Do the twist

So I'm a young woman trapped in an old woman's body. Or I have an old woman's knee trapped inside my body. Or I am young but I just had really bad luck with my knee this week. I have somehow managed to get an injury that is usually only seen in footballers and tennis players. What was I doing when this happened? WAKING UP. IN THE MORNING. Like an 80 year old woman I tore a ligament just by waking up in the morning. As I lay there screaming for 5-10 minutes ( I can't really scream so I was just saying 'owowowowow') I thanked God my room mate had gone home for Christmas because a week later I honestly can't explain what happened without people laughing at me. Coincidentally my brother was scheduled for surgery the same week so we got to chill out in the discomfort of hospital rooms much to the irritation of my nurses who kept not finding me where I was supposed to be. I'm beginning to wonder if I didn't just get a sympathetic disease so I could keep him company in hospital...Anyway it was a horrific experience but I am an eternal optimist-not really- so on the bright side I got to see the inside of my knee and talk to some pretty awesome people. The inside of your knee is very interesting looking by the way...

SIDEBAR: You know the way people claim to have old souls? Why would you want to have anything old? Old things are subject to wear, tear and knee twists. Old things should come with old age, when they're expected and necessary not on a random morning

I am woman, hear me rant!

I've been meaning to post this for a while...it's been lying in my drafts awaiting that final read up to make sure my grammar indicates that I at least went to high school

First and foremost I would like to declare that I am a feminist. Anyone who knows me is rolling his/her eyes right now as this is not really a revelation. I've never been quiet about it but there was a point where I didn't want to be called a feminist because of the image it brings to people's minds of unshaven, butch lesbian women throwing dirty looks at men and burning bras because they are 'symbols of our oppression'. I appreciate bras, they allow women to run and drive on rough terrains without wincing and while I do give men the stink eye on occasion I assure you it's only because they deserve it. I'm just tired of the bad rap feminism and feminists have been getting because of a few women whose views don't necessarily represent those of the average modern day woman. Unfortunately I've been told that my views don't really represent those of the average modern day woman either( the actual phrase used was 'please don't speak on behalf of women') so this is just my two cents. 

The idea of this post came to me (look at me sounding like an artist) when my significant other sent me an article about Kim Kardashian being an overlooked symbol of feminism. NO. I say NO to this. She is anything but overlooked. On a serious note though, I don't agree that she's a symbol of feminism. She is an extraordinary businesswoman and a role model for marketers and entrepreneurs but she isn't doing anything women have never done before. She's arguably participating in the oldest trade women are known to engage in. No, not prostitution -people always say its the oldest profession... I think it's farming- but using beauty for social and economical mobility or simply to get what they want. I'm actually of the opinion that the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden was a banana. Which man is going to say no to a naked woman eating a banana?*looks around for a lighting bolt* I digress, Ms Kardashian isn't doing anything to advance women's rights. She may be a feminist( I'm working on the assumption that all sane women are) but she's not a symbol of feminism.

Then there's all the silliness about the barbie dolls. A section of women are campaigning against barbie dolls claiming that they're giving little girls self-esteem issues. Apparently the dolls give girls unrealistic views of how their bodies are supposed to look. Look, I had teddy bears. I did not feel the need to grow fur and walk on all fours...well...maybe I did pretend to be a bear at some point but I knew that the teddy bear was a toy and that I am human. I played with barbie dolls too and while most of them ended up decapitated for some reason, I don't remember feeling inadequate to this inanimate object or wishing my belly button would disappear. I understand that the social pressure has increased on women to look a certain way but it all boils down to you in the end. As a friend(Duncan you're being quoted, bask in this moment) of mine once told me, there's a reason it's called SELF-esteem. I have a feeling that some women are projecting their insecurities onto their daughters. Teach them how to love themselves not in spite of but because of their differences and they'll be fine. Leave barbie alone.

To me, a true symbol of feminism is a person or a group of people who inspire others to push the boundaries society has set for them. It doesn't have to be on purpose and the symbol doesn't even have to be a woman fighting for women's rights. Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to get a Nobel Peace Prize, she's DEFINITELY a symbol of feminism. She was a pioneer and has motivated not just women but people to care for their environment. Mekatilili wa Menza fought colonialists so hard, they called her a witch. Joan of Arc- though in my opinion mildly insane- led armies. Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, your grandmothers who fought for the right to allow their daughters to go to school, those are the true symbols of feminism. So instead of bashing barbie dolls and men as a true feminist your job is to help other people, not just women, get to where they need to be. 

NB; Men don't feel left out...we'll always need you for spider killing and heavy lifting. Hehe... I kid. We have insect repellent and cranes for that

I honestly can't think of a title for this one

I come here today with the sage musings of a woman in her early 20's. I may not have lived long and you may think that I can't be taken seriously (well...that's mostly my fault) but my experiences so far have led me to believe that I'm mostly right about a lot of things. I realize that may sound a bit obnoxious, but yeah. It's true. I was hanging out with some ex-classmates and I thought about how easy it still was to talk to them about the personal things going on in my life. We may not have seen each other in months but whenever we meet we spill everything. Friends are like...er...something that can be classified(sorry, couldn't find anything good to allude to). There are so many kinds but these are the ones I've identified in my many years as a human...that makes it sound like I used to be something else but lets go with it;

1. Party pals
We all know these ones. We call them when we want to go out. They're fun, usually loud and are almost always ready to go wherever, whenever at whatever time. You're not that close, but you know basic stuff about each other and check up on each other once in a while.

2.The ones who are always there
These are usually friends of circumstance. You may not like most of the same things but you see each other so often that you start to find similarities. These friends can graduate to become more serious friends but most of the time when you stop seeing each other so often the friendship dies.

3.The ex friend
No, not the person you used to date then became friends with (I think that's nearly impossible though...most relationships end in fire,brimstone and crying), that friend you used to be close to then something happened. Either you grew apart or someone did something or thought someone did something...anyway it got complicated and now your conversations are either one sided or shallow.

3.The 'haha!' friend
You always have so much fun with these friends. You don't share most of your problems with them but you miss them when they aren't there because they are really good people. You may share multiple interests and these friends can graduate to well rounded friends.

4.The well rounded friend
I'm happy to have many of these. These are the awesome ones. The ones you can talk to even after being away from for a while because you were still in touch. You can party with them and they're always there...not necessarily in the physical sense. These are the ones who know really embarrassing things about you and have seen you pull absolutely ridiculous stunts while sober.

There are friends who are in between stages but I think I've got most of them covered. Another thing I've realized as a 20something year old woman is that only a woman can think up this stuff. Men don't care :D

Goodbye

No. Stop crying. I'm not discontinuing my blog. I love this slice of the internet where I diligently post erratic and discontinuous musings about life in general. I really have tried to be more regular but enyewe... I have a really bad memory. Also sometimes when I think of something to post its just one line in upper case letters so I just tweet those thoughts. Anyway why am I saying goodbye or what/ to who(or is it whom?I'm never sure) am I bidding farewell? No it is not school, even though I'm on holiday (yaaaay!) . To answer this question I have to explain what happened...

Look at me making this seem so interesting and dramatic. You're going to be so disappointed :D

I'm a member of my university's swim team. Kind of. I joined 2 years ago and randomly attend practice and participate in galas. Yesterday I agreed to compete in a gala tomorrow and the last time I trained was more than 6 months ago. This is stupidity of epic proportions. When did I realize this? When I got winded just from walking to the bus stop.
People don't realize how much stamina you need as a swimmer, there's a lot of breath control and blablabla so if you get short of breath after walking for a few minutes its a sign that you need to not be participating in swimming competitions.
So I'm saying goodbye in case it happens that as I dive into the pool to do my 50m breast stroke(not what it sounds like. Hehe! Kind of sounds like I'm going to be groped for 50 metres) and my unfit body just sinks to the bottom of the pool then I decide to stay there out of sheer embarrassment.
My only motivation is that girls generally quit swimming after high school so there won't be much competition... I may not be alone at the bottom of the pool.

Dream job

I'm finally done with exams so now I feel like 2013 has begun. HAPPY NEW YEAR for real this time :). Now that I'm relaxed ideas for posts are just swimming around in my head and today I picked this one. As kids we're so creative and we believe we can do anything so when someone asks us what we want to be when we grow up the answers are WILD. The older you grow the more you start thinking, 'Ok. Time to be practical and boring. Let me choose something that's obvious and stable.' Well...you don't say that exactly but you start thinking it. School and older relatives support this by attempting to push you towards certain career paths because 'they make a lot of money' or 'it's respectable' so by the time you're 18 you have about 2 options. And they're never crazy options. They're already existing things that just require you to follow a procedure and get a degree. I'm not saying this is bad, we need all these professionals but I'm just saying we lose our creativity when it comes to careers.I decided to go back to my roots...what did I want to do as a child. I really can't remember all of them but here are a couple;

1. Chocolate taster
Its not a real career but I was all about creating job opportunities for myself as a child. I still wish it was a career option sometimes...ok, all the time. I would probably be morbidly obese but hey. It's chocolate!

2. Astronaut
I love space and space things (Dr. Who!!!! I want a tardis for my birthday) so this seemed like an obvious option.Going where almost noone has been and just being in a space shuttle were ideas that appealed to me. This idea fell through when I decided that I'd be homesick in space -I was 8. Shut up- but I've recently decided that maybe the dream isn't really dead...we'll see.

3. Work for National Geographic
Not as a presenter- I  like my anonymity...clearly- but as a researcher or part of the camera crew or something. They get to see the most amazing things and go to the BEST places in the world and they get paid to do it!!! I was very passionate about this... then life happened, but this is in the same category as the astronaut thing :)

4. Vet
It's not unique or particularly interesting... but yeah. I thought it was a good idea until I realized that cows and goats also get sick. That died pretty fast :D

Arab Money

Happy new year!! *insert all corny new year jokes* Now that I'm done with that I can move on to more pressing issues. I was lucky enough to have spent part  of my holiday in Dubai- bought a bunch of useless Arabian paraphernalia that I'm very proud of- and I have never felt so much like a child of poverty from a third world country. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. I'm one of those Africans who'd never left Africa so it was crazy. I'm sure there's someone scoffing at me thinking 'Europe is better' but since I only see Europe via TV I'm going to go ahead and say that Dubai is the most beautiful city in the world. Funny thing though, I only saw a handful of Arabs. Other than on the road driving ridiculously sexy cars and at some tourist sites the Arabs were scarce. Then a taxi driver explained why...they don't work. Their government has put in place policies that they basically get the rest of the world to work for them. I wish my government would so the same thing for me...hehe...anyway, the sad thing is that place is a desert yet somehow they've managed to outdo us to a level that's even sad. Even their museums almost made me drool (I love museums). Holographs, videos, interactive screens and an entire Arab market made in a way that makes you feel like you've been taken back through time to an Arab village with all its sounds, sights and smells. There was even a video showing us their future plans to make the already amazing city even better. They are going to reclaim more land from the ocean to build little islands in the shape of the globe. Yes. Then the buildings...the buildings...I'd imagine that in the desert they have problems like really high wind speeds and sandstorms but that doesn't get in the way of  their construction of the most beautiful and unique structures. The Burj Khalifa is one of those things you need to see for yourself. No picture or explanation will do it justice so I wont even try. It was the highlight of the trip for me...closely followed by a belly-dancer and the best kaimatis I've ever eaten.
I could sing praises of Dubai til next year but I'll just wrap it up by saying their public transport is better than their private transport system and if you have the chance to go DON'T pass it up.