2006... 2007

it's the last day of 2006. can you believe that? where has this year disappeared to?

hopefully 2007 will be as exciting, adventure-filled, and successful as 2006 was for me... for all of us... so have an awesome one!

get in on the action

paul has everyone involved in bookmarking south african blogs on del.icio.us... read his article here. i think this is an awesome initiative, and it is really taking off, with all sorts of people adding the tag "sablogs" to their del.icio.us tagging. go sablogs!

the last gasps of 2006...

well maybe not *that* dramatic... but anyhoo...

i was wondering what everyone has been up to on the last legs of 2006? what did you do on sunday 31 december 2006? where were you?

did you have a chilled and relaxed day like me? i only got out of my jarmies at 12, but i was up since 5:45 (because that's when i wake up now that i'm on holiday... *sigh*). i browsed the internet. blogged. emailed. did some research into new media solutions and updated a google doc. listened to my new music (check out my last.fm scrobbles http://www.last.fm/user/victoire_za/). mulled over my cv. tried to figure out what's happening tonight, with my sis not really in a communicative mood lately...

and then i decided to go for lunch. all on my own, seeing as there aren't many people around or not that i know of. so i got dressed in a lovely white number, and felt very european sitting on the sidewalk eating my delicious cajun calamari starter and small primadonna pizza (half of it) at doppio zero. mmmm... now i'm going to have a quick nap before i get ready for tonight's dancing at the citrus lounge. fun.

do remember to let me know what antics you were up to before the bubbly, countdown, firecrackers, and all that smoooooching! (ugh)

joburg rains

i don't remember it raining this much in a long time... i know that we are supposed to have summer rains over here in joeys, but... almost every day? maybe it's just because i'm on holiday and at home. or because it's the first time i'm living on my own, and i'm at home alot. actually, come to think of it, this is my first december out of "the nest". not that i am complaining about the rains, it just seems so... obvious, so in my face.

shopping...

yes you got it... there's a "best" time to shop for everything! check out smart money for some pretty good (although americanised) tips on when to buy what!

as for me, i still don't have a tv, and looking at their suggestion of when to buy, i don't think i'll be getting any of those lcd's i've been drooling over anytime soon.

iwin

i seem to have forgotten to blog about a fairly significant occurance recently... i have an ipod.

well, i guess now is as good a time as any to hear the story...

it all started with me not being able to attend my work's year end function in the last week of november because i was working on a church camp, which started that friday. there were rumours that anyone not attending the function would not get their christmas gifts... so, not wanting to miss out i decided to have a chat with my boss, who instead of consoling me managed to connive me into going! i managed to make an arrangement to arrive at the camp late... hurray i was going to the office eoy party!

it was a rather fun, and eventful party for me... it was the first in four years at which i consumed no alcohol. i found "the dot" under the salt cellar with some help from a... and won the opportunity to humiliate myself dancing the twist with one of the managers, and a hamper of goodies to eat. then there was an announcement that a "ching chong cha" (otherwise known as rock paper scissors) championship was to be held. and the prize... you guessed it... an apple ipod nano.

at first i wasn't going to enter. but then it slowly dawned on me. i could win an ipod. i could win an ipod. an ipod. and the game was on. we played the best of 3. and i kept on wiping out my opponents. somehow. i was too nervous and jittery to figure out how. then i was in the final round! - first i have to tell you that we have mostly guys in our company, being in i.t. that is not uncommon. guys take competitions very seriously. especially when you call them championships. so me getting to the final round was quite something. - my opponent was especially serious about this whole thing. i was nearly scared. but i just stared into his eyes and gave it my best shot. (i have been told that i have eyes that look into your soul. i have no idea what that means. but i hoped that it would assist in winning)...

i had no strategy. i just managed to withstand his fervent shouts of "CHING CHONG CHA!" as we played one round after the other. i won best of 3. but then the rules changed and we had to do best of 5. the heat was turned up, and my legs were jelly. i can't even remember my last choice of rock / paper / scissors. i think it was paper. and i won against his rock.

and now i have a 2gb 2nd generation nano. just like that. :)

migrated

hoorah! i took the plunge... after first saving my blog template in a .txt file... to the new and improved blogger. and it seems that nothing is broken. now to explore what has changed on blogger's side... :)

wallet 2.0 live

it seems that web 2.0 is slowly seeping into everyday design... yes, that's right... get your next generation wallet now!

As found on MoCo Loco:

All the way from Taiwan and just in time for Xmas, MoCo Loco gets its very own "wallet from the future", the Wallet 2.0. It's bigger than expected, more for a back pocket than a front one. It's made of pliable silicone and bends easily. The flip-top container contains organizer/planner-like refill sheets designed for use with the wallet. It comes with five types of refill sheets - bill, coins, ID, credit cards and 'others' and there are more sheets on the way.

Kinda fits in with what i was saying about design the other day... personally, i love the wallet 2.0... i might even get me a green one :)

*annoyed*

so blogger is out of beta... but does it have to log me in under my gmail account automatically?! do i *have* to link all my blogger accounts to my gmail? bah! humbug!

design

blogger joel over at joel on software describes his views on elegance with relevance to software in his article "elegance"...

i love the article because it describes exactly how i feel about design. design of anything, and i guess that would include software and architecture as described in his article, as well as websites, home appliances, cars, kitchenware... yes, everything.

i can't describe the joy, the tingling happy feeling i get when i see or get to use something well-designed. and of course the utter disappointment at having to face something badly designed or lacking in elegance. when i see something i like i just want to share it with the world, say "hey! look at this, doesn't it look / feel awesome?!" now, if only more companies, designers, manufacturers would hook onto the elegance concept and realise that there is money to be made from me (and people like me) advertising their stuff for free, just because it looks good!

to track sites i find yummy check out the del.icio.us tag: v.design

fabulously famous!

i just happened to do a search for "victoire" the other day... and well, almost fell off my chair! it would seem that i am famous now... in google terms at least. :)

yep, that's right... victoire ranks at the top of the list. and i took a screenshot for proof!

hippy hoppy...

happy birthday paul! :)

i am sure you're going to have a blogging brilliant day!

moved

it is all over. or perhaps it has just begun! i moved very successfully with the help of eezi move and my (now favourite) folks.

the place is gorgeous.

now to unpack and re-discover all my stuff.

and most importantly enjoy my new space!

unlocked

life is hectic and exciting... thought i'd just let you know that dear blog readers. that and i go to fetch the keys to my new place soon! :) and then i move in tomorrow. ah the hip & happening life of a young, single, metropolitan woman!