Monday, November 29, 2010

FOUR Years

Wowee, would you believe that today I've been blogging for 4 whole years! FOUR. Shoo time does fly, but plenty has happened and changed during that time. And I have a prettily packaged record of all of it right here.

In other news, the awful week is over and I'm feeling upbeat about this week :) I got my car back on Friday morning. I decided not to go to Mozambique with my friend and 3 guys she met at a club in Cape Town :P And I had a pretty decent weekend.

It started on Friday evening with drink at The Old Rose with half the SCM Dinner crowd :) And I just felt in a better mood by simply being around people. I know that sounds silly because technically I'm around people all day at work. But it is different.

On Saturday I got some xmas shopping done: The Peeb's gift is now in the country and hopefully en route to my Post Office. I've got half of Mom's gift and on Saturday got half of Daddio's. All going smoothly and far longer in advance than is usual for me, it's not even December yet :) Haha.

And then @Rubyletters & I went out to Melville for lunch before heading to the Sass Sale. I suggested Xai Xai since I haven't been in ages but have such awesome memories of chicken trinchado & darwas there. I will say the place has changed a fair amount since I was last there and I was disappointed because the barman was only getting in at 4pm so no darwas for us :( But the trinchado was just as I remembered :)

And then it was off to @cybersass's place for the sale. OMG. I've wanted one of her 1 Dresses since she wore one to a bloggirls lunch. And this afternoon a whole bunch of us descended on her house, watching in awe as she adapted the dress and showed us a million different ways we could wear it. I think we all definitely left with more purchases than we intended (I certainly did!), but it was such a lovely afternoon (this coming from someone so compltely unfamiliar with shopping with girl-friends). Everyone looked awesome in the dresses regardless of body-shape. It's really quite amazing. So what did I buy? I got myself a maroon A-line 1 Dress, a black boob-tube (helpful for wearing under the dress depending on the style) and a long coat in dusty pink. Would you believe I fell even more in love with the dress as I stood in front of my mirror trying different styles later that evening!

So the evening was pretty quiet after such a full and busy day. On Sunday I had an exhausting morning, with gym and cleaning the bunny hutch, but then relaxed for a bit before a friend of mine came over and re-installed my laptop for me - yay! I am loving being back on Windows :) And then we went for a late lunch at Luca's, which was lovely.

And that was about that. I still have plenty swirling in my head and do need to get a big post written about that, but haven't had the time, plus I haven't exactly been in the right head space to dwell without making myself feel worse about things.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

It Is Broken

So here's hoping today is better than yesterday.

My car is currently broken. I need a whole new clutch. And I've driven less than 40000kms. I am supremely unimpressed. And, even living as close as I do to work, woefully unprepared to be car-less. But anyhoo. Hopefully I'll get it back later this afternoon and all will be right in the world again ... aside from the R4500 missing from my savings :P

Luckily my plans last night involved people coming to my house for our year-end poker evening :) Was awesome, but a late night.

There's other stuff going on in my head at the moment. Lots. Which I really need to turn into a proper blog post at some point. But there's not enough time right now ... on with the day!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

so this is my life

*sob* This week has just been marvelous :P Nope, that's a lie. Work has been especially terrible and stressful in the last 2 days, from having someone stand at my desk screaming at me (long story) to everyone wanting a piece of me to work on their project yesterday. Sigh. Yesterday calmed down about half an hour before I left, thankfully. But today I have to train a client for 3 hours, on something I haven't touched in more than 6months (mebbe a year?). The awesomeness continues.

I went for my walk around the neighbourhood after I got home yesterday, hoping to clear my head. All I really did was plan a "pity post" for today. Sigh, I guess something to do with being about 2weeks shy of being single for a whole year now with no prospects in sight and the whole xmas season thing (life always gets kinda introspective then, as in what did you accomplish this year, and as busy as the end of year rush is, it's always oddly less social as people spend time with their families and end-of-year work functions).

And then life did one of those things it sometimes does to surprise you. I got a msg from @scottjorton saying come for a drink, we're just up the road. And I thought, I could climb into bed and watch more episodes of Friends and pretend the world outside didn't exist, or I could go out and have a much needed drink with a friend. So I put my big girl panties on and faced the world. I really needed that, someone to give me a lifeline to get out of my head.

So I thought things were going to be better today. I was wrong. Things were already worse before 7am. I got in my car and I dunno what's happened to it, but something weird. And it must be pretty damn bad if I can even tell that it's not driving right! And it just got serviced in October and it's not under the maintenance plan anymore. And quite honestly I'm terrified. I have no idea what to do. The car place where I got it serviced isn't answering their phone yet this morning, I'm doubt I'm going to have time to get it there and get myself back before my 3hr training session, anyway.

And now, it a true "this is my life" story, my friend has just invited me to Mozambique for a 4day weekend next weekend with some people she knows. Sigh. I can't think about this all right now.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Winding Down 2010

Sigh, really. Monday again, already?

Weekend was pretty good. That good mix of completely relaxed and busy :) On Friday night Loulou had suggested drinks at Bar Fusion after work. So I went and @Rubyletters, @scottjorton and @ClaudeTschepen came along too. Wow, I would not recommend the venue at all. Well, let me rephrase. The venue seems very nice. But there were perhaps 9 other people in the place besides us. There were literally more wait-staff than patrons. Which doesn't make for a great fun after work drinks. Ah well. It's still good to try new places, right?

Later @Rubyletters, @scottjorton & I went for dinner at The Swiss Inn. We shared a very delish cheese fondue :) Fun times.

Saturday started with breakfast out with CollegeInstructor. He'd heard about a nearby little spot that was apparently very good, called Le Souffle. We got there just after 8:30 and were their only customers. Sigh. Again, with the trying new places and them having no customers ... ah well. We ended up staying anyways. The breakfast wasn't too bad, but the service, considering at their busiest we were 1 of 4 tables, was shocking :P I wouldn't bother with it again.

And then I went out on another pre-xmas shopping spree. It wasn't terribly successful. Sigh. I had a relaxing afternoon tho and on Saturday night I went to The Fairy Godmother's birthday party :) Which was lovely. Nice to meet some new people and get dressed up!

Sunday was *very* relaxed. But I did emerge to go and watch Red, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Such fun :) Seriously, go watch it.

Anyway, all mostly good. Aside from some inner mumblings in my head ... which is par for the course as the year winds down. So I'm trying as best I can to just ignore it all.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Normalness?

Ah right. Regular posting ... you must be bored of book reviews two days running now, I'm sure. Since I know those are about the least interesting thing I post (it's more a record for myself).

So, it's been a quiet week, influenced by this bizarre cool and overcast weather we've been having (don't mind me, I love it!). Monday night was SCM Dinner as usual. On Tuesday I got home and wanted nothing more than a lazy evening to myself. I climbed into bed early (after a walk around the neighbourhood & some run-around time with the bunnies) with my book and read about solidly (minus a break to grab some dinner) for 4hrs, finishing my book. I didn't really feel relaxed afterwards tho because I stayed up later than usual just to finish. Yawn. But I've realised that often one needs these sort of recharge evenings, to be alone, uninterrupted and just do something entirely selfish. One of the perks of being an adult, I guess. Sure I had other stuff I could probable be doing. I haven't taken a #365 photo in about a week now ... I think it's about to die a slow death, sadly. I am just not inspired by the things surrounding me anymore. And I could also have put the evening to good use working on my concept. And there are other things I'm sposed to get done, but it's easier just to ignore them too. Sometimes there is only one thing that you actually want to do and everything else can just take a back seat. So I let it.

Yesterday was better tho. Although filled with another escapism alternative, I went to watch Unstoppable. I really quite enjoyed it, didn't have to think to hard and was just the sort of movie I needed. And again, this morning I've been reading up about the true events that inspired it.

And when I got home, I started working on my #Concept again and got some good work done, I think. All in all, I'm feeling a lot more back to normal today than I have in the last 2 weeks :)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Jacob Hunt is a teenager: brilliant at maths, wicked sense of humour, extraordinarily organised, hopeless at reading social cues. And Jacob has Asperger’s. He is locked in his own world – aware of the world outside, and wanting to make a connection. Jacob tries to be like everyone else, but doesn’t know how. When his tutor is found dead, all the hallmark behaviours of Jacob’s syndrome – not looking someone in the eye, odd movements, inappropriate actions – start looking a lot like guilt to the police. And Jacob’s mother must ask herself the hardest question in the world: is her child capable of murder?

I got home last night and did just about nothing but read this book (escapism, anyone?). Anyway, I enjoyed it. It's not up there with My Sister's Keeper or The Pact in terms of screwing with the way you think about things, but it is better than some of the others. Although the "twist" is glaringly obvious from well beforehand.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Imitation in Death by JD Robb

'No matter how many times you looked at the horror man inflicted on man, you never saw it all. As Lieutenant Eve Dallas stood over what had once been a woman, she wondered when she would see worse than this...' The summer of 2059 is drawing to a sweaty close when a killer makes his debut with the slashing and mutilation of a prostitute. He leaves behind a note addressed to Lieutenant Eve Dallas, commending her work and inviting her to participate in his game...and signs it Jack. Now Eve is on the trail of a serial killer who knows as much about the history of murder as she does, and he's paying homage to some of history's most vicious, and infamous, killers, beginning with Jack the Ripper. But who will he choose to emulate next? And will Eve be able to stop him before he decides to finish the game by coming after her?

As always, I ♥ the In Death series, and this one was no different. I had Daddio bring up a few to Natal so that I wouldn't have to take a book down to Cape Town with me in December just to lug back home. Because I know, as has become tradition, that while there I'll plow thru as many of the In Death series as I can. They're ideal holiday reads for me!



* This book is part of the In Death series: Naked in Death (1995), Glory in Death (1995), Immortal in Death (1996), Rapture in Death (1996), Ceremony in Death (1997), Vengeance in Death (1997), Holiday in Death (1998), ~Midnight in Death (1998), Conspiracy in Death (1999), Loyalty in Death (1999), Witness in Death (2000), Judgment in Death (2000), Betrayal in Death (2001), ~Interlude in Death (2001), Seduction in Death (2001), Reunion in Death (2002), Purity in Death (2002), Portrait in Death (2003), Imitation in Death (2003), Divided in Death (2004), Visions in Death (2004), Survivor in Death (2005), Origin in Death (2005), Memory in Death (2006), ~Haunted in Death (2006), Born in Death (2006), Innocent in Death (2007), Creation in Death (2007), ~Eternity in Death (2007), Strangers in Death (2008), Salvation in Death (2008), ~Ritual in Death (2008), Promises in Death (2009), Kindred in Death (2009), ~Missing in Death (2009), Fantasy in Death (2010)

~ included in Anthologies

Monday, November 15, 2010

My Weekend

Yawn. Am tired today, could happily have stayed in bed today! No doubt something to do with a late bedtime and the overcast weather this morning. And I'm feeling like a terrible person too, because when I went to see the bunnies this morn I realised I hadn't refilled their water bowl after cleaning the hutch (about 3pm yesterday afternoon). Lily was sitting in the dry water bowl :( And after I refilled it while they were having a run, she found the empty jug I'd used and tipped it over and stuck her head right in licking the last of the drops ... And once her & Coal found the full water bowl I think they both sat their drinking for longer than I've ever seen before. Poor bundles :( :( But they are luckily fine. I can't believe I didn't notice when I said goodnight to them last night when I got home.

Anyway, the weekend, right. Had a work thing followed by drinks in the office ... which ended at about 6pm. And then headed off to The Old Rose to meet up with @clairam, @scottjorton and some others for an after work drink. I hate The Old Rose, I have no idea why people go there, but whatever. After that @scottjorton and I ended up going for dinner at The Codfather, which was yummy (I had sole).

Saturday was, I guess a pretty lazy day. I did a bunch of admin in the morning and not very much for the rest of the day, which was lovely :) I browsed for xmas pressies, but didn't end up actually buying anything yet (am somehow terrified that as soon as I buy something I will find some other perfect gift because there are still so many weeks till xmas!!) Aaargh, and the *perfect* pressie that I bought for ThePeeb & her boyf has yet to arrive in South Africa ... sigh. I will relax again when I have it with me but till then I'm still a little panic-y about it. Oooh ooh, and it was The Peeb's birthday on Friday (I'd already given her her bday pressie in Natal) and she got a new gorgeous little girl-kitten on Saturday :) :)

On Sunday I went on my neighbourhood walk (took a week off after getting back from Natal because I was so drained last week) and cleaned the bunny hutch, did grocery shopping (have I told you how *awesome* the new PicknPay on William Nichol is?), made a delish lunch and relaxed and read my book, and even worked on my Concept a little :)

I ended the weekend off with dinner at my great-aunt & -uncle's place. Was fab to see them again before they're off back to the UK for a bit. I absolutely love hearing all the old stories :)

Thursday, November 11, 2010

All In My Head

Not especially in the mood for blogging this morning. Actually I haven't been in the mood for much since I got back from Natal. I had a free evening to myself on Tuesday and all I wanted to do was curl up into bed with my book. Which I didn't end up doing till almost bedtime anyway tho, because I was busy sorting thru photos from the weekend (I take every opportunity to take family group shots, much to everyone's dismay in the moment ... but I'm sure they enjoy looking back at them as much as I do ;) ).

And last night I got home with a terrible headache. In fact I'm not entirely sure how I lasted the day at work. So I got home, curled up in bed with my book and fell asleep for a bit. Luckily I felt better after that :)

I have a nagging part of my brain that thinks I am wasting time and should be working on my project ... but another part of me knows that it's not to be forced and better to work on it when I'm in the right frame of mind to keep myself excited about it. Although I am, again, having seriously doubts about myself regarding it and my ability to actually make it happen. Sigh. Branching out and trying something new can definitely be scary. Especially because I don't really consider myself an entrepreneur ... and I'm a worrier (I wish that said warrior, but alas).

Anyway, I had a lovely dinner at Cranks last night catching up with Liary. And I have book club tonight. And then I'm planning on hibernating till Monday. I have lots of admin to get done ... xmas presents to buy etc. ;)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Killing Fear by Allison Brennan

Six years ago, lawyer Theodore Glenn was convicted of brutally murdering four strippers in San Diego. But as he was dragged from the courtroom, he made a vehement promise to kill all those who testified against him ...Robin McKenna, a former stripper, had shared a stage with all four of the victims. Over the last six years Robin's worked hard to turn her life around, transforming the strip joint where she once worked with her friends into an upscale bar. Self-defence courses, a good security team - and the fact that Glenn is rotting on Death Row in San Quentin have helped her to feel safe again. But not a day goes by when Robin doesn't think of her friends. Or - if she's honest - of homicide detective Will Hooper, the man who put Glenn behind bars. Their fledging relationship had not survived beyond Glenn's trial. But when a freak earthquake hits California, Theodore Glenn escapes San Quentin. Convicted of four murders, he knows he's guilty of only three and is determined to find out who framed him for the fourth, whilst systematically eradicating all those who put him in prison...

Quite enjoyed this one. Ideal for in-flight reading or holiday reading :) Not too twisty (although I suspect twisty is actually what the author was going for).

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Family Time

Urgh. Back to reality. How unfortunate.

am feeling somewhat blue since my arrival back in Joburg. I think it always happens when I have to say goodbye to my family. It takes me a few days to get back into my "real life" again. That and there's something interesting I noticed that was going on in my head after spending so much time with all the oldies. These are great aunts and uncles who've been together practically their whole lives. I dunno, there's something telling about looking at 75+ yr old lives at play. What will I be doing at that age. Will I have a partner? Will I have children? Will I have grandchildren? It seems so far away and so close all at the same time.

Anyway, enough about that. So on Friday afternoon I headed off to Lanseria. Remind me not to fly via there again please. It took me just over an hour to get there before my flight. You know, it seemed like such a blessing, having this 2nd airport, when ORT felt like miles away and the airport restoration was chaos and what a pleasure to only have one flight checking in at a time :) Well nowadays the pleasure of Lanseria only exists within it's walls. The drive there is an absolute nightmare and doesn't seem to be improving at all. Give me the Gautrain any day! Considering the cost of parking at Lanseria from Friday afternoon till Monday evening was almost R300, the Gautrain does seem preferable, if you can get a lift there. Sigh, and the roads home from Lanseria are even worse in the dark. I would recommend everyone boycott Lanseria till they fix those awful roads!!

The flight to Durbs is such a pleasure, it's like about as soon as you've taken off you're getting ready for descent. Somehow the extra hour to Cape Town feels soo much longer. I met my cousin at the airport and we set off for small-town Natal, arriving around 10pm.

We had a lovely long weekend filled with family :) It was my grandfather's 80th birthday on Sunday and on Saturday we had plenty of the family round to celebrate with a lunch. Some of whom I'm not sure I've even met before!

We also managed to fit in a visit to the cemetery (where I got my own photo's of our old family gravestones - I think I'll have to revive my family history hobby again!) and a visit to the very small local museum (which is in the house my grandmother used to live in while her father was magistrate 1951 - 1955). I can't actually remember the last time we visited the museum.

As always, my favourite part of the weekend was hearing all sorts of old family stories from back in the day :)

Friday, November 05, 2010

Chalcot Crescent by Fay Weldon

Fay Weldon in top gear: a wickedly sharp, history-bending, cosmos-colliding novel that tells the story of Frances, Fay's never-born younger sister. Its 2013 and eighty-year-old Frances (part-time copywriter, has-been writer, one-time national treasure) is sitting on the stairs of Number 3, Chalcot Crescent, Primrose Hill, listening to the debt collectors pounding on her front door. From this house she's witnessed five decades of world history - the fall of communism, the death of capitalism - and now, with the bailiffs, world history has finally reached her doorstep. While she waits for the bailiffs to give up and leave, Frances writes (not that she has an agent any more, or that her books are still published, or even that there are any publishers left). She writes about the boyfriends she borrowed and the husband she stole from Fay, about her daughters and their children. She writes about the Shock, the Crunch, the Squeeze, the Recovery, the Fall, the Crisis and the Bite, about NUG the National Unity Government, about ration books, powercuts, National Meat Loaf (suitable for vegetarians) and the new Neighbourhood Watch. She writes about family secrets...The problem is that fact and fiction are blurring in Frances' mind. Is it her writer's imagination, or is it just old age, or plain paranoia? Are her grandchildren really plotting a terrorist coup upstairs? Are faceless assassins trying to kill her younger daughter? Should she worry that her son in law is an incipient megalomaniac being groomed for NUG's highest office? What on earth can NUG have against vegetarians? And just what makes National Meat Loaf so tasty?

Yeah, I dunno. There was something I quite liked about this book, but it certainly isn't for everyone. It is far from your usual sort of story. Maybe that's what I like about it? I won't lie tho, there's a bit in the middle where the author tells you she doesn't mind if you quite reading now ... and I was tempted. It wasn't an easy book to read, it was fairly disjointed. I guess like having a conversation with an old person who forgets what they were saying and drifts off down another story for a while.

Thursday, November 04, 2010

The Big Fake - a Movie

Sigh, it is hard to sleep when your mind is racing with ideas and what-ifs and how-tos. And mine is. The cynical and realistic part of my brain has definitely kicked in, coming up with all sorts of potential problems. But I refuse to deal with them yet. I haven't the time to dedicate to sitting down and working thru it. I plan to spend some time this weekend doing just that and I can't imagine a better weekend for it with my family around to ask questions to and the peace and quiet of the small town in Natal that my grandfather lives in.

So aside from all that, I went to Sandton with Arkwife yesterday evening to have some dinner and then watch The Social Network. We ended up eating at Wangthai, which I used to frequent more than 10 years ago with my folks in Cape Town. It wasn't the same (of course). But the food was good, just not quite what I was in the mood for (unfortunately it was one of those nights when I just couldn't figure out what I wanted) but it turned out just fine :)

And then we went to watch the movie. Which I *loved*. It was brilliantly funny and quirky in parts and I loved how the regatta scene was filmed. Yes, I'd definitely recommend you watch this one. I felt it was especially pertinent to watch as I embark on making my own "big idea" a reality (finger's crossed). And seriously, the lead actor sounds *exactly* like Michael Cera ... it's freakish. What I also thought was interesting was that although we all use facebook every day (no doubt), we (or is it just me?) never think about the name behind it. I mean sure I knew Mark Zuckerberg owned / created facebook, but more than that I'd never given him a second thought (gawd, and I've just discovered he's 4yrs younger than me!! I feel a little ill.). The real life story behind something so familiar is definitely interesting tho, makes me go and look more info up on the internet :) Imagine being 26 and having a movie made about your story?!? Kinda mind-blowing honestly.

Thanks to Ster Kinekor for using Social Media to spread the word that they were giving away free tickets to the premiere, I think that was a stoke of genius and completely appropriate :)

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Much Excitement Brewing

So, I may seem distracted lately, I am. I have turned a little wish into and actual idea into a potential business plan. I'm very excited and working on a sort of proof-of-concept for it before I take the idea to the company it's for (although it'd almost run on top of their existing system and still be entirely mine).

The wish has been circling in my head for a couple of weeks now, it's a service I want! But only yesterday did I realise that *I* could make the wish come true and implement the idea myself. I've spoken to a handful of people about it (no point in the idea if I'm the only person who thinks there's a market for it, right?) and they all agree with me :) Last night I got started on it for real ... Suddenly I'm a little disappointed that I have a full 2 weeks of social engagements.

Monday night was SCM as usual, last night I was supposed to be meeting one of my cousins, who is up on business, for dinner ... but he had to cancel. Which I was both disappointed about (not to see him) but also quite relieved (a night at home to myself to immerse myself in my new idea). Tonight I'm off to watch The Social Network with Arkwife (got free tickets, woot!) and then I'm having dinner with DJMike and his new girlfriend on Thursday. On Friday I am off for a long weekend to celebrate Daddio's Dad's 80th birthday. Can't wait to see Daddio, The Peeb and the rest of the fandamily! Next week is filled with more dinner plans and book club.

And all I want to do is spend time thinking about my new plan. It could be amazing, and I really do not want to lose momentum with it. I want to really push myself on this and do everything I can to make it happen. It'll be awesome, if it works :)

ps. Sadly, my new distraction is doing no good for my #365 ... ah well, priorities, right?

Monday, November 01, 2010

Such Potential

Wow, last week seems ages away. And for no good reason, really. The weekend was busy, but nothing spectacular. It had potential, but somehow didn't turn out to be anything unusual.

It started on Friday with a dress-up in the office for Halloween. The theme was masks and after having a browse around at The Flower Spot last Saturday and going home to have a think about it, I decided on something a little more literal. I didn't like the full masks than go over your head and I couldn't work out what I would "be" using some of their other (although gorgeous!!) masks than just cover your eyes.

So I came to work in my sarong and bikini top, with a shirt over and a mask & snorkel. Hahahaha. Was a more comfortable way to spend the day than some outfits!

And we finished up early and had a braai in our office park gardens which was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

After that it was off to another braai, this time from one of the SCM crowd's birthday. See, this was potential one to meet new people but didn't deliver.

On Saturday I sorted out the fish. I bought a new air pump and 2 new fish buddies and some netting and the pond seems to be a much happier place now :) I went and watched t he Rugby at Cesco's with Loulou. What a boring game ... but I'll concede that the Sharks definitely deserved to win. And potential two to meet new people but since it was people Loulou went to high school with, I got bored rather quickly of the reminiscing conversation that I couldn't join into.

I quickly dashed home after we had dinner there (I had a Chicken Trinchado which will g o on my average list - I definitely think it's time to visit Xai Xai again for some Trinchado and Darwa's!) and got dressed up for the Red Room Halloween Party.

Which sadly was also not as spectacular as I was hoping. There weren't too many of our crowd there. And the 2 other girls who were have both become single in the last week so are not yet in the right state of mind. They had bands playing, taking up the entire dance floor. And then the power went out. Which was actually quite amusing to me. So the bands cleared out and they hooked the generator up to the music and things got pretty much back to normal. Except that the dance floor was sweltering with no fans ... So I didn't stick around too late at all.

On Sunday I met up with two friends from work and went for afternoon tea at Beechwood, one of the Gardens of the Golden City. It was quite lovely.

I finished the weekend off by watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I haven't read the book (yet, now I definitely want to). I think it's often better to watch the movie before reading the book so that you can actually enjoy both. In most cases, if you've read the book first, the movie will just disappoint and frustrate you.

I enjoyed this movie, although there were some really hectic parts. And it's been ages since I saw a sub-titled movie (I quite enjoy them).

I went to watch at Ster Kinekor for a change (usually I go to Monte Casino). It's a price balance. At Nu Metro (on a Wednesday), parking will be R10, the movie is R20 and a medium popcorn & coke is R30 (how they justify that is beyond me!). After looking online (and why do you have to go thru the whole process of pretending to buy a ticket to find out how much it'll cost you?), I realised that movies at Nu Metro any other day of the week are about R42. But any other day of the week I can go to a Ster Kinekor (although there aren't many I like nearby). Last night, parking was R6, the movie was R22.50 and a regular popcorn & coke was R36.

I definitely prefer going to Monte Casino, but that's because I usually go to weekday 5-6pm shows, so there are less people around but plenty of people staffing the popcorn counters. Not so at Ster Kinekor on a Sunday afternoon, jees what a hassle! I'm also amazed at people. I went and used one of the 6 self-service screens to buy my ticket. Yet there was a queue about 5 people long to buy tickets from the single staff member at the counter. Are people really that stupid? Unless you don't actually own a credit card, I can't understand why anyone would book from a person at a counter? Ah well, guess that's their problem.

Blog Widget by LinkWithin