My dear friend Tarryn August

It’s with immense shock and grief that I write this letter. The loss of a loved one is always difficult to accept and so our prayers are with you and your family in this trying time. I too will all miss Tarryn dearly.

I think I’ll probably remember Tarryn as a bit of a drama queen, who absorbed the blandness of words and added flavour to it with her outstanding expression and bold delivery. She was definitely the most confident person that I had ever met and the livewire of our clique. Her charm not unappreciated though and everyone who knew her acknowledged her presence and her passion for life

When times where tough, Tarryn was always the first with a solution, she was always an optimist and a natural born leader.

I don’t want to say that I have lost a friend, because from that year when we started studying together, I gained a friend. One who lives in my heart through everything that she taught me, all the mischief we got up to, all the laughs we shared and all the tears we wept together. That friendship can never be lost, replaced or stolen.

For those five years that we schooled together not one moment was uneventful with Tarryn around My memories of her probably start from day one, I think I remember feeling as though I was probably not meant to be in that school because the girl that was addressing the class spoke such impeccable English and I definitely could not compare. But despite her obvious intelligence she was a humble person. .

I learnt a lot from her .I learnt about intelligence and respect, I learnt about dedication and honour and belief in oneself. But most of all I learnt about love through our friendship. I think it is through Tarryn that I learnt to be assertive, confident and to be the best that I can be.

She will always be with us, through the little things that she has etched into our characters and the big things that she has done to change our lives. I hope and pray that you find solace in knowing that she touched the hearts of many and that memories of her will always serve as a reminder of the kind of persons we should strive to be.

Assertiveness without aggressiveness

That's 1 of my hardest lessons, but I suppose 1 i'll have to keep reminding myself about.I wonder if perhaps i'm the only 1 that gets into messy situations where i just have to say my 2 cents worth or the world seems like it will come to an end.

Well i did that;enough times -but this time it came out harsh , unforgiving , mean and aggressive .I totally lost the plot, got fluffy(emotional to the point of mushy disorientation) and sobbed.Then i let anger , disapproval , distrust and maybe other things express themselves ...

all i wanted to do was make my point known.Now its known alright but as far as every1 is concerned , its not worth listening to a ravin lunatic;so they betta move on b4 she starts all over again:-(

So anyway the point is try to be assertive without being aggressive.If u have a valid point to make , no1 wants to be confronted by a loony bin that seems to have a personal vendetta against the world. Jus say wat needs to be sed, wen it needs 2 b sed.It'll probably b best.

Successful Witsies

Hi there fellow bloggers , friends and collegues alike .It's that time of the year again when life other than campus life comes to a halt to make sure that exams run smoothly (so that we can have restful holidays).

I want to wish all of you , esp.all those still studying , the best for these next few weeks.Its going to be tough, no doubt ,but nothing worthwhile comes easily.

Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to the end, requires some of the same courage which a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men to win them.- -- Emerson

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.- -- George Bernard Shaw

On another , far more exciting , yet at the same time quite stressful note...the Mini Baja Race SA will be held this weekend(13th and 14th) of October at the Gerotek Racing Facilities in Pretoria.You're all welcome to pop in and watch our seven months of hard work cruise to victory:-)

To the Wits Mini Baja Team:
What an awesome bunch!

Special thanks to Alpesh for joining the Ergonomics team and being there for me when I thought all was lost.

To Dean , go you, you really got the team to the end.

For lots of assistance on the design, thank you Gerard ,Jill and William.Also thanks to Sean Barret who gave me guidlines and advice the whole way .

To Terry and Dave , I think your passion and tirelessness motivated everyone else.Thank you.

To John Shires, thanks for organising everything (especially the extra time in the workshop).I think not only I but the whole team appreciates it.

& last but not least , to Andrew, Randal, Bugga and the first years , what amazing characters .You guys came in in the 11th hour and put in 110%.What a brilliant bunch.

In the end it comes down to working as a team and putting the team first when you have a million other things that you want to do.I cannot emphasize how much I have learnt from the work we have done .Its been tough, frustrating , tiring, intmidating and at some points I think I wanted to give up.But now that we're at the end , and i'm glad I made it this far , I'm grateful for having stuck it out;the brilliant feeling to have designed something and then to see it come together and work , just the way you had planned (okay almost).That makes it all worth the work, time and effort...

See ya at the Race :-)

Glitter Graphics

Murphy's Laws

Law of Mechanical Repair:

After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

Law of the Workshop:

Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Close Encounters:
The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result:
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Law of the Telephone:

When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged one.

Law of the Alibi:

If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the Next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law:

If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.

Bath Theorem:

When the body is immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters:

The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result:

When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Law of Biomechanics:

The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Theatre Rule:

At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrivelast.

Law of Coffee:

As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold

A Big Step Forward

So far , I think all my posts have been a journey through my life as an engineer .The ususal trials and tribulations: the good days of which we may take for granted because thay are actually not outnumbererd by the bad .This blog was meant to get female engineers in touch with the brilliant other female engineers out there . I haven't lost sight.Lets just say that I'm deviating from that for a while .

For all I have been through, there have been a great group of people pushing me forward and backing me up.To all those people , you know who you are, THANK YOU.

This past exam , like many others in Engineering , was gruelling ...the survival of the fittest.I survived , but it was only the preliminary round.November exams loom like a dark cloud in the sky , waiting to burst.It will burst and when it does I will have an umbrella , but that too is only thanks to these wonderful people that motivate mean everything that I do.

I hope your results were as surprisingly good as mine .

I'll give up with wishy -washy stuff 4 now.

Ciao ciao

Engineers at work!!!!!