The Arb Cellphone Pics

I recently sent all the pics and vids from my phone to my pc…these are some of them!! Some are drunken, some are planned, some are just there :p

Bye! 

The 4am Post

Yeah its 4am here is Johannesburg, South Africa. The past week has been hell with varsity work. The same damn project has kept me up for 2 full nights over the week and yesterday I handed it in. It didn’t go well at all! Its always a similar story when I present my project to the lecturers, its always a great idea or concept but never resolved enough for the hand-in!! It’s now driving me mad, I don’t know why I never manage to finish a project fully but its getting more and more irritating for me. It could possibly be the reason I am awake right now, I couldn’t sleep coz my mind was thinking about things too much…

I keep on dissapointing  myself with these effing projects! My time-management sucks balls and I need to get it sorted out before all the work piles up and the exams start! Dunno how the hell I’m gonna do it but something has to change. The lecturer suggested I keep like a schedule and set target dates…sounds like a good idea to him but I am terrible at keeping to a schedule, I can write one up(who can’t right!) but keeping to it is a bitch! I can work to the schedule but the targets never get reached. Something is wrong with me Maybe you could post a tip as a comment on how you deal with schedules and shit because Architecture is all about dead lines and I seriously need to start meeting them!!!

Sharp City

Sharp City is a group of architects who have been focussed on learning about the city of Johannesburg and then showcasing it all over the world, as an urban landscape. They came to my university about a week ago and gave a talk about what they do and why they do it.  Johannesburg is the city that the Sharp City group is focussed on and the presentation they gave to the students at Wits University was amazing. They showed us images of presentations they have done in various places all over the world showcasing Johannesburg’s people and cityscape. Their work really is of great importance for generating knowledge of the city worldwide and at the same time providing an opportunity for us locals to learn and understand just how fantastic our city and its people are!

I was set on going overseas to work next year, and although it would be really nice to see other places, the Sharp City group really has opened my eyes a bit to what is here in South Africa for me. There is so much opportunity for South African architects and there has already been some awesome work done in Johannesburg and South Africa. The link below is to the Sharp City website where you will be able to learn more about them and their work. I have also bought a book called “Contemporary South African Architecture in a Landscape of Transition” compiled by the Sharp City Architects. It is the first book of its kind displaying South African architecture in the years of democracy since 1994.

“From Public Buildings and private residences to business headquarters and educational centers, all have contributed to the new sense of cultural identity in this country and reveal the potential of our cityscapes to amaze and astound”

The book is fairly new so if you are keen to get it you can find it in Exclusive Books or your local bookstore. For those outside of South Africa it should be available online sometime soon.

Sharp City

Urban Farming!

Whilst on the browse for information and ideas for my design project I came across the idea of farms in urban areas, I’m pretty sure it’s already being done but not on a scale like this site shows. Its pretty far fetched if you think of it existing in our cities now but in the future space will be very limited and its said that 80% of the worlds population will live in urban areas. Personally I think it’s an awesome idea, especially the way sustainability and environmental factors are considered and dealt with. So check it out, it really does look brilliant and gets you thinking on how else urban spaces are going to transform in the future!

Urban Farming

Badja

Exhausted…

I’m extremely tired today due to the week I have had so far. I’ve been in to university everyday and have been going in early also, which I usually don’t have to do.  On top of that my second design project for the year has to be handed in on the 16th of March and although I’ve got a week to get it together, time seems to be going amazingly fast these days so in reality i have very little time. I just got up from a nap so i’m hoping I should be able to work solidly for a while until I really can’t anymore, and things are looking like I’m gonna be up all night tonight so wish me luck guys…this is gonna be a hectic week of work and stress!

I will get through it :p

Badja

My first overseas trip!

Hi everyone! I just completed some of my construction tutorial and have some extra time to write a post before I go to sleep. So my mates and I have been planning an overseas trip(for June/July) for the past couple wks, not much planning has been done but the odd country has been chosen and then scrapped. Seen as we have never all been together to decide plans, people have been getting news at different times…quite confusing! I am at a totally different section of varsity to them so i rarely see any of the group and have been getting delayed information. First it was a trip to Europe for a week and then island hopping in Greece for another week or so but that was too costly for some so it changed to Phuket for one week and now the trip is to Bali!! I really have no clue but seen as it is my first trip overseas(I’m 21 so its exciting ok!) I really don’t give a damn where we go, as long as its somewhere new :p

I have been practically all over South Africa which is a good thing because I believe you should get to know the country you live in before you venture to other countries. But being in the same place for 21 years does get a bit boring especially for a young lad like myself, so its with anticipation and extreme excitement that I await my first overseas experience and I will let you guys know where we end up going but at this stage it really is “anywhere”!

Latah,

Badja

Green Tea Anyone…Um will this make u say “NO”??

K so there was quite an impressive response to the “Green tea anyone” post and I think most readers were impressed with all the health benefits green tea provides but…yar unfortunately there is a “but”, there are some side effects that I have found on the net and thought I would share them here. Although they are apparently considered minor side effects some of them are pretty dodgy!
Here they are -

1.Excess gas(this could come in handy to piss people off in public places),
2.Upset stomach(this could get you if you are too occupied with 1.),
3.Nausea,
4.Heartburn,
5.Stomach ache,
6.Abdominal pain,
7.Dizziness,
8.Headache,
9.Muscle pain

Overconsumption may cause irritability, insomnia, nervousness, and tachycardia(abnormally rapid beating of the heart).

So thats the side effects. Personally, I’ve had like 6 mugs of the stuff today and havn’t noticed any of the above but if you have leave a comment :p

Till next time keep well everyone, Badja !

Green tea anyone??

Ok so i stumbled upon this box of tea bags the other day and it was Green Tea with Jasmine(kind of a weird thing to drink but hey) so i made myself a mug and it turned out to be alright. I continued to have a couple mugs but the jasmine flavour got to me a bit so I asked my mother to get normal green tea because I had heard of how good it is for you and figured with all the crap I eat I may as well have something dandy for my health :p

So today I come home and there sits my box of green tea, all nicely packaged with asian artistry and stuff on the box! I open it and the tea bags are all neatly arranged in their own little packaging…yupo you heard correctly – their own packaging! After lunch I unwrapped a tea bag and made myself a mug of woolies green tea…I must say its quite nice and whilst I was imagining all the impressive stuff it was doing to my body I googled “green tea benefits” to get some precise information and this is what I found -

Here are just a few known health benefits of drinking green tea:

• Boosts your immune system
• Lowers blood sugar
• Helps prevent cavities and tooth decay
• Slows the aging process
• Helps reduce the risk of cancer
• Lowers cholesterol
• Aids in weight loss by burning calories
• Reduces high blood pressure
• Prevents arthritis
• Reduces the risk of heart disease
• Reduces the risk of stroke
• Lowers the risk of blood clot

Thats quite an impressive list people so c’mon and join me in the fight to prevent all of the above and probably more! And for those that need flavours there are plenty

Happy green tea’ing and please drink responsibly ;p
Badja