The year is coming to an end very fast. Most of my colleagues are starting to talk about the holidays. Sorry for me but I am working right through this Christmas. Bah Humbug. Anyway talking about work here is a rare photo of Motloli discussing some work related issue with Patrick.
The rain has let up and the weather is great. The advertising agency decided to change the Heineken beer advertisement while the sun was shining. If you look carefully you'll see two abseillers busy removing the giant banner that has been so long up for so long. I wonder what will replace it.
This word, Gukurahundi, still haunts the hordes of refugees in downtown Johannesburg as they try to irk a living among people who don't want them. Gukurahundi, the wind that sweeps away the chaff before the rain comes, still reaches with its long fingers down from Zimbabwe to its people huddled each night in the squalor at Johannesburg's Central Methodist Church who dream of going back but can’t until the cause of the Gukuranhudi, Uncle Bob, has conceded. They dream of dignity, the right of law, peace and food. So today as I looked towards the church which houses over 3,000 refugees every night, the rain and hail came squalling in to sweep the streets clean. People hurried to find refuge from the relentless rain. I think of the refugees that live along the river in the affluent northern suburbs and wonder if they would find shelter. I then turn from the present to look to the future, the relentless marching of progress, the Gautrain. In between the waves of rain, workers in orange overalls scurried over the Gautrain Terminus building trying to get much done before the next wave of water arrives. There is such a large gap between the haves and have-nots. Ah my beloved country, the Gukurahundi is still blowing. For more insight to the Central Methodist Church see Sokwanele's post "Address: Stair number four, Fourth Floor, Central Methodist Church, Johannesburg".
The days are starting to get hot with thunderstorms in the late afternoons, typical of Johannesburg summers. Here are Taryne and Pauline manning the Start gazebo at BBC.
With a few of Matthew's closest friends we got lost at the maze in Honeydew. Kasmeria, Justin, Matthew and Rudolf separated into two teams and wandered around the maze looking for clues and solving puzzles.
Today the family gathered not for Daphne's 79th birthday but for laying her to rest. It was a lovely service in memory of Daphne Jardine. The rain stayed away but it was awfully hot. As usual it is one of the few times when all the family get together. Daphne was one of 8 children of the May family, 2 boys and 6 beautiful girls. Now there are only 5 girls left. They are from the left Winnie, Muriel, Enid, Irene and Elaine.
The hosts and hostesses from the Business Expresses came to our Metrorail offices do a first aid course and I managed to take some photos of them while they were waiting. Here is Inga, Thando and Thami enjoying themselves immensely.
Matthew celebrated his eleventh birthday today. Happy Birthday big boy. Here he is after loading his new Sims 3 game onto the computer.
The summer rains are cascading down. Work above ground at the Gautrain Terminus has stopped due to the rain but will soon continue when the deluge lets up. The bad thing about this downpour is that I am on my bike later but the good thing about the bike is that all the traffic lights would be out due to the rain and I can easily slip past the standing traffic.
Today is raining and my mom in-law found peace this morning at a good age of 78 just 4 days short of her 79 birthday. One word that brings back memories is the word that Daphne used often when she played with Matthew, that word is "loppies". It is just a fun word that means that you're last and I think father in-law made it up as he always used to say "Hurry up or you will be loppies".
Yes, this weekend flew. What started as a wet weekend turn out rather lovely by Sunday. Here is Brenda and her son Raymond at BBC.
I went on a course today on how to balance the budget and invest in the future. In times like these I think it is wise to learn how to manage money. It is a pity that no-one taught me when I was young. Here are two youngsters, Andrew and Nick, who are starting out in live and have learnt some priceless information which will stand them in good stead. I better start now than never. Oh by the way Andrew went to the same high school as I did, Port Shepstone High, but was class of '94.
Today I went to Nambiti's year end function which this time is a couple of lambs on a spit braai. As last time it rained, no more like thunder stormed. But we all had a good time. I finally managed to get a photo of Kazeem, Nambiti's finance manager who I threatened to throw into the pool on many occasions.
As I was leaving Metrorail, a smart looking Sabelo, left the building. I must I can't remember when I last saw him not dressed for the kill and smiling broadly. In the fifties through to the seventies we had a name for people who dressed so smartly, they were the Ama-Gents. The late Brenda Fassie even had a hit called the Amagents but I can’t seem to find any lyrics.
Things around me are going into a flat spin. Will I have time to pull out before I hit the ground? But if I don’t look at the ground then I don't feel that I am going too fast towards it. It gives me more time in my mind. Sort of slows everything down in slow motion. So back at Metrorail we find Phumzile. I first met Phumzile when she was working on the Soweto Business Express as a hostess. She has worked her way up to a desk job at Metrorail and she seems happy all the time. Tonight I have been given an Android phone to play with and test. One of the first things I would be doing is trying my Google Wave account on it.
Thoko, shown above, came to visit us at Metrorail this afternoon. She has been busy with an ERP project at PRASA for most of the year now and is due to return to our MIS section sometime next year.
Let me introduce to my world, Sabelo. He is the Safety, Health and Environment officer in the Perway department of Metrorail. I got to know him well on the train to Bloemfontein to watch soccer way back in June.
Razia surprised us with a visit to BBC. She brought along a friend but I am not sure how to spell his name, sorry Razia but I am sure you will read this and let me know ;-)
Today we went on a drive into the countryside to the north of us, the Moot in the shadow of the Magaliesburg Mountains. We visited small villages like Hekpoort, Skeerpoort, Hartbeespoort Dam, Schoemansville and finally Geradsville. The bridge in the photo is at 25°46'28.26"S 27°46'12.53"E It looks like it once was part of the main road until the new bridge was built next to it and now it is rusting away.
I had a particular hard week but managed to keep my sanity which matters a lot. Friday means weekend and weekend means that I can just vegetate. It seems that Theo and Ntaoleng at Metrorail have become very good friends as shown in today’s photo.
Here are some of the students doing there practical at Metrorail. They are Amukelani, Vuyo and Lerato. I do like the hair and shirt colour coordination of Amukelani. I must check if the hair changes colour to match the top.
This time it is Sibusiso who decided that it is good for a man to wear pink. What next pink drinks? I asked him for his comments from a marketing view point but he said "No Comments".
I don't have much to say today other than we are floating in the right direction. At Metrorail work keeps coming and keeps me busy. Dan from the finance department down the passage is very friendly. You hear him when he goes to the kitchen past our section as he greets everybody. So today I decided to go to his department and greet him instead.
Jimmy, one of our technicians at Metrorail came into work today with these two colourful feather arrangements. I am not sure what they for but they stayed on his desk for most of the day.
A little birdie told me that Jan is looking for a newer photo of Angie, Braelyn and Gary. So Jan here it is, enjoy.
Tonight while I cook some chicken Biryani, the people of Indian descent that live around us celebrate Dewali, the festival of light, with fireworks and all. Matthew and Brian who oh course like all boys enjoy the fireworks.
What Mac are you then? Here is Makatini, Metrorail's Sports co-ordinator. With 2010 loaming fast, I don’t think that we have much time for sport activities but I suppose he needs to keep the morals up.
"The Luggage wasn't really sure where it was going. The Luggage was never really sure where it was going. It just travelled. That was its purpose. Departure points or destinations were irrelevant to it – it was the act of being in transit as a piece of Luggage that gave it its purpose in life and its definition." - Discworld
Seriously, luggage with loads of nasty scuttle legs, is just luggage and here is the luggage at Park Station just waiting to be loaded on a Shoshaloza Meyl train bound somewhere I not really sure.
Steven must have had a heavy night last night or is having a particular bad day because by mid afternoon he was sawing logs at his desk. The question I am begging to ask is why do people sleep with their mouths open?
Thulaganyo (shown above) is a Business Express host and he organises the shuttles that take the business commuters to the various business centres. Thulaganyo and I developed the maps used by the business commuters to indicate the routes of the shuttles.
Along with summer comes the summer rains. I was just about home on Sophia, my Vespa, when the heavens opened up and I was just a little bit soaked. Luckily I didn't catch the hail part which past just ahead of me. Lately I am so busy at Metrorail now that I don't have much time to take photos so I take a quick snap here and there as Karibo and Khathu found out.
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