It was good to not be gallivanting all over the world but also a lot more boring at work! Work has now become pretty routine so I am simply going through the motions.
We picked up one of those bargains that sounds too good to be true and then turns out exactly like that. I bought an offroad trailer and tent (not fitted) for the price of a tent alone! The trailer is a bit of a lemon but fortunately Callie assisted and we fixed the problem of the trailer being too low and slightly too small for the tent to fit properly. Rest of the time was spent building a kitchen and slides for the fridge. Many late evenings and weekends went into this and in typical fashion I underestimated how long it takes to make stuff. It is most frustrating to find the correct place to buy stuff and to find the words/names that they use here for stuff.
The weather was pretty strange for this time of year and we only managed to get an opportunity when it wasn’t wet or very windy about 3 days before we left for the holidays to pitch the tent for the first time. It is absolutely HUGE. Much bigger than what I actually wanted because it will simply take that much longer to setup every time and short weekend trips are now not so enticing any more.
A week before the holidays started I lent the Ford to the neighbour’s kids to go surfing and it came back with the 5th gear shot! I know it is a Ford Courier problem but it is still a bit frustrating. I could not find a replacement gearbox or someone to fit it in time for the holidays so I had to take 2 days extra leave to find an alternate vehicle. Shaun assisted and I eventually made quite a good trade for a Nissan Patrol.
The Patrol has 40% more power than the Ford and is absolute luxury compared to it. It towed the trailer without breaking a sweat. It also dawned on me why vehicles have such high km’s here, the top speed is 110km/h and trust me you don’t go over it as you will definitely be caught.
The camping was great at Renmark (250km inland) next to the river Murray which is full for the first time in a decade. The camp setup was very nice and the huge tent which was referred to as the Cathedral by some of the campers came in handy. We were nearly eaten alive by mozzies on the first night and we used about a gallon of anti-mozzi sprays of all denominations. The good old Tabbard Cream from South Africa is the clear winner by a country mile but we ran out soon. The local shops had NO replacement mozzie stuff when they eventually opened. Two days of over 40deg was not so much fun but Shaun implemented a fan with misting nozzles that worked pretty good in the end.
We played some tennis, swam and cycled along the river or simply sat around camp and it was so relaxing. I still had to connect and check all the systems that I support every day but that was not too bad.
Michael made friends very quickly and they were a group of 5 boys and 4 girls that played till 23h00 at night. They were such a pleasant lot together and some are still texting each other now.
2011 was greeted with a street party where Carina joined the young bunch to ensure that they are allowed out and it started with quite a nice fireworks display. Someone on the river fired off some more after the big event and set fire to the bushes next to the camp so the Fire Brigade had a very early kickoff to the year. It was fortunately put out very quickly.
And now it is back to work and the chores of 2011.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Jun - Sep 2010 News
Time sure flies when you are having fun but also when you are in a pickle! Many miles of flying were done since May. I undertook the longest flight ever from Adelaide to Montreal via Sydney and Vancouver! The hop from Sydney to Vancouver was 17 hours by itself. The seats in Air Canada are pretty comfortable in “cattle class” but even that got my coccyx decidedly painful in the end.
Carina finally finished her training before I left for Canada and took leave for the time that I was away. She has received her certificate III in Age Care but she has stopped working.
I arrived in Montreal on the weekend of the Canadian F1 race and all hotels were booked out except the ones close to the airport. I did not purchase any tickets for the F1 as by the time my trip was finalised and tickets issued, I could not purchase any on-line. The hotel was filled with F1 fans and they had a special shuttle bus from the hotel to the nearest underground which took us all the way to the Circuit. I only managed to get a black market ticket for the Saturday qualifying at a truly rip-off price but it was still worth it to experience the noise, smells and the excitement once again.
Work kicked off with a vengeance on Tuesday and fortunately the jet-lag was over when the COSPAS-SARSAT Meetings started. It is a truly international conference in the ICAO building, even the Russians were there. The security to enter the building was worse than at an airport. I dealt with ICAO when developing stuff for the Aero business and it was sort of strange to be “in the lions den”. It was really hard to follow all the discussion and decisions but a very useful experience and a good venue to make contact with all the influential people in the business of Search and Rescue.
Some say:” Montréal is more French than France”, at least they could speak a little more English than in France. The shopping malls are all underground and they have a total of 21km of it! I think it is to cope with winter when everything is snowed in. It was a pretty expensive city and the expectation to tip every service was pretty annoying.
After the conference I travelled to Ottawa where our company headquarters is. It was really a strange feeling to finally be inside the building that was considered to be our “Big League” opposition when I worked at Omnipless in Cape Town. Training was hard and fast but good.
Like Australia which has an odd place like Canberra as the Capital, Canada has Ottawa as their capital. It has many old colonial style buildings and traditions that were inherited from the Brits. The Queen even decided to make her visit to Ottawa and Winnipeg coincide with mine! May sound cool but the effect on security was not fun especially after the riots at the G20 meetings.
I was fortunate to fit in a stopover in Winnipeg with Johann and Lisda. All the children also made the trip from Saskatoon. It was heart-warming to see how their kids matured into really pleasant individuals. Their first grandson, Jannie, yes that is Jannie in Canada with a Canadian mom, was so cute! It was amazing to see this little fella follow the Afrikaans instructions from ouma and oupa. The weather was fantastic and we made a nice potjie on the Saturday. It is hard to imagine the area covered in snow as it was so hot, green and lush when I was there. Because of all the water in the area it was also very humid and I made quite a good acquaintance with the Canadian National Bird: GIANT mosquitoes.
After my return to Oz I spent two weeks in Canberra at the AMSA headquarters for more training. This was once again a lot of hard work, requiring after hours and weekends effort.
Carina did not want to have a big occasion for her big milestone birthday and in the end I decided to take her and Michael with me to Thailand. My tickets were organised by my work and it was tricky to get their ones aligned with mine. After a lot of &^%$ words it all worked out in the end and we flew out of Oz on her birthday. We arrived in Bangkok at midnight and spent 8 hours there and then flew out to Phuket early the next day. We stayed in the Patong Merlin Hotel and it was very spectacular, hot and humid. We did a lot of swimming and walking around in the Patong area. Everyone just want to sell you stuff and everything is so very cheap. We took a day trip by speedboat to Phi-Phi Island where we did snorkelling. We had a traditional Thai lunch and more shopping on one of the bigger islands and then had a bone jarring trip back to Phuket when the sea got a bit rough.
Four days was way too short but we had to get to Bangkok where I had to work the next week. While I was slaving away in the heat and humidity, Carina and Michael explored the city by sky train, minibus taxi (Toyota just like in RSA) and TUK-TUK. They also did a few tours in the area and visited ancient temples and did Elephant rides. There was also a boat ride and a visit to the Bridge over the River Kwai where they did a trip on the “death railway”.
I joined them for a tour to the Tiger Temple on the Saturday. It was bit disappointing but we had the chance to touch the tigers and walk with them. The Sunday before we left we used the MRT to visit JJ-Market; the biggest outdoor market in the world with more than 8000 stalls. You can buy just about anything there. If you can’t find it there, you should seriously analyse why you wanted it in the first place. It reminded me of the Koelie-market in Durban but just much bigger.
After our return Michael had to present a diary and photos that captured his experiences during the trip. He was pretty chaffed with the idea of not having to go to school. As with everything here that is completely over regulated: we had to get special permission to take him out of school and agreed to do home schooling for those periods. We even had to purchase the training manuals.
No sooner had we returned and Carina and I were off to Nambour (near Brisbane) to celebrate an old friend’s 50th. It was great to see L’Marie after so many years. We met in high school and I last saw her in 1974. She recognised my name on the SA-Australian website in 2008 and made contact. It was great to meet her two sons Awie and Darius, his wife Tanya and her family. I met many other great Afrikaners and it appears that they also stick and party together like us here in Adelaide. I could count the Ozzies at the party on my one hand. I did a sheep on the spit, one that I was looking forward to since planning my own 50th in RSA in 2008. It fell through when we moved to Oz in July.
It is good to have a bit of time at home again till end of October.
Carina finally finished her training before I left for Canada and took leave for the time that I was away. She has received her certificate III in Age Care but she has stopped working.
I arrived in Montreal on the weekend of the Canadian F1 race and all hotels were booked out except the ones close to the airport. I did not purchase any tickets for the F1 as by the time my trip was finalised and tickets issued, I could not purchase any on-line. The hotel was filled with F1 fans and they had a special shuttle bus from the hotel to the nearest underground which took us all the way to the Circuit. I only managed to get a black market ticket for the Saturday qualifying at a truly rip-off price but it was still worth it to experience the noise, smells and the excitement once again.
Work kicked off with a vengeance on Tuesday and fortunately the jet-lag was over when the COSPAS-SARSAT Meetings started. It is a truly international conference in the ICAO building, even the Russians were there. The security to enter the building was worse than at an airport. I dealt with ICAO when developing stuff for the Aero business and it was sort of strange to be “in the lions den”. It was really hard to follow all the discussion and decisions but a very useful experience and a good venue to make contact with all the influential people in the business of Search and Rescue.
Some say:” Montréal is more French than France”, at least they could speak a little more English than in France. The shopping malls are all underground and they have a total of 21km of it! I think it is to cope with winter when everything is snowed in. It was a pretty expensive city and the expectation to tip every service was pretty annoying.
After the conference I travelled to Ottawa where our company headquarters is. It was really a strange feeling to finally be inside the building that was considered to be our “Big League” opposition when I worked at Omnipless in Cape Town. Training was hard and fast but good.
Like Australia which has an odd place like Canberra as the Capital, Canada has Ottawa as their capital. It has many old colonial style buildings and traditions that were inherited from the Brits. The Queen even decided to make her visit to Ottawa and Winnipeg coincide with mine! May sound cool but the effect on security was not fun especially after the riots at the G20 meetings.
I was fortunate to fit in a stopover in Winnipeg with Johann and Lisda. All the children also made the trip from Saskatoon. It was heart-warming to see how their kids matured into really pleasant individuals. Their first grandson, Jannie, yes that is Jannie in Canada with a Canadian mom, was so cute! It was amazing to see this little fella follow the Afrikaans instructions from ouma and oupa. The weather was fantastic and we made a nice potjie on the Saturday. It is hard to imagine the area covered in snow as it was so hot, green and lush when I was there. Because of all the water in the area it was also very humid and I made quite a good acquaintance with the Canadian National Bird: GIANT mosquitoes.
After my return to Oz I spent two weeks in Canberra at the AMSA headquarters for more training. This was once again a lot of hard work, requiring after hours and weekends effort.
Carina did not want to have a big occasion for her big milestone birthday and in the end I decided to take her and Michael with me to Thailand. My tickets were organised by my work and it was tricky to get their ones aligned with mine. After a lot of &^%$ words it all worked out in the end and we flew out of Oz on her birthday. We arrived in Bangkok at midnight and spent 8 hours there and then flew out to Phuket early the next day. We stayed in the Patong Merlin Hotel and it was very spectacular, hot and humid. We did a lot of swimming and walking around in the Patong area. Everyone just want to sell you stuff and everything is so very cheap. We took a day trip by speedboat to Phi-Phi Island where we did snorkelling. We had a traditional Thai lunch and more shopping on one of the bigger islands and then had a bone jarring trip back to Phuket when the sea got a bit rough.
Four days was way too short but we had to get to Bangkok where I had to work the next week. While I was slaving away in the heat and humidity, Carina and Michael explored the city by sky train, minibus taxi (Toyota just like in RSA) and TUK-TUK. They also did a few tours in the area and visited ancient temples and did Elephant rides. There was also a boat ride and a visit to the Bridge over the River Kwai where they did a trip on the “death railway”.
I joined them for a tour to the Tiger Temple on the Saturday. It was bit disappointing but we had the chance to touch the tigers and walk with them. The Sunday before we left we used the MRT to visit JJ-Market; the biggest outdoor market in the world with more than 8000 stalls. You can buy just about anything there. If you can’t find it there, you should seriously analyse why you wanted it in the first place. It reminded me of the Koelie-market in Durban but just much bigger.
After our return Michael had to present a diary and photos that captured his experiences during the trip. He was pretty chaffed with the idea of not having to go to school. As with everything here that is completely over regulated: we had to get special permission to take him out of school and agreed to do home schooling for those periods. We even had to purchase the training manuals.
No sooner had we returned and Carina and I were off to Nambour (near Brisbane) to celebrate an old friend’s 50th. It was great to see L’Marie after so many years. We met in high school and I last saw her in 1974. She recognised my name on the SA-Australian website in 2008 and made contact. It was great to meet her two sons Awie and Darius, his wife Tanya and her family. I met many other great Afrikaners and it appears that they also stick and party together like us here in Adelaide. I could count the Ozzies at the party on my one hand. I did a sheep on the spit, one that I was looking forward to since planning my own 50th in RSA in 2008. It fell through when we moved to Oz in July.
It is good to have a bit of time at home again till end of October.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
2010 Midyear news
A lot of new experiences and overseas travelling to Taiwan, New Zealand and Vietnam since the last blog. Been so busy that I am now sitting in Vancouver and completing this blog. I visited Taiwan for a 2 week hardware installation and training along with Amit from our offices in Canada. Our host Benny was absolutely amazing and he just wanted to spoil us all the time. Language was a big problem though and I can still hear Amit say:” Benny, no man we don’t understand, use different words”. Benny chaperoned us most of the time to places of interest; the night markets and bargained on our behalf at the Electronic Supermarket during several visits. It is their culture to give presents and it was difficult to get him to stop. The worst was that he constantly wanted to feed us while we were walking about. I am still amazed how he can eat so much and be so thin. I cannot say that I always enjoyed the food and the smells of the food stalls while walking around. Traffic was quite an experience and is probably the best example of organised chaos. I have never seen so many scooters, they are parked two deep on the sideways and fill the roads with traffic. Whole families will travel on a scooter: Dad as the driver, mom on the back with a kid between them and one or two kids standing on the running boards in front of the dad.
The Taiwan antennas are mounted on very high towers and I was not so comfortable being 20m in the air on an open framework.
We then flew to New Zealand and we both thought that Air NZ was a refreshing change from the other airlines. The crew were just so relaxed and friendly; the food was plain but very well prepared and tasted great. The layout in the aircraft is probably the best for “cattle class”.
We worked on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. New Zealand is a truly beautiful place, it was very green and lush in the countryside and the little town of Martinborough and Greytown are so relaxed it is like a time travel to the 80’s. I was lucky to have spare time to visit my old friend Frans from South Africa. A few beers, a BBQ and chatting and way too soon I was on my way to Oz again. It was great to be with my family again after 3 weeks.
I managed to arrange my flights to Canada for June in such a way that I will be able to attend the Candian F1 race in Montreal and visit my nephew Johann in Winnepeg before I return to Oz in July.
I was then requested to visit Thailand before the trip to Canada but with visas and stuff I tried to delay till August but was overruled and just as I had it all in place all hell broke loose in Bangkok and my trip was cancelled due to the political problems there. I then had to very quickly arrange to visit Vietnam the last week of May.
It was quite a mission to organise a business visa for Vietnam and in the end had to settle for a tourist visa. This was not any easier as you have to first request it and get approval and then you are allowed to travel and have the visa stamped in your passport on entry. The customs people in Ho Chi Minh City (old Saigon) was as rude and blunt as the blacks in RSA and not fun to deal with after 15 hour flight. The other people and especially my hosts here in Vietnam were very friendly but the language was once again a problem. The trick is to use mono syllable words and not use tenses.
The Taiwan tower for the antenna is a baby in comparison with the tower here in Vietnam, 35m and a much narrower platform! When you shift your weight at the top, the whole tower sways. Somehow I did not have the same uneasy feeling up there that I had in Taiwan. I am very happy they only have one antenna here. My arms are still quite stiff from the climb.
Vietnam is a poor place and very grotty in places and yet the people are friendly, helpful, very well educated, respectful and they dress very well. Most the people I dealt with have their own dwelling (flat or house) and motorbikes.
In Vietnam the primary form of transport is motorbike that is a cross between a motorbike and a scooter, with bigger and thinner wheels like a kids bicycle but the frame and fairings of a scooter to protect your feet when the road is whet and to allow woman to ride it with a dress. Bicycles are the main transport for the poor and the young people and you often see them travelling in groups with one sitting on the carrier. After the age of 18 they can purchase a motorbike. They also have plenty of the old delivery style tricycles with two wheels in the front and a tray. They load an amazing amount of stuff in there with anything from massive 2m long steel plates and pipes to the equivalent of a bakkie load of boxes, vegetable or fruit.
The traffic here is complete chaos and you probably wont be able to go anywhere without a horn on your vehicle. I have not been able to work out who has right of way in a crossing or a roundabout as everyone is hooting and ducking other drivers.
Roadside cafes (read a bunch of child size plastic chairs under a tarpaulin or tree) are where people have lunch and dinner and although it looks very grotty, it is surprisingly clean and each bowl is cleaned again on the table by rinsing with boiling water. The food was a bit more Western and most items are fried rather than boiled as it was in Taiwan. Typical lunch is fried green beans with potato vines and leaves, fried fish and chicken pieces, roasted peanuts and rice. There are a few sauces to lightly dip your food in but they have some VERY HOT stuff in there.
The last dinner was in restaurant and the food choice was again a bit strange at times with Chilly Jellyfish, Fried Eel and soup with a seafood thing that looked like a kidney being the only food I did not try. Only the men drank beer at the meal and they kept on filling the glass so I have no idea how much we drank. I was presented with a framed Vietnamese art by the group and fortunately it fitted in my backpack.
The hotel I stayed in is very luxurious and the people all speak very good English. Restaurant has a choice of western or traditional Vietnamese menus. The manager turned out to be a South African! The weather here is very hot and sticky and it feels like walking into a sauna when you leave the hotel. It caused me a lot of grief with my camera as it steamed up badly when I tried to take pictures outside. I found a camera shop and managed to explain to the owner the problem without him speaking a word of English! He used a hairdryer to heat the camera and lens and dried all the moisture. He also explained that I should wrap my camera in the room with the aircon by showing me picture of an aircon on his PC. It was a little like playing Pictionary.
It is really difficult when I am away as Carina usually works from the early morning and we need someone to get Michael going and ready for school at that time. When I’m away we have to rely on friends to do this. Fortunately our friends Shaun and Chantal (also South Africans) have a daughter in the same class and he then sleeps over with them. We can’t wait for Carina to finish her course, yes we thought she would finish a while ago but she decided to continue as it is like running a 800m race and then stopping 10m before the line. She has applied for leave while I am in Canada but have not received approval yet! And now I can say that her leave was approved and that she has completed her training! It is such a relief.
The Taiwan antennas are mounted on very high towers and I was not so comfortable being 20m in the air on an open framework.
We then flew to New Zealand and we both thought that Air NZ was a refreshing change from the other airlines. The crew were just so relaxed and friendly; the food was plain but very well prepared and tasted great. The layout in the aircraft is probably the best for “cattle class”.
We worked on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. New Zealand is a truly beautiful place, it was very green and lush in the countryside and the little town of Martinborough and Greytown are so relaxed it is like a time travel to the 80’s. I was lucky to have spare time to visit my old friend Frans from South Africa. A few beers, a BBQ and chatting and way too soon I was on my way to Oz again. It was great to be with my family again after 3 weeks.
I managed to arrange my flights to Canada for June in such a way that I will be able to attend the Candian F1 race in Montreal and visit my nephew Johann in Winnepeg before I return to Oz in July.
I was then requested to visit Thailand before the trip to Canada but with visas and stuff I tried to delay till August but was overruled and just as I had it all in place all hell broke loose in Bangkok and my trip was cancelled due to the political problems there. I then had to very quickly arrange to visit Vietnam the last week of May.
It was quite a mission to organise a business visa for Vietnam and in the end had to settle for a tourist visa. This was not any easier as you have to first request it and get approval and then you are allowed to travel and have the visa stamped in your passport on entry. The customs people in Ho Chi Minh City (old Saigon) was as rude and blunt as the blacks in RSA and not fun to deal with after 15 hour flight. The other people and especially my hosts here in Vietnam were very friendly but the language was once again a problem. The trick is to use mono syllable words and not use tenses.
The Taiwan tower for the antenna is a baby in comparison with the tower here in Vietnam, 35m and a much narrower platform! When you shift your weight at the top, the whole tower sways. Somehow I did not have the same uneasy feeling up there that I had in Taiwan. I am very happy they only have one antenna here. My arms are still quite stiff from the climb.
Vietnam is a poor place and very grotty in places and yet the people are friendly, helpful, very well educated, respectful and they dress very well. Most the people I dealt with have their own dwelling (flat or house) and motorbikes.
In Vietnam the primary form of transport is motorbike that is a cross between a motorbike and a scooter, with bigger and thinner wheels like a kids bicycle but the frame and fairings of a scooter to protect your feet when the road is whet and to allow woman to ride it with a dress. Bicycles are the main transport for the poor and the young people and you often see them travelling in groups with one sitting on the carrier. After the age of 18 they can purchase a motorbike. They also have plenty of the old delivery style tricycles with two wheels in the front and a tray. They load an amazing amount of stuff in there with anything from massive 2m long steel plates and pipes to the equivalent of a bakkie load of boxes, vegetable or fruit.
The traffic here is complete chaos and you probably wont be able to go anywhere without a horn on your vehicle. I have not been able to work out who has right of way in a crossing or a roundabout as everyone is hooting and ducking other drivers.
Roadside cafes (read a bunch of child size plastic chairs under a tarpaulin or tree) are where people have lunch and dinner and although it looks very grotty, it is surprisingly clean and each bowl is cleaned again on the table by rinsing with boiling water. The food was a bit more Western and most items are fried rather than boiled as it was in Taiwan. Typical lunch is fried green beans with potato vines and leaves, fried fish and chicken pieces, roasted peanuts and rice. There are a few sauces to lightly dip your food in but they have some VERY HOT stuff in there.
The last dinner was in restaurant and the food choice was again a bit strange at times with Chilly Jellyfish, Fried Eel and soup with a seafood thing that looked like a kidney being the only food I did not try. Only the men drank beer at the meal and they kept on filling the glass so I have no idea how much we drank. I was presented with a framed Vietnamese art by the group and fortunately it fitted in my backpack.
The hotel I stayed in is very luxurious and the people all speak very good English. Restaurant has a choice of western or traditional Vietnamese menus. The manager turned out to be a South African! The weather here is very hot and sticky and it feels like walking into a sauna when you leave the hotel. It caused me a lot of grief with my camera as it steamed up badly when I tried to take pictures outside. I found a camera shop and managed to explain to the owner the problem without him speaking a word of English! He used a hairdryer to heat the camera and lens and dried all the moisture. He also explained that I should wrap my camera in the room with the aircon by showing me picture of an aircon on his PC. It was a little like playing Pictionary.
It is really difficult when I am away as Carina usually works from the early morning and we need someone to get Michael going and ready for school at that time. When I’m away we have to rely on friends to do this. Fortunately our friends Shaun and Chantal (also South Africans) have a daughter in the same class and he then sleeps over with them. We can’t wait for Carina to finish her course, yes we thought she would finish a while ago but she decided to continue as it is like running a 800m race and then stopping 10m before the line. She has applied for leave while I am in Canada but have not received approval yet! And now I can say that her leave was approved and that she has completed her training! It is such a relief.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Feb & March 21010 News
My goodness how time flies when you are busy. There I was sitting at work, bored out of my skull and wishing and praying for something to come up to help me get through the 8 hours in each working day. Being bored I then applied for an internal position and did not think that I would be considered as I have little exact experience and is probably over qualified. I regarded this as a long-term solution to my fear of losing my job if this company should go belly up. After a lot of ructions and misunderstandings among management and the preferred guy, I was eventually offered the job and I accepted.
I am now the EMS Service Rep for Asia pacific area for support of the Cospas-Sarsat Satellite equipment that EMS Global Tracking supplies worldwide. This system has several Satellites in Low Earth Orbit (weather satellites) and Geo Stationary satellites that receive signals when a distress beacon (EPIRB) is activated. The satellite relays the signal down to earth to strategically placed antennas and receiver systems. These systems decode the signal to determine where it originated and then assist rescue personnel to guide the rescue effort to locate the beacon.
I am responsible for the Pacific area consisting of Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Taiwan, and also South Africa. I will visit these sites at least once a year to do preventative maintenance (like servicing your car) and to update it when required.
I am travelling quite a bit at the moment and on average is away from home 3 of 8 weeks. This will reduce (I trust) when I have completed my training. It was nice to visit new places like Albany and Bundaberg where the antennas are located as well as Canberra where the Control Centre is.
I was just wondering if I should be pleased that they are willing to pay me a Senior System Engineers Salary to do maintenance work or whether I should be upset that they have been paying me a maintenance technician salary all along!
Carina also managed to move to a different centre as she just could not get along with the boss and her sidekick. Although the atmosphere and work conditions have improved, we have decided that she will quit the studies as it is disrupting our family too much with me away from home so much and her not being here and tired most the time. They are really treated like slave labour: have to work most weekends and public holidays with leave being refused because others have higher priority while being paid minimum wage. Michael and I to take a lot of blame for this decision as we also did not keep our side of the bargain to assist with cleaning and helping with the house chores. We did some but we could have done so much more. At least she tried her best.
Michael won 4 of the 7 athletics events that the school hosted for his age and came second in another. They are now competing in ever widening local regional events till it gets to state level and country level. He won the 100, 200 and 800m races as well as the ‘ball “gooing” thing’ (shot-put) but was only selected for the 800m and shot-put. We are giving little extra training as I don’t want to push too hard this early stage.
I got the first really big gout attack in Oz and discovered that the usual Cortisone & Voltaren injection is not available here. It is a government medical aid and they are scared of being sued by 0.03% of cases where it can become infected when the Dr messes up the injection. Needless to say I have been suffering for over a week. Given that I could now only consume a few food types also coincided with Carina deciding that I should lose a few kg. We got the Body Trim System diet from our neighbours Di and John. It should actually not be called a diet as you have to change the way you eat for life. It is based on the many low carb or high protein diets doing the rounds at the moment. You are not allowed carbs or starch after lunch, eat 3 meals and 3 protein snacks every three hours but can eat as much green veggies and salads with every main meal. The centimeters are going fast and the kilos are slowly coming down. Hope that I don’t have to bend the rules too much with all the travels coming up, especially 2 weeks to Taiwan.
I am now the EMS Service Rep for Asia pacific area for support of the Cospas-Sarsat Satellite equipment that EMS Global Tracking supplies worldwide. This system has several Satellites in Low Earth Orbit (weather satellites) and Geo Stationary satellites that receive signals when a distress beacon (EPIRB) is activated. The satellite relays the signal down to earth to strategically placed antennas and receiver systems. These systems decode the signal to determine where it originated and then assist rescue personnel to guide the rescue effort to locate the beacon.
I am responsible for the Pacific area consisting of Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Taiwan, and also South Africa. I will visit these sites at least once a year to do preventative maintenance (like servicing your car) and to update it when required.
I am travelling quite a bit at the moment and on average is away from home 3 of 8 weeks. This will reduce (I trust) when I have completed my training. It was nice to visit new places like Albany and Bundaberg where the antennas are located as well as Canberra where the Control Centre is.
I was just wondering if I should be pleased that they are willing to pay me a Senior System Engineers Salary to do maintenance work or whether I should be upset that they have been paying me a maintenance technician salary all along!
Carina also managed to move to a different centre as she just could not get along with the boss and her sidekick. Although the atmosphere and work conditions have improved, we have decided that she will quit the studies as it is disrupting our family too much with me away from home so much and her not being here and tired most the time. They are really treated like slave labour: have to work most weekends and public holidays with leave being refused because others have higher priority while being paid minimum wage. Michael and I to take a lot of blame for this decision as we also did not keep our side of the bargain to assist with cleaning and helping with the house chores. We did some but we could have done so much more. At least she tried her best.
Michael won 4 of the 7 athletics events that the school hosted for his age and came second in another. They are now competing in ever widening local regional events till it gets to state level and country level. He won the 100, 200 and 800m races as well as the ‘ball “gooing” thing’ (shot-put) but was only selected for the 800m and shot-put. We are giving little extra training as I don’t want to push too hard this early stage.
I got the first really big gout attack in Oz and discovered that the usual Cortisone & Voltaren injection is not available here. It is a government medical aid and they are scared of being sued by 0.03% of cases where it can become infected when the Dr messes up the injection. Needless to say I have been suffering for over a week. Given that I could now only consume a few food types also coincided with Carina deciding that I should lose a few kg. We got the Body Trim System diet from our neighbours Di and John. It should actually not be called a diet as you have to change the way you eat for life. It is based on the many low carb or high protein diets doing the rounds at the moment. You are not allowed carbs or starch after lunch, eat 3 meals and 3 protein snacks every three hours but can eat as much green veggies and salads with every main meal. The centimeters are going fast and the kilos are slowly coming down. Hope that I don’t have to bend the rules too much with all the travels coming up, especially 2 weeks to Taiwan.
Monday, February 1, 2010
January 2010
On the 4th of January I was married to the lovely Carina for 18 years. Everyone agrees she deserves a gold medal! At one stage these celebrations were very elaborate and we always had a fancy dinner somewhere with us swapping the selection and bookings every year. We have become complacent but we had a nice lunch at BonJourno’s with Michael. I did try to book at Ned Kelly’s but they were closed for January to relax after the Xmas season!
It was back to school for Michael and he will be with his first male teacher this year. It started off quite nicely and he seems pretty keen although he “hates school”. For me it was also back to work. These days it consists of sitting around, surfing the web and counting the minutes till it’s time to go home. The parent company in Canada took a beating end of last year and we are suffering in “sympathy” with the dip in airline business.
I have to get my Ozzie drivers license by February. I did the learners test and failed the same question twice in one day. Here you have to get all the “give way” questions 100% correct before moving to multiple choice questions. There are many intersections in the suburbs that are not controlled by any traffic regulations like GiveWay or Stop signs and you have to know the rules about who gives way for the system to work.
I have managed to get a bit more active and cycle to work en hope to start swimming in the mornings shortly. The swimming is quite expensive but should give quick reslults in burning some of the excess padding around the waist.
Carina is still very unhappy with her work and will possibly stop with the course after her evaluation in a few weeks. There seems to be a lot of unhappy workers at this one specific institution. It will be a bit sad that she’s put in so much for so long and walk away with nothing so she may transfer to another location to complete her appreniceship.
January has been a really good month on FaceBook. It felt like someone put out the following challenge:”find Hansie”. I have made contact with several people that I last saw in Burgersdorp Laerskool in 1971, some from Potch Technical High and some colleages that worked with me a few years ago. One guy is even here in Oz. I don’t particularly like FB but it is really good to hear news from the folks back home.
It was back to school for Michael and he will be with his first male teacher this year. It started off quite nicely and he seems pretty keen although he “hates school”. For me it was also back to work. These days it consists of sitting around, surfing the web and counting the minutes till it’s time to go home. The parent company in Canada took a beating end of last year and we are suffering in “sympathy” with the dip in airline business.
I have to get my Ozzie drivers license by February. I did the learners test and failed the same question twice in one day. Here you have to get all the “give way” questions 100% correct before moving to multiple choice questions. There are many intersections in the suburbs that are not controlled by any traffic regulations like GiveWay or Stop signs and you have to know the rules about who gives way for the system to work.
I have managed to get a bit more active and cycle to work en hope to start swimming in the mornings shortly. The swimming is quite expensive but should give quick reslults in burning some of the excess padding around the waist.
Carina is still very unhappy with her work and will possibly stop with the course after her evaluation in a few weeks. There seems to be a lot of unhappy workers at this one specific institution. It will be a bit sad that she’s put in so much for so long and walk away with nothing so she may transfer to another location to complete her appreniceship.
January has been a really good month on FaceBook. It felt like someone put out the following challenge:”find Hansie”. I have made contact with several people that I last saw in Burgersdorp Laerskool in 1971, some from Potch Technical High and some colleages that worked with me a few years ago. One guy is even here in Oz. I don’t particularly like FB but it is really good to hear news from the folks back home.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
December 2009 News
Bit late with December news but hey it was holidays. Decided to take 3 weeks leave and what a great idea it turned out to be. We didn’t do much because Carina was still busy with the practical part of her diploma. They really worked her like a slave over this period.
Happy to say that the new Canon camera is a beauty. Put it through it’s paces when we visited the Adelaide Zoo for the year-end function. I have posted some pics on Picasa.
We camped at West Beach for a few days. An ex-cyclone passed over the centre of the country and caused strong winds in Adelaide. Kids still had a good time though; being able to have the run of the grounds without us hounding them was good.
Bought a few nice tools: 18V Li-I cordless drill (Very impressive) and a mitre saw to make the job easier. I finally finished my workbench and the model train bridges. Now the scenery modeling can begin.
Little Wian de Wit made his appearance the day before Marilene’s parents arrived from RSA. He is quite a delightful little guy that loves eating as much as Wynand. We had the pleasure of them visiting us twice already.
Rest of the time Michael and I hung around the house or with Shaun in the pool. This is the high temperature season and we are really cooking at the moment. We tried to purchase one of those inflatable pools but because of the drought and various rules and safety regulations we will have to give it a miss. We need to get permission from the city council to fill the little pool and it needs a proper swimming pool fence around it before they will come and inspect the area to consider granting permission.
I have to get an Oz drivers license as my RSA one expires in March. Actually should have done so 3 month ago when we got Permanent Residency Visas. I simply cannot believe that I failed the learners test twice on one day! Will take the test again some time this week.
The local town council of Tea Tree Gully sponsored several events to show movies in the park opposite Tea Tree Shopping centre. This really brought back some childhood memories of attending the drive-inn with us kids watching on blankets. We joined around 250 other people to watch Twilight with picnic baskets, beer and wine. It still amazes me to be able to do this without any disorderly behaviour in the crowd. The kids are free to run around when they get bored.
I want to add on a sad note and say that I will miss my friend Chris van Rooyen very much. He passed away in the early hours of 29 December after suffering a massive heart attack. Chris and I started studying at Stellenbosch and stayed in Helshoogte. We then worked at the same companies till last year. He made quite an impression with the lion’s tooth he had around his neck and suspender belts he always wore. I consider him a very clever and extremely “sharp” engineer who achieved results on the projects he worked on. He departed much too soon!
I also remember my brother Rassie who was killed last year. I hope and pray that this is not a pattern that will continue the end of this year.
Happy to say that the new Canon camera is a beauty. Put it through it’s paces when we visited the Adelaide Zoo for the year-end function. I have posted some pics on Picasa.
We camped at West Beach for a few days. An ex-cyclone passed over the centre of the country and caused strong winds in Adelaide. Kids still had a good time though; being able to have the run of the grounds without us hounding them was good.
Bought a few nice tools: 18V Li-I cordless drill (Very impressive) and a mitre saw to make the job easier. I finally finished my workbench and the model train bridges. Now the scenery modeling can begin.
Little Wian de Wit made his appearance the day before Marilene’s parents arrived from RSA. He is quite a delightful little guy that loves eating as much as Wynand. We had the pleasure of them visiting us twice already.
Rest of the time Michael and I hung around the house or with Shaun in the pool. This is the high temperature season and we are really cooking at the moment. We tried to purchase one of those inflatable pools but because of the drought and various rules and safety regulations we will have to give it a miss. We need to get permission from the city council to fill the little pool and it needs a proper swimming pool fence around it before they will come and inspect the area to consider granting permission.
I have to get an Oz drivers license as my RSA one expires in March. Actually should have done so 3 month ago when we got Permanent Residency Visas. I simply cannot believe that I failed the learners test twice on one day! Will take the test again some time this week.
The local town council of Tea Tree Gully sponsored several events to show movies in the park opposite Tea Tree Shopping centre. This really brought back some childhood memories of attending the drive-inn with us kids watching on blankets. We joined around 250 other people to watch Twilight with picnic baskets, beer and wine. It still amazes me to be able to do this without any disorderly behaviour in the crowd. The kids are free to run around when they get bored.
I want to add on a sad note and say that I will miss my friend Chris van Rooyen very much. He passed away in the early hours of 29 December after suffering a massive heart attack. Chris and I started studying at Stellenbosch and stayed in Helshoogte. We then worked at the same companies till last year. He made quite an impression with the lion’s tooth he had around his neck and suspender belts he always wore. I consider him a very clever and extremely “sharp” engineer who achieved results on the projects he worked on. He departed much too soon!
I also remember my brother Rassie who was killed last year. I hope and pray that this is not a pattern that will continue the end of this year.
November 2009 News
2009 has finally entered the home straight! Amazing how this has year simply flew by.
Carina finished TAFE (college) or formal classes and is now only doing practical or may we call it slave labour. Amazing how the attitudes at the institute changed since they became full-time apprentices. She is suddenly very disappointed and the sad thing is that it is the old residents that suffer under these poor attitudes!
I have decided to become a Bulls supporter! Before some of you cheer and others start going for the rifle: this is the local Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club and it is a yellow bull on red background. Michael has joined the club and they play and practice on Friday evenings. Hopefully he will be able to join the U12 league next year.
Bought myself a digital SLR camera with 2 lenses covering 18-55 and 50-250mm. Long and hard decision to decide between Pentax and Canon. I had a Pentax SLR in the old film days before someone applied affirmative shopping after we moved to Edgemead and was very happy with it. I never replaced it because it wasn’t used much and film was very expensive. We later bought a Canon compact and is still very happy with it. I miss the speed of the SLR so I have taken the plunge and got the Canon EOS-450(Rebel Xsi in US) from an online store in the US (www.bhphotovideo.com), they are a few 100 $$ (20-30%) cheaper than local Oz prices. It is still a lot of money but I am looking forward to honing my skills again over the holidays.
We are camping again for a few days at West Beach here in Adelaide. Shaun and his family will join us. Carina is unfortunately working some of the days and will commute from the campsite. It is actually closer than travelling from home. I am still toying with the idea to take an additional week’s leave over that period as well. If we cannot get Michael enrolled in Sport academy for the holiday period I may be forced to take off the days that Carina is working
Carina finished TAFE (college) or formal classes and is now only doing practical or may we call it slave labour. Amazing how the attitudes at the institute changed since they became full-time apprentices. She is suddenly very disappointed and the sad thing is that it is the old residents that suffer under these poor attitudes!
I have decided to become a Bulls supporter! Before some of you cheer and others start going for the rifle: this is the local Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club and it is a yellow bull on red background. Michael has joined the club and they play and practice on Friday evenings. Hopefully he will be able to join the U12 league next year.
Bought myself a digital SLR camera with 2 lenses covering 18-55 and 50-250mm. Long and hard decision to decide between Pentax and Canon. I had a Pentax SLR in the old film days before someone applied affirmative shopping after we moved to Edgemead and was very happy with it. I never replaced it because it wasn’t used much and film was very expensive. We later bought a Canon compact and is still very happy with it. I miss the speed of the SLR so I have taken the plunge and got the Canon EOS-450(Rebel Xsi in US) from an online store in the US (www.bhphotovideo.com), they are a few 100 $$ (20-30%) cheaper than local Oz prices. It is still a lot of money but I am looking forward to honing my skills again over the holidays.
We are camping again for a few days at West Beach here in Adelaide. Shaun and his family will join us. Carina is unfortunately working some of the days and will commute from the campsite. It is actually closer than travelling from home. I am still toying with the idea to take an additional week’s leave over that period as well. If we cannot get Michael enrolled in Sport academy for the holiday period I may be forced to take off the days that Carina is working
Monday, November 2, 2009
September and October News
School Holidays is all of a sudden a problem for our household as Carina is no longer at home to look after and entertain Michael. This sort of caught me unawares, just like the time he got sick when I had to take off work to look after him the very first week she started studying. Sometimes I take things like this for granted. Michael spent a week with aftercare where they did some interesting stuff and the second week I took leave and stayed with him.
We had a long weekend and were lucky to be invited by the Bosch’s from Gawler to join them for 2 nights camping at Coorong. The Coorong is the wetlands area where the
I used two old doors that I found in the “roadside store” (people leave stuff they don’t want beside the road in front of their houses) to build a table for the Model Trains. We have laid out the tracks and will start soon with the scenery (trees, buildings, cars, animals and people). Hope this will keep us busy for some time.
I was planning to join the Army Reserves as one of the advantages was that we could get a concession for Citizenship and get it within 6 Months instead of 4 years. I went for the aptitude testing with a bunch of kids only to be told that the requirements changed a few weeks ago and that I now need to be a citizen to be considered for defence jobs. The recession has resulted in them being flooded with applications and they can now pick and choose. They have to specially nominate me for a job and explain why a citizen cannot do it.
I eventually succumbed to the pressure and also bought a portable chemical loo and tent so Carina can enjoy some comfort on the camping. Still find it hard to understand why she needs this when we have done several hikes through the
Thursday, September 3, 2009
August 09 News
We have finally received Permanent Residency in Oz! It is a Company and State sponsored visa, meaning I have to work here for 4 years and I can only work in South Australia. I can apply for Citizenship after 4 years but in our case in 3 years time as the part year counts as one of the 4. We have also received Medicare Cards which provides virtually free medical care in state hospitals. We will also apply for financial support for Michael which equates to them paying us to send him to school and sadly that I don’t earn enough money!
Carina started studying as an Old Age Carer. We always joked in RSA that she will have to look after us old ones one day and now I am just making sure she will be able to do a good job. The studying has resulted in quite an adjustment for the men in the household. Michael is really missing his mom in the afternoons and I miss the cooked meals and clean house! The system here is amazing: they pay for her 30 week course as well as $$ for every hour spent studying! It is not much but it covers the house rental for the month. There is also no commitment to have to work for them after the studies are over.
I lodged my first TAX return here in Oz and got quite a few $$ back, paid into my account within 8 days! Still waiting for my money from 2 years ago in RSA. So we spoilt ourselves with a coffee table, dining table and chairs as well as recliner chairs for the TV room. I am tired of waking up in front of the TV with a stiff neck, shoulders and cramps in my legs from falling asleep on the 2-seater cane furniture. At least now I can sleep in comfort.
Work is looking a lot more positive and the prototype work we did will now move to a full-scale development. Hopefully I will also be in a position to visit the family in Canada when the project kicks off in the next few weeks.
We were looking at buying a house as the rates here are very low compared to what I was used in RSA and repayments are close to what we are paying in rental. We are also not allowed to have pets in the rental house. Unfortunately we have discovered the “other little costs” like insurance, water, Rates & Taxes etc are a bit too much to handle now. We will also miss our neighbours terribly! Wish I could sell my house in Cape Town but I believe it will be a year or two before the housing market will recover.
Carina started studying as an Old Age Carer. We always joked in RSA that she will have to look after us old ones one day and now I am just making sure she will be able to do a good job. The studying has resulted in quite an adjustment for the men in the household. Michael is really missing his mom in the afternoons and I miss the cooked meals and clean house! The system here is amazing: they pay for her 30 week course as well as $$ for every hour spent studying! It is not much but it covers the house rental for the month. There is also no commitment to have to work for them after the studies are over.
I lodged my first TAX return here in Oz and got quite a few $$ back, paid into my account within 8 days! Still waiting for my money from 2 years ago in RSA. So we spoilt ourselves with a coffee table, dining table and chairs as well as recliner chairs for the TV room. I am tired of waking up in front of the TV with a stiff neck, shoulders and cramps in my legs from falling asleep on the 2-seater cane furniture. At least now I can sleep in comfort.
Work is looking a lot more positive and the prototype work we did will now move to a full-scale development. Hopefully I will also be in a position to visit the family in Canada when the project kicks off in the next few weeks.
We were looking at buying a house as the rates here are very low compared to what I was used in RSA and repayments are close to what we are paying in rental. We are also not allowed to have pets in the rental house. Unfortunately we have discovered the “other little costs” like insurance, water, Rates & Taxes etc are a bit too much to handle now. We will also miss our neighbours terribly! Wish I could sell my house in Cape Town but I believe it will be a year or two before the housing market will recover.
Monday, August 3, 2009
July 09 News: Mt Hotham and Canberra
We managed to get everything in place for our Permanent Residency (PR) Visa or so I thought: Federal Police Clearance required on Form 1101 which the case officer eventually sent me as I just could not figure out what to do. Heard today (2 weeks later) the instructions on the form were outdated: they returned our forms as the cost increased by $7! So we wait another month for bureaucracy to run its cause!
Our ski holiday in Mt.Hotham was very nice. I somehow missed the WOW factor of it all, maybe just like I don’t get the joy of fishing. Michael and Carina struggled in the beginning but really enjoyed it in the end. We had brilliant sunshine days after good snow falls and experienced heavy snowfalls on the last day.
The Canberra sights were also very good and I enjoyed driving in the city: the streets are well laid out and wide and traffic was easy (the politicians were on leave!). Parliament house and the War Museum were definitely the highlights although we spent the longest time at the Science centre.
The IELTS exam was something else to experience: 900 people in one hall and everything running with military precision, with a spread of about 70% Asian, 29% Indian and 1% Europeans. Carina beat me at listening and talking! I am still amazed but congratulations to her. My Writing and Reading skills pulled me through to have the higher average though! So now we are officially English literate.
I also collected “Beetle Baily” in Wagga-Wagga and what an absolute gem I got. Apart from a few small electrical problems with Hooter, Indicator Lights and the bumpers which took the brunt of Amanda’s driver learning experiments, everything else is in excellent condition. I started it there and drove it all the way to Adelaide (900km). I fixed the wiring problems and had him inspected (road worthy test) and transferred without any problems. Will slowly start replacing stuff but there is no rush.
Our ski holiday in Mt.Hotham was very nice. I somehow missed the WOW factor of it all, maybe just like I don’t get the joy of fishing. Michael and Carina struggled in the beginning but really enjoyed it in the end. We had brilliant sunshine days after good snow falls and experienced heavy snowfalls on the last day.
The Canberra sights were also very good and I enjoyed driving in the city: the streets are well laid out and wide and traffic was easy (the politicians were on leave!). Parliament house and the War Museum were definitely the highlights although we spent the longest time at the Science centre.
The IELTS exam was something else to experience: 900 people in one hall and everything running with military precision, with a spread of about 70% Asian, 29% Indian and 1% Europeans. Carina beat me at listening and talking! I am still amazed but congratulations to her. My Writing and Reading skills pulled me through to have the higher average though! So now we are officially English literate.
I also collected “Beetle Baily” in Wagga-Wagga and what an absolute gem I got. Apart from a few small electrical problems with Hooter, Indicator Lights and the bumpers which took the brunt of Amanda’s driver learning experiments, everything else is in excellent condition. I started it there and drove it all the way to Adelaide (900km). I fixed the wiring problems and had him inspected (road worthy test) and transferred without any problems. Will slowly start replacing stuff but there is no rush.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
June 09
We managed to get everything in place for our Permanent Residency (PR) Visa; Filled in another 20 page questionnaire, got my Military Release Papers from SANDF (very relieved it actually materialised), Local Police clearance and the medical exam. We write the English (IELTS) test on Saturday and then when the results are received it should take a short while before we have it.
We started using the public transport to get into town for the medical exams and stuff as it is so fast and you don’t have to worry about finding parking in Adelaide. The parking cost more than the train ride!
Carina has been undergoing interviews and assessments to enlist in Frailty Care. It is amazing that they will pay her to attend a course and practical training without the requirement to work for them after the course is completed. The only drawback is that it is on the other side of Adelaide and there are no freeways to get through town.
Alex has been over twice now for sleepover weekends. He is a very delightful boy to have around and fortunately he and Michael get along very well. We were visiting the neighbours one evening and they had a pillow fight which resulted in Alex’s little finger being broken. The Time for Kids representative was not too impressed with this though as we thought he only sprained it.
Michael turned 9 and we purchased him a Nintendo DS and several games. All the mates and Alex has one. He is so engrossed in the games he is hardly watching TV!We have slowly been getting ready for the ski holiday in Hotham in July. Our neighbours who we will be sharing accommodation with have handed down ski pants, gloves and jackets for Michael and Carina. We are pretty excited about the holiday and just hope we don’t break anything. We will be leaving on Saturday 4 July, straight after the IELTS exam and we will sleep over along the way.
We started using the public transport to get into town for the medical exams and stuff as it is so fast and you don’t have to worry about finding parking in Adelaide. The parking cost more than the train ride!
Carina has been undergoing interviews and assessments to enlist in Frailty Care. It is amazing that they will pay her to attend a course and practical training without the requirement to work for them after the course is completed. The only drawback is that it is on the other side of Adelaide and there are no freeways to get through town.
Alex has been over twice now for sleepover weekends. He is a very delightful boy to have around and fortunately he and Michael get along very well. We were visiting the neighbours one evening and they had a pillow fight which resulted in Alex’s little finger being broken. The Time for Kids representative was not too impressed with this though as we thought he only sprained it.
Michael turned 9 and we purchased him a Nintendo DS and several games. All the mates and Alex has one. He is so engrossed in the games he is hardly watching TV!We have slowly been getting ready for the ski holiday in Hotham in July. Our neighbours who we will be sharing accommodation with have handed down ski pants, gloves and jackets for Michael and Carina. We are pretty excited about the holiday and just hope we don’t break anything. We will be leaving on Saturday 4 July, straight after the IELTS exam and we will sleep over along the way.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
May 2009
Ann and her daughter Rebecca visited us for a weekend while they were in Oz. We did a tour of the Barossa and visited the Gorge Wildlife Park. It looked like they enjoyed their visit and it was great to have them and talk about South Africa and my previous workplace.
One of our SAFFER (South African living in Oz) friends sent me an SMS one Sunday to say they will miss me on their 4x4 outing. I had to do some garden work as they didn’t approve Filemon’s visa. A few hours late Pieter phoned me and I was sort of annoyed that he had to rub it in. Alas, they were stuck in a mangrove swamp and needed a snatch rope and some assistance. Fortunately my neighbour had one that we could borrow. When I got there the Toyota was lying on it’s chassis in stinking clay. I helped as much I could and left at sundown just as a new towrope arrived. They eventually got him out but he was stuck from 11h00 till 18h30!
We had our first outing with Breakaways 4WD club to Deep Creek. It was wet cold but very nice. Made my first outdoor fire and had a proper braai on wood coals in a year. We could see Kangaroo Island. Check the photos on Picasa.
I also bamboozled Carina into not complaining too much when I bought a 1975 VW Beetle from Wagga Wagga. Yes there is such a town here. Wagga is a crow and the repeated word means place of many crows. I will be picking her up when we return from New South Wales from a snow ski holiday in July. I cant wait. My first two cars were Beetles and I also had a Beach Buggy and Baja Bug in the middle stint somewhere. I am planning to turn it into a Beetle Cabrio “Muscle Car” when the engine expires one day.
Carina had a successful interview and will hopefully be starting contract work caring for kids in the near future. It will be good for her to do be involved with kids again after the Moms&Tots experience and it will also give us opportunity to meet some more Ozzies and maybe make some friends.
Michael had a school camp on a farm for a few days where they experienced cows being milked, made butter, did horse riding and other educational stuff. From his babbling and pictures it looks like they had a great time on the farm. School otherwise is just a boring experience for him and he regularly has some pain to prevent him from going to school.
People really congest our road by parking on both sides of the road, leaving a single lane for traffic (I suppose because they still can here without it or parts of it being stolen). I suppose it was just a matter of time before an accident and last Friday night at midnight it was time for a major crash of a drunk, unlicensed woman to plough into the neighbour,s cars. It was a commotion of Police, Fire Truck and tow truck till the early hours of the morning. Tasha got her first car a few months ago and it obviously her pride and joy and this was the second time someone hit it while it was parked.
We had Alex for a one day visit and it went extremely well. He and Michael get along well and we will be organising a sleepover for the middle of the month.
One of our SAFFER (South African living in Oz) friends sent me an SMS one Sunday to say they will miss me on their 4x4 outing. I had to do some garden work as they didn’t approve Filemon’s visa. A few hours late Pieter phoned me and I was sort of annoyed that he had to rub it in. Alas, they were stuck in a mangrove swamp and needed a snatch rope and some assistance. Fortunately my neighbour had one that we could borrow. When I got there the Toyota was lying on it’s chassis in stinking clay. I helped as much I could and left at sundown just as a new towrope arrived. They eventually got him out but he was stuck from 11h00 till 18h30!
We had our first outing with Breakaways 4WD club to Deep Creek. It was wet cold but very nice. Made my first outdoor fire and had a proper braai on wood coals in a year. We could see Kangaroo Island. Check the photos on Picasa.
I also bamboozled Carina into not complaining too much when I bought a 1975 VW Beetle from Wagga Wagga. Yes there is such a town here. Wagga is a crow and the repeated word means place of many crows. I will be picking her up when we return from New South Wales from a snow ski holiday in July. I cant wait. My first two cars were Beetles and I also had a Beach Buggy and Baja Bug in the middle stint somewhere. I am planning to turn it into a Beetle Cabrio “Muscle Car” when the engine expires one day.
Carina had a successful interview and will hopefully be starting contract work caring for kids in the near future. It will be good for her to do be involved with kids again after the Moms&Tots experience and it will also give us opportunity to meet some more Ozzies and maybe make some friends.
Michael had a school camp on a farm for a few days where they experienced cows being milked, made butter, did horse riding and other educational stuff. From his babbling and pictures it looks like they had a great time on the farm. School otherwise is just a boring experience for him and he regularly has some pain to prevent him from going to school.
People really congest our road by parking on both sides of the road, leaving a single lane for traffic (I suppose because they still can here without it or parts of it being stolen). I suppose it was just a matter of time before an accident and last Friday night at midnight it was time for a major crash of a drunk, unlicensed woman to plough into the neighbour,s cars. It was a commotion of Police, Fire Truck and tow truck till the early hours of the morning. Tasha got her first car a few months ago and it obviously her pride and joy and this was the second time someone hit it while it was parked.
We had Alex for a one day visit and it went extremely well. He and Michael get along well and we will be organising a sleepover for the middle of the month.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
April 2009 News
The two big news items this month is that we have applied for Permanent Residence (PR) and I bought a dual cab 4x4.
I bought what I could a-FORD and yes, I have finally gone off my trolley and bought a Ford! Mind you Fords are quite popular here in Oz and are the 2008 V8 Supercar champs and leading the present series. I must say that I am presently surprised with my UTE (that is Ozzie for bakkie). The models are essentially the same as in South Africa but the trim levels are a bit different. Only two levels here and mine is the base one: 2003 Ford Courier Dual Cab with 85000km, steel rims, rubber mats, crank handles for the windows, radio-tape and central locking using the key in the door, not remotely. It has an additional spare wheel, canopy, roof racks, Roobar (Bullbar), spotlights and snorkel. It still makes my heart bleed because if I convert the money I got for my Nissan Hardbody 4x4 DC, this is what it bought me (4 years older, 2x the km’s and the base model with a lot less power)! But at least I can now venture into the outback to explore a bit off the beaten track. Fortunately the endangered birds and sea life have evolved incredible survival skills and decided by “majority democracy vote” to nest and breed on beaches where cars can’t go in Oz and the South African Shoreline so we have some beaches to play on with our 4x4 toys.
The company nomination for PR was approved and Carina handed in the visa application forms on the 28th. We still have to write the IELTS exams on America Day and I must get my Military Release Documents before we can complete our application. We should get PR in a Month of two.
Carina decided to take the train in to lodge the application and when she got to the station I received a frantic call: “HELP, I got stuck in mud at the station”. I explained how to lock the front hubs and select 4x4 and then there was this amazed and excited shriek over the phone as she just drove out of trouble. She is now so impressed with our Ford!
We attended the Barossa air show and it was the typical rural affair on a dirt runway with model planes, aerobatic planes and other thing that burn petrol like vintage cars, old Lister Engines and tractors from yesteryear and some serious off-road vehicles to promote a mud, dust and music weekend in the outback some 3 hours from Adelaide on the Murray river. I decided to give the bike a bit of run through the hills while Carina and Michael joined our Polish friends Thomas, Isabella and Philip in their car. The girls and boys were treated to a short helicopter ride and we had a picnic lunch. The bike ride was enjoyable but it just again emphasised how balanced and good my Honda CBR-600 was as they Hyosung is very unpredictable in corners. The windy roads are also very narrow and you have to do a left cornering move as close to the white line so that you don’t hit your head on the railing.
The cost of skiing in NZ was a bit much so we are now going to join up with our Hungarian neighbors and we booked a house for July. We will be 8 people and the snow has already fallen heavily in that area.
We met grandpa Sydney and Alex, our Time for Kids boy on Wednesday evening. What a delightful fellow he is and before long him and Michael were playing like old pals.
We will be fostering Alex one weekend per month. Time for Kids is an organisation to give kids exposure to different households and give parents/grandparents/carers a break if they are struggling to give the required “time” to these kids. It is typically for kids growing up with grandparents or in a large household with overworked parents or where another child takes up all the attention of the parents due to illness or disability. It will also provide Michael with a mate for the weekends and hopefully the two will get along very well in the long term and he can become a regular addition to our family over more weekends. We are very excited to get to know Alex and hopefully we can influence each other in a very positive way.
The month ended pretty gloomy with another batch of posts being made redundant at work.
I bought what I could a-FORD and yes, I have finally gone off my trolley and bought a Ford! Mind you Fords are quite popular here in Oz and are the 2008 V8 Supercar champs and leading the present series. I must say that I am presently surprised with my UTE (that is Ozzie for bakkie). The models are essentially the same as in South Africa but the trim levels are a bit different. Only two levels here and mine is the base one: 2003 Ford Courier Dual Cab with 85000km, steel rims, rubber mats, crank handles for the windows, radio-tape and central locking using the key in the door, not remotely. It has an additional spare wheel, canopy, roof racks, Roobar (Bullbar), spotlights and snorkel. It still makes my heart bleed because if I convert the money I got for my Nissan Hardbody 4x4 DC, this is what it bought me (4 years older, 2x the km’s and the base model with a lot less power)! But at least I can now venture into the outback to explore a bit off the beaten track. Fortunately the endangered birds and sea life have evolved incredible survival skills and decided by “majority democracy vote” to nest and breed on beaches where cars can’t go in Oz and the South African Shoreline so we have some beaches to play on with our 4x4 toys.
The company nomination for PR was approved and Carina handed in the visa application forms on the 28th. We still have to write the IELTS exams on America Day and I must get my Military Release Documents before we can complete our application. We should get PR in a Month of two.
Carina decided to take the train in to lodge the application and when she got to the station I received a frantic call: “HELP, I got stuck in mud at the station”. I explained how to lock the front hubs and select 4x4 and then there was this amazed and excited shriek over the phone as she just drove out of trouble. She is now so impressed with our Ford!
We attended the Barossa air show and it was the typical rural affair on a dirt runway with model planes, aerobatic planes and other thing that burn petrol like vintage cars, old Lister Engines and tractors from yesteryear and some serious off-road vehicles to promote a mud, dust and music weekend in the outback some 3 hours from Adelaide on the Murray river. I decided to give the bike a bit of run through the hills while Carina and Michael joined our Polish friends Thomas, Isabella and Philip in their car. The girls and boys were treated to a short helicopter ride and we had a picnic lunch. The bike ride was enjoyable but it just again emphasised how balanced and good my Honda CBR-600 was as they Hyosung is very unpredictable in corners. The windy roads are also very narrow and you have to do a left cornering move as close to the white line so that you don’t hit your head on the railing.
The cost of skiing in NZ was a bit much so we are now going to join up with our Hungarian neighbors and we booked a house for July. We will be 8 people and the snow has already fallen heavily in that area.
We met grandpa Sydney and Alex, our Time for Kids boy on Wednesday evening. What a delightful fellow he is and before long him and Michael were playing like old pals.
We will be fostering Alex one weekend per month. Time for Kids is an organisation to give kids exposure to different households and give parents/grandparents/carers a break if they are struggling to give the required “time” to these kids. It is typically for kids growing up with grandparents or in a large household with overworked parents or where another child takes up all the attention of the parents due to illness or disability. It will also provide Michael with a mate for the weekends and hopefully the two will get along very well in the long term and he can become a regular addition to our family over more weekends. We are very excited to get to know Alex and hopefully we can influence each other in a very positive way.
The month ended pretty gloomy with another batch of posts being made redundant at work.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
March 2009 News
As a consolation prize for not attending the F1 in Melbourne, I attended the Clipsal-500 Super V8 racing on the Saturday and watched on TV the Sunday. It was really good to experience the noise and smells of screaming engines and tires. It is basically Ford vs Holden and Adelaide is Holden country due to factory here. It was strange to witness the fanatic support of the various camps. Next year I will ensure that I pay the extra money to get onto a stand as they occupied all the good spots.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first F1 race of 2009. It just showed again that some guys simply have the ability to design a race car: well done Ross Brawn and may you sweep the tracks again. Adrian Newey’s cars confirm this point with the performance of the RBR compared with the Renaults. It is a pity and “jungle justice” that teams employ boy racers which get carried away and crash cars in the first corner and on the last laps of a race. It was great to notice the effect of the KERS devices and its use and application will obviously develop through the year.
I attended a meeting of the Breakaways 4WD Club of South Australia. I think it will be a good way to see the country and meet Ozzies with similar interests as me. What caught my eye on their website was the campfires and potjies. They turned out to be of similar vintage as me. The meeting was again a rather strange experience as the meeting was more formal than the ones we conduct here at work. The chairman formally opens the meeting, welcome the guests, apologies are tabled, the previous meeting’s minutes are accepted and actions from the minutes are discussed and so forth. We then break for tea and biscuits. Afterwards the previous trip reports are presented and future trips are discussed. The financial report is presented and expenses approved. A raffle for camping goodies is held before the meeting is formally closed. Now I just need to get the 4x4. The next trip is a week trip up the Lake Ayres which has filled up from rains in Queensland. This happens once a decade so it is a really rare event.
The company has lodged their application to sponsor me for a Permanent Visa! Now we are just waiting for their approval to come through before we lodge our application. It will make it easier for Carina to enlist in courses and find work. I have also learned that I can probably join the Reserve Force and shorten my required time to achieve Citizenship!
I thoroughly enjoyed the first F1 race of 2009. It just showed again that some guys simply have the ability to design a race car: well done Ross Brawn and may you sweep the tracks again. Adrian Newey’s cars confirm this point with the performance of the RBR compared with the Renaults. It is a pity and “jungle justice” that teams employ boy racers which get carried away and crash cars in the first corner and on the last laps of a race. It was great to notice the effect of the KERS devices and its use and application will obviously develop through the year.
I attended a meeting of the Breakaways 4WD Club of South Australia. I think it will be a good way to see the country and meet Ozzies with similar interests as me. What caught my eye on their website was the campfires and potjies. They turned out to be of similar vintage as me. The meeting was again a rather strange experience as the meeting was more formal than the ones we conduct here at work. The chairman formally opens the meeting, welcome the guests, apologies are tabled, the previous meeting’s minutes are accepted and actions from the minutes are discussed and so forth. We then break for tea and biscuits. Afterwards the previous trip reports are presented and future trips are discussed. The financial report is presented and expenses approved. A raffle for camping goodies is held before the meeting is formally closed. Now I just need to get the 4x4. The next trip is a week trip up the Lake Ayres which has filled up from rains in Queensland. This happens once a decade so it is a really rare event.
The company has lodged their application to sponsor me for a Permanent Visa! Now we are just waiting for their approval to come through before we lodge our application. It will make it easier for Carina to enlist in courses and find work. I have also learned that I can probably join the Reserve Force and shorten my required time to achieve Citizenship!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Febrary 09 News
School started after a very long break. The last week of holidays Michael expressed the need to go to school to see his mates! It didn’t last very long and he isn’t so exited about going to school any more. Every morning a new ache or pain is presented as an excuse to not go to school.
Carina made and covered new cushions for our Cane furniture. It really looks lively and is comfy to sit on again. Working with the machines also inspired her to make some clothes for herself and stuff for Di’s bedroom as a birthday present.
We have now concluded our main Project and apart form a few small scale projects; most people are preparing proposals and generating system process documents. It really feels strange to not be chasing some unrealistic deadline!
Wynand and Marlene returned from their trip the “republic” (for those that were in the army) otherwise know as the RSA. Although they enjoyed their trip, everything seemed very expensive, except eating out and booze! They confirmed that we did the right move to come here (for whatever that’s worth).
I was planning to attend the opening round of the F1 as tickets are really cheap at the moment. We were planning to all go and stay with Carina’s niece but they are moving house at the time so the whole thing has fallen through. The world wide recession may see the collapse of this extravagant circus and it will be a shame if Michael never experienced the roar of a F1 race. The Ozzie race is also under a lot of pressure and may not be around much longer.
Carina made and covered new cushions for our Cane furniture. It really looks lively and is comfy to sit on again. Working with the machines also inspired her to make some clothes for herself and stuff for Di’s bedroom as a birthday present.
We have now concluded our main Project and apart form a few small scale projects; most people are preparing proposals and generating system process documents. It really feels strange to not be chasing some unrealistic deadline!
Wynand and Marlene returned from their trip the “republic” (for those that were in the army) otherwise know as the RSA. Although they enjoyed their trip, everything seemed very expensive, except eating out and booze! They confirmed that we did the right move to come here (for whatever that’s worth).
I was planning to attend the opening round of the F1 as tickets are really cheap at the moment. We were planning to all go and stay with Carina’s niece but they are moving house at the time so the whole thing has fallen through. The world wide recession may see the collapse of this extravagant circus and it will be a shame if Michael never experienced the roar of a F1 race. The Ozzie race is also under a lot of pressure and may not be around much longer.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
January 09 News
We don’t celebrate X-Mas. We believe it is a pagan tradition in a “Christian wrapping”. He warns us in the Bible not to partake in pagan traditions. Christ was also not borne on 25 Dec and he did not instruct us to celebrate his birthday, rather we must celebrate his death and resurrection.
Our neighbours across the street, John and Di, invited us to join them for New-years party. We had a nice dinner despite Di nearly breaking an arm and leg while falling off a step and spilling a patato dish. Tea (evening meal) was followed by games on their Wii. This was really great fun and everyone participated. Michael obviously was the best and showed the “old people” up. At Midnight we watched an impressive Adelaide Fireworks display from our balcony.
We then decided on the spur of the moment to go camping at West Beach with Rosy, Paul, Jazmin and Abby. After pitching the tent we discovered the trees under which we huddled was covered seedpods with extremely fine hairs which had the same effect as carbon fibre. I lost my first encounter with the harsh Ozzy sun and got burnt badly. We did fishing and swimming in the sea. The kids did some rides around the park with Pedal Cars. It is unfortunately very close to Adelaide International Airport. The noise started just after six when the first planes took off and which also woke the local birdlife, especially the Rainbow Lorikeets which ate the nectar from the flowers which then became these spiky seedpods. There was also another bird, the Common black bird which makes noise like a RSA grouse. All in all it was a very different experience from our previous camps which were quiet and out in the sticks. The aeroplanes, cars, cyclists, scate boarders which passed in the road wasn’t good for peaceful sleep. I started work before the time was up so I commuted for a few days from the campsite, apparently the typical Ozzy way of holidaying.
We again forgot our anniversary (17 years), just like last year. Last year we were travelling from Witrivier to Warmbad when we remembered. This year we were driving from the campsite to the shops when Carina again clicked on what day was coming up. Di and John visited to share the day and we made stir-fry on the camp’s BBQ’s after a nice swim.
The project was finally and officially terminated early. My section finished off our work at the end of Jan.
Tuesday, 13 Jan 2009 was the hottest day I have ever experienced at 41oC. I rode to work on the bike but the afternoon was like being in Hell. The wind felt like a giant hair blower was switched on somewhere. The heat from the tar, the wind, from the cars in front and the bike’s engine on my bare legs was nearly unbearable at stages. This morning all our plants’ leaves were drooping. They have recovered well though and we have chillies and capsicums.
Last week made that day seem like a holiday when we had 4 days of over 41oC and night time temperatures only going to 35oC. It is actually so hot that the body becomes confused between hot and cold. Riding on the motorbike with bare arms I actually got goose bumps in the heat!
The week of the 40’s. In most of Victoria and southern South Australia, the temperatures recorded were the highest since 1939, and Adelaide and Melbourne both missed their 1939 records by a few tenths of a degree. Melbourne had three successive days over 43C, and Adelaide had four. More than 20 people died as a result of the heat. Queensland on the other hand received 1100mm for the month, its average annual rainfall after just one month which is also twice Adelaide's average annual rainfall.
We have access to so much fruit that Carina entertained herself by making Jam, Chutney, Ingelegde Vrugte and more.
The week of the 40’s. In most of Victoria and southern South Australia, the temperatures recorded were the highest since 1939, and Adelaide and Melbourne both missed their 1939 records by a few tenths of a degree. Melbourne had three successive days over 43C, and Adelaide had four. More than 20 people died as a result of the heat. Queensland on the other hand received 1100mm for the month, its average annual rainfall after just one month which is also twice Adelaide's average annual rainfall.
Our neighbours across the street, John and Di, invited us to join them for New-years party. We had a nice dinner despite Di nearly breaking an arm and leg while falling off a step and spilling a patato dish. Tea (evening meal) was followed by games on their Wii. This was really great fun and everyone participated. Michael obviously was the best and showed the “old people” up. At Midnight we watched an impressive Adelaide Fireworks display from our balcony.
We then decided on the spur of the moment to go camping at West Beach with Rosy, Paul, Jazmin and Abby. After pitching the tent we discovered the trees under which we huddled was covered seedpods with extremely fine hairs which had the same effect as carbon fibre. I lost my first encounter with the harsh Ozzy sun and got burnt badly. We did fishing and swimming in the sea. The kids did some rides around the park with Pedal Cars. It is unfortunately very close to Adelaide International Airport. The noise started just after six when the first planes took off and which also woke the local birdlife, especially the Rainbow Lorikeets which ate the nectar from the flowers which then became these spiky seedpods. There was also another bird, the Common black bird which makes noise like a RSA grouse. All in all it was a very different experience from our previous camps which were quiet and out in the sticks. The aeroplanes, cars, cyclists, scate boarders which passed in the road wasn’t good for peaceful sleep. I started work before the time was up so I commuted for a few days from the campsite, apparently the typical Ozzy way of holidaying.
We again forgot our anniversary (17 years), just like last year. Last year we were travelling from Witrivier to Warmbad when we remembered. This year we were driving from the campsite to the shops when Carina again clicked on what day was coming up. Di and John visited to share the day and we made stir-fry on the camp’s BBQ’s after a nice swim.
The project was finally and officially terminated early. My section finished off our work at the end of Jan.
Tuesday, 13 Jan 2009 was the hottest day I have ever experienced at 41oC. I rode to work on the bike but the afternoon was like being in Hell. The wind felt like a giant hair blower was switched on somewhere. The heat from the tar, the wind, from the cars in front and the bike’s engine on my bare legs was nearly unbearable at stages. This morning all our plants’ leaves were drooping. They have recovered well though and we have chillies and capsicums.
Last week made that day seem like a holiday when we had 4 days of over 41oC and night time temperatures only going to 35oC. It is actually so hot that the body becomes confused between hot and cold. Riding on the motorbike with bare arms I actually got goose bumps in the heat!
The week of the 40’s. In most of Victoria and southern South Australia, the temperatures recorded were the highest since 1939, and Adelaide and Melbourne both missed their 1939 records by a few tenths of a degree. Melbourne had three successive days over 43C, and Adelaide had four. More than 20 people died as a result of the heat. Queensland on the other hand received 1100mm for the month, its average annual rainfall after just one month which is also twice Adelaide's average annual rainfall.
We have access to so much fruit that Carina entertained herself by making Jam, Chutney, Ingelegde Vrugte and more.
The week of the 40’s. In most of Victoria and southern South Australia, the temperatures recorded were the highest since 1939, and Adelaide and Melbourne both missed their 1939 records by a few tenths of a degree. Melbourne had three successive days over 43C, and Adelaide had four. More than 20 people died as a result of the heat. Queensland on the other hand received 1100mm for the month, its average annual rainfall after just one month which is also twice Adelaide's average annual rainfall.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
2008
This has been a very traumatic year in for our clan. 2008 surpassed 2004, and then some. The second week of April 2008 was particularly bad:
-Carina’s mom passed away after a short intense fight with Cancer
-My sister Lena’s youngest son Barend was killed in a car accident
-A friend Jani was shot and killed in the driveway of their home
-Bruno our lovely Staffie drowned in our pool
Some of the other things to recall and forget:
-Our 15 year marriage nearly crumbled under the stresses of moving
-The financial downturn hit early when I couldn’t get my house or vehicles sold before leaving RSA
-My project was terminated early
-And to top it all off my brother Rassie was brutally murdered in December
These Lows make the highlights seem few:
-We moved to Oz
-Michael is in a good school and is settling in nicely
-We have 2 neighbours that are great
-It is safe enough that I can ride motorbike again
-It is good to feel safe and relaxed
Tonight we are having a BBQ at John and Di across the road. Tomorrow we are going camping with Michael’s friend Jasmin (his girl!). We are really looking forward to it. I just miss my Double Cab Nissan very much as we cannot get much in the little Hyundai Accent. I can’t even use my Engel Fridge as it doesn’t fit and the site doesn’t have electricity.
To all my friend and family out there: Hope that you have a wonderful and blessed 2009. May your dreams come true and you be blessed with good health. We miss you all terribly. Hans, Carina & Michael.
-Carina’s mom passed away after a short intense fight with Cancer
-My sister Lena’s youngest son Barend was killed in a car accident
-A friend Jani was shot and killed in the driveway of their home
-Bruno our lovely Staffie drowned in our pool
Some of the other things to recall and forget:
-Our 15 year marriage nearly crumbled under the stresses of moving
-The financial downturn hit early when I couldn’t get my house or vehicles sold before leaving RSA
-My project was terminated early
-And to top it all off my brother Rassie was brutally murdered in December
These Lows make the highlights seem few:
-We moved to Oz
-Michael is in a good school and is settling in nicely
-We have 2 neighbours that are great
-It is safe enough that I can ride motorbike again
-It is good to feel safe and relaxed
Tonight we are having a BBQ at John and Di across the road. Tomorrow we are going camping with Michael’s friend Jasmin (his girl!). We are really looking forward to it. I just miss my Double Cab Nissan very much as we cannot get much in the little Hyundai Accent. I can’t even use my Engel Fridge as it doesn’t fit and the site doesn’t have electricity.
To all my friend and family out there: Hope that you have a wonderful and blessed 2009. May your dreams come true and you be blessed with good health. We miss you all terribly. Hans, Carina & Michael.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Dec 2008 News
A few new and interesting things to get used to:
Which company would have a name like Booby Trap? (answer at the bottom)
Tea=Dinner
Lolly = Any sweets not just a lollypop
Flat white is a type of coffee like Cuppachino, short and long black
No Fanta grape or Grapetizer but Solo which is Michael’s new favourite
Paper advertising in the mail is over the top, we receive around 2kg per week
Specials are “really specials” and when the time expires, the normal price applies. Sometime over the weekend the meat and perishables are marked down by >50% in some cases when the “sell-by date” is reached.
Petrol fluctuates from day-day but on Tuesdays petrol is cheaper by 10 -20c (>R1) per liter.
We had drinks and snacks (not tea) with the neighbours the other weekend and Erika (Hungarian) made Hanosh which is nothing more than the good old boere vetkoek. You eat this with strong garlic butter and cheese on the top (not inside, just like Cremora). Very rich and nothing gets close to you for days.
We visited a Fresh fruit market on Sunday which is held at a working drive-inn where stuff is nearly ½ price. You actually need some sort of a trolley as you park miles away and tend to buy lots. I was already impressed with the fruit in Oz but this fruit is even better: Ripe, juicy and tasty.
We started our herb garden. We have to plant stuff in loose plastic pots sitting in the flower beds. Check the pictures on Picasa.
Carina got her Oz driver’s license first time: I am so impressed! You write a learner driver test (like anyone else here but they remain learner and provisional for 2 years!), attend a driver’s lesson and then do a drivers test before you can get a license. We had to ask why we from RSA, driving on the same side of the road as Oz, had to do a complete drivers test and the Americans are simply issued with one: Tit-for-Tat was the basic reply: RSA doesn’t honour Oz licenses so why should they! It was like anything else here, quite an expensive exercise (R3300) but Carina’s license expired yesterday so we didn’t have a choice. I don’t have to do it for another 4 years but may do so as this license is a very useful ID document.
Children are very precious in Oz society: Parents with children got a Xmas bonus of $1000 per child (residents only) and you get a $5000 bonus when your child is born. This is from the driver’s handbook: “Children under 16 must be given a seat belt before any other passengers.”
Michael is starting to talk like the Ozzie kids: They don’t pronounce the “t”; what becomes wha, what is the matter becomes wha is the ma-u. I can’t say that I am very impressed with this bu that is the way the kids talk and he (we?) will be talking like them sooner or la-ur.
We had the company Xmas party at the Greenhills Adventure Park, a very impressive venue near Victor Harbour. The weather didn’t play along and it was quite cold and wet at times but we still had to be chased out at closing time. Only kids were on the water slides. There was plenty to eat and drink and the kids all got presents from Santa. (www.greenhills.com.au)
And so the holidays are upon us. We will be staying home and doing stuff in and around the house and Adelaide area:
Building a workbench and 2 tables for computer and sewing
Swimming, Cycling, Lego, Scalectic Cars, Radio controlled cars and boats, fishing,
Computer/PS3 games
Booby Trap is a Company selling bras; brilliant name!
Which company would have a name like Booby Trap? (answer at the bottom)
Tea=Dinner
Lolly = Any sweets not just a lollypop
Flat white is a type of coffee like Cuppachino, short and long black
No Fanta grape or Grapetizer but Solo which is Michael’s new favourite
Paper advertising in the mail is over the top, we receive around 2kg per week
Specials are “really specials” and when the time expires, the normal price applies. Sometime over the weekend the meat and perishables are marked down by >50% in some cases when the “sell-by date” is reached.
Petrol fluctuates from day-day but on Tuesdays petrol is cheaper by 10 -20c (>R1) per liter.
We had drinks and snacks (not tea) with the neighbours the other weekend and Erika (Hungarian) made Hanosh which is nothing more than the good old boere vetkoek. You eat this with strong garlic butter and cheese on the top (not inside, just like Cremora). Very rich and nothing gets close to you for days.
We visited a Fresh fruit market on Sunday which is held at a working drive-inn where stuff is nearly ½ price. You actually need some sort of a trolley as you park miles away and tend to buy lots. I was already impressed with the fruit in Oz but this fruit is even better: Ripe, juicy and tasty.
We started our herb garden. We have to plant stuff in loose plastic pots sitting in the flower beds. Check the pictures on Picasa.
Carina got her Oz driver’s license first time: I am so impressed! You write a learner driver test (like anyone else here but they remain learner and provisional for 2 years!), attend a driver’s lesson and then do a drivers test before you can get a license. We had to ask why we from RSA, driving on the same side of the road as Oz, had to do a complete drivers test and the Americans are simply issued with one: Tit-for-Tat was the basic reply: RSA doesn’t honour Oz licenses so why should they! It was like anything else here, quite an expensive exercise (R3300) but Carina’s license expired yesterday so we didn’t have a choice. I don’t have to do it for another 4 years but may do so as this license is a very useful ID document.
Children are very precious in Oz society: Parents with children got a Xmas bonus of $1000 per child (residents only) and you get a $5000 bonus when your child is born. This is from the driver’s handbook: “Children under 16 must be given a seat belt before any other passengers.”
Michael is starting to talk like the Ozzie kids: They don’t pronounce the “t”; what becomes wha, what is the matter becomes wha is the ma-u. I can’t say that I am very impressed with this bu that is the way the kids talk and he (we?) will be talking like them sooner or la-ur.
We had the company Xmas party at the Greenhills Adventure Park, a very impressive venue near Victor Harbour. The weather didn’t play along and it was quite cold and wet at times but we still had to be chased out at closing time. Only kids were on the water slides. There was plenty to eat and drink and the kids all got presents from Santa. (www.greenhills.com.au)
And so the holidays are upon us. We will be staying home and doing stuff in and around the house and Adelaide area:
Building a workbench and 2 tables for computer and sewing
Swimming, Cycling, Lego, Scalectic Cars, Radio controlled cars and boats, fishing,
Computer/PS3 games
Booby Trap is a Company selling bras; brilliant name!
Monday, November 24, 2008
November08 News
The roses in Adelaide are in full bloom at the moment and I have to admit that I haven’t seen roses like this ever. They are bright, colourful and plenty flowers per bush. The Jacaranda trees are also in bloom now and make me think of Pretoria.
Fruit also have mysteriously acquired the taste that I remembered them having as a kid but which has disappeared from the RSA fruit. I actually stopped eating fruit because they tasted so bland in Cape Town. I miss the grapes from the Cape street vendors though; the ones here are from USA!
And so summer arrived with a vengeance. This week the temperatures are over 30 for a few days! I rode to work on the motorbike this morning with shorts and a golf shirt! It doesn’t cool down much during the evening when the breeze comes over this vast desert north of Adelaide. Fortunately we have an evaporative cooler.
To Michael’s delight the neighbour has one of these small blow-up pools that she got going the other day. I suppose he’s going to make a pest of himself there. He also managed to work himself into joining them on their farm for the weekend! He thoroughly enjoyed it; he caught some fish but the Quad bike was broken.
Michael’s girlfriend, her mom and “irritating” little sister visited the other day. When I asked why she is irritating: she apparently organises posses of her friends to chase him around at school! They stay close to us so I expect we will visit more often.
We got so tired of the terribly bland pizzas that we attempted our own this weekend. Not as easy as it looks and sounds. The dough was not right as became crumbly and the girls (Carina and Marelene) piled too much stuff on. Tasted OK after a few beers! Tried again a week later with different dough and less toppings and it was really good.
We also decided to treat ourselves with a Breville coffee machine. This is the type that forces the water through the coffee grind. We are experimenting with making “flat whites” and cuppachinos at the moment. All very scientific you know: You have to grind your own beans and only extract 60ml of coffee and then add water and/or heated or frothed milk. The finer you grind the coffee the better the extraction but the coffee grind has to be compacted and twisted to exact maximum flavour! This does make even Mug&Bean’s coffe taste like brown water in comparison. Next step will be to start removing the sugar and milk and one day I can be a purist.
And so it happened that in the early hours (00h45) of Thursday 20 Nov 2008 that I was pulled over to blow in the little pipe for the first time in my life. I was out with colleagues for dinner but fortunately I was a good boy and stayed within the limits! I even declined the “loopdop”! Raar maar waar: as they say in the movies!
Our Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/strumfie
Fruit also have mysteriously acquired the taste that I remembered them having as a kid but which has disappeared from the RSA fruit. I actually stopped eating fruit because they tasted so bland in Cape Town. I miss the grapes from the Cape street vendors though; the ones here are from USA!
And so summer arrived with a vengeance. This week the temperatures are over 30 for a few days! I rode to work on the motorbike this morning with shorts and a golf shirt! It doesn’t cool down much during the evening when the breeze comes over this vast desert north of Adelaide. Fortunately we have an evaporative cooler.
To Michael’s delight the neighbour has one of these small blow-up pools that she got going the other day. I suppose he’s going to make a pest of himself there. He also managed to work himself into joining them on their farm for the weekend! He thoroughly enjoyed it; he caught some fish but the Quad bike was broken.
Michael’s girlfriend, her mom and “irritating” little sister visited the other day. When I asked why she is irritating: she apparently organises posses of her friends to chase him around at school! They stay close to us so I expect we will visit more often.
We got so tired of the terribly bland pizzas that we attempted our own this weekend. Not as easy as it looks and sounds. The dough was not right as became crumbly and the girls (Carina and Marelene) piled too much stuff on. Tasted OK after a few beers! Tried again a week later with different dough and less toppings and it was really good.
We also decided to treat ourselves with a Breville coffee machine. This is the type that forces the water through the coffee grind. We are experimenting with making “flat whites” and cuppachinos at the moment. All very scientific you know: You have to grind your own beans and only extract 60ml of coffee and then add water and/or heated or frothed milk. The finer you grind the coffee the better the extraction but the coffee grind has to be compacted and twisted to exact maximum flavour! This does make even Mug&Bean’s coffe taste like brown water in comparison. Next step will be to start removing the sugar and milk and one day I can be a purist.
And so it happened that in the early hours (00h45) of Thursday 20 Nov 2008 that I was pulled over to blow in the little pipe for the first time in my life. I was out with colleagues for dinner but fortunately I was a good boy and stayed within the limits! I even declined the “loopdop”! Raar maar waar: as they say in the movies!
Our Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/strumfie
Sunday, November 2, 2008
October News
Carina got her first speed fine: $207 (R1800) for doing 68 in a 60 zone! It was delivered within 3 days of the offence! If you pay late it is an additional $100 (R800). Now she is not allowed to go and drink coffee in the shops till the end of the year! This is not because I’m cruel, coffee just cost so much also. Our coffee cost more than petrol per month!
Something I noticed the other day is the lack of stop streets and signs! I have also figured out why everyone with V8’s are forever spinning their wheels to the point of melting the tar: they are frustrated by having to travel 60 with all that potential power! I felt it yesterday on the bike!
We entertained the first Ozzies at our house and we should be seeing more of them as Carina and SAM get along well and Jim and I are both bikers and love to help the kids with playing some of the car games on PC and PS3! Carina is also making friends with 2 of the neighbours. Carina and Di are walking every morning. Erica threatened to join but hasn’t managed to get up yet.
We moved Michael to a new Karate club where he got credit for the training he has done to date, unlike the club at his school. He was also awarded the Orange belt. Last week he demonstrated how to do the splits! As you can see his Sense is very proud of him, but not nearly as much as his mom and dad.
Michael’s Karate club: http://www.karateclub.synthasite.com/
Our Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/strumfie
Something I noticed the other day is the lack of stop streets and signs! I have also figured out why everyone with V8’s are forever spinning their wheels to the point of melting the tar: they are frustrated by having to travel 60 with all that potential power! I felt it yesterday on the bike!
We entertained the first Ozzies at our house and we should be seeing more of them as Carina and SAM get along well and Jim and I are both bikers and love to help the kids with playing some of the car games on PC and PS3! Carina is also making friends with 2 of the neighbours. Carina and Di are walking every morning. Erica threatened to join but hasn’t managed to get up yet.
We moved Michael to a new Karate club where he got credit for the training he has done to date, unlike the club at his school. He was also awarded the Orange belt. Last week he demonstrated how to do the splits! As you can see his Sense is very proud of him, but not nearly as much as his mom and dad.
Michael’s Karate club: http://www.karateclub.synthasite.com/
Our Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/strumfie
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