Given that my directions seldom involve road names and rely heavily on shared experience (turn left at the pizza shop where we got that really awesome Calzone that one time or it's behind that place that I got those red shoes that give me blisters; and that while the "you're here" tab on a map certainly helps me see where I am it can seldom tell me in which direction I am facing and thus hinders my forward progress somewhat; I've left it to Danger McEwan to plot our route. Besides, she bought a map so it seems only fair that she should become our "great and illustrious navigator".
Never a one to do anything by halves Danger got right down to earning her title and began what one may only call a map appreciation endeavour and this is what she tells me:
While we still await the official checkpoints for 2012 this is what 2011 had in store...
Etosha NP, Namibia (1800km - distance from jhb)
Kasane, Botswana (1200km)
Livingstone, Zambia (120km)
Lake Malawi (1440km)
Inhambane, Moz (1340km)
FINISH! Mlilwane park, Swaziland (850km)
These distances set her "a-trembling" and the great fear that on this whirlwind tour we'd miss some of the best sites (it's a given) has her frenziedly mapping not only a main route but side-routes too and may well see us doing many more than 7000kms as we go off route to see "that famous collection of glass owls...".
She has however reminded me that we should probably figure out how to pay the rest of our deposit before we map ourselves out of the game. Ah Danger, she is wise.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Monday, 10 October 2011
Am I too old for this...?
This weekend, for the first time in a very long time I went to a party and stayed up all night (!) only wending my extremely weary way home at 7am. I was up again at 10am to see a friend run a half marathon (well done Tamarin McG) and only ended up in my wonderful bed 12 hours later having failed somehow to squeeze in a much deserved afternoon nap and chosen to do washing instead (for shame). Today I pay for my "rockstar lifestyle", feeling like I've been run over (repeatedly). I can't remember the last time I felt this knackered and I'm beginning to wonder what's happened to my stamina - I'm sure three hours of sleep was more than enough when I was 18, and I've definitely stayed up till dawn at many parties before this - but it seems those days are behind me.
This all begs the question - how am I going to cope 14 hour days driving; followed by checkpoint parties and tent sleeping? Anyone got any good car games to keep my mind occupied and car music options to keep us on good form? And of course energy drink recommendations (only of the legal kind please, I have enough problems without that) are most welcome. In fact, if anyone can get hold of any powerthirst (see below), let me know. And if you don't know of powerthirst you must watch all their videos on youtube, this is my favourite but they are all pretty crazy, and awesome.
Gratutious amounts of energy, sounds right up my street...
This all begs the question - how am I going to cope 14 hour days driving; followed by checkpoint parties and tent sleeping? Anyone got any good car games to keep my mind occupied and car music options to keep us on good form? And of course energy drink recommendations (only of the legal kind please, I have enough problems without that) are most welcome. In fact, if anyone can get hold of any powerthirst (see below), let me know. And if you don't know of powerthirst you must watch all their videos on youtube, this is my favourite but they are all pretty crazy, and awesome.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
And then there was social media
There's all manner of ways to connect with the world around us these days and as a facebook user for several years now I've finally graduated to having not just a Facebook profile but also a Facebook page and you should totally like it (insert subliminal messaging here). I did, shamefully or not, have to read a blog to set up this page but in doing that found this awesome article on "if Facebook was a country" which I couldn't resist sharing with everyone.
In my excitement at my social media savvy (and what might also be callled a rush of blood to head) I also set up a twitter account and you should totally follow us @Pennyputsfoot (insert more subliminal messaging here). I didn't have to read any blogs to get that set up but I did then waste a good hour watching the tweets scroll by me and realised the wicked web that is social media and it's time-draining potential (almost worse than that day I spent youtubing kittens). I can only hope that @andrew_girvan, my very own social media guru, has trained me well.
In other news, I still don't know where the carburettor is (I had to google how to spell carburettor for goodness sake) and someone told me cars also have altenators (apparently not something that helps you switch between parallel worlds). Bother.
In my excitement at my social media savvy (and what might also be callled a rush of blood to head) I also set up a twitter account and you should totally follow us @Pennyputsfoot (insert more subliminal messaging here). I didn't have to read any blogs to get that set up but I did then waste a good hour watching the tweets scroll by me and realised the wicked web that is social media and it's time-draining potential (almost worse than that day I spent youtubing kittens). I can only hope that @andrew_girvan, my very own social media guru, has trained me well.
In other news, I still don't know where the carburettor is (I had to google how to spell carburettor for goodness sake) and someone told me cars also have altenators (apparently not something that helps you switch between parallel worlds). Bother.
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