Random Thoughts #2

Or is it #3??

>  Stairs in South Africa are more narrow than ones in the States.  So, if you put your foot in the stair, in the States my foot fits, but here, I kick the board of the next step every time.  Coming down the stairs, I need to be particularly careful and sort of tilt my foot to the side so that I don't over-step the step and fall completely on my face.

>  South Africa wine has a higher alcohol content (generally speaking) than American wine.  Also, Pinelands (where I live) is a dry community, so if you want to purchase wine, you either have to order it (once a week) or drive outside of the area to buy it.  So now I have my little stash of wine bottles tucked away on my bedroom shelves.

>  What is this thing called "winter"???  Winter in Cape Town means beautifully sunny days and mild temps.  Temps are in the mid 60's during the day, enough that one can sit outside (in the sun) and be wearing shorts, but as soon as the sun goes down, it gets cold.

>  I have taken up residence in the conference room at the Lodge we are living at.  The nature of the work I am doing (have I yet posted about my projects??  That is a topic for a different day) means that I am doing quite a bit of Internet research, and having a quiet place to think and spread out is good.  Plus there is a heater in here. :) To be sure, I need to have a physical presence at the school, but it sure is easier to work from over here.

>The Spin Instructor is some sort of She-Devil.  I, me, personally, loves a good hard class, but really.  8 minute seated climbs???  And when I turned down my tension (so that the pedals go around easier), she called out to the class that "Anyone can sit here and make the pedals go around, but we are here to WORK, and this is a steep climb.  Crank up that tension!!"  And I did and now my quads are screaming at me, even though I am just sitting here.  And she uses techno-mixed music.  bleach!!  I may look for a different time and instructor.

> I haven't gotten used to all of the barbed wire or security gates yet.  One cannot gain access to ANY place, just to walk in, except maybe the grocery store.  Everything requires being buzzed in, and most of the buzzers don't work, or are that sketchy sort that the Fast Food places used to have.  The ones where you would say "A double cheese burger and a coke" and the person would mumble something back, and your order actually turned out to be a taco and a chocolate milkshake.  Those sorts of buzzer things.

>  Which leads me to keys.  In the space of 14 days, I have amassed a Key Ring. Surely, that almost makes me permanent here, having a key ring??  I have the key to my room, the key to the front gate, the key to the back door (since I am usually the first one up and my room is outside of the main house, I got a key to the kitchen), and a key to the office in the school that I am using.  They are all those big, old-fashioned keys.

> I keep forgetting to check, but I need to find out if, in the sink, does the water swirl down the drain clock-wise or counter-clock-wise??

Inquiring minds, you know.