Not a happy camper

Well, today I'm all doom and gloom. In spite of my very best efforts to stay upbeat and positive, today it just isn't happening. I'm sure this is just a temporary phase and it'll all get better soon. But it's in my nature to get sucked in by the lows, and lately there just haven't been enough highs to counter-balance the nasty.

Why the major funk? Well yesterday, everyone in my company was sent the dreaded e-mail dotted with the 'R' word. Yup kids, that's R for RETRENCHMENT. Now, I'm not going to get my knickers in knot just quite yet, because at this stage we don't know who's going. All we know is that they'll be retrenching across all teams. They're going to explain the process and criteria for retrenchment on Friday. Yeah, that's four sleepless nights to endure until the Big Meeting. Even then, I doubt we'll know who's getting the chop until next week.

I guess this isn't really a huge surprise - rentrenchments and liquidations have been happening all over the show - both here in South Africa and throughout the world. (Hello Depression.) But that doesn't make it any easier to digest. Even if I dodge the knife, some of my work buddies may be going, and that really, really sucks.

I bet this is what it feels like to be on Survivor. You try your hardest to keep your head down and out of the way, but you never know when you're going to be voted off the island. And once Jeff snuffs out your torch, that's that. The tribe will have spoken.

Anyway, talk of retrenchments is really the cherry on top of the pity party I've been considering attending. As always, it couldn't come at a worst time. My rent is going up at the end of the month (ie. this week). Plus, last week I took my car in for a minor service and to sort out some weird sounds it had been making. Turned out, those weird sounds were going to cost me about R14000(!!!!!!!!!!) to sort out! And the sounds were omens of very bad things. After a mini breakdown (and I'm not talking about the dance type) I got my car in at another place, who gave me a much cheaper quote. So the sounds are gone, and the car isn't likely to get me killed anytime soon, but it still cost me a whackload of money, and my little piggy bank has been left feeling utterly violated.

Anyway, now all that's left to do is sit and wait until Friday's meeting. In the meantime, rest assured I'll be getting no work done. Instead, I need to update my CV and work on my portfolio. And if anytime soon, you pass me on the street and you find me and my cat begging for money, please be kind and help a gal out. And remember, if you don't have any money to give, red wine will do nicely. Thanks in advance.

Baby, it's hot outside

It's Friday! Yay! But hasn't this week really flown by? Hectic! It started off on a good note, heading off to Maynardville to watch some Shakespeare in the park. I really enjoyed the play ('As you like it') but sheesh, those plastic chairs are NOT butt-friendly! Ouch! On Wednesday night I headed off to the Cape Quarter for another eve of good wine and munchies, courtesy of Fiesta and the Nose Bar, but I'm sorry to say I woke up with a rather unpleasant hangover on Thursday. Quite surprising as I didn't go large at all. In between I've been trying to drag myself to the gym but have been failing miserably every time. I blame the heat. It's been up there in the thirties since the weekend and it's actually quite unpleasant - especially considering my car doesn't have aircon. Still, I shouldn't complain. The guys in England have been hit by really heavy snowfalls, never mind the Aussies who have been taking some serious strain. Horrifying to think of all those people who have been killed by those fires!!! And of course, I can't help but think of all the animals too. All those baby birds and little squirrels and hedgehogs and snakes and tortoises... I remember a few years back when we had a particularly bad fire here in Cape Town there was a high toll on animal life and the animals that survived struggled to find food for quite a while after the fires because their natural habitat had been completely destroyed. The biggest shocker though is that these fires are often the result of arson. I mean c'mon - what the hell? You need to be a special type of nasty to pull that off! Grrrr...

So it's nice to hear the heart-warming stories that come out of those tragedies, like that koala that appeared all over the world. You know, the one pictured with the firefighter? Here it is:

Shame, it got quite burnt but apparently she's mending well and has found love in the process (no, not with the fireman but with another koala!) And a friend e-mailed this little story earlier today - pics of a koala in Maude, Australia taking a little dip in a bucket of cool water supplied by a local. It just goes to show how hot it is - these little guys are incredibly people-shy!

And while on the path of cute animal pics, here's another one: It's a baby badger and I'm not sure if there's a story around it. I just thought it was an incredibly cute pic and worth sharing!

Anyway, I hope wherever you are the weather isn't too hot and if it is, I hope you have a swimming pool. As for me, I'll definitely be inflating my blow-up pool this weekend. You know where to find me...

Funny stuff for Dreary Tuesday

Got these from Cyanide and Happiness and the Shoebox Blog.

The good, the bad and the downright nasty

I’ve noticed many of you bloggers out there post lists. Lists of good things that happened. Lists of good thoughts. Lists of positive stuff. Lists of really nice, feel-good stuff. And I really dig that kind of thing, especially in keeping with my ‘positive’ outlook for 2009. But ultimately, there’s a tormented realist deep inside of me who can’t help but point out that lists of crappy things are also easy to make. Sorry, but it’s true. I’m thinking this calls for a bit of balance so please indulge me in my own list. A list of the good, the bad and the downright nasty. (By the way, you should know upfront that this has been a bit of a shite week, as you’ll see in my list, but now that the weekend is almost here, I expect a full recovery.) Anyhoo, here we go (starting with the good stuff)…

Sunshiney stuff that makes me happy:

1. I went for a walk on the beach at Big Bay on Saturday, followed by lunch in Simon’s Town. It was a stunning day, though the morning was a bit foggy. After the walk, I had an ice-cream for breakfast – as did my buddy and her doggies. Ah, it’s the simple things that make life good, don’t you think?

2. On Sunday, I joined some of my favourite people at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens for a picnic while enjoying a sundowner concert. Prime Circle was playing and the place was packed, but it didn’t detract from the beauty of Kirstenbosch. Nestled in the shadow of Table Mountain it’s the perfect setting to end off a stellar weekend.

3. I’m really, really happy Obama has begun his term and is already making important and long over-due changes. Never mind all the hype, I believe he’ll have a positive effect on the U.S., which in itself, will impact on the rest of us. More so, though, I’m glad George Bush is OUTTA THERE. And not a minute too soon. I’m also looking forward to our S.A. elections, and I hope Cope gives the ANC a good run for their money. Though some of their party candidates are less than impressive, they’re no where near as bad as Jacob Zuma (Umshimi Wami – bring me my machine gun) or Winnie Mandela. Yikes. Oops, dangerously close to the bad stuff here. Will quit while I’m ahead.

4. Friends of mine are organising tickets for us to watch As You Like It at Maynardville’s Open Air Theatre. Shakespeare at Maynardville is another annual Cape Town tradition that’s a must do. Mmmm… hot chocolate, warm blanket and a play by the esteemed bard.

5. If the wind isn’t howling next Thursday, I’m heading up Table Mountain. By cable car, of course. Not by foot, that would be ridiculous. ;) I’m really looking forward to it. Champagne, camembert and crackers… maybe some dark chocolate for dessert. Yum!

Bad-ass stuff that makes me sad:

1. So it would seem my beloved landlord (who is a genuinely nice guy, by the way) hasn’t been paying his rates bill for the last few months, and so on Monday I came home to a love letter from the municipality who are threatening to cut off my water and electricity if he doesn’t pay it soon. Now you can lead a horse to water but that doesn’t mean Mr Ed is going to have a drink, and so I’ve been a little anxious about the LL not getting in touch with them and paying his dues. After all, me sitting in the dark, all thirsty, wouldn’t bug him much but it would definitely piss me off. So now we wait to see who wins the race. The landlord or the municipality. I know whose side I’m on.

2. My trusty kettle is officially kaput. This happened on Tuesday. I’m sure I don’t need to spell this out for you, but I will anyway. It means no C_A_F_F_E_I_N_E. This is a very bad thing, both for me and anyone who I encounter in the morning. Grrrrr…

3. My car broke down on Wednesday night. Again. Sigh. Half an hour away from home, and my car reverts to only two gears. Third and fourth. Amazing how many intersections there are between Table View and the southern suburbs. I’m proud to say I never stalled once, though I certainly revved the hell out of my poor little chariot. Suffice to say, if my car was a horse, it would’ve been shot many moons back. (Humanely, of course.) But with the economy as it is, a new car just isn’t an option right now. But there’s a happy ending this time. Amazingly, my car has already been fixed, in just one day. And for nothing! So I’m mobile again! (Could everyone please touch wood.)

4. I recently got a rather in-depth update on an ex who seems to be living quite happily without me. Come on, guys. We’ve been over this before. After we’ve dated you’re supposed to be so heart-broken that you (a) join a monastery (b) turn gay or (c) spend at least a few years pining away for me. Sheesh…What’s up with that moving on stuff? And if you’re so happy, the least you can do is return my picnic basket and my cooler box and my Scrabble set and my mountain bike and my alarm clock…

Downright nasty stuff that makes me mad:

1. Last night, there was a Lindsay Lohan movie on the telly. I don’t know what it’s called, but it gave a whole new meaning to crap. (Okay, so maybe this doesn’t exactly make me mad, but it’s too crappy to go under the ‘bad’ list.) To be fair, I’m not a fan of Ms Lohan’s to begin with, but I saw Mean Girls. And enjoyed it, but that’s only because Tina Fey is brilliant! Nope, this one sucks. In it, she’s a victim of some warped serial killer but somehow survives, though the same can’t be said for all her limbs. Eeuw. Now she’s in some sort of denial where she thinks she’s someone else and can’t recall what happened to her. Trust me, it’s not a good movie and if at any time you’re standing at Blockbuster holding a DVD box in your hands with a similar synopsis written on the back, PUT IT DOWN and move away. Slowly.

2. ‘Trying to find parking for Sunday’s sundowner concert at Kirstenbosch led me across the path a rather nasty biatch. Searching up and down the parking lot, I found a bay next to which a car was really badly parked, as in parked across two bays. But the driver was still sitting in the car so I jumped out of mine to ask her if she would mind moving over just a squidge, so I could park in the bay next to her. Her answer was a dead-pan ‘no’, because she was keeping the bays for friends who were coming later. I told I didn’t think that was very fair (it wasn’t!) and she just looked my in the eye and said “’Sorry for you”. I could feel my Hulk complex kicking in and so I stomped away before I turned bright green and smacked her (fat) ass. 25 Minutes later I found parking. Six blocks away.

And that’s it for my list. You like? Apologies for it being so long-winded, but I don’t often make lists. If I ever do one again, I promise to make it a whole lot shorter. Now I have to run. (Not literally. I’m off for Friday after-work drinks!) TTFN.

Be still my beating heart

I have taken a new lover.

Yes, it's true. Diemersfontein Pinotage, and it's everything I've ever looked for in a wine. Dark and lovely, it has overtones of (get this) coffee and CHOCOLATE! And it's not like those poncy wine descriptions... you really can taste a hint of chocolate. And in a beautiful red wine, that is very special thing.

It's by no means a new wine and in fact, I suspect I'm one of the last few people on the planet to discover it. Which is especially surpising considering how deeply in love I am in with red wine and chocolate. But better late than never. I was introduced to it at the Nose Bar on Wednesday night. Strange name for a great little restaurant slash wine bar in Cape Town's trendy Cape Quarter. I've been there before, on a blind date, but going back with one of my favourite gal pals was much more fun. And we certainly made the most of the extensive wine menu on offer. A glass of this and a glass of that before scoffing down a delicious cheese platter. OH MY GOD. Yum. And then for dessert, some of the above-metioned chocolatey-wine loveliness. (Yes, I like to drink my dessert.) To be fair, I woke up the next morning with a head stuffed with cotton-wool but it was worth all that delicious wine.

Unfortunately, Diemersfontein Wine Estate is in Wellington, which is a little far from where I live. Pity, but perhaps that's a good thing. It improves my chances of general sobriety and ability to be a relatively 'high'-functioning individual. It retails at about R70 a bottle from the wine farm itself (and is about the same price from Makro), which is a fair bit pricier than the regular plonk I feast on at braais and other social get-togethers. (And keep in mind, that R70 is the wine farm price. Restaurants have the ridiculous habit of adding a ginormous mark-up. Very uncool.) Regardless, the Diemersfontein Pinotage is wonderfully quaffable and worth every cent it sells for, though I'll definitely be saving it for more 'civilised' occasions!

So spread the news. Belinda Carlisle was right. Heaven really is a place on Earth. And it's called Diemersfontein Wine Estate. (Can you also hear the angels singing?)

Well, look who's back!

Me, that's who.

Yup, five hours in to my first day back at the office and let me tell you, I'm taking strain. No more morning visits to the beach followed by a late breakfast, no more long leisurely wine-flavoured lunches, no more Dr Phil and Oprah, no more lazing in my garden with a book. Oh, how sad.

It wasn't particularly easy to haul my butt out of bed this morning. Coincidentally, or perhaps not so much, my butt is showing the after-effects of all that festive munching and drinking and so today not only marks my first day back in the (gag) office but also my first day back at gym. At least, that's the intention.

To be honest though, I'm actually feeling quite optimistic about the new year and all the goals I want to achieve by next December. Some certainly seem more doable than others but I'm feeling psyched, so watch this space! So in spite of feeling the effect of those 'back in the office blues' I'm sure they will pass. And starting back on a Tuesday means a shorter week. Woohoo.

I had a pretty cool holiday too. 'Went to an awesome 'Dusk Till Dawn' New Years Eve party. Other than that, spent time with friends and family. Even went horse riding on Noordhoek beach on Friday. That was great but it left me walking like a cowboy for the next couple of days. Anyway, more on the holiday stuff later. For now, Happy New Year everyone. I hope it's a goodie for both you and me! :)

Dear Santa

Dear Santa

I know, it's been a while. So how have you been keeping? I hope those reindeer of yours are behaving themselves.

Anyway, it's 'that' time of year and so I thought you might be curious to know what I'm hoping to find in my stocking next Thursday morning. I'm really just trying to make your job a little easier. I've narrowed it down to a little list. Here goes, big guy.

1. Okay, first up I'd like a new car, though if that's a little awkward to pack on the sleigh, I understand. A Nintendo Wii will do.

2. I wouldn't mind some help with my credit card and overdraft, and by 'help' I mean clear. I'm sure a guy like you has some very good contacts and so if you can schnaggle it so that it's all paid up and sorted, I'd be a really, really happy camper.

3. Santa, I really need a GHD. My cheap-ass Clicks hair-straightener is ruining my hair and I have it on good authority that the only solution is to use a GHD, because that doesn't dry out hair. Please Santa, I've been a good girl (for the most part), oh please can I have a GHD?

4. Now here's one I'm sure you've heard before. Please can you drop off a cute little puppy. I'm sure the cat won't mind. She'll get used to it. While you're at it, I may need a bigger garden. And maybe a dog nanny to entertain the pooch while I'm at work (and pick up the dog poop. Gross).

5. Now Santa, I know you of all people understand the importance of travel and so I'm sure you can guess my next wish list pressie. I'd really love a trip to Ireland. Or New York. I can't decide which spot I'd like to visit first, so feel free to surprise me. Either way, it would be much appreciated.

6. This next one is more of a necessity than a 'luxury'. Please Santa, I need a domestic worker / char / maid / whatever the pc term is. Please send me somebody who will wash my dishes, do the laundry, make the beds, wash windows (and floors) and above all, CLEAN THE TOILET (bleuch!). Please Santa. I'm begging you.

7. If domestic help is too tall an order, I'll make do with a tall, dark and handsome, millionnaire volunteer firefighter with a proclivity for washing dishes, doing the laundry, making (our [hee hee]) bed, washing windows (and floors) and cleaning toilets. But I'm not too fussy. If he doesn't speak any English, that's okay with me.

8. I'd also like a new job. Preferably one close to home, with a huge salary and 'negotiable' working hours (ie. 3 hours a day). Can you swing that?

Okay big guy, I think you have enought to work with. Can't wait to see what you drop off. And don't worry, I won't forget to leave out some cookies for you. No milk though. You know I don't drink that stuff. But I'll leave the box wine next to the biscuits. Feel free to help yourself but please don't polish it all off. We wouldn't want you nabbed for drinking and driving...

Best regards and thanks a bunch,

Fluffy Pink Thing

x o x o x o

Watching out for the green flash...

'Headed off to Clifton 2nd Beach after work yesterday for sundowners with friends. Magic...

Today's little pearl of wisdom

I learnt something quite valuable this morning. I learnt that no matter how rushed you are to get to work, you should keep an eye on the red flashy light thing that tells you when you are low on fuel. Because when you least expect it, you may find yourself stranded on the side of the highway.

Jeez. 'Not a good way to start the day...

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?

The older I get, the harder its becoming to live la vida loca on a school night, and still be a relatively well functioning person the next day. I miss those days when I could party all night long and still make it to work the next morning without looking like I'd been dragged through a dumpster. Regardless, there are times when there is no choice but to put on the big girl panties, bite the bullet and carpe the diem. Whoa, cliche overload. Anyhoo, last night I toddled off to see old-school rocker/crooner Rod Stewart, who was playing at Newlands' Sahara Park. Sure, he's a tad long in the tooth and more my parents' kind of taste, but nonetheless it was a great show.

We sat in the cheap seats. (Read: all the way in the very back.) But that was actually okay. Of course, he played all the old stuff, which was fab. There was lots of singing, dancing, arm-waving and concerty-kinda stuff going on, and by the time the Rodster packed up his stuff and left, we were pretty worn out. We also found ourselves with an insanely large bunch of Irishmen (who are in Cape Town for some or other house-building charity thing). Seriously, there were hundreds of them! And in true Irish style, they were all incredibly festive. And by festive, I mean loud. We had loads of laughs with them (very friendly bunch) and when Rod wasn't singing, the Irish were. I kid you not: it was like being at a football match! 'Danny Boy'... 'It's a long way to Tipperary'... all being belted out at top volume. Luckily, having folks who are both Glaswegians meant I knew the words to some of the songs and so I merrily joined in for a sing-song. Ah, good fun!

Then it was off to Kelvin Grove for a nightcap or two while we waited for the post-concert traffic to clear. Hence, it was a rather late night - not helped by the fact that they closed the gate on the other side of a school field we had to cross to get to the car. I tried to scale the fence but only got half way over. It was quite a drop and so changed my mind and went back the way I came. Needless to say, my 'dismount' was less than ladylike and today I have a couple of whopper bruises as a reminder. Live and learn.

Anyway, I crawled into bed at about 1.30 this morning and when the alarm went off after what felt like very little sleep, I wanted to cry. The powers-that-be at work knew that I was off to a concert, and so calling in sick would've been a little too obvious. Awoooo... I'm really looking forward to home time. I think I may eat dinner in bed. Hey, don't judge me. It's not very nice.