Girls in ICT
Today I had the absolute pleasure of attending the local Girls in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) event.
What is Girls in ICT you ask?
International Girls’ in ICT Day is an initiative backed by ITU Member States to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICTs). International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated on the 4th Thursday in April every year.
Hosted by Anglo African Events in partnership with HP, a few of us bloggers and journos were honoured to be included among about 200 young ladies, these lovely learners are all in grade 12/matric and are starting to seriously think about what to study in the near future.
We got to listen to Keynote speaker, Melanie Botha, Marketing and Ops Director at Microsoft SA, she told us of her fascinating history in various companies across the globe, and imparted one of the most important lessons of the day: ‘Never stop studying, keep learning!’
This was followed by a truly inspirational panel of women, Pippa Tshabalala, Palesa Sibeko, Lebogang Madise, Ntokozo Ncongwane, Shana Kay and Tsoanelo Takaendesa. These six women are, gamers, programers, IT security experts, app developers, business owners, teachers, tech consultants and all around awesome geeky gals.
These are the women that I want my daughter to look up to. I want her to see what these women have accomplished and know that she is capable of greatness. Whether she wants to be a ballerina, am astronaut, a doctor or a techie, she will know that she role models to aspire to.
Myself and Queen. Future tech wizard? I hope so!
I think that todays event gave that opportunity to a room full of intelligent, driven and motivated young women and I hope that they know they can make it in the ICT world, they just have to reach out and grab it with both hands.
2nd annual Tattoo-A-Thon
What a fantastic initiative!
Last year Tattoo-A-Thon raised over R70 000.00. This year they aim to raise R500 000.00 by creating a recording breaking 1000 tattoos in 1 day!
From the Tattoo-A-Thon website -
The project originated out of an education course called the Self Expression & Leadership Program curated by {Landmark Education}, following the Landmark Forum. In order for the participants in the program to graduate, each participant must complete a community-orientated project using the structure taught throughout the program. Jordan Gray took part in this program in 2012 and what turned out to be a cool idea has snowballed into something with a life of its own.
So how does it work?
R700 gets you an hour of ink time and a set size tattoo. The funds raised from the event go directly to {CHOC}. The organisation does not receive funding from government and rely heavily on donations from caring corporates, individuals and parents of children with cancer. Donations and fund raising projects like Tattoo-a-thon are therefore the lifeblood of the organisation.
How do you book?
Contact one of the participating studios in {Jozi}, {Cape Town} or Durban and book your slot. That simple.
More info
If you dont want to get a tattoo or dont have time/funds at the moment you can make a donation directly to CHOC {here} or you can volunteer to help out {here}.
Follow Tattoo-A-Thon on Twitter {here} and on Facebook {here} and check out their website for {FAQ}
#JoziRedBus – The best way to be a tourist in your own city!
Yesterday was EPIC!
The launch of City Sightseeing {Hop On Hop Off Johannesburg}.
The first time I ever heard about the Hop On Hop Off bus was on {CBeebies}, {Boogie Beebies} show. The song was about a double decker bus and the bus was, of course, a Hop On Hop Off London bus. I googled it, since I had never seen anything like it and once I had read all about it I wished we could have one in Jozi. Looks like I got my wish!
{Gauteng Tourism}, Department of Transportation and City Sightseeing have revolutionised Jozi tourism.
Here are the basics:
- The buses travel a circular route with 12 stops along the way.
- Gautrain Station @ Park Departs: Safe, secure with parking (recommended starting point)
- Gandhi Square
- Carlton Centre
- Santarama Miniland
- James Hall Transport Museum
- Gold Reef City Tour Office Safe, secure with parking (another recommended starting point)
- Apartheid Museum
- Mining District Walk
- Newtown
- Origins Centre at Wits
- Braamfontein
- Constitution Hill
- You end up back at Park Station to complete your journey.
- Tickets cost R150 per adult (R120 if you buy them online!) and R70 per child (5 – 15 years old), kids under 5 are free!
- Busses leave each stop at 40 minute intervals. Starting at 9am at Park Station with the last bus arriving back at Park Station at 5:35pm.
- You can hop on and off as many times as you like during the day, stopping to visit any of the amazing attractions on the route.
- You each get a brand new set of headphones to plug into the onboard tour guide and you can listen in a variety of languages, there is even a special channel just for kids!
- If you dont get off at any of the stops the round trip will take you 2 hours and is filled with amazing stories about the City of Gold.
- Take plenty of sunscreen and a hat, especially if you intend to travel on the upper deck which is open!
- The following stops require an additional entrance fee if you decide to visit them:
Stop 3. Carlton Centre “TOP of AFRICA”
Stop 4. Santorama Miniland
Stop 5. James Hall Transport Museum
Stop 6. Gold Reef City Theme Park
Stop 7. Apartheid Museum
Stop 10. Origins Centre at Wit
Stop 12. Constitution Hill
I was totally blown away by the entire experience, the buses are clean and tidy, the tour staff are friendly and knowledgable and the onboard tour guide kept me enthralled the entire 2 hours we were traveling!
I cannot wait to take my family for a tour of our amazing city. I think we will start early and park at Gold Reef City, hop on the bus, visit a few of the stops, come back to Gold Reef City and spend the afternoon at the theme park.
Head on over to the {website} for more information and to book your tickets!
Before I leave you here are some of the pictures I managed to snap with my phone!
#JoziRedBus
On our way!
Jozi – true beauty
Reflections
‘That’ bridge
A park. Smack dab in the middle of the city!!!
Constitutional Court.
A more perfect day we couldn’t have asked for
Need I say more?
Old Standard Bank building
Looking up. I used to watch ice hockey on a Sunday night with my dad at the Carleton ice rink.
Iconic Johannesburg
I dont have a bucket list but if I did…
…I would have ticked off an item on Tueday.
Instead of a year end party, our boss took us to The Lion Park!
And we got to play with the cubs!
It was so much fun, we had a blast.
I showed the pics to Aaron, now all I hear is ‘Mommy, when can we go to play with the lions?’ Guess where we are going in the holidays 
Movember or My Brother Looks Like a Traffic Cop
So Matt decided to grow a mo this year for Movember.
Those of you that know my brother know that he permanently has a beard. This is the first time he has been clean shaven in almost 7 years (last time was for my wedding). In the last month he has attempted to grow his mo and now looks like:
A. A traffic cop circa 1980
B. A peodophile
C. He drank chocolate milk and forgot to wipe his mouth
D. All of the above
Please dont let the horror of my brothers facial hair be for nothing!
Donate ($10 is only about R80!) on his MoBro page (here) and help in the fight against cancer!
Oh and as a bonus, just cause I know you all went and donated here is a pic of Matt dressed as a fairy!
Go on, go donate to a good cause!
Conrad Pezula – The luxury of being yourself
I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the new Conrad Pezula Resort & Spa in Knysna (The launch was held at the Hilton in Sandton).
What a treat and what an amazing resort.
The new Conrad Pezula resort, is situated on Lagoonview Drive in Knysna and boasts 86 rooms, including 2 Grand Suites, 5 Villas and the sumptuous Pezula Private Castle on Noetzie Beach.
The name of the game is luxury. Log fire places, private patios and balconies, heated plunge pools, complimentary WiFi, 5 different dining experiences, plenty on-site activities, golf as well as the magnificent spa and gym.
The resort caters for businessmen, weddings and other functions. And children are welcome,from the age of 4 up they can attend the Kiddies Club run by trained, experienced child minders with the emphasis on fun in a healthy, natural environment.
All in all the resort looks fantastic and given half a chance I will be trying out myself!
What a rush!!!
Last night was the 2nd Annual iPhoneography Exhibition.
I just have to say, Marc Forrest, you and the iStore team are legends! What a slick, professional and awesome event!
If you couldnt make it to the Johannesburg event last night, dont worry, the artwork will remain on display until Friday 26th October and most artworks are for sale so if you go take a look make sure to take some cash with you. You wont be sorry.
If you are in Cape Town you wont want to miss the CT Exhibition on 23rd October.
So, in my previous post I mentioned that I submitted 5 images and 2 were chosen to be displayed.
These are the two…
What a rush seeing them up on the wall with my name next to them.
But an even bigger rush was this!
I sold an image that I took! I am beyond chuffed, especially since out of all the images that I submitted this is my favourite one, this is the one I wanted to get through. What! A! Rush!
I’m still doing a little jig this morning
I also want to thank Print Wild for the amazing job they did with all the printing. I will definitely be using them to print more of my images. Paul and I have decided to do a 3 x 3 (or maybe 4 x 4 if we cant decide on only 9 images) panel on our entrance hall wall of our Instagram images on canvas.
Edited to add: My darling sweetheart mommy just told me she is buying the other image!
Chocolate, coffee, chocolate, coffee, chocolate, coffee, bliss!
The other day I was invited to attend the very first 2Beans Chocolate and Coffee event.
There was no way I was passing up the opportunity to learn about two of my favourite vices.
Held at the Wanderers Club, I met up with Laura and in we went.
Oh my, coffee everywhere!
Jacobs, Nespresso, House of Coffees, Chay.wa just to name a few.
We found our table and then went to get a cuppa.
Our table was covered with yummy chocolaty goodness too.
Soon Laura and I were joined by Nicki and Bron
The first part of the morning was a panel discussion moderated by Jeremy Maggs.
The panelist were:
- Martin Riedesser, founder of Saeco (Italian Lifestyle)
- Executive Chef at Tsogo Sun and Masterchef judge, Benny Masekwameng
- Anso Spencer, graduate of The London Cordon Bleu School
- David van Staden, Tsogo Sun chef
- Angela Todd, Head of Training at CIRO
- Debbie Shepard, marketing lead at Kraft Foods South Africa
They discussed marketing and trends in the coffee and chocolate industries. There were two things that stuck with me. One, the coffee that we have in South Africa is all very good coffee, so there should be no excuse for receiving bad coffee at a restaurant, if you do receive a bad cup you must send it back, the barrista needs to know that it wasnt good so that he/she can learn and know that the next cup needs to be made properly. The other thing I learned is that no matter what the trends, no matter how wild or out there they are, they will always come back to basics, coffee and chocolate or luxurious treats, especially plain and simple, just like you had when you were younger.
The next part of the morning was such a treat, Callum Hann, runner up in Master Chef Australia Season 2 gave us a cooking demo. He made a flour-less chocolate cake and a 5 minute chocolate mousse that only has 2 ingredients. You can find the recipes here.
Our very own Nicki got called up to assist with some egg beating and got herself a copy of Callum’s new book The Starter Kitchen, which looks amazing.
Im so glad I got to go to this amazing event, I certainly learned a lot and had fun to boot!
Shhhhhhhh! Its a secret!
Charlotte (The Stiletto Mum) cornered me on twitter about joining the #blogsecretsanta this year. I thought about it for all of two seconds and agreed to join in. So much fun.
To see a little more about what its all about head on over to her post here! We are encouraged to let our secret santa know what we like in a blog post…
So, what do I like….
- Im going through a teal/aqua colour phase (It used to be red)
- I love anything dashund (I have 3!)
- I adore rings. They are pretty much the only jewellery I wear.
- I love to bake.
- Writing paper. With matching envelopes.
- Stamps.
- Butterflies.
Its a dress, not a yes!!
Please take a moment and read the SlutwalkJHB press release.
Slutwalk Johannesburg
It’s a dress, not a Yes!
P.O. BOX 44170 LINDEN 2104 http://www.slutwalkjhb.co.za slutwalkjhb@gmail.com
SLUTWALK JHB
Slutwalk expresses the notion that no victim of sexual assault is the cause of that assault. No one ever asked to be raped.
Slutwalks originated in Canada in January 2011 when a representative of the Toronto police told a group of students, “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”. A furore ensued, followed quickly by a protest march, the message of which reverberated so that there have now been Slutwalks in over 100 cities around the world. This August 25th 2012, Slutwalk is coming to the streets of Johannesburg for the second time.
We, the organisers of Slutwalk Johannesburg see Slutwalk as an international Movement which can help us raise awareness around a number of sexual assault issues; victim-blaming, corrective rape, gender violence and questioning the acceptance of a “rape culture” which has become the norm in our country. This is in line with the focus of the original Toronto Slutwalk.
In our country it is obvious that sexual violence is a very pressing issue and in spite of Slutwalk this year being during Woman’s Month, it is not only a woman’s issue, it is an issue that all of society needs to address.
The participants at Slutwalk are ordinary people, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters – people who believe in the vision of an equal society. Some dress provocatively to emphasize the absurdity of much of society’s view on the issue, others dress in normal work or casual clothes in solidarity.
To quote Heather Jarvis, founder of Slutwalk: “From the very beginning in 2011 people were always encouraged to challenge slut-shaming language like “slut”, “whore”, “ho”, “skank”, “tramp”, etc. and never told they had to identify (with) one or another in order to participate. We’ve always maintained people should be safe to be who they are, how they are.”
If you’re human and believe that nobody, despite their age, sex, gender, sexual orientation or sexual history deserves to be raped, then come support Slutwalk and spread the message.
CONSENT IS NOT NEGOTIABLE
JOIN SLUTWALK JHB AND LET’S UNITE AGAINST VICTIM BLAMING AND SHAMING AND AGAINST ACCEPTABILITY OF ANY FORM OF RAPE
BLAME THE PERPETRATOR, NOT THE VICTIM!
DETAILS OF THE DAY:
ORGANISERS:
Slutwalk JHB is being organised by founder Sandi Schultz, Gina Jacobson, Nadia Assimacopoulos and Walter Pike
TIME & LOCATION:
The march is happening 25 th AUGUST 2012 starting and ending at Zoo Lake Sport’s Club, Cnr Westwold Way and Lower Park Drive, Parkwood. People are asked to arrive at 10h30, speeches start at 11h00 and the march will start at 11h30.
PARKING:
Parking has been organized on the cricket field on Westwold Way and will be R10 per vehicle. The organizers kindly ask that participants carpool where possible and that no one park on the streets, in keeping with the resident’s association’s request.
For more info on Slutwalk Johannesburg, we have the following in place:
- FB Event page -https://www.facebook.com/events/245692495535138/permalink/258911697546551
- FB cause page – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slutwalk-Johannesburg/147836015284588
- Twitter – @slutwalkjhb
- Email - slutwalkjhb@gmail.com
- Website – http://www.slutwalkjhb.co.za
- FAQ - http://slutwalkjhb.co.za/?page_id=114
- Linked to Slutwalk JHB is http://isaidno.co.za, a site with resource links and a place where survivors can break the silence, anonymously or otherwise.
We would like to express our gratitude to the following:
Afrihost – for sponsoring our website
Etana – for covering our Liability Insurance for the event
Lola Montez – for assistance with T-shirt costs
Foot Fashion SA – for donations
Please make any donations to:
FNB Savings Account
Slutwalkjhb
Acc : 62325235902
Branch Norwood Mall
250655
Blessed Cupcake Book Club's bookshelf: read
15 members
For those who enjoy smultzy romance novels or something a little hotter!
15 membersFor those who enjoy smultzy romance novels or something a little hotter!
