Woke up this morning with a fucking fever blister on my top lip 
Not surprising, really, considering the amount of bloody stress I am under. I am seriously craving a bit of normality & routine in my life. This roller-coaster ride has been going on a little too long now. I really need a break.
Towards the end of last week I finally managed to track down our maid's body, to a funeral home in Doornfontein, on the outskirts of Johannesburg's old CBD. By the time I got to speak to the person in charge, an autopsy had already been done & the cause of death recorded on her death certificate as "pnemonia". I have my suspicions that Mavis was HIV positive (along with 30% of our country's population), & because her body was already weak from the taxi accident 3 week's prior, her immune system just wasn't up to fighting off such an infection.
My heart is still very heavy after the loss. She played such an important role in our lives. Every Tuesday & Friday for the past 20 months she's come in & done the most fabulous job for us. I can't help but smile when I remember the way she used to re-arrange stuff in our home; at times I think she used to fancy herself as a bit of an interior decorator! Jokes aside, there are actually a few things she did that were far more practical & aesthetically pleasing to the way I had originally done them, & I've decided to keep them that way. I am also really going to miss her little notes & lists of things that we needed to buy. Speaking of notes, we have already had two of them stuck under our front door from other maids looking for part-time work. News obviously travels fast, no doubt propagated by the guards at the main gate who moniter the comings & goings of all domestic workers in our complex & whom I told about her death. And although I feel like I am drowning under shitty household chores every night when I get home from work, I simply cannot bring myself to replace her so quickly. It just feels wrong.
Onto another subject altogether: On Saturday I attended an intensive one-on-one workshop on how to run a successful modeling agency. It covered everything, including: models, obligations to models & clients, different aspects of the industry, bookings, rates, usages, contracts, taxation, invoicing & marketing. It was given by Paola De Vito, the director of NAMA (National Association of Model Agencies in South Africa) at her home in Green Point, Cape Town, which she shares with her girlfriend, Angie (a model), & their 3 gorgeous Yorkshire Terriers.
Angela M, Fusion Models - Cape Town, South Africa
Like Pink, I have always seen women who travel in packs of two or three, with their itsy bitsy doggies & their teeny-weeny tees as the complete opposite of what I stand for! However, after spending a full day in the company of these long-haired cutie-pies, I have unashamedly fallen in love with this little breed & will definitely be adopting one as soon as weve moved into our new home
Tomorrow morning I'm off to stunning Stellenbosch, near Cape Town, for 3 nights with all my colleagues for our division's annual sales conference / Bosberaad. Gia has recently joined our team, so it's gonna be awesome getting a chance to spend some quality time with her
This stint in the glorious Cape is followed by 4 nights next week with my folks at their timeshare in the Central 'Berg. According to one website: "millions of years have gone into the creation of the backdrop to Champagne Sports Resort, nestled in the ancient Drakensberg range", & it really is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places in South Africa that we have ever had the pleasure of visiting. This year, like previous years, we are planning on doing a bit of everything, from quadbiking & horseriding, to hiking & suntanning, gorging on good food & unwinding with mellow red wines. And because it's winter, we can hopefully make a fire indoors every night. Can hardly wait!!
Smack-bang in the middle of all of that (Sat 13th), I'm co-ordinating my first group test shoot for Edge Models. Watch this space...
Oh, well, best I get outa here. No rest for the wicked, it seems
Hope you're all taking care of yourselves in your far flung corners of the globe?
Love you lots
Not surprising, really, considering the amount of bloody stress I am under. I am seriously craving a bit of normality & routine in my life. This roller-coaster ride has been going on a little too long now. I really need a break.
Towards the end of last week I finally managed to track down our maid's body, to a funeral home in Doornfontein, on the outskirts of Johannesburg's old CBD. By the time I got to speak to the person in charge, an autopsy had already been done & the cause of death recorded on her death certificate as "pnemonia". I have my suspicions that Mavis was HIV positive (along with 30% of our country's population), & because her body was already weak from the taxi accident 3 week's prior, her immune system just wasn't up to fighting off such an infection.
My heart is still very heavy after the loss. She played such an important role in our lives. Every Tuesday & Friday for the past 20 months she's come in & done the most fabulous job for us. I can't help but smile when I remember the way she used to re-arrange stuff in our home; at times I think she used to fancy herself as a bit of an interior decorator! Jokes aside, there are actually a few things she did that were far more practical & aesthetically pleasing to the way I had originally done them, & I've decided to keep them that way. I am also really going to miss her little notes & lists of things that we needed to buy. Speaking of notes, we have already had two of them stuck under our front door from other maids looking for part-time work. News obviously travels fast, no doubt propagated by the guards at the main gate who moniter the comings & goings of all domestic workers in our complex & whom I told about her death. And although I feel like I am drowning under shitty household chores every night when I get home from work, I simply cannot bring myself to replace her so quickly. It just feels wrong.
Onto another subject altogether: On Saturday I attended an intensive one-on-one workshop on how to run a successful modeling agency. It covered everything, including: models, obligations to models & clients, different aspects of the industry, bookings, rates, usages, contracts, taxation, invoicing & marketing. It was given by Paola De Vito, the director of NAMA (National Association of Model Agencies in South Africa) at her home in Green Point, Cape Town, which she shares with her girlfriend, Angie (a model), & their 3 gorgeous Yorkshire Terriers.
Angela M, Fusion Models - Cape Town, South Africa
Like Pink, I have always seen women who travel in packs of two or three, with their itsy bitsy doggies & their teeny-weeny tees as the complete opposite of what I stand for! However, after spending a full day in the company of these long-haired cutie-pies, I have unashamedly fallen in love with this little breed & will definitely be adopting one as soon as weve moved into our new home
Tomorrow morning I'm off to stunning Stellenbosch, near Cape Town, for 3 nights with all my colleagues for our division's annual sales conference / Bosberaad. Gia has recently joined our team, so it's gonna be awesome getting a chance to spend some quality time with her
This stint in the glorious Cape is followed by 4 nights next week with my folks at their timeshare in the Central 'Berg. According to one website: "millions of years have gone into the creation of the backdrop to Champagne Sports Resort, nestled in the ancient Drakensberg range", & it really is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places in South Africa that we have ever had the pleasure of visiting. This year, like previous years, we are planning on doing a bit of everything, from quadbiking & horseriding, to hiking & suntanning, gorging on good food & unwinding with mellow red wines. And because it's winter, we can hopefully make a fire indoors every night. Can hardly wait!!
Smack-bang in the middle of all of that (Sat 13th), I'm co-ordinating my first group test shoot for Edge Models. Watch this space...
Oh, well, best I get outa here. No rest for the wicked, it seems
Hope you're all taking care of yourselves in your far flung corners of the globe?
Love you lots
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
feerlessfreddy:
hey, long time. i will finally get my internet hookup on tuesday. just been trying to catch up. sorry about your maid. it seems like your going full throttle on the agency, sounds exciting. be talking to you later.
visara:
How did the photoshoot go?