Reading can do a lot more than just entertain.

I love reading. It is a great hobby. It is not only relaxing but it stimulates the mind as well.

I love reading fiction books. Mostly your romantic/comedy books. I do however occasional read investigative books. It is amazing how you can improve your vocabulary by reading. I have learnt quite a lot from reading.

A tip for all those readers out there...don't be afraid to try new authors or different types of books. There are certain authors who's books I have read so when he or she has written a new book I don't even read the back of the book and just buy it.

I don't like to know what is going to happen in the book before I start reading. So very seldom will I read the write up on the back of the book. On the other hand when I find a book that looks interesting and it isn't by an author that I recognise I will read the back and if I am intrigued by what is written I will buy it.

My Fiancé also enjoys reading. He reads financial books. Now for me that is not nearly as interesting as my books but it is what interests him. So don't be afraid to try something different you never know you might just enjoy it!

Watch this space!

I have officially come to the end of my second year of Btech. After the 5 November I am qualified with my degree in Public Relations Management. It has been an interesting and long two years.

However the emotions that are in me right now are ones of excitement and joy. I will be getting married in a months time and am really looking forward to it. It has been a fun and interesting ten months of planning.

I am really looking forward to beginning a new chapter in my life. There won't be additional things like classes, assignments and tests to worry about just work and my personal life. I am looking forward to what this chapter has in store for both of us and can't wait to marry the man of my dreams.

Right now though I am looking forward to getting my last test over and done with and getting married and going on honeymoon. I have had no leave this entire year and can't wait to have a nice well deserved break. So till then watch this space for more updates!

Exercise

I think people forget our important exercise is. It helps you live a balanced life. I think people forget that although they might be dieting to loose weight they don't exercise as well.

Now if you did both you are not only able to loose the weight you are also able to a heathly individual. You might on the other hand exercise but eat a lot of junk food and then you will struggle to loose weight, get fit and stay healthy.

So look at combining both exercise and heathly eating and you have a receipe for success. I do exercise 3 times a week. Until recently I was eating way to much junk food but now I realised that I need to combine my exercise routine with healthier eating.

Now I am not saying that you must throw everything out of the fridge and the kitchen cupboards but look at possibly chosing a healthier opiton. You will be surprised what that in combination with exercise can do for you both physically and mentally. Try it out! I did.

Conventional is a good fallback position

I have to agree with this statement. It is great if you can come up with creative and innovative ideas. Whether it be in the professional or personal aspects of your life.

Creative and innovative ideas are usually successful when implemented provided you have done enough research and put enough thought into them. However if you are having a 'moment' when that brain of yours can't think creatively and innovatively them you are always able to fall back on the conventional idea.

It might not be very exciting but it will still work and is always reliable. For these reasons I agreed with the statement. However this does not mean that you should always use the conventional ideas purely because you are lazy and don't want to think of something different and exciting. Use those brain cells you were given you will be surprised what you can come up with!

"Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when you only have one idea."-Alain

There is two sides to this quote. Sometimes you can only think of one idea and even though you have spent plenty of time thinking and strategising you can't come up with anything else.

You will then need to run with that one idea. It has happened to me where I need to do an assignment and I can't think of anything and then all of a sudden this one idea pops into my brain. So I either don't do the assignment or try to think of something else and hope that I can come up with something before the assignment has to be handed in or I use the idea.

The end result in my case was good. However sometimes just having one idea can be dangerous. Its like that saying putting all your eggs in one basket. Everything is riding on this idea and if it isn't good then you can find yourself in a situation.

I wouldn't discourage someone to implement something just because it is the only idea that they have. Sometimes all it takes is just one idea!

Communication and its importance

Communication is of utmost importance in all apects of ones' life. Socially you need to be able to communicate with your friends and have common interests.

On a professional level communication is of even more importance. When speaking to someone you might be speaking the same language but might be understanding one another. If you are given instructions from your boss you need to make sure that they communciate those instructions to you properly and that you receive and understand the instructions.

Colleuages need to communciate with one another continuously. This communication should be clear and on a level that both parties can understand.

It is so easy to misinterpret what some else is saying. So a lesson for everyone to learn would be to ask questions if you are not sure what someone is saying to you. Rather be safe than sorry and go and do something without being sure about what you are meant to be doing.

"In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes-You can't choose the 15 minutes but why would you be world famous"Andy Warhol

I agree with part of Any Warhol's quote. I agree with the part that states "why would you be world famous". The first part of the quote I don't agree with, why would everybody be world famous for 15 minutes?

Now I understand that by 'world famous' he probably doesn't mean being an actress or actor. Maybe he means that everybody will get an opportunity to be acknowledged for something that they have done or achieved. It is a very difficult quote to interpret.

However, I stick with my first statement that I don't agree completely with the quote. Although is being acknowledged for something that you have done or achieved considered being world famous?

I don't think so...You might not be able to choose when you succeed in life but you can still succeed and be rewarded for it. Is that beign world famous for 15 minutes that will depend on the person reading and intrepreting the quote.

Wedding Planning

Planning a wedding is never easy, whether you have 1 year, 10 months or 3 months. I am busy planning my wedding at the moment.

My Fiancé and I got engaged at the end of January and will be getting married at the end of November. That left us with 10 months to plan.

The initially check list consisting of what I consider to be the "big" things to arrange and book were fairly easy to do, like: venue, menu, photography, videography, DJ, decor and flowers.

Once we had done that there was a period where the wedding planning took a bit of a back seat and things like work, studies and assignments was at the forefront.

Although it wasn't long until the wedding plans were back on the mind along with everything else. Then the check list of the "smaller" yet equally important things started and that seemed longer than the list of "bigger" things. The depressing part is that this list seems to take longer to get through than the first.

It took us a while to decide on our wedding stationary especially the invitations but once we received them and started handing them out we really started getting excited!

Now I don't consider myself to be a very stressful person and thought I was juggling work, tech and wedding plans quite nicely. Until something like a leaky shower and bust hot water pipe put a spanner in the whole works!!!

I officially had what some people call a small breakdown...just by adding an extra problem onto my plate it tipped the whole plate over. Now I look back and think that I was crazy to let a shower something totally out of my control get to my like that!! In my defense though it wasn't the shower itself rather the problem added to the list of things to do.

It is important to mention that my stresses were shared amongst my family (mom, sister, finacé) creating a great support system for me. You are never alone you will always have someone to help you make a decision.

Now I want to say that we are about 2 months away from the actual date and there are still things to do but have managed to get quite a lot done thus far.

We are really looking forward to the big day and becoming husband and wife!!!

I want to wish all those couples who will be planning their weddings in the future a whole lot of luck, and remember the most important part of the day is not the reception but becoming husband and wife!

"Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read"-Frank Zappa

Is Frank Zappa, singer, song writer and musician criticizing rock music? Music journalism is a form of criticism and reportage about music. Music journalism otherwise known as music criticism comprises of the study, discussion, evaluation and interpretation of music and its performance.

By saying this quote was Frank Zappa criticizing rock music by saying that rock journalism consists of people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, for people who can't read?

Was this Frank's inappropriate way of criticizing rock music? It is definitely an interesting way of looking at something! It is quite strange that he would criticize rock music as he wrote and sang rock music during his career.

Or on the other hand was he trying to say that the music needed to be detailed so that it leaves nothing up to the imagination and everyone full understands to style???

This is a very difficult quote to comment on!

What motivates me...

I don't like leaving things to the last minute. If I am asked to do something I gather all the information that I need to know to do the task and then go and do it.

When it comes to my tech work, I never leave things to the last minute. I always start well in advance and would rather finish it as soon as I can. I don't like working under pressure. If I have to I will but I normally get very stressed out if I have to work under pressure.

So when it comes to my work pressure motivates me to get things done timeously. In my social life my family and fiancé motivate me to be the best person that I can be. This is a different kind of motivation in comparison to my work and studies.

Socially I want to be motivated to be a better person for myself and those close to me.
There can definitely be more than one thing that motivates you depending on the reason you need motivation.

Team Building/Training

For any department team building and training is extremely important. Our department was recently on a four day Diversity Management Training course.

It was very interesting. It gives everyone an opportunity to see your work colleagues in a different light and to get to know them better. It also creates a platform for issues to be addressed and discussed in a fair and appropriate manner.

If facilitated correctly people should feel comfortable enough to say how they will and address certain issues with other colleagues. These forums should occur regularly. As we all know over time things change and people grow and develop and therefore it will allow the department to adjust their goals and commitments.

Businesses should really invest in these forums as it will ensure a cohesive, productive and committed department.

Personal Autonomy - How far does it extend?

How far does personal autonomy extend? Well that will depend on the person.

Using myself as an example...in my work environment my personal autonomy is limited. The reason for this is that I am a junior employee and therefore I am independent on my manager. Sure there a certain tasks that I am able to decide on my own but in most cases I must get confirmation from my manager even if I know what the correct decision would be to make.

In my personal environment however it is different. My personal autonomy is more independent. Its my life so I can make my own decisions. When you are younger though your parents will make those decisions for you until you are old enough to understand and make decisions for yourself.

Personal autonomy really depends on the individual and the way they life their life.

Losing a pet-someone who is part of the family

Within this week one of our dogs passed away. Even though he was old and lived a really long and good life it is still something that you can't prepare yourself for.

We all knew that his time would come sooner or later to leave this world and go to 'doggy heaven' but even though you try to prepare yourself for it, it still hits you hard. My sister found our 17 year old daushound in our pool. He spent most of his time in his kennel and we think that he was on his way to find a place to pass away. Unfortunately along the way he passed on and then fell into the pool.

The fortunate thing is that he passed before hand and didn't fall into the pool and drown. All of our animals are part of the family especially for my mother and sister.

Once he had passed we decided it was better for us to take him to the vet and ask them to bury him for us.

It is hard to realise that he is gone and I think about him quite often but am glad that he has gone to a better place. Losing a pet in our family is like losing a family member. We will always remember him!

Internship students

Things have changed since I was an intern in 2007. I have found recently that some interns walk into a company and think they are going to take over the entire department.

This is not the case in with all interns don't get me wrong, just some of them have very different ideas of what an internship entails.

I remember when I was an intern, I did what I was told and worked hard in the year that I was at the particular company. It is about being grateful for the job that you have and taking the opportunity to learn all you can.

Knowing that at the end of the internship you will be able to qualify with your National Diploma. Although I have found that nowadays some interns think very differently. Some even question jobs given to them and ask: "Is this really what I am supposed to be doing?"

I think that this problem goes back to the university or college that the students come from. Are the lecturers preparing students sufficiently for internship by outlining their role in the department that they are going to work?

I also think that a main reason is the attitude of some of the students, that they have spent the last 2 years learning all the theory and now feel that they know everything!!! How is that possible??? That is my question. I have a permanent job in a company and have been working for over 2 years and know that I still have lots to learn. People who have been in companies for 25 years are still learning.

I think that at the end of the day interns need to know their place within a company that can benefit both them and their employer.

My comment on the CPUT August Strike

There has been a huge increase in the registration fees over a short period of time for all CPUT students. It is understandable that students and parents are not very impressed with this decision.

As a CPUT part time student I don't have any problem with students wanting management to know that they are unhappy with the decision and wish to exercise their right to strike. There is however a correct and incorrect way of doing that.

Gather on campus, talk through the issues at hand and make yourself heard, but don't vandalise CPUT's property. At the end of the day CPUT will require more money to fix all the damage done on campus. Students mustn't intimidate other students who do not take part in the strike and wish to attend class.

The fact that the protesting students are mugging fellow students and vandalising the property is not at all going to solve the problem at hand which is the increase in registration fees.

I feel that there is a right and wrong way of doing this and what these students are doing is definitely the wrong way!!! Their actions have caused management to cancel classes to ensure the safety of staff and students. This is definitely not the way to go about getting what you want.

10 most unexpected consequences about being online

1. Waiting for the websites you want to visit to download.

2. Remembering the many passwords you have to get into these websites.

3. Friends knowing when you have logged in on your Facebook page and want to chat, even when you are not in the mood.

4. People wanting to follow you on twitter and you can't tell anything about them from their short profile. "Accept"??? or "Decline"???

5. Trying to fully understand the social networking sites that you are using and their full potential.

6. Understanding that although these sites are about communicating, to much communication can also be a bad thing.

7. Trying to take these social networking sites and apply them to strategic business plans.

8. The total length of time it takes to post a blog, status update or tweet online.

9. How something you write can be understood in many different ways depending on the reader.

10. Reading into someone else's blog, status update or tweets and making your own conclusions.

Every day is a good day

Every day can be a good day depending on how you look at it. If you take each day and just look at what happens on that particular day then it could be seen as a good day.

It is when you start comparing one day to the next that you start to realise some days are better than others. Some people can just focus on one day at a time and have a very positive attitude and see every day as a good day.

I unfortunately can't do that. I compare one day to the next. Some days traffic is really bad, I drop my cellphone and the screen no longer works or we have a fire in our building so for me those are not good day days at all.

When interesting things happen like accompaning a cameraman around Cape Town Station for a tv programme to see the upgrades for 2010 or go into studio to watch the tv programme come together those are things that make good days.

So in my opinion not every day is a good day, but for some people it is it just depends on the person and how positive your attitude is.

Our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses

For some people their greatest strengths can be their greatest weaknesses. I have a particular strength that falls into this category.

Talking was something I loved doing from a very early age. If you missed a tv programme or anything for that matter, I am the person to tell you what happened. I tell you the whole story not leaving any details out. I am so thorough that you don't even need to ask me any questions because I would have answered all your questions in telling you the story.

Communication is my thing...most of the time it is one of my greatest strengths but sometimes it can also be my greatest weakness. The reason why I say this is that sometimes when people ask me a question I normally will give them the full explanation rather than leaving all the other details out and just provide the answer to the question. It is because of this that I sometimes lose the interest or attention of the person that I am talking to.

I need to learn to read people before I start communicating with them. Figure out if I can give them the whole story or just provide the answer. It is very difficult though...this is the way I communicate and it is not easy to force myself to just provide a short answer to the question.

This is the reason why some people get frustrated with me...but most of the people know what I am like and are used to the way I communicate. So yes, your greatest strengths can be your greatest weaknesses.

Feelings follow behaviour

Behaviour stems from the way your parents brought you up. The values they taught you, the morals they instilled in you and teaching you the difference between right and wrong.

This is what defines your behaviour and therefore everyone will behaviour in a different manner. Behaviour can be acceptable or unacceptable. This is determined by the person, based on the way they were brought up.

As a result feelings follow behaviour. People will determine whether other people's behaviour is acceptable based on what they know and have experienced. Feelings are then expressed based on the way one person behaviours towards another.

Behaviour needs to take place first and the feelings will follow. It is like an reaction to an action.

It is better to practice a little than talk a lot.

For someone like me being in the industry that I am in talking is part of my job. I feel that communication is important, not only in my job but in my day to day life.

The saying "practice makes perfect" does come to mind when I look at this statement and I understand the importance of practicing. It applies to anything that you want to do whether it is in your job or a hobbie or interest that you have. The more you practice it the better you get.

As important as this is, as a Marketing and Communications Officer communication is of utmost importance to me. Not only do I communicate to my colleges but I also communicate to our customers.

So I don't think that practice should talk preference over talking! I think that you should spend as much time practicing as you should talking. What you talk about you can also put that into practice. Rather exercise both tasks rather than concentrate on one or the other.

It is a poor idea to lie to yourself.

Some people prefer to lie to themselves. They do it so that they don't have to face to truth. The only problem with that is that the lies always catch up with you.

It might start off as one small lie but generally that lie leads to another lie and then another and another. Eventually you can't even remember what you lied about in the beginning. For some people the more they tell the lie whether its to themself or others the more they start to believe that it really is true.

It is a poor idea to lie to yourself. Why would you want to deceive yourself like that? You are only making things more complicated for yourself, never mind the other people that you are also telling the lie too.

Face the truth, whether it is hard, ugly or complicated...thats life! You will find a way to work though it. You might even surprise yourself! Don't let the lies get the better of you.

No all who wander are lost.

Not everyone that wanders is lost. It might just mean that they are procrastinating. Everyone is busy and everyone has many things to get done in a day but that doesn't mean that we are always looking forward to doing them.

There might be that meeting you are just not wanting to attend, so you decide to first go to the bathroom and then take the long way round the office to the boardroom. For some its the hard, driven personal trainer that you might be trying to avoid. For others its the process of walking around the shopping centre not really taking in everything around you, but just aimlessly walking from one end to the other.

Just because you spend time wandering it doesn't mean that you are lost, it might just mean that you are not in a hurry to get somewhere. So no all who wander are lost they are just prolonging the inevitable.

How do you step from the top of a 100-foot pole?

My life keeps me really busy. I have a full time job in Communications, I study part time to obtain my Degree in Public Relations Management, I exercise three days a week and still have time for my personal things like my home, fiancé, socialising etc.

I am proud of the things that I have accomplished throughout my life and the things that I am currently doing. I feel that because of where I am in my life and all the things that I do I am at the top of the 100-foot pole.

This is not a easy place to be...you constantly need to make sure that you continue to stay on top of the pole, meaning to continue to do the things that I have been doing without letting anyone of them lack in anyway or the other.

To some people my achievements might not be what they feel warrants being at the top of a 100-foot pole but that's their decision. Everyone is different and their expectations for themselves are different.

So right now I would not be stepping down from the pole. I will through hard work continue to stay at the top until I have completed the current goals in my life and choose new ones. Once I have chosen new goals I will step down from the 100-foot pole only to work on them until I get to the top of the pole once more. For me that is how you step down from a 100-foot pole!

We are what we do.

I have been reflecting on this topic for the last week and I have arrived the conclusion that this statement is wholeheartedly true.

I firmly believe that one's actions reflect not only one's state of mind but character as well. You can tell a lot about someone by various factors such as: dress sense, taste in music, career choice, interests, hobbies, reading habits and choice in partner.

For instance I decided to study Public Relations Management because I have a flair for languages which relates to me being a good communicator. Another factor that relates back to what I do is the fact that I am a avid reader.

So you don't always have to strike up a conversation with someone to get to know them, you can always just spend sometime observing what they do on a daily basis. This would give you a clear indication as to what type of person they are. Just bear in mind that although you can tell a lot about someone by observing what they do, you can't always just base you opinion on that as you can't always judge a book by its cover.

we are what we do.

We are afraid of the wrong things.

I think that this statement applies to many people. People who worry about what others think of them, people who rack their brains trying to remember what last they wore when going out with that group of friends. People who are afraid that they will be judged by others because of what clothes they wear, what car they drive or where they live. Those are the people who are afraid of the wrong things.

To me those are petty things in life to be afraid of. I personally don't think that I fall into that category of people. Things that I am afraid of are; making sure I look at the prices of groceries while doing my monthly shopping before putting them into the basket. Making sure that I always have my seat belt on and all the doors are locked while driving. Being very vigilant while walking to my car after class at night.

Now these are the situations/things that I am afraid of. Put into perspective what is important to you. Once you have done that, the things that are most important to you are the things that you are most afraid of losing. Life is too short to be afraid of things that aren't really important in terms of the big picture for your life. So don't let those things take up too much of your time!

What is the colour of the wind?

This question has never crossed my mind before…rather an interesting question though, but what is interesting to me is the answer people will give to the question.

My answer to what is the colour of the wind?...depends of what the wind is carrying at the time. If the wind is blowing through the trees carrying with it leaves, then the colour of the wind would be green. If I am walking through the streets and the wind is carrying dirt, whether it be papers or packets then the wind would be an array of different colours based on the colour of the dirt.

At the beach if the wind is blowing and carrying sand with it, then the colour of the wind would be brown. There is not one specific answer to this question. Each person will provide a different answer depending on how they interpret the question. The wind doesn't have a specific colour, however it can be a colour based on what is has picked up and carried with it.

If the wind is blowing leaves that have fallen onto the ground around in circles, then you are experiencing first hand nature taking its course, but if the wind is blowing dirt around then you are experiencing mans actions which is negatively impacting the wonders of nature. The wind is a fascinating wonder of nature.

Topics to write about.

1. How wide communication has become?

2. The importance of keeping in touch on a professional and personal level.

3. Multi-tasking...has it become the norm?

4. How important is your social life?

5. Do you feel that the world is forcing you to grow up quicker than you should?

If I were the boss...

If I were the boss...

I think that everyone has thought about this at one time or another. You always think...I would change this, that and the other, but when it actually comes down to it I think it is a much harder job to do than people give it credit.

I believe in being fair. It is not a hard or difficult rule just that the same applies to everyone. I think it is an important rule to have. As the boss I would also give my staff constructive criticism. Not a shouting match but if a staff member does something wrong then talk to them about it and explain that things are not done like that and how he/she can do it better next time. I understand it is difficult especially when some people might think that you are being racist, but if you think that the person might feel picked on, address the entire department regarding a certain issue instead of just that person that way you are not picking on anyone.

I understand that as a boss you can't babysit your staff all day especially when your office is not near the staff. In this case I would however make a point of finding out what is happening in my department on a regular basis. Other than managing staff you also have the responsibilities that come with being the boss and that is not an easy task. For me personally its a bigger task to manage the staff than managing the work responsibilities. At the end of the day I would want to be a boss that my staff can learn from and grow as individuals in the industry. To me that is one of the attributes of being a great boss!

SA Bands suck?

South African bands...Who are they? And where are they? I think I can count on one hand the number of SA bands that I hear on the radio on a regular basis. I understand that SA artists are trying to make their mark on the industry, but it is nothing in comparison to the mark that the USA, UK and even European artists are making.

Some of the Idols contestants have done quite well for themselves...Jodi Williams, Heinz Winkler, NKD etc, but generally you hear the winner for a while and then they just go MIA!!! A perfect example of that is Karen...where is she now??? Another thing to note is... how many children whose parents are in the industry also become singers??? Even if they are not any good.

Now taking a look at the other side of the coin...bands like Freshly Ground have done really well. Their music is funky and catchy while the words to their songs are based on our country and cultures which is different.

I don't know what to put the problem down as...is it because their style of music doesn't entice the public or are their bands, cds not being marketed properly or is it simply because they are not good artists? For me it is difficult to say I think it could be a combination of all but I what can say is that I am not a huge fan of SA bands!

Designer PR

Options are what today's world is all about. It is inevitable, even if all you are asking for is the simpliest option it is still an option none the less. Creating something new like Designer PR is great. PR practitioners are constantly trying to be on par with marketing, branding and advertising. And yes it is about time that PR owned the customer but it still boils down the the fact that it is yet another option that people need to choose from.

Designer PR is here and by the sounds of things is going to be a big step up for PR and putting PR right on top. To me Designer PR is tailor-making PR to best suit the company to which it is part of and the customer that it serves. I still believe that PR even though it is evolving and becoming more of a niche service should still have management functions. I am not saying that you shouldn't try doing things differently, being original or innovative but still have management functions to put PR up there with all the decision makers. By being up there that is what is going to get all your original and innovative ideas heard and ultimately allowing you to succeed!