bloggirls Now in Cape Town

Sigh. morning again. And even tho I get in at 07h30 these days, I don't know where my morning goes. It's 08h20 and I'm only starting my post now ...

Last night was cool. Varen & I actually made it to gym - Can I have three cheers from everyone reading please :) And we watched the original Indiana Jones (and the Raiders of the Lost Ark).

Raiders of the Lost Ark (also known as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark) is a 1981 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and pits Indiana Jones (played by Ford) against the Nazis, who search for the Ark of the Covenant, to make their army invincible. Indiana and the Nazis search for a medallion, owned by Indy's old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), which will pinpoint the Well of Souls in Egypt, the Ark's resting place. The film also starred Paul Freeman as Indiana's nemesis, French archaeologist Rene Belloq, John Rhys-Davies as Indiana's sidekick Sallah, and Denholm Elliott as Indiana's colleague, Marcus Brody.

It was sadly disappointing ... I was planning on watching all the original Indy movies before the latest one currently on circuit. But now I admit that I'm not so sure. I'm thinking it actually might be best to just go watch the new one and pretend it has nothing to do with the originals. Sigh.

I will also say that I was quite surprised at a) how little each actor had to speak in the movie and b) how little of the movie was actually even in English ... and there were no subtitles for this lot either! Anyway. It's still a classic :)

In completely other news, this morning I launched the first Cape Town bloggirls lunch. So any of you Cape Town girl-bloggers reading, head on over and sign your name up :) The venue is still to be confirmed, but I'm waiting to hear back from Louisa regarding that. I'm also still waiting for someone to choose a venue for the Durban one ... Any takers? So yeah, aside from the news that we're now up and running in the major SA cities, take this as a subtle reminder to sign up if you haven't already :)

Tried a Little Climbing

So it was a pretty quiet weekend, much like the week before it :) On Friday evening we stayed in and watched Series. We spent a lo of time with our bunnies this weekend too.

Saturday was equally uneventful, aside from the required grocery shop and a minor emotional breakdown on my part ... I tried to go shopping for some new clothes. Varen tried warning me that lately this has been detrimental to my mood, but I was determined none the less. And he was right. I don't know if it's all my fault tho ... some blame must be laid at he door of these ridiculous shops because I can't find a damn thing that I'd like to wear (although admittedly one the rare occasion when I do it just looks awful and doesn't fit right - blegh!). So that mostly ruined Saturday afternoon for us an we spent the evening watching 88 minutes.

In Seattle, the successful forensic psychiatrist and college professor Jack Gramm is in evidence since he was responsible for the condemnation of the serial killer Jon Forster, influencing the jury to sentence Forster to death row. Forster accuses Gramm of manipulation, inducing one witness and the sister of one of his victims to testify against him.

On the eve of Forster's execution, Gramm receives a phone call telling him that he has only eighty-eight minutes of life left. Meanwhile, someone is copycatting Forster, killing women with the same modus operandi and is being investigated by the Seattle Slayer Task Force.

With the support of associate Shelly Barnes, an FBI agent, plus his friend Frank Parks and his assistant Kim Cummings, Gramm investigates some weird and problematic students, a security guard of the campus and the woman with whom he had a one-night stand as his 88 minutes continue to tick off the clock.

It was a pretty decent movie although I predicted a slightly different end (but close enough to the truth). Actually I think my ending might've been cooler and was much more "Life of David Gale".

Sunday was way more productive ;) We woke p, grabbed a quick Spinach, Feta & Red Pepper Scrambled Eggs for breakfast (my current breakfast of choice ... Varen does it perfectly!) and headed off to Wonder Wall. Varen's been trying to get me to go with him since he started climbing again (admittedly only about 2 or 3 weeks ago) and even The Divine Miss M and MsMozi have been trying to convince me to give it a bash.

It wasn't too bad, but I'm not addicted like Varen & Miss M. Varen & I both learned to belay so that we could help each other climb. I tried a couple of level 13 climbs (the easiest) and I didn't get to the top of any of them. I have a minor panic about 3/4 of the way up the wall and then glidee slowly down. But no doubt we'll try it again sometime, I haven't been put off entirely. Although I have little interest in the actual rock-climbing part of it and doubt I'll be adventuring into the outdoors to do this, as exercise, for now I think it's more fun than gym :)

nd then Squeak came over for a braai. It was the 4 year anniversary of her mom's death and GalleryGirl is currently in Spain (lucky thing, jet-setting to baby-sit paintings!) so we didn't want her spending the day alone. It was a lovely afternoon and we ate excessively :)

Oh, I almost forgot, we bought the bunnies an indoor bed which they seem to be enjoying. They are soo cute :)

Eep, Here Comes Linux

Righto, so I know this post is pretty late ... but I've had a busy morning so far. I took the plunge and decided to load Linux onto my work machine - no, no, don't worry I still have WIndow's installed on another partition (this may be a bit too much computer speak for some of you so I'll apologise now). Anyway, I figure I'll give the whole Linux thing a bash (since we were neever using any Windows specific software anyway) and if I'm comfortable enough in a month or two, I can scrap Window's entirely ... so not such a plunge, more of paddle ;)

So, now I am completely set up and it's back to work again. But I have a littl time to tell you that although Varen & I were both home from work at a reasonable hour (before 5!) yesterday afternoon, we still did not get up to much at all. This has been a super quiet week ... which doesn't bother me in the least knowing what's in store for next week! Oh, and I think I've got my route to work almost perfected now :) It's the little things.

Update 13h04 : Oops, I forgot to mention that yesterday we had Heather Ford from iCommons come and chat to the company for about an hour - apparently it's a Thursday Speaker thing they do here. It was more interesting than I thought (once we got past the dull copy-write bit and into the more question & answer bit) and I'm looking forward to our future Thursday speaker sessions :)

Time in the Traffic

Aaaargh. So since I'm now working in a new office, in a *completely* different part of town (practically opposite ends, i tell ya! Oh, and by town I mean Johannesburg as a whole, not specifically city-centre), I've been spending the week trying to find my most efficient, least-frustrating route here. This morning the alternate I tried really screwed me over and I ended up wading my way thru the worst traffic this week. But I think I'm close to finding my ideal route.

Sadly tho, Joburg traffic never seems to be consistent. And the other funny thing I'm noticing is that my ideal route here is not the same as my ideal route home. Odd hmmm.

Anyway. Last night it was pouring here again so the bunnies braved the weather to chew on the grass - Henna more than Bell because she's a far more dedicated eater :) I sat inside watching series and Varen worked late (till 7pm, but he still wasn't done so he was in early again this morning). But, he volunteered to pick up Ghazal's on the way home from work, which was delish so I was happy :)

Not Much

So last night was another quiet rainy one. But at least the heavy grey clouds have now disappeared and the sun is back out in Joburg :)

Varen & I hung out at home watching some series - I'm so totally not getting the Sarah Connors Chronicles ... although I do like the robot girl, sometimes she's hysterical :) But I also started Lost Season 4 and am so far quite impressed with the route they've gone with it story-line wise. Like in the first season when they looked back on everyone's life off the island. Whereas now they keep looking forward to when they're off the island. Which is good, you've got to find ways to spice things up after 4 seasons :)

The new job is going well. I had a induction-type meeting yesterday and am getting adjusted to using Thunderbird (instead of Outlook). It took 2 days but I finally managed to get my calendar items imported and my address book sorted ... I even figured out how to add a signature at the bottom of my emails (it's way different to how one does it in Outlook, but still an easy process if you know how!) and filter messages into different folders. Things are looking up :) The rest of yesterday was spent with more software installation and this afternoon I have my first training session on the software I'll be developing for. Exciting times, people.

Why I Hate Insurance

Righto, time for that rant I promised.

So, last week I got an unexpected phone call from a very well-spoken gentleman. The underwriters (for my car insurance) it seems, had decided to cancel the policy I am currently on. Sigh. And my car insurance expires at midnight on 31 May ... even better, a mere week and a half to sort this all out. But he was very helpful and phoned me back the next day (at my request since I was about headed home when he originally phoned) to give me a new quote assessment.

So we went thru all the particulars, none of which have changed, and he proceeded to provide me with a new rate. Now let me explain how this perfectly nice tale turned into a rant: I'm currently paying approx R790 for my monthly car insurance. The cheapest quote he could offer me (with another company, even!) was R1300 or thereabouts. If I stayed with them and just moved to the next closest policy, my repayments would be approx R1400 and first for women and some others were over R1700 ... that's more than my current monthly car repayment, people! In which case, surely it'd just be smarter (and cheaper too!) to buy a whole new "back-up" car. Pffft, madness.

Being completely furious at the situation, I just couldn't bring myself to deal with it during my few sweet days off last week, but am left dealing with it again this week ... rather urgently. Luckily yesterday I did manage to get my first quote under a grand (barely!) - friggin' hell, put that on the list of all the reasons I just can't help but hate insurance!

Sigh, but I will have to get it sorted asap. Nothing like the threat of being insurance-less to make you get up and pay attention (or pay more for insurance :P)

But in good news, the print cartridges from Canon got delivered yesterday and I could officially switch on my MX310 for the first time, error-free!

Other than that, not much to report ... the weather in Joburg is bizzare, it rained thru the night again last night.

Starting The New Job

So the weekend was particularly quiet, I think mostly because we'd had such a busy week. But Varen & I spent Friday & Saturday relaxing in front of the TV catching up on all the last episodes of the Series we've been watching lately (most of them finished during the week in the US). It was fab.

We finished (this is going to sound like an awful lot, but it's cause we only watched the few episodes of most series): Bones S3 (super hectic ending!), Criminal Minds S3 (damn, they ended with another to-be-continued to join up with S4 ... waiting desperately!), Desperate Housewives S4 (okay, I did ... while he was fiddling on the computer), Grey's Anatomy S4 (just me again), How I Met Your Mother S4, House S4, Numb3rs S4, Supernatural S3 and The Big Bang Theory S1.

Yep, I told you we barely moved from the couch, breaking in our new Windows Media Center Remote (very handy, ow if only we could get the codecs right!) But he did manged to show me how to download the pics from my camera ... so here's my sweet tiny Henna climbing the stairs (and getting into my book case just like Bell!) for the first time :)

And then on Sunday, Varen & I woke up particularly late (11am!) and I was supposed to be at the first bloggirls lunch at 12. So I woke up in a mad rush, showered and raced off to Nde Bushe, petrified that the London drizzle I'd woken up to would put people off. And for a little while I was the only girl there, hell I was the only girl in the whole restaurant. But not for long :) First Doodles of a Journo showed up and then Sweets & Angel arrived together (they had met each other previously so were one step ahead of the rest of us). And the MsMozi arrived, followed closely by Jackson and The Mom and SleepyJane.

Conversation flowed surprisingly easily and the food was yummy and the venue turned out to be ideal considering the weather, nice and cosy with gluhwein. I am definitely looking forward to next months one :) Which reminds me, after the success of the Joburg lunch, I'm now desperately looking for a girl-blogger in both Durban and Cape Town who would be willing to a) pick a venue b) book the venue and c) attend the event on a monthly basis - keep in mind it needn't be the same person each month! So if you are keen, please visit the bloggirls wiki and let me know!

There wasn't much left of Sunday by the time I got home (at 4pm) but Varen & I spent a lazy evening with the bunnies watching Good Luck Chuck.

Good Luck Chuck is a 2007 comedy film starring Jessica Alba and Dane Cook. The premise of the movie is Chuck is a "good luck charm" lover. That is, women will find their "one true love" after sleeping with him. He then meets a girl who he thinks is his true love.

It was rubbish. Varen even stopped watching about 20 miutes into it and went to play on his computer! I wouldn't even recommend it to people who usually enjoy Romantic Comedy's ... it is completely, predictable from the opening credits!

And now I'm at work ... my new job. I'm typing this on someone else's computer at the moment because I'm waiting to install Windows's on mine (I was going to go with Linux but after attempting to use it on Varen's laptop for the last 4 days, decided it wasn't worth the hassle) but unfortunately, the install cds are in a locked cupboard and the person with the key has yet to arrive - eep, here they come! So that is how I'll be spending my first day :)

Games Night Part 2

So the rest of my time off has been fab :) I had lunch with Zej & Hammi yesterday which was very cool ... have not spoken to either of them in ages because of that whole Tuesday Dinner Group fall-out I've had (sigh, too complicated to bother with an update really, but I'm completely cool with it all these days, which is a good thing!)

Anyway, it was nice getting to see them and catch up again. And then I fought with the Canon Guarantee Place, they forgot to replace my 2 printer cartridges before giving me back my printer! I know?! Anyway, so now even tho I don't get the annoying scanner error that it originally went in for, I still can't do a damn thing with it because of the missing cartridges. I phoned them twice yesterday afternoon (both times with promises I'd be called back as soon as they found out where my cartridges had got to) and once this morning ... I'm still waiting to see if Customer Services Person #3 is as good as his word. Sigh. So friggin' frustrating!

I have another huge bother regarding my car insurance that I'm just really in no mood to deal with or write about ... but I really should deal with it asap. I'm just so furious that I can't begin to accept what's going on with it. But more on that another time ... I am on holiday, after all ;)

Last night was our second Games Night. GalleryGirl & Squeak hosted and we had 6 enthusiastic players. We spent the evening in front of the fire drinking wine and playing Pictionary and laughing hysterically at each other's drawings! It was a fabulous evening :)

Today I was up even earlier than yesterday morning, but this time not for gym, but rather a Spa visit ;) JofH & YogaCherryl got me a voucher from HealthSpas.co.za and I decided to make use of this fantastic gift with my free time. I went to Hands on Healing in Craighall for their half day Copacabana Pamper package. It was brilliant and I highly recommend that if anyone's looking for something a little longer than the standard 1 hour massage but doesn't want to spend a fortune, this is a great choice! In it's fabour, it's not miles outside of Joburg, but I must warn you that there are no waterfalls or wild animals roaming around (if that's your Spa preference?). My therapist (Tumelo) was superb and I'm almost certain I'm going to be organising myself another half day visit :)

And now it's time to sign off and enjoy my last free afternoon before the new job. No doubt I'll spend it watching some girly series like Desperate Housewives or Grey's Anatomy with my darling bunnies underfoot :)

ps. *Still* waiting for the Canon guy to call back as promised ... I think I'll give him until 14h45 before nagging yet again!

If I Am Missing Or Dead by Janine Latus

At age 37, Janine Latus's younger sister, Amy, was strangled to death by her live-in boyfriend, bundled in a plastic tarp and buried beside a remote country road. It was a wretched end to a too-short life, one frequently marked by disappointment, sadness and struggle. In the hands of a less gifted writer, Amy's story might stand only as an encomium or a cautionary tale: a glimpse into the life of one abused woman, representative of thousands like it. But Latus weaves a double strand. Part memoir, part biography, the book (which grew out of an article in O Magazine) explores Latus's own relationships with abusive men—and her eventual emancipation from a marriage riven by emotional and physical violence. Latus has a spare, economical style, softened by an undercurrent of humor and marked by a total absence of self-pity. When on a ski vacation, a boyfriend brutally beats her, breaking several of her ribs and her nose—and then makes love to her, in a twisted form of penance—Latus doesn't wince in the retelling. She lets ambiguities and contradictions abide: she loved her husband, even as he humiliated and hurt her. Had things been slightly different, she seems to say, she—and not Amy—might have perished at the hands of her partner.

This was a very interesting, hugely personal book to read. It's a true story so the ending falls a little flat when you're used to expecting some twist or justice to settle things. It's the story of abuse, but not the physical abuse we're used to reading about (although there's a little of that thrown in) but rather mental and emotional abuse over a lifetime. The family seems to have turned out quite well all things considered, especially as they band together. But Janine herself has lived quite a rocky road of experience that she only finally managed to overcome. It's shows in precise detail that as close as people can be ... there are somethings you'll never tell because of how you feel they'll reflect on you personally and because deep down you really do end up believing it's your fault. I don't think there's a person out there (woman, at least) who can't relate to this story on some (albeit hopefully lesser) level.

Enjoying The Time Between Jobs

So yesterday I left the office for the last time at around 2pm and spent a blissful afternoon at home with my bunnies. Henna took her first foray up the stairs :) Sigh, they're growing up so fast ;) Have got some pics, but can't quite work out how to download the damn things on linux (can you tell Varen is a bit of a computer nerd?).

Last night he & I went celebrating at Montecasino for dinner followed by a show, Defending the Caveman.

We ate at Gourmet Garage so he could have his favourite Peanut Butter Burger (it was delish, I'd order it next time!) and I tried their Chicken Satay Burger. But I think the best part of the meal were the Jalepeno Slammers (like mini Chili Poppers). They were divine!!

And then we headed for the show. I'd seen it years ago with the family but Varen had never even heard of it. It was brilliant and Varen thoroughly enjoyed it. I think for me it was even better the 2nd time around because I was now watching it with my boyf and there were so many instances of nodding and pointing and giggling at our shared knowledge of how spot-on the comedy was regarding our own interaction. I'd highly recommend all couples go and see it :)

This morning hasn't all been lazing in bed, although I've definitely been enjoying my first day off (and y last till my trip in November!). I woke up at a reasonable hour while Varen was getting ready for work and did, I admit, read in bed for a while. But then I got up and hit the gym at 9am ... impressive, no?

Since then I haven't done too much aside from finalyl collect my printer from the Canon Warranty Centre.Have yet to actually plug it in, but am desperately hoping that this time it will in fact work as it should :)

Cars vs. Pedestrians?

So, it's my last working day here at The Big Corporate. This in itself is exciting but also equally nerve racking, making sure I've removed all the personal stuff I want to keep from my laptop hard drive and onto my external drive as well as making sure all my bits and bobs are out of the laptop bag itself. But today will be light and pleasant. I have an exit interview with HR - in these big companies, it's obligatory to let them know why you're leaving ... and I can't wait to tell them :) And then I have a last lunch with TheBrad, My Ex-Manager and Singher.

Last night was good ... aside from the fact that no one mentioned we were playing the later Action Cricket game at 19h40 instead of 18h30. That kinda messed up any evening plans Varen & I had, but he was thrilled to spend some time enjoying his new internet connection at home :)

But we had a fantastically convincing win (169 to 79) and I played a brilliant game too :) It was great fun and I am gonna miss it ...

I had an interesting experience on my drive to Action Cricket. On one of the roads I drive along, there were no less than 3 "shadows" crossing in front of me, one on a bike no less! It was hectic, the street lights were out (and no, load-shedding was not to blame) and these people were wearing what appear to be pitch black. The moon was rising and although it was beautifully full last night, did nothing to highlight their crossing! Hello people, what are you thinking? I barely managed to see each one of them (they weren't crossing together people, these were 3 separate incidents in less than 5 minutes) as the oncoming car's lights shone a halo around each of them.

I drove on highly annoyed. Honestly, if you're going to be crossing a road in darkness, while wearing pitch black clothing, you deserve to be run-over. And then, as I was almost at Action Cricket, the traffic ground to a halt. There was a police car with blue lights flashing and a car with it's hazard lights blinking, stopped in the middle of the road ahead. As I drove past, I saw that some unfortunate driver had obviously knocked over an even more unfortunate pedestrian jay-walker who was now lying in front of his car. Just as I was thinking this deserved to happen.

It was quite a shocking experience and I don't really know where I stand on the issue any more. I mean, it's easy to stand on one side of the fence until you see it actually happen. I think I'm still on the side of the cars tho. Hello, here's a tiny little frail-by-comparison person crossing the road ... and here comes a big giant moving metal machine, who's primary domain said person has just wandered into, who do you think science is gonna favour? And I'm not saying that drivers should aim for pedestrians, just that pedestrians need to realise that when crossing the road (at night, wearing all black?), you are the lesser being and need to be the one watching your back and being especially careful. Hint: If you see headlights coming your way, it's probably best to wait on the pavement.

I can only compare it to birds vs. airplanes. See, that analogy is great, birds are living creatures (as are the pedestrians) and planes are man-made (like the cars). And in the air, if a bird happens to cross paths with a plane, there is little chance of it's survival ... the only difference here is that there's really no chance of swerving out of the way by the plane. So, I think perhaps it's pure arrogance on the part of the pedestrians.

I have a friend who has the most ridiculous opinion of the situation (and I wonder how many other people do too. If there are many of you out there, then this could be the cause of pedestrian silliness). She thinks (when she's driving) that she has right of way and pedestrians must stay out of her way yet she also firmly believes (when she's walking), that cars should stop if she steps into the road. Could you get a more contradictory thought? And perhaps, in the light of day this is viable, and perhaps at pedestrian crossing it would be too (if our South African pedestrians used them ... hell, even I don't!) but at night, when there's no light for a driver to see you and you're not wearing anything that might show up in the darkness, is it really a fair expectation? Should you as the pedestrian not be the responsible one in that situation? Really?

Unwelcome Cat

So, there is not much to report. Varen added a splash of vodka to my ginger beer (sugar-free from Woolies) last night with dinner, and he's a little heavy-handed, so by the time we were supposed to be heading for gym, we were both curled up on the couch watching series. Ah well, I've got Action Cricket tonight and I'll go on my day off on Thursday instead ;)

So yes, yesterday was quiet ... aside from the Cat. While I was sitting inside, letting my buns run about on the grass, eating, I suddenly saw a dark gray shape fly over the wall. Luckily the door was open and I raced outside, scaring the cat away back over the garden wall. But Bell & Henna were not impressed and I scooted them inside with me to calm down for a bit. Bell seems quite philosophical about it and was outside again almost as soon as I was. Henna on the other hand was quite a bit more shaken (she definitely has the more nervous disposition of the two!). Sigh. So now we're really going to have to be on the look-out when they're outside enjoying the day.

Anyone know of some kind of cat-repellent I can apply to my wall and/or entire garden?

Busy Yet Quiet

Well the weekend was equal quantities busy and quiet :) Friday night I went to movies with GalleryGirl and her sister, Squeak. We started with dinner (and 2 bottles of wine- eep!) at The Red Chamber. Dinner was yummy and the conversation was good and we had plenty of time (which led to the 2nd bottle of wine) ... which wasn't very conducive to movie watching!

Two strangers awaken together to discover that they've gotten married following a night of debauchery in Sin City, and one of them has won a huge jackpot after playing the other's quarter. The newlyweds devise ever-escalating schemes to undermine each other and get their hands on the money - only to find themselves falling in love amid the mutual backstabbing.

The movie was typical Hollywood fluff, with not much concentration required - which was lucky considering all the mid-movie loo breaks we had ;) Still, a fun night out with the girls!

On Saturday morning, DJMike came over and replenished our empty Series collection :) And then we headed to Pentravel to sign on the dotted line and confirm our November trip - can not wait ;)

That evening was spent at Bokkie's Birthday Braai which was less than well attended ... but hey, more food for us :) And I *almost* had my first experience on a Wii, but sadly the remotes weren't working quiet correctly having been recently thrown across the room by his niece. Sigh.

On Sunday Varen & I met up with GalleryGirl and Squeak at Doppio Zero in Rosebank for some delish breakfast before we headed to the JAG (Johannesburg Art Gallery, for those of you not in the know). Sho, it is in a dodgy part of town ... but a beautiful old building! Although we rushed inside as we heard the police firing rubber-bullets (or so we were told after) to break up the current xenophobic attacks - it was more than a little scary being so nearby and watching a sea of people run across the gardens in front of the Gallery.

We specifically went to see their new exhibition, Ars Moriendi. It was a great experience to see the gallery and I'd definitely go back :) And in true artistic style, there were pieces I really liked and things I just didn't get. I think my favourite piece in the Ars Moriendi exhibition was definitely "Commune: Suspension of disbelief" by Wim Botha. It's a sculpture of the crucifixion made entirely out of bibles (cut to the shape of Christ). I thought it was amazing! Thanks must go to GalleryGirl for advancing our Culture Quotient ;)

After that, the rest of the day was filled with Series watching and spending some quality time together :)

You Want To Give Me What?

So last night Varen sorted out our internet and that's how we whiled away the rest of the evening. Him catching up on all the online reading he can't do at work cause of their 100Mb monthly cap per person and me catching up on Fakebook. But I must say that even with internet at home now, I don't plan to become a regular there ever again!

Boring, huh? So since I don't have much interesting to tell this morning, I thought I'd tell you a Friday Funny ... and it's a true story too :)

Varen is Afrikaans. He doesn't often speak to me in Afrikaans, but I can generally understand the language enough to get by when we're with his family. I don't speak it myself (unless I get drunk, and then only because I know he thinks it's "cute"). I think I sound like a moron, and I prefer not to.

One night last year we were kidding around and he said to me "I'll give you a pakslae". Which is Afrikaans is slang for a hiding or spanking (no, don't worry, he doesn't hit me ... as I said, we were just joking around). So, knowing perfectly well what he meant, but still playing, I innocently looked at him with shock and asked him in all seriousness why he would want to give me "a packet of salad"? The Afrikaans word for salad is "slaai" which means that "a pakslae" ends up sounding pretty similar to "'n pak slaai"! I'm guessing this will only really be funny to people who understand Afrikaans tho, but we thought it was hilarious :)

Technology Update

So yesterday we finally had Telkom back to actually install our internet at home (turns out they hadn't had the address right the first time which is why I waited myself silly for an hour and a half while they complained that no one was home! Sigh.)

Yesterday Varen dashed home and waited around while they dutifully installed the neccessary bits and bobs. Unfortunately they couldn't test the modem because Head Office (or whoever does such things) had not yet switched on the line. But apparently we could test it ourselves later, sounds doable.

Last night after ages spent on hold with their call center, we discovered that although the lines had been switched on (we were talking on our new land-line here people!), clearly the modem was faulty. Bah!

This morning Varen popped into a local Telkom shop and got a new modem and was thrilled to report that we are now well and truly online at home. Yay!

And yet another incident in Phillygirl's Technology Update: the MX310 I bought ages ago, insists on not working ... and all I did was plug it in and switch the damn thing on. I have not even connected it to my computer yet and already there are errors! Double sigh. I've been fervently looking online for solutions to my bizarre problem with no luck. Although I did get 2 suggestions, neither worked. I finally phoned Canon SA this morning and they were very helpful (this is worth mention because it's pretty rare!). But my printer still has to go in to their technical support guys to either a) be replaced or b) be fixed. Bah! I have not even had the opportunity to even use it yet. Can you imagine my frustration?

So, as I said, we stayed home yesterday evening and Varen spent most of it trying to find a way online unsuccessfully. I, on the other hand, made an interesting pasta for dinner. Wholewheat tagliatelle with yummy Woolies prawns (will buy those again, they were delish!), steamed cauliflower and broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes in a white sauce. He liked it ... I remain unconvinced.

Updated 10h55 : Eep, I knew I forgot something! I wanted to say that I'm thrilled to announce that my 2 blog-initiatives for the time before I have to do real work again are completed :) All 3 of my holiday retrospectives are now available: In March 2004 I spent 5 weeks traveling around Southern Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique). In August 2005, Bean and I visited Singapore and Thailand. And in June 2006 we went to Egypt (that was the last one outstanding which I finally got finished yesterday). And I got bloggirls started. We're not doing too badly with 8 girls signed up for the lunch so far :) I'm really looking forward to it ... and I have great future plans for it eventually too! Not too shabby, me thinks ;)

The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce by Paul Torday

'You really love me don't you?' she said. 'Of course I do.' 'It's hard to tell because you never talk much. You've never really had any fun in your life at all, have you?' 'No, but that's about to change.' Late one summer evening, Wilberforce - rich, young, work-obsessed and self-contained - makes an unexpected detour on the way home from the software company he owns and unwittingly takes the first step on a journey that will change his life. His uncharacteristically impulsive act leads him to the door of Caerlyon Hall, to the vast undercroft beneath it, and the domain of Francis Black, a place where wine, hospitality and affection flow freely. Through Francis, the eccentric and enigmatic owner of Caerlyon, Wilberforce is initiated into a life he could never have imagined: a life rich in the promise of friendship and adventure, where, through his new set of friends, with their shooting parties and stately homes, the possibility of finding acceptance, and even falling in love, seems finally to be within his reach.As his horizon broadens and his heart expands, Wilberforce becomes a willing pupil to Francis's master, and in the cellars of Caerlyon he nurtures a new-found passion for fine wine. But even the finest wine can leave a bitter aftertaste, and Wilberforce will learn that the undercroft holds some unpalatable secrets, and that passion comes at a price. Chronicling the vintage years of Wilberforce's life, The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce is a dazzling, haunting story of obsession and addiction, of loyalty and betrayal.

I don't know why, but I really liked this story. It's not anything very special story-line wise, it just follows one man's life path (admittedly backwards) of change and self-destruction. But, I think there's a sad honestly in just how far-fetched your life could seem in 5 years from now, depending on the choices you made.

Spoiler Alert: I was particularly disappointed that Torday, while merely alluding to the possible family connection between Francis Black & Wilberforce, didn't tie up that loose end nicely at the end. Was he, wasn't he? Me, I like a good twisty conclusion, myself ;)

> Follow Paul Torday on Twitter

The Best News Gets Better

The tours and flights are being booked as I type ... We managed to get a spot on the required tours in November. I'll be doing the amazing 23-day Spain, Portugal and Morocco trip and Varen will be joining me for the last 10 days touring Morocco :) I am so excited, I could burst! It's finally happening, it's all working out ... a bit of a compromise since I won't have Varen by my side for the whole trip, but thankfully he won't be missing the trip completely and we'll get to enjoy spending a night under the stars in the Sahara Desert after our camel safari and visiting the beaches of Essaouira together :)

It's gonna be fantastic ... and our first overseas trip together, which in itself will be a good learning curve about each other. I can't wait!

Another Engagement

So yesterday was quite fun ... went to Action Cricket, but we got slaughtered and I came away with a giant bruise on my leg from being hit by a ball recently hit by the batsman :( Oh well, you can't win them all.

This morning I'm slightly nervous and slightly curious at the same time. Last night was the first Tuesday Dinner after all the blog posting and I'm wondering just how much more bitching got done because of it. Sigh. I know ... it's not worth thinking about. But as I've said before, my brain hates me and does. I do so hate it when people have something against me for no good reason. But, no doubt they're absolutely sure it's a damn fine reason and are sticking to it none the less.

In other news, we found out on Monday evening that Koet finally popped the M question to Nambi :) I wasn't allowed to say anything till she'd had a chance to enjoy telling her nearest and dearest in person so, this fantastic news had to wait till this morning. But I'm thrilled for them both ... it's about time, guys :)

The Million Blog List

So someone decided to do an experiment and see just how long it'd take to get a million blogs to list themselves. I've just listed at a lowly 1532 (hopefully I'm not the last!). Either way, they have a long way to go so, if you have your own blog, go check it out and put your link on the list :)

Typical Monday

Last night was a typical quiet Monday. I spent the fading daylight outside with the bunnies ... and some of that inside watching Bell speed up and down the stairs :)

We also made it to gym ... Sigh, we really need to try to do that more than once a week! And then we ate some dinner and read our books (me while in a nice warm bath!).

I was still a little upset last night about some minor repercussions of last week's incident from during the day but I'm okay again now ... the light of day does wonders for me, it closes the box on all my irrational worries ;)