Mobile Blogging again

So the desert or posts should be over now that I have got my mobile
blogging set up again (I hope...)

I did a bad thing last week. I know it was a bad thing because I am
still thinking about it.

A little background first. I went to an All Girls school. In my
experience, as girls go through puberty they go through a highly
competative streak. It is something to do with feeling completely
awkward as you transition from being a girl to a grown up that makes
girls so mean. Mean in the sense that they can make peace with their
own funny feelings by making others feel more awkward.

Pity the fools whose parents haven't got them shaving at 12 years old
yet. Pity the fool who still uses any vaguely childish terms. Pity the
fool who accidentally shows a slightly unrefined eating habit (I once
took out my dental plate in front of my friends at lunch... Oh the
horror.) Pity the fool whose hair sticks at a funny angle. Pity the
fool who makes a funny body noise (I once sneezed three times in a
row... Oh the horror!!)

We won't even get into civvies day fashion, I am still traumatised.

So aside from the great sisterhood of being schooled with hundreds of
other strong empowered motivated women... I took a lot of verbal abuse
at school. And as a result, I am extremely sensitive of being talked
down to like a fool. Sensitive to a fault...

So back to my story, (co-incidentally but probably unrelatedly
involving someone I was at school with) ... We had a little feedback
session at work where the big man in the coushy office at the end of
the corridor gives all the staff a motivational speech about how well
he wants the company to do over the next 5 years. And so in
preparation, the patio was swept clean and tidy and the tables all
wiped and shiney-made.

As the talk was to take place in the afternoon, My work colleague and
I went out to grab some lunch and I made the ill choice of a chicken
and mushroom pie... (it is as delicious as the pie crust is messy)

So we went and joined some of the rest of the department on the
aformentioned patio where I realised that my deliciously crumbly was
at risk of getting me shot by the lady who had swept it clean. So as
delicately as possible I politely ravaged my chicken and mushroom
carb-delight over its pie tin and packet.... All much to the
tredipation and subtle disdain of the colleagues (including
aformentioned school aquaintance)

Then the horror happened... A piece of mushroom sauce-d up chicken
fell out of the dish onto the table (GAAASSSPPPP NOOOO!!) To which Her
response was (in a gloriously high mountain to deep valley crushingly
condescending tone) "Fraa-aaa-aannn" *cluck* *sigh* *siii-iiggh*
(emphasis added for dramatic effect)

I saw the big red dots in my eyes and I might as well have heard
"Fran, you are a disappointment to your name, your family, this
company, the country and the entire multiverse. You are a pathetic
worm of a pie eater. Could you have not done better?" This isn't truly
what I heard but I am overly sensitive.

Anyway, despite my boiling rage, I pulled out a napkin and removed the
offending piece of protein and it's resulting sauce splot... And
replied with "Sarah(not her real name), are you practicing your Mommy
voice on me."

Sarah: DEATHLY SILENCE
Fran: awkward laugh

The meal resumed after that (I ate the rest of my pie with my yoghurt
spoon - the yoghurt tasted odd after...) and Sarah left very shortly
after that and hasn't spoken to me since....

I wonder if she's hacked off with my sharp reply...

bad case of the apathetics

I don't know what has got into me lately but I am so not in the mood for anything really. I come home from work everyday with aching back legs and arms and usually a head ache and I am finding it really hard to get excited about planning to do anything after work.


I am embarrassed to admit that I even struggle to generate enthusiasm to see Mr Thursday. I really hope it's not personal. I catch myself longing after days of the past. Spending time with people or not with people under social circumstances that no longer exist. (people get married, get girlfriends, get engaged, get emigrated, get in a huff.... and all leave the social circle)

I seem to just remember the idyllic parts of the past and none of the parts how it was boring or tiresome or a waste of my time and money... but was it really?

Was it really so bad being a lone ranger and trawling the malls by myself, wandering the book stores and CD shops? watching movies on my own with my packet of whispers and small cola?

It feels almost like by head wants to be discontent all the time.

It's like so terribly emo. I do love the colour grey... hmmm... but not the red and black pirate stripes - far too fashionable for me.

Today, well actually Tomorrow...

Tomorrow:
(the bullet theme is stolen from my cousin because who needs original ideas when some one else's is good enough)

• I will finally attend the meeting I have been looking forward to for many many months.
• I will meet a whole group of people who have been respectfully referring to me as "Sir" and "Mr".
• I will be in two minds whether to be delighted or afraid if we receive 50 bids.
• I will be in two minds whether to be relieved or sad if we receive 5 bids.
• I will sadly be feeling enthusiastic about a work related business event.
• I will be eating breakfast courtesy of SAA.
• I will get out of bed at 4am.
• I will most likely oversleep to 4:30am.
• I will think about sneaking out the house without saying good bye... and feel guilty about it.
• I will say good bye before sneaking out the house and endure a sleepy question and answer session because (secretly) my mother cares about me very much an she worries about me.
• I will sleep in a fancy hotel with nice smelling free soap.
• I will pretend that I stay in fancy hotels like all the time and do a little excited happy dance when my room door closes.
• I will check 15 times that I have my passport.
• I will spend all the time between waking (4am...ish) to the meeting starting time (12:15pm exactly) that I have all the correct paperwork.
• I will try make no mistakes.
• I will try not make the awkward-face when I do make mistakes. (it's like the duck face with less bottom lip)
• I will have a great momentous day!... I hope.

Avante with the proceedings!

H to the U to the M to the P to the D to the A to the Y!

(it's a silly spelling phase - I'll move past it soon)

I'm going to go watch Avatar 3D tonight - I hope i enjoy it for all the hype around it. I do suspect, for all teh hype around it I'll probably leave teh cinema and go "so is that all?" ... it usually goes that way with the overhyped films... (cough cough Watchmen ah hem cough)

If I think back the movies taht really made me come out of the theatre speechless - or babbling like a crazy preson who has had her brain switched around... were more movies that didnt get a who lot of commercial hype. It may be the anti-be-like-everyone-else streak in me that makes me disdain popular movies but some indie flicks, some foreign language flicks and some bloody stupid low budget flicks are really great.

For example:

Departures - Foreign Language Oscar winner - Fascinating movie about Japanese burial traditions.
Sunshine Cleaning - Movie about sisters with a happy ending

There are exceptions:
Genua - sad movie about sisters with no real conclusion except for wondering if the little sister deserves to die.

I'm no movie critic so three examples is poor but my memory runs dry - I go to movies once a week so I should have more... but I don't .. too bad for me and my opinions... shows how much my R45 spent really changed my life.

Subtle Corporate Sabotage for overly Creative people

(assuming of course you are able to infiltrate your competators and implement these action causing mayhem and inactivity)

1. Hire someone with flu to sneeze on all the teaspoons left out for making coffee effectively causing all the workaholic coffee adicts to all take sick leave simultaneously.

2. Place the snack-wich machine for toasting the cheese sarmies right under the air conditioning vent so the entire office smells it. Use it 30 minutes before lunch break causing premature lunch cravings.

3. Play an indentifyable sound from an obscure location so that the source can't be found - mewing kitten, ringing phone, lost bird should all do it.

4. Disable the bathroom lights in all the ladies bathrooms except one causing long waiting times to make use of the ladies. No one wants to pee pee in the dark.

5. Send an email out telling everyone there is birthday cake but be suitably vague about the location where it is served leaving hungry junior employees to wander around aimlessly in search of free food.

A little update

I really mean to blog more often but not enough interesting stuff seems to happen to me. So My brother went and proposed to his girlfriend last week (f-i-n-a-l-l-y) No not the one who got married - he has a wife already. No not the one in high school his girlfriend is only 14. The OTHER brother (the one who lives closer to the beach in Natal)

I think it is pretty gosh darned exciting. A little surprised that the new fiance was so surprised... but then maybe it was the event itself that surprised her and not the fact that my brother actually wanted to be legal bound to her. (We date for 6 years... Wait now you want to marry me? uuuum okay!)

So we had a pleasant little family shindig to make for celebrationing. Yaaay yummy food and awkward kitchen creativity! (Russians stuffed with apple slices... hmmmm ditto the pepperdew and feta muffins)

Then on Saturday (we're working backwards in time) I went to movies with Mr Thursday (yeah yeah we're official now... blah blah those who know me too well - stop betting how long it will take me before someones feelings get hurt)... so on Saturday we went to watch Sherlock Holmes. BUT, instead of the impart-ing of my well informed excellent critique on the film, let me tell you, We went to watch it at Clearwater Mall.... in the deep West Rand.

I saw a girl wif a mullet (say moo-lay) wif two boyfriends, one sporting a mohawk and one sporting an impressive muffin top (who says a tight pant are just for the girls?) Altho the girl and the muffin-top man left and 5 minutes later all three returned... meaning the mohawk guy felt left out and snuck past us like a ninja. (Not as ninja like as the head of my Division, but that's a story for another day)

I saw three lemons uuuh I mean girls walk in and give me the ugly eyeball. they were joined by a boyfriend. the two un-connected one proceeded to alternately ugly eyeball the girlfriend and flutter eyes at the boyfriend. ("stroke my knuckle hair more skattie, your friends make me feel like a piece of meat")

I got wolf-whistled on my way into the bathroom - I had to contain myself from asking "Have you boys finished your homework yet?" And then the two chaps in question were joined by a girl as I was leaving the bathroom and they made a macho show of not looking so way totally lame anymore and walked off all three arm in arm in arm. aka the Teen girl sandwich - the chains between the three of them should have been sparking within a few steps.

Anyway, I finished my over sweet cinnamon coffee and scurried off to the movie (I have Mr Thursday convinced for a whole worrying 5 minutes that we were watching Twilight) and found the movie too long and unoriginally obsessed with the black arts (yawn, new plot theme) but by golly it was a good story!

It's harder than it looks

It might be the dull weather overcast weather crushing my spirits but I had a serious case of the Mondays today.

I am looking after my sister and her husband's place this week along with their two very noisy very bouncy little dogs. Which is all fun and games making food and walking the dogs and being responsible. The problem occurs in that myself and my brother house sitting with me are working this week.

The sweet little furry pups do not like being left on their own. And so as dogs are prone to do... They bark and bark and bark.

As we're both at work all day we only know this because the next door neighbour tells us so.... Well in fact corners my younger brother and verbally abuses him.

So following on the neighbours advice, we decided to try keeping the dogs inside today.... They had made a giant poop on the floor even before the doors were locked and they were packed inside. I am SO not looking forward to having to be the first to open the door later this afternoon...

In other news... One of the people I met in Germany in July is in Johannesburg this week and we're going for drinks later. How exciting is that?! I do fear that he will ask some really awkward questions about what I have done to follow up on the promises I made on keeping in contact with the SA girls... I have no idea what I will say to that... :/ but reconnecting with friends is always good fun.

Now to just hope that the depressingly dull weather clears soon, I am not used to going for days without sunshine...