Sing with me…
”Last Night, I Couldn't Even Get An Answer, I Tried To Call, But My Pride Wouldn't Let Me Dial, And I'm Sitting Here, With This Blank Expression, And The Way I Feel, I Wanna Curl Up Like A Child…
If I Told You Once, I Told You Twice, You Can See It My Eyes, I'm All Cried Out, With Nothing To Say, Your Everything I Want It To Be, If You Could Only See, Your Heart Belongs To Me, I Love You So Much, I'm Hurting For Your Touch, Come And Set Me Free, Forever Yours I'll Be, Baby Won't You Come, And Take This Pain Away…” P Diddy and Keisha Cole

Top of the morning to the masses.

Friday is Africa Day, the day that celebrates the anniversary of the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union), back in 1963. At the risk of being critical and negative, what do we have to celebrate? Other than hope for a better tomorrow I cant think of too much else! Last week I was watching a New Zealand rugby show and they were discussing the situation in South Africa’s rugby where the president of the Rugby Union, added a player to the squad without consulting the coaching staff and selectors…the comment from the presenter when asked how this could happen was something along the lines of, this is Africa, presidents can do what they want, how and when they want. U decide what to make of that comment. I was watching SABC Africa the other day and all I heard was how many conflicts there were on this continent. People are hungry yet they can fight, kill their own and we preach an African unity, when all I see is Xenophobia and ethnic cleansing…but there is hope! What else can you place your faith in? The current leadership?…some maybe…at a push. The correct commercial use of its natural resources to the benefit of this continent?…well not with the current leadership and mindset. I heard this once, we can put a man into space yet there are people on this continent dying of a common cold I think it was or some other arbitrary disease that people shouldn’t die from! HOPE…Hope that one day, every one will have food, running water and a roof over their heads, hope that one day power will be but another word and not desire to rule and control that leads to the death of many…unnecessarily!

Some quick Africa facts:
Africa (translated means sunny or without cold) is the second largest continent and second most populated continent (+/- 844 mil people) after Asia
There are 61 regions and territories (4 of which are still European dependencies)
Most populated is Nigeria (capital Abuja) with 130 mil people and least is St Helena (capital Jamestown) with 7 300 people.
The largest by area is Sudan, capital Khartoum (but plenty of that country is desert), the smallest is Melilla a Spanish dependency which is only 12km2 in size
English and French are still very common languages thanks to colonialism. The French seized most of the North Western part of Africa and the English were all over the show, some west, east and southern African countries. Other European countries that colonized Africa were Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal
Thanks to slavery, colonialism, constant conflict, Africa is still the poorest continent, the last 25 countries on the UN Human Development Report are all from Africa
Botswana is one of the fastest growing countries in the world and Zim is the only country on this continent that is reporting negative growth
The most prevalent religion is Islam
Africa is viewed by many as the origin of humankind

Anyway…

su·per·fi·cial -
1. being at, on, or near the surface: a superficial wound.
2. of or pertaining to the surface: superficial measurement.
3. external or outward: a superficial resemblance.
4. concerned with or comprehending only what is on the surface or obvious: a superficial observer.
5. shallow; not profound or thorough: a superficial writer.
6. apparent rather than real.
7. insubstantial or insignificant: superficial improvements

Before I go on, I must warn you that this email may come off as arrogant or self righteous, its not the intention, but alas, u r entitled to your opinion hence why we are individuals and hence why I wrote this particular email.

On Friday nite I was out with some old school mates, one in particular who I hadn’t seen in a long while, but he is one of my oldest mates. Good man that one. He has been living in the bush in one of our African neighbours for the last 2 years or so and he spends his life training teachers and teaching. Anyway so we are out and I make a comment about some lovely lass who was approaching…it was like I flipped a trip switch…”Pepsi, you must stop being so superficial…blah blah”. iYo…and then??!!
Now I don’t think I am superficial…offensive defense…Yaw: “WHAT THE…HOW THE…”. Verbal diarrhea overcame me. I wanted to understand where the fork this ‘kak’ was coming from, and then it was laid out, “all u are about is hot chicks, this and that”…hmmm. “I saw the pride in ur eyes when u showed me a picture of your ex girlfriend”…”and then when we were at News Cafe the other day u left us to go and sit with that pretty girl”…that was u Anthie…hmm

I was pretty bleak… superficial, shallow…well I never!! My momma didn’t raise no shallow boy, well other than Kwaks…jokes bro…nothing but love! Then the defense started… all my counter arguments, bro u asked about whether I have a girl and I said I don’t but I had one, first one in pleeeeeenty a year and I showed u the pic…u asked, bra sorry I pointed out that hot lass to u, unfortunately I haven’t spoken to her and its mos a bar so I can’t say wooow how hot is that lass’s personality”…

… And then I thought about it, so what if I am superficial, shallow? If that’s the interpretation of who I is? Then so be it. We are all individuals entitled to our opinions on how we see others or how we choose to live our lives. I have an idea of how I want my life to pan out in terms of the things that I can sort of control hence why I went to varsity and even though a truck load of fun at times, the majority of my out of lectures time was spent holding down a couple of jobs, doing the library thing or the computer labs (and shoo how ‘hot’ were the ladies in the libraries Moi? ;-)) instead of getting hammered and living ‘la dolce vita’. A cross I was willing to bear. BComm, articles, board exams etc. because I like debits and credits…mmm NYET (no in Russian, thanks Tumi)!

Mind u, thus far I have been very blessed and fortunate in terms of the people whose path’s I’ve crossed as well as some of the opportunities that I have been presented with.

That being said our current dispositions are the result of the options or choices we make in our lives. A person shouldn’t have to explain or apologise for the types of people they are attracted to, where they hang out, the kind of people they hang out with, what car they drive. If you see it as making me shallow, well then shallow I am. The world is a big place and if I had to spend my life trying to seek approval from everyone for my actions, thoughts, words, I would definitely be spending a lot of time on a shrinks chair cos the world would be a sad, sad place for me.

Sheesh bra its hard work trying to spade a ‘hot’ chick (slightly easier if u r me ;-)). To her smoothly I approached tried to speak but almost choked…(Snap) “…so like ehh miss I was standing on the other side of the room and the way…the way the light bounced off the tip of your nose and refracted off your lipstick and ended up reflecting off your right incisor when u smiled, wooow…I knew it was love, so can I interest u in an afternoon of gardening sometime?”
Bra it takes years mastering such opening lines J
…back to ‘seriousness’.

Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciated my mates comments because it got me debating with myself which is the best sort of debate, I questioned myself. I answered myself. At the end of the day, what I own or who I am seen with, where I am seen doesn’t necessarily define who I is. It may be part of my make up at a certain point in my life, but it’s not who I is. Some of you might disagree (which is fine) and may ask: how one separates these? My answer may not be correct for everyone, but the way I look at it is as follows: all I own and any girlfriend or friends that I had once had can be taken away, but at the end of the day I will still be as I was before or with them. I definitely would have learnt a thing or two and would be a better person for it, but the fundamentals will remain. I make my choices and decisions in this life and the consequences thereof I must learn to deal with. I think people that spend R400 on a neck tie are pretty crazy, but that’s my opinion. The nice things about your mates is they can give you advice and commentary on how they see you or see where they believe you are going wayward, the rest is up to you to analyze and determine whether or not you want to change it.

“Oooh it takes every kind of people to make the world go round…” That’s why God and man made a world that provides options to cater for the worlds many different personalities.

To thine ownself be true…always! When the time comes for you to change anything about yourself or the way you do things, trust u me u will…its life!

Onto some other pressing matters… It’s damn cold in Mzansi at the moment, and I know that you have some clothes in your cupboards that u haven’t worn in years. Here is what I am suggesting and anyone who is keen to help with a blerry bakkie please put ur hands up, cos u know us superficial guys don’t have cars with space for more than 2 ;-). What I am suggesting is that of you all in Jozi gather all your old clothing (if you can separate guys and girls it would be great). Once this is done please let me know and I will give you a meeting point where I and whoever else will collect these old items of clothing. And drop em off at a home or 2. Secondly if anyone knows of any homes please do let me know. My aim is to do this next week Saturday.

If anyone wants to do this for Durbs, Cpt etc, let me know and I will forward your names to the masses

Birthdays
22nd Sir Lancelot
24th Rich Marshall and Amrain
26th Natalia (Moi, please pass on my best)

And that’s me for another week. Maximum respect as always

Y
‘Que sera sera’