wow! does everyone else come back from their vacation exhausted? cos i’ve  just returned from a rare 12 days off work and i feel like i’ve been run over by a truck. one of those trucks they feature on “really big things”.  sheesh! i need the proverbial holiday from my vacation!

ok, so i did spend most of those 12 days traveling. first, the 7 hour trek to pop my “splashy fen” cherry, the annual music festival in the underberg, where loads of fun was had. the latter including a lot of schlepping up and down hills to get to and from the music tents and camp.

mary poppins imitation in splashy fen meadow. photo:verity maud

4 exhausting days later, came the return trek, this time compounded by an hour in line, waiting to get through one of the toll gates. (surely there’s something wrong with that picture – one should just have a drive-through toll. bill me!)

got home to find the 3 year old piece of K.I.C. shite fridge (and it’s entire contents!) had gone on to appliance heaven/hell/purgatory – WTF?! after ONLY 3 years! and of course the warranty has expired – and i did not get an extended warranty because i was planning on moving back to l.a. (yeah, the well laid plans of mice and men!)

anyway, i digress. was home for 24 hours, then had to be up at 4a.m. (again!) to make my flight to cape town. then followed further rounds of  frantic running around. checked out my friend kj’s boyfriend’s band, Kombat Fudge. a little rough, but really good songs. remember the name –  i’m sure you’ll be hearing about them. went for a drive to the campsbay side of the cape, then trekked to the other end to spend a lovely afternoon with my fabulous friend shirley, lying in a hammock overlooking simon’s town harbor.

saturday i took part in a charity event – the pioneer rally which i blogged about before. 3 + hours meandering through the boland – eventually feeling like my bladder was going to burst. my blind navigator ivan koch has some previous rally experience  so i left myself to his very capable fingers and the braille map and just tried to enjoy driving the mercedes benz C180k which has some nice touches like automatic windshield wipers. to my surprise, we actually came in 9th of 39! very chuffed. then followed a very lengthy prize-giving gala – after which i got to bed late, but not nearly as late as some of the other party animals. was up early to take a detour to the airport via stellenbosch and franschhoek and finally made it home to JHB  after 10p.m.

next morning, back to work. i must admit i shuffled into the building like methuselah’s mom.

now do you see why i’m flattened? at least  i only FEEL like i’ve been flattened. i could very easily have become one of ZA’s easter road death toll statistics and have been physically flattened by one of those big piles of metal hurtling along out there.

and for that, i sure am grateful! now i just need a good shot of  helium!