Ed the Man

Well, just let’s put aside my electricity issues at home as I am in Day Two with no electricity and our water tank have now run dry. The borehole needs electricity to keep the tank full, now the batteries of both electric gates are just about flat.

Oh well, no more stressing about electricity when I am still left in the dark, back to work, here is Ed the Man from Intellovate, he is one of the analyst programmers there and he taking care of the website developments for us and I must say, he is doing a good job.

Rocco Sons

Now we have had Rocomamma, and RocoPapa, what is left is Rocco & Sons. So how did we get here, well Eskom is busy doing testing in our area and had switched off the power grid in the morning and put it back on late in the afternoon but when we arrived home, our sector was still in the dark. Eskom said they could only come out about 10pm. Not even fair as they should have made sure all sectors were working before leaving as unbeknown to everyone, thieves had come along and stole the cables near our house. Sigh!

This meant that we had to go out to dinner, so we decided to try the Papachinos in Broadacres, down the road. Oh no where we had no electricity, Broadaches had no water as they were under water-shedding. What is happening to Jozi?

At Papachinios, we found the Rocco & Sons Butchery sign on the wall. Well the food was good with comparable prices, but the drinks very expensive, and due to the lack of water no coffees, even on such a cold evening as tonight.

Although we didn’t need the rest room, does water-shedding meant that the toilets weren’t working and a bucket system is in place?

Another Goodbye

Yes what is with this year, with all the permanent and temporary goodbyes already, when will it ever stop? Shane used to work in eKayaMedia and move across to Business Intelligence over 2 years ago now he is leaving the company for good.

Well all the best Shane on your new season of your life and I am sure that we will meet again as we are family.

Writers Block

I really do care when my imaginary friend stops talking and I am left talking to myself. This is what our writers call Writers Block and it is proudly quoted on their creative design on the cupboards in their office. So remember life is short so write stuff that matters and have fun at the same time. Oh and don’t use big words. They mean so little.

Happy and Content

Why are you disturbing me from my beautiful slumber? Cats seem to have it very easy, just climb onto a lap, fall asleep, and dream of chasing mice all the while its claws dig deeper into your leg.

Minky is one of a kind rescue cat who just loves to be in company of people. As long as you are close, is she happy and content but dare not disturb her, she will voice her royal opinion with a explicit vocal range of chirps and tweets.

Day of the Empires

Yes, okay I know it is an old game but it is one of the games that Matthew loves coming back to after Xbox and many other games, Age of Empires is still there for a repeat war.

Today was as usual a relaxing day, Matthew and I went to watch the new Independent Day Resurgence movie while Lynda spent quality time with her granddaughter.

Awesome Ideas

Yay, it is Friday so quickly, wow this week has flown and it hasn’t even touched sides. My Friday was extra special as firstly it is Friday, secondly Kay gave Noma and myself a 24/7 Book of Awesome Ideas, and thirdly the granddaughter baby Rebekah is coming to visit this evening.

Now I need to find some awesome ideas to fill this book, which hopefully knowing me I am full of positive and of course awesome ideas.

Good Life Legae

I walked into the training room this morning dragging my feet and not a smile on my dial because yesterday while I was out my work colleagues nominated me for the "Taking the Boardroom to the Shop floor" seminar. Even my work antagonist sent me an email "...You have won the amazing prize of attending a seminar at MBP...", just to rub it in. With so much work, I had no time for a full day training seminar but my pleas fell on deaf ears and here I was, presented and accounted for.

My negative energy slowly lifted back into the positive as I started realising that I could benefit from this encouraging message that Legae Phahlane in his bright lemon coloured jersey brought us. Okay his Powerpoint slides were difficult to follow with too much info nonetheless Legae’s positive energy just filled the room and you could not help it, but become positive.

When life gives you lemons, no use just saying oh well that is my lot in life. Take charge, you are what you make it. Positive attitude attracts more positiveness is the Law of Legae.

So smile, let the Good Life begin.

Red Dust

As I stood in the red dust with my numb mouth, the coffin of my father’s second oldest brother, Izak, was being lowered down into the dirt to join his wife at the good age of 81, my eyes caught the script written at the bottom of the headstone, “God’s wee kan ons nie verstaan, maar wat God doenis welgedaan”. We can’t even begin to understand God but whatever He does, is done well.

I had just come from the dentist, and my tongue and bottom lip was still numb from the anaesthetic, but my heart wasn’t numb as I did not know this part of the family too well but when they asked who I was, someone mentioned who my father was, oh Jerome’s son and that brought memories back to them of my late father who died over 20 years ago. My heart was heavy because majority of the memories of my dad that they brought up was that he was a good man, always had too much to drink and the fun they had together when drunk. Yes what a sad legacy to leave behind.

Here I was the sole representative of my side of the family, all I could do after giving a weak smile was to put my arm around Aunty Rene, my dad’s sister, and looked down at my red dust covered boots.

Rest in peace now Uncle Izak, because now the new generation will pick up the pieces of brokenness, and to walk this dusty road God has for us planned. As my cousin Rob who at the funeral service said to us, the new generation, we must learn to say sorry, by that way we won’t be carrying all these heavy burdens. So true, it is unforgiveness and hurt against us that makes this baggage we carry very heavy.

And here I am, trusting God when I don’t understand while at the same time trying to wipe away the dust from my boots.

Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru

Do you remember those three wise monkeys from Japanese folk lore, Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru? No well this might help, see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil, yes now you remember, those three monkeys, one who covers up his eyes and sees nothing, one who covers up his ears and hears nothing, and the last one who covers up his mouth and says nothing.

Doesn’t this photo of Adam, Terrence, and Jeanine having lunch just outside my office remind you of that scene of Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru covering up their eyes, ears, and mouth?

Goodbye Isabella

Some days, I cash in all the bad things, some days, I call it a draw, but today I just took a walk down into the veld, sat down in the dirt and watched a full moon rise over my darkness.

On Saturday evening, I must have lost a tooth filling during supper because from then onwards, I have had a dull toothache which has gotten progressively worse. I tried to get to see my dentist but the closest I can get to see her is Wednesday. And now I heard the bad news that Isabella, my favourite Crowned Crane had to be put down after being knocked over. She was battling with her injured leg which just wasn’t coming right.

So now I sit, overdosed on pain killers, watching the moon shed light. Where’s the tooth fairy when I need her in my darkest month. Goodbye you beautiful bird.

Roco Papas

Forget rocking mama, as today is Father’s Day. Lynda and Matthew took me to Rocomamas, which I have blogged before, as one, if not the best burgers joints in town. So for today, we shall call them Rocopapas.

Rocomamas who is your daddy now!

Donkey Cart

Somewhere in between Bela Bela and Thabazimbi along that straight road slicing through private game reserves we came across another donkey cart, although not as sad as the other donkey cart belonging to Charlie and Suzette.

The Water Nymphs

A long time ago, way back in the early 1800s, Tswana tribes discovered a hot mineral spring flowing in the middle of a marsh area, they called it Bela Bela, after the bubbling sound of the boiling water. Later on in 1837, the Voortrekkers arrived in the area and named it Het Bad, but the name never stuck, as it was changed to Hartingsburg, and again to Warm Baths, then to Warmbad and finally back to Bela Bela 2 hundred years later.

There is a spa and a holiday resort now at the mineral spring which flows to the surface at about 22,000 litres per hour at 52°C. This bronze sculpture, The Water Nymphs, was made by sculptor Tienie Pritchard in 1981 and symbolises the healing power of the hot mineral water found here.

And Lynda and I could not resist taking a plunge into this warm healing elixir.

TAH 1952

A group of Voortrekkers known as the Jerusalem Trekkers, set out north from the Cape in the 1860s towards the Holy Land but with only the maps at the back of their Bibles to go on they thought they had reached the Nile River when they came upon a wide river flowing northwards and a rocky hill which they thought was a ruined pyramid. Sadly they were over 6,000km out.

The Voortrekkers settled in the area and formed a small village on the banks of the Nyl River in 1866 and called it Nylstroom. During the Boer War the British set up a concentration camp here and interned the Boer women and children while the troops burnt the land in their Scorched Earth policy to try flush out the Boer soldiers.

The name of the town was changed to Modimolle, the local name for the same rocky hill that was supposed to be a ruined pyramid. The name is derived from the Tswana words “Modimo o lie” meaning “the forefathers have eaten”.

Now with the words “White Genocide” becoming more and more brandied out freely as an old BBC report from 2013 is brought back to life, I have always thought this was one sided as many poor, black and white have become poorer while a few have become rich off the new South Africa. This is becoming a slippery slope I don’t know how we can get out of. This is very evident driving through the small towns of our Rainbow Nation of how dirt poor a lot of people are and in Modimolle today, along what was thought to be the Nile River, we came across Charlie and Suzzette with their 3 dogs, 3 donkeys, and all their belongings, and I mean all that they process on a donkey cart. This abandoned family was in search of shelter for the night after being unceremoniously kicked out of their home.

The question that I am rising “So where to now Rainbow Nation?”

Three Days

What a 3 day week this has been, no stop with impossible deadlines and personal issues everywhere I look but I am a year wiser. So after a nonstop day, I look up from my desk, staff are hurrying home for the long weekend. The signage team has completed the designs on my cupboards which looks awesome. Well I better pack up too and head across the city to Benoni to pick up Matthew and start my long deserved break.

Happy Birthday to Me

Well it is that time of year again were I get another year older in a blink of an eye. Oh and how I was spoilt today, I woke up to coffee and some lovely pressies, then an awesome packed lunch was presented to me for work, uhmmm nom nom, thanks Lynda.

Thank you all for all your well wishes for me on my 28th birthday, oh I can dream, can’t I.

Exit Australia

Well this is the final final final goodbye to Robert and Jolene, along with their 2 daughters Kaylee and Shayla, and son, Rylan. South Africa’s loss, Australia’s gain. I hate to say but we are going to miss them.

Cold Car Wash

The cold front has hit us. The day looks gloomy and to up our spirits we decided to get the car washed at our local hand wash bay in Honeydew. There is something about washing the car that lifts your spirit or is it sitting in your car and watching someone else do the washing especially in this freezing weather.

One Step

The weather is changing and a cold front is about to hit us and I am not in a good place after all what is happened in the last few weeks. So I get out of bed as I have to get to the bank somehow and I stare at my shoes which have to be put on. Today was a 1 step in front of the other kind of day.

Not even three Weeks

Not even 3 weeks ago did the thieves destroyed our top electric gate’s motor to get at the battery, and now they struck again last night, the bastards. This is getting too much now.

Not made for Africa

Over lunchtime, I had to rush out to drop off some papers at some lawyers in an area I have never been before so I set up the address onto the maps application of my Apple iPad Mini instead of my normal Galaxy Note 2 and halfway there the iPad stopped working and a warning came up “Temperature – iPad needs to cool down before you can use it”. What!

Yes I know it is Africa but it is in the middle of winter, for Santa’s sake. It is barely double figures on the thermometer and the iPad can perform. Uhmmm not cool, if you can’t take the heat iPad, stay out of Africa. In the end I had to take out my trusty Galaxy phone, take a photo of the striking Apple and then re-input the address onto Google Maps and continue without the iPad.

Permanent Ink

How to change the world? Mankind has being grappling with this problem for a long time. Can it ever be done in our own strength? The Starfish Foundation want to do it one starfish at a time, Half the Sky Movement want to turn oppression into opportunity, and now us at Bosasa, can we make a difference with Transforming Lives?

So here we are, the eKayaMedia New Media team, late in the afternoon, working out the strategy and a new way of thinking for our website Transforming Lives.

And then this happens, halfway through the meeting of our minds, we realise all our inspired ideas have been written in permanent ink on the white board.

Life happens.

Another Cup

Another cup of coffee please. It is a long stretch to say that my cup runneth over, “You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase.” – Psalm 23.5 The Message Bible

At this point in my timeline of life, I droop my head. My coffee in my cup is cold. Patch was cremated today. I am afraid for my remaining pets at home as they are not safe with the neighbour’s killer dogs still on the loose. My bills are high. My ex just wants more money. Work on my desk is piling up. My Vespa still remains in the workshop waiting spares. My future is unclear as I wonder when God will lift my drooping head and light up my path? My coffee is cold.

Last Goodbye

With all the trauma from that vicious attack on Patch by my neighbour’s pack of Jack Russells, the prognoses from the vets at Lammermoor Veterinary Clinic was not good as there was no blood circulation in the back leg which would mean damaged arteries and blood clotting. Because of Patch’s advanced age and the amount of trauma, the vets did not think that Patch would survive a full amputation so they suggested that the best course of action was to say goodbye.

After a lot of heart wrenching deliberation tearing through my mind and listening to many other advice, I thought it best to go see him this afternoon and somehow Patch would let me know what would be the best course of action knowing that in the back of my mind it could be our last goodbye. Trying to finish my work before setting out to Patch, I received a phone call just after 1pm from Alex, one of the vets looking after Patch and he told me that Patch had decided to cross over that rainbow bridge himself. My emotions already very shaky, didn’t hold out as my voice broke and I choked on any words I could say. Patch must have known that this was a hard decision for me to make so he must have made it himself. And I never got to say goodbye, and that how sorry I am for not protecting him enough.

We were already booked to see the Majozi and Monark concert in Pretoria this evening, I was not sure if I should go but I thought it was best for me to go to get my mind back to the living and away from my wildly swinging emotions of heart brokenness and my new hated of Jack Russells but one of Majozi’s songs, Last Goodbye brought all my sadness back to the fore. You can see some of my memories of Patch here RIP Patch 1999 - 2016

Okay I am not sure of exactly how Majozi's lyrics go but I changed it a bit from a father saying goodbye to his daughter on his deathbed to Patch whispering his last goodbye to me even though I didn’t make it to him on time.

Don’t let your love go to waste ‘cause I’ve gone to a different place. But if your heart, if your heart breaks just know that there are always higher stakes.

You are my moonlight oh in the rain and when I am gone I hope you will feel the same. Oh my provider, don’t you cry, this is our last time, our last goodbye.

Come close to me, I want to see your eyes before I leave and say I love you and I can’t believe you chose me. You are the tastiest treat of my eye, I give my life for you I die. Oh my protector don’t you cry, this is our last time, our last goodbye. Our last goodbye.

And as death is anchored on my shore, your light is tethered to my soul. For now I have to let you know this is the last time, our last goodbye.

And when I see Jesus Christ, I know he will greet me with arms stretched wide and he will say he is proud of you and one day we all will be by his side.

And heaven’s gates will take your soul but for now my guardian you must be bold. And heaven’s gates will take your soul but for now my caregiver you must be bold.

Oh my guardian don’t you cry, this aren’t our last time, our last goodbye.

Patchy Prayers Needed

It is not looking good but we will wait till the results from the kidney tests come in before making a decision on what to do. We want to give Patch a fighting chance but at the same time we don't want him to suffer.

Because Patch is 17 years old which makes him about 90 in human terms, the vet says that in most cases their kidneys would be so overwhelmed and won’t be able to cope and will shut down in a few days. So we are running some tests to monitor Patch’s kidneys and if it starts to shut down then I am so afraid, sorry I am battling to write this, that we have to make the decision and say goodbye to Patchy.

But for now although it looks bad we will give all the support Patch needs as he has this powerful will to live. When I found him arriving home on Friday, he in all likelihood should have been dead but he was so relieved to see me and tried to get up to welcome me home. You don’t understand how much I hate Jack Russells right now. Sorry but I know I shouldn’t but they just must not come near me.

Thank you all for you kind words of support and your prayers.

Reality Hits Hard

It is not looking good for Patch after he was viciously attacked by a pack of Jack Russels in his own back yard. Covered in bite marks from head to toe, you can see he is trying to put on a brave face as he lifted his head and put it into my hand which was stroking the only part not covered in bandages.

Please pray for Patch, as some hard decisions may need to be made as after the shock starts wearing off, reality of the situation starts hitting us hard.

Worst Nightmare

My worst nightmare happened as I feared. As I arrived home this afternoon, I saw Patch my oldest Italian Greyhound who is about 90 years old in human terms, lay by the back door, he lifted his head and tried to get up but failed. Something was wrong so I jumped out of my pickup and rushed over to him.

I found him in a pool of blood and covered in dog bite marks everywhere. After gently carrying him to the pickup, I drove like a mad man to the vet and at the same time screaming about that raddy pack of Jack Russels next door. I don’t think anyone witnessed the incident but in my mind that evil pack are the only culprits after killing two of our cats a few weeks back.

Lynda by that time arrived home and told me that one of the Jack Russels had blood on his muzzle and neck. The owner flatly denies that it was his pack dogs and blamed the other neighbour’s dogs because his maid saw them in our yard but he ignored that blood was seen on one of his dogs.

Tie me Kangaroo down

In about a few weeks time Rob and his family will be on the long flight to a new life in Australia on the other side of the Indian Ocean.

Tie me kangaroo down, sport, tie me kangaroo down.

So this might be the last time I will see Rob as I would like to say till next time sport, but kangaroos are a world away. So long my friend, may the transition to an Auzzie lifestyle be an easy one.

President Hyper

It is my turn to cook supper, so on the way home from work, I stopped at the President Hyper in Krugersdorp, which at first thought would not be competitive due to the economy of scale that stores like Pick n Pay have but it came to a shock that President Hyper was very competitive in most sections. For example I bought 200g shoulder bacon at R15.00 compared to the same brand at Pick and Pay and it was over R22.00. So what is up with Pick n Pay and their so called Price Watch nonsense?

Anyway the reason for this post, it is month end and as expected the supermarkets are full of shoppers but the biggest differentiator at President Hyper with other big super market chains was that nearly every till was manned. President Hyper had 32 tills in the front, all manned by friendly staff and at the side, half of the 12 tills were manned. That is 38 manned tills, I think PnP can take home a lesson all the way from the West Rand. The bonus for me was that although the store was extremely busy and I was tired after a long day at work, I didn’t waste any time finding what I wanted, and getting processed through the payment system efficiently.