Brrrr

So, finally I am on vacation! I arrived in Washington DC after a pretty good flight (as good as any flight stuck in economy is ever going to be), and here I am in chilly DC. Well, technically Arlington, Virginia, where Bill's house is. First thing upon arrival in DC - getting a bagel with cream cheese from Einstein Bros - heaven. And then just to add to my joy, I had Mexican food for dinner, at Baja Fresh. Aah, Mexican food, what a joy. The jet lag really kicked my ass, but after a good night's sleep (barring the bit where I forgot to turn off the sound on my cellphone, and was woken at 2am by SMS messages), I was ready to face the world. A world covered in snow, that is.

I am sure Bill and his fellow Arlingtonians (is that a word?) will say, enough already, but for this "snow virgin" from South Africa, perfectly enchanting. And chilly. But I love it.

Had an okay (read: bland) breakfast with Kelly and Robert, it was off to the National Portrait Gallery (across from the Verizon Centre), and then a movie (Black Swan). Black Swan was quite intense, but Bill and I are still speculating about much of the meaning of it. However, I just read Shaun de Waal's review in the Mail & Guardian, and it certainly helped with the analysis, but not maybe the full understanding. All in all, I thought it was well acted. At least now I know what all the fuss is about, mainly the awards for Natalie Portman.

Now I am comfortably ensconced on the couch listening to the news, and of course typing this. Even better, all this domesticity is accompanied by a glass of wine. Aah, life sure is good. Just before you get too envious, the downer in this picture is what I am listening to: the sound of construction. Even at 18:15 and pitch darkness, hard labour (and I am guessing hard labourers) is happening right across the street. New house. Noisy.

Anyway, next up is trying to finally secure some bus tickets and hotel accommodation in New York city. Am keen to explore New York - I have only been there once, for a few hours, and all I did was walk around, have lunch at Times Square, and go up the Empire State Building. I am keen to go back and explore more - and have, according to Hitesh, the best bagels in the world.

So, from my position of bliss, signing off.

Early mornings

Okay, so this is how you know you are getting old. I had to get up at 03:30 this morning to catch a 06:00 flight to Cape Town. It is now exactly 12 hours later (15:30), and I am completely exhausted. It seems the vitamins have had little to no impact. My flight back to Lanseria is only at 20:00, getting home around 23:00. I am going to hit that bed, hard.

For anyone who has not been to the Lanseria Airport - do go. It is a lovely place, and the terminal is very comfortable, with lots of power outlet.

Anyway, have to run - am on a call.


See you!

Leopards and spots

So, here I am on a lovely Tuesday evening. It is 22:20, and I just finished working. So, how did I end up in the same position as I did last year? I guess the holiday is truly over. Sigh.

Anyway, while on the work front I seem not to be making any progress, I have made another decision that will be a change. I have decided as far as possible to follow a vegetarian diet. Actually, technically it is more a pescetarian diet. I am not ready to give up fish, and shellfish especially. Not saying I will never eat another piece of meat or chicken, but as said, when I can control it, meat is out. So, maybe a leopard can change its spots. Time will tell.

I suppose the question then is why? So many reasons - health, environmental, and maybe even a little financial. I hope this will make a difference not just in my life, but also be a small contribution to the environment.

Anyway, as you can see, there is nothing significant happening in my life right now, so, I will not bore you any longer.

I did discover something really stupid today: I booked my flights to the US to visit friends that overlap with the dates of the U2 concert in South Africa. Aagh. Maybe I will see if it is possible to change my tickets. Idiot.

Anyway, signing off.

Wedding Day

So, the wedding happened, and went off without a hitch. The weather was pretty grim on Saturday morning - raining, overcast, wet. How much more descriptive can I be? Anyway, because the wedding was happening on the beach, it had to be moved to 13:00, and thank goodness, that worked out really well, because the weather cleared up, and we had glorious sunshine!

Anyway, the ceremony was short and sweet, lunch (and especially dessert) was fabulous, and everyone was happy. So, here we are. I have a new brother-in-law. Other than that, the highlights were seeing my uncle Dion, and my cousins Gene and Vincent - all 3 miracle workers who managed to pull together a wedding (including a photographer) within 2 days. Who knows that they could accomplish in a week? They could rule the world!

I also managed to spend a lot of time with my godchild Tylo, who is such a little cutie. It was wonderful - except for Saturday evening when she threw one of her famous 5-star tantrums. Boy, she is loud. Anyway... it was still fun to spend time with her.

So, everyone, have a fantastic 2011!

Change she is a-comin'

So, I am about to gain a new brother-in-law! My sister Grazietta met someone recently, and is taking the brave step of getting married on 1 January, in Cape Town.

This is something I have really struggled with. I am such a cautious person, that it sounds frightening that she could make such a life-changing decision after only being together for less than 2 months. My sister is Khloe Kardashian! :) (And yes, it is a little sad that I know enough about Khloe Kardashian in order to make that comparison).

After all the drama she has been through in the last year, she certainly deserves to be happy, and I hope this works out, and that they are together for the next 50 years.

The upside of this is that I get to spend New Year's in Cape Town, including seeing my uncle Dion (my mother's brother) and his two children - cousins I only see once every 10 years it would seem. That should be fun. Though it is a little sad that the few family members I have I rarely see.

So, this leads me to reflect on the end of the year, and new beginnings. I do not know what 2011 will bring, but I am looking forward to it. 2010 has been a tumultuous year - full of ups and downs - including a change in job - apparently one of the most stressful things you can do.

Maybe I will in 2011 finally throw caution to the wind, and start using up those miles and money and do some travel - assuming my work will let me.

Anyway, see you all in 2011!


Celicia

PS: The new brother-in-law, his name is Jacques.

So, 41.

Do you ever have the sense that you have somehow lost track of your life? How did I go from being 21 to 41. I am not suggesting the intervening 20 years did not have its many ups and thankfully fewer lows, but still, how did this happen? How can I be 41 and feel no older than maybe 34? Incidentally, I loved my 30s.

But then again, I think of all the amazing things that have happened in the last 20 years. The release of Nelson Mandela. The first democratic elections - and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as President - still one of the most exhilarating days of my life. The change in government. Me starting my first job at the Department of Health. Becoming an adult. Owning property. Owning, stuff. Making wonderful new friends. Keeping a few old friends from my University days. Travel (sadly, mostly for work). My first trip to Cape Town. Seeing a Black president in the USA. Seeing women rise to prominence in so many spheres of society.

There have also been the downs.

Losing my father. I miss him every day.
So many wars and natural disasters - made so real by the fact that the media is now so pervasive that I could sit in my parents' lounge and watch wars. But sadly the media has been largely absent from some of the wars conducted on my continent.
Drifting apart from good friends.
Losing so many people to violence, including my brother-in-law.

All in all though, I would have to say that the ups far outweigh the downs. Life has been good to me. I have a home, a job, good friends, and everything I need. Would I change anything? Sure. I would love to take a sabbatical from my life for a year, and just travel the world. Can I then take a moment to say to the travel industry: stop discriminating against single travellers.

Where would I go? Everywhere. I would go back to Cuba, and travel all of South America. Tibet. Cambodia. Thailand. Old Eastern Europe. Alaska.

I would finally learn Italian. It is a sacrilege that I cannot speak the language. And maybe learn another language. Something like Spanish.

Anyway, how did this start again? Oh yes, reflecting on being 41. Wondering how I got here. Glad that I did though.

I hope the next 20 will be as exciting. And maybe scientists will focus on the most important things - a permanent cure for grey hair. And permanent, painfree hair removal.

Oh yes, and world peace.

Perfect Day... with not so perfect endings

28 December 2010


Today I did something I have not done in the longest time. I started and finished a book in one long read! Well, okay, not quite. I did read 8 pages last night, but then picked it up this morning, and the book was so engaging, that I just could not put it down. Now granted, it is a bit of a romantic story, but very engaging, and I had a blast reading it. The book is One Day by David Nicholls. Loved it.


This was after I had another what I thought was a perfect day yesterday, which ended in disaster. The day started off just great. A foot massage at my favourite Thai place (SweetFace), and then 2 movies in a row. RED - and let's be honest, not a great movie, but the chance of seeing Bruce Willis and John Malkovich in one movie, with Morgan Freeman tossed in as well - is really the only reason to watch this movie. After that I watched the final of the Stieg Larsson trilogy - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. I thought the last movie was actually the weakest of the 3, especially because they had to cut so much out from the books - which I really loved. In fact, I think that was what I was reading over Christmas last year - all 3 books.


Then, dinner at Tasha's, including getting my favourite dessert (pumpkin fritters) as a take-away. So, finally got home quite late - well, Elsje's house (I am house-sitting for her), and that is when the wheels came off. I discovered one of the dogs, Bruni, dead in the pool. Who knows when it happened, but needless to say this was a terrible way to end my day. Of course it was shocking for me, but what was worse was having to call Elsje and tell her about it. It was just horrible. I still have trouble even looking at the pool, and I am not sure I can get myself back into it. Maybe I will try tomorrow.


Anyway, I will try for another perfect day tomorrow. It can only get better from here on. Soon I will start dinner - and for those who know me, yes, I can sometimes cook. Pasta and a simple tomato sauce, I think.


Anyway, in case you have not noticed, yes, I have not posted anything in a year. I will do better. I promise. That is of course supposing I have something to say! :)


Keep reading, use sunblock, and drink more wine. Life is short.




Celicia