Problem Solver

Well its been long time since my last post, and I'm going to admit that I'm struggling to get into the whole routine of regular posting. I've kinda got into a routine of putting cream on regularly, and that's a big first for me, so I'm hoping the blogging thing will follow suit.

So what's been happening in my life you ask? Well not much actually. I hit a slump at work recently, but if you did what I did, you would to. Don't get me wrong I love my job, I just get tired sometimes with sorting out peoples' problems. Because that's ultimately what an attorney is, a problem solver. You don't phone up an attorney and pay them by the hour if you didn't have a problem.

However there are client's that can't distinguish between a problem solver and a magician.

A problem solver is someone that looks at the problem objectively and plots out a plan to remedy the problem and implements that plan. That's me.

A magician is someone you get to perform at your kid's party. That's not me.
Even though some client's think I'm a magician, I'm actually not. So please don't phone and try and book me for any kids parties.

Despite the above distinction client's think I possess some magical qualities and will just make their problem disappear into a hat, leaving them with a fluffy bunny and my bill.

And what makes this observation even more obscure is that by the time they phone me to tell me about their problem they have managed to get themselves so deep into the brown stuff that the only way they getting out is with the use of heavy machinery, no matter how many letters I write.

Anyway enough bitching, even though this is my blog and I'm allowed to bitch.

If you know me and you want to make plans over 6 - 14 August, please don't. I will be in Monaco over this period and consequently unavailable. Yes you read correctly, Monaco, as in Monaco GP, fuck off rich people and lots of yachts.

My Monaco trip was conceptualised, planned and executed in three hours. I haven't even planned a trip to Harties in three hours, but planning for trip to Monaco went something like this:

D: I have a client who has invited us to Monaco for the long weekend, what do you think?

M: I think that's pretty wild. What do you think?

D: I think we should go, what do you think?

M: I think so too. I'll check flights.

And so flights were booked and off we go.

Parlevoux Francais? (I know it's spelt wrong, I'm not french)

Here Kitty,Kitty, Kitty

I woke up grumpy this morning.

To people in my circle of trust this may not be the statement of the year and I already hear them saying: "so?".

Well this morning I woke up extra grumpy and I'll tell you why. I got into bed last night after the soccer (well done Brazil!) and was really looking forward to a good night of slumber as I was really bushed, I think it was because I didn't partake of my Sunday siesta and had a fairly busy day. Anyway I was tired and got into bed where I peacefully drifted off to sleep. However not for long.

Now before I can carry on I need to fill you in on some background info. I have become the adoptive father to two cats, one is grey and the other is black. The grey one loves to run around so we'll call her Trollip and the black one is a little over weight so we'll call her Boat. Now I have become very fond of Trollip and Boat over the years even though I'm not really a cat person. But they are also the cause of me grumpiness.

You see Trollip and Boat wait for you to get into bed and fall asleep and then they jump on the bed and quietly, in U.S. marine like stealth mode, attach themselves to you. For instance if I fall asleep on my back Trollip will fall asleep on my feet and Boat will fall asleep on my chest. Have you ever tried to sleep with a 4 kg cat on your chest? The problem is not falling asleep as you already asleep when they attach themselves. The problem is trying to turn around in your sleep. As soon as you try your body brings you out of your delightful little slumber in order to find out what the resistance is to you turning on your side.

So you wake up and try and move Boat off your chest. But this is easier typed than done. You see by now Boat is sleeping and warm so she's not going anywhere. You at first try to gently nudge her off, but she just ignores you. You then try with a little more force and not only does she ignore you but I can actually feel herself making her body weight heavier. Eventually after nearly catapulting her off the bed she gets the hint and moves off your chest allowing you to turn.

And she waits.

As soon as I've have fallen asleep on my side, Boat maneuvers in and positions herself up against my chest, while Trollip has positioned herself up against the back of my knees in effect pinning me in that position so again I cannot naturally turn or move in my sleep. And so a hour or two later I am again brought out of peaceful slumber to try and unpin myself from the clutches of Boat and Trollip, who have the determination of two tag team wrestlers. Again they defy all gentle attempts at their removal. And so eventually they get the hint and I roll onto my tummy, and you guessed it, a few minutes later Boat is getting comfy on my back while I'm trying to fall alseep.

This goes on the whole night.

All while my fiance is peacefully sleeping completely unaware of the feline assault I was under. So after being awoken 4 to 5 times last night, I eventually got out of bed this morning grumpy.

Not this is a a recent habit that Trollip and Boat have gotten into, oh no, this is something that has gone on for weeks, so in effect I can count the number of good night's sleep I've had since the beginning of winter on my hand.

Now Debs thinks this is amusing and endearing, telling me how they are looking for warmth and their daddy.

Rubbish! I obviously did something to the feline species in my past life and now I'm paying for it.

And so it's happened, I must be one of the few men in this world that have been relegated to the couch by two cats.

But I don't care.

If it means that for a good nights sleep I have to sleep on the couch then so be it.

Plus I read somewhere that men actually like sleeping on the couch. It's like camping.

Are Fridays supposed to be this hectic?

Wow, really didn't expect today to start off the way it did. Yesterday afternoon I was looking forward to a Friday where everyone would be slightly hungover due to the celebrations last night of Bafan Bafana's win. Alas that never happened even though our boys in green and gold did us proud.

Then of course there's the tragic news of the passing of Michael Jackson that was on the radio as I rather abruptly slid into consciousness this morning. Now I know that I'm not the first person to write about this and probably won't be the last but it's always a sad time when you lose any person, especially an icon. I won't go on about his life, as unless you've been living under a rock in deepest Russia for the last twenty years you know all about MJ, suffice to say I immedately thought about my mom buying me a copy of his 'Bad' album on tape and jamming to it in my giraffe jarmies at the tender age of 6 or 7. Rest In Peach Michael.

Further bad news followed in that I heard about the passing of Farrah Fawcett. Now I admit that Farrah was a little ahead of my time so I don't know too much about her, except she looked hot in a bikini in her hay day. Anyway I'm sure she's in a better place and I'm sure her family are glad that she's finally over her suffering. Rest In Peace Farrah.

Anyway life must go on and those that have pass will always live on in the memories of others.

3 months left and counting....

Well I have exactly three months left of carrying the title 'unmarried'. On the 23 September I tie the knot with the love of my life.

Now before you say that I'm getting all mushy, you must understand that getting married is a big step for me. Not that it isn't a big step for other people but subjectively it's a big step for me. I can still remember the time in the not to distant past where I used to openly boast to my friends that I would never get hitched, and here I am, wedding preperations are coming down the home straight, and I'm getting ready to spend my life with one person.

Now firstly for those of you that have never been married, I need to tell you about the joys of wedding preparations. I don't think anyone can give you enough info on how to properly prepare for your wedding as it is a rollercoaster ride filled with stress, relief and a good dose of nerves. I must say that I've been fortunate enough that Debs has handled most of the preparations and she has been a superstar in this area. I always said that if it was all left to me we would be getting married in jeans and a t-shirt in front of a magistrate.

Wedding preparations aside, I also had to wrap my head around the whole idea of getting married. You see I never grew up in a household where my mother and father were married, and ultimately I only grew up with my mom, so from a young age the whole spending your life with another person concept was unique to me. Even in my varsity days when I started dating I would drift in and out of relationships without any cause of concern, so it's been a big step for me to get my mind and attitude right for this next chapter of my life.

I think the turning point for me was to just sometimes go with the flow and not be so concerned with knowing how something will end up. You don't always have to know how your future will end up and I suppose that's one of the exciting joys of living life.

Ok, enough with the deep and mushy stuff, I have a bachelor party to look forward to.

Apparently it will take place over an entire weekend, yay!

The World Champions are Here!!!

It's been two weeks since my last blog and I wish I could lay the blame on procrastination but alas I only have work to blame and the two busiest weeks I've had in a long time.

To give you an idea, my job normally entails me sitting in an office, behind my laptop where I'm either typing or dictating. I don't really drive around, however in the first 5 days of June I managed to drive approx 2000 km's. That an average of approx 400 km's a day. Needless to say when I did get back to the office I was playing a serious game of catch-up, a game I'm still playing at the moment. And losing.

Anyway we all busy in our own way and I'm sure there are many of you who can relate.

During my travels I came up with alot of topic ideas to blog about, which hopefully will materialise on my blog in the coming days.

An interesting place I visited last week for one of my matters was the bustling metropolis of Phalaborwa, which is 5 mins outside of the Kruger Park. Now I cant remember the last time I went to the Kruger Park, and I'm sure it was back in the 80's, so going back to that part of our country was really an eye opener.

That part of Limpopo is truly beautiful and just driving through Magoebaskloof brought back memories of the hiking I used to do through the sappi plantations, it was like being in rain forest. Phalaborwa is interesting in its own right, it's like a little city time forgot about, and I had to appear in the Magistrates Court, which was completely foreign to me, as I'm only used to the major Courts in Jhb. Anyway it was a interesting trip and I hope to spend more time there when I go back in July.

The other interesting event this week was I went to my first international soccer match. It was the friendly game between Italy and New Zealand, on Wednesday night. The game was held at Attridgeville Stadium. When I first heard that we would be going to Attridgeville I immediately had images of the uprisings and problems that occurred there in the past and I was completely hesitant about going, but when we got there I was pleasantly surprised. The streets were spotless, the neighbourhood quiet and all the houses neat. I felt very embarrassed for being so ignorant. Now don't get me wrong I'm sure there are many townships around our country that are dangerous and dirty but I think the lesson I took away is don't judge a town without a visit.

As for the soccer game it was a thrilling game, with Italy winning 4-3 but I was impressed with New Zealand, who are currently ranked 82 in the world, to fight off the current world champions till the final minutes of the game. I would have probably enjoyed the soccer more if I wasn't sitting in the rain under an umbrella and not being able to feel my legs due to the cold, but being an Azzurri fan means you take the good with the bad.

On the subject of the Azzurri I was also fortunate enough to attend a reception at the Italian Ambassador's house last night where Debs and I met the entire Italian soccer team. It was like being a school boy and seeing your heroes walk through the door. I got some pictures with a few players, which I'll put up when I get a chance, and Debs was in her element meeting Fabio Cannavaro, the captain, who according to Debs is "...one of the hottest soccer players to play the game...". Personally I didn't think he was that spectacular but I was assigned camera duty nevertheless and took a pic of Debs and Cannavaro, which I'm sure will be made into our Christmas card for family and friends.

As for the weekend I'm going to attempt to take it easy and get some couch time in. I'm also looking forward to the Confed Cup kicking off on Sunday and I hope Bafana Bafana can continue their winning streak. I'll definitely be getting the Vuvuzela out for the kickoff.

Soccer Excitement

I've been running around this morning, and along my travels I happened to drive past Soccer City in Crown Mines, and actually had to slow down and really take the stadium in.

Most people know that Soccer City is going to host the Johannesburg leg of the world cup, and most people have seen it on the telli, but it's just mind blowing seeing it in real life.

It's calabash design is spectacular and driving past this morning really instilled a sense of pride in our Country. It going to be the 6th largest stadium in the world and will hold around 90 000 spectators. Very cool.

Often we surrounded by alot of negativity about our country and it gets people down, including me, however seeing something like this just shows that in some areas of life we are getting things right, and hopefully this will rub off on the other areas that are struggling a little.

As it's Friday I won't get all deep and mushy, however if you do drive past the stadium slow down a little or even stop and really take it in, it's amazing. Click here for more info on the stadium.

As for my plans for the weekend, nothing special is planned. I hear it might be a little chilly this weekend, so I think I'll use our fireplace for the first time, with a glass of wine and a good movie. And of course I believe there's a rugby game to watch.

Go Bulls!

Until Monday, enjoy the weekend.

Introduction

I've always been fascinated with the whole concept of blogging and the idea that through posting your thoughts and happenings online for the whole world to read, and in turn you reading other people's blogs, the concept of globalisation and the world getting smaller and more connected really starts to dawn on me.

I've been playing around with the idea of starting my own blog for some time now and have always put it off due to either a busy work day or just pure procrastination which, as you will learn about me in later posts, I'm very good at. In fact if procrastination was an Olympic sport I would definitely be part of a national team and would've won a few medals by now.

A few months back however I was introduced to some friends' blogs and have followed their adventures quite closely since that introduction and after a while I felt very selfish as I was reading other people's happenings without ever letting them read mine, and so this is how my blog was born.

As to a little abit of info on who I am, I'm a born and bred Joburg boy. I love the city, the energy, the people, and everything else that goes with it. By profession I'm an attorney, hence the title of my blog, and I love what I do. Most of the time.

I'm currently engaged to the most amazing woman and I'm finally making the final plans on settling down and starting a new chapter of my life.

Well this is my first post of hopefully many and I will try my sincerest not to let the procrastination thing interfere with my posting.