Well January has come to an end, but as I sit here, the transfer market in the English Premier League is going absolutely crazy. It appears that the last few hours are going to be spent throwing around the kind of money that would have relieved the US motor industry from the recession.
Liverpool have purchased Luis Suarez (yes, the same guy who handballed away Ghana's entry into the semi-finals of the World Cup - I was at that game...not happy times) but perhaps that will need to be overlooked if he scores 30 goals a season for the Reds.
We have also seemingly secured Andy Carroll from Newcastle for an astonishingly large 35 million pounds (I think it's 15 million for his goalscoring ability and an extra 20 million for the ponytail...but that's all speculation for now.
The last potential purchase (I know of) is Charlie Adam, the midfield talisman from Blackpool who would fill some of the void left by Xabi Alonso when he left, we could only hope!
So the first two weeks of time at Gibs came to an end this past weekend. The first set of full lectures from Thursday to Friday and I can only thank my lucky stars I have the credit for economics. When the rest of the class were heading back into lectures, I was heading home for something of a weekend. Needless to say, most of it was filled with work catch up and kitten control!
Helen spent the weekend with our friend Lara down in Knysna as she is out from the UK, so I was home alone with the two kittens. Lots of fun and we spent a lot of time playing in the lounge :)
We've also started working on our first group assignment which is a study on the challenges affecting Employment Equity, we're using Nedbank as a study, keeping it close to home!
In fact, on that note, New Year's resolution update time!
1). My totals for January have come in!
Totals: 2011, January 31st, 142km to date over 22 separate runs in 13hours, burning 15381kcal
So it was a good month, with my longest run being 16.3km, shortest run 4.5km
2). So far so good with the MBA, we have a strong group and classes are going well, a lot more focus on actually taking notes and making effective summaries this time around!
3). One Year anniversary is in March, I cant believe the year has flown so fast, it seems like just yesterday we were getting married in the Midland (and now we have two little kitten kids!)
4). Travel less has so far been very effective, I havent gone further than Gibs!
5). The property update is no closer to being resolved, the seller is still sorting out her issues and we are going to just have to wait and sit tight as we really want that land!
So, all in all, things are moving along nicely and the year has been incredibly busy. But, as in all things, finding a good rythym is the key, and hopefully that will come soon!
Till next time...here's to Liverpool buying some effective world class talent (and we've lost Torres for 50 million, (R600 million...crazy stuff!)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
When blogging becomes a way out
So I am writing this entry as a break from my daily meetings and work, which is sad in itself, as it still requires some thought and a creative approach and at the moment I feel like I should be switching off and doing nothing!
Helen made the comment to our friends Joe and Melissa in the States that she thought 2011 would be a quieter year when compared to the craziness of 2010, but it seems the opposite and we have both been running a little flat. Unfortunately it is still January and the signs are there that nothing much will change anytime soon!
My first block of lectures/orientation at Gibs ended on Saturday evening, with us all having finished 6 days back to back of topics ranging from business in emerging markets, the bleak view of primary education and the healthcare system in South Africa, team dynamics and problem solving etc.
It was a good introduction back into the business school lifestyle, although 6 days and no weekend before heading back to work this week was a bit challenging all at once!
Needless to say, we visited the bridge at the river each evening as well to get a cat update, which meant my days went something like this:
Literally every day for 6 days was the same.
The story does have a happy ending though...
I survived the first 6 days and we have a happy, healthy and functioning syndicate group. In fact, it seems premature to say it, but the ethic in the group has been great so far and I am certain will continue to be that way, even though we know at some point there will be grumpiness, a fight or two and the ever popular statement "Well...we will just have to agree to disagree" which roughly translated means..."I really don't care what you have to say anymore"
But, at the moment...we aren't there yet, so we will relish in our happiness (long may it live)
The kitty situation also worked out wonderfully. We managed to rescue 9 kittens, of which we now have two at our house: Jelly and Squeaks. Squeaks is a little younger than Jelly (so perhaps 5,5 weeks old) and is a longer haired ginger kitten. He doesn't meow yet, but emits a little high pitched squeaky sound when he wants your attention, hence his name.
The two of them are learning to play together and we have no doubt that over the years they will become best friends. Squeaks gives as good as he gets from Jelly, but every now and then gets absolutely flattened by his slightly bigger brother and starts to...well...squeak.
Both Helen and I rush home from work now to play with our kittens and this goes on for hours until it is bedtime. Aaah...how times have changed!
Helen made the comment to our friends Joe and Melissa in the States that she thought 2011 would be a quieter year when compared to the craziness of 2010, but it seems the opposite and we have both been running a little flat. Unfortunately it is still January and the signs are there that nothing much will change anytime soon!
My first block of lectures/orientation at Gibs ended on Saturday evening, with us all having finished 6 days back to back of topics ranging from business in emerging markets, the bleak view of primary education and the healthcare system in South Africa, team dynamics and problem solving etc.
It was a good introduction back into the business school lifestyle, although 6 days and no weekend before heading back to work this week was a bit challenging all at once!
Needless to say, we visited the bridge at the river each evening as well to get a cat update, which meant my days went something like this:
- Wake up and go to Gibs
- Spend the day in lectures taking notes and building the syndicate culture
- Finish work and go home
- Sit down for 3 minutes
- Go and try to catch cats under a bridge (sometimes in the rain)
Literally every day for 6 days was the same.
The story does have a happy ending though...
I survived the first 6 days and we have a happy, healthy and functioning syndicate group. In fact, it seems premature to say it, but the ethic in the group has been great so far and I am certain will continue to be that way, even though we know at some point there will be grumpiness, a fight or two and the ever popular statement "Well...we will just have to agree to disagree" which roughly translated means..."I really don't care what you have to say anymore"
But, at the moment...we aren't there yet, so we will relish in our happiness (long may it live)
The kitty situation also worked out wonderfully. We managed to rescue 9 kittens, of which we now have two at our house: Jelly and Squeaks. Squeaks is a little younger than Jelly (so perhaps 5,5 weeks old) and is a longer haired ginger kitten. He doesn't meow yet, but emits a little high pitched squeaky sound when he wants your attention, hence his name.
The two of them are learning to play together and we have no doubt that over the years they will become best friends. Squeaks gives as good as he gets from Jelly, but every now and then gets absolutely flattened by his slightly bigger brother and starts to...well...squeak.
Both Helen and I rush home from work now to play with our kittens and this goes on for hours until it is bedtime. Aaah...how times have changed!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Where has the holiday season gone?
The last few days have been absolutely manic, and as a result, it has been at least 4 days since I last wrote something on this blog.
While this included a weekend, it also involved:
1). We are still without the positive response on the piece of land we have made an offer on at Pecanwood. Without going into all the gory details, the seller has twice requested an extension to "sort her issues out with her attorney". This is a cause for major frustration as we don't seem to be making enough progress and would like to close this deal up sooner rather than later!
As a result, the offer is now open till this Friday and we are waiting to see if we will be extending it again!
My parents, Helen and I went to have another look at the land on Saturday morning and once again confirmed it is absolutely what we are looking for and the location within the estate is superb, not to mention the pecan nut trees out in front of where our garden would be. Nevertheless, we shall perservere, as always.
2). I have run approximately 34km's in the last 4 days since I posted and have just about reached the 100km mark for the year. This is particularly significant as we are just past the halfway mark in the month and my target for the month was to do approximately 120km in total. At this rate I should hit the 150km mark well before the end. I will update the actual runs at the end of this post.
3). Following on the run situation, on Sunday evening I went for a hilly 5km and spotted a strange sight just after crossing the River Club Bridge, a collection of fluffy little kittens just sitting down below the bridge. So I hastily finished the run, called Helen and we made a decision to go and see what we could do.
The kittens were all sitting out in the open (we counted 7 of them) and a few of them eagerly approached the milk we put down. We managed to catch one, but the others seemed to pick up on our strategy and nullified the effect of our ongoing attempts. As a result, we did not catch any more as it became too dark. This was all rather stressful as we knew there were a handful of little kittens living down in the wet and cold.
BUT, we had one and he was incredibly relaxed, which was a surprise in itself, considering their circumstances. So we took him to the local vet (for an exhorbitant after hours fee) and did the innoculations and had him checked out. Much to our surprise, he was in very good condition and very healthy. Needless to say, we had already decided this little guy would not be going anywhere. And so, Jelly was welcomed to the family!
He is 7 weeks old, has an extremely calm nature and has settled into the house amazingly quickly. He loves to be tickled and squeeks a little when you do something he doesnt like, which in his case is very little, what an amazing little kitty! yay! :)
4). MBA started yesterday and we're straight into the grind. The first day was spent discussing the opportunities in Africa and dynamic markets. This was an eye opener for most who havent spent much time on the continent or in other countries included in the BRIC nations. So, without going into too much detail, the big debate was whether or not South Africa deserved to be included in this emerging/dynamic powerhouse grouping. The debate will rage on and I know some economist's have very strong views!
Day 2 (today) was spent working on group dynamics and an Amazing Race through inner city Johannesburg. My syndicate group has proven one thing, we're all amazingly relaxed in getting things done! There was never any panic, frustration or disgruntled MBA-er driven disagreements. This, in a team of hard working, over achiever types is quite something when thrown into a taxi with R200 to our names and a list of destinations and tasks at hand.
Even a hijacking situation in newtown was taken in our stride (there was an attempted hijacking of a car in front of us, so our driver hooted to alert the driver of the car, to which he pulled off and the hijackers proceeded to be very upset with our driver (as if to say "come on, you should support us in this!" haha...only South Africa!
Some pictures from the day...
Edwin and Rima at the world of samoosa's at Oriental Plaza
A photo of the group (except for the lady in the middle with the glasses who was the checkpoint person) at the Art Gallery next to Joubert Park, checkpoint 3
Getting in with security at Nelson Mandela Square at the start of the day before we hit downtown
5). Waking up early to get to Gibs in the morning and do actual work (catch up because I'm not in the office at the moment) before we go into class and then having to do the same (as well as try to catch cats under bridges each night) when I go home in the evening, means that I am pretty tired by the time it comes to going to bed, and don't feel like I've had enough sleep by the time I go to bed...catch 22 :)
But I may as well get used to it, as it's going to be two more years of the same :)
Totals: 2011, January 18th, 97.93km to date over 16 separate runs in 9hours and 03 minutes, burning 10596kcal
Thursday Run (13/01): 8.12km in 49min02 secs, average pace: 5min59/km (Slow run with Helen and Jax)
Friday Run (14/01): 4.93km in 27min59 secs, average pace 5min41/km (Hills)
Saturday Run (15/01): 16.3km in 1hr 35min 19 secs, average pace 5min51/km (Long run)
Sunday Run (16/01): 4.56km in 25 min 28 secs, average pace 5min 35/km (The cat spotting run...with hills)
While this included a weekend, it also involved:
- Further failed property bids
- Lots of running
- A new addition to the family
- The start of the two year slog
- Not enough sleep
1). We are still without the positive response on the piece of land we have made an offer on at Pecanwood. Without going into all the gory details, the seller has twice requested an extension to "sort her issues out with her attorney". This is a cause for major frustration as we don't seem to be making enough progress and would like to close this deal up sooner rather than later!
As a result, the offer is now open till this Friday and we are waiting to see if we will be extending it again!
My parents, Helen and I went to have another look at the land on Saturday morning and once again confirmed it is absolutely what we are looking for and the location within the estate is superb, not to mention the pecan nut trees out in front of where our garden would be. Nevertheless, we shall perservere, as always.
(The plot from the road)
(Our front garden and the extension on from our lawn out under the trees)
(The little park across the road from our front door, big enough for a game of soccer or cricket and to give us the feeling of a front and back garden)
2). I have run approximately 34km's in the last 4 days since I posted and have just about reached the 100km mark for the year. This is particularly significant as we are just past the halfway mark in the month and my target for the month was to do approximately 120km in total. At this rate I should hit the 150km mark well before the end. I will update the actual runs at the end of this post.
3). Following on the run situation, on Sunday evening I went for a hilly 5km and spotted a strange sight just after crossing the River Club Bridge, a collection of fluffy little kittens just sitting down below the bridge. So I hastily finished the run, called Helen and we made a decision to go and see what we could do.
The kittens were all sitting out in the open (we counted 7 of them) and a few of them eagerly approached the milk we put down. We managed to catch one, but the others seemed to pick up on our strategy and nullified the effect of our ongoing attempts. As a result, we did not catch any more as it became too dark. This was all rather stressful as we knew there were a handful of little kittens living down in the wet and cold.
BUT, we had one and he was incredibly relaxed, which was a surprise in itself, considering their circumstances. So we took him to the local vet (for an exhorbitant after hours fee) and did the innoculations and had him checked out. Much to our surprise, he was in very good condition and very healthy. Needless to say, we had already decided this little guy would not be going anywhere. And so, Jelly was welcomed to the family!
He is 7 weeks old, has an extremely calm nature and has settled into the house amazingly quickly. He loves to be tickled and squeeks a little when you do something he doesnt like, which in his case is very little, what an amazing little kitty! yay! :)
4). MBA started yesterday and we're straight into the grind. The first day was spent discussing the opportunities in Africa and dynamic markets. This was an eye opener for most who havent spent much time on the continent or in other countries included in the BRIC nations. So, without going into too much detail, the big debate was whether or not South Africa deserved to be included in this emerging/dynamic powerhouse grouping. The debate will rage on and I know some economist's have very strong views!
Day 2 (today) was spent working on group dynamics and an Amazing Race through inner city Johannesburg. My syndicate group has proven one thing, we're all amazingly relaxed in getting things done! There was never any panic, frustration or disgruntled MBA-er driven disagreements. This, in a team of hard working, over achiever types is quite something when thrown into a taxi with R200 to our names and a list of destinations and tasks at hand.
Even a hijacking situation in newtown was taken in our stride (there was an attempted hijacking of a car in front of us, so our driver hooted to alert the driver of the car, to which he pulled off and the hijackers proceeded to be very upset with our driver (as if to say "come on, you should support us in this!" haha...only South Africa!
Some pictures from the day...
Edwin and Rima at the world of samoosa's at Oriental Plaza
A photo of the group (except for the lady in the middle with the glasses who was the checkpoint person) at the Art Gallery next to Joubert Park, checkpoint 3
Getting in with security at Nelson Mandela Square at the start of the day before we hit downtown
5). Waking up early to get to Gibs in the morning and do actual work (catch up because I'm not in the office at the moment) before we go into class and then having to do the same (as well as try to catch cats under bridges each night) when I go home in the evening, means that I am pretty tired by the time it comes to going to bed, and don't feel like I've had enough sleep by the time I go to bed...catch 22 :)
But I may as well get used to it, as it's going to be two more years of the same :)
Totals: 2011, January 18th, 97.93km to date over 16 separate runs in 9hours and 03 minutes, burning 10596kcal
Thursday, January 13, 2011
2011: Picking up pace
It seems as though everyone is back in Joburg now. The schools are back, all the new little grade 1's have been introduced to their teachers and are probably trying to find their way around what must feel like a massive school with impossibly large numbers of pupils.
I went for a run yesterday morning past our local primary school, Bryneven, and without fail, every parent climbed out of the car with sunglasses on (this was early morning) and a camera in hand. There is absolutely no doubt it is much harder for parents to drop their kids off at school, than it is for the kids themselves!
The indication that cemented this was when I returned from my run and not a single car had moved. This means that all the parents were still inside the school, no doubt battling to separate themselves from their offspring.
While I thought this was quite emotional and funny at the same time, I then realised that I also go back to school this coming Monday and there will be no-one to drop me off. This is even sadder!
In any event, we had registration for the MBA at GIBS yesterday and instead of being introduced to our teachers who would be the guiding force in us learning how to read and write, we were taken through the business school rules and regulations, copyright and harvard business review formats and why overseas travel for anything but work purposes would be considered grounds for failure.
A sobering wake up to the "back to school" theme while all the grade 1's were meeting new friends on the playground with their plastic lunchboxes in tow...
We have already had to read copious amounts of work for next week and while this does take time, the silver lining is that it is (so far) all quite interesting. Long may this continue.
The office is also filling up fast and the indication of this is when all of a sudden my diary is no longer blank and vacant, but meetings and strategy reviews start to populate the Monday to Friday view I had spent so much time enjoying in December because of its blankness.
The challenge now is how to balance this with all my time at GIBS, which should be fun. But that's okay, I wouldnt have it any other way :)
So, onto other things...
1). Tomorrow we should have some resolution on the property buying process we have engaged in...fun fun
2). Liverpool can't seem to win a game anymore and I sat up until midnight last night watching them lose to Blackpool (this is more stressful to me than most things)
3). The Proteas smashed India in mini-India (Durban) and all the Indian flags that were waving round the stadium suddenly became South African flags when India were 44/4.
4). Helen has developed a new mechanism for cutting onions, wearing sunglasses regardless of the time of day seems to do the trick.
5). I have now run 64.16km this year on resolution 1. Styling.
and on that note:
Totals: 2011, January 13th, 64.16km to date over 12 separate runs in 5hours and 45 minutes, burning 6929kcal
Tuesday Run: 5.08km in 26min07 secs, average pace: 5min09/km (old Parks time trial)
Wednesday Run: 5.48km in 30min16 secs, average pace 5min32/km
I went for a run yesterday morning past our local primary school, Bryneven, and without fail, every parent climbed out of the car with sunglasses on (this was early morning) and a camera in hand. There is absolutely no doubt it is much harder for parents to drop their kids off at school, than it is for the kids themselves!
The indication that cemented this was when I returned from my run and not a single car had moved. This means that all the parents were still inside the school, no doubt battling to separate themselves from their offspring.
While I thought this was quite emotional and funny at the same time, I then realised that I also go back to school this coming Monday and there will be no-one to drop me off. This is even sadder!
In any event, we had registration for the MBA at GIBS yesterday and instead of being introduced to our teachers who would be the guiding force in us learning how to read and write, we were taken through the business school rules and regulations, copyright and harvard business review formats and why overseas travel for anything but work purposes would be considered grounds for failure.
A sobering wake up to the "back to school" theme while all the grade 1's were meeting new friends on the playground with their plastic lunchboxes in tow...
We have already had to read copious amounts of work for next week and while this does take time, the silver lining is that it is (so far) all quite interesting. Long may this continue.
The office is also filling up fast and the indication of this is when all of a sudden my diary is no longer blank and vacant, but meetings and strategy reviews start to populate the Monday to Friday view I had spent so much time enjoying in December because of its blankness.
The challenge now is how to balance this with all my time at GIBS, which should be fun. But that's okay, I wouldnt have it any other way :)
So, onto other things...
1). Tomorrow we should have some resolution on the property buying process we have engaged in...fun fun
2). Liverpool can't seem to win a game anymore and I sat up until midnight last night watching them lose to Blackpool (this is more stressful to me than most things)
3). The Proteas smashed India in mini-India (Durban) and all the Indian flags that were waving round the stadium suddenly became South African flags when India were 44/4.
4). Helen has developed a new mechanism for cutting onions, wearing sunglasses regardless of the time of day seems to do the trick.
5). I have now run 64.16km this year on resolution 1. Styling.
and on that note:
Totals: 2011, January 13th, 64.16km to date over 12 separate runs in 5hours and 45 minutes, burning 6929kcal
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Property Portal (I mean...Black Hole)
This story starts back in 2008. Helen and I had decided to buy our first property together.
We had dinner one evening with our friends, Ian and Cath at their place in the Bantry's and with the wonderful location, proximity to Sandton and surrounds and very small number of units in a complex, the whole setup was ideal.
Needless to say, one day after golf at Royal Johannesburg, we popped into a few of the Bantry show days and found a unit we thought we could love (if you looked beyond the shocking carpets, ridiculous colour schemes and badly decorated living areas) So we put in an offer.
We got the house. Easy as that.
At the time, we treated it as an investment property and decided not to move in, but rather to get tenants and generate some revenue off the rental income. We went overseas in the December of 2008 and while away, decided that we would actually quite like to live in our own home. So we booted our tenants out and went about moving in.
We went about effectively gutting the place and putting new wooden floors in, re-painting, ripping out the sideboard and decorating with matching colours and Samsung appliances throughout (I had a friend who worked for Samsung...) :)
Then on the day of Trevor's bachelors, Helen (with the support of some trusted friends) proceeded to move everything into the house, so that on my arrival (some 26 hours later) it was all in...a job well done (I still maintain I worked harder at Trevor's bachelors, but it isn't remembered that way)
Fast forward two years and upon return from our Honeymoon, Helen and I swore we would not look at property for a while, content that our spot in Bryanston is perfectly lovely and meets our needs for now.
This being said, we decided to ("just for fun") pop into a few show days. This is where it all goes wrong people. There is no such thing as casual house shopping (or window shopping for property). Before you know it, you are on every agent's distribution list and are skipping golf or mountain biking on weekends to go and look for houses. It was that quick.
The first place we were serious about was an amazing spot (cluster home) on Chesterfield Road in Bryanston. Stately, large and amazing to look at, it was the kind of home that requires its own soundtrack. The only problem, there were a few things we didnt like. Once this sets in, you can bet it's a slippery slope to walking away. Which we did.
We then decided to be really adventurous and spread our wings slightly further afield to Craighall Park. This didnt last long and we were soon back in the leafy suburbs of Bryanston.
It was at this stage that we found a lovely little area within Bryanston proper (on the East side) called the Devonshire Park enclosure. Accessible only through a boom on two sides, the area has about 6 streets and a great little park for dogs called Hamilton Park. We immediately knew we wanted something here.
The only problem, the average established house in the area was on the market for R6.5m and upwards. Great!
We then came across a piece of land that was being sub-divided for development into four cluster homes. Each with an expanse of 1100m2 and a show house that had some very tasteful ideas on what could be built. So we went for it, we drew up our own plans and we both agreed we knew exactly what we wanted. Such was our conviction, we even met with the builder to look at options.
Then, out of the blue, the seller decided he'd actually really quite like to put his price up. As you do, when someone wants to buy. This was not what we had in mind and strategically backed away. He had tried to motivate that his selling price excluded VAT and as a result, we would need to cough up a further 14% on the purchase price of the land. No thanks my friend, no sale.
At this stage, however, we had decided we wanted to live in this area, come what may. So we started to visit show days, look at houses fit for the average CEO of a Fortune 500 company and just generally do the rounds. Eventually we popped into a property which had just been released onto the market and was being sold without transfer duties applying (i.e. the developer had never sold it (he rented it to an ambassador) and as a result, the saving on the transfer duties would be massive)
This house was amazing, four en suite bedrooms, huge entertainment areas, chef's kitchen, underfloor heating, CCTV camera's, beams in the garden, optional 5th bedroom, wine cellar, swimming pool...the works! The best part, we could afford it, at a stretch.
So we made an offer. The seller turned his nose up. Quite surprisingly, considering that our offer was only just below his asking price. So we went back, had another look and decided that we really wanted to live here. So we made another offer. This time, meeting his asking price (keeping in mind, we were and still are, in a time of recession and lower housing prices...that's how much we wanted this house)
We, as well as the agent, were so convinced he would accept, we almost started buying furniture.
Then we waited...and waited...and waited.
The seller vanished. He didnt respond to phone calls, he never came back on email.
Helen and I were so confused, we had met the asking price and could not seem to make any progress. The agent assured us it was the first time in 25 years she had come across something like this. For us, it meant a lot of frustration. You know what it's like when you see something you want, so you go to the shop and it's sitting there on the shelf, but the shop owner won't let you have it? This was it...just worse.
Anyway, long story short, we waited for 2 months until we gave up. Who knows what went through his mind, but we eventually decided it was no use and let this fish get away.
At this stage, the prospect of going to show houses and speaking to agents, only to see things we didnt want was not in any way exciting. So we pulled the plug. We also backed out of wanting to sell our spot in Bantry as we decided that what we had built there was worth more than any buyer could give us. It is our home.
Then we went to play golf at Pecanwood with our friend Dave. While on the course, Helen made a comment to me about the fact that the lifestyle out near the Magaliesberg and the Dam is so peaceful. She suggested we look at some of the houses for sale and measure the prices against what we had seen in Bryanston.
That was all it took and before we knew it, we were shooting around the golf estate on a golf cart, looking at EVERYTHING!
It was all very exciting, as the price of property at Pecanwood, a top 20 golf course in South Africa and the first to be designed by Jack Nicklaus in the country, is much more affordable than what we had seen near our own home in the suburbs. We then shifted our attention to the land available (about 15% of the total development is still not yet built)
The same process as before kicked in and we designed what we felt would be the perfect house for us. Pecanwood allows you to build up to 60% of the total size of the land. We found a great piece of land, went for it and the seller (once again) decided he would like to receive his asking price and nothing less, for it. Once again, we felt this wasn't the best situation for us and we moved on.
We were then alerted to another piece of land, north east facing and in a lovely crescent on the estate. This is where we are now...and so we find ourselves in the position we are in...we have made an offer, designed a house, and the seller has debts to pay before the clearance certificate can be issued.
After this past friday (see http://cjwood1981.blogspot.com/2011/01/weekend-that-was.html) we have now amended the offer to purchase and we are waiting until this friday, 14th January to get final resolution on the purchase.
If it goes through, and transfer is affected fully within the usual period of time, we could be building within 3 - 4 months from now.
So 10 months later, multiple Sunday's, frustration and confusion, we find ourselves looking at a piece of land 40 minutes drive from Bryanston. How far we've moved!
Resolution 5 is no closer yet to having some positive feedback, but rest assured, you'll hear it here first!
We had dinner one evening with our friends, Ian and Cath at their place in the Bantry's and with the wonderful location, proximity to Sandton and surrounds and very small number of units in a complex, the whole setup was ideal.
Needless to say, one day after golf at Royal Johannesburg, we popped into a few of the Bantry show days and found a unit we thought we could love (if you looked beyond the shocking carpets, ridiculous colour schemes and badly decorated living areas) So we put in an offer.
We got the house. Easy as that.
At the time, we treated it as an investment property and decided not to move in, but rather to get tenants and generate some revenue off the rental income. We went overseas in the December of 2008 and while away, decided that we would actually quite like to live in our own home. So we booted our tenants out and went about moving in.
We went about effectively gutting the place and putting new wooden floors in, re-painting, ripping out the sideboard and decorating with matching colours and Samsung appliances throughout (I had a friend who worked for Samsung...) :)
Then on the day of Trevor's bachelors, Helen (with the support of some trusted friends) proceeded to move everything into the house, so that on my arrival (some 26 hours later) it was all in...a job well done (I still maintain I worked harder at Trevor's bachelors, but it isn't remembered that way)
Fast forward two years and upon return from our Honeymoon, Helen and I swore we would not look at property for a while, content that our spot in Bryanston is perfectly lovely and meets our needs for now.
This being said, we decided to ("just for fun") pop into a few show days. This is where it all goes wrong people. There is no such thing as casual house shopping (or window shopping for property). Before you know it, you are on every agent's distribution list and are skipping golf or mountain biking on weekends to go and look for houses. It was that quick.
The first place we were serious about was an amazing spot (cluster home) on Chesterfield Road in Bryanston. Stately, large and amazing to look at, it was the kind of home that requires its own soundtrack. The only problem, there were a few things we didnt like. Once this sets in, you can bet it's a slippery slope to walking away. Which we did.
We then decided to be really adventurous and spread our wings slightly further afield to Craighall Park. This didnt last long and we were soon back in the leafy suburbs of Bryanston.
It was at this stage that we found a lovely little area within Bryanston proper (on the East side) called the Devonshire Park enclosure. Accessible only through a boom on two sides, the area has about 6 streets and a great little park for dogs called Hamilton Park. We immediately knew we wanted something here.
The only problem, the average established house in the area was on the market for R6.5m and upwards. Great!
We then came across a piece of land that was being sub-divided for development into four cluster homes. Each with an expanse of 1100m2 and a show house that had some very tasteful ideas on what could be built. So we went for it, we drew up our own plans and we both agreed we knew exactly what we wanted. Such was our conviction, we even met with the builder to look at options.
Then, out of the blue, the seller decided he'd actually really quite like to put his price up. As you do, when someone wants to buy. This was not what we had in mind and strategically backed away. He had tried to motivate that his selling price excluded VAT and as a result, we would need to cough up a further 14% on the purchase price of the land. No thanks my friend, no sale.
At this stage, however, we had decided we wanted to live in this area, come what may. So we started to visit show days, look at houses fit for the average CEO of a Fortune 500 company and just generally do the rounds. Eventually we popped into a property which had just been released onto the market and was being sold without transfer duties applying (i.e. the developer had never sold it (he rented it to an ambassador) and as a result, the saving on the transfer duties would be massive)
This house was amazing, four en suite bedrooms, huge entertainment areas, chef's kitchen, underfloor heating, CCTV camera's, beams in the garden, optional 5th bedroom, wine cellar, swimming pool...the works! The best part, we could afford it, at a stretch.
So we made an offer. The seller turned his nose up. Quite surprisingly, considering that our offer was only just below his asking price. So we went back, had another look and decided that we really wanted to live here. So we made another offer. This time, meeting his asking price (keeping in mind, we were and still are, in a time of recession and lower housing prices...that's how much we wanted this house)
We, as well as the agent, were so convinced he would accept, we almost started buying furniture.
Then we waited...and waited...and waited.
The seller vanished. He didnt respond to phone calls, he never came back on email.
Helen and I were so confused, we had met the asking price and could not seem to make any progress. The agent assured us it was the first time in 25 years she had come across something like this. For us, it meant a lot of frustration. You know what it's like when you see something you want, so you go to the shop and it's sitting there on the shelf, but the shop owner won't let you have it? This was it...just worse.
Anyway, long story short, we waited for 2 months until we gave up. Who knows what went through his mind, but we eventually decided it was no use and let this fish get away.
At this stage, the prospect of going to show houses and speaking to agents, only to see things we didnt want was not in any way exciting. So we pulled the plug. We also backed out of wanting to sell our spot in Bantry as we decided that what we had built there was worth more than any buyer could give us. It is our home.
Then we went to play golf at Pecanwood with our friend Dave. While on the course, Helen made a comment to me about the fact that the lifestyle out near the Magaliesberg and the Dam is so peaceful. She suggested we look at some of the houses for sale and measure the prices against what we had seen in Bryanston.
That was all it took and before we knew it, we were shooting around the golf estate on a golf cart, looking at EVERYTHING!
It was all very exciting, as the price of property at Pecanwood, a top 20 golf course in South Africa and the first to be designed by Jack Nicklaus in the country, is much more affordable than what we had seen near our own home in the suburbs. We then shifted our attention to the land available (about 15% of the total development is still not yet built)
The same process as before kicked in and we designed what we felt would be the perfect house for us. Pecanwood allows you to build up to 60% of the total size of the land. We found a great piece of land, went for it and the seller (once again) decided he would like to receive his asking price and nothing less, for it. Once again, we felt this wasn't the best situation for us and we moved on.
We were then alerted to another piece of land, north east facing and in a lovely crescent on the estate. This is where we are now...and so we find ourselves in the position we are in...we have made an offer, designed a house, and the seller has debts to pay before the clearance certificate can be issued.
After this past friday (see http://cjwood1981.blogspot.com/2011/01/weekend-that-was.html) we have now amended the offer to purchase and we are waiting until this friday, 14th January to get final resolution on the purchase.
If it goes through, and transfer is affected fully within the usual period of time, we could be building within 3 - 4 months from now.
So 10 months later, multiple Sunday's, frustration and confusion, we find ourselves looking at a piece of land 40 minutes drive from Bryanston. How far we've moved!
Resolution 5 is no closer yet to having some positive feedback, but rest assured, you'll hear it here first!
The Weekend that Was...
Friday was an appropriately relaxed end to the last week before the rest of Johannesburg gets back from the coast.
All around the country, stressed accountants, lawyers and bankers were starting to stress about the fact that they would have to return to their normal lives, instantly losing the relaxation and loss of stress they had built up over the Christmas and New Year's break in Plett, Cape Town and Margate.
While all of this was happening, I was popping in to GIBS to pick up my first set of textbooks (Managerial Economics and Human Behaviour) and my first THREE files for the first week in lectures (commencing T - 6.5 days from this instant)
I realised that I am in fact either a geek or just deprived of study, as I immediately opened my new textbook and started to read Chapter 1. The even more insane thing is that I enjoyed the little company specific anecdotes included in the book to highlight real life examples of managerial mishaps and incompetence.
Yes. I am officially geared up for the next two years. It has been confirmed.
In any event, Friday ended with Helen and I sitting at Pecanwood with our estate agent taking us through the amazing discovery that the seller of the piece of land we want to buy owes everyone, their brother and the next door neighbour's dog some money. This has resulted in a delay to the buying process and has caused us to build in some extra-ordinary procedures to the agreement of sale which will cover us if certain terms are not met by the seller (like, actually being able to sell due to outstanding debts on the land) Lovely.
So what was meant to be a successful conclusion to the week and one step closer to the evolution of New Year's resolution number 5 (http://cjwood1981.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-years-resolutions.html) became one step closer and 3 steps back. Nothing new there.
I also made mention in the New Year's Resolution entry that I would, at some stage, divulge on why we believe we are cursed when buying new property and how I have come to this conclusion. While this post will not be used for that, rest assured, the fact that we left the club in a literal and metaphorical thunderstorm is just part of the journey that is the Wood's trying to buy a home! More to follow later...
The rest of the weekend was spent doing necessary shopping (Helen always has a plan) and watching as much sport on TV as is humanly possible. It was confirmed that the first wave of Joburgers had re-ignited their passion for stress and the fast paced life that is Sandton, upon arriving at the Fourways Mall.
Step 1: Try to find parking
Step 2: Drive around and around due to lack of parking
Step 3: Eventually find a spot and put on your indicator for fear of someone else stealing it
Step 4: Tell the lady you don't need your car washed and you think it might rain anyway (put her down softly)
Step 5: Enter shops after lengthy walk from your car and start to elbow your way through the crowds
Step 6: Leave, hopefully with everything you needed, and nothing of what you didnt
Step 7: Try to get out of the parking lot and back into traffic, which has now become worse
Step 8: Eventually get home (via the back route) and jump onto the couch, exhausted.
Step 9: Vow never to go to the Fourways mall on a Saturday
Step 10: (the following Saturday) Repeat Steps 1 - 9
Sunday morning started with a very wet and muddy mountain bike ride. Helen and I cycled to Emmarentia Dam and back, clogging our chains up with mud and grass and wading through deep water. The ride was altogther good though and a good workout.
We then visited my parents and watched as my mom went to town on the outside storage room (which houses most of my things as I have no place to put them!) Have decided that if nothing else, we need storage space in our new home so that I can keep my own things.
Played with the dogs, Puggles (our Pug) seems to have put on even more weight while my parents were away and his head is now slowly sinking into his body. It is quite something.
Saturday afternoon was spent shifting moods from happy to sad and even sadder. Louis Oosthuizen won the Africa Open after an amazing second shot to the green on the first playoff hole, teaching the Europeans that they should not expect to win our tournaments on South African soil, even if they are part of the European Tour.
Then the cricket started, Makhaya's farewell. Not much to say about this, but what a poor batting display. Besides Morne Van Wyk. (who has always been a performer in the shorter version of the game and should be included in our World Cup Squad in my opinion)
The sadder part was the game between Liverpool and Manchester United. A rather dodgy penalty decision, an aggressive tackle by our captain and the next thing we knew, the return of King Kenny was another loss to the club. Not all negative though and surviving a further 60 minutes with only 10 players on the field was a small victory in itself. The less said about the result, the better.
I then decided that I had not actually exercised enough in the morning and went for a run. A good way to end it all off! (it may also have been due to some football frustration...)
So, feedback on resolution 1:
Totals: 2011, January 10th, 54.81km to date over 10 separate runs in 4hours and 49 minutes, burning 5787kcal
All around the country, stressed accountants, lawyers and bankers were starting to stress about the fact that they would have to return to their normal lives, instantly losing the relaxation and loss of stress they had built up over the Christmas and New Year's break in Plett, Cape Town and Margate.
While all of this was happening, I was popping in to GIBS to pick up my first set of textbooks (Managerial Economics and Human Behaviour) and my first THREE files for the first week in lectures (commencing T - 6.5 days from this instant)
I realised that I am in fact either a geek or just deprived of study, as I immediately opened my new textbook and started to read Chapter 1. The even more insane thing is that I enjoyed the little company specific anecdotes included in the book to highlight real life examples of managerial mishaps and incompetence.
Yes. I am officially geared up for the next two years. It has been confirmed.
In any event, Friday ended with Helen and I sitting at Pecanwood with our estate agent taking us through the amazing discovery that the seller of the piece of land we want to buy owes everyone, their brother and the next door neighbour's dog some money. This has resulted in a delay to the buying process and has caused us to build in some extra-ordinary procedures to the agreement of sale which will cover us if certain terms are not met by the seller (like, actually being able to sell due to outstanding debts on the land) Lovely.
So what was meant to be a successful conclusion to the week and one step closer to the evolution of New Year's resolution number 5 (http://cjwood1981.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-years-resolutions.html) became one step closer and 3 steps back. Nothing new there.
I also made mention in the New Year's Resolution entry that I would, at some stage, divulge on why we believe we are cursed when buying new property and how I have come to this conclusion. While this post will not be used for that, rest assured, the fact that we left the club in a literal and metaphorical thunderstorm is just part of the journey that is the Wood's trying to buy a home! More to follow later...
The rest of the weekend was spent doing necessary shopping (Helen always has a plan) and watching as much sport on TV as is humanly possible. It was confirmed that the first wave of Joburgers had re-ignited their passion for stress and the fast paced life that is Sandton, upon arriving at the Fourways Mall.
Step 1: Try to find parking
Step 2: Drive around and around due to lack of parking
Step 3: Eventually find a spot and put on your indicator for fear of someone else stealing it
Step 4: Tell the lady you don't need your car washed and you think it might rain anyway (put her down softly)
Step 5: Enter shops after lengthy walk from your car and start to elbow your way through the crowds
Step 6: Leave, hopefully with everything you needed, and nothing of what you didnt
Step 7: Try to get out of the parking lot and back into traffic, which has now become worse
Step 8: Eventually get home (via the back route) and jump onto the couch, exhausted.
Step 9: Vow never to go to the Fourways mall on a Saturday
Step 10: (the following Saturday) Repeat Steps 1 - 9
Sunday morning started with a very wet and muddy mountain bike ride. Helen and I cycled to Emmarentia Dam and back, clogging our chains up with mud and grass and wading through deep water. The ride was altogther good though and a good workout.
We then visited my parents and watched as my mom went to town on the outside storage room (which houses most of my things as I have no place to put them!) Have decided that if nothing else, we need storage space in our new home so that I can keep my own things.
Played with the dogs, Puggles (our Pug) seems to have put on even more weight while my parents were away and his head is now slowly sinking into his body. It is quite something.
Saturday afternoon was spent shifting moods from happy to sad and even sadder. Louis Oosthuizen won the Africa Open after an amazing second shot to the green on the first playoff hole, teaching the Europeans that they should not expect to win our tournaments on South African soil, even if they are part of the European Tour.
Then the cricket started, Makhaya's farewell. Not much to say about this, but what a poor batting display. Besides Morne Van Wyk. (who has always been a performer in the shorter version of the game and should be included in our World Cup Squad in my opinion)
The sadder part was the game between Liverpool and Manchester United. A rather dodgy penalty decision, an aggressive tackle by our captain and the next thing we knew, the return of King Kenny was another loss to the club. Not all negative though and surviving a further 60 minutes with only 10 players on the field was a small victory in itself. The less said about the result, the better.
I then decided that I had not actually exercised enough in the morning and went for a run. A good way to end it all off! (it may also have been due to some football frustration...)
So, feedback on resolution 1:
- Saturday Run: 6.07km in 32min23 secs, average pace: 5min20/km
- Sunday Run: 6.84km in 34min39 secs, average pace 5min04/km
- Sunday Ride: 28km in 2hr21mins15 secs, average pace 11.7km/hr, Total ascent 301m
Friday, January 7, 2011
New Year's Resolutions: Progress? hmmmm
Following on from my previous post relating to the goals and targets I had set myself for this year, I thought it would be a good thing to update sporadically on my progress.
The first goal (Get fit, stay fit) is an easy one to report back on, so what I have decided to do is create a run tracker at the bottom of my blog entries. This way, each time I post something (assuming there has been some time elapsed in between posts) I should have added to my running total.
This does require some support, however, and if anyone actually reads this, do feel free to comment on my progress (or lack of it!)
So, taking this into account, here is the first of many updates.
2011, January 7th, 41.9km to date over 8 separate runs in 3hours and 42 minutes, burning 4388kcal
So there it is, in the first 6 days of the new year, I have run just short of a marathon (what's 300 metres between friends?) and have been averaging around 5 minutes 25 per kilometre.
This is all made possible thanks to a very trendy and extremely useful gift given to me by my wife this Christmas, a Garmin FR60 running watch. (with heartrate monitor)
I previously (and still do) use my Nike plus ipod attachment, but as it was re-setting the time and date settings every time my ipod battery ran down (which is often, as you can imagine) I had no sequence of runs recorded. Sometimes it would show that I was running in December 2010 (when we were actually in Dec 2010) and other times (a day or so later) it would reflect as October 2009. Lovely.
In any event, this watch is now my primary mechanism for tracking and progress (as it also allows you to run against a pre-determined training partner, measuring your average pace over a run against your own target)
I will include my run details and totals from now on. The plan being to run at least 5 times a week, with a mix of mountain bike rides (the first one for the year is this Sunday) and rounds of golf thrown in there for good measure.
New Year's resolution 1). <--- In progress!
The first goal (Get fit, stay fit) is an easy one to report back on, so what I have decided to do is create a run tracker at the bottom of my blog entries. This way, each time I post something (assuming there has been some time elapsed in between posts) I should have added to my running total.
This does require some support, however, and if anyone actually reads this, do feel free to comment on my progress (or lack of it!)
So, taking this into account, here is the first of many updates.
2011, January 7th, 41.9km to date over 8 separate runs in 3hours and 42 minutes, burning 4388kcal
So there it is, in the first 6 days of the new year, I have run just short of a marathon (what's 300 metres between friends?) and have been averaging around 5 minutes 25 per kilometre.
This is all made possible thanks to a very trendy and extremely useful gift given to me by my wife this Christmas, a Garmin FR60 running watch. (with heartrate monitor)
I previously (and still do) use my Nike plus ipod attachment, but as it was re-setting the time and date settings every time my ipod battery ran down (which is often, as you can imagine) I had no sequence of runs recorded. Sometimes it would show that I was running in December 2010 (when we were actually in Dec 2010) and other times (a day or so later) it would reflect as October 2009. Lovely.
In any event, this watch is now my primary mechanism for tracking and progress (as it also allows you to run against a pre-determined training partner, measuring your average pace over a run against your own target)
I will include my run details and totals from now on. The plan being to run at least 5 times a week, with a mix of mountain bike rides (the first one for the year is this Sunday) and rounds of golf thrown in there for good measure.
New Year's resolution 1). <--- In progress!
Dinner: A Literary Event
Last night (Thursday, 6 Jan), we had Helen's cousin, Rachel, who was out from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania come and stay over. As a result, and due to the auspicious occasion of her visit (as it must be quite something to travel all the way to South Africa from deepest darkest Africa?), we had organised a dinner of roast chicken, Helen's new favourite salad which always vanishes as it is THAT popular (reference back to New Year's Eve this past year) and the usual butternut and potato that completes any South African meal.
We also invited one of my oldest friends around. As he is now no longer an accountant making waves in the corporate world, and has shifted his focus to writing novels, we figured every chance he gets to have a hot meal would be much appreciated. Being an artiste and all.
Needless to say, the gas cylinder ran out halfway through cooking my chicken on the rotisserie. Which resulted in comparisons being drawn to the disastrous Christmas '10 turkey incident where the fire burnt out hours before the bird was cooked.
So off it went to the oven. Problem solved.
Now, the reason for this making it into the blog, besides the extraordinary event of having one Tanzanian local and one pseudo-American gracing our home, is that what Rachel didn't know she was getting when she popped into the Wood's for dinner, was a book reading and signing by an up-and-coming, almost best-selling South African/Dutch/Soon to be American author.
Simon Kilpatrick (not his real name, for fear of angry stereotyped individuals hunting him down with a blunt spoon) not only signed Rachel's copy of his book (which had previously been given to us, but hey...it's still Christmas right?), but also read some of his choice excerpts from his maiden novel.
We then proceeded to tell Rachel that when we come to Tanzania to visit, we hope she can deliver a matching, if not superior experience.
She offered to drive us downtown and show us where the Dar prostitutes hang out. Thank you Rachel.
In any event, if you have a sense of humour and want to read about things that most of us only talk about behind other people's backs or after too many beers, go and pick up a copy of Simon Kilpatrick's "The Racists guide to the People of South Africa" Word on the street is that he is a mere 1500 copies away from reaching best seller status. Yes, I taught him everything I know. In fact, and this is no lie...when we were roommates in first year varsity at Stellenbosch, this controversial, yet wittily astute author, even made me write his sms messages for him...I'll say no more on that matter :) *cough*
If you google Simon Kilpatrick, he might even be the 2nd or 3rd reference that pops up in your search results. Good effort Bongi.
We also invited one of my oldest friends around. As he is now no longer an accountant making waves in the corporate world, and has shifted his focus to writing novels, we figured every chance he gets to have a hot meal would be much appreciated. Being an artiste and all.
Needless to say, the gas cylinder ran out halfway through cooking my chicken on the rotisserie. Which resulted in comparisons being drawn to the disastrous Christmas '10 turkey incident where the fire burnt out hours before the bird was cooked.
So off it went to the oven. Problem solved.
Now, the reason for this making it into the blog, besides the extraordinary event of having one Tanzanian local and one pseudo-American gracing our home, is that what Rachel didn't know she was getting when she popped into the Wood's for dinner, was a book reading and signing by an up-and-coming, almost best-selling South African/Dutch/Soon to be American author.
Simon Kilpatrick (not his real name, for fear of angry stereotyped individuals hunting him down with a blunt spoon) not only signed Rachel's copy of his book (which had previously been given to us, but hey...it's still Christmas right?), but also read some of his choice excerpts from his maiden novel.
We then proceeded to tell Rachel that when we come to Tanzania to visit, we hope she can deliver a matching, if not superior experience.
She offered to drive us downtown and show us where the Dar prostitutes hang out. Thank you Rachel.
In any event, if you have a sense of humour and want to read about things that most of us only talk about behind other people's backs or after too many beers, go and pick up a copy of Simon Kilpatrick's "The Racists guide to the People of South Africa" Word on the street is that he is a mere 1500 copies away from reaching best seller status. Yes, I taught him everything I know. In fact, and this is no lie...when we were roommates in first year varsity at Stellenbosch, this controversial, yet wittily astute author, even made me write his sms messages for him...I'll say no more on that matter :) *cough*
If you google Simon Kilpatrick, he might even be the 2nd or 3rd reference that pops up in your search results. Good effort Bongi.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Learning along the way...and asking for help!
I have walked across (or hurtled into) my first "New Bloggers Stumbling Block"
For some unknown reason, the weblink is not allowing people to post comments on any of my listings. Now this may be a good thing, as public abuse and mockery are considered good grounding for aspirational litrerary newbies, but on the same note, I would still quite enjoy the odd shared thought from a passer-by.
In any event, if anyone (more experienced than I) knows why it will not allow comments to be posted, please do share. It seems that when you click on the little button that says "Post Comment" exactly the opposite happens and the site seems to do as little as possible in mockery of your typing effort.
So I had a look and all my settings seem to be correct (anyone can comment, no log on credentials apply etc.) and the only way I managed to get it to work was to:
Anyway, that's as far as my investigation got.............for now!
Happy Thursday!
For some unknown reason, the weblink is not allowing people to post comments on any of my listings. Now this may be a good thing, as public abuse and mockery are considered good grounding for aspirational litrerary newbies, but on the same note, I would still quite enjoy the odd shared thought from a passer-by.
In any event, if anyone (more experienced than I) knows why it will not allow comments to be posted, please do share. It seems that when you click on the little button that says "Post Comment" exactly the opposite happens and the site seems to do as little as possible in mockery of your typing effort.
So I had a look and all my settings seem to be correct (anyone can comment, no log on credentials apply etc.) and the only way I managed to get it to work was to:
- Preview the comment first
- Then post from that page.
Anyway, that's as far as my investigation got.............for now!
Happy Thursday!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
New Year's Resolutions
Every year, round about the 31st December, 50% of the world sets themselves resolutions they intend to follow.
The other 50% is made up of a). Those people who don't celebrate New Year in December and so make their own resolutions at another time, b). Those that could not care to change anything and are content with what they have and c). Those that drank too much and cannot remember that it is a New Year.
99% of all statistics are also made up. I shall say no more.
Anyway, I decided to formally create a list of NYR's this year, with the hope of sticking to some of them. Here they are:
1). Get fit, Stay fit. This is a rather straight forward one. It involves me, a pair of running shoes and a newly acquired Garmin FR60 running watch. It also involves my legendary mountain bike (as debuted in http://cjwood1981.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-what-year-part-1.html)
What it means though, is that I have to constantly maintain my level of fitness, rather than running solidly for a month, taking two weeks off and then having to fight the irritation of trying to get back into it. FAIL.
This will be facilitated through events and races (to be planned in advance) throughout the year that I can train towards and that fit into my work, life and MBA schedule. This blog will also be a test bed for my progress and my commitment to the cause, so please, feel free to constantly query this. I will thank you later.
2). Achieve in my MBA This is not a flight of fancy or a wishful gesture to my employers who have generously offered to pick up my MBA tab. I would like to really do well in my MBA and hopefully, actually kick its butt. This will not come easily and I may even need to open a text book this time around. Only time will tell.
3). Celebrate One Year Anniversary in Style. Come the 13th March this year, I will have been married to Helen for a year. Now considering that I know my schedule for MBA in advance (does anyone else get the impression here that my MBA will be dictating my life...hmmmm) I should be able to come up with something we can do that will mark the tremendous occasion of our nuptials and honeymoon fittingly. (also as debuted in http://cjwood1981.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-what-year-part-2.html)
This will need to be planned, calculated and executed. As always.
4). Travel Less. Now don't get me wrong, if the bank needs to send me to Las Vegas or Mexico, Hawaii or Colorado for a work trip, then I am there, with bells on. If time allows and I get to go and watch Wimbledon or the British Open or cycle through the backcountry of Holland and Belgium, I am also there. And of course, if a weekend away to the Natal Midlands of the Kruger National Park are on the cards, only compulsory lectures will stop me. This resolution relates to always committing to everything and anything. In the past few years, Helen and I have spent so many weekends away, that our neighbours frequently state "Oh, we thought you had moved out?" This will need to be carefully managed. Coz I said so.
5). Have Christmas in our New House. This leads me to another issue altogether. For about 8 months now, Helen and I have been shopping around for a new permanent residence. This deserves a post all to itself and shall get one as it has been like a thriller. The kind where you never know what will happen until it happens.
In any event, for time and space on this post, this resolution relates to building our new permanent residence on an, as yet, undisclosed piece of land. Assuming this occurs and we find a seller who actually wants to sell the property they have listed (more detail later), we would LOVE, L-O-V-E to have Christmas 2011 in it. Is that too much to ask?!?
And there you have it, I have kept them short, as I can't focus on too many things at one time. Throughout the year, I will refer back to these and hopefully show some signs of progress. Otherwise they aren't really resolutions are they (wouldn't be very resolute of me if I didn't?)
oh...and I also started a blog. But if you're reading this, then you already know that
The other 50% is made up of a). Those people who don't celebrate New Year in December and so make their own resolutions at another time, b). Those that could not care to change anything and are content with what they have and c). Those that drank too much and cannot remember that it is a New Year.
99% of all statistics are also made up. I shall say no more.
Anyway, I decided to formally create a list of NYR's this year, with the hope of sticking to some of them. Here they are:
1). Get fit, Stay fit. This is a rather straight forward one. It involves me, a pair of running shoes and a newly acquired Garmin FR60 running watch. It also involves my legendary mountain bike (as debuted in http://cjwood1981.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-what-year-part-1.html)
What it means though, is that I have to constantly maintain my level of fitness, rather than running solidly for a month, taking two weeks off and then having to fight the irritation of trying to get back into it. FAIL.
This will be facilitated through events and races (to be planned in advance) throughout the year that I can train towards and that fit into my work, life and MBA schedule. This blog will also be a test bed for my progress and my commitment to the cause, so please, feel free to constantly query this. I will thank you later.
2). Achieve in my MBA This is not a flight of fancy or a wishful gesture to my employers who have generously offered to pick up my MBA tab. I would like to really do well in my MBA and hopefully, actually kick its butt. This will not come easily and I may even need to open a text book this time around. Only time will tell.
3). Celebrate One Year Anniversary in Style. Come the 13th March this year, I will have been married to Helen for a year. Now considering that I know my schedule for MBA in advance (does anyone else get the impression here that my MBA will be dictating my life...hmmmm) I should be able to come up with something we can do that will mark the tremendous occasion of our nuptials and honeymoon fittingly. (also as debuted in http://cjwood1981.blogspot.com/2011/01/2010-what-year-part-2.html)
This will need to be planned, calculated and executed. As always.
4). Travel Less. Now don't get me wrong, if the bank needs to send me to Las Vegas or Mexico, Hawaii or Colorado for a work trip, then I am there, with bells on. If time allows and I get to go and watch Wimbledon or the British Open or cycle through the backcountry of Holland and Belgium, I am also there. And of course, if a weekend away to the Natal Midlands of the Kruger National Park are on the cards, only compulsory lectures will stop me. This resolution relates to always committing to everything and anything. In the past few years, Helen and I have spent so many weekends away, that our neighbours frequently state "Oh, we thought you had moved out?" This will need to be carefully managed. Coz I said so.
5). Have Christmas in our New House. This leads me to another issue altogether. For about 8 months now, Helen and I have been shopping around for a new permanent residence. This deserves a post all to itself and shall get one as it has been like a thriller. The kind where you never know what will happen until it happens.
In any event, for time and space on this post, this resolution relates to building our new permanent residence on an, as yet, undisclosed piece of land. Assuming this occurs and we find a seller who actually wants to sell the property they have listed (more detail later), we would LOVE, L-O-V-E to have Christmas 2011 in it. Is that too much to ask?!?
And there you have it, I have kept them short, as I can't focus on too many things at one time. Throughout the year, I will refer back to these and hopefully show some signs of progress. Otherwise they aren't really resolutions are they (wouldn't be very resolute of me if I didn't?)
oh...and I also started a blog. But if you're reading this, then you already know that
Back to the Future - Marty McFly style
So 2011 is meant to be "The Year of Living Dangerously" and up until this point, all my posts have been about the past and all that 2010 had to offer.
You would be forgiven for thinking the title of my blog relates to what happened last year and not what is (potentially) to come. I will try and sort some of that out now.
Consider this an interlude then, for my flashbacks of the year that was and an introduction to the year that will be...
But, make no mistake, while it may appear that all I did in 2010 was experience the world and everything it has to offer, I am still not done and there are a number of aforementioned flashbacks still to come, you mark my words!
Let's come back to the future then.
2011 (and the blog that it inspired) is classified as "The Year of Living Dangerously (or not...)" for one main reason: This is the year that I go back to school. Fortuntately, there are no scottish inspired uniforms to wear (you will relate if yours had any form of tartan incorporated into it...)
This is also the reason for the bookshelf inspired template my blog resides on. There was method in my madness for selecting this, and although it is appropriate, I do fear that even the number of books represented in my home page may not be enough to properly do justice to the volume I will be expected to consume over the next two years. Sad as this may be, I am looking forward to getting taught a thing or two and to even, perhaps, be able to apply it in my career.
I shall be keeping the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) honest when it comes to assessing this and its success.
On the plus side, hopefully I can get my hands on a University of Pretoria student card (as I am now a Tukkies student) and make use of all those handy student benefits associated with this little plastic goldmine.
What all of this means is: I will be spending a lot of time in lectures, my schedule is a mess, I will miss out on a lot of personal time and social interaction (hermit?) and whatever work I have to do for the bank will have to be done over and above my studies, projects, group work and whatever else they throw my way. I also have to, somewhere, somehow, go home and actually have a life...or Helen will end mine. Period.
If this isn't The Year of Living Dangerously, then I don't know what is :)
(except this time I play the lead role, not Mel Gibson...which is a good thing, as he is a little strange...)
You would be forgiven for thinking the title of my blog relates to what happened last year and not what is (potentially) to come. I will try and sort some of that out now.
Consider this an interlude then, for my flashbacks of the year that was and an introduction to the year that will be...
But, make no mistake, while it may appear that all I did in 2010 was experience the world and everything it has to offer, I am still not done and there are a number of aforementioned flashbacks still to come, you mark my words!
Let's come back to the future then.
2011 (and the blog that it inspired) is classified as "The Year of Living Dangerously (or not...)" for one main reason: This is the year that I go back to school. Fortuntately, there are no scottish inspired uniforms to wear (you will relate if yours had any form of tartan incorporated into it...)
This is also the reason for the bookshelf inspired template my blog resides on. There was method in my madness for selecting this, and although it is appropriate, I do fear that even the number of books represented in my home page may not be enough to properly do justice to the volume I will be expected to consume over the next two years. Sad as this may be, I am looking forward to getting taught a thing or two and to even, perhaps, be able to apply it in my career.
I shall be keeping the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) honest when it comes to assessing this and its success.
On the plus side, hopefully I can get my hands on a University of Pretoria student card (as I am now a Tukkies student) and make use of all those handy student benefits associated with this little plastic goldmine.
What all of this means is: I will be spending a lot of time in lectures, my schedule is a mess, I will miss out on a lot of personal time and social interaction (hermit?) and whatever work I have to do for the bank will have to be done over and above my studies, projects, group work and whatever else they throw my way. I also have to, somewhere, somehow, go home and actually have a life...or Helen will end mine. Period.
If this isn't The Year of Living Dangerously, then I don't know what is :)
(except this time I play the lead role, not Mel Gibson...which is a good thing, as he is a little strange...)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
2010 - What a Year! Part 4 - Otter Trail
After the World Cup things in South Africa settled back down to the usual frenzy, meaning that all the work outstanding, deadlines missed and commitments over-committed to, had to be caught up on and completed.
For us this meant working on a rather large deal with a global bank which didnt result in the outcome we expected, but I won't get into that.A very good learning curve for me though and one I won't regret being a part of.
In October 2010, a group of twelve of us undertook one of the famous hikes in South Africa.
The Otter trail is well known (surprisingly, at most social occasions or meetings of at least more than two people, you will find a person who has done the trail...I promise)
Trevor and I had tried to book it about eight years back, but after a cancellation, we were left Otter-less and when Helen's best friend, Jacki, booked it, I was only too happy to jump at the chance. An eight year delay in my books is eight years too long.
The Otter is usually booked up (in the dry months at least) for about two years in advance. We were incredibly lucky to get our spot and it was still about a year ahead of the start date that Jax got into their schedule. This gave us enough time to mentally prepare, buy all the trail goodies and finalise our preparations.
This also gave Helen the opportunity to effectively buy shares in Cape Union Mart as she kitted herself out with new kit. I would not hesitate to say that outdoor shops make a large portion of their annual revenue on "new hikers" like most of us who are preparing for their first multi-day ordeal. For these Otter-Trailers, this was certainly the case!
Anyhow, back to the future and we all converged on Plettenberg Bay and Storms River in October. After an entertaining road-trip where we had failed miserably in a futile effort to book U2 tickets online while driving through Graaff-Reinet, Helen, Jax, Melody and I (yes, one guy and 3 girls for a two day road trip, accompanied by the Blackberry version of 1001 interesting facts, like "How fast does a bee fly?") made our way down to our place in Plett at Goose Valley (The Goose) for a couple of days luxury before we hit the great outdoors.
This also gave us an awesome opportunity to pack and re-pack our backpacks multiple times and argue about which pack was the heaviest. It also gave me a chance to buy a new pair of shoes as my current pair had developed an amazingly positioned hole in the side. This meant taking a brand new pair on the 5 day hike and hoping blisters would not be my closest companion for the duration.
We all met up for the first night at the Storms River Campsite in the Tsitsikamma nature reserve to have dinner at the restaurant and talk about what was to come. We were greeted by a group at the table next to us of a slightly older crowd who had just completed the walk. They were wet, tired, covered in dirt and celebrating the fact that they had made it through. After a few drinks, they were also only too happy to share all the "secrets" of the walk with us.
The next morning, bright and early we set off (after watching the compuslory video of 1980's style actors doing the trail and pointing out all the flowers along the route). Everyone was sprightly and fairly cruised to the first campsite. The first day is a relatively short walk and is highlighted by a coastal waterfall where the brave had a very cold swim. We were surprised by an African striped genet at the campsite fire and got very creative trying to get some night time photo's of it.
(The whole crowd at the waterfall on Day 1)
(The mist off the ocean looking down over the cliffs in the late afternoon)
The second day is slightly longer and starts off with some slog through the undergrowth and a few little climbs, giving plenty of opportunity to see down the coastline and have a sighting of what is to come over the next few days. Possibly the longest vertical climb occurs on day two and Mark Dickson and I pushed ahead to scout out the trail. We managed to reach the campsite relatively early, but still only just early enough to beat the only rain storm we had over the five days.
(Kim and Tracy Pretorius at one of the lookout points over the cliffs)
We were incredibly lucky with the weather actually, it rained until before the day we started, rained overnight while at camp two, and started to rain again the day after we finished...well organised Jax!
Day three served up our first proper river crossing, which was a challenge as the recent rains had created some very swollen rivers. A team effort saw all the packs across the river inside their survival bags and the intrepid trail-ers safely as well. The only loss was a slop which was not strong enough to withstand the current.
(The other side of the river, re-organizing packs after the crossing)
The campsite at the end of day three is a lovely one. Both huts look out over the rocks and the river mouth into the ocean. We were spoilt with ongoing views of wave cresting dolphins throughout the late afternoon and evening as they trawled the coastline for food. The cold rain-water shower on this evening even felt surprisingly refreshing!
Day four is the long and challenging part of the Otter Trail. All the talk of the trail is of Day 4, where crossing the Bloukrans is the major stumbling block. The day covers just over 13km of undulating terrain, with a lot of climbs and scrambling over the beachside rocks.
(Some of the girls getting ready for the descent down to Bloukrans River Crossing)
The crossing itself turned out to be rather more simple than we had feared. We analyzed and assessed the potential crossing lines until we chose a route, which once half way across, turned out to be only up to our knees. While we weren't unhappy about the fact that we conquered the mighty Bloukrans so easily, one hiker at least wanted a slightly more difficult challenge after all the hype (it may have been me!)
For us this meant working on a rather large deal with a global bank which didnt result in the outcome we expected, but I won't get into that.A very good learning curve for me though and one I won't regret being a part of.
In October 2010, a group of twelve of us undertook one of the famous hikes in South Africa.
The Otter trail is well known (surprisingly, at most social occasions or meetings of at least more than two people, you will find a person who has done the trail...I promise)
Trevor and I had tried to book it about eight years back, but after a cancellation, we were left Otter-less and when Helen's best friend, Jacki, booked it, I was only too happy to jump at the chance. An eight year delay in my books is eight years too long.
The Otter is usually booked up (in the dry months at least) for about two years in advance. We were incredibly lucky to get our spot and it was still about a year ahead of the start date that Jax got into their schedule. This gave us enough time to mentally prepare, buy all the trail goodies and finalise our preparations.
This also gave Helen the opportunity to effectively buy shares in Cape Union Mart as she kitted herself out with new kit. I would not hesitate to say that outdoor shops make a large portion of their annual revenue on "new hikers" like most of us who are preparing for their first multi-day ordeal. For these Otter-Trailers, this was certainly the case!
Anyhow, back to the future and we all converged on Plettenberg Bay and Storms River in October. After an entertaining road-trip where we had failed miserably in a futile effort to book U2 tickets online while driving through Graaff-Reinet, Helen, Jax, Melody and I (yes, one guy and 3 girls for a two day road trip, accompanied by the Blackberry version of 1001 interesting facts, like "How fast does a bee fly?") made our way down to our place in Plett at Goose Valley (The Goose) for a couple of days luxury before we hit the great outdoors.
(Mel checking out the Gem of the Karoo, Graaff-Reinet)
(Relaxing in Plett before the Trail begins)
This also gave us an awesome opportunity to pack and re-pack our backpacks multiple times and argue about which pack was the heaviest. It also gave me a chance to buy a new pair of shoes as my current pair had developed an amazingly positioned hole in the side. This meant taking a brand new pair on the 5 day hike and hoping blisters would not be my closest companion for the duration.
We all met up for the first night at the Storms River Campsite in the Tsitsikamma nature reserve to have dinner at the restaurant and talk about what was to come. We were greeted by a group at the table next to us of a slightly older crowd who had just completed the walk. They were wet, tired, covered in dirt and celebrating the fact that they had made it through. After a few drinks, they were also only too happy to share all the "secrets" of the walk with us.
(Hike leader Jacki "I've got this waxed" van der Riet)
The next morning, bright and early we set off (after watching the compuslory video of 1980's style actors doing the trail and pointing out all the flowers along the route). Everyone was sprightly and fairly cruised to the first campsite. The first day is a relatively short walk and is highlighted by a coastal waterfall where the brave had a very cold swim. We were surprised by an African striped genet at the campsite fire and got very creative trying to get some night time photo's of it.
(The whole crowd at the waterfall on Day 1)
(The mist off the ocean looking down over the cliffs in the late afternoon)
The second day is slightly longer and starts off with some slog through the undergrowth and a few little climbs, giving plenty of opportunity to see down the coastline and have a sighting of what is to come over the next few days. Possibly the longest vertical climb occurs on day two and Mark Dickson and I pushed ahead to scout out the trail. We managed to reach the campsite relatively early, but still only just early enough to beat the only rain storm we had over the five days.
(Kim and Tracy Pretorius at one of the lookout points over the cliffs)
We were incredibly lucky with the weather actually, it rained until before the day we started, rained overnight while at camp two, and started to rain again the day after we finished...well organised Jax!
Day three served up our first proper river crossing, which was a challenge as the recent rains had created some very swollen rivers. A team effort saw all the packs across the river inside their survival bags and the intrepid trail-ers safely as well. The only loss was a slop which was not strong enough to withstand the current.
(The other side of the river, re-organizing packs after the crossing)
The campsite at the end of day three is a lovely one. Both huts look out over the rocks and the river mouth into the ocean. We were spoilt with ongoing views of wave cresting dolphins throughout the late afternoon and evening as they trawled the coastline for food. The cold rain-water shower on this evening even felt surprisingly refreshing!
(The huts at the end of day three, just after the river crossing and looking out over the ocean)
(Sunset on day three, with Robberg point in the distance)
Day four is the long and challenging part of the Otter Trail. All the talk of the trail is of Day 4, where crossing the Bloukrans is the major stumbling block. The day covers just over 13km of undulating terrain, with a lot of climbs and scrambling over the beachside rocks.
(Mark and I on our way down to Bloukrans, after stopping to assess the strategy for the crossing)
We were once again fortunate that our time to cross the river (this is dependant on when the tide is low, as it is not considered safe to do the crossing at high tide, or even too long after the tide has shifted) was at approximately midday. This gave us the opportunity to wake up at a normal time (which is when the sun comes up) and walk at a decent pace to beat the tide. I have friends who have had to walk through the night to get to the river crossing at the right time. How lucky we were.
(Bloukrans River, the world's highest bungy jump is further upstream)
The last night's campsite provides the hiker with the famous "loo with a view" and an incredibly cold shower. It also gives everyone the opportunity to finish whatever they have left in their packs, to reflect on the last four days and size up the climb that would be the start of our final day.
Day five is a breeze, after the starting climb we reached the plateau and fairly cruised along the clifftops. After a couple of hours we reached the beach at Natures Valley. All trail-ers were happy to have made it through five days in the wilderness, some sickness, some injuries and a lot of tinned tuna and two minute noodles.
(On Natures Valley beach after everyone had finished the trail, successful!)
We still had a few kilometres to walk to the final lunch together, where a hot meal and food being served to us, rather than being consumed in a mug/bowl/plate combination was the order of the day.
Finally, when the time came to go our separate ways, it was unanimous...everyone would do it again. In a heartbeat.
2010 - What a Year! Part 3 - Fifa World Cup
Twentee Ten, the year that South Africa was finally, firmly, fantastically put on the Global Map.
I remember the day so many years ago when we won the bid for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. I was on the putting green down at Beachwood Golf Course, warming up for the Durban Country Club 2004 Club Championships. I ran into the closest open door when I heard the screaming and celebrating.
I had hoped that I wouldnt have tee'd off by the time old Sepp Blatter pulled the envelope, and I was only just in time as my name had been called out to head to the tee box when the announcement came.
I may have been a little emotional as I didnt play that first hole very well at all...
Needless to say, all those years ago, I don't think anyone knew just how big the tournament would be for our country, for industry and small business and for the game of football on the African continent.
I was in the United States when my brother emailed me and asked if I wanted to help with a client of his and work at one of the stadiums during the tournament. I knew that he had taken up their offer to manage the fire safety for the VIP suites at the Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town, but when he asked me if I would like to do the same for Moses Mabhida in Durban, I naturally said, "YES, ABSOLUTELY"
The opportunity to work with Fifa during the tournament was one that I, a self-proclaimed soccer nut, was too good to be true (I have managed to get this far into my blog without mentioning Liverpool, and with the last 19 years being as painful as they have been, I may have to wait another few before I can say too much more about my beloved club)
What sweetened the deal even more (as if it needed it), was that I had VIP access through Fifa, to all the stadiums and all the suites for the duration of the tournament. Now, to put this in perspective, this meant that I could go to any game, enter any stadium and situate myself in the best seats in the house. For nothing.
And so, i did...
I went World Cup mad, going to the opening ceremony and game, one of the highlights of my life. That morning I woke up at 4am, just too excited to sleep any longer and hearing the sound of the vuvuzela outside on the streets. I sat on the half way line in Soccer City, cried during the National Anthem and went absolutely insane when Tshabalala slotted that top right hand corner strike. I remember a guy in the row in front of me turning around and we were both jumping out of our seats. He tried to give me a high five, but in our excitement we both missed completely (very, Dumb and Dumber like) It was all just too much.
I went to so many games, watching England collapse against the USA in Rustenberg and the infamous Robert Green spill (not so good for him), I travelled up and down to Durban and watched Brazil take on Portugal and many others. Last but not least, I went to the Final of the 2010 Fifa World Cup and soaked in the atmosphere where Spain took on Holland.
None of these could match the feeling on that opening day when our country united behind Bafana.
The World Cup was a success, it leaves behind amazing stadiums which we now need to utilise, it created a whole new culture of support for our National football team (who doesn't own a scarf, shirt or jersey now with the yellow and green of Bafana?!) and it showed the world we can deliver on the greatest stage.
And I was there.
I remember the day so many years ago when we won the bid for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. I was on the putting green down at Beachwood Golf Course, warming up for the Durban Country Club 2004 Club Championships. I ran into the closest open door when I heard the screaming and celebrating.
I had hoped that I wouldnt have tee'd off by the time old Sepp Blatter pulled the envelope, and I was only just in time as my name had been called out to head to the tee box when the announcement came.
I may have been a little emotional as I didnt play that first hole very well at all...
Needless to say, all those years ago, I don't think anyone knew just how big the tournament would be for our country, for industry and small business and for the game of football on the African continent.
I was in the United States when my brother emailed me and asked if I wanted to help with a client of his and work at one of the stadiums during the tournament. I knew that he had taken up their offer to manage the fire safety for the VIP suites at the Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town, but when he asked me if I would like to do the same for Moses Mabhida in Durban, I naturally said, "YES, ABSOLUTELY"
The opportunity to work with Fifa during the tournament was one that I, a self-proclaimed soccer nut, was too good to be true (I have managed to get this far into my blog without mentioning Liverpool, and with the last 19 years being as painful as they have been, I may have to wait another few before I can say too much more about my beloved club)
What sweetened the deal even more (as if it needed it), was that I had VIP access through Fifa, to all the stadiums and all the suites for the duration of the tournament. Now, to put this in perspective, this meant that I could go to any game, enter any stadium and situate myself in the best seats in the house. For nothing.
And so, i did...
I went World Cup mad, going to the opening ceremony and game, one of the highlights of my life. That morning I woke up at 4am, just too excited to sleep any longer and hearing the sound of the vuvuzela outside on the streets. I sat on the half way line in Soccer City, cried during the National Anthem and went absolutely insane when Tshabalala slotted that top right hand corner strike. I remember a guy in the row in front of me turning around and we were both jumping out of our seats. He tried to give me a high five, but in our excitement we both missed completely (very, Dumb and Dumber like) It was all just too much.
I went to so many games, watching England collapse against the USA in Rustenberg and the infamous Robert Green spill (not so good for him), I travelled up and down to Durban and watched Brazil take on Portugal and many others. Last but not least, I went to the Final of the 2010 Fifa World Cup and soaked in the atmosphere where Spain took on Holland.
(Inside Soccer City, while they prepared for the Opening Ceremony - Yes, I got there early)
(The football dung beatle)
(Leaving the stadium after one of the games)
(The press line up as the teams prepare to come out for the National Anthems)
(At the Eng vs USA game, I stood right behind Vice President of the USA, Joe Biden, during the National anthems in the presidential suite)
(Captain Stevie, a one man show for club and country)
None of these could match the feeling on that opening day when our country united behind Bafana.
The World Cup was a success, it leaves behind amazing stadiums which we now need to utilise, it created a whole new culture of support for our National football team (who doesn't own a scarf, shirt or jersey now with the yellow and green of Bafana?!) and it showed the world we can deliver on the greatest stage.
And I was there.
2010 - What a Year! Part 2
Upon our return from the States, Helen and I had some manic, crazy work to do in planning for our wedding.
We realized that when you go overseas for a month and your wedding is in March, you tend to not give yourself too much time to do the last minute things.
Like send out invitations.
Needless to say, there was a bit of panic and some people still have not received their invitations to this date, long after the last bottle of champagne was finished and the last dance danced! But that's another thing altogether...
With me starting a new job when I got back, as well as finishing off the important issues in my old job, it meant that I had to manage both for a period of a month. This was fun, especially considering that my old role was based closer to the city, and the new one in Sandton. Excellent.
But that's enough about work.
Our wedding was a truly spectacular time and event. We had it down in the Natal Midlands, at a fantastic venue (only to happy to promote it!) called Providence, with an amazing photographer (Dean Demos photography) and a videographer who created a dvd for us that we have watched many times over!
For the most important day in your life, we could not have asked for more and to have our friends and family there was the icing on the cake (which was also a masterpiece if I may add!)
The weather played its part, a good time was had by all and we had the best of the best in terms of the catering and co-ordination at the venue. The only thing left to do....was go on honeymoon!
While Helen and I had agreed that we would like to go to the East for our honeymoon, I was on the hook to organise it and make as much as possible a surprise. This type of thing is right up my street as I love to travel and love to look at places to go, things to do and options abroad.
So, First stop: Hong Kong. We spent two and a half days in the city, walked around Lantau Island, visited the Big Buddha and popped in at some of the major banks (HSBC and Standard Chartered). From here we flew on to Bangkok, Thailand and connected to Koh Samui's lovely little airport, spending four days relaxing on the beach, visiting the marine reserve and inland lake and eating hot curries next to the ocean. I definitely recommend Koh Samui for a more relaxing location in Thailand if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Phuket or Koh Phi Phi.
We then flew over to the Andaman Sea and Krabi and caught a connecting boat to Railay Bay, our favourite resort of the whole trip. We had our own cottage, kitted our with Jacuzzi, Koi pond and everything else that opens and shuts! Here we spotted the best sunsets in the East, rock climbed and discovered a little hidden beach where monkeys play on the sand and the water is like a bath throughout the day and into the evening.
Grudgingly, we had to leave Railay and catch a ferry on to Koh Phi Phi, where we caught another connection up north to the more remote Laemtong beach (Phi Phi Natural Resort). Phi Phi is famous for its snorkelling, where day trips will take you out to locations where the viewing with a snorkel is just as good as a scuba dive. My only challenge was swimming into a number of sea snakes on the 2nd day, and if you know my fear of snakes, well...lets just say, I almost never went back into the sea after that!
From Phi Phi we flew back to the mainland and up north to Chiang Mai, on the border and in the mountains, where we spent 5 days relaxing, reading and visiting the forest elephants. Thanks to my parents, who organised the accommodation for us, just going to show, the strength of having timeshare available to you means you really can travel and stay anywhere in the world!
A brief stop back in Bangkok for two days in the middle of all the unrest with the Red Shirts supporting the overthrown Thakasin Shinawatran was the last of our entertainment for the trip and we got to duck and dive inbetween all of this, while visiting the shops, restaurants and temples in the Thai capital. We definitely decided that the right way to do Thailand in future is to stop in Bangkok first, buy your luggage and clothing there (it is THAT cheap) and move on to the islands from there!
We had a superb hotel in the Sukhumvit Road, that was just the best way to finish off the trip, 5 star luxury and perfectly located for us. (Rembrandt Hotel and Towers) and will only stay there when we go to Bangkok in future.
All in all, we had a very active, yet relaxing trip, where we got to see some of the amazing East and now have a fresh respect for everything it has to offer. Three or so weeks of honeymoon was just what we needed to wind down after such a busy and exciting time at our wedding.
Ready to come home and start our lives as Mr and Mrs Wood!
We realized that when you go overseas for a month and your wedding is in March, you tend to not give yourself too much time to do the last minute things.
Like send out invitations.
Needless to say, there was a bit of panic and some people still have not received their invitations to this date, long after the last bottle of champagne was finished and the last dance danced! But that's another thing altogether...
With me starting a new job when I got back, as well as finishing off the important issues in my old job, it meant that I had to manage both for a period of a month. This was fun, especially considering that my old role was based closer to the city, and the new one in Sandton. Excellent.
But that's enough about work.
Our wedding was a truly spectacular time and event. We had it down in the Natal Midlands, at a fantastic venue (only to happy to promote it!) called Providence, with an amazing photographer (Dean Demos photography) and a videographer who created a dvd for us that we have watched many times over!
For the most important day in your life, we could not have asked for more and to have our friends and family there was the icing on the cake (which was also a masterpiece if I may add!)
(Helen's bridesmaids did a fantastic job keeping her relaxed and getting her ready for her big day!)
(The cake, layers of chocolate, covered in flake and Lindt chocolate balls, something else!)
(Providence - Just the perfect venue for us in the Natal Midlands)
The weather played its part, a good time was had by all and we had the best of the best in terms of the catering and co-ordination at the venue. The only thing left to do....was go on honeymoon!
While Helen and I had agreed that we would like to go to the East for our honeymoon, I was on the hook to organise it and make as much as possible a surprise. This type of thing is right up my street as I love to travel and love to look at places to go, things to do and options abroad.
So, First stop: Hong Kong. We spent two and a half days in the city, walked around Lantau Island, visited the Big Buddha and popped in at some of the major banks (HSBC and Standard Chartered). From here we flew on to Bangkok, Thailand and connected to Koh Samui's lovely little airport, spending four days relaxing on the beach, visiting the marine reserve and inland lake and eating hot curries next to the ocean. I definitely recommend Koh Samui for a more relaxing location in Thailand if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Phuket or Koh Phi Phi.
(Climbing the stairs to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island, Hong Kong)
(A warm welcome on our arrival in Koh Samui at the White House Resort and Spa)
We then flew over to the Andaman Sea and Krabi and caught a connecting boat to Railay Bay, our favourite resort of the whole trip. We had our own cottage, kitted our with Jacuzzi, Koi pond and everything else that opens and shuts! Here we spotted the best sunsets in the East, rock climbed and discovered a little hidden beach where monkeys play on the sand and the water is like a bath throughout the day and into the evening.
(Railay Bay Resort, mecca for rock climbing and tourist relaxation)
(Maya Bay, the scenery used in the movie "The Beach" with that guy Leo Di Caprio)
From Phi Phi we flew back to the mainland and up north to Chiang Mai, on the border and in the mountains, where we spent 5 days relaxing, reading and visiting the forest elephants. Thanks to my parents, who organised the accommodation for us, just going to show, the strength of having timeshare available to you means you really can travel and stay anywhere in the world!
(Bella Vista Country Club in the mountains of Chiang Mai)
A brief stop back in Bangkok for two days in the middle of all the unrest with the Red Shirts supporting the overthrown Thakasin Shinawatran was the last of our entertainment for the trip and we got to duck and dive inbetween all of this, while visiting the shops, restaurants and temples in the Thai capital. We definitely decided that the right way to do Thailand in future is to stop in Bangkok first, buy your luggage and clothing there (it is THAT cheap) and move on to the islands from there!
We had a superb hotel in the Sukhumvit Road, that was just the best way to finish off the trip, 5 star luxury and perfectly located for us. (Rembrandt Hotel and Towers) and will only stay there when we go to Bangkok in future.
All in all, we had a very active, yet relaxing trip, where we got to see some of the amazing East and now have a fresh respect for everything it has to offer. Three or so weeks of honeymoon was just what we needed to wind down after such a busy and exciting time at our wedding.
Ready to come home and start our lives as Mr and Mrs Wood!
2010 - What a Year! Part 1
Our 2010 began on an aeroplane. A long awaited (and very well planned) trip to the United States and Mexico was on the cards with our very good friends Cath and Ian and Trevor and Marike. The planning had been almost two years in the making and was to include big lights, big city (New York and Las Vegas), beach and relaxation (Riviera Maya, Mexico) and big slopes, wicked snowboarding and truckloads of powder (Lake Tahoe)
It delivered all of this, and more.
We took off from OR Thambo on the 31st December 2009, but not before I had phoned my boss and resigned formally from my job while in the business lounge at the airport. Some way to wish a Happy New Year I guess?
So with the prospect of a new role within Nedbank around the corner, I was able to climb on the plane and start the long trek across the globe with my fiance and some of my best friends with a feeling of excitement for change ahead and new beginnings, not a bad way to usher in the beginning of 2010!
New York City, as always, is an amazing place. This time around, it was amazingly cold. After two days spent gallavanting around the city with the rest of the Saffers and our awesome friends, Joe and Melissa, we attemtped to climb on a plane down to Mexico. Attempted only because we got off at the wrong subway stop, missed our connecting flight to Atlanta, caught a taxi from JFK to La Guardia and paid extra for another connecting flight, only to arrive in Cancun about 6 hours (and one carry on luggage bag less) later than we had originally planned. But hey, that's what holdiays are for...disorganisation and chaos (Helen will shoot me if I ever try to preach this...)
Cancun and the Riviera Maya are amazing. The resorts: spectaculor, the swimming pools: vast, the food service at the pool: washed down with many a Cerveza (Corona, of course). We had a great time, topped off with a visit to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. (and a big party at the Mexican evening at the resort, thanks to Trev for a lot of the entertainment)
From Mexico we went on to Houston for a brief stop and then to Las Vegas. My 3rd trip to Sin City and each time it never ceases to amaze me how much fun you can have. I've played golf there before, hit the casino's and gone out to awesome restaurants. But nothing can prepare the first time visitor to this city in the desert for what they see and experience there. We had a great 3 days and while Ian and I had a tough time at the blackjack table on the first night, we made it all up and more the next day.
We also met up with one of Helen's good friend's, Carryn, and had a brilliant time out with her at Treasure Island, with dinner at Stack courtesy of the head chef and VIP treatment at the hotel nightclub, inclusive of access through a separate entrance and straight through to the VIP area. We got to experience the rock star lifestyle for one night, and it was GOOD!
From Vegas, the intrepid explorers went on to the Grand Canyon, got lost in the Mojave Desert (no indian smoke signals to get us out of that one) and spent a night in Los Angeles.
From LA, we headed north up the coastline and made our way towards the Monterrey Peninsula, a long stretch of coastline considered one of the most scenic in the world. Here, we stayed in Monterrey, ate fish and sour dough bread and visited (what for Ian, Trevor and myself was a highlight), Pebble Beach! Unfortunately we hadn't planned to bring golf clubs along, so could not play, but this creates an excuse for a golf tour in the future, no complaints there!
Next stop: Lake Tahoe! I had snowboarded in Colorado and Whistler, British Columbia in North America before and had only heard good things of Tahoe. We were hurt a little by the weather in the week, but managed to get 4 great days of boarding/skiing in. The highlight was discovering Sierra Nevada on the Nevada side, a smaller resort, but with some amazing runs and awesome powder. It was here that Ian and I persuaded Trevor to follow us down an off piste run below the chairlift on his first day of snowboarding. He did incredibly well considering it was much worse than a regular black slope would be, but it did make for some comical moments!
After we left Tahoe, after a good week's workout in the snow and with one additional piece of luggage (my new Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Elite mountain bike!)
We headed on by train and bus to San Francisco. What an awesome city. We really had a great time there and managed to squeeze so much into a short period of time, including a bicycle ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, through the Redwood Forests, past the coastal town of Tiburon and all the way through to Sausalito, where we had lunch and caught the Ferry back to the mainland.
We also had a great visit to The Rock, Alcatraz, and got to see why it paid to stay on the right side of the law in pre-1970's San Francisco and the greater United States.
Finally, back to New York and on home to good old South Africa! We had been away for the better part of a month and after all the planning and preparation for this trip, had done so much and seen so many new things, that we were exhausted!
The only question left unanswered was...where is the next holiday to? :)
It delivered all of this, and more.
We took off from OR Thambo on the 31st December 2009, but not before I had phoned my boss and resigned formally from my job while in the business lounge at the airport. Some way to wish a Happy New Year I guess?
So with the prospect of a new role within Nedbank around the corner, I was able to climb on the plane and start the long trek across the globe with my fiance and some of my best friends with a feeling of excitement for change ahead and new beginnings, not a bad way to usher in the beginning of 2010!
New York City, as always, is an amazing place. This time around, it was amazingly cold. After two days spent gallavanting around the city with the rest of the Saffers and our awesome friends, Joe and Melissa, we attemtped to climb on a plane down to Mexico. Attempted only because we got off at the wrong subway stop, missed our connecting flight to Atlanta, caught a taxi from JFK to La Guardia and paid extra for another connecting flight, only to arrive in Cancun about 6 hours (and one carry on luggage bag less) later than we had originally planned. But hey, that's what holdiays are for...disorganisation and chaos (Helen will shoot me if I ever try to preach this...)
Cancun and the Riviera Maya are amazing. The resorts: spectaculor, the swimming pools: vast, the food service at the pool: washed down with many a Cerveza (Corona, of course). We had a great time, topped off with a visit to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. (and a big party at the Mexican evening at the resort, thanks to Trev for a lot of the entertainment)
From Mexico we went on to Houston for a brief stop and then to Las Vegas. My 3rd trip to Sin City and each time it never ceases to amaze me how much fun you can have. I've played golf there before, hit the casino's and gone out to awesome restaurants. But nothing can prepare the first time visitor to this city in the desert for what they see and experience there. We had a great 3 days and while Ian and I had a tough time at the blackjack table on the first night, we made it all up and more the next day.
We also met up with one of Helen's good friend's, Carryn, and had a brilliant time out with her at Treasure Island, with dinner at Stack courtesy of the head chef and VIP treatment at the hotel nightclub, inclusive of access through a separate entrance and straight through to the VIP area. We got to experience the rock star lifestyle for one night, and it was GOOD!
From Vegas, the intrepid explorers went on to the Grand Canyon, got lost in the Mojave Desert (no indian smoke signals to get us out of that one) and spent a night in Los Angeles.
From LA, we headed north up the coastline and made our way towards the Monterrey Peninsula, a long stretch of coastline considered one of the most scenic in the world. Here, we stayed in Monterrey, ate fish and sour dough bread and visited (what for Ian, Trevor and myself was a highlight), Pebble Beach! Unfortunately we hadn't planned to bring golf clubs along, so could not play, but this creates an excuse for a golf tour in the future, no complaints there!
Next stop: Lake Tahoe! I had snowboarded in Colorado and Whistler, British Columbia in North America before and had only heard good things of Tahoe. We were hurt a little by the weather in the week, but managed to get 4 great days of boarding/skiing in. The highlight was discovering Sierra Nevada on the Nevada side, a smaller resort, but with some amazing runs and awesome powder. It was here that Ian and I persuaded Trevor to follow us down an off piste run below the chairlift on his first day of snowboarding. He did incredibly well considering it was much worse than a regular black slope would be, but it did make for some comical moments!
After we left Tahoe, after a good week's workout in the snow and with one additional piece of luggage (my new Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Elite mountain bike!)
We headed on by train and bus to San Francisco. What an awesome city. We really had a great time there and managed to squeeze so much into a short period of time, including a bicycle ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, through the Redwood Forests, past the coastal town of Tiburon and all the way through to Sausalito, where we had lunch and caught the Ferry back to the mainland.
We also had a great visit to The Rock, Alcatraz, and got to see why it paid to stay on the right side of the law in pre-1970's San Francisco and the greater United States.
Finally, back to New York and on home to good old South Africa! We had been away for the better part of a month and after all the planning and preparation for this trip, had done so much and seen so many new things, that we were exhausted!
The only question left unanswered was...where is the next holiday to? :)
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