Goodbye 2010

In about 11 hours’ time, the clock will strike midnight and 2010 will be a thing of the past. To be honest, if I look back at this year, I can’t really remember much – there’s just two major things that stand out for me:

(1) I travelled overseas for the first time – which required kicking myself in the arse and throwing caution to the wind. It was rather liberating, and aided in proving to myself, once and for all, that it’s more than ok to think of yourself once in a while and not consider the opinions of others.

(2) (And this is definitely the most exciting thing that happened in 2010…) – I met the love of my life and he just so happened to feel the same way about me. It’s been wonderful, but it’s not come without its own challenges. One thing’s for sure – the path I’ve generally travelled has never been easy – there’s just always been something along the way – even if it was just a teeny weeny little speedbump. But it’s ok – somehow, they’re always overcome.

What will 2011 bring? I have no idea and quite honestly, I don’t want to think about it. I’m not the type to draw up a list of resolutions just because it happens to be the end of one year and the beginning of another. One shouldn’t just make goals and resolutions because it’s a tradition – but rather – do it because it’s really something you want, whether it’s 1 January or 23 October – doesn’t really matter.

What I will try to do though, in 2011, is attempt to learn how to take things in my stride…one step…or half a step…at a time.

Happy New Years and all the best for what lies ahead! Cheers!

 

The Twilight Zone

Uuuuurm, so there’s not much to say – I feel like I’m in a bit of a Twilight Zone at the moment (and no, I’m not referring to Twilight…as in the movie with the vampires and such…which, by the way, I love)….anyway, I digress – that always happens.

So where was I – ah yes, Twilight Zone. You know that time after Christmas and before New Years – it’s almost like the equivalent of No Man’s Land – it’s like a few days that have just been created to annoy you, because Christmas is over and now you’re waiting for New Years and then….just like THAT….it’s the beginning of a new year and you’re back at work, sitting in front of your PC (well, that’s how it is for me anyway), and you’re already planning the next Christmas – except, this time, you swear you’re going to get your Christmas shopping done 11 months before Christmas. Yeah, good luck with that.

GH’s been in Prague this last week and it’s been tough on us both. We’re used to being in contact on a daily basis, but this past week our contact has been sporadic and it’s taken its toll on both of us. But today we managed to chat via Skype for the first time in the last few days, and it was awesome 🙂 Absence really does make the heart grow fonder 😀 Even the sound of his voice made my heart melt completely and I sat in my lounge on the couch, like a dork with a HUGE smile on my face – if I were sitting in public, people would think there’s something wrong with me – so it’s just as well I was at home.

I managed to chat to his mate too and about a minute into the conversation he said: “Don’t worry, I’m keeping GH in line, *boy giggle*”, to which I aptly replied, “Good, because if you don’t, I’ll whip your arse…you’ll both get a beating from me.” Muahahahahahahahaha!

Aaaaaand just as I was typing out this  (rather boring, forgive me!) post, GH surprised me with a video call! 😀 Yay! We never get to video call when he’s home in Berlin because his webcam doesn’t work – so you can imagine the extent of the dorky smile that’s on my face NOW! Ha!! I shall sleep in complete peace and happiness tonight!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve:

I attended a 1hr communion service at Hillsong Cape Town – and it was lovely! I’d been feeling a little low and both emotionally and physically tired – and the service completed lifted my spirits. It was so refreshing to be able to open myself up and make myself totally vulnerable before the Lord – and just lift my hands and thank Him for this life…and His unfailing love.

Phil, our pastor, mentioned something that gave me goosebumps: “God accepts you just as you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way.”

After the service, I joined my parents and sister for Christmas Eve supper – yuummmmmmm! I typical South African braai (…barbecue…). I hadn’t eaten the entire day, so needless to say I stuffed myself…whooooops!

I then headed off home and woke up at 3am to chat to GH 🙂 He’d had a Christmas Eve party with friends and had attended Midnight Mass at the Berlin Dome. We chatted and then opened our gifts to one another together. He LOVED what I got for him..and I friggin LOOOOOVED what he got for me:

– DVDs….in German…so that I practice the language, lol! And a little German learning DVD thingie.

– A box of my favourite German chocolates (Hanuta and Knoppers!!!!) – he knows me so well – he’s attention to detail astounds me!

– Then…the BIG one…he’d spent a few weeks and many hours selecting and editing photos from our August holiday in Berlin, Rome and Greece…and had them published as a lovely photo coffee table book. Yes…do I hear you saying “awwwwww sweeeet”? Of course, because it is sweet and so beautiful!

What did I get him…:

– 2 African art pieces for his wall

– Salt and pepper shakers in the shape of two little people hugging…so noenoes! (Note: noenoes = cute)

– An aluminium water bottle with contemporary Christian art on it (the theme I’d chosen for the bottle was that of rockstar…because GH is a rockstar! So there’s images of guitars, etc on it.)

– And the main present – a big ceramic beer mug with an African theme – the main graphic on it is a lion. He loves all things Africa – so he loved this gift 😀

By the time we said good bye to one another and reminded one another of how much we love and miss each other, it was 5.06am in South Africa! The sun had risen and the morning birds were already chirping!!!

Christmas Day:

I woke up far too early….9am…and met GH online – he left for Prague today and wanted to say good bye. He was online, but was clearly still sleeping! Lol – not a morning person at all…one of the differences between us 🙂

– Then it was off to my Grandmother’s house where I proceeded to how the family what GH had given me – the book brought tears to everyone’s eyes and their reactions were very heartwarming and unexpected – let’s just say GH earned 1 million more brownie points and is now unofficially-officially part of the family…! Muahahahahaha! 😀

– I ate far too much and then headed home and SLEPT!

All in all, it’s been a pretty good Christmas.

The last I heard from GH…he sms’d me a few minutes ago to say he’s passing through some place with an unpronounceable name!

 

24/12/2010 Cape Town Snapshot

:)

Fake Typing

Today is Fake Typing Day. Why? Because in exactly 5.63 minutes, I’ll have completed my work for the year and then I’ll sit around and wait until The Boss says, “Ya’ll can go home – have a happy Christmas!” – which, sadly, will not be in exactly 5.63 minutes, but more like, 210 minutes *sigh*. So, in an attempt to pretend that I’m actually busy at my desk (since my team leader sits in the same aisle), I have to Fake Type.

It’s an art form really, not everyone can do it – and me…I’m a pro! Luckily enough, as a result of having spent 4 years working as a transcriptionist and copytyper, I can type without looking at the keyboard and I’m pretty fast – and this just makes your Fake Typing far more realistic. So when a colleague says something, you can carry on typing while looking at him/her and replying – and this always impresses people.

Part of Fake Typing also involves specific facial expressions and gestures to make it more believable:

(a)  The Thoughtful Stare – look at the computer screen and squint a little; you may even want to add an “Aaaaah ok” to that:

*type type type…*Thoughtful Stare*…”aaaahhh ok”….type type type*

(b) The Occasional Sigh – you can add a little muttering under your breath when you do this…

*type type type…”*Occasional Sigh* stupid grrr stupid mfmfpfmpm”…type type type*

(c) The Neck Roll – this is a good one! Doing this makes you look like a hard working employee and your boss will think, “Sheesh – she’s a machine! I clearly should consider organizing neck massages for the staff.” (Ok, perhaps the last part of that sentence is me being over-optimistic). You can even combine the Neck Roll with an Occasional Sigh and a Thoughtful Stare – the possible combinations are endless:

*type type type *Neck Roll* *Occasional Sigh*…type type type…*Thoughtful Stare*…”Aaaaah ok”…type type type*

(d) The “My-back-is-so-sore-from-working-so-hard” Stretch – try to do this at least 4 times a day – and if you can, then combine it with a Neck Roll. The combination sends the message that you’re just so darn hardworking it’s ridiculous! (And a stretch is always good anyway):

*type type type* *My-back-is-so-sore-from-working-so-hard Stretch* OR *type type type* *My-back-is-so-sore-from-working-so-hard Stretch* *Neck Roll*

Just remember, when Fake Typing, nothing you write is supposed to make sense, so don’t worry if you just fill a Word document with random words, type out the lyrics to your favourite song, or write about how bored you are. Just be sure never to accidentally send what you write to anyone via email or as an attachment – all Fake Typing documents should be deleted when your day is done. And if someone comes to your desk while you’re Fake Typing, minimize the document – you have to perfect the Alt+Tab function – practice it until you can do it in your sleep!

Verbal diarrhoea

Verbiage is not an uncommon term when it comes to my personality – it’s very rare that I’d be at a loss for words – though…since GH has entered my life, it’s starting to happen more often. Probably the result of simply not comprehending, to the fullest extent, how amazing he is. But now and then random words pop into my head and I jot them down…and what they form are little poems or arbitrary sayings. Here’s one such poem that I wrote – with GH in mind…obviously 😉

 

so far from home

on my way to another land

excited and tired, I arrived, traveling alone

and then you took my hand

it was a whirlwind of emotions

with a thousand little smiles

we quickly set the wheels in motion

and I wouldn’t hesitate to again travel all those miles

for you

to see you once again

to get the chance to touch your skin

to listen to your heartbeat

to feel the rush of love you create within

for you

i’d try to sing a song

if I could carry a decent tune

to explain that I hope it’s not too long

before I lie with you under the stars and moon

i’d defy space and time

just to be with you

and if it guaranteed you’d be mine

then I’d be yours, it’s true

for you

for a chance to hold you

in the early morning hours

for a chance to feel your touch

and dance with you under love’s endless showers

i’d travel all that way again

definitely, without a doubt

i’d stand waiting on the train platform with my suitcase

knowing that it’s me and you this is all about…

for us

so close your eyes

and just imagine

my endless, joyous cries

about the fact that this has finally happened

believe what I say

and never doubt it

it’s there with you I wish to lay

just always know it

 

 

22/12/2010 Cape Town Snapshot

A little humour…

Presents, presents!!

I’m super excited because I received one of the best ever surprises this past weekend – my Christmas box from GH! I’m like a kid in a candy store…no, in a toy store…no no, in a candy and toy store! It’s great being able to receive something that makes the insides of your tummy do somersaults.

A friend of GH’s came to Cape Town for a wedding and brought the (4kg!) box down here with her. So on Sunday I met up with her at the hotel where she was staying and picked the box up – she was almost just as excited as I was about the present. 🙂

My instructions from GH were to open the box – inside would be things for my parents and sister…and then there would be 3 other wrapped gifts that I’m not allowed to open until Christmas! But you see – this is the problem…telling me not to open the gifts until Christmas is like putting a bowl of yummy food in front of a puppy and telling it that, under no circumstances, is it allowed to eat. It’s impossible! But I’m surviving…and I haven’t opened the gifts yet – I will wait until Christmas. In the meantime, I’ve shaken, prodded, probed, squeezed, and smelt the gifts…but alas, I have NO clue what they are *sigh*. At the moment they’re sitting on a table in my lounge, taunting me, sniggering and laughing, because they know I can’t open them.

When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was always a special time – I remember it very fondly. The night before Christmas always seemed so magical – as the sun started to set and it got a little darker, my sister and I would become more and more excited as the time drew nearer that we’d be allowed to open our presents. We didn’t care much for whatever else was going on around us. As I grew older, Christmas traditions unfortunately changed and Christmas Eve fell by the wayside. And when I’d moved out of home, I remember trying to establish my own Christmas Eve tradition – I’d sit by myself, watch the little fairy lights in my window, and open up some presents from friends. This Christmas Eve will be a little more special though, because I’ll be able to open GH’s gifts! And honestly, I don’t really care what they are – the fact that they’re from him just makes them the best gifts ever!

GH and I wanted to open the gifts we’ve sent to one another together (well…together being ‘online’), but that may not be possible, unfortunately. GH is heading to Prague for Christmas/New Years with a friend of his who’s visiting from Namibia. He wants to try and organise a flight for the 25th, so that we can have the 24th together, but it’s not looking like that’s going to be possible. One thing is for sure though – this is the first and last Christmas we’ll spend apart 🙂

I’m not sure how it’s possible, but every day I fall more and more in love with the person that GH is. He’s just amazing and he’s suited 120% to me, and me to him. Honestly – he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me…so much so that if I were to choose between Christmas presents and him, I’d forfeit ever getting another Christmas present ever!!!!! Yip! 😀