Saturday 16th December 2023
This morning I experienced my first power cut since I got back to South Africa. It wasn't the scheduled loadshedding but rather a fault somewhere. I headed out to the small shopping centre nearby because they have a massive solar power supply on their roof. It felt strange walking around the shops because there were a few new ones but the big regular franchises are still there.
I stopped by at Dischem which is like a Boots Ultra store but the vitamin section is on steroids. I love the variety of natural remedies and products available but I contained myself and managed to leave the store with only a small dent in the credit card. Having experienced some of the UK stores in full festive mode, it was strange seeing the sparse decorations.
I looked at the people walking around the centre and noticed that many of them looked tired and worn out. On top of all the stress of life post lockdown, the electricity crisis in South Africa has added an extra level of stress. People have to plan cooking, washing, studying and traffic jams now and there is an element of unpredictability that tires people out. The shop staff all seemed really cheerful though, which is amazing. I did catch myself looking for the self service till on walking into the grocery store the first time, but they don't have them here.
I caught up with all sorts of people today both in real life and online which I feel all warm and fuzzy about. I played 'ball' with Molly while fiddling with the swimming pool and pulling out some weeds in my sister's garden. A late afternoon storm prevented us from walking round the block but Molly was content after the 800th time of 'fetch' so I didn't get any dirty looks tonight.
Damn, I'm too late to play the lottery, next week, haha!
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