Snow flurries, electricity outages, no water, being of service and more
Its been a fortnight of living life and surviving the extreme sport known as life in South Africa.
Winter continues apace with temperatures plummeting so much that on Monday, 9 July 2023 there were snow flurries all over Jo'burg; in some places the snow fell and stayed on the ground long enough for people to make snow angels and in our little corner the flurries fell and disappeared. Elmo was so intrigued jumping up to try and catch the flurries; it was a perfect video clip but I messed up and so the only record of this cuteness is etched in my memory.
With the plunging temperatures, Eskom implemented stage 6 loadshedding which meant 2 x 4/4.5 hours of outage plus 1 x 2 hour outage. Freezing cold, minimal electricity supply and reduced to no water supply due to a much-needed project to conduct essential maintenance on the water pipes all over Jo'burg. We had every possible receptacle filled with water including the bath and we were coping fine until a leak developed under the kitchen sink, the only solution to stop the leak on the Thursday evening was to switch off the water including the geyser. Our landlord, Nigel, came on Friday morning to fix the kitchen sink leak but his repairs were not 100% effective so he has to return tomorrow - talk about a Fawlty Tap not Towers scenario. It was so wonderful to FINALLY be able to have hot showers at about midday on Saturday - thankfully we had switched off the geyser unlike some of the other occupants at Falconwood as their geysers burst when the water supply was restored. The plumbers who were very visible buy at work yesterday were very happy thanks to the stupidity and/or naivety of those residents!
I did not go to either EDA or Co-Anon meetings on Saturday - it was too cold, we woke up to 4 hours of loadshedding and I decided spending the morning in my pjs until the electricity was restored and we could finally enjoy hot showers. Last Saturday I raced from EDA to Co-Anon so this Saturday was a much-needed break with me doing some work work for a couple of hours; then shower and we went to Cresta so I could donate blood. I was a tad anxious as I was barred from donating blood for 6 months because my iron levels were too low despite my daily intake of spinach; but if you are not also eating enough of other fruits and vegetables which aid the absorption of the iron, your body is not going to absorb it. So I have been taking an iron supplement and yesterday my iron was 15.4 so I got the green light to donate blood and my blood donation was finished in 9 minutes; I am a fast bleeder it seems!
Sunday morning the sun was out and shining bright and warm with no sneaky chilly breeze and it was wonderful sitting al fresco at Silver Birch at Lifestyle enjoying breakfast with Lindy, Mali and Johan. We had a great time and when we finally left having overdosed on caffeine and delicious food; we did a quick grocery shop before returning home to do more laundry in an attempt to catch up with those household tasks which could not be done due to no water. I did join the international Co-Anon meeting at 5pm which was great as I had missed a couple of meetings this last week; Tuesday evening I had the privilege and honour of being asked to share at a rehab family meeting online which was good and yesterday, as mentioned, no meetings for either EDA or Co-Anon.
Last Sunday (9 July) I accepted Ros's invitation to join her to participate in Bingo at Del Forno which is not too far from home. It was an event organised by the "Girls Got Wine" group and we had so much fun; it was awesome to see Bronwyn, Dominique and Maria there too and despite a pathetic attempt at getting all the numbers so I could shout "bingo" I had lots of fun and that's what counts! I have some news re my book following this event but all will be revealed once the venue has been confirmed as there is a slight glitch with the venue - watch this space!
From Bingo, I went to see my Mom and took her out for the afternoon. I have been feeling bad that I have not spent quality time with her and given her an outing away from her retirement village environs. We had a lovely afternoon and were able to find her some lovely additions to her winter wardrobe so she was happy. We indulged in sharing a slice of red velvet cheesecake and cappuccinos at Thyme on Nicol. The presentation was very good down to the "bite me" .
At work, in our litigation insurance department, weekly "A Day in the Life" talks are held where industry leaders, movers and shakers are invited to talk to the LINS department either in person or virtually on their "A Day in the Life", their work etc - this last Wednesday, 12 July - I was that speaker!! I was honoured, humbled, nervous and uncertain of what to say etc - I asked Tristan to join me as since he wrote a chapter in my debut book and it is about him, I felt it was a good idea to include him. I was very touched to receive an e-mail wishing me good luck from the firm's CEO (who is also in LINS) and leading up to noon when it was time for the talk, my colleagues were telling me how excited they were and how they were so looking forward to the talk etc etc. There were about 35 people present in the meeting room and I do not know how many people were on line from Jo'burg, Cape Town and Durban; and it was wonderful to see Jess on line all the way from London (she had been part of "Team Dinnie" at work and is a dear friend who is sorely missed by me). I had no clue really what to say and possessing zero faith in myself, I am still second guessing myself (its a character defect and flaw I need to work on) - Tristan spoke very eloquently and as always I was so proud of him. I ended our talk reading the last couple of pages from my book and then we had opened up for questions - there were a lot of questions and the feedback we both received was phenomenal. Sadly the talk was not recorded; and we hope that what we shared helped some people.
I really do not know where my lack of self-worth stems from; and that lack of confidence in what I am saying. I think it may stem from growing up with very high expectations put on my brothers and I; and with a genius of a Dad feeling that what we did was never good enough? I have to work on muting that pesky voice of self-doubt that is an unwanted guest in my head. I need to work on eradicating that spectre of the fear of failure which hangs over me. I have started listening to Brene Brown's "The Power of Vulnerability" and in the first chapter she discusses the feeling of "not good enough" which so resonates with me - I am going to write about this more in a separate blog post. She is someone who I admire, who inspires me and whose accent, I actually enjoy. She is so eloquent, extremely well-researched and learned; a remarkable source of inspiration.
So I am on a mission to believe in myself more - is it a "mission impossible"? I think not!
We are halfway through July, more than halfway through winter while Europe smelters and melts in ridiculous high temperatures (42 to 46 degrees in some places including my beloved bella Roma) - yet global warming and climate change are a hoax; just because some moron said so or some discredited and/or disgraced person said as much on a podcast ..... A new week is on the horizon; a new week of doing a whole lot of routine tasks in a rinse and repeat type of dance and that is just fine. Brene Brown is a big advocate of living an ordinary life - more about that too in the separate blog post. Ordinary is good; its fine and so my mornings will start with tea, Wordle and the New York Times Mini Crossword, some duolingo for my Italian before starting my work today and that is just fine!
Shout-out to Tristan and the others who organised an amazing Night of Comedy on 6 July 2023; an incredible initiative to raise money for the forthcoming Cocaine Anonymous convention. Johan and I had a great time; enjoyed a lot of laughs and well done to all the organisers for an incredible evening and event.
Out and about, recommendations and referrals
Thyme on Nicol - http://www.thymeonnicol.co.za/
Silver Birch Restaurant - http://www.thesilverbirch.co.za/
South African National Blood Service - https://sanbs.org.za/
What have I been reading/are reading?
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
What have I been watching on the small screen?
My usual staple of "bubblegum" tv
Betrayed (I listened to the podcast and ABC have made a 3 part documentary; its brilliant)
When Missing Turns to Murder
Grantchester
What have I been listening to?
Podcasts:
Something was Wrong
True Crime Daily
The Trial of Lucy Letby
Scamanda
Betrayal - Season 2
Flipping the Bird - Elon vs Twitter (fascinating listening and to learn just how much of a fascist Elon Musk truly is and is only a fan of freedom of speech when it suits him - talk about an egotistical narcissist!)
Marianna in Conspiracy Land
Killing Dad : The Crystal Howell Story
Audible:
"Shuggie Bain" by Douglas Stuart
"Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of young Hugh "Shuggie" Bain, a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in run-down public housing in Glasgow, Scotland. Thatcher's policies have put husbands and sons out of work, and the city's notorious drugs epidemic is waiting in the wings." (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/52741293)
It is Douglas Stuart's debut novel, which became an international bestseller and won him the Booker Prize. It is horrific, tragic, gritty, crude and crass; and so compelling - I was hooked. The story was inspired by the author's own childhood in Glasgow. It is to be adapted into a tv series by the BBC and will be filmed in Scotland; and hopefully will not deviate from the beauty and brutality of the tale.
Reminder: if you have read the book, please would you do me the honour of writing a review for the book's website and my author profile on Instagram. And if you are an Amazon client, if you would follow Barbara Steyn author on Amazon that would be fabulous and if you purchased your copy via Amazon, please would you be so kind as to review the book there. For book sales in South Africa contact me directly and international sales on Amazon:
Another reminder and request : if you are not already subscribed to this blog site please do subscribe! Please and thank you
Have a great week and if you are in South Africa stay safe, warm and in the northern hemisphere, stay cool and safe
"Social change is a million individual acts of kindness.
Cultural change is a million individual acts of resistance. “
Mary Pipher
Blessings, love and light
Barbs
xxx
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