Book - Oprah - Kitty Kelly

On my mission to align myself with inspirational people, reading as many biographies of inspirational and influential people are part of achieving this goal, especially women who have made their mark on society. Oprah Winfrey was the first inspirational lady that came to mind. All I really knew about Oprah was her successful show and that she did a lot of social upliftment investment projects, so I was keen to learn more about the force and dynamism that is Oprah. When I recently saw that she had launched her OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) – I was intrigued to find out more about the driving force and everything that is Oprah. I am eager to learn more from someone that has despite challenges been able to catapult herself to such amazing heights. 
When I ordered Kitty Kelly’s “Oprah”,  my very first reaction when I started reading it was disappointment that it was the “unauthorised” biography. But I thought, let me give the book the benefit of the doubt, and not judge it before reading it. I also then rationalised that it would / could then provide an unbiased, unsentimental view of Oprah.  To a certain extend it did this, but there seems to be an underlying bitterness that comes through from the author – my sense is that Oprah did not want to endorse this for whatever reason, so the tone is very factual, but could be construed and as I read between the lines, as unpleasant. I also question the people that did give interviews – their loyalty and integrity is questionable.  I am not at all surprised that Oprah signs strict NDA and confidentiality agreements with everyone she engages with, she is protecting herself and her brand. It comes across that people are happy to tap into her generosity and ride on the Oprah name for their own gain, but quick to turn on her when things don’t go their way.

I admire Orpah, she has achieved a lot – she set her mind to being successful and did not let anything or anyone deter her from this goal. She gets a lot of criticism in this book, with a half-hearted attempt in the last chapter to recognise and acknowledge the strides and inroads that she has made globally –

Say what you want about Oprah, she has achieved A LOT

Recommendable – no, it was like swimming through syrup – I will also be taking it off out of our team’s library

Rate – 2/10

Race - Lighthouse Ten - Sea Point

Wow I am unfit, and it is frustrating! I had really hoped to improve my 10km time, especially as this is a flat run. For some or other reason this felt like the longest 10kms ever. At the 5km mark, my heart sank as I realised that it was only the 1/2 way mark and we were already up to 40 mins (I had done a time trial the previous night at Harriers, and my time was 00:33:38 for 5kms, so I was really disappointed). The run towards the turnaround point was hard, every time I thought that we would be turning around, I would see runners ahead with no sign of turning around - it was tough! I pushed myself not to stop - I was so annoyed with myself for stopping during the race on Saturday, so I had the words of Jim Collins' Great by Choice in my head - have a steady pace instead of spurts of speed and then slowing down. This seemed to help especially the last two kms that went a lot better; I also seemed to pick up some speed towards the end, but my time was horrendous - 01:15:something, five minutes slower than Saturday's race where I had walked, faced strong winds and an uphill!
With all that said though, it's a beautiful run, nothing quite beats watching the sunset as you run along the promenade!

Restaurant - Limnos Bakers - Claremont

Limnos Bakers - rather LimNO's. For the past couple of weeks I have been incredibly diligent to eat healthy, which pretty much entails no sugar or wheat, reduced portions and running. This morning my body said to me - time out!-feed me-now!-don't go past start-go directly to somewhere selling fresh carrot muffins. I would even go so far as saying that a carrot-cake-cup-cake would do (with the necessary icing and nuts of course!).

In between meetings, I was ecstatic to see Limnos Bakery in Claremont directly opposite where I had parked. Fate was clearly agreeing with my body's request for something decadent. I keenly looked for something resembling a muffin, but was told that they were still in the oven; I was more than happy to wait as I had a bit of time before my next meeting - mmm an oven fresh muffin! Bonus! After a couple of shouts to and fro to the manager (?) - I was told that there were no muffins in the oven. I then spotted a carrot cake - and rationaled that carrot cake is very similar to a bran muffin and even has additional carrots in it. The waitress confirmed (again with the manager - shouting to and fro) that the carrot cake was fresh. Oe nothing beats a fresh piece of moist carrot cake. Yes, I would go for that with a cup of Earl Grey tea. Sadly, no Earl available - only Rooibos and Ceylon tea. Fine. A Caffe Latte then please.  One of the (many) irks that I have is a piece of cold, old, dry cake - I did eat it - but told the waitress that it really was not fresh and that they should not sell anymore of it. When I asked for the bill, she brought it, but then disappeared out of the shop (?). I did raise my concerns with the manager, who then after I had paid - half-heatedly offered me something else, and said that the waitress should have replaced it. Anyway, R45 later for a dry piece of cake and Caffe Latte -is actually quite reasonable if it was a situation where things were fresh and delicious, however it was not, and the experience was very meh; I think that there are nicer places to go to in Claremont.

Recommendable? Not at this stage. Will have to give it another chance to be fair.
Rating: 4/10

Race - BNP Paribas Cadiz Milkwood Run - Kommetjie

 

02 March 2014 - Today was the first race for 2014 and the first official race wearing the pink Hout Bay Harriers shorts! What fun! I just realised that I should have joined a club much sooner - the camaraderie is incredible, and it is so nice to see fellow club runners before and after the race.

The weather has not been great - there was a hint of drizzle early in the morning, which I really don't mind - actually I prefer it as it keeps you refreshed, however, the wind was not playing along.

The race started at the Soetwater Lighthouse in Kommetjie - en route there this morning, with the sun just cracking through the clouds over the mountains, I was just again so incredibly grateful for living in the most beautiful part of the world.

The first couple of kms consisted of a gradual uphill (frustratingly I walked a bit during the middle of the uphill) with a pleasant downhill - followed by a flat stretch towards the end. I had not really noticed the wind that much until the we hit the flat stretch - wow, a brick wall of wind really slowed progress down.

My time - 01:10:00something - not quite the under one hour yet - but I am convinced that as soon as I shed a couple of kgs, and keeping the training up - I will get there!

I really liked that instead of getting a medal, all the participants received a tree.

One of the guilty pleasures I have after a run is a deep, warm bubble bath. I fitted my compression socks after the bath - in the past I wore them while running, but quite liked changing it up and wearing it afterwards - for some or other reason a very comforting feeling.



Restaurant - Joe's Easy Diner - Tokai | Century City

22 February 2014 - Joe's Easy Diner reminds me of my high school days when Ed's Easy Diner in Hatfield was the place to go for a hamburger (before it sadly became a club, and lost  the essence of everything that made Ed's so unique).

I can still remember the absolute treat of ordering four miniature burgers and the most delicious milkshakes. I was so happy when I saw the Joe's Easy Diner at Blue Route mall in Tokai - it has now become a bit of a tradition for Mark (better half) and myself to have a burger before going to a movie over the weekend. I see that one has also opened up at Century City, and saw the same manageress | owner there, which is always a good sign, as that does ensure consistency and quality control.

The only thing that I am not mad about - but there really is not much that one can do about that is that it is inside a mall - and living in Cape Town - my preference is always to sit outside or to have a nice view.

Food:  Their burgers are really tasting, thick well cooked patties. Mark really enjoys "Big Bubba's Bacon & Cheese" - with all the additional extra's - chunky chips, onion rings and coleslaw. My favourite is usually anything with cheese - generally I just opt for the "Classic" option which includes chunky chips, which are very recommendable. I have had a hotdog before - but to be honest, it was a bit messy and I was disappointed that I had not ordered a burger. Click here for food menu

Recently I ordered their sliders. Great opportunity to try different flavours - Smokey Cheese, Bees Knees and Blue Cheese ones were my choice and was super excited to try the different flavours. It really was good to have the different flavour option, unfortunately the patties were so over cooked and dry that the burgers really were not that great - besides the patties (which really is a very important component of a burger), the rest of the burger was great. Now I know that the next time I will only have one of the selected flavours.

Drinks: Mark's milkshake of choice is coffee and chocolate - there is  an option to add malt (Horlicks)  - which makes is super thick - but a bit tricky to drink. My favourite is the toffee milkshake, but having recently tried to eat slightly  healthier, I opted for the Coke Zero, which comes with a single free refill (you just have to ask!)

Service: Always friendly and fast - I think this is attributable to the manager | owner always being there / visible and keeping an eye on things. 

Value for money: Definitely

Recommendable? Absolutely

Rating: 8/10

Website - http://www.joeseasydiner.co.za/

Restaurant - The Roundhouse - The Rumbullion - Camps Bay

 

21 February 2014 - The Rumbullion at The Roundhouse is one of the restaurants that has been on my 'wish list' for quite some time, but I just never  got the timing right as you need to book quite some time in advance to get a table. I must admit that I was surprised that there is such a long waiting list - which I suppose got my expectations possibility unrealistically high. The venue is beautiful, the view spectacular - however, being a first time visitor it would have been good to have clearer directions for parking, and it was a blazing hot afternoon, so a couple more umbrellas would have been great, which unfortunately were not available. As always the company that you share time with at a restaurant with is important - I went with my Cape Town office colleagues, which made for a lovely fun afternoon. There was a live band playing which added to the ambiance (a tiny bit loud at times so battled to have a conversation - but it was really chilled and formed part of the whole positive experience).

 

Food: There were three of us. We opted for a the "Sundowner double trouble special" - any two pizzas and two bottles of wine (specific selection) for R330. We selected a blue cheese  / caramelised onions / green fig / rocket and walnut one (absolutely divine!) and a black forest ham and fresh rocket - also tasty, but I am a total sucker for cheese and fig combinations.  Click here for the food menu

 

Drinks: We selected the 2013 Yonderhill Y Sauvignon Blanc - a wonderfully light and refreshing wine. It was a bit strange that there are two bottles of wine that forms part of this deal - but we took one of the bottles home.

Service: The service was good - the food arrived quite quickly. We took our time to decide what we wanted, and our waiter was very patient with us. 

Value for money: It does feel pricey, but that is expected in terms of the location etc.

Recommendable? Yes, I will go back.

Rating: 7.5/10

Website - http://theroundhouserestaurant.com/

Book - Great by Choice - Jim Collins | Marten T. Hansen

February 2014 - This was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed - it is the first Jim Collins book that I've read, so am keen to read his others as well.  I really enjoyed the examples used, e.g. the contrast in the expeditions of Ambudsen and Scott to the South Pole.

Lesson from the book: By doing things consistently, keeping an eye on the end result and being steady in achieving your goals, you will reap the rewards in the long run.

Recommendable? Definitely - a good easy read.

Rating: 8.5/10