Shaping UP for 2011

You know you haven’t been to the gym in a while…when you get a letter from the gym saying you need to go to the gym 12 times before the end of the year….or else your membership is cancelled. This is shocking and somewhat embarrassing.

Avon and I did the calculations – subtracting holiday time and it ment that we would have to go every day from the day we got the letter. So since Friday Avon and I have been going to the gym none stop. We even attempted going twice a day till we found out that it didn’t matter how many times a day you go to the gym – it still counts as one visit.

Ever since we got this letter I feel like every person at the gym is watching us. As if they are timing us and checking that we are actually working out. It sucks because sometimes we really just don’t want to go to the gym but the thought of loosing our membership (which is a pretty good deal) really kind of pushes us to go.

Yesterday it was funny coz we were pretty lazy and came up with a grand plan to skip gym but still count it as a vist. So we enter the gym, swipe our card and then pretend to have a huge argument right there at the till and get fed up and both leave. Lol. Ha ha ha! How funny would that be. I just pictured it.
Kanya “Well it was your grand Idea to come here!”
Avon “MY idea!!! My Idea.. you got to be kidding me! You were the one on my case about going.”
Kanya “I don’t care about going to stupid gym!” and I will just storm out and avon would run after me. Lol. Then we would get into the car and start laughing as we drove to KFC or something. Avon and I had a good laugh at this thought because it would be totally out of character. We ended up scratching the idea and went and worked out anyways.

On the flip side- if we do manage to keep up with the rate we are going…we will enter the year 2011 in ship shap shape! So keeping positive …..2011 HERE WE COME J

McDonalds Commercial

Have a look at the Mcdonalds commercial below. And look out for the chick with attitude!!!! I think my level of fame has increased by 0.5 seconds. Which is huge progress for me lol. I think my friends in Canada must be laughing at me right now... Because I never used to want to go into McDonalds with them....but I would gladly do a commercial! Ha ha ha.

Anyways this was a commercial which we shot about 3 weeks ago. I had to pretend like I was really upset with my "boyfriend" because he didn't like Cheese on his burger and I did. I had to bring out the seriouse Kanya Attitude out.... which was actually pretty hard. It was funny because after every shot I had to laugh out loud just to get the gitters out. In my mind I was thinking of a moment when I was really upset with Avon...(which is very rare). But that helped me to have a seriouse face....aint nothing funny about being upset!

I thought it was a good thing that I had to be upset with my "boyfriend" rather than all lovey dovey...which would have just been a bit awkward..... I would think!

The whole experience was loads of fun as usual. Go and grab a cheesy burger or Vote for which one you like on their website http://www.beefyorcheesy.co.za/ or else you will get BEEF from me.

The Triple A Concept to CHANGE

Why is it that an unexpected change never really feels positive at first? Well that’s how I felt when I had to move from my own private office to the Hostel. The people here call it the hostel because there are so many people working in one space. So you can imagine the emotions I felt when I got the call that I might have to move. Yup I felt like I was being demoted, unappreciated and uncool. But this whole experience lead me to discover the Triple A concept which is Accept (believe that it is for the better) Adapt (make the situation work for you) and Apply (ignite a positive change in yourself and others by applying goodness).

The first step to this adjustment was accepting it. In my case I really thought about why I was emotional about the move. Was I being punished? No! Were they rude about it? No they were very polite about it. Was I the only one getting moved? No, 5 others were getting moved. Suddenly the situation didn’t feel like a shot at me but an external shot at the company. I thought – what if God had planned this move? Suddenly I had a totally different perspective and thought…. Well if so then I better accept it.

Then there was the adaptation part. The key to it is making the situation work for you. For example they were moving me to a spot which faced the door which probably was the worst spot in the office. Plus I have a terrible attention span and the fact that I was by the door would mean noooo work was going to be done because I would watch every person walk by or comment on everything. So to overcome this I put a huge shelve in front of my desk – and problem solved. Unless you are Floris who is almost 6 feet tall I don’t see anyone walking into the office. Then there was the issue of watching other people in my peripheral view – how they eat, read, work and maybe sleep. So I placed both my laptop and my desktop computer up on my desk which created a “wall”. My desk looks hectic man. It is as if I have a dual monitor thang and I don’t see anyone unless I want to. I am so hidden that sometimes people walk in the office and don’t even notice I am here. It might look pretty ridiculous and obvious that I am hiding but that was the point and it worked for me. I have managed to create my ideal working environment regardless of my surroundings.

To apply, in my case, is to allow the change to change you and others for the Good. It is important to note “for the good” because “for the bad” can take place and cause destruction. I believe this section has a lot to do with accepting peoples characters and appreciating their role in your life. It has been about 3 months since I have moved and I have gotten to know other SEF staff a lot better and actually feel positive about it. Betty and Ronaldo are always keeping us up to date with the transportation routes from Johannesburg to Pretoria and give us weather reports. Sometimes Ronaldo even calls us to warn us of traffic on the road (he has a Super GPS). Vanessa and Carene are planning weddings for next year and it is always exciting to share wedding tips or marriage tips with them. Then there is Eben and Quinton who are only in the office on Mondays and Fridays; however, when they are here they always having heated environmental discussions in Afrikaans which sometimes is very entertaining. Some of us have even started a small prayer group. The rest pretty much keep to themselves but are still cool to have around. I didn’t know it at the time but the move was probably exactly what I needed. I got more motivated to go to work and actually enjoy the company around me. I also got more involved with what was actually happening at work and have started to learn more about environmental consulting.

So sometimes change is good. Change happens all the time but it is really about how you deal with it that matters. You can sulk and be bitter about the situation and affect the people around you negatively. Or you can take it as a stepping stone to something greater and better and positively influence the people you interact with. Applying really is your choice at the end of the day.

Anyways that is the Kanyadoit change strategy on the triple A concept: Accept, Adapt, Apply. lol I really made it up as I wrote this blog. It worked for me. Hope it works for you. :) lol