Ballito 2011 / 2112

Ok, so we took an extended leave from work. From my side, management were not too happy - fuck them. For the Princess it was no problem. We were very blessed to be given the use of her employers place down in Simbithi, a golf estate. His place has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, etc, and a view to die for.

We left Sunday 18th, early in the morning, driving in LuckyL's car, (he had taken her car - see previous posts I think), and I drove all the way down. I managed a fuel consumption of 14.3 km/l - damn good if I must say so myself.

Anyway, our time down there was fantastic. We did what we had set out to do - as little as possible - resting, reading, eating, drinking, nothing...... My brother and his brood joined us for a few days over Xmas, as did GMan, and we did Old Years Eve with friends at the Barnyard in the Gateway. Other than that - nada.
We eventually had to come home on the 2nd of January, as the Princess had to get back to work. Me, I still had a whole two weeks at home, and made plans to do some serious maintenance, as well as spend some time at my future place of employment!!!

View From the balcony

Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans - been standing for 15 years. I found it, and now want to buy it.

View from kitchen area, through lounge, to the deck, and beyond.

Now this is a view to get up for everyday!

Some monkeys around, and the wild species too. Didn't pose any problems for us though.

This flag which was being "towed" by the chopper was massive!

They had problems with water supply due to the massive influx of visitors to the town, but wasn't a big thing.

Fantastic!

Found this silver fork between some rocks while doing some rock pool walking.

Same fork after 4 days in vinegar, and some polishing.

So, we went to see an old school friend of the Princess, and it turns out she's married to a guy who was at school with me! At his house I found the Moto Guzzi in the foto above. He rode it home one day, about 15 years ago, and just never rode it again! So I'm chatting to him to sell it to me. e has kept the license updated, so it needs a bit of work, but I already have a buyer for it! Can make some good money on it and LuckyL will have money for his planned trip to Italy!

Speaking about LuckyL - he got very good results for his Martic finals. His overall average is 71.5%!! Made me very very proud. Overall, he spent a whole month down at the coast, so had a very good break. Unfortunately he decided too late what he wanted to study, so we could not get him into uni this year, and now he's getting very bored. But we might get him a job at a place where he will be involved in mechanical stuff first hand, so that will help him decide if it's actually what he wants to do.

Overall, a great holiday, and I ended my trip to the coast on a high note, with a very positive attitude!

Salagatle!

From the Aussies

Further to my mates email telling us not to worry, he followed up with this:-

Hi folks, just to let you know we're through it all, safe. Fortunately for
us it was a non-event. Just in case, I set up the camera yesterday and took
some shots during the course of the day, to show the water levels. Don't
fall asleep while watching. It was an almost surreal experience, with the
sun shining for the first full day since mid-December, yet flooding taking
place in the areas around us. We have been glued to the TV basically to
ensure there are no new warnings, as well as staring in disbelief at some of
the events unfolding during the course of the day.

Now the clean-up starts which is being referred to as the equivalent of
post-war.

Over 75% of Queensland is now an official disaster zone, the Brisbane CBD is
shut down for the foreseeable future. Power outages, concerns about clean
water and water-borne disease, etc. For the International readers,
Queensland is 30% larger than South Africa, nearly six times the size of the
UK, and more than twice the size of Texas.

One of my work colleagues who lives in the city took this footage -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyAN2St7gYE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL -

the cream-colored building with the larger square windows dotted around the
face of the building is where my offices are, which will be unreachable for
a while. I don't want to think what the basement parking looks like!

Anyways, glad we're all safe and will be looking to see how we can help with
the post-disaster relief.

Glad u r all safe! Chat soon!!!

Salagatle!

2011 - first assesment

Slow. Anyone out there think that we not in a recession, think again. Business is dead - completely!

So what to do? Well, I'm waiting to go on a CAD course in March, and hopefully will become self employed before the year ends. The office is expecting miracles, but truth be told, my heart is not in it anymore. I really don't want to be selling stuff, that clients know they need, but don't buy. Fuck it. Why do I care if you have a disaster and no cover for it. Fuck u moron, you explain it to your shareholders and executive staff. I don't give a fuck.
The corporation still can't get our commissions payments right, and take over 3 months to make the payment anyway. Why the fuck should I be looking for new business if you haven't even paid me for the work done last year!!!

LuckyL starts school tomorrow. And he is walking. No license, no bike! He went to the dept. today to book an appointment for it, and was told they don't do bookings in the afternoon. He must come back in the morning. THEY AT SCHOOL IN THE MORNING YOU FUCKING MORONS!!!

GMan is still hanging around. Seems he's been approached b some company to go work for them, but I don't have details. Here's hoping! He's also got involved in arranging a "Cruise Poker Tournament". Sounds great. They want to book out a whole ship and sell it off in tournament packages. It would be an international affair, and probably worth a shitload of money in prizes for the players. Will keep an eye out on this, and assist where required.

The Princess is back at work, and back to the normal, work, cook, clean, work wash, cook..... She's an angel!!!!


Got a call from a buddy earlier, to tell me that another friend of ours had been jumped by 3 guys at a local shopping center. To top it all off, his brother in law and father in law didn't come to his aid, and both were there! But the upside to his broken, and now wired up jaw is, he's a Leb. And his cousin has a debt collector / bouncer on his payroll. Tomorrow they will know who the perpetrators were, and by Saturday there will be 3 new patients in ICU!

Cars are fine (touch wood) and now the bikes are too. Just had new sprockets and chain fitted to GMan's XJR1200. Cost a couple of Rand that! (Update - GMan's car has a warning light that came on again......Oh, 4 FS!!)

So what else is going on? Queenie is getting more troublesome by the day. Typical old peoples syndrome. They full of shit, difficult, deaf, etc, etc, etc. Matriarch is much the same, but because Queenie lives with us, it's more 'in your face" on a daily basis! We got her a fridge for Xmas. Second hand (some friends emigrated, like new) and her's has been giving trouble for some time. Today I took it out of her cottage, and put it in the garage. Next week I'm selling it. Fuck it. Why should I care. In a month or two hers will pack up completely, and then she can spend ZAR1500 +++ to replace it!

Lost 5 TV's to lightining over the festive season. 3 Have been repaired, the other two are US (unserviceable), so the insurance will have to replace them. As well as the 3 x cordless phone system.....

The dogs are fine - fat, don't seem to be so naughty anymore. We have had a 'lodger" for a while, a crazy Dalmatian, pet of some friends who have emigrated to the UK. He's going too, and will probably be leaving in a day or two. Going to miss the little bugger, he's been fun to have around, and has taught my dogs a few things. He's more mature / older, so they got some good guidance from him.

Out "Captain", and Milo the Dalmatian!

Really strange dog this - but we will  miss him!!!

And, in closing, I got an email from a friend who's resident in Australia.  We were a bit concerned about the floods and stuff, so he sent out this email. I think you all will find it interesting:-

Hi all, receiving many concerned SMSs and Phone calls - just to let you know
the flooding has moved a lot closer in the last 24 hours, with what they're
calling an "inland tsunami" hitting Toowoomba yesterday. Previously the
flooding has been the equivalent of Johannesburg - Cape Town away, Toowoomba
is +- 40km inland from us. Shocking pictures and footage, an 8M wall of
water swept through the city yesterday which will probably make the news
there. Up to now the Bureau of Meteorology has been able to predict affected
towns and flood levels to within 100mm or so, with 24 - 48hrs notice as the
water makes its' way downstream. The Toowoomba event however was a totally
unexpected flash flood.

All of the water is now heading towards the Wivenhoe dam which is upstream
from Brisbane. The dam is already 100% full with sluice gates open so
there's not much in the way of protection from the dam from this and other
water inflow (it won't be a 8M wall of water any more thankfully) - the dam
was built to "...ensure the 1974 floods never happen again..." - at 14:00
tomorrow (12/01) they're expecting a 3M high tide to coincide with the water
surge (odds up there with the lottery I am sure) which will mean the CBD
will be inundated, apparently at levels higher than the 1974 level. My
office has been evacuated along with others in the area so I am working from
home for the foreseeable future.

We are +- 40km North of Brisbane and thus far have been OK other than heavy
rains. There are 30 suburbs in Brisbane which are expected to be affected,
Redcliffe is not one of them.

Animals keep lining up at our door two-by-two for some reason and we keep
chasing them away.

Tomorrow's King Tide plus water outflow into the bay will be a little
nerve-wracking, and Thursday will see the peak of water outflow from the
inland storms down the Brisbane River.

For now we're all fine and dry, and stockpiling food like it's 1994 election
time.

Regards, P,C,C,C,c

My response was as follows:-

Hi Guys,
Thank you for the update!!!! Scary stuff. Will keep u in our prayers.....

Funny thing about the animals turning up at your door. They say animals can "feel" - "sense" the disaster coming, and if they are coming to your home, it is because they know they will be safe there - so it's a good omen!!!!!

I remember with the disaster in the east (the big tsunami), all the animals had left the area at least 24 hours before disaster struck...... So it may just be a blessing message!!!
Keep safe - be blessed - shout if u need anything!!!
So good luck to them, hope the waters stay away from their home.


Ok, so that's all for today. Be back soon.

Salagatle!

Welcome to 2011

So, 2010 has seen it's arse, and not too soon either. South Africa was riding the World Cup donkey for long enough, and truth be told, it was a crap year from an economic perspective. Sure, anyone who was linked to the WC made money, those guys with the vuvuzelas probably made more than anyone else. The corrupt politicians, and them who got to build the stadium made money, but for the rest of us, it was a recession - for sure. One of my clients, who usually spends in the region of ZAR500m per annum with us, spent ZAR280m in 2010. Go figure!!!

So, how did it end? Well, Xmas eve we spend with the Princess's family. her nephew and his wife invited us for dinner, which was a nice evening. Good food, OK company, and some fun had by all.
Xmas day, first thing in the morning, LuckyL and I blitzed down to the Matriarch's home on the 2 x Yamaha XJR 1200's. Great ride. Then we went to Xmas Mass with her, after which we drove her (in her car) to the Princess's family place for Xmas lunch. A nice day had by all, with lot's of gifts for the little one's. Like it should be. Then we drove the Matriarch home, and returned on the bikes, from Westonaria all the way down the "Potch" highway, to Randburg. Great run - really blitzed it!
Spent the rest of the afternoon there, and then off home.
I managed to get the week between Xmas and New Years off, so we had an incredibly lazy week, just vegetating!
Old Years nearly turned into a flop. Originally we had made plans with some friends to spend it together at the Barn Yard at Cresta. Last miunte thet decided to do something else. By Tuesday we had made alternate arrangements to ge together with anohte couple, at their home, for a realtively quiet braai. Friday morning, when the Princess phoned them to finalise arrangements, they didn't want to anymore - For Fuck Sakes - how do you change your mind at such short notice?? In the meantime, I had called the Princess's boss's wife (we are house friends) to invite them to join us, as they ususlly are in bed by 9pm on old years. Turns out they having a do at their place, and we got an invite to join them! So, after the last let down, Princess called them, and accepted.
Well, we had such an amazing evening. Nice people, nice place, great chow, some drinks....... and we got home after 1.30 am. Really had a nice Old Years evening. Thanx guys!!

The kids, well, Thursday evening they still didn't know what to do. I suggested they go to the coast, as there was a massive street party planned in Ballito. By6pm they decided to go, by 7 pm, arrangements were finalised, by 8pm, they had come past where we were visiting, said good bye, and were on their way!
They arrive there at 2 am.... Needless to say, the Princess and I didn't get much / any sleep.

Sounds like they had a good time. While they were there, the daughter of the people we were having old years eve with called to say her wallet had just been lifted from her handbag. Turns out shes at the same street party as the boys! So one BBM message later, and LuckyL found her, and he sends me a BBM to say:- "Found her, now we moer kaffirs! It was a cleaner, got them..... I'm not sure if they get the wallet back, but they got some action!!
Saturday afternoon they informed us they were going to Richards Bay to spend the night with their cousin and my brother and his wife. Sunday they drove back to Durban to spend the day and night with some of our friends.....

This morning at 6.30 am they let us know they on the road coming home. Be safe boys.

So, everyone had a good time. Everyone, till now, has been safe, well fed, and happy with the year end functions. Lets see if we can keep this momentum going!

Salagatle!