Black Girl Problems

In the past few days, Cape Town’s weather has been very windy and quite unpleasant. This has brought two interesting revelations to me: 1) Skinny girls do have cellulite and 2) Girls, particularly black girls, have some serious issues going on underneath their weaves.

Thanks to the media, I had grown to believe skinny people have it all; the confidence, society’s acceptance and are cellulite free. Now I can announce (with an evil grin) that some skinny girls do in fact have, some orange-peel looking parts on their bodies. Well, that’s what the wind proudly displayed to me, with the help of some skinny girl’s itsy bitsy skirt

I have always known that it is almost impossible for black hair to be sleek and bouncy unless of course you relax it using some chemicals. However, most black girls make use of weaves and other hair extensions to achieve this look.

Looking at a weave wearing girl from a distance you would be convinced it does not get any more genuine than that. You would also think applying weave and hair extensions to one’s hair does not require much hassle, but what the wind has revealed states otherwise. I promise you, I did see a sewing thread sticking out of some girl’s hair! I saw missing hairlines that are meant to be perfectly hidden underneath the weave! I even saw patches of glue!!!

Out of all these incidents, this one takes the cake: I saw a girl running hysterically trying to catch her “pony tail” that had been blown away by the wind. At the same time she tried to cover the piece of stockings that was meant to keep her real hair in place. The poor thing eventually gave up and just stood there watching her pony tail disappear with the rest of the trash that the wind had collected. She then dug in her bag, took out a cap and wore it as she walked away. Now that’s what I call a girl with plan B.

Years of weaving is starting to catch up with Naomi Campbell.

Two people come out of a building and into a story

Weddings are most people’s ultimate dream; almost everyone dreams of meeting their soul mate, tying the knot and living happily ever after with them. Weddings are beautiful; they are like an official start to a life long union of two individuals who swear to stick together no matter what.


I personally think that the most special moment of weddings is when the groom and the bride walk out of the church, arm in arm just after they have said their vows and exchanged rings. During this moment family and friends celebrate, dance, ululate and throw confetti at the newly weds as they glide down with serenity.


Have you ever thought about what this moment would be like if two grooms walked out the church arm in arm instead of a bride and a groom? Not only would this look rather odd in the eyes of some people but also it would certainly be a story to tell! It’s been years since gay marriages became legal in South Africa but its still quite an awe to see people of the same sex get married.


Instead of walking out to a group of cheerful spectators and get confetti thrown at them, gay newlyweds walk into a story. They become a front-page article of some tabloid, a feature in a magazine, a post in someone’s blog or just a part of the latest gossip in their communities. Not only do stories of gay couples break out as soon as they walk out churches after getting hitched, they get formed as they walk out of all kinds of buildings.


I still want to get married one day though. I dream of a wedding where I will walk out of a church into a story. This will be prejudice free story that celebrates and embrace my sexuality. I want to walk out into a story that will detail my wedding and explain my happiness as a human being and not as a gay man.

How hard is it to follow instructions?

We all know that smoking is bad; it cripples the proper functioning of one’s immune system, stains teeth and ultimately kills people. Those facts, together with an instruction to quit smoking, are clearly stated on cigarrete packs. Yet, millions of people smoke like their lives depend on it.  

The fast spread of HIV is a result of unsafe sex and therefore people are instructed to use condoms. However, each day sees quite a large number of people getting infected.

Countless media campaigns can not stress it enough that people should not drink and drive. But a very astonishing percenatge of road accidents in South Africa is a cause of people driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Instructions are there to prevent, to protect, to influence, to guard and to guide. They are all over the place, but why do we still have such a chaotic society?

Guess who’s back!

Yup! Yours truly is back to the exciting (and sometimes demanding) world of blogging. And boy! Has it been long! My last post was made on Sunday, 11 April 2011. That was before I got a job, changed to part time studying and literally started living on the run. 

You, my beautiful follower, may wonder why I neglected you. Well, life happened! Between striving for absolute excellence in my job, finding new love (I will tell you more about that later) and experimenting with eye liner and turbans, time to blog became some sort of a rare luxury. 

However now I’m back with a bang and I promise to never vanish like that again…for my own sake. You see, keeping this blog up and going is part of my studies’ requirements to pass. I am required to create a very prominent existence on social media space. As I am already a bit of a social media junkie, I really can’t complain. 

Oh, please do follow me on Twitter, @SiyaMahomba and I gurantee you an instant follow back!

 

Till next time, cheers

While I was away, a huge chunk of my time was spent experimenting with eye liner and turbans

Siya Mahomba. Yup! That’s me.

I sat for about an hour starring at the blank word document on my PC screen trying to come up with a creative way of describing who I am. I wanted this post not to only reflect my being in words, but in how it is structured and laid out. I wanted it to be creative, funky and witty with an element of professionalism because that’s who I am.

But, I struggled so much in trying to achieve that. I must have drafted 3 versions but I kept on deleting them and starting from scratch because the perfectionist in me would not allow any poorly compiled post to go up on this blog. That’s the thing about me, I always have a clear plan of how I want to complete my tasks but I never finish anything without a struggle. That’s because I want everything to be done in absolute perfectionism. So after a really long battle I decided to ditch my perfect instinct and write about myself in a way that I would tell you in person.

My name is Siyabonga Keri Lucky Mahomba. You can call me Siya as most people call me and that’s how I prefer to be called. You can also call me Keri because that’s what my family and close relatives call me even though none of them including myself have no clue what this name means. For your own sake, DO NOT ever make the unfortunate mistake of calling me Lucky! I will not tell you what I would do to you because I want you to continue reading this.

I was born in June 1988, which makes me 22 years old and very nervous; in 8 years time I will be 30 and my worries will be shifted from my never perfect figure and immature balding to wrinkles and grey hair (oh gawd please make them invent an anti-wrinkle ointment that actually works before I reach 30). I will have to cross that bridge when I get to it; right now my focus is on fitting into my size 28 skinny jeans.

I come from a family of loud, crazy and very opinionated people so chances are, I will always have something to say on just about any subject even if its just saying “what the hell are you talking about!?!” I always want to know the “why” behind every “because”, I do not believe in following rules simply because they are set, I like to know why they even exist. And if their reasoning does not make sense to my understanding, I just do not abide by them. You can blame my mother for that. 

I grew up on the dusty and potholed streets of Khayelitsha. Sometimes I like to believe that place carved me into the overly ambitious person that I am today. You know, when you grow up in a shanty and a stray dogs filled environment, you can’t help but desire to experience other living options that this life has to offer. That’s probably why at some point I wanted to be a politician. Those people seem to have it all; fame, fortune and the privilege to be stupid and still be taken seriously. But I quickly ditched that quest when I realised that I would have to make empty promises for a living and talk like I’m reading a news bulletin.   

So I decided to get a career in a field that would to enable me to use my intelligence and creativity instead: Communications. I am also completing my BTech Degree in Public Relations Management on a part time basis through CPUT. I absolutely love my job and can’t imagine myself doing anything else (except maybe fashion designing).

I’m crazy about fashion and beyond obsessed with reading fashion blogs and commenting on them. Right now I can’t get over Tavi Gevison’s blog!  I love everything that has to do with clothes, from creating them to styling and washing them! One day when I grow up, I wanna be a fashion designer.

Uhm...yeah! That’s me...in a nutshell. I think this best describes who I am, where I come from and what I do.



I'm some kind of a novelty



Vodacom goes red

“South Africa’s leading cellular network”, Vodacom has changed its brand identity. The company’s new look strongly resembles that of its parent company, Vodafone. Their colours are now red and white and they are even using the Vodafone logo. I wonder if they will start using the "Power to you" slogan as well? After all Vodafone is very passionate about this line, they even fought Cell C for it. But what I would like to understand is Vodacom's motivation behind this change. Was is necessary? Usually companies rebrand when they feel a need to resurface in the market, which happens when competion is tough. I don't remember a period where Vodacom was battling to stand firmly on its grounds. Could they be feeling threatened by 8-ta?

                                                                         

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after

 



 

 



                                                                           





 



I ♥ WeLove

I am a self acclaimed social butterfly; I have been to most of Cape Town’s happenin’ joints, from art galleries, sushi bars and coffee shops to dodge night clubs and swanky bars. I am constantly searching for new hangout spots, so I often rely on my fellow socialites for the lowdown on the latest hot places. This does not always prove to be an effective way to explore the social scene though. Some of the suggested places just turn out to be a total bore. However I have found a way to deal with that.

Thanks to my new addiction, WeLove, my days of stumbling across the city in search of an interesting place are over. WeLove is almost like South Africa’s social scene portal; there’s information on just the perfect places to dine, wine, lounge, have coffee or party all around the country. Powered and run by New Media Labs , the user friendly website allows its users to share the places and things that get their pulses racing.

WeLove is easy to use; all you have to do is to register following a few easy steps and you’ve got unlimited information on all stuff you’ve-never-felt-this-way-before passionate about right at your finger tips. You can share you knowledge with other users too! I have registered and my social life is about to be soooo relevant!