Zombie with the Dragon Tattoo

West Park Cemetery has come alive again as hands are pushed through the sod of freshly covered graves for the Zombie Walk 9, organised by Empire Tattoos to raise funds for Marang House. I have covered these apocalyptic uprisings for a number of years now. See Sizzling Rea Head,  Here Be Zombies, Rising the Dead, Undead, and Nom Nom Nom.

Not another word from you, or else!

Mommy please don't let go of my hand!

Thankfully the dead walk only for one day, hence all I need is to be able to outrun the photographer next to me.

Just because you are a Zombie, doesn't mean you can't take care of your appearance

Sad to see my friends are now my undead friends

Video killed the Radio Star

Honey surprise, I am back, and this is the last time you will kill me

Fresh undead arising

And now, a sacred lotus flower, a symbol of purity and beauty lies in the gutter while the walking dead shuffle past. It was an intriguing find as the lotus flower in some religions have been associated with death and rebirth. Would this pertain to Zombies?

What’s the Crack?

In this heat, what is the crack? What is happening? Well it is Friday, my sleep has been hard to find but hopefully a solution to my sleep apnoea will come.

It is Matthew’s birthday this coming Wednesday but he is in the middle of exams so not much to enjoy expect this weekend before the birthday but for now you will have to do with a photo of a crack in a pot in the middle of a cacti garden on a hot Friday afternoon.

It is so hot the air feels heavily pregnant in the last semester. Soon labour will come with the burst of the first thunderstorm. And still the snake wishes he had hand to hug the cactus like a man. And the cactus replied “A hug would be nice, but hug my flower with your eyes”. Whoever knows this song, know this that it is one of my favourites. I think the heat is starting to get to my head for it not for the lack of sleep.

Smew Bad Hair Day

These small ducks look like they are having a bad hair day, which thankfully I don’t suffer from. Better known as the Smew, these ducks originate from the colder climes of northern Europe and Asia. No wonder they don’t fancy the brownish water of the pond. With all this wind and no rain, they too must be waiting for the summer rains.

Strange name for the Smew, sounds similar to a cat’s mew even though this pair didn't make a quack.  Maybe its the water that smews.

Manbag

Now I have a boring manbag compared to others. It is plain grey and non-descript just as I like it. My manbag carries my Apple iPad Mini, Samsung Note 4, charging equipment, headache tablets, and of course an inhaler. You see not much to write home about until enters Jacques.

Okay, it is Jacques’ birthday tomorrow, but does it mean that he can now wear a manbag that is somewhere in between a toolbag and a nerd’s shirt pocket full of pens?

Skinny Klipspringer

What’s the skinny on the Klipspringers? Well we had a breeding pair of Klipspringers here at Mogale Business Park but sadly the male was killed last year after being hit by a car. Luckily before his sad end, he had managed to impregnate the female Klipspringer and a baby was born in April this year which we called JZ due to a VIP visit the very next day.

Last month new klipspringers arrived but were kept in an enclosed boma for acclimatisation. And now they have been set free into the park. So today I saw them exploring around my office, another male and female. They seem a little skittish still and although slightly bigger than our current female, both look a little skinny, don't you think? What the doctor has ordered is time to adjust and of course some fattening up on lush fodder.

I sent Ella in

As South Africans we sure know how to laugh about ourselves. Bringing humour into our trying lives makes life a little easier. And things are tough here in South Africa. The Springboks are out of the Rugby World Cup due to a useless coach who had no game plan. The economy is on a downward spiral. Violent crime is becoming an everyday occurrence as if it is simply part of life. Our government are not for the people but themselves only. And I am not getting much sleep lately.

Oh well at least Oscar got to go home. I had to send Ella into the ladies restrooms to put up these signs to warn the ladies that Oscar is out on bail. We actually need to change the "Occupied" signs to "Don’t Shoot!"

The author Alysha Speer wrote once,
"Laugh, even when you feel too sick or too worn out or tired.
Smile, even when you're trying not to cry and the tears are blurring your vision.
Sing, even when people stare at you and tell you your voice is crappy.
Trust, even when your heart begs you not to.
Twirl, even when your mind makes no sense of what you see.
Frolick, even when you are made fun of.
Kiss, even when others are watching.
Sleep, even when you're afraid of what the dreams might bring.
Run, even when it feels like you can't run any more."

"And, always, remember, even when the memories pinch your heart. Because the pain of all your experience is what makes you the person you are now. And without your experience - you are an empty page, a blank notebook, a missing lyric. What makes you brave is your willingness to live through your terrible life and hold your head up high the next day. So don't live life in fear. Because you are stronger now, after all the crap has happened, than you ever were back before it started."

So laugh until your belly hurts and just a little bit more!

Selfie

I am not sure how many more self-photographs or selfies as they are now know as, I can take of myself. I pray many more but after I got back my results on Friday of my Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Screening, I am now too scared to even go to sleep.

The results are that I have severe Sleep Apnoea. This is when my breathing is disrupted during sleep. The results is that my breathing stops more than 44 times per hour which kind of hard to comprehend. Family and close friends agree that I tend to fall asleep very quickly then the problem starts, I stop breathing nearly every second minute of my sleep. No wonder I am always tired and have extremely high blood pressure. I always used to put the blame squarely on stress, sugar diabetes, not eating correctly, and many more, but now hopefully we can get to the bottom of this.

As for those strange dreams that I get, the ones that somehow cross over into other dimensions, this too could be an answer to what is happening. My oxygen in my blood drops to 79% during sleep where as a normal person drops not lower than 90%. They say that monsters don’t sleep under your bed, they sleep inside your head.

Walking on Water

Thirty Nine, 39, yes tomorrow Craig will be ever creeping closer to the big FOUR ZERO. Since he will be heading back to Kenya tomorrow, Necia decided to have a pancake afternoon around the pool.

So friends and family squeezed their vehicles into Craig and Necia’s driveway and had a whale of a time around the pool. Of course I managed to get some converts to the savoury mince and condense milk wrapped in pancakes. Yummy!

Craig even tried his hand at walking on water and of course the judges thought very little of his feeble attempt.

The judges score is final...
Anika – Disqualified;
Nicole – Disqualified;
Brendon – Disqualified;
Gary – 0;
and for the Invisible man (dressed wearing only shoes and nothing else), well he gave a full 10 points.

Facebook Business Manager

Well today was on course day with our Social Media Team learning more about Facebook’s Business Manager tool. Yes it has already been out for over a year now but it was very buggy and it is still been updated as you read this.

So off we went to Blue Magnet for the Facebook Business Manager half day course and now thanks to Jessica our lecturer, we now will be using this tool to manage all our uhmm 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, yes 9 Facebook Business pages.

Winter is Truly Over

Winter is truly over as the summer afternoon start building storms. Not great for the ride home from work on the Vespa, but is sure gives us some awesome sunsets.

Netcare's Worst

What is supposed to be the flagship hospital of the Netcare Healthcare are group, last night was one of the worse nights I ever experienced. Well I suppose I don’t have much to compare it with in terms of hospital overnighters as I have never stayed overnight in a hospital before but surely my many private and government hospitals visits count for something.

I started this morning a grumpy old man that was not suffering fools lightly due to a lack of sleep. Oh but wasn’t I supposed undergo sleep observation in the Sleep Lab last night? Yes I was but sleep was so very hard to find. Let me start at the beginning...

Wednesday last week I was booked to undergo Obstructive Sleep Apnoea screening at the Sleep and Neurophysiology Centre’s Sleep Lab at Sunninghill Hospital. The receptionist at the centre gave me a two page form with procedure codes and practice numbers to help me with the pre-authorisation number that they required from my medical aid. Having got the authorization number that afternoon, I notified the centre and they instructed me to arrive between 3 and 4pm Tuesday which was yesterday at the admissions desk of Sunninghill Hospital.

Going through the two page document that the Sleep and Neurophysiology Centre gave me on Tuesday morning I noticed that it mentions a pre-admission form which can be filled out online 24 hours beforehand. A bit late but I filled it out anyway. I also noticed that it mentioned a menu and that I have to tick and email it back to them. I assumed it was the dinner menu but there was no such menu attached so I decided to phone the centre. Their answer was that they haven’t received menus for some time now. I was a bit concerned as they just expected me to arrive and all will be in place, so I told them that I need a Kosher dinner please. Oh no was their reply that I should have told them the day before. The morning before was a bit late for them. What? No I don’t need special dietary requirements but what if I needed vegetarian, kosher, or halaal? This is starting on a bad footing.

So I presented myself at the admissions desk about 3:30 pm yesterday with some trepidations. My pre-admission that I filled online was not on the system, it would only reflect the next day. Oh well the form did say 24 hours before and not 12 hours. Surely 12 hours was ample time for a digital system. No worries, the admissions clerk soon booked me in and directed me to the Sleep Lab.

At the Sleep Lab I found Patrick who directed me to Lab 2 which consisted of a bed, a side table and 2 chairs. After standing for a while in the room alone, I left to find Patrick and asked him about the procedures for the evening. Patrick was the first person who then explained to me what was going on and what they were going to do. Surprisingly he apologised about not having Kosher and he said that there was a new catering company and the menu keeps changing hence I was not given a menu form. Oops, there seems to be a little confusion as to if I am going to get supper or not.

Not long afterwards, Patrick said that his shift ends at 6pm and that he needed to have me wired up before then as the next person taking over from him doesn’t know how to connect all the wires to my head. And that once I am connected I cannot move from the bed. BUT what about a shower? Okay I see, a shower needs to be done down the passage on the other side of level 2 passed all the other wards at a communal men’s bathrooms but before 6 please. I was very concerned that if no supper arrives that I would have to track down to the foyer and buy some food then prepare for bed. But Patrick soon brought me my supper.

Now for that shower. It felt like a walk of shame walking down to the male bathrooms on the other side of the building past all the other wards. Sigh, this must be a very old hospital, surely this can’t be Netcare’s flagship hospital.

By 6pm, Patrick had wired my head up and then introduced me to nurse Elzeth who would be supervising me overnight. Now I thought the singer Nataniël had a unique voice, well it sounds like Elzeth can be his twin sister because they talk very similar. Anyways Elzeth settled me down and around about 8pm she put a strap with a sensor around my chest, nose clip, and pulse oximetry on my finger tip.

Now for some sleep. Well with the one monitor super glued in the middle of my chest that started to painfully dig into me as turned to get comfortable and the pulse oximetry started to hurt on my finger, sleep was hard to come by. The worst was the ambient light and this constant hum in the building that there was very little that I could do to try fall asleep in the Sleep Lab. I tossed and turned throughout the night and at about 2am in the morning I was more comfortable sitting up in bed with my eyes closed praying for just a little sleep. And sleep didn’t come.

I was awoken a little after 5am by Elzeth as she opened the door. I told her that I didn’t get much sleep last night and asked her if she got any useful readings. She said that she did noticed that I was constantly waking up from a light sleep and when in the sleep mode my oxygen levels dropped dramatically. All I felt was that I hardly slept more than an hour and had a sleep deprivation headache from hell. Elzeth proceeded to remove all the wires by using acetone to wash my scalp. Then it was the same walk of shame down the passage to have a shower, but thankfully most of the patients were still sleeping. I was grumpy, and needed sleep as Elzeth brought me some coffee while I sat, eyes closed at the edge of my bed. Ahhh coffee. Bring more Elzeth more...

Sadly Elzeth’s shift was ending at 6am and she said that she could discharge me at 6 or get a nurse down the passage to discharge me later. After enquiring about some food, she answered that breakfast was only going to be served from 8am. Uhmmm that is if someone knew I was still sleeping in the Sleep Lad. I wasn’t too sure that the kitchen staff would bring me breakfast, so I decided I rather go down to the café downstairs, order more coffee and have a hearty breakfast. Ahhh just what the doctor ordered to get rid of this headache and wash away my grumpiness.

I arrived in the foyer just after 6am only to find that the café only opened at 7am, well all I could do was wait and wait I did, reflecting on all the things that led up to me being grouchy at this time in the morning. A little before 7am I saw my doctor shuffle past my table in an empty café passage just off the hospital foyer as if he had a very late night. His head was down and had this dejected posture as he walked past on the way to his rooms. Oh well I am not the only one who is grumpy this morning after the worst night ever.

Sleep Apnoea

So tonight is the night. It is the first time I am in a hospital overnight as a patient since I was walked out as a baby many many years ago. This time I have been booked into the Sleep Lab at Sunninghill Hospital for overnight sleep apnoea screening.

By late afternoon I started getting butterflies as I was not exactly sure what to expect when I arrived at the Sleep and Neurophysiology Centre’s laboratory. There is a 3 quarter size bed on one side and this machine with wires pouring out on the other.

Somehow things felt a little disorientated as I didn’t know the processes going forward and had to ask the orderly Patrick what now. Patrick shift ends at six and he has to super glue all the electrodes onto me before he leaves. Yes super glue, you heard correctly. Once the wires where all set up I cannot move more than a metre from the bed. Toilet has to be done in this silver jug that was brought to the bedside. Oh dear I get rather thirsty at night and drink water which means a number of toilet walks normally except tonight a jug has to suffice.

So before all the wiring up happened, I had to shower and dejectedly the shower was a long walk down the passage past all the other wards. Talk about a walk of shame. What happened to a private ward? First toilet in a bottle and this, oh this is so undignified.

Lets pray that they get to the bottom of what is wrong with me so that they can plan for the fixing of me. Anyways this is a good night from me at hospital to get some sleep.

Splash of Purple

The Jacarandas are in full bloom in the Highveld, bringing a splash of purple in a sea of green. The Joburg Photowalkers are making full use of these magnificent trees and their purple colours in and around the older suburbs of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

I haven’t been on many photowalks this year due to been simply too busy. Okay one can never be too busy, it is more trying to find time to fit a photowalk or two into a year that has been always pushed back due to priorities. We actually never too busy, lately it seems that our days are filled to the brim of meaningless stuff.

Walking in the gardens around my office, my eye caught the glimpse of purple, slashing colour back into my heart. What has happened to all my creativity and inspiration in all my busyness?

Rebekah

Welcome Rebekah. You came into this world five days ago, not wanting to come out but already a week over due. You are the angel to your mommy and daddy, Robynne and Marco, but we are just happy that you have ten fingers and ten toes.

Granny Lynda with her grand daughter Rebekah

Rebekah, we wish you a blessed life full of blessings for all those around you for you are going to change the world.

Black and White

Black and White with a dash of Green, yip this is the cat who accosted me for a hello while popping into Cat Box in North Riding for some cat food. What a beautiful cat colouring especially with that dash of black on the paws.

Bosses’ Day

Yes there comes a time were we have to appreciate our bosses because there are some shocking ones out there peoples. We are quite lucky to have one of the better ones. Thank you Rob.

Tree Bark

Since midnight last night, I was instructed to have no food or water until samples of my blood are taken in the morning.

I awoke, thirsty and dry but I could not drink any water. I was starting to have coffee withdrawal by the time I arrived at the closest hospital to my work. All I could think of was an awesome cup of coffee waiting for me at the office while the vampires syphoned off a handful of vials full of blood.

I parked my Vespa under an old oak tree outside of the hospital. It is here that I noticed these lovely camouflaged bark of these majestic tees, hence today’s photos.

Seeing the trees from the wood, let’s hope the pathologists get to the bottom of what’s wrong with me other than I am going slightly mad.

Run Jerome Run

Way back in August this year I was diagnosed with late onset of asthma and put on a course of medicine to help to me back on track.

Today it was the pulmonologists turn to poke and prod, and run all sorts of tests including a cardiorespiratory exercise test. Sniff sniff, yes they made me run on a treadmill. Run! I haven’t run in over 18 years. I can hear you say WHAT! I have done long walks but run, hell no. Okay my main reason is that I have damaged my knees from lots of endurance horse riding in my early 20s but somehow today I ran.

You want me to run? Yes I had to run and the stupid treadmill went faster and faster while I simply ran for my life. And Jerome, don’t forget to breathe into this mouth piece.

Steenbok

I have heard about some steenbokke in the Mogale Business Park but never saw any signs of this solitary buck that I got to a state that this was just a myth, well until today that is.

Yes while out and about on my lunch break, taking in the fresh air and keeping close to the cool shades during the searing mid-day sun, I saw my first MBP Steenbok.

Frozen in my tracks as not spook the little steenbokkie, I slowly reached for my cell phone and took some photos as proof that this buck does exist in the office park. This was sure a fortunate sight, as during the heat of the day, especially this week’s heat wave, small bucks tend to rest under foliage, and being a small buck they would be very elusive in the shade.

Run Hens Run

Who is following who? I am not 100% sure but I think this is a Melanistic Mutant pheasant hen being followed by a peahen, running away from the males.

With all the peacocks starting strutting their stuff and making these irritating calls, I too would be ducking and diving like these two hens are. Run hens run!

Don’t get me wrong hearing a peacock call is majestic in the wild but having the call to love done over and over and over again just outside your office can become a bit much.

The Heat is On

They are calling this a heat wave, 35°C huh, I thought a heat wave is over 40°C. Oh well it is kind of hot and no wind.

Like our pets the whole day became siesta time. Oh well the heat is on, and soon the evening comes fiesta starts.

Kodaka Hasegawa

Jade and Maxy want to part of the Neighbours Club

僕は友達が少ない, Boku wa tomodachi ga sukunai or literally translated from Japanese I don’t have many friends. Haganai is one of the main characters of a series of short novels called Haganai which was written by Yomi Hirasaka and is about a young teenager called Kodaka Hasegawa. The stories have also been adapted as a full feature anime film and series, and it is these animes that have caught the attention of Matthew.

Kodaka and Deadpool

Marius

Kodaka, is transferred to a new school and found it difficult to make friends due to his mix of brown-blonde hair. He finally makes friends with solitary young lady, called Yozora Mikazuki. Both of them form an after school club called the Neighbours Club, for people like themselves with no friends.

Moses, Tyran, and Matthew

It seems that Kodaka has become Matthew’s role model and he cosplayed as Kodaka for rAge today where he won a prize for cosplayer that is dressed closest to character. Wow, to me he was dressed just as a normal teenager but I am sure the girls would think that his hair style is cool, well certainly Deadpool and Jon Snow thinks so. Yes Jon Snow is still alive and well as seen today at rAge.

Jon Snow is Alive