Missed my flight

I must have been praying too hard or something, but it worked and I was so happy.
Kung, Ania, Audette and I had to fly to Australia later than the rest of the team. That meant we had four extra days in my home city, Jozi, and it was perfect. They would have more time to explore and I would have more time with my family and friends. Wow.

On Thursday afternoon, the day after we had the farewell braai, the rest of the group was packed up, sad and ready to go. It was raining, but not cold and the rain mirrored the mood, as we were going to be split. Okay, I was a little sad too but much more excited and grateful for the extra time.
Once we’d said our goodbyes, I spent the rest of the day with my boyfriend, driving around the city and seeing as much as I could in that one day. Later we went to an album listening session at a studio in town. It was my first experience of such a thing and I really enjoyed it. It was a small group of invited guests and the artists in a relaxed space listening to music, sipping on cocktails and just having good time. I definitely want to do more of that, it’s a good way to make contacts and also pick peoples brains. I love engaging with creative people and exploring their passion and expression.

Friday evening, I was invited to a monthly music event in central Jozi, Newtown. I went along with Kung, picked him up from the hotel and he got to experience my driving. He was speechless. It just felt so good to be in driver’s seat again after such a long time, I thought I would have forgotten.
The event is called the Edgars Music Series, a small concert that happens every once in a while at a venue called the Bassline. Bassline is a celebrated venue in the music community. It housed some of South Africa’s Jazz greats in its time and a place known for only the best quality live music. It has a huge basement section where the stage, seating and dance area is, upstairs is a VIP lounge area where you can mingle with friends and still hear the music. On that wonderful Friday night I got to see live the music I missed so much. It was mainly Kwaito artists performing, Brickz and Zola being the highlights. Later a DJ comes through to finish off the night with some house for the party animals to continue into the early hours.
Once the performances were done, Kung and I went a club called Capitol. On Friday nights they have urban house night with DJ Vinnie da Vinci and some other guest DJ’s. The club night is called Capitol Underground. The crowd is always classy and cool. Kung isn’t that much into house music, but he enjoyed himself and so did I.

Saturday was spent with my sister, shopping and visiting some of my friends. We had a good session bonding. I really miss her a lot and it was nice to catch up on the happenings in her life. She passed her Matric year and is starting university in ‘08. I’m so proud of her; she’s growing up to be a beautiful young lady with a lot of potential.

Sunday I drove to Pretoria to have Sunday lunch at my dad’s girlfriend’s house. I’d never been there before; I don’t like driving the 60 km’s to Pretoria. That 40-minute drive gets a bit boring for me and I don’t really know many people in the city to visit it much.
Home cooked food was so fulfilling and being around family was such a blessing. My dad was asking me all these questions about the tour, filling in the gaps I’d left out of my update emails and calls, and I got to chat to him for a long while. He also took a moment to check what the matter with my car was; turns out I forgot to put oil in it. I wish it wasn’t such high maintenance. I guess it’s what you get for driving an old car.

Monday, the day we had to leave was spent rushing around the city saying final, final goodbyes and packing. I had to also get rid of a lot of stuff in my luggage, it was way too heavy. It still is. But that’s okay.

I loved being home.
So Sydney next, for Christmas and New years.