bring out the salt and tequila

Getting there

2012-01-15T09:34:00.000+02:00

Had my first meeting of 2012 with my tattoo artist, Ryan 'Busta' Bolton at Golden Tiki in Linden. Contrary to what I expected, he isn't creating a specific image from which to work. Rather, he printed out the images I'd sent that he thought conveyed the best sense of motion for each ship, then suggested a completely different layout for my Stargates (essentially, we will be focusing on only a quarter of each gate, to allow for greater detail in terms of the chevrons on each, rather than a whole, but small, gate with little to no detail).

The gates will now be positioned at the top right and bottom left of my back, with the other ships creating a sort of S between them. And I'm taking out the Whitestar, which was only in there for MadCat's benefit, since I've never watched Babylon 5 in my life - not even one episode.

My first session will be on 11 February ... another month to wait, but hot diggitty damn! I finally have a sense of expectation and not merely longing!

Busta says he'll be doing the full linework first, and then colouring in as we go along ... not quite what I was expecting, as I didn't think it would be possible to do the full outline in one session, but he seems to think it can be done so yay!

I'm actually thinking - now that I know which pics he wants to use - that I can create the image myself via Photoshop. Wonder if it'll work ...

MadCat also spoke to him about his UN-Spacey symbol, and I think it's going to look awesome!

Eeee, now I REALLY have something to be excited about - it's coming! FINALLY!

Colour me wonderful

2011-12-30T21:39:00.000+02:00

We're a long way away from doing it, but somewhere on the list of home renovations is a redo of the kitchen. I haven't yet pinned down exactly what i want to do, but at this point it sort of hinges on concrete, stainless steel and wooden drawers - sort of like the pic below.

Hmm. Not completely sterile, as it would be with glossy white cabinets and tiles, but a little boring nonetheless.

Okay, so how about some colour?

I love this - so cheery! MadCat thinks it looks like a painter's tray, however.

Too much?

MadCat likes all the steel, but I'm not a big fan of open shelving - too much potential for dust collection.

I think the backsplash looks like a Lego set. MadCat thinks it'll bring on a seizure.

Just kidding! MadCat says it looks like a doll's house, and I agree!

I really, REALLY like this one. Guess who doesn't?

This one's pretty stylish, and MadCat likes it, but imagine all the fingerprints on those glossy doors?

Now this one screams 'me!' - too bright for some, though.

I thought this one might work - green for me, blue for him, white as a compromise - but no. Too mixy.

We both liked this matt red, though. That's a starting point.

And the dark grey, bright orange and wooden drawers worked for both of us. Good. Maybe that's the way we'll go?

Well, still months before we can even consider renovating the kitchen. But it doesn't hurt to look around at pretty pics as inspiration!

So many ways

2011-12-29T16:22:00.003+02:00

I've been wondering what kind of geek I am, and whether I even qualify. Well, I think I do, but these days there's fierce debate about whether or not someone deserves the term 'geek' if they're not fully invested in the subject matter at hand. Therein lies my problem!

First off, there's Firefly. I adore Firefly and Serenity, so much so that Serenity will be the main focus of my back tattoo. But I don't know every line, or the names of the episodes, or the order in which they should be viewed, or any of the Mandarin they use on the show. I love it for the sense that your true family is the one you make, but do I qualify as a Firefly geek? Well, I like to think so.

Stargate: The other main focus of my back tattoo, Stargate means so much to me in terms of the ability to travel through space (and, occasionally, time) and view other worlds, experience new places and people, and retain the sense of family. Still, once again I don't know the intricacies of the show, or the myriad details that are to be found on any of the Stargate fan pages and wikis. Does that mean I'm not allowed to enjoy it? Hell no!

Star Wars: I love Star Wars - who doesn't? The Millenium Falcon will play a prominent role in my tattoo. I know that Han shot first, and I'm a Vader girl through and through. Still, I don't know all the planets, the types of aliens, the intricacies of midichlorians, and I don't dress up as a Stormtrooper (in fact, I don't even know the differences between the types of Stormtrooper!) ... hope that doesn't disqualify me! I'm a huge fan of the 501st Legion and I'd love to have them at my wedding as an honour guard - but somehow I still feel like I don't know enough to consider that as an option.

I grew up watching Star Trek - particularly The Next Generation (Wesley Crusher ain't getting no dissing from me!) - and the Enterprise D is - surprise! - going to be in my tattoo, too. I'm also a huge fan of Voyager - Janeway really rocks my boat as a strong female character - captain of a starship, to boot! But I'm no real Trekkie, I don't dress up as them, I don't know all the details of the universe or even canon ... I guess I'm more of a fan than a geek? No way! I'm a Trek girl and I love it equally as much as Star Wars! It would be hard for me to choose between the two. (P.S. I don't understand all the controversy about Star Trek: Enterprise. It's got Scott Bakula! He's such a brilliant sci-fi actor. Then again, I haven't watched it - but surely the fans should have been happier that there was actually a continuation of the series?)

Who can forget Harry Potter? I'm deeply in love with this 'verse and all the fantastical creatures, life and loves to be found there. I'm crazier about the books than the movies, but I love them all. But what do I know about Harry Potter? Am I a real HP fangirl? Not when taking into account how crazy some people can get about HP. Sometimes it's a bit scary. Still, one thing is true: Harry Potter in no way compares to Twilight. Because Harry Potter outshines the sparkly.

Then there's Lord of the Rings. Okay, I read The Hobbit when I was 8 years old, and it's one of my favourite books of all time. I only read LotR when I hit my 20s, and then I reread it several times (in fact, it's on my reading list at the moment). I now own the movies (extended versions) as a box set. However, I can't speak Elvish and I don't want to get married in Arwen's dress; I'm more of an Eowyn fan, and here's where I just want to mini-rant about the fact that almost all hr battle scenes were cut from the final version - only two were actually shown. A travesty! I don't know much about dwarves and as for hobbits, well, yeah.

Come to think of it, while I love fantasy, it's not like anyone could call me an expert on fantasy worlds, LARPing or Ren Faires. I really don't know all that much about jousting or plate armour or lords and ladies. That doesn't stop me from enjoying reading about it.

And that ties in to my love of gaming - RPGs, specifically. I really enjoy gaming, when I get around to it. But I couldn't be part of a conversation about which is the best weapon to use, whether night-elves are a more useful class than gnomes, or the virtues of the Hunter vs the Druid. I just enjoy playing my games - my Dragon Age, Torchlight, Diablo II - and I don't play well with others. Maybe that's my problem?

And then, of course, there's language. I love English, but what I know about grammar - or at least the technical terms - could fit on the head of a pin. My Afrikaans manager often rewrites articles better than I can. I can spell decently, but my sentence structure and writing are abominable. And this for someone who consistently received As in English! It's a real let-down, a major disappointment. Still, incorrect grammar and txtspk make my heart hurt. I guess there's hope for me yet!

All in all, I guess I'm not much of a geek, more of a nerd. But I feel that geek certainly fits me in many ways. I often feel like I'm the only one in my circle of friends who understands. Well, that's not entirely true; Adventure Girl can talk about games, although she doesn't really care about the rest; and then there's Nessie, with whom I had a wonderful, geeky-reference-filled brunch just last week. At least there's someone with whom I can bond over TV shows and games!

Dr Who?

2011-12-23T08:46:00.000+02:00

A month or so ago we got an HD PVR, because I hardly ever watch TV and MadCat was missing all his shows (mainly on Discovery). The advantage of the PVR is that you can set it to record all sorts of shows and catch up when you have time.

I'd been reading about Dr Who and Torchwood, and thought i should add them to my list. Initially, I started out with Torchwood, and boy, am I glad I did! Captain Jack Harkness is a super-hottie, and cute to boot. It helped that the very first episode of Torchwood that I watched included Spike, and a rather steamy kiss between him and Captain Jack. "Oh, it's that kind of show!" I thought, as I settled in more comfortably.

Seems Captain Jack is what's known as omni-sexual - yep, he'll take on man, woman or alien (as long as said alien is humanoid), as I've been seeing through most of the episodes. Currently he's involved in a relationship with one of his team members, Ianto - don't you know you should never get involved with someone at work, Jack?

After about six eps of Torchwood, I thought it time to start watch Dr Who and see what the fuss is all about. Luckily for me, the PVR had recorded three episodes of a trilogy (and what I suspect was a season finale, though it didn't say so on the write-up). Fortuitously, not only were they three eps that ran consecutively, but they contained Captain Jack! Nice to see a familiar face. then it was back to Torchwood, and hey! Three eps that contained Martha Jones! Someone was watching out for me in TV-viewing heaven, I think.

I don't know what it is that's pulled me into Dr Who. International House of Geek recently wrote a dissection of Dr Who, to try and find out what the attraction could be. I said I think it's that I'm invested in the characters (already!) and I'm also concerned with the fun, fear and adventure. You never know when someone important is going to die! Or leave, actually, as Martha did at the end of the Dr Who trilogy.

I've placed the Dr Who box set on hold at Amazon, all five seasons, because I'm pretty sure it's going to become a set that needs a prominent place in my collection. I'm not a huge Tardis freak - not as yet - but I can see that the day is coming when I'll become a Whovian and start Pinning Tardis pics willy-nilly. Just thinking about the two series makes me happy and feel goofy (and that's even though Torchwood is a lot more adult and serious in many of its themes).

I'm off for the next week and a half, and I can already see that it's going to contain a substantial amount of Torchwood-watching. Sadly, Dr Who is off the air in South Africa at the moment - yet another reason that box set is going to be so important ...

Fading away

2011-12-18T08:41:00.000+02:00

Although my tattoo hasn't even been sketched yet (I think), I'm still wildly excited about getting it. I can't wait to have Serenity and the SG-1 Stargate tattooed on my back, followed by all the other ships, gates and galaxies I've chosen for my piece.

I get that, while tattooing is becoming more mainstream, it's still not really accepted as something a "good girl" would do. Fair enough; I'm not a very good girl, although I'm nowhere near as bad a girl as I'd like, or as bad as some seem to think tattooing will make me (a whole other rant).

What really bugs me, though, is the assumption people make that I'll somehow end up regretting getting myself inked when I'm older. As though these things that i have specifically chosen to be put onto my body, because of the meaning they hold for me, will suddenly become unacceptable to my brain and I'll be desperately trying to get rid of them, covering up at every opportunity and ashamed to show myself.

Look: I'm almost 40 years old. I'm pretty well aware of the fact that skin sags as one ages, and tattoo ink fades, and wrinkles happen. None of that matters to me. I'm not getting tattooed because I think it's going to make me look hot, badass, or whatever it's supposed to be doing in some imaginary world of why-the-fuck-would-she-do-this. I'm not having ink stuck under my skin for anyone but me. I've chosen my themes and my images very carefully, because they have real meaning and purpose for me, and they represent important things in my life, things that make me who I am today. I don't care that they're from TV shows, or books, or movies, or comics, or are imaginary creations that don't exist. In fact, that's pretty much the point, if you've read my post on my sci-fi back piece.

Is it supposed to be about how the tattoo will sag as I age? That it'll wrinkle and fade and look bad? Newsflash: I'm no supermodel as it is. I'm not hot, sexy or mysterious; and I'm certainly not getting tattooed to turn anyone on. Again: it's for me. And as my whole body ages, so will my tattoo; it's meant to be part of me for the rest of my life, just like everything else will (hopefully) be part of me for however long I live - hair, teeth, arms, legs, skin. My ears will get bigger and I'll lose my hearing; my eyes will get saggy and wrinkled and I'll have trouble seeing; my face will droop and I'll get jowly and my butt will sit behind my knees and my boobs will hang down to my waist and SO WHAT? It's called GETTING OLD. So my tattoos will GET OLD with me!

Besides, as someone else said, when I'm old I'll be too damn busy worrying about my arthritis and senility to give a rat's ass about being ashamed of my ink!

Age is a state of mind

Suddenly I see

2011-12-13T17:11:00.000+02:00

As long as I can remember, I've had a fascination with picking at myself. Not just any part of me, but specifically, my head. Even when I'm not itchy, I scratch. At one stage, as a child, I used to rub sand into my hair to have something to pick at.

Pretty odd behaviour, right?

I found it became even more pronounced when I'm stressed; this year has been hell on wheels, for the most part, and it got to the point I was giving myself actual sores on mys calp. Let's just say that going bald was never an option.

Today, I found out that what I'm doing is an actual mental condition. Yes, it seems that I may well have Dermatillomania.

The hell? Hmm, as a semi-hypochondriac, I have to wonder if it's not just me jumping on the mental-illness bandwagon. But I know that's not it.

I don't pick at any other part of me but my scalp, and yes, I end up feeling humiliated and ashamed about it - but I can't stop. I've even found myself doing it in my sleep. If that's not totally whacked out, i don't know what is.

So, Dermatillomania what's that all about?

From Band Back Together:

Dermatillomania or Compulsive Skin Picking (CSP) is the urge to rub, pick, scratch, squeeze or dig into the skin, often to remove some perceived irregularity or flaw such as a flake of dry skin or a pimple or scab. The action may be performed with the fingers, nails, tweezers, needles or any other instrument.
Picking can happen on any part of the body or in a combination of places.
Picking is usually preceded by an intense urge to "fix" the spot.

Yes! Even when it's not a good idea - like when driving

The urge becomes the focus of attention until relief is found by acting on the urge.
Often the picking happen in a trance-like state and in severe cases, a person can spend several hours a day performing the actions associated with trying to "smooth out" or remove all the problem spots.
The picking is almost always followed by a feeling of guilt, shame and regret about the damage done to the skin. Sufferers often are also diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and depression.
Many people do not realize that CSP is a real illness and do not report it or seek treatment.

You can be damn sure I'll be telling Des about this when next I see her.

CSP is not listed in the DSM-IV. Dermatillomania labeled as an impulse control disorder (grouped with things like kleptomania and pyromania).
CSP is now often considered by many professionals as a Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior (BFRB).
Some professionals will classify it as an subtype of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder because a large percentage of people with OCD also pick their skin.
Many of the emotional and psychological processes resemble those of Trichotillomania (Compulsive Hair Pulling) and you may find the resources for Trichotillomania helpful, as well.

Wait, there's something ELSE?

Okay, no, that part's not like me. I'm interested in my scalp - not my hair.

Dermatillomania has a much higher incidence in women than in men.
CSP is not the same as self-injuring or self-harming behaviors (like cutting or burning). Dermatillomania sufferers are not trying to inflict damage upon themselves. Instead, people with CSP are trying to "correct" some imperfection.

So why do I do it?

Some believe Dermatillomania is a natural "grooming instinct" gone haywire. These people theorize that there is a genetic or biological component.
Others think it is a self-soothing mechanism or emotional outlet because many sufferers report being "zoned out" or trance-like while picking.

That's for sure.
Is there any treatment? Well, apparently anti-depressants might help. Since I'm on Ritalin, Valdoxane and Esperide, maybe that combination will help. Time will tell.

So, there you have it. Sorry; this blog has pretty much been light-hearted until now. But what the hell. You always knew I was a freak, right?

* I should mention that this post was inspired by Chibi Jeebs' Break-up Letter to Dermatillomania, which was what sparked off my realisation.

Never the bride by Paul Magrs

2011-11-03T21:56:00.002+02:00

Never the Bride by Paul Magrs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Knowing how to spot an Igor from years of reading Terry Pratchett, it wasn't hard to figure out just who Brenda was supposed to be, right from the start. This is an engaging little book, a bit light on substance but fun nonetheless. Any book that contains references to Alucard (say it backwards), War of the Worlds, and a psychotic Mrs Claus, and even throws in a little Cthulu, is a good way to spend some downtime. Paul Magrs manages to avoid most of the cliches even while creating cameos for some of the classic horror creations, and he does a fine job of keeping one entertained throughout.

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To be written in skin

2011-10-25T17:26:00.000+02:00

I've been planning my 'books in my blood' tattoo for several months now, and it's just not working out. Although Adventure Girl is working on the artwork, I keep making changes and I'm never 100% sure whether it's going to work out. (I'd initially wanted my Buddy's daughter to do the artwork but she's busy with architecture exams and just hasn't had the time.)

Anyway, I decided to take off on a few Friday afternoons so that I could meet the tattoo artist and start work on the ink itself. I visited Golden Tiki on Saturday, 15 October, and ended up not speaking to Sean - whom I'd initially envisaged, as his style is more realistic and therefore close to what I want - as he was busy inking someone at the time. Actually, none of the others were there, either, so I spoke to Chelsea-Rae, who advised me to go with her husband, Busta (Ryan) Boltoon. Unfortunately, he was in Cape Town so I couldn't speak to him personally.

During the week, I wrote to him and explained my concept, but I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he wasn't the right person for this particular ink, as his style is more cartoony than I wanted. Then on Friday morning, MadCat came home early and we had a chance to sit and takl about it - and he convinced me that I was rushing into the book tattoo and should rather go for my sci-fi back piece - the one with the Stargates.

Bing! And a light went on.

I visited Busta that afternoon and he was uber-cool about it! He gave me some fantastic ideas and also advised that if I want to get in as much detail as possible, I should go for a full back piece and not just the top of my back. So my ideas have undergone a complete 360 and my Stargates aren't going to be linked anymore, but scattered, so that they can be varying sizes and locations, and we can have ships passing by and casting flame or energy highlights on them, or passing behind them, etc.

I also had to give Busta a motivation, and here's what I eventually figured:

So, the Stargates are the gateways to new worlds, new experiences and new challenges; the SG-1 Stargate is the most important since that's where I'm based - the Milky Way galaxy. The Pegasus galaxy (SG Atlantis) is one place I'd like to go and the series is also pretty important to me. The SG Universe gate would be nice to have because that rounds out the trinity of gates, but it's not vital.

Then there's Serenity; she's a major part of my piece because she represents freedom and the family you make yourself. Serenity is equally as important to me as the SG-1 gate and I'd like them both to play a prominent role in the piece, up at the top.

Star Trek and Star Wars are self-explanatory; I grew up with these and they're my full-on geek loves. I'm a huge Han Solo fan, so the Millenium Falcon is MY ship (I even had one as a kid, but my mom threw it away, more's the pity). I've chosen the Enterprise-D for my Star Trek piece because my favourite series is The Next Generation, and besides, she was the first ship to reach the end of the universe and to go faster than Warp 10.

I watched Robotech as a kid, and it was one of my first loves for sci-fi. I'd have included Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, but I'm not crazy about that ship, or the Battle of the Planets ship, so I'll use Robotech and its battleoid fighter forms to encapsulate the childhood memories. The VF-1Js is the actual mecha I need, and must be in red, with white markings, as it will be one used by the character Miriya (I don't have any shots of her in action with her battloid, unfortunately - very hard to find).

Farscape is another series - like Serenity - that was cancelled too early. I am keen on Talyn, the red and black ship, although I think he could also be used in conjunction with his mother, Moya. Talyn is a VERY SEXY ship, with markings that are almost tribal. Moya is lovely and serene and so a juxtaposition between her and her son would be brilliant, if it were possible.

I'm really excited about this piece because I want to get in as much ink as I can before we get married. Okay, so that's only happening in 2015, but that still doesn't leave much time to get my tattoos AND save for an awesome wedding (and, of course, design an outfit that will show off all this lovely work!).

So, there you have it. I'm getting my sci-fi back piece! It's going to take about a year of monthly work, and I'm trying not to think about the pain and the cost, but damn! I'm jonesing for that first prick of the needle and I absolutely cannot WAIT for my ink to start!

Them's fighting words

2011-10-25T14:17:00.000+02:00

How incredibly sweet and courageous is this teddy bear? The bravery of stuffed animals is unparalleled! By deviantART artist *begemott

Madcat and I have decided that this drawing will be gracing our walls sooner rather than later!

Check out more of his work in his gallery ...

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

2011-10-20T10:47:00.000+02:00

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What can I say about this book that hasn't been said before? It's epic, far-reaching, hard-hitting and intriguing. At the same time, it's tedious in places, and the characterisation seems a little forced. Several times I wanted to smack Eddard Stark upside the head and shout "Are you even listening to yourself?" - the man is so blinded by his notion of honour that he lets the obvious slide right by. Still, I suppose if he hadn't, there wouldn't have been a story arc that resulted in one of my favourite reasons for reading fantasy - battle. Yes, call me shallow, but I enjoy the blood, guts and gore.

Speaking of shallow, there's a lot of it in this book, but that doesn't mean I could simply stop reading. I read whenever I had a chance, because I was so intrigued. The writing's a little stolid and unimaginative, and I can't put my finger on what captured my attention so strongly, but there it is. I enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series.

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I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

2011-10-01T19:58:00.002+02:00

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I started this book this morning and had a hard time putting it down to go places and do things. For a 'younger readers" book its themes are fairly hardcore. These include, but are not limited to, domestic abuse resulting in a miscarriage; an attempted suicide; death (only one of which includes a visitation from DEATH); time manipulation; the harm that can be done by unquestioning religious followers; and the consequences of witch hunting on harmless old women who's simply a bit strange.

Tiffany Aching is growing up fast, but she's still a slip of a girl, even though she's the Witch of the Chalk. She still has the Nac Mac Feegle following her every move and helping even when they're not asked (much of the humour derives from these scenes). As a witch, she's had to deal with some serious unpleasantness and ugliness, not least of which involves removing pain from the dying or badly hurt to carry it herself until she can get rid of it. Matters are not helped by the aforementioned blindly faithful who, although they sometimes need a witch's help, resent having to need that help and seem to have tapped into the old 'witches are evil' mentality. It's an ugly situation that is worsened by the release of The Cunning Man, a vile spirit that hates witches so much it has defied death for centuries and has now focused on Tiffany.

Despite the dark tones described above, there is still much humour, particularly when the Nac Mac Feegle venture into Ankh Morpork for the first time and find a long-lost member of the clan. Incidentally, the Feegle are an important part of the theme dealing with land ownership and lord/tenant issues.

There's a bullying persona, lots of unfair happenings and some intervention by senior witches, as well as a much-longed-for reappearance of a well-known character, and cameos by Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and others, not to mention a fair amount of Headology.

All in all, one of Pratchett's finest, and a definite must-read for anyone who enjoys thought-provoking novels in the guise of YA fiction. Suffice to say I will be re-reading it tomorrow, to see what else I can glean out of another look.

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My Book of Life

2011-09-16T17:07:00.000+02:00

I made my first proper speech at Toastmasters last night, shaking in my boots the entire time! Somehow, though, my evaluator (and others) were convinced that I was supremely confident, prepared and relaxed. Nothing could be furtehr from the truth! I just have a little trick learned from my years at the SABC: when nervous, voice rising to a squeak, employ Radio Voice; it drops my voice an octave, forcing me to speak slower and sounding more confident.

Anyway, as my Icebreaker topic (which is all about mememe), I chose the theme Book of Life. Here's my speech, although I didn't follow it to the letter, but winged it - I forgot my notes!

There are many ways to point out the complexities that make up a person’s life. One could say they have many facets, like a diamond; that they are multi-dimensional; even that they have many layers, to be peeled, like an onion. For myself, I like to think I am a book, with many pages in many chapters, pages that have been written, and are being written even as I speak. This is my Book of Life.

Why a book? Well, I’m fixated on books and on reading. I’ll read a shampoo bottle if I have nothing else! I’ve been reading since I was three years old, and it’s all because of my grandmother, who loved reading, and sought to instill that love in me. She read to me every day from the time I was born, and so I was able to read myself at such an early age. Reading is my life - it’s in my blood. And that’s why I’m even planning to get ink off the pages and onto my skin. That way I’ll always have something to read! My first tattoo was of a literary character; my next will be of a library.

Incidentally, wouldn’t it be cool to have a house that has enough rooms to have its very own library? I dream of having so many shelves I’ll need a librarian’s ladder to find the books near the ceiling. I’m inspired by the late author Louis L’Amour, who, when he died, had a library of over 20 000 books, in shelves three-deep, reinforced to prevent the house from collapsing under the weight of all that paper! A man after my own heart.

My love of books is also why one day, I plan on doing a librarian degree. It’ll open up a whole new chapter in my life. And in any event, I need to learn the Dewey decimal system, and implement it in my own home! After all, I may not have a separate library in my house, but I have so many books they’re piled and stacked not only on a variety of bookshelves, but in piles on the floor, on any available surface, and even in boxes that have yet to be unpacked.

Another aspect of reading is learning words in different languages. It’s wonderful knowing how to say a few phrases here and there in a language other than your mother tongue. Speaking of languages (pardon the pun), I enjoy learning bits and pieces of languages other than English - not that I know many other languages, only a word here or there. However, I am learning Klingon and Elvish as part of my own learning curve or, to satisfy my love of fantasy, Elvish. Yes, they’re made-up languages, but they are real languages, with syntax and semantics, so I think they qualify!

Why Klingon? Well, this year is the 45th anniversary of Star Trek, and as a good Trekkie, I couldn’t allow this opportunity to pass without doing something to celebrate. Elvish is a n extremely romantic language, and wouldn’t sound out of place in normal society, so my poor, beleaguered boyfriend being shoe-horned into learning along with me - after all, what good is a secret language if there’s no one with whom to share it? I’d love to learn a language out of Star Wars, but at this point there isn’t much other than Wookiee, and grunts or howls don’t translate acurrately to the written word!

And yes, I know that this makes me a geek - but I’m proud of it! I enjoy much of the incredibly geeky fan set, such as science fiction and fantasy, not to mention comics, games and TV shows. I’m a dork because, well, dorks get REALLY EXCITED about things, and don’t pretend to be bored or blasé just to fit in with their peers. I’ve been known to do the excited hopping from one foot to another, or dress up in a cloak and carry a sword to a Harry Potter premier. I’m a geek and proud of it.

And as a proud geek and a voracious reader, I’m happy to call myself a word nerd! It frustrates me no end when words are used out of context, and I find myself raging silently when words are misspelled - I can forgive one misspelling, but more than that is fire to this particular word nerd’s brain!

There’s a lot more to tell, and not enough time to tell it. But rest assured: this Book of Life has many more pages still to come!

I must confess that I was more than a little proud of my speech in relation to the other icebreakers; I chose to speak about one aspect of my life that is very important to me, rather than give a virtually blow-by-blow account of my life thus far. This is not to say that the other speeches were bad or poorly done; just that they focused on the flow of their lives. Maybe I'm being too self-congratulatory.

In any event, I think I should hone my speech a little, become more confident, then look at giving it again - perhaps at a Johannesburg club instead, where no one knows me at all. Speaking in front of complete strangers might be a good idea this time! After all, I joined Toastmasters to leap out of my comfort zone.

As an aside, I also presented the Table Topics for last night's meeting; instead of coming up with a theme, which is what I've seen done before, I asked people questions like, "What superpower would you want", "What does colour mean in your life", and the like. My favourite answer came from a colleague whom I don't know very well, who was talking about her favourite book - one from her primary school days. She recalled every aspect of that book, from the words to the colours, and, of course, the story. I was so glad to find someone as passionate about books as I am!

Starry night building matches star on police car.

2011-09-09T20:48:00.001+02:00

Starry night building matches star on police car.
Originally uploaded by edgehill

This blows my mind. Too gorgeous! I'd love a room like this, or even one wall in my house ...