Friday downer

So my sales & marketing manager resigned to be with her husband in George, but was working for another 2 months till the end of November until they would find someone appropriate. In the last month, the bosses have been grinding her and pressurising her so much so, that he had been overworking herself and doing everything to give them what they wanted. This afternoon, at 15:20, she got called in by the MD and told that she doesn't have to come back again on Monday, and today is her last day. This is shocking as she has got so much running at the moment that she has to hand over, and now she has to rushly do it in an hour. I have never seen anybody being treated like this, and it is horrible, and it makes me question my decision to be here.

Children

I must admit from time to time I find myself living in a sheltered world, because I have been convinced by various people to stop watching News, and I am not a news paper reader. So today I have to get back on my soap box and talk about something that shocked me yesterday, when I happened to read the paper. Five boys were kidnapped from a primary school in my neighborhood (Walmer Estate) this week. This only a few hours after a girl was raped in the toilets of the same school. Then there is the girl that was raped in Michells Plain and the headmaster only contacted the police about 4 hours after she was raped. I just struggle so much to understand what kind of animal rapes a child and or kills children. Surely its nothing from this earth. Even animals shelter and protect their young. I am extremely upset about this and don't know how to express myself, which is a first for me. I would like to get hold of these people, and hang them by their genitals from a tree in the Karoo, and unleash a band of wild dogs on them. Better yet, I would like to shove a light pole up them and see if they like it.....

This upsets me because I have a 10 year old nice, who is just as vulnerable as any child. But I lay this at the governments door, along with all those human rights freaks who voted to abolish the death penalty. You can say whatever you want to about wrongful convictions and all that shit, but at the end of the day, degenerates like these people where too shit scared to do something like this before, because they knew the chance that they might die, was very real.

BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY!!!!!

The Merry Go Round

I am still on the merry-go-round
It is still spinning out of control
Now my hands are slipping
and its all slipping away
Hold on and get white knuckles
Let go and fly off to smash my head against the pavement and let my brains run onto the street
Choices are tuff

Short hair

How hot is he with his hair short!

Diwali

Yesterday was Diwali so to all my Hindi friends...Specially to Suchismita

Happy Diwali

Engen Sea Point

So when i get good service, I like to tell people about it. My company has a petrol account at the Engen in Sea Point, so I just drive up there, and fill the tank and hand over my petrol card. Nice and easy. Yesterday I attempted the same, but got met by a petrol attendant who told me they have no unleaded petrol. Having my petrol light hurling abuse at me, I started to panic slightly. Would I now have to fill my tank....out of my own pocket???? Thank goodness the nice lady asked me if I have an account and when I said yes, she promptly walked over to my passenger side door, asked me to unlock it, got in to the car and said: "ok, we got to Total'. Half shocked, half amused, I drove to Total where she filled my tank and took my account details, so they can pay Total through my account. I thought this was a very good show of customer service. Because I was a account holding customer, they had a contingency plan for me.

I am very impressed and will now go back to Engen Sea Point all the time...Mainly because our account is there, and I get free petrol....

Today

Sorry but not feeling the writing stuff today....

Monday morning screw ups

This Monday has started with a bang..... a bang right up my ass!!!!!

Yes, I am slightly annoyed this morning, as everything at work has gone wrong from the first minute I stepped into the office. Deadlines for designing flyers, getting artwork from our design company, embedding word documents into emails....and I am just the sales rep...not a fucking designer.

So needless to say, I am on my second cup of coffee for the day, real coffee, and snapping at everybody that comes near me. I need a pee but cant move coz my director needs something right now, and I haven't made a single appointment for this week yet. And then to top it all off, my mouse stoped working this morning and I suspect it needs a battery, so now I am working on my laptop mouse with fingers crunched on a small spot about 3cm wide....

Working is GREAT and I love it sooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!

No Sleep

I had a very restless night last night. I constantly got kicked by "someone", and when he wasn't kicking me, he would turn around, jerkily, and pull the duvet off me and my two dogs. Eventually one dog got so fed up with this, that he went and slept in between Tristan's legs, because at least there he would be covered all the time. In between these jerking awakenings, I had weird funny disturbing dreams that I cant remember now. All in all it was a very restless evening.

Natural light

You might think that plants are the only living organisms that need natural light to survive and grow and prosper. Well that is not true. In fact ALL living things need natural light. Especially humans. Studies done in Canada on primary school children have shown that kids in classrooms exposed to natural light show better attendance, because they are healthier. They have better dental records, they grow taller, and have increased concentration. It keeps people calmer and tests done in a Veteran's hospital showed that patients exposed to natural light suffered less depression and healed faster. Natural light also has been shown to reduce eyestrain, increase productivity and even decrease absenteeism in the workplace. It also lifts the spirit and people just function better in natural light filled spaces.

This brings me to my new office. We used to be away from the head office staff in our own office that had so many windows and natural light. It was great. Someone then thought it would be a great idea to move us downstairs to be in the head office, and now we are in an office without a single window in sight. Its depressing, morbid and makes my mood very bad. I have been cranky since we moved down here and its because of the space we are in. I am seriously considering speaking to the big bosses about this issue, as it is affecting my work, my health and my life.

The Springbok Saga

This government is really out of control. They are trying so hard to change everything and anything that was put into place by the previous government, that they are loosing sight of reality. Now they are targeting the Springbok from the rugby. How ridiculous. Its an animal that roams the South African plains. Granted it was allocated to the Rugby team by the previous government, but you can not tell me that a Springbok on a jersey is a symbol of an oppressive government. That is a load of bull. Symbols only has emotion if humans attached emotion to it. In fact the Springbok has probably been the only symbol in this country in the past 15 years that has united us all. EVERYBODY, black, white, green, blue, red, orange and every other colour stood shoulder to shoulder on both world cup tournaments where we won. I think the government should stop trying to wipe out the past, and start working on our countries future.

Europeans and Religion

I have now met two separate European individuals who tells me it is accepted practice in their country to use Jesus like we use thank you. They use it constantly and without even blinking. I had a little argument with a girl in the office today about it. I asked her to please not do that, and she said no. She said its part of her and I cant ask her to change that. In Ireland everybody says that all the time. She is a Catholic and she says she bows her head every time she says it, but she cant change it. I then explained t her that she is sharing an office with other people and there are some things that are offensive to others. She said to me that me speaking Afrikaans to someone is then offensive to her. I stopped speaking to her, coz I realised that there is no reasoning with her. She has been caught out on something that she as a Catholic knows she is doing wrong, and is therefore defending it coz nobody likes to be told they are wrong. Also using the Afrikaans as being offensive is just a stupid argument.

So I have gathered that most Europeans have a false sense of religion and don't really know who God is as they use His Son's name in vain just as an exclamation.

Lucca Kruger

Finally the bandages have come off my Lucca, and I must say, he is looking and reacting much better. He has got life again and is ready for anything. Granted he still shakes his ears and from time to time the one ear still bleeds, but no splatters of blood on the walls anymore. The only problems are; because of the wrapped up ears, and no ventilation holes (he would be able to get his paws in the holes and pull the bandages off), he has got a little infection in his left ear, and a few scabs in the same ear. The thing that bothers me the most is that he looks a little like Freddy Kruger from Nightmare on Elm Street. You cant really see in the pic, but he has hair missing on top of his ears, and under his chin and around his face, and it is raw and scabby and red. He looks much worse than he is. I am very happy that he is better though and that he has got that spark of life in his eyes again.

My Favourite Anglican Prayer

Prayer for Africa

God Bless Africa.

Guard our children.

Guide our leaders.

And give us peace.

For Jesus Christ's sake.

Amen.

My Little Lampshade

This is what Lucca has looked like for the past week, and what he has gone through. I can only imagine how happy he will be when this is over, my little lampshade!!!

The Big day

Today is the big day that Lucca's scrum cap is coming off and his ears will be healed. I am very nervous for him, and didn't sleep much again last night because he was in a state again. So off to the vet now, will let everybody know how the ears are doing.

Sean Kingston

Was lucky enough to go to the Heineken Greenroom session this Saturday with Sean Kingston and Euphonic. The first was a ok but was in need of a good evening of dancing, and got it!

Tired and run down

I am feeling so tired the past few days. It might have something to do Lucca and sleeping very lightly at night. It might just be that I am run down from everything and need a bit of a boost. Whatever the reason, I am battling to concentrate and I can feel that my whole constitution is down and my body is telling me that I am neglecting it. So its time to take care of myself for a bit.

105 and counting

Its only 105 days until my cousin Chris and his fiance Ginger are tying the knot at the every beautiful 12 Apostles. I can not wait for it. Everything is organised, I hope, and its going to be soooo romantic. They are getting married in the garden at 12 Apostles, and then the reception is going to be in a little side room, with lots of windows out on the ocean and candles everywhere. It is going to be so nice. We haven't had a nice wedding in our family for a while, and this one is very special to me, only after my sisters of course.

So guys. Hope you are ready!!!

Spinning away

I feel like my life is spinning at high speed, like a merry go round and I am holding on for dear life, trying to see something or someone on the outside, but only get glimpses of them as I speed past.

I feel like I am constantly walking around in a dream world, and this is not real.

I feel like things are out of control, or my control.

I feel like my fingers are slipping of the railings and pretty soon I am going to be flung across the floor, scraping my arms and legs and bleeding with pain.

I need to stop the spinning.

Battle of the bad DJ's

I was listening to Goodhope FM this morning (Nigel Pierce), and it seemed like a little bit of a Nigel Praise show.... He got people to phone in and tell him how great he is and how he is not a racist and stuff. Very entertaining. It made me think about DJ's and morning shows. I listen to Goodhope FM, not because I like Nigel, but because he is the best of a bad bunch. I can not stand that opinionated, self-righteous Gareth Cliff. He just makes my skin crawl. I don't listen to anything on Kfm, because the station and all on it is just so boring. Not even old people want to listen to Kfm, its mostly housewives from the northern suburbs. Those are the only stations worth listening to, so pick the best of the worst....Nigel Pierce. My issue with him, and about 90% of DJ's on the radio, is that they have completely skipped over their job descriptions, and are just winging it. A DJ is employed to play music on a radio station, maybe give some interesting insight on the next track, or some quirky fact around the artist. But nooooooo. DJ's today are doubling up as politicians, socialites, social scientists and just all round fixers of the world. They want to, and do give their opinion on every single thing on air. They talk so much about crap, believing they are so controversial, that there is almost no more music being played. Now if I wanted to listen to talk radio, and other peoples opinions, I would switch to 567 Cape Talk. I listen to MUSIC radio to hear MUSIC. Get off your boom-box, and switch it on!!!

Lucca Update

Lucca is a very strange and interesting animal. He is so gay that EVERYTHING in his life must be a drama. Now that his ears have been taped up, and he cant shake them anymore, so he doesn't have the comfort of the shaking sound, he started to scratch at the bandage, and misses them, and scratches on top of his head. Needless to say that now he has sores on the top of his head. So last night I decided to put the lamp shade on him (the color to prevent him from getting to his head). He hates that and runs around the whole time, until you pick him up and hold him. He is only a little boy and very scared of all these things happening with him. But I know and trust that this will be the best ever. When the time is right and those bandages comes off, the ears will be healed and he will be a happy, vibrant, lively little lamp shade-less dog.

The final product

This is the final product of my agonising Saturday. I really like my tattoo, but had a moment on Saturday when I was thinking: "what are you doing to yourself". I mean, in the end, it really is like mutilation. You are shoving needles into your skin so you can fill the holes with ink. Your poor body reacts be sending loads of white blood cells to the "hurt" area, but you just keep on wiping it off. Its not the nicest thing you can do to your skin, but in the end it looks really good. It was really sore while they were doing it, and felt like I was being tortured. There were about 3 or 4 times that I wanted to stop and leave it as is, unfinished. But I endeavoured and got it done, and am very happy with it.

Lucca update.

So this is where we are with Lucca's ears. They have been taped up on top of his head. He looks like a nun. I really hope this will work now. He just has to keep it on for about 10 days, but he is trying everything possible to remove the scrum cap.

The T day!

Wel I promised I would post during and here it is. I have had the misfortune of having had lumbapunctures done before and I must say, this was worse. It was very painful but I will give you the rundown and finished product in my next post.

My babies

These are my little babies and I love them to death. Yes sometimes I want to kill them coz they drive me insane and sometimes they are more trouble, but I still love them and they have been there for me as companions and friends where most humans have failed. This is my life.

Should I or Shouldn't I

I am sitting with a little dilemma. I have a 10 month old puppy and I have to now make the choice of having him neutered or not. The pros regarding getting them out is that he will not mark everything in the house, and he will not be aggressive and he will not be territorial and always running around trying to hump everything. The cons against it is that I am taking out my dogs bullocks. I am removing his manhood. That might also cause him to be more skittish with other dogs, it might cause him to be a soft little puny dog. This is such a big deal for me, yet with Lucca it was a very easy decision to make. Why am I so torn between having them out or not? What is the big deal? A veterinarian once told me that if I am not going to breed with him, I should take them out because they can cause issues in the future. I think I need to do more research into this to find out what the actual medical and psychological pros and cons are. Any suggestions on this will be very welcome!!!

The Tattoo

I am off on Saturday to get another tattoo. This will be number three, but this time it is the biggest of the lot. My first one started out about 3cm big on my side, the second is about 10 cm on my back, but this one will be about 20 cm and on my ribs. I can not wait!!! This latest one is going to mean much more to me than any other. Its Arabic writing, and it is the word "Inshallah". It means "by the grace of God". I am getting this, for myself, because I believe that everything in my life happened and happens due to Gods will. The reason why I have chosen the Arabic word, is because for me, there is no other word or phrase in any other language that carries as much power as Ishallah. It is used in the Arabic language as a phrase for every decision, every task every day. Nothing gets done without the Grace of God. So I will keep you all updated on my tattoo and post pics of it during and after. Its going to hurt like hell, but is it going to be very cool. My tattoo attached...

What most poeple really look like.....(Speedont)

What most people think they look like....(Speedo)

Results on Speedo's vote

So I had a pole on my blog regarding Speedos. I asked the question if Speedos were for aging queens only, or for everybody. Of the 7 people that voted (thanks) 57% thinks it is a bad idea!!! I think I need to explain what my issue is with it. For everybody who wears them...LOOK AROUND YOU ON THE BEACH.... you and the other gay, bulging, staring, old queen are the only ones wearing Speedos. They are soooooo 90's and sooooo gay. No respectable man will be seen dead in a pair. They are really good for tanning studios or for when you are the main theme on a yearly float, but not for the outdoors and NOT for in-public. When next you wear them, and you are among other straight people (coz you are not going to be among gay fags all your life), just see how they are reacting to the Speeods and what they are wearing. I cant stress enough how revolting, embarrassing, gay, and just down right trashy they look.....

A glorious morning

It has been a very good few days. Yesterday I got R5 in the parking machine that someone left behind, I signed up a corporate company that is going to bring us big bucks, I got a load of appointments set up, Lucca's ears have been doing very well, growing nice scabs and he was being very calm and not shaking too much. Then this morning happened. I woke up to Lucca shaking his scabs off and bleeding all over the place again. I know I have said this many times, but I really cant explain how I feel. I am so fed up with this. There must be something else to be done!!! I have never seen any dog with this issue for so long, so there must be a way of stopping it. Then there is the weather this morning. Its all rainy and cloudy and I have to be at work. Its the perfect weather to be at home under the duvet watching Dstv. I just feel so helpless, and if one more person tells me "there is nothing you can do about it, so stop stressing about it" I am going to punch them in the gut. OF COURSE I STRESS ABOUT IT, HE IS MY BABY!!!! Even more so because I cant do anything about it. I want to go home and sleep...

The old Phone on the Wall

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information, please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.

A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

"Information."

"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.
"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.
"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.
"No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."
"Can you open the icebox?" she asked.
I said I could.
"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math.
She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.
Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called,
Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Wayne always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."
Somehow I felt better.
Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."
"Information," said in the now familiar voice. "How do I spell fix?" I asked.
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me..
Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."
Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.
"Information."
I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"
There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."
laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"
I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your call meant to me.
I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."
I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
"Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally."
Three months later I was back in Seattle.. A different voice answered,
"Information." I asked for Sally.
"Are you a friend?" she said.
"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."
Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne?" "Yes." I answered.
"Well, Sally left a message for you.. She wrote it down in case you called.
Let me read it to you."
The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in.
He'll know what I mean."
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.
Whose life have you touched today?
Lifting you on eagle's wings. May you find the joy and peace you long for.
Life is a journey .. NOT a guided tour.

Sunday evening on the boat

I was lucky enough to be invited to a reception on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier that is in the harbour at the moment. As you can imagine, I was extremely disappointed when we got there and was told the reception was on the pier as the wind was too severe to be on the carrier. However, during the evening there were ferries going to the carrier and back to do tours of the carrier. Naturally I went along on one, risking my life in the rough seas, and had a great time. This is an enormous ship with so many planes and helicopters on board. It has 52 planes on the deck, and another 11 below. Our biggest ship in our naval fleet is the Drakensberg, and it is about 12 tons. This ship is 90 tons. The Drakensberg has a crew of 120, the Theodore Roosevelt has a crew of 4 600. Its huge, its American, and it is very impressive. Here are some pics of the ship.

Midday snooze

It got very quiet at some stage this afternoon, so I went investigating and found Lucca and Tristan in a very loving father and son embrace. I am not sure which one of the two enjoyed the this the most!

Smiley dog

At first glance it seems like Leche is smiling but what is in fact happening is he is showing his teeth and getting angry. He is a vicious little 5 year old (in dog years and only 9 moths in human years) and he is showing the world just how vicious he is!

Last night at the party

So last night we had a birthday party for two at our place. Tristan cooked the most amazing asparagus chicken for me, and we watched some TV and had a nice chat and all was good. I got lots of smses, and some phone calls specially from my friends in Amsterdam, Kobus and Jaco. It was so great to hear from them and I am so happy I spoke to them. Today it is all over, and the month is also over, so the birthday week thing, doesn't even work anymore.