• I jumped back on the blogging bandwagon - somewhat on this blog and much more so on my cooking blog - The Creative Pot. I also have a fan page for my cooking blog on facebook - come check me out!
• All the cooking made me a little rounder than I'd like to be - which is why my aim this year is to get trim & fit. Slow and steady wins the race, right? 
• We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in February. Love you bug! As they say, time flies when you're having fun...
• We attended KKNK in April (me for the 2nd time, TheHusband for the 1st time) and had a roaring good time.
  
• I started tweeting - come and have a look here (private tweets) and here (cooking/eating related tweets).
• We went to Casper's new show's opening night in the Artscape for my birthday in July and I met the man in person backstage. He is supershort!
  
• We made a big decision (more on that in a future post though). Yes I'm going to keep you hanging here. :-)
• We finally achieved some order in what used to be the hellhole/spareroom (or more affectionately known as the Nerdroom)
  
• For the first time ever I experienced job insecurity, as a result of having to work short-time in October. Which was actually good in hindsight as it forced us to take a good, hard (long overdue) look at our finances. 
  
• TheHusband and I became (superproud) godparents in October and couldn't stop smiling about it. Which of course lead to a whole slew of Godfather quotes...  
• We embarked on our property investing venture in all seriousness this time. And are currently busy applying for bonds. Here's holding thumbs (and big toes) for being approved with favourable rates.
  
• In December we attended the wedding of two friends who we'd introduced to each other back in 2006. Holla for the matchmakers!
  

Geez! I feel like I've been dumped on some alternate universe where people are expected to literally work their asses off! Not only is it month-end, not only is there all sorts of issues with payments,not only do we have our bi-annual stocktake,but my boss is going on holiday for the next 2 weeks meaning I am seriously overworked with trying to sort out everything before he leaves! Where is a person supposed to find time for browsing and daydreaming with such a hectic workload??

In the midst of all this, it is TheHusband's birthday next week (thank heavens for online shopping!), and I start a driving crash course next week in the hopes of (finally, maybe, HOPEfully) obtaining my driver's licence this time around. What with the ridiculous hourly charge for the driving school, I'm expecting an end-of-the-month-salticrax situation for most of the month...

Oh and to top it all off, our maid has been pulling a Houdini act for the past few weeks, which means our flat is a complete disaster area.

Seriously, Katrina in New Orleans has nothing on me and TheHusband.

Went to watch “Defending the Cavemen” at the Theatre on the Bay on Saturday night and let me tell you all the reviews were on the spot. The show is brilliant and it’s clear to see why it is now in it’s 10th year running. Alan Committie does a great job of exploiting the differences between the sexes for comedic relief, however manages to avoid it being offensive for either sex – quite a feat. I can highly recommend this show – it managed to clear up quite a few things for me along with the belly laughs it provided.

Back at work we’re busy developing a new product (well, when I say ‘we’, I mean my engineer-colleagues of course). However I’m expecting to play quite an important role in this as I have to perform a viability study at a certain juncture in the project. I’ve only just started to gather the information, and already this has provided for a few amusing incidents. When asked how long it would take to develop certain “keyable options” (watch me work that lingo…) the engineers responded with mild bafflement – it seems there was a bit of a communication gap between sales & development as sales is fully intent on selling these keyable options. However what I don’t understand was them asking me to explain these keyable options. Honestly, did they really think I’d be able to explain it to them? So I merely shrugged and referred each department to the other to sort it out. Aaahahhhhh the joys of being a bystander… (and simultaneously putting my colleagues to work!).

I’ve had a chance to settle into my new job. Although I don’t really know if my 2 weeks experience can be counted, seeing as the boss (a.k.a Bossman Bing) has been away for the last week. And as we all know, things tend to be slightly different when the cat is gone…

That aside, I do feel a bit more comfortable in my current position. Of course, I am still WAY out of the comfort zone I had created for myself at my last job, but I think it’s good. (Note to self: I must get out of the habit of comparing everything to my last job!).

I’ve been moaning about my predecessor who um… well let’s just say that he didn’t really do his work properly. I could think of more descriptive ways to describe the state of affairs, but that might cause this blog to adopt a “not suitable for minors”-rating. Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that I actually shouldn’t complain about it. I’m actually enjoying sorting everything out and reconciling accounts into oblivion, sad as it may sound. And of course the thought has popped into my head that, if it were not for the crap I had to sort out, I wouldn’t have too much to do on a day-to-day basis. Which sounds pretty good, but believe me, it’s not (refer to a previous post I did on that very subject).

So, to sum things up:

I’m enjoying my new work, give or take a few minor details.

One of the highlights of my day is the quiet amusement I get from my co-workers. The engi-nerds, I mean engi-neers. During the course of everyday, at some point there is a discussion regarding the pros and cons of a particular Linux distro (that’s distribution or VERSION for those of you less familiar with nerd-lingo). It is endearing, I must admit. What I do admire about them, is their uncompromising passion for what they do. This is not as prevalent in other career choices. I mean, even during power cuts, they will talk about work-related stuff! What is up with that? With me staring into space and trying not to appear too bored...

I do find it interesting, but I prefer to get my nerd-quota in small doses, thank you very much.

Well, I've started my new job, and man, do I feel like a fish out of water!

This is due to a couple of factors:

• The office is tiny (only 9 employees, including me) - quite a contrast to my previous job where there were over a hundred employees.
• Everyone is so Q-U-I-E-T.
• I'm surrounded by engineers!!!!! (well, actually I sit in a corner, but you get the idea)

I'm busy job hunting at the moment and boy does that open up a whole new Pandora's box!

I've had my brush with feminism in the past, but have since learned to tone my views down a bit for the sake of actually getting along with people (read: men). And so far it's been good.

But boy, oh boy, have my beliefs been challenged these past few weeks. Because of one little (innocent?) question that every recruiter or potential employer keeps asking me:

"So, when do you intend on having children?"

Subtext: So, when will you stop becoming useful to us/the world/as an individual with dreams & ambitions?

I mean, YES, of course children is in the (near-ish) future for me as a woman. And YES I'll be off on maternity leave for a few months. But that's just one of the facts of life. I mean, somehow the population has to grow! And it doesn't change anything with regards to my skills, my talents and my ambitions.

Call it naivety, but I truly thought that we had come further by now, to not just see women as breeding units anymore, but as people with something to offer besides children. And anyone who knows me will know I'm crazy about children and would LOVE to have some of my own, but I don't see how that would cause me to negate my studies (which took 4 years) as well as the 3 years I've spent working as a semi-slave in order to get my qualification.

And it seems it doesn't get better once you actually have the children and will no longer be having more. Then you get asked things like "Well, how will you handle it when one of the children get sick?". But I've yet to hear of a man (who already has children) to be asked the same question. Because "it's not his responsibility", I suppose.

This country has the most ridiculous laws against discrimination; one example is that you can't discriminate against someone with Aids (who will definitely stop being productive a few years down the line). However nothing is being done to stop this blatant discrimination against women.

Go figure.

Well... actually it's not really an art, but the heading sounded cool. Yes, I admit, I have fallen into the trap of tweaking my post-headings in order to sound a little bit more interesting for my imagined audience.

Anyway, where was I? Right - the "ART" of doing absolutely nothing. Usually very cool, but only - and this is a very important proviso - if you are able to choose the location and mode of this nothing-doing. For example - doing nothing (by choice) on a Saturday afternoon at home is pretty damn near to heaven. However, doing nothing (not by choice) at work on a regular Tuesday is a tad further away from the aforementioned ideal. In fact its pretty crappy. Even worse when you actively asked for work and still had zero to do. Worse still when you have to fill in a timesheet detailing the complete lack of productivity that was your day at work.

Yup, that's been my life for the past two days and while not having anything to do at work sounds pretty cool, in reality it sucks...

... like Electrolux!

Well it's been my 3rd day back at the office and so far it's okay. Not doing much work, but that's to be expected in the first week back in Jan.

The cool news is that us clerks were moved around again, so I could finally move away from my super crappy old spot (it had boss-sneaking-up-on-me capabilities, what with my back to the walkway, which kind of puts a cramp in one's emailing style...), to my new improved private corner WITH a window, I might add. Lovely! And wonderful for my non-work pursuits...

Well we managed to find a lawyer, although may I just use this moment to object against lawyers that will happily charge you double what another one will for doing the EXACT SAME thing! But then, we knew lawyers weren't exactly stand-up people (apologies to all lawyers out there, but you know it's true!). So we proceeded to almost get lost in trying to find this guy's office and, upon getting there, almost wish we had. Got lost, that is. I've never met anyone who talks slower than this guy. Granted, he is close to retirement age, but geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzz. I could've rattled off his whole spiel in 5 minutes flat, whereas he comfortably stretched it out to almost 45 minutes. In the end I was just glad it was over, as I was on the verge of clawing out my eyeballs.

Again proving that old adage - there's nothing like a free lunch. If you want to go for the cheaper option, you'll pay for your choice in some other way...

Okay, okay so I've been quite lazy in posting...

Anyway, here's a quick update on events that took place in the last 3 months:

1. My mom came to visit to help with the wedding plans. The visit started out on rough footing, but luckily progressed more smoothly and ended up really great. It was nice to have a bit of a woman's touch with the choice of flowers and table decor, because lets face facts, The Fiance's interest in these topics are somewhat limited. And I don't blame him for it. I mean, my eyes also glaze over rather soon after being dragged into Incredible Deception, so... what's good for the goose is good for the gander I suppose. Although I have to give kudo's to The Fiancee who spent no less than 3 hours (yes, 180 excrutiatingly long minutes!) wandering around in a fabric shop while me and my maternal unit shopped for material for The Dress. You might be surprised to know that there are literally millions of shades of white. Crazy.

2. All major plans for the upcoming nuptials are now officially organised. So the last 2 and a half months can be spent relaxing.... and wishing the time would pass by quickly!

3. I wrote my second board exam in November and thank heavens it's over...

4. It's just 2 and a half weeks until we go on Christmas holidays!!! The atmosphere at work is definitely no longer serious and/or productive. Even worse was when all the partners in the firm when 4x4 driving last week Thursday and us poor plebs had to stay at the office and (pretend to) work! They might need a lesson or two regarding motivating employees... but that's just my humble opinion.

Anywhoo, got some websurfing to catch up on.
Au revoir,

Why is it that a seemingly inoccent request from your boss can leave you walking a thin line between breaking down in tears or delivering a window-shattering yell as you tell him/her exactly what you think of their little
"request"

I had the pleasure of working overtime on Tuesday. Let me first say, that I don't mind working overtime per se, what I do mind, is if said overtime falls into my lap unexpectedly, through someone else's poor, no LACK, of planning. Of course, it goes without saying, that I already had other plans for Tuesday evening (which did NOT inclued work in any form)

The cause of my misery on Tuesday was the fact that I was informed just before lunch time on Tuesday that my boss had arranged a meeting with the client on Wednesday morning, in spite of the fact that he had not yet reviewed the file and given it back to me to make the neccessary changes and print out the final stuff for the meeting. (this being about 2/3 months after I'd completed my work and handed him the file).

So, there I was, in Cape Town city centre at another client, with no way of even starting with the work for the meeting until I got back in Stellenbosch, which would be 5 o'clock at the soonest.

And, to top matters of, I arrived back, to find out that the meeting involves work that someone else did, but seeing as it's after 5, she's already left and hence who gets to finalise that as well??? You guessed it. So you can imagine my fury, when, upon mentioning this fact to said boss, he just replied with, "Well, who's final responsibility was this - yours or the other girl's?" Of course, I only came up with the perfect reply later on - which was "YOURS!" (meaning my boss's).

Spring is here!!!!! And isn't it lovely? For the first time in ages (that I can remember anyway) the 1st day of spring was a lovely, sunny day. Although the lovely sunniness, coupled with the fact that we could wear casual clothes to work yesterday, did not do much to aid productivity in the workplace... In fact, got a bit of a talking-to from one of the managers, but I didn't really take it to seriously since NO-one was really working hard yesterday (including the managers, who prank called one of the clerks later on. So much for the seriousness of the auditing business...)


Any-whoo, I've got other great news. I FINALLY (after more than a month ladies and gentlemen) received my brand-spanking-new laptop. Bliss. It's gorgeous (well I think so anyway) and soooo much better than my old crappy TOS-hiba. For those of you that are more computer-inclined (read: "geeky"), you can go check out the specs at digitalplanet.co.za. For the other people (read: "normal"), here's a pic of the new techno-accessory in my life.

AND also TheFiancee got a new (well, new to him anyway!) laptop too. He's been dreaming about a laptop for some time now and finally took the plunge and swopped his pc for a laptop. For the geeks among you, it's a Dell Latitude C600. ;-)

AND TheFiancee also got a cool new car!!! It's a lot bigger than the old one (an Opel Corsa) and... well, it's just cool! My apologies for my rather non-existent vehicle knowledge, wish I could describe it better, but other than the fact that it's a Ford Focus, I'm not really able to elaborate too much on the whole thing...

Well, now I have to be off to go buy some ingredients - I'm baking a black forest cake for TheFiance's birthday tomorrow.