Social Issues blog

Disability in Africa

2011-06-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

One of the joys of my current consulting role in Africa is that I get to interact with a significant number of NGOs and international welfare organisations. From a social issues perspective, this interaction has been enlightening. While I have largely been focused on education related development work in Uganda and Central Africa, one recent interaction outside this realm stands out as worthy of mention. That is the topic of disability in Africa.

In stark contrast to the likes of the BBC that pay great attention to catering for people with disabilities, the priority this segment of the population is given in Africa is shocking. Africa is a region facing some unique challenges with respect to fighting poverty - as such, people with disabilities will automatically be disproportionately represented. The number of disabled rise due to malnutrition, natural disasters, civil strife and conflict, and of course AIDS.

The disabled in Africa are all but ignored in local society. They form part of a vicious cycle in which they are unable to contribute economically, which consequently makes them of less perceived value as human beings - harsh, but this is the reality. This perceived lower value in turn gives people even less incentive to make any sort of investment in uplifting the disabled - physically, emotionally, economically or otherwise.

Worse yet, not only are they largely invisible to the local able population, they also appear to be invisible in development initiatives. The willingness to to contribute is there, and its strong - but they are unfortunately marginalised because they are perceived to be a burden. The result as can be expected, is devastating, both to the disabled individual as well as to the economy.

Further aggravating the situation is that while international organisations acknowledge the importance of catering for the disabled in these markets, and their involvement in poverty alleviation initiatives, there is little to no research done in the area. This lack of information about disability and poverty in Africa and indeed in other developing nations around the world, makes it difficult for welfare organisations and NGOs to actively obtain funding for necessary initiatives.

Most recently, Benin and the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) are undergoing such studies to support future aid efforts by the likes of the World Bank - one can only hope that these studies not only begin to identify some critical statistics around disability, but also draw a solid link between disability and poverty in the developing world. Without such a link, it will be difficult to get sufficient funding to do anything of consequence in this area.

* * *

As an aside, some of the recent development and professional coaching work I have been involved with in the education sector has involved engaging with disabled students extensively. It appears, just in the region I am currently working in in Uganda, that school enrollment of disabled children is often as low as 10-15%. Again, this is not a matter of ability but rather one of negative perception, lack of appropriate resources (it still has me taking a punt on an online slots casino every now and then in the hopes that I can start my own self-administered development fund for Africa), and most of all a regressive social attitude towards disability.

Until this perception of the disabled changes in the eyes of the African public, very little will actually be done to alleviate the plight of the African disabled.

Royal wedding, Royal distraction

2011-04-26T12:31:00.000-07:00

A few decades have passed since the last similar event of this magnitude - the Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. It seems not much has changed in terms of the royal attention the couple - Prince William and Kate Middleton this time around are receiving.

The wedding has been in the spotlight most of this week in the news - the only difference from 1981 being the tremendous global impact of social media. Now there's cartoon facebook pages and wedding twitter feeds and more to keep the news hungry well-fed for the UK national event scheduled for the 29th April 2011.

While places like China are going a little crazy trying to capitalise on the royal wedding by flooding the market with replica wedding rings, souvenirs, branded t-shirts - and quite successfully so one might add, it does beg the questions whether this euphoria is justified, whether such events still should have a place in the world calendar, and no doubt for some, whether the monarchy should still be in existence.

Judging by the coverage on the BBC and other traditional media, it appears that those pro the wedding are significantly more than those against it. Most are welcoming it as a royal distraction from the turmoil going on all over the world at the moment - whether it's the nuclear fallout in Japan, tsunamis, or the North African revolutions that have spread from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya to Syria and many other locations in Middle East. The wedding does bring a sense of positivity and hope for viewers - much needed, one could argue, this year especially.

From an economic point of view, certainly there are benefits too. Spending increases a bit on everything from restaurant specials and romantic holiday offers to the actual purchase of tacky souvenir items relating to the wedding. The romance of it all - a fairy tale in the making is quite a captivating incentive to keep many women glued to their screens - again, quite a positive thing for the most part.

On the negatives, however, the argument is that the entire event constitutes a royal waste of public funds. This too, at a time when many feel that money should be allocated to more pressing matters - like saving countries economically. It was indeed a noble gesture for the couple to suggest that nobody send them wedding gifts but instead donate money to a worthy charity instead. I just wonder how many starving children could be fed with the funding going into the wedding itself. Still, I guess there are positives that cannot be totally ignored in this equation.

The bigger issue of course, and one that will no doubt be of importance in the coming week is the actual relevance of the monarchy itself. According to BBC and other news reports, there is likely going to be a significant anti-monarchy protest with members coming in from all over Europe to participate.

Other issues surrounding the wedding from a negative standpoint is unnecessary disruptions. Local government establishments have received over five thousand road closure requests for street parties and the like. If you're not going to be joining them, that will certainly make for some irritation.

Personally, I know there are more pressing issues to deal with in the world. I do believe however, that the public becomes immune to bad news after a while - there is simply so much of it. If anything, the Royal Wedding will provide some relief and help people recollect and celebrate life, albeit just for a short time. A royal distraction is what it is, but a much needed one for the world right now.

* * *

As an aside, it has been great watching romantic wedding movies as TV schedules have moved to accommodate the event in their programming. The fairy tale nature of the wedding just makes one want to go out and buy lottery tickets online in the hopes that someday one might be able to have exactly the same type of royal experience. Sadly, for those amongst us that aren't princesses and have no real shot at meeting princes in our everyday lives, no visits to even the best online slots casino can come to our rescue. For us, we will all live vicariously through Miss Kate Middleton!

Drivers of Social Revolution

2011-02-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

The recent events in North Africa and the Middle East, starting off in Tunisia and still rippling across the region, makes for an interesting case study about the drivers for social revolution. Many of the countries that have experienced unrest did not undergo any sudden, major economic or political change. So what is it that sparked off the change and allowed it to be amplified in such a short period of time?

Over the last four months, I've taken a short sabbatical from my consulting assignments to do some volunteer work in Southern Africa. One of my personal goals was to leave a significant contribution, particularly in the areas of education and social development. My experience with life coaching and its application in a mass market context was most insightful. It allowed me a rare opportunity to understand what the really poor value, and what they are willing to endure.

The flip side of that understanding, is that it also provided me with some of the potential triggers that would bring on the need to do something more drastic - be it self-immolation in the case of Mohamed Bouazizi, or some other visible form of protest. And the protest need not be to make a blaring social statement - more often than not it is an unplanned act of desperation. The fact that it catches the attention of media and social networks is often just by the way.

Without diving in to the details of how the North African uprising started, the logic of social revolutions is as follows: there are repressed feelings about the powerlessness of individuals because of their circumstances. If these repressed feelings lead to a state of resignation - an acceptance that the status quo will never change and nothing that an individual can do will make an impact, then the anger of society is bottled up.

Now there are triggers to release this bottled up anger: an act of protest; acts of desperation or violence; organised mass action; or in the case of countries like South Africa - a strong leader like Nelson Mandela. The former triggers often used to be more hit and miss - there was no guarantee that the traditional media would pick up on an act and that it would be publicised enough to raise more than an empathetic conversation. With the rise of freer information flows through social networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook, however, public sentiment is more easily communicated. The use of these technologies is what gave voice to the public disgust in Tunisia.

If enough people find a common platform to channel their anger, and if they feel like there is hope that things may change - or there is sufficient pain for them to believe that there is no other option, then there is a revolution. What happened in Tunisia was exactly that - when Mohamed Bouazizi burnt himself, the public was united with a common cause. They could directly relate to the tragic situation of the street vendor who had his wares confiscated and saw no means to continue to make an honest living - and they acted.

What happened since in Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Djibouti, Jordan, and even Iran, Saudi Arabia and Libya was that the ousting of President Ben Ali in Tunisia gave hope that their resignation with their respective regimes might have been misplaced. The citizens of those countries too felt that taking proactive steps may improve their lot. Ultimately, it is that very HOPE that is the key driver to any social revolution.

* - * - *

Be sure to check out the recent post on the North African revolutions on Wonkie, my favourite African news blog and the excellent BBC Paul Mason's democracy and economics article. If you're bored and would like something to do, check out these recommended pages.

As a brief aside I would also like to thank executive coach and friend, Pratish, whom I worked with as part of my volunteer project. For those of you who haven't experienced coaching and are keen to hire an executive coach, I highly recommend him!

Apologies for being out of touch with the blogging scene whilst I was volunteering - I guess readers should be used to that by now with me! I have some interesting articles lined up over the next few months including a guest cartoon strip on Wabber. For my friends in India, you may want to check out the new Play lottery in India page, given that the Powerball is now over $180M this week! :)

Value of Life in Africa

2010-11-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

Last week I came across an interesting post on my favourite South Africa news blog - specifically it was about the value of life in South Africa. The analysis was quite an interesting one and the argument counter-intuitive (not that the conclusion of the article was!)

Basically the observation was that if something were to happen to a foreigner in South Africa (and I would vouch to extend this to anywhere in the third world, let alone just Africa), the amount of media coverage that mugging or murder would get would be quite literally a thousand times the amount the same event would attract were the victim a local. Wonkie made the point that in the township Anni Dewani was murdered in, there were about 700 murders since 2005 - none of those had any coverage whatsoever, let alone the police chief making public statements about how very sorry he was about the incident.

Of course, I believe the Wonkie article omits mentioning the obvious fact that the murder of a tourist has far reaching implications internationally and so media coverage of what was being done in support of the investigation is extra important. The point about the value of life of local people in the third world - and in Africa particularly the poor and the black is sadly incredibly low.

What aggravates the situation is the poor reporting of actual crime statistics in the poorer areas - this is equally true in Uganda where I am based. In neighbouring countries, the reports of rapes and violent crime is far more stifled due to fear in those areas and there is certainly an unfortunately direct correlation between poverty and perceived importance by the media. Life is tough in Africa in more ways than one :(

Swaying the American Public

2010-09-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

The saga about the mosque being built a couple of blocks away from the ground zero site in New York arrives at an interesting time. The American public is so easily swayed and it is quite sad that they never take the time to think the choices through.

It's an interesting time because the decision is being flung about to achieve political ends as election time approaches rapidly. Emotions are being rallied across the board with more nationalistic stances stating that building the mosque is an unprecedented insult to the American lives lost during 9/11. But the facts, if anybody had cared to examine them are as follows:

1. The mosque is not being built by the US government on the 9/11 site as many seem to believe.

2. The land is privately owned and planning permission was requested as per due process in USA. The decision arrived at the White House for obvious reasons.

3. Barack Obama had no choice but to approve the mosque - opposing it would have fundamentally affected the constitutional rights of one group of citizens. His primary job is to protect those rights.

4. The decision to build the mosque there may not be a particularly sensitive or prudent one from the muslim community but that does not take away from their right to build it there.

5. People opposing the building of the mosque are doing so to gain political brownie points with a mostly ignorant public. If asked what they would decide if they were in Obama's position, they know full well they would not be able to decide otherwise.

Be sure to check out the Obama mosque cartoon on Wonkie - the editorial there neatly summarises Obama's choices and shows why he could not have made any other possible decision.

As for the easily swayed American public - one can only suggest they get themselves some serious professional life coaching to help them work through how they may be better able to evaluate when they're being played by politicians. Sadly I don't think even an uber-coach would be able to support them at this point.

Voter apathy in the UK

2010-05-01T02:37:00.000-07:00

It's been interesting tracking the news with the upcoming UK elections. It seems the only real effort to advance campaigning using social networking anything close to what Barack Obama did in the US is with Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats. Unfortunately all I can recall of the party is the ridiculous stance they took when a man shot a burglar robbing him in his home just before the last election.

Apparently voter apathy is at an all time high in the UK which is a bit concerning given the current challenges the UK is facing. Besides recession and much fiscal uncertainty because the level of national debt, the collapse of the housing market and a social system in tatters should be driving UK voters headlong into the polls.

Instead, the lack of decent candidates in any of the major parties has created a Why bother? attitude rather than the much needed Yes, we can! one. Judging by the public reaction to the prime minister debates though, it looks like Lib Dems' Nick Clegg has really taken his party forward into positive territory. If you'd like more details on the public sentiment analysis be sure to check out Rory Cellan-Jones's BBC blog for some interesting facts and figures.

BBC 2's interview with Nick Griffon this afternoon was interesting. It's scary that people still hold such narrow-minded opinions. It's even scarier that these people are considered leaders in a not inconsequential chunk of the British population.

It feels as though most people in Britain are prepared for a hung parliament. That will certainly not bode well for the financial markets if that hasn't been factored into the weak pound already. I'm certainly glad I'm not long sterling right now - if I were, as things stand I would much rather take my chances with a dodgy online casino south africa than keep tabs on BBC's Robert Peston's latest blog updates! LOL

I'm certainly looking forward to my trip to the UK later next month. Hopefully the mood will not be as dire as it was when I was there last year. At least the 3 laid-off banker friends I know there have finally managed to secure something, albeit not ideal positions given their experience. I wonder now if even they are going to bother to vote this election!

Iceland volcano humour

2010-04-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd put up some Friday fun today - it's been a slow week in Uganda and I'm glad to be back from the United States... thanks to the wonderful travel adventure chaos caused by that steaming hole in the ground in Iceland.

At least my delays were nowhere near as bad as some of my friends who were flying around in Europe at the time - one literally spent 5 days in the airport because she couldn't get accommodation.

Came across this link which was pretty good fun: UK Telegraph's top 10 best and worst Iceland Volcano Jokes - some of them even raised a chuckle for me!

Enjoy the weekend and will update the blog with my thoughts on the UK election news over the weekend.

Racism rears its ugly head

2010-04-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

With the recent murder of AWB leader Eugene Terre'blanche in South Africa its no wonder that racial tensions are on the up in the country. Central to the controversy is Julius Malema once again. Many Afrikaaners in South Africa are claiming that his singing of the struggle song "Shoot the Boer" has sparked off additional killing of white farmers. Not a far stretch considering the song was recently declared hate speech by the Human Rights Commission.

Jacob Zuma has lashed out at Malema who in return is claiming that he has done nothing wrong. All this tension arrives at a stime when South Africa really does not need it. It's less than sixty days for the FIFA 2010 world cup to be held in South Africa and the negative publicity abroad is raising widespread concerns for potential visitors to the country. Still, Malemamania seems to be in full force and the man appears to be making headlines daily.

Wonkie's recent cartoon is one of its most controversial as yet but it certainly gets the point home about the double standards that are in place in South Africa. Over 500 people have voted on its poll about the song - you should add your voice too if you haven't already!

If you haven't viewed the hilarious cartoon with the Easter Bunny be sure to check out the link below:

Shoot the Boer

One can only hope Wonkie plans on recovering from the bloodbath in the comments section with a supremely positive post this week - South Africa certainly needs some optimism!

Kangaroos in Kampala

2010-03-03T22:40:00.000-08:00

I have to say that sometimes in life I feel so out of place in the society I live in. There is a fairly large expat community in Uganda but despite being from a variety of different countries, the community is homogenous. It seems everyone thinks the same, acts the same, behaves the same, decides the same - it's all quite scary.

Sometimes I wonder if I would fit in anywhere at all, particularly given that I have travelled and lived in a number of countries around east Africa and still feel so out of place. Perhaps I should try another continent - Europe perhaps.

Things are plodding along at work and at home - nothing major to report except for this sense of boredom with the overly familiar here in Kampala. Hopefully my trip to Italy later this month will bring some much-needed energy back into the equation.

Anyway, back to complete my macroeconomics assignment now - will update the blog again soon!

Who cares about privacy?

2010-02-06T03:05:00.000-08:00

I saw this cartoon on Wonkie today and absolutely loved it - it's definitely the cartoon of the year on the site for me! Check it out on:

Jacob Zuma: I have a dream, a big wet dream - Wonkie CartOOn!

South Africans have way bigger issue with their Mr LovePants president than worrying about whether his right to privacy is being invaded!

Laughs, smiles and money

2010-02-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

Today I sat down and worked out my financial plan as part of my coaching exercises I need to complete before my next meeting with za guru. It's interesting only in that I don't really value being a millionairre or anything of the sort as much as what they money would enable me to do. Anybody that says that it isn't important is surely smoking something - money gives you freedom. Well, at least on 1 plane it does.

I am fortunate that I actually don't have many financial constraints - my house has been paid for and my expenses are actually quite minimal in Uganda - food is cheap and travel is too. It's only if and when I want to start travelling that things become rather tricky - take my trip to Rwanda some time back to see the gorillas (Go go go if you haven't already - it was amazing!)

So I'm splitting my plan in two levels - one that is focused more on a steady stream of annuity income to support my day to day expenses, and another bucket for rainy day type expenses or lump sum needs - like for travel, a new gadget etc. While some of the freelance stuff I've been doing does keep things ticking along, I definitely need something a lot more stable and regular. Well either that or I need to win the lottery soon - very soon!

I came across some interesting options reading my favourite Wonkie cartoon blog that got me thinking. I'm not sure what the gambling market is in east Africa but it seems to be booming in South Africa - considering a political cartoon blog now has a page pretty much exclusively dedicated to Online casinos in South Africa, I guess it must be a lucrative market! I think I may well use one of the affiliate programs advertised on Make money from websites and blogging - just to see what kind of return I can obtain. Somehow I'm not overly optimistic though - I'll still continue to buy my weekly lottery ticket, just in case LOL

In any case, I do hope the recessionary environment lightens soon - it's making it harder to get freelance writing work and if it continues for much longer I really will need to try something outside Uganda.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-08T03:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2010! I am full of optimism for this year. Unlike the start of last year where I was pessimistic I feel a lot more upbeat this year about the prospects for better world. Lots of things have changed since last year. Barack Obama is now the president of the United States of America, South Africa hasn't collapsed with the coming of Pres Jacob Zuma (Will miracles never cease), swine flu appears to be under control, to just mention a few of the things that worried me about last year.

One of the causes of my depression was that I was constantly evaluating myself against a definition of success that I didn't quite have a handle on. On the advice of my dear friend and political cartoonist Pratish Mistry I consulted him as a life coach of sorts that made quite a significant impact.

At first I was rather sceptical about using such a person but after a few discussions I was quite convinced about the value I was receiving from the meetings.I had heard some horror stories about other friends that have visited life coaches and found that those therapists rejected many of their own fears and insecurities onto their patients, or rather clients. I would suggest you visit only a coach that has been strongly recommended by someone that you know closely. They are far too many charlatans out there and damaged that they might be doing could be quite high.

With Pratish, I managed to outline my goals for 2010 quite clearly and succinctly. He approached my life almost as though it were a business that needed to be run profitably. And profitably in this instance meant that I was maximising the return on my time. He acted more as a facilitator rather than an adviser. And I think this is what made all the difference. I felt as though my ideas were really my own -- not some psychobabble by some new age guru that was all great in theory it could not be put to practice.

Anyway, enough for now I will hopefully be more regular this year with my blogging to share my experiences and let you know all my life plan is going! All the very best of 2010!

Wow - what a year!

2009-12-12T03:37:00.000-08:00

2009 was an excellent year. From having seen gorillas in Rwanda to experiencing the joy of life in Africa, it has really been a fantastic year for me. A lot of the anxiety and depression that I experienced in 2008 pretty much vanished over the 2009 year. I'm not sure if this was entirely my doing or just a function of circumstance but I'm grateful for it regardless.

My dear friends in particular Sizwe Mahlala and Oli Rikova have helped me tremendously to overcome some serious personal issues. I will be forever in their debt.

I do realise that I have not written much this year but I hope to change this in the year to come. I keep this brief is the concluding message for 2009 and kick off the New Year next month with a more regular diary of my life.

An extreme start!

2009-01-08T04:26:00.001-08:00

Hello all and welcome to 2009. My start to the New Year this year was memorable to say the least.. it was intense and exciting. I visited Rwanda for a 10 day trek, part of which was to see the gorillas - an experience I cannot find the words to describe. If ever you have the opportunity to visit any place in Africa - let this be your choice. It brought joy and gave me a persepective on life like never before.

I am in the process of sorting out the photos for the trip at the moment and promise to post some soon... hopefully by the weekend!

I was a little sad to return from the trip but I have to say I am feeling a lot more optimistic about life in general and about 2009 since the journey. I've spent most of the last 2 days catching up with news on the BBC and of course the occassional browse on my favourite Wonkie for a lighter look on the same. Sadly it doesn't appear there has been much progress in reports on Zimbabwe. Alas.

Nevertheless, it's been a good start to the year and I would like to wish everyone the very best for 2009!

Holiday season

2008-12-21T03:44:00.000-08:00

The holiday season tends to be the most depressing time of the year for many. For me, it is no different. I could use some cheer right now - it sucks to be alone this time of year. Worse so for me as my family is pretty far away right now - so besides being single too that certainly makes it a double whammy for me.

Spoke to Nayna, she's also heading away for a few days.. lucky her! I don't think I can wait till my Rwanda trip to feel better about this - either I'm going out drinking tonight or I need to make another trip before the gorillas!

Bleh.. even cartoons go on holiday

2008-12-20T15:48:00.000-08:00

All this talk of going on holiday is making me depressed and irritable. All my friends have disappeared to the coast and abroad for Christmas and New Year. It seems like a lot of them have headed to Mombasa in Kenya this time around. Hmmm... perhaps I should make a trip down there... I can see where this is headed for me over here at home and I don't like it!

Looks like even the cartoon industry takes a break this time of year.. no more Wonkie cartoon blog for the rest of this year.. I've found another site though that's not half bad.. check out cartoon lover for a range of cartoons and other fun stuff to help with the holiday blues!

Another boring week goes by

2008-12-15T01:12:00.000-08:00

Ok so this is quite working out as well as I had expected. I was hoping to log my thoughts and depression triggers on the here so I have a means to vent but it sucks. I just don't feel like writing most of the time. Had to practically drag myself into it today and likely only wound up doing it because my dear friend Nayna - the cow - yelled at me for not following through again.. ;) Thanks dear

Not sure what is going on with me. I started off really well but things seem to have deteriorated as time progressed. I lost my enthusiasm for it - and quite frankly felt I'd be better off playing with Sam than sitting in front of the PC trying to get things going with a dumb blog. I'm just so frustrated with everything right now it's irking me. I can't work, focus on my studies or even attempt to get out of this depressed state of being I find myself in these days. Is this normal? How the hell long is this going to last for? Thanks the wiccan witches I'm not armed with an AK47 right now.

Anyway, today is the start of a new week.. hopefully it will be a better one than the last. I won't hold my breath. I managed to get a booking for Rwanda so am off to see the gorillas.. really looking forward to it.. maybe they'll help me overcome my current state of being....

South African politics

2008-12-13T23:01:00.000-08:00

Saw the most amazing cartoon strip today on South African politics - just thought I'd drop a quick line and circulate it amongst my South African friends.. PM just popped a gem on Wonkie with his latest post with a Kgalema Motlanthe cartoon - you just have to check it out if you're from SA! It's the best one yet and have posted it on my facebook profile as well.

I've always been a fan of Zapiro and although this is quite different from the traditional cartooning style I have to say I think it's hitting home to the core of the issue in a very creative new way. Considering it's the first smile I've had all week I'm flogging it out to everyone lol

Oli.. if you haven't seen it already definitely check it out.. it's brilliant. Maybe you can bring it up in your next interview with the ANC honchos over there .. would love to see what they have to say about it!

Bored and depressed

2008-12-05T06:46:00.000-08:00

Well still waiting for my confirmation for Rwanda and just can't get going with anything at all.. oh well.. all in good time I guess. Am going to drink myself into oblivion tonight and hopefully the pain of the hangover will knock me into gear to get things going again.

Not sure why I feel so lethargic all the time.. hopefully it's not physical... prob not! I'm a bit of a basket case at the moment. Just sitting around surfing the net all day.. I can't believe this is me

Thinking about New Years

2008-11-30T00:24:00.000-08:00

It's generally quite quiet this time of year.. and depressing if you're home alone. Everyone is out on vacation, or doing couply things.. it's no wonder that it's toughest time of the year for singles. This year as part of my action plan I've decided I'm not going to sit around and let things happen to me.. I'm taking charge. Lol.. maybe I'll get another tattoo or something.

Seriously though, I think I'm going to spend some time on my own by choice... I would like to go out to Rwanda and visit the gorillas.. it is such a calming experience I hear. I'll call Rose tomorrow and try to see if I can a license to go to Kigili on New Years day itself!

Let's get loud

2008-11-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

Must be good energy or something about today.. everyone seems to be feeling great :) Went to the gym this morning and feel quite ready to take on the world. Have the loud music pumping in the background - nothing quite like Iron Maiden to get you ready to face the world.. lol

Played a bit with Sam but mostly catching up on all the stuff I was meant to have finished last week. It's hot and sweaty today.. thank God for air conditionining

Just received an email from my Wonkie subscription - it seems they are having a promotion at the moment. If you subscribe to receive free cartoons by email you can win an iPod - sadly only South Africans qualify so was a bit peeved considering I subscribed .. anyway.. thought I'd post it here for my friends in SA.. if any of you win I get to use it 2 months of the year LOL!

I love weekends

2008-11-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

Off to a bad start with the blog so thought I'd write again now despite it being so late in Kampala.. I do have a good excuse though - was sick as a bat for the last couple of days. Enjoyed the rest but my throat was killing me .. much better today though.

Spent most of the day playing with Sam, my alsation - pictures coming soon :) It's amazing that dogs have this sixth sense when their owners are down and out, depressed or simply ill. I'm taking it easy this weekend anyway - been told not to overdo any exercise - medical orders! Lol.. :)

Some fun at last!!

2008-11-19T10:17:00.001-08:00

Ok so gave up even trying to work and came across this neat cartoon blog called Wonkie through StumbleUpon - lol (I was bored ok!)! It seems like they just started it up a couple of weeks back so there are only about 100 cartoons but girl are they funny! It's like an African version of the SouthPark show in comic format! Loved the Sarah Palin on Oprah one.. sit down and tell me all about it dear!

Just thought I'd share it in case they're any other bored souls out there reading this. Think I'll find a collection of these cartoon/ joke sites and post them when I'm feeling feeling jobless like I am today - at least it'll be mildly more constructive than drinking myself into a stupor (I'm stopping this I swear.. please please not a single AA meeting more!)

Day 2, Post 2

2008-11-19T08:22:00.001-08:00

Well - at least the blog thing lasted more than 24 hours. I didn't feel too bad today actually - not that that helped me get anything I needed to do done. I made a list at least! It's a start.

So I'll tell you a little about myself for those of you who don't know me. I'm somewhat of a stubborn cow when I don't get my way - more so than most people. I have no problem cutting off my nose to spite my face.. yeah, yeah I know I look the part. You should have seen me when I went through my Goth phase though - THAT was scary! Think I'll ease into this whole blog thing and start with my life history next week.. will be a miracle if I'm still doing this by then so will probably be worth reading! lol!

Day 1, Post 1

2008-11-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

Here goes... I've been meaning to get this started now for over a year. It's been slow going on many fronts - career, personal life, exercise.. you name it. I've been so lethargic over the last 8 months since I moved country.. I just can't seem to get going with anything. Call it travel fatigue if you like - I feel like I've mentally checked out.

I read some interesting blogs about others going through similar types of depression.. I guess to some extent it does help in that you know someone else out there is experiencing the same kind of thing you are. But in helping you overcome the depression it's really no use at all.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to try to pull myself together and this is going to be my diary - a diary of a disturbed 20 something female.