it seems everyone is tightening their belts in some way or other these days. some companies find innovative ways of cutting down on expenses whilst keeping on their staff, others are forced to lay-off employees to survive...a question, or set of related questions, has been niggling at me for a while...
is there a point to blogging? what value does it add? who cares?
in the little spare time i have for the online world, and one of my favourite pastimes, i am debilitated by these questions.
i have so many ideas for blog articles and yet they get stuck in the execution. no pressure either... the average blogger is supposed to churn out at least one post a week. i'm just happy to think about being able to blog once a week, and then fall exhausted on the couch or bed to spend the rest of the evening in a vegetative state.
whatever it is i'm hoping it's not going to last long... in the meantime - what do you care about?
this year has been amazing, hectic, life-changing, whirlwind crazy, upside-down, and incredibly blessed. i can't believe 2008 is almost over.
nico & i boldly went where we had never been before... we hosted our first christmas lunch this year. rather exciting, but a lot of hard work even though we only had 4 guests! the menu was made up of a few of our favourite dishes and, to our surprise, all the items worked out very well together.the decorating also came together nicely, i chose a blue and white theme to go with our new patio chair cushions, which gave a fresh and cool twist to the traditional theming. although i was really tempted to go all out with the decorations (think fairy lights, candles, and other frills galore) i managed to control my imagination to our newly-wed budget. along with a neutral tablecloth and bright place mats we had fresh basil plants on the tables, which are renowned for deterring flies, or so they say... it didn't seem to do anything for those pesky pests buzzing around our tables though.
nico even designed a beautiful menu for this special occasion on my new macbook. we decided on a bible verse (Isaiah 42:6,9,10) for the inside facing page of the menu, what was wonderful is that this fitted in with the word my father shared with us later.
whilst it was lovely to spend the day with family, and they are set on making a tradition of having christmas at our place, i will be happy to share the duties from now on with the knowledge of all it takes to make a success of one of the biggest days of the year... after all, the day is about celebrating the coming of our saviour jesus with loved ones.
YOU ARE PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN WHEN:
You call a bathing suit a 'swimming costume'.
You call a traffic light a 'robot'.
You call an elevator a 'lift'.
You call a car's hood a 'bonnet'.
You call a car's trunk a 'boot'.
You call a pickup truck a 'bakkie'.
You call a Barbeque a 'Braai'.
The employees dance in front of the building to show how unhappy they are.
SABC TV advertises and shows highlights of the program you just finished watching.
You get cold easily. Anything below 16 degrees Celsius is Arctic weather.
You know what Rooibos Tea is, even if you've never had any.
You can sing your national anthem in four languages, and you have no idea what it means in any of them.
You know someone who knows someone who has met Nelson Mandela.
You go to braais regularly, where you eat boerewors and swim, sometimes simultaneously.
You produce a R100 note instead of your driver's licence when stopped by a traffic officer.
You can do your monthly shopping on the pavement.
You have to hire a security guard whenever you park your car.
When you are a victim of crime and say: 'At least I'm still alive'.
You know a taxi can move twice its certified number of people in one trip.
You travel 100's of kilometres to see snow.
You know the rules of Rugby better than any referee.
To get free electricity you have to pay a connection fee of R750.
More people vote in a local reality TV show than in a local election.
People have the most wonderful names: Christmas, Goodwill, Goodman, Pretty, Wednesday, Blessing, Brilliant, Gift, Precious, Innocence, Given, Patience, Portion, Coronation.
'Now now' or 'just now' can mean anything from a minute to a month.
You continue to wait after a traffic light has turned to green to make way for taxis travelling in the opposite direction.
Travelling at 120 km/h you're the slowest vehicle on the highway/freeway.
You're genuinely and pleasantly surprised whenever you find your car parked where you left it.
A bullet train is being introduced, but we can't fix potholes.
The last time you visited the coast you paid more in speeding fines and toll fees than you did for the entire holiday.
You paint your car's registration on the roof.
You have to take your own linen with you if you are admitted to a government hospital.
You have to prove that you don't need a loan to get one.
Prisoners go on strike.
You don't stop at a red traffic light in case somebody hijacks your car.
You consider it a good month if you only get mugged once.
Ruwandan refugees start leaving the country because the crime rate is too high.
You consider a high crime rate as normal.
You actually get these jokes (but they ARE true!) and pass them on to other friends from SA.
VIVA!!!!!
october has been a marathon medical month for me. it began with my first ever stay over in hospital and first experience of general anaesthesia, and ended with my first dental op under general anaesthesia. boy am i glad for medical aid.
while going under is quite intense it's a million times better than being present for your own dental op. believe me i've had to try banish the memories of a number of apisectomies, extractions, bone implants all under local, all whilst i was fully aware of the surgeon's every movement around my mouth.
of course this time was different. i had my wonderful and caring husband by my side most of the time. i was administered both general & local anaesthesia injections which lead to strange & disturbing dreams. the oxygen smelt of coconut. i woke up very groggy wanting only to go back to sleep, away from the bright lights, the feeling of complete dejection and aloneness, and the terrible pain in my throat from the intubation. thankfully i didn't spend too much time in the recovery room & was returned to my ward. my sweetheart was there to comfort my tears, give me cold juice for the throat & feed me. small things make a big difference.
i'm almost back to normal again with the swelling in my face concentrated on my top lip. i also have to get used to the plate & denture they fitted while i was under. while it covers the gaping hole in my front teeth (for which i am grateful) it also causes me to lisp and sound a lot like sean connery. when this is all over in a year or so i may giggle about it... up till then i'm going to concentrate on surviving the days of small embarrassments and mountains which would normally be molehills...
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