show and tell

2011

2011-12-31T12:29:00.005+02:00

The last day of 2011 has compelled me to write a retrospective post - for myself, of course, as this was never intended to be used as a regular blog - but there's something vaguely comforting about sending out a message into cyberspace, to be mulled over (or, more likely, ignored) by those who still have this blog added to their readers.

So, concerning 2011:

My gut reaction is simply to say: this last year has been a disaster. In many ways, I have never been so unhappy: I was stressed beyond what I previously thought to be humanly possible. I remember many a Friday night filled with accounting, whilst my friends went out and met Yannis from Foals and did equally exciting things. As gross as it sounds, there were weeks when I barely had time to wash my hair. Even more significantly, my year was marred by an extended, heart-shattering and largely unresolved event going by the name of Nick Mulgrew.

I could continue in this vein, and view 2011 as a waste - a year to be left out for collection with the other post-new-year-celebration trash. But I'm growing up, and part of maturity is learning that sometimes (actually, make that usually), difficult experiences can do you a hell of a lot of good. I was already able to bear witness to the amazing transformations that quite a few of my friends have undergone after suffering through bad breakups, and I guess this year it just happened to be my turn. As with my friends, the experience hasn't been wasted.

This year I learned that I have a resilient spirit - even when, for months on end, I've felt like giving up and never leaving the security of my duvet again. I have learned that I have an incredible family, and a mother whose ability to comfort me is not hindered by the 4000km distance between us. I have a loving father who, despite a somewhat gruff exterior, is willing to buy me a plane ticket home for the very next morning, at an exorbitant price, when he knows that I am devastated. Seriously: if anything, 2011 has taught me that my family is amazing.

I have learned that I am very, very smart, and despite emotional difficulty I can still emerge as the top student in a class of competitive postgraduates. I have learned to love and value my friends - especially those who have battled through similar things. I have worked hard to get fit, and have received tremendous support from those around me regarding these efforts.

In the last few months of 2011, I learned to respect myself and resolved to never let a man disrespect me again, as far as I can help it. Most importantly, I've learned (and am still learning) about God's exceptional grace - and the second (and third, and fourth...) chances he doles out upon us.

When I look back over (my mostly heartbroken) 2011, key events and people stand out. The year began with a solitary drive across the entire country, which allowed me to silently marvel at the stark beauty of the Karoo. In June, I floated on the Dead Sea in Israel. I chatted to French boys outside E. Dehillerin in Paris, where Julia Child used to buy her kitchenware. I strolled along the Champs-élysées by night. I hiked in forests, and swam in beautiful waterfalls in the Eastern Cape. I watched a lot of cooking shows. I managed to read a few crazy good books, in-between my hectic schedule. I made some amazing friends in my marketing class (bonds forever sealed by rebellious late-night McDonald's coffee in comlabs), and strengthened my existing friendships. I acquired a wealth of knowledge. I gained bucket-loads of confidence. And heck - my year has ended with me lying next to a swimming pool in Mauritius, looking out over the most ridiculously blue ocean as I write this post. Without underplaying just how hard my heartbreak has been, I truly acknowledge that I have a lot to be grateful for.

Suddenly, 2011 doesn't seem like such a waste - but instead, a year of triumph over difficulty and personal growth. More than that: with retrospect, what it looks like is a solid platform for the incredible year that I am convinced 2012 will be.

When I return to Cape Town in a few weeks, I'll be moving into a fantastic new flat, in a fantastically trendy area. In August (or hopefully July, if I scrape together the appropriate funds to go a bit earlier), I'll be heading to Europe, with one of my bestest friends, to enroll at Sciences Po - a Parisian university often casually referred to as 'the Harvard of France'. It's the grande école of grandes écoles. Personally, I can think of no better remedy for a broken heart. And that's only the part that I have planned.

So, 2011: it hasn't been altogether pleasant, but I have survived you. Thank you for the good times, and thank you for the lessons I had to learn through the hard times. 2012: je suis prêt.

Late summer evenings

2011-12-03T18:30:00.000+02:00

One day, I will feel like this.

2011-10-17T16:16:00.000+02:00

Dads have the coolest hats

2010-01-14T17:19:00.005+02:00

It's been a while since I updated (*ducks under desk from shame*), but, as always, indecisive me can't decide whether to make this a regular thing again. What I'm looking for is a project, but I'm still coming up with ideas - so watch this space, but, er, not too often.

My (normally cooperative) Macbook has decided to take the day off, so I'm typing on my mom's ancient Windows laptop which she ditched about two months ago for a monstrous seventeen-inch iMac, about which she is very chuffed, even though the most use it gets is checking the occasional email... Anyway, I am currently at our house in Mauritius, and it feels as though the holidays are just dragging on. Surprisingly, I'm pretty desperate to get off the island and get back into the swing of things. Not to say I haven't had a nice relaxing time - I was fortunate enough to have some lovely visitors, in particular Nich - and I thought I'd show off a little photoshoot of our hats that we had when he was here. Both of these hats belonged to our dads respectively - though I'm technically still trying to wrestle my dad's hat (the woven one) from him, as he's oddly attached to it.

2009-12-17T21:30:00.004+02:00

It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song

You can't believe it

You were always singing along

It was so easy and the words so sweet

You can't remember

You try to feel the beat

You spent half of your life trying to fall behind

You're using your headphones to drown out your mind

It was so easy, and the words so sweet

You can't remember

You try to move your feet

I want to be a paper swan.

2009-11-08T15:56:00.002+02:00

Sorry, I've been away for a very long time. I still haven't decided whether to keep this blog as a holiday blog, or to blog continuously throughout the year. At the moment, I think I'm just going to update every so often until the holidays: I'm off to Mauritius in a month (exactly), so expect a lot of holiday posts very very soon.

I'm stuck indoors today, and here is the result:

2009-09-05T02:30:00.003+02:00

In that moment I thought: how beautiful, my life, projected on these faded walls.

The quiet clink of keys, a slow turn, a muffled click.

Hush, hush.

Don't wake the moonlit trees.

so, um...

2009-08-09T22:12:00.005+02:00

Being home alone sucks. I keep hearing funny noises. I freak out when the dishwasher chimes. And when a gunshot goes off on the TV. Ah. Looking at old photos to keep my mind off things.

These photos are from last semester, when my friend Michelle and I were about to leave to go to a show at Assembly. This is me posing at the bus stop in front of my old res.

bye bye france, thank you for being so nice

2009-07-24T23:13:00.002+02:00

Tomorrow morning I get on the train back to Paris, and then I get on my flight back to SA. This is me looking sad because I swore not to eat McDonald's on this trip.

the spoils of yesterday

2009-07-23T21:57:00.002+02:00

Okay... So. I have never actually owned a proper pair of Converse sneakers. Done laughing? I've always had knock-offs (Pep 'gold star', Soviet, etc.). Shocking, hey? Well, I was happy to find this pair, which I really love. I also found this great bowl. Got the shoes in Grasse, and the bowl in Vence.

...and this is the town of grasse

2009-07-23T21:26:00.003+02:00

Grasse, according to many proud French people, is the perfume capital of the world, and is apparently known for its lavender fields (which, we discovered, are a total myth). It was a really pretty town nonetheless. Last time I was here, in 2005, I bought a perfume called Ile d'Amour at the perfumery Fragonard. It's my favourite perfume, so I was happy to be able to buy some more. Here are some pictures of the pretty village.

this is the town of vence

2009-07-23T20:13:00.005+02:00

I have been a busy busy bee the past few days. On Monday we hired a car and have been driving around since, just seeing the area and enjoying the laid-back coastal life (which for me, consists of slushies, ice cream and awkward tan lines). On Tuesday I went to a tiiiiny little village called Eze, which is perched precariously on a mountain above the sea. The streets are so steep and narrow that you can't even ride a bicycle into the town, which is unfortunate for luggage porters who have to carry big bags to the hotel at the top of the hill. We saw one poor guy struggling under the bags of a humongous African-American woman. Shame.

Then on Wednesday, we went to another village called Vence and then Grasse, which is the world's perfume capital (post to follow). Here are some photos of Vence. Spot the giant pigeon statue.

round and round and round you go

2009-07-21T19:46:00.003+02:00

Last night I was walking around the Old Town of Antibes, and I came across this carousel. I saw it last time I was here, four years ago, but it wasn't operational back then. I'm so happy that they got it going - it's so pretty. Can I please be four years old again?

I love leather handbags

2009-07-21T19:15:00.003+02:00

Here are three leather bags that I have gotten on this trip. The first is one that I bought at a shop called Cuirs et Compagnie, that I got in the village of Eze today. The second is one that I bought at the Vintage Gallery in Antibes, where they sell tons and tons of gorgeous old vintage bags (the crocodile skin ones were around 250 euros!). The third bag is one that Sadie's mom gave me because she doesn't use it anymore. Score.

the best thing about being on holiday at the med is being on holiday at the med

2009-07-19T15:13:00.003+02:00

Yesterday we took the train all the way from Dijon to Antibes, a Mediterranean coastal town very close to Cannes and Nice. I have found my spot next to the pool and doubt that I will be leaving it any time soon.

boating in france is not as easy or as fun as it looks

2009-07-14T21:45:00.005+02:00

As I suspected, boating in France isn't very fun. It's like staying in a caravan yet you have to navigate treacherous waters and can't go faster than 15km/h. There are lots of sunburnt Swiss people on other boats though it rains most of the time. At least the scenery along the way is pretty.

bye bye paris

2009-07-10T23:36:00.003+02:00

I had such a good time in Paris, so I'm very sad to leave. I'm spending the night in an old manor house in a town called Epinal, and tomorrow we start our journey on the barge. I don't know how much internet access I'll have, but we'll see. Bye bye Paris. Thank you for such a nice time.

the louvre

2009-07-10T23:22:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I went to the Louvre. It was really beautiful and it was nice to see just how big a lot of these famous paintings actually are. My favourite part of the museum ended up being the section about ancient Mesopotamia, and the sculptures of lions from Yemen. People were pretty cool two and a half thousand years ago.

The Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese

2009-07-10T23:16:00.003+02:00

This is the painting that hangs opposite the Mona Lisa. It is the Louvre's biggest painting. Most people never even stop to look at it as they're too busy ogling the Mona Lisa from a distance behind all the bullet-proof glass. Funny.

another taste of versailles

2009-07-09T22:44:00.003+02:00

I don't have time to do a proper Versailles post right now, as my dad wants his laptop back and I leave for Nancy early tomorrow morning. So here are just two more photos, and I'll do a proper long post at a later stage. Goodbye Paris, hello rural France. :)

la famille

2009-07-09T22:26:00.005+02:00

Yesterday, after we saw Versailles, we went to the Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens where they keep Monet's Nympheas or water lilies. This is my family posing in front of them.

versailles

2009-07-08T23:16:00.003+02:00

Today I went to the chateau of Versailles, which is without a doubt the most magnificent palace in France. When I was small my brother and I were very geeky and had an educational computer game about Versailles, so it was a bit weird how we already knew our way around thanks to some kids game.

Post about the Chateau to follow tomorrow.

main square festival

2009-07-06T09:05:00.004+02:00

This past weekend I went to the Main Square Festival in Arras, where I saw a very weird mix of musicians (Phoenix, Lily Allen, Kanye West, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Ghinzu, Placebo, Gossip, Expatriate and Bloc Party).

Unfortunately, the mean security guards refused to let me take my camera in as they were convinced that I would throw it at the stage. Heck, they wouldn't even let me take in my canned salade nicoise. So sadly I have no photos of the festival, but only some dodgy lo-res cellphone videos. Oh, and I took some Holgas. Hopefully those will come out nicely.

For the mean time, here are some photos of the festival which I found on some french news site:

I was about ten metres from the stage for Bloc Party. Boy, were they amazing. They played a mix of the best songs from all three albums.

Kaiser Chiefs also had a pretty damn amazing set.

Placebo certainly got kudos for their light show.

All in all, one pretty amazing festival.

...because it's not paris without la tour eiffel

2009-07-03T10:25:00.001+02:00

Bye guys. I leave for the Main Square Festival in Arras today. Bloc Party, here I come. x

la géode

2009-07-03T10:21:00.002+02:00

This is la Géode. It's an omnimax theatre. Basically, you sit inside it and the screen curves round as far as you can see. We went to see this film about coral reefs there yesterday. Boy, did I get motion sickness.

phew

2009-07-03T10:17:00.003+02:00

On Wednesday we couldn't take the heat anymore so we went to this neat little park where they have fountains that you can play in. Everyone was flippen amped. Even the emo kids.

regina spektor

2009-07-02T11:45:00.001+02:00

Last night I saw Regina Spektor at the Bataclan theatre. I didn't take my camera because I was scared they would take it away at the door. So no photos. She was so lovely though, so I just have to say it. :)

picnics

2009-06-30T21:01:00.005+02:00

Today Sadie and I had a picnic in the Tuileries Gardens outside the Louvre. We had cheese, crackers, rice pudding and other lovely things. Paris seems to be having a heat wave at the moment, so we relaxed at this shady spot for a very long time. Aaaah, lazy days.

shopping, shopping, shopping

2009-06-30T19:20:00.003+02:00

Just some cool things I've bought so far in Paris (white dress from M♥rgan, wooden heart necklace from Accessorize and bow earrings from Accessorize). Accessorize is so nice in Paris, and oddly enough cheaper too.

Youpi pour les soldes!

le grand monde d'andy warhol

2009-06-30T11:17:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I went to an Andy Warhol exhibition at the Grand Palais, all by myself. It was super awesome to see how big a lot of his paintings and prints actually are. I wish he was still alive to do my portrait. Wow. Awesome, Andy.

parks in summer are nice

2009-06-29T11:47:00.006+02:00

Parks in France are super nice. These are people relaxing in the main square in the Marais district. Ahhhhh, Summer.

they want you, they want you, they want you as a new recruit

2009-06-29T11:41:00.003+02:00

These people dress up like the Village People for the lulz. They also dress up as the cast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Post about the show to follow soon.

wow, that was quick

2009-06-28T11:49:00.001+02:00

So, let me get this straight, by yesterday they already had t-shirts printed? Talk about wanting to make a buck. Wow.

1:30am

2009-06-28T11:42:00.000+02:00

We love Paris at 1:30am.

gay pride parade

2009-06-28T11:31:00.004+02:00

Yesterday we decided to take a walking tour of the Latin Quarter, and to our surprise they were having the Paris gay pride parade. Lots of people dressed up like the Village People. Funny.

bicycle please.

2009-06-27T13:03:00.003+02:00

Found these two postcards at a news stand. Ah, can I please be just like them when I grow up? Awesome.

bonjour bonjour

2009-06-27T12:38:00.012+02:00

Just a little bit of Day 1 in Paris. Sadie and I spent much of yesterday wandering around Paris and taking in the sights, sounds and smells (as well as the bargains at the Zara sale, hehe). We ate pasta at an Italian restaurant for lunch called Convivium, and a traditional French ham and vegetable salad for dinner at a café called P'tite Bougnate.

The métro is officially awesome. Click on any of the pictures to make them larger.

We like Paris and bears and shopping.

2009-06-16T16:01:00.010+02:00

Hello friends.

It's approximately a week until I leave for my holiday in France. I'm leaving for Paris on Thursday the 25th (yes Air France, unfortunately), and will start out my vacation at the residence of my lovely friend Sadie Fulton and her family.
Sadie and I met in 2005 when we both lived in Kenya. We're both excited and already have tickets for the Main Square Festival in Arras (northern France), where we're going to see the likes of Bloc Party, Placebo and the Kaiser Chiefs. Luckyyy us.

I'm going to try and update this blog as much as possible when I'm over there.
But for now, have a bear pushing a shopping trolley.

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