This Is Where I Am Now

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”

—M. Scott Peck(1936-2005); Psychiatrist, Author

Hillsborough River State Park Camping Trip

Camping trip - Hillsborough River State Park

Sleepless Night In South Beach

An absolute blast!

University of Miami Homecoming Weekend

We were walking home from dinner when all heck broke loose! Saw this 20 minute awesome fireworks display at the University of Miami campus.

A Thought on Success

The fifth One-Day match between India and Australia in Hyderabad today was an absolute humdinger. With Sachin Tendulkar passing the 150-run mark, with 6 wickets standing and India cruising towards 351, Oz looked out of it. But they won, with 2 balls to spare, bowling India for 347 all out. The commentators put it down to "Australianism", coined by Jon Arlott 60 yrs ago on a Oz tour of England.

"Australianism means single-minded determination to win - to win within the laws but, if necessary, to the last limit within them. It means where the 'impossible' is within the realm of what the human body can do, there are Australians who believe that they can do it - and who have succeeded often enough to make us wonder if anything is impossible to them. It means they have never lost a match - particularly a Test match - until the last run is scored or their last wicket down."
"South Africanism" there must be too - we've shown the same grit often enough.

But a great quote all the same, and very applicable to business, entrepreneurship, success and determination in any event.

The New Cape Town Stadium - Gearing up for the '10 World Cup

Washington Politicians

I voted for the Democrats because I didn't like the way the Republicans were running the country. Which is turning out to be like shooting yourself in the head to stop your headache.

- Jack Mayberry

Las Olas Art Festival

We drove up to Fort Lauderdale and the Las Olas Art Festival on Sunday and visited with the up-and-coming pop artist Ed King, who had some amazing pieces on display. There were hundreds of stalls. Here Sarah is becoming acquainted with some outdoor farm animal art.

Sunset Kayaking

Pic: The Brickell skyline from Key Biscayne.

We had a brilliant sunset kayak trip along the Miami skyline tonight.
A dolphin followed us for a while and a fish jumped right on Sarah's
lap!

Talks on Future Asian Union

In a very interesting recent development, China and Japan began talks in early October on building an Alliance. In the meantime, Russia, India, Australia, and other countries have been included in early talks on a future East Asian Community, similar to the European Union.

The global power balance is certainly shifting and it is fascinating to be able to watch history unfold in such a way.

Identifying Generation Y

Who is Generation Y?

I've since forgotten the finer details of my MBA lectures regarding the Silent Generation (those born before 1946), the famous Baby Boomers (our parents - born before 1959), and then us - Generation X (born between 1960-1979).

Generation Y or the Millennial Generation (born from 1980 onwards) are a truly different speciment, much more so then the differences noticeable between the preceeding three Generations. Their first mayor memory will probably be of the death of Princess Diana, the fall of the Berlin Wall, or maybe even the 1986 challenger explosion. According to the January 2006 newsletter of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, statistically speaking, “antidepressants, prescription medication and other behavior-altering drugs, such as RItalin, [making] Gen Yers the most medicated generation in history.” See, they also grow up in increasing socio-economic instability and tragedies, and their parents solve their trauma by sending them to psychologists and putting them on drugs prescribed by society.

This crowd grew up with technology, with rapid change, and in culturally, socio-economically, and politically diverse environments. They are young, affluent, educated, brass, very independant due to their parents generation's high divorce rate, and empowered. They are excellent networkers and travelling is not a big deal to them as it was to their parents' parents. They have a wide perspective of the world and are knowleagable of other cultures.

Gen Y grew up with the Internet, immersed in the digital world. What Gen X experiences as an information overload is no problem to them. They are used to intense multi-tasking: Texting while in a conversation, while listening to music on their iPod, while surfing the Internet. Texting, gaming, social networking, the use of hand-held devices, and the dissemination of personal information is part of their daily life.

They are less racially intolerant and more accepting of alternative lifestyles. They have much shorter concentration spans - one reason why the printed newspaper is dying. However, things have come easy for them and they get easily aggitated if things doesn't go their way. Ever seen a kid impatient with a slow Internet connection?! Or angry that a call dropped that was made halfway around the world?! The mere existance of the technology still amazes me!

Very importantly, being the first generation to grow up with the Internet, they have blogging, micro-blogging, texting, YouTube, Facebook etc - this Generation has an opinion about issues, brands, and corporate malpractices. They have a voice. Mainstream pop-culture has made them very aware of brands and issues, especially non-profit topics and grassroots development issues.

According to recent studies, approximately 95% of Gen Y in the US are registered on one or more social networking sites. They are financially savvy, more so then their parents. It is folly for marketers and communicators to ignore them. The landscape has changed.

South Beach Business Chapter - Social Night!

Our business chapter had our monthly social night at an office this time - and we played Twister! I'm way less flexible than I thought and had to bail early. Fun night.

Sarah's Birthday Night Out

After a week of research and a plethora of well-intended options -
advice from colleagues and friends, I had chosen a South Beach French
restaurant for our Thursday night special dinner. The occassion:
Sarah's 30th birthday.

It was supposed to be an evening of dazzle, special smiles, and
stylish dining. Like those college-era, romantic dating days when I
would turn on the charm at will. It was not to be.

As I parallel-parked the car in a side street close to the restaurant
I threw my back out so badly, I could hardly walk. I still find it ridiculous, even writing about it! This was minutes after jokingly telling Sarah that her youth was over!

This was only the start. As the we - Sarah the birthday girl and the
Hunchback of Notre Dame - stumbled into the French restaurant, Sarah
informed me that she does not eat French food. Did I not know this?
Did I not do a bit of planning first? After all, this is her 30th birthday. It's supposed to be special!

Things are a little hazy due to the excruciating pain in my back, but I think I
convinced her that there are a Plan B - another restaurant I chose,
just in case. Close by. We parked in Beach Rd, South Beach, and proceeded to
Fox Cafe. She daintily in her pretty outfit, me shuffling along like a crab,
hunched over from the pinched nerve.

Then it started pouring without any prior warning - Miami-style - and we darted as wet as drowning rats, through the nearest door. It turned out to be a gay male bar where we
waited out the tropical thunder storm -not the intimate, romantic atmosphere I envisioned for Sarah's 30th, but what the heck - she liked the music.

We finally had our dinner at (See pic) Fox Cafe (The worst food I've ever tasted, and the patio roof leaked in the driving rain.) and Sarah were able to show great character and laugh about the experience. What a gal!

Happy birthday Princess!

Lazy Weekend in Stuart, Florida

We spend a lazy, fun-filled weekend at the South African Termies in Stuart. We watched
some big screen Currie Cup rugby, ate way too much, and most
importantly, spent time out of Miami in order to restore my sanity.
Here we are in Hobe Sound hiding from the sweltering 90+ degree sun. Floated down the river, swam in the nearby ocean and had a jolly good time with our adopted family.

Thanks Art & Adele!

(South) Africa Enters the Space Race

The BBC reports that South Africa has entered the "space race" with a billion Rand satellite launched from Kazachstan recently. One can surely be elated over the many advantages of the program, but with a staggering unemployment rate of 22% in SA, it all becomes a wee bit dumb. Could these resources not be better spent on bio-technology and other sciences directlybeneficial to a needy population that has to be fed.

Canandaigua Lake, Napels, NY

Watkins Glen, NY

Family Reunion in New York

Footbal Star Gets Two Years for Shooting Himself in the Leg.

More and more often these days I come across news that just makes me go "Uh!?"

Former Giants Super Bowl star Plaxico Buress was sentenced to two years in prison for shooting himself in the leg! Well, not exactly, but that's what it comes down to.

In an incident that happened in a New York nightclub last Fall, Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh with his own gun. The gun was not licensed in New York, thus violating the City's stringent gun laws. His Florida gun carrying license expired in 2008.

Burress, a former Giants wide receiver, is best remembered for his last minute winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII, giving the NY team an unexpected 17 - 14 win over the New England Patriots.

Read the complete article on ESPN.

A Quick Recap of the Past 7 Months

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

Dear friends and family,
Apart from regular one-line Twitter updates it's been a while since I/we have updated the blog. We are humbled by your visits to our blog where you can get glimpses into our life here in Florida. Hence I sincerely apologize for our long silence since January.
During our 2-week Xmas holiday with friends up in the Smokey Mountains, I often tried to "see" the year ahead, to plan, to mentally prepare for '09. There had been signs of things to come, but it has been more than I expected. It's been a testing year for both Sarah and I.

Sarah's studies is going very well. She is doing a Masters in International Studies and Conflict Resolution at Nova Southeastern University here in South-Florida. In fact, it is going extremely well. But is has kept her very busy and we see little of each other during weeknights due to her class schedule and the taxing amount of work. She just came back from a 2 month internship in Cusco, in the Andean mountains in Peru - more about that later.
I think her motivation is high, since she is determined to leave her current profession as a Elementary School teacher ASAP. We both agreed that this (Aug '09 - June '10) should be her last year of teaching.

In December '08 I partnered with an amazing lady, Julien Sharp - a 15 yr veteran in the field - and we formed Stylo Creative Communications. Stylo is a marketing & communications company with a strong focus on New Media, social media marketing, content, and communication technology. She has an established office in New York, with me tasked with building a solid client base here in Miami.
I've been building and networking for 8 months and we are only now starting to see the fruits of our labor. Our client list, although not where we want it, is getting there, our strategic alliances and partnerships have given us strength, and we have exponentially increased our service offerings and ability. Soon we will be launching our new website. It is very exciting.

I am still the Alumni & Development Officer at CAU, the small Puerto Rican-based University. Balancing two jobs is tough, and I'm still learning time management skills, among many other essentials. The job is extremely frustrating, since the management is argaic, and very happy with keeping the status quo of an institution that is on par with similar institutions in Puerto Rico, but already lagging very far behind other Florida institutions competing for the same student pools. Studying my MBA, I had a foretaste of good management and this is a fantastic example of how NOT to run a business - a great case study.
I feel that I have been professionally stagnating since '08. There are other opportunities out there, but since Sarah is studying here and I am building Stylo, I have hold out in pursuing them. I truly hope that in hindsight I will not have been wrong in this decision.
I had the privilege of attending the Annual National Conference of Higher Education Development, Alumni, and Marketing Professionals, held at Kansas State University. Attended by University reps from accross the country, I had a foretste of how thngs should be doen. As well as meeting some fantastic people, as an American for the first time! (I was the only attendee with an accent, and had to say I'm from South Africa about every 5 minutes.)

I visited Sarah in Peru and we had a wonderful week visiting the Inca's Sacred Valley, Macchu Pichu and some other treasures of the land. Then I spend a terrible 2 weeks in Lima withut a passport, but I will bore you with the details at another stage.

You can view Sarah's Peru blog and the many great pictures at:
http://web.me.com/texangal21

What?! It's Friday already?

Standing in Tuttle Creek State Park, Kansas, in the Flint Hills overlooking the Tuttle Creek Lake. It's sooo darn pretty!

Leaving Kansas City for Kansas State University, Manhatten.

is looking forward to travelling through 150 miles of Kansas countryside tomorrow PM.

Happy Fourth of July!

Boardwalk, Hollywood, Fl

The group cycled a beautiful 15 mile Coral Gables route this morning. Just beat the rain home. What a refreshing start to the day.

In the Heart of the Gator Nation

En route to Gainsville, Ocala area

NASA space shuttle launch

NASA space shuttle launch pad in the distance, Kennedy Space Center at
Cape Carnaveral, viewed from Titusville/Merrit Island.
After driving 150 miles to see the launch of the shuttle, word around
the hundreds of campfires were that it's been postponed till
Wednesday. Apparently due to a leak in the hydrogen tank.
Oh well, it was a beautiful drive and always great being out of Miami
and IN America.

The Don't Song

The song of the month!
We had quite a few chuckles over this one! (The base guitar player's mullet being the dream, of course.) ;-)
Click here to watch the music video.

South Africa's First Ladies

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa's newly elected President Jacob Zuma presented his State of the Nation Address at a joint sitting of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces at Parliament, June 3, 2009.

Pictured here at this historic event are Zuma's wives; Thobeka Mabhija, Nompumelelo Ntuli and Sizakele Khumalo. (Photo by Gallo Images)

New Career 23 Years in the Making

From last week's Bristol Evening Post:

Outside Bristol Zoo is the car park, with spaces for 150 cars and 8 coaches. It has been manned 6 days a week for 23 years by the same charming and very polite car park attendant with the ticket machine. The charges are £1. per car and £5. per coach.
On Monday 1 June, he did not turn up for work. Bristol Zoo management phoned Bristol City Council to ask them to send a replacement parking attendant.
The Council said "That car park is your responsibility." The Zoo said "The attendant was employed by the City Council... wasn't he?" The Council said "What attendant?"
Gone missing from his home is a man who has been taking daily the car park fees amounting to about £400 per day for the last 23 years...!

Kostelike storie. Ek hoop die knaap is nou erens op 'n tropiese eiland besig om 'n Mojito uit 'n kelkieglas te teug. Hy verdien sy aftrede!

"Rogerrrrrr!!!" Finally.

Shocked! It finally happened. I've arrived at the next stage in my life: a cute Afrikaans UM student called me "Oom" this morning.

Key West Memorial Weekend Parade

Mother's Day Bliss

Sunset, Juno Beach, Stuart, Central Florida.

Desperate Fundraising Tactic?

I saw this sign outside of a church in our area. See the irony?

Helen Zille the New Western Cape Premier

Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille was elected as the Western Cape premier on Wednesday. Her party beat the reigning national party, the ANC in last month's general election.

Zille, the former mayor of Cape Town, will lead a 22-member DA team in the 42-seat legislature. She and provincial leader Theuns Botha were sworn in in the Cape Town Chambers yesterday. Both leaders asked to take the religious oath, rather then a non-religious affirmation.

If the Western Cape were it's own country, I'd move back in a heartbeat. It is the province with the best economy, the best infrastructure, the least fraud by it's administrators, and offering the best quality of life. It is also the one province in South Africa that you can recommend to your foreign friends to visit with a clear conscience: both because it is safer then the rest of SA, and because it is a place of stunning natural beauty.

I'll wait and see before forming any worse impressions of Jacob Zuma, South Africa's new president. Maybe he rises from the African tribal culture, does not employ favoritism and nepotism, works to improve the lives of all South Africans, and not just to cement his own position as chief. Time will tell.

Swine Flu -When Pigs Will Fly

Swine flu: a real threat to the world population or blown out of proportion?

The current media hysteria with Swine Flu... oops, rather the H1N1 strain, reminds strongly of the experience we had living in S-E-Asia during the Bird Flu "epidemic".

I remember that the whole Taichung were wearing face masks. It was a funny time. The entrance to every building you entered were guarded by security guards with little electronic thermometers. Once we tried to enter a movie theatre and Sarah's temperature was measured at more than 120! Although the measuring instrument was obviously broken, we did not get to see the movie that night... Not a single person in Taichung ever contracted the disease.

Health officials taking stock of the epidemic in the aftermath found that 12 people died as a result of the virus, throughout the whole Asia (MSNBC). And the deaths occurred in rural areas where doctors and medical attention were not readily available.

An epidemic is when thousands are already infected and affected. The media is talking about an epidemic!? People are gullible - moeee!, I lost my herd, which direction are they running in now.

Pic: We all know who Kermit got the flu from!

I've been fighting the monster South-Florida sabel tooth flu virus for the last 6 days. Luckily, it is subsiding and we'll hopefully be able to enjoy the upcoming weekend in some good health.

Bahia Honda Key State Park

After hearing that Bahia Honda Key is a reservation area with a beautiful beach and camping facilities Sarah and I had to go see for ourselves.  Bahia Honda means "Deep Bay" in Spanish, the channel on the West of the island one of the deepest in the Florida Keys.

Bahia Honda Key, situated on the South side of the Seven-Mile Bridge at Mile Marker 37, is a small island, home of the 524-acre State Park.  Henry Flagler's old Bahia Honda bridge, build in 1937 still stands as a look-out area, but is no longer in use.

The scenic beach was voted as No. 1 on Tripadvisor and over the years as the most beautiful in Florida by various prestigious travel magazines.  Marine life is plentiful and snorkeling just offshore, I saw quite a bit, including baracudas (not so nice), a stingray, parrot fish etc.

It's close to Marathon to the North (grrrreat fresh seafood restaurants) and Key West to the South.  The camping sites look out over the ocean to the East and we are planning to go try them out again later with friends - before Summer and the mosquitoes come though!

A Demo in Archery

We attended a delightful mini South African BBQ on Saturday in Fort
Lauderdale. Johan showed up with his hobby - a new high-tech bow. He promptly continued to give us a demonstration in the accuracy and effectiveness of this impressive weapon.

High quality design of the new modern carbon and hybrid carbon-fibre/alloy arrows and the computerized sights gives incredible accuracy, as Johan showed - he hit a target area the size of a CD 5x in a row from a distance of approx 20 feet.

Sarah's Pennies for Peace Drive

My wife's just awesome. An unbiased opinion, naturally.

At the start of this semester Sarah initiated two charity drives at her school to raise money and awareness among her elementary school kids for selected causes. This fits in well with her graduate studies, and her dream - being involved in international relief work and grassroots development and education.
Here (pic) she is changing the bottles of pennies gathered by her students into money. We were standing at this change machine in Winn-Dixie from the better half of three hours! In her FREE time, because she's a teacher...

Pennies for Peace is a project of the non-profit Central Asia Institute (CAI). The organization focusses on community-based education, especially for young girls.
Pennies for Peace teaches children the rewards of sharing and working together to bring hope and educational opportunities to children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A penny in the United States is virtually worthless, but in Pakistan and Afghanistan a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy.
The penny, 1% of a dollar, is symbolic of the '1% of Gross Domestic Product' goal set by the United Nations. The goal was for wealthy countries to give foreign aid to impoverished nations each year.

Business Meeting This Morning in S-Beach

Although it's real character building getting up at 5:30 on Wednesday
mornings - these meetings are energizing and a great source for
business referrals.

The Sony Erickson Open, Key Biscayne

A business colleague recently invited me to attend the Sony Erickson Open with him, held at Key Biscayne. Reading up on the event afterwards, it is apparently rated as the fifth largest tennis tournament after the four mayors. Quite a feat.

Sarah happen to be at the same event on a school trip and we had a laugh running into each other unexpectedly. Not so funny was when she had a chance to talk to Roger Federer and did not know who he was!!
I ran into Novak Djokovic behind one of the tennis courts and he gave me his business card - if I'm ever in Serbia again!
Who knew Johan

Kriek (former South African) has a tennis academy in Brandenton, Florida (See last pic). As ek reg onthou het hy 'n Australiese Ope of twee vroeg in die tagtigs gewen.

Little Varmin!

Time To Go

It's been a while now that I've realized I'm done at my current job - time to leave. It's time to leave when staying means you are not growing professionally. Jobs are available in my field, much better jobs, but I'm also fortunate enough to have been involved in a new business venture the past few months (Stylo Creative Communications). This is extremely exciting, and I have the most amazing partner, but it means I cannot leave. The focus on this fantastic new venture is what is saving my sanity.

My frustration levels rise as soon as I enter the office, an organization with so much promise, but little to show. Management is old and stoic and reminds me somewhat of leadership in Africa: own interest served first and second; favoritism; (too) slow to respond to opportunities; not in touch with advances in the field. This School would be the ultimate MBA case study of what NOT to do to grow/expand your business, empower your employees, and be competitive in the market place.

The more things change the more they stay the same - or as they say in Thailand: "Same same difference!"

Kelly's Birthday Dinner

We had a bit of a get together last night in Downtown Hollywood. The ocassion: Kelly's birthday.

It was a special evening with good friends. This blogpost is also particularly special - it being the first one uploaded from my newly acquired iPhone!

More to come...

Business for Topless Coffee Shop in Maine Booming

An entrepreneur in Maine has combined two ingredients that always sells - coffee and nudity - into a startlingly successful venture in the small town of Vassalboro.

The waiters and waitresses, all topless interviewed were all just glad to have jobs, most having been laid of recently from their prior jobs.  The further flood of job applications for the jobs reflects the state of the economy and the rough job market at present.

Read the CNN article.

Great Quote on the US Government

A billion here, a billion there; sooner or later it adds up to real money.
- US senator Everett Dirksen (1896 - 1969)

England Cricket Team Smashed by Windies

The ING Miami Marathon

Die Suid-Afrikaners Trek Laer in Fort Lauderdale

Voorspoedige Nuwe Jaar

Al al ons vriende en familie wat steeds gereeld hier kom loer - vrede, vreugde, en voorspoed vir die Nuwe Jaar!

Daar is tans opwindende nuwe verwikkelinge in ons lewe en ons BouwerBlog ly onder die nuwe hope werk wat ons aandag aftrek. Ek sal stadigaan weer begin update en die daaglikse blogging hervat - en julle verwittig sodra dit gebeur!

Kom ons soek mekaar intussen op Facebook op. Ons hoor graag hoe gaan dit met julle.