Unseriousness

I seem to be clashing with society on an increasingly regular occassion.  As I explore being a grown up, and have some varsity/school initiated myths happily shattered about the corporate world, I find myself plumbing the depths of 'how casual can you be in business'.

I've said to a couple of people that I really enjoy joking with the people we work with, making unbusiness like comments in emails, like one to the marketing director at Hemingways 'please keep your foot aimed squarely at the accounting butt that needs prompting...'.  The risk here is that you get to casual too soon - IT guys seem to be impervious to my wit, and in my submission to 'the joke isn't funny when you have to explain' I thnk I'm developing a colourful rep with the ICT crowd  all over Slummies.

IT guy: "...can you please ask somebody at SMG to confirm this request using an @smgafrica.com email address, this is for security purposes. ..."
Rog: "... Hi IT guy, Totally understand, we change email addresses here more often than underpants… ..."
Didnt get a reply to that one.

Rog: "...My current plan is either to get a .csv file from PE, and take an axe to it, ..."
IT guy: "...I'd probably ask them for both...."

Rog: "Hi Marketing Lady, Thanks for sorting out the R32k payment, we’ll start spending it…"
Marketing Lady: "Please keep all invoices, as we’ll need them to balance the R32 000. "
Immeadiate response.

Darkroom

Housemate CP made a joke last night.  How many guys does it take to change a lightbulb? More than three apparently.
The saga of the dark room continues.  Forget shaving without a mirror - try shaving without a light.  Thats how we roll, even though it looks like I got into a fight with a rabid cat.  Exaggeration.  Love it. Not really.  Like it. Sort of. Moving on.

Hemingways soccer tournament is on.  Competitors stand to make a lot of cash in the next three weeks.  Ive been learning a number of life lessons on the side, and on a rare, serious note... in the midst of my anxiety over how things hadn't gone as somewhat vaguely planned, good friend Mandy unleashed some wisdom: 'You only take your failures personally, if you take your successes personally'.  By 'take' I mean, 'take for yourself...'.  Working on that.

Checkout the 'football' button on all youtube videos, hilarious... it overlays all videos with the sound of vuvuzelas.

Millionaire

I was sitting in the office today trying to remember the name of a song.  All I could remember was one or two words, and that it was hip-hop.  So I say to Kyle and CP, whats that hip hop song about 'Being a millionaire'... I get the most classic blank stare back from both of them, and in unison "Every hip hop song is about being a millionaire". Good point.

The Hemingways soccer tournament starts this week.  Wednesday is D-Day.  Despite the ridiculously generous prize money people aren't signing up.  I suspect they assume you have to be good to take part, when in reality we're just dishing out cash to the willing.  Cash and t-shirts.

Portugal just thumped North Korea.  Maybe they should spend more time enriching their soccer team and less time fiddling in the lab.

IT Guy

Had a chat, about people reading you - or what people think of you - which box they've stuck you in... last week I  found myself telling two girls about a FIFA extension for my browser (gives live match updates), which was two IT related words too many.  Problem is, I enjoy my job, I don't dig the image... but I embrace the tools... and the once black and white line of 'quirky anecdote vs. nerd talk' is becoming increasingly blurred.

Even the purchase of an electric guitar, motorbike and other... cool... not lame, chick magnet stuff, isn't keeping up with the exponential growth in my appreciation of all things binary.



That aside, what the heck is going on with the weather!  This is youth mission week at the Church, so Im  not entirely surprised... thats just how it is... only it seems to be a country wide situation this year.  You could be forgiven for thinking it was the middle of winter... though it wouldnt necessarily be necessary.

Housemate CP introduced me to a schweet new band, The Classic Crime.

FIFA Stuff you.

World Cup 2010 - Soccer, Soccer in South Africa, World Cup Football, FIFA World Cup.  By the time you read this, I will be dead or in prison.  Ive just violated every FIFA legal constraint, short of selling Pepsi within sight of a soccer ball, anywhere in the country, ever. The FIFA officials are probably outside already.

Other things FIFA could ban...
Rain - It didn't pay for exposure, so what the flip.
Jokes - FIFA owns entertainment until 11 July
Julius Malema - or was that my idea...
Soccer/Football - only rugby with a round ball is allowed outside of an approved stadium.

Nic and I made it onto Nahoon beach the other evening (we were running you narrow-minded... nevermind).  Nic said 'Aah, the best part...' - then we had a closer look... we had to look because we could no longer talk over the gospel music coming out of a nearby car boot... and then we couldn't see anything either because we got enveloped in a greasy skottel cloud... which transitioned into Hip-Hop and a suspicious cloud coming out of a hub-azela (very original design) 20m down the carpark...

I haven't watched a game of football all year, I watched 3 this weekend and felt like I was missing out when I heard Germany vs. Australia was on last night... it had nothing to do with me hoping the Aussies would get hammered (check).  I'm definitely Feeling It.

TP

This is strictly toilet humour. You've been warned.

So things in the house are going well, everyone's getting on, everyone subscribes to my blog and the washing up is under control.  That said, our inventory management / logistics needs work.  This week it lead to a shortage... of the worst kind.

After work today I made a trip past the Spar in Beach Road.  Don't get me wrong, this wasn't my virgin toilet paper buying moment.  Infact, Ive had a couple of conversations with real girls while clutching a 9-pack in the middle of Vincent Park, but its always in the context of grocery shopping... not, 'Hi - all Im buying are these 4 loo rolls... yes its an emergency, why do you ask - did your well planned grocery shopping only consist of loo paper this week?'.

I had my casual face on when I was picking out an appropriate pack of white-gold, giving my 'I wonder which one my friend, who Im buying this for... would like... I havent got a clue, I dont even use the stuff... I'm just fortunate... You must be envious of my superior bowel' look.

But its tough to be casual, in the queue... when all you're holding is a 4-pack... and the people infront of you are all packin' baskets of food.  My saving grace was the guy behind me who bought two rolls, a pack of smokes and a bag of onions... he looked worse and jammed the cigs into his pocket as soon as they got scanned.  Maybe he should have thrown in some toothpaste for some balance.

Hogsback

Even people who live in small towns like East London experience a desire to get out of the big city and just chill... similar to the desire that brings Vaalies to Slummies in the summer, to play beach bats on Gonubie beach.  Hogsback was our chosen destination, around 200km North-West of home.  Toward PE, only inland...

The last time I was Hogsback, the locals didnt score many cool points.  The first encounter involved a man, a plastic bag of mushrooms, some slurring and a dreamy look in his eyes.  The second was with a man, in tracksuit pants and leather shoes, thats a little narrow minded - sorry, crazy I-don't-own-a-helmet-but-I-rode-a-motorbike-this-morning hair and a slightly leery look in his eye.

However, Hogsback has fully redeemed itself.  Every time someone says they enjoy visiting the place I'm a little confused, and suspicious of their extramural activities.  Someone accurately pointed out that it doesn't feel like you're in South Africa when you're there - which may contribute to my appreciation of the place.  Had it snowed I might not have come home.

We hired a house, Little Dene, no Big Dene insight, neighbour to the Eco-Shrine.  We jammed lots of worship, sang loudly and at times tunefully, braaied and walked in various forests.  Fully recommended winter get away.

New

Im finally back on the road, feet wise.  There are less hills in Nahoon than there are in Horse Shoe Valley, but there are more busses (I wont forget), two wheeled octagenarians... and hills.  Infact, I forgot about the medi-cross dip last night - which was an unpleasant route-choice fail.  There was also a guy on a bicycle to contend with, on the pavement, without lights... be wary of sticks old timer.

I had to design a pamphlet for our Hemingways soccer tournament, because I couldn't find anyone who is good at design with free time.  I find out last night they'r printing about 10 000, and its going into the paper and being read on the radio.  My email address is on that pamphlet...

Our digs, us, has this group of friends... They're the sort of friends who send you a message to come and collect a present - they did buy us a present - and yet we don't trust them entirely, and so organised to have someone man the fort while we were gone, incase its a scam and our house is going to get raided.  Keeps you on your toes.