Hope it tasted good. Real good.

As far as Mondays go, this one's been not too shabby. Weather-wise, it's a beautiful Cape Town day. Plus, there's hardly anyone in the office, which is just how I like it. Oh, and I'm having a fairly decent hair day for a change, so you know, things are looking up. But my Disney morning nearly went pear-shaped when I headed to the office kitchen for my breakfast. (Yes, I eat it here at work because there's never enough time at home, and that's just how I roll.) I was disappointed that my lovely yoghurt which I had left in the fridge had far surpassed its sell-by date. I wasn't brave enough to risk food poisoning so I tossed it away, knowing that I still had a full box of Jungle Oats on top of the fridge.

So you can imagine how pissed off I was when I discovered somebody had helped themself to my Jungle Oats and had finished off the entire box!!!!!!! WTF? Really, people! If you really wanted some of my brekkie, you could've asked and I would gladly have given you some. But to just help yourself, and SCOFF THE WHOLE BOX? And it was a big box too. Seriously, what's wrong with these people? I even wrote my name on the box. It's not higher grade. If that's not your name, then that's not your food. Arg! So irritating.

I'm not going to let a stupid thing like breakfast ruin my day (though really, it's the principle of it all) but to the saddo who polished off my porridge, Karma's a bitch, and I hope it bites you in the ass.

TGIF x infinity and beyond

1. I'm insanely glad it's Friday. In preparation for the lovely sundowner(s) I'm about to enjoy, I'm spending my last few minutes in the office doing absolutely nothing. It's surprisingly easy considering I shut down mentally about six hours ago. (Yep, no one's going to accuse me of being Employee-of-the-Month.)

2. It's been 'one of those weeks' and so I have nothing positive to say. I'll try again next week, but in the meantime, let's all enjoy a good perve over our good friend, Hugh. Apparently he's been named sexiest man 2008, though let's face it - we didn't need some stupid poll to tell us that!

Sweet dreams, kids. Catch you on the flipside...

Hamba Kahle, Mama Afrika

This morning, South Africa woke to the news that Miriam Makeba had died. Apparently she was taking part in a concert in Italy when she fell ill. She passed away a few hours later.

Miriam Makeba made her musical debut in the 1950s, at a time when the oppressive apartheid regime ruled the country with an iron fist. Before long, she moved to England, where she collaborated with artists such as Harry Belafonte, who helped her move to the US. Makeba was extremely unpopular in the eyes of the apartheid regime, and when she tried to return to South Africa to attend her mother’s funeral, she found her passport had been revoked. Three years later, the government also revoked her South African citizenship and her right to ever return to her country of birth. She was officially in exile. Her music was somewhat political in nature, and An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (which was about the political plight of black South Africans) earned her a Grammy Award. Makeba testified at a special United Nations hearing about the atrocities of the apartheid regime in 1963. Much later, in 1986 she won the Dag Hammarskjöld Peace Prize for her role as a delegate to the United Nations.

30 Odd years after being forced into exile, Nelson Mandela convinced her to come home to South Africa.

Mama Afrika (as she was fondly called) had a unique musical style. Her trademark song was Pata Pata, The Click Song (Qongqothwane in Xhosa) and it epitomises Makeba’s inimitable style. (Check it out on iTunes if you have the chance.)

Hamba Kahle, Mama Afrika. Hamba Kahle.

Three little things I learnt over the weekend...

01. When a man you don't know very well asks you out for dinner, it's not necessarily a date per se. (You may think it is, but it's wise to double-check. Because you may be wrong. Go figure.) It could just be dinner.

02. Waxing any part of your body is just as sore as they say it is, if not more so. (pain x infinity = baby smooth)

03. The house white wine at Peddlars is incredibly bad. (It comes with its own froth.) It should not be drunk by ANYONE. Ever.

Now please, use these little pearls of wisdom wisely...

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Bring on the Man Buffet

Whew! It's been a hectic couple of weeks but I'm still here to tell the story, so I guess that's something, right? I finished my assignments (and submitted the last one 3 minutes before the cut-off. Nothing like a little drama) and then got stuck into a week long workshop that my company sent me on. Quite interesting - all about managerial skills blah blah blah. Only problem is, it would appear that this little minion is never going to have to worry about a promotion / salary increase / personal growth at work because they practically keep me locked in the dungeon, chained to my PC. Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. But seriously, they should've saved their money and bought me a big bottle of wine instead. All the course did was make me feel rather revolutionary. So now I'm mulling my next move. Mutiny, perhaps? Will see. I might just wait till after Christmas.

Anyhoo, in amidst stressing about my studies and work stuff, I also toddled along to my very first (are you ready for this)... (wait for it)... round of SPEED DATING!!! Yes, that's right. Months of nagging from my friends and some curiousity finally got the better of me, and so I signed up. And what a blast! (Though in case you're wondering, no - I'm not married / engaged / in lurve / etc. [So it wasn't that good.]) It was held at a local restaurant, and I kinda expected them to be quite discreet about it (room in the back, secret password, etc). But no. There was a big long table at the front of the restaurant and there sat a Man Buffet of about 12 guys of all shapes, sizes, races and nationalities. It felt like Christmas. I gratefully accepted my glass of complimentary (and much needed) bubbly and sat down across from bachelor number one. Totally psyched. Once everyone arrived, the evening officially started and I proceeded to spend about 5 minutes with each guy. Of course, 5 minutes isn't very long and I pretty much got the same questions from most guys. What do you do? Whereabouts do you live? What's your star sign? Are you married? (Dude, would I be here if I was?!?!?)

The guys themselves were like a big packet of Liquourice All-Sorts. Everything from a plumber to a lawyer. Black, white, coloured and even Chinese. Some quiet and shy. Some not so much. (Joseph, the male nurse from Cameroon, assured me that as a Scorpio he was an ace love-maker, and that he would 'look after me like a lee...eetle egg' [Run!]) But for the most part, the guys were really nice.

There was, however, a catch. 'Seems SABC 3 is doing some doccie thing where they follow a couple of guys around the city, and one of the things they end up doing is speed dating. So on both ends of the Man Buffet sat particularly gorgeous specimens, complete with cameramen, lighting guys and one of those fluffy hanging mike things. So much for discretion. I definitely got the impression that they were there purely for the sake of the doccie and had absolutely no interest in meeting girlies through speed dating, so in that sense, it was a waste of time. Plus, their producer also took part in the speed dating, but I'm willing to bet my right kidney that he was gay, so really - where's the use in that??!?!? (I really hope they don't use any of the footage with me in it. I tried very hard to ruin my shots by talking into the camera. Either way, it'll probably air in June next year, which gives me plenty of time to leave town, change my name and dye my hair a different colour.)

So, after all that, I ended up with a couple of matches, though nothing too mind blowing. Nice guys though, so it's not all for nought. And it's definitely much easier than going on a blind date.

Me and a couple of my new buddies

Some of the lads took the concept of Man Buffet far too literally

The 'No-Shirt' policy threw me a bit, but who was I to complain?

Yo, listen up! Blog Action Day: POVERTY

When it comes to the subject of poverty… seriously, where do you begin? It’s everywhere you look, everywhere you go. Of course, that’s to varying degrees. In an African context, poverty is a factor we live with everyday to the point where the man in the street has become somewhat complacent about the issue. On top of news stories of starving children and homeless families, there’s the everyday aspect. It’s rare to stop at a traffic intersection without being approached by at least one person, asking for money.

So what can we do? If you’re like me, then chances are you don’t have the odd million stored in the bank waiting for a person or organisation in need. Let’s face it, times are tough for everyone and so in spite of your truly altruistic personality, sometimes handing over oodles of moola just isn’t an option. So then what? Well what about the concept of ‘pay it forward’? Random acts of kindness, however small, go a long way in making a difference in our world. For the most part, kindness doesn’t cost a cent, and call me naïve, but I’m convinced compassion and kindness make a difference. So you can’t fork out money to every guy that asks for a handout. But you can pay him the respect and dignity he deserves as a human being.

On top of that, there are lots of projects on the go that tackle poverty in different ways. Be it a Shoebox Collection (more on that later) or helping out on a Habitat for Humanity initiative, every little bit goes a long way. Next week, my company is doing its CSI bit by helping to build houses at one of the nearby townships, Mfuleni. I’ll update this with more details later, but it’s a great project where over a period of five days, we’re going build two houses for families that don’t need a home. I’ll be there on Day 5, getting stuck in and doing what I can. Nothing glamourous there folks, but I’m going to try my damndest to make a hard hat and work gloves look fab! (‘Wonder if they come in pink?… )

But seriously, if you look around, there are lots of ways to get involved in tackling poverty in your neighbourhood, state, country, whatever. Remember, it starts small, so do your bit to make a little difference and together we’ll make a big change!

Time ain't on my side...

Oh crap. Having just checked the calendar, it seems there are only 9 sleeps left until I have to submit the last two assignments due on the 15th. (I need to write these assignments, otherwise they won't let me write the exam.) It's particularly worrying seeing as I have a couple of nasty work deadlines to contend with this week, and next week I'm being sent on some arb (attendance mandatory) work course. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! I've just taken a look at one of the assignment questions and it seems I have mistakenly read the wrong book. Dumb-ass! Now I have some serious catching up to do before I can even tackle the assignments.


So guess I'll be back after the 15th, then. No red wine or happy times for me. Time to knuckle down and cram like there's no tomorrow. No rest for the wicked.

Pity party at my place. BYOB.

Exactly one year ago today, I gazed down on Paris from the top floor of the Eiffel Tower and spent the rest of day exploring the vast halls of the Louvre. Magic.

And now here I am, a whole year later... Stuck at work, trudging through piles of crappy work while being driven near crazy by a colleague's squeaky chair noises. What's wrong with this picture?!?! (Oh woe is me...)

It's come to this...

Oh hello Mr President

Its been a really interesting couple of weeks. Not so much on a personal note, but most certainly on a political level. Sorry for the incessant 'state of the nation' waffle but seriously, this stuff is huge!

So the other week, Zuma was told that the fraud and corruption charges against him were unlawful, based on a mere technicality. Yet it was this technicality that resulted in Thabo Mbeki being 'recalled' and now here we are - two weeks since the Zuma hearing and the country has a new president. Wow. President Kgalema Motlanthe has around seven months to get used to his new title before the next elections, at which point Zuma is likely to take his place, but in the meantime, here's hoping Motlanthe can do some powerful, positive stuff. It's been a good start so far. Already we have a new Minister of Health which is a really, really great thing. They booted out Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. She's the alcoholic thief who wanted the nation to combat HIV/Aids with garlic and beetroot. (Yup, she's special.) Thankfully they've replaced Manto with a woman by the name of Barbara Hogan, and hopefully she'll bring the change our health care system so desperately needs. About bloody time. Apparently on the night the announcement was made, the TAC was so happy that some of their members serenaded the new health minister from below her balcony. Sweet! :)

Yup, definitely been a bit of a roller coaster ride in terms of politics over the last couple of weeks. Only time will tell if things are going to get better.

On another totally irrelevant note, my new mobile arrived the other day. It's an HTC Touch and it's a whack-load more advanced than my trusty old Samsung D900. It'll take me a while to get used to the new interface but so far I'm pretty happy with it. It feels like a grown-up phone but I guess at the ripe ol' age of 31, it's about time. Pity I couldn't get my paws on an iPhone - that would've been first prize, and I feel like a bit of a sell-out going with a PC-based device, but what can you do. Whatever.

This is what my pretty little phone looks like... Touch screen, so no keypad. I feel very sophisticated using a stylus, even if it's just for a quick round of Solitaire. (Ooh, loser!)

Is pretty, no?

Anyway, this has been a pretty 'blah' post - sorry for that. Will try to be more entertaining next time 'round.



P.S. I watched the entire Season 1 of Boston Legal over the weekend, and I now have a mini crush on James Spader. Is that normal? Hopefully it'll pass.

The future Mr Fluffy Pink Thing

Ponder this, kids

'Came across this video on Lyndonology and thought it was pretty cool. Check it out. (You may want to grab a cuppa while the whole thing downloads before watching it though...)


Fifty People, One Question: Restored from Benjamin Reece on Vimeo.

Nice, hey? Simple yet intriguing question and well done. Dig the music.

On a less pleasant but equally entertaining note, I found this story online today. It's about a woman who got tough on her boyfriend when he refused to do the dishes. And by tough, read: she opened up a can of whip-ass on him, throwing in a couple of bites (not the love kind) and a whack in the face with a picture frame, before the big finish which included trying to finish him off with a sword. A SWORD!!! Go large or go home, hey?!? (Relax. Her aim was sucky and she missed.) Yeah, I know it's not supposed to be funny but c'mon! Who hasn't been pushed to borderline postal by these sort of things. Anyway, the (ex?) boyfriend lived to tell the tale and has no doubt since invested in a really good dishwasher.