Month 1. Summary. “The big bad world”

 January 2013, my first month of ‘big people life’ and now that I’m at the end of the month, some of my optimism has faded away and I’m starting to understand why people call it ‘the big bad world.

It has already swallowed me up and spat me out, and now I'm starting to think that the lessons I was expecting to learn will be much harder than I imagined they would be.

Losing my Gran to the deadly bitch people call cancer, not hearing from my first choice university after my interview, and then being rejected from one of the other universities I applied to. Failure is what it feels like. And if you know me well, you'll know I don't "fail" very well. So all in all, it’s all been a tough couple days. But hey, that’s life? Right?

After my very teary eyed flight back to South Africa, I’ve decided the only thing to do is move along as fast as possible. Rise up and attack the next month with enthusiasm. 

At least I can say the start of this month was brilliant and I’ll be expecting the same from the start of February. 

Poetry, Ships Are Safe in the Harbour.

All I live for is now
All I stand for is where and how
All I wish for are magic moments

As I sail through change
My resolve remains the same
What I chose are magic moments
Because ships are safe in the harbour
But that is not what ships are made for

The mind could stretch much further
But it seems that is not what our minds are trained for
We call for random order
You can't control Mother nature's daughter

Ships are safe in the harbour
But that is not what ships are built for
The witch hunter roams
The scary thing is that he's not alone

He's trying to down my magic moments
As we sail through change
Ride the wind of a silent rage
And sing laments of magic moments

The thing is, to stay inspired.

Optimism.

optimism |ˈäptəˌmizəm|noun1 hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something
An optimistic soul will never remain so without fuel. Everyone is inspired by something every once in a while. That inspiration will usually prompt you to change something about your life, or for a certain amount of time think and view things differently. 
 Thinking back 3 days ago. If you had tried to dull my optimism with "realist" (which some may call pessimist) thinking, I would have had enough 'fuel' to start a debate about dreams, hopes, positive energy, the answer of prayers, anything with success in it for that matter! I would have had enough of "it" to tell you that you're wrong and that it's good to dream.  
But then life happens. Usually not how we plan it either. It's life that's caused a drastic change in my mind, from 3 days ago.After a successful university interview yesterday, I was told about something incredibly tragic.News that sucks all optimism out of a person. And then this morning, I woke up feeling rather dry.. Confused & shocked. 
Pjs. Lounging. Eating. Facebook. Nothing optimistic about any of it. 
Life happened. It's still going to happen. It happens to everyone. 
Nevertheless, the thing is, to stay inspired, or else life sucks you in and nothing good comes of that. Now it's time to find the things that inspire me and focus on those things, if anything, just until I get back to my mom's home. 
Music. Pinterest. Blogs. Pretty Things. Tea. Books. Watching town people.That's where I'll be the next couple days. 

I made it! Snow and all!

(Mainly these posts are to update my mom & family back in South Africa) 

Packed. Ready to go. Goodbye Durban & Mommy. 

Everything was on track and I was prepared for an easy, hassle free flight. 

...and then I got to JHB. Limited for time, I rushed through to international departures, stood in a long line, only to be told my wrapped up bag was 2kgs overweight and nothing could be done. Even though when flying with Kulula, it wasn't an issue. Now because of my time constraint & needing to get through security and passport control, I was rather irritated. 

Unpack. Repack into hand luggage. Rewrap. Check-In. 

10min Security line. 20min Passport control line. Stressed. 

and with 5min to spare, I got to my boarding gate. 

Once I got to my seat, I discover a USB port, made my night! As my phone was almost dead. 

Airplane doors closed and the seat next to me was still empty. SCORE!

I then read a little, watched Pride & Prejudice, Slept,

woke up with breakfast being served and 2 hours later we landed in Paris while it snowed outside. Beautiful!

After landing in Birmingham & immediately put on a further 3 layers of clothing:

No bags... 10min.. Still no bags... 5min.. still no bags...

Report them lost. 

and at 6pm they were delivered to my dad's flat. 

My first night out in Stratford, a little british pub-resturant with fireplaces and old-school decor. 

 Happy Dad

 Berries & Snow

 Snow snow snow.

 My cousin & I..

 Keeping warm.

I made it just in time! Although my flight was delayed in Paris and my bags didn't arrive when I got to Birmingham, I did! Just in time. KLM headlines. Many flights cancelled only one day later.  

Big Jet Planes, snow & reflection.

The problem with being busy over a long period of time is that recognition of how much time is passing grows faint, and before you know it, multiple weeks have passed. The importance of stopping to appreciate the luxury of being busy is just as important as the time that should be given to individual events for reflection. Today has made me stop and think. I get on to a airplane in a couple hours and fly to the UK for an interview that will determine whether or not I get in to the university of my dreams.

Since the 26th of November, the day I wrote my last high school exam, things have been non-stop. From rage, family holidays to Christmas and then further adventures. To sum things up, I've hardly been home! (How blessed am I? Grateful beyond words.) However, if I hadn't made a conscious decision to stop and acknowledge each new experience or "adventure" I was on, the past 2 months would've been the biggest blur and if I don't continue to stop and reflect, the next 2 will also be a blur. Learning. Learning. Learning.

Anyway! Back to the fact that I'm on the way to the snow (yay yay yay) and hopefully won't get stuck along the way because of it.
My interview is on the 22nd of January and anyone who prays is welcome to say a little one for me. Bournemouth Arts University is my first choice and it's not an easy university to get in to. The more research I've done for my interview, the more I've read about rejections. My visit to them last year provisionally secured me a spot as an international student, but now that I'm going in as the local student that I am, things change. However, Jeremiah 29:11. God knows the plans for me and I have been granted enough faith to know whatever happens is for my best interest.

Let the journey begin...

Rookie cooking and the first 'Wine tip'

The rookie cook has begun..

While preparing dinner tonight I learnt 3 rather amusing things. 

1. No matter how old you are, if you're busy chopping up onions, they WILL make you cry! 

2. Burning yourself on the oven rack while taking out trays doesn't only happen when children are in the kitchen.

3. When cooking in extreme weather conditions, sweat is guaranteed and the occasional fly will be having the  time of it's life while floating about the kitchen. Be prepared. Hook up the fly zapper! 

After an hour or so of experimenting with flavours and enjoying the sound of my own voice with the extractor fan as a backing track, the meal was complete. Only one thing was missing... 

The perfect bottle of wine. Very eager I pulled up google and researched which wine would work best with a chicken dish, the discovery was that a Merlot (type of red wine) works well and is complimentary. 

Another thing to remember when drinking red wine is to never fill your glass! Just below the half way mark is the "right" place to stop when pouring.

The Black Tie has hints of fruit and berries in the wine, works well when eating most meat dishes. 

Zambia, the first and most inspiring adventure thus far...

Zambia. January 2013. A visit to my boyfriend and his family.

After 10 days of fresh air, delicious food, good company and lots of love shared between many people, I arrived home. The short holiday was relaxing and inspired many new thoughts and ideas. 

While I was there I read, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma. I'm half way through it and already feel it has impacted my life hugely! Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a little blessing on your life and the way you think. (If you're Christian, be open minded, I'm not saying go out there and become a monk.) 

 Three brothers. 

 Cliche hearts to finish off the perfect photo album.

 The three brothers' girlfriends.

Loving love. 

Zambia inspired and sparked interests that I've never truly had the time to venture in to. Watching delicious food being made and then enjoying each flavour as it burst in my mouth made me want to master the art of cooking more than I've ever wanted to before! Hence, a generous part of my "gap year" will be spent in kitchens. 

Another thing I've always been interested in is WINE.  However, I've never known much about it, nor have I had the ID to publicly drink it. Both these limiting factors changed in 2012 and I'm now excited to taste & learn about the many different 'vinos' out there and hopefully, retire on a wine estate in California one day? I have my whole life to work toward it, don't I? Anyway, since I'm focusing on the "now" I might just start off with a weekly wine night with friends. 

Classy. Educational. Social. Sounds perfect to me! 

2013 is for dreaming. Nobody stop me from doing that.