We're leaving on a Winter holiday!

I am very excited!

Sandra has been packing things slowly all week. There is a special kitchen box in the kitchen corner which she has been carefully loading with kitchen stuff and food.

This week we both went shopping for warm warm comfortable winter clothes...

because,...

We will be waking up at 4am on Saturday morning; and be out of the door and in the car at 5am at the latest and driving to the Grahamstown Arts Festival. I have paid for accomdation in a garden cottage of the a woman who lives in Grahamstown. We will have our own kitchen, bedroom, living area and garden. (And of course secure safe parking.) We will be there four nights (Saturday night, Sunday night, Monday night an d Tuesday night.) I have already booked for four main festival performances. On the night we arrive we will be seeing a big jazz band, On Tuesday afternoon a tap dancing/gumboot dancing extravaganze, on Wednesday night a classical music string quartet with a clarinetist and on Wednesday morning for a modern dance performance in the main theatre. (Unfortunately I could not book for Sleeping Beauty as it is sold out already.) Of course we will be booking for other performances once we get there. But it is 100% certain that the main festival events will be sold out by the time time we get there. The last time I went to Grahamastown (more than 10 years ago) I learnt that lesson the dissappointing way. So I have booked for these 4 main festival shows; and of course we will see many others shows that we will only book there.

And then on Wednesday afternoon we drive an hour to the Addo Elephanant national park were we are booked for two nights. This national park is completely malaria free and has all the big five. We are booked for a sundowner game drive that evening; and a morning beginners horse ride the following day. We will then spend the rest of the day driving around looking at animals and stuff; finally falling asleep exhausted in the cottage in the middle of the wild.

The next moring we will wake up early and drive 6 hours to the iNtali river lodge in Port St Johns. We should arrive there in the afternoon and will settle into our river facing bungalow before going to the a la carte restaurant for dinner. We will spend the next day wandering the beautiful beaches of Port St Johns and of course the beautiful hikes near the river. We will sleep there again that night.

Finally on Sunday morning we will wake up; and after breakfast take the last 4 hour drive back home.

And then the next day I will return back to work. Sandra still will have a week left of her holidays, but she has been given lots of work to do and so will be busy preparing for her next semester.

later...

Simbithi

Fnished Front with Pillemers
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Mom and Dad have invested in property in the Simbithi development up the North Coast of Natal.

Although Sandra and I have often heard stories about the development...

Such as the difficulty of choosing if the floors should be wooden or tiled; and... what colour the fitting in the kitchen should be. And whether a wall should be here,... or there.

Lots of discussions and lots of decisions.

But Sandra and I have only heard these dicussions; for until yesterday we had never seen the development or the progress in the building of the flat my parents have bought.

Well, this Sunday we went up to take a look. Well I had my telephone with me so I took my pictures with my cellphone camera.

We also took a look at the area where a retirement resort is being built within the development. This development looks like it will be a little village with horse riding, boating, fishing, water sports, golf and all sorts of bird life and wild life. It will have retirement suburbs and residential suburbs and holiday suburbs. Its quite exciting to see how much development is happening in Natal and in South Africa at the moment.

Aftwerwards we went to the shopping center right next to the development for a delicious lunch at an excellent Portuguese restaurant.

Throughout the afternoon I took photographs of the flats in all stages of development. I took some photographs of the views. I took some photographs of the plans and adverts for the retirment complex. I also took some photographs of the shopping center nearby where we went for lunch.

Click on the link (Click Me!) to see the slideshow of the photographs.

It could be quite a lovely place for a holiday on the North Coast.

I hope you enjoy the photographs! (Not bad for a phone, hey?)

later...

Why is my fridge like a cell phone?

Fridge3
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Because I keep getting a new one every year and half!

A year and half ago, Sandra called the people who sold us our Fridge and told them that there was something funny with it...

Defy came and took a look; and said that they would give us a new fridge.

Well, that just happened again!

And each time we get a brand new fridge.

How about that!

later...

schuuller and steeevie

schuuller
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Well last weekend (wow has a week gone by already?) Schuuler was in town for a photographic assignment. He was contracted to take the still photographs for Standard Bank's next advertising portfolio for magazine and what not. He spent the Saturday in Pietermaritzberg taking photographs.

Sandra and I joined him for dinner at Cafe 99 where we chatted and ate strange avante garde food. (I had chicken steamed in jasmine tea!)

One of the questions he asked, was what is Stevie up to? Schuuler's assistant also was a friends of Stevie's; and also asked what Stevie was up to at the moment.

And I did not know...

Now I do.

He (and his group) were awarded the tender to create a South African television series for the pay channel GO on Dstv!

(Click this link to see what is on GO today. ie if it were possible to click on a relevant day in January you would see Stevie's show on the list! )

Wow. Mom, has said she will want all the family at Durban to watch each episode together at the Cato Road house.

I think it should start broadcasting in January; but I am not sure.

later...

65% for Histology

I just got an sms from Sandra telling me she has got 65% for histology.

So Sandra is continuing to pass difficult exams in courses with complex ideas and in English!

Sehr gud!

later...

Thank you Durban Muncipality.

SaturdayMorningWakeUp
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Early this Saturday morning I was rudely awakened by hooting and shouting and noise and crashing and uninterrupted loud sounds.

The Durban municipality had decided that this morning I should not worry about setting my alarm to wake me up.

later...

NPR : An Odd Hierarchy of License Plates in Gaza

This is so bizarre (and quite hilarious.)

NPR : An Odd Hierarchy of License Plates in Gaza

Good relations with the wookies, I have....

Well we went off on Saturday night (Orli, Denzil, me, Sandra and Robbie) to the Gateway to see Revenge of the Sith. We first went to eat a meal at some place at the center. We were indecisive about which place to eat at, as we did not which of these joints were the least terrible. In the end we went to place none of us had been to before, and so, could not definitively say "No." Well now we can.

The service was shoddy, the waitress pubescent, the manager incompetent and the food mediocre.

Lee, a friend of mine, was wandering outside wearing clown makeup, on stilts, juggling. He told me it was "weekend money." I did not know he could stilt walk - but I did know he can juggle five juggling balls effortlessly. In Jerusalem when I lived at Givat Ram, there used to be a juggling class held in the hall near by where I lived; where two jugglers used to teach basic juggling. They could juggle nine juggling balls each effortlessly; and twelve together. Apparently they used to travel the world doing shows.

Anyways, we then went on to the cinema. I had booked us all tickets in the new fancy leather seat in the back rows of the Gateway cinema. Sandra was higly impressed - apparently in seats like those any movie is bearable. (Robbie said in seats like those any movie is enjoyable.)

So we all sat down in comfort (with huge legspace) and entered in the world set in a galaxy far far away.

My favourite line was Yoda's:-

Good relations with the Wookies I have.

Robbie favourite line was Kenobi's

Only a Sith thinks in absolutes.

Sandra was bored.

Afterwards, we drove back home, the five of us chatting away.

A nice evening.

later...

I am holding myself back...

(unlike this guy....)

I will probably only see the final Star Wars this weekend (or maybe even next week sometime.)

But I am very interested in this movie's meditation on how democracies can collapse into totalatarianism; and this visual exploration into the birth of one of modern western culture's fictional and mythic icons of evil.

Rise Lord Vader.

later...

Chips for lunch?

I wonder...

Did that guy who appeared to the right of my car window eat chips for lunch. There he was, in a white helmet and dark glasses on his police motor cycle looking at me through my window. What was he doing?

.... indicating for me to pull over....

I put my cell phone away; and pulled over.

We had quite a chat after I rolled down the window and gave him my license.

He told me that the fine these days for cell phone use by the driver of a motor vehicle is R1800.

"Wow! Thats quite a lot... Geez..."

"Yup...."

"So do you have any suggestions about what we should do?"

"Well, I don't have R1800 in my wallet."

"hmmm... so.... do you have any suggestions about what we should do?"

"I do have R50 in wallet right now.."

"hmmm... so... do you have any suggestions about what we should do?"

"umm.."

"Well do you want the the R50?"

"Are you offering to buy me lunch?"

"Yes."

"Drive Safely!"

"Yes Officer."

hmmmm....

Red Eye

RedEye_Tank
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

On Saturday night at 6:30pm Robbie jumped into my car and we went off to the middle of town to see the Red Eye art installation. We had to work out before hand the best way to get there because the art installation was happening in the street itself and so Smith street had been closed off to traffic.

We eventually parked in the Royal Hotel's parking lot and made our way into Smith Street. Wow. I was blown away. The art installation was an "intervention". This means that the artists were attempting to intervene with the way the city normally represents itself, in order to intervene with how we normally see the city.

The main street itself, normally filled with cars, had tables and chairs and the Royal hotel was serving food.

And then the statues in the war memorial area in front of the city hall was tranformed. The artists had taken cheap materials (cheap materials found or lost in the city and transformed.) One statue had a blanket wrapping it up. The statue of Jan Smuts had a bright orange flower necklace. The Angel on the WWI memorial had many little notes stuck to it with the names of different geographical areas of Durban, and a bigger banner with the words "RETHINK" written on it.

The water fountain was filled with little boats made out of discarded milk cartons. This was my favourite.

There were thousands of orange gloves hanging from a large tree. The orange and the green provided a strikingly beautiful contrast. There was a variety of different contemporary dances being staged amongst the crowd and there was a stage with live music. It was great fun. I only realised I had a camera on my phone after the show was basically finished, but I took a few snaps. Here is a link.

The DDC followed, which Jaydon's sister won! To reiterate - Roseanne Immerman won the DDC fashion show which is a very presitigious thing; Marc said soon they will have their own Immerman label of clothing.

The Playhouse's theatres were then turned into an after party; which I went to (until Sandra called to tell me to come home NOW.)

I saw quite a few friends and acquaintances that I had not seen in a while. Vernon was there. Brendan Bunyan fom my time in the Natal Symphonic Wind Band was there (he now works for the Natal Playhouse and has two children.) And I ran into Carla to discover she was a recent mother. She has invited us next week for dinner!

All in all, lots of fun!

...later

Congratulations to Andrea and Rudiger

Andrea and Rudiger
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

To our surprise and delight Sandra and I discovered that Andrea and Rudiger got engaged to be married in Himeville in the Drakensberg.

(UPDATE - Not to "be married in Himeville" - they will get married in Germany. But they got "engaged" in Himeville. OK? No more ambiguitiy?)

This was particularly beautiful as we also got engaged to be married in Himeville.

(UPDATE - Not to "be married in Himeville" - we got married in Durban. But we got "engaged" in Himeville. OK? No more ambiguitiy?)

Congratulations!!!

At the time Sandra wanted to get married that very week in Himeville. She got very frustrated and angry with me when I said "No." She tried to make me go into this little town's magistrate's office and ask them if they could marry us that day; or if possible the following day. hmmmm.

Later on she wanted to get married with only us in a hot-air balloon.

But in the end she was very happy to have a beautiful wedding, in a beautiful dress, surrounded by many of her family.

So soon in the Kelm family there is going to be another celebration of joy and simcha.

Its not Avocado's number

Its not. Its Avogadro's number.

Sandra keeps on calling it Avocado's number though. I want to go to sleep. Altough my cold is almost gone I want to get a good night's sleep.

But Sandra is insisting I sit in the study and keep her company while she studies.

...later

still uggy

I spent most of the week end in the bed trying to get rid of this cold.

Sandra made me snort salt water through my nose, as she said this would help. I did what she told me; it felt quite strange. Apparently, according to Sandra, her father snorts plain water through his nose every morning as part of his daily routine.

We just went for a dusk walk around in the neighbourhood; and then visited my parents. I heard that Stevie is very busy with more than one interesting project. But apparently its all hush-hush, and if it comes together there may be a media blitz (...and I do not know more that that... because my father decided that I do not need to know more that that.) Sounds very exciting.

I forgot today was mother's day. (And I only remembered when I saw the Mother's day card Robbie bought. Actually, I would not have noticed yet; so, rather, when Sandra saw the Mother's day card that Robbie bought - and showed it to me.)

Sandra is studying the brain. I now know that its my cerebullum that I use every morning to drive to work.


...later

sniff sniff

I have been sniffing all day. At work everyone is sniffing as well. Looks like the whole of work environment is fluish.

I am settling back into the work work work day. yada yada.

..gone but for the writing in the sand

Andrea and Rudiger left today from Durban to head back to their day-to-day lives.

Last night we went out for a delicious dinner at the Butcher Boys restaurant. (Rudiger, like normal, felt that this steak could have been bigger.)

I had the impression that they had a wonderful holiday and were sorry to leave.

I am back at work now.

I also have a bit of a sniffle.

Sandra wrote an anatomy test this morning.

later....

74.7% for Philosophy of Homeopathy

Well Sandra discovered today that she got 74% for her philosophy of Homeopathy test.

Yesterday Andrea and Rudiger spent the day on the beach. (After discovering that they had left it too late to get reasonable prices for tickets to Cape Town... You need to book 7 days in advance to get cheap tickets!)

This morning they left for Himeville in the Drakensberg. And this afternoon I got a phone call from them to say they had arrived safely; they had met Beauty; and, they had booked their 4x4 tour up the Sani pass to Lesotho.

Jenny (my mother's sister) has been here all week over Pesach; and she has cooked a special pesahdekka cheese cake.

Which is being eaten right now. So I had better go eat!

..later

Elephants and Sandras

Elephant
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

While Rudiger and Andrea were looking at elephants (and monkeys and other things);

Sandra was learning physics. And I was teaching her physics. All day long!

Hopefully Sandra has a memory like an elephant and tomorrow, when she writes her test, will remember all the stuff she learnt today about Newton's laws of motions and force; and how to solve kinetic and force questions.

For example,
If a monkey is sitting on an elephant;s truck; and the elephant sneezes with a force of 100N how far will the monkey fly into the air and where will it land.

Well? Sandra?

huh?...

Doris never got to see a ...

monkey
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

monkey!

But Rudiger and Andrea did!

They are back from their trip to the game reserve and saw much and had fun.

(But they did not see any lions.)

They are planning to go to Cape Town (probably) this coming weekend.

They are very tired....

A bit rainy today

Well, I just dropped Sandra off at the Technikon and have eaten breakfast.

Yesterday evening I got a call from Andrea and Rudiger telling me that they had reached the game reserve successfully and had already seen an animal with one horn. (I told them it was a called a rhinocerous.) This morning they booked a tour that leaves at 4:50 am. I am guessing they should be ending their tour about now.

I wonder what they saw?

Yesterday afternoon and evening I spent hours trying to teach Sandra physics. This is not an easy thing to do at all. Sometimes I get very frustrated when something that seems so simple and obvious to me... seems meaningless and opaque to her. Her test is on Thursday.

I was planning on going to swim in the sea this morning. Buts its a bit rainy.

Its nice to be on holiday.

Oh... Rudiger asked Sandra what barley soup was; and, Sandra told him it was soup from Bali.

..later