My Avatar

If i had an avatar, she would probably look like that and her name would be Cleonytri. I had been looking forward to watching James Cameron's movie and the excitement over the technology used was no small thing. We kept on waiting while carrying on with our normal day to day life and then it was announced to open in December. Many reviews popped up on the internet and i couldnt help but read, when the movie was finally premiered.

The main theme i kept picking up was how stunning The Humanoids and Pandora, the Na'vis' homeland was, with the 3d and IMAX viewing especially, another strong point was the blatant racism, imperialism and some other -isms which are not so good contained within the movie, the political, environmental themes and what not. i didnt want to be bothered, i wanted to watch the movie anyway unlike district 9 which i haven't still seen. Avatar was being compared to movies and animations like Ferngully, Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas e.t.c. I would be daft if i say i didn't notice the recurring theme. 'White' man goes to native land to basically wreck havoc by stealing resources. One lone man and sidekick(s) breaks away after a romantic encounter with a native most likely daughter of the village head , then becomes the hero of the natives by turning against initial party. This..some say is every 'White' man's dream, so he can do away with the guilt which has been inherited him. Basically i didnt buy the story, but that wasnt what i wanted to see so off to the cinema i went.

I watched Avatar in 3d with a friend at The Gate, the most annoying thing was that i had to wear the 3D glasses on my own spectacles.lol, i did have my eyes and head spinning after a while. but i was really amazed at the 3d tech, i resolved that i would still see the movie in IMAX, which was my original plan anyway, i also wanted to take the 3D glasses away, i mean c'mon! i paid for those things! lol.

 Some weeks later i went to Odeon to see it in IMAX with another friend at 9:45am!! on a saturday morning, because seats where so booked! i was amazed at myself. lol. We got there and behold, a very long queue! it could only be for Avatar. We got in and went on to enjoy the movie. i dozed off lots of times, cos u know its a really long movie.lol but seeing it in IMAX makes all the difference, my eyes didnt spin as much, the screen was so clear, i thought my eyeballs had reverted back to the original shape.It was great!

Even though the story wasnt new plus overdone, and the lead character not very engagng, i enjoyed the movie. Even though i thought the Na'Vi's were a mash up of Red Indians and some South African tribe.. Even though i thought the features of the Na'Vi were grossly disturbing and i did see the racist undercurrents..Its a movie to watch and only at the Cinema..and in IMAX 3D!! :D

P:S Next stop Alice in Wonderland! Can't wait!

The Equality Bill.

I mentioned in one of my posts about how i walked into church one Sunday morning and the prayer point raised was against the Equality Bill. I read about the bill and the long and short of the matter was that if the bill was passed would have required church groups to hire homosexuals or others whose manner of life is inconsistent with their teaching. 

What i garnered from this was, if the 'Church' wasn't run as such an institution it would have no need to pray against such kind of things, this issue wouldn't come up at all. But given the way things are now, praying against the bill seemed like the thing to.And the great thing now for them is that, the prayers have been answered. 

The House of Lords as on Monday defeated changes to the bill. Peers voted 216 to 178 in favor of Lady O’Cathain’s amendment to retain an exemption for religious groups to equality employment laws. Now that seems like a great thing, but i cant help feeling that this further Alienates the church from the majority of people. I really wouldn't want to be a part of an organisation that is discriminatory.

Something I've never Done!!

Just did something I've never done in my WHOLE life! I cooked.....fried rice.......at 1 in the Afternoon!!!!



  

Sticking with PDP

I have decided to adhere to my PDP, no not the political party.. my Personal Development Plan. It is part of my New year resolution, actually its taking the resolutions one step further and i have the major ones outlined. Under each of them, i will reflect on the past week, the things i did and score myself pass/fail and then decide how to make things right!

Communicating Effectively

The way i want to achieve this is to listen more to what people have to say, pay attention to briefings and guide my mind from drifting too far way. On my course, i would say i moved a step up in school but home was a disaster, So far just under a few days, i have suffered some setbacks. There was a huge misunderstanding in my house, i have no idea where it came from, and sadly i have lost all communication signals..not all, some really.lol. I don't know how to salvage this situation..really. i give my self a FAIL on this even though i did communicate better with course mates and my friends (one amidst tears, i'm such a crybaby sometimes!)

Discarding Negative habits
I am a late sleeper and that leads to my waking up late in the morning, which i really cant have anymore. I need to be up by at the least, 7am every morning, i try to target 6, because i tend to snooze even after the alarm has gone off. Also, i am giving up on procrastination little by little, i was about to postpone writing this post..but i told myself i must get it done now and here i am! I definitely passed on this! i never got to school late last week, i also turned in my portfolio of practice on time! PASS. This week, i hope to keep up and also identify any other bad habit and deal with it appropriately!


Writing Better
This is definitely a FAIL, i am sad about it, the way to achieve this objective is to write something everyday on a particular topic and read some literature, and i failed WHOLLY last week. This week, i intend to do it!

Working Harder

This is a work in progress and yes, PASS on this. The new project for this semester is one that is really interesting and last week, i was assigned specific tasks which i took up with ZEAL, i even managed to teach some course mates all the techie stuff, hehe. This week, i will do my best! ^_^

Ignoring Naysayers
I have always been good at this..i tell myself, but there is a certain limit on a humans' soul. Anyways, there were moments last week where i felt like "???" completely clueless. Like..what am i doing, i remember walking through a group of my course mates who had been chatting and as i walk pass, its all quiet like you could hear the crickets..heehee. I realized i really don't have issues with people... i really don't, i just like the simple life and many seem to have issues with that. I'm grateful for the tiny bunch of friends i have..its not like they are pumping positive words and flattery down my ears, there is a honest advice and encouragment which such friends give and you are ready to become a better person even just for their sakes. PASS for last week, this week will surely be better!

Get Involved!
My friend says he worries about me, cos i dont seem to have much of a social life! lol, i don't know, i cant say i really want to go out there meeting lots of people, its not just me. Anyways this week, i resolved to be involved as much as possible, yup a PASS! I attended quite a number of lectures on Design and Design thinking, it was definitely rich and worth the time, my mind was overclocking and a bit bogged.lol. I was also to attend the Haiti fund raiser yesterday which i missed, so sad about it. I also signed up for dog-walking (You know how much i love dogs :)). A non profit activity to help Seniors walk their dogs. i intend to continue next week, and its even diversity week at my school! i should have lots to do and lots to blog about ^_^

Show Creativity

I want to achieve this objective by illustrating everyday, by learning more about the Theories and Practice of design, also to write down my ideas, an idea everyday. I did illustrate this week, but it wasn't everyday and i also didn't write my ideas down. Even though i did learn more about Design..i give myself a FAIL on this and will work harder this week, to give myself a pass at the end.

Not bad for my first week, can't wait to see what the 'morrow would bring, can you?

Recap.

Well it is a new week and i know i should probably be referring to my PDP (Personal Development Plan) i will get on that ASAP. But i got to say that i feel some sort of energy. I dont feel as subdued as i used to be (maybe its the maca.lol).

My weekend was great, from friday had my friend over, we talked and talked, then we went out. I was supposed to meet with my coursemates and have a ball, but they were wasted by the time we got there, still we had some fun, danced, i had a glass of white wine (very nice brand) on the house.lol

Got home and didnt go to bed until i had something to eat which made me really sleepy, got up at about 10:30am, had to go for a Mary Kay constumer appreciation event and lecture. We got free gifts and i was 80% sure i wanted to become a consultant. right now...not so much. I dont think i am ready now, i must say..i still have time to cancel, but i will wait a little while.

Sunday, i went to church, and when i got there, the pastor was raising a prayer point about the Equality Bill, i really didnt understand what it was , but they were praying against it. i made a point to ask, and to just check online about the whole thing.

i did check and what i read wasnt very pretty, i just thought that the whole problem comes from the ''religion'' of a thing and how its being organised. i will make a seperate post about it.

Also, i got a huge bill, its really silly and i felt very terrible about it, but to pay that bill some things definitely have to give..All my shopping ends now, im only getting really necessary things and food of course.

I own someone a call, i must do that like right now.. :)

This week

I have a portfolio of practice to submit, My very good friend Peter, is coming to see me on wednesday, he's getting into the country today, cant wait to have a blast, but it seems like the hosue is going to be a full one, My housemate says his friend is coming tommorrow. wow i dont know how its gonna be, keeping my fingers crossed.

Coursemates

not still getting in sync with these people, some..kinda, some....never.

Course

Cant wait to handle what this semester brings. :D

Pandora's Box.

So i finally turned in the essay, i didn't realise i was late for submission and my paper was set aside for a markdown, luckily the letter to the PG office explaining myself (i was two hours late)got through to them and they let me off, thank GOD!

In one of our sessions, the lecturer BJ, talked about how many people are happy to just live life on the go, whatever comes, they just go with the flow and still turn up genuinely happy. While people like me, who would question everything will never get satisfied that way.

While i wrote the essay, lots of things began to turn up, its not honestly to do an analysis on yourself, there are lots pushed deep down, things you are afraid to touch and like my fellow Geordie would say 'Ah canna toich it'

One part of the essay was to make a summary of our strengths and weaknesses, this is how mine turned out.

The main strengths I have identified include, Creativity, Innovative tendencies in the view of work, the ability to generate original ideas proves really useful for my career development. We live in a world that is fast-changing and its been proven over and over that the ability to come up with something new, a design that works, makes the difference. I have a curiosity to learn and try out new things, I will always question the old, so that I can move on to the new. Another strength of mine, is my ability to keep promises and honour commitment. Every organization could use a honest person, someone whose word you can have as gold, integrity. I am a very tenacious person, against the odds I try to do things to the best of my ability, there's also dedication. If there's a project or work to be done, I stick to that one thing (the theorist in me) and will not rest until it has ended, finished, basically done with.
Others include , being a good listener, I readily lend a ear because of my high tendency for empathy. I love being helpful and enjoying teaching others, being able to meet deadlines, caring about people. I am actually easy to talk to, people are surprised but I make people at ease. I have a great sense of humour, my house-mates complain I laugh too much, but then they complain about almost everything.

The weaknesses that I have identified are not being able to communicate my thoughts, to communicate feedback effectively, also the tendency of being a perfectionist, expecting too much of others, questioning people's motives, getting annoyed easily, being impatient, wanting to work at a faster pace than my team-mates, and when at home I begin to procrastinate. I could also be very lazy, lack drive and slip into my comfort zone. I tend to start things and end up not finishing because I never get satisfied, there's always something to add or take away.

I have two very sharp contrasting sides, I am dreamy yet logical, a carefree worrier , it confuses me a lot and could end up becoming a hindrance to proper career development. I do not like asking people for feedback on me, I tend to avoid people because I hate conflicts. Careers are built on relationships with people and if I do not work on these weaknesses, there is no way my career will develop the way I really want.

Self-analysis is a continous process, and one other task in this assignment was to draw up a personal development plan which covers a certain period of time. I want to ease some of my weakness, work on them and be a better person each day in this period. Some of the things i have put down, are to make a log in my school portfolio blog, each week to measure my progress, success or fail. If i don't set myself straight no one else could :)

Flux 110110

I always thought myself liberal, open minded, fair and quite tolerant. The results from the Johari window developed by peers and close relations tells that much. I'm basically laid-back and carefree about many issues.

Yesterday I went through my blog,my writing was as best juvenile and some of my opinions, I have to say have changed drastically, I won't outline them in this post but I know sometime when I have the cause to blog about it, I would.

I know I have grown as a person and I want this blog to be a reflection of that, when I saw some of the posts I made earlier, I wanted to edit them..but I realized it would be to no avail. What is important, is the fact that I have grown as a person, can't say I have gotten anywhere, but self-awareness is a great step, and having a recorded time-line that documents this, priceless.

Yesterday, I told my friend I would blog more, weekly atleast, not only because I want to document/tell folk whats been happening in me life, also to develop skills i suddenly see are extremely crucial. I wish I had done so earlier.

I start off with today's post of course :) The last Binary day of January.

N:B: I will also start using my own illustrations, very soon :) pwomise

Confuzzled

Awake, still thinking of how to get this essay together
Discovered new music today,
Above and Beyond, a British Trance group
I really like. :))

Awake, and this won't write itself,
I have always found it easy getting into someoneelses'
'mind' and still be fluent about it,
But when it comes to mine, I am stuck, so stuck, so stuck, so stuck.

Know Thy Self

I've got this course, that is probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my whole life as a student. The course is called Developing the Inter-disciplinary self, it is so...honestly I never thought I would feel so burdened. I also have a 3000 word essay to complete and submit on Tuesday the 12th...I haven't finished with 1000 words. It seems daunting and I know what to do.

The essay is all about analyzing my self and why self-analysis is important and I have to use various tools and books to make the body of work a whole.

It seems pretty interesting but its extremely difficult. i am writing this blog post to give me a clear head, to help me organize my thoughts and put them down in writing..

I will finish up by Tuesday, but I want to finish good.

Self analysis and continuous self development is a task which must be approached with all honesty and it must not be taken as a ride. it is extremely important for personal growth. we can't run away from ourselves therefore we must know it.

2010

I welcome myself to this new year, I know it began like every other day but I'm so glad to see 2009 gone!
Lots of Resolutions this year, I've never really had like, the need to write them down. I always knew, I wanted everyday to bring me closer to the person i want to be. I wanted everyday to make me a better person, to bring some sort of fulfillment.
*deep inhale*

In this year, I want to achieve something tangible, I need to have that, I want some form of growth in the way I live, the things I eat, the health of my body and my hair..I want to see better.

I want to communicate more effectively,
I'm gonna.

I'm going to show my kindness more outwardly.
I will definately try.

oh yeah! I have to stop writing Definitely as Definately.lol

I know Family is first and foremost...I pray to never let them down.

I will not tolerate bad air around me, any negative aura must be gone!

I'm going to start things and finish them.

well, lots more but i will just leave them as points.

The List

1, Learn more about the THEORY and PRACTICE of DESIGN

2, Develop Great Habits

3, BE Positive

4, Learn to Write better

5, Work Harder

6, Ignore Naysayers

7, Make IT better

8, Get Involved

9, Be Kind

10, Have Passion

11, Dont Lie!

12, Draw something (i love faces though) EVERYday

I think this is not so much, to have for the new year.lol

So help me God! :D








HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Massive End of 2009 post

2009.

This has been the most eventful year so far.
The experience through this year is so thick, I couldn't cut it with a knife
I'd need a chainsaw.

Things i did.

Served my nation
Went back to my natural hair
Got into school for my masters degree
Cut off toxic relationships
Trying to live life on my own

Things unexpected.

Friction between my dad and I
Missing my Flight
Deaths of lots of people

Lessons Learnt

Life is short, Live it
Death is nothing to be afraid of.