“nothing in any life, no matter how well or poorly lived, is wiser than failure or clearer than sorrow. And in the tiny precious wisdom they give to us, even those dreaded and hated enemies, suffering and failure, have their reason and right to be…” Shantaram

Who would have thought the 4th of December so soon this year, man its so clichéd but its been one helluva a whirlwind year, where did it go and where is it in such a hurry to go to? Its been a pretty eventful so far ey.

Both personally and in the world as a whole. I have quite enjoyed these 4 mth hiatus from formal employment I cannot lie, and dear Leila you were so right, the creator does provide if you trust in him to. In these 4 mths I have read some interesting books ey.

The journey started off with a book called the 4 hr work week which I just rounded off to the zero hour work week ☺ ok not entirely true but it made for good reading no. Great book about increasing efficiencies if you have your own business whose processes can be streamlined. Another well advertised book that I read was called Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. I found the book rather interesting in the points that it raised about what disappointed me was the follow through on those points. They just didn’t seem to go anywhere.

2 other noteworthy books I have kept myself busy with were Catcher in the Rye and most recently Shantaram. I don’t think I can tell you enough about this book. For me it was such an enchanting read man, I was spell bound, even when I was at gym trying to look sexy (just the body ofcourse) I was thinking of Prabu and Linbaba ☺. There are parts of the book that I think are extremely Ramboesque and far fetched but on a whole the book was deep. The philosophical and life lessons it delivered man…wooow read it.

What else, I met a wealthy haphazard Englishman who I am trying to do some work with but man is he a breaker??!! Drama personified I tell you. Days of our Lives have nothing on this man.

Anyway a huuuuge thing I have come to grips with lately as well is that I am really a fake Christian. Its not something I am proud of in any way and its something I am working on but man I preach the good speak about God and I truly believe in a being higher than myself who I have been brought up to believe takes the form of a Christian God. I read my Bible daily. I try walk the talk as best as I can, but in my heart of hearts there is something just amis. And I try but then I analyse and I fall short. I want to believe that the only way to God is through Jesus but then I think about my Muslim friends who walk the walk and talk the talk very religiously. I look At Buddhists, I think to the actions of some really good people who aren’t necessarily Christian, but their hearts purer and their actions more Christian the most Christian will they be cast into the fiery pits of hell because even though their lives was lived according to Gods way, they hadn’t accepted Jesus as their saviour? I believe my God to be more just than that? But anyway Aluta conituna, found a new church in Rondebosch thanks to Simone, that’s also a funny story, a week before, my bro and my cousin were lamenting the fact that we were struggling to find a church that speaks to us, then honestly no jokes less than a week later I got a message from my friend Simone who haven’t spoken to in a loooong time. She was just saying hi then she asked if I was still going to church I said nope cos I am struggling to find one that speaks to me so she told me about this Common Ground church. Tried it out last Sunday it was a ripper so will give it a shot again…happy days…

The best thing I have done though is I have finally started going for swimming lessons. Started last week after 5 or so years of failed new years resolutions. But the more I go the more I realize this fat as$ was built for land. Breathe, kick, arms…floating whats that ☺ but ey we persevere.

Tsk tsk tsk, whats this world coming to. Mr Squeaky clean Tiger Woods, extra marital relations, I don’t know no more man, just in the week I decide ok enough now, let me see if I can sommer find me that ordinary girl (but extraordinary for me ofcourse) like Lionel Richie sings about. But nooo tiger had to go and play out of bounds whats the world coming to I ask??

Another thing that grated me for a while a few weeks back was this Reitz 4 thing. For those of you know the story there were these 4 students at the Free State university who thought it would be interesting to initiate some of the university workers. Now from my view point. These workers are quite elderly and seemed to participate in these events of their free will. From where I sit, I think they could have said no at anytime but they didn’t and they looked like they were having fun. But alas, it became a big racial thing and there were criminal charges drawn up against these 4 dudes. Anyway a few mths later I think what transpired is the university rector decided to drop the charges against the 4. Well done to him I say.

These are 4 youngsters, I think they have learnt their lesson in these last few mths. To consistently pollute my ears and eyes with random headlines about political parties getting involved in the Reitz 4 scenario, come now peeps?? How many of us laugh at Leon Schuster when he ridicules unsuspecting people. I lie we don’t laugh we roll over hysterically. Nehooo

Anyway when I started writing this on Monday I had so much to write and now on Friday, I look outside at this beautiful day we have been given. So on that note I say to you peace out and you all go have yourselves a gem of a weekend!!

Birthdays
23rd Mukthar, Cobbs
27th Juzzy Moore
30th Chelsea, Acha Leke
1st Emmanuel Wayoe
3rd Scotty G

That’s me till next time.
Y

> Top of an absolutely sun-drenched morning to you all. Missed you guys
> maaan!! :)
> Tired as all hell i am today and meeting with my mate trying to get
> potentially our first little project to fruition... oh happy days.
>
> Anyway was just popping in to say howdee and that i will be writing a
> more meaningful email once i have had been released from the clutches of
> an insanely absorbing book i picked up a few weeks ago called
> Shantaram, man what a read but i am almost free cant wait till that day
> cos really i get home at 4am from the jol and i pick it up na man its
> gotsta stop.
>
> Anyway just a few stolen pearls of wisdom for you all...
> a fanatic is someone who wont change his mind and cant change the
> subject - Winston Churchill
> fate gives us 3 teachers, 3 friends, 3 enemies and 3 great loves in our
> lives, but these 12 are always disguised and we can never know which is
> which until we have loved them, left them or fought with them...too deep
>
> anyway let me get back to my thing and let you all get back to yours.
>
> you all have an insanely blessed weekend. Vaughan and Jem, hope you guys
> have a ripper in Ghana, its a great think you guys are doing and would
> have loved to have joined you all, but next time!!
>
> Birthdays
> 27th Oct Chief
> 1st Nov Izzy and Zara
> 2nd Isabel and Ez
> 4th Shashi and Tanya M
> 6th Sister Adoma and Lesley
> 10th Shan
> 11th Akin and Rachel
> 14th Celeste
> 15th Rowan and Ylanda
> 17th Donna
> 18th Fede
> 21st Neelesh
>
> And on that note I am outta here you all have yourselves an entertaining
> weekend.
>
> Be a blessing
>
> Y
>
>
>

So anyway this week, even though i have a pretty decent pad in Barbeque Downs, a mate of mine asked me to house sit his super styling pad in the MichaelAngelo Towers, reluctantly I agreed, but thats only cos he asked me so nicely and i didn’t want to seem an ungrateful sod by declining ;) So as i write this I am looking out of paradise in the sky at the beautiful lights of Joburg stunning.

But this my good friends is a view and a lifestyle that only very few people will ever experience. Anyway, i guess thats the way of the world, because those rich few i guess make it possible for the poor few to buy bread and milk, i mean who is going to scrub those showers and toilets, make dinner, build these lovely drapes, wall paper, the electrical and telephone cables that service these places, the front desk concierge, security and so we move on...its life i tell ya, how its been and how it will always be!

Speaking of security, I must admit, I am pretty concerned about this talk about the police being given the right to shoot first then ask. From where i sit, it looks like its giving the police the ability to take peoples lives into their hands. I am all for fighting crime. I say this fresh after having an incident at my house last week. CRIME is South Africas greatest enemy and it needs to go. Is shoot to kill the correct solution....eeeeh i think not!

And why do i think not. Lets start off with the fundamentals. I have had maaaaany a run in with the authorities, funnily enough only in Joburg. And I cant find a more polite or PC way to put this, but the majority of the police I have encountered are power hungry, bullying, bumbling idiots. I really did try find better words to describe them but this alas was the best i could do. A lot of them display the mentality of a playground bully wait better still a looser who became prefect and now he feels he has arrived, oh wait oh wait even better, a steroid filled bouncer at a night club who feels that because he bounced you from the club he has a humungous penile extension and a bank balance to match Richard Branson’s. I think you get my drift. Many of these people have a grade 12 certificate but if i am not mistaken this was recently implemented, I think prior to that, a grade 8 would do. Now lets look at the demographic of the police force shall we. Majority = black. We all know the state of affairs in an average school in South Africa.

Thats just one facet I have delved into, not in depth by any means, but education my dear friends is key in most things particularly in instances where you decide whether someone lives or dies.

But wait there is more. Now these self same people work in an insanely risky job. They put their lives on the line to save our properties and our lives. They are constantly attending the funerals of their colleagues because they were not protecting their own homes, no man, they were downstairs here in Sandton responding to a call from someone who has had his BMW X6 nicked.

Lets throw in another dynamic, these people are insanely under paid in my mind, because if they were adequately paid they wouldn’t always be looking for cooldrink ;)

Let me give you an example of something that recently happened to a mate of mine, I was in Cape Town so I called in a substitute to be harassed my the popo in my absences. Lets use an arb name, lets call my mate Tim. So Tim and some friends had gone for a few drinks on a Thursday night. It was the wee hours of Friday morning, knowing work was around the corner, Tim decided to head on home. Smart man. He stopped at the traffic lights. They turned green he proceeded. A little while on his way he hears, weee o weeee o we, weeee o weee o we, weee o weeee o we, like a cop car (Lil Wayne ;)) yup and it was a cop car. Step out the car...Mr Officer what might be the problem sir he asks, boss u just jumped a red light there they said. You must be joking Tim replies. No seriaaas. You have been drinking ne? Tim may have had one or two, possibly over the limit, but not hammered. Tim begs them to go and breathalyse him, at this stage i think its the right time to tell you all that Tim plays poker compulsively too as evidenced by his call on the Cops. He was convincing. They told him. No but my man, you were driving like a mad man and you nearly caused an accident. We are going to take you to Jail. Tim logically asks. So where is this car that i nearly crashed into, please give me an indication of the colour or the number plate because they must come and lay a charge against me. At this point the cops realised, ey this one he is not a stupid ne. So they just uprooted him and in the back of the van he was shoved. They then proceeded to drive, might i add unnecessarily, like raving mad lunatics around the block, ofourse trying to put the fear of God in ol Tim. They then stopped and tried to make like a snake charmer and extort some cash from him for a crime he didn’t commit. He refused and so to the station he went. In the slammer he was put with proper hard criminals, murderers and a rapist i think he said. Now thats no way to spend a Thursday morning. They let him out in the morning and charged him. So what can Tim do....errr nothing!! Absolutely nothing, a typical case of you damned if you do and you damned if you don’t. I mean say he had to go after these bras, your life will be hell man, Every cop will be out to get u. Especially not being a South African born South African/resident. They laid a charge against him and now he has a record of negligent reckless driving. ABSOLUTE B*** S*** if you had to ask me, but you didn’t so i take it back.

Now you give these self same people a loaded gun and a licence to use it at their discretion with no consequence. But then again how can you blame them when they earn such pitons yet their boss lives the lifestyle of the rich and famous, racking up hotel bills amounting to half a million South African, IN THE PROVINCE WHERE HE LIVES!!! Why couldn’t he have just stayed at home eh? Up until a few mths ago his house was perfect ne? I don’t understand really i don’t!!

Anyway so life in SA has been alright lately you know, a man has been trying his luck with his Caucasian sisters and you know there seems to be some positive feedback, ya know work in progress... and then comes that bra Terblanche again, eish man that bra is messing up a brothers flow i tell you!! Jusus!! You know I thought falling off the horse and spending some time in the slammer had made him mute. The ladies had forgotten that us brothers are the swart gevaar, so much so that hanging with brothers was like almost cool (so i hear ofcourse), the beats 50 cent, Jigga, Kanye, Lil Wayne, The Game, all hot right now, low hanging jeans, caps bling, funky hand shakes are the way forward. Life was becoming integrated. Then he rises from the dead and starts mouthing off about forming a breakaway Afrikaner nation. I thought we were over this now. Can’t we all just get along?

This bra is calling for a separate state because in his words “It's now about the right of a nation that wants to separate itself from a unity state filled with crime, death, murder, rape, lies and fraud." This being the same guy, who was imprisoned in 2001, for the attempted murder of a security guard and almost beating a petrol attendant to death. Errrr

Nah man, his time is done. As a nation i think we have moved on in the right direction. There are a few fundamentals that concern me most of which were highlighted in that Nedbank document last week. But on a whole we have moved forward. Economically we are stronger, as a nation we are becoming more tolerant, we had 2 of the best Currie Cup semi finals I had ever witnessed this past weekend. Dont be fooled there is much to be done still, but the signs of progress are there. I have just returned from a visit to other parts of the continent and as i look out the window right now i realise how far head we are in some respect (yet behind in the humanity side of things).

He has a point in some ways though, because crime is our biggest problem at the moment and in some ways i can see how a person can choose crime. I have to be honest, man as a nation, we South Africans just ooze violence and aggression. Take for instance the semi finals between Province and the Bulls, I am sure everyones most memorable moment was Schalks tackle on Fourie. And that my friends is part of the undercurrent of this crime filled reality we live. Yes there are those who feel disenfranchised blah blah and I am loathe to use the excuse of the past, but unfortunately the chickens have come home to roost. This aggression and crime is becoming a part of our realities its almost an institution. On Friday when i heard that we had an incident at our house, i was away at the time and all i wanted to know if my brother was unharmed he said he was and i was like ok cool. It was like it was normal. It’s almost like its normal to have an incident with crime, if you haven’t then its only a matter of time. Thats wrong man. Because what that says to me is that crime is becoming institutionalised. ITS NOT RIGHT DAMNIT AND NOR IS IT ACCEPTABLE!! But change starts with me man, the small things, gotta go man they have to G......O!

K bedtime tired as knock knock jokes 

Birthdays
9th KC
11th Nkululeko
13th Vuyani
15th Simon H
16th Anjita
17th Tshepo M
18th Sylvia
19th Mogul
20th Thandi M, Candice
21st Koo
24th Dr Phil

Just remember right now is the right time!!

Have a blessed week all

Y

So you know when i cruise the long long loooong streets of joburg, even though i don’t mean to, i tend to notice that the young ones i.e. the ladies tend to give the brother an eye, sometimes even a smile too. So a couple of weeks ago when my pops had the scare, he is by his Creators grace, doing much better, and thanks to all those who dropped us a line etc, much love..., so a couple of weeks ago I was in Jozi, right, cruising around in my folks old school Daewoo, you know what i noticed... no looks, nada, not even like a sneaky, NIKS! So much for me being hot, but you know what i dealt with it...ok dealing with it....waaaa kaaa kaaa ka

Hello guys, my name is Yaw and I live an absolutely charmed life, not throwing it in anyones faces or nothing, just sitting here and appreciating every single lemon and lemonade life has dished out to me. And to be honest and not to sound like i am trying to convince myself of anything, there is nowhere else i’d rather be than right here where I am. Its. 02.40 am. I am just about to hit the hay from such an ordinary day, yet such a blessed day. Let me explain.

Yesterday I went to the big blue, Standard Bank, you know just to say hi to my old colleagues, cos i do that quite regularly, because they truly are a great bunch and yesterday well Wednesday, i got reminded of just that. It was meant to be a quick 30min visit i think i spent about 3 hrs if not more there, just chewing the fat with some genuine decent people. I mean lets take for instance Dave King who is like the big boss of the Corporate and Investment Bank in Cape Town, not that I am trivialising anyone else who made time to catch up with me, but the man is busy, he’s got shiznit to do, but nope, he got out of his desk took me aside into one of the boardrooms and we had like a real full on conversation about life his and mine and just generally chewed the fat. To many people its like whatever, but man to me it left such an impression but i am sure you can tell. That whole 3 hrs or so, just walking around there like i was still part of the familia, chatting with the security guards receptionists the whole crew. That my good people is what this life is about. Being real and being sincere about it all.

Another illustration of some of the charm in my life is, so a few hrs ago i was like invited to go to a fashion show with a mate of mine, to be frank that place was full of phonies and the whole environment made me want to bust a gut, but my mate was a belter and we come a long way so the company made up for it, anyway from there we shot off to Jade, yup u know this, Thursday nite = Jade nite. Anyway so my mate and I are shooting the breeze, but its loud inside so we decide to head on out onto the balcony where there are some chairs to have a yarn about this and that. Anyhoo, I have developed this new habit of wearing tight jeans, apparently its sexy, i am struggling with em at the moment cos my cellphone and the pocket aren’t talking nicely to each other. So i took out my phone and put it on the table. Anyway we decided to go inside. K let me tell you in my defence, my mate is quite alright hey and she was wearing everything low cut...top...skirt...everything. I never thought i was like this but apparently I am, so a man may have had a slight touch of confusioscalitis, better known as confusion, lack of focus or rather focus on the wrong things. Totally out of character cos i never ever ever leave my mobile everrrrr. Anway I did. Oblivious to this we head off to the bar shoot the breeze order our drinks and cackle away. Then all of a sardine this very cute young lass strolls up to me and says to me sorry to disturb, but what is your name, I looked around for the candid camera cos i was like u gotta be joking me...stuff like this doesn’t happen to me ;), anyway so I say Yaw, hi, she is like hi, I found your phone...what are the chances?? She found it on the table anc called my last dialled number a mate who gave her a description of what i look like, imagine that...Its so good to see that there are still some good people left in this world i tell ya. That leads me to this weeks email

I know I sound like a nag alot, but man it bugs me. Charmed life aside, my stellar mates aside and i mean the great ones who know exactly who they are aside, the world is such a messed up place man. People aren’t for real. Its so coincidental that a mate of mine gave me this book The Catcher in The Rye, which i read this week a truly captivating read and I cant get over it. The main character to many might seem slightly disturbed, but in a lot of the issues he raises he is spot on and so in tune with how the world around him is so phony. Like the fashion show today for example, some of the items of clothing were beyond random, but there was tumultuous applause, I sigh. But worst still is how we as a people treat each other. How everyone is on such a mission to succeed irrespective of the price or who they have to do what to to get there. How we are all so deceptive with each other so we can get our way, be it sex, career, acceptance you name it someone is always looking to screw someone over to get ahead, and then you get there and then what? Are you now the king or queen, no my dear so and so, you are still the same loser you are trying so hard to hide away from. Unless ofcourse I have it all wrong, but thats not possible, this is me we are talking about here ;). I just look at the world at the moment we are in such a marginal place because, of peoples greed and desire to rule all. Zim, the USA, Korea, Iran, DRC, Angola, Bosnia, Croatia, Sudan, Guinea, Palestine, man I could go on for days, but I think you all get my drift. I look at this continent. So rich in resources, people, for crying out loud most of the western world was built on the back of Africans (slaves), natural resources, landscape, scenery, there is absolutely noooooooo fathomable reason for this continent to even be remotely in the state that its in. Many blame colonialism, dear friends that institution was gone eons ago, lets move on. I take my country of birth Ghana, 50 or so years ago we gained independence, what have we done, fair enough we are starting to gain some momentum, but man why so long and why don’t so many simple things work? I don’t understand. We have a humungous unemployment rate. Broken infrastructure or outdated infrastructure. We claim not to have money, yet we can spend millions and millions on random presidential palaces...COMEON??!!

You know the beauty about time is you have a huge opportunity to assess and observe yourself and your environment. And what i can say without a doubt is I am truly blessed, yes for what i have, but most importantly for who I have. I have a mate here in CT and he and I are trying to set up an entity what do we do....everything, mainly how do my Naija broddas say...import...export ;) but u want it we know someone who has it and thats the deal for now, very informal but we managed to close our first trade this week, happy days, bond is covered for a few months, wikkid. We have no shareholders agreements nada, ya some might say its immature etc, and i guess I should know better, but to me the soul of a man and the nature of his being is worth so much more than any piece of paper...ey oh oh ey, this tune may change when we start making millions, momma didn’t raise no fool  but the essence will remain the same. Cos dear friends whether you like it or not, one thing thats for damn sure is we are all going to DIE, yep DIE, and the only thing you leave behind other than all the millions you amassed is the impression you left on those around you...

It’s funny how when I started writing this I had absolutely no idea what I was going to write about yet a page and a half later I hope I made some sense...

I say this all the time and it may seem so put on, but if you are lucky enough to be alive and reading this, remember that your maker has given you another day to be the best you you can be, for yourself and others. Dont waste it, cos many would love to be in your shoes. Many who have walked through Heavens gates way before their time. Trust you me none of us are immortal. Ok 03.00am i must get me some sleep for my insanely busy day of nothing tomorrow 

Birthdays
28th Sept Meglic, Mohi
30th Brett
1st Oct Herman
2nd Linda
3rd Monkfish
9th KC
Good night world! Maximum respect in all sincerity. Give a damn about the world around you...

Y

When I was slaving away in the corporate world, time was generally at a premium but somehow i always managed to steal some to write my weekly emails but not now, now that time is in abundance, sitting my bum down to jot down a few ideas, eish its a problem! Hmmm

Well howdeeho to you all, yes its been a while and other than pure laziness i cannot for the life of me think of one valid reason for not writing in so long. But alas today I write. So much has gone down in the last few weeks ey, Usain Bolt running the 100m and 200m in super human times, our poor Caster Semenya being put through hell on earth. The All Blacks were beaten 3 times by one team, I have never seen such a travesty ever. Barack is getting hammered in the USA, interest rate cut (happy days for the self unemployed), Rand strengthening, but watch let me go and buy a plane ticket and the damn thing will find a reason to devalue! Interesting times

So as u do when you have nothing but time on your hands, I have been doing a copious amount of thinking over the last few weeks and by George I think I have found it! Found what you ask, well the meaning to this thing we call life.

Life is definitely not a journey to be lived alone. It’s all about community, friends and family. Yes but i guess we all knew that hey?! So much for cracking the code, next time i tell u next time!! Over the last few weeks I have realised that in my life I have crossed paths with many people because thats me and thats what i do, but real true friends are few and far between and man am I blessed!!

Fair enough I have put myself in the position to be open or approachable to this but in the last few weeks I have had a good few people throwing assistance my way. People have been mailing or calling me with potential income generation opportunities, place to stay, u name it. Not to take anything for granted at all, its really eased the stress so that I can try and really focus on what it is that i want to spend the rest of my life doing...And what is that some might wonder...well to be honest I don’t think I am any closer to that one, but I think I do have an idea of what it is i don’t want to be doing at the moment. But I guess things change and maybe in a month, a year or so’s time things may well have changed again. But this my dear friends this is what its all about.

Alot of people especially my dear mother would be glad to hear this argument I have been having with myself lately. Up until very recently the idea of marriage and a family of my own, if my maker was willing to ‘bless’ me with such wasn’t a topic that I gave much thought to. I think in my life there have been maybe 2/3 women that i have even thought sheesh I could marry this woman or a woman like her...anyway 3 weeks I saw the true value of family and stuff. On 2 or so weeks ago I got a message from my sister that my pops had suddenly fallen ill. Now let me put it into context, my old man NEVER gets sick. The one other time he was sick, he had to have an operation on his stomach. Anyway so this was pretty serious, there was issues with his blood sugar levels. They were more than 10 times the normal rate and he had to be hospitalised. But just the way the family unit pulled itself together was truly amazing. My brother is a doctor so he called my dads doctor to get the low down on what was happening. My bro and sisters in Joburg, went to get my moms to make sure she was ok, I had to leave my insanely busy life of not too much and flew up to Joburg to keep the old lady company and make sure all is well whilst everyone else carried on with work and normal life. I was really glad I was in a position to be of assistance. But what truly was amazing was how friends were always asking how things were, family from all over the world were calling in to check on us and him. It was a ripper man. I remember saying to my mate Philip that I think it may be time to start considering this M thing, but then I went back to living life as me and that idea got doused somewhat, but at least its stronger than it was before the happenings of the last few weeks. But I am in NOOOOOO rush.

It hasn’t always been all these constructive thoughts floating through my head. Here is one thought and action that made me shake my head somewhat and to be quite honest I am well pleased i went through the process...as you can see these last 7 weeks...shoo its been a while ey, imagine i came here for what was meant to be a quick 2-3 week trip and here i am 7 weeks later and to be quite honest it doesn’t look like I will be heading back to Jozi any time soon ;)...I digress...so anyway as i was saying. So i came back to the house I lived in when I was living here in Cape Town in 2004 – 2006. When I first got back here, I found myself thinking about the ex of THREE BLOOODY YEARS AGO waaaay too much. It was bordering on obsessive behaviour something I am not prone to, other than you know the usual, don’t eat in the bedroom or in the lounge, wash my hands after cutting the chicken before i cut the green pepper, you know normal stuff that everybody else does ;)...anyway i found myself texting her and stuff now mind you I don’t have her mobile number on my cellphone, so it meant i had to switch on my laptop and then retrieve her details before the text was sent, and my laptop took a while to load up, so clearly i really wanted to send the text. Anyway it was only after a week or 2...and an return text from her asking me what i was trying to do that the penny dropped. Well so I made myself believe cos thats what its all about my beliefs. Here is the prognosis that i came up with that made sense to me. I dated her from 2004-2006. All my life in that house bar a month or so she was a part of it. So in my mind i think i associate that house with memories of her. I left to move back to Joburg a little after we broke up and I have not spent any more than a few hrs or days in that house since then, well not until now. It all seemed to make sense. It was me having loads of time and deciding to take a trip down memory lane and trying to drag her along with me....interesting huh...NOT COOL though!

Another wierd incident that took place happened whilst i was in joburg visiting but the aftermath was only felt last week. Whilst up in Jozi, I decided to go pay my former colleagues a visit. To see how they were getting on without the life of the party, well so i’d like to believe, and ey its my story so i tell it ne. I went in on Tuesday, cracked a few jokes, made myself comfortable, took my laptop with me so i could download a few songs from my Nokia Music account, ey bandwidth is expensive if you are not working ekse. It was a ripper afternoon, like the old times. The guys asked me to swing by again before I left, on Friday afternoon I had some time, as I surprisingly tend to have nowadays...so I pulled in and we carried on and we all headed home. Anyway, during the course of last week I received a call from one of my colleagues that there was a major hoo ha about me going into the office and that i was downloading things and I shouldn’t be allowed back...this was followed up by an email from one of my other former colleagues based here in Cape Town saying the same thing. My first thought was what the *$%!! What could i possibly want to download from them that firstly i couldn’t have in July when I left, and secondly why would i want to either. I faeces you not I was a tad peaved. And then I thought about it and realised i guess some people have to take themselves and their work seriously because the world is out to get them and i should have known better than to just make myself at home at an institution which I am no longer a part of...anyway i sent my note of apology to them all and closed that chapter...

As you can tell, its been a pretty decent time of self examination/assessment and diagnosis. I have realised as I grow older that I tend to accept my life as it currently is and strive as best as i can to make a better me for me and the world around me. Other than being in Heaven with my maker, there is no other place I would rather be than right where I am....for now that is, because doing not too much can be taxing on a mind that is used to activity...ie boredom is kinda setting in, who knows maybe i will travel soon...

My mantra at the moment is “EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE”. A lot of people might say its a cowards way of looking at the world and to them I say perhaps it is, but the time might come for me to be the hero that you are but till that time, everything is as it should be.

If this email is incoherent or scattered i beg your pardon, because as you all know as i think i write...

Man after writing this I have realised how much I really missed writing this stuff. I hope to be back more regularly.

Birthdays
23rd Aug Jem
26th Leyya,Gareth and Charl
29th Norm
30th Benj
3rd Sept - JC, Rob
5th Vusi Riba
9th Declan
10th Sefa and Morule
14th Anoka
15th Gooch
16th Maskew
18th Tahir, Thuls, and Chetan
19th Naasei
21st Nats,Mickey Moo
23rd Palesa, Si Black
24th Vaughan
28th Mohi and Kells

To infinity and beyond...I am out, just like a thief in the night....been listening to too much DMX

Lovely chatting again all have a pleasant week. Eid Mubarak and Shana Tova to all

Maximum respect and massive love, those travelling this way for the Loeries, safe travels and holler when you get here.

Y

“Tears from my eyes keep on falling; cause you are leaving, leaving with another; Things that we've done together I'll always remember though you're with another, baby.
I've done everything one man can do, girl; Said every word one man can say; The thing that we had has gone astray, girl; I'm missing you from day to day.”- UB40

As i opened this word document, those were the song words that came to mind...and u know me and sharing 

Its been a long while hey. And the funny thing is now I have nothing but time but seem to be really busy doing not too much, go figure. Last we chatted I was on my way out of my previous job at Habari and venturing into uncharted waters. Anyway that day came on Friday, the 31st of July when i set off on what was to be a pretty fun road trip. Edward a very old and good mate of mine and I, headed down to Durbs. Ed was accompanying me just on this leg of the trip. It was such a ripper road trip cos I really haven’t spoken much to him in a while, i guess these things happen when a mate has a kid and becomes all responsible. Anyway I made an MP3 or 2 with some really good tracks that we used to cruise the streets of Fortgale in Umtata to. We arrived in Durbs missioned around a little because Ed was heading there for some work for the Tri-Nations. Part 1 vs 2 of the road trip was to visit another great man called Saul and his lovely wife Mandy. That went down pretty well too. Good times with the Cobbings. Saturday we milled around a bit then we made our way to ABSA Park for the rugby (Boks v Abs), i believe this is where things started to go horribly wrong, the Abs got their bums handed to them on a platter but they didn’t help matters much with their dumb football they tried to play, but thats a story for the rugby blog.

So along came Sunday, my day was greeted with some precipitation, which got me in a bit of a tizz, what kind of a road trip will this be?? But i was pretty excited nonetheless. N2 to Umtata, visit the old town that is responsible for a lot of who I am, then off to East London to spend the night with Grant and also hang with some really old class mates I haven’t seen in over 10 years maybe even 16 years some less. Anyway, I was too excited. The next day I was to head along the garden route. Stop at the Storms River Valley, pay some good money to throw myself off a bridge all in the name of fun and then continue my trip along the garden route till i got tired and then find another place to lay my head and then continue the trip the following day to the fairest cape. The plan was fool proof. All the Ts were crossed I’s dotted. Anyway so I leave Durbs, heading to the Eastern Cape. I head past Stanger, all I see signs of are a place called Pongola (not Margate, Port Shepstone, Kokstad...Pongola), no issue, I continue...but let me put this into context somewhat. For the first 60km or so of my journey i was in close proximity to 2 large Police transport vehicles. I am assuming they were transporting prisoners because there was a convoy infront and after them as well as guards at the toll gates and beyond. Anyway I wasnt travelling that fast so for a lot of the time I was either behind them or just infront of them or slowly overtaking them. I am assuming this was the reason i got the attention that I received. On a few occasions over this 60km stretch I had members of the convoy (in unmarked panel vans) coming up to my bumper and flashing and hooting, or a police car next to me then slowing down and then racing on and then pulling up next to me again...all rather unsettling but in the end i lost them. But i pooed in my pants hard.

Anyway 400km and 4 hours later no sea, no Shepstone, Kokstad, Mount Frere...log onto GPS....yip I had a GPS...WHAT AN IDIOT!!! But I had done this trip so often even as recently as 2004 when i was moving back to CT...i know this trip like the back of my hand....NAAAT. The penny really only dropped when i saw a signboard showing me to the Swazi border post, man was i livid. Rain, trucks road works all this endured to go the wrong way....un happy times. GPS reading Durban 402km Johannesburg 408km...408km is the winner, but it wasnt really. Man such a shocking trip road works aplenty trucks rain shooo, but i made it home, felt like a total plonker, slept the whole of Monday and on Tuesday hit the N1 from Joburg directly through to Cape Town. Such a good trip its been so far.

When you are in car by yourself for 26 odd hours (the wrong route and then the boring, direct N1 route) you tend to have loads of time to reflect on the last few years of my existence, think about what’s next. The reflection part was quite hard in a way because I looked at this last work setup that I have just left. I had time to think about things like my friends and how fortunate I am to have so many mates that are genuinely interested in what becomes of me, thought about the familia and how no one has stressed me about the fact that in these times I have left a job without having another proper job. I thought about the relationships I have had, or lack thereof and realised the fault definitely lies with me. Rectifying it well thats the hard part because i am pretty set in my ways...then there was work...For me out of all the jobs that I have had (not that there are that many) and left, this one was the one that has thus far disappointed me the most in terms of it not working out as I had hoped but in the same breath it was also the one job, out of every job I have ever done(along with swiping cards at the Health and Racquet) that I don’t think I would ever go back to. Which in my mind was quite random because it was one of the jobs I have enjoyed the most, but then I thought about it and I guess with this one I had made some pretty hectic decisions to take this direction and alas the disappointment of ‘failure’ was a much heavier burden than were it just another desk job, but alas the realisation and the great many learnings, as we do gain from all such endeavours that don’t meet our desired expectations, can only be carried forward, making us the better we’s that we are destined to become. What’s next is a tad blurred but it seems to be taking some shape or form. There are quite a few opportunities presenting themselves at the moment and in between listening to and watching the rain fall, heading out to Kalk Bay to just park off or drinks with mates at Camps Bay or doing absolutely nothing but sleep, I have been meeting with or telephonically engaging with one or 2 people who are helping that next step take some shape.

All in all so far, I have realised that I am one blessed summama b... some might say no Yaw you create those opportunities for yourself through your actions, and I guess that is your reality and helps you live your life the way you do. From where I sit, I strongly believe in a being higher than myself as the centre of my universe. It gives my life so much more meaning. To some its a sign of weakness or following a ‘man made belief’ to others such as myself its a reality one which I am grateful for, something that isn’t always easy to fully get and i struggle hard with it alot, but thus far everything in my life good or bad has been a blessing from my creator. Yep so I went the wrong way on the N2, stupid oh very much so, but who knows what was awaiting me on my trip? Yes I am no longer doing something that i would have liked to have worked, but I had almost 3 years of it, learnt and met a good few people, who knows what lies ahead for me? But in all this I am in a currently wet but lovely city called Cape Town, meeting some good people old and new, roof over my head and a bed, juice in Snowy’s tank, just got back from an introduction to the Landmark Forum, which even though was 3 and a half hours, was in my mind very deep. You know things could be well worse.

Anyway I am blabbing on and its 2.30am, not that i have anything to do tomorrow though  but before I leave, just something that I am learning more and more and that is our lives are always without a doubt a product of how we choose to live and what we choose to allow to manifest and become what we believe to be the truth...but i will get more into that another time. But if you are stuck in something you, yip you, no one else can change it!! You’ve wronged someone you can do right by them. Someone has wronged you, well you can harbour the resentment and let it eat at you, but believe you me this, only one really suffering is...yip you guessed it, YOU!! You can change or create your circumstances, no yeah buts, make like Nike and just do it!!

Birthdays
12th July Marc C, Yao
13th Mel H
14th Nats D
15th Garth, Yashie,Naeem
21st Belinda M
22nd Mich Wats
26th Karabo, Gina, Tanya
27th Tabi, Mike Harold Rea and Courts
28th Folks 36th wedding anniversary, yip 36th!!
29th Sheya and Reids
30th Lesley D and ETO Maravanyika
3rd Aug Deen Woodman
8th Blochie
12th Ang, Elly, Caroline
14th Degs
15th Sarika
19th Rob

Thats a wrap folks... hope you are all well or on the way to being well, because the reality is we cant all be well all the time, nor can we all be winners all of the time cos in life our best lessons are learnt through our trials and hardships but just working through all that clutter makes us winners in every sense.

Let today be another day of being a more complete you

Y

I was driving back from gym this evening and i looked out at the sky and the moon was full and a few clouds hovering around it, there was a bit of a chill in the air but the world felt alright with me and i smiled...

How cool is this, parking off here on my bed with some classical music blazing whilst i type, Turandot (Act III): Nessun Dorma, what a classic, don’t understand a word, but soooooo powerful, very different vibe but man its refreshing, a bit of a break from “i’ll take you to the candy store, i’ll let you lick my lollipop....”  so sorry can’t put up any lyrics today

I have been but soo slack this year regarding these emails and I think I may have realised why. This year I have been in such a random place. Everything in my life has been pretty good, but I realised I was caught up in a monotonous existence, but that i guess was tolerable, cos ey that’s life, but something else was eating at me pretty slowly ey. What was it? I have a decent life, great friends and familia...most important I tell ya, they haven’t repossessed my car and house yet, so financially I am ok, I can still run around with the boys on Sundays albeit very slowly, I walk past a mirror and it says to me juslike, u r hot!!I joke . Ladies, well thats a story on its own and yip its my fault, but i have made peace with that, so that couldn’t be it...And work is going pretty darn well in terms of the financial side of it...

Something was still amiss and it was affecting everything, so much so that my mates were asking me what was wrong. I was in the wilderness...I was here but not really. U know when you get that feeling that something is bugging you but you cant really put your finger on it. I love that stuff i tell you. When i was growing up one of my favourite things in the world was putting together puzzles and the more broken it was (ie the more pieces) the happier i was. So i started to fish, quickly eliminated anything to do with finances cos i don’t stress that stuff, one way or another the boss provides, girls, nope not that either, family and friends, nah not that, where do i spend most of my waking hours...WORK!!!

But what about work, we are still making bucks, i have just taken on a new role which was to set up our representation on the rest of the continent, which from where i sit hasn’t been bad going. We have reps in Ghana, Kenya, people we work with in Senegal and a potential partner in Nigeria, so we were covered and that was still quite exciting, but there were little things that were nagging me man. It was once bearable but the last month or so its been breaking my spirit, its been taking a toll on me. Which is a bummer because when i gave up the life of finance, I had huge hopes for this new venture. But ey as with most things in life, just as life itself, the end will come! So you take your lessons and the good times and move on.

I wasn’t sure what or where my next move would take me to, I haven’t firmed it up at all, so i wanted to take some time out think things through, but had a chat with my partner during the week and it was decided that we should call it. I most probably would have come up to the same conclusion after my time out. Now here is the funny thing. I received a bible for my birthday from my mate Phil earlier in the year and my mommy gave me the 2009 Our daily bread which helps you read the Bible. As you know as things currently are, these aren’t the times to be making such decisions without feeling a tad anxious as to where to from here.

The world felt alright with me, but i would be lying if there wasn’t any anxiety floating around. Anyway the morning after we had our chat about parting ways, I woke up to read my Bible and i s** t you not, the message was “to be anxious about nothing and to pray about everything” I smiled hard and still am. So how is this, yesterday I was at my folks as usual, watching the Wimbeldon finals, but i was starting to feel very comfortable and I was dozing, so I decided to make my way home, to finish watching the game, because there is absolutely nothing worse than slipping into a coma and then having to wake up and mission. Anyway on my way home, something said bra go to church so i said to myself, Federer will most probably win, if ARod wins well good for him cos he is better than just one grand slam, so that was settled and off to church i skipped, in snow white ofcourse;). Anyway at church they had guest speakers. The first speaker was so speaking to me.
His message was about being in the wilderness, when you don’t know what you are going to do next or how you are going to do it or if you should do it, but if it feels right within, you should seek counsel from your maker and those close to you, because your maker speaks through them and things around you and just do it. There was more to it but it was soo relevant....

Not there yet, but i can feel things falling back into place. I am the old me is back in many ways, I am still uncertain as to the next move, but if you guys know of anyone looking for a real life talking marketing CA holler at a black ya? But please no rigid 9-5ers i need fun and spontaneity but still making dollars and a difference  oh how complicated i am

Anyway the lesson in this for me at least is believe what you want but your life isn’t yours really. Makhtub...It is written...All you can do is learn and try be the best you you can be. Just believe even when the chips are down, don’t focus on the negative and the world will be alright, hey who knows maybe in a month or 2 my song will be different, but thats a story for a month or two from now...but ey back to the drawing board I am, so lets do this!! 

Birthdays
17th Laila, Tasneem
18th Lebo, Satish
20th Jake and Kgash
21st Hamish Alexander Paterson
22nd Simmybunny, Dan Cader, Zul,
23rd Pete K, Red head Ed
24th Gretchen
26th Kemi
27th Studs Tebs and Seanie
29th Simone
30th Dineo
1st July Keith John
3rd Jenn
8th DJ, Nadia, Mel
11th Rudi and Santie

May you all be blessed with pleeeeeenty more, but more than that may your lives be filled with joy and a sense of moving forward most times if not all the time 

And thats a wrap folks, i wish you all a sublime week. You know not so long ago i used to hate it when teachers used to ask us to write essays of 400 words, nowadays i write 1 300 words for fun, isn’t it ironic, don’t you think ;-)

Maximum respect and light to you all man!!

Y

I dunno bru. What is it about me that makes me the friend guy. What makes me that guy? Man i don’t get it. Lets see you are pretty darn fly, got a personality on you, you have a few guys hitting on you here and there, what makes me not fit into that box of those guys, what makes me the guy to be your friend?? I think the other week i got hit with 3 of those. Totally my fault though because i know these lasses are off limits in one way or another but alas, shoo bra, haven’t been on dates ever in my 33 years on this Gods green earth, so decided to give it a bash, its been helluva fun...u know i think i know what it is, i must change my dress sense, from now on only wife beaters and toothpicks and afro combs in my hair, oh wait no afro comb, you need hair for that and nature decided to be my barber ...ya man wife beaters and toothpicks....in summer cos its pretty darn chillos in Jozi at the moment...Yaw’s happy season. I used to think that guys and girls could be friends but the more i think about it the more i kinda doubt it, or maybe its just me, but alot of the girl mates i have, i have either had an episode/short story with, wanted to have one with in the past and got over it/had to get over it or am hoping to catch a gap sometime ;)...it is what it is, where do u fit. Ar ar ar.

Yip, i have been pretty scarce lately, just haven’t really had much to say lately, nothing really exciting going on to blog about. You know the usual, work, home, eat, family, mates, oh growing up what a bore .
Oh wait forgot to add this one. I have this girl mate of mine and yes i screwed this one up cos i crossed that friendship line you know the line that u cross and sometimes becomes near impossible to cross back over. Well anyway she told me once, Yaw, I am going to pay you the biggest compliment i’ll ever pay anyone. You will be my friend forever, because i want you in my life forever...if you could see my face you would see the expression of bemusement and confusion even as i write this a good few months later, i was like forever...for ever ever??? Not quite, but i did ponder how in Wolverines name that was a compliment...hey oh my dawg u will never be any more than a friend but u will at least be my friend??? I am quite a simple man so sometimes i need someone to draw pictures for me . But alas we move on

Oh wait I really don’t mean to be so vorentoe (forward)/vain, but i hit the big time a few weeks ago, got my first radio interview about the internet on the continent http://www.classicfm.co.za/talk/the-internet-economy/podcasts/reuben-talk-to-habari-medias-general-manager-yaw-peprah-about-their-push-into-africa. I had to go for special elocution lessons to learn to speak like that so don’t mock the accent see ;)

Anyway here’s something for you. A few weeks ago i am out with some peeps and we have dinner, once done with my dinner, i.e. plate is clear, not even a grain left, even a blind man (no disrespect intended at all) could see i was done, but alas my fork and knife were not together. This lass i am with gets a hissy fit and starts telling me how rude it was to not have my fork and knife together, this she says with her elbows on the table...I am like please if you are going to throw this aristocrat bull my direction you cant pick and choose which ones are ‘ruder’ than others no? Or am i missing a trick again? Its almost like someone telling me no Yaw you can rob that store but you cant kill those people...That’s the first part of my dismissal of her attempt to colonise this young African lion...hardly, focus Yaw focus...the second part of my argument is that in as much as it is good table manners and all, its pretty darn archaic and really serves me no purpose.

My folks did try and get me down the straight and narrow and for many years it worked till i realised all these prim and proper things aren’t just my thing. Don’t get me wrong, if by some miracle I am blessed with offspring, they too will learn all this to help mould them into ‘model’ citizens but when they are on their own, they are just that...on their own. All this stuff like making your bed, polishing your shoes, packing your clothes neatly into the cupboard, washing cars, mowing the lawn, you know the chores that some of us had to endure whilst growing up. All of them i think go a long way in developing as a young man, if nothing at all you learn discipline which i think is a necessary grounding, but when you get older you pick and choose which of these teachings are applicable in your life, kinda like learning Biology and Woodwork all at higher grade during school and you end up being an accountant...how the hell is knowing where or what the hypothalamus is or how to do a dovetail joint is going to help me when i have to calculate and report on the revalued financial instrument...oooh just got the shivers, be gone IFRS, be gone 

Ok thats 2 pretty interesting things, next thing Africa Day, I have written about it before but anyway it came and just as quickly as it came it went. It was on the 25th May, but hardly a whisper was said. Valentines day...from the roof tops its heard, Mothers day...Fathers day...Americas independence... Guy Fawkes day...Halloween we all know way too well about these days, but nooo not 25th May, the day where many of us should be celebrating our continent we claim to be so proud to born of. Yes the continent has not reached its full potential and frankly it may never will if we persist with some of the leaders we currently have. But man isn’t it just sad, that a continent as rich in everything, people, cultures, diversity, resources, fails to ‘grow’ a people proud to be born of its soil. Africa Day, whatever...and so it continues. And that attitude of apathy and disinterest is all part of the reason why we allow leaders to rule for 43 year, thats how many years the late Omar Bongo of Gabon ruled for, how is that ever healthy, and its also reported that his son will take over the reins, think i missed the episode when the powers that be said this is Gabon, aka Bongos playground. The sad thing is that we keep on letting it happen, Gabon, Zim, Libya, Ghana, Malawi, Congo, Zambia, all countries that have had rulers who ruled for at least 20 years, how is that a healthy state of affairs?

Anyway, thats me for another little while or not, who knows, thanks for indulging me again. But right now i think my pillow and CNN are calling me. You all be safe and excited about life now you here, cos you only get one chance at it, so Carpe Diem and as they say, better to do and regret than to regret not doing...

Birthdays
24th Amrain, Rich Marshall
25th Inge
26th Sharon
27th Monica
28th Nielfaar
29th Delia, Lauren Wick, Brett Keyser
31st Rachey S, AC, Dear Cous Nana Yaa
2nd Mame Ekua
6th HQ, Jill
9th Ivan
11th Ameer
12th DC, Samantha, Eckmar001
13th Fifi

Well once again it has been fun, till next we e-speak, let me embrace our diversity and sign off by saying Shalom!

Mad love!!

Y

Hello all, I am so all out of emails to write at the moment, I was so blocked that I was about to write an email about me, but then I thought that may well be seen as pretty arrogant to think people actually want to know about you so i parked it, but yesterday, someone told me a story they had received on email and i thought it was such a good story not to share

I sincerely hope you guys are all well and life is treating you kindly and even if its not too kind your mind and will are both strong enough to help you see and find a better day...

Here is the story

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village.
A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took them to catch them.

"Not very long." they answered in unison.

"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"

The fishermen explained that their small catches were Sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.


"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, And take siestas with our wives.
In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, Have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs.

We have a full life."

The tourist interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!
You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch.
With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?"

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, You can buy a second one and a third one And so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, You can then negotiate directly with the processing plants And maybe even open your own plant.

You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City!

From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?"

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting," Answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, You can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen.

"After that you'll be able to retire, Live in a tiny village near the coast, Sleep late, play with your children, Catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife And spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."

And the moral of this story is: ... Know where you're going in life... You may already be there ! !

Birthdays
10th Adjoa
11th Liezel and Shereen
12th Naomi
13th Gillie and Mel
15th June and Sanette
22nd Harps

And thats a wrap folks, have a great weekend all, and to my dear friends who lost their mother over the past week, my thoughts are with you all, i guess if nothing at all you will find comfort in the fact that she is in a better place

Big love to you all (some more than others ;-))
Respect
Y

Now is the winter of our discontent; Made glorious summer by this son of York; And all the clouds that low'r'd upon our house; In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. – Shakespeare

Nothing glorious about this approaching winter i tell you. Absolutely love this time of the year, leaves falling, crisp mornings warmish afternoons and that evening chill that screams no gym, TV and blankie...

Its a beautiful day to be alive isn’t it? A day to right the wrongs of yesterday or to keep on doing what’s right to make a difference in the life of another, or just another day...i guess the choice is yours really and so to the consequences of that choice 

Some say he is corruption personified and that inspite of his plethora of wives he prefers extra marital affairs. Yes we call him Mr President. How normal life has become post the frenzy of the 22nd April 2009. We all cry so hard for this western phenomenon called democracy and this my dear friends is true democracy in action. The people have spoken. We have our president.

Whatever you might say or think about how he got where he is, on Saturday the 9th May, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma will be inaugurated as the 3rd democratically elected president of this our rainbow nation. Oh wait that would be fourth, forgot about the current caretaker president. I read his opening speech very reconciliatory, humble and positive, and word is (media) that it was one of the best speeches by any president/president in waiting of our country in the last little while. He has come a long way, it was almost 3 years ago to the day that he was acquitted on rape charges that threatened his freedom let alone his quest to be the peoples president. He managed to dodge how many counts of corruption, racketeering and tax evasion. He sprung his personal financier and friend Shabir from jail, squashed the scorpions and look at him now. From herd boy to the president of Africa’s rainbow nation...look at him now.

The new issue is that he will be flanked by 3 first ladies. My question is and so? I am all for live and let live, if the man decides polygamy is his way forward, the women he has married say its our way forward too who are we to judge? His culture allows for more than 1 wife so too Muslims and Mormons, I don’t hear anyone saying anything about that. In April this year the Russian president made a statement encouraging men to take more than 1 wife to protect the honour of unmarried women. Bottom line, polygamy is accepted in many cultures and religions, you don’t like it, don’t practice it, but u must respect the thing its part of our diversity.

But Yaw, we are a nation struggling to contain this thing called HIV and AIDS, but polygamy goes against all we have been telling the young ones about having just one partner. I say fair point there. But that being said if you are FAITHFULL to all your wives and they to you, well no external forces will be introduced to your little party and thus you should be ok.

But i guess that wasn’t the case here, which is unfortunate, but he fessed up, said what he did was wrong, he erred, he is human. Bill Clinton erred you shrugged it off, Sylvia Berlusconi erred and we are like lets see how it plays out cos its prime time telly this, speaking to their therapists etc. Will his actions lead to the moral decay of South Africa as a nation? Well if he jumped off a building will we all? Some might yes i know, but thats why I say education is the key here,

Time will tell just give the man a chance, he may well be better than most...or not, but we don’t know that, just like we don’t know what we had instore for us post 1994 or when we went to school for the first time or when we started the new job...time will tell but one thing to bear in mind is that we are on a good wicket here. Tell me how many nations can boast hosting a rugby world cup, a cricket world cup, the African nations cup, the inaugural 20-20 world cup, the IPL, the Confederations cup, the soccer world cup, world summit on sustainable development, the head of the UN security council, the head of the African Union, have one of the most respected people to have ever lived being from its soil, all this in a space of 15 years...irrespective of our perspective of how bad things are here the world doesn’t seem to see it. Our job, all of our jobs is to make this the place we want it to be. Government can only do so much. A population of 48million, say maximum 50 000 in government maybe more, lets say even 1 million, who can really make things happen if they decide to work together? Simple things...tolerance and embracing of our differences, removing this negativity we choose to let run our lives here, help each other, each one teach one!!!

I sound like i am about to break into song, so let me stop there. I too have my reservations, but I am looking forward to what lies ahead, i hope these words don’t come back to bite me in the buttocks. I am looking forward to the new cabinet, how this new government interacts and carries itself. I cant do anything about it now, i did all i could do on the 22nd April the rest is in Gods hands, so why must i stress???

Another massive thing this weekend, even though I am not totally convinced about this whole commercial aspect of some of these days, Valentines, Womens, Secretaries, Fathers day etc. One day i have maximum respect for is Mothers day, which is this weekend. Guys just incase you haven’t taken the time to sit down and analyse what it means to be a mother, let me put forward my observation and mothers correct me if I am wrong.

You start off by doing the dirty...guys this is where our involvement ends, well other than dealing with mood swings (however this is nothing a few “work deadlines” or late meetings can’t sort out ;-)
But no not her! This little being becomes a part of her. Eating what she eats, passing off what it doesn’t want into her. She has mood swings, her body changes shape, she becomes a pie eater, morning sickness, back pains, she gets tired she still has to go to work up until its time for the little one to enter into the world. For 9 months this carries on 9 LOOOOOONNNNGGGGGG months. Our role hey love anything i can do (yeah how about you take this morning sickness every Tuesday and Thursday, i need some time out nah man no can do. We just carry on as usual and show a little sensitivity especially if you know whats good for you. But our load is light.

Enter 9 months, little Yaw is tired of his happy place, its getting too damn small for him, he feels he is a big boy now and he wants to come into the world...maybe...maybe not...maybe...maybe not....20 odd hours of labour later yip thats me, he decides ok enough fun and games and he pushes his way into this mad crazy place we call earth. Now i DON’T even want to imagine what it would feel like pushing a 3kg elongated life form out of an opening that could snugly fit an object that is on average 5cm in diameter. I don’t want to know. Guys have kidney stones and we half die...maximum respect.

But it doesn’t end there, hell no. Thats only the beginning. Breast feeding, changing nappies, taking to hospital, waking up at all hours to feed them, cleaning bottles, shaping their heads  understanding what each cry means. Even worse when you are a single mother because all this is just you and you also have to go and make the moola to look after this little one. School fees, discipline, attending to injuries, nursing to health, making school lunches, covering school books, and after this you decide you want to have another one??!!!....nah man, guys we have life pretty good ey.

Maximum respect to all you mothers out there, you definitely play a massive role in making us who we are. You deserve your day on Sunday and hopefully more!!

Birthdays
01 Nic
02 Michael B
04 Gareth M
05 Nana Sao and Peace
06 Taz Magill
07 Shakira and Bish
09 Dear Sis Nana S

And that’s me for yet another week, you all be good now and show your mothers or mothers of your little ones some love, if you and your mother (blood or foster) aren’t on good terms, just take some time to remember all the rubbish you have put her through, whew thank goodness i didn’t put my mother through any of that ;-)

Massive love to you all

Y

And in the end its not the years in your life that matter but rather the life in your years!!

Ow man another superb Autumn morning in Joburg i tell you, a bit of a brisk chill in the air, but man sunshine blue skies (well with a thick layer of goo) but alas u cant have it all. I trust this email/blog finds you well wherever you are and if it doesn’t, my honest sincere apologies to you for whatever you are going through, but also if I may I’d like to offer some advice in that whatever you are going through that is pulling you down, is essentially of your own making. Whatever it is has happened, but you are deciding how to react. I know it may seem a very callous assessment on my part, and that is not the intention, but you have no idea the power of the mind.

The week before last I was once again stuck in no man’s land for a variety of reasons, but nothing too serious, it was getting to me, but I decided enough of this shaite. I decided to change my attitude, I am still sorta stuck in no man’s land a bit, but I know its just a phase (cos it happens most years when i start thinking is this as good as it gets or is this all that there is to this thing called life, you know that discussion, which generally results in you discovering a better you, but that whole process, is tiring and quite frankly sucks)and it too shall pass. Started hitting the gym some more, communicating with mates and in the words of JayZ the bounce is back....I so hope that whatever you are going through it too passes soon but it starts with an attitude shift.

Speaking of an attitude shift, I hope you are not one of those people that are saying to yourselves, I am not going to vote on Wednesday, because what difference will my vote make??!! Utter nonsense. You must go out there and vote damnit. Because people made the effort to vote, the leader of the free world (as they call it), America is of mixed decent, I mean who would have ever? Take nothing away from the man, because he was better than his rivals by a gap as wide as the one Hussein Bolt left between himself and his competitors at the Olympics, and he wasn’t even at full tilt near the end!! But who would have ever thought that America would have a president who would largely be seen as a member of the minority

This is by far our must crucial elections since 1994. In 1994 it was about the new dawn, 1999 and 2004 was about consolidation, and i guess this year is about endorsement or change. The past few months in South African politics has been by far the most interesting in yonks. We had the happenings in Polokwane, which for me and in all honesty was a huge wake up call. I was hugely appalled by the disrespect shown to the lady who was trying to conduct proceedings. Then we had president being recalled based on judge’s ruling which was later overturned, which should bring into question the process of recalling the president, which in some quarters is seen as unconstitutional (i cannot profess to be an expert on the workings of the constitutional court so i will have to just go on hearsay. Then the scorpions got dissolved. Schabir Shaik was allowed out of jail because he was terminally ill, which was such a dumb a$$ excuse because I have no idea how many people die in prison. The NPA’s independence has been called into question. We have a high court judge in the dock for allegedly interfering with judgements...then I hear the president in waiting telling me that the ruling party has never abused its electoral mandate.

I was watching Carte Blanche yesterday and frankly i was quite disgusted. The evidence of poor service delivery is but shocking. The apathy or lack of concern from those in power is nauseating. Here we are the citizens, coughing up plenty every month to ensure that our roads are driveable, we have water in our taps, electricity to our TVs and this doesn’t happen because of incompetent and unperturbed ignoramuses in positions of power. Nah man, this can’t be right!! Then there is the question of plenty money being spent on fixing Chapmans peak but Chappies still remains closed.

Now this may sound like I am slating the ruling party and this is not my intention. My intention is rather to highlight some questionable developments of late. So now how do we know all this, well thats because the ANC government has been ‘transparent’ enough to let those who are willing investigate and comment on its affairs, this cant be said of the previous government. Yes, I know it doesn’t negate the fact that they have let plenty people down, but at least they have done some...plenty right!!!

Just so you know and I didn’t know this till this weekend. If you have registered to vote in Cape Town but moved to Johannesburg and didn’t register to vote in Jhb, you can still vote! I repeat you can STILL VOTE in the national elections, but just not for local government.

This week I was going to do some investigation as to the all the political parties taking part in this years elections and to my surprise, and trust for I, I was surprised there are 40 parties, yip you read me, FOUR TIE!!! Just out if interest sake i will list them below (the ones in bold being the household names):

A Party Democratic Alliance Pan Africanist Congress of Azania
Africa Muslim Party Dikwankwetla Party of South Africa Pan Africanist Movement
African Christian Alliance Peace and Justice Congress
African Christian Democratic Great Kongress of South Africa
African Independent Congress Sindawonye Progressive Party
African National Congress Independent Democrats South African Democratic Congress
African People's Convention Inkatha Freedom Party South African Political Party
Al Jamah-Ah
Alliance of Free Democrats Keep it Straight and Simple United Christian Democratic Party
Azanaian People's Organisation United Democratic Movement
Minority Front United Independent Front
Black Consciousness Party Movement Democratic Party Universal Party
Cape Party National Alliance VryheidsFront Plus
Christian Party National Democratic Convention Christian Democratic Alliance National Party South Africa Women Forward Congress of the People
New Vision Party Ximoko Party

Now doing some research on all 40 of these parties would be dom to say the least so I will just briefly touch on a couple of the household names. Last years top 8 were the ANC, DA, IFP, UDM, ID, NNP, ACDP and FF+, the NNP has since died and COPE has been born.

Before i delve into the details, I must just make it abundantly clear that I am but disgusted with most of the political parties with regards to their electioneering. My worst, not the party, but its message is the DA’s stop Zuma campaign, I mean really. Tell me what you are going to do for me, don’t tell me about Stop Zuma, how does that make sure my water and electricity flow as they are supposed to, jobs for the jobless, give me peace about the safety of my folks who are 60plus living on their own etc. Stop Zuma, i mean really!! I think Helen Zille is a great person with good intentions, honestly i do, but in my mind she has to be her own person other than taking over from Tony Leon and trying to be everything that the ANC is not. Then there is COPE. A party i believe is a godsend to South Africa, well hopefully. But what do they stand for? I like their presidential candidate Dr Dandala. He seems a good soul, one not yet tainted by polotics as Julius would say. But the jury is still out on the party. They were part of the ruling party for many a year. Yes understandable the ruling party was a tripartheid alliance along with COSATU and the SACP which could have hamstrung them quite a bit, but in the end thats what leadership is all about, making those hard decisions and making things work. So for me to now come and say that service delivery is the fault of the ruling party when it was you running the ruling party all these years is not altogether, in my mind a sound argument. With the recalling of President Mbeki came the reshuffling of the deck chairs which meant that the problematic minister of health was removed...a positive step, a new minister of safety and security, who i am yet to be convinced of is in place.....BUTTTTT, the bulk of people that have left the ANC to join COPE are intellectuals, and this may sound short sighted of me but in certain situations, there is very little substitution for education and this my friends is one such situation.

I would like JZ to have is day at the helm and for his sake prove his doubters wrong, because in my opinion, he is just one of those nice common people who was more than likely a victim of a smear campaign because of his perceived ineptness, by some of his peers in the upper echelons of the ANC, of representing the party without embarrassing himself or the party. Sometimes i have to agree. Especially when i have to compare him with other world leaders. The man is charismatic and he definitely does speak to his electoral base, his dancing and singing isn’t for you or me who have gone to school and are looking for real solutions to real problems and not milking struggle credentials. So when he dances and sings Umshiniwam and you and i cringe, hundreds of thousands gleefully sing along, i lose 2 but gain hundreds of thousands and those hundreds of thousands give me the power, well, tough choice that!! Another concern i have with him is the fact that when it comes to big speeches he tends to read every word as opposed to other party leaders who use their notes as merely that...notes. It makes me question his sincerity, but then again Thabo Mbeki and Nelson to some extent read their addresses too if memory serves me well.

Ok to the parties, who they are, their leaders and what they stand for...alphabetically
African Christian Democratic Party
The leader of this party is Reverend Kenneth Meshoe. This party was formed in December 1993. It was a result of Christians from a diverse background coming together to promote moral values as opposed to the divisive politics practised in the past.

Here is an extract from their “About Us” section of their website:
As a fast growing party in the country, the ACDP offers a fresh start based on Christian and family values. We are determined to address issues such as education, unemployment, health care, security and poverty, based on proven successful policies. We aim to rebuild the foundation of the nation by protecting families from the destructive effects of gambling, prostitution, pornography and abortion.

We are committed to rooting out corruption and creating accountable leaders that do not compromise their principles but serve with integrity, wisdom and accountability.

My opinion: it has its merits but its name suggests division in itself, so that which it was set up to guard against is being inadvertently/intentionally promoted

The African National Congress
No points for guessing who the ruler of this party is. It was first founded in 1912 as the South African Native National Congress. This party morphed into what we all now know as the African National Congress in 1923. The reason for its formation was to protect the black majority from the injustices that were being heaved upon them.

I have put plagiarised an extract from www.myanc.org for you all to read below:
Since 27 April 1994, we have built a new nation, one that all South Africans can call home, and in which the old conflicts have been consigned to history. We have worked together, black and white, women and men, to improve the lives of all our people.

In 15 years we have shown what can be done when people come together in a common effort.

We have made significant progress in tackling the apartheid legacy, building our economy and sustaining economic growth. While carefully managing public finances, we have invested significant resources into tackling poverty, meeting people’s basic needs, and expanding access to education and health care.

We have built democratic institutions that serve the interests and safeguard the rights of all South Africans.

Recent events have shown the capacity of these institutions to effectively perform their constitutional mandate even in the face of heated political and legal disputes. Where there have been abuses of power, these institutions have been able to act as a check on such abuses and to correct the problems.

As we face the challenges of tomorrow, we need to show the same spirit, determination and unity in building a prosperous nation.

In government, the ANC has worked with all South Africans, not only its supporters, to tackle poverty, grow the economy, build peace and stability, and improve lives. It has shown that it can work in partnership with all South Africans in a common cause.
As we work to accelerate the process of change, the ANC remains the one party that is able to mobilise a broad cross-section of society in the reconstruction and development of South Africa.

My opinion: I will give this to the ANC, they have done much for us all. They have also failed many, but theirs is a 15 year legacy to unwind some of the atrocities of the prior umpteen years. By no means will it be a mean feat. RDP, ASGISA, GEAR, all policies that have been implemented to try and ignite the economy. Even the most hardened member of the opposition will agree that this economy is sound and foreigners are more than interested in doing business here. The recent awarding of the IPL to South Africa is testament to that. Inspite of all the perceived concerns about crime and corruption, foreigners see this country as a viable place to operate. BUT I can’t in all good conscience say I am not concerned about the party and its growing arrogance and smugness. This is not a result of anything that people are saying but i guess my own opinion based on what i have witnessed. And what I have witnessed is an attitude of we can and we will and you can’t do anything about it and on top of it all we will laugh at you too!! Not cool!! Epitomised by the celebratory Siyanqoba (to conquer) rally held on the weekend.

The Congress of the People
The party’s president is Mr Mosiua “Terror” Lekota, a former Minister of defence and Premier of the Free State. The party’s presidential candidate however is the Bishop Mvume Dandala. I googled him and from what i see he has no political past up until recently his vocation and dedication was to his family and the church which i guess translates to serving the people. COPE was formed after a national convention held in November 2008 in order to find a way forward and to protect the democracy that many South Africans so longed for. It was really exciting to be around when the concept of COPE went from conversations with people who may know something, to reports in the newspapers to its eventual actual formation. Much excitement was generated about its formation from all corners of not only former ANC supporters, but South Africans as a whole. It really was good to see South Africans of all walks of life looking forward to and supporting this party and hoping for its success. But has it lived up to its hype?? Well i guess time will tell. For those of us who don’t know below is an extract of its vision, mission and objectives obtained from www.congressofthepeople.org:
VISION STATEMENT
Our vision for South Africa is for a democratic, inclusive, prosperous country which shuns all racial, ethnic, gender, narrow chauvinistic stereotypes and prejudices in favour of a caring society, where shared national identity and pride are deeply rooted; and where the freedoms of the people are untrammelled by a selfish political leadership; and where as a country we are at peace with our neighbours and the world.

MISSION STATEMENT
Ours is to instil respect for our hard-won democratic and constitutional rights and the respect for the rule of law that all shall be equal before the law. We will give back dignity; pride and self confidence to the South African people to have a voice; to dream; to work; and to live in peace and prosperity. We will build an inclusive non-racial democratic modern nation with high moral values; guided by principles of ubuntu; and a sense of personal integrity. We will strive for a nation that guarantees personal and property security so that people may live their lives free from fear and want.

POLICY OBJECTIVES: Towards rebuilding a people-Centred South Africa
* To respect the sovereignty of the South African people;
* To pull our people out of the misery of abject poverty;
* To expedite our economic growth for large-scale labour absorption;
* To deepen and consolidate our democracy as this is a prerequisite for a modern progressive democratic state;
* To manage a modern and efficient depoliticised institutions of state;
* To recruit an appropriately qualified and professional civil service.

My opinion: The best thing to happen to South Africa, purely for the reason that I don’t believe any democracy with one party dominating is healthy for anyone except i guess those running the party that has the majority rule. We saw what happened with this country when the Nats were running it unopposed. Same thing can happen or might even be happening right now. I can’t say that I am entirely convinced by this party just yet. I will admit though I was sooo excited when I heard about its formation and was but too ready to nail my colours to its mast, but my excitement has since been doused. It is definitely still early days for the party, but the involvement of the youth of all walks of life is very promising. Even though in my mind they haven’t formed a proper identity of their own, they have started something that I hope and pray will live for a long time and prosper and benefit the people of this nation.

The Democratic Alliance
Helen Zille, the leader of the DA has spent her life serving. Before politics, she was a reporter who was once brave enough to do an expose on the death of Steve Biko. In her expose she reported that Steve Biko had died as a result of torture. For this she was found guilty of misreporting by the then apartheid government. Fluent in Xhosa she is, that in itself tells me she takes an interest in all people, just based on the fact that she made an effort. Below is an extract of a speech she delivered on the 18th April 2009, its a pretty long one but pretty deep: (http://www.da.org.za/newsroom.htm?action=view-news-item&id=6638 if you want to read it)
Truly, ours is a party united in diversity. A rainbow party for a rainbow nation. A party that lives the change we want to see: one nation, with one future. Een nasie met een toekoms.

In this campaign it has been a great privilege to witness what is best in South Africa, in the stories and in the faces of the men and women I have met throughout our country.

I have met remarkable people. They are ordinary South Africans doing extraordinary things to bring the vision of the open, opportunity society to life – often in the most difficult of circumstances.

I am thinking of December Mpapane, a maths and science teacher at Nkomazi High School in Mangweni, Mpumalanga. For the past 18 years he has given up his weekends to tutor learners. And every year for the past five years, between 90% and 100% of his pupils have passed maths and science in matric.

I am thinking of Gwynneth Marmetschke from Fernglen in Port Elizabeth. For the past 18 years, Gwynneth has been involved in the Baakens Valley Preservation Trust, which does everything it can to preserve the valley from destruction, pollution and decay, and save it for future generations.

I am thinking of Madikeledi Moita Khata, from Bataung in the North West. She runs a crèche for orphaned children – and cares for them and feeds them.

I am thinking of Dawn Philemon, from Chatsworth in KwaZulu-Natal. For many years, Dawn has waged a fearless – and often lonely – campaign against drug dealers in her community. Every day, she wages her battle to put drug dealers behind bars where they belong.

People like December, Gwynneth, Madikeledi and Dawn are “Everyday Heroes”. They symbolise everything that the DA believes in. They live out our policies.

These everyday heroes of South Africa are doing more than the government to fight poverty, hunger, homelessness disease and crime. It is a disgrace. It should be the other way around. And that is why the time has come to vote for people who understand that government is about service to the people. And to vote against a party that wants to put criminals into Parliament.

My Opinion: I think the DA missed a trick here. Instead of telling the voting public about who they are and what they stand for and can do for me as a voter, they tried the George Bush rule by fear tactic, you know the one about Al Qaeda and Osama. The Stop Zuma, vote to win campaign in my mind was really more about playing the man and not the game if that makes any sense and more often than not when you do that you tend to not get the desired result. This was the most opportune time for the DA to tell us more about what they have done and will keep on doing I unfortunately didn’t hear any of that.

The Freedom Front plus or Vryheids Front plus as they appear on the Voters roll as
This party makes no apologies for itself and I say good on them. They are a party that strives to protect the interests of the Afrikaner. I was listening to 702 the other day and a representative was telling us about some of the good that they do, which was pleasing to see. They claim to be a party for all people but truth be told i don’t think so. I went to their website earlier and it was in Afrikaans, so unfortunately I cant get any extracts to copy and paste here. The current leader of the VF+ is Pieter Mulder. He became the leader of the VF+ in 2001 when the founding president Constand Viljoen retired from politics

My opinion: definitely my party...NOOOT!! no disrespect intended to anyone, but regardless of what they try and tell me in my mind they are not an all encompassing sort of party and once again good for them, I have absolutely no disregard nor disrespect for any individual that identifies with what they stand for. And there are many such people seeing as they came 4th in the 1994 elections but 8th in the 2004 elections, i guess their base is reducing (they may all have left in fear of the swart gevaar) just an observation...

Independent Democrats
A party lead by another woman i have much respect for, Patricia De Lille. Because of her insistence, the stink about the arms deal came to light and Schabir Shaik was convicted and charges against Mr Zuma and a few other organisations were laid. Tony Yengeni did some time as a result of this. She in my mind is a woman of action even if she does talk she backs it up with a whole lot of action. She formed the ID in 2003 after a good few years with the PAC. She is not without her own controversies though. She has been accused of nepotism because her sister was given one of the ID’s 3 seats in the Western Cape provincial legislature, she has been accused of some deal with PAGAD (remember them??). In May 2007 she made a statement about the public abusing blogging and she wanted to see it regulated, this after someone accused one of her party members of paying him for sex...

That being said here is an extract from their website:
What is the ID?
The Independent Democrats (ID) was founded by Patricia de Lille in 2003 and was the first political party in South Africa to be led by a woman, contest elections and win seats.

The ID's plan for a better South Africa
The ID believes that the most important problems facing the country are: Unemployment, Poverty, Crime, Corruption, Housing, HIV/AIDS, Education and Health. Below is a summary of what the ID would do to improve the lives of all South Africans.

What has the ID done?
The ID has fought corruption on a massive scale, has campaigned for the extension of the Child Support Grant, for a greater increase in Pensions and Social Grants, for better care and treatment of people with HIV/AIDS and for a National Crime Summit to deal urgently with the problem of safety and security.

What will the ID do for you?
The ID will focus on the most important problems facing the country including Unemployment, Poverty, Crime, Corruption, Housing, HIV/AIDS, Education and Health.

The ID's Constitution
Here you will find the latest version of the Independent Democrats constitution.

My opinion: a very solid and sound choice for the undecided. She like us all have our flaws but her track record of exposing corruption and stirring things up a big speaks volumes of her willingness t fight corruption. Here is a link to the transcript of her final campaign speech: http://www.id.org.za/newsroom/speeches/news_item.2009-04-20.0098023429/

The Inkatha Freedom Party
This party in its current form only came into being in 1990, prior to that it was the Inkatha National Cultural Liberation Movement, founded by Prince Mangosutu Buthelezi in 1975. He has been running this party since I started watching TV.

Here is an extract of the party’s vision as extracted from their site: http://www.ifp.org.za/
OUR VISION
What society do we want for ourselves and future generations? It is, in short, a just,
prosperous and moral society whose citizens engage with each other on the basis of
ubuntu/botho.

A just society is one which is fair, which has successfully addressed the challenges of
our past and, unfortunately, even the present – the lack of access to basic services, to
sustainable jobs, to quality education and healthcare, and to security. It also results in
freedom and equality for all before the law, irrespective of who you are and where you
come from.

A prosperous society is one in which mass poverty has been eradicated and in which
our people are able to pursue a better life, in which everyone is able to develop to his or
her fullest human potential. A prosperous society provides opportunity for all, provides
high quality services and contributes towards stability and unity.

A moral society is one governed by timeless moral precepts of good, unlike the
situation in South Africa today which is characterised by fear, violence, crime, greed and
corruption. We believe in a society based on strong family and strong community. There
is a contrast between many amoral leaders and elites and the essential goodness of
most South Africans – we believe everyone has a role to play in making South Africa a
better place.

A society underpinned by the spirit of ubuntu/botho must necessarily promote
justice and prosperity and morality for all. We believe such a society is a possibility, and
is not merely a dream. We believe our values of solidarity, freedom and unity, and our
principles and policies coupled with bold leadership and political courage, can achieve
this vision.

My opinion: To the mans credit he has fought the good fight for a long time. He has stood up and spoken against the things he found fault with. My personal opinion is he has now become stale. As i mentioned before, he has been ruling this party before I was born and bra i is old man. For this party to be taken seriously, by non-Zulus, it needs a serious shake up in its leadership. I don’t know a single leader of the IFP bar Prince Buthelezi.

United Democratic Movement
Major General Bantu Holomisa, my boss when we lived in the former Transkei. The man makes sense when he speaks and he holds no punches. I listened to him speak to the youth at a gathering at the end of last year/the beginning of this and he had solutions not just emptiness. He has promised much though but delivered less, but i guess those are some of the realities that face smaller parties...lack of resources, but then again a true leader would have made a plan. I read his last campaign speech and it really was compelling, well worth the read, below is an extract for the(http://www.udm2009elections.co.za/elections-2009/holomisa-campaign-closing-rally-speech.html) :
We have taken note of the clarion call by the population for reform of the criminal justice system. However, the situation has been exacerbated by the Polokwane lynch-mob, who came with one objective, namely to remove any person or institution which they believed would be stumbling blocks to their leadership. Thus whether it was the Scorpions, or MPs, or judges, or the NPA, if they asked questions about the Arms Deal or Travelgate or any corruption, they would be harassed, vilified and purged.

This behaviour has undermined the rule of law. To prove that they meant business, this lynch-mob closed down the Scorpions which was highly respected, this lynch-mob paroled Schabir Shaik under cloudy circumstances.

This lynch-mob formed a committee headed by some of the Cabinet Ministers to see to it that the charges against their leader are withdrawn at all costs.

We have all witnessed how this lynch-mob tried to brainwash us into believing a simple corruption case was part of a conspiracy. We saw how they turned a suspect into a political victim.

Indeed we are still puzzled; can anybody from this lynch-mob show that it was Mbeki who made Zuma meet with Shaik or meet with arms dealers?

Indeed, was it was Mr Mbeki who instructed Mr Zuma to go to Mauritius to prevent a diary of an arms dealer being brought to South Africa as evidence that would implicate him?

Indeed this lynch-mob has successfully dented the image of the NPA and its leadership. It is the programme of this lynch-mob, which has once again used its leader to attack the Constitutional Court. Only last week he questioned the integrity of Constitutional Court judges, just because they ruled against him.

The concept that we are all equal before the law has been vehemently opposed by this lynch-mob.

It is not the court, nor any individual political party, that will change that pattern of behaviour. It is you, the voter, who must change that.

Nor must we fall into the trap that we have witnessed elsewhere on the continent where people flaunt their struggle credentials and commit acts of corruption. One thing is certain, if you put all your eggs in one basket, we will continue to experience these embarrassing tendencies.

My opinion: I am not ashamed to say I am biased towards this man. He and his crew did a good job in governing us in the former Transkei for 7 years. He was quite a popular figure in the ANC, but for one or other reason he and the party didn’t get along and he was expelled from the ANC, it could have been his ego, or their fear of the personality he would become. I don’t see how a person who received the highest number of votes in the National Executive Council of the ANC can just fall out of favour in a matter of a year...

Anyway thats my bit for your election tomorrow. I so hope everyone goes out and exercises their right and my right for a better life and country.

Birthdays
13th Debbie, Jonty
16th Samantha
17th Louise
18th Eman
19th Bron and Dini
21st Lovely Ravi and Anthie
24th Kirst G and Tasneen
25th Shaka and Lizzy

Another short week followed by another, ordinarily i’d be chuffed but soo much to do and it feels a sin to do it on a public holiday but what to do

You all be safe and keep on making you a better you

Y

“You're on the road but you've got no destination, You're in the mud, in the maze of her imagination
You love this town even if that doesn't ring true, You've been all over and it's been all over you
It's a beautiful day, Don't let it get away, It's a beautiful day, Don't let it get away” - U2

Today, in my book was one of the most beautiful days I have witnessed. Whilst driving to work this morning I had such a smile on my face. It was just so perfect. Clear skies, not too hot, not a breath of wind. Had my window blinds in the office open. One of the many wonders of being an African in Africa. Oh man and the full moon this evening

Earlier this week, South Africa witnessed another wonder of being an African in Africa. Its not one of those wonders I am proud to be associated with but alas what to do?

Greetings to you my friends, I hope this mail finds you well and brimming with enthusiasm for this short opportunity our creator has given us to make a difference. Don’t waste it man, because before you know it we’ll be 70 or so and wondering where its all gone ;-)...Carpe Diem.

A perfect way to make a difference or to seize the day, particularly if you are South African is on the 22nd April instead of going to the beach or parking off at home, go out there and queue and make your mark. The happenings of the last few days...months...years should be evidence enough as to why you should.

Speaking of which, how disappoint, yet expected, the happenings of this week. With Mr Jacob Zuma’s charges being dropped not because the evidence is not substantial to take it to trial but because 2 people colluded as to WHEN to charge the man. Note...not whether to charge but when to charge...I am not a lawyer by any means but I watch a lot of LA Law and Ally McBeal (not enough Boston Legal though), but in my mind that is a feeble reason to drop charges. PLEASE DO NOTE, I AM NOT IN ANYWAY INDICATING THAT THE MAN IS GUILTY. Far from it I have always been on the opinion that they are out to get him. That being said, after spending close on 8 years and roughly R110 million rand to build a case against the man, I think it would only make sense to take the matter to the courts and let the judge decide as to whether or not the misuse of process is sufficient to warrant Mr Zuma’s acquittal.

I am just a lay person, but how can one judge rule that there was a generally corrupt relationship between one party and another. The one party gets a 15 year jail sentence (some of us knew he wouldn’t even serve one of those years in a jail cell) and the other party, who if i am not mistaken didn’t even challenge the judges ruling about the corrupt relationship, may well be the next president of our lovely nation of generally angry and intolerant people.

This whole situation is a bit surreal to be honest, I don’t think anyone could write a better political drama. There was once a happy party well so it seemed at the head was Tiboz and right next to him was jigga (JZ) they looked so happy together, they bought guns, planes and boats and I guess this was where the fighting began. One day Tiboz says to Jigga, here i have written this report about the guns we bought, please sign it. Yes sir yes sir, three bags full sir, i wont read it, I will just sign it because you are my ball blue. And the party still seemed happy till one day a former comrade Patricia started making some noise, hellooo world, please probe this plenty billion arms deal.

Along came Jiggas mate Shake, who is also said to be Jiggas banker and builder from time to time. The law guys went after them and Shake wasn’t fast enough and he got caught, the judge waved his finger at him and said bad boy, go to the corner for 15 years and think about what you have done see. Cough cough splutter and off Shake went into his corner, but before the judge let him go he said Shakey, you and Jigga have not been playing nicely. When Tiboz heard this, and being the clean cut guy the world sees him as, he had to part ways with Jigga, he almost even shed a tear...almost. The lawyers said hmm we have Shakey, now we cam go after Jigga, because our case which was initially a little bit shakey (no pun intended) is now getting solid. In the mean time the wife of the former government law boss became the deputy president of South Africa.
A few weeks after the judge sent Shake to the corner Jigga was charged, but the case was struck off the role. In the meantime, Jigga took one of his machine guns and started dancing, had a shower or two and even managed to be elected the big dog of the party that is currently running the show. His party was cut short though because a few million rand later, a few man hours of hard work later, raids subpoenas etc. the law people shouted eureka by George i think we have him. Jigga was recharged.

With a shower head on his head and maybe a tad delusional or may be wiser than we thought, Jigga started snickering and singing you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man. But wait lets make sure of this. The former big boss of law people, bra Vusi Pikoli who, Tiboz got rid of, we won’t let him come back in because this bra seems like he likes to play by the book too much. And those funny animals with the sting, ya those guys with the GTI’s we don’t like them either because the investigate deputy presidents and police commissioners! Who do they think they are? Don’t they know who we are? CRRRRUUUUNNNNCCCCHH (thats the sound of the Scorpions being squashed).

Jigga’s law people brought an application to the Durban High court last year, where a mightily wise judge decided that Jigga had been unlawfully charged but he didn’t stop there, nooo, he went as far as indicating that Tiboz had something to do with it. No no no no senior, please don’t do that to me, said Tiboz, but his bosses weren’t hearing it and they shouted Zobit (that was the ANC recalling Tiboz...get it??). The law people went to the Supreme Court of Appeals and they said nah man, you other judge guy, there is a line which says don’t cross me, but noooo you decided to cross it and incorrectly so, The SCA overruled Judge Nicholson’s ruling and Jigga’s 1 charge of racketeering (extortion or bootlegging), 1 charge of money laundering, 2 of corruption and 12 of fraud...man that’s a pretty heavy rap sheet...got reinstated. Trial date was set for August sometime.

Oh wait whats that i hear, what who when. Sorry guys, you know these last 8 years that rock solid case you built, well sorry man but i have some potentially illegally obtained tapes here that could blow your case sky high. Enter the acting NPA boss, yo mara guys, we cant charge this guy boss, because we are going to lose, but what about letting the judge dec...hey wena shut up man, we are going to lose, sing with me mshiniwam mshiniwam...

Interesting times ahead i tell you

Oh what to do...

Outta here but before I go a few birthday shout outs...
30th March Randal
1st April Carnita and Grace
2nd Gorata
3rd Shannon
4th Otto
5th Kirsty N and cousin Yaw Kyere

Chag sameach and Happy Easter to you all

Always remember there is no better time than the present!!

Have a great weekend

Y
“to whom much is given, much is required”

Blog continued...

One other thing i wanted to write but omitted from the email, i guess it serves me right for trying to put it together at such a random hour J...have any of you seen that movie Bucket List? How many of you decided to put together your own bucket list after that. Call me random, but that movie got me so thinking about so many things. Like Jack Nicholsons character was a rich guy but a sad, angry old man and Morgan on the other hand was a smart, poor but generally happy guy. Another thing i got from the movie was that life was way short, and also very easy to get stuck in just being and then before you know it its 40 years and life has just passed you by. Another thing i guess is to have a purpose in life, something i struggle with. I am quite happy just floating around in this existence. Anyone asks me where i see myself in 5 years, even 2 years...no idea. I really and truly have no clue...

Another thing that i thought i should share with you is giving your time (note not money) but time to those less fortunate than you. And I am not saying this to you to tell you what a saint I am because we all know that Saint I aint!! It gives my life so much more purpose than just living for me. Last weekend a couple of us headed off to Tembisa to a childrens home to paint, but there were too many of us so we found other tasks to perform like washing and ironing clothes, I mean we had Shaka the big cheese himself washing white undies that looked brown and had skid marks in them...absolute ripper. Its good because it gets you out of your comfort zone, I could so easily have gone to gym, headed home and sat on my couch and watched the 4 Super 14 games on that morning. Trust you me it was hard getting out there. But sheesh when we got there man was it nice. Its a chance to bond with your mates whilst doing these tasks, people are grateful because you are helping them out and they feel even for just one day that someone actually cares.

“I'm just not there, In the streets, I'm just not there, Life's just not fair
Seems like street lights, glowing, Happen to be just like moments, Passing, in front of me
So I hopped in, The cab and I paid my fairs, See I know my, destination, But I'm just not there” - Street lights – Kanye West

I missed you guys man!! I haven’t had much to say for the last few days but thanks to this lovely society that we live in, today I have pleeeeenty to say. Where do i begin. Wait I know. Isn’t it just funny how life works itself out most if not all times?? It brings a smile to my face. You know what I am talking about man...you know that lovely girl thats after you but you treat like s haite? Then that girl you really dig but she couldn’t give a rats a$$? Then remember that time you thought u got the better of someone in a sinister way and a few days, weeks, years later you get given so badly you want to cry? Ya man karma they call it...its a beautiful thing man its a beautiful thing.

The most recent one that boggles my mind, is this unnecessary attention we as a nation are drawing to ourselves because the powers that be, in their infinite wisdom decided to deny the 1989 Nobel Peace Laureate, the Dalai Lama a visa to attend a Peace conference in SA. Now how insane is that. More insane though is that self same infinitely wise powers, telling me that the visa was refused because his presence in SA would remove the focus from the soccer and shift it to Tibet. When did we become a province of the Peoples Republic of China? I understand that China has invested $60bn in SA and i guess thats good business for us because it helps the economy tick over, but I am sure its fair to say that they are also benefiting in some way no? Now to deny a recognized worldly figure of peace entry into your country to discuss how we as a nation can use football to promote peace well call me stupid but i don’t get it. For many a year sport has healed many countries, sparked many an emotion for its loyal followers. 1995 South Africa...Rugby World Cup winners, a nation is united, even though I supported the opposition I had chills down my spine when i was walking down Main Road in Rondebosch and seeing the joy on everyones faces...truly amazing. It was a script, written from above...

A friend of mine Aimee sent me an email 2 days ago, she was relaying a story about the Sydney Olympics she attended a few years back. IT was the 50km race-walkers. They had all finished the race and 2 hrs later comes in the final walker. Just as the person was entering they started playing the song ...and i would walk 500miles (i think it was) by the proclaimers and the announcer asked the crowd to remember that the Olympic Spirit was all about giving this walker a true Olympic finish....100000 people bellowing and clapping...imagine the atmosphere.

In 2007, Iraq won the Asian football tournament, in the midst of all the turmoil in their country, people were united and even managed to escape their hardships even if it was for only 90 minutes...

Then we have the possibility of the NPA potentially dropping their case against Jacob Zuma. Now to be honest for me the jury is out on whether JZ is guilty or not. My random logic tells me unless he is stupid corrupt person around (and no comments please), shouldn’t he at least have some money if he was corrupt? But the man doesn’t have any bucks. But that i guess is besides the point. I would rather he had gone to court to clear his name and then move on. Things like this is what cautions my enthusiasm (if such a saying makes sense) about the next incoming government. Their is an air of arrogance and entitlement around the ruling party and its supporters which i don’t think bodes well for a progressive political environment...

Oh and then we have Pope Benedict XVI in Cameroon. Here we have a continent still struggling to contain the spread of this deadly disease and fortunately some countries are getting it right and along comes his Excellency and says that condoms aggravate the AIDS problem. His argument is that trust in condoms negates the onus of responsibility. Which even though i think is a sound argument, it could easily be taken out of context and misused by the God-fearing people of Cameroon. Now lets see, this continent has roughly 22mil HIV + people maybe more by now. Governments and NGOs etc. are fighting hard to educate people about the plusses of contraception and here you come and say that condoms are no good in the fight against AIDS well that in my view is irresponsible, particularly on a continent where roughly 20% of the population is Catholic. If I am not mistaken Catholics believe that the use of contraception is wrong, but Catholics also believe that priests shouldn’t be married, but it happens on this continent.

I have so much more to say but its waaay past my bedtime.
Birthdays
8th Marang
10th Steve miller and Adi Ashton
11th Bontle and Tebo
22nd Emily
23rd Glenda
25th Damsie
27th Feds, Carlin, Thuli

Take it easi all and have a great weekend and do remember that Karma is a b** ch

Y

Why do you come here...When you know I've got troubles enough..

Why do you call me...When you know I can't answer the phone..

You make me lie...When I don't want to...And make someone else...Some kind of unknowing fool...You make me stay...When I should not...Are you so strong...Or is the weakness in me...(Keisha White)

Its been a while hasn’t it? Hope everyone is all bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Once again its insane how quickly the year is zooming past, can you believe its almost March. Hope you aren’t putting off saying or doing anything that you could do today...  I am trying but my oath its hard, cos tomorrow is always there no??

A few days ago I was in Kenya for a week. Man what a styling place, I was pleasantly surprised. The weather was awesome in Nairobi, just the way i like it not insanely hot and minimal humidity i wanted to shed a tear. I thought it would be like Ghana, hot and sticky...But that was the least thing that impressed me. The place as a whole was pretty well developed, but traffic....yo!! But i guess it’s typical in most countries. The thing that really got my attention was the people and the warmth and acceptance of the people. It was really so refreshing taking into consideration where the country was a few months ago post their elections. Anyway I had a pretty decent time there and then i got home on Saturday. So begins my disappointment/confusion...

So on Saturday I was invited to a mates house for some drinks etc. Good bunch of people. I got there a bit late because I was tired from my travels so I passed out most of the day. When i got there my mates were well oiled and as with most gatherings round about this time of the year our conversation turned to polotics (as Julius would say) I wasn’t paying much attention because the Bulls were playing the Reds and the England were playing Wales I think it was, I had plenty to concentrate on. A while into the conversation, one of my mates, who like me is of Ghanaian decent but residing here comes to the area where i am sitting and makes a comment almost in disgust about a comment made by another of our friends. The comment was that although he has been residing here for 10 years has a child here etc. he should not be allowed to vote. Rugby?? What rugby...My interest was piqued. I did some investigation to get the scoop.

From what i gathered, one of my (black) South African mates was against the fact that foreign born South Africans are allowed to vote in the upcoming elections, particularly i guess us foreign born nationals holding 2 passports. I engage in a discussion with her to understand what her thinking is. Her thing is I am not truly committed, i am here because it benefits me and also a guy like Jabu who lives in Diepsloot (a township here in SA) has not alternatives this is his only choice when he votes he is looking out for the best interest of the country.

I was a tad baffled by this. I am 33, fortunate enough to have been afforded a decent education. I can pretty much live in most places, but i choose to live here because it is my home, (even though plenty people around me make it difficult for me to fully feel as if this is my home). Yes it is beneficial for me to live here, just as much as it is for her to live here to, because she is equally educated and also quite mobile. But she, like I choose to live here because it benefits us and not only that I think it benefits SA for me to be here too. I guess just as it benefitted both parties when some of our parents were ‘imported’ here as teachers and doctors back in the day, but how soon we forget when things start going right ;-).

To be honest in my opinion, I think the argument is flawed. As humans we always hedge our positions. I buy insurance not cos i want to wreck my car, but just incase...A bit of an extreme example, but i think it illustrates my point. I don’t use my Ghanaian passport for much other than to go to Ghana. I am allowed to have it by law so why not keep it, it is my birth right to have it. Does that change my attitude for my home country, not a sausage. I love this place man, but to be honest the mentality of some makes me glad that i do hold 2 passports, as was evidenced a few months ago when there was an attack on foreign nationals based purely on appearance and nothing else.

I had this blog so well scripted in my head 2 weeks ago but eish today its a problem, but i hope you guys get the gist of what I am trying to say and i’d like your thoughts on it too. I wrote the race of the person involved on purpose because I have had this conversation with a few other people too and the only people who seem to have a problem with other (and it seems like its only other black) foreign born nationals voting are blacks. Something that just dawned on me which may well blow the whole argument out of the water too is in the case of say a Comrade who was living in exile has a child in the exile country, should they be allowed to vote? I am guessing the answer would be yes and rightly so

Anyway, for many Christians, Wednesday was the beginning of Lent, many people tend to give up random things like booze, meat, chocies or sex for the period. Now thats all good and well, but in my mind it defeats the whole essence of the period. If i am not mistaken, its meant to be a period representing the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert enduring constant temptation from the devil. Now my thinking is this. Its all good and well to deny self some of the pleasures we enjoy, but tell me how often do you drink? Eatc chocolate, meat etc? My guess is once a week maybe even twice, how much of a challenge is giving up something that is sporadic? Not so much ne? So what say u for the next 38 days you go out of your way to make a difference in someone elses life, be it a compliment, less bitching, or my personal favourite, helping out the less fortunate than you, but I don’t mean giving them R5 or so, cos thats easy, I am thinking more along the lines of a loaf of bread, litre of milk or something that will require a conscious effort.

Pure of mind, good deed, Each one help one...

Anyway I’m outta here, but before I leave i’d like to point you all to a mates blog about poor consumer experience in SA...http://letsbegreat.blogspot.com...

Birthdays
8th Bibi and Kwaku
9th Vivi
11th Zahir
12th Garrin
14th Barbs
16th Jane
17th Nadya
18th Lourie, Susan, Sarah
22nd Anja, Lindsay, Kim, Vixie
24th Paddy, Kirsty
25th Seemie & Abbey
26th Chaks, Sarah, Louise and me
27th Zuraida
28th Leah, Tumi, Brett, Richard

And thats me for another week...

Have a great weekend

Y

Monday Mail

Monday Mail

“‘It's amazing, I'm the reason, Everybody fired up this evening
I'm exhausted, Barely breathing, Holding on to what I believe in
No matter what, You'll never take that from me, My reign is as far as your eyes can see
It's amazing, so amazing, so amazing, so amazing, it's amazing
so amazing, so amazing, so amazing, it's amazing (Let's go)” Amazing - Kanye West

Listening to the leader of the largest or one of the largest super powers in this on national tv, saying he screwed up and he is solely responsible for his stuff up. How refreshing, how amazing. Will that ever happen on this continent i wonder? We have our esteemed president of the ANC, with a huge cloud over his head and his integrity called into question. Now i ain’t saying that he did it, but had it been me and in my heart of hearts knew without a shadow of a doubt, I’d go to court and clear my name once and for all. If my day in court hasn’t come before election day, well i’d do the right thing and bow out gracefully. Not because I am guilty or because it proves my guilt but because I cant worry about just myself and what else I am going to do with my life outside of politics, but because it may be best for the country and its people, those self same people i long to serve...emphasis on SERVE. But then again that may well be why I am not a politician because i think I haven’t read the manual of an African politician...

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Interest rates got cut buy 1% we are having some pretty decent rains up here on the Highveld, some may say its like London, but we see the sun in between, oh wait and you guys make pounds ;-). The Gautrain is on the horizon, average trip prices of R20. I am looking forward to 12 – 15 min trips to and from the airport. Hopefully it wont be a white elephant, but i guess regardless at least some jobs have been created because apparently on any given day there are roughly 10 000 people working on its development happy days. Confederations Cup starts in June, my only disappointment is the fact that we haven’t gotten behind it at all. There is zero excitement about the soccer amongst my peers. SA has the opportunity to stage the biggest event on the world sporting circuit next year yet zero (minimal) advertising, zero fanfare...nada...its such an opportunity for us to sell ourselves to the world but we are letting the opportunity slip by...

Speaking of opportunities slipping by we have such a huge opportunity to make a difference here in the next few months. How, you might ask? Well we are holding elections and yes the ANC will still be in charge BUTTTTTTT all i say is let your voice be heard. Yes this weekend is the start of the six nations. Yes you are tired or Saturday is the only day you have for groceries and Sunday is church and family day, yes we will always have our excuses, but please go and register to vote. 7/8 Feb GO AND REGISTER, exercise your right and don’t bore the rest of the world with how bad the government is doing things if you didn’t try and make a difference.

Moving along...I was listening to 702 a few nights ago and they were taking about an African Sex workers convention that was held in SA recently. Now what i have to say about it is prostitution just like drugs will happen whether its legal or not, so why not legalise it? To each their own. As i sit here, i don’t see myself ever DIRECTLY paying for sex(because you always do pay, yeah i said it ), but there are those that do, and i don’t frown upon them who am i to judge? Lets draw a comparison here. David Beckham uses his feet to entertain the world, well parts of the world that love football. He is using his given talents and ability and there is a demand...a huge one at that which he caters to. A sex worker uses her God given body to satisfy the need of someone out there. Please tell me the difference other than man...us making the one immoral and illegal and the other not. In both instances no ones rights are violated, through circumstance or skill, you have realised that you can do this and you are pretty good at it. So you will be earning a living from it. Clearly there is a market for prostitution otherwise the trade wouldn’t exist no? Prostitution is apparently the oldest profession. Its going nowhere. There are people killing and raping others, how about we focus our resources on catching those people and allow Midnight and her badself to get her freak on or better yet let Steve Urkel get some game!! There are other things that go with legalising prostitution. Prostitutes get given some rights too, better health care and education is offered to them too and many more...What are your thoughts?

Birthdays
25th Anna
27th Ingo
28th Dil and Stilwell
31st Refiloe R
1st Feb Leils and Nezaam

There is a humongous chance that I may be in Kenya next week, please let me know if you or anyone you know will be there because its boring being out on your own 

Outta here have a great Friday!!

Big love and maximum respect as always

Y

“...Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won...”The Negro national anthem

Its Tuesday the 20th Jan 2009, 7 PM in SA i have just rushed through gym to watch history being made. I am so excited mind you the country of my birth just had its inauguration a few weeks earlier and to be honest i only got parts of his inauguration speech from the net and to be honest i wasn’t too phased about the rest of it. We have presidential elections in SA in a little over 2 months and I am so not as excited about the potential of a new president as I was about the whole US presidential race. I think I wrote about Barrack Obama last year or the year before, followed the Democratic Party election and the whole American election process like my life depended on it. This one man has managed to get the whole world not just Americans interested and not only interested but I guess you could say fanatical about America. It’s not only because his predecessor was so bad or that the US and world economy is in such a frail state, but I guess because the man speaks with what seems as such sincerity and conviction in his words.

His speech was moving, for me it wasn’t the words (because it was nothing new, but rather a summary and redelivery of all his ideals which took him to the mountain top) but the delivery and its impact on the hundreds of thousands who braved the cold to witness it live. I won’t lie i had a , tear in my eye particularly when the camera panned to the crowd.

He is such an inspirational figure, President Obama, but I am not impressed by him purely because he is a person of colour who has managed to bring together all the people of America...the world... uh huh, for me he represents hope. But let me explain. Here is a guy, abandoned by his father, in a way abandoned by his mother too, through circumstances, because she stayed in Indonesia (or was it Hawaii?? i think both I forget) with her new husband and he was raised by his grandparents. His parents or grandparents weren’t wealthy. This is the story of many an African American, a lot of whom quite frankly amount to not too much if at all that. And here is this guy, who through his convictions and application of mind and self, worked his way from absolutely nothing to the highest office in the land and some might even go as far as saying the world. Mind you in America, to become president you have to overcome many a challenge. All because he firstly believed he could and more importantly put his back into it and made it happen. I don’t know the man but from what i read, went through some pretty tough times but stayed true to the cause...true to his course...true to himself (well most times)...In my mind he represents what is good and pure about a person elected by those around him to serve and lead. Big up and maximum respect to him. I hope by the grace of the his creator, he is guided and protected and all the good that he speaks gets put to action, because I must be honest, all through the inauguration, I was waiting for that red dot to appear and I know I wasn’t the only one. Many an American who had tried to bring on change has met the same fate, Abraham Lincoln, JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King jnr, 2Pac...all assassinated (2Pac was a joke by the way)...

Lets not fool ourselves he has a tough task ahead of him.

Further foolishness would be to think that he is going to make much of a difference in your life or mine. I must be honest, his silence over Gaza did concern me slightly, it made me think is this a sign of possibly be more of the same...in the words of the Thai people...Same Same but different. I don’t think so. I think in certain situations, silence, even though it may be perceived in the wrong light by a few, is the best option in the long run...but once again time will tell.

The man will do some good in his country (thats not too difficult given the current situation) and perhaps in the world, but on this continent let us not start even begin to think that the messiah has come. No one can help you if you hate another because he is different to you. No one can help you if you believe a life is worth a cellphone. No one can help you if you are too lazy to get off your bottom and do some hard work to earn your keep. No one can help you if you feel you are entitled to something. People are dying, my country is rich in resources that can be used to feed the hungry, educate those that thirst for knowledge, provide jobs for those with families to feed, but nooo, we’d much rather spend money on arms and ammunition, maim and kill innocent people, who are just trying to make ends meet. Rule by fear...no one can help you boss. No one can help you if in your mind’s eye all you seek is to abuse your position of power to amass personal wealth at the expense of those who put their trust in you and the promise that you preached of a better life. Yip, that’s Africa’s plight. Till we change our ways, our thinking, our mindsets we will stay exactly where we are till kingdom come. No one can help you but you. You believe that its ok to kill thousands of innocent people because you might get one or 2 bad guys amongst them, well no one can help you. If you believe that you can strap C4 to yourself and kill thousands of random people many of whom may even potentially believe in your cause, all in the name of some god (clearly not the Islamic, Jewish or Christian God as I understand it) then my friend no one can help you.

When the day comes that we as a people are ready to see the error of our ways and depart from it and seek a better way of life and life for ourselves only then can we see a difference. Only then can we be helped. I read a quote the other day and it said only an idiot keeps doing the same thing the same way and expects a different result. Till the day comes that we all realise that we are truly are all the same and that we need each other to make this continent of ours a better place. Until the day comes when its less about what’s in it for me and more about I gain yes, but now how do i assist my fallen compatriot...until then this place is, pardon my French F**ked!!

“and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself” – Barack Obama

It begs the question, so you Yaw what are you doing? And my honest answer I guess, is doing what Africans do best...talking!!! But more will happen, that’s my promise to myself!!!

Birthdays
18th Graeme Hunter
19th Priya
21th Chris de Coning, Clayton S
22nd Munier
24th Karabo

Maximum respect and one love. Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Y

“You worry bout the wrong things, the wrong things; You worry bout the wrong things, the wrong things.. Anyway, they don't know you like I do (They don't know); They'll never know you (Never know); Anyway, they don't know you like I do (Never know); They'll never know you.” Kanye West (Anyway)

How rude of me last week I added 4 people to this list and i forgot to give them an intro. Marika, Leah, Celeste and Clement, welcome to our little community that happens almost every week. To leave comments read some of the older ones please go to www.mondaymail.blogspot.com or drop me an email.

A couple of issues that have been floating around in my head which I hope you guys can set me straight on, if my thinking is warped or let me know if you share my sentiments. The biggest news at the moment is this invasion of Gaza by Israel. I know we touched on it briefly last week, but its still bugging me particularly the analogy people are using of people causing harm to my house or something like that. I think it’s a load of BS if you ask me.

Let’s analyse that analogy for a moment and try and link it closely to the situation with Israel. A guy breaks into my house hurts one of my children who unfortunately passes on from the injuries sustained. I didn’t get a good look at the perpetrator of this heinous atrocity, but i have it on good authority that he is somewhere along Rivonia Road anywhere between Rivonia and Rosebank (I could have said Alex, but hey I need to break the stereotype). I know some heavies with some heavy artillery...and i know more or less where they are, so here is an idea, lets go bomb and shoot the hell out of the area between Rivonia and Rosebank, more or less where i think they are. Cos in the end the ends justifies the means!!!

I know its an oversimplification of what is actually going on, and let me start by saying, once again I don’t believe in what Hamas, Hezbollah, Hitler, the KKK or the old apartheid government did right here, all in the name of religion but what i find even more disgusting is the remorseless, ‘un-condoned’ killing of scores of women and children. As I hinted last week, all this will do is unify the Arab world against Israel and whala, this week Bin Laden has come out and declared a Jihad on Israel, from where I sit I am not sure how many sympathetic people there will be for the Israelites. Anyway... this brings me to another point...

The whole world is going moggy over the goings on in Gaza and rightfully so, but ey what about Zim, 2000 dead from Choleara, what about Sudan, plenty thousands dead from senseless killings, Rwanda, DRC, hell even back here in SA, with the crime. I don’t see, read or hear about people protesting in Piccadilly Circus for their liberation or for some international intervention. Hell no, is it because it is such a recurring phenomenon on this continent or is it because people just select who to be sympathetic towards or does the picture the media paints for us assist in helping us decide what or who to feel more strongly for???

The next thought floating through this abyss  i call my mind is this whole US motor industry bailout. All good and well they want to save jobs etc. but so these people all stay in their jobs and build all fancy cars etc. I am not sure if it’s just me who is thinking this but...and then what?? Isn’t the world in like a recession? New car sales (in South Africa) have been at their lowest point in long time. Point no one is buying cars. So then what are these people going to be making cars for? Yes fair enough the platinum industry relies on them, the steel industry, oil, currency, leather, plastics, labour, hell most of worlds commodities relies on it. But in my mind it maketh no sense. They will be made and then sit in the factory for more to be made...but then again i don’t know the intricacies of the bailout plan...Funniest thing i read was the porn industry requesting a bailout.

Yep i have much time for my mind to wander...speaking of wandering I want to share a very personal experience i had a little over a week ago. I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone because if someone told me the same thing i’d look at them and say OKKKKK...and roll my eyes when they look away, but here goes. A few days ago my mate Lebo came to visit and i was letting him out of the gate on my way back to my house I do what I do quite regularly, which is look up at the skies and just smile, nod and say thanks for this existence we call life, this existence which for some reason has treated me rather well in my 32 well 33 yrs. But this nite was different. It was a beautiful overcast night with clouds aplenty. The moon was as bright in the sky as street lamps are on the road. Just then something told me to look to the right of where my gaze initially was. The oddest thing happened to me. In the clouds i saw the face of a man smiling...pretty hectic, I wasnt sure I was going loko or just seeing things so i looked away and then up again and it was still there. My gaze was kept for about 5 minutes, kind of like in a trance. Weirdest thing I tell you!! Initially I was a tad concerned thinking a bolt of lightning would come crashing down on me (overactive imagination...the joys of being a middle child), but within a few seconds i was overcome by calmness. I have no explanation, it could have just been a vision in the clouds but the whole chain of events was rather surreal yet peaceful for me. How is this for ironic, I am writing this email and I am watching the latest season of Heroes, and Nathan has just seen God . I have no explanation, it could have just been the cloud formation but whatever it was, the whole chain of events was rather surreal yet peaceful for me. Anyhooo...

Birthdays
11th Pops, Base
15th Dr Clarke
16th Ann-Louise, Yatin

Much respect to you all and hope you all have a weekend being happy being you 

Y

Aaah brand new year. I guess now is a good a time as any to wish you all the best this year has to offer, and to be honest what this year offers is time and opportunity, what you do with it determines how your year your year turns out. Its a beautiful thing, its a beautiful thing. I have seen a whole lot of derivatives of 2009 some have called it 2000 and shine, 2000 and mine and 2000 and divine for example. All pretty interesting but what’s most interesting is how you can shine, have a divine year or make it urs, through a bit of effort on your part. In my mind it all starts upstairs. Your life, your year, your experiences are what you think them to be. You are what you think. I will stop with the self help stuff right about now, i just hope each of us in spite of our circumstances finds the strength, the willingness and the ability to rise above it all and say no matter how tough it is, i will overcome. I have this feeling...maybe its owing to CNN, BBC, METRO FM, Highveld, 5FM...that this could be one of the toughest years for us all or maybe not, but regardless, i am but too eager to have a crack at it!!

An interesting year its been thus far, it started off on a much tamer note for me personally this year as compared to 2008 or even how 2008 ended. Maximum respect to my New York crew, Mel and Paul, Si, Leah and Mr Ingo, for a very memorable trip. I am not sure if my liver, bank account and sleep patterns are as thankful but ey, its only one life you have. As has become the norm for me nowadays whenever i travel i try read a book. I got this book called “Tuesdays with Morrie” an absolutely brilliant book and i can’t think of a better way to help you focus on what’s important in the year ahead than by reading this book, its such an easy read took me a little over a day to finish it, so it will take you guys a couple of hours  Its about ...actually read it for yourself i don’t want to spoil it for you.

Anyway, as i was saying, an interesting year so far. Israel bombing the sand out of Gazza. 10 Israelis if even killed as opposed to 5 maybe 6 hundred Palestinians. Apparently the Israeli government are telling civilians to take cover and find shelter and the very places that these civilians are seeking refuge get bombed (UN Schools etc.) hmm. In my mind Hamas is wrong, just like any extremist organisation or person. But that doesn’t make all Muslims bad people, its unfortunate that Muslims have all these strong minded terrorist types doing things in the name of Islam, sept 11, Lockerby bombing (i think), Hezbollah, Hamas, recent attacks in India. Hamas was wrong to have broken the cease fire with those random rockets they launched. Israel had to retaliate and so would you or anyone else, but i think the retaliation has been exaggerated. My only concern is you tell me how this will aid the peace process in the region going forward? There is Iran who are saying that Israel should be wiped off the map. Israel is surrounded by Arab countries from all fronts. Extremists in that area will be galvanised by these, if i may say, senseless killings that’s taking many a civilian life. My sadness/shock is the fact that the international community has been relatively silent on this. Bar Mr Chavez, expelling the Israeli ambassador from Venezuela, no other country has done much in opposition. I am a just a normal dude and given the facts I have available. I can easily come to the conclusion that this incursion into Gaza is BS. The Palestinians have no food, water, power...Another interesting thing that i have noticed since this conflict started is that the price of Brent crude oil has risen about $15 - $20 a barrel...hmmm (i guess this benefits the oil producers but i am not sure how it will benefit the oil consumers, unless i am missing a trick)

Interesting year...interesting year. Ghana just had another successful government transition. The then opposition NDC, lead by Prof. Atta-Mills, won the election by less than 40000 votes from Mr Nana Akofu-Addo who represented the incumbent party the NPP. This was Prof Mills’ third attempt at the presidency and good on him, time will tell how he fares. My only reservation about him is that he represents the party that Jerry Rawlings led a few years ago. Reports though are that he hasn’t gotten off to a good start in relation to garnering (if i can use that word) confidence from the people, but once again time...
We have elections in 2 months. I am hoping the momentum that COPE was gaining doesn’t just dissipate into nothingness. I am not by any means suggesting that I am a huge supporter of COPE but I am a huge supporter of whittling down the ruling party’s 2/3rds majority. So guys go out there and vote. Not voting is taking away your voice. If you refuse to speak when you have the opportunity i don’t want to hear a peep from you when things aren’t going your way.

Back home we beat Aus in Aus in the cricket lovely to watch. There is the Confederation cup happening in a few months.

Another interesting time awaits us all. The world is in a weird yet interesting phase at the moment. I didn’t make any resolutions other than to be a better version of me. Yes it was a cop out cos i hardly stick to them anyway. I will like to learn how to play my guitar still so if you know of anyone who offers lessons or if you are keen to be my strumming partner holler

Thats me for this week, you all have a grand weekend. Looking forward to more interaction with you guys this year.

Birthdays
4th Sengetile
5th Pranuksha
6th Ingrid and Darren
8th Jordan
10th Chantel

Maximum respect

Yaw

Once again another addition, Miss Anoka, welcome...hope you find this of some interest to you, if you have any topics you would like discussed please do forward em to me

Ya man, so when we last spoke i said if things worked out i would be off for a bit of a break, but i guess once again the one who watches me came through for me, some call in co-incidence, others Allah, Buddha, money, luck, but I prefer God 

So anyway I managed to sneak in a little deal on Friday afternoon so on Monday I booked my flight and on Tuesday off i went to Thailand for a few days. Armed with only my plane ticket and Visa card, i arrived at Phuket airport, i was pretty excited. I knew more or less where i was going to be heading because a mate of mine, Rudi was already there. Anyway after making my way through the mob of people wanting to offer me hotels, taxi’s mini busses etc, i finally settled on a taxi driver to take me down to Patong Beach, it was a pretty warm day and I hardly sleep on flights so i was knackered and feeling sticky....and when i got to Rudi’s hotel he wasn’t there. Doh?!!! Anyway I dropped my bags at his hotel and ventured to acquaint myself with the area... I realised just then that i was going to really enjoy this place (and it didn’t hurt that Barrack Obama had just won the US elections either)

The only place I have been to in my life where no one was clutching their purses or lock their car doors cos the black man is near. No boss, I even had a name and it wasn’t ni**a  ...is it a shadow? Is it a mountain? No its chocolate man, yes thats right, they called me man...chocolate man.

Jokes aside though what a pleasant place, such good natured hard working people. What a beautiful country??!! I am not much of a water baby but even i was on the clear waters of Thailand, paddling away...properly secured in a tested life jacket ofcourse! Another thing about the place was the food. Stayed in Phuket for 1 night (ordered some suits and jackets, tailor made...quality stuff). Purchased a trip to Koh Phi Phi, dirt cheap it was to get there. Phi Phi was cool but it wasn’t my cuppa tea. There were plenty of foreigners there as well as youngsters. You could walk that whole island flat in 30 minutes or so. Averaged sleep time of about 5am every night. There were only 3 other blacks that i saw, i felt special ;-). Whilst in Phi Phi Rudy and I took a day trip to a few other islands including the one where the beach movie was filmed. It was such brilliant day. 3 days later we headed to an Island called Koh Lanta in Krabi, such a chilled styling place and helluva cheap we bought seafood for 20Bhat for 100g thats about R6/100g hectic!

Hired a scooter for R70 a day and rode the island sut! Yoh. Let me tell you this story. So I was asking what to do for the day and I was told about this lovely waterfall in the south of the island that i should head to. So I am like happy days, helmet on, bony started and off I go. About 30min later i reach the entrance of the path to the waterfall, after kra ping in my pants thanks to an elephant on the side of the road! But i survived. So i make my way past this little hut thinking the waterfall was just around the corner...Hmmm. Now let me tell you that i was travelling solo this afternoon because Rudi went out snorkelling. So i start on this path...all by my lonesome. Let me paint a picture...there is just forest and a river on my left and a little path. I walk for about 15 minutes and don’t encounter a soul. My mind starts racing. What if i get bitten by a snake or a spider or worse... a snake, what if i slip and cant walk...over active imagination, its what happens when you are a middle child. 30 minutes later i come across a couple of people saying you are almost there but its really not all that. I am like bra i have walked this far i may as well continue, oh and i forgot to mention the path lead into the river which was about shin deep with unstable rocks...lovely, wet socks and sneakers, so another 10 min or so later i arrive at my destination...wooow what a sight to behold!!! It was beautiful, it was majestic, it was like nothing i had ever seen before NOOOOTTT!!! What a lame excuse for a waterfall, it was like someone was standing on top of the ‘mountain’ and taking a wee. I shook my head, took a photo and ran back to the entrance...twisting both my ankles in the process but luckily not too badly.

I learnt one thing from that little excursion...survivor is definitely not for me. We returned to Phuket 3 days later where we stayed till we left. Another thing that i learnt from Thailand is that i have nothing to worry about if I ever want to get settled and have little ones with a good woman and i cant crack it in the ‘real’ world ;-) the amount of fat siff old dudes floating around that place with beautiful specimens, it disgusts me and pleases me at the same time. Some might be saying but those dudes have plenty cash, my retort is we met this young lass who didn’t even have a TV, i’ll give her a TV and a Hi Fi...how could she say no? How??

Travelling to places like that where i do a whole lot of nothing always offers me time to read a book and do plenty thinking. I actually read a book called “some of my best friends are white” pretty well written book good laugh . It takes a dig at all of us in this country of ours. Very easy read. But i also did plenty of thinking as i mentioned before. Mainly about what this madness that a lot of us live is all for. I look at the Thai people, just like the Ghanaians i had encountered 2 weeks before and man what good souls they have. How hard working they are. And how content they seem. But then again the grass always looks greener on the other side. But I was thinking sheesh imagine if i had the balls to just say saweet done with this keeping up with the joneses now. I am going to pack it all i, buy myself a little place (on a hilltop ofcourse) and buy a boat to ferry people around....maybe do some accounting work for some island businesses and just live a little. Not that I am not living now, but u get what i mean i hope...wake up with generally happy people all around you, seemingly not too much stress and if you are stressed, I promise you, you wont have to venture far to find a massage 

But in no time it was all over back to work and life in general...The most impetuous thing I think i have ever done, but man one of the best things i have ever done...

Birthdays
4th Tanya and Shashi
6th dear sis Adoma
10th Shanwynn
11th Rachel and Akin
14th Celeste
15th Ylanda and Rowan
16th Kris
18th Federica and Taya
21st Neelesh
22nd Sanguita

Thats me for another week
...Live like today is your last....Y

I said this the last time i was here and i will say it again its always such a humbling experience coming back to Ghana, i’d like to say home but i’d be deceiving myself. It definitely is home in my heart and i truly identify with the humanity of the people of Ghana.

You walk in the street at night and young people are saying “good evening uncle” made me realise i was getting on in my years, but also gave me a huge reminder of the little things my folks tried to instil in us when we were growing up, things I am very proud to have been taught, things I believe we are losing sight of as the world goes on.

A typical example is this credit crunch that is going on globally. Ghana is historically a very cash run society, you want something you fork out dollars, simple.$600 000 house...cash, $60 000 car...cash, it is how it is. Things are starting to change a bit now though, people have access to mortgages and car loans provided you have a job, but the job part that is a story all together one i will get to maybe later. But the average Ghanaians response to this credit crunch is we don’t have any credit in the first place so how can it be crunched?

I have had a lot of time to reflect, one of the joys (or not) of being here. I have had loads of time because i opted to stay with family and unfortunately there was a bereavement before i arrived so i was left to my own devices. Driving in this town is no child’s play and the traffic, Joburg is easily 3 times the size of Accra, but boss i had a meeting at 10am i had to leave the house around 8am, madness i tell u. Anyway back to having the time on my hands and you get to ponder much about what it is we are all about. The average Ghanaian earns $250 a month, a huge number live off $100 a month, now in my mind thats pretty darn insane, but you will see everyone polite and helpful. Sheesh let me tell u a story about a time that this helpfulness came in so handy...

It is my first day here. I have absolutely no clue as to how to get around. One of my old directors from Std Bank has just moved to Ghana to be the deputy MD. I bumped into him at the Game store in the Accra mall, and I swear i knew i was going to see him at that mall at that specific time, but thats a story for another time, actually no let me tell u all now. I was standing with my uncle who was looking to buy a treadmill. All of a sudden something told me to walk around the corner and a few rows down you will see Karl, so i did and whala just as i turned the corner heading towards where i thought i should be, who comes walking into the store, freaky huh...anyway so i bumped into him and he invited me over to come and watch the Currie Cup semis with him. Which i thought was a great idea. And it wasn’t too far from where i was staying...if you know your way around that is. My uncle has a few cars in the yard that aren’t doing much other than gathering dust...this uncle is not one of the average Ghanaians who earns $250 a month ;-). Anyway so we try and start the car, no luck battery she is acting up. We jump start it and all good, but i am a tad nervous. And to heighten these nerves, on my way to fill up with juice the car cut out, i take out my hankie to wipe my brow, both cos of the constant, humid heat and also because of the concern that is weighing heavily on my little mind.

Out of towner, driving on the wrong side of the road, not sure how things work or where things are, and to top it off a car with an unreliable battery, but ey i said i’d come so come i shall. I bought some juice which my dear friends is at $1.40 to the litre, we don’t have things bad i tell u. So i make it there but as i got to the drive way the car cut out and refused to start, oh well. So i had a nice visit with Karl and his family, mind you i got there late because i had to hang around and speak to this person and that person etc. Cos its my first day back in 5 years. So by the time i got there it was like 5pm, night was about to fall another problem cos there are few street lights but NO street names...slight exaggeration there are a few...but not in the area i live in. Anyway its time for me to head home. Karl gives me directions on how to get home...suprise suprise, I get lost..hmmm, but i knew i was in the area so i pulled over and asked a security guard, all so polite and helpful he sent me on my merry way....ah a road i recognise, just as i take the corner, the car cuts out. No power whatsoever. I am in a slight panic. This area is dark, its the corner of the road, there are just trees and bushes and a few potplants on the side of the road, i have my laptop, my wallet and my cellphone....did i mention it was pitch dark? What to do? What to do? So i jumped out of the car, grabbed my backpack, locked the car and hurtled into the middle of the road to find assistance. I kid you not, the very first car i flagged down pulled over, asked me what the problem was i explained that i needed a jumpstart and had the cable, he was all too happy to turn his car around, filled with occupants, on a blind curve, put them in harms way, but the bra helped me out, no questions. Gotta love that. i cant lie to you being mentally trained here in SA, my first thoughts were guys jumping out of the bush to rob me blind and secondly no one was gonna help me. But ey alls well and ended well
Being here has been an experience, i have no idea how there aren’t more accidents on the roads, because people just drive and i mean just drive! I have had a few meetings and tried my best to look the part, but the heat and humidity is a breaker so i have been winging it with a shirt no tie, bra, guys here break it down, shirt, tie, suit, and no sweating!! I look at this bra and I am like what the??!! I am in my shirt, sleeves rolled up, buttons open as low as respectably allowable but boss i am pushing enough beads to fill a 2 litre bottle in no time ;-).

Its almost like all my aunts and uncles have been taking their cue from my moms back in SA, first question they ask, how is everyone back home? I answer...So why are you here? I answer...So, Yaw, how old are you now oooh? I smile...I answer, next question, Hmmm Yaw?!! Eh when are you going to get married ooooh? Eh? We are waiting for you, i shake my head and smile i thought telling them no one wants me would get them off my case but not them, they are all too quick with bra i have more than a dozen that i think you will like! Don’t tell my folks this but there are one or two lovely ladies floating around here, but my word are they expensive ;-). They roll with guys that cruise in ML’s, X5’s, Range Rovers the works, and then they have other boys who pay for their massages on Sunday afternoons, sh it man, all i can do is buy you the Bee Movie or Dirty Dancing ;-)

I guess i am painting the wrong picture of Ghana, there are some people here with money and you can get whatever you want if you have bucks. I mean they got he iPhone last year, we are only getting it in SA now. But things here are insanely expensive. I went to buy some groceries for my cousin to take to my gran. I nearly fell over and had convulsions. A large tin of powdered milk , Nespray...$60? how do people survive? I quote everything in $ because the new Ghana Cedi has been pegged to the Dollar, so i been catching a fat hiding converting currency but what to do? There are some humungous fancy shmancy houses popping up all over the place, but just like back home the gap between the haves and the have nots is wide and widening even more. The economy is stable but a lot of the fundamentals are very backward. We import basic food like rice. If you looked at the climate and i am no geologist or whatever, but the ground seems very fertile for agriculture. So many things are imported and the things we export we have no control over the pricing like cocoa and gold. Public servants are just as slow and unmotivated as we have back home. There is this mall that has recently been built. It houses, the likes of Shoprite, Game, Mr Price, Barcellos, Rhapsody’s (my ‘office’ in Accra) to name a few. It took 10 years before it was approved, 10 whole years, there’s even a term for that sort of time...decade!! just to approve the damn thing?? Nah man?!!

And you think slavery is dead? Hell no not in these parts boss. Even a person who is ok and not filthy rich will have a house boy. Now this bra just lives to serve. You come home at 5 am you hoot like the world is coming to an end the bra comes running to open the gate, he does the garden, washes the cars every morning he gets sent to go buy this that and the other. He washes the clothes, dishes, mops, he wakes up at the crack of dawn and doesn’t sleep till who knows when. Nah man, its alive!

There is a lot going on here and plenty of potential but I have my reservations that if the government doesn’t get it right and focus on the have nots, we could easily get a case where crime is the order of the day just like back in SA. There are already signs of armed robberies creeping into society but they are not violent, but still!! That being said I was having a conversation with my uncle and the government is putting in place certain things like there is free education till the end of junior school (they want to extend it to the end of high school) which will assist greatly in the unemployment level, or not because if jobs aren’t being created, no matter how educated you are where will you find a job? Finally there is medical aid in Ghana, its still in its infancy and has some teething problems but at least it is available and all it costs is $10 a year, so there is progress. My great concern at the moment though is Ghana is going to the polls on the 7th December 2008, should it happen that the ruling party is deposed, back to square 1 we go...oh AFRICA!!!

Birthdays
15th Simon H
16th Anjita, Kirsten
17th Tshepo M, Yolisa
18th Sylvia

Thats me for another week, stay blessed

Y

If you are like a rich guy, you are not a happy camper nowadays. Its murder on the trading floors ey?? It’s insane, there is no stopping the rot, $700bn we’ll sign it…nah not now…markets crash, ok the senate will approve it, markets still crash. $700bn written into a law…markets still crash….heads are scratched. What to do?
Banks are being nationalized, now there is an across the board slash in interest rates in some European markets, to stimulate growth.

Maybe I am a bit dim, but in my mind if people didn’t over-react and just rode out the storm instead of this insane sell-off that is taking place, I am more than convinced that this rapid and severe drop in the markets wouldn’t have taken place. Lots of shares have lost value and that’s largely due to the huge sell off in anticipation of the possible slow down in the economy. Now I am no market guru by a long shot, the only shares I own are MTN and SASOL, thanks to BEE ;-).Yes the shares have taken a hiding but y sell? Everyone panics and sells and values drop even further, don’t panic, don’t sell, don’t create the whole herd mentality and some value will be maintained…it makes sense to me, unless I am really simplifying things.

The part that doesn’t make sense to me, well didn’t make much sense to me is the fact that our currency the Rand is taking such a beating. I searched high and low for some literature to shed some light on the tremendous fall of the Rand and not too much was forthcoming. It’s not just the Rand falling I know and comparatively we haven’t done too badly, but we have fallen to our worst levels in 7/8 years this over a period of say 2 weeks. INSANE!! What makes it even more perplexing for a lay person such as myself is the fact that the US Dollar is pretty strong at the moment. Same thing happened on 9/11…typical depiction of the US sneezing and the rest of the world catching a cold.

Their economy is under threat. We all suffer. They need to go a further $700bn into debt, we all suffer…hmm no sense or nonsense. But then again it started dawning on me, is it because they were the first to publically announce a blanket government bailout plan that their currency has strengthened? Could it also be because they are historically the world’s premier economy, so when ish hits the fan, everyone runs to what they perceive to be the safest option…enter the US dollar. Which I still find odd, because I would have thought in times like this commodities such as gold a very universal currency and measure of value since time in memorial.

Listening to 702 and reading some of the internet sites this seems to be the case. When markets become jittery, the first reaction of most is flight from risky assets, and if you didn’t know SA is considered risky, which I assume would lead to an increase in the demand for dollars hence the dollar strengthens…

If I am off the mark please do correct me cos I am using a bit of what I believe to be common sense, which may not be so common ;-)

An interesting day in SA, earlier we had the former chair of the ANC, Mosiuoa Lekota, all but stating outright that there will be a new political party being formed, a splinter from the ruling ANC. I say Amen to that, not because I am in opposition of the ruling party, but because I am not in favour of a one party rule democracy. In my mind that is contrary to the whole concept of democracy…unless I am missing something again.

Lets be honest, the old guard, did some good but they were also pretty arrogant in some of their mannerisms. They failed the people regarding crime, healthcare and education. There is so much lack of accountability in many government institutions. I watched Carte Blanche the other nite and my word the mismanagement going on there is just madness, and nothing happens to no one. I was very impressed when I read a few weeks ago that Mr Maree, my former boss and head of the National Empowerment Fund was convicted…4 yrs or so later but at least something was done.

I am saying all this because I believe the country needs change. I am not sure what the new guard has to offer us, but I get nervous when I hear some of the mouth pieces they have chosen to speak on their behalf. The language they use is strong and more divisive as opposed to unifying. I would also add that some of their mutterings are a tad nonsensical and sensational too. What the new guard do offer is a bit of focus on the neglected many. The people who stood in queues some 14 years ago, their situation hasn’t changed a helluva lot. Some might say it may have worsened. I read stories that the houses built during the apartheid years were far superior to the RDP houses currently being built. We have masses of people accumulating wealth by cutting corners and developing below par housing, which fair enough may be a few times better than the shacks in which they dwelled but, frankly that’s just not good enough.

Education, sheesh let me not get started here. Education should be a fundamental right of every living human being, along with affordable healthcare. If people are educated first and foremost they will be able to see the wood from the trees and be in a position to make an informed decision about who they elect as a leader. Secondly through education you are in a position to fend for yourself, identify opportunities this great land of ours has to offer and how to enhance the lives of yourself and also those around. If you are educated you will know that a life is not really worth the R100 you may get for that cell phone.

Anyway interesting times…heard a couple of the bigger economies have reduced their interest rates in an effort to curb the potential growth stagnation. Also read that China may be lending the USA $500bn to help them stem the run on their banks. This also serves Chinas interests because it protects their export market too because if the US market is weak then who will the world sell to or buy from.

Lets see how it all plays out…Off to Ghana on Friday for a few days for some work, looking forward to catching a bit of a tan and a sweat . You all have a great week and weekend.

Birthdays
28th John K, Shaheed, Kelly
29th Evie
1st Oct Herman
2nd Willem, Linda
4th Monkfish
9th KC

Take it easi

Y

Ola,
Another addition to our ever increasing community. Welcome miss Yashika, hope you find these email worth the kilobytes in your inbox  if at anytime you wish to be removed, please do let me know.

SAICA, has come up with this new thing that we need 120hrs of continuing professional development hours over a 2/3 yr period. It was all good and well when I was working for a large corporate cos it was all about training and development…on their account ofcourse, working in your own space is a different story altogether. I have had to resort to attending ‘random’ yet relevant 2 hr seminars which are either free or well priced (‘cheap’).

Last week I started writing an email around one such seminar I attended called finding your place in the sun, a talk given by Aki Kaliatakis, it started off pretty grim but made so much sense in the end, but I think I am going to park that one for now, cos it was very happy clappy and you are in charge of your destiny kind of stuff, I thought it best to tell you of our experience this past Saturday.

Firstly thanks to those that heeded my email and came thru, Dr Phil, Yashika, Simon and Vuyani and her posse.
Last Saturday about 20 of us met bright and early to go do our little bit for society. We drove around in circles for a while and finally we arrived at our destination in Orange Farm, a half built house and an old lady’s house that needed some paintwork. After loads of shaite being spoken we split up and started mixing dugga, fetching bricks and laying bricks etc. To be honest it was a tad disorganized cos the building foreman, the dude who knew what we needed to do wasn’t directing us well but we tried our best. I must add, I have new respect for builders, cos that sha ite aint easy!!

I think I speak for all that attended when I say it was a day well spent. We may not have finished building the house, but our assistance lessened the amount of work they will need to do to complete that particular house and thus could start on the next one.

So once our day was done I was busted, I got home late from Friday nights shenanigans woke up early on Saturday, put in some hard labour my other bro, ‘Die Hard’ was in town so it was going to be another late night. So I told Phil lets bounce. The other guys had other plans, lets go to a ‘chisa nyama’ which is like a braai sort of effort. Happy times, we’ve done a good days work lets go get some meat and a few beers. We hardly ever hang with the peeps so lets. And lets we did. Bought some meat, bought a few quarts at R8.50 what a ripper, played some music, sat on and around the cars and had a yarn. The food came and man did we feast, well I know I did cos I hadn’t eaten the whoooole day!

After the meal, we tidied up and were about 5 minutes of getting the hell out of dodge….
Around the corner came a police van with about 6 uniformed officers, they looked ready to bust up a riot. The occupants came out of the car and headed straight for…yip you guessed it, yours truly, there were about 13 or so of us there all havin some good clean fun, but noo lets head straight for the makwere kwere. I walked without protest straight to the back of the van, with the thought ofcourse that the rest would soon join me, oh nooooo!! The door closed and I was like eish! A few minutes later the door was opened and my good friend Dr Phil was sitting next to me, things were better 

They sped off like we had just massacred a mob and eaten their hearts. We arrive at the station, and the others followed us, very grateful for good mates I tell u!! Still had no idea what we have been taken in for (other than possibly drinking in public), we weren’t being silly just bought some food and drink and played some tracks, some were shaking what their mommas gave em, u know just having a good reward after a productive day. So the cops start taking our details down, their attitude was all hardcore and rof like we are in charge here, we’ll show u. We asked questions they’d say shh go wait over there. Over time their stance became a tad softer when we managed to sneak in that we were just here to help build and paint houses and we had never been there before and we were just taking in the atmosphere etc. had no idea we were breaking any laws, but we don’t mind paying a fine and going home. The dude was like nooooo, u must go to the cell for at least 4 hrs, I’m like bra!!!

Anyway after about 40 min we seemed to be getting thru the one guy, cos the other phuza-face idiot was gone. Then along came drama. One of the members of our party was a tad on the other side of sober, he’d been drinking since we got there in the morning and he had been mouthing off outside…he was trying to assist but his rather boisterous rants got him arrested . Normal people would have heeded the message and bitten their tongue, noo not our man. Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is (happens to be a pretty top dude on the ANC National Exec) You guys are making a big mistake…blah blah blah, any ideas of being let out early for good behaviour….out the window….

We asked the man to hold his tongue but he started getting even more vocal so the cops said right we’ll teach u my friend and they marched him off to a cell. In the mean time another friend who was outside pleading our case was also arrested and the 3 of us were processed. Any pleas to pay the fine and let us go because there were ladies in our party fell on deaf ears. We were going to see the inside of a police cell. But the cop was reasonable (in words) he said to us he was going to let us out just now as in 10 minutes he just had to do something.

Luckily our other mate who was in with us was pretty connected and they didn’t search him so he had his mobile with him he made a few calls to certain people…anyway about a little over 2 hrs, our other member of our party was brought to join us. The quietest I had heard him the whole day. He soon revealed why. The cops had decided to put him in a cell with some proper inmates, he was kakking himself. He said about a minute before they brought him out the police man had shouted ok lights out….

Anyway after a few minutes he was back to his vocal self. About 15 min after he was brought into our cell, we were all let out after paying a R100 fine each. We were given a form to signed which had our charge as intoxication, before I signed it, I said for the record I don’t agree with this charge but because I want to go home I will sign it. Then they asked the vocal one to sign it he was like what for, I am not drunk, I cant sign this bulls**t the officer looks at him and says oooooh u wont sign it ne? sure! And he duly placed it back in the file. They asked the fourth to sign his paper, he too was hesitant but the vocal one decided to prompt him and said sign it bra and lets go…how things change  anyway he signed his too and we were let out.

What an experience, but it was still a very worthwhile day. It really was a load of fun (bar the last few hrs). But imagine a whole lot of us on a Saturday afternoon, taking some time out, speaking copious amounts of tripe and doing something worthwhile other than parking off on 4th Avenue in Parkhurst having a Cosmopolitan, its such a fulfilling experience, well in my humble opinion.

That’s me for another week

Bdays
8th Simon C
10th Tumi Morule, Sefa
13th Maud, Inge
14th Kyle, Will
15th Kuhle
16th Al
18th Thuli, Chetan, Violet, Tahir, Gerald


That’s me for another week, you all take care of you!

Big love

Ex con 

‘Que Sera Sera’

When the day that lies ahead of me, Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me, Always seems to know the way – Lovely day (Bill Withers)

New addition…welcome Sturae, hope u find this useful and possibly even remotely interesting, if you don’t holler at me…

Sometimes I think back at most of the emails I send out and some people must think I am just a big happy ball of fun or someone who is caught up in his own BS world that everything is all good and well, well lets just say sometimes I am because I strongly believe you are what you think. But let me tell you about a month I have had. I like to share my thoughts and my experiences with everyone not because I think I know it all but I hope that there is someone out there that may have a similar or opposing thought to mine and would like to impart that with me and others, because once again that’s what I believe life is about…you definitely cant do it on your own. So please do endulge me or not 

Anyway, a not so happy story…if I take a step back and think about it, as I did at the end of last week, this past month was a pretty rough month for me, mind you it did have some pretty great ups, but on a whole it was pretty rough… well relatively, because then again I think a whole lot of people would not mind having some of my problems. This new work setup is pretty good for me. I feel like we are really achieving something, definitely developing a new skill and repertoire of abilities, but its not always easy, but then again how many worthwhile things in this life come easy?

As I was saying…last month was a pretty rough one for me in that we had set a target for the company for the year and mind you we are only 5 months into the year but I am bitterly close to achieving it, which has a good many spin offs in that I can take some time out and chilax for a bit, something I haven’t really done in going on 2 yrs, but all of a sudden, no one wants to see me, I have min meetings, I am clueless as to how we are going to reach this target and it was grating my cheese, it still is but not so much anymore

Then to make matters worse, one of my clients whose revenue makes up a substantial amount of our revenue this year has not paid us and they weren’t giving us any feedback regarding what was wrong, all this because the person I was dealing with signed the order form, we started the campaign and she decided to hang up her boots and moved on.

And to top it all off I have lost the little ok minuscule game that I had boys and girls, it’s a mess. Ok well one particular little miss sunshine…I ‘found’ this lass I was really digging (and that’s as rare as finding coconuts in Antartica), but eish had to hang up my boots there too cos that door was on lock down…for me, boss and no matter how much airtime I gave her boss Rapunzel was not letting down her hair boss, and I know some of you are thinking why didn’t I just use the key, bra, the key was not for this vault ek se…

And to top it off even more I am just tired…

I could go on but I think you get the picture and I was/am pretty tired…It wasn’t all doom and gloom though I had a pretty great Tri Nations campaign which took me to CT for a few days, got hammered with some of the All Blacks and if you really know me you will know that there aren’t too many things that excite me bar an All Black haka followed by a test match. That being said tho, my soul wasn’t really at ease it was like there was just something not right.

This week is the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan for my Muslim bras, I decided for this month just like for Lent I am going to try and give something to those less fortunate that I. I generally intend to do it but never really do it cos it takes an effort and I am pretty goal driven I struggle to do things nje (just), so at least this gives me some purpose.

I started this on Monday, and I am not doing it for anything but for my own selfish reason because it really and truly pleases me, early in the morning or late at night or mid afternoon and give a loaf of bread to someone I think needs it, and honestly I am NO ANGEL, I truly started feeling like I was in a better place already. So much so that on Wednesday a mate who was in a place not too dissimilar from where I was heading and I had quite a good discourse (I really had a need to use that word) about it.

Its actually quite funny cos a week ago I was sitting in the office with some of my colleagues and they were talking about the 5 languages of love, I had never in my life had any notion of it whatsoever but for those that are as in the dark as I was they 5 languages are quality time, words of affirmation, touch, giving and acts of service. And I dig giving stuff and doing stuff for peeps…I digress but somehow thought it was relevant…

Anyhoo…I think it’s all about finding your happy place no matter how small it may seem to the world. Yesterday I managed to get a meeting with the top dog of the client who wasn’t getting back to me regarding the campaign invoice and earlier today he told me that the invoices were processed. I still don’t know how I am going to fill up my pipeline nor did lovely miss sunshine’s vault open, but alas as the saying goes you cant have it all, so I take what I get and be grateful for it, it’s the beauty of it all isn’t it?

Something I want to share with you all on Wednesday I went to a seminar and the speaker was talking about brands and building your own personal brand, his whole message was what you want people to say about you when you are dead, which I thought was pretty random because at the risk of arrogance, what do I care what people say when I am gone? I will be dead…I think its more important for how you interact with people whilst you are still on this earth and are able to make a difference. There are 6 P’s to follow and they are:
• Purpose – there has to be a goal in mind in respect of who you want to be and how you want the world to see you
• Passion – you need to be passionate about everything you do touch etc, if you are not feeling work, a relationship, living conditions etc. it will reflect in how you conduct or portray yourself to others
• Planning - most if not all successful ventures, events etc, require a carefully thought out plan and process that needs to be followed
• People – you honestly cant do it on your own
• Play - don’t take yourself too/so seriously
• Persevere – you will fail its how life is, up until varsity I had never failed anything before but I got taught there, it wasn’t nice then but ey oh I survived. Hmm maybe I should give that vault one more try ;-)…I joke

Birthdays
02 Gavin Bye
03 JC and Rob W
05 Riba
06 Talita

All the best for the wedding ahead John R, much happiness bro, Junie, nice work on the engagement, what took so long ;-)? And to my Muslim bros and sissies…Ramadan Mubarak!

An eventful weekend to you all!! I need sleep, I am way too old for this phuza Thursday stuff 

And that’s a wrap folks

Y

Que sera sera

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds. Have no fear for atomic energy, cause none of them can stop the time.

How long shall they kill our prophets, While we stand aside and look? ooh!

Some say its just a part of it: Weve got to fulfil de book.

Wont you help to sing, These songs of freedom? – Robert Nesta Marley

Last week it was such a relaxing weekend at the Vaal, thanks Kirst…now here I sit with Chapmans Peak on my left and the ocean to my right, yes I am gloating just a tad, my clients have paid for me to come to CT, put me up in a larney hotel and have asked me to chaperone some winners at the test match tomorrow, went to a Q & A session with some of the All Blacks, met all the Boks, spent some time last night with Bryan Habana and his old man, such damn hard work, gotta hate it!! J

But enough about me! I hope you are all doing well. Another week to a close another month halfway done…I have been pretty scarce the last few weeks, I know Tahir, thanks for prompting this email. My mind has been so focused elsewhere I tell you but alas, its all good.

I finished this really great book a few days ago called A fine balance by Rohinton Mistry. I started the book a good few weeks ago, it was an interesting read, but sheesh the hardship this family went through was hectic, I lost interest in it for a while and then I picked it up again last week and I couldn’t put it down until it was done. It’s a story set in 1975 during the time of the emergency in India. The story is focused around 4 main characters and how their paths cross and are somehow interwoven as a result of economics etc.

The characters are pretty diverse in backgrounds, 2, Ishvar and his nephew, Omprakash are tailors, from the lower caste, the untouchables as they were then known, but Ishvar’s father wanted to break the cycle and tried his best to get a better life for his sons Ishvar and Nayaran.

Then there was Dina, who was from a wealthy background initially but due to circumstances had to end up fending for herself

Then there was Maneck a village boy, who’s family was pretty well to do. He came to the city to get and education so he could be a somebody…

There are so many little stories/lessons or teachings from this book. One in particular got me thinking. That was the fact that the not so well off were the ones who persevered the most inspite of their circumstances. I wondered if this was the truth or just a storybook? If so was it because their situation cant get any worse (well so they thought but it did). They just seemed so much more positive and just happy to get on with it inspite of everything.

I look at a lot of us now and the smallest problem or hiccup in our plans and all hell is about to break loose…our lives are ruined it’s a mess. As nice as it is for things to go your way, I find the ‘victory’ if I can use that word so much sweeter, if there was a challenge which had to be overcome in order to get me where I needed to be. For example I play a bit of sport and I’d much rather play a person who can beat me rather than a person who I know I can beat, it’s all in the challenge.

What I was getting at, if I may preach for a moment…is that in this life…in life, love, work, anything, we have to accept that we will be tested, we will be trialed, things wont go our way all the time, but its all about stepping up to the plate and giving it your best shot, if it doesn’t work out as planned, at least you gave it your best shot and it wasn’t meant to be, because whatever is meat to be will be…Que Sera Sera!

On that note, let me go back to staring out the window….aaah bliss. You all have a great weekend!

Wait before I go let me just add another cent (borrowed this one)...1^st time you are a victim, second time you are a volunteer!

Birthdays

21 Belinda Mountain

22 July Michelle W

24 Vusi

26 Gina, Karabo Nondumo

27 Courts

28 Parents 35^th anniversary

29 Sheya and Richard

30 ETO, Lesley

3 August Deen

12 Caroline and Angela

13 Sharpie

14 Graham and Degs

Take care, and maximum respect!

Y

PS don’t let the world dictate your world to you!!

“If I had no more time, No more time left to be here,

Would you cherish what we had? Was it everything that you were looking for? If I couldn’t feel your touch, And no longer were you with me,

I’d be wishing you were here, To be everything that I’d be looking for,

I don’t wanna forget the present is a gift,

And I don’t wanna take for granted the time you may have here with me,

‘Cause Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed”- Alicia blaring through my earphones as I type this…for the 4^th time. I highlighted 2 sentences for a reason let it resonate in all we do!!

Shoo, another week almost done? My question to you would you is ‘are you living or letting life pass you by?’

Another pretty blessed week, in my world, but its not about me now is it ;-). I must tell u this though, I bought a small basic French dictionary. This is a massive thing for me, because learning French and Zulu has been a resolution of mne for at least the last 5 years or so, now if I can find a Zulu one I will be well on my way. Oh wait maybe you guys could help me, I bought a guitar a while ago and I want to learn how to play it, if anyone knows of someone who gives lessons or if any of you are keen to go learn guitar let me know, cos other than work, execution is not my strong point, cos stuff just keeps coming up, like doing nothing, going out, sleeping, playing squash, movies…u get the picture!

I was really humbled by effort some of you went through to respond to my emails last week. It honestly touches me that you all, inspite of your busy days still have time to find value out of some of the stuff I write and even more so that you respond.

I got some pretty decent responses, some were too long to post on the site, but if u r keen to read them please let me know and I will forward them to you, if that’s ok with the authors.

It should hopefully be a very short email this week. As most of us know today is the birthday of a great man, Nelson Mandela. A man by his on concession was not born a saint nor behaved like one, but this man has qualities we can all learn from.

• He is a man who decided to make a difference.
• He is a man who saw his circumstances and decided not to just complain but take action.
• He is a man who saw the plight and ill-treatment of those around him and decided this cant be right but I cant wait for others to fix it for me
• He is a man who lost 27 years of his life because he fought for what was right…note I said what was right not what may have been right.
• He is a man who even though incarcerated for 27 yrs and robbed of his freedom came out and set this nation and its people free
• He is a man who could have come out bitter and angry like most of us would have been if we felt we were wronged, but he said sorree, lets move forward
• He is a man who continues to use his influence and position to try and create a better life for those less fortunate than he through his foundations
• He is a man who even when times were rough saw the good in the situation
• He is a great man, not solely by actions but largely by deed!

And you know what, any of us can be that great person, even if just for one other person around us…Society is where it is now because of our lack of time for other people, that sales dude who keeps knocking on your door to sell his business card holder with a fountain. Take time to just listen to his story or offer him some courtesy. You CAN spare him 2 minutes, I promise you it won’t kill you. That guy who begs at your window, acknowledge him at least. The 10 secs it will take to say no thanks or whatever it won’t hurt you, what are u doing anyway, the robot is red, u aint going nowhere!

The world will be the place u make it and on that note let me be off before I start sounding like a preacher. It’s really so simple this life, but we CHOOSE to make it so difficult.

“We who walk in the shadow of a giant must stay the course.

It is up to us who have the ability to influence transformation to uphold the legacy of those heroes that have made the ultimate sacrifice for all who live in South Africa.

It is our duty to honour them by making sure we do all that is in our power to ensure that their legacy lives in our thoughts and deeds.” Its almost like my sister knew what I was writing about this week. She sent an email to me today and I had to copy and past this extract here.

Birthdays

13^th Mel Rose

15^th Garth and Naeem

18^th The great man

A fantastic weekend is my wish to you all!

Maximum respect

Y ….“Que sera sera”

Luckily this week my mind hasn’t been held captive by any song in particular.

2 additions to our list, Khash and Rache, hope u find value in these weekly rantings. If you have any comments please visit www.mondaymail.blogspot.com.

Before I get into this weeks email, just a little bit of education my mate dangerous Dave (Degs) insisted I share. Times are tough at the moment and I guess you don’t need me to tell you about that. So what is the primary root of all our misery? This animal called interest. Imagine this I am poked or not but I need a couch or a car depending but I currently don’t have the cash for it enter mr loan corporation. We’ll give u the money, but then we own u till u can pay us back. What it means is you borrow today to buy something and work hard for 6 mths…60mths….20yrs to pay for it. Alternative is simple, live within your means or work hard now so u will make enough to buy whatever it is you want or be a slave to your desires J

I might not look the part but I am always thinking, my mind takes leave of my body on many occasions and finds topics to ponder. This week thought is one I have had for many years. Its one that has hardly, if ever, left the crevices of my cranium.

I am not sure if any of you ever have such thoughts, but once in a while I ask myself where will my soul rest. And I know what some of my ‘more Christian’ friends and family will be saying to me, Yawza, if you are asking yourself this question then you really haven’t found Jesus.

And so begins my issue(s). I consider myself a Christian, not by name alone but by actions and by belief (even though diluted and questioning), that being said though, I have the utmost respect for other religions because I honestly believe many of us are very similar…enter the dilution and questioning…

I go to church pretty often but not necessarily regularly, I go because it feeds my soul for the week, then there are those times when we are all praying and everyone around me is speaking in tongues….basically mumbling a whole lot of stuff….everyone except me…more questioning…

Then I wonder before colonization, I don’t think Christianity was heard of on this continent, so what happened to all the good people that roamed this continent called Africa, but passed on before they were introduced to the Bible, were their souls banished to suffer eternal damnation?

Then there is the fact that during prayer, Jesus and God are used interchangeably, I struggle with that, because I understand the trinity Father, Son and Holy Ghost to be 3 distinct entities. In my mind being the son of God doesn’t make you God, does it? In the 10 commandments commandment 1 and 2 say that I am the Lord your God; you will have no other Gods but me…See how I struggle worshiping Jesus instead of God?

Just one more thing as well. I generally use things that I can refer to. In Ghana right, when I was last there I don’t think you could travel further than a km without seeing a church. But on a whole many Ghanaians have life pretty rough. Rough in that its not by any means a rich place. Rich in culture, rich in good people, but boss people struggle to make ends meet, but one thing is for sure is that their faith in the almighty is strong. It brings me to another question I have. Many of the worlds poorest suffer no end, yet their faith is strongest, some might argue that its because that’s really their only hope, but I would think that their faith would result in the Almighty favouring them more. I look at some of the worlds worst figures, they may ‘believe in God’ but their actions are contrary to what I believe to be the actions of a God – fearing person, but those are the ones that prosper, look at Bob Mugabe for an example.

I could go on, but I just thought I’d share some of my thoughts with you, took me a while to write this email, I honestly had no clue how to tackle it. I read a lot and listen plenty, but in my mind there are a lot of gaps. Some accept but I question, I put it out there so those out there more enlightened than I can impart their knowledge with the likes of me.

I trust you will have a pleasant weekend and week till we next speak. Stay blessed, I for one truly am ;-)

Birthdays

8^th Mel Ramjee, DJ

11^th Rudi Leigh, Santie

12^th Yao, Marc Cohen

Much respect to the masses

There is a new motto I think we should all adopt, it got reiterated in a conversation with my bro Dave and that is ‘each one teach one’, imagine how many of the worlds problems would be alleviated if we took the time out to impart knowledge. A lot of people don’t know about the perils of debt for example your domestics etc. take a few minutes to speak to them about it, so at least they make an informed decision!

Y

Que sera sera

“Should i give up, Or should i just keep chasing pavements?
Even if it leads nowhere, Or would it be a waste? Even If i knew my place should i leave it there? Should i give up, Or should i just keep chasing pavements? Even if it leads nowhere”…Adele

I know its so last season this song, but hope it stays in your heads the whole weekend like it’s been lingering in mine for the last 2 dam n weeks!! Been a while ey anyway still very bright eyed and bushy tailed feeling very blessed/lucky whatever floats ur boat. Positive mind, positive life, pretty simple try it sometime!! 
I heard something last Sunday that I thought I should share with u all…the root of all our unhappiness is because we choose to compare things, particularly the past to the present. It makes sense doesn’t it? We compare what we used to look like, what we used to have etc etc to what we currently have and sometimes what we once had is no longer, but we forget to look at the good things that have taken its place…

It took well over a month for Zim electoral commission to declare the last results, but these results were given out in a day and a bit if even…hmmm!!! Fair enough it was just presidential elections but I am sure it was the same amount of polling stations involved. Then there was his outburst to the reporter calling him a stupid idiot or something to that effect, if that isn’t the voice of someone who has lost the plot then I guess my name really isn’t Yaw. I found it embarrassing and then there were voices in the background spurring him on…”tell him tell him” children!!

My biggest disappointment though is the silence of the AU leaders (well at least some, Nigeria, Malawi and Botswana as far as I can remember have stated that they don’t accept the results), this was Africas one chance of taking charge and doing something significant, but instead our leaders turn a blind eye. I am the biggest supporter of this country and this continent, we have every possible resource and potential in abundance but the lack of leadership that can take or make those tough decisions will keep crippling us till kingdom come. I really am at a loss for words. I am just an average joe, I may not know the history of how Zim has gotten to where its gotten to, I haven’t been there yes, but I know people who have , black, white, tall, short and they all say the same it’s a F*** up! I can see where it is and I know that NOTHING will change if Bob stays in power. But I know we are bored with this topic, the sad thing is for us it’s a topic for many a Zimbabwean its their reality!!

Then we have Mr ANCYL saying he will kill for Zuma then Mr Vavi not wanting to be outshone re-iterates this. Where are we? But then again that as I say that epitomizes the violent nature of us South Africans, anyone who wants to challenge that please do put ur hands up in the air. Violence surrounds us, its been in our past, present and until we do something about it it will be in our future. You are in a night club a guy walks past another and bumps him cos the place is packed the other guy is like listen d**s, I’m gonna f**ken m*er you”…and then what does that make you. We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go and once again let me say it again…get to know each other, understand what makes us all tick, its so easy this!!

Something very different this week thanks to Mike, please read below:

Joburg’s Biggest Walker – An 8-week Green House Gas (GHG) emissions challenge

Background
With the cost of petrol & diesel rising almost as rapidly as our collective consciousness about global warming, perhaps it’s time we Joburgers set out to see if we REALLY need our cars.
In the absence of what we believe to be reliable and/or sustainable alternatives, one must question whether there are NO alternatives to single occupancy high pollutant vehicles, or if we’re just too busy to test our assumptions.

The Challenge
Can you measure your direct impact on this environment (Phase I) and then make a concerted effort to reduce it (Phase II)?
Phase I consists of a 4-week baseline measurement, whereby you would be expected to:
1. On Sunday the 6th of July…fill up your vehicle (full-full)…and take an odometer reading (OR)
2. By Wednesday the 9th of July…send your OR to michael@trialogue.co.za along with your name, as well as the make, model and year of your vehicle…plus whether it consumes petrol or diesel
3. For the next 4 weeks…every time you purchase fuel, you must submit the following data:
a. Cost of fuel (Rands)
b. Amount of fuel (litres)
c. Updated OR
4. During this 4-week period, you should try to identify possible alternatives to your regular driving patterns (walk, cycle, car pool, public transit, etc.)
5. At the end of the 4 weeks…on Sunday the 3rd of August…you must re-fill your vehicle (full-full) and submit the above data (as per #3, above)
6. From Monday the 4th of August through to Sunday the 31st of August, you should apply some of the strategies identified in #4…attempting to reduce your reliance on your vehicle.
7. For the next 4 weeks…every time you purchase fuel, you must submit the following data:
a. Cost of fuel (Rands)
b. Amount of fuel (litres)
c. Updated OR
8. During this 4-week period, you should try to keep a log of any non-standard car-pooling that you engage in…submitting a record of the number of ‘non-standard car-pool kilometres’
a. NOTE: These kilometres will be factored to reduce your GHG impact by 1/3
9. At the end of the 8-week period, you will be provided a report of your success…relative to all the other participants…with an ultimate “Joburg’s Biggest Walker” being identified and awarded

The Cost
Entry into this initiative will cost R50 per person…with the ultimate assumption being that you SHOULD recoup this cost through savings in fuel purchases.
ALL proceeds will go proving awards to “Joburg’s Biggest Walker” and “Joburg’s Most Creative Non-Polluter”.

The Awards
60% of all contributions will be awarded to “Joburg’s Biggest Walker”, and the remaining 40% will be awarded to “Joburg’s Most Creative Non-Polluter”.
These funds will not be payable as ‘cash’, but rather the Rand value equivalent in trees…to be planted at a school or community project of the winner’s choice.

Rules
1. You can’t cheat! You will be expected to participate honestly…with no attempts to jimmy the numbers (Note: at least one math boffin will be used to test for anomalies).
2. You must fill ‘full-full’ on both the 6th of July and the 3rd of August.
3. Any lapse in providing the necessary fuel purchase data will result in using published ‘in-town consumption’ figures for your make and model of vehicle.

Judging
1. The numbers will judge themselves…although the math boffin will, as mentioned, test for anomalies.
2. The title of ‘Joburg’s Most Creative Non-Polluter’ will be judged by the entire team of participants. Any member wishing to tell a specific story about how they managed to cut down their fuel consumption and/or how the project impacted on other areas of their polluting life will be allowed to submit their story to the rest of the team. Stories must be submitted no later than Sunday the 7th of September. Each participant will be asked to rate their 1st (3 points), 2nd (2 points) and 3rd (1 point) choice, with the results being tallied and shared with the team…and the ultimate winner being identified through the stats.

The Celebration
On dates to be announced (sometime in October), ALL participants in this project will be invited to join the winners at the identified ‘tree recipient’…to help plant the trees and (if necessary) to help clean up the site.

The Ultimate Spin-Offs
If we can get enough people to participate, there is a distinct possibility that between the amount of direct GHG reductions (i.e., reduced fuel consumption) and the off-sets resulting from the planted trees could neutralize the team’s 4-week transportation-related carbon footprint.
Moreover, it is assumed that the ‘tree recipients’ would be educated about the need for trees…potentially impacting future generations of GHG emitters.
Yet more…it is possible that this could be written up either as an article or a case study, to be replicated by others, thereby leading to future GHG Challenges elsewhere…and thus even more carbon reductions.

ARE YOU IN?

Let me know and I will forward your names.

In closing, if you guys don’t already, if you are looking for an alternative to “Shorty wanna thug, models in the club….like a Lollypop” try talk radio 702 in the evenings some quality listening.

Birthdays
17th June Tas Domingo
20th Kgash and Jake
21st Hamish
22nd Dakes and Simmybunny
23rd Pete K
24th Gretchen
27th Rule and Gail
29th Simone and Celeste M
30th Dineo
1st July KJ Magil
3rd Jenn

Take it easi all

Que sera sera

Y

“You come to me with a casual flow, And suddenly, my defences start to go

When you talk to me in that sensual tone, It envelops me and I lose my self control

And baby, I just melt away, Fall like rain, Everytime I see your face, I go off

I just want to break it down, Anytime you come around, Baby I could melt away in your arms – Melt away Mariah Carey”

Forgive that blast from the past, I actually bought that CD earlier and went straight to song no 9….ahh the memories J

I know what you are thinking and yes you are correct, like a Pheonix he rises from the ashes…I have been AWOL for the last 3 weeks or so. And to be honest I have just been in a lull. You know when you get into a space where you are just alive but hardly living.

To be honest as I sit here writing I can think of nothing to complain about every facet of my life is pretty darn peachy. I guess that is why I decided to write to you today. Today I woke up like any other day in the past few weeks. Up bright and early, tried reading watched a bit of world news, realized its too cold for gym so we will try it again later in the day. Decided to get up. BUT I did something very different.

Yesterday I was driving around with this driven and focused young man who has been doing an ‘internship’ with us for the last 2 weeks or so. Anyway on our way to the car, he picked up a couple of nice looking pebbles/stones, I asked him what that was about and he reminded me of this part in the Secret about a gratitude rock. I looked at him, initially like whatever, but I picked one tho and placed it on my bedside locker.

So back to my story, this morning like every other morning I woke up and went through my same rituals, but what I did differently was I drew my curtains wide open, looked at the sky above, held my little rock in my hand and said thank you…thank you for the fact that I woke up, thank you for the fact that I have a bed and warmth, thank you for the fact that I have a roof over my head, thank you for such a great family and friends, I can walk, see, hear, a t.v., a shower with warm water, the fact that I have a job that gives me joy, a car to get me to my work, clothes on my back… and the list goes on. It may sound so random but I cant tell you what a difference it made to my day from the get go to now. I had a bounce in my step. Everything was just a joy, I had a bounce in my step, I had jokes. It was just a pleasant day all round, rounded off with a great dinner at Pete, Carla’s and little Kyle’s.

The events of today have sparked me back into motion, just always remember the little things, I tell you it will help you change your focus.

Another thing that really sparked this email was on Sunday I went to church. The preacher was speaking about forgiveness and anger and stuff. To be honest I got the gist but I wasn’t paying too much attention to the man I was day dreaming but the topic got me thinking. The way I see those too emotions is that they are more destructive than they are constructive. I am not saying don’t get angry but don’t let the anger consume you. Generally anger is a result of a past action an action that you cant change. Learn from it and find ways to move forward constructively. It’s really the only way.

At the end of the day holding grudges and harbouring anger will be only to your detriment. Learn what you want you want and move on. I must be honest, in this life, there is not one soul I have a grudge against, not cos I am a saint, but cos I just cant seem to find how I benefit from that emotion!! Ok I lie, there is this one dude, u know the one dude that you would just like to give you an excuse to just slap, not beat up, just a nice warm p**sklap…(but I am not angry with him…its just one of those things, u don’t think about till u see him) J oh I cant wait

That’s me for another week, plenty to be grateful for focus on that and everything else is a bonus. Forgive, don’t harbor anger, it will hurt you more than benefit you.

Birthdays

27^th May Monica

29 Lauren W, Brett and Delia

31 AC, Dear cous Nana Yaa and Lovely Miss Rachel

2^nd June Mame Ekua

6^th Helen

9^th Ivan

11^th Ameer

12^th Carl, Mark e

13^th Ed H

17^th Laila and Tasneem D

18^th Lebo

20^th Kgash and Jake

21^st Hamish

Ya ne that’s what I get for being absent for so long, hope you all have/had blessed birthdays.

On that note I sign off. Wishing you all well for the rest of your week. Little things…

Maximum respect! Que sera sera

“How good and how pleasant it would be, Before God and man, yeah

To see the unification of all africans, yeah, As its been said already let it be done, yeah, We are the children of the rastaman, We are the children of the higher man

Unite for the benefit of your children, Unite for its later than you think

Africa awaits its creators, africa awaiting its creators

Africa, youre my forefather cornerstone

Unite for the africans abroad, unite for the africans a yard

Africa, unite” – Robert Nesta Marley

Moral question…and it’s a fine line. So yesterday I am driving and not paying much attention to my odometer but I was in no rush, I was pretty chilled, like most days, out of nowhere jumps this traffic officer and pulls me to the side, I knew I wasn’t driving too fast so wasn’t too stressed about the ticket. Anyway the dude pulls me over, grabs my licence I asked him what the limit was, thinking it was either 70km/h/80km/h and he says 60 I am like eish, so I ask the man how fast was I going he said 76, I was like EISH. So I asked the man bra cant you let me off this one time, I started pleading my case regarding prior fines etc. So he told me well speak what can u do, so I said to the bra, boss I can’t bribe a police officer…long spiel about how its not right blah blah (but in the back of my mind I was thinking if this dude was gonna take me to jail I may well consider buying my freedom…at least I am honest) but anyway during our conversation he mentioned it being hot and him wanting a cooldrink. Anyway, long story short he told me he could see I was a good guy (I was touched) and I should get in my car I offered him R10 for his cool drink to say thanks for the favour. He said no thanks, and I should have a good day. On my way back from my meeting I bought him and his 2 colleagues cooldrink. My question? Was that bribing an officer?

Please forgive this email because it may well be all over the place because this topic has so many facets to it in my mind.

Isnt it ironic…don’t you think. On the 25^th May we are supposed to be celebrating this phenomenon called Africa Day, the day on which the Organisation of African Unity was formed way back in 1963, as we all know this union is now known as African Union. And here we are…2008 and still having to deal with another bout of senselessness which could easily plunge this nation of ours down the same path that many an African country has taken in the not so distant past.

I am almost sure that this email is going to the wrong audience (preaching to the converted) but alas, I would like to hear your thoughts and express mine and some of those I have heard. Yesterday I was having a chat to a friend and he attended some leadership conference and the speaker made a point which he reiterated to me. And let me ask you this? People from which country are known to wear or rather let me rephrase it and ask which country(ies) are the following items of clothing associated with? kilts, berets and kimonos? I am sure we are all too eager to answer Scotland, France and Japan respectively. But now tell me what is the traditional attire of the Ashanti tribe or closer yet the Vendas? I’ll leave it there…

Xenophobia is not new to this continent nor is it isolated to South Africa. In 1969/1970, Ghana had a bout of it after Kwame Nkrumah was ousted. In the 80’s Nigeria followed suit and burned alive many Ghanaians living there, along with many other ‘aliens. Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal same thing. Libya and Gambia even took arms against Africans living there too. The reasons for these attacks ranged from taking control of business rights through to the expulsion of aliesn who were promoting a non-islamic way of living, as was the case in Libya and the Gambia. Here is a link to an ariticle I came across if you have time http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/may01/xeno.html.

All these countries chased out their so called aliens and where are they now, economically? I am sure we can all agree that Nigeria is one of the richest countries on this continent, and I have never been there but economically its no New York, or Joburg. A lot of these countries that adopted these practices suffered hugely economically and are only now starting to come right. You chase out your migrants, you will inevitably chase out your skilled workers too and I am under no illusion that foreigners are doing a lot for this economy in bridging the current skills shortage. A small illustration, if you had to go to the former homelands, a lot of the teachers and doctors are from the greater continent, well at least that was the case in the 80’s and 90’s. I know for a fact because that’s what brought my family here. A lot of the current politicians and their kids were taught by our parents back in the good old Transkei. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I think the kwere influx added an extra dimension to our Xhosa brothers and sisters whilst we lived amongst them. I am sure many people will remember this, when we first came here a lot of people used to have a to have a tooth or 2 knocked out and it used to be called a ‘love gap’ (and forgive me if my recollection of the story is not sound) but that soon stopped, then came the hair relaxing and braiding and the wearing of traditional african attire… How soon we forget.

My only concern is that if its not stopped now it will definitely spill over into all areas of our society. This is how it starts, first the soft targets, the migrants, who are happy to do whatever they need to do to earn a living. Then it will be the skilled workers then it could easily spill over to a case of the haves and the have nots, which could easily roll over into ethnic cleansing…ie all the other have nots seeing that hey wait a minute, this government is predominantly Xhosa and the BEE deals on a whole over the last 14 years have mainly benefited the Xhosas etc. It may sound a tad alarmist, but if this can happen, tell me what will stop it from spilling into that?

You know I couldn’t help but chuckle on Sunday. A friend of mine has been trying to spade (court) this young lady for a few days or so, she is not a bad looking woman, anyway another mate was also getting in the mix on Sunday, so my mate goes to our other mate and tells him we are men of honour right? So how about backing off from my girl?! We have all been guilty of this at some point, but it made me chuckle and I drew comparisons to what is being touted as the reason for these attacks…they are stealing our jobs! Just like that girl is not my mates girl, no job is anyones job until they actually have it! If you and I go for a job interview and you get the job, how did you steal the job from me? If there is a job as a builder and I don’t believe that the job is beneath me, and I decide to go and take that job, how am I stealing a job from anyone? Xenophobia in this country has been around for a while I remember when I was younger foreign nationals were not liked much in those days and the reason was that we were stealing their women and I blame that solely on my namesake Yao J…

Sorry back to my story, so say 2 years ago or so, it raised its head in Cape Town, where many Somalis were being targeted and blamed for stealing peoples jobs. Their businesses were looted and burnt down. Now my example is pretty simple. At that time I worked at Standard Bank. Outside the building was a huge pavement. This pavement had been there for as long as the building has been erected. For many a year no one did anything there. Along came these Somalis and set up shop there. A little kiosk that sold cigarettes, cool drinks, chips, chocolates, etc. How did that dude steal anyones job?

I condone none of this violence or hate in any form nor hatred or intolerance of another being based on anything other than them being an idiot J but in all this madness I wonder how many Chinese, Bulgarians, Russians etc are here illegally? I am sure a visit to a few gentlemen’s establishments where the ladies are known to ask the very melodic question ‘you want lap dance’ will unearth a few of these such persons ;-) well so I heard…but ridding this country of such personnel would just be darn right silly….once again so I heard ;-)

Moving on rapidly…

All this being said though, I have no idea what goes through the mind of someone who has to struggle to survive or feed himself and his family and along comes all these foreigners who ‘take’ just about any job they can so they too can survive and create a better life for themselves, no matter what the job is paying?

But what is the solution then? Government intervention by setting a minimum wage in all industry and sectors? I don’t know if that will solve anything. I sit here and I kinda feel bad. I have a helper who comes once a week. She gets paid like R100 and she is more than chuffed with that. But if I do the maths, if she had to work every day of the week she will only earn R3 100 take out transport of say R20 or so a day and then what? But if it was legislated that she had to earn a minimum of say R250/R300 a day I might honestly think twice about using her, cos in my mind there isn’t much to do at my house, and then she will have no income from me at least, up goes unemployment…it’s a fine line this.

The sad thing about this is that the people perpetrating these atrocities don’t understand the magnitude of the potential consequences of their actions. South Africans and South African countries benefit largely from a presence in other Africa countries, companies like Standard Bank, Game, MTN, Anglogold Ashanti, Nandos to name but a few are raking it in from their African footprint. Imagine if these countries decided to expel these countries? Imagine if England, Australia, New Zealand decided, hey, you foreigners taking away our banking jobs, go home man?!

I have so many thoughts running through my head about this (such as there being a third force behind these acts which I don’t believe are too far fetched, also I am very disappointed about the lack of leadership being shown, as far as I know none of the ANC leadership past or present has actually come down from their mansions up high and come to the people and asked them to cease this insanity, bar ofcourse Mrs Winnie, and big respect to her, how short our memories are hey, good time friends) but it’s late and I must work tomorrow, it would be great to have your thoughts.

Birthdays

20^th Sanete

22^nd Lance

24^th Amrain and Rich Marshall

Have a great weekend and keep safe

Maximum respect and just because we are different doesn’t make anyone better a man or lesser a man, race, religion, height, you name it diversity adds to our society. Fear not for tis all an opportunity to learn from another and make yourself and life ‘richer’ and better….but then again I am preaching to the converted…

‘Que sera sera’

“…I was waiting, For the day you'd come around.

I was chasing, And nothing was all I found.

From the moment you came into my life, You showed me what's right.

And it feels like tonight. I can't believe I'm broken inside.

Can't you see that there's nothing that I wanna do, But try to make it up to you?

And it feels like tonight…” Daughtry

Just another one of those songs floating in my head, and u know me, I’m not a selfish guy so had to share it with u all J.

Cold mornings and nights and absolutely stunning days, gotta love Joburg winters! Another week closer to wherever you are going J I hope its treating you well at least. Before I continue a big welcome to the lovely Miss Stuart, welcome to our ‘weekly’ chat sessions, where I generally do all the talking and once in a while I hear a whimper from yonder J hope you find this useful. If you want to read some of the older blogs or send any feedback on an article written or ways to improve this blog kindly go to www.mondaymail.blogspot.com

The last blog I wrote seemed to have ruffled a few tail feathers and that’s what I like, we need to address the topics that make us boil under the collar sometimes. It’s the way I live my life, rather out than in think of it as if it were a burp or some other form of gas…so crass, I apologise if I offended you, not cos I wrote it, but cos u were offended J. Moving swiftly along…after my last email, I received an email from Aimee, asking me to look into this Rev Wright, Barack Obama link. I watch a lot of news, and other than the situation in Zim which I think is an absolute abomination, not to mention the fact that it hugely tarnishes the image of our African leaders. Some might argue that if Morgan takes control of the country, it will lead to ‘colonisation’ all over again, the west will come and pillage the land BUT will the people of the land benefit or be better off than they currently are. In my ignorant or potentially ill-informed opinion the people cant be any worse off. And please let me qualify that statement. I have never stepped foot in Zim but plan to soon hint hint Mandeya…Dakes J. But from my understanding through people that come from Zim and those that have been there recently, the situation is dire. Which is very unfortunate for a country that not so long ago had an exchange almost double that of ours here in SA, a country with so many educated people and a wealth of natural resources…farm land, tobacco, platinum.

Sorry I digressed, back to ‘America Votes’ over the past few months I and I guess the rest of the world have had an opportunity to have a look at the candidates to be the leader of the ‘free world’ as they proudly term it. As the elections draw nearer, I and I am sure many a level minded person will agree that Barack Obama is more than likely the better of the three in terms of leading the US. The US cant carry on as it is. The Bush administration has brought the US economy to its knees, which is affecting the rest of the world as we have noticed. McCain is 70odd, with respect he should be cooling his heels in some retirement village, from the way he speaks one can see he is a rather self important capitalist, once again I don’t know the man, but its my opinion based on what I have seen and heard. He will be more of the same of the Bush administration, but he seems smarter than Bush is. Senator Clinton, I really think she is just fake, the same way I think Oprah is. I think a woman president would do wonders for the States and the States image and relations with the rest of the world, but I don’t think its this woman J. Besides, the world is tired of a bush or Clinton in power, I know I am.

Barack Obama will he be good for the world and America, I think so! He seems an even tempered man. A man with some intellect. A man who appreciates capitalism yet also has empathy for the man on the street. He just seems a genuine all round, stand up kinda guy. That being said is that the kind of person required to be in charge at the white house? Some might argue that a stronger personality is needed, but I think he has it when he needs it. He commands respect without being arrogant and telling the world how great he is. He calls a spade a spade. As you can tell I am impressed by the man.

BUT there are many detractors who aren’t. They are trying everything. Many are using links to his pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to cast doubts over his ability to rule. The old adage of instill fear, and let them do what you want them to. I read a lot of what Rev. Wright is quoted as saying. Much of what I read was not the full sermon and thus could easily be taken out of context. That being said, I don’t think there is anything in what he said that was a fabrication. I will highlight some of the things I read here:

"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America, that's in the Bible for killing innocent people, God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme." He said this in a 2003 sermon, because of this, people are painting both he and Sen Obama as unpatriotic

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye,"…” We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost," this may have been insensitive, because he said it at a service the Sunday straight after the 11 September attacks. I watched a movie/documentary last week called the house of Saud, it tells the story of how Saudi Arabia was formed and how the US screwed them and the Arab League and reneged on many promises and assurances it gave them. In a way, after watching that, well let me steal a line from Chris Rock, I’m not saying that the ‘Arabs’ should have done it, but I understand.

Furthermore and this may be a tad simplistic, but if my pops believes that blue is the best colour in the world, does that mean that I think blue is the best colour ever? Not necessarily

Anyway to cut a long story short, I would really like to see Sen Obama being sworn in as the next US president, but for some reason I don’t see it, I just hope he doesn’t get assassinated or something…God forbid!

Birthdays

11^th DPH, Shireen, Liezel and Happy mothers day to all the mothers

12^th My dear moms

13^th Gillie and Mel

15^th June and Sanette

17^th Fiona and Carl and Chris’ big day may ur union be truly blessed!!

And on that note I sign off for another week, hope you are all blessed and stay blessed.

Maximum respect

Y