The weekend
This weekend was pretty busy, and this time I tried wherever possible to cut down on the family over-exposure that's been suffocating me recently.
After struggling with elements for a big skincare launch for the past fortnight (a DVD presentation, press release and trade presenter), on Friday I finally kicked the task to the curb. Hopefully. So that meant it was time to celebrate with wine, home-assembled pizzas and DVDs on Friday evening. Let me say now that the Deli in Knowles Superspar in Pinetown has to be one of the best in the province. If you're looking for an obscure German or Italian sausage, and any kind of cheese your heart desires, well, chances are they'll have it.
The DVD choice of the evening was the first Blade, which, suprisingly, the bf had never seen. For one of the first "mature" comic book adaptations - with plenty of blood and profanity - Blade still holds up pretty well... with the exception of the blood droplet effects, which look horribly dated thanks to their overly shiny texture. One thing though: what the hell happened to Stephen Dorff? In the past 11 years this intense young actor seems to have faded into the background after quite a high profile run in the 1990s.
Anyway, during the day on Saturday I spent mid-morning at the kids' Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class, learning how to teach grappling to children in a fun and safe manner. I can see myself participating in a lot of kids' classes in the coming few months in preparation for the possibility of doing it at Summer Camp in the US come June-August. It's also a good opportunity to be exposed to children (who aren't babies or toddlers) on a regular basis, just generally getting used to their behavior and needs.
The afternoon was spent completing paperwork, updating the BJJ website and devouring as much excess Internet cap as possible before the end of the month. It was also on Saturday afternoon that I discovered a buckled tap at the bottom of our garden, spewing water. It turns out prowlers must have broken it as they used it to climb out of our property on Friday or Saturday sometime. There's nothing like knowing that human pieces of excrement are on your property (in broad daylight!), in the space you associate with safety, looking for opportunities to steal... or worse. Fuckers!
Anyway, on Saturday evening, the bf and I headed out for a light dinner and movies. It was also a chance to check out the Exclusive Books sale at the Pavillion. Frankly, I was disappointed. The prices were higher than I've ever seen them, and the selection on offer didn't move me at all. There were a couple of good paperbacks - the Hannibal Lecter series and the Bored of the Rings Harvard Lampoon, for example - but otherwise things were too dull or too expensive. I had a R35 voucher to spend though, and the best-value-for-money purchase I could find was recipe book with over 500 recipes for pasta and noodles.
In terms of movies, we ended up seeing Rocknrolla, the new crime caper from Guy Richie. Of course you can expect my full review up here soon, but the summary is that it's more of the same from the man who brought cinema-goers Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Although Gerard (300) Butler is irresistible for girls and guys alike in this film, I didn't find Rocknrolla to be quite a par with Richie's earlier efforts. The ending, in particular, was a bit clumsy, leaving unsatisfying loose ends.
On Sunday I couldn't escape "the family thing" because we had a legitimate reason to spend time together - the bf's brother-in-law's birthday. That meant trekking up to Nottingham Road in the Natal Midlands, where at least it was hot and sunny (unlike the overcast and wet Durban we left early in the morning). So at least I got to work on my tan and have a tasty jagerschnitzel at a nearby traditional Austrian pub... And for a change I wasn't bitten by one of the farm beasties.
The weekend was rounded off with some episodes of the award-winning 30 Rock and the sublimely ridiculous Most Extreme Elimination Challenge.
Next weekend promises to be similarly busy, with my sister's birthday celebrations and an engagement party. I am a bit bummed though that my sister's original plans fell through - she just could get enough people for a party up the coast at The Prawn Shack. It's somewhere I've always wanted to go for a boozy seafood-filled celebration. Oh, well, at least its postponement/cancellation means I'll get to save some bucks from my entertainment fund this month.
After struggling with elements for a big skincare launch for the past fortnight (a DVD presentation, press release and trade presenter), on Friday I finally kicked the task to the curb. Hopefully. So that meant it was time to celebrate with wine, home-assembled pizzas and DVDs on Friday evening. Let me say now that the Deli in Knowles Superspar in Pinetown has to be one of the best in the province. If you're looking for an obscure German or Italian sausage, and any kind of cheese your heart desires, well, chances are they'll have it.
The DVD choice of the evening was the first Blade, which, suprisingly, the bf had never seen. For one of the first "mature" comic book adaptations - with plenty of blood and profanity - Blade still holds up pretty well... with the exception of the blood droplet effects, which look horribly dated thanks to their overly shiny texture. One thing though: what the hell happened to Stephen Dorff? In the past 11 years this intense young actor seems to have faded into the background after quite a high profile run in the 1990s.
Anyway, during the day on Saturday I spent mid-morning at the kids' Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class, learning how to teach grappling to children in a fun and safe manner. I can see myself participating in a lot of kids' classes in the coming few months in preparation for the possibility of doing it at Summer Camp in the US come June-August. It's also a good opportunity to be exposed to children (who aren't babies or toddlers) on a regular basis, just generally getting used to their behavior and needs.
The afternoon was spent completing paperwork, updating the BJJ website and devouring as much excess Internet cap as possible before the end of the month. It was also on Saturday afternoon that I discovered a buckled tap at the bottom of our garden, spewing water. It turns out prowlers must have broken it as they used it to climb out of our property on Friday or Saturday sometime. There's nothing like knowing that human pieces of excrement are on your property (in broad daylight!), in the space you associate with safety, looking for opportunities to steal... or worse. Fuckers!
Anyway, on Saturday evening, the bf and I headed out for a light dinner and movies. It was also a chance to check out the Exclusive Books sale at the Pavillion. Frankly, I was disappointed. The prices were higher than I've ever seen them, and the selection on offer didn't move me at all. There were a couple of good paperbacks - the Hannibal Lecter series and the Bored of the Rings Harvard Lampoon, for example - but otherwise things were too dull or too expensive. I had a R35 voucher to spend though, and the best-value-for-money purchase I could find was recipe book with over 500 recipes for pasta and noodles.
In terms of movies, we ended up seeing Rocknrolla, the new crime caper from Guy Richie. Of course you can expect my full review up here soon, but the summary is that it's more of the same from the man who brought cinema-goers Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Although Gerard (300) Butler is irresistible for girls and guys alike in this film, I didn't find Rocknrolla to be quite a par with Richie's earlier efforts. The ending, in particular, was a bit clumsy, leaving unsatisfying loose ends.
On Sunday I couldn't escape "the family thing" because we had a legitimate reason to spend time together - the bf's brother-in-law's birthday. That meant trekking up to Nottingham Road in the Natal Midlands, where at least it was hot and sunny (unlike the overcast and wet Durban we left early in the morning). So at least I got to work on my tan and have a tasty jagerschnitzel at a nearby traditional Austrian pub... And for a change I wasn't bitten by one of the farm beasties.
The weekend was rounded off with some episodes of the award-winning 30 Rock and the sublimely ridiculous Most Extreme Elimination Challenge.
Next weekend promises to be similarly busy, with my sister's birthday celebrations and an engagement party. I am a bit bummed though that my sister's original plans fell through - she just could get enough people for a party up the coast at The Prawn Shack. It's somewhere I've always wanted to go for a boozy seafood-filled celebration. Oh, well, at least its postponement/cancellation means I'll get to save some bucks from my entertainment fund this month.
Comments
One question i have.. wtf is on that darn PAINTING!!!
Mjenks, I enjoyed it when I read it a few years back. However, in the Age of the Internet you can find far funnier spoofs online all over the place.