Plants that scream: don't touch me!

Here's a collections of plants and flowers I've spotted lately that, well, don't make me want to pick them and bring them home to mom...

Home Affairs: Don't Quit!

I recently had the pleasure of spending an entire day in the Pretoria Department of Home Affairs' waiting room. As with most government offices, it entailed around six hours (no kidding) of languishing in a waiting room, followed by a 15 minute interview. Pretty excruciating. At hour four, I notice this poem posted on the waiting room wall. Funny for two reasons: my highschool water polo coach gave our entire team the exact same poem years ago for motivation during tough practices. But even more funny: clearly someone else felt the same way about waiting for hours to get their residency permit!

I feel your pain, man. I'm hoping for a permit, too.

Melancholy lion, playful lion

The Lion Park near Lanseria has an enclosure where visitors can play with lion cubs. Here's a shot of one of the stars:

Looks a little melancholy, doesn't he? It's funny what removing color can do to the mood of a picture. In reality, this little guy was having an absolute ball. In fact, he and my fiance were fast friends and gave me a near heart attack while rough-housing:

True love means dragging an over-excited lion off your fiance as he's gnawing his leg... but no-one's perfect. I snapped a couple quick photos first:)

Bean There coffee roasting

My dad asked about the ladder and buckets visible in yesterday's photo of my new favorite coffee shop. Turns out they're not an unfortunate decorative touch - the place uses an antique coffee roaster to roast their own coffee. Cool huh?

This guy was a good sport about me snapping photos while he went about his work.

Bean There

I'm convinced that one of the most important parts of a successful job hunt is finding the perfect coffee shop to park yourself for those long afternoons of web browsing and cover letter-writing.

It's taken me a while, but I'm pleased to report that I've found my shop! This is 'Bean There,' a fair trade coffee shop in Milpark's 44 Stanley shopping center. It's in a gorgeous, light space with exposed rafters, interesting decor, and its own old-fashioned roasting machine.

Looks like I've found my new home away from home... now for the job!

South African Mount Rushmore?

...or sphinx?

Here's the last one from Sun City. Aparently this guy shoots flames or smoke every half hour or so. Truthfully, my timing was off, so I missed the show. Maybe next time.

Monkey Fountain

Here's another one from the Sun City water park, 'Valley of the Waves' from this past weekend. The entire place was designed with a very African theme - all the statues, fountains and other decor featured local animals and motifs. I particularly liked this fountain - water runs from the monkeys' outstretched hands. Pretty original, no?