Blissfully unemployed

So, as previously posted, my previous employer eventually made me a mutual separation offer, and I accepted. Monday 10 September was my last working day, and all I had to do was go in to the office to return my laptop, 3G card, and my access card. Done. By 11 am I was out of there.
I was employed by the big American International IT company - IBM for 16.5 years, and was now actually glad to be going.

The previous Friday we had gone for farewell drinks at a local pub with some of them who worked with me. Was a nice afternoon, but didn't go on too late. Monday I did the returns and left. So what was missing? Well, for 16.5 years every time someone was leaving, one of them who worked with him / her, or the department manager, would have a whip around for donations to get them who were leaving a parting gift. Well, didn't happen for me. No matter, it's the thought that counts!

Another thing that everyone who leaves does is send out a final farewell letter, usually 2 lines basically saying "It's my time for change / to go. It's been a pleasure working with most of you. thank you for everything. Maybe we will meet again." And sometimes they give their new / personal email address in case anyone wants to get in touch with them after they have left.

I decided to do it differently. Below is my farewell letter. I sent it to quite a few people, but mostly them who I got on with during my stay with the company.

To those who I missed out of the list above -
sorry...............................

I suppose the time for this email will come for all of us at some point.
Mine has arrived.

Dec.1995 I joined IBM as a contractor salesman for ITS. I had to have 2 interviews, the first with the person who would be my manager - Klaus Bohm, and the second with Ann Roberts! I was nervous for the interview with Klaus, I was scared sh*&less for the interview with Ann!!!! My foot into the door was that I had a mechanical engineering background, and a good relationship with, and knowledge of the mining industry and had successfully run my own sales company for 7 years. Needless to say, I never got the chance to "work" the mining groups, apart from a few calls when
they happened to be in my "space"!
I clearly remember the day I was called in after the 2 interviews, to be told my application had been successful, but I would have to cut my hair if I wanted to join IBM!! (I sported a thin pony tail at the time). By June 1996 I was made a permanent IBMer - another exciting milestone. I also
clearly remembering chatting to the other guys, and being shocked to hear that some of them had been with IBM for 15 and more years. Some of them from when they left school / varsity! My comment then was "Don't you know there's another world out there?" Little did I know I would become one of the long timers! Now, 16.5 years later, its time for me to take my leave.

So what has happened in this time:-
On average, 8 new white shirts a year = 128 white shirts - I have always kept to the original IBM dress code, smart, presentable, a good impression on the clients of a professional company (and person). I also worked my way through an average of 3 suits a year, and 4 pairs of smart pants a year!!
For the first 10 years, I only wore white socks (some of you will remember this) - that is 12 pairs a year - 120 pairs of white socks! (The wife was seriously glad when I stopped that!) - and I destroyed 2 - 3 pairs of shoes a year.
I have worn the same cufflinks, every working day, for all these years - "Gold" plated IBM, which I bought for myself, and have worn out 2 IBM gold tie pins in the same time. (REMEMBER TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE ANNUAL CASUAL DAY!)

I signed my first deal in my first week with IBM! - and to think I still didn't have a "log on" name / password at the time. Back office support in those days was the read deal - and there is another story in my relationship with "back office" in those early years, when no-one wanted to be my support person - Adri van Tonder will remember that!
I started out on green screens, and as soon as I learned how to use them, we got laptops (those first one's were seriously heavy), and then cellphones came in (the first ones were large, heavy Nokia's, with pull out antennae, and a battery big enough to start a small motorbike!!!) I still have that cellphone number. All IBMers that have 082570.... were of the original first rollout for cellphones.

I made Hundred Percent club several times - Malta, Morocco, and Lisbon, and the last one was a pin and certificate (They stopped the trips - cost cutting) - I made Top achiever - a week in Avignon, France, with my spouse, for closing a big deal with Vodacom - at that time the biggest ITS deal ever!!!! The stories that I could share about those trips. Needless to day "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"! Mark Harris will recall coming back to the Gala Dinner venue in Morocco, only to find that Yogesh Ranchod and myself had taken over the DJ desk, and were spinning disks, with a bottle of wine in each hand (who needs glasses) at 6 am!!!!
I closed the first and second biggest Cisco deals for IBM SA soon after IBM became a Cisco partner - Clover and Anglo Gold (Denis Charnock still suffers because of this!!)

I have been in ITS, as a salesman, for all of the time I have been with IBM. Maybe I should have moved around, into STG and or SWG. That might have made a difference in my career, but service is the hardest sell, and most challenging, and that is what kept me there. I have seen service offerings come and go, and reincarnations of some under different names! Probably the best "division" in ITS is BCRS - not because that is where I find myself now, but because it's a specialised field, and has it's own offices away from the Park, which is today a serious challenge to get to because of traffic!

I have survived several Country General Managers, including Sal Faso - "The Hatchet Man", probably my favorite CGM would be Mark Harris - as he had a big influence on many of the decisions I made, and because he truly had an "Open Door" policy! Best mentor - probably Pieter Kruger - I learned most of my stuff (IT related) from him, and lots of my "attitude" (as it has been called) is probably due to him. He has become a friend... Thank you Piet!
Best "out of country" executive - I have had the pleasure of working with many very professional people, and people like Dan Cohen, Allen Downs, and most notably, Mike Weston come to mind. Thank you guys for you support. One of the ITS managers used to threaten us with Mike Weston. She would say "if you don't do this, then maybe you should go on the call with Mike!" Until one day I did meet him, and realized that the demon that had been painted of him did not exist !! in fact, the total opposite - he's a very supportive executive, who you can call on late on a Friday, and get a fast track OMDT release done - and he does not mind! Thank you Mike!!!
Favorite international support person - Rosa Hofer - she's a real lady, very professional, and nothing was ever too much for her! Thank you!

I survived cancer - lost a kidney, but managed to save my bladder with 6 operations and chemo - (the alternative would have been a bag taped to my side.....), and have been clean for more than 10 years now. (REMEMBER TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE ANNUAL SHAVE-A-THON!)
I survived a potentially deadly motor car accident in January this year - no thanks to the drugged out driver of the other car! Considering the mileage I have covered during my stay with IBM I have been luckier then most.
I survived multiple sales managers - none of which need to be named - none stand out really, each had their good and bad - no wait, some had only bad......, other than to say that good business AND people managers are a scarce breed in IBM, and my current manager, Chris Lucier, is the first I have had in the 16.5 years that is a good business AND people manager, apart maybe from Pieter Kruger, who, in those days, knew and understood that salespeople are motivated by reward!

Probably more incredible is the fact that my marriage has survived 16.5 years of IBM!!! Married 23 years this year, and still on honeymoon!

I have learned many valuable lessons, made some incredible friends, had some great people as mentors, and done some successful mentoring of my own. I've challenged the system, pushed back, led from the front.... In this company you get to play in all of the roles at some time or other. The main thing is to learn from each one of them, and put the learning to good use.

Finally, I  now want to go into a field where I can add value to humanity. I want to be able to see the results of what I do, feel it, touch it, and know the impact on the lives of those people who will be directly positively affected by my actions. And I can make that happen - either via another company who does just this, or on my own, but the opportunity is out there, now. And, you don't have to be Bill Gates to do it!
So, to all of you who receive this email, thank you for the value you have brought to my life, and my time with IBM. I wish you good luck, and happy selling (or sales supporting).
We might meet again - somewhere, you never know.

And, as my colleague and buddy Nick Smith, my manager Chris Lucier, and my sidekick, Tshepo Masigo would say - "lets go walk and weigh the pig"!!!

Ciao

So, I got a couple of email responses, mainly from them who didn't know I was leaving. Not many. Probably the nicest one was this one:-

Hi Wreckless,

Can I wish you all the VERY best and EVERY success in any new endeavors that you undertake, I loved your farewell note and the way you personalized it ...good luck and take care, feel free to reach out ANYTIME - but not later Friday night :-)


Best Regards, Mike

  Like I said in my note, he was a good person, and this can be seen in his response to me. Will definitely keep his cellphone number handy!

So, Tuesday I get up with the Princess, go downstairs, and paint the deck with a sealer! Then I get cleaned up, and make my way down to the offices of my next employer. Start date is actually 01 October, but I figure I can use some time to get to know the products better, look at some of the proposals / quotes that have gone out, etc. While I am there, I'm asked to look through a big proposal, the boss really is snowed under, and would appreciate the help. Speed read the document, mark it up for corrections, and then home.
Wednesday. seal the up stairs balcony. Then, back to the office. This time I recheck the document, ans make more change, and corrections. One thing I did learn at IBM is that the quality of the proposal is paramount! I cannot believe the poor quality that this "typist" passes on to her boss for review!!! No matter, I will train her to do things the right way. This is now a 64 pg + document. It becomes a bit messy reviewing, marking up, checking, and all the time I am adding to it, as I complete more annexures as per the requirements.

Thursday, LuckyL and I went to the Electo-mining show. (LIU). My new boss was also there, and we met up. He asked if I could go in to the office later,as he had left some notes on his desk for the typist to complete, and some stuff for me to check!?!?!?!?! Excuse me, I'm not employed yet!!! But I went in anyway, reviewed the work done, made her correct some of it, again, and then took the whole document apart! I cut it up into relevant sections, and saved each as a separate part. That way you can work on one section, complete it, and move on, without having to wade through 90 pages every time!

The boss - let's call him RB, get back to the office by 7pm. I was still there. I showed him what I had done, and told him that I had incorporated a whole lot of stuff from a previous proposal, which went a long way to answering more of the outstanding sections. Impressed! Then I was off home. By 11pm, I had reformatted all of the documents, so that they at least looked the same, had the same fonts, and font sizes.

Friday morning, took a drive through to the office again. Asked RB for a memory stick, and put all the docs on it for him.Done.

Went home, and then worked through the docs again, picking out the relevant pages where he still needed to add information, or where I had put in a comment where he needs to make a decision. Noted the page numbers and section numbers, put them into an email for him, and sent it off. Now he doesn't have to read through the whole document. He knows I have checked and corrected it. I have completed the required annexures, and can just go to the pages needing input, and do it! Another thing I need to teach his typist.

So why have I done all this? Well, I've proved a point here. I am capable. I can take some of the pressure of off RB. I will change the way he has been doing business! I will introduce a level of professionalism to his business! I will make him understand that he needs me! Done!! Also, I now have the basis for all of my future proposals and agreements that I will need for future business. Just, I want to get it into my preferred format, something I didn't have time to do this time round. I think I'm going to have fun!

Salagatle!

Been a while

since I posted anything. Sorry. But I have been busy, and don't really have much to say.

So, Easter Sunday was lunch with the whole family (read in-laws), to celebrate both Easter and GMan's 21st. Went well, considering the number of people we had round.

Mom moved back into her apartment today. The last time she was in there was in the 7th January, at around 5.30pm, when I went to collect her to go to church. As you all will recall, we were involved in a serious accident on the way home, and she has been in hospital, rehab, and frail care since then. It's been a long, tiring haul, but we made it. it's not over yet though, she still has some way to go before she's fully recovered.
Next steps for me is to get a meeting with a friendly attorney, who is going to do the Road Accident Fund claim on our behalf. Not looking forward to that at all!

On the work front, nothing changes! But, good news is that the next job is getting closer by the day, interest in the product is growing by the hour, and we even have a request in for a meeting with Tokyo Sexwale (he's Minister of Human Settlements of South Africa), and has an interest in getting rid of all the shit that is accumulating in mainly informal settlements, and is aware of the disease that is caused by the current state of affairs! If we get his nod, we going to be building and selling a machine for every squatter camp in the country!!!


I have produced a standard proposal document (which looks a million times better than that currently used by my future employer) as well as a spreadsheet which does all the calculations automatically - after the client / salesman inputs minimal information. The "team" are impressed, and we will be refining it this coming weekend.


Talking about this coming weekend, I have a funeral to attend on Saturday morning. The interesting thing about it is that the deceased will be buried on the family farm! Only ever done one of those once before - in Koffiefontein. It's a friend of LuckyL's dad.
Speaking of LuckyL - last weekend (or was it the previous one) he went and did a day on an off-road track with some mates (out in Pretoria area somewhere). They all have relatively new motorbike, and he only has the 1980 Honda XR200R. And it was looking very sad. So the Saturday morning we wheeled it in to the garage, and a couple of tins of spray paint later it looked as good as new.


Bike runs well, so the motor is not a problem. This past weekend we took off the chain, sprockets, front wheel, and the mono-shock. Replacement chain and front and back sprockets from Honda - R1200. From a no-name dealer in Edenvale, WITH a new off-road front tyre, and tube, R1100! No brainer!
This weekend we got to fit it all.
The mono-shock has to go to Honda for a service - not sure when last it was done - if ever. Not sure what that's going to cost either.


At the end of April, they going off to Eastern Transvaal (Mpumalanga), where they going to do a couple of out-rides. Apparently the one trip takes them through some forests, and then 75 km along the Kruger park fence. Should be loads of fun!!!!

More later.....

Salagatle!

Coming of age....

Today, 04 April, 2012, GMan turns 21. Happy birthday my boy!


Salagatle!

Things we do for our kids

We don't get post delivered to the house. All of our correspondence goes to a PO Box. That's the only way you can be partly assured that your mail will get to you, and not be dumped in a dustbin somewhere on a street corner. So the only stuff we normally find in the post box at home is junk mail / leaflets. i make a point of it, once a week, to empty it out, otherwise I find leaflets blowing around the garden once the post box overflows.

5 Weeks ago I did this. And lo and behold I discover a Court Summons amongst the trash! Yup - these things are supposed to be delivered to a person resident at the named address, and signed for. It can't just be left in the post box! But, hey, this is South Africa. The laws are mainly to castigate the innocent / or them who might fall foul of the law via minor offenses. Them bastards who deliver the summons, and get paid handsomely for doing so can get away with not following due process. But that's a different discussion, one I intend to take up with whomever is responsible - or via the Citizen - a local daily.

So the summons is for me - to appear in court on the 26 March - for driving a vehicle (registered in my name) at a speed of 105km/h in a 60km/h zone. A serious offense no doubt. Now, I'm not saying I don't go over the speed limit, but I might exceed the limit by 5 - 8 km/h, not 55 km/h!!! Needless to say, it's GMan's car - and in an area where he would have been driving - and in his usual style, flouting the law!

I called on the Public Prosecutor (PP) to see if they couldn't issue a fine? No way she says - we can arrange to limit the fine to R2000, and I would have to explain to the magistrate why I should not have my license suspended for 3 months - New laws - 1st offense = 3 months suspension. 2nd offense = 5 years suspension. 3rd offense = 10 years suspension. Oh, and if you intend to plead guilty, bring cash!!!!

Be at the court by 8.30 am. If you early, come and see me (the PP) and I will make sure your case comes up first. So, this morning I'm up at 5.30am, get done, and get to the courts at 7am. The PP arrives at 7.45. I'm first, we chat, she says I will be called up first. Court sessions start at 9am, or as soon as the magistrate decides to start! WTF?!?!? I go outside and have a smoke - or two.

Eventually, at 9.40, the PP comes through, (accompanied by a colleague, who it turns out, is on duty today) and we enter the court room. By now we are more than 15 people waiting. The magistrate arrives after 10am. Apologies for not sitting in the appropriate chair, but rather on the floor with the rest of us mere mortals, as he does not seem to be able to open the door to the area that he is supposed to be in!!!!

And so the circus starts. And i am not first up. As it pans out, maybe better so, as i quickly learn his manner, and rework my whole response to accommodate him, his arrogant manner, and the fact that I have no intention of coming back for a follow up trial.

I was going to say:-
I don't remember the trip. It could / could not be my car. The photo is not a good one. I may / may not have been aware of the speed limit in the area. I may / may not have been driving. etc, etc, etc.

Turns out he's full of shit. And was not listening to reason / explanation. And if you didn't "comply" he postponed the hearing to a later date, pending further investigation and representation. I figured "Take this one on the chin, get the fuck out of here"!

So I eventually said:-
I am guilty. I make this statement of my own free will. I was aware of the speed limit. I was traveling at the recorded speed. I had no legal reason to be doing so. I was late. I apologies to the court and the state and request leniency.
- Guilty - Fine is R2000.00 or 20 days! Can you afford this?
- Yes I can.
- OK - the bailiff (some dumb fat cop who couldn't keep an eye on his shoes, never mind a dangerous criminal like me who might be planning to escape) will take you downstairs to make payment.
- Now for the second part of the sentence - do you want to make a statement - under oath - regarding a reason why I should not implement the suspension of your driving license for 3 months?

Cross the floor - take up position in the "official" box, do the whole swearing in thing, and tell him that if I can't drive, I can't work - and then basically (Not in so many word) I'm fucked!!

OK, so he didn't suspend the license, problem is I have had my first warning, so if I am ever in a similar position, I get a 5 year suspension!!!!

I go to the bailiff, and we start to leave. It then dawns on me that I have a total sum of R1870 in my wallet! I was planning to stop at a filling station on the way in to draw some cash from an ATM, and forgot. Now I'm fucked. They wont let you leave the building till you pay. They don't take cheques / Credit card / Debit card. Here, cash is king!!! So, call a mate at Absa - not in. Call a colleague who might be at Absa - Not there. Call LuckyL - he's on his way into the city (Thank you!!!!) and will come round with the R150 I need. First he needed to find an ATM, then come through the city, robots and all, and eventually got to the courts. Probably didn't take more than 20 minutes - but I aged a year!!! He gave me the money, the bailiff took me downstairs where I made the payment, and I could leave.

Can anyone see the number plate here?

 between receiving the summons, and going to court, I got hold of someone at the AARTO offices, and requested a copy of the photo.
This is what I got! I immediately went back to him, and asked how the hell they could say it was my car? You can't see the number plate? And he came back with this:-

I have covered part of the number to protect the innocent.

So here's my next question, not yet posed to the AARTO guys, but will do so soon. How do they do that? What software do they have access to that can strip a layer off of a 2 d photo? Anyone out there have any ideas? The note in the middle says "No number plate image", yet they managed to "find" one. Is this a case of "retrofitting a number plate to suit"?

Any feed back will be appreciated.

Salagatle!

More on being a Dad....

Some time ago I posted how challenging it is for me to be a Dad to teenage boys. Mostly due to the fact (I think) that I left home at 16, got a job, and moved into my own "digs". Suddenly I had 2 boys in the house, over 18 years of age, and I wasn't sure of how to handle various situations. You want to treat them like the adults they are, but because they still "under your roof", do the terms change?

Anyway, most of that post was due to the situations I was finding myself in with GMan.

Last night I had a "situation" with LuckyL. Let me just explain that these two are completely different personalities. One is "Mr. Know-it-all" (and I say this affectionately), the other does not know his own capability. SO, let's cut to the chase. LuckyL has for some time has issues with a girl friend. On again, off again, not sure what he wants, definitely not sure what she wants, and I could see it was hurting him. Matter of the heart do this to us mere mortals. He's quite the romantic, and very soft hearted. Whenever I would ask how this part of his life was going, he would not have an answer, just say "OK" or "dont' know"..... Not sure if he just does not talk easily about "love matters", or if he just figured it had nothing to do with me.

Last night however, he came out with stuff. The only reason I think, was because the situation with the "girlfriend" would / could have an effect on his current offer for employment - I'm not going to go into the details of that here - not relevant.

Anyway, as a Dad, all I could offer as advise was "I've been there, I know it hurts, but it's life's lessons. It's how we learn, and grow up. The hardest part is probably accepting that it's not working, and walking away!" I needed him to understand that it's not a flaw in him, his ways, his attitude, it's just how things are sometimes, or, how the maturity in the relationship is out of kilter.

I spent a few more minutes listening, and talking, and advising, but all the time making sure I didn't cross any "unseen lines". Seeing your son cry over matters of the heart is not easy, but also makes your space in your heart for him so much bigger.

His status on BBM later that night read:-

Advice from the ppl that know me best! Thanx everyone!! - Love my dad too much! Thanx for always being there and supporting me!

Nuff said - Love you too  my boy!!!

Salagatle!

Our past

So, life has it's up's and downs, and things happen to us, and we ride it, fight it, fix it, move on. But, some stuff seems to hang around, things don't want to come right, shit happens, I know, but somehow there seems to be a block in the process. What am I talking about? Good question, I don't really know, so I will try to explain, without implicating anyone.

For some time now things have been, well, bad. Financially, I am seriously worse off than 6 years ago, and it's not that my life style has changed, annual increases have been dismal, but the cost of living has gone up. Work situation, as you all know, sucks. Family life is good, well, it's OK. We have challenges with GMan, but those are of his own doing. With LuckyL, things are good. Me and the Princess, good. i had the bad accident in January, that was bad, but overall, OK.

So where does all this come from? I have a good friend, who lives In Jeffreys Bay. He is a reborn Christian (nothing wrong with that), and has me as his "project". What do I mean? Well, he believes that he is tasked with looking after me spiritually, and I have no reason to discount his opinion. In fact, I kind of appreciate his stand on this, as it gives me perspective, food for thought. Yesterday he called to have a chat. One of the things he brought up was my relationship with my late Dad. In his learning, he has come across something referring to past life, and how this affects your now life. He thinks that things between me and my late Dad were not good before he passed, and this is maybe one of the reasons that stuff in my today life is, well, not steady.

(Does all this make sense to any of you?)

So he has tasked me to a) think about the relationship I had with my Dad, and b) to work through it. That could be to address the issues that remain which affect my present decisions, or to make peace with my Dad for past events. Easier said than done really. I don't think we were on bad terms at the time of his passing, in fact I believe we had had a great relationship for the last 5 - 6 years before he passed. I do have recollections of massive stand up arguments we had when I was younger, more stupid, and rebellious, but I don't think that it was anymore an issue in the end, than any other "growing up" difference we had.

Somehow, I think that maybe my mate has it wrong, but I will be spending some time working through my memory database, and sorting stuff out. And, whilst I am at it, I will "chat" with my Dad, explain my actions, and sort it out with him.

"Crazy" I hear you say! Maybe, but it wont cost me anything, and maybe it will sort out some of the shit in my head.

Next move will be my sister and brother. Let's see what issues reside there, and what about Mom?

Just thought I would share it with you.

Salagatle!

Update - overdue.....

Hi all, it's becoming more and more obvious that I am amongst few friends, at least as far as my blog goes. Don't have too many readers anymore (welcome to Johan).

Not too sure what I should do about it, if anything at all. It would seem that for most, blogging has died an untimely death. Wonder what has replaced it? Not FaceBook,  or Twitter, as those spaces are for short comments, not"stories. Ah well, se la vie!

So, whats bee happening?
I'm still working here, for now. The new car is great, just very very heavy on fuel.
Last weekend, from Friday to Monday, the Princess and I were in the Kruger National Park. Had a great time, really relaxed, and saw a lot of good game. The place is green wall to wall, and lots of water around. The animals are fat, and looking very healthy. And loads of young one's!

Will post pics as soon as I down load them from the camera. Strange how there seems to be no rush in getting this done, until you have another event, and find that the camera card is full, and have to quickly "dump" the photos onto a stick / pc / laptop to make space.

LuckyL decided he wanted to learn to speak Italian! so I wrote him in for a 3 month course. If he enjoys it, and does OK, and wants to, I will let him to the 2nd course later in the year. So far (one lesson done) he's excited, and keen. Hope he keeps it up.

The Princess just keeps going, working hard, going to gym at least 3 times a week, and is looking great!
GMan, well, he's still out there, trying to get ahead, and doing it on his own, kind of...... Not too sure he's winning as yet, just hope for his sake they can crack a deal soon.

I'm really keen to get cracking with the new company, and spend some time each week understanding more of the product, it's capabilities, and reading up on various applications where we could market it. Suffice to say, it's exciting, but not going to be easy. But it's back where I belong - in the Mechanical Engineering world.

OK, so I'm online, doing an opportunity update. The damn system wont allow me to click "Save" until I update one of the comment lines. But this line is "greyed" out, so I cannot access it.... DUH!!!!
OK, sorted that crap out.

Where was I?.......... Oh yea, so I have a new manager. Some guy out from the USA, on assignment. Now he's a pretty cool dude, friendly, likes outdoors, chatty, but, did we really have to get some expensive guy from the US on assignment to come and manage this business? For what we are paying him, I'm sure we could have hired 2 local guys, with all the experience required! But then, that's what international companies do.

On the point of international companies:- One of our local companies, which had a 51%+ take over by a European company some years ago, has just gone through tremendous layoffs. it was poorly managed, and not properly thought through, as they are now exposed with too few skills on the ground, people having to co-opt 2-3 positions, overtime will go through the roof, and from being the market leaders in their space, I know they will slip to 3rd or 4th in the next 18 months. However, they made sure that the severance issue happened at the same time as their latest results release! And because they beat market expecttations, and increase share holder value and dividents by big percentages, th story of the lay offs didn't even get a mention in the daily rags. Over 130 people layed off - and at least another 100 who left out of their own before the day of recconing, with who knows how many more to leave after, as they cannot cope with the extra work load.

So, contrary to general public perceptions, I am in full agreement with the government with regards foreign companies buying up local companies. there must be some form of assurance that they will not get rid of staff en mass, that they will ensure continued support of local manufacturers, as was the case with the recent Massmart / Walmart deal. As far as I am concerned, if these big internationals want to invest in South Africa, do so from the ground up. Don't come here, buy up existing business, and destroy it!

Barclays is doing just that now with Absa. Top management are being replaced with Barclays people, and in the ranks, chaos reigns supreme. Every single invoice is now queried by 4 - 5 individuals before payment is approved. Any new contract must be approved at some senior level in the UK! WTF!!! Those clowns are only still in business thanks to a big buy out by the Arabs, and they bought into Absa because the profits were at least 4 x what they were making overseas. Now they want to come here (are here) and tell us (South Africans) how to run a bank? Watch Absa - 18 - 24 months - Fucked up!!!!

My pet hate right now (has been for some time) is bad drivers. I'm not talking about the taxi's who stop whenever / wherever they want to. I'm not talking about the old lady doing 40 in a 60 / 80 zone, in the fast lane. That I can live with. I'm talking about the number of people who just don't bother to stop at stop streets. Every day, without fail, I will see at least 3 - 5 of these idiots. I pulled a guy over the other day. Told him, "That was a stop street". He said "I know". So why didn't you stop? Well, there were no cars coming....! WTF! It's a fucking stop street moron. And you have to stop. Even if there are no other cars! Do you go home on the weekend and rape 3 yr old girls? I asked. You might as well, you a criminal anyway!!!  Man, was he pissed off!!!! But like I should care!

The truth of the matter is that it is those people who will complain about taxi drivers. They the one's who complain about the cops and bribery and corruption. They complain about all the speed traps, and untimely road blocks. But ultimately, they are criminals. Maybe not on the same level as a murderer, rapist, politician (sic), but a crime is a crime, and if convicted, the record will show that you are a criminal. Each time I see one of these stop street jumpers I pray for a car, with another one of them, to be coming across from the other side. Will make for a really satisfying event!

Anyway, time to do some work.

Salagatle!

12/12/2011

Been a while (again) since I posted anything here. Well, anything worth reading I suppose. But hey, I also got stuff to do you know! Anyway, here's an update on the status of stuff, and if I am repeating anything, tough!
The Matriarch is now comfortable in her new home, settled, and making friends. The house is sold, and registered under the new owners, so that's also sorted. I bought her car from her for the amount offered to her by the second hand dealers, and then, a month later, sold it for a small profit! Every Saturday evening I pick her up, and take her to church. This last weekend I fitted a sliding Xpanda security door (LIU) to her patio door. They all say it's not really necessary, that it's safe, etc, blah, blah, blah, but if you come from an unsafe environment, there is no way you buying into that shit, so I fitted it for her, and now if she wants to she can sleep with the patio door open, or, when she goes out during the day, she dos not have to close up / lock up everything, her home and stuff is safe. Was a bit of a challenge fitting it, especially as I was on my own, but I got it done - good.

LuckyL has had a bit of ad luck with his car - just as I was bragging that he made such a good buy. So, We had 2 new tyres fitted - R 1750 (including wheel alignment), we had the starter serviced (was sticking occasionally, so cheaper to service it now than wait for it to break) and we had the car serviced - 148000km, needed to be done anyway - R 2500, and all this so that he could be safe going down to Ballito for the matric vacs. Oh, and we had a tow bar fitted - R 1950.

get the car back fro the service, and it starts giving error codes on the dashboard. Take it back to the garage. Turns out that the warning light is for a faulty Cam position sensor. OK, call around - Opel - R2200 - 4 days to come from the factory. OPEL A.S.A.P. in Pretoria - R 1300, and he has stock. It's Saturday morning, but we scream through to get it. Monday morning deliver to the mechanic. He fits it - still shows an error. Tuesday and Wednesday we do a million tests, changes, repairs, no help. Thursday morning we fit a new cam-belt and tension pulley. Same shit. By now I know we got shit, and as he was supposed to leave Thursday morning, we let him leave, at 1.15 in the afternoon, with the Princesses car, and trailer in tow!
Friday, and the mechanic says take off the battery terminals, and unplug the computer, leave over noight, and reconnect. Could be that the computer is now confused with all the errors and changes, and maybe needs to be reset.
Funny thing I identify though - if the car has been standing for a few hours (ie it;s cold) it starts and there is no warning light. Then you drive it for a while, stop to pick up something, and then start the car again after say 5 / 10 minutes, the fucking lights come on!!!! Anyway, I do the battery / computer thing, and Saturday afternoon, affter fitting the door for the Matricah, I reconect all the bits, start the car, and it's OK! Great, drive to the petrol station, 2 km away, stop. Fill up. Start, no problem. Great! Drive to the bottle store, push the car a bit, 8 km away. Stop. Go inside, buy some stuff, come out (6 minutes maybe?) and start the car - fucking light is back. Go home. Leave the car for 45 miutes - now it's cold again, start the car, no light.

OK - so I have discovered that the light only comes on if you are starting the car when it's hot. Should make it easier for the mechanic to fault find, with assistance from the Technical Manager from OPEL assisting. Here's hoping - I dropped off the car this am, and need it back by Thursday, as Friday is a public holiday here, and we want to leave for our vacation on Sunday!!!!

OK, so the Princess is using my car, and I'm commuting on the bike.......Fucking cars with fucking stupid ECU's! Gimme a pre 80's muscle car any day!!!!

So, for most of this year I was telling management that if they don't allow me to take leave during school vacations, which happen to coincide with company quarter ends, I will take my leave in December. Not sure if they thought I was joking, but 6 weeks ago I put in for leave from 19th Dec to 3rd January, and I still have another 8 days due to me before end January!!! When I informed management that I had put in the application, I also informed them that if they did not approve it, I would go on leave anyway, and we could sort it out with the CCMA (LIU) afterward!!! Needless to say, it has not been officially approved online, but neither has it been declined, so I go on leave, as of Thursday this week!!! Princess managed to arrange free accommodation with her boss in his apartment on the coast, so I'm looking forward to some serious "do nothing" chilling for a few weeks.

On the transport front, apart from LuckyL's car, my old Toyota is also gettin gto the end of it's life, but I need to nurse it along for a while longer - no finances for replacing that now. I've put all the motorbikes up for sale though, LuckyL's Aprilia RS 125 - he does not ride it anymore anyway, my Yamaha XJR 1200, or his XJR 1200, we need to keep one of them in the family for occasional rides, and. like now, when we short of one car.

I've also started to clean out 'stuff" in the garage. I've given away  boxes of tools I don't need (old stuff, miming tools, inherited from a friends late dad) really big stuff that can only be used really in industry, or on farms. A box full of lathe cutting tools. A couple of old Micrometers (still in inches), and so on. When I get back from vacation, going to do more cleaning out - will do a coule of trips to the antique shop to sell of some old stuff, as well as the local Cash Crusaders / pawn shop, to get rid of other unwanted stuff just stored in the garage - bicycles, bird cage, fish tank, hi-fi stand, double bunk bed, double bed with mattrass... fuck there is a whole houshold of stuff in the basement and garage. Going to clean out, and pocket the cash.
Then I'm getting into the stuff upstairs - the study / library has become a storeroom for stuff. No, I have no idea what it is, but it's going - Dump / pawn / trash / donate - whatever. There is also stuff in the safe that I know I am never going to use / wear / look at / bother with. Need to find a new home for that, as well as some of the stuff in the bar - loads of shit to get rid of. Suppose I'm heading towards a minimalistic lifestyle, makes more sense - hell we work all our lives to buy "stuff" which, one day we realize we really don't need / want / adds no value to our lives. Fuck it - time to clean up!
OK, that was a long paragraph!

Back in a bit - need a smoke.

OK, so on the home front - I fired the gardener, and got a new one. You would think these morons would appreciate a steady, regular job. No way, they start to skip a day here, come late the next ... so I sent him in his moer, and told he he can starve next to the road along with the rest of his brothers. Then I had a chat to my neighbor who has a gardener in twice a week, and got this guy to come in on Saturdays. Didn't turn up this week, but probably due to the fact it had been raining most of Thursday and Friday, and looked like rain on Saturday morning. Hope he comes in next week, or else there will be a jungle of lawn by the time we get back from our vacation.

GMan - well, he joined us for dinner on Saturday, and seems like he might join us for Xmas down at the coast. His girlfriend is in the UK, visiting with her mom and brother and step dad. Other than that, no other news on him.

Enough for now - will post more, if I feel like it, whilst sitting on the deck in Ballito, watching the sea......
Later all

Salagatle!

It's Monday

and I am back in the shithole. It's getting harder and harder to come to the office these days.
This morning I sent management an email giving them 4 days to sort out my client kist and commissions, after which I will present the facts to the CEO - and to CCMA for further action.
Done - in writing. Let's see if they take me serously or not.
Worst thing they can do is pay me to go away. Thank you, a golden handshake right now would do fine. Ultimately, they are screwing with me earnings potential, they don't seem to be taking my concerns seriously, they keep saying it will be corrected AT THE NEXT REITERATION, and it never is, they refuse to pay out commissions out of the cycle time, so if you have a correction done after the 15th of the month, they say you must wait for the end of the next month, and if it's not done, then you get to wait another month. FUCK THAT!!

Went to a great wedding on Saturday, drank way too much for one who does not drink anymore, and suffered a headache from hell from about 10pm Saturday, till about 10 pm last night. Geeezzzz, and to think I could open and finish a bottle of rum just a few years ago.

Sunday saw us at the Matriarch's house, sorting and throwing away stuff, and deciding what's to be kept, what gets given away, what's going to the hospice.... eish, not an easy thing for me to do, but we got a lot done. She's going to move into a retirement village in the next month, so we have to get rid of a ton of stuff - remember, she has lived there since 1957!! And even though my dad was never one for hoarding stuff, neither is she, but there is always the stuff you keep for "one day". Anyway, I have a friend who lives on a farm, and they can always use more stuff - old tools, saws, benches, tables, and the like.
I also found Dad's old Grappa Still!!! That's going to come in handy - we going to be making some moonshine on the farm!!!!

Anyway, suppose I better try and get some work done.

Later all

Salagatle!

Another quick update

I finally shut my FaceBook page. Apart from the Princess, I only had one other person inquire about it. So, I'm not missing it, and no one is missing me!

Work wise, it's slow going, have been told that I will probably be put on a PIP next quarter (those of you who work for the organisation will know what that is), and I'm not too concerned - more like pissed off, but hey, what's a guy to do?

My "mentor-ship" offer has come to naught - no surprises, the VP who made the offer is renowned for making statements / promises, and not delivering anything!!!!  And my trip to the USA is also 'dead" as far as I can see - no feedback at all, and the guy I was to travel with has confirmed he's going mid-October. Enjoy!

Got a call from a close friend in the week. Said he had had a chat with GMan a few weeks ago, about going back to varisty! I said I didn't know about it. Then he said he had made GMan an offer - he would pay all the fees if GMan went back to varsity to study! He was going to call him again to see if he had thought about it. i mentioned that I didn't think he would, but there was no reason not to try. Not sure why he's pushing for this - other than he had made the same offer to me when GMan was still at school. Anyway, Spoke to GMan on Monday, when he popped in for a minute, and although he didn't say it outright, I got the feeling he wasn't going to take the offer. Stupid boy. How often do you get that chance - twice!!!! He's going to learn a very hard, and long lesson. But it's his call.

LuckyL is nearly finished with Prelims. After tomorrow, he has one more maths paper next week - then he's done till finals start in abut a month.

I'm still out there - looking for another job. Note, I didn't say better - anything would be better than this right now. Can't believe how things have gone backwards in this place. And I have so much opportunity, we just can't seem to close out on them. Or I'm not getting the proper back office support - and they fucked up my commissions statement again - it's the same crap, over and over and over...... FUCK IT!!!!

The Princess is just brilliant. Definately a lighthouse in my stormy dark sea right now. I think if she wasn't in my pictiure, I'd be some drunken bum, lying on Durban beach, looking for another drink! (Thinking about it, that's not a bad picture!!!!!)
Anyway, time for another internal meeting.
Chat later.

Salagatle!

The Princess

has been away for a break for a few days. So, Mom had a major op, and then we sent her to live with my brother and his wife to recuperate. The SIL does not work, so she was able to look after Mom.
Now that Mom is ready to come home, the Princess thought it might be a good idea to take the SIL on a break, to say thanks for the effort, and to let her also de-stress / chill out for a while. So the Princess asked her boss for his apartment in Ballito (LIU), booked the flight, and invited SIL to join her there. She flew down on Tuesday morning, and they met at the airport in DBN. She comes home, with Mom in tow, this Saturday.

From the chats we have had, and the pics I have received it seems like they having a good time - lots of rest, and fun. Good, they both need and deserve it!

In the meantime, LuckyL is doing his prelim exams, started this week Monday. I must say he has been diligent, and working hard at it. I hope he gets the marks he deserves. Today he does the last exam for this week, then he is going to chill for a while, till the next one sometime next week - probably Monday.
We have been managing ok without the Princess, but it's just not the same - I don't care what the guys out there say, we really need our women!

Work wise, we carry on. My trip to the USA for the first week in September didn't happen, although they had said it might happen in the first week of October due to the availability of the new guy who also has to go. But, I have also heard that there is (again) a freeze on travel, so my gut tells me the newbie darkie gets to go, and I don't. But hey, that's how the bones fall.

I have made it quite clear to my management that this clown will not be riding on my back with regards the opp. that I have created. He's come in at a probably very high price, as the "expert" on the offering (seems he was the "architect" of a similar solution at a competitor), and as the Business Development Manager (I think that's his title), he better go generate some business - there is no way in hell he's getting any kudo's from any of my deals. - Hey, that's just me - OK!

GMan - well, actually the easy answer is "I don't know", but I do know some stuff. Met with him the ohter day at a motor dealer to look at another car for him. Trying to arrange a straight swap - his car for one on the floor. But that's another story. SO he says he's had a job offer. Seems like one of the guys that plays GMans poker game regularly is very well off. Has a couple of businesses. Manufacturing and distribution part of the set up. he wants to open a distribution presense in Cape Town, and has asked GMan to go run it for him! Maybe later he will add a amnufacturing presence there as well, as part of the package!!!
So, apart from a really good salary, (and a real job I might add), he's offering 25% shares in the company, and free accommodation in a house he owns in CT!!!

He said he wanted to come chat to me and the Princess about it, but have not heard from him since - maybe he will still come round - although, he probably knows the Princess is away, so will come round when she's back?

Anyhow, this is my short update of the current state of affairs - will post again soon.
Salagatle!

Back at the ranch

Last week Wednesday morning my mom called to say she was going to phone for an ambulance to take her to the hospital. I told her not to, and drove through and fetched her myself.
Arriving at the hospital, we ran into her doctor who was doing the rounds, and who was surprised to see here there. Seems like, as usual, there was a bit of a communication gap. The day before, mom had asked to see the doctor. When they called her back, she said she couldn't get to their rooms! (Don't know why she wont ask the neighbors). Any way, so they told her that if she felt bad during the night, she should call an ambulance to take her to hospital, otherwise they could see her the next morning at 10.
She assumed they meant if she felt crap during the night she should call the ambulance in the morning......

Anyway, so the hospital is full, no beds.
I have to take her around to casualty entrance, where they admit her, do the mandatory vitals check, and keep her there till a bed comes available - this happens at about 12 midday.

Then it's a whole bunch of tests, x-rays, scans. Friday they do another CT scan, and confirm she has an Abdominal aortic aneurysm.

So, having looked it up I know that this is serious shit. But no one says anything about doing an operation. Not Friday, nor Saturday! Eventually on Sunday afternoon they come to her to say she will be staying in hospital till Thursday, when they will do the operation.


Anyway, it's been a bit stressful, worrying about mom, running up and down between the office / home / hospital. Keeping all the family updated. Arranging stuff. But hey, I don't mind - it is my Mom!


Anyway, we hoping all will be well with her. But, the post op. recouperation period is quite long. So we have my brothers wife coming to stay with her for a few weeks after the op. And then, if need be, she will mve in with us.
In the mean time we looking at what we can do to get her into a senior citizens home, with care facilities. It's about time. And for a change, she's not insisting that she will stay at home...


My brother and his wife arrive tomorrow to see her before she goes under the knife. My sister has been to see her a couple of times. And she's had the usual process of visitors.


if nothing else, the hospital room is warmer than her house, she's getting 3 meals a day, and she's comfortable.


Salagatle!

Quick Update

OK, so LuclyL went for his big bike license today, and passed first time! Well done my boy. Now that's sorted, we will get his South African passport renewed, and we are done with all his "legal" stuff for a while!
Jayne with a Why has started to post again, and what a good read this is. Go take a look. She's really gifted, and good for a lot of laughs!

On the work front, things are moving along. Have had a couple of really good calls on clients, and if I can land one of the big opportunities I have in hand, will make my number for the year. Land 2 of them, and I can call the shots around here for a while!
Seems like this whole "Restructuring" think is / was a bit of a farce. They knew exactly who they wanted to get rid of, and it seems they will be. Why make everyone go through the trauma though, if you already have a list of "deletes"? I'm sure they misread the guidelines for retrenchment. Anyway, it's basically done and dusted - for now.

Back home, things are fine. The Princess, bless her, is working her arse off. At least we have a new maid - on probation - but seems to be of better stuff than the last one that just never came back. Stupid bitch! Oh well, if she can get a better job, good for her.

I've been a bit slow with my personal projects, but figure I have most of the winter to work on it before I need to finish "creating" my vegetable gardens, so will work on it as / when I have time. Have got another project though, to finish first. Recently GMan and his girlfriend, who he now shacks up with, moved into a house in our neighbourhood. Whilst transporting their stuff, the single bed from their spare room fell off the truck. Literally 1 block from their new home! Whats the odds? Anyway, the frame kind of shattered, and they were going to throw it out. me and my big mouth "No way, I can fix it". So I am.
Will take some photos and post here, along with progress reports.
Fishman, if I sand down the wood (to remove / break the varnish finish) what do I need to paint it with first, so that I can give it a gloss black final coat?

Mother in Law - is, well, mother in law.
Mom is fine, still a bit stressed about her new washing machine. Damn, why cant they just believe us when we say "That's how it works, and no, you cant get a 1979 model anymore!"

And in closing. A close friend of mine has been going through some seriously testing times in the past 3 - 4 years. If it's not retrenchments, it's employers going under, or job offers which take him from a good place to a better one, only to fold 3 moths later. A car that burned out in the driveway, with an insurance claim that took 8 months to sort out. Then his motorbike getting stolen and then his son (one of them) writing of another car.....

two of his boys live with him. One is a complete drop out - not really wanting to work. The other, with a drug problem, was unemployed for a year. Seemed to get over the drug problem during this time as he was living on the farm, had no transport and no money. (Probably just the right situation to get weaned off the shit).
Anyway, so he lands a good job, with good pay. Gets a car (via a friend who was going to lose it anyway) and takes over the payments.
Problem is the job can be demanding, and stressful, and yup, you guessed it - as soon as he stressed, and had some money in his pocket - drugs. So my mate had some trouble with him for a few nights in a row, and then last Friday the kid got completely out of hand, and kicked down a door in the house. What to do? Well, he did what most of us would probably never consider an option, called the SAPS and had his son arrested!!!! Geeez, that must be so hard!

Anyway, he was still behind bars by Monday evening, as no one was going to post bails for him, he couldn't afford to bail himself out, and hey, at least there he cant get his hands on any dope! Well, in theory he shouldn't! The down side is he has lost his job, will lose the car, and is back to square one. My mate has had enough, but like he says, they his boys, he can't abandon them. Well,, maybe easy for me to say, but at some point........

And in closing. My slight change of attitude has made the world of difference to my life. Work seems to be smoother, home life is better. LuckyL still tries his luck, but instead of trying to throw him over the balcony, I now sort hi out in a more sedate manner, with controlled voice, and just make him understand that if he's not happy with stuff, he;s welcome to pack and leave, any time he wants. hey, don't let me be the cause for your unhappiness!!!

Oh, remember I posted here that my little brother had got pissed off with me, and had left my home in a huff, and how we had not spoken in over a year, and all that stuff?
Well, about a month ago I got an SMS from him, basically apologising, and asking if we can rebuild out relationship. My respnse was "Apology accepted. As for our relationship, we are born brothers, and that will never change. However, as for being friends again, that will take some time".

Anyway, we have been communication on and off, mostly through "Whats App" (He does not have a Blackberry), and a bit over the phone, and things seem to be going better. So, maybe I have a little brother again in my life, and we will share moments which I may, or may not, report on here agan in future.

Salagatle!

Fathers Day - Come and gone.

So, yesterday, 19 June, was fathers Day. Come and gone. And apart from being another "Commercial" day all about presents, "Hallmark" cards (Thanx DMDad) and family time, whats it all about. Well, nothing really.

So I had a whole lot of stuff to say about Fathers Day, but it's not for here or now. Suffice to say that being a dad is not easy, and the attitudes of our kids today make it harder.

I had a good day, got spoilt, and generally just chilled. Not sure it was any different to any other day.

So, thanx for the gifts, and the card...... Another one on it's way next year.

Salagatle!

My last few posts

have been so opposite. A couple on the bike weekend away, and then work, day 1. How totally screwed up is that? The common denominator - me!

So, reality is that we live the life we have to, partly by choice, partly by circumstance. And every now and then we get to experience that part of life we look forward too, almost as a teaser of what could be, if only.....

I'm not complaining about my lot. I think overall I've done OK, all things considered. But it could be better, more "normal", easier perhaps? So why not find alternative employment you ask? Well, I am a middle aged white male living in South Africa. For all my experiences, and achievements, I fall way down the list of "preferred employee", mainly due to the reasoning that I come from a previously advantaged background (is is???) and that the new democratic regime needs to correct the injustices of the past by introducing and enforcing reverse racism. Black before white for all jobs! OK, so that's not a big deal. There are not too many darkies out there that can deliver like I do. But that's not the point - they get the jobs anyway, and then A N Other white boy like me gets to do 2 - 3 peoples work to cover for 2 - 3 darkies who are his peers, but don't deliver. They there to make up the BEE numbers, so that their employer can get a shot at the lucrative Government / Public Sector business!

Now I know most of my readers know this already, in fact most of them are affected by the same problem. But there may be the odd / random reader from outside of South Africa who might read this, and get a better understanding of our situation here. Maybe I'm just recording it here to get it off my chest. Either way, it's here for those who want to read it.

So, for a measly USD 300k, I could settle all my debts, sort out all the little bits and pieces needing sorting, and then leave my job and go do whatever it is I want to, for a much lower salary maybe, but much improved satisfaction level! Now that's peanuts actually. Wonder if there is any way to start a "fund". "Rescue the Wreckless Euroafrican from himself" fund. Donate USD 1.00 to a very worthy cause.... LOL. Wouldn't that be wonderful!

So, in passing chit chat today the employer provident fund came up. I was surprised to find out that some who have 2 - 4 years less years service than I do, have almost double the funds in their provident fund than I have? Wonder how that works? Be that as it may, no one is retiring on that anyway. It's barely enough to earn slightly less than a state old age grant if put into a fixed deposit, with earnings paid out monthly..... Geeezzzz, you are almost better off on a state old age grant! Kind of like being on the dole in the UK, not worth going to work!

Talking about the UK - GMan is talking about going over for a while, to work, and find his way forward. We have a friend there with his own company who could employ him, and his current girlfriends Mom and step dad live there - and he has his own business, so maybe GMan could get a job there. Either way, I think it's probably a good thing for him.... Time will tell.

LuckyL is going through the motions of final few months of school. And, even though he knows what he wants to study for, he's not sure he wants to go to varsity next year, or take a gap year, or study through a Technicon. I think he wants me or the Princess to take the decision for him. There is always the factor (which he will not address) f not wanting to make the wrong decision. So, if we tell him to go to Uni, he might blow it as did GMan, if we tell him to take a gap year, he may not want to restart studying the next year..... Difficult choices, and I'm not sure where to go with this.

The Princess, Ahhhhhh, she's just the perfect Princess. Works hard, takes good care of all three of us, and our home, and the two grannies..... She's just brilliant. Often threatens to "trade me in" on 2 x 25 year olds, but I think she enjoys being seen in public with her "old man", especially when people mistake me for her Dad!!!

And finally, the two dogs are good (touch wood), apart from continuing to destroy stuff, like the bushes down the bottom of the yard. They wont pull out the weeds, oh no, rather tear up the plants that I ave bought and planted. Every morning there is a newly picked crop of hedge, bush, flowers on the floor outside the front door. Almost like they bringing me presents. Ah well.....

So, that's my update for now. More to follow, sometime.

Salagatle!

So, it's Friday.

And, after a week of great sunshine, got up this morning to overcast and wet skies. Yup, just because I have not gone out on the bike for two weeks, and was looking forward to a good run this weekend. However, all is not lost. it could still clear up by Sunday..
Other news:-

My regular readers will by now know my story about Witness. Well, I am please to say that last week his grave stone was laid! Going out there tomorrow to look at it, and will post photos. it will probably be my last post about him, although I will probably still post stuff about his widow, and the other people in the squatter camp where he lived. But I have fulfilled my promise. i buried him, am taking care of his widow, and as promised, have had a headstone done for him. RIP my friend!!!

I used the same guys that did the funeral arrangements, and got a great deal too. Will post the price when I post the pics.

GMan is back in Swaziland. He has to go and defend his Royal Swazi Rumble champion title! Hope he has another good run, and at least finishes in the money. I see on Facebook that there is a cash game going on that started yesterday afternoon, played right through the night, and at 12hoo today was still going! I hope he's not in it, and if he is, I hope he has at least ZAR250k in front of him right now! He is a very good cash player, better than his tournament game!!!

This week LuckyL wrote a Physics test (remember he's in Grade 12 / Matric / Final high school year) and he cracked 90%! needless to say this dad was ecstatic! I need to do something for him, and have an idea in mind, which I can't post here as yet, as he sometimes reads my blog!

The Princess is doing fine. She's planning a trip to Cape Town in the next few weeks, so I'm going to be alone at home (with the boys) for a while. No matter, she needs and deserves her space. Its just a bit difficult without here there! But we manage.

Work, well work is work. If I had a choice I wouldn't! The Auto Cad course I am planning to attend is supposed to start this next Monday, but has been postponed for a week (not enough candidates). Hope that by then they have enough so we can get going with this!
I have calculated that my employer owes me in the region of ZAR250k in commissions. It could be a bit less, depending on how they agree the structure  (imagine, we nearly at end of Feb. and this is still not in place?) but either way, they owe me a shitload of money! Going to send off another email as soon as I am done here! And, I have learned that when I sold my share options, I was supposed to be taxed at a nominal rate (10%), however, I recall being taxed at my full rate (42%). This means that SARS owes me a chunk of money too. I have asked my employer to look into it, as they would have to issue a directive, needless to say, I have not heard anything yet, so another email will go off about that in the next few minutes.

So overall its been an OK week. I am looking forward to the weekend, to the CAD training, and to the next steps of my planning for my road trip. All the rest is optional!

Salagatle!

The dogs are fine, except that Captain had some or other growth on his head, which became inflamed, and erupted!! Fuck, puss and blood everywhere. Then he had to be admitted, and have an operation to cut it all out. Cost me ZAR 1600.00 ........ and I now have a dog at home that looks like a monk. Big bald patch on the top of his head! But it will grow back!

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!

The end of another year - 2010

and quite a fucked up one at that. Overall, disappointing!

So, work still sucks, and I don't think that's ever going to change. Hopefully, I get to do the CAD course in March next year, and can start a new career with that. The prospects where I am now are zero. How do you come back from 3 years with no increases? Once again they fucked up my commissions, and I heard today that is was eventually corrected, but too late for this months run, so I have to wait for January run to get the money owed to me. And get this, the "change" to my account set was done by some squint/slant eye in China for fuck sakes!!

Business prospects look OK, but as usual clients are not making decisions. One deal I started on last year Feb (2009), and for which we submitted a RFP response in Oct, last year (2009), has been postponed again, to Jan next year (2011). Do me a fucking favor guys, make a decision, one way or the other. Win or lose, I really don't care anymore. But I got management who are all over me for this, wanting continuous feedback, and update, and crap.

As for  the public sector accounts, a) we are not a BEE account (LIU), b) we don't belong to a member of parliament, c) we are not related to any corrupt politician, and d) we don't do bribes. So, do you really want to be wasting time responding to their requests for services? Do me another fucking favor guys, get real! We are like never going to win in that space!

On the home front, the princess is, as always, beautiful! She is just the level headed one in the family, and I have no idea how she puts up with all the crap from the 3 men in her life. But she does, thankfully!

LuckyL did well at school.  Very well in fact. He passed with good marks, and goes into his final year of high school. he also made prefect. Doing great with the bikes, still having a lot of fun, fixing (and breaking), and is a star in the garage.

GMan, well, that was a disappointment. He dropped out of varsity, basically throwing away the biggest opportunity of his life. Now he's a "working" person, much like the rest of us, only he does not have a real job yet, and he's going to struggle to find one, if he does not want to work for one of his "poker cronies", which is where he has had 2 job offers from, but it's really nowhere work. But that what you get if you don't have a degree today in South Africa. I am making him pay his way from now with regards insurance on his car, petrol, services, as well as his cellphone costs. Adds up to a tidy sum each month. Don't think the Princess will make him pay for board and lodging as yet, but that's the next issue I will  broach with them. The kids actually believe they could live cheaper elsewhere, well, that's a surprise waiting for them.

Overall, as I said in the opening, a rather fucked up year. 2011 can only be an improvement. When I get this CAD course done, I can start shopping around for drawing work, be it mechanical design or architectural, and start to subsidies my income. Hopefully, it will grow to a point where I will restart my CC (LUI) and become independent. LuckyL did the best at school for Engineering Graphic Design, and he is keen to study to be an architect. his motivation is that he knows with that degree, he can always be self employed! And, if my CC gets off the ground, he can join me, and we can do the drawing work together. I have a lot to teach him, and he can sign off my house plans!!

The dogs are OK. Slowly growing out of the "eat anything we can find" mode, but still need to be exercised / entertained, and I'm not the person for that. Never have been, and never will, so hopefully LuckyL is going to start doing that.

The Xmas hampers for the kids in thew squatter camp was probably my best effort yet. Will probably start planning for another one next year. Watch this space.

Anyway, that's my 2010 year. All of the best to you and yours for the festive season. Be safe, and keep coming back. I'm not done here, but just had to get this post out in case I decided there was nothing else worth posting this year!

Salagatle!

Posts

Hi all,
Ran out of steam there for a while, and also didn't really have much time. So my "retro" posts kind of dwindled off, even though I have one half written..... and I haven't even had much time to post any funnies.
However, I keep reminding myself that I owe it to the millions of followers I have out there to get back into this blog. And so, here I am. As I write / type, I am sitting in a client planning session for 2011, it's an all day thing. Boring the crap out of me, but then that does not take much to do anyway. Every now and then I voice my opinion, so they know I am awake, and think I am listening!

So, what's been gong on?
LuckyL is done at the coast. Went to visit his Uncle, Aunt and cousin. That's my "no speak" brother to those of you who have followed this blog for a while. At least he has not extended his fucked up stand with me to the rest of my family, as did my "no speak" sister!! (Yea I know, seriously fucked up siblings! So, who of you come from a perfect family?)
GMan, well, so disappointed in him right now. BUT, I love him, he is my son, and I will always be there for him, but man, when he gets to my age he will think like I do - "If I had made the effort then, I wouldn't be in the position I am now"! So what happened? Well, he dropped out of varsity. Well, that's to say, he didn't even make the cut to sit exams. Not too sure how many classes he actually attended, but hey, that was his option I suppose. Can't be holding his hand anymore - he's an adult now. So, I told hi he needs to get a job, and start paying his way. if he wants to study, it's at his own cost. Hard stand to take, but I have a second son who will hopefully want to study, so I will channel the funds that way. Not too many people get this chance in life, and he had one shot at it - and missed!
So, Princess - she is just so amazing! Doing very well in her job. Keeps the home moving, together, sane. I have no idea how broken my life would have been if she was not part of it. In fact, I thank the Big Guy every day for her! She's adopted some of my attitude when it comes to giving crap back when someone gets on her wrong side. Seriously - she scares the crap out of guys 3 x her size. And it's good. She don't take crap from service providers, has a sharper tongue, and stands her ground so well! Good for you Luv!!
Queenie - well lets just say that the older people get (in this case I can say women, as my mom fits this bill as well), the more difficult they get. I swear they spend hours thinking about crap, and then turning it into a life statement, and then try to pass it of as a good lifestyle decision..... and get pissed off when you call them out, show them it's a stupid call.... ah, fuck it. They just full of shit, and don't realize that their thinking is counterproductive and causes more worry than it's worth.
The Dogs - suffice to say i have a 9mm parabellum that's in need of cleaning. i am not against just putting two bullets through the barrel to clear it. They are so fucked up. Well, one of them is anyway. Eating my fucking plants, chewing up conduit / electrical wiring, car mud flaps.... Damn worst dogs that you could ever get as puppies. Someone said that they grow out of it at 2 yrs. Well, I don;t think these two have a 2 yr lifespan!!!

Cars - so the Princess's car is OK, quite new, on a maintenance plan, still under warranty. GMans car is such a piece of technological shit! VW PAssat - TDI (2.0lt). So what's the problem? Too much computerisation, too many fucking gadgets that keep failing, warning lights for everything, inclusding "There is a bad smell emanating from between your girlfriends legs"...! For fuck sakes. Costing him a small fortune to keep repairing, and VW are master rip off artists when it comes to spares.
Check this out:-
 VW - Full clutch replacement, including parts and labour - ZAR 30,000.00 (some change from this). They say the labour is ZAR3,000.00. OK, so parts are ZAR27k.
Goldwagen (big importer of German car spares, from Germany) Full clutch kit - ZAR4,500.00!!!!
Labour - from a friend who runs a small vehicle maintenance shop, and is damn good at what he does, and has the VW software on his computer to do diagnostics and resets...... ZAR 1,500.00!!!! WTF!!!
Headlight globe - VW - ZAR 198.00. Any spares shop - ZAR35.00!!!!
Start to get my point?
My Toyota is tired. I recently looked at trading it, on a Honda Civic (second hand ex-Avis car), but decided that it was not possible financially. So I'm going to take it to  my mate (he who is fixing GMans car) and let him go through the whole thing.Radiator tens to overheat every now and then. gearbox still leaks fluid. All the rubbers and wearing parts in from are tired, as are the shocks.
So, I may spend ZAR5k on it, but then it's good again for another 100k / km.

Nuff for now - be back soon.

Salagatle!