Day 14/67 Summer run

A gorgeous evening for a run in the neighborhood- and the mountain silhouetted and sleeping behind the trees. Roll on summer. 

Day 13/67 Typo Cafeteria

Image from Beaded Quotes, published by The Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency

" Boxing is egalitarian. In the ring, rank, age, color and wealth are irrelevant. When you are circling your opponent, probing his strengths and weaknesses, you are not thinking about his colour or social status."
Long Walk to Freedom, 1994

So, while sweating on the bicycle and dashing off an email that was long overdue, I realise that tomorrow(today) is the final day for submissions to submit projects to the World Design Capital 2014 curators, in order to get "project approval" and be able to hook in and become part of the official events.

My idea is still something of an adolescent- it is hanging out all alone, with no friends and doesn't have any money. 

I've been wanting to combine student creative exploration of first principles of typography (type weight, counters, leading, kerning, spacing, baseline, baseline shift, x-height variance, legibility etc) with the work of South African and African poets. I love the poetry I saw in the London Underground- that even in that public space where people are mundanely going to work, there is beauty and soul food, which each person can internally enjoy. 

So my proposal is to design and place poetry around our university campus and its edges, with playful typographic exploration, with some intended dialogue between site, poem and users of that location.  It would be temporary, and apart from celebrating the work of African poets, might just make our diverse student group more aware of our collective poetic heritage.

Comments, please?

Run 20, Cycle 20, Step 20. Sweat.

Day 12/67 Blue Monday turns pink

Not the greatest start to the day when a student came into my office at 8am, and asked...is that your silver Toyota parked outside the Design building.... you can guess where this is going..... a taxi reversing carelessly had dinged my bumper in front of so many students that there was no escape for him. Short story- an immigrant man with no insurance leasing the car from the taxi company, and him promising to pay me back when he had the money. I found myself feeling sorry for him, he was so apologetic. After I had unleashed a little colourful language.

Breakdowns. That one got me over the insignificance of my colleagues' piggy tendency to leave the staffroom full of their dirty dishes.

My institution is hosting a two day Catalytic Design Summit, and I picked up a few anecdotal morsels from the two first speakers. While I don't agree that just because Twitter uses 140 characters we should redesign our curriculum to consist of 30 second learning experiences, Prof Cronje does know how to stir things up. I think people need to be seen as more than just brains, and multitasking is myth. I'm all for teaching students the skills to calm down, focus and relax, through meditation or other means, and engage with the problems of the world in a humane, integrated, ethical way. I shudder when I hear word like "innovation" used as stand-alone concepts. Of what? For whom? To what ends? Why? 

Prof Pitika Ntuli, my former HOD from University of Durban-Westville, was the keynote speaker. I loved his anecdote of his Grandmother, who was asked by a European visitor when painting walls in Ndebele patterns, why she was using natural oxides, and why she didn't rather use enamel, as it would last forever. She responded by saying 

" you want to create little forevers, whereas in Africa, we want to forever create". 

Wouldn't it be nice if that value was embedded in how we approach other things we do, whether it concerns contesting the assumed permanence of public art, or affirming the value of the process, the act of doing, making, responding and creating?

And to wrap up the day, I pushed very hard on the stepper, the bike, the cross trainer and the treadmill. Fabulous day, feeling stronger, and see? Blue Monday went pink.

11/67 Seapoint run

Lovely Seapoint was blowing and puffing up foam, making my morning run more fun, as you must dodge the wave surges, or get wet. When the sun came out, it was gorgeous, and with the wind at my back on the home run back to the promise of coffee and bagels at Newport Deli, it didn't seem too difficult at all. 

Mike bailed, choosing coffee and newspapers. Nic and Adam test-drove skateboards along the widened pavements, which are allowing temporary public access to roller-bladers, cyclists and skateboarders. The experiment seems to be working, as people become sensitised to shared and sharing public spaces.

Day 10/67 Mandela Rhodes Foundation opskop

The City Hall in Cape Town was transformed last night  by the the 10 year anniversary gala celebrations of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, with a balcony DJ, trendy bar, and the live sounds of Sipho Hotstix. Okay- that was after the serious proceedings of acknowledgements and speeches,  by Prof Njabulo Ndebele, and Patricia de Lille, Mayor of Cape town, among others.

Over 200 young scholars and leaders from across Africa have been been supported by the Foundation, over the past ten years, to study at Honours and Master's level, in a wide range of disciplines. These extraordinary young people, in their own words, are already leaders, but these awards serve to affirm those qualities  and launch them into future possibilities. 

A student from each cohort, from 2003 to 2013, reflected on the experience, and while it may be to soon to assess the wider impact of the Foundation  the personal impact is profound. Some of their comments:

We have been given the gift of intimate experience 

 The MRF has taught us that every voice counts, to treasure diversity, never to take yourself too seriously, and not to confuse privilege with right.

This has been a platform to express ideas, where no-one is going to tell us our ideas are unachievable. 

We feel authenticated- we were leaders before we became scholars. 

We are part of a community, able in turn to support a network of people.

What was also remarkable was the incredible financial support by global philanthropists, where 100 million was pledged in one night.

Here's hoping these scholars continue to make an impact, and to borrow the closing words, make every day a Mandela Day, where we improve the lives of some people.

Row 13 Cycle 17 Run 10 Step 20

Day 9/67 Nostalgia trippie

Company Gardens lunch-hour walk with Ruth: the Gardens are full of school kids, a few art students, resting working people, tourists, Eqyptian geese, squirrels, pigeons, all enjoying the fresh air and as of today, free wifi. Actually saw no-one using the wifi, but I will be back.....

day 8/67 Falling and rising

It's curious how each day assumes and gains a particular shape- how one can start a day off with particular intentions, or events in mind, and then something unexpected happens, plans are changed by others or by circumstances. There are then options to respond or react to unwanted change in a particular way. 

I had two meetings planned for today, one of which happened later than planned, and the other was cancelled at the last minute. Sometimes I am inclined to see these moments as opportunities to do nothing, and feel lost without what was supposed to have been, but with self-awareness I'm better able to respond and make decisions about what  do next, in what feels a more constructive use of time. 

I seem better able to see these moments- mini-breakdowns- as opportunities to engage with something else, other plans or activities. Because I have a better grasp of the overall shape of where I am wanting to go, of the next few weeks, the next few months, and even intentions for the next few years, rather than plans making me less flexible , it's having the exact opposite effect. 

I can be more responsive and spontaneous, because I am holding a longer term vision in my head. 

Who would have thought?

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. - Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela   

PS Step 20, Row 12, Run 10, Cycle 18

Day 7/67 Quotes on a bicycle

Some quotations from Nelson Mandela that resonated while on the bicycle:

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.

I have always believed that exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind. - Long Walk to Freedom 

Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear at the fabric of our society and weaken our nation. - National Men`s March, 1997 

And on the step machine I found these from a website of quotes on Volunteerism

Someone asked the anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978), "What is the first sign you look for, to tell you of an ancient civilization?" The interviewer had in mind a tool or article of clothing. Ms. Mead surprised him by answering, a "healed femur". When someone breaks a femur, they can't survive to hunt, fish or escape enemies unless they have help from someone else. Thus, a healed femur indicates that someone else helped that person, rather than abandoning them and saving themselves. 

That seems so fitting in relation to the work of St Joseph's. It is still a mark of civilization to care for the sick, the weak and the injured. 

Back on the bicycle

"Deeds of loving-kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments."-Jerusalem Talmud, Pe'ah 1:1
"The heart's intention is the measure of all things."-Maimonides, Letter to Hasda HaLevi, 12th Century

And from the Masaii tribe

"I believe in the spirit of sharing and I believe we are what we are because of those around us."
"I am what I am because of other people and they are what they are because of me being around."
"One hand cannot clap on its own but it needs the other hand to make a clap." 

Desmond Tutu, in his book No Future Without Forgiveness

"Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language... It is to say, 'My humanity is caught up, is  inextricably bound up, in what is yours.'" 

New Zealand Maori Proverb

Ko taku rourouKo tau rou rouKa ora te tangata
With my resourcesAnd your resourcesEveryone will benefit

and finally from the actress Lily Tomlin

I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.

Day 6/67 This is hard

This is hard. Today was really tough. There were moments of wanting to stop, because no-one would know, would they?  The fourth minute out of ten is tough. The fourteenth minute out of twenty is hard. So I talk to myself, all the time. Just five more minutes, two more. We are doing an exercise in coaching, of observing every emotion we feel, over three days. I feel my wavering spirit. The last ten minutes on the cycle are on the lowest resistance rating possible. I feel very old. I want to stop. Head down, don't think anymore, just finish. I feel like crying on my way home. 

I've been thinking about the ethics of this act. How even when what one does is not visible to anyone else, it matters what choices you make,  I believe. 

A bit like the beautiful craftsmanship of Shaker furniture, where even the underneath of a wooden chair is finished perfectly, uncompromisingly, even though no-one sees it. An action, even one not witnessed by anyone else, still involves making choices which have ethical implications. A bit like the invisibility of one's conscience to the world. If I relate this to this challenge, then the ethical issue is one of having made a promise to do something, which if I do not do what I say I will, I break the trust people have put in me, which will impacts negatively on my relationships and also on responses to the next well-intentioned person who wants to do a similar thing. Promises are built on trust, and trust is key to relationships. Relationships are built on trust, and the risk taken in entering into relationships  is to trust. 

I was taught by my dad that when you promise to do something, it is very difficult to break that promise. And while as an adult, I understand that sometimes the reasons for breaking a promise may be more nuanced, and I don't believe in the black and white of right and wrong as a child might, I feel in this case a real commitment to doing this, and doing it as well as I can. 

Day 5 - all about R67

Trainer Nic

R67 isn't a road you've never heard of. But it is really fitting and magical how that number keeps turning up. It was the cost of my supper from Food Inn India, in Riverside Centre, Rondebosch. Mike's cooking night took a genius turn. I ordered what were supposed to be half portions of Chicken Biryani and Dhal, and a taste of two other curries- and it was enough food to feed about three people. As good or better than Zaika in Kromboom Road, an even wider selection, and incredible value for money.

Day 5 took a much harder turn- running to gym with my own personal trainer-son, Nic, a hard workout and then of course we had to run home. So with jelly legs and a face that was redder than my top, the game is getting tougher. Funnily enough, it felt much harder to run there than back, even after 40 minutes of pushing up the heart rate. It must have been the encouraging thought that I didn't have to cook supper tonight.

The mind plays really funny tricks- and can be persuaded to keep pushing the body in all kinds of ways, when the body is saying no. On family walks, as kids, my dad taught us rhyming walking songs to keep the reluctant brood of children going,  along the lines of "I had a good job that I left, left, left, It served me jolly well right, right, right" and again. I am sure his mother taught it to him.
I try listening to motivate myself with new playlists, from Haezer to Kings of Leon, but gym can still feel like a strange and lonely place.
No-one really talks to each , and with headphones off, the only sounds are the whirr of machines , the slap of feet on banks of treadmills and the periodic crescendo of the Spinning class, even at 5pm with every UCT student in the suburbs filling the gym. And we all face the same direction, which makes turning to stare at your neighbor on a cycle a big no-no. The etiquette of private space applies in this public space.

So the sweet girl on the step machine tonight who offered advice on the benefits of sucking in my stomach while on the step machine tonight was an exception. Thank you.

Day 4/67

It's another incredible winter day, so I head straight to gym at 8am. Family lunch later and I don't want to have to exercise later when I really want an afternoon sleep. In the delicious winter sun.

I rediscover some thing I learned about two years ago- that I love moving, running, sweating, pushing my body, feeling like I am really alive and full of blood and water and flesh. I run, conscious of the balls of my feet hitting the treadmill. It's wonderful- it will soon be time to hit the tar, run outside in my neighborhood, like I did at the start of this year, and maybe further.

My dear brother gave me a supportive birthday present- a new Adidas running top. He says I will need lots of clean one. Wry smile. Grateful!

I wanted to go to the Girl's cupcake party at St Josephs's this afternoon, but family arrangements made it not possible. Next weekend. I want to connect with the kids there, and make this act more personal.

Day3/67

I am getting wise to my own patterns.

I tell Mike late on Friday night that I'd like to do a super-brisk hour walk on Seapoint promenade if the weather is good on Saturday, and we wake to promising weather. I've successfully got support. We drive there through the rain. The coast looks clear. I decide to carry the umbrella, my pattern again, I think. I am afraid it will rain. 

An hour of winter sunshine and magnificent sea air.

We talk about coaching, and I find myself having the beginnings of two conversations I know I've been needing to have.

He offers to carry the umbrella. Coffee and breakfast at Newport Deli. 

I resolve to try other gym activities. And spin classes. Put myself into new exercise spaces. 

Day 2/67

It's only Day2/67 and already friends and family have pledged over R4500. Absolutely incredible feedback. 

It's another long amazing day at the Associate Coaching course, but by the end of it all 24 of us are wilting from sharing so much of ourselves. I have learned rather a lot of things about myself that I am not terribly proud of- my tendencies to judge others, and to withhold myself. Still, knowing is beginning. 

I stay for the talk on the follow up, year-long course, the Professional Coaching Course. I am really keen to apply to do this. It's deeper and more intense, but it feels right. I am so excited by the possibilities for working with people, in a new way.

Home by 7 again. By 7.20, I'm on my way back to the gym. Twenty minutes each of walking, stair master and cross trainer. One twelfth, one tenth, one sixth, halfway.

The elderly couple are there again. He is wearing a beloved knitted tank top over his t- shirt. He cleans her cycle. They don't talk much. Just comfortably cycle next to each other , she with headphones. I wonder what music she is listening to?

And again my old friend texts me. " Are you done yet?" 

I am grateful for her support.

Day 1/67 Mandela Day 18 July

It's the day after my 51st birthday. Mandela is 95, and still in hospital after six weeks.

It's a long, intense day of attending the Coaching course. I wonder how I will cope after ten hours of siting and learning, but some people on the course have committed to sponsor me. 

That morning in the session we each share with the person next to us what Mandela has meant to us. I say I once shook his hand and I share my plan of action.

I decide not to share with the whole group of fellow coaches-in -training. Wallflower Janet wins. 

Home by 6.45. Hit the gym by 7.30.

I count every minute of exercise. Step machine, treadmill, cycle. Doing fractions in my head. One sixth. One fifth. Half way. How long can an hour be- this is boring. Maybe it's like jail. Get some perspective. Okay I put myself here. I watch an elderly couple find a pair of cycles next to each other. She stands and waits for him to clean and disinfect her bicycle before she's happy to climb on. My oldest friend texts me.  "Are you done?"

I am home by 8.40. I eat supper at 8.45. Mike and I chat in the kitchen. 

I realize I haven't thought about whether I can accumulate hours and decide not. If I offer myself the  option of accruing hours, then I lose the discipline of having to exercise every day , and I may begin the pattern of rationalizing days off. So unless I get sick, it's every day.