african fragments

ramadaan...almost half way there

2011-08-12T16:12:00.000+02:00

can't say that at this point in the month of ramadaan i don't wish it was over already,..the wierd sleeping pattern has taken it's toll, i'm up at 4.40am..bright as a button, (whoever believes that is crazy)..yawning and streching make my way to the kitchen, to put Sehri on the table for GDH,..and my Dad...the usual fare is a bowl of jungle oats, it can be swallowed no need for chewing, and tea or coffee, whatever the favoured poison.

me..i unpack the dishwasher, reload it for the next run, swallow some water, and bleary eyed make my way back to bed, it's a helluva long month, and if another person, wishes to recount, how wonderful and easy it is, i have a short walk to the baseball bat,..and i can use it for purposes other than hitting a ball.

as you can see, this is the month, in which i should be meditating and turning my attention to all things spiritual,..instead i am itching to use the baseball bat, it would be bliss, if you can fit the spiritual, meditative, prayer thing ,into a full work day, then cooking and cleaning up, and after the first taste of water and kajoor hits your belly, all you want to do is sigh, stretch out and sleep, then there are the maghrieb, and Isha prayers that follow, lets not forget the tarawi prayer....but let me not be untruthfull, i much prefer reading and reciting my Quran, then spending time in congregational tarawi salah, so shoot me for being an errent muslim, but some things are easier said then done.

at this point, 16h03..i am feeling the cry of hunger in my belly, and try as i might, my concentration is impaired,...and i cannot bring myself to do anything mentally challenging, i believe prayer would be included in that, so i will make my way to the kitchen, in the vain hope that preparing our Iftaar dinner would take the edge of the hunger pangs, and physical activity, will erase them as well, pity tasting the fair has to wait, oh well as you can see, a believer i am, albeit slighlty errent, not very good with completing the 5 daily prayers, but emboldened by faith and love, and all the beauty that is Allah subahana wataallah. something i read, and am now repeating here,

"I WAS A HIDDEN TREASURE AND I WILLED TO BE KNOWN, SO I CREATED THE UNIVERSE"
And that universe, is magical and perfect, and in that, lies my soul, my belief and my joy, so here i am imperfect, not outwardly perfect, but truly in love with Allah,..and the boundless blessings he bestows,..so as my stomach rumbles and i complain, i thank the Almighty for the pleasure of being able to enjoy my Iftaar dinner, and i ask that he hastens the time until dusk...

settling down....

2011-08-08T12:59:00.000+02:00

married bliss. began in a one bedroom flat, with couches that looked like the woolly mammoth, we are now working on finalising the transfer details to our new home, who thought that purchasing a house would be a right royal pain in the ass.
show day went something like this: pouring buckets of rain, cold wet, grey unappealing day, but we run for cover and buzz the doorbell, the current owners are relocating, so the signs of packing are everywhere, on the surface the house looks fine, GDH, tries to open a window and the blind falls off, so the estate agent gets a bit antsy, which makes me blurt out to GDH, not to touch things, and thus our viewing of the house commences, me on tenterhooks, that hubby does not knock something over, he aggravated, as we should be able to touch , open, poke and prod, after all it's a show day, we never get to see the outbuildings as the weather is foul, and i am very conscious of bringing in the weather, on somebody elses property. so we have a rather cursory inspection and leave.

however the house feels like it will suit our needs, and we are keen to place an offer, before doing so, GDH, goes to inspect the property again, for major items, like the roof etc, to see that there are no big defects, satisfied, we call the agent, request the house plans, and make our offer, they only disclose one section of underfloor heating that has been out of order, satisfied with that, we don't note anything further on the offer to purchase, but we do verbally let the agent know that we will need to go around again to check for any further issues we might find, no problem they say, as the seller's are good people. we pay the deposit, and make arrangements to go to the property again.

i notice little things, like the household rubbish, old furniture, broken ladders old paint tins, it's another miserable day, and i am feeling harrassed and unhappy about this house, we don't get to see the back rooms, as the domestic worker is in there doing her cooking, grey walls, grey day, so i come home a little deflated. to make matters worse the bond application is becoming an excercise in futility, so we get the extension, and because the bond is taking longer than expected, we ask the estate agent in, to change the terms from bond, to cash/bank guaranteed payment, at that meeting i bring up, the mess in the back, and we are assured it will be taken care off, we also mention that we will inspect the house and if there are any issues, we will bring them up, for the seller to fix, no problem, we are assured all will be attended to.

the transferring attorney's, take some time in coming back to us, with the requirements for the bank guarantee, so we wait, eventually they do with some small errors, and we arrange the necessary, the estate agent keeps the commission, transfers the balance of our deposit to the attorney, then we are told that the problems we noted with the house have been there since the seller moved in,..we have still not inspected the back rooms, as on our next visit, the domestic is at a funeral and the room is locked, the rubbish is still there, apparently belonging to the domestic worker, to be moved when she vacates. so if we want repairs done, we are to pay the full market value on occupational rent, not the agreed upon amount, and we should accept things as is,so now despite the new consumer act, getting our attorney involved, and the back and forth toing and froing, we are still in transfer limbo.

apparently , Estate Agents are no better then used car salesmen, and sellers who get there price, don't give a rats ass, to ensure that the property they are selling behoves the price they are getting, there seems to be no integrity, and our fault was not checking out the house with a fine tooth comb before making the offer, but who can see unfinished plaster work behind appliances, or checks every handle on every window before making an offer, these things become apparent, once the house has been emptied.

the estate agent believes we are defaming them, i believe not,..i haven't called them crooks, i just want them to make good on the verbal conversations we had, apparently it's all here say, so we are on the take it or leave it page, oh, and if we leave it we are still to pay the agent their commission..hehehe!!!...and the consumer protection act is all hogwash, since we seem to have no recourse there, go figure that one.

GDW...just does not care anymore, i just want to have my house so i can do the setting up nest thing, found some great fabric to upholster the chairs with, and fabric for curtains..now i just need to get in there to get things done...i am dreaming paint and furniture and stoves, and a big clean up operation, however we are still at the mercy of transfering attorneys and estate agents. i understand that any home you buy is never perfect, they become what you make of them, all i want is to start my makeover, is that to much to ask?,...if there are things that the seller needs to do, why would that be so difficult....oh well, i will be patient, and wait to start building ney preparing my nest, hopefully once all this is done, mama weaver bird, will not be throwing the papa weaver out...GDH...i hope is not to concerned..:)

happy with life..thanking God for small blessings

2011-07-25T14:57:00.004+02:00

staring at the blank screen, trying to rack my brain, thinking of something interesting enough to blog about, it has been 10 months since i tied the knot.GDH..is well thank you, GDW, is contemplating the moving of our house, we have everything in storage, and are currently at my folks, not bad i might add, there is someone else to help do the cooking,...and it's a lot easier, many hands make light work.

much to my amazement GDH, is thoroughly enjoying his stay with the in laws, we have taken to nightly scrabble matches with little brother and his wife, and it surprises me, that we are so competitive, it's quite addictive,..just like marriage. my good friend Ashantha, has just accepted a proposal of marriage, so it seems that the institution is quite contagious,i can here it..love is in the air...wasn't that a Neil Diamond ditty, they love him at OR Tambo International, his crooning could be heard, as we dropped GDH at the airport for the umpteenth time, in our short but happy marriage. and yes, my sister in law..GDH'S sister that is,(the English language fails to differentiate which side of the family we are referring to)..reminded me that babies can only be made by having Sex,..for that GDH, needs to be in the country at the very least,..now that i have overcome my wedding phobia(not quite true)..i am dealing with,do we hear the patter of little feet?, is there a bun in the oven?,..can we make baby plans?,do people just have their radar focused in one direction, a linear one at that, marriage, then babies. granted i am getting on in years, so the luxury of time does not exist anymore.

hell i have just gotten used to the idea of sharing my bed,..finally after the last trip to OR Tambo, i felt the empty presence beside me, and realised that i have settled into marriage, and missed the sneezing, snoring bulk, the comforting body heat, next to me..now i have to contemplate the idea, of another tiny entity disrupting my idyllic life. but as sister in law pointed out, "your husband needs to be around for that"..i have a better idea, the next trip is in early September, so i have decided to pack my bags in anticipation..wait till GDH, gets wind of the plans i have afoot.

our next big step, will be moving into our newly purchased, old house, in the suburb of Norwood, another nightmare for GDW, one would imagine, at the prices we pay, the last owner could have at least, seen to the fact that the windows have handles...the joys of home ownership...and the irritation of unscrupulous real estate agents, and uncaring sellers, oh well, this is South Africa, and that should be no excuse for bad service, but i think we are inured to accepting the mediocre.

i am looking forward to the move, which will not happen for another three months, give or take the time it takes to transfer property in our fine country, so i will enjoy gatecrashing GDH'S business trip, extend it by 10 days and create a nice holiday around China, from Shanghai to Beijing...surprise, surprise.

a government of racists

2011-03-07T11:55:00.006+02:00

It’s quite shocking that after getting rid of a government and system which prided itself on it’s racist, divisive principles we are back to square one with the likes of government spokesman Jimmy Manyi.

Who are all these creepy, stupid people who have just crawled out of the woodwork, and are now the rank and file of the ANC? Is it not enough that we suffer the likes of Julius Malema, now we have to listen to the rantings of the likes of Manyi and Paul Ngobeni? These are the voices of our new government, those that are in charge of making the decisions that will govern the future of ALL South Africans, the once respected ANC, has become no better than the regime we fought so hard to destroy.
Has the ANC, have moved so far away from the principles of non-sexism, non-racialism, and building a united democratic South Africa? What would our respected leaders; Nelson Mandela, Joe Slovo, Walter Sisulu, Doctor Dadoo, Chief Albert Lulthuli, to name but a few; think of this unacceptable behaviour? What happened to the belief in a country that supports the rights of all who live in it? South Africa has become a haven for quick enrichment and entitlement without due consideration for the people of this country.

We are a South Africa, bent on enriching cronies and fat cat politicians and we have moved so far away from the principles that toppled a despotic regime? We will someday, in the not so distant future, be looking down the barrel of a gun. The people of South Africa will not tolerate such obviously racist and divisive sentiment for much longer? The politicians are all jockeying to play down these rumblings as they need votes for the upcoming elections. The problem is that, we the voters are not stupid. The party should grow some balls, and rid itself of these selfish, greedy imbeciles before they take our promising future down the toilet with them.

instead of vying to spin doctor away these, noxious elements, get rid of them. At least Trevor Manual is still principled enough to openly respond to Manyi's racist comments. Our leaders will be be cringing in their graves at such obvious prejudice: "Indians bargaining their way to the top", Western Cape "coloureds" flooding the jobs market. These guys are all on the gravy train, and have the audacity to claim that they are speaking on behalf of the South African people. Well they are not speaking on my behalf.

Is this the face and a cover story we present to the world? Whatever happened to the principles of being fair and non-prejudiced to all who live in this country.
Nelson Mandela and the erstwhile leaders of our nation were fighting against domination of both black and white, in fact domination of any kind? Why then are the ANC and our Government so hell bent on supporting these offensive human beings. The aim should be the promotion and advancement of South Africa, not the promotion and advancement of a BUNCH OF NITWITS. Who only have the job, because they know somebody, who new somebody else. Both Jacob Zuma and the ministers under his wing, should be truly ashamed, and for once in their lives, live up to the principles that South Africans fought and died for. The Moral Compass, is totally lacking and must be recalibrated.

The fact is that we are lacking direction from any real leadership from these guys who are so hell bent on lining their pockets, that we are losing our principles, and the country is slipping into decay. This hardly makes a bleep on their radar What kind of a country, who's public face is so proudly racist, do we present to the world? And we are arrogant enough to want a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council....if i was any self-respecting head of state, I would never be able to second any such request.

How is the present ANC government any better than the despots in Egypt, Libya or Zimbabwe? BEE has become the swear word to hide the radical chasm growing within the ANC. It is all about elections and personal enrichment and principles have been forsaken for a ride on the "GRAVY TRAIN". And it is only the country and its people that will suffer the consequences of racism and prejudice.

SHAME ON ALL OF YOU......if you want my vote, this is definitely not how you will get it.

BOUAZIZ THE AWAKENING IN NORTH AFRICA

2011-02-01T16:38:00.003+02:00

Tunisian sympathies for a lowly vegetable seller sent there erstwhile dictator scurrying for shelter in Riaad, strange how the worlds dictators in one form or another head to the most repressed capital in the world for succour, idi Armin did it, the Tunisian is hold up there as well,Mubarak he is probably going to pay the queen a visit, since his billions have been ferreted away in the united kingdom, for the day the Egyptians rise from their political coma,

and indeed they did the 27/01/2011, will be a day the Egyptians will remember for years to come, hopefully since they have risen from their politically apathetic state, they will have the confidence, to hold on and ensure that Mubarak becomes history, and moves to England where he will sip champagne, shop at Harrods, and make regular trips to the bank to check that his billions are secure.

the images of tahrir square broadcast by the likes of Al Jazeera, BBC, sky, and CNN, makes on realise, that it is not just all about cake, Marie Antoinette lost her head, Mubarak i am sure wants to keep his, the reality is, that when the masses reach saturation point, and poverty and hunger prevails, the head of a dictator is sure to roll, the stupidity of the human race is, that dictators never learn from the lessons history teaches, their greed and lust for power, makes them blind, deaf and dumb to the rumbles at grassroots levels, maybe if they came down from their lofty perches every now and then to smell the manure on the ground they would not cling to power so avariciously.

Hosni, get the message, your people want both you and Gamal out, so eat some humble pie, hand in your resignation, retire to Kensington, and entertain the queen to tea, the Egyptians will be happy, and perhaps finally, free and fare elections will see a new dispensation elected by the people, for the people, and Egypt can rise out of its coma, to be a respected country and a valuable part of the African continent once again.

we live in hope that the Turks, Algerians, Jordanians, Moroccans, are paying careful attention to the rumbles of hungry bellies, that the desperation of poverty and the absence of respect for human beings will eventually rise up to defeat the despot.

wedding bells and cockle shells

2011-01-26T12:36:00.008+02:00

ITS ALL ABOUT THE SMILE....

THERE IS A RING..AND MOST DEFINITELY THE ABSENCE OF BLING...
BUT NO TRAVELLING PANTS...:) THE ENGAGEMENT.

October 2010...was when the wedding bells told for me, and my greatest stress was that the travelling wedding pants, having been banned from baby brothers wedding would definitely not see the light of day on this one.

shortly after little brother made his intentions known, my dad turned his beady eyes on the only single sibling left, and said, "my dear what are your plans?",.."you cannot be dating forever, not good for you or Albert. predictably i was off to dinner with boyfriend to discuss the matter, long term dating is never an option in the Indian family, being Muslim, makes it all the more trying, not to mention all the snoopy men at mosque, were trying to fish out the seriousness of our relationship.

so over serious dinner discussion, do not ask me where or when, i fail to remember such trivial things, we decided..(much to my surprise, marriage being definitely not on my radar)to become MR and MRS, no, not Smith,...i am months later still wondering what all the bruhaha is all about, the news of impending nuptials spread faster, then a brush fire in the Australian outback, i got calls from excited family and friends thanking God, calling on his greatness, for saving the last spinster in the family from the inglorious state of singledom, God had finally made me accept a marriage proposal and all was well with the world again.

i am now of the opinion, that being single was not considered "lekker", and it was possibly a punishment from God,...you think i might attain heaven now that i am a Mrs,..God i hope you are listening, if you are, could i win the lottery please? a million would do nicely thank you.

it came to pass, in a rather low key affair (by Indian standards)on the 6th of February 2010, i became an engaged woman,...we were truly moving into the rainbow nation, Albert is of Portuguese and Afrikaans decent, and i am a true blue Gujarati,..my ancestry could have some Arab or Chinese thrown in who knows,..
my mother in law, put a pretty gold chain around my neck, my fiance a pretty diamond ring on my finger, and without the long drawn out speeches, and prayers thanking the Gods, without ululating, or any of the grand fanfair that goes with the occasion, i had committed myself to....MARRIAGE!!!....oh dear.

understandably my mother was rather quiet, a little smile but no great enthusiasm, well, i had been with her for 41 long years, and now what the hell was i doing?, in that moment i was being dazzled by diamond rings..ok, ok..i am not that mercenary, and poor husband is yet to cough up the goodies, that comes with marrying into an Indian family,...what did you think we gave away our daughters cheaply,...oh dear me no.

The run up to the wedding was the right royal pain in the ass i thought it would be, there was no chance of missing out at the office to plan a wedding, so it all got done, in between moments, there is a reason, i don't like weddings, and my own was proving to be no different, the dress, the hair, the venue, the caterer, the list is endless, and oh the guest list, which lead to many an argument, i was pushing for 100 guests, my dad was "you cannot get away with under 300", 300, i don't know 300 people, and really all i was interested in was the party, we settled on the 2nd of October 2010, which coincidentally, ok i lie, by no mere coincidence is also the 45th wedding anniversary of my parents, who i am sure after many an argument, all wedding related, could not wait for the 2nd to come fast enough. getting rid of me was proving to be acceptable, and at some point, they were willing to do this for free and for gratis.

as luck would have it, i could not have been bothered with a dress, thanks to the generosity of Aadil, who called the dress guy, Michael and finally pushed me into going to check him out, we were on the road to dress heaven...my only brief, i do not want to look like a meringue. i also did not relish the thought of a gazillion dress fittings, which are aggravating and the damned dress always looks crap, since i was lazy, i also got some fabric, prior to seeing Michael, and went off to another clients recommendation, just 1km up the road, the long and the short of it was that i ended up with two wedding dresses, not having the heart to tell Chantal..that i had another dress, when i got her bill, i realised my inability to say no, had just cost me a small fortune, no matter i now have another dress, that i will never wear again, but hey it rocked on the night.

i was still at this point not running a fever or jumping with excitement at the thought of getting married, my brain was still trying to comprehend what all the fuss was about, and the constant are you excited? question was starting to drive me insane, excited about what, i had met someone, and we had decided to make a life together, was i nervous? no, was i excited? no, this all seriously felt like another day at the office, with more work thrown in, to fill my already full working day.

perhaps it was my lack of stress, or excitement, perhaps i was to old to feel the jitter bug, perhaps i was being to pragmatic, hell, there were a multitude of perhapes, i could have dreamed up, three weeks before my party (because weddings are just to fake). the wedding planner (ya right)..i had done all the planning, just needed the guy to provide tablecloths and food, turned out to be the biggest "wanker" (literally) of all time, he wanted to bill me for two weddings, give me a break, the venue was mine until midnight, our plan was to utilise it for that long, as we were going to party,and enjoy 45 years of marital bliss, as well.

but Muslim weddings don't have music and dancing and Indians eat, take the gift and fuck off, before the bride even leaves the venue, so really his staff only worked till 5. this wedding was a Saturday afternoon luncheon, that would go into dancing in the evening,two bills? , give me a kit kat, i was about to swat him from here back to the teeny tiny village in Gujarat he hailed from.furthermore i had the audacity to have an opinion or idea on what i wanted the venue to look like, to cut a long story short, i told him to shove his drapes, masquerading as tablecloths where the sun does not shine, and took my pissed off ass back to the office.

suffice to say the wanderers club, have not yet returned my money, and the wanker Aadil, "i have no qualifications as a wedding planner" and certainly no taste; is still contracted to the club as their halaal caterer.

thanks to my mum and a great tip, we found an alternate venue, with a great chef, and staff that were efficient and happy to do the job, there were no need for vapours and stress hives, we moved on, to celebrate the day with much laughter and happiness, the DJ played until the bewitching hour, we ate drank, and made merry and celebrated the 45th wedding anniversary of my parents surrounded by new family, great friends and the best tea totalling party anyone ever had the misfortune to attend got us off to the start of a happy married life together. honestly weddings aren't so bad after all, when your friends really want to be there, and your family love a party, then it is the happiest most fun filled day a couple will enjoy, the stuff happy memories are made of

since then, all i ever get asked, "so how is married life?'...are you happy?"..hell would i have gotten married if i was not happy?, would i remain married if i was not happy?, how is married life really?....its fun people, it's like a comfortable old shoe, you can never give away, its dishes, and laundry, its bad movies and a barrel of laughs, it's good morning breath, and hot showers, its just every day life, with a person, who doesn't mind seeing your wake up hair, and unmade up face. who looks at your miserable face in the morning and says "good morning my gorgeous wife"..it's knowing that and loving that..and enjoying that forever feeling.

its definitelly not wedding bells and cockle shells....

compromise the four letter word.

2011-01-25T15:49:00.003+02:00

i just had a very disturbing email from a good friend, 2010 has proved to be a truly bad year for her,and for a couple of other's to. for me of course it brought GDH, into my life, and reading my friends disturbing email, set me off thinking about compromise, is this really a four letter word, are we to demanding of the people in our lives, or in fact to demanding on our selves.

are the things we believe we must have or want in our lives, creating pressure's, large enough,that ending your life seems the only answer. perhaps marriage is the four letter word, why do we embark on this journey, if we are unwilling or unable to adjust ourselves to the changes that inevitably follows the institution of marriage.

modern man i believe is greedy, and needful and lustful of an outwardly material lifestyle that essentially is not very realistic, we envy the Hollywood lifestyles of the rich and famous, as we avariciously lap up the ideal, glued to satellite television and hello magazine. we see our co-workers spending fortunes on the latest trendy eateries, on designer clothing, electronic gadgets and the like, and we crave that lifestyle, the ordinary mundane existence of children, husbands and being the stay at home mom, becomes a stress, we need to work, to earn, to afford the lifestyle, and the kids become a bore, the husband is a bore and definitely a nurturing home, is the biggest bore.

Angelina Jolie, has Brad pit, a brood of kids and a designer lifestyle,...and she is definitely not bored, she did not have to compromise, on eating out, great parties, the red carpet, but then she is not me, middle class Jane, with a husband, three kids, no job, essentially no life, and by sitting at home, with no escape from kids, not enough cash for outside entertainment, we fight, we bottle our anxieties, to the point of feeling useless, unloved, unwanted.we are resentful of our husbands because, he goes to work, is stimulated, comes home full of the days stresses, when we have been locked away at home, bored,bored,bored.

this is not about compromise, life becomes an unfair resented circumstance, there is, i want to shout a huge difference between reality, and the reality of the rich and famous, we cannot all be Angelina or Brad or even the neighbour next door, we each have our own set of circumstances from which to live, and learn to appreciate, yet being the avaricious, animal, we are never satisfied, and the grass always looks greener on the other side.

we are essentially the sole creators of the circumstances we live in, our choice to be married was not forced on us, our choice to have children, was not a mishap, or an unguarded moment, so adjusting from being single, was not an unexpected circumstance,now to be resented, we made a choice, and the choice comes with its own unique circumstances, should we not learn to embrace this, learn to live for ourselves, not to show the world our achievements, but to appreciate the reality of our circumstances for ourselves, that is not a compromise, not a four letter word, it is an acceptance of choices, perhaps then the anti-depressants, trips to the shrink or drowning in the bath tub, might not seem the solution.

is matric all its cracked up to be

2011-01-18T15:39:00.001+02:00

i cannot understand why our country fails to steer school leavers into learning a trade. why do institutions like the university of Johannesburg, continue to entertain these school leavers, who don't even have university exemptions.yes you want more black students passing through the system, however the education system, has been adjusted, (and not with great success i might add,)..so putting ill qualified kids into university does this country a greater disservice in my opinion of course.

the way i understand things:, tertiary education is a privilege not a right. To qualify for university entrance, one has to be a scholar of excellence, be able to afford tuition, or qualify for a scholarship or bursary, and if one did not qualify, then at least hold down a job, that helps you pay your way through university.why this feeling of entitlement, and demand for things, we are not willing to work our asses off, to have, all this attitude breeds is my contempt (understandably..no one gives a damn about that), however where do we get off expecting the bells and whistles without having to work to get it.

university entrance has become an unruly scrum, to gain admittance. university is a right not a privilege, and someone else has to foot the bill. the caliber of student is definitely not worth that sacrifice, and more importantly the attitude of these supposed students leaves much to be desired. they are an unruly, disrespectful mob, looking for the easy way out, quality education, dedication to education, hard work and enterprise are not at the top of the list. if 33 and a 1/3% is the pass rate, it is certainly obvious why we have an attitude failure. under these circumstances, what caliber of academics are we churning out, our research capabilities and input in the sciences across the spectrum, fails to excite or ignite any real interest.

while i am all for levelling the education playing fields and providing opportunities, to those who never had any, does that mean, that regardless of capacity, universities, should allow people in, i believe, that by doing this we are reducing the class and caliber of our academics into mediocrity, is that how we perceive the future of our country? mediocre.

surely we should be bolstering, technical colleges and the like, so we can increase people in the skilled trades , why has plumbing, or being an electrician or mechanic become taboo, these are all highly skilled professions, which in some cases are more financially lucrative, then being a lawyer as an example, yet most matriculants if asked want to go to law school. hell who needs another lawyer.

but a trades person with ethics and pride in his or her work, would certainly be most welcome, and definitely deserving of our utmost respect,...lets see what the class of 2010 results in...a capital F for failure, or perhaps in and amongst the miscreants, there will be a huge A for achievement and dedication..lets see

resolutions

2011-01-04T16:41:00.006+02:00

GDW..AND GDH...OUR FIRST EID AS A MARRIED COUPLE..

this blog, is very much a private diary, here i am on the fourth day of the first month in the year 2011, with infrequent postings, and no book deal, wherever did i go wrong.

no matter GDH (short for gorgeous darling husband), is reading a book,/published blog, and nagging me to start blogging again, dear please understand, i am no Shakespeare, and this blog has no following, never the less, here is a resolution, and i never make those, i will blog more regularly, i will blog more regularly, i will blog more regularly..help, if i continue in this vein, my singular typing finger is going to be ground to a short nubby stump.

to the one reader, who has by default stumbled upon these ramblings, yes i did mention GDH...who for the purpose of this blog, will remain forever GDH, until such time as i have outgrown the honeymoon phase, yes, i did it, i got married, and the process and time it took to get there, will be continued at some later date....and, no, my travelling wedding pants did not make the cut once again.

if any of you believe, that preparing my own wedding, was for me more pleasant then attending a wedding, get over yourselves, it definitely ranked amongst the, i know why people should never marry, or just elope, and get it the hell over with,.. but that's me,... you will all know,by now, that, i believe, weddings to be a waste of time, energy,effort, and not to mention a waste of money....but the honeymoon, now that was worth the aggravation.

any way i am now to be known as GDW (gorgeous darling wife)...have a doting husband..whom, my father, cannot help but constantly tease,..."darling are you having tea with me?"...gorgeous, sweety,...can i help, etc,etc...dad thinks, he should have been A more doting Husband then my mum would never have need to call him a "galchodo manus"...(gujarati, that i cannot spell), of course, GDW, grins and bears it, as he is the new kid on the block, the guji, flies over his head, and unfortunately, he is the only white, in our brown universe, so his the "DORO"...white boy, and ripe for the picking.

well hey,since i succumbed to the ball and chain, i was not going to tow the line, now was i?...and quite frankly, which of my "own kind" (tongue in cheek ne') was going to be able to cope with me...unfortunately poor GDH...had his rose tinted glasses on,...and exactly 3 months and 2 days later, he is still wearing them, we got over the heartburn, from to much curry,...now we have to deal with the heartburn, that is an Indian family, and Indian culture, that have relaxed into themselves, and found a place to put the new recruit....poor GDH...how will he cope?

in my universe, as you can see, there are no resolutions...i dont do gym, or diets, so thats, that...but i will blog...slightly more than twice a year, perhaps when we have our "goa-nese" kids..(baby brother Arshad..likes to refer to any future rug rats as such)..since GDH..Is of portuguese descent...there might be much to talk about, for now this mish mashing of our differing cultural heritage, will, i am sure provide some entertainment, atleast for me.

more importantly, what overides all of the above, is the fact that we are South African first, and we will navigate our lives, as such. GDH..is developing a taste for curry in more ways then one, GDW..is realising that marriage is not so bad after all.

even the wedding is history

2010-07-26T16:11:00.010+02:00

f="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JWwUv_3KFCA/TE2oAaZfTgI/AAAAAAAAAzM/MqQL9DTtxIg/s1600/DSC06834.JPG">

wow, i am obviously overly busy,(or so i would like to believe ) my last post was in February when baby brother got engaged, so much has happened since.
Arshad is now married two months and two days to be exact. the newly weds are not so new anymore, and seem to be enjoying the first flush of the marriage cycle.

i almost had nothing to wear, yes the travelling pants, and a myriad of accompanying jackets,tops,and sweaters, were banned from this wedding. the sister of the groom, had to look at least a teensy bit blinged out. so after two months of ferrying the mother of the groom, and my beloved mum, to the dress guy, for the umpteenth time, i succumbed, purchased some beautiful velvet, and a rather funky looking, almost under wear type fabric, and i was giving the getting a dress made thing a shot.

so,.. he said i had saddle bags, I'm a bit overweight, he suggested a corset, at which point, i could have burst a blood vessel,..under no circumstances, was i going to subject myself, to feeling like a trussed up chicken,even for baby brothers wedding. i should have known, that this was going to go south.

on the day of the big reveal, just two weeks before the wedding, the MAN delivers my eagerly awaited dresses, yes plural, this was after all an Indian wedding, wedding on Saturday, walimah on Sunday....and no wedding pants, i was doomed and i new it.

the dresses (plural) were about the most hideous excuse for a garment, i had ever encounted, and i did not want to have to say, i told me so, a psychotic amount of money later, i was as belligerent as a two year old being denied, sweets, in a candy store, there, was not a chance in hell, that these garments would ever see the light of day...so i made a big shout out to friends on facebook, got some great responses, and took myself off to Hyde park shopping centre. all i can say is that HIP HOP rocks, ( thanks Leonie )first dress i tried on, was a shoe in, the deal was done, i was dressed, no stress, no endless fittings, no sales lady commenting on my saddle bags, 42 year old tummy, or that little bit of extra weight, that i regularly bemoan, but do nothing about.

the dress mind you, was rejected by Natasha my sister in law, who is tall, puts twiggy to shame, and could wear anything, so thanks sis..and all because she cant stand velvet..the next day, the little bolero, that came with the dress, teamed with another off the peg number from a chain store, ET voila!!..dressed for Arshads walimah, recycled clothing no less,...shhhh!!, don't let the word get out, or my upmarket neighbours, and the debutantes of this neighbourhood, will have another reason, to tilt the blue noses away from me, or is that because of the rather cold winter we are having.

the wedding itself, was a wedding..what can i say, i rather think, that my own, would also be just another, excuse for an elaborate lunch, where people will fall all over themselves to be the best dressed turkey at the ball. Arshad wanted to kill the photographer, the couple spent their entire wedding, smiling for the camera, should they not have been celebrating with guests, eating, the great food, that was on offer, instead, they smiled, and spent all night in the glare of the photographers spotlight, take it from me, get your pictures done before the reception, so you can at least enjoy some of your wedding.

ahhh!!! lest i forget, weddings have nothing to do with bride and groom, but more to do with proud parents, and overly dressed turkeys, all who come to see and be seen, and then, dissect your function, over tea, with the ladies the very next day, all the while, the newly weds, spent happy oblivious moments, looking into each others eyes, and the hapless, sister of the groom, takes matters into her own hands, to get them out of the photographers clutches, and the insane family, queueing for their picture with bride and groom,...so that the overly tired couple can be whisked off to their hotel, for some alone time, and much needed sleep.

yes sleep, after two weeks of indian wedding, there is nothing the love struck couple will ever do but try to sleep,...since the next morning, the three ringed circus begins a new. so a solid nights rest, is left for the honeymoon, as well as exploring, the best reason, for really getting married right?....its all legal.

the two weeks of wedding activity, went off rather well, and the newly weds jetted off to Mauritius, and the way Arshad describes it, a trip to Goa, might be more exciting.despite our choice of walimah venue, the fundos, also pitched, eek, going through that casino, rubbed a few noses out of joint, but the thought of succulent prawns, and mango desert must have clinched the deal.

my love hate relationship with weddings continues, there is no end in sight, perhaps when i am carried off to my final resting place, i will find some peace with it all.
bring it on, to add to my travelling wedding pants, we now have a midnight blue gown...lets hope that middle age spread can be contained, so the dress sees, the light once more.

ENGAGEMENTS

2010-02-18T13:44:00.007+02:00

the cute little guy is Isa

the happy couple

FAEEZA, ARSHAD, AND THEIR MOMS

Faeeza's master piece, Arshad had better watch his waist line..:)

the spread at the proposal, Arshad looks on as mother's-in-law get chatting

so little brother got engaged..wedding is set for the 22ND of may 2010.
now i ask you why me, i have reached that middle of life, comfort where my favourite clothes are comfy baggy track pants...ya, ya, i know that is not good for the rear end or the hips, but I'm here, and baby brother is getting married.

to all of you who do or have never read my ramblings, i am not a fan of the "WEDDING"..the idea is off putting, and nothing about getting dressed up, rings true. wedding guests, are caricatures of their true selves, and its much like bad theatre, with some food thrown in for minor effect.

then of course comes the bitching and back stabbing after, the bride looked tired, the food was cheap, the mother in law had a bad hair day, the list is endless, then there are the "aunties" who are constantly trying to hook you up, with the "eligible" single, one eyed, mentally deficient single nephew....having said all this, my baby, and my nephews Baba, is tying the knot. my dilemma? what the hell do i wear?, since i lazed into the track pants, and happily grew into its expanding
size i am now really put out.

have only myself to blame, the thought of having to put on lipstick, or any form of makeup, is something else that erks me, but what is a girl going to do. there are just those occasions where, being beautiful and on show is called for. i hope my baby knows what a great "sacrifice" this is, he won't accept a card board cut out, so i will be there, dressed up, and very happy.

don't get me wrong, i am seriously happy, and i pray that Arshad's and Faeeza's lives are blessed with happiness, acceptance, love, and prosperity for all the days of their lives, of course it would be great if they produced more nieces and nephews for me to love, the first two, have taken to running away when they see my handy cam, i need new suckers!..i will be posting the pics of the happy tidings, so my camera shy younger brother better puck up, grin and bear it, since he is the one that chose to say i do.

we had the family over on Saturday, to celebrate their happy day, it was so good to relax and catch up. these guys are always waiting for some news from my father's household, so we will finally give them all a reason to get dressed up, i would like some gifts as well please, is anybody reading this..:)

my travelling wedding pants are a tad tight, and will not do for the sister of the groom. i am so bad at anything eastern, sari's, gaghra's etc, and western clothes have been designed for twiggy's even skinnier sister. so here i am, new short hair, not advisable with eastern dress, and my ever expanding rear, trying to forget that Baba is getting married.

budget speeches and presidents wives

2010-02-18T09:32:00.002+02:00

February 2010 came around, President Jacob Zuma, and his many wives attended the opening of parliament on the 11Th of February. He made the worst speech of any President in the world ever, it said nothing and meant even less, if the growing girth of Presidential wives and members of parliament is anything to go by, one can now fully understand where the trillion Rand budget is heading.

into the bellies of our finance minister, and parliamentarians, not to mention their overfed wives and husbands.the media is awash, with scandals on corruption, and misuse of state funds, our president visits Davos, and all they can ask him, is about his wives, mistresses, and numerous children, twenty at the last count,i think, ofcourse if he spent time in the the Soviet union or Tanzania or Zimbabwe, i am sure there would be a couple of cone heads resident there, he has become the quintessential cartoon character, and it's all culture. the man has a remote controlled trouser zipper, and only he cannot see that, it is a national embarrassment, between his "cultural" romps,and cordon bleu meals does he actually have time to govern a country, judging by his weak speech at the opening of parliament, i think not.
not to mention, that his speech writers can't have gotten past standard two, and he obviously did not take time out of his busy social schedule to actually read it.
if indeed he wrote that clap trap, then our future is not very promising.

how about budgets, ag shame parliamentarians will have to move from a seven series BMW to perhaps a five, they might get 1% less pay rise, shock horror, they might have to pay their own DSTV subscriptions, my heart actually bleeds, oh how about performance based pay, ooof!!, does that mean ministers might not get paid at all?

how could i be so stupid, it just means they will get bonus pay, the idea is to have the job, and not work, ...silly me, work towards adding some more girth, now that takes some doing. in the mean while, unrest will grow, pot holes will become craters, i forget, i have to tell the neighbours to close their swimming pools, because they are the root course of the craters in our roads. since we are paying more for fuel after the budget, and increased licensing fees, and road tolls, do you think the company digging up central and west streets in houghton, for the last year will ever come back to finish the job?

silly me they got paid...why should they care, it's the damned swimming pools, the rich guys insist on installing, just tax them some more, it is sure to mean, that we could build swimming pools in poorer places, or do they need, housing, medical,education?

viva democracy!!!!

summer holiday 2010

2010-01-14T14:58:00.007+02:00

by the time 2009 drew to a close, a few days out of johannesburg was all the blessing i needed. this year we decided to utilise our time share at sun city, the pilansberg mountains, sounds of bird call, balmy weather, was just the panacea needed to energise and rejuvenate a tired me.
prior to that a day at mangwanani and some bonding time with my mum down at umdloti was heaven, despite rainy days and crowded beaches.

i have posted a link on this blog, for all you adventurous souls who have the desire to visit this beautiful land. just be warned the baboons and monkeys will mug you, and they are the stealthy silent type, keep your bananas under lock and key.

the kids also enjoyed some holiday fun, and as always foi, was happy to be woken at 6am, not really,.. but who can ignore a toothy smile, and drooly wet kisses, certainly not i.

it was a relaxing start to a year that holds much promise, there will be wedding bells, and lots of social activity for the pahad family this year. for one who hates or should i rather say dislikes the fanfare of atending such functions, what does one do, if you are the one taking the mad plunge, with little brother close on your heels. 2010 promises to be a rather interesting year.

what with the soccer world cup being hosted in South Africa, our dismal performance at cricket, Castor Semenya, running again, male/female the debate rages on. then there is Eskom, and its 35% increase for three years, ..this is undoubtedly going to be a year of milestones,hail stones,gall stones,kidney stones...the stones are on the move, and i hope that i will be here to record it all.

my hurdle will always be a mother , who's kids have not met her expectations of spousal relations, she grits her teeth, and does not bare it, has the fortitude to live with it. i have come to the conclusion rather late in life, that one will never please one's parents and certainly not one's mother, therefore prosper or fail we inevitably chart our own course in life, make the same mistakes or not. but they are ours to bare and live with.

i look forward to the world uncovered in 2010, with interest i watch to see if South Africa rises to her challenges, or continues down the road to bananaville, interesting times ahead

the rug rats are growing up

2009-12-08T15:21:00.008+02:00

our little rug rats are growing up. Azad is always intent on hugging and kissing his sister, who has learnt, to cry foul constantly. he just doesn't understand that body tackling her, is not her idea of fun. Foi (that's me) doesn't have a problem rolling around on my rear, while being attacked by the rats.
Iman, has learnt to throw tantrums, is attached to mummy and daddy, can sleep only in her own space. she is the spitting image of my late paternal grandmother, but it seems her personality, is very different. she sure knows how to put on the snot and trane. she has just started walking, looks like a wobbly old lady from the back, but ever so cute. don't think she will ever holiday with dadi and foi, without the parents in tow. oh but the girl takes after foi, in one respect, she does justice to the meals put in front of her, now that is where Azad misses out, he has an aversion to food, unless it is a sweet, and he can have many.

that gorgeous precocious little one, has ,yes, you've guessed it found language, and happily chirps away about everything. currently we are into all kinds of construction vehicles, diggers, loaders, trucks, trucks, trucks. the favourite litany being, foi i need this, buy it for me now, this after perusing the brochures that accompany his latest purchases.

how it happened, that Azad is a boys boy, and iman a girly, girl, i cannot fathom, she loves kissing her dolls, hugging teddies, and is just heartbreakingly affectionate, he has to be bribed into hugs and kisses. Are we genetically programmed at birth, or perhaps its because he never gives little sister the time of day with the cars and trucks.

Azad is now 30 months, and Iman 18 months, they are a joy and pleasure to have around, what is even better, they can be returned to sender, when foi lies exhausted on the lawn, finished after a hard days play. rug rats we love you. the pictures were all taken on the day of Eid ul Adha 2009/11/17. i have as yet not lost my trigger happy camera finger...:)

what do i say?

2009-11-11T10:41:00.004+02:00

thanks to rachelle potgieter for the pictures

Imraan Saloojee 10 November at 17:38
Hi Rouhana. I love you FB updates. sometimes funny, sometimes angry but always good.
On another matter, I am trying to get views from a few people whose opinion I trust. Being out of the country for some time, my constant news source for home has been the Internet. Reading the news bulletins for South Africa is really depressing! We seem to be lurching from one crisis to another. The rhetoric on all sides is becoming sharper and there is a real lack of respect. It seems that collectively we are as polarised as the bad apartheid days. What is going on?

i read this message sent to my inbox, by a school mate, and i can claim a good friend, and in that moment my mind hit a blank. what would i say in response.
i love this country of ours warts and all, but what do i say, our political and social landscape is just that depressing. i have blogged ad nausea, about corruption, general lack of accountability, lack of respect etc.

Imraan the sad truth is, i believe we have a people that have no understanding or comprehension of what democracy can mean to us as a nation.
sadly the liberation movement that brought us great joy, in breaking the shackles of apartheid, have failed to translate this into good governance.
our fear of falling into the racially divisive trap has meant that every failure, in terms of service delivery, infrastructures,etc. is never adequately dealt with, because it deteriorates into "you are saying this because we are black" litany.

spear headed by the likes of julius malema and others of the same ilk. when one cannot take responsibility for ones failures it is easier to blame race.
what we need is to believe in ourselves,the idea of entitlement has resulted in gross mismanagement, racial incitement, and a loss of patriotic fervour.

the struggle for equality was to give every South African a chance under our African sun, it did not discriminate when it came to race, since we have addressed these indiscretions it hasn't resulted in those in positions of power whether in government or within business putting the country and its people first, it has resulted in a demand for more material wealth and possessions, and once again a small majority have risen to financial highs while ordinary South Africans pay the bills. and watch the noose tighten around our necks.

what we need to get beyond is the issue of colour, to call a spade a spade, so if you are not performing, you should be fired, not kept in employment, ad infinitum.
the result is a general feeling of discontentment amongst South Africans who see their efforts being squandered, when this discontent is voiced, then you are automatically accused of racism.

the way i see it, it is about taking ownership of our mistakes as well as our failures, and until employment is not seen as an endless cash cow, but rather a privilege, that allows us to be a productive, developing nation, proud of our history and our achievements. we will remain a nation of whiners who's demands out way our pride and our morality.

what it is, is plain selfishness, an inability to love and put our country first on the part of government, big business corporations.
and when Joe public absorbs this, he to becomes selfish and abusive of his surroundings, his country, his people. why should we say no to crime, if government is crime riddled, and so the issues continue unabated an unresolved.

there seems an inability on any ones part to be honest and up front about these shortcomings. alas i have rambled on imraan, but i know without a doubt that this the land of my birth, is not doomed to failure. i believe there are more South Africans out there with a vision, to be a non racist,non sexist,united people. and until we get over our embarrassment regarding the race question, until we can say hey, you have failed to do what you have been mandated to, and we are going to utilise someone more competent, without playing the race card, it will be a long hard journey, but i believe we can get there.

lets just hope julius malema does not become a South African president, for then i know not what the future will hold. there is a lot of dead wood out there, the favours for comrades, friends, have all been attended to, now i think is the time to be accountable. i believe that people like you and i could make a difference, and the future lies in the hands of children, who are brought up with the right degree of respect, morality and pride in there nationality. what we need is to put the greater good ahead of the good for myself.

i attended the remembrance day parade on Sunday, and watched the young and old men and women of the SANDF, proudly march past city hall, i felt a sense of pride and belonging, this army was used to suppress , now it holds its head high in defense of all South Africans, these men and women, had pride and a loyalty to this country, a remembrance of our failings, and an acceptance of the best we can be, united and strong. i believe this is the South Africa we should be building. and i do believe given the right governance it can be achieved.

from the free to the dom

2009-10-20T14:26:00.006+02:00

in all this time, one would imagine there would be something new to talk about.
things in South Africa seem to remain the same for a huge period of time.
lets see:

1. julius malema, has grown even dumber than before,mmmm, thats a change. his bigotry is so asinine and i thought we had outgrown that symptom.
then perhaps not, i have not been referred to as a "darkie"/"koelie", in years but there you have it, the slanderous label headed my way out of the mouth of dare i say it a jealous female. so when you have nothing to say, or are just plain dumb, as is Malema, you should resort to racial slurs. it might make you feel better.

2. then there is President Jacob Zuma, who is visiting, rustenburg, and other unrest municipalities, where people are rioting, because of lack of service delivery, more like they don't have their finger in the pie, and now want some. the Pres however, has is task team of useless ministers, i will call them the "talk shop", appearances, make them seem more hands on, and effectually they will accomplish nothing.

3. recession is a new word for spending more tax payers money, it hasn't stopped all the freebies for ministers, free luxury cars, free flowers, free domestic service, free first class travel, free satellite tv, free, free, freedom, just meant free to be having my luxury cake and eating eat, and Marie Antoinette was going to feed the peasants cake,...she would be rolling in her grave now.

4.Electricity, now that is not free, by the year 2010, the average 3 bedroom house, will have a 3000.00 rand a month electricity bill. will the increase involve the mines, big business etc, who enjoy rebated electricity, obviously not. so here we are give or take 5 million tax payers, being further taxed,...do we mind paying the bills so that the less fortunate of this country, would have access to services, education, housing, we sure as hell don't. but, ...how much can you milk this cow, till she drops dead, while all the time her precious milk is squandered on maintaining the elitist life style of government, municipal,BEE fat cats, who higher yachts, have tv in their cars, drink moet, eat caviar, and the masses still languish in squalor.

5. then theres the sorry excuse of an education system, first year varsity students, cannot read or write in English. and now we should blame poverty, and lack of language usage, surely when you enter grade one, you should be taught in English, but it was that genius Kader Asmal, who made it impossible to fail a student, if they failed a written exam, they should get an oral, if they passed or failed that, they still got bummed up the ranks, are you surprised then, that varsity students, can't read,write,or do simple arithmetic, poverty is just the excuse to cover up, ministerial failure, outcomes based education my ass. you are breeding a nation of bigoted idiots, and passing the buck to poverty shame on us.

6. lets not forget Selebi, our embattled police commissioner, who will get off with no more than a wrap on the knuckles, the singing canary, Agliotti, is possibly going to come off the worse for wear, Selebi of course must still be on the government payroll. so what real effect will changing the ranking of police people, make to that corrupt institution,.. obviously nothing. And our army, lets not discuss those hooligans, if disciplined armies reflect the state of a nation, what do our hoodlums say about the state of our nation. surely by the time you are over thirty, you should have moved up the ranks or out of the army. thank God these guys are not having to defend us against attack, oh shit what am i thinking, we are under attack, attack from bigotry, greed,stupidity, arrogance, shall i go on.

7. where are the patriots, where are the good intentions, hard work, integrity, that we were building our new free nation on, well free exists, just in terms of material upliftment for the few free, while dom, encapsulates the rest of us idiots who believed in the integrity, and decency of our leaders. but then i forget myself, we have actually attained freedom in South Africa, based on this rather rudimentary analysis....hallelujah.

i suggest opening the links on this blog, and it will effectively show the idiots we are breeding in south Africa. Julius, cannot be blamed on outcomes based education, to his credit he has no education,..but this does not bode well for the future.
however we do great adds even when lampooning ourselves.

ramadaan mubarak

2009-08-21T15:21:00.002+02:00

i have a friend who always jokes, no,no, not Mubarak...can't wish that on anyone.
Hosne Mubarak, surely has everyone running, to avoid, the Mubarak taint. so instead i should say Ramadan Kareem.

it is that time of the year again, and for some reason, i am not having a sense of the spiritual,perhaps the every day reality of life, is more adapt at occupying my time and energy. the gifts of dates have been coming in fast and furious, i would love to know how many tons of the stuff are consumed over Ramadan, interesting, i should google that.

my one concession to the food drought over the next month was to cook up a great jummah lunch, the effects of which are lulling me to sleep at my desk, but then its friday who needs to work right?

so here's wishing friends, family, loved ones a happy and joyous Ramadan. may you be blessed and come out all the better for it.

3 years between them

2009-08-05T14:34:00.004+02:00

pahad 1 and pahad 2..both reached birthdays in july. azad celerbrated his second and iman her first. i have the amazing joy of seeing little people develop. first everythings, solid food,steps,words.

Azad has his three word sentences, grandpa and Azad time, involves trips to the glenhove petrol station, to watch trucks roll off the highway, eat ice cream and get the car washed, the last trip, the car wash was faulty, so i heard "foi...machween bwoken.." in response to what is your name...he says "bik..boyee"..who's a silly billy? Dada...the list is endless and his mischievious streek just shines right through.

Iman has the cutest dimple and a face that is always wreathed in smiles, a temperate nature, that can take flight when bik boyee, harasses her, which he does for the hell of it. she has a penchant for the telephone much like her aunt, and i shudder to think what daddy will be paying in phone bills.

i avoid the television like the plague, believing that we can entertain and educate without use of it, much to my chagrin i have succumbed, The sound of music, popcorn and chips is good for a snatched 10 minutes, in which i can achieve a grown up thing or two. music gets iman jiggling and wiggling those hips, and cbeebies, can get you 10 minutes more.

suffice to say, that the kids are the most amusing little people, who keep you busy , and when they are not around we talk about them constantly...

Proudly South African

2009-08-05T11:29:00.007+02:00

fisherman....umdloti beach

monkeys in the backyard

night skies...bela bela

bela bela....mpumalanga

johannesburg from westcliff

what is it about ex pats/immigrants...or those people who leave their home countries and settle "where the grass is greener"....more often than not they spend their time, trying to convince themselves that they have done the right thing.it is a lifelong comparison between what they left behind and the lives they are living.

what beats me is the superior holier than though attitude, they exude, especially when they have settled in first world countries. i attended a family dinner some time back, in attendance were family and neighbours (note i do not say friends) now settled in Toronto Canada, my dander had risen octaves at the dinner conversation, because they spent the evening lambasting all the ills that is south Africa. pray, tell me ,why do they take retirement packages and return to this horrible savage land. or why are their kids enjoying cheap university educations in South Africa? when they are now citizens of another country.it's cheaper,... dunh!!! . and here i am paying my tax, living in the third world and not enjoying all these benefits. when they left for greener pastures, nary a thought was given to this country or its development, so why rape our good nature now. if you have nothing good to say then don't say anything at all.

i am a firm believer,that, when one decides to immigrate the objective is to embrace your adoptive home warts and all, having one foot in South Africa and another (for argument sake) in Canada serves no purpose. it manages to ensure that the immigrant remains rootless and unhinged, never knowing where they belong. the same applied to my forefathers when they arrived in South Africa, the difference is that we became and are South African. yes my grandfather was born in the village of Kholvad in the state of Gujarat in India, and that makes us of Indian origin. the Indian we are is a cultural and ethnic one, what i truly am is A South African. my accent, my manner,my obligations, when i sleep at night the sounds of the African night, my neighbours dogs, the cursing drunk walking down the road, the screeching cars, the smells these are all African, they belong to the soul of me,

my eyes do not close nor my nose smell, the spicy scents of India, the smell of raat ki raani, jasmine,vendors singing their beautiful tunes in Hindi,Gujarati,Malayalam, the flat guttural tones of South African accents are my lullaby.the vast blue skies, the ever present smiling sun, the browns of the highveld,....these speak to my soul.

i am but a visitor in the land of my ancestors, the shiny brown of my skin, the lustrous curl in my hair, my little nose and almond eyes, they are evidence of my ancestry, a history that adds value and spice to my home, the land that is South Africa.

this is the feeling you should have when you immigrate to another country, lording it over what you deem your country bumpkin cousins, and feeling superior because you have made it out,...is not testimony to being of any country. it smacks of displacement and anxiety, a feeling of non belonging. so i can say i am South African and proudly so.

see the link

strike boys strike for better wages, strike boys strike for better pay....

2009-07-02T15:07:00.003+02:00

pete seeger, in the year unknown to me, but i remember this ditty, much like the song that went:
little boxes, little boxes, all made of ticky tacky, little boxes all the same.
ahhh!!, the 60's flower power, when hippies were hip,....and Seeger was making a point, about the conformist suburban or urban middle class life. when daisies were fashionable, beards were cool, and not attached to an islamist fundamentalist terrorist. just guitar toting, dagga smoking, anti Vietnam activists. who were chilling in the sun, and striking for better wages. the sixties a time for fairies
and picnics in the sun.

roll in the the year 2009, there isn't even a cool, thing to say about the decades beginning in the year 2000. having a beard is just criminal, flower power fashion is just so out dated, and who smokes weed anymore, it's all kinds of things, like crack,Ecstasy, drugs with names i cannot remember. we have become clones of American advertising. it's called globalisation.

but the "Strike", now that has taken on a new form in good old RSA, it has been tweaked to resemble, a great mafia organisation, that extorts money from God fearing, corner store owners.
there is Zwelinzima Viva, who's blustering rhetoric,continues to rake in the membership fees. he lives well, eats well, drives a nifty car, gets paid really well, and his job, is to make you strike, never to worry if it cripples the economy, increases debt, closes down businesses, just as long as he strikes for his pay.

the "strike" is there to bully government into submission. to extort deals that otherwise would not happen. government folds, as it's hands are so deep in the cookie jar, it's ministers so incompetent, it has no other option.

there are the "medical doctors" on strike for better pay, better working conditions,( you think they would like spa treatments included),..
better services. the better pay is paramount. so what happened to the Hippocratic oath, it took a back seat to an incompetent ministry, and a money hungry work force.
if patients die tough luck, that is the mafia at work, if the hospitals are dirty, doctors are to educated to pitch in, but not educated enough to get their staff, to pull finger and get on with it. surely since you are on the ground, working in state hospitals, and supposedly educated, you could get all the necessary people together, and start implementing better more efficient health services. oops i forget, that takes work. instead, call on Zwelenzima, and strike. work is not what we get paid for.

medical studies are state subsidised, intern doctors, have to give back by doing a two year community service, for this they get paid, paid to learn good deal, i would imagine. instead they are on strike for more pay. and still they believe they are there to give back to the community, by striking?...i would pay you for that to.
I forget i am paying for that. my tax money, is contributing to the state subsidy. in that case why don't i strike. oops then i would have a business that closes down, debts i couldn't handle, five people unemployed. so i must continue working so that others have the luxury of striking.
my proposal:
1. fire all the striking doctors
2. if people die because of the strike, sue the doctors on strike
3. hire doctors from other countries who are willing to work.
4. stop government subsidies to medical studies, let the students pay for their education.
5. if students don't like it, they can pay for educations at overseas institutions
6. the above ensures they need not suffer through community service.
after all it's not about community, right?

this is blackmail, to get government to screw people like you and i for more tax, and if i need medical help, i still have to rely on private institutions for which i pay a hefty medical aid. can i strike for my money back?

then the taxi's threatened strike action if they were not used for the confed and world cup. the threat of looking like asses in front of sepp blatter and his crew ensured that government and SAFA acceded to the threats.

public sector strikes have become the norm, from garbage collection, through to the revenue service. how about we utilise the same tactics, strike and not pay tax, or strike to get taxation reduced. so would all the public servants stand and support us when their pay packets get delayed. or they just dont get paid because there is no income tax revenue.

strange terminology."public servant"...i believe they forget they are in these jobs to serve us, instead we serve them, and the strike is the threat that keeps us serving. Zwelinzima wanted the "doctors" strike to end before they lost public support. the idiot doesn't realise he had no public support and it was lost before the srtike action started.

i need to get in on this action. who needs picnics in the sun, strike boys strike.

sporting headlines

2009-06-23T10:26:00.002+02:00

seems my life has been filled with cricket recently. the IPL left our shores, and once again we were glued to a forty inch box, to watch the ICC limited over cricket at lords. i have discovered that i am a great fan of cricket, most especially the armchair sports variety, though attending a limited overs game now and then is great fun.for me possibly the doughnuts smothered in melted chocolate is the attraction.

i supported the proteas with a great deal of vigour and hoped that the bad luck fairy, would be kind, and we would finally see a cricketing trophy gracing the south African cricket board shelves. alas it was not to be, once again it was so near yet so far. i thought after watching Sri Lanka demolish the West indies.an unbeaten 96 runs from tillakeratne dilshan, some impressive bowling from muralidaran, made me believe that the final, up against boom boom Afridi, was going to be an edge of the seat experience. i should have known better. it was a final after all.

Sri lanka folded like a bad poker hand. the game was over, before the first ball was bowled,...Pakistan had the good luck cricketing fairies on their side. Afridi did a brilliant job with both bat and ball,as i witnessed the Sri Lankan batting order collapse i couldn't help but believe, that South Africa, might have given Pakistan some tougher opposition.

the cry of Pakistan Zindabad reverberated the world over, as every expat immigrant Pakistani, found their patriotic voices, which only seems to rise out of the ashes, when the men in green, find victory on the cricket pitch. i have not witnessed such zealousness, and patriotism at any other time, either on my visits to Pakistan or in my dealings with Pakistanis outside of their country.

the next morning my facebook homepage was awash with congratulations for Pakistan, my own status, hailing their win, it all deteriorated into disappointment, when some of my Pakistani friends, assumed that celebrating victory, was reason to humiliate their opponents. i am firmly of the belief, that in victory, their must be graciousness and humility, that as good as the victor gives, so his/her opponents
give of their best, when i read these headline notices on facebook, i could not help, but be moved to respond.
"well played boys! Koi nai! Koi nai! No big deal"
"70 to 6 baby!"
"come on boys! show the suckers the power of green"
Un-beatable? Un challenged eh??...Die- suckers Die!!! PAKISTAN ZINDABAD"
AND THE ONE THAT KILLED ME:
"do i see my SA friends choking on their words?
shahid afridi a big chumma!....Sri Lanka go back to blackland. the future is green. PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!.....

Modern day sports is much like ancient gladiators locked in battle to survive, the spectators baying for blood, anticipating death, like wise we cheer on our national teams, cry tears at their losses, and bay for our opponents blood, but all in the name of good sportsmanship, healthy rivalries. what shocked me to the corp, was the blatant aggression and racism inherent, in the remarks above. we have carried the colonial flag, that black is weak, black is bad, black is to be opressed into our lives.

having lived and been born into a country, where my every moment in life was governed by the colour of my skin, where i could eat, where i could sleep, where i could shit, "DIE SLEGS BLANKES " (ONLY WHITES) signs of my life, ingrained deep within my psyche and those of every south African. has left scars and a deep rooted pain. i find tears roll down my cheeks as i write this, and i cry for the losses incurred by being racist. my stomach churned at the words "GO BACK TO BLACKLAND"...how can any young educated woman, as strongly as her patriotic fervour had arisen in her heart, show such disrespect, to a team and a country, who had acquitted themselves so well during this tournament. i could not help but respond.

the sad part was realising, that both arrogance and stupidity are a lethal combination, as my response was totally misunderstood, the fact that Pakistan was victorious was justification enough to be racist, and her friends were in agreement.
never once in two days of comments going back and forth, did anyone apologise for being racist. it astounds me and boggles the mind, Pakistani immigrants, find themselves being racially attacked on a regular basis, the slur of "paki go home", resounds around the streets of London,and other countries that people have immigrated to. i say this, having been attacked in this manner, on a visit to london. as i walked down a suburban street, uncouth ill mannered british "white" construction workers, yelled out "paki go home", it cut deep, and i could only excuse it away, because they were uneducated, manual labourers who were just jealous...right?
having witnessed Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia being manhadlded just because they are Pakistani, and South Africans torch Pakistani businesses, because these immigrants are seen as a threat.i cannot condone then that pakistani's would behave in the same manner, surely we treat others as we would like to be treated.

knowing all this it irritated me, that (I am generalising here i am sure)...that Pakistani nationals themselves could exhibit, such demeaning racist behaviour towards a sporting opponent, who were both gracious in defeat as well as in victory.
has our education an evolution as a species, been so sorely lacking that we are so unforgiving in our approach to other people. my mistake was believing that the woman i addressed had intelligence and grace, i obviously credited her with more than she deserved.

she became a sore indictment to Pakistan, and reason in my mind at least, that Pakistan has a long way to go, before she can progress and become a respected player in this world. if the people that make up a nation, more importantly their mind set has not evolved beyond the gutter, than how can a country make any progress in the world. political change happens, rulers and ruling parties come and go. unless the thinking and mindset of a people are not changed their can never be any hope for a country to prosper and be better than it is. if you cannot respect yourself, never believe that the world will ever respect you.

sports

2009-06-01T14:27:00.009+02:00

TO THE VICTOR GO THE SPOILS

"ROME" 2009 THE BULL RING....

SPECTATORS FROM FAR AND WIDE

CHEERING ON THE GLADIATORS

IPL AT THE BULL RING...WANDERERS STADIUM JOHANNESBURG SOUTH AFRICA

the IPL came and went. the BULLS (rugby) smashed the opposition this weekend. Chelsea took the FA cup final. can someone please explain to me the zealousness with which people worship sports.
we fill the arenas cheering our teams on, much like gladiators in a ring, and the crowds dance,cheer stomp their feet and consume copious amounts of indigestible junk, litres of beer, go home intoxicated with the win, only to do it all again come next weekend.

i marvel at the phenomenon, and admire the industry it has all become, their are potloads of money to be made and the organisers, advertisers, promoters, owners are astute businessmen, who dish out what people crave, and make themselves rich, while the belching masses,get intoxicated by the adrenaline rush of supporting some or other team.

so when reporters lament the demise of the gentleman's game of cricket, lounging on the lawns for five days, sipping champagne and eating cucumber sandwiches, i have to say, catch a wake up dude, it's no longer the era of white shirted, parasol carrying spectators, with inherited wealth, puffing on pipes. it's all about mass marketing, and keeping the masses in a state of euphoria, so we forget the crap in our lives.

it was bound to happen to cricket,...the likes of the IPL,...why should it not, a shorter money making enterprise, which keeps people entertained and happy.its a sign of the times, evolution, for the better? you decide.....

election day tomorrow the 22nd of april 2009

2009-04-21T14:57:00.002+02:00

Jacob Zuma ia all set to be the next president of South Africa. tomorrow we will be heading to the polls to cast our vote in this, the fourth democratic election since the ANC first won an election. i believe they are headed once again for a 2/3rds majority, despite all the negative publicity and the fact that the ANC president, just couldn't stay out of trouble.

i watched Jacob Zuma, at his press conference this morning, and despite getting off corruption and rape chargers, he comes across as more intelligent, dignified,and able to deliver than all the Patricia Delill's and Helen Zilla's put together.
most of the other political campaigns were about gunning for Zuma, not a policy or workable idea in the bunch, then you have the man who has fifteen years of policy, and deliverance behind him as president of the ruling party, despite the corruption chargers, and lack of delivery in some if not most constituencies,... he is undoubtedly the popular candidate. hell wasn't Hitler voted in by democratic election, and isn't this what democracy is all about. if the ANC is not your party of choice, and Jacob zuma not your choice as president , you have every right to cast your vote elsewhere. and that is the beauty of democracy. despite my vocal and some what vociferous rejection of having to go out and cast my vote, i will most definitely take an early morning walk, green identity document in hand, and make my mark on a ballot paper, after all this is a fundamental right of all citizens, over the age of 18, and what right of complaint do i have if i do not exercise my mandate as a voter.

there is i have to admit a sense of pride, that comes with the privilege of having a vote. for so long people in this country, were denied an opportunity to be a part of the decision making process, a democratic election gives us that, yes there is all the negativity of corruption, failure to deliver, infrastructure deteriorating, but then which country in the world can claim to be absolutely free of any of the former , what is important to me, is how much has been achieved, what have been the improvements, for one thing after 3 successive elections, the Anc have retained a 2/3rd's majority and have not in any of the preceding years attempted to change the constitution. so to answer Helen zille why would they do so now?

the failure of the NPA to convict Jacob zuma, does not mean he will now go about changing the south African constitution to suit his own ends or those of the ANC...that is why we are a democracy.if the fear is that the ruling party is to powerful, and controls to much of the voting publics loyalty, then the indictment is on the parties, who have not done their jobs in convincing us otherwise.perhaps the oposition have failed dismally to deliver. the idea of an opposition is not just to but heads with the ruling party, to block every effort at governance, but rather to work together as a government of national unity to provide for the people of south Africa what our constitution promises. our oppposition parties have not proven any willingness to participate and be effective, they have proven that they are good at complaining, much like armchair sports fans.

to date all the opposition has been able to come up with, is mud slinging, and nay saying, and they have secured their financial future for themselves and their biggest supporters, so how are they any different to the ruling party. instead of bitching, why not get off your overpaid fat asses, and work towards producing on promises the government has made to the people of south Africa. each party represents the ideas and aspirations of its supporters, so bring it to the table and learn to work together rather than against each other.

the only thing that elections highlight for me, is the number of hungry dogs in the kennel, each one growling for the biggest, juiciest, slice of steak. the end result is how politically sussed are the voting public, and how far are we able to see beyond the blarney, to cast votes, that will count in strengthening rather than weakening our country and its people.

yes we are a banana republic, like all others, but there is always hope, when your population are more informed and aware. education is always the key,so go out there and read, get informed about who delivered what, listen and learn. and go out and make your mark. democracy is what it's all about.

easter sunday lunch

2009-04-15T10:55:00.004+02:00

alberts yummy starters

feta cheese with coriander and chilli

looking good

smoke salmon spoonfulls and mozarella salad

should have rather termed this lazy sunday lunch..the pictures are the starters that were inspired by a great weekend, of easy food, wonderful company, and all those glowy things that happen when people are relaxed and enjoying some time off.

traditionally when my family are around a lazy sunday lunch would never describe having people over for lunch, that would mean, planning three days ahead, and cooking up a storm, a heavy lunch with all it's accompaniments. by the time the guests leave, and we have finished cleaning up, one is so exhausted there is no room to even savour the day. the food in the pictures above would never even feature on the menu. since i had the place to myself, and a willing loving accomplice, we invited friends over for lunch, and the result was a relaxed, fun afternoon, with great food and even better company.

the menu:
starters:
avocado in a chilli mayonaise sauce (my own concoction)
smoked salmon spoonfulls (alberts piece de resistance)
tomato and mozarella salad on a bed of rocket (alberts idea)
japanese cucumber salad with ginger (alberts concoction)
feta cheese with chilli and coriander ( my meditaranean inspiration)
baked pita pockets sprinkled with sea salt and olive oil

main:
fish and prawns in steamed rice: (this was seriously a dreamed up concoction)
forgot to take a picture. possibly could be termed a pilauf

desert:
mango sorbet (from woolies)

tea/coffee:
with my never fail 5 min cake.

as i type this out, it seems like a hefty amount of work, the beauty of it all was that it took an hour or just over to put it all together. there was no advance planning, no traditional indian mother stress, just a perfectly in sinc combination of two people, who were relaxed and happy. looking forward to chilling with friends
and enjoying a wonderful autumnal day in the city of johannesburg.what could be more fulfilling and rewarding. maybe that one day it could be our own home, where indulgences like these could be the norm, not just around easter....mmmmmm, perhaps some day.

NPA folds

2009-04-06T16:57:00.003+02:00

so it's official chargers against Jacob Zuma have been dropped. political collusion, unlawful tapping of the presidents telephone calls etc,etc.
since the government in it's infinite wisdom, chose to utilise our money in this futile endeavour, we must now be happy with the "we are dropping the chargers".in effect the entire saga was political window dressing. i suppose as always when the money is not yours, you may squander it.personally it was evident from the beginning that this three ringed circus, was going to end in the JZ...being cleared. we can now move on to griping about other political issues.and take it to the polls.....hahahaha.

for a change i am all griped out...the Dalai Lama i am sure is miffed with the South African authorities, but then money talks and human rights walk. South Africa though is tenuously hanging on to some credibility as Pakistan and India reel under pressure from terror attacks. we are now drowning in cricket activity. the IPL has moved to SA for the next month, and the ICC has moved from Pakistan. guys why on earth can't you get it right. i repeated a van der merwe joke on FB, and much to my chagrin, upset my Pakistani friends, it was a joke, but none the less, the sad state of affairs in Lahore and Karachi makes me wander. the government of Pakistan seems not to have a grip on anything.

the teletubbies, are running riot burning down schools that educate girls..imagine that. what type of people will you breed if the mothers of your nation are barely able to read. if not that the government jails it's judges, then kisses American ass, but still gets it's cities attacked by "terrorists" presumably the same teletubbies that don't want women to be educated. the bumbling fool Karzai in Afghanistan is no better, ..and no one wants to deal with the Afghan refugees on Pakistan's border. least of all Pakistan.

then there's India...who constantly bail out by blaming all their woes on Pakistan. an India that has been singularly ineffective when it comes to Kashmir, hell Pakistan cannot be blamed for everything. the Indian government have brutalised the people and region of Kashmir. And are also caught up in their own political and economic agenda. every where governments and politicians are corrupt and on the take.
if any of us believe that Barak Obama is to be the saviour you are all delusional.

ELECTIONS

2009-03-23T11:00:00.004+02:00

it's that time again...elections. in a month which is riddled with endless public holiday's we get another mid week holiday on the 22nd of april. election day.
with the world economic situation and the yoyo rand wreaking havoc, surely it is absolute stupidity to loose another productive day.
and then the question becomes. who do we vote for? why? because all that is on offer sucks big time.(rhetorical question, because we all know the answer to that....no one)
like vikram seths mosquito's, political parties attack with malevolent pertinacity, these vultures all come out at election time, to secure four more years in a job, they are incapable of handling, in a year that is so economically and financially debilitating, it erks me to pay my tax bill. government has only been effective in wasting tax payers money.

R100 000 000 on the Jacob Zuma affair, for a charge that amounted to R4 000 000 rands. Come on...every sane business person knows you never throw good money after bad. this was an exercise in futility, Zuma is off the hook, Shaik is out of prison. i worked my @#$$% ass off, to earn a living paid my tax, and the money was wasted on a moronic legal battle...oops. why not tell that to the morons, burning up schools because there was no money to play soccer, or the shack dwellers torching suburbs and behaving like ill bread waste of timers, because they have not received housing yet. i think the R100 000 000, could have been better spent elsewhere, don't you?
not to mention the assholes who get there housing sell it to foreigners or whoever, then fraudulently apply for another, why can they do this? because of lazy ill educated bureaucrats, and a system with so many holes, it resembles Swiss cheese, another place the R100 000 000 could have been deployed.

but instead it was used as a panacea to bureaucratic ego, which highlights the sad truth that people in government are all but brain dead, and then they are trying to solicit my vote.

the ANC goes one further, they employ Sanjay Dutt, to campaign in the Indian areas, to secure votes. HELLO...this really confirms my belief, that to have a job in government, one needs only have the fact that you are a dishonest, uneducated crook,on your cv and the job is yours.
at election time they drag out the likes of Mohammed Valley Moosa, to his credit he left government with his reputation in tact, and a good few billion the richer for it. why would he engender any kind of trust in the millions without even the proverbial dollar. i listened to the stupid so called debate on SABC last night, unfortunately Mr. Moosa could only trot out the platitudes of the past, we brought liberation, we devised the constitution, the little booklet, held proudly up for public scrutiny. cut the babble, liberation is over, you are no longer a liberation organisation. the ANC, represents the largest political party in our Swiss cheese democracy, and you have only delivered, embarrassment in the last four years.

a president who was fired, a trial that cost millions, a national air carrier, in debt up to its eye balls, with its useless, crooked CEO, getting a 33 million rand payout for driving it further in debt than it already was. the like of Karl Niehaus, who turned out to be a bigger crook, than the Shaik. Karl really committed fraud and theft, is still on the pay roll, the Shaik, did not steal tax payers money.
a minister in the office of the presidency that is so thick, i wouldn't hire her as a domestic, but she has a job, with the movers and the shakers.she gets moved and Shaiked and perhaps some big multi national corporation continues to make millions.

Julius continues on his pedantic, juvenile mission, and we are meant to vote ANC. there is no point, in continuing to play on the achievements of the past, we have all been there and done that, the ANC has not proven or maintained a track record that engenders trust in any way. it has become the newest member of the African conspiracy, which is steal as much as possible, and keep control at all costs, so i am sure military coups, overthrows, mass genocide,might all become ANC vocabulary as some point. a sad indictment for an organisation and a country that held so much promise.

then there is Cope, who claim to sow Hope. so why would you vote for Cope, except to create an opposition...then the members of Cope are all the disgruntled members of the ANC, and then some. yes they are more intelligent than Julius, but they were there and party to all the !@@#3 ups of the last four years. their presidential candidate is a reverend, what do you think a man of the cloth knows about being president of the country? quite capable of a coup i suppose if they don't win an election. don't know if i would vote for them.

neither the ANC nor COPE, are representative of a rainbow nation. besides "black" candidates, there are no other people represented, on their election list. racism in reverse, these chumps are doing no better than the NP, did under apartheid.

ah ha! the DA, now why on Gods green earth would we vote DA. without being bigoted, they represent a percentage of south African population, which i will term the white middle to upper classes, their driving force is to secure the future of said south Africans, they have no leaders that can inspire confidence, though helen zilla looks much better after the makeover, amazing what a little botox and hair dye can achieve. all their electoral rhetoric smacks of sour grapes, and they are good at apportioning blame, the DA is fond of highlighting corruption when it suits their purpose, but never expose where their campaign funds come from, or what deals those in control have on the go to keep their pocket books flushed, if the ANC, wasn't so busy fighting their own power struggle, they might be keen to do an expose, what do you think? the DA, and now i will use history, is historically a sitting on the fence party, as the pfp, and the Democratic alliance etc, they were very much a part of the old regime, they claimed it was better to fight apartheid from within, they obviously were quite in effective, as apartheid lasted over forty years, but they did secure the comfort of the white English speaking middle and upper classes, under an Afrikaans, right wing, christian government.

they also did their best to secure "Jewish" wealth and rights in south Africa, i say Jewish, as there is no other way to describe the community, though small in number, they describe themselves as "Jewish", the term used descriptively as a nationality, nothing to do with religion.not south African, but Jewish, and white of course. their numbers make up the captains of industry in south Africa, despised by the right wing afrikaans government, they none the less made inroads in business, and funded both the DA and the NP, thus securing their financial dominance, today they fund the ANC, the DA and possibly any other party, thus securing their stranglehold on all real business in south Africa.the DA really only have the interests of this lobby on their agenda. they were happy to expose Shaik, but nary a word is heard about the deals secured for this lobby.

then there was Helen Suzman, the ANC lorded her as a stalwart of the struggle, please!, truth be told, as a member of parliament, and the PFP, they did nothing to aid the struggle in any true sense of the world, i welcome anyone to prove me wrong. so that takes care of the DA.

the rest of the political party's represented, are nothing to write home to mother about.so i will not waste space here.

my sad conclusion, is that there are no real choices here. it is a matter of which crooked party will triumph over another. in the meantime, the country will continue to prosper, and survive, on the backs of real south Africans, who wake at dawn, find their way to places of work, and pay their taxes.this is the real rainbow nation, who sadly have been ignored by their country, despite which, we work, and are patriots, people who in the true sense put their money where their mouths are, only to have government squander this in every sense of the word.

we understand that all governments are corrupt, as i've said before, as long as they do not steal the entire pot, please realise that at the very least 80% of the money, should be sent on the country and it's people, as yet we in africa have not learnt this,....case in point our neighbour zimbabwe, we are fond of bringing out the begging bowl. can we change?

the kids are growing....and growing....and....

2009-03-02T15:10:00.009+02:00

iman and azad at the office 2008/11/12

azad on holiday in umdloti....19/02/09

enjoying the neighbours pool

little princess 13/02/09

20/02/09...not quite sitting yet

24/01/09....iman with me

dadi's kitchen....24/01/09

it has been some time since i have posted anything from FOI..that's me the proud aunty. iman especially hasn't had that much mention on this blog. the little squirt is now 8 months old and azad has reached 20 months.

iman has a voice on her, and brooks no nonsense from big brother, who has discovered, how to bite and pinch, habits we are trying to wean him off. it might be fun for azad, but the rest of us are severely battered and bruised. iman finds that rolling to places is much easier than getting on all fours and crawling there, perhaps its that female vanity, not wanting to get her knees dirty, or she is just plain lazy. i am wondering if she will be as amenable as her big brother, when it comes to going on holiday with foi, without mum and dad, remains to be seen.

both these squirts have this family wrapped around their, really little fingers. while azad, has a singular aversion to food, do you want lunch is met with a resounding no, iman, has her mouth open the minute a spoon enters her sights, the lips open, and the tongue comes darting out, she must definitely be related to me.

enjoy the latest pics of brother and sister....

the yacoubian building

2009-02-03T14:21:00.005+02:00

starting to feel like a drowned rat. it has been raining in johannesburg for more than a week non stop. rain is good, but this much, and grey skies just don't engender happy feelings. i am beginning to sing that childhood mantra, "rain,rain go away come again another day." the only plus point about rain, is that one gets to have time to read. and i have not been doing much of that lately.

picked up ngugi wa thiongo's novel "wizard of the crow"..which i have yet to sink my teeth into. it looks promising as an epic satirical piece. set in magic realist style, first couple of pages seem good.
i have finished ala al aswany, " the yacoubian building". the dust jacket terms it a number one best seller. i hope he is a better dentist than author. yes you have guest it, i wasn't all that impressed.
the novel has been made into a movie and tv series, and obviously has caused quite a stir in the arabic world.

it is set around 1990, during the advent of the first gulf war. it is set in the yacoubian building, which still exists in cairo today. the author has based some of the characters on people he knows or has known. the novel is teeming with a plethora of characters, all living in the yacoubian building, and interrelated in one way or another.

i believe al aswany was trying to tackle to many issues at once, and their is no real character development, or not anything that one can really sink their teeth into. it read more like a fast food novel or comic book. somehow capturing the tastes of a fast food world. and perhaps that is the measure of its success.

he deals with to many issues and doesn't satisfactorily capture any of them in any real sense. homosexuality,women abuse,islamic radicalism,corruption,politics,poverty,...he has an opinion on all these issues, but that is just what it seems an opinion, the novel didn't really tackle them for me satisfactorily.
zaki bey el dessouki the main character, just appeares as a pathetic old man, horsewhipped by his boorish dishonest sister, living in the glory days of the old regime before Gamal abdel nasser and the revolution. he is not particularly observant of islam.
then there's the doormans son, taha shazli,...who joins the islamic revolution, the why's and wherefores of how he gets there, corruption in the police force, his class status excludes him from the police academy, torture by the police, while in their custody, drives him to seeking solace in islam and the radical movements, who have sprung up, as a result of the political and diminishing moral fibre of arab society.
busayna el sayed, taha's love interest,..resident on the roof....her exploitation at the hands of employers, that i suppose was meant to highlight the abuse and exploitation of women. who final marries zaki bey at the end of the novel.
hatim rasheed the educated newspaper editor and closet homosexual, who everyone knows is homosexual, but choose to ignore because he is good at his job....all french educated and refined manners.
the issues and characters abound, it is a good comic read, but not a novel that truly probes any of the caricatures or attitudes it throws up.the building itself represents a changing egyptian society, and moral fibre of the country as a whole, from the shanty dwellers on the roof, to the more affluent tenants and owners of the apartments within the building.

al aswany, had a sound idea, and had the strength to tackle taboo subjects, but not the talent or expertise of naguib mahfouz or taha hussein or gamal el ghitani to carry the momentum through.

i was dissapointed in that the hype surrounding the novel did not meet my expectations, but every reader will have their own opinion, and it does give one an idea of modern day egypt.

gaza latest pics received...and my blurb

2009-01-14T14:25:00.004+02:00

the above just shows that even famous people are stupid and ill informed. some of this crap is why we can never get out of the BS surrounding the problems in Gaza. if in fact any of the above is true.

Here we are i am not sure how many weeks into the Gaza situation. my cell is inundated with calls to boycott this or that product, say a duaa, attend a protest action. some i can entertain, others not. where were all these people in the last fifty years. this crisis really is nothing new.

i just got invited to attend a khatam,(prayer where quran will be read and completed) for the crisis in Gaza. are we only praying now? if not,..then in the last fifty years these prayers seem to have got us no where. with all due respect, is there not a clear message from Allah, that we have not approached this situation correctly, if Allah does not answer your prayers, that does not mean he has not heard you, on the contrary He has, and His answer has been a resounding no.
or He has given us signs which we have doggedly chosen to ignore. for what it is worth, lamenting the ifs whys and wherefore's is neither productive nor is it going to help the situation any. we must insist on condemning these atrocities, be they in Palestine,Somalia,Ethiopia,the ivory coast,Haiti,and countries ad infinitum.

the cruelty that human beings can exhibit is frightening, there are just as many who can be kind and wonderful, so how do we go about effecting change for the better. i seriously do not believe in pointing fingers and making accusations it never works, people need to reach deep into that part of themselves, their moral centers (provided they have one), and see what is important in life,taking a life any life is never justified,using religion to excuse it, is a bigger injustice nay crime.

the leaders in control, both Palestine and Israel, need to put the people first. it was the Palestinians that welcomed displaced Jews to their country after world war 2 neither America nor Britain wanted the Jewish question to be brought to their doorsteps, so they found suitable accommodation in Palestine. what have they achieved in fifty years? the state of Israel. They have systematically displaced and victimised their hosts, into poverty, deprivation, and death.

all this by claiming that Allah promised this land to the Jew, mighty crap promise, if you need to decimate an entire people, just to retain control of a piece of land, and then to fly in Jews from around the world to populate it. perhaps we worship the wrong God, since it was not Allah but the USA and it's stooge Great Britain, that helped in creating the state of Israel. so then if Palestinians are terrorists, and Arabs are to be decimated, what does that make Israeli's...see pointing fingers. whom does that help. perhaps if we tried to entertain truths, and realised, that all people have the right to their existence within "Israel", their need not be a crisis.

why does not Israel acknowledge, the welcome it's people received after Hitler spat them out, and live in harmony with those that opened their homes to you.what goes around comes around. the Jew will forever be displaced,disliked,despised,if the behaviour he shows to others, is what the state of Israel perpetuates.there can be no sympathy for the Jew, when the Jew has no sympathy for his fellow brothers and sisters, this has been an ongoing saga, since biblical times. Jews seek sympathy because of the holocaust, do you think Hitler was a Muslim? did they not suffer greater persecution under Christianity then Islam?

why not acknowledge that the Jew lived happily and prosperously under Islam, more than under any other regime, find that inner truth and perhaps the situation in Gaza can be solved.Goliath can never win the battle with David, David's home is threatened and his territory invaded, his vested interests are greater than all the flown in props from around the world, his blood and the blood of his forefathers seep deep into the soil. and with every new generation of David's born the war continues.

take away the need for David to fight, give him back his place under Gods son, and learn to live as the brothers and sisters we are once again.....to much to ask i am sure.

happy new year

2009-01-12T16:39:00.006+02:00

mmmmmm, i cannot believe that it is over a month since my last post.
here's wishing all my friends and loved ones a fantastic 2009. it has opened with not very promising world events, and sadly things never seem to improve.

my cell phone, email,facebook inbox, have all been inundated with messages to join the fight to save Gaza. i to am appalled and disgusted by the recent turn of events, and Israeli brutality against innocent Palestinians. at the risk of being politically incorrect or worse still labelled a traitor. there are a few points that constantly trouble me around the debacle that is the "Palestinian issue".

firstly a good friend of mine, turned down an invitation to a pool party at my place, because she was so saddened by the happenings in Gaza, she has joined the free Palestine movement and once again become an activist. with all due respect,
does living have to cease because Palestinians are suffering? to begin with, this has been going on for over fifty years, while i understand that international pressure can only help the Palestinians, does that mean life as we know it must end in solidarity.

why then have we not hopped on a flight to Israel,and joined the armed struggle.
Israel helped by the united states have succeeded in displacing millions and are in the middle of a genocidal war. nobody really gives a damn, cause they are just Palestinians, and there are no oil dollars at stake. the united states aids Israel, to the tune of 3.2 billion dollars annually, what do they pay Egypt to keep the Gaza border closed? 2 billion dollars annually, more? or less? Egypt takes the dirty money, and keeps it border closed. whom should we be protesting against?

my point is that the Arab world is just as duplicitous in this crime, that is the Palestinian situation. giving up once pleasures in life, will not help, the situation in Palestine. quite frankly the Palestinians themselves need to catch a wake up.

neither the PLO, nor the existing political players seemed to have a concrete political agenda. the way i see it, the world is pouring in aid to Palestine, why not neutralise Israel and the united states, by firstly becoming a more united people, between hamas, Hezbollah, the Palestinian liberation movements, that stooge Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinians are so divided, they seem not to know which end is up.

Arafat with all due respect made as much money as he could, and aided, the demise of any coherent struggle in the region,...then he did us a favour and died...perhaps not.

further more instead of harping on a separate Palestine, for which no real political program of any meaning has been put forward, call the Israeli bluff.
acknowledge. that Israel does and will always exist. ask for full integration into the state of Israel. for full rights as citizens of Israel. the right of political parties to exist within a democracy. the right to full emancipation as citizens of Israel. the right to health care, education, votes, all the freedoms that exist to citizens of any democratic country. what can either the united states or Israel do then? am i being naive here?

if there is no war, there is no need for 3.2 billion dollars in aid. if there is no war, Israel's only industry the manufacture of arms would close down, therefore, all the flown in Jews, will go back to their countries of origin when jobs dry up. if there is no war, there is no need to occupy territory. is it defeat to play the game under different rules. eventually displaced Palestinians would return home, eventually the playing fields would be levelled, so what if the country is called Israel, that would in time,.. change as well.

is it wishful thinking on my part?
i do believe that the Palestinians to some degree , are to be blamed for this fiasco. it does not mean that we do not support the cause, it does not excuse Israel ot the united states, i am just saying, that the people of Palestine need to get off their asses, stop bitching among themselves, and own their liberation as a united people. giving up on pool parties in south Africa, won't win them freedom. they need to earn their freedom by becoming a more united people. we can do what we can as outsiders, but real change comes from within. how does Israel manage to be such a united front. perhaps we could learn a lesson from their techniques. why do they always appear so polished,

to quote Thomas Paine:
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and the thanks of man and woman.
Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem to lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. i love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and who's conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

Israel can only win the war, if the people of Palestine allow her that right.

world in turmoil

2008-12-03T14:34:00.005+02:00

what a week....besides the idiots terrorising mumbai...back home our idiot julius malema wishes us to believe he is part of the so called ANC "elite". hello? !!! elite?, since when did the struggle heroes become an elite, and how could someone who is certainly six cans short of a six pack consider he could be elite, unique maybe, because no one and i mean no one could be that freeking stupid.

the new political party COPE seems to be gaining momentum, with new recruits. lets hope they will be less elitist...perhaps they will remember their roots. and that what we do should be for the greater good of the country and all who live here. wishfull thinking on my part, yet i am a firm believer in democracy winning the day. come back to this blog in a couple of years, i certainly do not want to be eating crow.

the dimwit in zimbabwe is clinging on to his presidency. while his country is obliterated literally. now there is cholera, which has contaminated our waters. for God's sake guys what the hell is the problem. go to switzerland kiss your gold bars, and let zimbabwe, try to recover, from the ashes. not to mention the "doofus" morgan svengerai (spelling) is not any better than "Bob", but, who cares? it's just zimbabwe, and won't make ripples in the world. unlike india. which of course, i am inclined to believe, there are greater issues at work on the subcontinent. which does not excuse the events that transpired last week. violence solves nothing.
as Gulnaz points out, it is laziness of the mind. i agree. just because people are to ignorant, blinded or just plain lazy, they can be hoodwinked into commiting unspeakable acts.there is no excuse for stupidity and violence.

then there's the prize idiot who decided yoga is unislamic, because one chants OM...catch a wake up...chant mmmmmm.clear your mind and get some really great excercise. personally the salah is much the same as yoga, a deep meditative state where we commune with Allah. so what on Gods green earth is the problem?

once again, it boils down to shear laziness of the mind, a singular refusal to apply, our God given intelligence, to think further than our short sighted noses. islam doesn't teach us to be prescriptive, it offers us a way of life,which respects and acknowledges, that the world is populated, by people who might have different beliefs, our job, is not to sit in judgement, but to live a "good" life, to respect all humanity, and indeed all living beings. we can never go wrong, if we just respect that none of us were meant to be the same, in our differences, lies the strength of this world, why not embrace it, and create a better happier future, rather than a world of intolerance,ignorance,violence and dissention....

i have finally gotten around to posting this missive, .....thanks to all of you who sent me messages, to update my blog. i have been much to preoccupied with life, as i know it. hopefully i will have a chance in the near future.

the waterburg

2008-11-19T10:52:00.010+02:00

moosa and arshad.
moosa had to put you here, wonderful to see you again....i suppose we are family now as a result of this wonderful match...sorry bout the camera angle...next time.

the happy couple

the wedding face..natasha and i

relaxing by the damn...sunday morning face

boy fishing at a watering hole

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sunset over the mountain

ashantha and i...relaxed and happy

gorgeous waterburg

view from the veranda

last weekend was spent at the waterburg, another piece of heaven in this country. good company,good food,sure brings out the best in me.
to end a great weekend,..yep you have guest in another post wedding function.
after a gorgeous drive back from bela bela (formally known as warmbaths, can't figure out the reason for this name change but there you have it). as a young girl we spent many a summer holiday in warmbaths, where my maternal family have made their home and run a thriving business. i just remember the green segregated swimming pools ...Indians here, whites there. and of course we were not allowed to the warm spa's, from which the place derives it's name.
everything in life then was proscribed by the colour of one's skin and ethnic origin, all the best holiday spots were kept for those of paler hue.

this is where i learnt to swim,..my dad grabbed me and threw me into the deep end of the pool, with the words "swim". blubbering, spluttering, and barely able to find my balance, swim i did. all dressed up in my navy bather, with it's white frilly skirt. those were the good old days,...thanks to democracy, as an adult i was able to enjoy a magical weekend at the tilodi wilderness reserve.
a privately run game farm in the waterburg, just outside bela bela.
though we did not see any real game, the setting and tranquility of the area, was unsurpassed.

kudos to the staff, who were hospitable, always obliging and made our stay magical.my cousin yasmin finally said adieu to the last of her flock, all of 21 i believe, who got married on Sunday.
loosing the weekend laid back me, i donned the glad rags and was off to enjoy chicken and beef, much rather have been on a flight somewhere else. with the steward shouting, chicken or beef.

i have now to finally voice my beef, with these family shindigs, the "pahad's" always get a special table allocated to them, but then it's the select few, now ex public servants. what i would like to know have the rest of the pahad's suddenly metamorphosed into untouchable beings, relegated to the back benches, because we never held public office, or were close enough to lick the presidents ass.

do people not realise that it is totally rude, and socially unacceptable, to separate family along these lines, just as in "animal farm", there are some pigs who are more equal than others. quite frankly i cannot for the life of me think what might make them more special than me,.....and those hosting these shindigs are stupid enough to throw it in your face, then they wonder why we rarely accept invitations. guys you have got to learn, it is preferable not to invite guests, then to make them feel, like they are the afterthought, the politically correct invitees.

still i smiled, ate drank and made merry, the beautiful couple are only deserving of happiness and good wishes, in this instance, it was heartwarming to see the joining of families, who have known and respected each other for decades, finally there is a wedding joining them....good wishes to you both,...may you live long and prosper.may i not have to do glad rags for a good couple of months :)

tea time

2008-11-12T14:28:00.004+02:00

haven't been attracted much to my blog recently. i believe it is simply because i have been inundated at the office. truthfully it is because i have renewed my rather inactive social life. also that i spend far to much time on facebook.
i "celebrated" yet another birthday,and decided to kick start my life, back into the realm of the living. i felt stuck in a rut, and the easy option was to accept that this is what life had to offer,....wrong.

a friend told me that we should never be afraid of living life, but be afraid of never having lived it, cliched perhaps, but apt none the less.i took a mid week break, shock horror,...all in my previous post. have taken time off, to drive around Johannesburg, and enjoy this city in the first blush of the summer sun.even booked an overnight stay, in polokwane for the weekend coming up, pics to follow....lunch dates and tea breaks, none of which have been on my usual daily activities, guess what? it has made an unbelievable difference in the way i view the world and approach my day.

i ask myself now, why i have never taken that tea break...a warm cup of tea, loving company, a time to reflect and chat,to cuddle,to laugh, to plan.it is amazing what a good cup of tea, shared in friendship can do for a person.my usual modus operandi, would be to work through a day, get home exhausted, have a bite and retire.
life usually happened on weekends, and that to interspersed with work, so relaxation time, could be counted on the fingers of my right hand. unbelievable, but true.

family happens all around me on a continuous basis, and their demands on my time and person, are constant. the trouble is that we allow it, then want to whinge about it, to late the dye has been cast.that is why i have discovered the importance of that tea break, just up the road, in a quite spot, miracles do happen over delicious cups of tea.

tea breaks in the middle of the week, can rejuvenate and replenish, possibly the reason why the British colonised half the globe, in search of the perfect tea.

tea is a family thing usually, had at the close of the day, if we are lucky some home made biscuits, find there way to the table.
then there's that early morning cuppa to kick start your day.
the one that gets your thought processes going, and heads you towards the door into the office.
my favourite tea though?would be down the road, a tea shared by two.long moments of togetherness, comforting discussion and a whole lot of laughter.

that tea, elicited some spiritual thoughts and brought a reminder of a book i read, some time back, a line that sticks with me says, "there is a vast difference between reading the menu and deriving nourishment from a meal; but the sincere seeker of wisdom will end up by being amongst the wise....."

tea, made me realise that reading the menu of life is just not good enough, whatever the consequences one has to partake of life, to say that i have lived, truly lived.A touch, a smile,a look can bring forth great miracles in life, as human beings isn't that what we crave, to be touched, to be nourished by proximity to those we love. we are tactile beings it is written in the tea leaves.

i have decided to take time off from the daily grind to purely smell the tea leaves.

my mid week break

2008-11-03T16:24:00.027+02:00

friday afternoon,...back home city skyline in the distance

azad at the poolside

enjoying the pool, hazeyview

this is for the indian parks board, ranthambore national park,..is an embarrasment,...no facilities, this is the loo at mac,mac falls...it is clean.

my boys at mac mac falls

mac mac falls

mac mac falls, the mist rolling in

view from the chalet door as the mist rolled in

moth in our chalet,...hazeyview

natural beauty of the park

crocodile sunning himself

family bonding

hippo grazing near a watering hole

camouflaged by the indigenous grasses and the accacia trees

2nd of the big 5...buffalo

water buck

his majesty, the african elephant

first sighting in the park...zebra's

paul kruger, at the entrance to the kruger national park
how long this remains, is yet to be seen

through the mountain pass, zasm...in the distance portable loo being delivered somewhere

the highlands, reaching mpumalanga

azad, diving for arshads milk shake the first pit stop

the long and winding road

through the car window...gold mine dumps, as we drive out of jhb

i am once again, thoroughly in love with this beautiful country, despite our political agro,...and the things i lament about constantly, crime, bureaucracy,stupidity, God has truly created a piece of paradise in this land, my fervant wish is that we have the brains and will to keep it beautiful for all time.

i took azad on his first vacation without mum and dad, well really four days, the country side was magical and the kruger national park was a sight to see, we travelled to hazey view in mpumalanga, a five hour drive from johannesburg, the little guy was a champion traveller, he will be learning to swim before he speaks, he loved the swimming pool, so this aunt is determined, to see the little skinny one floating about on his own.

my highlight was the weekend spent in umdloti, i have posted pics before, it was truly a sublime, rose tinted ending to a relaxed and lovely week, i am know wondering, why i did not do this before. walks on the beach,swimming in the warm indian ocean,....sharing home cooked meals with someone special,.....mmmmm. it was magical and i loved it all. being the commitment phobe that i am,...i am truly surprised by the spontaneity of a weekend at the sea, it was indulgent and fun, and surely a must do again, scenario.

with all that in mind, hope you enjoy the pictures of my beloved country, green,lush and verdant, the summer rains, have created a magical beauty out of the highlands.

MAMMA MIA! The Movie: Mamma Mia FULL SONG! (HQ)

2008-10-23T12:06:00.002+02:00

i just had to post this

if you haven't already seen this movie, please do Meryl streep was just sublime in this movie.always the consummate and accomplished actress. this is a summer time feel good movie that will have your feet tapping, if you are at all an Abba fan, even a closet fan, or not at all a fan this ones for you. failing which i can visualize people packing their bags for a Greek island holiday.

pierce brosnan makes for perfect eye candy, his performance was as wooden as the rafters above my head, real pity that, but meryl just carried the day.

my reaction obviously is in keeping with my present feel good mood, i have never professed to be a movie buff, and critics don't always get audience reaction right, this movie will have you smiling all the way to the coffee shop, for after movie drinks.

enjoy the title track...i am singing my way through another work day.

oh God not home affairs

2008-10-15T16:27:00.004+02:00

proudly south african

sitting here staring at the screen, what the hell to write...bloggers don't get writers block, cause this really is not writing....hehehehe..

we are presently enjoying the fruits of democracy, their are serious if somewhat unsubstantiated rumours that a new political party is in the offing. this is a good thing. the ANC, which has been the largest political party and has secured the majority of voters, will no longer have it's stranglehold on all things political.

president mbeki, is calling for his day in court to clear the allegations of collusion by his administration in the zuma saga. basically to clear his name. the new broom is off in India trying to secure trade deals between India, south Africa and Brazil. it always amazes me how things change yet they remain the same.

my feeling is that zuma might have something to worry about if the new broom entrenches himself, the twit malema is falling out of favour all over the place, and the votes will swing towards a new party, they might not take an election, but they will present some serious competition, zuma just might find himself, not being voted into presidential office, wouldn't that be ironic.

i just wish local government, could get it's act together, and government offices could be cleaned up, made into a more pleasant place for the ordinary citizen, i think that might be to much to ask. all this stems from my visit to the regional offices of the department of home affairs. that place you go to in case you are not sure you are a citizen.

citizens, pay R3000.00 get fake documents and live large. the idiots like us, have to struggle through pushy salesmen wanting to lead you into dingy dirty stores, for identity or passport photo's. after you have blown them off, and navigated your way to the entrance of the building, the outer facade, is enough to send you running back to your illegally parked car, for which you will fork out more change, to the drunken, guy wanting money for pointing you to a parking spot. this done, you close your nostrils to the stench, walk through the doors, it is dark, disgustingly filthy, i don't believe there has been a broom used in the place in twenty years or more, security check, what the hell for,..then the lifts are out of order, so you ask, a seriously retarded looking security person, who stares at you, because i presume English is a foreign language, the lifts are out of order, i don't bother to ask, since they could possibly have been out of order for years. getting in would be risky as well, if they were in order. so i navigated the stairs five storeys up.

i needed a death certificate not a passport, by the time i got up there, the home affairs official had the demeanour of a dead person, the ugliness of the building her place of work, just reflected in her attitude and behaviour. if i didn't need the passport i was tempted to say something really crass, and bitchy. the guy who took my thumbprint was barely operational. the entire place, is emotionally and physically draining. had i been in government these are the things i would be changing, instead of wasting tax payers money, erasing our countries history, whether good or bad, by changing street names etc.

the entire stinky inhuman experience left me with a headache, and a fervent desire never to go to home affairs again. alas this will never be.who am i without a travel document, it is issued for ten years, i shudder to think what it would be like dealing with them after ten years. dear lord save me from bureaucrats, and bureaucracy. do you think their homes are as filthy as their places of work, seriously what stops you from just wiping off your own desk. in this country, if there is no one around to clean up for you, we just deteriorate into wallowing in our own filth.

tax payers money would be better spent in teaching people that cleanliness is next to godliness. that begs the presumption that people believe in the existence of god, and that debate could fill an entire blog space...perhaps when next i have writers block

the morning after the week before

2008-10-13T11:54:00.004+02:00

Ashanta having a good time with desert

greek number 1. dimitri

friday night after the party

azad before he was naked as a jay bird

have you ever had those moments?...life plods along at its normal pace, you do what you do, a simple call can have you filling in a years worth of socialising in just one week.

i have, just had one of those weeks, and the outcome has been both bitter and sweet. face book or FB as it is called, turned up an old school chum. when i saw the friend request my first reaction was wow, he remembered after all these years, i was the one in a pigtail. just in front. we had as i recalled not had much contact back then apart from being classmates. so wow, what had changed, i got older and had lost the orthodontic braces? i was a curiosity?what did the face in front of the pigtail look like after all these years? i mean what could he have been thinking? we had not met in years...cough,cough, will not divulge here how many years, but the experience was mind blowing, i simply think that one reaches that point in life, when everything is safe and familiar and compartmentalised into things i do, things i don't, and things i would like to do, but am not capable of..i believe this is the place in life i find myself in.

i was quite excited and happy to meet again after all these years, somewhat along the lines of checking out what we had done with our lives etc, etc...the best part being, i could escape another interminable kitchen tea/bachelorate party, the pre-lude to you have guest it another wedding. the evening turned out to be a great success, and here's the bitter pill part, how does one pursue what could be a great friendship, without any other entanglements, he is available i am not...can my adolescence be revisited? i think not.
it is called growing up and for better or worse, we make choices in life that inform and give our lives direction. we make commitments to others, and have lives full of living. does that give me room to pursue something else, can i get over the resulting guilty complex. if i feel guilty, am i doing something wrong? gave up all this second guessing years ago, and became settled in my ways so to speak.

here i am thinking again, it's a good thing? i did a post some time ago, titled the face of forty, this weekend made me feel like the face of something in the twenties, a great Friday was followed by a partying Saturday. Ashanta and i had not hooked up in once again years, the Friday before we had hooked up for dinner, with her gorgeous Greek, and some co-workers, it was a fun evening, which proceeded to moloko's a nightclub, i realised just then how out of touch i had become with the Johannesburg social scene, the flavour and colour of this city has changed enormously, ashanta hails from Durban, so as she so kindly reminded me, she was so happy to re-introduce me to the delights of Johannesburg's nightlife, as i had been instrumental, in introducing her to it all those years ago.

that Friday night, resulted in my party Saturday. where i was introduced to Greek man number two, an, oh so fine and cute looking fellow, possibly younger than arshad. a great dancer. the end result is a commitment from me to pursue, holiday bookings to celebrate the new year in mumbai, in the euphoria of all this youth surrounding me, aching knees,and thumping heart aside, i am calling my travel agent as i write this piece. i am either a sucker for punishment, or high on finally having left my comfort zone, which i must admit i am rather attached to. i have become a boring suburban house wife, without the boring suburban husband, two kids, some chickens and a picket fence.

to move on, the gang, which is two Greeks, ashanta, a Korean American (whats that), plus,plus,plus have been invited over for dinner to liven up my part of suburbia, rumour has it they come with a guitar, and sing for their supper just cannot wait. this totally feels like Pandora's box has been opened, do i have the capability of dealing with the resulting effects.

in all of this mayhem, i still spent Saturday with grandma and azad,this little delight was out in the garden, naked as a jay bird watering himself, grandma and the roses, the camera of course chose to run out of battery life, but a little boy clad only in a sun hat, watering a rose bush, would have been just classic. perhaps when next he is here i will get my photo op.

azad amazes me

2008-10-05T17:16:00.003+02:00

SUNDAY PICTURES AZAD AT PLAY
azad was spending Sunday with us, it is amazing to see him develop...today he asked his grandpa, to open a new toy, we had been keeping till he gets older, the battery operated car, came apart in his hands, so he handed it to me, as i turned my attention on other things, azad wondered off, to where his grandad was busy with hanging picture frames, the next thing i new he handed me a tiny screw driver, and pointed to the car, he had of his own accord, brought me the tool to repair his car. he is just 14 months old, though he is not using language yet, he is completely understanding of all we say and ask, later on, he proceeded to fit that screw driver into the car himself, this youngster amazes me every day. he inserts keys into locks, with the key held correctly. he picks up and fetches things, if we ask, understanding what each item is, our fun game has become to ask him, where is, where is dadi? where is your nose? where are your toes? sounds silly but when he gets it right he claps his hands and laughs, the little guy is developing into a happy bright boy, and it is a joy to watch... i love you little guy, you made this Sunday fun :)

eid pictures

2008-10-02T12:44:00.004+02:00

relaxing after lunch

grandma and iman

natasha and iman...mother and daughter

ahmed and azad...father and son

azad and me in the garden

doing my business

sisters

flowers from the garden

granny and iman

grandparents and azad

natasha ahmed and the kids

through the looking glass

this year eid was a quite family affair...we had guests in and out all day, and i was more exhausted then a day at the office, having gone to bed with a hangover from over indulgence (in food of course) and a lack of sleep. all in all a fun day was had by all.

eid mubarak

2008-09-30T13:33:00.005+02:00

mmmm!!!cannot wait to sink my teeth into these

eid gifts, note all the chocolates....

it's finally that time again, presently 14h30 and i am counting the minutes to iftaar. i sound bad, but hey this has been a long arduous month, and i for one am happy that it is finally ending,usually i enjoy the spirituality of the month, the idea of getting in touch with a greater being, the prayer etc, for some reason, this did not happen for me this year, i just could not get into the swing of things....for know i am happy to get back to the normal day to day existence.

presently i am drooling at the most decadent cupcakes ever, delivered by a family friend, for eid, but i think partaking of this treat will not wait until tomorrow, i have my sights clearly set on a strawberry confection, i am not sure what the traditions are in other countries, but in johannesburg, the big get together, happen on the day of eid, with us, the family usually arrives for lunch, and stay until the allure of the zoo lake beckons, speaking of which, i wish i could post some pictures, but i have not been to the zoo lake in years, the tradition is for people to congregate at the lake dressed in all their eid finery. to meet and great friends you have not seen in ages, during the apartheid era,this was a spot that people of "colour" could meet and mingle without fear of retribution from the authorities, people from outside the city would drive in to do the same, it saved you from attempting to visit a multitude of homes, the community just got together at the zoo lake. times have changed, families have grown, and each family has their own eid gathering,....so these days it's just the immediate family, everyone else drops by during the cause of the day , by the end of which exhaustion sets in, and you have to get ready for a working day,... the next day. i always wished we had a two day break, not so lucky.

the lunch menu in our home, is a huge green salad, chicken biryani, roast leg of lamb,desert is usually what you feel like at the time this year it is trifle. lots of nibbly things like samoosa's and pies, and sweets, all types, which is what usually goes first. the problem is your eyes, are usually bigger than your stomach, so as much as i wish to indulge in this excess, more often than not, i consume only what i can, it's a fun day for the kids, new shoes, new clothes, eidi,...that's the best part comparing how much money they can collect from adults in the day. then spending it on some toy, or as it happens bad burgers from the wimpy,and or MacDonald's. but that is what it is all about. family and friends and a holiday in the middle of the week with the people you love is always a good thing.

i would like to take the opportunity, and wish all those who read this blog a fantastic eid tomorrow, may you have the capacity to indulge in all the foods you craved throughout this month. have a fantastic day.

recalled

2008-09-22T16:08:00.005+02:00

Monday morning dawned and it was business as usual. there were staff in my office who didn't even know that the president of our country had been recalled/fired. isn't it amazing, we cook, eat, sleep, make love, shop. do what people all over the world are doing at some time or another, but we don't read a newspaper or watch the news. life continuous while the political landscape of a country changes.

life went on, despite the momentous happenings this weekend.
our president made the most dignified resignation speech of any i have had occasion to witness, admittedly i was moved to tears, and might i add pride in the manner in which he acquitted himself in his address to the nation.

This was the president we had voted in, this was the man who has steered south Africa, towards economic growth, put us on the map internationally, who was instrumental in negotiating our peaceful transition to democracy. where was this man in the last couple of years, when opposing voices were baying for his blood. this was the man, who should have had his feet firmly planted on south African soil. i cannot help but feel, had he been or appeared to be a hands on president, who had spent more time addressing the concerns of his citizens, rather than sorting out the problems of Africa, he might have served his full term.

he is an ANC stalwart who has given his life to the organisation and to the freedom of the people of this country, while i have lamented ad nauseum, on the failings of the MBEKI government, to address issues of crime, aids,unemployment,rising taxes etc. it has been the axing of jacob zuma, that has been instrumental in bringing down the mbeki government.to his credit mr Mbeki, was gracious in defeat, a man who had the best interests of this country and his political party at heart.

it was good to see democratic processes win the day, as opposed to anarchy and violence, unlike most countries on this continent, the rule of law, and respect of our constitution are what emerged from this fiasco. this is politics, the dog eat dog world of power and behind the scenes machinations. politics is a dirty game, and those in power are loathe to relinquish it, once they enjoy the fruits of high office. much to his credit, Thabo Mbeki addressed his detractors and supporters alike, with a call to work towards a better future for all.

my fear is that the men who have come out in support of jacob zuma, our future president after the next election, are a bunch of uneducated ill informed noise makers, in this i refer to the president of the ANC youth league malema, and those that are fond of violent rhetoric. it remains to be seen, how Jacob zuma will acquit himself and the type of leadership he aligns himself with. the axing of thabo mbeki, and previously the election of Jacob zuma as president of the ANC in polokwane, highlighted the schisms in a seemingly invincible political party.

but even politicians are human, and once the fight for freedom had been won, the fight for control, would inevitably rear it's ugly head. Thabo Mbeki pissed of a few of his comrades, in trying to achieve his vision of a free democratic Africa, and those pissed off comrades, who are now very rich because of BEE placement, have gone for the jugular.tit for tat so to speak.

all it took, was a lone judge (nicholson, a name that will be remembered in the anals of history) in the non descript town of pietermareitzburg, to rule that jacob zuma had been unfairly prejudiced, that the president behaved immorally in firing his deputy president, and the death knell was rung. our president was recalled in the same manner in which jacob zuma had lost his post. the presidential advisers were short sighted in their assessment of the zuma issue, and extremely shortsighted when they assumed that his popularity was not great enough to orchestrate a take over. well hahaha to you.

two strikes, and it is game over for the mbeki camp. or is it? as south Africans we should be proud, that changes like these can take place without prejudicing safety and security, as long as the likes of malema, are not put in charge, i have great hope, that the economy will tick over, that i will continue to bitch about high taxation, crime, and lack of delivery. fully well knowing that things will be business as usual, and that we will have democracy work for us.

to mr mbeki, i wish you every happiness and success in the future, and it is my fervent hope that you will always be a part of steering this country towards achieving it's greatest potential.
i thank you, for the last 52 years, and most especially for being the great mind, that negotiated and still negotiates the peaceful and successful rise of our fledgling democracy. i wish that the man who represented himself last night, had been the man that we saw in the last decade, a leader of great skill, intelligence, loyalty and dedication. hopefully you will not leave us to suffer the malema's of this world alone....but then it is the price of democracy.

taking the piss

2008-09-15T15:05:00.004+02:00

how could any responsible adult, produce such trash.

jacob zuma just cannot seem to get out of being fodder for the press.while i agree that his actions have been less than exemplary, he just cannot seem to keep his pants zipped, zapiro's cartoons, were just tasteless and uncalled for. if david bullard got fired for a racist column, then zapiro should be headed out of the door as well. the biggest culprit is the idiot editor, who okay's trash before it goes to print, why the hell doesn't he get his ass fired, (oh sorry his black)...therefore exempt from being fired.

the brutality of the cartoon was in bad taste, showing a woman being gang raped, hell that's not sarcasm, that is just down right BS,..since zuma was acquitted on rape chargers, seems it was all fabricated, that is, ....the rape.zapiro, could have chosen some other avenue, to take the piss. the sad part is that the press and thabo mbeki, have paved the way for a depraved, corrupt man to become the next president of our upwardly mobile banana republic.

mbeki who is meant to be so intelligent has single handedly, (with the help of his Rottweiler ministers of cause) managed to divide the anc, into warring factions. each faction, lead by idiots who are unable to string two coherent words together, and who's only rhetoric calls for death and destruction. for a man who promised great things, to a mascot championing the course of the haves to accumalate even more filthy lucre, thabo mbeki, will leave office under scandal and embarrasment, any positive achievements eclipsed, by the duplicitous behaviour, in handling his deputy president, for heavens sake, a judge called his actions in firing zuma immoral, and if zuma is an immoral man, what does that say of our president. who as it happens is permanently out of the country, when there are pinnacle happenings in the zuma soap opera.

when will the clowns in government, get a grip and sort out the BS,...the media does nothing to improve the situation, appearing at best racist and at worst irresponsible and reckless. come on guys how about some genuine intelligent reportage.

championing the cause of forward thinkers

2008-09-06T20:04:00.006+02:00

we have almost completed the first week of Ramadan, as always i count the days till month end. one of my Jewish clients came by this week, and though she is not a practicing Jew, she said she observed the fast, or just didn't eat on the day, just in case. she might nip out for a smoke, but the sacredness of the fast, or the fear of offending a mightier power somehow prevailed.

i like to take the opportunity, to get in touch with a more spiritual side, and yes just ensure that i might have a better time of it in the hereafter, an insurance policy of sorts.this week the mosque committee, or as they are called the houghton Muslim jamaat (HMJ) asked me to make a contribution to their inaugural newsletter, i might have laughed, because the first thought i had was that i would most certainly offend the sensibilities of the more conservative elements in our community, further my understanding of why i am a Muslim seems so far removed from the rather backward interpretation of Islam, espoused by the mullah's and their followers, none the less i acquiesced, the result to my mind was rather stilted and according to arshad, more academic then necessary. however i submitted my contribution, not knowing how much would be edited out. we have succeeded in getting a women's section added to the new mosque, however i have lost the battle for one entrance for all members of the congregation, perhaps i shouldn't loose heart, and persevere with an alternative interpretation of Islam, that might someday break the barriers of conservative, literal interpretations of the faith.

the topic was so vague, something along the lines of the importance of women in our society, laughable, as it just pigeonholed women into some category far removed from the community, as if i was being asked to justify why women are important at all.also limited to two hundred words, i found that quite difficult.
so my contribution turned out like this:

THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN IN ISLAMIC SOCIETY
A QUOTE FROM DR. HASSAN AL TURABI LEADING ISLAMIC SCHOLAR FROM SUDAN
"Muslims who advance conservative views on female affairs....are normally very literal in their understanding of texts; but they tendentiously opt for an understanding that suits their prejudice."

within Islam a woman is an independent entity, and therefore it goes without saying a fully responsible human being, Islam addresses her directly and does not approach her through the agencies of Muslim males, a woman assumes full capacity and liability once she has attained maturity and has received the message of Islam

the women of Islam have been at the forefront of religious achievement. the equal personal responsibilities of women in Islam are evident and clearly established, that collective duties are commonly borne by men and women is shown in the practice of the prophet (pbuh), who commanded women to act charitably and give for the sake of God, and in that women used to respond.

Al Bukhari narrates on the authority of Ibn-Abas, who said; "i attended the prayer of Eid-Ul-Fitr along with the prophet (pbuh) and Abu Bakar and Uthman. they offered the prayer before the sermon. later the prophet (pbuh) delivered his eid address and moved ahead making his way through the people, till he reached the ladies accompanied by Bilal, the prophet read out the following verse from the Quran:
"o prophet!when women believers come to you, to make a covenant with you that they will not associate anything with God, nor steal, nor fornicate, nor kill their own children, nor slander anyone, nor disobey you in any fair matter, then make a covenant with them and seek God's forgiveness in their favour. indeed God is oft forgiving most merciful." (AL- MUMTAINAH 12)

when the prophet (pbuh) had finished with these verses, he said to them;"are you all committed to that?" one of the ladies replied,(while others kept silent) "yes". the prophet did not at that time know which one did so! he continued and asked them to make their donations. Bilal spread out his shirt and said,"donate, my parents be sacrificed for you ladies." and they all dropped their rings studded with precious or ordinary stone.

Muslim women participated in military expeditions, bringing water to thirsty combatants, treating the wounded and carrying them to safety, and sometimes engaging in active warfare.the Quran refers to this and other exploits of men and women; " and their lord responded to them,i suffer not the work of any worker male or female to be lost.you proceed one from another.so those who fled were driven forth from their homes and suffered harm for my cause and fought or were slain, verily i shall remit their evil deeds and shall bring them into gardens underneath which rivers flow as a reward from God, and God offers the fairest of rewards." (Al-Imran, 195)

even the prophets (pbuh) own wife, Sayidah Aishah, actively participated in such military services. Anas stated, " in the battle of Uhud, when the Muslims were routed and put to flight from the prophet (pbuh) , i saw Aishah Bint Abu Bakar and Umm-Saleem were busy carrying water skins on their backs and emptying them in the mouths of Muslims." (Bukhari)

Islam fourteen centuries ago made women accountable to God in glorifying and worshipping him, setting no limits on her moral progress, also Islam established a woman's equality in her humanity with men.

in the Quran, in the first verse of the chapter entitled "women", Allah says, "O mankind! be careful of your duty to your Lord who created you from a single soul and from it its mate and from them both have spread a multitude of men and women. be careful of your duty toward Allah in whom you claim your rights of one another, and towards the womb (that bore you). Lo Allah has been a watcher over you."(4:1)

since men and women come from the same essence they are equal in their humanity.Today people think that women were liberated in the west or that women's liberation began in the twentieth century, actually the women's liberation was revealed by Allah to our prophet (pbuh). The Quran and the traditions of the prophet (pbuh) hadith or sunnah are the sources from which every Muslim woman derives her rights and duties.

i had cropped alot of what i wanted to say, and am not as forceful as i wanted to be, but i believe it can all be worked upon. for now i will submit this and wait to see the reaction if it illicits any reaction at all. here's hoping it does encourage healthy debate.

what is the point of complaining?

2008-09-02T14:51:00.004+02:00

can a country be termed ignoble? i don't suppose so, as it is not a person, therefore it cannot have character flaws, the country cannot be shameful or not be honourable in purpose, but i am fast running out of expletives to voice my growing shame, no not shame deep routed disappointment in the manner in which our government handles anything.

i have lamented ad nauseum on the effects of crime, high prices,rip off taxation and the list obviously never ends. this week there are a couple from johannesburg's southern suburbs critically injured and fighting for their lives after having been mistaken for robbers at their Johannesburg home, they were shot by police, who believed that they were thieves intent on a quick get away,the sad thing was, their daughter had been gang raped by intruders, and they were returning from holiday, the cops were responding to a call out,as the modus operandi of Johannesburg criminals is to load up the victims goods into the victims car and leave, since the car was loaded with luggage,it was dark, the car was reversing out the drive with no lights on the automatic assumption was that the thieves had the car....well in this case obviously not. obviously the thieves and rapists got away.

can one blame the men in blue? i think not,...thieves are, well armed, there had been a rape, how are they to react in the circumstances. cyril rhamaphosa, formally a trade union man, now a multi gazillionare, into big business and black empowerment, seems to think that ordinary Joe schmo should be doing more, how much more i ask you? our police force are overburdened, underpaid and totally corrupt, joe schmo is forking out thousands of rands every month on private security high walls, barbed wire fencing, ( i think I've mentioned previously, that our private budget per capita on security, is more than the united states government spends on security).turning homes into prisons, when is enough, enough. when does crime become intolerable? crime is a threat that the government of this country has failed to address in any meaningful way. government response is to ignore crime, and tell it's beleaguered population that crime is not an issue, that it is under control...tell that to the rape victim or her seriously injured parents fighting to survive in a Johannesburg hospital.

if it's not crime, then we are embarrassed by the 15 million rand wastage, which was our supposed marketing of the 2010 world cup, our display that never happened, all paid for by tax payers money, so what the hell are we paying tax for? what's worse is the way this fiasco was dealt with, essop pahad our minister in the presidency claimed, it was just 'WHITE' people complaining, sour grapes, because a black country was hosting 2010, bull shit uncle of mine,...the idiots in Beijing couldn't even explain away, why we hired empty hotel rooms, that remained empty,..why there was no material on hand to advertise 2010, why basically we paid money to showcase our country and there was no show case, oh uncle gee, this is definitely not a case of whining white people again, but a case of an incompetent government and the inept uneducated people you employ, simply because they are black.

if the current administration is this inept and corrupt, what the hell future do we have? what is to follow is definitely not any better. jobs for pals, pals in jobs...the situation is disgraceful and quite embarrassing.

hopefully fifa will finally awaken out of their stupor, open the blinkers and realise that the 2010 world cup, is in the hands of some very rich, very nasty (dare i say it) black people, none of whom have the wherewithal to host a competent and successful world cup, however they are intelligent enough to make a great deal of money out of television rights, kick backs, construction of stadia, trains etc, all going nowhere slowly...we are about to be thoroughly embarrassed world wide and nobody gives a damn, least of all those in control. will i eat my words. i dearly hope so.

first steps

2008-08-29T19:41:00.003+02:00

my favourite passtime

flying solo

first solo walk

imaan happy with her own company

azaad has become more comfortable moving on two legs. he came over this afternoon, and had great fun, walking around the office, as always my handbag created a good deal of fun, he gets his kicks out of emptying the contents,...the cell phone and car keys are his most prized find.

he walked around trying to reach the keyhole on any door, trying desperately to insert the key, at this age, (he is 14 months old), i am quite surprised that he really holds the key in the right direction, and even tries to insert it in the correct manner, must take after his aunt, suffice to say i did not get much work done this afternoon. not that i am complaining. watching him walk,a distance as opposed to from the couch to the coffee table is a real treat.he can identify people by name know, and is so lovable, azaad can i have a kiss, will mean that he moves his head towards you,he loves to gives hugs, and little imaan gets hugs and kisses regularly, every now and then he forgets his greater physicality, though it is good to watch him interact with his sister.he seems genuinely fond and loving to other kids, enjoying interacting with them, on Sunday he went around hugging and kissing all the kids that came to visit his little sister, i think he enjoyed all the smarties he was being fed by his cousins, one of the little boys was not so receptive to azaads affections, and he was rudely pushed away, if looks could kill, dadi looked like she could throttle the other guy, azaad just moved on to a friendlier kid, he is so loving, or i could just be biased.

imaan is starting to show more personality at two months, and is definitely more vocal than her older sibling, at present she enjoys lying down, and gurgles at the mobile above her head shoooo cute, aaaagh baby talk, never do it, i truly believe kids are more appreciative of and receptive to proper talk, baby speak is just so unbecoming and kids learn nothing of value from that type of conversation.

2 months old

2008-08-19T16:31:00.003+02:00

imaan almost two months old.

imaan is fast approaching her two month birthday. she is blossoming. for a little tyke whom her dad called little chicken, she is growing slowly but steadily. for a tiny squirmy thing she has huge lungs, it is really interesting for me to notice all the little differences between azaad and his sister.

she is more vocal, eats and sleeps more.she always has a ready smile, even in repose a little dimple appeares and she smiles. hopefully the dimple will remain. it's so cute.azaad was much more quite, didn't eat much, and was constantly alert, if he slept he might miss to much. dada has finally succumb, and will know pick up his grand daughter, she has lost that new born fragility, so he is more comfortable. they sit together chatting away, and she listens most attentively.
i can't wait to take them both off on a seaside vacation especially once imaan is old enough to come along, i have to wait another year i think.

unfortunately we see less of her as she refuses to take a bottle, so sleepovers and long visits while mum is busy, are not possible, can't wait till she is weened.
azaad starting taking his first solo steps, a little wiggle and shake then it's back on all fours, this happened while i was on holiday in umdloti, but ahmed brought them over the day we got back, it was so exciting to watch him waddle on his own.

watching these children grow and experience life is going to be a tremendous joy.

vacation talk

2008-08-17T20:40:00.003+02:00

hungry neighbour looking for some fruit to snatch. the tree in our back yard.

vendor at the verulum market

verulum market

fisherman at low tide

umdloti beach

view to the south

just returned from a week in umdloti beach, it was so great to be chilled out and not have to deal with the office. long walks everyday, and tropical weather is a panacea for big city stress.

we opted to drive down and it was wonderful, the valleys and mountains sun kissed alive in winter's golden hues, majestic and wild,the vivid colours of the lion that roamed the plains,spread out as far as the eye could see. as always i just didn't take the time out for pictures.

i believe that the drive from gauteng to natal is one of the most scenic drives in the country, it rivals the splendour of the cape, for my money natal is the favoured destination, not being overtaken by foreign capital and people it retains its warmth and africanness, if i can say that. i would someday like to do the midlands meander, from trout fishing to horseback riding, the area offers so much. there are new bed and breakfasts that have opened along the route, some fine restaurants, where home made jams and pickles can be purchased, as well as some of the finest arts and crafts available, soos hulle se, local is lekker. this really rings true for natal and it's surrounds.

umdloti was all peace and quite, since we arrived out of the holiday season, just the way i like it, august is not really the month to visit, as it is windy, and winter fights to retain it's place, even that didn't deter the few holiday makers out on the beach, when i say winter the weather was a balmy 18-24 degrees Celsius, a light cardigan was all we needed, and the walks on the beach have a different flavour without a hot african sun, turning you to toast.the fisherman were not deterred and i got a good shot of someone fishing just outside our place. the tides were seriously low this week, for the first time since i've been taking trips to umdloti, the tidal pool had practically been empty of water at low tide, one could walk across the sand to the rocks that held the sea back, creating a huge swimming pool of the sea.

umdloti also saw the opening of a new restaurant, i love the name,.. " BEACH BUG BAHIA" should have asked what it meant, it's in a great spot, just outside the tidal pool, great sea views, and the food was not bad, i found the ambiance to be fresh and perfect, great for cocktails and lunches, the starters were good, smoked samon and asparagus, lamb with lentils, brinjal wraps, peri peri prawns etc, the mains were not that great, i found the fish overcooked, surprisingly i think i had better fish in johannesburg, which is 600 kilometres inland, on the whole, it has become one of durbans favourite eateries,... and it was a great timeout on a sunday afternoon.
our company were a fun bunch to,....it was then i thought had it not been so close to ramadaan, a couple of g&t's would have gone down well, the atmosphere just begs sipping on cold alcoholic beverages, in this case virgin coktails,...lol.we will definitely be frequenting the beach bug again, lets hope it has longevity, in this country fun places open and close quite rapidly, people constantly feel the need to move on to newer more trendy spots, fast food entertainment, not something i am really keen on, i prefer to have things last, to be familiar and comfortable in places....so beach bug here's to many years.

i ventured out of umdloti as well, into verulum, the indian part of town, it smelled and felt a bit like bombay, in a good way mind you,...i loved the vegetable market which is open on a tuesday, thursday and saturday, from 5am until 1pm.the place was welcoming, the prices were mind blowing, we went in on thursday morning,( just a day before the hindu religious holiday, excuse my ignorance, but i believe it might have been raksha bandan, the day sisters give tokens of love and respect to brothers,)
and were told "why don't ya'll come on saturday" prices will be muuch cheepar"
whispering to my mother how much cheeper, this is really the best value i have ever encountered. being from johannesburg where everything costs more, i thought christmas had come early, to give you an idea.
tomatoes were four rands a kilo, in johannesburg, probably nine rand a kilo.
ginger ten rands a kilo. as opposed to forty five rand at the local grocer.
the veggies were fresh, and smelled like heaven, the smell of freshly picked limbri (curry leaves) filled the air, and every stall we stopped had vendors with smiling faces, and something happy to say, that is the way to shop, i managed some pictures here, and automatically, looked like a tourist, yet the prices didn't go up.... this is a market i would recommend, as a must for any visitor to the north coast, we didn't quite make it to the fish market, hopefully on the next trip, freshly caught line fish, should be a treat.

further up the coast is ballito, the drive is scenic, their open air mall is a treat as opposed to the airconditioned city malls, good food places too, so another spot to visit if the north coast is your holiday destination.

this sounds like a travelogue, suffice to say i had a really relaxed time, and driving along the coast is really the best way to see natal, i would highly recommend this as a holiday destination, with fair warning as arshad is fond of saying " keep one hand on your balls and the other on your wallet and you should be fine".....happy travelling

FAMILY UPDATES

2008-08-03T21:22:00.007+02:00

ASLEEP IN THE CAR SEAT. ONE MONTH OLD

IMAAN VISITING HER DADA AT HIS OFFICE

MY JUNGLE GYM...NO PLACE AT MY HOME, SO IT MOVED TO GRANDMA'S GARDEN

SAY CHEESE

have really not been in the mood for blogging off late. things are just too busy around here. we are finally beginning to see some end to this marathon renovation started in April last year.workmen are still on site, and we are desperately trying to achieve some semblance of normalcy.

Ahmed and his family, also moved home, my dad had his usual social Saturday lunches, and with all of that we were trying to settle down, with ongoing work being done to the house and office. i am in great need of chill out time, so mum and i are off to umdloti, yipeeeeee!!!.

Imaan reached her one month milestone, and is beginning to look a lot more filled out, i think she will be as cute as Azaad, unfortunately, she is not around as often, so the photo ops are not as often as azaad's. my family are quite freaked out by my little camera, it is never far from me, and i am permanently trying to get pictures of the little guy and his sister, so much so that every time he unpacks my handbag, Azaad hands me the camera with glee, his mum says, he looks for it as soon as he wakes in the morning, he stayed with us the week they moved house, and one morning, he unpacked the bag and handed me the camera, i aimed the lense and called out cheese, the result was gorgeous, he gave me a big toothy grin, at least he is happy with me and my camera :)

so i will be posting pics as i go along. at 13 months he is developing a personality,and the first thing he is learning is no, i suspect it is because more often than not, it is what we do with him constantly, although thank heavens, the everything in moderation rule applies here, simply, because i cannot stand children, who are refused everything at home, then once they are set free, in public spaces, or at someone elses home, they have no limits,i want my niece and nephew to learn that all things are possible, that there is a time and place for everything.and most importantly that patience is a virtue. they are still very young, but good habits can be taught early, and remain forever a part of who they are.

what's new?

2008-07-07T12:23:00.003+02:00

apart from having a new baby in the family, things in south Africa just plod along as they always do. the trade unions are complaining about ridiculous bank chargers, we have the highest bank chargers in the world, Barclay's bank, were pulled out of trouble after their purchase of absa bank, they made their highest profits ever, as a result of bank chargers.

what's worse is the ordinary south African worker can barely afford,to make ends meet, and have no understanding as to the amounts their banks debit for silly things like checking your balance. what do they bill for:
1. cash withdrawal
2. cash deposit
3. statement
4. checking a balance
5. transfers, costs more if you do it in the bank, using a teller
6. cheques
7. debit orders
8. basically any transaction utilising a Bank is charged for.

quite frankly it's crap, the costs are so prohibitive, the banks make huge sums just from your money sitting in an account, so why the fees? i like to believe that it is legalised theft. a theft that not many of us object to, but we do object to being held up at gun point, what is the difference here. none that i can see.
as always, government will do nothing about it. i do however support cosatu in their attempt to get at least some charges reversed, but i hold out no hope that it will ever get done.this is not the UK/USA. complaints are generally ignored, third world condition? you tell me.

the justice tslope saga continues, he denies all wrong doing, the justices are having their say, and the mud slinging goes back and forth, even the judiciary can't seem to agree on anything.

the african union, couldn't tell robert mugabe where to get off, it was to be expected, practically all countries on this continent are run by dictators, mubarak,gadaffi,mugabe,obasanjo,kabila,abdullahi yusuf ahmed......, to name a few, why on earth would they oppose mugabe, the AU is a bigger farce than the united nations.then there's the G8, the promises made to africa regarding aid, are yet to be met, two years on, then,.... there's global warming, according to president Bush, it's not an issue. There are greater problems to deal with, would that be his getting his grubby hands on all the fuel reserves the world has to offer, who says, the americans have not achieved their aim in iraq, of course they have, it was never about stability or democracy, it was about control of the oil fields, Bush and his cronies have made billions, the fields are under american control, the war is won, isn't it?

it's all just politics, as they say the rich get richer, and the rest who cares.

close to my heart

2008-07-01T16:41:00.005+02:00

MY FAVOURITE PHOTOGRAPHIC SUBJECT :)

i had to post these pictures of azaad, he spent 6 days with us, while mum was in the clinic,they all spent the weekend, just after imaans birth, it was so heart wrenching to see this little family off, on Monday, i was hard pressed to hold back the tears,they seem to be doing fine back in their own home,

azaad and i were having a game of hide and seek when i captured these shots, his mischievous smile, all to evident, this ones gonna be a heart breaker.
usha's last post, had me thinking, no one in my family tunes in to this blog, and i prattle on about the kids constantly, i think it is better that they don't,...though my niece and nephew are now featured in cyberspace, thanks to their proud aunty :)
hope they don't hate me for this when they are older

welcome to the family

2008-06-25T16:09:00.005+02:00

dadi and imaan

imaan

natasha and azaad

welcome to the family little imaan. my niece arrived this morning at 10 am, azaad went to visit his sister this afternoon, but he seemed more attached to a juicy pear then his beautiful new sister, really she is the epitome of pretty in pink.

asalaamualikum, imaan. we proudly welcome you into the pahad family. may allah bless you with happiness,good health, wealth,a loving family and all the blessings this world has to offer.you are a joy to us, both dada and dadi love you as they love azaad, may you always add to the laughter and joy in this family.

i know i had a tear in my eye, as i read the adzaan in your ear this afternoon, you are a joy to all of us, know that you are loved unconditionally,that you have a home and family, that embrace you, and love you know and always.

new addition to the family

2008-06-25T11:37:00.003+02:00

azaad's little sister, came into the world this morning.she is healthy and looks like her sibling, all this according to the proud father. my niece is a most welcome addition to the family, and i can not wait to pay her a visit this afternoon,the camera will be with me, so i hope to be posting a picture later today.

her father has a name in mind, so all will be revealed, once this proud aunt, has a chance to visit her new niece :)

it is amazing, how the news travelled faster than the speed of light, ahmed called me around 11am, just after he got out of theatre, and simultaneously, my mum was getting calls of congratulations, her friends daughter was assisting in theatre, before you could say bob's your uncle, the telephone lines were burning up,it enforcers the fact that life is lived in the proverbial bubble, where everyone knows you and you know everyone, very hard to keep a secret i think, but some secrets are not meant to be hidden.

well i can see not much work happening at thois office today, but hey babies don't come everyday.
lots of love little niece.

my first birthday

2008-06-15T13:29:00.004+02:00

sleeping my birthday away :)

natasha,azaad,ahmed

azaad reached his first birthday this weekend. a true pahad he slept through the day, leaving all the adults waiting anxiously to see him blow out the candle.

not being able to wait, hunger pangs ruling the day, we tucked in while the baby of the hour slept, eventually he got up,not really in the partying mood, he allowed the rest of us some enjoyment, when he dug his fingers in the cake, at twelve months, it is more a celebration for all the adults in the family, rather than the little person, who takes center stage, it was fathers day as well, both his dada and daddy, took a back seat, yesterday.

my aunt made the most amazing, chicken soup for the soul, and some heavenly subs, all of which were devoured before baby woke from his long afternoon nap,all in all it was a good day.

things that conjur memories

2008-06-02T17:16:00.002+02:00

this weekend was spent, emptying cupboards and repacking,as we are having work done in the house,long forgotten items, came to light, which had us all talking and remembering the past.
the most important for me was a collection of vinyl, lp's.when we were three and two respectively, Ahmed and i made a trip to India, with mum. what i remember most, is this song, "hainna bolo bolo", a brother and sister and their mum and dad, that is what we were then, and this movie became my all time favourite, we sang along, to the song, it was a magical time. while unpacking i came across the movie soundtrack, in it's original cover,my grandmother had sent it over from India, and together with "puff the magic dragon", this is all we played on the stereo system,
"zindagi ek safar". is another song i remember, from my heady youth, when age was a single digit, and rajash khanna was my hero,i posted this song as well, just couldn't get it on here, so see the previous post.
one just cannot bin these memories, i have carefully packed away, the LP'S,and am definitely going to reconnect the turntable, my niece and nephew should have the pleasure of listening to these magical sounds, "hainna bolo bolo, mummy ko daddy se pyar he", magic.
then there was "puff the magic dragon" who lived by the sea,still in it's original cover, and well preserved, i can still remember the lyrics, two cultures, one English the other Indian, they melted into one then,and provided much laughter and fun, i wander, if these old movies are available to purchase, that, would be a treat.

packing up all these items, was not an enjoyable process, back breaking, exhausting work, then there was the cupboard full of photo albums, these are still more fun to page through then the digital photo's on my pc, perusing these tomes, held back work for a good few hours, black and white pictures of us as babies, arshad's baby pictures in colour, the world had changed when he arrived, colour photo's and tv, had arrived.the pictures though, brought back the happy times, we all agreed that azaad in his serious moments, is the image of his father at that age, when he smiles he has the look of his mother,the wanders of genetics.
Ahmed and i had a little red gadget, looked like a tv, you put the lp on top, and inserted the slide into the slot on the side, so the story of the three little pigs, moved in picture form, while the soundtrack played, what a great toy, we both still remember it, that was our version of tv, the toy was given away years ago, but never forgotten, know there is the cartoon network on satellite, just not the same .

then there was my mothers wedding dress, tucked behind some other stuff, so tiny it wouldn't go over my knees, in the pictures, she looks young and fragile, with movie star looks,didn't rub off on me, but the dress didn't get binned either, a 1960's leather suit,in black, still with us today. perhaps someone in the family, will one day enjoy a vintage wedding gown.

most of the things we fingered and touched, didn't make the bin, sentimentality i guess, really why do we hang on? for the memories, for the sights, sounds and smells that make us remember, the happy and sad times, my grandmothers blue dress, with it's hand embroidered gold zari work, she embroidered herself,my mum wore it to a function once, to great effect, i had occasion to don it, and it was a hit. a reminder of gran,a family heirloom, it will not reach the bin,like my nana baji's hat, he wore it daily, it is now the property of my maternal uncle, who has kept it all these years.

arshads red mittens, that he wore when it snowed, 22 years ago, the picture of his fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he stood in the snow, an ingrained memory, azaad might wear those mittens someday.

these are the things that new generations, must be taught to value, it tells the tale of our history, and brings those departed closer, a somber thought, yet it has so much potential, there is a history of life imprinted, in each of these items.

Andaaz - Zindagi Ek Safar

2008-06-02T17:12:00.002+02:00

couldn't place in this on my memory blog, but this movie holds the happiest memories for me. rajesh khanna was the hero of my youth. SRK cannot begin to reach the cult status that rajesh khanna held in my life, he was larger than life. the ultimate romantic hero.

all these memories came floating back, when i found the vinyl LP, "andaaz". in it's original packaging and in working order.
i wander if any of you, still have these old things, that you cannot bring yourself to throw out?

Flames of Hate - Alive Man Being Burnt To Death

2008-05-28T13:01:00.002+02:00

if these can't be accessed, please check them out on youtube.the pictures tell a horrific tale, which as the saying goes, says more than a thousand words.
shame on you south africa, this is a wake up call to our government, which as usual will go unheeded,

Sky News report Racial Violence Spreads in South Africa

2008-05-28T12:28:00.001+02:00

we should be embarrased, by these news reports. after all this how will SAFA,manage to keep the 2010 world cup hopes alive, certainly if i was a football fan, this would not be my destination of choice.

xenophobia

2008-05-27T16:23:00.002+02:00

south africa, is once again making world headlines for all the wrong reasons.
the townships are ablaze, with rampaging criminals, intent on rooting out foreigners,
where does one lay the blame for these atrocities.
government:
1. ineffectual immigration laws
2. badly policed borders
3. sorry excuse of a home affairs department
4. corruption.(pay the right official get an id document)
5. inadequate service delivery.

immigrants
1. illegal aliens
2. illegal business. (crime, drugs, house break in's, armed robbery,car hijackings, the list is endless.)
3. no regard for local municipal by laws
4. no regard for the rule of law, period.

not every immigrant that has entered our borders, is deserving, of the list above, there are those that have brought in invaluable skills, who have provided much needed services to this country, then there are those, who have added to our bad reputation of being the most violent, criminal riddled country, on this planet, we put the Brazilian ghetto's to shame. our governments lack of foresight has allowed,disgruntled south african's to be roused into a mob, on the hunt to root out the immigrants in their communities, it has been a systematic, countrywide purging of foreigners from the mainly black townships, minister essop pahad, is sighting right wing elements,he might be correct, as seen in Italy, and other parts of Europe, xenophobic attacks, are usually carried out, by the ultra right wing, grow up,.... south Africa has far more sinister issues at work here,
lack of service delivery, an unwillingness to inculcate in the local population, the need to work, for what one needs in life, the abolishing of a feeling of entitlement, without a strong work ethic,an understanding that we all need to come to the party, these attacks will never stop, once the foreigners, are rooted out, why not move in on the minorities, hell they are doing better than the township dwellers, it is a cycle that will never end.

what i believe.
1. government should jack up immigration controlls
2. genuine refugees, should be put in camps, run in conjunction with the UN
3. allowing people to get lost in the townships, doesn't help. you have a singularly large, unemployed population, who's work ethic is sorely lacking,who will use any excuse, to demand services, and not work towards earning it.
4. provide essential skills training for your local population, so they may be gainfully employed
5. embark on an education campaign, to teach your population, that nothing, comes for nothing.
6. all those who think, that this, is an encroachment of human rights, can jump in the lake, south african's need to be taught work ethic, government running away from being hard on locals because they are black, doesn't work, it just encourages people to be lazy,
7. south african businesses are taxed a skills development levy, so dammit get off your lazy bureaucratic asses and go about teaching people skills, what are you taxing companies for, if you are incapable of utilising your resources properly.
8. police those places that are largely populated by immigrants, and ensure that local by laws are adhered to. instead of taking bribes from illegal roadside hawkers, get them off the streets, into organised, shopping areas
9. where immigrants, are dumping garbage, as if downtown Johannesburg, is downtown Mogadishu, charge them, enforce municipal by laws that regulate garbage dumping, don't take bribes and turn a blind eye.immigrants in Europe seem to be able to live within the regulations, why should it be different here.
10. when your local rebel rouses, spout crap, about so called Indian areas, being cleaner, instead of allowing it to develop into racial crisis, why not educate them, by letting them know, that it is the homeowners in those arrears that are out there everyday, getting their streets swept,what harm is there in sweeping the pavement outside your own properties.but if you said that to a "black" person, you would be a racist.
11. hell, all that is required is to teach your population common sense, and most especially teach them that every damn thing in life comes from hard work.

for the past 16 months, we have literally been living on a construction site, a job that should have taken 6 months, is know into it's 16Th month, no work ethic,
the electrical company, sends out a team of no less than 12 men.
they arrive at 7.30 am. start work just before 12am, leave by 2.30 pm. in that time, they play football in the room they should be chasing, to lay electrical wiring,one guy uses the machine to cut into the floor, eleven guys have on music, play football, talk about sex they had the night before, sleep on any available space, the result, there work is shocking, and i would never recommend them to anyone.
the contractor on sight, chargers R20000.00 a month for a foreman, who spends all his time sleeping in his truck, the workers spend all there time sleeping, he never comes in to supervise.
that is unskilled and skilled labour on a small contracting job, what does that say about the mentality, and caliber of workers in this country.
then there was the plasterer, he was from Mozambique, started at 8am, and didn't leave the job, until he finished what he was doing, efficient and talented, what does that say about the caliber of the south African worker.
the same for the Angolan painter,the Mozambican tiler....so the lazy nincompoop south Africans are on a mission to get rid of the only people who have any real work ethic, all because we are just to lazy,that feeling of entitlement, that should be wiped out of our psyche, we need to learn that nothing comes for nothing. i cannot say that often enough.

my first tooth

2008-05-19T09:25:00.004+02:00

it's been three months and then some... azaad is know eleven months old and the first tooth has made it's appearance,the little guy really suffered before that tiny sliver of a tooth cut through the surface,the other's are showing signs of making there appearance, he smiled through it all,babies are so resilient, then i suppose that's how we are designed.

life around here has been hectic, the building site we are living on show's no sign of completion yet, and winter is setting in with a vengeance, i just hope it all comes to an end soon.

battle of the bulge

2008-03-26T17:05:00.004+02:00

sounds like a war doesn't it. whenever my girlfriends and i get together, the topic of discussion is inevitably, " the battle of the bulge". this love hate relationship with weight is an ongoing saga.

there are reality shows about the "biggest looser". heavily overweight people crying as they struggle through gruelling physical activities.there is a huge market for weight loss products, then there are the department stores who stock clothing only for twiggy and her ilk,which would drive you to purchase said weight loss products, all of which are just a sham.

why? might you ask, am i as always, discussing weight loss issues,the answer that's what girls do :). just kidding. actually i have finally grown tired of the travelling pants, and have decided that i need to start utillising more of the items in my wardrobe, what is the point of purchasing more clothing, i just have to continuosly pack the damn things.
so,... this monday, being easter monday, i made a new years resolution, :)a little late, and as i've said before, i don't make resolutions, because you never keep them. however i got off my ass, and drove to the gym on monday, and have decided to make this trip three days a week, so at 3pm today i left my desk at the office, and off to the gym i went. it has been just two trips, the idea is to maintain this and hopefully if i can i will shed some pounds along the way.

to tell you the truth, i really got back to the office in a more relaxed frame of mind.my aim is to get back into that pair of jeans i did not have the heart to throw out.dieting has never really been my thing, and eating sensibly is just another acronymn for dieting, so excercise will have to do the trick for me, and perhaps cutting down on rice.the plus side is that at forty, the excercise should be good for my heart, and joints:)

not to mention that the trip to the gym, was rather pleasant. i mean it improved my mood, and that is worth trying out for a while. let see how it goes.

azaad's easter weekend at the beach

2008-03-24T13:43:00.004+02:00

dad and me on the beach

should i eat the sand or put it in the bucket

dressed and ready for the beach.

little guy went on his first holiday with dadi. he ate most of the sand on the beach, but seemed to have great fun frolicking in the waves.

i remember my trips to Durban as a child with a great deal of fondness, we were much older, the seventies were the height of apartheid, so just to get there was an adventure, my dad had a company car on loan for the December vacation, the road was a single lane in both directions, so the drive would sometimes take 11 hours, we weren't allowed to use, the public facilities at roadside petrol stations, the "blacks only" facilities, were so awful, you would rather expose your rear to other travellers, by using the veld on the side of the road, if you were desperate enough.

once we got to Durban, the hotels would not take black clientele, so we lived with my dads cousins in isipingo beach, the designated Indian area, with it's little lagoon, and views of the oil refinery, those were fun days for us, city kids who would spend summers, on the beach, the ramifications of separate beaches lost to us at the time. eventually international hotels like the holiday inns, started taking people of colour in, then we could go to the centre of town, order room service, and have the beach close by.the car would be packed with all types of beach paraphernalia, buckets, spades, umbrella,and sandwiches that would inevitably get sand filled, on a hungry stomach, the sand didn't matter much.

the beaches were segregated according to skin colour, beware if you happened to trespass on whites only soil, it might get contaminated, the best surfing and swimming beaches were for the sole use of "white" south Africans, if you were Indian, your stretch of beach was next, then the coloureds, and the blacks at the end of the line, next to the lagoon, which was the choppiest stretch on that particular strip.the blue lagoon, as it's called where the river pores into the sea, is still a favourite hangout for fishermen, the Indian community, made this little strip their very own, on weekends families came out to picnic there, today the spirit of the area remains with a few differences, stalls selling pickles, corn in cups, toys, sweets, and teenagers hanging out in their cars with loud stereo sound, competing with the sound of the sea.

the beaches are no longer segregated, during holiday weekends there is barely a white body to be seen along any of this stretch of beach, those previously so privileged, stay home on these weekends, while the previously disenfranchised flock to the sea to frolic, and eat sand filled sandwiches.

as a teenager my first holiday at eighteen with friends from school was in Durban, we travelled by segregated train ,to stay at a friends family home in shell cross, another designated Indian suburb, we were a mixed bunch from a catholic school, Indian, black and white, the trip to the beach each day, by local taxi, with tunes from south Indian movies, blaring out of the stereo, we would go to the beach each day, our mixed group caused quite a stir, the people on the bus were friendly, always thinking they had to give up their seats for the whiteys in our group, who were getting their first real taste of how people of colour lived, no cars, no mummy's wagons to pick you up and drop you off.

then the beach, which do we use, the Indian beach it had to be, as whites were allowed everywhere, but we couldn't go the other way, we tried to use the toilet, and the poor Indian lady who's job was to clean the place, burst into tears, for fear that she would loose her job, if she allowed us in, so back to the "shit hole" on the Indian sector, where the smell alone, would encourage you to keep it all in, till you caught the bus back to shell cross.

we did it though, holidayed together, a mixed bunch of eighteen year olds, in it's way a blatant defiance of the laws that struggled to keep us apart.and when the holiday was over, the trip home was made by mini bus taxi, happy sun kissed eighteen year olds.

azaad, is a post apartheid child, none of this will be a part of his growing up, dadi, can take him on holiday to her own beach house, which would never have been possible in the seventies and eighties, he can socialise with kids of all colours on the beach, and his dad can afford a car.i remember when we got home from that first holiday in isipingo, dad's boss insulted him for using the company vehicle, to take his kids on vacation, suffice to say, the boss was flat on his back, the job a thing of the past, and dad never looked back.

the result, azaad and his siblings, will never have to be humiliated in this way ever.we have truly come a long way.

weekend @ the movies

2008-03-18T15:53:00.003+02:00

the world weather patterns are truly frightening.this past weekend has been cold and miserable, the rain started late Saturday, and has continued unabated since then.
it is usually the cape that has cold and wet weather, and usually in winter, not the summer months. we have had this miserable weather for most of summer, it's kind of depressing to say the least.

since we are doing our bit to conserve energy, the heaters did not come out of mothballs. i brought the duvet down,and made myself cosy in front of the tv,the latest dvd purchases stacked up next to me, a steaming cup of tea,and some hot porridge to get me going, yes i know don't say it,...porridge urghhhh!!!.
hot mealie miel porridge, with lashings of butter, milk and loads of sugar, mmmm! a moment on the lips and a lifetime on the hips,in this miserable weather though, it had the desired effect.

Friday night saw me at the theater, "Jodhaa Akbar", was the movie of choice, personally the hype surrounding the movie,did not live up to expectations. oh but the bod on hritik, wonderful eye candy. nice soundtrack, good costumes, i was really expecting an epic along the lines of "Spartacus", directed by Stanley Kubrick, made in 1960.why can't Indian film makers pay that much attention to detail, the movie score, choice of music,research into the historical background, a slave revolt 2000 years before the abolition of slavery, a three hour long epic, tucked up beneath the folds of my duvet, i thoroughly enjoyed the theatricality of the entire movie,the idea of the hero,who lived on beyond death,the romance between Spartacus and Varinia.the epic battle scene's.not even Russel Crowe in "Gladiator" can compare.i think though "Gladiator" owes a lot to "Spartacus".

then there was "Jodhaa Akbar", Ashwarya prancing about with a sword was so unconvincing,surely they could have spent some attention to detail, and hired a professional sword person to choreograph the fight scenes, even the battle scenes looked weak.the couple falling in love was standard bollywood fare, close ups on dreamy eyes etc,etc. when Spartacus first touches Varinia, the excitement is palpable, no dreamy eyes, just a man in a room with a woman for the first time,music that could make you feel the intensity, the begining of a love story.
the sub continent has stories to portray, that could take a lifetime to put on film, so why doesn't anyone tap into this limitless store and produce good movies,"jodhaa akbar" tried, but we can do better.the only real enjoyment for me was perving over hritiks gorgeous pecs.the movie after two hours becomes a real ass burner when that's all there is to watch.

the third movie epic, i watched from beneath my duvet was titled "curse of the golden flower". a Chinese epic set in the tang dynasty, the emperor comes home from war to find his family falling apart, illicit affairs, war,love tryst's,this movie had it all. the costumes and cinematography far outshone that of ashutosh gowarikers "jodhaa akbar".well acted, the movie could be placed in the same genre, so i ask again, why can't India do the same.movie going audiences are not as stupid as Indian directors and producers think we are,we should be treated with a greater respect than is shown.

personally i believe that people in the industry should be made to watch and study directors like kurosawa/bergman/kubrick/visconti.from these they would learn much and perhaps, the bollywood fair would reach a wider audience, and those that are fans, will become even more so. just a suggestion.

my epic weekend, beneath the covers of my duvet, came to a close on sunday night, with Steven Spielberg's, "Jaws".the movie after all this time can still make me feel the suspense,the mechanical shark,doesn't look that real anymore, but Spielberg got his message across.as the movie ended, i picked myself up, and waddled my way back to bed, why? i really don't know, as that couch and my duvet, had practically been a weekend in bed:).

as i write this i can feel my freezing feet,and am glad, that i can make my way back to the duvet and warmth, it is tuesday afternoon, 17.05 and the rain shows no sign of letting up.

a shot in a billion

2008-03-10T15:49:00.009+02:00

just received these pictures by email, they were quite beautiful, so i'm sharing them with you. this time i've saved the mail. so if anyone would like me to forward on the pictures, let me know.

my favourite are the little ducklings, following the dog, down the road:). really cute.

i've been having a debate with my younger brother, on our all time favourite movie list.this weekend i purchased the dvd, of, "the sound of music", my all time favourite, simply as it's the first full length movie i ever watched in the cinema, secondly i could sing to " do re me",when you are just six, the undertones of the second world war, nazi's taking over Europe, these things don't matter to six year olds.the hills being alive with the sound of music, and cute kids were more inviting.as an adult, i still enjoy, happy movies,movies from the art circuit, "memoirs of a geisha","the leopard",generally what arshad would call chick flicks, is it because i am a girl, and have been trained to like pink.i can't stand pink, but i like "girly" movies, i wear jeans rather than skirts, prefer glasses rather than contact lenses, a clean scrubbed face, rather than a made up one, does that make me a boy.i think not, i could not watch "top gun" more than once.

arshad's favourite all time movie is, ofcourse, "top gun", he has memorised the dialogue, i am told it is "the" all time guy flick.the reasoning escapes me, for me it was the type of movie you watched once, if, at all.

the debate however, is what movie will become azaad's all time favourite, i purchased "the sound of music", as i believed he should watch it when old enough, arshad will have him watch "top gun", according to my younger sibling, our nephew, is really a guy, so "top gun" will be his chosen movie, he thinks the sound of music, is just to girly. regardless i am sticking to my guns, and the little fellow, will watch them both. if his favourite colour becomes pink, hey who cares, there's a new catch phrase the metro sexual,that does not necessarily mean, he will be to feminine,i believe he will be a more sensitive man if he enjoys "the sound of music". arshad thinks it's just gay.we have years to watch this debate play out.

on the movie note,"no country for old men" opened to rave reviews, garnered a host of awards, for the coen brothers, once again, i couldn't see beyond the violence,fantastic script, great direction an acting, just not the type of movie i would watch twice.arshad on the other hand, found it to be a keeper, the kind of movie one purchases on dvd, to be watched again and again.there is no accounting for taste,or choice,it is these differences that make life fun.

sad that nothing has really changed 100 posts later

2008-03-05T12:47:00.008+02:00

azaad, pure innocent joy

the beauty of harrismith

i've reached that milestone, my 100Th post. not bad for someone who is not very diligent at keeping up her posts. azaad and my posting his pic a day, for the two weeks he spent with us, was the deciding factor, that brought me to post number 100. viva to that.

trouble is nothing much has really changed in south Africa, since my first post.on Monday the 8th of august 2005, i was gatvol to say the least, "gatvol of mediocrity",is,i believe how i put it. seems that 2 years and seven months later we are still lamenting mediocrity.our office renovations which should have taken six months is know on it's twelfth month, and counting. for three weeks there has been no workmen on site, today they burst a water main, in a newly finished bathroom, and have destroyed a couple of months of work,mediocrity at it's best. i simply do not believe that there are many people out there imbued with work ethic, or really any body out there proud to do a job. a lamentable situation. what gets me is the dumb look,ehhhhhhh!! (scratch my head, and look stupid)i ehhhh, don't know what happened. doesn't take a genius, you cut through a water pipe.one could say these are construction workers, so it's acceptable,but this is a malaise that has seeped into all manner of work places, from government bureaucracy right through to other work places. my fear, is that,this is the death nell for any future we might have in this country.what are we when we loose pride in even the simplest tasks.

then there's crime two years and seven months since i started blogging and nothing has improved, it is considered a happy day, if you happen to miss becoming a statistic.we enjoyed a family dinner with the outgoing charge de'affaires at the saudi embassy this week, his family were sad to be leaving south Africa, his wife explained that she found herself here, there was the first world to enjoy, in terms of infrastructure etc, she had wide open spaces, a spacious home to relax in, and the wild outdoors to enjoy when one got tired of the city.everything worked in their favour, friendly people, beautiful weather, great outdoors.which leads me to believe that it is not all gloom and doom down south, so what would it take for the government to sort out issues of crime,increases in rates,tax,interest rates,duties.the normal day to day existence of south Africans is being stymied by this and lots more, we pay more for less, as it seems that the job of government is to collect revenue, but not to spend the money in the right places,it will get to a point though when our citizens will just refuse to be taxed to death,it's the balances that we never seem to achieve, balances between collecting revenue and giving services.

everywhere one goes, you will hear the same litany, unfortunately it does not seem to reach the ears of government, more fool them, some idiot still had the audacity to make the statement that this is Africa, and we have no place in Africa for Indians or whites.tell that to idi amien,he destroyed Uganda's economy, committed untold atrocities, and ended his days in Saudi Arabia because no one else wanted him.

in my first post i quoted Khalil gibran from "the prophet"
"i found in silences that i may dispense with confidence?
if this is my day of harvest,in what fields have i sowed the seed,and in what unremembered seasons?"
in that first post, i thought this sentiment was really apt,if we are still sowing seeds of discontent, what future do we leave our children.

ivan khosa, in a press conference used the term "kaffir" he has been lambasted for being racist, a black man using a derogatory term like "kaffir" shame on him. the problem is mr khosa, was trying to tell people that we should dispense with a "kaffir" mentality, the idea that we are mediocre, we bought into the idea, as a result of apartheid, and it has perpetuated, into the new dispensation. i say mr khosa should be lorded for telling people to get of the fat asses, and take ownership, to get rid of that , "ehhhhh, i no see how that happened,(while scratching my head,and looking dumb)attitude". the future of a prosperous south Africa rides on the fact that people should have more pride in what they do and say, we are not "kaffirs" but we sure go out of our way to behave as though we are.

the human rights commission, attacked mr khosa, threatened legal action, and all manner of chargers because he was "being racist" suffice to say he was forced into an apology, the government moron, who's name i have forgotten(perhaps because he is not worth remembering)was not even reprimanded for being an out and out racist.what really constitutes an "African" not race because then half of this countries "black" south Africans would also have to pack and move across the border. it is just these blind near sighted opinions, that make me afraid, that all we have done, is changed the colour of the skin of people in control,and the new dispensation, is just as, if not more racist then the last. troubling thought.

on the bright side, azaad arrived to brighten up our lives, his sister is soon to follow this july.my wish is that we manage to save the future of this country for these gorgeous little one's that they might have a bright and prosperous future.it is criminal when we start thinking of "packing for perth,".our future is tied to south africa, how we go about securing an equitable future is the challenge.

2008-02-25T12:19:00.004+02:00

azaad and dadi at the wedding

flight sa 537 to durban

durban international

on the beach

full moon over umdloti

getting back from a break is never much fun, getting off a flight knowing you have a wedding to attend, definite bummer, in my case friends and family never seem to spread these occasions out during the year. no imagination, people always choose a specific month, i am all for elopement, or just a simple nikaah without the additional reception, even worse we are into the walimah story, it is sunat didn't you know?

hell everything is sunat, doesn't mean we have to rush out and do it, does it?
as i have stated previously weddings always bring out the pooky face, it is really scary, pouty lips, sullen face, though i always manage to smile and be nice when i arrive at the function.this time i opted for a sari, half way into the draping, hot and frustrated, the garment was flung aside to make way for the travelling black pants, and the something summery to go with it, sandled feet and some make up,...the effort required in wearing the sari, was just too much to handle, after months of rain, this weekend was a scorcher. and draping folds of fabric, on my overheated body, which i might add is larger than the last time, i wore a sari, was too much to handle, the additional fold around my somewhat larger waist line, was just to much to handle.

who can i blame? just me, as i noticed the increased weight and couldn't have been bothered, know i am bothered, as always though i will not do much about it,lol.
i have vowed to be more regular at the gym, perhaps walk a bit more, i realise at the middle aged mark, loosing the extra roll, is not that easy anymore. the love handles cling with a tenacity as never before.though wider of hip,middle age is also a happier place,a little extra roll doesn't have you rushing for diet pills,south beach diets,or worrying about what other people might think. if you have the compulsion to attempt a diet, it will be because that is what you want, looking good in a sari, might be another reason :)

so my pleasant relaxed break, ended with a trip to the dreaded wedding,this time nephew was invited so his presence, alleviated much of the tedium,however it was evident to the other guests at the table, that this is the first grandchild, the camera was ready, and he was being fussed over,i hate the idea of babies at weddings and hear we were, baby in tow ugggh, not good. however our hosts were insistant that we would be in attendance, so azaad had his first wedding trip. being the dutyfull aunt i introduced him to the eligable girls, nephew was having none of that, he was the model of good behaviour all night,however i am still of the opinion, that kids and weddings are taboo, judging by the number of kids at saturday nights wedding, i am definitely in the minority on this.

next weekend walima, i just can't get enough...though this time i am definitely giving the travelling pants a rest, a lady does get bored.

umdloti, was a little slice of heaven, no telephones, no work, just the sun,sea,and a good book,just what the doctor ordered.

so, mr zuma are you a crook?

2008-02-16T13:07:00.004+02:00

.

the times ran this headline, on mr zuma on the 14/02/08. i had to post this here, inteviewed by fergal keane on bbc's current affairs show "panorama"..the discussion is just hilarious:
keane: a lot of people think you are a crook
zuma: is that so? (laughs)i want to see those people so they can tell me why i am a crook.
keane: well, therte is a whole army of prosecutors who clearly think it.
zuma: eh-ha?is that so?serious?
keane: are you a crook?
zuma: me? well, i don't know, i must go to a dictionary and learn what a crook is. i've never been a crook.
keane: somebody who takes money from other people for corrupt purposes.
zuma: have i ever done so?
keane: i'm asking you.
zuma: no, that's a mistake i think you guys have made and i've said, i can't have two trials-a trial by the media and trial by court. i'm saying i'm not a crook. i have never been a crook. i will never be a crook.

lol:) i think he finally understood the definition of being a crook.and this will be the next south african president. i have nothing against mr zuma, surely he could have handled keane with more finess and intelligence,
a lot of what has been played out in the press has been political grandstanding, at the end, regardless of who is in power corruption exists and that is a sad fact, the question clearly is if government understands that they cannot missapropriate/steal all the money, there needs to be a balance, as the country and it's infrastucture are important as well, not just the new armani suite/flashy car/big mansion/swiss bank account/6th wife etc.etc. some of it needs to be utilised for the greater good :)

saturday visit

2008-02-16T11:14:00.002+02:00

time for my nap, i have other ideas though

i love trying to stand, under the dining table

azaad came over to spend the day with dadi...she is off to umdloti with me, as i said before feels more like work than a break, however being on the coast just engenders feelings of relaxation. :)

lunch date

2008-02-13T14:42:00.005+02:00

no hair

dada thinks i'm so cute

azaad, visited us for lunch today, looking just like a little buddah, he went for a haircut yesterday, and his lack of hair makes him look much tinier to my eyes.
as always the ever ready camera was on hand, so i got my pic for today

much needed rest?

2008-02-12T13:07:00.000+02:00

umdloti beach

i am finally taking that much needed break. off to umdloti beach for a few days. my flight departs on sunday morning, so i am sure to have a hectic working week.

the break as it turns out is not going to be much of one, my car has been parked off on the coast for three months now, and i need to get her serviced, that should take a couple of days, then,.. there is the security company to be contacted for the alarm system, telkom for the telephone line,landscaper for the final touches to the garden.

5 days, from the office, it seems that i will be working for the better part of those 5 days, the problem's will increase when i get back to the office, work will have piled up, and there will be problems to attend to, bills to pay, and general mayhem,my return, will make me wish i had never left johannersburg.of this i am certain.

is this the case for most people? when taking a break becomes more exhausting than it's worth.

on the bright side,i had a great (no not great just good) meal last saturday night, at "KASHIF'S FUSION FOOD". the word fusion is usually prone to drive me away from such eateries,why does one have to mix cuisines, the outcome is not always edible. however, kashif is a one man show,..and he produced some good seafood dishes, how long he can keep up the pace solo, is beyond me.the restaurant didn't offer coffee, some of the dishes on the menu were not available,why, have things on the menu you cannot provide?i don't believe a solo chef, could handle the demand alone, further by the end of the evening, what he produces would be tired and mediocre to say the least.

we ordered calamari and chicken livers with a greek salad for starters,the starter portions were small, (to be expected, enough to wet the taste buds), the salad for once (this is after all an indian eatery)did not have limp lettuce, as always loads of lettuce, not much of the other ingredients that constitute a greek salad, olives,cucumbers,feta cheese,onions.that is how restaurants make their money, i suppose, scimpimg on ingredients.

arshad had the malaysian style prawns as his main meal, subtly flavoured, slightly sweet, the prawns were fresh, we also had a fish called pangasius, the peri peri at this eatery is definitely of the atomic variety, so the waiters recommendation of having it with a combination of the sauces, was well received, peri, peri chicken kebabs not bad at all, the desert menu, was limited, however the ras malais (can't spell it) was good, not overly sweet, so that was a bonus.
all in all we enjoyed the meal,it was early in the evening, shudder to think what the later meals were like.

the trip to kashif's literally took us back to the "hood", there was not a person in the restaurant, my dad did not know by name or had a nodding acquaintance with, my good friend and her family were at the next table,there were prams and toddlers everywhere, it was really like attending an indian wedding without the stress of having to dress up, a track suit and no make up, was sufficient, and we could meet and greet, with relaxation. customers streamed in throughout the night, there was a fist fight outside, as people tried to get a table for dinner.
the usual hoopla on a saturday night in the hood, no parking,pakistani national's spitting out their flat windows, loud music,street food, just your usual hectic saturday night.

my dad of course has vowed never to return, as the flying spit,zeroed in on him. he seems to attract, the uninvited. :)spitting missiles is one habit, which is not welcome from the sub-continent, why do people find it necessary, to empty their throats in public spaces, the germs ....ooooooh it is just unbearable.great way to end a fun evening wouldn't you say. there should be health laws restricting people from such behaviour.

i enjoy the hood none the less :)

kidnapped

2008-02-11T15:33:00.000+02:00

my xylophone

clapping my hands

dada and aunt were out doing the shopping this morning, and we met azaad and his mum at the butchery doing their shopping, since he was sorely missed, his dada kidnapped him, and we brought him home allowing his mum to continue her shopping.

he didn't even have a smile ready for me today, must be cross because he had to go home on the weekend, lol:)in any event we brought him home, and he spent some time banging on the xylophone, dada's purchase, eish!!!!!!the headache, hope he learns to play a tune on the thing. i love him anyway.

shopping treat for my last day

2008-02-09T18:21:00.000+02:00

in the car, strapped up and ready to go

my big grey mouse

nephew spent his last day with us, these two weeks have been tiring but a joy. dadi and dada took him shopping for treats on his last day. the big grey mouse, is just adorable, i should put his exploits on this blog

happy morning

2008-02-08T09:24:00.000+02:00

i love being up on mu feet

happiness is?

thanks to azaad, people who are not usually morning people, rise early and keep him company in his makeshift playpen.
he has been a joy to be around, his sojourn with dada and dadi will be over by tomorrow,i can see us not getting much work done today, his presence has been akin to daily power outages, since we find ourselves more interested in playing with nephew, rather than working.
by now he has settled into his mid morning nap, and i am bleary eyed sitting at my desk longing for bed :). the joy of being a baby.is really lost on the baby, he fights sleep, because he misses out on play time, when he is older he will realise the value of sleeping in.

my favourite activity

2008-02-07T12:13:00.000+02:00

before my bath

after my bath

my nephew loves to bath, and screams violently when having to dress.
you have to see the absolute joy on the young one's face when he hears the bath water running,...his smile lights up his face, getting out of the bath is not as much fun.

i captured him this morning wrapped in his towel, sitting in his emptied bath, as he refused to let his dadi dress him....it took two grown women to coax and cajole him into a diaper and t-shirt, it was a lot easier to dress him when he was younger, know he turns his entire body around, wiggles and screams and tries to put as much distance as possible between his rear end and the diaper. i am exhausted by the time the episode is over.

how does one tie a 7 month going on 8 month old down, so he can be dressed?

7 months and in training

2008-02-06T15:43:00.000+02:00

chewing on the spectacle case

working here is such fun

as the background of the picture show's our offices are still under construction, 11months and counting......perhaps when the nephew reaches his first birthday.
i've decided some training in my office would be good, so i'm starting him early as you can see. his pram is parked off and he can get used to the office atmosphere, perhaps he will become a shipping whizz like his dada.

presently he is more interested in my spectacle case, must be really tasty.

personally, i think we should get him some golf clubs, turn out a pro, like tiger woods. there is less stress involved in walking around on the golfing greens.

my makeshift playpen

2008-02-05T12:55:00.000+02:00

the little guy has taken over the family room. coffee table and everything else has made way for azaad's toys, also our way of keeping him in while we attend to adult activities.

besides crawling he has taken to lifting himself up, while holding the couch, problem is he topples over, then looks for sympathy by howling out loud, just to be comforted by his dadi.

at the very least he keeps us all occupied and entertained

aunty missed a day

2008-02-04T10:55:00.000+02:00

pooky face

let's just throw everything down

oooh, i am so sour this morning....my nephew is out of smiles today. spent the weekend with his mum and dad, so it could be that he misses them, or it's just the monday morning blues, really the morning after the weekend before. a little to young for that,... nephew of mine.

his not even interested in the toys, or his rubber book to play with.definitely no smiles this morning, i am hoping he improves a little later in the day.

mum is home for the weekend

2008-02-02T09:23:00.000+02:00

found my aunts closet mirrors...my pic 2/02/08

nephew is off for the weekend, with mum and dad. the house seems so empty in less than 5 minutes of his leaving. i am sure he will be sorely missed once these two weeks are over. this morning his gran brought him up to wake the rest of us,....he will be back tomorrow....

morning blues

2008-02-01T10:09:00.000+02:00

granny had me in my hat, no complaints from me. i even have the patience to endure my aunty and her camera :) these are my pictures for friday morning 1/02/08.

early morning

2008-01-31T10:15:00.001+02:00

my new chair,...so i can have breakfast with the family

the biscuit box, is more appealing than the toys

today's picture

2008-01-30T12:38:00.000+02:00

the sun finally peeped out after a month of incessant rain. so i could enjoy the grass a little

day three of the challenge. 29/01/08

2008-01-29T11:30:00.000+02:00

sleepy eyes, it's 8.30am. breakfast time

with a little bit of porridge down my gut, i look happier

my picture for today

2008-01-28T18:31:00.000+02:00

with my uncle, when he got in from the office

brrrrrrrrr!!!! my new sound, just to let everyone know, i ain't having dinner

my cute face

since the nephew is with us, i will attempt the picture a day.

a picture a day

2008-01-28T16:30:00.000+02:00

AZAAD TAKEN ON 27/01/08.
HIS FIRST WEEKEND WITHOUT HIS FOLKS. KEEPING THE GRAND PARENTS OCCUPIED.

i was chatting on line with a friend today, who mentioned the idea of a picture a day.
being a little slow, i was thinking ,...nice idea. something to break the monotony of the working day.taking a picture of the life around me.

the idea though is to take a picture of yourself everyday, thus watching your different moods, creating a picture diary of yourself or some such thing.the idea all of a sudden lost it's great appeal,it smacks of self absorption, self involvement or just plain old vanity. that was the next thought that rushed into my head. i mean why would you want a picture diary of yourself, and how long would it be before the novelty wore itself out. you could get bored after day one,and further than that, in my case the venue or scenery of the place i spend my week in never really changes, except on the rare occasion (very rare, since we work and live on the same premises). why would i want to view my ugly mug daily. perhaps the changing scenery of my face, would paint a rare picture of life? perhaps even a life well lived.i did do the face of forty, as i believed i had reached a milestone decade.perhaps i should attempt the picture a day.i am obviously trying to talk myself into the attempt.

my nephew is spending two weeks with us, while his mum is away at university,
i think it might not be a bad idea to do a picture a day on my nephew and try to see what the idea is, perhaps i could go on till his 21st birthday...LOL. assuming of course i live that long.so i'm posting a picture taken yesterday, will follow up as i go along.

to all my friends reading this, and the friends of the blogging world, who of you will take this up as a challenge?a picture a day, try it i dare you to. usha/hip hop grandmom/gulnaz/xoff....give it a go guys.we could change it slightly, a picture of something you saw or did in your day...how about it guys let me know if you are taking up the challenge:)

?

2008-01-23T16:46:00.000+02:00

i have been trying very hard to focus on rainbows,...why? might you ask. my answer it is just to bothersome,to contemplate the stupidity of government. i am tired of the grey gloomy weather, we have had three weeks of non stop rain, and the power cuts get longer every day, i am just plain tired of it all. no amount of winging is going to change the situation.

when thabo mbeki took office, he pledged that he would show the world that "black men" would be capable of running a country, mr. president i do not wish to be in your shoes today, what must it feel like to rub the egg off your face?

presently we are proving all the nay sayers right, rowing down that river right into conrad's "heart of darkness". the situation is just as glum as the weather, and we were so sure that we would be the one country in africa, that was going to proove the world wrong,we need to find a working solution and fast, i don't want to do the chicken run, but heck, i certainly don't want to work my ass off either, just to watch it all go to hell in a hen basket.

so for know, i am going to enjoy the rainbow's and think only happy thoughts.
i'm sure many of you get the emails that are sent out en mass, i received two such emails today. both, had me smiling, "zedonk"(the cross between a zebra and donkey) because it was so cute, and the chillies, cause i thought "wow" wouldn't i love to put that rocket up the president's ass. or maybe essop pahad's, which might get them cracking on fixing this sinking ship, before things resemble zimbabwe on steroids.

pretty rainbow

2008-01-17T15:19:00.000+02:00

just when i finish complaining about the incessant rain, this beautiful rainbow appeared, two rainbows side by side, making this arch right over the house, i've never seen that before, my camera just couldn't capture the rainbow's or do them justice.but i tried nonetheless.

on the political front in johannesburg,nothing much changes.we are struggling with power outages, since the president vetoed eskom's plans to revamp/build new power plants.the outages have reached serious level's and is already effecting the economy adversely.how we are going to host the 2010 world cup remains to be seen. the sales of generators/backup batteries/torches etc, have risen drastically, the stupidity of it all is that this situation should never have arisen. the public prosecutor, know has eskom under investigation,why allow government to spend money on arms we don't need,instead of money towards preserving and upgrading our infrastructure, now we face an enemy from within that will have deeper and more far reaching consequences than war with our neighbours. (assuming that is what the purchase of arms, was to be preventing)

the consequences are already being felt, the hub of south african business, sandton and it's surrounds is out of power daily, the cargo depots and railway terminals are suffering the same fate, banks have been crippled for days, i don't believe the geniuses who decided that electricity didn't require upgrading, were thinking of the consequences of overburdened under staffed power plants.instead of waisting 25 million rands paying kpmg, to audit shabier shaiks books, and a further waste of money in court trials, and his eventual incarceration, the president and his henchmen, should have been securing our power supplies for the next ten years. instead we will be playing catch up....my advice. get a generator if you can afford one, and like the rest of the third world,..just live with it. oh and don't forget to pay the increased tariffs for power, power which you don't have and won't get regularly for the next ten years.

instead of worrying about my power supply,...i'm just gonna look out for more beautiful rainbow's.perhaps there will be a pot of gold under one of them :)

rain, rain and more rain

2008-01-11T14:59:00.000+02:00

king of the rainy household

azaad up on all fours

starting to feel like a drowned "cat" wanted to say rat, but a rat i'm definitely not.it has rained incessantly for three days and there is no sign of the rain abating any time soon.grey skies and cold weather, makes grey gloomy people, i am finally realising why the english are always so cold and aloof, miserable people, cause, the weather is just that miserable.

this has been a singularly horrible summer, rainy and cold for the greater part of the season, south africa, and johannesburg in particular, has a glorious summer season, blue skies, sunshine,...and on the odd day, the highveld thunder storm, the rains come down in a huge torrent, accompanied by a light and sound show, the lightning streaking the sky, followed by rumbling thunder, the world turns and angry grey,and the elements unleash their power for an hour or two.we have come to love and expect our thunder showers, this however seems to be a thing of the past.

instead we have cold grey permanently wet days, the kind of rain and cold that seeps into your bones, making you long for bed, hot chocolate and popcorn.which is where i would prefer to be at this moment,...instead here i am lamenting the weather and dealing with calls about delayed container deliveries, and who is going to be responsible for additional chargers, what a life we lead?

i spent some time rolling around on the floor, with cute nephew who will be 7 months old on monday, time passes far too rapidly,he however does not seem to mind the weather, life from the living room floor is filled with colour and attentive family members, who all rush into the room to watch him roll onto his tummy, then up on hands and knees. the adults find all of this fascinating, and every move is considered and discussed, like the finer points of a great novel. he really just wants to move his body towards some or other toy, or his grandfathers toes, and the movement consists of flinging his body in the appropriate direction. when this happens, the adults in the area, are consumed with amazement. "oh my gosh! did u see that? azaad moved forward" or cries of "his crawling" hello his just learning to keep himself upright in a sitting position, can get up on hands and knees, then proceed to get himself in a position that looks like a fancy martial arts stance, but crawling not quite yet.

i am most amazed though at the amount of fascination all this holds for us adults, i find myself rushing for camera, at every flick of an eyelid, a lot of this is perhaps because he is the first grandchild in the house, when number two or three arrives the novelty will have worn thin, in the meantime he can take my mind off this incessant rain.

2008

2008-01-03T15:42:00.000+02:00

4 days into the new year,....and i can only wish that the holiday weekend was a little longer...:)here's wishing all my friends and family,...and all you bloggers out there a great 2008.

2007, left a bitter taste in the way it ended....the death of Benazir Bhutto was shocking and uncalled for. it is a challenge to democracy everywhere,and a cowardly act that should never have happened.whether you agreed with her politics,or took accept ion to the way she governed in her two terms as prime minister,..not withstanding allegations of corruption and misconduct. BB stepped up and made her mark in a very male dominated arena. politics in pakistan cannot be an easy bus to ride, politics in an islamic country less so,...there are no politicians in the world who make great strides to high office without some of the wheels being greased. don't get me wrong,i am by no means advocating corruption, just pointing out that politics is a dirty game,...that murder/assassination under any circumstances is unacceptable. the death of BB is intolerable .the cowards who sanctioned this, should be brought to book,to the full extent of the law,..unfortunately i don't believe the truth would ever be released to the world...and so she will quietly become a distant memory and a name in a history book.i believe that this loss does not bode well for pakistan or it's people and hopefully the political mover's and shakers will strive to seek the best interest of the people of pakistan.

back home,...jacob zuma became president of the anc,...recharged for fraud and corruption ... he none the less ascended to the helm of the largest most powerful political party in the country. VIVA LE DEMOCRACY...that is what democracy is all about. no assassination of the man because he is a political threat, yes character assassination in the press,but he was the popular choice and it was the vote of the masses that held sway. what it portends for this countries future remains to be seen, jacob zuma (acquited of rape chargers)/winnie mandela (i didn't kill stompie)/tony yengeni (still serving time for taking a bribe)the motly crew of youth league misfits have all made the top fifty on the executive committee, our president thabo mbeki and his crew have all been voted off the podium. agree or disagree the processes of democracy took their course,hopefully a course we will not live to regret over the coming years.

crime moved over the border for the "festive season" as millions returned to zimbabwe and mozambique with their spoils from 2007,..my thought was that the government should take the opportunity and close off the borders, so the criminals would have no chance of returning, no such luck,...that is the price of democracy...perhaps greater policing in the new year could be the solution :)

Jacob Zuma, will make his official address on the 8th of january as the new party chief, we wait in anticipation for the rand to reach new lows :) just being sarky.

to my countrymen/women i wish us all a prosperous hassle free year

ability or lack thereof

2007-12-03T17:02:00.000+02:00

ability: i like that word, this week i noticed how many people suffer from lack of ability.is it genetic?/is it lack of intelligence?or just plain not wanting to apply yourself to the task at hand.

why is it so difficult to get things done,i've had calls from family everyday this week, people needing to get things done.
1. my dad last minute trip to hong kong, a couple of calls and visa's and tickets were sorted in a day.
2. an uncle having issues with the body corporate of the mall he owns a shop at. his "lawyer" couldn't sort out the issue, so he came to my dad, one call and the problem was resolved, pending documents etc.
3. an aunt, she has five weeks of leave, cannot bear the thought of staying in her apartment for the duration. her travel agent couldn't get flights to anywhere, it's december things are booked to capacity. my travel agent hasn't called back either, one call to a client, who travels frequently, bookings done, holiday arranged all within 30 minutes.

i have issues like these, work related and family.every other day, and they get dealt with and resolved.why then is it not possible for the people i meet with and deal with daily, not to be capable of doing the same.the issues mentioned above, are undertaken with pleasure, what i am getting at here, is, the travel agent,.. as an example, who would miss out on a sale, but couldn't be bothered, to try and find the flight. or the lazy lawyer, who would charge out clients, but couldn't be bothered, to use his brain to see that the solution to the problem is simple and easy.
ability or lack thereof, simply is a matter of application.and human beings seem incapable of applying themselves.

the upside, i managed to avoid another family wedding, yipee.this one possibly will make the papers/news. lol.at least, as i understand it, the unable to attend did not cause much unhappiness, which usually when it is your immediate family, would cause some questions to be asked, my aunt being English, just replied, "oh no", it would have been lovely to have had you attend, why can't the khala's and dadi's do the same. instead of lamenting the abomination you are for refusing a wedding invitation.this would be the only saving grace being English would have in my eyes.
and of course, the ynable to attend had nothing to do with the fact, that my brother wasn't invited to the wedding :)

the other deal of course, is that we have now officially reached rainbow nation status, my cousin who is "anglo indian", married a zulu south african,so we have the first really mixed marriage, in the new south africa. can't say we aren't a colourful family. menzi and amina, i wish you all the joy and happiness that this marriage will bring to your lives.

short fuse

2007-11-29T15:16:00.000+02:00

the wall they hammered through, original entrance on the right

the garage after cleaning and packing
i blew my top yesterday, and I'm wandering if this happens to most people,..

under pressure from work and dealing with office renovations, i had to get this place cleaned up,...it has taken three full days, what with most of the office having being dumped into the garage,..i arrived home from a relaxed couple of days on the coast, spent Sunday getting the folks organised for their trip to hong kong and china,on Monday morning,...once they were safely off to the airport the office required attention, clients were calling non-stop and the mess confronting me needed immediate attention.

just getting the garage cleaned, as in the pic above,took a full day...i have this thing, if a thing is what you can call it,..more like a cleaning fetish, the furniture dumped in their had to be washed, then polished.the files had to be dusted and cleaned up, the garage itself got a good top to toe clean up, before the goods could be placed to one side.all this fully well knowing, that we are residing in a construction site, and this will all have to be re-done.
day two was the main office itself, notice the brick work and boarded up wall, well the original door to the boardroom moved to the centre of the wall, construction people being what they are, simply won't inform you, they are banging down the door with a hammer, common sense i believe, would be to unlock the door, screw it off from the hinges, that way no dust , no damage,and a door that can be re-used.since we have a foreman, who is never on site,these guys banged their way through,..

to cut a long story short, here i am at 5pm, with around 20 minutes more clean up work,...being helped by our house help,..abrahm is his name,...at 5pm he looks at his watch and says, "i gotta go", to which i reply,"just a couple more minutes, as i don't want to be doing this tomorrow",...grumpily looking at the watch in his pocket, he says "I'm going" dumps his mop and proceeds out the door.i had asked him to be at work on time this morning, as i new the 5pm scenario, he came in an hour and a half late, which i sincerely felt needed to be pointed out to him at this juncture, he was not interested.

the scene, that followed resembled the lid bursting off a pressure cooker, i screamed loud enough for the pigeons, to fly off the roof in fear,..used language that a sailor would blush at, and fired him right then and there. he was not better than me, if i was down there working my ass off to get things right,and he was employed to do just this job, why the hell, couldn't he get on with it.

surprise, surprise,...this morning i hear a feint tapping on my office door, thinking the builders, were once again requiring something, i turn around to see a meekly smiling abrahm, in work overalls, my first reaction,"i thought i told you not to come back here, ever again". his reply,"so sorry, i wanna work". so here we are, abrahm is back on the job, we have reverted back to our love hate relationship.i give him instructions, he ignores them, and does his own thing,...mostly sleeping in the back yard,..unless it's a day, when I'm supervising some or other clean up operation, than he is forced to work. i seem to remember a study i read during my post grad year, about people employed in menial labour jobs, they hate it, but need the money,cannot officially strike or voice their protest, so the only way to do it, is by deliberately slacking on the job, spitting in the madam's tea,general instances of misbehaviour, usually clandestine, but none the less this small protest gives the person a sense of control,of action,of being the person calling the shots,not the person being controlled .i cannot help but feel sympathy for abrahm, and all those like him,he is doing the job's..that i cannot,being otherwise occupied in my own labours, it's hard work,nevertheless, he agreed to be employed, and here, i feel, that regardless of the job, or the pay,or the conditions,once you have signed a contract, or made the deal, you have an obligation to fulfill that deal.

i sound like the middle class madam, am i so wrong,don't we have expectations of those we employ,..like expecting them to do the job, they are employed to do,...or like the madam and eve cartoon,we employ them,so they can sleep on the ironing board, covered by the daily paper,..pretend to work,and collect their pay at month end....attend loads of funerals, sometimes the grandmother gets killed off every Friday,then there's the taxi strikes,and the sick leave,etc,etc.i am usually able, to accept this, just not yesterday...i wanted the job finished, to my satisfaction,...when this was not forthcoming,i threw the baby out with the bath water, in a manner of speaking.and this morning it was as if yesterday never happened, a figment of my imagination.

durban

2007-11-25T21:02:00.000+02:00

view of the drakensberg, from bergview one stop

THE VIEW FROM BEHIND THE WHEEL, NAUGHTY I KNOW

THE DRAKENSBURG, FROM OUR PIT STOP

RAIN CLOUDS OVER HARRISMITH

NORTH BEACH ROAD

UMDLOTI BEACH

ARSHAD ENJOYING HIS BIRTHDAY CIGAR
what i thought might be a relaxed couple of days on the coast became, more work than play, who am i to complain,any work related activity with a sea view,beats the office 9-5 hands down.flying to durban, is a lot quicker but not as beautiful as the drive, it was grey and humid all week,so not the ideal beach weather, for my money though the tropical climes of natal, far out ways, the picturesque views and gale force winds of the cape.

the hills were awash in the sharpest greens, rolling sugar cane lands, have made way for new malls and condo's,...much of the beautiful coastline still survives though. our family, think we are crazy, to love the quietness of umdloti beach on the north coast but our little sleepy hollow, has made way for larger buildings, more people, the price of development,the seas were rough, menacing grey skies, turning the otherwise blue waters, an angry grey, a surf not for the feint hearted...but i loved my only walk on the beach, this week.

the drive home began at six this morning, it was a little slice of heaven, 6 hours behind the wheel, we left with a slight drizzle trailing us all the way to pitermaritzburg, the valley was shrouded in a fog, hiding the unbelievable, views, the mist starting to rise on the road as we drove through, the midlands, and on to harrIsmith, my only gripe this drive, is the 100-80 km zones, my lead foot was starting to fall asleep at that ridiculous speed,so the pit stop was a welcome sight, where i could down a coke, with enough caffeine and sugar, to energise me for the last homeward stretch. parts of the drakensburg, range, stretching around us, with a cool morning breeze, was just the ticket. the summer rains, have cleaned the world, and made everything rich and green, a beautiful thing to see.above are some of the pics, i managed to get.

I am an African

2007-11-15T16:09:00.001+02:00

this is what it's about

where does time go

2007-11-15T15:07:00.000+02:00

the jacaranda in our garden

the coconut biscuits

do you ever get those days, when you realise that people miss things you used to do, and now you just don't have the time to do.
last weekend, i had some time on my hands,...so i finally took some time to bake, ya,..bake. my dad loves coconut biscuits, and he was driving to the coast the next day,so in a spirit of generosity, more like my eager anticipation of having the house to myself for a full week, i set to baking.
i packed, him lunch, chilled his drinks, and saw him off at 5am the next morning, i think he called me 10 times that day, to thank me, then little brother called so happy to see the home baked biscuits, next it was mum.i tried to remember the last time, i baked it was 2 years ago.what on earth do we do with time, that, the simple act of baking some biscuits, waits a year or two.

summer finally reached johannesburg, i hope my enthusiasm and enjoyment of the 30 degree temperatures, doesn't jinx the weather for the rest of the season,the jacaranda's are in full bloom, and johannesburg is awash in a sea of green and violet, it has an amazing effect on my mood.my 5 month old nephew had his first swim , not wanting to be left out i braved the pool, despite my "brave" entry, one toe at a time, the cool water was bliss,the point is to ensure that i use the pool, more than just this once,...like the biscuits i just never seem to have the time.johannesburg at this time of the year, is incredibly beautiful, the city is green, washed clean by the summer thunderstorms, jo'burgers populate the city outdoor eateries, making the most of blue sky's and sunny days.

there's that feeling in the air of the year coming to a close, who would have thought it, the 15th of november 2007, where has the year gone.a friend said the other day, there is just no "barakat" in time anymore.i am off to a deserved weeks break at the coast, next week, and i hope to get some great pics, to post here, this country is incredibly beautiful. despite my numerous posts, objecting to the political going's on, crime, etc,etc. i would never choose to be anywhere else, our president made on of his most famous and eloquently poetical speeches, titled "i am an African", quoted in a previous post, it is summer days, like these that epitomise
the spirit of that speech, despite his numerous faux pas, when it comes to aids, arms deals,the struggle for supremacy in the ANC or manto, that speech is what south africans are truly about,a rainbow nation under the summer sun.

comment

2007-11-12T11:18:00.000+02:00

things plod along in johannesburg as usual, headline news in the weekend papers is the deepawali, releases of om shanti om and saawariya, srk seems to be trying really hard,...to stop the looming spector of sony, taking over the distribution of movies,....mmmmm power struggles in bollywood.
judging from the trailers, can't say i would be stirred enough to watch om shanti om, did u see the check jacket, and srk's goofy facial expressions, the new six pack, isn't exciting enough. sorry srk.
i believe he know refers to himself as chak de :) now that movie had heart and spirit.

talking about power struggles, the anc are gearing up for the big showdown, who will be the next president of the ANC,..not zuma since the scorpions are after him again, ..the indians in natal have thrown there votes behind the ex-president. all said and done he has done more to unite natal, and brought about some great changes in the racial landscape there,...what kind of president would you make, when you have been charged for corruption, dabbling in arms deals etc,?..however jacob is really popular with the masses. really that is no reason to qualify, but it's the masses who vote.
then there's cyril ramaphosa, ex num (trade union) now head of johnnic,...into big business thanks to black empowerment, who now has not much time for the trade union, he is being backed by the liberals, democratic party etc, as being the next great black hope, give us a break,...cyril should be left making billions, and smoking cigars at the johannesburg club,
thabo mbeki,..is not mr. popularity presently,the office of the presidency,...though is doing it's damndest to make sure our president is remembered in all the right circles.
manto tshabala msimang, first female president, that is a laugh a minute,..health is in crisis,rapes and shootings at public hospitals, stolen baby cots,delays with treatments and results from consults, how on earth does that qualify you, to be head of the biggest political party in the country,oops i forget, you are black and female, that is qualification enough.
then there's the minister of foreign affairs, nkosazana dlamini zuma, (yes jacob's ex) and another useless candidate, who if it wasn't for her deputy minister aziz pahad, would be running another useless government department. the man works to hard,...but the job gets done, perhaps he should be the next ANC president, i would vote for him...
none of the candidates, have elicited much excitement in me as is evident from my comments, politics really is a huge soap opera. i am anxiously awaiting the day, that things are done in the best interests of the country, and it's people rather than the filling of private coffers,and men's quest for ultimate power.

the Americans have brutalised the world, trying to control exclusive excess to the world's energy resources, and the excuse is safety and security.that's a riot,...do the American population even remember the reason, for going to war in the first place, do they even know they are at war?
benazir bhutto, is under house arrest "for her own security" apparently there is a suicide bomber out to get her, one would imagine that the suicide bomber would have better things to do with his/her time.meanwhile the lawyers are being brutalised, arrested etc, what happens to the rule of law, does it exist, not really, in every banana republic,"law" doesn't really exist, it really is there to be utilised, like a fancy dress,brought out on an occasion, the occasion being when the government needs an excuse to usually do something "un-lawful"