more reasons to be deliriously happy

After reading todays post on High in Dubai, I have decided to look on the bright side. To focus on the good stuff. It's all too easy when you are surrounded by negativity to come down with a case of the Losers. So today we list the reasons to be deliriously happy…


• A new season of Scrubs AND The Tudors on the telly tonight.

• I work with such nice people

• Woolies edamame salad - truly THE best dressing ever

• I have all my fingers and toes

• The new Nelly Furtado song

• Melted cheese

• golden circle Cokefest tickets

• My nephews waking me up at 6am

• An amazon order on its way to my postbox

• Melted cheese

• Royston, my sock monkey

• a shiny new G5

• levi's vintage sundays

• vicariously planning my next holiday in my head


And if you can't be happy, then at least just let it be…

the short version

No really, this is the short version…

• Friday night - headed to the new Harvey Wallbangers on Broadway. It's kinda like Billy's but cleaner, and much nicer (read: better looking) people. May just be the new after-work-drinks spot. But the consensus is that they need to sort out the wine scenario, R20 for a glass of Two Oceans is abysmal. Drove home slightly tipsy-ish and decided that a bubble bath and cigarette (together) is the best way to end the day.

• Saturday I had lunch at Pizzetta, SO should've ordered the pizza. I had a tangy vinegary, wholegrain mustardy Lentil Feta Salad that could've potentially ruined the nice sunny afternoon. Luckily Euforia brownies were across the road to save the day.

• Later I went to NONONO!!! at the Willowvale. Started off with some fun 80s tunes and then went a bit pear when they changed DJ's. I can categorically state that IndieRaveRemixedCrunkFunkHouse is the most friggin' irritating sound put on this planet. Not even tequila can make it better. Word.

• Sunday, I dragged my hungover ass out of bed (I am at the point in my life where I don't seem to get drunk, just hungover…) and off to a colleagues place for a lunch slash work gossip. We were all treated to a really fancy lunch… To start: Dark Chocolate, Pistachio, Gorgonzola and Rocket Salad with Olive Oil & Honey Dressing. It sounds really odd, but the flavours work so well together. Then Smoked Salmon Pasta with a Creamy Vodka sauce… YUM! And homemade pie for dessert! I was absolutely stuffed…

the view

nice colours

Nick looking bashful behind the perspex coaster

THE salad

who ate all the pie?

kevin's rhodesian bottle tops

I know it's arb, but so nostalgic… there is something about old bottletops isn't there? (I'm sure Kev would agree!)

Reminds me of this old postcard I have, of kwaMashu station in 1968 - love the handpainted billboard!

ohm… omg

Yesterday I started my first meditation course at the Breathing Space. I've always been into the whole spiritual self-development thingy and what with currently reading Eat Pray Love (the whole run off to an ashram and meditate thingy) I've been thinking about it more and more.

So the universe (and swami Torsten) has conspired to get me meditating. After one class this is what I know: meditation is hard work, my mind has a mind of its own, you have to breathe otherwise you'll pass out, make sure you are comfortable cos 15 minutes of a sore ass and no oxygen to your left leg can disrupt your path to bliss. But I survived 15 minutes of sitting (kinda) still. I don't think I have ever been so still and quiet in my life. Ever. And so begins my journey.

Our homework was to become more aware of our reactions whilst driving in our cars. I thought I would do fine as I try to stay calm generally in traffic. I made it 50m down the road and had already cursed some random road hog. I'm only human…

This morning I was up at 6am (!) doing my morning meditation and feeling very pious. I had sufficient time to pack my gym bag, make my bed, leave the house in a relaxed state of mind, and miss the traffic. I think the wheels and cogs in my brain are already slowing down…
I've even been looking into going for a weekend to the Buddhist Retreat Centre - zen and stillness in the sugarcane…

well played, springboks!

WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!

What a stressful game, I have never shouted so much in my life. It didn't help that I don't know too many technical details about rugby, so any time the ball went in the wrong direction I had a mini-thrombosis. But all the stress was worth it in the end!

Well done to the team and the coach, you guys are awesome!

bare + manna

Last saturday I was meeting up with a friend for lunch at Manna and had a few minutes to kill so I sauntered up Marriott Road and discovered a little shop called BARE.

Some of the stock is very similar the jewellery for sale at Euforia in Davenport Road, but a much bigger selection. Mostly silver jewellery - my favourites include the cute perspex earrings and beautifully beaded rosaries. They also have clothes and shoes and handbags, nothing caught my eye, but then I have never been good at choosing clothes off a hanger. Oh, and they sell art too. And felt plushies! Nice place to find just in time for christmas.

some of the bare-wares

at manna - I call this one, 'looking for happiness at the bottom of a glass' :)
next time I'll make sure there is some booze inside…

meet kenneth

Meet my new Kenneth Coles! I've been toying with buying some new inappropriate heels and I finally got round to it yesterday after work. They are SO cute dammit.
I started wearing them in when I got home, so I ended up watching When Harry Met Sally in my pj's and heels. Damn, I love that movie so much, makes me laugh every time.

Rugby tomorrow… You know, I feel for Jake White, he really has done an amazing job with very little support from the rugby administration. But he has handled the situation well, and I'm sure he will continue onto much better things next year. I wish I could say the same for the state of SA rugby… Anyhoo, have a good weekend and enjoy the game all you rugby fans!

helloo monkeee!

Look at my monkey! It's made from a sock! My friend Nadja owed me a favour and so made me a sock monkey. I LOVE my sock monkey

busy?

So its super duper busy at work. The boss is overseas and the work is piling up. I'm stressed and can't focus on anything properly. Solution? Post to my blog!

I had a nice, full weekend. Friday I decided at the last minute to ditch drinks with mates and go to movies instead. Great decision. I caught The Lives of Others at the Nouveau, shit I love the Nouveau. Really good movie, cool colour palette - all greys and muted tones. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the cold, bland, emotionless life of the secret service agent compared to the colourful lives of the artists he is spying on. BTW it won an academy award for Best Foreign Language fillum - I think I would put it in my top 5.

Saturday morning a was off to the gym like a good exerciserer. Did some cardio and machines - I find visualising my toned ass really motivating. Afterwards I had a wheatgrass shot at Kauai and did some Facebooking on the free internet. I also grabbed a latté on the way out. Which may explain why I went home and spent the next 2 hours digging in the garden like a mad woman. Quite a sight, manky mis-matched bikini, gumboots and an ipod… Fucksakes, I don't know where the energy came from. And then if that wasn't enough, I started going through my old bedroom cupboards in my moms house and chucking out ruthlessly. I don't know wtf got into me.

Later on I started getting dressed to go to Burn, and then it occurred to me that I never have fun there. Around the same time my sister and her boyfriend arrived with a box of wine. So I decided to stay in and get pissed with the family, another great decision. We ended up sitting on the stoep drinking wine and smoking Twenties and having a major counselling slash whinge session.

Which led onto an unproductive sunday. Slept till lunch time and then dragged myself to a Big Gay Picnic in the park. It was your typical mo party, champagne, cupcakes, soap opera style gossip. I went home to crash on the couch - my achey body was finally showing some stiffness from the gym. Woke up to the rugby, I'm really glad we made it to the final, but it doesn't feel like 1995. Its just different…

GEEZ! It has taken me all day to type that lot out. And I still can't design. I HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW TO DESIGN!

that's BRIGHT

'fairy' cakes

slightly blurry self portrait

if each of us made just one change…

it would make the world of difference…

So if you can,

• use energy efficient light bulbs

• print one less document each day

• reduce, reuse, recycle

• choose organic

• catch a lift with a friend

• turn the tv off an hour earlier

• smile

• be kind


HAPPY BLOG ACTION DAY!

beat the heat

Ask Metafilter | How do I deal with high heat and humidity? Are there tricks for getting used to it?

Summer is on its way, so any ideas on how to keep cool are good.

This is my favourite comment of them all…

I moved to NYC from Arizona and I discovered that I LOVE the miserable humidity. I love that it is an undeniable physical force that changes the way we look and the way we do everything. We are so used to static, controlled interior environments that change very little from season to season, but until the last century, this was more or less unheard of.

I think that a lot of people's distaste for it is purely cosmetic. Trying to maintain your normal appearance is time-consuming, uncomfortable, and frustrating, and most people hate to be seen sweating. The people who succumb, whose clothes and hair and makeup reflect total submission to the weather, the women with their lank or frizzy hair and lack of runny makeup and shapeless barely-there clothes who look like they totally don't give a shit are my heroes.

Being hot in one's own home makes it difficult to do what you usually do in the same way you usually do. People who force the issue are usually just miserable. But if you can simply acknowledge that in the summer your house functions differently and resolve to function differently IN it, then you can spend the summer doing things you wouldn't ever get to do otherwise. Simpler pleasures, less mentally taxing reading and games, getting up earlier, shedding clothing whenever possible, napping midday, taking long walks at night to escape the heat of the house, sleeping naked with no covers, preparing foods that don't require using the oven or stove. Spending less time on your appearance. Playing cards in the shade outside with a cold beer can resting between your thighs.

Hilirious! Any other lovers of the miserable humidity out there? I like the 'shedding clothes' and 'cold beer between your thighs' suggestions…

eat pray love

depression |diˈpre sh ən| noun
1 severe despondency and dejection, typically felt over a period of time and accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy.

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it."


I've just started reading Eat Pray Love (what an awesome book, read it NOW) and from the very first chapter the book struck a chord with me. One particular part really got me thinking - you see have been trying to shake this cloud that has been hanging over me for months now. This constant feeling that something is wrong with me… this has been getting me down and I can't seem to find a way out of this space. So when the author described her own experience with depression, I kinda saw the light. The symptoms she described rang a bell and though I won't be running off onto the medication wagon like she did - it has been quite an epiphany. It's like pieces of a puzzle have been put together! It has been so slow and insidious slide that I never even saw it coming but now that I can see how despondent I have become I at least have the choice to do something about it.
Instead of focussing on my perceived inadequacy I will make an effort to pay attention to the good things, and appreciating what I have. I am certain that this a phase, just a small part of a journey and I look forward to the next stage. Now if only I could spend some time in an ashram with a guru overseeing my spiritual growth, hmmm…

toight like a tiger

I joined the gym yesterday, and I pulled a muscle in my shoulder signing the contract. Not sure what that means… because the planets are all perfectly aligned for me to start an exercise thingy. Seriously. Enter the 'noodle gyms it like a pro' phase.

Toight-ness, here we come…

maybe I'm odd but…

it really bums me out when the sun comes out after its been raining.

innocent when you dream

'In the absence of an autobiography, this collection of 38 interviews and profiles is essential for the Tom Waits fan'

I love his voice, but never knew what a sharp sense of humour he has, some of his lines had me in stitches.
This was one of my favourite quotes…

I'm afraid I'm gonna be walking along some day in Los Angeles and drop into a manhole, and down there's gonna be, like, five hundred unemployed bossa nova musicians and they're gonna 'Girl from Ipanema' me to death. Hasn't happened to me yet. I tried to take out some Ipanema insurance, but they won't cover you.
Actually the only thing I'm afraid of over here in London is… I'm afraid when the moon is high and my hotel room is dark, that I'm gonna start sprouting cameras round my neck, and my trench coat is gonna turn into a flowered shirt, my black slacks are gonna turn into Bermuda shorts. I'm gonna grow some white socks and wing tips that look like old Pontiacs. Then, right next to me is going to sprout a wife, and she's going to be growing larger and larger till she's overweight and she's got bovine perspiration on her upper lip area, and a see-yourself shine on her forehead, and her feet hurt, she's trying to find a travel brochure and a cigarette, and she wants to sit down, and… that hasn't happened yet. Been pretty lucky.