Friday, July 29, 2011

How hard is it to follow instructions?

It’s pretty darn hard to follow instructions if for a second you are distracted and miss the crux of what is being communicated to you.  To avoid embarrassment you try and piece together what you know to try and fill in what you didn’t hear. This doesn’t work out well when baking a cake or getting directions, can you spell 'flop' and 'lost'..

Big moves and decisions, cause I’m a big girl now...

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It’s hard to believe that I only have 3.5 months before I complete my Public Relations degree. Exciting to be nearly finished this phase of my life but scary to think about stepping into the working work. Student life definitely has it pluses and the only main minus is the lack of money thing but I’m going to miss the ridiculously long term breaks, short varsity days and seeing my Tech friends every day. The plan is to apply to as many graduate programmes that are relevant, deal with the intense competition and see where it takes me.  "Hello" working  world.

Friday, July 22, 2011

A skill set called leadership

Potential leaders, I think, you are born with a set of gifts which you can choose to utilize or not. When I think leader I naturally think of Nelson Mandel


Madiba's birthday was recently here are a few of my favourite quotes of his:



“I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.”


“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”


“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”


“In my country we go to prison first and then become President.”


“Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.”


“We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”


“After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”


“As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself… Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.”


Andy Warhol said,”In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” “You can’t choose the fifteen minutes but why would you be world famous.”

This quote was derived from Warhol who said it a bit differently , "In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes". 

'15 minutes of fame' is an expression generally used in reference to celebrities short-lived fame. Easy phrase to use to explain the reality TV culture which is rife these days. 

Interesting quote, Andy. If I could choose why I would have fame for fifteen minutes it would be for something positive which changes people’s lives in some way, not very original but the best thing to be famous for, I believe.


If you’re thinking of travelling to Buenos Aires..

Buenos Aires has been listed as one of the top 10 value for money places in the world to visit based on the price of a cup of coffee, a McDonald's burger, a beer and taxi fare for a 10 minute journey.

It's a great pleasure for me, travelling on the ZAR to be able to spend freely in a foreign country and still have money left over. Buenos Aires is incredibly budget friendly, if you avoid the usual tourist traps of over priced tango shows, hotels, tourist restaurants and expensive city tours. 

Budget in Buenos Aires means to do it local which is exactly what we did. Live like a local South American and rent an apartment, eat at restaurants locals eat at, attend Tango shows that are recommended by and attended by locals. Ask locals, who are always willing to share a word of advice, anything you need to know and always keep a Buenos Aires Time Out magazine at hand, incredibly helpful.



Leaving the bustling city of Buenos Aires to the comparatively 'sleepy hollow' called Cape Town.

I arrived back from Buenos Aires, South America a few days ago and I find it amazing how life goes back to normal, in my case, in a matter of a day. I was in another reality, where a buzz of Spanish speakers surrounded me and tall, ornate buildings were the norm. One thing that is so different to way South Africans live is the way that South Americans use the time in the day. Shops only opened from 11.30am, lunch is served from 3pm, dinner at 9pm and clubs only open at 2am. The South American schedule is ideal for those who love a long lie in and a good, late night out!


Sunday, July 10, 2011

Rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, for people who can't read (Frank Zappa)- Comment

Ooh, another rather odd blog topic. Let me discuss one of the most famous rock journalists of the 60's. I've gone to my archives of interesting article I've read and undusted this Washington Post article that I thought was fun. 


If only there were a highlight reel. As one of the first pop music journalists in the business -- the godfather of rock journalism, he was often called -- in the '60s and '70s Al Aronowitz knew everyone worth knowing. The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Pete Townshend -- he either wrote about them, befriended them or both.


A big deal? Well, it was to the man who arranged it all. "Looking back, I still see that evening as one of the greatest moments of my life," he wrote in a 1995 essay. "Actually, I was well aware at the time that I was brokering the most fruitful union in the history of pop music, certainly up until then," he modestly judged. And he wasn't referring to the dope.


But he was never one to understate his own significance -- and if you had introduced two of the greatest creative forces in the history of rock, maybe you would feel the same way. "The '60s," he once wrote, with no irony, "wouldn't have been the same without me." - Washington Post, 2005.



Saturday, July 9, 2011

Not so everyday adventures in Buenos Aires

I am in Buenos Aires firstly because my father does business here and he needs my assistance (so he says) and because how could I ever turn down an aeroplane ticket to this fascinating country. My father is in the antique/architectural selvage business and often I feel like we are treasure hunters, going to the back-est of back streets into dingy old shops, huge tin warehouses and larny and not so larny auction houses. We are in search of 'wow' factor pieces which speak out to you from the rubble tumble mass of 'things'. Just yesterday we visited the Salvation Army shop located quite far out of the city of Buenos Aires amongst other things we left with a collection of 20 leather bound books, a Virgin Mary statue and exquisite French linen pillowcases. It's exciting to start the day never knowing where you'll be going and what gems you'll find. 

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Day 4: What I'm loving about Buenos Aires

  • Our rented apartment, stylish and cosy.
  • The late morning starts and late nights that are the norm.
  • The mix in cultures.
  • The crisp morning walks through the market
  • The fact that it is unthinkable to go out for dinner before 9pm.
  • Clubs that only open at 3am.
  • Grand Victorian buildings on every corner.
  • The crumbling, beautiful French styled buildings that whisper affluent times.
  • The vibrant Tango dancers on the streets.
  • The loud way Spanish is spoken.
  • Pastry shops on every block that ooze delectable smells.



These are a few of my favourite things...





List 200 achievements...

I definitely don’t want to bore my blog readers by providing a list of 200 of my achievements. Seeing as this is the blog topic for the moment I will delve into one of my achievements that I look back on if I need a confidence boost.


At 18 years old I moved to London by myself, for my gap year and decided not to take the safe option of joining some of my friends in what they were doing. I decided that I wanted to do my own thing and I stuck with it, although there were many times where I was fearful about moving so far away from home, finding a job and living alone. Having a very successful and happy Gap Year is an achievement that stands out the most for me.  In my Gap Year I conquered many fears that I had and had the most amazing year of good times and personal growth.