I roll toward Wellington this morning with Kapiti Island visible for the first time in an age. Winter just will not give over, being more belligerent than petulant, as I have described it recently. Our long weekend was a sodden, no, flooded affair. Overcast on Saturday morning with the rain holding off just long enough for the College cricket side to wrap up a win. By evening the rain had blown in and it bucketed. Sunday and the wind had departed leaving 24 hours of continuous, monsoon like rain. Monday was more of the same, giving way to increasing winds in the evening, followed overnight and all day Tuesday by gale force southerlies, bringing driving rain and cold well into the night.
I hope, nay pray, that summer will pluck up the courage to give winter a good spanking and take charge. Talk is this is the first of a three year El Ninho cycle………???
As for the College cricket, the boys did well on a damp track with oodles of grass. The boys put on 100 all out in 38 overs. (Travis 11 from 8 balls, 1 x 4 and 1 x 6 batting at 11) A competitive total on that track if they bowled good lines. They triumphed dismissing St Bernards for 73. (Travis 6 overs, no maidens, 1 for 24) The boys fielded well, taking all the catches on offer and creating breakthroughs at important times. Travis’ bowling was indifferent, impatient almost. His stock delivery is away swing, meaning that most of the time the batsmen aren’t good enough to get an edge, playing and missing, playing and missing. He then reverts to trying to take the batsmans head off, which most often slides down leg side for the wide. Problem is when he gets it right, he is dangerous and he gets the ball to zip around the rib cage and ears. It is a good attacking weapon, so I am not discouraging him too much, though I would prefer to see the yorker, given his ability to swing it, as an attacking weapon. I try not to interfere too much, he needs to experiment and figure out what works for him….. I also need to work on his action just a little, noticed a few bad habits creeping in.
The big news is the end result of my exploring a few contract opportunities, which I have written about recently. I have been offered a role in a consulting firm! A fantastic opportunity which I am about to accept. A salary which equals my current package, plus a percentage of revenue, incentive rewards and career development. I will get to put my knowledge and experience to good use in some of New Zealand’s biggest Corporate Companies.
The opportunity is exciting and I cannot wait to get my teeth into it.
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That was yesterday and I did not get to post the update to the blog, so time for more news and developments. Not a quiet life we lead…….
Tendered my resignation to EDS yesterday and signed the new employment agreement with Starfish Consulting. The new boss was beaming and immediately took me on a tour of the office, announcing my arrival in 4 weeks time and introducing me to team. I had assessed the bosses as dynamic and vibrant, but I was not prepared for the vibe and smiles that awaited me around the offices of Starfish!
I look forward to working with these folks and adding value. They will genuinely appreciate the experiences and knowledge I bring to the organisation. Of particular interest to them, it appears, is my knowledge of high maturity project processes. Not just the theory, but implementation and use in a “living” world. How to apply the theory to derive better project practice. I suspect I will be doing a fair amount of coaching and mentoring, which I do so enjoy!
Meghan turned all of 13 yesterday and I left the office early so that Des and I could take her shopping for her gift. Met the farrier (spelling? The guy that does the horses hooves and shoes) at the pony club when we collected Megs, so arranged to have Melba’s hooves trimmed. She is unshod, so needs her nails clipped and filed about six weekly. That done, we were off to the Saddlery Warehouse in Kapiti road, to pick out a saddle. A daunting task with our limited knowledge but knowing that the young lady down there is very knowledgeable and if we got it wrong, we would be able to exchange the goods.
Saddles come in different sizes and have things called gullets and girths, are mounted or mounted and all sorts of other stuff. Mostly we just nod and say yes, with a smile, but the blank eyes are a sure sign.
Saddle, stirrups, girth and saddle cloth in hand, Meghan is gifted and all that remains is cake, candles and our traditionally out of tune “Happy Birthday”. Megs is stoked, so the money is well spent. I just hope it fits, which Ms Olley will help her with this afternoon.
Meghan sorted it was time to fetch Travis from cricket practice and get him down to athletics training at the Paraparaumu Domain. I had some time ago offered to teach Travis the basics of hurdling and had suggested he find out if the club have hurdles and whether we could get access to them. The end result is that I am now committed to sharing whatever knowledge I have about hurdling with a bunch of kids at the club and will be “coaching” them.
It all stems from the very poor quality of hurdling I witnessed at the Wellington Champs at the end of the last athletics season. One could liken it to kangaroos hopping fences! And we are not Aussies, we are Kiwis……
I was extremely fortunate to have had some really good technique coaching in primary school. Mr Alan Hartley was his name, so I will pass some of that on to these kids if they are interested. Could probably teach them a little about high jump too.
We are having so much fun and Ma and Pa are coming to visit, so life is good!
Quickie Update
A weekend departed, a long weekend approaching! Isn’t life just grand.
Only real news is our medal winning performance on the soccer pitch last Saturday. 0-0 at halftime and 3-0 winners by the end of extra time. Travis set-up the first with a quality cross to feet in the box and scored the third, a nice goal from the right edge of the box, to beat the keeper and slam the ball inside the left hand post.
A quiet celebration at the club rooms coupled with the presentation of the medals as league champions and home by 6:30PM, in time to watch the netball test and the rugby league tri-nations test, flitting between the channels, trying to appreciate both matches. The netball was quiet special, for a non-enthusiast! The pace of the game was outstanding with the Silver Ferns and the Aussies going at it in a fairly physical affair. The ferns levelled the three test series at 1-1 with their six point victory margin, only to loose the decider in Christchurch on Monday evening.
As for the Kiwi rugby league side, well they are the “small boys” or the “poor boys” of the code. Though a valiant effort, they were no match for the more polished Kangaroos and lost 28-12? Thereabouts, though the score probably flatters them somewhat. They play the Kangaroos again this weekend in Aus, so expect a thumping!
More sport last weekend, saw the Wellington Lions win through to the local provincial competition, thoroughly beating Auckland at Eden Park, 30-15. The team, the backbone of the Hurricanes Super 14 side, continues to be a pleasure to watch. They play an expansive game, with a tough-as-nails pack of forwards supplying a backline packed with fire power. Consider the players on display on this team: Rodney So’Oalo, Chris Masoe, Neemia Tialata and Jerry Collins in the forwards. Piri Weepu, Tana Umaga, Ma’a Nonu, Corey Jane, Conrad Smith and Jimmy Gopperth, who has hardly missed a kick all season, busting tackles and scoring tries. Pity the final is in Hamilton this weekend…….
The Wellington International Jazz Festival kicks off in two weeks time and I am looking forward to booking a night in Wellington for Des and I to take in a concert and then party the night away at one of the festival venues. We have not taken time to ourselves in ages, so it is long overdue and well earned. Great to have teenage kids that can take care of themselves for an evening.
Save to say that we are all well, that is our news for now.
Only real news is our medal winning performance on the soccer pitch last Saturday. 0-0 at halftime and 3-0 winners by the end of extra time. Travis set-up the first with a quality cross to feet in the box and scored the third, a nice goal from the right edge of the box, to beat the keeper and slam the ball inside the left hand post.
A quiet celebration at the club rooms coupled with the presentation of the medals as league champions and home by 6:30PM, in time to watch the netball test and the rugby league tri-nations test, flitting between the channels, trying to appreciate both matches. The netball was quiet special, for a non-enthusiast! The pace of the game was outstanding with the Silver Ferns and the Aussies going at it in a fairly physical affair. The ferns levelled the three test series at 1-1 with their six point victory margin, only to loose the decider in Christchurch on Monday evening.
As for the Kiwi rugby league side, well they are the “small boys” or the “poor boys” of the code. Though a valiant effort, they were no match for the more polished Kangaroos and lost 28-12? Thereabouts, though the score probably flatters them somewhat. They play the Kangaroos again this weekend in Aus, so expect a thumping!
More sport last weekend, saw the Wellington Lions win through to the local provincial competition, thoroughly beating Auckland at Eden Park, 30-15. The team, the backbone of the Hurricanes Super 14 side, continues to be a pleasure to watch. They play an expansive game, with a tough-as-nails pack of forwards supplying a backline packed with fire power. Consider the players on display on this team: Rodney So’Oalo, Chris Masoe, Neemia Tialata and Jerry Collins in the forwards. Piri Weepu, Tana Umaga, Ma’a Nonu, Corey Jane, Conrad Smith and Jimmy Gopperth, who has hardly missed a kick all season, busting tackles and scoring tries. Pity the final is in Hamilton this weekend…….
The Wellington International Jazz Festival kicks off in two weeks time and I am looking forward to booking a night in Wellington for Des and I to take in a concert and then party the night away at one of the festival venues. We have not taken time to ourselves in ages, so it is long overdue and well earned. Great to have teenage kids that can take care of themselves for an evening.
Save to say that we are all well, that is our news for now.
News (from) Zealand
Travis was not able to secure a place in the under seventeen Kapiti / Horowhenua (District) representative cricket team. The coaches have recognised his potential and believe he will get his chance. The reality is that he is still something of a novice and was competing for a place as a change bowler in the squad. The selectors have opted for players with more experience and cricket maturity. Fair call, with Travis only recently turning fifteen and effectively in his second season. I will say this for him though: He was one of the very few, if not the only player at the trials session on Sunday afternoon to be positive and attacking in his approach to the game. Bowling to take wickets, not shy to bowl the bouncer, the effort ball and seek out the yorker. He nabbed a couple, both against top order batsmen. Impressive given that the approach from all the batsmen was survive at all costs. There were four boundaries in three hours of cricket, the first being four byes, off Travis’ bowling after beating the bat and the keeper with a yorker. One four, struck by Travis through mid wicket and two sixes, monster'ed by the same Travis. More remarkable was his boundaries were struck off last years two opening bowlers!
They have elected to go with experience and Travis will have a great shout at making the squad next year, meaning he would still get two seasons in this age group. The question now is whether he goes to club cricket. The quandary is that he will play for the Kapiti College First Eleven. The college are in a rebuilding year and have dropped from the top grade for this season, while they build this young team. It will be good for the boys confidence to play in a grade where they are competitive, but I wonder at the training, coaching and exposure to good pitches and opposition. A good, mature, experienced captain would also be very beneficial to his growth. Club cricket is played Saturdays and I doubt it will be possible to play college in the morning and club in the afternoon. May be option to see what Sunday cricket is played and if feasible, get him involved there to grow him as a cricketer.
The boy can play! He really can play! So I am keen to see him develop!
They have elected to go with experience and Travis will have a great shout at making the squad next year, meaning he would still get two seasons in this age group. The question now is whether he goes to club cricket. The quandary is that he will play for the Kapiti College First Eleven. The college are in a rebuilding year and have dropped from the top grade for this season, while they build this young team. It will be good for the boys confidence to play in a grade where they are competitive, but I wonder at the training, coaching and exposure to good pitches and opposition. A good, mature, experienced captain would also be very beneficial to his growth. Club cricket is played Saturdays and I doubt it will be possible to play college in the morning and club in the afternoon. May be option to see what Sunday cricket is played and if feasible, get him involved there to grow him as a cricketer.
The boy can play! He really can play! So I am keen to see him develop!
The Soccer Tour
The past weekend was our end of season “Soccer Tour”. The kind of weekend where no soccer is played, copious amounts of booze are consumed and a good time is had by all. Six of us departed Kapiti at ten thirty AM on Friday morning, comfortably strapped into Nigel’s seven seat Toyota GranVia van. Coolers crammed full of the good brew and music at hand the three hour trip to Ohakune was going to be a breeze. The weather was a little grey with a nip in the air and a southerly that had been steadily strengthening through the morning. The forecast for Ohakune was not great for Friday, but improving over the weekend, important considering our golfing plans.
Ohakune is a small town, at the foot of Mount Ruapehu, an active volcano and the ski capital of the north island. Oddly, it is also known as New Zealand’s carrot capital. It is sited on the western side of the Mount which is part of the Tongariro National Park. Our trip took us up the west coast from Kapiti, through Levin and up to Bulls on the Wellington to Wanganui route. This part of the country is a coastal plain with vast flat-lands and gently rolling hills, rich in agriculture. At Bulls we veer north east along State Highway One, heading inland and toward the mountains that characterise the centre of the north island and the central plateau.
The road starts to tighten up as we climb through the foothills of the mountain range and travel along a spectacular gorge before dropping into the valley that is home to the Hunterville community. We pull up at the local hotel, seek out the bar, order a beer and break the seal in what is a rather dingy mens room. A handful of mid-morning drinkers are quietly seated in a corner, going about the business of transitioning from last nights hangover, to todays fix. We are rowdy with excitement and anticipation, a stark contrast to the haggard looking men in the corner.
We place a bet on the first race of the day, finish up our pints, are bid a good journey by the buggers in the corner and continue our journey.
Up into the mountains we wind our way again, seeking out the plains beyond that signal “army territory”, the desert road and our destination of Waiouru for the afternoons golf. Less than thirty minutes from Ohakune, it offers a respite from the now less-than-appreciated methane gasses emanating from the back of the van, egged-on for want of a better term, by the baked beans and eggs one of our company had selfishly gorged themselves on for breakfast.
We drop out of the mountains into the hill country that is Waiouru, home to New Zealand’s Infantry. Road signs warn to expect military exercises at any time of the day or night. Right! We turn off State Highway One into Waiouru golf club, down about a kilometre to the parking area and the club house. No cars in sight, no golfers visible on the course and no activity in the club house. A gust disturbs the air in the parking area, followed by a deluge of sleet and sprinkling of “almost-snow”! We decide against golf and agree to re-assess the conditions once in Ohakune.
Off we head, fresh beers in hand, hoping against hope that we will get a round of golf in Ohakune. Turns out the conditions are much improved and we tee off on an empty Ohakune Golf Club course, which is in remarkably good condition with manicured greens, well kept fairways and a rough that is most forgiving. Beanie-headed and sporting an extra layer of clothing under the windbreakers we make our way around the course, stopping at halfway to quench our thirsts with more beer from the ice filled coolers. By the fifteenth hole my game is starting to unravel. A combination of tired legs, cold hands and Oranjeboom Lager. I end my round firing my tee shot at the wrong green, missing that by some 40 meters! I console myself and settle the raucous laughter from the rest of the six-ball by reminding them that we are back here tomorrow…..
The club house is understandably closed and we head straight to Ohakune to check in. Accommodation is in the form of two cabins. Toilet and washbasin immediately inside the entrance, on one side and a shower on the other. One large room houses bunk beds on either side just inside the door, with a double bed in the centre against the far wall. A small curtain-covered window does not bode well for methane ventilation, though I suspect with the beer freely flowing, one should be sufficiently anesthetised not to notice.
Check-in is simple and we spend the rest of the evening drinking beer, chatting, nibbling pitza and potato wedges and enjoy watching the Wellington Lions thump Canterbury in the quarter final of the provincial rugby competition. Tana Umaga is outstanding playing in the centre with Conrad Smith. A try fest to compliment the beer fest.
We bed by about one-thirty AM, me to dream of an improved performance on the golf course in the morning……..
I wake to a spectacular day! Clear skies and wind still. T-shirt weather! The sight of Mt Ruapehu, white capped in the early morning sunshine is spectacular and I wonder whether I will get an opportunity to get up there and cavort in the snow?
It is going for eight o’clock and with the others are still snoring, I take a shower and head off to find a cup of coffee and breakfast. The rest of the boys start making an appearance before I am halfway through brekkie and the morning paper. Another cup of coffee while the lads recharge for the day and by nine we are ready to roll.
The fellows all agree that getting the South African up to the snow “for the first time” is priority and I am cajoled throughout the 13km trip up to the ski-fields. It is what I expected, white and cold underfoot, but I am surprised at how dry the snow feels before it melts against my skin. The lads waste no time in pelting me with compacted balls of snow, which hurt, and teasing me to build a snowman. I find some powdery snow on the way back to the car and enjoy sinking to my knee with each stride, but get egg on my face when one stride lands on an iced-over section. I resembled a novice ice skater, delaying the inevitable horizontal-body-in-the-air-pose before landing on my backside to peels of laughter and more snowballs. Thanks mates!
Back down the mountain, at snails pace, not sure whether there would be patches of ice on the road and onward to Ohakune Golf Club.
The course is empty, again, which I cannot believe. It is a quality golf course, with a snow capped mountain as a backdrop, set in the midst of tranquillity and brightened by the sound of nature. At ten dollars for a round for a visitor, it is excellent value and one would expect better support.
I play poorly and blame the previous nights party. I failed to reach the ladies tee on two occasions and finish joint last, six strokes off the pace. Costs me a couple of dollars which I happily part with. Back into town for an afternoon of betting on the horses. Not my usual idea of fun, but it is a low cost exercise, with everyone putting twenty bucks in the kitty, and then placing TAB easy bets. An easy bet is simply a computer-generated selection of three horses for a race and costs three bucks.
I soon loose interest as we continue to loose money but there is enough to chat about and the afternoon beers aren’t going down to badly. We have two winners all afternoon and we net some twelve dollars each. We leave as dusk descends across the village and the snow capped peak reflects the redness of the setting sun.
We decide that there is enough in the kitty to cover a decent plate of food, so supper is taken at the lodge restaurant. I enjoy a chunk of steak accompanied, no, washed down with two glasses of red wine. Silly boy! Red wine after all that beer and I feel decidedly weak at the knees and sleepy eyed. Supper done the boys opt for clean clothes and aftershave before braving the nightlife scene for a second night! I opt out, hit the sack at ten thirty and sleep through their return at four AM. Needless to say, I was up, showered and off to breakfast well before my green-gilled companions.
I feel rough around the edges, but a litre of orange juice, a long black, toast, eggs, bacon, baked beans and pork sausage, chased down by a second long black sets me reasonably straight for the trip back home.
The trip back is uneventful, though it required frequent checks to ensure the driver was awake. I found that asking “Are we there yet?” every ten minutes, without looking up from the magazine I was reading, kept a sufficient amount of anger-induced-adrenalin in the driver to secure our safe arrival back in Kapiti.
Will I do it again next year? Hell yes!
We are talking of a fishing trip………..
Life and Times
Going back to market has given me a new lease on life. Strange that, because I am not miserable at EDS, just in need of something more personable?! EDS is EDS whether in SA or NZ. Fact! Just a number in a cumbersome titanic trying to re-invent itself.
So, went to an interview today! Wow! Are my skills appreciated. Is this consultancy keen to sell themselves to me and me to their clients! I heard the lass saying “I can hear you are passionate about…..” and “….with this skill set……” and “those are valuable experiences…..”
The market is buoyant. I believed it was buoyant seeing that my customers cannot source project managers for love of money! So why should I be tied to the titanic!
Whether anything comes of this opportunity matters little. The fact is, this interaction has provided a fresh outlook, a knowledge that I can go to market. This little piggy worked at EDS, this little piggy played the field, and this little piggy? Time will reveal all!
Other positive news this week was a negative result on a diabetes test, which also revealed all good with my other organs. It seems I am healthy and can look forward to a good start to my 40’s. (Nuff said)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That was Friday, the weekend has come and gone and we are rumbling along the tracks toward Wellington on a grey, windless morning. The weather has been mild and I have not needed to wear anymore than a suit jacket to work for a week now! The train is its usual busy self this morning, carrying the folk who commute weekly, living in the city during the week and escaping to the calm of weekend life further north. Large contingent of students, so a sleepy feel on Monday mornings, with long haired boys and pretty girls slouched down in their chairs, cramming in the last of the weekends rest before cramming their minds and livers.
A quiet weekend by our usual, teenage driven, two day frenzy. The girls slept over at our Zimbabwe neighbours on Saturday and they reciprocated at our home on Sunday.
I spent a bunch of time on the motorcycle this weekend and completed fitting the wheels. I had opted for a black finish on everything when I refurbished the wheels and was worried it would be too much, black that is. It looks fantastic though, broken by the silver of the brake disks and will be further balanced with the chromed mudguard fitted. Also made good progress toward finishing the paintwork on the petrol tank, a black base which will be detailed in a silver-grey. The combination works well and should tie everything together.
In between cleaning paint off my hands and from under my fingernails, I found time to shoot nine holes at Kapiti Golf Club on Saturday afternoon. Travis and I popped up and managed to lose only a handful of balls but plenty of patience. Fortunately patience costs nothing, though those golf balls took a pounding, continually getting smacked in the teeth, for no reason, or being sent soo far over the green, they felt unwanted and needed “pad kos”.
But, as is golf’s want, on the ninth I drove very right off the tee, long and found a good lie on the fairway of the eighth hole. Slotted the eight iron over the trees onto the dance floor. Now three putting is a patience tester, but I did not care! Getting there was done in style and not having swung a club in some 4 months the round was actually not bad. I am again enthused and look forward to a round this coming weekend with some of my soccer mates.
The soccer is almost done. We have not played for two weeks now, having decided not to compete in the end of season knock out competition. We play in the league final in two weeks time and I think this rest will return the boys rejuvenated and focused on the job at hand.
(We are all in the 30-45 age bracket, so the season had started getting too long)
The train has rumbled through the last tunnel, my signal to finish up with the city only minutes away now. I have an aisle seat this morning, so no chance of a leisurely pack-up once we reach the platform.
Dianna Krall was a great music choice this morning. She is so accomplished and if you like female jazz vocalists, I recommend this album, “The Girl In The Other Room”
So, went to an interview today! Wow! Are my skills appreciated. Is this consultancy keen to sell themselves to me and me to their clients! I heard the lass saying “I can hear you are passionate about…..” and “….with this skill set……” and “those are valuable experiences…..”
The market is buoyant. I believed it was buoyant seeing that my customers cannot source project managers for love of money! So why should I be tied to the titanic!
Whether anything comes of this opportunity matters little. The fact is, this interaction has provided a fresh outlook, a knowledge that I can go to market. This little piggy worked at EDS, this little piggy played the field, and this little piggy? Time will reveal all!
Other positive news this week was a negative result on a diabetes test, which also revealed all good with my other organs. It seems I am healthy and can look forward to a good start to my 40’s. (Nuff said)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That was Friday, the weekend has come and gone and we are rumbling along the tracks toward Wellington on a grey, windless morning. The weather has been mild and I have not needed to wear anymore than a suit jacket to work for a week now! The train is its usual busy self this morning, carrying the folk who commute weekly, living in the city during the week and escaping to the calm of weekend life further north. Large contingent of students, so a sleepy feel on Monday mornings, with long haired boys and pretty girls slouched down in their chairs, cramming in the last of the weekends rest before cramming their minds and livers.
A quiet weekend by our usual, teenage driven, two day frenzy. The girls slept over at our Zimbabwe neighbours on Saturday and they reciprocated at our home on Sunday.
I spent a bunch of time on the motorcycle this weekend and completed fitting the wheels. I had opted for a black finish on everything when I refurbished the wheels and was worried it would be too much, black that is. It looks fantastic though, broken by the silver of the brake disks and will be further balanced with the chromed mudguard fitted. Also made good progress toward finishing the paintwork on the petrol tank, a black base which will be detailed in a silver-grey. The combination works well and should tie everything together.In between cleaning paint off my hands and from under my fingernails, I found time to shoot nine holes at Kapiti Golf Club on Saturday afternoon. Travis and I popped up and managed to lose only a handful of balls but plenty of patience. Fortunately patience costs nothing, though those golf balls took a pounding, continually getting smacked in the teeth, for no reason, or being sent soo far over the green, they felt unwanted and needed “pad kos”.
But, as is golf’s want, on the ninth I drove very right off the tee, long and found a good lie on the fairway of the eighth hole. Slotted the eight iron over the trees onto the dance floor. Now three putting is a patience tester, but I did not care! Getting there was done in style and not having swung a club in some 4 months the round was actually not bad. I am again enthused and look forward to a round this coming weekend with some of my soccer mates.
The soccer is almost done. We have not played for two weeks now, having decided not to compete in the end of season knock out competition. We play in the league final in two weeks time and I think this rest will return the boys rejuvenated and focused on the job at hand.
(We are all in the 30-45 age bracket, so the season had started getting too long)
The train has rumbled through the last tunnel, my signal to finish up with the city only minutes away now. I have an aisle seat this morning, so no chance of a leisurely pack-up once we reach the platform.
Dianna Krall was a great music choice this morning. She is so accomplished and if you like female jazz vocalists, I recommend this album, “The Girl In The Other Room”
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