The good ol days...

... way back when life was simple and kids played without fear of being kidnapped. Of course I am speaking of none other than the mysterious disappears of the much loved Buzz Rodell. For those who didn't know him... SHAME ON YOU!

http://homepage.mac.com/jcm776/.Pictures/bu_zz.pdf

It's all just too much

Ever notice how on January 1 everything seems to increase except your salary? Why is it that the salary should only be considered increasable somewhere between April and August? And what is with these people increasing their prices on the first day of the year? It's like: "Happy New Year! That just cost you an extra 10%!"

If my bank account was an advert for Mastercard, it would go something like this:

Life Insurance... 10% increase
Vehicle Insurance... 15% increase
Medical Aid... 10% increase
Cellphone Account... 12% increase
Salary... priceless, UNCHANGED

There are some things money can't buy... that's because after the Mastercard charges and the debtors, THERE'S NONE LEFT!!!!!!!

The Wishlist 2006

So it's that time of year again when we all make those great resolutions and good intentions... Well, I took a look back on my list from 2005 to see how well I did. Here goes...


So… another new year in upon us, and here I sit thinking about resolutions. Well, I don’t do resolutions, but I do have some… lets call them, GOALS.

1. Pay off debts: This is a biggy. There is a lot to still do, especially with the car installments, but I really want to try and get it down quite a bit this year. Of course this may be a little more difficult if I have those dents fixed...

This one made some steady progress, but probably not as much as I would like, so it stays on as number one for this year. I have subsequently gained a reasonably good financial advisor, so lets see how this goes.

2. Exercise more: My gym contract will come in handy here. Last year I took almost 10kgs off my 3rd wheel, but went and put 3 of that back on over Christmas! Doh! So this year my goal will be to removed 13kgs and take my 15” tire down to a 10”.

My gym contract lapsed in September. I only found out about that in October. I re-signed-up in November. That should tell you how well this went... It stays. We'll try again this year.

3. Stop some bad habits: I bite my fingers often… particularly when I’m stressed. This year I’m gonna let them grow a bit. Some other rather not-so-great habits include swearing. Trying to control that one!!

Okay, the finger biting story didn't end... AT ALL. I think I forgot about this one right after I typed it up. The swearing? Hmm, it had it's moments. I'll leave this entry here for about year.

4. Stress less: I am bad in this. I get stressed quite quickly sometimes. Sometimes it takes me a while, but usually I get pretty badly stressed out. R E L A X. Life is not worth it.

2005 marked the first year as the NMMU. It was a highly pressurized, high emotion and high stress year, especially all the uncertainty surrounding our jobs and increases. And of course Management did a bang up job of screwing up the entire university... so basically I think I had a right to be slightly stressed last year. Having said that, I feel a lot happier about 2006. My stess levels should take a dive this year.

5. Take opportunities and make the most of them: I’ve had some huge opportunities come my way in the past and for various insecurities, fear and just plain blatant stupidity I didn’t take them. This year my inner 75-year old man is gonna pass away.

This was indeed an improvement last year. I gave the "thumbs-up" to a lot more opportunities that came my way last year and some have pointed their way to even bigger doors of opportunity for 2006. I'd like to become something more of a risk-taker this year.

6. Study something: My boss will love that. I have the chance to study for free this year and I think I may just do that. I’m in to the whole writing scene now, so lets see what happens.

Yeah... that never happened. However, I've found a fantastic writing course which I plan on studying this year.

7. Be more tolerable, but take less crap: Okay, so that may seem like a contradiction, but really, it’s not. Last year when I made a decision on something, I stuck to it, even in cases when I was wrong… So this year, we’re gonna try and loosen up a bit, but not be walked all over.

Yeah, that can come off... it makes no sense. lol

8. Go Overseas: I have been saying for the last 10 years that I wanna go overseas… this year I’m gonna make it happen.

This didn't quite happen, although I did take a trip to Zimbabwe early in February. My intention is to try and go more abroad this year, although I'm not going to make it a top priority.

9. Become Famous: Nuff said.

Still nuff said.

And new additons for 2006:

10. Make my own luck: I've come to learn more and more that luck is made more than it is received. You can make your own luck by making your own opportunities. This is what I intend to do this year.

Okay, thats it! 2006, Here I commmmmmeeeeeeee.