Nearing to finish the second lap of the race

We’re all excited, proud about our ventures. Now, that we are nearing to finish the second lap of the race. Some of us will be job hunting while others who already got jobs will be looking to settle down. However, we can still refer to the two laps we’ve pass- drove from time-to-time as a reflection.

Everyone is a witness that we have been through ups and downs. We hustled and struggled. Some of us fall and picked themselves up. Some could not rise again. It has been the survival of the fittest.

Some have seen the light…..they are now working, sum are still job hunting. Anyway that is part of life. We can do the same thing but the repercussions can be different. Anything is possible. Hence, life is like a race, where you need to focus on the curves and caution signs ahead. “Don’t look at others because your car might tumble”. Unless you been down that road before then you can assist your counterparts.

Change your life for the better!

Accept what you did wrong and try to do better next time. No need to punish yourself forever. In fact, accepting your mistakes is the only way to make them disappear. Maybe you got hurt by somebody. Happens. Just accept it and deal with it. People are making mistakes and if you can accept that for yourself, accept it for your friends too. In the end, all you need from them is their love.

New things you want to attract into your life. Habits are powerful. Join their energy for your own good. Don’t wait for other people to impose discipline on you. Start early. Create your own discipline. Although it sounds a little bit harsh, self discipline is a facilitator for many things in your life. It’s hard to get but great to have

Reach out. Don’t be afraid. Establish new contacts. The worst thing that may happen to you is to be rejected. Well, if that’s the case, move on. The reward of having true, long-lasting friendship is worth all the potential rejection. Shaking your comfort zone will often create a lot of value in your life. If you’re not satisfied with your job, just get a new one. The pitfall of not having money for a limited period of time is temporary, get over it.

Student complaints.

Student complaints about universities have risen by a third in the last year and will rocket next year when tuition fees rises up again, The student complains because the academics are little but politicians; out for their own best interests. Of interest is that the largest volume of complaints comes from postgraduates, international students and mature students. Why would this be, is it that these types are looking for an education but what actually come to light hardly look like anything close.

Having been to one of the best Universities in the country I can safely say that higher education is a scam, at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In some cases the lecturers were giving lectures that were 10 years old, and this was in a rapidly changing field like Engineering. But worse is postgraduate research, where one can be screamed at, bullied and the like, by these expert academics. All the institution will do is sideline the student and do everything in its power to extend their internal complaints procedures, seemingly hoping the student will give up.

People would be surprised if they could see what goes on in these academic institutions. It is mostly playground politics and protecting the Institution. Very little in higher education is intended for the student, they are simply a commodity to keep the establishment safe for when retirement looms.

My SundaY Morning

I dragged myself out of bed a bit early on Sunday morning, knowing the light would be great after a cold night, followed by a sunny morning. We get these wonderful fogs if you don't have to commute in them here in the autumn that are a photographer's dream.

The window of opportunity is very small. Too soon and the fog is too heavy, a few minutes later and the mist is burned away by the warmth of the sun. I knew where I wanted to go, a spot I have gone to before, with little traffic and great views to the east. I was hoping the light would not be cold and on the blue/gray side, and I was rewarded with this warm glow penetrating through the fog banks. I was rushing from one photo op to the next, so oblivious to time that I was almost late for church.

I only made it in time because the light was getting too strong for good photos, and I was only a few kilometers away. On my next sunny day without work, I will be out again, camera in hand, only this time, looking for the magic light as well as the colour in the leaves that is just now starting to splash on.

Watch this space.

I have had many people saying this and sometimes get confused if they are threatening me or what. Usually this will appear at the end of ma friends’ texts. But I have just realized that it’s another way to promise something. Like my friend when we play cards she would say, “today I will bit you, watch this space”.

 As we are nearing to the end of our academic careers there is a lot coming up, though, of course each has their own goals but some of us will join the industry, some will take a break (of which I don’t encourage any of us to), some will run their own businesses, just watch the space!!!

  I have been processing this for a very long time now that as I have been living a student life since I started schooling now it’s about time I adventure other aspects of life which some I have been introduced into, like working, other things I would like to have a piece of are: workouts, sports (soccer, cricket and athletics), traveling, among other things. There are number of other things I want to venture into but watch the space.

  Please be patient and watch this space for other exciting things I want to do, watch out the developments and fantastic ventures I am about to undertake. Watch this space!!!!

MY NEW BLACKBERRY!

All this new technology is driving me nuts. I could have said "No" but the offer was too good to turn down. I have had my Nokia cell phone for three years and I still am not able to text with it, can not download photos. I have never been on the Internet with it and have just used it as a business phone. I got a call from my service provider wanting to sell me data packages etc. etc. etc. Not interested. Then they offered me a free up-grade as well as grandfathering my very old and very economical plan if I signed on for another three years. I have never been dissatisfied with the network and actually find that it works rather well. I have no plans to change providers so a free phone was a no brainer. I am now the proud  owner of a Blackberry Curve 8520 phone. I struggled all evening getting the settings right and trying to figure out how to get my SIM card out of the old phone and into the new one.

Like all new 'stuff', there is a learning curve. I just hope I do not miss any important calls because I have the phone on silent mode by mistake, or have the darn thing play Beethoven's 5th in the middle of church because I thought I had it on silent mode. No guarantees though because I have already taken a goofy photo by mistake. Good thing I do not know how to download it to this blog. It is not very flattering

My favourite Cat in the Hat book

I've been hearing about this topic and reading about it since i was very young in my early young age. Cat in the Hat book must have been when I was in pre-school. I used to enjoy reading the books because they were funny and entertaining, the crazy story lines captured one’s imagination.

 And there was a movie based on the Cat in the Hat book which was released on the big screen in 2003; I had an opportunity of watching the movie and see the story come to life right in front of me. Cat in the Hat books have been around for over 50 years and hopefully they will be still around for generations to come in order for children to enjoy them.

Maybe I should give myself a chance to read one of the books soon, who knows the book might bring out the child in me. I think every child needs to read the Cat in the Hat books. It’s a good book to start reading to children at a young age already. Since they've heard the book so many times already, it’ll be easier for them to start reading alone.  The words are easy to sound out and  some of the most common words in the English language.

I like, I like

Discovering new music, stretching when I get up in the morning, playing tug o' war with my Labrador, buying clothes on sale, depositing paychecks, sending out mail the old fashion way, reading a magazine in a corner at Borders, cracking the spine of a new book, dancing 'til it hurts, incest-free Greek mythology, gossiping with girlfriends, multi-colored pens, saying "I know, right?!", knowing I matter, dirty limericks, belly laughs, (sitting in) stilettos, painting my nails, staying in bed for ungodly hours, being in my element, finding money in my pocket, tangible pictures, stickers and post-its, savoring dessert like it's my first and last...

Why I have conversations?

Conversations permit for an exchange of information to take place; through conversations we are able to learn new information and share knowledge. Conversations contribute to the intellectual growth of a person; the more we know the better we become accustomed to our environment.

We all have conversations simply because as human beings it is important to have some sort of communication in order to understand what the next person is thinking.
Conversations nowadays take place not just face to face but also through various mediums such as social media tools. I personally engage in conversations with people usually because I want to know what they opinion is regarding a certain issue, or may be because I want to know more about them.

Regardless what the reason may be behind why I have conversations I feel that having conversations is the way of life. As humans we all have the need to engage in conversations each day may it be at work or school or even at home.

My bucket list / 100 things to do before I die

There are many things I would like to achieve during my life time, but I don’t think that I will be able to mention a hundred. These include in no particular order obtaining my Master/ Honours Degree, travelling the world, going on a road trip across at least three provinces in the country.

A helicopter ride would be quite an adventure or even a hot air balloon ride, visit the Zambezi River, ride a quad bike, go on a yacht, go on a ocean cruise, establish my own successful business, make exercising a routine, get married and have children, see the seven wonders of the world, have a feature written about me in a magazine, make a life changing difference to someone’s life.
Go on a real shopping spree meaning I would have to spend about R10 000 on shoes and clothes in just one day.

These are just a few of the things I would like to undertake before I die.

Dirty word

It always boggles my mind when women refuse to identify with the word 'feminist,' as if to claim it would surely mean the end of herself. As if being a feminist would denigrate the very concept of femininity. As if it would mean giving up held doors and chairs, sacrificing free drinks, and bras.

I AM a feminist because I believe a woman should not be earning 75 cents to a man's dollar.
I AM a feminist because rape victims should not have to relive her attack in trial.
I AM a feminist because I should have my cake and eat the damn thing, too. Counting calories is lame.
I AM a feminist because I believe, someday, I might have a son. No son of mine will ever come to expect, assume, and demand supremacy simply because he has a penis.
I AM a feminist because there are still such things as female infanticide and genital mutilation.
I AM a feminist because I love women just as much as I love men, I love stiletto just as I love watching a bloody brawl, and I love lace as much as I love sweats. I should not have to choose.

So yeah, I like my doors held, my drinks free, and my breasts perky
...but I can open my own doors, buy my own drinks, and my breasts will still be perky.

I am a feminist because I am human.

My big fat BIG dream

My big fat BIG dream would be to travel the world on an unlimited budget. I have never travelled outside of the South African borders in my entire life. My trip would have to commence right here in Africa therefore my first stop would be Zambia; merely because I would love to witness the Zambezi falls with my own eyes, as I have heard so many accounts of it.

The next stop would have to be Madagascar; it seems to be a beautiful island with wonderful creatures and beaches. My journey would lead me to the continent of Asia, where I would begin with Thailand. Thailand seems to be a beautiful country with a rich heritage and various national monuments. I would then possibly visit China and India which are next door to each other in order to experience their ambient culture and the way they live. I would also make a stop at United Arab of Emirates and visit Dubai to experience the glitz and glamour the city is known for.

I would then travel to the continent of South America, and the county I would visit is Brazil. I would make it to Brazil in time for the Rio Carnival as I have heard that it is the best time to visit the country.

I would then visit the U.S.A.; there are so many cities I would like to visit there. These cities include Los Angeles, Miami, New York City; the concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
My last stop would be Europe and the countries I would visit include France, Italy, Greece, England, Germany, Spain, Scotland and Switzerland.

I would like  to have the opportunity to be exposed to numerous cultures and lifestyles in my life, traveling the world is something that I simply have to do in my life time even if it means travelling to simply a few countries.   

Phelokazi is engaged!

I guess growing old(er) isn't so horrible when we have amazing things to look forward to, like one of my oldest friends' beautiful and sweet, sweet, sweet engagement! A little quirky, a lot sweet, and 100% Phelo all the time, Phelo is a lifelong buddy, through and through. We danced on our high school dance team together and we were drawn to each others' biting sarcasm (and, obviously, indubitable charms).

One of my absolute favorite things about Phelo is her unwavering loyalty to not just her friends & family, but her passions. While the rest of us (some begrudgingly) went into tertiary to study commerce, she followed her dreams of becoming a wedding photographer. And, a damn talented one at that. Phelo eventually followed her dreams all the way up to San Francisco, where she busts her ass to be the best photographer, daughter, friend, mother of two Linda Smallz babies, fancy cook, and (now) fiance she can be.  

Conventional is a good fallback position isn’t it?

As human beings we tend to be afraid of the idea to do things differently as we fear being rejected by society. Being different is sometimes a good thing, take for example Lady Gaga; she totally does what she feels like doing and she doesn’t seem to care what other people will think about her. She has generated a huge following over the past few years she has been in the limelight.

Conventional is a good fallback position when you realize that something you wanted to try out for the first time doesn’t seem to work out the way you had anticipated. You can always conform to the accepted standards which people have come to accept as the norm.So conventional doesn’t always work well for other people, being different can lead to various opportunities and experiences.

                                                                     What do you think?

Lessons my mom taught me

Childhood trauma lasts forever. When I was little, she told me I couldn’t point at the moon or else the lady in the moon will cut my ears off. CUT. MY. EAR. OFF. Who the hell says that to an eight year old? She also told me for every grain of rice I leave in my bowl, there will be a pockmark on my future husband’s face. I used to be terrified of this because I was a vain little snotfaced 10 year old kid. and TO THIS DAY, I can’t leave food in a restaurant.

There ain’t no shame in asking. I moved to Cape Town when I was seven years old. and was painfully shy because I didn’t speak the language Afrikaans. My mom used to force me to ask for take-out boxes, water, or utensils from waiters at restaurants. Though I hated when she did that, it really did help build my language skills and brought me out of my shell a little bit. It’s backfired a bit for her; sometimes I can’t seem to stop asking my waiters non sequiturs. Case in point, “Can I get the chicken parmesan and…what color nail polish is that?” My mom’s reaction gets all 0.o, like she wishes she can take it all back.

You cannot chase two rabbits at the same time.

This declaration is arguable as sometimes one can focus on two things or tasks at a time as it depends on how disciplined an individual is. Some people have the capacity to handle numerous tasks at a time; we simply have to remember that we are not all the same.

Some people have to be constantly reminded to not take on more than they can handle as they may struggle to cope when they have too many things happening in their lives. These people may end up not excelling in either task as they were not able to manage their time or resources well.

When you know how to manage your time you gain control. Rather than busily working here, there, and everywhere (and not getting much done anywhere), effective time management helps you to choose what to work on and when. This is essential if you're to achieve anything of any real worth.

I believe that each individual knows what they are capable of ; therefore we shouldn’t allude ourselves by thinking that we can chase two rabbits at the same time when we clearly know that we can’t.

I’ve got problems

I've got problems. Okay, that was redundant and perhaps annoyingly unoriginal, but it bears repeating. I've got problems I don't know how to solve. They've been nagging at me, like stray, errant strands of hair that tickle my bare back and I can never quite get a hold of them. Or like when I walk into a spiderweb at night (which happens more times than I'd like to admit) and I keep grabbing at my face to get it off. Even if I do, there's always that creepy feeling something is clinging to me and I can't do anything about it.

1. Mistaking attention for affection. After 20 odd years, I have yet to cleanly distinguish the two. Though they are not necessarily mutually exclusive, it'd be rather nice to know someone's being nice just to be nice, versus when he's being nice because he can see being nice to me for a long time coming.

2. Knowing when things have run their course. I hate relationship limbo. Or any kind of limbo, really, including the asinine party activity dressed up like an ice-breaker, when in reality everyone cheats a little and actually I'm really good at it. Whether I keep my stead for a little while longer or cut my losses, there's a price for either and both.

3. Doing what is good for me. I suppose this ties in with 1 and 2, but like most problems, it bears repeating (now).

“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when you only have one idea”

I agree with the declaration that having one idea is dangerous. What happens if that one idea you have does not work out the way you planned it to? What do you do then?

It is important to have a number of ideas or a backup plan when something doesn’t pan out the way you intended it to. You always have to have another plan so that you are not left stranded, thinking about what you should do next in order to move forward is vital.

Some people have a plan a, plan b and even a plan c when they have an idea. They always prepare themselves for the worst case scenario before hand as there is nothing worse than just standing there when something goes wrong and only try to think of ways to remedy the situation then. Thinking under pressure is something that not everyone is good at.

Therefore I urge you when you have an idea think of more than one way to implement that idea and always have a backup plan. Avoid being caught off guard whenever it is possible

I forgot my dad's birthday this year.

On the surface, it's not so bad. I have a horrible memory to begin with and I haven't seen him in years. Deep down in my daddy's-girl heart, I've never forgotten his birthday before and it makes me wonder if he's ever forgotten about me. Or, if he feels blinding regret for leaving his wife and children while he philandered. Or, if I've punished him enough in my own special way. Or, if the only punishment is on me, like a bad joke someone tells a group but no one laughs, not even a polite smile. Yeah, feels kinda like that.

Most men have their ways of weaving in and out of my life. I just want someone to love with such ferocity and intensity that they either love me back or die trying to escape me. It's been harder than I thought it would be.

Have you figured out the second head fake

 All I understand about what a head fake is, is when a message is intended to articulate a particular meaning, but you understand it differently or have a different perception compared to what the speaker was expecting the listener to grasp or understand. Well I haven’t even figured out the first head fake, but I am expected to know what the second head fake is

An example would be when a lecturer lectures to its students and expects the students to be motivated to reach their goals, but some of the students may grasp something else from the lecture such as; one could discover that they are in the wrong career field or that they want to study further before they go out in to the industry.

Or maybe the second headfake is about discovering what is most important to you? What is the most important thing in your life? Well I think this is a tough question to answer, and I feel that it is hard to pin point just one thing. It looks like I will have to choose three, the first being my family, secondly having a relationship with God, lastly achieving my goals.

Don’t get it twisted

I am a good writer, but I'm also generally lazy and my ineptitude for timely updates is well-known. Don't get it twisted, though; I love blogging. Overall, I follow one rule to writing a sufficiently readable blog post: sit down and open Namhlalicious. And truth be known, I enjoy committing near-suicides online. I like providing a little too much TMI. To help me do that on a more regular basis, go to www.namhlalicious.blogspot.com my blog.  I'm going to start blogging at work.  Full-time work has lent itself to moments of "I want to bludgeon myself with a nunchuck" sentiments. It is at once mindnumbing and...fulfilling? I'm not sure that is the right word, but I like waking up for a purpose. The job is not one I thought I would be holding at 24-years old (apparently, pirate queen of the free world is not a healthy nor realisic goal), but it is one that get me going in the mornings.

I'm appreciative, to say the least, because in our still failing economic time I'm lucky enough to hold a steady job. I didn't always feel this way. The other day, a thirty+ year-old Stanford graduate came in the office to apply for a nonpaying internship. If a over-qualified man has resigned to work for a 24-year old punk like me, I can at least appreciate my"dire" circumstances.

How hard is it to follow instructions?

Seriously it seems like it is the hardest thing in the world. You put up signs or have some rules and people just do what they want with no regard for anything. Oh a school zone 20mph...let me go 45 because I can and who cares I am so cool I don't have to do what anyone tells me.

When i was 13 i got run over by a car in a school zone almost tore my left leg off below the knee, the lady was going about 50 mph i was on a bike, yes i get mad when some butt wipe will not go by the rules and i will go out of my way to make their life hell while they are near me. If you're telling me how to do something or how to get somewhere I can follow directions, but if it's just arbitrary "these are the rules because so and so said" I don't pay attention. I could, but I won't. think it all depends on what the "directions" are and who created/established them. If one doesn't respect the source of them, or the reason behind them, then the likliness of them being followed is low.

 It's sort of like following a recipe for a cake.
The recipe calls for 2 tbs of butter - you lend the recipe to a friend. They make the cake but it does not come out very well and they wonder why! Upon questionning I discovered the friend had used margarine instead of butter. But life's like that! Some people just never learn.

15 minutes of fame!

Being a world famous for only fifteen mins!!! Hectic is it not? Andy Warhol said, “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes” – You can’t choose the 15 minutes but why would you be world famous. “15 minutes of fame (or famous for 15 minutes) is an expression which refers to the fleeting condition of celebrity that grabs into an object of media attention, then passes to some new object as soon as people's attention spans are exhausted. It is often used in reference to figures in the entertainment industry and other areas of popular culture” (Wikipedia).

   Online media has presented numerous possibilities for everyone to be world famous, speaking of twitter, facebook, blogs etc one can be famous. Thanks to the blogs now people can text your name on Google and there comes your name (that makes us celebs for even more than 15 mins).

  Other than that the old traditional media: television, radio and the likes can also make you a world’s celeb for a few minutes. I have been on television (on Your Date With Destiny) more than five minutes I guess and that contributed to my celebrity encounter.

  So I fully agree that everyone in future would be world famous for 15 minutes or more but now I think people can choose when and through which media they can be famous