Going nowhere fast?

Oh my. South Africa, I really worry about you. Or more so, I really worry about your people (including myself).

I often read the Thought Leader (you should too) which offers the opinions of a wide range intelligent and capable individuals. Probably the most interesting part of the columns is the comments that follow, usually in the form of a heated debate. I love this. I think it’s healthy.

The only problem is that so many of the pieces centre on racism. It never stops – black this, white that. And the comments comprise of the ranting and raving of some very intelligent racists – there is no debate, there is just shouting. It’s become so bad that I almost want to take a break from the site.

How are we meant to build up a nation that spends so much of its time trying to bring each other down? The race-card is getting us nowhere, and fast.

Climbing mountains?! Why would anyone do that?!

In my previous post, I referred to climbing mountains. Huh? Yes, I hear you:

Climbing mountains, most of you would say, why on earth would you do that?  There are cable cars for such things! And what about the muggers?!  the South Africans would scream. Why not just sip a margarita while looking at a mountain instead? (In South Africa, it is not uncommon to get mugged while hiking up our mountains. Our criminals are partial to fresh air and find it most enjoyable to work outdoors, weather permitting of course).

And I agree with your sentiments.

Nevertheless, it comes so highly recommended by all these nature-loving, environmentally-friendly, awfully nice people. So, I thought hell, I like to try out new things, maybe I should give it a go (and it’s on my list) so last Saturday I set out with 4 of my wonderful lady friends (who needs men anyway?) to climb Lion’s Head.

I enjoyed it. And I have to say, there are many advantages to climbing a mountain that I feel necessary to share with you:

1.       It works the hell out of your ass (I found it difficult to sit for the next few days but I loved every moment of it)

2.       You can do it even when there is load-shedding (Foreigners, load-shedding is a South African phenomenon whereby our electricity provider, Eskom, provides power outages on purpose. They forgot that South Africa is a developing country and neglected to consider the possibility of growth and a higher demand of electricity in the future. But don’t worry, we have a timetable so we are never caught unaware – awfully kind of them)

3.       Fit, bare-chested men run up the mountains for you to watch at leisure (Who knew you could run up a mountain?)

4.       Crazy foreigners provide all sorts of entertainment: their attire (either looking as if they are about to go have tea at the Mount Nelson, or in full on safari gear), their mannerisms (Boyfriends carrying their girlfriends’ handbags while hiking) or the way in which they refuse to put any sun tan lotion on and turn a lovely lobster red.

5.       Oh, and the views of course:

All in all, it was a lovely, criminal-free, active and entertaining morning.

The First Time

Although slightly unnerving I am pleased to discover that this experience is actually quite liberating and not nearly as painful as other ‘first times’ have turned out to be. It is far more pleasant. I highly recommend it.

It has taken me far too long to write this. Thank God I bumped into an old varsity friend from Rhodes who reminded me of my aspirations. She also reminded me of the past and that can be quite a frightening experience especially when one has gone to such lengths (i.e. weekly therapy) to bury certain (mostly boy-related) memories. I have to admit that I have been partly shaped by those aforementioned memories which can be loosely translated into saying: A boy has had quite a significant, if not brutal, impact on my life. The funny thing is that I am almost certain he is completely unaware of that (as he is unaware of most things). Even so I learnt a lot about loyalty, about betrayal and mostly, about the many interpretations of love (this being, no person sees love in the same way which can be rather problematic).

Now I am no longer a student, a working woman instead. Surprisingly the transition was not hard and I have become use to my new life, in the Mother City. This has also surprised me – is it this easy for most people? Do we just transition and forget what it was like before? Are we really that easy?

Anyway.

Worried about mediocrity and allowing my life to pass me by, I have started writing a list of 1000 things to do before I die. I know, it sounds cliché but nonetheless, it has become my occupation. I am obsessed with ticking things off. So obsessed that running a 10km race is more appealing than letting a box remain unticked. Incredibly, my levels of motivation have sky-rocketed and I am actually quite enjoying it.  Again, I recommend it.

Otherwise, I am largely occupied with the stock market. I insist on getting incredibly rich via this mechanism. The only problem is that it completely overwhelms me (PE multiples? rand plays? AltX? WTF?) and I tend to go along with general opinions and well, have no idea how to read the market. And yes, this is on the list which means I will not stop till I get it right which should prove entertaining.

Well, first times are never fantastic. I am sure that I will get better, more experienced, more relaxed and soon have you begging for more. Until then, be patient.

Oh, and I believe a strong margarita can get you through any day. More about that next time.