This week was supposed to be the last at our client but we were asked to include integration into production so we had to extend our design and we are now running into 2 more days of work next week. Today I did my final slides for delivery, and sent out my document for review. On Monday I am in meetings all day yet we will be expected to finish our presentation and wrap up our documents for delivery so it is very tense at the moment.

I had the most revolting thing happen this morning. As I arrived at work I pulled back my chair and walked forward towards my desk when I heard a crunch underfoot. I looked down to find a gigantic brown cockroach. Just writing about it is making me feel nauseous. I had to scoop it up with a piece of paper and drop it in the bin. The men in the office only offered to intervene after I squealed for ages so bugger them, I wouldn’t accept their latent offerings of half-heartened chivalry.

Meh. I hated that I killed a creature even a cockroach, which revolts me to my core. How is that? And how is it I am such a carnivore? Complete denial. I suspect if I lived alone I might become predominately a vegetarian. I do not ever see me being a vegan. I eat a lot of eggs and cheese.

Anyway.

The Myciti bus strikes have continued on this week with the 4th bus getting torched. Conveniently, the taxis have been taking up the slack from the buses so they are coining it. The negative for us drivers is that the taxis (who all drive like lunatics) are rather abundant on the motorways. I hate driving on motorways but it seems to be saving me time. I think. It moves at least which I assume saves me petrol.

There was a taxi driver who shot one of  the local patrollers recently in Hout Bay. There are stacks of the taxis lined up all around the football pitch and it seems there was a run in between the drivers and the patrollers who walk the area and take care of the criminals before things get out of hand.

The other local news this week was that there was a vigilante group who cleared out the criminals from Hangberg in the Hout Bay harbour.

For several nights running the news on the street was that there was a vigilante gang who rounded up the known criminals and had the police come and get them. It happened several evenings this week. That is the only way that anything will change is if the communities pull the covers of the people hiding in their areas. Apparently they got in an uproar after a criminal stabbed a Rasta who tried to stop a criminal from robbing a tourist. The Rasta had his son on his shoulders at the time. One straw too many for that camel and the community flipped.

After the fire which happened in Hangberg a while back, several of the residents who were made homeless in that area are still living in temporary housing. We heard this week that the building of the temporary resettlement of the shacks for the residents of Imizamo Yethu near our homes will go ahead despite our objections. I cannot imagine the traffic impacts on the already struggling Hughenden Road.

Our new President has done a long overdue cabinet reshuffle. I am not very close to things to know who any of the new ones are but this video is pretty good, at least you will recognise them. To be honest they can’t be worse than the previous money grabbers.

Now that Zuma has gone I have focused my hatred towards Trump and given old Cyril a chance to sort out the giant spiders web of intricacy of corruption in regards to how many of our state funds get sent to the Guptas. I assume there is no chance to get any of the billions back.

The land expropriation thing is worrying. Anytime a ruling party wants to change the constitution that is a worry. What is their motive and is it purely self serving. But there is nothing one can do. I raised objections to so many political things and the city writes back and basically says ‘I recognise your complaint and choose to ignore it and go right ahead and do whatever illicit activity I planned to do in the first place’. I may have ad-libbed a wee bit but it is something like that. I think the Cape Town gang bosses run the City.

There was a new gang unit rolled out recently to try and address the issues with crime in the gang ridden areas around Cape Town. The unit was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Police Minister Bheki Cele this month in an effort to fight the scourge of gangsterism. Almost as soon as it was launched the South African Police Union raised an interdict against it operating. They did not approve of the methods via which the unit was staffed and said it violated their appointment processes. Like everything it seems, it has become a political battle.

The Rail Enforcement Unit was also finally launched apparently without the hitches associated to the Gang Unit. Let’s hope the criminals now leave the trains alone at least! It must be a nightmare not having a car in Cape Town. Norm is having to uber a lot lately as his car is still off the road.

Norm went to the dentist today and he has to have 2 teeth extracted and an implant done. He has had a recurring abscess and I finally asked him to go to our friend Andy who is a very good dentist, after his usual dentist saw nothing even on x-ray. But Norm can feel the abscess. (More money, eek. I may have to rob a bank.) But you must not mess around with your mouth.

I finished work early and went to collect Norm after his dental appointment, I picked him up at Dario’s. He had also gone for a coffee after his haircut and shave. My beloved beard is gone. Right before he faces the cold south when we go visit for the hols. Silly man.

When we got home I sat on my balcony and started writing my blog.

Norm has been pretty good about cooking for us this week even without his car to get to the shops. He grilled steaks and corn on the cob on his gas grill and I made a salad one evening.

And on Thursday he made an easy meal of steamed butternut, Thai fish cakes and cole slaw. He had a conference call and had left the butternut on to steam and forgot about it. He came racing downstairs to find my La Crueset pot burnt black. The house still smells like a forest fire.

He did end up getting a take away once or twice but sometimes you can only achieve so much in a day. He has been managing far better than I would without a car.

On Wednesday they held a memorial for Ant Allen at Bakoven beach. Norm went with his friend JJ. Norm said there was probably a thousand people there. It was a sad occasion. I could not get off of work at the moment.

I hope that it brought Anthony’s wife Bev some comfort to see how many people respected Ant. I cannot imagine what she is going through. Norm said it was a very sober occasion and he left feeling very sad.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the US. It is funny how many people wish me happy Thanksgiving when I live outside of the US. It was just a Thursday to me! Even if I was home I would of course be thankful for my blessings but I would find it difficult to recognise the day which honours the alleged settlement of the country my forefathers had already been settled in for centuries.

But I do love stuffing. I have already told my mother she must make an extra pan just for me to eat….huddled in a corner with a spoon. Yum. I cannot wait for a good old fashioned Christmas, maybe it will even snow!

I have to be up very early to drop Norm tomorrow, he will be back later that evening and while he is out I intend to catch up on my rest. I am so exhausted. A new project is very tiring. Even without cockroach wrangling.

Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten.

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