April 2009
2 posts
Well, my to-do list is all shot to hell
Here is the list I made yesterday:
Wake up at a reasonable hour and drive to Cleveland
Take placement tests for math classes
Request my background check for EMT classes
Get departmental permission for EMT classes
Talk to advisor about best classes to take and what order
Check MCAT prep course schedule
Get copies of my FSA reciepts to submit to BoA (Pearle Vision, Walgreens, Colonial)
Take...
Uh-oh. Sounds like somebody's got a case of the...
It’s been a very long day. I stayed up all night reading (which happens when I get new books) and only slept an hour before my dentist appointment this morning. He did not give me good news. There’s a lot of work to be done on my mouth and it’s going to be expensive. I was afraid there was going to be stuff to take care of, but I had no idea it was this bad.
I came home with an...
February 2009
4 posts
Parental Arrival is Imminent!
They’re almost here! They land Sunday. Les and I are pretty booked up until then, so I’m sure the time will fly by.
We’re out to dinner with Jocelyn tonight and in Pretoria tomorrow. Les has a L5r tournament and I’m to spend the afternoon with Elizabeth. Then we’re off to a birthday party for a two-year-old. (I’m making her a bright pink Bubby. It’s...
Happy Valentine's Day! (Slightly Early)
Hey to all and happy Valentine’s day. This post maybe be a little broken up, as I’m watching the new Top Chef. (addiction…)
I’ve been out of contact for several days due to some issues on this side of the Atlantic. Les and I were in a car accident on Tuesday and that made things a little tougher. It wasn’t a serious accident in the crash/bang sense, we just hit a...
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Update!
Really this time.
Where to start …
Registration at UNISA for this semester failed miserably. I was unaware that all of my previous academic activity needed to be evaluated by SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) before UNISA would accept them. Because this process takes an average of 4 weeks and I wasn’t aware/didn’t bully it out of someone until the week before...
January 2009
4 posts
Oh, I don't know anymore.
Hello all, or few. Whoever is out there. Les and I are back from Cape Town and Durban. He had a company joll. We went to these other large cities and he and his colleagues gave long presentations about accounting software. I tried to occupy myself, with varying levels of success. There was a decent amount of drinking, and we really didn’t spend too much money on stuffs, but I did have to be...
Back in the office
Hello! Back in Les’s office and surrounded by internet. Edited pictures from the Lion Park today; they’re up on my Flickr. There are more pictures to come, we’ve had some interesting weather recently, and I got some great rainbow shots.
Les and I are heading out fairly soon to get the headlight fixed on the Brave Little Toaster. I hope we’ll be all set for night driving...
Day after Lion Park
Les and I went to the Lion park yesterday with Ul and Amy. It was really lovely, but more of a game drive than a park - we were expecting a hour or two of stuff, but it’s obviously a full-day adventure. We’ll be more prepared next time.
I’m supposed to be editing pics - there are a lot of nice ones, but it’s not going to happen today. I’m still sick with this funky...
December 2008
5 posts
Happy New Year's Eve!
No one else seems to be posting, so I guess I’ll have to.
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas or similar winter holiday. Les and I had a lazy morning and then went off to a Strays Christmas brunch put on by the parents of one of his friends. It was very pleasant - good food, plenty of booze and I made a new contact. :D
We went to Billie’s afterward, where she made more food and I...
Surprisingly Sulky Sunday
Today started strangely, with a dream about being chased by a pervy gamer trying to watch me undress. (There was a lot more to the dream, but it was one of those rambling, hardly connected dreams and I don’t remember much)
Les and I had planned to get up early and do laundry, but we had a tough time getting out of bed and the clothesline was full of Sigi’s stuff. (She took everything...
Sad!
I uploaded my pictures from the trip just now, and my tombstone sale sign pic disappeared!
Here’s the text:
HUGE SPECIALS: CASH ONLY! BUY any 3 tombstones GET 1 ADULT STONE FREE!!!! BUY any 4 tombstones GET 1 ADULT STONE & 1 BABY STONE FREE!!!
I’ve asked Les to e-mail one of his biz contacts in the town to get a new shot, but I’m very sad to lose the old one.
::sigh::
...
Middle of Nowhere
So, one facet of Les’s job is software training. His company sells software to Company X and Les will be scheduled to drive out and teach the employees of Company X how to use it. (Which is how we ended up north of Polokwane some weeks ago).
We are now in Vryburg. It’s somewhere west of Joburg.
We drove a long way to get here, anyway, about 5 1/2 hours through fields and cows...
November 2008
12 posts
Welcome back, Internet!
I missed you…. :)
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had wonderful Turkey days. Les and I went out for dinner with Anmarie, Barend, Billie, Dom, Tristan, Ulrich and Viona. I had a nice time talking to everyone. Everyone was more relaxed than they are at gaming, though I still didn’t hear much out of Barend and Anmarie. (Who don’t game with us, actually.)
(I look forward to...
It's HOT!
It’s been really hot the last few days. I’ve been informed that the “rainy season” is over and now we’re really getting into summer. We might have some more afternoon showers, but not nearly so many.
I took a walk down the corner to do some errands; the walk there wasn’t bad at all, but by the time I came out of the store, it was V.V. hot and sunny and I was...
Yes, I suck.
I’m really sorry about the gap in posts, especially since I’ve had some time with the internet in the past few days.
The trip north was quite hairy. Rain the whole time (there and back), which made driving a chore. The waterpump decided to stop working and we almost got into an accident on the way there, and got a flat tire on the way back.
I had thought we would be staying at a...
This is Africa
So, I had my first trip out of the city and into Africa. It was rather illuminating. I have pictures up on my Flickr and will post later. I’m very sleepy.
Here are two.
This is Dobby, one of the farm dogs where we stayed. She loves mud puddles.
This is a Township (black squatter community) and surrounding landscape.
Welcome to the Jungle...
Hello!
I’m taking my first trip out of the Johannesburg/Pretoria area today. Les has a training class in Polokwane. So far I’ve heard: It’s very pretty and in the middle of nowhere. I’ve packed my media to keep busy, and my camera to take pictures. (My big camera. My little camera died and I have to return it. Hmph.)
I feel like I’m getting a little more used to...
On for just a minute...
Hello! Internet is still out for the majority of the time, but I should have it back after the 25th. I’m going to Les’s office tomorrow, and I promise to make an internet to-do list to work on instead of just surfing all day. I have stuff to talk about and pictures to upload and hopefully will get to chat to people. So … if you need/want to get ahold of me for some reason or...
Sorry (again) for the lapse
I’ve been without internet for a while - at a very frustrating time.
Here’s a quick update on my week:
Tuesday was our monthiversary, we went to dinner and a movie and both got sick. Les fell asleep from pain medication and I dozed while trying (unsuccessfully) to get election updates from his normal phonecard. (Data card is out.)
Wednesday I stayed home, simmed and read. Then we...
Halloween Weekend
Just so you’ll know, South Africans are partiers. Serious social animals. When I was first talking to Les, I was always surprised at how busy his weekends were. It’s just what they do here, and I don’t think it’s a bad system.
On Friday night, we went to Billie and Tristan’s Halloween party, which was really a Zombie surprise party for Les. It was fun. Everyone...
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I'm sorry!
I meant to post about my weekend so people were up to date … but I took a nap. These things happen. There will be a new update tomorrow. Promise.
October 2008
18 posts
Triumphant Return!
I’ve just returned from meeting Arwen. She is very cool, but doesn’t really need anyone until January. I guess I’ll just be on holiday/snap up the editing job Les might have found for me.
The walk was long and I feel very warm, but I now feel more confident about moving around by myself. Company is much preferred, but I don’t feel locked in at home now.
Also, I’ve...
Mass Merchanditis
Of the four full days I’ve had in Africa, three of them have been spent in malls. I’ve now a very cute little digicam and my own phone (please e-mail me if you’d like the number), and I’m all shopped out. No more shopping, please. I’ve got to sort out my bank card, as it refuses to give me money, but I’ll get that handled.
The malls here aren’t very different from malls I’ve seen anywhere else....
First Post from Africa!
Sorry for lateness! The week leading up to my flight was crazy busy; I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends and family and getting everything ready to leave. My parents threw me a lovely Bon Voyage party and I got to see my cousins. I hadn’t seen them in a long time, and it was really nice to see them.
The flight here was extremely long, but otherwise not bad. It wasn’t a full...
Project Runway Spoiler
Leanne wins! Yay!
I can’t wait for Korto to market a line. Kenley is apparently fashion ignorant, but that can be remedied. (She is crazy, though, and that’s a bit harder.)
I see the points of all the judges, but I’m not so worried about Leanne getting stuck with the petals. She started with the idea at the beginning of the season, and worked on perfecting it for this first...
Project Runway!
I’ve now watched most of the Project Runway finale; I just have to see the judging. I already know who won, but I want to get my comments in before I hear the judges.
I agree with the general feeling that this season of PR was lacking in fashion, overly dramatic and fairly ridiculous, but I think the finale made up for it. The clothing was really beautiful and it was great comparing the...
Last Day at Work!
Today’s the last day at work, which means the trip is becoming very real in my mind. It’s not just an idea anymore - in 7 days, I’ll be flying to South Africa.
The night’s been somewhat frustrating. Callers are really annoying me tonight. I may have a little credit card rant later, but I don’t feel like it just yet.
I tried to watch the debate, but I forget my...
Sunday!
Having Sunday off is a great thing about my particular schedule. It’s tough going into Saturday after two nights off; Saturday is the worst night of the week. I’m not sure how bad it is during the day, but Saturday sucks on overnight.(Unless someone sticks you in premiere and leaves you there, which can happen.) We have huge call volume and people are usually angry and/or drunk. Plus,...
Yay for Friday!
I regrouped after the devastating loss of Thursday and had a very productive Friday.
Went to sleep at 5am, woke up around 10. Had a leisurely morning reading my book, chatting with Les and Libby and having a pleasant toilette.
Went to get my International Driver’s Permit at AAA. It was very easy and took very little time, even though I’d lost the ID pictures I got last month. Yay...
Thursday goes *poof*
I passed out when I got home from work today and slept through my Thursday. I hate when that happens. I have a lot of things to do for my Friday, so I’m gonna head to bed fairly soon.
I worked on Nicette’s baby shower gift at work last night and finished it tonight. A litte hat and some matching booties. Everyone at work thought they were adorable. Baby clothes are fantastically...
Tuesdays are no fun.
Not much sleep today. Was mom’s day off and she wanted to go out for breakfast and shopping. I compromised with breakfast and a stop at the pawn shop at the corner. (We suspect that our former neighbor sold pieces of mom’s jewelry there. We didn’t see anything.) I also worked on talking her into staying in the Tollis house for a little while at least. She’s taking it a...
Into the Present
It’s Monday night for me, but not really Monday anymore. (Oh, the joys of working overnights…) Call volume isn’t so bad, the other overnight team is here on Mondays and that increases idle time for all of us.
Only 6 work days after tonight. People keep asking me about the countdown and am I really leaving. One of my work acquaintances grilled me about my reasons for going - I...
Background, Part II
So my honey flew home on Memorial Day (we spent more than 15 minutes kissing at security, to the chagrin of the posted TSA guy) and we commenced The Waiting. I wouldn’t see Les again in person for 79 days; He was scheduled to return to the states on August 13, 2008.
The Waiting was tough. We both spent a lot of money on phone bills, and he spent plenty on internet. (South Africa does not...
The Sassmouth Chronicles →
The Political Doctor →
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A little bit of background...
I originally met my honey (Les) online on www.okcupid.com. I signed up on the site years and years ago, when it was still sparkmatch. The web site’s original attraction was the free SparkNotes (like cliff notes) and the wide variety of quizzes. (Yes, I am a quiz whore)
Eventually, Sparkmatch morphed into okcupid and internet dating was clearly the focus of the site. I continued to use...
The Smitten Kitten starts a new blog
Whee! Welcome to my tumblr blog. I’ve started this blog so that my friends can keep up with me when I move from Cleveland, OH to Johannesburg, South Africa. I’ve fallen ridiculously in love with a wonderful man, and I just can’t live without him anymore.
More updates to come!