Hello blog peeps - I know you may not believe it, but I'm still alive!
I really don't know where July went - between classes getting back into full swing, getting settled into my new job, meeting new friends and a lot of company weekend functions, the month just sort of slipped away from me. I'm hoping that I can spend the next couple of weeks getting back into my normal routine of gyming and blogging on a semi-regular basis. As I was catching up all of your blogs today I realized how much I missed you all!
Let me just use this post to play catch-up for the last month or so.
About a month ago I was lucky enough to get to meet up with the lovely
Megan from
Second Floor Living. We met for drinks at
Fratelli's in Greenside and ended up clicking so well that we moved next door to
The Office to carry on our conversation. In fact we were chatting along so nicely that the waitress at The Office asked us what the occasion was because we looked like old friends. The following weekend Megan and her boyfriend Flip came over for a braai where the boys hit it off and next weekend it looks like Jurg and I will be headed to their place for a
braai. And to think - if it wasn't for the blogosphere we may have never met!
Enjoying half price Fish Bowls at The Office
Other than that I must admit that the month wasn't too exciting, but nevertheless I'll share a few pics courtesy of le blackberry :)
1. The month started out freezing! - I had to take a pic so I could prove to everyone once and for all that Africa really does get freezing cold - literally! This morning my car's windshield was actually iced over and I had to wait for my engine to heat up so I could defrost the windows! To say that this California girl was not appreciating the weather would be an understatement!
2. I had to share this picture I took of the city from
campus with you all. While night classes definitely have not been my best friend this semester, I always love the view of the city I get walking to class in the evenings right before sunset. It makes me appreciate living in Jo'burg and all the diversity that comes with it - it's definitely a different beautiful than Cape Town, but nevertheless beautiful in its own right.
3. This pic was taken during a Management Development weekend my company took to a farm near
Brits. I think I spent just about all my free time playing with this sweetie, I think I brushed her for about two hours straight one day :) I don't think I've ever shared this on the blog before, but when I was a freshmen and sophomore in college I loved riding and jumping horses, I used to ride every morning before class and then in the evenings I would tutor my instructor's daughter in exchange for lessons. Unfortunately, it got a bit too expensive and studies eventually got in the way, but one day I would love to take it up again - there's nothing like being on the back of a horse :)
4. On the way back from the farm, Jurg and I stopped for a Cappuccino at Woolworths in the
Design Quarter. I thought the design on the Cappi was so pretty - almost too pretty to drink!
5. This past weekend my company had another all-staff event at the
Misty Hills Country Hotel in Muldersdrift. Somehow I ended up being designated to plan the whole thing with less than a week's notice, which is part of the reason why I've been so absento lately - but luckily the event was a huge success and the venue was stunning. I must also say that the hotel staff were absolute saints and were so helpful that I didn't have to worry about hardly anything. The above pic is of the venue where the dinner was held - I loved the huge bonfire in the center of the room and felt like it really brought warmth to the room.
6. This last pic is the view of Jo'burg from my balcony. We've been having such nice sunny weather lately that I just wanted to share with you all!
And that my friends is basically my month summed up into seven pictures - and explains where I've been all this time haha. I'm hoping to now start blogging more often again and eventually want to get the pics up from the trip that Jurgen and I took to the
Drakensberg and Durban way back in June #procrastinationatitsfinest.
But before I go I also just want to ask all of you to please say a quick prayer or send positive thoughts my way for a couple living in my flat complex. Tonight as Jurgen and I were coming back from dinner we ran into Bernie and he explained to us that his wife Jenny had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a few months back and is struggling to come to terms with everything that's happened. To make matters worse, their adorable little Scotty was attacked by two German Shepards in the park a couple weeks ago and was in the hospital for 11 days and is still struggling to recover. Tonight Bernie explained that they were planning to retire soon and had bought a house on the coast of Europe, but that now he doesn't know if that dream will ever become a reality. He said something that rang so true - "we all try to plan for life, but sometimes life just happens completely differently than how you had wanted it to." Please just keep them in your thoughts as they struggle to come to terms with this tough time.
