Ended a wonderful long weekend on a very sad note: got a phonecall at 7am yesterday to inform me that our maid, Mavis, had died. She had only just turned 34.
As some of you may recall, she was involved in an accident 3 weeks ago when the taxi she was traveling in lost its brakes, & she had to have stitches in her legs. Apparently she was doing well (on crutches), & was planning on returning to work today. But sometime during the early hours of yesterday morning, she complained to her boyfriend that she was having trouble breathing, before passing away.
The only thing I can think of is that she suffered complications from internal injuries that she didn't know about. The same thing happened to one of our guards, Trevor, who was shot through the abdomen in late 2004: he was successfully treated for his gunshot wound in one of the very best private healthcare facilities here in Johannesburg (Olivedale Clinic), but the day before he was due to be discharged, he collapsed & died from cardiac arrest. Ironically, Trevor was actually the man who introduced us to Mavis. He was in his early 20s when he died.
It is just over 5 months since Angie died in similarly unusual circumstances, & I am really beginning to wonder WTF is going on
Just before moving up to Jo'burg, we lost Lee's 33-year-old uncle, Sean, to a drug overdose (he was a Wellcanol addict), followed by the death of a very close colleague of mine, Moabi, in a car accident (he used to sit right next to me at my previous company & was only in his mid-20s), the suicide of another long-standing friend, Andrew (who was in his late 20s, & left no suicide note), the murder of Trevor, the freak death of Angie, & now Mavis. Not trying to be funny or anything, but perhaps my calling is to become a professional eulogy writer...
I have been on the phone the whole morning - to the police & city mortuary - to find out exactly where Mavis's body is being kept & what the autopsy results can tell us. So far: nothing conclusive. But then again, this is deepest, darkest bloody Africa, so I don't know what else I really expected
I have also made plans to meet with her sister on Thursday after work, to give the family the equivalent of a month's wages to help out with funeral costs. She will be buried back home in rural Zimbabwe. And leaves behind 3 young children. My heart bleeds for these little ones.
On the work front I am as fucking swamped as ever. Got to go collect my boss from the airport this afternoon, then drop her off at her hotel back here in Sandton. We have arranged to discuss my salary review over a beer at the hotel, before I head on home to my husband. I have then got to collect her at the crack of dawn tomorrow & head up to Montecasino where we are launching 4 new motoring titles to the advertising industry. Thereafter, I have got to drop her off at the airport, before coming back into Sandton to open a cheque account for Edge Models. At 4pm I am hooking up with Gia & we are going to a media function together. Thursday & Friday I am going to be spending holed up in a conference, before jetting off to Cape Town at sparrow's fart on Saturday for a workshop I've forked out R5,000 (+ R1,100 flights) on, to help me run my business as professionally as possible. It is an intensive, one-on-one, 1-day industry-specific course focusing on all the ins & outs of the modeling world - from an agency owner's perspective. It is run by the director of NAMA (National Association of Model Agencies - here in South Africa), with whom I hope to eventually become accredited. The current rules state that I need to have been trading for at least 1 year to apply for membership, & I also need to supply her with 5 letters of reference from recognised clients, eg. ad agencies, magazines, casting directors etc. If all goes according to plan, this should be a cinch
At this point in time there are around 20 accredited agencies operating in SA.
I will therefore probably only get a chance to catch up with you lot again on Sunday when I get back from Cape Town. Take care of yourselves in the meantime. Love you all lots
PS. Here are some pix from our trip...
View from the farmhouse
Farm kids
Farm kids
Sign in Volksrust: "Sir Loin's Steak Ranch"
Me in my beanie Fuck, with all the stress in my life, I'm really beginning to look my age 
As some of you may recall, she was involved in an accident 3 weeks ago when the taxi she was traveling in lost its brakes, & she had to have stitches in her legs. Apparently she was doing well (on crutches), & was planning on returning to work today. But sometime during the early hours of yesterday morning, she complained to her boyfriend that she was having trouble breathing, before passing away.
The only thing I can think of is that she suffered complications from internal injuries that she didn't know about. The same thing happened to one of our guards, Trevor, who was shot through the abdomen in late 2004: he was successfully treated for his gunshot wound in one of the very best private healthcare facilities here in Johannesburg (Olivedale Clinic), but the day before he was due to be discharged, he collapsed & died from cardiac arrest. Ironically, Trevor was actually the man who introduced us to Mavis. He was in his early 20s when he died.
It is just over 5 months since Angie died in similarly unusual circumstances, & I am really beginning to wonder WTF is going on
Just before moving up to Jo'burg, we lost Lee's 33-year-old uncle, Sean, to a drug overdose (he was a Wellcanol addict), followed by the death of a very close colleague of mine, Moabi, in a car accident (he used to sit right next to me at my previous company & was only in his mid-20s), the suicide of another long-standing friend, Andrew (who was in his late 20s, & left no suicide note), the murder of Trevor, the freak death of Angie, & now Mavis. Not trying to be funny or anything, but perhaps my calling is to become a professional eulogy writer...
I have been on the phone the whole morning - to the police & city mortuary - to find out exactly where Mavis's body is being kept & what the autopsy results can tell us. So far: nothing conclusive. But then again, this is deepest, darkest bloody Africa, so I don't know what else I really expected
I have also made plans to meet with her sister on Thursday after work, to give the family the equivalent of a month's wages to help out with funeral costs. She will be buried back home in rural Zimbabwe. And leaves behind 3 young children. My heart bleeds for these little ones.
On the work front I am as fucking swamped as ever. Got to go collect my boss from the airport this afternoon, then drop her off at her hotel back here in Sandton. We have arranged to discuss my salary review over a beer at the hotel, before I head on home to my husband. I have then got to collect her at the crack of dawn tomorrow & head up to Montecasino where we are launching 4 new motoring titles to the advertising industry. Thereafter, I have got to drop her off at the airport, before coming back into Sandton to open a cheque account for Edge Models. At 4pm I am hooking up with Gia & we are going to a media function together. Thursday & Friday I am going to be spending holed up in a conference, before jetting off to Cape Town at sparrow's fart on Saturday for a workshop I've forked out R5,000 (+ R1,100 flights) on, to help me run my business as professionally as possible. It is an intensive, one-on-one, 1-day industry-specific course focusing on all the ins & outs of the modeling world - from an agency owner's perspective. It is run by the director of NAMA (National Association of Model Agencies - here in South Africa), with whom I hope to eventually become accredited. The current rules state that I need to have been trading for at least 1 year to apply for membership, & I also need to supply her with 5 letters of reference from recognised clients, eg. ad agencies, magazines, casting directors etc. If all goes according to plan, this should be a cinch
At this point in time there are around 20 accredited agencies operating in SA.
I will therefore probably only get a chance to catch up with you lot again on Sunday when I get back from Cape Town. Take care of yourselves in the meantime. Love you all lots
PS. Here are some pix from our trip...
View from the farmhouse
Farm kids
Farm kids
Sign in Volksrust: "Sir Loin's Steak Ranch"
Me in my beanie
Fuck, with all the stress in my life, I'm really beginning to look my age VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
its funny how all of a sudden you realise there are loads of people dying around you
it happend to me about 5 years ago with three of my grandparents dying in the space of a year and a half
well sounds like you going to be a busy bee for the next few days hope all goes well
Just to help you feel better .... you certainly don't look your age
Hugs (((( ))))