'Here's What I Think' Thursdays: Vodacom

Hmmm, so it looks like I haven't been living up to my whole 'Here's What I Think' Thursday challenge. The intention was to comment on a news article each week, and, um, that hasn't really been happening. The challenge was left out in the cold, without a blanket, but now I've decided to give some heat where it's due. Bring on the opinion, for now. I can't guarantee what will happen in the future but I can control the now, which is what the spontaneity of life depends upon.

The spark to the fire = one of today's events in South Africa.

Here's a news article describing what happened:
Vodacom network restored after failure

In one word: Fail!

Vodacom cellphone owners were not happy today regarding the complete loss of network signal (for 'some' users, apparently, which amounts to quite a lot, including me) from midday today. It completely inconvenienced and baffled many, who tried to frantically contact their loved ones to no avail. Asking passers by if they were on the opposition cellphone networks cell C, MTN or Virgin Mobile, and begging to use their phones, only to find out that their loved ones could not be reached, obviously, because they were on Vodacom too. Uh oh, resorting to land line usage is the last straw indeed, hoping and praying that someone was at home to pick up.

My Life as a Hippy

* I don't wear the colourful clothes 
    (but I do love kaleidascope colours...)

* I don't hug trees  
   (but yes, the impulse is there... and other objects too. Yes, I sometimes feel an affinity with the television, OK?)

* But I do believe in the three core values:  
    ♥Peace ,  ♥Love   and   ♥Happiness

  Don't these things just make sense?

Thanks Wan from Cooking Varieties:)

A huge thanks to Wan from Cooking Varieties for these awards: 

I appreciate them so much:)

Wan is a very talented individual both in the blogosphere and in cooking. She comes from Malaysia and as she said, it's great to be able to connect with others in different parts of the world through blogging.

I love the unique dishes she displays in her blog: Cooking Varieties: Food and Health Benefits, and I also love her warm and giving personality. She appreciates the wholesome things in life:)

A Different Approach

Sorry about the apparent neglect of things surrounding this blog (commenting on comments etc. Just know that I read and appreciate them always. *Every single one*). As you'll know if you've visited on Thursdays, lately I've been trying out this opinionated approach on Thursdays. This will continue for sure, but today I just can't seem to force myself to write one, and, being a firm believer in un-forced writing, poetry seems to make so much more sense.

Rise and fall
Ebb and flow
Silently
Through my tinted window
I watch

Violently
Crashing
Broken rocks; glass
But still it remains outside

Surrounding
Enveloping
All encompassing might

Never will it be
Within

'Here's What I think' Thursday: Respect

If you'd like to have a look at the origins of this opinionated day of the week, see this post.

Today's thought is simple:

Treat others with the respect that you would like to receive in return. 

It sounds so cliche and yet it is so true. When people treat others like something unpleasant they found on their shoe, they tend to be:
 
  a) ignored
  b) treated in the same way
  c) or sometimes, they're treated with respect. Some people can't be rude like that;)


but still, that is not really the  point here anyway. How can a person expect first class treatment if they treat others like daily garbage? Somehow, treating others in a way you would like to be treated seems only fair. Besides, respect can only truly come from others that believe you deserve it, and if you treat people with respect, it generally shows that you do deserve it.

That's my two-cents worth opinion for the day. It would be great to hear your comments. Do you have a similar philosophy? Do you treat people with respect or don't you care? Or... do you have some sort of system where some are treated with more respect than others?

A Summer Winter's day

This is a poem (story, if you will), written 13 June 2011 'just for fun' but there may be deeper meanings on another level.

What does it mean to you?

Or is it just abstract, with distant meaning

floating by on a 

'buzz'

The blue fly buzzes

and catches

my attention

Ages go by

and dare I not mention

the blue summer fly

my thoughts

in detention

'Here's What I think' Thursday: Fracking

Do you know what Fracking is?

Neither did I, until I heard that they wanted to do it in the Karoo, in South Africa. 'They' being the mega-million oil industry called Shell.

Let me tell you about the Karoo:

• It's one of the most untouched, natural places left in South Africa. In days of preservation and 'going green' should we not preserve one of the little bits of nature that's left?

• Good tourist destination for its beautiful forna, flora and diversity. Read more facts about the beautiful Karoo here.

• It boasts, Sutherland and the SALT (South African Large Telescope) as it is one of the best star-gazing areas in the Southern Hemisphere.The sky is beautiful and clear.

 

Karoo Landscape, courtesy of Jandre Venter from stock.xchng

My First Blog Award! So excited!

There are no words to express the happy, honoured feeling that came over me when I found out that the fabulous Kate, from Kate As Of Late had nominated me for the Sunshine Award. It's my first blog award and I really will treasure it. Thanks a million Kate!

Kate As Of Late is a really well-written blog that is sure to keep you reading, so be sure to pay it a visit!
You won't want to leave;)

This is it!

Photoshop: Playing around with photography

There's no end to the effects you can achieve on Photoshop. All it takes is a bit of practice and tweaking and you can accomplish amazing things. This can be done in ways that are so simple, you'll wonder why you've never played around on Photoshop before. However, the pictures below are not stellar Photoshop creations. It's just me playing around with image edits and having a great time!

 

Sometimes, over-exposure works wonders...

Opinionated me

As always, a new challenge is like a tasty treat dangling in front of me, just out of my reach (assuming I'm a super-excited dog that happens to love food! Wait, don't all dogs love food? Woof woof! Oh dear, I'm taking this dog thing too far; did I mention I like to go off topic every once in a while? *Grrrrr* woof! Down girl, there's a good Heart...)

So, hem hem, assuming that did not just happen, let's just move on, shall we?

I've always tended to be one of those fence-sitters, which was enough and got me through life. Let's just say it's hard to commit to one concrete decision, particularly when you might change your mind in the next five minutes - it happens, trust me. Well, since the blogging journey started, I've noticed many things on the world wide web: opinions, news, opinions, news, how-to articles, many questions, and many more opinions... and, did I mention news and opinions? Suddenly, I'm forced to think about the greater world, whether I like it or not, and broaden my horizons. And what do I think?