Sunday, March 27, 2011

Money, money, money!!!

What was meant to be an hour trip to the mall this morning, turned into 3 hours. I am a little edgy having just wasted my entire Sunday morning and then only coming home with groceries. Not jewellery, not clothes, not makeup. Just groceries...quite depressing really.

What's really grating me at the moment, is the fact that I was drawn out of a crowd while on a mission to get done as quickly as possible, to a hair salon in the middle of the aisle. Now normally I do my best to look in the exact opposite direction so that no sales person is able to call me, and if they do I just pretend I don't hear them. This is not because I'm trying to be rude, but because I've bought so many things in the past that I don't need and often find it hard to say no. I'm not sure what made me stop today, maybe the fact that I was feeling a bit under the weather, and thought it would be nice to get a free hair touch up and look at what was to offer. I think I was there for about 25 minutes, and at the end I was completely sold on the idea of this amazing ceramic flat iron and curler. The one I have at the moment is a cheap safeway which does it's job, while damaging my hair...but what can I do? These things cost about R2 000. After much bantering and bargaining, I was offered a 50% discount on one of the products I really wanted. In the old days, I wouldn't have battered an eyelid, but not today. I just don't have that kind of cash to fork out. And so I apologised profusely, and said that I would definently keep them in mind and work out a savings plan so that I could come and buy one in a few months. I wasn't just saying this, I really want that flat iron! This, however as you can imagine was not what the salesman wanted to hear. He just couldn't understand how I didn't have the money. The thing that's got my blood boiling right now is the fact that he said the following words, "even the college students from Stellenbosch University can afford it, why can't you?". I was as polite as I could possibly be, and told him that unfortunately my parents do not pay for my rent, books, car payments, petrol, clothes or groceries for the month. Otherwise, I would have been more than happy to have bought this product straight up, and in cash!

This was a tiny incident this morning that really shouldn't have bothered me as much but it did.  I'm not at all materialistic, but I think after our fridge breaking, the vacuum cleaner packing up, my car's shoddy glaze peeling off, tyres that need to be replaced, etc, etc...I'm feeling it. I walked past so many things today that normally I wouldn't have hesitated putting on my Foschini or Edgars account, but I couldn't. There's just no money for it. We were supposed to go away next month to celebrate our wedding anniversary - we haven't had a proper holiday since our honeymoon 4 years ago, but we had to cancel it. Some of my friends can't understand why I don't have R1000 to save every month or left over, and my parents sometimes don't understand why I can't visit them as much as I used to since we've moved (a good hour's drive away). With a new medical aid this month (something that's unfortunately not optional these days),  the price of food, rent, gym contracts that can't be cancelled and emergencies (like fixing the car), there really is little left over at the end of the month. How people afford weekends away every few months, I just don't know.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Favourite 80's & 90's Cartoons

Yesterday at work the conversation turned towards TV shows from the 80's and early 90's that we used to watch as kids. It brought back so many amazing memories of a time when life was so simple, and filled with loads of  fun and absolutely no responsibilities.

Looking back, here are my top favourites:

  • Winnie the Pooh
  • Inspector Gadget
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Smurfs
  • Gummi Bears
  • Bionic Six
  • Care Bears
  • Ewoks
  • Captain Planet
  • Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
  • Ducktales
  • Jem and The Holograms
  • Goof Troop
  • Talespin
  • Darkwing Duck
  • Pound Puppies
  • Berenstein Bears
  • Widget the World Watcher
  • Flying House
  • Saber Rider and the Star Sherrifs
  • Casper The Friendly Ghost

Typing and looking at this list, I am definitely feeling a little nostalgic right now :)

What cartoon shows bring back great memories for you?

Sunday, March 6, 2011

That dreaded five letter word: S T R E S S

Stress is not a nice word. In fact, when I hear of people talking about how stressed out they are at work or at home, it irritates me. I think to myself, why don't you stop moaning and go do some excersise, take a long bubble bath or zone out and watch your favourite movie? Maybe it's easier to sit back and judge, and I guess I've been lucky that in the last 3 years I haven't had to deal with stress to such an extreme that it's made me physically ill. Until last week Thursday that is..


Before going into what happened on Thursday, I want to explain what happens when I get extremely stressed out. Every single person deals with stress differently, some cry, some scream and shout at those around them, and some just shut down completely. I get physically ill. The last time I was so stressed out, I was booked off by the doctor for something called Vertigo. (Vertigo is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary. The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear. It is often associated with nausea and vomiting as well as difficulties standing or walking.) Having Vertigo is definently not pleasant. You wake up with the room spinning, your body is drained of energy, every little move of your head makes the room spin and you feel nauseous to the point of being sick. I was booked off for two weeks, and couldn't do much of anything. I wasn't allowed to drive a car or do any excersise. I could barely concentrate for long periods of time - which meant that I couldn't really watch anything on TV or even read a book. Not nice at all.


This past week has been a nightmare. Things at work are quite stressful. My colleague was off sick from Monday and I ended up doing 3 people's jobs. It may not sound stressful, but it's not simply doing someone elses paperwork. It was madness, to the point where I was getting in at 6.45am and working straight through the day without a break and barely eating. It's difficult when you take such pride in your work and put so much pressure on the level of work that you do, and wanting to please clients and staff alike. Wednesday night when I got home, I completely broke down. I was stressed to the point of being sick and feeling slightly hysterical. That's when I knew that that was it. I didn't want to be in a situation where I'm booked off for two weeks and can't do anything because of stress. Luckily, I've learnt how to listen to my body a lot better since then.  No one is going to pat me on the back and say, "shame, you're doing too much - relax". And yes, taking off two days sick leave probably wasn't a good idea with my colleague being off for the week and very bad timing, but at the same time I had to think of my health first.

I'm feeling a lot better now, having had those two days off to try and get my body back to normal. Going to work and doing a job to the best of your ability is important. But, if you get to the point where you are eating, breathing and sleeping your job then there's a problem and it needs to be addressed asap. I'm unfortunately not a robot, I'm only human and sometimes, actions speak a lot louder than words and you need to be selfish and determined to put yourself first.

No one is going to stand at your grave one day and go on about how hard you worked at your job.