What to wear to the soccer

So I am going to go watch the confederations cup match on Sunday and I check with Penny if my outfit is suitable. (this discussion was held when we knew only one of the teams playing: Spain)

Jeans, yellow top and green jersey - this is because South Africa is most likely to be the team playing against Spain. Penny points out that this outfit is perfect because if South Africa happens to beat Brazil, then I will be watching Brazil play Spain and I don't have to change what I am wearing, I can just support Brazil. Though this will be the perfect opportunity to borrow her very cool red Adidas soccer type top and then I will be supporting Spain. - we both found this very funny because I was choosing which team to support based on what I want to wear.

Pity South Africa is green and yellow - so not my colours.

Tip # 2: Text messaging boys

Second guessing your text message makes you look desperate.

Example 1:

Text to a guy "Oh how boring! Did not go on Sat cause got lame friends. Well enjoy"

Now if you do not get a reply and suddenly think maybe he was insulted cause you said Oh how boring. Then you realise maybe he thought you were calling him lame cause he also could not make it on sat - you cannot go back and send another message and say "not you! not calling you Lame!"

Example 2:

Text from a guy to a girl: "hey. you busy on sat want to go for coffee?"
If she does not reply in the next half an hour there are many reasons why, she could just be thinking of how to reply etc. So you cannot then text "Okay how about tea then!"

Boys are busy

Penny says "We must not forget that boys are busy and that is why they do not reply to our texts straight away" This is true also for emails.

In my dream last night I was texting on my cellphone. First time I had a cellphone in my dreams.

Meeting Penny for lunch This time I have worked out a plan how to sit at the cute waiters table. I am going to walk in slowerly and spend some time in the book shop and in the shop section all the while checking what section and tables he has. fool proof. unless he is not working today.

A page

A page from my diary. In artschool we had to hand in our sketchbook every two weeks to be marked. I never did very well in drawing, sometimes I even received an F, most of the time I got D's and sometimes C's. But the Sketchbook was one thing I really enjoyed and I did well with it.

I started to combine my diary with my sketchbook and stopped drawing and started collecting things to stick in the book. This is my current book. I have been working on it for 2 years now, since I arrived in Joburg. It is nearly finished.

I had a bath last night. I felt lonely - even though I wasn't. I did not really know what to do with myself so I lay in the bath and thought about never getting out of it. The water started to get cold and I climbed out.

I love this song

Monday, and already I feel better more settled. I think it is routine. My alarm goes off and I stay in bed 30 min longer - thinking about the dreams I had and things I feel stress for (soccer tickets, boys) then I get up and get ready for work. I eat breakfast and have coffee at work. It is the same everyday of the week and if something is different I feel the need to treat myself and I go for coffee out. Weekends I find are messy. I spend a lot of time arriving early or trying to entertain myself at home which usually involves dvd's in bed even in the middle of the Saturday.

Sunday I was with the twins and I had finally decided to book tickets to the football on the following Sunday its the runner up match. It was not going right I did not know who to book for, myself, my guy friend, and who else. Then tickets appeared to sell out as I was booking and my payment was not going through and whilst on the phone to Penny sorting things out the baby on my lap through up on me. I could feel warm liquid soaking though my skirt and through my stockings - Lovely. Then when Kerry was in the bath, and I was still in my underwear and socks cleaning up baby vomit, Henrietta arrived at the gate.

Through routine you can choose the life you want. Read this blog Girl's Gone Child she says "(Because) everyday I get to wake up in love" I am adding that to my routine. I get to wake up in love with myself, my parents, the twins, my sisters. To think like that makes me happy

So Soccer on Sunday! Hooray. In a way I hope South Africa will loose their next match because then they will definitely be at the match I have tickets for.

The Voice of Africa

Last week I was driving a French film producer around the dodgy parts of Joburg. Not really difficult to find. He said he would email the name of a Mali Artist who is regarded to have the voice of Africa. I told him that would be just great because I am trying to build up the Best Playlist Ever, and the best voice of Africa would fit perfectly.

So I got paid quite nicely for driving the friendly Film producer around town and I saw parts of Joburg which I have never been to before. Like Tembisa. Which is apparently the largest township in South Africa.

Penny and I were in fine form on Friday night. She is my crew. We plan friday nights together and thursday nights and then we do breakfast at Service Station on either Saturday or Sunday. We like Service Station for coffee or breakfast because they have such a great atmosphere but also because they have really cute waiters. There is this one waiter who is really sweet looking but we can't work out why he waiting tables, perhaps he is a student doctor who is trying to pay his student fees and he also has a drug habit, or maybe he is a trader who lost all his money in the recession or maybe he is a lawyer who gives all his free time to helping needy children and therefore has to waiter on the weekend.

So Friday night I Penny and friends at our usual friday hangout - Xai Xai in Melville. Penny is telling the table how she is off to Durban to stay at the new guys parents house for the weekend. When I say new guy I mean very, very new guy - but he is nice and as I said she can't not go. So he is fetching her in the morning. We all discuss whether it is okay for her to have sex with him at his parents house. His plan is that they sleep in his room in a single bed. Penny says she is too big for a single bed - this means no sleep for her for the whole weekend.

Then it is my turn, I need everyone's opinion on an sms conversation I had recently so I read out the message I sent, then I read out the message I received then I read out the message i sent in reply and then the message I got back. Mark, the only guy at the table just says "I have got to get myself some guy friends" - no one had any good advice for me and my texting.

I spent Saturday playing with my sisters twins, they are still babies and I like them I could even say that I am completely in Love with them. We took some really beautiful photos of them which I look at during the day when I am a bit bored or need a distraction.

Just listening to Okkervil River

At 13:15 I am collecting a film producer from a restuarant in Melville and then I am taking him for a drive around Joburg. Why me? because I am a friend of a friend and I have flexible working hours. He is from Kinshasa.

I considered all the things that could go wrong and there are many. First problem is my car. It is old and needs a serious vacum and in the rain the windcreen wipers don't work well. It is raining. It shouldn't be raining as it is winter but non the less. Also my car smells mouldy.

Another factor is when they say drive him around Joburg, they mean Joburg. They want me to take him to Hillbrow, CBD and Troyville. So now I am also worrying about getting hijacked - Citi golf's are high risk vehicles. The solution is to borrow my parents relatively new car, a Honda Jazz which also has a radio, so if there is nothing to talk about I can put the radio on. In my car the radio is currently being installed so at the moment it has all exposed wires sticking out of the dash board looking like either I have to hot wire my car to start it, or someone has just broken into the car.

Then I realised my biggest fear is what happens if I have an accident with him in the car? That would by far be the worst case senario. I considered discussing this with the guy who is hiring me, but it would definatly show a lack in my ability to drive this man around town.

I have planned my route - M1 South around the city, then Joe Slovo offramp and into doornfontein, then through town hopefully lots and lots of traffic that way we waste a lot of time in town. Then through troyville, Cyrildene, and back up Louis Botha ave through Hillbrow and towards Newtown where maybe we can stop for coffee and then over Nelson Mandela bridge and into Braamfontein.

Hopefully we hit rush hour traffic and I can go straight to drop him off at his hotel.
I am getting paid and maybe this will be my big break into the film industry! Not that I see my role as driving the directors and producers around town but rather they become impressed with my vision.

Who is Okkervil River? a very cool band. I was given the cd last week by a very nice guy to add to my playlist.

Good news for people who love - The good times are killing me

A couple of weeks ago I went on 4 dates with a very nice guy. The last date ended kissing on his couch and making out. And then that was it, when I met him the next time he said he thought he was not actually ready for a relationship and that he was not yet over his ex-girlfriend. I translated that to mean even though we had had a great time he a) was just not that into me or b) he did not want a relationship with me. That is all fine and both the same thing, I tried to go into the dating with no expectations as is told in the book Its Just a Date.

Now the Book says the key to no expection dating is to date a couple of men at once this way you have a more reasonable outlook and there is less pressure for it to work out with guy A or B. The trick though is, it is hard enough to get one person to date you how are you going to more than that.

Take Care

Girl

Sunday Smile 2

My younger sister is in town, she came up for the weekend to see my other sister who has just had twins. Yes Kate has had twins - I will write all about that soon, with photos!

I fight a lot with Julia, but perhaps in a healthy sisterly way. I went to fetch her with my mom from the airport last night. It must have been at least 10 minutes before she told me to shut up and said " Good Lord! girl you are the absolute worst back seat driver I have ever met, shut up! They say sisters who fight don't become anorexic. How about if the fight is about one sister calling the other sister anorexic and telling everyone that she is, what then?

But Julia really is great, she kind of holds us all together as a family and makes things interesting and fun. My mom says it is because she makes an effort, asks what we are up to, and is interested in what we are doing - this I don't quite agree with, Julia interested in me? no not sure about that.

For along time she thought I was mad for wanting a boyfriend, infact I think she even said " Girl I think you are a little bit crazy why would you want a boyfriend? all men are bastards". Okay I know calling all men bastards is a little strong but sometimes if you see it from our point of view you might just agree with us.

So Julia claims she does not want a boyfriend - actually let me clarify that statement, She does not need a boyfriend, she likes her life quite how it is. She likes her friends, she likes her T.V she likes her flat, she is incredibly busy. (she is just finishing her final year before she becomes a real Doctor). This makes sense to me too, I don't need a boyfriend - I perhaps just want a boyfriend.

I felt it clearly when I went on a couple of dates during this past month, I realised that I just wanted to be appreciated by a man. (Of course not just any man the right one who makes me happy blah blah blah.)

So Julia is in town and she and Kate and my mom are going shopping this morning. Friday, which is a work day for me. So I kicked up a fuss as I am expected to do and now we are also going shopping on Saturday, to Rosebank and I am going to buy that really cute winter dressing gown it is grey has a zip and a hood.

Sunday Smile

I live in Johannesburg, a great city. There is no sea though and no significant amount of water. But that is okay there is still lots to do. I am mostly single. I am single today and I was single yesterday but I had a boyfriend at the end of February but sadly not at the beginning of March.

I heard the song Sunday Smile for the first time appropriately on a Sunday. I was waiting for this guy to phone. He promised he would call on Saturday and there was no phone call. It made me very anxious, so anxious in fact that I checked facebook in case he had contacted me there. But there was no message, instead there was a new post from him - this song Sunday Smile by Beruit. It was the music video which you can go watch on Youtube. Wow, it is so beautiful and it completely captivated me and inspired me, all those things. I watched it twice and found that I could download the song for free from the musicians own website ( I am pretty sure I don't believe in free downloads unless it is actually from the artist). I added it to my playlist.

Well this guy did phone me later that day on the Sunday, and it was the start of a great friendship and a romance. Which I have now put behind me and moved on from.

He broke up with me on the 1 March because we were not right for each other, something which I did not want to admit but I can now see is true. The song Sunday Smile reminds me of that first hopefull yet anxious Sunday.