Quinn's Exchange Application - nearly an EPIC fail

So after all the excitement and anticipation Quinn TOTALLY fumbled his application for the UK school exchange trip yesterday.... sigh.

He was SO dissappointed last night, even though he tried to hide it well and be non-chalant and show a brave face. He got mixed up and thought the applications had had to be in at FIRST break and he couldn't find anything or anyone then. After that break he gave up... In the mean time it was SECOND break which had not even happened yet, and then he didn't go!? WTF!?

I was quite annoyed and dissappointed myself, and vented my frustration to him. So he just clammed up. There was a mix up with his cricket match on Wednesday and he got into a lot of trouble (and got a discipline stamp for that) and his teacher has been quite unreleneting about it, even though I think it was a ligitimate mix-up and NOT Quinn's fault at all. So it turns out that Quinn DID try to ask his teacher yesterday and his teacher wouldn't listen, insisting that he must just go away because he was in trouble about the cricket.  Aaaai!

Anyway I have mailed another teacher (who was Quinn's Grade 3 teacher - during my divorce - and who really took him under her wing that year and he adores her) who is coordinating the exchnage and explained what happened, and she says she knew he'd wanted to apply and had a chat with him about it on Tuesday already and so se HAS submitted his name. YAY. So now we wit till next We night to find out if he is selected or not...

First Watermelon of the Season - Priceless

It's no secret that I LOVE watermelon. So when we were in P'nP recently and Quinn saw some watermelons on display he pointed them out to me and enthusiastically encouraged me to get one. I asked him to check the price. Knowing it is still early in the season, and these were still quite small I wanted to make sure it was a good deal. (I don't buy things out of season when they are 2-3-4-5 times their normal price!) He came back saying the fruit & veg lady had said they were R29. Cool! So I got him to select one for me.

Well was I not surprised to find it scanned at R79 when we were paing for our goods. HOLY CRAP. I nearly fell over and got the cashier to get it removed from our bill and sent it back. No way will I pay R80 for a small watermelon - no matter how much I love watermelon and was excited about the start of the season. Apparently the lady in the fruit & veg section had kept telling people they were R29, when they were indeed R79. Good thing I was paying attention! WOW. They really should put a sign up!

So I am still waiting for that first watermelon of the season in my house... come on summer!

Did you know...?

Did you know that if you do 2x kata-box classes back-to-back you weigh 900gm less at the end!? Whew! Talk about sweaty, but WHAT FUN!  

There is this super toned and fit coloured guy (quite a hottie actually) with huge muscular thighs who is a regular in the kata-box class. I have been going to these classes on and off for years and he seems to have been going consistently for all those years. He really is FIT. We've started greeting each other at the class each week now. (I have only been back for about a month again but I am LOVING them.)

Last week I told him I am trying to get fit and back in shape again after leaving that sucky job recently, which is why I am back. I asked him if he is a cyclist (due to the impressive thighs) and he said he sommer does EVERYTHING and loves it all. The more the better. Cool. So now we kinda compete and push hard and never give up even if we are tired.

So this week I was 10 mins late for the early class, due to a late meeting at work. But I joined in anyway and it was a great work out. I told him afterwards as he was leaving that I was going to stay on and see if I can manage some of the next class, since I'd missed some of the first one.... Next thing he came back and stood in position near me. I said 'So are we really gonna do this..?' and he was like 'Yup, don't let me down now, if you give up, I am giving up....' and so we did a whole nother class! It was really awesome.

Oh and best news is instead of playing on the computers as usual Quinn ran on the treadmill for a while - he runs at 9.5kms/hour now which is really pretty good - and then he cycled for 25 mins too. He was also dripping with sweat by the end and is starting to enjoy exercising a lot now. Yippeee!


Needless to say we slept REALLY well last night! 

Quinn - amazing school trip - dilemma

Quinn's school does a Grade 6 Educational Exchange with a UK school every year. Only 8 boys get selected to go (out of about 100) so it is quite an honour. They have to meet qualifying criteria in terms of academic performance, tenure at the school, not regulars at detention etc. If they meet the qualifying criteria they then have to fill in a 'resume' to motivate why they should be chosen.

Quinn is super keen to apply and believes he can convince them to select him.

It would mean a 3-week trip to the UK next March. Experiencing attending a good school in the UK, trips into London, excursions to the sites and museums of London and probably experiences, fun and memories to last him a lifetime.

I do believe that this is the stuff that builds and teaches us the most. More-so than what you learn and remember for your usual class-room lessons.

BUT. There's always a but isn't there? The trip will costs a total of about R20 000. Which I simply don't have.

I really don't want that to be the deciding factor and limitation though. He has had to go without so much over the past few years, and is always compromising and settling and making do...

So, I told him tonight that he must go ahead and apply, and IF he gets in I will do what it takes to raise the money for it.

If he does somehow get chosen, do you think it would it be reasonable for me to ask friends and family who would have given him Christmas/Birthday gifts to rather contribute towards a fund for this..? Be honest would you find that offensive or forward?

We could also sell and raffle stuff at work and school and... Can you think of any other clever and effective fund raising ideas?

YES! New PB in Landmark's Fun Run

The first race I ever ran was the Landmarks 6km Fun Run in 2005, I have run it three times since in 2006 , 2007 & 2008 . I skipped 2009 for some reason I don't recall why, and then was going to run it last year expect I went and broke my ankle the night before the race, so my plans to run it were thwarted. In fact today marks the 1-year anniversary of breaking my ankle and I am pleased to say it is 99% healed!

So this year was my 5th time running this race. Although I could have entered the Half Marathon this year I opted to do the 6km Fun Run again for 2 reasons:
1) I wanted to gauge my time/performance against my previous results, to see if I have improved over time.
2) The boys were entering it too, so we decided to make it a challenge.

I told Quinn I was going to try for a PB on this run, but that I would give myself a 10 minute handicap to give him a chance, and I also told him that once I finished I'd go back to find him.

There were a LOT of kids running this year as it was publicized as a schools challenge. A lot of them are lightning fast, but they start out like the wind and start fading a few kms in. Still some of them are really impressive and tiny too. I enjoyed it and it was a nice brisk early morning comfortable run. I know the terrain well since it's right in our neighbourhood.

So far my best time in this race was 30:40 in 2008. So this year I was hoping I could crack the 30-min barrier. Was I ever surprised and pleased to round the corner at the finish line and come in at 52:50!! Yippee! I actually earned a silver medal too which means I was placed somewhere in the top 40. Woot!

Previous results are as follows:

Date	Dist	Time	Speed	min/KM
Nov-05	6	35.00	10.3	5.83
Nov-06	6	31.20	11.5	5.20
Nov-07	6	31.15	11.6	5.19
Nov-08	6	30.40	11.8	5.07
Nov-11	6	28.50	12.6	4.75

Once I was done I went back to look for the boys. I found Quinn at just past the 5km mark and he was looking tired but still in good spirits. I managed to encourage him to finish strongly and he really pushed himself to the end. He managed to finish in a very decent 43:20 - which is about the same time he did the 5km last week so a nice improvement there. He ran nearly the whole way again and was motivated and focused which is nice to see. It seems the bug is starting to bite him.

I again went back after Quinn finished, to find Griffin. At which point a traffic cop was joking with me about being lost and just how many times was I planning to go around the same loop. LOL

I found Griff at the 5km mark. He was struggling a bit as he was pale and  feeling a bit shaky. It was low blood sugar I suspect as I don't think he ate breakfast. So he was plodding along slowly. After encouraging him to breathe deeply and slowly and giving him a mental boost, he perked up and started walking with more determination and even decided to run the last 400m. Quinn joined us and was encouraging him too. I told him that when he got to the grass near the finish line he must just give it all he has and finish strong. He took this to heart and shot off as fast as he could leaving Quinn and I behind him.. As he rounded the last corner he even had a small crowd cheering for him and the lady with the medal was clapping and leaping and making a fuss of him.He even earned himself a spot prize for his drive at the end. He finished in 1:13:30.

We saw a lot of friends and kids from school there and it was a great morning to be out. All in all another good race which we really enjoyed.

Aai of the Taai Gher!

Last night the company had a social event to raise funds for one of the women who works here who is representing SA playing Netball in Mauritius in Dec. It was a Karaoke evening. Groan. Now Karaoke is not my favourite pastime. Cheesy 70s songs belted out by the most inhibition-free tone-deaf Idols wannabees while your ears implode and bleed in protest...? Ja, no thanks.

However being the 'new girl' on the block and not yet knowing the team, and not wanting to seem quite, conservative or Miss Prissy No-Fun, I thought it was probably a good idea to show my face and get more familiar with the team. I generally quite like team building and social events anyway.

So after yoga and popping home to collect the boys we dashed back to 'the pub' (same place we were last week after the OM Race). I was pleased to see some others had bought their partners, although I was the only one with children in tow.

At first I was pretty adamant that I wasn't going to sing. I really am no singer. I have no delusions of being able to carry a tune well. Indeed when I joined my friend at choir practice in Grade 2 before a play-date at her house the choir teacher asked me to stop singing. Nice hey!? So yeah I am not a singer. I know this. (It however doesn't mean I don't sing my heart out with the boys and in the car anyway though!)

Anyway last night there were some REALLY bad singers. Like re-he-aly bad. And then they started handing out prizes. To both good and bad singers - as long as they were entertaining. Soon, lured by the prospect of a prize, the boys decided they wanted to sing a song with me. As I'd told them I'd only sing if they helped me. They convinced me that I would definitely not be the worst.

So we signed up and sang 'Eye of the Tiger' LOL. They've been singing it at school so they both know all the words, so they sang their hearts out and did really well. I was mostly their back-up, but afterwards Quinn said 'You sound better in the car without a microphone' so my assertion that I cannot actually sing stands true.

I was then coerced into singing 'I will survive' with the 'girls'. Corny and cheesy totally being the theme for the night, but it was actually really fun and a good opportunity for me to see and be seen and get to know some of the guys - which always helps to oil the wheels of the working environment. The BIG boss from the UK and my local boss were there too. So I think it was definitely a good call to go. And they've seen the boys now too, so they will subconsciously know my situation and hopefully stay empathetic to that.

Shocking News - Friend of Griff's mom killed

I have been quite rattled this morning by the news of one of Griffin's school friend's mom's (Christina Scott) having been killed in a tragic freak-accident.

Although I did not know her well, I have seen her around loads of times and even had lunch with her at a mutual friend's house over Easter.  I loved her and found her to be delightfully fun, witty and vibrant. We had a good giggle over several glasses of wine and I remember finding her inspirationally free-spirited and philanthropic, as well as very bright and informed. She was also a wonderful mom whose love for her children shone through as she spoke of them animatedly and with bright eyes. I remember leaving that lunch wanting to do and be better... both for my children and the world at large.

So the news that such a wonderful caring, bright, liberal, progressive and community oriented women has died in a tragic, freak, car-accident, while being the caring giving helpful person she always was, has really shaken me.

Her death is so tragic and shocking. She was helping a colleague/student learn to drive and the student's foot slipped and by mistake she accelerated into her and crushed her, and she died.

She was a Canadian-born liberal who got involved as part of 'the struggle' here in SA in the 80s, and was a journalist, having worked for the Natal Mercury newspaper and Metro & SA FM radio stations. More recently she has been a revered Science Journalist. 

Such a tragic loss of a great mind and wonderful person. Poor family. They have lost a wonderful vibrant, quirky, fun and energetic inspirational mother.

Her Memorial is on Sat... and they are setting up a Christina Scott Science Journalism Scholarship. Which is a wonderful way to remember her.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/top-journo-run-over-during-driving-lesson-1.1169016
http://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/tributes-for-top-science-journo-1.1169128

Blog From Email - Test 1

Right so I am going to see if I remember how to e-mail a post to my blog. If this is there, then it's worked! And if so, I'll be able to blog a lot more quickly and easily... so this is experiment post 1.

I am now in Day 3 at this new job and so far so good. I can see things are going to get hectic. There is a LOT on the go here. BUT the big difference here is there are proper processes and procedures to follow and things are handled maturely and sanely, not that mad rush and panic and perpetual crisis-mode from the last pace which is what caused all the anxiety. It's like they want to be stressed and tensioned all the time there. I really hated it. SO hopefully this will last... although the info and volume overload here is a bit overwhelming.

Anyway last night I got home (new commute takes 15 mins each way! Whoop!!) and didn't feel like running on my own in the wind, so I took the boys to the gym. I did a kata-box class and loved it so much that I stayed on for the next one. Yup that's right I did 2 kata-box class back-to-back! My clothes were literally soaked with sweat by the end. I am not kidding. I weighed myself before and after and I weighed 900g less at the end of the 2 hours (ok I did pee once in between too). But wow that's a lot! I was quite energised for the rest of the evening, it really gives me a rush. Today I am a bit tired though and think I might get a bit stiff too. ;)

Quinn impressed me by coming upstairs and running on the treadmill for a while instead of just sitting and playing on the computers. He ran for 10-15 mins and said he went right up to 10km/h for 2 mins or so. That's a really good pace! He is amped for our 6km fun-run on Sunday and wants to challenge me. I am very happy and proud that he has become interested in participating a little more seriously now. :) I think I'll give myself a 10 minute handicap and then see if he can compete with me yet. I'll be super impressed if he can.

Ok back to work for me... I have loads to read and figure out.