So here I am...

So here I am...

22 years old and I very nearly have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I'm the head of a major project for Engineers Without Borders South Africa, and seriously swamped with work (including the design of a robot). I'm training for a 21 km road race in two weeks and of course, my first karate grading. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention...I'm a woman.

Well, I'm a young woman. Most would call me a girl really, seeing as though I'm pretty tiny and I love wearing billowy dresses in muted pinks and grays. It's strange, I think, when I meet people for the first time. They see me bouncing up, just a little Indian girl in a pretty dress and stockings. I suppose my rather firm hand-shake and straightforward way of talking is a little hard to link up to my appearance, but I think its quite fun checking out peoples' reactions, especially the negative ones ;).

So at the moment, I'm trying to put off going for a run. It's a little windy outside and cold and its a public holiday! I'll go tomorrow. We're supposedly on UCT mid-semester vacation, a one week break before the grueling second term, but I don't think I'm going to have a minute's rest. I have a ton of things to do, and no clue how I'm going to get through it all in just a week. Maybe blogging about it will help, who knows?

Firstly, the HUGE project that I'm working on with Eng Without Borders (which henceforth shall be referred to as EWB), is taking up most of my time. I met the dean of my faculty (Engineering and the Built Environment) at a meeting last week and he asked what my 'day-job' was. I said EWB. Its true! I've arranged for a group of us to check out a site in Gugulethu informal settlement tomorrow. It's a food garden run by Abalimi Bhazekhaya, and might be the lucky site that gets the bio-digester we're implementing. Bus leaves at 8am! Eish!

Then there is my SCARA robot I'm designing for my final-year design course: so much work its ridiculous! But I have an interim hand-in on Monday so I better get to it soon...Maybe start today...

Sigh...and then there's the water display I'm redesigning for the MTN science center. Wow, now this is a seriously interesting project! I wish I had time to work on it...

Anyway, Guess I've got my work cut out for me!

Ciao