A sum up of the past 6 months

The past 6 months have been extremely busy and eventful and have left me with little time for blogging. Time seems to fly so quickly and when I look back I realise how much things have changed since I've stopped to catch my breath. These are some of the highlights:

1. One of the highlights of the past 6 months for me has been my psychology studies. I did a module on abnormal psychology and in short it teaches us how to diagnose and recognise mental abnormalities. This is everything from severe mental disorders to personality disorders to substance abuse to childhood disorders. It was one of the most exciting and at the same time, one of the most sad things I have read about.
There have been people I've known for many, many years where I've known that something was not quite right but I didn't know what was wrong and after this module, I was able to understand their behaviour a lot better and felt more able to cope with how I react to their behaviour.

2. I don't write too much detail about my psychology modules because a. we are taught how to analyse things in context and b. how to critically evaluate things and not just read that if Timmy has a sore thumb and Timmy insists on eating chocolate ice-cream twice a week it must mean that Timmy is insane. So if you read a book on abnormal psychology don't run around and decide that every second person, yourself possibly included, has a major psychological problem. I'm just saying.

3. Sort of on the topic of abnormal psych but not quite, Pudding, our Husky pup, has bouts of severe anxiety and will be too scared to do things like climb the stairs and I end up picking up this 30kg dog like a cat and carrying her up the stairs. We always have a chat about it first though with her making her objections to being pressured to climb the stairs or at my picking her up. Eventually she either manages to work up the courage to run up the stairs or else she sits in front of me and gives a little jump when I bend down to pick her up. My arms have become significantly stronger from all of this and so I suppose that is the highlight of the story. I do enjoy the chats with Pud though, she's very entertaining. If you're someone who visits us, please do be warned that if anyone "pinches" your bum, it's not us, it's Puddy. She is obsessed with giving people, strangers in particular, a little nip on the bum. It's not sore but it is somewhat unnerving for those who think that it's us!

4. In other highlights, my best friend had a baby not so long ago and while I didn't get to spend more than a few hours with them before they emigrated to the Isle of Man, it was still fabulous to spend time with Bran and to meet little Isabelle considering that she'll be quite a few years older by the next time I manage to see her.

5. I met some lovely and some very interesting people recently. I seldom really connect deeply with people instantly but every now and then I do and I met two people that I've had that with in the past 6 months and while I won't see them very often, I'm so happy to have met them and will be sure to make the effort to stay in contact. Please note that interesting only means interesting in the true sense of the word at times with me. The rest of the time it means downright weird or awful. I only commented on the lovely people though as the interesting people weren't interesting enough to comment on if you know what I mean.

6. Joining dancing again. I haven't yet but I have found a suitable studio and will definitely be joining this month again. I cannot wait to get dance-fit again and meet some new people.

7. The decision to move. We are moving house as our neighbour, who is a bit old and grumpy, has decided that Pudding's conversations with Fatty and Gubbels and the children swimming in the pool next door, are not entertaining for her at all. Let this be a warning to anyone who thinks that Huskies are beautiful and cute, etc They are all of those things but they are not quiet. They don't bark but they do "talk" (look on Youtube if you don't know what I mean). While I love our home, it would be nicer for the dogs to have a bigger garden and it would help us if we had enough space for our furniture , which we don't now. We'll rent our current place out to tenants and then find somewhere to move to.

8. I have taken a big step in the right direction career-wise and have found a job at a psychology practice. I am most excited about this and cannot wait to learn all about how things are done and run in this sort of environment.

9. The smoke alarm is going off and nobody is running. How interesting.

10. One of my close friends in Cape Town became a mom with another one following close behind.

11. I have discovered the most amazing biscuits! They are called "Jaffa cakes" and they only stock them at one Spar that I've found. They are not cheap but they such amazing little pieces of yumminess that they are worth every penny. They're like a soft sponge with an orange filling covered by a dark chocolate top. Nom nom nom!

12. I have discovered skin anaesthetic. I needed to have some blood work done a few months ago to test for appendicitis and while most times I would just say "No way, you're not sticking any needles in me! Goodbye!" I knew that I'd have to have the test done in case it was serious.
I went to the pharmacist and explained my dilemma through my tears and I asked her for some herbal tranquilizers to calm myself down. It was then that she suggested that I buy this tiny tube of cream to numb my skin and that's exactly what I did and I felt...NOTHING! Like seriously, nothing! It does take an hour to kick in so if you're thinking of going that route, put it on before you even go to the Dr.

A possible case of spontaneous human combustion?

While I understand that spontaneous human combustion is not possible in the sense of someone just suddenly bursting into flames without being doused in some sort of flammable substance at the very least, I am starting to question if there may not be an exception to this rule.

From what I understand from Science Fiction movies and novels is that often the victims of this phenomenon are usually highly emotionally aroused. By aroused, I mean angry, irritated, excited, etc. Arousal like a waking, nothing sexual. Anyway, so the more excitable the victim becomes, the more likely they are to burst into flames and, possibly, even downright explode.

So how do you tell if you need to run for a bucket of water for your BFF who's starting to pour with sweat when it's snowing outside? Well the sweat aside, something has to tick them off or make them excitable in some manner. Should they reach a point of no apparent return, they will start to turn a bright shade of red. They might also flap their arms wildly and make noises that resemble a turkey's frantic pleas before being slaughtered for Christmas lunch. It can easily be mistaken for choking except that they won't be gasping for air in between squawks. At this point it's best to pour that entire bucket full of water/ice/sand over your BFF and wait to see the results. If they get even more excitable but don't burst into flames, there's probably something else wrong and maybe it's time to seek medical attention. Or run. Especially if they're armed or have a history of violent behaviour.

It seems to take a while to get to that point of actually bursting into flames though so if your BFF has only started with the symptoms, you're probably safe for a good while. Maybe buy a fire retardent jacket though, just in case.

The key to avoiding this altogether though is to avoid people prone to extreme outbursts of emotion. Aside from the fact that they might perhaps have a psychological problem (more on this in my next post tomorrow) they may cause you much discomfort if you're too close by when they spontaeously combust. Nobody likes the smell of singed hair.

So make friends with people whose faces only go really red when they're sunburnt or have got a bit carried away with their beetroot salad, not with people who get extremely upset for absolute nonsense.

The start of telepathy after 6 and a half months of marriage.

It is said that after years and years of marriage, the communication between partners could almost be completely non-verbal. She looks over at him and he just gets up and does the circus dance he knows she's dying to see. Or he looks over at her and she gets up and gets a butter knife to file his toenails because she knows how much he loves it.

So Al and I have been married for just over 6 months and well, we can't claim to be at that stage yet. Primarily because he just doesn't enjoy dancing and likes to cut his own toenails but also because, well, those things need to be earned. We are at the "babe..." followed by "Yes, I'll make coffee now" stage. It's a great stage to be at. You never have to actually say "Are you making coffee?" or "Will you make coffee, please?" It saves time and energy and vocal chords.

A bedtime story

Onceuponatime there was a Small Man who lived in a shack. He didn't have much money because he couldn't get a decent job because he'd dropped out of school and had never finished. One day the Small Man went to a pub and met a woman there who was completely different to anyone he'd ever met before. She acted like a man, looked a bit like a man and had the same interests as men do. The Small Man was so lonely because people generally didn't like him that he decided to put a collar around the woman and take her home as a pet. The Small Man taught his pet woman how to make coffee and do simple tricks. But he was still sad because he couldn't find a job and so he started eating everything he could find in the hopes that it would make him feel better about himself. He ate the soap and the mattress and the bread in the cupboard and the yoghurt in the fridge. Heck, he even ate the fridge door. It didn't make him feel any better though, all it did was make him fat. So now he was sad, unemployed, lonely and fat. He spoke to his pet woman but she was far more interested in juggling oranges and just listened now and then when the man looked upset and screamed at her to make coffee. But wait! The Small Man did have a friend! He just didn't treat the friend that way. To the Small Man, he had nothing in common with this friend, they just went places together now and then. So one day, the Small Man and his pet woman invited themselves around to the friends house. The friend said "Hey Small Man, I know you don't have a job. I know of a job for you where they won't even care whether you have finished school or not. All you need to do is tolerate that they are drug addicts." The Small Man was excited. It paid more money than he'd ever earned before and that was really the most important thing in the Small Mans life. When the Small Man started his new job, the boss was very nasty to him and called him fat and told everyone that the Small Man was on drugs. The Small Mans friend heard about it and told the Small Mans boss that the Small Man was not on drugs at all. The friend got into trouble for this but it didn't matter because the friend had integrity and had a sense of loyalty to the Small Man and knew that the Small Man was not on drugs at all. The Small Man wanted to leave and said "Friend! You must leave too!" but the friend said "I wish I could but I can't just leave Small Man, I won't be able to buy food if I leave." This made the Small Man very angry because he didn't care about anyone but himself but he kept quiet and didn't leave. The Small Man started telling the friend every day how his pet woman didn't want to marry him but how he'd sort of found a way around it by forcing her to have a commitment ceremony, like a fake wedding. This meant that they would not really be married at all but would get lots of presents. The Small Man said it was better because he would lose too much money if he married his pet woman anyway. The friend could see quite clearly why the pet woman didn't want to marry the Small Man but it was up to the Small Man to find out why so the friend just kept quiet. The Small Man also told the friend many, many things about how awful his life was when growing up and the friend realised that this Small Man was looking for pity and not to rise above the bad things and change the circumstances and make a success of his life. When the Small Man did not receive enough pity, he started to get angry and nasty to the friend. The Small Man tried to bully the friend and force the friend to do whatever he wanted and the more the friend stood up to him, the nastier the Small Man became. One day the Small Man's boss said to the Small Man "Small Man, I don't like your friend anymore. I will pay you to kill your friend." and so the Small Man said "Ok" and killed the friend with a big knife in the back. The Small Man went home and lied to his pet woman and told her that he'd had to kill the friend out of self-defence. The pet woman, blowing on her toenails, looked up with her bruised and battered face and said "La la la la, potato chips are nice" because she'd sustained a head injury after her last beating for making bad coffee and it was all that she could say. Perhaps the Small Man was on drugs afterall. The end.

Pudding

So I swapped these duckies mentioned further down there for a gorgeous husky pup and named her Pudding. She has had a couple of trips to the vet due to a very irratible stomach but that aside, she is full of life and has so much character. Pudding was an instant hit with the other two doggies and the three cause all sorts of mischief together and take up a lot of space on the bed which prompted me to buy Pudding her own bed and to teach her to sleep on this bed next to ours so that we could turn over and such and not lie in bed unable to move in case we knocked someone off the bed. So far, it's working wonderfully and it even leaves space for a cat to join us, if they so desire.

Quest for a duck

This morning I stumbled upon the need for a duck. I already had the use of 4, thanks to Mel, but I needed one more. At this point I cannot divulge why I needed the ducks as it would result in me getting into trouble. I have found the duck and will be getting into trouble anyway but sometimes, you need to make these small sacrifices for the greater good. I am not keeping the ducks but they will be going to a very happy home where they will be kept as pets and never get eaten. So in essence, it's a helpful thing I'm doing; I'm helping Mel rehome her ducks, I'm helping a lady start her mini-farm and I'm helping myself by gaining something out of it. I will post on Monday to let you know what I got. I may be homeless and on the streets as punishment but I'm sure it'll only be for a week or two ;)

Newnarb, Sbag, Nala and Yaj and a random something else.

The first part of this won't make sense except to that person who did a search for "PYC1502" and came across my blog: Don't read too much into it. And don't speak to too many other students about it because all the analysis will confuse you. It's more straightforward than you think. Just know your work REALLY well and then apply the analysis to your scenario and you'll do well. Good luck!PYC1502, I mean, not my blog. My blog should generally not be analysed, it's just rubbish mostly and if you analyse it, you will be very confused. I have notes if you need: 34984496@mylife.unisa.ac.za (once again, on PYC1502)

O.k, now onward: These people were part of a discussion of how other people see you and how close it is to how you see yourself. This after I read a post about myself written by a friend and it was quite surprising as to how whacked I seemed to someone else! Funny though. So to those people, here are my thoughts on you:

Newnarb

Newnarb can be described in two ways. One is more relevant to years ago and one more relevant to now with flickers of the first one cropping up now and then.
Newnarb has always been a bit on the introverted side. Not unhealthily so though, just not the person who goes screaming and streaking at parties. She used to have moments of doing very strange things like drinking shampoo and adding carbonation to coffee. That was in her wilder days.
Newnarb is very hard on herself because that's how she's been taught to be towards herself because almost everyone else she knows is too. Be it in her work life, her home life or her other relationships, she's expected to give a lot. The thing is, she's just so good at it. She'd do well to take a breather though.
She has two and a half halflings who she devotes much of her time and attention to and it leaves her feeling exhausted at times but she keeps going and is there for those who need her. A very good mom. She loves easily and is empathetic and has a good sense of humour. She's the sort of friend you can ball your eyes out to or sit and laugh at absolutely nothing.

Sbag


Sbag is quite a character. He's one of those people who also pushes himself a lot more than he should. He pushes himself to have so much balance in his life that it almost causes unbalance, which is sort of funny. He's the guy you have to book 2 months in advance lest he be off on a garden snail hunt or some other such interesting adventure. He has a terrific sense of humour but can be very serious when needed. If you have amusing ideas of what should happen to nasty people, he's the person you'd share it with. He sort of adds fuel to the fire but all in jest. A very deep and genuinely good person who goes between embracing his humanity fully and rejecting it fully. I've never cried in front of him really, once on the phone, but not someone you can display too much intense emotion to without making him rather uncomfortable.

Nala

Nala likes to pretend that he's so tough and serious and has no feelings but he's one of the sweetest and softest people I've ever met. I will probably be killed now so I'll stop there xxx

Yaj

Yaj is an unusal sort of fellow. Yaj has not completely unique ideas but ideas that a lot of general society would not understand or agree with. This has lead to many an argument but it's always interesting and there's no ill-intent meant from either side. In fact, the fact that I can argue with Yaj is one of the things I like most about him. He has a spine, a viewpoint and he'll listen to mine and will state his and we'll argue but we're always friends and don't try and imposethe beliefs on each other. O.k, perhaps I do a little but I'm trying not to. Yaj needs cooking lessons. Yaj has a great sense of humour and general love of life and informal knowledge and people. He's extremely introverted and constantly on the lookout for new ways to help him to get out of his shell more.