Got you again, right? Just when you thought I'd started blogging again, fo' realz, I drop another 2 week absence on yo' ass - jus' like dat!
Let me assure you that it has not been for lack of stuff to write about. Hoo, boy. But I think that maybe that's exactly why I haven't been writing, despite having alluded (in front of a whole bunch of Twitter and blogging people, no less) to a certain visit to a certain childhood haunt (or, more accurately, a certain haunted childhood memory) and the blog post that was about to ensue therefrom. In truth, I cannot bring myself to write those things, those people, those places. It hit me once again, as I sat at the lovely Tanya's dinner table at the last #MidrandTweetUp, divulging way more about my roots than it is prudent to do, that these things remain best left where they are. Either that, or I'm just not ready for the telling.
Ghosts of Exorcisms Past aside, there's *still* no dearth of blog fodder in my little universe, but I find myself short of time for both reading and blogging and, for the moment/given the choice, I'm all about reading your blog rather than writing mine. Although I have to say that I seem to have reconnected with the blogger in me just a tiny bit of late. We've been kind of tentatively waving at each other from across the quad these past two weeks or so, almost as if we're sussing out the scene and mentally preparing ourselves for that casual not-quite-accidental-bumping-into-one-another-on-the-corridor-outside-the-library scenes. And because neither of us actually remembers why we stopped talking in the first place, it won't be long before we pick up where we left off.
Mostly, what's been happening in my world is that work has gone well. Last month, I got some copywriting work in from a new client, which was fantastic news, only slightly marred by the news received upon delivery of said work that I was only to be paid for it *this* month. Actually, it sucked balls at the time but, in retrospect, it worked out for the best as I received that payment today and am thus able to settle up a few odds and ends that have been pressing on my mind a bit.
And as I may or may not have mentioned on Twitter recently, "work" has begun to take on a few interesting new dimensions. Earlier this month, I blogged about some of these. Basically, it boils down to my having finally been able to refurbish some old printing equipment and start up a small screen printing business from home.
Angel and Glugster were instrumental to this development on a number of levels, for which I am so deeply grateful! Thank you, both of you, so very much!
I also managed to land my first paying printing job very soon after getting my screens and space set up, which has been fantastic. And as I go about sourcing various materials and supplies and picking up ideas as I go, I'm running into more and more people who are interested in finding out more about what I'm doing and how we could possibly work together. So things look set to get moving along quite nicely in a relatively short period of time, which is perfect for me, because it's how I roll. Either you get down and do it, or pack it up for a bad joke. I find myself quickly becoming demotivated if things don't move along quickly enough...
What excites me most about all of this, though, is the fact that this little printing enterprise is really the fulcrum upon which rests an entire spectrum of other, offshoot enterprises that I've been thinking about and conceptualizing and dreaming about and wanting to start on for the longest time.
My various pregnant and new-mommy friends might remember a recent tweet or two from me about a range of maternity/breastfeeding t-shirts and swimwear. These are in the pipeline, along with a whole bunch of other ideas, and little developments taking place now will hopefully lead to a prototype product or two in the next few weeks, maybe longer. Maybe much longer, depending on how it all goes and how well I am able to co-ordinate and juggle everything, but still.
And then there's the Big Idea, about which I still say very little in general at this time, as I am nowhere near there yet and I think I've already taken on a whole hell of a lot of stuff to manage. But watch this space, folks - It's a matter of time.
In short, I have been keeping very, very busy of late and I'm loving where my life is going right now. It's like a great, big, flashing neon arrow sign fell out of the sky one day, pointing out my direction for me. And it has rolled up all the angst and worry about money and depression and lack of motivation and reasons not to go for it up into a pleather body suit, slapped a gimp mask on it and I'm riding it like a pony. See? Told ya I was gonna make 2010 my bitch!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Why I'd Throw My Pearl to the Swine
If I could only afford to get myself a *real* smartphone, that is. Unfortunately, my free upgrade became due in September last year when, being pregnant - and therefore stupid* - I made a decision I should really not have been permitted to make, since it resulted in my choosing a silly little lower-end, over-hyped under-performer of a phone instead of simply tossing the Pearl for a Curve or a Bold...or another brand of smartphone altogether. Maybe something like, say, an iPhone?
Anyhoo, it is what it is and being such as it is, the upgrade phone, a Samsung Star, became the replacement for #hubbyparkins' very old, very stuffed Motorola and I have continued to use the Pearl, albeit with ever increasing dissatisfaction.
My biggest complaint about the Pearl is its so-called Qwerty keypad, which is really a classic telephone keypad masquerading as a Qwerty keypad in a clever disguise. Instead of being able to type away with the confidence that your screen is then going to show the letters you intended to type, you have to double check every character because the keys are shared between two letters, so instead of having each of the letters on individual keys, you have qw, er, ty,etc. The letters appear in the exact same order as on a Qwerty keypad, but when you're typing the letter "e", for example, it's hit and miss between "e" and "r" - no knowing what you're going to get! Let me tell you, BlackBerry - HUGE BIG #FAIL!!!!
Next, it's all fine and well telling me that I can receive emails and such on my BlackBerry Pearl and that it will even allow me to open attachments, but WTF is the use when, upon opening the goddamn attachment, it's so tiny that you need a microscope to see what it says? And then, when you use the zoom function to enlarge it, the letters become too blurred to be read. So giving me the option to open attachments on my phone is about as useful as a 1 legged man in an arse-kicking contest!
Then there's the long list of features on the phone that actually do absolutely fuckall. The video option under media options, for example. Apart from the crappy little preloaded BlackBerry video, I haven't ever been able to receive or view a video clip on this phone. Or the voice dialing option that NEVER recognizes the name you're calling and either tells you it can't find the contact you're looking for in your address book or starts calling the wrong fucking person, even when you've said "No" when prompted to confirm. Or the voice notes. Or the maps app that gets you more lost than found...
Okay, but you still get some nifty functions like the V-card service, customizable sms alert sounds and a host of wicked games, right? Oh, no, wait - those are all available on every *other* handset on the market! On your Blackberry Pearl, you have to input new contacts yourself by first opting to open the address book and then typing the relevant information into each of the 30-something odd fields, instead of receiving it in sms or other format & simply having your trusty Pearl store it for you. Hey, at least you'll know when that contact's details have been sms'ed to you, though, because of the distinct BlackBerry sms notification sound you hear when it arrives in your inbox. So you and every other BlackBerry user within a half kilometer radius can all whip out your phones to see who the lucky recipient is of that text message! And if it turns out it wasn't you, you can always jump into a quick game of "Brick Breaker", so you don't look like a desperate tosser for checking your phone every time a BlackBerry somewhere in your general vicinity receives a message and goes "Plick-plick!"
But my most favourite has got to be the computer software that comes with this truly unique little torture device.
So I'm sitting at my desk today, going through the list of items on my to-do list for the day, when I decide on the spur of the moment to download all the photos and other clutter from my Pearl, which has begun to run a bit slow because of the memory card being almost full of photos (of whose quality we shan't speak, since there isn't really any to speak of). And while I'm at it, I reckon, hey - why not back up all my files, so that if anything should happen to my phone, I'd still have everything on my computer. Great idea, right?
Well, no. Apparently not really. Not if I was hoping ever to see any of that data again. Because promptly after clicking the "Backup/Restore" option on my Pearl's Desktop Manager's main menu, it wiped out pretty much every message, contact, calendar entry and to-do list item I had entered since September 2008, thank you very much. Only to tell me when I clicked on the "Synchronize" option, as suggested by the Vodacom/BlackBerry consultant I called in a panic, when the phone not only reverted back to the settings I had on it two years ago, but also wiped the internet browsing option off of it's home screen options altogether, that there has been an unknown error and the Desktop Manager needs to shut down. Great. So now, between the phone and it's desktop software, two years' worth of plans, contacts and other important pieces of information have disappeared and are irretrievable because there is some kind of fuck up with the software. The cherry on top of a beautiful start to the day. On the slightly less bleak side of things, I was able to restore the phone's internet browsing capability, but I'm afraid that that is a classic case of too little, too late.
So yeah, forgive me, BlackBerry, if I'm not especially fond of you today. Or any other day, for that matter. You've pretty much lost a client today, unless you can locate and restore my missing information and then convince me to try one of your newer (and presumably improved) options. I doubt it, though. When the time rolls 'round for me to get an upgrade again, I will most definitely not be looking to pick up another BlackBerry.
*Disclaimer: Any comments made in reference to intelligence or lack thereof during pregnancy are purely subjective and must in no way be taken to include pregnant women as a group or in general.
Anyhoo, it is what it is and being such as it is, the upgrade phone, a Samsung Star, became the replacement for #hubbyparkins' very old, very stuffed Motorola and I have continued to use the Pearl, albeit with ever increasing dissatisfaction.
My biggest complaint about the Pearl is its so-called Qwerty keypad, which is really a classic telephone keypad masquerading as a Qwerty keypad in a clever disguise. Instead of being able to type away with the confidence that your screen is then going to show the letters you intended to type, you have to double check every character because the keys are shared between two letters, so instead of having each of the letters on individual keys, you have qw, er, ty,etc. The letters appear in the exact same order as on a Qwerty keypad, but when you're typing the letter "e", for example, it's hit and miss between "e" and "r" - no knowing what you're going to get! Let me tell you, BlackBerry - HUGE BIG #FAIL!!!!
Next, it's all fine and well telling me that I can receive emails and such on my BlackBerry Pearl and that it will even allow me to open attachments, but WTF is the use when, upon opening the goddamn attachment, it's so tiny that you need a microscope to see what it says? And then, when you use the zoom function to enlarge it, the letters become too blurred to be read. So giving me the option to open attachments on my phone is about as useful as a 1 legged man in an arse-kicking contest!
Then there's the long list of features on the phone that actually do absolutely fuckall. The video option under media options, for example. Apart from the crappy little preloaded BlackBerry video, I haven't ever been able to receive or view a video clip on this phone. Or the voice dialing option that NEVER recognizes the name you're calling and either tells you it can't find the contact you're looking for in your address book or starts calling the wrong fucking person, even when you've said "No" when prompted to confirm. Or the voice notes. Or the maps app that gets you more lost than found...
Okay, but you still get some nifty functions like the V-card service, customizable sms alert sounds and a host of wicked games, right? Oh, no, wait - those are all available on every *other* handset on the market! On your Blackberry Pearl, you have to input new contacts yourself by first opting to open the address book and then typing the relevant information into each of the 30-something odd fields, instead of receiving it in sms or other format & simply having your trusty Pearl store it for you. Hey, at least you'll know when that contact's details have been sms'ed to you, though, because of the distinct BlackBerry sms notification sound you hear when it arrives in your inbox. So you and every other BlackBerry user within a half kilometer radius can all whip out your phones to see who the lucky recipient is of that text message! And if it turns out it wasn't you, you can always jump into a quick game of "Brick Breaker", so you don't look like a desperate tosser for checking your phone every time a BlackBerry somewhere in your general vicinity receives a message and goes "Plick-plick!"
But my most favourite has got to be the computer software that comes with this truly unique little torture device.
So I'm sitting at my desk today, going through the list of items on my to-do list for the day, when I decide on the spur of the moment to download all the photos and other clutter from my Pearl, which has begun to run a bit slow because of the memory card being almost full of photos (of whose quality we shan't speak, since there isn't really any to speak of). And while I'm at it, I reckon, hey - why not back up all my files, so that if anything should happen to my phone, I'd still have everything on my computer. Great idea, right?
Well, no. Apparently not really. Not if I was hoping ever to see any of that data again. Because promptly after clicking the "Backup/Restore" option on my Pearl's Desktop Manager's main menu, it wiped out pretty much every message, contact, calendar entry and to-do list item I had entered since September 2008, thank you very much. Only to tell me when I clicked on the "Synchronize" option, as suggested by the Vodacom/BlackBerry consultant I called in a panic, when the phone not only reverted back to the settings I had on it two years ago, but also wiped the internet browsing option off of it's home screen options altogether, that there has been an unknown error and the Desktop Manager needs to shut down. Great. So now, between the phone and it's desktop software, two years' worth of plans, contacts and other important pieces of information have disappeared and are irretrievable because there is some kind of fuck up with the software. The cherry on top of a beautiful start to the day. On the slightly less bleak side of things, I was able to restore the phone's internet browsing capability, but I'm afraid that that is a classic case of too little, too late.
So yeah, forgive me, BlackBerry, if I'm not especially fond of you today. Or any other day, for that matter. You've pretty much lost a client today, unless you can locate and restore my missing information and then convince me to try one of your newer (and presumably improved) options. I doubt it, though. When the time rolls 'round for me to get an upgrade again, I will most definitely not be looking to pick up another BlackBerry.
*Disclaimer: Any comments made in reference to intelligence or lack thereof during pregnancy are purely subjective and must in no way be taken to include pregnant women as a group or in general.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
June
If I'd have had another baby girl instead of a boy, I might have named her June. As it turned out, #hubbyparkins' li'l swimmers appear to be predominantly of the XY chromosome variety and we have a James. And that is good. And we have no intention whatsoever of adding a June to the mix. And I am very happy to report that, despite a bit of paranoia getting the better of me in the last few days, I can categorically state that there is no impending arrival of a June, Julia, Jessica, Jennifer, Jaime, Jezebel or any other kind of J-girl (or boy!) on the cards.
See: (And note the conspicuous absence of a second pink line!)
Moving on.
June was a busy month for me, with a number of special occasions and visits taking place.
We had the 18th anniversary of my father's death on June 7th - the only day in June on which I blogged. And I didn't blog about my father because, well, there really isn't an awful lot to say. He was a man more or less like any other, with his flaws and strengths and idiosyncracies and, sadly, he died young. I have made my peace with the nature of the relationship I had with him, such as it was, and can acknowledge that his intentions toward his children were noble and that he loved us. I make a point of quietly remembering him every year on the day of his birth and on the day of his death because not to do so would be to deny a little piece of my heritage and of the mould that has shaped the woman I am.
On the weekend of 11 June - the start of the 2010 World Cup - #hubbyparkins and I dropped all the kids (minus #babyparkins) off at my mom's and made our way to Mafikeng with a trailer full of booklets to be distributed at a free concert by a group of 32 local artists, including some big names like Yvonne Chaka-chaka, PJ Powers and a whole bunch of others. We listened to the opening game on the radio in the car, drinking Wimpy coffee and just talking about stuff in general in between - a rare treat for us.
On the 16th of June, we celebrated my eldest son's 7th birthday quietly, at home with family, while the rest of South Africa celebrated national Youth Day. Since his birth, I have taken great joy in the knowledge that, for as long as he lives in South Africa, Michael will always have the day off on his birthday. :)
On the 19th of June, we had a small party for Michael's friends at the Johannesburg Planetarium. It was the first time my kids had been there and it was a great hit! Even Jack and James enjoyed watching the show and the kids were all suitably impressed with the 3D space rocket cake I'd made with special help from Angel, Glugster and #hubbyparkins:
25 June was Megan's 8th birthday and a Friday. The in-laws had come to pick Megan & Michael up the previous day to spend the night at their house so that they could take them to a show by the local youth theatre on the morning of Megan's birthday. They then brought them home again in the afternoon and we went to the local Spur for dinner. Megan & Michael had their meals for free because they are Spur Secret Tribe members.
Ladies on Lunch took off again on Sunday, 27 June, after a bit of a hiatus and Jack, #babyparkins and I had a great time catching up with some of the blogging and Twitter ladies. I got spoiled with a package of FairyGirlZA's totally scrumptious Tranquil Body Treats in the lucky draw, as well as what is now my favourite coffee mug in the world, ever!
We hosted a small party for Megan and her friends at the same Spur on Thursday, 1 July. I had a whole bunch of last minute work to do at the time, so it was a bit of a rush and I spent the morning rushing to bake the butterfly birthday cake that had been requested and promised:
Meanwhile, things on the work front took an upward turn in June and, as mentioned once or twice on Twitter, I landed a new client for my freelance copywriting, which means a bit of extra income this month.
Even more exciting, though, is the fact that, with the help of some very special people who know who they are, I am now able to begin getting one of the projects I've been aching to start up, off the ground. I can't begin to tell you how very exciting this all is for me! David and I have spent the past couple of weeks setting things up in the garage for me to get going. We have also bought a bunch of the basic supplies needed and I'll be spending the next couple of weeks experimenting with colours & designs and training my hands and fingers in the finer application of ye olde crafte knife. And that's all I'm saying about that for now.
These new developments combined with some of the experiences of the last 6 months have made it quite clear that I have been overly ambitious to assume that I can handle the homeschooling, the two babies and everything else. We have therefore decided to return the kids to mainstream school from next year. Initially, I felt a bit of a sense of a failed purpose on this, and took a loss. But looking logically and realistically at it, it makes sense. Continuing with homeschooling would ultimately result in my having to compromise on quality in one or more areas, which is simply not an acceptable solution. Sacrificing the quality of the kids' education in order to pursue my own fulfillment is not an option, while leaving the two babies in the nanny's care for longer stretches would mean missing out on so many special moments in this precious period in their lives, which goes by so very quickly. And giving up my dreams and canning all the projects I've been working on in my head over the past several years would be just as big a sell out as a return to the corporate world and would, without a doubt, lead to my being desperately unhappy. So it's back to school they go, with minimal guilt on my part. In the end, it's about creating and maintaining a balanced and fulfilling lifestyle for all of us.
After all the ups and downs of the past year or two, things appear to be stabilizing significantly and taking a turn for the better and I find that there's a spring in my step again this last while. I wake up excited to start each day, these days, and I can't wait for the rest of my life!
See: (And note the conspicuous absence of a second pink line!)
Moving on.
June was a busy month for me, with a number of special occasions and visits taking place.
We had the 18th anniversary of my father's death on June 7th - the only day in June on which I blogged. And I didn't blog about my father because, well, there really isn't an awful lot to say. He was a man more or less like any other, with his flaws and strengths and idiosyncracies and, sadly, he died young. I have made my peace with the nature of the relationship I had with him, such as it was, and can acknowledge that his intentions toward his children were noble and that he loved us. I make a point of quietly remembering him every year on the day of his birth and on the day of his death because not to do so would be to deny a little piece of my heritage and of the mould that has shaped the woman I am.
On the weekend of 11 June - the start of the 2010 World Cup - #hubbyparkins and I dropped all the kids (minus #babyparkins) off at my mom's and made our way to Mafikeng with a trailer full of booklets to be distributed at a free concert by a group of 32 local artists, including some big names like Yvonne Chaka-chaka, PJ Powers and a whole bunch of others. We listened to the opening game on the radio in the car, drinking Wimpy coffee and just talking about stuff in general in between - a rare treat for us.
On the 16th of June, we celebrated my eldest son's 7th birthday quietly, at home with family, while the rest of South Africa celebrated national Youth Day. Since his birth, I have taken great joy in the knowledge that, for as long as he lives in South Africa, Michael will always have the day off on his birthday. :)
On the 19th of June, we had a small party for Michael's friends at the Johannesburg Planetarium. It was the first time my kids had been there and it was a great hit! Even Jack and James enjoyed watching the show and the kids were all suitably impressed with the 3D space rocket cake I'd made with special help from Angel, Glugster and #hubbyparkins:
25 June was Megan's 8th birthday and a Friday. The in-laws had come to pick Megan & Michael up the previous day to spend the night at their house so that they could take them to a show by the local youth theatre on the morning of Megan's birthday. They then brought them home again in the afternoon and we went to the local Spur for dinner. Megan & Michael had their meals for free because they are Spur Secret Tribe members.
Ladies on Lunch took off again on Sunday, 27 June, after a bit of a hiatus and Jack, #babyparkins and I had a great time catching up with some of the blogging and Twitter ladies. I got spoiled with a package of FairyGirlZA's totally scrumptious Tranquil Body Treats in the lucky draw, as well as what is now my favourite coffee mug in the world, ever!
We hosted a small party for Megan and her friends at the same Spur on Thursday, 1 July. I had a whole bunch of last minute work to do at the time, so it was a bit of a rush and I spent the morning rushing to bake the butterfly birthday cake that had been requested and promised:
Meanwhile, things on the work front took an upward turn in June and, as mentioned once or twice on Twitter, I landed a new client for my freelance copywriting, which means a bit of extra income this month.
Even more exciting, though, is the fact that, with the help of some very special people who know who they are, I am now able to begin getting one of the projects I've been aching to start up, off the ground. I can't begin to tell you how very exciting this all is for me! David and I have spent the past couple of weeks setting things up in the garage for me to get going. We have also bought a bunch of the basic supplies needed and I'll be spending the next couple of weeks experimenting with colours & designs and training my hands and fingers in the finer application of ye olde crafte knife. And that's all I'm saying about that for now.
These new developments combined with some of the experiences of the last 6 months have made it quite clear that I have been overly ambitious to assume that I can handle the homeschooling, the two babies and everything else. We have therefore decided to return the kids to mainstream school from next year. Initially, I felt a bit of a sense of a failed purpose on this, and took a loss. But looking logically and realistically at it, it makes sense. Continuing with homeschooling would ultimately result in my having to compromise on quality in one or more areas, which is simply not an acceptable solution. Sacrificing the quality of the kids' education in order to pursue my own fulfillment is not an option, while leaving the two babies in the nanny's care for longer stretches would mean missing out on so many special moments in this precious period in their lives, which goes by so very quickly. And giving up my dreams and canning all the projects I've been working on in my head over the past several years would be just as big a sell out as a return to the corporate world and would, without a doubt, lead to my being desperately unhappy. So it's back to school they go, with minimal guilt on my part. In the end, it's about creating and maintaining a balanced and fulfilling lifestyle for all of us.
After all the ups and downs of the past year or two, things appear to be stabilizing significantly and taking a turn for the better and I find that there's a spring in my step again this last while. I wake up excited to start each day, these days, and I can't wait for the rest of my life!
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