R 17,200 Scratch

 

Yes you read correctly R 17,200 or US$ 1,160 to fix this scratch. Okay I am not being fair as you can't really see it clearly there is also a small dent plus the scratched topbox and some more small scratches in the front plus the damaged chrome beading and a noisy exhaust. So it does all add up. 

A little more than a week ago a delivery driver reversed in my Vespa and pushed it over while it was parked in the parking lot of the office complex where I work. At first glance the damage didn't look much but the panel beater with his expert eye picked up more that what I saw. Anyways the panel beater's quote of R 17,200 has been approved by my Insurance company which means my Vespa has been booked for a makeover this Friday.

Brenden the Giant

 

Well that went south very quickly, our RNW Committee meeting got rather heated this evening, so much so that I was having enough of it, perfect time to take a photo of my friend Brenden also on the committee. Yip Brenden is a giant of a man both is stature and in character. I wasn't sure if I would get him in the photo along with me also a giant but am a mouse compared to Brenden.

The Timer

 

I have been meaning to set the timer on the geyser for some time now but I have been putting it off because I suppose I was scared to mess it up and get cold water when I shower. I think my geyser is not right, the plumber was around and replaced the pressure release valve but every now and then it still overflows and I have to manually turn the geyser off to stop the pressure buildup. 

So because there was already a timer installed, why not use it, so I put on my big boy pants, and watched a how to set a Geyser Timer video that I found on YouTube and voila, we have success. Time to give myself a pat on the back.

The Tissue

 

From yesterday's "Be Still" in that quiet place where it is thin between here on earth and the heavens, my mind was dealing with "what was it all about", this fleating moment that we have here on this earth.

And then the lay preacher had to go talk about God and work, that is it is honouring and pleasing to God. My mind which was already so active with the thoughts of God, thought about that even the lowliest jobs are pleasing to God. Take the Garbage Scavengers, who once a week go through our trash looking to make a meager existence. Why do we despise them so much? Because God loves them just as much as He does us, maybe if I can be so bold to say maybe even more than me.

It was about this time that I was little teary that I asked Lynda for a tissue, and this is what I got. To me this tissue looked like a stuck up snotty nosed person, and here I was just going to use it to wipe my nose with it. Suddenly a light bulb went ON!

Update

I posted on Facebook while still in church this "God says that the work that the trash recyclers do when they go through our dustbin is honourable and good." And one of my friends wanted to know where in the Bible did God say that along with book, chaper, and verse.

So firstly before I try to answer here, I want to let everyone know that I don't know all the answers as I am at the bottom rung when it comes to theology yet I can you know that God does speak to me and answers my prayers. Not in a loud voice as I would surely get a fright and be the first to run away but in that quiet place that I find myself in as mentioned at the start of this post. And he answers all my prayers, quite often not with the answer I wanted but He does answer them all.

Okay lets get stuck in and hopefully remember some of the stuff preached to us on Sunday while my mind floated far away, God created work and for us to work not in a sadistic sense to be His slave, oh no. He himself worked to create the heavens and the earth then rested on the 7th day. He said it was good. He then tasked Adam and Eve to work in His creation to glorify Him by subduing the earth and have dominion over all. I don't remember all the verses mention on Sunday but I took away this that we honour God through our work and that got me thinking about the lowliest job honouring God. 

It was in that space that I heard the whisper in my soul "Yes Jerome, that work too is honouring and good to me". How easy is it for someone to be so down as those garbage diggers to simple give up and turn to other unscrupulous means of making a living yet they honour God by working, not giving up, and make a honest living. Yes I agree it not the best job out there and I am sure the diggers themselves wish they could get a better job but they are way better than those lazy bones doing nothing.

Now here I am in a job, not the best job in terms of earnings, yet God has placed me here and I must honour Him in all that I do. Oh how easy it is for me to complain, skinner, and gossip. God has blessed me. Thank you and good night. Oh and before I go... Say Awesome Everyone.

Be Still

 

Who would have thought that I would be attending my 3rd memorial service in less than 2 months and that Winnie the Pooh would be quoted from the pulpit, "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard". 

Yes here I am in this church in Florida, saying goodbye to Dawid. I only met Dawid towards the later half of last year and in that short time he made an impact in all the lives he touched. He created the video we used in the Save Black Eagle crowd funding project that we did last year for free, that was the type of person he was, giving and not taking.

The lady who quoted Winnie the Pooh went on to Psalm 46 and I closed my eyes and allowed the words "Be still, and know that I am God". So as I rest up by the river, and say my goodbyes as Dawid crossed over, my mind dwelt in the presence of the Lord Almighty.

Grasses

 

I think these late nights are getting to me, as all I got to show for today is this bushel of grass or is it wheat that I took at Tom my mentor's home. Who cares because it is finally weekend and I can go home and simple get some rest.

Connect Family

 

Here I tried to use my phone's camera without the flash to get the ambiance of this evenings Connect family meeting. I am so tired this evening with all the late evenings nearly every night that I was not quite myself, quiet and subdued I was which made for a great Connect evening with family.

By-Elections

 

Back to the polling stations we go for the by-elections for our ward. The DA won the last time but their candidate sadly lost the battle of cancer so back we go to cast our vote. It doesn't look like many turned out on the cold winter's day. So let me join the many from last elections to proudly show off my marked thumb.

Cinnabon Bon

 

I'm not sure what the occanion is but Taleesha brought in some Cinnabon chocolate covered cinnamon buns, yummy. There goes my diet out of the window.

M Cafe

What roller coaster ride so far with more to come no doubt. Last Friday week, a delivery driver reversed into my parked Vespa while I was at work and knocked it over. Now my insurance has instructed their assessors to check my bike out but they require that I get a quote first from a panel beater and that my friends is the run around. 

The first place I took it to was Metal Cross Vehicle Makeover Clinic, their appraiser has looked a my Vespa and still I wait for a response. Then I went to the Dent Doctor, and no they don't do bikes, then to Renew-it and they couldn't help as my insurance has their own assessors and could understand why they sent me to get quotes. I then managed to hold of a bike panel beater called Evil Performance and the lady on phone told me that they don't do scooters only super bikes. What my Vespa costs more than most of the super bikes that go through the shop. 

This morning in desperation, I phoned my broker and told him "sort it out". So now at lunchtime, I am sitting at the Sandton BMW Auto Repair Centre's M Cafe drinking a lovely cappachino while I wait for the assesor. 

Hopefully I can put this all behind me. 

10 Green Bottles

Driving to church this morning, I pass through some veldt areas which has been burnt by the winter fires, I noticed these bottles all standing together. Wow someone has been busy gathering up all the bottles that were dumped in the veldt and now exposed due to the fire.

Swem Verbode

For many years, a stream that runs through my neighbourhood, was an open sewer. Sewerage would run unabated for months before anyone would fix it. The stream itself is the source of the Crocodile River and comes out of the rocks at 3 springs in Breaunanda before cutting through what is known as the deepest gorge in Gauteng before plunging over the waterfall at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens. 

The probem is that the stream forms the border between Roodepoort and Krugersdorp hence no one wants to take responsibility for the upkeep. Just below the gorge is a park that used to have a lapa but that was pulled down by the municipality due to druggies that abused the facility. I was told that there was lovely walkways and bridges across the stream here at the lapa. Sounds lovely but all that remains is this sign, what is left of it.

Surely this is a sign that nature is fighting back. All that can be read of the sign is "Water Besld... Swem Verbode Notice Water Polluted..." I assume "No Swimming" was below that.

There are no fish in this stream, and I was told this is due to a chemical spill at the Plascon paint factory that is upstream on the Krugersdorp side a few years early.

Now for the GOOD NEWS. For over a year now this stream has been free of pollution and has been mentioned in an Gauteng Government report as the cleanest river in the province. The secret to our success is the people on the ground who are willing to make a difference. 

We have a testing station at the Botanical Gardens, here the staff use an oxygen meter to test the water daily. The results are then posted on a WhatsApp group that has all the decision makers from both Mogale City and City of Johannesburg on. If the oxygen in the water drops below a certain mark, then members of the Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch, go out and search for the most likely cause which is normally a sewerage leak. They then post where the leak is on the group and then the relevant people at both municipalities jump into action and the spill is fixed.

This has been in most cases less than 6 hours even on weekends which has lead to this stream getting cleaner and cleaner. So much so that plans are been set up to restock the stream with fish. In my opinion, maybe if Plascon is reading this they should help sponsor the restocking of the fish as any good neighbour would. If any readers want to help, either make contact with Andrew Hankey from the Bot Gardens or Andreas Oberlechner from the Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch.

Back to the sign in the tree. It is good to get nature back into our neighbourhoods and signs like this will all be but a distant memory.

Braai Slaai

Mid afternoon, Lynda phones and says that her grandchildren are missing her and are coming over this evening for a braai. Now who in their right minds would have a braai in the middle of winter in the evening, well we did, this evening.

Not planned, so we didn't have much except some wors, slaai, and some malva pudding for afterwards. Okay so that last sentence is going to throw a few of my overseas readers, wors shortened for boerewors is in English farmer's sausage whereas slaai is salad, and malva pudding is a type of sponge cake soaked in decadent caramelised sticky sauce and served hot with custard. The family went and bought more meat such as steak, chops, and rashers, so will the meat on the grill it was time to kuierring. 

Rats too Clever

Mandela Day, another day where ordinary people help the less fortunate while politicians pat themselves on their backs. A few days ago I mentioned to Teleesha that Mandela Day was coming up, and what is she going to do. Well she got straight onto the interwebs looking for ideas that is until I mentioned the Sandton SPCA.

So here we are, at the Sandton SPCA to do our 67mins for Mandela Day. I was surprise how well the place was run, with all the reports of the SPCAs around the country shutting down due to lack of funds. It was nice to see the Catteries for the poor kitties and to find out that Teleesha doesn't like cats. The only problem I saw was the rats. Plenty of them and they weren't that scared of humans. There also was a huge number of humane rat traps around set by the Owl Rescue Centre but it seems the rats were too clever for the traps. 

MMC Sun

There is bi-elections coming up next week, so the leading political party for our ward, arranged for the MMC for Public Safety, Michael Sun, to come address us. It is all about votes, but before I write further, what is a MMC? 

Well a MMC stands for Member of the Mayoral Committee and Michael Sun is in charge of Public Safety for the City of Johannesburg. So here he was addressing the community about the lack of fire tenders, and how well they are doing in fighting crime. 

Crime is up everywhere, the South African Police Services are slashing R6 Billion off their budget and how are we the Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch are going to to keep out neighbourhood safe. So far we the RNW are doing our best and MMC Sun is very impressed, so much so that he wants to send others to us as an example of doing it right.

Older Me

So now we have a Russian company with an AI run facial recognition software running a viral cellphone app that filters uploaded photos to an aging process. Taleesha decided to snap my photo to see what I would look like much older. So here is my mug shot along with 150 million others on some Russian database in the middle of Siberia. Father Christmas peoples is alive an well.

Setting Up

It is about time to make a move on with my life. Normally I come home tired after work, start supper, put my feet up and wind down. Now I need to pull finger as my life is passing on by. So I need some quiet and peace while trying to build up an online presence, hence I set up my office in Matthew's room while he is away at university.

Dealing with Whatever

On Friday I could only go to the police station to report my Vespa incident after work, so I went to the closest police station near me and that was the Roodepoort Police Station. I arrived there only to be informed that they can't help me as I needed to go to the closest police station to where the incident happened. Oh no, since Saturday I had to go to Pretoria that left only today.

So I found myself at the Sandton Police Station only to be told that they can't help me, oh what has happened to the police that I can't report an incident that happened in Sandton to the police in Sandton. I had to go to the Bramley Police Station. 

Finally thank goodness I was helped by a very helpful police officer at Bramley. Now to phone on Monday for the Case Number for the insurance company.

Strawberry Ice-cream

We had to take Matthew back to Pretoria and there was a birthday party in Pretoria as well, Danielle's 22nd. So off we went to Pretoria to a birthday braai. We brought along the world's best spare ribs, and Christo, one of Danielle's friends a chef, made some strawberry ice-cream. 

This post would have been more about Danielle but it was Christo's strawberry ice-cream that stole the show, yummy. Please sir, can I have some more?

Red Baroness down

They say that when things go pear shape, they happy in 3s, and yes Monday I was out for the count with flu yet I was back at work the next day, although in a medical daze, then on Thursday evening when I arrived home water was pouring out of the solar geyser, fearing the worst, the water was shut off to the geyser, and the electricity switched off. 

That was number 2 as unshowered me phoned the insurance company this morning who then promptly sent out the plumbers out to repair. And while I was busy trying to problem shoot a membership issue on a website I was working on, the security guard of the office park walked in and gave me number 3.

A delivery driver, not seeing my Vespa, reversed into the Red Baroness and knocked her over. Oh dear, what else could happen this week? I need this weekend, seriously. 

Nicolene and Kyle

I seem to be getting on top of this flu again, and it was about time that Connect started after a break for the holidays. Dressed warm for a winter's evening at Connect Group, it was great catching up with family and it was good seeing Nicolene and Kyle again, we sure missed them. 

Waiting for Daddy

For the last few days I have found Minky waiting on the wall watching the setting sun just as I arrive home, waiting for daddy, I hope she is waiting for me and not just sunning herself in the winter's sun. 

Back at Work

I am not well yet I am needed at work, so I dressed warm and headed in to the office. It was a slow day as I prodded through the day in a sick haze, medicated but somehow made it home safely and straight into bed. For the last few years I have hardly been sick until this year, out for the count twice already, hopefully it will be the last.

Sick Selfie

So here I find myself in the doctor's waiting room with Matthew, no not for Matthew but for myself as finally I raised the white flag and surrendered to this flu. So in this selfie I am looking not so good, as sick as a dog and Matthew arrived to spend the week with me. 

You have been Faithful

Things have been very tough for me but one thing I can count on is that God has never let me down. All my life, He has been so, so good to me. No matter my circumstances, I will sing of the goodness of God. 

Out for the Count

Arriving home yesterday from work, I felt the flu has gotten the better of me. I have been trying to fight it for over a month now, it seems that I had it beat but now, I am not sure. 

Lynda is spending the day looking after granddaughters so I had peace and quiet. Sometime in the afternoon I woke up and found Paddy fast asleep next me. That's my boy, keeping daddy company in symphony. 

Yellow Empty Pages

There is no place like Yellow Pages, here yesterday, gone forever only to arrive home to find a spanking new Yellow Pages delivered. Talk about clutching at straws, the once famous telephone book is so bulimic that is wasn't even funny. The joke was even Telkom was advertising as the best fibre provider, really! And look at all the blank pages, is this the last hoorah for Yellow Pages? 

Chevy Lane

I'm am not sure how Paulo got the timing right, as we found ourselves at a retro 50's Americana diner on the 4th of July, Independence Day for 'Merica, or the original Brexit of 1776 unless you British then it is Treason Day with a stiff upper lip.

Anyways no matter how you view this day, our old friend Paulo was up in Jozi with Shani and the kids. Now we haven't seen Shani for about 4 years so it was about a good time for a get together as any. So here we all are on a cold winter's evening in an American diner called Chevy Lane, seated from left to right is Sean, Tina, Shani, Paulo, Mr Claus (aka meself), and Lynda. 

Blow the Conch

Too-too-too-too-toooooom, it is Hump Day, the official middle of the week, down hill from here till the weekend. In our office is this beautiful 38cm conch shell. It belonged to Graham's late father and now sits proudly on display behind his desk.

Eating Naartjies

Ahhh one of my favourite fruits, the sweet naartjie, mainly because it is not messy as it can be easily peeled and segmented. The naartje or tangerine as it is called in other countries is a small citrus, smaller than an orange and with a loose skin that makes peeling a dream. Having 2 naartjes in my lunch box to eat during the day is just what the doctor ordered. 

Better Hair Day

Compared with Taleesha's Bad Hair Day last Friday, Monday has been a better hair day for Taleesha, although she is suffering from the Winter chills. I still don't get bad or good hair days as it is so superficial. Oh maybe it is because I don't have hair on top of my crust. Bad Beard Day then?