I realised last week that I was happy.
Yes, it probably was after I was able to once again resume drinking coffee but still…
Then I got a bit nervous, and thought WT actual F was I doing being happy in the middle (hopefully towards the end) of a pandemic?
My family Overseas getting vaccinated definitely contributed and the thought that I will be seeing my sister over the Easter weekend, but I think that I, at last just managed to be present – something that has only taken me seven years of meditating. Sounds like the name of a movie “My seven years of meditation”. Coming to your favourite streaming service SOON. #Kidding.
I also have not been spending much time on social media which I think was a HUGE contributing factor. I acknowledge the supreme irony of me telling you this as I promote this blog on all my social media platforms *sings a few lines of “Isn’t It Ironic?”*
We did see Alanis Morisette live years ago and got really expensive tickets in the Golden Circle (which I hate to say always reminds me of golden showers), it was such a disappointment, she spent the whole time swinging her hair around and didn’t look at the audience once. But I do love her songs.
Seeeeeeriously though, if you’re not feeling great, the socials are the wrong place to be. There’s that saying “Only drink to feel even better” because booze is obvs a depressant and I think the same thing should apply to social media. If you’re feeling shit stay away, looking at everyone’s I had a better holiday than you/my family are much more photogenic than yours/I love my really hot husband so much/my kid is much more talented than yours snaps will only make you feel worse.
And no judgies, I have posted pics in several of the aforementioned categories myself. PSA: those 57 “I love my husband” posts DO make the rest of us assume that you really can’t stand him and are trying to convince yourself otherwise/have already killed him, cut up his body and buried him in the back garden and FB is your alibi #justsaying.
What also makes me happy is that I have been working like an absolute dog which pleases me because I love writing and let’s face it, I am a workaholic. Plus I do think I have a new appreciation for what I do. It’s easy to get very blasé and dismiss the work that you do and sometimes you have to :
- Remind yourself that in this current economic climate you are hashtag blessed if you have a job that pays you a reasonable amount of money.
- That you are extra blessed if you work with nice people.
- You are blessed and highly favoured if you get to make your living as a writer.
I spend my days making shit up and unlike when I was a kid and I got a beating for lying, I now get paid for it! #HighlyBlessedAndFavoured.
Book recommendations: Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld – a kind of sliding doors/what would’ve happened to Hils if she hadn’t married Bonking Bill. Turns out Hillary’s life would have been A DAMN SIGHT BETTER if she hadn’t married him. I found it utterly intriguing although I did keep wondering how the writer got away with writing it. Also, there were slightly TOO MANY mentions of Bill’s penis for comfort. Thank you Schim AKA author Gail Schimmel for recommending it.
Speaking of Schim and her partner in crime fiction, Kate Sidley, they have a new book out under the pen name Katie Gayle. It’s the second in the Epiphany Bloom series called The Museum Murder. They are cosy mysteries, very funny and perfect for the hols, I stayed up far too late reading my copy last night. Available online, these books are cheap as chips, go forth and purchase your copy right now.
After finishing Catch and Kill last week, I was still obsessed with the Farrows so I read What Falls Away by Mia Farrow. Utterly fascinating and what a life she’s led. And once again I BELIEVE YOU, DYLAN. Speaking of predatory men, I could not resist Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison – her memoir of her time in the Playboy Mansion. Intriguing although it did leave me feeling slightly grubby with the urge to take a shower at the end of it.
I swore I would never read a pandemic book until oh I dunno, the year 2040…but Last One at The Party by Bethany Clift changed my mind. The trick is that she’s made it THAT MUCH WORSE than the Covid19 pandemic because the protagonist is literally the last person left alive, so I did spend a fair amount of time whilst reading the book thinking “Thank fuck, it could’ve been so much worse.” I found this book a complete page-turner, thank you Amanda Sevasti for suggesting it and the private FB group (you know who you are) that gives me so many recommendations.
I regret to say I had to keep sneaking a few pages of this book whilst I was supposed to be writing. That’s another thing I’ve been doing – I now keep my Kindle/current book I’m reading next to me while I work and when I’m on a break, instead of going on social media, I read my book. Soooooooo much more satisfying.
Last book recommendation for this week is for children. It’s the wonderful new book from fave Refiloe Moahloli and it’s called How Many Ways Can You Say Goodbye? Thank you to the lovely Helen Holyoake for my copy. You can get yours at Exclusive Books, and if you haven’t got a copy of Refiloe’s first book in the series How Many Ways Can You Say Hello? get that one too.
TV/Film recommendations: We watched this skop, skiet and donder movie on Box Office called Run, Hide, Fight about a school shooting. Not perfect by any means but I enjoyed the young female protagonist and the psychopathic kids enormously although the sharp-shooting father felt like a complete caricature – when he turned his cap backwards before he took out the baddie. No, just no.
And my major TV recommendation this week is for the new telenovela called The Estate which replaces the hit series Isidingo and will be starting on Easter Monday. It’s on SABC 3 at 7pm and it’s about what happens when there is a land claim on a fancy housing estate north of Joburg. It’s sad, it’s funny, it’s heartbreaking, it has fabulous actors and great suspense, I highly recommend it. You can watch the trailer here.
Happy watching! Happy reading! Happy Easter! Chag Sameach! Have a great week, everyone.
