On a brighter note

I’ve been cleaning some of the junk out of my computer since it’s been getting harder and harder to find things lately, and I came across this hidden in a folder:

I love it! Particularly the dancing!

And I totally respect them for performing so wholeheartedly even though they aren’t the most… conventionally talented.

In other news:

• I’m working like a maniac at the moment and may even be making progress!
• Flu is attempting to take hold. I’m defying it with vitamin water, peanut-butter and exercise. So far so good. Pass the medlemon.
• A bunch of awesome people are going on holiday with me in June! Yay!
• Since yesterday I’ve had a flood of support from people who are aware of the situation of much drama. It’s a relief to know that I’m not overreacting as badly as I’d thought, and from people getting angry, to people offering to swing cacti to general supportiveness I’ve realised (again) just how lucky I am***.
• The mega-massive spider-bite (didn’t I mention that?) has stopped swelling so much, so I no longer have a second chin sticking out of the side of my real one. Thank you anthisan, antihistamines and a LOT of germolene!
• Our next-door neighbour died. I ever really knew him more than the occasional wave when I saw him walking his dog and stuff, but it was a real shock.
• Went back to tae bo on Monday. Ow. So awesome!
• Saw How to Train your Dragon on Tuesday. I want a dragon! Any crazy scientists out there feel like making me one?
• Some idiot has brought his vuvuzela along today. I may have to wrap it around his neck soon. Pass the cactus?

Have a wonderful weekend! I’m going to be MARKING! Woo-hoo!!!

Maybe they’ll get around to paying me one day, it’s only 6 weeks too late already…

***OK, OK,  fine, situation in nutshell: the social engineers out there had other plans for the Plus-1 until I came along and are attempting to dig for information and trash-talk me to my friends, as well as making some interesting claims on my being nasty, manipulative and ‘changing’ people. Like it’s any of their business. After a few months of this it got a bit upsetting. Pass the cactus. Please.

until further notice

It's been a weird week. I've been getting lots of sleep but not feeling rested, and I've been asked repeatedly why I'm so pale and deflated-looking.

Thanks guys.

I have a 21st tomorrow, these children make me feel old…

The vet has been overrun with crazy cat-ladies. i agree that their work is valuable, I just wish they didn’t feel the need to share the awesomeness of their hard work.

In other news, life is pretty good, just not particularly noteworthy right now. I’ll try to write more next week (when I’ve had some more sleep).

Have an awesome weekend!

Ooooo-AAAAAAAA woooo-AAAAaaaaaa

Mango Groove is on the radio and the guys at the vet are singing along. From the last time this happened I know that I’ll be hearing random ‘Wooo-aaaaaaaaah’s from the back off the practice for the rest of the day.

there is a lump on the side of my tyre, which one of them pointed out when I arrived. I blame the gazillion potholes in Joburg. Next week is payday at least so I’m hoping to make it until then and then get it replaced. I should probably get new tyres all around, I’ve had these ones for a longlonglong time.

I swear the vets are eskimos. Every day when I arrive the air-conditioning is pumping out air at a blistering 17 degrees. If I decide that turning blue isn’t so much fun and turn it up it mysteriously migrates back to 17 or 18 degrees by the end of the day anyway. I’m the only person I know who wore a jacket to work all the way through a South African summer.

I’ve been reading updates from a friend who is doing fieldwork in Botswana. It makes me want to go back on fieldwork now, being in Joburg has been a bit exhausting lately.

My birthday was fun! I made fudge, got sung to by my students, got to see my brother and sister-in-law for dinner (the joy of my family being ‘nice’ and not interrogating the plus-1 in favour of awkward silence is indescribable) and got a fantastic new hat from Candice! And a cactus that needs naming…

Which led to a mega hat-dilemma on Saturday when I had spammed my friends (they don’t RSVP so I send emails until they do) to meet up for dinner/drinks and I couldn’t pick a hat… So I took both of them!

It was a fun evening, although unfortunately several people (Oracle included) cancelled, pleading laryngitis – and from the attempted singing over the phone I was very inclined to believe her. Tamara and TSC came along which was fantastic and she gave me ANOTHER hat and some earrings as well as giving me boundless entertainment when she knew all about the people sitting around her and they had no clue who she was! Fortunately I had mentioned this blog to a couple of them so it wasn’t a total shock!

From there we went off goth-clubbing where we met my awesome cousin and Mr Thursday and I managed to end up knighting people with a ‘magic’ wand (I still have no idea who owned it originally, or who took it away when I left in on the table a few hours later).

We also met a vaguely creepy giant (he was relaxing by standing with one hand on the bar ad the other on the ceiling) who very kindly agreed to pose with the shortest person in our group. She didn’t appreciate my volunteering her as such, but it made for a memorable picture! That and the three hats in circulation…

And now I’m all birthdayed out. Did I mention I got drumsticks?

Rock on :)

Because all the cool kids are doing it

I’m feeling lazy, rushing around getting stuff done before work this afternoon, and recovering from going out for ‘a little bit’ last night and getting home at 1:30. Whoops.

So I figured as the cool kids in the bloggy-world are doing I would quiz you guys!

1. how are you today? I am doing well, just tired and a bit sad that it’s my last day of ‘early twenties’ – I intend to mild the ‘mid-twenties’ label until I hit 29-and-364-days. Just so you know.
2. What annoys you most right now? For me it’s bad drivers, I seem to have a way of attracting them
3. Chocolate or vanila? I had to ask. Vanilla!!!
4. What would your reaction be to purple snow? Probably hide under the blankets until I’d seen if it made people’s fingers melt. Then make snow angels. Be grateful I wasn’t in the yellow snow region.
5. Favourite song at the moment? I’ve been rediscovering Garbage lately and had the song ‘Drive you Home’ on repeat.
6. What’s making you smile today? The puppy is visiting! Puppypuppypuppy!
7. Sword or crossbow? That’s a tough one… I’m loving the sword stuff right now, but crossbows really do send a nice ‘leave me alone’ message. I think longbows are pretty, but could be inconvenient on public transport.
8. What do you want for Christmas? A trapeze! I’ve been watching ‘The Flyer’ again.
9. Sorry, I had to end it here!
10. just kidding!

You know what to do! Answer in comments pleasepleaseplease!

K, baai!

Llama-llama duck!

Leia is going on a real adventure to Malawi and Mocambique. I’m working semi-full/part-time at the moment so I wouldn’t be seeing her much anyway, but I’ll still miss the mouse-munchkin who sets tents up with me and made awesome coffee this morning when I was semi-comatose from oversleeping and having to teach for two hours without added caffeine.

My family is taking me (plus one) to dinner for my birthday on Friday, and I’m half-heartedly making plans to celebrate on Saturday but not really getting into it. Too much to sort out elsewhere! Plus, why celebrate impending decrepiditude?

Can you watch this without it getting stuck in your head?

How cool?

Yip, day in the life…

Because we CAN!

so Leia and C and I spent the morning putting up tents in the lab. Why? Well why not? People seemed oddly confused by our behaviour, although Candice came along for tea and was much more accepting than the odd postdoc who couldn’t quite figure us out. I’m beginning to think tat the people in the building view our lab as somewhere scary to be avoided…

Tent number 1

The trusty coffee-machine!

Leia checking for scorpions (that tent hasn’t been used since the Kalahari and we all know that those little guys are tough and stuff.

“All clear!”

 

“the ground is rather hard’ (yip, I actually said that.)

 

A tight squish, plus we matched our outfits tot he tent and had to show it off, shoes and all…

 

Tent 2, and by now we had out Rambo-gear in place.

 

Emo-face

Rambo-face

Can’t… hold… Rambo…Face…

Son of Rambow-face

Golf with tent-poles

 

It’s been a long day already…

“What ARE you doing?”

Yip, really. It’s stitched into the lining nogal!