Good Bye 2010

Hey.

In today's post (which is likely to be the last post on "the best and worst of 2010” and the last post of 2010 all together!) I would like to mention my favourite post of the year and finish off with my last thoughts for 2010.

I have two posts, instead of one, that I really liked and enjoyed writing. And the winners are...

-Introducing...Active Sunday!

-Give it Back!

You know that feeling you get when you have a plate full of fat and cholesterol, but you have a piece of broccoli on the plate as well, so that you feel less guilty about what you're about to eat? Or the feeling you get, when you walk to the ice cream parlour instead of taking a car, so that you can walk off the guilt of the ice cream you're about to get? That's the feeling I had when I was writing about 'Active Sunday'. I'll stop right there.

Give it back was a very liberating post. For once in my life I felt I had accomplished something that was not about me; I gave back. It was a long post as well because I could write well, with a healthy conscience.

Now that we've got that sorted, I'll wrap up the year on Ziggie Talk. This has been an exceptional year in my blogging career.

-I went from having no followers to 8!

-I've had people personally texting me just to comment.

-My statistics show that just from May of this year to today, I've had 468 page views and counting; 168 of which came from just this month. That's incredible because before that, I would have been lucky to have just one page view in a day! I'm not exaggerating.

-My writing has improved...there's just a long list of positives.

-I have sealed life long friendships this year and I hope this will continue.

This has been a wonderful, interesting year for Ziggie Talk and thanks to you guys, I have grown as much as this blog has. I would like to thank all of you for your support and I appreciate it; especially my first follower, Frankie, for her loyal support and comments.

Join me again next year for more weird, quirky (I hope I am), inspired ramblings from yours truly.

Farewell 2010!!!!!!!

My Photo

Hey guys.

I'm trying to see if at all I have the knack for photography. Eh? What do you think? I'm planning on getting my own camera because photography is going to be a big part of my life starting 2011. These are my shoes (well, duh!). I love them very much, as such I wear them every day for school because they are comfortable and can withstand any kind of pressure without giving me trouble.

Until we meet again!
~Zigstro

An Overview 2 (entertainment)

Hello

Here's a list of the best and worst in the entertainment industry. Entertainment is a big part of my life. I love movies and music to the point where I've become my own little critic. I have high expectations. So here's my list for what pleased me and what didn't. Don't worry, I won't be biased because I'm a rock fan...but seriously, I listen to nothing else so here goes. I'll list them in no particular order. One more thing; this is based on what I've witnessed, there may be other movies or songs I haven't heard before but are great.

Best Movies 2010

1. The Grown Ups------- Adam Sandler can never do wrong for me. With it's unique humour, it kept me laughing all the way to the end. I think it's recommended for die hard Sandler fans. They'll enjoy it.
2. Tangled------ Disney's gone and done it again. Very amusing and money well spent.
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1------ What can I say; excellent special effects, a hell of an imagination from J.K Rowling. It was sad though towards the end. To this day, and it's been about a month since I saw it, I still can't believe what happened. I also can't believe the movies are coming to an end. It's all too sad really.
4. Just Wright------Even though the story line is nothing special, it's still one of those chick flicks a gal needs to watch once in a while. Plus, Queen Latifha can do no wrong. I can't get enough of it. Watch it over a bowl of ice cream and you will be hooked for life.
5. Shrek Forever After-------I have to hand it to the creators of Shrek for keeping the magic alive after all these years. 

Worst Movies 2010

1. The A Team -------Honestly, I'm sick and tired of all these blasts from the past. All these remakes are not cutting it. I thought I'd give it a chance but it would not start. The story line was tacky and the whole movie, except for the guns and fast cars, was boring.
2. Death at a Funeral--------They should have just left the movie British, because it was more funny and epic. I don't know, Luke Wilson did not fit into his character, it was not believable. Zoe Saldana too was not in her zone and it was terrible. I only made it through the whole thing because of Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan.
3. Why Did I get Married Too--------I was so disappointed because the first movie was great. This was such a let down. The movie was too long and there was too much happening.
4. MacGruber--------Seriously? They made a movie about this. I mean, it's not even that funny on SNL to begin with.
5. The Karate Kid-------Again with the comebacks. I love Jackie Chan and I used to be a huge fan of this franchise when I was a child, but no; that was then.

Best Singles of 2010

1. Black Mountain- The Hair Song---------Hippie, hippie and hippie! I love the lyrics and video is so cool.
2. Motion City Soundtrack- Her words destroyed my planet---------I'd never heard of them before this but this song is a killer alternative rock jam. It got me through my tough examination period.
3. MGMT- Congratulations---------It's so mellow, simple and calming...I love it. When I'm listening to it, it's like I'm on a boat, alone in peace being carried by the wind...
4. Usher- There goes my baby---------Although I'm not a fan of Usher, this is a smooth song. I don't really listen to it, but I have to hand to to him. Just when you thought RnB had fallen to the pits. I'm just being honest here. Think about it...What crazy girl has not imagined their man singing that song to them, eh?                                                                                                                      
5. Linkin Park- The Catalyst-----------The video is to die for. I love the whole song and guys, Linkin Park is back!
6. Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce- Telephone----------Honestly I had to squeeze it in; these girls outdid themselves. The video was sick! And it sounded great on radio. I never thought I'd ever listen to Lady Gaga, but when something is worthwhile, it's worthwhile.

Worst Singles of 2010

1. My Chemical Romance- Na Na Na --------From the Black Parade to this mess. It's just awful and sad. 
2. MGMT- Flash Delirium ------------Huh?
3. The Black Eyed Peas--------Honestly, everything they've released this year was really awful. What is the world coming to?
4. Shakira- Waka Waka ----------I know it was for the world cup hype, but that's the worst song I've heard since "In the Jungle", no offence. The lyrics are whack! I'm sorry, soccer fans.
5. Ciara ft. Ludacris- Ride---------Ciara's songs are seriously starting to sound similar...and boring. The video is too raunchy but the song is worse.

So, that's it. The music section only shows the half of it because I'm a huge music fan and only an eighth of the songs I really loved made the list. Dispute with these lists all you want, this was my opinion. Make your own list if you find this one bogus. This was my taste this year.

'Till next time...

A Christmas Message

Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas

Merry Xmas

Merry Christmas, Talkers. This is the time where Christians celebrate the birth of Christ; and here in Africa we CELEBRATE!!! In normal nature, the fam comes together, maybe go to church for a service; then we cook, perhaps throw in a braai (barbecue). If you like you can catch a local football match at the local fields in the afternoons; and there is always a football match might I add. I got to hang out with my cousins, aunts and uncles that I don't see for the whole year. Well, all I have to say is enjoy it. Christmas has its literal meaning but it also means family. Enjoy it! By the way, EAT! This is the only time of the year where all bets are off; Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Be merry, eat and drink as much as you want because there is no party without food. I always read in fashion mags where they advise people to eat before the party so that they don't stuff their faces with fatty food; don't listen to that, EAT. You'll work off the extra baggage when you're dancing or something.

I should go now. Have a very festive holiday and play it safe.

Merry Christmas :)

Queen The Show Must Go On

This is a touching song with a touching video. I cried through the whole thing as if I knew Freddie Mercury! Anyhoo, I love him so much, I wish he was still alive for me to attend a Queen concert and watch them perform or actually meet him. But I guess this is the hundredth time you've heard me say that! hehe.

On the record, this is the best discovery I've made in 2010 on the Web...by far. Even though it's been there for a while...

~Zigsy

An Overview 1

I just returned from a well deserved rejuvenating trip from my home village. It’s always very refreshing to step into the country side where there are very few...five or six cars and no industrial influences what so ever. Now that it’s rained, everything is so green and the air is so fresh. It’s very odd but I felt like an amazed tourist on my own land. If there were no snakes and creepy insects crawling around I would camp up under a shade in the green and listen to air just passing by while I continue my novel.

Anyways my list of the worst and best of 2010 starts today. What I’m going to do is name one bad and one good element.

On today’s menu I’m going to start with good because...well, I’m in a foolish type of good mood. I will start with what I think should not be put on hold at all; the birth of my niece in October. Her name is Selemo which is “summer”. She is very cute and such a blessing. I’m now a proud aunt of two astonishing human beings.

Worst

The weather in Botswana is such a turn down. This country quite literally undergoes several weather changes in one day. This year’s summer was extremely hot. I mean I am so dark I’m afraid I’m going to have skin cancer or something. It’s too drastic to even explain. If you are going to spend a day out in this country, make sure you pack: your hat and sunnies for the highly exaggerative sun; an umbrella, for it might rain later; a jersey, for the rain will bring with it cold; two sets of shoes, sandals and sneakers because the heat is not suitable for sneakers but the sneakers are going to help you with the mud. I mean honestly, what is this? It’s madness I tell ya!

I’ll see you next time. Today’s post has to be shorter than the previous ones for I am not running a reading club here!

Buyee!!!

Give it back!

Barev Dzez! (that's hello in Armenian. It's acutally spelt: Բարեւ Ձեզ, but I'm guessing most of you can't read that ) .

Last weekend (Saturday) I went and did a little charity work. This of course was some great news for my state of mind and body, which were relieved for once, not to be spending time on the sofa all day watching the telly. Well, I’m part of the Youth Leadership Program which is under the Ycare Charitable trust; an organisation that raises money for charities around the country. Anyhoo, each year for three years now, the leadership program has been organising a charity called “Smile for Christmas”, which in essence means that we come up with funds to help pay for the event we make for the less fortunate, in order to put a smile on their face. For example, last year they threw a Christmas party for the children in the paediatric ward at the Princess Marina Hospital.

This year we went to a place just outside the city called Gamodubu. There basically is a child care trust there that feeds children every single day. We took it upon ourselves to put in the little time we had to raise some money, toys and clothes to present to the trust. The money was used to buy various snacks for the children.

Firsties, let me tell you something, getting there was not fun at all. The best transport we could organise was a mini truck, or what ever they are called; and let me tell you something, Botswana is not hot, it’s blazing down here. So we travelled like 30 kilometres or something in the back of the truck, it had no roof, it was bare naked...and so were we (naked to the sun I mean; get your mind out of the gutter, honestly). Anyhoo, it was 37 degrees Celsius that day and let me tell ya, I turned two shades darker in just 10 minutes; that’s all. Another thing, sitting on the back was very uncomfortable. My bottom really ached that evening.

However, we made it with huge smiles on our faces. The place had a great turn out of children with some of their parents. Even though it was really hot and some of my colleagues were a little crazy from the direct rays of the sun, everything turned out great. The founder of the child care trust was so pleased and so were the children and their parents.

You know, the point of this post today is not to give you an overview of my weekend and this event. The sole reason is to plead with you to give back. I saw those children this weekend. Some of them are poverty stricken orphans and some just seemed to live in dire poverty. But these kids were just so happy to receive whatever little we brought them. I mean, a couple of snacks from us is just so little, but it went a long way. They were so happy, and the parents were pleased. The simple gesture of giving was enough to them. This brought me so much joy in my heart and my spirit. I’ve never really done any charity work like this in my life, but it feels good. After that I spoiled myself with some Coca-Cola and had a good night’s sleep. Knowing what I had accomplished that day; travelling in the scorching sun to put a smile on someone else’s face is just fantastic!

I would like to encourage you, talkers, to give back to your community. Even if it does not involve raising money and stuff for the less fortunate; go and spend time at a shelter, volunteer. I for one am hooked for life. I am literally going to be addicted to giving back from now on. You know, we are always thinking and talking about what we don’t have, be it money, riches, fancy clothes or whatever. For once, especially for this holiday season, think about what you do have and cherish all of it, because there is someone out there who has it harder than you do. Appreciate and Donate. Let that be your mantra from now on.

Phew, this was a long post. That’s because I’m extra happy. I have a fuller heart now. I would like to thank all the members of the leadership program for a job well done and heck, Smile for Christmas did not just bring a smile to our trustees’ faces, it brought smiles to ours as well; you see, it’s a win-win situation.

Peace my peeps!

PS: the next series of posts (I’m not sure how many), are going to be based on the best and worst of 2010.

PPS: I know it’s a little cliché but I have a mind full of a long year’s experience which I would like to share.

PPPS: Just so you know, school is already on the “worst list”.

The Catalyst

This is an article I was asked to write a while ago. I would like to dedicate it to my dear friend; you know who you are ;)
Let’s say you’ve never had a boyfriend in your life or you are single...and it’s been a long while. You can’t seem to get a man because of reasons known to you. When people nag you about getting a man, you blame your workload when the truth is that this whole time, you’ve actually been waiting for the right moment. Then of course you start to worry because you wonder whether the day will come; that day where that warm fuzzy feeling you get watching a romantic movie, becomes your warm fuzzy feeling. If ever, that guy that you like will actually ask you out one day.

If a guy wants to make it happen, he will make it happen (He’s just not that into you, 2009). Will he ever make it happen or should you start picking names for your 12 cats when you’re older? But what if there was a way to catalyse your situation a bit? Well, here are some helpful tips to help solve your problem.

1. You catch your candidate looking at you for instance. It may be innocent because maybe you have something on your face e.g. a huge zit or mole, something on your teeth; it could be anything. But then again, maybe he is absolutely stricken by your beauty and he just can’t help but stare. 
2. Go home and give him a pseudonym if you’ve never seen before. Always be creative when giving names because you might like this guy if you already don’t. You don’t want to date a guy you nicknamed “frog” or “Bambi” (because he has incredibly large ears for example).
3. Start snooping around for his real name because you are going to need it even though he has a pseudo name. Ask random people his name. You could use simple excuses like, “What’s that guy’s name again? He borrowed me his pen yesterday and I want to return it.” or “I think I saw him working at a local supermarket, what’s his name again?” You know, you’ll think of something fitting for the situation.
4. Great, you have his name. Now it’s time to let the World Wide Web do the job it was meant to. Google him, search him on twitter, facebook. Find out his age, his birthday, where he went to school, what makes him tick, if he is seeing anyone. You know, just so you know if he is his right for you. If you are not impressed then back up and go back to number one with a different guy.
5. Now that you have done a thorough research on your candidate, and you have your references, it’s time for step number five. This is the part where you check if he still stares. When you catch him walking or sitting alone, walk past him at most three times, each time, making sure you do something different to get yourself across. You can play with your hair, pretend you’re on the phone with a friend (but make sure it’s on silent in case it rings in your ear, then you’ll look like an idiot), drop a pen or pencil and pick it up, whatever you may think of. Remember: avoid eye contact, pretend you don’t notice him. If you should look at him, always make sure he does not catch you.  Also, don’t exceed the number of times you pass by as it may freak him out.
6. Great, now that you have the basics, and you have a foundation, the rest is in your hands. If you really like him, grab the courage to ask him out (we can do that these days, you know). And never lose hope, that day will come soon. If your candidate never asks you out, or has no interest then move on. You made it this far without a man, a few more months or years will not kill you.

NB: You are not a stalker, you are just taking precautions and moving things along! Stalking is a serious offense that is looked down upon. This catalyst is recommended for anyone in need.

Failure a la Ziggie

Yebo!

So it’s Monday, and the verdict is that I’m a liar. I tried to live up to all of that nonsense on my list and let’s say I managed what I could. There were 20 “obligations” on the list and I failed terribly to comply. For those who really know me, first of all, number 6 was just wishful thinking...I mean, 'wish' I could get up and jog in the morning, heck I’ve been making that promise to myself since I was 13. I still don’t have running shoes, but I have a feeling that even if I had excess to a pair of those sneakers that help tone your butt as well, I still probably wouldn’t have gone out running. Anyway, I never cleaned my room; it’s still all cobwebbed and dusty like when I moved in a week ago, I never went to church, I never took myself out on a shopping spree...none of that happened. 

I’ll tell you what I did do, which will shorten things up. I did attempt writing 5 short stories but I ended up writing just 2, I baked bread and scones, I did open my money box, I went to ask for an apprenticeship and they shut me down. Huh, how’s that for sprucing up the definition of pathetic.

I know that I’m sending out the wrong message to everyone, including myself. Next time I’ll try to limit the impossibility of the list. Also, I’ll use a much easier determination of the number of activities than my age.

What I’ve learnt through this experience is that when you want to manage a money box, do not throw bank notes in there because you will get tempted to open it up early. However, don’t keep it for more than a year because counting millions of coins is just...well let’s just say, I may need therapy after the endless counting I did. Great, now I’ll use the money I saved to pay for it. (Yes, I did make a cheesy joke).

So talkeroos, I had intended to talk about something else today but as it looks, my post has been fully occupied by a review of the abominable list of activities.

I promise to deliver a new post tomorrow. Oh wait, don’t listen to me, I’m unreliable when it comes to obligations, look at what happened with the list. However, who ever is out there reading...if anyone is still reading at this point, please come back again .*smiley face* ....anyone?

Until we meet again, I’m signing out!

  

The third day of Christmas

Well, I’m a little late to start the Christmas countdown seeing as it’s the third of the month. However, I was reminded earlier about when I was little...when I was young and naive. I was ten or eleven, I don’t really remember. So, we made these charts which represented every single day of the month of December in my class. Sort of like a calendar with just this month. Anyway, on every day slot, we stuck match boxes. So the 1^st of December had a match box stuck to it and so did the 2^nd, etc. Inside each match box we slipped in some sweets, however much you preferred. We did this so that during the month of December, you would eat the sweets in the matchboxes, relative to what day it was...genius, eh? Since I was a kid, that didn’t work much for me because I ate them all in one day and I kept on telling myself that, “Hey, you won’t eat tomorrow’s batch coz you ate it today.” My point is, and I do in fact have a point, that chart gave our young ignorant hearts and minds something to look forward to. Out of the long dreary month, you looked forward to the next day so that you could open up the next box of sweets. Alas, one day it would be Christmas and you would wonder how it came by so fast. Of course I confessed by saying my sweets did not even reach the 15^th of the month.

Now that my heart is not ignorant anymore and I know many things about the world...like the fact that Father Christmas is not real no matter how many ‘what ifs’ I am living on. I asked myself today, what I’m doing or planning to look forward to the next day. I’m sure that there are many of us out there waking up in the morning for the same old boring routine crap of a day. Now, I’m not going to go all bonkers and make that chart again with sweets, it’s ridiculous now. Besides, my teeth aren’t what they used to be. It should be a mental strategy. Take out that list, whoever you are and whatever situation you are in and make that something to look forward to everyday; and I don’t mean obligations like your job or whatever it is you do everyday. It’s nearly Christmas, pave that road and make it colourful, just like your imagination used to be. Release your inner ten year old and believe that anything is possible. Believe that tomorrow will be extra fun because you will get to retrieve that sweet from the 4^th of December’s slot, or whatever.

So, just like that carol goes, On the 3^rd day of Christmas my true love sent to me;...........Fill in that blank with something spectacular.

What did I do today...hmm...On the 3^rd day of Christmas my true love sent to me; I went out for a jolly walk and got a chocolate bar from the supermarket. (You see, it’s something even though it’s not all spectacular in someone else’s book).

Note: part of this is out of guilt from my “20 things I should do this week” list. Honestly, I’ve only managed the short story bit of list...and I only managed to squeeze in two, instead of five. So I feel really guilty. Try it...if you don’t have a colourful life...or a life, if ya know what I mean.

Yours truly

-Ziggie (: