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llywela1. I had a really weird dream last night. Woke me up at about 3am and then I couldn't get back to sleep. I dreamed that I woke up to find that the locks of hair that frame my face had turned bright straw-yellow, but the rest of my hair was still dark as usual. I was completely bewildered and spent the whole day wandering around the building - which was magically massive - knocking on doors asking people if they knew what had happened to my hair. And there were all kinds of weird people behind those doors. Strange dream!
2. I had a job interview at Welsh Assembly Government today. Not the shiny new Assembly building in the Bay, but the government building in Cathays Park. I was very impressed by their cafeteria. They have this spacious indoor garden area, semi-tropical, with ponds, fountains, footbridge and all kinds of plants and trees. Three or four storeys above the garden, the offices around it all have balconies overlooking this garden area. Nice view for the people who work in them!
3. Scenario. Imagine that your best friend in the world, someone you have known half your life and who was best man at your wedding, tells you that he is getting married and wants you to be his best man. Trouble is, the wedding is taking place on the other side of the world. But that's okay - you love him enough to give up your valuable time off work and pay a fortune to be there for his special, day, right? So you work overtime for weeks to accrue enough time off for the trip, book and pay for your tickets and accommodation, buy wedding outfits, etc. Then, just six weeks before the wedding, your friend turns around and announces that not enough people have agreed to come to make the occasion worthwhile, so it's all off. The people who have agreed to come aren't good enough to bother with. He and his fiancee are going to take a cruise later in the year and get married on the boat, without any of their friends and family present at all.
Kinda thoughtless and selfish, no? That's exactly what just happened to my sister and her husband. See, as some of you know, my brother-in-law comes from South Africa, and so does his mate Eddie, but they have both lived in England for about ten years now. Eddie got engaged at Christmas, and the wedding was planned for August, to take place in South Africa, and he wanted Ray to be his best man and Deb matron of honour. It was all arranged. The wedding would be held on an elephant reserve, with a safari in the morning and the wedding in the afternoon. Now, Ray has always wanted to take Deb to South Africa and show her the country he grew up in, but they have never been able to afford it. They still can't. But for Eddie's sake they decided they were going to have to find the money, and make it a once in a lifetime holiday. Deb has been having nightmares, about it as well - she's nervous of travelling to South Africa because there is still a lot of violence over there - that's why most of Ray's family moved over here. It's all booked and paid for, time off work organised, outfits purchased, visas arranged, and all the rest of it, just because of this wedding.
But then Eddie turned around and said that not enough people had agreed to come to the wedding, so rather than simply scale it back and enjoy the occasion with the loved ones who had made such a huge effort and gone to such expense to be there, they just aren't going to bother. The wedding as arranged is off, and they are going to take a cruise and get married on the boat with none of their friends or family present.
Maybe Eddie and his fiancee can afford to lose the amount of money they have already shelled out, but my sister and her husband can't. Now, I know it is their wedding and their day, and they have to do what is best for them. And maybe D&R would never have got around to their South Africa trip without this motivation. It is good timing for Ray, as the aunt who played a huge role in his upbringing has just been diagnosed with a brain tumour, so he will be able to see her while they are over there. But it just strikes me as incredibly selfish of Eddie and his fiancee to ask they people they supposedly love to go to so much trouble and expense on their behalf, only to up and cancel on such short notice, leaving everyone out of pocket. So maybe D&R might never have got around to it on their own - but on the other hand, they might have saved up and had a longer, better trip to Ray's homeland at a later date, when they were more financially secure and so would enjoy it more.
Bah. It just really annoys me when people are so self-centred and inconsiderate.
2. I had a job interview at Welsh Assembly Government today. Not the shiny new Assembly building in the Bay, but the government building in Cathays Park. I was very impressed by their cafeteria. They have this spacious indoor garden area, semi-tropical, with ponds, fountains, footbridge and all kinds of plants and trees. Three or four storeys above the garden, the offices around it all have balconies overlooking this garden area. Nice view for the people who work in them!
3. Scenario. Imagine that your best friend in the world, someone you have known half your life and who was best man at your wedding, tells you that he is getting married and wants you to be his best man. Trouble is, the wedding is taking place on the other side of the world. But that's okay - you love him enough to give up your valuable time off work and pay a fortune to be there for his special, day, right? So you work overtime for weeks to accrue enough time off for the trip, book and pay for your tickets and accommodation, buy wedding outfits, etc. Then, just six weeks before the wedding, your friend turns around and announces that not enough people have agreed to come to make the occasion worthwhile, so it's all off. The people who have agreed to come aren't good enough to bother with. He and his fiancee are going to take a cruise later in the year and get married on the boat, without any of their friends and family present at all.
Kinda thoughtless and selfish, no? That's exactly what just happened to my sister and her husband. See, as some of you know, my brother-in-law comes from South Africa, and so does his mate Eddie, but they have both lived in England for about ten years now. Eddie got engaged at Christmas, and the wedding was planned for August, to take place in South Africa, and he wanted Ray to be his best man and Deb matron of honour. It was all arranged. The wedding would be held on an elephant reserve, with a safari in the morning and the wedding in the afternoon. Now, Ray has always wanted to take Deb to South Africa and show her the country he grew up in, but they have never been able to afford it. They still can't. But for Eddie's sake they decided they were going to have to find the money, and make it a once in a lifetime holiday. Deb has been having nightmares, about it as well - she's nervous of travelling to South Africa because there is still a lot of violence over there - that's why most of Ray's family moved over here. It's all booked and paid for, time off work organised, outfits purchased, visas arranged, and all the rest of it, just because of this wedding.
But then Eddie turned around and said that not enough people had agreed to come to the wedding, so rather than simply scale it back and enjoy the occasion with the loved ones who had made such a huge effort and gone to such expense to be there, they just aren't going to bother. The wedding as arranged is off, and they are going to take a cruise and get married on the boat with none of their friends or family present.
Maybe Eddie and his fiancee can afford to lose the amount of money they have already shelled out, but my sister and her husband can't. Now, I know it is their wedding and their day, and they have to do what is best for them. And maybe D&R would never have got around to their South Africa trip without this motivation. It is good timing for Ray, as the aunt who played a huge role in his upbringing has just been diagnosed with a brain tumour, so he will be able to see her while they are over there. But it just strikes me as incredibly selfish of Eddie and his fiancee to ask they people they supposedly love to go to so much trouble and expense on their behalf, only to up and cancel on such short notice, leaving everyone out of pocket. So maybe D&R might never have got around to it on their own - but on the other hand, they might have saved up and had a longer, better trip to Ray's homeland at a later date, when they were more financially secure and so would enjoy it more.
Bah. It just really annoys me when people are so self-centred and inconsiderate.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 07:31 pm (UTC)My number one pet peeve, in fact I feel really angry for D&R, I hope they have a good holiday though.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 08:13 pm (UTC)