Black "Kooga" Boots

So my wife has convinced me that I should start the long road back to fitness....well....honestly, the performance that the Springboks delivered against the All-Blacks inspired me to dust of the old rugby boots.


The Club I joined is just around the corner with a great bunch of guys. We played our first Merit Table game last weekend and won a well contested 10-7. It was a game of defence with a half-time score of 0-0. I thoroughly enjoyed it. My dear wife was there to support me all the way, so it was just appropriate for me to be injured :-) I acted like an amature running onto the field without my trusted gum-guard (seeing that I bough all my gear the previous couple of days....this one slipped my mind). As Murphy would have it I got a knee on my chin and my tongue came a good second against my teeth. It is amazing how quickly ones tongue can heal, but during the game I've never seen so much blood. I just had too keep my mouth closed everytime I was in close vacinity to the referee.

Who wants to go off the field during their first game back.

Training is much harder than I remember, but the feeling that your body worked a bit had a bit of a sweat and maybe a couple of knocks is as exilirating as I recall.

We are playing against Millwall this weekend (a couple of friends of mine play for this club), so that should prove to be interresting.

Keep your studs on the field.
Ernst

PS. It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.
- Muhammad Ali-

Brown "Reef" Flip Flops

The wonders of Croquet: The weekend just passed, our director took the company to the croquet field to try and understand this mysterious "sport". I applogise if the qoutations around "sport" offends you (for all you fanatic followers of the game), but I'm still trying to get my head around it.

To be honest, we had a ball.

Croquet is quite a fascanating game, especially considering the fact that we were 180 players in total. Each of us getting about 4 games through the course of the day.

Our director, Reg Bramford, is the current Croquet World Campion, so we enjoyed quite a special exibition of skill and tallent. The Braai (steak burgers and boerewors) made the day extra special.



In general it was a good day out for Catherine and I (Greg and Liezel too), a welcome break from the demanding week.

On another note, Catherine got a raise this week, so by next week she will move to the Visa department here at 1st Contact. She is excited about the prospects and new challenges that it will provide.

Thanks for listenning.
Ernst

PS. "Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes."
- Donald Rumsfeld

Black "Goor" shoes

Yes, work is my life at the moment. We're entering exciting times here at 1st Contact. Soon we will rule the Limited Company industry. :-)

Simon (my boss), has given me a nice raise this week. This makes me rather happy. Come to think of it, not many people can say "Simon says..." in the context of work and not intend a pun.

To be honest, this is my first attempt at blogging. (As if you didn't notice that)

I am seriously enjoying my profession, I'd even go as far as saying I'm enjoying my position within this profession. I've been doing some soul searching in terms of what I'd like to achieve in life (I'm talking about work here)..... I suppose it's the whole happiness question and everything.

I've been discussing this eternal question with a couple of close friends of mine (including my dad, a man I genuinely respect). I think there's a couple of things that encourage us to enjoy what we do. I acknowledge that this differs from one person to the next, but I think there is a couple of traits we share (in different quantities, be that as it may).

The feeling of making a difference is one, security, feeling challenged/entertained/amused (I group these together because they all keep us awake) and utilising our talents.

I think the art is to identify how important these aspects are to us, in what way we are unique in these areas and then to find a place for us where we can effectively meet these needs.

I am thoroughly excited about the privilege that we've all received to be able to try and figure this out for ourselves. I think that is probably one of the single most important gifts we have received.

On that note, I'll be signing off.

Shoes safely in the box.
Ernst

PS. Remember to polish