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2003 Diary Archive 17.12.2003 - In The US of A!
It's been so long since I last updated this site, where do I begin!! Well, I finally made it to the United States of America - I was so sure something would go wrong and I wouldn't make it here but I was thankfully mistaken and here I am!!
Sandra and I finally left Jo'burg for New York on the 3rd December. The flight was great! The movie selection wasn't as good as I'd hoped but we had just about the best seats on the plane!! (Not including Business Class of course!) We were upstairs and in front of the emergency exit so we had about 2 meters of leg room!! Which was definitely needed as we were stuck on that baby for 18 hours!!
We arrived in NY to temperatures of 0 degrees C so it was extremely lucky that my mum had bought me a ski jacket ahead of time (thank you mum!) or I would have been an icicle. We had the scariest shuttle ride ever to our hostel - I think that guy was competing with the Soweto taxis - it was like a rollercoaster ride or something! - but somehow we made it in one piece! We got to the hostel at 10.30am but they said our rooms wouldn't be ready until at least 3pm so we left our bags behind and went sightseeing!
We were in NY for 4 days - from Thursday to Monday - and did the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, the WTC Site, Soho, the Rockefeller Centre with the big Christmas Tree, Radio City Hall, the Empire State Building, Central Park, Grand Central Station and a lot of Times Square!! We probably spent the most time in Times Square, we went back there three times! It was soooo cool!
We were also in NY (on the Friday) when a big "Nor'Easter" hit - so we got to experience quite a snowstorm!! It was freezing!! Luckily by Sunday it was all over and we had beautiful weather to do Central Park and the Empire State Building.
Wendy finally arrived on the Monday and we caught a bus straight out to Vermont. (Quite a relief because NY was SOOO EXPENSIVE!!) So, here we are in West Dover!
We're all working at Mount Snow Ski Resort - luckily they employed Sandra and I even though we don't yet have our social security cards - we've applied so hopefully they'll be here soon! I'm working as a cashier in a cafeteria in one of the base lodges. I'm really enjoying it so far although the lunchtime rush is pretty scary!! - a solid line of people at the till for 2 hours!! The perks are good though - a free meal everyday and as much fountain soda, coffee or hot chocolate as we want!
We went skiing yesterday for the first time!!! It was so awesome!! The weather was amazing, definitely the best we've had since we've been here, and the snow was perfect! We couldn't have asked for a better day! Of course I just stayed on the baby slope but I was starting to get the hang of it!! I spent a hell of a lot of time on my ass though!! Every time I started to pick up speed I'd get scared and just sit down! So I covered a lot of ground on my back!! I also spent a lot of time perfecting the art of standing back up while wearing skis! Anyway, by the time I finished for the day I'd been down the slope a total of 5 times without any falls so it's starting to come. Hopefully I'll get in a few lessons next week and I'll soon be flying down the mountain!!
Unfortunately there was one huge black mark on an otherwise great day - Sandra fell on her 2nd time down the slope and tore a ligament in her knee! So we had to get the First Aid people to come and get her and she's now in a brace and on crutches. Hopefully it won't take too long to heal, we don't know yet as she still has to go back to the doctor to be re-examined once it's not so tender.
Well, I could go on and on forever about what's been happening in the last couple of weeks but I think I'll spare you the hours of reading time!! I'll just write a really long email instead! (That's if I get enough energy to do it!)
18.11.2003 - All Done!
Exam Timetable Date AM PM Comment 01 NovEconomics 312Really crap! If I passed it was only by
the skin of my teeth!03 NovEconomics 316Commercial Law 102Ecos: cautiously optimistic :)
Comm Law: dodgy!13 NovIS 302 (Paper 1)Surprisingly good - I'm worried that it didn't seem too difficult. I probably stuffed up without realising it!! 17 NovIS 302 (Paper 2)Really really crappy. 05.11.2003 - 3 Down - 2 to go!
Over half way through exams - what a feeling! This whole last weekend was an absolute nightmare but thankfully its all over!! I took the whole day off yesterday - stayed in bed till 2pm and then vegged in front of the tv last night. So I'm feeling relaxed and ready to tackle I.S!! I've got masses of time so I just hope I can be disciplined enough to sit down and study - I have to crack these last two exams if I want to get into I.S 4. There are 180 of us in I.S 3 and they only take 20 next year!! It's going to be tight!!
01.11.2003 - Extraordinary Waste of Time!
If anyone is planning to go see "The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen": I have only one word for you ... don't! As for exams - I'm just not going to get into that right now.
23.10.2003 - Exams are upon us!
Unfortunately it is yet again that time of year that I dread the most ... exam time. I have tried to be a diligent student for once in my life and so I started studying on Monday (a whole week before swot week starts)!! I can proudly say that if I keep to schedule I will be finished studying for my first exam by the end of Saturday! (Of course this was all cleverly planned to give me an excuse to go and watch "A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" which is opening at Roxbury this weekend!)
If anyone has been reading my web entries lately they will have noticed that I have gone on about my IS project ad nauseum. Sorry bout that, but it was the most important thing going on at the time. Anyway, I was right about our system being a load of s#!t. Our presentation was a DISASTER!! I won't bore you with the gory details, it's all behind us now, but let's just say that I think we might get a big fat 0 for system functionality! Now on to happier things...
We're looking all set for our trip to the US in December!! I now have my visa forms, air ticket, insurance, a valid passport, backpack, money belt, and sleeping bag so all that remains is the travellers cheques and getting the actual visa itself! I've got an appointment at the US consulate in Cape Town on the 20th November so please think of me on the big day 'cos without that visa I ain't goin nowhere! Well I think that's enough procrastinating on my part - if I don't crack open those text books I'm going to get behind schedule and have to miss out on those Extraordinary Gentlemen!!
14.10.2003 - Oh S#@t!
Houston.. we have a problem! - and yes it involves IS again. Today is the day of our project presentation. We haven't practised and even worse we can't get the system to run AT ALL!! So here we are - back in the labs - frantically trying to re-program everything! (Or rather I'm sitting here anxiously while Dave and Noj frantically try to re-program everything.) And, to make matters worse, I've also got a big ecos test tonight that I haven't even started studying for! I'm supposed to be in my room cramming right now! Can you say S C R E W E D!! Oh well, life goes on. Just thought I'd try and relieve some of my frustrations by ranting at you! Untill my next update ... (By which time the nightmare that is Information Systems will hopefully be behind me) ... auf wiedersehen!
10.10.2003 - I.S Sucks!!
It's now 2 o' clock in the morning and I have been here in the labs, sitting at this computer, since 6pm. I'm tired, I can't breathe properly (I've got a blocked nose), and our system is nowhere near working! It's due at 12 o' clock tomorrow. It's supposed to be a residence administration system, i.e it stores info about residences and the students in them. Ours freezes every time you try to add a new student to the database. At this point I'm quite prepared to just hand it in anyway. Unfortunately on Tuesday we have to give a 45min presentation on our project so we have to at least make sure it stays running for the duration of the presentation! Oh well ... So, what have I been up to apart from I.S?
Well, I've had quite a busy last couple of weeks. Last Wednesday our res had its annual Awards evening (we get together and fine our friends for all the dumb and embarrassing things they've done over the course of the year - great fun!) This year we (as in the House Committee) decided on Bad Girls as the theme (as in Bad Boys II - the movie). It was the best Awards we've ever had ... even if I do say so myself. We kept the whole theme very hush hush and pretended that we were holding the evening in our upstairs common room like we usually do. Instead we organised to use one of the enclosed balconies above our dining hall. We had House Comm T-shirts made that say FBI - Fabulous Body Inside - on the front and SWAT on the back and we set up a whole fake crime scene upstairs. Then we organised our very own policeman for the event! We set off the fire drill and got everyone outside and the cops came screaming up the Hill and into our parking lot - lights flashing and sirens wailing. We went through this whole charade of how the cops were there to conduct a search for illegal substances and that nobody was allowed back into res and that we'd all have to go and wait on the dining hall balcony for the sniffer dogs to arrive. Anyway, we had a couple of people really pooping themselves and it was just brilliant!
Then we had a champagne breakfast on Saturday morning that went down very well although it was quite exhausting trying to cook for 72 people. It went much better than last year's one though - there was plenty of food to go around and this time there was even enuff for House Comm to have something to eat after all the cooking was done! In between all the rest of the excitement I also managed to sort out my last few payments to CCUSA and we had our pre-departure meeting so all I've really got left to sort out are travellers cheques and the the actual visa!! Soooo exciting!!! Well, that's about it - the rest has all been IS, IS, IS. Speaking of which ... I guess I'd better stop procrastinating and carry on working!!
18.09.2003 - Mars!!
I mentioned a while ago (sometime before the vac) that I queued for two hours to get a look at Mars. Well, I also took a photo to save for posterity and here it is!! Not much I know (I don't have a telescopic lens on my camera or anything) but I thought I'd share it with you anyway!! :) Cool hey! 17.09.2003 - Off to work we go...
And so 4th term begins!
The vac was fantastic but just far too short!! My cousin Sean and his friend Hilton joined Sandra and I for the vac so it was great to have some company in Swazi for a change! We only left Grahamstown at about 10am on Friday 5th - we couldn't leave any earlier because Hilton had a tut that he just couldn't get out of - and managed to make it all the way to Bethlehem for the night. Talk about an afrikaaner dorp!! We stayed at this place called Franci's B&B which was really nice but unfortunately Franci had an obnoxious little brat for a grand-daughter so I think I would avoid staying there again if I was ever in the neighbourhood. We asked her to recommend somewhere for supper and she sent us off to some boer restaurant where they serve things like offal and tripe!! Needless to say we hunted around for somewhere else to have supper! Eventually we ended up at a local pub/restaurant called 'Ons Tuishuis'. Very Afrikaans but at least they served normal food! Anyway, we walked in there at about 8pm and finally got our meal at 10:30pm!! It was quite an experience on the whole! However, Franci's breakfast the next morning made up for the rest of Bethlehem's short-comings! It was awesome - I couldn't finish everything and even the boys (who are eating machines) didn't clear their plates.
Anyway, we were home sweet home by 3pm on Saturday. What a great feeling!! My aunt and uncle were already there so we had a full house and a very busy week! I was chauffeur for the week (mum and dad still had to work so it was up to me to take everybody off to do all the touristy things) so I basically spent my whole vac in one car or another. But it was still a great week and it was really nice to have family around. We even had a surprise Christmas Dinner!! My mum and aunt thought it would be a great idea to celebrate Christmas early since we were mostly all together for a change (except for my brother and cousin Jenny) and because I'm going to be away from home for Christmas for the first time ever! Don't ask me where my mum got them but we had christmas crackers and stockings and everything! Right down to Boney M christmas carols playing in the background!! It was quite a disorienting experience considering it's the middle of September!
Unfortunately I couldn't catch up on my emailing while I was home because my dad forgot to pay the Internet account and they cut us off and then stuffed something up and couldn't turn it back on again!!! I spent many hours on the phone to AfricaOnline and didn't manage to achieve anything. I just hope they manage to get it working sometime before Christmas really does arrive!! Of course the week came to an end far too quickly - we didn't even get a full weekend at home! We had to leave early Saturday morning to make sure we got back here fairly early on Sunday. We spent the night in Aliwal North on the way back and the whole trip was fairly uneventful. (I let Hilton and Sean do most of the driving and just chilled in the back with my book.)
So, I am now back at varsity yet again. And its back to I.S straight away!! We've got an extension on our project so it only has to be in on Monday but I still don't know how we're going to do it. I don't even know where to start and I don't really think anyone else in the group knows either!! Oh Well... That's all my news for now. I'll try and email everyone but you never know if that's really ever gonna happen so I thought I'd at least try to update this page! Ciao 4 now ...
28.08.2003 - 8 More Sleeps!!
This time next week I'll be able to say I'm going home tomorrow!! This term has really flown by. I only realised last Saturday that there was just one more weekend left of the term - what a pleasant surprise that was! (Although it did make me stop for a second and think about how much work I had to get done before I could go on holiday.) My aunt and uncle are coming down from Bulawayo to spend the vac with us. They're arriving in Swazi sometime next Friday so we're also going to try and be there Friday night. My cousin Sean and I are driving down together and then Sandra is 99.9% sure that she's going to join us so at least we'll have three licenced drivers to share the trip. So, if all goes to plan, we'll leave here a 4am on Friday and be home by 7pm!! I can't wait!
And guess where I spent 2 hours of my life last night?? Standing in a queue waiting to look through a telescope at Mars! I can't really say that it was worth it - they weren't the greatest telescopes and so it basically looked like the moon normally does when you're not using a telescope!! You could see a little bit of detail though and you could also see it moving around the earth - the dude had to keep adjusting the telescope every minute or so - and that was quite cool. But at least I made the effort - I can tell my great-grandkids one day that I saw Mars when it was at its closest to Earth!
Tomorrow Sandra, Poo and I are off to East London for the night. The plan is to get some shopping done on Saturday. We need to do some pricing of air tickets to New York and Sandra and I have to buy backpacks!!! It's so exciting! Although I think I'm going to have problems choosing a backpack - I always end up packing masses of stuff so I want quite a big one but at the same time it can't be too big or I'll end up packing too much and won't be able to pick it up!! Then I guess I'll have to spend Sunday working! The next part of our I.S project [the Systems Design Specification Document] is due at the beginning of next term so we have to try and get as much of that done in the next week as possible. It's going to be tight 'cos I've also got a Comm Law test and an I.S test next week as well!! But the great news is that we got 70% for the last part of our I.S project so at least things seem to be on track so far.
Well, I gotta go now. Stuff to do, people to see ... I know I have been bad about emailing but I will try and get a group one off this week or maybe when I get home. But, till then - au revoir mes amis!
16.08.2003 - Quantum Technologies is born.
My parents would be so proud - I have been working SO hard for the last few days!! The first part of our I.S project [the Systems Requirements Specification Document] is due on Tuesday so we've been busting a gut to get it all sorted by then! It took us forever to come up with a team name but we finally decided on Quantum Technologies and things have thankfully been coming together since then. I hope we are on the right track with everything but as long as we have something to hand in I'll be happy. And ... the most fantastic news to date ...
I've been accepted by CCUSA for their Work Experience USA program so it looks like I might actually be going to work in the States over the Christmas holidays!! I'm going to book my plane ticket this week!! All I have to worry about now is getting my work visa from the US Consulate - but I only find that out in October or something like that. I'm trying not to get too excited though, just in case something goes wrong and I don't get to go after all. I'm hoping to go to Vermont because that's where one of my friends has worked before - she is hopefully going to be able to sort out jobs for us which will be really cool 'cos it's a bit scary to think of arriving without knowing where to go! For now the tricky part is going to be waiting for the next three months and trying to focus on work rather than just thinking about the States!
At the moment I'm busy reapplying to be sub-warden in 2004. I've been short-listed and I've got my interview on Wednesday evening. I'm most definitely not looking forward to it. The interview was horrible last year and it's worse this year because now I know exactly what is going to happen and how horrible it is!! I don't even know if I want to sub-warden again but I don't really have many other options for next year and at least the pay is good! So... please hold thumbs for me on Wednesday at about half seven!!
30.07.2003 - Full Throttle
(Yes, as you can see from the title, I have been to see the new Charlie's Angels movie - and loved it!! I know most people probably don't think it's the greatest movie in the world but it was so much fun!! And just so totally ridiculous I laughed the whole way through!)
Well, we are certainly at 'full throttle' now as far as work is concerned. Last week was a breeze (absolutely no work) but I'm now feeling the cold bite of reality! I.S is a pain in the backside - we have a Systems Development Project to do this semester and it is rather scary at the moment. I don't have a clue where to start!! However, I'm hoping it'll all fall into place as the term continues. Right at this very moment I'm supposed to be working on this week's I.S prac (a Use Case diagram that's due tomorrow) but as usual I'm procrastinating! It's now 11pm and I haven't even started!! (But I just drank a few litres of filter coffee so I'm going to be up half the night anyway!)
On Monday night I played squash for Rhodes 4th team (it was a league match in PE and someone pulled out because of work or something) and I discovered something very exciting! Rhodes paid us R20.00 (because we were missing supper) and meanwhile the ladies we played against (a bunch of PE housewives) bought us drinks and pizza after the match!! So, it actually boiled down to me being being paid to play a squash game (that I wanted to play anyway) and eat pizza! I have now decided that this is the way forward and will definitely say a big yes next time I get asked to play! (I usually say no because it's a longish trip to PE and we normally only get back after midnight.)
Anyway, gr8 excitement - it's Trivarsity this weekend!! Only the biggest event of the year! And everyone is gearing up for it and already going purple!! I have been digging around looking for my overalls and and am planning to spend Friday night in a drunken haze! It's going to be HUGE!! (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, see my Trivarsity 2001 photos here. And check back sometime because I'm sure I'll have some new Trivarsity photos after this weekend!) I'm sure I could go on and on ad nauseum about life's little events over the past week and a half but the clock is ticking and I.S is calling... au revoir!
09.07.2003 - Chez Moi!
It's soooo great to be home!! The semester worked out to nearly 5 months long which was just far too much time to be away! But, I'm now having a highly relaxing and rejuvenating Swazi holiday! Unfortunately I've been very lazy and I haven't emailed anyone (or updated this site in weeks!!) but I'll hopefully remedy that over the next few days.
Haven't been up to much - sleeping in late every day, watching TV, reading books, playing computer games, playing squash .... Today we tried to be a bit more creative - Loo came over at 10am and got us out of bed and we had our own little skottle braai at the pool (we didn't get in the pool tho - way too cold!!). So we had boerie rolls for lunch (yum!) and spent most of the rest of the day drinking vodka + mazowe and trying to squeeze as much warmth out of the sun as possible!! (When I was at varsity Mum and Dad kept telling me how warm it is at home - they lied!)
I'm trying to think if anything else of interest has happened lately ... ummmm ... (waiting 4 inspiration to strike) ... ahhhh - exam results came out on Friday night! We were out at Malandela's (our happenin' swazi nightspot) until 1:30am or so and Loo just had a feeling that results were out so she checked on the Net when she got home and VOILA! Anyway, I miraculously managed to pass everything, including Public Finance, so I have been a rather happy and relieved person this week!
Unhappily, we have only got just over a week left of the vac!! We're gonna have to hop in the car next week Saturday to begin the loooong drive back to G-Town. Hopefully I'll have emailed y'all by then but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it - I am highly unreliable when it comes to emails! So, until my next update, or email, ADIOS AMIGOS!!
22.06.2003 - IS is the devil!
Exams are over!!! Believe me, I have breathed 100 huge sighs of relief about that! The first lot were OK, it's just the last two that have got me worried. They really screwed us over for IS, the paper was awful!! I'd studied everything that was in it but I still struggled to answer the questions! I'm just hoping that everyone did badly and they have to modulate the marks!!
Public Finance was also extremely dodgy but that's mainly because it was my last paper and I didn't really have much time to study for it. (It was pretty much a night before effort!)
Anyway, it was all over on Tuesday and I've just been chilling out in G-Town, waiting to go home. (As a sub-warden I have to stay until everyone in res has left so we can close up and hand over to the vac sub-wardens.) It hasn't been so bad though. I've had so much to sort out that I've actually needed this time to get everything in order!
BUT, it's off home tomorrow morning!! Loo and I are hoping to set off at 4am and see if we can make it the whole way in one day. I don't want to push it too hard though so we'll just see how it goes. I can't wait!! Res is really weird - there's hardly anybody around - it's so quiet.
Anyway, this is just a short one before I leave. I have to get back to res now and start packing (my favourite pasttime!!) I promise I will write to you all once I'm back home. Lata!!
04.06.2003 - 2 Down, 5 to Go.
Well, the IS prac is out the way and it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. (There was only one thing that I didn't know how to do.) And I stuck to our policy of 'if you don't know what to do - just make it pretty' so I made my application beautiful!!! Hopefully I'll pick up some bonus marks!
ProfCom was alright as well. It's a bit like 'O' level English Language - write a business letter, write a memo, write a cover letter, write a speech etc etc. Just ran out of time a bit. I ended up with 15mins left to try and do two 25 mark questions! However, I managed to write quite a bit for each one so I'll be fine. And most other people I've spoken to didn't finish either.
Luckily they have moved our IS theory paper back from the 6th to the 16th so I have more time to study for that. But it means that my timetable's a little crammed from next week Thursday. I'm trying to get as much as possible done now but it's not really happening. Ecos just takes so long to get through...
So I really should get back to it and hit those books with a big stick! I've gotta get through 3 chapters tonight if I wanna stay on schedule!
26.05.2003 - It Begins.
I know, I know! Yet another month has gone by since I last updated the site. (Sorry to anyone who may have dropped in for a look-see and didn't find anything new.)
So 'what begins?' you might ask ... exams, that's what! And man do I have a screwed up timetable!! We're supposed to have a swot week (starting this Friday) but that just isn't happening for me this year. I write my IS prac exam on Monday, my Prof Comm exam on Tuesday and then (and this is the greatest atrocity of all) they have just informed us today that our IS Theory exam has been moved forward to next week Friday!! And I'm supposed to be getting at least 70% for this exam so that I can get into Honours!! We are signing a petition to have it moved so hopefully something will come of that.
If you're interested I have written out the rest of my timetable over yonder ---->.
However, all that is just trivial. You wouldn't believe the crap that's been going on over the last 3 weeks! A girl was killed on campus a couple of weekends ago (stabbed to death in her room by her ex-boyfriend), the following week a friend of mine in res' cousin died, last week Thursday another girl's sister was shot and killed by her boyfriend (this wasn't at Rhodes) and then this weekend a guy from my ecos class committed suicide by hanging himself from the rugby posts on the Great Field. I can't believe that so much can go so wrong all at once. It really puts exams and all that kind of stuff into perspective.
However, lets not dwell on gloom and doom. I am off to watch The Matrix Reloaded tomorrow night (stuff exams for the moment) and it had better be as good as everyone says it is! The way I see it - I need an adrenalin rush to get the brain cells working overtime so I can start studying!
I hope all of you out there are well and having fun and not stressing too much about work or exams or anything like that. I'm going to apologise now for being so bad about emailing because I don't know if I'm going to have time to send so much as a group email before exams are over. Now, I've gotta go work on my Econometrics assignment which must be done before I can even thing about starting to swot!
23.04.2003 - Happy Birthday to me!
Today is the day that I enter Grannyhood ... 21 years old!
I had the most amazing surprise last night. There was a knock on the door at 12pm and when I opened it I found a whole bunch of people crowded into the corridor. They immediately launched into a very harmonious (yeah right) rendition of Happy Birthday. I felt so loved!!
And I got pressies and everything! Veena made me the most awesome poster so I just had to take a photo of it (with my new digicam) and put it up on the site. So here it is - (for those of you who may not know this, I am a HUGE fan of Angel and I get withdrawal symptoms if I even miss one episode!) I also got loads of wine glasses and, of course, a little something to fill them with!
My parents are still around - they drive back to Swazi on Friday - so they are taking me out to dinner tonight. I got the most beautiful digital camera from them and I've taken loads of photos already so they will be up soon!
Unfortunately, my birthday bliss is marred by the fact that I have a ProfComm report and an ecos essay due in on Friday. It's just not fair!! :( Tomorrow night is going to be a very very long one!
17.04.2003 - Happy Easter!!!
I am loving this vac! We have done absolutely nothing for the last week (except sit on the beach or watch tv or sleep!). In case you're wondering - I'm back in GTown at the moment. We drove back in yesterday and spent the night at my cousin's digs. It gave us a chance to do our washing (we spent an hour and a half at the laundrette at BP waiting for it to dry!!) and now we're heading back out to Port Alfred as soon as I finish writing this!
Debbie Noel is coming to spend the night tonight!! I am sooo excited! I haven't seen her since April 2001!! She and her boyfriend are driving through from Durban back to Cape Town so they're going to stop off with us for the night. So, unfortunately it's a really short visit but definitely better than nothing!
Well, before I head back to the sand, sun and beach, I want to wish you all a very HAPPY EASTER and much chocolate!! Here's a little easter pic for you to enjoy.
07.04.2003 - 3 more sleeps!!
I know it's been almost a month since I last updated this page - I'm sorry. A lot of stuff has happened since I sat here writing about the Perez concert and life hasn't been 'picture perfect'. The last few weeks have actually been pretty crappy but it's OK, I'm over it! And our vac starts in 2 days time!!! How can anyone remain depressed!?!
My brother and I are off to the seaside for the vac (Port Alfred to be exact) and it's gonna be sooooo good to get away! I cannot wait!! Mum and Dad are joining us for the Easter Weekend so it's not so bad that we won't be making it home.
I'm sorry there are no new photos to gaze at yet. I know that it's a pain in the butt if you keep checking the site and nothing changes but hopefully I'll do something about that soon. I may possibly be getting a digital camera for my birthday in which case there will definitely be regular updates to the photo pages.
While you're here, check out the links page - I've added a couple more cool sites. Also, have a look at this for me. It's quite challenging but I eventually got all 9 people. How many do you see?
14.03.2003 - Picture Perfect
I had just the coolest night last night! We went to the Perez concert at Taphuis - it was amazing! And I got their autographs!! (Yes I know I'm a loser to be asking semi-famous South African bands for their autographs but I don't care!) I got them to sign my CD cover and I know it'll be worth a lot of money one day in the distant future!! Especially since they are splitting up in a couple of weeks time. (Which is very sad news because in my humble opinion they are definitely good enough to become famous internationally.)
I have to admit I'm suffering a bit today as a result of a few too many Hunters Dry last night!! We also had a fire drill at 6am today which was not so fun. I woke up with a nasty headache and today is my crappy day as far as lectures go. I'm busy straight through until after lunch. The only reason I'm here now is that my dawnie (yes, I made it to my dawnie) finished early so I'm arbing around waiting for my second to start.
'The Ring' is coming on at movies today! I've been dying to see it for months and months - I can't wait!! It's gonna be soooo scary!! You have to check out the website !! It is so freaky!! Plenty there to give you nightmares for the next few weeks without having even watched the film!!
Sorry there are no new photos up. I will try and remedy that this weekend! I took two new spools in today to be developed (one of them has Perez pics from last night) so I think there's about a 90% chance that there'll be more photos up on the site by Tuesday or so. Check back then!
08.03.2003 - I Need Inspiration!
I felt the need to come down to the labs this evening to update my site but I actually have very little to say. I'm hoping if I sit here typing for long enough that I will suddenly be inspired!
Maybe I should start with what I've added to the site since my last official diary entry. Photos, photos and more photos! I'm not quite done yet (believe me - I've got a lot of photos) but I've managed to scan and upload a helluva lot in the past couple of weeks so check them out now!!
I'm also quite proud of myself - I emailed a total of 20 people today!! (OK, I admit that 17 of them were divided between 2 group emails ~ but the other 3 were whole individual emails!!) And I would've actually written to more people individually but I just couldn't stay in the computer labs for any longer! They had the airconditioning turned up so high that I was literally freezing to death!! I swear, my fingernails were going purple!!!!
But that's not all I did today - I also took part in inter-res rifle this afternoon and managed to hit the target every time and not kill or maim anyone else! Quite an accomplishment if I do say so myself!
I'm actually in a very good mood today and I feel like doing something fun! Unfortunately though I'm on duty tonight which means I have to stay in res to be there in case of an emergency (like if it burnt down or something exciting like that!).
So, that said, I'd better be on my way. I'm actually supposed to be in res right now so I guess I'll be in s#@t if I get there 5 mins from now and find that it's on fire already or that someone's fallen off the balcony or something and I wasn't there to come to the rescue!
03.03.2003 - The pain, the agony...
I'm suffering! I feel like I've been beaten up or dragged behind a car or something. Unfortunately it's nothing as exciting as that ... I'm just stiff.
I went to gym last Wednesday for the first time and had an awesome evening on the step, cycling and rowing machines. I thought I'd be really sore on Thursday but I wasn't! And I still fine on Friday! I was so proud! But, then I played in the squash ranking tournamnet this weekend. Big Mistake!!
The last time I played squash was October last year and man can I feel it! I feel like an old granny hobbling around - it's ridiculous!! Every muscle in my body is aching - however, I'm hoping to go back to gym to night and beat the buggas into submission!
Anyhow, I would love to make this entry longer and go into greater detail about my various aches and pains but I can't. I've got a lecture starting in approximately 2 mins and I've gotta leg it.
So, while you're here - check out the Photos page. There should be some new ones up by the end of the day if I can make it back down to the labs.
22.02.2003 - It's off to work we go ...
I know I haven't written in a while but I've been so so busy - 'O' week was just hectic and then the first week of lectures has been absolutely exhausting! I thought that timetables got better as the years wore on, well, mine seems to have got worse!
Take Friday for instance: I start the day off with an Econometrics lecture, followed by a double Public Finance lecture, followed by IS, followed by Comm Law, followed by Prof Comm, then a break for lunch and then another Public Finance lecture!!! That's 4 (yes count it - 4) Economics lectures in one day!! (All thanks to the public finance lecturer who lives in PE and can only make it into Grahamstown on Fridays.) If I ever miss a single Friday it'll be like missing an entire week of lectures! Anyway, enough bitching, I think you get the picture - I'm pretty upset about having my Friday stolen from me!
Otherwise, all's good! I went to the beach today! Kenton. We found this cool little bay which you can only get to by climbing over a massive dune - my legs are gonna feel it tomorrow - and spent a great afternoon there swimming and playing frisbee. (Oh the joys of not having any work to do!)
So, after a day in the sun, I'm now very ready for my little bed. I can almost hear it calling!
Tomorrow Veena will hopefully take me down to the Design Labs with her so I can scan some photies onto the site - I'm so excited!!!! But for now - Adeus!! (that's goodbye in Portuguese by the way.)
P.S. I feel I must warn you all... I watched a video just now, "Angel Eyes" with Jennifer Lopez. If you ever feel a desire to take it out of the video shop .... don't. It's crap.
23.01.2003 - Inactivity.
"For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen."
- Douglas Adams19.01.2003 - Employment ... of sorts!
Yes it's true! - I have had a job for the past two weeks! (sort of) I've been helping one of my mum's friend's out by looking after her 'King Pie' while she's been away. The pay is good and the hours are great!! 3pm - 5pm Mon - Fri 12am - 1pm Sat The most important thing being that I can still sleep late everyday!
Unfortunately Monday is my last day and then I'll be unemployed again! I'm going to have to find something else to keep me busy for the next 2 weeks.
Still working on getting some photos scanned and up on the site.
Off to bed now - nighty night!
06.01.2003 - Happy 2003!
Compliments of the season to you all! I hope everybody had a fantastic Christmas and New Year - I definitely did. Mozambique was as stunning as always and I was very sad to have to say goodbye and come home!
My trip up to Zim was also a success - I am now the relieved owner of a new Zimbabwean passport. I don't physically have it yet - it wasn't ready in time so my Gran picked it up for me and is looking for someone to send it down here with - but at least it's all sorted now and I don't have to worry about being stateless or anything like that!
Harare itself was a little bit disappointing in that I didn't get to see everybody I'd hoped to. In fact the only friend I managed to see was Shaz (however, it was amazing to see her after 2 years and it certainly made the whole trip worthwhile!) The problem was I just didn't have enough time, or petrol, to get around and see everyone. I was only there for 3 days. We got into Harare late on the Tuesday night. Most of Wednesday was spent sorting my passport out and trying to get hold of people. I did go out to Origins on Wednesday night and saw a few friendly faces but no-one that I really know well. Then the Thursday was a complete right-off - Bryan and I spent 6 and a half hours in a petrol queue in Rolf Valley! Friday was also spent trying to pick up my passport and all that kind off stuff and then we couldn't go out on Friday night because we had to be up at 3:30 am Saturday to leave for Inhassoro. But, I'm still glad I at least made it up to Harare for a bit 'cos I miss it a lot when I'm away.
Anyway, I'm back home now. We got back late last night so I haven't had a chance to email everyone yet. Thanx so much to all of you who've emailed recently or sent Xmas cards - I feel loved! I will try and get back to you all ASAP. I've made a list of all of you who have written so I will make sure that I contact you all. (One of my New Year's resolutions. As you can see I've written some of them down but I'm already having serious doubts as to how far I'm going to get with some of them!)
As far as this site goes: I've transferred my past 2002 entries to the archives page and I'm hoping that I will have some photos up soon. A friend of my mum's has got a scanner and I'm going to ask her if I can use it sometime next week. Hopefully the answer will be yes!
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