Young David

Dear Shaik,

I’m sorry that we won’t get to see you tomorrow before we leave. Thank you so much for your letter, it really does mean a lot to me. You were the first person I engaged with upon arrival in Singapore, and you epitomized the warm and friendly reception we’ve received ever since then - you were approachable, always smiling and cracking jokes, and exuded a sense of confidence and trustworthiness.

I admit that I initially experienced some anxiety in leaving our bags and laptops (my life!) with you for the day, but don’t take it personally - that’s my South African, home-grown paranoia, thanks to our disastrously high crime rate. I wouldn’t even try it back home!

Our time in Singapore has been wonderful, thank you. We’ve enjoyed the local culture, fantastic public transportation system (We rode the MRT a lot today!), and especially the relaxed vibe. We leave tomorrow evening, and hope to spend the day at Sentosa.

I’d really like to keep in touch - my contact details are on this blog, or on my Facebook profile.

Take care,
David (and Gayle) Young

I spent two and a half hours this afternoon at the Randburg Department of Home Affairs, simply to collect my new temporary passport. As I walked in, I noticed the glossy poster on the wall, proudly displaying the department seal, and boldly proclaiming their vision: “Providing a world class service”

I wait for 15 minutes in the queue for the collections counter, and when I arrive at the front, I noticed a handwritten note on an A4 page, which said “Sorry… Computer’s are offline”. It looked as if it had been there for a while. I was told that my passport would be ready within 10 minutes, and pointed to a metal bench against the wall, to wait.

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My wife and I differ on our Facebook philosophies. Maybe it’s one of those gender-specific things. Her rule is “don’t befriend me unless you really want to talk to me“. She’s a woman. She wants to connect. To relate. To be more than a status icon on somebody’s hundreds-of-friends list.

My rule is “befriend me. Maybe we’ll even talk“. It’s a sad fact that my daily life is so crowded, with so many actions, inputs, and open loops, that unless I notice you on Twitter, IM, email, Facebook, or “RealLife” (probably in that order of update frequency!), we’re going to miss each other.

So, the big personal advantages of Facebook for me, is my newfound ability to keep in touch with friends near and far, with minimal effort. I’ve found old school buddies, family members, and new friends. I check that handy little mini-feed, and now I know that my cousin is traveling, a friend is immigrating to Switzerland, my sister started teaching again yesterday, and another friend is currently in Peru.

So, if I befriend you, but don’t engage you, I’m not “using” you, I’m “hanging out” with you, mostly in comfortable silence

My new friend Chris, who handled our insurance claim on the big appliances destroyed in the fire, dropped off our replacement washing machine today. When we spoke, he talked about sending his driver, and then due to timing, he ended up coming himself to drop it off. I pictured him arriving in a bakkie, or some form of delivery vehicle.

He arrived in a Nissan Micra. A tiny little car. With my washing machine fitting easily in the boot. An tiny, impressive little car…

My friends and family will tell you that I’m fairly sloppy when it comes to my car. I leave junk in the back seats, I have it washed far too infrequently, and I don’t get at all uptight when a passenger dings the door against the wall. (All three things, in my experience, are expected of men and their cars)

But, I’m extremely touchy when it comes to my laptop. My MacBook has a beautiful glossy screen, and I take pains to keep it clean. Although I can’t ever manage to get the white chassis completely clean, my MacBook at it’s worst is much cleaner than my car at it’s best.
I sat with a client the other day, showing him data on my screen. Every time he wanted to ask a question, or point out an issue, he touched my screen with his fingertip. I’ve got these greasy, smudgy finger marks all over my screen.

What should be the penalty for screen-touching? A parental slap on the hand, a gentle talking-to, or a peanut-butter flavored counter-attack?

Technorati Tags: peeves, fingers

This morning, I took a camcorder with me to do duty at the boarding house. I wanted to record impromptu messages from the boys to “Mr G“, my good friend and mentor who taught at the school for 4 years, before emigrating to New Zealand.

As soon as I whipped out the camcorder, the boys had the typical human reaction - they shied away, embarrassed and self-conscious. Come to think of it, I’d probably do the same, if somebody pointed a live video camera at me.

It all turned around, however, as soon as I mentioned that I wanted video messages for Mr G. Instead of fleeing the camera, the boys approached it with the same familiarity and friendliness they would have shown for the man himself.

I think it’s a measure of the boys’ trust and respect for this man, that they felt at ease in front of the camera, once they knew he’d be on the other end.

Dave Cheong has an interesting article on his blog, entitled “18 Ways to Stay Focused at Work“. My wife and I were just discussing working to music this evening - normally, I work in silence, and I find myself easily distracted. Perhaps the right music will help me to stay focused - tomorrow I’m going to try it

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Steve Pavlina has an post on his blog about the 8 positive changes he experienced after giving up TV for 30 days.

Since moving out of my folks house about 4 years ago, I haven’t watched much TV. My wife and I decided not to get a TV when we got married, and it’s a decision we’ve still very happy with. That’s not to say that we don’t watch TV episodes, or DVDs, but we’re not bound by the broadcast schedule of the SABC.

Steve’s article applies to more than just TV however - we certainly have time-wasting habbits / activities that we could do without in our lives - such as PC games..

This is the first time I’ve read Steve’s blog, and it’s a keeper

Being recently (4 months!) married, I really enjoyed the following:

11 “Don’t-Tell-the-Husband” Secrets All Women Keep

11 “Don’t-Tell-the-Wife” Secrets All Men Keep

I’m really grateful for my beautiful wife, who as it happens, enjoys PC games and Sci-Fi movies with me. I’m a very lucky guy