so, i've fallen off the face of blogging earth. part of that has to do with me only having a few minutes a week on the computer with the other part of my time spent on an island where there isn't electricity ... there still are places on this earth where this phenomenon takes place.

have to say that this change of pace has done me a whole lotta good. it's been amazing to realize how much this sort of basic lifestyle appeals/suits me. not sure why or how, but my body feels better and i just am better. not bad for living in a little piece of paradise, eh?

or maybe it has to do with being barefoot all of the time ... i dunno. maybe it's a subject that needs researching .. okay, notsomuch. brainwaves aren't what they used to be.

the weather here is getting quite hot as we head into october. on the bright side, the mangoes will be ripe for the picking in a couple of weeks. there are so many mango trees in the village that, when they are nice and ripe, you'd be hard pressed not to get one dropped on your head as you pass through it's shade. by the time the season has ended - like any other fruit/veg - you've OD'd on them that you can't bear to look them.

until next year.

bring on avocado season is what i'm sayin'.

anywhoooo ... i just wanted to take some time to write a quick update on the blog and say hello. not sure if anyone is really reading this anyway :o) it has been ages.

hugs to all,
p x

crowded house

who would've thought that it would be this easy?! liquidation is my new favourite word. getting rid of my shtuff has led to feelings of liberation and relief ... hey, isn't that a line in a Crowded House song?! how apropros! a ha! now i know what to name my blog entry ... anyway ...

i was always a fan of streamlining my possessions. certainly, no one could accuse me of being a pack rat! i made it a practice to go through my closets once a year. it seemed that i was always organizing. it was something i needed to do since i lived in a small apartment with only one small closet and a small wardrobe. unfortunately, when it came to clothes, out with the old meant that i made space for the new.

it was the topic on my mind these past few days since this week i'll be packing my clothes and footwear to ship home to my sister's for storage. with only a week and a half to go before i head off, all that is left to do is pack and get rid of my car.

the saddest thing i had to let go of -and it was picked up today - was my kayak. even worse, i didn't even get the chance to use it here! i tried for over a year to get into what's called 'canoe clubs' so that i could store my boat and launch from there into the Thames for a paddle.

i have to say, that after going to five of them in the area, i was so utterly discouraged. they were all snobs and couldn't understand that i paddled for pleasure and had no interest in competing. therefore, they had no room for me, nor my kayak.

annoying thing was that my kayak kept being referred to as a canoe. what the fuck?!

so i had to sell. on the bright side, i sold it to a lovely guy who is an outdoor education and leadership professor (an uber-kewl course that includes all the fun stuff like kayaking, rock climbing and expeditions) at a college that is located just off of the south coast of UCK.

and he calls it a kayak - not a canoe :o)

needless to say, it's going to an awesome home and being put to amazing use. which was important to me. he's even going to send pics and keep me posted on how it's being used. not to rub it in, but he understands what it meant to me. and that's why i sold it to him and not someone who offered more cash for it.

ah well ... everyone, and everything, seems to have a story to tell, don't they?

the countdown starts, i'll be leaving UCK on May 24th (incidentally, that is Fran's bday!).

mis-adventure

so, it's been awhile since i last posted a blog entry. tends to happen as life changes gear, ya know what i mean? so, as i sit here with a full bodied south african merlot (which is not code for 'hot, hunky man' in case you were wondering), i'm getting reminiscent about things since times are a changin'.

yet again.

mis-adventure indeed. shall i re-cap? okay ... but only since you've asked!

so, it all started when i moved to the UK due to an opportunity through work. arrived and only lasted 5 days with an OCD infected, neurotic woman as a housemate. off i go, hotel bound for a couple of nights after which i moved in with an acquaintance who had extra room in his house. thankfully his only demise was that he liked to walk around half naked ...

which wasn't such a bad thing ;o) only looked - that couldn't be helped - he was parading around!

i digress ... so i found a lovely apartment that could house myself and all of my sports gear after a couple of weeks and moved in. neighbour turns out to be a raving lunatic who cannot control his tourette's syndrome nor his multiple personalities.

i break my arm just biking around town having to navigate on the opposite side of the road. doh! the cursed bike was stolen from my second floor balcony about a month ago. which made me feel slightly ripped off! i know that the bike was nothing but agony for me but i would've liked some cash for it at the very least!

so, off i go to look for another apartment. i found one closer to work but more expensive. at this point i just wanted something normal! i move in. all is good. it's a 10 minute walk into work if i take the time to smell the flowers along the way.

tried to buy a mini cooper - many times - but no success. ditch flirtatious car salesman and presto (!) buy a mini cooper (2006 park lane) from a lovely saleswoman that did the job within 24 hrs vs 3+ months.


traveled to: pamplona, munich, luxembourg, all around the UK to play ultimate frisbee, viareggio, pisa, florence, lucca, back home, johannesburg, cape town, and alpe d'huez.

in the meantime, i've had a few visitors from home stop by, the most recent being a wicked 11 day visit with my sister (Fran). we had such an awesome time!


work (sigh). what can i say? they move me all the way to the UK and then don't know what to do with me when i get here. folks, this is what broke the proverbial camel's back. it's been a year and a bit and i've had enough.

so what did i do?

i quit.

that's right. i quit. i gave my notice (mandatory 4 wks) and am leaving UK (pronounced 'uck' at this point in time). it's not that i have hated being here, it's been an interesting experience but it's time to move on.

so here i go ... again.

instead of heading back home, i've decided to take a rather extended leave (although, i'm not allowed more than 9 months according to my lovely sister) back to malawi ... back to kayak africa.


apparently things have changed from the last time i was there. the village now has electricity, which means better access to the internet. although i'll probably be spending most of my time on mumbo island, or on top of the baobab tree on domwe ...

so folks, i'll be in touch :o)

ski trip pics

here is one of the few decks/patios that i would frequent to take a much needed 'rest':
(in the pic: myself, Bryony and Gary)

all of us who travelled together. check it out, we were above the clouds:
(in the pic: JB, Bry, Bridgit, G et moi)

at the top of alpe d'huez chillin' and having a bite to eat:

Bridgit (a.k.a Bids from NZ) et moi:

Bry and G at the top:

man, the weather was just awesome. here are the boys and i enjoying our pints at the end of a long day of skiing:

finally, us (except Bids. she's acting as shutterbug) without our ski gear on.
we all went out to celebrate G's bday:

in a nutshell, that was my trip!

safari pics

i have found that the thing about taking pics while on safari is that you just can't seem to get enough. inevitably i always end up with so many pictures of the same animal it's untrue. but to me, i find it such an exceptional experience when the animals are right there in front of me. they are so vivid and amazing, i can almost touch them.

it's like i get to see a piece of their world. just thought that i would share ...

lilac-breasted roller

onlooker to the battle ...

he was a magnificent bull elephant. absolutely huge. kept watch over a herd of about 25 elephants that were refreshing themselves in a nearby watering hole.

also saw a croc, fleeting glimpse of a lion, vervet monkies, a herd of elephants, black rhinos, kudu, buffalo, waterbuck and giraffs ... wicked stuff but i didn't want to bore you any more than i already have.

go to africa. go on a safari.

survival of the fittest ?

made it through the sales conference. it was like any other conference, a lot of booze, coffee, and power point presentations. rah rah rah!

yeah, whatever.

i know, such a bad attitude. maybe not 'bad'. maybe cynical is a better word. the thing is, the conference was held in orlando at a disney hotel. i have to explain that i am not a fan of ppl in costumes. i can't see their faces so i automatically think the worst. there has to be some psychotic perv lurking behind Goofy, Mickey or Minnie's 'face'.

makes me nervous.

i'm sitting there, having bkfst, when along comes Goofy, Chip (other half of Dale) thinking it cute to peer over my shoulder at what i am eating. maybe it was my neurosis combined with a mother of a hangover and jetlag ...

i. was. not. amused.

if it wasn't for the shrieking kids around and too many other witnesses, i would've loved to have drop kicked Goofy in the nutz. but that's just me.

and another thing, you could not buy chips, or mints, or snacks of any kind (for that matter) without it being in the shape of Mickey and friends ... it was freaky. i'm beginning to think that maybe i'm just not a fan of shove-it-in-your-face-and-up-your-butt branding.

moving on ...

went to france to a resort called alpe d'huez with some friends. first time skiing in europe and i was pretty excited to check it out. the problem in europe was the lack of snow. luckily enough, the week before we went they got some snow so we had a couple of good ski conditions.

alpe d'huez was quite pretty. we were at a high enough altitude that we were above the clouds. it was sunny the entire week although, i can't say the same for the valley down below. they might've had one clear day in seven. in the sun, temps rose to 21 degrees celcius. beautiful but tough on snow conditions.

didn't really matter because my legs (and body) were so tired after three days. it got to the point where i would grab my gear, trudge up to the lifts, maybe do a couple of runs and then veg out on some deck chairs in the sun - wait for my friends to join me - and enjoy a beer to quench my thirst. it was tough work, don't kid yourself ... i'd still have to ski down!

safe to say, i prefer a more laid back approach to ski vacations :o)

with no sign of snow in the upcoming weather forcast, i felt sorry for the ppl arriving on our departure day. the only fair skiing you could do was in the afternoon when the snow warmed up a little. otherwise the ice was quite treacherous in the mornings. after a week of such warm conditions, there were a number of places on the mountain where the ground (a.k.a rocks) were starting to show through.

rocks and skis = not a great combination.

oh well, i made sure to tell them that the beer tasted pretty good up on the mountain patios. it was the least i could do.

still haven't bought a camera - so no pics - will have to wait until my travel companions pass them on. another pic blog is due!

that's all i have for now folks. hope all is well.
hugs to all !

phresh

new year. new start. blah blah blah and the usual new year salutations to you all.

i really don't have much to report. it was an uber-quiet holiday for me here in the UK. being the c'mas orphan, i was immediately invited to friend's places for dinner and festivities. so i wasn't alone.

the best part of the holidays was on boxing day. a friend of mine and his family invited me to join them at this little country pub where they know the owner (otherwise known as pub landlord and lady). there was morris dancing and accordian playing. a fire in the fire place and warm mulled wine. the place was packed.

here is where i truly experienced the pub culture that this country is so well known for.

new year's eve found me joining some friends at their house for a black tie dinner. there were about eight of us and i ended up 'sleeping' (not passing out) at the top of the stairs by about 12:30. such class. but hey, i made it past midnight. that's key.

i'm off to a sales conference next week. hopefully i'll survive the intended torture - which is death by powerpoint - and live to experience the ski trip i've got planned in France shortly thereafter.

and that's all she wrote. like i said, not much to report.

good fishin'
keep your stick on the ice
best wishes for the new year