a wild adventure

“Deep in man’s heart are some fundamental questions that simply cannot be answered at the kitchen table. Who am I? What am I made of? What am I destined for? It is fear that keeps a man at home where things are neat and orderly and under his control. But the answers to his deepest questions are not to be found on television or in the refrigerator...Don’t climb on that, don’t break anything, don’t be so aggressive, don’t be so noisy, don’t be so messy, don’t make such crazy risks. But God’s design – which he placed in boys as the picture of himself – is a resounding yes. Be fierce, be wild, be passionate.”

Those are the words of john eldredge writing in the book: "wild at heart". I remember reading this book a while ago and really hating the stereotypical characterisations of "a man". I didn't really buy what he was saying, then. But the more i think about it and the more i pass through life, i realise how true some of his words are.

With that in mind, I went on a wild adventure a few days before I started work last week. I envisioned sitting by some water (even if i dont swim in it!), chillaxing, reading a book or newspaper, pondering the meaning of life, and trying to psyche myself into being positive about work. well, i didn't exactly get that; instead i got this:

now you may be saying, but folu, that looks very relaxing, chilling on a boat in the water. well i was in the water, sailing for 3 days, but i definitely was not relaxing. that look that you can't really decipher on my face is the "i-am-so-shit-scared-i-could-poop-my-pants" look. oh, and what you also cannot see is that the boat was at that time angled at 70degrees to the water (of course 90degrees and we would be swallowing water). my mentor and friend, nick (whose boat this was) thought it would be a good idea for me to steer the boat. so i did most of the steering while nick relaxed under the hood! thats some faith! this is nick:

i wasn't always scared shitless tho. i did enjoy most of the time. my inability to swim notwithstanding, i steered like a pro and learned all sorts of sailing terms and commands like "trim your sails" and "release the jib" and set the sails to the steering" and "sailing too close to the wind", etc. we ended up sailing to different spots along the river and camping or sleeping on the boat wherever we stopped. i even jumped in the water to swim. we talked about nothing and everything and even got super adventurous once and decided to follow our ears to find a waterfall (no path or map involved). about an hour later we arrived here!

[i debated posting this pic, but i went ahead anyway, because im positive none of y'all will make any silly remarks about how i need to lose weight. badly. which i already know!]

at the end of the trip, tho, i can say that it was truly relaxing, while at the same time not so relaxing. i was tense a lot, especially when in rough waters, but i felt so relaxed sitting/lying there, reading, talking to nick about very real and deep topics, unloading and being unloaded upon, sipping coffee non-stop, watching stars and sunsets, enjoying fish as they flip-flopped in and out of the water, listening to the non-stop crying of crickets and the dog-like barking of baboons, being seduces by the sound of crashing waves and flowing waterfalls. i found new definitions of beauty.

anyway, i sincerely recommend a trip like this to anyone, especially guys. it actually made me so ready to conquer anything, especially work. it also left my skin peeling everywhere, cuz i was so sure black people like me don't sunburnt (i was wrong, again!). guys, we need to find the adventure in us and even though i dunno if/when i'll do something like this again, i was awakened to the love of the outdoors that i've had (but which i'd surpressed) since i was a child. I can't wait for my next adventure. in the meantime, few more pics.

top-10 things on my mind for 2011

so we're now 8 days into the new year; hope everyone's 2011 is going just as planned - exciting, adventurous, refreshing, etc... mine is going amazingly as i'm still on holiday and i doing what i like, getting back in touch with old mates (many of whom i'd neglected for a year), reading, writing, watching movies, and looking forward to 2 road trips before i start the rigours of work again. why can't i find someone to pay me for this all year??

this post may seem a bit disjointed, but i have a lot going on in my head and i'm using this as my medium (just ur luck!). so to hark back to my old ways a bit, herewith your first top-10 list for 2011. really its more like top-10 things of whats currently on my mind (and in absolutely random order).

10: new years resolutions. the never ending question/ easy icebreaker for the first week of the year. so, how many do you have? or more importantly, how many have you already broken? or, theoretically, do you believe in new years resolutions? i don't really know why this has become a belief over the years; new-agey people are quite famous for the response: "i don't make new years resolutions", or rather, "i don't believe in such things". whether u believe it or not, tough. most people make plans, so whether u do it for a day, week, month, year, etc, chances are you're planning on doing something(s) this year. that, my friend, is a new year's resolution, ka-pish? so i do believe in new years resolutions. so how many have i broken? none!...mainly because in my mind the new years resolution calendar for me hasnt started. still in holiday mode, remember?!

9. new years resolutions(2). mine. i've got quite a few of them actually. i wont mention all of them, but i plan on being more active/sporty. this includes soccer, tennis, squash, cycling, and the occasional gym-ing. i also plan on blogging more regularly (you should expect to see a blog every week...thinking fridays or saturdays or sundays...which means you should be checking this space more often, putting it in your favourites, putting it in your blog feed, etc...). i also plan on resuming my fetish with road trips! the more the merrier. and other resolutions i'll make up as i go along. if you don't have any resolutions, i suggest you check out this list of top 41 places to go in 2011...its inspirational!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09where-to-go.html?pagewanted=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210

8. last years resolutions. i took a look at what my resolutions were in 2010 for shits and giggles, and noticed that i barely got a 50% mark. for those too far removed from school, this means that i barely completed half of what i resolved to do at the beginning of the year. my resolutions included getting my mba (check), enjoying the world cup to the fullest (ok check), being a "man of my words" (ok check), being more disciplined (fail), and doing more outdoors (fail...mostly...tho i did some ultimate frisbee (once) and touch rugby (a few times)). not a whopping success, but im cool with that. just have more to add to my 2011 resolutions.

what a year of african football! i was there!

7. joburg. im finally back to the city of gold, the promised land, the land of flowing honey and butter and malls... so, riddle. how do you know you've arrived in joburg? when u need to go to a mall to do everything that needs to be done (banking, eating, mailing, hair cutting, chilaxing...). you know you've arrived when it rains and all of a sudden you see potholes like never before. you've arrived in joburg when every possible window or door or opening in a house or apt is preceeded by burglar bars. finally, you really know you're in joburg when people show off their beautiful lavish homes with 12 meter tall fences topped by broken glass, topped by electric wiring and fencing, with a private guard and 2 dogs trained to tear human flesh at first sight. then if you manage to step inside the gate, you find yet another set of walls and electric fences and private security system to protect each room of the house. to be fair, on the flip side, you've got some of the friendliest people, the warmest friends, the best places to chill and just hang out. i really love this city!

6. cape town. despite my groanings about this city, i truly believe, in terms of sights and sounds, it is among the 10 or 5 most beautiful places in the world (at least that ive seen). mountains on one side, oceans on the other, driving at sunset, walking on the beach, waking up to see the sunrise on top of a mountain, there's few places better than this. and almost everywhere you go presents a kodak moment.

5. US. i had a very nice christmas here in sa. but i really wanted a white christmas; its been too long since ive seen snow. of course its not all its cracked up to be, but even if you've lived in snow all your life, the sight of fresh snow on the ground (before the snow trucks and the sand and salt) is still an awesome one. like this:

4. sudan. tomorrow, southern sudanese go to the polls to decide on their future. i'm really intrigued by this and i think it will be the beginning of relative peace and progress for the country and the region. it wont be all smoothe and the election probably will have some irreglarities, but i hope and pray that all in all, things go well and southern sudan can soon begin to celebrate its independence and learn to govern themselves in revolutionary and innovative ways and teach africa a thing or two. a lot to ask for, but i've been criticised for being too big of a cynic so heres to trying to regain a bit of my youthful hope-filled days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12070034

worth reading. edu-ma-cate urselves.

3. cote d'ivoire. 2 concurrent governments? one being run out of a hotel? head-of-government-turned-tyrant? flawed elections? ignorance of people's will? stubbornness to leave office? failed legacy? return to turmoil? yet another set back? does africa ever learn? more importantly do the dim-witted people that govern many african nations ever learn from the past (note i refuse to call these guys and lads leaders)? what happened to the will of the people? what happened to a government for the people? helping those that cannot help themselves? leading progress and innovation, championing democracy, transparency, and good governance? isnt it past due time for some semblance of credible civil society to rise up?!

2. nigeria. never a dull moment. elections set for april with goodluck, maybe, as the leading candidate?? i'm in no mood for puns, but what a great name, mr. goodluck! in all seriousness plenty is riding on this election. nigeria could have a relatively free and fair election and choose a leader from a region that has never produced a president and that has been largely marginalised even though it provides most of the revenue for the country. or it could go the route of the past and have a shambled election filled with more violence and vote rigging and greed than ever before. obviously there's a lot of grey in between. hoping for the best.

1. look all around; theres nothing, but...newness. more than 3 years into my ubuntu adventures, and im finally sick of my blog template. so it's changed! hope you like it. if you don't lemme know and i may or may not listen to your suggestions. there will be more minor changes to come and i may or may not note them as they come. also important, i'm embarking on a project which may produce other new things this year. more to come on that. be sure to *watch this space*!