Thursday, October 18, 2012

My First Job in the US


End of June 2012.
I spent hours and hours in the library applying for jobs and downloading music. It really is how I spent my days when I first arrived in The US. Thursdays, I’d leave first thing in the morning, laundry in tow and go to T’s. She’d cook us very yum  food.  From Corn on the cob to dumplings, paap etc. Fun times all round!

She even let me drive her car one day, to the store. It was really nice. If you know me, I love to drive, this was different because it was a left hand drive, driving on the right side of the road, at 25miles/hour (60km/hr)  25 just seemed so much slower, you know? In my head, I felt like I was driving at 25 km/hr.

I’d sleep over Thursday nights and when she had her long breaks, we’d go to West Haven together, have lunch at the Chinese Buffet place, she’d run her errands with me tagging along, and then drop me off on her way back to her work, which is where she lives. I lived at her place (which her roommate) while she lived at work (sleep in, so to speak).

One evening, I got a call from T’s friend, she told me her friend needed someone to fill in for her for the night. Oh my word, I didn’t even hesitate, I WAS IN! I had to wait for the lady to call me to finalise everything. I was so anxious! I called T, she was so happy for me. I sat there impatiently waiting for the call.... Finally, she called! Let’s call her Pinky. She told me she’d pick me up around 8pm, drop me off at the house, I was to look after the elderly lady she looks after, for the night. She’d be back 24 hours later and take me home. I was so excited just to have something to do. Something different, you know?
She picked me up as promised, I had an overnight bag ready, a change of clothes and my laptop, something to keep me occupied. She’s a very nice lady, very bubbly. It was such a pleasure to meet her. She’s from the Eastern and the Western Capes n South Africa. So off the bat, we had things in common.  We arrived at the house, it smelled like medication, I tried not to freak out.  I met the lady, she was ready to sleep. Pinky left. I called T to update her. Turned out she knows Pinky, she said not to tell Pinky that we’re friends, that could ruin my new friendship with Pinky. I found that interesting. That made me really want to tell Pinky. Just so I could find out what she was hiding. Wouldn’t you?

There was no cellphone network in the entire house, I found a tiny little spot in the garage, where I had to have the phone on speaker, to maintain signal. That’s how I managed to talk to T, halfway through the conversation, she asked someone else something in our conversation. Turns out, we were on a 3way call the entire time! Interesting! I watched some telly, had some nuts and went to sleep. I got up, bathed and got the old lady ready for the day. When we got to the bottom, she looked me deep in the eye and went, “oh Brook, right there!  That feels so good Brook!” I was like, uhm, I think that’s enough, it’s clean now. AWKWARD! She complained and complained about how she didn’t like Pinky and wanted me to replace her. I told her I was flattered but couldn’t do that to my friend and if Pinky’d been there for a year, she must have been doing something right. She kept me running around all day, I was literally sweating ALL DAY! Did I mention I was running around all day? ALL DAY! Pick this up, take this there, I wanna bathe, I wanna bathe again. Put me here, take me there, bring me the phone, not this one, the one in the dining room. Don’t tell Pinky I made you do this. By the way, do you like me? What do you say to someone who asks you such a question? This was before she drove me up the wall. I honestly thought she was a nice old lady then.  She asked me to tell Pinky when she got home what I thought of her because Pinky tells her everybody thinks she’s mean and they don’t want to help Pinky when she needs someone to fill in for her. I told her I’d tell Pinky if she asked what I thought of her.

After that she became an absolute monster! She told me to bathe her again. Just the private parts. She got up and wanted me to rub her with the wash cloth there. When I stopped, she was like, do it some more Brook. I was like, I think it’s clean now (Good Lord! She said, “never mind, give me the wash cloth!” She went to town with it, while I was standing there in utter shock.
I couldn’t wait for Pinky to get home and get me out of that misery. The excitement of it all wore off so quickly! I literally didn’t even have time to shower. When the old lady dozed off, I was breathed a sigh of relief. Quietly, God forbid she heard me and woke up! The phone rang while I was in the shower, she yelled for me to bring it to her. She had a phone right next to her, she wanted me to bring her the one that was in the dining room. I had to get out of the shower, wet as I was and get her the phone. My, oh my! Eight PM came and went. Pink got home at exactly the same time she left, 24hours prior. I could have kissed her, I was so relieved! She asked me if the lady behaved. I was like, Girl, I’m ready to go home! She asked me if she didn’t ask me to do that thing that she made me do to her genitals, I was both relieved and grossed out. Relieved that I wasn’t imagining it, grossed out for obvious reasons. She also asked me what I thought of her in general, I gave her my honest opinion. She told me the old lady doesn’t believe that she’s mean. Well...

Pinky asked if I didn’t want to spend the night, she would take me home the next day, I was like girl, I think I’m good, take me home, please NOW! Old lady wanted to see me before I left. She asked if there were something I wanted to tell Pinky. I was like, “like what?” She went, like how you feel about me, the fact that you think I am a nice person. I was like, Oh no, that was before you were so mean to me all day. Telling me how you don’t like black people, you think they are lazy, blah blah bah. I told her exactly what I thought of her. She asked!
Pinky dropped me off and I was glad to have made some money! My very first week in the US. It was a good sign, don’t you think? Oh and no, I didn’t tell Pinky I knew T... yet!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

First day in The US

Sunday, June 24th
The Apartment


24 June 2012
T’s bedroom is so cosy and the bed so high. Bedding by Ralph Lauren all the way to the scatter cushions. Fancy! I almost didn’t want to mess it up. It was so so hot! You wouldn’t believe the weather here! When i walked into the apartment the night before, it felt like walking into an oven!
I must have slept for 6 hours, far less than I’d anticipated. I was up around 8am. I felt lost without my phone, I couldn’t reach anybody. I took a shower and got ready to go to Mc Donald’s for internet. I saw one down the road from the apartment the night before. As I was about to open the door to leave, I heard a knock. WHO COULD THAT BE! I was hesitant to open the door, only for a split second though, thereafter I ran to get it! “Hi, Bar...ber...Bhabhalwe?” Errr, yeah, that’s me? “T Sent me here, she said you don’t have a phone, she will call you on my phone in a minute”   HALLELUJAH!  ‘Oh, are you her boyfriend?’. “Yes, sorry, I’m Dick”. Nice to meet you Dick.........
T called and told me Vic would take me to the supermarket, and anywhere else I needed to go, for example, the cell phone shop to get a new SIM Card. I couldn’t be more grateful. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Had  he arrived a minute later, he would’ve missed me and I don’t know where he would’ve found me because I wouldn’t have left a note on the door, I wasn’t expecting anyone. He was surprised that I figured out my own way to get to Connecticut from New York. Well, when you haven’t got much of a choice, you do what you’ve got to, don’t you?

He took me to Shoprite , just down the road from the apartment, I got groceries for the week, back to the house, to the mall, which was a bit further than Shoprite but not much, I got a new SIM Card, they activated it immediately, the messages came flocking thereafter, one from T, from Facebook, explaining how she couldn’t pick me up from the airport and  how I should take the trains to Connecticut because they run  24/7. I wish she had sent me a text instead as I didn’t have Facebook access and I’d told her that and it never would’ve cost her a thing to send me a text. Anyway, what’s done was done. I was able to text my  loved ones and tell them I’d arrived safely.
We had fast food for lunch, I asked him to take me to KFC, I was still on my KFC Trip, I wanted to try the grilled chicken. It was nice, it tasted just like regular KFC. I paid, yeah, I had some $, what do you take me for? ;)
Lauren by Ralph Lauren

He dropped me off at the apartment and left. I spent most of the afternoon chatting, and trying not to fall asleep, what with jetlag and all. I fiddled with the television and managed to turn it on, all I wanted to see was what’s currently playing over here, then I switched it off. I didn’t want the roommate to get home and find me watching her TV. Another knock on the door.  Oh, it’s T. It was nice to see her. She didn’t say she was coming. She said she did, but oh well. She stopped by for a minute and had to rush back for work.
N, the roommate came home Monday night. It must have been around 10pm. She was from work. She told me just about everything about herself, her amazing life, her bubbly personality, how much men love her and how she plays them, etc and etc. After 1am, I had to excuse myself and go to bed.  Not the worst first two days in The US of A.


From South Africa to America via England


Friday, June 22nd 
luggage, check in, carry on
My baggage. It's bigger than it looks

I stalked the Embassy’s website tracking my visa until it was time to pick it  up. It was ready for collection on Wednesday, June 13th. I got my flight ticket confirmation that same day as well. I got the actual ticket on Thursday. I also did some finishing touches before my departure for The States Friday evening. 
My departure day, Friday the 22nd of June 2012, I donated some clothes to the Catholic church in Bryanston, posted some to my mom, she sells clothes, I also sent some that I wasn’t ready to part with, for her to keep for me. I didn’t realise that in the 4 months Id been in Johannesburg, I had accumulated so much stuff! Especially shoes! I think the fact that I got 6 pairs of shoes at, once at some point, from Cape Town didn’t help my situation. Unfortunately, the shoes were all heavy wedges that I couldn’t take with me, as I was trying to stick to my 22kg limit.
My friend in the US, let’s call her T she wanted biltong, and some stuff for hear dreads. I got that, her brother dropped some of stuff for her over as well. Her Roommate, let’s call her N, wanted Umthombo, (King Corn); I drove around looking for King Corn in Fourways. Not easy to find! Try it sometimeJ.  I was craving KFC for days; I thought that was the perfect moment to indulge! I got really big thighs and side breasts! It was DELICIOUS! I took some home for everybody else. ZS called, offering to take me to the Airport. I’d planned to take the Gautrain, but with all that luggage, she saved me time and trouble with her offer. I was on the phone for the last time with T and it was all so surreal! My flight was at 5/5:30pm CAT. We made it in time! As we arrived at O.R. Tambo airport, we saw the time changes, noooooo! My sister, nephew and niece were also meeting me at the airport, one last time. 
family, sisters, airport pics
Left to Right: My niece, Sis and I at Mugg and Bean in O.R. Tambo Airport

I checked in, they told me that there was a delay and that my flight would leave in 3 hours, at 8:30pm which sucked. The bright side was that I could spend more time with my favourite people. We sat and talked and talked and talked until ZS had to leave. She had her daughter with her and the daughter was expecting friends for a sleep over. We let them go; I spent the rest of the time there with the fam.  An hour before boarding, we approached the desk and were greeted by a notice that the flight was delayed by 2 more hours. NOOOOOO!  We were to leave at 10pm. The family couldn’t wait with me any longer, my sister, bless her soul, was dozing off and she was the designated driver.  My niece is not that experienced to be driving that late. I let them go and took a nap in the waiting room.
If we had left on schedule, I would have arrived in the US at midnight, which would’ve been great! I could get to see New York!  The changes were messing up my schedule! Just before ten, my alarm went off..... Just as it did, I heard an announcement, there was another delay! This time it was INDEFINITE! WOW! Just what I needed! I was so frustrated, I could cry! I fought and paid so much money for an early ticket only to get stuck at the airport and end up leaving the next day! What the heck was going on? People were frustrated, I called and updated family. Of course my mom talked until I had only R10 ($1.20) left in my account. I had called my cell phone service provider earlier in the day, and they told me not to worry about running out of network, I’d be able to top up and send and receive sms-es  (texts) abroad.  My cell phone battery was dying. I didn’t worry much about that because my laptop was fully charged and I had the USB charger with my for my blackberry. My friend had offered me her laptop charger from the UK in case that would be easier to find an adapter for that than my South African. I called T, and she told me I didn’t have to worry about any of that. This is the US , they have adapters for different chargers from all over the world.
nephew, lil bro, brother, OR Tambo
My very funny Nephew

As the night progressed, I kept looking at an aeroplane that was right in front of our gate, I couldn’t help but wonder if that wasn’t the plane we were waiting for all night. IT WAS! It had been there the entire time! At midnight, they announced that we could board. Apparently there had been some technical problem with their GPS or whatever and without that, they couldn’t fly. Virgin Airline flights were delayed. We got on and fell asleep as we got on the plane. It was around 1:20am on Saturday the 23rd when we finally left. Shocking!
Remember, we now have no idea what time we were going to catch our connecting flights! I was going to connect in Heathrow, London. Originally, I only had a 2 hour delay. Which would’ve been perfect. We arrived in London at midday UK time. I think they’re behind us by an hour, making it 11am CAT (South African time). People shot out of the plane like you won’t believe! My connecting flight, after the first delay, in Johannesburg was shifted to 12:30pm in London. I had 30 minutes to get to my plane. It was also Virgin Atlantic, we hoped that they had communicated with our connecting flights and advised them we’d be late. We ran and ran and ran. Not everybody was going to The US, some were going to Canada, etc. Somewhere in the midst of checking in and out, we had to queue, the machine chose me for a random check up, I had to strip and be searched. Great! There goes my flight! As soon as they were done, I sped off following the signage to my gate. You know how big Heathrow is, I think it’s the largest in the world. As I got closer to my terminal, the lights flashed in red – CLOSED! CLOSED! CLOSED! What now!
I had to find someone who could tell me what to do with myself. I didn’t even know which way I came from as I was so all over the place when I arrived. I still had to rush because I didn’t know if there was another flight that was going to depart soon, that I could get on. You never know! I fumbled and fumbled until I saw the lady that was sitting next to me on the flight from South Africa, Wendy Knowler, the consumer watch Journalist from East Coast Radio, KZN. They called me over and filled me in on what was happening. Everybody from all the different Virgin Atlantic flights who had been delayed (that includes everybody who flew Virgin that day) had to queue up and have the guys at the desk book us new seats. I was in the line for a little more than 5 hours and in Heathrow for 9. NINE HOURS!  There were times when I wondered if I would make it to my final destination.
shoes, shoefie, family
Left to Right: Nephew, Me, Sister and Niece

Some people couldn’t get flights that night, Virgin booked them hotel rooms, got them temp passes to London for the duration they were there etc. I just wanted to leave! I had always hoped to have a layover in Heathrow so I could explore, but  not like that! It was so hot in the queue, people were tired and miserable and and and. Mind you some people were on 3day vacations, they had to spend their first day stuck in an airport somewhere. As soon as I got my ticket, I went searching for wi-fi, I got nothing! The largest airport in the world and there was no free wi-fi! I went to an ATM to buy airtime as Vodacom (my service provider) had promised I could – nope! I couldn’t buy airtime! The stress was building up! I wasn’t able to tell what time I’d be at JFK Airport. Great, she had offered to pick me up, I told her, I would manage, but she insisted, which was nice of her especially because my arrival time had moved from midday to midnight. I asked my sister to add T on BBM, I sent text to my sister and asked her to pass the messages over to T. That worked, thank goodness.  Bear in mind, I only had R10 airtime on my phone! I was only able to send a few texts and I had to save 2 for when I arrived in the US.
A very kind English gentleman offered me 3 pounds to use the internet cafe. Just as I was about to take it, some strange, very forward French girl said, oh no, 2 pounds will be more than enough. He took one pound back. And he had just told me he needed to get rid of his pounds. Great! When I got to the internet cafe, the key boards were like 6 inches (15cm) wide or something, I couldn’t find the keys, I don’t know what they’d done with them and trust me, I’m computer literate! But I battled with those. You got 10 minutes per pound however the minutes ran so fast, I’m sure they meant seconds. I quickly logged onto Facebook to leave a message for T, when I was about to hit SEND, Facebook froze and the computer shut down. I thought I was dreaming. I waited for it to get back on, by then my time had run out. I topped up with my 2nd pound, quickly logged onto my email and sent my sister a long email and asked her to relay a message to T. She did so. My time ran out. I felt slightly relieved. I tried to book transport from the Airport but that proved impossible with the given circumstances.
The French chick was also flying to New York, She told me to ask the guys on iPads if they could let me use their internet. I told her I wasn’t sure that was such a grand idea. I thought I’d be a great spot and do it! The two guys I asked, freaked out and were literally shaking when they told me they were not on the internet. They were on Facebook. They just didn’t want to let me use it. I went back to my seat glad to have been right J
Before 7, we headed towards our gate for checking. The French girl wouldn’t stop talking about how she got to America, lived there illegally, and married a businessman to get his citizenship. The husband’s also French, his citizenship is on condition he still ran the business, which he no longer was, therefore they were both living there under false pretence. I was like, dear Lord make her shut up! People are going to think we’re together in this. I don’t know this woman!
Lo and behold, she was going to sit right next to mine. I must’ve been more tired than I thought because before the plane took off, I was fast asleep and snoring. So embarrassing because there was a really cute guy sitting between Miss Crazy and I. He had a nice smile too! Score! Not! I slept all the way to New York! I woke up when the flight attendants made the landing announcements. I hadn’t filled in the i94 form and the whatever else form I was supposed to hand to the flight attendants. My other option was to do it quickly and take it with me to the Port of Entry. I was dying to use the bathroom, great! If I didn’t know better I’d say French snuck out of me. I blinked and she was goooonnneee!
I couldn’t believe that I had arrived in The US, finally! We landed at 11pm. It was a 7 hour flight from London. Of course, we had to queue at immigration/s. A rather hot, bald headed immigration officer interviewed me. I couldn’t help but smile my way throughout the entire interview J J J . Thereafter, I got my luggage, heaviest suitcase EVER! Still not as bad as when I went to Georgia though, I learnt my lesson – ish. As soon as I turned my phone on, I got a text from T asking where I was. I texted back that I’d just landed. According to the message I sent her via my sister, I was going to arrive at 10 but of course that flight was delayed too, so we got here an hour late. I was freaking out that she’d been waiting for me an entire hour after driving 2hours to pick me up at the airport at that hour of the night. I went through the same thing with internet and wi-fi as I did in London. The computers freeze when one’s on FB. I did manage to send my message through for T though, it shut down just before I sent my sister one. I couldn’t be bothered anymore. It was late and I was frustrated and tired, and sticky.
sad goodbye
Last goodbye to ZS and her daughter.

I have to mention that I’d always told myself that when I arrived in New York, I’d do it in style. I slapped on some   red lipstick on, my fancy hat that I was complimented on at OR Tambo, Heathrow as well as JFK airports. I had to make a statement: Brook has arrived B!tches, I hope you’re ready for thisJ. I looked around for T, there was this random, almost scary looking man following me around. I called T from a public phone – voicemail. Great! Scary dude offered me the use of his mobile phone for a dollar. I took him up on it, called T again, she didn’t pick up. I gave the guy his phone back and headed for the ATM to see if I could by airtime – nope, couldn’t! All in All Vodacom misled me L .
While I was at the ATM that scary guy followed me and was whispering that my friend was on the phone. I was like, how do you know it’s her? He said give me a dollar and I will let you talk to your friend. I grabbed his phone and lo and behold T was on the other side. She was in Connecticut! Never went to the airport, she wanted to tell me she wouldn’t be able to pick me up!  I gave the guy his dollar and went to information desk. It was approaching midnight by then and by the looks of things I was going to end up sleeping at the airport. They showed me over to some type of switchboard/vending machine  - machine where I could speed dial shuttle services. The first one I dialled was the one that ended up taking picking me up 10 minutes after I called them. I remember wanting a drink of water so badly, I had to let the driver keep an eye on my luggage while I went to the tap, that wasn’t too far from my luggage. I was panicking that even though I could see him, if he decided to grab something and run, I still couldn’t catch him. Dear Lord!
Fortunately, the guy dropped me home safely. We did pick up two or 3 people on our way. I was the last one to get off. The driver was a nice guy from Morocco. When we got to the apartment, I had to find the key which was under a rock somewhere. Seriously! I ran to where I’d been told I’d find the rock, flipped it over and found the key wrapped up in toilet paper which had got wet and dry from the rain a few days prior. I was so happy to find that key! You have no idea! I ran back to the shuttle with a huge smile on my face, “I found it!” I paid and gave him a tip, not knowing how much was acceptable and how much was considered an insult tip-wise made it slightly awkward for me. He seemed to appreciate it a lot though. I got in, looked around for the apartment. Apparently, I had used a different entrance to the one in the directions. Fortunately, it’s a small apartment block; it wasn’t hard to find the unit.
I tell you when I got in, I was like, Am I really here? Whew! It was 2am American and 8am (Sunday) South African Time, I was scheduled to leave South Africa Friday afternoon at 4 and arrive in the US Saturday 6pm South African time. You do the math, don’t forget the time difference) I wanted to tell my sis, I’d arrived safely, but didn’t have airtime or anything. I tried sending her a call back, thankfully, it went through. She was so surprised to get a Please Call Arived In Bed. Pleasantly so. I couldn’t do the same for T; she’s on an American Network. I don’t know if sis told her. I didn’t know if roommate was in or not, but her door was left ajar. I took a shower and went straight to sleep.


Wednesday, August 08, 2012

US Visa Interview


June 2012

Things got really awkward at work when I got a visa appointment date. Doc was like, “Were you serious about this US thing?” Yup! “Miss Brook, what am I going to do? I didn’t hire someone else hoping you’d stay!”
the office, office desk

The visa day went something like this (if you’ve been following my blog for a while, you will remember how my previous visa post went. Not too fun):
The appointment was at 09:00. I left the house at 07:00 walked the 30 minutes to the stop. I’d already asked around how to signal for taxis to Sandton, which is where the American Embassy is. I signalled for a taxi, 3 fingers up! It took me about ten minutes to get a taxi. I hopped on and greeted the driver. He asked me how I was doing .I told him I was so nervous, I was going to the embassy. He was like then why did you take a taxi to Tembisa? Uhm, what? How do I signal for Sandton taxis? He showed me exactly the same sign I made. How’s that different from what I did? Sisi, it’s going to be hard for you to find taxis to Sandton here. I was in Fourways, a suburb of the greater Sandton, you’d think it would be easy to catch a taxi to Sandton from there. Plus I was right outside Monte casino, a very busy spot. I asked the driver to let me get off. He told me to hang on, he would drop me off later. I assumed he would drop me off where I could catch the right taxi, nope, he wanted to chit chat. Yup! Believe me! No respect for someone else’s time at all! ‘I had to walk all the way back to square one. I still had a little more than an hour to get to the embassy.
I asked around if anybody knew where I could catch a taxi to Sandton, everybody just walked away. That’s where I used to wait for my taxi everyday when going to work, like P, they probably thought I was stuck up. Oh well, too bad, too sad. I asked around until one guy replied in a language I’ve never heard before. I’m sure it’s one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, but I mean, I don’t speak them all. I asked if he didn’t speak Zulu, Xhosa or English. His friend pitched in, he tried to explain what his friend was trying to say in exactly the same words, same language. I thanked them and went and asked an Indian couple. They told me they were also going to Sandton. The best way would be to take a taxi to Randburg get stuck in traffic to Randburg, then from there take a taxi to Sandton and get stuck in that traffic again. They told me it would take me an hour in total to get to the final destination by taxi then another ten minute’s walk to the embassy. I looked at the time and was like, you know what! I don’t know if I have enough time anymore. I waited ten minutes for a taxi, it had enough space for the couple. That sucked! I had to wait some more! Heaven knew how long I’d have to wait before I got a taxi. I called ZS to share the dilemma I was in. She suggested I take the other car and drive there, rather. I looked at the time and wondered if it would’ve been worth it to walk another thirty minutes back to the house to get the car. I did it! I ran back to the house, halfway, I saw the security guards that work at the boom gate, I asked them for a lift, they told me they didn’t have petrol (gas), another one asked if I forgot something behind, while the other was asking me if I wasn’t going to work that day. I just couldn’t be bothered with their small talk, Time was money. Time IS money!
I got home, P was mopping the floor, awkward moment, I had to walk on her wet floor, another reason for her to think I am mean to her, oh well, I just apologised, got the car keys, started the car, IT WOULDN’T START! A few minutes later, it did! It had to! I didn’t have another 30 minutes to go to the taxi. There was no petrol in the car! I had to start at the garage (gas station). I rushed there, waited my turn, got my petrol and then the car wouldn’t start. GREAT! I pumped the accelerator and pumped for what seemed like forever until it started. I almost knocked a car that was parked in front of the store in front of me. Ugh, Gosh! I only had 45 minutes to get to the embassy and I didn’t know how to get there.  ZS sent me directions via BBM Voice notes. I kept playing them and playing them until I got there. I had to park at Sandton city as they, for some weird reason, don’t have parking at the American Embassy. I took the first parking I got and was lucky that the first guy I asked for directions knew exactly where I was going and was good at giving directions. I arrived at the embassy at 08:56. Four Minutes early! I still had to get Visa photos, I asked the security where I could, he directed me really nicely, I ran back to Sandton City, got my pictures, met a nice lady that was also going to the embassy, she didn’t know where it was, I took her with me. We chatted and chatted while in line, she’s very nice, from Uganda .
The nerves were killing me inside! I felt like I was the only nervous one, everyone else was so laid back. I had to get my visa the first time, I was so ready to leave! We went in, had to switch off our mobile phones and I was like wow, this is really happening. I could be going to America very soon or not! I literally meditated on the positive! I wouldn’t even allow myself to think that there was a possibility I wouldn’t get the visa. Not an option!
I went to 3different desks and was assisted by a white lady, an African lady and by an Indian Gentleman. Talk about affirmative action. Very South African! The last person is the one that did the actual interview. It lasted no time at all, then he said, “Okay mam, your visa’s been approved” whut! Whut! Too happy! I just said thanks, and went to join my friend, whose visa had also approved and the lady that was behind us in line also had hers approved. Good times were had by all. WE got outside and screamed, and danced and hugged and rejoiced and and and.
My new friend treated me to a nice branch. 
I called ZS and told her the news, she came over to Sandton City as soon as she could and treated me to a nice lunch! Very nice lunch actually J

She was going out of town that evening. I hadn’t told any of my family about the visa and the US or anything, I didn’t want to jinx it! My sister called me up to ask if I wanted to spend the weekend over at hers, perfect timing because I wanted to see them as well. I hadn’t seen them since I moved to Fourways. ZS and I took some pics at the Nelson Mandela Square, fun! Fun! Fun! I had to break the news to Doc, that wasn’t fun. He called ZS and asked her what he’s supposed to do without me. He said he didn’t want anybody else but me. It was cute and sad at the same time. He cried L He did tell me that he and his friend were praying the whole morning that I wouldn’t get the visa. J
ZS didn’t have time to drop her car off, I found myself stuck in Sandton City with two cars. I took the Merc home first. Let me tell you! People treat you differently on the road when you drive a fancy car. I’ve driven the Merc a few times and I noticed that! The moment you turn your indicator (flicker) on, they start moving, making space for you. Nice but so unfair! I dropped that car home, got my overnight back and WALKED THE THIRTY MINUTES TO THE BUS STOP. Third time that day! I bought a Gautrain ticket, and took the Gaubus to Sandton. This is what I should have done in the morning when going to the Embassy! I almost missed the bus, while running towards it, my toes cramped, my leg locked up. I got such a fright! I was like my gosh I’m getting old, what’s happening to me L

I drove the other car to Melville, back to normal driving on the road, nobody cared if I wanted to change lanes, no more Mercedes Benz luxuries! I told my sister news! She knew though! Kinda! That’s the thing with my family, they’re an intuitive bunch. She told me she had a feeling I got a job overseas and wanted me to bring her up to speed. That’s one of the reasons she asked me to come over. Oh well, she was happy for me either way. I slept over and broke the news to my nephew and niece the following day. I also got to see my nephew’s new place. I picked ZS up from the airport Sunday evening and called it a day. I went to work on Monday to resign, super duper awkward! It sucked to be precise. I was there for half of the day. I needed to go to SARS. That was my only chance. I took a taxi to Johannesburg, walked all the way to the end of the world to SARS, I wasn’t aware they moved from Carton Centre. Anyway, I was assisted by a very kind gentleman. They had told me I owed them R5 000 ($600). I wasn’t chuffed about that, but I had to address it before I left.



Monday, August 06, 2012

Picture blog!

This is what happens when you use an Ice Cream Tub to cook food in the Microwave


Plicken - Park Plastic from, part Chicken

I was hooked on these while in Melville

Cute, Right? R60 ($7) at Ackermans, they broke in 4days. I returned them, got a refund and bought airtime

Paycheck (that's the envelope they put the R700 in)

Yum!

Just arrived at work

I took these daily from the stress (headaches)of working for no pay.

My niece's cooking. 

The day I went to work on flip flops. Oops!

This freaked me out! Looks real right?

Looks like a very black man

To America or Not to America


While inBetween jobs, I spent a lot of time at my sister's. They had wi-fi, don’t ask where they got it from ;) My niece and I would watch movies, apply for jobs, you know the usual stuff one does on the net. One evening, on my way home, We bumped into my sister as she arrived from work. She was so excited that her friend, called her from the US. The friend had only been in the country for 5days. My sis said the friend, let’s call her W, told her it was so easy to go to the US if my sis wants to come, she will help her out through the process. My sis asked if she can tell us, we all know her, they’ve been friends for years. Apparently, she said , sure, no problem.  I saw a ray of light! Some hope!

As soon as I got home, I added her on Facebook and asked her how things were in the US etc. We talked for a bit and it was bed time for me. As you may know, South Africa is 6 hours ahead of the US, time-zonewise.  Around my birthday, I talked to W again, I brought up that I’ve been wanting to go to the US for ever but it’s been practically impossible. I told her of all the avenues I’d visited, for her to see that I was serious about it. She told me to keep trying. For your info, I’d been at it on and off since the late nineties . I asked how she did it, she told me to keep trying. I didn’t want to be too pushy. I went to sleep feeling so bummed. I thought that W was going to offer more help than she did. The following evening, she messaged me, telling me she thought of me when she saw a whole lot of vacancies for foreigners in the US. She said maybe I should try out. I asked her for links to the job sites, she said, “ Google my dear! Google!” I said, “do you genuinely think that I don’t know about google? She said, “Actually, I am beginning to wonder if you do! Mhhhhh! *wondering.........” I bade her a good day and went to sleep with a lump in my throat. My feelings were so hurt.
I didn’t know whether to tell my sister about my experience with her friend, I didn’t want to cause any tension. I did tell my niece though, who’s my partner in crime. I dusted myself off and kept pushing. That’s all you’ve got to do when things aren’t going the way you wish. What else is there to do, right?
I decided to be serious about my diet. I had to channel all the energy I had into something positive. I did some detoxing, lost 2.5 kg  (5lbs) while detoxing, which was great motivation. A few days late, I got call from a very good friend of mine. She wanted to see me. We met up at The Campus Square Drost. She wanted me to move in with her so we can do serious dieting together. I was like I’M IN! Perfect timing because I had also started dieting seriously. That gave me something to look forward to. That was mid April. She asked what my plans were with my life, I mentioned the story of W and the US. She told me she knows someone in the US that might be able to help me. Even if with just some much needed info. I took the person’s details and contacted them immediately.
My old Street in Melville

There’s nothing that motivates me more than the word NO! If you as much as imply or tell me I can’t do something, that’s exactly what I will be doing! I remember a long time ago, way back when! I was in a relationship with this guy. My sister and I joined some acting classes in Uitenhage. I was so excited with the possibilities that would bring us. I told my then boyfriend that I was going to be on TV. He rolled his eyes and said, “yeah right!”. The acting school turned out to be a fly by night, it did what all fly by nights do, it flew. By night! With my dream of being on TV and proving to the BF that I could do it! Months later, we broke up, years later, I was on TV. First as an extra on Generations. Through a fly by night agency, which.... yep you guessed it, flew by night. But The bottom line is  I was on TV. Years flew by, hurdles and hurdles and I ended up on TV over and over and real. Boyfriend had since married, and died. No seriously, he’s dead now! Long Story for another day.

"You treat me like a dog"

 25 April 2012

Favourite Cake Ever! Bar One Cake

2nd birthday cake, Caramel, not much to blog about

Just after my birthday, i got a call from an old friend of mine, not the one I was going to move in with. Let’s call this friend NS and the other one ZS. She got a new job and was stood up by someone that was going to host her until settled down. I picked her up at the bus stop, we went over to mine and reminisced. She’s a good, genuine friend, I love spending time with her.
KFC and Chicken Licken! That's what happens when you shop on an empty stomach

I moved out of my apartment, the last week of April. I tell you, I’ve called more than 25 places home in my entire lifetime and that was the hardest good bye (to a home) for me! I cried! I was overwhelmed with emotion, you know? It was a lot of things, I’d only been back home for a month, from Georgia, which was another roller-coaster, when I had to move to Johannesburg, 2months later, I had to move again. There was just too much uncertainty around me, too much instability. Of course, I had no intentions of staying with a friend forever. It was nice to kknow that i had a place to stay until I figured out my next step. I am not one to depend on people, even though, my friend needed me there for the diet thing, for those that didn’t know, I was Miss Weighless  Gauteng year 2002. I know! I know! I know! J
My family calls me The Queen of Junk Food. I wonder Why?

I moved in with my friend on a Wednesday or Thursday.  We weighed ourselves on Friday and got started eating right! We weighed ourselves every Saturday since then. A week since moving in with ZS, Her friend who is a doctor was looking for a receptionist for his rooms. My friend told me about it, she had already told the Doc that She knows just the person for the job, unfortunately my US plans were under way, I was going to leave in a month or two. Even though,I was excited to be working, about the idea of having something to do while waiting impatiently for my US plans, I felt like taking on a job was so stable,as if I was intending to stick around for a while. We agreed that Doc would hire someone else and have me train that person as I have tons of experience in that field.
The two on the left are my Hard drives, the other 2 ex boss' 

I got the job! Well, I only found out 4days later! Fourways is not a place for pedestrians! I had to walk 30 minutes to the boom gate, we lived in a gated community. Then hail a taxi to work. I worked in Carstenhof Clinic from May onwards. My boss was a gem! The best boss anybody could ever ask for! What a breath of fresh air from the monster I worked for previously! It was just Doc and I in the rooms (well, and the cleaning lady who came in once a week, she was sweet too, we got along), he had his own room, with a consultation room, my  office, the waiting area and some type of a conference room. The rooms were amazing! So gorgeous! He has great taste too! I had wonderful times in Carstenhof, I won’t lie to you! Best few weeks of my working life! I looked forward to being at work. 
My niece and nephew say I'm a hippie from how I sometimes dress

I got paid end of the month! Whew! First actual salary since Georgia! Thank goodness!
At home, I lived with ZS, her daughter, the lady taht looks after the daughter, let’s call her P. Just the four us. ZS had friends over a lot though, so there were always lots of other people, which didn’t bother me, some of the friends, I knew, some I didn’t but they were nice people.  I had to give living with ZS a great deal of thought as I didn’t want it to ruin our friendship, we had been friends since 1989, so yeah. You don’t want to mess that kind of friendship up!
ZS’s place has 2 lounges, P and the daughter use the one lounge to watch TV and stuff, I used the other one because we liked different shows, I enjoyed DSTV channels, P liked SABC stuff and Nigerian movies. I didn’t want them changing the channel  for me when I could just use the other TV. I try and stay out of people’s way when I live with new people, so that i don’t cause any unnecessary awkwardness.
I bought and prepared the diet meals myself, P was handling hers and the kid’s. I noticed that whenever they ran out of stuff, she wouldn’t tell her ZS instead, she would take some of the diet stuff. That was so frustrating because when I did grocery shopping, I had already pre-planned what I would cook for the weak. It came to ZS’ attention, she suggested, we keep our diet stuff in a separate cupboard. Even though i didn’t want it to come to that, I thought that was fair.
One Saturday, I went to the kitchen and found the cooking oil that was in our cupboard all messy, with oil all over the bottle and you could see it had been used:
Me: P please, can you not use the stuff I buy for ZS and I?
P: LIKE WHAT?
Me: Any and everything I get for us, if you run out of things, please let her know of do like you used to before I got here.
P: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT COS I CAN SEE THAT YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME. I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU! YOU ALWAYS TALK TO ME LIKE YOU’RE TALKING TO A DOG. I KNOW THAT I’M JUST A MAID HERE, BUT YOU SHOULD STILL RESPECT ME. I SEE HOW YOU NEVER SIT WITH ME IN THE LOUNGE, COS YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN ME. Blah blah blah blah!
Me: It seems like you’ve had isues you needed to address with me for a while, I wish you had sat me down and talked to me about them because now you’re  taking something really innocent and turning it into something it’s not-
P: NO SIS BABES! I WON’T LET YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT ANYMORE, I AM TIRED OF YOU AND YOUR ATTITUDE........
Me: I’m not having this conversation with you right now. Anyway, you got the message. ( I told her walking away to my bedroom. The daughter was watching TV with her friend in the lounge, we were in the open plan kitchen right next to them, P was yelling at the top of her voice).
I went to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. She budged in, crying, pointed at me and yelled and yelled and yelled. I got up and told her she can have the room if she wants it because I am trying to get some privacy from her and she just wont let me. I left and closed the door behind me, with her inthe room.
She came out, howled and howled, crying, and talking on the phone. I overheard her saying she couldn’t stand living under the same roof as me any longer, she couldn’t stand the way I treaded her and wanted to leave. She wanted whomever she was talking to on the phone ( I assume ZS) to send her a car, she was leaving. Her closet was in my bedroom,  (so Georgia, right? ) she went in there and started throwing her clothes on the floor, crying. You could tell she was fuming.  I didn’t like where the whole thing was going. I had to think. Fast. I opened my side of the closet and went, “you know what? Stay, I’ll move out! You can have this room”
ZS gave me that :)

I had promised the kids I’d drop them off at the movies. The daughter overheard P telling someone over the phone that I was moving out. She (daughter) came running to me crying, she begged me not to leave, telling me I’m like a mother to her. That touched me. I dropped them off at the movies, went back home, packed my suitcases. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve packed in the past year. My gosh! When P Saw me packing, she stopped. USA trip was around the corner, I had to be packed for that, so packing wasn’t a waste of time J . I didn’t see ZS for the next 2-3days, even though she did come home. That made things awkward! I was looking forward to discussing the whole thing with her. I had already secured a place to crash, with NS should I end up having to leave, of course, I wasn’t going to wait for ZS to kick me out but I would read between the lines. If I had had a chance to talk to her, but not seeing her, wasn’t helping. I also didn’t want to force her into talking about something she wasn’t ready to talk about because She came to my room every night after work when she came home, this time she didn’t. I assumed she needed spave and I gave it to her.
The Niece and The Nephew

ZS and I kinda talked about this a few days later, I had to give her a summarised version of my side as she was rushing to work. I was over it by then anyway.
Just before I left my Melville apartment

last meal before the diet

The day I cut my dreads, what a mission to undo all this
.


Sorry Brook, I don't have money to pay you this month


April 2012
Our office, they didn't have a pc for me, I used my own

The job in China fell through. Back to the drawing board. Good thing I hadn’t told my colleagues or anybody about it really. Only my family knew. I secretly wanted to go to China even as a tourist to see for myself if I couldn’t get a job whilst there. I had talked to a few people that teach English there, they told me it’s not hard finding a job once you are there in person. I was tempted. But I had to play it safe.
By this time, I’d been working for my boss for 2 months.  I had been on probation for my week whereby they’d see if I got along with everybody as I was the only outsider in a family company. Everybody  was a breeze to work with, except for the boss, but she wasn’t always there.
By the end of the month, they asked me if I was going to need any money, if so, how much. I found that interesting because I had worked my hinds off all month proving to them that I was an asset to the company. We had talked about the salary at the interview. I told them that I would have been happy with whatever salary was market related. They had a PA (Personal Assistant), they had to know what was market related for a PA. You’d think! I told them that I was renting an apartment, I had to pay rent, groceries, insurances etc, and I had bills to pay! They told me this was a permanent job, of course I went and signed a lease for the apartment! Boss was out of town. She called me.  Normally she was very mean to me on the phone or in person for that matter, so much for a pastor and a life coach. She was so nice to me that time around on the phone. She asked to speak to the old PA. Thereafter, the PA told me that there was no money to pay mu, but they had R1 500 (less than $200) COUNT IT! For   Ice Cream. They would pay me a salary the next week. I had bills to pay and no time to be buying R1 500 worth of ice cream! I went home so confused. Wondering what would happen next. What if they didn’t pay me the following week and the following month! Whew! So much for getting a new job. I went over to my sister’s to chill. I needed to be around people that cared about me.
The view from the dining room/conference room

Boss kept calling to confirm my banking details, she wanted to deposit the ice cream money. She was so nice to me the entire time on the phone.
My landlord was a journalist, she was very nice to me. I lived next door to them and 4 houses from my work, which was also the boss’ house.  She worked from home. I told her about my work situation. She told me she was willing to help me put my boss on blast if I gave her some material to work with. I thought I’d give them until the following week, to see if they would fulfil their promise. The following week, I got R700 from the Boss’ son, he told me that’s all he had in his account. PA’s husband who also works there, had a long, meaningless talk with me one day on my way home. He told me that he knows what it’s like to be in my shoes: to struggle to make a living (WTF’s dude talking about? I’ve got a job! They just won’t pay me! There’s a difference!) He told me how he used to be a waiter, homeless, sleeping in public toilets. I was thinking this dude had better not be suggesting I should move out of my comfortable apartment and go sleep in public restrooms, seriously now!
All I got for the rest of my second month at work where promises that the company was expecting millions of rand, and I’d be paid then. NEVER HAPPENED!

Conference Room/Dining room

In March, my second month at the company, I was kind of offered a promise of a better job: Human Resources of the Bloemfontein Plant. Go figure! This people can’t afford me a PS’s salary, now they want to promote me! How much more money do they want to not pay me? I had to spend days on the internet doing research and things for my new position. I was booking flights for the boss to fly all over the country. Here I am, still waiting for the rest of my salary for the previous salary and this woman is gallivanting all over the show. I booked deluxe hotel rooms for wedding attendance, and all sorts of things. The telephone bill came and she paid R1 000 ($125) extra. I was like, are you kidding me? Why doesn’t she give that to me! The following month, she did the same thing, paid extra for the telephone bill. I just didn’t get that! The entire month of March, I was so discouraged and angry.
Two days before payday, boss lady, who had been out of town for weeks called and spoke to the PA. She told her that they didn’t have money to help me out with my bills, she suggested I move in with them. She would pay me the following week. I told her, even though I’d love to move in with them (which I wouldn’t have), It was two days before my rent was due, I’d have to give my landlady more notice than that, two months to be precise. She said, well try anyway, don’t tell them the real reason, just tell them that something came up and you have to move out urgently. Uhm, ok Reverend, I will do that! I’ll go and lie to my landlord who has been nothing but nice to me! Who has also agreed to help bring you down should you not pay me again this month. 

The following day, I don’t them that the landlord doesn’t mind if I stay or not, as long as I pay them for the following two months as per lease. They were like, ‘What?!?!?!? What exactly did you say to them?!?!?!?!?” I was thinking, it seems as if this is not the first time these people are doing this. It looks as if it’s worked for them every single time but this time around. That’s why they were shocked. Oh well!  The boss told me what my salary would be from that onwards, unfortunately she would only pay me the following week, a week late. My question to the PA was, if they knew for a fact that they were going to pay me the following week, why should I move out of my apartment? I could just ask them to wait a few more days and that’s it. Right? Wrong!
Stairway from our office to the Boss'

I was so stressed out, my whole body hurt, I had headaches that wouldn’t go away. I still had Georgia on my mind, that was a disaster, and now I am here this is not so much of a great experience either! Should I go to China? So many thoughts on my mind! Should I quit? I just moved here from the Eastern Cape! Should I go back there and job-hunt until I find something else? Should I stick around? Will they ever pay me?
I put in notice at the flat while I was on a week’s leave. The PA who was going to fill in for while she was on maternity was still working. For some reason, the baby was not coming. The due date came and went. While I was on sick leave, they deposited R4 000 ($500) into my account. Still not enough, in fact, that plus the money they gave me the previous still didn’t cover the pay they promised. I cut my losses and quit. It was hard, I loved everyone I worked with but couldn’t shake the feeling this was just a cult where they reel you in with their kindness and never ever pay you. All you get is kindles from Boss lady every month end! Sadly, that didn’t pay the bills. Everybody didn’t understand why I quit. It’s like where the heck do these people come from? I don’t offer volunteering services! I need to get paid! I spent the entire month of April, job hunting, going for interviews, applying for jobs abroad, the works.

I bought myself a new laptop a week before payday thinking I was going to get paid