You (Axel)ot of Questions

As I am walking past Axel's terrarium he jumps up and moves towards the glass door, so I start talking to him. He just looks at me asking him questions and responds with blank stares. Seeing that this conversation is going nowhere I proceed to move my finger across the glass back and forth, which he follows intensely with his eyes. I couldn't help but snap a little close up of his intense stare.

Contract

I got an email today with a contract attached for a graduate position in FNB. I plan to take this job for my in-service training that is necessary to complete my studies. So today I had to dust off the printer and print out the contract to sign. During this year of in-service training I have to produce a thesis applicable to my field of study. I don't know exactly what I am going to do it on but I am sure that I will be very busy this year.

When it comes to banking they still use old technology for their core systems, this technology is a programming language called COBOL. My dad knew this and always wanted me to learn it, even stating that NASA uses it. I don't know about that last part but I am going to be trained in COBOL which is a very rare skill to have for new programmers. I know that my dad would be proud with what I am doing, and that makes me excited to learn and do my best.   

Eloise Is Here

The tropical cyclone Eloise, now a tropical depression, has arrived. Checking this morning I noticed that the previously predicted path and strength of the storm was exaggerated and has slowed down more than expected. The storm has pushed rain and wind along to us but nothing as bad as I thought it would be, but the people that have been severely affected by Eloise have my prayers. The weather should stick around for another day or two, at least this is the type of weather I enjoy.

Moving Around

So Lynda has decided to move the lounge furniture around back to what it used to be a long time ago. I really like how it is because it makes the lounge feel more open, especially with the sliding door not being covered and the light coming through. Paddy is passed out having a cat nap, he seems to enjoy the couch no matter how it is orientated. 

Clean Shave

Today I decided to shave off what little I had already, until it stops growing out patchy I will continue to shave what comes out. I try now to look good for future job interviews or when I have to start working, but now the question comes to what I must do with my hair. I like to grow my hair sort of as an expression of myself, as well as sort of a reminder of my mother whos hair I would always play with. So the question of whether I should cut it short or not is a difficult one to answer.

Wrap It Up

Tonight's supper is making your own wrap, I like to fold mine like pockets with everything inside. Today I saw the news on the Tropical Storm Eloise that is coming in, at this moment it should have left the shores of Madagascar recently and heading straight to the main land of Africa through Mozambique after picking up some speed.

Right now it is classified as a tropical storm but they predict by tomorrow it will advance to a tropical cyclone which has wind speeds of 140km/h. The rain and wind should still affect us in Gauteng as it advances further inland, sometime on Sunday.

Hot Dogs

Today was hot, much like most of the week. The washing is drying as soon as you put it on the line and the water is just disappearing from the dogs bowls. Here are two of the hot dogs trying to stay in the shade as much as they can. While River seems to want to just relax and let the heat off, Seun just can't help himself to just prance around and try play. It have something to do with their size.

Green Eyed Monster, Part Two

The green monster has awakened again and is more fierce than ever. You can find the first rise of the monster here Green Eyed Monster. This time the cause is due to the pool pump breaking, this has caused a community of algae, insects, and even a few amphibians. The pool has pretty much turned into the local pond, maybe it is time to buy a few fish. All jokes aside, I don't see it getting fixed until next summer when the weather calls for swimming. 

Who Let the Dog In?

Here we have Jade, old in her years but still acts like a pup full of energy. When Lynda comes home from work she lets open the back door and the small dogs come rushing in. Jade sometimes struggles to get past River as she tries not to attract her attention. She is often distracted by noises in the kitchen and is always looking out for any opportunities for something to snack on. 

Dessert For All

Load shedding has been inconvenient recently, and it is slowly getting to me. For example, today I had planned to bake something to enjoy over the week yet load shedding hit and messed that plan up. So here I am just having to make do with store bought dessert, sure it is nice but not as good as something that you've made yourself. Some fear that this will be the regular until sometime in April as they say they can't keep up with the demand. As for me, I've just had enough of our country not being able to give us a basic necessity 24/7.

Weekend Relaxation

Saturday has come around and everyone around the house is in the relaxing mood even the cats. Well to be fair the cats are always relaxing, but here is Tiger dozing off on his mother's lap. We are all catching up on rest for the upcoming week which is hopefully busy for us all.

The Load Shedding Strikes Back

This weekend Eskom is back at it again implementing load shedding around the country, what is the story this time? Well whatever it is it hits us at 20:00 to 00:30 the next day so tonight is an early night. Tomorrow can be spent sleeping in and relaxing for the week to come.

Movie Night

Well tonight is dedicated to movies, watching things I should have seen a long time ago. I know many people will be outraged, I haven't seen John Wick yet. The movies were a real hit and got Keanu Reeves into the spotlight, but I just didn't watch them. I am fixing this error in my life tonight as I have all three movies lined up ready to watch. I doubt that I'll get through them all today but I will soon so hold on tight Matthew, you are in for a ride.

Nothing To Play

You know how they say that when a woman looks in her closet full of clothes and say that they have nothing to wear? Well a gamers version is that they look at all the games they have and say that they have nothing to play. This is where I stand now, I have many games that I haven't completed and are just laying around collecting dust. I just can't bring myself around to play them and I don't know why.

Princess In a Basket

You have heard of cat in a hat, but what about cat in a basket? This area is now designated as Princess's sleeping area. It used to be on top of the table, but now that the basket is in the way it has become the new and improved spot to take a nice nap. If I were a cat that would surely be my favorite spot as well, nice pick! This is truly the life of a princess.

Little Soldier Boy

I remember when I was younger I used to play with a bunch of these, putting them in a formation against each other and played out a battle in my head. It seems kind of weird and a bit morbid having children imagine people killing each other in a battle, but I guess that was a different time. This little guy was found lying on the tv table, an old relic from the past.

Seeing him now reminded me of a short song from a cartoon I watched when I was younger. Avatar: The Last Airbender, was aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008 covering 3 seasons. The show, throughout its runtime, explored adult themes such as death, love, war, and more. It was a show that taught life lessons, but still appealed to its younger audience. The short poem like song, Leaves From the Vine, is about in the perspective of a father whos son died in a war.

Leaves from the vine

Falling so slow

Like fragile tiny shells

Drifting in the foam

Little soldier boy

Come marching home

Brave soldier boy

Comes marching home

Rain Season

Weather in South Africa can be unpredictable at times, but this is about the time when most of the rain comes down along with some pretty nasty storms. Today it was peace and quite with the sun shining bright then the next moment it was all rain, wind, and thunder. There are also times in the afternoon when there is a big storm but the sun is shining just as bright as a hot summer day. It really makes you think, what is up with the weather?

SMITE

 

Tonight was dedicated to SMITE night, a weekly event where the team comes online for the night to play as a full squad. Unfortunately we were not very successful and lost most of our games, frustrating everyone. We only play once a week so as not to get burnt out playing the game so much. We are not getting the best regular practice in but that doesn't really matter because we are just playing for fun. But man we are really bad sometimes...

Rooftop Gardening

Well today was quite the experience having to take out some plants that were growing in the gutter on the one side of the house. It looked like some leaves accumulated inside, with the water and some micro-organisms, and had biodegraded into mush that gave these plants the perfect environment to grow. I came along and then pulled out their roots and cleaned up the gutter a bit to try and stop that from happening again. 

That is nature for you, if you leave it long enough nature will reclaim what was once theirs. Thinking about it, who are we to stand in its way?

Game Night

Tonight is dedicated to the boys, playing games and cracking a cold one. About once a week we all come online and play some SMITE, which is a game with a similar style to Dota or LoL. It is a over the shoulder type view where you control your character directly, it also has a few different game modes including the classic three lane map. Tonight was a good day winning 3 out of our 4 matches against our enemies. We might play more this weekend and hopefully we are just as successful.

Spread the Love

What is better than having a cat to love and give scratches? Having two cats to love and give scratches at the same time. Paddington is usually the main cat that sticks around for some snuggles, and Minky is more rare to come by. This is the very first time that they are both wanting attention from me at the same time which makes this a very special moment indeed, especially since Minky is very adamant about her personal space with other cats.

Still Chrismas?

Here is the big question, when do you take the Christmas tree down? This is second to, when do you put the Christmas tree up? In this house the answer is whenever it feels too old, but that changes constantly. I have heard that a very select few don't even take it down and is a permanent decoration. This is only possible of course with the fake trees which is the leading form of Christmas tree for South Africa. But still the question stands when does Christmas end?

Practice

I've received this guitar as a gift from my father years ago, but I lost interest rather quickly. I regret that decision in my youth as I would probably be really good by now, maybe even have a few songs written. Two years ago I picked it up again and started learning, but there is still a lot to learn and I am just a beginner. Today was dedicated to practicing some basics, and slowly building that muscle memory.

Baking Day

A weekend is one of the best times to do some recitational baking. Baking brings joy in many ways, for the ones baking and the ones eating, and the best is when you're both. I have a sweet tooth and I enjoy baking when the mood strikes me, but the mood doesn't come around very often. Lynda did some baking today and made some of her home famous peanut butter cookies, which just makes my tongue dance with joy!

Star Wars Day

I know it is a late but I have started to watch The Mandalorian, well more like binge as I finished the first season today. The series reminded me of the original Star Wars and the Prequels (we don't talk about the sequels) and how those movies have expanded the boundaries of cinematic story telling and  the sci-fi genre its self. I believe that it is because of these movies along with some other influences that I have had a fascination with science fiction.

Star wars has been a massive hit over many years, which brought out the many marketing ideas such as toys and games. This bobble head is just one of them and is just left sitting on a shelf in its box, but thinking about it, who doesn't want a little baby Yoda sitting around. Maybe I'll get one.

The New Year

This blog was dedicated to following my father day by day through a photo, along with a paragraph or two explaining his day or his thoughts. Some readers will be aware that my father, Jerome, has passed away in the middle of last year due to health complications caused by SARS-CoV-2. His last post on 18 June 2020 was just a few days before he went to hospital to receive treatment. He is with his true father in Heaven now, and is happily looking down on us all.

It is a new year and with it comes fresh beginnings and new starts for everyone. It was always the plan for me to eventually continue what he started when the time came, my plan of course. What I didn't expect was how soon that time would come. Keeping up with a post everyday is a big endevor and is quite daunting, but hopefully with perseverance I can do it. So this is the beginning of my story, happy new year. 

Oh, and welcome to One Day in the Life of Matthew!

Day 84 - Kaptein span die seile

 

 Lockdown Day 84 - Level 3 Day 18 - Now I am not a big Kurt Darren fan but when I went over to Cherie and Graham's home to drop off a package for their daughter Courtney, an Indian Myna flew up and hopped up to me. Cherie introduced Kaptein to me. She told me that Kaptein was rescued by her neighbour and hand reared.  Kaptein lives a dangerous life in a land full of cats yet he doesn't stray far from the area.

When I heard what his name was immediately the Kurt Darren song, Kaptein, sprang to mind. I bent over and stuck out my finger to which Kaptein jumped on. After introducing himself to me, he flew to Cherie's to check out her shinny earrings which caught his eye. Ahh my Kaptein, span die seile.

Day 83 - Watchful Eye

 

Lockdown Day 83 - Level 3 Day 17 - What else can I do? It is freezing outside, surely it is going to snow today. Nothing fell last night as the weatherman predicted but what do they know. Anyhoo what to do. I drag myself out of bed, jump into a steaming hot shower. Ahh I swear a hot shower was just what the doctor ordered. 

By 9am I found myself at my desk, joined by Paddy and his watchful green eyes. Now what can I do to move forward...

Day 82 - Even Baboons Wear Masks

 

Lockdown Day 82 - Level 3 Day 16 - With a cutoff low, the weather has turned nasty with sleet falling this morning and snow forecast later today or tomorrow. Lynda and I went in to the local hardware shop to purchase a gas regulator so that Dael can use the larger 9kg gas bottle on our small gas heater instead of the 4.5kg that we had with the small heater. The 9kg bottles are easier to swap out compared with the 4.5kg you had to refill.

On our way to the hardware shop through horrible weather, we saw this statue of a baboon wearing a facial mask. So even baboon's know that it is wise to wear a mask in these trying times of CoViD-19.

Day 81 - Call the Plumber

 

Lockdown Day 81 - Level 3 Day 15 - Last night our tenant called me and showed me the newly developed problem of a blocked drain. It has been nearly 2 years since the drain was blocked last. I replaced a section of sewerage line 3 tenants ago so this came as a surprise. This morning Trio Plumbers arrived to unblock the drain. It wasn't long and it was running smoothly again.

Day 80 - Crying into my Omelette

 

 Lockdown Day 80 - Level 3 Day 14 - I can cry if I want to as it is my birthday after all. Happy birthday to me. Thank you everyone for all the well wishes. It is good to know that we are not alone.

Matthew made me an awesome spinach, cheese, and ham omelette for breakfast which I enjoyed immensely in bed. Thank you Matt. And not to forget Lynda for my new jacket and tasty treats. Winter be join with you.

God has promised that "from now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you. They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today." so that I can't say it was my idea but give God all the glory. He went on to say "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go" Yes and out of this storm God will be glorified. Here is my heart Lord, speak what is true. Happy birthday.