Ho ho ho and all that

'Decided to embrace the impending Christmas season by putting up my Christmas tree.

Must say, I love my tree. It's gold and glitzy - a tad kitschy - and gorgeous. It's also a fairly minimalist tree, which means NO decorations, so putting up the tree is a cinch. It's the lights, however, that complicate things. And when I finally switched the lights on, I discovered that the pack of 50 clear Christmas lights that I bought on sale in February are of the flashing ilk. I personally don't like flashing lights but can't for the life of me figure out how to make them stop. But 'tis the season and all that, so I'll risk the seizure.

Stalker view

The gold blur in the background is said Christmas tree

 

 

Good vibes

Things have been a little heavy for a while now (unemployment is such a buzz kill)  so I reckon it's time to lighten things up. Here's a post about everything and nothing. No negativity here! 

So my dad recently upgraded to a new camera. This was great news for me as he gave me his 'old' camera. For many moons now I've been perving over digital SLRs and I'm pleased to announce I finally GOT ME ONE!!!! I'm really chuffed. It's a Canon EOS 300D and I'm so in love with it. I foresee a long and happy future with my beautiful new toy. I've been playing around with it a bit - here are a few of my favourite pics:

 Jeep at Eaglevlei Wine Farm

  Cue cliched cat pic

 

 Ducks in a row, at Groot Constanta

Different angle of Groot Constantia quacks

 

 A random kid and his dog

 

My friend Karen,

whose birthday we were celebrating at Groot Constantia

I love the control it offers the user. Compact cameras are a lot like Microsoft - they assume you don't know what you're doing and try to do everything for you. I hate that. But not my little baby. No. That's not to say my little Sony compact camera is to be kicked to the curb, but SLR is obviously first prize! 

Anyway, been keeping an eye on all this Fifa World Cup stuff and I must say, I am very willingly letting myself be swept up in the momentum of excitement. Last Friday was a glorious day for Cape Town when it hosted the Fifa WC draw. I was so proud of the Mother City! The vibe was fantastic! (Not so sure about Ms Theron's outfit though. Just saying.) 

The weekend started on an exuberant high note and ended equally wonderfully at The Killers concert. God, I love those guys! Brilliant show! Val de Vie Wine and Polo Estate was a stunning setting for the concert but turned out to be a less than ideal venue logistically. One access point to and from the wine farm?!?!? Traffic was a nightmare - some people sat in their car for up to four hours waiting to get out. Insane! But yes, The Killers. Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I snuck my little compact camera in (see, it still has its uses) but once it got dark it took rubbish pictures. So here are some of my photies plus a couple I pinched from News24 (Thanks News24, please don't sue me.) 

 

 Beautiful clouds littering the sky above Val de Vie

 Before the concert 

 

 Love those pink dusk skies (random dude unknown)

 And now here are those News24 photies I mentioned...
 

This photographer had a MUCH better view than I did

Brandon Flowers for President

Anyway,on that note I'll wrap up now. Off to write my letter to Santa before it's too late! 

P.S. Have you added your name to the Seal the Deal campaign? Check it out and make a difference at Copenhagen. More info here too. Oh, and here as well!

The story thus far...

So about four weeks ago, something big happened. I went into what I assumed was a bog-standard company communication session and walked out 15 minutes later with a piece of paper that held bad news. The company was undergoing its second restructuring exercise this year and this time around I wasn't so lucky. I'd been retrenched.

It's been a bumpy ride since then. Like most people in the office who had also been affected by the restructuring, I had no desire to stick around and so I immediately set about signing papers and wrapping things up. And now I'm at home. Trying to keep some semblance of a routine while saving money, hunting for a job and staying motivated.

It's by no means the ideal situation but I'm trying hard to stay positive. I expect the next few months will be quite rough but I reckon this time next year I'll be in a much better 'space'. (With any luck, I won't have to take up pole dancing, unless the Dr Phil and Oprah reruns turn my brain to complete mush and then let's be honest, anything goes.)

Being retrenched has also given me the (not so gentle) push I needed. I now have time to focus on my writing and put plans into place - something I should have focused on a long time ago.

But better late than never, right? Yeah.

Climate Change: Blog Action Day 2009

Okay so listen up. Being October the 15th, it's Blog Action Day. And this year the topic is one that affects you and me. It's CLIMATE CHANGE!

Yeah, that's right. Climate change is something that has a direct impact on all of us and, if you choose to breed, it'll affect the lives of your sprogs and their sprogs and so on. It's surprisingly easy to ignore the facts and leave the responsibility of change to big corporations and powerful governments. But who're you kidding? You know that change starts with each and every one of us, and that only by working together will we be able to make a sustainable difference.

Come on guys, learn to recycle, preserve water and cut down on your carbon footprint. And if that seems like more bother than it's worth, think of majestic polar bears who, unable to find solid ice to rest on, meet their demise at the depths of the ocean. Polar bears shouldn't die by drowning, and yet they are.

Because of us.

Where oh where has my little muse gone?

So today marks the two-month anniversary since the last time I posted. An unintentional yet self-imposed sabbatical that was meant to be ended by the unveiling of a fantastic new blog name. Thing is, I can't for the life of me decide on a blog name that isn't naff/inane/pointless/unsuitable/used. Keeping in mind that I am paid MONEY to work as a copywriter this failing to find a new name is particularly crushing as surely wordsmiths are supposed to find this sort of thing, well, easier. But no, not me. I'm beginning to suspect my worst fears are true and that I'm a truly awful copywriter with no business going near words of any sort. There's just one problem: I wouldn't know how to do anything else. And truth be told, I quite like this writing gig. But for some reason, I have a humongous blog name block. It's got me quite perplexed.

I haven't given up though - my quest continues. The perfect blog name (for me) must be out there somewhere - it's just a matter of finding it. I think it's close - I can almost feel it. Just can't 'see' it. Yet. So for now, I'm sticking with Fluffy Pink Thing. (Groan)

So yeah, consider the drought broken. I'm back. And any day now I'm going to surprise my one reader (yes, you) with a brand new fabulous looking extremely made-over blog. Just not today.

P.S. I missed you. Hope you're keeping well...

'Last night I had the strangest dream'

...And NOT about sailing boats to China. No sir. This one was about being PREGNANT and then having a (gulp) BABY!!! Where'd that come from?!? Funny thing was, I was quite pleased with myself (in my dream) and seemed to have no worries about having just given birth. Or being a single mother. Or having no idea what to do with my screaming bundle of joy.

It's a boy, by the way. In case you were wondering.

I'm sorry to say there was no Gerhard Butler look-alike daddy in the picture - or any recollection of the 'knocking-up' process. Which means my little bambino could very well be the result of divine intervention. Or the downfall of a boozy evening out. Whatever.

Anyway, I just thought it was strange to dream about having a baby because I'm not feeling particularly broody at the moment. 'Haven't in a while actually. In fact, right now if I had a choice, I'd definitely get a puppy rather than have a baby. That's just where I'm at, for now.

'See? Baby elephants are CUTE!

Baby meerkats (pups) are also cute!

And how's this little kangaroo for C.U.T.E.?

Even baby Binturongs (Asian Bearcats) are totally cute!

Cute puppy!

And speaking of cute...

Pics from News24, thanks!

Objects of my affection

So yesterday's little revelation got me thinking about the crushes I had on celebs when I was a little girl. Some of those crushes were short lived, while others never really ended. Anyway, here's a little list of my favourite objects of affection, back in the day:

The King of Rock 'n Roll.

I pretty much grew up with Elvis, even though he died about two months after I was born. But my mum was (and still is) a fan and so we got to hear a lot of Elvis and watch a few of his movies. This all led to the development of a pretty huge crush on the King. I must point out though that the object of my affection was the young and handsome Elvis of Jailhouse Rock and Blue Hawaii - as opposed to the larger, sweatier rhinestone-bejewelled Elvis. Anyway, I was pretty young when I had my crush - around 8 years old - but it was true love! And who could blame me - Elvis was SO handsome and nice and all that!


Moving on... First there was Battlestar Galactica. And then there was the A-Team. And both were AWESOME thanks to Lieutenant Starbuck and Face.

Dear God, what a major girl-crush that was. I used to think Lt Starbuck was so insanely good-looking. And as Face, Dirk Benedict was even better! This was around the same time as my Elvis crush, so I was also pretty young then - but not too young to recognise HOTNESS when I saw it!


Then, a few years on, the New Kids on the Block came into my life and it was love at first sight. Yes, I'm talking about you, Joey McIntyre! (Hey don't judge - they were cool back in the day!)

Yup, it was love with a capital L-U-R-V-E! Step by Step, Hanging Tough, Tonite... aw, good times! I remember spending hours in my bedroom just staring at the NKOTB posters on my wall, daydreaming about marrying Joey one day when I as older. You see, there was a 'major' age-gap between us. I was only 12ish whereas he was a whopping 17!!! But sooooo... cute! Aw yummy!

Let's hear it for the wrinklies!

Remember this guy? That's Jan Michael Vincent. But you may remember him as Stringfellow Hawke from Airwolf...
Well it's his birthday today and guess how old the birthday boy is...

He's turning 65. Yes, 65!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, how did that happen? Wait, it gets worse! Remember Face from the A-Team? Damn, he was hot!

I used to have a MAJOR crush on him when I was a kid! Good times!

Well he's 64!!! 'But wait! There's more!'

Et tu, MacGuyver?

He's 59 years old. Nooooooooo... say it ain't so!

Seriously, when did all these guys get old? What's going on here?!?!?

Moving swiftly along...

Looking back on my last couple of posts, one thing's for sure - they're decidedly boring and crappy. Thing is, I don't have much to waffle on about at the moment - just trying to stay warm and dry (and make it to pay day!).

So I'm not going to say anything. Instead, I'm going to leave you with this:

Oh yeah

Mid Year Review

People tell me that the older you get, the faster time flies. I think those people may have a point. I can't believe it's already July! Anyhoo, now that we've officially passed the half year mark, I thought I'd take the time to list all the things I've been procrastinating over. Unfortunately, procrastination is one of my stronger points.

I haven't... sorted out my CV and started job hunting.
Lame excuse... recession. It's so easy to blame everything on the recession. And I'm in a serious comfort zone, even though it doesn't necessarily make me happy.

I haven't... submitted stuff. To magazines.
Lame excuse... if it turns out I really am rubbish, then I'll be totally and absolutely lost.

I haven't... reached my goal weight.
Lame excuse... gym is so boring plus food that's good for you never tastes as good as food that isn't.

I haven't... been focusing on the course I'm studying this year.
Lame excuse... I'm struggling to get excited about it. The texts bore me. Even though I know they're not supposed to. Clearly I'm missing something. Perhaps maybe a LOT of things.

I haven't... been feeling optimistic lately.
Lame excuse... I started the year with a really positive attitude but I've lost that lovin' feeling. Instead I feel tired and drained.

Okay, that's just depressing. Enough of that. Time to break up this pity party and Sort That Stuff Out. Starting now. Or maybe after lunch.