Author amanda Posted on February 7, 2011Categories ExperienceTags , , , , , 1 Comment on Amanda goes to hospital

Amanda goes to hospital

I was admitted and waited for an hour while the nurse’s phone kept ringing. I had to pee into what looked like the champagne flute I’d drank out of the night before. This was for a pregnancy test, an automatic precaution for all women of remotely child-bearing age.

I was admitted and waited for an hour while the nurse’s phone kept ringing. I had to pee into what looked like the champagne flute I’d drank out of the night before. This was for a pregnancy test, an automatic precaution for all women of remotely child-bearing age.

Author amanda Posted on December 21, 2010Categories Experience, FamilyTags , , , , ,

What happens on New Year stays on Facebook

We’ve all had a few embarrassing mishaps on Facebook. Even if you untag yourself, you can’t remove other people’s photos.

Relationships end over this – “Uh, honey? Who’s this guy you’re hugging in the picture Alice took?” – and jobs can be on the line – “Feeling better Mike? Apparently the hottie you met at Clifton yesterday found you on Facebook and wants your number.”

This time of year is called the silly season for a reason. Things tend to get out of hand and onto the web far more easily. So be smart and considerate, and you, your friends and family should survive the journey into 2011 with your reputations and your dignity intact.

We’ve all had a few embarrassing mishaps on Facebook. Even if you untag yourself, you can’t remove other people’s photos.

Relationships end over this – “Uh, honey? Who’s this guy you’re hugging in the picture Alice took?” – and jobs can be on the line – “Feeling better Mike? Apparently the hottie you met at Clifton yesterday found you on Facebook and wants your number.”

This time of year is called the silly season for a reason. Things tend to get out of hand and onto the web far more easily. So be smart and considerate, and you, your friends and family should survive the journey into 2011 with your reputations and your dignity intact.

Author amanda Posted on December 17, 2010December 17, 2010Categories Experience, South AfricaTags , , , , , 6 Comments on Living in Joburg, 2010

Living in Joburg, 2010

We spent our last night in Cape Town in our small, empty flat in Gardens. We slept very badly on a blow-up mattress. Seven years of memories and freezing tiles kept me awake. I thought of all the parties, the dinners, the friendships made in this home.

I went onto our massive wraparound balcony and stared at the rain-shrouded Table Mountain like I had a thousand times before, moving my eyes over Lion’s Head and the city. Gentle, wild, comforting.

Five months later I would be at a book launch on the roof of the Lister Building in Jeppe Street, watching a thunderstorm break over the angles and grit of Jozi skyscrapers, the vastness of it making for a different wildness; an industrial beauty I appreciated simply because it was so alien. I felt love.

We spent our last night in Cape Town in our small, empty flat in Gardens. We slept very badly on a blow-up mattress. Seven years of memories and freezing tiles kept me awake. I thought of all the parties, the dinners, the friendships made in this home.

I went onto our massive wraparound balcony and stared at the rain-shrouded Table Mountain like I had a thousand times before, moving my eyes over Lion’s Head and the city. Gentle, wild, comforting.

Five months later I would be at a book launch on the roof of the Lister Building in Jeppe Street, watching a thunderstorm break over the angles and grit of Jozi skyscrapers, the vastness of it making for a different wildness; an industrial beauty I appreciated simply because it was so alien. I felt love.

Author amanda Posted on October 13, 2010Categories ExperienceTags , , , 1 Comment on Bucket or Fuckit?

Bucket or Fuckit?

It seems everyone is making bucket lists again. Since I’m morbidly-inclined and the kind of person who wanted “Polly” and “Hurt” on my wedding playlist, I think this might be a good idea.

On the other hand, I flicked through an issue of Psychologies the other day (despite Julia bloody Roberts’ beaming face on the cover) and there was an article about why we make lists we never use. Basically it’s like touching wood – it gives us a false sense of control in an often crazy, sometimes shitty world.

The opposite of a Bucket List is a Fuckit List – stuff that you don’t care about doing before you die. The problem is a lot of people have stuff they think they should do or say they want to do, but deep down they’d rather watch the Lost box set.

It seems everyone is making bucket lists again. Since I’m morbidly-inclined and the kind of person who wanted “Polly” and “Hurt” on my wedding playlist, I think this might be a good idea.

On the other hand, I flicked through an issue of Psychologies the other day (despite Julia bloody Roberts’ beaming face on the cover) and there was an article about why we make lists we never use. Basically it’s like touching wood – it gives us a false sense of control in an often crazy, sometimes shitty world.

The opposite of a Bucket List is a Fuckit List – stuff that you don’t care about doing before you die. The problem is a lot of people have stuff they think they should do or say they want to do, but deep down they’d rather watch the Lost box set.