Today's a pretty representative day. It's Ian and my one-year anniversary, a thing I keep thinking about as our 'year-iversary' despite the annum prefix, as we've spent the last twelve months saying sleepy 'happy month-iversaries' before trundling off to work. Work in London, cold cold hellish London. Which is completely offset by the actual proper '-iversary' occuring when we're in sunny sunny heavenly Cape Town.

The last couple of days have been lovely, just unrushed and unplanned. I haven't gone out as much as I thought I would, but it's actually okay! I've managed to meet up with a lot of the MeSkanky crew (as we will tonight), see my uncle and catch up on the family gossip, and also see my lecturer and ex-classmate.
The exchange rate is also quite a nice touch on an already perfect holiday.

Tomorrow I fly to George, where my folks will come pick me up and take me home for a week; I fully expect sunny mornings with the dogs and warm evenings and prawns.

If the weather is the over-arching theme here, it's no coincidence. I am sunburnt but stubborn, I will have my tan!

Having the most lovely lie-in today after a night of too much booze, Ian and I were talking.

You go through your life, and good things happen and bad things happen. No brainer, let's keep going. You make plans for your life, as you make the plans, you start to develop a personal investment in them coming to fruition.
Okay, let me tell you what spurred this on - a friend (and flatmate) of mine just had his four-year work permit denied. As his 2 year working visa is expiring this week, this is a massive problem for him. As I've seen him walking and sitting around the flat this weekend, I sense this massive sadness coming from him; he's lost control of the situation, as all his future plans relied on him getting this visa.

It reminded me of where I was, not that long ago, when my company told me they weren't renewing my contract, and another time, when Ian and I had the hiccup that we thankfully overcame. When things don't go the way you've planned, your whole world collapses. Obviously the magnitude of this collapse is relative to the importance of the plan; with visas, jobs and relationships, it can be pretty devastating. Worse than, say, the store not stocking your favourite flavour of smoothie.

And they say that the bad moments in your life help to throw into relief the good times; if life were all sunshine we'd probably never recognise it. But it is such a desperately sad place to be in, to be living in the disappointment of an unrealised plan, that it can feel suffocating. I see my friend, and I hate how bleak he must be right now. I know that were I in his shoes, I'd be feeling pretty darn low.

Sucks to be sad; and sucks to have to see someone you care for be sad. I wonder sometimes if this is the way my life will be, whether I'll have some enormous disappointment that would colour the rest of my future. Like I would end up, on a bus, giving someone younger than me advice specific to my mistake, like 'don't invest in plastics, Jimmy!', trying desperately to live down my specific tragedy.

So, anyone watching the Olympics then?

aminal says:
hey honey how are you?
Laertes says:
I'm most excellent my good friend
missing ya chats
very sad not seeing you on msn as regularly as in the past
aminal says:
i don't want to bother you at work
Laertes says:
nah, 17:0 has come and gone,
now it's VAUGHAN time
or Nat-TAH-leee time
aminal says:
not at work today!
Laertes says:
oh awesome
how's the work going?
aminal says:
cool, i'm going back on mon
Laertes says:
and the BOY
how's that going?
you guys still good?
aminal says:
yeah, it's all good
Laertes says:
nice
looking so forward to see you in just over a months time
YAY
aminal says:
so keen dude
okay, so the dealio is that I have a few prepped questions, but I like to digress too so don't feel shy to run with it
Laertes says:
ok dude
I am your target... shoot

aminal says:
ok, so hi Aravorn - how was work today?
Laertes says:
Ooh, this is sounding serious
Work was very cool thanks
Started off frikkin busy like, then eased off a bit
doing a few dribs and drabs now though, but priority is my good friend.
aminal says:
ah, as it should be! are you enjoying it at the company you are at now?
Laertes says:
so loving it, I'm in my happy space
aminal says:
you met Rayne through your current work didn't you?
Laertes says:
it will be 2 years in july
Yip, i've known her for as long as i've worked here
doing what i do, you get to learn almost everyone in the company
so, when we say we've only been going out for 4 months, it tends to feel way longer
aminal says:
you guys went on a bit of a trip together, Knysna and Oudshoorn - how was that?
Laertes says:
awesome dude, I love that part of the country, and Rayne had never been there before
at first she wasn't all that keen, she didn't know what all the fuss was about over garden route
but, she ended up really enjoying
was cool, we got very Japanesey over it, snapped loads of pics
aminal says:
rayne looked a bit petrified on that camel!
Laertes says:
lol - yeah ??? you never saw my face
aminal says:
ha ha!
Laertes says:
it was really uncomfortable, thought my nads were gonna break
aminal says:
lol! can just picture you explaining it to the doctor
'there was this camel involved, and me and my girflfriend were trying to ride it'
'stop daar asseblief, ek gee nie om'
Laertes says:
Well, doc, it was kinda like this.....
LIEWE Aarde!!!
aminal says:
missing SA soooo much right now
i am so eager for feb
spoke to my mom this morning
Laertes says:
yeah dude, it's going to be rocking
aminal says:
Actually, I met you through Wa - it's weird because unlike Damien and Wa, I met you indirectly through Ian, some might say, FRIEND OF A FRIEND
Laertes says:
LOL - yeah
aminal says:
how did that whole thing start?
Laertes says:
which means the MeSkanky unwritten rule
can't date a friend of a friend
??? DAMN!!!!
aminal says:
ah is that it!
Laertes says:
whole thing, what how'd we meet?
aminal says:
well yes, when did i first meet you?
Laertes says:
Hmmm, (golden girls)
I remember it like it was yesteday (all goes cloudy effect above my head)
picture it, 2002...
anyway, the very first time i met you was at steers in Cape Town
Laertes says:
you guys went out on the town, i was partying with some others budds when i met up with wa, which is when i saw you
i think your first words to me were.....
Vaughan can you puts some steers sauce on my chips
it was at that point i just knew we would be friends for ever!!!!
normal people don't share such things
aminal says:
that is so unreal - I'm so sorry that you had to meet drunk-Natalie first
i remember that night, we'd been at cornerhouse
Laertes says:
then the 2nd time I met you was at your 21st down in Albany
aminal says:
how amazing of you to make that trip
still so amazed that you guys did that
Laertes says:
dude, no need to apolgise, I must have really impressed you with the amount of steers sauce I was able to steal, I mean, you invited me to your 21st

aminal says:
so where did this whole warren MY friend thing come from?
Laertes says:
hehe haven't used that for a while
I think it occured, you may have to double check with wa, but after my first really really drunken night
wa and I went out to get totally rat-faced
Billy Bum's we decided to see how many RED WINE Shooters we could have
cut a long story short (I won) beat wa, but I was trashed dude
aminal says:
aaaah! sounds killer!
Laertes says:
anyway, Tammy had to drive me home slept at her place
from then on i always told him that Tam was MY friend
she'd not do the same for him
basicly how it started.... (I think)
aminal says:
ah I see
Laertes says:
yeah, not as exciting as we make it sound
small things....
aminal says:
so tell me
what's your nephew's name?
Laertes says:
Caleb Josuha Leiberum
ah little ol' CJ
and your niece dude
aminal says:
lol, NEPHEW
Charlene is going to KILL you
Laertes says:
lol - sorry dude, thought she had a daughter
would love to meet your sis
aminal says:
havn't you met?
Laertes says:
yeah, never seen her
aminal says:
She's a doll
Do you end up babysitting anyitme? Are you like, the hands-on uncle?
Laertes says:
ah, not really dude
i'm kinda scared of the little guy
he cries whenever he looks at me
then again, he probably doesn't know who i am, very rarely see him, if i'm not working, i'm out with rayne or friends
yeah, just need to get used to him, but i draw the line at changing nappies dude
I must confess, at one stage of my life i was keen to have kids (one day), now not too sure about that
aminal says:
really? why?
Laertes says:
i think it's a combination of caleb keeping my bro and sis in law up, and
rayne talking about marriage later on in life
it's kinda daunting for a guy
aminal says:
well here's some scary news - every girl thinks like that
Laertes says:
i don't like talking about such shit (marriage)
hmmmmmm
aminal says:
it's not shit! it's just - hey, no one likes to think their relationship isn't going anywhere
Laertes says:
true, true, but come now, 4 months into it
here's the thing right
I've vowed never to get married before 29 years old
now rayne refuses to have kids after 30 years of age
which means we'd get married and not even a year later she'd be thinking about wanting to pop them out
I'd like to enjoy some years of marriage before that stage
am i wrong for thinking that way?
aminal says:
well sweet - these are important considerations but you find that you'll both make concessions if it reaches that stage
Laertes says:
Mmmmmm
aminal says:
i think you're still a while away from it though
Laertes says:
life's just too fast paced dude, can't even take a night to spend with me mates have a beer
just no time anymore
work work work, sleep ,
aminal says:
i know what you mean!
what happened to being grown being a good thing!
Laertes says:
yeah
give me back my youth, and my full head of hair
aminal says:
What's up with Call The Ball, why the obsession with planes?
watch top gun a few too many times?
Laertes says:
Hmmm, i've always loved aircraft dude, since 5yrs old or something crazy
aminal says:
yeah?
Laertes says:
and i'm always interested in war and politics and propaganda stuff
so, i've always wanted to keep a "NEWS" type website
keeping people informed of what happening in the world
example: the latest happens in iran with nuclear research
tensions in the world
So i though a millitary type site would be exciting
aminal says:
that sounds so cool! would be very time consuming i imagine
Laertes says:
calltheball is a nvay phrase , for when aircraft have to land on a carrier out at sea
one of the commands they got to give to the tower is whether they can see the "lights" which is refferred to the ball
Laertes says:
you gotta CALL THE BALL
aminal says:
i see!
Laertes says:
yeah dude, extremely time consuming, which is why it is where it is
stagnant
aminal says:
well blogging is no fun if you feel pressured to do it
rather than inspired
Laertes says:
yeah
also, i need to teach myself more programming etc, i'm so out of it, i used to know a few things
but work work work, has meant i've lost all of that
what you doing?
aminal says:
listening to you!
have had the world's least productive day
washed some dishes
that's about it!
Laertes says:
lol
you need that every now and then
aminal says:
so
Hey, remember that time you puked on my car? HAD TO GET THAT IN.
Laertes says:
LOL - yeah very embarrising
i was moping a bit that evening
aminal says:
why moping?
that evening was fun man!
Laertes says:
yeah it was
LOL - remember the time i held your hair back when you puked in the toilets at sprinbok
fun times
aminal says:
omg thanks vaughan
lol
Laertes says:
see we ARE really good friends
aminal says:
indeed! nothing is sacred hey!
Laertes says:
but yeah dude, i remember the time i chundered on your baby
i think ian drive me home and you followed
aminal says:
yeah. i was stressing hey
Laertes says:
i was a bit sad that evening, drunk myself into a pulp
stressing?
aminal says:
i was just freaked that we were going to get pulled over
aminal says:
ok, so last question
Laertes says:
LOL last question... already
aminal says:
yeah! we've almost been chatting for an hour though!
Laertes says:
I thought there would be really dodge stuff , after you told me that i didn't have to answer if i didn't want to
hour schmouwer
aminal says:
well i thought we might get more in-depth about rayne
Laertes says:
what you want to know
aminal says:
does she read your blog/any blog?
Laertes says:
i don't want people in the office knowing too much about my private life
Laertes says:
it's cool dude
aminal says:
ok, so here's the last question then
Laertes says:
Oh right
aminal says:
give me the 5 best things about 2005
Laertes says:
Hmmmmm
ok, in no particular order but
the first would be
Laertes says:
MY CAR!!!!
i love my car
she's gorgeous
aminal says:
yes! good one!
Laertes says:
i named her Megan
aminal says:
after megan mckenzie?
Laertes says:
yes not very original but yeah (Megan/Megane)
Laertes says:
the other
Laertes says:
Well, Rayne, she's a cool chick
Laertes says:
Nah, 'megane' mckenzie, there's no comparrison, my car has a way sexier ass
Laertes says:
1 = car
Laertes says:
2 = rayne
Laertes says:
3 = Oh my boet getting married
Laertes says:
4 = Nephew
Laertes says:
5 = well, its kinda naffy but
Laertes says:
Work was a real killer last year, came so close to loosing it all dude, the fire could have caused really major kak not just for me but for all the employees, we were really close to shutting up company
Laertes says:
so number 5 would be
Friends and family - came to the realization of how lucky i am to have them both in my life, keep me sane
aminal says:
that's not naff, it's good!
sounds like you had a lot to be thankful for last year
Laertes says:
True dude, very true
aminal says:
ok, you better go home now vornographer
thank you so much for taking part in this!
Laertes says:
so dude, how many peeps have you asked these questions to?
aminal says:
i have only interviewed one other person so far
have some more in the pipeline
Laertes says:
nice, I look forward to reading the outcome
aminal says:
tell me, what music are you into at the mo?
Laertes says:
hmmmm, truthfully dude
i've been listen to a lot of repeats
nothing new at all
last night i sat down with some music, needed to burn more cd's for the car
i need some new stuff
Laertes says:
but if i had to stick to something, i'd so I'm still a really big fan of Jack Johnson and Donovan Frankenreiter
I realised just the other day right, that the person who first introduced me to Jack was you
Laertes says:
question is when????
aminal says:
looong time ago!
Laertes says:
yeah dude, New years too
when you compiled that CD for me:
still got it
aminal says:
cool!
Laertes says:
(it's a keeper)
Laertes says:
argh i hate telephones
i'm so boring on them
i think i've told you that before
aminal says:
yeah!
Laertes says:
LOL dude, do u remember back when i came back to cpt, and was at work
you gave me a call
all frantic like, when that bird flu into the window and stunned itself
aminal says:
lol!
aminal says:
dude i freaked out
that poor bird
Laertes says:
you eventually took him to the vet /spca
shame, wonder how the little kid is doing
aminal says:
probably dead
Laertes says:
probably all cripple, standing at the robots in town
begging for cash
Laertes says:
or worse
selling those small pamflets
Jokes for Cash
aminal says:
'a window made me broke'
Laertes says:
by AJ Robin
aminal says:
lol
Laertes says:
so, what are your plans for the rest of the evening?
aminal says:
well, ian's coming home a bit late i think
i was keen to go and see king kong or jarhead
Laertes says:
did he get his company car dude?
aminal says:
not yet, still about 3 weeks
Laertes says:
yeah pretty keen for jarhead myself
aminal says:
dude, when ian and i get back to sa, we land on tues 21st, wa's birthday
are you anti drinking on a work night?
Laertes says:
oh wicked
dude, i'm so keen
Laertes says:
it may cause some sort of divorce
LOL
aminal says:
we need to play some sovreign. tell rayne to come with
Laertes says:
but yeah so keen to go big on a school night
she won't
aminal says:
well, it's cool, we'll get all the hilarity and puking out the way so when we have the big party she won't be bleak with you
Laertes says:
but i'll promise you this, there aint gonna be no puking
LOL
aminal says:
right
Laertes says:
well, not in my car anyway
aminal says:
we should like go to a random pub somewhere - what was the that pub in tableview?
i think wa knows the one
Laertes says:
blue peter?
aminal says:
nah
it's like below the mexican kitchen
Laertes says:
there are a few there now
the place has grown
aminal says:
ah
buckleys
Laertes says:
that place looks so skank
aminal says:
it is!
that's the fun!
Laertes says:
LOL
aminal says:
charlene went there with us, with janine and wa and ian
and she was like CHUGGING the amstel, we timed her and she downed them out the bottle in 4
seconds
Laertes says:
FRIKKING
your sistah ROCKS
aminal says:
what a chav :P
aminal says:
dude we must go to springbok on the friday i'm there
Laertes says:
Noooooo, dude, we're gonna feel so old

aminal says:
nah we'll go dancin!
(edited nastiness here)
aminal says:
yeah i know you like that shit
Laertes says:
what, afrikaans?
aminal says:
yeah
'ooo ja dis lekker'
Laertes says:
dude, didn't realise you watched afrikaans porn
you and ian get up to DirrRRy things that side
aminal says:
ja we like to talk like rocks while we get it on
Laertes says:
cool dude, i'm outtie
thanks for the chat honey
it was super good
aminal says:
ok, thank you again my friend
twas awes
Laertes says:
tell Ianus I say HEllllLOOOO - And tell hime he better choose a Renault for his Car!!!!
see you in the Feb!
Junking Times Come Alive Again!
aminal says:
cool honey!
aminal says:
bye!

Why I love my boyfriend:

"I wish you could turn this heater on only to halfway; there are only 2 settings on this thing: 'motherfuck' and 'cold'."

I'm not going to do it. I'm NOT going to do it.

But suffice it to say, were I to blog about my work, this blog would be a whole lot more interesting.

If you’re a fan of Michael Caine, you’ll be pleased to learn that this is the old-fashioned, series , wavy-hair, ultra-cockney version of Michael Caine, and his performance really underscores the fact that he is one of those true, he’s in the iron man club of acting. One of those few actors that is always good, no matter what the character is, no matter what the movie is, whether his expectations for the role are high or low, he is always good.

There aren’t a whole lot of actors in that category, Morgan Freeman is one, Gene Hackman probably the king of iron men, John Cusack, Jack Lemon, Michael Caine, these are actors of whom you could say, they’re just plain always good; when they’re in little low-budget indepedant high impact heavy-lifting dramatic roles, they’re great, when they are the scientist on the undersea, deep space rescue mission that has to explain how the big glowing ball is actually a conduit between the past and the present, they’re good in that too. Even in Jaws 3D Michael Caine was good, I think chiefly because, they always focus on the acting, their job is to use every performance as an opportunity to learn. They never get trapped in one single character. Michael Caine, the fact that he was able to escape his Alfie character, as the lovable wavy-haired cockney rogue and has been able to move on to different performances in every single decade is just a testimony to how much work he puts into this and how much he values the decision he made to not work for his uncle’s paint store and give this acting thing a try.

You see so many different actors that have managed to stay working for twenty thirty years, usually, it follows a very very tired and very very sad path, like Christopher Walken. Really great actor when he first started getting roles, big roles in the 70s, you could see, this is a guy who could be one of those iron men; but then he started letting his looks and letting his delivery dictate how he acts in every single movie so he became the creepy guy and he became typecast as the creepy guy and now he finds himself in hell where he has to parody his own typecasting, he does probably the most successful and the most accurate Christopher Walken impersonation in the business.