Love Sucks: East Meets North

So yesterday was Valentine’s Day and as we all know I was in far too good a mood.

My plans for the evening were to go to the Love Sucks Party at Jet in Northgate with my wing woman Minki (www.minkipraat.wordpress.com). We both got off a little earlier from work so that we could doll ourselves up for the occasion. The only real hassle being we had to travel all the way from Benoni to Northgate at rush hour. I must say I have never seen so much of Johannesburg as I did yesterday evening. I would normally hit the highway, but under Mink’s guidance we went her route, nothing wrong with that, and we didn’t get lost…High Five please.

We arrived at the Event just in time for the doors to open. Unfortunately there was no speed dating(which I would like to still try sometime) but there was a Lock and Key Game which was pretty cool. As registered “VIPS” the ladies were given locks and the men keys. The aim was to go looking for your “Match” and thene awarded with a prize. it was a great way to meet and start up conversations. Both Minks and I were able to find our “matches”, claimed our prizes(she opted for a wireless pair of headphones and I opted for a 5fm T Shirt).

There was a message wall where we were able to put messages up, where we were quiteshcked to see many my girls BBM pins…now call me crazy but that is crazy! There were a few love games on the stage and the music was phenomenal…and as much as I love Avicii…I don’t think I have ever heard as many different remixes of Levels ever in one night…it was truly insane…but made for great dancing music!

And dancing we did plenty of! Thankfully the dress code was “Smart with Slippers” so there were no foot injuries incurred…but my head is feeling a little sore(and who knows why…hehehehe).

We did meet guys…a few…some nice, some not so nice. It was the funniest thing asmost of the people there were from the North, it was quite a hoot for us ladies of the East to be mixing with a different type of crowd…but fun most definitely!

The big question is: does Love really suck?

No, not really.

And if I’m single over Valentine’s next year, you know where I’m going to be at.

 

Beware…Ginga’s and Ninja’s Ahead!

As much as I’d like to High Five my liver for yet another awesome weekend, it has gone on strike. In fact it’s not talking to me anymore and not taking my calls. I don’t know whether it has just decided to ignore me or if it has actually run away and found residence in a tee totaler. I wouldn’t be surprised. In fact I’m about to run away from me.

Friday evening was a fairly quiet one, if you consider having your new boss over, who the makes the meanest curry you have ever tasted, I literally ate myself into oblivion. It was not a pretty sight.

Mostof Saturday mornnig was spent lazing about, spending some quality tme with my daughter and mother. That evening was when all the craziness started. What do you expect when it is a Ginger Scotsman’s birthday?

Well, contrary to popular belief, Ginger’s do have friends and a hooligan bunch at that. Most I had met before, as it was a birthday there were copiuos amount of alcohol, in fact perhaps a little too much…no not really…because there is never enough alcohol is there? Again my liver would protest to that especially when it comes to the chocolate tequila. Or the Poncho’s, or the Archers, or the Jagermeister.

And when it comes to chocolate tequila you had better watch out. It tastes so great that you cant help but have another and another and another….and the next thing you know you end up talking about evolution and God and politics and all sorts of other things that are perhaps better left said when you sober.

A few of my friends I havent seen in a while and were quite shocked that I had put my boxing gloves up and was no longer beating people up in my spare time. Well this led to an awkward situation where I had to show a couple of men my triangle choking skills…well it didn’t fair too well.

Let me make it clear that I was not out to hurt anyone and I only tried this on willing participants. I also made sure to explain that if at any time they felt they wanted to get out of it to just ”Tap Out”.

I will also mention this is a very bad idea when too many shots have been going around.

The first man for a spin was a personal trainer friend of mine.  I did the lock and as everyone watched I applied some pressure. Well, instead of tpping me on the arm, he attempted to tap me on my leg, instead of my arm, which I was completely oblivious to. So it was up to the spectators to jump in and let me know the guy wanted out. Well it was close as he almost passed out.

The other spectators were all wary of me now and chose not to volunteer, except for Wes, who bravely came forward as the next victim. Well Wes took it very well, so well in fact that the passed out, and no he did not tap out, not even when everyone watching cried for himo do so. I had a snooze for a couple of seconds before he “woke up” again. Needless to say I chose not to choke anyone else that evening.

Ther was a woman there with the most awesome tattoo’s…which has me itching for another…so watch this space!

There was a casualty as well, when one of the ladiestried to help one of he guys from falling over, where she ended up falling and cutting her chin open. It was off to the hospital and five stitches later she came back a little high from the anaestethic they gave her.

Other that that here was lots of dancing,great music, a smoke machine, disco lights, shooting some pool and lots of talk…an awesome party all in all…even for a Ginger called Duff ;).

All I can say is that I am slightly relieved the weekend is over so that my poor liver can recover, but then I realize that tomorrow evening is the Love Sucks event. and then I think about the comng weekend…and I realize that my liver hasevery excuse to go AWOL.

Go Vertical or Go Home!

Every muscle in my body hates me right now, my legs, my arms, my ass, my heart, every one of them are on strike, doing a toi toi, demanding that I stop punishing them with strenous exercise, dancing and booze.

The weekend started innocently enough with a quiet evening planned at my mother’s place. My sister and I arrived with the fullest intentions of making a scrumptious meal for my mother. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and next thing you know we were at Dros drinking tequila. We met up with a cousin and spoke and laughed and drank and even got a little “deep”, which is allowed every now and then. We got back home a little before or after twelve, where I think I went to bed.

I awoke at 5am the following morning, a little late in getting ready for a kloofing adventure for my cousin, Jackie’s bachelorette party. It was a long trip to Bergheim, but we were in “Moms Taxi”(a minibus service for special events and travelling www.momstaxi.co.za). The entire trip reminded me of veldschool days back when we were young and free. The bridesmaids had gone through alot of effort to make sure that everyone had enough to eat and drink, from making muffins and sandwiches and packing energy bars and mini kit kats into our  lunch packs.

Very well done ladies.

Half way through we had to stop at a Wimpy in Magaliesburg to meet and follow the guides to Bergheim(where the kloofing was to be done). It was funny seeing 10+ women stampede out the bus and head for the nearest toilet, on the way passing cyclists and a group of bikers….and thats when it dawned on my cousin Chenelle and I that this was perhaps the perfect setting for a horror movie…and thats where it all went downhill.

On arrival, we soon realized this was not going to be just a walk in the park. From the above picture you can see that the kloof was accessible only by doing some serious hiking and then a climb up the to the first treeline, then into the kloof where we had to negotiate rocks, slippery surfaces and awkward spots that ranged from easy to difficult to get through.

We stopped for lunch in a little spot of sunshine where myself and my cousin discussed the horror movie angle. Since we were out in the middle of nowhere we likened our tale to something out of Wrong Turn or The Hills Have Eyes, where a bunch of women(us) are obviously going to get attacked by a bunch of mutated zombie hillbillies(turned zombie from the radiated spring water). There were more tha nough pleaces for the hillbillies to attack, hl it was so funny, even the mostly serious mountain guide with us had to crack a hillbilly joke here and there.

In the spirit of the whole extreme sport theme I have going this year, I was eager to try everyting, which often led me to being the first in line for the more difficult items on the kloofing list such as the Abseiling, which was about a20 or so metre drop through a waterfall. It was absolutely stunning. The going was a little difficult for someone that has only atempted abseiling only once ever before, at least 15 years ago, but great fun, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Everone managed the abseil, many happy to have it done, I believe a few definitely conquered their fears and others believed this would be the first and last time doing such a thing.

We then made our journey down, although going was not as easy as it may seem. I sustained a couple of scrapes and bruises on the way down myself but it was well worth it.

The last challenge of the day was a 5m rock jump into a crystal clear pool of water(nothing like the not so fresh waters of Poo Falls where we almost attempted the same type of jump). All the ladies weren’t too keen onjumping but a few said they would be slightly more convinced if I said and did the jump. Well, I was a little frightened, but then a voice in my head said why the hell not, the worst that could happen was that  could break a leg, which for me, is worse than living with the regret of not doing it. So I jumped. I screamed. I went into the cool waters and erupted from them feeling alive, more so tha I have so far this year.

I fell in love with the entire experience. The hiking, the abseiling, the quiet moments enjoying the peace and beauty of the nature that surrounded us. I was able to sit and reflect on my life, these first few weeks of this new year, and all the great things planned for the upcoming months.

There will be photos coming soon…so watch this space.

Saturday evening, although pretty exhausted from a day in the kloof, I had to hurredly prepare for my cousins formal party at Rhapsody’s where I enjoyed a scrumptious meal. And there again I had todash of t a previous commitment, which ultimately ended me up at Hi Flyerz, where the idiots were out in full force! Really the dance moves from some were enough to make me gag repeatedly. But eventually the music improved a hundred fold and we were able to party the night away.

It wasnt soon enough tat  found my bed and slipped off to sleep, if only for a couple of hours.

Sunday, the Minks and I had a yard sale that fizzled a little and we ended up sleeping our hangovers away in the shade under the hot summer sun.

All in all a great weekend…other than all the aches and pains I am sure I will survive.

A big thanks to Go Vertical Adventures (www.govertical.co.za) for a truly unforgettable and addictive experience.

Next…

PS: Sadly NO Zombie Hillbillies appeared, so the Horror movie failed dismally :(

Zumba What?

So yesterday evening after work I readied myself and went to gym.  I have decided to try the aerobics classes as I am not wired for individual workouts(see Decembers hectic fitness routine…oh wait…there was none!).

Last week was a particularly gruelling “Shape Mix” class which left me on the verge of passing out and my muscles giving me grief for the next 24 hours. I’d like to thnk of myself as fit, but anyone that knows me, knows they won’t be finding me doing any endurance exercises, so the fact that I was able to survive teclass was a miracle. Overall I loved it. There is nothing better than a workout that leaves you hot and sweaty.

I give the Shape Mix class a sterling 8 out of 10. Perfect for those that regularly do exercise, an always moving, high paced and energetic class. I would also highly recommend this class to men as it is very challenging.

Yesterday evening I was looking forward to a “Retro Aerobics” class. to my bitter dissapointment I arrived only to find they were doing a “Zumba Fitness” demo. I have nothing against Zumba itself, all fitness programs that work are awesome, but not all people are going to like it.

Zumba is a combination of Latin dance and exercise. Now I have no problem burning calories, but I have a huge problem making an ass out of myself in front of 40 plus women attending the class. Why will I make an ass of myself?

Well I was born with notoe but two left feet. I am totally uncoordinated and I cannot keep rythme – This I know for a fact as I had taken dance classes when I was younger and after the first examination I was told exactly that. My dreams as a dancer were shattered from that day onward. I now leave complicated dance manouvers to other more skilled friends, or on the odd occasion, when I have had perhaps a little too much to drink, I might whip out the bizarre move.

No, when it comes to dancing I do the bare mininum, shuffle from side to side and occasionally throw my hands up in the air.

So back to this Zumba demo. Complete and utter disaster, I was moving right when everyone was moving left. Moving forward when we were supposed to be moving backward and clapping hands when everyone else was touching their feet.  Yes I looked completel and utterly spastic. I had a good laugh, I felt compleely anduttely ridiculous and there it was either leave class or laugh, becuase some of those moves…well yeah…some of them are downright embarressing.

Another thing, although the class was physically challenging, it wasn’t as strenous as I would have hoped it to be. I was actually considering doing the following class just so that I could build up a decent sweat. But chores at home were calling to me so I had no other choice but to leave.

I give Zumba a meager 3 out of 10, the best thing about the class was the music, which wasn’t even fantasic. Otherwise this class is designed for beginners who have some idea of how to dance.

Tonight I have a “Move” class, which is another form of aerobics. So lets see how it goes.

You, Me and Cuervo…Now!

Move over everyone, the Goose has herself a new best friend, if you could call Tequila a best friend.

Tequila I have known through the years, we were never really mates but now and then we used to party hard together, who could forget bodyshots on the bar counter at the tender age of 18? But we parted ways. Jose Cuervo was a hooligan and for a while I set aside my dancing shoes and became the tame housewife of Benoni. Jose understood. He waited patiently, knowing I needed that time.

To cut a dreadfully long and boring story short, it is afterall Saturday and I am sure manyof you have more important things to do than read my blog, like go to the farm or rustle up Oppi Koppi supplies(which is in fact what I will be doing later).

Tequila and I re acquiented ourselves with each other last night. Yes, I have had a few shots in the 4 months since my divorce but Jose just never did it for me, until, like I say, last night. He was there and my friends introduced me once again. And if tequila were a person, well he’d probably be like my friend, Schalk, sarcastic and a little thorny around the edges. Not to everyones taste becuase you can never be quite sure if he is being serious with you(I’d like to think that it’s mental warfare all the way, and as soon as you start thinking he is serious, wel, that’s when you are in deep deep shit). The same goes for Tequila, you cannot be deathly serious and have a shot, you are either hardcore, downing it clean, or like me, the sissy that I am, you use salt and a little lemon.

There are two routes you can go with Tequila…you can either dance your ass off or you can hug your toilet bowl. I prefer the dancing your ass off option personally, but when it comes to Jose it is a lucky dip, because you never know when that one will be the one sending you retching your lungs out.

Last night Jose and I came to an understanding. he shall be there for me through thick and thin, but mostly when its Nicci time. He shall stand by me where other drinks shall fall short. He shall help me in my quest for the next blackout. He shall party right there with me. But he shall never be there for me in the morning. No, Tequila, I’m sad to say, will not be there to hold your hand while your head is pounding and your body is aching,oh no, tequila does not like morning afters. But hey, you have to accept it for what it is. You have to take the good with the bad.

But what is true, Tequila will always be there when needed.

Just one, two, three…oh fuck it….four shots away.

H2O Fever

With the news that the following H2o(only one of the biggest outdoor day raves in the world www.h2oparty.com) will be held on the 31st of March 2012 and the outstanding artist Avicii, who brought us the sick song “Levels” is set to take the stage…I find myself between a rock and a hard place.

I am a newbie to the H2O party scene but I must say, after my first one last year October I am hooked worse than a meth junkie.

That day not too long ago I was in my happy place, a day after my divorce, with friends that I cherish, having the time of my life. I remember standing there thinking things could not actually get better than that. But they did and they didn’t.

Perhaps that is why I so eagerly want to go back there, to feel the love, the promise of new things, the sun on my face, the promise of better things to come. The overall sense of wellbeing, knowing what path I was on and whom I wanted to share it with. The people that were there for me, who made it the experience I now so sorely miss.

I am sorely disappointed though that due to a lack of interest from those around me it may mean that I have to wait until October.

THIS SUCKS BALLS…yes I said it, it sucks balls.

Otherwise, I wish you all a freaking fantastic weekend.

Goosey ;)

Happy New Year!

I’d like to say I’ve been too terribly busy to write a new years post…but it’s more like it has taken me 4 days to recover from the New Years Party. Not that there were loads of people, it was actually just a small crowd, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t rip the ring out of it.

The party was hosted at Minki’s house and began with a”tame” game of 30 seconds…well not really…we had to add a drinking rule and that we did. There were alot of good laughs with the men pitted against the women. At one stage us girls “threw” a couple of rounds just so that we could drink a little more. As for who won? Well the women of course. Not to say that the men didn’t make a valiant effort.

There was drinking,laughter, dancing, a fire that kicked ass until the heavens decided to open and a frank kitchen discussion that had the Minkster(www.minkipraat.wordpress.com) blushing. As the clock struck we all had sparklers thanks to Minks…a cute little touch that was pretty awesome…although I was unable to light mine(I’m blaming the alcohol here). There was an escapade in a car that has left my shoulder a little bruised and a game of Kings that left a table cloth stained with wine.

I fiercely maintain that the bigger the hangover is…the better the party…well this one was huge, all of us suffered on the first day of the year. It was really and truly awesome to lie in the sun and bake, heads pounding, having the occasional dip in the pool and then later to chill and watch the sometimes if not gross antics of “Kenny vs Spenny”(although that didnt help any of our stomachs much when it came to the humiliations).

Regardless of how you bought in the New Year I do hope it was a happy one. If you’ve made resolutions I hope you can stick to them, and even if you don’t, it’s never too late to change no matter what day of the year. Take each day as it comes, some may be spectacularly great and some may be spectacularly bad. There will be changes and some things will remain the same.

If anything this year, resolve to live each day as if it were your last. Get things done, smile, cry, do what needs to be done. Help a friend, ask for help. Take chances, start a retirement fund, skydive, get married, get divorced…dance until your feet are broken, laugh until you cannot speak, open up to the experiences this year has for you.

Happy New Year!

 

WTF…What a Weekend!

So the weekend has come and gone, it is already Wednesday and I haven’t yet posted a word.

The reason behind this simple. I really and truly have not been able to find the time to even look at the laptop these last few days and honestly, now I should be catching up a pile of work instead of writing. But here I am, so let us get this over and done with.

FRIDAY NIGHT/EAST MEETS WEST PART 2

Friday evening after work I prepared for another trip to the west, to visit my boyfriend, Jaco. This time I asked him for directions, in the hopes of not getting lost. But it seems directions and myself will never quite get along, that or the weather, because the heavens decided to open up and I had to drive in a torrential downpour. I took a turn too early and found myself lost once again. Thankfully, it happened to be in the same place I was lost before so I miraculously managed to find myself at the correct complex. I was also very happy with the timing I made, despite getting lost I managed to be there in under an hour.

I was treated to an awesome dinner including steak, roast mushrooms, salad and rice(everything was well done although the rice could’ve faired better). My after dinner treat, was not dessert, and when I think of it now, it makes my stomach turn, was a youtube clip of a cyst being lanced. Ladies and gentlemen, it seems I have a strong stomach for the vile and disgusting.

The evening went very well despite the slight lack of memory I had for a short period of the evening(we won’t mention the bottle of Lavoka, the bit of Sambuca and the bottle of Wine that were consumed by only the two uf us). Hey,  I was even treated to a vegetarian omelette the next day(I really wish I could’ve eaten more than I had, but my stomach was in no mood).

One note on hangovers: if you’re head is pounding, take a couple of “Anadin 500″, you’ll be up and at it in no time.

SATURDAY/MINKI’S 30th 80′s BIRTHDAY PARTY

How it pained me to keep a secret from her, I had to. There is nothing better than a surprise birthday party. It was 80′s themed and I appropriately dressed like an 80′s hooker. Minki I so loved your pink nails(evil grin).

Other than a bit of drama(insert handbrake here) everyone came out alive, some with a few scratches, others with severe babalaas, and some a bit more and even fewer a bit less. And if you had to view the success of a party by the amount of alcohol consumed, well then this one would be up there with the best.

I do take my hat of to Allison Montgomery Maaske for everything she pulled off, the party and decorations were fantastic, the music also appropriately themed, an awesome sister to have, the Montgomeries really did pull it off. Minkster, you better be proud!

A trip to Nicci Beach followed, in fact a couple, can you say lost in plantation(including a near bundu bash in a polo)? There was much dancing to be done and you know its a good one when they kick you out. Also worth mentioning was a man that gave me R100 for he boyfriend I had( can anyone say weirdo?)

The only one left standing, no dancing, well into the Sunday morning was no other than Allison “Party Animal” Monteomery. What the rest f us did on hitting the couches? PASS OUT!

SUNDAY/THE HANGOVER

As a parent it never ceases to amaze me, that on my weekends off I will wake up with barely two hours sleep behind me. In fact, I think this is in fact a curse among all us parents, as we were all up and about my 9am.

Let’s just say that the word Hangover does not cut it.

I cannot remember when last I have felt so exhausted and bilious in my entire life. My cousin used to refer to a hangover like a sadistic man with a very large sledgehammer, one that wouldn’t stop pounding at your head. That is probably the closest I am able to define it. With every step I took, even when I slept, the pounding never quite went away that day.

That afternoon, when I collected my daughter, disaster struck.

She started bleeding from her mouth, and after her tonsillectomy last week, this was not a good sign. We took her to the hospital where it took three quarters of an hour to get admitted to the casualty/emergency ward(really, with a three year old in your arms, blood coming from her mouth and you still made us wait that long?) Once we were admitted and waiting for a doctor to grace us with their presence, Dayna vomited buckets of blood all over my ex. Promise me it looked like something from a horror movie. Well yes I lost it then, I went ballistic, I cried, I panicked, it was the worst moment of my life.

Turns out blood clots had formed on the operation site and these clots had dislodged and collected in her stomach. We werent aware of it as there were no outward signs of this. It was a close call for a blood transfusion and a few days worth in a hospital. Nothing quite makes you feel as horrid as seeing your child lie helpless in a hospital bed and there is nothing you can do.

Yesterday morning she was given the all clear and ready to go home. I was also immensely relieved to see my own home, my own bed and especially my daughter in high spirits.

What a long, crazy weekend.

H2 Oh Yeah!

The last time I woke up at 5 in the morning because I was excited was
probably when I was probably 12. So it came as a massive surprise to me that my
eyes opened and it was only 5am, it was still dark outside and only a few birds
had started twittering. There were butterflies in my stomach that did not want
to settle.

It was time to wake up.

And really, there is no need to tell you of the breakfast we had, or the time
that went into getting ready for the event, or the drinks we had before or the
beautiful people that we met.

What really matters is we arrived. We got to H2O and stood before the doors
to Happiness.

And we entered.

There is no easy way to explain how or what happened, so I’m going to try
keep this as short and sweet as possible.

Separately the elements of Music, Water, Sunshine, Bikinis, Friends
and Dancing have very little substance, all function pretty well on their own
and can be fun.

But mix all of these elements together and we are talking Nuclear Fusion. We
are talking about being in the middle of something so much bigger than you or I,
its that feeling you get before you jump into the unknown, when you know that
you are taken care of, that everything is just as it is and just as it should
be.

You are in the right place at the right time.

That is H2O.

And if you don’t believe me, you haven’t been.

Thanks to the team.

IT

WAS

AWESOME.