The Life and Times of Angel Weed

Milk, Cow and Boob

2011-02-03T03:06:00.000-08:00

When I was younger and still living on the farm, I always used to wonder how the cows and goats felt whenever we milked them. I have to say, I now have a pretty good idea! Today my milk decided to produce at ten times the rate it normally does and I cannot even describe the agony I am in. So maybe its not a subject one would normally write about or discuss but I am a farm girl and I don't find this offensive or taboo ~chuckle~ In fact, its quite a big joke around my family and friends.

Little baby knows that mommy comes around lunch time to give him milk. He refuses to drink milk from a bottle because he firmly believes that milk ONLY comes from mommy's boobies. And it does...in fact, I have to make another dash up the road to the daycare in about five minutes' time because I have enough milk to fill a swimming pool and my upper body is decidedly lopsided as one side is filled with milk and the other side is only half. It looks hilarious and to be honest its quite embarrassing as well. You wouldn't believe the looks I get when walking in town! The worst is when the milk starts to leak. It literally sprays right through my clothes and breast pads really don't seem to work too well.

One of my friends decided that it was a good idea to teach my son how to say "boob" ~smile~ He is already starting to say "cow" whenever he wants milk. I somehow don't think that it is a complement to me but anyways, he's happy so I am happy. And besides, I do actually feel a bit like a milk cow, especially when I am this full! Reminds me of this one cow my sister used to milk on the dairy farm where we worked as kids. The cow's name was Flower and she was legendary! The amount of milk that cow produced was totally incredible.

Right, well this cow needs to get her tushi in gear and get to the daycare before my shirt is completely soaked!

The Angel I call my Child

2010-12-28T22:26:00.000-08:00

Being a new mother certainly has its ups and downs. I have discovered a totally different meaning to the word "unselfish" and "time". My son is now five months old and he is just a handful of delightful, wriggly, chubby, gurgling, drooling angel! He keeps me up most nights and I have to spend those nights walking around the apartment with him until he finally gets tired enough to close his busy little eyes and sleep. He clings to me just like a baby monkey and everywhere I go he goes too. Privacy is something that doesn't exist in our home anymore and when little mister yells, my husband and I both make a run to see what has bugged him this time.

When I was wheeled into theater to have the emergency c-section, I was petrified beyond belief. I was so afraid that something would go wrong, that I wouldn't hear his first cries, that there wouldn't be any first cries, that I wouldn't be able to move at all afterward. It may sound silly but I have never before been in a hospital as a patient, never before been under a surgeon's knife. I was in tears the whole time until they stuck a needle into my lower back and I lost all feeling and control in my lower body. The pain up till then had been pretty much unbearable and it wasn't the contractions that were bad, it was the pain in my legs and feet and the migraine that had persisted for more than a week. Ironically enough, the contractions were a relief!

As I lay on the operating table, bright lights shining into my eyes, I watched with fascination as the doctor's cut me open and after two minutes, and a lot of tugging and pulling, they finally lifted my son out amidst furious screaming on his part. He was kicking and struggling and yelling his beautiful little man head off. I have never seen a baby who looked so much like a miniature man at birth. The doctor had a good laugh when he saw my son's frown. It was huge! And for the first month of his life my son frowned at everyone and everything from underneath long dark brown lashes. Even in sleep he still had a frown.

Its hard to see the frown now because he is such a happy baby these days. He has two little white teeth which he uses to bite me with in gay abandon. He gurgles and chuckles and drools and smiles till we think he can't possibly keep it up any longer and yet he does. He clings to us like glue and he gets very upset when he is left alone for too long. My husband adores him and our son can't get enough of his wonderful daddy. I think the reason we battle to get him to sleep at nights is because he is scared he will miss out on something or that we might not be there when he wakes up. I remember having nightmares like that when I was a small girl. Perhaps he inherited some of that from me, or perhaps its something all little ones deal with.

This wonder, this joy, is the blessed angel I call...my child.

Fairytale

2010-04-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

As a little girl I had all these dreams of how my life was going to turn out and what I was going to be when I grew up. In all these cloud castles and fairytales, I never once thought to factor in that I would make mistakes or bad decisions. So now I have to sit back and rethink all my little dreams as things aren't going quite the way I had thought they would when I was little.

Growing up certainly has its advantages but now when things go wrong I can't just run to the parents and expect them to fix the problem. Especially since the problem is me. As I sit here and think of all that has happened in this past year I am surprised that I can still be so positive as to the outcome of it all. The mistakes, the pain, the heartache....all of it is slowly but surely disappearing as the tiny being inside of me grows. My body is going through alarming changes, some of which are truly frightening in some ways, not to mention the difficulty in controlling mood swings and hormones. Yet despite all these changes, I have finally found myself, the part of me which I thought was gone forever.

Its as though the baby growing inside of me has brought me back, given me new life. He grows bigger and stronger every day and every day he brings a smile to my face. When he moves inside of me I feel a connection so strong, so deep, that I know it will never be broken. Because of him, I have a deeper understanding of the love my parents have for me, and therefore I also have a deeper understanding of how I have hurt them, and those close to me. That love, though, also brings forgiveness, so it enables me to stand up and move forward, knowing that despite everything they will be there to welcome me home again in the end. It strengthens me and gives me hope and a new lease on life. It drives me forward and helps me to make better decisions.

When I was a little girl I never thought that I would end up pregnant at the age of 25, unmarried, still working full time, and on my own. Little did I dream that getting everything prepared for the baby would take so much planning and I certainly didn't think it would cost as much as it has. Then again, I also didn't think that there would be so many incredible people supporting me and helping me. I didn't expect all the blessings to shower down on me after all I had done wrong. God is truly merciful, He has blessed me and loved me through it all and helped me to at last walk down the right path.

It won't be easy, but it sure is going to be worth it!!!

Unexpected Surprises

2009-11-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

At the most unexpected moments, but always when I need them most, God will send me the encouragement I need to keep on going. This past week has been one of the hardest weeks of my life. I saw myself more clearly than ever before and the shocker was that I really didn't like what I saw. I saw someone that was a ghost of my former self and someone who, instead of seeing the positive in things, tended more to seeing the negative. And then, last night, I was invited to a meeting and I went and it was such an eye-opener! The wake up call I needed so badly was dealt out in love and with encouragement that I wasn't expecting. And not only that, but I saw some people I haven't seen in years. I am not really sure what I expected but it sure wasn't to be greeted with such love and affection. They looked honestly thrilled to see me and it brought tears to my eyes and a joy to my heart that I haven't felt for a while now. For the first time in months I felt as though I belonged, I felt safe and wanted and really loved.
Most of all, though, I felt a renewed energy for the walk forward and I was and am determined to really change my life around now. Never before have I felt this incredible burning desire to do that which is right and forsake that which is wrong. Never before have I seen with such clarity all that is going on around me.
The future awaits!

No Promises...Just Hope

2009-11-10T00:22:00.001-08:00

You held my hand, were always there
You always took me everywhere
Sat by my bed when I was sick
Loved me through thin and thick

I hurt you by what I did and said
Turned my back on the life I led
No words could say what is in my heart
I'm going to make a brand new start

I just wanted you to know today
I never meant for it to be this way
Mommy and daddy, I love you

2009-09-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

While two wrongs might not make a right, real repentance certainly does. Through all that has happened to me in the past few months I've come to see that listening to the loving advice and correction of one's parents really would go a long way in saving one from a lot of heart ache and pain. And unnecessary problems and complications.

The rain and dark clouds of this day sure do reflect my mood today...and yet I am filled with hope for the future as I walk this road forward. I know that some day (hopefully soon) I will be able to make things right. I've taken the first big step and now I just need to keep on walking on and not give up.

I will be okay, I will make it. I have to. My eternal happiness and future hangs in the balance and I am determined not to lose it!

Learning from Life

2009-06-25T01:18:00.000-07:00

Isn't it strange hoe we always tend to look back on our lives and see things that we wish we could have done differently, things we wish we could change or most especially things we wish we had never said?
Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking and debating and I've come to the conclusion that its true what they say: Life is a learning curve. Throughout one's life there are so many lessons to learn, situations that need split decisions, choices to be made. And how your life turns out depends on the decisions and choices that you make now.

I look back on my life and I see a past I wish I could change. Not everything, mind you, just the parts where I've made the worst mistakes. I look in the mirror and all I see is this sad and ugly person. I watched "Shallow Hal" last night and it really changed the way I see myself. If Hal had to look at me now he'd see this decrepit, old, wizened, depressed woman. Why? Because I've allowed human nature and the things of this world to completely take control in my life. Sure, there are times when I am happy, when I laugh and have fun, but overall I feel like I'm missing something and its not a feeling I like.

Now more than ever I realize the mistakes I've made have really taken their toll on me. I put on a brave face but inside I am fighting for sanity, fighting for the person I know I could be, the little girl my parents once loved. Who am I now? An outsider, a loner. I gave up the most important people and things in my life because I made a mistake that can never be undone. The scars will stay with me for the rest of my life. I turned a deaf ear on the warnings and advice I was given. I shut out the people I loved the most.

Its these things I see and remember every morning when I wake up, every night I go to sleep. Its these things I see when I look in the mirror. Its these things I wish I could undo. I realize now the importance of the life I used to have. Now, when it might be too late.

Can these things ever be forgiven?

I'll Be Okay

2008-11-16T03:34:00.000-08:00

Whenever things are going wrong
You lift me up and keep me strong
I check my mails more than once day
Just to read what you have to say

Without you here I cannot stay
I know with you I'll be okay
Without your smile I cannot see
I'm complete when you're with me

You give me wings so I can fly
And wipe away the tears I cry
With you around my life is filled
The fears in me have all been stilled

Don't ask me why, I don't have a clue
But my happy pill in life is you

Message to all readers!

2008-10-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

I haven't been on for a while to write but I will back soon to revamp and refurnish my blog! I've needed to get my life in order first, but my writing shall follow :-)

Thank you to all who have been reading my blog and leaving comments, it is always a pleasure to hear from you!

Best wishes,
Angel

If you leave me now...

2008-09-03T01:15:00.001-07:00

I was sitting here last night thinking about what story I could tell you next and whilst I was sitting here thinking, I was listening to a song which gave me an idea about what to write. So, I know I have written about cycling before but only once so I thought I would write a few more lines about my cycling experiences.

Cycling isn't hard...you put both feet on the pedals and make your legs go up and down. That's what I was told quite a few years ago, but cycling is really so much more than that. Its about trust, friendship and most of all its about freedom. You become friends with your bike, learn to trust it to carry you through the ride and when you're on one you do actually feel pretty free. This might sound far-fetched to some people but once you have gotten onto a bike and are pedaling your way through a forest filled with dark corners and unknown ground, your bike becomes not only a mode of transport but also something that could cause a lot of pain when not used properly.

My bike was a Nishiki, it was blue and purple and had stickers all over it which I tried to scrub off once but instead just managed to get rid of some of the paintwork. I called my bike "She-Devil" because she never did what I wanted her to do, when I wanted her to do it. I was always in for a surprise when I got into the saddle but it made my cycling episodes very interesting. One time my sister, dad and I went into the forest to go for a ride and get some fresh air. I got a little more fresh air than I bargained for!

We were cycling happily down a little trail, going through these loop-de-loops (we called them that because they twisted, turned, looped up and over and were just all around fun!) and then all of a sudden, before I could wipe my eyes out, the others had disappeared and once again I found myself all alone. That song "If you Leave me Now" started running through my mind and I was singing along to the "oooo hoooo ooooo hooo no baby please don't go" part and so wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. Bad move! I passed a lizard who looked at me, rolled his eyes and promptly stuck his tongue out at me. Smiling, I turned to look in front of me....and I can't really remember what happened after that because next thing I knew I was flying through the air, clinging like a mad woman to my bike!

I had taken a turn and ended up on the drop-off trail. The one I went down was like a suicide trip and how I managed to make it out on the other side....well, I made it but I was completely winded, breathless and scared out of my mind! There was nothing thrilling about what I had been through. One minute I was cycling along minding my own business...well, more of less, I did wonder what the lizard was doing....when the ground suddenly disappeared and I was cycling on air! It was the biggest drop I have ever gone down and at the bottom there was a little river and some sort of makeshift bridge. I wobbled my way over it and when I got to the other side I fell off and just lay there trying to remember how to breathe and get some air ~chuckle~
In the distance I could hear someone calling and when I finally got up and dusted myself off I saw my dad and sister cycling towards me. That's when the adrenaline kicked in and I was totally pumped to tell them what I had just been through!!

My sister listened to me quietly and then charmingly pointed out that they'd been doing that particular "little" drop-off for the past ten minutes and had got bored of it so had moved on to the BIG ones. Right....pop went my little adrenaline bubble.
Oh well, it was big for me and since I am not really a cycling guru it was pretty much the top point of my cycling career.
After that little incident I started paying more attention to where I was going and less attention to the songs that were running through my mind. I certainly shan't be singing "Far Far Away" when cycling because I could end up ANYWHERE!

Workaholic

2008-09-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

You've worked all day and now its night
But there's still so much to do
Its dark outside, switch on the light
Its sad but yet so true

You should be home tucked into bed
Sweet dreams not far behind
But work is what is in your head
I think you've lost your mind

So I stay up and wait for you
To finish and drive home
Make sure you're safe, its what I do
Don't want you to feel alone

I admire what you do each day
And even working nights
I admire you in every way
Now please switch off those lights

Its time to sleep and time to dream
You've been up far too long
Soon the sun will shine her beam
You'll wake with morning song

Candy

2008-09-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

I met a black dog with a white spot
She bounded right up to me
I was in the park, 5pm on the dot
Sitting under the old oak tree

Her eyes they pleaded "play with me"
She had even brought a log
She was very strong, that I could see
Yet seemed a lonely sort of dog

I named her Candy, it just seemed right
I took her home with me
And every day when it got light
We sat under the old oak tree

Spring

2008-09-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

All around its green not brown
Lift me up, don't break me down
Smile and send me on my way
Smile because its Spring today

Flowers growing everywhere
Sun is shining, life is fair
I hear laughter in my dream
With picnics and cold whipped cream

I'm full of pep and zip and go
So much more than you'll ever know
The birds are singing in the trees
I've even made friends with the bees

Enjoy the Spring day whilst you can
If you're not outside then make a plan
You only get one life, you see
So why not LIVE today with me

My Promise

2008-08-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

I used to think the world would be
A better place when rid of me
Then I changed, but so did you
You promised we would make it through

You made me choose, but said no rush
You said 'no pressure', yet you push
So I chose but now you're gone
You promised you would never run

You said you'd understand no matter what
Do you remember all of that?
I made mistakes, don't we all?
But it wasn't me who made you fall

You said no matter what we'd be fine
That your friendship would always be mine
Yet now its you that's running away
Its what you accused me of just yesterday

You said I don't know what I want
You said to chase it but I can't
I know enough to wait for you
To keep my promise to be true

The choice you make is up to you
I'll still be here no matter what you do
I know where I'm going and what I want
But I know how to wait in this instant

Someday I will have my hearts desires
I'll wait, I'll make it through these fires
Maybe one day if you really try
You will understand, you'll know why

I may be young, and stupid too
But I will remain true to you
Its a promise that I have made
Your friendship is something I cannot trade

To Make A Choice

2008-08-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

Once again I'm standing there
Yet again too scared to share
Feelings hidden deep inside
Mind and heart are open wide

You arrived when others left
Helped me when I felt bereft
Gave me friendship strong and true
Made me need much more of you

Now I have to choose once more
Choose between two open doors
Mind says this way, heart says that
At the pitch, I have to bat

I've lived one way all of my life
To live another would just bring strife
I do not make this decision with ease
All I ask, don't hate me, please!

Its for the best, forgive me, do
Its so very hard to have to leave you
I hope that we can still stay friends
I hope our friendship never ends

Paper Weight

2008-07-30T04:22:00.000-07:00


Remind me to never wish for an eventful day!! I got into work this morning and thought "I really wish today would be eventful, that something would happen!" and it did!!! I hadn't even got settled into my chair before the boss arrived and then there was a mountain of paperwork staring at me from all over. I caught a glimpse of my pen having hysterics under a pile of invoices but I had barely rescued it when I was bombarded with a stack of faxes coming in and my printer was humming so loudly it sounded like it was ready to take off. I finally got some sort of order on my desk but just as I sat down to start tackling the mess, another pile of papers toddled in from somewhere else and total chaos ensued. My mobile was having battery palpitations and threatening death to any invoice stupid enough to come near him, and my boss came in with a client and before I had managed to get control of everything there was more work. Funny thing is...I actually LIKE it like this. I get kept so busy I don't notice the time and by the time I do glance at the clock, its almost home time and I get to look forward to locking up the shed and the office and making my way home. Oops! Got to dash, the butler is stomping across my screen trying to draw my attention to the fact that I have emails! Have a great day :)

Song For Friends

2008-07-27T23:19:00.000-07:00

Inside the heart of everyone
There is a special song
One we can't stop singing
Once we have begun

It is the song that keeps us strong
And keeps us moving on
Reminds us why we get along
It is our special song

I'd like to share my song with you
You are a friend indeed
Our friendship is both strong and true
Today I give my song to you

So It Goes

2008-07-21T05:50:00.001-07:00

I hide behind a great big wall

Hide my broken heart from all

I hide my pain behind the pose

No on sees it, I suppose

And so it goes, every single day

So very hard to keep tears at bay

Pretend I’m strong, keep the smile

Whilst thinking of you a little while

Engravings

2008-07-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

The very first time I saw your smile

Is engraved upon my heart

The very first time I saw your tears

Is engraved upon my heart

Engraved so that I can’t forget

In sanctuaries safe and strong

Blessings

2008-07-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

I wake up each morning, draw a deep breath

Look out of my window to see the sun’s reach

Hear the friendly call of a bird passing by

Know I can do anything if I just try

These are blessings of both mind and soul

Blessings that help us to reach our goal

I never knew

2008-07-02T02:01:00.000-07:00

I used to think facing the world was the thing to do
I used to think that strength was all I needed
I used to think I could stand alone
I never knew I needed you

I never knew till you smiled at me
I never knew till you held my hand
I never knew you were my strength
I was blind but now I see

I used to think so selfishly
Of me and all my own
All I saw was my happiness
Until the day I hurt you

Now I wish all past undone
I'd turn back the clock today
To erase the pain I caused you
And ease the hurt you feel

Forgive me for my foolishness
For selfishness and youth
I never knew I was hurting you
Or disappointing you so much

I used to think facing the world was the thing to do
I used to think that strength was all I needed
I used to think I could stand alone
I never knew I needed you

I never knew till you smiled at me
I never knew till you held my hand
I never knew you were my strength
I was blind but now I see

Two Halves

2008-06-25T04:04:00.000-07:00

It takes two halves of heart and mind
Two halves of love and hope
It takes two halves of give and share
Two halves to form a whole

When we are born into this world
All we have is just a half
A half that we must give away
To form the whole we need

And once that half is given away
It can never be returned
I gave my half to you, you see
And that is how I know

It takes two halves of heart and mind
Two halves of love and hope
It takes two halves of give and share
Two halves to form a whole

Domain of my Heart

2008-06-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

Never look back, look forward they say
No matter the past, what counts is today
Forget all the tears, the pain and the fears
It's all left behind when a new day appears

And yet its all there deep inside of me
All of the sorrow which the experts can't see
Though I move forward, the pain still remains
Memories of words in my heart's deep domains

So hard to let go of what's over and done
So hard to control the urge to just run
Away from the hurt that burns deep inside
Away from the memories from which I can't hide

Never look back, look forward they say
No matter the past, what counts is today
Though I can't forget all the tears, pain and fears
Despite all of this, a new days still appears

Tag You're It!!

2008-06-04T23:27:00.000-07:00

Alrighty then, it seems that I will have to do something about being tagged by Bungi, so here we go. I am supposed to write a title for my Memoirs and its only allowed to be six words long and then I have to tag five other people. Hmmm...let's see...six words is a bit short but here goes.

The World According to Angel Weed

And now I tag in turn Sinister Spinster (she seems to have disappeared though), James (if he's still out there), Ian (I can't WAIT to read The Milkman!!), Sarge Dub (I'll visit soon) and errr....and oh yes, Cablog!!

There we go, have fun guys :)

Moments

2008-05-28T04:15:00.000-07:00

It took a moment to be born
A lifetime to grow old
When next I blinked my heart was torn
My memories old and worn

Only a moment to fall in love
An eternity to be loved
Previous moments fitting hand in glove
Miracles received from above

A moment to say some hasty words
No going back, it seems
The sound of clashing verbal swords
To be heard in this hate-filled world

But a moment to befriend you
First meetings never forgot
A moment and our friendship grew
Each day refreshed anew

Not For the Faint Hearted...or Those of Faint Stomach

2008-05-26T04:46:00.000-07:00

So many of my memories have been made whilst living on the farm that it is hard for me to find a beginning or an end. One point (there are some people that know me well enough to realise my points never normally stand still long enough to be made or to be put across) that constant comes to mind is that of our drinking water, or rather, the lack of it.

We are constant having problems with the drinking water on the farm because the reservoir/dam that the water is held in isn't closed up and so it's constantly dirty. Now, before I carry on let me just say that things have become better but not drastically so. also, when the reservoir runs out, the farm workers will sometimes pump through water from the big dam at the far side of the farm. The water from that dam most CERTAINLY isn't clean and not really fit for drinking, no matter how many time you purify it.

The little reservoir/dam where the drinking water is kept has only recently been closed up whereas before it used to stand open. This is where we picked up a lot of very big and smelly problems - baboons.
The local baboon tribe took to using our water reservoir as some sort of "punishing" routine for their young ones. When they didn't come if called they were dunked in and out of the water and then tossed aside.
Unfortunately, arguments frequently arose as to whose young ones were to blame for which crime and one day the wrong baby got dunked by a baboon NOT it's mother and the result was that within 20 minutes there were eight grown baboons left inside the reservoir whilst all the other ran off to get help. Problem is, they got rather distracted along the way and ended up forgetting all about their buddies who were left to drawn.
The worst of it is...we only found out 8 days later! By this time......oh, first of all, before I go further I should say that if you get squeamish easily you shouldn't read further.

Right, by this time the 8 baboons had effectively started to decompose and the first we knew about it was when we all got a serious case of stomach flu. My dad suggested we go and check the water reservoir and, when we did, it was all I could do not to cast up the accounts right there! It was very, very gross and so I left my dad and younger sister to delve deeper into the matter whilst I trotted home to a sweeter smelling environment.

It took a week or more to get proper water tanks in but at least they're there now and they are a definite improvement to baboon-flavored water!
HOORAY!

A New Leaf, A New Look

2008-05-22T00:06:00.000-07:00

I have decided to revamp my blog to fit in with the revamping of my life. I just felt like a change and apparently a change is as good as a holiday. However, since I have had more than enough holidaying this year, I have decided to throw myself back into my work and have even thought about studying further although the subject I am going to be studying has not yet been decided.
Also, I am going to try and reach my objective of finally arranging all my stories and poems into a book format. I have been threatening to do it for ages and even began to do it but then the internet at home gave problems and I somehow managed to delete everything when we were offline. So, now I have to begin again. And this time I am determined to finish what I start ~chuckle~
So, watch this space ~smile~ I shall start writing again.

It is wonderful to be back!!

Character Frenzy!

2008-03-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

Dr. Doolittle sure doesn’t have anything on my family! Honestly, one would think that in general animals would behave just as they always have, but ours don’t. Our animals all have character, something quirky which sets them apart from all other animals of their kind.

Take, for instance, our chickens. At this moment in time we only have two, neither of which has a name. We call them Stupid Chicken, referring to them as a single entity although I suppose we could call the one Stupid and the other Chicken. One of these chickens has taken it into it’s little feather brain to lay its egg in one of our dog’s boxes. Normally this wouldn’t pose a problem but she doesn’t do it when the dog isn’t in the box, she does it when he is in there, trying to get some sleep. I don’t know how many times my mother or I have dashed to the door to see what the raucous is all about only to find that the poor dog has been chased out of his bed by a chicken that is one twentieth of his size! Its ridiculous the way she has him completely cowed. I find it quite shameful. The worst of it is that she will lay the egg and then scream and cackle blue murder for us to come and get it, however, when we do get the egg she will be furious because we got it and didn’t let the dog have it. Never mind that both our dogs are offended because they didn’t get the egg. Seriously, jokes aside, this is the truth. It’s almost as though she wants the dog to eat the egg because she laid it especially for him in his own box. What tragedy when we go and steal it for our breakfast.

Next there are the monkeys. No, these are not our pets, I assure you! They are, actually, quite a menace but food has been scarce lately and so they come and pick the figs off our fig tree. This wouldn’t generally be a bad thing and we don’t begrudge the little beggars some food, but they do delight so in teasing our dogs! They have perfected the art of literally barking down at the dogs and then after peeling their fig they throw the peelings down on top of the dogs’ heads. It is quite shameful the way they behave and taunt the poor dogs. Just this morning they gave me another reason to laugh. My parents bought some little rubber balls for the dogs to play with and one of the monkeys had discovered one of these balls on the front lawn. He sat there, completely perplexed, staring at it with his dreamy brown eyes. I stood watching him and after a few moments of contemplation he patted the ball with a cautious paw. I must mention here that the ball has spikes, and a bell in its center. The look on his face when the ball jingled was almost too much for me. I battled so not to laugh out loud because I didn’t want to frighten him away. His curiosity was amusing and reminded me of a small child discovering the delights of a new toy. I watched him in eager anticipation for his next move. He picked up the ball and shook it delicately and the astonishment in his masked face was just too much for me. My laughter bubbled out and I watched as he glanced my way and then held the ball close to his chest while he jumped over the fence and sat on the pole staring at me. Soon there was a whole troop of little monkeys sitting around the pole, listening to the curious jingling of the bell inside the ball. One of them tried to get the ball from the finder but he clutched it close and leapt up into the nearest tree. And the race was then on! All the monkeys started tearing from tree to tree, chasing the leader who held the mysterious blue ball. It was so funny to watch them and my cat and I sat for almost an hour watching their antics.

Our two new dogs are quite in a league of their own as well. They play by themselves and bark and threaten anything that doesn’t belong in the garden, including the worms and the spiders. This afternoon when I took them walking they were shouting insults at the monkeys but when a brave (or just a rather stupid, suicidal) monkey jumped down from the tree right behind them they tucked their tails between their legs, left puddles on the road and ran as fast as their dear, pudgy little legs could carry them! I nearly choked laughing because it was just too funny for words. Honestly, our pets are all completely insane! Perhaps it rubs off from their owners, who knows?

My cat seems to be the only one of our animals that hasn’t gone barmy. She is still as lovable as ever, provided I don’t doctor her wounds with oil or powder and don’t attempt to feed her de-worming tablets. She sits on my lap and purrs deep in her chest, putting her face up now and then for a pat or a kiss. She comes inside for her food in the morning and the evening, sits next to the fridge when she wants a drop of milk and follows me around outside. She still likes having a cuddle in the warm sunshine and loves melted chocolate and hot, buttered toast. And she is still adorable and cute and very much a huge comfort to me, helping me to settle in after being away for so long.

I read Gerald Durrell’s books again and how his family got referred to as a traveling circus. I wonder what people must think of my family and I? Perhaps it is better I do not know ~chuckle~
For better or for worse, though, they are my family and I love them!

Spooky Ghosts - A figment of imagination

2008-03-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

When we first moved up to the farm, we stayed on one of the other farms whilst we waited for our house to be emptied. It was a lot of fun and we made a few casual friends over there with some of the other kids.

There was a lovely little pond in the back garden which is where we spent a lot of our time, monitoring the tadpoles and other little wrigglies. It kept us occupied for many a long afternoon and time always seemed to stand still for us there.

My younger sister and I would make a mad dash through our schoolwork so that we could go outside and play. I’ve never done algebra that quickly before ~chuckle~ I daresay I have never done it more incorrectly either! Being outside was so much more important to me that learning why x+y would equal z. To be frank, since graduating I have never used it again anyway, so I figure it was all a waste of time. Spelling, basic mathematics and home economics…now THAT has been useful to me all the time.

I digress, once again. Its becoming a habit, I am sure of it. Maybe I have digressional disease! Now that would be something. However, before I go into the wonderful impracticalities of such a disease, I shall carry on with the story. Now, where was I? Oh yes…play time.

My sister and I would do our schoolwork, finish our chores and then haul our bicycles out the shed, take identical running leaps onto them and pedal madly down the road. Halfway down the road we’d meet up with two of the neighbours’ children and from there we would go cycling around the whole farm. It was lovely to be hopping rocks, trying to wheelie down a straight stretch or just going as fast as was possible for our legs to go. Often times we would split up and see how long it would take us to relay around the farm. We’d spend about three hours cycling around and then out of mutual consensus we would stop at the creepy looking house down the road.

This house was really old and the gate creaked as you opened it. The latch was broken and so it was tied shut with a piece of rusty old wire. This was creepy and scary all on its own to a bunch of little kids, never mind that as you progressed down the pathway it became quieter and even the birds stopped singing.

On this particular day we had decided to play truth, dare or command. Unfailingly, we all chose dare and the big dare was that we were to go into the house and prove that we were brave and that there were no ghosts there. Popular rumour had it that the house was haunted by a girl and her grandfather who were supposed to have died there.

So, the four of us plucked up our courage, sucked in our breath and very bravely, knees knocking and hearts beating wildly, we walked through the little squeaky gate and crept up the pathway to the house. When we got to the front door it was touch and go but we decided we’d come this far already so we went inside.

It was extremely dark until our eyes got used to the murky darkness. In the first room we walked into (and the only room we walked into) there was a huge hole in the floor where someone had made a fire on the floorboards. Dumb or what?! The windows were mostly broken and boarded up with planks, which was why it was so dark inside. I was examining the fireplace and the strange white powder that was all around it, when a loud shriek was heard, followed by a grunt and in no time at all we were all outside trying to calm our rattled nerves and vowing never to go in there again.

We got on our bicycles and sped off, leaving a trail of dust and pine cones behind us.

Turns out that one of the guys thought it would be hilarious to let drape a reed over one of the girls and then let out a moan. It was enough to send her into shrieking hysterics which gave the rest of us a huge fright. Hilarious! Well, it wasn’t then but it is now. It’s amazing what sort of silly stories one believes when you’re young. The house never was haunted, obviously, it was just old. Also, we could have been seriously injured had we ventured into the next room because all the floor boards were rotten and if we had stood on them they would have collapsed and we would have fallen through into the basement, which had a lot of broken glass in it. So, just as well we got scared off!

Home Sweet Home

2008-02-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

In the deepest, darkest reaches of middle Africa...just kidding! Actually, on the Southern tip of Africa, in a very sunny part of that tip, Angel Weed once again settles herself down to write. And then, out of nowhere, a question attacks her and breaks her thought processes and forces her to once again stand up and make her way to the kitchen where a pile (seriously, a PILE) of dishes awaits to be washed and scrubbed and polished clean.
~sigh~ Our work is never done, it never is! I've been in that kitchen ALL week washing dishes, doing some cooking and doing more washing up. Oh well, there you go, its life. Yippee yay!

Seriously, though, I was going to sit down and write this loooong intricate story but will have to cut that short until next time.

I'll be back, stay tuned ~chuckle~

P.S. I am back in South Africa, just in case you didn't catch that from the first sentence. Couldn't stand the weather in England :)

York

2007-12-24T22:41:00.000-08:00

Since I moved I have been unable to write on my blog as I no longer have computer access at the place I am staying. However, I got up really early this morning to sneak a few minutes on the computer before everyone else woke up and our exciting day begins! I am in York at the moment and a more beautiful place I have yet to see in this country. True, I haven't exactly been many places but the view from my room is just so spectacular. Nothing can compare with home, though, and staring out the window I became progressively more and more homesick, longing for the familiar smells and sights of my home country.

I digress...familiar word :) Anyways, about two weeks or more ago a friend and I were discussing possibilities for a little getaway and so we are now here in York and its been a lovely one day so far. Its still dark outside and I can't really tell what the weather will hold for us but I do know that it will be a stunning day no matter what the weather because we are going to go ice skating as well as walking the wall around the city and then tonight we will be back in the recreation room (its actually almost a cellar like place with tables and benches and a lovely, cute little bar) for another evening of fun and games. I am really glad to be here as it is so quiet and peaceful. Weirdest of all is that I had about three hours or so of sleep but I am awake and ready for the day. I spent a lot of time staring out my window and listening to the rain falling outside and then, I have to admit, my mind once more flew to the far reaches of Africa, back to my home and my family. I drifted off to sleep with tears on my pillow and a longing to see my precious family once again.

I feel like I am missing out on all the important things happening there and every time I see the non-existent sunrise or notice the missing aromas in the air, I remember my home and think how much I would like to be back there and see my family and my cat and the people that I could greet every day.

One day...one day I will go back home. Home is, after all, where the heart is. And mine is definitely at home with my family right now!
Amazing how one doesn't miss something until you don't have it. In this strange country, I have missed my family more and more each day. At least now, though, I have learned how to value them more and its a lesson I will not forget!

Moving yet again...hang on...moved yet again!

2007-10-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a bit weird. I have finished up working at the hospital and I am now currently unemployed yet again and in search of a job. Its a bit of a strange feeling because now I am once again searching for a job and yet I find myself strangely reluctant to actually get one. I like this whole stay-at-home habit I have got going. I got so used to cleaning the house, getting food on the stove and ready for whoever wanted to eat and making sure I had all my paperwork done that it was just awful thinking of having a full time job again. I might actually try and get a half day job or something because I just can't stomach the idea of a full time office job again. Perhaps I am too homey...er....homely? I said the word homey a while back and my colleague looked at me as though I was out of my mind! Don't know why but I guess it wasn't a good thing so I suppose I better say homely instead.

RIght, well, since I have not written for quite some time I better update you all as to what I have been up to. I have just moved (today) to the country and it is absolutely SPECTACULAR!!! For the first time I can see the stars clearly and the moon is just breath-takingly beautiful tonight. I have been outside a couple of times just to look because its been so long since I have seen the moon looking so gorgeous. Also, the place I am staying in has eight cats and although they are not all as friendly as I would like, there is already one ginger one who has made himself at home on my bed which is just fine with me as I really miss my cat from back home and to have that comforting purring and presence on my bed at night will definitely help me to sleep better now in the future. Also, its just so amazingly beautiful out here and there is so much to do and so many places to go walking and jogging and there is an outside gym and I can do pilates here as I have someone to do it with plus there is a place I can go horse-riding which I wasn't able to do in London, obviously, and there is the most amazing view from my room and....it just goes on and on!!! I can't begin to explain what a relief and a wonderful experience it is for me to be out here and I am sure that you will be hearing a lot more of all my experiences since I will probably have more time to write than I have before. Plus more things to write about. Because hey, be honest, in London, nothing much happens. Its all the same old same old and seriously, for a farm girl, that's just really boring!

Anyways, its really late and so I suppose I better be getting ready to go to bed. I will try to write more, although I recollect saying something like this before :)

Right, well good night for now and YIPPEE KAYAAAYAAAAAY!!!!!!!

Time Flew - Flu Time

2007-09-14T01:49:00.000-07:00

You know the feeling where you feel completely detached from your body yet you can still feel pain and emotion? Well, that's pretty much where I am today. I have had a migraine for three days now and incredible neck pain which has plagued me even in my dreams. I was just talking to one of my work colleagues and she totally freaked out because my eyes just glazed over. Really weird as I wasn't aware of it.
And this whole emotion thing is getting on my nerves because I have never been happier in my life since coming here to England and yet I can't shake this weird feeling that I am sad...only I'm not, seriously! Worst is that there are a few pivotal decisions I need to make and arrangements to make as well but I would love to just go to bed and not have to think about them until I am capable of forming a properly coherent thought. Right now I am just rambling, hoping to make it through the day without worrying anyone or making a fool of myself by tearing up.
I guess I know what the problem is, really....I'm homesick. And sick.

Exam Excruciation

2007-09-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

Today did not exactly go as I had planned...then again, nor did yesterdsay! Here's the days' events as I remember them. They might not be in precise order but that's because I am completely bushed and not quite myself. Remeber that as you carry on reading because there might be time when I probably won't make any sense at all.

Yesterday morning I got into work nice and early, bright eyed and bushy-tailed. Ever the optimist I was ready for whatever came my way. A flooded bathroom in an open plan office was not quite what I had in mind but nevertheless, it did add a bit of spice and excitment for a monday morning. I got the porters and estates people in and told them it was a major emergency as there was open cabling all over the floor and water on that would not be a good idea. Two hours later I was asked whether or not I would mind helping the exams team with the exams that were being written. I had to help direct the students to the stations that they needed to be at. I agreed as it was the ideal opportunity to get away from my desk and onto a different floor. In order to get up to the exams in time I dashed off to the shop to grab a salad and some juice for lunch. The salad was good, the juice horrible. After twenty minutes I got the worst stomach cramps ever and within another ten minutes I was in excruciating pain and I was doubled up at my desk in agony. It wasn't fun at all and I was thinking that I should pull out of helping at the exams but I just couldn't after seeing the one lady's face when she came down before the break. She was shattered and they really needed the help so I bit my lip and told her I would come up earlier and help. THe look on her face was reward enough and went a long way to make the pain disappear. Half an hour later the pain was more real than before and definitely not gone. Before 5pm I was almost in tears. I was at work until 6:30pm and then the tube was delayed as well on top of it all. Apparently I had colic which was not really normal in adults but can happen on occasion. I was the occasion. What a bummer.

When I got home I was talking with one of my flatmates and then the pain got unbearable and so I took two painkillers. Then I went back downstairs and carried on talking. Only I fell asleep on my other housemate's bed for half an hour and when I woke up I staggered up the stairs and collapsed on the bed to sleep further.

This morning my legs were killing me and my stomach had a few complaints about getting moved. I took a shower and felt a little better and then got on the tube to get to work. THere was a five minute delay and by the time I got to work I was still fast asleep. I was asked as soon as I got in whether or not I would be able to help with the exams again and so I said yes. This time I left the salad and the juice :)

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that this morning when I got in I realised that last night I had forgotten to turn off my computer and when I switched on my monitor I was faced with a whole bunch of messages from skype friends telling me to check out a link. And that is when everything went pear shaped and I got annoyed. My skype went into do not disturb mode and then I started getting messages from my friends saying that I was spreading a virus. I wasn't doing anything and had come in to be faced with a computer that looked as if it had had a worse night than I had and now what was worse was that I was being accused of doing something that I wasn't. Whilst I was chatting to my sister the skype thingy just started sending a message that I was not even typing!! It was incredibly freaky and I got really ticked off. EVentually this afternoon I got the IT guy out to fix my PC but even he was stumped! What a help!!

Hopefully by the time I get in tomorrow everything will be sorted out but I don't know so much, At least it hasn't affected my laptop at home.
And tomorrow is another day...whoop-de-doo!
Bring it on, I am ready for it!!!

Cycle Blues

2007-09-05T03:31:00.000-07:00

A long long time ago, I can still remember...and those are the beginning lyrics for some song by Madonna which I just can't get out of my head at the moment. It also reminds me of this long time ago when I was still a teenager and used to go mountain biking in the forest with my dad and younger sister. They were avid cyclists at the time whereas I was just along for the ride.

This was very obvious once we got started because all through the ride you'd hear this very soulful voice echoing through the forest "wait for meeeeeee". Yep, that was me. I inevitably got left behind no matter how fast I went because there was always something that distracted me along the way and after stopping to check it out, I would look up to find myself completely alone and after two minutes of complete aloneness in a big forest, I was also completely freaked out and any company would have been better than being by myself. This is where I developed the habit of singing to myself or talking to myself.

After that cycling was quite fun and I hardly ever noticed my tired legs or my aching back or arms. I would pedal along happily nattering away to a passing centipede or sing out to a spider dangling in the pathway, and now and then I would still let out a not quite so sorrowful "wait for meeeee" when I thought it might help. Needless to say, it didn't help very often because my dad and sister were always speeding along trying to beat their best time or tackling the most frightfully high drop-offs. I only ever went down two and because I am so attached to all my body parts, they were the only two I ever went down. The other drop offs all seemed to be whispering about which part of me they would take if I did dare to go down them so I never did. Perhaps I had too much of a wild imagination or perhaps they really would have done something unmentionable to my poor cowardly body, but I wasn't going to risk finding out!

Nowadays I don't get to go cycling anymore. I don't have a bike over here in merry old England and also, the drivers here are rather...erm...yeah I think I will stick with saying that the traffic is just a bit too heavy for my liking.

Perhaps one day I will venture out again on a cycle, but for now I am quite happy sticking to my feet which are, by the way, very reliable until they play tricks on me and trip me up!

Town Mouse, Country Mouse

2007-08-09T03:09:00.000-07:00

The following story took place quite some time ago now, a few years, to be precise. I remember it as though it were yesterday and even now its still funny and I find myself chuckling away softly to myself so as not to disturb my colleagues who already think I am completely off my rocker.

My sisters and my mom and I were happily sitting in the sitting room knitting and listening to story tapes or reading when all of a sudden then was this little scrabbling noise and a medium sized mouse ran out from under one of the couches and across the room. This caused more than a little stir amongst us and before long we had cardboard boxes and all manner of things to try and catch the mouse.
We were trying to keep him from getting into any other part of the house but this attempt failed miserably when he put his little fuzzy head down, squeaked and ran as fast as his little tiny legs could carry him to the piece of cardboard my sister (older) was holding in front of the door. She, in turn, squeaked and jumped out the way and consequently the mouse made a bold and completely unchecked dash into her bedroom.

Now we had a problem because the room was very cluttered, the were loads of places to hide and how on earth were we ever going to get him out of there?? Never fear, we're a family of many bright talents and careful plans...we just trashed the room to find the mouse, and find the mouse we did...eventually. However, before this discovery occurred we did try two other options. We first let both cats into the room. The Siamese took a quick stroll and sniff around the room and assured us there wasn't anything to be afraid of and could he now please go and get something to eat?! Whilst my little tabby nearly had heart failure when said mouse ran right over her and into the cupboard. She was a complete quivering heap of fur and was quite embarrassed when I carried her out the room and discovered that she had had a little accident on the carpet. Poor little thing, she has never liked mice and rats and I don't blame her!

Then we tried the dogs but they weren't interested in the least and were in quite a hurry to get out the room and continue playing on their jungle gym. So much for that idea then. This left us with choice number three which was to trash the room in search of the little tyrant. So we did. And a struggle of life and death ensued.

After an hour we were in the winning position. Our places in the room were as follows: Me on the bed with all the drawers from the chest of drawers and various other articles, younger sister on the floor with a pillowcase in which the unfortunate mouse was captured, and older sister in the windowsill behind the curtain crying that we mustn't 'kill the poor thing!!!'. Uh huh....well, we weren't planning on killing it, we weren't murderers! However, fate took a hand and I slipped on the bed and consequently all the drawers took a tumble to the floor and landed on the pillowcase, on top of the mouse. Well there you go then, we were quite sure he was dead. I mean, what sort of a mouse could survive that load falling on him? What mouse indeed!
We took all the things off the pillowcase, held it up and there was the little blighter still doing a little war dance of disdain because we had failed in all our miserable efforts to kill him, or so he thought. Like I said before, we weren't ever planning to kill him, just get him out the house!

We took him out to one of the fields where we let him go and he hopped off into the long grass, no doubt to go and tell his mouse family what a bunch of suckers we were and also to have a drink to calm his rattled nerves after his close escape.
The end...

...
...
...

Not quite. A week later he was back...this time with his family!!! It took considerably longer to evict them this time and afterwards my dad put out mouse traps. This seemed to scare them off a bit and kept them all at bay for a few months.

The Move

2007-07-30T04:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I had my first real good night's sleep in weeks and it felt absolutely wonderful! Its going to take me at least a week or more to catch up on all the sleep I have been missing out on but at least its all peaceful on the home front now and I can sit back and relax when I get home instead of being all tense and stressed and trying to avoid housemates.

The new place is absolutely amazing and in a place called Morden which is just great for me as its quiet and there are trees and birds and hardly any traffic noise and at night its quiet apart from the very occasional car that might drive past. No police sirens, or ambulance sirens or hoodies shrieking at each other or children screaming or cars dicing each other at unmentionable hours in the morning. Last night I passed out around 8pm and slept like the dead without waking up until this morning when my alarm went off. I am still tired but as I said, its probably still going to take me a while to get my normal sleeping patterns back.

Another plus point about the new place is that my flatmates are from South Africa as well and so I get to speak Afrikaans a lot more now which is wonderful as I really miss it and its sometimes hard for me to communicate in English as I think and feel in Afrikaans. Sounds weird, I know, but that's just how it is.

My travelling costs are now also much less as I bought a travel card for a month for zones three and four and take the tube to work now which only takes me a few minutes instead of the customary half an hour or more. This is very useful especially since its a much less stressful journey and instead of leaving at 06:30am in the mornings I can now leave later and still be here by 7am or half seven without having to wait for a bus or something like that. Although the down side is that I really dislike the tube but if I catch it early then there isn't anyone on it so its not all hot and sticky yet. Hurrah for that! Plus, not many people catch the train from Morden to Tooting. Most of them climb on from Tooting and onwards to take the Northern Line to City Centre. Another place I seriously dislike...City Centre. I find it dirty and smelly and disagreable and I don't go there as a general rule. I have been here for five months now and I have only been there three times. And all three of those times was for a very short period.

I've also been to Harrods but found that I started getting an anxiety attack after an hour. There were just way too many people, it was far too crowded and I must say that even on a sale pretty much 95% of the items there were way out of my price range. I did get my Die Hard Boxset for £10 which was a massive bargain so that was great. I had been looking all over the place for it and finally found it in Harrods and at a much cheaper rate than all the other places I had looked...who would ever have believed it?!

When I moved out of my old place yesterday I had a last traditional fall down the stairs which means that today I have a bad carpet burn on my elbow, bruises down my right side and I've pulled ligaments in both my left and right legs below the knee. It really hurts but at least I won't be falling down the stairs anymore......*touch wood* ~chuckle~ The new place has stairs but they aren't slippery like the other ones. So all should be well, as long as I don't run or something stupid like that.

Well, I am pretty bushed so I am going to be like Melman the Giraffe on Madagascar and go...*snore*

Changes and more Strangers

2007-07-25T04:29:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I last wrote and it seems to be becoming a habit with me. Unfortunately. However, I still firmly believe that things might change since most of my life is busy changing at the most alarming rate! For instance, in the week I have had to try and find a new place to stay as well as deal with stress about leaving my job and not having another one to go to and then there is the fact that I am hardly getting any sleep and people are starting to tell me I look as though I haven't slept in weeks and I have bags under my eyes and dark circles and all the bad things you get from stressing a lot and not getting enough sleep. To top it all the arrangements I had made for new place to stay fell through the ceiling and now I have to find alternative accomodation. Its all very confusing for me and very stressful but its not something that I can't get through eventually.

I am viewing a place tonight which sounds really promising, is cheaper than the place I am staying now and I would hopefully be able to move in on Sunday as that is the day I need to be out of my current place. Worst case scenario...if this place I will be viewing tonight doesn't pan out at least I will still have a place to stay for another week as I have tentative arrangements made for student accomodation close to where I work. I will also hear this afternoon for sure whether or not I will be staying on in my current job. I really hope I can but its all up to my boss, really.

So that's pretty much what has been happening on the home front at the moment. We did get flooded out last week as well and there is still quite a lot of flooding across the country but luckily I haven't been affected by it. I feel really sorry for the people who have been hit really hard, though. In some places there isn't even any drinking water, never mind dry clothes and hoses!

Here at work the ceiling collapsed in a few places and the halls were rather full of water but they were able to get it all fixed up pretty quickly.

Well, that's about it for the moment. I will try and update my blog as much as possible in the next few weeks so that you all know what's going on. My internet access at home has also been a bit shaky so its not always possible to get online.

Greetings to you all and sorry for being so scarce!

Writers' Block

2007-07-04T04:11:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks I have been trying very unsuccessfully to write something worthwhile reading. And I am still trying! I don't know what it is at the moment but I am just going through a non-writing phase. I really don't like the way my writing has just fizzled up but I am assuming that it happens sometimes. I guess its because my head is so full of tunes and melodies at the moment and I need to get rid of them before any writing can take their place. Well, that's my excuse anyway, and I am sticking to it.

The problem with all these melodies is that I have no way of writing them down because I need an instrument to play them on first so that I can get the notes right. I used to use a guitar or my little dinky keyboard toy but now I don't have any of those here and so the melodies are stuck and clamouring to get out. All a bit annoying, really, since letting them out would be a great relief to me. I am saving up at the moment to get a soprano saxophone, as this is my newest little hobby. Am very eager to learn how to play one because I don't know yet but I love the sound and it gets my feet tapping and my head reeling every time I hear someone playing one. Before I buy one, though, I would like to learn a bit more about it and find out if its really the instrument for me. Am pretty much convinced that it is but one never knows, there might be a different instrument out there waiting for me to own it. So I am biding my time and being as patient as I can but it isn't easy!!

Anyways, today is one of those really looooong boring days and I am counting the hours till I can dash out of the office and go home because sleep is the thing I need right now and somehow I don't think the boss will appreciate if I am caught passed out by my computer ~chuckle~ Would make a charming picture...

New Flat-Mate

2007-07-01T23:41:00.001-07:00

Last night I spent almost two hours waiting for the new flat mate to arrive and move in. I was quite exhausted as I hadn't had any sleep for almost 48 hours and when you want to go to bed and can't its really rather tiring. Eventually she arrived and I was able to go to bed.
I rather like the new girl. She is quiet, friendly, doesn't seem to be the party animal sort and she has a soprano saxophone! This is a big thing for me as I have been thinking the past couple of weeks about actually getting a saxophone. I don't know how to play one but I want to learn. And I can hire one for a month or two and if I find it isn't for me then I can give it back. I am really excited about it as I am a music freak and love learning to play new instruments. There is, of course, no guarentee that I will actually be able to play the sax, but I am going to try really hard as they have the most beautiful sound!

And perhaps I will join a blues band in the future...who knows? :o)

Romance

2007-06-13T02:05:00.000-07:00

I was lying in bed last night thinking, which is always a dangerous thing when my brain is involved, and the one thought that kept popping in my mind was the unpredictability of romance.
Stop and think just a moment about how many times in your life someone you love has done something truly romantic, completely out of the ordinary, out of the blue, for no reason at all. Just done something so romantic that you have to pause to catch your breath.

Pity I can't ask for a show of hands now as I am really curious to know what everyones reaction was to that question.

Last night whilst I was lying there thinking, I was thinking about romantic things that men and women have done in the past. And because they made an impact on me, I have decided to write them down here to see what you think.

Scenario One

"Honey, don't you want to quickly check on the beer in the freezer to check that its cold enough? We wouldn't want them to freeze!"
"I checked them a little while back and they were still warmish, so I would leave them for a bit longer."
"But the freezer freezes things so quickly, won't you please check, just in case?"
"Alright, no problem."
So she walks to the freezer, pulls open the door...and there is a postcard addressed to her with the warmest words of love and adoration written on it.

Scenario Two

"That was a lovely meal, thank you! Since you are up, wouldn't you please go and get the chocolate that is in the cupboard?"
"Sure thing."
She walked to the cupboard, pulled out the slab of chocolate which was propped up against a little black box, which she thought was some sort of coffee as she didn't really register the name printed on the front of the box.
"That is the wrong chocolate, dear, I meant the black box behind this slab."
"Riiiight...so I will just go and get that box then, shall I?"
And off she goes back to the cupboard but when she looks at the box she realises it isn't chocolates at all, but a box of perfume!
Once again, the knees go weak and the tears dam up.

People's ideas of romanticism differs but I must say, I really think that the woman above has definitely got herself a man who is not only romantic but his ideas of how to let her know he loves and cares about her is so out of the ordinary. Don't you think so?

I would like to marry a man like that. Not only because he is romantic but because he isn't afraid to voice his feelings. He is the type of man who makes a woman feel like a woman!

Long live romance!

100th Anniversary

2007-06-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

I realised with a jolt of surprise that this is my 100th blog entry! Quite a feat, if I say so myself. In fact, I still remember the first day I sat down to start writing. I was enjoying myself so much that I clear lost track of the time and ended up leaving work an hour and a half after closing time ~chuckle~

I was trying to think of something that I could write about to mark this most singular occasion but I couldn't think of anything. This is rather a terrible thing for me as I wanted to make this entry really memorable. Guess that won't be happening this time around!

Good thing I don't have to get up and give a speech or something like that as I would probably stand there with a mouth full of teeth and hum and haw like a humkey (hummingbird/donkey). Either that or I would crack a silly joke about how I have written 99 entries and on my 100th entry I get writer's block!

Well, since I honestly don't know what to write, I will just stop here and go and find myself some work to keep me out of mischief until home time!

Tarra!

How To Fool My Mind

2007-06-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

I have tried to write this post at least ten times today but each time I erase it and sign out and do something else, yet not writing it is bugging me as I have had the whole day to write on my blog and I haven't used it!

Personally, I think what bugs me the most is that at the moment my creative streak has just disappeared and I can't seem to find it anywhere. I promised my best friend that I would write lyrics to a song but somehow I can't force the words out. I have them all inside of me but something is just blocking them from coming out. After years of reading about writer's block, I now know exactly what it is!

There are so many memories I would like to write about but the phrases are all jumbled in my mind and don't want to appear in the correct order on the screen. Its all very annoying, to be honest, and I can't figure out what on earth is wrong with me. Its as though some essential part of my being is missing and I need to find it before I can regain my equilibrium......did I just use all those big words?? See, its not at all like me. I am using big words, writing complete jumble quirk and not making any rational sense at all.

This past week has been filled with long hours of waiting for time to pass, frustrated minutes of pointless wondering around the corridors in my head, trying to make sense of the past, the present and the future. I have been having the most horrific dreams and spend my nights waking up dripping in sweat with tears streaming down my face in silent agony, feeling my body to make sure there are no wounds from the weapons being thrust at me in my dreams. I woke up the other night to find my pillow soaked with tears and all of my stuffed animals clutched tightly against my chest, my pillows flung across my room and my duvet lying bunched at the bottom of the bed. I have no remembrance of the details of the dream, only of the fear and horror I felt throughout it and the relief to be awake.

When I was a little girl I used to suffer unmercifully from bad dreams and nightmares but when I got older the dreams actually became less and less and there were times when months (and sometimes even years) went by without me having a bad dream. All of a sudden the dreams have come back and I am haunted with recurring appearances of bad people trying to wipe out my existence.

Apparently this happens when your mind is over-active and doesn't shut down at the close of the day. But why only bad dreams? Why not good dreams? Why do I have to battle against people trying to destroy me, instead of spending the time laughing with people who love me? Nobody has been able to answer this question yet I think that I have finally happened upon the answer myself.

On the days when I am worried about something or stressing about something, I will have bad dreams that night. Yet when I feel happy and fulfilled during the day and my mind is active with happy thoughts, I will have good and sweet and lovely dreams.
My mind has been so occupied with so many things, lately, that I have been inadvertantly stressing about the outcomes of decisions, work, issues at home and just life in general.

However, I am now tired of waking up afraid, tired of waking up tired. I am going to work hard at making sure I go to bed thinking of happy things and perhaps I will be able to fool my own mind.

Here's to hoping it works!

Picture of the Week

2007-06-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

I saw this picture and it is just so beautiful I had to share it!

A Day Called Friday

2007-06-01T06:37:00.001-07:00

Today is Friday and its just as well because I am running really low on resources. You know the way the car goes when the gas/petrol has just about hit its last fumes? Well, that is how I feel right now. Had a migraine since Monday and it just doesn't want to get any better despite painkillers, headache tablets, sleep and just about everything short of taking a whiff of the leaves!

I have been kept busy all day but now I have completed everything I needed to do and am just waiting for one of the Professors to come back to me with some exam scripts which he marked and then I will be able to complete that and be done for the day.

Then it is off to the shops for some much needed groceries and then I am going to find either a very comfortable couch or my bed, depending on which one I get to first ~chuckle~

I am also trying to get the time (and the energy, I might add) to put together a book. I was thinking of putting together all my stories in a sort of autobiography style book.
What do you think?
Comments welcome!

Trolley War

2007-05-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

This past week has had its share of weird encounters, frustrating moments and even little bits of hilariousness which helped to make the rest of the week's awfulness just melt away...pretty much like one of those Aero Bubbles chocolates that get advertised on the telly where this hunk of a guy (according to most women although I can't say as how I agree because he just isn't my type and he uses the most corny lines ever!!!) delivers this well memorised load of squat to advertise the new Aero Bubbles chocolate balls.
I digress.

I have just had one of those hilarious yet embarrassing moments which I just had to write about whilst the memory is still fresh in my mind.

I had to go up to the fourth floor to collect some printing that had been done for one of the girls I work with and because there was such a lot, I had to take the trolley. This is never a problem except that this particular trolley has four wheels (don't they generally?) and each one has a mind of its own. I promise you, this thing moves in four different directions almost simultaneously!!! You can't push it, that's out of the question. If you try it turns into a donkey and refuses adamently to budge and you therefore end up kicking your shins on the metal bar above the wheels. After doing this once, you learn quick enough that pushing doesn't work. So you walk in front of it whilst pulling it behind you. Except that if you walk normal pace, the trolley rams up against the back of your heels and this hurts worse than kicking your shins. If you pull it alongside you, it veers off on a tangent and into whichever unsuspecting person might be coming from the opposite side.

So you have to pull it really slowly behind you whilst doing a sort of crab walk and checking that everything is still on it and you aren't leaving a trail of helplessly flailing paperwork behind you.

One other thing I learnt just now was that this trolley has dog - like qualities....never ever let it confront another trolley. I made the mistake of doing that just now and...well...to put it mildly, it was a disaster! The blush is still busy fading from my cheeks and I feel as though I have just climbed out a sauna. It was really embarrassing, truly! I was walking slowly and crabbily along, minding my own (and the trolley's) business when all of a sudden the trolley took a violent swerve out in front of a guy pushing a trolley at least eight times bigger than mine. The ensuing struggle to get the trolley under control is something I really don't want to have to go through again. The poor paperwork was fluttering and flailing wildly all over the corridor and I could hardly bare to look. It took a lot of self control not to start reprimanding the trolley right then and there in front of all those onlookers (most of whom, I might add, were snickering behind their hands, hair and mustaches). The man pushing the other, now very frightened and distressed, trolley bent down and helped to collect the last of the hysteric papers and then smilingly went on his way.

After that encounter I managed to make it back to the office without anymore encounters, for which I am truly grateful.
Luckily I don't think I will be needing to use the trolley again soon. I have put him back in solitary confinement!

Picture of the Week

2007-05-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you ought to think twice before leaving hubby to babysit the kids whilst you go out shopping? ~chuckle~

Pinch me, I'm Dreaming

2007-05-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking that I need to put a big sign on my computer which says "WRITE ON YOUR BLOG!!!" However, I do have something to tell now.

On Thursday I found out something which I think I would rather not have known but which I didn't have much chance in avoiding. The teller of this juicy (or not) piece of information is one of my work mates and she found great relish in telling me. I suppose by now you are all on tenterhooks to find out what it was precisely that she told me.
Well, it is merely this.

I work in Corridor 9 of a hospital and my office is located in the old psychiatric ward. I had quite reconciled myself to this fact and even managed to fit in pretty well ever since the porters found me nattering away to the doorstop which I was trying to persuade to keep the door open. The porters hardly ever come down our way now, I wonder if this is because they keep on walking in on me whilst I am talking to inanimate objects?

Anyway, I digress...not only is my office located in the old psychiatric ward, it is also just around the corner from the animal testing wards. Added to this (as though it were not enough!) my office is also situated pretty much just above the local morgue! Pretty gross, eh? Well, you'd think this would be enough to make anyone go completely crackers but we're all pretty normal, I think, in our office. Or perhaps we just like to think we are? :)

Right, that isn't all. You thought it was, didn't you? Well, you're wrong. There is one more thing. Remember the morgue? Well...on Friday there was the most absolutely awful smell coming from down the corridor. I had to open the windows and put the air-conditioning on full just to get the smell out of the office. Oh, don't get excited...that's not all! Apparently someone had per accidentally switched off the plug in the morgue and (sensitive readers stop reading here!) some of the bodies had started decomposing. Totally and absolutely gross, isn't it?!

The news doesn't stop here. On Friday morning I went into work, as usual, only I thought that I had overslept and since I didn't look at my watch (don't ask me why, I just didn't think to do it) I ended up being two hours early instead of two hours late! So there I was, sitting at my desk at 06:30am. I felt such a numnut!
Hang on...ah yes, I was getting to my next piece of news. Around 9am I went down to the post room to collect the post but as I neared it I noticed that there was quite a commotion and there were a lot of security officials milling around looking lost. I toddled over to have a look and found my buddy the postman looking quite distressed. I asked him what was going on he said that when he had opened up one of the post bags and thrown out the post, something had started ticking. Well, whoop-de-doo! That was enough to have me running for my life back down the very long and depressing corridor 9, except that my curiousity got the better of me and so I waited around to find out what the ticking package was. It turned out to be a gadget which was supposed to be hand delivered to one of our testing labs, but whoever sent it was too lazy to get it hand delivered and so popped it into special post. This caused such huge consternation in the hospital reception that it took two hours and five security officials to clear it up. I mean, for all we know it could have been a bomb, seeing as there are animal testing labs and we have a lot of animal rights activists screaming for our blood. I do find it unfair, however, that we poor innocent people merely working in the hospital and not with the animal testing, should get punished for something we are not even a part of.
Right, perhaps I am a little off track here since it wasn't a bomb, but it could have been! And where would we all be then, I wonder? Perhaps not safe and sound at home, that's for sure!

Anyways, it was certainly an interesting week last week and this week hasn't started out too badly. I merely got snowed under heaps of paperwork and tomorrow there is the promise of more.

Forget summer...we're into paperwork winter!!

Written in Ireland

2007-05-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

4th May, 2007
Ireland

Rolling, green lawns. Fields of yellow and skies of blue, dotted with clouds of puffy...errr...poofy...that's it, POOFY white clouds - the sky, I mean, not the yellow fields. Or perhaps they are. You know what, perhaps I just need a large padded room and tranquilisers. Erm...on second though, lets forget the tranks. I am scared of needles.

Riiiiiight.....I got seriously off track there for a second. What is really happening is that I am amongst the Irish for the weekend and I am having such a great time that I've gone cracker-angel. In other words, I have gone completely off my rocker; nuts, bonkers, insanely, inanely, hilariously mad! ~chuckle~ As if you couldn't tell that just from reading the first three lines. I wonder at you persevering through this far already!

The reason for this madness has not yet been made apparent but most people here seem to think that this is just the way I normally am. Should I share the truth with them now or later? Now might not be a good time because they could just decide to refuse to feed me and put me in solitary confinement for the rest of the weekend...TRAGEDY!!!

Seriously, though, the weather is absolutely fabulous and I am so far really enjoying myself. We are a group of 18, three little kids included, and we are split up into three bungalows. The single men are all in one bungalow, the single women in another and then two couples with the kids in a third.

xxxxx

On Friday four of us went to a nearby pub and had a pint of beer. It was really lovely and we had a good laugh. I will post as many pictures of my trip as possible on my next post but I am struggling to get them onto the computer at the moment so I can't put them on right now. They will follow hopefully tomorrow or Monday.
On Sunday we went to Tara Hill and explored the ruins there. I took a load of pictures and have some really great ones. Then we went into the little curio shop and I bought a beautiful necklace with a harp on it made from crystal. My one tourist concession :) Before we went to Tara we did go to New Grange which was quite an experience although I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as running around outside on the hills in the driving rain and ice and wind at Tara. I got quite soaked to the skin and it was just the GREATEST! I love being outside in the rain and the fresh air. Its one of the most pleasurable things in life, to be able to breathe in deeply of fresh air and smell the wet soil and grass and see everything glisten like precious jewels when the sun comes out. Truly beautiful!

The Monday we went to a mall and a museum...hang on, I missed out Sunday evening when we went to a local pub and entertained the local Irish pubbers with songs. The one guy in our group plays guitar really well and our tour guide had organised with the bartender that we could have a sing-a-long in the pub so when we got there we first had something to drink and then got on with the entertainment. Before the evening was out we had some drunk Irishmen requesting songs and shouting for us to sing more and they evening joined in some of the time and they cheered us on as well. When we left they begged us to play just one more song but we had a long day coming up and so we needed to get back to the bungalows to get some sleep.

Monday we went to a mall and a museum and I got to see a brass band performing and there was this hilarious guy on a unicycle who got me and another lady in our group to dance and do the swing right outside on the street in front of the band. And then I tried out a few of my funny faces on the drummer in the brass band and he forgot his place and got completely confused. I couldn't help giggling at that but I didn't interrupt the playing again. Right when they played "Singing in the Rain" from the musical, the rain came thundering down and they had time to play one more song before they got blown away by the very hard winds.
It was just great, though, and I really enjoyed it.

That evening we went to a really old gaelic pub and I got a postcard signed by the co-owner and everything. Totally awesome! She begged the guitarist to fetch his guitar and play and she tried her hardest to get me to sing but we didn't rise to the bait. The only time I sing without accompaniment is when I am working or just when I am really happy. I can't do it on demand, though. We did feel really flattered, though, that she had asked us. We did promise to go back there one day and do a performance for her and the regulars. She said we would be welcome anytime :)

And on Tuesday we flew back home. It was a really bumpy ride and our pilot only learned on the flight over the difference between acceleration and braking! It was really scary and I thought for sure we were going to crash. It was the scariest flight of my life!!!

Well now, that is the long and short of my weekend. As I said before, photos shall follow!

I haven't disappeared...

2007-05-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

I am still here, I promise! I have shamelessly neglected my blog these last few days but I have good reason.....I have been in beautiful Ireland :) It was absolutely breathtaking and I enjoyed every minute of it. I shall write about it as soon as I get a chance but right now is not that time. I have food on the stove and a glass of wine which is just asking for attention ~chuckle~

So I shall write and update soon, I promise!

Knock Knock

2007-04-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Who

Who who?

You owl!

Okay, I have obviously been alone in this office too long! All my work colleagues upped and left at 4pm and I am still sitting here waiting to leave. I think that I am going to pack it in now, though, because its only another ten minutes to go and I can't bear this office any longer! I am starting to go psycho...as if you hadn't guessed it by the above :)

Psychiatrics Rule the World

2007-04-27T01:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to let this picture speak the 1000 words which I would normally type up. After all...a picture paints a thousand words....doesn't it? Or does it type a thousand...or is it a hundred....

Out of Hibernation....I think!

2007-04-26T04:03:00.000-07:00

Being a bit scarce in the writing department seems to be something I am becoming scarily good at and I am not sure I like the idea of that much! I will definitely have to change this very bad habit somehow.

Working in a medical school which is linked to a hospital is not quite as bad as I thought it would be. Except for some of the creepy medical students ~chuckle~ And the loooooong and dank and dark and thoroughly depressing corridor which I have to walk down to get to my office.

My work colleagues are really awesome, as is my boss, and I am enjoying myself immensely down here in the psychiatric ward....what? Didn't I mention I worked in the section which used to be the old psychiatric ward? Well, it must have slipped my mind whilst I was walking down the corridor trying to remember that I had to remind myself to write and tell you all that I was still alive and well. Now you know...mission accomplished!

I've also become aquainted with the local dentist and she is really lovely, doesn't hurt me, and actually does a really good job. Not like the excuse for a dentist who was going to do a root canal on a tooth that doesn't even need it! Plus the previous root canal done was a very shabby job and the filling he put in my other tooth was the worst job ever! So I am finally able to actually chew on both sides of my mouth now, but I still have to go back in two weeks time for a final visit (hopefully!) and then all will be good.

I've made friends with the postman over here in the hospital and every day I go in and collect the post for the office. Its loads of fun because the first time I went in there I made him laugh by totally confusing myself and him on which pigeon-hole was actually ours! And ever since then whenever I go in we have a quick chat and a chuckle and then my day is made. Its just awesome!

The porters think I am absolutely off my rocker ever since they caught me talking to my doorstopper. And since then they have been really scarce down this side of the corridor and they steer clear of my office whenever they are down here. ~laughs~ its just so funny that I have to laugh every time I think of it.

The weather has been just perfect ever since I got here and except for two days of rain its been dry and sunny and warm. I noticed this morning that I have an alarming amount of freckles congregating on the bridge of my nose, crowding out all the old freckles and pushing them over the slight bump I have (due to a lamp post that appeared out of nowhere!) and onto my cheeks. The sun cream I have doesn't seem to be doing what it should, instead it is acting as a growth hormone for the freckles. Perhaps I should copy it and patent it and then sell it for people who actaully want freckles!

Its almost time for me to trot off up the depressing corridor and go and drop off some lecture handouts for one of the Professors so I will stop here with this most amusing and entertaining epic monologue (I love using loads of long words) and carry on some other time.

Lets All Go On A Summer Holiday

2007-04-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

I have been itching to get some time to write and now I finally have the chance and its really good to have my fingers flying over the keys again. Writing is something that I have always enjoyed and being able to write about so many things is just so wonderful because it is a way for me to voice all the random thoughts that pop around in my head every day.

These past two weeks or so have absolutely just flown past and I can barely remember what all has happened except that its been a whirlwind of fun and adventure and in between that a few tears and trials and tests but overall its been just absolutely GREAT! Life without the trials and tests wouldn't be much good anyways as then there would be no way to develop character, so I am quite thankful for them. I believe that in the last few weeks since getting here I have grown quite a bit in maturity and have perhaps gained the little bit of wisdom I lost when they pulled my teeth a few years back.

The summer is here and its glaringly obvious. Not only from the wonderfully sunny weather, but from all the very excruciating fashion statements which the people around here are making. Each day I see something new that just gives me absolute indigestion and I wonder how people can wear something like that and actually think they look good enough to be seen in the public! I saw one guy today who badly needed a belt to keep up the three sizes too big denims and who had quills and studs sticking out of his face to such an extent that at first I thought he was clutching a porcupine in his mouth. I nearly caused an accident in aisle nine, amongst all the flour and bread, because I couldn't take my eyes off the outrageously dressed teenager in what looked to be a tutu and boob-tube with mickey mouse shoes and striped knee-highs with pom-poms! Seriously though, I honestly don't know what this world is coming to...unless its a complete stop!

Its been really hot lately and everyone is out in the park as much as possible...in as little as possible. Today the park was crawling with half naked pop idol wannabes, sunbathers scrounging for attention from passersby and squirrels gorging themselves on the fast food throw-aways. It was indeed a sight to behold. I was thinking that going to the beach would be a great idea but if the park looks this bad...what will the beach not look like?

I moseyed around in Kingston today looking for a pair of shoes and a little black cardigan to go with my designer silk dress but after four and a half hours I still hadn't found anything and so I threw in the towel and went home. Then I watched this really hilarious movie called "The Goonies" and totally cracked at the things those kids got up to!

One tv program I have become really fond of since getting here is "Only Fools and Horses". The humor is something else, really it is, and I inevitably laugh through each and every episode. Another movie that I saw that had me in stitches was "The Party" with Peter Sellers. I was laughing so hard I had a sore stomach the next morning because it felt as though I had been to the gym! It has to be the BEST comedy I have ever watched, and what is so funny is the fact that there was really absolutely no point to the whole movie but it was just so funny to watch.

Well, its starting to get dark now and I am getting really tired so I think that I will get a glass of juice and then go to bed. Its been good writing again and I will try to make sure that in future I write more instead of less.
Take care all!!

She went POOF

2007-04-11T03:47:00.000-07:00

Guess what...???

ANGEL WEED IS BAAAAAACK!!!!!! WHOOOOHOOOO!!!!! :o)

Okay, so I have been really quiet for a long time and I do most humbly beg your pardons but I...errr...actually I have just been unaccountably lazy with my writing lately. Have been getting to bed really late and since I have started working I have been getting up really early.

I now work in a medical school and its really interesting. Tell you something else...since starting work here I have fallen down the stairs at home FOUR times!! No jokes, honestly! I've twisted my ankle, smacked my head a coupla times and also managed to hit my arm just below the elbow really hard. This hasn't helped the injury I got just before I left SA by falling on the concrete. So now I have what an ex nurse thinks is a hairline fracture. It hurts rather a lot and because it hurts I keep on smacking it!

I will be registering with a dentist today and the NHS which means that I can get my teeth looked at without paying a fortune and this time perhaps someone will get it right to actually make the pain go away instead of making it worse! I hope....

I have been freckalised since coming here...my nose is covered in freckles as are my arms. Very weird :o)

Oh oh oh...have to be off...got to work before I get fired!

Rain rain...I'm in pain...wanna go stay in Spain...

2007-03-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

Yep, its me again. By now I am sure everyone can see I am totally bored, really lonely and in definite need of company! I don't even mind that the phone isn't ringing much, in fact, I am really glad because the headache that started up this morning has escalated and is now developing into a migraine. The bath and bed idea is sounding better and better by the minute!

One thing I have realised is that I can never ever ever ever ever ever be a business woman and work most of my life in an office. Don't know how other women get it right but I never could. I am just longing for a nice quiet home life, raising the kids, cooking meals and cleaning the house. I thrive in that area, and really wilt in the business world.
Its not that I can't do well here, its just that its not me. I mean, its a little hard to explain but I just can't seem to reconcile myself to the whole corporate world. I'll leave it to all those other women out there. And the men. They can do a much better job than I can.

You do get to meet interesting people, though, I will say that for this place! In fact, in the four days I have worked here I have met so many interesting people and have come to like quite a few of them as well. Almost feels as though I have been here for months!

Just got off the phone with a Frenchman...couldn't understand a word he was saying and he kept calling me Madame. Eish....I'm getting quite homesick for my old job working with the farmers and joking around with them.

Today I have had endless cups of mocha coffee and coffee and espresso and hot chocolate, all in an effort to stay awake and alert, but they haven't helped much. In fact, all they have helped to do is make me have to run down the passage more times than usual :o)

As I am sitting here I keep on getting an urge to sing. I would, if I knew that I wouldn't keep on being interrupted by the phone ringing. And the people who work here aren't used to hearing someone just burst into song in the office. They classify that as really odd and weird. It might ruin my chances of getting a permanent job anyhwhere!

Almost 4pm. That means its just another one hour until I get to go home...HOORAY! I am really looking forward to it. I liked this place quite a bit and it will be weird to not come in again on Monday but I can't make up my mind whether or not I am glad about it or not. I think I might have been able to get really used to it as long as I wasn't stuck on reception all day every day. I rather liked the post room and I wasn't expecting to. I thought it would be boring but it was anything but boring! It was very interesting and I had fun. And the day passed by so quickly! Today has just crawled by but thankfully it is almost over and I can go home soon.

Its getting darker and darker now as the day progresses. Its even been raining most of the day. I don't mind since I have been stuck inside but I did really want to go for a walk during my lunch break and the rain rather spoiled that idea. Murphy's Law, I guess.

And on Monday I have an interview...perhaps two. Should be interesting, might finally get a more steady job that I can get used to and be assured of regular income. Its hard not knowing where or when the next paycheck will come. Really hard!

Remember that tune that school kids used to chant when it rained...
"Rain rain go away, come again another day" ? Well, its been stuck in my head all day now and I can't seem to get rid of it. Funny how a little rhyme or tune gets in your head and you just can't get it off your mind so you keep on humming it. I do that with that silly Spongebob song. I keep on singing out, completely out of the blue, "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?....SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!"
Whacked out, isn't it? I totally amused the people in the post room yesterday because I did it a couple of times sort of without knowing I was doing it.

The other oddity that seems to strike my fancy is walking past people, nudging them in the side and saying "widgy widgy". I mean, where does this come from???? It just amuses me and I don't know why. Truly strange, completely insane and a surefire way of getting myself booked into a house for the mentally unstable.

45 minutes to go.....

.......
......

......
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Time just can't seem to fly today, someone stole his wings...bring 'em back, THIEF!

Stressed? I'm not stressed.....

2007-03-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

"Hello? Hello, who's this? Hello??? HEEEELLLLOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

So, either the stress is getting to me or the people around here need to learn telephone manners...or all the phones in the area are out of order because today I have had so many times when the phone has just been slammed down in my ear and I am really getting annoyed now! Its not funny anymore. I mean, really, my feelings are starting to get hurt now. Its like the people just don't like my voice or something? Why is it when I pick up the phone and say hello blah blah, they just put the phone down on the other side? Am I doing something wrong?
(By the way, I don't say blah blah, I just put that there cos I don't want to publish the company's name...you knew that, didn't you?)

My neck and back are giving me hell and right now the only thing on my mind is a nice hot bath, a glass of whiskey (not a fully one, mind, just a tot), some soft music and my bed! See, you can see I am stressed because that is more than just one thing, its a couple!

I just saw a stress kit on the net whilst I was browsing. Its for putting on a firm surface and then you just bang your head against it. It says to repeat step two until feeling better or until conciousness is lost. Perhaps I should try it. It might take away the pain in my neck and back :o) Then again....it might make it worse.

Receptionist Required

2007-03-30T02:28:00.000-07:00

Today is a change in atmosphere, for sure. Yesterday I started work at 08:00am as the receptionist but got moved to the post room by 09:00am. I worked there in a very relaxed and happy environment until it was time to leave work and it was actually a lovely day, plus the bonus part was that it flew by so quickly!!
This morning I started working as the receptionist and I am still here. I get regular breaks, though, which is nice because the phone is quite busy today. However, its not nearly as bad as it was last week Tuesday when I was feeling rather ill. Today is actually quiet, but it is loooong! Time just doesn't seem to want to move faster than a few ticks a minute and so the day is just crawling by. Thankfully I can amuse myself by recalling funny instances of my time here in London. And believe me, there are MANY!

For instance, the other day I was walking through the park minding my own business when all of a sudden these two high school boys came towards me and the one was pushing the other in a shopping cart. This in itself might not seem all that weird but what struck me was the fact that the paths are not ideal for shopping carts because they are uneven, they are winding and just not suitable for that sort of thing. Also, the wheels on the carts all turn simultaneously. So it was no surprise to me when the cart, with the guy in it, fell over. He must have got pretty hurt, I mean, it was a long sort of fall and it was onto tarmac. I stopped, pulled out my earphones and asked if he was alright. And then they started chaffing and mocking me and I was just astounded. In South Africa the guys weren't quite so blatant about stuff like this and I was quite annoyed. I guess I just wasn't expecting it. Anyways, I laughed them off and put my earphones back in my ears and carried on walking. Amazing how the people differ in different countries. I knew things would be different but some things one just doesn't expect. This was one of them.

I do suppose I will get plenty more opportunities to be shocked, though, so I better get used to it.
One just doesn't expect something like that, though.

It amuses me now, though, so thats okay :)

The weather has changed quite drastically again, as usual. Its permanently dark and cloudy now. Looks like rain but although we are waiting for the rain, it hasn't come. Can't say I'm sorry as I liked the sunshine and warm weather. It helped to get me better and because I am still fighting off the flu which keeps on threatening to come back I really don't want it to rain as that will probably bring the flu out in full force!

I'll be getting another break soon, I think. Good thing too as I need to stretch the legs a bit. Can't wait till lunch time as I'll be taking a walk along the Thames. Its just around the corner from where I am working so that will be a nice getaway. The phone is driving me MAD!

No Departure

2007-03-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Watch the sun set in the Northern skies
It reflects the teardrops in my eyes
You're always there, so strong and true
Just one of the things I love about you.

No matter where I am in the this world
Your smile is still the best sight to behold
I carry your love buried deep in my heart
From your love and respect I cannot depart.

Poem for You

2007-03-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

Whenever I feel sad or blue
My mind reverts to thoughts of you
To times we laughed, or smiled or sighed
And even to the times we cried.

You've brought such blessings to my life
Taken away all my worry and strife
Filled my life with sunshine and bliss
Smoothed away worry with your loving kiss.

Myself Requested

2007-03-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

This is a very strange feeling...sitting here in the post room (feeling like a postman...errr...postwoman) and writing on my blog. This place doesn't let you get onto most sites so I can't check my mail but I can write on my blog. Very strange!

However, the reason I am writing is just to share with you all that I was personally asked for to come back and work at that company that I first got a job for. The one thing I wasn't expecting happened and it made me feel so good, just knowing that the way I worked seemed to make some sort of an impact. I mean, if I didn't do good work then they wouldn't have phoned my recruitment officer and asked for me personally by name. So it most certainly was a good feeling and when the phone call came through yesterday morning I was feeling a little down so it came at just the right time. Definitely a lift for me!

Today, I came in early and worked on the switchboard for about 45 minutes and then I moved into the post room and its been the most amazing experience! I really like working in here, its relaxed and fun and just peaceful although quite rowdy. The people I am working with are just so humorous and I don't think that they know they are funny. I am enjoying myself today, and there is a lot less stress involved and I also don't have to talk all the time, which is rather nice since although my sisters insist I have a big mouth and like to talk a lot, I do sometimes like to not talk....if that makes any sense at all, which I have a feeling it won't really :)

Okay, so I am sitting here and I've been thinking that I might just compile all the entries here in my blog, into a book. Someone gave me the idea and this one author just happened to mention it to me a little while back and so I have been carrying the idea around in my head for a bit and it is starting to sound better and better. Problem is...would anyone want to buy a book entitled "The Life and Times of Angel Weed" ? It does sound rather catching and some of my friends think I can pull it off but I suppose I lack a little self confidence in that area.

More news is that I finally got my internet up and running in my room at home so that I can now chat, check mail, write and work on compiling that book of mine whilst I am at home. This way I don't have to try and find a computer somewhere with internet access and I can do it whenever I want to. This is most definitely more convenient.

Oh oh oh! I have to tell you about the lift ride. Its just a classic!

The other day I had to go to the job centre to get information about getting myself registered and getting an National Insurance Number. So I walk up these really dodgy looking stairs and then into this really filthy building and I see the lift that I need to get into to get to the second floor. I step into it and there are two other people in it already. I push the button for the second floor and this double encased steel enforced door shuts with a thud and the lights go off. Then this deep male voice informs us that we are going up...I totally flipped! I closed my eyes, held onto the railing and chanted "I don't like lifts, I want to go home, I don't like lifts, I want to go home...let me out, let me out, LET ME OUT!" until we got to the second floor. When the lift stopped and I opened my eyes, the other two people were squished up against the side of the lift with eyes round as saucers. I just looked at them and stepped out, breathing a sigh of relief. Then I walked into the job centre and had to stand in a queue for about twenty minutes. Whilst doing this I amused myself by staring at the security guards and making quirky faces. I nearly cracked up laughing at their facial expressions!
After I got the information I wanted, I had to go back down in the lift. I got in and once again there were two people in there with me. I closed my eyes and started muttering and whispering "Lemme out, oh please lemme out!" until we reached the ground floor upon which I darted out the lift and dashed into the safety of the mall. Of course, this is rather relative since I ran into a gentleman who tried to get me to sign up to get my name on an energy and gas bill. I informed him I already had that privelage and then he just rolled right on and started talking to me about this and that and the other. It was just so funny yet so sweet, I couldn't stop him. Shame, I think he just needed to talk to someone. Anyways, after that I decided I really needed a coffee so I stopped at home to get one and then got stuck there and ended up watching a movie.
All in all it was a very interesting day!

The best of it all is that each day has been filled with interesting things! And its bound to get more interesting.

BRING IT ON!

The Fruit Bowl of Life

2007-03-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

I think that life is like a fruit bowl…I mean, there are so many different people in this world and each one is unique in a very similar way. No two apples are the same, yet they are still both apples. Is this making any sense? I guess not too much but it made sense when I was thinking about it. Anyways, I have noticed since being in this very differently strange country that there are a couple of different sorts of people. Especially in the area where I am staying.

Let me list them.

1. The Weird

2. The Dodgy

3. The Strange

4. The Scary

5. The Hilarious

6. The Nice

So, those are the six different sorts of people I have met so far. Or become acquainted with. Its been quite an education for me, I must tell you! Firstly, I never thought to meet quite so many scary people in this place but obviously where I come from there are just less obviously scary people. I was walking down the street the other day and nearly passed out from fear when what I think was a guy walked up to me. He was wearing jeans (or what I suspect were jeans but which might have been the window cleaner’s rags which he had borrowed) with a reddish kind of shirt thingy that was missing half its buttons and then he had on trainers which looked to be a size which could Bigfoot himself! His arms were tattooed with snakes and a dragon tongue or something to that effect could be seen emerging from behind his ear. And that’s not all, there is more. He had studs through his lips, two nose rings, a whole couple of earrings and some sort of bullet effect coming out of his eyebrow. As if this wasn’t scary enough…the most remarkable feature was his hair! It must have been (with no exaggeration) at LEAST a foot and a half high and it was colored bright lime green with pink streaks and it was spiked. I totally nearly passed out, really I did. I choked, gasped, spluttered and pretended to cough but my eyes were as big as saucers and I think he might have noticed something J

That was the scary.

Then there is the Weird. This pretty much covers the population who walk around in big groups laughing at nothing, spitting chewing gum all over the streets and looking like they are glued to their mobiles whilst swaggering around tripping over their jeans because they left their belts behind…or they just don’t possess them. All this in the name of fashion.

The Strange sort of fall into the same category as the weird except that instead of the younger generation it’s the OLDER generation!! Which then also lists them in the Dodgy category. Although with the Dodgy also comes the gang members, the early twenties who hang around smoking weed, swearing like sailors (although not with quite the same effect) and who litter in the park.

And then there is the Hilarious. I think that all of the above fall into this category but there is just one more additive here and that is the group who are pretty much misfits but who aren’t aware of that fact and who keep on trying to copy the style and general appearance of all the other groups thrown together.

Walking through the mall here is like watching a motion picture…and the bonus is that you get to be in it whilst not really being a part of it.

The best of all these groups is definitely the Nice category. These are the people whom I greet whenever I walk through the mall or through the park, those I have met and who do not really classify as being in any of the above groups because their character as well as their general “normal-ness” sets them apart from all the rest.

What amuses me the most, though, is how any one of these groups would classify me?

For instance, I was walking through the mall yesterday and I kept on walking in circles and then would have to turn around and walk back the way I came because I wasn’t going in the direction that I wanted to go in. And then as soon as I would walk into a shop and would come back out I would go in the wrong direction again and would have to turn around and then walk back in the other direction and so it went on and on until I did it for a final time and stopped just there in the middle of the center, stamped my booted foot and muttered “Bugger! I did it again!!! I really must STOP doing this!” The security guard was standing just behind me and I hadn’t seen him but I did hear this muffled chuckle coming from behind me and I swung around still with a fierce frown on my face, which must have scared him because his eyes went huge and round, and the smile was wiped completely off his face. Shame. I felt real bad and so I gave him a completely angelic smile and apologized most profusely for frowning at him and explained that I get lost all the time and it was driving me mad. He smiled again and then pointed me in the right direction. And ever since then I have become a source of amusement for the guards as they always watch me to see how many times I have to spin on my heel and walk in the opposite direction. I am sure they are counting by now!

Either that or they are wondering when would be the right time to call the green van !

All in all its been a pretty educating few weeks. I look forward to the coming few weeks. Especially since I might actually have a full time job soon. I got a call this morning about a job and so I am really excited…well, not really excited. It means I will need to catch a tube and to be perfectly honest, I am quite terrified of them. I have never been on one before but I just don’t like the sound of them, the idea of them or the reality of them.

The other job which is in the pipeline is for a place called Tooting which is really nearby and can be reached by bus. This will make life easier, although I don't know yet how much it pays or what it all entails. I will hear later today whether or not I merit an interview.

Well, I am going to leave it at that for now, time has run out and I still have to put the chicken in the oven to start cooking else I am never going to eat tonight!

Take care, all!!!!

Illness Squared and Quarentined

2007-03-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

This is a very sad state of affairs indeed *sniff* *cough* *sneeze*
It seems that I am still capable of getting sick and its not a nice reminder! I slept through most of today, had to take time off my first job and it wasn't cool at all!!! I got home from work yesterday and I was feeling really awful and weak and so I just fell into bed and slept. When my alarm woke me up this morning I could barely open my eyes, my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool and my body ached all over and I had a fever. I switched off the alarm, set it for 8am and then passed out again. When the alarm went off for the second time I was still so groggy I could barely make the call to work to let them know I wouldn't be coming in. I left a most incoherent message ~chuckle~ and then phoned the recruitment agency to let them know I was sick as well. And then I went back to sleep and didn't wake up till much later. Then I moved myself to a couch as the bed was getting really uncomfortable, and then I slept further, after dosing myself with vitamin C and some other stuff.

I woke up later on and was feeling a bit better but I still have a really sore throat and my chest is just aching like nobody's business. Plus I have a very bad cough which is making everything worse. I should be grateful for small mercies, though, since I am not losing brain fluids through a drippy nose nor do I have ear ache and my migraine is gone now. Thankfully!!

I found out that most of the people at the office are in quarentine today due to the fact that they all have viral infection and flu. I hope I am not going to get that! I think my illness is just due to the fact that I got rather wet yesterday (the weather has turned freezing and we have even had small doses of snow!!!) and then walked into an office where the central heating was on full blast and then I had to go out again and then come back in and so I was constantly going from cold to hot. It is not good.

I got a mail this morning from the recruitment agency girl to let me know that they had to send in a whole bunch of other temps to take over since half the people were sick :o) And then I was told I didn't need to go back in tomorrow which is fine with me since I know that I am going to need at least another day of sleeping mostly before I am completely better and if I were to go back into that environment of illness now I would just get more ill than ever. So I am glad of the respite.

Well, now that I am ill, the weather has decided to warm up a bit. I am most grateful for this as there is nothing worse that ice cold weather when one is sick, especially when all you want to do is be out and about in the sun.

Things are still going well and I am still loving it here. I don't think anything can change my mind there. I just get more and more attached to this place. I even got inspired for some more writing!
I shall add my newest little poems in seperate entries.
For now, this is all the news I have. Sorry for being so quiet lately!!!

Moving...

2007-03-13T01:24:00.000-07:00

It feels like an age since I last wrote and indeed it has been about a week now. I had all these good intentions to write every day but the only problem was that I didn't have regular access to a computer, so I couldn't. Now, however, I do, so I will and I am :o)

The weather has been absolutely beautiful so far and I am really impressed. I was under the impression it was supposed to be cold? And what's with the umbrellas everyone carries around? It hasn't rained or drizzled ONCE since I have been here. I hear its pouring in South Africa. Hahahaha! I am catching a lovely chocolate tan here and already my face and arms have gained a nice tan color. I've been walking around in short sleeves and with no jacket or coat. The people think I am completely mad but there you go, its what happens when you go to a foreign land, isn't it? Personally I think the people here take things a bit to extreme, I mean, its a warm day and almost everyone is walking around with scarves, coats, trenchcoats, gloves and muffs. I don't get it!

The other thing that baffles me is the transport. It took me a whole week to get the hang of the transport here. I got lost three times so badly that I ended up walking for miles and miles and actually walked around the whole of Reading before finally one old dear gentleman stopped me and asked me if I was lost. Bless him! I was lost indeed and close to tears. I couldn't find a bus stop (I'd been walking circles around one for hours) and nor could I find the shops I was looking for. It was quite pathetic, really. I surpassed myself in looking pathetically lost and puppy-dog-eyed. And then when I finally got the bus times right I had to negotiate the trains. This went quite well until I landed at Reading Station and it was pitch dark and I couldn't find a bus to take me home because they had all knocked off for the night. Whilst I was standing there singing softly to myself (I do this when I get really nervous or afraid) a very dodgy Frenchman swaggered up to me and told me that I was beautiful and I looked like I was waiting for someone (not for HIM, that's for sure!!!) and that I looked like someone who knew where she was going (certainly not with HIM!) and I had a marvellous accent and etc. I was by this time blushing furiously and hopping up and down on my toes trying to find a way out of this conversation. And then he staggered off and went into a pub. Half an hour later I was still waiting for my lift and he came stumbling and swaying out of the pub and straight up to me again. I was mortified! Try as I might I couldn't get rid of him and had to bear with his drunken compliments for the next fifteen minutes. Of course, all the people around me thought it was hilarious and they were all watching the show. I was so thankful when my lift finally arrived!

And then there was the memorable time I had to catch a late train back home to Reading and the train was filled to overflowing with rugby enthusiasts! England had won against France and everyone was well warmed up and some were even a little more than just three sheets to the wind. One was completely shot the cat, he passed out across two seats and had to be helped off the train at the end! Oh boy, yes indeed, that was one interesting trip! They started singing and everyone was laughing and I couldn't help but laugh at the off key singing and chanting. It was truly amusing. There was this man who was standing next to me and he was asking everyone around if the train stopped at Virginia Waters. Nobody knew...but I told him it did (by this time I knew the train stops off by heart!) and he asked me if I was sure and I said yes, of course. He said would I bet on it and I said yes I would. So we shook on it and when the next stop was announced and it was Virginia Waters he bowed comically over my hand, kissed it, bowed again, kissed it again, bowed a third time and then bid me a fond (and well overdue!) adieu, and left the train. Great, now all that was left was to get rid of the very non-sober old gentleman who kept trying to sit on my lap!

Right, well, so far that is my adventures for now in a nutshell. I might save the ghostbusters for another time! For now, I have some shopping to go and do!

Viva la England!!!!

Tourist on the Loose!

2007-03-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

I never thought that when I came here I would find the weather so wonderful. Seriously, from the way everyone was talking, I thought it would at least be a little chilly. Well, its not! I have been walking around in sleeveless thin tops and skirts and its just not cold. Slightly fresh, and perhaps at times a little crisp, but not cold. Not by far as cold as it was this past weekend on our farm.
Yet the people here are walking around in thick coats and scarves and tights and the whole works!! What is with that????? Eish man, really, its not cold in this place. I don't know what I am going to do about clothes now, since I mostly have warm clothes, nothing for summery weather.

And today I managed to find a shop and bought an umbrella (or brolly???) which was quite a feat (note the sarcasm) and then it started to drizzle a little and it was so funny to watch everyone diving for cover. And then staring at me whilst I was walking along, singing happily to the tunes on my MP3 player. I could hear the thoughts as if they were saying them out loud : "WHAT A WEIRDO!!! MUST BE A TOURIST!"

Well, people, I have news for you...I am NOT a tourist, merely another South African coming over to work and make a new life.

Of course, finding work and a place to stay which suits me is not easy, although I was prepared for this so it isn't any sort of setback. I have interviews lined up and I will be looking at places tomorrow, if all things go well.

The plane trip over was a nightmare and I spent it laughing and joking and talking nineteen to the dozen with a complete stranger!
It was alright although I was so glad to get off the plane and go walking around in the airport afterwards.

More updates to follow! Stay tuned....

I'm BACK!!!!

2007-02-26T01:00:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, check it out! For one short day I am all alone here in the office and I have all the time to write on my blog, check up on all the entries y'all wrote and just get some me-time in! I am really stoked 'cause I leave in 7 days and I have already cleared out my apartment, moved into a spare room and will be leaving town on Wednesday to go up to the farm for a few days before taking off to England. What a month this has been!!!

All its ups and downs, uncertainties and worries, all the doubts and hopes and dreams. And now it is all happening really soon. I was just remarking last night that the other day I was wishing for January to go by and its now the end of February and my flight date is just around the corner. And then the real adventure starts! And I will be able to prove to everyone that I will make a success of my trip, I WILL do it despite the doubts people have expressed and the negative input I have received. I have also got some really positive input and there are people that really believe in me and I value that, because without it I wouldn't have been able to manage all the stress.

I was going through old photographs the other day and came across one of me and my younger sister. It brought back floods of memories...how we went madly careening down the hill on our skateboards and came back up with skinned and bloodied knees and elbows and big grins, how we spent long summer afternoons climbing huge trees lining our driveway and waiting for my dad to come home from work, how we cycled around the farm like mad caps shrieking with laughter at silly jokes and witticisms, how we spent almost all our time together having fun. I think back on those times and I miss them, almost wish I could turn back the clock and have those times all over again.

Then I look at my suitcase, filled with things to take with me to England, and I feel thrilled to have this opportunity to make something of my life, do something exciting and challenging. Show people that I can make this work, that I will make it work. I love challenges, they help me to grow stronger and develop character. One day I hope to look back on this day with a smile and remember how I felt and what I thought.

Memory lane is a wonderful place to wander down...takes me back to not only happy times but the sad times as well. The times when I learned life lessons, the times when people walked in and out of my life. During these wanderings I often stop to think about what other people must think of me...how they remember me? Do they remember me?
Sobering thought....what sort of an impact have I made on the people around me? What sort of an example have I been?

Its raining now and I am becoming nostalgic so before I sprout too many secrets I am off!
Take care everyone!!!

New Feeling!

2007-02-20T04:55:00.000-08:00

I just got my hair cut this afternoon during lunch time and its amazing what just a simple haircut can do to your lagging spirits! I feel all light and flirty and happy and just awesome!!!
My hair is now fluttering around my face, tickling my nose and brushing around my ears whilst blowing wildly in the breeze. Its just totally cool. I haven't had my hair cut for months and months and it just feels great to have my hair feeling so healthy again. Plus it smells amazing ~chuckle~

Oh well, I just thought I'd write it up since its such a treat for me to get my hair cut in a salon. Pardon me for boring you all but I get these little moments.

Shiny Happy People

2007-02-19T02:14:00.000-08:00

I made a mistake...I blinked! Now I am staring at the calender and noticing that in two short weeks I leave all that I am used to and head into strange territory. BRING IT ON!!!

I have so little time on the computer nowadays and its sure showing on my blog, isn't it? I miss my writing but hey, soon I will be settled in again and then I will make sure to write a lot! In fact, you won't even notice I'm in a different country...well, perhaps you will since I will be writing mostly about my experiences there :o) However, I will be writing regularly again which will be fun.

And as a going away gift, the newspaper printed yet another one of my poems. On valentines day!! That was pretty awesome and I am glad to see that people are still reading my work and enjoying it.

I was asked if I ever write the poems for someone, since I write mostly love poems, but I don't. I suppose its just my romantic nature coming out, my ideas of what it would be like to be loved, or how I feel about love. Sometimes I write ridiculous poems, sometimes Afrikaans ones, sometimes silly ones. Its all about what is going on in my mind and heart at the time when I write. I might dedicate my poems to people sometimes, but I never write them whilst keeping someone in mind. I can't concentrate that way.

Writing my stories is a completely different matter, though :o)

I haven't even had any time to read all the blogs which I frequent and I am missing that relaxed time so much! I had to hand over my keys to Blondie on Friday and now I feel like I am on holiday because I arrive at work so late in the mornings compared to the time I used to get here. Its all so weird and new for me. But change is good, or so I keep reminding myself. Sometimes it takes a lot of reminding.

Especially when I have to look into the sad eyes of my parents. Knowing that I am going away and wondering who on earth will make them laugh, tell them silly jokes or say ridiculous things when I am gone? I want to hide my excitement because I know they are sad and I don't want to seem glad to go in case they think I just want to get away from them, which isn't the case at all. This is just something that I really have to do. That's all. I will miss them but words cannot express this adequately.

Other than the excitement and slight sadness and in between packing and dealing with my landlady, I am trying to find time to stop and smell the roses and allow the shiny happy person inside me to bubble out and amuse others.

The weather is helping, its sunny and hot and lovely!!! And I have a lot of time now to sit outside since I am not in charge anymore. I don't even have to go out when a client comes if I don't want to but since I just adore most of my clients I always go out for a quick chat :o)

Blondie will be back in a few minutes so I better get a move on here.
Have a great day, everyone and never forget how to be shiny, happy people!!

Catch the Clock!

2007-02-12T23:35:00.000-08:00

Hi there Everyone!

Its been a while since I wrote and so I am just letting you know that I miss my daily blogging so much I decided to make time today to write a quick update on what all has been happening in my life since my last post. It won't be long, though :o)

Okay, firstly, I am now working with a girl called Blondie (not her real name!) and I am having to teach her all about the work. She is managing very well and I will be able to leave here without stressing, which is a good thing, especially since I had been worrying about it quite a lot recently. Its rather fun being able to watch someone learning how to do things. I won't say that I am always as patient as I should be as there are times I do get a little impatient but for the most part everything is running very smoothly. I am very proud of how quickly she is learning and I will not have any qualms about leaving now. Although its going to be real hard as I will miss everyone so much!

Just about my whole apartment has been cleaned out now. Just a few groceries left in the cupboard and then one or two little appliances and my clothes and bed. The rest of my stuff is being taken up to the farm in the next lift. So then everything really will be packed up. I move down into the spare room downstairs by my landlady the end of this week. And then just two more weeks and I am leaving on a plane.

Time has flown by so quickly I can hardly believe it...in fact, I don't think I have quite come to grips with the fact that I have everything I need and now I just need to fly...its so weird! My mind and body are still catching up to the idea :o)

Other than that...on to the weather! Its been raining for four days now but the sun is finally coming out and shining again. I am glad as it was quite cold although I like cold weather, its just that all my warm things are packed!

I went shopping with my mom and younger sister and got a few things for the trip and now I am almost completely ready to go. Just need to go and buy travel insurance (???). And I need an international driving license as well. Although it isn't necessary as I can apparently drive with my south african license for two years anyways in England. So its no rush.

Right...well that is all the news for now. I shall try my best to update my blog again soon and not keep you all in suspense!

But for now....

BUENOS NOCHES!

In The Company Of....

2007-02-07T02:29:00.000-08:00

I never imagined how nice it would be to have someone to work with and how it would just make the day fly by! Its already 1pm and I haven't even noticed yet how the day has gone by. The whole morning has been taken up with teaching the new girl (from now on referred to as Blondie) how to do the invoicing, how to give a client credit if he has been invoiced for too much and making up a new telephone list. We've been organizing things and sorting and then we sat down with sandwiches and coffee and just had a nice long chat. It is so relaxing, so wonderful and I am enjoying every minute of it!
How could I ever have been nervous of teaching someone something? Its fun and I enjoy it. I guess I forgot how much fun it could be.

I used to be a kindergarten teacher for 18 months and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And although I was teaching little kids and now I am teaching a girl two years older than me, its still pretty much the same principle : be patient and let them learn by doing things themselves, just be there for help and advice.

Amazing how similar it is. And I was afraid that Blondie wouldn't like me but we clicked (strange word to use but the only one I could think of right now) right from the start and we get along just fine (like pulverized pepper). Each new day is now a wonderful chance to get to know her better and to teach her something new in this line of work. Blondie has never had a full time job before and so this is all very new to her. I am glad that I am able to show her the ropes and that I have learned enough in the past eight months to be able to show her all the things that the lady who taught me didn't show me!

Its cooking hot today and I am glad that I can get a lift home as I would be a walking shower if I had to walk home in this weather. It was nice and cool this morning for which I am grateful as I needed to the cool air to wake me up after a hard night's sleep. I didn't want to get up this morning as I was just so tired and I have no idea why. My throat has also been giving me problems and I have a permanent pain on the right side as though I had swallowed a needle or something sharp which keeps jabbing into the side of my throat. Wish it would go away but it seems to be getting worse. Very strange. Perhaps I should try sucking throat thingys or something like that. Something to ease the pain. Even swallowing liquid hurts these days, as well as talking. Not that it stops me from talking though :o) Don't think anything could ever stop me from talking!

Oh well, I am back off to finish the schooling now, will write again as soon as I get the chance. I've also been trying to work on a new song but the right words elude me.

Soothing Remedy

2007-02-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my nerves were in shreds! I would jump at the slightest sound, get a fright for absolutely nothing and I nearly jumped right out of my skin when the phone rang! I don't know why although I suspect it was because I was so nervous about the new girl coming and then when she didn't come it was like an anti-climax. I found the picture of this little baby on a site whilst browsing and just looking at the face of this beautiful child soothed my shattered nerves and made me smile. Its amazing how children seem to have that effect on me. I was thinking back to my au pairing days and how I really miss being around those children. To me they're all like a gift. Each child is so different and what is inside him/her is unique. It made my job really fun, learning all about each child.

So, the new girl arrives today, supposedly. We'll see if she turns up. Its early yet so she will only be here in about half an hour or so. I always get here early to write mails and so on. I will miss these early mornings. Especially once I hand over the keys to her. Although by then I will be pretty close to leaving so there will be enough for me to do at home.

I spent the evening packing and sorting and my apartment looks as though a bombing squad went through there! I want to tidy up this afternoon after work and see what I can do about all the clothes I won't be needing anymore. I have boxes everywhere with labels on them to say what they contain and then I have cases with jackets and clothes and shoes and kitchen ware. Its going to take at least four trips by car to get everything up to the farm although I think my dad will just come down one day with the trailer and get it all in one go. Would save the extra driving.

Well...its almost time to greet the boss and the new girl. I'll spend the next five minutes staring at the baby picture to soothe my nerves which have become decidedly on edge as the minutes tick on. This is all VERY new to me, I've always been the one being trained...have never had to train anyone before.

Watch this space for more :o)

New Employee

2007-02-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

Brace yourselves everyone...we finally have got someone to work in my place!!! I am so nervous today because I don't really know what to expect and I am not sure if I will even like working with the new girl. Its weird that I am so nervous as I am not normally like this. Its just that with girls I am a bit out of my league, I guess. Most of them usually want to scratch my eyes out or something because of my personality (which they inevitably don't like) or something like that. So having to work with another girl is going to be hard...I'm hoping she's really cool and that we'll get along fine. Hold thumbs!

I don't even know when I will get chance to update my blog again this week but I will try to come in earlier in the mornings so that I can write at least a little something before I have to start work. Its just for this one week and then after that its one week off and then from the 19th until when I leave she will be full time. Its going to be a very busy week...there is so much to teach her! What if she doesn't show up? My boss will just die, I know he will! He's so tired of doing interviews and I don't think I could handle phoning for anymore interviews or getting anymore references. Its bad enough having to sit through the interviews without any hope of a suitable person. I am really hoping this girl turns out to be the right one.

Last night I had two long heart to heart talks and it helped to clear my head and get everything into perspective for me again. I have made a pact with my landlady...this coming month I am going to come home straight after work and we're going to spend some quality time together and I will be able to get my apartment all packed up and ready for the new girl who is going to be moving in the last week this month. Also, I am going to not go out at all this month. I have been feeling progressively worse throughout the last three weeks and have just about stopped eating and sleeping altogether. I am now losing weight like its not funny and have quite a few people telling me I am becoming anorexic (which I am not!!) and that I need to take care of myself. So Mrs. B and I are going to work at getting my diet right again and I am going to make sure I get enough exercise and sleep. And food. I must admit that I have been eating less than half of what I normally eat and am in a permanent state of hunger. Its just that I can't seem to keep the food inside and so I don't want to eat. Just the smell of food is enough for me but I have decided to pull myself together and get my health back on track. I am going to try not to be so excited about the trip because its not helping the eating thing either :o) I am too excited to eat or sleep, my mind is so active I lie awake most nights with eyes wide open planning things. Last week nearly killed me, I was so tired I couldn't see or think straight and made a lot of mistakes. This week is going to be better!

One good thing is that I have someone to work with (oh PLEASE let her be very nice, please please please!!!) and this means a bit of company here at work. It gets very lonely sometimes which is normally the only reason I go out, because I need some company.

Yep...things are just going to get better from here.
What a wonderful day!!!!

Poetry and Passion

2007-02-02T04:10:00.000-08:00

POETRY
Yesterday afternoon something wonderful happened! I got a call from my mother and she said that she had something I would definately want to see. I was standing in the middle of my apartment at the time with just a towel wrapped around me, on my way to shower and get ready for a party. I hurriedly grabbed my bathrobe and pulled it on and then rushed outside to see what it was that was so important. It was a letter. More specifically...a letter from a Christian Poetry group to inform me that my poem had made it through to the finals and that I needed to sign a release form so that they could publish it if I won. When I first glanced over the first page of the letter I thought that I had already won but after more careful scrutiny this morning I found that I hadn't won yet. Of course, there's still hope :o) And I am indeed hoping!
The prize is quite a sizable sum of money and the winner's poem getting published in a book of poetry. I signed the release forms giving them permission to publish my poem should I win and it will get posted this afternoon. I am very excited about it. I never dreamed my writing would ever get anywhere, they were always doodles on pieces of paper and so on. Nobody took my writing seriously...sometimes not even me! And now see where it has gotten me!

PASSION
In the last couple of months I have discovered a very deep passion for life within me. A joy and happiness in the living that I never had before. Perhaps it was that I got given a second chance at life or perhaps it is just that I finally realise how precious each breath I take is. I think, though, it has something to do with the influence of someone special in my life, someone so much better than me. Someone who makes me want to excel at all I do, to always be better. My appreciation of every day is just so much more pronounced than it ever was before. The passion that lay dormant for so long within me has finally awoken and is now a bubbling, boiling spring of energy that needs to be let out. And I will let it out...when the time is right.

To everything there is a time and a season...

Daydreaming Love

2007-01-31T02:45:00.000-08:00

The sun sinks lower, lower in the sky
Carrying with it dreams of you and I
Leaving behind precious memories
Daydreams of a walk beneath the trees

I see your face reflected in the sea
I see your smile and deep brown eyes
I hear your voice calling out to me
Hear your laughter ringing in my head

At night I dream of your loving arms
Wrapped around me, holding me tight
Soft, whispered words rocking me to sleep
Your love fills my life, always mine to keep

As the sun sinks below the horizon
I think of you and smile to myself
One day soon we'll be re-united
Forever to share this daydreaming love

Interview Blues

2007-01-30T02:12:00.000-08:00

Its not going well at all with the interviewing! We were going to appoint candidate number (was it 5 or 6??) 6, I think. Anyways, she's the one I thought wouldn't stay at all and yet she turned out to be the most promising after the next bout of interviews. And so we were going to appoint her only she then decided to go for this other job but she will let us know for sure on Thursday. So today we are going to be busy with interviews again and tomorrow too. I can't bear this anymore and I really hope we find someone suitable soon!!!!!

All Creatures Great and Small....and Hairy and Wriggly

2007-01-29T02:13:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, a couple of years after Goosey Gander, my sister (younger) and I found a new hobby. A very interesting sort of hobby, really. One which kept us busy for hours every day.

Have you ever watched those little hairy worms in your back garden and wonder where they're going, what they're doing? Well, my sister and I did. We spent hours observing them, collecting them and feeding them on leaves and little flower petals. Now, my older sister is not at all fond of creepy crawlies and our little "hobby" totally did not appeal to her. She isn't so bad now, I must say, but then was quite a different story.

My younger sister and I used to have our little "meetings" on top of the courtyard wall. We'd bring our collections of worms, old and small alike, and then feed them and watch them roaming around. We'd watch them go into cocoons and then emerge a few days later as orange butterflies. The only problem with these worms was that they were rather smelly. Other than that we thought they were great!

One day we happened to discover something which led to some very profound thinking and scheming on our part. We found out quite per accident that if we sat up on the walls underneath the thick parts of the tree, we could throw some of our little comrades down upon unsuspecting older sisters. It was a few days before we were actually caught red handed. And then we were really in for it! We got such a talking to for being so insensitive and so on, which we really deserved, but it was just so funny to watch our older sister squeal and wriggle and perform the most entertaining moves whilst trying to get the worms out without squishing them. We nearly fell off the wall we were giggling so much!!

After the talking to we were warned not to throw worms at her again or else we'd get a thrashing. This was enough to make us stop...or so you'd think! Well, it didn't. My younger sister and I had the best intentions, really we did, but there came a day when the older sister just really made us very angry and then we forgot all good intentions and flung our little hairy buddies at her in a rage.

The ensueing chaos and screaming brought my mother out to see what all the raucous was about and after she had calmed the older sister down enough to quiet the screams and threats being hurled our way, Mother turned her glare on us. We knew we were going to get it now! And we sure did...when my dad came home we got the promised thrashing and never again did we throw worms at the older sister.
I won't say that I never wanted to again but I didn't. One thrashing was enough for me.

The funny thing is, though, that now I wouldn't dream of even picking up those worms...they kind of gross me out :o) Who would ever have thought?

Well, time to hop it, I have another interview session coming up just now and my boss is here as well. So I better got before I get caught blogging instead of working :o)

The Day After the Night Before

2007-01-29T00:35:00.000-08:00

Let's see...I don't think this picture needs explaining, do you? ~chuckle~ Yes, I had a wonderful evening and the coolest part is that I am able to remember every little moment!! I played the most horrendous pool ever but it was fun and we all had a good laugh at my poor attempts to actually shoot a ball into the pockets. I did manage one or two but no more than that. Later I opted to watch instead of trying to play, and that was just as entertaining :o)

I even had a slice of chocolate cake...and it was the WORST cake I have ever eaten! Somehow the people managed to get it really badly burnt and it must have contained about triple the amount of baking powder it should have because I could taste it. Blech! It was the worst cake I have ever eaten. But it was washed down with a good cider so it was alright. And after that we moved on to a very nice restaurant and there we had some fun joking with the barmen. And from there we moved on another place where we could play pool, and then after that we all went home. In fact, we got home just before 10pm which is quite early but it was just right because we were all ready for bed.

It was a great evening, though. My day was a bit of a washout because I wanted to go shopping but I couldn't find anything that I really liked at all. I was feeling quite down in the dumps until my friends decided to take a hand and organise a group to go out with. Then it became better :o)

And then this morning I still had to sit in on an interview. It was rather interesting...NOT! Seriously, we have only two options now and so we are going to organise that they both come in for a second interview and then we will make a final decision. And then I start the training. Oh boy, its going to be a really interesting month this next month. And a busy one!

Half my apartment has already been packed up. I just have a few more things to pack and then I just need to pack my clothes in a case and I am outta there.

Time is starting to fly a bit faster than I bargained.

I have a few more little funny stories to write about but they will have to wait for another time.

A Wonder and A Beauty!

2007-01-27T09:31:00.000-08:00

This is a photo I took of the sunset on our farm a few weeks ago. I lost the photo and managed to find it again today whilst going through some old files.

They say a picture paints a thousand words...what sort of words could one possibly use to describe the breathtaking beauty of such a sunset? I wanted to try but I just couldn't find the words so I posted the picture up here on my site to speak for itself. It truly is a wonder and a beauty!

Singing in the Rain

2007-01-26T04:49:00.000-08:00

After a whole week of really hot weather we are finally get a slightly cool breeze and what looks to be some promising rain clouds. I thought it would rain yesterday afternoon but a strong berg wind blew in from the mountains and blew all the thunder clouds away, much to my dismay! It has been so hot lately, seriously scorching weather!! I have a fan running permanently in my little office and when I walk into my office in the mornings I can barely breathe its so stuffy and hot.
*looks out the window* HAH! As I speak....er....type, the dark clouds are pulling in and this time it looks like they'll be staying a while. The air has chilled quite a bit too....oh *blush* its the fan under my desk blowing cold air onto me. hahahaha...forgive me but my brain's suffering from being in over-drive all morning.

The boss and I did interviews this morning and boy oh boy was it interesting! We probably received about 25 or 30 CV's and then I had the very "pleasant" job of sifting through them and deciding which ones were to come in for an interview. I finally found five who merited an interview and I got them to come in.
I've never met a more mottled crew...or a more unsuitable one!

Candidate one was very nice, had a lovely personality and a pretty smile but her family had immigrated to another country and we think she will join them before long sooooo...

Candidate two was the best of the lot! She was pretty, had a wonderful sense of humor, didn't hum and haw during questioning and wasn't bossy or over-confident. She was, in a word, perfect.

Candidate three nearly gave me heart failure. She was bossy, pushy and was just rather off-putting. I took an instant dislike to her as did my boss. So she was immediately crossed off the list of "2nd interviewees".

Candidate four...the less said the better. It took almost an hour to get the smell of her perfume out the office and whilst she was there we could barely breathe!

Candidate five was...in a word...striking. She was blonde, beautiful and wanting far more for a salary than this sort of job would ever pay. So we don't have very high hopes for her.

So far its up to candidate number two. I am really putting all my money on her, she's not only the best candidate so far for the job, I took rather a big liking to her and would love to work with her and train her. She's a quick learner, pleasant conversationalist and has good character.

We'll see what Monday's interviews bring in but I think I have already decided.

Thursday Thirteen

2007-01-25T06:24:00.000-08:00

I've noticed an alarming amount of bloggers doing the "Thursday Thirteen" whatever-you-call-it and so I decided to put in a post today, it being Thursday, of the thirteen things which amuse me. No small feat, I assure you, since I am amused by far more than should be allowed!

Here goes:

1. The new fashion trends (short mini skirts, stripey multi-colored knee socks and flip-flops/thongs to name a few)

2. Grinning like a maniac at people driving past me (nearly caused an accident once cos the guy was so busy trying to figure out why the heck I was grinning at him that he wasn't watching where he was going, skipped a red light and narrowly missed hitting an oncoming car!)

3. Singing Spongebob Squarepants and getting everyone humming and then they're hopping mad cos they can't get the tune out of their heads and they don't even like ol' Spongey!

4. Dancing in the rain on the way home from work.

5. Making up funny one-liners to shock my family and then cause them to collapse into giggles and guffaws.

6. Telling blonde jokes...which I make up based on things that I've done. Amazing how I get away with it!!!

7. Telling people my mother puts weed in her salads *giggle* this one gets me each time! For my definition of weed...read my earlier posts. I can't remember which one it was exactly but its in there somewhere.

8. Teasing my older sister about her age. She's convinced she's "on the shelf" (need I say more??? this term comes out of the early 1800's!!!)

9. Writing on my blog, this is definitely amusing for me as I remember all the funny things that happened to me years ago.

10. Watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. If you haven't seen it, watch it! My dad got us to watch it years ago and I've been hooked on those cow-punching macho brothers ever since.

11. Observing people whilst drinking coffee in a coffee shop. You learn a lot about people just by watching them!

12. Spending an all night movie night with my younger sister. She's a total laugh!

13. Contemplating where I came from and where I am going! (what a mystery!)

Where Did I Come From?

2007-01-25T05:46:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered where you came from? Where you're going?

Check this out...Calvin sure has answers to his questions!!

I know where I came from...had something to do with garlic pizza and red wine, if I remember correctly....or was it the test tube? Ah yes, it was the test tube, that's why there's just one of me, you know. I know where I'm going as well....I'm going to ENGLAND!!!!! YAY!

Mort...My Mascot

2007-01-25T02:50:00.000-08:00

See this little fella? Well, I've decided he's going to be my little mascot for my blog. I wanted to have little Timmy (my adopted pet) but until I get the silly code put in on my blog, I can't so I thought I would have little Mort here. He's cute, small, and just I-could-eat-him-up adorable :)

Seriously, though, he's my favourite character from Madagascar, the movie, and I watched the movie three times just to see him make those big eyes and the wobbly lip and start bawling when Alex spoke to him. He made me think of a little kid I used to look after. He was a little brat but just the most adorable kid ever and I miss him like crazy!

This is a really random posting because my brain is jumping around like a monkey on a trampoline who got high on E (the monkey, not the trampoline). No idea wants to stay formed, no thought wants to be properly expressed. Instead of sense, out comes just about a bit of everything that might be ridiculous and out of the ordinary. My boss is at his wit's end as to what to do with me...he's decided to just laugh and tell me I need to make an apointment with a shrink ~chuckle~ How people do understand me :)

Today there has been a veritable stream of incoming CV's. I get all emotional and teary eyed whenever I allow myself to think that I will soon have to hand over the reigns to someone else. Its going to be hard, real hard! My boss asked me to sit in on the interviews and help him decide because a woman has hidden intuition and can often tell another woman's character from the way she speaks, the things she says and the way she walks. So, now I have to sift through all the applications and put all the suitable ones on a pile (which is already quite a pile!!) and then next week my boss and I will go through them and make arrangements for interviews. And then we'll see if there are any good candidates. I already like the look of this one CV and am going to make sure he looks at that one first. Somehow I just get the feeling its the right choice but we'll see when it comes to the interview. Sometimes the intuition thing ditches me when its most important!

Hold thumbs everyone...hopefully we'll get the right person this time!

Goosey Gander

2007-01-24T22:45:00.000-08:00

Goosey goosey gander
Where shall I wander
Upstairs or downstairs
Or in my lady's chamber
There I met an old man
Who would not say his prayers
So I took him by his left leg
And threw him down the stairs

There's a reason it was the left leg and not the right one? I always wandered about that when my mom told me this rhyme.

Anyways, I digress...

Waaaaaay back in the 80's when I was still a little kid, we were staying on a small holding in a farm community. We loved it and had a lot of friends and between us we would visit and be visited all the time. We'd tell my mom we were popping over to see so-and-so and then dash off laughing and picking blackberries along the way. The dirtier we got the better...in fact, by the time we'd get to our destination we were filthy and we would then compare dirt smudges with our buddies. It was the greatest time and I'll never forget playing hide and seek in amongst the bramble bushes...snacking on brambles and getting red juice stains on my clothes, all over my face and on my hands and legs and arms. It was life at its best!
(bear with me, I do have a point, your honour)
On our little farm, as we called it, we had two geese. Their names, were Biddy and Buddy (I'll leave you to decide which was which though it shouldn't be too hard....cos I'm going to tell you now anyways). Biddy used to lay these huge eggs and my dad told my sister and I that we were in charge of collecting them. What fun! At least, we thought it was fun until our first expedition.

My younger sister and I gathered at the bottom of the garden to plan a strategy of how to get the eggs. We decided to go for the subtle approach. We nonchalently per-accidently walked past the nest a couple of times and counted how many eggs there were. There were two. Great!! One each. We walked past the nest a third time and then made a grab for an egg each and then it was full steam ahead. We ran hell-for-leather up to the house, but we weren't fast enough! Halfway up the hill, Biddy caught up to us, with Buddy in tow, and boy did we get a pecking for stealing her eggs!!! She was so upset that we had the audacity to even think about taking her eggs that she added a screeching squawk to the pecking and I think that frightened us more than the pecking did *giggle*

The next day we got to show our friends our magnificently blue and purple bruises (don't EVER let me hear you say that it couldn't possibly have caused a bruise...you don't know our animals, they're sadists and delight in the impossible!) and brag about how we got them. Of course, come that afternoon we weren't bragging anymore...we were almost begging my mom not to make us go back out there and do it again. However, my dad had given us a job to do so we had to do it. Surely we could think of something to distract the geese? That was it! Yours truly got the job of distracting the irate Biddy and Buddy and my sister said she would grab the eggs and flee. So, that's what we did. I irritated the geese until they were ready to peck my eyes out and whilst I was so doing, my sister grabbed the eggs and sprinted as fast as her short little stubby legs could go up the hill. It wasn't fast enough though. Biddy gave an outraged shriek and off she shot like a bolt of lightning after my very unfortunate sister.

The next day, as I was gloating over the fact that I didn't have any bruises at all this time and that my old bruises were finally turning to a faded yellowish green color, my mother came in and said that today I would have to get the eggs on my own because she had to take my sister to the dentist.
Hoooooooboy....did I only regret the gloating!! That evening I showed my sister the three spectacularly purple/black bruises forming on my arm and leg. She gave a delighted chortle and after that I was forgiven for being so nasty the previous day.

The next day, however, it was back to teamwork, but that evening my sister was even more bruised and pecked than any previous time. She went crying to my dad and he then gave her this very wise advice.
Sweetheart, when Biddy comes up to bite you, you must turn around, grab her by the neck, give her a good shaking and tell her not to chase you. She won't chase you or peck you again. Try it!

Well, the next day was no different to the other previous days. My sister and I went through our strategy, changed a few things and then made a dash for the nest. Biddy took off after my sister the moment she got her hands on the eggs but this time she was in for a surprise.
My sister heard Biddy gaining on her and all of a sudden she stopped short, turned around and grabbed the very surprised Biddy by her neck, shook her till her beak started making snapping noises, and yelled "Don't you bite me!!! Don't you bite me!!!" Buddy was so surprised to see his lady being shaken about like that, he couldn't manage more than an open-beaked stare. I was quite surprised myself but I didn't say a word, just watched.
My sister gave Biddy one more fierce shaking and then let her go. Biddy looked up, blinked, turned around and walked sedately away! Buddy stared for a moment and then walked after her.

My sister looked at their retreating backs, chortled delightfully and ran home to tell my dad that his advice had worked. My dad was caught quite off guard because he hadn't meant that she should really actually do it! Hahahaha...we had a good laugh about it and even now we still tell this story to people around a braai fire or family gathering.

No Time....

2007-01-24T06:11:00.000-08:00

Hahahaha.....was I complaining just the other day that there was nothing to do here?!! Can't believe it, but there you go, people are just never satisfied, are they?

I got to work an hour early, which is later for me than usual, and with the walk-in I was bombarded with work and I didn't get chance to breathe or even look at the clock until almost 1pm! This is a first for the past two months so it was a welcome change. I worked so hard this morning that it was only when my boss finally left that I glanced at the clock and saw it was after lunch time and then with that realisation came a huge *GROWL* from my stomach to let me know that it hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. So I warmed up my lunch which was my dinner and sat eating it whilst printing out stock movement reports and checking through all my stock. Mostly it balances now although there are some few discrepancies which need to be sorted out but those won't take too long to find, hopefully.

I wanted to write a nice long entry and tell you the latest story but I shall have to keep it for next time as there isn't time now. In case I forget...the story is about my younger sister and the geese!! This is to remind me so that when I next come on to blog I shall see this post and remember what I was going to write about :o)
I also need to tell you about Bruno and Lotty...yeah, you guys will just love that story :o)

Cheers for now, and thanks Sarge and Ian and Bungz for the tips...I couldn't get it to work, though. Don't you guys just wanna come over and help me?

40 days and counting till lift off!!!!!!!

URL nightmare!

2007-01-23T06:15:00.000-08:00

This is a plea to anyone out there who can help me add a URL link to my blog. I created a little pet and want to add him to my side bar on my blog with all my other pictures but I don't know how to. I have the whole code and everything but just don't know how to add it.

Please help???

I Beg To Differ

2007-01-23T00:39:00.000-08:00

I was sitting at a bar last night waiting for my sisters and a friend and I started thinking...

I wonder if England will be so much more different than South Africa? I mean it's just another country and another culture, but its not that different. There's a different currency and yet that doesn't change the people.

When I was there a while ago for a visit, I thought it was quite a lot like here, except that more people travel by train or bus and you also don't travel very far to get from one town to the next.

As for the people, well, in most cases they're the same as here, really. Except for the accent and I noticed that the people in the smaller towns like Daventry etc. tended to be more friendly than the people here. And yet they could perhaps be compared to our farm communities. I know lots of very friendly farmers and even townspeople. Its all very relative, really.

So far I'd say that it wouldn't be too much of a shock going over there and settling in. I'll be well and truly independant then, and will have to make the most and best of everything that comes my way, but in these last few months I have learnt how to do that and how to be happy and contented with the simple things in life.

One definate difference, though, is the food. When I was there last time it was hard to get fresh fruit and vegetables at a good price (this meaning not paying an arm or a leg or a couple of inches!). I'm realy crazy about freshly steamed vegetables and also fresh fruit shakes so its going to be really hard for me to adjust to the change in diet, unless things have changed a lot since I was last there. And I have been assured that quite a bit has changed so perhaps it won't be hard to adjust at all :o)
However, no matter what happens, I am sure I will manage to survive!

Guess its just hard to imagine that I'll be leaving in just under 5 weeks!! Hoepfully I'll be able to get some sleep before I leave as I haven't been sleeping well at all lately.
My mind just can't shut down at night and so I lie awake making lists and dreaming about what it will be like, wondering what sort of work I'll end up doing and so on. And then during the day I have to work so then my mind must stay active. Its exhausting!!
My clients have started commenting on the fact that I'm beginning to look like hell on feet...very flattering, I'm sure! The moisterizer and night cream don't seem to be helping either...I'm doomed to look old and haggard before my time ~chuckle~ BRING IT ON!
Simple solution would be to find something that makes my brain shut down. Preferably something that doesn't include strong alcohol or any sort of drug substance ~chuckle~

I got a couple of hours of sleep in last night so hopefully they will tide me through until the weekend when I will be able to get some proper sleep...hopefully!

Ode to Taylor

2007-01-22T03:36:00.000-08:00

A little angel smiles
Embracing all with love
Her laughter reaches out
Touching everyone with joy

The sun shines upon her
Sunlight twinkles in her eyes
She makes the most of every day
And fills our lives with happiness

Her life just is not easy
Never does she complain
Makes the best of everything
Its always shine instead of rain

A little girl so special
So loved and so adored
An angel to be cherished
Remembered evermore

Applications Submitted

2007-01-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

I am completely speechless...we've received a whole bunch of resumés since posting the ad in the paper about the job opening. Mostly men have applied but amongst them there were one or two women. Here is the funny and mind-boggling thing, though : Most of the resumés are more than four or five pages long, and the amount of personal details in them is just amazing!

One woman's CV contained a list of places she had worked previously and at first I thought she hadn't even added personal information because I couldn't find it between the eight or nine pages of places where she has worked. I found it eventually, tucked away and nestled in between job #8 and job #9. Under her personal information she had put her height (???) and...wait for it...HER WEIGHT!!! I mean, come on, seriously...who on earth puts their weight on a CV? You could've knocked me over with a feather when I read that, it was just unbelievable. Even more unbelievable was how much she weighed, which I shan't mention here. Honestly, though, how many of you would even think of putting your weight down on a CV for a job you might not even get? Why weight, of all things??? If I am not mistaken we even got a description of her hair color and eye color. Weird!!

Then there are the men. I am not really even going to touch on this one because I have just watched disbelievingly how one man sent in a ten page CV with lists and lists of the places he has worked since high school! Come on, I thought one put the most recent jobs only...not a history of your job description at every place you've worked since graduating. Its amazing what these people come up with.

My CV is about three pages max. and its very to the point. I can't think of anything worse than having to read through nine or ten paegs of job descriptions. Nobody will do it! Plus, its pretty much considered unprofessional to have that much information in your CV. I was told to make mine short and sweetly succulent, which I proceeded to do. The only concession to me as a person was to put in Sense of Humor: Excellent! And that was it :)

Seriously, I can't wait to see what other people apply for this post, its very amusing to me, really it is!

Exhiliration Extreme!

2007-01-18T00:22:00.000-08:00

As you can see from the picture, I am incredibly happy. I can't stop smiling!! Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my mom phoned me a little while ago and told me that the courier company had phoned her to let her know that my passport and visa are there to be picked up!!!! WHOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!! I don't think it will really sink in until I actually see the visa in front of me but I am in the throes of extreme exhiliration at the moment and nothing is going to break this mood.

I was lying in bed last and thinking about which life event I should write about next on my blog and then I remembered something I had almost forgotten about...my very first cycle up a mountain pass! So I decided to record it here for the amusement of my readers :o) Enjoy!

Cycling has sort of been the main sport of my family. My older sister and I aren't very enthusiastic cyclists but my dad and my younger sister were avid cyclists and would climb on their bikes as often as possible and go for long cycles all over the place. Mountain biking was their favourite and they often took part in races and cycling events. My mom used to cycle the Argus with my dad but then she stopped after a couple of years.

My younger sister got really into the cycling and won a lot of the races, bringing home gold, silver and bronze medals (mostly gold and silver) as well as trophies. I was always so proud of her! I used to take part once in a while in the fun ride sections as I don't like to race. It was fun but exhausting!

*note to self: when writing a story stick to the story, don't go off on a tandem...er...tangent*

One day after work at the dairy, my sister asked me if I wanted to go for a cycle with her to meet our dad (who cycled to and from work every day). I agreed before thinking the matter over and afterwards I really wished I had thought it over but I couldn't back out now and had to go through with it. Me and my big mouth!

So we got changed into shorts and a t-shirt and shoes, and then we were off (note to James - we were wearing helmuts!).

I might add here that to get to the top of the pass we had to travel about 10km uphill...most of it was just a gradual incline but there was one portion that was very steep and it took a lot of energy and sweat and chanting "There is nothing difficult about this, I can do it...do it...do it...GASP!" to get to the top. Once there, we took a short breather and then there was the glorious descent to the bottom of the pass. Downhills are always fun...only on this one I lost one of my brakes (don't ask, it just fell off???) and so I went down a heck of a lot faster than I wanted to. Got to the bottom safely and then waited for my dad to get there. From there we turned around and then had to make our way back up the steep incline we had just whizzed down. This is one of those "no freakin' way" hills...you know, the ones where you start going numb in all sorts of strange places, where you can't determine whether to cry or pass out, the sort of hill where you start seeing mirages (like ice cold beer/cider or big slices of chocolate cake) and thinking that you're dreaming, this can't be real. Then you look up and notice that you haven't even progressed around the next bend. You finally get to the bend in the road, thinking that you'll now be able to see the top...and when you look up you are faced with the beautiful sight of........at least another four bends! You stop, wait for your breath to catch up with you, and then get back on the bike wishing you could somehow get rid of the very hard saddle and replace it with a cushion of voluminous proportions. You swallow a leetle bad word (or perhaps you muttered it under your breath when nobody was listening), grit your teeth and start the torturous climb to the top. All the while hearing your dad's voice floating down from somewhere way ahead of you "left, banana, pawpaw right...come on girls, nearly there! Where's that extra burst of speed? You can do it, come on!" Yeah right! Extra burst of speed?? My extra burst of speed took one look at the hill ahead and turned around to run downhill!!! Coward!

To make a ten page story shorter...we finally reached the top and then got to ride downhill again which was quite a relief as my legs were pretty much turned to jell-o.

When we got home, my mom had dinner waiting. I first had a shower and then we sat down to dinner...and I promptly fell asleep in my food! What an end to the day - a face full of pasta! Oh well, it was a good cycle and definately very good exercise.

Be assured, though, I will definately think before I speak next time!!!

Anyone Seen the Salsa?

2007-01-17T02:01:00.000-08:00

It's one of those days again...you know...the very dreary, very looooong days when nothing wants to go the way it should and you just want to curl up on the bed and devour kilograms of chocolates or liters of ice cream. I am having one of those days today.
Normally though, with one of these "those" days, I tend to be very downhearted and slightly down in the dumps.

Today is different. I am not only really positive, but I am quite excited as well. Its Wednesday today which means that tomorrow is Thursday and that means that its only another two days before I should hear whether or not I have got my visa. Today is the first day that I have actually sat down and thought about it and now the excitement is almost uncontainable!! I refused to think about it yesterday and Monday because they were still too far away from Thursday and Friday but now that it's Wednesday...well, anything is possible on a Wednesday! :o)

Perhaps another reason for being so happy is that I have a few new people visiting my blog. I never dreamed when I started writing on it that anyone would actually read my ramblings and bits of madness...yet already there are quite a few who are regulars and who provide the salsa for my weedy salad of ups and downs, ins and outs. Thank you all, you bring beautiful little numbers (in the comments bar) to my blog and I appreciate it!

On the news front there is still not too much. I went to the movies last night with my dad (who is now trying to spend as much time with his daughters as possible before we all leave) and my two sisters. We went to go and watch a Night in the Museum which was perhaps a little funnier the second time round. I still love the little monkey Dexter and I had a good laugh at old Attila the Hun who just wants to rip people. I am not much of a Ben Stiller fan although he has made one or two really funny movies (none which come to mind right now) and I suppose he just takes a bit of getting used to. I prefer Hugh Grant, though, and Colin Firth. Oh yes, and I mustn't forget that Owen Wilson made his appearance in the museum movie as well. That was quite a surprise, but he played his small (pun intended) part expertly and afforded everyone in the house quite a few laughs.

I was peering out the window and all of a sudden the sun decided to come out from behind the clouds and shine right into my office...for like ten seconds! Its gone again now but the warmth felt good while it lasted. I was getting so cold this morning, I guess its cos I am not feeling quite myself. Must have been that fish last night. I knew I should never have agreed to try a bite. I'm allergic to iodine...which fish has in plenty when cooked. I had one (only one!!!) bite of the fish and now I am all sorts of temperatures and have blurry vision and am so tired I can barely keep awake. Hence the lots of writing on my blog :o)
I have been valiantly battling off the flu which everyone seems to be catching and either its finally beginning to catch me or it really is just the fish. I'll have to see how I feel tomorrow.

Its almost 1pm and I think that after work I shall toddle off to the little ice cream shop down the road and get another one of those delicious cone ice-creams which I used to live off a couple of years ago. That and cherry liquer chocolates...yum!! I was told you couldn't get drunk or tipsy from liquer chocolates...yeah right! I got way tipsy one day but I think it was due to the headache pills I took, then the stress and added to that I ate two boxes of the liquer chocolates. I was one very happy Angel that day ~chuckle~ My colleague had a good laugh at me, kept on trying to make me say big words because they always came out all jumbled. Now I don't need an overdose of chocolates to make my words come out jumbled, they do anyways! Perhaps because my thoughts are scrambled too. I now speak in code...which just about nobody can understand :o)

Silence....HELP!

2007-01-16T05:09:00.000-08:00

Normally, most people would give just about anything to have peace and quiet in the workplace. In fact, most people would give an arm and a leg for their own office, no grumpy co-workers, no cranky boss who seems out to get them and no work time stress...well, if you're reading this entry and you're one of those people...apply here for a job which has all those perks! Be warned, it also includes 7 hours a day with nobody around to talk to, no work to do, nothing to keep you busy, and a silence that is enough to drive one insane!!!!

Yes, this is my job. I sit in this office all day long, hardly see a soul (or a person, for that matter) and just about never get to speak much unless by some miracle the phone rings or a client pitches up. And the worst part is that this has been the description of my job for the past three months. I'm not complaining, really, at least...not in the strict sense of the word. You see, I love my job, I love my boss, I love the peace and quiet, I love all my customers...but seriously, its just too quiet at the moment. If it wasn't for my blog and the fact that I get the chance to write quite a bit and also browse all the other great blogs out there in Blogger-munity, I would have been completely mad by now.

I'm a people person, I love company and I love to talk (as if my blog doesn't already give that away!).
The music has been playing real loud all day but it doesn't take away the silence that is hanging heavy in the room, nothing seems to get rid of it! I now know why being put into solitary confinement was such an awful form of punishment. Good thing they can't punish one for making too many entries in one day on your blog!!! What is this...my third entry for the day? Or is the fourth? I can't remember.

Its official...I'm mad :o)

Snow Cartoons

2007-01-16T03:59:00.000-08:00

Hahaha....I am a Calvin and Hobbes fanatic and his snow creations are always the best! These gets me smiling for sure every time I see them!

Makroebel

2007-01-16T03:41:00.000-08:00

MAKROEBEL

Die kar se klutch en brieke fail
Hond smeer my nuwe romp vol kwyl
Die koek val plat, ek’s laat vir werk
O kriek hier kom makroebel!

Die geyser lek, die bad loop oor
My yskas het alweer ontdooi
Die krag is af, die kerse op
Hiert jy, hier kom makroebel!

Daai pesky ou man Murphy
Is uit om my te kry
Alles loop net erg verkeerd
Maar toe kom jy na my

Die reën is weg, die son kom uit
En als loop weer 'n reguit lyn
Jy's hier om my te help en lei
Vanaf Julie deur na Mei

Random Ramblings

2007-01-15T23:29:00.000-08:00

For some reason or other my words just doesn't want to flow this morning. I've been stuttering since yesterday which is really strange since I don't stutter...but I can't seem to form words out of thoughts or even form thoughts, for that matter. I really hope the tired, leaden feeling I have isn't the beginning of a cold!

Mrs. B (the landlady) is dreadfully ill, sounds like pneumonia, and I've been caring for her now for three days. Mostly she just sleeps which is good because her body is really exhausted and needs the rest. However, when she is awake I bring soup, soft rolls, water and tea and try to make her as comfortable as possible. The worst is that I can't say anything funny otherwise she starts to laugh which then ends up in a dreadful coughing bout which sounds as though her lungs are collapsing!! I wish I could persuade her to go to a doctor but she is real stubborn and right now she's not going to leave the house. Its better this way, if she goes out now it might make things worse. I sure hope she gets better soon!

I heard this morning that Oklahoma is going through a really dreadful ice storm...apparently there are scores of people without electricity and others have even died! I was in Oklahoma two years ago (seems like just yesterday) and then it was really hot, summer. I guess I just never thought it would be declared a disaster area. Its really sad and my prayers go out to all living there.
Sgt. Dub's wife is in Oklahoma...sir, I truly hope your family is safe. It must be awful not being able to be there.

I guess its in these crisis situations that we realise just how precious life really is, how blessed we are to be alive. No matter how bad our trials are, there is always someone else out there who is going through something a lot worse!

Well...this is yet another one of my rambling, random posts. I started out with no clear idea of what I was going to write about and it seems I wrote just about whatever came into my mind. Good luck in making any sense of it all :o)

Updates...

2007-01-15T01:54:00.000-08:00

A new week...a new day....a new era has begun! I've decided that for this whole week I am going to make as though I already have my visa else I will be driven half mad with worrying and stressing and wondering. So this morning when I woke up it was to sit up in bed, smile, and start planning for real the trip ahead. I even made a list of the things I need to pack (I've never seen a shorter list!!!) and then I got ready for work and left a full two hours before I am meant to be at work! I was just so phsyched that I couldn't bear the idea of staying in the apartment. I grabbed my bag, my jacket and my phone and started the walk to work.

The air was fresh, clear and crisp. I left my hair loose for a change and the breeze that was blowing was just what I needed to dry it for me. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing just at the pure, unadulterated joy in being alive! Seriously, there isn't anything more wonderful than LIFE. I lay in bed last night thinking about it and just thanking God that I was alive and able to do all the things I do. Being able to run, shout, sing, dance, laugh...how many of us actually take the time to be grateful for this? In the humdrum of our busy lives we often forget to be thankful for the little things we take for granted. I've tried this year so far to take the time to be thankful, to make a list of all my blessings...and my trip to England is sure near the top of that list!

Before I do any other planning and packing, though, I am going to have to nurse my landlady who has come down with the most dreadful flu virus. She can't talk without wheezing and coughing and her balance is completely off so I've been fetching and carrying for her as much as possible. Shame, she is really ill and I felt awful having to leave her alone at home this morning to come to work. I did leave her equipped with three books, my CD player and a couple of Cd's so hopefully that should keep her busy till I get home. Yesterday I was talking to her and she just fell asleep in the middle of our non-dialogue (I was doing all the talking, she was doing all the nodding). I need to get her better before she gives the flu to me and I can't afford to get sick now!

Other than that there is no news on the home front. I am just hopping around like the mad hatter getting things done and getting ready to train the new person who will be taking over by me here at work. Its going to be weird teaching someone else how to do my job!

Shoot the computer!!!!!

2007-01-12T04:39:00.000-08:00

Technology.....ARGH!!! I had just finished writing a nice long entry for my blog, pleased with the randomness and slight sarcasm as well as a little sprinkling of humor and musing and then when I clicked on the "Post" button...my post vanished!! Just like that!

Lately my computer has been giving me quite a few problems yet amidst all the problems and the rising blood pressure said computer is causing, I can't help but smile as I remember a similar situation with our very old, very outdated PC called Percy. He really didn't have much, did ol' Percy, but he was good for a computer game or two, typing Word documents and printing out letters. That is, until he turned geriatric and need to be rolled around.

After numerous times of receiving a blue screen (such a horrid sight!) in the middle of an important document (when Percy forgot that when we said "save" we really did mean "SAVE"!) my father decided to take him down to get looked at. On arriving at the IT Shrink, Percy was hooked up to life machines and given the once over. He worked perfectly, all was in order, said the Shrink. Little did the quack know that Percy was merely looking for attention, the plotting piece of pc metal! And then, when my dad got back home with Percy, he just refused to work.
So my dad unwired him, placed his hard-drive on the floor in the passage and started rolling him up and down the passage, bump...bump...bump.
After which he hooked him back up on life support and with a whirring and a gnashing of drivers, Percy started up and worked fine for the rest of the day.
Every time after that that we got a blue screen we just rolled that ol' hard drive down the passage and then hooked him back up and he worked! Amazing.

Nowadays the computers don't even have characters....they're just pieces of metal put together with intricate wiring for our use. More gadgets get added each year and more viruses are created. Not to mention there are more hackers out there and more IT technicians than there ever were before!!

I sure do miss old Percy, though. Those were the good old days!

Randomly random!

2007-01-12T02:35:00.000-08:00

I was walking to work this morning and it was all misty and slightly chilly and I was thinking that I hope it didn't rain whilst I was still walking otherwise this cold that has been threatening to engulf me and which I have valiantly been fighting off with vitamins and loads of healthy stuff (like water and fruit) is going to gain the upper hand. So I started walking a bit faster and within record time reached my work where, as luck would have it, it started to rain.
Made it just in time, I did, and I managed to get inside before getting wet. I then put the kettle on for tea and sat down to start up my computer and play around a bit with my blog before I had to start the day's work.

I've enjoyed revamping my blog. Putting links on it and such. I've also been toying with the idea of throwing in some more little childhood stories. I was remembering one or two more recent stories that were rather hilarious but which I need to think over first before putting up here.

Since writing the above, the weather has cleared a little and there is actually light outside, whereas before it was dark! Or perhaps it is just my mood that has improved as the day has progressed. The idea of warm, delicious food waiting at home is certainly something that can improve my mood wonderfully, no matter in what mood I am in! Going home on a Friday to my parents place is always a highlight in my week. Okay, so I look forward to coming back into town to my own little pozzy at the end of Saturday evening but still, its nice to spend some time with the parents after not seeing them for a whole week. Besides, there isn't too much more time for me to spend with them so its nice to spend as much time as possible with them now.

I digress more and more...bear with me, please!

Drinking tea, listening to good music......all something that I add to my list of life's little pleasures. Ever since I was a baby I have had music in my life and it helps to relax, get rid of stress, lift broken spirits, ease anger and soothe pain. Plus it helps to create a bouncy atmosphere for one who is already in seventh heaven ~chuckle~

Today my thoughts just don't want to go in the direction I want them to so this entry is as random as my thought processes and my new year's resolutions!
Amazing how there are just those days when no matter how hard I try, I cannot make myself concentrate on whatever it is that I started thinking about. Even now I find that the original title for this entry has changed about three or four times as well as the original content. I cannot remember what on earth I was going to write about in the beginning but I do believe it had something to do with the weather. Oh well....the weather is too much spoken of as it is so I will just veer more and more of the weather path and blaze my own trail in my randomly random thoughts.

And soI reach the end of my entry....yet it is but a beginning!

Hassles...

2007-01-11T03:31:00.000-08:00

Honestly...if I knew it would be this much trouble getting a visa...I might never have decided to go. Although I think that the determination far outweighs the hassles at the moment. And its my poor mother who is battling with all the forms, not me. So I should be real grateful (which I am!) instead of worrying about whether or not the forms will ever be sent off. I guess I am just getting a bit jumpy now, wanting it to be over so that I can stop stressing (no matter how much I say I am not I know that deep down I am) and get on with being excited about travelling again!

Now I am awaiting a letter from head office to say that I have indeed been working for this company and that I have indeed been earning this salary and that its all fine for me to go.

And on the visa forms they ask if I have ever had a criminal record (you mean other than hugging the trees and stealing flowers from old ladies' gardens on my way to work?) and whether or not I have used drugs (would this include the weed my mom throws into the salads?). I answered no to both accounts!!

Let me just classify weed here, for a moment. For me, everything that is green and has leaves (other than lettuce, obviously) is classified as weed. Not because of any narcotic influence it has on one, merely because it is green and has leaves. So a little while back I saw we were having salad for dinner yet again and I piped up with "Oh my...mother is feeding us weed again!" which brought shouts of laughter from the rest of the family and a shocked look from my mother. Ever since then its been a family joke.

Which is also why I have Weed as part of my name. I have been known to have weed-like qualities (making people happy etc.) and so I thought it fitting to throw it in here.

Like I said...my life's a salad!

Get Up and Win the Race

2007-01-10T02:35:00.000-08:00

This is an inspirational poem that I read years ago and have typed up here for you!

Get Up and Win the Race!!

Quit, give up – you’re beaten
They shout out and plead
There’s just too much against you
This time you can’t succeed

And as I start to hang my head
In front of failure’s face
My downward fall is broken
By the memory of a race

New hope refills my weakened will
As I recall that scene
For just the thought of that short race
Rejuvenates my being

A children’s race, young boys, young men
How I remember well
Excitement sure, but also fear
It wasn’t hard to tell

They all lined up so full of hope
Each thought to win that race
Or tie for first or if not that
At least take second place

And fathers watch from off the side
Each cheering for his son
And each boy hoped to show his dad
That he would be the one

The whistle blew and off they went
Young hearts and hopes afire
Toe win- to be the hero there
Was each young boy’s desire

And one boy in particular
Whose dad was in the crowd
Was running in the lead and thought
My dad will be so proud

But as he speeded down the field
Across the shallow dip
The little boy who thought to win
Lost his step and slipped
He fell and with him hope
He couldn’t win it now
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished
To disappear somehow

But as he fell his dad stood up
And showed his anxious face
Which to the boy so clearly said
Get up and win the race

He quickly rose, no damage done
Behind a bit, that’s all
And ran with all his mind and might
To make up for the fall

So anxious to restore himself
To catch up and to win
His mind went faster than his legs
He slipped and fell again

He wished that he had quit before
With only one disgrace
I’m hopeless as a runner now
I shouldn’t try to race

But in the laughing crowd he searched
And found his father’s face
That steady look which said again
Get up and win the race

So he jumped up to try again
Ten yards behind the last
If I’m to gain those yards he thought
I’ve got to move real fast

Exerting everything he had
He gained eight or ten
But trying so hard to catch the lead
He slipped and fell again

Defeat! He lay there silently
A tear dropped from his eye
There’s no sense running anymore
Three strikes – I’m out, why try?

The will to rise had disappeared
All hope had fled away
So far behind, so error prone
A loser all the way

I’ve lost, so what’s the use, he thought
I’ll live with my disgrace
But then he thought about his dad
Who soon he’d have to face

Get up! An echo sounded low
Get up and take your place
You’re not meant for failure here
Get up! And win the race

With borrowed will, get up it said
You haven’t lost it all
For winning is not more than this
To rise each time you fall

So up he rose to win once more
And with a new commit
He resolved that win or lose
At least he wouldn’t quit

So far behind the others now
The most he’d ever been
Still he gave it all he had
And ran as though to win

Three times he fell in stumbling
Three times he’d rose again
Too far behind to hope to win
He still ran to the end

They cheered the running winner
As he crossed the line first place
Head held high and proud and happy
No falling, no disgrace

But when the fallen youngster
Crossed the line last place
The crowd gave him the greater cheer
For finishing the race

And even though he’d come in last
His head bowed low unproud
You would’ve thought he’d won the race
To listen to the crowd

And to his dad he sadly said
“I didn’t do so well”
“To me you won”, his father said
“You rose each time you fell”

And when things deem dark and hard
And difficult to face
The memory of that little boy
Helps me in my race

For all of life is like that race
Ups and downs and all
And all you have to do to win
Is rise, each time you fall

Quit, give up, you’re beaten
They still shout in my face
But another voice within me says
Get up! And win the race!

Time for a Change!

2007-01-10T01:38:00.000-08:00

With the new year comes changes...so I decided to change the appearance of my blog just for fun. Its harder than I thought to change things...like adding links. I still haven't figured it out yet and am struggling to do it. Don't know how on earth and could do with a bit of help here, if anyone out there could give me some blow-by-blow tips on how to add links to my page I would be MOST grateful!!!

Other than that, this day has been nice and peaceful. I had some ordering and incoming stock to work on and then a few clients popped in quickly, which was nice. These past three months I haven't really seen too many clients and its great when they do come. Especially the ones that are friendly. Actually, most of the clients are friendly and so its a pleasure to serve them and wave them goodbye again. I am sure going to miss them all and will have to send regular updates to let them know how things are going when I am gone. I would just hand out my blog address but most of them aren't computer people and don't do things like check mails or surf the net or stuff that us other techos do ~chuckle~ So I suppose I will have to write mail to my boss and ask him to let everyone know all the news.

I'm listening to some Afrikaans music at the moment, thinking about the future, about how much is about to change. Somehow I still can't quite grasp the enormity of the move I am about to make...its too big. Perhaps it seems strange to most of you that I would feel this way, but let me explain.

I've grown up in a loving home, I did homeschooling and spent most of my time either with my family, or at the dairy farm where I worked. And then I worked with my younger sister. Our family is really close, we are pretty much very involved with each other's lives. I can't imagine life without any one of my family and indeed...I would in an instant give my life for any one of my family members. Perhaps its because of the love and respect that we were taught since we were tiny, or perhaps its just that we follow the example my parents set for us our whole lives long...whatever it is, its made my life different to the people around me. I don't know many people who can say they come from extremely happy, loving homes. This world is so full of break ups and heartache and there are so many children who never grow up in a home with a mother and father who are both there and active in their child's life. When I was in school for the first few years of my education, I got ridiculed because my dad would walk me to school every morning. At first I was ashamed...and then I picked up my head and gave the scorners a proud look which clearly stated that I didn't care what they thought, at least my father took the time to walk with me and drop me off at school, making sure I was safely inside before turning and going to work. He cared enough to do this, and after I realised the worth of this small, simple act, I didn't hesitate to hold my head up high, proud to have such a father. It wasn't long after that that the other children used to wait for us to get there! There would always be a bunch of kids situated right by the gate where my dad dropped me off, they would just be standing there and then they started waving at my dad as he cycled off. They didn't mock me after that.

Now that I am older I appreciate more the time and effort my parents spent on me. They gave me love, good advice, support and a wonderful loving home in which to grow up. They provided care and sympathy, hugs and most of all they gave me fulfillment. I never truly thanked them for that, nor did I fully appreciate it until now. Now that I have to get along without them right there.

True, they are only a phone call or a letter away, but if things ever go wrong, they can't just climb in the car and come over. This, however, is necessary and I do understand that. It doesn't ease the overwhelming feeling I have though. My throat is choking up just thinking about how much I really owe these two wonderful people in my life. I owe them my LIFE! And I will never forget it...NEVER!

Then there is my younger sister, who's always been more of a twin sister than a younger sister to me. She's been my bodyguard, my advisor and most of all my best friend. She's off to America in a couple of weeks. Quite some ways away...

And then there is my older sister. Already been to England and experienced it. Now she is handing down all her advice to me. She has tried to look out for me through the years and although I prefer to make my own way and remain stubbornly independant, I do appreciate all she has tried to do for me.

I've digressed quite a bit but I guess you get the point. My family mean the world to me and its just real hard to imagine life without them right next door. Although I can't imagine anything that would be more explosive than us all living right next door to each other ~grin~
The point, I guess, is that I shall miss them a lot!!

So, here's to family! Cheers!

The Life and Times of Angel Weed

Milk, Cow and Boob

The Angel I call my Child

Fairytale

Unexpected Surprises

No Promises...Just Hope

Learning from Life

I'll Be Okay

Message to all readers!

If you leave me now...

Workaholic

Candy

Spring

My Promise

To Make A Choice

Paper Weight

Song For Friends

So It Goes

Engravings

Blessings

I never knew

Two Halves

Domain of my Heart

Tag You're It!!

Moments

Not For the Faint Hearted...or Those of Faint Stomach

A New Leaf, A New Look

Character Frenzy!

Spooky Ghosts - A figment of imagination

Home Sweet Home

York

Moving yet again...hang on...moved yet again!

Time Flew - Flu Time

Exam Excruciation

Cycle Blues

Town Mouse, Country Mouse

The Move

Changes and more Strangers

Writers' Block

New Flat-Mate

Romance

100th Anniversary

How To Fool My Mind

Picture of the Week

A Day Called Friday

Trolley War

Picture of the Week

Pinch me, I'm Dreaming

Written in Ireland

I haven't disappeared...

Knock Knock

Psychiatrics Rule the World

Out of Hibernation....I think!

Lets All Go On A Summer Holiday

She went *POOF*

Rain rain...I'm in pain...wanna go stay in Spain...

Stressed? I'm not stressed.....

Receptionist Required

No Departure

Poem for You

Myself Requested

The Fruit Bowl of Life

Illness Squared and Quarentined

Moving...

Tourist on the Loose!

I'm BACK!!!!

New Feeling!

Shiny Happy People

Catch the Clock!

In The Company Of....

Soothing Remedy

New Employee

Poetry and Passion

Daydreaming Love

Interview Blues

All Creatures Great and Small....and Hairy and Wriggly

The Day After the Night Before

A Wonder and A Beauty!

Singing in the Rain

Thursday Thirteen

She went POOF