The power of association is a strange thing.
Many years ago, when I was but a young lass... ;-) We had friends who lived in Pinelands. Pinelands is one of the older suburbs of Cape Town, characterized by tree-lined roads, large yards, solid and spacious houses. Although the back end of it bordered on the power station and a dodgier part of town, it was still not a bad suburb to live in. Or so I always thought it to be.
However.
Thrice now, I've had to pass through Pinelands on my way to do some business in Olivia the Land Rover. Twice of those thrice, the truck has broken down or given some or other huge problem that threatened break down. Far from home, with the potential for absolute disaster.
Now one can say it's mere coincidence. One can go blame ley lines and the local Freemasons (in fact, Pinelands has the first Masonic Centre I ever remember seeing! a strange and mystical place at my tender age) - the confluence of energy fields that don't do Land Rovers any good. 'Cos the blerry beast has broken down in exactly the same spot, every time. Hmmm.. perhaps there's something to that theory....
But whatever it is, somehow my view of Pinelands has changed. No longer a desirable suburb to live in, I now cringe when I pass the turn-off, and literally plot my route to take me around, past, anywhere but through it. I tense up and start listening for strange noises in Olivia until Pinelands is well behind me. I do my best not to think about breaking down anywhere near it - which of course is like trying NOT to think about a purple elephant.
So there you go. Forever after now Pinelands is going to leave a sour taste in my virtual mouth.
Weird hey?
Showing posts with label random weirdness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random weirdness. Show all posts
A Random Post to Start the Blogging Year
Here's a question for you.
Are you more likely to find a dropped 5c coin nearer a bank or further away from one?
Yes, I think of weird stuff walking down the main road of our little town, but hey, I'm weird.
Here's the logic. If someone drops a 5c coin (our minimum unit of currency here in SA, almost not worth picking up, and copper coloured to blend into the ground - so I find quite a few of them :-) ), they may or may not notice it.
If you're walking near a bank you're more likely to be thinking about money, so more likely to pick it up again (especially if the bank's on your back to give them some or you're worried they will be soon). But you're also more likely to find one, as that's the source of cash and people carrying cash. Just as you're more likely to find bees near a beehive.
Further away from the bank you're less likely to find people carrying cash, but more likely to find people not worried about small amounts like 5c coins - also more likely to be buying things from many places, letting a coin drop on their way out of the shops.
Totally random post to kick off the year I know :-)
Wherever I find my 5c coins - whether bank-close or further afield, I'm grateful to those who dropped them. Not only do I take them as an indication from the universe that everything's going to be OK (more than one found in a day? things are going to be excellent!), but enough of them grouped together and you can actually go get a loaf of bread with them.
Are you more likely to find a dropped 5c coin nearer a bank or further away from one?
Yes, I think of weird stuff walking down the main road of our little town, but hey, I'm weird.
Here's the logic. If someone drops a 5c coin (our minimum unit of currency here in SA, almost not worth picking up, and copper coloured to blend into the ground - so I find quite a few of them :-) ), they may or may not notice it.
If you're walking near a bank you're more likely to be thinking about money, so more likely to pick it up again (especially if the bank's on your back to give them some or you're worried they will be soon). But you're also more likely to find one, as that's the source of cash and people carrying cash. Just as you're more likely to find bees near a beehive.
Further away from the bank you're less likely to find people carrying cash, but more likely to find people not worried about small amounts like 5c coins - also more likely to be buying things from many places, letting a coin drop on their way out of the shops.
Totally random post to kick off the year I know :-)
Wherever I find my 5c coins - whether bank-close or further afield, I'm grateful to those who dropped them. Not only do I take them as an indication from the universe that everything's going to be OK (more than one found in a day? things are going to be excellent!), but enough of them grouped together and you can actually go get a loaf of bread with them.
Eish!
Remember that customer I had to fire recently for being the 1% that gave me 95% of the company trouble?
Well this afternoon, as I was about to go out, a car stopped at my front door. "Meneer die Inspector" from the South African Police climbed out and asked to have a word. It seems the Former Customer, whose internet disappeared promptly at midnight on the 31st (with fair two-week warning), has decided to try make life exceedingly difficult - and went to the police to lodge a theft accusation!
Favourite Man and I sat with our mouths open as his statement was read out. Apparently we stole half a computer and an antenna from him, along with a variety of other accusations, none of which was remotely true.
In fact it's quite the opposite! We pimped a computer he wanted to use as a firewall by putting in bits from our own stock (at no cost). Then, instead of returning his bird-pooped antenna to him, bought him a brand new one to give him in lieu of it - along with its accompanying radio, antenna cables etc.
During his time with us, we bent over backwards when it came to customer service - I was called out at all hours, day and night, weekend and not, to attend to things that generally turned out to be user errors or nothing at all. At no cost to him, of course.
Then there was the time we were working on an upgrade on a Sunday, switched off the router for the grand total of 4 minutes to swap two cables around, and had him on the phone literally within 30 seconds demanding his internet back so he could carry on abusing his uncapped link (here in South Africa, nearly all internet is bandwidth-capped - we're one of the few who offer an uncapped service).
No, we didn't bite his head off for anything - simply did our best to give him the best service possible right up until their last day as our customers.
You'd think that would be enough?
But no, he decided that we'd taken away the one thing he did all day (constant downloading and complaining, as he doesn't work), and he was going to throw his toys out of the cot.
Anyhooo.... we sat down with Mnr Inspector and gave him our statement. Still gobsmacked at what this bloke had come up with. It's pretty certain that the case won't go any further - but still not lekker having someone laying theft accusations against you with the local law.
On further discussion with various folk who know him, the general consensus appears to be that he's a few filaments short of a light bulb. I think he's just comprehensively proved it!
Well this afternoon, as I was about to go out, a car stopped at my front door. "Meneer die Inspector" from the South African Police climbed out and asked to have a word. It seems the Former Customer, whose internet disappeared promptly at midnight on the 31st (with fair two-week warning), has decided to try make life exceedingly difficult - and went to the police to lodge a theft accusation!
Favourite Man and I sat with our mouths open as his statement was read out. Apparently we stole half a computer and an antenna from him, along with a variety of other accusations, none of which was remotely true.
In fact it's quite the opposite! We pimped a computer he wanted to use as a firewall by putting in bits from our own stock (at no cost). Then, instead of returning his bird-pooped antenna to him, bought him a brand new one to give him in lieu of it - along with its accompanying radio, antenna cables etc.
During his time with us, we bent over backwards when it came to customer service - I was called out at all hours, day and night, weekend and not, to attend to things that generally turned out to be user errors or nothing at all. At no cost to him, of course.
Then there was the time we were working on an upgrade on a Sunday, switched off the router for the grand total of 4 minutes to swap two cables around, and had him on the phone literally within 30 seconds demanding his internet back so he could carry on abusing his uncapped link (here in South Africa, nearly all internet is bandwidth-capped - we're one of the few who offer an uncapped service).
No, we didn't bite his head off for anything - simply did our best to give him the best service possible right up until their last day as our customers.
You'd think that would be enough?
But no, he decided that we'd taken away the one thing he did all day (constant downloading and complaining, as he doesn't work), and he was going to throw his toys out of the cot.
Anyhooo.... we sat down with Mnr Inspector and gave him our statement. Still gobsmacked at what this bloke had come up with. It's pretty certain that the case won't go any further - but still not lekker having someone laying theft accusations against you with the local law.
On further discussion with various folk who know him, the general consensus appears to be that he's a few filaments short of a light bulb. I think he's just comprehensively proved it!
Exorcisincisionthingy
OK, this apparent ghost we have is getting a bit much. This weekend he/she/it was particularly active. My son's door handle went up and down in the middle of the night and woke him up. There was the sound of things falling over in the ceiling - although we use it for storage, everything is securely packed and nothing has moved. Twice last night I heard doors open and close, although they didn't.
I'm not one to "believe in ghosts", but this is getting irritating.
So... how do we shift this "lastige" presence? It's not particularly bothersome on a potergiest type level (or visible) - just not nice being interrupted all the time.
Ideas, people, ideas! What would you do? Leave your thoughts in the comments :-)
I'm not one to "believe in ghosts", but this is getting irritating.
So... how do we shift this "lastige" presence? It's not particularly bothersome on a potergiest type level (or visible) - just not nice being interrupted all the time.
Ideas, people, ideas! What would you do? Leave your thoughts in the comments :-)
Haunted? - apparently so...
Tonight I was over at a neighbour's, getting their internet up and running, when he happened to throw into the conversation that his sister used to live where I do now, and that her husband had hanged himself here.
Haunted? Well that would be a good enough reason for anything spirity to hang around!
Personally, I think it's merely a tall tale. For one thing, there's really nowhere to hang yourself from here, unless you're going to do it in full view of the neighbours from the verandah supports - or tie something to the stair rail, then climb out the tiny upstairs window to do so in full view of the main road through the suburb!
And that's simply way too much effort.
The house opposite though is a whole other story.... I wouldn't be surprised.
Haunted? Well that would be a good enough reason for anything spirity to hang around!
Personally, I think it's merely a tall tale. For one thing, there's really nowhere to hang yourself from here, unless you're going to do it in full view of the neighbours from the verandah supports - or tie something to the stair rail, then climb out the tiny upstairs window to do so in full view of the main road through the suburb!
And that's simply way too much effort.
The house opposite though is a whole other story.... I wouldn't be surprised.
Haunted?
One often hears about malevolent spirits stalking the earth, terrifying the locals and causing havoc.
But we appear to have a resident non-malevolent. Or not.
Both Favourite Man and I have often thought we've seen a passing shadow in the passage outside the bedroom - but simply put it down to reflected light off cars going by on the road outside the back, bouncing through the stair windows and causing light and dark. There's certainly no sense of foreboding, or cold/hot spots, or anything else "traditionally" ghost going on here - other than a brace of spotlights falling over once by the stairs, but that could have been human error. The dog doesn't stare fixedly at a certain spot or growl at nothing.
HOWEVER...
The other night I was sitting typing at my computer with my back to the room. Favourite Man was on the other side of the room behind me doing things in the cupboard, and I heard him whisper very clearly "Michelle...". I turned around and said, "yes?" - and he looked at me in astonishment. It wasn't him, and he'd heard it too!
Kinda freaky.
So what do you think - over-tired over-worked over-active imaginations, or do we have more residents that we thought we did?
But we appear to have a resident non-malevolent. Or not.
Both Favourite Man and I have often thought we've seen a passing shadow in the passage outside the bedroom - but simply put it down to reflected light off cars going by on the road outside the back, bouncing through the stair windows and causing light and dark. There's certainly no sense of foreboding, or cold/hot spots, or anything else "traditionally" ghost going on here - other than a brace of spotlights falling over once by the stairs, but that could have been human error. The dog doesn't stare fixedly at a certain spot or growl at nothing.
HOWEVER...
The other night I was sitting typing at my computer with my back to the room. Favourite Man was on the other side of the room behind me doing things in the cupboard, and I heard him whisper very clearly "Michelle...". I turned around and said, "yes?" - and he looked at me in astonishment. It wasn't him, and he'd heard it too!
Kinda freaky.
So what do you think - over-tired over-worked over-active imaginations, or do we have more residents that we thought we did?
Just add sugar
Today was an e-waste collections day, and Favourite Man and I got an early start. So early in fact that we had to make a quick stop at McDonalds for breakfast.
I'm not a big fast-food fan, so stuck to the generic Egg McMuffin (Favourite Man got the meat) and a coffee.
So early it was, that the chick who took our order appeared at the next window too to put our orders together and hand them over. My coffee came with special instructions...
"Ek gee jou vier suikers want die koffie is bietjie dodgy" *
Eish. At least that's an honest sale! :-) Seems a spoonful of sugar makes more than just the medicine go down.
Perhaps that's why it literally went down - spilt over my jeans as I tried to open the lid and add said sugar a few kms down the road. Or perhaps that's just one of the hazards of the mobile office. Next time I'll stick to the Coke.
* Rough translation - "I'm giving you four sugars, because the coffee is dodgy".
I'm not a big fast-food fan, so stuck to the generic Egg McMuffin (Favourite Man got the meat) and a coffee.
So early it was, that the chick who took our order appeared at the next window too to put our orders together and hand them over. My coffee came with special instructions...
"Ek gee jou vier suikers want die koffie is bietjie dodgy" *
Eish. At least that's an honest sale! :-) Seems a spoonful of sugar makes more than just the medicine go down.
Perhaps that's why it literally went down - spilt over my jeans as I tried to open the lid and add said sugar a few kms down the road. Or perhaps that's just one of the hazards of the mobile office. Next time I'll stick to the Coke.
* Rough translation - "I'm giving you four sugars, because the coffee is dodgy".
NSFV
That's a "V" not a "W" - this one's not safe for Vegetarians.... though I know a male or two who would spend the entire day sniffing their own armpits!
Stealth Marketing
How do you best exploit the festive season to market your goodies and make cash? Well I've just seen a creative but rather sneaky and mean way of doing it.
We have a key-in type door system here at work where you have to swipe an electronic button past a pad to unlock the doors. Being a somewhat confusing office building with no clear reception area, we often get stragglers turning up at the door. Inevitably, someone will see them and go open to door to find out if they're in the right place.
This morning a colleague spotted someone at the door, opened up and was handed a Christmas present. No name on it, so she asked "who is this for?" and was told "the first person who opens the door". Gift-giver then disappeared.
Well another wiser colleague said "don't open it". Or rather open with caution. Which she did. It contains a pack of biscuits, a sheet of advertising and a notice that the giver will be back to collect R10 for the contents, which you have accepted.
That "gift" has now been re-sealed and is awaiting the bloke's return, to be handed right back to him.
Puts a whole new meaning on the term "unwanted gift"!
We have a key-in type door system here at work where you have to swipe an electronic button past a pad to unlock the doors. Being a somewhat confusing office building with no clear reception area, we often get stragglers turning up at the door. Inevitably, someone will see them and go open to door to find out if they're in the right place.
This morning a colleague spotted someone at the door, opened up and was handed a Christmas present. No name on it, so she asked "who is this for?" and was told "the first person who opens the door". Gift-giver then disappeared.
Well another wiser colleague said "don't open it". Or rather open with caution. Which she did. It contains a pack of biscuits, a sheet of advertising and a notice that the giver will be back to collect R10 for the contents, which you have accepted.
That "gift" has now been re-sealed and is awaiting the bloke's return, to be handed right back to him.
Puts a whole new meaning on the term "unwanted gift"!
The case of the disappearing dogs
The weirdest thing happened this morning.
I left for work at my usual hour, and about an hour and a half later, Favourite Man ducked out of the house to go get electricity at a nearby shop. When he came back my dogs were sitting at the front gate of the complex.
Now this is where it gets weird.
The dogs live in a high-walled yard at the back of the house. There is no way for them to get out. The only way would be through the back door, through the house, through the front door and out the closed gate - which one of them can't fit through. Only then would they end up inside the complex, waiting for the electric gate to open and show them freedom.
So they either got out over the neighbour's wall, or through the house. There's no other way for them to get to where they were.
Trouble is, we can't figure out how it happened.
I didn't open the back door this morning. Favourite Man didn't either. I don't know if they were in the back yard when I left for work, as it was too dark to tell. No-one came in through the house and let them out, that we know of - the back door was still locked when Favourite Man checked and anyone coming through the front would be both seen and heard - there's nothing missing in the house either. There are no boot marks on the walls of our yard or the neighbours, and the security guard across the road saw nothing. If a stranger had lifted them over the wall, they would have bit him. We would have heard barking if someone had even tried. They can't jump the walls - they're too high. They can't dig under them - it's all bricked up.
So how did they get out?
And even more frighteningly - why?
There's one explanation I can think of. If you want to rob a house, you first disable the alarm. Take the dogs out the back yard and you have easy access to that part of the house, provided the back door is left unlocked (there are no windows near ground level except for the barred kitchen one) and you can escape security guard notice.
But again... how?! If someone grabbed them they'd have resisted. Favourite Man got chewed up putting them back - and they know him!
Needless to say, we're on high alert now. We're keeping an eye on the yard to see if anything else weird happens. And making sure the house is locked up tight at all times.
I left for work at my usual hour, and about an hour and a half later, Favourite Man ducked out of the house to go get electricity at a nearby shop. When he came back my dogs were sitting at the front gate of the complex.
Now this is where it gets weird.
The dogs live in a high-walled yard at the back of the house. There is no way for them to get out. The only way would be through the back door, through the house, through the front door and out the closed gate - which one of them can't fit through. Only then would they end up inside the complex, waiting for the electric gate to open and show them freedom.
So they either got out over the neighbour's wall, or through the house. There's no other way for them to get to where they were.
Trouble is, we can't figure out how it happened.
I didn't open the back door this morning. Favourite Man didn't either. I don't know if they were in the back yard when I left for work, as it was too dark to tell. No-one came in through the house and let them out, that we know of - the back door was still locked when Favourite Man checked and anyone coming through the front would be both seen and heard - there's nothing missing in the house either. There are no boot marks on the walls of our yard or the neighbours, and the security guard across the road saw nothing. If a stranger had lifted them over the wall, they would have bit him. We would have heard barking if someone had even tried. They can't jump the walls - they're too high. They can't dig under them - it's all bricked up.
So how did they get out?
And even more frighteningly - why?
There's one explanation I can think of. If you want to rob a house, you first disable the alarm. Take the dogs out the back yard and you have easy access to that part of the house, provided the back door is left unlocked (there are no windows near ground level except for the barred kitchen one) and you can escape security guard notice.
But again... how?! If someone grabbed them they'd have resisted. Favourite Man got chewed up putting them back - and they know him!
Needless to say, we're on high alert now. We're keeping an eye on the yard to see if anything else weird happens. And making sure the house is locked up tight at all times.
Pirates
Unless you want a silly song stuck in your head on permanent repeat, DO NOT CLICK THIS LINK!
Boxes
If you didn't think me strange before, you're certainly gonna now!
I can never resist a good cardboard box. Our computer department has just had a huge delivery of monitors, keyboards and the like delivered, installed - and now they're chucking out boxes. Guess what I've swiped! :-)
Thing is, I've gotten really tired of buying boxes and packaging, especially when it comes to posting things or storing things or whatever. Why pay some inflated price when the stuff is lying around free? And these are very nice boxes - right size and shape, decent quality to prevent things being damaged in transit. No ways I'm gonna let them end up on the landfill. Well, some of them anyway - no chance I'll give all of them a home.
I guess it's the frugal scavenger in me that appears when I see stuff lying around that can be reused, or still has some life left in it, or can be repurposed. Or my great-aunt Geraldine's genes coming through. A true hoarder if ever there was one! :-)
So today my office looks like a storage facility. Nifty boxes piled up, just waiting to head home.
Yes I'm weird.
I can never resist a good cardboard box. Our computer department has just had a huge delivery of monitors, keyboards and the like delivered, installed - and now they're chucking out boxes. Guess what I've swiped! :-)
Thing is, I've gotten really tired of buying boxes and packaging, especially when it comes to posting things or storing things or whatever. Why pay some inflated price when the stuff is lying around free? And these are very nice boxes - right size and shape, decent quality to prevent things being damaged in transit. No ways I'm gonna let them end up on the landfill. Well, some of them anyway - no chance I'll give all of them a home.
I guess it's the frugal scavenger in me that appears when I see stuff lying around that can be reused, or still has some life left in it, or can be repurposed. Or my great-aunt Geraldine's genes coming through. A true hoarder if ever there was one! :-)
So today my office looks like a storage facility. Nifty boxes piled up, just waiting to head home.
Yes I'm weird.
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