Where are your jeanpants?

Being a blogger myself, I spend quite a bit of time reading other people's blogs. Needless to say, there are many, many brilliant blogs out there that make my little contribution look like, well... crap. I'm so impressed by all the gorgeous designs and so it's inspired me to work on mine. That's the reason why I haven't been posting much - I want to get everything up and running, so I can put my old blog out of its misery. Still working on it... watch this space.

But I just had to blog about something that happened yesterday... Remember a while back I was moaning about my neighbour who phoned to complain about my cat. Well, since then nothing much has changed. He hasn't phoned me since, but I'm sure my kitty still goes into his place. Now that his cats are getting bigger though, they're also getting quite adventurous and the other week I found his male cat in my bedroom. Anyway, what can you do?

So last night at around 7, I was upstairs in my room, trying on stuff that I had bought at the Woolies sale when the most horrific, blood-curling cat screams started up! Half undressed, I ran to the window but couldn't see anything. So I skedaddled downstairs, somehow managing to get back into my jeans by the time I reached the front door. The horrible noises were coming from the bushes in the furthest corner of my little garden, but before I could reach it, I was distracted by the sight of my neighbour on our dividing wall (which is really, really high) dressed in only his T-shirt and jocks!!!! WTF? Now it's not everyday I find a half naked man on my garden wall, but I was brought back to reality by the continuing kitty screams. To cut a long story short, the neighbour found his way into my garden and together we coaxed our respective kitties out. For the record, mine (who's face was bleeding) was miaowing pitifully while his (apparently called 'Heino'!?!) was hissing like some demon spawn. Both kitties were terrified.

By this time, it apparently dawned on the neighbour that all he was wearing was his jocks, and while holding onto 'Heino', he modestly used his free hand to tug his jocks to cover his 'manly bits'. Poor dude! I almost felt sorry for him until he started talking to his cat in a baby voice, 'Shame, did you fall into the wrong garden'. I felt like replying for the cat: 'Fall, my ass. I intentionally entered the garden next door because I am the new tom cat on the block and I kinda felt like pissing off the cat next door. Mwah ha ha ha...' But I bit my tongue.

So that's how my weekend ended. Half naked men and pissed-off pussies. All in a day's work.

Read any good books lately?

Well would'ya look at that... a whole month since my last blog. I'm sorry. 'Just been totally swamped with lots of life stuff. Though that's no excuse...

Anyway, 'found this list thing on Expensive Mistakes and Cheap Thrills' blog and thought it was kinda fun. Take a look:

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you started but did not finish.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Highlight the ones you still want to read but just have not had a chance yet!
5) Reprint this list in your own blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 or less and force books upon them.

1. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
2. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
3. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
4. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
5. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
6. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
7. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
8. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
9. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
10. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
11. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
12. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
13. His Dark Materials (trilogy) - Philip Pullman
14. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
15. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
16. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
17. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
18. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
19. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
20. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
21. Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
22. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
23. Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
24. Animal Farm - George Orwell
25. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
26. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
27. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
28. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
29. Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
30. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
31. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
32. Complete Works of Shakespeare
33. Ulysses - James Joyce
34. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
35. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
36. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
37. The Bible
38. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
39. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
40. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
41. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
42. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
45. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
46. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
47. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
48. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
49. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
50. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
51. Little Women - Louisa M. Alcott
52. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
53. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
54. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
55. Middlemarch - George Eliot.
56. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
57. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
58. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
59. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
60. Emma - Jane Austen
61. Persuasion - Jane Austen
62. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
63. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
64. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
65. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
66. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
67. Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery
68. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
69. Atonement - Ian McEwan
70. Dune - Frank Herbert
71. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
72. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
73. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
74. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
75. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
76. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
77. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
78. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
79. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
80. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
81. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
82. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
83. Dracula - Bram Stoker
84. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
85. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
86. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
87. Germinal - Emile Zola
88. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
89. Possession - A.S. Byatt
90. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
91. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
92. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
93. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
94. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
95. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
96. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
97. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
98. Watership Down – Richard Adams
99. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
100. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

Cool, there you have it.

By the way, I've just finished reading the latest Marian Keyes - good read! (This Charming Man). If you're into her stuff and haven't yet read it, well, what are you waiting for? :)

Okay, bye for now.

Is it home time yet?...

Well winter is here with a vengeance, though I guess that's not surprising, seeing as the winter solstice is almost upon us. Still, today is definitely duvet weather which is why it's almost criminal to be stuck at work. And with the mountain of tasks ever increasing, my motivation levels are bottoming-out. I've definitely reached that 'stare-at-the-screen-and-wait-for home-time' phase of the day.

Anyway, at least it's a short week. YAY for that. Last weekend was quite good. It started off with breakfast at the Table Bay hotel which was really nice. My friend Des and I went through for an 'author breakfast' where Alexander McCall Smith was the guest speaker. It was a brilliant morning and the gorgeous goodie bags were the cherry on top. Stunning!

After having our books signed, we toddled off to grab a drink at Ferryman's, which meant parking in the Waterfront parking area. We had a great time but were robbed blind at the end. No, not by nasty knife-wielding Cape Town criminals. Nope, we was robbed by the Waterfront. The parking cost R40 for about three hours. Shocking. Such a tourist trap - I should've known better. What made it worse was that after handing over my hard-earned moola, I drove to the booms to find them OPEN. Paid R40 for nothing. Grrrrrrr...

It seems everything is sky-rocketing lately. I filled my car up with petrol the other morning and left feeling positively violated. R450 to fill up my chariot! And believe me, my chariot is one of the smaller models. Awoooo...

Well, onto more positive things. I'm taking a very long weekend because it's my birthday on Monday and I really do believe no one should be at work on their birthday. (Unless your work colleagues are prone to showering you with gifts. Mine aren't.) So the prospect of a few days away from the office makes me very, very happy!

One last thing - the Wacky Wine Weekend was fantastic, though the weather was shocking. The best part was that we had a designated driver who drove a combi big enough for us all to fit in. What a pleasure! You'll be pleased to know that I was a reasonably responsible wine taster, and that the wheels only fell off after dinner. Thankfully, dinner was had at the place we were staying. That place also had a bar, which led to the afore-mentioned fallen-off wheels. Oh well, what's a girl to do? And what doesn't destroy the ol' kidneys makes them stronger, right? Hmmmm... maybe not.

(Another goodie from the guys at ShoeBox)

Powerful yet contemplative ducks

Lately, I've come across random yet deep little messages. Not the usual voices in the head kinda stuff. More like things in passing that have a greater impact than I imagine was originally intended.

For example, I was moaning to my mum about my dumb-ass neighbour and as always, she took my side. She also told me not to let him have the power. 'Take back the power.' Hmmmm...

A few days later, I was reading a Women24.com newsletter that discussed gender issues in the workplace. The author used a duck metaphor that really got me thinking... She said when things are getting you mad and pissed off, 'be the duck'. In other words, be calm and composed on the outside, even though you're spitting mad on the inside. I liked that analogy because I'm fairly emotional at the best of times and so when people rain on my parade, you can read me like a book. Most particularly in work situations (and you know how it is, if a man loses it at work he's seen as 'passionate' whereas when a woman loses it, she's frowned upon as being too emotional).
Anyway, 'be the duck'. I liked that.

Then last night I watched an Oprah rerun (stop rolling your eyes) and she had Elizabeth Gilbert on her show. Now Ms Gilbert wrote the hugely popular Eat, Pray, Love - a book I happened to read fairly recently, even though it looked suspiciously like a religious self-help book (I detest those). It wasn't. Well, not entirely. It's the memoir of a thirty-something woman who reached a point in her life where she had to admit to herself that she wasn't happy. She had everything that was supposed to make her 'happy' and yet it wasn't enough. So she packed her bags and embarked on a year long journey to Italy, India and Bali - in search of INNER happiness. I won't lie to you, religion played a role for Gilbert, but what struck a chord for me was the courage it took her to stop and start again. Nevermind heading off into geographic territory that held no familiarities or comfort. Very Good Book. Oprah had Gilbert on as a follow-up to a previous show which showcased the book. Last night's episode was about the impact the book had on readers. Some of it was very much Oprah-fied, but there were a couple of stories that demanded nothing but sheer admiration. People who had the courage to acknowledge that they weren't satisfied or happy and then started on a new journey towards that frikken' allusive goal.

So, these are my three things. Multi-mantra, if you will. Take Back the Power (I need to stop letting the small things get to me); Be the Duck (take a deep breath... and exhale) and Find the Courage and Time to work on what really makes me tick.

In anticipation of my newly found 'resolutions', I set my alarm clock for 7am - half an hour earlier than usual so I could get up, have a cup of tea and enjoy some quiet contemplation time before throwing myself into the rat race. Sadly, I am (ashamed) to report that I slept in and only gained consciousness at around 8. I was very late for work - again. But I'm going to try again tomorrow...

'And you may ask yourself, well... how did I get here?'

Well, the last few weeks at work have been pretty much diabolical, to say the least - reinforcing my firm belief that this work thing is for the birds. I'll spare you the pathetic details but let's just say I'm really beginning to grudge spending my precious time here. Time for a change of scenery and perhaps even a change of career, me thinks. Ah, the tragedy of the working middle-class. So amidst all this debilitating and soul-destroying drama, I welcome all distractions. Especially on this particularly cold Monday morning. An hour away from lunch time, and apart from an overly extended morning meeting, I've gotten nothing done. No point in starting now. I'll write a quick post and then knuckle down after lunch.

So last Wednesday, I found myself at Grandwest watching the gorgeous James Blunt crooning his self-admittedly sometimes-miserable ditties. Oh boys and girls, it was a very, very good concert - he's so much better live than he sounds on his studio albums. (Quite rare, don't you think?) He performed a good mix from both albums and gave a pretty damn good show. It was also the first time I'd been to a concert at that venue. I had my doubts initially - I've just never been a fan of casinos and Grandwest is in the less-than-pretty area of Goodwood. But the venue size was decent, the seating (yes, it was a seated show - I guess that's old age setting in) was spacious. The acoustics were also really good. So in all, the concert scored a fabulous 5 out of 5! The only drawback was being surrounded by great music while confined to a chair. Other than that, awesome! Needless to say, I've since been listening to lots of James in the car... at home... and right now my iPod is filling my head with all things Blunt. Nice...

Last week was one I was looking forward to as it also saw the release of the Sex and the City movie. So on Saturday, I watched the last episode of season 6 then headed for Cavendish were I was finally able to catch up on what the girls have been up to since they left TV airwaves. What can I say - of course the movie was fabulous. That goes without saying. Though it also left me feeling a little sad. I'm not sure if it's because things don't always work out the way you want them to (no surprise there) or if it's because this really is 'goodbye'. Then again, maybe it's because I've been listening to too much sad JB. ;) Anyway, I enjoyed the flick on a few levels, though I must admit I prefer the episodes to the movie. Being a feature film, it was less intimate than the 22 minute instalments, and in some bits it was a little clichéd. But on the whole, it was great and as for those outfits... FABULOUS!

Okay, so that's pretty much my news for the past few days. Only five more sleeps 'til the weekend (sad, hey?) and I'm particularly looking forward to this one because I'm off to the Wacky Wine Festival. Haven't had a weekend away in a VERY LONG TIME! So roll on Friday...

Grab your Manolos and a cosmo refill...

Okay, so maybe it's insanely clichéd, but I'm really, really, really looking forward to the Sex and the City movie, which opens this week! In the build-up, I've been watching my SATC boxsets and at the moment, I'm finishing up Season 6 to coincide with the movie release. It opens on Thursday but I'll catch it over the weekend, preferably in the morning. ('Not keen on queuing up with lots of girlies who are watching the movie only because they think it'll make them fabulous.)

I've also just ordered the SATC OST! 'Checked it out on iTunes, and let me tell you, it sounds pretty damn good. So that should be arriving in the next week or so. Now I just need to figure out how to sneak lovely chilled cosmos into the movie theatre... Hmmm...

Sweet kitteh vs bad neighbour - Round 1

Fumes. I'm surrounded by them - and I gotsta tell you - they're intoxicating. Sadly, they're not the good kind of fumes. They're stinky nail polish fumes. Thing is, the powers that be in the company I work for have taken pity on us minions, and have treated us to a 'wellness week'.

Yesterday, the guys from Discovery Health came in, pin-pricked our fingers, took our measurements and read us our fortune. The good news is my cholesterol is A-OK (must be all that red wine!) though my blood pressure is little low. The worst part though was the BMI crap stuff - there's no feeling of 'wellness' in having complete strangers weigh and measure you. Whatever. Anyway, back to those fumes. Today being day two, they set up a mini spa in one of the boardrooms and I had a mini-manicure. How fab for me! I went with dark red talons and I think they look pretty damn hot, though as I said, they reek. So much so, it has prevented me from working. Instead I've been surfing the web and checking out some blogs. (I'm a little concerned that my blog is dead-boring and considering I've been waffling on about my painted nails, I rest my case. So I'll keep this brief.)

I had a nice weekend. Wound down on the Sunday by going to a chick-flick (Made of Honor). I came out feeling quite chipper until I switched on my mobile and found a message from my neighbour. Him and his girlfriend moved in quite recently and I haven't really had a chance to suss them out, due in large to their lack of 'passing neighbour friendliness'. Imagine my horror when I listened to his voice mail which detailed how my cat had apparently 'broken' into their home and viciously attacked their 'animals'!!! WTF?!?!?

(To put you in the picture, my cat (Phoebe) is a lovely pussycat who is terrified of each fellow member of her feline species, as well as pizza delivery boys. She's sweet and lovely, and unless you're a gecko, completely harmless. )

I immediately phoned the Tosser back to find out more. According to his sob story, Phoebe is in their place very often (doubtful), especially in the middle of the night (blatant lie) and has viciously attacked said Tosser's three-month old kittens (oh puhleeeeeeze!) I asked him if he had witnessed this so-called attack and no, he hadn't but he suspects it was Phoebe. What a jerk! The 'hood is riddled with bad-ass tom cats who are 'itchin' for a beatin' but as none of them wear tags and collars, there's no proof.

He told me I need to sort out my cat. Okay Dumb-ass, I'll give her a stern talking to and read her the riot act. Whatever. I told him to keep his windows closed so his kittens don't become cat food. And we kinda left it at that. What a jerk.

Not that I need to prove my apparently-bad kitty's innocence or anything but here are a couple of pics I have of her...

I ask you, does this look to you like an evil cat?

I mean, c'mon...

But hey, if it's war he wants, it's war he'll get. Bring it.

Okay, typing not good for newly gorgeous nails. Must go home now....

Mwah ha ha...

(great word...)

schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\, noun:

A malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.

RIP little buddies

It is with great sadness that I must announce the sudden and tragic passing of my Lionhead goldfish - Sybil, Fred and Shorty.

Sybil and Fred lived happy lives and spent many hours circling the tank and re-acquainting themselves with each other. Sybil's favourite past-time was floating upside down and playing dead. She played this game for the last time a month ago when she went belly-up and never awoke.

Fred was understandably sad at the passing of his tank mate, but being the great little fishy he was, bravely soldiered on. When Shorty joined him in the tank, he warmly welcomed the new arrival. Sadly, Shorty lived up to his name and was with us for a tragically short time. After a mere two and a half weeks, he gave up the will to live. Shorty passed away peacefully on Tuesday morning. He will be missed.

Poor grief-stricken Fred was clearly traumatised by the sudden passing of the only friends he ever knew and, after his little heart broke, he too passed. A moving flushing ceremony took place last night (Wednesday).

It is my sincere hope that Sybil, Fred and Shorty have found eternal peace in the Big Pond in the Sky, where there are no dodgy cats watching them and fishy food flakes are in abundance. Each little fish was special in their individual way and will be sorely missed. Swim free, little buddies. Swim free.

The Owl and the Pussycat

Great poem:

The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are,
What a beautiful Pussy you are."
Pussy said to the Owl "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing.
O let us be married, too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?"
Said the Piggy, "I will"
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand.
They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.