The Benefits of MyCard

Remember a while back I told you about Standard Bank’s MyCard?  I’ve received emails asking for more detail and why women should go for this credit card.  Well, here it is!

Benefits:

Get MyCard from Standard Bank and enjoy your moments – The freedom to treat yourself wherever you choose. MyCard is tailored with attractive benefits and features such as cash back on any purchase from wherever you choose, comprehensive MyCare benefits and special offers and discounts with Value Choices every month.

Features:

MyCard gives you the freedom to shop online securely and at no additional cost, free basic travel insurance if you are under 76, and up to 55 days of interest free credit provided your account is paid on or before the due date, cash advance transactions are excluded as these attract interest from day 1.

• You get the following transactions free per month:
  • One cash deposit
  • One ATM provisional statement
  • One over-the-counter provisional statement
  • One balance enquiry at an ATM
  • One balance enquiry over-the counter
  • You have control over how you want to use your credit card limit as the revolving and budget limits are combined into a single account limit.

• You get cash back every time you swipe.

How the cash back works:

• With MyCard you get cash back every time you swipe your credit card, which then accumulates over 6 months and is paid into a separate gift card called MyGift (you receive a minimum of R100 cash back on your MyGift card). You can then spend your MyGift card to celebrate your special moment wherever and however you like.  You receive up to 1.5% cash back on point of sale spend (Based on the total value of point of sale transactions for the 6 months excluding reversals and chargebacks.)
  • 0.5% from R1, 000 – R3, 500
  • 1% from R3, 500 – R10, 000
  • 1.5% for spend of R10, 000 and more

• You receive MyCare benefits which include:

• Peace of mind in your time of need.

With MyCard, you get free MyCare benefits that pay up to R10 000 in the case of the primary cardholder being diagnosed with a female cancer.

• Support for accidental disability.

With MyCard, you receive R10 000 cover in the case of the primary cardholder suffering accidental disability.

• Support in case of a roadside emergency.

With MyCard you receive assistance during a roadside emergency in the event that your car has a mechanical or electrical breakdown, flat tyre or battery, or in the instance when your vehicle runs out of fuel or you lock your keys in your car.

• Assistance in your time of need.

MyCard offers you a wide range of support, whether you require an emergency ambulance, medical or household assistance and counseling. From discounts on doctor consultation fees and medication, to telephonic Helpline that offers advice on medical emergencies and emergency household repairs. We also provide members with psychological counseling on such issues as traumatic experiences, bereavement and HIV and Aids.

For more information on what this policy entails, please click here.

Protected: This is totally selfish of me.

Humphry Bumphry List

I haven’t done this for a few years, because the last time I did @Cow_Grrrl and a few others went ahead and got me most of what was in my list and although I was beyond grateful, humble and amazed, I felt guilty.  This year, I’m only doing it because everyone who is attending my birthday party has asked me to and since they all read my blog it is the easiest place to put a list.

It’s a list of things I really like, but in no way should any of you feel that you need to buy me a thing for my birthday.  Having friends around and possibly getting lucky that morning will more than make me a happy burp day girl. But if you do feel so inclined, who am I to stop you? So, without further ado, herewith my humphry bumphry wish list:

• Your Comment is Awaiting Moderation T-Shirt (XL) http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/unisex/frustrations/e362/
• Catnip Bubbles http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/pets/e17e/
• [book] Spud: Learning to fly
• Amazon.com credit for my kindle
• These awesome earrings:
  • • http://www.etsy.com/listing/44884064/pif-dotted-sky-recycled-paper-earrrings?ref=cat1_gallery_15
    • http://www.starbrightgirl.com/images/trooper.jpg
    • http://www.starbrightgirl.com/images/skellyearrings.jpg
    • http://www.starbrightgirl.com/images/blackroses.jpg<-
    • http://www.starbrightgirl.com/images/twinstars.jpg
• A reading light for my Kindle.  A clip-on* light thingum like this http://www.needbatteries.co.uk/energizer-booklite–booklight-149-p.asp
• Lindt chocolate balls.  Not dark chocolate I hate that, but any other flavours
• Vodacom airtime [I don’t believe in contracts, makes me spend way too much money]
• Bath bubbly stuff – anything in lavender or vanilla – particularly Oh So Heavenly products, LOVE that range – the powder, spritz, creams etc
• Vouchers for massages are ALWAYS welcome. Seriously.

So there you have it.  Some things are practical, some aren’t.  All of them are things I would be very happy with.  If you’d like to come to my birthday party and you haven’t yet received an invite, feel free to mail me – I probably just forgot about you.  But in the most loving and friendly way, of course. Unfortunately, I have sort of requested that kids are left at home.  I’ll explain why in another post.

*The term “Clip-on” will forever more cause me to snort.  My brothers always tell Jon he needs a clip on foreskin.  Geddit? Jewish boyfriend? Clip-on? Sigh.

Have good friends.

One thing my mom always taught me is that your reputation precedes you.  No matter how far you run, it’ll follow and until you rectify it, it’ll never go away.  Another thing she always says is “Never sit on the fence!”.  This weekend I found out that someone close to me has betrayed me.  I can’t say I’m really surprised, because all the signs have been showing up for a while, but I can’t say I’m not hurt either.

I’m so grateful that I have good friends who support me and are loyal no matter what.  Without a second thought my friend stood up for me without knowing all of the facts, but she stood up for me regardless.  Yes, I was betrayed, but more importantly I was backed up by this friend, and that’s what matters to me most.

So in the spirit of never sitting on the fence, and defending my reputation, I’d like to just say that I’m glad I have good friends.

PS: Anglug wedding was awesome.  Separate blog post pending.

A fairytale love story…

When I started blogging officially, oh about five or six years ago, I was lucky enough to earn my first two loyal South African readers.  Their online names were AngelsMind and Glugster.  With them came a few other readers, but Angel and Gluggie were two of the first online people I ever really considered friends offline.

Although I hadn’t met either of them in real life, Angel and I used to furiously comment on each other’s blogs and Gluggie and I used to have drunken Skype chats weekly.  Usually he was the drunk one.  There I was, living in a tiny little dorpie on the South Coast of KZN, working in an art gallery, living my little small town life and getting over the death of my child and not long after, the death of my almost boyfriend, Andrew.  Gluggie was my sanity, amongst other really good friends.  I blogged my life back then, much more so than I do now.  Every little detail of my heart used to go online, and for some reason it didn’t scare Angel or Gluggie away, in fact I believe it made them love me more.

Back then, Angel was a single mommy to her young teenage boy who I affectionately have always called Demon.  Angel and Demon, hehe.  Gluggie was a divorced bachelor with two terrorist dogs and he lived alone.  I used to urge him to go on dates and he used to urge me to stop brooding at home and get out and do something with my life.

There was another blogger, Sweets, who we all adored too.  Sweets decided that she would arrange the first ever get together, now more commonly known to us online folks as a Tweet Up.  And so Sweets, Angel and Gluggie all went to dinner, and Glugs didn’t wear a suit even though he’d been challenged to.  To cut a long story short (mostly because the finer details are now rather hazy), Angel and Glugster saw each other and their eyes made love on the spot.  Or something.

The next day, I had Glugs on Skype and he was all butterflies and rainbows, Sweets says she had Angel on Skype and their conversation was also unicorn vomit and fairy pooh.  After some coaxing from Sweets and I, Angel and Gluggie started dating.

And that, as they say, is how the cookie crumbled was the start to a happily ever after for my very dear friends.  A few years on, while we all still blog and have the occasional Skype chat, we get to sit in each other’s company face to face more often.

It seems that sometimes friends do actually take each other’s advice… I listened to Gluggie and stopped moping around at home and got on with my life and did something meaningful (I mean look at me now, living it up in the Big Smoke of Hoburg!) and he listened to me: he and Angel get  married to each other in two more sleeps!

My friends, I love you.  So much.  I could honestly not name one other couple that deserve this more.  You’ve been an inspiration to so many people through your friendship, your support, your kindness and most of all, your love.

Thank you for sharing your day with us, and I feel so honoured to be a witness to your special day.  Congratulations!

<3 <3 <3

For those of you who would like to also share a bit of their love, Angel and Gluggie are live streaming their wedding here, so tune in on Saturday to see us celebrate our friends matrimonial ball chain ceremony.

Girls don’t fart.

Growing up with four brothers, I was subjected to burping and farting in the extreme.  It’s not something I appreciate, by any means, but with four brothers who are all taller and bigger and stronger than you, who will sit on your head if you so much as bat an eyelid at their bodily expressions, whaddayagonnado?

Of course, I have never farted in my life ever, so I’m not quite sure what all the fuss is about but the boys always seemed to look incredibly proud of themselves and often slapped each other on the back in between air high-fives, so I suppose there must be something to it.  If you’re a guy.

If you’re a girl, it is unacceptable.  Except, evidently, for Tracy-Lee here:

Hahahahahaaaaah.

*snorts*

*sniggers*

*wipes tears*

Yes I know, I’m going to hell.  It’s fine, my friends, we’ll all carpool.

Polar opposites in public.

One of the things my people usually say when they meet Jon is “but he’s so normal! How do you guys get it to work when you’re so different?”.  I suppose I should be slightly offended by that, since it really implies that I am, in essence, abnormal. But it’s the truth, I suppose.  We are different.  We are actually opposites in most things.  Where Jon is reliable and sensible, I fly off the handle and reach for the sky and jump ten steps ahead without thinking things through at all.  Jon is responsible, I’m responsive.  Jon is polite, I’m in your face.  Jon is socially well mannered and I am a freaking nut case in society.  Jon is friendly and insists on always thanking a host and shaking hands and saying goodbye to everyone at a party, I get drunk and loud and am quite fine with slipping out the back and sending a hung over message the next day saying “shot for the evening, was fun, have hangover – fuck you”. That’s us in public.  Polar opposites and confusing to everyone around us.

But in private?  In private we’re like one great big normal couple.  He sits on the couch and I automatically hand over the remote while he robotically covers me with a duvet.  We’ve learnt to read each other without having to say a word, and our bodies are in sync so much so that it’s very seldom we ever have to actually ask the other person to do anything, we just know.  For instance, I’ll subconsciously look up at the bedroom light and frown and without having said a word, Jon will get out of bed and switch it off without even have looked at me properly.  And if we eat dinner in front of the TV, I’ll lift up my hand in search of the salt and without even realising, he’s already put it in front of my plate.  At bed time, by the time Jon gets under the duvet, I’ve already grabbed the TV remote to switch the TV off because I know he’ll be fast asleep by the time I’ve finished watching whatever’s on screen and I don’t want to have to wake him up to pass the remote to me.

We have our disagreements, don’t get me wrong. But we’ve never ever raised our voices and we’ve never gone to bed angry or hurt or confused.  We talk to each other.  This is an entirely new concept to me.  Before hand, I thought fighting with your loved one meant screaming and shouting and crying and sulking.  And I was reminded of this fact when Jacques, my ex boyfriend, phoned me up out of the blue the other day to say hi.  It’s been about 5 years since we last spoke, and he cracked a joke about my poor new boyfriend having to put up with my temper tantrums.

At first I was hurt and started to defend myself, but I realised something – he hasn’t met the new Sheena.  He knows the Sheena of old, the one who would scream and shout and sulk and demand and cry.  The 19 year old rebel who was angry about her daughter being dead.  The Sheena who didn’t know how to communicate and would assume her boyfriend would just know when things went wrong and fix the problem.  Jacques had to put up with a lot from me.  I seriously put him through his paces, poor dude.  So when he jokingly asked how Jon coped with me, I honestly and openly told him that I wasn’t the person I used to be.  And I realised, I’ve grown up.  Jon has taught me so much in our relationship.  He’s taught me what love is, that it’s not only about passion and power over someone, it’s about communication and friendship and affection and kindness and compromise.  He’s taught me that to get something I want, all I need do is ask and let him know.  He’s taught me that I don’t need to be a raving bitch when I’m upset, but rather just talk to him about what’s bugging me so that we can sort it out together.

He’s not the only one who’s done teaching though.  I’ve shown him how to let loose a bit.  How to open up and talk about the nitty gritty details.  I’ve lead by example and gotten really personal with things that most couples should talk about but don’t.  I’ve taught him to lighten up and not always be perfect and inoffensive.  I’ve even gotten him to show me a side of him that no one in public ever sees, and I’m so grateful that he chose me to share it with.  I feel special and so lucky to have found this amazing guy who I can completely be myself with, but who is also learning to be himself with me.

Unfortunately I’ve also taught Jon how to not be afraid of teasing me.  At first he’d say something really funny and witty and then immediately apologise and take it all back, which completely ruined his efforts.  Now, almost a year on (can you BELIEVE I’ve been a real life girlfriend for nearly a year? Omg!) he wins every time.  He’s not only witty, but he’s sharp too.  I’ve resorted to gaping with my mouth open and putting on a mock hurt face, but even that doesn’t stop him.  What have I done?  I’ve created a fucking monster, that’s what.

Ultimately, we’re learning together.  And that makes things awesome.  It’s a two way station and this relationshit really isn’t as weird as people in public might think.  Actually, this relationshit is not shit at all.