Category: Life

Dear Matrics of 2000

So the big day finally arrived on Saturday…our 10 year reunion.  The weeks building up to this event have been filled with excitement, annoyance, stress and eagerness for me and JG who were organizing the event.  At first everyone was keen to attend, in fact they were mumbling and grumbling because up until the point of us organizing something nobody had even attempted to organize a reunion.

Then, as the RSVP deadline loomed closer everybody went dead quiet.  I had to send about a million reminders.  Then of course there were the people who only RSVP’d after the deadline, the ones who begged and pleaded with me to come even though they can only pay at a date after the actual reunion.  Eventually I agreed to let the one girl and her date come even though she wouldn’t be able to pay before the 19th.  I would live to regret this decision.  The budget was carefully planned for the people who were coming, we didn’t have any spare money, but there was enough for everyone.  Then this girl who didn’t pay didn’t pitch and now she’s refusing to pay…even though i already spent the money on them.  To say i was extremely ticked off would be an understatement.

Anyway, back to the more pleasant memories of the weekend.  Not many people attended, but the ones that did really wanted to be there.  We had so much fun, catching up, talking nonsense, laughing a mile a minute and sharing good food.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that people do eventually grow up and change for the better and find that place where they are supposed to be.  Seeing this in my old school friends really made me smile.  It was a happy moment and a happy realisation.

My one friend brought her little girl along..she was too gorgeous and stole every body’s hearts…including mine.  She spent the largest part of the evening with me, playing games, eating with me and just sitting on my lap.  If i ever have children i hope they are as chilled and easy going as that little girl!

Thank you for a wonderful day and a fun filled reunion…it was awesome to catch up with everyone.

Love
Ruby
xxxxx

P.S. I’ve attached a couple of random snapshots…sadly i didn’t get pics of everyone who attended and obviously i couldn’t post all the pics here….but here are a couple:)

P.P.S. Don’t forget about my secret pet project! please remember to keep sending me your secrets!!!!

 
Ladies and gentleman, I present your entertainment for the evening:P Not really, but AH was definitely having a good night:)
 
Seriously…how adorable is this child??? This is not her dad BTW…it’s JG, the old head boy
 
That would be me, paying attention to something that somebody was saying….or maybe just wondering what the hell they were on about.
 
*Snort* no comment!
 
These are the parents of the gorgeous little girl with number 2 on the way….i think he was trying to talk to his future son after having one too many
 
JG and his gorgeous wife:)
 
Mommy to be and our very own National angler…..yup, a girl that loves fishing..she actually has springbok colours.
 
My good friend Joe:) One of the few people i still have a lot of contact with.
 
Our resident trouble maker who seems to have calmed down quite a bit since becoming a daddy
 
She was pulling a face at the camera…so adorable:)
 
Joe and I….total posers
 
Mommmeeeee, I’m tired i wanna go hooooooome!

Dear Ghost of weekend past

I feel like going….wow! what an action packed weekend…but actually it wasn’t, and to be honest, it’s one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time:)

As most of you know by now i wrote my final big exam for my masters on Friday morning.  To say that i was stressed would be a complete and utter understatement.  I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous and stressed before an exam.  It’s what I’ve been working towards for 2 years…it’s scary.  The fact that i learnt last week that they were having issues with assignments i had submitted which they insist they didn’t get and were therefore giving me zero did NOT help my stress levels.  The admin lady phoning me on Friday morning and telling me she doesn’t think they’ll be able to help me sent stress levels into overdrive.  But being level headed me i figured I’d worry about that after the exam….first things first.  Exam, then stress about the missing assignments.

I can’t actually tell you if it went well or not.  It’s all interpretive and argumentative and there is no black or white answer to the questions…so I’ll have to wait and see how it goes.  Let’s just say i didn’t feel like committing suicide by the time i was done…that’s a good start right?  Friday night was spent having a celebration dinner a very good friend.  It was finally over….2 years of working myself half to death was finally over, regardless of what the results look like….definitely something worth celebrating:)

Saturday morning i woke up with a start at 7:20am…*sigh* i better get up and study.  And then it hit me…i didn’t have to.  I had nothing i HAD to do. I’m actually going to have a life again.  After 2 years this is definitely a life change.  I decided to spend the morning lying around and reading…something i haven’t been able to do in a very long time.  Saturday afternoon was spent with the GirlGuides crew at Moyo Zoolake …much fun was had:)  I expected to spend the evening quietly at home, but ended up going for a charming dinner at the Attic with a friend….surprise surprise…turns out that’s exactly what i needed:)

Sunday was a super lazy and super awesome day.  Lunch with the replacements followed by an unexpected and content afternoon strolling around the mall with awesome company.  Right now I’d like to mention that life can be pretty sweet sometimes:)

So, ghost of weekend past, please pay attention and ensure that i have plenty more of these weekends in the near future:)  Also, can everybody please hold thumbs that it went really well with my exams:)

Love
Ruby
xxxx

Dear Sussie

Happy happy belated birthday sweetie!!!!!

Gosh, currently i feel like the worst Sister in law EVER! Can’t believe that i completely forgot about your birthday *hangs head in shame*.  So i realise that it is a couple of days late, and I’m so sorry if it made you feel unloved in any way. 

But here’s to wishing you the happiest of happy birthdays.  I hope that you had an amazing day and that my brother spoiled you absolutely rotten.  And my wish for you in the years to come includes lots of love and happiness and blessings.  *big hugs*

I can’t wait for you guys to come to South Africa at the end of the year, and this is my promise to make you feel extra special while you are here:)

Lots of love
Ruby
xxxxx

Dear Cape town

Thank you so much for an amazing mini break! Many thanks to all the people that made every second of it incredible and fun and filled with memories that’ll last a life time.

The mini break started on Wednesday afternoon when i was dropped off at Lanseria airport after work.  Sadly my flight was delayed, but my iPad *grin*, the sandwich and the cider from the little coffee shop kept me more than entertained while i waited.  The flight was uneventful, for which I’m grateful, as I realised just before boarding that it would be the first time ever that i was flying alone without any company.

Thursday morning was spent with my good friend Superolz who recently moved to CT from Jozi.  We stopped for coffee at Blouberg and then headed off towards Stellenbosch for some wine tasting.  We went to Waterford wine estate where we did the whole chocolate and wine experience.  It was my first time there and i must say the chocolate and the wine were absolutely divine!  After relaxing at Waterford we dashed off to Thelema wine estate for another quick tasting as we didn’t have much time left before i had to meet up with another friend.

Thursday afternoon was spent wandering around the Company Gardens and visiting the museum.  The gardens are absolutely gorgeous, even though i was attacked by an evil squirrel.  The squirrels in the Company Gardens are incredibly tame and they come right up to you if you hold your hand out to them.  When the squirrel however realised that i didn’t actually have any food for it, it ran after me and actually jumped onto my leg and tried to climb up…i managed to get it off quickly, thank goodness.  oh and for the record….this happened TWICE!

A large part of the afternoon was spent wandering around the V&A Waterfront with my good friend Maniac. Then it was time for Strawberry daiquiris at the Ambassador hotel to watch the sunset followed by dinner at HQ.  I do believe this is one of the most amazing restaurants EVER! Their menu reads as follows: Salad, steak and chips.  They serve salad for a starter and steak and chips….that’s it.  Best steak I’ve had in a VERY long time:)

Friday was spent with my friends Maniac, Flipside and Suekie doing one of those Hop-On-Hop-Off city bus tours.  We had so much fun, even though the boys both got sun burnt.  We spent quite a bit of time exploring the fort, I mean castle and later on had the most divine lunch at Blues in Campsbay.  Then it was time to head off to the tweetup, aptly named #RubyComesToCapeTown, where i finally had the opportunity to meet some of my online friends face to face and to see some old friends once again.  In attendance was Riven, AniB, Alice, Ann, MajorProblem, Pinkhairgirl, Craig, Flipside, Suekie, Superolz, Maniac and of course Me:) We went to Wakame, which i have to say has the most divine sushi!

Saturday morning i was up early as I was super excited to be spending the morning with my cousin.  The oldest of the 3 children that form part of the replacement family, she moved to Cape Town in December of last year.  And i haven’t seen her in a very long time.  Maniac decided to join us on our adventure as he didn’t have any plans.  Being the awesome friend that he is, he stopped by Vida on the way so i could get my Vida fix to start the day…*does happy dance*.

After picking my cousin up we headed out to Kirstenbosch, where we spent an enjoyable morning having wine with cheese and crackers…now THAT’s what i call the breakfast of royalty:)  Kirstenbosch is absolutely gorgeous, and it’s a pity we didn’t have more time to wander around.

The afternoon was spent wine tasting with Maniac and his friend Attie.  Attie, being the local took us to Lourensford first.  Then we headed off towards Vergelegen.  After a memorable stroll through the gardens and having quite a bit of wine he sneaked us up to the Vergelegen wine cellars. I only have one word to describe this place…..wow! The view was absolutely breathtaking.

On Sunday morning I woke up to an overcast sky and rain.  It seems that Cape Town was sad to see me go *wishful thinking*.  Since the flight back home was only in the afternoon we took a drive out to Houtbay and decided to try our luck doing the Chapman’s peak drive.  Even though it was misty and rainy and cloudy it was incredibly beautiful.  If it weren’t for the fact that we were meeting Inky, Kambabe, Flipside and the squidlets for coffee and cake in Houtbay i doubt i would have been able to tear myself away from that awesome view.

So here i am back in Jozi daydreaming about my mini break, my friends and the memories I made.  I’ll see you again real soon Cape Town.

Love
 Ruby
xxxxxx

Dear Drunk Driver

Tonight at 10 minutes to midnight it will be exactly 5 years since that fateful night.  5 years….wow…I can’t believe it.  At times it feel like it couldn’t be that long…at other times i could swear the accident happened a lifetime ago.

I don’t know where you are in life, and I’m grateful that I don’t have any contact with you.  But sometimes i wonder if you ever think about that night.  If you ever even realised how much damage you caused.  Have you ever thought about it and wanted to apologize for it? As I’m sitting here writing this I realise that you never did.  Not even once.  You never apologized.  Not for the act and not for the consequences.  But I’ve forgiven you regardless.  I refuse to spend my life bearing a grudge, I’ll be the only one suffering if i did.

Sometimes i can’t help but wonder how different my life would have been.  And then my mind starts wandering towards the what ifs and the whys and the why Me’s.  But then i start looking at my life now.  Yes, at the time i was convinced you had ruined my life.  Being practically bedridden for two months was no joke.  The constant headaches that I’ll probably have for the rest of my life, my metal ankle, the scars, the fact that my wrist isn’t nearly as strong as it used to be, nightmares and a court case that went on forever those were and still are tough. 

But i look at my life now and i realise that i have so many blessings in the form of people, things, realisations and relationships.  And then i wonder how much of this i would have missed if I hadn’t been in the accident.  The fact that i emerged from that accident with my life was a miracle in its self…and for that I’m eternally grateful.  It made me a more aware, more grateful, more ‘wanting to live’ kind of person. 

For a very long time talking/writing/thinking about the accident kind of brought my heart to my throat.  But as i sit here today I realise that is a thing of the past.  Yes, i still have nightmares sometimes and the scars, pain and blaring metal detectors at airports will always be a reminder.  But you know….reminders of how different things could have been and how lucky I am to be alive have now been filed into the positive rather than the negative side of my brain.

I hope you are happy.  I hope you have found peace, and i hope you have become more responsible in time.

Regards
Ruby