freshly sharpened pencils...

there's this house track called "city life" - iLife yaseJozi, iLife yaseGoli, kuyasheshwa la, city life...

well, that's new york. i don't think anyone can ever get tired of this joint. there's plenty about new york which makes it the city it is.

on saturday MB came over from DC and we decided to go bar hopping in the east village with a bunch of other guys. we were being shunted around by the local villagers. quite a lot of the places were brimming with NYU students playing drinking games or chatting very loudly. we ended up at this belgian beer place. i almost dismissed this joint as we walked in becasue it almost seemed as though we were walking into a parking lot. but such is new york where a seemingly hole-in-the-wall bar can have the ultimate ambience and an edgy but yet intellectual crowd. the stellas began flowing and conservations were lubricated until MB and i were interrupted mid-conversation by some dude who knew what language we were conversing in: isiNdebele. this guy has never been to zim but he spent some time in uganda which brought Emman (our dear friend from kampala) into the convo. MB is also from nthuthu. then we met more people and more people and more people that sunday and monday plans were taken care of by a barbeque in brooklyn and a picnic in central park.

one defining feature of this city I believe are its weird smells and littered streets. seriously, kuyanuka lapha! but for some reason, I like it the way it is. every little piece of junk and every little smell has a story to tell, kinda like the people who make up the population. easy-going, hard-going, criminal, saint, hobo, millionaire, busker, broadway performer, cab driver, skate boarder, black, white, african, chinese, italian, irish, spanish, brazilian... i could go on and on. it's a melting pot of ginomous proportions but each story is unique and different - fitting for a city like this with a big heart. I LOVE NEW YORK!

didn't think i'd blog this but here goes!

so i leave cali for the big apple, stop over in phoenix. it was cool. went outside to breathe in the arizona air and went back inside. i got myself some grub at chili's and then checked the departures and my flight was delayed by an hour. back to chili's. sit at bar, take out book (nelson mandela's long walk to freedom) and order another beer. put me to sleep as soon as i get back on. finish drink, flight's been pushed back another 30 minutes. back to chili's smile at the waitress. she knows me now.

bottom line is i ended up having four full pints. i know that was naughty of me but they should be on time next time. we get on the plane, my seat is four rows behind first class. i figure i'll use the bathroom before we take-off. it's quicker and easier to go up front and use first's bathroom - it's only a toilet!! but this guy with flaming arms and lisp stops me dead on my tracks and requests me to use the ones in the rear. i can't proceed to the rear. everyone's busy stacking up their shee overheard. i sit down and compose myself. we can do it.

as soon as it clears i get and start towards the back. but because the flight's delayed and the trolley dollies are in panic mode, this woman with plastic smile advises me that i'll be able to do so as soon as we take off. okay... i'll wait. deep breath. happy thoughts. i almost want to tell her that i've had four but figure they'll probably kick me off the plane. breath again.

we start moving, we taxi, we speed up, we take off. now my eyes are focussed on that seat belt sign. i'm worshipping it silently in my seat, 8D. it's been forever since we got on. then a ding goes but the light stays on. then the dollies start walking up and down.why am i still chained to my seat? as one woman walks past, i put my hand up and ask her: can i go now? - in that grade one begging tone. no, you'll have to wait for the seat belt sign to come off. i wait. breath.

then the trollies come out. dang people!!! first you dont turn off the signal then you block the aisle with your nqolas! the movie then starts: big momma's house 2. now it's no longer a laughing matter. that guy with the funny lisp ponces around through the first class curtain taking his time. also there's no way i can go to the back, those women are at it at the other end. i take out my camera and do a little video and voice memo. (i just listened to it, there's stress in that voice!)

finally the guy up front starts back tracking and i'm like forget it, it's either right now or right here. take off was like 45 minutes ago!! i bolt to the front, lisp guy stops me and i calmly say, "dude, i really need the bathroom." and walk straight past him. freedom. as soon as i get out he's waiting for me. i'm tempted to put my hand out and shake his but i dont. he then reprimands me, not only did i leave my seat but i used first class bathrooms - a real no no no. people get arrested for doing what i did. i beg for his forgiveness. i was only doing my business. there's some things in life we can't avoid. the rest of the flight was a non-event.

i now have to consider what to do with that little video clip of me complaining to myself!!

for those of you who my dear uncle will sometimes love to hate him, or hate to love him. the guy just tells it like it and sometimes you just wish he'd keep his mouth shut. nonetheless, i really do enjoy his company because he always makes me laugh with his constant cynicism. he always find a way to rag anybody about anything. he's also got a cool sense of style and shops at nordstroms. he decorated the interior of his house with modern african chic and themed all his rooms: main lounge is the "matopos room" littered c.h. naake paintings and that motsi painting of the rock boulders commands character in the dining room; tv room is a dark savannah-like theme, his landing upstairs is west african; the 2nd bedroom is an ethiopian princess's room; the 3rd room is north african (dark moroccan colours) and his room is like a nduna's liar - very palatial.

when i got to his house sometime last week, he was dead asleep - okay we were out partying with sims. i eventually got to see him the next day when i was getting ready to go out to the 112 thingy. i'm like wearing my new prize shirt to impress the ladies and he turns to me and says, "you are wearing that! it looks like pyjamas." okay okay it may be striped and tshwabana-ed but i'm sure donna karan meant for it to look like that. he just shook his head.

the next day we go to this girl's graduation and the party which followed. she's also from zim, the northern part, and she was graduating with magna cum laude (only two people in her college had that distintiction). afterwards we were all congratulating her for her allsorts and he turns to her and says, "i only came because you were magna um laude. anything lower i wouldn't have bothered!" ah dude, give the girl her props. he didn't bother turning up at the after party - he doesn't do loud township music.

then on monday he bought a new computer for his home office. being the young 'un, i had to set it up for him. not rocket science and i quite enjoy doing such. but with him, everything has to be perfect: dot the t's and cross the i's! then alas, the internet refused to graft. you know when you see a storm coming and part of you wants it to come for comic relief and the other part doesn't want it to come because it's also annoying. well it came! he called up the provider surewest, "my internet's not working on my new computer, fix it now." the 'net people then get me to change some settings but nothing works. we're on speaker phone by the way and he's making plenty comments to the lady on the other side. when it still doesn't work, the lady suggests that it gets put through to advanced techinical support and they should respond within the next 24 to 48 hours!

my mind asks: woman what did you just say!?! that's when the hurricane hit us, "you people operate like you're in the third world, do you realise that i used to have three of your services, tv, phone and internet, and now i'm down to one, is this how you treat your customers, in fact it would be cheaper just to cut surewest off because waiting 24 hours will cost me a lot of money, i'm not some cheap shot. do you know who you are speaking to?" woman pleads, "it's on first come first served basis and there's other customers ahead..." i'm thinking: woman keep going i'm loving this! he refuses to let her go with plenty threats, "put me through to the president of surewest, do you even know what you are doing?" needless to say, in ten minutes we were up and running. damn i love this guy!!

we said our goodbyes in the evening but i'll see him when he comes to europe. he tells me he has plenty airmiles to use. by the way ghana, south africa, mozambique and zimbabwe are also thrown in! it's the way it is.

dead tired. i think tonight will go down as one of the best nights out i've had in this country. there were way too may people to dance with and 112 were on point. there were peaches alright, and plenty cream! took me way back to 1996. evidence was collected in abundance. i now have to figure out how to post a video to my blog. it's 3am - maybe tomorrow.

i finally said goodbye to the valley and the bay area. train ride was pleasant enough. actually i missed the first evening train because i was busy analysing arsenal's loss at the champions league. took plenty pics on the train. peeps around me must have thought i was crazy and vain - taking pics of myself. i just smiled - for the camera. almost as soon as i got here, sims whisked me away to this place called the monkey bar. didn't even go home to see the old guy i'm staying with. there was no convincing him to at least go bona abadala before partying. got home at two, three suitcases on tow trying to quietly carrying upstairs without waking up the uncle. by the time i woke up this morning he was already at work. so i finally got to see him this evening, after sleeping in his house. so so embarassing. he just laughed at us coz he heard us come in. i like him.


as summer approaches, clocks are moved forward and the sun sets at 10pm, my body's not used to all this. it's just gone 6.30 and i've just had my supper. it feels like lunch. i know that by the time the sun sets i'll be craving for my supper. then bedtime will be at least five hours later. and then almost as soon as you've shut your eyes, the sun pops ups once again. i'm sure this isn't good for the body and its biology. maybe that's why peeps from this end are a bit cranky.

finalised my plans for new york. fly there next week tues with a six hour stop over in phoenix, arizona. obviously, sam and i will leave the airport and get busy taking pictures. also another excuse to buy postcards: i love telling people where i've been, especially the crazy creatures i left in that staff room ko-titshi. i'm sure they love me for thinking about them.

anyway, this evening will not end too soon. sims (now my favourite cousin!) got tickets for a crazy bunch to go see 112 at some trendy joint here. it's the same place that had ne-yo before he was ne-yo NE-YO. gotta create space for plenty pic on camera. by the way, according to the manual, it can take 180 pictures without the battery dying out on you. it won't last as long because i'll probably take more videos.

sam wanted me to take her to frisco once again on saturday and so off we went - this time with a purpose. san jose is a bigger city but it doesn't have that vibe which a city should have. maybe it's because it's a new and modern city without the character and charm which frisco has.

took the MUNI from the train station. full of Giants fans from the ballpark. people in frisco are crazy. or is it just baseball fans. we were all packed like sardines in that little carriage but the jokes which were flying off were so funny. much unlike the tube in london were everyone sits or stands there like lost zombies. peeeps were interacting in a positve and social way which i found fascinating.

i got off at the embarcadero and sam and i started walking down towards pier 39. but alas... i was stopped by a south african flag. there was me, pretending to be proudly mzansi demanding questions from this girl and her boyfriend on tow at this stall with this flag. then that's when the six degrees of seperation came to play. she's from england - been to SA, Zim, Zamz and Bots. she works with this trust which gets artwork from southern africa and sell it online. they had some cool stuff on sale - njeng' eCity Hall in skies.

anyhoo, about the six degrees of seperation, this girl sounds like a white south african when she speaks but she's actually from oxford. she deals with plenty plus safoes and has picked up the lingo. she's working with groups similar to what my brother's doing and what i also want to get into. she lives in san jose about two blocks from where i work. her boyfriend used to live two streets down from me in bristol, even though we never met. we used to get indian take-out from the same joint - jumbo raj at cotham hill. it's like the bestest indian food outside of india. they've both been to southern africa three times and they wish they were south african (don't we all!!) - not just south african, but they wish they were black south africans. conversation took off like we'd known each other for years, talking about familiar things from three different parts of the world. we ended up munching on some crispy clam strips later on at the fisherman's wharf.

took plenty pictures. tally's on 139 - in two days. i have to weed out the silly ones. also have some videos. yep, my new toy does mpeg-4 videos so not only are they top quality, they are are compressed and hardly take up any memory. but then again, i have 50Mb of internal memory. and there's the big LCD and you can even do voice memo when to take the pic. how's that, voice caption to the photo. as you can imagine, i was busy exploring features up until the battery died. i whimpered and caught the train back home in misery.

more sights and sounds. san francisco - or frisco as we like to call it - was next stop on friday. i caught the caltrain, had no idea it only cost five bucks - i'd have been there everyweek. frisco has plenty of charm. it's a smallish city, about the size of skies, but it has this big city feel to it like new york.

took me a while to figure out the public transport situation. the BART and the MUNI have two different purposes and functions and it took me some time for the bell to go ding. anyhoo, i got myself a day passport which let me use the system for the day. it cost eleven bucks!!! it's as bad as the tube in london but it was a lot more fun. riding up califonia street in a century old cable car has its advantages. the views of the city were spectacular. it was all click, wind, click, wind, click, wind. then i took the bus down to fisherman's wharf. as i got pff the bus, there these guys busking on the street - outkast's hey yah. i turned to them and said, "you think you've got it!" they were good.

by that time my camera hit freeze and had to be replaced. i hate disposables. i head into this camera shop and ask the guy for the cheapest disposable they had. he stretches over his back and gets a cheapo six dollar one. then he starts asking me all sorts of questions: where i am? i love tell ing peeps i'm from skies coz they always ask, where's that? what do i do... and so forth. he then goes on to show me their digital cameras. i figure i'll look, i wont buy. big mistake. huge mistake. why?

that's when i fell in love with sam. by the way, she's from south korea and her last name is sung. she's beautiful, petite and comes ready for action. she's perfect. you just push her right buttons and she does what what i tell her - to the tee. no complaining. her functions go beyond the ordinary and her memory's really good. she and i are the perfect match. i agreed to take care of her as long as she does what i tell her. it's a beautiful arrangement. she hasn't complained yet, i don't think she ever will.

so i show up at intel on thursday afternoon. nice brilliant day and i'm ready to explore the hq of this famous chip maker. walk into building, robert noyce, ask the security guy to see the so-and-so who was taking me on a private tour of part of the facility.

i get picked up and we head to almost the other side of the campus on a little golf cart. all around i'm seeing signs: no photography allowed. i'm thinking: i came all this way from the southern tip of africa and i can't have evidence. and the disposable i got from walgreens was bright yellow and red - thanks kodak!

we get into this building, camera still on tow and i'm told that i'll be going into a very sanitised environment and hence i have to dress myself down and then dress myself up to make sure that i have no foriegn bodies on me. okay cool. before that, i have to use the bathroom then rinse my mouth - standard procedure. okay cool. in the bathroom they was this huge disk with chip-like sqaures on it on the wall. coast clear, picture number no. 1. wind camera. press flash button. click. head out, rinse my mouth then the fun starts. i had a locker to put all my stuff in it. goodbye cell phone, goodbye keys, goodbye camera - no, camera stays in pocket - just in case!

then the bunny suit comes on - wasn't that fun! from shoe covers to the hair net (yeah, black man, what hair?) and the hard gear the bits in between were fascinating. it almost felt like being on a tv set. except this was real. one last look at the mirror, yes... i was one of them... the bunny people!

then through this atrium which flushed us with bursts of air, i was in. huge huge room. full of bunny people. all shapes, all sizes. people, people everywhere in white bunny suits. very surreal. i was commandeered to this semi-quiet section where these huge disks - similar to the one in the bathroom. they were behind this giant window. this was the real deal. was informed that was about to be subdivided into small bits was would later become what we know as an intel microprocessor. i was re-educated to the whole idea of silicon being a semiconductor and just how the journey it takes just to construct a simple chip. more walk abouts. what i emjoyed the most was that i just blended in and wasn't conspicuous in my suit. i really was one of them

by the time we finished, i asked if it was possible for me to have the suit - fancy dress party boy was already seeing its future use. no. come through, a billion dollar company can't misplace a bunny suit! it was worth the try. i did manage some self photography when i was de-robing. must process those pics today!!! and when no-one was watching i took even more pics. what was there to lose - a stupid ten dollar camera with pictures i wasn't supposed to take anyway? i got some souvenirs and a polo shirt for my good behaviour.

overall i did a good learning experience which i will tell my children some day. maybe ebay has bunny suits on sale. let's check.

breakfast this morning was three bars of snickers down washed with a can of red bull. went to bed pretty late last night - watching way too much tv and catching up on the sopranos season 6. i'll probably see the rest of it next year when it airs on channel 4 in england. have so much packing to do. must buy some boxes and ship all the old stuff by sea. dont really need it in a rush and i'm not prepared to fork out a premium to british airways.

went past walgreens, bought a disposable camera. that makes four cameras that need to be developed. i need to get myself another digital. make my life so much simpler. but for the last thirty minutes i've been taking random pictures outdoors. my first day being unemployed once again and i feel like a tourist. made plans to go check intel hq. pictures will be taken.

i went beaching this past weekend. weather was a beaute and santa cruz was crying for an invasion. we had plenty laughs at the boardwalk. you know, i'm not the biggest fan of amusement parks but they had some real stuff going on with the famous dipper (rollercoaster) and the pendulum thing which looked like it was going to snap mid-air. the water was a bit cold but the surfs where huge. more pics to develop.

i'm busy playing that lenny kravitz tune in my head - fly away. must figure out the chords so that i can strum it. mind you i haven't picked up a guitar in four years so that would be a bit crazy.

in the library right now. it's right next to a local uni and there's armies of students huddled over messes of books, volumes and paper, laptop parked in the middle of the mess. finals week i guess. everyone seems to have a blank expression: i know the feeling and i miss it! overdose of red bull (who remembers bioplus from back ekhaya? - i was hooked during my a' levels), creased clothes (probably slept in them at 4.33am), hair in mess, ububhori by the eyes, constantly scratching your head not to make you think but because it's not geza-ed and it's itchy, getting up from seat every five minutes just to calm your nerves, observing everyone who walks past you aimlessly, checking if you've received any emails in the last two minutes, stretching your arms coz you're way too tired and then bowing down onto book as if the words will magically enter head by osmosis. the sweet life of being a student under pressure.

and then as the time to go sit the exam fast approaches, you gather everything into your bag except that all important crib sheet. you swing the bag over onto your back and instead of leaving for the exam room, you sit down on the same chair with the bag on your back and try to steady your shaking hand and make sense of the scribbles you've made. then you realise that you dont know where the exam room is and find the nearest unoccupied library computer (laptop is in bag already!). you figure out that it's in the law building which you've never set foot in. why why why do they have to do this to me?

yes yes yes, i can't wait to get back to it all.

had a long lunch today with two of my superiors at santana row. they really want me to come back and make tons of money in california before the financial services industry shifts to something boring. thereafter we went "window" shopping. now santana row is one of those spots where you either go to a restaurant and just have a coolie or you go to a shop and buy a pair of socks.

the row kinda reminds me of a high street in england, only difference is that it's really high end. flashbacks of tysons galleria in dc came to mind. i'm glad that i went there with people who have a bit of experience in exclusive shopping. the shoes at cole haan and salvatore ferragamo, come thru chum: why isn't shoplifting legal? why can't i just try on and walk away? i'm sick and tired of observing from sidelines. my eyes are tired of all this eye candy. i can touch but not have. maybe being sick and tired is a good thing.

i'll just have to stick to my men's wearhouse and the ten dollar shirts at the vh outlet. bring me down to size just a lil' bit.

technically i had three days left at the msebenz'. it will be a disaster when i leave. we've already made plans to secretly get drunk during my last day - that's me and two other boys. silly americans. they don't realise that it could be their last day also.

there's plenty i'll miss about this place. it's almost been like living in a big soap opera. where should i begin?

we'll begin at the reception. [names will be changed. california is very litigous.] shamy is now six months preggers by marco but marco got a little somesome-hin goin' on with the new 19 year old girl friday called hyra. shamy, hyra and mia all work at the front desk. now hyra's one of those hyper "oh-my-gosh" girls who's not shy splash her sexual exploits every monday morning at the watercooler. she's also "friends-with-benefits" with gobi. gobi's the guy who had a fight in a men's bathroom at a local club and spent the night in the slammers.

as we move on down the corridor, to the right is an office, don and jon's. don's a 40something year old who's into younger chicks. according to clayton he has a prom date. clayton's a white boy, been divorced twice, three kids and into chocolate sisters. in the heat of the californian sun, he wears a black leather trenchcoat like he's just stepped out of the matrix. jon's about to go his gastric bypass surgery. he's got a fat hairy nose which is hard to avoid and every monday he brings in two trays of left over lasagna which no-one dares to eat.

next office by the conference room is rodney's. he's normal. next is lizzy and corrine. they are the two sweetest mothers in the office. i'm always in there for snacks and herbal teabags. next are rick and tony. haven't really spoken to them. next is gary. here's a guy with about five degrees umpteen professional certificates all plastered on his wall. he competes with roy next door in terms of academic wallpaper.

by this time you would have got to the "back office island cubicles" where all drama occurs. i sit next to marco [already mentioned him] and karina. now she thinks she's a milf and subjects me to countless stories about her 22 year old boyfriend and her trainer at the gym. she's got a "play toy" at the back of her bottom drawer. don't ask me how we found out. on karina's aother side is delia. both ladies have an interesting history. delia was once married to karina's ex-husband [she was the reason karina had her divorce]. now that she's also divorced the guy, they are now best friends. go figure.

across the other way is sandy and andy next to ernie. andy and ernie are my drinking buddies. andy's also a bouncer at this place where we get free cover and drinks sometimes. sandy's always asking me if andy says anything about her. first i thought she was just being paranoid before i figured out that she tells everyone that they are sleeping with each other. tmi - too much information. i'm sorry.

then there's vannie, crazy mexican dude - pretty sure he smokes pot in the parking lot, gobi and clayton, we've heard about them then ben and luisa, who are pretty much normal. further on you hit top management ground. they just make too much to spend. the jag, the monte carlo, the hummer, the three mercs, the m3, the z4, the a8 are evident of their bad spending habits. it's really hard to get into their world but once you're in you don't want to leave. kinda like the malume from ekhaya who overstays his visit.

some boring souls were ommitted. so now do you see why some happy spirits are needed on the work floor? i'm going to miss this place.

impromptu. friday, 7.14pm. i get a phone call. i am told to be ready by 7.45pm. not a hard thing to do considering that i'm a bloke. i eventually get picked up at 8.20 and am told that we are going to san francisco. okay, mina being the thathekile guy, i was game. two guys, three girls, four nationalities being represented.

i hadn't really been to the city on a jaiva-ring spree and the 40 minute ride seemed endless. the guy in charge of plans definitely knew where he was going. dinner was at this uber-cool senegalese joint called bissap baobab and late night at the club next door, little baobab. i've been to countless african themed places to eat and groove and they are usually the run down type in the true african sense, with shady characters after your wallet and car - kalabash in bristol and that one in croydon, 187, 791, whatever it's called. it was so refreshing to go to a really trendy african joint with such a vibey crowd.

eat-wise at bissap, i was impressed. i've had not-so-good experiences with west african eateries in england but my reservations were lost after i had this senegalese roasted lamb served with couscous and an okra-based sause. it's about time! in the western world, cuisine from almost everywhere is thriving: chinese, thai, indian, mongolian, japanese, etc but hardly ever from somewhere in sub-saharan africa. the drinks - cheap too, five dollar cocktails, FIVE dollars, beers are three bucks - real cost effective boozing!!!! i was hooked to their sarange, a ginger orange margarita. it went down real good.

around the corner, little baobab had the biggest cosmopolitan party in this country. if california is a melting pot, that place is way past boiling point - young crowd in the right mood. the music, the music: sitshayi dombolo dombolo. nice mix of west african, bhangra, dancehall, reggeaton, bits of hip hop - it was everything but the commercial bubblegum crap from the mainstream. clubs can sometimes be stuffy and cliquey. well this was some celebration in the truest african sense. mina and mdanso go hand to arm phela. but i must say that i had to take notes from this tall dark boy from the gambia obegqok' iyembe eluhlaza. it was like as though he had no bones in his qolo. the dj's played what we wanted them to play, so i requested anything south african. what i got was a screaming brenda fassie telling us to party kuze kuyovalwa. i finally got the jolt that my spine needed. i can now leave this country happy. and when premier gaou came on, my people thought i was weeping. yes i know that my legs shaking rhythmically and that my left hand was over the left eye and that my right hand was on my heart and that i had a facial expression of complete agony. yes it was painful, i was in anguish. such music causes pain. they didn't understand. they'll never understand.

i just checked out their website: www.bissapbaobab.com. they had this interesting description:

"After your meal, take a few steps around the corner to the Little Baobab. Bursting with energy, this little juke joint has a big heart that beats to the rhythms of music from around the world. Feel its friendly, casual atmosphere - dance to the DJs while enjoying our famous ginger cocktails and exotic imported beers. Step outside for a breath of air, and you will find yourself surrounded by languages and conversation from around the world. Every night is its own event as people gather to celebrate life and living."

words just cannot describe it.