Reunion coming up (update)

Final countdown
I started this blog in grand anticipation of my ten-year matric reunion. I was going to have a driver's licence, be much skinnier, and sommer (just because) for good measure be done with a pesky Magister Artium. So how far did I get?

Master's: not so good

Source: Wikimedia commons

My blog settings is that my blog should be for all ages. No parent should be horrified that their child accessed some Renoiresque girl's ranting about her degree and her weight. So I will use caution and only say:

<insert colourful language here>

Right, now that we've gotten that out of the way... When I started the blog I was adamant that if no chapters ensued by the end of the two months, I would give up the experiment and start job hunting. Guess what? It's five months on and yet, not a single complete chapter.  

<language containing even more of the picturesque>

I'm very tempted to give this whole thing up as a bad job. I'm thoroughly stuck and I'm being unfair to my good supervisor. And still, I'm stubborn. I don't want to give the whole thing up as a bad job. In other words, I'm extremely frustrated.

Project Nymphette: going well

Photo by Chris Mellows

 I have lost quite a bit of weight since the start of this project. I would guess at least 6 kg. According to the BMI, I still have 45 kg to go. They can forget about it. I've been that weight and it's just too skinny for me. I've lost most of the double chin. I can feel my ribs. I've lost clothing sizes. All this reminds me of a recent funny story.

Fun fact: you cannot wash shadows off

I don't always follow all the steps of my so-called beauty regime (just face  wash, toner and a cream), but I try to. I just wash my face by feel in the bath, but the toner and cream are usually applied while facing a mirror. Some time ago I started noticing that my neck seemed to be dirty. There were two (slightly) darker triangle-shaped spots that I just couldn't get clean. You guessed it, my bone structure is resurfacing and my collar bones and neck created some non-washable shadows.

Driver's licence
I haven't mentioned that part of the plan so far, since it does seem rather, well, embarrassing that I don't have one yet. It's a long story (all procrastination stories are). At any rate, I've returned to my driving instructor. Wish me luck

Support
My mom has been very sweet and I really appreciate it. I have more lurkers than followers, but the lurkers tend to encourage me in person on through gtalk. Thanks to everyone who takes an interest in the process!

Spar Women's Challenge 2011

Yesterday was an interesting day. My mother and I donned our green t-shirts and made our way to the Centurion Supersport stadium. We were ready to take on the Spar Women's Challenge. And before you feel too impressed, we did the 5 km fun walk. On the other hand, as recounted in my post on the quest for Abinger Harvest the slopes of Unisa were too much for me and my knee.

Spar Women's Challenge 2011: mother and daughter (frangipani) team

Thanks to the measles and so on, the only training I did for the event recently, besides jumping to conclusions*, was running around at a friend's batchelorette and dancing for hours at the wedding the week after. However, my knee made it and my mother and I completed the fun walk without resting along the way despite the hill (roughly between the 1 and 2 km mark - see picture below). Some people turned back at the hill - so it's basically Polly Shorts for the unfit. The women (and men dressed as women) and dogs were kind and encouraged each other to keep on going. I had to slow down, but otherwise the knee made no complaints.

Route map - taken from www.ladiesrace.co.za

The residents were also full of fun and Afrikaans music. Before the watering point (marked with a tap) a kind gentleman had his hose out to give water to dogs, children and me. The water was divine. Some of the other neighbours either held the hose over the wall to cool runners down or put their sprinklers outside for the same reason. I enjoyed the cooling down immensely.

Despite the length of the prize giving there were some highlights. I found out that the kind runner who smiled at me as I hit the water after finishing my walk was none other than Zola Budd! She won her age category in the 10 km race. I can't believe that I was in the same race (different category) as a former Olympic athlete.

My other moment at the prize giving is when they had a lucky draw. I won a shopping voucher!

Everyone who finished was awarded a medal

Thank you to all the organisers and paramedics. I'm just grateful that I didn't have to bother any of the medics as a patient :)

*expression appropriated from my GP. I once asked him if I should gym.  He looked me in the eye, kept a straight face and said: "Exercise is for the birds. All exercise I get is jumping to conclusions and running from responsibility". I love his sense of humour.