Corenza C

I took a sick day today.  Things took a downward turn on Friday when I woke up with a scratchy throat.  Far be it for me to whine, after a weekend of feeling below average, I'm definitely on the mend.

I've had great success in the last few encounters with sickness by allying myself with Sinumax.  This time around, I took Cath's advice and went with Corenza C.  C for vitamin C I think.  Thing is, I had all this time on my hands, and my experience with this new pill was unlike the heart pounding, highly strung pseudoephedrine induced Sinu-coaster... so I wikipedia'ed the active ingredient in Corenza.  Phenylephrine.

It seems to have risen to prominence after 'they' discovered that pseudoephedrine can quite easily be reduced to crystal meth.  Thus its become subject to regulators and drug companies have switched to phenylephrine to sidestep them.

However, time being aplenty, I then googled 'How much does crytal meth cost', and someone suggested around $100 a gram.  While my 120mg Sinumax tablets cost about R35 for 10... and thus using ridiculous extrapolation, pseudoephedrine is about R40 per gram.

So maybe drug companies just did the figures and discovered there was a 'premium pricing' alternative, which in many cases is subject no legislation... hard as society may try.

Potato and Leek

Last night's soup evening with another cell was another capacity extending moment.  I'd scheduled a double batch of Potato & Leek after work and a stop at Spar... and then I offered someone a lift.  All with a 7pm deadline, in Abbotsford... which in local terms is a full-on roadtrip.

It would have been fine, except we don't really do kitchen equipment at May Street.  So my two and a half litres of soup was being transported in a 2.5l pot.  You do the math.  Simple division should suffice.

I set off with my 2.5L Potato & Leek G-meter.  It was an eye opener.  Each remotely sharp bit of braking was punished with a slap of soup onto the tray.  Mighty good call on the tray.  I imagine that spilling that much liquid potato would be literally the 5th or 6th worst thing you could spill in your car; beaten only by paint, motor oil, a barrel of pilchard juice or the full contents of a government officials' bladder.  After a staff party.

Learners License

I hit the home straight today.  The last step to getting me back on two wheels legally was Learners License; the Trilogy.

I feel like I'm an old hand at it now, but things got off to a rocky start.  The examiner walks you through 4 demo questions, just to make sure everyone knows how to do a multiple choice test.  More on that later.

Question 1:  What is the most important rule on the roads?
a) Dont break the speed limit
b) Be careful and courteous at all times
c) Keep left as far as is safe.

She prompted her class for the answer and I confidently said B, while literally everyone other person in the room said C.  C was correct.  It was a little awkward.

Fortunately I prevailed.

I chatted to a father - waiting for his son to write, while waiting for our marks.  He proudly told me his son had been driving around that morning by himself.  Sans-license.  I should probably have a problem with it, except some people who passed needed help understnding how multiple choice works... so I'm going to let it slide.

Stuff

I watched a skit by a comedian called George Carling once.  It was called Stuff.  I suspect it was a little on the foul side, but he made some good points.  Humans collect stuff.

Following a recent windfall... of stuff... from Dad's house. I went to Game to source some plastic chests to replace the haphazard box collection (aka cockroach funfair), in my garage.

While I was at the shops (Game), I noticed a lady pushing a trolley down the aisles.  She clearly wasn't an employee... but, she was wearing a bright pink top, pushing a bright pink trolley in Game.  I was "this close" (thats pretty close, Kietsphat) to asking her if she worked there.  It would have been epic.  Sensitivty caught me unfortunately.

I found the plastic containers (black).  The sticker on them said "Addis... Our black is green".  George made a great point in another skit... he said, "We worry we're killing the world with plastic... the world isn't going anywhere... We are!"

Meatloaf

Putting food on the table isn't as easy as studying for a degree, finding a job in a competitive market and then putting in 9hrs a day behind your desk... you also need to decide what to put on the table.

I find myself in this vexing position twice a week, and while housemate Nic is an entirely accomodating person-who-eats-what-i-cook, I need to eat what i cook too.

I've seen them before, I've even done that thing where you pick something up and judge its quality by shaking it up and down to see how much it weighs.  Caught in the tumult of last minute menu planning, I grabbed the Spar meatloaf and headed off to find an accompanying carb.

Kudos to the marketing department, their openness and synchronised deception is noteworthy.  Had they called it beef loaf, or pork bread... the butchery's hands would be tied... had they not covered the meatloaf in cheese, an astute shopper might have noticed the unusual combination of dead animals contained within.

To make matters worse, while I was manouvering our meat-bonanza out of the oven it slipped... bounced (unusual for a meat) and then lay wobbling on the vinyl floor.

Nic summed it up well - "That was... ok... I wouldnt serve it to... anyone else"

Licensing

The licensing department. Where hopes and dreams are crushed, hourly.

I may soon have to pay rent for my square meter at the bottom of Oxford Street. Fortunately I'm going to make a killing on licensing & registration consulting. There can't be many registrations tasks I haven't tried my hand at these last two weeks.

I've tried renewing and selling trailers and cars... held in an estate; registering and road worthying a motorbike... with an expired license... without a valid drivers license... which isn't yet in my name. Bam. I'm becoming one with NatIS.

When tackling a system, all you need is the right inputs. Which would be palateable if most of the inputs weren't wads of cash. I will persevere.

I'm getting addicted to seeing people run into the brick wall of documentation. At least 1 in 3 victims (applicants) queue for 30 minutes, only to discover that they need 2 ID photos, not 1 (today), or that they need a road worthy certificate to license their new car (also today) or that they shouldn't have filled in section B (last week). It's like watching an accident happen in slow mo.

Most unsettling is that no one gets angry. People come expecting to fail. Not entirely dissimilar to watching idols. I may try singing for the clerk when I head back on Wednesday.

Tomorrow I'm breaking the monotony with a trip to the traffic department for a roadworthy, with a side of learner's license application.

Hyundai Accent BGZ 311 EC

The end of an era.

The Hyundai just left my drive way. It signals much needed progress in my fight against motor vehicle admin. But its not without some sentimental mourning.

It was the first car I picked myself. In hindsight, I made the decision without much knowledge. Infact, it highlights the relative ignorance that someone can operate in, and enjoy a fair degree of success. It makes me wonder what I'll look back on in 5 years and shake my head at.

The Hyundai has taken many roles. It became the mascot for Team Hyundai. An aptly named squad. United by its Navy'ness. Megs, Wingwoman, Cat and Se'... we'll need to re-evaluate our unity.

It took me to Port Alfred for a weekend with good friends; Stu, Mole, Kietsphat & Jamo and got us home safe - despite one massive pothole on the way back. I remember driving the whole way with all the windows down, making those Rebecca Black wind dolphins for an hour an half because I couldn't hear Dean.

Its been ghost ridden. True story. We danced while it rolled.

Mandy left her mark, the front door still opens funny. Your legacy lives on Kemp :)

Its been hand braked turned. Quiet about that one.

It's more recently been to Hogsbck for an awesome weekend of coldness, sherry, more coldness, and to discovering a great friend Pete.

It took us to Matola for the last holiday we had with Mom. And I remember clocking in at 140 with revs to spare on the way there.

It ferried Cath and I on our first date, fortunately it was dark and didn't advertise its cancerous skin condition.

That reminds me, I top speeded it at 170km/ph.... on a private road... not a public one. Heehee.

I took it past the 200 000km (not ph) mark. My planned celebration failed because I lost track of the mileage and probably passed the iconic mark en-route the Spar to buy a chicken burger.

And now its getting its body redone by the new owner and will come out looking better than ever, a well deserved 3rd wind.