Well, tickle me pink

So much for my 'post-per-day' plan. 'Will try again next week. We're heading into Friday evening and most of my colleagues have already left the office to get a head start on the weekend. Which is pretty much what I'm about to do. Somewhere out there in cold, wet Cape Town, a glass (or two) of wine and a delicious Thai curry is waiting for me. Yummy.

But here's my parting gift: I read this online a little earlier today and while it's hardly earth shattering, the thought of research that involves tickling baby orangutans, baby bonobos, baby gorillas and baby humans until they laugh is absolutely delightful. So here's wishing you a weekend of many giggles and tickled monkeys.

Plagiarism is the most sincere form of flattery*

I kinda set myself a target of posting every day for the month of June (at least on weekdays) but today's flown by and I haven't had a chance to give it much thought. So today, I'm going to cheat and post some funny stuff that other people came up with ;)

*Liked that, did ya? Well run right over to these sites for more where that came from...

Cats That Look Like Hitler
The Shoebox Blog
LOL Cats
Savage Chickens
Graph Jam


P.S....

Last but not least, the prez and his lady du jour.
(Yeah, Barack and Michelle, they are not.)

Me, myself and I

So what's up with people who refer to themselves in the third person?* It's the weirdest thing. Last night I caught an episode of America's Next Top Model (yes, I'm a reality TV whore) and one of the model wannabees is this chick called Jade. Jade has got some serious 'tude and comes across as a downright biatch. And to make matters worse, she always talks about herself in the third person. As in 'Jade doesn't do this' and 'Jade doesn't do that' and 'Y'all better watch out cos Jade is so fierce right now she's gonna take you bitches down.' Okay so don't quote me on that - I can't remember what it is exactly that she said, but you get the drift.

Fierce / Scary (such a fine line)

But seriously, what's up with that? And it's usually society's dumbasses that make this a habit. A while back I heard ex-Cape Town mayor Peter Marais being interviewed on CapeTalk and throughout the segment he kept referring to himself in the third person. Seriously! I mean c'mon. What are you? Schizophrenic? Maybe, but I'm thinking it's more a case of a super-sized ego. Yup, no self-esteem issues there. Maybe I'm just from a generation of low self-esteem kids.

* That said, I think some situations call for third-person referrals - like when blogging. Then it's kinda quirky and cool. But in all other situations, I think it makes you sound like a first-class eejit.

(still funny even after all these years...)

Deja Moo

My life has been considerably dull lately and so while I work on a plan to remedy that, I'm going to waffle on about stuff that has nothing to do with me. (Believe me, it's better that way.)

So did you guys hear about the pod of whales that beached themselves on Long Beach in Kommetjie on Saturday? Really sad stuff. In the end, they had to euthanise about 40 of them, as it was the kindest thing to do. Quite tragic, really. But I wonder what it is that makes whales and dolphins beach themselves in the first place? Mystery of nature, I suppose. Still, very sad.

Onto movie stuff... I had an assignment I had to work on this weekend, and so in true FPT style, I avoided it like the plague and left it to the very last minute (ie. Sunday evening) - which gave me plenty of time to catch up on some movies. I was too lazy to make myself decent and leave my house so I dug around and found a couple of flicks I hadn't yet watched. First up was Eagle vs Shark. Quite a strange little movie - sweet and quaint but also a little off-sides. A New Zealand production, the film didn't have any recognisable names or faces. But I enjoyed it. You might too.

Then I decided to watch Sweeney Todd. I won't lie. Johnny Depp was a major factor in choosing the film, but I really struggled to get into it, and I fell asleep before the end. Must've been all that singing. I'm not really a fan of singing in a movie (with maybe Mamma Mia being the exception) and so I think that's what put me off. (Why Johnny, why?...)



Moving on... Can you believe Susan Boyle did NOT win Britain's got Talent this weekend?!??!?!?!? Och aye, it's true! Really, what's this world coming to? First Adam and now Susan?!?!?!? Someone needs to have a serious word with the voting public - are you guys all on crack?!?!? C'mon!!!! Poor Susan, she wuz robbed. :(

Anyway, we've now come to the awwww... sweet... segment of today's post. Here are some warm and fuzzy photies of a brand-spanking new panda cub who made a grand arrival a few days ago after its mother was artificially inseminated with her partner's panda sperm. And look! 200g of cute baby panda! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... Too cute!

How gorgeous is this little guy?!?!?!?

(and one more time for the people in the cheap seats...)
Awwwwwwwww...

30 - Love

Congratulations nasty Mister Flu Lurgy.

For the second time this month, you got the better of me. You win. Once again, you made me feel like crap and confined me to my bed, where I spent my precious time coughing and sneezing and whimpering like a little baby. I hate you.

But next time, you won't be so lucky. This is war. Bring it.

Definitely rockin' the super-sexy look at work today!

Bob and the Queen

'Saw this on the back page of an old Financial Mail and thought it was worth sharing...

Robert Mugabe flies to England to see the Queen. Over a cup of tea, he brings up his plans for his country.
"Your Majesty, can we turn Zimbabwe into a kingdom, in order to increase its force in the world market?"
The Queen shakes her head and replies: "One needs a king for a kingdom, Mr Mugabe and unfortunately you are most certainly not a king."
Not to be dissuaded, Bob asks: "Would it be possible to transform Zimbabwe into an empire then?"
"No, you silly chap," snorts the Queen, "for an empire you need an emperor, and you are most certainly not an emperor."
Bob thinks for a moment and then asks if it is possible to turn Zimbabwe into a principality.
The Queen replies: "For a principality, you need a prince, and you Mr Mugabe, are definitely not a prince."
Pausing for a sip of tea, she adds: "I don't mean to appear rude but having met you, I think Zimbabwe is perfectly suited as a country."

Heading for the hills...

What a gorgeous Autumn day it is! While Cape Town is waiting for the next winter storm to hit, we're being treated to a couple of days of glorious sunshine. Pity I'm stuck in the office, but at least my view ain't too shabby. Here, I just snapped this pic:

Nice, eh? Those rolling hills in the distance, my friends, make up some of Durbanville's famous wine farms.

Anyway, not much to say today. Just thought I'd share my view.

P.S. The window is quite grubby - sorry about that.

8 Recently stumbled-upon realisations

Number 1: Spending a weekend snuggled on the couch in front of a roaring fire, with a good book and the sound of rain falling on the roof is great for the soul, but definitely not romantic if you're doing it by yourself.

Number 2: Cats can sit dangerously close to a heater for extended periods of time without spontaneously combusting into a flaming fireball. It's just not natural.

Number 3: Dreaming Big is crucial, yet utterly pointless if you're not prepared to take any risks. Pansy.

Number 4: Freelancing has its rewards. Just as long as you know a couple of heavies who can sort out the client who hasn't paid you yet. Grrrr...

Number 5: Ugly Betty is incredibly corny. That said, for some reason it makes me feel very optimistic about love love love.

Number 6: Being brunette is a much more fun than I thought it would be. So bye-bye blonde locks!

Number 7: No-one's told the last few die-hard mosquitoes that it's apparently winter, because they're still doing the rounds. You don't need to worry though. They're all at my place. And they only come out at about 3 a.frikken'.m. Bastards.

Number 8: Right now, at this point in my life, I prefer puppies to babies. Is that wrong?

Random Tuesday Waffling

So, did anyone watch Zuma's inauguration on Saturday? I caught snippets of it, including the arrival of Mugabe. (What a pity he was invited! I guess they kinda had to send him an invite, being neighbours and all, but still.) And at last all the mystery surrounding which of Zuma's wives would attend as the First Lady was cleared up. The winner being Wife Number One: Sizakele Khumalo. She's not quite a Michelle Obama but then again, JZ is no Barack Obama either. Oh well. His other two wives also attended, but they had to sit in the cheap(er) seats. Anyway, the new cabinet has been announced and today is Zuma's first proper day in his new office. I suppose all we can do now is watch and hold thumbs.

Jacob and Sizakele Khumalo Zuma a.k.a wife numero uno...

...and the other two wives, Thobeka Mabhija Zuma and Nompumelelo Ntuli Zuma.

Of course, mustn't forget the (rather happy-looking) ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Speaking of new offices, I've also got a new one. It's certainly a down-grade though. I mentioned a while back that, like so many other companies, we too are feeling the effects of this $#&^*& recession. To cut overheads, we're sub-letting some of our office space. My office space. So I got kicked out of my pretty little corner with the lovely views to be stuffed into a little sardine can of an office where my colleagues and I are pretty much on top of each other. Sigh. As a result of the move, I've also lost my parking spot, which certainly has not helped my mood. Cape Town winters are generally wet and miserable and so covered parking is well-coveted here. Hopefully, I'll be given a new spot soon but I'm not too optimistic.

Anyway, enough moaning. Happy thoughts... happy thoughts...

Oh, something very cool happened to me recently. I entered an online competition and actually won it!!! The prize was a book hamper from Exclusives and so they sent me a box of their 'top 10'. I was So. Incredibly. Chuffed!!!! What a happy little nerd! (It's the little things, you know.) It happened at a good time because lately NOTHING has been going right and I'm really on the brink of dropping out of society and heading for the hills. Now at least I'll have lots to read once I've resorted to living off the land.

My fabulous loot

P.S. Thanks Getty, for the inauguration images. Please don't sue me for using them. Pretty please.

Dear 'guys in my office with your music blaring through your earphones',

Just a quick note to thank you both from the very bottom of my heart for sharing your own special and unique music tastes with someone as insignificant and undeserving as me. You display true selflessness as surely by now your ears must be haemorrhaging profusely as a direct result of your earphones being turned up to full volume. Oh, how I treasure the dependability of you spending a solid eight hours behind your desk, forsaking conversation altogether in order to provide me with a full music experience. Every. Single. Day.

What a pity though, that you do not confer with each other before proceeding to play your sweet music. Perhaps if you did, then that special leprechaun-type flute stuff you having been sharing with us for the last 84 minutes could be timed to harmoniously coincide with the delightful beat of the other’s rave bonanza, which is now into it’s fifth hour. But really, who am I to complain? Indeed, I am too spoilt. And to think I spent all my hard-earned money on an mp3 player of my very own. If I had only known how truly generous and sharing you two are, I could have saved myself a lot of money. No harm, though. After all, why on earth would I want to listen to my music when I have been afforded the special opportunity to listen to yours? Both of yours. At the very same time! Oh yes, I am a lucky, lucky girl to be sharing an office with the two of you. Bless.

Regards
Me in the corner