Durban 2010

This is Durban's contribution to 2010. Nice stadium, smaller than ours in Cape Town, but nice.

My view

This was the view from my room at the Durban guest house. After waiting at the Avis office in Durban for over 30 min for them to find my reservation, I had to drive in the sweltering heat in another little Atos. Luckly I got to the guest house and was greeted with a chocolate on my pillow and a friendly welcome. The only thing that got me through that hot place was the thought that I will be with my man in a few hours. Now I am lying on the coach with my dog on my lap, and my Tristan making the bed for us to go to sleep in. I am so happy to be home.

Panic at the airport

1 Time airline has two flights departing for Cape Town at the same time as one was delayed. One was boarding at gate C12 and one at gate E2. About 5 min before boarding, the changed the gates around. Needless to say there are loads of people running around trying to find the right gate. The thing that absolutely blows my mind, is how many people are walking around in the airport completely unaware of their flight number. People are being told which flight number is boarding at which gate, and then they still pitch up at the wrong gate. Its fun and games watching them huff and run off to the other gate. This just reinforces my theory that if you are of a certain mentality, class status and economic background, you should not be allowed to fly!

Daddy's pride and joy.

Since I was little I can remember my fathers love for Cycads. This one is one of those he has had since we were kids and look how huge it is now!

Going bananas

Seen in my sisters banana tree.

More flowers from the garden.

I am not sure what these are called in English?

Dinner with the family

Last night I had dinner with the family. Mom, dad, sister, niece and a cousin of mine. I helped my niece to start a blog for her writing and we had a braai (barbeque). It was a really nice evening. We laughed so much that I went into a coughing fit and I was crying. I love seeing my family because we always have so much fun and it regenerates the soul! There are many flowers in my fathers garden.

A happy place

One of my appointments this morning is with a company called Build a Bear. The produce teddy bears, but ones you have to assemble yourself in their store. When I walked into their offices this morning, my entire day just brightened up. I got a goofy smile on my face and it was there through my entire meeting. The whole place is full of teddy bears and bright colours and you can't help but be happy and giddy when you are there. I might just be in a good mood the whole day now!

The half loaf

And this is what I have to drive around in Jozi.

City of gold

For all the bad I always have to say about Jozi, there is one thing that always strikes me as amazing about the people. They are so innovative. Here is a guy standing in morning traffic, selling muffins on the road. And he sold about 5 in the 10 min I was there. A few metres down the road, a smart car was modified to sell coffee and hot chocolate from the boot. Out of a real nice machine. There is your coffee and muffin for the morning done within 10 metres of traffic. Good on you Jozi

Traffic in Johannesburg

Traffic in Johannesburg is really getting hectic! People are going mad here. They are turning one lane roads into two lanes with people forced to drive half in the gutter. Its a mad house with no sign of it letting up. Not to mention all the freaks driving in the emergency lane on the freeway!

Lucca and his ball

He never lets this ball go when we are walking, but is learning to bring it back and let it go!

Leche the kangeroo

The running dog!

We found this park close to our house where there are Leche can run around and not feel threatened. This is him running around like a mad animal.

Our papayas

This summer there are about 5 of them on the tree. I can't wait for them to ripen. The last one was so sweet and now there are 5!

Philosophy Friday

As I sit here preparing for my trip to Johannesburg next week, I think about people around me and in my life. People have this set picture in their mind of how things must happen and should happen (including me) and it almost NEVER works that way. So what do we do, should we stop dreaming, should we stop hoping for a better life. That would be like stopping being human. Which a friend asked me about yesterday. Knowing all the things we go through and the feelings we experience, do you wish you were not human.

I believe we have to constantly dream and constantly strive to higher and better. Don't give up because others tell you to. And as for the human thing, I would not change all the feelings, experiences, hurt, laughter for anything in the world.

I dream

I wish

I hope

I love

I cry

I live

Memories of another life

We have a local radio station that has a slot every night where the DJ plays 30min of non stop dance music. I always catch this on my way home from gym and last night my favourite DJ ever, DJ Euphonic, played an amazing set. It brought back so many good memories. Memories of a little place called Therapy Lite, outside with the stars shining above. Of a funky girl called Coco, of dancing innocently until the small hours of the day. Of driving my blue jeep, of Graham and Carl and Christmas lunches. A time of reckless flirting and then going home. Of Ann the lesbian / straight girl who slept with my boyfriend. Of Burnam Business College. A time of innocence and of fun. A time I want to be back in because it was such a good time of my life. However, I know it is impossible to have that back, even if I went back to Johannesburg and hooked up with these people again. I will never get it back. It was a time and a place and a section of my life, and it will never be the same again, and I will never get it back again.

So I will concentrate on my life right now, which is pretty good...

Great Expectations

So often I am disappointed at people's reactions, and the outcome of a situation that I was sure would go one way, and it goes the other way. I am starting to think, and it has been confirmed by many others in my life, that I have expectations for people that are too high. The problem with this is, I don't think my expectations are that high. My expectations boil down to, what I would consider, normal human behaviour, based on strong moral values. I expect people not to kill each other when they have to break into their house. I expect adults not to rape babies. I expect people not to vote for a corrupt fraudster, who rape woman, just because he is black. I expect people to things for me like I would do for them, house sitting etc. But I get told I expect too much.

So would you have me believe that we have turned into a society of selfish people who just sit around wanting things to be done for them and never wanting to help others or do stuff for others. A society of people who see it as 'normal' to rape, steel, murder, corrupt and break down. A society of youngsters who have no respect for anybody but themselves.

I don't think I will ever lower my expectations. fair enough I might spend the rest of my life being disappointed in people (friends, work colleagues, government, lovers) but I will never lower my expectations. I got taught better by my parents and I expect basic moral upbringing from everybody...Now you all go and change....RIGHT NOW

Roll on Winter

This is the view on my way to work today in Cape Town...I cant wait for winter to arrive. I am done with this summer heat crap!!!

Reminance of Maddy

Maddy left this nice picture of a hippo (Seekoei) on our black board when she left. She also left a very accurate portrait of herself, and both of them are still on our black board. I got some really nice photos of the wedding and will be posting more as time goes by...

Pics from the wedding

The groom on the left, and me (the very VERY best man) on the right

Ginger looking so amazingly beautiful in her dress

The happy couple at the altar

Half my family. Dad, me and mom

The reception table

At a loss for words

There are so many things I have this morning to complain about, so I will resist the temptation to talk about the bad woman drivers, the people ignoring basic road rules (red lights, solid lines, yellow lines), the lack of sleep, the sore knees, the feeling of irritation at work.

I will rather speak about all the nice things to look forward to today......

Fucking knees.....

And the suprise is...

Dinner at my favourite restaurant. Addis in Cape. An Ethiopean restaurant with the best food and the nicest staff. I love my man who knows exactly how to treat me!

Leche's new toy

The boys got new toys today, for Valentine's, and Leche chose the flamingo. He loves it and doesn't let it out of his sight. Lucca has already buried his!

The Kentridge

This was the main hall with the Kentridge exhibition and it consisted of 8 screens playing his stuff. Not too impressive.

Valentines day

We not doing much today, but I am getting a nice suprise tonight. We did go to the National Gallery initially to see the William Kentridge exhibition but that was way too boring. At least I got to see my favourite sculpture. This is the Butcher Boys by Jane Alexander. I am not sure what it is about this piece that I love so much, because it is so dark and a little evil looking. Maybe its the fact that is so macab yet gentle in some way. Its like they sit there looking so scary and evil but inside they are longing for someone to touch them and love them. Maybe its that they evoke the evil in all of us and manifests it on the bench so we don't have to be like that. Like a monument of our evil reminding us what we should never be.

Last nights horror

Last night was one of those nights again where I battled to get Leche quiet and lying down and not to bother Tristan. I spend most of my sleep time trying to make Tristan sleep. So in my attempt to get Leche down and trying to make him not bother Tristan, I turn over and Tristan is gone. He decided to get out of bed, in the middle of the night and went to sleep on the coach. There I am, trying my hardest to keep Leche away from his side, and he is not even there. Then I went to sleep and slept well. I stopped trying to make everybody else comfortable, and slept. This morning Tristan asked me to think of another way to get some sleep. I told him, the biggest issue is that we force them to sleep in their beds when we go to sleep. Then when we are about to fall asleep, they try and get into the bed, and it becomes a battle between them and us. I guarantee that if they start off in the bed, they will be fine the whole night.

Another alternative is to take some sleeping pills and then they wont bother you so much.

And lets not forget there are two cats that climb over my face in the middle of the night to get to the water.....

My Holiday

So for those of you who do not know by now, we are going to do the pilgrimage in Spain in December this year. Camino de Santiago de Compostella. So it is with great affection that I appeal to EVERYBODY reading this blog, NOT to send me any presents for my birthday, Christmas, Valentines, or just gifts to tell me what a great blog I have. SEND MONEY IN STEAD.....

Its going to be a very spiritual time for me, but a very expensive time none the less. So dig deep and send me all those coins and notes.

Love and light!!!!

Old technology

I was blessed enough to overhear a conversation yesterday at gym between two much older members of the health club. It was in the change rooms and they were busy changing to go for a shower. The one standing was showing the one sitting on the bench the blue tooth ear piece for his cell phone and the conversation went as follows:

BOB: "and you put this little piece in your ear, and it automatically answers the phone and you can hear them loud and clear and look how small this is..."

MIKE: after a long pause....."that is unbelievable. You know, if I had told my dad all those years ago what we would be doing with the phone, he would have thought we were mad."

BOB: "Its like this skype thing. Speaking to people, over a computer, in other countries for almost nothing."

The conversation then went on to service providers for Internet, but it made me smile and appreciate that not every single person in the world uses the "new age" computer stuff and gadgets. We as younger members of society are very privileged to know about this, and having grown up with it, know exactly how things work.

Don't take your knowledge of ANYTHING for granted...

Poop Idols

So its season 5 of Idols here in South Africa, and I must say as much as I used to love watching it and laughing along with everybody else at the silly singing and surprised faces when they get told they are crap, i can not watch too much of it this year. I get all sad for the poor guys who go there, sing their hearts out because they are trying to get to the final to win the money. There are so many desperate people in this country, that the humiliation of singing on national television is not enough to stop them from going for the money. I get so sad when I hear stories about people doing this to win the money so they can buy their mother a car or a house or help someone get a transplant of something. Then you get those judges who take the piss and tell people how bad they are but in a really unnecessary nasty way, all just to get the ratings of the show up. I cant take much more of this. I wish someone would teach the judges a lesson. Their rudeness of walking out while someone is singing to the best of their abilities and giving it their all. I makes me upset and sad, and I don't want to watch these rounds anymore. Maybe I am just getting soft in my older day!!!

The Cederberg Weekend

We set off for the Cederberg this weekend, along with two other couples. We only left on Friday night around 11:00, and it is a 3 hour drive. On Friday afternoon at around 17:00 they phoned me from the Cederberg and told me to take a detour because the mountain was on fire and the road was closed, but there was a strong wind and it should be sorted out by the time we arrived. at around 1:30 we hit the dirt road that leads to the holiday resort we were going to. As we drove in, a firefighting car drove out. I stopped them and asked them if the road was ok to travel on, and they said absolutely no problem. We decided to continue. About 20 min into the drive we came across the fire. Flames as high as the car on both sides of the car, making it so hot inside the car, that the aircon couldn't work well enough to cool us down. Flames were licking into the road and flaring up on both sides of the car.

It was very scary for me.

The weekend was amazing. We went to the natural pool and swan in the river, explored the banks and even went for a walk. A 5 hour walk up a mountain and into a gorge that looked like Petra in Jordan, and then back down again. The only problem was that we were suppose to walk for 3 hours and walk in one side of the "crack" and out the other side. It didn't happen that way.

All in all it was a really good weekend and I loved spending it with my family (Esme & Boby), my friends (Kate & Steye) and of course my wonderful man Tristan.

Driving back though we saw the devastation the fire had caused in the beautiful Cederberg valley, leaving it black and scourged.

Register to vote

There is a lot of ad campaigning going on at the moment and loads of people telling you to register to vote because, just like America, we need to make a change in the country to vote politicians in power that cares about us and represents us as a nation. A woman on the radio this morning said she works with the youth and they all say they have no politician to identify with.

My problem is nobody is saying what they mean. They are all talking about making a change and identifying with politicians, but the underlying issue is....WE HAVE TO REGISTER TO VOTE SO WE CAN STOP ZUMA FROM BECOMING PRESIDENT.

The entire country seems to be scared of Jacob Zuma becoming president, but nobody wants to say it. Its going to be the illiterate masses who vote for him, believing he is the head gorilla in the jungle. Its up to us city folk who have the God given ability to think, to make sure that Jacob Zuma does not turn this country in to another Zimbabwe. Prosecuting white people, stealing money from the government, corrupting justice...oh wait, that's already happening.

Jacob Zuma is an evil man and we as a nation can not allow the dumb lot to vote him into power. Its time we make use of scare tactics again. Farmers, take your workers to the poles and threaten then with eviction if they vote for Zuma. Housewives, educate your chars about the dangers of living on the street if they vote for Zuma. Mine owners, there is nothing like a looming mine closure to get workers to vote against Zuma.

Hey, the ANC has been doing this for the past 14 years, why cant we.

DON'T LET JACOB ZUMA BE PRESIDENT.....

Friends in London

Bruce is returning from London after only 3 months, as Madame Zingara is not doing to well over there. I thought about how disruptive it must be to pack up everything to go to London, thinking you are going for at least a year, and then having to return again after 3 months. I don't work for them, but even I get a little upset about the setup. I can only imagine what the poor people working there must feel. I admire Bruce for doing this every few months and not always knowing where the money will come from, because he has chosen to rather follow his dream than to make money.

On the other side I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and this had to happen for Bruce to get his lesson. I wish all the best for him and every acrobat and flame blower in the circus, and hope they all get amazing gigs for the next year.

Wedding night blues

Last night I sat up till late watching 'Confetti'. A English documovie about a fictional magazine called Confetti, hosting a wedding competition. It is very funny and worth a watch. This movie got me thinking about the wedding of the weekend. How we organised it all and got everything together, and how somethings only came together at the last minute, and how nice it was and how exciting it was on the day and how it all went past so fast. I miss being involved in it all and doing things and organising wedding stuff.

Then I started thinking about myself. Did I enjoy it so much because I am never going to have a wedding, did I want a wedding? I came to the conclusion that it is a very nice, comfy experience, and I wish it for every single person in the world....but not for me. I just cant see myself getting married, ever, at all.

Clearly this is the season for weddings, because we are going to another wedding on the 21st, and again I cant wait.

The void the Americans left

Now anybody that knows me very well, will know that traditionally I am not very fond of Americans. Granted, my dislike of them has been based on an extremely bad government and horrible foreign relations policies. I have also only been introduced to the travelling Americans who are fat, obnoxious and loud. My reason for never visiting the US, has been a one man protest against their government trying to play policemen to the world, as well as the arrogance of making it nearly impossible to get a visa.

However....this past week and weekend, has made me change my tone completely. I have met the nicest Americans ever, and although they are just as loud as I am, and sometimes talk waaayyyy to fast for me to understand them, they are such sincere and down to earth people. I loved spending time with them, and at the moment am missing them all so much as they are exploring their way through the Kruger National Park.

Add the fact that my closest cousin (brother) is moving to the US after his marriage to one this weekend, means I ma going to have to go there now. And to tell the truth, I cant wait to go and see everybody again.

So to all my new found American friends, I miss you all, and hope to see you all again soon.

My gift

So I got this amazing police watch from Chris and Ginger for coordinating the wedding. I did nothing really but introduce them to the venue, but I will take the watch anyway! Thanks.

The day of the wedding

Well it finally came along, and after all the stress and panic of the past week, the day turned out memorable. The venue was beautiful and not even the slight breeze (Cape Town kind of breeze) could ruin the day. As Ginger came down the isle, she looked like a wedding book model. She was amazing and even my hard-ass cousin had to subtly wipe a tear away. The message from the priest was so nice and fitting, but the highlight of the ceremony was the singing! Two friends of Chris and Ginger (Tony and Adrienne) sang Come what may from Moulin Rouge. It was so beautiful, with the 12 Apostles mountains in the background. EVERYBODY in the crowd were crying by now, including me. It was magical.

The reception was like a fairytale and even if I must say so myself, my speech went down very well. We had a slight issue with the wedding cake about 1 hour before the ceremony, but between the cake lady and the flower guy, they managed to sort it out and produce the spectacular cake in the picture. (Considering this was created in 45 minutes from scratch, I think it looks great)

Like I predicted, my mom had everybody hanging on her lips by the end of the night with the jokes and the stories.

The Americans were sooo nice. Amazing friends and really nice family. It has been a great weekend and phenomenal wedding and after party and everything else.....

And now my cousin will be moving to the US. He is in very good hands with everybody, and we have got enough free holidays in the US to last us a good few years!!!