tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-198613692009-12-02T20:21:12.018+02:00The online journal of Damaria Senne, a South African writerDamaria Sennenoreply@blogger.comBlogger596125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-20972978456810681662009-12-02T15:43:00.003+02:002009-12-02T15:57:56.323+02:00

Had an excellent writing day today. Maybe it's because I changed locations, and am currently visiting a friend (outside Joburg) who's on leave for a week. Got up early and had watermelon/spanspek smoothies for breakfast, and then I wrote like a mad woman until noon. Published 3 pieces on the OneLove web site, completed 3 articles for a newsletter and developed a pitch for an article for a

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-25265978173363050582009-12-01T10:21:00.008+02:002009-12-01T13:04:01.682+02:00

Went to bed very early last night. The rest helped motivate me to get up this morning. That, and the fact that it's World AIDS Day and I had a number of posts I wanted to publish on the OneLove and Kwanda web sites this morning. I'd like to especially highlight the 4 Things You Can Do This World AIDS Day.I'm also hosting a discusion on the OneLove and Kwanda Facebook pages asking: "What are you

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-9668155869133659192009-11-30T09:21:00.011+02:002009-11-30T16:06:15.056+02:00

You know things are bad when the biggest milestone in your life is that you phoned/took calls from the people in your life. For the past week, the scariest thing for me was that I didn't care about anything. Not my life or job or even about friends. I just wanted my old life, with Baby, back. And if I couldn't have that, I would rather sleep or work in my garden (see images of container garden -

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-60153747855590682692009-11-26T13:16:00.005+02:002009-11-26T13:41:50.800+02:00

Still not up to speaking to people, or blogging much. Except to say that the major life change I spoke about earlier in the month has happened. The short story is that, I no longer have custody of Baby. I've always been open about the fact that she was not my biological child? I've had her since she was 9 months old, and her mom gave her to me because she was unable to care for her at the time.

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-20914997711977759862009-11-23T12:53:00.003+02:002009-11-23T13:12:19.841+02:00

Not up to full-scale blogging and giving you an update on what i've been up to. But to touch on the important bits: My mother is better, Baby is doing great and my mind is fried. Nuff said:-)Lots of voting todayThe Read SA campaign is compiling a list of Africa's Best Books Of The Decade - and South Africa' Top 10 Books of The Decade.You can nominate your favourite books on our Facebook page.

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-13861126362693495112009-11-18T12:17:00.005+02:002009-11-18T13:18:15.977+02:00

My monthly routine trip to visit my mother turned not so routine when I arrived to find out that she was in bed, very sick. And communicative soul that she is, she had sworn my older siblings and her helper to secrecy, because she said she didn't want to worry me and I was coming over the weekend anyway, and would find out then.The problem is that her sugar levels were sky high (13, instead of

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-60858353503107257752009-11-13T14:31:00.004+02:002009-11-13T14:52:36.694+02:00

Had an early start and a very good morning. Was inspired to write a feature article about gender stereotypes for the OneLove web site, based on some of the discussions I've hosted on Facebook.The article, entitled 'Women Also Cheat On Their Partners" look at the stereotype that all men cheat and women don't cheat. And it also highlights the fact that many men who do not cheat on their partners

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-15380900981613383732009-11-11T21:57:00.007+02:002009-11-12T10:15:42.247+02:00

Feeling a bit more energetic today. Started the day early, updating web sites and initiating discussions on forums. Reader responses to my question on whether you would want to know if your partner was cheating on you was very interesting, in that, most people on the forums where I posted the question, including FB, foscussed on the potential for disillusionment and pain. It was only later that

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-2922966752901966982009-11-11T11:54:00.006+02:002009-11-11T15:06:24.654+02:00

For the past couple of days, Baby has been reciting some very bad poetry for me. What she does is she latches on onto a word, and creates sentences around it. The one rule is that the sentences have to rhyme. And in case you're wondering, she knows it's bad. The worse it sounds, the better she likes it. She's even talking about uploading Dak Skroef as a ringtone on her cellphone, just so she

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-7096569640285026492009-11-10T12:58:00.009+02:002009-11-10T13:57:38.476+02:00

Ja, I know I've been very quiet, somewhat erratic when it comes to talking about my writing life. I've posted before that I wished I was a more consistent writer, who delivers good writing on call, everyday. I definitely don't feel like one.Even though I felt like I was stumbling along, I have been somewhat productive in the past couple of weeks. Have increased the number of posts on the OneLove

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-89117395898231743212009-11-09T14:01:00.004+02:002009-11-09T14:28:42.877+02:00

One of my closest friends, Lynn, turns 61 today. So on Saturday morning I took her out to breakfast to celebrate this great milestone. As always, we had a lovely time.Lynn and I have been close friends for almost 20 years now. And the wonderful thing about her is that she is a doer, not talker. For example, back in the days when I was unemployed and didn't have a freelance writing busines, Lynn

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-20113366974347646962009-11-05T11:37:00.004+02:002009-11-05T11:41:02.424+02:00

Today I'm publishing a poem that I used on the OneLove web site to motivate why schools should make life skills education a priority. I thought you might also find the poem interesting.......................................................................................................................................................By AnonymousYou taught me the names of the cities of the world

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-70006648891705392302009-11-04T12:31:00.003+02:002009-11-04T12:44:55.356+02:00

What has 2009 been like for you? Are you happy with what you have accomplished so far, your life experiences, and the relationships that you formed in the past year? Or are you ready to throw in the towel and start again in 2010?My year was a good one. I strengthened relationships with friends, made new friends ( mostly online) and tried to socialise a little bit more. I'm more conscious of the

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-46220523973113915062009-11-03T16:59:00.007+02:002009-11-03T18:36:57.573+02:00

Yesterday a friend of mine phoned me in tears because her landlord gave her 48-hour notice to move out of her flat. And no, she doesn't have arrears on rent, and she didn't paint the interior of the flat a dark purple. But as I found out when I called the landlord, there's a clause in the lease agreement allowing either party to terminate the agreement with immediate effect.So we got legal advice

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-81936995867184897792009-11-01T12:33:00.007+02:002009-11-02T12:25:17.428+02:00

Enterpreneur's day went well, and Baby was R12 short of breaking even. She's going to sell the rest of her stock on Monday, and I expect she will then make her profit.Spent the rest of Saturday with old journalist friends. Dinner was delicious - roast potatoes and chicken, with rocket salad, strawberries and some goat cheese (mine was cheese-less).For dessert, I had a fruit salad while everyone

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-77005027940478981272009-10-30T11:58:00.002+02:002009-10-30T12:12:27.584+02:00

Tomorrow is enterpreneur's day at Baby' school, so she's going to run a jewellery stall for a day. Essentially, the kids choose the merchandise they want to sell, borrow money from their parents to buy stock and pay R10 for the stall, develop promotional materials like posters and invite the general public to attend their fair.On the day, the kids sell a variety of goods including curries,

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-15336711716921890392009-10-29T21:33:00.002+02:002009-10-29T21:47:53.423+02:00

I've previouly mentioned that I joined Read SA, a new campaign encouraging South Africans to read, emphasising that it is hip to read, and to be well read. I volunteered to manage the online stuff for the campaign, including creating a Facebook page, and I have to say it's been a pleasure.The campaign has lots of people who are committed to making it work, and they have spread the word far and

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-85086032071611993602009-10-29T19:32:00.002+02:002009-10-29T19:46:38.767+02:00

Was feeling uninspired for the past couple of days. So I implemented the obvious cure: spent more time doing life stuff. So I spent time with Baby / socialising with friends/puttering around the house/gardening and less time on the Internet and no TV.

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-5125542503001238252009-10-27T10:16:00.006+02:002009-10-27T10:39:37.923+02:00

My friend Ramon Thomas has finally talked me into attending the charity screening of The Ultimate Gift,a 2007 film based on author Jim Stovall's novel of the same name.It isn't that I didn't want to support a good cause (Faces of Hope Foundation, which raises funds for individuals who need financial assistance for cancer treatment and awareness of various cancers). I was quite happy to spend the

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-24041335059626214292009-10-27T09:24:00.006+02:002009-10-27T09:43:08.488+02:00

A very warm welcome to Gaynor Paynter, a writer and transcriptionist living in Johannesburg, South Africa. Gaynor is one of the very good friends that I made online.We "met" on a forum women who work at home in 2000, I think. Met once in person around 2002/3, and by some twist of fate, recently ended up living near each other.More than being a friend, Gaynor has a thorough understanding of the

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-33980671258086606512009-10-26T12:22:00.004+02:002009-10-27T08:11:54.761+02:00

I'm feeling a tad stressed by the idea that Christmas is very near. My work schedule is not slowing down, and everytime someone says something like "eight weeks before Christmas," I wonder how I'm going to get it all done before the year ends.Last year I didn't take a Christmas/new year break, because I was busy setting up the OneLove web site, and it was due to launch on the 14th January. This

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-41846301369625624842009-10-25T21:20:00.010+02:002009-10-25T22:10:56.258+02:00

Had a wonderful weekend connecting with friends and family. My sister and brother-in-law came up from Durban, and I spent hours cuddling my 4-month old nephew Matthew Kabelo. He's such an adorable little man. He's very quiet though, but has this beautiful smile I want to see over and over...Baby and I spent Sunday at at her paternal grandmother's. Everytime I see Eileen, I'm reminded of why I

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-59881195266423208342009-10-24T17:22:00.001+02:002009-10-24T17:22:35.824+02:00

I wonder why I never explored iGoogle thoroughly to see what I could do with it? I've just loaded gadgets for Facebook, Twitter and blogger. Which means that I can now work from one screen and each tab takes me to whatever plarform I want to use at that moment.Cool - I can post on a blog, check my Facebook and Twitter accounts, and once I figure out how to add a Wordpress gadgets, do my work blog

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-88536727325329188542009-10-23T20:10:00.008+02:002009-10-24T16:56:14.395+02:00

It hailed quite strongly yesterday.My poor seedlings took a beating.Have a hectic social weekend planned. But I also need to do some serious creative writing - the novel breakdown and first chapter is due to the publisher at the beginning of November.Have a great weekend.Saturday afternoon update: my plum tree also took a beating. Lots of leaves, and small, still green plums, fell to the ground.

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19861369.post-41459763594569300302009-10-23T08:00:00.001+02:002009-10-23T08:00:03.148+02:00

If you've hung around here for a while, you've probably noticed that sometimes I've very grumpy, especially if I have to do tasks that I don't like/that I'm not good at. But for the most part, I thoroughly enjoy the work I do. Writing is not something I have to suffer through before I'm allowed to have fun.During conversation with one of my cousins today, I realised that she does not take

Damaria Sennenoreply@blogger.com3