My job description...

Here follows some of the tasks I do on a regular basis.  Yes, I did study 4 difficult years to do these specific tasks...

1. Pouring the tea:  I can pour tea and coffee for 25 people in 5 minutes.  I also smile while doing it.
2. I am fully capable of decorating halls for Christmas Lunches, Carols by Candleligth and Valentine's Teas.
3. The above mentioned activity includes:  designing menu's, invitiations, organizing light entertainment in the background, taking food to the tables and removing the plates and dirty glasses, decorating hats and putting them on diferent old people's heads for competitions, and smile the whole time while doing it.
4. I make very difficult choices weekly about the movie that we will show this week...Casablanca/ any Julia Roberts movie/any musical (old) movie or Andre Rieu in some or other country (oh how they never ever get enough of Andre Rieu)
5. I remind people daily what day of the week it is, where they live and sometimes who they are.
6. I sometimes walk with a dog around the facility and see how people's faces light up when they realise there is a dog and it is not just me coming to persuade them to come to OT (for some actual OT groups)
7. I sometimes assist in stock take in the shop, buying Jewish bread for the Shabbath, controlling a jumble sale of clothes, chairs etc of the old people who went to Heaven, as well as anything else you can possilby want me for.
8. I pep talk the porters (who are all above 75 themselves) to convince more people to come to some of the actual OT groups.
9. I pretend to know what I am talking about to OT students every now and then.  I also smile a lot and then they give me chocolates at the end of the block because it was so relaxing and stress free for them.
10. 10% of the day consists of running away from or dodging a lick in the neck from my 90year old stalker.  Fortunately I never need to go convince him to come to my OT groups.
11. 90% of the day I hug and kiss and listen to about a 160 old people, telling me the same stories as the day before, asking me when I am going back to school and saying how sweet it is that I am helping them out in my school holidays and reminding me exactly how much I love old people...
12. Oh yes...and off course I smile continuously while doing all of the above :)

Ek is...

Ek is - sonder dat iemand voel of weet
van my (herinneringlose) bestaan
op my eie afgesonderde
                                    planeet
kyk ek, dink ek...

Ek is die een wat pyn toelaat
om my lewe binne te tree -
wat mageloos kyk hoe donkerte
somtyds insluip en oorneem
- en tog...is ek
en leef ek
en voel ek...

In die niksheid van lief en leed
in die see vol ontwakende (skerwende) drome
waar ek nie regtig leef of asemhaal -
waar my gedagtes afgeskeep en gekelder word
daar waar selfs dit wat vir my dierbaar is -
vreemd word
en ek
`n vreemdeling

Waar kan ek gaan waar jy nie al was
waar is `n plek waar ek nie gaan huil of lag?
Waar ek God sal soek - miskien vind...
en ontwaak uit my diepe slaap,
waar hierdie gesteelde woorde
iemand sal raak en vir `n oomblik laat verstaan
wat en wie
ek is...

Happy 2011 (and soon to be Merry Christmas)

So, it's been a while, I know...But what can I say, I'm a busy (sometimes lazy) girl. Some of the reasons for my absence follow below:

• I have been very busy failing miserably on all the new year's resolutions I've made. This is an extremely difficult task and took me slightly more than a week of January.
• I also got engaged (late December) and started planning a wedding (which by the way is an extremely tiring thing to do. I understand the Afrikaans idiom now much better: "Trou is definitief nie perdekoop nie") I love being engaged, but I think I would prefer eloping in Vegas.
• Further on I have three sets of parents to keep happy (and 3 sets of grandparents if that counts)
• I've been to see U2 - a show so wonderful that it took me more than a month to recover from the total awe and amazement I experienced that night.
• I have worked hard on finding as many reasons as possible to avoid the gym and any kind of exercise. (even though I need a honeymoon body ready by the 5th of November - yikes...)
• I have almost a 160 "children" over 80years old that I take care of on a daily basis.
• I heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
• And hey, I also need to have a bit of fun on the side from time to time.

A very late Happy 2011 to all and may this year be filled with a few more blogs from my side and some random inspiration...(we can only hope)

Always remember: The light at the end of the tunnel, might be an oncoming dragon...