New year, new beginings same old strategies

When i started this blog, my intention was to update it as regularly as possible in light of the many other reponsibilities that I hold. So far, I have not kept up to my resolution of maintaining an online journal, but i have not given up on the thought either – hence this post.

Last year was an interesting year, so many things happened, unlikely candidates became presidents and the world plunged into a recession not seen in decades. While Obama may have been the darling of everyone, Mugabe on the other hand remained the exact opposite.

Last year, i took the challenge and pushed my adventurous streak a bit further than normal. Hubby and i embarked on a drive from Cape Town to Lusaka and we almost reached kitwe but fuel prices in Zambia were not favourable. This is the longest journey I have ever undertaken and it is many times more than anything i would call long. It was an interesting journey, full of adventure and expreinces – some that will forever remain in my heart.

The vist back home was refreshing but in pursuit of happiness, we had to come back albeit on a sad note – Cape Town maybe better but Lusaka is certainly the best.

In the past year, I changed jobs twice and for the first believed that aquarians do not take to a boring life. I moved on to a whole new field, nothing like I have done before and i think this was a sign that i needed to challenge myself further.

This year has come and i still hold the promise that I will update my blog as often as possible but also that i will test myself to the limit and not give up. I started the year on an infectious high, believing that only sucess and nothing else can come out of this year. maybe this will also be the year that we see a lot positives in the poltitical spheres, begining with Obama and probably seeing some change in Zimbabwe. The time for that change has come and it can only happen this year, me thinks.

This year is also the year that I plan to laugh more and cry less, make peace with what I can’t change and work towards that which i can change. At the risk of sounding cliche, I want to be the change i want to see in the world.

Last year was a journey that was not without hurdles and this year may not be much different but the difference is that this year i approach it with a positive attitude, an infectious attitude that says ‘Yes I can’.

Sometime at the end of this year or the begining of next year i will be writing a similar post and i hope the post will be characterised by the energy and optimism that has began this year. It is a new year for me for I have just had my birthday and the age i have become is a milestone age.

I still have longings for thiings which seem to forever be out of reach…I pray that this year my longing and reach will not be in vain.

Attending the FTX

Chicas at the FTX

Today is the second day of the Feminist Tech Exchange (FTX) and I didn’t talk about it before because there was nothing to say, at least not enough to write home about. The little I had I posted on the FTX blog.

The FTX is a space for feminists (both women and men) to share experiences and knowledge in the use of technology for social justice. The space has different tracks and I’m attending the track that explores social networking tools for social justice.

So far it has been an interesting two days but it has also served to re-inforce my belief that there is too much information available on the internet and rather than being helpful is half the time confusing. However I have picked up a few things that I will use to make my blog look better and have much more visibility.

My other persistent thought has been re-inforced, the internet has a lot of things and if you look at everything, you will get confused so its about choosing what is relevant to your needs.

I will be posting more posts on technology and feminism, be on the look out!

Your chica…

Yoga – not for me, right?

I have got an email from the office administrator informing (not asking me, the nerve!) that we are going to have an hour long staff session on ‘breathing exercises’. I read and re-read the email several times to make sure that what I was reading was correct because in my mind, I cannot begin to think of how at my age I can learn how to breathe! I mean is this not some reflex action that happens the moment you come out of the warm cocoon that is your mothers womb, because the new environment that you suddenly find yourself in is so cold and unfamiliar and the first reaction to this unwelcome change is a cry that draws air into your lungs and another that expels it until it becomes the only thing you can do before you learn how to suck your momma’s tit, and before you know it you do it everyday as a sign of survival in this harsh world until the day you depart?

I’m wondering and trying to imagine how this first thing that I learned (and everybody else) on my own, even before my brain could interpret sounds or scribbles on a piece of paper could be taught to me again at this ripe age? Have I been doing it all wrong all along? Could it explain why I snore when I sleep?

I have replied to the email asking if I will be taught how to breathe again and as quick as technology now can allow, I have a response saying my question is really funny and has made the office admin’s day! I’m raging inside at how my innocent question can be taken so lightly making me look like a clown to aid others in having better days! I have thought about letting it go and discovering what it means on the d-day but my curiosity will not let me because my mind is thinking of all inconceivable ideas of what can happen on this day including me feigning sickness just so I can miss out (this sounds like one thing I wouldn’t miss if I missed it).

Anyway, my curiosity has got the better of me and I know what it is…it is the ancient art of Yoga that is supposed to prepare us for a very stressful period during a major international Forum that our organisation is due to have in little over a months time. But this discovery doesn’t assure me in any way, even in my wildest imaginations, I never imagined YOGA…Look, the little I have come across has led me to believe that it is the ‘in-thing’ that celebs are doing and everyone else who wants to be seen to be ‘moving with the times’; it supposed to be some kind of gruesome exercise regime based on acrobatic body postures that some ancient Asian dude developed. This is certainly not for me!

Ok, this is something I don’t want to do because I don’t do the in-thing and also because I don’t believe in putting myself through misery just to maintain a mannequin dress size! besides, I’m happy with my plus-sized body as it is!

What I can’t figure out though is how breathing will aid in the losing of a few unwanted kilos, let alone get me in so good a frame of mind that even when I want to scream, I will just smile and calmly ‘manage the supposed stress’. On second thoughts, I guess I will have to attend this session because if I don’t I will never know, right?

I know you feel for me and I will keep you posted on how it goes…