life's a trick or treat

this wonderfully orange and scary holiday is sadly not as popular over here in South Africa as it is in the States... which is a shame, because it's something i'd dearly love to have fun with :D i mean, putting a little terror in people's hearts is always fun, right? ;) plus there's dressing up... and obviously all the candy. which reminds me of this... 

be still, my heart :D

while cruisin' around Tumblr the other day, though, i found this little gem and it begged to be shared here:

how true is this illustration? it makes me laugh, but SERIOUSLY... some of the scariest things in life don't come in the form of Frankenstein or zombies (although i won't lie and say i don't find them pretty flesh-creeping, too) but have more generic names. 

exams, for one - if it were up to me, they'd feature right in the middle of this picture. exams just sneak up and scare the living daylights out of you if you aren't careful. (i have this little suspicion they're doing exactly this to me at the moment... yikes.)

growing up, for another. talk about creepy! learning how to fend for yourself can be so tough, and it's so tempting to want to run back to easier days - when budgeting, cooking, cleaning and working featured a little less prominently in your life.

or how about the prospect of trying to find a job? so many of my friends and friends of my sister are finishing their degrees in a couple of weeks -- and then it's crunch time. i can't imagine the scariness of looking for the right fit, and the apprehension of not getting what you're looking for, or not getting a job at all.

and honestly, not knowing what to do with one's life... i can probably relate to that point the most! rather than moving from vague to specific, like most people do, i started out with an incredibly specific idea of what my adult life would be like - i mean, i knew which car i wanted to drive, down to the colour, by the time i was 9 - and have since gotten more and more general in my decisions. which might also be fairly normal... but which is still petrifying. ha!

all of these scary things i've mentioned, though, i'd wager to state, can also be viewed as pretty incredible challenges. so yes, exams are daunting and unpleasant, but with the right amount of hard work and faith in oneself, they can also be really rewarding. growing up can seem like an insurmountable and downright awful challenge at times, but there are also incredibly great things about independence. trying to find a job can be a harrowing experience, yet still one that grows and challenges you in positive ways. and not knowing what to do with one's life? well, i think it gives you the opportunity to have faith that although things might not be clear right now, they will become so eventually, if you continue to pursue things that you love and have a heart for - which, although pretty terrifying in the meanwhile, may very well end up far more beautifully than you could have ever imagined.

so, here's a summary of my little Halloween-style philosophical rant for the year - life is what you make of it, warts and all, and though it can be tricky at times, it can also really be a TREAT! (oh, that is so corny. like candy corn. aaaugh.)

now it's time for you all to go out there, find your own Great Pumpkin, and have a wonderful Halloween ;)

unforgettable

guys. guys.
you're going to hate me.
this is not a sports blog.
but.

THE GIANTS ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!

*whew* now that that's off my chest...

i am honestly going to remember this morning for a very long time. after my enormous disappointment at the failure of my rugby team - the Sharks - to claim the 2012 Currie Cup title (which you can read all about here, if you're in the mood to laugh at me ;) ), i was poising myself for another upset.

sure, maybe it was a little more improbable - while the Currie Cup final is set up as one winner-takes-all match, the World Series is a best-of-7-game series, so the winning team only needs four for a win - and the Giants already had 3 in the bag. but i admit to losing a little faith. i admit to feeling nervous that after having won so many games straight, the Giants wouldn't be feeling the bite as much as the Tigers, their opponents, for whom this match was the final straw.

and was the game tight! a single run for the Giants at the top of the 2nd inning, which was followed by a two-run homer by the Tigers at the bottom of the 3rd, to which Buster Posey responded with a two-run homer of his own at the top of the 6th, which was met by a single-run homer by Detroit's Delmon Young... which took us to 3-3 after 9 innings. with both Phil Coke for Detroit and Jeremy Affeldt and Santiago Casilla for San Francisco pitching like heroes. i started smsing my mom - a crazy Giants fan, and the main reason they're my team.

then, at the top of the 10th, Ryan Theriot singled. Brandon Crawford gave a superb sacrifice bunt, which sent Theriot to second. with Crawford out, Angel Pagan came up to the plate but struck out swinging. two out. Marco Scutaro stepped up and hit a single that enabled Theriot to make it home and score for the Giants. 4-3 in the middle of the 10th.

Sergio Romo came in as the Giants' closer. he struck out Austin Jackson. Don Kelly replaced Avisail Garcia and stepped up to the plate; Romo struck him out. Miguel Cabrera - Triple Crown winner, and having already hit a home-run earlier in the game - was next up to bat. two out. and Romo? he pitched a strike, then a ball. another strike, another ball. 2-2. a foul. and then? a fastball that was a called strike. and the game was over. and the Giants won.

up until this season, i've been a Giants fan largely in name only. thanks to Chris, over this season, i've come to know a lot more about the game and have absolutely loved following it. the Giants had a great season but struggled against the Cubs in their first few postseason games, and then struggled again when they faced the Cardinals (Chris's team) in the National League Championship Series. they somehow made it through to come up against the Detroit Tigers, who swept the American League Championship Series against the Yankees 4-0.

and then they won it - they won the World Series.

this morning's going to be engrained in my memory for a long time to come - being woken up by Chris at 2AM, heading down to the common room bleary-eyed and talking sleepy nonsense, getting frustrated when the Tigers managed to score.

swaddling myself up in Chris's red-and-blue blanket (as i so often do when watching sports in his res), munching anxiously on twirly rainbow marshmallows and Caribbean onion chips, taking swigs of Coca-Cola straight from the 2l bottle in an attempt to wake up properly. an exhausted Chris retiring after the middle of the sixth inning, only to return at the bottom of the sixth with his Heineken hoodie, proposing a trade for the blanket i was wrapped up in, since his bed was freezing.

and then the last couple hours alone, staring intently at the television, willing the Giants on with every fibre of my being. having to run to the bathroom twice after all the Coke i'd drunk, when i technically wasn't supposed to be in the res at all (but our res TV doesn't have ESPN - so there was no question there).

smsing my mom with facts that i'd hear from the commentary of the game, like the 10 000 Giants fans who were gathered outside City Hall in San Francisco, or the "lucky charm" of Jeremy Affeldt and his wife's new baby (they have three kids; in each year - including this one - that one of their children was born, the team for whom Jeremy was playing at the time won the World Series. HOW COOL?!). getting tense towards the end and chewing on my knuckles. sending this text: "YEP! GIANTS WITH A RUN - 4-3 AT THE MIDDLE OF THE 10TH! NOW JUST NEED 3 OUTS! I LOVE BASEBALL!"

watching Panda giving his teammates in the dugout bear hugs as they waited in anticipation for Romo's final few pitches. watching the Giants players's faces as Romo struck Cabrera out. watching them race onto the field and dive at one another.

watching Romo in tears; watching the players go nuts with champagne in their locker room; watching as Larry Baer, Chief Operating Officer of the Giants, was handed the Commissioner's Trophy after having declared that, "there're no better fans in the world" than Giants fans. watching as Panda was announced as Most Valuable Player of the series, and not being able to understand half of what he said in his interview! (you watch it, and tell me if you can distinguish everything... it's tough.) being in a ridiculously happy daze. i'm still in a ridiculously happy daze!

since i have no SF gear, this is what i'm wearing today... oh yeah.

and that's where i'm gonna leave it, since most of you have probably stopped reading and/or have lost all hope in this blog ever putting sports aside and returning to its normal narcissistic lifestyle nature of posts. but guys.

best day :D

heartbroken.

ah, sports. you know that song by Dionne Warwick from way back in the good ol' 80s - Heartbreaker? i have it playing constantly in my head as i write this. actually, i have it playing on my laptop as well. on loop. ha!

if you don't know what i'm talking about, i'll do you the favour of posting a YouTube version of the song right here for you, complete with tacky (well, actually, they're downright scary, but let me not be rude) album covers and everything.

hey - nice one, Dionne! i particularly relate to the lyrics:

"love is believin', but you let me down"

and...

"why do you have to be a heartbreaker, 

when i was being what you want me to be? 

suddenly everything i ever wanted has passed me by..."

yeah, sports, i'm talking to you.

now, before i go any further, please forgive the melan-drama (melancholy mixed with melodrama, in case you were wondering) that is going to be more than prevalent in this post. i'm just incredibly incredibly disappointed, and i guess my main way of dealing with major disappointments such as this is by trying harder than usual to be funny, often with disastrous effect. 

if you haven't picked up on this already, the Sharks lost. in the 2012 Currie Cup final. this makes it the THIRD CONSECUTIVE TIME they've been in a final and lost. in last year's Currie Cup final, they went up against the Lions who were strong favourites to win, having dominated most of the season. alright, i can concede that one. earlier this year, in the 2012 Super 15 final, they were honestly The Little Team That Could going up against the big guns when they faced the Chiefs away after having fought tooth and nail just to be in contention for the semis along with having switched time zones numerous times in the weeks leading up to the final - winning that game would've taken a minor miracle.

but this time round? we had no excuses. having played clinical rugby and dominated the standings for the majority of the season, along with having given solid game-time to new players like Cobus Reinach and Paul Jordaan who have shown immense flair; working steadily and doggedly towards a home semi-final where we emphatically beat the Blue Bulls, and with a side studded with players who have constantly been lauded as the Springboks' finest, as well as having beaten Western Province in every single match we've played against them this year up until now, we simply failed to pull through on the day.

and believe me when i say i'm devastated.

sports has a knack for doing this, though - for pulling the rug out from underneath you completely, socking you hard in the proverbial stomach. it's happened to me with the Sharks - the only team i've supported through thick and thin for eight solid years now - time and time again. and, as hard as it is for me to admit this now, in the throes of my despair, the best remedy to that gut-wrenching blow you're dealt is to get back up, time and time again, and start a new season with new hope.

so, although it smarts like crazy, i'll take Dionne's advice. after all, dear Sharks,

"it don't matter whatever you do...

i made a life out of loving you!"

here's to a good year, and to a new season.

BLACK AND WHITE... NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.

caturday: gameday edition

hello, everyone!

welcome to the fourth edition of Caturday, where the theme is... SPORTS FINALS!

today, my rugby team - the mighty Sharks - go up against Western Province in a fight for the 2012 Currie Cup title. kick-off is in about half an hour - EEK! so, of course, the cats i have on hand for you today involve sharks. but in no unpleasant terms, of course... just as buddies.

for instance, look at these guys. a rawr-some pairing if ever i saw one! they would take on any baddies together and totally kick ass.

and then, how's about a cat just chillin' in the jaws of a shark? because they are just that tight. 

in other news (or should i say, MEWS! ....i am just full of terrible puns today, trust me) my beloved Giants go up against the Detroit Tigers in Game 3 of the World Series tonight (or, really, tomorrow morning. at 2AM. sigh... i will never sleep again!)

so here's a giant cat, or 4... because that makes sense.

 

i am giant, hear me rawr.

now i'm gonna go watch the Sharks game, so happy Caturday to you all!

nerves

i'm supposed to be asleep now, so i'll be able to wake up in an hour and a half and watch (well, follow) the first game of the World Series. i'm gonna attempt to sleep in a couple minutes... but seriously, i've got the jitters. why? well, because...

...and DO I WANT THAT TITLE. on top of that, my Sharks (and boy oh BOY, do i love my Sharks) are playing in the final of the Currie Cup this weekend, against Western Province. we've been their bogie team this year, and they haven't won a single game against us - but if we lose this, that's all for nought. 

nevertheless, i just stumbled across this little 'message' of support for the guys and i can't stop grinning... so you should take a look, too :)

i especially love the last little S girl... but A and R are hilarious! oh, i can't take the cute.

so. now for a restless hour of sleep and then the ball starts rolling! waosghldgsdghowe. kthxbaai.

edited to update:

...yes, please! now, let's do the same tonight :D

what's a girl gotta do for some gumboots?

buuuuuut.... really. we've been having freakishly flood-like weather here for at least the past week and a half. on Saturday, i decided it was time to bite the bullet and finally buy me a pair of gumboots. actually, i decided this on Thursday; but my life was so crazy on Thursday and Friday that i postponed the occasion to Saturday. 

apparently, this postponement was a bad idea, because there are now no gumboots to be found in Grahamstown. for realsies. and since the road from Grahamstown to Port Elizabeth looks something like this...

...i somehow highly doubt any transporters will be making their way to Lil' Varsity Hometown with a fresh new crop of wellies just for me. (more photos HERE, if you're interested.) and honestly, we're lucky here in Grahamstown - our town looks NOTHING like Port Alfred, which is just up the road. take a look:

(photos found at News24)

so, what does this mean for gumbootless Hannahkin? well, basically:

ha! in all honesty though, all three pairs of my sneakers have suffered tremendously due to this weather. my beloved pink chucks (after which this entire blog is named) even started moulding at one point! it's awful. 

in lieu of having any gumboots to call my own, i went online-shopping and found heaps of the things which i'd just love to welcome into my life. take a look and tell me you wouldn't, too!

these ones just make me laugh and laugh and laugh... at their terrible use of grammar ;)

and, my absolute favourites...


aaaaah, gumboots! when will you be mine?

sincerely,

A Sloshy Hannah