THE BIG 30

Last year, 2014, was bit hectic and it quickly disappeared. I guess the is no point in crying over spilt  milk.  2015 is here and it is time to hit the ground running. Some people have come up with code names for this year, calling it 20 FIX IT or 20 FIT IN. I do not agree with the latter as I have no intentions of fitting in. I am too special for that, I have to standout  from the average people who want to fit in.

This is also a big year for me because I am turning 30 years old. It is time to reflect what have I achieved since I started working 10 years ago in the Media Monitoring Project now called Media Monitoring Africa.

On the academic front that is easy, I am disappointed at myself. Procrastination got the better of me. I only managed to get my B Tech.

But then all is not lost, I have taken steps to fix that, by registering at school.  I have also made commitment to write more on this blog. A minimum of three  posts per month with one written in my mother tongue, IsiXhosa.

With all the plans I have, it promises to be even a shorter year.  With the master plan complete, it is now time for implementation.

Does money makes us soft?

It is a new year and I have  started it limping.  The limping  is so bad  that I am walking like i Ntsayiza (Intsayiza ayo bodi ku boda umlenze)  because the leg in pain gets left far behind when I take a step forward.

But it is not the limping that worries me it is the reason for my limping. I feel that  my body has failed me. How can such a flimsy thing do this to ME?  Does this know who I am. I am a 1.82 metre tall, 100kg giant.
The  limping has left me asking myself  why have I gone so soft.  Has the glittering  light of the City of Gold taken my masculinity?

While hanging my laundry over the weekend, a thorn stabbed me in the foot. The pain that followed is beyond my imagination. I knelled expecting  to find my flesh torn apart and blood pumping out.
To my surprise, it was something small.For something that small it sure could hurt. I am talking about the pain that move from your toes to your brain in a matter of seconds.  It was worse than labour pains. It was hell.

This hell of a  pain came from a small thorn  that fell of some flowery  tree like plant. How can this paralyse me with pain.
 I am used to much greater pain. When I was a boy I used to hunt.  I used to step on these flowery thorns with easy barefoot. Thorns from a big trees did not deter me from catching wild animals or running away from a swarm of bees.

I used to crush them rub my feet against the stony road and continue with my journey.

Has  the limping made me a  wimp? Can I blame it on age, is it the change of life style  or is the accumulation of the little cents I get from the capitalists?

Kalipile Mgevane blamed it on the diet. " zezi-yogurt nezi ice-cream. Wagqibela nini ukutya iinkobe?" he said. 
 Mgevane further said "Akukho nto eya ezihlunwini. Bubuswiti namanzi qha. Emvakoko uyichama yonke loonto." and Babalwa Nhando was quick to agree  to that statement.

If eating yogurt and ice- cream are viewed as luxury to many including me, does this mean the change in lifestyle and diet has made me soft?

I miss school

When one was young, He never really appreciated school holidays. After two weeks at home I would get irritated and wish that they could reopen. After just over 6 years of being a tax payer I truly miss those days. I miss being at home chilling and not knowing what do to with myself. I miss waking up at 9am and return to bed. But most importantly I miss waking up eating soft porridge and wearing my pyjamas all day. In the past three weeks things have been so hectic, I did not get a chance to do laundry. I also found my self missing school again. I remembered the day I went to school not wearing proper uniform and my grade 12 English teacher at Hlokoma High School, Miss Ngxale said "my baby you are going to miss this school uniform." Well she was telling the truth because I really miss wearing wearing uniform. I cannot take it anymore. I wish here at work they can supply me with work suits or uniform. As I continue to miss High school I need to focus on my other school work. I have to pass this B Tech this year.

All in a day's work with President Thabo Mbeki

Hijack stories

Induku entle ikhiwa ezizweni

The idiom that says "induku entle ikhiwa ezizweni" came true when I went to a wedding in Lebowakgomo in Limpopo. My colleague Xolani Mbanjwa, who is from KwaZulu Natal was there to fetch induku yakhe entle