Author: Rubyletters

Dear MSC Melody

Oh my word…….where does one begin??? I have no words to explain this amazing experience. Sun, sea, zodiac rides, sexy Italian sailors, food, food, food, cocktails, beaches, 5 star treatment, gorgeous sunsets, even more amazing sunrises, dancing until the sun comes up and great company……what more could a girl possibly ask for?? Not much really:)

I’m not going to go into the details of the trip…there is just too much and too little blog space. So, I’ve decided to tell the story with the help of a couple of pictures. We hardly slept at all the entire time we were on the boat. Opting rather to dance either under the stars or in the club. Luckily, none of our little group of friends suffered from motion sickness…….this obviously enhanced the experience:)

The food was superb! And I swear it felt as if we were eating the whole time. The day started with breakfast buffet, then a “Late risers” buffet, then teatime, then a lunch buffet, then “High tea” and then a 7 course dinner…..which was quite a fancy affair.

Everybody came back weighing ever so slightly more than when we actually went on board……I suppose it could be blamed on the combination of food and cocktails. But that’s what new year exercising regimes are for right?

The sailors were mostly Italian and definitely lived up to their reputation….*wink wink*. My “Stolen Kiss” happened to be the “Pilot” of the ship, and was brave enough to smuggle me onto the captain’s bridge on the last morning to watch the sunrise from there…it was absolutely amazing!!! And believe it or not, I still chat to him on a regular basis…or whenever he has access to the Internet.

We came back with heavy hearts, tanned bodies and a million pictures and memories. Here are a couple of pictures to wet your appetite:)

And we’re off!!!!

Smart Casual Dinner the first evening

On the Portuguese Islands…..gorgeous!

Still on the island…just check how far the cruise ship is….about a 10min zodiac ride

Beautiful sunset after an awesome day on the Island

The girlies on our second night….dinner is a fancy affair y’all!

Deck party!!!!!!!

Still having fun at the deck party:)

We ensured there were enough life boats for everyone

A stolen kiss………..

Sunrise from the Captain’s bridge on the morning of our arrival back in Durban

Love

Ruby
xxxxxx

Dear people of Ponta

Thank you so much for inviting us into your humble surroundings. Those brief days stolen on Mozambican beaches and philandering around on quads will forever be one of the most memorable trips of my life.

We left Pretoria at about half past 11 Friday night. All 4 of us were super excited. We were traveling to Moz with a double cab bakkie towing a 6m trailer containing two rather large quad bikes and a smaller trailer containing a jetski. Miss Gym Bunny finally fell asleep at about 2 in the morning, but being the little insomniac I am, I stayed awake throughout, keeping the guys awake with animated stories and listening wide eyed to their stories of Moz and the time both of them spent in the police force.

By 6 o’clock Saturday morning we had reached Pongola, and here we stopped for a well deserved Wimpy breakfast..yumm! We then set off for the last part of our journey to Cosi bay, where we were to cross the border. Once the border post was in sight, the guys drove the whole rig off the road and started undoing all the ropes and unloading our bags from the bakkie. Miss Gym Bunny(MGB) and I were quite confused about this, and after much banter we discovered that we were leaving the bakkie and the big trailer behind…we will be entering into Moz with only the 2 quadbikes, the larger one of the two will be towing the small trailer with the jetski and our bags strapped to it. Whooooop! Super exciting stuff.

Now granted, your little town of Ponta do Ouro isn’t all that far from the border, only about 15km, but it might as well have been in a totally different world. Great was my surprise when I discovered that the road actually disappeared the moment we went through the border post. Suddenly it was grass, trees and a couple of sandy tracks leading well….all over the place. When I asked A how on earth he knew where we were going he responded by pointing in a general north eastern direction and said that we were heading in that direction, and will be following whichever track seemed least likely to get us stuck in the sand.

Upon reaching your town, bout 10 in the morning, we were hot and dirty and sat down for a well deserved R&R at Fernando’s. R&R being the local drink of choice, mozambican rum and rasberry. We then offloaded the jetski and the bags and I had my first proper quad biking lessons….super exciting:)

We explored large parts of the surrounding areas that day, had a quick swim in the ocean and attempted to do the jetski thing, but the sea was slightly rough, so we ended up going on a long quading adventure instead. We came back super dirty, tired, sunburnt and ravenous! Yummy yummy mozambican prawns!!!!!!

Sunday morning we woke up quite early…probably had something to do with all the fresh air. Drove down to the beach bar for breakfast, took the jetski out for a spin…scary and fun, hung around in an ocean so super still that we hardly moved and then we started on our Elephant park adventure. Normally tourists aren’t allowed to enter the official Elephant park on quad bikes. But as A has special concession from the Mozambican government because he regularly brings tours there, we were able to experience the vastness of Africa with nothing more than a silly little quad bike to remind us of the civilised world. The experience was totally unreal, and there is no way that I’ll be able to put it into words. It’s scary and thrilling and exciting all at the same time. We saw tons of wildlife, and even came across a crocodile, a good 500m from the closest water. We actually mistook it for a log and only discovered it was a crocodile when we were a mere 5m away….scary stuff I tell you!

We travelled a total fo 90km through the park that day. So by the time we were heading back we were once again tired and extremely dirty. About 15km away from your little piece of civilisation some form of poisonous insect flew into me. Now you have to understand, we were travelling at about 60km/h. I felt the impact and as i tried to brush it off my shirt it stung me both in my side and on my hand. My hand was swollen to twice its size within seconds and the red line of poison traveling up my arm and my side was clearly visible. The pain was almost unbearable and despite myself I was crying and just a tad hysterical. We were 15km away from civilisation, if Ponta, no offence intended, could really be labelled civilisation, we were traveling on quad bikes and we had absolutley nothing with us with which to treat the poisoning. We raced back to Ponta at record breaking speed, despite the fact that I only had one hand to hold on with and managed to obtain a strong anti-histamine as well as some sort of balm to put on the actual stings. I still have the marks, 2 months later, and I suffered for a couple of days, but I survived…….even though I scared the crap out of A, C and MGB.

It was with a touch of sadness that we packed up on Monday morning. Restrapping all the bags to the small trailer along with the jetski, saying goodbye to the ocean, waving at the locals and looking back once more at the rural little town that stole our hearts. The 15km trip back to the border was over in no time, and as soon as we crossed the border we were reunited with our double cab and trailer. The trip home felt a lot longer, mostly because we were tired, sunburnt and sad at the prospect of having to come back to the big city.

Thank you people of Ponta, for one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Thank you A and C for sponsoring the whole trip. I came back with the exact amount of money I left with. I didn’t have to pay for one single meal, drink or drop of fuel. And thank you my dear dear MGB for inviting me along on this adventure………our already growing friendship has now firmly been cemented.

The rig we drove to Cosi bay – double cab, 6m trailer with 2 quads & small trailer with jet ski

This is how we went over the border and into Moz!

R&R’s and Fernando’s bar

Fernando of Fernando’s bar standing proudly in his little establishment

This is pretty much Ponta – Fernando’s bar is on the right hand side

Erm…this is the highway….I swear!

Quad biking……whoooop!

The croc – we were a whole 5m away!!! scary stuff….plus the thing was gigantic

Posing in Fishmonger to the entertainment of the locals….

Playing around on the jet ski

Love

Ruby

Dear readers…..again

Due to reasons completely out of my control I’ve been unable to access my blogger account since I came back from Moz. Since then it’s been one mad rush after another……finishing deadlines at work, getting ready for my cruise, actually going on the cruise, going to the Eastern Cape and finally, coming back to work.

The thing is, my sweet little USB modem decided to tell me to go screw myself, and I haven’t had a chance to get it fixed…until now. Vodacom was nice enough to just exchange it for a new one, since it was still under warranty. So here I am in all my glory, and I promise that this will be the last letter addressed to “dear readers” for quite a while.

Hope you’re all ready to be flooded with tons and tons of letters. Happy 2009!!!!

Love

Ruby

Dear all

Once again i find myself in a position where I have to apologize for being awfully quiet…….jeepers, when does it end!

OK, so I’ve been awfully quiet since my “a decade of me” post, but things have been rather hectic. Today’s post won’t be long, it’s only to inform you guys that I’m off on a mini-holiday to Mozambique…….all expenses paid…wooooohoooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miss Gym Bunny and 2 of here friends are going on a “business trip” to Mozambique……there was supposedly a fourth person but said fourth person has since pulled out and yesterday at 4 o’clock the arrangements were made. We leave tonight at 11, I haven’t packed anything yet except my passport and camera. The rest of the stuff is small and mundane.

So….I’m off to enjoy a 3 day break filled with quad biking, swimming, cocktail drinking and lying in the sun…..for FREE! Sos, I just can’t help repeating that part:)

I’ll be back on Tuesday with a lovely letter to Mozambique filled with amazing stories and gorgeous pics.

Love

Ruby
xxxx

Dear Readers

Ok, so quite a few of the bloggers whose blogs I frequent have done this….and i refuse to call it a meme since I really hate meme’s:) I liked it so much that i’ve decided to do it too. So here follows the last decade of my life:)

1998
I was in Grade 10 and madly in love with Mr Mysterious. Or wait, not really in love, just enchanted. He was tall, dark, handsome, mysterious, 2 years older than us and the object of every right minded girl in the school’s fantacy. And out of all the girls in the school he chose me….i was ecstatic. We only dated for about a month……and we spent most of the time fighting…he was an absolute asshole! Not exactly ideal boyfriend material…my dad used to say :”Julle baklei meer as wat julle vry”. But I was the envy of every single girl in school and at the time that was important. When I broke up with him he tried to beat me up…….my loyal friend Izak happened to be at the right place at the right time and Mr Mysterious didn’t come to school for 2 days…nuff said! I won a gold at the National Science Expo for my project on Nuclear power…..yes yes, so i’m a bit of a geek, get over it! We won the youth drama festival, and I realised once again that I really wish it had been feasible to join a High School for fine arts, but this being South Africa I would have been poorer than poor had I done that.

1999
Won gold at the National Science expo for my project on Space Exploration. I decided to join CAM after school………but my dad managed to talk me out of it, stating that after I completed my degree I could still go if I wanted to. It’s a group for Christian Artists and Musicians. Got involved with a couple of guys, but nothing serious. It was a pretty uneventful year, as years go. I did however go to our provincial youth choir auditions for the fun of it at the end of this year, and to my absolute surprise and delight I was chosen. I spent the first week of my December holidays at a choir camp and met some of the most terrific and horrific people. I also met the guy I later dated…he was part of a set of identical twins.

2000
Matric!!!! My best school year ever. I missed most friday classes as I was always on my way to some or other concert, camp or practise. We receive a standing ovation at the National Youth choir festival, the only choir to receive this honour. We perform alongside the Drakensberg boys choir and I continued to meet all kinds of fabulous people along the way. A very good friend of mine looses her mom to cancer and my most favourite uncle in the world dies. I had a really hard time dealing with this as he was a very important part of my life. I dated the identical twin from the youth choir for a couple of months, but it was never very serious and as the year drew near to it’s end we decided to call it quits. I had been registered to go and study to be a doctor, and at the end of October in my last year of school I woke up one morning and decided that I’d rather be a chartered accountant. My dad almost had a heart attack, the chances of being accepted for a totally different course at a totally different uni this time of year was impossible, but by the grace of God I was accepted at both the uni and the Res without any trouble…..and i Haven’t looked back since. And then there was JG. Even after all these years i have to admit that he remains in a very special place in my heart. He had been in my class all through my high school years. Oh, and for the record, as I come from a very small town, i was also in a very small high school….I pretty much knew everybody from grade 8 through to 12. He was handsome as hell, brilliant academically, cricket star, rugby star….everybody’s blue eyed boy. On the day that we were due to start our final exams he told me out of the blue that he loved me…I was both surprised and elated…but alas it wasn’t meant to be. He was leaving to join Scas and I was leaving for Uni…we decided to let it go….but we never really did. I passed my matric with flying colours and 7 A’s despite having missed so much school and study time and I obtain the dux highest academic honour award. (This just shouts nerd doesn’t it??) oh, and I won a beauty pageant…which I swear I didn’t enter voluntarily!

2001
I start my life as a student……awesome! I also meet my best and life long friend. We shared a room for 2 years, and together we suffered through initiation, RAG and party after party. I love you my chamber, still do! I’m invited to join Golden Key and to enjoy all the benefits related to it. I break my nose late one evening in an effort to help my bestest friend with her graphic design project…very very painful! It was the first and only year that I shared university life with my brother and I loved it. I truly have the best big brother any girl could ask for. This is also the year I meet Tiefie, who becomes the guy I will try and measure every other guy I ever meet against. We never dated, but we were and still are great friends….he’s a bit of a famous musician at the moment:) JG visited my parents while I was at uni and left me little letters all over the house….this man really knows how to turn my heart to mush!

2002
This year consisted mostly of parties, parties and more parties. I organised two large rock shows, with great success I might add!, and met lots of famous musicians. I joined an acapella group and met Mr Chemist. These days he’s a musician, but at the time he was studying to be a chemist. Blondie and I learnt how to go out with a total of R20 between us and how to return home, tired and full of drinks with our R20 in tact. My friends and I travel to PTA one evening for a party, and I ended up snogging a famous afrikaans artist…one that’s kinda good looking mind you….because i lost a bet. Come to think of it……..this wasn’t a very eventful year. I worked as a promo girl for both SAB and USN, this meant lots of free stuff and lots of money…good times;)

2003
JG pitches up on Valentines day, with a big bunch of flowers, chocolates and a reservation at an expensive restaurant. He was studying at a varsity on the other side of the country at the time and I was completely taken by surprise. Seriously mushy, I know! Later in the year Mr Chemist and I dated and his ex-gf decided to “teach me a lesson”. Lucky for me Mr Chemist noticed her following me into the ladies on the evening the whole uni was out and about celebrating the new Student council…..he was elected, yay!……and he ran in and saved the day. For the record, she was quite a bit bigger than me….i didn’t stand a chance in a cat fight. It did however make me think about what I was getting myself into, and I opted for the safe route…..bye bye Mr Chemist! I organised a formal ball and invited JG to join me. He flew up from Uni…..such a gentleman. Travelled to Namibia with my Acapella music group and had tons and tons of fun! Cried crocodile tears when my brother left to go and work as a missionary in the UK….he ended up being there for 4 years. I became extremely sick and somewhere inbetween all the tests the doctor found out that among other things, apparently I can’t get drunk. As soon as i got better I tested this little theory and managed to drink 8 shots of Straw rum before the guy I was drinking them with passed out. I was the most sober person at the club and took everyone home. I passed my degree with flying colours and was accepted to complete my CA honours degree, also known as CTA.

2004
I move out of Res and into a commune with my bestest friend, which we shared with6 guys. We had a blast. I tore all the ligaments in my right ankle in my first week back at uni and spent the first couple of weeks on crutches. The town in which my uni was situated was placed under quarentine due to an outbreak of menengitis. Some of our friends contracted it and died. It was a scary time for us and our families, as we weren’t allowed to leave town, we weren’t allowed to go to class and most of the town just kinda shut down for a while. Without realising it I became a good friend of yet another famous south african artist….I’m an idiot I know! I didn’t recognize the dude until he actually told me he had to work and climbed on stage…i’ts a funny story:) I was made to be “the other woman” without my knowledge or consent, and if anybody wants to judge me for this, just go read this post first. I had my first ever stalker. I managed to juggle academics and my crazy social life and passed my CTA at the top of my class. I travelled back to Namibia, and this time I dragged the Parentals along…..I have truly fallen in love with the place and will gladly move there if the oppertunity arises:)

2005
I move to Jozi and start my first real job. Life as an audit clerk sucks….seriously! You work yourself to a standstill and you earn next to nothing. I lived with my aunt and uncle for 6 months and then moved into a house with some friends from church…all guys. Does anybody else see a pattern here? In the space of three days i managed to be involved in an attempted hi-jacking, break my foot and be involved in a minor car accident. I wasn’t driving, my aunt was taking me to work, as I couldn’t drive with my broken foot. I’m forced to deal with real life and real responsibility for the first time in my life……scary stuff I tell you. AK got married and it turned into a hell of a party, and three days later I had my car accident and lost 2 months of my life. This was probably the worst part of the last decade. I met Thieving artist for the first time, one of the only good things to come out of this.

2006
I bought a brand spanking new car! Seriously, I had the accident in September of 2005, but could only start driving again in January of 2006. My Gran turns 80 and all the family gathers together at Golden Gate for a celebration weekend, and all of us are nearly snowed in. My darling brother got engaged to a yankee girl, who turned out to be the most amazing sister I could ask for;) I met The Sorta Guy and had to say goodbye to him in the same year as he jetted off to the US for 8 months. I was almost arrested at the American Consulate……I have to tell you guys about this some time:) A building in the CBD of Jozi collapses on us, but through some kind of miracle i once again manage to escape quite unharmed, with only minor injuries as proof of my ordeal. I travel to the US of A for just over 5 weeks. Mainly to attend my brother’s wedding, but as we had to spend all that money we turned it into a proper holiday. I fell in love with New York and received a job offer from a prestige firm in Manhattan…..the offer still stands.

2007
I meet and date the co-founder of a famous coffee shop chain. The relationship doesn’t work out however as we don’t share the same beliefs and dreams…we’re still friends;) I meet DJ and realise that not everything works out the way we want it too. After 2 years and one big fight i finally decide to move out of the commune and I moved into my little house. I’m faced with a stalker for the second time in my life, but managed to deal with it…eventually. The sorta guy returns from the US only to turn back to his Drug addiction days…this nearly sent me over the edge and by the time he went to rehab voluntarily I was a nervous wreck. Blondie got married and I managed to squeeze together the money to travel to her wedding. I start blogging…yay!

2008
My article contract period finishes and my boss offers me the job as manager of his practise…..I thoroughly enjoy running his business for him;) I had my whirlwind romance with Jack…..good times;) 2 really good friends of mine try to commit suicide…being the uppity person I am, I had a really hard time coming to terms with this, as it was unexpected. My brother and Sister-in-law came to South africa for a 3 week visit and I cried my little heart out when they left. My dad unexpectedly became very ill and was rushed to hospital. I’m by nature an extremely rational person, but I was thrown onto an emotional roller coaster with this. We’re a very close knit family and the very thought of possibly loosing my dad drove me insane……..he made a miraculous recovery after 5 weeks of doctors not knowing what to treat him for. My third stalker appears on the horison….this one however is scary and perverted and if you are reading this you sick son of a Be-atch….I can’t even begin to say what i wish on you for the future. But mostly I just wish that you’ll leave me the hell alone!
My relationship with God, which has, for a very long time, been very intense and personal, was suddenly launched onto a whole new playing field and I’m enjoying the journey of discovery. AK is pregnant!!!! hurray hurray…congrats my friend:)

My goodness! This is such a long post that I really wouldn’t blame anyone if they didn’t want to finish reading it! I’ve been pretty blessed so far. My life has been pretty much picture perfect most of the time. No major emotional scarring has taken place and apart from the accident, which has a end purpose to it, it’s been mostly rosy I’d say. I wish i could give you guys all the details of the last 10 years, but then this post would go on for ever and ever. I can’t wait to find out what the next 10 years will hold. And in the meantime, I hope to make you all a part of it:)

Love

Ruby

P.S. By the time i finished this i was just waay to lazy and tired to run spell checker, so live with the mistakes….OK?