Nike Run Jozi Night Race

On March 21, 2010 Avon and I hit the streets of Jozi with a 10 000 other excited runners. If you are not a runner you are probably thinking what could convince people to run 10km for Mahala (for free). But once you have the running bug it is so addictive. There is something so magical about being amongst a group of people with different shapes, sizes, colours, personalities, energies and yet one mutual goal – to cross that finish line. But this run was different as it stirred something in my heart.

Now I haven’t run for probably over a year but my friend Rachel had a medical condition which required her to walk the race and that was what convinced me that maybe this would be a good idea for me to get involved and support my hubby in his new running hobby.

I was so excited that I did go because the excitement of everyone was just so contagious. We all had to wear our bright yellow Nike shirts which made each of us feel like a beam of sunlight during the wet weather. It was funny coz on the highway you could spot all the racers in their cars and it was just fun waving to each other so randomly. It was like we were saying – RAIN OR SHINE…..WE ARE GOING TO RUN THIS RACE! Rachel said “When else could you feel so comfortable waving to a stranger.”

But I think the excitement of the race kinda fogged my reality that I was a breastfeeding mother. The race started at 7pm and my last express was at 3pm. I remember standing there 5 minutes before the race was kicking off and realising – Ooopsy my milk is kicking in – feels like pins and needles in your boobs. I also hadn’t eaten since 2pm and I had a day dream of me passing out on a random street in Hilbrow.



5pm...still 2 hours to go before the race start.



Then Bang the fireworks kicked in, the race had started and there was no time for turning around. The sight of thousands of people in bright shirts running through the dark city gave me chills down my back. It was like a river of gold passing over the Nelson Mandela Bridge. Funny enough Rachel’s walk was equivalent to my run (I run slow) so I did get quite a work out.





The River of Gold heading for Hillbrow

 

 As we moved deeper and deeper into the heart of Johannesburg the reality of city life hit me – it wasn’t an easy life. Everyone was supporting the runners from the drunkards to the street kids to the prostitutes and gang members. I didn’t know quite how to take it all in – I felt ashamed and guilty for feeling so excited about being in Hillbrow at this time of night…because I would never be caught dead in these parts of Johannesburg on foot. It was like we were showing off with all our cool expensive shoes, gear, phones, i-pods ect. Like we had such a great life we could afford to run through these streets of poverty for free. Kids would run beside us and would ask us for our reflector bands or even just for a Hi-five. Women would sing and cheer – “Come on you can do it my sister push!!!!” One drunken man was singing “Welcome to Jozi, where you can become famous….” which was probably the Jozi remix to the New York song by Alicia Keys and JZ.

But my heart sank! What was I really doing here? What was God trying to show me? I remember running and picturing what life was like behind the walls of the homes we passed by. What was cooking for dinner? Were these people genuinely happy? What are their daily struggles? Where are the parents for these children? How close is drug abuse, gang membership, prostitution ect close to the lives of these innocent children? What was Nike doing right here in the heart of poverty in Johannesburg? Did my R70 race entry contribute to anything? Part of me just wanted to ignore it all and turn a blind eye and just look at how beautiful the city is at night but I knew that wasn’t me! I big part of me wanted to take my shoes and clothes off and say – here you need it more than I do!



Then the song “You are the God of this City!” by Chris Tomlin came to my mind and played over and over again. The lyrics and the experience of being in this part of town couldn’t become more real:

You're the God of this City

You're the King of these people

You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness

You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless

You are

I finished the race exhausted both physically and emotionally. The Nike Run Jozi Race made me realise that greater things are yet to come…..Greater things are still to be done in this City!!!!! I hope I wasn’t the only one who’s heart was stirred in this way. .. I hope the run created a passion and a hunger to make a difference NOW. Let’s pray that next year when this race happens we won’t be using the slogan “Take back the streets,” but something along the lines of “Give back to the streets.”





Avon finished the race under 1hour...I probably found him an hour later :)



Rachel and I straight after the race - I was sure I looked thinner

 

Perfect Bridal Gown Photoshoot

What would you give if you had the chance to wear beautifully designed wedding dresses, get your makeup and hair done, and have your face in a wedding catalogue? ….. Anything right J. Well that’s exactly why I couldn’t turn down such an opportunity when Perfect Bridal Gown was looking for models for their new seasons wedding catalogue.

Seven girls shot in 30 beautiful dresses from overseas, was the task of the day (October 24, 2010). We began at 8:30am and shot right through till 5pm. But it wasn’t your average photo ..not that I would know what a average photo shoot is like .lol... This shoot was fun and energetic. It was similar to the vibe at the Special K photo shoot. The girls had spunk the photographer had style and Raymond, Tanya, Lizette and their crew had great energy helping us get in and out of our dresses.

The whole experience was like playing dress up except this time you had a real hairdresser, makeup artist and got to wear super beautiful and quality styled dresses. No it was more like a fairytale ….were we were each different types of Cinderella’s with the Fairy godmothers being Lizzet and Raymond. The lights were on us, the bling was on us. If I was a bride to be I would have struggled to pick which dress would be mine. They all had such unique detail. Some dresses were simple and elegant and others were extravagant and sassy.

Being in front of the camera required confidence which at first I was scared I wouldn’t have…because 1. My braids ssooo needed to be taken out and 2. I was almost as sick as a dog. But somehow somewhere I got the energy to smile and pose. My advice for those of you who may ever go to a photoshoot. ..... try to stop taking yourself too seriously and relax…if it’s a bad photo they can take it again. For me I would pretend like it was a Vogue photo shoot and I was a some big shot model who travelled on first class to shoot here.. and there was no time to be SICK. ….even though I was far from a Vouge Model …it helped me relax J. But I also tried to be myself…because the camera can see that too...there is a fine line between fake and genuine smiles. Being yourself also helps you enjoy the whole experience because its fun…Relax…dance… pretend the camera is not there and you are just in the bathroom naked making yourself laugh. ….Oh there is a word of advice - If you ever feeling down…take all your clothes off and dance in front of the mirror….ITS Hilarious!

But like any fairytale the ball had to end so when 5pm came we all turned into pumpkins, out of the beautiful dresses and back into the scummy cloths we arrived in. If you are looking for a wedding dress…please stop by Perfect Bridal Gown on Beyers Naude, Johannesburg. You are sure to have a wonderful experience and find a equally beautiful dress. Or just call them at 011-794-7101 and book an appointment

Me and The GOOGLE

I find it so amazing how much information is at our fingertips just through The GOOGLE.. I mean have you really just sat and gone wow…what isn’t there out there that I can’t find out about through the internet. Maybe I am suffering form some serious delayed action but …. Yooooooo…the internet is hectic.

You can be sick and The GOOGLE can cure you. The other day I was suffering form a very bad headache and stiff neck. So I got onto THE GOOGLE and typed “stiff neck and headache” and BAM..there hundreds of diagnosis. I read through pages and pages of possible symptoms that could add onto what I thought I had. I went form sinusitis, to hey fever to meningitis. What worried me was that one article said “suffering form a headache and stiff neck are key symptoms of possible meningitis. Brrrrrr… I started to sweat just reading it. Then I read Fever…and for sure I was having a fever. Okay maybe I didn’t have the symptom of bad vision wasn’t going bad. The thing that truely saved me form diagnosing myself with meningitis was when I read “ If you are feeling a bit mental and are not thinking straight.” Well I don’t think I think straight every day but I was sure I was thinking straight on this day…I mean I was diagnosing myself using the internet….there should be some sanity in that right. J I concluded that is was definitely sinusitis and began using The Googles at home curing remedies of draining my sinuses with Water and salt. ..no I didn’t but the thought did cross my mind.

My absolute favourite thing to do on THE GOOGLE is finding recipes. But this requires a great amount of skill because you got to know exactly what you are searching for. My tip is to start with what you have in your fridge…that way you save yourself from driving to the shops. So say you only got Bacon and Broccoli. Well you just type that in THE GOOGLE and look through what comes up. You will find stir -fry bacon and broccoli to creamy bacon and broccoli casserole. Now what I am about to tell you next is absolutely crucial in succeeding with hunting for recipe…..You must add THE BEST to the beginning of your recipe. So type “THE BEST BACON AND BROCOLLI SALAD!” That puts you in a whole new playing field. Once you have gone through the best of the best Bacon and broccoli salads…..you simply print it and call your self SHEFF Ala Kanya!

Whenever I can’t figure out how to do something at work….I head to THE GOOGLE and just say it as it is. “How to mosaic classified images using…!” and BAM I find myself reading through forums of other idiots like myself trying to solve the same problem. It really makes me think…if I got a ridiculous question …..I am positive someone else in this world has asked the same ridiculous question on The Google and some saviour has answered the question on The Google. Although I often think to myself, “who has time to be answering such questions?”

Basically I just wanted to express my excitement for The Google.
..I know its not called THE GOOGLE. Just wanted to clarify that J.

The 2010 WORLD CUP FIRE

It is the week of the World cup and even though I am not a soccer fan I seem to be stimulated by the excitement around me. Our city is covered with colours and flags of different nations and every now and again I catch that tourist. But for now ...at this moment the South Africans are dominating and are stirring up the coals for the FIFA Fire and it is hot. Cars are zooming around with one or two flags on them. There is this new thing where the car mirrors have flags on them like a cover. If you see the car coming towards you the flags look like little wings on the edges as if the car is going to take off any time soon.

I admire the energy of the supporters from the clothing to the instruments. Probably for the past month and a half every Friday companies have asked their employees to wear Soccer Jerseys.....it was an official Football Friday. For me it was funny coz everywhere you went people were wearing they yellow and green football shirts....as if it was NORMAL. If you were not wearing it you did feel a bit out of place.

Every household has a Vuvuzela the long plastic trumpet which can make noise for miles. Even this morning when I woke up I thought I could hear the vuvuzela. On Sunday I just saw a man walking with his Vuvuzela and blowing it like no mans business.....ON HIS ACE. I can only imagine how it is going to be when the real games start and the fans are going wild in the street. Imagine when your country wins and you see that other car covered with the same flags as your country, I am sure you would just die to blow that VUVUZELA with VUMA. I am sure there will be some sense of WE ARE ONE :) as the trumpets and music come together. People are really worried about the noise levels in the stadium and just yesterday I heard that there is a thing called the Tulazela. Which are ear plug/muffs that will block out the sound when you are at the games. lol.

On an even more positive side our Transport system is finally getting their act together. Our roads are finally starting to clear up and be fixed. Its like Gauteng has been under construction ever since I moved here and for the first time today my drive to work (N14, N1north) had all lanes open and it was even more smoother sailing. Yesterday the Gauteng Train (GAUTRAIN) was opened to passengers and people could travel from Sandton to the airport in 15 minutes at a cost of R100. I know of people who just went to the airport for fun....just to see what it was like and so far the feedback is good. South Africans are even proud of it as if they had built it together :). I just can't wait till they finish the train from Jozi to Pretoria. Maybe my rides to work will be on a train. It would be like travelling on the GO train in Canada from Missisauga to downtown Toronto. No more traffic, no more smash and grabs maybe I could even catch a nap. Wow that would be amazing.

For Avon, my husband and media manager for Montecasino, the past couple of months has been non stop WORLD CUP preparations. From learning the Diski dance, to advertisements, to camera purchasing and setup. For him it is work but I slightly envy his job because he is really right in the heat of it all....he has been working that FIFA Fire and the coals are now ready for the tourist meat (lol). From organising what games should be shown on the big screens to how the stage should be laid out for entertainment and the fan area should be. Montecasino is already packed with tourists from all over the world and I am sure they are going to be in awe of what Montecasino has to offer. .....even I get surprised by it all and I practically live there. You can check out the Montecasino commercial for the World Cup on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GVD7VG1Sik

With all this gearing up for the world cup....I can't help but think about all the people that are going to be watching the games on TV, on the radio they said it would be approximately 3 billion. Will they be shocked at what South Africa is like, are they only interested in the games? All my friends that I left in Canada; would they feel a sense of closeness to me when they see exactly where I am living. I am sure the very streets I drive and walk on will be filmed on TV. Might they understand why I am here? I pray that the energy, the fire and flames of the 2010 FIFA World Cup heats up their hearts with a desire to come and see for themselves. Who we are ......and where we come from.

GEAR UP WORLD!!!!! IT IS ALMOST TIME!