Censorship

Some times it is better to hold ones tongue. I guess certain things should be left unheard, due to the impact it could have on ones personal reputation. For that reason, after some thinking I refrained from posting a particular train of thought...perhaps one day when my book (hint hint) is published I'll include it in.

Friday the 13th - Fact or Fiction?

Somehow, even though it usually takes me less than 2 minutes to get to work, on Friday the 13th, traffic miraculously appears so it takes me more than half an hour. Truth be told, home is only a few blocks away from work and I should probably walk and try to decrease my carbon foot print. But hey, I'm a lazy schmuck and the convenience of hopping in the car and not having to expend my own energy just seems more appealing.

Also, on Friday the 13th, somehow my medical aid gets suspended. Apparently, due to non-payment, yet according to my bank statement this has already been deducted via debit order. I had to spend some unnecessary time on the phone to sort it out, it's been resolved, but will apparently take at least 5 hours to reflect on the system. What that means is that I basically have a 5 hour window where stuff could happen to me and my medical aid will not pay out. I guess I'll just have to be more cautious with what I do until the suspension is lifted. Damn, and I so wanted to juggle those chainsaws...

Ahhh Friday the 13th an old wives tale? superstitious hogwash? Evidently not.

Sun-Let-Downs

I can confirm that you can’t truly see the sun setting from Wafu or the Radisson in Moulle Point.

I know this, because I arranged for sunset drinks with Josephine and to our dismay the sun disappears behind some buildings and massively intrusive mountains before submerging into the sea. It’s not to say we didn’t have a good time, but imagine me advertising a puppy and instead turning up with a kitten. It’s still great, but not quite the same.

Oh well, these things happen. I have a few other spots for sundowners up my sleeve and at least one of them I know for sure has a proper view of the sunset. At least I convinced her that we’d have to try some more spots out to see if I’m right…

Generosity

I think I’ve mentioned it before; I have a thing for watches. Sam called me earlier to tell me that he had something to drop off at my office. Too busy to be left in suspense, I carried on working without really thinking about what it could be.

To my surprise, when receiving my guest at reception, Sam had with him a cool time piece. Even more surprised was the fact that he was dropping it off for me.

“For me?” I enquired.
“Yeah, I remember you saying you appreciated watches.”
“Umm, thanks” was all I could muster.

I must admit, being broken away from my rhythm at work, I was little confused; but pleasantly so. It’s not every day that one gets given a watch and even less frequent that it happens out of the blue.

Sir, I truly appreciate your generosity and will keep your graciousness in mind. Ladies take note, I hear that the only thing that can match Sam’s generosity is his bedside manner (what?... he’s a doctor) - true story

Speaking of generosity, no longer had I mentioned the word and thinking that it would be great to go out on Friday, did Simon from Chevelle, provide me with a few free comps tickets for their Friday parties…

Gosh, I sure could use a cool new car…no?…I guess I was pushing my luck with that one.

Airports

I can’t say that I really like airports. All the congestion, shoving and pushing, people telling you to go this way or that, the constant sitting around: I’m just not a big fan of it. And generally, well in my experience at least, airports are a place where you say good bye.

Fortunately, today’s experience was a whole lot more pleasant and instead of saying goodbye to someone, I was able to play welcoming committee and say hello. Quite a nice change. The fact that the person I was picking up is a drop dead, gorgeous blonde might have eased my dislike for airports a little as well.

After fetching her, I had to take my guest to her modeling agency, Alfa Management, so that she could sign in; get settled and find out where she was going to based here in Cape Town. Amusingl,y while waiting for her to get things organized, one of the agency’s bookers approached me to see if I wanted to register on their books.

Apparently, us oriental folk are hard to come by here in Cape Town and are on the up as far as demand goes. Hmmm perhaps being Asian in Africa may pay off after all.

Excitement in the Air

So here's the deal, I’m a little more excited than usual, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the book which I ordered entitled My Booky Wook has finally arrived, it’s an autobiography of one of Britain's most talented stand-ups named Russel Brand and as the back cover describes, is a “Hilarious raconteur, hedonistic bon viveur, inexhaustible shaggeur, feather tongued dandy Russel Brand lives his life as if performing in a Victorian vaudeville.”

While, in all honesty, I may not understand half the words in that previous sentence; I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be impressive and will certainly not disappoint. Russel has lived an outlandish life of drink, sex, drugs and Rock n’ Roll and I’ve read that My Booky Wook is an honest and hilarious account of his experiences. I’ve also read that it is brilliantly written and he has a style of writing that commands laughter.

One of the main reasons why I bought the book, besides the entertainment value, is to help inspire and improve on my writing. I tend to pick up on habits of others who have come before me and so a lot of things, including my writing, is an amalgamation of styles from various sources. With a dash of my own brand of flavour, of course.

Secondly I’ve accepted an offer to work for a company called Global Vision. I was not really in the market for a new employer, but Global Vision head hunted me and made me an offer that was too attractive to refuse. DVT, the company that I’m currently at has been a good, stable home. I will still recommend them for development of custom software solutions to anyone who needs an outsourced IT Partner.

But a more attractive salary package, the opportunity to gain invaluable experience in some cutting edge technologies and forward-thinking business processes (namely SCRUM) were enough to help me make my decision. Most importantly it would provide me with the chance to work with one of my best friends and talented IT wunderkind: Ernst Kuschke.

I start on the 1st of April. I seriously hope it’s not some cruel April Fools joke. “Oh by the way Benny. We were just joking about the job: APRIL FOOLS!”

Lastly, and this is perhaps the reason I am most excited, is that I’m picking up the ever vivacious Josephine from the airport tomorrow. I haven’t seen her in two years and can’t wait to catch up.

Hot Hot Hot

Krikey! It’s hot, it’s been like this for the entire weekend.

I went to the Pro X. The Pro X is an event which exhibits some of South Africa’s best extreme sports talents, from Motor Cross, to BMXing, to skate boarding and even wake boarding…unfortunately being as hot as it was; I lasted not more than 40 minutes as a spectator and had to get out of the sun , go for a surf and cool down.

Cool down, I did; the water at Glen Beach was in contrast, absolutely icy. The waves weren’t spectacular, but to escape from the heat was a good enough reason to go for a paddle. The refreshing Atlantic bite provided us with brief relief from the sweltering sun.

It’s day two in life without the internet, but I’ve found the new spot to get connected. S-Bar in good ol’ Wembley Square with it’s WiFi, comfortable couches, drinks and food on demand; have proven to be a great alternative… the air conditioning is a nice touch too.