What motivates me?

Fear.
The fear of failure.
The fear that I won't be all I think I'm capable of.
The fear that my future won't be as I want it.
Fear.

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The 10 most UNexpected consequences of being online

1.    Unknown individuals could become a household name; be the next Bieber or Carly Rae Jepson.

2.    People are more easily stalked.

3.    Your computer could fall victim to malicious software.

4.    Individuals could develop an addiction.

5.    You could be a victim of identity theft.

6.    Anyone could change the world; look at Jimmy Wales the founder of Wikipedia.

7.    You could experience massive financial change.

8.    You could be the next prison inmate.

9.    The ever-increasing number of illegal downloads means the entertainment industry has suffered financial loss.

10. We have a two-speed society; those working online and those working offline.

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Missing my Pilates

I am away in Port Elizabeth at the moment and it’s been an entire week since I last did any Pilates. Now, I’m no expert or long term Pilates-practitioner, but like anything good in life, when it’s gone you miss it. Just when I felt like I was getting somewhere, just when I felt like I was understanding it all.

If you’re still able to enjoy your ‘thing’ then be grateful. I miss my Pilates, my ‘thing’.

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If you're in Cape Town and looking for a Pilates studio I can highly recommend Somersault Studios. Visit them at http://www.somersaultstudio.co.za/ 

Orphanage Cocktail Emporium

Situated on the corner of Bree and Orphan Street in the CBD area of Cape Town, Orphanage plays true to its quirky name. From one of the ceilings hang different keys, staff wear hats that would look right at home on the stage of an Oliver production. Patrons can purchase a cocktail called ‘More Tea Vicar?’ Made with Finlandia vanilla, rooibos syrup, cranberry and lemon, served in a tea cup and saucer, R15.00 of the total price goes to the St Francis Children’s Home to care for orphan boys.

Orphanage is only a short walk up from Long Street, their cocktail mixologists make an array of unusual drinks, and the vibe welcomes all kinds of characters. If the drinks menu seems too overwhelming and you’d like something fresh, try the Gentlemen’s Berry Relish, and of course it comes without saying you really should try the ‘More Tea Vicar?’

Check out Orphanage’s website at http://www.theorphanage.co.za/ and you’ll find an interesting set of ‘rules’ to read up on. As the new kid on the block Orphanage has proved its worth; they have a steady flow of regulars and inquisitive folk are always popping in to see what everyone’s talking about. Become a regular, try it out for yourself, or ignore it. Do as you please, but if you do go make sure you don’t request a song from the DJ…

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The elephant in the room

I've been in this situation many times. I've had to squirm without actually moving. I've been in a room with a figurative elephant, and it isn't ever a pleasant situation.

But this situation will keep recurring as long as I have good friends. It's called the stand off. Having a stubborn personality doesn't bode well for winning pointless arguments, especially if the other person in the argument is also stubborn. Silence just often seems the best way out. So we stay in silence until one of two things happen; one of us crumbles or we just ride it out and end up forgetting what we were fighting about. However, while riding out the silence its awkward to say the least. I have to hold my tongue, and that is something I can't do with ease.

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It isn't always the right time

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I recently started volunteering with an NGO called Help2Read. One of the most important points I took from my training day was that ‘not everybody is at that point in their lives where they are ready to give of their time for others.’ It is so true; when I was in high school as part of our curriculum we had to do a certain amount of community work every year, whether we wanted to or not. During those five years the volunteer work I did was irregular and only done so that I could have my hours signed off on. I wasn’t really helping others, I was helping myself; doing my share of community service looked good on my high school transcript. Volunteering with Help2Read is worth more to me than my next transcript.

I heard about Help2Read at varsity one day and thinking back to my Gap Year and the amount of time I spent helping young children with their reading, I thought I might have something to offer. I certainly have time to offer; having two full days free of any lectures, I am available during school hours. After sending in my CV and application form I heard back almost immediately. Help2Read is always looking to increase their volunteer numbers; there will never be enough volunteers to help all those children struggling to read in what is so often not even their home language.

Now what made me contact Help2Read at this point in my life, I will never know exactly, but I did. I wanted to give some of my time. I wanted to volunteer my hours without receiving pay in a monetary form. I wanted to give up those two hours I spend in front of the television.

This post is not intended to persuade you to become a volunteer at Help2Read. I wrote this post to remind those of us that do volunteer that ‘not everybody is at that point in their lives where they are ready to give of their time for others.’ Some people have very demanding careers, and others have young children who need their support. These people should not be looked down on because they do not volunteer; you and I were once those people too. 



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Sisters living together in peace???

After two and a half years of living apart, my sister and I are going to live under the same roof. Sharing the same space is going to be hard work; I like order, she likes mess. I am controlling, and she doesn’t like being controlled. Neither of us is looking forward to the whole endeavour but I think it could just work, maybe. Luckily I have another ‘home’ away from home and can go stay there when it gets to be too much. Does anyone have suggestions for successful coping methods?

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Tweaking my twitter usage

Unfortunately, my tweeting of late has slowed right down. 2000 tweets by the end of the year is our target. A target that seemed almost impossible, but today I’m sitting close on 860 tweets. However, somewhere along the line I seemed to have lost my drive; my tweeting has slowed to an all time crawl.

If I’m going to make the 2000-mark I need to up my game. So I’ve been sitting this morning, thinking about what I can do to get back into the swing of it and these are my suggestions:

 

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·         Get back to retweeting and commenting on

       news stories.

·         Find something fun or unusual happening 

       every weekend and tweet about it, let

       everyone else know about it.

·         Join conversations; a #hashtag is a sign

       that you’re invited  to be a part of that conversation.     

·        Make a song suggestion for the day; consider the weather, your own mood, etc.



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Every day is a good day...

…maybe, if you’re a goldfish with a thirty second memory, then sure every ‘day’ is a good one. Why wouldn’t it be?

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“I’m swimming, I’m eating, oh look at that pretty plant…”

“I’m swimming, chasing this other fish thing, and oh wow that plant looks exciting.”

“I’m just laying here on the pebbles, enjoying the flow of the filter, ah manna from heaven.”

“I’m eating, I’m eating, I’m eating.”

What could possibly be bad about those thirty second days?