It's 2014

Yay. Happy new year, everyone. Hope you had an awesome holiday.

I've been away from the blog for a while. It's been a busy end of year/beginning of new year. Had lots of work in December then lots of running around and family stuff during the holidays.

Now that the holiday is over and I'm back at work, I actually feel like NOW I need a holiday. Christmas and New Year were too stressful. :/

Anyway, this is just a short post to say hi and stuff. Although I'm not done talking for today.

(This was post 1 of 3 for today)

Hello, 2013

</2012>

<2013>

WELL, HELLO!

So, everyone's doing end of year posts and/or start of year posts. I figured I'd do one too.
I just read a long, personal and intricate post from a dear bro and understood a lot more about his year.
I'm not going to be as detailed in my recollections or as personal, but I will blab about 2012 a little.

Okay, so from this side of the looking glass, 2012 might have seemed quite a crappy year, a tiring adventure and overall, the end of my favourite era in life, but I think if I look at the positives, 2012 was great in some ways.

I'll try to be at least MOSTLY chronological so that things make sense here.

Anyway, so the year started off with me at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, finishing off my BCom ISTN degree.
As much as I was tired of studying and writing exams, campus life has been my favourite part of life.
There was enough freedom for me to enjoy everything and to feel liberated but not so much freedom that I had too much responsibility placed on my shoulders.
I admit that I'm able to do so much more now, but I think I will always miss that point of my life.
Well, I had a great time being with my friends and relaxing for most of the day, every day. I miss them so much and it's quite disappointing not to be able to see them often as I did before. I think that's why I miss this area of life so much.
Things were much more fun when I could wake up in the morning, get to campus and trot off to find Cavie and the gang.
I do so miss sitting next to them in the LAN or at a bench near the pond.
(Sigh... okay, yes, I did initially write that about Cavie and then I realised that it sounded mean to leave out the others. Guys, I loved hanging out with all of you. You all gave me company when I needed it and you all helped me have an awesome semester for 2012. Sean, Amy, Prashna, Cohen, Smee, Brad, Hen, Adrian, Byron, Sanchia, Jes and Yashaar. I'm just mentioning the people that I hung out with most often. Hope I didn't forget anyone. I know Tant wasn't physically with us, but she was always there to chat and stuff. WAIT. WE MET HER! I can totally say that now.)
Anyway, so I passed my final set of exams in June after much studying, sweating and staying up late (to play games between studying, of course).
I officially have a degree :)

Unfortunately for most of this time, my beloved Verushka had been working (since January) so I was unable to freely see her. That was the one real pain between January and July.
Although, since she was a lot more mobile than me most of the time, she popped in to visit a few times :)
-and thankfully, we were able to meet on weekends, etc.
I was so happy each and every time I saw her.
I thank her for the many times she went out of her way to see me or help me out.
<3

I realise now that I didn't enjoy my July holiday as much as I wanted to.
I wish I did. I SHOULD HAVE SLEPT MORE.

Otherwise, the next big thing was that I got a car and a job.
ERMERGERD.

Ifrit has been an incredible help. I've become quite used to driving on my own now.
I even enjoy it. Muse has become my driving music (Muse-ic?) recently and I'm quite happy about that.
I currently have all 6 of their main albums in the car.

Work has been boring and tiring, then hectic, then interesting and now boring again due to the lack of anything during the holiday season. I'm hoping to get back to more interesting work such as configurations and setting up other device software.

My parents and granny have been out for the holiday period so I've had to take care of more stuff at home.
Parents went to Egypt and my granny was in Johannesburg.

What I am really happy about is that I got to spend a lot of time with Verushka recently.
I even got to see her around Christmas and New Year.
Her and her family have been very sweet with insisting on having us over for supper, tea and anything else that they were doing at the time.

I also got to spend a lot of time with Previn and Daelin since they were down. In fact, they were awesome in inviting Verushka to their house as well.

Daelin was quite entertaining this holiday. Ironically, Johnnie Walker stopped him from walking.
He's fine now guys. Don't worry.

I watched some awesome movies (Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit, Life of Pi)
Found an awesome website (StumbleUpon)
Finally had a good drink on New Years Eve (driving set me back there. Thankfully I didn't have to drive on NYE.)
Played, laughed, loved, lived.
All in all, 2012 wasn't so bad. A lot of new experiences. A few things came to an end. I learnt a lot and experienced a lot of new things.
I know I mentioned it at the beginning, but I chose not to mention much of the negative stuff about the past year because there's no point starting this year with troublesome thoughts.

Coming this year:
-Graduation
-Metallica
-more work stuff
-more blog posts

And... um... yeah. Think that's about it for now. Gonna have some lunch and stuff.
Cheers.

DEGREE. AMBUSH. WEDDING. DRAKENSBERG. BIRTHDAYS

Okay, so I've had a relatively busy period of life since exams.
Here's a summarised version:

THE DEGREE

So I passed all my exams this semester and because of that, I completed my degree :)

CONFIRMATION OF DEGREE

Rather happy that that's over but it's not fun to be without campus friends and stuff now.
Especially since the gee-eff is in Mozambique since last week.
I feel so alone :/

Took forever to finish campus stuff by the way :/
With the amount of checking and confirming I had to do.
Apart from having to deal with staff replying to my emails with "goway" :|
Seriously. WHO DOES THAT?
Otherwise, it's been job hunting and stuff. Bleh. It sucks. DO NOT LIKE.

---

So anyway, the reason that everything's been busy and stuff since exams is not just because of campus stuff or job hunting. It's mostly because my cousin, Reuben, was getting married! (Again, congrats/condolences!)
I have a relatively large amount of overseas relatives so because they were down, we were trying to see them almost every day.
I got to see Mary Rose, Indran and Caelyn. Got to take care of Caelyn for some time this holiday.
Hayley, Sastri, Devak and Jai were also around and we got to see them for a while too :)

Before I got to hang with them and stuff, however, I was ambushed.

THE AMBUSH

It was a dark and stormy night.
Okay, no. It was a calm and relatively average day.
I went to visit Verushka in order for her to help me with my CV and job hunting.
We spent most of the morning doing that. Suddenly and unfortunately, Verushka received some stressful work-related news (her own work, that is) and I decided to stay a little longer and make sure she was okay. Not too long because her family was coming over for supper that evening.
It was getting towards late afternoon and we had just about sorted everything out when SUDDENLY... some family arrived. :/
Panic stained the air.
Thankfully, Trishanta and Yulishka arrived first. I knew them and apart from seeing their disturbing faces, I was okay with them being there.
I needed to escape quickly so I started getting ready and then was struck with another blow when I heard a second car pulling up the driveway.
[Horror movie music starts playing in the background]
Relative after relative was introduced to me. I received stares, nicknames, and then... compliments, jokes, warming smiles.
This family wasn't so bad :)
In fact, they were very much like my own. A large family, but one that I enjoyed being around.
Of course, I was not used to everyone yet, but they seemed like actual good people.
Slightly calmer now, I managed to mingle a little and to even laugh and talk.
All in all, an okay experience.
Perhaps I would not mind seeing these people again.

---

ANYWAY, the actual big event. The wedding:

THE WEDDING

Reuben's wedding required us to help out quite a bit and to see most of my family very often. I don't mind seeing my family as I'm very comfortable with most of them.
I would say everything went swimmingly: the bachelor party, nalangu, and the wedding itself.

I don't have a picture of the bridal couple, but I managed to take this delightful pic of Jai feeding Caelyn.

Anyway, glad that everything went well and all the best for Reuben and Kemsila in the future. :)
They do, in fact, make a wonderful couple. (Good luck, Kemsila. You'll need it.)

---

DRAKENSBERG

So after the wedding, we were free to spend more time with Indran, Mary Rose and Caelyn.
We actually went to Drakensberg for a couple days. Thought I'd just briefly mention it (LOLbrief).

Caelyn on the swing

Mum, Orisha, Mary Rose, Papa and Indran during our short hike.

 Yep. Was rather entertaining. The little lady kept us busy and when we actually got to spend time with Indran and Mary Rose, they were excellent company as usual. :)

---

BIRTHDAYS

After we got back, I attended two 21st birthday events. Yashaar's and my cousin, Brandon's.

The traditional cake photo. (Well, him as well, but I meant the birthday cake that is ON his face.)

Sorry, Brandon. I didn't take any photos at your party :/
Oops.
But another happy birthday for each of you! All the best, God's richest blessings, etc etc.

---

Um... I think that's about it for the holiday summary?
Yeah, okay. More posts to come shortly. Then after they're done, they'll appear on this  blog. Yay.

Because YOLO

My Lucky Birthday 2012

So, today (11 May) was my birthday.

By the time I finish posting this, it'll probably be well past 12 so I had to add the date.

... So I remember when my birthday was...

No, I'm not that old. I just often have trouble remembering what I'm saying, what I'm doing, what is going on around me, and what I'm saying.

SO...

Was a relatively cool day.

Started off with some special people being the first ones to wish me. You know who you are. :)

Economics reared its ugly head and threatened to ruin the day, but some of my family, my awesome friends and that girl, Verushka decided to save me and stuff.

I was treated to many amazingly-well-thought-out messages.

Then... long story short :

Wasn't a complete disaster, though.

Whoever phoned me, I was able to answer without having to see anything on my broken screen.

In addition, I was able to see some awesome Facebook posts and tweets directed at me.

Of course, I was also able to see a few of my good friends at campus and they made sure to wish me in person. They even forced a Happy Birthday balloon and Nerd-card upon me, a slice of Bar-One cake which i definitely refused until I was forced (Shh! Verushka might be reading this!) and some even went as far as to give me a birthday Unreal Tournament game.

Yes. You, Thomas (Alright. Fine. "Sean.").

Adams waitress girl was pretty amped about it too. :)

Was phoned by Tanusha! YAY. She talked a lot of shit... but faeces is a common topic in our conversation, so that's no surprise.
I really should find out her name...

I was also taken to Spur for supper, where I enjoyed my second favourite rack. (You should know this one.)
Many phone calls throughout the day from people far and wide in the world.

End of the day? Who else could fill that position other than the same Verushka that started my day off?

Thank you for doing what you could for me. Your efforts are appreciated more than you know. :)

Even the smallest ones strike home. :)

---

My birthday balloon!

Prashna's "birthday card" (front)

Prashna's "birthday card" (back)

Cava's candle

One week. Many stories.

So prepare yourself, readers, for a rather long post.
It is filled with tales of romance, action, magic and ... okay, no, not really.
... Well,  I guess in its own way, it actually is...
ANYWAY, point is: it's been an eventful week, so I figure a nice post would be ideal to cover everything.
No? Well then maybe just read the stuff you think is good.

VERUSHKA'S GRADUATION

So, Verushka invited me for her graduation on Friday.
I understood that it was to be 2-4 hours of sitting in a crowded room full of formal procedures and boring speeches. I understood that Verushka would not be with me during any of this and that I had to wear a too-tight suit all evening. I also understood that I would have to be stuck alone with Verushka's parents, the thought of which frightened me a bit. :x
The reason I cared not for any of these problems?
MY GIRL WAS GRADUATING. :)
I'd have gone even if it was in the desert. (for those of you who know me, you'll know I die in the heat/sun.)
WELL. It was actually quite a different story from my expectations. :)
I firstly and THANKFULLY got to see her before the ceremony. I got to talk to her a bit and make sure she was okay. (Okay, fine. She had to make sure that I was okay. Same thing.)
She looked stunning :)
(She also chose the one sari that I mentally tagged as my favourite. I am quite sure that this was done purposely to make me all sweaty and nervous when I saw her.)
Secondly, her cousin, Trishanta, came along to give me company. An incredibly sweet gesture that I shall not forget anytime soon. THANKS CHAMPS :)
Thirdly, Verushka's parents were awesome :) I should have expected no less. They were fun, entertaining and pretty sweet about everything. (More on this in a bit.)
Fourthly, the function itself turned out to be pretty light-hearted and fun :)
It was quite annoyingly loud and rowdy at times, but it was quite interesting to watch :)
Finally, my suit made it through the evening without exploding! :D
I held in my fat half the time and I couldn't button up my shirt's top button so I just pulled up my tie to block it, but I think I pulled it off well enough.

So anyway, Verushka graduated, hey. :)
She was in the second-to-last row of people, if I remember right, so it was a pretty long wait for us, but the time eventually came and although we didn't get the best view of things, we have some pictures, a video, and (more importantly) the awesome memory of that evening. :)

I wish I had clearer photos of the event, but this is what we saw:

The graduation ceremony outline/structure/proceedings guide thing.

Verushka getting her graduate (sigh... okay, GRADUATOR) name called out.

Verushka getting capped and getting the degree conferred upon her.

No, she's not getting strangled, that's the sash thing they have to wear.

Verushka's walk of success

Verushka glancing up at us proud audience members

So, yeah. That was her part of the graduation :)
I'm so very proud of her :)
Of course, we knew she had her degree already, but I was happy to see it again, and to see it being publicly acknowledged. I planned to scream; shout; make some sort of noise when they called out her name, but for fear of my voice breaking during my proud nature call, I decided against it. Also, I was trying to take photos, so I couldn't clap much either :(
Hope she was happy, though :)

After this event, when we finally found each other outside the heavily-packed Sports Center, we went out for a celebratory dinner. I had an awesome time with Verushka, Champs and Verushka's parents. We went to Spiga d'Oro on Florida Road.
I ordered "Tagliatelle Della Roma" with chicken, Verushka had chicken and mushroom lasagne, Champs had some awesome pasta thing, Verushka's mum had a steak or lamb roll, and Verushka's father ordered something he didn't enjoy with chutney in it. :/
All in all, an awesome evening, and I was really appreciative for the supper and stuff. (And the bubblegum-related entertainment from Verushka's father :P)
I'll be glad to hang out with them again :)

PREVIN'S VISIT

So during the graduation, Previn arrived in Durban and wanted to visit, but unfortunately, I didn't notice until after the function (at, like, 10pm) when we were going for supper. I figured I'd talk to Previn when we sat down for supper.
Because we live in such a small world, I got to talk to Previn in person, because, of course, he showed up at the same restaurant with some Nikita Reddy girl. :)

Anyway, I got to talk to him and Niki for a bit. Then we got to see him yesterday (Saturday) and again today.
It's always awesome seeing him. We just chill, but we have some good times. PLUS HE BOUGHT ME TIM TAMS. (H)

I also forgot to mention to most of my friends that he ran the Two Oceans marathon and got a Bronze medal.
EPIC, PREV! [Gives Previn a high-five followed by a click of the fingers]
I won't forget to mention Onashan (Onny) who also ran with an exploded leg and still got Bronze.
EPIC, ONNY!

Prev, we shall see you again soon! Have a safe trip back and an awesome time... at work :/

CAVA'S DBN GAMERS MEET-UP

So, on this same weekend, Cava went to a DBN Gamers event. It's a meeting for gamers in Durban (obviously) and I don't know too much about it, but it seems really interesting and informative as well. It also includes my dearest Caveshen Rajman, so of course I wanted to go. It apparently had a Star Wars theme and everything. I would have liked to go but unfortunately, it was quite a busy weekend (I'm also supposed to be studying for - ONCE AGAIN - Economics.)
Verushka and I will try to attend the next event :)
Promise.

Also... something's coming up tomorrow :)
Ya? You thought I forgot?
We'll be sure to do something this week or weekend.

YASHAAR'S SUCCESSFUL MEME

Next topic for today: Another good friend of mine, Yashaar, made a meme on videogames.memebase.com.
It's Mass Effect-related, so I'm sure Mass Effect fans will appreciate it more than me. No, I'm not against Mass Effect. I just don't have the console/PC capability to play it. Sii-iigh...

His post is http://videogames.memebase.com/2012/04/21/video-game-memes-picks-destroy-causes-synthesis/ if you're interested in checking it/voting for it :)

Well done Yashaar! :D

THE RETURN OF ARTEMIS FOWL

No, it's not about a new book in the series or something, I just happened to stop reading Artemis Fowl And The Atlantis Complex for a while and I finally got back to it when I should be studying :)
Can't think of someone who would appreciate the ideas and concepts of this book more than Caveshen Rajman. He really needs to read this series.
I was also quite interested in the twisted love story in the background of this story. No, I'm not gonna put up any spoilers. :)
Read it yourself if you're interested.
Anyway, just wanted to mention this before I got to the next awesome topic:

POTTERMORE. 'NUFF SAID.


So Pottermore came out this week. :D :D :D
WHAT?!
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS?!
WHAT THE ... [breathes and calms self down]

Ahem. So, yeah.
POTTERMORE...
THE Harry Potter interactive website.
Yes. That one.
That's out now.

I signed up :)
Got sorted into Ravenclaw. :)
I'm smart and shit, yo.
"I'm an intellect" :P
My sweet, wonderful, caring Verushka joined as well and got sorted... into... Slytherin... of course.
But it's okay. Even though I'm going to kick her ass at all the interhouse activities, I'll still love her :)
My good friend, Adrian Naidoo, helped me get into the sport of Duelling.
At the moment, only book one is out, and there aren't many other things to do on the site, but I'm sure there will be much more added once the website passes its beta stage.
Another thing I had to mention, being a very big Harry Potter fan. :)

So yeah. An eventful week.
More crap soon!

ARE YOU HAPPY NOW PREV?

Well, it's been a while since I wrote in this 'ere blog.
Forgive me. I was pretty busy recently with tests and shit.
Not busy with SHIT :|
You know what I mean.

So anyway, since Previn is the one that insisted I write something here with "Your blog is looking a little dry, hey?", I guess I should use this post to wish him a HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY!

(I wished him before, but obviously not here on this blog.)

Anyway, so since my assessments are a little more spread out now, I'll be able to blog a bit more, maybe? (LOL "spread out")

In other news, Verushka paid a surprise visit to me today at campus. I was OBVIOUSLY busy with other girls and stuff because I'm such a player, and I had to quickly end it and pretend like I was only sitting in the LAN playing Unreal Tournament. She only visited for a short while but it was epic.
She visited last week too, although that was planned.
Was awesome seeing her.
Wait a minute...
DAFUQ?!

*le awesomely-made meme

Sorry, Prev. My bad.
Anyway, 'tis good to have written some shit here again.
Another post soon!

Seven. The most magical post.

Trying to find my awesome post about my friends and stuff? Well, unfortunately it is no longer here.

Why not?

Someone thought the picture that I had of her here wasn't the best picture and she asked me to please replace it because it apparently showed up as the first image result if someone Googled her.

Somehow, Blogger took my CTRL+V on her highlighted picture to mean "Delete this post forever" because I tried to undo, refresh the page and anything else I could think of...

...but alas... my post has disappeared.

Here, Dinisha. :)

Hope you're happy.

Look upon this terrible face. The face of the person that destroyed my work on this post.