Friday, October 30, 2009
It is better to practice a little than talk a lot
I despise people who talk about what they want to do, but do absolutely nothing about it. God created the earth and everything in it, it took him 6 days, and I am sure, even He, had to lift a finger. I am sick, and I am tired, and I am sick and tired, of all these people complaining about their circumstances, and then go right back to living those circumstances. I believe each individual has a choice. The opportunities are out there if you have the drive to research them. Sometimes you need to take time, and define who you are and what exactly you need to change your situation, but it is possible. The big deal is actually taking that step that youve been dreaming of!
It is a poor idea to lie to yourself
Indeed it is! Being a Libra does not only mean I’m indecisive but also the queen of PROCRASTINATION! So I find myself lying to myself quite often when it comes to due dates....
So in the beginning of the year I got my dissertation assignment which would be due for 23 October. One whole year to do this! Promising myself that this one will be different than all the other due dates, (knowing that I always end up stressing like a mad woman because of procrastination) I conveniently slid the assignment into the back of my book.
I promised myself I will finish this baby before my June holidays, in order for me to enjoy my Mozambique to the max! NADA! On my way to Mozam, I lied to myself convincing myself that when I get back, I’ll tackle the dissertation with a smile…there’s still enough time. NADA x 2!!
September came, and we booked our plane tickets to Thailand! Surely I’ll finish my dissertation before then?! There’s still enough time! NADA x 3!!! On our way back from Thailand (3 weeks before due date!) I lied to myself again by declaring that three weeks are more than enough to finish a dissertation that was given to me at the beginning of the year- I’m going to be FINE! NADA x 4!!!!
I ended up starting a whopping two weeks before, lying to my myself again convincing myself everything will be fine! I was a wreck, didn’t sleep the night before D-day, silently freaking out, biting my nails….I printed an hour before, not giving a damn about my half-ass Literature Review! But I submitted in time…and went to pop the champers for a job well done- which is such a lie!!
So in the beginning of the year I got my dissertation assignment which would be due for 23 October. One whole year to do this! Promising myself that this one will be different than all the other due dates, (knowing that I always end up stressing like a mad woman because of procrastination) I conveniently slid the assignment into the back of my book.
I promised myself I will finish this baby before my June holidays, in order for me to enjoy my Mozambique to the max! NADA! On my way to Mozam, I lied to myself convincing myself that when I get back, I’ll tackle the dissertation with a smile…there’s still enough time. NADA x 2!!
September came, and we booked our plane tickets to Thailand! Surely I’ll finish my dissertation before then?! There’s still enough time! NADA x 3!!! On our way back from Thailand (3 weeks before due date!) I lied to myself again by declaring that three weeks are more than enough to finish a dissertation that was given to me at the beginning of the year- I’m going to be FINE! NADA x 4!!!!
I ended up starting a whopping two weeks before, lying to my myself again convincing myself everything will be fine! I was a wreck, didn’t sleep the night before D-day, silently freaking out, biting my nails….I printed an hour before, not giving a damn about my half-ass Literature Review! But I submitted in time…and went to pop the champers for a job well done- which is such a lie!!
Not all who wander are lost
I have this girlfriend, Nina, and she has this brother, Nathan, and he has this cat, Whiskers, and he…
No, just kidding.
But truly, I have this friend Nina, who has this brother, Nathan who has this problem: Peer pressure.
I was fortunate enough to be among a group of friends that had the same sense of direction, when I was younger, and therefore never had an issue with peer pressure.
But poor Nathan, he suffered from ADD as a young boy, was always misunderstood (aren’t we all??), and seemed to be the pet hate of teachers. Now, with this hanging over the boy, he did everything possible to be cool with his friends. I mean everything, from buying a packet of ciggies, and selling them individually at school (junior, that is)– to stealing his aunt’s car and smashing it into a church wall! (Karma…) Nathan ended in a facility for youth delinquents, this by trying to impress so-called friends.
I am glad to announce that Nathan has turned into a mature (as mature as men can get) young man. When people hear his story, they judge, and tell all his family how lucky they are that he turned out to be such a well-balanced man. My question? If he did not endure all these things, if his family did not try to understand and see reason where there was no more to be seen. If they gave up hoping for a better future for him… Would he be this well balanced man. My point? We all wander, it simply is part of life. None of us are lost. Some of us find ourselves, others are found.
No, just kidding.
But truly, I have this friend Nina, who has this brother, Nathan who has this problem: Peer pressure.
I was fortunate enough to be among a group of friends that had the same sense of direction, when I was younger, and therefore never had an issue with peer pressure.
But poor Nathan, he suffered from ADD as a young boy, was always misunderstood (aren’t we all??), and seemed to be the pet hate of teachers. Now, with this hanging over the boy, he did everything possible to be cool with his friends. I mean everything, from buying a packet of ciggies, and selling them individually at school (junior, that is)– to stealing his aunt’s car and smashing it into a church wall! (Karma…) Nathan ended in a facility for youth delinquents, this by trying to impress so-called friends.
I am glad to announce that Nathan has turned into a mature (as mature as men can get) young man. When people hear his story, they judge, and tell all his family how lucky they are that he turned out to be such a well-balanced man. My question? If he did not endure all these things, if his family did not try to understand and see reason where there was no more to be seen. If they gave up hoping for a better future for him… Would he be this well balanced man. My point? We all wander, it simply is part of life. None of us are lost. Some of us find ourselves, others are found.
How do you step from the top of a 100-foot pole
Step waan: don’t panic
Step two: don’t take step. Rather crawl back down. I mean, how did you get up there in the first place??
I get it, we all are faced with difficult decisions. We find ourselves at these crossroads, left or right, wide or narrow, incline or decline.
Take my kid sister, she is in her last year of high school, and her step of that pole is her study field next year. My girlfriend, Jane needs to make a decision between a secure job and a travel opportunity that has been a dream – difficult in this economic climate. A colleague, Michael, would like to expand the family, but how would this affect the dynamics of married life – it’s been the two of them for nearly a decade. Man in traffic needs to decide if there is enough time to cross lanes before oncoming vehicles pass him (did he see that overloaded taxi driving in the emergency lane?). Young girl stands with positive pregnancy test in her hand.
All these decisions, big or small to you and me, is the most important thing to these people, at that very moment. Some will climb back down, some will jump with joy, others will be pushed.
Small step for my sister, Jane, Michael, the man, the young girl. One giant leap for their future.
And remember: Step three, in the end everything will be ok, if it’s not ok, it’s not the end.
Step two: don’t take step. Rather crawl back down. I mean, how did you get up there in the first place??
I get it, we all are faced with difficult decisions. We find ourselves at these crossroads, left or right, wide or narrow, incline or decline.
Take my kid sister, she is in her last year of high school, and her step of that pole is her study field next year. My girlfriend, Jane needs to make a decision between a secure job and a travel opportunity that has been a dream – difficult in this economic climate. A colleague, Michael, would like to expand the family, but how would this affect the dynamics of married life – it’s been the two of them for nearly a decade. Man in traffic needs to decide if there is enough time to cross lanes before oncoming vehicles pass him (did he see that overloaded taxi driving in the emergency lane?). Young girl stands with positive pregnancy test in her hand.
All these decisions, big or small to you and me, is the most important thing to these people, at that very moment. Some will climb back down, some will jump with joy, others will be pushed.
Small step for my sister, Jane, Michael, the man, the young girl. One giant leap for their future.
And remember: Step three, in the end everything will be ok, if it’s not ok, it’s not the end.
We are what we do
I agree. What we do defines us. Who we hang out with defines us. What we read. What we think. What we say. What we don’t say. Who we love. What we love. Why we love. Why we don’t love. How we spend our time. To who we give our time. How valuable you manage your time. What we eat. How we eat. How fast do we eat? How slow do we eat? Where do we eat? Where do we shop? What we choose to spend our money on? What do we earn? What do we want to earn? What do we drive? How do we drive? How fast or slow do we drive? What do we wish to drive? What do we think of others? What do others think of us? Do we give a damn about what others think? Were do we work? Do we want to work there? Where do we wish to work? How do we work? How do we view our job? What type of friends do we choose? How much effort do we put into our relationships? What we make of our families? Do we choose to ignore the skeletons in our family closet? Do we laugh at the black sheep’s of our family? Do we agree that you really can’t choose your family? Do we miss our family when we’re not close to them? Are they important to us? Are we important to them? Are we all just the bluddy same? What makes us tick? What makes us laugh? How do we laugh? What makes us sad? What makes us mad? What makes us jealous? Do we get angry or do we get even? DO we believe in something bigger? In what do we believe? Where will we go after this life is over? Why are we even here?
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sipho and Susan
Today I mourn the relocation of my beloved Sipho and Susan.
The boyfriend and I kindof 'adopted' the bergies that stayed on the stoepie of some marketing company(whom i will be blogging about later-with the aim of creating bad publicity, mind you!) located under the flat.
So anyway, we befriended 'our bergies' like we like to call them a couple of years ago and decided to support them- The boyfriend supported financially in terms of buying stuff like toothbrushes and foodies and I supported emotionally in terms of random chats of encouragement:)
So in the past couple of years we have provided panado's for headaches, clothing in the winter months, we have witnessed Susan's eldest daughter's (of many) matric farewell photos, we have met the youngest one (that normally stays at the gran's house), coffee on rainy evenings and the list goes on and on. Its a mutually beneficial relationship really, becuase there's only off street parking and Sipho (when he wasn't high) and Susan made it their responsibility that our cars are safe, which made me feel ok. And one weekend the boyfriend dropped his flatkeys the Friday evening in a rush to a weekend away and only found out he lost it the Sunday evening when Sipho presented it to him upon arrival. How nice is that?! I firmly believe that in Cape Town you absolutely HAVE to befriend your local bergie for reasons mentioned above.
We have witnessed Susan transforming into a business woman of note in starting to sell The Big Issue, religiously buying her first and last copy each month. We have witnessed Sipho not really growing at all (after countless attempts of trying to send him to the local church to earn a worthy income)
We've recently found out that they were kicked out by the marketing company and that they cannot sleep there in the evenings anymore :(
I sincerely miss them and wish them good luck with all future endevours.
The boyfriend and I kindof 'adopted' the bergies that stayed on the stoepie of some marketing company(whom i will be blogging about later-with the aim of creating bad publicity, mind you!) located under the flat.
So anyway, we befriended 'our bergies' like we like to call them a couple of years ago and decided to support them- The boyfriend supported financially in terms of buying stuff like toothbrushes and foodies and I supported emotionally in terms of random chats of encouragement:)
So in the past couple of years we have provided panado's for headaches, clothing in the winter months, we have witnessed Susan's eldest daughter's (of many) matric farewell photos, we have met the youngest one (that normally stays at the gran's house), coffee on rainy evenings and the list goes on and on. Its a mutually beneficial relationship really, becuase there's only off street parking and Sipho (when he wasn't high) and Susan made it their responsibility that our cars are safe, which made me feel ok. And one weekend the boyfriend dropped his flatkeys the Friday evening in a rush to a weekend away and only found out he lost it the Sunday evening when Sipho presented it to him upon arrival. How nice is that?! I firmly believe that in Cape Town you absolutely HAVE to befriend your local bergie for reasons mentioned above.
We have witnessed Susan transforming into a business woman of note in starting to sell The Big Issue, religiously buying her first and last copy each month. We have witnessed Sipho not really growing at all (after countless attempts of trying to send him to the local church to earn a worthy income)
We've recently found out that they were kicked out by the marketing company and that they cannot sleep there in the evenings anymore :(
I sincerely miss them and wish them good luck with all future endevours.
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