“Being robbed is the price we pay for the way we live,” my husband said, several hours after we came home on Saturday to find our front gate jimmied, our front door kicked in and many of our valuables stolen. I’ve been thinking about this for days now. He’s right. Petty theft, smash-and-grab attacks, burglaries,…
Author: Tiffany Markman
Tiffany Markman is a copywriter, editor, small business owner, wife and mom. She is a full-time workaholic and a part-time kugel. Follow her on twitter.
On Saturday my daughter readied herself for a Superheroes party. She wore a pretty red party dress with net and a bow, old-fashioned white sandals and a red velour cape. She also asked for red lipstick, which I applied. Not for a moment did it occur to me to moderate her fashion choices, given the…
In the past two weeks, two separate people (one a stranger and one a waiter who sees me every other day) have asked me if I’m “expecting”. I’m not. I’m just carrying an extra 10kg, most of it attached to my belly like an insecure jellyfish. But — for the love of all that’s holy…
Nope. This isn’t a review of Jani Allan’s memoir, Jani Confidential. Yes, I’ve read it. Yes, I’m reviewing it. But not today. Not right now. Instead, I’m reviewing 20 minutes with Jani — for all those, like me, who wondered what’d become of her, what she’s like now and why she’s suddenly re-appeared in the…
Put four freelancers or small business owners in a room, and three of the four will moan about micro-enterprises not being supported in South Africa, times being tough, work being hard to find. The fourth will keep quiet, because he/she has enough work and doesn’t want to rock the boat — or jinx the luck….
1. Your daily mood and productivity are directly proportional to the strength and reliability of your Wi-Fi. 2. You harbour an unreasonable level of hatred for parents who schedule their kids’ birthday parties for 2pm on weekday afternoons. 3. You have fantasised once or twice about a painless and temporary but serious ailment that would…
This is a topic I’ve always stayed away from. Because I felt disparate from the social media mainstream when it came to my opinions on feeding in public. But, nudged to profound irritation by the Claridges drama, I’m now so *over* reading blog posts, Facebook whinges and Twitter rants on the subject that I’m going…
“I need more info.” Sometimes clients have the best intentions. They have the work. They have the money to pay for it. And they want a professional. The only problem? They don’t know how to brief the professional. And they run the risk that you will dive into the work without knowing all you need…
I’m losing the battle with my husband when it comes to toddler toilet accompaniment in public. And I’m so frustrated that I need to open the issue to the floor, so to speak. So, here we go … The loo debate You see, my three-year-old is in the last stages of potty training. Out of…
I’m sick of people trying to scam other people. I don’t mean those poorly punctuated “Dear Beloved” emails. Nor those dreadful Amway-ers who were school friends. I’m talking about the Dead Sea devils* who plague our malls. * The Dead Sea devils These are the gorgeous-looking young Mediterraneans you see in shopping malls, who take…
On the final day of a lovely beach vacation, I spotted the notice above at George Airport, on SA’s Garden Route. Despite my state of relaxation, I was thrown into a rage, culminating in this tweet (which received record shares). The furore got me thinking about the origin of the prevailing trend for native English…
I’m often asked, usually by audience members when I give a talk or presentation, where I learned about running a small business, freelancing and/or self-promotion. And my answer is typically an amalgam of: * Experience. * Over time. * Through trial and error. * By accident. But there are people and events that shaped what…
Meetings. We all bitch and moan about them. They steal productive time, interrupt “real” work and make us drink way too much coffee. When they’re not at your office, they mean schlepping. Which is never fun. Meetings suck. Bottom line. Janine Popick, who writes for Inc, says meetings are about “[Getting into the] let’s-take-that-offline-and-not-really-chat-about-it-or-make-a-decision-but-schedule-a-time-in-the-future-and-block-out-an-hour-and-not-make-a-decision” mode….
Announce on Twitter that Women’s Day is largely wasted in a country with staggering rape stats, and you’re a troll. Or are you? It seems there are trolls and trolls … Let’s look at three different scenarios and make a call. 1. You post an article on something personal, like taking your baby to Home…
Mommy guilt. It’s well-documented. And with dads doing more equal parenting and feeling the strains of work-life pressure, daddy guilt is a thing too. But: 1. This post is not a list of all the things I feel guilty about as a mom. Life’s too short, for one thing, and for another, it can be…