A Birthday Note

"It's my birthday today..."
"It can't be. No,I distinctly remember you having a birthday last year!" -Tangled

It happens every year,this day of aging. For some it comes in January,for others in December. For one amazing person it comes on precisely the third day of August. On this day, the world has been graced with exactly 20 years of Kate May Hohls.

I met this fine young lady during a gap year in Pinetown,doing YOYL. Through many hugs and tears, a few arguments and a lot of amazing conversations, Kate become one of my closest friends. Even though on some occasions we may both argue otherwise, I love her dearly.


Katie dear, you are absolutely amazing! I never would have made it through the year without you, crying in your office, melting crayons, reading books,drinking coffee, making the camp bus late and so many other joyous occasions.

I still think twice before saying I am doing just "ok" because of the way you used me make me use wonderfully descriptive words.  You are great,fantastic,wonderful and all those other beautiful adjectives.

While this post may not be the most well-written or grammatically correct piece I've ever written, I hope it gives you at least an idea of how wonderful you are. I wish I could give you a heap of presents, like Pinterest clothes or little handmade hearts and other such things, but alas, we live on different ends of the universe. For the next week, whatever you see on Pinterest that you like, pretend it's a gift from me :) ;) Happy, happy birthday my darling friend. I love you like a love song, Katie and keep hitting repea-pea-pea-pea-peat...

The Big Adventures of Three Little People

"To live would be an awfully big adventure"- Peter Pan

On the 13th of June,at 7:35,Rebekah,Daniel and I braved the cold Winter's morning to embark on a shopping mission to Oriental Plaza in Central Johannesburg. We started out just as we would on any other expedition. Armed with hot water bottles and flasks of tea,we piled into the reliable old Jetta and headed off into the mist. With Daniel at the wheel and Rebekah navigating,things went as per usual with missed turn offs and illegal U-turns. Rebekah has,since then, been nominated for The World's Worst Navigator Award while Daniel will soon be decorated with The World's Most Relaxed and Placid Driver medal. 

We moseyed along the highways,three unsuspecting travelers who thought they were at the start of a regular day of shopping. At a particularly busy intersection, Daniel tore off his hat and gloves and said to Rebekah "Hold my fluffies!!!This is getting serious!!!" This statement,followed by yet another illegal U-turn, was a clear sign that this was no ordinary day. 

Our first stop,which we reached after much turning and driving in dodgy areas, was Oriental Plaza. Oriental Plaza is a collection of shops owned mostly by oldish Indian men. Some shops are amazing. Some are not so amazing. One is called Minty's. Yes,really. Maybe the clothes smell great. Or something. One shoe shop was named OOZ. Like ooze,but misspelled. One Bridal shop was called Honey Bee Florist and sold absolutely no flowers. It did, however, have a sink in the corner of the shop. In case you get your hands dirty in there. A children's clothing shop was called Funky Kids. Another Bridal shop serenaded us with the reading of the Torah while we browsed through the plastic cake toppers and blue incense holders. One shop was rather upscale, with crisp suits and beautifully designed waistcoats. Finally, a decent shop... This illusion was shattered by a hand written sign boasting that they sold "The Best Special Trouser." This best-special-trouser was a light cotton baggy elastic banded pair of pants. Because that's exactly what every bride longs to see her groom dressed in as walks up the aisle to her happily ever after.

At one point in the morning, we lost Daniel,only to find him again in a spice shop,sniffing the air. After informing the owner that his shop smelled really good, he took a few more sniffs and we carried on way. Besides interesting shop names and questionable music, we saw several ""No Spitting" signs, a "baby shop" that sold candles and kitchenware, a bookshop that sold cards and Chinese element wind chimes, a lot of fake flowers, odd Indian shoes (which Rebekah tried on) and smelled at least twenty brands of incense.

After that cultural experience, we set off to find the Chinese Mall, which tuned out to be called the Dragon Something Or The Other. The "mall" which was honestly more of a warehouse,was designed in a way akin to the passages of the catacombs. That is,there was hardly any design at all. It was as though some one had  dropped a few rooms at random and connected them with passages and when those were filled up they added another haphazard story,connecting the two with a ramp-like structure that spiraled downwards. To make the addition more official,a large sign proudly stated, Dragon City, Phase 1,2,3,, and so on till a collections of shops merged together to form a building of ridiculous proportions. To save on space,the areas outside the little shops were used as storage areas,so that your stroll through a mall became a climb through boxes of cheap plastic jewelry and naked mannequins.

Besides the suffocating claustrophobia of the place,the smell was indefinably WEIRD.  In one little shop that sold beaded hair clips,plastic bowls and sex tea, Daniel exclaimed "This place smells like I wanna die!" Our thoughts exactly. Upon entering, the place smelt like some one was frying rice. Which,being that it was owned by Chinese people,was quite possible. At some point, however,some must have decided it was time to cook the meat dish and thrown the cat on the wok, because the starchy smell of rice was no more. Needless to say,we did not linger.On our way out, we passed a man selling boots to a lady,shouting "It is less spend,more buy!!!". 

On the bright side,there were quite a few Chinese babies toddling around. Had I been alone, I certainly would have acquired an addition to my family. Rebekah and Daniel don't agree with my theory of Surprise Adoption,so the children remained in the care of their parents.

Mercifully, our day was saved from being a complete misadventure by The Best Restaurant In The World. It was so amazingly wonderful,that it will have it's very own blog post. We ate lunch at this small Indian restaurant with a black doorman and coloured car guards. After encouraging Daniel into his parking space with "Little reverses,little ones" and "Number one!!" these men assured us that the car would be watched with "every eye". Upon emerging from the restaurant,changed people,all three of us, one man loudly exclaimed "It is the Jetta UNTOUCHABLE!" The car was indeed still intact and the man received a generous tip.

The ride home was quiet and sleepy compared to the adventures of the day. A mushroom cloud in the distance was the only interesting sight that entertained us on our journeys. The conversation was lazy and theories of a possible neclear attack were pondered upon. The lethargy was briefly disturbed by an enthusiastic singing along to Hot Chelle Ray's "Tonight".
All in all it was a peaceful ride through the smoggy sunset. And so the big journey of three little people came to an end to the faded words of la la la...whatever....la la la...oh well...

Dear Nobody,Letter #3

"Memories ~ they can sometimes become vague and foggy and there are times when they disappear altogether.
Therefore, because there are many things I don’t want to lose track of, I will record everything in here for the sake of those moments that should not be forgotten." -Haruka's Diary


Dear Nobody,


I have lately been contemplating certain habits. One habit that I am unable to shake is that of obsessively journalling. I do believe I have a fear if forgetting. Some part of me seems to believe that if I forget something,it will be as though that piece of life was never lived. This ridiculous belief is also the reason I am becoming increasingly interested in photography and film making. Both provide the tools to eternally capture a moment and keep it there. And yet...


What is memory really? What makes a moment pause in time. While I can record each detail on paper, or capture a moment on film, I cannot save the way a day smelt or how the felt in a certain moment. And that's what life is, isn't it? It's feeling and smelling and tasting and seeing and hearing. 


One day, some one might find my journals. Perhaps you, darling Nobody. To date, about ten lined notebooks of roughly 192 pages in each. Some written in beautiful penmanship, some scrawled all over in different coloured pens, each filled with notes about my day and those who filled it. That person,however good their imagination, will never live what I have lived. They can read details, hear things from my point of view, but they will never know how I really felt that day.


People can look at my photos, but not see what I saw. No one will really ever understand why I took twenty photos of the same brick in the wall or just what fascinates me about dandelions.


I think, dearest Nobody, what I am trying to tell you in amongst the ramblings of my mind, that the best thing to do is to live each moment so intensely, that even if I were to forget the exact details of the moment, I would always be 100 percent certain that I HAVE indeed lived each moment that has passed. Perhaps it is alright to let some things become foggy and vague in the vault of my min, as long as they were bright and brilliant as they occurred.


So here's to living each moment fully up,to being memorable even if unremembered,to memories,the forgotten and the remembered,the recorded and the unwritten. And to you Dear Nobody,for reading the confused jumble of my mind.


So,till my next letter, I will be here,making memories worth telling you about. And you will be out there,wherever you are,being you. Goodbye Nobody.


Me

Never Never Land

‎"Forget them, Wendy. Forget them all. Come with me where you'll never, never have to worry about grown up things again."-Peter Pan


Growing up has never been at the top of my to-do-list. As one nameless character in a book once stated,"All I really want to do is take photos,make art and find some one who love me enough to kiss my nose."
As my Matric year came to an end I went into a silent panic;I was on the brink of falling face-down into the adult world. And I wasn't ready. I took a gap-year serving at a church in Pinetown,where 12 young adults came together and pretended to be mature for six days a week. We grew older,but not up.


At the start of 2012 I was determined to face the process head-on. Then I got a call from a camp in Zinkwazi. And my whole perspective changed. There was a place where you didn't have to grow up,didn't have to face the real world. In amongst the sugar cane farms in a small coastal village,there is a timeless bubble that exists apart from reality,a never never land filled with people who refuse to join the rest of the human race in being ordinary and growing up. There is a place where the sea is a short walk away,where everyone is family and you can stay just as you are.


In a somewhat commune like environment,our meals are cooked for us,everyone lives together and we are given new names. Add some tamborines and orange robes and you have a cult. Just kidding. While I have never been an extremely social person,I find myself longing for the constant noise and banter of the infamous counselors cabin,Cabin Nine. I miss tripping over surfboards on my way up the stairs and sleeping in a hammock because some one stole my bed. I miss going around barefoot and never quite being able to get rid of the sea sand in my pockets. I miss swimming in the sea before the sun comes up and hearing the ocean as I fall asleep.


I miss the place where people breathe fire and no one knows my name. I miss the world of magic and constant creativity. I miss the people who constantly annoy and challenge me. I miss my ridiculous boss and aggravating co-workers. I miss Never Never Land. I miss home.

The Life That Was

"Remember,as far as anyone knows,we are a nice,normal family"-Button
Some days I still think I'm going to wake up in bed at 26 Austral Rd with Sophie tapping my face,wanting to come lie under the blanket. She had an annoying,darling habit of jumping onto my bed just as I was about to get out of it. Feeling her little footsteps across my blankets was one of my favourite feelings ever.When I'd cuddled with Sophie,I'd have my quiet time in the green,bowl shaped couch with the knife lost inside it. the couch was old,hardly green anymore,really. More of a mouldy grey with an occasional yellow fleck where the sponge was starting to show.

We would all do school in the outside classroom,sometimes getting caught up in pointless debates for hours. We even declared our classroom a country,wrote a history and a charter and gained amazing red indian names. My mother was Chief Mother Moose,Rebekah was lame Duck,on account of her extreme laziness and inability to fetch anything of her own. I was Ugly Bird and Jesse was Little Swaying Antelope. Zoe,poor thing,was dubbed Poop Scoop,for reasons that cannot be disclosed to the public. 
During tea break,the duty fell upon me to make tea and popcorn for the hungry masses. During lunch break,my dad and I would get our daily dose of justice by giving Judge Mathis our impeccable advice.The library would be graced with our critical presence every other Monday,dancing was,at one time,nearly every day. On Friday afternoons before youth we would all endure 45 minutes of music lessons. While the classes never produced any great enjoyment,I am eternally grateful for the skills I have developed on the flute.  
On odd rainy days (and non rainy days) I would watch New Moon and eat chocolate custard with Rebekah,squashed up on my little bed,under a pile of blankets. In between yanking the duvet,readjusting the lap top so that it was exactly in the middle,sometimes falling off the bed or getting knocked into the shelves and repeating certain scenes,we managed to create an excellent sisterly bonding time.  
 
During the afternoons I would swing and journal with Zoe. Sometimes we would just lie on a blanket and look at clouds,talking till there was nothing left to say. So many "What Ifs" and "Imagine You Could" conversations took place during those short moments. There was always something to laugh about and an endless supply of tea. 
Once a week,or more if we found a surprise rerun,I'd watch Law and Order with my mom,racing to the kitchen during ad breaks to make tea and scrounge around for a piece of I-KNOW-I-saved-some-somewhere chocolate. 

More often than not,and unbeknown to most of the rest of the family, my brother and I would sit up in the kitchen or in his room long after everyone had gone to bed,listening to Eminem and,again,drinking tea. We would talk about the oddest things,from how certain Linkin Park songs are a cry for Salvation,relationships,remember whens and what we thought was going to happen in the next episode of LOST. Too many inside jokes were formed during those times. Only Jesse will understand how a painting can be a Scratchy Poo and why giving some one a thumbs up is hilarious.
While my days now honestly are fairly decent,I do think of these times as our good old days,when we all lived in the same country and spoke to one another more than once a month. i miss the noise,the four cats ruling the roost,laughing at the little retard Moo,hearing the two dogs bark at thieving pigeons and not being able to go into the garden because of target practice. My family is absolutely insane,weird,loud and messy.We are all stubborn and strong willed,and like any family we fought.But when it really mattered we always stuck together like a little gang,ganging up on whoever was bullying one of us or having a heart felt funeral for a passing cat. Oh the insanity,I miss being a part of it more than ANYTHING.

Beautiful Things

"You make beautiful things out of the dust.You make beautiful things out of us"-Gungor

Dandelion

My amazing Ouma has taught me many wondrous things. I learnt how to make beaded bracelets in her humid living room. Under her guidance I pressed pansies to absolute perfection. I spent quite some time with stained,pink fingers after she showed me how to dye and press shredded cardboard to make paper. But the one thing I will always remember,the thing she taught me without realizing,is seeing beautiful things. I still remember her saying many years ago,"If i can see just one beautiful thing,my day is complete. And if I can't see it,I will go find it." Ever since then,I have tried,and often failed,to find something beautiful in every day. Sometimes I'm so busy feeling sorry for myself that the myriads of beauties go unnoticed,but I have been getting better at it. And once you get it right,life in general just becomes so much more lovely.

My Ouma and Oupa

Yesterday the sun caught a green and red leaf right at its very tip and the sun rays made a little V of colour. Last night the sky was nearly black and the half-lit moon looked like a drop of light surrounded by tiny pinprick stars. Every day a sprightly little red-head comes knocking at my door to see if I want to come out and play. A great deal of beauty is found in other people's photography. dandelions are,I think,one of the most beautiful things ever. Still,as some smart person once said,true beauty is not found in that which the world sees as beautiful but that which makes the world see beauty. You,darling Ouma,are one of the most beautiful things this earth has seen. Ek is baie lief vir jou :)

Autumn

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."- George Eliot

There is something rather magical about the changing of seasons. Perhaps it is only in my overly imaginative mind,but I could feel the change in the air this morning. The sky was a little bluer,the leaves slightly more yellow and wind just a tad chillier. While September 1 is greatly celebrated for the coming of Spring,I have always enjoyed the first day of Autumn more. Long fluffy socks,hot chocolate and woolly hats will soon be a part of our daily lives again.To honour this glorious occasion,I have changed my blogs background for a while. Autumn is on my list of 100 favourite things about being alive. It is just too lovely. happy Autumn Day :) :)