Of Blood and Love and More

If you are looking for a glimpse of the “African Experience”, go see Blood Diamond. Anachronisms (and DiCaprio's accent) aside, it was, in my opinion, a good movie. Another white-South Africans-are-bad-guys Hollywood production, but I can live with it.

My soirée Saturday was very nice, even though in the end we were less than a dozen people all together. There were a couple of misunderstandings between the management and I, but in the end everyone seemed to have enjoyed it, and that is all that counts. Thanks to everyone who attended! I also learned then that a friend of mine and his girlfriend had gotten engaged on the 12th. Needless to say I was quite a shock for me, but I am happy for them and I wish JJ and his fiancé all the best and a wealth of happiness!

On Sunday evening Michelle left for home and now every is quiet and ordinary again. It was weird, but still very sad. I have this feeling many important things have gone unsaid from both of us thus far, but we are going to have to address it soon enough.

I'm thinking about returning to Stellenbosch around about next Monday. Before then I might go to the J&B met. I have never been to it before and I should be quite and experience! My brother always tried to go when they were here... I just hope I survive being between all the high society!

I suppose my work for 2007 also has to start tomorrow.

The Novelty of Being 21 is Starting to Wear Off

Tomorrow is going to be my birthday! Yay for me! I just get excited about it. Things are a bit strange at the moment and I am looking forward to “my” day. Things are a bit weird between Michelle and I, from both sides I think. Also, there is some tension at home: my mom has been having a terribly awful week. Things aren't going well with my gran either and she has had a bad setback. But though it all I push through on my own mission and lost in my own little universe as always.

On Saturday I'm going to be hosting a party at Cubaña in Bellville. It could be really nice: I really like the atmosphere of Cubaña and they serve great drinks. But, I won't say dealing with the manager has been all pleasant and there won't be too many people as everyone seems to be busy right before/after their return to university. But we'll see, right? My chips are still on having great fun. A girl I study with might also come who is also having her birthday tomorrow, so if that happens it would be really cool.

Michelle hasn't been feeling too well of late and its sort of been putting a damp on going out in the day. I don't blame her though: I have been very tired the past few days myself, which means I'm not the best company to have. My tiredness worries me, because I have not yet found a cause for it.

But, tomorrow that will all melt away and it will simply be a fabulous day!

Oh, one more thing: as a birthday gift to myself, I've registered a new domain name. www.august-inspiration.co.za now directs to this website. I hope that is easier to remember and that it will spare everyone the trauma of remember a new address in the event of a server change or something. So, please use this address to link to this site as the idea of registering it is to have it as a “stable” address. I wanted to put up what I have of the new site tomorrow, but I simply can't at the moment. I hope to be able to do that before the end of the holiday.

The sky is beautiful tonight: sickly orange-red lights reflect down from the cloud-padded ceiling that covers the sleeping city. It was this same glow that caused me so much stress that first night after we had moved to the city. My, how we change.

Filler Title

Summer continues to slowly roll over us as part of the big wheel-o-seasons. As everything winds up again after the holiday season, I find myself turning to more relaxation. I guess you could consider the work I did on the website as “work” (even though it is just a hobby), but the website has been temporarily shelved until I can get OpenSuSe 10.2 (the new Mandriva is just rubbish). Until further notice I'm spending time with Michelle and playing Medieval II: Total War. The game is so cool! But, I started playing on “hard” and I might just finish with my first game... which means I have the strategies pretty much nailed down (despite being chronically bankrupt). I played probably more than a dozen games of Medieval: Total War before I beat the game (which, back then, meant taking over all of the known world, which was quite a feat, especially considering that I first did it with the Danes who only start out with one province). Of course the battle AI still leave a lot to be desired (even after the patch), but maybe I can someday test my steel against a friend or two.

Also, I'm spending time with Michelle. After having given her a “full Cape experience” (more or less) last time, we are taking things a little slower this time. But tomorrow is our 1 year 1 month anniversary (we missed our one year, so this one has to fill in) and I want to take her out to dinner and a show at the Artscape (although the latter will be with a friend: it was his idea, actually).

Next week is my birthday: I can hardly believe it! Time flies so quickly. I'll be 22: the first of a long streak of “insignificant” birthdays. (16,) 18, 20 and 21 were big deals, but the next one is only 30 (well, maybe 25, but only if you decide to be sentimental). But, anyway, that is not the matter at hand. I'm thinking of having a “casual” evening, in the sense that there are no big plans or schedules, but rather just to try and get as many people to drop by during the evening so I can see them all for, maybe, one last time. People are starting to scatter and I might be one of them: I'm thinking of going to the UK at the end of the year. Of course I would love to stay and work here, but the money I need to repay my student loan will most likely be paid in pounds. I have no set plan yet, but unless I win the lottery, I'll probably go. Its a scary thought and I have already started to get nostalgic. Perhaps that will be the catalyst for me to thoroughly enjoy this year.

The Return (2007!)

“A long December and there is reason to believe; maybe this year will be better than the last”.

Every year, after my new year's celebration I return to my PC and play this song. Some might say this is boring, mundane or cliché, but I like to think of it as some sort of tradition now. Sometimes I wonder if, say you've had the best year of your life, what is the point in hoping for a better year? 2006 was not the best year of my life, but I enjoyed it. When I think about the year briefly, two things come to mind: hard work and good friends. I worked my arse off this year. I like to think that I was reasonably well rewarded for it, but I also think of my friends and the good times I had with them. I'm still not a budding extrovert, but what I had I really appreciated and am thankful for.

I must say that tonight was one of the most fun new year's that I've had. Not brilliant, not mind numbingly excellent or any great revelations, but I just had fun. Michelle, some friends and I went to Edward Street in Bellville (bare with me) and looked around a bit until we found a place that was reasonably nice. We had our fair share of drama during the evening, but being on the dance floor with Michelle while welcoming in the new year was really awesome. We really had great fun. Afterwards a couple of friends joined us at our home for a quiet chat and Michelle and I just returned home after dropping off the one friend at his home. Now the year can start peacefully and serene (hopefully all I had to drink during the evening will contribute to the latter).

So, what about 2007? It started fun enough. It once had an ominous feel to it. The day before yesterday I woke up and I suddenly developed this strange urge for closure. Maybe it was the Chicken Little movie Michelle and I had watched, but I rather think that this should be my goal for the year: to tie up loose ends and make amends. I don't consider this a new year's resolution: rather this is something that has to be done, regardless of anything else. This year is also going to be a lot of hard work, but I'm also going to aim for a lot of great fun. In this year, much will sink or swim.

Our plans for going to the UK to visit my brother is again looking to be delayed. Its gotten to the point where I think it can only happen at the end of the year. But, unless I win some prize that will pay off my study loan, I have to start entering the industry at the end of the year. This leads me to think whether or not I should just stay on in the UK after my folks have left and look for work there. This is a scary thought: for the first time, I'm seriously thinking about leaving this beautiful gem of a country. For the first time, certain things seem real and scary. All the more reason to find my closure. My penance. My absolution.

The greatest and hardest thing to expect from a person is forgiveness. I pray that I shall find the strength to forgive and that others will find the strength to forgive me. By no means is this going to be an easy year, but maybe, just maybe, a better one than the last.

To all my family and friends: may Ha Shem protect you on all your journeys and give you strength and perseverance in all that you face. Shalom!