Messi vs. Ronaldo

It has been two weeks since the El-Classico and the talking about Messi and Ronaldo have stopped. This is unusual. When people speak about Real Madrid and Barcelona in the same sentence it’s also grammatically correct to have the names Ronaldo and Messi in them. Yet this is not happening.

Could there also be a new understanding amongst football fans?

Although both players play to the highest standard in world football, many players have come before them and have left their mark in football history, but none as huge as these Two maestros, Ronaldo and Messi.

As a football freak, I love Ronaldo’s playing style; and in the same light I love the dribbling skill of Messi. They are both good players and both good team players.

I am not taking sides as to who’s the greater player for the simple reason that according to me, Football would not be where it is today if neither Messi nor Ronaldo were not playing. The rivalry between them has lifted the game to a new intensity and the fans are feeling it.

Learning to accept them as players and not rivals and appreciate the game for the skill and talent on show has changed my perception and is helping me raise my bar higher and higher.

Messi and Ronaldo both delivered their best in the El-Classico and they both deserve to be treated as equals, for the skill, passion and love for the game we call football, Well that is my thoughts.

Respect to Messi and Ronaldo

Football, for the Love of the game. 

LOL

Up until the beginning of this year, I had no idea what the acronym LOL meant. For some reason I always thought it stood for ‘lots of love’. It sought of clicked when I was texting a friend of mine. You see the message was about something hilarious and in response, she wrote ‘LOL’. Now being a backward person, I had to ask her why she decided to write lots of love after a joke.

Do you know that awkward moment when you turn red with embarrassment?

Yes, that was how I felt. ‘Laugh out loud’, who would of thought? Now if LOL is supposed to be a replacement for the old hahaha, why are people using it as a preposition, abbreviation, and my old time favourite the ‘friendship saver’? You can easily offend someone and pull out ‘LOL’ just to save the day. Nevertheless, apart from LOL replacing the good old full stop, it has actually become a word.

Let’s admit it we are abusing the word.

A normal conversation would go something like this.

“Hey?”

“Lol, how are you, I heard you got robbed last night, lol “

“Yeah I was robbed lol”

I mean it’s great for those lazy days when you just don’t want to chat much. However if LOL is going to start and end your sentences then surely you need invest in a thesaurus.

LOL!

Heritage Day: Cultural Pride and Diversity the sweet dessert

Diversity is a slice of a sweet and sour cake, known to many as life. However, there is more to this cake than meets the taste. Diversity is made from a priceless recipe. Its flavours are unique and difficult to gather, yet it brings a nation together. Former president Nelson Mandela said in 1996, “When our first democratically-elected government decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation”. Mandela went on to refer South Africa as a rainbow nation of which it is indeed.

Helderberg College began a custom several years ago to celebrate the 24th of September with its staff, students, and lecturers. Today the custom continues with the flame still burning brighter than ever. Heritage Day has become a unique and joyous celebration to many individuals who live both on and off campus. It’s a special day where no matter what colour you are white, black, yellow or green you can show your cultural pride as never seen before.

Traditional instruments sound a distance away as I approach Anderson Hall. The earth shakes as the instruments build in rhythm. The sounds increase in pace as I start climbing the stairs to the lobby. Yes, it’s that time of the year when cultural pride is tattooed on all five senses. September 24th 2012 is here and the mind is saying, “today I take you back to the great motherhood roots”.

 Inside the hall the soft seats relax my mind and body, while music starts to play. Flag bearers start walking down the aisle carrying their respective countries’ flags to the front. China, Brazil, South Africa, United States of America, India, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Philippines, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Namibia, Cameroon, Argentina, Indonesia, Botswana, Malawi, Madagascar; such diversity  is surely unique  on  such a small campus as Helderberg. A buzz of noise vibrates the room as the congregation rises to the respected national anthems. A young boy gazes at the empty canvas ceiling above as he sings the South African national anthem louder than most: a little solo you might say. The clock seems to be moving faster now as the last anthem is sang.

 Silence fills the room as groups organize themselves to present traditional dances, poems, plays and songs in the hall. Zulu women approach the stage in orange attire. They pause for a second after arranging themselves on stage, in an instant the hall is mute and just before you can hear your own heartbeat they start dancing. The dance is cut short, but it does not kill the pride on their faces as they walk off stage feeling good about their cultural heritage. Zimbabweans present a skit with inspirational motives and comedy, describing their beautiful culture. Countries keep coming and going as they describe several things about their beloved nations. Two Asian women perform a magical dance with traditional attire and for a split second, I felt like I belonged to that country. It was like I teleported to that country for just that performance. I had never seen so many countries represented in Helderberg before and for a moment; I was wishing I could have represented my beloved Kenya. The colours in the hall were pure inspiration, if Michael Angelo was in the building he would truly have painted the masterpiece I was seeing.

The celebrations conclude from the hall, but as lunch approaches, a glance at the programme says Traditional Meals in Cafeteria. Like a flock of hungry vultures, the crowd rushes to the cafeteria where cuisines from around the world await them. The cafeteria was suffocated with beautiful aromas from all over the world. The dishes stood out on tables as the crowds increased in the building. Samples are given to anyone who wants, the Brazilian table present two dishes named pastel and the other Bobó de camarão. A South African table further away displays a traditional Zulu dish called the isit shulu, a very delicious lamb stew. The mouth-watering lamb concludes a perfect celebration of cultural pride and diversity.

Diversity the slice of a sweet and sour cake known to many as life, made from a priceless recipe. An ingredient that unites nations, conquers inequalities, promotes freedom and cultural pride.

2012, A Mach 2 fly-by

Where did this year go to?

New Years Eve was just the other day!

It’s October and there are Christmas decorations in the shops already!

These are but a few clichés that we have become so accustomed to every year. Yet, the constant question I ask myself is how do I handle such speed? Has 2012 flown by faster than previous years? It could be, but not as fast as the planes that I saw.

Two weeks ago, I was lucky to attend the Africa Aerospace & Defence Expo in Pretoria, widely known for the ‘jaw-dropping’ and breath-taking fly-by maneuvers by million dollar aircrafts. 

For me the major attraction of the airshow was South Africa’s very own Gripen. The Gripen is the most sophisticated aircraft in the military’s arsenal and is capable of speeds over 2 000km/h. incase you missed that, let me repeat it “… Speeds over 2 000km/h.”

The pilot, squadron name ‘Cpt. Hawk’ had a solo fly-by in which he showed how to handle such power, with ease and ‘playfulness’.

Later that day, I bumped into ‘Cpt. Hawk’. He was very down to earth and relaxed for a man who flies a Million dollar aircraft at Mach 2. The time spent talking to him left a huge impression on my life. As I share this, I hope, I will be able to create that same if not similar impression on you.

“Son, remember this: You never to young to start, never to old to learn and never to serious to enjoy.”

The Captain’s words raced through my mind as he explained where he was from: KwaZulu-Natal, The Zulu Kingdom. Currently he is one of the five qualified Gripen pilots in South Africa and the instructor for new recruits in the air force.

Cpt. Hawk spoke with such simplicity and humility. He joked and laughed just as you and I would. He spoke of how ex-girlfriends would never agree when a comment was made of how ‘Cool’ he was. Contrary to what I expected a soldier with wit and humor.

2012 may be, your Gripen or even mine, but (There is always a But) if Cpt. Hawk could treat it like a toy in the air yet still respect it and have such fun with it, what is stopping us from such greatness with 2012?

Remember “Greatness needs no introduction” – V.Moonsamy 

Where did the Holiday excitement go?

I could barely wait for the September mid break. As the days grew closer, it was as if I had a pocket full of tsetse flies biting me. I lost interest in lectures and that was a sure sign a mid-term break was long overdue. I almost failed my Group Dynamics mid-term thinking of ways to spend my break!

In my opinion, certain aspects of university are overrated; after all, our knowledge and effort gets us the degree. However, let me save that rant for another blog post. Caught up in planning how I would spend my breaks when the actual break came, I had nothing to do. I was stuck in bed, with no desire to even have a shower.

Literally, I wish there were no mid-term breaks to begin with. They make students lazy. I wasted my time watching fossil series. What ever happened to my plans for a week of junk food binging, catching up with friends or even reading ahead of class? I felt like the bed had taken over my life.  When the break arrived, it was another case of Boredom 101.

Then I thought Helderberg College should allow students to opt out of a mid-term break. If that were the case, I would be a College Graduate by now. I worked out that in this year alone the total weeks of a break together make up about 2months of our academic year. If I include the two months to my 3-year degree, I would have graduated in the first semester of 2012.

Put the precious mid-break to good use like vacation school, mass study in the gym, or extra courses. I say, let’s get up a petition to stop mid-term breaks.

That is the reason we have weekends.

It All Starts With LOGGING OUT

Before you start reading this, I suggest you Logout.

Is social media the reason students are becoming more and more anti-social? I have walked in the computer lab at different times of the day on different days. At almost every moment, there is a student with eyes glued to a computer screen, surfing the net.

It’s virtual reality that draws students to social media. They spend more time on the internet and less time actually living. I think that at this very moment several students on campus are stuck at their computer desks glued on a social networking site. I believe the most appropriate word for this behaviour would be anti-social. I am part of the crowd who are always busy doing something on the World Wide Web. It’s like a disease. It’s everywhere; cell phones, on our laptops and with the all access Wi-Fi, it makes it harder to escape.

 I am always complaining about anti-social behaviour, and yet who is going to approach me with a phone stuck to my ear?

What happened to face-to-face interaction? Isn’t it important to interact outside of “virtual reality”? Aren’t we supposed to be real people? It could be the lack of well-organised social events on campus or a fear of socialising. It seems to me that my fellow students are unable to connect and interact with others outside of the lecture rooms. If social events were scheduled and frequent, they would spend less time on social media. We need to get up and break the ice with one another. Instead of waiting for events to happen, we need to create their own activities.

There is a life outside of the small glowing box.

Get up, start socialising, get out your virtual reality, and start living your own. My message is clear don’t wait for Tom and Stanley to create events make it happen. “GET OFF THE INTERNET”.