Warning you are leaving the Quarantine Zone. No patrols beyond this point. Be on high alert for the undead. Yes bolt up your doors tonight as the undead have been seen rising up near the Westpark Cemetery and the infection is spreading.
Every Halloween, Empire Tattoos, from Fairlands hold a Zombie Walk from the Westpark Cemetery to Cool Runnings in Melville, all in the name of charity. As last year their charity is Merang House, a home environment for seriously ill children.
Having Matthew with me the weekend before his birthday was a blessing. We had each other, seeing friends and sitting out storms. After we got back from dinner on Friday night there still wasn't any electricity so Matthew started building the Lego Starwars gift by gas lamp. It is an Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighter, or simply an ARC-170 which was the predecessor to the well known T-65 X-wing starfighter. He finished the masterpiece today and was proudly showing me all the different working parts. Opening the canopies and taking out Kit Fisto, Captain Jag, the clone pilot and R4-P44. But his happiness didn't last very long as his time with me was drawing to a close. He became very clingy and tried to push out our leaving time.
As I was leaving after dropping Matthew back in Benoni, the Aaron Neville song came on the radio I don't know much. As I sang along my heart became heavy and sad, I don't know much but I know I love you.
Saturday has finally arrived and the weather has improved. I dropped Matthew off at his friend, Luciano, who lives down the road from me in Craigavon. Knowing that Matthew would have a good time, I braved the malls during month end, what was going through my mind, I don't know but I was just happy to get back home in one piece.
It is Friday and the weekend with my turn to have Matthew. It is his birthday in a weeks time but we are starting today. He is finally turning into a well balanced teenager. I left work early to go pick him up in Benoni and on the way I stopped at Skazi Clothing to pick up a lovely printed T-shirt for Matthew. While there this cart plodded past me which just made me stop in my tracks. Not everyday you get to see a horse and cart winding its way through the suburbs.
About six in the evening just as Matthew and I was to leave for Yamada Sushi, a fierce rain storm hit Johannesburg. We lost electricity at my cottage so braving the weather we made for Yamada to eat as much sushi as we can eat with friends Paulo and Magda. At Yamada, Matthew open his presents while enjoying his sushi.
With our bellies round with the tasty sushi, Matthew and I made our way to Craig's place for some Battlefield 3 which has just been released. A few hours later we headed for home where Matthew received his present from me, a Lego Starwars X-Wing fighter which when built will be about 30cm long. Well now I am heading for bed while Matthew is staying up building his X-Wing.
Poor Sophia, my Vespa, this is the third incident to befall her. The first was late in 2009 when the vehicle in front of us suddenly stopped without brake lights. The stopping distance was acerbated by the wet road and we came to abrupt stop centimeters away from the vehicle with Sophia on her side and my foot.
The second incident was last August on the ice roads of Sani Pass. I stopped to help Magda and left Sophia standing with her engine still running on some hardened ice. I returned to find her on her side and some kind person turned off her motor. Nice didn't even try pick her up while she was down. There is a pun in there somewhere I am sure.
And today's... while Dilemma, sorry Malema, and his wiff-wrath started their long match to Pretoria; I was attempting to squeeze Sophia pass a badly parked BMW and a concrete column on my way to find lunch. And the column won :-( So while hordes were falling by the wayside with heat exhaustion, I wanted to kick someone's door in. Not a good citizen I was in my mind. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.
What is SEO? or What does SEO have to do with today's photo?
Well let's start at the first question. SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimisation and it is the process of improving the visibility of a website in search engines. And that is what I do for a living, SEO, SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and SMO (Social Media Optimisation). As you can see my industry is full of acronyms, I suppose it makes it sound important as it should be. There are also CPC (Cost Per Click), CPM (Cost Per Thousand), CTA (Content Target Advertising), CTR (Click Through Rate), KEI (Keyword Effectiveness Index), PPC (Pay Per Click), SERP (Search Engine Results Page) and SMM (Social Media Marketing)
By now you wondering, what the heck but today I wrote my first SEO article for a SEO Blog but it still needs to go through the editor before it is published. I will comment on this blog when it does ;-) So I am all SEOed out that I didn't make time to take a photo for the day. Slumped in a chair on my patio watching the sunset, it dawned on me, how blessed I am. I have my health, got a job, a roof over my head, my dogs, a beautiful son, good friends and loved by an awesome God.
After a hot summers day we used to have these awesome thunderstorms in Johannesburg but that has changed. The climate here has started to become more a tropical sub-climate. I do believe it is because of all the trees that have been planted in and around Jozi. It is not called the biggest man made forest in the world for nothing. And like yesterday, today was a scorcher but no thunderstorm. Tuesday's highlights for me has always been home cell in the evening at Andy and Sandy's home in Bryanston. Never mind the heat, we have become sort of a family unit that looks out for each other. Here is Rabbi Rob with his sidekick Shangi behind.
Is it Tuesday yet? If not, then why am I awake?
Well now that I am awake, I might as well do something productive. Henry, National Positions' SEO consultant from Cape Town was in the office today. So it was maybe one of the few chances that I would have to get his mug shot onto my blog so I whipped out my camera.
Other than that, working on Mondays need getting used to again.
The Joburg Photowalkers joined a doodle event at the Ansteys building but added a photowalk before hand around the inner Johannesburg city. I got permission to take the group into the famous Blue Room at Park Station. It is someplace that the older Joburgers remember nostalgically as having the best restaurant in South Africa but that is now all ruins. To see the tall columns of the old concourse is a sight to behold. On the way back we climb to the top of Ansteys sister building, the Manners Mansions build in 1937 by the same architects that did the Ansteys. I am unfit. Here are some of the Joburg Photowalkers, in front are Adrian, Robyn and Gary, and while seated behind are Desiree and Karen and her husband.
Oh my goodness, I got a phone this morning from a friend all worried as my place at the Buzz table was vacant last night. Oh dear, I simply forgot all about Buzz last night. I must be getting old. I was looking forward to Buzz which for those not in the know, Buzz is the annual game show held by BBC. My ticket booking me a spot at a table was purchased but I simply forgot. Sigh!
Today was rest day, just chilaxing and catching up on washing. Late this afternoon, my Italian Greyhounds and I headed for the Kingfisher dog park to socialize. I haven't been there for a long time as we have the bottom of our garden to play in as dogs of all sizes come here to us. But it was nice to have a change and it was wonderful seeing how well the Kingfisher Park is maintained.
Going home this afternoon, a quiet evening was on the plans but a phone call from Paulo blew that out of the water. The Posers, that's us, a small group of Vespa friends who go out often together are heading to Fordsburg for a lekker curry.
So off four Vespas went into the night heading for Fordsburg, a vibrant Muslim area of Johannesburg. We arrived at Mint Street with a flurry of turned heads of evening market shoppers and street café patrons drinking Turkish coffee. Vespas in Fordsburg on a Friday evening, intrepid, but that is the Posers for you, we don't do the ordinary. We ended up at the Al-Mehran restaurant in Fordsburg. I don't think that they are Indian but Pakistani because the curries were good but I must say that their biryani was not up to the Durban standards. The biryani was very poorly done. Indian's make the best biryani ever; well it is one of their traditional meals.
The ride back was also spectacular, with some ideal stretches void of cages (cars) that we could ride four abreast. Paulo put it nicely; we were like the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Yes a splendid evening out by the Posers Motorcycle Club.
On Sunday there is going to be a Doodle evening at Ansteys and Mark decided that it would be a good idea to do a photo walk before hand so he asked me if I could secure the Blue Room. So off I went to see Intersite and arranged for the Joburg Photowalkers to get into the Blue Room. While I was there I knew my old colleagues at Metrorail would not be please if I didn't pop my head in and say hello. So I popped into Wits Metrorail and saw Anna, Jimmy, Toys, Leon (shown above) and Willie. Our once well oiled office seemed to be deserted of staff, not cool. Interesting, it looks like PRASA's head office will be moving to Pretoria as it is a very political organization and needs to be close to the hub. Pretoria, uhmm that reminds me, it is about time that Jose and I get together again.
"How to be rich", is what we doing in home cell at the moment. It is a series by Andy Stanley which really opens our eyes to how blessed we really are. I did a search on google on this exact phrase "How to be rich" and on the first page alone there was mostly How to Be Rich - Get Simple Tips On Personal Finance, Warren Buffett's 10 Ways To Get Rich, How to Get Rich - A Guide to Getting Rich, How to Get Rich - wikiHow, How to Become Rich, How to Become As Rich As Bill Gates, How to be Rich, Happy and Free from Scams and How to be rich fast.
As you can see you can find plenty of advice on how to get rich but where do I learn how to be rich. I will leave with you tonight the question which made me really think and a photo of discovering Sandy's shoe fetish... "Which one of these two would make you more anxious? A. Finding out that there is no God or B. Finding out that you have no money."
When Matthew came to stay this pass weekend, he was so excited about something hidden in his bag. When we finally arrived home, Matthew pulled out a toy model of a red Vespa P200E which apparently sits proudly in his room. No, I couldn't have it, Matthew insisted, but can touch it.
I christened her Matilda, as she looks very similar to Marlene's red P150X, Matilda and of course not to forget Matilda Wormwood, of Roald Dahl fame.
Sadly Matthew forgot Matilda at my place when he returned back to his home in Benoni but I promise to keep Matilda safe and on a place of prominence in my office.
The Pretoria Stadstapper Fotoklap held their forth session at the Hotel 224 and Union Buildings. A few Joburg Photowalkers joined them and wow what a awesome afternoon in Pretoria it was.
Oh course I had to get my visa stamped but it was worth it with all that Afrikaans spoken and meeting so many new photographic people. I was surprised to find more foreigners than South Africans at the Union Buildings grounds. I think we will be joining the Pretoria Stadstapper Fotoklap more often in the future.
I was not 100% sure that I should go to the Photo and Film Expo today, firstly because of my sore foot and secondly Canon wasn't going to be there. But by 11 'o clock, I said to Matthew what the heck, lets go. So off we trudged to the Northgate Dome. Even though it seems to be a Nikon show I enjoyed myself. There seem to be less smaller stores selling camera tech which wasn't good but it was less crowded which made it very pleasant. Saw the usual Joburg Photowalkers there with their usual whole event tickets and going every day and Robyn bought herself a Canon 7D. I will wait till December for the big Canon show. Oh and guess who we bumped into, yes Malcolm, my brother-in-law all the way from Cape Town. Malcolm was just stopping by on his way to Zimbabwe but it was good to see him.
Well my ankle is worst today. The medicine takes half an hour to kick in and relief lasts about three hours then the pain slowly returns. Anyway, I headed off to Benoni on the East Rand to pick up Matthew barely coping with the clutch. In the evening we ended up at Craig's place were Matthew played the latest game to hit the market Forza 4 on the XBox while Craig and I worked on the Joburg Photowalkers website.
Since yesterday my left ankle has been playing up. I am not sure but I seem to have sprained it or at worse fractured it. Today it has swollen up quite nicely with not even an ankle visible. The pain is just bearable and I mean just. If it doesn't come right with a little love and care then I may need to get it x-rayed. Riding the Vespa is okay but not walking. Tomorrow I am using the car as I have to pick up Matthew, uhmmm not sure if I will be able to handle a clutch.
I am starting to settle into my new job at National Positions quite nicely, thank you. So far I have been doing more coding than SEO but hopefully that will change soon as Richard, my boss, becomes less swamped. Every now and then between the coding, I get a chance to stretch my legs. Just outside my office is sort of a patio and this is the view I have while taking a break.
I am very impressed with Louise, the Account Manager at National Positions SA, she is clued up with computers support so much so that she reminds me of Abby Sciuto, a fictional character on the TV series NCIS and played by Pauley Perrette. Not just the knowledge but their styles are similar. Abby is the happiest Gothic you'll ever meet who can look stylish and Goth simultaneously. I don't think Louise is Gothic although she is alternative styled but like Abby she is upbeat and smart.
With Boks coming home without the Webb Ellis Cup is sad but we are South African and we know our boys did us proud. Now that I am working for an American company the above had to have happen. I like Maon who is shown above now also support the Eagles, the USA's national rugby team. This will make my American friends proud. The Eagles of course didn't do as well as the Bokke but they are improving year by year. Soon my fledglings, soon or should I say eaglets?
Weekend laziness is what life is all about and today was a lazy Sunday. Firstly I slept in with the rugby playing in the background and every now and again I tried to listen how the Springboks was preforming. Finally I crawled out of bed to catch the end and was like most South Africans disappointed with the result. So washed up I headed for BBC on Sophia, my Vespa. It was a glorious morning to be out and about on the Vespa. At BBC I caught up my friend Lindiwe which I haven't seen in a while.
I arrived back home about mid day and just crawled back into bed for a cat nap. I shouldn't call it a cat nap on a Sunday because there aren't any cats in the Bible therefore cats are not from God. Lets just say I had a power nap for an hour or two and got up all refreshed. Then joined Craig for a late lunch at Nandos which took up the rest of the afternoon. This gave me only two hours left before sunset to take the dogs for a walk at the bottom of my garden.
After a wonderful walk in the cooling dusk, I returned home just in time as Patrick and his brother from Paris who is visiting South Africa arrived. Patrick's brother is the president of the Association des Paralysés d'Afrique, which in other words a French association that looks after the interests of the paraplegic in Africa. Well, we spent the evening catching up on old times, taking about what this French association does and enjoying the wonderful view from my patio.
The biggest paint ball charity game started last night and will continue right through to the end of Sunday. The charity this year is for Cameron Smith, a seven year old boy who recently lost his father earlier this year and now has been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. Little Fighters - Cameron It is for a good cause and if you can make it for tonight's games at Jumper's Lair sweet, if not there is always tomorrow. But all donations are welcome :-)
So far our team, Darren, Bomber Boy, Brett (shown above), Jason, Willie and myself (shown above) won the Team Game today, Ooh-rah!!! We are going bug hunting.
Well Friday has dawned at last, and as you know Friday is the warm blanket over a cold week. Yes Friday means not only that the weekend is here but it is the day I start at National Positions South Africa. And the first thing that caught my eye, as I walk into work this morning is this lovely drawing of a fish which reminded me of Kimya Dawson's song "Tree Hugger".
And in the sea there is a fish, A fish that has a secret wish, A wish to be a big cactus With a pink flower on it.
Well that was my start of my first day with the catchy fish song swimming through my head as I tried to avoid any sharks, not that I saw any. I believe that this colourful fish was drawn by one of Richard's children as it was in place of prominence near his desk.
Et le jackalope a dit "Je voudrais étre un yèti pour voler dans la nuit et m'en aller loin d'ici" Mais le yèti a dit "Je voudrais étre un monstre marin pour pouvoir rentrer dans la mer de tous les requins."
And the yeti said "Let the weekend begin." ;-)
A new chapter on my life is about to start tomorrow. Yes I am about to start at National Positions as Technical Manager taking the old me into the new me. It has been a rocky couple of years and let's hope that the waters will become calmer ahead. Smooth sailing all.
I supposed to start today but my work at National Positions was postponed till Friday. Anyway the extra time meant catching up on some photographic work. This evening I dropped off the Colony Photos and videos disk with Jolene and Lydia at the Northgate Mall.
After a wonderful week of having Matthew with me it was time for him to return to his mommy. It was a sad quite drive east for us as Matthew buried himself in a book and I thought of the upcoming National Positions work. It was time to get my home (after Matthew) and my life back to order. I ended the day with a wonderful meal at Sandy's home with vegetables :-) and home cell.
Last night was quite a serious storm with torrential rain, hail and even a tornado that touched down in Duduza on the East Rand. I arrived home last night and found that our electricity was knocked out. The electricity was only reconnected this afternoon. I could not do any work because no electricity means no computer.
Uhmmm, something to do to keep Matthew busy was needed. So we devised a game which I name a street and Matthew finds it on the map and with him as the navigator we physically drive there. So I named Jerome Road and Matthew found one in Pretoria, so with him navigating we drove north. After finding the place I realized that we were near my cousin’s home so we popped in for an impromptu visit of my aunt Rene who lives there. It was a pleasant visit and by the time we got back to Johannesburg, electricity was back on and I could do some work.
Sunday means BBC and it is a good place to start by putting up a photo of Ross and his boytjie Daniel. Ross is one of the elders at BBC and has recently come back from the States.
As mentioned in the service the summer rains are finally here but it has come with force. Last night there was a terrible storm which knocked out our DSTV. And tonight it was rather serious one with reports of a tornado touching down in the east. I came home after an evening with Ed and Craig to find that the storm had disrupted our electrical power supply. My home is in the Dark.
Matthew and I went off to the airshow at the Waterkloof Air Force Base. It was a beautiful day with flying displays by Aerosud Mirage F1AZ, Atlas Oryx, BAE Hawk Mk120, Denel AH-2A Rooivalk, Douglas C-47TP Turbo Dakota, Ilyushin IL-76, Harvards, Lockheed C130B Hercules, MBB BK117A, North American P-51D Mustang, Pilatus PC-7 Mk2 Astra, Saab JAS 39C Gripen, and even a Vampire T55. Interesting no Agusta A109LUH was seen.
For Matthew the Mini War was exciting as mock attacks by the army with armoured vehicles, helicopters and aircraft unfolded before us. But I found this C-130B more fascinating as it has quite a history behind it. 401 3724 was one of seven C-130B obtained from the USA in January 1963. It was nearly shot down by a SA-2 surface to air missile very near miss on the 4 April 1986 deep in Angola. The miss was so close they could smell the missile's exhaust fumes in the Herc's aircon. It is our oldest Herc still flying and it is still operational with flights to the DRC and Sudan.
This is an interesting shot as the front wheels touchdown. In my next shot the main wheels touchdown and in the following the main wheels are up like in this shot.