So is die lewe...

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

Dit is seker die mees belangrike ding om te onthou as mens in die catering business werk... alhoewel mens nie altyd kan se wat jy wil nie, want dan is jy net dalk minus 'n job. Vanaand dit weer goed ondervind met 'n klomp fussy en ongeskikte mense wat my lekker laat rondhol het. Ek begin al hoe meer glo in die volgende gesegde (ek weet ongelukkig nie wie dit gese het nie):

"Someone who is nice to you, but nasty to the waiter, is not a good person."

Mmm, laat mens nogal wonder ne?

A quote by a very special person that I miss a lot...

Do you know anything about orchids? No? Then know this, red orchids are very rare. My neighbour gave me one; and it is wonderful.

Lawrence Edwin Jay
14 March 1944 - 2 October 2006

Much-loved and sadly missed breakfast chef at the Aztec Hotel for the last 15 years...

Terry's Wisdom...

There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!
Terry Pratchett, The Truth

Ah... life...

He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.
- Douglas Adams "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

I love you, hate you, love you, hate you...

Everyone has brilliant times and baaaaaad times at work. Although I (manage to) enjoy my job most of the time (which I see as EXTREMELY important, otherwise, when you totally hate your job, you start hating your life, in a way... or at least wishing your life away...) But today was one of those days. Everything went wrong because of the stupidity of co-workers (really, nothing that happened was my fault!) but it still managed to reflect badly on me. SIGH...

Lysie van goed wat ek nog wil doen... eendag...

Hier volg 'n lysie van die goed wat ek die graagste wil doen in die volgende x aantal jare. Ek weet nie of ek die tyd of die moed sal he om alles te doen nie, maar ek sal beslis probeer! (Adam, my lysie hou nie by 5 op nie, want ekt te veel goed... maar dankie vir die idee!!)

1. Valskerm spring en/of skydive

2. Ordentlik leer perdry

3. Die Otter Staproete in die Kaap stap

4. Diepsee duik

5. My eie restaurant begin

6. Die Bybel deurlees (Hmmm, het al 'n paar keer begin...)

7. Leer om te Tango

8. 'n Boek publiseer

9. 'n Ordentlike wynkursus doen

10. Die Lord of the Rings Triology deurlees (Het dit alreeds gekoop maar op die oomblik sit dit net op my rak en mooi lyk... haha)

11. Leer Saksefoon, viool en kitaar speel

12. In 'n lugballon ry

13. 'n Lang fietsry kompetisie doen, verkieslik die een wat in die karoo begin en in Knysna eindig

14. 'n Ragdoll kat koop

15. 'n Professionele fotografie kursus doen

(ok, daars nog, maar ek sal maar eers hierby volstaan)

En nou vra julle seker... WAAR kom die naam vandaan?

Poppetjie Mabalel, of om meer spesifiek te wees: Die reisjare van Poppetjie Mabalel...

En dit die naam van iemand wat glad nie met 'dom blonde poppies' wil vergelyk word nie. Maar HIERDIE Poppetjie is darem iets heeltemal anders. Het al meer as 'n jaar terug begin, toe ek, Andries, Adam en Adam se Ma afgery het na KKNK 2005. Adam se ma het my begin Poppetjie noem, en ek is nie meer mooi seker nie, maar ek dink amper dis Andries wat met die Mabalel begin het... Die 'reisjare' deel kom van die titel van 'n boek wat bietjie aangepas is vir ons eie gebruik. Die 'reis' was natuurlik die avontuur na die KKNK...

Het baie spesiale memories van daardie vakansie!! En die naam het net eenvoudig ge'stick' in hierdie vriende-kringetjie.

En toe dog ek dis van pas vir die naam van my blog wat stukkies van my 'reis' deur die lewe uitbeeld... Soos ek gese het in die vorige post... Life is a rollercoaster... Dis die reisjare van Poppetjie Mabalel!

Life is a rollercoaster...

... just gotta ride it. Hmmm, as dit maar net so maklik was! My emosies is deesdae soos 'n rollercoaster: op en af teen een moerse spoed. Begin vandag in 'n vrek goeie bui, en toe ek vanaand huis toe loop is ek sommer tranerig en ek weet nie eers mooi hoekom nie. En dis nie net geite nie. Nee.

Dink die grootste issue op die oomblik is hoe lank ek nog in Engeland kan bly. Ek is mal oor surprises, maar nie as dit met sulke groot goed te doen het nie. Ek wil 'n dag en datum he, nie so moet wonder of dit nog een maand of drie maande gaan wees nie. Vir een of ander rede is ek nog nie 'reg' om huis toe te gaan nie. Dit is seker omdat ek nou my 'peak' tyd hier by die Aztec Hotel het, en nie nou wil uit en weg nie. Ek is 'n baie belangrike stukkie in die puzzle deesdae, al moet ek dit self se.

Aan die ander kant verlang ek regtig baie na my mense, my kultuur, LEKKER kos en ORDENTLIK dans. Maar op 'n manier weet ek dit sal maar altyd daar wees wanneer ek ook al sal terug gaan, maar as Engeland verby is, dan is dit VERBY. Of ek nou wil of nie. En ek WIL NIE!

As ek kon bly, sou ek beslis 'n manager geword het, hoe hartseer is dit nie om DIT te moet dink nie. En dan voel dit ook asof ek die hotel in die steek gaan laat wanneer ek weggaan, alhoewel EK weet en HULLE weet ek moet gaan.

Dink daar gaan baie trane stort in die tydjie wat kom...

SUG...

'n Lysie van eerste sinne...

Nog ‘n tagging game! Krap op jou boekrak rond en soek interessante begin sinne van boeke… ek hou hiervan!!

Hier is my resultate (alhoewel my bronne baie beperk is aangesien 99% van die boeke wat ek besit in SA is, en ek aan die ander kant van die aardbol sit…)

1. “The Morris dance is common to all inhabited worlds in the multiverse.”
Reaper Man – Terry Pratchett

2. “The story of how I paid for college begins like life itself – in a pool of water.”
How I Paid For College – Marc Acito

3. “It was the evening on which MM. Debienne and Poligny, the managers of the Opera, were giving a last gala performance to mark their retirement.”
The Phantom of the Opera – Gaston Leroux

4. Adult editors of children’s books
If you must follow the adventures of a public school conjuror, even though you are a) notionally a grown adult, and b) have probably been to university or at least to ‘big school’, why attempt to conceal the fact behind a different cover, as if fellow passengers will assume after a casual glance that you’re actually reading Thomas Mann in the original German?
Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit? The Encyclopedia of Modern Life – Steve Lowe & Alan McArthur

5. “Vyftien jaar lank het ek, Silas Miggel, in vrede op die platrand by Gouna gewoon.”
Moerbeibos – Dalene Matthee

6. Estragon (giving up again) Nothing to be done.
Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett

Poppetjie Mabalel... die uwe

Tagging game...

"I’ve stumbled upon a tagging-game – listing 20 random facts about yourself and then tagging a bunch of people to do the same."

1. Ek is die laatlammetjie en enigste dogter in ons gesin.

2. Ek is een van die grootste kat-liefhebbers wat ek ken.

3. Ek is verslaaf aan lees en is altyd besig met een of meer boeke, maak nie saak hoe besig my lewe is nie.

4. Ek is GLAD NIE 'n oggend mens nie, maar kan met gemak elke oggend vier uur gaan slaap.

5. Musiek is my lewe, ek het een van die wydste musieksmaake waarvan ek weet.

6. Ek is mal oor psychological thrillers, hoe weirder en meer complicated, hoe beter.

7. Ek is 'n totale "people's person".

8. Ek is 'n regte ou "softy" en gee soms te veel om vir mense en kry daarom baie keer seer.

9. My "indulgence" is sjokolade, veral Belgiese en Switzerse sjokolade.

10. Ek kan nog nie bestuur nie en dit pla my, maar my lewe was nog altyd te besig om tyd te vind vir leer.

11. Ek kan baie goed fietsry met 'los hande', en ek is nogal trots op die feit.

12. Ek hou meer van catering as wat ek ooit gedroom het ek sal, en wil dus 'n restaurant oopmaak eendag.

13. Ek is mal oor fotografie en neem oor die algemeen heeltemal te veel foto's.

14. Die kleur van my oe hang baie van my "mood" asook die kleur klere wat ek dra af, hulle wissel tussen groenerig/bruinerig/blouerig/gryserig met goue spikkels om die pupil.

15. Ek is 'n totale "romantic at heart", maar dis nie baie goed vir my nie.

16. Ek haat roetine.

17. Ek word al hoe meer perfeksionisties hoe ouer ek word.

18. Ek is verslaaf aan dans, dis nou "ordentlike" dans soos two-step ens. My rekord is omtrent 12 ure se non-stop dans.

19. Ek word omtrent altyd 4 jaar jonger geskat as wat ek werklik is, en haat dit as mense op jou neerkyk omdat jy volgens hulle nog "jonk en dom" is.

20. Ek hou nie van grimering en opdress nie en doen dit net met BAIE spesiale geleenthede.

Tickle's Inkblot test - Baie interessant, kliek op hierdie titel om dit ook te doen...

Madeleine: Your unconscious mind is driven most by SELF-PROTECTION.

By having your unconscious mind driven most by Self-protection, it appears that you've developed a kind of shield to keep you from either experiencing or expressing strong emotions. This barrier might have formed due to some hurtful situation in your past, or perhaps it's simply your way of minimizing discord and pain. Because of this trait, you can typically keep your cool during arguments. As a result, you're not likely to say hurtful things that you'll have to apologize for later. Unlike many people, you're not normally one to fly off the handle. In fact, people with a heightened drive for self-protection often shy away from conflict and can become a bit numb toward others when forced into confrontational situations. As one with this unconscious drive, you might find that you tend to intellectualize emotional issues rather than becoming upset or overwrought. This can be a way of distancing yourself from painful feelings.Self-protection is a coping technique that can be helpful to you at times when you're forced to deal with distressing incidents like arguments, breakups, or loss. However, by not fully expressing your emotions in sad times, you might forget to express them in happy ones. People who become emotionally shutdown risk missing out on life's upside. In tough times, try to remember that you're likely stronger and more resilient than you give yourself credit for. By being willing to fully engage in the good and bad of life, you can give each day more depth, meaning, and color.

Your responses to the inkblots reveal more than just what drives your unconscious mind. They also uncover some central details about your personality, perspective, and relationships with others. Your unconscious mind colors these characteristics but is different from them. Here's what your responses indicated:

Your concept of reality

Your concept of reality is highly similar to that of others but not an exact match. Your perceptions seem to fall in between those who create their own unique realities and those who possess more mainstream perspectives. Because you straddle that middle ground of being in agreement with others and having your own opinions of the world, you can be both a follower and a leader. You can be a follower in the sense that you probably don't have trouble going along with the group most times since others' ideas will usually seem rational to you. You can be a leader because your creative viewpoints may sometimes allow you to guide others in new directions.
The difficulty for people like you is that at times you may feel pulled between taking the popular viewpoint and accepting your own vision of what is right. Because your concept of reality is rarely off the deep end, you can generally feel confident that there's something valid in your perspectives. Even if others don't always share your views, try not to let the masses talk you out of them. There can sometimes be great value in forging your own path. Finding a healthy balance between others' ideas and your own can be key to both your relationships and success.

Your mental flexibility

This section looks as the flexibility of your opinions, values, and perspective. To determine your result, Tickle's experts examined both the fluidity of your thinking and the rigidity of your opinions.
Based on your responses, compared to most people, your thinking is highly flexible. When someone challenges your values or opinions, you're one of those rare types who are usually willing to sit back and listen. People like you tend to enjoy this kind of intellectual sparring and may even welcome the opportunity to examine and reexamine your views. Those around you probably appreciate this willingness to consider others' ideas, rather than always thinking your perspective is the right one and trying to convince everyone else of the same. Being open to fresh viewpoints is an admirable quality.
In addition, flexibility can be paramount to fast learning. This is true because unless you're able to question what you already believe, it's difficult to believe in something new. By being open-minded, you're more likely to make your life into a kind of schoolroom for constant learning. People who don't have this skill can become stuck in the rut of their viewpoints and may fail to grow and develop as well as you can.

You Level of Fantasy

Some people fantasize nearly nonstop, others rarely do, and the majority of people fall somewhere in between. Imagination and the ability to create alternate realities are the two factors that determine whether or not a person is capable of having a highly colorful fantasy life. However, not everyone who can fantasize does. For example, if two strangers who were both capable of fantasizing were sitting next to one another on a bus, one might still spend the whole ride thinking about paying their bills and formulating their next to-do list, while the other could be envisioning taking a siesta on a tropical island. For Tickle's Inblot Test, having a high level of fantasy involves both having the mental tools necessary to fantasize and putting them to use.Being prone to fantasy can be thought of as a spectacular gift. Fantasy can give one the ability to create a made-up world much more captivating and pleasurable than the usual day-to-day realities. This can be a wonderful asset as you go though life - a free form of entertainment that you can use any time.
Some people look at those who are fantasy prone in a derogatory way. They feel that the more realistically a person thinks, the saner they are. Indeed, most definitions of "abnormal" refer to what is "unusual" or "not frequent". Clinical experts sometimes look at fantasy as a means of trying to escape reality, rather that face what's there.
Regardless of how one feels about fantasy, its value is heavily dependent on how it's used. If you use fantasy to visualize improvements in your life without ignoring important realities, then fantasy can be a useful talent. It can help you maintain your optimism and even to devise novel solutions to your problems. However, if fantasy is something you retreat into as a way of denying reality, then you might want to reconsider your use of it.
Tickle's experts found that you are certainly capable of fantasizing and may even enjoy keeping yourself entertained that way. However, based on your responses, your first reaction to stress probably isn't to create an alternate universe or to imagine things differently than they actually are. In fact, you appear to have the nice balance of having the gift of fantasy at your disposal without having the tendency to overly rely on it. In other words, when it comes to fantasy, you typically use it, but don't abuse it. Fantasy is a technique frequently employed by people living under harsh conditions in order to ease their stress. In this way, imagination can be a vital tool for prison inmates who live in depressing, restrictive conditions day in and day out. Using the power of fantasy can also be a profound relief for people living in poverty and in war zones. In fact, there are many people who live in adverse situations or deal with other painful circumstances that could benefit from occasional relief through fantasy.Fantasy only becomes a problem when you ignore something you need to deal with because you have the ability to fantasize it away.
For example, imagine you have a problem with an aunt of yours. Perhaps this aunt says something that upsets you almost every time you talk with her. As a result, after a while you stop listening to her in favor of pretending that you're someplace else entirely. The fantasy you create for yourself might be more exciting - and far less annoying, but it doesn't change this detrimental pattern between you and your aunt. A better response might be to put your fantasies aside for a while to address your aunt's poor communication style head-on.At it's worst, fantasy can keep you from making important lifestyle choices.
For instance, if you fantasize that you have boundless energy and are a wonderful athlete, and in the meantime sit on your couch eating potato chips and playing video games, there will eventually come a time where you won't be able to deny what is really happening to your body and you will have to tend to the reality of your deteriorating health. However, there's no reason that you have to let fantasy affect you in these negative ways. So long as you pay attention to the aspects of your life that need addressing, like your health or your career, you should be able to use fantasy and creative visualizations to bolster your happiness and success, not impede them.

How you relate to others

Your relationships are complex things. One important aspect affecting all of them is the role that you play when interacting with others. Do you typically take an active approach when dealing with the people around you, or do you tend to behave more passively? According to your test responses, you appear to have a balanced approach to interacting. You're not consistently the one who is active or passive. This mixed pattern indicates that, relative to other people, you try to either be sensitive to the needs of a particular situation or the people with whom you're dealing. By being able to adjust your approach depending on how the others are behaving, you can handle most situations with ease. Your friends may see you as a great listener or a savvy communicator because of your gift for reading people.
The overall effect of this balanced approach is that you have more options available to you when it comes to your communication style. The possible downside to this fact is that certain individuals with a balanced approach can get confused about which approach feels most natural to them — not just to the situation. While flexibility is a good thing, if you behave solely according to what's going on around you, it can wear on your sense of self.
Another difficulty you may find yourself running up against is that your balanced style may seem like inconsistency to other people. For example, if one day you take the lead in a group and the next day you choose to follow, this transition can be unsettling to those around you. Also when you're dealing with someone who is also balanced in their approach, your relationship can become an elaborate dance where each of you is trying to figure out who's taking charge. If you find yourself in a situation like this one, consider making your style more consistent — whether active or passive — in order to avoid potential confusion.

Elsewhere...

Elsewhere - Sarah McLachlan

I love the time and in between
the calm inside me
in the space where I can breathe
I believe there is a
distance I have wandered
to touch upon the years of
reaching out and reaching in
holding out holding in
I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as I can be
left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand
I know this love is passing time
passing through like liquid
I am drunk in my desire...
but I love the way you smile at me
I love the way your hands reach out and hold me near...
I believe...
I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand
Oh the quiet child awaits the day when she can break free
the mold that clings like desperation
Mother can't you see I've got
to live my life the way I feel is right for me
might not be right for you but it's right for me...
I believe...
I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand it
I would like to linger here in silence
if I choose to
would you understand it
would you try to understand...