Tania.co.za

Recent snapshots

	2 June 2007. A scene which filled me with joy and a feeling of immense privilege and gratitude: I came home to find two friends playing chess at my place.
	Mikhailo's birthday was on 2 June, and after he'd gone on a series of celebratory dates with other friends on Friday and Saturday, on Sunday 3 June I took him off to our own favourite joint activity: shopping at Milnerton Market.
	Even though he was only going to be away for two weeks, there was a farewell get-together for Long John on 18 June, prior to his departure to a conference in Italy. He has had his head so deep in the books (working on his PhD) that I hadn't seen him for a while. Christopher and I went over (having been summoned by the Wizard), along with some of Long John's other friends and relatives, and we banged around on some djembes and other items from my handbag which we turned into percussion instruments. I couldn't stay late, because I was in the middle of teaching a course, but we look forward to making some more noise when he gets back. I'll take my harmonica along next time. And my drum sticks. And possibly my drum teacher.

Messages to my cell phone

My cell phone was stolen from an evening handbag recently, along with R140 in cash and my grandmother's elegant evening gloves, which I had inherited. Luckily the thief was a professional. She stripped out the SIM card (I didn't get that back, unfortunately), and wisely chose to leave behind items which might link her to me specifically if she was caught: my keys, licence, credit card and petrol card.

A few days before this happened I had started clearing my phone of old text messages, and I wrote some of them down. Some of these had been there since 2005. I did not manage to finish my task, but here is what I saved. The "x" at the end of some of the messages indicates that the sender added an initial. I have typed them exactly as they were sent to me, with the same punctuation and spelling. In future blog posts I will reveal the tragicomical stories behind a few of these, taking care to guard the identities of the senders...

Invitation to my 21st Birthday Party

You're invited to my 21st birthday party on Saturday 30 June 2007 at 21:00. (Or, to be more accurate, to the 21st anniversary of my 21st birthday. I never had a 21st birthday party, so I reckoned, better late than never.)

I'll probably be getting together with a small Inner Circle of family and friends earlier in the evening (including those who will want to go to bed early, such as my parents) and after that, the party's pretty much open to anyone who wants to come to a regular night at Die Mystic Boer (i.e. you pay your own way), with one difference: The Hoofboer, Willem, has agreed that the DJ that night can add some of my favourite songs to the playlist. (This, according to John Swart who DJs there sometimes, is a very unusual concession.)

This is my provisional request list from my CD collection:

Artist	Album	Tracks
Muse	Origin of Symmetry	4 Hyper Music 7 Micro Cuts
Muse	Absolution	5 Stockholm Syndrome 8 Hysteria
Muse	Black Holes & Revelations	3 Supermassive Black Hole 7 Assassin 8 Exo-Politics
Pink Floyd	The Dark Side of the Moon	6 Money
Dire Straits	The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler	6 Money for Nothing
Mango Groove	The Best of Mango Groove	1 Special Star
David Bowie	Best of Bowie	1 Let's Dance
Gotan Project	Lunático	6 Mi Confesión

I will also ask for Mustang Sally from the soundtrack of The Commitments, which I have heard them play there before. (I would have liked also to have asked them to play some tracks from my Lark, Karen Zoid, Evanescence and Lieze Stassen CDs, but I don't want to push my luck. I also decided to leave Beethoven's 7th, Ariel Ramirez' Misa Criolla and Saint-Saëns' organ works off the list...)

For those who don't know: Die Mystic Boer is a watering-hole in Stellenbosch. I am a regular there, and probably something of an enigma, because I am practically a teetotaller (I usually order Earl Grey tea, which the Goths, always looking for extremes of strangeness, appear to find immensely impressive); but I am usually the first person on the dancefloor (no partner required), and when it gets too full, I move onto any available raised surface. Strangers regularly come up to me and ask me if I am a professional dancer, and while I could choose to be flattered, I know that often this probably isn't really what they want to know, because other strangers will furtively go up to my friends (who tend to lurk around the edges of the room) and ask, "Is she on crack cocaine?" Since these strangers usually don't believe the reply, I have considered selling cake flour at Mystic in small sachets at a nine million percent mark-up.

A note written on the mourning after

I had been marinading a rump steak in red wine for two days, and I asked him if he'd like to join me and Christopher for supper. Predictably, he was glad to accept. While I was cooking, he began teaching Christopher backgammon. We ate and chatted about Sponskop's latest antics, about our mutual friends, and about The Doors Concerto which was playing in my CD player. I made coffee, and he said that he would be moving to Pretoria in December.

My reaction, which I had thought would have surprised neither of them, stunned them completely. They were both speechless.

After a while he got up and hugged me, and then returned to where he had been sitting. "This is the hardest it has ever been for me to comfort someone," he said eventually with a perplexed smile during a pause in my sobbing. "I don't think anyone has ever cried over me before. It is quite... an honour."

My avatar

I don't know the origin of this animated .gif (I found her on Mikhailo's computer yesterday), but she's my new best friend and soulmate! (Sorry about the loading time if you have a slow line; she's kinda heavy.)

Stjoepit Afrikaans

Ek voeg my stem by die klaaglied van Bloute.co.za. Hier is twee advertensies wat verskyn het toe ek vanoggend iets by Google gesoek het. Miskien nie heeltemal so terrible soos daai een van Global Trader nie, maar nietemin: het jy al ooit 'n Afrikaanssprekende hoor praat van liede?! (Ek het nie nou die energie om al die issues in Dial Direct se advertensie aan te spreek nie.)

Mieliepap song — Mystery solved!

Thank-you to Haagor who e-mailed me in connection with that nutty Meisie en Mieliepap song which they used to play on CapeTalk/702 in the good old days of Tom London and his infamous Weekend Breakfast team. It's not Meisie en Mieliepap, but My Seun Mieliepap, writes Haagor. It's a send-up of the 70s hit song My Son Lollipop. I Googled it and discovered that it was recorded by Johrné.

The recording was done in Ermelo, the hometown of my rock musician neighbour who told me last night that he wants to do an Afrikaans spoof of a certain serious English rock song (and sang an amusing couple of lines to me and Christopher). Is Ermelo going to become the new capital of musical satire?

Don't withhold your struggles from me

It is my right, duty and privilege to be concerned about you.

My liefde vir jou

Wanneer jy vir my sê dat jy leegloop, dan wel my liefde vir jou op. Dit voel asof ek my bors teen joune behoort te kan sit en jou vas te hou sodat daar krag vanuit my liggaam in joune sal ingaan, en asof my liefde jou gemoed vanselfsprekend behoort te kan lig as dit net sterk genoeg is. Dit behoort eenvoudig net te wérk: Ek behoort skerwe glas aan mekaar te kan smee, jou teleurstelling te kan uitdoof, die duiwel te kan verdryf en jou hartsnikke te kan vertroos. Met die liefde wat ek vir jou het, behoort jy te kan floreer, die wêreld te kan verower, en jouself te kan oorwin.

Hoekom, hoekom is jy dan nog nie vry nie?

Number one in South Africa for paving

Whew, at least Pavatile is back on top again too now. It had slipped to number two (to my horror) and I reckoned I knew why, so I made the necessary change last week, and it appears to have worked.

Number one in South Africa for Project Management

That's interesting. We have been at number two for over a year, and although the course schedule is up to date, I haven't had the time to flesh out the content regarding IT Project Management and several other areas of detail. In spite of this, we've made it to the top.

Onlangse events

Ek het al weer nie eintlik tyd om iets te skryf nie. Net vlugtig, dus:

Daar is 'n soort unspoken etiquette issue wat min of meer so werk, dat as jy 'n blogskrywer is, en jy't 'n 27Dinner of 'n Geek Dinner bygewoon, en jy skryf nie dan daaroor nie, dan het jy eintlik nie jou volledige sosiale plig nagekom nie. Ek het egter dikwels nie die tyd to do justice to these things nie. Kortom: Ek was 28 Mei (weer) by 'n Geek Dinner. Dit was baie lekker, Jonathan was baie nice en hulpvaardig, Jeremy Thurgood het 'n baard gekweek, 'n doofstom Boesmanrugbyspeler het teen 'n rekenaarprogrameerder skaak gespeel met my skaakstelletjie, en 'n paar ouens het ongelooflike snert gepraat nadat hulle te veel gedrink het. (Jeremy se uitspraak daaroor: "The syntax is intact, there's just a problem with the semantics.") Ek het op aandrang van Bryn Divey 'n praatjie gelewer (oor Projekbestuur), en Jonathan het 'n vleiende foto van my geneem waarin ek glad nie plooie het nie. Bryn se eie praatjie (oor Python versus PHP) was uitstekend en baie amusant, en Antoine van Gelder s'n was ook baie vermaaklik en treffend. Robin s'n, oor alternatiewe "bankstelsels" was insiggewend. Oor laasgenoemde twee sou ek baie graag meer wou vertel, veral omdat Antoine se eie Webwerf nie op 'n voordiehandliggende wyse die interessante bemagtigingsprogram waarby hy betrokke is, beskryf nie, en omdat Robin s'n handel oor 'n interessante onderwerp. Maar ek raak nou vaag omdat ek nie tyd het nie. Lees maar wat skryf die ander mense.

'n Paar dae later (Saterdag, om presies te wees) het ek drie vriende saamgesleep Kaap toe om na Chix with Stix te gaan luister. Ek het verskriklik baie ooggrimering gebruik (ek dra gewoonlik geen ooggrimering nie), en pêrels en kristaljuweliersware, omdat die uitvoering by Chrome was en ek en Christopher besluit het dat ek sal over-compensate vir die feit dat hy (wat tans met slegs met 'n paar reisgoed in Stellenbosch is) aanvanklik nie klere kon opdiep wat (of so het ons gereken) aan die dress code sou kon voldoen nie. In Langstraat het ons vir Bryn raakgeloop en hy het my glad nie herken met die "vermomming" nie.

Chrome, waar die "uitvoering" (as ek dit so kan noem — dit was eintlik veels te kort) is nou regtig nie eintlik die soort plek waaruit ek en my drie vriende (Christopher, Roelof en die Wizard of Oz) genot put nie. Gelukkig het ek en Roelof ons oorpluisies saamgebring. Die "musiek" was baie vervelig, die couvert charge was 'n hele halfhonderd, en daar was baie mense wat hard probeer het om cool te lyk (en baie spieëls, sodat hulle kon check of hulle wel cool lyk). Ons het toe maar in 'n koffiewinkel gaan wag totdat die Chix begin speel het, en is ook direk daarna weg Obs toe om 'n bietjie normaliteit te soek.

Die Chix self was actually fine, hulle spel moes eintlik net langer gewees het. Dis nooit lekker as almal negatief voel oor 'n ding en een ou is chirpy nie; of wat nog erger is (soos Roelof uitgewys het) is as almal hulself geniet en een persoon is 'n stick-in-the-mud; dan versuur dit die hele aand. Maar as almal saamstem, selfs in negatiwiteit, put 'n mens darem 'n mate van genot uit die eenheidsgevoel.

Nie tyd om hierdie inskrywing te proeflees nie, moet nou vertrek na kooroefening.

U het opgedateer tot die nuutste weergawe van Firefox

Rêrig, is dit wat ek gedoen het? Sjoe, né. Ek weet nie hoe ek dit sou gesê het nie, maar in elk geval nie só nie. Miskien deur dit in die lydende vorm te sê, sonder die "u". Dankie anyway vir die effort wat wie-ookal ingesit het om 'n Afrikaanse Webblaaier wat wérk, daar te stel. Die uwe sal probeer stilsit en waarderingsvol soetwees.

Klik gerus op die vriendelike hiperskakel wat deur die hierbogeplaaste skermafbeeldinkie verskans word indien u belangstel om u genotlikheid verder uit te brei deur derglike Afrikaanslike snertlikhede.

Terloops, indien u dit nog nie gedoen het nie, gaan leer Anglisaans. U mag dit dalk nuttig vind indien u in die toekoms verdere vertaalde "toepassings" gaan gebruik.

Die uwe gaan nou poog om 'n diep ordentlike Afrikaanse Webwervaring te geniet.

Haai, ek besef nou net: Ek was 'n "jy" toe ek die "toepassing" begin installeer het, en 'n "u" teen die tyd wat ek klaar was. Dit wys jou net, jy kry sommer 'n heavy "opdatering" van jou sosiale status ook wanneer jy die Vuurjakkals gebruik.