A Little List

My Gran used to always say she had a "little list" for my dad. These were things she needed him to pick up at the shops and possibly do around the house. Her little lists became my mum's little habit and I figured it was a great heading for this post. As this is the first post of its kind on my blog, it might be a good idea to define it.
A Little List will be a collection of random thoughts. They are just some ideas about the world we live in summed up in a few short sentences on topics of an important and less important nature.

1. I experienced a great deal of satisfaction last week Sunday when I had a bath heated by our new solar geyser. That long soak felt like a big eff you to Eskom and the City of Johannesburg after we had two power failures in 24 hours.

2. In general, South Africans drive badly. In Joburg, I feel I'm under constant pressure to not STOP at STOP streets. Maybe it's just me, but I take pleasure in following the rules of the road, because it pisses drivers off.

3. What a fall from grace. Once the whole saga is over and whether he's found guilty or not, Oscar Pistorius is the only one who knows what happened. We will always question his actions and his story.

4. If you think about it, when your hazard lights are on, they are off half of the time.

5. From reality shows like Wipe Out USA to Beyond Scared Straight, the reality show screech is everywhere. Jenna Marbles makes a valid point about this sound effect:

6. Do you think Julius Malema ever reads motivational quotes? You know, the ones that are set against a picturesque landscape like this one: 

7. I wish I could reason with my dog Winston. Everyday I wish he could just understand what I go through at 4:30 every morning when he jumps on my bed. 

The plaster metaphor

There's a spot on Allan Dale Road, between Harry Galaun Drive and Grieg Street, that I believe demonstrates the kind of approach we take when dealing with problems. This spot on Allan Dale is in a dip that receives a lot of water and, often enough, the excess water doesn't drain away. If anyone has had the pleasure of racing down Allan Dale, you'll know that those coming from Kyalami Race Track will make a wide berth for a pothole who sheds its winter coat every summer. This evil little bugger is only encouraged by the mass of trucks and 4x4s that wikkel on by.

However, after the rainy season, when the Highveld approaches the dry cold snaps of winter, men in overalls  bring their tar and gravel to fill the hole and keep it snug as a bug for the cold months. But as soon as that first Joburg thunder storm hits, the tar washes off like the excess weight of a Matric girl about to go on vac.

As a local living in the vicinity of this pothole, I know this little process has been on repeat ever since I can remember. And what the people who repair the road don't realise, or maybe they do and it's not their department, is that there is a small river underneath this part of the road where drainage is clearly very poor. And each year, they stick a plaster over this pothole instead of addressing the underlying problem. 

I feel this small problem is reflected in areas like our education system, where the concern is on the Matrics and their pass rate, but what about the earlier phases of education? We're doing everything to increase the Matric pass rate by looking at helping students in Grade 12, but maybe we need to make a little more effort with our earlier grades. By the time Matric rolls round, there is less than a year for exam preparation; when we could have avoided this pothole by ensuring children have the skills to cope with highschool. 

Of course, I am merely glossing over all the issues with our education system which has been ranked 132th out of 144 countries according to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013. 

Another one of our problems we seem to approach with a small band aid in the hopes of fixing everything, is the massive number of road accident deaths after every Festive season. Between 1 December 2012 and 8 January 2013, 1 465 people died in the 1 221 fatal accidents recorded. This means 37 people died each day during the silly season. The cartoon plaster in this case saw the number of deaths drop by 10 - note the absence of a percentage sign.

According to this report from eNews Channel Africa (ENCA), the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) started their campaign late and the leading cause of road accident death is alcohol. I agree that drunk drivers and drunk pedestrians are a major concern, we also cannot excuse a whole host of other issues that take place on our roads. The easy things the cops can look out for are drunk driving, speeding and poorly maintained vehicles, but there are hardly any officers around to punish bad driving. It's easy to snap a pic of a speeding motorist and send them the fine in the mail, it's harder to nab a bad driver for dangerous over-taking. 

From what I witnessed when I drove to and from Plett this New Year's and the countless trips I've taken to and from Rhodes University, there are a number of drivers who over-take when it is far too dangerous. On my way back from Plett, I witnessed a driver in a BMW X6 overtake six cars. To a lot of long distance drivers, solid lines, blind rises and sharp turns mean nothing to them. 

So, to the RTMC and traffic officers, please stop reaching for the Elastoplast box on the shelf. Sticking more officers in the shade to collect pictures of speeding number plates is not the answer. 

On the whole, we need to start tackling the underlying problem. Potholes, our education system, road deaths and many other issues deserve more attention as opposed to the plasters you keep in your first aid kit. There's more to these issues. If you don't agree with me, just frequent Allan Dale more often and maybe you'll understand this metaphor.

In with the new, and out with the old

The worst clichè ever, but I promise my headline writing will get better as I get back into the swing of things.

I have decided that the one and only resolution I should make this year, is to be who I say I am. I say I'm a writer and yet, I don't do enough writing to claim such a status. My last blog post was over a year ago. So, I need to turn my talent into a habit again. I've italicised 'talent', because it is my view and I think I can write reasonably well on a good day.
But down to the real business as to why I'm blogging again. I'm unemployed and just like David Bullard, I'm going to sit at home and bombard the Internet with my opinions. And, I need to treat this space as a possible hiring point.
In this day and age, an online audience is a valuable commodity for journalists. My current Twitter following is 254, which is not too shabby for someone who is unemployed. I just have to hope that they aren't bots, otherwise that would be embarrassing. My online following, however, has to increase to make me a more viable candidate for hire.
So I am here to write, to be who I say I am. And, most importantly, to welcome you to the new Underground and Off the Record blog.

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

I'm not a very religious person, but I do think this quote rings true. And I am sure there are varying versions of this quote, but the meaning remains the same. We are often too quick to judge people for what they do instead of who they are.

I went to a 21st this last weekend where many of my high school class mates were in attendance. I hadn't seen some of them in months and it felt good to be reminded of how much fun I had in Matric. At times it was difficult to hear what everyone had been up to because the music was so loud and partying with my Rhodes mates can also be a little distracting. However, some didn't hesitate to fill me in on the activities of others especially one of our old school friends.

Often we are all too quick to say, "that's so high school" and to think that we actually grew up after we left. But, we easily forget how much stays with us after we've celebrated the end of our last exam. And one thing we'll never stop doing is the discussions we have about our former class mates once they've left. Granted, some of them you were never friends with; but after this last weekend, I saw how easy it was to disregard an old friendship for the excitement of a few minutes of gossip.

It would be unfair of me to say I was not phased by this little piece of information. All gossip is intoxicating and it's hard to deny otherwise. However, when it becomes venomous we need to stop and take a look at who we are. No one is without their faults or flaws, so when does it become our place to judge another person's actions? And more importantly who are we to tell them that it is wrong?

A poster used by the US Government during WWII.

We are told at a very young age we are all different, unique or special. We are also told to be tolerant and accepting. Therefore, because someone else possesses a unique view on the world or behaves in a different way, we forget to be accepting and tolerant of this variation in nature.

Please don't read this as if I am sitting atop my moral high horse. Of course, I engaged in this act of gossiping and it's hard to stop oneself from taking part. However, every now and then it's important to be reminded that we all have a conscience and lowering the standing of another person is in no way helpful or your place to do so.

Finally, a quote from one of my favourite people, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu:
"If I diminish you, I diminish myself."

Concerta: a drug of choice at Rhodes

So while my coffee cools down I thought I might take a moment to disseminate some worthwhile word vomit in the form of a blog. Readers have been warned.

The debate of popping pills to improve performance always comes up during exam time. Matric finals and university exams are currently being written around South Africa. It's a tentative time - I don't want to use stressful because I might just offend someone who's reading this and they could possibly explode due to the amount of stress that is building up at the base of their neck. So I try to use it sparingly during this unpredictable time.

But back to sex, drugs and rock n' roll.

I'm friends with about two people who have been diagnosed with some form of ADD or ADHD (whichever is medically/politically correct). Therefore, their medication has been prescribed to them via all the legal routes through a licensed doctor. They are both on a drug called Concerta which happens to be the drug of choice at Rhodes during these tentative times.

I'm not entirely clued up on the medical know-how and facts, but as far as I know it's similar to Ritalin. Students who aren't prescribed the drug buy from their friends. The consumption of such a drug often takes place the night before an assignment is due or exam where the work and studying have been left to the last minute.

Now, another friend of mine is completely opposed to this practice. She's a diligent and hard worker and, therefore, does not appreciate people taking performance enhancing drugs. Her argument is that she works harder than the ones who do not take Concerta for medical reasons and they are more likely to get higher marks than her. In June, after our mid-year exam results (which she did phenomenally well in), she wanted to bring this drug use to the Dean of Students' attention.

Not Concerta or Ritalin. Photo: Tom Varco

It is in some ways unfair for my friend who works incredibly hard without the help of any medication, but I personally don't give a damn. I feel the same about athletes using drugs to be better and faster versions of themselves. Why not let them use the drugs and just set different standards - higher standards? For Tour de France cyclists, just have a different category for the participants on drugs. Those who choose to do drugs and are honest about it can compete against those who do the same.

The same theory can be applied to university students. Students who don't need the medication, but use it are encouraged to be open about their drug use and be marked on a different set of standards. The drugs are performance enhancing, therefore, judge them on this performance. There just needs to be a new set of guidelines for marking: be strict on referencing, spelling, structure etc.

The use of these drugs are a personal life choice. Concerta is a dangerous drug for people who haven't been properly diagnosed and prescribed the medication. From what I've heard it can possibly lead to dependence and chemical imbalances. Like most drugs, it's not a vitamin C tablet that anyone can use. However, they have made the decision to use it. Therefore, why not accommodate for this choice?