The Adventures of a Part Time Professional Gypsy (and her ginormous teddy thing)

Monday, July 1, 2013

Dear mom; I'm an addict


Dear mom

I know you’ve always told me to steer away from drugs but I got really really high the other day and had one of those epiphanies that only really happens under the influence of somewhat very illegal substances. Life suddenly made sense and as I soared through the air and the world swirled around me and I floated about in a dream, I saw clearly for the first time in almost forever…

Now mom, before you go and hop on a plane back to South Africa (which you will probably do regardless) and come sentence me to a nunnery, the indoors, and a diet of barley green and carrot juice or worse; I’ll try explain…

I’ve been living in one town for almost 4 months, working the first set hours (08h30 to 17h30) job of my life with the fewest housemates (1.25 and a giant dirty teddy bear) I’ve ever had in my life and well I’m sure you can understand how, under these dire circumstances, escapism might be necessary?

I think is the only housemate picture we have...

I tried living real life on the wild side – brushing my teeth extra vigorously before milk; breaking into the neighbour’s house [over the third storey balcony] to use their washing machine; doing my grocery shopping in my pjs… but it’s not quite enough.

And I’m sure for what I am about to say, you need to remember that you are partly to blame as I inherited your genes…
… Mom, there’s no easy way to say this but [make sure you are sitting down for this one] I’m an adventure addict! And proud of it.

As I ran and jumped off Signal Hill on Wednesday it suddenly hit me that adrenalin and adventure are the drugs that make it worthwhile getting up in the morning.







  
The first half of the 2013 has vanished in a blink of mediocrity, but part two will be epic! I have decided to get high for a living!

I love you so much and hope you’re up for more adventure yourself!
You’re fully living [and planning on staying that way] daughter
X0X0 Adeena


Ps: I bought a scooter. Sorry. 



Monday, June 3, 2013

One Life - Love It!

Somebody recently pointed out that I turn 30 next year, and subconsciously I started preparing myself for my impending demise…
 
Come 30 I even thought my licking days would have to be over...

And then, two Thursdays ago, my phone rang – a family member had died. So I sucked in my fear of flying, hopped on a plane, bought some shoes (so I could be a respectable pole bearer), and touched down in Joburg.
 
My last living memory of Aunty Alta
Aunty Alta was the tiniest person I’ve ever know, but she had the biggest heart! And, while it was sad to have lost a Grandma, her death led me to meet our newest family member and to see family I had not seen in years, it led me to meet my tiny godkid, to see friends, to three days of solid reunions, and tears, and hugs. Her life and death reminded me what it really means to live.
The cousin and his new family
Meeting little Cuan, my tiny nephew
My little godkid to be - Dandelion (aka Zoe; the one on the left)
Back in Cape Town, after sharing the oldest cab in Cape Town with a random stranger, I went for a run and saw a man in his late 80s playing rugby with some 8 or 14 year old boys. I stopped and stared. They all had the biggest smiles on their faces and it suddenly hit home – it really doesn’t matter how old you are – life’s what you make it. And for most of us, life’s only just beginning!
My first ever shared cab... and the nicest driver too to mark the occasion
After 7 days of solid partying, good music, amazing food, weird coincidences, and something o’clock in the morning bed times; I took a night off and dug out my old bucket list. I sat down and actually thought about the things I’d love to accomplish in my life. While the list is probably too long to accomplish in this life time [and still needs to be worked on – I’m completely open to suggestions and accomplices] – there’s only one way to find out.



 

After taking out the things I’ve already achieved, this is what remains [in no particular order]:
  1. Drink a beer in every country in the world
  2. Start an empire
  3. Get a criminal record for something epic (age 80+ - think streaking at a international sports game type thing)
  4. Accidently discover a cure for a major disease
  5. Taxidermise a pet
  6. Add a word to the oxford dictionary
  7. Survive a plane crash
  8. Swim the English channel and//or northern sea
  9. Write and publish a book on why Speedos should never be worn
  10. Write and publish a travel novel
  11. Win a noble prize
  12. Live on a deserted island
  13. Grow a beard
  14. Cook and eat road kill
  15. Bake a cake taller than my shortest friend
  16. Climb Everest
  17. Make a feature film
  18. Climb Manchu Pichu
  19. Find ‘the one’
  20. Elope/ get married
  21. Have kids
  22. Legally give one kid a truly ridiculous name
  23. Survive a month without a shower
  24. Run a marathon
  25. Death road in Bolivia
  26. Reunite Butt Mullet (world’s most underappreciated lyrically deviant band) for a reunion gig
  27. Travel to a distant country just for dinner
  28. Cycle the Cape Epic
  29. Buy a camel // lama // goat
  30. Complete a week long [spiritual?] pilgrimage barefoot
  31. Cycle across a continent
  32. Lick the statue of liberty
  33. Defy gravity
  34. Participate in Carnival in Rio
  35. Do the splits
  36. Join a nudist colony for the day
  37. Raft through the grand canyon
  38. October Fest in Munich
  39. Heliski
  40. Finish 2 pork knuckles (eisbeins) in one sitting
  41. Be a mermaid
  42. Visit the Aral sea
  43. Leave my ‘mark’ on at least 7 world wonders
  44. Own my own homey home
  45. Travel in a hot air balloon for an extended distance
  46. Lasso a cow
  47. Climb a pyramid
  48. Organize a rock band to crash a Justin Beiber/ Celine Dion concert
  49. Get a random tattoo chosen by a stranger
  50. Lick a porcupine
  51. Patent something [preferably something awesome]
  52. Complete a half iron man
  53. Swim the golden mile
  54. Tame a wild animal and make it my pet
  55. TP a national monument
  56. Sheer a sheep and turn it into dashboard fluff
  57. Get someone else to add this task to my list
  58. Smash a guitar rock star style
  59. Pick up at least 17 hitch hikers in an abnormally small car
  60. Set a Guinness world record
  61. Fly a helicopter
  62. Travel over land and sea (ie: flightless travel) from Australia to Spain
  63. Walk across a country
  64. Never be in debt
  65. Transiberian railway
  66. Cross the Bearing sea between Russia and Alaska
  67. Marry two people
  68. Skinny dip in every ocean
  69. Learn how to play guitar
  70. Swim in a pool of money
  71. Throw a handgranade
  72. Finish the Lord of the Rings trilogy
  73. Write a song and actually sing it to people
  74. Learn a third language
  75. Learn a fourth language
  76. Get my dive license
  77. Bungee jump
  78. See the northern lights
  79. Motorbike across south America
  80. Kite surf
  81. Great barrier reef
  82. Pirate swing from one boat to another to commandeer a cup of tea and some cake
  83. Mug a hobo
  84. Orchestrate a mass burning of evil pop music CDs
  85. Running of the bulls
  86. Moon a president
  87. Submerge in a submarine
  88. Lick a president/ royal
  89. Tell someone the entire story of my life sparing no details
  90. Break out of prison
  91. Build and live in an igloo for as long as weather permits
  92. Live to be 100
  93. Hike the whole coast of RSA
  94. Open a backpackers hostel
  95. Own a bar
  96. Drive a monster truck over a car
  97. Travel on an iceberg
  98. Never have a 9-5 job
  99. Win a major competition
  100. Own my own boat
  101. Find and eat the world’s hottest chilli
  102. Do a Mexican wave in Mexico
  103. Cycle from Norway to Cape Town (or vv)

 You only have one life...  Make sure you love it!




Wednesday, May 8, 2013

45 Hours. And two minutes.

It was only a few hours ago that I finished up work for the day and realized it was the first time since my true gypsy days that I had more than a day off work… almost two in fact… and I wanted to make it count. And so began 45 hours [and two minutes] of awesomeness!

THE TASK: finding 45 fun/ cheap/ random/ mostly legalish things to do before 8:30am Wednesday morning (South African Standard Time)

So I jumped on my bicycle and this is what happened...

  1) A pre-noon beer at the Cape Royal Yacht Club

2) Take a tour of a  random yacht


3) Lick a pirate ship 


4) Get proposed to by a random stranger

5) Eat foreign foods (it was so foreign I’m not sure what it was or where it was from)

6) Play the marimbas in a public place (Cape Town Waterfront)

7) Cycle the promenade

8) A round of [putt putt] golf



9) Ride and lick a ‘horse’



10)  Ice-cream on the beach



11)      Dolphin watching at Sea point

12)      Fall off my bicycle (wasn't actually planned)

13)      Swim in the Atlantic Ocean (it’s freaking cold) - but Clifton i beautiful!

14)      Nap on the beach

15)      Drink with friends at 'the local'



16)      Sunset at Camps Bay

17)  Smoke a cigar

18)   Wear [and eat] a candy necklace \

19) Make a new friend

20)      Half price pizza at Rafiki’s
21) Suffer the day after effects of the half price pizza

22)  Make a new furry friend


23) Run up table mountain at sunrise



24) Fail miserably at making an omelet (it still tasted good) 

25)  Ride a train

26)      Swim in the Indian ocean (also flippin cold) 

27) Find a quaint coffee shop and a good cappuccino

28)      Fish and chips on the beach 

29)     Give a random old lady a hug

30) Buy a homeless guy a drink

31)      Read a book

32)      Write a book

33)      Sneak on the train without a ticket

34)      Apply to be a polar bear spotter

35)      A stroll up Long Street

36)      Hubbly with the housemate


37) A run through a dodgy park at night time

38) Wine at a friend’s house 


39)The fan walk to Cape Town stadium


40) A [very hesitant attendance to a free] Bon Jovi concert 


41)Beer for dinner

42) Worn out shoes from too much walking

43)  Be sent naked picture of a naked random guy in a Jacuzzi 

44) Sunrise on the balcony

45)  make it to work on time (well, 7 minutes late isn’t too bad considering…)

I may not be a real gypsy at the moment... but I'm making my time here [Cape Town/ Earth] count.
Life is freaking epic!... we tend to forget that!