It starts out being picked up by a chauffeur on Saturday morning and taken to The Table Bay Hotel where we have run of the main kitchen and basically take part in our own cooking show.  We get a crash course in creating foods and sampling wines.  It’s horrible, I know.  We then get dinner at a surprise venue and then escorted to The Union Bar for after-dinner whiskey and cognac.  It could certainly be worse.

If I win, by being more awesome than the others, I get to stay in the Presidential Suite that night, and keep our tools of the trade that we used that day (an iPad).  *Cue more excitement*.  I also have a secret cooking weapon in V, who is the best cook in Cape Town.

But I need your help.  All it takes is a tweet (or 17).  All you have to do is tweet this:

RT @blindcripple: A Little Bit About #ChefsTableBay http://bit.ly/pLukNl

(You can click on the Tweet to do it for you)

and I’ll be rewarding one of you with more than just love (it involves R500 worth of wine), if I win.  Keep an eye on my Twitter stream, especially on Saturday, as the competition hots up, as does your chance of winning too!

(Winner chosen completely at random, so the more you enter, the better your chances)

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

I’m not going to create a new design, nor change anything besides the content actually, but it will hopefully change.  I’ll add a category here and there and write more of things that interest me.  This way, I also don’t need to create an all new blog for that particular reason.  So, I’ll talk about a wider range of things that I’m passionate about.  All except photography which now has its own special home.

But why?  Why do I even need the alternative?  Why keep it at all?  Because I have a reputation.  I know that sounds completely narcissistic, but it’s true.  I’ve influenced others to starts blogging and I’m still considered a blogger.  So much so that I’ve been included in an awesome competition this weekend involing the Table Bay Hotel.  I find it almost unfair that I was chosen.  But I have a good following on Twitter and technically, I am a blooger.  So why the hell not.  This has also kick-started a revival, as I bloody want to win!

So here’s to the umpteenth time of me restarting blogging… Let’s see how this goes…

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Related Posts:

• A Little Something About A New Life
• A Little Something About The Last Few Months
• A Little Something About My Absence
• A Little Something About Speaking Too Soon
• A Little Something About Randomnessness

We all do things for a reason. I blog because it makes me feel better. I’ve missed it lately. Despite this, I don’t want to only blog now when I’m feeling a need. There will be something filtering down at some point, so there is hope. But now, I have missed it. Just over two months ago, my gran passed away one week after her 92nd birthday. By some miracle, I was there on her birthday. But eight days later, her kidney’s finally let go. She and I were very close and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with.

I’m still yet to properly deal with it, however. About a week after she passed, I broke up with the girl I was seeing. It was about a nine month long relationship, but from my point of view, very intense. I am by no means saying that’s a bad thing, it is what it is. Things ended because I was unable to give my everything to the relationship. I have my reasons and I’ve tried to explain those reasons to everyone that mattered. It is sad to leave someone, no matter the circumstances. I still think about her a lot. It still hurts for many reasons, but I think this is the way it needs to be. And now, being alone is again a reality but it’s something I once embraced and will try to do it again. There is nothing wrong with being alone, it’s when you’re lonely that it becomes a problem. Winter really doesn’t help, though.

Through it, I have learned a lot about other people and their opinions of me. It’s amazing how many people have thoughts of me and who they think I am. They have strong opinions too. I really think it’s a joke, though. One day I want to have an entertaining life like theirs to be able to sit and chat about some completely random people where I mean nothing to them. I know half of these people are bitter about something or another. It’s petty. But I supposed talking about it is too.

I will be writing about each issue on its own. I’m trying to transition myself back into writing again and hopefully not stop for a while. I really do love it. Creating this blog was the best thing I have ever done, bar none. And if you don’t have your own therapy, you should dig around a bit and see what makes you happy, because in reality, you really need it…

Related Posts:

• A Little Something About A New Life
• A Little Bit About Being Wrong
• A Little Something About My Absence
• A Little Something About Speaking Too Soon
• A Little Something About Randomnessness

I’ve been considering writing again for a while.  However, there’s a lot more to it than just sitting down and doing it.  When this first started, there was a purpose and a reason, and now, that reason is no longer there.  Or is it?  Perhaps it’s just taken a different form.  I know I’m certainly not the same person that began this blog and my oldest friends will attest to that.  But the power that writing has had for me has been playing on my mind.  I’d like to think that not many other people write the way I do.  Sure, there are other personal blogs, but very few of a man’s perspective or the brutality that I try get out.  The reason for this is simple; I struggle to speak these words, so I write them.  I don’t do it for the brutality, that’s just the way it is.

And it has been a long time.  If you look over the last few entries, you’ll see that they’re not really part of this blog.  Some of them aren’t even by me but they’re there as I tried to take it a different route, without really pursuing that route properly.  So, I stopped writing altogether.  I’ve written a couple of posts on overexposed, but that really can’t be compared.  But I think that’s where my therapy turned.  My new love is in the form of a Nikon D90, with which I take photos with every now and then.  And sometimes, they turn out pretty special.  When I’m feeling the need for a distraction, I submerge myself into editing or some web construction.   And, to be honest, I’ve actually learned to talk more.  More about things that I would’ve ordinarily written down, so perhaps I am growing up.  Some would disagree.

I spoke a lot tonight about my past and what’s happened in the last four years and it’s been an abundance.  Looking back, I have no regrets.  I see where I’ve come from and I understand it.  I’m not bitter about anything.  And I hold no grudges.  I haven’t always done things properly nor in the right manner, but I know why and I think the people realise that.  Or at least the ones that matter do.  I’ve also learned a lot about other people and their views on me.  There are some very odd people with very jaded lives.

So much has happened.  Yet, I’m not sure it’s any different.  I’m hoping that I write again.  I miss it.  But I’m not sure how to tackle this.  I’m not sure if I should keep trying to use my own photos as featured images.  I’m not sure if I should redesign the blog.  I’m not sure if I can be as open as I used to be; a lot more people know me, it’s not an anonymous handle anymore.  I’ve had a couple of people pushing me back into it, so that, together with my own intentions, have brought my fingers back to my keys.  Let’s just hope it continues…

Related Posts:

• A Little Bit About Jumping
• A Little Something About The Last Few Months
• A Little Something About A New Life
• A Little Something About Dirty Old Men
• A Little Bit About My Escape

Please have a read, and don’t forget to comment…

Cheating is a violation of the mutually agreed upon terms of an intimate relationship. Obviously, like any contract, the terms vary depending on what kind of a relationship you have, therefore altering the extent of a breach.

Infidelity may occur in two separate but not necessarily mutually exclusive areas of a relationship; emotional and physical. Physical infidelity deals with any form of sexual activity outside of the “monogamous” relationship, whereas emotional infidelity goes into a deeper involvement with the other person.

According to Freud, it is human and natural to have a desire for sex.

Thank you, Sigmund, for that riveting piece of analysis.  Never mind, he redeems himself by stating that “adultery is a classic manifestation of autonomic desires splitting the psyche of the adulterer.”

Traditionally (and I mean traditionally, not culturally or religiously. Yes, there is a difference), the fundamental purpose of marriage was to control sexual unification. According to Mr Freud, however, marriage cannot control sexual desires. This, I find is true. As history and cultures serve us, humans have been led to believe that: primarily, it is a “sin” to commit sexual conduct before a unification of one man and one woman before God (do not even get me started on LGBT’s, for the purpose of this article, I am not going to spur on another debate in the midst of this one); and secondarily, one must be married at a certain point in their lives in order to have a successful existence in the eyes of the community.

In reality, I’ve found that since we don’t really know what will happen to us once our existence has lapsed, we tend to make excuses for what we’ve done. If we do have sex relations before marriage, we don’t feel like we have sinned. In fact, it must have been so earth shattering that we found an excuse for doing it again – “well, I’ve already done it once before, so I might as well.”

Within a marriage people have made “mistakes”; “I’m sorry, my love, I didn’t mean to, she just came on to me” – we find ways of blaming the other person. Great men have fallen due to their “slight” indiscretion (see: Presidents Kennedy and Clinton, to name but two). Freud divides the human psyche into three parts; the id, the ego and the superego. These are not the “ego’s” that we, in this modern day, have grown to understand, love and hate. The id is responsible for our basic drives, has no concept of good or evil and has no morality. The id works according to a “pleasure principle” and avoids anything which does not derive it pleasure, which is where the desire for sex comes from. The ego works according to a “reality principle” and seeks to please the id in realistic ways; i.e. having sex with a partner in a monogamous relationship. The super-ego aims for perfection in a socially appropriate manner and includes ideals (of religion and community, etc) such that it punishes misbehaviour; i.e. getting married and not cheating.

Having said all this, if my partner we to commit an act of infidelity on me, I know what act I would commit on him/her. Ok, I’m exaggerating. I actually would not do anything. I have been cheated on numerous times and my reaction to each one has been different. I always say to myself that if my current partner were to cheat on me and if he told me about it and if it seemed like he was remorseful, I would probably not leave him. It would hurt, a lot. And it would take a long time for me to get over it, but I would, eventually. That’s what I tell myself, and him.

Often, it’s not that difficult to know how you would react to someone cheating on you (in a general sense) because the bottom line is that you can either: carry on the relationship and work through the infidelity; or you can leave him/her. What happens when you find out someone has been unfaithful and you cannot leave them?

A few years ago, I learnt that my father was having an affair. When I found out, it wasn’t the most conclusive evidence that may have been necessary to convict someone of adultery, and therefore, it wasn’t irrefutable for me either. So, for years I’ve known of his indiscretions and without any substantial proof, I’ve done and said nothing. Some years ago my mothers’ family suspected that he may be having an affair and my father made a whole episode of proclaiming that he would not do anything to jeopardise our family. His choice of words were extremely clever, I thought, when he rang me at university to make his statement of defence. He never said that he had not had an affair as I suppose he must have known those words bit Mr Clinton in his gluteus maximus when he proclaimed that he had not had “sexual relations with that woman.” Instead, he said he wouldn’t jeopardise the family. He was correct. He has always been a good father. As for being a good husband, that isn’t for me to judge, which is what I told him over the phone. I had convinced myself that it has nothing to do with me and if he felt like he needed to make amends, or whatever he was doing, then he should speak with my mother.

A few days ago, while I was vacationing, I receive a text message from my father which was OBVIOUSLY not meant for me. Now, I have semi-conclusive proof. When I read that message, I drank, a lot. I was out with friends and the only way I thought I could get it out of my mind was to drink. When I got home, I cried. It all compounded and I broke down.

My father knows that he slipped-up. And I can see that he keeps attempting to confirm whether or not I do, in fact, know. I haven’t said anything. I can’t seem to bring myself to say anything because I still don’t feel like I have conclusive proof. Then I think to myself if it is for me to act on. Because, in essence, in accordance with my previous stance, it has nothing to do with me.

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

Going forward to today, I’m much more confident and happy with myself.  I know what I want out of life, and even though I haven’t quite set goals, I have an idea of where I’m going.  Things are changing, and I hope they continue on the up.

I’ve refined my hobbies
I’m playing cricket much more seriously now.  I’m not any better, or playing a higher level, but I’m taking it more seriously.  I haven’t taken nearly as many wickets as I did last season, but I’m captaining our fourth team, and starting to enjoy it a bit more.  So, besides the injuries, it’s going well.
My photography is also keeping me pretty happy.  I’m really enjoying it and also learning to use Lightroom a lot more.  I’ve started developing a new photoblog site which is also pretty cool but I’ll keep the good pics going up on Flickr.
I’m also developing a few WordPress sites for people. Nothing complicated at all, but I enjoy it and it’s good fun and sometimes brings in a bit of money.

A new relationship
So, I have a girlfriend.  Like a real one.  With boobs and everything.  And things are good.  It’s been about 5 months now and even though I am still slightly hesitant with giving my entire everything out, I’m doing it.  Slowly but surely.  It’s her pretty face you can see in the image attached.

A new home
I’ve moved into a new flat in Vredehoek.  It’s a really cool little place with the best view in Cape Town.  I haven’t quite settled in as yet: One of the rooms (mine) doesn’t have a cupboard, so until that’s installed, I can’t really settle.  But the place is great and hopefully, I’ll be sorted soon.

A new job
This is a big step for me.  I’ve been at RedButton for four years now and have a special bond with them.  I know the company very well and enjoy working here.  But it’s time for a change.  I need it.  And a great opportunity has presented itself, almost by chance.  I had sent my CV to a few places and got a call back from this one in particular, setting up an interview.  There I met the CEO and was told the job I had applied for would bore me, but she had an idea.  And with that, stemmed a new position for me as Primedia Online’s (including Prezence and 365Digital’s) Brand Ambassador.  Basically, I’ll be doing a whole bunch of PR and marketing, which is fairly brand new to me.  It’s a little nerve wracking to be honest, but I’m really excited to be fully employed by the digital realm at last.

So, those are the latest and biggest changes in my life.  And while the saying “The more things change, the more they stay the same” is always applicable, I have changed.  Neal version 2 is pretty darn awesome…

Related Posts:

• A Little Something About My Absence
• A Little Something About The Last Few Months
• A Little Something About Speaking Too Soon
• A Little Something About Randomnessness
• A Little Something About My Personal Space

As a Mac user, the obvious choice would be an iPhone, but Vodacom don’t seem to have stock, know when they’re getting stock, nor even seem to care to be honest.  The other iPhone option would be to move to MTN, but after 6 years with Vodacom, I’m very happy with the services they offer.  I’m also a FNB customer and FNB and Vodacom work very well together.  And the way I see it, MTN’s AnyTime deal is pretty damn expensive compared to my current contract.  The final option would be to purchase overseas (UK or France) which offers it at a much better price than here, except I have to pay cash, which isn’t ideal.

So this leaves me at the brick wall.  I either go iPhone, with some difficulty, or I go with something else.  And then again, it’s a choice of hardware and OS.

It’s been two years of having a Samsung.  16GB of space.  Slide form.  8MP camera.  Great video quality.  And running the reliable Symbian OS.  Sure, it’s been great.  But it hasn’t.  I had to write my own iSync plugin to try sync up the contacts and the calendar as Symbian and Mac don’t gel.  After much fighting, only the contacts actually synced up.  And not without replacing my entire Address Book too.   So that rules out Symbian and therefore, Nokia.

Then there’s Android.  The next generation OS.  The iOS killer.  Blah blah blah.  Sure, it’s got Google behind it, but like all open source dev, there are downfalls.  There are millions of phones that it can run on, but certain devices will have issues and it’s like choosing a new laptop and making sure all the peripherals are compatible with the current Linux version.  It’s a big cock up.  But if I had to, it would have to be one of the big players: HTC, Samsung or Sony Ericsson.

And before you go on and suggest a Blackberry, stop.  They’re not smartphones.  They don’t offer what I want.  And no, I won’t argue about it.

In this day and age, your mobile device is your laptop in your pocket.  Where you can do anything you need to when all your have is the expensive chunk of plastic and circuitry in your hand.

So, I’m in two minds about what to do next.  Wait and see what Vodacom do, move to MTN and pay like a muppet, or get a non Mac happy phone.

Which phone to choose?! Opinions welcome…

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Related Posts:

• A Little Bit About Jumping
• A Little Something About The Last Few Months
• A Little Bit About A Prospective Return
• A Little Something About A New Life
• A Little Something About Twitter

As I lie here typing, I am sad to say that I have been hit with the latest case of man-flu going around.  And, I can safely say that it is one of the worst.  My muscles ache.  Every one of my little injury niggles are screaming.  Even my eye balls are sore.  And the worst part of man-flu: There is no cure.

It’s not often I’m sick like this.  I can handle the vomiting and the fever.  I can even take the hallucinations telling me that it’s being caused by aliens in my knees, and if I lie just right, they’ll go to sleep (true story).  But what I really struggle to deal with is the helplessness that is caused by man-flu.  And yes, I know what you’re thinking.  Why doesn’t he just grow a pair and pull himself towards himself?! But you don’t know!  You’re probably sitting there at your desk, or on your couch, eating a nice cheese sandwich without the worry about how soon you might see it again.

So, next time you see someone with a case of man-flu, show some damn empathy and sympathy.  He’s not exaggerating.  Man-flu is a real danger, and he knows it.  Get him some chicken soup. And make him feel better.  ‘Cause let’s be honest, there is little more annoying that a whinging man…

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts