Sunday, November 7, 2010

The last lecture

Having come to the conclusion of my fourth and final year of tertiary education (well, for now anyway, who knows what the future holds?) I must admit to being utterly disappointed with the lack of energy lecturers have put into what was their last lecture with the class. I was utterly gob-smacked to find the good-byes to be very, well, teeny-tiny in contrast to the storm of mixed emotions I was holding within myself. There were no ‘go out there and show the world’, no ‘look at where you’ve come from and how much you’ve grown’... instead it was very much, ‘OK well, that’s that’.

I have two thoughts on the matter. One: In all fairness, lecturers say goodbye to students every year and perhaps, are sorry to see a group of individuals whom they have gotten to know and molded, walk out the doors, most never to look back. Thus the lecturers are really too emotional to say their goodbyes in any sentence longer than is, ‘Well that’s the end’. Two: The lecturers are proving that in life, everything comes down to you, on your own, again… thereby attempting to strengthen you through lack of moddy-coddling during this time – you are to find comfort in yourself.

Or perhaps, a third thought: Some lecturers just don’t use the occasion to the best of their ability. It’s an opportunity to share with their class of three/four year’s life altering epiphanies that will linger in the minds of students for years to come. Perhaps it is that this is merely too daunting a task.

Oh well, whatever the weather, life moves on.

Watch this space

Assuming that my lecturer wished for this blog entry to encompass a more personal watch this [where I’m going] space I feel obliged to share with the world my personal awesomeness. The truth is, I don’t know where I’m going and I don’t have a plan per say but I do have the heart, courage and gusto to ensure that throughout life, I will achieve whatever I feel passionate about. It has been my approach thus far and I feel it a good plan moving forward.

In settling my nerves as to taking a slightly different life approach to others, I have adjusted the well known saying of ‘Failing to plan is planning to fail’, to read instead, ‘Failing to plan is…EXCITING!’
Given my dad’s support on the situation, ‘'kay cera cera, whatever will be will be', I’m all set. So watch this space because I guarantee that while I can’t promise where I am going, I know that it is going to be utterly splendid and even better, perfectly right for me.

My favourite Cat in the Hat book is [fill in the title] because…

So, the thing is…I’ve never, ever, ever, read a complete Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss) book. I’ve heard about a few, yes, but not quite to the extent that would allow me to complete this statement in a way that would leave some or other sentence of awesome proportions.

The thing is, they have never really appealed to me. Not ever.

I don’t like the graphics, I don’t like the hat and for some reason, I really, really, don’t seem to like the cat. I don’t like the designs and the way everything rhymes - haha. I hate that it’s always quite jolly. I suppose it’s amusing how they encompass the ‘gruesome’, more icky areas of life. But all in all, I’d have to admit, that Calvin and Hobbes proved my life-lesson books o_O

Why I have conversations…

As with anyone, depending on where I am or who I am with, I get bored really, really quickly. So while some people have conversations to learn, to grow, I more often than not have them to be entertained. Sometimes I don’t even listen to what people have to say…I view the exchange of words almost as movie dialogue; temporarily awesome and fitting but ultimately, not worth much.

Perhaps my view is a wee bit short-sighted but the thing is, I latch on to the information I find interesting and discard the rest. The truth is, it adds spice to life to treat every conversational encounter with a dramatic approach ;)

100 Things to do before I die

1.Meet Bill Watterson
2.Sky dive
3.Bungee jump
4.Visit Antarctica and follow penguins as they make their way inland to nest
5.Be a movie extra
6.Write a book
7.Write a series of children’s books
8.Have a pre-primary school
9.Buy a house and paint all of the rooms in bright and exciting colours
10.Work with a graffiti artist
11.Graffitti my entire car >.<
12.Own a Ferrari
13.Own a little green Vespa
14.Pick olives, eat pizza, pasta and ice cream and parade in the Treves fountain mimicking La Dolce Vita in Italy
15.To grow a full vegetable garden that successfully produces veggies
16.To teach/lecture, sharing knowledge and experience
17.To visit the north pole and see a polar bear out in its natural habitat
18.Eat at the most expensive, ta-daa restaurant in the world, have the most expensive bottle of wine…and have someone else pay :D
19.To start a sustainable NGO that assists education
20.To build a wonderful library with thick wooden beams and beautiful carvings, full of books that I have read and only those that I have read
21.To leave home with my life in a suitcase and go exploring the world
22.Be a mother
23.Write freelance for a magazine
24.Visit Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
25.Own a lizard
26.Attend a photography course
27.Open a candy store…hmmm nomnomnom
28.Pose for body paint
29.Participate in a triathlon
30.Participate in the Cape Argus Cycle Tour
31.Sail in and around the Caribbean islands
32.Visit Egypt
33.Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
34.Hike through the Drakensburg
35.To be continued…

My big fat BIG dream

My big fat BIG dream might be ‘world peace’, or better, ‘an end to poverty’, or even, ‘saving the environment’…if of course, I was voted Miss World. As far I know, that has yet to happen and as long as I am just plain old Kerry-Lee Cockrell, my big fat BIG dream currently encompasses the following:

- Jack Black for president.
- A national anthem written and produced by Danko Jones.
- A two day working week.
- A five day weekend.
- Working on the Cake Boss’s team from Carlo’s Bakery, Hoboken, New Jersey.
- Working on the Discovery team worldwide as every AND any job title that would earn me time in ‘the wild’.
- Decadent Dani’s Brownies for breakfast. Everyday.
- Pizza, pasta, hot-out-of-the-oven [B][R][E][A][D] with butter for lunch. Everyday.
- To be and remain a perfect size ten. Forever. With no cellulite. Anywhere. Ever.
- To always have the right amount of money in my pocket for whatever I want.
- To be a king. And rule the world. The whole world. And the universe.
- To have myself depicted as a character in a Tim Burton putty animation movie. Ooooooooooh…
- To live without fear, nerves or cowardice.
- To slap - quite hard - most celebrities who think they are the shish kebabs of the world. Because they aren’t. Most awesome people remain understated.

Conventional is a good fallback position isn’t it?

Don’t you just despise going…well, anywhere, making a comment in a circle of ‘educated’ people and find that NO ONE is willing to put their opinions and thoughts on the line? Oh no, it’s SOOOOO much better to just ‘coast’ the conversation out, never disagreeing or adding to the topic of conversation. Instead merely agreeing, with what I find to be the most annoying head-nodding motion imaginable.

Best part, is having those same people walk away from the circle only to mutter amongst each other snide remarks about the ONLY PERSON WHO WAS WILLING TO THROW THEIR OPINION OUT THERE. I’m just saying…

Dear conventionalists,
You are boring. Grow a pair. Not too big; at this stage, any size will do.
Regards,
The whole world.

You cannot chase two rabbits at the same time

Have you ever had a handful of grocery bags in both hands and simultaneously tried to grab your cellphone from your pocket so as to answer the bleeding thing before it rings off?

If you have, you will know that no matter how you attempt to grab your phone and successfully answer the call, no matter how you try to balance out the weight-to-hand ratio, generally one of the two lands SMACK on the floor. Delightfully so, this in turn results in a never-fun experience of having to chase after your cell, now in pieces, or attend to a glorious egg yolk and shell clean-up.

The analogy is much the same as attempting to chase two rabbits at the same time. IMPOSSIBLE! Unless you know something which you are not telling us in which case I would like to say: WARNING! Messing with vats of toxic waste can be hazardous to your health and insect bites generally bring with them little more than an aggravating rash.

Right, so… we all have more than one dream at a time, but the fundamental crux to the subject of success remains as it has stood for eons: Focus your attention on one thing/dream/project at a time to get the best results.