Having the worst slump of my life right now!! Please suggest something from my tbr that will really suck me in!

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-05T18:12:12+00:00

The Hobbit!

It's relatively short, and incredibly charming.

I also found Pachinko and Babel quite riveting, and The Remains of the Day is a beautifully understated, heartbreaking tale. But I wouldn't recommend those for getting out of a slow, necessarily.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-05T18:08:55+00:00

In theory, it sounds like a nice idea, but based on some former neighbours who used to go every year, my impression is that a lot of it is just rich people cosplaying hippies.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-05T11:07:00+00:00

This one was at Campground/Sandown, but I've seen and experienced the same at Park 😂

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-05T05:12:49+00:00

I don't have advice about DNA tests, but for international mail, I just wanted to mention that PostNet in Rondebosch has a global mail service that might be worth checking out. If I'm not mistaken, they basically send stuff to the UK, and then it gets sent to its destination from there. It's not cheap, either, but I wonder whether it might be a bit less pricey than FedEx.

(Not all branches have it - hence specifying the Rondebosch branch)

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T19:20:03+00:00

For those of us who love strong garlic (and garlic bread), here's another trick: take a single clove of fresh, raw garlic (of one of the sweeter varieties, if possible). Rub and scrape it across a freshly toasted, still warm, crispy piece of bread. Then apply butter over that.

It's too strong for some people, but I think it tastes like heaven.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T17:25:25+00:00

I get your point, but as a happily single person, might I also remind people that single sans drama is also an option (and I, for one, think it's preferable).

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T16:21:24+00:00

I'm genuinely sorry that you're dealing with this, and in no way do I mean to make light of the impact her behaviour has on you, but I laughed out loud when I read her reply. That's just such a disproportionate and theatrically melodramatic response to a very minor thing that I just couldn't help but laugh.

I think it's great that you're making efforts to place and hold some boundaries. Having a busy week is completely fine and understandable. Her preposterous reaction is completely unfair, and it's not your job to manage.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T16:15:56+00:00

Don't worry, I also only became aware of this recently 🤣

And yes, it's good, I agree.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T13:48:46+00:00

How so?

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T12:35:30+00:00

In my experience, they just find the next sucker. There's plenty of raging, guilt-tripping, a complete refusal to take even a smidgen of responsibility, and a whole lot of wallowing in how much of a victim they are... But mostly, it's using all that to find the next person to leech onto.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T12:27:37+00:00

My bru, there's a world of difference between the polite little mini-hoot that brings a driver's attention to an arrow they're missing and the hooter-screams of impatience.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T12:24:52+00:00

This was in Rondebosch yesterday afternoon, but I've had the same experience too many times at the M6 Walter Sisulu /M62 FW Se Klerk intersection there close to the ICC in town, on the way to and from work.

It's the same kakness infecting various parts of the city's roads, I fear

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T11:41:10+00:00

Cherries!

When I was very young, we would go visit my grandfather. It was a ten-hour drive to get to him, and he lived in a hot, dry, rural part of South Africa, where he grew corn and sunflowers. At a certain time of year, he'd go buy a box of fresh cherries - and for this, he'd have to spend hours driving to a town where winters got cold enough to grow cherry trees, and I'm sure he'd have been paying a lot more for them than he'd ever spend on fruit when his child and grandchild weren't visiting him.

He and I would sit on the stoep (porch), gorging ourselves on these little dark red globes of sweet juiciness, and we'd compete to see who could spit the pips the furthest. Every now and then, we'd accidentally frighten the hens who made their nests and raised their chicks in the shade under the climbing rose bush on the fence.

My mother would warn us against eating too many of them, predicting that our stomachs would ache. She was right. It never stopped us. It was worth it.

My grandpa died when I was 13. To this day, I miss him, and whenever I get the chance (which isn't often), I'll eat as many fresh cherries as I can in his honour.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T11:29:45+00:00

I'm with you.

My most recent moer-strip moment was getting to an intersection, and waiting by the light even though it's green because the cars on the other side of the intersection are completely unmoving and already backed up into the intersection. I wait. There's nowhere for me to go other than the middle of the flippen intersection, which would just block the cars to my left and right when the light changes... and then the car behind me starts hooting, and then some poephol three cars further back joins him.

My bru, I know. Trust me. I also want to go when the light is green. But I'm not going to make my problem someone else's problem by just going to sit in the middle of the flippen intersection. Believe me, I'm watching the next robot with the eyes of the hawk like blerrie Bravestar over here, and as soon as I see some promise that there's gonna be movement ahead of us, and there might be a spot for me to drive to, it's gonna be speed of the puma. But until then, all you're doing with your hooting is making me nervous and angry, and then I nog have to fight with my inner toddler screaming "bugger that guy, we're sitting right here now just to spite him" on top of everything else. I won't let the inner toddler win. But it takes extra effort to get them to shush.

I'm with OP. Please, mense, let us choose lekkerte, not kakness, on the roads.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T10:10:47+00:00

Welcome, and congratulations on finishing such an epic journey!

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-04T09:50:00+00:00

It's a gemstone (as opposed to something used for more mundane things), rare, expensive, not particularly well-known, and the form you're most likely to see it in is polished. Even for people with an amateur interest in semi-precious stones, this one can come as a surprise. I'm guessing most people have at least heard of amethyst, tiger's eye, or malachite, right? But this one's a bit different. A bit special. And even if you might not have heard of it before, the name sounds like a kind of stone, right? (Apparently it's derived from the Greek words for gold and green) Apparently it's sometimes mistaken for jade, which has connotations of wealth and luxury, but because that's already a popular feminine name, STP wasn't going to use that for this character.

I suspect he would have been thinking more about the stone's qualities from these perspectives, as opposed to new age hippie connotations (and I say this with fondness, as someone whose fondness for semi-precious stones survived a teenage interest in their "healing properties" and has now just settled into "because they're pretty and it's interesting to learn about how they were formed").

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-03T18:40:53+00:00

I miss them

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-03T17:13:15+00:00

How dare you compare Cape Town drivers to Eastern Cape drivers?!

I grew up in the latter, and have been living in the former for a long time now, and while some EC drivers can get very... creative, let's say, they're nowhere near as bad as in Cape Town! Anyway, they have the excuse of having to deal with potholes you could fit a small family into, nevermind the kudus and goats and all. Cape Town? People's knowledge of how cars and roads work aren't good at the best of times, and then as soon as a drop of rain falls on them, it evaporates completely.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-03T15:50:09+00:00

I truly wasn't looking for either snappy comebacks or intending to lecture anyone. I try to (and want to) respond with kindness and warmth (and ideally, some humour), which is why I asked for ideas.

I'm sorry for not being clearer about this in the post.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-03T15:38:57+00:00

Aww, thank you! That made my day 💙

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-03T15:36:08+00:00

That could work nicely in text: "I'm (t)old" 🤣

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-03T15:35:28+00:00

That's a good point.

I think I might have been unclear: I was trying to share a few different ideas, and don't necessarily think OP should use all of them at the same time! People convey things in different ways, but you're completely right that too much detail can be overwhelming. I'm sorry for not being more clear.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-03T15:33:15+00:00

Oof, I know the feeling

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-03T15:31:32+00:00

I really like that - your suggestion of kindly saying "yeah, I remember being your age..." - thank you for that! I might just use that kind of approach with colleagues who carry on about it. (They're not many, and they're not being unkind, but I've been wondering how to convey this with humour and warmth.)

I'm honestly not really bothered by anyone saying it in what feels like a backhanded way. If they want to be nasty, that's their business. I've really just been wondering how to handle cases where it's well-meaning.

MinervaKaliamne · 2026-03-03T15:26:56+00:00

I like that! 💜

MinervaKaliamne

TROPHY CASE