We wage wars over oil and land. We enforce our ideas on others and sanction all those who do not agree. We use up every resource that the earth has provided and when it is all gone we move on to another patch of land while lamenting the beauty we have so senselessly destroyed. At the heart of EVERY religion is a God that teaches love and peace and compassion, in whose name we try and justify the atrocities we unleash on the world.

I have suddenly remembered a quote from one of the Matrix movies that couldn’t be more apt…
“I'd like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species, and I realised that humans are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment; but you humans do not. Instead you multiply, and multiply, until every resource is consumed. The only way for you to survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern... a virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer on this planet, you are a plague…”

We need to slow down and appreciate all the beauty that is around every day. Give the person sitting next to you a hug. Call that friend that you haven’t spoken to in ages because on an insignificant disagreement and tell them that you miss them. We take so much for granted, never knowing what could happen tomorrow, or tonight, or in the next 10 minutes. DO NOT DELAY.

To my children:

I love you both.
For all those times that I have been in a bad mood after work and been short tempered with you I AM SORRY.
For all those times that I didn’t play with you because I was too busy with “more important” things I AM SORRY.
For all those times that I didn’t look at life through your eyes and appreciate the beauty you are discovering I AM SORRY.
I promise to build puzzles with you, to read with you, to colour in with you.
I promise to really listen when you tell me about YOUR day.
I promise that I won’t get upset when you want to wear that pink top with the orange pants.
I have learned that accidents happen (even after I have warned you) and that it is a part of growing up.
I have learned that no matter how much I want to protect you from life I need to let you live it knowing that I have raised you to make the right decisions.
I have learned that no matter how grumpy I have been you are always ready with a hug and a kiss.
I have taken you two completely for granted and I AM SORRY.
I LOVE YOU.

Movies, Movies, Movies

2006-05-22T11:41:00.000+02:00

What a lovely relaxing weekend. I packed the kids off to their farther and spent it by myself, doing what I wanted to do (for a change), which included a few movies/DVD's and starting a new book.
The movies...

Mrs Henderson Presents (****)
A beautiful movie about the world famous Windmill theater in London during World War II. Dame Judy Dench pulled off a spectacular performance as the rather eccentric widow Mrs. Henderson, and the playful banter with Bob Hoskins' Vivian van Damm makes for some of the best moments in the movie. The jury is still out on Will Young's performance, although if you were going to get someone to play the gay musical lead who else would you choose.

The DaVinci Code (****)
I made a point to reserve judgment on the book/movie until I had either read or seen it. Well, I started reading the book on Friday and saw the movie on Sunday, and enjoyed both. The best way I can find to describe it is "Raiders of the lost Arc" meets "National Treasure". A wonderful work of fiction. It is a treasure hunt through time and Europe, with the characters constantly keeping each other in check to give the audience a hint at both sides of the argument.

and one of my all time fav's
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (*****)
This is one of the few movies that are as good as the books. I have loved it since I first saw it, and decided to add it to my personal collection at home. Now, how to convince someone to make "Restaurant at the end of the Universe".

Fun Friday

2006-05-19T09:06:00.000+02:00

Thanks calia77 for putting me on to these...

You Are Wind

Strong and overpowering
A force to be reckoned with, no one dares cross you
You have the power to change everything around you

You are best known for: your wrath

Your dominant state: commanding

What Type of Weather Are You?

You Are Animal

A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts.
You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary.
But you sure can beat a good drum.
"Kill! Kill!"

The Muppet Personality Test

You Are 50% Boyish and 50% Girlish

You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch.
Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes.
You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them.
You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

Where did all the 'insert word here' go????

2006-05-18T09:10:00.000+02:00

Last night, after the kids had settled and I was getting ready to watch the football I decided to make a cup of coffee. All was well untill I looked for a tea-spoon to make said cup-of-coffee. Now, in the draw that normally conains enough tea-spoons for my whole family I could find only one. ONE, check the sink... none, check the drying rack... none. And then this got me thinking (never a good thing, I know).

Now it is a well documented fact that when your back is turned, lone socks will escape from the washing machine or tumble drier and make the long journey accross the ocean to the island of lost socks, leaving you with many mismatching single socks. The lucky ones manage to escape in pairs to lead a life of bliss... never again to be walked over, dragged through the dirt, stuffed in hot, smelly, rank old shoes.

BUT... Where do all the SPOONS go???

One day an intreppid explorer will stumble apon Spoonopia and answer this burning question, but for now we are left to come to our own conclusions.

I pose one last question... Where did all the MEN go? Which reminds me of an age old saying passed down to me many years ago... Men are like toilets... either full of shit or occupied.

What is the world coming to?

2006-05-15T12:31:00.000+02:00

Everywhere I look nowadays, I see/hear something else worth ranting over. I would love to write a full entry on each one of these topics but quite frankly do not have time in my day for this and so will try to limit myself to a paragraph on each. Here goes…

Zuma – a real life soap-opera DISLAIMER: These are my own opinions
It seems that everyone is conveniently overlooking his upcoming corruption trial and he is being warmly invited back into the folds of his political party. Even if the accusation of rape was judged to be false I still find it morally reprehensible that a man will have unprotected sex with a woman he knows is HIV positive. Lets not even get into the fact that she is half his age, that he already has 2 wives and at least 10 children (not including any number of ‘love’ children). And if I have to get started now on the damage he has done in the fight against AIDS in this country, as well as the plight of abused and raped woman I will never get finished.

UK - Mother at 11
I am sure that I am not the only person who finds this absolutely appalling, but what I am even more enraged by is that the article is more concerned about the fact that the UK is setting a new record, and is doing everything short of congratulating the girl. WHERE ARE THE PARENTS in this story?? And why is someone not asking the more important question of why an 11 year old is allowed to go out partying, get drunk and have unprotected sex in the first place.

Someone get Schalk off the radio PLEEEZZ.
If I have to hear those over-scripted, badly executed, sad excuse for an insurance ad once more I will scream. Schalk… those radio adverts of yours could not be more damaging to the image of the game of rugby. All it manages to do is confirm the opinion of many that rugby players do not require any brain cells, or that if they had any they were scrummed out of them years ago. Did no one actually listen to them before they went on air.

100m in 9.76sec (a.k.a. 36.8 km/h)
WOW – that is faster than some cars I have seen on the highways lately and mighty impressive for a human being. “snaps” to Justin Gatlin

And finally… will someone give me a local rugby team worth supporting… Stormers AAII TOG