Posting comments

So I have been trying to post comments on other blogs, and it has not been working. What's up with that? It looks like it is not working. AGAIN...

Expensive metal

I finally received my medical aid claim just for information for my operation. It is frightening how much a relatively minor operation costs. It was almost 15k to repair my finger with pins.

My Dad made a joke and said that if I didn't have medical aid I would have had to live with a crooked finger for the rest of my life, but it was a true statement. I don't know who can afford that for something that is not life-threatening. I mean, if a person is gonig to die, you sell your house, you sell your car, - you make a plan. But for a finger?

Thank goodness for medical aids.

I think I will keep the two pins and create some jewelery out of them. :D

Bikers and chatting

Over the weekend, I was just about to get onto my bike in a parking lot when a pair pulled up on another bike just next to me. It was a couple that seemed very friendly, so we started chatting. She commented on how lovely she thought my pink butterfly helmet was, and I chatted to her about the patterns on the new Shark helmets, and the 20% off at Skinny's. Her male companion said he knew where her shop was and that they may take a turn past there.

We chatted about lots of things, and when i was about to leave, I asked him if he was going to take her to the shop. He said he would if she would agree to another date. HA HA

I did not realise that I was interrupting a serious spading session!! I hope it all works out for them :)

The thing that I like is that bikers usually will chat to each other, and it is fun to be able to chat to them. I that we have a sort of community and are automatically pre-accepted by other bikers.

Cool like that.

First “real” ride after finger op

This morning I rode in to work on my bike after 12 days of not riding. I did ride my bike home last night from where it had fallen and had stayed, but it was dark and raining, and there was hardly any traffic so there wasn’t much clutching to be done, and I was tense concentrating hard on the dark, wet road etc.

I got home without incident, and even managed to turn my bike around in the car port without dropping her, ha ha, and then realized my finger and whole hand was sore. More sore than I would have expected in fact. But I took a pain killer, watched the end of The Apprentice, had a lovely hot bath, and went to sleep.

This morning, I weighed the pros and cons of riding versus driving, and took my bike to work. Since it was rush hour, and my hand was already sore to start, on the face of it, it may have seemed like the wrong decision, but it was definitely not. Despite the pain of clutching and clutching and clutching through the traffic on to the highway, then clutching some more while splitting, then clutching and clutching even more off the highway to the office, it only took me 20 minutes from door to door. Not like the just less than two hours of Monday in my car… Yes, my hand is swollen again, it is hot and bruised again, but I think it is ok. It is not what might be called “bad” pain, at least I don’t think so. Time will tell…

As I have said before, I love my car, and would never sell it. But getting to work has a number of things I enjoy now that I have my bike again. Here are, although it is difficult to explain the feeling of riding. Perhaps you can ask a dog why it sticks its head out of a window in a car – same thing really.

> The feel of the wind on my neck is exhilarating
> The feel of the wind that creeps into my helmet on my cheeks is cool
> The pressure of the wind and speed (yes I know Mom) on my body is very freeing
> The feeling of the response of power and thrust as you open the throttle is not easy to explain, but gives me a feeling of freedom and perhaps even power
> The surge of adrenalin when I get off the bike, even still, makes my hands shake a little, and gives a little “high” every time
> The joy of knowing that I am saving time and petrol also makes me happy

In general, I know there are risks, and I may even break my finger and need pins (D’oh) but this is a risk I have accepted, and am applying the safety I know how to, being cautious, and being as courteous as I can on the road. Surely this can only stand me in good stead?

I love my bike. I love riding my bike. I love my bike.

PS - my bike is so full of bird poo that it must weigh an extra 2 kgs! I will wash her this afternoon when I get home.

First ride after breaking my finger

Today is the 17th of February. I broke my finger on the 5th and it was operated on on the 6th and 2 pins were put in it. I got to ride my bike home today after not riding or driving at all, and it was surprisingly sore to grip the clutch.

The 40kms home was more difficult than I thought it would be because my hand has healed a lot and has not been that sore at all lately. It is also very weak compared to the other one.

I guess it requires a lot of work and time before it will be back to normal. But I am sure it will be as good as new soon. soon...

Fitness versus fatness

Today the lifts were out of order at work.

Now in the past, I have walked up 13 floors during a power outage with no problem, but based on today's four flights up stairs, it was a lifetime ago. My legs were burning, my chest was on fire, and I was slightly out of breath. My my. Someone is totally unfit.

In the past 5 years I have lost 40 kilograms which I believe is a tremendous achievement. I have had a slight slip up - in the last 6 months I have put back about 6 kgs, but on the whole, I have kept my weight down, and was relatively fit. For some reason, I stopped going to gym, and have become fat and not fit again.

It is time for swift and decisive action so watch this space...

Now my Gadgets have disappeared

I have been fiddling with the settings to get Google Analytics to work, and now I cannot add any more gadgets as they have all disappeared.

That sucks.

:(

Gadgets - a mixed blessing

I added the counter to my blog from the gadets available on the blog template - but it doesn't seem to work.

According to this counter, more than 2 million people have visited my blog in the last 5 years...

Hmmmm...
I am off to Google analysitcs to see what's actually potting.


Oh dear, I added the tracking data, and the text went all squiffy and large. Hope it is fixed now.

Cabin Fever

I used to want to be on my own all the time, away from others, not talking to anyone, and it suited me just fine. That seems like a lifetime away, and I have grown up a lot since then. I have learned that I love people, need people, and really enjoy being around them. I knew this, but really only realized this in the past two weeks.

Last week I was house sitting and working out of an office where no one else was anymore (since we have all moved), and then since I broke my finger I have been unable to ride or drive so I have been working from home this week. I have found that it has been very difficult not speaking to anyone, and not having any chitchat at all.

Quite apart from the feeling that all I have dine in the past week was work since I have been in the same space for6 24 hour periods, (and my house is incredibly small), I have not spoken to another human being apart from briefly here and there on the phone, and I realize that I am sad about that.

I guess I am finally growing up. Rock on!

Caution: Politically incorrect post ahead...

I was reading on a forum I am part of that Mr Zuma (our infamous) president was introduced overseas as "Mr Zuma, and Mrs Zuma, and Mrs Zuma, and Mrs Zuma,..."

Now, last time I checked, bigamy, or indeed polygamy was illegal. Except, and here is where it gets interesting, where it has been a cultural norm for other rules to apply.

Surely this is a slippery slope?

It is usually illegal or immoral to do many things, but if my culture has a history of doing it then it is no longer illegal? WTF?

So if my culture if one of non payment, then it becomes ok not to pay, by law?

If my culture is one of thieving because we have not been taught better, or have no role models who had jobs, it becomes ok by law?

If my culture is to have many wives where the rest of the civilised world only has one, well that's okay too.

If I want to behave illegally by destroying property, intimidating other workers, and even killing or harming other workers during a legal strike (which actions are not legal, even within a legal strike), well, that's ok too.

And if I want to commit crimes of corruption - well that's also ok, because the leaders of my culture showed me that that was the way to do things and it has always been done that way.

How long is the period to decide if it is a cultural norm?
How many people have to do it before it is a "culture"

And what if the president of the ruling party is a criminal, a fool, and a gormless smiling twit who sings machine gun songs from decades ago which have lost their original meaning, inciting the youth to something that was not its original intention? And what if the president decided to bring legal action that went like this: "I have done nothing illegal, but here is an injunction saying you can't prosecute me for anything I may or may not have done", and then he stalls in the courts, causing his millions of savage followers to say that the courts are unfair because he in entitled to a fair and speedy trial?

What if we actually wanted to be a country that was not laughed at by the rest of the world? A country that was actually trying to get out of its third world status? What if the ruling party had no guts and no gumption, and didn't take its leaders to task about illegal doings?

What if the ANC just took its balls in its hand and said: "Jacob Zuma, you are currently involved in a situation where it is yet to be proved that you are innocent. Please step down until the allegations are proved false. Or we will fire your ass."

And what if pigs could fly?

Two pins in my finger...

I was house sitting in the house with the steep driveway, and on Thursday I arrived with the gate and automatic door opener in my pocket, stopped on the road and opened the gate. The dogs rushed out to say hi, and got between my feet figuratively speaking) and I bailed off my bike. But, I bailed in such a way that I pinned my pinkie between the log edging of the driveway and my throttle. For a moment, I could not move or lift the bike off my finger.

It started to really hurt, and I began to realise that I had to help myself as there was no one else around. I also realised that due to the position of the bike I could not wriggle out from the bike and lift it off my finger, not kick it off me. I was well and truly stuck. The only thing I could do was rip my hand out, leaving my glove behind. It really hurt, but at least I was free.

I then realised that I would be unable to move the bike or lift it due to its position, so I hit the kill switch, and used the garage opener to let myself into the house. I sat down and tried to calm down, but it was so sore that I just cried and cried. I called my Dad to see if I should go to the doctor, but then realised that I would not be able to pick my bike up, never mind riding.

He said he would come fetch me and take me to the doc.

Long story short, he arrived and we went to the Flora clinic where it took the whole day to be seen, have the x-rays, and find out that the finger was completely broken and would need to be pinned under general the next day.

The next day we went back to the hospital, very thirsty, and eventually, they saw me at 12pm. The op lasted 55 minutes, and it was over. My hand is very sore, but is improving every day.

PS - I just noticed the bricks!!!

Here are some pics:

Strange noises in other people’s houses

I am house sitting for someone, and yesterday I could swear there was someone else in the house with me. Cue twilight zone music...

Even the cat looked at the door expectantly a few times as if there was someone about to walk in with some of the noises. Perhaps there are ghosts living there. He did say the ceiling beams creak and expand, but beams don’t sound like footsteps.

After feeding the three large Alsatians (which I have to say did make me feel better until they started barking at midnight and would not stop) I adjourned to the TV room to watch whatever was on DSTV. I only have free TV so it was a real treat for me. As it turns out, there wasn’t much, and I ended up watching the Apprentice anyway.

Now, there are three very large dogs, and three very small cats (and three gold fish, although I don’t think the gold fish would have done much if there was a burglar) that live there, and the dogs live outside, and the cats generally live wherever they please. Somehow, the female Alsatian – my favourite as it happens - got in the house and came and slept in my room. I must say it made me feel a lot safer, but I still wonder how she got in. I woke up with three cats sleeping on top of me, a dog at my feet, and the two dogs outside my window.

If I think of how nervous I was staying in this huge house where there were spooky noises, I realize I was silly to even think anything was amiss. I do realize though that living in a complex definitely makes me feel safer, and I am not sure if I would stay in a free standing house while I am still living on my own.

The only thing that was a problem is that this morning I woke up with a swollen mouth and lips. I didn’t eat or drink anything strange or unusual, and there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of a bite of any kind. I can only assume that I am allergic to the dogs, the fabric softener this family uses, something in their house, or I went sleep walking and bumped into something. My mouth is not sore, but I am talking funny, and it does look like I have been in a fight.

Just what I always needed – to be a biker chick with a fat lip. Nice.