Just Another Weekend

I hopped in a car on friday morning, populated by family friends of Emily Stockil, and skeedled off to the berg for a fantastic weekend. All was in order to celebrate Emily's coming of age, her 21st birthday.

It might have been when we sat under the marquee in the garden, it might have been when we went for an after dark walk, it might even have been when we were all crawling around the bush playing stalk the lantern, but the realisation that Johannesburg and cities suck a lot dawned on me. I realised only when I was sitting in the outdoors how much I have missed being outside. I realised that I need to go and camp and climb somewhere awesome and beautiful for a bit to let my soul have a quick chat to the earth that seems to have been hidden so long ago in the concrete and tarmac of the dustbowl. Maybe it was the company, maybe it was the orange skirt I wore for my outfit, either way, the weekend was as magical as Emily's invite proclaimed.

It was particularly nice to have people around whom I love, and I could just spend time with and give them a hug when the urge grabbed. It was also nice to go and see some of the stunning little alcoves and waterfalls that fill the berg.

It was also something different to spend the weekend away from Amanda, as this is the first time since we started the game of boys and girls that we have in fact not spent the weekend together. I even tried to turn my phone off for the weekend, to avoid rancid couple cute things, and yet I did end up messaging away on saturday night, before I crawled into bed. We are investing in each other more and more, and the sad thing is it will make leaving johannesburg in Jan (after Mozambique, and xmas by durban) that much harder. But we decided to see if we can pursue a relationship from across the provincial borders.

It is going to be yet another matter to deal with my conservative white family, who have expressed concerns already, but hopefully it will be a positive learning experience for all. If not, i guess that is just Life being Life.

One more thing...I am going to make a concerted effort to start doing more writing exercises on my own, with the eventual product of a book by the end of next year, or sooner. I am already forming an idea of what kind of text I want to lay down, it is now simply a matter of getting a bit of practice, and working through some concepts.

On a related note, I am reading "Everything is illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer, and it is categorically fantastic.

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