running around

i have internet, but no google. that's really weird.

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thursday:

we began the day at the golden acre, the idea being to walk the tunnels beneath the city and to get some shopping done on the way. that didn't work out quite as planned. the parkade we parked in is weird, and took a couple of extra turns to figure out. also - i should have taken sunglasses. the sun came out while we were there. i know better.

we stopped for a strange lunch - the waitress reminded of nystire. she completely forgot about me when we first ordered, which was understandable because pg asked if there was ice tea and she immediately went back to the kitchens to find out. she must have placed pg's order while there... she almost disappeared on me again without asking what i wanted, but we called her back and i ordered a sandwich.

my toast arrived way after pg's salad. the food was okay... and the bill was in afrikaans. so *that* was the reason she was talking backwards!

over the past week, i have learned a couple of lessons regarding pg:
1. no more shopping with her. i don't dig shopping.
2. no more taking her to parties. unless she asks nicely. and i'll take her straight home and return if it's not her style.

on the way back to the car we passed a book store, and i was struck by an inspiration particle that had me buzzing. the more book titles i scanned the more ideas i got - i have work to do!

we hit kirstenbosch after that, missioning the gorgeous gardens and attempting a hike up to skeleton gorge. that's a much longer walk than we expected, so after getting some exercise we turned back so that i could eat in time for training. lunch was fantastic! only it got very cold very suddenly towards the end and we were shivering as we paid the bill and briskly walked back out. we stopped in the souvenir shop but didn't bring out "hepzebra", poor thing, and then drove back home singing all the way.

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i took a quick, deep nap and was almost late for training. as i left the building running, the cold front loomed up to the south-west and the pink and blue sunset was absolutely stunning. i was so proud of myself for warming up so comfortably and arriving just on time, only to discover that on time had been pushed to an hour later due to renovations and relocation.

so. by the time i got up to the uct sports facility the caffeine had worn off. the killer warmup did its job, and i was completely buggered before we began sparring. to make matters worse, i was up against another red belt with far more energy than i've ever had... also, it wasn't WTF. it was ITF and the differences are kind of striking. almost biting my tongue while being slapped on the head repeatedly during double kick attacks? i have enough trouble with the simple stuff.

after sitting out four rounds, dizzy and wheezing, i clambered back in to a match that had me limping afterwards from a serious kick to the calf.

i didn't mention that we were being filmed the whole time. not one of my proudest moments.

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call-a-pizza made me feel better, though. we reduced their 21-topping veggie pizza to 18 toppings, and ate the delicious pie with solid dark trance in the background.

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take a good look at what you don't believe