Bungeeeeeee

It was Fiance's birthday this past long weekend and since I figured he would know just about any gift I could buy him, I decided to throw a little surprise into the mix. That being to take him bungee jumping. I don't think I thought this through because I am always such a wuss when it comes to these things, anyone who was at my rap jumping experience a few years ago, would testify to this. This is not to say I won't be a good sport but I tend to enjoy these things more in retrospect rather than when they are actually happening.

In order to keep this a surprise, I roped in my bestest friend to add to the experience. She managed to get fiance to keep his head down while we drove past the umpteen signs that would give away our secret. When we arrived at the site, we were directed to a scale to get weighed. It is definitely a good thing to have a scale since I am sure some people would attempt to bend the truth. That being said, while I certainly do not have weight issues, it is quite weird having your weight emblazoned on your hand for all to see.

After a not so short walk to the bridge we were finally there. This is when the scared little girl inside mi let out a little 'Eep!'. It was really happening. It was comforting to know that Fiance was scared too. Best friend had no worries, she wasn't jumping, her role was simply to moral support. And to point and laugh as we found ourselves getting more and more scared...

We watched two people go ahead of us, who were very quiet on their respective jumps. We all thought that they may have passed out from the stress. They were ok, I think we may have been projecting our own worries onto them.

Eventually the time had come. I was harnessed in and equipped with my foot braces and clipped to the bungee cords, which are quite heavy... no one tells you that. My shaky legs took mi onto the ledge and the jump instructor asked mi to lean out over the edge. you would think this would be easy. Hell to the No!! Every single cell in my body was screaming for mi to turn around and move myself to a safer spot on terra firma. Thankfully, the countdown was quick and before I knew it, I was flying through the air. For anyone who has had a dream about flying, it felt exactly like that. It was amazing! There was a split second where I thought the cord had forgotten about mi because there was no recoil. I waited and waited, and wondered if I would meet my Maker through this one decision to jump off a random bridge in Krugersdorp. Thankfully, before I could panic any further and ruin the experience, there it was. Now the recoil kinda sucks. I flopped around like a fish caught on a hook but eventually that passes and you are lowered to the ground. Aaahhh! safety.

I went first so I could enjoy Fiance's jump. He seemed to enjoy it so I can say that my idea was a certainly more of a hit than a miss. Unfortunately he has now been bitten by the bug and we have decided to locate the highest bungee in SA, which I believe is in the Eastern Cape. Hmmm, maybe I can add Zorbing to the itinerary.

Biology Practicals

I know I have been a little quiet over the past couple of weeks and this is because I have been in Potchefstroom at the North-West University doing my biology practicals. While it was extremely nice not to be chained to my desk for 12 hours a day, I have to say that these practicals were not a walk in the park either. The drive there was not the nicest (sseing as I have yet to take delivery of my brand new car) and I did see a disturbing accident on the way (eek!!).

But, once I had arrived at my cheap (and not so nasty) guesthouse I was quite excited about being a student again for the first time in many years. I made a friend the first day and proceeded to meet some way awesome people throughout the two weeks. And I had to admit it was nice to speak 'geek' with these wonderful human beings. My fiance is not so fond of my 'geek' language and normally just responds with a 'hmmm' or a similar nondescript grunt when I get excited about the inner workings of plants or animals.

It was great to have teachers for a change. Teachers with a passion for their subject too. They are all highly qualified and their passion is truly infectious. By the end of my stay I was convinced I missed out a whole lot by dropping Biology in high school. I got over that thought quickly after I realised that if I continued with the subject, more innocent animals would have died for the sole purpose of me dissecting it. That and the fact that my drawings would make Picasso turn in his grave!

My tree-hugger-ness was also tested in a big way at these pracs, we had to dissect an earthworm and a rat!! I seemed to have weathered the rat dissection better than the earthworm but I think this was due to the fact that I was coming down from an anti-histamine jab the night before the earthworm dissection, this was not exactly an unbiased response to opening animals up. Thankfully, my awesome lab partner was just as dark and twisty as I am and take the dissection in his stride. Hooray for that!! In fact, the inserted picture of mi in my trendy lab coat with Patrica, our rat, was taken by said lab partner.

One of the best parts (probably second only to R14 Black Label draught) of the whole experience was the Student's Centre. Why get excited about a Student's Centre, I hear you ask? Because it is the most amazing Student's Centre I have ever come across ever!! Now, it's no secret I love food but the sheer variety alone makes this the absolute best! You can get anything from (in no particular order) russian and chips to pies, pizza, pasta, sushi (you read right, sushi) and buffet meals. And the list goes on. The cherry on top is that at the tillpoints they have great big beautiful energy cookies. yum yum! I was only introduced to them in my last few days in Potch so I feel I missed out (although I did buy one for the road home).

But enough of my rambling. All in all it was a great two weeks and now I am glad to be home in my own (less creaky and used) bed. Roll on my next set of practicals.