Sunday 17 February 2013
Life in the very fast lane...: After much thought on the subject, I decided I nee...
Life in the very fast lane...: After much thought on the subject, I decided I nee...: After much thought on the subject, I decided I need to truly get to grips with being single. No dreading, no worrying that single people...
After much thought on the subject, I decided I need to truly
get to grips with being single. No dreading,
no worrying that single people fall into the category of leper, no sleepless
nights, no staring at the Blackberry to see if the red light has started
flashing in the last 0.0001 seconds, no wishing a Sunday away as it is just too
long a day to deal with.
So I sat down and tried to work out what the worst fear
associated with singledom would be – and the answer popped up with ease – this
would be going to a movie on my own. The
worst time to do this? A Friday or a
Saturday evening, when other couples are out and about together, hand in hand,
swapping popcorn boxes and sharing slush puppies. I was proud of the fact that I had worked out
what my “single trigger” would be as they would say in relationship rehab (so I
hear), but now I had to see if I had the courage to do anything about it.
I hopped onto the internet in the safety of my own home
office, where I knew no-one would or could see me. I took a huge plunge… I booked a single movie
ticket online, for a Friday evening. Now
I had to see whether I had the personal strength to get myself there.
Friday rolled along, as they do, and time was ticking slowly
towards movie hour. Surprisingly, I was
slightly excited at the prospect of conquering a personal fear, and so drove
off happily to the movie house, whilst listening intently to my latest self-help
CD in the car. Arriving safely at my
destination, I ordered popcorn for one, and off I went to my seat.
People started rolling in to the movie theatre and I have to
admit, I started to wobble. Were they
all looking at me on my own in the corner thinking “loser”? “Where is her husband, fiancée, boyfriend,
friend, child”? I started studying every
individual popped piece of corn with great interest, praying for the lights to
dim. Luckily for me, the process began
to get easier as I had two predominant thoughts – firstly, I had made it to the
movie on my own, and must be proud of that, and secondly, no one there gave a
damn about who I was and who I was with (or wasn’t with as was the case) –
oddly enough, the second thought was the one that made me feel much better
about the task at hand.
The movie started, the popcorn remained glued to my lap, and
all was well. As luck would have it, the
movie, a typical “chick flick” was exactly what the doctor ordered, and lifted
my spirits immediately. Suddenly, the
garden they call singledom was full of roses, all in bloom. The weekend had begun, and had begun in a
fun, positive, happy way.
The moral is a line I have heard often, but seldom acted
upon, until now: Feel the fear (tick)
and do it anyway (double tick).
Thursday 14 February 2013
Life in the very fast lane...: It is Valentine's Day. I have decided to work fro...
Life in the very fast lane...: It is Valentine's Day. I have decided to work fro...: It is Valentine's Day. I have decided to work from home this afternoon as my helper is off, and I am extremely concerned about who will let...
It is Valentine's Day. I have decided to work from home this afternoon as my helper is off, and I am extremely concerned about who will let the delivery men in when all my flowers arrive.
So far, the bell has not rung once, so I immediately think there must be road blocks, pot holes so big they block highways, and a driver with a broken down vehicle, or a driver who is actually from Mpumalanga, and has not been given a G.P.S.
If you are married (ask me, I know), one feels you need to pull out all the stops and really try to bring romance back into your marriage (if it has been lost), or maintain romance in your marriage (if you still have it at that time). If you are in a new relationship, it is happy days, roses, champagne, endless feelings of elation and of course, one is still at that stage where you are hiding your Bridget Jones like "hold it all in" bloomers. If one is single, you have three choices - go out with great friends, throw caution to the wind, and have a ball; stay in and consider the best ways in which to slit your wrists, or lastly, focus on the ones in your life you truly love, and shower them with affection.
At this moment in my life, the beings closest to me are my mother and my daughter - and it is they whom I have chosen to focus my affections on. Truth be told, this unconditional type of love, is a good one to have, and to keep.
I am proud to say I did in fact receive a Valentine's Day card, from my six year old daughter - it read "Bee mine" with a drawing of a bee. I have to confess, I am smitten.
And so, this evening, whilst corks are popping all over this planet, I will be spending my time doing "Mathletics" with my daughter, eating fish with my mother (in pursuit of the body beautiful of course), and sipping on ice cold wine, just because I can.
And so the moral: please chaps, next time you all decide to send me flowers, either get the address right, or alternatively, ensure that the driver knows how to get to my home...
So far, the bell has not rung once, so I immediately think there must be road blocks, pot holes so big they block highways, and a driver with a broken down vehicle, or a driver who is actually from Mpumalanga, and has not been given a G.P.S.
If you are married (ask me, I know), one feels you need to pull out all the stops and really try to bring romance back into your marriage (if it has been lost), or maintain romance in your marriage (if you still have it at that time). If you are in a new relationship, it is happy days, roses, champagne, endless feelings of elation and of course, one is still at that stage where you are hiding your Bridget Jones like "hold it all in" bloomers. If one is single, you have three choices - go out with great friends, throw caution to the wind, and have a ball; stay in and consider the best ways in which to slit your wrists, or lastly, focus on the ones in your life you truly love, and shower them with affection.
At this moment in my life, the beings closest to me are my mother and my daughter - and it is they whom I have chosen to focus my affections on. Truth be told, this unconditional type of love, is a good one to have, and to keep.
I am proud to say I did in fact receive a Valentine's Day card, from my six year old daughter - it read "Bee mine" with a drawing of a bee. I have to confess, I am smitten.
And so, this evening, whilst corks are popping all over this planet, I will be spending my time doing "Mathletics" with my daughter, eating fish with my mother (in pursuit of the body beautiful of course), and sipping on ice cold wine, just because I can.
And so the moral: please chaps, next time you all decide to send me flowers, either get the address right, or alternatively, ensure that the driver knows how to get to my home...
Thursday 7 February 2013
Life in the very fast lane...: Forgive me for I have sinned. It has been several...
Life in the very fast lane...: Forgive me for I have sinned. It has been several...: Forgive me for I have sinned. It has been several weeks since my last blog. As most of you are aware, I have always wanted to be a full-t...
Forgive me for I have sinned. It has been several weeks since my last blog.
As most of you are aware, I have always wanted to be a full-time writer - actually ever since watching Jessica Fletcher as a child in "Murder she Wrote" - what a perfect combination of life in a small town in Upstate New York, being a full-time writer, and, to boot, being able to solve murders. This to me seemed like the perfect life, and being able to combine a bit of "spy/investigative work" with writing, well, I was sold. And so, since this desire found it's way to me, I have heard about this thing called "writer's block". In a way, I wanted to have that too, because then that would mean, I was a writer!
Sadly, I am not at a point yet where I am able to be a full-time writer, and still, in the past few weeks - writer's block, big time.
I have had things happen I thought I could blog about, but I lacked motivation. I wondered if I were depressed, then I got over that thought, I wondered what it was, for several days actually, and still, no conclusion.
Now it is the beginning of a new day, and the end of a work week, and hey presto, I have found the motivation I have been waiting for.
Upon waking this morning and hearing that a dear friend has moved on to a better life; and tomorrow being the fifth anniversary of the death of one of my closest, closest friends, one does tend to look around and wonder why life can be so fragile for some. For me personally, I have not really feared an early demise - mainly because "only the good die young", so I know I am pretty safe. However, the death of someone way too early in their path, certainly does force one to reflect, and be grateful for the life going on around us all - a life that continues to tick and tock away.
This whole thought process got me thinking about something known as "random acts of kindness". And this I have been faced with recently. I was at a traffic light earlier in the week where a blonde woman was standing with a sign, begging. This is not what we would call a normal sighting. I studied her - she was about my age (young!!), but looked weathered, and very tired. There were two African gentlemen in a car, and it was they who unwound their windows and gave her money. I was so touched on her behalf. What a brilliant show of humanity, and such proof that many of us have moved on from the atrocities of this country's past.
The following day it was "Sandwich Wednesday" at school - were we are all encouraged to make an extra sandwich when we are doing the usual lunch boxes, and then drop off the sandwich for the local soup kitchen. I walked with my daughter to drop off my I am sure very average sandwich, and saw that someone had put a sandwich into the box, but also a small bag of jelly tots with it. Another touching moment. How thoughtful and kind of that child or mum, for including an extra treat for someone less fortunate than ourselves.
And to end, with a moral of course: life can be long for some, too short for others, but those small random acts of kindness are the moments that we will recall for a long while, and are the moments we should remember fondly forever.
Rest in peace Colin Douglas and Mandi Leicher - forever with us in our memories.
As most of you are aware, I have always wanted to be a full-time writer - actually ever since watching Jessica Fletcher as a child in "Murder she Wrote" - what a perfect combination of life in a small town in Upstate New York, being a full-time writer, and, to boot, being able to solve murders. This to me seemed like the perfect life, and being able to combine a bit of "spy/investigative work" with writing, well, I was sold. And so, since this desire found it's way to me, I have heard about this thing called "writer's block". In a way, I wanted to have that too, because then that would mean, I was a writer!
Sadly, I am not at a point yet where I am able to be a full-time writer, and still, in the past few weeks - writer's block, big time.
I have had things happen I thought I could blog about, but I lacked motivation. I wondered if I were depressed, then I got over that thought, I wondered what it was, for several days actually, and still, no conclusion.
Now it is the beginning of a new day, and the end of a work week, and hey presto, I have found the motivation I have been waiting for.
Upon waking this morning and hearing that a dear friend has moved on to a better life; and tomorrow being the fifth anniversary of the death of one of my closest, closest friends, one does tend to look around and wonder why life can be so fragile for some. For me personally, I have not really feared an early demise - mainly because "only the good die young", so I know I am pretty safe. However, the death of someone way too early in their path, certainly does force one to reflect, and be grateful for the life going on around us all - a life that continues to tick and tock away.
This whole thought process got me thinking about something known as "random acts of kindness". And this I have been faced with recently. I was at a traffic light earlier in the week where a blonde woman was standing with a sign, begging. This is not what we would call a normal sighting. I studied her - she was about my age (young!!), but looked weathered, and very tired. There were two African gentlemen in a car, and it was they who unwound their windows and gave her money. I was so touched on her behalf. What a brilliant show of humanity, and such proof that many of us have moved on from the atrocities of this country's past.
The following day it was "Sandwich Wednesday" at school - were we are all encouraged to make an extra sandwich when we are doing the usual lunch boxes, and then drop off the sandwich for the local soup kitchen. I walked with my daughter to drop off my I am sure very average sandwich, and saw that someone had put a sandwich into the box, but also a small bag of jelly tots with it. Another touching moment. How thoughtful and kind of that child or mum, for including an extra treat for someone less fortunate than ourselves.
And to end, with a moral of course: life can be long for some, too short for others, but those small random acts of kindness are the moments that we will recall for a long while, and are the moments we should remember fondly forever.
Rest in peace Colin Douglas and Mandi Leicher - forever with us in our memories.
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