Movies and writing ideas

The other day we rented two dvd’s. Love & Other Drugs and Black Swan.

Love & Other Drugs was a brilliant movie. It had enough sex scenes to double as a soft porno and I loved her boobs, but I believe that Anne Hathaway as Maggie Murdock should have at least won some sort of prize. I would have even given her an Oscar for her performance. She wasn’t even nominated in last year’s category. Instead, she presented the Oscars. And did a poor job of it.

On the other hand, I loathed Black Swan. I truly do not believe that Natalie Portman should have won the Oscar. Some of you might disagree, but winning an Oscar for having one facial expression through-out a movie is not an achievement. Just ask Kirsten Stewart, as Bella Swan, Kirsten Stewart as Kirsten Stewart, and Kirsten Stewart in any other role she has ever played. A character needs some sort of emotion, other than being crazy.

Cue facial expression that doesn't change for almost 120 minutes

I found the story to be utterly disturbing. I didn’t even watch the end of it. It was perverse, to say the least. That's my two cents on it.

But speaking of stories, where do you normally get inspiration to write? Do you sit in a park and people watch, perhaps a restaurant? I found that people watching doesn’t inspire me as much. Yes, I do get a few character traits from people watching, but then I get lost in watching the leaves billowing in the wind, or the doves picking up some leftover crumbs from yesterday’s tuna-and-mayo sandwich a little boy might have so recklessly eaten.

I also get utterly distracted by the lovely smells of food. Which means that I will lose the plot of people watching completely.

I find my inspiration for writing in the shower. No, not on the little scripts on the conditioner bottles, not in the way I like to take my shampoo from my head and try and blow little bubbles with my index finger and thumb and not in the way the water swirls down the drain.

I find it with my head entirely covered by water. I don’t know why or how, but the ideas just seem to stream into my head as warm water pounds on me and trickles down past my ears. This morning, as I showered, I thought about my story that I am currently writing. Let’s dare call it a novel, shall we? And I nearly thought up two whole chapters.

The funny thing is that I didn’t shower long at all. Say fifteen minutes at the most. If I keep on getting ideas like this, I will have a novel before the end of the month.

Oh, one last thing. Do yourself a favour and google Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' Carries On. I love this song so much, it's on figgin repeat!! Let me know what you think of it.

Travel Tuesday: That time I rode an elephant

Last year we went to Phuket, Thailand for a two week vacation. It was an utterly amazing time, an experience I would never forget and something I want to do all over again. 

Even though the climate was stuffy, as a result of the humidity, not to mention the scorching heat, I loved every moment of it. I loved walking around in between the stalls of cheap clothing, I loved smelling the local cuisine, I loved playing with the local stray dogs, swimming in the clear, calm blue sea, going to all the different islands surrounding Phuket for cheaper than a new pair of shoes. The islands were spectacular. Breathtaking!

I wish I could go back there. And maybe this time I will go when Phuket is not having it's rainy season. I did not mention the amount of rain we had. But we still went out, in the rain. Drove our scooters around town, walked between stalls, went for a swim in the sea, went for a swim in the hotel pool. The rain couldn't stop us from exploring this amazing, unknown world.

Something we did not anticipate on doing, but ended up doing it for the experience, was an elephant ride. Gentle Giants. It was sad however to see that these elephants were scared of their trainers, and that they would make crying sounds if it looked like their trainers were about to hit them. In retrospect, I am very sad that I partook in this, as I only realised later, past the excitement of riding an elephant, that these poor beautiful creatures were being mistreated. They had food, yes. They had shelter, yes. But they didn't have proper shelter and they were not treated with respect, as they should have been.

To me it was an honour to walk with these tender beasts. They really are something precious. I just wish people would treat these animals better. I am a bit sad that I indulged in this silly tourist attraction, just for the sake of saying I rode an elephant. But it's something I can tick of my bucket list.

When inspiration strikes...

Three blankets

Two cups of coffee

One boyfriend

Endless hours of absolute cold!

This weekend was probably one of the coldest ones in my entire life. I really did not move from the couch (which was actually our bed in the livingroom, again), with the exception of grocery shopping on Sunday morning. I nearly did not survive it out there in the wilderness. The wild trolleys were hungry and snapped at our ankles.

A good thing did come from the weekend, however. The inspiration to write, and not actually blog, but write struck me again. I haven't really written anything since my Creative Writing classes at varsity. I have no idea where the story is going, but it starts with a girl, named Violet, who is about to turn 23 and about to quit smoking. I have envisioned her already, and she's a feisty little bitch.

She kind of reminds me of another 23-year old, who is also known as a feistly little bitch. But let's not point any fingers here.

I'm hoping that this will be a learning journey, that I will learn more about my writing and grow as a human being, enthralled by words and fired by the passion of  putting ideas into stories.

Wish me luck!

You can find me here...

Sheesh! Today is cold, it's -2 degrees! I want to crawl up in a little bundle and never get up again. To those in the Northern Hemisphere, I am jealous. I also want a summer! But you probably can't have all the good things all year long, then it wouldn't have been good in the first place and we would have nothing to look forward to. Right?

But just to show you how cold it is today, take a look at this.
This is our complex, earlier this morning. The water feature is literally frozen!
And again the Northen Hemisphere might be shaking it's head, because it gets snow and colder weather.
But that's just it! We never have cold winters like this. It's not called Sunny South Africa for nothing.

I blame all of  global warming.

Enough moaning about the weather now. Yes, half the world's conversation's wouldn't have existence without it, but I have something better to talk about. Do you guys remember that time I only ate tangerines, so Sweet and Joooocy! No? Because it never happened. That was Regina Spector.

Something that did happen was our trip to Durban in April. Something that also happened was my guest post at over at Jenna's blog Home away from Home. Right now. So you better go check it out. Ane be nice, it was my very first guest post.

Why are you still reading this? Ha! GO!

Love
Megs

An award? For me? Oh, you shouldn't have

I skipped yesterday's Travel Tuesday post, and already it feels like I have taken a week long break from my blog.
Sorry blog. I am here now. You can stop crying now.

Anyhoo, I have been flattered by sweet Jenna with an award. A versatile award. According to the Oxford Dictionary this means that I, in my capacity as blogger, am able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities. I take it as a compliment. The award dictates that I list 5 random facts about myself, and then pass the award on to 5 other blogs that I love. So I chose: Raquel, Gentri, Haley, Tracy & finally Ashley.

Fact numero uno:

I am still unsure to this day on how I managed to graduate. My number one pet peeve on earth is studying.

I didn't open a book during any of my exams at varsity, nor at school.
But I still made good grades.
I'm wondering.
If I actually studied, would I have graduated Magna Cum Laude?

Fact numero dos:

I can't speak Spanish. Goolge Translate, on the other hand, is a pro.
I will speak it someday though. It's on my bucket list.

Fact numero tres:

My all time favourite song is Colourblind by the Counting Crows. I have listened to that song a total of 46 times according to my iTunes, but I've played it way more than that.
The most listened to song is Empty by Ray La Montagne at 163 counts. I have deleted the previous records though, it would have been something like 400 by now.
This is followed by Cosmic Love by Florence & The Machine at 159 counts and then same band's Heavy in your arms at 144. Other top songs up there is Skinny Love by Bon Iver and pretty much anything by Mumford & Sons.
So the real fact is: I love music.
Any and every type. Except R'nB.
My favourite genres are Indie, Folk, Electronica and Alternative.
All mixed together - I would probably never stop listening to that song.
This was a long fact.

Fact numero cuatro:

I went to the gym yesterday, for the first time in well, probably ever.
I have bouts of gymming, when the mood strikes. And the mood rarely ever strikes.
But I did:
 72 squats,
40 of those thigh shaping machine presses things,
a 30 min run at an average of 12 km/h,
yoga
& some arm toning things.
The fact is that today, I am not sore, no. I can't walk.
My legs are jellified. I think they might take a while to recover. But I will still gym, because the mood has struck.

Fact el numero cenco:

If I have children someday, I would like to name my little girl Ava and my boy Marcus.

That's it!

Oh, and one last thing:
Did you know that Anatidaephobia is the fear that somewhere, somehow a duck is watching you?

It's not secret that I have a massive girl crush on Blake Lively. I want to be her. Sans the fame, fortune and the ugly, fat old boyfriend. I never really understood the appeal of Leo di Caprio - he is really ordinary looking. Give me Penn Badgley or Nathaniel-what’s-his-face any day.

But back to Blake. Can you blame me? She’s gorgeous and she has wicked style. We are the same length, did you know? Nowhere near the same build, although I am on my way there, I strive to have a rocking bod like hers. Maybe a nose job will also work…

But what I love the most about this girl, is not her killer looks, fabulous closet and designers crawling at her feet. It’s her hair.

I love her hair. It’s long and lustrous and I just want to bury my face in it. If this is scaring you, don’t worry; I’m scaring myself a little. I don’t care much for the colour, or the volume – that’s something I struggle with a lot of times – it’s the length.

I can never seem to grow my hair longer than past my collarbone. And the most frustrating thing is, even though it is past my collarbone, it still looks short. And yes, I have tried hair growth pills (once) after shaving my head. Not really an option ever again.

I would try extensions any day, but they are bloody expensive and they look bloody cheap, think Britney Spears. Well, that’s my opinion on it anyway. I would love to have hair that hangs just below my boobs, but instead of growing down, my hair grows sideways. I said I had a problem with volume. I would love to have enough hair to bury my face in, or for Flip to bury his in.

Do you have any tricks to make hair grow longer? What’s the most frustrating thing about your hair? Give me some tips please!

Love the Greek style she's got going here

Fathers Day it is then...

Not all relationships are perfect, I can't say that my relationship with my dad has not been rocky. But, it's something that I had to work at, I am after all part him. I have grown in and through my relationship with my dad the last year, and I am happy that we can spend times like today together.

Happy Father's Day Pa, hope you had a good time with us today.

There was a motorshow in a local mall today, so we went there to check out some of the cars. We share a passion for pretty things, like cars. Especially old ones. And then we saw it, a 1967 Shelby GT500, or Eleanor, as she is better known in 'Gone in 60 Seconds.' Oh, my sanity for a car like that!

After drooling over a couple of other beautiful metal-monsters, we headed out to Gillooly's farm, where we spent the afternoon in the sun, between children, dogs, geese and a big mass of water. I didn't take the camera with today though. I didn't want to ruin it with technicalities.

Taken March, 2011

Phuza Thursday: Oh happy day!

This is happy happy Thursday for me. Not only is it Youth Day (yoof day) in South Africa, which means I get the whole entire day to myself, but it is also the 100th post of this here little hooha blog.

This morning was brilliant! I got to spend the whole morning in bed, which we dragged to the living room, in front of the tv. I loooove watching tv before actually getting up and getting ready for the day. It has contributed to the number of grey hairs my dear mom has these days. And right now, we are heading out to Pretoria, to have a great braai with my famy. I need sunshine. I don't need wind. Or cold. But there will be none of that.

To celebrate my 100th post, I thought of a drink that was crazy quilts crazy and remembered that a few years ago at my 21st birthday, my friends had a few of these nutty-as-a-fruitcake drinks round up for me. Even the name sounds dangerous. Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce to you ---

The Flaming Lamborghini

You will need

• 1 shot Kahlua coffee liqueur
• 1 shot Sambuca
• 1 shot Blue Curacao liqueur
• 1 shot Bailey’s Irish cream
• a straw
• matches or a lighter

Pour the Sambuca and Kahlua into a cocktail glass. Pour the baileys and blue curacao into two separate shot glasses either side of the cocktail glass. Light the mixture in the cocktail glass and start to drink through a straw (drink fast as the straw will melt). As the bottom of the glass is reached put out the fire by pouring the baileys and blue curacao into the cocktail glass and keep drinking till it’s all gone.

I found the recipe here. The guy says that you shouldn't use a cool glass as it might shatter or crack. Also, make this drink at night time, the special effects will be just soooo much cooler. and please be careful, I won't take any responsibility for injuries sustained.

------------------------------------------------------------

Now, for an even cooler part. I was so inspired by Michelle's link up party on Tuesday that I decided to make today's Phuza Thursday a link up as well. Yay! I know there are a lot of this type of posts out there, but none of them has a word that sounds so deliciously sinful as Phuza.

Basically, you should create a Phuza Thursday post, in which you write about your favourite drinks. Remember, it doesn't have to be alcoholic, it could be anything you like to drink.

Grab this picture button and link up below.

I have no idea how to create a button, and it will take me hella long to figure it out, and the day awaits. Hope to see a lot of faces on here!

Oh, this is going to be a bit of a risky post. But yesterday, Flip brought home two walkie talkies.

I dubbed him Pappa Bear. And he dubbed me Goose, Sugar Tits, Liefie, Baby, Hey you. He didn't stick with the game plan.

But it was a lot of fun to be able to communicate in the house without having to run back and forth or shouting at each other. See, I was in the bedroom and he was making food. I was doing crafts. It went something like this:

Me: Come in Pappa Bear, do you read me?
Him: Copy that Sugar Tits, I read you loud and clear. What?
Me: I just wanted to say Hi on your new walkie talkie.
Him: Hello baby.
Me: So, watcha doin?
Him: I'm cooking dinner.
Me: Really? I couldn't tell. Is the area clear? I want to come to the kitchen.

It went on like this for a while. It was quite fun. Next time we'll run around in the complex and play hide and seek with walkie talkies. Or maybe we can try the old string through a can method. It looked like a lot of fun on that Grown ups movie.

Blog Meet & Greet

Okay, deep breath. I have never done anything like this before, but there is always a first.
I think it's a great way to get to know a little bit more about bloggers, albeit a bit of the funny information that you never knew. Today, I'm linking up with these two lovely ladies. First is Raquel, where I found the post, and also Michelle, whose cute idea this is.

Here goes nothing.

Second Floor Living is the brainchild of a girl trapped in a technical writing world. This is my means of escaping. This is actually all in my About Me page, but I'll put it up here for today.  The theme of my blog is based on the Feist song, Mushaboom. 

In the song, a young girl, let's call her Megan, sings about things she would like to have, things she is yearning for. But in the meantime, she is stuck in an apartment, as her paycheck doesn't match up with her dreams. 

Second Floor Living without a yard.   

But this girl has something going for her. She has a man to stick it out, making a home from a rented house. This man is my Flip. The love of my life.  And together, we will collect the moments, one by one, which I document here. I started this little piece of my heart in the heat of the summer, January 2011.

Ten things about me:

• I am 1, 78 m tall. That is fairly tall for a girl
• I am deathly afraid of the dark, spiders, heights, fat people (like morbidly obese, no offense) and I don't like being touched. Am I too weird?
• The first thing I do when I get home, well it's a little ritual actually, is kiss Flip hello and then run for the loo. If I don't run for the loo, Flip gets worried.
• My thing in the whole wide world is a dog.
• I don't wear jewelery. I have the normal piercings in each ear, but I don't wear earrings. I don't wear a watch, bracelets, rings, amulets, chains, whatever else is in the jewelery world. I just don't like the feel of them and I usually lose it (like in I have no idea where they are) within two days.
• I can spend hours watching Nickelodeon, the Kardashians, the Style Network, the Food Network and Disney Channel.
• I hate all foods. Pretty much. I dislike pasta, I dislike fruit, I dislike McDonalds, I dislike coke. I'm not a big fan of chocolate. But if you hold something greasy in front of me, you should be careful, I might just eat your hand as well. And I love vegetables
• I refuse to assume the role of the typical housewife. I don't cook, I don't like to clean, even though I have to sometimes.
• I am extremely stubborn and always right. Wow, I sound like such a bitch today.
• I don't care much for fashion or style. If it fits, I'll wear it. This doesn't mean that I sloff around in tracksuits, oversized t-shirts and trainers all day.

My top five favourite posts:  

My bucket list

A bit of a royal affair

Happy Birthday to my dearest

The ABC's of M-E-G

&

I found Tom Collins!

The posts that made the big time:

A moment, A love, A dream aloud

Phuza Thursday: Something Special

Now do yourself a favour and link up. It's terrible fun!

Travel Tuesday: Bokkie ek wil jou he

It was a chilly night. Even in the little town of Warmbaths. As the name suggests, it is fairly warmer, three degrees (yes, we counted them as the kilometres passed) than Johannesburg. The days were warmer yes, but the evenings were still freezing. And in this freezing night, a little baby was born.

We decided to visit Flip's brother and his wife on their farm this weekend. We had to escape the gnawing cold, which would lick us to the bone, and the this weekend was the perfect getaway. Flip's brother is a farmer, and professional hunter, but he also has a herd of goats. And this little girl's life began.

 Unfortunately, she is a twin and her mommy chose not to feed her. Now, she has to be hand reared and has to be fed a few times a day. She even sleeps like a new born baby. This photo was taken right after Flip and his brother took her away from the kraal. She wasn't very happy with me, she kept bleating. It kind of sounds like a real baby too. But as soon as Flip held her, she was calm. She slept in his arms for almost an hour. And then she got her own crate with warm water bottles.

Exploring the world, one wonky step at a time

 

I took the pictures with my cellphone camera and she couldn't resist inspecting it. This is the shot I got. She also kept on nudging my inner thigh with her nose, she was looking for her momma's teet, but no such luck with me. So I just stuck my finger in her mouth. She sucked it with all her might, but still no milk came. And then she gave up eventually. 

She had some crazy sharp gnashers though. Only the bottom row. But they still have a sharp edge to them and as she sucked on my fingers, I also got a mini exfoliation. hahaha

After all this work, she was pooped. Bleating like a baby with a messy diaper, I put her in her crate. Nap time.

Isn't this just the sweetest thing? 

We don't drink pink drinks!

Well, luckily I'm not a guy, and neither are my friends. So we were allowed to drink some yummylicious pink drinks at my friend Tracy's Jambalaya and Jam Jar party this weekend.

And luckily Louis Gosset Jr wasn't around to hand me a Windhoek Light. I would have fought him for the pink drink. Even if he is 6 m tall! I might have told him to put the Windhoek next to my g&t, that stood patiently waiting for me to finish my pink drink. I might have drank the light beer. I might have.

How to make this deliciously delicious pink drink:

You will need:
2 shots of Captain Morgan Spiced Gold (light rum)
A squeeze of lime
Half a shot of grenadine or pomegranate cordial
Top off with equal parts granadilla and orange juice

Mix and drink! And enjoy! We did.

 

  

I'm watching you Dave. Keep it real.

You and me both, kid

The title of this post really has little to do with what I am about to write about.

It's a lyric, which has been stuck in my head all day long. It's Failsafe by The New Pornographers. I really like this indie rock band consisting of AC Newman and a group of ridiculously talented people. 

Before I lose the plot of the story completely, I wanted to share the lovely day we spent with my beau Flip and our friends for his birthday. It was a mild day, not too cold and definitely not warm enough. The wind was tugging mellowly at our clothes and hair. It was a good day, spent with good friends.

The location was a very unlikely one. An airport. A quaint little airport, with a quaint little restaurant. It was a real treat to watch vintage biplanes, small propellers and the odd helicopter or two taking off and landing a few hours later. Yes, we nearly spent our whole Sunday at this little airport.

Travel Tuesday: An Australian living in the UK

I will not start today's post with negativity. I will not tell you that at this very sweet moment, I am freezing and I would rather like a nice chicken soup or a summer for that matter, than a cold office and a seed loaf health sandwhich. 

Instead I will tell you about a beautiful blonde girl that likes to go places. Meet Sophie Learmont from The Littlest Things.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey everyone,
I am Sophie from The Littlest Things.
I am so excited to be here guest posting about my travelling adventures for the lovely Megan!
Since I am from Sydney and I currently live in the UK, travel is something I do quite often. And I couldn't be more in love with it. Living in the UK makes it so easy to pop over to another country for a quick little weekend trip. It's amazing.
But the most amazing trip I have done was a major backpacking trip with my boyfriend, George. We set off for a five week adventure in July 2009 and traveled to Spain, Italy and Greece.

Here are photos of all the places and cities we visited:

Madrid

 Plaza Mayor; stunning square in the middle of Madrid.

Valencia

Charming little streets around Valencia leading into this beautiful square. There was also an amazing fountain just to the right as well.

Barcelona

ahh beautiful Barcelona. I miss it so much. This is another lovely sunset over the marina.

Milan

Two Ferrari's just chilling on the street, standard for Milan.

Florence

These stunningly charming little markets were on every corner in Florence, but this one was the best we saw.

Rome

Amazing view from the top of the Spanish Steps. View of St Peter's Basilica.

Athens 

Eating a refreshing peach and checking out the view after climbing Lykavittos Hill.

Paleokomi

Sunbaking around the pool at a friends house in a charming, little village in North Greece.

Santorini

(two photos because I couldn't decide between them) The most gorgeous place ever. Literally like walking around a postcard. We couldn't have finished the trip off to a more relaxing and amazing place.

These are just some of the memories of our trip, memories I'll never forget.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So go check out the life and adventures of Sophie!

Am I allowed to say that I am extremely jealous?