Beware on the roads

My dear boss has given me some time off so that I can for lessons to learn how to drive. Yes, I finally got my ducks in a row, got the number of a reputable instructor, and started with my lessons. Today was my second one, a bit disastrous at first, but it got better as we progressed. Im a very nervous driver, who fails to listen to instructions at the worst of times, and panics when there are other cars/cyclists/pedestrians on the road. Lol. But Im trying my best to set my fears aside and get this thing going. I dont have much time.

Im not going to say when my actual test is taking place, Im a bit superstitious about that. Only the ones that really need to know, know about it. Lets just say its soon, very soon, and thats why my instructor is practically throwing me in the deep end to get my up to speed, so to speak, in time for the painful, nerve-wrecking test.

For me, there is no other result than a pass. I will be bitterly disappointed if I fail, even though considering Im doing this in the nick of time, does allow me some leeway if it all goes wrong. It certainly wont be the end of the world. There will be other chances, Im sure, and most people I know have never passed on the first time. But I intend to, even if it kills my nerves!

F*ckiiiiitttttt

After my interesting afternoon at my high school reunion, I went back home to exercise my best powers of persuasion to get everyone to go to Berny's boss' place for a laid back braai. So what if we were all feeling a bit ill after all the week's festivities, and the thought of alcohol made us all go a bit green. So what? So F*cking What? S.F.W. Fuckiiiiittttt.

We got the troops together and went in convoy to the braai. Even Uli came with, I was so happy. I was feeling very lethargic but looked forward to a nice relaxed evening, sitting by the bar, and talking sh*t. And it was here where Mich, Berny and I came up with this "f*ckit" concept. Something getting you down? F*ckit. Someone giving you grief? F*ckit. Wish the world would open up and swallow you whole? F*CKIIIITTT!!!

I sipped my SoCo very carefully, massaging my sides every five seconds or so, but for some reason I felt tipsy quite quickly. So maybe its all a state of mind. Maybe my friends' company makes me giddy! Hahaha. After having a fit of laughter when Berny played only 10 seconds of Nicholas Louw due to our evil grins (last monday we predicted she would play that CD and made a pact to throw her in the pool. Lucky for her, she was landlocked so we couldnt get to her), she switched to the cribs' "Mans needs". Mich had another fit of laughter, because I was convinced that in one part of the song, they said "Apollo Creed". I still dont know the words to the song, so I like to add in my own bits. What surprised me was that no one around the bar knew who Apollo Creed was!!!! Shock horror! Rocky ring a bell anyone??? They didnt even get my "Adrienne" joke. The company I keep these days!!! Hmph.

So anyway, looking to have some more fun, Michelle and I decided to teach Jesse the parrot to say "F*ckit". We repeated it about a 100 times and eventually the bloody bird said it, though it sounded more like "packet". It would say it, then giggle. I think I nearly died. Haha. Hope Berny doesnt get fired, hehehh.

We didnt really get up to much the rest of the evening, since Shadly was stone cold sober, and refused to fight with me (please, lets not ever do that again!). In fact, we were all pretty much sober and extremely tired, so we packed up and left just after midnight. Shadley swears he is on sabbatical from now until the end of the month and I want to believe him, but I just dont see it lasting too long. Its just the wrong time to do it. But one thing we should all try and do is to have fun, but less drinking. Its way too damaging. And it gets people to call the cops on us. Lol.

Lets wait and see how this week goes.

My 10 year high school reunion

It pains me to say that out loud. It really gives me the willies! Yes, ladies and germs, yours truly attended her 10 year high school reunion yesterday. Brrrrrr. I can honestly say though, that it certainly doesnt feel like 10 years have passed at all!!! And all the girls that attended felt the same way. Lots has happened since we parted ways, but Im glad that I went and managed to catch up with some old friends and classmates.

After a short stint at Jeppe Prep, I went on to Jeppe High School for girls in Kensington, on a hot summer’s day in 1993. Lol, that sounds corny. Going to an all girls-school seemed a bit daunting at first for a shy but boy-crazy girl like me, but soon it proved to be the best choice I could have made. I was able to be myself, concentrate on my studies and make some of the best friends a girl could ever ask for. I still keep in contact with most of them, though sometimes it can be quite an effort as we go on with our separate lives!

Some of my best years were spent there, though at the time I didn’t seem to think so. All I wanted was to get out of there and get on with my life, and experience new and crazy adventures. I don’t miss the horrible green uniforms and black and white blazers (!!) but I do miss the carefree, fun-filled days spent with my friends at break and during class, getting up to all sorts of mischief and laughter. (Remember that time I got hold of the microphone during exams and sang “Only You” at break? Hahahaha, good times).

There are lot of stories I could tell, but I will leave that for some other time. As most of you know, I recently visited my best friend, Wendy, who lives in London. She was supposed to come down this week for the reunion, but due to unfortunate circumstances, was not able to make it. I would lie if I say that I wasn’t disappointed, because I really really was! We had a lot of plans for the week, but the last thing I wanted to do was make Wendy feel guilty as this was really beyond her control.

I considered not going to the reunion as I wasn’t up to facing most of these girls on my own. I hadn’t seen any of them since high school save for a few that attended some of my classes with me at varsity. In the end, literally at the very last minute, I sucked it in and went to our little reunion that was held at the Secret Garden in Fourways. Immediately I was welcomed with open arms and didn’t take long to break the ice and get back into the swing of things. The proceedings were opened by the Deputy-Head Girl who read some announcements, including a note from the Head Girl, who unfortunately couldn’t make it.

It was interesting to see that after a bit of mingling, everyone sat down with their picnic baskets in much the same sort of groups we had in high school. In one corner you had the “Blonde Brigade” (as Wendy once christened them. Never mind that she is blonde too! Haha), on another you had the intellectuals, on the other you had the Portuguese girls and on the other, you had, well us, the non-conformists, I guess you could call us. The wild, party girls? Hahaha. To be honest, I cant really give a name to our group. We were all unique, diverse, and I dare say, smart girls that complemented and supported each other through the tough and confusing high school years.

I was sad that my closest group of friends, as in Wendy, Kim, Tamsyn and Tanya, were not present, but at least I could catch up with other good friends that I hadn’t seen or spoken to all these years. I’m going to make an extra effort to remain in contact with them, and now with the wonders of facebook, its all the more easier to do so.

Its was also a bit daunting to see that while I’m still single and partying up a storm, others have been settled for years and are now proud mothers of one, two, three (!!) kids! Some even already have 9 year old kids! (pregnant during matric, you ask?) No, I didn’t get broody at all, in fact, I was quite scared, but it was interesting to watch these girls running after their kids, when it seemed that not so long ago, we were kids ourselves. Me, Im Peter Pan, dammit!

So where does that leave me now? Well, Im still going to carry on, living the life I have been living so far and have wanted to live so far. Im sure there are more adventures waiting for me out there, and Im ready for them, whatever’s out there. Like our school motto says “Forti Nihil Difficilius” – Nothing is too difficult for the Brave.

(ok, that was corny too).

Another epic party

(Im sitting here in the dark, a huge storm underway and no electricity, hoping my battery power will last until I finish retelling this story. Thunder scares me).

Thursday night was time for another Shaylin/Shadley night, and you just know that means trouble. Try as we did, Shaylin and I could not convince the others to go to Manhattans last night. But even so, we all had a laid-back, yet killer hangover-inducing party that ended in the early hours of the morning. My long weekend started early yesterday afternoon. After the office party the previous night, I was feeling fragile and had absolutely no ability to do anything productive i.e. work. My whole day was spent on msn and unpacking boxes at my new desk. In our boredom, Shay and I formed "Team Manhattan" and we got so excited that we were going to convince the gang to go jolling. We certainly didnt get far, haha.

By 15hoo I gave up trying to sit at my desk looking busy and got a lift home with one of my colleagues. The weekend had started. After a one and a half hour power nap and a long bath, I felt brand new and ready to party. The venue for this damage was to be at the house Shadley is busy looking after at the moment. He was eager for us to get there so straight after dinner, Ferdi made me rush out so we could get the proceedings started. We picked up Shay on the way and got to Shadleys just after 8. Michelle and her friend Sabrina were already there.

Despite the huge amounts of booze readily available on the kitchen counter, I was miff with Ferdi for forgetting to bring the Southern Comfort. Sure, it was my job to remind him, but he hurried me so much that I barely had time think.

The party started out slow, and I almost fell asleep on the couch while everyone sat and chilled. But not to worry, I did not disappoint, after a few drinks I was ready to roll. Michelle was on form, treating us to a few shows from upstairs with her hilarious posh English accent. This girl should become a comedian.

I took a walk with the girls around the complex, since the boys were lounging on camping chairs outside the door. We didnt find anything interesting, we couldnt even find the pool, so we went back to join the boys. We spent the rest of the evening having deep chats, hilarious chats, and drunken chats. Shadley was messing around with his pool cue the whole night. You could see he was incredibly pissed, but that was fine since he was sleeping there, nothing to worry about. That boy was so full of nonsense that I disowned him once more. We must have told each other to "F off" hundreds of times. LOL, good times. Definitely a lot of love in this family.

I cant believe how quickly the night went by. Once you start having fun, time surely flies. I wasnt too worried about the time since I had Friday off, but the rest had to go to work (but some didnt even make it *cough* Shadley *cough*). By 4am I was tucked in bed though I struggled to fall asleep. It was scary to think that if I hadnt taken the day off, I would have had one hour before my alarm went off so I could get up and get ready to work.

Instead, I woke up around 10 or 11 with a pounding in my head, a sore back, a painful liver and 8 (yes, I counted 8) bruises on my right knee, only one on the left knee. After many, many attempts, I got up, brought my laptop to bed and logged on msn to see how damaged everyone else was. Shadley was AWOL, Shay was feeling weak but at work, and Mich was back at res (I hear she didnt even get to do her show, lol).

Eventually I went down to the kitchen to be met with two stern-looking faces belonging to my parents. I muttered a hello and tried to avoid their gazes. We ate lunch in silence but eventually they could hold out no longer and I got a mouthful from them that these weeknight hauntings are becoming a bad habit, and that I should have seen in what state Ferdi went to work this morning. If he gets fired, its all my fault....ugh, they had a point but I just didnt know what to say so I shrugged my shoulders and went back upstairs. I felt like a teenager all over again. I really need my own place and independence. As soon as I get my wheels, Im out of there - and thats when the drinking stops!

Tonight we were supposed to go to Manhattans, and as it turns out, since we are all a tad (ok, VERY) weak and fragile, this night will be spent indoors. Because tomorrow night, yes tomorrow night, it all begins again. Till then, folks!

That's Classified

If you ask me what happened last night at our office party, all I can say is "That's classified". Dont ask, dont tell. It was a party of note, as most of our office bashes tend to be. It started at the Fashion TV Cafe, where we had the whole venue to ourselves, and well, the rest is history. Lol. What a party, what a night!!!

And Shadley, my boy, even though I partied like it was the end of the world last night, I am proud to say that I am alive and well this morning, so Rooney stays. No Stevie G for you! See ya all later!

Devil Worshipping - Another normal day in hell

These impromptu drinking fests are becoming a bit of a ritual now. And this week is sure to top all the rest, as regular devil worshipping and sacrificing of male virgins is scheduled for the rest of the week. And Im not complaining. Yesterday I had the mother of all Black Mondays (blue didnt even come close) for reasons I dont care to disclose. Lets just say my world was fast caving in, and as the day progressed, the bad news kept on flowing. I felt like there was no point in carrying on living.

Until I got the phone call that saved my life, that is. My saviours, Michelle and Shadley, were on their way to my neck of the woods, and asked me if I was up for a drink or three (hell yeah! No hesitations there!). I was to meet them at the News Cafe across the road from my work in five minutes, so I immediately packed up my things and raced out of the office faster than you could say, "Pusstenarbeit!" hahaha.

However, looks like I was too eager and got there too fast. They were nowhere to be seen. I phoned Shadley, and there conversation went something like this:
Me: "Where the feck are you?"
Shad: "Im on my way. Be there now"
Me: "Hurry up!"
Shad: "Feeeeck"

I got a table and pretended to look important by reading a manual I got from the office. Time was awasting and they still hadnt arrived. Ferdi was also on his way, but it would take him a good 15 minutes to get there. After looking up, back and forth, to and fro, for several minutes, I saw the familiar, eager to have fun, faces of Mich and Shad. Ferdi followed soon.

My first cocktail of the day was Gigglejuice, since Giggling was much needed too. It was huge, it was purple, it was WONDERFUL. The fact that I remember all I had to drink that night, got nicely pissed and had no hangover the next day, made it the perfect evening. I also had a yummy yummy Watermelon Mojito (yes, I did the Spanish accent) with chilli (after experimenting with Tabasco sauce at Primi, Im for all things spiciy and hot, hmmmm), and a Faithful Bitch (hell yeah! Good idea, Mich. Shad, you better delete THAT photo!).

I think the boys had more to drink than we did. Ferdi looked like he was going to pass out so I had to make sure he drank some water before we left. Of course, the regular drunken phone calls took place, in no particular order, to the following victims: Mommy (boy was she pissed. Lol), Shaylin, Cailin (Shadley pretended to be a girl and asked to speak to Martin), Martin (bugger didnt answer his phone cause he was watching Greys Anatomy, hahahahha!), Berny, and um, I think that was all folks. Shadley did get hold of my phone and sent random, ugly sms's to several people, including Martin. Im still gonna get my revenge. Soon. Better sleep with one eye open, Shad!

Since we always require a souvenir from all the places we visit (and subsequently get banned from), Michelle managed to "get" a Peroni glass. The first one didnt fit into her bag, so she secured a smaller, more appropriately sized glass. Shadley, Im stealing it.

Being a Monday and the beginning of another gruesome week, with lots of partying in between, we decided to make it an early night and so left around 9. Ferdi worried me as he couldnt stick to a lane and kept on saying to me whenever I asked him to slow down, "Dont hate the player, hate the game". His new slogan. Luckily we made it home safe, in one piece, only to face the wrath of mommy cause we didnt let her know that she had to warm up our dinner. I was ravenous so I just shrugged and raided the fridge. Ferdi repeated his slogan, mommy burst out laughing, and all was well once more in the evil household.

Stay tuned for more sacrifices to come this week. Oh hell.

We are about to lose Rooney

Stupidly I made a bet that might come back to bite me in the ass. It all started when I said to Shadley that I was in a mood for a party. That was asking for trouble already, Wednesday night’s party was still fresh in my mind and liver. We couldn’t make up our minds where to go, and eventually Michelle insisted we all go to Melville, despite Ferdi’s protests. On our way there, we had to stop in the middle of the road next to Cool Runnings as two cops stopped and chased after a stoned drug dealer trying to sell drugs to someone. He was shoved into the car by a manly, oh so sexy cop while the other took the potential buyer aside. We didn’t stick around to see the rest. What drama! Haha.

Melville turned out to be a disappointment. It was dead, nothing was happening there. Having lasted about two hours at Six and Transkei we finally decided to go to the Blue Goose near my place. We walked past Berny’s potplants and sat a table outside. Inside a Bon Jovi cover band was busy ruining some good songs. Next to us, what looked like a Batchelor’s party from Boksburg, was underway. So we were well placed.

We ordered our drinks (Purple Rain for me, of course!) and phoned random people in our drunken state: Basti was out celebrating his last day of high school with some friends and was coming to join us. He phoned back 5 minutes later to ask where the “Blue Hood” or “Blue Wood” was. Hahahaha, I hope he found it! Berny was AWOL and Vomit we woke up. He was sleeping cause he “had to work the next day”. Pffft, what a sissy. Eventually Berny phoned me back, just as pissed as we were, from Bundus. I hope she realised how much airtime she spent on that phone call. Hehheheh.I don’t think we phoned anyone else, if so, consider yourselves lucky!

As it always happens when we go to the Blue Goose, having a McDonalds right next door gave us the munchies so Mich and I went to get us all some Happy Meals with toys, of course. Shad and Mich played with their Ninja Turtles while Ferdi and I had some cool penguins from Surf’s Up. I still want a penguin as a pet! Christmas present, people! *cough* *cough*.

Basti finally realised that we were actually at the Blue Goose and not the Hood and got dropped off by some weird looking people. He looked pissed out of his mind, and so he should. Its not every day you finish high school (though Ferdi commented that Basti hasn’t realised yet that he is going back there next year, hehehheh).

Now here the Rooney story comes up. I was busy telling Shadley that next Wednesday I have this work party in Sandton, and since we are going to Manhattans again the next night, Im gonna be partying quite a bit but should still be able to survive it all. So Shadley took advantage of my drunken state and bet me that I wont be alive and well on Thursday. I bet him that I will. The stakes were simples, well, mine at least were: 2 jagerbombs. But he wanted something else: little Rooney!!! Before I could think about it and realise that he is not really mine to give, I said yes and shook on it. Ferdi looked at me in disbelief and almost cried out. Im going to have to put out all the stops to look fresh and alive on Thursday, or we kiss Rooney goodbye! You never know what Shadley could do to him. Gasp! He could rename him Steven Gerrard!!! Nooooooo!!!

After that faux-pas, we drank the last of our drinks and crawled home. Another night, another adventure. And here we go again tonight….*groan*

Meet Little Rooney

I’m not referring to the sexy Man United player, but our little pup, Rooney, named after the former. Well, he is not so little anymore, he is growing bigger and bigger by the minute, much to my mother’s concern as our house is just not big enough – Ferdi takes up most of the space.

We got him about 3 months ago from Martin and Berny. He could then barely fit in the little shoe box in which he was transported in. He looked so tiny and helpless; so scared and surely missing his mommy. My icy black heart almost melted for him on the spot. Im not very fond of animals, but I fell in love almost instantly with Rooney.


At first I had to fight with the rest of the family as to what to name him. Even though he technically belongs to Ferdi, I insisted he be called Rooney (could have been worse, my second option was Hitler). Ferdi wanted to name him Theodore (I don’t know what the hell he was thinking, poor dog), Weasel wanted to call him “The Grim Reaper” and the old folks just called him “Pookey” (how gay). So after facing a huge identity crisis, the name Rooney stuck. I won.

He was quite popular a week after we got him, at the Spring Bazaar and he got passed around from one drunken lap to the next. Poor thing was very sick in the beginning but gathered strength once he began to eat properly. Now the little bugger eats everything in sight (no doubt adding to his rapid size), finishes his food in 5 seconds flat then proceeds to place himself under our table and demand to be fed our scraps. He is so spoilt that he wont take no for an answer.

Despite all the numerous toys we have gotten for him, he has now taken ownership of my favourite Eeyore slippers. I fought to keep them at first but he chewed them so much it was no fun sinking my feet into slippers full of drool and doggy smell. His favourite place to put all his things is under the table, of course, and you can still find my slippers there as well.

He has a keen eye for gardening too and spends numerous hours outside “attending” to the plants and occasionally using the flower beds as a mattress while the mister naps. They tend to make a good, crunchy snack too. To show his appreciation, he sometimes drags in a flower or two, roots and all, into the house and gives it to my mother. He knows he is in big trouble and runs to his “safe house” under the couch before he gets smacked. You’d think those innocent puppy eyes looking up at you would make my mother think twice about punishing him but she is not falling for it anymore. Lol.

We are trying not to make him into a sissy and Ferdi is considering sending him to boot camp and learn some discipline while maintaining some “machoness”. We don’t want him to turn out like scruffy! Lol. But there are several things that scare him still, like the penguin on a surfboard that I got for Ferdi with his Happy Meal. Once you put it on the floor and let it surf in circles, Rooney runs away and hides next to my mother. It scares him sh*tless, hahaha.

Best Rooney Story: last Saturday when terrorist Kayla arrived, she went for him immediately with open arms. Rooney got so scared he ran under the couch and hid behind the curtains…and peed himself. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I almost peed MYSELF from laughing so much!!!!

Blame it on Shadley or Frank whatshisface.

Two hours sleep. Two *&@#$&* hours sleep, Shadley! Im feeling like an Ugly Betty right now. I blame you, my emancipated son. Last night's starring role goes to you, and best supporting act to Frank (Sinatra) whatshisface *Michelle would you be so kind as to spell his surname for me, thanks*. If I survive today, it will be a freaking miracle. Shadley day buggered me up a whole lot more than Shaylin day did. Not that I didnt have fun last night though. I just feel like I have been hit by a freight train and being left to rot on the tracks. So let me try recount last night's events.

After another hard day's work, my team mates and I went up to the 18th floor auditorium for a cocktail dinner we were hosting here for some execs from another division. Mingling was tiresome and engaging conversation was lacking. I drank my SoCos mostly in silence while I wished this dinner would come to an end. The menu was rather interesting, so interesting I didnt know how to eat the food placed in front of me. In between all this, I was busy planning my getaway with Ferdi and Shadley. At 19h30 sharp Ferdi was to pick me up from work, then pick up Shadley and go to play pool at Ballbreakers.

Before I knew it, Ferdi was here and the crazy Shadley night was in full force. We picked up Shadley, I told him he smelled like a woman and ducked when he tried to give me a backhand (kidding, but he did smell like a woman). Michelle and friends were already waiting for us, and after a few wrong turns (Shadley only knows how to go left. He doesnt even know where he lives) we got to Ballbreakers.

The trick with pool is that the more I drink, the better I get at this game, so it didnt take long for me to get in the groove (clearly, I drink like a fish. Wait, do fishes drink? Ah, next poll question!!). OK, Im getting sidetracked - I blame Shadley (TWO f'ing hours sleep!!!). I think I must have won about 2 games in the end, but we had tons of fun and a barrel of laughs - good for the belly.

Im not too sure what time we left, but the night was definitely not over. While Michelle dropped her friends off, we went to Shadleys and sat outside, in the rain and waited. Security drove past us several times, but didnt think we were suspicious enough (we should work on this). I passed out in the backseat for a bit, but when I realised that the boys had gone inside to get drinks and left me there all alone, I quickly sat up and forced myself to wake up. It was getting later and later and I had the munchies. But where do you find food at 1am???

Michelle soon got there and eventually we decided to go on a Great Trek to find food. It was like Mission Impossible (haha! flashback! Mich will get this one): McDs was closed (no shit, hey), even Fontanas. Eventually we found a garage and raided their food store. Thats when Frank showed up. Mich and I stayed in the car and locked the doors while Ferdi and Shad conversed with this weirdo. Apparently he needed money for petrol or something. After 5 minutes of my life gone, wasted, Ferdi gave him R20 so he could bugger off and we could finally get some food. Not that there was much. Damn Fat Ferdi got the last and only pie, I got some stale croissant. I vaguely recall Shad got some smarties and other random kak. Then off we went back to Shads, said our goodbyes and buggered off home.

Somewhere along the line mommy had phoned wanting to know when her babies were coming home. Poor old woman. I think we called Shaylin too but I just cant remember now. Oh no, wait, that was Shadley. I was just shouting obscenities in the background.

Ferdi and I got home at 3am. 3am! That meant I had less than 2 hours of shut-eye left and guaranteed grumpiness. It felt like as soon as I closed my eyes, my alarm went off. I dont know how I did it, but I got up immediately, forced myself to throw up and lay in the bath for eternity. I feel green, my hands are shaking and I am not sure if I will live to see tomorrow. Its one of those ugly days, when I feel revolting and dont want to be seen by human-kind. Yet here I am, ready for another hard day's work. Shadley, my boy, you are a legend. Despite all the torture Im facing today, last night was hilarious, and would gladly do it again. The pain is worth it.

Just call me Bettyyyyy. Wee-o wee-o wee-o wee-o wee-o wee-o wee-o.

The horrors of online dating

Everytime I hear the words "online dating", even "blind date" I run the other way screaming. If that is what it takes these days to meet people, then I'm sorry, I am not interested. I rather meet someone the conventional way, and then make my mind up as to whether they are dating material. Of course, there are exceptions. I have met a lot of people, with whom I first chatted online, and then ended up either becoming good friends with them or even dating them. But the difference here lies in the fact that the initial intention was to get to know the person, without there been any pressures to get "romantic". Or at least, that's the way I interpret it. You just never know what the other person is thinking on the other side of the screen, lol.

About a month ago, while I busy tackling another mountain of work and concentrating very very hard, my dearest colleagues brought to my attention an email that had been sent by our events co-ordinator about an upcoming Christmas Ball, where she had booked 3 tables for anyone interested in going. It was a formal event and no partners were allowed. In fact, they were looking for single people, who wanted to meet other single, "desperate, lonely" people at work. I immediately cringed at the thought (Im not desperate OR lonely) and ignored what my colleagues were telling me.

They were relentless, and insisted I go, after all, it was for a good cause. Eventually I got tired of them bugging me and just to get them off my back so I could return to my work, I gave in and replied to the email saying "what the hell, its for a good cause, put my name on the list". And that was that, I gave it no further thought.

We didnt receive any further information until last week, where I got to see the guest list. I didnt know 90% of the people that were going, but I decided this would be a perfect time to get to know other people at the bank since Im still quite new here. And I saw that one of my friends was also going so I wouldnt feel so alone and SCARED! (really the thought of going to this ball scared the poopypants out of me). I was just quite sceptical about the whole thing because we didnt receive much info about this ball. All I knew was the date, time and venue. Not much else. Googling didnt help. There was only one site that could have had some more insight but as luck would have it, it was BLOCKED (warning bells). What awaited me, really?

Saturday came and I already started to panic, and break out in a sweat. I really didnt want to go to this thing, I just had a bad feeling about it. I went looking for some dresses (always leave things to the last minute) and came home with 3 different black ones (to match my sombre mood) so I could choose in the comfort of my own bedroom. As time drew near, I procrastinated, and was looking for any excuse not to go. So I decided to go on the internet and check out that blocked site. And am I glad that I did!!!!!

Turns out that the event was being hosted by an online dating site (no. 1 reason not to go, Im so against these sites!) for single people between the ages of 30 to 55! (no. 2 reason: Im 27! and no. 3: Gross!). That just about convinced me not to go but I didnt want to leave my friend all alone to face all these weirdos! I wish I had had her cellphone so I could warn her. We had totally the wrong idea about this Ball!

I didnt know what to do, I was in two minds about it. I didnt want to go there and give the impression that I was "single, desperate and lonely" (as I am not!) but I also didnt want to leave my friend all alone. It was time to make a decision, and fast!

Jennifer, Cesar and little terrorist Kayla then arrived at my place for a braai. I hadnt seen them in ages, and wanted to spend some time with them. While I was blowdrying my hair upstairs in my room, Jennifer and Kayla were looking at my London trip photo albums while I told Jennifer about my dilemma. She said I should just go, but I wasnt convinced. The arrival of two surprise visitors did - to the contrary!

As I was finishing the gruesome task of dealing with my hair, I felt a "presence" outside my bedroom door. I didnt even look up, thinking it was Ferdi returning from Randfontein. I didnt think he would return so quickly and blurted "what the hell are you doing here?" A few seconds later, still feeling that presence, I looked up and gave a little scream. There was Shadley standing at my door and right next to him was Michelle! What a pleasant surprise! Shadley has a habit of sneaking up on me when Im in my room. A bit creepy, you might think, but we are family, right? lol

So again I shared my dilemma. Shad helped me come up with a few excuses not to go and so I sms'd the event organiser with apologies that I couldnt make it. The fact that the gang were planning to watch Resident Evil at the drive-in definitely convinced me not to go to this thing! Who can say no to "poisoned" slush puppies? Hahahaha.

I put all those dresses back in the shopping bags, changed into something more comfortable and Caz-like, and went downstairs and drank SEVERAL SoCos with Mich while we waited for Berny and Martin to arrive. It felt like I hadnt seen Berny in ages so that was another reason for staying!!! The night turned out to be awesome and I had no regrets. Not that I ever do, why waste time on regrets?

My decision turned out to be one of the best I have ever made. My poor friend IM'd me frantically on Monday morning asking me what had happened to me on Sat and that we must meet for coffee so she could tell me about the horrors of this evening. Apparently this do was so badly organised and so dodgy that even our events co-ordinator was not impressed. Our people made the most of it at least and tried to stick together, but she said "outsiders" were rather creepy and the minute there was an empty chair next to you one of them would hurry up, sit next to you and just STARE. If that is not creepy, I dont know what it.

Luckily she got rescued by her complex security guard informing her that her house alarm had gone off, so she literally raced home. Had I been there, she probably would have had more fun but she didnt blame me for not going. Poor girl.

Now I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Give me a party anytime, but keep the weirdos away! LOL.

Back from the dead

Or the undead, since you cant really kill me, so many have tried and failed, sigh. Anyway, contrary to popular belief, Im not really dead, Im still here, just keeping a low profile for the time being. I briefly considered closing this blog since time is so precious lately, but since I enjoy writing about mundane stuff, I will keep it going, just not as regularly as I used to. I cant even remember the last time I updated it. Hang on a few secs while I check. Are you hanging? Cool.

Right! August 30!!! Jeepers, ok, it has been a while, and lots has happened since there but I wont bother to relate it all, since most of you should know what the Queen of Darkness has been up to lately: working hard, (very hard), travelling and running the underground. The highlight of the past few months has of course been my trip to London, which was long overdue. My dearest best friend, Wendy, moved there with her husband several years ago, and after much contemplating, I finally got my ass into gear and visited the madam.

And what a ball we had! I made the long trek via Dubai (where I spent 2 hours there and back, shopping like any crazy chick would, even during witching hour) and after spending 2 long hours queuing in immigration at Heathrow, my mate and I were re-united. She spent the first few days showing me around and teaching me about the wonders of the tube, which I mastered in no time when I had to travel around on my own while she went back to work.

I saw everything, and almost bought entire London (boy, did I cry when I came back home and saw my credit card bills). Richard Branson got a whole lot richer as I went mad at the Virgin Megastore by Piccadilly Circus. And even more so as I decided to make a second sneaky trip there a few days later!!!

During the two weekends that I was there, Wendy and I did 2 day tours on the Saturdays. First one we went to Windsor Castle, Bath (pretty town) and Stonehenge (my personal favourite), guided by the bossy Ginger Spice aka Military Spice. The other Saturday, we were very very lucky to go to: PARIS!!! I was so excited! It was a very rushed day, and by the end, Wendz and I were ready to kill each other as hunger and fatigue made us grumpy. We should have spent a night there but at least we got to see the main things: Da Vinci Code tour at the Louvre, bus tour through Paris, climb the top of the Eiffel tower (short-lived since Wendy is such a sissy, she was convinced the tower was swaying! Hahahhaha) and shopping on Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe.

I would gladly go back, it was an experience that I will always treasure. I even considered going to London to work for a few years, but the move there seems so tiresome. It certainly requires a lot of effort on my part. Plus the weather sucks. There is nothing better than SA weather! (though lately one might disagree, methinks I brought the London weather with me).

Ok, enough banter for today. Duty calls!

Oh, I was going to add some pics, but that also requires effort. Save me some trouble and check facebook!