Ok, so it's time...

to create a new posting and let the world know it hasn't got rid of me yet... The only reason I haven't put anything out recently is that things are extremely busy on this side of nowhere. Work is keeping me going through the day, to such an extent that, by the time 17h00 comes around I resolve to switch the laptop off until the following morning unless there's something urgent to complete. And that's from starting anywhere between 08h00 and 09h00. On top of that, there's meetings to attend and, as usual, they're not always the best use of one's time. On the home-front, things are at a virtual standstill on the building of the lounge, with the project manager always full of excuses as to why there are delays. To you lot out there who are considering building, or adding to your homes, put penalty clauses into the agreement. Hindsight is wonderful... Consider the photo to the left of this paragraph. It's a photo of my 19yr old daughter's back, or at least the new tattoo on it. As much as it's a nice picture and the artist has some talent, she really hasn't gone into this with any forethought of future consequences. Yeah, I know it's her body and her life, and, and, and, and all the other arguments, but she's only 19 and has a future ahead of her in which she can never be certain how body art will be received. Yeah, I know companies are not supposed to discriminate on the basis of loads of things, but face it, that's in an ideal world. She has a full career ahead of her and if someone senior sees it, it will probably be used against her at some point. And yes, she knows I'm disappointed in her for not thinking further ahead and going on impulse. Maybe I am an old fuddy-duddy at 43, but I have the benefit of age and experience. Incidentally, I have two tattoo's, one of Taz on my left shoulder and one, taken from the Scottish Rugby Union website of a thistle in the shape of a rugby ball, on the back of my right calf...both of which are unseen in normal workwear. The last two weeks have been an absolute alcoholic blur. It all started when my best mate (and brother I wished I'd had) Al, arrived from Houston as guest speaker at a seminar I hosted. He's been here a few times before, but this is the first time from the States. In previous visits, he'd been based in the UK, and he'd only had to endure a "normal" overnight flight. This time it took him almost two days to get here. Flight BA55 arrived at 07h00 or so, and after we'd sorted out a problem with Al's ATM card (wish the USA would get on the same systems as the REST of the world), we headed out for a breakfast, getting there at 10h30 and, you guessed it...the mail plane had flown over already so the bar was open. That was the start of a long Saturday, ending at about 21h30 or so when Al couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, and which somewhere in the middle included me getting my head shaved in support of Cancer Day. The following morning we were up early for a 2-hour drive to the seminar venue, Bakubung Bush Lodge in the heart of the Pilanesberg National Park (where we took daughter Tami and Cuzzin Ross earlier this year). After a couple of sessions, it was off for a game drive where we saw, mostly the "usual suspects" but also a lone male lion. The Pilanesberg had had a very bad bush fire a few weeks ago where a number of elephants were badly burned, some dying from their wounds, and the park rangers had left one of the carcasses for the scavengers to feed from. According to the ranger on our drive, it explained why this particular lion had been seen in this area for a while. Following the drive, we had an African Drumming Experience team building set up for the delegates, during and following which more alcohol was drunk, with the last of us retiring at about 02h00. Needless to say that on the Monday morning none of us were feeling too strong and the morning sessions went off very quietly. By lunchtime, everyone had started to wake up again, as Al had begun his presentations. He's a remarkable presenter and can keep you listening to him for hours. Being from Belfast helps too, as the Irish from that part of the world don't always know when to shut the fuck up. In his case, though, it's a good thing. For the afternoon, we'd arranged a game of cricket for a bit of sport, with yours truly acting as the impartial umpire. A fun time was had by all, with a couple of minor injuries caused by delegates throwing themselves around the tennis court we were playing on. Following that was another game drive and another few beers, though by 21h30 everyone had remembered the previous evening's "injuries" and retired to bed. Tuesday saw a couple of wrap-up sessions, following which Al and I went to de-stress in Manyane, another of the Pilanesberg camps, which is the same camp we went to in May. Too many beers and Captain Morgan 'n' Cokes later, we decided to call it a day. On Wednesday evening, back in Johannesburg, we ended up having dinner with Al's boss who was also in the country, but on holiday (his wife is from SA). Again, too much alcohol and another late night. We were supposed to go to Action Cricket on the Thursday night (and regular readers will know what that does to me), but the game was cancelled so Al and I sat at home and had a little barbecue by ourselves...and more alcohol... Friday saw us in the office for a few hours, followed by another dinner with Al's boss and a couple of other friends...and more alcohol... Needless to say that, after all that boozing, none of us surfaced until after 10h00 on Saturday and all we had to do was some shopping for curios for Al to take back to the States. He was under threat of divorce if he didn't bring back a pair of oven gloves with an African pattern on them, and knock me over and spank my ass with a rough plank if we didn't find a pair of gloves exactly the same as he had back home. Oven gloves may be a strange thing to take back from Africa for someone, but the original pair had been burned recently and Mrs Al really liked them (as he says, if she didn't have them, she'd end up burning her hands taking th TV dinners out of the oven - Al is the chief cook in the house). As is customary with our farewells, that evening it took us all of two seconds to say good bye (neitherof us like long goodbye's) and for Al to go belting off to get through customs in time to do some more bargain hunting before the two-day flight home. and it really is a bargain out here for visitors from the States and the UK as the exchange rates are so much in their favour (ZAR6.7 and ZAR12.4 to the dollar and pound respectively just now). Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday ended up being nice and quiet at home, just the two of us with perhaps only a sundowner for a drink, but Wednesday was another story. You guessed it...Action Cricket night!! Staggered in at somewhere around midnight, ravaged the missus (she loves it when I'm on the Captian Morgan 'n' Coke) and passed out sometime soon after. Thursday, as we had missed the game the previous week, ended up being a repeat of Wednesday, except for the ravaging part (too fucking knackered) and ended up getting to bed about 22h30. Somewhere through the haze I remember that we set up a game of golf for this coming Thursday...must get hold of the guys to find out more details. We expected to have a quiet Friday evening, just the two of us, but the neighbour's kids came over for a couple of hours while mum and dad went off to a work function (granny let them down on the babysitting). It ended up being not too late a night, with the kids' folks picking them up around 22h30...and very little alcohol. Saturday, however, was another story. After pottering around the garden and cleaning up the caravan for a few hours (we're going camping this weekend at a place Mbizi), we went to the wedding of two of our friends. Let me tell you that red wine and single malt scotch DO NOT MIX!! That was probably the worst hangover of my entire fucking life and Sunday was spent vegetating on the couch after a haggis and fried egg sandwich. Anyway, that's what I've been up to over the last few weeks, just in case you wondered. And, oh yes, Wednesday night is Action Cricket again...anyone got a spare liver? Take care, y'all...