DAY 15

For the past few years Lisa has set herself a challenge: to run every day, come rain or shine, for x number of days. The x number of days depends on how old she is going to be. So this year she will be 36; so 36 days prior to her birthday she begins this challenge and challenges friends to join her.

It is quite hard to do this – there is stuff to do and you end up juggling things to make sure you can run every day. Lisa knows a guy in Hong Kong who has run every day for the past 15 years - isn't that totally amazing?

This year I took up the challenge. I am not running, only walking and really getting into the swing of it - it is now 15 days of walks every day. And I must confess, getting a tad obsessive about it. I said to Lisa the other day that while we are in transit in Abu Dhabi we can do a quick speed walk around the transit area for an hour! We finish the challenge in Ireland on the 18^th June – Lisa birthday and we will probably carry on walking everyday for a bit after that.

Someone commented that I shouldn’t find this difficult having walked every day for 6+ weeks on the Camino last year with a lot more mileage everyday than I am doing now…but all I had to do then was walk every day. Back home one has to deal with TIME…fitting everything in. It gets difficult.

And the thing that keeps me going? Well, there is nothing like a challenge, a mission, a goal to keep you focused.

What I like about art

Whilst this Zuma art thing is a hot topic I thought I would put some of my thoughts and feelings down about ‘what I like about art’.

When I stand in front of a Caravaggio I want to weep and sometimes have wept. The first time I visited Sainte Chapelle in Paris I sobbed very loudly and just the thought of the place brings on the tears. When I gaze up at Victory my heart stops…. my jaw is on the ground and my knees turn to jelly when I stand in front of Monet’s water lilies…..

I also love things that amuse me and make me laugh. I love the idea of an every day object being used as art….the pictures below of a good old clothes peg and a couple of fried eggs amuse me no end and I could just kick myself that when I owned a lovely white carpet I didn’t throw some yellow cushions on it….And the clothes peg – well, if my garden was big enough I would have one.

But back to the furore over the Zuma painting; I first heard about it on 702 news whilst driving home after work. I think ‘guffaw’ is the right word to describe my reaction, I guffawed, and then had lots of chuckles and giggles and I hadn’t even seen the painting! I found the idea of this painting really funny and was (am) especially amused by the reaction from the ruling party.

So in a discussion over lunch with friends yesterday I listened really patiently while Fred expounded on the respect that should be given to the office of the president blah blah blah. But I can’t go with this argument anymore – if the office wants respect from me then it should up the ante a bit, actually quite a lot, and then it might get the nod. And the president – well, as far as I am concerned he should have been completely naked in the painting - he asked for this…hahahaha. Yeah for Brett Murray and the Goodman Gallery – thanks for the laugh!

You just have to enter

Do you know that I recently won 2 return tickets to Ireland?….Yip I did. I entered a competition just before Christmas and they phoned me on the 13^th January, which co-incidentally was a Friday, to give me the good news. So, this time in 4 weeks Lisa and I should be at ORT waiting to board our plane. My little stash of air miles paid for the car hire so I feel the whole transport thing is a nice tidy free gift. We are spending 18 days there; will do a lot of hiking and walking and Lisa will participate in a 24 hour Rogainne at a place just south of Dublin. And we get to meet some long lost Irish cousins. It is going to be a good holiday.

So how / why did I enter this competition? I heard the ad on the radio on my way into work and thought “that sounds good”. Did a quick entry via their website and thought no more about it. I guess someone had to be a winner and the lucky winner was me – but only because I entered and the rest was really up to chance!

Anyway: this morning a lady phoned me to tell me that I have won yet another prize….this time a huge hamper of anti-aging beauty products valued at quite a substantial amount of money – and let me tell you that with a milestone birthday coming up, it is most welcome.

So how /why did I enter this competition? Well I saw the ad on a magazine and thought ”could sure do with some of that” and did a quick entry via the internet and thought no more about it.

When I told my boss about this today he said ”Liz, take money from petty cash and go and buy some lotto tickets” and he meant it. However, I will take my own money and buy the tickets – I am not sure of legal aspects of buying with the company money – I mean who owns the winnings then? Hmmmm.

Lucky me!

I really don’t enter many competitions. I only enter a competition if I like the prize… I mean what the heck would I do with a lawn mower or a braai or a new fangled oven glove? I just wouldn’t dream of having something like that, but something like free air tickets and anti-aging products (hope they work) are right up my street.

Over the past 18 months – 2 years I have won the following prizes: a complete set of crystal wine glasses for just about every conceivable type of wine invented – each set for 4 people. A really enormous, just about 5 ton ceramic bowl that takes up just about the entire dinning room table – well it did until my domestic worker somehow managed to let it fall off the table. A designer bottle of Evian water – bottle is really lovely – the water…well was water! (in this instance I did enter the competition for the bottle). And worst of all there are a couple of other little things that I can’t remember. I liked the prizes so I entered the competition.

I don’t by the way, win every competition I enter….I didn’t win amazing sewing machines valued at R40,000 for example; despite or maybe because of, sending in about 3,000 entries…only kidding, but I did send in a lot more than 1 entry for that one.

The moral of the story is: if you don’t enter you cant win…as with most things in life (just thought I would tag that last bit on *grin*)

Tomorrow I am going to buy a fistful of lotto tickets…you just never know.