LOL

One of my close friends has taken to calling me LOL off late. LOL – aka Lady of Leisure! Given my expat status, and the lack of a 9-5 job, I guess it might be appropriate. But when I actually think about it, am I really a LOL??

Looking back, over the the past 10 months, since I joined the hubby in Joburg, I seem to have done more things and taken care of more stuff than I have ever done in the past- even with a job! First off, was the struggle to find a house. We were given 3 months to find one, and believe you me, although it sounds long – it isn’t. Sitting in a hotel room in Boksburg (an eastern suburb of joburg), I used to spend several hours everyday going through listings online (Property24 is a good website), and calling brokers one after another to set up viewing appointments. We did have a relocation agent that hubby’s firm had appointed, but after the first few houses they showed us, I knew I had to do take up the cudgels, and fast. Anyway, with just a week left of our paid accommodation, we managed to find the lovely unit we currently live in. So not much leisure the first 2 months!

Then began the process of unpacking and settling in. The former didn’t take long, but the latter….I may still consider myself ‘settling in! Joburg is both an easy and a difficult place to live in. I guess it depends on the person mostly. If one has an open mind, a little enthusiasm, the will to make new friends and the passion to discover a new place, no city, however big or small will be difficult to settle in. I digress from the topic in hand – more on this in a later post. So coming back to LOL, while the hubby was at work for long hours, I was left to handle the setting up of basic infrastructure in the house, namely getting the satellite TV, internet, phone,etc sorted. Now whilst these may sound like errands that one can complete in a day, lets not forget, this in South Africa. As much as I have grown to love this place, I cannot forget the ordeal I went through just to get an adsl internet connection. It took me 3 visits, numerous calls to the customer service and 3 weeks to get this up and and running. Another LOL moment? I think not. The tv was relatively easy and my mobile connection – got the hubby to handle. Was a nightmare for him too!! Haha

Now that the house was up and running, hubby and I decided it was time to buy the second car. In Joburg, the lack of public transport requires everyone to drive. Hence, the need for another set of wheels, unless I wanted to be stuck at home- which I most certainly did not. This task was mostly hubby’s but I did help with the research etc. Took us a month of continuous test drives and visits to used car dealerships, but we finally closed a deal. Now I was free to drive around as and when I pleased! Here on, i could have my LOL moments, I presumed. After all, grocery shopping, paying of bills, car servicing & fixing, taking care of the garden and cooking, are all things that ladies of leisure do, right?

I would say that the actual LOL period began in June when I started various hobby classes and courses to keep busy and enhance my skills. Twice a week I had 2.5hr Afrikaans language lessons, for which I had to prepare in advance, then there was pottery once a week and finally the magazine journalism course I had decided to pursue. Every module needed me to submit 2 assignments every week, and there were 11modules. Phew!

On top of all these leisurely activities, we decided to adopt little Mia in November! Best decision ever…except that, its a 24hr job. Since she is still a baby, her daily routine kind of shapes my daily activities. Her training, feeding, walking, grooming, vet visits, puppy classes..a never ending list…is what takes priority now. Not to forget, that I still have to run the house, without the help I have been used to in India (we are spoilt in that way unfortunately).

So who according to you is a Lady of Leisure and do I fit the bill?