Dear Cape town

Thank you so much for an amazing mini break! Many thanks to all the people that made every second of it incredible and fun and filled with memories that'll last a life time.

The mini break started on Wednesday afternoon when i was dropped off at Lanseria airport after work.  Sadly my flight was delayed, but my iPad *grin*, the sandwich and the cider from the little coffee shop kept me more than entertained while i waited.  The flight was uneventful, for which I'm grateful, as I realised just before boarding that it would be the first time ever that i was flying alone without any company.

Thursday morning was spent with my good friend Superolz who recently moved to CT from Jozi.  We stopped for coffee at Blouberg and then headed off towards Stellenbosch for some wine tasting.  We went to Waterford wine estate where we did the whole chocolate and wine experience.  It was my first time there and i must say the chocolate and the wine were absolutely divine!  After relaxing at Waterford we dashed off to Thelema wine estate for another quick tasting as we didn't have much time left before i had to meet up with another friend.

Thursday afternoon was spent wandering around the Company Gardens and visiting the museum.  The gardens are absolutely gorgeous, even though i was attacked by an evil squirrel.  The squirrels in the Company Gardens are incredibly tame and they come right up to you if you hold your hand out to them.  When the squirrel however realised that i didn't actually have any food for it, it ran after me and actually jumped onto my leg and tried to climb up...i managed to get it off quickly, thank goodness.  oh and for the record....this happened TWICE!

A large part of the afternoon was spent wandering around the V&A Waterfront with my good friend Maniac. Then it was time for Strawberry daiquiris at the Ambassador hotel to watch the sunset followed by dinner at HQ.  I do believe this is one of the most amazing restaurants EVER! Their menu reads as follows: Salad, steak and chips.  They serve salad for a starter and steak and chips....that's it.  Best steak I've had in a VERY long time:)

Friday was spent with my friends Maniac, Flipside and Suekie doing one of those Hop-On-Hop-Off city bus tours.  We had so much fun, even though the boys both got sun burnt.  We spent quite a bit of time exploring the fort, I mean castle and later on had the most divine lunch at Blues in Campsbay.  Then it was time to head off to the tweetup, aptly named #RubyComesToCapeTown, where i finally had the opportunity to meet some of my online friends face to face and to see some old friends once again.  In attendance was Riven, AniB, Alice, Ann, MajorProblem, Pinkhairgirl, Craig, Flipside, Suekie, Superolz, Maniac and of course Me:) We went to Wakame, which i have to say has the most divine sushi!

Saturday morning i was up early as I was super excited to be spending the morning with my cousin.  The oldest of the 3 children that form part of the replacement family, she moved to Cape Town in December of last year.  And i haven't seen her in a very long time.  Maniac decided to join us on our adventure as he didn't have any plans.  Being the awesome friend that he is, he stopped by Vida on the way so i could get my Vida fix to start the day...*does happy dance*.

After picking my cousin up we headed out to Kirstenbosch, where we spent an enjoyable morning having wine with cheese and crackers...now THAT's what i call the breakfast of royalty:)  Kirstenbosch is absolutely gorgeous, and it's a pity we didn't have more time to wander around.

The afternoon was spent wine tasting with Maniac and his friend Attie.  Attie, being the local took us to Lourensford first.  Then we headed off towards Vergelegen.  After a memorable stroll through the gardens and having quite a bit of wine he sneaked us up to the Vergelegen wine cellars. I only have one word to describe this place.....wow! The view was absolutely breathtaking.


On Sunday morning I woke up to an overcast sky and rain.  It seems that Cape Town was sad to see me go *wishful thinking*.  Since the flight back home was only in the afternoon we took a drive out to Houtbay and decided to try our luck doing the Chapman's peak drive.  Even though it was misty and rainy and cloudy it was incredibly beautiful.  If it weren't for the fact that we were meeting Inky, Kambabe, Flipside and the squidlets for coffee and cake in Houtbay i doubt i would have been able to tear myself away from that awesome view.

So here i am back in Jozi daydreaming about my mini break, my friends and the memories I made.  I'll see you again real soon Cape Town.

Love
 Ruby
xxxxxx

Dear Drunk Driver

Tonight at 10 minutes to midnight it will be exactly 5 years since that fateful night.  5 years....wow...I can't believe it.  At times it feel like it couldn't be that long...at other times i could swear the accident happened a lifetime ago.

I don't know where you are in life, and I'm grateful that I don't have any contact with you.  But sometimes i wonder if you ever think about that night.  If you ever even realised how much damage you caused.  Have you ever thought about it and wanted to apologize for it? As I'm sitting here writing this I realise that you never did.  Not even once.  You never apologized.  Not for the act and not for the consequences.  But I've forgiven you regardless.  I refuse to spend my life bearing a grudge, I'll be the only one suffering if i did.

Sometimes i can't help but wonder how different my life would have been.  And then my mind starts wandering towards the what ifs and the whys and the why Me's.  But then i start looking at my life now.  Yes, at the time i was convinced you had ruined my life.  Being practically bedridden for two months was no joke.  The constant headaches that I'll probably have for the rest of my life, my metal ankle, the scars, the fact that my wrist isn't nearly as strong as it used to be, nightmares and a court case that went on forever those were and still are tough. 

But i look at my life now and i realise that i have so many blessings in the form of people, things, realisations and relationships.  And then i wonder how much of this i would have missed if I hadn't been in the accident.  The fact that i emerged from that accident with my life was a miracle in its self...and for that I'm eternally grateful.  It made me a more aware, more grateful, more 'wanting to live' kind of person. 

For a very long time talking/writing/thinking about the accident kind of brought my heart to my throat.  But as i sit here today I realise that is a thing of the past.  Yes, i still have nightmares sometimes and the scars, pain and blaring metal detectors at airports will always be a reminder.  But you know....reminders of how different things could have been and how lucky I am to be alive have now been filed into the positive rather than the negative side of my brain.

I hope you are happy.  I hope you have found peace, and i hope you have become more responsible in time.

Regards
Ruby

Dear Afrihost

Ohmigosh!!!! I won! i won! i won! *super big grin*

So Afrihost is relaunching their brand and they had a competition :)  The prizes were 2 x 64GB 3G & Wifi iPads and 3 x iPhone 4 's. I never win anything, so wasn't expecting anything to come of it.  So great was my surprise when on Monday afternoon my twitter stream started filling up with messages of congratulations.  After much confusion i moseyed on over to the website to find this:

Yep, that's my name you see there.....i circled it for you, just in case you missed it:) Not only that, but later in the week i also won 10GB of prepaid data from Afrihost, which'll come in very handy once I've installed the ADSL line into my new place.

But enough of the technical stuff...i think I'm in love with my little iPad.  It arrived at my office on Friday afternoon...and I've been in geek heaven ever since:) See the grin when it was delivered?

I've been petrified of scratching it, so today i went on a mission to find a suitable cover.  And trust me, this was a mission.  Since it hasn't officially been launched here yet, accessories are scarce..but i did finally discover a couple of covers I liked, and immediately settled on this incredibly gorgeous and glam red, notebook like cover...i love it!

Thank you once again to Afrihost for this awesome prize.  I couldn't have been happier if i tried:)

Love
Ruby
xxxxx

Dear Being Brazen

As always, my current addictions posts are addressed to you, as you were the inspiration behind them. So here follows a little bit of who i am and what makes me tick:) At the moment there are a couple of things in life that i feel i can't live without. They are as follows:


1.  My darling iPhone 3GS
Yes, I'm still very much in love and addicted to my phone.  This was recently affirmed when i had to do a review on an HTC Hero for GirlGuides...I couldn't WAIT to get back to using my iPhone....in fact, I'm so bad that I ended up carrying both phones with me throughout.

2.  Long hot baths
I haven't had the luxury of these for a few years as my previous home only had a shower.  I've rediscovered my love of long hot baths since moving into my new home.  After a long stressful day i can't wait to get home and take a bath:)

3.  Blackadder
I saw a couple of episodes a few years ago, but never had the chance to see Blackadder in it's entirety.  A friend recently gave me seasons 1 to 5 on loan...I'm hooked! I love British humor:)

4.  My Latin Lounge CD
la la la la....such music *dreamy smile*

5.  Peanut butter M&M's
Yoh! A friend of mine recently visited the US and as a favour to me he agreed to bring me some peanut butter M&M's.  Now, if you know me at all you'll know that this is probably one of my all time favourites and these days you can't get then in South Africa.  Little did i know he would bring me back 2.5kg in total *grin*.  But don't worry...I've been eating them in small quantities only...don't want to end up looking like i have a small African country as an ass.

Now tell me....what are your current addictions?

Love
Ruby
xxxxx

Dear *insert name of well known medium sized jozi auditing firm*

I am not impressed...in fact, I'm appalled and disgusted.  How can you call yourself an auditor and pretend like you're all ethical and stuff? You are an utter disgrace to the profession.

But let me start at the beginning.  A couple of months ago a group of companies decided that they didn't want you as their auditors anymore.  They had various reasons for this, the biggest of which was that they could never get hold of the partner assigned to them and the financial statements take months and months and months to prepare.  They chose us as their new auditors. 

By law, the previous auditors are required to sign off all files and give us all the secretarial and taxation files, as well as minutes and resolutions etc etc etc.  Let me  just say i can completely understand WHY the client wanted to move.  The engaging partner is an absolute nightmare to get hold of.  He NEVER returns calls, doesn't reply to e-mails and is always in a meeting when you call.  It took me almost two months just to organize the transfer of the files....ridiculous!

Recently, we signed another new client, also one of your previous clients.  During the course of the audit we had checked opening balances and did the audit work as prescribed.  All the while finding that the previous year's financials contained many many errors.  NOT only that, but the figures in the financial statements didn't actually agree to the figures in the general ledger...as in not even remotely.  Instead of preparing the financials using the same software you use to perform the audit, you had the financials typed up manually, and you just changed figures as you pleased.  What the hell??? AND to top it all off the disclosure was not as per the reporting standards that we have to adhere to, but the audit report isn't even qualified! The poor client has been paying loads of tax(which by right he didn't owe) for the last couple years because of this...it's fraud!  I've lost hours and hours of workable hours trying to fix your mess.

Granted...I did fix it and sort out all the issues.  But it saddens and infuriates me that there are companies like you that don't give a damn about ethics and the fact that you bring our profession into disrepute.

FYI....we will be reporting you to the board, and we have informed the client of the extent of the problem...I'm guessing you might have a court case on your hands somewhere in the near future.

Regards
AngryRuby

Dear Ghost of weekend past

So Friday started off with the worst migraine in the history of RubyMigraines....OK, so maybe not the worst, but definitely top 5.  I drove to work with proper tunnel vision and everything, it was awful:( I spent the first half of the morning on the good old couch in my office, sipping rooibos tea and trying to feel better.  It didn't work.  But i had so much work to do that going home wasn't really and option.  I decided to just bite the bullet and finish the work, trying my best to ignore the pain.

Because of the migraine i didn't make any plans for Friday night, also, I knew i had to spend a whole lot of time working on ASSignments this weekend, so late night partying wasn't really an option.  Near the end of the workday however I started to feel much better and I ended up inviting a friend over for dinner (which was super yummy FYI) after which we headed off to Sandton city to go watch 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'.

We weren't in the mood for something intense or anything that required a lot of focus.....the movie was perfect:) It didn't require much concentration or intelligence but was generally enjoyable and entertaining...awesome:)  I was in bed by the reasonable hour of midnight...not that it means i was actually sleeping by this time, but at least i was in bed....it's a start:)

Saturday morning passed in a blur of research, ASSignment writing and coffee.  But I'm pleased to report that i got a lot done, and for once even though i was working on my ASSignments I wasn't spending my weekend working on WORK stuff.  One step at a time:)

Saturday afternoon was spent by the pool at the Radisson Blu having drinks with the GirlGuides crew.  Much fun was had AND i got some new goodies to review *grin*.  Saturday late afternoon and evening turned into a surprise visit to a friend...talking for hours, watching IT Crowd and listening to good music...what more can a girl ask for?

Sunday was definitely a #HappyRuby day:) I started out visiting my old church near my old home.  It was awesome to see some familiar faces and to feel the 'I'm home'-feeling of it wash over me.  I've been searching for a church close to my new home of late, so I've pretty much been going to a different church each Sunday.  Being back in a familiar environment was nice:)  After church i headed off to the replacements for a lovely Sunday lunch.

The Famous replacements :) 


I was so very tempted to head out towards Magalies for Sunday afternoon drive...to get out of the city and to think of nothing except the beauty around me and focusing on the road.  Sadly, my ASSignments were refusing to complete themselves and I HAD to head back home instead.

All in all, despite having to spend a lot of it working on my masters it was a really good weekend.  I relaxed in between,.....which is always a good thing:)  Life could definitely be a whole lot worse, and I'm grateful it's not:)

Now please hurry along and tell the 'Ghost of weekend to come' that despite the fact that I've got class on Saturday that i expect to have a fantastic weekend:)

Love

Ruby
xxxxx

Dear Pink Hair Girl

I recently found this little bit of fluff on your blog and thought that i could totally use it here:) so here goes:)

1.  What is your signature colour?
Uuuuuhmmmm....this is difficult. I have so many different colours.  But I'll have to say.....Olive green, orange and Ruby red:)

2.  Your most embarrassing moment?
oh goodness.....since we all know i have chronic foot in mouth disease there are so very many of these...and generally i try and forget about them.  I'm sure everyone who knows me can come up with quite a few...you're more than welcome to remind me in the comments:P

3.  Would you ever get anything else pierced, except for your ears.
I considered getting my tongue pierced when i was younger....but to be honest...nope, probably not

4.  Are you a social butterfly or a homebody?
Hmmmm.....all though I'd like to think I'm pretty balanced i suppose i lean way more towards being a social butterfly. I'm almost ALWAYS busy when I'm not working...but i do enjoy a night at home every now and again, just to get focused again:)

5.  Are you done having babies or do you want more?
Well, as far as i know i haven't even started!

6.  Are you loyal to your hair stylist or do you try out every salon in town?
I LOVE my hair stylist! she's got personality and spunk and somehow always manages to do exactly what i want but with some added zing to it.  Sadly, she's very popular and getting an appointment on a Saturday is nearly impossible if you don't book months in advance.  I recently tried out a new hair stylist closer to my new home and one where i can get a same day appointment and they're open till 8pm at night.  I was nervous as all hell and pretty much wanted to die...also, i felt pretty guilty about going to somebody else.  But i have to say I was impressed.  Not only was the girl super nice, she took initiative, but not too much, asked questions to ensure that we were on the same page and she did a super job:) Now at least i have an alternative to my regular hair stylist should i need it:)

7.  How many times have you moved in your life?
Wow! I've moved 11 times! 7 of those moves have been in the last 10 years....insanity i tell you

8.  If you could plan your dream vacation with just you and your love, where would it be?
hmmm...once again i can think of many answers to this question.  Firstly i think I'd like to go all alone to a little wood cabin in the mountains...doesn't that sound absolutely divine?  Or somewhere in a forest maybe.
Another choice here would definitely be doing a world tour backpack style *gets excited at the thought*.

Love
Ruby
xxxxx

Dear Readers

As per previous posts I've done, inspired by Being Brazen, I will answer a few random questions, then you will also answer them in my comments section.  I always have so much fun doing these, and you guys participate so nicely I figured they will now become a regular feature on this here blog:)

I am currently listening to......my 'Today' play list, right now MUTEMATH is playing..totally love them:)

I hate.......not getting closure on things

Anything......is possible...Believe it!

 Today.....is a good day

Things that make me feel all warm and fuzzy and content......knowing I'm loved...seeing a beautiful sunrise or sunset....experiencing nature in it's most perfect form......listening to good music...sharing a beautiful view with someone that is special to me

 Sometimes...dressing up for formal type party and looking all pretty is a great pick-me-up

 True beauty.....can not be measured in what you look like


I am....super incredibly ridiculously excited about my upcoming Cape Town trip:) #RubyComesToCapeTown

I am currently reading......'Hide and Seek' by James Patterson. I've recently rediscovered the bliss that reading brings.  I love reading and used to spend days doing it, these days i sadly don't have the time.  I've promised myself that I'd read at least 2 or 3 pages every night before i go to bed...it helps my brain to focus on something other than my work and studies:)

Right! so now it's your turn...go answer them..pretty pretty please:)

Love
Ruby
xxxx