laduma

since the 2010 fifa world cup ( which is what it should officially be called), or as us saffa's know it by - 2010 (cue consternation and babble by the peanut gallery), i have noticed a surge in bafana support amongst white people. this poses a problem, as luminous yellow and green is not made for pale complexions. there is a reason why the majority of bafana bafana is melanin-rich people, its all in the name of fashion! a a lover of neutrals such as black, white, grey and navy, i find the south african flag a style dead end as well. don't get me wrong - i am all for a united nation and general soccer gees, so i tend to turn a blind eye during soccer and other patriotic events where style seems to go out the window - bade farewell by the honourable funeral anthem that is the vuvuzela. however, watching the soccer on wednesday evening, i spotted a stunningly fashionable sista (who, i must add, had melanin to her advantage). this just proves that style can be found everywhere!

yes, that is a south african flag. loving the puffed sleeves, nipped waist and fitted skirt. the v-neck beautifully accentuates a fuller bust and simple accessories such as a thin necklace and earrings complete the look along with pulled back hair to show off the look to full effect. how great is her girl friend pimping her out to the camera?

 how beautiful is the stadium, no? a sea of yellow to support our national side. not knowing a thing about soccer, i spent most of the game watching the crowd - how a mexican wave started in one very enthusiastic section and spread around the stadium - once, twice, three times. how vuvuzela tunes (if one could call them that, more like patterns in blowing) caught on till the stadium was literally vibrating with gees. on my left was the world's most enthusiastic woman who was literally bouncing up and down with vuvuzela blowing, to my right was a charmingly positive gentleman who was always smiling and laughing and even asked me for a camera tutorial which i gladly provided (being the most amazing-est camera exxxxpert!)

 my soccer crew - please note my absence of yellow and green with my see-through skin

a happy blur of soccer excitement captured in time. even though we lost to usa 1-0, the experience was a winner and bafana will always be champions in my heart!

broody hens

just like girls become broody and dream about babies, I am becoming broody about moving into a flat next year. all that i can think about is furniture, cutlery, crockery, paint and decor. I see it everywhere. i think about it before I go to sleep. I dream about it. I google it. I need help. And a flat - so I can start painting!

addicted - a short story

Cautiously, she peers over the top of her office cubicle. the need has overtaken her, consumed her. There is no time to escape to the ladies, or to wait until lunch. She must do it now. She can feel a bead of perspiration trickling down her cheek. The nape of her neck is tingling, the hairs on her arms are all alive with the eyes of her co-workers, staring, judging. Again she checks if the coast is clear, scanning the sea of grey, dull worker bees droning at their desks. She slowly lifts her hand to her face, casually pauses... and picks her nose.

camera obscura - french navy

i wish there was a soundtrack to life.

and that all your experiences played in dreamy montages such as this one

you are but the clothes on your back

in an interview in GQ magazine, fashion designer Mokotjo Mohulo said :

"fashion is an illusion. a way to make people see you the way you want them to see you"

 i laughed after reading it, the kind  of silent laugh that you use when you laughing at someone to their face, because it was just so true.
every day when you stand in front of your wardrobe - before you have even put your undies on - you assume a character. Black lacy bra - woman in charge. Nude seamless T-shirt bra - simple and understated, functional.
its up to you, every morning, to decide how your day is going to go. many women shy from so much responsibility in their own lives, from so much control - so they resort to a bland, depersonalized 'uniform' that they can pull on every morning, knowing that everything will go without even having to bother to put the light on. this is the easy way - and the boring way.

every day is a new you that you create. my one friend dresses 'clever' when writing a test or exam - pencil skirt, crisp white button down shirt, hair in a classic chignon. when i am at home on the farm, i look like i have walked off the cover of a Country Life magazine - bootleg jeans, golfer tee and a round neck, cape cod inspired jersey draped over my shoulders.
its not like you have to be someone you are not - a person's personality is multifaceted, like a diamond. it is only when you allow all parts to see the light, that it shines. there is a very fine line between being a different self, and trying to be someone else.

take some girls in the more alternative Stellenbosch hangout, Bohemia. the whole point of Bohemia is that you don't have to fit in, everybody come just as they are. then you find the poppie girls who come dressed in leopard print, lace and black - their idea of alternative. just because some punks shop at jay jays, doesn't mean that if you also shop at jay jays you are a punk.

knowledge

So today I am writing the first last exam of my university career. Economics. The most boring and useless subject in the world, if you ask me. After 3 years of it I still can't manage to make my pocket money last an entire month. I've been studying for this exam for about a week now, 10 hours a day, only to never use any of the knowledge I have forced into my brain ever again after 10pm tonight.

This got me thinking about knowledge and the problem with the way the university tries to apply it. Most of the stuff I have learnt -facts, numbers, dates and rude acronyms - over the past 3 years is actually absolutely useless in the real world. Perhaps it is because I'm studying a very wishy washy, academic degree - Politics, Philosophy and Economics. I suppose an engineer learns something useful in his time as a jeans-and-takkies dork. I recently read the Tao of Pooh - Chinese Taoism through the world's most loved bear. It kinds of makes you understand what Milne meant when he said he did not intend the book to be read by children. I came across a bit on knowledge, which kind of said what I felt:

"Owl, instead, seeks the Knowledge for the sake of Appearing Wise, the one who studies Knowledge for the sake of Knowledge, and who keeps what he learns to himself or to his own small group, rather than working for the enlightenment of others. That way, the scholars can appear Superior, and will not likely be suspected of Not Knowing Something."

Maybe we should stop trying to know everything, and be everything, and rather just be. As Piglet said : "Pooh hasn't much Brain, but he never comes to any harm. He does silly things and they turn out right.". Maybe we should be more like Pooh.