My Top 200 achievements

I definitely think this could be the most challenging blog topic to date. There are certainly achievements, disappointments & life changing moments which we all remember however having to list 200 achievements over my 24 years of living is quite the challenge but lets give it a bash. I think this list will be an ongoing working progress. Lets get it started...

1. Surving 9 months enclosed in my mothers womb
2. Making it through my 1st week of being outside the womb, I was so used to being by myself in the dark
3. I suppose the fact that when you are a baby you get passed from one aunty to the next, I think the fact that my neck stayed in tact and I did not cry too much is an achievement.
4. Learning how to crawl, well I suppose it was not the traditional crawl on all fours but rather an activity which involved me sitting up and dragging myself.
5. My 1st step, yes I'm sure it was extremely wobbly, like unset jelly (same effect)
6. Learning to count to more than 10
7. Learning the alphabet
8. Learning how to add, subtract, multiply and divide
9. Winning a spelling competition
10. Overcoming my fear of swimming lessons and realising that I can swim in the deep side.
11. Embracing ballet classes, learning to plie and enjoy wearing a leotard, stockings & lapebra (gel used to hold your hair back in a bun)
12. Getting that A+ in my ballet exam
13. Surviving chicken pox twice
14. Learning how to write in cursive
15. Learning how to bake muffins without them flopping, yes muffins can flop
16. Learning how to rollerblade
17. Learning how to ice skate
18. Learning how to ride my bicycle
19. Learning how to ride my bicycle without fairy wheels
20. Having an older brother who was very protective from an early age and knowing exactly which buttons to push if I needed an older brothers authority or presence.
21. Being chosen as the main angel in the Christmas play at Valley Pre Primary
22. Spending many hours learning how to colour in the lines and not go over the lines
23. Embracing my tomboy phase and quitting ballet for karate (I look back now after having my tooth kicked out in karate, maybe I should have stuck to ballet, its more me)
24. Adjusting to the transition of pre primary school to primary school even with the odd burst of tears due to be way too overwhelmed.
25. Getting a principals gold sticker for my project on Margaret Thatcher
26. Learning to stand in front of the class at the age of 9 and present my project on apples
27. Hiking up Lions head and making it to the top
28. Having my 1st slow dance to Alanis Morissette
29. Doing my 1st photoshoot for Fairlady Magazine
30. Doing my 1st TV programme at the Tygerberg Zoo for Kideo
31. Having to wear a top and bottom plate in order to have straightish teeth
32. Learning how to speak Xhosa, well the basics at least
33. Joining brownies and wearing those hideous brown outfits weekly, cap included
34. Being elected as House Captain of Yellow House (Leopards)
35. Making it onto the hockey, netball and athletics team.
36. Leading my team to victory at Grade 7 International Day, months of hardwork, learning everything Indian
37. Doing my 1st Big Walk
38. Learning to stand up for myself & express my opinion whether its right or wrong thats why its an opinion
39. Being named Head Girl in my Grade 7 year at Kronendal Primary School
40. Coming in the top 5 academically for my final year at Kronendal
41. Receiving the Best Drama student award in Grade 7
42. Getting the Fellowship award in Grade 7
43. Applying for high school placements is quite stressful but I managed to get into both the high schools of choice so that made life less stressful at the age of 13
44. Hitch hiking..yes I realise its dangerous but it was for 100 meters up a steep hill after school in the middle of summer with 6 others (1st time experience..never again right)
45. Riding a camel in Oudtshoorn at Grade 7 camp
46. Walking and climbing through the Cango Caves even though I suffer from claustrophobia 
47. Attending an all girls high school and realising that it was best decision ever (May sound strange but the pressures and experiences one encounters definitely prepared me for life after high school)
48. Making the U14A hockey team despite all the Western Province and South African representatives dominating
49. Going skinning dipping at Smitswinkelbaai
50. Staying at Smitswinkelbaai with no electricity, no hot water, or hairdryer
51. Flying by myself to Johannesburg at the age of 14
52. Receiving the Fellowship Award in high school
53. Being elected as Class Captain
54. Organising a friends surprise party and keeping it a secret
55. Being award award academic colours
56. Being elected U16B Hockey captain
57. Standing up in front of 1000 people delivering a speech trying to convince people who vote me onto the student council
58. Sticking with Biology even though I was not a fan of dissecting
59. Babysitting little people without them crying for mom & dad
60. Being elected as Junior Leader in Grade 11
61. Getting my 1st holiday job as a waitress at a coffee shop
62. Head of Representative Council of Learners in Grade 12
63. Being elected onto the School Council in Grade 12
64. Student representative on School Governing Body
65. Receiving the The Wynberg prize for excellent leadership in Grade 12
66. Passing Grade 12 with Distinction
67. Avoiding detention throughout my school career
68. Never becoming addicted to cigarettes, having the ability to be a social smoker and not smoke for months
69. Never being late for curfew (well maybe once or twice but there were real reasons)
70. Handling my 1st break up & realising that you really will be ok
71. Buying my 1st GHD, no more waves
72. Sticking to my monthly budget
73. Getting my learners licence even though I had no clue what a clutch was used for
74. Getting my drivers 1st time around, even though my driving instructor thought I would fail
75. Accepted into CPUT to study Marketing Management
76. Learning to manage fellow students with group tasks
77. Trying to overcome my fear of snakes
78. I finally decided to follow my gut feeling when realising Marketing was not for me and change ourses to study PR
79. Realising that its ok to wear glasses
80. Travelling to the UK and surviving my 1st international flight on Air Namibia
81. Making it onto the Deans List for all 3 years of my National Diploma
82. Passing my National Diploma with distinction
83. Graduating and attending the ceremony which was amazing
84. Being named Top student in my final year of my National Diploma
85. Taking a risk to follow my heart even though my head was saying no
86. Getting my 1st proper job in the line of profession that I absolutely love
87. Deciding to take the challenge of studying part time
88. Hosting my 1st dinner party
89. Buying my 1st car
90. Learning to express myself through cooking and not poisoning anyone
91. Teaching someone, watching them grow as a person & leave after their 1 year internship with insight, charisma and more
92. Being part of the CSI committee at PPC and actually making an effort to try to make a small difference
93. Directing my 1st Industrial Theatre at PPC Cement
94. Taking a chance, a risk of the heart and attempting a long distance relationship
95. Being able to travel and see the wonders of France at my own expense
96. Being brave enough to embrace a culture and eat donkey (it was only one bite)
97. Eating foie gras and actually enjoying it
98. Trying snails for the 1st time
99. Going sledding in the park in Reims
100. Have my 1st real snow fight
101. Building my 1st proper snowman
102. Surviving a 11 hour flight to Cape Town with food poisoning and throwing up every 30 minutes
103. Learning that its hard to let someone that you love go, but you realise that its for the best
104. Never being admitted into hospital
105. I have not been sent to jail yet
106. Getting my way out of being fined R500 for speaking on my cellphone whilst driving (tears do help)
107. Trying to cope with stress and realising that there is more to life than stress
108. Sticking to my 3 month Curves gym contract
109. Being ok with being alone & enjoying the quiet time
110. Being patient with taxis even if they are breaking the rules of the road
111. Sticking to my studying timetable
112. Taking responsibility for my action or bad judgements
113. Never dieting
114. Realising that women in magazines are generally photo shopped
115. Being elected as a Golden Key International Honours Society Member
116. Saving water, realising that I do not need to shower for 15 minutes
117. Embracing the foreigners during the world cup
118. Surviving the craziness of the world cup, the partying and only getting sick on the day of the final
119. Trying to be the best friend that I can to all my friends
120. Learning to take criticism constructively, well at least trying
121. Being patient & willing to manage 2 Media 2 students in Project Management assignment, even though it tested every nerve in my body.
122. Having enough courage to attempt to play action soccer even though I've never played it before
123. Playing my 1st soccer match and scoring my 1st goal
124. Braaing from scratch, starting a fire with no male figure

The Big Bang, 5 minutes early

Towers before they were demolished

The Athlone Power Station better known to Capetonians as the salt and peppers shakers due to its appearance were demolished earlier today. The scheduled time for the implosion was 12pm however Mayor of Cape Town, Dan Plato decided that a few minutes earlier would do the trick. This however has caused a mini uproar as a number of Capetonians were waiting to do the official countdown and before they knew it the well known landmark had disappeared before their eyes and before they had they opportunity to get clicking on their cameras. We could always give Dan Plato credit for being early, maybe his watch is set 5 minutes earlier however I think in this case being early was not acceptable.

The Athlone Power Station was commissioned in 1962 and its main priority was to generate power in times of high demand or when power failures were taking place nationally. This power station was the last coal fired station in Cape Town as the others which were located in the city center and Salt River had been demolished in the 1980's and 1990's.

Towers are demolished ahead of scheduled time resulting in disappointed onlookers

The infamous salt and pepper shakers became a landmark on the N2, ensuring that toursists were well aware of the fact that they were travelling on the N2 and not the N1 if they saw the two towers. The two towers have been decommissioned for several years however in February this year the reinforcing bands on one of the towers collapsed. These bands were put in place in 1993 to extend the lifespan of the towers however after the band collapsed, this caused major concern as there was a possibility that the tower could collapse at anytime thus a decision was made to demolish the landmark. I guess we'll need to find another landmark to ensure that our toursists do not get lost along the way or confuse the N1 with the N2, any suggestions.

Youtube video below showing the Towers being demolished

"In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes" - Andy Warhol

In life we either stumble across or we're bombarded with information about  individuals who are famous. Being famous involves "the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed" according to the Princeton online dictionary. However there are those individuals who are famous for embarking on remarkable discoveries or activities such as Chris Barnard who is known for doing the 1st heart transplant, Dr Hulda Clark for her extensive research for trying to find a cure for cancer and HIV/Aids or Nkosi Johnson for his courage and determination to change the perception of HIV/Aids.

Nkosi Johnson
"Do all you can with what you have
 in the time you have in the place you are"

Then there are those characters who are famous because they are celebrities, earning thousands of dollars for hit songs like Hit Me Baby One More Time or actively participating in sex videos which are then sold to the public or the videos make their debut online on sites such as Youtube. However I cannot be too hard on celebrities as there is a small percentage who use their fame to do good deeds which in essence gains them positive exposure however at least these individuals are able to see past all the dollar signs and actually use their fame to make a difference. Angelina Jolie, yes some may not be a fan because she apparently stole Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston however that was many year ago. Angelina is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) which requires her to visit places like Africa, Cambodia and Pakistan, gain insight into the lives of refugees and educate others in particular americans who are not aware of whats happening beyond their borders.

I agree with Andy Warhol's comment about being famous, we all do have the potential to have 15 minutes with the world spotlight shining on us, it depends on your will, courage and determination to make the most of your 15 minutes. If I had the option I would not want to be world famous for only 15 minutes but I would rather have my work or contribution to society impact on society for years to come. However if I could only be famous for 15 minutes I would want it to be a worthy 15 minutes, I would want to be honoured for making a difference in society either contributing to finding a cure for HIV/Aids as this pandemic is killing young, aspiring individuals who will never reach their full potential and I cant bare to see people suffer.

I would want to be world famous for making a difference in society whether it be teeny tiny like assisting at a local high school helping students pass matric and reach their potential, giving youth advice or just participating in upliftment community projects which I enjoy.

A world of pink feather boas, sparkly hats, cocktails, burgers and everything fun

I am always up for trying new restaurants especially when I have only heard wonderful feedback about the food, service, decor and overall experience. A girls night was planned to celebrate a very special occassion and I don't think any of us were ready for what the night would bring. Arriving at beefcakes, which is in Somerset Road in Green Point, one cannot miss the bright pink lights, you walk into a world which resembles the typical burger joint which one sees in American movies however there's nothing typical about this venue. One is overwhelmed by the decor, pink lots of pink, feather boas, chandeliers, mirrors, flamingos, sparkly hats and very cute boys in muscle tops or drag. Yes the majority of the men are not straight however they are absolutely fabulous as they strut their stuff in pink and white.

All the waiters are absolutely lovely, very friendly and willing to cater to all of your needs including body shots, yes thats right body shots. It costs R200 for a beefy, toned, muscular waiter to make his way to your table, lie on his back, pour tequilla on his abs, put a slice of lemon in his mouth and well the rest is history.

Jenny getting ready for the much anticipated body shot

The restaurant is a burger bar thus the main item on the menu are burgers. One can choose between beef, chicken, lamb or ostrich burger patties. If you're not a big meat eater there are salads, wraps, nachos and a few other none meaty items. I had a Buffy the Hamburger Slayer which included a burger pattie topped with bacon, slice of cheddar, caramalised onions, avo and mushroom sauce which is served with a choice of french fries, wedges or side salad. The burger was good, a tad over cooked for me but it was very tasty and I'll definitely order it again. Apart from the wide selection of hamburgers, the cocktail menu is definitely one to note. The most popular drink of the night at our table was most certainly the Brazillian Mojito, which looked and tasted like lemon sorbet. Wow it was like a fresh lemon tree was growing in my mouth and droplets of fresh lemon was being squeezed onto my tongue, I literally could drink it all day and night for the rest of my life, its refreshing but so tasty at the same time.

Below beefcakes is Studio 54, which reminds one of 1970's disco. The dancefloor has a white carousel horse which attracts individuals to showoff their dance moves to songs such as It's raining men. Beefcakes is the perfect venue for a girls night, bachelorette party, date night and practically any occasion if you're keen for a night of fun, laughs and everything pink and sparkly.

A skill set called leadership

Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King,  Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Gandi, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher are a few of the world's greatest leaders of all time. Even though I have never been a fan of the Nazi  Leader, German Dictator and Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler, he has gone down in history as one of the most powerful leaders. Even though his leadership caused the death of thousands of Jewish people, physically and mentally disabled and ill people, who in Hitler’s eyes were seen as being unworthy of life and a true burden to German nation.

A common skill which all of these individuals possessed was leadership. Leadership has been defined by wikipedia as the "process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task." Nelson Mandela's activities especially whilst he was president of South Africa depicts this definition so well. Before Nelson Mandela came into power the word democracy was not part of the South African dictionary as Apartheid was rife which encouraged discrimination, unfairness, inequality, rascism and SA lacked the real qualities which made the country a nation. Nelson Mandela had the unique ability to lead people, he had a special warmth about himself which made individuals trust him and most importantly he had a vision. When Mandela was in power, a democratic nation started to develop which saw the country thrive. Equality was a main aim which was enforced and too this day is still a main priority.

The truth is, not everyone is a leader, you either have the skill or you don't. Some are born to be natural leaders, others learn the qualities through their self discovering journey of life and impact the lives of others in either a positive or negative way. There are those individuals in life who prefer to lie low, follow the crowd, be told what to do and just enjoy being which is fine. I think we all have a little inner leadership quality, it just depends if you want to fuel it or let it die, its up to you.

A moment we will all remember no matter how young or old we were at the time of Nelson Mandela's Inaugural speech. The start of a democratic nation which today can be seen.

"Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read"

Frank Zappa - Muffin Man

This infamous medley of words was expressed by Frank Zappa, who was known by many as quite the talented musical soul. Frank was an American composer, film director, record producer and electic guitarist, quite the list of skills which one could add to his CV.  Frank was a self taught musician and his array of musical influences guided him to produce music which at times one could not categorise. Do you know of any of the films or records which he produced? Zappa was part of the band, Mothers of Invention and he was also well known as a solo artist.

Frank Zappa, known for his locks.

When I think rock I think either heavy rock, which I must admit I'm not the biggest fan of or light rock which I can handle and actually enjoy. However the thought of heavy rock actually gives me quite the headache, to me its just a loud sound, lots of very loud guitars which make your brain freeze in an unpleasant way causing one to go deaf. I do understand that there is a huge following of the heavy rock 'n roll and heavy metal genre. Watching a few of Zappa's music videos to familarise myself with his style, there were elements which reminded me of Ozzy Osbourne. Indeed, the heavy metal guru, who was the lead singer for the band Black Sabbath made a name for himself firstly as a raw, dark, drug addicted lead vocalist before he was seen as the soft dad in the hit reality show, The Osbournes which gave viewers insight into Ozzy's life.

I think the famous words expressed by Zappa are referring to himself. He was a world wide phenomenon who expressed his thoughts via music or other forms of creative arts. He started at a young age thus I think there came a point in his career when he was being interviewed by so many journalists that he did not care what he said as he expressed his creativity through music, that was his main priority. Zappa passed away in 1993 from prostate cancer, however he was recognised in 1997 by receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His legacy still lives on and one can view his very active website www. zappa.com

My favourite little town

 The Riebeek River

 Before I started working at PPC Cement, I never knew about the quaint town just outside Malmesbury and about 75km outside of Cape Town called Riebeek. The Riebeek Valley is  made up of Riebeek West & Riebeek Kasteel. I'm still not 100% sure why there is the separation between the two areas of Riebeek however the entire valley is absolutely magical. As one approaches Riebeek you drive down a steep hill which overlooks the Riebeek Valley, one needs to put your foot on the brakes to slow down slightly as you are mesmerised by the view which can cause you to lose focus on the road. I have been to Riebeek numerous times over the past few years mainly for work purposes as PPC have a factory in the town, but each time I drive down the steep hill, I am amazed at the beauty of this town.

View of the Riebeek Valley

Riebeek is one of the oldest towns in South Africa.  According to wikipedia "during 1661 Commander Jan van Riebeeck initiated an inland discovery expedition under the leadership of Pieter Cruythoff. They set off in the direction of Paardeberg and on 3 February 1661 they ascended a lonely mountain and came upon the fertile vista of the Riebeek Valley." Riebeek is filled with history, one can definitely gain much insight into a bit of SA history by visiting this town as Smuts Cottage is open to public which is located on the PPC site. Smuts Cottage is the birthplace of General Jan Christiaan Smuts. General Smuts is remembered in history as a statesman of universal stature, a soldier, botanist and philosopher. On an international level he became a major figure and earned the respect and admiration of other world leaders and rulers. PPC Cement decided to restore Smuts House in order to savour the history as well as provide the public with the opportunity of the visiting this historic place. 

The Riebeek Valley is the perfect spot for a weekend getaway whether you want a quiet few days or an activity filled weekend away. This special town is known for its olives, there are a variety of places in Riebeek where one can get products made with olives. My favourites include the Olive Boutique which offers olive soap and beauty products. Het Vlock Casteel is a gem for wine tasting, olive oil glass tasting, Môrester vino & fruit tours. One can sample award winning olives, olive oil, jams, chutneys, chocolate, preserves, salad dressings and shiraz wine vinegar. My favourite is definitely the peach jam and olive oil however I have been told that the olive fudge is a must. There are a number of quaint restaurants however Cafe Felix is one of my must go's when I'm in the valley, the food is inspired by french and italian flavours. The restaurant is situated on the main road and the building dates back to the 1860's, as it first started out as a tobacco barn. De Langenhof is a quaint guest house in Riebeek which is my must stay guest house. Its quiet, warm and beautifully decorated which a touch of country. One can sit on the veranda with a glass of wine, listen to birds and drift away into the magical town of Riebeek which is my own little discovery.

                                                                De Langenhof Guest House

                                                           Olive Oil Tasting at Het Vlock Casteel

Pictures from the Het Vlock webiste & Riebeek Tourism website