14 days to go

Revolutionaries and Deamons

Apologies for my dinner companions last night, you have heard this story before.

I went to Argentina in 2005 and had the most amazing time of my life. Two things struck me as outstanding character of the Argentinian people. The first was the passion the Argentinians had for life and the conviction to protest against anything they thought to be unfair. Weather it was to them or to the world, they took to the streets, and let everybody know they were not happy. These were not violent protests, just citizens displaying their dismay, and it was such an inspiring thing to see. The people of the country, young and old, rich and poor, all standing together to let themselves be heard. One day maybe we can do that....

The second was all Argentinians share a love for Che Guevara. Now for those who don't know who he was, he was an Argentinian born man, who felt the plait of the poor, oppressed Latin Americans, and went around South America alleviating their struggle. Either from oppression of dictatorship, or from poverty. Ref: The Motorcycle Diaries.

I have always thought Che is an amazing freedom fighter, so had no trouble purchasing a t-shirt displaying his face on it. I wore it proudly all over Buenos Aires and was met with exhilarated exclamations of a nation proud of its most famous son.

We took a trip out to a farm along with some other Spanish speaking tourists, and me with my Che shirt on. After getting evil eye looks from an elderly couple the entire day, the lady finally speaks to me and asks me, in the best American accent I have heard, if i know who the person is I am wearing on my t-shirt. Me being the "well informed" worldly traveller I am tells her that he is one of the most incredible freedom fighters for Latin America and the world!!! The little old lady then starts telling me about her and her husbands life in Cuba as well off Cuban citizens, living the Cuban dream of work, freedom and love, when a young man called Fidel Castro overturned the government of Batista, with the help of Che Guevara.

This marked the start of many years of oppression, murder and torture the couple and their families went through until they finally fled the country for America in the late 70's. She was a very friendly lady, telling me about her horrific life and how much Che Guevara assisted in the executions and torture of many Cuban citizens.

It was only at that stage that the phrase "One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter" really made sense to me.

You don't have to go far to get this kind of paradox. Look at South Africa and our history. Nelson Mandela is widely accepted as one of the most forgiving, wise and loving leaders, but to many South Africans, he is a terrorist that planted bombs and fought against the government.

So should we stop wearing paraphernalia supporting these people who we deem as freedom fighters? No!!! If you believe in something or someone and their ideals, stick to it and be prepared to get blasted from the other side. If you portray these images just to create a stir, or to be fashionable, be prepared to get stoned.

Have your convictions, have your opinion, but for the love of peace and freedom, stick to it!!!!

15 Days to go

Run down thursday

I am having a very run down Thursday. It seems like everything anybody says gets me either flared up, or chocked up. I feel extremely tired at 11:00 in the morning, and want to collapse in a heap and stay like that for a while. What is it that gets me like this. I feel like gym is not working, I am stuck in a rut, I am frustrated, I am sad, I am feeling sorry for myself, I feel like taking someones head off. Its a bit of a roller coaster at the moment.

Live with it!

16 Days and counting

Its 16 days and counting to my cousins wedding!!!!!!!!!!!

Paulo Coelho

I am reading The Valkarys. Its about Paulo who goes in search of his guarding angel. I love the books Paulo writes. He has so much insight and is such an amazing person who writes the most amazing things. Although I am only in the beginning of the book, he has already taught me one thing. In the book his wife gets taught to "look at the horizon". Its very complicated in the book but what it means to me is to stop walking around with my head hanging down looking at the floor. We have to look up and look around us and take in everything we can. As humans we walk around with our heads down and don't look up. We miss so many opportunities and people and don't have enough interaction with others when we look down all the time. My lesson from this book is to interact more and with others and take in my environment. To look at the horizon. This way I can open myself up to new things and see more.

Work related

I have been working on an incentive program for our clients at work, and it warms my heart to see it taking shape and having to present it to the clients in the next few weeks to come. I am a real sales person who thrives on results, as this kind of thing really blows my hair back. I now just wish that I could get incentivised on how much my clients give us.....that would be even sweeter.

Last night

Last night must have been the hottest night ever. Everybody in our house were mad!!! We struggled to go to sleep, Lucca vomited because of the heat, Leche could not settle down, the cats were lying anywhere on the floor to get some cool, and we had to have the noisy fan on most of the night.

It was revolting, and I don't think I will get through another evening of that again.

Disabled Parking

I am not sure why this is such a big issue to me, maybe because it is something close to my heart. I find it so unbelievably arrogant that the most of us have no problem with driving around looking for a place to park, even if it means driving around for longer and parking further away, and then there are the select few individuals who just don't care. I am talking about the young Indian guys who drive the Tazz with the bright silver rims and the tinted windows, the older black lady in her very large Merc or BMW, and of course the extremely irritating middle aged Jewish princess in her 4x4. They have all been ordained by some sort of arrogance, ailment or illusive mother, which allows them to park on the disabled parking spots. What is it that gives these freaks the right to park there? What do they think it is that makes them more special than us.

I partly blame the institutions where these parking bays are situated. They just don't take any control over the people who park and just don't punish them enough. I was at a local gym on Friday, and while walking in, a member of staff and her boyfriend (Tazz) parked on the disabled parking bay and walked in to the gym. I got in before them and told the receptionist that their own member of staff is parked there, and she just giggled and said: "we are going to have to speak to them about that", and never did anything.

Well done Virgin Active Sea Point, for doing your civil duty so well!!!!!

Sunday lunch.

Had sushi for lunch today at CTFM. Sushi on a conveyor belt. Its nice enough but really pricey and now I just got another grammer lesson for today....

The year 2009

For some reason, this year has started on a very good note. I had a wonderful holiday, and on my first week back at work, I have made the company over 1.5 million!!! I hope this is a sign of things to come. I feel strangely exhilarated and alive and ready for many things. My parents are coming down to Cape Town in about 20 days, and my cousin is getting married at the end of the month. Its all positive and good things around me. My dog's ear has healed and now I just have to get my other dog to eat. I am happy in my living space, I am happy with my relationship and I am happy with friends and things around me. I have been back to gym and am getting my adrenalin fix from there every day and feeling the fat tyre falling off my mid section.

Now if I could only find that light switch.....

Darkness

Its dark out there,

and even more so in here

I cant find a light switch, but even if I find one, can I switch it on.

Will I be ok with what I see in the solace of the light

Will the light be comforting,

or will it be a sharp cold dagger thrusting into my heart,

bleeding my heart dry again.

It just healed so I will leave the light of,

and feel my way around,

lovingly stroking everything in the room to feel what it is,

and caring holding the things dear to my non bleeding, recovered heart.

The start of the day

Work has been challenging since I came back. We have had this internet problem from Monday and nobody seems to know what is going on. Can't get onto any internet programs at all. This makes looking busy at work when I am clearly not, extremely difficult. I should have taken this week off too!

On route in Namibia

On the way to Luderitz. All of Namibia looks like this...flat

The road outside Rosh Pinah, and the mountians in the distance.

Lutheran church in Luderitz

Kollmanskop

The most famous house in Kolmanskop..

The dessert looming outside

Abandoned ghost house

This was a doorway

inside the house

Luderitz

Luderitz pier and looking across the bay

One of hundreds of jelly fish in he harbour round the boats

the dessert meets the sea in the distance

Our rock lobster dinner in Luderitz

and dessert for Tristan...a bag of chocolates

Our Holiday

Here is a short version of our trip:

We left Cape Town and drove for about 4 hours to Springbok, where we stopped and had lunch. This is a little town where my dad was born and grew up.

From there we continued another hour to our camp site on the banks of the Orange river with Namibia on the other side.

The second day we had to drive back to Springbok to get Tristan's tires sorted out, but ended up going there for nothing, as they couldn't help us.

On the 27th we drove to the Fish River Canyon. The drive there was mostly on a gravel road and by lunch time we drove in at the Canyon Roadhouse. It is a nice oasis in the middle of the dessert where we had a wonderful meal, met some nice people, and finally bought our key hooks for the house. The canyon was an amazingly spectacular experience that made me appreciate my place on this earth once again.

After three nights of irritating campers, we packed up and left for Luderitz. Driving there we chose the "good" road, which was the tarred road, taking us via Keetmanshoop. Just outside Keetmanshoop we visited the Quiver tree Forest and the Giants Playground. This is where magma pushed up to the surface but cooled before it broke through, and due to erosion over millions of years got exposed as blocks stacked on top of each other, as if put there by giant children. Onwards we drove through the restricted diamond fields to Luderitz, a very quaint town on the West coast of Namibia. Had Rock Lobster for dinner and left the next morning for South Africa.

Leaving Luderitz we stopped in Kollmanskop. A ghost town established in the early 1900's when there were diamonds lying around on the floor, and abandoned in the late 50's when everybody left and went prospecting on the orange river. We struck another oasis in Rosh Pinah on the way, where we had lunch under a thatch roof next to a pool in the dessert. We drove further along the Orange River to Springbok, where we stayed over at my aunts house, whom I have never met before in my life.

On the last day we drove home. We decided on route to stop in Lamberst Bay for lunch at the original open air sea food restaurant. Muisbosskerm. This was fantastic as we had a full Crayfish and mixed seafood and traditional stews for a really low price. From there we made the long journey back home.

All in all an eventful and glorious trip!!!

Back to school....

So am finally back to work again and wishing I was still in Nam...Namibia...

The next few posts will be some of the trip pics, and I will try and get more pics from Tristan. (He has a digital camera, and I don't).

Me making a fire at our camp site....

2009

Wishing all a prosperous new year and a blessed time!