I usually meet Falk at MWC (like last year). I respect his network and enjoy listening to what is happening in this space. This year was so hectic that I could only spend an hour with him and one of his collegues. It was good nevertheless.
This has been my seventh Mobile World Congress, since the early days when it was called 3GSM and when it was still held in Canne. This year was much more serious from my perspective. It is as if the industry at last turned into an adult. The discourse was very much driven by reality and business. This is a picture of the GSM prize-giving ceremony held at the Palace at the FIRA. The GSM rolled out some serious celebrities like Steve Fry, Duran Duran and Jon Landau (producer of Avatar). It is great to be part of such a powerful industry.
I completed my first open water swimming competition by swimming the Midmar mile in KwaZulu Natal. It was a great experience for me as I was very unsure if I could do it. In the end it was quite easy (although one would not say it considering my time of 48m). I enjoyed the fact that my daughter in law could also complete the swim as well as my youngest son. It was also very satisfying to share the occasion with my wife and my grandson (in my arms in this picture).
We stayed over in Ballito and spent one evening with Wim and his wife. We braaied, opened a few bottles of wine (including a Glen Carlou Classique), talked till late and solved many of the world's problems. I enjoy spending time with people that are more intensely aware of life than the average person.
We are booked into La Montagne on the Ballito beach for a few days in anticipation for the Midmar Mile. We expect the kids to arrive during the weekend and then Sunday is the big day. It is great to see the sun set, to hear the waves on the beach below and to smell the warm Indian ocean.
Elizna and Marinus (newly wed couple from Bloemfontein. We attending their wedding last weekend) visited us at de Wijnlanden. Ernst and Catherine also joined us and we cooked some Sirloin steaks. The Saaronsberg Full Circle was the perfect match for a great lunch.
We visited Ernst and Catherine this morning. It was such fun to see Arden playing with a ball. Afterwards we had a picnic on the lawn.
When I arrived at the office this morning, a big truck was unloading big and many parcels. After closer inspection, I found out that it was a state-of-the-art saw. I was dumbstruck. I know we need a lot of hardware to run our development environment, but a saw? (Richard told me that we will be cutting code faster now). It turns out that it is Tony that purchased a saw on Gumtree and got it delivered to the office.
We have such good friends in Somerset West that form part of our small group at Helderberg Gemeente. We meet every Monday night at a different house to discuss a specific verse and pray together. Tonight me met at the house of Llewellyn and Chrisna. We also finalised little gifts that we usually give to a school working with handicapped people.
I met this lady at the wedding reception. I was told that she already had six great grandchildren. She stopped me and said that she heard that I knew something about computers and that she wanted my advise. I was totally surprised when she asked me which blue tooth drivers she should install so that she can connect her computer to her cellphone. This just proves that age is no excuse for not getting involved with computers and using them to their full capacity.
We attended the wedding of one of our god-children: Elisna, oldest daughter of Izak, Annelie's brother. It was such a special occasion. The reception was held on a farm on the outskirts of Bloemfontein. The weather was perfect and the moon was almost full. We had an opportunity to meet family and to see a young couple making a lifetime commitment to each other. I could not help thinking about the rhythm of life. This was a moment of truth for Elisna. She took such an important decision on her future today. It is our prayers that she and Marinus will be blessed with lots of love for each other.
When my kids were small we used to take them to the Spur (a local steakhouse chain). It was a special occation for me to have my first grandchild at a Spur.
I had a light lunch of Lagos beef burger, chips, lots of chilli sauces and a 750ml Star beer for Sunday lunch at the Eko Hotel. There is just something unique to this city: from the smells of the burning wood to the accent of the waitresses. In a way it is great to be back.
Ernst and Catherine held a Dedication for Arden at their home today. They invited family, close friends and a representative from their church. After a great lunch, we all gathered in the lounge where we shared Scripture and then prayed all for Arden's life and made a commitment to introduce him to the Lord's grace. It was an exceptionally special occasion.
We hosted clients for dinner at Rust en Vrede restaurant. This restaurant is one of the new entries in the top 100 restaurants in the world list. We had a most enjoyable dinner. Not only did we enjoy the company and food, but we were also entertained on some of the best wines from the Cape.
We started the wine-tasting year with a great food and wine-pairing at Harry's Restaurant. It was such enjoyment to see all the good friends again and to share in the wonder of wines. We tasted a number of good wines, but I was particularly impressed with the Knorhoek Chenin Blanc and the La Motte Millennium. It was also special to just catch up with the other wine-club members. Some of the members now have children at university for the first time, while others were thinking about how to deal with their parents. We are so blessed with all the good friends and their willingness to share with us. The picture is from the veranda of the Restaurant looking in the direction of Franchoek. Isn't it beautiful?
I recently joined the Helderberg Cycle Club (also known as the WannaB's) (See blog here). They have regular runs five days a week early in the morning. Today I joined my new club for a brisk cycle of 75 km through the vineyards and over a few hills in the vicinity. I am still very slow for the group, but enjoy the camaraderie and the exercise so much that I cannot wait to get onto a bike again. I also feel fit and full of energy.
God created such an amazing earth. This is evident even in the small detail of little flowers and even delicate insects. For me, God's power is most visible in the mighty mountains and the massive oceans. I experienced this fact today at the top look-out point on Chapman's Peak drive. We drove through many of the beautiful spots today with ouma Andrie and realised again that the Cape is breathtakingly beautiful.
Ernst and Catherine will be attending a wedding in Durban on Saturday and they decided to fly there with Arden. This will be his first plane trip (and also the first time that the two will be traveling with a baby). I dropped them off at the new Departure Terminal and said my goodbyes. There is something wonderful about watching the kids going through the different challenges of parenthood.
We bought two miniature Dashhounds a few days ago. They immediately started investigating their new surroundings and it looks as if they like it. We have named them "Basie" (the Boss) and "Nonnatjie" (little Lady).
We drove up the west coast for a day to show Ouma the beauty of this part of South Africa. We also made time to visit some of my family that lives in the area. One of them is my cousin Daleen Kruger. She recently won the Nagtegaal-playwright-competition for her play: "Draadwerk". It was good to see her at home and hear her talk about her work. It is so different to work as an artist, especially if this is all that you do. I found it very inspirational to see some-one that is passionate about what they do.
I managed to spend a few hours with my friend Stephan while they were on holiday in the Cape. I have known Stephan for a long time and I always enjoy our discussions on life and the meaning thereof. His sharp mind, but also his pure convinction on things that are important always leads to interesting debates.
I am getting better at this Geo-Caching thing. During the time away at meerenBosch, I hunted a few caches with ernst and Catherine. This was the first Cache we found together on a very hot day on our way back home.
I had such a great time at MeerenBosch with Annelie, the kids and Ouma Andrie. We had quality time together, we eat, swam and read. One of the best things was to see Arden Hannes growing up (almost in front of our eyes). It was as if he was learning new stuff all the time. He is so interested in things around him and demonstrate such a loving personality. I was quite sceptical if I would find him interesting until he is older, but have I been proven wrong...
The moon was not visible for most of the night because of rolling, dark clouds. Just before midnight I managed to get this photo with my iPhone as the cloud opened for a few seconds. I managed to share the evening with Annelie, Ernst and Catherine and felt so blessed.
We took a scenic drive through Stellenbosch after church with Annelie and my mother-in-law. I love to see the old lady enjoy the world and appreciate little things. Afterwards we stopped at the Berry farm for tea and scones.
I travelled with my parents back to Johannesburg. They are too frail to do this on their own. After handing them over to my brother, I flew back again. It was a trying visit (difficult to manage with two old people that are not really able to look after themselves, yet too proud to admit it). But in many ways it was very special: they had the privilege to experience Arden (my first grandchild), to celebrate Xmas with us, see both my sons and Cath. I managed to make arrangements to control my dad's finances and just shared memories with them. I am not sure when (if ever) we will see them in the Cape again. In the meantime the memories will suffice.
Annelie, Catherine and ouma Andrie prepared a scrumptious dinner for us. It was a very special Xmas eve with everyone present. After giving each other gifts we sat down for an amazing meal of gammon and leg of lamb. We opened a bottle of Saronsberg Chardonnay and an Ataraxia Serenity. All the blessings reminded us that the Son of God came to earth to live amongst human beings as the biggest gift for all.
I had a minor operation this week. The procedure went very well and I was discharged after only one night in hospital. My collegues at work sent me a basket with fruit. I really appreciated this.
It was a special occasion for me and Annelie to entertain my parents and Annelie's mother at Meerenbosch for two days. As we helped the old people up the steps and the stairs with their walking sticks, stiff joints and shuffling gait, we realised that this might be the last time. I cooked a chicken and we watched the sun set over the lake as we listened to the birds going to sleep. It triggered many memories when we were much younger and life was different (and less complex).
It is a beautiful day in the Cape. We decided to have our meeting on the veranda in stead of the meeting rooms inside. As I breathed the fresh air, listened to the water and birds, while deliberating the intricacies of mobile banking, I realised that this is a competitive advantage.
We had a feast at home today. We celebrated life with four generations sitting down for Sunday lunch. My parents and Annelie's mom was here, while both of my sons and my daughter-in-law was also present. Arden (my grandchild) represented the fourth generation. My heart filled with pride and joy to have everyone at our home and I thanked the Lord for all His blessings.
Ernst is my oldest son. He celebrated his birthday with us at deWijnlanden. We had a leg of lamb and potatoes. I decided that the evening was special enough to open a Kanonkop Cab 2004. What made the evening so special, was the fact that this was his first birthday as a father and that one of his grandmothers could be present too.
I found my first Cache today. (Read more here). It was a small container quite close to the office and after some searching, I managed to locate it. I added my name to the log and now I am officially part of the Geo-Caching community. GeoCaching is a sort-of game where people hide things, take the GPS coordinates and then publish it on the Internet for others to find. As a tech-junkie, I find this particularly interesting, as it combines the physical world, the Internet, hand-held computers with GPS receivers and the curiosity of mankind in one package. I will now go and look for my next cache.
This is part of the job, I suppose. I am catching the early flight to Johannesburg this morning. As I got onto the plane on this perfect morning, I noticed Table Mountain in the distance with the early morning sun shining on it. God created a beautiful planet!
The vineyard that I planted last year is growing well. Some of the vines produced their first (small) bunches. It gives me great joy to walk amongst the vines after work and to see how happy they are. I planted Pinotage and four Semillon vines, because I would like to (one day) make a truely South African wine.
Ernst and Catherine spent the weekend with us at Meerenbosch. The tranquility, good food and company was ointment to my soul. But what was really special was the time that I could spend with Arden (my grandson). This was so amazing and special to me.
While attending Mobile Congress Asia in Hong Kong, I had an excellent meal at Zuma's with Scott, his girlfriend, Tashy and Debra. The food was very good, but the Rhine Riesling and the Australian Pinot Noir was particularly impressive.
Me and Aaron were working to a tight schedule to travel from Dhaka to Hong Kong via Bangkok. Sitting in the business lounge at the Bangkok airport, we were working so hard on a number of tasks that we did not keep track of the time. We had to rush to the gate and almost missed our flight.
I have booked on my Emirates flight to Dubai at the brand new Cape Town terminal. Security and Passport control were smoothly executed. I do live in Africa, but this airport is as good as any, anywhere in the world.
Me and my wife had a great winetasting event last night. Members of our wineclub were confronted with eight unknown wines (four white and four red). We had to identify the cultivar and the vintage. My wife Annelie got 100% and I could do seven. We felt pretty proud of our achievement.
As I left the estate this morning to join my prayer group, God greeted me with this spectacular sunrise. It was as if He was saying that while I was sleeping, He was awake looking after us and that we have nothing to fear.
Ernst and Catherine dropped in and had supper with us. Annelie made her trademark pumpkin soup and we had cinnamon home-made bread with it. A bottle of Weltevrede Ovation complimented everything perfectly. It was wonderful to have the kids here.
The Vineyard Hotel is one of the best kept secrets of Cape Town. Built on the property that Lady Ann Barnard initialy lived on, the hotel boasts beautiful gardens and all facilities that one would expect from a top hotel. While waiting for breakfast, the guinea-fowls ware walking on the patio adding to the tranquil atmosphere.
Fundamo is now doing projects on four continents and growing fast. Our headcount is also much more than it was in the beginning of the year. We had to occupy additional offices close to the main offices. Today I had meetings at the new offices. I like the crisp and stylish branding.
Me and Annelie drove down from Bloemfontein by car. The Karoo was dressed in beautiful desert flowers and one could see that this arid region was blessed with a lot of rains. We had a lot of time to talk during the ten hour trip, but also stopped frequently. We had lunch at a farm stall close to Leeu Gamka.
I flew to Bloemfontein yesterday to help Annelie finalise everything regarding Oupa Izak's estate. We plan to travel back to Cape Town by road tomorrow. It is great to see my wife again. I suppose it is through seperation that one realise how much one needs someone
I took a short mountain bike ride this morning. (I was not on the bike for some time because of the hectic travel schedule). The morning was not too hot with a light breeze and thin mist in the air. The vines was working hard at producing the grapes for the 2010 season and bright green leaves covered the trellises. As I cycled through the vineyards, I looked back at the house and felt so blessed to be able to live in this beautiful area.
I arrived this morning early at Schiphol to get my boarding pass for the flight back to Cape Town. When I was given a boarding pass without a seat allocation, I knew: overbooked and I have not been loaded yet. After a number of telephone calls to my travel agent and the KLM representatives, I was given a seat - albeit at a window.
