This weekend past was all about longboarding. For the surf uninitiated, longboarding is surfing on a surfboard of at least 9 foot in length. One has to surf longboards differently too, long flowing carves and turns are the way it is done. Hang 5’s and 10’s (5 or 10 toes over the front edge of the board) and headstands are highly appreciated by anyone watching, and are marvellously difficult to do!
A year ago, my good mate, Andy, created the Freedom Day Longboard Classic to celebrate this old school sport in a very old school manner. This competition is different in that it celebrates our love for this sport and the sea and combines it with a family spirit. What makes it all really special is that the local surfing community is a bit of a tight knit family with generations of surfers on friendly terms with each other.
A week ago, Andy asked me to look after a new element of the competition; the photography! It sounded simple enough, run a photographic contest, give out some prizes and perhaps even sell the pictures. A team of us gave the project some good thought and we got busy!
The competition this year was bigger than last, mainly due to the brilliant weather over the weekend. The forecast predicted heavy winds for the Saturday but they did not materialise at all. Instead it was all about small waves, long boards, sunny rays, and lots of family fun. I even surfed two heats and failed dismally to impress the judges even after a headstand and two handstand attempts.
Photographic reality was interesting. 11 photographers entered our new competition. Their zealousness for the art of pixelating reality far surpassed my wildest expectations and by the end of Saturday a whopping 3,110 photographs had been committed to my PC’s memory. How on earth we were going to sell any of them was beyond imagination, as it would have required days to review them all. And we were only halfway through the competition...
On Sunday I gave up even trying to sell photographs and instead focussed on getting the 20 best pictures out of each photographer. We had a local sports photography specialist do the judging which resulted in our top 6 pictures in two categories; mood and sport shots. Interestingly enough the winner of the mood category was a 13 year old boy with an incredible eye for a special picture. The prizes which had been donated by a local school of photography and art were incredible and well worth the effort.
And that is the story of how we somehow combined the old art of longboarding with the new art of digital photography, and had heaps of fun in the process.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Where have I been?
I thought I had blogged just a day or two ago. Now I see that it was a long, long time ago. So much has been on the go. Not sure how life goes from happening to out of control in just a few short days!
I am battling, even now, to understand what filled up my time. I suppose that there has been work in the form of a project in Durban which took up the whole of last week, as well as a couple of other ongoing projects. Then there has been quality time spent with a number of old friends that just happened to be in town. After a week with us, my mom went home to Johannesburg. And then there was the Freedom Day Classic, a longboard competition arranged by a good mate of mine. Somehow this good mate got me to agree to run a photographic competition for the duration of the weekend, but more about all of this later.
One thing that stands out in all of this rush was a visit to one of my wife’s cousins in Durban. Getting there was frustrating as three major traffic accidents practically shut down all access to their suburb. It took me two hours of suburb crawling with the aid of my phone’s GPS to eventually arrive at their doorstep. After that, it was an evening cocooned in care and love, with side dishes of great food, a really wonderful experience with an absolutely amazing family. I was sad to depart in the morning back to my project. So sad and confused that I jumped on the highway and drove in the wrong direction for 15 minutes before I realised I was heading away from Durban and not back into it! There was not a single sign to correct my misconception and it was my phone back to the rescue when I realised the landscape was becoming more beautiful rather than populous!
I hope you don’t all feel neglected, even my car looks at me forlornly every time I pass it in the garage. Somehow I have to track down statements from the previous owners of the chassis and engine before I can even think about getting it registered!
I will find the time...somewhere!
I am battling, even now, to understand what filled up my time. I suppose that there has been work in the form of a project in Durban which took up the whole of last week, as well as a couple of other ongoing projects. Then there has been quality time spent with a number of old friends that just happened to be in town. After a week with us, my mom went home to Johannesburg. And then there was the Freedom Day Classic, a longboard competition arranged by a good mate of mine. Somehow this good mate got me to agree to run a photographic competition for the duration of the weekend, but more about all of this later.
One thing that stands out in all of this rush was a visit to one of my wife’s cousins in Durban. Getting there was frustrating as three major traffic accidents practically shut down all access to their suburb. It took me two hours of suburb crawling with the aid of my phone’s GPS to eventually arrive at their doorstep. After that, it was an evening cocooned in care and love, with side dishes of great food, a really wonderful experience with an absolutely amazing family. I was sad to depart in the morning back to my project. So sad and confused that I jumped on the highway and drove in the wrong direction for 15 minutes before I realised I was heading away from Durban and not back into it! There was not a single sign to correct my misconception and it was my phone back to the rescue when I realised the landscape was becoming more beautiful rather than populous!
I hope you don’t all feel neglected, even my car looks at me forlornly every time I pass it in the garage. Somehow I have to track down statements from the previous owners of the chassis and engine before I can even think about getting it registered!
I will find the time...somewhere!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Home for a Visit
My other baby came home for the weekend!
That's right, my 56 Ford pickup is on the road although not in a legal sense. It has taken 16 months but the end is finally in sight. There are a number of parts still on order from the US, but all of them cosmetic. It also needs a further respray as the last job was terrible! I am hoping to have all of the relevant documentation in place in order to have the engine stamped and ultimately get this beast registered.
I did have a heart stopping moment when I went to see the South African Police Service department that deals with these issues. The officer in charge kindly explained that if I did not have an engine and chasis number, I could bring the car in, they would impound it and crush it for me. I thought he was joking but he was adament. Eventually we found a way to deal with the issue which will involve many sworn statements from all previous owners and a full photographic record of the restoration process.
I got to drive my baby the couple of blocks from the garage where all of the finishing work has been done. It was pretty cool to see other motorists heads whip around as they checked out my ride!! Needless to say it has been a hit with all of the neighbourhood kids!
My sons cannot wait to go to school in it...
That's right, my 56 Ford pickup is on the road although not in a legal sense. It has taken 16 months but the end is finally in sight. There are a number of parts still on order from the US, but all of them cosmetic. It also needs a further respray as the last job was terrible! I am hoping to have all of the relevant documentation in place in order to have the engine stamped and ultimately get this beast registered.
I did have a heart stopping moment when I went to see the South African Police Service department that deals with these issues. The officer in charge kindly explained that if I did not have an engine and chasis number, I could bring the car in, they would impound it and crush it for me. I thought he was joking but he was adament. Eventually we found a way to deal with the issue which will involve many sworn statements from all previous owners and a full photographic record of the restoration process.
I got to drive my baby the couple of blocks from the garage where all of the finishing work has been done. It was pretty cool to see other motorists heads whip around as they checked out my ride!! Needless to say it has been a hit with all of the neighbourhood kids!
My sons cannot wait to go to school in it...
Thursday, April 15, 2010
My Beautiful Daughter
Sunday saw my family in church well before starting time. Normally this is an ill advised course of action as any time over and above church service time results in much fidgeting and loud stage whispers enquiring if we can leave yet. This Sunday was special as it was to be Isabella’s Baptism. My boys were filled with excitement and perhaps overwhelmed by sitting in the front row. They managed to exceed all possible expectations of good children church behaviour, proving once and for all that it can be done!
Isabella was Baptised during mass. It was a beautiful service followed by cake and tea. My wife had slaved away in the kitchen baking tons of stuff, which was all consumed at the appropriate time except for one or two items which required early consumption as they were too delectable to resist!
My daughter took the whole service in her stride including a facefull of water. She managed to smile at just about everyone there before taking a quick and well deserved power nap. Here are some pictures of her in her mother’s christening gown!
Isabella was Baptised during mass. It was a beautiful service followed by cake and tea. My wife had slaved away in the kitchen baking tons of stuff, which was all consumed at the appropriate time except for one or two items which required early consumption as they were too delectable to resist!
My daughter took the whole service in her stride including a facefull of water. She managed to smile at just about everyone there before taking a quick and well deserved power nap. Here are some pictures of her in her mother’s christening gown!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Ask and you shall recieve!
This morning a neighbour reversed his car up my garage and sat there sipping his coffee while I hurriedly got myself out of bed. Normally I am up early but he managed to catch me napping. When I finally got outside, I was greeted by a heap of things for my ‘fix a house’ project; carpets, curtains, pillows, clothes, and even kitchen appliances. It felt like Christmas and I don’t even get to keep the stuff!!
Last week while we were building our first house, a lady approached us. She is well known in Sir Lowry’s Village as she has made it one of her personal projects. She made a very simple deal with us; if we supply the time, she will supply materials for future upgrades. You can imagine how my jaw must have dropped to hear such a generous offer! It does of course mean that we need to find some cash to cover the labour costs and plenty more of the stuff my neighbour sourced but it makes me so excited just to think about it!
There is of course one other little problem. How much time do I really have to dedicate to this project? Not a whole lot, but with that kind of offer on the table, it would be good that I find some! Either that or I need to find a couple more people to help!
I am overwhelmed by the generosity of this lady as well as my neighbours, thank you all so much!!!
Last week while we were building our first house, a lady approached us. She is well known in Sir Lowry’s Village as she has made it one of her personal projects. She made a very simple deal with us; if we supply the time, she will supply materials for future upgrades. You can imagine how my jaw must have dropped to hear such a generous offer! It does of course mean that we need to find some cash to cover the labour costs and plenty more of the stuff my neighbour sourced but it makes me so excited just to think about it!
There is of course one other little problem. How much time do I really have to dedicate to this project? Not a whole lot, but with that kind of offer on the table, it would be good that I find some! Either that or I need to find a couple more people to help!
I am overwhelmed by the generosity of this lady as well as my neighbours, thank you all so much!!!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Fixing Houses
I had hoped, when I wrote about my 'Fix a House' project some time back, that by writing about it, I would be spurred into action. That action has indeed taken some time to materialise, but at last it has happened.
A friend of mine, Nikluas, arranged a donation of more than R41,000 from a Catholic Church in Switzerland. With a couple of other donations, we had a substantial pot of money with which to make a real difference in the lives of some elderly and infirm forgotten people.
Last week Thursday we met on site at 07h00. The plan was to build on a new room to an old shanty for a very old half blind man. His room had been destroyed when a massive tree was forced by an unruly wind to relocate itself onto his roof. For the past year, he has slept on the floor of the kitchen in the shack that he shares with his family (5 other people).
A friend of mine, Nikluas, arranged a donation of more than R41,000 from a Catholic Church in Switzerland. With a couple of other donations, we had a substantial pot of money with which to make a real difference in the lives of some elderly and infirm forgotten people.
Last week Thursday we met on site at 07h00. The plan was to build on a new room to an old shanty for a very old half blind man. His room had been destroyed when a massive tree was forced by an unruly wind to relocate itself onto his roof. For the past year, he has slept on the floor of the kitchen in the shack that he shares with his family (5 other people).
Thursday 07h30, getting started
Thursday 08h30 - setting the uprights
Thursday 09h07 - Roof beams attached
Thursday 10h43 - the roof is on
Thurday 13h34 - Windows installed
Thursday 16h00 - UBR sheeting installed on back and side
Friday involved the pouring of the floor, installation of an internal door and the completion of the IBR sheeting on the front of the room. All completed in the pouring rain!
Monday 07h41 - Niklaus with Sakkie (the new resident)
Sakkie has now moved in and is very happy about his own space, although he owns almost nothing that he can put in there to fill it. Looking around his very bare room, I felt sad that I could not do more to make his space more comfortable, like cladding of the walls and roof, a new bed, a carpet on the floor, etc. There is of course a very fine balance between the value of investment into a squatter settlement and the problem one is trying to alleviate. By its very nature a squatter settlement is not permanent. Our view is that as long as we are able to provide a dry and comfortable room for people who will never have the means to do so for themselves, then we are making a valuable difference. Neighbours of mine subsequently donated two mattresses and located a stack of used carpets that we can use to clothe the concrete floor.
Today we have begun work on a shack in which two brothers live. Both unemployed and one with no legs. Their place is a pit. Anything we do here will make a world of difference.
The need is so great that one has no idea where to start. I hope that by just starting somewhere, we inspire others to make their own contribution in their own way, and that together we all make a difference in the lives of our fellow man!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
It's not the Sharks that are the Problem
Isabella was awake on Monday morning at 05h30. Fantastic news as I had finished my sleeping by then. I gave her a bottle and tossed her back into her cot. Her eyes fluttered open, panic swirled in my gut, she gave me a half smile and then settled back to sleep. Breathing a sigh of relief I headed back for the warmth of my bed.
That warmth was short lived as I found myself sitting on my surfing neighbours dark pavement barely an hour later. The wind was howling and I wondered why I had traded my bed for a potentially miserable surf.
In no time at all we were on the road, then back to the neighbour’s house to pick the wetsuit he had forgotten, and back on the road again. We arrived at Paranoia, our local surf spot, to find beautiful big waves reeling down the bay. I should have been excited, but the heavy wind did not inspire much confidence.
We hopped into the water and paddled like mad men to get through the channel as fast as possible. Getting caught in the channel means an unpleasant date with a set of rocks. Always best to avoid that! Halfway through this mad paddle, I realised that I was panting, practically hyperventilating. The water was absolutely frigid. Duck diving my fourth wave was pure torture. Somehow I made it to the back and watched in fascination as these huge water mountains rolled on past. Somehow they had seemed far smaller on the shore.
I paddled for a wave, felt the pull of it, looked where I wanted to go, and was blasted by thousands of needles. Able to see nothing, I pulled out and paddled back to the line up. I find I am a little uncomfortable about catching big waves that I cannot see! After a couple of frustrating failed attempts, I started to feel cold. I don’t normally feel the cold, so this was a little unexpected. There was no relief from the elements with a water temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius and a wind of at least 40km / hour that was bent on whipping up the tops of the waves into mini squalls. I felt more than a little exposed!
My paddling became wildly erratic as my hands and feet morphed into ice blocks. One chap commented that it was not so much that I was paddling for waves but rather suffering an epileptic fit. Not funny at all! My speech started to slur and I developed a stutter. I was absolutely sure I was not hypothermic but something was wrong with me. The other guys were cold but not overly concerned.
There is no easy exit out of there; out at sea with massive amounts of water surging off a rocky shelf certainly leaves little room for error. I waited for a wave to get me out of there as fast as possible, yet none came to my rescue. When I started to have trouble swallowing, I did the unthinkable for a surfer. I paddled all the way down the line up to the end of the wave in order to get out. A little burst of energy saw me make the paddle and negotiate the tricky exit over the rocks. The wind on its own was a welcome relief!
A quick examination revealed swollen hands and feet, as well as big inflamed welts around my calves where they were exposed to the water.
It seems an old friend of mine has resurfaced in a rather aggressive manner, my allergy to the cold! Who needs to worry about sharks, when it is the cold that is gonna get ya!
That warmth was short lived as I found myself sitting on my surfing neighbours dark pavement barely an hour later. The wind was howling and I wondered why I had traded my bed for a potentially miserable surf.
In no time at all we were on the road, then back to the neighbour’s house to pick the wetsuit he had forgotten, and back on the road again. We arrived at Paranoia, our local surf spot, to find beautiful big waves reeling down the bay. I should have been excited, but the heavy wind did not inspire much confidence.
We hopped into the water and paddled like mad men to get through the channel as fast as possible. Getting caught in the channel means an unpleasant date with a set of rocks. Always best to avoid that! Halfway through this mad paddle, I realised that I was panting, practically hyperventilating. The water was absolutely frigid. Duck diving my fourth wave was pure torture. Somehow I made it to the back and watched in fascination as these huge water mountains rolled on past. Somehow they had seemed far smaller on the shore.
I paddled for a wave, felt the pull of it, looked where I wanted to go, and was blasted by thousands of needles. Able to see nothing, I pulled out and paddled back to the line up. I find I am a little uncomfortable about catching big waves that I cannot see! After a couple of frustrating failed attempts, I started to feel cold. I don’t normally feel the cold, so this was a little unexpected. There was no relief from the elements with a water temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius and a wind of at least 40km / hour that was bent on whipping up the tops of the waves into mini squalls. I felt more than a little exposed!
My paddling became wildly erratic as my hands and feet morphed into ice blocks. One chap commented that it was not so much that I was paddling for waves but rather suffering an epileptic fit. Not funny at all! My speech started to slur and I developed a stutter. I was absolutely sure I was not hypothermic but something was wrong with me. The other guys were cold but not overly concerned.
There is no easy exit out of there; out at sea with massive amounts of water surging off a rocky shelf certainly leaves little room for error. I waited for a wave to get me out of there as fast as possible, yet none came to my rescue. When I started to have trouble swallowing, I did the unthinkable for a surfer. I paddled all the way down the line up to the end of the wave in order to get out. A little burst of energy saw me make the paddle and negotiate the tricky exit over the rocks. The wind on its own was a welcome relief!
A quick examination revealed swollen hands and feet, as well as big inflamed welts around my calves where they were exposed to the water.
It seems an old friend of mine has resurfaced in a rather aggressive manner, my allergy to the cold! Who needs to worry about sharks, when it is the cold that is gonna get ya!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Easter Inspiration
I had a wonderful Easter weekend. An added bonus was a little insight into my future!
For many years I have wanted to change my life and do what I am meant to do. The only problem has been that I have no idea what I am meant to do. I do know that I want to add value in some way to society, but that is rather broad and unclear.
Some time back, I made my ‘big’ move, giving up corporate life to go and write a book and focus on my family. It has been wonderful time resulting in an unfinished book (although 16 chapters of good stuff have been written), an increase in my family, a pumping business, good health, low stress levels, and good community involvement. Yet here I am almost two and a half years after my day job and still wondering why I have not found the big thing that will define my life’s value.
For a guy without a defined day job, I am incredibly busy, mainly flitting from one thing to the next. In order to appease my unsatisfied mind, I have committed myself to a wide array of things. This has been my interim measure while I wait for that great inspiration to consume my life. But I find myself not really committed to all of my committments as I have this feeling that they are not the big thing I am looking for, regardless of how valuable they all are.
This Easter, I was struck by the realisation that my life does not need a radical change of direction or the next big thing. Instead and here is the good part, I need to do everything that is in my life now, really well. I think it is that simple. By doing things to the best of my ability, I will immediately make a massive contribution to the people and communities around me.
I love it when things are so simple, although it has taken me about 15 years to work this one out! I think I will use the rest of the month to put my new theory to the test.
For many years I have wanted to change my life and do what I am meant to do. The only problem has been that I have no idea what I am meant to do. I do know that I want to add value in some way to society, but that is rather broad and unclear.
Some time back, I made my ‘big’ move, giving up corporate life to go and write a book and focus on my family. It has been wonderful time resulting in an unfinished book (although 16 chapters of good stuff have been written), an increase in my family, a pumping business, good health, low stress levels, and good community involvement. Yet here I am almost two and a half years after my day job and still wondering why I have not found the big thing that will define my life’s value.
For a guy without a defined day job, I am incredibly busy, mainly flitting from one thing to the next. In order to appease my unsatisfied mind, I have committed myself to a wide array of things. This has been my interim measure while I wait for that great inspiration to consume my life. But I find myself not really committed to all of my committments as I have this feeling that they are not the big thing I am looking for, regardless of how valuable they all are.
This Easter, I was struck by the realisation that my life does not need a radical change of direction or the next big thing. Instead and here is the good part, I need to do everything that is in my life now, really well. I think it is that simple. By doing things to the best of my ability, I will immediately make a massive contribution to the people and communities around me.
I love it when things are so simple, although it has taken me about 15 years to work this one out! I think I will use the rest of the month to put my new theory to the test.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Pushing too hard
I had a surf the other evening that left me with the feeling that one day I may actually learn to surf competently. It was a thrilling experience to taste what lies at the next level of my sport and know that I can do it!
The other day I towed Luke through the shore break and to the end of the long Vic Bay right. I was hoping that he would hop onto this wave and thoroughly enjoy the wonder of surfing a real running wave. This wave is of course filled with challenges, not least of them being the rocks onto which it breaks. Playing bump with them is not advised! After being very excited about this session, Luke suddenly was in tears. He was perturbed by the rocks and the size of some of the waves. Knowing Luke, I understood that he had just told himself he could not do it. From bitter experience I know that this is the time to pack up and head for home. I tried to push him into a couple more waves and he did his best to avoid surfing them. I got frustrated, telling him I was not going to bother again, which of course made matters worse. Then I got us out of there.
The whole experience got me to thinking about how far I should be pushing my children. It is easy to see the benefits of him growing in this sport that he loves, but how much of his growth needs to come from within rather than from demanding dad?
My six years of learning to surf has been driven by my desire to succeed, and the joy I take from exercise in the bosom of nature. It has also been a humbling learning curve that just does not seem to end. Luke’s incredible ability has been driven by natural talent. I know that at some point natural talent is not enough and one must put in some hard work to become really good. Luke is probably only a couple of weeks away from seeing the breakthroughs I saw the other evening. Something that is both thrilling and frustrating for me. I would have loved to take the shortcut route to where I am now! Seeing Luke squander that opportunity is frustrating for me.
By pushing him too hard, I run the risk of ruining something that could bring him great pleasure for the rest of his life. Then again, if he loves what he is doing, he is a winner already. Is there even a need to push him any further? Perhaps my role as a parent is to facilitate his environment so that he is able to get the most enjoyment out of his activities, and that is all.
When he decides he wants more, I will be there to support in any way I can. But he needs to make this decision himself!
Another fine parenting line!
The other day I towed Luke through the shore break and to the end of the long Vic Bay right. I was hoping that he would hop onto this wave and thoroughly enjoy the wonder of surfing a real running wave. This wave is of course filled with challenges, not least of them being the rocks onto which it breaks. Playing bump with them is not advised! After being very excited about this session, Luke suddenly was in tears. He was perturbed by the rocks and the size of some of the waves. Knowing Luke, I understood that he had just told himself he could not do it. From bitter experience I know that this is the time to pack up and head for home. I tried to push him into a couple more waves and he did his best to avoid surfing them. I got frustrated, telling him I was not going to bother again, which of course made matters worse. Then I got us out of there.
The whole experience got me to thinking about how far I should be pushing my children. It is easy to see the benefits of him growing in this sport that he loves, but how much of his growth needs to come from within rather than from demanding dad?
My six years of learning to surf has been driven by my desire to succeed, and the joy I take from exercise in the bosom of nature. It has also been a humbling learning curve that just does not seem to end. Luke’s incredible ability has been driven by natural talent. I know that at some point natural talent is not enough and one must put in some hard work to become really good. Luke is probably only a couple of weeks away from seeing the breakthroughs I saw the other evening. Something that is both thrilling and frustrating for me. I would have loved to take the shortcut route to where I am now! Seeing Luke squander that opportunity is frustrating for me.
By pushing him too hard, I run the risk of ruining something that could bring him great pleasure for the rest of his life. Then again, if he loves what he is doing, he is a winner already. Is there even a need to push him any further? Perhaps my role as a parent is to facilitate his environment so that he is able to get the most enjoyment out of his activities, and that is all.
When he decides he wants more, I will be there to support in any way I can. But he needs to make this decision himself!
Another fine parenting line!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Vic Bay Pics
I thought I would share some pictures from our trip to Vic Bay. I was inspired by the full moon and the beautiful night light in the bay. You will find the view from the lounge (some small waves coming in past the point), my family, my boys clowning around, and some shots of the bay in the moonlight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)