Friendly conversation I

JK (on hearing that I may apply for a job at a lad mag): "The pen has power... so does lipstick."

Am still trying to work out the implications of this one, so all interpretations welcome!

Family conversation III

Mim: "Pim will have to go to the movies (to see Nuclear Comeback at Encounters) by himself then."
T: "Why don´t you go with him?"
Mim: "No, I don´t want to."
T: "I would go, if I weren´t busy."
Mim: "I know you would."
T: "Don´t you care about the environment?"
Mim: "Pim can look after the earth; I will look after the computers."

"Darkest Africa"

My friend Bean has just written a wonderful post about Western perceptions of Africa.

I thought of it this morning when I woke up and there was an unscheduled power cut. But you know, I don´t live in a mud house or a tin shack, and I´m lucky enough to have power most of the time. I don´t like what power cuts are doing to our economy. And I am unable to function without my morning cup of tea. But really, there´s not much to complain about compared to Nigeria.

Mim and I were just about to head off to Hyde Park* to get our caffeine fix, when Ceremony started blasting out from the sound system (bizarre, as it wasn´t playing when the power went off). My spirits immediately lifted and I tripped off to the kitchen to switch on the kettle.

* All the shops here proudly display "we trade during power outages" signs in their windows.

Family conversation II

Mim to me: "You can cook whatever you like for supper - it doesn't have to be pasta."
Nim: "I don't want fish in Jojoba oil wrapped in barbed wire, or whatever."

For the record, I stuck with the pasta, fearful of incurring the young master's wrath.

Subeditor at large

When Eszter and I were in Poschiavo last year, which I will get round to blogging about sometime, I spotted the following board outside a restaurant. I can´t vouch for the Italian and German spelling, although the English is now correct, thanks to my pedantry. I did receive some stares from a little old Italian lady out on a morning stroll though.

I thought back to that incident when I came across this fabulous blog the other day. Does the concept of a Typo Hunt Across America sound crazy to you? Personally, I only wish my red pen and I could´ve gone along for the ride!

Btw, some of you may choose to question the spelling of "subeditor" in the title of my post. That´s a tricky one. I go with Collins, which, incidentally, doesn´t even list an alternative spelling. But I suspect that other dictionaries list it as "sub-editor", since that spelling seems to be prevalent, even among subs themselves. The real problem arises when applying for jobs: I don´t want prospective employers thinking I don´t know how to spell my job title. Generally I go for whichever version has been used in the job ad. I suppose I could always call myself a "copy editor", but I don´t approve of Americanisms...

What NOT to get me for my birthday

From "Death to the 20´s" to "Finos Mafioso" it´s all about birthday parties among my Jozi friends this week.

I still have a few months to go, but see pic on the left for what I do NOT wish to receive as a birthday present. I mean, the teddy is kind of cute (and the revolting green of the school uniform cunningly misrepresented), but Aloysius is the only bear for me.

See below for the mail that accompanied the text - the original message looked like it had been written by an 8 year old with a fetish for coloured fonts and excess punctuation. And the image attachment was a mere 4MB. Damn, the old alma mater should hire me to do their newsletters, not that they could afford me, or that I would care for the job. I´d rather stick needles in my eyes - or play bridge!

MEMORIBILIA MARKET
HOT OFF THE PRESS HOT OFF THE PRESS HOT OFF THE PRESS

DSG TEDDY BEAR
R150
(see picture attached)
Don't waste time to order, limited number available!!

Next new addition to memoribilia ........................... dsg bridge cards!!!

Family Conversation I

Mim: "No, I´m not going to watch Lord of War. You already made me sit through it once."
Nim: "Why won´t you watch it again? How many times have you read The Poisonwood Bible by Margaret Atwood, hey?"

Blogging bean

The latest of my friends to join the blogosphere is Bean. Check out The Candadian Chronicles. Interesting reading about her adventures in Vancouver; and respect to the Bean for finding ways to deal with a cold new culture!