South Africa's golden games

After the disappointment of the 2008 Olympics where SA came home with one silver medal, SA has an olympic team to be proud of... the 2008 Paralympic team, who flew the country's flag high and outshone everyone at the games, well i think they did anyway!! Every race i watched on TV filled me with pride and caused an instant case of goosebumps! :)

Oscar celebrating after winning his third of 3 golds in a world record time, taking the treble (100m, 200m and 400m), what a boykie :)

With golden girl, Natalie du Toit (5 golds), and golden boy, Oscar Pistorius (3 golds), leading from the front then rest of the althletes set about smashing all records and coming home with 21 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze with a total of 30 medals and in 6th spot... an unbelieveable result and one that has made me extremely proud! :) Many world records were recorded and Natalie du Toit was awarded the the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award, all in all, an outstanding result... you guys ROCK!! :)

Glorious end for Paralympic Team SA by The Good News

Sjoe, where has the time gone?

As i write this i have 23 days left until i depart for the states and i'm not quite sure how i'm going to fit all i have to do into my days! Just to give you an idea... this week is my last week at work and i have 3 shifts to work as well as having an event to attend every night. Monday a birthday party in Ballito, Tuesday dinner with a friend, Wednesday i'm working, Thursday is free for now (but it is phuza Thursday, so anything could happen), Friday i'm working my very last shift (YIPEE) and then have a wine tasting evening... yum yum, Saturday have shopping to do for the Otter Trail next week and then dinner with friends at Moyo and Sunday is family day... eish, i'm tired just writing that and don't forget i have to fit studying in there as my exams are coming up very shortly as well!!

As mentioned above, myself and 10 others are doing the Otter Trail next week... really can't wait to get lost in the middle of nowhere for a while and away from the real world! We leave early on Monday morning on our road trip which will take about 14 hours but are breaking it up and taking it slowly. We are stopping in Coffee Bay on Monday night and staying at the Coffee Shack, it should be a good party. Tuesday we complete our road trip and stay at Wild Tongue, where we will be doing our carbo loading and resting. Wednesday morning we set off on the trail and will be trailing until Sunday where we return to Wild Tongue on Sunday night and then set off early on Monday morning to return Durbs! All in all, it sounds like an awesome week of adventure and i'll have loads of fotos to share! :)

the bar in casa la chapman, best pub in town and the location of the birthday party in Ballito. this pub is owned by father Richard and located at his home, it is also fulled to the max with "stuff" from all over the world

why the long face... it's a rusta wildebeest :)

Chroniciles of my kitchen

Since i'm slowly and not so surely packing up my stuff at the mo i've started taking random fotos of my little home... here are a few from around my kitchen.

met Iris and Daisy... when i moved in Iris was on her last legs but with lots of love and many conversations she has come alive in style :)

my favourite saying on magnets... what more could i ask for?

a display of my favourite wines... notice they are empty :)

the "very" full fridge... there is normally more beer in this fridge than water but i think we have more chilly sauces than anything else!

Sunflowers to celebrate spring

A friend of mine bought me some sunflowers as a get well pressie (after another episode of the flu) and i couldn't resist taking a foto or 10, because sunflowers are really beautiful in all their glory! :)

In other news, i've just had the keyboard on my laptop fixed, after an unfortunate accident rended it broken... it's fabulous to have my laptop fully functional and travel friendly again :)

States bound update

It's a month and counting now til i get on that plane... states bound!! :) i have a job, a visa, a plane ticket and a place to stay... i also have a heart that wants to take off, so everything is in check!!

I'll be leaving on a jetplane on 9 October, landing in Orlando the following day after almost a full day of travelling and then making my way to Vero Beach, Fl which will be my home sweet home. My job involves working as a waitron at a very exclusive country club called Johns Island for 8 months, until 31 May 2009, after that i'll decide whether or not to extend my contract! I'll be sharing an apartment in Palm Estates, Vero Beach with fellow employees of Johns Island.

This is going to be a whole new experience for me... i'm doing the states differently this time, oh and my friend Julz is coming along for the ride... watch out America, a little bit of South Africa is arriving!! :)

2010 stadium... the amazing progress

I can see this stadium from work and everyday without fail and stare at it for a couple of seconds and admire the amazing progress that is going on... it makes me really proud that South Africa and Durban can pull off something so amazing!! Bring on 2010... we will be ready :)

The progress is amazing... that arc grows everyday!

Jelly fish in a tank

I got a bee in my bonnet the other day and decided to sort out all my fotos from my travels and life and rediscovered this foto i took at the Denver Aquarium... Jelly fish under the spot light, one of my favourite! :)

Winter beach

Salt Rock on a chilly winter's day

Spring has sprung :)

Spring has arrived in South Africa and here i am, sick in bed with flu... oh the joys, but after my last experience with the flu which landed me with a dodgy ticker i've decided to take it easy and not push myself!!

Winter was a very busy season for me, loads of events from mid-xmas and The July to Madam Zingara and the Durban Airshow, not to forget supporting Trish as she ran the Comrades and helping out the the KZN Rowing Regatta... i think my liver got a big wake up call, but i had an awesome (yes i used that word) winter and met some fantastic people! :)

But i think the biggest developement is my pending return to the states (37 days and counting), i got my visa, resigned from Billys (really enjoyed that) and am now just waiting on the plane ticket but everything is in place... except my head, which is lagging a little but coming around slowly!! As much as i'm excited about going back to the states, i've been home for 2 years now and have settled back into the South African way of life and am really enjoying myself, but i know i need to go... for many reasons, its a chance of a lifetime!

I'm now in the middle of studying for a couple of exams i write before i leave and planning a trip to Cape Town and the Otter Trail at the end of September... loads to look forward to in the next couple of weeks... so, as the song says, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" :)