Sam Pinn Chronicles

That's right everyone 4 years after my first run at this and here we are again - luckily, it's my last as well. The start of the 2023/2024 High School Application process always brings with it a rollercoaster of emotions, fear that your child won't get into the school you have set your heart on, fear that their grades are not good enough, fear that you do not live close enough, the daunting realization that High School's charge double or even triple the Primary School Fees and not forgetting the realization that you are officially getting old when your youngest starts High School LOL. In my first run I applied at 8 schools, did 6 open days and granted this was overkill, but I did not know any better and wanted to ensure my son got in somewhere, now I know better, I need about 4 school applications and only need to visit these schools for their open day. Not enough emphasis is placed on the open day, but it is such an integral part of making the right choice as u...

What a journey this has been, to recap I was one of those crazy cautious people that due to my underlying conditions did not venture out of the house, so the one time I did I was extremely cautious and still somehow managed to catch the dreaded Covid virus. My first thought turned to my family (hubby and kids) and my mind raced with what this meant for them. My boys were so brave and did the nostril testing along with my hubby, luckily both boys were negative and only hubby and myself were positive. What followed was a rollercoaster of emotions and ailments. I honestly did not even comprehend how sick I was, from fevers, body aches, no taste in my mouth, tummy cramps, shortness of breath, cough, and nausea. My stats for oxygen at one point was between 89 - 91 and on more than one occasion the doctor wanted me to be admitted to hospital, however my fear was that being hospitalized might open me up to picking up even more infections on top of Covid, whether this was the right or wr...

Tomorrow marks a week since receiving my positive results and today was probably the hardest day emotionally for me. For those that know me positivity is something that comes so naturally to me however today I find myself searching for that positivity. Today I just feel like I have had enough, like all I want to do is hold my kids and give them kisses, when Zach stands at the door of my bedroom and says he misses laying next to me, I literally feel my heart breaking a little. I know this too shall pass and it is more than likely very human to be feeling this way, after all its nearly the end of the first week. Lets start with what has transpired since my last blog, we received the results of the boys back and we were overjoyed that both boys tested negative, however sadly Andre too was positive. The doctor was telling me how strange and varied each persons reaction to this virus is and I can see that first hand between Andre and myself. Andre is asymptomatic whereas I had every ...

We are living during a time of uncertainty and fear with a virus no one knows how to beat. I consider myself and my family to be quite law abiding so when the first lock down came and we were advised to stay at home we did exactly that. I remember thinking that given my pre-existing Asthma that I need to be extra cautious. I stayed in, hubby went do the shops, I wiped off everything that came into the house and washed my hands regularly. So what went wrong? Truthfully I have no idea. I went out once, yes your reading it right once and abided by all the rules of wearing my mask sanitizing etc., came home got undressed in the garage and jumped straight into the shower. So it goes without saying that when I started to feel ill a 3 days later I simply put it down to my bronchitis potentially returning as I had had it twice this year already, I visited my doctor who prescribed meds but indicated that I should potentially go and have myself tested as a precaution. I remember not eve...

Today saw the start of an unprecedented event, a country in lock down. Never in the history of my life, my mother's, my grandmother or her grandmother's life has this ever happened before! The nation watched in sheer shock and despair as our President made the announcement and we all felt the emotion when he said Enkosi Sikelel IAfrika, at least this is what I thought. So why is it that so many areas within the Western Cape inclusive of my own is acting as if it is merely a normal day, a public holiday of sorts? I saw numerous videos sent via WhatsApp and on the news of Town Centre looking as packed as it is on a normal day, stalls that would normally operate functioning as always. In my area I hear the sounds of children playing in the road, I see people walking by, teenagers still hanging around on corners WTH PEOPLE!!!!! Have you all not seen the news of what is taking place around the world? Have you not seen that our numbers jumped from 50 last week to over 1000 t...

So you have managed to secure the school of your dreams and just when you think it is time to sit back and enjoy the spoils of all your efforts to get your child into a high school you realize that this is only the tip of the iceberg because now the real hustle begins! Since our acceptance we have been to a new parent meeting, sports training (yes for next year already), sport open day to explore options for next year which we have already chosen as per the numerous forms we have had to complete, and lastly the dreaded and not cheap task of purchasing School Uniform. You will note in one of my earlier blogs of High School Woes that I discuss the huge jump in tuition fees from Primary School to High School. This is only the start as you have to purchase a full new set of uniform inclusive of Blazer, the total cost of anything from R1500 to R5000! Then there is that lovely "voluntary donation" you are giving to the school yearly over and above your monthly donations, but ...

So this year was the year I became a mother of a teenager! I don't even know how this happened because honestly I remember my High School Matric Ball like it was yesterday. When I told this to the cashier at Exclusive books when buying my now teenager his favourite books for his birthday she laughed way too loud which led me to believe that despite my denial I must definitely look older than I think. Once again I know that having been a teenager myself that life just seems to be out to get you and nothing seems fair but being on the other side now I am like WTH is wrong with you and why are you sooooooooooooooooo moody. Honestly being the only female in a house full of males I should be the only one allowed to throw hissy fits but no I can tell you boys can throw tantrums just as well as girls lol. Everything seems like such an effort and every request seems like its monumental, take for example when I say "Please can you go and dry off the dishes in the kitchen", ...

In life you will be faced with so many decisions, choices and disappointments and sometimes you may find yourself asking the question, why am I doing this? I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have heard people tell me urgh, why do I have to go to work again today? Or to those that are studying when it comes down to prepping for an exam they ask themselves why did I put myself through this? I have one piece of advise to you all, Find your Reason! For anything in life you do things for a reason, that reason may just be to earn money but then I ask you why do you need to earn money, and if you dig deeper I am sure you will say to support your family, to pay for a Bond so you have a roof over your head, for food to live, schooling for your kids, whatever it may be - YOU HAVE A REASON so dig deep and find it. Very few people can say that they truly LOVE what they do, when you love your job getting up for work becomes easier, dealing with difficult days is that much easie...

As a young girl I loved reading Fairytales which would usually end with the Prince who won the heart of the Princess, they got married and lived happily ever after. This is what I believed true love is and what happened in real life, but having grown up I sit back and reflect on the teachings of these fairytales and wonder how misguided they are. For those of you who are married you know that as thrilling as the chase was and as whirlwind as your relationship may have been, it is not truly the only hard work required in your relationship and in the words of Beyoncé "putting a ring on it" does not mean that you can now just sit back and enjoy the spoils of your hard work. On the contrary the hard work begins when you say I do, not because there is anything wrong with the person you chose or that your relationship is doomed but simply because any great marriage requires work. Lets take my life as an example, I met my husband at the end of my high school career at the age o...

Over the last few weeks I have had the same statement told to me in different situations "You are too nice". This has really got me thinking that people perceive someone who is nice as a weakness or a flaw and this is not just in the working environment but society as a whole. For anyone that knows me they will say I am a nice person, friendly and always willing to help, does this then mean that I am perceived to have less respect or power/command than someone who is loud, ruthless or puts the fear of God in someone when they speak? I honestly don't agree, I believe that when you treat others with the respect and dignity that we would like to be treated with, this earns us the desired respect of others and that they are far more willing to listen to what you have to say. The reality is that as nice as I am, I have the ability to be harsh or stern when needed and I am most certainly not a pushover (just ask my kids or hubby lol). You need to have a balance of being ...

There are very few times in my life that I have failed or felt sheer disappointment in myself, today was one of those days. I started my distance learning BComm 3 years ago and this semester I did my first two 3rd year modules. I managed to receive a distinction for my one module and failed the other (two extreme opposites, go figure). I cant even begin to describe the gut wrenching feeling I felt when I received the result with the word FAIL on it, such a simple word with such negative connotations to it. For those that know me, you will know that I am somewhat of a perfectionist, I am so critical of myself and always expect the best of me so hearing that I was none of these ultimately felt like my world was crashing. The disappointment stems from the fact that I am currently receiving a bursary so failing is not even an option given the financial implications of having to pay out of my own pocket to redo the module again but the biggest thing ultimately is having to redo the m...

With all the anticipation, all the stress and all the additional grey hairs I have acquired during the High School application process the day finally arrived for parents all across the Western Cape to find out the fate of their kids applications for school in 2020. Then insert additional stress as parents who applied for more than 1 school have to help these kids make this life changing decision to select the right school, they have until the 12 of July to make said selection however many of the schools contact you via e-mail to encourage you to make a choice sooner than later so that those kids who are on their waiting lists can be given a space. How then do you select your dream school? Of all the interviews we went for I got some sound advise and the most common statement was make sure your child picks a school that they feel comfortable with. Yes its important to get the best school for your child's future but finding the one that best fits your child is more important. ...

As humans our innate ability to make excuses and justify is outstanding, I am sure if we ever had to compete against another type of life form and they held a challenge which included excuses and justification we would win hands down! It is this ability however that holds us back from reaching our true potential, whether it be that you are taking on a new challenge, doing part time studies or starting a diet we have already formulated 100's of excuses as to why we are unable to reach our goals which we have not even yet started trying to achieve. So how do we overcome these excuses? Personally I don't think there is one recipe or quick win to do this, what works for me however is to understand why I am doing something and to know that I am doing it for me, not for someone who made a comment about how I looked, not for someone who said if I wanted to get anywhere in life I needed a Degree and most certainly not for anyone who made me feel anything other than loved. Peopl...

If they were to advertise the role of a PARENT would any of us really apply? Would you really want a job that you have to commit to for life, one that does not involve any salary or vacation time, I can think of a few colourful words we may have said to that ad lol. As I get older I find my patience that used to be quite extensive dwindling, I remember calling the boys to come and brush their teeth, then calling them again and again and again, now I call twice and start barking. I love my kids more than anything in this world (other than my hubby of course) and would lay my life on the line for them in a heartbeat but sometimes I find myself not really liking them at any given point in time, is it not crazy that someone you love soooooooooooooo much makes you want to strangle them at times. I often sit and think is this what is it was like for my parents because in my mind I was a model daughter who did very little wrong (don't ask my parents though). Being a parent is not...

Throughout my life I have struggled with this question, three simple words, am I enough? The answer however is never as simple as a yes or a no sadly. I have always considered myself a go-getter, someone who strived for greatness and was often my biggest critic. This was not always a bad thing because it drove me to be the best version of myself I could be, but it also made me feel like I could do more or be more. I can see this manifest in so many aspects of my life, my marriage, my work, my friendships, my studies and my role as a mother. The reality however is, if you met me you would not believe a word I am saying because as so many people have told me "you look so confident, I wish I was as confident as you are". Well you know what they say, fake it till you make it! I feel like life's unrealistic pressures adds fuel to this insecurity fire most of us have within. Social media will have you believe that the amount of followers quantifies your popularity whic...

As per my previous blog I discussed the saga that is the High School application process 2019, we are nearing the end of this process and 8 High School applications, 8 Open Days, 3 interviews and 1 acceptance later we now find ourselves in the difficult position of having to make a decision on our chosen schools. We have been reeling over this question since our first application, "Which school should we choose if all accept us?". Now the dilemma for me is I am a grown woman struggling with this life changing decision so how in heavens name must my 12 year old son be feeling? The reality here is that we all as parents want the best for our kids which means the best and sometimes most expensive schools however are they the right choice? I have discussed this topic with so many people in the last few months and have the following thoughts on the matter. For us it was all about allowing our son to attend the school he felt most comfortable with hence the 8 open days we atte...

Firstly I cannot even fathom that I have a soon to be teenager as I feel like I merely celebrated my 21st Birthday last year lol. As if this daunting reality is not stressful enough I now have to contend with High School Applications as well, and for those that have not yet gone through this process, brace yourself - you are in for a rollercoaster ride. We (future 2020 Grade 8's) in the Western Cape are part of a lucky group of people who get to pilot a new online application system with the Western Cape Education Department (Yeah Us - Not). This year in conjunction with following the normal hard copy process we have to do a similar online process which in retrospect is not all that bad and honestly it gives us stressed out parents some feeling of power in tracking the progress of our applications. Being the OCD person that I am I researched the heck out of future High Schools and created a spreadsheet, this was then utilized by my kid's current primary school to provide ot...

So unless you are from the early 20th century where people started their first career with a company and inevitably finished their working career with them too, most of you would at some point in your career find yourself on the look out for something new. A question I am often asked is how long does it really take to find another job? There is no definitive answer to this and depending on your skills set and previous work experience the time varies. You would think that in today's day and age of technology searching for a job should be so much easier and could be done from the comfort of your home or desk but the truth is that it is just as hard as if you were walking from door to door with a hard copy of your Cv, possibly even harder. Because vacancies are advertised electronically their reach is further and thus the pool of experienced candidates greater reducing your chances of securing the role. Added to this it is often very impersonal and unless you are an acclaimed wri...

So you worked an entire year and now you are not so sure if you should move on or stay? Often people are torn between staying in their current role or leaving to "greener pastures" and wonder to themselves, how do I know that I have passed my expiry date at my current company? The signs are all there and once you know how to spot them you will be able to make a seamless decision, after all we have all been here at one stage or another. The signs: 1) Every morning you wake up you literally have to throw yourself out of bed and drag you're behind to work. Remember work should be enjoyable after all that's where you spend most of your time. As a recruiter it is not only my job to help the client find the right candidate but I am also responsible for finding you the perfect role so that you won't have to feel this way. 2) When you are at work, you count the seconds to home time even though you only started 5 minutes ago. 3) Usually you are...

So, you have managed to secure that all important interview with the client and suddenly you come to the realisation that you were so fixated on securing the interview that you didn't think any further and you are left with the burning question of "now what"? You ask yourself, what do you wear, how early do you arrive without seeming desperate or should you arrive a few minutes late in order to seem extremely busy at your current job, what do you need to do to prepare and should you take anything along with you? These are all relevant questions and I am going to try to answer all of them individually. Let's start with what to wear; now I know I am no fashionista but when it comes to interview clothing I have picked up a thing or two in my time. Make sure that you always dress up for your interview, this not only shows your potential employer that you are serious about the opportunity but also that you put effort into preparing for the interview. Now granted we ...