Get Your Cyborg Name

Kannibaal gaan lank sit

Or more commonly known: Afghanistan. The first on my list of countries to read about. To simplify matters, I've decided to focus on the internationally recognized countries. Of which Afghanistan is top of the list.


To be honest, I was very tempted to skip this one, due to over-saturation (the whole USA vs the Taliban saga), but in the end I gave it a go..

Interesting fact: The country was a monarchy until 1973, when the King's brother-in-law ousted him with a bloodless coup to become the country's first president. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "trouble with the in-laws"

Little known fact: There is a booming opium trade in Afghanistan stemming from a huge illegal poppy cultivation.

Best part: Culture plays a big part in the average Afghan's life - most households have at least one book of poetry and poetry events are very common (even though a large part of the population is illiterate).
Also, women now form 28% of the cabinet, making Afghanistan one of the leading countries in the world in terms of female representation.

Worst part: The almost constant war the country has been embroiled in since way back when. And the Taliban. Those are not guys you want to mess with. Especially if you are a woman.

Verdict: It doesn't seem as bad as I initially thought, but I'd still hesitate to go live there. Even though women are now well represented in parliament, and the laws governing what women can and cannot do have largely fallen away, I think that large parts of the population still views women as 2nd class citizens. And I'd have a very hard time coping with that.

So. I've stumbled upon an interesting meme and decided to take part in it.

The Mission:

Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days

Start date: Sunday 12 October 2008
Finish date: Saturday 9 July 2011


Magical Mystery Tour/Day Tripper

001. Spend a day at the amusement park & go on all the rides
002. Play a round of paintball
003. Go to an art exhibition
004. Go see an improv show
005. Go play putt-putt
006. See 6 live shows (2/6)
- KKNK (Apr09)
007. Go ice-skating
008. Go Geocaching
009. Attend an International Food Evening in the Neelsie
010. Go to the theatre 3 times (3/3) - Apr09
011. Go strawberry picking
012. Try 10 new restaurants out (4/10)
- Irish Pub, Durban (Dec08)
- Melissa's, Stellenbosch (Feb09)
- Manoushe, Stellenbosch (Apr09)
- Braza, Canal Walk (Jun09)
013. Have a picnic - Feb09

Honey Pie/Strawberry Fields

014. Plan weekday meals & do grocery shopping on a weekly basis - doing this on a regular basis, consider it done
015. Give Brussels sprouts one more try - Oct08
016. Make gluhwein
017. Make ginger beer
018. Roast a whole chicken
019. Try 10 new foods (3/10)
- Belgian endive (Oct08)
- Fennel (Dec08)
- Sauerkraut (Jun09)
020. Make a meal based on a colour-theme - Apr09 (YELLOW)
Starter - Stuffed Pattypans
Main - Yellowpepper & Fontina Salad with a creamy mustartd dressing
- Sweetcorn fritters
Dessert - Caramelized Pineapple with Butterscotch sauce
021. Make ice-cream/sorbet from scratch
022. Make chocolate salami - Dec08
023. Cook 5 things out of every cookbook I own (5/150)
024. Make & bottle something
025. Bake bread

Revolution/I Want You (She's So Heavy)

026. Eat two vegetarian main meals per week - doing so on a regular basis, consider it done
027. Lose 7 kgs (0/7)
028. Exercise for 30 mins, 3 times a week for 12 weeks (2/12) (re-started on 29.06.2009)
029. Touch my toes (without bending my knees!)
030. Drink 4 glasses of water each day - doing so on a regular basis, consider it done
031. Ban sweets for 1 week, 10 times (0/10)
032. Eat only raw foods for 5 days (not consecutive) (0/5)

Ticket to Ride/The Long & Winding Road

033. Go away for a weekend, 5 times (1/5)
- Goudini Spa (Jun09)
034. Go to Darling and visit Evita se Perron for a meal & a show
035. Get a passport & visit another country
036. Take a boattrip to Robben Island
037. Go to the beach
038. Go on a winetour (at least 5 winefarms)
039. Go on a roadtrip somewhere I've never been before

Can't Buy Me Love/You Never Give Me Your Money

040. Celebrate Buy Nothing Day(Nov 29) each year (0/3)
041. Attend a Treoc course - Nov08
042. Buy at least one property in our trust
043. Clear out short-term debt - May09
044. Buy all 3 Austin Powers' movies (1/3)
045. Buy/get another Sims2 expansion pack
046. Don't buy anything which doesn't fit me perfectly
047. Limit magazine buying to 4 per month - doing this regularly now, consider it done
048. Read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" - Feb09
049. Buy a nice pair of boots - May09
050. Save up & register with SAICA
051. Buy proper ballroom shoes - Nov08

Hard Day's Night/In My Life

052. Wash the dishes every night for one month (0/30)
053. Put clothes away every night for one month (0/30)
054. Go one day without saying anything negative about anyone
055. Apologise first 20 times, even (especially!) when I think I'm right (2/20)
056. Make a point to NOT overreact (when I'm angry) 10 times (0/10)
057. Deal with an issue I'd usually try to avoid
058. Do not indulge in any gossip at work for one month (0/21)
059. Organise favourite recipes into a recipe binder
060. Declutter: get rid of 101 things (57/101)
- Shoes & clothes (Nov08)
- Clothes (Jul09)
061. Get rid of old magazines
062. Finally unpack the 'Box of Horrors' in our bedroom
063. Avoid celebrity gossip for one month (0/30)
064. Put away laundry the same day it's dried for 6 consecutive weeks (0/6)
065. Go through digital photos, print & frame (or put up for display in some other way) the best ones

Got To Get You Into My Life/With A Little Help From My Friends

066. Meet up with Michelle & Lee-Ann once every 2 months (2/16)
067. Host a dinner party once every 3 months (2/7)
- Caribbean party (Dec08)
- Bollywood Dreams (May09)
068. Go visit Nelia in Namibia
069. Have a girls' night out/in - May09
070. Make a new female friend
071. Write (& send) a letter to my brother once a month (0/33)
072. Visit my Aunt & Uncle once every 3 months (2/7)
073. Treat my mom to a spa day - Dec08
074. Talk to/email my dad once a month (5/33)
075. Call my mom more regularly

Love Me Do/Oh! Darling

076. Go on a date with TheHusband once a month (8/33)
077. Go for a Sunday/Saturday afternoon stroll with TheHusband once a month (1/33)
078. Re-read the Five Love Languages & also the Five Languages of Apology
079. Watch 10 "boy"-movies with TheHusband without complaining or falling asleep (3/10)
080. Do 101 romantic things for TheHusband (2/101)

The Fool on The Hill/I Am The Walrus

081. Learn to speak Spanish
082. Catch up on current affairs via news24 once a week - added to my RSS feed
083. Finish reading the Combrink/Combrinck genealogy books (0/3)
084. Complete Bronze ballroom dancing programme
- Preliminary - Mar09
- Secondary - Jul09
085. Take an online course
086. Read up on the history and culture of a different country once a week (3/143)
- Afghanistan
- Peru
- Finland

Happiness is a Warm Gun/I Feel Fine

087. Watch the Comrades once from start to finish
088. Re-read the Adrian Mole books (3/6)
- The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (Oct08)
- True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole (Nov08)
- Adrian Mole: The Cappucino Years (Nov08)
089. Have/go to a poker evening
090. Comply with the Four Agreements for one week
091. Send 20 postcards via postcrossing - Oct08 - Jan09
092. Join the bone marrow donor register - Oct08
093. Talk to 10 strangers (more than just "hi"...) (2/10)
094. Build up to 10 generations in one family on TheSims2 (3/10)
095. Host a Murder Mystery Evening
096. Learn how to & make a quilt
097. Make something for our flat (the quilt doesn't count)
098. Update my blog once a week (6/143) (exceptions will be made for periods away from home, w/o internet access
099. Find a way to get rid of the damn doves on our balcony - they left on their own!

Do You Want To Know a Secret

100. Do not **private misson ** - fail
101. Do **private mission**