Friday, August 12, 2011

Try a Cliche

Life is short, so we need to try new things. Why not try a cliché? Come on… what is the worst that can happen? It is as easy as pie, but if you struggle, I will even lend you a hand. Many hands make light work and we have all the time in the world!
It can be a win-win situation if you offer to return the favour. I’ll cut the chase and get right to the point: I’m in the dog box, it is as clear as writing on the wall! See money is the root of all evil and that is what got me under. I tried to push my luck and robbed Peter to pay Paul. I know I should have left sleeping dogs lie, but life is a bitch and so is she and I believe it isn’t over till the fat lady sings.
See, there is this girl I know, but we don’t see eye to eye. If her looks could kill I would have been 10-feet-under. Her dad laughs all the way to the bank, but she never puts her money where her mouth is. She is going to end up just like him because in this case the acorn does not fall far from the tree. It’s okay though, money does not buy you happiness so she will get what she deserves. If that girl doesn’t pull up her socks, she will find herself on the bench – alone, miserable, deprived, lonely, and all that jazz. She can have all the money in the bank, but with a sour face, she will be the one who is all dressed up and has nowhere to go. That girl needs to come back to earth and realize that all that glitters isn’t gold!
We will have to keep our eyes peeled to see when the coast is clear and quickly think outside the box on how we will give her a taste of her own medicine. As soon as I have all my ducks in a row, we can go back to square one and everything will be as good as gold.
Last but not least, I will be as free as a bird because that is the way that lady luck dances.
What? You still need pearls of wisdom with trying out clichés? In your dreams!

Ink & Bling: Destructive Or Creative?

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and nowadays we see it decorated with colourful designs and metal studs and rings. For years, people have been decorating their bodies with tattoos, piercing and other forms of body art for a number of reasons. It is interesting to know that the origin, symbolism and variety of these body decorations are more than skin deep!
Years and years ago, tattoos and piercing were used by tribal clans for artistic expressions or to donate social and marital status and express religious beliefs. The Polynesian people are known for the most artistic tattooing of ancient times. They added more and more tattoos to their skin until they were totally covered. The reason thereof was because they saw it as a sign of beauty and strength. The Mexicans, too, were famous for their tattoo designs as they started to ink the faces of their idols and gods on their skins.
Polynesian tattoos
People get tattooed or pierced for various reasons. For some it is about the excitement and pleasure, for others it is about self-expression and social significance. Others get tattooed or pierced to identify a significant change in their life or for it to serve as a memory of some kind, for example a tragedy that the individual had to overcome or for the death of a loved one. Pain also plays a role with body art. All people experience some sort of pain in their life. Tattoos, specifically, are often used to overcome the pain (one pain takes over another) or to express the pain they are suffering.
The youth are mostly influenced to getting their skin decorated and the media plays a huge role. During your youth years, you are trying to identify yourself in the world – who you are and what you want to be like. They often turn to their role models to find their identity. Most celebrities and role models had some type of body art done and the youth follow their style in order to identify with them. Famous tattooed and pierced role models include Angelina Jolie Pitt, the Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson, Drew Barrymore, David Beckham, Vin Diesel, Johnny Depp… the list goes on and on. See the http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/celebrity_tattoos_n.htm for more.


Celebrity tattoos
Although body art is a very creative and symbolic way to express oneself, it is not always seen in positive light. In the Bible, Moses forbids any paintings or cuttings of the flesh in Leviticus 19:28; the Roman and Japanese Emperors had laws against tattoos; and even the over-expressive French had a national law against tattoos in 1869. People (mostly parents) are very against the act of decorating the skin. Both piercings and tattooing can cause medical problems of some sort which includes infections, chipping of teeth and scared body tissue. It is also seen as being destructive to your body – like anorexia, bulimia and obesity. I think the most negative part of having body art is that it affects our professional image. We have all established that first impressions lasts – what will an interviewer think when you walk in with skulls on your arms and a ring through your nostrils? The business world is conservative and that is the way we are suppose to look. Right? Maybe not…
Times are changing and the world (including people’s perceptions on body art) should change with it. Almost every has, or has temped, to get a tattoo or piercing. Personally, I have 6 piercings: 2 in each earlobe, one in my Tragus (the small part of cartilage just in front of the opening of the ear) and one in my navel. I am also really passionate about getting a tattoo at some stage – but the tattoo needs to mean something to me so I am waiting for a sign or significant event before I get one. Although I am Christian (and grossed out with the extreme forms of body art on some people) I am not against tattoos and piercings. I think that it is a unique way of expressing, accepting and understanding yourself.What body art do you have and if you do/don’t, what is the reason? No answer can be right or wrong. You are free to be yourself and to express your in a way that makes you feel comfortable

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

…unless your job is only to talk, which is highly unlikely.
This topic made me curious about the statistics surrounding the truth in what people say. When someone says they are going to do something, how often is that statement half-hearted and how often do we actually mean what we say? If anyone has any info of a study on this topic please let me know in the comment thread below…
Daily we subconsciously scan the attitudes and characteristics of people to determine whether they are just ‘blabber-mouths’ or if they really are going to do as they say. It’s a human defence mechanism, if we didn’t have it we wouldn’t worry about who to trust and who not to trust.
Blabber mouth by Planta
We generally find it easier to have confidence in people when they walk their talk. Isn’t it so that you more often than not disregard what people promise if you have no proof or experience of them  sticking to their word?
It is altogether a good thing to be human, especially because this way of judging a person’s character can bring surprises too (That is of course if they actually DO end up walking their talk).
What we should strive to do is believe in people and encourage them to bring to life their words. Tell them you are excited to see them craft their thoughts and that speech into action. If that doesn’t work try reverse psychology*.
Truth is, that the time it takes for you to spin a story about amazing things you are going to achieve, is directly proportional to the time it would take to practice a little toward actually reaching that goal.
If the goal you’re striving toward includes the learning of a skill or is simply defined by a trial and error process, you better get practicing! (If I was a douche-bag this line would have been replaced by a cliché saying, about practice.)
*Known to work specifically well when used on the male human species.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Wedding cake in the middle of the road

I think this means story time…
It’s the day of the wedding and Betony, the wedding coordinator, is praying for the day to end and for this wedding to end. Betony has had the worst time arranging the wedding  as she had to deal with a bride and groom from hell, A.K.A Bridezille and Groomzille.
So many changes were made all the time that nothing was set in stone until about a week ago. Everything had to be done in a very short period of time and Betony had conquered it all, well the only thing left was picking up the wedding cake.
The wedding starts in half an hour and Betony is on the way back with the cake in her van when she realises she has flat tyre. She calls a friend to come help her change the tyre and decides to remove the cake from the van to do so. Luckily it was easy to move cause it was on a tray with wheels. Whilst the wheel is being removed and fitted with a new one a slight breeze comes past at the same time the bride’s limo drives past and realises her weeding cake in the middle of the road.
What do you think happened to Betony?