SA Book & Challenge Lovers discussion

Hi guys!

I have been so quite :( Been so busy with uni and stuff.
How is everyone? What is new?

Nice to hear from you! I'm writing exams in 2 weeks' time so should really be studying and not be lurking here at all!

Surviving.

Lolol same here Caroline! But mine is only in a month or so, but 2 assignments till then :(

Good luck with your exams!

Heheh Crusader good to know :)

I have to share that Lauren Beukes thought it was great that we chose her book as the BoM and I quote "Oh that's awesome".

Ooooh yay! I can't wait to read my copy!

Life is so crazy busy :(

I'm still getting used to having to go to work 5 days a week. I also work is shifts and I sometimes have to start as early as 5:30 in the morning and sometimes I have to work till 12:30 at night. Getting used to that is also taking some time. So when I am home I either want to sleep or just read and not do anything else. :)

I know what you mean Barbara! Is work going well at least?

PS: I'll be afk for 1 day

Yes it is! It is a difficult job and it takes some time to learn, but it is going well and they are very happy with me. And more importantly I like doing it.

So happy for you :)

Sigh my life is so busy right now I don't know where to hide my head!

That initial prediction of only reading 30 books a year seems to be coming true!

I can at least report that I wrote my first exam today and it went OK as far as I can tell (this is after I discovered after 5 days of studying last week that I was revising the wrong subject - the one I am writing in 2 weeks time. Somebody mentioned the word stupidity and I could not argue or deny it...). It was the first exam in about 6 years so that's also a bit of a challenge.

Glad it went ok :)
Sigh at least you are more prepared for the one in 2 weeks!

Writing exams after a long time can be really hard :(
Good luck with the rest!

@ Carolien: I always loved exams. Not the actual exam but the studying and the focus everyone had and all the suspense if you failed or passed.
Hope you do well on all your exams!

@Lu: I know. I will have to revise my own goal for this year because as it looks now I won't be able to make it either. I hope I will get used to the odd hours I have to work and that when that happens I will have more energy and time to read and spend more time again with you guys.

I'm sure you'll eventually get used to it and your reading will pick up :) We miss you!

I miss you too!
I had to start at 6:30 the whole week and my shift ended at 15:30. That means I had to get up at 4:30 and got home around 16:15. I then had to do the shopping and cleaning, cook my diner and eat it, spend time with my cats and be in bed by 21:00 to get a more or less normal amount of sleep. So not much time to get some reading done or get behind my computer. Unfortunately my work doesn't leave me time to get online at the office.
I am sure that when I get into a routine this will all get easier and the time I need in the morning and to get to and from work will be less than I need now. For example I walk to and from work which takes me at least 30 minutes now because I am in really bad shape. I already start to notice that I walk faster so I suspect that in future that time will be reduced to 20 minutes. Which will also mean I won't be as tired as I get home. One bonus is that I do walk past my supermarket on my way home so I can do my shopping on the way home.
Ah well I now have three days off so I am indulging myself with doing nothing. Just spending time on my couch reading and updating stuff on Goodreads. :)

At least the rest of us now stand a chance in the challenges! :D

Wow your schedule does sound hectic Barbara! Good luck with it all :)

Oooh 3 days! Yes just relax and read and chat with us :D

Thanks.

Don't get to comfortable. I am trying to figure out ways to get more reading done. Maybe this is the time to look into audiobooks. I have never listened to one. But I might start and instead of listening to music on my ipod when I walk to and from work I might listen to a book. :)
And since there is nothing on the tv tonight I just might turn in early and go to bed with a glass (read bottle) of wine and a nice snack and read till the sun comes up. :)

Yeah it is really hectic. But it is worth it. I really do love my job. It is really challenging and fun to do and the people I work with are really great. The downside to 3 days off is that next weekend I have to work. The weekend after that I again have a 3 day weekend.

What do you do?

I work at a cab company that specialises in people with social, mental or physical handicaps. So for example we drive around a lot of people in wheelchairs.
My job is to coordinate all the cabs and the people they need to pick up. At the busiest time of the day that means I have to coordinate 55 cabs and we might have 130-140 reservations per hour. That might not sound much but these cabs or at least the drivers also need to have a lunchbreak so you never have 55 cabs driving around and even if you have 55 cabs driving around that would mean that you can do about a 100 reservations. Fortunately sometimes we can combine reservations.
And then we have different sort of cabs for different needs and you cannot always send a cab to a certain reservation. Think about the different sizes of wheelchairs, people who have to have a lower car because they can't get in if it is too high, people with guide dogs etc.
Also people can make a reservation up to an hour before they need a cab. So that means that it is a fly by your pants kind of thing. You cannot plan ahead too much.
So it is really challenging but very fullfilling.

WOW, that is a busy life!!

Yeah, but it is great fun and fortunately the computer helps a lot with making suggestions which cab might be suitable. Unfortunately the computer is only right about half the time. So you always need to check and make the final call.
You also get called a lot by drivers who have trouble finding a client or have some other issue which you have to solve right there and then.
But yeah it is a busy life and that is why I am really tired when I get home and I don't feel like reading too much. I suspect when I get used to the work it won't take as much out of me as it does now and my energy level will be better.

Enjoy your bottle of wine, snack and reading :D

There is a saying in the US Army that amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics, which is exactly what you are doing! I spent last year dealing with trucks picking up maize on farms and delivering it to millers and this sounds easily as complicated! I am writing one more paper on Monday and then I'm done for tis semester.

Good luck with Monday Carolien!

Wow, Barbara, your job sounds fantastic . . . but stressful. I can see why you love it so much. And walking to work - you are so lucky. I hate my commute . . .

My new job (I have been back at work for the first week now) is peanuts compared to yours. I work on the computer the whole time. We have a kind of "work-flow" that directs work to a "production line" which you access with your computer. You get an amount of "incidents" that you have to complete on a day. Compared to my previous jobs this is really a very relaxing job for me. I enjoy not being in charge of a group of people and just working on my "own" for a chance. Must less stress.

My boss have already "tested the waters" to hear if I would be interested if my 6 month contract might be extended to a permanent position. I am not sure about that yet . . .

@Lu: I really did enjoy my snack and reading and wine. Might do it again tonight! And can't wait till tomorrow when I am going to take a long bath with more or less the same arrangements.

@Carolien: Thanks and good luck on Monday!

@Chrizette: I am lucky I can walk to work, although there is this little punk that won't leave me alone. He is a kid of about 10 years old and is always throwing stuff at me and calling me names. I got so angry last time when he threw a ball at my back I threw his ball in the river. Fortunately I don't see him every day, but it is annoying.

Just take your time deciding if you want the permanent position. However it sounds like the perfect job for right now after all the drama of the last couple of months. You still get to work but it is easy enough so that it won't stress you out. You can always look for something more demanding later on. ;)

Exams went well, thanks for everybody's good wishes.

That sounds as if you are appreciated Chrizette! It depends on circumstances I suppose what you want to do at any stage. Glad to hear you're well and back at work.

Love the sound of the wine and snack Barbara. I've got a friend coming around soon so that we can do some work, but I am hauling out some wine to ease the process. What kind of wine do you prefer?

I don't have a lot of knowledge about wines, but I prefer a nice sweet (but not too sweet unless it is an ice wine) white wine. Preferably from Australia, Chile or South Africa. You guys produce some great wines. For some reason I am not too fond of European wines.

Sometimes you just need to spoil yourself. Even if it takes some preparation, it is wort it! I hope you and your friend have a fruitfull and enjoyable evening!

#Barbara - oh no, so sorry that you have an annoying "harassment-problem". It sounds really frustrating . . .

I wasn't really planning on staying longer than my six months. Just wanted to pay for new laptops and a new coffee machine (hubby's latest obsession - but I will admit it is growing on me too). But Morne and I are discussing a "career change" for him, so I might stay on just to ease the money-issue for a while.
I don't mind being at the bottom of the "food chain" - I have never really been career-orientated and am enjoying not being in a management position. This job is easy but repetitive and boring - so I just put on my earphones and the day go past quickly.

@Carolien I think they were desperate to find an "old hand" - someone with the background of the business. I was lucky that they thought of me :)

It is annoying, but it is only a child and I am a bit at a loss what to do about it. I don' know his name, don't know his parents so what can I do!? I just hope he looses interest.

Any job that is paid is a good job. We can't all be doing the same job. And you know what you are working for so that makes it all even more worthwhile.

Okay, I have something to share that will make you guys laugh out loud :)

This morning on my way to work (about 20 minutes after I left home), the little seat belt alarm starting going off in my car. Then stopped . . . then started again . . . all the way to work with it blaring on and off. Off course I was annoyed and immediately phoned the salesman at the car dealership. He is great btw - they collected the car immediately and it went through the computer tests. Everything is fine.

It turns out there are little sensors somewhere in the seats and even when something small (like my handbag) are on the right spot on the seat, it thinks someone is in the seat and alerts you that the seat belt is not being used. lol

That might be their explanation. You just don't know that you are operating a ghost taxi service!

Crusader wrote: "That might be their explanation. You just don't know that you are operating a ghost taxi service!"

Hey! lolol

Lolol yea ghosts can be tricky :nod:

LoL - enough with the ghosts, guys! You are going to make me twitchy when driving (especially in the dark!).

I have another smile-worthy anecdote. Tonight I drove home for a while behind a little Chevy Spark. Except for the usual Mom, Dad, Boy and Girl "my family stickers", she also had two dogs, two cats, a parrot and a mouse :) It took up the whole length of the window - lol

Lol some of those stickers are really funny.

I wonder if there is a rabbit one?

Lu (Sugar & Snark) wrote: "Lol some of those stickers are really funny.

I wonder if there is a rabbit one?"

If there is a parrot and mouse, I am sure there will be a rabbit.

That's a cutie, Claudia.

Personally, I think you can go too far with the stickers . . . lol

I only have two doggies on mine. my link text

OMG I need to get a BUNNY!!!!

Love your doggies one Chriz :)

Thank you, Lu - will keep an eye out for a bunny one.

Or do you know where we can get one, Claudia?

Lu, there is a bunny! We have one on our car.

I'm going to check for one when I go to the shops :nod:

We got ours at cardies but CNA also has a range

I found my doggies at a little tourist shop on the way to Mossel Bay, so they are EVERYWHERE :) Hope you get one soon, Lu :)

Thanks guys!