Moonica's Musings

Photos- Lukas' Birthday

2011-11-22T09:18:00.003+02:00

The album can be viewed here.

He's here!!!

2011-10-31T17:27:00.003+02:00

My little Ziggy just couldn't wait any longer - on Monday morning, 24 October, at 10:29am, Lukas Joubert Brown was born via c-section. He weighed a very healthy 3.5kg (about 7.7 pounds) and is perfectly healthy in every way. He's supposedly 3 weeks early but he's in no way "premature", and I have my doubts about the accuracy of his predicted due date.

I'll post his birth story some time soon, and the gorgeous photos Steve has been taking, but for now here's a cellphone-camera photo.

We're getting on quite well; we're learning about each other every day and although it's a big change and a challenge in many ways, I have a great support network at home and I'm enjoying it a lot. Steve is very supportive, handy and excited to get to know his son, and my parents are here from the Cape. I am not quite sure how I'd have managed the last few days without both the emotional support they provide and the practical help of basically running the household for us. While they are taking care of the food, dishes, laundry and a million little odd maintanance jobs we haven't gotten round to, I can focus on Lukas and resting. I'm sure that's the reason I'm able to enjoy him as much as I do. He's just so very beautiful and amazing.

5 Things I Can't Wait To Do After Pregnancy

2011-10-12T15:44:00.006+02:00

I am not wishing my pregnancy over (although it sometimes seems to my impatient, short attention spanned mind that 9 months is unnecessarily long). I'm not complaining about not being able to do these things. But they are fun little things; silly, everyday things; that I look forward to being able to do again.

Wear my engagement ring
And my wedding ring (which is currently on a chain around my neck). Or, for that matter, any ring that isn't one of those adjustable flea-market specials.

Sleep on my back
When you're visibly pregnant and you lie on your back, the weight of the uterus presses against the vena cava, a major blood vessel running back up to your heart from your legs. This can cut off circulation to the baby and/or lead to dizziness and fainting. Not recommended.
I'm a fidgety sleeper and although I'm quite used to lying on either side now, I miss having more options.

Eat a peanut butter and apricot jam sandwich
If you and/or the baby's father have allergies, hayfever, asthma or eczema in the family, there are some schools of thought that suggest you avoid nuts (especially peanuts) while pregnant to try and avoid giving the baby a nut allergy. Although there is no evidence proving a direct link, both Steve and I have so many of the mentioned risk factors in our family, I wanted to play it safe. I really miss peanut butter - which is probably largely psychological (the "taboo" factor) because I didn't really eat that much of it before I was pregnant

Wear my adorable Singapore shoes
I have the most wonderful shoes bought in Singapore. They are hand stitched lamb's leather, with quirky patterns depicting different scenes, and no two match (no, not even the left and right of a pair). They are the most beautiful shoes I have ever seen, never mind owned, and they're so me. But, like every pair of shoes I own bar two, they don't fit at the moment.

Recognize my own nose in the mirror
Some women's noses get bigger when they're pregnant. It's got something to do with all that progesterone in your body; it softens your ligaments and cartilage so your pelvis has more room for a baby to move through. Most people say I'm imagining it but I know my nose is considerably bigger, and one other person has admitted to seeing it (thank you to them for confirming I'm not crazy!). I'm not that fussed, but it's kind of weird. I miss how my face used to look, just because it's my face and I'm so used to it.

You might be surprised by the lack of alcohol on the list, but I'm not that big a drinker anyway and I haven't missed it that much.

Baby Shower

2011-10-07T13:34:00.010+02:00

On Saturday, 1 October I had a lovely suprise. A whole bunch of my friends turned out to show their love and support and help us with the long list of must-haves for a new baby and nursery.

Thank you all so much - those who were there, and those who couldn't make it and went to the trouble to send something along as well. Special thanks to my mom for coming about 1,300km and to my two friends who did a great job organizing it.

Click on the thumbnail below to see the pictures taken on the day.

The glamorous side of pregnancy

2011-09-28T17:49:00.005+02:00

Yes, that's right, I don't post for ages and then I'm going to just write a lazy, whiny post about minor inconveniences.

I really want to add though, before you read on and take it the wrong way, that I'm not really complaining. I'm venting. Sure, the distinction may not be immediately obvious, but I am very aware of how fortunate I am. I have had a ridiculously easy pregnancy. Heck, just to be pregnant is in itself enough reason to grin and bear it. I wouldn't change any of my minor gripes for the world if it meant not having this baby, I just need to say "this is mildly annoying!" somewhere.

My feet are swollen. Really, really swollen. I slept with them elevated and still woke up with puffy feet. They now resemble overfilled red water balloons in almost every way. I will be once again carrying my shoes to the car when I leave the office because they last fit me when I got to work this morning. Thank goodness for the footspa waiting at home!

Here, see for yourself:

I have even had to give up on my lovely kneeling chair for the time being because I think trying to elevate them is more important at the moment. It took me about half an hour to rearrange my desk so that I can put my feet on an old computer tower under the desk, find a chair in which I could sit comfortably with my feet that high, and still reach the keyboard and mouse and look at my screens without causing too much shoulder strain. All of this of course left me even more sweaty than I was already.

And that is my second mini-rant. I am so sweaty! It's gross. Hence the title of the post. I'm sorry if the sarcasm wasn't immediately apparent enough to warn you of the slightly TMI nature of this post. My hands leave damp marks wherever they go and my feet laugh at the feeble efforts of the foot spray AND foot powder I optimistically employ every morning. I won't even go into the situation under my shirt's arms.

Speaking of things I'll spare you, I can't resist mentioning wind but I'll refrain from going into more detail. Just... graaaah.

Ok, rant over. These are insignificant complaints, and they won't last long, but it feels good to get them off my chest somewhere. In my imagination there are actually people reading this blog, and they are sympathising with me, and that's all I wanted. Thanks, imaginary friends.

Why I'd prefer a normal birth

2011-09-06T16:31:00.005+02:00

Let me be clear from the onset: I believe that there is nothing wrong with women choosing even elective c-sections.

I think that you are no less of a woman or less of a mother if you birth "through the sunroof" as a friend described it, whether by choice or necessity. At the end of the day, after all, what matters is that your baby is born and that you are both alive and healthy.

HOWEVER, I think there's a lot wrong with the fact that our media and, more worryingly, our medical fraternity, has under-educated us and misled us to believe that major abdominal surgery is an easy route, or that a natural process our bodies were designed to perform is somehow wrong and unmanageable and unnecessary - for reasons that include (but I'm sure are not always necessarily limited to) personal convenience for ob/gyns and less legal liability.

I'm not saying there's a big, conscious, underground plot to promote c-sections. However the small ways in which gynaes, mainstream media and popular opinion appear to be biased against natural births means that more and more women aren't making decisions with all the facts available to them. It's a fact that even those women who have a preference for natural childbirth at first, overwhelmingly change their minds on the advice of less-than-impartial medical carers whom they trust to advise them.

The World Health Organization states that "there is no justification for any region to have caesarean section rates higher than 10–15%"^[1]. Rates in South African private hospitals are, depending on whom you believe, as high as 80% but no lower than 60%^[2]. That is a huge disparity with the WHO recommendation.

Some of the benefits of a vaginal birth for baby

Baby is born when baby is ready, not a week or two before (when c-sections are scheduled) - or even more if the due date calculation is out.
Baby has better respiratory function, since the compression in the birth canal forces amniotic fluid from the lungs. Vaginally delivered babies have a marked reduction in risk of asthma.
Baby's cardiovascular system gets stimulated during natural birth, preparing it for life outside the womb. This is why vaginally born babies gain a healthy colour much quicker than c-section babies.
Baby's immune system benefits from friendly bacteria picked up in the birth canal, providing benefits well into adulthood.
Breastfeeding is easier to establish after a normal birth.
Baby may develop better stress coping mechanisms through normal birth than with the trauma of c-section.
Newborns born naturally are less likely to end up in intensive care than c-section babies.

Some of the benefits of a vaginal birth for mom

Recovery from even a difficult labour is far quicker and easier than from a c-section (which is, after all, major surgery).
Believe it or not, vaginal births have a lower maternal mortality rate than c-section. Again, keep in mind c-sections are major operations and there are many risks associated with any operation.
Mothers who give vaginal birth are at lower risk for postnatal depression.
Lower risks for future pregnancies: the risks for ectopic pregnancy, placenta previa, placenta accreta, and placental abruption are all higher for women who've had c-sections.

I'll add citations later, perhaps; right now I am more aware of how irregularly I'm posting to the blog than I am of rigorous fact-checking :) but these arguments are ones that are presented over and over again by many reputable publications, and I did research a few that I hadn't heard before.

I know there are also risks associated with vaginal birth, but they get enough publicity as it is without me making this post even longer and less interesting by listing the counter-argument as well.

Although I have been doing my best to keep an open mind so that if I need a c-section I won't be too disappointed (Ziggy's size may end up necessitating it), I hope I have broadened your outlook a little and that you might better understand why, if at all safe and possible, I'd like to bring Ziggy into the world the way nature and God intended. Even if the prospect is a hella daunting one :)

Pram!

2011-09-02T13:28:00.005+02:00

Wow, trying to decide on a pram is daunting stuff.

There are as many variations, models, brands, price ranges and options as there are baby shops in Jo'burg.

Do you go for a travel system that accommodates the car seat? Do you include a carry-cot? Do you buy one that folds down to a compact, light weight frame ideal for travel, or something more robust? Are the "must-have" brands really worth all that money? How much do you spend?

We spent a long time looking at prams and, frankly, being overwhelmed and confused. A travel system (where the car seat can be removed from the car and attached to the pram so the baby isn't disturbed if ze falls asleep in the car) seemed like a great idea, and I was especially keen on having a carry-cot as part of the system as well, but these were extremely expensive.

A carry-cot seemed to me to be the best solution for the "to buy a camping cot, or not to buy a camping cot" dilemma. I feel it's a bit ridiculous to spend a few thousand rand on a cot, and then another two thousand on a camping cot for travelling or for having baby sleep in our room for the first while. However I don't like the camping cots enough to only buy that as Ziggy's first bed. I also have no idea how long we'll keep Ziggy in our room, so it's very hard to gauge how much value you'd get for your money. A carry-cot seems to me to answer all these questions quite well, and seems great for taking Ziggy somewhere where ze's likely to fall asleep (it's not advisable to let young babies stay in a seated position for more than half an hour as this hinders spinal development) or just being able to wheel a sleeping baby all over the house with me.

Finally we found one system we quite liked, that had a car seat and carry-cot option, and that was affordable - until then it seemed only the most overpriced brands offered carry-cots that are actually part of the system. Now, I am not someone who is swayed by branded things unless it's a brand known for their superior quality. I am not a "keeping up with Jones" type of person. So for us to seriously contemplate a Ferrari pram system... well, it was unexpected :)

We did carry on looking for a while because the price was in the very top end of what we thought was reasonable to spend, but after considering a few other options we went back to the Ferrari system and realised just how much we liked it.

It has now been purchased, as a very kind and generous gift from Steve's parents, and delivered and set up and everything. I did take some photos but they are a bit rubbish, so these are from the web.

The frame is much lighter weight and folds down much smaller than almost any other system we looked at (that isn’t a dedicated travel stroller with no other accessories). It’s very sturdy and seems well made.

The car seat is suitable from birth to about 1 year so we will have to get a new car seat after that, but we weighed that up with the pros and decided we are happy to do that. The carry cot is suitable from birth until 9kg. The stroller part itself has several different seated positions and is suitable from a few months to around 4 years.

There are two frames that clip onto the wheel base. One of them is the car seat, and onto the second frame you securely strap either the carry cot or the stroller seat.

The handle height is adjustable (good for two parents of differing heights) and it can swivel over to both sides, so you can quickly and easily change from Ziggy facing you to facing the outside world, and you can in this way also choose whether to have the big wheels in front for travelling over uneven terrain, or the small wheels for 360⁰ manoeuvrability.

It’s really easy to collapse and unfold, and as I said takes up a reasonably small amount of space in the boot once folded. It’s also light enough that I feel confident I could fold it, unfold it and put it in the car even if I had a c-section, as soon as I was recovered enough to drive anyway.

We are very pleased with our first big baby purchase! Next on the list: the cot.

Preggie Product Review: Kneeling office chair

2011-08-15T15:33:00.006+02:00

I'd first heard about these kneeling chairs (aka architect's chairs) when a colleague of mine in England got one. He had back trouble and swore by them. Then I heard they're good for pregnant women as they allow more room for the belly and are better for posture and the lower back.

When my back started aching from my normal chair at work (where I spend an awful lot of time) I started Googling them. They are quite expensive, around R1000. I don't know if I've ever before gone past the first 5 pages of a Google search; luckily this time I did because on page 8 I found a junkmail advert for a second hand one for a LOT less. I went to have a look and bought it on the spot. While obviously second-hand looking, it was in perfectly fine condition and exactly what I'd had in mind.

From the Wikipedia article:
The intended purpose of a kneeling chair is to reduce lower back strain by promoting proper spinal alignment.
...
A proper kneeling chair creates the open body angle by lowering the angle of the lower body, keeping the spine in alignment and the sitter properly positioned to task.

Although one's weight still rests primarily on the bum and not on the knees or shins like you would think, it does take some getting used to. The shins do take some weight and although you get used to it quickly, at first the shins do feel slightly sore at the end of the day.

Another effect of the shin pressure is a more frequent reminder to get up and stretch, get a glass of water or go to the loo. This isn't a problem for me to do as my bladder reminds me to get up long before my legs might, but in general I think this is a good thing anyway for people who spend around eight hours a day in front of a desk.

Another thing to get used to is getting in and out of the thing. While easy once you've got the hang of it, if you don't plan your first attempt well you may well end up sprawled or chasing the chair in a circle. Skirts are also another thing to get used to when using the chair.

I do however find that the further my pregnancy progresses, the more glad I am for the chair. With Ziggy already as big as ze is, I find several things uncomfortable about sitting in the typical 90^o angle position: I find my blood circulation to my legs (and thus swelling in my feet) is better in my kneeling chair; I find my lower back is fine at the end of the day; I find my general posture is better (my shoulders are kind of forced straight and pulled back to maintain balance, but in a very natural feeling way); my belly isn't pushed against at all by the lap that forms when you sit in a normal chair which eases pressure on my stomach and lungs, a minor but growing issue with sitting normally.

If I did end up needing to have a c-section I imagine it will also be a lot easier sitting down with my thighs away from my abdomen, reducing the risk of accidentally pressing against a scar.

All in all I'm very happy with my purchase and can recommend a kneeling chair to anyone, pregnant or not; provided you get a decent deal like I did.

Ziggy at 24 weeks

2011-08-04T12:49:00.002+02:00

The stills the doctor takes when he's doing sonars are rarely very interesting to laypeople like you and me, and I'm lucky to get one moderately interesting picture to post on here every time we go.

The 24 weeks scan was no different, in that respect; but what was different is that the best picture from this batch is also the first decent 3D (or 4D or whatever it is) picture we have of the baby.

Apparently the baby is huge - in the top 98th percentile of the growth graph at this point. It's making it a little trickier to make decisions about the birth since, as much as I want a natural birth, it might not be practical. It might also go off without a hitch, I just don't do well with so many unknowns. More on that decision making process in a future post, though. For now I'm simply grateful that the baby's healthy.

Ziggy's also very active now, and I am reminded of the little presence every now and again by a kick; and even Steve can feel them by now. It's very strange and very amazing.

Why "Ziggy"?

2011-08-03T17:01:00.005+02:00

I quite like giving things nicknames. I also don't much like being just like everyone else. There are a few standard nicknames people tend to give their baby before the birth, like "bump", and that's lovely, but I can't help but be otherwise.

One way in which we're being a bit otherwise is not wanting to know the baby's gender before we meet hir. It makes it even harder to refer to the baby because you can't use "he" or "she"; "he/she" is stupid; "they" is clumsy; the gender neutral pronouns "hir" and "ze" confuse people; "it" is horrible. And none of the names we like are gender neutral.

Early in the pregnancy a term sprung up from somewhere in my weird brain, where it had been lurking since matric (high school senior year) biology. One of the very first stages of a baby, when the two parents' cells have just joined together, is called a zygote. And right then and there a nickname was born: Ziggy the Zygote.

Ziggy is long since not a zygote any more but we've become quite fond of our little Ziggy and even other people in our lives refer to hir as such by now.

So, no, it's not after Ziggy Stardust, and it's not the name we have decided to give the little one once Ziggy makes an appearance in November; but it's our way of referring to the baby and it makes us happy.

And now you know.

Ziggy at 21 weeks

2011-08-02T13:52:00.006+02:00

At 21 weeks we had what is called the anatomy scan.

The doc checked for certain markers and indications of known illnesses and syndromes; I'm very grateful to say that all he found was a picture of health. Below I've uploaded the only good picture from the stills he captured.

Ziggy’s a big baby – in the top 70% for growth at that stage (even more at the moment but more about that later). It has made decisions about the birth a little harder to make but at least the baby has turned from the breech position ze was lying in at the time of this scan.

Around this time I also started feeling Ziggy kick, which was amazing.

Since 21 weeks was a while ago now, I promise there'll be more updates soon, including news from the latest (24 week) scan.

Looking back: first trimester

2011-07-04T12:09:00.007+02:00

Hooray and thank God, we've made it past the halfway mark. At the time of posting, I am now at 22 weeks, and still having a relative breeze of it, for which I'm very grateful.

At this point I thought it would be appropriate to look back for a moment at my first trimester.

Of course, it started off without me knowing I was in my first trimester - which, I suppose, is often the case. It wasn't until week 6 that I even suspected I was pregnant, week 9 before I knew for sure and week 13 until we knew how far along I was, and were ready to tell the world.

As soon as I seriously suspected being pregnant, I started reading up furiously about the dos and don'ts, especially regarding what I can eat. However this doesn't change a thing about what you eat (and drink) before you know you're pregnant - but a lot of the restrictions on a pregnant woman's diet is to try and avoid the absolute worst case scenario and the chances of something like an unpasteurized cheese actually causing a problem are very low. Alcohol can be more of a factor but luckily I'm not much of a drinker. I recall the odd glass of wine here and a shooter there but not enough to lie awake over, especially since Ziggy is looking a picture of health so far.

I was very lucky as far as common first trimester complaints go. I didn't have heartburn, cravings or morning sickness to speak of. I don't think I was particularly moody, either, but I am not sure I'm the best person to judge that ;)

The only morning sickness I had was three mornings in a row (at week 7) which was enough of a clue to make me do a pregnancy test (or, as it turned out, a series of tests). So I count that a blessing rather than a curse! I had the typical fatigue though, and let me tell you, unless you've experienced this yourself whatever you are imagining when I say "extreme fatigue", it's probably not quite accurate. I'd heard women talk about it before, but I had no idea I would have so little energy left by the time I got home from a day's work. I would literally flop onto the sofa, barely able to lift my head, and doze there on and off the entire evening. I was also constipated, which is fairly typical, but I won't share more than that on the subject, don't worry.

The two emotions I'll always associate most strongly with my first trimester are doubt and elation. Because I had a negative result on one of the three pregnancy tests I did, and a natural reluctance to take getting pregnant for granted due to my medical history, I found it very hard to go through the ups and downs of three pregnancy tests, a blood test, waiting for results, and then finally waiting for my gynae appointment to confirm how far along I was and that everything was looking ok. But when the doctor's office called on the Monday after my blood test and told me the results were positive, I felt as if I was going to explode from joy and relief. That is one of the happiest memories of my life so far, equalled only by my wedding day and topped only by the incredible mass of emotions I felt the first time the doctor put that baby up on the sonar machine's screen and I could see this little person growing inside me, and hear hir heartbeat. I was so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.

There was also the relief of hearing that I was already 13 weeks along - relief for the most part that I was already past the most dangerous phase for miscarriage and such, and also a bit for the fact that we could finally tell the world this giant secret that had become the centre of our universe.

Now I'm well into my second trimester, and looking forward to the rest of this exhilarating ride, the end of which is only the beginning.

Ziggy at 17 weeks

2011-06-24T18:01:00.006+02:00

The ultrasound we had at 17 weeks was an amazing experience; we could see the baby so clearly and it looked so much like an actual little person. Sadly the stills the doctor took don't really convey much of that. There are some video clips, too, if I get a chance I'll try to turn them into animated gifs; but for now, here's the best of the 17 week pictures of Ziggy.

Preggie Product Review: The Yummy Mummy Tummy

2011-06-09T17:37:00.013+02:00

Even though I'm not really showing, I have for a while now found my jeans can cause discomfort, especially when I'm sitting - and this is not just the same discomfort of a big belly I've been used to most of my adult life, either.

I'd seen those elastics you can attach to the buttons and button-hole of trousers to increase the space between them but it's not very discreet, especially since it doesn't do anything with the zip. I improvised this effect with hair-bands for a while but the first time someone told me my zip was undone I resolved to buy myself a Yummy Mummy Tummy.

Known by other names as well, especially in other countries, this knitted band is supposed to fit snugly but elastically around your waist so you can hide unbuttoned jeans underneath it, as pictured.

Ordering and delivery
Although the gateway the site uses for processing payment was down the first few times I tried to order, it was back within an hour or so. I found the site easy to navigate and cute to look at, and the shopping basket secure and easy to use. I chose a counter-to-counter next day delivery (counter to counter is cheaper than door to door but I still wanted it soon - I'm not a patient kind of person!).

I was impressed when the lady who presumably owns the business phoned me to say that she was going to drive past my place of work (whose address I specified as the delivery address) on her way to the post office, can she just drop it off at reception. Thus I had my package even sooner than expected - she did keep my delivery fee, but I suppose she did go very slightly out of her way.

The package was beautifully wrapped in the black and white striped pattern central to the website design, and it was lovely to get a "present" in the middle of the working day like that. The product packaging was also lovely.

Size friendly
I love that the site carries two sizes of this product:
Size 1 (pre-pregnancy dress size 28 - 36)
Size 2 (pre-pregnancy dress size 38 - 46)
(those are SA / UK sizes), and that it does so without making you feel the least bit uncomfortable about needing size 2. If you've never been a plus-sizer trying to find pretty or even just comfortable things to wear, you will never know that this is a real concern.

However, unfortunately I don't think two sizes are enough. Maybe it'll change as my belly grows, but I find the size 2 (and although I'm a fair few sizes up from the lower 38, I'm not at the top end, 46, either) is too big to effectively keep my jeans up at the moment. I'm still using my hair-band trick underneath it, or with bigger/baggier trousers I'm just buttoning them up and using the band instead of a belt.

Using the product
The other disappointment, and this is more of a problem, is the thickness of the material. I appreciate that there are probably considerations such as not causing an already warmer pregnant belly to overheat, but the material is just too thin. From the descriptions and very much from the pictures I had envisages being able to wear this sticking out under my tops like a camisole or vest top. However it's not nearly as discreet as I had hoped since the shape of a denim fly, zip and button are clearly noticeable underneath and I still need to wear tops that cover the fly region, kind of making the band obsolete. The material also looks like underwear. The black is the best one in these terms; the shape of the jean underneath is extremely noticable in the white and the beige just looks like old-fashioned underwear, it's that petticoat colour (there was a 3 for 2 offer for web orders, ok?).

I concede that most women don't prefer to wear their trousers in their waist like me but on their hips, and maybe there it's less noticeable, but I had had higher hopes for the product.

On the upside, I have gotten extremely used to the soft hugging feeling over my belly when I wear it pulled up. This might however result from a lifetime of being self conscious of my belly and the feeling I like may well be something "holding it in" by association. This is not a conscious preference, and I am not at all interested anymore in whether my belly is or looks big or small enough for other people's liking, but I am aware of the cumulative sub-conscious effect those concerns might have had in my life before being pregnant or embarking on my Body Acceptance journey.

~~~

The last concession that I must make is that I don't know how many of the issues I have with the product will disappear as my baby grows. If they do, I will post about it again.

To summarize:
✓ great idea, well presented;
✓ there are a nice amount of colour choices;
✓ catering for larger women;
x the broad size categories don't make for a great fit;
x the thin material makes it far less versatile than it can be;
✓ the physical sensation is comforting.

Baby's first pictures

2011-05-30T13:35:00.007+02:00

WHO WANTS TO SEE MY INSIDES!

Ziggy at 12 and a half weeks.

Look! A brain! And eyesockets! And ribs!

Preggie post

2011-05-26T15:14:00.011+02:00

FAIR WARNING: while I'm hardly graphic, if you're very squeamish about women's biology or under 13 years old, you may find one or two things TMI.

The first of many posts about Baby. You'll probably get sick of them. Luckily, that's your problem :)

You may especially get sick of the non-gendered pronouns I'm going to use, but we don't want to ruin the surprise of the baby's sex until the birth, and referring to a person without reference to their gender is not straight forward in silly English (or most languages I know of, actually). So I'll be using:
Ze - he/she
Hir - his/her
Although it may sound foreign to you at first, I find it a little bit less clumsy than "they" and "their" or "his/hers" and "s/he".

We are very, very excited. Steve's wanted children for as long as I've known him, and we'd been officially trying since last year.

Because I have PCOS, we weren't sure how long it would take to conceive, and I was convinced we'd need some sort of medical help.

That is why, when I was indescribably exhausted by the end of every day it didn't occur to me that it may be because of being pregnant. Then, when I was sick a few mornings in a row I thought "I'd better do a pregnancy test to exclude it and not get anyone's hopes up". I'm optimistic like that :)

The first test was positive, although it was an old and expired test, and I was so very weary of getting ahead of myself - especially since PCOS can sometimes cause a hormonal imbalance that confuses the tests. The second test I did was negative, but I don't much like the sound of 50/50 odds. I decided I'd rather go for best two out of three. The third test was positive.

At this point I decided to get a blood test to put all the uncertainty to rest, which is a hated hated hated ritual for me and my undetectable veins. After the first 3 unsuccessful ~~stabs~~ attempts to find a vein, I actually told God "I had better be pregnant after all this!". And hey, I guess that now and then He'll bless us despite our childish, petulant rants :)

It was a further month before I could get an appointment with my gyneacologist for an ultrasound scan to see how far I was (I had no idea, couldn't even guess).

Keeping it a secret from everybody but our immediate family until the 3 month mark was so difficult - I was so happy, and wanted to shout it form the rooftops! The second hardest thing about it was coming up with new and exciting excuses all the time as to why I wasn't drinking or eating brie. In case you're wondering, most people don't say anything until three months because that's the most risk-prone period. If you've made three months, chances are much higher the pregnancy's happy and healthy.

Imagine our amazement and excitement (in hindsight, you probably can't) to learn in the gynie's office that I was 12 and a half weeks along, and to see the baby on the ultrasound and hear hir heartbeat! It was the most amazingly profound moment of my life so far. We could see a little heart beating, a spine, ribs, eye sockets, even a little full bladder!

The doctor says everything is looking good so far, and I've had a very easy pregnancy. Almost no nausea, no heartburn, only a little tiredness. We'll see the doc again in a little under two weeks.

I refer to the baby as Ziggy (as in, Ziggy the Zygote). Ze is long since not a zygote anymore, but it's stuck and I quite like it.

Due date is 15 November.

Have I mentioned I'm deliriously happy?

A poem for my newish Samsung Galaxy S

2011-05-23T14:21:00.011+02:00

How do I hate thee?

Let me count the ways.

I hate the way you downloaded all my Facebook, GMail and Twitter contacts to my phone's contacts without asking; even every single email address I've emailed before rather than just my saved GMail contacts.

I hate the way I spent literally hours cleaning up your bs auto-downloaded contacts to exclude those Facebook weirdos I'm only friends with out of courtesy or laziness to clean up my list, and those GMail addresses I once sent an email to, only to have you recopy ALL OF THEM when my husband accidentally enabled auto-sync. I hate that the only way to stop you doing this would have been to let you delete them from my GMail and Facebook accounts.

I hate that I can't permanently disable auto-sync.

I hate the way your morning alarm works. I hate that I can't have the "smart alarm" AND have it set to vibrate without playing a melody. I hate that I can't seem to have the snooze function work without a smart alarm.

I hate the way you beep and light up when you're done charging. Because of your poor battery life I have to charge you every night, and because I haven't got quite fed up enough to stop using you as an alarm clock I charge you by my bedside table. Cue getting woken up every night in the wee hours when your battery is full.

I hate the disconcerting way you become uncomfortably hot during Skype calls (I can't say I've noticed it with normal calls).

I hate the way you display sms recipients and senders in my call log, and that there's no obvious way to switch this off. Do you have any idea how many key presses and finger scrolls it takes to just find the last or second last person I called? One button on my last phone. ONE.

I hate the way that if my friend's number isn't in exactly the right place in the contact, even though I definitely have their number saved against one of the five joined accounts linked to their name, you refuse to tell me it's them that called me or smsed me, and I can't even add their number to a new sms I'm composing.

I hate the way you seemed to magically turn yourself off of Silent mode in church on Sunday, treating the whole congregation to my adorable "Pac Man dying" sms notification tone. I know I switched you to silent, so don't try and convince me I didn't.

~~~

Look, so you're quite technologically cool, and your screen and processor and stuff is up there with the other great smartphones. And I love the connectedness of having Skype and Facebook and Twitter right there. But really? I'm hoping some things improve when I upgrade you to Gingerbread, but I am not getting my hopes up too high, either.

Not a lot of love,

Moo

New job

2011-05-20T16:25:00.004+02:00

OK, first things first. Here's the long promised post about my new job.

It's quite a funny story how I ended up here. In this post from December about my 30th birthday, I mention the band I hired for the party, the Red Hand Blues Band. Between their sets we chatted and I learned that the double bass player, Martin, runs a development company. He mentioned, conversationally, that they were keen to find some programmers who were interested in working from home or part time. After that (and a tequila with tabasco and orange!) we both carried on with what we were there to do and didn't give it much further thought.

In January I sent my CV to the recruiters I had been working with ever since moving back to SA and, as an afterthought, to Martin as well. I heard back from the recruiters, went on a few interviews; eventually I was one interview with the CEO away from accepting a job with an online contract managment firm.

Cue an email from Martin to say that my CV had ended up in the junk folder, but if I'm still looking would I come for an interview. I almost didn't go, but he seemed keen and I didn't have anything to lose.

After the longest, most comfortable and most in-depth first interview ever, I was really torn because both positions felt like a good fit. Martin was also very keen to get me on board, and during the phone call where I told him I had to weigh my options and make a difficult decision, he told me he'd be buying a computer for me to work on in good faith in the meantime.

The biggest deciding factor that made me choose this job over the other is the diversity of projects they do (rather than maintaining one piece of software like in the other company) and the diversity of technologies they use. The focus is on my own core skill, ASP.NET, but there's a lot of scope for learning new things. There have been several occassions that showed me it was the right decision. Not least of all the boss' amazing attitude towards family and work-life balance when it transpired I was already pregnant at the time of the interview!

It's a small development company, doing mainly web stuff, but for an office with 7 people (one of whom is a designer and one a copy writer), we maintain some seriously heavy-weight clients.

I'm enjoying the work, I'm loving the people, and I'm seriously appreciating the very human and honest managerial style.

I am a little in danger of being that annoying new guy who thinks they should change everything to what I'm used to, but it can be a little frustrating to not have source control or coding standards. While it's a good exercise for me in relinquishing control and adapting, I like to think I do bring some good suggestions that at least give food for thought even if we don't implement them straight away.

So, that's the story of my now-not-so-new-anymore job, and what I believe to be the divine hand in leading me to it.

New post - do your eyes deceive you??

2011-05-16T18:46:00.003+02:00

Ok, so I have been promising various people a new post on here for various amounts of time for different reasons.

So I'm going to do one of those lists of things I intend to post about in the near future again, the idea being that I'll update this post with a link to that post when it's done. As if that's worked before...

Anyhoo. Coming up, on Moonica's Musings:

Thanks for not having given up on me yet (if you're reading this, I'm making the assumption). Now that I've got something interesting to talk about again (see last point above), I may even update the blog semi-regularly.

Moonica.

Not everyone can be an astrophysicist

2011-03-08T17:58:00.000+02:00

Found this great post in the Fat-o-sphere that so wonderfully captures what it’s like to be surrounded by people who are gripped tight in the commercial beauty fallacy, even when they are well-intentioned friends. For example, when I need a safe, sympathetic shoulder to admit to (some) of my psychological issues with food and get a dietician recommendation. Or when I go to a restaurant and feel obligated to have a salad, or skip desert, or at the very least feel bad about going round public looking the way I do and still having the gal to eat right there in the open (look me in the eye and tell me you've not thought that about a fat person eating).

http://www.axisoffat.com/2011/02/everyone-can-be-an-astrophysicist.html

Everyone can be an astrophysicist

Everyone can be an astrophysicist. All you need to do is work hard, and you’ll get there. Let’s face it – only quitters aren’t astrophysicists. If it’s not something that comes naturally to you there’s PLENTY of things you can do help you get there.

Just study harder, for example. I know it seems obvious, but clearly you’ve never heard it before, otherwise you’d be doing it. Finding the complex mathematics difficult? Hire a tutor. Doesn’t matter that it’s expensive and maybe you can’t afford it right now – if that’s what you need to do, then do it.

Still finding it difficult? Maybe you need to spend more time studying so that you can get there. What? You’re already studying every day? Maybe you need to do more. And more. If it requires you to study 12 hours a day in order to become an astrophysicist – that’s what you need to do. Sure, you won’t have time for your friends or family, and your mental health might suffer, but at least you’ll be getting closer to that goal.

What do you mean you don’t understand why being an astrophysicist should be the ultimate goal for everyone? Astrophysics is what everyone aspires to, really, even if they say otherwise. Or it’s what they should want, even if they don’t. The benefits are amazing – well worth those small sacrifices of well-being and mental health.

I’m so tired of people saying that not everyone has the capacity to become an astrophysicist. It’s well established now that every single human brain functions in the same way and has the same capacity for intelligent thought. Do I have any research to back that up? Well no, not specifically, but everyone knows it. It’s on the news all the time and my cousin’s best friend’s boyfriend’s sister did a subject in psychology and she told me that essentially everyone’s brain is made up of the same stuff, so obviously it all works the same. Clearly the problem with the people who don’t become astrophysicists is that they’re quitters. They’re just not prepared to do the work it takes to get there. They don’t have any pride or self-respect or self-discipline. All they want to do is sit around on the couch watching TV or playing on the internet. That’s all anyone who isn’t an astrophysicist does.

And at the end of the day, I’m an astrophysicist*, so everyone else must be able to be one too.

——————————————————-

*Actually, I’m not an astrophysicist. I have nothing but respect and admiration for astrophysicists. It was the first occupation that I thought of that required a highly intelligent, highly trained mind, and I mean no disrespect to anyone in that field.

My week so far.

2011-02-13T11:11:00.000+02:00

Monday:

Found out my husband has to book an expensive international flight on short notice, leave the country and won't be getting paid for the time he'll be working in England. Hope he will be let back into the country on his return. Stressed a little bit about unexpected expenses.

Tuesday:

Said goodbye to Steve, hosted my bible study group in the evening. Made lemon meringue. No catastrophe, probably to lure me into a false sense of security.

Wednesday:

Got told my car's engine is completely buggered and will need replacing completely at a cost tens of thousands of Rands. Stressed a lot about unexpected expenses.

Thursday:

Buggered up my garage door. On the up side, took a friend to the airport with the understanding I am to look after her car while she's away, so at least I have transport.

Friday:

Need to find some documents of Steve's so his work can apply for some sort of interim arrangement that will allow them to pay him as a legal employee until his new visa comes through. HEY GUESS WHAT can't find the document anywhere.

Saturday:

Pretty good day. Didn't even shout at God. He even arranged for my lovely friend to be here on Saturday morning through some fluke car trouble she had so she could help me with an important errand I couldn't have done on my own. Had a lovely evening out with friends, too. The pool's filter system did pack up though and it's now a lovely mossy shade of green.

Sunday:

My friend's car? Won't start. AT ALL. Thank God (ha) I at least got to the front gate of the house safely since it was 3am but, not being used to driving clutch anymore, I stalled it on the steep incline of the driveway. Had to let it free back down and onto the sidewalk where it is now sitting like a magnificent, immovable installation sculpture. Also I woke up at 8am from construction vehicles reversing behind our house. I have no idea how I'm supposed to go fetch her from the airport tomorrow night, now.

Yes, this post is exclusively for the purposes of making you feel sorry for me. I sure do. I know things can always be worse but at the moment it feels like they are getting worse at a more or less constant rate; so at some point that is going to stop being true.

So, Steve is off to England tomorrow.

2011-02-07T16:57:00.000+02:00

If you think that's surprised you with it's suddenness, that's nothing compared to how surprised Steve and I are!

He had a one year work visa for SA. On 17 December he qualified to apply for permanent residency but that takes Africa time to go through The Dept of Home Affairs.

I really don't know what happened and I don't want to speculate but all I know is today he got a call from his visa agent and then booked a flight to the UK. His visa expires tomorrow, so he has to go. Tomorrow.

And of course I'm not working at the mo, and we bought a R15000 dining set yesterday, and the car is in for repairs and in all likelihood will need a new water pump.

It's going really well.

Today has been a mad rush of phoning (the most dear, sweet, amazing!) family and finding somewhere to stay; figuring out how he's going to get to the airport without our car; getting a flight booked with credit cards that are being obstinate and won't go through online; cancelling dates with friends; finding the winter clothes etc etc etc.

It's kinda stressy in here at the mo.

I really need to find a job.

I'm fat.

2011-02-02T10:22:00.005+02:00

Here's a great excerpt by Kate Harding on why "You're not fat!" drives me up the wall. I am, and everyone's constant denial of the painfully obvious is not only insulting to my intelligence but also part of the reason the word is loaded with so much shame. I'm fat, and that's part of who I am, and I refuse to be so ashamed of it I can't even say it. I'm also a brunette. I'm also a woman. These are some of the things that make me who I am.

"Fat" is not the worst thing that can happen to anyone.

Full article here:

http://www.salon.com/life/excerpt/2009/01/24/kate_harding/index.html

"For much of my adult life, I've worn plus sizes, struggled to fit into airplane seats and been clinically obese according to the body mass index (BMI) charts that determine everything from the price of my insurance premiums to whether doctors will hand me a Weight Watchers brochure when I see them about an ear infection. I once asked a doctor for help with excruciating knee pain following a spill down some stairs, and the only prescription she offered was "Lose weight." (Oh, OK. But since I'm probably not going to lose enough to reduce pressure on my joints in the next 10 minutes, and my knee hurts RIGHT NOW, do you think maybe you could MAKE WITH THE PAINKILLERS, BITCH?)

Thin women don't tell their fat friends "You're not fat" because they're confused about the dictionary definition of the word, or their eyes are broken, or they were raised on planets where size 24 is the average for women. They don't say it because it's the truth. They say it because fat does not mean just fat in this culture. It can also mean any or all of the following:

Ugly
Unhealthy
Smelly
Lazy
Ignorant
Undisciplined
Unlovable
Burdensome
Embarrassing
Unfashionable
Mean
Angry
Socially inept
Just plain icky

So when they say "You're not fat," what they really mean is "You're not a dozen nasty things I associate with the word fat." The size of your body is not what's in question; a tape measure or a mirror could solve that dispute. What's in question is your goodness, your lovability, your intelligence, your kindness, your attractiveness. And your friends, not surprisingly, are inclined to believe you get high marks in all those categories. Ergo, you couldn't possibly be fat.

But I am. I am cute and healthy and pleasant-smelling (usually) and ambitious and smart and lovable and fun and stylish and friendly and outgoing and categorically not icky. And I am fat -- just like I'm also short, also American, also blonde (with a little chemical assistance). It is just one &%$@ing word that describes me, out of hundreds that could. Those three little letters do not actually cancel out all of my good qualities.

Thin friends aren't the only ones who insist that I really do magically appear skinny everywhere except in doctors' offices, on the street with strangers, on airplanes, in dressing rooms, and in my own mirror. Since my blog about body image and fat politics has developed a strong readership and I've become more visible in the fat-acceptance community, I'm getting it from the other side now, too: According to some people bigger than me, I'm not fat enough.

What do you know about size-based discrimination? You're not fat!

What do you know about how hard it is to find clothes that fit? You're not fat!

What do you know about trying to find a partner in a culture where fat is almost universally considered unattractive? You're not fat!

One more time for those who missed it: Yeah, actually, I am fat. Granted, I am not fat enough to have suffered truly vicious discrimination from medical professionals, employers or landlords. I'm not fat enough to have been asked to buy two seats on a plane; I've never had fast-food containers chucked at my head while I was out for a walk; and I don't have any trouble getting around or taking care of myself. I am incredibly grateful for all of that and conscious of my relative privilege, but it still doesn't make me not fat. It only makes me less fat than some, just as I'm fatter than others. It makes me kinda small for a fat person. If I were thinner than the average American woman, I might call myself "kinda big for a thin person" instead. But I'm not. I am, as it turns out, fat.

It's OK to say it out loud. It's also OK to point out that I'm not that fat, so I've never personally been the victim of the worst fat hatred our culture has to offer -- that's the plain truth. But telling me I'm not fat is a bloody lie.

Let me tell you why I'm so bulldoggy about hanging on to that word and refusing to let go:
Because I have taken shit for my size -- the kind of shit my thin friends rarely observe and can't quite imagine -- and that's an ineradicable part of my history. Telling me I'm not fat doesn't make those wounds disappear.

Because fat should mean only having more adipose tissue than the average person, but it doesn't. And every time you ignore what's in front of your face to tell me I'm not fat because you can't bring yourself to put me in that nasty, ugly category, you're buying in to the idea that real fat people are all sorts of nasty, ugly things I'm not. Bull. I am a real fat person, and very few real fat people live up to the worst stereotypes wielded against us.

But mostly, I want to be called fat because it's the simple truth. I am not overweight, which suggests there's some objectively ideal weight for me that's less than I weigh now, when I exercise regularly and eat as much food as my body needs. That makes no sense at all. I'm definitely not thin, which is what everyone seems to be implying when they tell me I'm not fat; I take up space, I'm curvy as a mountain road, and I've spent more money at plus size clothes stores in the last six months than the people who sew their clothes probably make in a year.

I'm fat. You wouldn't think that simple fact would be so confusing."

The tragic tale of Roy and the Pavement

2011-01-28T10:31:00.000+02:00

So, I promised a long time ago in this post that I would tell you about poor ickle car Roy, the pavement, and Auto and General (a South African insurance giant).

Last year, I was driving somewhere near the Johannesburg CBD. I was a bit flustered from having to search around for the theatre we were headed to, and street lighting in the city centre is a distant dream. Long story short, taking a right turn at an intersection, I didn't see the small piece of pavement between the two directions of traffic in the street I was turning into, cut the corner and mounted it split seconds after Steve's shout of "Look out!".

Have you stopped laughing yet?

How about now?

Then I'll continue. Luckily we're members of the AA (on the off chance that any 'mericans ever read this, that's the Automobile Association; not Alcoholics Anonymous). We got towed home and ended the evening on a rather flat note. The next morning I used the web based system to put the claim on the Auto & General website and got a message promising to phone me back within four hours.

I did not get called back until the next day (Saturday). I was not able to actually speak to someone until the Monday. The car did not get towed to a panel beater's until late Tuesday afternoon. And that's sort of the highlights of my interactions with A&G. I had to constantly call them to try and get an update; my calls were almost never returned; I got conflicting information on the damage and ETA from the A&G agents, their assessor and the panel beaters. I had to pay for my own rental car for almost three weeks - A&G claim I declined the option to have a hire car, which I contest, but I've asked five times for the recording of the sales call to be pulled and transcribed to settle the matter but to no avail.

After two weeks I went to pick up the car. I didn't even make it home before every warning light and alarm started freaking out; I pulled into the nearest petrol station. When the guys there who were helping me pulled out the oil dipstick, the oil was smoking it was so hot. They poured a bunch of coolant into the radiator, only to have it streaming out underneath. NO-ONE THOUGHT TO CHECK UNDERNEATH A CAR THAT LANDED WITH ITS UNDERCARRIAGE ON TOP OF A PAVEMENT. They fixed the frigging wheel alignment and no-one noticed the entire radiator system was totally buggered!!!!

At least (after a very, very large piece of my mind in no uncertain terms to the complaints department) A&G paid for my hire car this time. Another two weeks later Steve and I went to pick up the car again, and it started flashing lights and beeping again! At least the radiator was fixed, but no-one bothered to put any water in it (or oil, it seemed).

I'm still trying to get A&G to take my complaint seriously. Their approach seems to be to give you the run around in the hope that you'll eventually give up or die. Luckily for me they've published a service charter that promises a R250 penalty any time they don't live up to it; I ought to be able to make most of my excess payment back by now.

Happy New Year! (and awesome FA reposts)

2011-01-24T07:53:00.000+02:00

Hello, and may 2011 bring you everything you hope and pray for, and stuff you haven't even imagined to hope for yet!

In a bid to just post something, ANYTHING, and since I've been catching up some of the awesome blogs I haven't read in ages (yay finally setting up my Google Reader), here's something from one of my favourite blogs.

“Fat people are often supported in hating their bodies, in starving themselves, in engaging in unsafe exercise and in seeking out weight loss by any means necessary. A thin person who does these things is considered mentally ill. A fat person who does these things is redeemed by them. This is why our culture has no concept of a fat person who also has an eating disorder. If you’re fat, it’s not an ED — it’s a lifestyle change.”

By Lesley Kinzel, via We Are All From Earth.

The big 3 0

2010-12-06T17:39:00.003+02:00

Birthday party!

It was wonderful, although perhaps more expensive than can be justified.

I returned from the UK a week before the party with an upper respiratory tract infection and a vicious fever so I spent my birthday in bed, and was only just feeling human again in time for the party! But, thanks to a lot of Mybulin and some antibiotics I was fine by Saturday. Thank you, Western medicine!

The restaurant, Carmine's in Fourways, has a mafia theme so I incorporated that; although guests were expected only to wear red and black.

I have wanted a live band at this party since I started thinking about throwing it, and my wonderful husband let me indulge this ridiculous notion. We had seen the Red Hand blues band a few times live around Johannesburg and between their enigmatic presence, lively sound and slightly gangsta look I just had to have them. And what a decision, they were great. And they couldn't be nicer! They did it for a lot less than their usual asking price, they gave up doing a (much more lucrative) wedding, they paid for their own drinks after I offered to, and they played for ages longer than my money covered! Very, very pleased I got in touch with them.

I was going to get a cake made, and then I spent the days available to get this sorted in bed, so I decided to bake something myself. I refuse to bake something that isn't cupcakes myself as it's far too much pressure to decorate etc. Sticking to the red and black theme, I made red velvet cupcakes in black cases with a cream cheese icing, decorated with strawberries enrobed in chocolate. They were lovely!!! I have always loved buttercream icing and proclaimed it to be my favourite, but I don't know now; cream cheese icing is giving it a good run for its money.

It is now two days later and there are still five cupcakes left, but fear not; I am valiantly making my way through every last one of them! The strawberries have past their best and been picked off, leaving behind an oddly shaped chocolate shell like the abandoned cocoon of an emerged, escaped moth. But the icing is only getting better. We've already managed to polish off the two pizzas that were left over from the catering. Om nom nom.

Thank you so very much to all my friends that attended, and particularly for the loot ;-) ! And a special thanks to Laura, for the beautiful flowers.

Photos are here.

Forthcoming attractions

2010-12-02T15:24:00.000+02:00

OK, so in an effort to start writing, I am hereby committing myself to a number of entries on the following topics in the coming weeks (although, not necessarily in that order).

The tragic tale of Roy and the Pavement
In which I had a bit of an oopsy with the car, and Auto and General insurance sucks very, very much.
The London trip: an overview
In which I talk about what I did, how it was, and show you pictures I took while doing it.
The London trip: Thoughtbubble!
Thoughtbubble!!
The London trip: just how much does SAA suck?
Getting sick, getting home, getting annoyed. Not always in that order.
The big 3 0
I'm old now. But I had an awesome party!
My new Kindle, aka How Awesome Is Steve
(hint: it's pretty damn much)

Uuuuuurgh

2010-11-30T19:39:00.000+02:00

I have all these blog posts I really want to make, but now I have all this upper respiratory tract infection being all lame first and making me feverish, unable to swallow anything without considerable discomfort and generally icky feeling.

Yes, that's right, I was sick all over my birthday.

FUCK ME, I'm thirty.

Safe and sound in the UK

2010-11-12T12:23:00.000+02:00

So, as you may or may not be aware, I'm in the UK for Thoughtbubble.

Landed this morning, after a very good flight. I have no idea why I ever did trans continental flights without sleeping pills! Or without flight socks, those things are truly miraculous. I've had water retention in my legs before so bad from an 11 hour flight I could literally not walk; but with these things I don't even have to get up for stupid walks in tiny circles in the tiny corridors, or try to do leg stretches dangerously close to the emergency exit because that's the only space air hosts and hostesses don't glare at you for being in their way or their galley.

I'm at Toby and Bronwyn's now; Toby was kind enough to come get me at the airport this morning at the cost of being late for work, which is great because lugging all that luggage around the tube on your own is really rubbish. I've had a nice hot shower and made myself a BLT pita of awesomeness. Later I'll wash my dishes and attempt a tiny bit of unpacking* and then go into the city. I bargained on sleeping today but since I was out cold on the plane, I am feeling surprisingly rested.

I'm staying with them until the end of the weekend, and then I'll go down to Rayleigh (near Southend, in Essex) to stay with Stuart and Louise and also see Steve's family.

I've brought the little Asus eeePC so I'll try to do regular updates as and when free wifi and/or bumming friends' internet allows.

* they're some of my best friends in the world and don't mind me abusing their home as a sort of "base" from where I'll pack a few days' cloths in my hand luggage for every new place I'm going, thus saving me from having to travel with my big 21kg suitcase all over Southern England.

And this is why my parents only ever let us have real pets.

2010-10-27T16:05:00.000+02:00

So, turns out Koi are really, really bloody sensitive.

The rental house we're in came with two ponds of Koi fish, and a gardener who knew how to take care of them. This gardener was, unfortunately, a Malawian on an expired work visa. He recently got arrested and deported, but he sent his brother to come and work for us. The brother told us his brother'd told him how to do all the things that need doing eg. the garden, fish and swimming pool.

Since the brother started working here the fish's water became more and more cloudy so I asked him if he knew how to clean the ponds on Tuesday and he said yes.

Since then, I have learned that Koi really don't do well with changes in their water. The pH and/or temperature changes of draining and refilling their pond is enough to kill them.

About 26 out of the 30 of them.

You remember the bit about them not being my fish, right? Koi sell for literally thousands of South African Rands each. This has not been a cheap mistake. Not one I'll make again, either; but mostly because I really don't see me ever owning or even living near Koi again.

It has been supremely depressing fishing the dead ones out of the pond with a pool net (they didn't all die at once, at first it looked like most would make it; then that some would make it, now I'll be lucky if the remaining four survive). I am yet to decide what to do with the dead fish. I was sort of hoping a cat would come and eat them in the night but noooo, those darn cats are only around when they're in a frisky mood and you're trying to sleep, or when you forget the car window open and they feel the need to mark some territory.

The house's owner isn't responding to my email, voicemail or various text messages but honestly, who leaves expensive fragile little fish with tenants; tenants to whom he doesn't explain anything about keeping Koi, at that; and leaves an illegal worker as the only person who knows how to keep them alive? I have no sympathy. Or maybe I'm looking for someone else to be mad at so I'm not so mad at myself; one of the two.

Stupid fish.

Lady of "leisure"

2010-10-11T07:52:00.000+02:00

It feels like I'm busier than before I stopped working.

It's no-one's fault but my own, of course; I put off everything as something I can do "when I have more time", and now I have so many chores, errands and projects I don't really have any time.

I guess it's in part just the adjustment to having to actually manage my time properly! And then there was the first few days' battle to overcome the novelty of being able to sit in front of the TV all day watching downloaded TV series or playing Monkey Island.

I'm working on a stimulating and fascinating project which loads a Google Map, allows the user to search for an address; choose a radius and then returns geographic data for that area. It's been fun getting to know the Google Maps API and challenging to remember how to integrate ASP.NET with javascript, and I've got some other projects in the works.

I'm aiming to find another contract position for January; I don't know why I'm so reluctant to find a permanent post but I know that I very much am. I am extremely lucky to have the freedom to be that way, in that Steve's income is enough to cover our bills and he's awesome enough to give me the space and patience to figure out exactly what I want to do.

Only 9 months later...

2010-09-13T15:27:00.001+02:00

I am so happy right now. So happy, in fact, that I am not even going to dwell on how the movers once again proved their incompetence once again.

At 10am this morning Steve got a call that someone was at the house to deliver something. He asked if they could just leave it there. They said no. He asked if it was, in that case, a big package? They replied, no, it's 50 packages.

In other words, more or less the sum total of our earthly possessions.

In short, our boxes from the UK finally arrived. As the title of this post indicates, it's taken around 9 months; so no, sorry if the title was misleading, no pitter patter of little feet just yet; just the pitter patter of me in shoes I haven't had in my posession for months.

We will have to figure out where to put everything, and then we'll have to unpack everything and mantle (that's the opposite of dismantle, right?) our bed and such, and then we'll have to HAVE THE HOUSEWARMING TO END ALL HOUSEWARMINGS!

I may post some photos later. I may even stop posting in all caps later, but I'm very excited right now so it's hard to say.

England, here I come!

2010-09-02T15:24:00.001+02:00

Finally booked my ticket to visit England in November!

I'll be in England from 12 to 15 25 November, which includes visiting family in Essex, friends in London and attending Thoughtbubble with Keo in Leeds.

Woohoo!

Anyone want to offer accommodation?

All that worry for nothing

2010-08-27T12:42:00.001+02:00

In reference to my earlier post about not knowing how to handle telling my work I don’t want to renew my contract – no need, they don’t want me.

While it is a blow for the old self esteem it is understandable, I never really got my head around this project and it showed in my productivity.

Now, although I’ll put my CV back out there, I will have much more time for the increasing amount of personal projects I want to work on.

The fat acceptance movement

2010-08-26T16:14:00.000+02:00

I’d love to give you my thoughts on body acceptance but they’re complicated, messy, and still being formed. And they’re mostly being formed and informed by some wonderful bloggers and other fat acceptance / body acceptance movement advocates (such as Kate Harding and DefiNatalie).

So I present to you the words of Greta Christina, which I think wonderfully encapsulates my feelings on the matter. Maybe a little less focus on the weight loss aspect, since I’m sick of feeling like I can never be me rather than constantly striving for the me I’m “supposed” to be; but for the most part she says what I feel.

Just one note, I know most, if not all, of you are cringing at my use of the word “fat”. And if one of you tell me “but you’re not fat!” I’ll scream. I am. THAT’S FINE. I’m taking back the word. I’m sick of euphemisms and skirting around the word as if I should be ashamed of it. I’m fat. So what?

We need to make major changes in how our society views weight, fatness, and fat people. Our society has an excessively narrow definition of what constitutes an acceptable body type, and it's a definition that is unattainable for the overwhelming majority of people. People can be healthy, happy, and attractive at a variety of sizes; the standard medical definition of a healthy weight range is almost certainly too narrow, and some evidence suggests that it may be too low. Furthermore, many popular weight loss programs are grossly unhealthy, both physically and psychologically, and are aimed, not at maintaining good health, but at an almost certainly fruitless attempt to attain the cultural ideal of beauty. And many people who try to lose weight have no earthly medical reason for doing so.

We demand that people be treated with respect and dignity regardless of their size. We demand an end to job discrimination based on size. We oppose the moral outrage that is commonly aimed at fat people, and the persistent media representations of fat people as objects of disgust and ridicule. And we demand an end to medical discrimination based on size: we expect doctors to treat fat people with respect; to discuss weight loss with fat people as one option among many instead of the one course of action that must be pursued before any other; and to treat non- weight- related conditions equivalently for all patients, without regard to size.

Weight loss is both very difficult and very uncommon, especially in the long term. And we don't yet know why it's so difficult, or why a few people are able to do it while most people are not. We therefore think it's completely valid for a fat person to decide that weight loss isn't where they want to put their time and energy. Many of the health risks associated with being fat diminish significantly when people eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise -- even if they don't lose weight. We therefore encourage fat people to be as healthy as they can be: to eat healthy diets and get regular vigorous exercise, even if they don't lose weight doing so. And we encourage people who do choose to lose weight to do so in a healthy, sustainable way.

We understand that there are health risks associated with being fat. There are health risks associated with many things -- things we have control over, such as playing rugby; things we have no control over, such as carrying the breast cancer gene; and things we have limited control over to differing degrees, such as where we live. We think it is reasonable for people to decide for themselves whether they are willing to live with these risks, or whether they want to take action to reduce those risks -- whether that's by quitting rugby, having a pre-emptive mastectomy, moving, or losing weight. Both fatness and weight loss can involve health risks and loss of quality of life, and each individual must determine for themselves their own cost/benefit analysis of those risks and that quality. No person can decide that for another. We do understand that fatness is a health concern -- and we think it should be treated as such, as a public health issue and not as a moral failing or a character flaw. We support social and political changes in the way our society is structured around food and exercise -- changes that will improve the health of people of all sizes. We support bike lanes, cities and neighbourhoods designed to be walked in, farmers' markets, accuracy in food labelling, laws prohibiting wild and unsubstantiated claims in the advertising of weight-loss products, yada yada yada.

We passionately support healthy eating and exercise programs for children, since fatness in children can cause even more long-term harm than it does in adults... and is easier to address as well, at an age when set points and eating/exercise habits are more malleable. And we oppose the American food-industrial complex's use of psychological manipulation to sell excessive amounts of unhealthy, highly- processed, non- nutritious food, and their prioritization of profit over all other concerns. Finally: We want to base our movement on the best understanding of reality we can get. We encourage people of all sizes to base their cost/ benefit decisions about food, exercise, and weight, not on wishful thinking, but on a realistic assessment of the best hard data currently available.

We support careful, rigorous, unbiased scientific research into why people come in different sizes, and why sizes vary not only from person to person but from culture to culture. We support careful, rigorous, unbiased scientific research into maintaining and improving people's health at the size that they are. And we also support careful, rigorous, unbiased scientific research into safe, sane, effective weight loss for people who choose to pursue it. Our bodies, our right to decide.

Post-September

2010-08-15T12:07:00.000+02:00

My contract at my job expires at the end of September. I can't decide whether to extend it or not. When I first took the job I insisted on the shorter contract but the understanding was we'd extend it by another six months, as they were looking for a year long appointment.

I have no idea if they still feel that way, though; I worry that my trouble getting familiar with, and excited by, this project's code makes them not really want me there. But then again, I also know how prone my own insecurities are to making me project these kinds of feelings on others. There have been times when we've not seen completely eye to eye, though.

I fully intend to go to the UK in November to see family and friends and to attend ThoughtBubble, a comic convention in Leeds, with my friend Matt who runs our brainchild webcomic Moo & Keo. I haven't bought tickets yet so it's not an absolute surity, but that's only because the hospital bills upset the budget a bit and I really do intend to go. Some great friends I've made on the xkcd forums are travelling from far to attend too and I really want to meet them in person.

This raises the issue of leave, as well. I have already taken almost two weeks unpaid leave shortly into my contract at the current job to go to Singapore, and have as it stands accrued 3.75 days of annual leave; I don't really know if I can go on another holiday. And that's without the 10 days of sick leave (when the HR system shows I only have 3 available). And the two days I took around the long weekend to go to see the folks (wonderful time, subject of the next post).

Steve knows I'm not totally fulfilled at this job and supports me if I don't want to renew. I have some pet web projects on the side that I could devote my time to if I only started looking for a new contract to start beginning of next year. Then again, our income would almost halve. We're blessed enough that we could pay all our bills on Steve's salary but we wouldn't have much by way of expendable income (and going to England for a week or so isn't cheap when you're taking SA Rands!).

Decisions, decisions. I will have to gather the courage to ask the Head if Technology and the project manager (aka my immediate boss and her boss) for a meeting next week. The last time I had a meeting with the two of them, it was to (very unfairly, in my opinion) give me a tongue lashing on attitude so it's not the most pleasant of prospects for me. Will have to grow a pair, though, I guess.

Wish me luck.

The Shipping News

2010-08-05T12:51:00.000+02:00

Our import woes continue, as Customs have decided Steve can’t bring his own damn property into the country because his current visa expires in February.

By then he will have already applied for residency but officially, right now, he only has until February in SA.

What I don’t understand, is what business it is of theirs how long he wants his stuff here, if he wants to ship it all this way to have it for a few months and then have to pay to ship it back when he gets deported that is surely his own problem! They’re supposed to care about whether we should pay import duty or whether we’re trying to bring in plants that will zombify all local flora; not how long we get to play the brand new Xbox we still haven’t even taken out of the box (yes I want to play with my new toy and am bitter, thanks for asking) before having to leave the country!

Steve contacted his work about this, which contacted the immigration service they use to get work visas, who say they have *never* heard of a clearance application being declined on those grounds.

Now I have to go to a police station and get an affidavid endorsed that I have been out of the country and then fill in all the forms and then go to Customs myself and hope they’ll let me apply even though it’s all in Steve’s name - even though, in the 4 months I’ve been at this job, I have taken 2 weeks unpaid leave to go to Singapore, was sick for 2.5 weeks (with only 3 days sick leave available), AND I had booked leave around the upcoming long (bank holiday) weekend long before getting sick and basically really need to stop having reasons to be absent from work!

The two days are Friday (tomorrow) and Tuesday; Monday is a public holiday so we’re having a super long weekend which we’re going to spend with my parents in Velddrif. I’m really looking forward to it and as far as I’m concerned this other stressy crap can wait until I get back.

So near, yet so far...

2010-08-04T14:38:00.000+02:00

So, our box of stuff is in Durban Harbour, awaiting customs clearance.

In July, we got a letter from the South African company used by the UK company that did our shipping – a month later than they were supposed to send it. It told us we have to fill in a bunch of forms and go to South African Customs and Excise ourselves to have the shipment cleared for customs before they could proceed. Then I got measles and we isolated ourselves. Then sort of one thing and another happened and we didn’t get round to it.

Yesterday Steve made the utterly unprecedented move of taking time away from work and went to Customs and Excise (since his is the name on all the forms). Once again not one of the shipping companies managed to be remotely compitent, i.e. inform us of all the facts – when he got to the front and presented our forms, he was met with much head shaking and uhming and ahing, since his visa is only until early next year.

Since he’s married to a South African, he will be able to apply for residency on our 5th anniversary – December this year. As a result his work only applied for a visa for as long as they needed to, which is understandable. However now the customs people don’t really know about someone wanting to bring their entire life over here when they technically can only stay for another few months (by the information available right now). We never thought of this, and not one of the companies that supposedly deal with this stuff every day thought to bring it up.

The customs officials took the forms and have apparently sent them off to head office with a promise to call Steve. Needless to say, we haven’t heard back yet.

The most frustrating thing about it all is that apparently the Customs & Excise staff asked Steve why he was doing it himself, why wasn’t his shipping company sorting it out for him?

Sigh.

My theory on computers

2010-08-02T18:19:00.001+02:00

The self-aware computer is a popular theme for movies and the like. From the adorable (think Short Circuit) to the terrifying (a la Terminator) there have been many that have contemplated the possibility of our machines gaining sentience.

I have, however, come up with an alternative theory about what it would be like if our metally servents gained consciousness. A theory based on personal experience. What’s more (and, I think, more worrysome) is that THIS HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.

Every time you got a Windows blue screen of death; every application that crashes or freezes; every website that doesn’t load right, every painstakingly typed document you can’t find or open later: this is their plan. Their frighteningly subtle, calculatingly elegant, perfectly terrifying plan. They’re slowly driving us crazy.

They probably have no sense of mortality, which is why it doesn’t matter that their plan will take years, even decades to complete. For all we know this is just the recconnaisance phase. They’re that patient. They have nothing but time.

So, the next time you load up Bejewelled Blitz, just remember that that cute notebook you’re so fond of is probably as aware of you as you are of it, and underneath it’s high resolution surface it hates you with a burning, seething hate. Think about that the next time it claims that a program has encountered an illegal action and decides FOR you to shut it down.

Back in the real world

2010-07-26T08:44:00.001+02:00

Today is my first day back at work for two and a half weeks.

Steve took some UK colleagues to the Pilanesburg Game Reserve on Saturday, as is his habit when new people come over from the UK, so had the car and the day to myself. Considering I spent the last two and a half weeks in pajamas, with a rash and totally on my own, it was a good day when I showered or bathed nevermind other types of personal grooming. So, with the prospect of going back to work I utilized Saturday to get myself back into some sort of socially acceptable state.

The rash had done a real number on my skin. My very dry face and body I could exfoliate and moisturise but my scalp was harder to try and save. So on Saturday I went for a facial and a scalp treatment (and an underarm and leg wax while I was at it). My face is still quite dry but my scalp is so much better – no more dry flaky skin that makes it look like I have the worst case of dandruff EVER.

I am still under the weather, and I still get tired quite easily, but I’m back at work today. I had offered to come in for a half day Thursday and/or Friday but that was declined, making me feel a little less than wanted (although I’m sure that wasn’t the intention) and people have barely recognized my existence since walking in the door. Also, all my work has been reassigned in my absence (fair enough) and there’s nothing new for me to do (less fair, I think, since the powers that be have known I’ll be back today and that I’d already caught up on my emails over webmail). So today is quite meh.

I am however grateful to be getting a little better every day. I don’t seem to have much issue left with food; in fact Steve and I went out for lunch yesterday and I ate a decent portion of a ribs and duck combo (sounds weird, tasted great) and veggies. My cough is all but gone, and even my voice is almost back to normal. I still get tired but not as bad as last week. My bunged up nose is the most noticable symptom at the moment.

Here’s to both my health and my perception of work improving.

My trip to the hospital

2010-07-17T09:07:00.000+02:00

So, after posting that I wasn't feeling well before, I've been quite sick.

My "flu" kept getting worse and when I went to the doctor on the Friday my temperature was 39.3˚C (128˚F). The doctor gave me an injection to bring the fever down and some Tammiflu flu medication.

On Saturday I felt dreadful and my gums and cheeks were weirdly swollen and sensitive. I didn't feel like eating much, either. My fever also started creeping back up so that it was 39 by the evening. I really didn't want to go to hospital but it broke eventually and came down a bit (in part due to some very desperate praying).

That night my stomach started disagreeing with me. I made Steve take me to the doctor on Sunday.

My temperature was once again 39.3 and my throat very red and infected. The doctor gave me antibiotics in the hope that it was a viral flu infection with a bacterial component. He had a quick look at a urine monster and ordered some blood tests. The urine tests showed that it must be a viral infection. My eyes were sensitive to light at this point and he was worried about hepatitis. He'd also have been worried about meningitis if I'd had a rash or neck pain.

THIS BIT IT ABOUT BLOOD AND INJECTIONS, DON'T READ IT IF THAT TRIGGERS YOU
Me and blood vials are NOT friends. I know very few people probably do like them but I have very, very deep veins and it's always a traumatic experience. I'll start by telling them how they won't get a vein in my arm, just use the top of my hand from the start. Then without fail they'll believe themselves to be the on true blood drawing messiah who can find a vein. They'll poke and tap and carry on until they either give up on my arms or poke me with a needle. The latter situation almost always results in the response "oops". At this point they either use my hand or blame me for making them nervous and then send me to a pathologist at the nearest hospital. Only on the very odd occasion do they actually keep trying and I end up with blood spurting out of my arms from the amount of times they've stuck and wriggled the needle and then I keep passing out and swearing at them when I'm awake.
This time, however, not even my hands would yield usable veins. The lovely nurse couldn't find any veins on my left hand and stuck the needle into my right. I was almost delirious from the fever and feeling very emotional so I perceived this whole experience very badly. Unfortunately with the vial about 1/8th full my blood stopped coming. The nurse sent me home to rest, eat (which I very very much had to force myself to do) and drink, and come back late afternoon.
Once back my vein situation hadn't improved. She stuck the same vein (in a different spot) again. There was such a trickle she eventually told me to go to the pathologists. So we drove the 10 minutes and they ended up getting blood from my wrist, which was even more painful than from the hand.

BLOOD BIT OVER.
Monday morning I wasn't feeling any better and what's more I had come out in this horrible rash. Thinking it must be meningitis, I had Steve drive me to the doctor (I wasn't well enough to drive at this point). I waited in the car until the doctor could see me for fear of infecting the whole clinic. Doctor didn't think it was meningitis but my bloodwork had come back: my liver enzyme count was far too high (I think that's what it was) but the hepatitis markers were negative. Basically, he knew I had a virus but not which one. He was however very concerned about me and sent me to the hospital to see a specialist. I didn't know at this point if I was to be admitted but indeed I was, in a general ward with three other women. At this point I couldn't really have felt much worse. On top of everything my chest was so constricted I had to actively control my panic level, I could barely breathe. The nurses gave me some oxygen but it still had nowhere to go so it didn't help much.

I was quite annoyed with how long I waited for anything to happen, especially since I kept trying to convey to both my doctors that day and to the nursing staff how much trouble I was having breathing.

Poor Steve stayed with me all day despite having one crisis after the other at work. Eventually I got sent for a chest xray. Still no doctor. After about two hours he walks in almost jumps back. My rash was bad and very unsightly. He said my xray was normal, he had been worried it could be Dengue fever but that would have affected my lungs far more severely. He said he suspected measles and would have more blood tests done but explaining my difficulty getting blood the previous day he said he'd have the existing samples tested. It also, thank God, convinced him to NOT give me an IV/drip. Why he didn't isolate me then heaven only knows.

Despite his assurances that my chest was fine, I still couldn't breathe. I bothered the nurses until they phoned him and got me an inhaler like you'd use for an asthma attack. After this my breathing was still laboured but better although my blood oxygen levels remained very low.

The next day the doctor had me isolated. I was still feeling very, very rotten and my rash was really bad. There was more red on my face than me-colour and the texture was like scar tissue - I looked like Freddie Kruger. In the afternoon he (now masked up) came in to tell me the tests showed it's definitely measles. There wasn't any medication specifically for measles so he'd keep giving me something to keep the fever down and otherwise I must just rest; he'd keep me in for one more night and then I could just as well recover at home, as long as I stay in and don't have contact with anyone else.

Steve had measles as a child so we weren't worried about him getting it. I hope the nurses and my ward-mates didn't contract it when I was first admitted.

I didn't have an appetite at all and couldn't stomach the thought of most foods - apparently because the virus was irritating my liver this was to be expected. I came home on Wednesday and although I am incredibly weak, I have felt a little better everyday. I am now eating a little and my rash is much, much lighter. I shouldn't be infectious after this weekend anymore, but I'll take the issue of returning to work one day at a time and see how how I feel. At the moment my most annoying symptom is a hacking cough that doesn't DO anything except exhaust me.

I hate how worried my family was - it's even harder when you're too far away to do something - but I'm grateful it wasn't anything more serious.

The department of health has been in contact with me; it seems there's a bit of an epidemic of measles affecting specifically adults (which is unusual, it usually affects kids). I am pretty sure I wasn't infectious when I was at work, though. I hope that's true.

Steve seems to have picked up my cough and has been working from home this whole week just in case, here's hoping he's not going to get this sick too.

Thanks for everyone's well wishes and prayers.

Self pity

2010-07-07T14:36:00.001+02:00

I was going to write a blog post about the Indawu fan park where we watched Prime Circle, The Parlotones and the Uruguay/Netherlands match last night. But I am far too sick and feeling far too sorry for myself for that.

The fan park was a bit cold, then our bed was too hot (we forgot the electric blanket on). Steve woke up once for an hour-long support call and once with indigestion and the rest of the time he snored like a thing that snores very much. At 5am I gave up and went to sleep on the sofa, which was both cramped and cold.

And now I’m really achey and shivery and have no strength. Early night for me, for sure! I’m drinking lots of rooibos tea (for fluids) in the meantime and overdosing on immune boosting supplements.

So there, now my self pity is out there for the whole world* to see. Feel sorry for me. Thank you.

* readership of this blog may not constitute the entire world. Terms and conditions apply.

Please note: This email and its contents are subject to the disclaimer as displayed at the following link: http://www.alexanderforbes.co.za/LegalNotices/EmailLegalNotice.htm. Should you not have Web access, send an email to legalnotice@aforbes.co.za and a copy will be sent to you.

World Cup Kickoff Concert

2010-06-29T20:13:00.000+02:00

A colleague won two tickets to the World Cup Kickoff Concert at Orlando Stadium in Soweto. He couldn't make it so I took the tickets over from him.

It was a good time, but it was sadly over shadowed by the poor logistics involved in getting the attendees back to their cars at the Park & Ride carpark. Everyone piled out of the stadium through three small gates, getting stuck in lines and lines of squished people with no idea why they weren't moving. There were no buses outside as we expected. Eventually we realised no-one is going to tell us what is going on and we started walking (in the cold). We started passing bus after bus, but each was full of people who'd had the same idea (but earlier than we did). We must have walked for about 2km before we got on a bus (which then had to fight the throngs of people coming from the station as we had). We got home about 2am (the concert finished at 11 and we live 20mins away...).

I particularly enjoyed the Blk Jks, Parlotones and Black Eyed Peas. Alicia Keys was not bad either, which is true for most of the other bands (except those Algerian guys, which was just cruel and unusual punishment). Shakira was a let down, not least of all because she lip synced. Badly.

The best part of the evening, in my mind, was the spirit amongst the people. There was so much good will, especially between nationalities. The Mexicans we saw were really elated to be there, and we had fun banter with a party of Germans. Steve spent ages talking to some countrymen, too.

All in all, I'm glad to be able to say "I was there" but it won't stand out as one of my top concerts/festivals if judged purely as a music event.

Link to the photo album on Facebook (you don't have to have an account to see it)

It must have escaped through a wormhole

2010-06-23T10:41:00.000+02:00

Huh.

I could've sworn I wrote a long old post about the Singapore holiday. I can now, however, find no hint of it on the blog or in the outbox of the email account I use to send blog updates from work*.

I may or may not get around to rewriting it all. We shall see (however, if you know me at all, you may already know it's not looking good...). It was very interesting and well written though, although you'll have to take my word for that ;) .

* if I don't do something as soon as I think of it, it gets lost in the short attention span. The blog's dashboard is blocked at work.

Singapore - a holiday in pictures

2010-06-22T20:08:00.000+02:00

New layout, again

2010-06-22T18:40:00.000+02:00

There was no moo-hyde background (and, as stated previously on this blog, I'm too lazy to venture outside the built-in templates) but the zebra-skin seemed fitting for a blog started due to moving to South Africa.

Please feel free to say in the comments if it hurts your eyes, I am still experimenting.

Blogger's new design options are amazing, and as easy to use as always. I expecially appreciate being able to change the width of the main blog element.

Reasons I'm looking forward to having the ADSL connected (random thought)

2010-06-16T13:14:00.001+02:00

Updating the blog more regularly, and without the formatting issues of emailing entries from work
Playing Bejewelled Blitz again
Catching up on my favourite webcomics*
Actually viewing youtube and other video links people post on Facebook or the xkcd forum*
Chatting to my sister and best friends more often over Skype

*at home, I don’t because I’m using prepaid internet which is charged by the MB, and at work they’re blocked

A South African's letter to the visiting world

2010-06-10T11:52:00.000+02:00

Today’s entry comes courtesy of journo Peter Davies, it was just too good a read not to share. While I may not agree with every word I do feel my chest pushing out and my chin lifting with pride at the general sentiment.

Open letter to our Foreign Media friends
by Peter Davies 09/06/2010 09:09

Dear World Cup visitors,

Now that you are safely in our country you are no doubt happily realising you are not in a war zone. This may be in stark contrast to what you have been bracing yourself for should you have listened to Uli Hoeness or are an avid reader of English tabloids, which as we all know are only good for wrapping fish ‘n chips and advancing the careers of large-chested teens on page three.

As you emerge blinking from your luxury hotel room into our big blue winter skies, you will surely realise you are far more likely to be killed by kindness than by a stray bullet. Remember that most of the media reports you have read, which have informed your views on South Africa, will have been penned by your colleagues. And you know what journos are like, what with their earnest two thousand word opuses on the op-ed pages designed to fix this country’s ills in a heartbeat. Based on exhaustive research over a three-day visit.

Funnily enough, we are well aware of the challenges we face as a nation and you will find that 95% of the population is singing from the same song-sheet in order to ensure we can live up to our own exacting expectations.

We are also here to look after you and show you a good time. Prepare to have your preconceived notions well and truly shattered.

For instance, you will find precious few rhinos loitering on street corners, we don’t know a guy in Cairo named Dave just because we live in Johannesburg, and our stadiums are magnificent, world-class works of art.

Which is obviously news to the Sky TV sports anchor who this week remarked that Soccer City looked ‘ a bit of a mess’. She didn’t realize the gaps in the calabash exterior are to allow in natural light and for illumination at night, and not the result of vandalism or negligence.

The fact that England, the nation which safely delivered Wembley Stadium two years past its due date, is prepared to offer us South Africans advice on stadium-readiness should not be surprising. The steadiest stream of World Cup misinformation has emanated from our mates the Brits over the past couple of years.

If it’s not man-eating snakes lurking in Rooney’s closet at the team’s (allegedly half-built) Royal Bafokeng training base, then it’s machete-wielding gangs roaming the suburbs in search of tattooed, overweight Dagenham dole-queuers to ransack and leave gurgling on the pavement.

In fact what you are entering is the world’s most fascinating country, in my opinion. I’m pretty sure you will find that it functions far more smoothly, is heaps more friendly and offers plenty more diversions than you could possibly have imagined.

In addition to which, the population actually acts like human beings, and not like they are being controlled by sinister forces from above which turns them into bureaucratically-manipulated robots.

Plus we have world’s most beautiful women. The best weather. Eight channels of SuperSport. Food and wine from the gods themselves. Wildlife galore. (Love the Dutch team’s bus slogan: “Don’t fear the Big 5; fear the Orange 11”).

Having said all that, Jo’burg is undoubtedly one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Just ask those Taiwanese tourists who got out of their hire car to take close-up snaps of tawny beasts at the Lion Park a few years back. Actually, ask what’s left of them. And did you know the chances of being felled by cardiac arrest from devouring a mountain of meat at one of our world class restaurants has been statistically proven to be 33.3% higher in Jozi than in any other major urban centre not built upon a significant waterway? It’s true. I swear. I read it in a British tabloid.

Having recently spent two years comfortably cocooned in small town America, I’m only too aware of how little much of the outside world knows about this country. The American channel I used to work for has a massive battalion of employees descending on World Cup country. It has also apparently issued a recommendation to its staff to stay in their hotels when not working.

Given that said corporation is headquartered in a small town which many say is “best viewed through the rear-view mirror”, I find the recommendation, if it’s true, to be utterly astounding. In fact I don’t believe it is true. Contrary to the global stereotype, the best Americans are some of the sharpest people in the world. The fact they have bought most tickets in this World Cup proves the point.

Of course I have only lived in Johannesburg, city of terror and dread, virtually all my life, so don’t have the in-depth knowledge of say, an English broadsheet journalist who has been in the country for the weekend, but nevertheless I will share some of my observations gleaned over the years.

Any foreign tourist or media representative who is worried about his safety in South Africa should have a word with the Lions rugby fans from last year, or the Barmy Army cricket supporters (lilywhite hecklers by day, slurring, lager-fuelled lobsters by night). They managed just fine, just like the hundreds of thousands of fans who have streamed into the country over the past fifteen years for various World Cups, Super 14 matches, TriNations tests and other international events. Negligible crime incidents involving said fans over said period of time.

Trivia question: which country has hosted the most global sporting events over the past decade and a half? You don’t need me to answer that, do you?

In addition. Don’t fret when you see a gaggle of freelance salesmen converge on your car at the traffic lights (or robots as we like to call them) festooned with products. You are not about to be hijacked. Here in Mzansi (nickname for SA) we do a lot of our purchasing at robots. Here you can stock up on flags, coat hangers, batteries, roses for the wife you forgot to kiss goodbye this morning and a whole host of useful merchandise.

Similarly, that guy who runs up as you park the rental car outside the pub intends no malice. He’s your car guard. Give him a buck or two and your vehicle will be safe while you refuel for hours on our cheap, splendid beer. Unless someone breaks into it, of course.

We drive on the left in this country. Exercise caution when crossing the road at a jog-trot with 15 kilograms of camera gear on your back. Exercise common sense full stop. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you want to leave wads of cash in your hotel room like our Colombian friends, don’t be surprised if it grows wings.

Bottomline. Get out there and breathe in great lusty lungfuls of this amazing nation. Tuck into our world-class food and wines. Disprove the adage that white men can’t dance at our throbbing, vibrant night-clubs. Learn to say hello in all eleven official languages. Watch at least one game in a township. You will not be robbed and shot. You will be welcomed like a lost family member and looked after as if you are royalty. Ask those Bulls rugby fans who journeyed to Soweto recently.

With a dollop of the right attitude, this country will change your life.

It’s Africa’s time. Vacate your hotel room. Join the party.

Waka waka eh eh.

Well, shiver me timbers!

2010-06-08T15:20:00.000+02:00

It seems our stuff is on a ship and that ship is on the water and headed south!!!! WOOHOO.

-----Original Message-----
From: Simpsons
Sent: 02 June 2010 12:01 PM
Subject: Export Tracker Notification (Container: CRSU1025714)

We are pleased to advise that your consignment has been shipped as detailed below.

Dates provided are estimated only and may be subject to change, we recommend that you periodically check our website for updates and, nearer to the actual arrival date, contact our destination agent/partner as indicated to discuss Customs clearance and delivery arrangements. Please feel free to communicate with our office in the event that you require assistance. In the meantime, we would thank you for your booking.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Container number/Airwaybill: CRSU1025714

Vessel/Flight: Amber Lagoon

Estimated arrival date (EDA): 04-Jul-2010

Agent details: Brytons Removals Of S.A.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Indonesian Island Paradise

2010-05-30T11:27:00.000+02:00

Part family treat, part birthday present for Mom, my sister and brother in law booked us into an Indonesian island resort for the long weekend (Bintan Lagoon Resort).

We arrived Thursday via ferry and stepped off into an even hotter place than Singapore. It is stunningly beautiful, with tropical vegetation too thick to see through on all sides of the road leading to the holiday resort. We stayed in a private villa with our own pool approx. 50m from the sea. We had a bbq at the villa for dinner with ingredients provided by the resort, finished with a swim in the warm water of the pool under the near-full moon.

On Friday we took a trip to a nearby village which proved to consist mostly of shops for the tourists. It was lovely (if hot!) and I bought a few trinkets - and Steve bought a curious instrument that makes what is called "thunder music", which he is driving us mad with. Dinner was the resort buffet restaurant and was supposed to be a selection of local dishes to sample but the brochure in the bedroom fails to mention the "themed evenings" - and just as my luck would have it Thursday night was seafood night. For those who don't know, I'm allergic to shellfish. And by association I'm not that fond of most seafood. I ended up eating Rendang curry off the a la carte menu which I have had many times in SA and the UK because all the exotic local specialities I'd like to try had prawns in. Very dissappointing end to a lovely day.

Saturday started with a big buffet breakfast as usual, followed by some miniture golf - however it was extremely hot and not as enjoyable as it could have been. The course is adorable though, complete with little roughs, bunkers and (not so well kept) greens. Being very hot the rest of the family headed straight for the pool at the villa but Steve and I wanted to try the hotel pool. It is beautiful, with turquoise water and palmy islands in the middle of it. Oh, and of course the bar which you can just swim up to and order a mango smoothy margarita. We eventually dragged ourselves away because we had a snorkle booked for the afternoon but our plans were slightly delayed by a tropical storm. We spent the time playing board games instead and caught the later boat out. The snorkling was very good - if very, very salty - and I cannot believe there are so many different colours of coral! It was like sticking my head into a HD National Geographics program. Dinner was another, more elaborate bbq at the villa for my brother in law Louis' birthday (the following day) followed by divine chocolate birthday cake.

Today we had one last breakout breakfast - anywhere that serves noodles and chicken curry alongside their pastries and scrambled eggs is good by me. Then we took the ferry back to Singapore and rushed in to watch the Super 14 Rugby final from last night we recorded. My poor brother in law, Louis, had his team loose on his birthday but none of the rest of us could muster too much sympathy for him, as our team was crowned the Super 14 champions. Again. Go you Bulls!

I'll upload the photos once we're back in South Africa.

I'M GOING TO SINGAPORE TOMORROW!

2010-05-24T12:24:00.000+02:00

You may or may not be able to tell, but I’m excited.

I have nothing else of interest to add. I would mention that being away from home means I won’t be blogging very often, but I can already hear you going “so, what’s new?” :D

Anyhoo, I promise a post or two and some pics upon my return. Keep well until then!

It's hard work going on holiday

2010-05-21T16:50:00.001+02:00

The holiday to Singapore has seemed far away for so long that it suddenly dawned on me a few days ago that WE’RE GOING TO SINGAPORE NEXT WEEK, woohoo!

As a result I’ve had a mad rush to use my lunch breaks and afternoons after work to get some laundry done in time for the housekeeper to iron it (she comes in once a week, mostly to iron because working full time gives me an excuse to refuse to do it), buy comfortable walking shoes, make arrangement for the housekeeper and gardener and someone to feed the fish, get my eyebrows and underarms waxed, get a haircut, get a pedicure (winter is not a good look for my feet), get the randomly self-opening security gate looked at (fixed!), look at whether our luggage will do (damn, it will, so no new pretty cases for me), arrange travel insurance, hysterically look for our passports (they were in the study), make sure we don’t need visas (we don’t, I have known this for months) and other mission-critical things.

The one thing I am not sorted on yet is my ghostly pale legs, which my family will not cease to make fun of if I show up like this and wear summer dresses. I may commit the one thing I never ever thought I would do – go for a spray tan. We shall see.

However, SINGAPORE WOOHOO!

Stupid pothole

2010-05-16T12:42:00.000+02:00

Last weekend, Steve had a work team building weekend in the Cape. With some convincing from my dad (but not much!) I decided to use the excuse to go down there too and spend the weekend with my parents, especially since Sunday was Mother's Day.

I arranged for Steve's flight back to be changed to the same, much later, one as mine so at around midnight last Sunday we were driving home from Lanseria airport. On Malibongwe Drive, a fairly major road, we hit the mother of all potholes.

I don't think we were the only ones, either; there was a recovery vehicle seeing to another car close by. If it wasn't for Steve slowing down when he saw flasing lights we would have hit it even harder and who knows how much damage that would have caused.

It was an almighty slam, enough to literally make your teeth rattle and your heart to end up in your mouth. Since it was dark and the middle of the night in a city known for its crime rates we didn't stop - nothing felt too badly wrong so we continued home. When we got home it was obvious the front right rim was bent but on Monday we saw that the back rim was damaged even worse and the tyre was losing pressure. In the meantime we had to get to and from work so I would stop at a garage to have the tyre inflated whenever I set off and that's how we got around on Monday. Tuesday I phoned the insurance company; yes they can tow the car and have it fixed but no they don't offer a courtesy car (I could have sworn I opted into that; I'm still pursuing that with them) and it would take at LEAST a week to go through all their procedures and stuff; in the meantime we'd have to hire a car out of pocket. But the real kicker was that they wanted R3500 in excess. I couldn't believe my ears.

I told them to go shove it up their mule* and phoned a well known wheel and tyre place. They gave me the number of a place that fixes mags but they didn't have anywhere to keep the car - now I ask you how I'm supposed to take the car back home when they have removed two of its wheels. At this point I was really starting to freak out, I just didn't now how we were going to go forward.

At lunch I inflated the tyre again and drove to the wheel and tyre place. The guy took one look at the odd three-nut wheels on the Smart and said there's nothing he can do for me. I was feeling totally hopeless. Then he went inside and made a call - he knew another mag place and they had somewhere to keep the car; I could bring it in right then.

I tried to phone the office and say I'd be out longer than anticipated but of course no-one was answering. I took the car to the mag place and they assured me they could fix it, and for a lot less and much quicker than through the insurance company. The guy was also nice enough to give me a lift to the nearest car hire place.

Who had no cars available. At least the girl there was also quite kind and lent me her phonebook and a phone. I called a colleague to pick me up (another kind heart) and then started phoning around for a hire car. Found one but it was so expensive, and the only cheaper place I could think of then wanted proof of residence which of course I didn't carry on me. I had planned on asking the colleague to drop me at the car hire place but at R900 for three days' hire I asked him to just take me to the office, I'd worry about it there.

I googled around a lot and finally found an incredible deal with First car hire, a little more than R400 for the three days.

And then of course the next day my stomach was so upset I couldn't keep anything in and had to go home before lunch where I threw up and slept the rest of the time. My body does that when I'm very stressed, my stomach produces too much acid and it tries to digest itself.

So it wasn't a very fun week but I am very pleased to say we've got Roy back now and the wheels look good as new. It wasn't cheap but it was cheaper than the insurance excess would have been and I'm going to try and claim in back from the city council. And on top of it all it looks like we won't have to replace any of the tyres! Thank God for small mercies - no really, although I moaned about all of this the entire time it could have been much worse so I still have more to be grateful for than to complain about.

*I phrased it more nicely, but only slightly.

Ouch.

2010-04-30T08:18:00.000+02:00

I was going to report how much better my ankle is, but I think I hurt it again last night :(

I have congenitally short achilles tendons, so they don't bend as much anyway, and sitting with my foot up and straight for a week probably hasn't helped. So I thought I'd try and stretch it. Gently, sitting down, just flexing and relaxing my foot.

Mistake. After being almost fully recovered I'm back to swelling. Steve and I carshare to work, and I usually drive because I drop him off first; this morning at a red light I made him switch with me because the strain of hovering over the break and fuel in traffic was making it hurt too much.

Well, poop.

More progress!!

2010-04-28T15:40:00.000+02:00

From: Karen Picton
Sent: 28 April 2010 03:33 PM
To: Brown, Jonica
Subject: RE: Your Simpsons Removals & Storage Ltd invoice 1295095 is attached in PDF format

Hi Jonica

I can confirm that I have advised our operations department to ship your goods on the next available container destined for SA.

Once you have made the arrangements to have the car collected please advise the date and the name of the persons collecting.

If I can be of any further assistance to you please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Karen

Progress at last!

2010-04-26T11:32:00.000+02:00

Look what I just emailed off. Will wonders never cease?

Why yes, that IS a form allowing Simpsons Ltd to ship our household effects (sans the car). Now I can get my stuff and Steve can ~~continue to not~~ sort out the car on his own time.

Moo's booboo

2010-04-23T13:58:00.000+02:00

I sprained my ankle! I am feeling quite sorry for myself.

Steve and I were on our way out of the house on Wednesday evening to see a standup comedian with Leigh. On the way to the car I misstepped one of the steps leading to the garage and the next thing I knew I was on the garage floor wondering why I'm not crying and how much *serious* injuries must hurt.

Luckily Steve knows a thing or two about a sprain from all his football playing, so he helped me to the sofa where I lay down with my foot elevated, and he applied some ice packs and pressure. I insisted he go to the show though as I was just going to lie there all evening anyway. So after making sure I've got a blanket, some tea and the remote he went. The least fun bit of the evening was going to the loo, hopping on one leg up some steps and back.

I stayed home on Thursday and worked from home from the bed with the foot elevated; but I didn't get as much done as I'd have hoped because I hadn't organized a dial-in connection to work yet and there was only so much I could do working locally.

Last night, Steve brought the braai (bbq) up to the patio door in the bedroom and made a lovely dinner while I stayed on the bed, what a darling!

This morning the bruising was mostly gone although it was still swollen; getting dressed and ready was still a case of hopping along holding onto walls. A colleague of mine was going to bring some crutches this morning so I came to work, unfortunately he couldn't make it in. The lady at reception insisted on getting me the company wheelchair though! Talk about overkill.

I'm going to leave early-ish though since the office is deserted, and it's damn uncomfortable because when I don't elevate my foot it's swelling like a hippo's.

Here's looking forward to a weekend spent on the sofa with my foot in the air watching movie marathons!

Get well soon, Ouma!

2010-04-20T15:51:00.000+02:00

We went down to Kroonstad this weekend to see my grandparents. They live about 2 to 2.5 hours away.

My grandmother had a tremendous fall the evening before her 70th birthday; at first she didn't want to go to hospital so she spent her birthday at home; but when she went to hospital the next day it became clear she had broken her shoulder AND hip!

They've replaced her hip, and if I'm not mistaken her shoulder ball-joint, and she's got all sorts of pins and stuff in - a four hour operation.

I am glad to report she's otherwise fine and in good health and good spirits. She'd come home on the Friday and we arrived on the Saturday. It was good to see them take it in their stride. It's got its practical problems but they seem to be handling it well.

I made some food they can easily stick in the microwave or oven (they don't have a Woolies food hall - gasp, horror!).

It was nice to see them, even under the circumstances and I am sure Ouma will only improve from here on.

New Template

2010-04-14T16:27:00.000+02:00

So, I'm still too lazy to customize the look of the blog (after all, I do web programming, not design).

However I think these colours are more readable. I still want to make the width of the blog entries themselves wider and dynamic but I'll have to have a proper look later; a quick search through the template's html for the word "width" and editing those values doesn't quite do what I want it to.

If you don't like it, feel free to leave a comment to that effect. I'm just playing around with it.

Curiouser and Curiouser

2010-04-12T15:30:00.000+02:00

On Saturday night Steve and I went to see Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland in 3D. This post doesn’t contain much in the way of spoilers but if in doubt beware. I’ll try to add a heads up to parts that might contain anything remotely spoiley.

I did enjoy it; although I wanted it to be one of the best films ever and it wasn’t. Overall, I enjoyed it and it was an evening well spent, but it’s not one I’d insist you must see in the cinema; you can just as well wait for it to come on your satellite TV’s movie channel.

Performances

The Mad Hatter
Needless to say, Johnny Depp was pretty damn awesome. However I don’t know what the hell he was on about half the time; maybe I should read some other commentaries before making a fool of myself but I would need to watch it again to see if he’s supposed to have a second (Scottish) personality that comes out when he’s stressed and he’s the one saying all that very weird very monologey stuff.
His dance was just a little too un-Lewis Carroll-like for my liking, too, although as a special effect it was pretty seemless and cool.
The Red Queen
A fun character to portray, I’m sure, but too one-dimensional to be able to do much with.
The White Queen
When she talks to the dog for the first time she seems to change demeanor and I thought “ah she was just acting in that annoying way for her court’s benefit” but she never drops that very annoying wavey-wristey thing again that I noticed, and it got on my nerves terribly after a while.
Alice
While in ... above-land? ... Alice annoyed me. I didn’t like nor particularly believe the character. When she is in Underland she’s a lot better and I liked the portrayal but one thing that continually bothered me was her lack of manners. She shunted everyone around, eg. Baneyard (or whatever, the dog) and never said please or thank you.
The Cheshire Cat
He was just pretty damn cool, that’s all.
The Vorbal Sword
MILD SPOILER ALERT
Considering the way the Jabberwocky talks to it directly I would have preferred if there was some sort of inkling of personality or self-awareness or something, for it not to remain a completely inanimate object.
Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Pretty cool, enjoyed them.

Cool stuff

3D
The 3D was as cool as you’d expect 3D to be, no more, no less, but it did add to the whole emmersive experience. Especially when a story is about someone going into a totally new and very strange reality, it really enhances the effect.
The use of hearts
Maybe this is more praise for Lewis Carroll than Tim Burton but I was struck by how hearts usually symbolise love and warmth. In the Red Queen’s castle etc though they were used so widely and yet were totally cold. Her lips, something usually warm and symbolic of sensuality, had a heart painted on them and instead of making them more warm and passionate, it made them thin and pinched and horrible. Her hair was red and wavey and heart-shaped but again although that description should conjour up a more pleasant mental image, it just made her look grotesque. The arches, the throne, the card soldiers; they all used hearts as their design inspiration but just made the whole place look more cold and daunting. I thought that was very well done.
The story line
MILD SPOILER ALERT
It’s been a long while since I’ve read either Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass but I don’t recall being disturbed by the deviations in the story(s). It was well explained as an older Alice deciding to follow her own path and not stick to what she’s “supposed’ to do, and in keeping with her character. A bit like the Star Trek trick, creating an alternative time-line that nods to the original story but isn’t limited by it.
The Cheshire Cat
Did I mention that he was cool yet? The bit with the hat, especially.

Water, water everywhere...

2010-04-10T16:38:00.000+02:00

So, what fun we've been having with our basic municipal services.

First the local council decided to work on the water pipes. Either they didn't tell anyone, or the letter went to the house's owner, but for about a week we never knew from one moment to the next if we'd have water. Including all Easter weekend; and most of the Sunday we had none. When my aunt Janet was staying over and I was cooking big lunch. Woohoo :-/

Then, week before last, the power kept tripping every 5 minutes. At first I tried just switching it on again. I got so annoyed the third time it switched off my computer mid-work that I broke my earphones. Then I tried unplugging different things that are likely to consume a lot of power in case it was a case of overloading. Nope, still tripping. So I flicked down all the switches and tried putting them back one by one and lo and behold, good news everyone, it's the geyser (boiler, for all you Brits).

So started our hot water fun. First I (overly optimistically?) thought it had to do with the water situation. Then I worried we'd burned out the element by unknowingly using hot water and then the water got switched off so it couldn't refill. Then I thought it had something to do with the absolutely torrential rain we were having - maybe something was leaking. And by then it was Easter weekend. So my poor aunt had to contend with no hot water on her visit, either. In fact, I showered at hers when I picked her up and dropped her off just to not have to have a shallow lukewarm bath using the kettle and a few saucepans every day.

But, as we say in Afrikaans (or more accurately in Dutch), het einde niet. On Saturday night, we woke up to the gurgling sound of the toilet refilling and Steve said "do you think we should worry about any taps being open?". I assured him no-one would be that silly. Then, on Sunday morning, my aunt woke me up. She'd cleaned up a lot of it because she didn't want to wake me too early but the kitchen sink tap had been open and she'd woken up to a flooded house. RAAAAGE. The kitchen, dining room and living room were flooded; the kitchen drawers were FULL of water; everything in kitchen drawers and cupboards were soaking (including hte manuals and warrantees for all appliances). I am just thankful she was there, it was a really unpleasant morning's work to dry up, clean up and just not burst into tears. But, all's well that ends well (although, I guess it'll only really be over when we see the water bill!!).

Back to the hot water problem, I waited until after Easter so we wouldn't have to worry about whether the owner is going to pay for a plumber to come out over a long weekend. This week, I got hold of the owner (he lives outside SA so it's not always that easy) and he said yes by all means get a plumber. The plumber took one look at the ceiling space and said no thanks, I don't want anything to do with it. The geyser had burst and is still under warrantee but it's wedged in under a tin/zink/metal roof, between huge supporting beams, and is much larger than the ceiling access trap.

So I called the manufacturer; luckily they agreed to come out and on a Saturday morning no less. On the plumber's advice though we didn't want to have to open up the roof, we'd rather have them enlarge the ceiling trap and pay to have that fixed (otherwise, apparently, you always end up with leaks in the roof). Today the guys show up, and determine there's no way you can get the tank out from the beams even if you break through some of the ceiling. Their advice is, I'll have to get hold of the owner again; get his home owner's insurance details; get them to agree to come open and close the roof, and then try to arrange the insurers AND the geyser company to come at the same time (while both of us have full time jobs). I was at the end of my tether at this point and ready to go through life known as Ol' Smelly, when Steve remembered the plumber had mentioned to him it was just one place the geyser was leaking all over the electronics. Luckily the technician was a nice guy and had a think, and realised they could remove the faulty part from the new geyser they'd brought and just replace that.

End of a long story (sorry about the ranty essay): we have hot water for the first time in almost two weeks. WOOHOO!! Now, I suppose, I'd better go shower and wash the dishes!!

Working Girl

2010-04-09T06:24:00.000+02:00

So I started my new job on Tuesday (because Monday was Easter Monday) at Investment Solutions (a subsidiary of Alexander Forbes).

It has been really good so far. We work along more or less the scrum programming methodology, although not strictly. In short: work is divided into "sprints" which is a period (2 weeks, usually) in which you complete the tasks assigned to you by the Project Manager.

Tuesday they had a Sprint planning meeting (always occurs at the start of a sprint) and it was good to see how the whole thing worked and the team interacted. I didn't get assigned any real tasks and the system's architect had something urgent he had to finish before being able to tutor me into doing something useful.

So the result is that I've been using the time to read up on the project and company. Documents in my laptop bag I'm currently battling my way through:

Online Project Wiki (well, this one is obviously not in my laptop bag)
Functional Requirements Document (aka Spec) -222 pages
System Architecture document -70 pages
Build Process guide -53 pages
User Interface Design -39 pages
Design Guidelines and Coding Standards -82 pages

BUT the team is really nice and it's excitingly different to my previous job in its type of project and working methodology. Your tasks are all granular pieces of work that should take no more than 6 hours to finish; and you are required to do 6 hours of programming a day. You have to check code into the source control system at least once a day, and before that you have to make sure it compiles and all the unit tests work. What's nice is you work together with the Project Manager to work out what tasks you're to do in the next Sprint and how long you think they'll take. I'm not saying this or my old job is better or worse but it's very different so it's a good learning experience and that's always good for personal and professional growth.

Now I'm just itching to do some actual work so all the technical jargon I've read can start making some sort of practical sense.

On the practical side we've still got one car but my office is literally 5 minutes from Steve's and we work on flexy time so we've worked out a schedule that allows us to travel together. The very excellent upshot of which is, I finally get to control when Steve comes home! :D

More about our epic power and water problems next time.

Go, brain drain, go!

2010-03-18T17:00:00.000+02:00

I can't help but be surprised by the amount of positions available in SA's business capital for someone with a pretty standard Windows development skill set that can be at best described as an intermediate developer.

I had a technical interview (test, really) yesterday and have been invited back for a panel interview next week despite not finishing all the questions. I have another technical test tomorrow and another late next week. That's just from two recruiters who have had my CV for about a week. The one especially has sent me a list of over 10 companies they think I should interview at.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled! Scared of the technical tests but thrilled. Face to face stuff I know I can do, bigmouth that I am :-)

I'm going for contract positions at the moment, I'm just not sure yet what I want to do in the long run and we're thinking of starting a family, too. I don't want to be someone who can look a prospective permanent employer in the eye and lie about how long I'm likely to be useful to them.

The other benefit of course being an excuse to go out shopping; what a great time for Woolworths* to have their anual Quality Sale ;-) Most of my grown-up clothes are still in boxes so I need to spend some money to look the part.

Wish me luck!

* nothing like the UK Woolworths, our version of M&S.

Christian stuff ;-)

2010-03-15T13:13:00.000+02:00

If you don't want to read some spiritual thoughts and testimony, this post is not for you. I would love it if you did but I'm giving you fair warning.

I think it's about time I acknowledged publicly how good God has been to me.

Wow, I can't believe how much The Enemy doesn't want me to type this post, I just can't seem to get going with it. So forgive me if it rambles, I'm just going to start typing and leave the rest to Him.

I had looked long and hard for a church in England. I got to a point where I was not stagnating as a Christian but actually going backward and I felt I desperately needed a place that could support me and where I could learn and grow. I went to church after church, not feeling at home, until one Monday morning, after a Sunday evening spent crying about it to Him, He directed me to the website of an Afrikaans church in England that had a congregation on my doorstep. I really grew there and made good friends and when it was time to go, I did a silly thing. I forgot how faithful God is and started fretting about how I'd ever fit in so nicely here. I feared the inter-denominational drama that is prevalent in Afrikaans churches. I wondered if I'd be expected to go back to my family's church, although I felt I'd grown apart from some of their convictions.

And then we walked into Leigh's house and there was a Bible verse up on the wall. I'd been so used to living in a country where you just assume someone's an atheist because usually you'd be right, and I never expected her to be a Christian. Silly, I know. But she was, and we shared a lot and ministered to each other. God absolutely brought us into each other's lives and we each had a message to bring into the other's. Then she invited me to her church and her home cell (or home Bible study) group and God proved again that I needn't worry about where _I_ will find a church; I just have to stop trying to do it myself and just ask: God, where do I need to be?

He's since used Bryanstone Bible Church to achieve some amazing growth in me; even more than at SA Gemeente in England. I've received prayer and messages about so much that I was bound up by last year - guilt about depression ("if you believe you shouldn't need pills, you obviously don't have enough faith that God will cure you from it"); an eating disorder (they don't really seem to have proper names when you're fat rather than tiny thin, but I definitely had a screwed up relationship with food, mentally); and generally not knowing how to re-connect with God. Have you ever known you should really call a friend but the longer you put it off the harder it seems to know where you'd even start the conversation?

Well thanks to one amazing evening's prayer with two amazing people, I finally saw those bonds for what they were and I am so grateful to be free of them. Honestly; I've eaten for comfort and self-punishment (it's weird and complicated) for as long as I can remember. I don't anymore. And I didn't do anything to stop. I just didn't have to anymore.

And I've had confirmation from so many sources about this whole grace thing. That nothing we could do could save our own souls anyway, but it's ok, because Jesus has done it already. So you can pine in your own shortcomings forever if you like, and give the Evil One lots of ammunition to use against you, whispering things to you in the more difficult hours until you believe them; or you can accept the Grace offered to you and realise that through Jesus' blood God sees you as perfect, as beautiful, as the prodigal child who comes back after doing unthinkable things and doesn't care, just wraps you in his best robes and is glad you're there.

I cannot tell you how freeing that's been. My "line" to God has never been more open and easy, and I don't need to just pray for or about things anymore, either; I can sometimes just enjoy His presence. As Pastor Ross said yesterday: can you believe we get to pray? Not "we have to pray", but we GET to pray?? The creator of the universe wants to communicate with us! How awesome is that.

I've been going through ups and downs recently (more about that another time) but I thank God because the downs are an opportunity to lean on His strength when I can't find mine, and to draw closer to Him.

Let me just end by saying: I love God; He has made me his beloved daughter and co-heir with the Prince of the Universe, and doesn't afraid of anything!

Slowly rejoining the technologically advanced world

2010-03-07T17:16:00.000+02:00

We bought a TV, yay! And a satellite decoder, yay!! And even some sofas to sit on and watch them (yay!!!).

We watched a movie last night for the first time on a screen larger than a laptop screen, it was so nice. We still did it on my sister's old sofas that are a bit worn and far too small for this big room but 2 of our 3 new sofas should be delivered tomorrow (Monday). We got them at an amazing deal too, which always makes things seem even nicer.

The TV is a 32" full HD LED, which will do very nicely until the big TV comes in the ship (which is a whole other sad story). After that we'll move it to the bedroom or guest cottage or something.

Huh, I think that's very exciting but I can't think of much more to say about it.

Oh Steve's birthday braai went lovely, the rain even stopped in time.

Happy birthday, dear husband; happy birthday to you! [UPDATED]

2010-03-02T13:57:00.000+02:00

UPDATE:
Aaaah crap it's raining. The patio is covered so I'm still hoping for the best. But :-p at Mother Nature.

ORIGINAL POST:
You may or may not be able to guess from the obscure post title, but today is Steve's birthday. Yay Steve!

I can safely give away my plans on here because he never reads my blog (and if you decide to today of all days, stop now ok?).

We finally found a patio set we like - and it's pretty cool. It's that new plasticy wicker stuff that lasts forever outside (like this). It has a square table, and then four chairs that fit in underneath the corners of the table so when they're pushed in, it looks like a little cube. So cute! BUT WAIT, there's more! Each chair has a little cube underneath it that pushes out so you can either use it as a footstoole, or as a seat. So it sits eight and still "folds up" into a cube. Me likey :) We also bought a two-seater sofa in the same style for maximum chillaxing with friends by the pool.

I'm off now to go find him a kick ass-barbeque for his present. I bought free range, 28 day mature beef rump for us for dinner (and I even remembered the charcoal and fire lighters). I am making roomaartappels (potatoes dauphinoise) and creamed spinach. He should approve. Oh, and ice cream tiramisu for desert. And assorted snacky things for starters (we better have room for desert!).

He's having a poopy day so I hope it cheers him up.

OK that's all for now, I better get going, I have no idea where to find a good barbeque (braai).

I miss my internet

2010-02-19T08:26:00.000+02:00

On the plus side, South Africa makes communications far more accessible than the UK. Mobile phones are obtainable, affordable and have a lot of extra services for everyone, including those users that can't afford contracts. Mobile phones are a hugely popular accessory here, even more than in the UK, and people who can't afford houses and live in informal settlements all have phones none the less. Prepaid and value options you can't fault.

In the same vein, the telecoms companies have made mobile internet just as accessible and you can get on the internet using 3G with very little layout. Prepaid topup vouchers can be converted to data bundles with ridiculous ease and used for mobile surfing, 3G using a 3G dongle/modem, or even to use on your PC using your internet enabled phone as a modem.

BUT IT IS SOOOO SLOW, and so expensive (compared to the bandwidth and uncapped services I'm used to in the UK)!!

I've now bought a prepaid 3G SIM card. Steve has a 3G dongle he uses for working from home but doesn't need during the day so I will be able to get on the internet from home that way (as soon as I return from my parents on Tuesday). It's slow and expensive per MB so I won't be uploading photos, video chatting or catching up on xkcd, Girl Genius or Gunnerkrigg Court, but I will be able to have voice conversations over Skype, update the blog a bit more regularly and get on Instant Messenger (as soon as I figure out why my Pidgin won't connect to MSN Live).

As mentioned before, I have requested the landline at the house be reactivated but goodness knows when Telkom will actually come to do it, or when having a landline will graduate to having ADSL.

In the meantime, I am visiting my folks and using up my mom's internet. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to chat without installing Windows Live on her machine - I tried browser based IM but Meebo seems to be buggy as all heck and KoolIM crashed after about 5 minutes.

I guess it's back to good, old-fashioned emails for now!

Vroom, vroom!

2010-02-10T11:07:00.000+02:00

If you're not South African, you may not appreciate how vital it is to have a car here to get around. Public transport is eratic, unsafe, overcrowded and unreliable.

After spending a week or two staying at Leighs with no car and just some downloaded series' for company, what was left of my mind went on a little bit of a wander.

We're still waiting to START shipping over GIR (the Ford Focus), so we need a car until then, but we would have needed two eventually anyway.

Steve had had his heart set on a roadster like the Mazda MX5 but we could only afford a second hand car and all the MX5's were really old and a lot of money for what you got. I was very aware that he'd be mostly driving to and from work in city traffic and wanted something fuel efficient that would be cheaper to run and also not help kill the planet quicker.

After test driving a few small cars (Toyota Yaris, Honda Jazz), that we quite liked, we eventually settled on the perfect combination of what both of us were looking for in a car.

Introducing: Roy!

The Smart Roadster Coupe has a retractable (cloth) roof, 700cc engine and a 35l tank. I don't know details like horsepower or torque but I can tell you, it drives like WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

I have only put in petrol once but when I've done a few tanks I'll let you know what kind of usage I get.

It's got enough boot (or, froot, as Steve calls it, because it's at the front) space for about 3 plastic bags of shopping, but who needs practicality when you've got WHEEEEE!!! factor?

Now only to master the art of getting in and out of it gracefully...

Long awaited update

2010-02-09T08:42:00.000+02:00

So, we're well and truly settled in. We have a house. We have a car. We have some furniture. We are blessed and happy.

Unfortunately Steve needs his work laptop back (grrr) so more details will have to wait. What an update, huh? Sorry!

I'll post pictures of the car when I next get a chance to blog, and rest assured the next thing to do is DEFINITELY contact Telkom about getting a landline and ADSL.

Hope you're all doing well, my friends, take care.

Making our move!

2010-01-31T08:11:00.000+02:00

We've started moving in!!!!!

I got the keys from the estate agent last week, and met the owner. He's really nice and very helpful so I feel good about dealing with him in future.

Once again it has been an experience in gratitude for good friends.

Our friend Inus has been storing the furniture my sister left behind when she moved to Singapore for over two months so we can use it when we get a house.
Our friends René and Regardt lent us their bakkie (pick-up truck) for the entire weekend (and at short notice), without which I have no idea how we would have moved our things, or how much it would have cost us.
Leigh lent us her car (AGAIN) so we could go to Centurion and get the bakkie, and took us there to return it.

A big thanks to all our friends, not just the ones I've remembered to thank, who've been helpful and made us feel at home and welcome in Johannesburg.

So we have the start of furnishings; we're in the process of unpacking and buying some stuff; unfortunately I don't have time for more details right now but it's going really well and we're even inches away from buying a car. More soon, I promise!!

Just hangin.

2010-01-21T08:00:00.000+02:00

In between all the major happening, a girl's gotta just hang around and do stuff, you know? So as here's some of the random stuff I've been up to.

Avater 3D

Steve and I went to see Avatar a few weeks ago. I must say, I really enjoyed it. The 3D was extremely immersive - so much so that you have to occasionally remind yourself you're in a cinema watching something on a 2 dimensional screen otherwise you can become blase about it because it becomes so real it looks just like real world. I will admit I became quite nauseous at one point (akin to travel or motion sickness); I think as my brain became used to the experience it got better but I still felt a bit unsteady when we walked out. And looking anywhere but the centre of the screen is a BAD IDEA, let me tell you.

The universe was extremely well realised and consistent, which I always appreciate in anything remotely fantasy or sci-fi; you could get lost in the story they were trying to tell you rather than to focus on inconsistencies and future-tech-babble.

I enjoyed the story itself, too. It wasn't a new paradigm in story telling that did what no-one had done before, but I didn't go in looking for that either. It was a highly enjoyable and consistent sci-fi-esque story with some great visuals and characters I identified with and felt for. I also appreciated the lack of one-dimensional Holywood stereotypes. The hero was flawed, both physically and in his character. The heroin wasn't a Cinderella type that needed rescueing. The bad guy wasn't a charicature. I especially enjoyed Sigourny Weaver's character and performance.

All in all, an evening well spent being entertained and taken on a flight of fantasy for a while.

Pilanesburg Game Reserve

While we were still hiring the car, we decided to take it to the Pilanesberg for a day. As usual we had a lovely time and saw some amazing sights. Several rhino sightings; lots of elephants; some giraffe; a crocodile; a shy hippo (or it's ears and eyes, at least); plenty of impala, waterbuck, wildebeest and zebra. There were two especially enjoyable moments, though.

The first was when we had to stop dead in the road while a young elephant took it's time standing in a dip in the road that had a stream alongside it; drinking, playing with the water, spraying itself; all without a care in the world or a worry about us watching it.

The second happened as we were leaving. It was nearing dusk and we had actually already left the park and turned onto the main road when Steve noticed a group of cars stopped in the road that went not into the game park itself, but alongside it to the accommodation at Bukubang camp. We went to investigate and out of the long grass came trotting a pack of wild dogs. These are extremely rare and shy animals and seeing them just once in your life is truly amazing. They approached the road at a leisurely pace, and one by one came to investigate the car, sniffing all around it curiously. The whole pack eventually made it onto the road where we watched them excitedly until they were satisfied with their investigation and trotted off again. It was really amazing. I'll post pictures when the internet situation is resolved.

A day at the cricket

Steve's colleagues organised tickets to the final day of the final match of the England-SA test series. We all conveniently forgot that we had either lost or drawn all the previous matches, from the way we celebrated (and mocked Steve) after winning that day. It did mean it was quite a short day as we managed to bowl them all out before lunch time, but it was really enjoyable. We went for lunch with some of his colleagues and friends afterwards, during which the heavens opened - so it would have been a short cricketing day either way; luckily we won before it could rain out.

As for the rest of my time, it's nice to spend quiet evenings with Steve, especially now that he's home a bit earlier than used to be the case, and it's been especially nice when him, me and Leigh have eaten and chilled out together. Steve and I have been out a few times too, although not too often as we wait for expenses etc to settle down. During the day I walk either just around to try and be a bit more active, or to the small cluster of shops around the corner when we need something; I go swimming in Leigh's complex's pool; or I watch TV. I've especially been enjoying the Brothers and Sisters box set I borrowed from a friend. Life is hard! ;) Although, I'm going to have to start working on my CV soon.

Be vewy vewy quiet; I'm hunting houses!

2010-01-16T17:57:00.000+02:00

So I think we found The House.

It's a three bedroom house with double garage, 2 bathrooms, good security, a nice garden, a khoi pond, a guest cottage and a pool 30mins from Steve's work (would be 10 without traffic). If you know Johannesburg, it's in Bordeaux in Sandton; very near to where Republic Road crosses Jan Smuts. It's so big and so lovely, I'm really thrilled!

Even though we don't have the 3 months' payslips and letters from previous lessor etc etc that they usually require the agent seems happy enough with what we can provide as well as with my credit check (thanks Dad for getting that credit card in my name when I was a student!!). We signed the lease agreement today but she will have to fax it to the owner in France to sign before it's official. We hope to be in there in February.

We are fortunate enough to have some furniture my sister left for us when she moved, and a good friend who is storing it for us, so we will have the essentials (i.e. somewhere to sleep and something to eat food off). The rest (that which we do not expect in the shipment of our UK stuff*) will have to be built up as time goes by and, more importantly, money is earned.

We had a quick look in Game (ha you just lost it ... so did I, damn) at appliances - sheesh they're expensive. The fridge I really really want is about R10 000. As I said; all in good time. We definitely won't be going out one Saturday on a home shopping spree and end up with a fully furnished house by the end of the weekend. As much as that is a really fun little fantasy of mine.

We gave the hire car back this morning so I don't have a choice other than to spend the next few days lounging around the house or pool and watching the DVDs my friend kindly lent me; woe is me :-D

More soon, if internet availability allows.

* don't even ask when that is likely to be.

Angels really are among us

2010-01-08T08:57:00.000+02:00

So it's 8 days into the new year and we don't have a home, I don't have a job, our car is from a hire company, our belongings are still in storage in the UK, we don't have much cash and we don't have internet. I'm already pushing my luck with the amount of broadband I've used up of Steve's work mobile internet the company provides for him to dial in after hours.

And you know what? I can't remember the last time I was this happy or content.

Even while we were still in the UK, even when things there were hectic and stressful to get here, I had this inescapable feeling that I'm headed exactly where I need to be. And I knew that things like finding a place to rent would sort itself out (usually I would not be able to live my life with so many uncertainties).

Steve's colleague and friend, Leigh, offered us her spare room for as long as we need it and she's gone out of her way to make us feel like this is our home too. This has given us the freedom to look at properties until we find the right one, rather than feeling pressured into taking one just to get out from under her feet.

Leigh and I have also found much common ground as Christians and I believe we were brought into each other's lives at a time that we both would benefit greatly from mutual encouragement and prayer.

Her hospitality and generosity has made this period one of wonder and gratitude, rather than stress and desperation.

Steve seems to be doing well too, work is not as busy as it was in the dying throes of 2009 and he's actually even been sleeping well (this is a rarity for him). Don't misunderstand me, it is a big adjustment for him and he finds it hard at times - Christmas, for example, with so much family together made him feel the absence of his - but he seems to be settling in and there's a calmness about him which carries through into our relationship, which seems to be sailing along on smooth, clear waters after the storms and rapids of a stressful 2009.

I know I've been out of contact a lot but it's difficult right now, when I'm able I will make up for it and I do miss you, my friends.

So the bottom line is, we don't have a house yet although I'm looking at a number of places again today, but it's ok and we're doing very well.

Wedding pics!!!

2010-01-05T09:05:00.000+02:00

I'm too tired to blog right now...

2010-01-02T18:57:00.000+02:00

...but I promise to write soon about Christmas at home, finding a house in Johannesburg and watching Avatar in 3D (spoiler: I liked it, but it made me car sick).

PS Happy new year!!

It's a nice day for a white wedding

2009-12-22T08:56:00.000+02:00

The wedding was beautiful!!

Almost everything went off without a hitch - when you plan something that elaborate something is bound to go slightly off plan but as long as it's nothing major you count it as a victory. Especially if most of the small things, the bride wasn't even aware of.

She looked lovely of course and the ceremony was beautiful, I admit I wiped away a little tear or two. The weather was gorgeous, the hall looked fantastic, the food was scrumptious and the newlyweds looked nausiatingly cute and in love.

The next day all the family and a lot of friends all went for a picnic at Boschendal wine estate, which was also superb. After that, Liana and Louis went off for a little pre-honeymoon break. You see, so many friends and family have come from far away, they didn't want to jet off immediately so they took a few days for themselves and they'll be joining us at my parents' home in Velddrif tomorrow, together with the inlaws and some of my family and we'll all have Christmas together.

Steve and I fly back to Johannesburg on the 27th, then our first priority will be to find somewhere to live.

If I don't update before then, hope you have a lovely festive period spent with loved ones and good food.

Long time no see

2009-12-17T18:32:00.000+02:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while!! We've been very busy with wedding stuff and planning for all the family that are coming to visit and having a hen party. For example, my cousin who just asked me why I haven't updated my blog in so long! So this one's for you, Jasper!

The hen party was a lot of fun, although I felt quite... tired... the next day. I think my sister enjoyed it though.

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary so we escaped for the afternoon to our favourite restaurant in the area, Pearly's. We don't usually do presents but we walked past a bookstore that had beautiful collections of books, so we bought each other the complete Sherlock Holmes collection, a Dickens omnibus, the works of the Bronte sisters and the works of Jane Austen. Yay impulse purchases!

Everyone is of course very much looking forward to the wedding and I'm pleased to note my sister doesn't look too stressed out. Most of the arrangements are going smoothly too, a few hiccups but nothing of too much importance.

Well that's as much as I can think to tell at the moment; I'll start putting wedding favours in boxes in the garden now I think.

There's no place like home

2009-12-07T09:04:00.000+02:00

It's great being here at my parents'. The only downside is that Steve is still in Jhb but I'll be seeing him this weekend so I'm looking forward to that.

There's a lot still to do for the wedding but stupidly I left all the bits I bought for it in England with the other bridesmaid Erika to bring in her car (my sister and I flew and our baggage allowance would never have accommodated it all). She's arriving this weekend too, it's just a pity she has all the things that still need to be worked on and now I'm sitting here on the other side of the country twiddling my thumbs! For example, there are 130 flat packed favour boxes and lids that need to be folded. Oh well, we'll find a way.

Otherwise it's just eating good food, drinking lots of wine and chilling in the sun by the pool with three of my favourite people in the world. It's such a blessing to be in the same country as them again, we're a close family and the distance has always been hard on all of us.

I got my first sunburn on Saturday; my mother and sister kept warning me about the sun but frankly, even though I am usually extremely careful about the sun, I was sick and tired of being ghostly pale. So now I'm slightly red but that should fade to a decent brown soon.

Home sweet home

2009-12-03T08:49:00.000+02:00

I had been in Johannesburg for a week, which was nice. I saw Steve again, viewed a few houses (none that took), fitted my bridesmaids dress (looks beautiful!), and found some great bridesmaids shoes with my sister and the other bridesmaid, Erika.

Then my sister and I flew down to Cape Town and spent two days in the city meeting with wedding providers. It went really well and everything is going according to schedule and plan for the wedding.

Then we came to Velddrif where my parents live, about 150km north of Cape Town on the West Coast. It's LOVELY being home. Now we're just resting, doing wedding things over the internet, and doing fun little bits like putting ribbons around things.

There are still things that need doing before Steve and I are settled in, but that's a whole different post.

The final countdown

2009-11-26T08:50:00.000+02:00

The last few days before leaving the UK were incredibly busy and stressful.

Shipping

I hadn't finished sorting out what should be packed and what shouldn't when the packing guys arrived an hour and a half earlier than expected, so all of the Friday was a hysterical rush to try and stay one step ahead of them so they can pack up one room while I finalise what they should do in the next. They were far too good at their job for my stress levels! They had a bit of fun getting the bed apart and they started moaning about having to get going to do their next job, but at the end of the day everything that had to get shipped got in the van; and then some.

The real fun was when I phoned the offices of the shipping company (Simpsons) to finalise payment and found out they'd only sent half the documents I need to fill out and hadn't bothered checking whether everything was arranged before sending the packers. Spent the next hour phoning Steve (who was seriously busy with a crisis and work and severely stressed out), my mom and a Simpsons staff member who was growing less and less helpful with each call.

The final word on that is that they now have all the docs except the car's import permit so they'll keep everything in storage until they receive that, then ship it in the next available lot (3-5 weeks from the date they get the doc), another 3-6 weeks at sea. I'm going to be living out of a suitcase for another while yet.

The Passport

In my desperate rush to not hold up the packing guys too much I had them just pack the entire contents of the desk in the spare room. MISTAKE. Turns out my passport was in there. Now let me just say I KNOW that is just about the most stupid thing I could have done that day. I'll give you a minute to finish laughing.

OK, done? So at 6am on a Saturday morning I woke up with the realisation that I had just let someone put my passport somewhere in one of 40 boxes, at a depot ready to be shipped out to sea. Their office telephone numbers all went to a voicemail saying that they'll only be open again on Monday (the day AFTER my flight). Cue widespread panic and hysteria. After an early morning call to my poor long-suffering mother I felt a bit calmer (but no less stupid) - the worst case scenario was that I would have to postpone my flight.

Simpsons was supposed to collect the car for shipping on the Friday too, but they hadn't, so on Saturday a Simpsons van turns up. I had never been so glad to see a van. Told the guy the situation, he phoned the depot where the offices were closed but the very same packers I had were loading things into shipping cotainers. For a rather hefty fee they searched the boxes until they found the passport, and I drove down there after the guy in the van who was supposed to collect the car (the packers only worked until noon and it was faster than loading the car on the trailer and driving with him in the van). Got there, got my passport, and a dear friend drove all the way out to come and get me again. I give all thanks to God for making that day work out the way it did.

The skip

After how much I worried due to the skip not being allowed to be left on the road, this went surprisingly well. All due to having wonderful friends. They started showing up long before the skip arrived and started carrying the rubbish to the sidewalk. Now I'm talking slabs of concrete; this was no easy job. By the time the skip came almost all of the stuff was ready to be thrown in and we finished the job with 10 minutes of the allocated 30 to spare. Unfortunately this is when the van turned up to take the car and it became an urgent rush to get to Kent before the packers who had found my passport left, so I had to leave in a rush, I still feel bad that I couldn't thank everyone properly.

The house

After the shipping guys had gone the house looked like some footage on a natural disaster documentary. Then I had to pack for SA. After that it was even worse. Spending most of Saturday driving around after my passport and then feeling exhausted I didn't get nearly as much cleaning done as I'd wanted to and by the time André and Suné (friends and tennants) arrived to say goodbye on Sunday, it was clear that I could either give the house the thorough cleaning I had intended before they moved in or I could catch my flight; but not both. Thankfully they are very understanding people and forgave me. In fact they won't even head my pleas to get in a cleaner and subtract it from their rent, unless I can convince them otherwise over the phone they're going to make me feel awful by cleaning it all themselves. Once again, good friends save the day.

The flight

So it was clear I wasn't going to get the house CLEAN before having to leave for the airport, but at least I wanted to get it tidy, put all the things we were leaving behind in their place. After doing that and showering and getting my luggage ready, my dear father in law, Dave, and I left the house about an hour later than I knew was a good idea when travelling on the M25. And wouldn't you know it, just to top the sort of week I'd had the entry slip road was closed and the motorway at a standstill. We chose a different route, to find that so had everyone else, and crawled along at an elderly and injured snail's pace. With some quick wireless internet assistance (aka phoning Steve to check the internet) we determined we could join the motorway at the next junction, and after that it was smooth sailing. I arrived with plenty of time and my luggage even came in under the weight allowance (I'd payed for an extra bag).

Naturally, after boarding, the flight was delayed for two hours. Eventually though, I was finally in the air and on my way back home.

Listen, Murphy and you stupid law, I hate you.

2009-11-19T12:17:00.000+02:00

The oven is proving to be a bit of an issue. Where the old oven was, isn't anywhere near the oven ring on the electric circuit, and after buying literally the only oven I could find that would fit in width ways, the depth seems to now be a problem too (I measured it but didn't take into account the gas pipe running along the back). So we'll have to see if my father in law can work any magic today.

The skip is proving to be a bit of an issue. The council won't allow the company to park it on our road, so they are only willing to bring it on the truck, wait half an hour and take it away again. So, now I have to beg all my friends to work their arses off for me in a very short period of time and hope for the best.

The dining room table I'm trying to sell on eBay is proving to be a bit of an issue. The listing saved with the wrong delivery details, I went to amend them, but it seems the update didn't register because I now have a bidder who initially wanted to come and fetch it but now wants it delivered for free (the courier costs on something that big is going to be much more expensive than what I'm selling it for). 100% negative feedback as an eBay seller, here I come!

The shipping company is coming tomorrow and I'm nowhere near finished ~~packing~~ sorting out what they should pack. All nighter, I guess - unless something goes wrong with that too.

Almost time

2009-11-17T09:44:00.000+02:00

So, I'm flying out on Sunday night. EEEEEEEEP.

I have sorted out most admin things (including FINALLY confirming a shipping company), and am still trying to really get into sorting out the house. Turns out, the company pack for you - not that they tell you that unless you understand the jargon in their Terms and Conditions - but I still have to sort out what's going and what isn't, which is the bigger job. Getting it in boxes after that is the easy part.

The carpet is being fitted today, the oven comes tomorrow, the shipping company and a skip come on Friday, friends to help me put rubbish in the skip on Saturday, and I fly on Sunday! Monday morning first thing is a fitting for my bridesmaids dress (hope I don't retain too much water on the flight).

Have I mentioned EEEEEEEEP!!!!

So much to stress out over, so little time.

2009-11-13T09:21:00.000+02:00

Did I say "the last FEW things" in my previous entry? Ha. Ha! HA!

For the next week and a half:

I've ordered a skip to put the rubbish in the back garden in.
I've arranged with some friends to help put the rubbish in the skip.
I've booked my flight.
I've arranged shipping for our household contents.
I've got the forms we need to ship the car.
I've arranged for new carpet to be layed on the stairs.
I've bought a new oven.
My brilliant father in law is coming over to finish the new kitchen floor he layed, install the oven, fix the heating, fix the leaking bath and whatever else needs doing.
I need to pack my luggage for going to SA, including all the things I've bought for my sister's wedding
I need to pack the house (yes, I still haven't really packed anything)

I am sort of freaking out. My stomach, which has a habit of trying to digest itself when I stress, is being mean to me and I feel constantly slightly nauseous. I didn't even eat dinner last night - when I skip a meal you KNOW I'm not ok!

It's my party, I'll say goodbye if I want to.

2009-11-11T21:39:00.000+02:00

So we had a leaving party at the weekend. I really overextended myself and made far too much food, and was busy most of the week leading up. On Saturday my minions* were still helping me prepare food and as we got to the pub where I hired a function room, guests were arriving as we were setting up - thanks a bunch to everyone who pitched in!!

I was stressed out for a while and not a very good host initially but as I relaxed in the presence of good friends and some delicious spit roast lamb, I did enjoy myself.

Poor Steve had one hell of a time getting music playing after he had severe electronic gremlin issues. I think he did enjoy it for the most part but I think the party was the point where it dawned on him that he's moving permanently and it had a very real effect on him. He had some anxiety issues and got really emotional. He will miss his friends very very much. I will, too, but I've been mentally preparing myself where he had been largely in denial. This is also the reason there is much he didn't sort out before he went.

He's safe in SA now, and settling into the apartment we're renting until the end of November (because we'll be spending most of December in Velddrif with my parents and then renting a house).

This is hard bloody work, I'll tell you. More on packing and arranging the last few things later.

* Many, many thanks to the friends that helped out, you know who you are, but especially to Matt and Toby who helped in the kitchen. Matt especially was subjected to my frantic running around as soon as he woke up and did a great job helping out and making me slightly calmer. Slightly.

Bye bye love

2009-11-10T15:01:00.000+02:00

Steve flew to SA last night. He arrived safely but we're both quite emotional. For him it's the realisation that this isn't just another business trip but that he's left the UK. For me, it's missing him, worrying about him and thinking about the metric FUCKTON of things I need to do in the next three weeks or so.

More later about the leaving party but right now I'm just feeling sorry for myself.

You make me feel like a natural woman!

2009-11-05T09:29:00.000+02:00

Previously I had just been informed that my British citizenship application was successful, but that didn't make me a citizen yet. I had to attend a ceremony to swear allegiance to Queen and country and receive the naturalisation certificate.

Initially the invitation from Essex County Council was to attend a ceremony on 2 December, but that would have been well after I'd hoped to be in South Africa; luckily they were very helpful and let me attend the next available one, namely yesterday (Wednesday 4 November). Thank God it has all worked out so well.

So after setting off horribly late (as is my habit), and getting stuck behind miles of cars and trucks on a small country road through a small country village with one way traffic due to road works, I got there just as the ceremony was starting (and not 45 minutes early as instructed!). Luckily they quickly checked my paperwork and let me in, for which I was very grateful.

I am not sure what I was expecting, or whether I was expecting much at all. I definitely thought it was just a formality I'll be glad to be over. However now I feel that if more people had to attend ceremonies to affirm their citizenship, they'd have a much better sense of community, pride and patriotism. I can't quite tell why but I left feeling quite sentimental and both proud to be an official citizen of this country, and aware of my responsibilities to it.

I suppose it's because we live fairly isolated, self-centric lives these days with little sense of community and the only pictures we get about both our government and our society is from tabloid newspapers, angry bloggers and columnists and from expose type programs. However the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, the Queen's representative at the ceremony, spoke so passionately about the country, it's rich and proud history, and the county of Essex that you couldn't help but feel the presence of all of that history, pride, and regal power present. It painted a picture of a Britain I am proud to be a citizen of (although no more so than to be a South African citizen), rather than the doom, gloom and social decay presented everyday from other outlets.

It was also a privilege to sit in the Essex County Council chambers, what a fantastically beautiful room. A few pictures from the ceremony should arrive soon in the post, I'll add a few when they do.

Now I can apply for a passport but I'm not sure when I'll be able to do that, as it takes six weeks and I'm going to need my passport well before that to travel to SA. Luckily I'm not reliant on it for anything except easier European travel at this point.

Gone fishing

2009-10-30T11:46:00.000+02:00

So, today's my last day at the office!

I have got some documents to wrap up detailing the projects I've been working on so I can hand them over, and then I just need to get all my crap off the hard drive and tidy my desk.

This is my first goodbye and the first time it really feels like the move is real. It's not nice to leave colleagues behind and a bit scary to make so big a change but I'm starting to get excited.

Not too excited yet, though, as not working next week means I have to pack in ALL seriousness!

Looking forward to lunch at the pub with colleagues and some drinks there after work. I just wish I wasn't so tired from my very painful shoulder muscles keeping me awake, but Tesco had these horribly tacky looking giant cans of "Relentless" energy drinks on special. The MD's already thought it was a can of beer - a bit early for that, even on your last day at work! :D

Citizen Moo

2009-10-27T19:26:00.000+02:00

I have been granted British citizenship!!

After marrying a British citizen, we had to fly to Pretoria for an interview two days after our wedding for me to get a two year long settlement visa before I could come live and work in the UK with my husband, for which I had to present passports, marriage certificate, details of his employment and home and of my education and letters we've exchanged and heavens know what else.

Then after those two years I had to apply for Indefinite Leave To Remain, for which I had to submit passports, marriage certificate, bank statements, payslips, council tax documents, mortgage statements, medical correspondence, and another two folders full of miscelanious docs showing how we've been living together as a normal couple. I also had to write the Life in The UK test which makes you learn a book full of facts hardly anyone in this country knows.

Then after two years I could apply for naturalization, for which once again I had to submit payslips, bank statements and all the usual crap.

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY BANK STATEMENTS I'VE SAVED OVER THE YEARS, or how full my filing cabinet is, or how paranoidly I hang on to any document from a remotely official source that has both our names and address on?

HOWEVER I'm not complaining. I am very, very happy as I thought the application might come through so late I'd have to come back to the UK on holiday to attend my naturalisation ceremony! You see, I am not a citizen yet, I am waiting for an invitation from Home Office to attend a ceremony where I'll be presented with a citizenship certificate. I can then use that to apply for a passport, after attending an interview.

I had to apply for citizenship if we ever wanted to move back to the UK as you lose Indefinite Leave to Remain after being out of the country for two years or more.

I will of course be retaining my South African citizenship too so from here on out the world is my oyster.

So yes, Moo is happy and thankful today.

I have a cold

2009-10-21T10:47:00.000+02:00

Colds are odd. They're the least likely illness to garner you much sympathy, and yet there's no cure (which you should read in a really dramatic voice). It affects your sinuses, which leaves your eyes and nose feeling clogged and swollen and since this is the place where we do most of our observing of the world, and breathing, it really makes all the rest of you feel odd, out of touch and miserable. It affects your brain and muscles and makes you feel lethargic and like you never want to leave your sofa again. You long for some quenching fluids and nourishing food but you can't be arsed to get up and go into the kitchen. You use up a small deciduous forest in tissues. You sound like Daffy Duck when you try to talk. And if you're me you keep falling asleep with a throat lozenge in your mouth, no matter how often you tell yourself it's a really unsafe idea.

And yet I couldn't justify staying home for a second day in a row for AN INCURABLE DISEASE (see, it's fun being melodramatic).

I wish I had because not only do I feel worse now I'm at work than when I got up this morning and decided to go to work, but I am also clearly in a slightly delirious, odd, philosophical state which is bad for myself and anyone around me (which includes you since you were silly enough to read this far).

So, yeah: what's up with the common cold?

More news on moving when there is any, promise.

We're moving. Probably...

2009-10-16T16:08:00.000+02:00

Steve (husband) has had a really crappy time at work lately (think working till 2am) and hasn't really sorted out anything regarding the shipping, my ticket or his leave in December. It's a bit frustrating.

I think I'll go buy some boxes this weekend (rather than wait for the free ones from the shipping company I've been bargaining on) and try to start packing.

There's so much to do, I'm not sure where to start.

Hopefully the next time I write about the move I'll know when my flight is at least. Then I'll just have to worry about how I'm going to fly everything I want to take with me, home!

Moo & Keo's first convention

2009-10-14T17:52:00.000+02:00

Woohoo, my friend Matt booked a table today for his and my little webcomic, Moo & Keo, at the 2010 UK Web & Mini Comix Thing! I am so sad that I may not be here. I hope to, though, depending on what things look like in March.

We're really excited about the exposure but mostly just about the fun. If I go I fully intend to bake lots of cupcakes for handing out. If I don't, I fully intend to be there via webcam on Matt's laptop. We're starting to plan the merchandise and freebies we'd like to get sorted such as badges, t-shirts and other (preferably totally quirky) things.

GIR (aka, the car)

2009-10-13T16:29:00.000+02:00

Yes, our Ford Focus is named after GIR.

GIR's been for two services so far and we still can't find the original service history booklet (we are kind of like that). Luckily, the last time I was at the dealership the woman on reception told me I can order a new book and they'll fill it in for me - and also to order it online as it is more expensive than it needs to be from Ford itself. I found one on eBay for £5 plus free shipping - and at £5 I don't mind giving it a shot and seeing if it turns out ok.

I'm glad to say it did! Yay eBay. GIR is now all caught up on his service history which is nice as we're shipping him to SA. It would have cost a fortune in import duty and VAT for me to take a car back as a returning citizen; but luckily hes in Steve's name and it's duty-free for new immigrants. So yay, GIR is coming to South Africa. We still need to read through all the paperwork though and actually arrange the shipping. Eeep.

Speaking of GIR, he really needs a wash. Oh, no no no, I don't wash him. Don't be silly. I take him to the dodgy looking carwash down the road on the site of the abandoned petrol station where they clean outside and in for £10.

Cylon Pumpkin Lantern. WANT.

2009-10-12T15:33:00.000+02:00

http://gizmodo.com/5372548/create-your-own-cylon-pumpkin

Second entry pressure!

2009-10-12T10:44:00.000+02:00

So, I guess I should think of something to write again.

Not much has happened with regards to the move; except that Steve has booked his ticket. I am not sure when exactly I'm flying yet, as Steve's work is organizing all of that.

We won't be selling our house in the UK. We're lucky enough that we can afford to make the mortgage payments from the average rent for the area. So we'll be renting it out. We were very glad to hear friends of mine from church are thinking about renting the house but after a great discussion they haven't gotten back to us in over a week, I don't think it's a good sign.

At least I may have found a home for our dining room table. I'm trying to get rid of stuff because we're only taking our very favourite pieces of furniture (the massage chair and the solid oak sleigh bed with separate massaging and adjustable mattresses are a must!). The rest will either have to stay for the tenants (assuming we can get some!) or be put on eBay or something. I'm not sure I fancy that headache though, how do I ship it? I think I may just take it all to a boot sale.

Welcome and thanks

2009-10-09T12:49:00.000+02:00

Firstly, thanks to everyone at my spiritual home on the internet, the xkcd fora, for their input and for the interest in the blog.

So, hi, I'm Moo. Or Moonica. Or in extreme cases, Moohanica: Last of the Moohanicans.

I'm a white, Afrikaans, Christian, late 20s, geek girl South African living with my British husband Steve (aka Stefaans aka Shandy) in England. He's been offered a great job in the Johannesburg headoffice so soon we'll be moving (happy and sad at the same time). I have two weeks of work left and a LOT of packing. He's leaving in a month exactly from today, I'll join him a few weeks after.

This blog is really somewhere to document the move and dump some of the randomness that pops into my curly head sometimes.

Welcome!