A'watching and a'waiting

I've come and stared at this un-updated blog almost every day since I last posted.

No, we didn't receive the "We've found a baby for you even though you're not officially registered to adopt" call, or even the "Yes, of course we'll reconnect your electricity because we are reasonable and see that it's not usage that has pushed up the bill, but a change in rate code" call.

The call was about a prize I won.  But I'm not even in a place to share the details because I am STILL waiting for said prize to land plumply into my starving bank account.

Why the delay, you ask?  Nope, it wasn't a mistake or a fake call.  Yes, I broke down and told them "Hey, this is incredible - this is why I need this NOW".  But, no, still no deposit into my account.

Okay, okay, I'll end the suspense.  Do you know why these people, in their incredibly intelligent and reasonable way, are delaying my ability to reconnect to the Eskom grid?  They need a promotional/publicity photograph of the winner (me) with the fresh produce manager of the store where I purchased the product that initially enabled me to enter the competition in the first place.

No kidding.

I told them -- please clal the manager then - I am two (2!) minutes away from the store - cellphones have gorgeous cameras in them now-days -- this is not the job for a rocket scientist!!  But no, even when I popped into the store in question, the manager hadn't heard a word and, most probably, the fact that I almost burst into tears when I heard this had her looking at me kinda sideways.

I am so tired.

You can't exactly rant and rave about shoddy service when it's for something that you haven't really "earned". I mean, seriously -- it was an sms competition and a random draw for 1st, 2nd & 3rd prize.  My cell number was drawn for first prize.  Yep, no kidding.  There's no way God didn't have a hand in that.  It was like he said, Dude, buck up - here's something to help you through this.

So.

Last week I got the "There's a baby who needs a home NOW" call.  True story.  In the middle of all the nonsense, the stress, the insanity -- THAT call.  Unfortunately it seems it's another of those up-in-the-air, nothing-definite stories.  I have a photo of the child.  She's lovely.  I have an empty nursery that is beautiful (albeit lit by candlelight).  I have an empty heart.  Thankfully it's a numb empty and not an aching raw empty (yet).