A photo shoot with my Beetle

I recently moved in with a room mate, Cindy and her neighbors approached me asking if we could take some photo's of me and the beetle!
I did it...

Here are some piccies below:

I have another shoot happening this weekend with an art director I work with...
Fun times! :-)

Metallica!!!

So after over an entire year, listening to my band still does something too me!

In April 2013, the band came to South Africa, and well, I was always quite a fan, I never had a clue what concert was in store for me!
From the most incredible guitar playing, to a stage presence as we say in Afrikaans, skrik vir niks, mind blowing pyro techniques and an audience so eager and excitable, in all my life, it was literally the best night of my life!

A group of us waited eagerly outside the gates before the show - much to my knowledge, we were standing among the Metallica club... The crowd were quite rough but respectable and no one pushed in front, so well deserved, we got to stand right in front of the stage!
We took with us our very own Metallica South African flag, which we tied up onto the banner.
The set list included amazing songs such as, Ride the Lightening, Enter Sandman, Sad but true, One and Nothing Else matters.

On their on chore, we threw the flag onto the stage and as the lights came back on, our flag was over Lars's drum kit!
They played their last few songs, we got a snap of our photo by one of their photographers and collected a guitar pic or two from the band!

After the concert, each of us were completely exhausted and blown away by the band! We shared a long manly hug (which I was quite proud to be a part of!) and went our separate ways home...
After all this time, if I had to sum up my favorite moments with Scott, and I say this with a happy heart - this would be one of them. If I had to sum up one of the best nights in my life, this would be it. If I ever had to sum up my best concert, best band, best anything, my answer would be METALLICA!

I even bought the DVD, Through the never... Highly recommended if you are a fan! It's like reliving the gig all over again!

Besides our photo making it on Metallica's website, our flag made it all the way to their HQ!
http://www.metallica.com/photo-gallery/apr-27-2013-johannesburg-gallery.asp

Here are some pics of our flag:

rAge 2014

rAge 2014 was probably one of the best events i have been to in many years!

There was Mortal Kombat X, Lego games, Assassins Creed, a stack of stands with all sorts of nerdy gadgets, board games and of course mini donuts!!

Here are some piccies below of the expo! The best part was the inflatable Mario!! :D

One day I will have the courage to attend the LAN!

BLIZZARD !!

So, today I decided to apply for a job at Blizzard!! 

I know it will probably never happen, but whats life without trying?

To whom it may concern

My name is Carmen Chanel Bolton; I currently live in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. I am employed as a Junior traffic manager at the well accredited advertising firm known as The Jupiter Drawing Room. I have a keen interest in the Office Administrative Position available with the Sound team at Blizzard.

My entire life has been influenced by a creative environment; starting with an early career on stage, I later received a diploma in television and film techniques (where I had worked closley with various sound engineers) and I have over 3 years of experience in the advertising industry, making me not only a good candidate for the position, but a dynamic one too.

My responsibilities vary as do my skills - No day is the same & they are constantly action packed, I work closely with the creative team and Studio manager. I pay close attention to detail as every each second is filled with cricitical problem solving and coordination, my deadlines are not easily missed!

I believe gaming is a large part of my life…

My family love me for it, my friends envy me and my work colleagues know I am famous for it!

My reputation as a gamer girl has spread throughout the agency, I have even organised various tournaments in our studio on Friday afternoons (because we all know nothing brings a team closer together than a good game!)

I have always been a large fan of Blizzard; one of my favourite games is the Star Craft series. On numerous occasions I have found myself applying the strategic skills used in the Star Craft game play to cope with the immense pressures of my everyday life. My online rankings are my pride and joy, if I could wear them on a belt I would!

Weekends have been spent watching endless replays and streaming events that I could only ever dream of attending!

I have always grown a liking towards Real time strategy games, I have a huge appreciation for older games I used to play when I was growing up, but am always looking to find a game that is fresh and innovative. A good example of this would be Antichamber – it must be my love for problem solving that draws me to these kinds of games.

This even I plucked up the courage and decided to apply for a dream job at your studio, below a list of relevant key traits for the position:

A diploma in Television and film techniques

History of gaming experience  

Scheduling and management

Critical thinking and problem solving

Experience in a deadline driven environment

Organization and leadership

Creativity

Over all, gaming has helped boost my self-confidence; it has sparked a flame of curiosity and allowed me to make friends from all over the globe! Blizzard has proven that gaming is much more than a hobby, it is a lifestyle, it is a community, and it is such an honour to be a part of something so special!  

Please consider my application for the available position mentioned on your website.

Kind regards

The end of winter

After a long day at work, I sling my handbag over my shoulder walking my usual route out the building...
The leaves have fallen, the air is dry, my lips are cracked and the grass is golden brown.
I take a deep breath - squint at the afternoon sun light dancing through the withered branches that somehow remind me of skeleton-like phalanges - through all my thoughts, most of which are negative by this time of the day, a dimmer of hope catches the corner of my eye... I hear ruffling in the trees and focus my attention on the small yellow bird fluttering his feathers, building a nest. I feel the negative energy slowly seep out of my body and suddenly I start to notice all the little miracles around me.
The flowers are soon in bloom, and the dried up leaves on the floor will be green again, the sun starts to set, and the orange hazed moon peeps at me from the horizon, the air is crisp, my heart is full - through all my pain, I put aside, I find within a beautiful desire to appreciate and love all that God has done.

Journeying home, I feel different, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude - I see a man sitting on the side of the road, his shoulders are hunched forward & he is wearing a pair of shorts with no shoes, he looks like he is in some kind of deep thought...
I take a turn to the right and pull up next to him and hand him a jersey that I had forgotten to put in the wash after a night out with friends.

I realise I have  a gift - the gift to give - a blessing I find, many look past. Today was no different... How many a nights I have missed all of these beautiful moments?

The Garden Route - South Africa

 

Kim-Erik, myself and the family

So... after all of my travels in Scandinavia, my dear friends had decided to pay me a visit in South Africa...
And well, I was really excited, I was also extremely nervous to show them around my home.
I believe the main reason I was so nervous was because of the passion I have for my home. Yes - there are a list of things I can find wrong with South Africa (as any South African could) there is still something extremely patriotic about our nations people... I was more than thrilled to rediscover my land - and show it to my friends!

The Garden Route:

The Garden route is a popular holiday route through the wild coast of Africa. It is usually driven from Johannesburg to Capetown, from there the journey begins! We only had a few days to explore and as you can imagine this trip had a lot of driving - which took up most of our time.

The map above gives you a good idea where we had traveled.


The first stop - Cape Town! Not only is this city absolutely gorgeous - its spunky and the weather marvelous! To top it all off, we even got to stay at the Raddisson blu! Oh and excuse us - it was a king sized bed with a sea view from our bed!
Our first few days in Cape Town weren't what we had planned. Sadly, we missed Robben island and never got to spend much time at the beach... May was quite ill (I think she ate something) but luckily for us - we still got to do some exploring (she was quite a  good sport)

Sunset from our hotel room in the Radisson Blu

We got to see Table mountain (we even went to the top!) The sky was clear and the view took our breath away! We then went and had dinner at the water front - I was practically in tears because the entire experience was overwhelming!
There are fantastic shops in Cape Town, the city is clean and safe to walk around no matter the time of day. 

The following day we went to see some family of mine in Hout bay, we also got to see the sunset at Signal hill, which was extremely romantic!

Just before our journey in Cape Town was about to end... I got to see a good friend of mine, Justine. We went the completely cheesey route and took a tourist bus around the city.
The weather changed as the scenery all around the mountain - I was blown away -
To end our amazing experience in Cape Town we decided to take a drive out to Cape Point - now obviously I had seen photos of the place - but having the experience of actually seeing the mountains, sea and beaches was beyond my expectation!
I took a walk around, and as I got to the most Southern point of Africa - something hit me... Everything I ever needed was right here - at home. All my love, all my desires, all my hopes and dreams...
Majority of my life I thought the answers were outside - far away - to be traveled and discovered, yet all I needed to do was take a drive out and discover - home.

One of the Heads in Knysna

We then took a drive to Knysna -  as we exit-ted  Cape Town and drove along the Coast line, we were completely overwhelmed by the massive townships on the horizon. Apparently there are millions of people who reside in informal settlements within the Western Cape. The drive was diverse and beautiful and although the weather was not on our side, we were lucky because we took a nice long drive to Oudtshoorn where we went to the very famous Kango caves!

There are two trails you can do in the caves - and although I was feeling extremely adventurous, I did the basic walk which lasts about an hour. The caves are magnificent and beautifully lit up. I was quite surprised by the mountains on the surface of the earth, never-mind what could be discovered below!
After the trip to Knysna (which I might add) is the holiday destination for the average Cape Townian (second to paradise) we decided to drive to our next stop - Plettenberg bay. Much to our dismay, the rain had not cleared up but this did not stop the excitement of our trip!

Plettenberg Bay Beach

Plettenberg Bay by was almost too good to be true! We were literally on the beach - and I couldn't wait to get my toes in the sand! So that night, I took Kim-Erik by the hand and we shared a utterly romantic and surreal walk on the beach in the light Autumn rain (moments that make romantic movies look dull!)
The following morning we were up at sunrise and decided to look for shells on the shore, we found blue bottles, smooth stones and washed up jelly fish (I was poking them with a stick)
We had a delicious breakfast but before my food could even digest I was back on the beach and for the first time in a really long time - I took a morning swim in the sea! My fondest memory of this trip was my head under the crisp water and the waves pushing me from side to side... I couldn't have felt anymore happy.
There is quite a variety of bird life that can be seen on the lake where our hotel was, this gave for lovely photo opportunities for May and Bjorn-Erik.
I love Plettenberg bay.

Meeting up with the family in Cape Town

After the swim and breakfast, we took a drive through to Tstikama National Park. The fees were utterly ridiculous at the gate, but somehow we managed to get everyone in at local gates. The entire park is a jungle. It is an experience you cant explain in words - but only feel. There is a wonderful hike you can do for 1km to a suspension bridge where the coffee black river from between the canyons and icy blue sea water collide. I loved the smell of the park, I loved the feeling of tranquility it brought me... There is also quite a bit of wild life to be spotted on the 1km walk such as Dassies (they are so cute!)
After spending a good few hours at Tstikama, we took a drive to Port Elizabeth  and well we never really got to spend much time in the city - because we had to drive through toGraaf Reniet, PE is definitely a lovely place.
Time is never really on your side when you are driving around so much and there is so much to see, once we had stopped off in PE we had to take a drive in the dark through the Karoo. I have never really been a fan of driving at night, but the entire experience was truly worth it!



Just as I though the trip could not get any better - it did. Graaf Reniet is probably one of thee most beautiful towns I have ever seen... Quaint little houses in the street, old cars parked in the road, and a massive NG church right in the middle of the main road, the church is majestic, beautiful and well kept. We even got to chat to the head of the church whom willingly gave us a brief history on the church and its relevance to South Africa...
Thinking you were in the middle of a desert - it would be hot - it wasn't, there was quite a dry chilly air lingering around...
After sight seeing in the town (also known as dorp) we took a drive out to the infamous dorpie, Nieu Bethesda. Known for only one thing - The owl house.

The Karoo

It had always been a dream of mine to see the Owl house.. nestled in between the dry lands of the Karoo lay a tiny little Oasis where the house can be found... Helen Martins (the artist of the house) left behind a fascinating piece of art - her home which has become a world famous museum for all to see.
She is famous for her sculptures made from cement and glass... Kim-Erik bought us each an owl. I was delighted!
We ended this trip by stopping off at a little house which served home made pancakes and iced tea. I have no idea how someone could actually live out there, but the owner of the house seemed quite relaxed and
happy.

Just before we got on top of Table Mountain

Before we knew it, we were on the road again - and as all good things come to an end - we ended our adventure at South Africa's largest man-made dam. No much happens in Gariep Dam, but it is still something worth seeing. And much to our luck... We got to see an entire congregation of church people in their finest clothes leave for a wedding, it was a complete cultural delight!

Kango Caves just past Oudtshoorn

We took a long drive home - I started smelling the burnt fields and pollution as I entered Gauteng, Johannesburg - I knew I was home. Even so, in all its rustic ways. there is still something magical about this place - I thought as the sunset slowly slipped below Soweto and a cloud of pollution that lay comfy over the city's skyline... It was good to travel...But even better to be safe back home...

The Owl house

Summary of the trip:

Johannesburg flight to Cape Town
4 days in Capetown - Activities included: Dinner, shopping, Table Mountain, Cape Point and the tourist bus
1 night in Knysna - Activities included: The Kango Cave and the two heads
1 night in Plettenberg Bay - Activities included: The beach and a drive to the Tsitiskama nature reserve
1 night in Graaf reniet - Activities included: A drive through Port Elizabeth a stop off in the Karoo and a viewing at the owl house
1 night in Gariep Dam - Resting point before home


Although this blog was only about the garden route, we also traveled to the South coast of South Africa in Kwa-Zulu Natal, where we went to Pennington, Scottborough and Margate. Most of our time was spent as a group on the beach.

Tsitsikama Nature reserve

To end our lovely experience in South Africa, as a group we went to the Kruger National park, where we saw a large variety of animals between the Malelane gate to Skukuza; from Skukuza to Lower sabie out Numbi gate.

There was also a large variety of things to do in Johannesburg such as visiting the Cradle of man kind, (meeting the infamous Mrs Ples) the Rhino and Lion park, (where you actually get to play with the Lions) Gold Reef city, museums and many art galleries.

Going on this trip was such an incredible experience, I learnt about my country, its people and the value of appreciating the very place I call my home.

I cannot wait to blog about my next traveling experience, soon...

Naked

I write this blog wearing Inglot's Rouge red Matt  lipstick and a smokey eye by Smashbox... I have a slight bronzer by Gosh over my cheeks...

My average look for work

I remember being a little girl - marveling at the art & process of my mother putting on her make-up.
I thought, only real woman, a successful woman - such as my mother could put on make up the way she did...

When I hit puberty - all I could think of was the way my mother had transformed every time she put on her mascara... So everyday after school, I would sneak into her room, take out some of her make-up and practice applying mascara. At first I was quite afraid... As you might not know, putting on make-up can get quite messy! (You could loose an eye!)
I simply loved how make-up made me feel. For the first time in my life, I could actually handle what my face looked like. I could easily stare into my reflection and discover something beautiful.
When I realised that I could re-create myself through make-up, a strange obsession grew...

I no longer used make-up to look better.. I used make-up to define myself. Create myself - empower myself.
No matter how I feel... Happy, sad, content or tired, I was the same everyday... No matter the battle within.

Make-up became a large part of my life; everywhere I went, I had an eyeliner on me - either in my pocket or in my bag. I kept having the urge to feel perfect - or at least attempt at it. I felt like my face became a canvas... The colors on my lips and eyes became an exhibition for the world to see.
Only then - but only then - did I actually feel confident about something I could do.

My make-up became an obsession - an unhealthy routine that would start devouring at my natural self, a side of myself I could and still can't show to the world.
I see my eye shadows as a mood for the day, each stroke of a brush prepping me for battle in a busy day ahead...

Every line, every tear, every imperfection closed off to the world - my make-up has become my identity. If I don't wear it - I am practically naked - hence the tile of this post.

Make-up

"Naked"

Ashes

There are moments in your life when you realise you can't sum up with words how you feel...

I found this painting online - and well - going through my break up I have learnt quite a bit about myself and how powerless I have become in the situation and the outcome of my life.

Ashes - Edward Munch

Tragedy has always slept by my pillow at night. 

A personal favorite...

"I stand at the seashore alone and start to think...

There are rushing waves, mountains of molecules, each stupidly minding its own business, trillions apart yet forming white surf in unison. Ages on ages before any eyes could see, year after year thunderously pounding the shore as now.

For whom for what on a dead planet with no life to entertain. Never at rest, tortured by energy, wasted prodigiously by the Sun,poured into space, its might make the sea roar. Deep in the sea all molecules repeat the patterns of one another till complex new ones are formed. They make others like themselves and a new dance starts. Growing in size and complexity, living things,masses of atoms, DNA, proteins dancing a pattern ever more intricate.

Out of the cradle onto dry land, here it is standing, atoms with consciousness, matter with curiosity, stands at the sea, wonders at wondering,

I, a universe of atoms an atom in the universe."

—Richard Feynman

"

The secret life of Walter Mitty

I admire every second of this film, it is absolutely fantastic, I had to share it!

“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer,to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”

Need

Are we born selfish?

We are born with need - our first need is to breathe - Then the need to eat, drink and survive. From here, our needs develop. We need sleep, we need love, we need comfort and even our bodies have certain needs as we develop within our life time.
Our needs - when we are born are quite basic. I remember lessons at school that were taught to me differentiating the major difference between our needs and wants.
Is this because naturally the human condition is to mix the two up? Or is it because we become greedy and can not remember what is truly important?
The more we receive the more we expect from our lives, the less we have, the more we desire. The greater our need to want.
As the human race we become more demanding and above all, more selfish.

Animals are driven by instinct, this allows them to hunt, mother or survive in the wild. Does this constitute for our needs? The major difference between man and animal is conscious... Our needs have become such a consuming act of man that it is beyond instinct, it is beyond survival... The act of survival in man has become an empty manifestation, to such a degree in my opinion, that not even death can interfere with the lust of life that man has grown.

We need to prioritise what is truly important in our lives - instead people choose to point fingers out to others, it is easy to shrug off responsibilities to those around us and never find blame for the acts of our needs.

What are your needs? What are your wants? Maybe this time round we need to help others discover what is truly important or even better, empower those with less.

My Beetle

The past few days I have spent on re-doing the ceiling of my car.
The ceiling was in a terrible state... There were water marks all long the top that made the roof extremely ugly and old.
I never really put my ideas to use, but this time I thought I would give it a try...
So I took some old comics that were laying around in my house and tore them up and used a clear glue to past them in the old leather roof.
I was a bit skeptical at first, but as the time went on, I became a lot more skilled at gluing the comics on the ceiling.

Here are some pics of the finished product:
(I still need to put some more varnish on to make sure the comics last)

I am quite happy with the end result.
I have some more things I want to do with the car... I will post them as soon as I am done :)