Who knew it would take such a short weekend to fill so many empty hours? I did, or would have normally. I just want to hit a mini intro about this weekend. I promise if this weekend was recorded we wouldn't run presidency even if we bribed God Himself.
The buzz of the Easter weekend was just not working for me, I was a...nticipating my long weekend in the Mother City. As a poor man who really loves traveling and firsts, I was looking forward to what seemed like a weekend with Jill Scott and thousands of other fans from other parts of Africa.
On Thursday night, the eve of the Jazz kick off, we all made way to Mpeo's house to spend the night as she lives closer to the airport and we had an early flight (don't be fooled by the idea of excitement, early flights are more economic) to CT. She served Vodka and amazing ambiance for love and laughter to fuel us up for our first trip in 2013. We drank, we sang and we passed out.
About five alarms went off and I got lost in what felt like a trance if not a coma. 4 o'clock. These semi-awake people ordered me to be the first person to shower...isn't that insane? I put my foot down and Didi had no choice but to lead by example. Eventually, we all showered and made way to Lanseria airport. I really hate it, but my only consolation was the memory that Lady Gaga had landed there when she had her show in Jozi. Not bad for a tiny airport which I still think was an old white man's landing patch in the 1960s.
I have weird friends who get really moody when they have a hangover, but I'm always able to handle them, regardless. Superman. It was really crowded that morning, the route between Jhb & Cape Town was surely the highlight for every airline, right across economy to business class. Densely packed with commuters than any other show (I assume, hello! It was the Jilly from Philly weekend). Still, I knew immediately when I got onto that plane that it would be more eventful than usual. More intimate than the norm. As if there was something almost tangible moving along the passengers.
Or perhaps it was more that there was something in our half-closed eyes, or in the shine and slow-sliding silent question on people's lips, than anything physical about the aircraft itself. There was an energy, a revealing and pulling and nostalgic wallow. But all of that wasn't important, what mattered was the mind-blowing FACT I knew I was ready for the weekend, we were ready to have fun on the other side of the country. The most cosmopolitan city in South Africa, with friends and Jill Scott.
I stopped myself from flirting with someone on board because I didn't want any of us to have false expectations followed by horrible disappointments. My intransigent attitude towards awkward moments of lust always cloud my judgment and throw me off about people. Don't get me wrong, I haven't lost faith. A short commute often mitigates the effectiveness of non-verbal communication, that too worked for me. LOL.
Almost two hours later we landed and I was in full colour and ready for a good time. Didi lived in the Cape for eight years before moving up to Jhb (mainly to be closer to me) so maneuvering through the airport right through to the hotel was a breeze. With a little tour guide showing and I spotted Ogilvy Cpt (this is where I will be a MD in 2017) and a few other places. It was like her home coming picnic and our very own "chaperon". We were a bit early for check-in and we were left to hang around the foyer of the hotel for about 10 minutes which also felt like another 3hrs because we were exhausted, remember we had been drinking the previous night.
After settling in and freshening up we headed out for lunch at Gourmet Boerie (If you love classy stuff you probably saw the place on Top Billing last week) and it really lived up to the expectations. Sonia, from BOSS Models joined us for lunch and she unconsciously crushed my dream of becoming an underwear model before 30. I'm not going to get into that, it is a sensitive topic *covers face*. She is really a bubbly and sharp petite woman with a commercial personality. I still think she would blend in well with the Jhb people in her industry, our field of hussle. She loves her job.
Later at the Cape Sun where Jill Scott had to arrive at 14:30 I was shocked to walk into the media pit and found my former colleagues. I found out that Meropa Communications (2nd largest PR firm in RSA, where I was a intern for a short period) had the #CptJazz2013 Media account. My former fellow intern handled the account and this meant...wait for it....FREE VVIP tickets to every stage at the Jazz. Errr!! Not. Long story short, it didn't happen. LOL
Unfortunately Jill Scott wasn't arriving at the mentioned time anymore. Mpeo was almost suicidal. I have this theory that life is really just one big game show, this means we had to move to a better place and make the best of Friday night in that town, a different town... My emo girls and I made way to Neighbourhood on Long Street. This is a mixed breed of Melville, Brooklyn Design Square, Centurion Stones and maybe a bit of Cubana but in 1920. We got the best seats and had complete view of the room...
*to be continued... I'm really tired, got to nap*
*unedited version
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