Just arrived… – Woman Of Worth by Mands

I don’t know how to deal with rude people even if they have an insincere smile on their face, except to be as polite as possible and get the encounter over as soon as possible. I don’t know how to manage when a service provider adds R50.00 extra onto his quoted price for petrol… and I’m beginning to hate phoning call centres, as they all speak a foreign language which is not South African and doesn’t make any sense, except that they do not give an inch and absolutely refuse to see my point of view or any perspective even close… and I’m beginning to believe that even though I am a customer, their training is to not even disagree, but to just continue with a neutral line that starts with, “As I said before…” until you are so frustrated you give up. I’m saddened by what service used to be …and what it now seems to be… and that there seems to be no recourse when an innocent mistake has been made, and you can’t speak to a real person because you find yourself in a web of ‘if you want this press that button’ and you don’t go where you are supposed to.

I’m so physically tired even after weeks of being unproductive, because the water pipes burst, creating an upside down lake on the ceiling, that leaked all over the bathrooms and into the bedroom, and we’ve carried on painting… so Jesses bedroom contents are in her alcove and bathroom except for her bed while the carpets dry… and our bedroom contents are in the lounge except for the bed while our carpets dry… and the passage way is full of stuff… and although our home looks like a hurricane tonight, I know it will all look great in a couple of days because everything is cleaner and it will get organised…

And I am so very grateful and so very happy…. (actually so freaking excited) because after five months of ideas, research, creating, planning, working, and organising… in the midst of all this chaos, I have in my hand my delightful little Woman of Worth Notebook, made entirely from recycled and handmade paper with my poem printed on the first few inside pages… with five different cover colours.. and even though I have 55, I don’t want to sell them because they are just so gorgeous… but I have to so I can make more. *Grin*

And when the next batch is finished… we’ll have more… in more colours. *Smile*

This Notepad with the Woman of Worth poem printed inside, has been produced by South African woman of different ethnicity in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The colourful covers, are handcrafted in Hluhluwe, Zululand with handmade paper and a hand beaded motif, and the inner paper is manufactured in South Africa from 100% post-consumer waste using no bleach or hard chemicals, resulting in a wonderful tactile texture and appearance.