Content Team Minus Litha

It is Friday already. What happened to this week? Here is the Content Team minus Litha. Get low and dirty with client's content are Noma, and Marco, well and the missing Litha. Enjoy your weekend, dudes and dudettes.

Downpour

It was only a 14% chance of rain today, and so I took the Vespa into work. It was cold start to a wonderful sunny day but by home time, towering thunder clouds had built up and was threatening.

We made it as far as Fourways, when the heavens opened up and the flood waters rose. Thankfully a Sasol Service Station was nearby for all those pedestrians, cyclists, and bikers to take shelter. Thankfully the cloudburst didn’t last more than half an hour.

A Long Day

Wake up at 4:30am. Coffee. Wash. Medicine. Leave for work at 5:30am. Arrive at work at 6:30am. Breakfast. Nespresso. Start working on month end reports. Hand in resignation. Feel the pressure wash away. Water. Reports. Eat last night's leftovers. Yummy. Water. Chat with CEO. Update web content. Water. Reports. Nespresso. Leave work at 5.15pm. Sit in traffic. Pull the remaining hair out of my scalp. Pick up Lynda at 6.30pm. Arrive 7.00pm at BBC for Alpha Course. Juice. Supper. Juice. Watch DVD. Water. Group discussion. Leave BBC at 9:40pm. Stop for fuel. Arrive home 10:30pm. Feed dogs. Wash. Medicine. Bed. Sleep. ZZZZ

It has been a long day.

Tuesday Bakang

Well what can I say other than I feel that I am on the road to recovery. This is a heavy week at work with month end reporting due. So blow my nose and get cracking. I have to teach Bakang, shown here, the ropes on reporting so that he can alleviate the work pressure.

Sick Me

I am feeling a bit under the weather, with a bunged up nose, headache and sore eyes. So after taking some medication I hit the sack and only woke up early evening. While I slept, Minky watched over me making sure no person, cat or dog came near me while I recovered. Let's hope that this is the last of this flu business.

Kate and David

What a surprise, Kate and David walked into BBC this morning. I haven't seen my friends for over a year now, since they moved down to Pietermaritzburg. It was a quick catch up as I was on duty. Reminder to self, next time I am in the Sleepy Hollow, I must send more time with them.

Grey Crowned Crane

Last night on the way back from Benoni, I felt my glands in my throat swelling which means I am coming down with something. This morning it felt like flu had set in but I had a full day ahead planed.

Self medicated, I set out to test drive a few vehicles. My pickup is getting a bit long in the tooth and I am seeking a replacement within the next 6 months. My problem is that when Matthew and Lynda have to travel with me in the pickup, it is not fair for Matthew to sit at the back. At first I was looking at the sedan Kia Cerato 1.6 but lately I leaning towards a double cab pickup. My whole family can fit in, Lynda in front, Matthew in the back seats, the dogs in the bin and for emergencies the Vespa can be carried.

This morning was test drove the bottom of my choices, the GWM Steed 5 2.0 VGT and the top of my choices, the Ford Ranger XL 2.2 TDCI. So far I love the Ranger but need to see if it would fit in the budget.

Later on it was off to Krugersdorp, where I saw this beautiful Grey Crowned Crane but by this time my medication was starting to wear off.

Through the Window Pane

New beginnings and the unknown tends to make me apprehensive and anxious. It reminds me when Matthew used to climb with MCSA aka the Mountain Club of South Africa; I used to stand at the bottom of the cliff face as most anxious parents do. When you on the rock face you sometimes can’t see the better routes up, but with me at the bottom, I could see the whole picture and could relay to Matthew the better routes.

Now I find myself on the cliff face, straining to see upwards to find the better route up. It is not easy looking through the window pane and trying to make sense of the way forward. Does my future look green and lust?

Lynda's Green Peppers

Lynda's so excited that her green peppers are starting to bear little peppers. Who would have thought that Lynda has such green fingers?

Home Jerome

Late yesterday afternoon, one of the phase connections between our offices and the municipality burned out. Last time this happened we had no electricity for 4 days.

Arriving at work this morning, as expected the electricity was still off, well part of it. In our office, we had no power from the sockets but had lights whereas next door had no lights but power from the sockets. A plan was in motion to get a long extension lead from next door just so that we can power up our computers.

While waiting, I browsed the local newspaper, and wham, the universe was trying to connect and tell me something. On page 7 of the Leisure section, is the heading “A good reason to stay home Jerome”. What? Did I read that correctly? I studied the movie review under the heading and it had nothing to do with the bizarre heading. Was this the universe trying to tell me to go home, Jerome? Uhmmm.

Yip, time to go home, put my feet up, and snack on some Jelly Belly and Bubbly chocolate.

Nasty Stinger

This nasty little bug flew in and landed onto Louise's computer screen. I am not sure what creature this is but it has a big stinger. If anyone knows please let me know.

Green Fingers

Lynda's vegetable patch is starting to grow quite nicely with all this rain that we had last month. With her green fingers, she now has green beans, bringals, green peppers, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, onions, cat nip, parsley, and swiss chard growing. Now to get some butternut and gems quash on the growing list.

Famous Five’s Big Wash

It is a hot Sunday, a perfect day to wash the pets and the Famous Five get their big wash. Jade, the smallest of my Italian Greyhounds, was first go as she is the scardy cat, followed by Podge, the Jack Russell, then was handsome Maxy, my beautiful Italian Greyhound, then Patch, my old Italian Greyhound, and finally but not least, Minky, my sexy kitty cat. Yes four dogs and a cat got washed this afternoon.

SupaDrift

When in Rome, do what the Romans do, well the same applies to the East Rand. When in the East Rand do what the East Randers do so when the Joburg Photowalkers organised a day at The Rock Raceway which is situated deep in the East Rand between Benoni and Brakpan, to take photos of the SupaDrift Series.

Getting sprayed with rubber marbles and tyre smoke as the muscle cars drift past our lenses was all part of the excitement of the SupaDrift. Drifting muscle cars is another world altogether with the V8s, rotary motors, nitro, revving, backfiring, spinning, spills and thrills, cars slamming into side wall, boerewors rolls, beers, brandy and coke, scantily clad girls, and not to forget smokin' rubber.

Single Awareness Day

Happy Single Awareness Day is a much better way of calling this highly commercial Valentine's Day. It has become an aberration of what it is meant to be, trampling on those poor souls who don’t have someone to adore. Valentine's Day has become a day where many are reminded of their deep soul destroying loneliness. Skipping along comes Single Awareness Day.

A day where single people don't feel left out, a day where couples appreciate that they have someone and are aware of those who don't. Single Awareness Day won't be Valentine's Day where couples rub the noses of those who are single into red rose petals.

Happy Single Awareness Day to all the couples and singles out there.

Haight-Ashbury Paisley Gregor

Gregor came to work this morning wearing a paisley shirt as if he stepped straight out of the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco. Well he can be forgiven since he is from the City of Angels. Here I managed to photograph him doing his Thinking Man impersonation. Hip as it may be, I kind of like the shirt.

Bob, Bob, Bob!

The second late night in a row. Wow this is starting to get to me. Yawn! Tonight was Alpha course, no it was not dull and boring, just too many late nights. Bob, shown above, is leading our group and it is interesting listening to the questions asked. I suddenly realise that many among us never had the privilege of growing up in a Christian environment, well I shouldn't say privilege as it has been used as a crutch. Note what they used to say about missionary kids when I was growing up.

These were seeking questions which had perplexed the asker, for example, "God says that we all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Yes murder is sin, but I don't feel that swearing, or telling a white lie is sin." I closed my eyes, sent a prayer heavenwards for the right way to answer this query in such a way as to still evoke love. I let the answers that came up wash over me, trying to understand each nuances. Trying to understand life.

Nikki

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting huge, still hoping it is not a train but if it is, will it stop to let me on-board to steam ahead to a brighter future? As may some of my readers know it has been a terrible December and January, where I found myself on rock bottom. Along the rocky bottom, only chocolate kept me sane. With these new developments there may be a something positive to blog about in a near future.

Back to earth, here is Nikki, the latest addition to National Positions, joining as the Client Services lady.

Kirby Monday

Monday morning starts with Winnie cranking up the vacuum cleaner. The old vacuum is on the blink so out came the Kirby. Nothing sucks like a vacuum on a mission.

Guardian

Leaving for BBC this morning, I found that these mushrooms are starting to pop up again. Perfect photo opportunity on this Sunday. But now to church. Later on, at BBC, we sang a powerful song which blew me away, Guardian by Ben Cantelon. The chorus goes like this...

You go before me. You're there beside me.
And if I wander, love will find me.
Goodness and mercy will always follow.
You go before me, my Guardian.

There is a light at the end of this dark start to the year, and I am hoping, no praying that it is not a train as I reach out to my Guardian, whose guides me along this dark and rocky way. I am not alone, God on my side.

Enoch

Induna Enoch, well what can I say about him. On my property Enoch is the big kahuna who keeps us all safe while we sleep at night. A true Zulu you can depend on.

Missing Dog Fish

With all this heavy rain lately, nothing is safe from the rising waters. It is Friday, the rain has been threatening but holding off, so off I was to work on my trusty Vespa.

On the way through the Wolds, on one of the majestic oaks lining the streets was this Missing Dog sign that was well flooded. Interesting as it looks like one of those gold fish bags that you get from pet shops. Now it looks like a Dog Fish has escaped.

One Five

We have a number of feral cats living around our office park, and about two weeks ago one of the cats got hit by a passing car. The poor cat had the side of his jaw broken and was not looking good.

Roxy rushed the cat to a vet who performed emergency surgery to its life. Today the cat was discharged from the veterinary surgery and brought back to the office park. The feral cat was named One Five as it cost R1.5k for the surgery. While One Five was at surgery, he was neutered which means we could release him back into the wild.

The Meaning of Life

Well, I am setting out on exploring the meaning of life from the aspect of the Christian faith. The question raised by the Alpha Course is surely there is more to life than this? Although I already did this course many moons ago, it is back to basics for me, one step at a time,

Big Clean

At the office, to make more room for the expansions, the boardroom division was taken down which made a considerable amount of drywall dust. Here is our CEO, Richard, manning the vacuum cleaner with the amused Bakang, Marco, and Noma looking on.

Minky and the Red Legged Centipede

Our very adventurous putty tat decided to tackle a Red Legged Centipede aka Cormocephalus Nitidus, last night. Even the Latin name make this invertebrate from hell sound scary. Although Minky managed to dispatch the poor creature back to whence it came from, she did receive a nasty bite on her face which swelled quite a bit. Aw poor putty tat, did the bad nunnu bit you.

Expectant

We haven't seen Mark and Guinevere for such a long time that I was looking forward joining them at the Market Theatre this afternoon for some culture. Somehow Mark got the numbers wrong or I didn't confirm, but Mark and Guievere got to see Agreed while Lynda and I enjoyed Expectant.

I wasn't sure what to expect other than an expectant mother going on a monologue about, well being an expectant mother. Close but no cigar, Rebecca Makin-Taylor brought a monologue nowhere near what I thought it would be. As a white, English speaking South African male, it is hard to expect a better future for us in South Africa. With our history as water under the bridge, what can I be expectant of in the "New" South Africa? What does it mean to be from South Africa?

Jade and the Rescues

The rain has washed out the Greyhound Rescue Meetup at Walkhaven and postponed till next month. A few eager sight hounds still wanted to stretch their legs, so our pack headed out to Walkhaven.

The weather had lifted and other sight hounds had the same idea which meant that a large number of Greyhounds and Italian Greyhounds turned up, oh and I am sure I saw a few Saluki, a Whippet and a Borzoi. Seeing the Whippet sure pulled at my heart as my mind went straight back to Skye, my beautiful Whippet who crossed over last month.

He was a playful Whippet and would have enjoyed it here with the other sight hounds. But I was brought straight earth with sight hounds flying around at speed and play. Here is little Jade, posing for the camera like a little princess, she is and then she’s off causing after another iggie.