The trouble with being busy

TTB has been very, very busy in the last while. She’s been attending baby showers, bridal showers, weddings like they’re coming out of her ears. Yip, the matrimony bug continues to nab her friends! And babies are now definitely the rage. Don’t get TTB wrong she enjoys being busy and she does enjoy a good wedding reception but when it’s all happening at the same time along with all sorts of work commitments, well, then something’s gotta give! And the first thing that goes out the window is blogging! Yes, dear readers, the TTB is offering a heartfelt apology for her absence. (She knows she issued this last week in the midst of all the chaos but she’s saying it again.)

There haven’t been any earth shattering occurrences in the last while. A volcano erupted and is apparently still causing a bit of havoc with that volcanic ash cloud, but that’s old news. JZ has been in power for the last year. The new Durban Airport has experienced some shenanigans with messed up undercover fuel lines. Skandaal, skandaal. No one has accused anyone of touching them on their studio and doesn’t seem like there are any more of those annoying “bloody agents” running around. Thank goodness for that! As it appears, TTB’s loyal followers all seem to be in stable relationships or have run out of intelligent relational dilemmas to seek advice about. Surely this can’t be. But yes, TTB still awaits her next “agony aunt” moment. Dee, if you’re reading this, TTB has every intention of answering your question about whether handbags and briefcases can really be “just friends”. For now the jury is still out on that one and TTB is hoping to make an informed opinion shortly.
That leaves only mundane things to write about. Sorry. TTB follows the rule any good writer should: Write what you know. And at the moment all TTB knows is being very busy.

As TTB writes she listens to her Korean washing machine singing a little Korean folk song which can be loosely translated as: “Your washing is done. Your washing is done. Now get off your lazy ass and go and hang it up” and realises that being busy robs one of having the time to do boring (actually TTB doesn’t think laundry is boring) but necessary things like, laundry. Yes, dear friends one realises how very busy one is when you have to pop over to your nearest Woolworths to buy a few more clothes – not tastefully chosen but bought in desperation as there ain’t any clean ones left in the cupboard. Listen, just as an aside. TTB does not like wearing anything more than once and thinks that people who recycle clothes are simply: disgusting. Hence her obsession with clean clothes and laundry! Luckily she is safe for a good while. This load should keep her going for at least the next week.

As TTB surveys her cupboards in true Mother Hubbard style, she realises that she can’t quite remember the last time she saw the inside of the local Pick ‘n Pay. Yes, being busy also means that you neglect the weekly food shop. Actually as she ponders her last grocery shopping expedition, the memories of that fateful day all come flooding back to her. And she remembers the fabulous advice that resulted from this torment of a food shop, “If you are thinking of getting married and having babies – spend some time at a grocery store.” She generously gave this advice to a close friend considering marriage. You might wonder why TTB would suggest such a thing – so did her friend! Let her not keep you in the dark…

Aside from the usual moms with 10 toddlers in a trolley and a crying baby on the arm blocking the aisles, TTB was privy to a few situations which well should have been just that – private. TTB was minding her own business in the veggie department when she encountered an American couple having a full on domestic. It seems they were arguing about who was going to be the one to walk the walk of shame and purchase the very necessary supply of, um, how shall we say…prophylactics. (To use a very American term in honour of them.) At that point TTB thought that she may have just seen everything but, she was wrong. It seems that this couple may have been onto something as those toddlers do grow up into an awful species called “teenagers”. With the Americans still in earshot she meandered along trying to find some peace in the fruit section. But oh no! Right in front of the lemons there was another shocking interchange happening between a mother and her teenage daughter. Yip, they were also having a domestic in the middle of a grocery store which ended with the mother sarcastically shouting: “And now you’re shouting at me in the middle of the grocery store. How sweet!”

It was at this moment that TTB realised that she REALLY doesn’t like grocery shopping. But she really likes food and doesn’t really like being hungry. Fortunately there was one last decent meal left from that fateful day and as TTB munches away at the solitary Porterhouse steak that remained in her freezer and a few veggies (well past their sell by date but good enough still to eat due to all that genetic modification everyone whines about) she thinks that maybe all the babies and domestics are worth it? You know to just brave it and go grocery shopping. The conclusion being as follows: busyness is bad for one’s health. It leaves one blog entry-less, hungry and with a pile of dirty clothes. The only solution to this problem is to a) be less busy or b) find a house husband. Mmm. Maybe there is something to recommend this matrimony vibe?

Yours sincerely
TTB