African Contracting

I have taken a brief leave of absence from composing words that stir deep emotions and sometimes anger with the occasional dose of joy, not to run off to India to hug a monk in the snow and then stare into a dirty mirror and announcing "I have found myself".

No I was simply in a rut of life overrun with frustration, sprinkled with anger and lightly dipped in anger.
Our industry of onsite engineering quality control is one where you are on the receiving end of abuse, anger and threats, yes similar to marriage except the prospect of occasional intercourse is not an option. For all purposes of logic and sanity, we are pushed to the limits of our capacity as would the mother of three year old twins, we work hard, grunt growl and flex flab and lock heads with contractors who plead innocence and  sometimes beg for one more chance, just one more Ted.
I have seen less begging and negotiating from a  toddler in a toy store. Its a daily occurrence, certain conversations even begin with "How are you today Ted, you look angry". The scowl I have had surgically plastered to my frown is the same I bear when my girls use the words "yummy" and "cute" and "oooh" to describe the bottom feeding lying treacherous slimy badly clothed stealing thugs commonly referred to as teenage boys.

My work colleague Danny, a petite 148kg  6ft3 gentleman has both a tazer and a large stick which when all else fails, are his toys that he will use to escort visitors from my office. He is the gentlest of souls unless you attempt to hold his hand while he driving or insist on a man hug at any time of the day.

So why do we do it?

Its a combination of living an ex-pat lifestyle coupled with guaranteed work for a period and beats an office situation any day. The drives around site, interacting with locals and the beautiful countryside, my amazing cleaning lady who I have trained in making the perfect cuppachino are all plus factors that balance the madness.
Photographic opportunities and working alongside professionals, plus the joy of training new individuals so that they will be able to further their careers and gain valuable experience make it a joy to do what we do.
So without further ado, let me go chase off the elephants from the tree in the bush that is our urinal and until next time . . .

Nite All

Moth to a Flame

A month away from home.
It contains 3 weeks of hard work and rest with exciting meals in-between  added to that are weekly trips to the local cinema where we watch movies still played on a reel film system and the purring of the projector and occasional jumping of the picture.
The trip to and from Maseru is a mixture of dodging mad pedestrians who consider themselves bull bar proof and sheep who stroll in front of you as if to remind you that the are permanent residents and you are the ex-pat. To complete the trio of the "Cannonball Run" are the local vehicles. No rear lights, travelling at 50km/h in the dark on the national road and the tendency to freeze at the sight of a vehicle approaching them from the rear.

The fourth week is when it reaches the point where the chemicals are required, nerves are raw and all on Site have a tendency to growl at each other like a wife and girlfriend meeting each other for the first time, Days and hours are counted down as the weekend home looms closer and with it a list of tasks and appointments, some for necessity and some for pleasure.

And this brings me to the subject of dating, courting and flirting and wining and dining.


My first responsibility lies with my daughters and together we anticipate the meeting after a month, a long hard hug with huge smiles and a kiss, then the next four days will be a succession of hugs and tales and holding hands as all that happened in the past month is shared and resolved if necessary.
These moments are often followed with me just watching and admiring my little ladies as they blossom into womanhood and start putting their stamp on who they will become.

I have friends that I need to see as they feed me with the positive energy and love that is so essential for my healthy mental state and positive input, these are also the creatures that know me and my devious habits and love me despite that. They share their families with me, their lives and in exceptional cases their puppies, they have become my circle of trust and those that I am accountable to.

Finally, the lady. Yes indeed, she flirts with my intellect, bedazzles me with imagery and brings a smile to my face as we discuss likes and dislikes and past and future. There is a common grasping and appreciation of food, wine, privacy and need of both intellectual and physical attractions and appreciation of family values.
I am continually intrigued on how the lack of chance applies to our lives, it serves to remind me that it is not a random rolling of the dice and many experiences and instances in our lives are moulded to bring us to where we are today. I am unique, however my circumstances are not.
The lady is a spark in a dark room and I shall continue to be drawn to her flame, perhaps this time I will not get burnt.

Nite all

So You Had a Crap Day . .

So you had a crap day.

Its ok, no seriously it means you are normal and this is all part of the wonder experience we like to refer to as "life".
I am a two cuppachino before 09h00 in the morning person, if my schedule is somehow broken I have the potential to be as friendly as an ex-wife who cant track her maintenance payments. We all have little rituals that form part of our sanity tour and this often determines if we whistle as we work like one of those super happy little smiling dwarves or turn into the haemoroid man who has to cycle to work and is too scared to use the loo because of the pain.

When I reflect on the past week, month and year, I analyse the goof, the bad and the ugly. I then try and understand what made me able to stabilise the bad and the ugly and what pushed me over the edge. Sometimes as I plummet into a pit of misery and depressing self pity, I am able to stop myself and recover, other times I have to swallow my pride and reach out to a friend. This reaching out is not always easy as questions will be raised that need to be answered, I don't like that because it somehow indicates that I not a superhero, merely a human.

If I now glance back over the past 3 years, I have notice that I have gone from having 1 good day a fortnight to 12. I am no longer triggered by comments and remarks from my ex and my fuse is now considerably longer. I don't question why, what and if only any more, I have accepted what has happened and am embracing my new role as a single dad. I have also realised that being single is fine and that my job and my girls need me to be this way for a while. It will need someone who understands me and is patient to allow me to enter their lives, perhaps that person is still out there and if she isn't then thats cool as well.

As for those off days, well its all about how we deal with them that matters. To smile and keep it all together when your steak is overcook or how you deal with a limp asparagus if you're a vegetarian tells alot about your character.

So you had a crap day?


Nite All

Get a Job

I didn't want to believe that its is possible or that it exists and yet it does.
It is very similar to Newtons 3rd Law of Motion which basically means, falling is the opposite of flying.

My shaky stable world has been struck by a tremor, a mini-earthquake. I do not have employement from the 21st October 2011.
So, Operation Find a Job Baby is now officially underway and all monetary token shows of affection should be stored in the wallet of electronic love.

I will not be convinced to come out of retirement and move back into the world of male exotic dancing, neither will I be exposing flesh for magazines!
No!
I will be taken seriously even if the mad clown in me has to dress up and wear a big nose and red shoes.

Good Nite All

Cheeseburgers & Dating

Monday morning 04h30 and a new week has nudged me not 
too gracefully out of bed.
As I climb into a bath rudely chastising myself for being overly generous with the cold water, I contemplate the 320km that will be travelled, the meetings and the admin that will await me with the excitement of a 2 year old fed on chocolate cake.

Is it abnormal to crave a homestyle cheeseburger at this time of the day? 
Slapping my belly and smiling as I wallow in my ever warming bath water, I decide no! 
A cheeseburger is the mans equivalent to a womans chocolate, it is the food that brings a smile to the face of the most miserable grumpy sour person you know. It is messy, juicy, salivatingly sensual and leaves you feeling as if you have just made love to a beautiful girl. 

I shaved, combed and dressed and sat down to a chocolate cluster cereal.

My appointment for 05h30 arrived at 07h00 and being Monday I simply smiled, shrugged and rose to greet it.
The day was busy and tiring and then the mother of all bombshells struck!

My Simon Has A Boyfriend!

Dads and dating teenage daughters, I did promise her I wouldn't kill him.

Nite All

(Now where did I put my night vision goggles and camouflage kit whahaha)

Mumblings

I have embraced June as a month in which I expected to write and do so without effort, in truth I have been so busy I arrive home dragging my supper weary potentially ripped torso towards the kitchen.
If the beast is fed, I am able to rest, relax and gently fade into the evening like a whatchamacallit into a doofadab.

I have 4 different chocolates in my fridge resting in a tray in the door section and yet they hold no allure for me. Now is that simply sad or the self control of a Jedi or a dream that has nightmarish conclusions? No idea. All I know is I have reserves and no passion to indulge.

My girls are dozing off and tomorrow I will be serving my famous world renown Chinese takeaways for my good friends Eric and Adel. They are salt of the earth folk who live, love and embrace life and squeeze each precious ounce out of it. Wine will be poured, food will eaten and tales will be shared.

It has been forewarned that in future times wars will be fought not over oil but water, I disagree. The most valuable resource known to women is chocolate and this is the commodity that will cause nations to rise up and bare arms.

So it is time to seek joy in the land of the Swedish Nannies and deep sleep.

Nite All

04 June Friday

Work, work and the nope not more work but assisting a friend in fitting the mat to a trampoline. Hey W we could have finished earlier if we read the instruction properly lol>

But it was fun followed by beer, braai and a couple of glasses of Graham Becks finest Red, good music including Dire Straits, Dylan, Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac and even a little Buble thrown in for good measure, W & C you guys rock and your girls are the best.

Well the weekend has arrived like a sneeze in Spring and I am so ready for it, Nicole's sports day tomorrow followed by S 7th birthday party complete with SA vs Wales Rugby and chicken prego rolls and somewhere along the line a visit to the house and some homemade Minestrone and Beef Soup. A bit of a full day and some stage I need to vacuum the flat and do some arbitrary domestic cleansing.

I fear complacency and the fact that life might blast past me and leave me in its wake like a deer in the headlights, it is too precious to be spent only mourning and wandering what if and then awakening 3 years about us and later and find that it was all wasted anyway. It doesn't mean we have to smile and do the dance of joy 24/7 but does mean we can see the beauty and glory in all and enjoy a sunset instead of awaiting the fall of darkness.

Ok night all I am out of here too tired for tonight.