Tokai Mountain Bike Challenge

We went to the Tokai Mountain Bike Challenge yesterday. It was good fun.

We thought we were too late but we managed to get there in time to borrow a helmet from some friends and register Quinn for the kiddies race.

He was not going to go, and then said he did want to go, as his friend was entering, and then said he wanted to participate. So once I had him all registered he said he didn't want to do it. I can be such a fuss pot sometimes! Turns out he thought the helmet wasn't fitting properly and that made him otherwise *roll eyes* Once the helmet was tightened he was happy to go on.

The kids got a chance to ride around on the field and practise on the ramp for 20 minutes or so. We weren't too sure what was going on and thought it was just a very informal race and Quinn did a lot of riding in that time. After a while they were called to get ready to start the actual race. Which was about 1km. Which he had already done. The course required them to circuit the field 3 times and go over the ramp on each circuit.

This was Quinn's first attempt at the ramp...

and riding down the other side....
and off he goes at the start of the race...
coming back past on one of the circuits...
and zooming down the ramp again!
He was having so much fun that he did 4 circuits in the end. He was very sweaty at the end, and was very impressed that afterwards he got a 'free' coke and a meddal. Well deserved. :)

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There was also a 16km adult ride on a 5+km circuit through the forest. It looked like so much fun that I am keen to give it a shot next year. Watch this space.

A flippen amazing evening!

Richard and I went out on Saturday night and had a fab time.

First we went to Diva's in Obs, for pizza and a bottle of wine. They make the yummiest pizzas there, with very different toppings. I LOVE the Salmon, capers and creme cheese one, it has a very light base, with not much cheese and it's divine.

After that we crossed the road to the Independent armchair theatre, to sit on the floot as see Corne and Twakkie in The Most Amazing Show. It was fun and funny. It was very interactive with the audience. Richard got straddled by Twakkie and given a big hug before being told he looked like a really tall Shrek! *LOL*
After the show they hung around singing merchadise and talking to people. I ended up offering them a drink. Corne was very schmoozey about it and wanted what I was having. When I asked him what Twakkie drinks he said, 'oh just water from the tap is fine for the Twakkie' ! *shame* I got the poor guy a beer. In return I got hugs from both. *swoon*

Richard took a photo of Twakkie and I (I'll post it when I get it), and then got a poster signed for me. Twakkie wrote 'Hey lady, I love the Sh*t out of your boobs' !!! (I think he was put up to that by Richard - how rude!) :)

We watched them playing foosball, which was quite entertaining, and then after they left some pretty cool West African drum and bass music started. At times the music sounded Cuban (and pretty cool) but mostly stuck to West African percusion and instrumentals. A group of us started dancing and soon the floor space was quite full.

After a while the hugely popular local band Freshly Ground arrived (on a night out) and started dancing with us. I took the opportunity to give Zolani a hug, because I think she is amazing and has the most incredible voice ever. She is so cute and really tiny.
It was such a fun evening.

More Ubuntu Food

We had a social gathering at work today, with an Easter theme.

We started with an Amazing Race type race, where despite having excellent creative and downright genius cheats our team still came last. :(
Thanks for trying so hard Jonathan and for doing the swimming detour in the freezing cold and rain, fully clothed nogal!

Still we won some small Easter eggs for our efforts. I got 2 kinder surprise eggs, so my children love me :)

After that we had an Easter feast complete with Pickled Fish, Hot O Buns (a circle instead of a cross on top, who knows why?), cheese and crackers and pickles etc. Yum. and don't forget the apple sours to make sure the mood was festive.

We also got choclate eggs to decorate. I sucked at it, and after a failed attempted at trying to make a pretty egg I resorted to making Ubuntu Eggs.


and then converted a bun to an Ubuntu Bun...

So all in all a productive afternoon at the office! :)

Last test - promise

Ok last test - I know they make for boring blog reading....

Richard and I took the The 2-Variable Intuition Test last night.

My results were as follows:

Very Well-Rounded
You have:
70% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION and
62% EMOTIONAL INTUITION
(Weirdly, your emotional and scientific intuitions are equally strong.)

Your Emotional Intuition score is a measure of how well you understand people, especially their unspoken needs and sympathies. A high score score usually indicates social grace and persuasiveness. A low score usually means you're good at Quake.

Your Scientific Intuition score tells you how in tune you are with the world around you; how well you understand your physical and intellectual environment. People with high scores here are apt to succeed in business and, of course, the sciences.

The test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 68% on Scientific
You scored higher than 33% on Interpersonal

Interestingly Richard got the exact inverse of my results.
62% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION and
70% EMOTIONAL INTUITION

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In other news, I attempted the advanced version of the Scorpion pose. The first 2 attempts went well, and I reportedly got my feet within 30-40 cm of my head (without even warming up first). The last attempt saw me falling over sideways and nearly breaking my neck. I'd better be careful about this!

I am sure I could make an hillarious 'When yoga goes wrong!' video.

Eengleesh skeels

I decided to test my English skills today, and took 2 quick tests.

The first tests your grasp of the Queen's English, and the other tests your knowledge of easilly confused words. Here's how I did:

The Queen's English Test

The Cosmopolitan Great Britain salutes you for scoring a staggering 82%

You have a good appreciation for what counts as real English and what does not - but you still slip up from time to time. You may not be word perfect when it comes to spelling and grammar, but at least you don't go weak-kneed at the very thought of using an "S" instead of a "Z". Your grasp of the Queen's English is certainly sufficient for you to get by in England, but don't aim for a job at Buckingham Palace just yet.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 63% on anglopoint

________________________________________________________________

The Commonly Confused Words Test

Advanced You scored 85% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 86% Advanced, and 73% Expert! You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels' questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don't use them properly. You got an extremely respectable score. My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 5% on Beginner You scored higher than 31% on Intermediate You scored higher than 16% on Advanced You scored higher than 30% on Expert

A sting in my tail

So as you know I am a yoga practitioner, having conscientiously been attending lessons with the same instructor for 8+ years now.

I think I am lucky that I had a pretty natural ability to start with, but the practise over the years has definitely resulted in me getting progressively stronger and more supple, and culminated in me recently being cocky (no pun intended) enough to order the Advanced Level 3 Video of Better Sex Through Yoga! We finally started watching it the other night - and no it's not yoga porn. Sorry to disappoint. (Although maybe that comes (pun intended this time) later in the video, we haven't finished it yet) ;)

It is rather fairly standard but advanced yoga routines and postures focusing on core strength and the general pelvic area with the view of promoting better strength, toning and mobility of the area resulting in a better general disposition. There is a lot of focus on breathing into the 'sexual centre' and contracting those muscles with awareness etc.

The idea being that the better tone and flexibly achieved would cause you to feel fitter and healthier, and that in turn makes you feel more sexy.

Anyway we watched the video with interest and after a while Richard asked if I could do some of the poses. As you know I am never one to back down from a challenge, and leapt up to show him my skilful attempts - clearly not quite on par with the lithe beauty on the screen - but not too a bad facsimile of it I don't think.

These antics caused me to be suitably fired up and inspired that I even dared attempt the one posture that has been an absolute mental block for me for some time. It is the only one I had not yet tried in our classes, despite my instructor being convinced I *could* do it. It was due to fear of death, or paralysis at the very least. I got Richard to be on standby to call the paramedics in case it went horribly wrong, and with some good observational pointers from him, I DID IT!

I can therefore proudly announce that I can now do the Scorpion pose! Otherwise know as the vrischika-asana.
Be suitably impressed please!

Ok, the posture can actually get more advanced - if your name is BKS Iyengar or Swami Sivanada...
I'll get there...

Robbie Fever

WOW. The Robbie Williams concert was awesome! We had a wonderful time!

We rushed off just after the weekly Dapper Status Update meeting ended, and as the Easter week-end started.
We found a good parking and arrived at Green Point Stadium before 6pm, and managed to get in a squirm our way quite close to the front on the left side of the stage and had a good view of a screen and could see the stage and walk- way too.

We watched the UK band 'Wired Daisies' who are pretty good, and then our local 'Freshly Ground' who are doing very well here in SA. In between there were music videos to watch.

Some people were a bit dissappointed, and it seems they were the ones near the back, so I am glad we went as early as we could and got a good view.

I also think that it helped that I went with very little in terms of expectations. I was not a huge Robbie fan, and wasn't even that going to go to the show until a mate had 2 extra tickets a few weeks before and we thought, what the hell!

I find the same thing happens to me with movies, the more hyped a movie is and the more I anticipate it the less I seem to be impressed with and enjoy the movie, whereas if I just go not really knowing what I am going to see, I normally find it excellent.

It probably also helped that we had a few drinks on the way, and also smuggled some tequila in too. Added to this we had some fun an friendly people around us so we had a nice little festive atmosphere around us. We had a young (16?), and nubile girl next to us. She was quite short and had asked a tall guy near us if he'd let her sit on his shoulders for 'Angel'. His wife was not amused and said no.

As the evening went on we got to know her and her family better. She had also tried to make stilts out of stacks of discarded beer cups and was clinging to my arm for support while teetering on these and trying to see the stage. By the end I told Richard that he was welcome to carry her for the song. I was not going to be offended, and it would clearly be earth shattering for her, and I doubt it would be too much of a chore for him! ;) (I think the risk of life long back strain is a small price to pay for such an opportunity). She was thrilled and got to have a prime view of the stage, and I was able to feel like I had done a good deed :)
I think the show was way better than U2 Pop Mart, and that was right up there as far as music concerts go.

The thing is that Robbie knows his audience well and knows just how to work them. Also he is not scared of the audience. He has a knack of making everone feel like he is looking at and talking to just THEM. He is also very at ease and chatty throughout the show and so the audeince are putty in his hands.
The other fun things he does is welcome cameras and recordings taken at the event. He even struts and poses - doing 'Blue Steel' and, wait for it, 'MAGNUM' so people can take photos. He went as far as to take a girl's camera and take some close ups of himself, while he was singing - including a new line to the song 'I don't know how this F***ing things works' ;) We also enjoyed the mega-kareoke rendition of 'Strong' where the words are displayed so that everyone can belt it out together. I had a good chuckle when it ends with 'AIR GUITAR' :)

He really does know how to entertain an audience, and we were not dissappointed.

There's a review and more details of the concert here and here, and here.

Outwit, outlast, outplay... out of my mind...?

Confirmation

Thank you - your application for Survivor South Africa has been completed. You will be contacted by the production should your application be successful.

Happy Easter

It's Easter Sunday, and the Easter bunny has just been to visit!


<-- Here's a card Quinn made at school for us.

The morning has been fun so far, but now that ridiculous amounts of chocolates have been consumed I think the serenity is about to end... help!

Quinn came out with 2 funny observations about Easter.

1) He said he thinks there is something wrong with his teacher's ears, as he kept asking her HOW the easter eggs get into the gardens, and she must have not heard him as 'she kept not saying anything'.

2) He said he doesn't believe in the Easter Bunny, and doesn't think there is such a thing, and that Easter eggs 'come from the Christians'.

Well there you go!

Here are some pictures of our Easter hunt.

Hunting for Easter Eggs

We found some!

We love Easter!

Lost: Joie de vivre

If anybody has found my joie de vivre could you please return it to me, because it seems to be gone...

Are you a Nerd, Dork or Geek?

Well it turns out I am a nerd. Quelle horreure!

Here are my results...

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Pure Nerd
69 % Nerd, 21% Geek, 30% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Congratulations!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

	You scored higher than 76% on nerdiness
	You scored higher than 17% on geekosity
	You scored higher than 50% on dork points

Take The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test

Chiropractor

Or as Richard put it " put your back out ... and then you put it in again ... you do the hokey cockey ..."


In my case my neck has decided it no longer wants to play nice.

I have been in agony since Sunday night, and it's got progressively worse. It is so stiff I can no longer turn or move it in any way. Any tilting causes extreme pain.

I went to the chiro yesterday and got no relief and since last night I have been on myprodol (post-op pain medication) and it doesn't seem to do anything to help either... I spent today in an almost full recline on my bed - and it is not easy to type like that.

I am losing my sense of humour about this now.

Oh body what are you doing to me?

If this is a message: I'd prefer an e-mail or SMS's thanks!

Rain, pain and all terrain

It's raining in Cape Town. YAY! \o/

We had a brief smattering on rain on Sunday night, followed by some proper rain late yesterday afternoon, it is still raining this morning. That steady light almost silent rain of the Cape winter. I love it. It's not really cold yet, just cool, so it's perfect weather.

On the pain side my knee has improved and seems fine now, I even did kata boxing last night without really feeling any discomfort, but my neck is getting worse and worse. OMG I feel like a need a neck brace, I am in agony. I think I need to go to a chirpractor to get all my bits out back where they should be... This is not fun. Sitting at my desk is pure agony... but then so is lying down, so I guess I'll just stay here.

Richard's bicycle was stolen a few years ago, and I have decided to get him a new one for his birthday, as he prefers riding a bike for exercise and relaxing and to have some time out alone. He has chosen the bike he wants, and it costs more than I was expecting, so he will be chipping in for it too. I must admit it's a lovely looking bike. I think it's a Scott. It looks like it will be a good bike for either on or off road riding. He'll probably get it this week, which is weeks before his birthday, but what can I do!?

(I noticed the seat height adjusts easilly, so I will definately be borrowing it ;) )

Return from the week-end that was.

Yay, I really like my week-ends these days. I try my best not to work now (I'll admit that I do scan my mail a few times and check for IRC pings several times over the week-end anyway, but I do my best to not get drawn into anything which is not a red-alert crisis). Week-nights are either filled with home-work, exercise, or meetings and so I really relish the week-ends for their unstructured freedom.

I have recently started avoiding scheduling too much into my weekends, and make a point of not making commitments to see,do or be anywhere, anything or anyone. Inevitably the week-ends slip past almost unnoticed and are over almost before they start, with me having very little to show for them. I guess I am not the best friend to have anymore. Sorry, to all those that have been neglected over the past year or so.

This week-end had a nice balance between activity and sloth.

On Friday I decided to take the boys to see Ice Age 2, as a treat after finishing the term, and especially Quinn for doing such a great job of his first term of big school. He had been at a swimming party since the end of school that day.

After collecting them I had a bit of time before the movie. I popped into a La Senza factory shop I noticed a while back, there was a sale on. Only the dregs were left but I walked out with a cute (well I think it's cute) hat, and pair of fish-net stockings. Cos you never know when you'll be needing a pair of those ;).

The hat was R10, even Quinn said, 'Wow, that's CHEAP!', when I told him the original price of R189 he indignantly exclaimed ' Who would pay that much for a silly old hat!?'.

<- So here it is... ta da! I thought it would come in handy during winter bad-hair days ;)

So once I got my retail therapy over with we zooted off to the cinema, via the pop-corn vendor. Ice Age 2 was fun, and Griffin thoroughly enjoyed it. He giggled and gaffawed loudly at all the funny bits and gasped dramatically and slapped his hand over his mouth at every thrilling part. At one point he covered his eyes and squealed, "I can't watch this, it's scary!". It has definately been his most keenly watched movie.

One part made me laugh a lot. The dung beetle family is preparing to leave and the dad is heaving a huge ball of dung up a hill. He stops and says, ' Do we have to take this CRAP?... I'm sure there's crap where we're going!'. Tee Hee.

It was dark by the time we left, so I decided to take the kids for dinner at McDonalds before heading home. Half of Cape Town had the same idea, so the queue was long. Luckilly there is a play are so the boys had a nice long play, while I waited in the queue.

On Saturday I decided to go for a run, and managed 8km before I gave up, near the end I felt a familiar twang in my left outer knee (a ligament I think). After a shower and change I was off to a Hilton Weiner clothing sale at a friend's house. Way better than a tupperware party! I did not intend to buy anything, but she cunningly provided bottles of bubbly to drink, so we were soon trying everything on and buying it. I got a pair of cream coloured well fitting slacks and a pale yellow fitted blouse and a nice smart white shirt for Richard.

After that I met up with the 3 boys in Rondebosch where I was just in time to catch the tail end of the UCT Rag Float procession. It was quite fun and feastive. There was meant to be a carnival but we didn't find it easilly, and everyone was tired of walking so we walked to a shop, bought some snacks and enjoyed them in a nearby park.

After that we took the boys cycling at the Cricket Club. I tried another run, but my left knee was started to hurt and after about 2km of gentle run/walking I could hardly walk anymore. I think I need to see a chiropractor as it seems to be my spine and pelvis which is not quite aligned. Since then my neck has seized up and is really painful on the right hand side, ouch!

I had hoped to go look at the Symphony of Lights at the Waterfront on Saturday night but we stayed in instead, and watched the Butterfly Effect on TV. I got to hear the fireworks though, and they were LOUD! It sounded like a historical war with cannon fire The finale is next Saturday, and I am going to make a plan to go somewhere to see it.We previously climbed up Lion's Head to watch, and it was wonderful , I wonder if the boys will manage that? Possibly around the first circuit before the chains? I'll think about it. I think getting back down after 9pm in the dark may be the main issue...

I have discovered I am a little addicted to watching House. Because when Richard told me it was finished my immediate and rapid reaction was 'Surely the whole show isn't finished there must be other seasons we can tape, rent, buy, dowload, steal!?' LOL. Hey it's a good show!

On Sunday I went to gym, and since my ailing knee wouldn't let me do more than a light walk, I hit the circuit instead. My arms and shoulders hurt now! I do seem to be developing a little bicep though, it's barely visible and doesn't stand up to being squeezed.

After lunch I took the boys to Camp's Bay beach, because the weather was suddenly clear, mild and windless. A perfect Cape Town afternon. There won't be many beach days left before winter hits, so we took our chance.

There were loads of people enjoying the beach and Camp's Bay was thronging with people. Q& G had a lovely time rolling around in the breaking waves.

The view of the mountain from Camps Bay was magical.