Thunder on the mountain

I am at the university, waiting for the clock to strike 17.00 in order to talk to a man about an upcoming exam. All very exciting. Outside the wind is howling, with trees struggling to remain rooted in this wet earth. In order to concentrate, I am listening to the rain. Not actual rain outside, but a collection of rain sounds on my iPod. The rain sounds drown out the voices of the other students in the common room discussing their various projects, it drowns out where I am and what I somehow still need to do today. The rain sounds mute whomever is snoring in the room at the hostel we booked, they make my roommate watching TV in another room less audible, they surround my head in a space of white noise crafted for thinking and concentrating. 

I wrote to a friend of mine that I wished we could all turn off the social media, our phones and tablets and gadgets, since often they distract us more than they help us. My task app keeps reminding me of tasks that I know I still need to do, making me more nervous and feeling as though I can't accomplish anything. Whatsapp messages, spam emails, FB messages, they all distract. And not because I am actually that popular and receive a lot of messages, but rather because once I have the phone in my hand I will check all social media channels and emerge 30 minutes later wondering what I was even scrolling through. It is making meaningless meaning, continously reposting outdated information to satisfy our desire for constant online stimulation. 

Then again, I am reliant on exactly these media to remain in touch with friends an family in far away places. Without Skype, FB and WhatsApp living far away would mean restricted communication. Perhaps a resolution here is not to give up these media, but to gain controll of them again, to not be reliant on the to maintain contact, to not be a voyeur in the lives of people who could just as well tell me the stories that fit whatever it is they posted on social media. 

20 minutes left. 20 minutes of possibly answering emails, of prepraring for a meeting when I would much rather just be at home already. 

Got wood?

WeWood are these awesome watches made out of, well, yes, you guessed right, wood. Their motto is One Watch - One Tree - One Planet, because when you buy one of their watches, they plant a tree. I know it sounds a bit tree-huggerish, but I think these timepieces look pretty sweet and aren't too expensive. (And they deliver, free of charge, in SA)



       

Vandag

I (secretly) like drowning and not waving. When it gets this busy at stages in life there is no time to reflect on little issues, on daily problems, on tiny details that could mean more than they do when analysed. Look. It's not like I am super busy. Evidently : I am writing this, and on the list of priorities, blogging is not really number 1. Neither is mixing myself a twisted Mojito with the last limes and Bacardi. I don't know what is most important. I make lists and scratch things out as I go along. And somehow, it always works out, with more or less sleep. But it always works out. 

So I don't really understand when people don't do much. Sure, over the holidays I spend waaaaay too much time watching Gossip Girl and pretending to read 'literature' ( this means I aim to read Austen or something that one 'should have read', but instead I go through old magazines and watch TV). Or after a stressful week one needs to blow off steam and do nothing. But permanently doing nothing, really? 

Anyways. Someone I know's friend started a blog. It's in Afrikaans, if you're keen. 

Bulle

Almal skreeu vir die skerm, bier in die hand. Ek sien net blou truie. Dis my eerste rugby match, en ek's nie juis seker wie teen wie speel nie. My vriende ondersteun die Bulle, met blou truie en toppies en grimering, so ek ondersteun maar saam. In die ou einde verloor hulle. Almal gee 10 minute voor die finale fluitjie op en loop want die Bulle so sleg speel en die verskill nie meer kan inhaal nie. Daar is 'n laaste teenslag maar niks kom daarvan nie. Dis 23.26. ( die tyd, nie die telling nie). Is my bloed net blou as hulle wen?

Die treurige glimlag van teleurstelling word gekontrasteer met mense wat hul fuiste in die lug gooi en mekaar 'n druk gee.
celebration devastation, alles dieselfde tyd.

Maar: almal sal Suid Afrika ondersteun.

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Ek het dié laas jaar geskryf toe die Bulle uit die Curry Cup uit is, dink ek teen minste. Nou sien ek op die nuus, met Riaan, dat die Bulle dié saterdag teen die Sharks of Stormers of iemand speel. Dis al 'n jaar terug, Suid Afrika het toe nie die wêreldbeker in Nieu-Seeland  gewen nie, teen spyte van baie ondersteuning en hoop. Ek weet mens sê dit baie, en dat dit niks met rugby te doen het nie, maar as mens besig is hardloop die tyd net so veel vinniger.




As 'n bonus, vandag is my Stadstapper foto van Pretoria die keuse van die dag by A Postcard a Day from Gauteng. What whaaaat ( baie gangster haha).

Question

Besides Spitzi dying while I am not with him, the next biggest fear is being caught in a life I do not want to be living. So how long is now?

(Berlin 2008)