Ask Steph

So - the infamous friends that went cherry picking in the rain , while I was studying for my exam, have done it again. The buggers went cherry picking yesterday and invited me to come with. All good and well, except yesterday was a work day for me - I, being a self employed working from home type, don't get 'leave' as such. Yes , I get the convenience of going out on a work day should I choose to , but the reality is - that choice boils down to if I can do it without compromising any work. And I am far too diligent to let that happen. So , Mrs Scrooge McDuck here, stayed at home and worked , while cherries got picked in some of the nicest weather I have seen since arriving in Melbourne 9 months ago. It's a crying shame. And I was very miffed about it all actually. Not to fear though - I got my pound of flesh . We bought 2 kilos of fresh picked cherries off them when they came home with their spoils . And I now have purple stained sticky fingers from painstakin...

I remember as a child christmas was the most fantastic time of year. I remember the build up to christmas day, from the moment school finished on that one last day of term, the excitement and anticipation could barely be contained in my house. Growing every day that we got closer to the 25th until I had whipped the whole house up into a festive whirpool, and , to quote my husband ( ever the sharp witted cynic) it looked like someone had vomited christmas all over the house , inside and out. And I loved every second of it. I was nagging to have the decorations up as early as November , catching christmas beetles and whispering lists of all the presents that I wanted to them before letting them go outside my window. I made my brothers and anyone else I could bully enough come caroling with me ( yes , I made them go caroling in the height of an Africa Summer)  , I made my parents stay up late on christmas eve , with the tree lights going , just sitting and talking and singing caro...

Just so we are clear - I am talking in philosophical terms here - not about specific people , or any particular incidents that may or may not have happened to me in the recent ( or distant ) past. I am expressing my beliefs and comments on world affairs. No more. This is a personal opinion, and it does not change my view of my Christian friends and family, whom I love dearly.  :  Christians think of themselves as a flock of sheep , following their shepherd. And truly - I cannot think of a more truthful analogy. There are few things more comforting that knowing that all the hard decisions in life are already made for you. You don't need think about all those really tough ethical issues - like what is right and wrong exactly , and how to determine whether your construct of the universe works well or not. It's handed to you , a ready made rule book , with a knowledge expert ( priest/ pastor/ counselor ) who will help you to understand something , or just t...

I have decided that there is nothing worse than being sick in a country where you have no idea what you can and can't buy at a pharmacy. Everything has a different name, the dosages aren't the same, and even if you find a replacement for your tried and tested flu-busting favourites. There is no guarantee that they'll  sommer * hand it over  the counter. I want Orange flavoured Eno's for my chronic heartburn . I want proper sinutab, with all it's varieties , and not this wishy washy crap over here. I want Sinutab ND for the daytime , and Sinutab with codeine for when my flu-ish aches and pains and sniffs are so bad that I can't sleep. I want med-lemon extreme with ginger and ginseng. I do love my Vick Vapo-Steam though , and the extra soft 2-ply eucalyptus tissues. And the chewable Vitamin C that doesn't taste like a lemon gave birth in your mouth. And the really  lekker   blue stuff that everyone gives to their children when they're si...

Been here 8 months now ... and finally - after gently and consistently nudging ( and in some cases some very strenuous verbal shoving ....) I am finally getting things in place so that our business processes are being followed by the role players... It has taken some very firm decisions, and I am apparently known as the 'Bugzilla Nazi' and the 'Mistress of Bugzilla' in various circles. Oh well. I've been called worse.

so - where does one draw the line between freedom and safety. And is it fair to assume that just because people say they have your safety at heart , that they really do ? Call me cynical , but I find the whole US reaction to this Wikileaks embarrassment a trifle vain. Who the hell are they to decide that we don't need to know about things in our own countries ? Who the hell are they to decide what's best for the rest of the world ? Who is Hillary Clinton except some snotty woman who thinks that because she says so , it must be so .... ? Anyone with 'Top Secret' across their communications deserves what they get when they start using 'Top Secret' to cover up things that have no business being 'Top Secret' . I couldn't give a rats ass if the US relations are damaged with Australia , The UK , or any other country for that matter. It's about bloody time to be frank. We should have marched to our own drumbeat decades ago. I don't buy for one...

CHECK OUT THE DOUBLE RAINBOW !!! So stoked that my phone camera actually picked it up

I love it !! Just made my day have to say ...

Just read a really dreadful news article about gays and lesbians across Africa being persecuted , raped , and killed. So ... *climbing onto the soapbox* Seems some people have yet to understand that silly notion, where it's immoral , to kill people for their sexual orientation. I use the word orientation and not preference, because preference implies that there is choice. And having learnt a small amount about genetics in my years at University, I have come to the conclusion that this is , unfortunately,  one of those things that genetics and not environment determines the most. I say it's unfortunate, because I  believe that given a choice , a great many people would not choose a life of persecution , pain and suffering. I am certain no-one would choose to be different in such a way as to induce pure unadulterated hatred. Being male or female , is about so much more than just the bits that come with your body. We know this for a fact. There are t...

One exam down - only 23 left to go to complete my new degree. Sounds really daunting. But I am not really thinking of that ... All I can think about right now is how much I wish I was at home. In Africa.  I have made another memory, without my old friends  and family around. Another milestone. And it's occurred to me at some point today , that this is only the beginning. The start of all those new memories and milestones that they will not be a part of . The paths that were together , and then were running in parallel for a while , are now , ever so slightly starting to go off at different angles. It's christmas next - which is all good an well for people like me that aren't christian , but , even so - I was raised christian-ish . And even after I chose differently in terms of believing or not - I have always spent christmas day with my family. It's rather handy being able to take a public holiday that means nothing to you in terms of religion...

so - my exam looms ever near. And I am studying , and practising my HTML coding  . I am . Really. I'm just also very consumed by the fact that my bathroom needs to be cleaned. My kitchen is unacceptably untidy ( despite being cleaner than it has in days mind you ) and there is dirty washing that needs to be done. I have enough underwear to last me at least another week. And there is nothing stopping me from showering , because the dirt in my bathroom that's suddenly bothering me beyond belief... it's on the windowsill, and in between the blinds , and up in the light fixture. I never noticed it until this morning really, and now it's making me itch to get in there with a norwex cloth and wipe it all away. And now - the kitchen floor is swept , the dishes are in the dishwasher ( I can hear the water swooshing around) and my coffee is on my desk - all courtesy of my loving husband. I have just watched him walk through to the bedroom with...

I have just realised how great the Australian  need to be different to the rest of the world is. . A standard table spoon for example ,  it's 15 ml ( or 3 tsp) in the rest of the world. In Australia ?  it must be bigger and better of course.So it's 20 ml . New Zealand , their closest neighbour, and very similar culture in  some respects - also 15 ml. So it's really just the Aussies that have to have bigger measurements for things. And weather. Not only is it different , from minute to minute in some instances, it's described completely differently too. Wind speeds , where people would be running scared in other parts of the world ..... in Melbourne ? Oh no mate , that's a Moderate Breeze. The last 2 -3 days have been so windy, that the flap at the bottom of my front door , that keeps the wind out on a cold day ... is making noises like the foghorn of a tanker. I am not kidding, it sounds like there's a big boat coming up the road - you can hear it ...

It's another rainy Sunday in Melbourne, after 3 days of almost constant rain and / or drizzle. So lots of mud. everywhere where there 'aint pavement or grass. And it's cherry-picking season. Which means nothing if you're from South Africa, where your cherries arrive in a little plastic box, on top of green Bubble Wrap from Mother Woolies, all washed off and clean , and fresh , and chilled. Apparently - and I have it on good authority here -  it's said that cherries ( the fresh kind - not those nasty sugar soaked red-dyed almond flavoured diabetic-bombs) actually don't originate from a fridge at Woolworths. And apparently , here in Australia , our Aussie Cousins know this - and they actually get the joy of picking and eating them straight from the vine. ( do cherries grow on a vine ?  I dunno - I always thought they came from green bubble wrap... ) . So - today is a day of hard choices. You see - the little over-achiever that I am , I have signed up to ...

So , children's birthdays are the same the world over apparently. Gooey sweets, cake , snacks  - lots of balloons , and parents and assorted family friends all watching the festivities unfold. And Cream Soda. Although in Australia it's red, South Africa it's green ( the way it should be) and elsewhere it's either brown or clear ( like sprite) . Talk about a schizo species - we can't even keep the same flavour of cold-drink the same colour the world over. I sometimes think that we enjoy the parties and the gifts more than the kids to be truthful. Nothing gives you that warm mushy feeling like watching a child open the present you bought them , and seeing their faces light up at the sight of the 3rd superman outfit for the day. You're thinking - damn , should have gone with the board game. But the kid is thinking, 'Awesome!' , and Mum is thinking , 'Thank heavens , now I don't have to fight with him to wear something else while I wash the sup...

I am not religious , by any stretch of the imagination ..... but I am starting see why so many immigrants end up in community churches when they move to a new country..... you leave behind everything , and everyone , and when you get here - you get a ready made batch of friends , complete with total 'Christian' acceptance and love.  It also  doesn't hurt that they  also arrived from somewhere else and so know first hand the stress and hard work it takes to settle in....  The hardest part of leaving isn't the goodbyes, it's the empty days and nights when you have no-one to just pop around to for a quick cuppa after a hard day at work.  It's the fact that all those years of meeting people and getting to know people , and weeding out the insincere ones , and sticking with your girlfriend through the bad boyfriends, and fighting with the good ones to make sure they treat her right , and picking up your brother after too much booze on the weekend , and c...

the ups and downs of melbourne If you are one of those bitter nasty types don't read further, this story is going to be an honest account of what it's like to leave your life, family, friends, and everything you know and love, for something that you hope is going to be better. If you are sick to death of hearing about how great it is away from SA then stop reading and go look for your jollies somewhere else. If you love to gloat with glee about the "Saffers" who leave and end up being miserable go look for another article. If you think that emigrants are traitors, then consider yourself descended from traitors, how else do you think white people ended up at the southern tip of Africa? We have been here seven months now. It was one of the toughest things I have ever done in my life. And I've had some rough times let me tell you. Firstly, I did not leave because I hate South Africa, on the contrary, I love South Africa and I am proudly South African. I left b...