I now live in the North Pole

I now live in the North Pole*

Actually I don't ... but people seem to think that I do.

Hartbeespoort Dam is a 35/40 minute drive out of Johannesburg, but people seem to think that it is FARRRR away.. as in the other side of the world.

You wouldn't believe how many comments I have received from people saying "you live so far away!"

So yes, now I live in the "North Pole" so I take it that I won't be seeing your arses anytime soon.

(In a sarcastic tone) Yes, when visiting Stacey you'll need to take the following:

A 45 minute car trip to airport.
A 12 hour flight to my area
Then a two hour bus drive
and to top it off, a 3.1536 sec car drive to my front door.

Gee whiskers - the amount of energy and effort you'll need to take to come visit me. Funny enough - it only takes me 40 minutes to get to your front door!?

Putting down roots

At some time in anyone's life, there comes a point when one settles down and puts down roots - whether it be by buying a house, starting a family, getting dogs and so on. These are all factors that cements one in one place.

I am almost 25 and have started putting down roots. This is something foreign to me.
I have always thought that I would live a nomadic life - never putting down any roots that would cement my life. My families live in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg. I didn't want to be cemented as I wanted the freedom to see all my family and friends.

This term of 'cementing' or 'putting down roots' or 'settling' always puts me on my nerves, making me feel anxious. I generally always fight the way of 'life routine'.

Houses, dogs and babies are things that don't allow you to just pack up and travel, or go on holidays or go and see family and friends in other places. You are bound by these responsibilities.

I have found my perfect home and adopted 6 dogs.
I want to be settled, I want to have a place where I can call home - but in the same breath, it scares me as I can no longer EASILY see family and friends as I have a house to upkeep and dogs to look after.

How do you know when it is the right time to be 'cemented' or 'settled'?
How do you not become scared at the fact that you can't easily see family and friends? And, how do you remove the guilt (feeling guilty for not being able to always see the important people in your life?)
How do you know when you are settled? Cemented?

I died today. Love, Your Puppy

*Received this via email* HEARTBREAKING

Dear Mom and Dad,

I died today. You got tired of me and took me to the shelter. They were overcrowded and I drew an unlucky number. I am in a black plastic bag in a landfill now. Some other puppy will get the barely used leash you left. My collar was dirty and too small, but the lady took it off before she sent me to the Rainbow Bridge .

Would I still be at home if I hadn't chewed your shoe? I didn't know what it was, but it was leather, and it was on the floor. I was just playing. You forgot to get puppy toys.

Would I still be at home if I had been housebroken? Rubbing my nose in what I did only made me ashamed that I had to go at all. There are books and obedience teachers that would have taught you how to teach me to go to the door.

Would I still be at home if I hadn't brought fleas into the house? Without anti-flea medicine, I couldn't get them off of me after you left me in the yard for days.

Would I still be at home if I hadn't barked? I was only saying, "I'm scared, I'm lonely, I'm here, I'm here! I want to be your best friend."

Would I still be at home if I had made you happy? Hitting me didn't make me learn how.

Would I still be at home if you had taken the time to care for me and to teach manners to me? You didn't pay attention to me after the first week or so, but I spent all my time waiting for you to love me.

I died today.

Love, Your Puppy

*Help those dogs and cats in shelters who need good homes and love.*

Stacey's Blogging Book Club

Right, I think I am going to start a blogging 'book club'.

Now, I don't read often (although would love to) but when I come across a book that grabs me it's like a train on steroids... racing through every page, every chapter like a bullet, at the speed of lightening.

In this virtual 'book club' I'll recommend some of the books I read.

Some of my ultimate favourites are:

Mushy Peas on Toast
The Notebook
and recently... (drum roll)

Rachael: Woman of the Night by Rachael Lindsay.

If you are a looking for a great read, this is it.

I went to the library the one day and got two books. And as I was about to leave, something inside me said go back and look again. I did. I found this book. It stared at me. It said "take me, take me."

I did and was en-captured in it's words ever since. After reading it, it's like I want to contact the writer and say how much she has inspired me.

In a nutshell, it's about a woman in a financial hole and she has to become an escort to in order to try support herself and her family.

It's like one of those books that you don't want to end and you feel saddened when it does.

Do yourself a favour and read it.

You'll find yourself connecting with it, resonating with it, seeing yourself in it (although you're not an escort, but her problems you will probably have experienced).

Cheers to the writer, your writing is exceptional!

I wish I didn't have to return the book to the library and keep it in my favourite pile at home - but I'd be fined 10c, for every week it's late....

Social Isolation

Oh cheeseballs... you can never win.

Why is it that when you work from an office you day dream, and yearn to work from home. "Ah, yes it would be better. Flexible time. No traffic. No petrol. The ability to do what you want. No boss breathing down your neck. No office gossip or some other employee in the next cubicle irritating the living shit out of you."

Yes, working from home sounds like the best plan.

I worked in an office. Now I work at home - it's been a few months now.

The tables have reversed. I can now see the pros and cons to both.

Yes I don't have to sit in traffic, or waste petrol (although this money that would have been saved is now used on my ever-growing phone bill phoning clients); I don't have to be watched by my boss continually or absorb any negative energy that lingers in offices. No watching the clock.

Yes, working from home has it's ups. But it also has it's downs.

Working from home, in all honesty is lonely. You have no one to chat to. Yes, you 'speak' to clients via emails or telephone calls but that constant noise of employees and friends in the office is no longer there.

I can speak to my dogs, but they don't talk back.

To add to this feeling, I now live on a farm. No cars passing or people on the streets - just the sound of nature. Yes, it's beautiful in all it's natural sounds, but I don't classify speaking to bugs or crickets or owls any form of communication.

So it's the quietness of the home office, the quietness of the farm and to add to this, I don't have normal TV or DSTV. I watch DVD's at night, but watching the same thing over and over again is brain-numbing. Watching TV, or the news at least keeps you in check with reality. Living in isolation far away from anything, makes you feel that you are not living in reality.

I also live miles away from anyone - so I don't get to see friends that much. I feel out of the loop with friends and miss opening my mouth and actually speaking; having an intellectual stimulating convo.

My mouth has been invisibly sealed. Where has my mouth gone?

I do feel socially isolated, but I guess that's what you guess when you don't work in an office; live in the bush or don't have DSTV.

I wonder how people overcome this loneliness working from home? I read an article about it - so it's obviously not just me feeling this way. I think all people who work from home have this. Whether they resort to talking to trees, or their cat I don't know.

Other than that, working from home is great.

I think I just need to see people more, go into the office a bit more and then I'll have the balance.

I need communication and social interaction.

Crickets, trees and owls - you will have no more of my communication.