Monday 31 March 2014

Who has more fun?

Two month ago I walked into Hairitage Hair Salon to have my hair dyed back to its natural colour (a dark brunette). An hour later I was blonde! Since then the social experiment has proved very fruitful. Do blondes have more fun? I can certainly say that they do get noticed more. Gone are the days when I waited in queues. I simply pull into a gas station and immediately get served. No coins for the car-guard - no problem. "Don't worry ma-um, next time" they all say. And tossing ones curls has never been so fun. 

Perhaps my new Arian looks have inspired a different lifestyle, I spend more time in the sun (this is crucial for me not to look like a salamander), I surf more and spend a lot of time on the beach. Do blondes have more fun?

Having blonde hair 'forces' me to go and visit the salon more often as I am blessed with the ability of rapid hair growth (wonderful for the hair on my head - not so fab for the rest of my body), which means more head rubs and more time on the massage chair. It also means more consulting time with the wonderful Macheila Purchase who has become therapist and stylist. So I am more relaxed and happier.

As for fun, I will always have fun. 

alexsweetcharity.blogspot.com
Before and after. Thanks Hairitage Hair Salon make an appointment see link here 


Monday 24 March 2014

Crappy

Sometimes you have a crappy day.

You just wake up on the wrong side of the bed, you stub your toe, next minute the gate remote battery is dead and you are late for work. 

If your bad luck streak is still going strong then the morning will see you in  a traffic jam running low on petrol. When you do eventually screech into work you have lost your parking to the new guy in HR, so you have to park in the peasants spot out back where all the stray cats are fed by Deb in accounting. This inevitably leads you to step in their doo doo and arrive at work not only late, but smelling of crap. 

I digress. Sometimes you have a bad day. 

But when I have a day like that, I am reminded of the story of Crappy, told to me by a dear friend to remind me that no matter how bad the day gets, it could be worse.
Forgive me if you know the tale for I am told that the legend has spread far and wide. For those of you who are unfamiliar - let me recount it:

An unsuspecting Rhodesian scholar (that is to say - a boy from Rhodes University) brought home young girl from a local bar. One thing led to another and she found herself straddling him in mid coitus whereupon (and for reasons we can only speculate) she crapped herself. Without a second thought - and without collecting any of her possessions - she jumped out of the window of his first-floor dorm room. BUT - not before taking the time to wipe her arse on his curtain! 

The joke for me is that she was OK with leaving in the way she did, but without wiping first!

Rhodes University is a small campus and news got out. She became so renowned that even when fleeing to the University of Cape Town, the legend that is 'Crappy' followed her.

Forgive me if you are reading this Crappy, but be happy in the knowledge that I too have crapped on a curtain (see the post http://alexsweetcharity.blogspot.com/2014/03/no-dont-push.html) and that you have made so many other people happy.

The point is that when you are having a bad time, be happy in the knowledge that things could be worse. There are no negatives in our lives which we cannot overcome. Even Crappy. She has so many positives going for her - like the fact that we don't know her name. 

When you have a bad day take a deep breath and call a friend, they will know how to make everything better. Thank you to all my wonderful friends. I love you so much.


Monday 3 March 2014

No don't push!


I giggle when I'm nervous.
The nurse came into my cubicle and pulled the curtains closed around us. I asked her if I should take off my pants. She snapped back that I shouldn't be wearing any in the first place. In one hand she was holding the enema bottle, in the other she had a tube of lube. I started to giggle.
She told me I needed to turn over and relax. A sharp pain.
"No don't push," shouted the nurse.
"I'm sorry nurse. I'm so sorry. I don't even know I'm doing it," I giggled.
"NO don't laugh, relax or it will hurt," she replied.
It did hurt. I tried to relax. I felt a sensation that I never wish to feel again as the saline solution sprayed into my colon. By now I felt so uncomfortable that my giggles had turned to laughter.
"NO DON'T LAUGH!" was the last thing I heard as I gave out a huge belly laugh which expelled the enema onto the curtain behind me.
"You are NAUGHTY!" the nurse laughed as she repeated the procedure.
I can only imagine what the other patients in the intimate ward of St Anne's hospital were thinking as they overheard all the commotion which ended with a wet curtain in front of them. 
The nurse called my mom back into the cubical. Before walking out, she wiped the sweat off her brow and exclaimed: "Eish! It was bad."

A week earlier I had been to see a specialist. It was to be the solution to months of tests and doctors prodding me and nurses taking blood. I had lived through my worst fears. Completely alone I had to give viles of blood, living through my phobia with the help of kind nurses who dried my tears and gave me suckers and held me when I cried.

Cancer is something that every person can relate to in some way or another. Our family is no exception. We are riddled with a smorgasbord of cancers from skin to breast, stomach, you name it - we have it. Unfortunately one of these cancers is hereditary colon cancer. 

I haven't written in a while because I have been concentrating on getting better. Today I am cancer free and happy. But I am one of the lucky ones. I cannot stress enough the importance of being healthy and keeping a positive attitude. It saved my life. 


alexsweetcharity.blogspot.com
My mom said I woke up and asked her to take a photo for my blog!