When You’re Not Barely There

The very next day after receiving my fabulous iPhone 5, I headed out in search for the best cover, ie: a slim, pretty one. My search for a single cover ended up in two completely different covers: a sleek black CaseMate Barely There and a fancy, and cheap, no-named brand cover littered with diamantes.

Since then I haven’t allowed myself the luxury – or the foolishness – of using my iPhone uncovered. I’ve taken quite a liking toward the CaseMate cover as it is thin and light yet effective. My hands are smallish, so fitting on a bulky cover for my phone was a no-no. After two months of protected use, I decided to remove the shell just for a single day simply to enjoy the smooth feel of my phone against my palms. The rest is history…

I managed to drop my phone twice, from waist height, onto cold hard tiles. Both times my iPhone 5 met the ground on its edges. Take a look at the heart-breaking scratches it endured:

A small but defining chip

Apart from the chip on the side and the scratches, a small portion above the jack has sunken in

Worse has happened to iPhones that have fallen from such a height – I’m relatively tall so the heights it fell from was bound to be damaging. The best way for me to prevent this from reoccurring – and possibly a worse fall – is to make sure I don’t unnecessarily remove my CaseMate. Unless for a thorough wipe down

Considering the fall and the impact, it’s amazing the screen didn’t crack.

Noticing the Unnoticed

It’s probably because I’ve been vigorously rewriting and proofreading web content lately (the joys of SEO audits, of course) that I’m noticing way too many typos, jargon and errors. It’s nothing short of shocking – and a painful jab into my generous OCD side – when I come across a few very avoidable mishaps. They’re inevitable for the most part but the content displayed, be it visual or text, should make sense and do the job it supposed to.

Common Sense

On the American Swiss website (sorry but I just have to name you), advice on jewellery care is offered. Before I go any further, it’s common sense that when advice is given on such a topic, the details on how to go about it is expected. So on taking care of pearls, this is the valuable input they had to offer:

Even though they go on to indicate spraying perfume on them is a no-no, surely the quoted statement shouldn’t be a single point of advice? Some may argue that it’s almost self explanatory. And it may be obvious to keep them in a soft bag but for those who are more serious about the proper care for their valuables require a little more than a few generic sentences strung together.

Only the Smart Should Oversee Social Media Accounts

I recently booked a trip back home with Mango Airlines and ironically on the same day I thought about it, they tweeted about a sale they’re having. Making it sound very much like all their prices have been slashed (but I now know better), I’ve noticed that their prices looked the same as earlier that morning. So I kindly tweeted them and they promptly replied to show me how to view the sale prices. Which were almost like their daily prices. Their reduced rates were miserly scattered across the price calendar. With much disappointment, I sarcastically tweeted:

Yep, you’re seeing right. They took it as a compliment. I received a retweet and a priceless reply. Woohoo! or not…

Nauseating Typo

With all the hype recently about the first Burger King in SA, I kept a watchful eye in the media to follow up on their success. I’m aware they’re located down the road from me but looking at long queues, let alone standing in them, is enough to make my head spin. So two weeks back, while nibbling on a yummy snack, I began to read a follow-up on the queues and how crazy the Capetonians are going. And there I see it. What was supposed to be a clean sentence starting with “The public…” turned out to be “The pubic [...]” There went my snack. (regrets: cannot find that article online.)

Get Your Facts Straight

I’ve started watching Charmed (tv series) again, starting from the pilot episode. There were numerous errors I’ve come across – YouTube has a load of videos made by loyal Charmed fans who found errors in the actors’ clothing, body movements and more. It’s quite common to find errors on any TV program. But what happens when a blatant translation error surfaces?

In Season 6 episode 15, Leo supposedly translated Arabic writing on a genie bottle. It had nothing to do with theology or religion. I half-expected his translation to be true until I looked at the bottle (both the times that the writing was in view) and saw the word Allah written on it. Surely a little more effort should be taken when referring to such a widely spoken and understood language? It somehow made the episode a little unrealistic (not that the happenings in Charmed, at any moment, is realistic ).

I’m not free of errors either. So if you’ve come across any on my blog, feel free to point them out in the comments section below

Conquered

In the hot sweltering sun, my little brother walks towards me from a far distance. His eyes squinting from the sun’s strong gaze, his small hands tightly grasped around multicoloured wrappers. Annoyance flares up inside of me as I realise I’ve been waiting – and burning – for far too long. Something in me stops the harsh words riddled with anger from escaping myself. I look into his innocent face.

Had he not left me alone in this sultriness, I would not have thought about what I’ve been avoiding for so long. I had been reassessing and evaluating long enough to reach my conclusion. I know what I have to do. My skin may be a few shades darker, but what does that matter now? I have conquered this dark mass inside me that consumed too much of my time. My mind wandered every spare moment, yet today I’ve made sense of it. I have made my peace. No demons will accompany each moment of my being. A rush of new-found strength flows through me.

I smile back at him as we share a moment of silence. And at that moment it felt like the sun cooled down just for me; for us. For the sake of forgetting my anger and appreciating the long wait. I sling an arm across his skinny frame, steal a bubblegum from his sweaty palms and head toward the bus stop.

Snapped and Seeded

I’ve been to my hometown, Durban, recently and snapped a few shots of my journey. I’ve finally succumbed, and decided to use a photo editor to transform the look of my pictures. My first experience ever with a photo enhancing editor was with Google’s Snapseed. Although I find these kinds of apps truly impressive, I don’t feel comfortable taking the credit for the end product that has been mastered by a programmed application rather than my (novice) photography skills. And enough of technicality, take a look at what I’ve put together:

Any tips on how to improve or make better use of Snapseed’s tools?

Twitter over Facebook

I’ve joined Twitter only 6 months ago (never too late?) and I am completely taken with it.

Let’s start from the beginning. I was eighteen years old nineteen years old and I began hearing of Twitter at every corner on campus. So I asked a sister of mine if it really is worth my time since I already have Facebook – the ultimate social media networking site at that time. Her response lay somewhere between “if you want to” but it isn’t really for such “young” folk. And so I never thought about it again.

Until six months ago. Ironically the person whose advice I took, convinces me four years later that Twitter is a useful social networking site to be on especially with a career like mine. It took only a month for me to realise staying logged onto Twitter almost all day is the best way to soak up all it has to offer.

I had been bored of Facebook for quite some time before signing up for a Twitter account. Now that I am on Twitter regularly, I have gathered a few good reasons why Twitter provides a better social networking experience more than Facebook ever can:

1. Input or content that provides value to your well being, general knowledge or interests. Following the right people and organizations can transform your “social” experience into a bundle of “newsworthy, thought-provoking and interesting” experience. For rich content, it’s all about who you follow and interact with.
2. Precise messages. With a limit of just 140 characters, creativity kicks in and you’re forced to get straight to the point when you have something to say – what better way to save time? A lot of readers (myself included) want quick, short snippets that say all you need to know about something. And Twitter gives you exactly that. The other advantage of the character limitation is that there’s no opportunity to post long, monotonous statements (Facebook come to mind? Yep, they have a 60,000+ character limit – an open invitation to babblers).
3. Twitter doesn’t prompt you for your personal information. The lack of information requests on Twitter that I am constantly victim to on Facebook, makes your online experience more pleasant, smooth and relaxed. For people who are not comfortable sharing too much of their personal details (and rightfully so, the internet is full of inquisitive crawlers), Twitter leaves information sharing up to you.

Wondering why am I still on Facebook when I clearly prefer Twitter? It’s so I can be found more easily – all about search engine optimisation. If someone lands on my Facebook profile, it can lead them to my blog, which can lead them to my Twitter. Ah, does it get more sweet?

Pink Rose

Since getting my iPhone 5, I haven’t had much time to test out the 8MP camera’s full potential immediately. I have been taking a test shot or two in my spare time of my surroundings, and the image below is one my favourites.

I’ve tried taking panoramic photographs but haven’t got the hang of it yet. Once I’ve perfected it, I’ll upload an epic picture on here