Fundamo Mexican Boatrace

The Fundamo social committee arranged a Mexican Boatrace event at the offices this afternoon. I had a chance to talk to the staff about a great 2008 and what we expect of 2009. The committee had a guy making cocktails and the event culminated with a race across the swimmingpool in various homemade "ships".

Wedding Anniversary

After arriving back from the US, I had time to celebrate our wedding anniversary in style. We had an amazing dinner (yet expensive) at Asara. The setting is just so special overlooking a dam and the Stellenbosch mountains in the backdrop. We watched as the sun set, the vineyards initially bright green merging into the night as the moon arrived. Me and Annelie shared the Chateaubriand (perfectly cooked) with a bottle of the acclaimed Bell Tower. It was a celebration of knowing each other more than thirty years, of tough times, but also of so many wonderful times.

Pink Sun

The sun was pink tonight at home. It was because of the bushfires in the mountains above Gorden's Bay. As we were having our dinner Annelie exclaimed: "Look at the sun!", and I was just so glad to be home...

Leaving on a Jetplane

This is a empty restaurant at JFK. I had a final lunch here before boarding for Dulles and then South Africa. As I sat down, I had some time to review the few days that I had in the US. A few things struck me:

• I did not know that so many Xmas songs exist. Even as I sit at this desk, I am listening to Xmas songs. Since I arrived, this is the only music that I heard. Is this common? Will they keep on playing these songs till the 25th? Believe me, it will drive me crazy.

• The US was built on steel: Steel bridges, steel structures, - but the steel is busy rusting. I have seen rust everywhere. The airports and the hotels that I visited all just felt so tired. (It is in stark contrast with places like Dubai and Singapore that I recently visited).
• The economy is down - I mean really down - in a bad way down. Take this restaurant: empty... I have asked retailers and in general conversation, I have noticed that the consumer is tired, and scared. They have been asked to kick-start the economy with their spending previously. I don't think they are going to do it again.
• Customer service does not exist anymore. In the country where terms like "customer centric" and "delighting the customer" was invented, I see very little of that practiced. Maybe it is because of the general atmosphere, but the customer service people are just not doing it.

Miami from my Hotel Room

I have just finished all the meetings for the week in the US. The week was very productive and I am professionally satisfied. I am starting the long trek back home tomorrow, but am actually quite sad tonight: I am married 28 years with my lady tomorrow (or today, because it is already Saturday in South Africa) and I am so far away from her. It would have been so special if I could share the sunset in Florida with her, but now I am alone...

Back to JFK

Having finished my meeting in White Plains, I am now on the way back to the hotel next to JFK. I am planning to leave for Miami very early in the morning, so I decided to stay close to the airport. I have rented a Avis car and am being navigated back to the hotel. I am listening to a radio station that is playing Xmas music all the time - nothing else! This is America.

Video conference facility

I had this meeting with a potential partner in New York where one of the team joined us from their office in San Fransisco. I have been in Video Conference meetings before, but this experience blew my mind. Three High Definition screens and multiple very high quality speakers created a virtual extension of the table that we were sitting at. It almost felt as if the other person was in the room with us. I have seen the future of remote meetings!

Ernst birthday braai

Ernst 26th birthday is on the 1st December. He invited me and Annelie to his new house for a braai with many of his friends to celebrate. We gave him a wheelbarrow (and a case of beer) for his birthday and enjoyed the day with the young people.

Die Burger Race

I had a good ride on Sunday, completing the 98km Burger cycle race in 3:50. This was a much improved performance for me, but more important, I had such a good time. This race is a seeding race for the Argus and I improved my seeding index from 65 to 44, which mean that I am now in the R group (I used to be in the U group).

First Post from the Omnia

I got a new mobile phone this week. The Samsung i900 (Omnia). (Read more here). Anyhow, I am still learning all the ins and outs of this phone, so have some difficulty in getting the blogging to work. This is the first post from the phone. It is a picture of a little boy sitting on the back of this red bakkie, eating an icecream. I just thought that this is quite cute.

First picture of my grandchild

Ernst and Catherine stopped by just now on their way back from MeerenBosch. They had a CD with some of the scans of my first grandchild. I just had to share it on my blog - we are all so excited, amazed and thankful to be part of this journey.

From the airport in Jakarta

I am sitting in the back of a taxi on my way to the Inter Continental Hotel, Jakarta. Outside, I see a lot of people in informal settlements (like one see all over the world in emerging countries). I just felt sad about all the unfairness in the world. How many people suffer in this world and can't experience what I am fortunate to experience. I resolved to thank the Lord more for all my blessings.

Last see of Macau

The congress has now come to an end and I am on my way to Hong Kong airport. I did not leave the hotel for the whole duration of the congress. (My room, where I had breakfast and dinner and the conference venue where all in one massive venue). So now that I am in the shuttle on my way to the ferry-terminal, I thought I should take some photo to prove that I was actually here...

My hotel in Macua

I am attending the GSM Congress in Macau and am booked into the main hotel for the event. My room is very luxurious. It took me about 10 minutes to find all the switches for the lights before I went to bed tonight. The hotel and conference center is totally over the top! The theme is Venetia, with string music playing everywher you go. The shopping center has got canals. Everything is just done in the extreme. How I wish that I can be back in Africa, with a fire under an African sky with real stars and the sound of the bush.

Havana Evening in Singapore

I was fortunate to be invited to a big party on the Saturday while in Singapore. This annual event (hosted by a big Singaporean business man) collects money for charity. I was amazed at the amounts that was paid for Persian Carpets and Sport Memorabilia that was auctioned. According to what I was told almost ZAR 1.5 million was raised during the evening. This is a picture of some of the people that I met.

Singapore Hilton

I arrived yesterday afternoon from Dubai (leaving at 3 am in the morning) for a late meeting with a prospective client. The meeting was good and I had a bit of debriefing at the Hilton hotel with Aaron. I then slept for almost twelve hours, before I had breakfast and a quick stroll outside before starting up the computer to work...

Dubai Desert

The afternoon before we left Dubai, me and Annelie booked a trip with 4X4 vehicles through the nearby desert. We had a most enjoyable few hours chasing through the dunes and then sat down in a desert camp for a good dinner. We saw the full moon rise over the desert and experienced some of the tranquility that existed in this place before civilization came. (The glow of the electric lights on the horizon was a reminder that the city was just 50 km away). As I sat back and connected to God (Creator of the earth and the universe), I realised that Dubai is not real - it is an attempt by people to build monuments to themselves, and is only temporary. I was at peace because I knew that my purpose is as simple as to praise the living God. I do not have to build any monument to anyone.

Leaving for the airport at midnight

The road in front of the Hotel is a six by six lane highway, with a sideroad of two lanes right in front of the hotel. When I left for the airport at midnight on Thursday the whole place was packed with people and cars. You could see that the city was alive with people on their way to party... searching for purpose in their lives.

When we came back from the desert this afternoon, we passed a kilometers long queue of tanker trucks waiting to enter a gate - hundreds if not thousands of trucks. "Oil?" we asked our driver. "Sewerage" he answered.

Riza's Spice Shop

This is Riza. He is an owner of this spice shop in Dubai. Me and Annelie arrived this morning early from Cape Town. After a shower and a quick rest, we jumped on a tour of the old city and saw a bit of the hustle and bustle of Dubai next to the waterway. It was good to do something together.

My Cousin Ado

This is a picture of my oldest cousin: Ado. He is a missionary that is doing amazing work with drug dependent people. He is absolutely committed to finding the will of the Lord and this dictates what he does. He had dinner with us tonight and we had a good time discussing how God works and what He expects of us.