Ryan's awesome 21st!

I just have to add some pictures from last night. I had such a fun time. And I'm so proud of my little brother. It was also great to see Russel (my other brother) who flew in from Cape Town.

The theme was "Come as you were" - which caused some confusion but basically means come as someone you could have been in a past life. My brother is odd sometimes ;) Everybody dressed up and looked so gorgeous and fun. Really an awesome night. His girlfriend did so much to organise it. I am so happy that he has someone like that in his life.

Brian - he made me laugh the whole night. Wow. Awesomeness.

Ryan - An Officer and a Gentleman!

Me and my spanish dancer/assassin (she stole Brian's sheriff's gun and pretended to be an assassin all night)

Me and Rus - he looked like Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. :)

Some of Ryan's friends

I love both of these costumes!

Me and Brian - love him so much!

Ryan and his princess Julie.

Me and my brood! :)

Ryan- Almost 21 years of awesomeness

My brother's 21st birthday party is tomorrow and I am saying a speech. Eek. I have so many things I want to say but my mind is all tired and befuddled. I was looking at pictures of him and he was just so darn cute.

He was quite sick as a baby - he was in hospital nearly every month with pneumonia. Sometimes he would be admitted for 3-4 weeks at a time. His doctor just kept saying it was asthma and the tests for cystic fibrosis kept coming back negative (thank goodness) but they kept testing because it was the most logical answer.

Eventually, the doctor admitted that he didn't know (after 5 years) and referred him to a paediatric pulmonologist, Dr. Richards. He is absolutely awesome. He finally diagnosed Ryan with an immune defficiency which lead to him getting sick so often that a part of his lung was destroyed. At one point they were even contemplating surgery but then with the help of medicine for the immune problem, Ryan got better and better.

He is now healthier than I am and 100times more active

One good thing from being so ill is that Ryan learnt to fight...sometimes, it drives me mad but he will fight for something or someone he believes in and he is no quitter. And he loves. He and his girlfriend, Julie have been together for nearly 3 years and he treats her like a princess. He also looks out for our little sister (and spends half his time bugging her too!)

Ryan, recently got a scooter which scares the life out of me. I don't like it but he loves being able to get places. A lot of his friends have given him some trouble about having a 'girly' scooter but he just laughed. He has even named it Fernando (because he says its italian).

He has really grown up into such a great man. I can't believe it actually. I remember reading on the couch with him snuggled next to me all afternoon. I used to bath him (yes, at six!) and I was the one who carried him inside when he broke his arm at 2 (a motorbike accident on one of those little plastic bikes). I am just so proud of him...

And he is so good looking (I am his sister so I can brag) :)

Happy Birthday to me!

Have I ever mentioned that I love birthdays? Well do!

I suppose now I should worry about getting older but it doesn't really phase me. Mainly since I am just happy in my life at the moment. I don't feel particularly grown up most days. In fact, I feel that I am learning most of the time. Maybe its because I feel 16 in my head. Its hard to worry when you still think like a 16 year old ;)

I was so totally spoilt this MONTH (I've had a birthday month- a day is not enough :p). I got my laptop, I started a new job, I got a great new haircut and a Este Laude gift set from Brian's mom. And flowers from Brian. That he arranged himself...he was very proud. He also wrote me the most beautiful message in my birthday card. I am not showing off. Well, maybe a little. But not in a mean way. It so easy to get used to how awesome he is but when I brag about the little things he does it reminds me how looked after and loved I am. I am seriously lucky.

Did I mention he took the day off work so he would be here with me? Yip, he did and then he vacuumed and washed the floor. And we're going out for sushi now. Mmmmmnnnnn! Exciting.

Anyway, have a great day people! :)

p.s. Have you seen the Michael Bolton song about Captain Jack Sparrow. So SO ODD! It makes me laugh.



p.s. 2 I was travelling around the Eastern and Northern Cape last week. Its so beautiful! We were there for work (looking at the P.E. mainline railway) so most of my pictures involve railway tracks or plants. But I think this one is pretty.

Whoosh

The sound that time makes when it flies past. Whoosh!

I can't believe that it is the middle of August. I can't believe that I have been at my new job for 16 days. I can't believe I will be 27 at the end of the month. I can't believe that Brian and I will have been together for 5 years on 5 September. Time really does fly.

And when you're busy, days go so much faster. And I am soooo busy. I have two projects at work at the moment (they're going easy on me- most people have 5 or 6). One of the projects is more research based while the other one is more the typical environmental application stuff. It is so scary and such a learning curve. Since I started I have gone to two meetings at Transnet, had a telephone interview with someone from the Durban muncipality. I met the senior researcher at the South African Human Rights Commission. And I have three more meetings this week. Then next week I jet off to Port Elisabeth for a site visit. Pretty cool. I am excited and scared. But mainly excited.

I also received:
1 x bright yellow construction jacket
1 x bright yellow construction vest
1 x blue helmet
1 pair of construction boots

I kind of feel like a kid playing dress up. I suppose that being an adult just means you're old enough to do what you want but instead have to do what you must. But its pretty cool now because doing what I want is pretty close to doing what I must. I mean I get to sleep half an hour later, still get to work early and I am enjoying coming home mentally tired.

26 things to do before I am 27

Saw this on Tash's blog so I am jumping on the bandwagon, mainly because I love lists and also because its like a month to my birthday so...why not!

1.) Get my hair cut
2.) Buy some new make up.
3.) Finish all my pre-induction reading
4.) Lose 20 kg's (okay so that may be a little far fetched- so maybe go on a diet)
5.) Pack up my office
6.) Go to my first gynae appointment without crying and/or cancelling (you wouldn't say I was 26, right?)
7.) Finish my MSc. corrections
8.) Book my Urban bootcamp month of pain and torture
9.) Get a student loan for my brother, Ryan
10) Pick up some books from the herbarium
11) Finally meet up with a friend so I can get my favourite book in the world back from her
12) Throw out all the stupid files of BSc. undergrad subjects that are taking up space in my tiny apartment
13) Go out for drinks on the weekend more often
14) Go horse riding
15) Change medical aids
16) Change banks
17) Have a hissy fit at ABSA to get my R1000 back
18) See my psychiatrist and renew my script
19) Turn the mattress over
20) Vacuum under the bed and couch
21) Organise a group of people to go eat sushi with (I am craving sushi!)
22) Take Sav (my sister) and Cas (Brian's sister) to watch Harry Potter
23) Defrost the fridge
24) Straighten my hair and leave it down more often
25) Go for walks on the weekend
26) Be talkative and friendly at my new job!!!

Happy Birthday, Madiba!

How do truly great people manage to be great? I always wonder...is it fate or personality or courage or the fact that if they don't no one else will? I feel very small at the moment- all my moaning about a stolen purse. In the big picture it doesn't matter. I hadn't quite decided what to do for my 67 minutes when I started this post but I just had an AWESOME idea. I love lists so I am going to make a list of 67 things I am going to do in dedication of all the hard work Madiba did in his 67 years of activism. I will finish it before next year and then start again. I love this idea!

Now I have to think of things that need to be done! Ideas anyone?

So everyone else goes on holiday to exotic places

Like this:

And me...I got to go to HARRISMITH. Yip. Harrismith. Fun times.

It was cold and I stayed in bed most days and worked on my MSc. corrections. I also completely enjoyed doing dutiful girlfriend tasks. Like packing a lunch for Brian and cooking dinner for the both of us. I can't wait for his contract to be up so that we actually get to spend the weekday evenings together. It was his birthday too. He wouldn't let me buy him anything more than biltong but I wanted to make it special so I bought cupcakes and candles but then there were NO matches so he had an unlit candles to blow out (oops). It was so easy to get into a routine. I want routine that doesn't involve yelling at my computer or the universe in general when skype can't deal with life. Sigh.

Anyway, its back to work now. The students are back and all the staff know I am leaving which is awkward. I have to make sure everything is organised before I leave and I feeling pretty anxious at the moment, to be honest. I couldn't fall asleep last night. That NEVER happens. I can always sleep. Oh well. Change is always scary.