A sad farewell

Today we bid farewell to our MD who has managed the hotel for the past 21 years. Him stepping down came as a complete and unexpected suprise. Today was his party in the ballroom and to see this gentle soul give his speech was moving. Gee-after 21 years of fantastic service how do you say goodbye??He sure did give a great speech and our new MD taking over made light of the matter and cut the sadness in the air.Hmmm I must say that at this hotel they do say that you can tell your worth by the spread at your farewell and I must say here they pulled out the spread including a carving station with yummy looking beef.It was so touching to see past staff members come to bid farewell.It was a surreal moment for me to see this person who gave 21 years of sweat and blood conclude his service in this speech.He held his composure so well despite the circumstances-up until now we do not know the real reason he was let off and I am sure it was not pleasant.I admired this man standing up there delivering such a fantastic heartfelt speech. A sad farewell however as he says a change IS good and I look forward to experiencing our new Italian gent at the reigns!!!!!

A saturday morning spent with my boet

Yesterday was one of those awesome mornings spent with my boet.We headed off real early to Home affairs to fetch Adhils ID and then got to the Biscuit Mill for breakies.I love getting there early in the morning for numerous reasons and if you know me well enough I do not have to explain to you why I love early mornings. We waited patiently for our Origin coffee which is usually the first round we have at the market and that is a given.We waited patiently as the power cut at the stand however I got chatting to someone in the line.Here again I loved it as really who said that we cannot chat to the person standing next to you as you dont know each other from a bar of soap.Seems she used to sell wines to the MNH so we had lots to talk about.Dills and I did not indulge this time around and all we had was some great fruit.You can never go wrong at that fruit stand and the selection of fruit in there is so good.We then headed off to the Cape Quarter in search of the Origin coffee headquarters where we had another coffee and took in that rich aroma of the beans.Nice little joint and as Adhil said my search for this place has now come to an end.I then also managed to scout the location of Cafe Max which I believe serves awesome brekkies and I have been invited by the manager to try it out. We just drove by and once again I had this grin on my face loving the fact that there are all this hidden little gems in CPT.I have to hit the shower now as Yas and I are off to the Taste fair but do come back for the continuation of this blog post.Back to finish this post.....So all in all it was a great morning with my boet and I can stamp it as a "PERFECT" morning. Got to say goodbye to Dills again on sunday morning and am glad to hear he is safe and sound in the U.S.The Taste fair was a nice hour and a half out in the sun and a great atmosphere but for me a rip off of note.R80 gets you into the grounds and R 20 for parking.You then have to buy a booklet of vouchers for R100 minimum and each of the good samples you want to try from the top hotels who are showing off their skills and cullinary delights charge you about R40-R50 for thre fork fulls!Hmmm for me it was so not worth it and thank goodness we had comps.
Yas and I then spent the afternoon @ Anu where we had a most delicous veg lunch.It was so good to sit in a family environment around a table.REALLY MISS THAT!
It was a most enjoyable and well balanced weekend once again and I am so looking forward to this long weekend as I aim to finish my book and learn more spanish on the earworms cd-borrowed it from Adhil.It teaches you spanish and it plays a tune in the background which helps you learn.Its been great fun thus far and now and then I find myself dancing to the music and shouting out the words!

Birthday gift ideas

The above is are books



OK....OK so I thought about some gift ideas if you really really want to get me something and you wont take no for an answer. I will continue to post pics here.

Taking in the early morning city vibe(Wednesday)

After ages have I had a day off mid-week.I worked last Saturday and I thought let me take my day due on a wednesday as opposed to the Monday that people tend to take.Two days ago I decided that on this day off I am going to put on my All stars and hit the city centre at 8am and take in the sounds and surrounds.I sure hit the street just before 8am after having a very broken nights sleep as I fell asleep way too early-something silly like 20h30 while watching "entourage" and then I woke up to hectic howling winds outside.Anyhoo not feeling tired or anything....so I headed down towards Greenmarket square and did a few laps around the block taking different side roads each time.The amount of little hidden take aways and coffee shops I could not count and each packed with their regular morning customers.As tempting as it was to take a seat at the Vida which has this tables and chairs spilling onto another square-I can not recall the name I thought I have to try something new so I found myself in "crave" which looks out onto Greenmarket Square. I ordered a coffee and a seeded biscuit and watched the passing scene.This sort of questions popped into my mind while sitting there for just about an hour:

*How many cobble stones make up Greenmarket square?
*How many take aways cups of coffee are made in the city centre in the morning and that made me think about how many are made world wide every morning?
*The lady dressed all smartly in black and white trying to walk on the cobbles in her heels-is she on her way to an interview?
*How much does the lady earn a day who is setting up her stand in the curio market so passionately and with such care?
*Does the security guard enjoy watching this morning scene or is it just a way to earn some money and nothing more?
*Where are the group of young tourists off to next who are boarding the bus?
*Does the gent walking with a huge camera around his neck know that it is not such a great idea?
*Meena and I could open up something someday like this deli I am sitting in with a very girly corporate feel?


Those are a few of the things that were going through my mind....

I then walked around more and more taking in the details of the buildings that one never gets to notice in a car. I popped into a few shops in Long street and while in the one shop a lady said to me "You look so nice and comfy" and I with a big smily said "I do feel so comfy."(I was kitted in my jeans,grey track top and grey all stars)I managed to go find the much talked about shop that sells bunny chows in Rheede street arcade. At last I saw the "Curry inn" and will def take Chantel V to sample one one day.We have talked about doing this for ages now.When making my way home I headed through the company gardens-there was a stills shoot going on and I was suprised to see the amount of people passing through and I must say it was so beautiful. I looked at the different characters and enjoyed the greenery. I also realised that there is a tourism office in the park.

Oh how can I forget that I also popped into "Tommys second hand bookstore" and found all sorts of good reads including Archie comics!!!!Meena I am so going to get you some.


What a fab day.......

Anyhoo have to run-this post is a day later than the event as my internet kicked me off at home......

Going to the blood bank

I have not given blood for the longest time now and I have been longing to give blood and just never got down to doing it.
I looked up on-line to see where is the nearest place in the city centre that I can go give blood. Well what do you know there is a set up clinic in the church hall in walking distance from my place on Wednesday afternoon and I will be on a day off work! I am not a fan of needles but I keep thinking of the good it will do so think of me going to do my bit.I urge you to go make a difference as well.

Keep left pass right

I often wonder why people walk all over a stairway?? Is it not a universal thing to "Keep Left,Pass right"? Maybe this is just my belief. It often gets to me as then you start dancing on the stairs uncomfortably. As it is when you in a supermarket aisle and you start dancing around someone as there are trolleys abandoned in the centre of the aisle one feels silly.Now imagine dancing on the stairs with an added challenge of keeping your balance AND if you famous you have to make sure that the "HEAT" or "PEOPLE" magazine did not catch you doing some weird dance!

Did not make it to be a scout

I missed being able to be a female scout as back in the day there were only "brownies" which was far too girly for me.
I think I had wanted to get out there and be adventurous and serve a community and now that I have joined the "More to Life" community I feel this makes up for that. This past weekend was oh so amazing and rewarding. I "played on team" where you get to be part of the team that runs the weekend for the course. My role this weekend was to assist with the registration process on the opening night and then I was given a role at the last minute to see to the trainers catering. This was an immediate shock to the system as I received the call late thursday afternoon prior to the course. E-mails were sent to me regarding the trainers needs and likes and dislikes however I was only able to access these mails on Friday morning. I was immediately thrown out of my comfort zone as I have been carrying around this belief in me that I have been working on for a while that I am not so good in the kitchen as for years my mum has chuckled or has voiced that I lack in kitchen skills.
I managed to work this out of my system over the weekend by chatting to an experienced facilitator and I actually rocked the role! My assitant and I had a fall out on Saturday as she was a stressball all over the place without a plan and I felt like I was in Gordan Ramseys Hells Kitchen. When she walked out in mid conversation a light shone out of me as I realised that I was able to detach from the drama this woman created for herself. I realised that I have grown so much as a person as the old sensitive Sue would have felt rotten and would have wanted to have analysed what happened. I was then made captain for the next day and immediately got onto drawing up a set plan of how the day will unfold and who is responsible for what! Everything was clear cut and of course I knew that sometimes plans can change but I was prepared and working around something. All went so smoothly and when my assistant did not return for the afternoon due to her home being broken into I was so calm and felt in control. A team member stepped in to offer carrying the dishes with me to the trainer and at the end of the weekend it felt so good to hear that the trainer thought all her meals were impeccable and I got to stand up and take in the acknowledgment for it from the team and the trainer. Its funny how things work out as initially this was the role offered to me and I turned it down as I said I am not comfortable in the role and then a day before the weekend the person who was suppose to do the role could not make it. I looked at it positively and thought well here the universe has sent it back to me to push me out of my comfort zone to make me grow as a person and after all that is what I want for 2010. I want to push my abilities to the max and GROW!!!!
The weekend as mentioned was hell of a rewarding and more so that Sahil and Anushka reaped such benefits and I got to meet such amazing people and serve! All the long hours are voluntary and the pay off is amazing. I also walked away feeling super grateful for the close relationship I have with my siblings and mum as I met a few people yearning for relationships with their loved ones. Hearing Anushka thank me for introducing her and Sahil to a new way of life was so special and I know we will continue to spread this experience through the world. I feel so good to be part of this MTL community that spreads such wholesomeness through the world and gives people the opportunity to live the lives they should!!!!