Category: Life

Train Party 2008

ThomasA while ago Jonathan Hitchcock mentioned that he occasionally takes the trains to Kalk Bay for the day. I haven’t been on a South African train since I was in High School… which is really a tragedy because the line from Cape Town Station to Simons Town is quite a beautiful one.

Hence the Train Party 2008 (Mon 28th April) — We’re going from Newlands (where there is safe parking) to Kalk Bay for lunch and then probably Simons Town. I’ve created a facebook event, but in case you’re unable or unwilling to do “the facebook” thing and want to come I would suggest you leave a comment here so I have a rough idea of how many people are coming.

All are welcome so invite your friends!

If it’s a great success I will do it again next year.

j.

Quality of life.

I am very happy at the moment. Perhaps the happiest and most relaxed I have ever been. Life is good, the flowers smell great and the sun is on my back. What got me here? I don’t know, probably a combination of things; I’ve got my head screwed on straight, I have a good job, a great girlfriend and a fun social life. I’ve managed to balance my time effectively, working on little pet projects but not getting obsessed. My girlfriend and I cram our weekends with activities, some exciting– like making tom-yum soup, and some mundane — like shopping at makro. It’s all good.

It’s at this point in my life that I am acutely aware of time. It slips by, week after week, month after month… Perhaps this is a morbid view of things, but it does force me to pay attention… and I find it strange how time didn’t slip by so fast when I was not in such a happy place in life… In fact it may have dragged.

My father worked for 25 years as a white collar manager. He got a R1600 HiFi on his 25th year anniversary. He still works there. Corporations do not care about you, even the good ones. Besides, we really should have more stuff going on in our lives than to expect to garner happiness from our jobs. Sure, it’s great if you can… like I said, I have a great job… it has mundane moments like any other job but makes up for the mundane with the occasional challenges and a great work environment. I do not however look to my job for happiness. I would be foolish to do so.

I would be more foolish to let my job affect my happiness… This is what this post is all about. Letting your job get the better of you. I have a friend whom I love to bits, she’s a tad crazy and always a lot of fun. She works in advertising… an industry notorious for it’s long hours, crappy work environment and stupid bosses. Even with the infamy of the industry I am gobsmacked (I literally don’t know what to say) by her stories and situations. And perhaps even more so by her apparent “okay”ness with it all. Sure she moans and groans, but she doesn’t walk out the door and say “screw you guys, I’m goin’ home!”

Is she stupid? No. Is she brainwashed? Perhaps a little…. Is she stuck? For now. Let me just paraphrase her job: She goes to work at 8am, 8:30 if she’s feeling buck. She works till 10pm most nights. 9pm is “early”. She works a few hours on each weekend. She is not being paid a huge salary.

I realise that I have a job that is essentially a walk in the park compared to what she’s going through. I’ve been with my company for a year. I’ve *had* to work overtime once and that was really just so that I could switch from one system to the next at the end of the month. I get there at 9am, take a short lunch because I actually quite like getting work done, and leave between 6 and 7… occasionally I’ll leave at 8 if I get stuck into whatever it is I’m doing.

My friend’s situation is bad… ugly even. Everyone at her company works like that. They’re like droids who’ve become brainwashed (and really, considering the stress they’re under, using the term brainwashed might not be so far off) by the routine. They brag about how late they worked, they joke with each other about taking the weekend off… they get shitty if you leave at 6.

In many ways we’re two polar opposites; but I want to bring you back to the point I made earlier. It is only now that I am happy and stress-free that I am so acutely aware of time and how it flies by so rapidly. I fear that my friend, in her stressed state, is not aware of how time is passing her by… how the number of evenings she could be sitting on the couch drinking a glass of wine with her better half are slowly disappearing… and for what? A cheap hifi after 25 years? Should she really let bad management take those evenings away from her? Those saturday mornings eating toast in bed? Those “Survivor” nights? A week-night dinner party?

Another friend of mine left his company after nearly 6 years of service. He got a framed certificate. If I had not known better I would have thought it was a joke. It wasn’t. Now he runs his own company and takes his gorgeous 5 year old daughter for walks on the Seapoint promenade while the rest of us suckers are sitting at our desks.

If this post tells you anything it should tell you this: Pay attention to your time and don’t let your job abuse it… Life is beautiful, but only for so long.

A little catch up…

I’m waiting for my supper to defrost, so here’s some musings.

  • I’ve added a cool feature to my site. Have a look at the footer and refresh.
  • I bought a macbook, it is awesome for so many reasons but I will blog about this properly once I’ve had it for a month.
  • I will find out tomorrow whether or not my insurance company will give me any money for the clothes that were stolen out of my car. Submitting the claim telephonically was quite a hoot. When did you buy your underpants? Where did you buy them? Did you pay cash?
  • Why do people say “Did they break into your car?”? Who is they? Is this a weird throwback to our not-so-cool past?
  • I’ve been working with wordpress at work again and I must admit I’m liking it (again). I’ve created a new theme from scratch for the new frogfoot site (coming soon) and written a good plugin to handle contact/support forms.
  • I’m going to the 2008 Oyster and Champagne Festival at Bloemendal Wine Farm (Just outside Durbanville) on Friday. All are obviously welcome, so if you’re looking for something to do on Friday… (Facebook event)

ath.

I guess I needed new clothes anyway :/

Winner BadgeI have just been lucky enough to be chosen to take part in a new involuntary program called the “clothing for the poor” garment redistribution program. It’s a really great program. Basically the way it works is that you leave a bag full of your clothing (although you must make sure it’s almost ALL your clothing) on the back seat of your car and then park it on a busy road in the leafy suburb of Newlands. Right next to the presidents house if possible.

Then, if you’re lucky enough, you get randomly selected and someone smashes the back window of your car and steals the huge bag leaving you almost literally with the shirt on your back.

Ok, now I’m going to get philosophical and anyone who’s looking for reasons to hate this country better stop reading.

I am rich. I have a friggen 2 litre polo that chugs petrol like a bergie downs Late Harvest. On the weekend I bought myself a new macbook even though my HP laptop is in perfect condition. I have an xbox and I shop at woolies. I live in a comfortable flat with high speed internet access and shiny kitchen appliances.

Why am I telling you this? Because when some people go through experiences like having all their clothing stolen they get negative and angry and lash out against the country, the government and the police (and/or whichever racial group they decide is responsible).

I am choosing to deal with this differently.

I am so incredibly privileged to be in a position where I can go to canal walk and punish my credit card buying new clothes, phone up my insurance company and get them to replace the window and carry on as if nothing ever happened.

Compare this to the situation that millions of South Africans face on a daily basis. No running water, buckets for toilets, shack fires that destroy every-last-thing they own and no way to protect (insure) themselves and their possessions from the ravages of crime.

Sure it sucks to have my stuff stolen, but I would be acting like a spoilt brat if I let this dictate my outlook on life for even a second.

I hope like hell that someone who needs them enjoys wearing my clothes.

The saddest thing… My Superfine (now called Civil Twilight) extremely limited edition (ie. We only made a few) shirt was in the bag. Guess that will be making someone else millions on ebay one day.

ath.

(In case you’re wondering about the image, I had some time on my hands waiting for the insurance people to call back)

(oh, and yes, I know I was HUGELY STUPID to leave a bag in my car. Thanks for reminding me)

Africa is family…

Recently I’ve noticed a lot of people saying stuff like “If the rand gets any worse I’m leaving…”.

While I don’t blame you for your sentiment, I would like to point something out. Living in Africa, specifically South Africa comes with its own set of pros and cons… a set which are as unique as our curious culture.

We live in a fascinatingly evolving time. South Africa has its crime, poverty and education issues, but we also have the singularly unique position of hope for the future…

Ten years ago, while the first portable MP3 player was hitting the shelves in America, we were in the midst of one of the most important political revolutions the world has ever seen. Ten years on they have the iPhone and an economy that is teetering on collapse, oil prices that have skyrocketed and more debt than they can possibly ever escape from.

Perhaps you would rather live in the UK? Healthcare issues, increasing crime, increasing debt, pollution, crappy weather and British people (I joke)… While I will always have fond memories of London, on the last occasion I was there (which was for 3 days) I couldn’t get over how it felt like things were slipping… Stuff didn’t look as neat as it did 6 years earlier and the people all seemed a little more depressed and negative than they did before.

South Africa, on the other hand, has potential and I’m already happier living here than I was when I was living in London. I have a good job, I work with good people, I get paid a fair amount (could always be more, joe), I have a wonderful standard of living and a great Afrikaans girlfriend. (Granted there are a lot of Afrikaans girls in London, but you miss the point)

And like I said, we have potential… We have about a gazillion unemployed people out there all with the potential to come up with something great. We have similar numbers going through our school system, which admittedly is a different system to what school was like 10 years ago. School, and ultimately African ingenuity, is preparing these kids (those who have a hunger to succeed) for greatness.

Just the other day I met two black guys from Guguletu who run internet cafes in the location and want to start up a Wireless ISP… These are not Rondebosh high school boys… these are boys who went to school in the township and are hungry to succeed. And the fact that increasingly more South Africans are earning money is what is making it possible… That is inspiring… if these guys succeed you know that their kids will have the opportunities that their parents never had. There are a gajillion other stories just like this.

Sure, there are stories of tragedy every day and at a level that is probably unmatched by any other countrty in the world, but, I like to take the Wikipedia approach… If enough people are working together towards a common positive goal we will exceed the forces working against us and ultimately live in a better country.

I don’t ever expect the roads to be paved with gold, but I’d rather live in a country with hope than a country of hopelessness. And there is Africa in my blood…

THE WHOLE F-ING POINT OF THE STRUGGLE WAS THAT OUR KIDS COULD GROW UP WATCHING DSTV INSTEAD OF GETTING SHOT IN THE FACE IN SHARPVILLE!

You have to say it and try and sound like a 13 year old:

“It’s a democratic country and you can’t make me to do it!”

I imagine that would have been my response to my teachers if I was being forced to say an oath every day in school.

And ironically I would have been right… I would have been zit faced and snot nosed, but I would have been absolutely, categorically, right! In a democratic state you can not force anyone to recite a statement of beliefs, especially in the form of a promise to that state, against their will.

Your age does not affect your democratic freedom and I’ll tell you why: The ANC Youth League.

The ANC Youth League was founded on the ideals that the youth of South Africa were powerful and wanted freedom from the oppressive state. Kids are also easily radicalised and will cause untold shit if they all band together and you don’t listen to them.

And so it is unfortunate that we have let those radical ideals of freedom slip away from us to the extent that some people in government think it’s a good idea to institute a compulsory oath to our schools.

Imagine if they wanted to add this compulsory oath to the workplace. Imagine if every morning at 11am everyone in your office had to stand and recite a promise to uphold the constitution and forgive the past injustices… I’m trying not to swear here, but let me just say that most of us would be very very very pissed off and would probably end up rioting on the streets. One of the core precepts of a constitutional democracy is that you have the right to challenge that constitution.

Why should children be treated any other way?. If I had a kid in school today I would tell him that he can recite the oath if he wants, but he could, if he wanted to, recite my oath:

natalie_with_gun.jpg
Hey, when else am I going to be able to legitimately add a picture of Natalie with a gun to my blog?

“We the youth of South Africa, recognising the hotness of Jessica Biel, honour those heroes who shape our porous minds like Tony Hawk, Steve Jobs and Natalie Portman”

“We promise to argue with our parents about music, play video games and score chicks”

“We sincerely declare that we shall eat Nandos, Bunk School, Watch too much TV, Sneak our dad’s alcohol out of the house on a Friday night, Spend way too much time on facebook, Tell our dad’s we love them occasionally, Try our best not to be fat asses and most of all, always be kief to other people.”

Now that’s an oath… These are kids. The injustices of their past is that yesterday the DSTV wasn’t working.

THE WHOLE F-ING POINT OF THE STRUGGLE WAS THAT OUR KIDS COULD GROW UP WATCHING DSTV INSTEAD OF GETTING SHOT IN THE FACE IN SHARPVILLE!

SO why the hell is the government making 6 year olds say “We the youth of South Africa, recognising the injustices of our past…”? I hope like hell that those kids don’t recognise the injustices of their past, because that past is disgusting, filled with oppression, police brutality, racism, exploding packages ripping people’s limbs off their bodies in their own houses, incarceration, children being shot in the back, unfair education policies, segregation, heroes being murdered and a whole lot of other stuff I’d rather my kids learnt about properly, at the right age, than have flippantly wafted in their faces every day.

This makes me pissed off.

Oh, and remember that radical freedom movement, The ANC Youth League? Well, guess what they want to do… Yup, you guessed it. They want to ban the sale of alcohol on Sundays… I shit you not. The descendants of the actual heroes who actually got shot in the face for the implicit freedoms of this country now want to introduce a law that has been proven to only really affect the poor and UCT students, and has nothing to do with morality or alcoholism.

I suggest this. How about the ANC Youth League members, those who joined because they want to uphold the ideals of the group, not buy alcohol on Sundays.

My idea of shocking Valentines gifts…

Moo.com LoveMy girlfriend and I have been noticing the ridiculous amount of utter valentines garbage that is being punted by the various retail chains… PnP, Clicks and yes, even you Woolworths!

Last night we were debating what the most hideous valentines gifts would be. I think we may have them.

For Her: Worlds Greatest Lover Trophy

Stylishly injection molded from recycled toilet seats, with a faux wooden finish sticker around the base, this trophy screams “I love you this much”. It’s also larger than you think. It must be able to hold a litre of beer. Perhaps that should be the serving suggestion. On second thoughts, perhaps “You’re my number one” would be more tacky?

For Him: Homemade Droewors Necklace

Nothing says I love you more than small pieces of dried flesh and congealed fat tastefully threaded together with a rusty needle you borrowed from your mom. To add that special something we suggest threading a “sweety pie”, foil and all, in the middle so as to create a stylish centerpiece of love.

I am so tempted to make one of these.

love

j.

I'm watching you Mr Zuma.

Perhaps this is too late? But it must be said… I’m watching you Mr Zuma.

Jacob Zuma is undoubtedly (short of being found guilty of some or other fraudulent activity, and even then one can’t be sure…) going to become our next president. He will be democratically elected in a free and fair election. He will ride to his victory by being the champion of the people. Well, I’m a people and I have some stuff to say.

I can look past the multiple wives. I can even *gasp* look past the womanising with one of his struggle comrade’s daughters… She was 31, a fact that the media repeatedly seemed unable to report — preferring the phrase “young daughter” instead. Bill Clinton was one of the better U.S. presidents with regards to policy and finance. He too had a womanising problem, but he never led the U.S. into a recession or sent their boys to die in an unnecessary war.

JZ was found not guilty. We have to respect the courts, especially in the political climate at the time… For those South African’s still living in a dualistic, white vs black world, you need to wake up and realise that just because the government is predominantly black, doesn’t mean they all like each other. If Mbeki had wanted to, and our courts were flexible enough with their justice, one could assume that Zuma would have been found guilty… but he wasn’t, and to me that says that he probably was innocent. Bottom line: There were plenty of powerful people who would have loved for him to disappear… but he didn’t. However Mr Zuma, you have said some pretty stupid things; case in point being your statement in court about showering after sex with an HIV positive woman. Now I realise that unlike Mr Mbeki, you didn’t attend fancy universities overseas and learn about how not to stick your foot in your mouth, BUT, that was a pretty stupid thing to say. One that resonated throughout South Africa, and the world, like the sound of a bone snapping in some horrific youtube video of a guy falling off his skateboard. I hope like hell that you realise how much you made us cringe.

I must however admit that my overwhelming optimism is beating a path for you in the bush of skepticism that is my current outlook on your looming presidency.

You did not go to a fancy university and learn how to be calculated and politically correct, and inefficient. You are a champion of the people. (or at least you claim to be). You have spoken out against South Africa’s lack of response with regards to Zimbabwe. You have promised to work hard at eradicating poverty. You are essentially spouting all the rhetoric that is required of the non-incumbent, with one small difference… you might just follow through.

Case in point, Thabo Mbeki. Great guy, comes from a great family but about as politically active and efficient as the Queen Mother. I can’t think of anything he did besides not say stuff… even with your own fraud and rape trials, the very leader of this country spoke in calculated, non-committal terms and never once gave the impression that he actually had a point of view. While this might be the “presidential way”, it’s certainly not something that the “people” want.

South Africa does face a lot of unique challenges, foremost being the gap between rich and poor, which manifests itself in our high crime rate. Sure, we might have corrupt police chiefs and/or corrupt officials, but so do many other countries who don’t have ridiculous murder and rape statistics.

This is a grass roots issue… the average Joe needs to be able to get a job and live a dignified life before we can expect the crime rates to actually drop to reasonable levels.

I hope like hell that you truly are the champion of the people and will be the leader, not of a party, but of a group of knowledgeable South Africans dedicated to making South Africa a better place. I don’t care if you get another 10 wives in the process. This is Africa, we need an African leader. I just hope we’ve found a good one in you. And if the job wasn’t hard enough, you need to put the people first while not pissing off the middle class and the elite.

Ultimately Mr Zuma, history will judge you, not the media. Your term comes at a time where South Africans are still predominantly voting along cultural lines and no true opposition exists. You have, as they say, “got it in the bag”. But as South Africa matures there will be greater pressure from the people for a government that is not dominated by one party. South Africa is evolving… So Mr Zuma, take it as a foregone conclusion that during your term the pressure to govern with excellence will increase, perhaps not to the point where you or the ANC need worry about losing grip, but perhaps enough to highlight any cracks in your stature that might be showing… and if those cracks exist there will be pressure to purge you and appoint the new hero du jour… Mbeki took the safe option, he never stuck his neck out and as a result he can leave office without looking too bad, or too good. I think it is a foregone conclusion that with your charismatic personality you will be sticking your neck out… South Africa will be watching and hoping for the best.

The people might not be revolting, but they are fickle.

Ps. If you need any help with decision making, I’m always available on my cell.

J.