Electrical storms and pub quizzes...

Don't worry, everything will become clear as this inane little post progresses...

I am currently sitting at work. For those of you who actually might have accidentally stumbled on this blog, I am probably the only person to NOT bitch about my work. Why? Simple. I work at the only place on the planet where drinking on the job is actively encouraged - a wine farm. Every bottle I open, I have to taste (company policy). Every time there's a function, I get to drink other people's wines for free. Every day when I come to work, I leave with wine at the end (you can't let good stuff go to waste). And I even get paid a decent wage (decent for a student doing this on a part-time basis, I even get commission during peak season...). Bliss.

Anyway, here I am, glass of bubbly in hand, slightly hungover after last night, and getting slightly pissed (hair of the dog works well for me) while I'm waiting for people to show up to sell wine to... So I've decided to regale you all with a retelling of my week's experiences so far...

On Monday, I witnessed an electrical storm. A proper one, complete with thunder, lightning, that fizzy feeling in the air, tons of rain, gale force winds, and general chaos. It was GREAT! Maybe it was just the fact that I was watching Metallica's 'Cunning Stunts' DVD, or the fact that I had consumed about half a bottle of whiskey at that point, but it made me feel all young and cuddly inside. It reminded me of the storms we had back in Swellendam when I was a child, where you'd be scared out of your wits, and sometimes be woken up from a lightning blast that was so close that it actually illuminated your room. What was precious about these storms is it brought you face to face with your own mortality (an exhilarating experience even at that age), while at the same time it brought with it a celebration of life. The following day the entire town would always be awash with colours from all the plants suddenly waking up and seeping in the nutrients. Beautiful.

As it turned out, the following day was in fact very vibrant with colour, but considering a hungover man only wants to see in black and white, I was not so appreciative of my surroundings as I was when I was small...

Tuesday and Wednesday was spent doing absolutely nothing. I stayed in bed, ate take-out, played PC, watched movies, and was an absolute slob. Nothing much happened then, unless you call the fact that I watched an entire season of "My name is Earl" and designed 2 'Classic' holes in SimGolf achievements...

On Thursday we took part in that most prestigious of pastimes, the pub quiz. I've also noticed that this is probably the one thing all of my friends have in common - we all tend to take part in pub quizzes, no matter where in the world they are... I guess you're never too old or desperate for free food and booze... For the past couple of weeks, we've been constantly slogging at the quiz, winning a round every now and then, and managing to get a respectable third most every week (apart from the one time we came second, and the one time we came fourth... I guess it evens it out...). The biggest problem with the quiz is that it takes place on a thursday, which means we never make it on time due to debating and only play about 5 out of 8 rounds on average... This week, however, due to the study break, we had a fully rested, relaxed and eager team, and actually managed to be there from round one... Needless to say, we cleaned up, managed to win free rounds of drinks five times out of eight as well, and now I have a voucher for a romantic dinner for two (or one above par piss-up with snacks...) courtesty of the Black Bull, Stellenbosch. Life is good...

Right, before I leave, I've decided to add an "Of the Day" section, so here goes:

Music Lyric of the day: "Can I play with madness, and stare at its crystal ball?" (Iron Maiden, Can I play with madness)

Arb 80's trivia of the day: Andrew Ridgeley was the other guy in Wham!

Suggestion of the day: Try eating a sheep's head at least once in your life. Don't worry, it's dead, and it's technically therefore not staring at you. Just make sure a certified guild member cooks it. I recommend the meat in the cheeks.

Quote of the day: "What you are is what you have been, and what you will be is what you do now" - The Buddha (I thought it should be a deep one that relates to "My name is Earl" - cool series, seriously...)

If you have any suggestions for "Of the Day" feel free to drop a comment...