Today I had a problem at lunchtime when Blondie (Porsche) gave me uphill. The clutch gave up the ghost, just as I was on my way into town to:-
Get my tyre puncture - in my brand new tyre on my 4x4 - fixed AND
Pay for Ladybug - my new Landrover Freelander. This is a 2 litre Turbo Diesel, full time 4x4 AND automatic! I am stoked as I now have 2 offroad vehicles, and have really enjoyed my Discovery 2. On Wednesday, fuel climbs here by 29 cents a litre. 95 Octane fuel will cost pretty well R 9 per litre (4.5 litres to a gallon) and Diesel will cost pretty well R 8 per litre!
I had to drive through to Empangeni this afternoon (hence I was out in Blondie) to get my 2 week old tyre repaired. It has gone flat twice since I bought them, and at R 1 400 - per tyre - you would expect that 2 week old tyres should not go flat! Turned out that when the tyre was fitted 2 weeks ago, dirt was included - free of cost - between the tyre rim and the 4x4 rim! Air leaked out and the tyre went flat - slow leak. I was not a happy chappy when I had to try to get the wheel off, as the tyre crowd had tightened the nuts up with a pneumatic wrench. Average humans are incapable of undoing the nuts after they have been done up!
Anyway I was loaned a car for the afternoon - a Nissan Almera - thank heavens it was airconditioned! We have to remember that February is our most humid month, and yesterday, boy was summer back with avengance. That enabled me to get to the tyre monkeys and to the bank, to pay for Ladybug! The guy who loaned me the Almera, asked me what I thought of it - and I agreed that it is a "gutsless little crap box" - his words not mine! Boy have I been spoilt by a V8 auto or a 2.5 litre sports car! When you put your foot down, the cars actually do something - unlike the Nissan that rolls over on it's back and wants its tummy tickled!
I am looking forward to driving my V8 again, as I understand that under inflated tyres (the "new"one) makes strange rumblings! I actually had the impression that the wheel bearings had packed in! Thank Heavens, if they have, they are not too much to get replaced! Maybe now the wheels are correctly inflated, the car will again run like a dream!
A day later, "Big Sister) (my Discovery 2) is back on the road, and wonders never cease - the wheel bearing noise has gone!
I only got home after nightfall, so could not photograph Ladybug! The name kind of fits the character!
Is it impulse buying when 3 vehicles are not enough, so you buy another one! I have decided though that I need to sell Blondie. Shame, she is getting long in the tooth, and I wondered if the clutch packing up was not a fit of jealosy! I swear that cars develop characters!
I shocked the teller working on the Toll Gate. En route to Empangeni you have 2 alternatives:-
The N2 freeway - with the toll of R 5 one way OR
Further down the R 102, known locally as "the old road" because before when the N2 was completed, it was the main route between Pongola (on the Swaziland border in the North of Zululand Province!) and the South coast. This was updated by the construction of the N2 freeway.
Generally when I pay my tolls, I hand over a R 10 note, and because the tellers dont want to hand over heaps of small change, I usually get my change in loads of small change! I counted out R 5 in 10 and 20 cent pieces, stored it in a bag, and handed it in as my toll fees. I said to the lady, "you people keep giving me small change! Here it is back!" She looked at the bag and just let me through. She was completely crestfallen! So much for offloading small change on unsuspecting motorists! I was convinced that she was not expecting to have a heap of small change! She did not even bother to count it - too much hassle.
Usually, 10 and 20 cent coins, are just kept by me ad infinitum, the cash is there, but you dont bother with small change! Anything smaller than R 1 (usually the bronze coins) is treated as toy money - it has minimal value but really takes up HUGE space in your wallet!
The toll people cannot object - for a start, it is the change that they offloaded onto me, and it is still legal tender, although it generally will not buy much - if anything! It gives me the absolute zigs when I get my R 5 change in small denomination bronze coins!
In SA the freeways are generally denominated by N numbers:-
N1 from Beit Bridge (Zimbabwe border in the north) and Cape Town in the south through the centre of the counry
N2 down the East Coast from Pongola to Cape Town
N3 from Durban to Johannesburg
I am not sure where the higer N numbers run.
Otherwise you get Regional route numbers (R 102 or R 103 next to the N 2 and N3 routes. I know that there are plenty of R numbers, but am not sure where they run!
Then out in the long grass and sticks, you get D route numbers. Running off the R 103 beteen Durban and Johannesburg, you get D routes to godforsaken little Dorpies (settlements with no distinguishing features, other than a police station. Often they dont even have fuel stations!) Then you get routes that often do not even have numbers because they run between Dorpies (tiny towns). Often these are not even tarred, or have very narrow tar surfaces! Sometimes, they dont even have more than a string of potholes tied together by a laxcework of tarmac. I am convinced that when these holes fill with water, hippos and crocodiles take up residence!
The icon to access "Stats" interests me! I would expect readers of my blog to come from SA, North America and England. What really amazes me is that there are readers from Alaska, Russia and China. I do not think that I have any friends in these countries, but there are regular hits from these countries. Maybe the title - or the content - shows up on a Google Search, and that regularly there are repeated hits! Does this mean that someone out there is searching for detail on Africa out here in the back of beyond! It appears that there are repeated hits, so what I blog has impact on someone!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Is it REALLY a problem?
About 2 weeks ago, I was in Pinetown and at the local mall there, I bought myself some longs - camoflage pants! This was because my jeans in size 38, are too large for me! I have found that in the last 2 weeks, these "camo" pants (suit my 4x4) have gone from being slightly tight, to extremely loose! On Wednesday, I had to buy a new belt to keep them from sliding down around my ankles! The latest trend among teens is to wear your pants below your bum, but I am not a teen and have not been since the 1970's! With me, it is either around your waist, or around your ankles - no inbetween!
My biggest regret is that a decade ago, I tidied out my closit and gave away around 10 pairs of longs to the Relief Society at my Church - for distribution to the needy. Who would ever have thought that I would be one of these needy? I am so fortunate that I can afford to go out to buy new pants. Biggest kicker is that I gave away around 10 pairs of nearly new pants! You have to be concerned when your biggest problem is that you have given away all the pants that will fit you again in the very near future!
Main reason for giving them to the needy was that I never thought I would fit into them again - and I needed the closit space! Still, most people that I know have the usual reverse problem! Their clothes are getting too small! I should not complain, but "man-of-the-world" that I am, I cannot help but feel that I made a mistake by giving away about a thousand rands worth of clothes that were almost new!
My biggest regret is that a decade ago, I tidied out my closit and gave away around 10 pairs of longs to the Relief Society at my Church - for distribution to the needy. Who would ever have thought that I would be one of these needy? I am so fortunate that I can afford to go out to buy new pants. Biggest kicker is that I gave away around 10 pairs of nearly new pants! You have to be concerned when your biggest problem is that you have given away all the pants that will fit you again in the very near future!
Main reason for giving them to the needy was that I never thought I would fit into them again - and I needed the closit space! Still, most people that I know have the usual reverse problem! Their clothes are getting too small! I should not complain, but "man-of-the-world" that I am, I cannot help but feel that I made a mistake by giving away about a thousand rands worth of clothes that were almost new!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
What is in a name?
I know that it should not be a big thing, but I was christened - then baptised - with the name "Stephen". That is how it has been for 50+ years, so it is unfair of snotty nosed brats to change it! When I am officially referred to at church, it should be - by rights - by my correct name. I know that familiarity has allowed my friends to call me "Steve" and that is OK by me - friend to friend - but officially my name is spelt with a "ph" not even with a "v".
I have a hang up with people who refer to our District President as "Ted" rather than the more correct "Edward". Goodness, he has earned his position as head of the local District, so should be honoured by referring to him by his name - in the correct version - not by a common abbreviation.
We have a District Presidency member who has the label "Zacharia" and no-one refers to him as "Zack"
I know that the District President was going on about some Zulu members who were recorded on the baptismal records by one name, but are referred to by another! We have one member by the name "Jessica" although try as you might, the Church records show no-one by that name! Her name is on the records - but no mention of "Jessica" - then they wonder when the clerk records tithing donations for Jessica whatever, and come time for tithing settlement, she is recorded as a non-tithepayer! It becomes more serious when a temple recommend is issued in her common name, but when she is recorded at the Temple, she is not a member!
No-one refers to the Branch President as "Bob(by) Van Thiel - he insists on being referred to as Robert - rightly so! He however, is the prime culprit for referring to me from the Pulpit as "Steve" and his uncle as "Ted"! It is not correct to sustain "Steve" from the pulpit, because "he" does not officially exist!
I have other concerns with names! I am recorded on the Church records as being born in Sinoia, ZIMBABWE. That place officially does not exist - and never has! Since Independance the town (barely big enough to be classed as more than a village) has been called Chinoye, and per the records I was born in Zimbabwe. Officially my birth certificate says "Sinoia, Southern Rhodesia" and that place must be an important place - I was born there! How much more important can you get?
I have a hang up with people who refer to our District President as "Ted" rather than the more correct "Edward". Goodness, he has earned his position as head of the local District, so should be honoured by referring to him by his name - in the correct version - not by a common abbreviation.
We have a District Presidency member who has the label "Zacharia" and no-one refers to him as "Zack"
I know that the District President was going on about some Zulu members who were recorded on the baptismal records by one name, but are referred to by another! We have one member by the name "Jessica" although try as you might, the Church records show no-one by that name! Her name is on the records - but no mention of "Jessica" - then they wonder when the clerk records tithing donations for Jessica whatever, and come time for tithing settlement, she is recorded as a non-tithepayer! It becomes more serious when a temple recommend is issued in her common name, but when she is recorded at the Temple, she is not a member!
No-one refers to the Branch President as "Bob(by) Van Thiel - he insists on being referred to as Robert - rightly so! He however, is the prime culprit for referring to me from the Pulpit as "Steve" and his uncle as "Ted"! It is not correct to sustain "Steve" from the pulpit, because "he" does not officially exist!
I have other concerns with names! I am recorded on the Church records as being born in Sinoia, ZIMBABWE. That place officially does not exist - and never has! Since Independance the town (barely big enough to be classed as more than a village) has been called Chinoye, and per the records I was born in Zimbabwe. Officially my birth certificate says "Sinoia, Southern Rhodesia" and that place must be an important place - I was born there! How much more important can you get?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Current snapshots
At the school, I had to drop Christine off for the term. Thank Heavens I own a "Ventertjie" a not so tiny luggage trailer. The Landy with its new boots (SERIOUS off road tyres - designated as "All Terrain" tyres) is too small to hold all the crap from a matric! Last year another parent with the same symptoms commented "Thank Heavens that Ventertjies are so handy!" Of the 5 4x4s there dropping off kids, all 5 had little Venter Trailers in tow! Other manufacturers make luggage trailers, but they are kind of too small to cope with the luggage accumulated by schoolgirls.When I was at school, all of my books for the day fitted in a backpack, but now my daughter needs a HUGE 4x4 AND a luggage trailer to carry all their stuff! Boy have times changed!
This is some of the scenery up near the school. The Drakensbery is right nearby and I love the mountains!
Over in the distance is Midmar Dam, a really good place to go yachting or windsurfing! The water is kind of cold, but at least the water is clean and blue! It is really beautiful surroundings and I love sailing there! On Lake McIlwaine outside of what is now Harare, we used to sail from the caravan park, The lake is not that large, but is pea green from the algae there! The water is warmer (from the algae) but it must be hugely more difficult to clean to drink!At least Mac was not covered in Water hyacinth like Kariba is! That is kind of wall to wall (or is that shore to shore) Water Hyacinth a really aggressive water weed.
On TV in the background, there is a show that is going on about how unsafe it is for the environment to braai (barbeque to the uncivilised!) but is more environmentally friendly to use electricity! Top Gear had a recent program where they built their own eco friendly Electric car! Dont these people think about how damageing to the environment it is to generate electricity? Usually coal fired power stations (you see them dotted all over the Gauteng region) use up huge amounts of fossil fuel - not that this is bad in itself, but nearby you cannot even hang washing out in the sun to dry because of the acid rain! Talk to the residents of Chernobyl in Russia and ask them if Nuclear power is "environmentally friendly?" I personally have the belief that it can be argued for or against anything as to whether it is "environmentally friendly". I believe that "Global Warming" is a hoax so that the man in the street worries more about "conserving the environment" than he does in worrying about that really matters!
I bought a V8 4x4 Automatic and as far as I can see, that is seen by most in Richards Bay as a monster. I see that it is environmentally friendly since behind the wheel, I get to enjoy the environment! It CANNOT damage the road surface if it is not even on the road!
Heavenly Father has said that it is his mission that man may have joy, and boy do I find joy in driving a V8 auto - with the airconditioner on!
Monday, January 24, 2011
What s happening locally?
I truly believe that this week, the branch was slightly at sea! Although I was treated with authority, I still felt that the branch was looking for SOMETHING. I am not sure that we actually nailed whatever down! The Branch President kept on telling me that soon (how long is that going to be?) we will have our new Elders Quorum President. However he kept on referring to me as if I was already the EQ President. We had a Branch Council meeting where I was in attendance in the place of the EQ President. A lot was discussed where I can get my teeth into the calling, but am kind of at a loss because I do not hold the Pristhood keys to operate properly.
I know that on Saturday I am supposed to be at this meeting on behalf of MY Quorum (I feel that I have the freedom - without the keys - to fly with the responsibility) I was going to be at the meeting anyway, since I am on the District Council.
I wonder if the added responsibility given to the Elders Quorum, is not in fact a learning curve towards future Branch Presidency? When I moved from Sandton to Richards Bay, my Bishop pulled me aside and said to me that he was impressed that he saw the day when I would be Bishop in Richards Bay. He did not see that I would be divorced - or maybe he did? Generally divorcees are not chosen to lead wards, but I was divorced because my ex chose to go her own way! I know she made a mistake, but everyone has agency to do what they feel is necessary! That is going to be a hurdle to cross as Elders Quorum President or as Branch President! People have their agency to use what intelligence they have, to live their lives as best they can! It does not help when you can see as plain as the nose on your face that someone is making choices that you would not make! I also understand that there are members out there who expect that the Branch President/Bishop will make trivial descisions for them, like what they are to defrost for supper! Diplomatically telling them that Heavenly Father expects/demands that they make theese decisions themselves willl be a real test! I KNOW that the Elders Quorum President (has not been released yet) has made a crazy decision to move to Pinetown, but he has made the move and has to live with the consequences of his actions! Maybe he can make it work, and I truly hope he can, but he is old and ugly enough to make his own choices, but I think he realises that he has to live with the consequences.
I know that on Saturday I am supposed to be at this meeting on behalf of MY Quorum (I feel that I have the freedom - without the keys - to fly with the responsibility) I was going to be at the meeting anyway, since I am on the District Council.
I wonder if the added responsibility given to the Elders Quorum, is not in fact a learning curve towards future Branch Presidency? When I moved from Sandton to Richards Bay, my Bishop pulled me aside and said to me that he was impressed that he saw the day when I would be Bishop in Richards Bay. He did not see that I would be divorced - or maybe he did? Generally divorcees are not chosen to lead wards, but I was divorced because my ex chose to go her own way! I know she made a mistake, but everyone has agency to do what they feel is necessary! That is going to be a hurdle to cross as Elders Quorum President or as Branch President! People have their agency to use what intelligence they have, to live their lives as best they can! It does not help when you can see as plain as the nose on your face that someone is making choices that you would not make! I also understand that there are members out there who expect that the Branch President/Bishop will make trivial descisions for them, like what they are to defrost for supper! Diplomatically telling them that Heavenly Father expects/demands that they make theese decisions themselves willl be a real test! I KNOW that the Elders Quorum President (has not been released yet) has made a crazy decision to move to Pinetown, but he has made the move and has to live with the consequences of his actions! Maybe he can make it work, and I truly hope he can, but he is old and ugly enough to make his own choices, but I think he realises that he has to live with the consequences.
Friday, January 21, 2011
New actions
I am always trying new things! Part of continuously learning - I know that some people are so anxious to get ahead that they are more keen on the learning suppliied by schools, technicons and universities! They are forever learning, but once they have passed their exams, they tend to forget what they learn, and move onto something else. Is this really going to benefit them in the hereafter?
I have heard opinion that my friends sudden decision to move from the farm to Pinetown, is crazy! I can see that being a qualified mechanic can only help out on a farm. When my brother was an appy (apprentice mechanic) he worked first on repairing tractors, then Bakkies (pick up's) then on heavy trucks! If he were a farmer, he could easily handle repairs to anything on the farm - the cars, 4x4 diesel bakkies, the tractors or even the harvester machines!
It can only be an advantage to be a qualified mechanic on a farm. My friend was, a month ago, proudly a farmer, but is now working as a mechanic. I sense that he was kind of protected on the farm, as he used the farm bakkies, lived in the farm house (was helping to build a new farm house!) and enjoyed being fed by the family. To get to Church he did not have to pay for transport. I fear that he will struggle to make ends meet on an apprentice mechanics salary (food, rent and enjoyment) especially as his lady friend lives in Kloof, nearby but generally the families there come from serious wealth! I know that my ex was kind of hit by the fact that I am a qualified CA, but moving from a rich environment growing up, she battled with having to survive on a salary - even though as a new CA, I was at the bottom rung of a really high earning ladder. I was earning maybe 3 oir 4 times as much as the ladies in the office, but was on my way up to my bosses position (3 or 4 times as much as me!) then on to his bosses position, easily 8 - 10 times as much as I earned!
I was on my way to earning serious cash! When I had my accident, it kind of capped my rise in the firm, and hence my earning power. I seriously believe that this was too much of a shock to my ex, and she saw free spending as a thing of the past, and that scared her. Her dreams of wealth were kind of shattered. She failed to comprehend that it was more of a shock to my system! I was used to being a get ahead in life kind of guy, but suddenly it was too much to start with to learn to walk again! Even now, I battle witb seemingly simple tasks like swallowing or even breathing. I spent 4 months on my back in the coma, then another maybe 6 - 8 months as an in-patient and as an out-patient!Then I was offered the choice between retrenchment or retirement! I chose retirement because I realised that I had lost some of my "killer instinct". It is surely better to get a monthly pension on ill-health retirement, than to be out of work!
Even so, I do get to do things that I really like - drives to the Game Reserve in my 4x4! Beats working in the largest city in Africa! I have learned since retirement that I sufer from a post accident trauma called a "startle response" where sudden actions or noise from surrounding vehicles tends to startle me and I kind of go into a "fight or flight" mode! I dont feel in control of my life if I feel threatened by other drivers! I tense up and would easily kill them if they threaten my well-being! Maybe "kill" is too extreme a word, but I am male and like to feel in control. That is why I gave my ex the divorce she demanded! She felt in control of our relationship, and called all of the shots - including who she shared her bed with. The only way I saw to stop this, was to give her what she demanded - but apparently did not actually want - ie. divorce!
Being divorced, is not great, but I am positive that I am better off now than I would have been if I were still married! If nothing else, it gave my ex the impression that I am not going to be pushed around - by anyone! Somewhere after my accident, I grew a spine! That scared her, so she started threatening divorce - I think, so that I would cave in and accept her authority. Boy was she stunned when the sherrif delivered the divorce summonses on her. That kind of proves to me you should not just pray for "things" - you might just get them!
I have heard opinion that my friends sudden decision to move from the farm to Pinetown, is crazy! I can see that being a qualified mechanic can only help out on a farm. When my brother was an appy (apprentice mechanic) he worked first on repairing tractors, then Bakkies (pick up's) then on heavy trucks! If he were a farmer, he could easily handle repairs to anything on the farm - the cars, 4x4 diesel bakkies, the tractors or even the harvester machines!
It can only be an advantage to be a qualified mechanic on a farm. My friend was, a month ago, proudly a farmer, but is now working as a mechanic. I sense that he was kind of protected on the farm, as he used the farm bakkies, lived in the farm house (was helping to build a new farm house!) and enjoyed being fed by the family. To get to Church he did not have to pay for transport. I fear that he will struggle to make ends meet on an apprentice mechanics salary (food, rent and enjoyment) especially as his lady friend lives in Kloof, nearby but generally the families there come from serious wealth! I know that my ex was kind of hit by the fact that I am a qualified CA, but moving from a rich environment growing up, she battled with having to survive on a salary - even though as a new CA, I was at the bottom rung of a really high earning ladder. I was earning maybe 3 oir 4 times as much as the ladies in the office, but was on my way up to my bosses position (3 or 4 times as much as me!) then on to his bosses position, easily 8 - 10 times as much as I earned!
I was on my way to earning serious cash! When I had my accident, it kind of capped my rise in the firm, and hence my earning power. I seriously believe that this was too much of a shock to my ex, and she saw free spending as a thing of the past, and that scared her. Her dreams of wealth were kind of shattered. She failed to comprehend that it was more of a shock to my system! I was used to being a get ahead in life kind of guy, but suddenly it was too much to start with to learn to walk again! Even now, I battle witb seemingly simple tasks like swallowing or even breathing. I spent 4 months on my back in the coma, then another maybe 6 - 8 months as an in-patient and as an out-patient!Then I was offered the choice between retrenchment or retirement! I chose retirement because I realised that I had lost some of my "killer instinct". It is surely better to get a monthly pension on ill-health retirement, than to be out of work!
Even so, I do get to do things that I really like - drives to the Game Reserve in my 4x4! Beats working in the largest city in Africa! I have learned since retirement that I sufer from a post accident trauma called a "startle response" where sudden actions or noise from surrounding vehicles tends to startle me and I kind of go into a "fight or flight" mode! I dont feel in control of my life if I feel threatened by other drivers! I tense up and would easily kill them if they threaten my well-being! Maybe "kill" is too extreme a word, but I am male and like to feel in control. That is why I gave my ex the divorce she demanded! She felt in control of our relationship, and called all of the shots - including who she shared her bed with. The only way I saw to stop this, was to give her what she demanded - but apparently did not actually want - ie. divorce!
Being divorced, is not great, but I am positive that I am better off now than I would have been if I were still married! If nothing else, it gave my ex the impression that I am not going to be pushed around - by anyone! Somewhere after my accident, I grew a spine! That scared her, so she started threatening divorce - I think, so that I would cave in and accept her authority. Boy was she stunned when the sherrif delivered the divorce summonses on her. That kind of proves to me you should not just pray for "things" - you might just get them!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
You live and you learn
I unhderstand that the emphasis at Church is to continue studying for your mortality. I think that schools, technicons and universties have their place, but life can be just as much of an education centre - IF you are willing to learn as you go along!
At school, I did AEB "O" Levels, followed by "A" Levels, then after starting work as an audit clerk, did my University Degree (Batchelor of Accounting Science!) them my Honours degree then I did a post graduate course to qualify as a Chartered Accountant.
Since my MVA accident, my untidy handwriting - that the teachers in Primary school always complained about - has become virtually illegible! The muscles that control my hand movements, are technically spastic since I received brain damage in my MVA. Luckily this brain damage only affected my fine motor skills, and not my mental capacity. The neuro surgeon maintains that the accident knocked a few points off of my IQ but this is only because I cannot write as fast as I used to! I could obviously have stood to lose a few points, although this is more a speed reaction thing than it was a mental ability thing!
One thing that I kind of regret is that my handwriting is terrible, although there are ways and means to survive with this disability!
I dont think that this alone entitles me to park in the disabled bays at shops! I had to laugh because Christine went to get something from the car that was parked in the Disabled Drivers parking at the Pavillion Centre in Durban. Apparently the security guard questioned her right to be there, even though I have Disabled Access stickers in the front and rear windows! I have seen fat vaalies (from Gauteng) who park there because they have a sore finger - or a razor cut from shaving! It riles me that they think they are able park there, and I have to walk miles to the shop door! I have even said to them "Do you REALLY want to qualify to park here? Because I dont recommend it, although it will not be difficult to arrange this!" Generally they dont accept the offer! - I dont blame them for this!
At school, I did AEB "O" Levels, followed by "A" Levels, then after starting work as an audit clerk, did my University Degree (Batchelor of Accounting Science!) them my Honours degree then I did a post graduate course to qualify as a Chartered Accountant.
Since my MVA accident, my untidy handwriting - that the teachers in Primary school always complained about - has become virtually illegible! The muscles that control my hand movements, are technically spastic since I received brain damage in my MVA. Luckily this brain damage only affected my fine motor skills, and not my mental capacity. The neuro surgeon maintains that the accident knocked a few points off of my IQ but this is only because I cannot write as fast as I used to! I could obviously have stood to lose a few points, although this is more a speed reaction thing than it was a mental ability thing!
One thing that I kind of regret is that my handwriting is terrible, although there are ways and means to survive with this disability!
I dont think that this alone entitles me to park in the disabled bays at shops! I had to laugh because Christine went to get something from the car that was parked in the Disabled Drivers parking at the Pavillion Centre in Durban. Apparently the security guard questioned her right to be there, even though I have Disabled Access stickers in the front and rear windows! I have seen fat vaalies (from Gauteng) who park there because they have a sore finger - or a razor cut from shaving! It riles me that they think they are able park there, and I have to walk miles to the shop door! I have even said to them "Do you REALLY want to qualify to park here? Because I dont recommend it, although it will not be difficult to arrange this!" Generally they dont accept the offer! - I dont blame them for this!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Pinetown
At present, I am staying at a really comfortable Bed and Breakfast accommodation place in Pinetown - just up the hill from the Mission Home in Westville
It is central(ish) and is not far from where I need to go in Durban! Sure it is (slightly) more than the Road Lodge, but is SO much more comfortable! I also think that it is more safe, since it is in a patrolled neighbourhood. You get what you pay for!
Another great thing is that included in the cost is breakfast, and it is great - bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, juice and Milo if you want! Way better than at the Road Lodge where all you get is one tiny room with a shower. At the B&B, the guest cottage has DSTV on the television, and a HUGE bath in the bathroom. It is bug enough to be called a Jacuzzi, and in fact has a pump that creates jets of water. Way better than a cramped shower in the Road Lodge! The other benefit is that in the kitchen, there is a hotplate, a microwave and a fridge. At the Road Lodge, or even the Formula 1 Hotel, all you get is access to the Macdonalds across the parking lot!
At Church, I missed seeing my Elders Quorum President, as I thought he was stuck on the farm like the rest of his family. I called him to check on how he is doing, and was stunned to find out that he has moved permanently to Pinetown. That leaves us in Richards Bay without an Elders Quorum President.
I am (or was!) his Hometeacher, so that leaves me in a quandary! Ideally I should report changes in my "families" circumstances to the EQ President. Thing is, he IS my Elders Quorum President. I cannot report to him, since he is who the changed circumstances apply to! I suppose that temporarily, that leaves me as the Elders Quorum Presidency representative in Richards Bay. The other counsellor called has been less active (read "inactive") since he was called as a counsellor. The EQ President's father is on the Branch Presidency, but does that absolve me from reporting what I know to the Branch President?
I further feel that in another 3 months, the position as Branch President is likely to need to be filled, and I have long felt that the reason that I am the senior District Council member is so that I can take over as Branch President of Richards Bay. That is how the Church works internationally! That also is the intention of District Councils - training ground for future Branch Presidents!
After my troubles last week when I had 2 flat tyres in one afternoon, I bought 2 new off-road tyres. When they were on, the different manufacturers of the front and the rear tyres, made it so that the tracking was not very good, so I ordered 2 more! Now I have 4 tyres of the same make, (All Terrain tyres, serious enough 4x4 tyres to take me up Everest with no problems!) the vehicle handles like an absolute dream! There was a delay since after I bought the 2, the dealer sold off all of these tyres, and had to order more to be delivered overnight! In any event, they were well worth the wait My 4x4 is now shod with 4 of the most serious all-terrain tyres around!
It is central(ish) and is not far from where I need to go in Durban! Sure it is (slightly) more than the Road Lodge, but is SO much more comfortable! I also think that it is more safe, since it is in a patrolled neighbourhood. You get what you pay for!
Another great thing is that included in the cost is breakfast, and it is great - bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, juice and Milo if you want! Way better than at the Road Lodge where all you get is one tiny room with a shower. At the B&B, the guest cottage has DSTV on the television, and a HUGE bath in the bathroom. It is bug enough to be called a Jacuzzi, and in fact has a pump that creates jets of water. Way better than a cramped shower in the Road Lodge! The other benefit is that in the kitchen, there is a hotplate, a microwave and a fridge. At the Road Lodge, or even the Formula 1 Hotel, all you get is access to the Macdonalds across the parking lot!
At Church, I missed seeing my Elders Quorum President, as I thought he was stuck on the farm like the rest of his family. I called him to check on how he is doing, and was stunned to find out that he has moved permanently to Pinetown. That leaves us in Richards Bay without an Elders Quorum President.
I am (or was!) his Hometeacher, so that leaves me in a quandary! Ideally I should report changes in my "families" circumstances to the EQ President. Thing is, he IS my Elders Quorum President. I cannot report to him, since he is who the changed circumstances apply to! I suppose that temporarily, that leaves me as the Elders Quorum Presidency representative in Richards Bay. The other counsellor called has been less active (read "inactive") since he was called as a counsellor. The EQ President's father is on the Branch Presidency, but does that absolve me from reporting what I know to the Branch President?
I further feel that in another 3 months, the position as Branch President is likely to need to be filled, and I have long felt that the reason that I am the senior District Council member is so that I can take over as Branch President of Richards Bay. That is how the Church works internationally! That also is the intention of District Councils - training ground for future Branch Presidents!
After my troubles last week when I had 2 flat tyres in one afternoon, I bought 2 new off-road tyres. When they were on, the different manufacturers of the front and the rear tyres, made it so that the tracking was not very good, so I ordered 2 more! Now I have 4 tyres of the same make, (All Terrain tyres, serious enough 4x4 tyres to take me up Everest with no problems!) the vehicle handles like an absolute dream! There was a delay since after I bought the 2, the dealer sold off all of these tyres, and had to order more to be delivered overnight! In any event, they were well worth the wait My 4x4 is now shod with 4 of the most serious all-terrain tyres around!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Thoughts
Maybe it is somewhat of a curse, but I have some crazy ideas! I see how TV Presenters (Top Gear's 3 presenters), and Michael Palin. It looks like they are not exactly fit to travel and appear to travel with a Camera crew! I was also interested in 2 series of programs filmed by Ewan Mcgreggor and Charlie Bornman, who look to be fit, but if Actors can go down Africa then from London East to New York - via Russia. I know that it would be crazy to take my Landy over land to either Europe or America! I require a regular supply of drugs to relax my muscles from going into spasm! If I undertook a trip like that, I would likely have to up my doseage, or suffer the effects of muscles cramping up and not releasing properly. I am more scared of my medical condition, than I would be of the locals on the route!
It is hard to believe that I am facing life after 50, when I was nearly dead at 31 (when I was knocked into a coma by a HUGE truck), 34 when I wrote off a car in a 25 car pile up in thick smoke, 36 when I was beaten unconscious then stabbed - in the lung - then when I was stung by a swarm of bees (age 49).
Until I was so heavily stung, I was not allergic to bees, but after I was stung, I could feel that I was dying (literally) and understand now that the venom injected has been converted to anti venom. The trouble is that if stung by one bee now the anti venom from thousands of bees will swing into action to counteract the new venom. The problem as far as I understand it is that I am likely to suffer the same effects as if I was really stung again by thousands of bees! How is that! I have gone from not being allergic to bees, to being highly allergic to myself! As far as I am aware, bees live right round the world! Sure as nuts, I would be stung by one, hundreds of miles from the nearest doctor!
In the Reserve, one flew into the car, and I was barely able to stop myself from leaping out of a moving vehicle. I did screech to a halt then opened the door and the Missionery Elders shooed it out of the car. I may be allergic, but they are still Gods creations, and kind of deserve life just as I do! When it threatens to sting me, I preserve my own life and squish it, but I am not a savage!
It is hard to believe that I am facing life after 50, when I was nearly dead at 31 (when I was knocked into a coma by a HUGE truck), 34 when I wrote off a car in a 25 car pile up in thick smoke, 36 when I was beaten unconscious then stabbed - in the lung - then when I was stung by a swarm of bees (age 49).
Until I was so heavily stung, I was not allergic to bees, but after I was stung, I could feel that I was dying (literally) and understand now that the venom injected has been converted to anti venom. The trouble is that if stung by one bee now the anti venom from thousands of bees will swing into action to counteract the new venom. The problem as far as I understand it is that I am likely to suffer the same effects as if I was really stung again by thousands of bees! How is that! I have gone from not being allergic to bees, to being highly allergic to myself! As far as I am aware, bees live right round the world! Sure as nuts, I would be stung by one, hundreds of miles from the nearest doctor!
In the Reserve, one flew into the car, and I was barely able to stop myself from leaping out of a moving vehicle. I did screech to a halt then opened the door and the Missionery Elders shooed it out of the car. I may be allergic, but they are still Gods creations, and kind of deserve life just as I do! When it threatens to sting me, I preserve my own life and squish it, but I am not a savage!
Monday, January 10, 2011
P Day
No wonder the Game Reserve is my all time favorite place on earth! With views like this, where else comes even close?
The first big Game we saw up close and personal was this warthog at the gate. It was more than I could resist, to touch it! The Elders with me were stunned that I would even try to touch it!
Just about the last animal we saw was really appreciated by the Elders. It was so close that if we had spat at it, we would not have missed.What stunned the new Elders was how huge this Elephant was! Secret is though that it was quite a young Elephant, and not really that big! I have seen them up to twice as bulky!
Today was kind of unforgettable! At lunch I saw my one tyre was flat(tish) and needed air, After lunch I took it to the service area where they sell petrol (gas if you come from the far west!) I inflated the tyre and set off! 2 km's down the road and the Landy was handling like a caged animal and someone stopped us and warned that we had a flat! I immediately turned around (not easy in a huge 4x4) and set off back to Hilltop. We got within shouting distance and the tyre was too flat to go further! I stopped and we managed to get the tyre changed, then back to the petrol area. We inflated the wheel and set off again, Murphys Law, the spare also had an airleak. 2 flats in one afternoon? - what is the probability of that! - We got the problem sorted out after finding the one tyre had a split and the other one needed a plug! It took all afternoon.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Concerns
I know that the new Church Leadership manuals have included instructions that relieves pressure on the Branch President. I am still waiting for my new leadership manual so that I can assist with keeping the Elders Quorum Presidency on track with keeping the branch running smoothly! I kind of fear that the BP is of the "old school" and of the opinion that he needs the new manuals, but no-one else needs to know what the manuals require of callings.
I am required this weekend to give a talk at our Port Durnford branch. I really enjoy the members there, and their spirit is always uplifting! Another huge thing for me is that in a straight line, the branch cannot be much further away from my home than 5 kilometers! I have been assigned to the Richards Bay Branch (55 kilometers by road) and I am happy to be there. The membership is mature and English is always spoken. Without being racialistic, when I attend Port Durnford, I am lucky if one of the missionery Elders is white, and I feel that the 2 hour meeting block is too limiting for my growth in the Church! I get way more out of being on the District Council in a predominantly white branch than I would get from a wholly Zulu branch! My Zulu is limited to 3 words:-
Sawubona (greetings)
Ikona (dont know) AND
Angaas (Have NO idea!)
I live in an English area of the country, where Afrikaans is a dying language! I can understand a fair amount, but I dont like speaking it! I have lived in Zululand for 3 decades now, but I have enough trouble forming the words in my home language to learn another language! I was born in a British Colony so grew up speaking English, and have never found the need to change! I speak English now, and always will!
That being said, I can follow a conversation in Afrikaans, although I speak schoolboy Afrikaans! What is even more strange is that I was taught the language to a British Standard - "O" Level. At least that is one of the subjects that I earned a distinction at!
Living in Zululand, I have found that the Afrikaans community - mainly in Richards Bay here on the North coast - speak a "pure" Afrikaans, just like the Zulu's speak "Pure" Zulu! If you analyse what they say, it is at least 50% is of English, usually with a really strange accent! In Afrikaans, they talk of "Ge-braaied" - burnt offerings of ex steak that has been killed (again) over an open fire! That being out there now, a really good braaied cut of meat that really I enjoyed, was a slice of fish! Maybe it was the infusion of wood smoke from the fire that made the fish slices taste incredible, or it was the company! My (and Di's) usual lunch spot is Wyetts, in Empangeni (just inland from Richards Bay) has a braaied meat selection at lunchtime on Fridays! For a fair cost, you can select your own steak bits, and have them braai (barbeque) it. I dont order it because the steak is a 500 gram slab of meat! 500 grams is a HUGE slab of meat! That is a half kilo of steak, when the average steak that I usually eat, is 100 grams. Half a kilo is a huge steak, almost like a complete cow that they trim the legs and horns off of, and throw the carcass on an open fire!
As far as I know, the word "braai" is an afrikaans word, probably derived from the English "burnt" as the average Afrikaaner likes his meat well done - browned to an absolute crisp. They usually use beer to put out the flames on the meat! I tend to think "You killed it (the cow) once, why then kill it again!" I tend to order restaurant steak as "medium rare" which some people see as too pink inside! I find that "rare" is too raw, but medium rare is not yet too dried out! If you order steak "well done" it arrives too crispy, almost as if they have set fire to it and trimmed the charcoal from off of the meat! To be absolutely honest, I enjoy Calamari as a meal. That is something that they simply cannot crucify. I know that my daughter likes prawns, but since I was hospitilised by bee stings, I understand that I am most likely to be allergic to any shellfish. In any event, I refuse to put myself at risk of it being true! When she orders prawns, I like to order Calamari Steaks!
As far as I am aware squid (from where Calamari comes) is not a shell fish. They do live in shells some of the time, but these are not their own shells.
Something else that I rather enjoy - as a starter - are snails! Christine freaks at this, thinking I must be allergic to anything with a shell, but snails are NOT seafood! Sure they have shells! I know some people think "Snails! Disgusting - looks like lumps of snot!" but I rather enjoy them as starters. I first started ordering them as starters at a restaurant in Waterval Boven, run by an Irishman and his wife! Practically there is no difference between eating snails or eating a steak! I refuse to try eating snake or Crocodile! I would hate to think of your supper fighting you at the table, and the meal winning! Is that paranoia? Maybe, but it is genuine!
Something else that I enjoy (but dont get to have very often) is caviar! I first had this one day after playing golf in an inter-office sports day held at the Kloof Country Club! It went well with Cabernet Sauvignonn - before I joined the LDS Church. I preferred red wine to beer - any day of the week. When I joined the Church and gave up drinking alcohol (no big feat!) I had a complete case of Cabernet Sauvignon that I had bought at the winery in the Cape. I laid it up and 7 years later - just as it matured - I sold the case off at huge profit! Reports from the buyers were that it was brilliant wine, at the peak of its taste! Still, I found something in my life worth more than aged red wine, and have never looked back! I also preferred red to white wine, although red wine is somewhat heavy to drink in the heat!
I remember that at the office where I trained as a Chartered Accountant, there was a social club called "the THOOPC (silent C) Club" - standing for "The Honourable Order Of Piss Cats". We used to meet after work once a month, and to drink quantities of mainly beer! I used to drink beer because it was not the done thing to drink Orange Juice!
That is where I found out that there are hippo in the water next to the John Ross Highway in Richards Bay! There are warning signs on this stretch, but the average motorist thinks that they are a joke! An office colleague had been drinking quite heavily, and he wrote his car off when he ran into a hippo on this road! Apparently the hippo survived, but his car was pretty messed up! I know that he wrote off another car on the old Melmoth Pass when he overtook what he thought was a slow moving truck, only to find that it was the warning signs of a sharp bend in the road! Boy was he surprised!
I am required this weekend to give a talk at our Port Durnford branch. I really enjoy the members there, and their spirit is always uplifting! Another huge thing for me is that in a straight line, the branch cannot be much further away from my home than 5 kilometers! I have been assigned to the Richards Bay Branch (55 kilometers by road) and I am happy to be there. The membership is mature and English is always spoken. Without being racialistic, when I attend Port Durnford, I am lucky if one of the missionery Elders is white, and I feel that the 2 hour meeting block is too limiting for my growth in the Church! I get way more out of being on the District Council in a predominantly white branch than I would get from a wholly Zulu branch! My Zulu is limited to 3 words:-
Sawubona (greetings)
Ikona (dont know) AND
Angaas (Have NO idea!)
I live in an English area of the country, where Afrikaans is a dying language! I can understand a fair amount, but I dont like speaking it! I have lived in Zululand for 3 decades now, but I have enough trouble forming the words in my home language to learn another language! I was born in a British Colony so grew up speaking English, and have never found the need to change! I speak English now, and always will!
That being said, I can follow a conversation in Afrikaans, although I speak schoolboy Afrikaans! What is even more strange is that I was taught the language to a British Standard - "O" Level. At least that is one of the subjects that I earned a distinction at!
Living in Zululand, I have found that the Afrikaans community - mainly in Richards Bay here on the North coast - speak a "pure" Afrikaans, just like the Zulu's speak "Pure" Zulu! If you analyse what they say, it is at least 50% is of English, usually with a really strange accent! In Afrikaans, they talk of "Ge-braaied" - burnt offerings of ex steak that has been killed (again) over an open fire! That being out there now, a really good braaied cut of meat that really I enjoyed, was a slice of fish! Maybe it was the infusion of wood smoke from the fire that made the fish slices taste incredible, or it was the company! My (and Di's) usual lunch spot is Wyetts, in Empangeni (just inland from Richards Bay) has a braaied meat selection at lunchtime on Fridays! For a fair cost, you can select your own steak bits, and have them braai (barbeque) it. I dont order it because the steak is a 500 gram slab of meat! 500 grams is a HUGE slab of meat! That is a half kilo of steak, when the average steak that I usually eat, is 100 grams. Half a kilo is a huge steak, almost like a complete cow that they trim the legs and horns off of, and throw the carcass on an open fire!
As far as I know, the word "braai" is an afrikaans word, probably derived from the English "burnt" as the average Afrikaaner likes his meat well done - browned to an absolute crisp. They usually use beer to put out the flames on the meat! I tend to think "You killed it (the cow) once, why then kill it again!" I tend to order restaurant steak as "medium rare" which some people see as too pink inside! I find that "rare" is too raw, but medium rare is not yet too dried out! If you order steak "well done" it arrives too crispy, almost as if they have set fire to it and trimmed the charcoal from off of the meat! To be absolutely honest, I enjoy Calamari as a meal. That is something that they simply cannot crucify. I know that my daughter likes prawns, but since I was hospitilised by bee stings, I understand that I am most likely to be allergic to any shellfish. In any event, I refuse to put myself at risk of it being true! When she orders prawns, I like to order Calamari Steaks!
As far as I am aware squid (from where Calamari comes) is not a shell fish. They do live in shells some of the time, but these are not their own shells.
Something else that I rather enjoy - as a starter - are snails! Christine freaks at this, thinking I must be allergic to anything with a shell, but snails are NOT seafood! Sure they have shells! I know some people think "Snails! Disgusting - looks like lumps of snot!" but I rather enjoy them as starters. I first started ordering them as starters at a restaurant in Waterval Boven, run by an Irishman and his wife! Practically there is no difference between eating snails or eating a steak! I refuse to try eating snake or Crocodile! I would hate to think of your supper fighting you at the table, and the meal winning! Is that paranoia? Maybe, but it is genuine!
Something else that I enjoy (but dont get to have very often) is caviar! I first had this one day after playing golf in an inter-office sports day held at the Kloof Country Club! It went well with Cabernet Sauvignonn - before I joined the LDS Church. I preferred red wine to beer - any day of the week. When I joined the Church and gave up drinking alcohol (no big feat!) I had a complete case of Cabernet Sauvignon that I had bought at the winery in the Cape. I laid it up and 7 years later - just as it matured - I sold the case off at huge profit! Reports from the buyers were that it was brilliant wine, at the peak of its taste! Still, I found something in my life worth more than aged red wine, and have never looked back! I also preferred red to white wine, although red wine is somewhat heavy to drink in the heat!
I remember that at the office where I trained as a Chartered Accountant, there was a social club called "the THOOPC (silent C) Club" - standing for "The Honourable Order Of Piss Cats". We used to meet after work once a month, and to drink quantities of mainly beer! I used to drink beer because it was not the done thing to drink Orange Juice!
That is where I found out that there are hippo in the water next to the John Ross Highway in Richards Bay! There are warning signs on this stretch, but the average motorist thinks that they are a joke! An office colleague had been drinking quite heavily, and he wrote his car off when he ran into a hippo on this road! Apparently the hippo survived, but his car was pretty messed up! I know that he wrote off another car on the old Melmoth Pass when he overtook what he thought was a slow moving truck, only to find that it was the warning signs of a sharp bend in the road! Boy was he surprised!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Another thought
I am amazed at how FAR man has come in the last 3 decades! When I was a Corporal in the Pay Corps of the Rhodesian Army (We were disbanded once Mugabe came to power!) I was aware that the computer used to handle military matters was one of 2 in the whole country!
It was so sensitive to dust, that it was hermetically sealed on the 10th and 11th floor of a highrise in downtown Salisbury. The city only became "Harare" after I left the country. What stunned me was that "Harare" was the name of the local slum area. Why name an "important" city (largest by far in the country!) after a slum? Still they named the country after a set of ancient ruins! I often think that Mugabe has a lot to answer for:-
He turned a few hectare of ancient ruins, into a whole country!
He turned even the lowest paid, into millionaires - pity for them then was that it cost millions in the local currency to buy a loaf of bread! When I left the country, a loaf cost 25 cents, not millions of dollars!
I and my 2 brothers left the country on holiday - as did tens of thousands of others - and just failed to ever return! We officially immigrated into SA so technically I suppose that we are technically still residents of 2 countries! After we came on holiday and found jobs, my parents drove back to Zim and officially emigrated. Was it legal? RGM was happy to see the back of us, and I have never felt the need to return to Zim. There is so much of Africa - and the world - that there is to see!
It was so sensitive to dust, that it was hermetically sealed on the 10th and 11th floor of a highrise in downtown Salisbury. The city only became "Harare" after I left the country. What stunned me was that "Harare" was the name of the local slum area. Why name an "important" city (largest by far in the country!) after a slum? Still they named the country after a set of ancient ruins! I often think that Mugabe has a lot to answer for:-
He turned a few hectare of ancient ruins, into a whole country!
He turned even the lowest paid, into millionaires - pity for them then was that it cost millions in the local currency to buy a loaf of bread! When I left the country, a loaf cost 25 cents, not millions of dollars!
I and my 2 brothers left the country on holiday - as did tens of thousands of others - and just failed to ever return! We officially immigrated into SA so technically I suppose that we are technically still residents of 2 countries! After we came on holiday and found jobs, my parents drove back to Zim and officially emigrated. Was it legal? RGM was happy to see the back of us, and I have never felt the need to return to Zim. There is so much of Africa - and the world - that there is to see!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Morality
This I know is a really strong influence in the Mormon religion. I have an idea that certain members kind of think that not only is it restrictive, but is way out of date. I know my ex felt tied down by her Temple Covenants and found it necessary to break her covenants. I get the impression that at one stage, she felt that morality was outdated, and that HeavenlyFather must just "get with the current program" - shades of my thoughts on Global Warming!
That seems to be the opinion of many people! My Angel has problems at the moment with a secretary who is well in the grips of the dreaded pornography! Di is horrified that her hard drive has been destroyed by downloaded porn! Not only is the drive compromised - once it is there, it is not easy to obliterate. What is more concerning is that the secretary should have been working - at her day job - but was busy surfing the web for porn! This makes me grateful that I believe in a Heavenly Father who warns - constantly - against the effects of porn. The secretary has also been identified as filming her own sexual activities, and downloading them on her employers hard drive! How warped is that? No wonder Di is not happy to use this computer to Email or use a blog after hours!
What scares me is that Mormon #2 in the village, has moved into a log home the Caravan Resort. I was pulled aside on sunday by one of my hometeaching families, and they first apologised to me, then warned me "If you see a male there, dont get upset!" Why they would say this, defeats me - except that at one stage it looked like they were trying to hook us two up! Unfortunately for Mormon #2, she has a MONSTROUS deformity - her name! I have no intention of having the next "Mrs Steve" again called Michelle"
I am still #2's Home Teacher and I think that maybe they were warning me on this count! I used to be the Hometeacher of a Counsellor on the Bishopric, and went round to hometeach him, but felt that the spirit was screaming at me "Run!" I did not stick around, and later learned that he had left his wife for the arms of other females! I could not really report it to the Bishop, as I only had impressions, not proof! In any event, it was the same feelings that I had when my estranged wife moved in with her aditted lover and started demanding - loud and long - a divorce!
When I heeded the promptings and sued her for divorce, she was shocked, mainly because I had taken the threat of divorce out of the equation. She had no power to use the big "D" as a threat!
I was engaged at one point to a lady who was baptised into the Church. I refused to be drawn into the world of pre-marital sex, and I have the impression that my moral stance is why:-
1. We never seemed to click AND
2. Why she broke off the engagement! She was rather miffed when I took back my ring! I still have it, but will never use it for a future engagement!
I get the impression that Di is suitably impressed that I have never tried to force myself on her!
I do know that Di has an idea what my intentions ultimately are, and that I am not prepared to violate my Temple Covenants! I do sense however that she is terrified to commit to another marriage (#1 abandonned her and #2 became unbearable to live with! He is still a pratt.)
Is this restrictive? I say "No" as I am aware that my ex's second marriage failed because the sex was no longer so magic. It still concerns me that she moved in with her current spouse before she divorced #2. Is this history repeating itself? What when #4 heaves into view - and what makes him think he is exempt?
That seems to be the opinion of many people! My Angel has problems at the moment with a secretary who is well in the grips of the dreaded pornography! Di is horrified that her hard drive has been destroyed by downloaded porn! Not only is the drive compromised - once it is there, it is not easy to obliterate. What is more concerning is that the secretary should have been working - at her day job - but was busy surfing the web for porn! This makes me grateful that I believe in a Heavenly Father who warns - constantly - against the effects of porn. The secretary has also been identified as filming her own sexual activities, and downloading them on her employers hard drive! How warped is that? No wonder Di is not happy to use this computer to Email or use a blog after hours!
What scares me is that Mormon #2 in the village, has moved into a log home the Caravan Resort. I was pulled aside on sunday by one of my hometeaching families, and they first apologised to me, then warned me "If you see a male there, dont get upset!" Why they would say this, defeats me - except that at one stage it looked like they were trying to hook us two up! Unfortunately for Mormon #2, she has a MONSTROUS deformity - her name! I have no intention of having the next "Mrs Steve" again called Michelle"
I am still #2's Home Teacher and I think that maybe they were warning me on this count! I used to be the Hometeacher of a Counsellor on the Bishopric, and went round to hometeach him, but felt that the spirit was screaming at me "Run!" I did not stick around, and later learned that he had left his wife for the arms of other females! I could not really report it to the Bishop, as I only had impressions, not proof! In any event, it was the same feelings that I had when my estranged wife moved in with her aditted lover and started demanding - loud and long - a divorce!
When I heeded the promptings and sued her for divorce, she was shocked, mainly because I had taken the threat of divorce out of the equation. She had no power to use the big "D" as a threat!
I was engaged at one point to a lady who was baptised into the Church. I refused to be drawn into the world of pre-marital sex, and I have the impression that my moral stance is why:-
1. We never seemed to click AND
2. Why she broke off the engagement! She was rather miffed when I took back my ring! I still have it, but will never use it for a future engagement!
I get the impression that Di is suitably impressed that I have never tried to force myself on her!
I do know that Di has an idea what my intentions ultimately are, and that I am not prepared to violate my Temple Covenants! I do sense however that she is terrified to commit to another marriage (#1 abandonned her and #2 became unbearable to live with! He is still a pratt.)
Is this restrictive? I say "No" as I am aware that my ex's second marriage failed because the sex was no longer so magic. It still concerns me that she moved in with her current spouse before she divorced #2. Is this history repeating itself? What when #4 heaves into view - and what makes him think he is exempt?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Business
I am shocked that certain stores are so lax with the quality of their produce! I bought a vaccum cleaner at a mass store, kept the box unopened for a month, then today opened the box! Blow me down with a straw and the handle - supposedly strong enough to lift the machine - has been snapped off! I know that if you want anything in the compyter or cell-phone line, you have to know exactly what you are looking for - dont ask for assistance because if you dont know, you stilol know more than they do!
I am disgusted that they seem incapable of selling anything in decent condition. I think that they get hold of the factory's and say "We will take ALL of your failed quality control items!" The public (me included) are under the impression that they are reasonable in their costs, but no wonder - they get discount for all the factory ejects, and pass these savings on to an unsuspecting public! Turns out that it is false economy to buy ANYTHING from them, when it costs more in fuel to get it replaced, than the original cost!
You ive and you learn - inexpensive is not the same as cheap. This store sells cheap stuff, but at R 50 in fuel to go back and change anything, they are by far the most expensive store around! Trouble is, they may offer an exchange policy, but they refuse to offer replacement of the cash you lose in getting home, finding a problem and then getting it replaced!
I spent yesterday "fixing things" around the house! I find that I CAN, so I do! Drives me wild when I cannot find things! Starts when I cannot locate my drill. Is it easier to throw in the towl and buy a new drill - Sure, less stress! Then I need to buy a new drill bit chuck, so that I can get the old drill bit out and get a new one in! Then I throw what toys are left in reach, out of the cot because I have "lost" all of my dril bits. Actually, I have found the bits but the one I need is broken, so I have to get a new one - from a hardware store, not from the waste graveyard that I bought my vacuum cleaner from! A trip to one of the 3 local hardware stores is required. However, you can take it to the bank that tomorrow, I will not be able to find anything - again! Being handy has it's limitations! Realising that I have a problem finding things is stressing me out! The drill bit key that I mentioned, just happens to to be the third one that I have bought! Somewhere there are lost little gubbinses that have just been joined by a new friend!
Since I was run over, and received brain damage - minor enough that I am medically spastic, with a really short fuse - I have found that I am short fused. Before I was accident damaged, I was really hard to push to the limit, but since my accident, I tend to get really frustrated. When I lose my cool, it is better that the person who made me lose my cool, leave the planet preferrably and a better result would be to leave this galaxy! I am convinced that the nuclear blast that flattened Hiroshima in World War 2, was a minor sneeze in comparison! My ex married me BC (Before Crash) when I was quite mellow. She found though that she managed to push me past my limit after the accident, when she demanded divorce, and I gave it to her!
I am disgusted that they seem incapable of selling anything in decent condition. I think that they get hold of the factory's and say "We will take ALL of your failed quality control items!" The public (me included) are under the impression that they are reasonable in their costs, but no wonder - they get discount for all the factory ejects, and pass these savings on to an unsuspecting public! Turns out that it is false economy to buy ANYTHING from them, when it costs more in fuel to get it replaced, than the original cost!
You ive and you learn - inexpensive is not the same as cheap. This store sells cheap stuff, but at R 50 in fuel to go back and change anything, they are by far the most expensive store around! Trouble is, they may offer an exchange policy, but they refuse to offer replacement of the cash you lose in getting home, finding a problem and then getting it replaced!
I spent yesterday "fixing things" around the house! I find that I CAN, so I do! Drives me wild when I cannot find things! Starts when I cannot locate my drill. Is it easier to throw in the towl and buy a new drill - Sure, less stress! Then I need to buy a new drill bit chuck, so that I can get the old drill bit out and get a new one in! Then I throw what toys are left in reach, out of the cot because I have "lost" all of my dril bits. Actually, I have found the bits but the one I need is broken, so I have to get a new one - from a hardware store, not from the waste graveyard that I bought my vacuum cleaner from! A trip to one of the 3 local hardware stores is required. However, you can take it to the bank that tomorrow, I will not be able to find anything - again! Being handy has it's limitations! Realising that I have a problem finding things is stressing me out! The drill bit key that I mentioned, just happens to to be the third one that I have bought! Somewhere there are lost little gubbinses that have just been joined by a new friend!
Since I was run over, and received brain damage - minor enough that I am medically spastic, with a really short fuse - I have found that I am short fused. Before I was accident damaged, I was really hard to push to the limit, but since my accident, I tend to get really frustrated. When I lose my cool, it is better that the person who made me lose my cool, leave the planet preferrably and a better result would be to leave this galaxy! I am convinced that the nuclear blast that flattened Hiroshima in World War 2, was a minor sneeze in comparison! My ex married me BC (Before Crash) when I was quite mellow. She found though that she managed to push me past my limit after the accident, when she demanded divorce, and I gave it to her!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Dont they have anything better to do?
You think that people (visitors in the Caravan Resort where I live) would have better things to do than to aimlessly wander up and down Loerie Lane in the park? All day in the Christmas holidays, there are people who aimlessly amble past6 my home! It is not as if it is a problem, but you really would think that they would have more interesting things to do - like go down to the beach! It is not as if there is much to see down my road! There is my home on the left, and 3 homes across the paved road opposite me! They can also not see the sea view (glimpses) that I can from my home, as it is a mite higher than the road!
I am going through to Empangeni tomorrow, to consult my personal angel - Di! I call her "Angel" and she laps up the attention, because in Sunday School, we learned that there are angels walking amongst us. The teacher asked the class "Have you ever seen an angel?" I remembered back to when I was bestowed with the Aaronic Priesthood, that I was entitled to the ministery of angels. maybe I took this too literally, but Di definitely ministers to me, so by a deduction, she IS one of my Angels! The teacher - and in fact Sheila - both shouted me down and said "That does not count!" but it is my impression - as a Priesthood holder - that this definitely qualifies! In the Book of Mormon, there is record of where people have seen angels, understood them, but still gotten off the track! I bet it will scare Sheila (a know-it-all) to learn that she has seen - and conversed with - angels, but has failed to realise this!
Christine heard me call Di "my Angel" and she made out that she was throwing up! She - like Sheila and Candy - fails to see the facts! Her Mom could probably learn a thing or two by acting as if she were her multiple husbands "angel" instead of dismissing the idea out of hand!
The program "Touched by an Angel" is a somewhat pedestrian attempt to put this idea across! Angels are not always with silver wings and haloes. Sometimes they are people who live and breathe like the rest of us! You get the impression that people like Sheila only look at the feet of an Angel, and even then, only see clay feet. I tend to see past these clay feet, into the heart of someone! I believe that my marriage to Michele helped me to see the potential in people! Thinking back, I do not truly believe that Michele was ever able to sustain the stress of me being almost dead. I know that when I proposed marriage to Michele, she became my angel, helping me get to the Temple, but what happened that weekend, rather made her rethink her ideas of "Eternity" - I was almost killed in a horror smash!
I have met the villages second Mormon! She however has a HUGE disability - her namen - namely "Michelle". She appears to be struggling, and mutual friends said to me on Sunday "So sorry!" as if they were kind of matchmaking, and it seems not to be working out! Big secret is that I truly believe that I have been told that Di is the next Mrs Steve! I really dont want to start mistrusting my promptings! My fear is, if I dont heed them now, what incentive does Heavenly Father have to keep on prompting me! I feel that unlike the advice of a previous Bishop that she has to be a Temple Worthy member first, I feel that I have been counselled by Heavenly Father that she need not be a member to start with! I have done as instructed and been sealed in the Temple, and even if I am not to be with that wife, a suitable wife will be given to me in the afterlife! He has promised me, so why should I doubt this!
I am going through to Empangeni tomorrow, to consult my personal angel - Di! I call her "Angel" and she laps up the attention, because in Sunday School, we learned that there are angels walking amongst us. The teacher asked the class "Have you ever seen an angel?" I remembered back to when I was bestowed with the Aaronic Priesthood, that I was entitled to the ministery of angels. maybe I took this too literally, but Di definitely ministers to me, so by a deduction, she IS one of my Angels! The teacher - and in fact Sheila - both shouted me down and said "That does not count!" but it is my impression - as a Priesthood holder - that this definitely qualifies! In the Book of Mormon, there is record of where people have seen angels, understood them, but still gotten off the track! I bet it will scare Sheila (a know-it-all) to learn that she has seen - and conversed with - angels, but has failed to realise this!
Christine heard me call Di "my Angel" and she made out that she was throwing up! She - like Sheila and Candy - fails to see the facts! Her Mom could probably learn a thing or two by acting as if she were her multiple husbands "angel" instead of dismissing the idea out of hand!
The program "Touched by an Angel" is a somewhat pedestrian attempt to put this idea across! Angels are not always with silver wings and haloes. Sometimes they are people who live and breathe like the rest of us! You get the impression that people like Sheila only look at the feet of an Angel, and even then, only see clay feet. I tend to see past these clay feet, into the heart of someone! I believe that my marriage to Michele helped me to see the potential in people! Thinking back, I do not truly believe that Michele was ever able to sustain the stress of me being almost dead. I know that when I proposed marriage to Michele, she became my angel, helping me get to the Temple, but what happened that weekend, rather made her rethink her ideas of "Eternity" - I was almost killed in a horror smash!
I have met the villages second Mormon! She however has a HUGE disability - her namen - namely "Michelle". She appears to be struggling, and mutual friends said to me on Sunday "So sorry!" as if they were kind of matchmaking, and it seems not to be working out! Big secret is that I truly believe that I have been told that Di is the next Mrs Steve! I really dont want to start mistrusting my promptings! My fear is, if I dont heed them now, what incentive does Heavenly Father have to keep on prompting me! I feel that unlike the advice of a previous Bishop that she has to be a Temple Worthy member first, I feel that I have been counselled by Heavenly Father that she need not be a member to start with! I have done as instructed and been sealed in the Temple, and even if I am not to be with that wife, a suitable wife will be given to me in the afterlife! He has promised me, so why should I doubt this!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A new year
Already the second of the first month of a new year - decade even - has rolled around! One of the members today in their testimony said that pity it is not the 1st today! Practically it should make no difference to how you behave! A point that most tend to overlook is that today is the first day of the rest of your life! What you do with the time allotted to you is what makes a difference - or at least should! Too many tend to live from day to day - virtually hand to mouth, and what they do - or dont do - makes no difference in the Eternal scale of things! Sure, Genghis Khan was probably not a great human, but he sure made sure that he joined the ranks of people remembered for something!
Absolutely he and Adolf Hitler made the world not so pleasant to live in, but they were excercising their agency, even if it was eliminating others the right to their agency!
I just think back to when I was stabbed, and one of my attackers was killed - by his "friends"! You can be sure that he was not remembered much past 2 weeks after he stabbed me! Sad really that he made little or no impact on history! Question remains, was what he got from robbing me, worth much? I fear that he will eternally regret stabbing me! I still have a feeling that the 2 of them broke in to rob me of excess stuff, and I was regrettably in the way, and they knocked me unconscious, then stabbed me 8 times! I do not feel that the incentive to breaking in was not so much greed as fear! They stabbed me so that I would die and not identify them! Thank Heavens, my life is at the mercy of my creator, and not at the mercy of robbers!
Today, I presided in Sacrament meeting (MMWC - or Main Manna What Counts) since I was the holder of the most senior position at the Branch today! It felt great to be in control of the meeting, rather than acting at the whim of another holder of the Priesthood of God! I commented that some 19 years ago, I was scared of talking in a crowd larger than 2, especially if 1 of these 2, were me! 19 years gives you a different outlook on life! The way I see it is, it has been centuries since a speaker was beaten to death by an insensed congregation! I have to admit though to feeling a mite inadequate though! maybe this is a good feeling, in that you are open to suggestions of improvement! Once you are too proud, you feel over-important and are on a really slippery slope! Presiding in a meeting is not a new thing to me, since I was Presiding Elder at our Esikhawini Branch (that was tiny, and I started calling it a twig! This has subsequently become an accepted name for units not yet big enough to be branches!) It is still putting myself outside of my comfort zone! Being out of your CZ is great, because you are not complaceant. The concepts of "Compaceant" and "humble" do not exsist in the same universe!
Absolutely he and Adolf Hitler made the world not so pleasant to live in, but they were excercising their agency, even if it was eliminating others the right to their agency!
I just think back to when I was stabbed, and one of my attackers was killed - by his "friends"! You can be sure that he was not remembered much past 2 weeks after he stabbed me! Sad really that he made little or no impact on history! Question remains, was what he got from robbing me, worth much? I fear that he will eternally regret stabbing me! I still have a feeling that the 2 of them broke in to rob me of excess stuff, and I was regrettably in the way, and they knocked me unconscious, then stabbed me 8 times! I do not feel that the incentive to breaking in was not so much greed as fear! They stabbed me so that I would die and not identify them! Thank Heavens, my life is at the mercy of my creator, and not at the mercy of robbers!
Today, I presided in Sacrament meeting (MMWC - or Main Manna What Counts) since I was the holder of the most senior position at the Branch today! It felt great to be in control of the meeting, rather than acting at the whim of another holder of the Priesthood of God! I commented that some 19 years ago, I was scared of talking in a crowd larger than 2, especially if 1 of these 2, were me! 19 years gives you a different outlook on life! The way I see it is, it has been centuries since a speaker was beaten to death by an insensed congregation! I have to admit though to feeling a mite inadequate though! maybe this is a good feeling, in that you are open to suggestions of improvement! Once you are too proud, you feel over-important and are on a really slippery slope! Presiding in a meeting is not a new thing to me, since I was Presiding Elder at our Esikhawini Branch (that was tiny, and I started calling it a twig! This has subsequently become an accepted name for units not yet big enough to be branches!) It is still putting myself outside of my comfort zone! Being out of your CZ is great, because you are not complaceant. The concepts of "Compaceant" and "humble" do not exsist in the same universe!
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