Snippets

* My idiot level has gone down. Seems a lot of it was simply in my head. There's a bit of idiot residue around though.

* Heard from a long-lost friend overseas this morning, who married another friend from here. And they're getting a divorce! I don't have many friends who have taken such a drastic step, and it's kinda weird to think about them splitting. Yeah, I know it's the norm these days, but still quite harsh when it happens to people you're close to.

* Our students get a first-aid package when they register for one of the medical insurance schemes in SAfrica. Included is a single condom (as a colleague and I discovered). We were reading the instructions (for interest sake only!) and saw that it's for "normal width of 54mm". Of course we had to go haul out a ruler - which made us then burst out laughing once we saw what's considered normal! And had to cover up the joke (and the condom) when a rather conservative colleague dropped by to ask what was so amusing... :)

* Nearly had a heart-attack last night when I got this text message on my cellphone: "Have been admitted to hospital for 2 days. No worries. Will chat later". Yeah, right - like I'm not going to immediately panic and worry! Fortunately everything seems to be OK. But a message like that tends to scare the heck out of you when it arrives.

* I had to count it up on my fingers to make sure, but it's definitely Autumn here. I'm struggling to get out of bed in the mornings as the sun sleeps in, nights are a bit on the chilly side - and apparently we had a dusting of snow on Friday night in Ceres (small town near here that gets all the good snow). First time in history it's happened in March! We could be in for a rather cold winter.

* I'm starting to realize how easily one can become anorexic. I've lost a little bit around my waist for some reason, probably due to drinking more water, leaving off suppers (eat our main meal at lunch) and being a bit more active. And it's addictive to watch clothes get looser. You want to push it further, faster, and see how quickly you can get skinny. I've got a LONG way to go before I get skinny, and I love food too much to abuse it, but I can understand now the mindset and thought processes behind an eating disorder...

* However, I am SERIOUSLY stuck in a rut when it comes to meals at home. With only an hour over lunch to fetch the kid, cook the meal and eat it, I've taken to doing one-pot or quick-microwave stuff. If the power's off, it's bread. So this weekend I want to spend some time making and freezing things like lasagne, mini pies, ready-cooked spaghetti sauces, soups/stews and similar for quick defrost and/or cook during the week. (Also need to make cookies and fudge, to fill that sweet-tooth hole after a meal.) I'm not eating right, neither is my son - I need to fix it. A lot more (disguised) fruit and veg for us, and a lot less bread & spreads.

* Seems Cape Town's still experiencing power cuts. We're lucky (better not talk too soon though), we haven't had one this week. I don't know if they'll ever completely fix the problems causing this, or if it's going to be a wake-up call to try find alternatives to the single power supplier. I hope it's the latter.