“There aint no party like my gran’s tea party …” July 15, 2008

I’ve never really been fond of hosting parties at my place of abode, mostly because i’m terrifed of them sucking, which sucks in itself.

Last Saturday I had a farewell / birthday party (nice to kill two birds with one stone!) on what was possibly the coldest day of winter so far! I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw how miserable it was … grey skies, mist, drizzle and cold air … how ironic. At any rate, I did warn people to dress warm and we provided numerous fires that hopefully kept everyone reasonably warm! At the very least, it looked a bit like Michelle said – a nice night out in the Drakensburg!!

The boys attempt to look good whilst braaing .. huh!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the best hostess in the world – I’m far to panicky and spend most of the time running around trying to see if everyone is having a good time. I think that I’ve gotten better in time, but that hasn’t quite stopped my friend Michelle from singing “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to!” from time to time when she sees me in a state of panic at a party!

This time however, everything somehow just worked .. not sure if it was the combination of people, the music, the atmosphere – it couldn’t have been the weather! But it was a fantastic experience and I enjoyed every minute. I’m so thankful to everyone who came, and I really did miss everyone who wasn’t there.

This week has just been mad, planning too many goodbyes and thinking of ways to get to see everyone. It is still mind-boggling to me that in one week I will be on a plane to London. It just seems so crazy!

The video that inspired this blog post’s title … Flight of the Conchords rock out with “Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros”, watch it or be square!

Et tu… March 5, 2008

I usually refrain from making posts about the bad things. It’s not in my nature, and I’m uncomfortable creating arguments based on feelings. I feel something about this city, and I will be the first to admit that I am too emotional in my response to be able to defend myself against topics like crime, blackouts, corrupt government etc., rationally. Cop-out? Perhaps.

This is why I struggle to react to blogs like Why South Africa Sucks. What can I express other than a feeling of revulsion, distaste and anger? How can I defend this country against views that are so foreign to me, despite their attempts at rationalisation?

Someone once asked me to explain how proactive I was being in making this country a better place. This was my attempt at a response. In time maybe, I can get better at this…