Friday, July 22, 2011

LOVE IS...

Love is our base. Love is our foundation.
Love is where it starts...and love is where it will end.
I cannot explain what real love is.
Love brings hope. Without love and hope, there is no LIFE. Love, is the Father, by who we were created, and hope is the son, Jesus, granted to us by the cross.
Neither love or hope can exist independantly or be seperated.
If we were created by love (The Father), then we obviously seek love, which is the foundation of all things? If we find love, then we find our hope in the Jesus, given to us through the cross. And if we find Jesus, our hope, then we have found a life based on love.
Our hope is in Jesus, and the love we require lies in our Father. Find these things, then you have found LIFE.
1 John 4:6; "God is love."

Thursday, October 21, 2010

AS TIME PASSES...



How does a author start a story in the middle. How does an artist start a painting on an unblank canvass. How do we walk before we can crawl. How do I start this entry when so much has happened.
If I had to sum up everything since my last entry in July, I would have to list my travels, my experiences, my changes as a person, my lessons learnt, my tears cried, my spiritual growth, things I have come to realise, my struggles, what I have done since I have been here, my tastes, touches and smells, things I have grown to love, my love, what I like about London and much, much more.
When I arrived in London, the first thing I thought was "Man, but this airport (Heathrow) is over rated!" How is it that a third world country like South Africa can have better and more user-friendly baggage trolleys than a first world country like London? Did I mention nicer? Heathrow was definitely not the glitz and glam I expected it to be. Was I already proved to be wrong about my preconceived ideas of London? I remember the first thing I realised as we descended and everything below become more clearer the closer we got to the ground; so many open, green, lush fields and hundreds and thousands of trees. It looked very rural - I soon learnt that the roads were just very tiny and narrow and that you couldn't see them from so high above and through the dense forestry. The other picture I have in mind is that of attached houses.
I remember I kept saying OK, but where's London? Where the buses and the people and the queen's palace and the city and and and... I soon learnt that London was NOTHING like I expected it to be. After a couple days with Heidi, it was time to move to my new beginnings; 22 Bagshot Road, Worplesdon, Guildford, GU3 3PZ. The Evans/Pirie family are wonderful. The kids are cool and the parents are really chilled. I dont want to talk much about my job itself except that I work little, relax lots and have to vacuum twice a week. Projectile puke and myself have met recently and I consider Pampers to be my new best friend. Cow & Gate and I catch up atleast every morning and evening and its called a 'nursery', not a 'play school' like back home. "Yeah" is now part of my daily vocab and I consider bacon and bake beans as part of a balanced diet.

I have learnt and experienced and grown so much in such a short time. One thing in particular is that working with children, you definately learn to sacrifice yourself and it has taken that 'only-child' syndrome out of me. I have been in London for just over 3 months now and if I have so much has happened in such a short time, then I look forward to the rest of my time here. I don't regret this move. And by knowing that, I have reached my goal. Live with no regrets. This journey has been well worth the sacrifice. It has only produced positive outcome.
"Life is either a great adventure or nothing." - - Hellen Keller

Monday, June 14, 2010

HEADED HOME...

It's 7:30 am as I drive into the sunrise. The sky infront of me is a backdrop of peachy blue. As Table Mountain slowly dissapears in my rear view mirror, I realise that this chapter of my life is fading to a mere memory. Like a movie reel draws to the end, so Cape Town is now only flashes of what was...But like a new morning brings about a new day, the new chapter in my life brings with it new destinations, goals, memories, experiences and a new ending. Like the dawn prepares the day, so this trip home was preparing me for a new journey.

I was at a cross roads before I made a final decision to move to Cape Town 2 and a half years ago. My choice to move there was based on more money, company car and of course the perks that come with being a Capetonian. The thought of cocktails, warm evenings and no worries were quickly realised to be figments of my imaginations. But, no regrets.

I will always remember that day when my father drove away in his Isuzu bakkie. Within the first hour of being alone in Cape Town I experienced more emotions and feelings than ever before; bursts of tears, ultimate loneliness, excrutiating feeling of abondonment, regret and of course, fear of the unknown. I was just a young girl doing what she thought was right. Untamed. Unexperienced. My tears dried when I changed my mindset in that same hour. I was not 'a girl away from home', I was 'a girl at home'. And I never looked back after that. Cape Town taught me a valuable lesson within my first hour of being there...you decide how you want to feel about things in life in order to make something work - don't give up. This helped and will help me for many circumstances to come.

As dawn now was day, my journey home was met with various scenery, hop-along kids and the stern faces of those who just left the comfort of their seats in Sunday Service. Towns throughout the Western and Eastern Cape come...then go...Cape Town is now hundreds of kilometres behind me.

In exchange for my memories of laughter and tears, Cape Town has a piece of my heart. But even though I have great love for her, she is just another stop to the rest of my life:
"Cape Town...Check!"
"Next stop...Heathrow, London!"

Saturday, May 22, 2010

THE LAST OF THE LASTS...


Well,

Its come down to my last REAL weekend in Cape Town...its a stunning day and I am indoors...cleaning!!! My Saturday routine is to change soon. Tomorrow we hit Table Mountain again. This is how me and the training crew have decided to spend the last training session. Let me just tell you, I am now not as keen to relive the Table Mountain Torture Session tomorow as when I first suggested we hike TM again before I leave. I have serious thoughts to pull out tomorow...and I have good reason.

This is the last week of Cape Town life. The last week of having an office door with my name on it. The last week with my Cape Town 'family'. My last week of IDWITHELD. My last week of Ricoffy and shaken 2%. Last strenuous week of being a First Aider.

But it is a week for packing. Crying. Little sleep. Acid rising in the stomach ("butterflies in my tummy"). Stress? No. Training. Newspaper fingers. Moving. Lifting and loading. Then...

...8 hours drive HOME...

The silence on route home will be very loud. That's a given...

Saturday, May 1, 2010


"Dear X,

This letter serves to confirm my resignation. My last working day will be 31 May 2010.

Thank you very much for the oppertunity to work here. I leave a better person than when I started.

Many thanks,

Tanya Nel"

On Monday, 26 April 2010, I handed in my resignation letter which read something like the above. It's amazing how one small action can close one chapter of your life and open the next.

"Tanya, welcome to your new life!"

After that, I would get my international driver's licence, go to SARS to register for tax, email previous employers for my IRP5's, sell a couple pieces of furniture, pay R7250 for my return, direct flight, interview applicants for my position and shed my first tear with my boss about leaving.

I have such mixed feelings about London. Its like a black hole in front of me that I am 2 steps away from falling into. Will it lead to happiness and good memories or many more tears and dissapointment? Its bitter sweet. But one things for sure, whether it works out or not, I wont regret using the oppertunity because now I dont have to look back and not regret NOT having tried it. That's all I ever wanted with this. Not to have regrets. Not doing something when you could have. Missing out. With some things in life you only get one chance and this is one of those things. Sometimes I do think that maybe, just maybe...I am a little too old to do this?

The Rennies are moving to PE, end 2011!!
That gives me a time frame with which to work. Maybe I should just blow next year and do random jobs instead of doing something in PR / Marketing like I said I would. You know, it would freak me out to know that I am coming back to search for a "office enviroment' again. I think that could prevent me from coming back...hmmmm. Definately something to think about considering I said I would never stay there longer than like 2 years...

My life in Cape Town ends in less than 2 weeks. Im nervous. She's been good to me and I am going to miss her very much.

I HEART YOU CAPE TOWN!!!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

CHANGE OF SCENERY



Oh my goodness...I have just run 20km's in just over 2 hours along the well-known Cape Town promenade. Any early morning and evening you will find hundreds of Capetonians and foreigners making this paved walkway their choice for excercise or leisure. Well-groomed Golden Retrievers and Pugg's, who imitate their owners with their noses in the air, often accompany their owners.I have had many a training session along this route since I started running in February 2010. I am going to miss it. The smell of the sea just a couple feet away, the sound of the gawking, brilliant white sea birds and the slow motion swells that sweep into the bay. These will all be mere memories in a couple weeks.


But, I am exchanging the view of the vast Indian and Atlantic ocean for stretches of greenery and tarred roads, walled by tall trees. When you enter 'Worplesdon, Guildford' in Google, one can easily see that this terrain is a tad different to what I am used to. I look forward to a 'change of scenery'. It can only do the soul good...

Saturday, April 24, 2010

...the next adventure

So...

Either you've done it, heard about it, thought about doing it or tried it and didn't bother to bring the T-shirt back with you for any nostalgic moments.

Well, this is where my adventure begins.

Worplesdon, Guildford is the place. SAA is most probably the airline. And "nanny" is the job.

Have you ever felt like you have finally made it to your next destination in life? Like everything in your life has been crafted and carefully placed so that you could have your dream come true? I have. And today, I decide to document my dream coming true.

I AM DITCHING THE BOXED-OFFICE ENVIROMENT AND CORPORATE FACADE FOR MY PLACE IN LONDON!

I am finally going to get to LiveLondon.

Come with me…