Life Quest (and other stuff)

I like to (on occasion) pretend to be a grownup and spend some time with my hubbie having a grownup evening out. Having kids do make this harder, coz now we are talking babysitters as well, but when the event is important enough plans can be made.  So when I heard that Kahn (yes, Parlotones' Kahn) will be performing at "Die Boer" in Durbanville, gears started clicking... First, I strongly hinted at my hubbie. Soon enough I outright nagged, and started looking for a babysitter in the hope that we will be going. So when he let me know that he got tickets, I was thrilled. As one does when you leave your kids in someone else's care, last night I told the young ones to "be good" (what does that mean anyway?) and had the 6 year old pipe up... "listen to the kidsitter you mean, we are NOT babies." The 10 year old just rolled his eyes, and I am unsure if it was aimed at me or the little sister.  Sporting a black dress (any colour as long as it...

I have been having a rather quiet existence lately. Not in the “I am able to keep my mouth shut” sense (like that will ever happen), but rather in the, “our iTunes home share has been acting up and I’m too lazy to go fetch and insert the CD into computer” kinda way. So my work days have been quiet. On occasion Ted Talks and YouTube can tie me over, but some projects require concentration that gets in the way of paying attention to TedX.   So, quiet it has been. Until yesterday. Yesterday I was reminded that you can listen to music on Sound Cloud. So no prizes for guessing that that is where I have been getting my musical fixes from for the past 2 days. Specifically “ The Sighs of Monsters ,” an art rock band from London. Full disclosure – I do own a CD of theirs and is related (by marriage) to 2 of the members, which is mostly why I selected them to listen to. Their music is a mix of styles – caring more about what the song needs than being placed in a (mu...

By a twist of fate I unexpectedly ended up at the Mumfordand sons concert last night, at the Grand Parade in Cape Town. Initially I thought that the Parade is a rather weird venue, but it turns out it is a rather lovely space. The sound was great and surrounding buildings and backdrop of the mountain made it rather special.  And finding parking was also no problem. There were also park and ride services available, but that had to be prebooked, and as I only found out on the day I was going, that wasn’t an option for me. Hearing some bad reviews regarding the cashless system that was used, I was a little nervous about queuing for drinks, but they must have sorted the trouble spots, as we had no trouble with the NFC payment system. I was a bit disappointed though that there was only beer, Redbul, soft drinks and water available. I would have loved a cider in the summer heat (beer is too bitter for me), so I settled for Coke and water. I was also surprised at the ...

What is 30 days of truth? I do wonder from time to time what happened to a friend of old. Usually this happens when I am somehow reminded of a time in my life where they were present, or I might be reminded of an event in my life where they were involved. Maybe I'm in a video shop and I see a movie title which takes me momentarily back to the first time I saw the movie and the people I was with. Then I would wonder, "what ever did happen to so and so..." But for me, that is usually where it ends. I don't even look them up on Facebook. I don't know who Anneri is, but she left an impression. I guess she really does not want to be forgotten, or maybe someone is trying hard not to forget. Cause the truth is, with today's tech at our fingertips, the excuses for not keeping in contact are getting thin. If we are not speaking/emailing/following each over on Twitter then we probably don't make sense in each other's worlds anymore. And if we ...

What is 30 days of truth? The list is long. Very, very long. But since I've just been to Tina's concert ( mentioned in day 4 ), I'm going go with music. I want to record a CD. And I want to do it myself. Maybe I'll get some help from my 2 year old... I play piano and clarinet and can bang a drum a bit and know at least three chords on the guitar, so with a little more practice (hubbie gave me a bass guitar last Christmas) I can cover the musical elements. (I'm not saying it's gonna be the best CD ever, just mine.) I've been writing songs since I was a teenager, but would actually like to compose a new body of work for this album. The dining room is now a music room (never had a table anyway) with microphones, midi drums, guitars (electric, acoustic and bass), keyboard and even, I kid you not, a tambourine. Everything is hooked up to the sound board and (admittedly not great) amp, so now I (read: hubbie) just have to add my computer and I can s...

What is 30 days of truth? Once again a tricky one... Once again not something I really prescribe to. I tend to forgive pretty easily. Cross me and my temper can flare up to super nova proportions in a matter of seconds (hence the August resolution of keeping cool, and that is going pretty darn well, even if I say so myself). But in an equally short time I'm usually over it. You say sorry, I say it's cool. We go on. Sometimes it means we go are separate ways since we cannot agree on the final outcome, but we go on. The problem is, I do not do so well with the second part of the well known saying. You know the one I'm talking about. Forgive AND forget. I am much more of a once bitten always shy kinda girl. I don't easily forget. Even when I truly accept your apology, I probably won't forget. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about things like stealing my parking spot or forgetting to record my favourite TV show. That I can put from my mind without s...

There are some songs you instantly like. You hear the first opening notes of the intro and your ears tingle in anticipation of what is to come. Then there are the songs you instantly despise. You hear the first notes and in an attempt of self protection you cover your ears with your hands and mumble, my ears are bleeding, my ears are bleeding. Then there’s the other type. The grow-on-you type. Upon first listen you might think: what colour of crap is this? But as time passes, you find yourself humming along when it comes on the radio, and before you know it you are belting it out in the shower. I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas is one of those songs. I gotta feeling... That tonight's gonna be a good night That tonight's gonna be a good night That tonight's gonna be a good good night And it has reached the point where it not only reinforces the possibility of a good good night. I have even cunningly adapted it for daytime use. Thank you, Black Eyed Peas.