Even If You Know Me Well, You Don’t Know This.

I find myself reluctantly participating in a writer’s challenge or boot camp whereby the idea is to write and post everyday for the entire month of July. Yes, I found the idea daunting at first but the pros eventually outweighed the cons. So..
First day and first topic.. Even If You Know Me Well, You Don’t Know This…
We all have that side of us we never show the world, our friends and basically things we never feel are important enough to share.  What are those little things most of you don’t know about me?

Sometimes it is visible and other times not, so, I am quite sure none of you notice the scar on my upper lip which I got trying to jump over a mini barbed wire fence in primary school. My leg got caught in the barbed wire and I fell face down onto gravel! I'm glad I only walked away with a split lip and nary a scar on my face.

I find the scar on my thigh a reminder of one of the best days of my life! I’d spent part of that day with this boy I had a mad crush on in University before it happened and the people who were with me when glass shattered are quite special because we had such a fantastic time bonding that day.

Whenever I write from the heart and publish, I do it in a roundabout way. I feel that doing so won’t leave me as exposed as I felt when writing the piece and people won’t pose a lot of questions.

I was so bad at Maths that when it came to sitting National Exams, my mother asked if the Math exam was optional so I don’t sit for it and my brother told me to try my hardest and get the passing grade.

People think I am in a mood or something whenever they find me by myself not knowing that I am at peace with being by myself and find those moments comforting. This is why my man hunt is an ongoing process.

I was violently ill during my university finals that I contemplated taking a dead year. The little soldier in me refused to because I had studied so hard. I ended up sitting for them in sickness.

Most of you think I love my lips what with forever plying them with lip balm and gloss. The truth is; if I don’t do any of that, and since I hate having to lick them all the time, they dry up to the point of developing dry patches which I find myself pinching to bloodiness when in thought. Pinching my lip is my obsessive habit.

I spent the best part of today pouring my heart out in a letter to/ memories of a lost love. Someone who up to now has refused to let me forget him. I felt a lot better after writing it and even got the little urge to publish. But… It will never see the light of day on Simply Shanah.

I think that is enough for now.

Not My Cup Of Tea!

I work twice a week but I have to say the two days take the hell out of me. I find myself quite tired at the end of each day and looking forward to the last hour of my last day! Yes, that’s how much it takes. The days over there are more demanding than when I used to work with mum. With mum; such days were sporadic but over there… after two – three hours of lazing about in the morning, the pace picks up out of nowhere.
Fortunately, I am still new over there and my skills are not so on demand. Speaking of skills, I hate how everyone automatically thinks every Information Science and Technology person is good at Programming and Design! For some reason they expect you to be able to design a database or a website off the bat – stuff I haven’t done in years. To be honest; this is the bit about Information Science and Technology that makes me not want to pursue it as a profession.
I loathed Programming at University and still do to this moment. I can’t imagine myself seated in a corner going bonkers over a piece of code that’s failed to run with my nose pressed on the computer screen. That’s not even talking about the sleepless nights and the perpetual unkempt look Programmers spot. I am not desirous of that lifestyle because I don’t have the patience and it is not my cup of tea.
My interest lies at the front end of Information Science and Technology. I love the tweaking and managing and whatnot. That is where my passion is. I put a lot of effort and hard work in pursuit of this degree, acquired the skills and also the knowledge so I’d be a fool to write off something I worked so hard for. Right?!
We are in the era of Information Science and Technology where practical skills and knowledge of the Computer and it’s entities is no longer a must but a necessity and me having those is a bonus. Plus, everything comes back with practice and I am sure that if I really wanted to program and design it would all come back to me but to be frank, it is not what I want.
Whenever the opportunity arises and my skills are questioned, I extol my interests and try as much as I can to disabuse them of the programmer thought that automatically comes with the Information Science and Technology credentials.There is no Programmer over here, not in my direction.

X. Shanah

Stretchy Braided Wrist Bands.

Every clean up session brings the need to de-clutter and throw away most unused/outgrown stuff. In a bid to do so; I had second thoughts when it came to these little seed beads I’d collected over the years. As per usual, I felt I could use them in some way which made throwing them away moot.
I have been toying with the idea of making a braided bracelet and necklace for the longest time and suddenly, there it was, the thought to try it out first as a wristband then take it from there if I loved the result. I had a daily/weekly documentation of the creations on twitter (which you would remember if you’re a twitter follower) where I would post a picture for the different wristbands.
 

Before

I made four in total – green, orange & red, black & colourless and my favourite of all the seashell coloured one littered with black. The process as seen in the before picture: three stretchy strings, enter beads, then make a braid, knot the ends together and voila… a stretchy wrist band.

After

 Ps: The stretchiness varies with wrist size and string used.

Every Scar Has Its Own Story.

Whenever we embark on new paths and journeys in our lives, the words you’re bound to hear from loved ones with certainty are ‘experience’ and ‘exposure’ for it will all be new. I think those two should come with a warning and a manual on how to act when you are exposed to something you have never come across in your 20 something years!
My work has been a wealth of exposure when it comes to disabilities and the people involved but nothing could have prepared me for Mark! He walked into the office and I literally got chills. I was freaked out at first and didn’t know how to react! I couldn’t stop myself from staring whenever he looked elsewhere and my mind was ripe with questions.
Mark is really tall, dark and slightly bigger in build with a diploma in Accounting and Finance. At first sight you hardly notice the scars running down the left side of his head and face. There is nothing wrong with him until you notice the hands. They are both overran by scars with the right being amputated at the wrist. You only see what is supposedly a palm.
His left hand is there except that what would be the backs of his hand and palm are attached to each other. With his index and little fingers embedded into it leaving his palm facing out with three functioning fingers. The thumb, middle and ring fingers.
It struggled to keep my eyes off him as the chills and fear disappeared. The scars on his face and hands seem to be a result of probably childhood burns. I remember talking about it with my friend and we both concluded on it being caused by a callous person. Someone with a heart of stone. Naturally, I told mum and she said it could have been a burn accident caused by childhood curiosity and not necessarily a person.
There is a saying about situations bringing out either the best or worst in us?! This had the potential to bring out the worst in me due to it being the first time I came across someone like Mark. Despite my feelings, I managed to greet him back with some semblance of normalcy. He is quite a likable guy with confidence. His lack of self consciousness puts you at ease and before you know it, you hardly notice the hands and the scars on his face.
I never ask people what brought on the disability and scars because I find it personally intrusive. You tend to remind people of the darkest years in their lives and the hellish experiences if it pertains burn victims. Questions bring all those memories back and if the person never got over being disabled and learned to live with it, the bitterness of what they are rears itself in their words and expressions. Much as I would like to know what his scars have to say, I would never ask him something so personal and painful.
This is someone who life has dealt a great deal of cards and to see him be confident in himself and who he is, is quite remarkable - something I appreciate as a three legged hussy! It is rare to find a person living with disabilities as confident and assured in their own skin because of the childhood torments and society.

The Faux Bob.

The faux bob is the easiest way there is to shortening long hair without actually cutting it off to make a real bob.
Since I perfected the ability to make a faux bob, I’ve rocked it a few times and with good results. Lots of people have asked how I made it shorter without getting the chop and have it remain in place the entire day which is all quite easy.
The first time I tried it out, I wore a stretchy headband and tucked the ends of expressions into the headband. It worked with the exception of the headband being visible as it was of a different colour from the hair. The other method is to gather your hair at the end, hold a little ponytail then fold it inwards and hold it in place with either a butterfly clip or hair pins on both sides of the hair. A method I have used several times.
I’ve worn it twice with the headband and several times without. The length of the bob varies with the ponytail you make and so too does the style. You can have it looser and freer or tighter and smoother. It all depends on what works for you and are comfortable with.

PS: It wouldn’t be a faux bob if you held your hair out instead of inwards towards the neck.