Tag Archives: Humour

Languages

Duolingo 1000

Duolingo 1000.

I have just completed 1000 consecutive days learning languages on Duolingo. Hooray!

It’s amazing how it all adds up when you spend a few minutes a day on a task and make it a habit.

So far I have completed the language trees in French, Italian, Spanish and German. I’ve recently started Portuguese, Latin and Navajo, for fun!

Not that I can speak any of these properly, but I do understand a lot more than I did, especially in languages I had never learnt before, obviously.

Now, I have the even harder task of making myself miss a day to re-set the counter back to zero.

Why?

Well, I don’t want to feel that I have to study each day. I do it for fun after all. And to keep the little grey cells going!

Also, despite all this learning, I still only speak two languages fluently: English and Dog!

 

The Dark Ages

Angel Chimes

We have load shedding again! It has been Stage 4 for several days, meaning scheduled power cuts of up to 2 1/2 hours, 3 times in 24 hours.

Last night they announced it was going to Stage 6. There are jokes about this online: namely that at Stage 6 a man from Eskom comes round to your house and blows out your candles!

Mostly people work round the power cuts. Knowing the times beforehand means you can plan to some extent. It is still extremely annoying though. The other night our power went out at midnight and came back on at 2.20 am. The neighbour’s alarm went off both times, waking everyone up!

Your day becomes divided into 2 hour allotments. Either you have power, and watch the clock counting down with anxiety and dread, till it is switched off; which can be anything from on the dot, (mean!) to 13 minutes past the hour, as today, giving you the momentary false hope that maybe they’re not cutting your power!

Or you are sitting in silence and perhaps darkness, anxiously waiting with anticipation for the power to be returned. This can be from 10 past the hour to half past the hour, by which time you are beginning to wonder if they have forgotten about you!

It is not too bad here in Cape Town, as daylight in summer is from 5.30 am to 8 pm. Johannesburg, 1400 km farther north, only has daylight from 5 am to 7 pm. Believe me, they will notice that extra hour of darkness at night!

Also, I feel sorry for those who work online. Even if you do have power, the internet is slow because other places are down. Service providers try to re-route your connection, but there is still a bottleneck.

I even feel sorry for businesses. This time of year they make enough money to see them through the following year. In an already struggling economy, many businesses will fold next year.

Why is the power supply still so bad in South Africa?

Ageing power plants and equipment; poor maintenance and repair;  mis-management; lack of planning.

Well, the purpose of this post (OK I had a good moan!) was just to let my Readers know that I am struggling to keep up with my Blog, especially commenting on yours. So if you don’t hear from me as much as usual, at least now you know why.

– – – – –

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do.”*

*Can you guess who said this and which book it is from?

Sunbeams will be sent to those with the correct answer, which I’ll put in my next post.

 

Hibernation

Sunlight Through Vines 1

Haiku 169

School’s just broken up

Christmas Summer Holidays

Time to hibernate

.

 

The schools here in South Africa have just broken up for their long summer vacation. Holiday makers will descend upon Cape Town in their droves. Even popping to the local shops for bread and milk will become a mission. I stay home as much as possible and only venture out when absolutely necessary. Trips to the beach, forests or mountains, will all have to wait till everyone has gone away again.

Time to hibernate – till mid-January!

 

For a lovely haiku on hibernation, why not check out this post by longingforwater.wordpress.com? Lethargic 

 

Sunday Musings #198

My favourite machine at the gym is the vending machine.

– Caroline Rhea

 

Actually, I don’t go to the gym, as I exercise at home and also get a good workout hacking branches off trees and lugging buckets of grey water around the place etc.

But if I did go to the gym, the vending machine would definitely be my favourite!

 

Sunday Musings #197

It takes real skill to choke on air, fall up the stairs and trip over nothing. I have that skill.

– Unknown

 

Yes, I am gifted that way!

I choke on air quite often. My only excuse is that I have asthma, but I honestly don’t think that is the cause!

I fell upstairs as a school kid. It was an odd experience suddenly to come face to face with the steps. The only injuries sustained were footprints from all the girls behind me, who just carried on walking! Still, it was much better than falling downstairs, which I’ve done a few times.

And it was only the other day that I tripped over nothing. I was walking round the pool and my feet went wrong of their own accord. I managed to right myself before face-planting and fortunately I didn’t fall in the pool – which I have done in the past!!

So, how was your day?

 

Why I Love My New Flip Flops!

Flip Flops 1

Haiku 164

Sparkling on the peg

Calling me across the store

Buy me! Buy me! Buy!

.

Flip Flops 2

My new flip flops have sparkly straps and the moment I saw them in the shop, I knew I had to have them.

Why? Because they took me right back to my childhood and the following story:

When I was a kid I saw some children’s plastic mules for sale in a shop.

They were slip on play shoes, with a high heel, and made of a hard reddish plastic, embedded with spangles.

They glittered and called to me every time I saw them. I would stand in front of the shelf, take them down and caress them lovingly.

Oh how I coveted those sparkly mules.

But Mum said No!

 

Sunday Musings #194

One way to find out if you are old is to fall down in front of a lot of people. If they laugh you’re still young. If they panic and start running to you, you’re old.

– Unknown

 

I’m sure this would be a good indicator of your age!

However, I’m the one laughing every time I trip over nothing or bump into fixtures like a shop pillar – and then apologise to it!

At least I’m young at heart!