It is Christmas eve tonight. I wanted to wish anyone stopping by a happy and blessed Christmas, and may your life be filled with love!
Now get out of here and pass on some of that love...
Friday, December 24, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
A lesson in icing
Just finished icing the Christmas cake!
You are probably thinking that this is not a normal skill for a guy, but I just love Christmas cake! I also like it the way I like it; no nuts, full of brandy, and lots of marzipan. Of course my specific likes have meant that the only way I get it the way I want it, is to make it myself! And so I have had to learn how to make it and get it right. I sincerely believe that one can learn and conquer anything. At least, this is the message I want my children to get!
Making a cake is also not too far a stretch...
Once the icing was on, the boys and I attempted to decorate the top with the leftovers. Needless to say, we have a lot of training to do, if we ever hope to get that part right!!
You are probably thinking that this is not a normal skill for a guy, but I just love Christmas cake! I also like it the way I like it; no nuts, full of brandy, and lots of marzipan. Of course my specific likes have meant that the only way I get it the way I want it, is to make it myself! And so I have had to learn how to make it and get it right. I sincerely believe that one can learn and conquer anything. At least, this is the message I want my children to get!
Making a cake is also not too far a stretch...
Once the icing was on, the boys and I attempted to decorate the top with the leftovers. Needless to say, we have a lot of training to do, if we ever hope to get that part right!!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Walking for fun
Last night I had a beer or two at the local pub with a couple of men from church. We had an awesome dicussion about men, and I am very excited to see what transpires.
Both of the men I met at the pub walk every morning in the nature reserve. It sounded like a good idea and so 06h30 this morning saw me setting off with Mike for a 90 minute walk on the mountain. What a beautiful place. I felt most privillaged to see the sun peek its way through the clouds and then later drink fresh mountain water from the stream that runs through the gorge.
I have an idea that this may be a good way to use up some of my boy's energy through the holidays!!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Mothers and blogs
My children were frustrating me the other day. No surprise, it must be one of their principle roles in life...
The boys were operating at speeds slower than a snail with a limp. Fighting with each other at every moment. And seemingly requiring detailed instructions on absolutely everything, from talking properly to walking.
I was relating these issues to my mother and her comment was most unexpected!
She referred me to a blog I had posted ages ago, where I had whined about the same issues. She then quoted my insight which had been to let them do things in their time, instead of controlling every moment.
I was gobsmacked! Firstly, that I ultimately had good advice for myself, and that my mother pays that much attention to my blog!
I am back to setting broad boundaries and letting the boys get things done in their own time. And so far, it has relieved a heap of tension.
Gotta love your mother!
The boys were operating at speeds slower than a snail with a limp. Fighting with each other at every moment. And seemingly requiring detailed instructions on absolutely everything, from talking properly to walking.
I was relating these issues to my mother and her comment was most unexpected!
She referred me to a blog I had posted ages ago, where I had whined about the same issues. She then quoted my insight which had been to let them do things in their time, instead of controlling every moment.
I was gobsmacked! Firstly, that I ultimately had good advice for myself, and that my mother pays that much attention to my blog!
I am back to setting broad boundaries and letting the boys get things done in their own time. And so far, it has relieved a heap of tension.
Gotta love your mother!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Old men and brown belts
Wednesday night was the year end judo function. It was a little strange to see our large group of Judokas gathered together in civilian clothes. More strange were all of the parents of the children who join the handful of oldies for our twice weekly sweat sessions.
Not long ago, I had been stressing about my grading. We had found out on a Wednesday night that we would be graded on the Friday night. A Provincial representative would also be present to adjudicate the grading, and we would have to complete a special kata, which we were yet to learn! The four of us, who were grading for brown belt, arrived two hours before the grading to try and figure it all out. By grading time, I was dazed and confused, after being slammed into the floor on countless occasions. But we were as ready as we could be. The grading was tough, but we knew our throws, although our execution left much to be desired!
It was rather a relief to see my children receive their new belts; Luke an orange, and Matt a blue stripe. And their dad got his brown!
In order for me to achieve my black belt goal, it will take another two years of Judo. Then I will get to stress all over again as I face a panel grading.
The upside is that I get to do Judo with my children for at least another two years! And it often surprises me how valuable this shared time is to all of us!
Not long ago, I had been stressing about my grading. We had found out on a Wednesday night that we would be graded on the Friday night. A Provincial representative would also be present to adjudicate the grading, and we would have to complete a special kata, which we were yet to learn! The four of us, who were grading for brown belt, arrived two hours before the grading to try and figure it all out. By grading time, I was dazed and confused, after being slammed into the floor on countless occasions. But we were as ready as we could be. The grading was tough, but we knew our throws, although our execution left much to be desired!
It was rather a relief to see my children receive their new belts; Luke an orange, and Matt a blue stripe. And their dad got his brown!
In order for me to achieve my black belt goal, it will take another two years of Judo. Then I will get to stress all over again as I face a panel grading.
The upside is that I get to do Judo with my children for at least another two years! And it often surprises me how valuable this shared time is to all of us!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
So Angry
The line between finding a company acceptable and absolutely despising it seems to be thinner than I ever thought.
Yesterday, after years of service, and more than 300 good flights, SAA managed to infuriate me in mere minutes. I have not been this angry or exasperated in many years. This one incident was enough, even after so many perfectly acceptable journeys, to destroy any loyalty I felt for this company. Funny how it just takes once incident...
The day started out well in that my 05h45 flight to Johannesburg got me to Johannesburg with little fuss. Except for the small matter of a stone cold breakfast of potatoes, spinach, sausage, and scrambled egg. Very tasty!
This afternoon, though, found me searching for my boarding gate. After referring to the monitors, I made my way to the stated gate, only to stand in a horrendous queue. Once I got to the front, I was informed that I was in the queue for the Durban flight. Checking the monitors again revealed that my flight was still not boarding, but would be boarding at another gate. At the other gate I was rudely informed that I had been offloaded. What?????
Now starts the good part! The lovely lady at the gate waved her hand in the direction of the check in counters and told me I would have to sort it out. Confused and annoyed I headed off to the check in counters, to stand in another queue, to be told that I really needed to be at the ticket counter. The ticket counter lady told me that I really needed to be talking to the Team Leader in a red jacket. The Team Leader in the red jacket told me that I would have to pay for an upgrade to my ticket as announcements were made about the gate change.
I understood how they could not find everyone but to make me pay for an upgrade when they had a problem and failed to communicate with me was going a bit far. The Team Leader disagreed and explained that announcements had been made and thus I had been communicated too. I must admit, I did not hear a single announcement. Then again as far as I was concerned, I was in the right queue! He then said there was nothing he could do. I disagreed and said he could sort it out. He bluntly told me that he would not be explaining this cost to his superiors!
So off I went to upgrade my ticket, paid my hard earned R707 over to a company that did not deserve it in the least, and angrily went back to the lounge I had not long previously departed.
At the ticket counter, I could not help but read the giant list of SAA values; people first, safety, accountability, integrity, reliability. I could not argue with safety but the rest are most certainly in doubt. And I was not the only one; at least 4 other people suffered the same fate.
It would have been so simple for anyone to actually treat me as a customer. Some empathy and help would have gone a long way. I had after all paid for their services and yet I was treated like to the naughty kid at school who was sent to the headmaster. I am amazed at how simply they could have avoided the issue; by walking the 60m to the gate that they had originally indicated and asking...
The biggest irony was that I spent the day in Johannesburg with a number of customer service experts compiling a wicked customer service intervention. I now have a wonderful example of personal experience to use in all my courses!
Yesterday, after years of service, and more than 300 good flights, SAA managed to infuriate me in mere minutes. I have not been this angry or exasperated in many years. This one incident was enough, even after so many perfectly acceptable journeys, to destroy any loyalty I felt for this company. Funny how it just takes once incident...
The day started out well in that my 05h45 flight to Johannesburg got me to Johannesburg with little fuss. Except for the small matter of a stone cold breakfast of potatoes, spinach, sausage, and scrambled egg. Very tasty!
This afternoon, though, found me searching for my boarding gate. After referring to the monitors, I made my way to the stated gate, only to stand in a horrendous queue. Once I got to the front, I was informed that I was in the queue for the Durban flight. Checking the monitors again revealed that my flight was still not boarding, but would be boarding at another gate. At the other gate I was rudely informed that I had been offloaded. What?????
Now starts the good part! The lovely lady at the gate waved her hand in the direction of the check in counters and told me I would have to sort it out. Confused and annoyed I headed off to the check in counters, to stand in another queue, to be told that I really needed to be at the ticket counter. The ticket counter lady told me that I really needed to be talking to the Team Leader in a red jacket. The Team Leader in the red jacket told me that I would have to pay for an upgrade to my ticket as announcements were made about the gate change.
I understood how they could not find everyone but to make me pay for an upgrade when they had a problem and failed to communicate with me was going a bit far. The Team Leader disagreed and explained that announcements had been made and thus I had been communicated too. I must admit, I did not hear a single announcement. Then again as far as I was concerned, I was in the right queue! He then said there was nothing he could do. I disagreed and said he could sort it out. He bluntly told me that he would not be explaining this cost to his superiors!
So off I went to upgrade my ticket, paid my hard earned R707 over to a company that did not deserve it in the least, and angrily went back to the lounge I had not long previously departed.
At the ticket counter, I could not help but read the giant list of SAA values; people first, safety, accountability, integrity, reliability. I could not argue with safety but the rest are most certainly in doubt. And I was not the only one; at least 4 other people suffered the same fate.
It would have been so simple for anyone to actually treat me as a customer. Some empathy and help would have gone a long way. I had after all paid for their services and yet I was treated like to the naughty kid at school who was sent to the headmaster. I am amazed at how simply they could have avoided the issue; by walking the 60m to the gate that they had originally indicated and asking...
The biggest irony was that I spent the day in Johannesburg with a number of customer service experts compiling a wicked customer service intervention. I now have a wonderful example of personal experience to use in all my courses!
So Angry
The line between finding a company acceptable and absolutely despising it seems to be thinner than I ever thought.
Yesterday, after years of service, and more than 300 good flights, SAA managed to infuriate me in mere minutes. I have not been this angry or exasperated in many years. This one incident was enough, even after so many perfectly acceptable journeys, to destroy any loyalty I felt for this company. Funny how it just takes once incident...
The day started out well in that my 05h45 flight to Johannesburg got me to Johannesburg with little fuss. Except for the small matter of a stone cold breakfast of potatoes, spinach, sausage, and scrambled egg. Very tasty!
This afternoon, though, found me searching for my boarding gate. After referring to the monitors, I made my way to the stated gate, only to stand in a horrendous queue. Once I got to the front, I was informed that I was in the queue for the Durban flight. Checking the monitors again revealed that my flight was still not boarding, but would be boarding at another gate. At the other gate I was rudely informed that I had been offloaded. What?????
Now starts the good part! The lovely lady at the gate waved her hand in the direction of the check in counters and told me I would have to sort it out. Confused and annoyed I headed off to the check in counters, to stand in another queue, to be told that I really needed to be at the ticket counter. The ticket counter lady told me that I really needed to be talking to the Team Leader in a red jacket. The Team Leader in the red jacket told me that I would have to pay for an upgrade to my ticket as announcements were made about the gate change.
I understood how they could not find everyone but to make me pay for an upgrade when they had a problem and failed to communicate with me was going a bit far. The Team Leader disagreed and explained that announcements had been made and thus I had been communicated too. I must admit, I did not hear a single announcement. Then again as far as I was concerned, I was in the right queue! He then said there was nothing he could do. I disagreed and said he could sort it out. He bluntly told me that he would not be explaining this cost to his superiors!
So off I went to upgrade my ticket, paid my hard earned R707 over to a company that did not deserve it in the least, and angrily went back to the lounge I had not long previously departed.
At the ticket counter, I could not help but read the giant list of SAA values; people first, safety, accountability, integrity, reliability. I could not argue with safety but the rest are most certainly in doubt. And I was not the only one; at least 4 other people suffered the same fate.
It would have been so simple for anyone to actually treat me as a customer. Some empathy and help would have gone a long way. I had after all paid for their services and yet I was treated like to the naughty kid at school who was sent to the headmaster. I am amazed at how simply they could have avoided the issue; by walking the 60m to the gate that they had originally indicated and asking...
The biggest irony was that I spent the day in Johannesburg with a number of customer service experts compiling a wicked customer service intervention. I now have a wonderful example of personal experience to use in all my courses!
Yesterday, after years of service, and more than 300 good flights, SAA managed to infuriate me in mere minutes. I have not been this angry or exasperated in many years. This one incident was enough, even after so many perfectly acceptable journeys, to destroy any loyalty I felt for this company. Funny how it just takes once incident...
The day started out well in that my 05h45 flight to Johannesburg got me to Johannesburg with little fuss. Except for the small matter of a stone cold breakfast of potatoes, spinach, sausage, and scrambled egg. Very tasty!
This afternoon, though, found me searching for my boarding gate. After referring to the monitors, I made my way to the stated gate, only to stand in a horrendous queue. Once I got to the front, I was informed that I was in the queue for the Durban flight. Checking the monitors again revealed that my flight was still not boarding, but would be boarding at another gate. At the other gate I was rudely informed that I had been offloaded. What?????
Now starts the good part! The lovely lady at the gate waved her hand in the direction of the check in counters and told me I would have to sort it out. Confused and annoyed I headed off to the check in counters, to stand in another queue, to be told that I really needed to be at the ticket counter. The ticket counter lady told me that I really needed to be talking to the Team Leader in a red jacket. The Team Leader in the red jacket told me that I would have to pay for an upgrade to my ticket as announcements were made about the gate change.
I understood how they could not find everyone but to make me pay for an upgrade when they had a problem and failed to communicate with me was going a bit far. The Team Leader disagreed and explained that announcements had been made and thus I had been communicated too. I must admit, I did not hear a single announcement. Then again as far as I was concerned, I was in the right queue! He then said there was nothing he could do. I disagreed and said he could sort it out. He bluntly told me that he would not be explaining this cost to his superiors!
So off I went to upgrade my ticket, paid my hard earned R707 over to a company that did not deserve it in the least, and angrily went back to the lounge I had not long previously departed.
At the ticket counter, I could not help but read the giant list of SAA values; people first, safety, accountability, integrity, reliability. I could not argue with safety but the rest are most certainly in doubt. And I was not the only one; at least 4 other people suffered the same fate.
It would have been so simple for anyone to actually treat me as a customer. Some empathy and help would have gone a long way. I had after all paid for their services and yet I was treated like to the naughty kid at school who was sent to the headmaster. I am amazed at how simply they could have avoided the issue; by walking the 60m to the gate that they had originally indicated and asking...
The biggest irony was that I spent the day in Johannesburg with a number of customer service experts compiling a wicked customer service intervention. I now have a wonderful example of personal experience to use in all my courses!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Love in the morning
I recently visited a mate in Johannesburg for a good chat. One of his sons mentioned something about car prayers and I pricked up my ears. My mate has 3 sons, all 13 years old, cool teenagers, and yet comfortable with the concept of prayer with their father on the way to school. I liked this a lot!
One of the problems with prayer is that unless you teach someone to pray, it really seems a little ilogical. As a Christian parent, I have a responsibility to ensure that my children can pray, and to guide them in their development in this area. It has of course been one of those areas that I have neglected, and hoped that they would just learn, like I did!
So about a week ago, I tried out car prayers on the way to school. My boys were totally enthusiastic, which I found rather surprising. Even more surprising were their beautiful prayers. Filled with love and concern for all of those around them! Driving to school for the last week has been a humbling experience as they have made car prayer time their own.
It would seem that I am now the one learning how to pray!
One of the problems with prayer is that unless you teach someone to pray, it really seems a little ilogical. As a Christian parent, I have a responsibility to ensure that my children can pray, and to guide them in their development in this area. It has of course been one of those areas that I have neglected, and hoped that they would just learn, like I did!
So about a week ago, I tried out car prayers on the way to school. My boys were totally enthusiastic, which I found rather surprising. Even more surprising were their beautiful prayers. Filled with love and concern for all of those around them! Driving to school for the last week has been a humbling experience as they have made car prayer time their own.
It would seem that I am now the one learning how to pray!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Tired
I was exhausted last night.
Yesterday was a frenetic rush of activity, despite all of my cut backs. Then revelations flooded in as to how much work I need to do in the near future. All of my various projects seem to be crying for time and attention at the same time. And then the potential projects, which have been hiding in the wings, briefly showed me a glimpse of their size. I think I was exhausted just thinking about it all.
A good nights sleep was just the thing to get me raring to go this morning. Isabella only woke once last night and I did not even hear her. This morning I am ready again to take on the world.
It did cross my mind that there must be so many people out there with problems that are thoroughly overwhelming. Where a good nights sleep is far from sufficient to erase the troubles of life, and really just awakens the hardships one is trying to escape. Those with cancer, husbands whose wives have tried to committ suicide, children on drugs, parents on drugs, people without work, and the list goes on...
My thoughts and prayers are with all of those people. May today also bring some light!
Yesterday was a frenetic rush of activity, despite all of my cut backs. Then revelations flooded in as to how much work I need to do in the near future. All of my various projects seem to be crying for time and attention at the same time. And then the potential projects, which have been hiding in the wings, briefly showed me a glimpse of their size. I think I was exhausted just thinking about it all.
A good nights sleep was just the thing to get me raring to go this morning. Isabella only woke once last night and I did not even hear her. This morning I am ready again to take on the world.
It did cross my mind that there must be so many people out there with problems that are thoroughly overwhelming. Where a good nights sleep is far from sufficient to erase the troubles of life, and really just awakens the hardships one is trying to escape. Those with cancer, husbands whose wives have tried to committ suicide, children on drugs, parents on drugs, people without work, and the list goes on...
My thoughts and prayers are with all of those people. May today also bring some light!
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