My Seven . . .

Hmm, so anyway. I've been tagged by EM&CT to do this thing, so here goes my list :

1. I'm totally anal about making lists. I make lists of work and diarise them on my calendar with time allocation to each task. I make lists of things I must do at home. Before I had the GPS I would make a comprehensive list of directions if I ever needed to go anywhere (like first road : West Street, second road : 4th Avenue, turn left at third road : Mulberry Hill), and then I make a comprehensive list of how to get back. Every time!
2. I truly, honestly and deeply believe that I will never meet my perfect partner. I mean perfect for me (not PERFECT, perfect). And it doesn't bother me in the least. The idea of growing old alone is not depressing or sad - it's something to look forward to.
3. It took me years, and a lot of self therapy to leave the time unset on a clock. I used to be so bad that if there had been a power failure during the day, the very first thing I would do when I got home was to set ALL the clocks in the house. The very first thing.
4. I live Sunday 17h00 to Friday 17h00 on a strict routine. I do the same thing each evening when I get home, and the same thing each morning when I wake up. Everything has it's allocated time. I hate being rushed or late. If something interferes with my routine, it makes me terribly anxious. The weekends are not planned at all (unless I make plans with friends, etc.) I am totally carefree about when things get done over the weekends.
5. Back when I was young, and dinosaurs roamed the earth, I rebelled in a very controlled way. I drank, smoked and had sex, but I limited my shenanigans to the weekend. Monday to Friday I was a good girl who went to school and did my homework and kept on the path to being something more.
6. I don't get addiction, even though I'm a smoker.
7. I think people are of the opinion that I am very strong, but sometimes I cry for the strangest reasons.

Now, I'm supposed to get some others to do this as well, well . . . .

Kim

Bridget

Kyknoord

Lord Wiggly

And yes, I purposely picked 3 of 4 people who probably won't do it :-)

Rules :

1. List 7 weird / wonderful things about you.

2. Link back to my blog.

3. Leave a comment if you like.

Next review . . .

Kim-osabi is my favorite blog ever. Not only because Kim is a wonderful writer, hilariously funny, extremely wise, and right there at the top of the bell curve. It is also because she is my friend IRL.

I lost Kim many years ago in the rough and tumble of life, and thought of her often through the birthing of children. The marriage, the divorce. Through failed relationships and through the ones that didn't fail. In those years there was a missing piece. That last piece of the puzzle that has the wierd little funny guy who makes you laugh on it.

One day I googled Kim, in the off chance that maybe there would be some reference, somewhere. Saint Anthony must have been smiling down on me that day cause I found her cell phone number, and I phoned, and it was her, and the rest is history!!

Kim, I love you dude :-)

Reviews of my favs

My first blog review of Places I Visit Daily over there <--------

Awkward things I say to Girls is about a guy who is a self proclaimed geek. He recounts his tales of how he screws up almost every single conversation he ever has with a member of the opposite sex.
He is also busy telling a story of unrequited love that is amusing, heart warming and cringe worthy (sometimes all at the same time.)
He does not update as often as he should.

Living Bridget . . . . Um, I really don't have the words. Bridget is crazy, and cool and totally fabulous. She is confident and outspoken. She is a mom who loves her pickle. She totally rocks.
Bridget updates almost every day, but it still isn't often enough!

Catherine Singleton is a single gal living in Boston (I think) in the US of A. She is hilarious. She is totally over the top and brilliant. She speaks of all things candidly, and makes me laugh out loud sometimes.

Oops, I just ran out of blogging time. I will eventually review all my favorites.

They are not my favorites for nothing, ya know!

Knocking on deaths door

I’m sick. I have been given a germ I neither asked for, nor wanted (thanks Kim.) And I am the worst kind of person when I’m sick.

I refuse to stay at home, in bed and get better. I come to work and mope around all day. Looking dreadful and feeling even worse. I apparently want to die here at my desk in a pool of phlegm and snot, and then I will be made a martyr. Or, at least some sort of saint.

I’m here at work, where theoretically, I am supposed to actually work. Someone will ask me for something and I will look at them with my best "can’t you see I’m dying" look and say "But I’m sick . . ."

And then I get home after a day of not working very much and Ciara will want me to do all these totally unnecessary things like ‘homework’ and ‘make dinner’.
Sheesh, can’t a girl get a break anywhere!

The Bastards

Okay, I don't want to be known as the chick who blogs about traffic all the time, but everytime I have to brave the N1 on a weekday, I want to scream "Oh, the humanity".

What the fricken hell happened to good manners and obeying simple traffic laws. I fart in the general direction of bad drivers and Eskom.

Y'all suck!


And what is is with people who insist on over explaining everything. Just a few examples :

Person A : The address is 123 Forth Avenue, Fifthville. Do you need directions?
Me : No, s'okay I'll use my GPS.
Person A : But it's really easy, you take this off ramp and turn left, and then second left, and the first right.

WTF? What part of "I'll use my GPS" is confusing? Or "No" for that matter?


Person B : You need to do a quote to Bill at ABC Inc. for two units, okay?
Me : Okay, no probs.
Person B : You need to cost it and send the price to Bill.
Me : Yup, okay, gottit.
Person B : Bill needs the price for the two units, which you must cost, alright?
Me : No, please can you get a white board and draw a picture for me. I don't quite understand. Was that, I must price Bill and send it to ABC at unit. No wait, I must price ABC and send it to unit at Bill. Okay, I think I've got it now.


In the last two days I have managed to stab myself in the thumb (behind the nail) on my right hand, and stab myself on the palm of my left hand.
My self destructive behaviour has reached new heights. I think I may need to talk to someone :-)

The Return

I’m baaack.

Okay, so you never knew I was gone. I was on holiday for three glorious weeks. I have been back at the office since last week Wednesday, but my keyboard and desk have been too damp from the tears to do any actual blogging (or work for that matter).

Anyway, nothing gets the year started like a good bitch ‘n moan, does it? So here goes.

I have a serious thing about the traffic. I cannot understand why one person cannot just be courteous and kind to the next. Why must every person on the road (except me) behaves like a fricken jerk.

My least favorites of the bad drivers are the "I’m all right, Jackers".

These are those people who move so slowly at that "right turn only" green light, that they are the only one who is able to get across, while the rest of us wait, fuming for the next green light, and hope, against all odds that the next person is not an "I’m all right, Jacker".

That idiot who idles their car in the middle of the street at your kids school, to wait the 5, 10 minutes until her kid appears at the gate. While the queue in the SINGLE entry way gets backed up 10km by those parents who will park (out of the way) and get out of their cars to fetch their kids from the gate.

I JUST DON’T GET IT.

On a much more fabulous note, I have the following to report about Ciara :

• She was awarded at a special evening for an outstanding achievement in Numeracy. Only 5 kids from each class were chosen for awards, and I am so proud of her.
• She turned 7 on 8 January - so happy birthday baby - wawi loves you!
• She started Grade 2 the next day.

I came up with some excellent ideas for blogs while I was on holiday, but I can't remember any of them, so, well, this is kind if it.

Sucky post, no?

It's all over for me

On Friday night I had the unpleasant experience of spending time with The Woman Who Knows Everything (TWWKE or Tweekie).

The discussion rolled around to someone’s sister who is 21 and not interested in getting married. Not surprisingly, Tweekies advise to this young woman was "Get a man and get married before you are 30, because after that it is too late!"

Seriously. She said that. With unmarried, 31 year old me sitting not four feet away from her.
So alas, my friends, it is too late for me. I am useless, destined to be on the shelf forever, passed my sell-by date. I may as well leave this cruel world, no man will ever want me (weep weep!)

And to all you young ‘uns out there. Please, for the love of all that is good, find a man NOW. Marry him IMMEDIATELY. Use threats, use force, just please, get him to agree to marry you. It does not matter whether you love him or not. It does not matter if you are happy or not. It only matters that you are married before you are 30!

You might end up like me if you don’t. Financially, emotionally and physically independent. Home Owner. Car Owner.


Only 24 working hours left. 1440 minutes. 86400 seconds.

A fricken long one

I truly haven’t written a word of substance for my blog in ages! I don’t care. I am tired beyond belief, and would like to know who the hell thought it was a good idea for me to STILL be working on the 5th of December, seriously . . . .

I have a little rant about a headline I saw somewhere. I don’t know where it was, and I never actually read the article, so my rant could be totally baseless, but whatever.

"BE A GODDESS IN THE KITCHEN THIS CHRISTMAS" or something equally ridiculous.

1. I can think of maybe a billion places I would like to be on Christmas day, and honestly, the kitchen is not one of them. Who in their right mind wants to spend Christmas day in the kitchen? Anyone?
   
2. I am a fricken goddess and don’t need to be in the kitchen cooking like a slave to prove it. I am taking my small family out to a really expensive restaurant, and paying for it all with the money I earned being a fricken goddess every day.
   

END OF PART ONE

In a completely unrelated matter, I saw an interesting blog entry by someone who I have never read before, don’t remember and will probably never read again. It was something about writing a letter to your 13 year old self, so here goes :

Dear Kerryn,

This is you 18 years later. Weird? Yes. Get over it. Let me tell you a thing or two about how you are going to screw up your life over the next couple of years . . .

To start off with don’t start clubbing and drinking at 14. It ain't worth it.

About the boys. STAY AWAY FROM THEM. M, A and I are all HUGE mistakes. These three boys will take away 16 to 21, and you will never get those years back. Sixteen is too young to be in a serious relationship. Just Say No!

I know you hate Science, but do not drop this subject in Std 8. You will need it, and be 25 and regret not taking it. The decision to not go to university is not a good one. Go and study Mechanical Engineering. You will love it, trust me.
On that same note, FFS study in Std. 9 and 10. Do not coast by. Put your whole self into it and walk away with something to be proud of damnit!

Seek out F. He is an asshole, but you will fall pregnant with a beautiful baby girl. Dump him as soon as you find out you are pregnant. It’s pretty scary to do it alone, but you will manage.

Forgive mom as soon as you can. You will eventually forgive her, but the pain you will go through getting there will not be fun. Understand her, accept her, forgive her and love her. It may not always seem like it, but she truly loves you beyond belief. She will be there for you in the years to come in ways you could never even imagine right now. She totally rocks as a gran, and you couldn’t be who you are without her.

I know you are not confident or self assured right now. I know being a teenager is scary and everything seems so daunting. You are worth so much more than you think right now. Realise TODAY, and not in 15 years that you are an intelligent, beautiful, kind, compassionate soul. Never doubt that. Not for one single day.

When Ciara is reciting nursery rhymes at 18 months, record it, cos no-one will believe you. She is a genius, by the way (as if you would doubt it.)

Take the friends you have right now, Gill, Jules, Kim, Linds, Mandy, Son and Tracy and treasure them every day. You will still be friends with all these people in 20 years, 30, 40, 50. They are the truth. They are what friends are supposed to be about!

Spend more time with Gary. Speak more with him. Be more with him. Don’t ask why, just do it.

So that's it kiddo. Good luck.

Ps. Keep an eye out for something called ‘Google’. Buy as much stock as you can, as soon as you can!

END OF PART TWO

69 more hours to go . . . .4140 minutes . . . . .248400 seconds

END

And counting . . .

I officially have 85.5 more hours of work left until I go on LEAVE.
That's 5130 minutes.
307800 seconds, no 307790, not 307780 . . . . .

Obviously, I can't wait. I seriously need a holiday.

One of the many, many reasons I love my baby

I'm not really one of those "oh listen to the cute thing my kid did" kind of bloggers. I can talk incessantly about her for hours, believe me, and sometimes I do, but not here.

However, this story is so Ciara. She is six (seven in Jan), and still very, very six. She has lots of time to grow up.

I fetch her from aftercare and she is literally BOUNCING with excitement at the tale she has to tell me.

C: "Mom, guess what happened today!!! Giancarlo said the 'F' word!!!!"

Me : "He didn't!!!!" I always say this to express shock and amazement, not to express disbelief. I'm crazy like that.

C: "And we told on to Mrs. T"

Me : "Good, that's a naughty thing to say, and kids really shouldn't be saying that word."

So, the story is told. I'm thinking about what to buy at woolies for dinner, and which way home will get me stuck in the least amount of traffic. Then about five minutes later :

C : "Mom?"

Me : "Yes sugar lump?"

C : "Whats the 'F' word?"

I can only imagine that she had been racking her brain all day about what possible word starting with 'F' could make everyone react so shocked.

She is so amazingly sweet, and innocent, and naive, just the way a kid should be.

I love her for so many reasons, and this is just one of them.

You rock my angel!