I will have to post this update in a few posts, otherwise you could lose interest, and stop reading.
So, whats been going on with me?
Well, most of my 5 regular readers soon found out that my blog was no longer available for viewing. This was because I decided to "hide" it till I had worked my last day with my employer - 10 September 2012. I had posted quite a lot of "stuff" about my employer, and conditions here, and my dissatisfaction, and I didn't want to compromise my severance pay because of it. Basically, my offer for separation says something about not sharing the information of the offer, and not saying bad stuff about the employer, etc., and I probably have been. Anyway, that was my reasoning for blocking the page.
So here is an update on various previous posts:-
AlanP - so my mate AlanP had his operation, and went home - after about 2 weeks, give or take a few days. There he seemed OK, until about 2 weeks later, he started to run extremely high fevers. After 2 days, he decided to contact the doctor who had operated on him, and was advised to see his local doctor, and get a bed in the local hospital for assessment, and to get the fever under control. As luck would have it, there were no beds in the local hospital, so at 9 at night, I got a call from him to say he and his wife were going to drive the 160km (give or take) to Durban, to the hospital where he had been operated on. They got there, spent a few hours in the casualty ward till a doctor signed him in. After an assessment, they put a tube into him, through his back, into the "space" left by the removal of spleen and cancer tumor, and drained nearly half a liter of old, blood! this is what had caused the infection, and thus the high fevers. Anyway, after 10 days (today in fact 06 Sept,) he was sent home again. Lets hope this is done now, apart from the next chemo sessions which are due to start in a week or two.
Service please - So I posted about a situation I had at the local Makro store (the one in Clearwater). Anyway, I had put it behind me. My mistake. Last week Wednesday, I'm sitting in the office at about 8.30am, and I get a call from LuckyL, saying there are 4 (four) cops (plainclothes) at the house looking for me. Said it had something to do with the assault at Makro. I asked which station they were from, and arranged, through him, to meet them there. Damn, I can be seriously stupid sometimes! Anyway, by 9.30 I'm at the station. Takes me about 20 minutes to find the detective in charge of my case. She says it's a charge of Assault - Common, so as soon as the does the paper work, takes my finger prints, etc. I can go. Just need to appear in court then next day. At no time to I admit to the charge, nor offer any statement / comment, other than to ask how they got to me. Seems the guys at the store took note of my vehicle's number plate! Well then, could have been another car with same plates as mine, or, someone else driving my car?!? Not that she cared. Anyway, as we finishing off the paperwork and stuff, the goons who were at my house turn up, drop the files on her desk, and leave. She pulls my docket, and says "Sorry, I have to arrest you, it's Assault - GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm!) What the FUCK??? I check, sure as hell, there's a doctors note in the file, as well as his statement - the only part I get to dread before she closes the file is " and he hit me with an unknown object"! I have since renamed my right hand "Weapon of Mass destruction!" Anyway, now this was serious, she had to arrest me, and it was too late (according to Africa time) to get me in front of a magistrate to arrange for bail. I got hold of the Princess, LuckyL and GMan. And my lawyer.
Cut to the details - I spent 6 hours in lockup, no water, food or smoking. The floor was covered in urine. I stood for 6 hours. At 5 pm they came to move me to another police station, which has overnight holding cells. In the meantime, I assumed, my lawyer was working through the detective, and after hours Public Prosecutor, to get me bail, so I could at least sleep at home! Yea right, the cunt didn't even bother to follow the advise / instructions given to him by the arresting detective, and basically did fuckall! GMan, and LuckyL had come to the station just before I was "arrested", and took away all my personal belongings, as well as my car. They also worked tirelessly to try and get the dots connected to get me out. After fuckall had been done by 4pm, GMan decided he knew just what had to be done to get his dad home.
After being shown from pillar to post, and everyone in-between, he eventually got hold of the person who had taken over the docket after the previous shift knocked off for the day. He approached the African Detective in the charge office, and asked if there was an office they could meet in, as he was not comfortable to talk in a noisy public place. I don't have the details (well, not for public consumption anyway), but suffice to say that with the right motivation, a lawyer, and a public prosecutor were found, a bail applied for and granted, and by 11 pm I was on my way home with GMan, cigarettes, 500ml Coke Zero, and a receipt for ZAR1000.00 bail. Oh, and instructions to appear before a magistrate on Friday 31 August in the same town that I was held in for "overnight"!
To be continued.
Salagatle!
LIU - Look It Up!
Showing posts with label Gman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gman. Show all posts
Thursday, September 06, 2012
Monday, July 09, 2012
My boys, and Guardian Angels
As posted last week, LuckyL went down to Natal for the weekend, going to the Sharks v Blue Bulls rugby on Friday night, and the Durban July Horse race on Saturday. All went well. His team won the rugby, and his horse is still running in the Durban July!
What I didn't know, till I got home on Friday afternoon was that GMan had also gone down to Durban. He had been asked by two girls who went to the Durban July to travel with them. So he and LuckyL got together down there.
The plan was for them to travel back on Sunday, but for some reason, probably to get a jump start on the traffic, they left Durban at around midnight, Saturday. Now, I've got no problem with driving through the night, in fact, I preferred it when the kids were little, as they would sleep most of the way, making it easier on me and the Princess. The other upside is less traffic. However, what little traffic there is, needs to be watched much more closely. There is always the risk of people nodding off, and veering across the road in front of you, cars / trucks stopped in the middle of the lane for no reason / breakdown. So you need to be vigilant whenever you get near to another road user, hen driving long distance through the night.
So, Sunday morning, and me and the Princess did not sleep well over night. Don't know why. We get up, and start to get done, and the boys walk in! We didn't know they had decided to leave early, so were surprised to see them.
Then LuckyL tells us the story of the trip home, and the accident. My hearts stops! FUCK!!!
Seems like GMan was driving - he's a night owl so was the best person for the job at that point. He also didn't drink any alcohol in the 24 hours preceding the trip, so he was good to go. Seem that just outside Mooi River (LIU) they were coming up to another car. Speed control was locked in at 118km/h, so allowing for inaccuracies of the clocks, they were probably doing 110km/h. At the last minute the smaller car changes lanes, right in front of them! All GMan had time to do was hold tight onto the steering wheel, and swerve to his right. The front left of the Toyota Fortuner they were driving in hit the back left of the other car (neither of them knows what car it was). GMan says they got airborne, went onto the gravel in the middle island, and were on two wheels, and he (thankfully) did not over correct, and brought the car back onto it's wheels, safely, and stopped. The other car had spun out, and landed up in the bushes on the island. He had stopped about 50 meters from the point of impact. The three of them checked themselves for injuries - nothing. They then got out of the car, and started to walk back towards the other car. Time to go check on the people in the other car, and swap details. They then heard a male voice screaming "I'm going to kill them!", followed by a woman screeching "No, don't, leave them alone", and another male voice shouting "Let's go kill them!!!"
At this point LuckyL, GMan, and B, LuckyL's mate from work decided that retreat was a good idea. Fuck those clowns for a joke, You never know it they high on drugs, carrying guns..... (If it was me in my younger day, I would have been in there, with my 9mm, and trust me, if the guy made a move to assault me, I would have blown him away, but that's me, 20 years ago!).
Anyway, the 3 of them got back into the car, which was still drive-able, and drove down the highway for a few hundred meters till they found a sign with a police number, and decided to call it.
The police came out quite quickly, and took their statement. He then had them follow him back down the highway towards the accident scene. He made them wait about 50 meters away, while he went to check out the situation. In a few minutes he called them on their cellphone, and told them the people from the other car were fucking mad, and out of control. Not a good idea for them to go any closer. So they should leave. The boys drove past the accident site, traveling back towards Durban, at the next off-ramp they crossed over, and then drove back towards Johannesburg, again passing the accident scene, not stopping or anything.
So, as far as I am concerned, they handled the whole affair in the correct manner. I am also convinced that they had Guardian Angels looking out for them, as the final outcome could have been much more serious than it was. I have no idea what went on out there, and have to take the information as given by my boys. What happened in the other car, I have no idea. But I am thankful that the boys are all fine. Whatever the outcome is, and the costs with regards repairs, so be it. B is insured, there may be some extra excess because GMan is under 25, but that's life.
Quite serious damage, but had it been a smaller car, I think the result would have been terrible. In fact, there would have been serious injuries....
Thank you Lord for their protection!
Salagatle!
What I didn't know, till I got home on Friday afternoon was that GMan had also gone down to Durban. He had been asked by two girls who went to the Durban July to travel with them. So he and LuckyL got together down there.
The plan was for them to travel back on Sunday, but for some reason, probably to get a jump start on the traffic, they left Durban at around midnight, Saturday. Now, I've got no problem with driving through the night, in fact, I preferred it when the kids were little, as they would sleep most of the way, making it easier on me and the Princess. The other upside is less traffic. However, what little traffic there is, needs to be watched much more closely. There is always the risk of people nodding off, and veering across the road in front of you, cars / trucks stopped in the middle of the lane for no reason / breakdown. So you need to be vigilant whenever you get near to another road user, hen driving long distance through the night.
So, Sunday morning, and me and the Princess did not sleep well over night. Don't know why. We get up, and start to get done, and the boys walk in! We didn't know they had decided to leave early, so were surprised to see them.
Then LuckyL tells us the story of the trip home, and the accident. My hearts stops! FUCK!!!
Seems like GMan was driving - he's a night owl so was the best person for the job at that point. He also didn't drink any alcohol in the 24 hours preceding the trip, so he was good to go. Seem that just outside Mooi River (LIU) they were coming up to another car. Speed control was locked in at 118km/h, so allowing for inaccuracies of the clocks, they were probably doing 110km/h. At the last minute the smaller car changes lanes, right in front of them! All GMan had time to do was hold tight onto the steering wheel, and swerve to his right. The front left of the Toyota Fortuner they were driving in hit the back left of the other car (neither of them knows what car it was). GMan says they got airborne, went onto the gravel in the middle island, and were on two wheels, and he (thankfully) did not over correct, and brought the car back onto it's wheels, safely, and stopped. The other car had spun out, and landed up in the bushes on the island. He had stopped about 50 meters from the point of impact. The three of them checked themselves for injuries - nothing. They then got out of the car, and started to walk back towards the other car. Time to go check on the people in the other car, and swap details. They then heard a male voice screaming "I'm going to kill them!", followed by a woman screeching "No, don't, leave them alone", and another male voice shouting "Let's go kill them!!!"
At this point LuckyL, GMan, and B, LuckyL's mate from work decided that retreat was a good idea. Fuck those clowns for a joke, You never know it they high on drugs, carrying guns..... (If it was me in my younger day, I would have been in there, with my 9mm, and trust me, if the guy made a move to assault me, I would have blown him away, but that's me, 20 years ago!).
Anyway, the 3 of them got back into the car, which was still drive-able, and drove down the highway for a few hundred meters till they found a sign with a police number, and decided to call it.
The police came out quite quickly, and took their statement. He then had them follow him back down the highway towards the accident scene. He made them wait about 50 meters away, while he went to check out the situation. In a few minutes he called them on their cellphone, and told them the people from the other car were fucking mad, and out of control. Not a good idea for them to go any closer. So they should leave. The boys drove past the accident site, traveling back towards Durban, at the next off-ramp they crossed over, and then drove back towards Johannesburg, again passing the accident scene, not stopping or anything.
So, as far as I am concerned, they handled the whole affair in the correct manner. I am also convinced that they had Guardian Angels looking out for them, as the final outcome could have been much more serious than it was. I have no idea what went on out there, and have to take the information as given by my boys. What happened in the other car, I have no idea. But I am thankful that the boys are all fine. Whatever the outcome is, and the costs with regards repairs, so be it. B is insured, there may be some extra excess because GMan is under 25, but that's life.
Quite serious damage, but had it been a smaller car, I think the result would have been terrible. In fact, there would have been serious injuries....
Thank you Lord for their protection!
Salagatle!
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Bad Boy
I noticed just now that it's been a week or so since my last post. That's bad - seriously. However, I have been busy, and didn't have anything to post anyway. So here's an update.....
Went to a local restaurant last week Wednesday, on the recommendation of various people, for their "half price sushi special". Well, half price it might have been, special it was not.
Cape Town Fish Market is a well known chain restaurant. In general, their service and food is good. We went to the one in the Cresta Mall. On arrival, I saw they were quite busy, but also noticed that they had ample waiters running around, more than 10. So, instead of just going to a table and sitting down, hoping that someone would see us and offer us some service, I grabbed one of the waiters, and asked for a table. He showed us to one, and said he would send a waiter with menu's, and to take a drinks order. At least 10 minutes passed. no one came near us. I called the number on the little condiments basket - Customer Care Center. No one answered - no surprise I suppose. Eventually I cornered a waiter, and got a drinks order in, and managed to secure some menu's. Drinks came, waiter left. More waiting - so we go and get some sushi of the conveyor thingy at the front. Not much choice, and all of them "black" plates (the most expensive sushi dish). We took 6 plates, and then I had to go and find side plates, serviettes, chop sticks, and that soya sauce. Also went and found wasabi......
Terrible, if that's what they serve as sushi, I am very disappointed. So, I grab another waiter, and threaten to beat the crap out of him if I don't get some service. Menu's and another round of drinks. It worked. he figured this grey haired old man is seriously pissed, armed with a pair of nearly sharp chop sticks. Drinks and menus arrived - I didn't let him leave. We ordered some food off of the menu - and sent him on his way. The food arrived, with plates, and cutlery... we ate, paid and left. Never ever going back to that shit hole again.
On Thursday night Italy was playing Germany in the Euro semi-final. I really wanted to watch. We got a notification that maintenance work was going to be done on the electricity network, and our area would be affected - from 9pm Thursday through to 5 am Friday. So I had to find some other place to watch the game. The Princess went to have coffee with a friend, LuckyL went to a pub in Fourways with mates from work, GMan was working.... I drove down to the next town, Roodepoort, and found a seat in the Joker, a "Irish Pub". I know they have several TV's, I know they usually have them on the sports channel. I didn't know that they were having a Q&A quiz nite! Do me a fucking favour! I called Fishman to join me, but he wasn't available. Anyway, I bought a drink. Single Jack Daniels - R19.50, and Coke - R16.00!!! WTF?
A coke sells in the local store for around R4.50 / R5.00. As a pub, they buy in bulk, and probably get it for around R3.00 a can. Where the hell do they come from charging R16.00 a can?
So, I limited myself to one drink, not that I drink usually, and wouldn't have had more than one as I was driving. Game was good - Italy 2 - 1 Germany!!! Drove home only to find that our suburb was the only one unaffected by the power outage, and I could have watched the game at home, or down the road at the club. Ah well.......
Sunday The Princess and I went to a local joint - Cedar Lodge. As the name might indicate, it's owned / run by Lebs. Not that that makes a difference, other than the Lebs know how to cook. They also had a buy one, get one free sushi special. And we had great sushi, as much as we needed, and got away with R100.00 total! (Excluding drinks). Good sushi at great price. Now why the hell would I want to travel 20km (one way) further to get crap food, when I can get good food 4km from home!?!?! Well done Cedar Lodge!
OK, more later. There are some things happening on the work front which I want to share - but can't right now.
Salagatle!
Went to a local restaurant last week Wednesday, on the recommendation of various people, for their "half price sushi special". Well, half price it might have been, special it was not.
Cape Town Fish Market is a well known chain restaurant. In general, their service and food is good. We went to the one in the Cresta Mall. On arrival, I saw they were quite busy, but also noticed that they had ample waiters running around, more than 10. So, instead of just going to a table and sitting down, hoping that someone would see us and offer us some service, I grabbed one of the waiters, and asked for a table. He showed us to one, and said he would send a waiter with menu's, and to take a drinks order. At least 10 minutes passed. no one came near us. I called the number on the little condiments basket - Customer Care Center. No one answered - no surprise I suppose. Eventually I cornered a waiter, and got a drinks order in, and managed to secure some menu's. Drinks came, waiter left. More waiting - so we go and get some sushi of the conveyor thingy at the front. Not much choice, and all of them "black" plates (the most expensive sushi dish). We took 6 plates, and then I had to go and find side plates, serviettes, chop sticks, and that soya sauce. Also went and found wasabi......
Terrible, if that's what they serve as sushi, I am very disappointed. So, I grab another waiter, and threaten to beat the crap out of him if I don't get some service. Menu's and another round of drinks. It worked. he figured this grey haired old man is seriously pissed, armed with a pair of nearly sharp chop sticks. Drinks and menus arrived - I didn't let him leave. We ordered some food off of the menu - and sent him on his way. The food arrived, with plates, and cutlery... we ate, paid and left. Never ever going back to that shit hole again.
On Thursday night Italy was playing Germany in the Euro semi-final. I really wanted to watch. We got a notification that maintenance work was going to be done on the electricity network, and our area would be affected - from 9pm Thursday through to 5 am Friday. So I had to find some other place to watch the game. The Princess went to have coffee with a friend, LuckyL went to a pub in Fourways with mates from work, GMan was working.... I drove down to the next town, Roodepoort, and found a seat in the Joker, a "Irish Pub". I know they have several TV's, I know they usually have them on the sports channel. I didn't know that they were having a Q&A quiz nite! Do me a fucking favour! I called Fishman to join me, but he wasn't available. Anyway, I bought a drink. Single Jack Daniels - R19.50, and Coke - R16.00!!! WTF?
A coke sells in the local store for around R4.50 / R5.00. As a pub, they buy in bulk, and probably get it for around R3.00 a can. Where the hell do they come from charging R16.00 a can?
So, I limited myself to one drink, not that I drink usually, and wouldn't have had more than one as I was driving. Game was good - Italy 2 - 1 Germany!!! Drove home only to find that our suburb was the only one unaffected by the power outage, and I could have watched the game at home, or down the road at the club. Ah well.......
Sunday The Princess and I went to a local joint - Cedar Lodge. As the name might indicate, it's owned / run by Lebs. Not that that makes a difference, other than the Lebs know how to cook. They also had a buy one, get one free sushi special. And we had great sushi, as much as we needed, and got away with R100.00 total! (Excluding drinks). Good sushi at great price. Now why the hell would I want to travel 20km (one way) further to get crap food, when I can get good food 4km from home!?!?! Well done Cedar Lodge!
OK, more later. There are some things happening on the work front which I want to share - but can't right now.
Salagatle!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday Update
Took a day off on Friday, and went to see the stainless steel railings company. Great stuff! I am definitely going to be doing some business with them. Just need to get the pricing estimator sorted out, and have already started to talk to some guys who are in the building game / in the process of doing building alterations!
Also this weekend, Italy managed to go through to the Semi-finals of the FIFA UEFA cup! What a game! England were nowhere! As commented in the office - Italy were either playing against themselves, ot against the England Goal keeper. The rest of the England team were absent! Amazing to see the Italian team hold more then 70% possession of the ball, have more than 40 shots at goal, and with more than 50% on trget. They just had no luck on their side! it could have easily been a 6 - 0 white wash. As it turned out, 4-2 on penalties was sweet justice! Next game is against the terrifying Germans, and I don't fancy our chances in that game. That said, football is a funny game......
A comment made by (what I thought were very pro-English) commentators, "In football, no two halves are the same, so we can expect to see a completely different outcome in the second half"! WTF? No matter, the second half was more of the same, with Italy in control! Done and dusted - bring on the Huns!
This is how we came through the ranks to this spot. No losses, and a couple of draws, so maybe we do deserve to be in the semi's after all!
Overall, a nice weekend, damn cold, and windy. Today is more of the same. Started to stir things up at the office as I am not happy to have external influences fuck with my ability to close deals anymore. Have also started to collect all the information I have been saving over time with regards the manipulation of numbers that has adversely affected my commissions. Show down is looming, and I'm ready for it. Fuck the corporation!
The Princess is great, LuckyL is a star, GMan is, well, GMan, still home, still does not have a real job, still does not seem to really want to get one. Will have to work on that.
Salagatle!
Also this weekend, Italy managed to go through to the Semi-finals of the FIFA UEFA cup! What a game! England were nowhere! As commented in the office - Italy were either playing against themselves, ot against the England Goal keeper. The rest of the England team were absent! Amazing to see the Italian team hold more then 70% possession of the ball, have more than 40 shots at goal, and with more than 50% on trget. They just had no luck on their side! it could have easily been a 6 - 0 white wash. As it turned out, 4-2 on penalties was sweet justice! Next game is against the terrifying Germans, and I don't fancy our chances in that game. That said, football is a funny game......
A comment made by (what I thought were very pro-English) commentators, "In football, no two halves are the same, so we can expect to see a completely different outcome in the second half"! WTF? No matter, the second half was more of the same, with Italy in control! Done and dusted - bring on the Huns!
This is how we came through the ranks to this spot. No losses, and a couple of draws, so maybe we do deserve to be in the semi's after all!
Match log
| Date | Competition | Phase | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The home team is listed first. | Last updated: 25/06/2012 01:15 CET | ||||||||
| 03.09.2010 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Estonia |  | 1-2 |  | Italy | ||
| 07.09.2010 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Italy | | 5-0 |  | Faroe Islands | ||
| 08.10.2010 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Northern Ireland |  | 0-0 | | Italy | ||
| 12.10.2010 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Italy | | 3-0 |  | Serbia | ||
| 25.03.2011 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Slovenia |  | 0-1 | | Italy | ||
| 03.06.2011 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Italy | | 3-0 | | Estonia | ||
| 02.09.2011 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Faroe Islands | | 0-1 | | Italy | ||
| 06.09.2011 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Italy | | 1-0 | | Slovenia | ||
| 07.10.2011 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Serbia | | 1-1 | | Italy | ||
| 11.10.2011 | UEFA EURO | Qualifying round | Italy | | 3-0 | | Northern Ireland | ||
| 10.06.2012 | UEFA EURO | Final tournament - Group stage | Spain |  | 1-1 | | Italy | ||
| 14.06.2012 | UEFA EURO | Final tournament - Group stage | Italy | | 1-1 |  | Croatia | ||
| 18.06.2012 | UEFA EURO | Final tournament - Group stage | Italy | | 2-0 |  | Republic of Ireland | ||
| 24.06.2012 | UEFA EURO | Quarter-finals | England |  | 0-0 | | Italy | ||
Overall, a nice weekend, damn cold, and windy. Today is more of the same. Started to stir things up at the office as I am not happy to have external influences fuck with my ability to close deals anymore. Have also started to collect all the information I have been saving over time with regards the manipulation of numbers that has adversely affected my commissions. Show down is looming, and I'm ready for it. Fuck the corporation!
The Princess is great, LuckyL is a star, GMan is, well, GMan, still home, still does not have a real job, still does not seem to really want to get one. Will have to work on that.
Salagatle!
Monday, May 07, 2012
Blog Update
I really don't like the new look of the blog "back office" stuff. That's this page where we go to when e want to write and post a new blog. It's not user friendly, I can't find half the stuff I want to, and it looks like a predecessor of the ark. Really backward stuff. Some things are best left alone, and this was one of them.
That said, there has been a whole lot going on here.
Matriarch, is settling in well in her apartment, and you can see improvement everyday in her walking and use of her arm. Added to that, she has started complaining about stupid little things again, so we know she's getting better.
Queenie is unchanged. Still drives me up the wall with her querkie things she does, but that's just who she is. I suppose we can't all be "normal"! Not that's she's abnormal, but she has "habits" which are just crazy. We think she's a bit OCD - and that explains a lot of why she does these little things she does!
GMan has decided he's going to the UK. Initially I thought it was a good thing, a) It would get him out of this bad environment he has got himself entrenched into, and away from the whole poker scene, and loan sharks, etc., b) It would get him away from the "girlfriend". Every other day he's telling us she's moving out, they have broken up, etc., but she's still there, still around.
So a) is on the button, b) is way off the mark. The girlfriends mom lives in the UK, with the new husband, and she's going to be going over to stay with them, and look for a job as well, and apply for a work permit / study permit / residency on the basis that her family are now resident in the UK. SO, instead of getting away from her, they going together. Ah well, it's his choice and his life. He plans to work as a dealer in the more legal gambling dens in London, London area. Apparently they pay quite well, and he will be staying (so he says) with another dealer friend who comes from there. Will see how that pans out. Ultimately, I think he's wasting his time, and hope he will find a real job once he's there.
LuckyL - well, where to start. Work wise he is really putting his everything into his job. So much so that he now has been told he's getting a 60% increase! it's not off a big base, but it was also not expected. Only worry I have is that come the end of the year he might not want to stop working, and go to varsity. But for now, I'm not giving him that option - and I plan to stick to that! He's also still enjoying the bikes (on and off road), but apart from me, does not have anyone to ride with him on-road. So he's getting a bit disillusioned. It's no fun just riding to work every now and then on the bike. He wants to get out on a Sunday and burn up some miles, and it's not always fun doing it with Dad.
With GMan deciding to go overseas, they have given up their apartment, moved all of the girlfriends stuff into storage, and moved GMan's meager belongings into our place. Amongst his stuff is a big flat screen TV, a Playstation 3, and some other odds and ends. He also has a PVR Decoder. SO LuckyL and I installed the PVR into the lounge, and took my DSTV decoder up to our bedroom. We then, with much hassle, got the DSTV people to connect the second unit as a dual view so we have 2 x DSTV but only pay one subscription plus a nominal R60 a month for the second. It's worth it. We did all the rewiring through the roof ourselves, and had to redo, retry various options till we got it right. Then we split the cable going from the Lounge to the bedroom, and fed a line off it to LuckyL's bedroom. He has GMan's big flat screen set up there, and he has a "boom" channel changer. So, now when we go to bed at night, if the Princess wants to watch the end of a story, she can watch it in the room, with her own decoder, and can change channels there. LuckyL can watch DSTV from his room, via the downstairs decoder, and using the "Boom" channel changer, can change the channels from his room! Great stuff, especially for now with winter on our doorstep. Rather lie in a nice warm bed at night to watch a bit of TV, than sit downstairs in the lounge!!!
In the news recently has been quite a bit of interesting stuff. The Joe Public court case against the State and Sanral to stop the eTolling of our highways was successful! Well, to the point that they could not start tolling us yet, until further court action takes place, or the State find an alternative means to fund the "new" roads. And following this, the Sunday papers were full of information of who would be benefiting from the tolling - and it seems the ANC has more than just a small part in this. Talk about corruption! These Muther Farkrrs have taken it to a whole new level! And the way they plead ignorance to the fact is so pathetic. Just because the masses are too stupid to see through their act they think everyone will believe their drivel. Bunch of farking morons! From the president down to the sweeper in the Home affairs department. Complete farking morons.
Ok, go that off my chest.
Another interesting bit of news was some FHM model who was (again) sexually harassed by some kaffir! And the tweeted something about it, but used the word k@&&!r. And immediately the whole world took her on, FHM withdrew her position / nomination / status as MISS FHM 2011, and some of her sponsors withdrew their sponsorships as well. OK, they don't want to be associated with some one who uses the word k@&&!r. I get that. But nowhere has anyone said anything about that fucking k@&&!r that sexually harassed her! And to me that is the bigger issue here! You can sexually harass a woman, but she can't be calling you names, and especially not k@&&!r - because that's just not PC. Well fuck you very much world! It's like saying it's not rape if the attacker used a condom!!! Interestingly enough, another model (a darkie in this case) attacked her (tweeting - not physically) and made even more serious racial attackes!!! But I suppose because she's a previously disadvantaged k@&&!r, and was reacting to a "very serious racial slur" it will be accepted and forgiven!
Another interesting position in SA now is the Dept. of Education looking at banning cellphones from schools. There are many pro's and con's to this argument, which I am not going to expand on here, but suffice to say I think it goes against our constitutional rights to even consider this banning. In today's time, communication and the ability to contact parents is a fundamental right, if not necessity, for any school pupil.
With regards the accident we were involved in in January, I have initiated talks with a friendly attorney who will assist us with the Road Accident Fund claim. This is more for Mom and her friend than myself. However, the amount of paper work required is frightening! Going to take me a few weeks to get it all together. But I know it's a long slow process, so will just keep at it.
With regards the new job, it's also slow going. Major problem is that the company cannot afford to pay me what I want at this time (want = need as a minimum). So for now I am doing some stuff for them in the background. I'm hoping to bring in a new client, who will buy a plant, that way I can earn a 10% commission (or more if I can wangle it) and use that to get rid of my bond, which means I can then work for a smaller salary! here's hoping I can pull this off!
This is my latest post on my facebook status:-
That said, there has been a whole lot going on here.
Matriarch, is settling in well in her apartment, and you can see improvement everyday in her walking and use of her arm. Added to that, she has started complaining about stupid little things again, so we know she's getting better.
Queenie is unchanged. Still drives me up the wall with her querkie things she does, but that's just who she is. I suppose we can't all be "normal"! Not that's she's abnormal, but she has "habits" which are just crazy. We think she's a bit OCD - and that explains a lot of why she does these little things she does!
GMan has decided he's going to the UK. Initially I thought it was a good thing, a) It would get him out of this bad environment he has got himself entrenched into, and away from the whole poker scene, and loan sharks, etc., b) It would get him away from the "girlfriend". Every other day he's telling us she's moving out, they have broken up, etc., but she's still there, still around.
So a) is on the button, b) is way off the mark. The girlfriends mom lives in the UK, with the new husband, and she's going to be going over to stay with them, and look for a job as well, and apply for a work permit / study permit / residency on the basis that her family are now resident in the UK. SO, instead of getting away from her, they going together. Ah well, it's his choice and his life. He plans to work as a dealer in the more legal gambling dens in London, London area. Apparently they pay quite well, and he will be staying (so he says) with another dealer friend who comes from there. Will see how that pans out. Ultimately, I think he's wasting his time, and hope he will find a real job once he's there.
LuckyL - well, where to start. Work wise he is really putting his everything into his job. So much so that he now has been told he's getting a 60% increase! it's not off a big base, but it was also not expected. Only worry I have is that come the end of the year he might not want to stop working, and go to varsity. But for now, I'm not giving him that option - and I plan to stick to that! He's also still enjoying the bikes (on and off road), but apart from me, does not have anyone to ride with him on-road. So he's getting a bit disillusioned. It's no fun just riding to work every now and then on the bike. He wants to get out on a Sunday and burn up some miles, and it's not always fun doing it with Dad.
With GMan deciding to go overseas, they have given up their apartment, moved all of the girlfriends stuff into storage, and moved GMan's meager belongings into our place. Amongst his stuff is a big flat screen TV, a Playstation 3, and some other odds and ends. He also has a PVR Decoder. SO LuckyL and I installed the PVR into the lounge, and took my DSTV decoder up to our bedroom. We then, with much hassle, got the DSTV people to connect the second unit as a dual view so we have 2 x DSTV but only pay one subscription plus a nominal R60 a month for the second. It's worth it. We did all the rewiring through the roof ourselves, and had to redo, retry various options till we got it right. Then we split the cable going from the Lounge to the bedroom, and fed a line off it to LuckyL's bedroom. He has GMan's big flat screen set up there, and he has a "boom" channel changer. So, now when we go to bed at night, if the Princess wants to watch the end of a story, she can watch it in the room, with her own decoder, and can change channels there. LuckyL can watch DSTV from his room, via the downstairs decoder, and using the "Boom" channel changer, can change the channels from his room! Great stuff, especially for now with winter on our doorstep. Rather lie in a nice warm bed at night to watch a bit of TV, than sit downstairs in the lounge!!!
In the news recently has been quite a bit of interesting stuff. The Joe Public court case against the State and Sanral to stop the eTolling of our highways was successful! Well, to the point that they could not start tolling us yet, until further court action takes place, or the State find an alternative means to fund the "new" roads. And following this, the Sunday papers were full of information of who would be benefiting from the tolling - and it seems the ANC has more than just a small part in this. Talk about corruption! These Muther Farkrrs have taken it to a whole new level! And the way they plead ignorance to the fact is so pathetic. Just because the masses are too stupid to see through their act they think everyone will believe their drivel. Bunch of farking morons! From the president down to the sweeper in the Home affairs department. Complete farking morons.
Ok, go that off my chest.
Another interesting bit of news was some FHM model who was (again) sexually harassed by some kaffir! And the tweeted something about it, but used the word k@&&!r. And immediately the whole world took her on, FHM withdrew her position / nomination / status as MISS FHM 2011, and some of her sponsors withdrew their sponsorships as well. OK, they don't want to be associated with some one who uses the word k@&&!r. I get that. But nowhere has anyone said anything about that fucking k@&&!r that sexually harassed her! And to me that is the bigger issue here! You can sexually harass a woman, but she can't be calling you names, and especially not k@&&!r - because that's just not PC. Well fuck you very much world! It's like saying it's not rape if the attacker used a condom!!! Interestingly enough, another model (a darkie in this case) attacked her (tweeting - not physically) and made even more serious racial attackes!!! But I suppose because she's a previously disadvantaged k@&&!r, and was reacting to a "very serious racial slur" it will be accepted and forgiven!
Another interesting position in SA now is the Dept. of Education looking at banning cellphones from schools. There are many pro's and con's to this argument, which I am not going to expand on here, but suffice to say I think it goes against our constitutional rights to even consider this banning. In today's time, communication and the ability to contact parents is a fundamental right, if not necessity, for any school pupil.
With regards the accident we were involved in in January, I have initiated talks with a friendly attorney who will assist us with the Road Accident Fund claim. This is more for Mom and her friend than myself. However, the amount of paper work required is frightening! Going to take me a few weeks to get it all together. But I know it's a long slow process, so will just keep at it.
With regards the new job, it's also slow going. Major problem is that the company cannot afford to pay me what I want at this time (want = need as a minimum). So for now I am doing some stuff for them in the background. I'm hoping to bring in a new client, who will buy a plant, that way I can earn a 10% commission (or more if I can wangle it) and use that to get rid of my bond, which means I can then work for a smaller salary! here's hoping I can pull this off!
This is my latest post on my facebook status:-
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
GMan
After wasting 2 years playing poker, and probably losing a ton more than he ever won, GMan was approached by some guy he met at one of the high flyer games he used to deal at. The guy own a Venture Capital company (from what I can understand) and seemed impressed by GMan. He offered to employ him, and train him. And, I understand, one of the conditions of employment is that he stops gambling - that to me is first prize!
Anyway, he started work at the beginning of this year. His boss is very status conscious, and has many visitors / business men coming in from China, Russia, Switzerland, so wants his employees that collect them at the airport to make a good impression. His first "company" car is a brand new Jaguar. And as they only keep their cars for 6 months, his next car, a brand new Range Rover, is already on order!!!
I think he has finally been given a good chance to make something of his life, and if this goes well, he can make a damn load of money. His starting salary s up there where some graduates don't even get to, and there is some commission scheme in place as well. Whatever, as long as he's not playing poker, he's making money!!!!
Salagatle!
Anyway, he started work at the beginning of this year. His boss is very status conscious, and has many visitors / business men coming in from China, Russia, Switzerland, so wants his employees that collect them at the airport to make a good impression. His first "company" car is a brand new Jaguar. And as they only keep their cars for 6 months, his next car, a brand new Range Rover, is already on order!!!
I think he has finally been given a good chance to make something of his life, and if this goes well, he can make a damn load of money. His starting salary s up there where some graduates don't even get to, and there is some commission scheme in place as well. Whatever, as long as he's not playing poker, he's making money!!!!
Salagatle!
Thursday, September 08, 2011
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!
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!
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Trafic fines
On the basis that there seems to be more road blocks around again, and the fact that I don't want to have to try and get myself out of a situation due to outstanding fines, I yesterday settles all outstanding fines against my name - well, nearly all. I didn't settle 2 which are 2+ years old as I had at that time raised an issue around them, and am still awaiting a response.
But for the rest - I paid R6645.00!!!
Yup, some are mine, some are GMan's - he will have to make monthlu payments to me to pay it back. Oh, and I'm going to take his car off my name. Stuff this points demerit system.
Salagatle!
But for the rest - I paid R6645.00!!!
Yup, some are mine, some are GMan's - he will have to make monthlu payments to me to pay it back. Oh, and I'm going to take his car off my name. Stuff this points demerit system.
Salagatle!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Volkswagen - Part I
So, over the past 2 yrs that GMan has owned this VW Passat 2.0 TDI it's been nothing but trouble. Each time we have something sorted you tend to think "OK, should be fine now, let's keep it", and each time another thing comes up. But the biggest problem has been the turbo.
So, not long after he got it, the turbo blew. Took it in, and after threatening VW head office, they replaced it. See, I had all the previous owners paperwork, and in there I found that the turbo had already been replaced, twice, and not more than 12 month prior. And, seeing as the back of the invoice / statement says "12 month warranty on parts" there was no way these fuckers were going to get away with their shit attitude. This was last year May/June.
So, in December, GMan is down in Balito. The cars computer warning system kicks in, and tells him to get the car to a shop. He goes down to VW in Umhlanga Rocks, where they attach it to their computers, and tell him - Turbo trouble. Take it back to the place that did the last one, it's still under warranty, and you can drive the car there, no problem. It had not 'failed" as yet, but was not working properly.
Anyway, he comes home, and we get the car into the shop. There we had over 5 weeks of run around from the VW head office again. Check this, test that, oil the waste gate hinges! (Are you fucking kidding me? Oil the waste gate hinges? Do you even know how much heat a turbo generates? How long do you fucking think the oil will last?) Test this part - and mostly we had to wait for a suitable "donor" car to come in, so that they could strip the matching part off of the car, fit it to ours, test it, and prove / disprove that this part was faulty.
Eventually, they did some work on the turbo which made it "better", and even though the workshop manager pointed out that it was not "right", the regional service manager deemed that the noise was "acceptable"! Acceptable? It's on this basis that I am going to fuck him over. I want him to prove (in a court of law if that's required) that he's qualified to "listen" to a turbo, and deem the noise to be within acceptable levels? Levels of what? That it will last another 10 days, 6 months?
Anyway, had it in there again after that, and another run around, and they replaced some "Harness" that had bad connections "Aluminum / copper corrosion / bad joints".
Ant the lights went off, for a while.
Eventually the turbo packed up again.
GMan had to tow the car in - got LuckyL to tow him. They removed the turbo, and confirmed it's stuffed. Cool I said. Talk to VW, tell them to replace it. And that's where this story starts. Initial response - no way.
So I email head office. Ask for someone to contact me. I get a missed call, and call back within 3 minutes, and the lady is out! OK, ask her to call me. She doesn't. So I call again later, and get hold of her. There's the usual, "we need to get the garage to submit a claim first" discussion. I tell her they have. She says they have not. I call the garage. They have. But it's an electronic request, and electronic response. There is no intelligence behind making the decision. It's based on the captured data - is this part under warranty? Oops, no, that expired 2 days ago. Sorry -no go.
So the bitch says she will contact the garage Friday (last week). Friday afternoon I call the service manager. Nope, didn't get any call. Monday I call her again. You didn't call I say. I did she says. Well I spoke to the workshop manager, who you said you would call, and you didn't. Well she has a recording she says. Nice I say, give me a copy so I can screw this bastard for lying to me. Oh, no she says, she spoke to the service assistant. EXACTLY I say, not the manager, so you didn't speak to the right person.
She goes on about how she needs him to supply the info, blah, blah, blah.
So, the service manager had raised the issue with the Regional Service Manager - and he said "No way". OK, I say, but I'm not accepting this. Well then, I will have to get the service manager to set up a meeting for you with the regional service manager person. No problem, I said, please arrange it - for this week. I've now been without a car for ore than 4 weeks!!!! (Didn't tell her we got a loan car from them).
So that's the current status. Now I'm going onto the South African Gov web page, to do some reading through the new Consumer Protection Act. Let's see if I can rape this bastard!!!!
If we don't come right, I have someone who does turbo reconditioning. Will cost me ZAR 3500.00, after which I'm flogging the car. GMan wil just have to buy something else. And this car will have to be on his name. I cant keep up with all the fines he's getting!!!!
Salagatle!
So, not long after he got it, the turbo blew. Took it in, and after threatening VW head office, they replaced it. See, I had all the previous owners paperwork, and in there I found that the turbo had already been replaced, twice, and not more than 12 month prior. And, seeing as the back of the invoice / statement says "12 month warranty on parts" there was no way these fuckers were going to get away with their shit attitude. This was last year May/June.
So, in December, GMan is down in Balito. The cars computer warning system kicks in, and tells him to get the car to a shop. He goes down to VW in Umhlanga Rocks, where they attach it to their computers, and tell him - Turbo trouble. Take it back to the place that did the last one, it's still under warranty, and you can drive the car there, no problem. It had not 'failed" as yet, but was not working properly.
Anyway, he comes home, and we get the car into the shop. There we had over 5 weeks of run around from the VW head office again. Check this, test that, oil the waste gate hinges! (Are you fucking kidding me? Oil the waste gate hinges? Do you even know how much heat a turbo generates? How long do you fucking think the oil will last?) Test this part - and mostly we had to wait for a suitable "donor" car to come in, so that they could strip the matching part off of the car, fit it to ours, test it, and prove / disprove that this part was faulty.
Eventually, they did some work on the turbo which made it "better", and even though the workshop manager pointed out that it was not "right", the regional service manager deemed that the noise was "acceptable"! Acceptable? It's on this basis that I am going to fuck him over. I want him to prove (in a court of law if that's required) that he's qualified to "listen" to a turbo, and deem the noise to be within acceptable levels? Levels of what? That it will last another 10 days, 6 months?
Anyway, had it in there again after that, and another run around, and they replaced some "Harness" that had bad connections "Aluminum / copper corrosion / bad joints".
Ant the lights went off, for a while.
Eventually the turbo packed up again.
GMan had to tow the car in - got LuckyL to tow him. They removed the turbo, and confirmed it's stuffed. Cool I said. Talk to VW, tell them to replace it. And that's where this story starts. Initial response - no way.
So I email head office. Ask for someone to contact me. I get a missed call, and call back within 3 minutes, and the lady is out! OK, ask her to call me. She doesn't. So I call again later, and get hold of her. There's the usual, "we need to get the garage to submit a claim first" discussion. I tell her they have. She says they have not. I call the garage. They have. But it's an electronic request, and electronic response. There is no intelligence behind making the decision. It's based on the captured data - is this part under warranty? Oops, no, that expired 2 days ago. Sorry -no go.
So the bitch says she will contact the garage Friday (last week). Friday afternoon I call the service manager. Nope, didn't get any call. Monday I call her again. You didn't call I say. I did she says. Well I spoke to the workshop manager, who you said you would call, and you didn't. Well she has a recording she says. Nice I say, give me a copy so I can screw this bastard for lying to me. Oh, no she says, she spoke to the service assistant. EXACTLY I say, not the manager, so you didn't speak to the right person.
She goes on about how she needs him to supply the info, blah, blah, blah.
So, the service manager had raised the issue with the Regional Service Manager - and he said "No way". OK, I say, but I'm not accepting this. Well then, I will have to get the service manager to set up a meeting for you with the regional service manager person. No problem, I said, please arrange it - for this week. I've now been without a car for ore than 4 weeks!!!! (Didn't tell her we got a loan car from them).
So that's the current status. Now I'm going onto the South African Gov web page, to do some reading through the new Consumer Protection Act. Let's see if I can rape this bastard!!!!
If we don't come right, I have someone who does turbo reconditioning. Will cost me ZAR 3500.00, after which I'm flogging the car. GMan wil just have to buy something else. And this car will have to be on his name. I cant keep up with all the fines he's getting!!!!
Salagatle!
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
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, 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!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
LuckyL !
Some time a go (about 2 yrs back) I posted when GMan was selected for one of the school prefects.
This morning I attended the announcements of next years prefects, and LuckyL made it!!!
So, I have a 100% record - 2 boys = 2 prefects!!
Makes for a very, very proud dad! Not that I didn't expect any less I might add!!! Nah, just kidding. When I got into this being a dad thing, the most I would ask for is that my kids would just finish school, and not leave early / get thrown out, before they made their matric. Now however, the expectations is that they get some form of tertiary education as a minimum. My how our expectations change as we go along.
Anyway, I can only say that my boys have, for the most part, always made me proud, and no matter what happens later, I will always have so many incredible memories from which I can draw on!!
Thanks boys, and especially today, thank you LuckyL!!!!
Salagatle!
This morning I attended the announcements of next years prefects, and LuckyL made it!!!
So, I have a 100% record - 2 boys = 2 prefects!!
Makes for a very, very proud dad! Not that I didn't expect any less I might add!!! Nah, just kidding. When I got into this being a dad thing, the most I would ask for is that my kids would just finish school, and not leave early / get thrown out, before they made their matric. Now however, the expectations is that they get some form of tertiary education as a minimum. My how our expectations change as we go along.
Anyway, I can only say that my boys have, for the most part, always made me proud, and no matter what happens later, I will always have so many incredible memories from which I can draw on!!
Thanks boys, and especially today, thank you LuckyL!!!!
Salagatle!
Monday, January 18, 2010
GMan - update on current status
So, today GMan started at Uni. He will be studying at UJ (University of Johannesburg, the old RAU ((Randse Afrikaanse Universitiet)) by choice).
He's decided to study CA (Chartered Accountant!
Some of you may remember I bought him an Opel Astra 160i, about 18 months ago, for ZAR25k.
We sold it 2 weeks ago for ZAR24k! Not bad. It needed new shocks all round, exhaust repairs and was leaking gearbox oil.
Anyway, since then he's been looking for another car. Don't know how many he found, which I went to look at, and gave him 101 reasons why not to buy it. He was getting rather fed up with me, but then Dad knows best. And in this case, I was right.
Last week he called and said he had found a VW Passat - 2005 model, 2.0l TDI. 120k km on the clock, full service history. Immaculate.
And he was dead right. What a beauty. I called the garage which had been servicing it from new, and the service manager said "Buy it!" "It's like new". The previous owner had also left all the invoices for the car in the cubby hole. Services, tyres, wheel balancing and alignment - everything. In fact, if you ignore the 120k km on the speedo, you would have thought the car was brand new. I kid you not.
And he got is, including cam belt service, on the road with all requirements for ZAR108k. Market retail price - ZAR 156k!!! The car is like a mid range Mercedes. It's a beut to drive / ride in. Classy, 6.5l/100km average. Wow!
This is his car standing in our driveway!
here is a write up, from google
VW Passat 2005
Sat, 28 May 2005
VW engineers can’t make up their minds what to do with the engine of the Passat. At first it was longitudinal, slung ahead of the front wheels like an Audi’s.
Then, in 1988, they laid it horizontal across the car, like the Golf’s. Then, in 1996, they went back to Audi-style longitudinal. Now we have a new Passat, once again with a transverse engine.
This is the biggest, most luxurious Passat VW has ever built. And it bristles with thoughtful features. As well as bottle holders in the doors it has an umbrella holder, like the Skoda Superb’s. Also, like the Skoda Superb it has a retractable bag hook in the boot, to hold your Tesco bags upright instead of emptying themselves across the boot floor. As well as that, in the boot, there are two useful side pockets to stop bits and pieces flying about. For Golfers, the barriers slide out so you can lay at least a couple of bags of clubs across the boot. And under the floor there’s a full-size steel spare wheel with no speed restrictions attached.
The car has an electric parking brake. Press the button marked P and the brake discs are electrically clamped. You can even use it as an emergency brake with 60% efficiency. But the clever bit is it releases itself automatically as soon as you start to drive off again.
The rear seatbacks fold down 60:40 so you can poke long objects through from the boot. Behind the centre armrest there’s a ski-flap. And the seatbacks and ski flap are all key lockable, for security.
You can sit three across the back comfortably and the centre rear seat even has good lumbar support. So, unlike the Audi A6, the new Passat is a proper 5-seater.
With no handbrake between the front seats there’s room for a big sliding top cubby, with two can holders that clamp themselves around the cans. The passenger airbag is switchable. Goodies to come include a pop out Bluetooth compatible phone keyboard, and, as an extra, a 900 watt Dynaudio sound system. Even the CD multiplayer doesn’t take all of the glovebox. It hinges up out of the way when you’ve loaded it.
There are airbags everywhere. Like all new VAG cars the passenger airbag can be switched off to safely carry a baby in a rear facing cradle. And, very sensibly, a warning shows to remind you to switch the airbag back on when carrying an adult passenger.
Details of the launch engines are reasonably clear, though not all details have been announced. At the time of writing there are no torque or performance figures for the new piezo/unit injector 170PS TDI arriving in November. The V6 FSI coming in September is a 3,189cc development of the narrow-angle VR6, as seen before in the Golf Mk IV R32. Though chain-cam, it is not the same as the wider-angle 256PS 3,123cc V6 used in Audis, which won’t fit the horizontal engine bay.
The effect of laying the engine across the car instead of hanging it over the front wheels is immediately apparent. The new Passat is a very pleasant car to drive. Not sporting, but with good ride quality and viceless handling that eventually leads to understeer but at far higher speeds than most drivers will ever reach. There’s not much wind roar, tyre noise or engine noise. And you’re not aware of the complex sounding electronic safety features because the basic dynamics of the car are so good they rarely feel the need to make their presence felt. It doesn’t feel as precise or as sporty as a Mondeo and doesn’t bring a grin to your face. But there’s nothing wrong with it and that’s a quality in itself.
The 2.0 TDI is geared at around 32mph per 1,000 rpm in 6th, which is relaxed enough without being so high you need to change down to 5th if stuck on a 50mph queue. The 2.0 FSI, on the other hand, is geared at just 22mph per 1,000 rpm in 6th, which sounds very low but happens to suit the power and torque characteristics of the 2.0 litre petrol engine. I guess caravanners could successfully tow with either but the 2.0 TDI has the higher maximum braked towing weight of 1,800kg.
The seats are very comfortable. There are lots of places to stow things. I guess the optional satnav could be better as it’s merely CD Rom, like the 1996 Passat’s, but it showed more streets than the DVD system in the car I drove to the launch. Each of the front door pockets is shaped to take a litre bottle of wine or water or whatever.
Outside, from some angles the new Passat looks very good. I particularly like the headlights. But from front three quarters the long, straight rearmost shutline catches the eye too much and breaks up the basic elegance of the shape.
It will be good to check out other versions as they become available. Particularly the 170PS diesel rival to Toyota’s new Avensis diesel, SAAB and Vauxhall’s 150PS Multijets, Ford’s gruff and ready Mondeo TDCI 155 and the 163PS diesel in the new 3-Series. Let’s just hope these powerful new diesels don’t lose the plot by sacrificing their fuel economy advantage.
In some ways the old Passat was a rival for the Mercedes Benz C-Class, in that you could buy the same sort of quality with a higher spec for the same money. Like the Honda Accord, the new Passat is even more of a rival to the C-Class.
And it’s a much better car than the old model.
Congrats my boy. Be safe, drive careful, enjoy!!
Salagatle!
He's decided to study CA (Chartered Accountant!
Some of you may remember I bought him an Opel Astra 160i, about 18 months ago, for ZAR25k.
We sold it 2 weeks ago for ZAR24k! Not bad. It needed new shocks all round, exhaust repairs and was leaking gearbox oil.
Anyway, since then he's been looking for another car. Don't know how many he found, which I went to look at, and gave him 101 reasons why not to buy it. He was getting rather fed up with me, but then Dad knows best. And in this case, I was right.
Last week he called and said he had found a VW Passat - 2005 model, 2.0l TDI. 120k km on the clock, full service history. Immaculate.
And he was dead right. What a beauty. I called the garage which had been servicing it from new, and the service manager said "Buy it!" "It's like new". The previous owner had also left all the invoices for the car in the cubby hole. Services, tyres, wheel balancing and alignment - everything. In fact, if you ignore the 120k km on the speedo, you would have thought the car was brand new. I kid you not.
And he got is, including cam belt service, on the road with all requirements for ZAR108k. Market retail price - ZAR 156k!!! The car is like a mid range Mercedes. It's a beut to drive / ride in. Classy, 6.5l/100km average. Wow!
This is his car standing in our driveway!
here is a write up, from google
VW Passat 2005
Sat, 28 May 2005
VW engineers can’t make up their minds what to do with the engine of the Passat. At first it was longitudinal, slung ahead of the front wheels like an Audi’s.
Then, in 1988, they laid it horizontal across the car, like the Golf’s. Then, in 1996, they went back to Audi-style longitudinal. Now we have a new Passat, once again with a transverse engine.
This is the biggest, most luxurious Passat VW has ever built. And it bristles with thoughtful features. As well as bottle holders in the doors it has an umbrella holder, like the Skoda Superb’s. Also, like the Skoda Superb it has a retractable bag hook in the boot, to hold your Tesco bags upright instead of emptying themselves across the boot floor. As well as that, in the boot, there are two useful side pockets to stop bits and pieces flying about. For Golfers, the barriers slide out so you can lay at least a couple of bags of clubs across the boot. And under the floor there’s a full-size steel spare wheel with no speed restrictions attached.
The car has an electric parking brake. Press the button marked P and the brake discs are electrically clamped. You can even use it as an emergency brake with 60% efficiency. But the clever bit is it releases itself automatically as soon as you start to drive off again.
The rear seatbacks fold down 60:40 so you can poke long objects through from the boot. Behind the centre armrest there’s a ski-flap. And the seatbacks and ski flap are all key lockable, for security.
You can sit three across the back comfortably and the centre rear seat even has good lumbar support. So, unlike the Audi A6, the new Passat is a proper 5-seater.
With no handbrake between the front seats there’s room for a big sliding top cubby, with two can holders that clamp themselves around the cans. The passenger airbag is switchable. Goodies to come include a pop out Bluetooth compatible phone keyboard, and, as an extra, a 900 watt Dynaudio sound system. Even the CD multiplayer doesn’t take all of the glovebox. It hinges up out of the way when you’ve loaded it.
There are airbags everywhere. Like all new VAG cars the passenger airbag can be switched off to safely carry a baby in a rear facing cradle. And, very sensibly, a warning shows to remind you to switch the airbag back on when carrying an adult passenger.
Details of the launch engines are reasonably clear, though not all details have been announced. At the time of writing there are no torque or performance figures for the new piezo/unit injector 170PS TDI arriving in November. The V6 FSI coming in September is a 3,189cc development of the narrow-angle VR6, as seen before in the Golf Mk IV R32. Though chain-cam, it is not the same as the wider-angle 256PS 3,123cc V6 used in Audis, which won’t fit the horizontal engine bay.
The effect of laying the engine across the car instead of hanging it over the front wheels is immediately apparent. The new Passat is a very pleasant car to drive. Not sporting, but with good ride quality and viceless handling that eventually leads to understeer but at far higher speeds than most drivers will ever reach. There’s not much wind roar, tyre noise or engine noise. And you’re not aware of the complex sounding electronic safety features because the basic dynamics of the car are so good they rarely feel the need to make their presence felt. It doesn’t feel as precise or as sporty as a Mondeo and doesn’t bring a grin to your face. But there’s nothing wrong with it and that’s a quality in itself.
The 2.0 TDI is geared at around 32mph per 1,000 rpm in 6th, which is relaxed enough without being so high you need to change down to 5th if stuck on a 50mph queue. The 2.0 FSI, on the other hand, is geared at just 22mph per 1,000 rpm in 6th, which sounds very low but happens to suit the power and torque characteristics of the 2.0 litre petrol engine. I guess caravanners could successfully tow with either but the 2.0 TDI has the higher maximum braked towing weight of 1,800kg.
The seats are very comfortable. There are lots of places to stow things. I guess the optional satnav could be better as it’s merely CD Rom, like the 1996 Passat’s, but it showed more streets than the DVD system in the car I drove to the launch. Each of the front door pockets is shaped to take a litre bottle of wine or water or whatever.
Outside, from some angles the new Passat looks very good. I particularly like the headlights. But from front three quarters the long, straight rearmost shutline catches the eye too much and breaks up the basic elegance of the shape.
It will be good to check out other versions as they become available. Particularly the 170PS diesel rival to Toyota’s new Avensis diesel, SAAB and Vauxhall’s 150PS Multijets, Ford’s gruff and ready Mondeo TDCI 155 and the 163PS diesel in the new 3-Series. Let’s just hope these powerful new diesels don’t lose the plot by sacrificing their fuel economy advantage.
In some ways the old Passat was a rival for the Mercedes Benz C-Class, in that you could buy the same sort of quality with a higher spec for the same money. Like the Honda Accord, the new Passat is even more of a rival to the C-Class.
And it’s a much better car than the old model.
Congrats my boy. Be safe, drive careful, enjoy!!
Salagatle!
Monday, June 08, 2009
It's been a while
Since I posted here - but it's not due to lack of wanting, rather due to lack of anything to post. However, those bloggers who I regularly read have been worse than me - and one has done his usual stunt - no posts for a month, and then a 4 page write up. FFS - but he writes well so maybe it's worth the wait.
Another one has once again taken leave - and so wont be posting for a week or so - life is so tough in Africa.
And another has lost / misplaced / been relieved of his PC / Laptop / Mac - and so hasn't blogged for a while. Oh well, as usual, it's up to a few of us to entertain so many.....
I recently went to visit Fishman, who I got to know initially through DMDad, about some wood he's got lying around looking for a use.
And I have a use for them. So we agreed on what I could buy, and the price, and I will be back there at his place at the end of this week to fetch it.
In the mean time, I asked about some other wood he's got there, and he's agreed to sell that to me, if it meets my requirements. This time however, I made an offer - higher than his initial price, as it's good wood (laminated beams) and still cheap at the price, and I don't want him to feel he's been done in or anything. He's actually quite a softy, but I didn't say so!
DMDad has some great posts about the Whales beaching on the coast, and a recent criminal act that he was involved in! (That should get some people takng a look at his blog!)
Back home, the kids are busy with exams, and giving the Princess grey hair cause they just don't put in enough hours studying. But, hey, they big boys now - no varsity due to bad marks, and I enroll them as plumbers apprentiship, I have no problem with that.
GMans car's internal fan isn't working, so Saturday am we stripped out as much of the console and dashboard as we could, but couldn't get to the fan. The switch seems finme, so today he's dropping it off at the auto electricians to look at - and fix.
LuckyL's bike - was again trailered home. He spent Friday night with a friend, and called Saturday morning to say the accelerator went slack on him as he was parking the bike.
SO I went down to cllect him and the bike Saturday am, and as I suspected, the accelerator cable had snapped. So back home I quickly removed it, and he will drop it off at Cable Man today for them to make up a new one!
Then we can rifit all the bits and pieces, both vehicls, and they will be vack in business.
Also Saturday, there was a registered letter slip in the post box. I went to collect it, and turns out it's a speeding fine, for LuckyL's bike. I know what you all think....
It's a pic (photo finish) of the bike, on the back of the trailer!!! The car's reg. is hidden and the trailers back is off to fit the bike, so the only registration number visible on the photo is of the bike. So, I have written to them asking how it os possible for a motorcycle that is being trailered to be fined for breaking the speed limit? Also, the bike on the photo looks like a 250cc or bigger, and my bike is only a puny little 125cc, so I am under the impression that this is a rouge bike, using a false plate, ahich just happens to be the same as mine. Also, on Tuesday morning, the bike would have been at school, with my son, and I would have been at my client since 6.30 am as we meet every Tuesday at that time, and have done so for 18 months.
Lets see what they come back with.
Enuff for now - must do some work too. i know the Princess sometimes comes here to read my rubbish, so must give her the impression I work too - sometimes.
Salagatle!
Another one has once again taken leave - and so wont be posting for a week or so - life is so tough in Africa.
And another has lost / misplaced / been relieved of his PC / Laptop / Mac - and so hasn't blogged for a while. Oh well, as usual, it's up to a few of us to entertain so many.....
I recently went to visit Fishman, who I got to know initially through DMDad, about some wood he's got lying around looking for a use.
And I have a use for them. So we agreed on what I could buy, and the price, and I will be back there at his place at the end of this week to fetch it.
In the mean time, I asked about some other wood he's got there, and he's agreed to sell that to me, if it meets my requirements. This time however, I made an offer - higher than his initial price, as it's good wood (laminated beams) and still cheap at the price, and I don't want him to feel he's been done in or anything. He's actually quite a softy, but I didn't say so!
DMDad has some great posts about the Whales beaching on the coast, and a recent criminal act that he was involved in! (That should get some people takng a look at his blog!)
Back home, the kids are busy with exams, and giving the Princess grey hair cause they just don't put in enough hours studying. But, hey, they big boys now - no varsity due to bad marks, and I enroll them as plumbers apprentiship, I have no problem with that.
GMans car's internal fan isn't working, so Saturday am we stripped out as much of the console and dashboard as we could, but couldn't get to the fan. The switch seems finme, so today he's dropping it off at the auto electricians to look at - and fix.
LuckyL's bike - was again trailered home. He spent Friday night with a friend, and called Saturday morning to say the accelerator went slack on him as he was parking the bike.
SO I went down to cllect him and the bike Saturday am, and as I suspected, the accelerator cable had snapped. So back home I quickly removed it, and he will drop it off at Cable Man today for them to make up a new one!
Then we can rifit all the bits and pieces, both vehicls, and they will be vack in business.
Also Saturday, there was a registered letter slip in the post box. I went to collect it, and turns out it's a speeding fine, for LuckyL's bike. I know what you all think....
It's a pic (photo finish) of the bike, on the back of the trailer!!! The car's reg. is hidden and the trailers back is off to fit the bike, so the only registration number visible on the photo is of the bike. So, I have written to them asking how it os possible for a motorcycle that is being trailered to be fined for breaking the speed limit? Also, the bike on the photo looks like a 250cc or bigger, and my bike is only a puny little 125cc, so I am under the impression that this is a rouge bike, using a false plate, ahich just happens to be the same as mine. Also, on Tuesday morning, the bike would have been at school, with my son, and I would have been at my client since 6.30 am as we meet every Tuesday at that time, and have done so for 18 months.
Lets see what they come back with.
Enuff for now - must do some work too. i know the Princess sometimes comes here to read my rubbish, so must give her the impression I work too - sometimes.
Salagatle!
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