I have recently been falling in love with this new form of hip hop, all thanks to my radio station of choice’s influence. I mean the kind of hip hop that is all pop, electro and hard core lyrics in one go that has me bopping my head to work everyday.

This morning though as I was driving, listening to my morning radio station of choice, I wondered to myself about the “n” word. That derogatory term that white slave owners of the good ol’ US of A used to refer to black people. My thought was sparked off by a listener that called in, greeting the host DJ by saying “Hey. What’s up n***a?”

While I get the black USA hip hop artists, for reasons of their own, fully claiming that word and nullifying it by using it so casually, I wonder about every other black person’s rights to use that label freely. I mean, would it be okay for other black people around the world to start referring to each other as k****r instead? Nullifying and claiming that derogatory label that white apartheid used for black people in South Africa?

I still feel like we as South African people feel the raw pain that label incites. It personally makes me uncomfortable to use it, forget hear it and the same can be said about the use of the “n” word for me. I don’t believe South African Indians want be hearing about how they are being k****s. Or coloured people their derogatory label being freely used by all coloured people around the world.

So, I wonder how American blacks feel about the universal use of the label n***a, even though their artists popularised it and gave it international status. The suffering at the hands of their slave masters was not experienced by all black people, yet we are all universally claiming the right to use it. If it were reversed and k****r was up for nomination for casual use in lyrics, would that be okay?

My question, which is not a new one and I guess one that will linger for many years to come is why we ringfence these terms on a permission basis. Only certain people are allowed to use certain derogatory terms to claim back their power. The “k” word may not even be mentioned! I think Dr Irvin Khoza learnt his lesson saying in a press conference that someone was acting like a k****r. I understood his expression to mean a black mentality of the oppressed in my mind, but socially it was condemned and he had to apologise through the SA Human Rights Commission for even uttering those words. Just the comments alone on this post are a clear outburst of the nation’s unhappiness http://www.tvsa.co.za/default.asp?articleID=7204&blogname=shugasblogiwood.

We are a sensitive nation that has been through much pain. But is it okay, simply because some popular people have made it seem okay, to diminish the pain other nations have experienced by using n***a? Or is using the “n” word not diminishing the historic pain behind it? Will we one day be able to freely use the “k” word without public condemnation and be cool with other black people using it too? I am just wondering…

Salad searching

#ilovejhb A Signature dish.

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Birth month is off to a bubbly start! Next stop, pamperville!

Bubbles in Swarosvky #asalifestylechoice

@paulocoelho: The best way to be original is to be yourself — shared via UberSocial http://ubersocial.com

Sunday afternoon freedom!

It is amazing what I have learnt to date as an attendee of life school. The biggest lessons have been throughout my career, where the tests have been significantly tough on my character.

Having a recap conversation with a friend earlier, I came away with three things that have imprinted in my mind to date. Three broad lessons learnt over seven years, which is daunting when I wonder about how many more profound and telling moments one is going to have before retirement!!

So, lesson one that I learnt thanks to my first job. I learnt to be clear about what it is I want to build for my career. Having started out in finance, when I looked ahead down the tunnel, it did not look promising that I was going to go anywhere, forget slowly! So, I made a drastic decision, resulting in a career change and took on the opportunity of a lifetime.

The opportunity of a lifetime, also known as my second job was an amazing 18 months of international travel and meeting of brilliant-minded people across the globe. Then the global financial crisis happened and with that, retrenchment. Glad that happened early, because it made me realise that nothing is a certainty in the work environment and out of that I simplified my life and unburdened myself of unnecessary debts. My life is significantly simpler and more flexible to weather any financial storm.

Given that I had never not had a job, I panicked about finding one and grabbed the first opportunity that came my way. The adage held true that not every opportunity is for you. I stayed a mere ten months because, with lesson number one firmly in place, I knew that it was not what I wanted for my career. My life was financially simple as a result of lesson two. So, I saved some money and quit the job without another one in hand. That was not a popular decision with some people I expected support from, but it was the right decision for my career and, ultimately, my happiness.

I stayed home for two blissful months and then started in a job that elevated my career to new heights. It gave me the space to grow in skill and confidence. Out of job number three, I learnt lesson number three: do not be hasty when making a career decision. Panick led me down a dark path for ten months and I lost an essence of myself because I was afraid to take time to consider my next career move carefully and because of the fear of the potential financial implications of not having a job.

I am in another growth phase in my career and have no doubt that I will be adding lesson four to the fold in another year or so. In the meantime, I hold on to:

1. Always be clear and know what you want for your career
2. Keep your life’s financial burden as light as you possibly can to allow decision-making flexibility
3. Do not make hasty decisions out of fear when it comes to career moves

I welcome the next lessons and maybe a recap at the same time in a year may yield more and interesting lessons. It feels good to get a small return on the school fees paid to life school. At least, on the career side.

#ilovejhb Morning tonic with a G at this spot