Another new start.

Ok. So I need a new post. In fact I just need A post.

Well its been a while and a lot has happened. Since I am talking to myself, as I type, I should probably stop. As I do know what has happened. But in case anyone else would like to know, here goes.

I have decided to relocate. Again. I have decided to move to London (along with most of eastern Europe, India, Asia and the middle east). I move in January and its been a stressful past few months coming to this decision. But as of tomorrow, my entire immediate family will be living there, so it was a no-brainer. I also need the scenery change, and embrace the travel opportunities that await.

I also feel I am on the tip of starting the next .com success story. I have a handful of really great ideas, and after reading about some of the startups (facebook for dead people, and social networking for brides to be) I feel I have a chance. So I am going to test some fictitious waters, and will hopefully post a success story in the near future.

So basically the next few months, for me, will be filled with, selling everything I own, giving away the stuff I can’t sell, burning the stuff I can’t give away, leaving the job that, believe it or not, really need me right now, and coming up with the next facebook.

Wish me luck.

Why you take a sip of coffee just before sitting down

Something has occurred to me, and I need to tell you about it. ‘You’ being the fictitious readers of my seldom written blog. I always plan to write more but I battle to find the time. If I could only write entries at work.. hmmm.

Speaking of work. Back to the subject at hand. Have you noticed that whenever people return to their desks (think: office environment, cubicles) from the kitchen with their freshly made cup of coffee, they always take a sip before sitting down.

I think I have worked out the reason why, having found myself doing it as well. The whole way back from the kitchen, all I am thinking about is that hot, steaming cup of caffeine filled with sugar, just waiting to send my senses and endorphins into overdrive. And I originally thought that was what drove one to take that sip right before sitting down. You cannot hold it any longer and finally have to have a sip. But then you would have a sip straight after making it. Or perhaps midway back to your desk.

But thats not it, is it. Its more than that. In the deepest darkest recesses of your addictive mind, you are actually thinking, ‘what if I spill it’, ‘what if I spill it before I have even had a sip’, ‘its so perfect, full, warm, rich, and in a clean cup’. ‘If I spill it, then I will have to clean up first and THEN only get to bring my lips onto the cup of pleasure’. So you take a sip. Just a little one. Before sitting down.

And carrying on with whatever it is you were doing.

My first big cash in poker, and my first big loss.

Flop comes 7h 5h 2s, I put in an above average size bet with pocket 10’s, short stacked. I get re-raised. I move all-in with overcards. I get called, he shows Ah Jh. I say to myself, “No ace, no jack, no heart – he has 15 outs!”. Its a race with his two over cards to my pocket pair. No sooner have I thought it, do I see 8h hit on the river. And I’m out, in 76th place. Disappointment hits my stomach, turns it and spits it out.

I think now would be a good time to mention one of my interests, hobbies.. ok ok, a bit of an addiction. Poker. No limit texas hold em poker, to be specific.

I started playing cards from as young as I can remember, rummy, blackjack, 5 card stud poker. About 6 or 7 years ago, I got interested in texas hold em, and played it socially with friends from time to time. And then last year, I really got hooked and tried to play as much as I could. This was still a limited number of times, certainly less than I would have liked, largely due to limited number of friends interested – and everyone’s generally limited budget. A few months ago, I took the big step of signing up for online poker in an attempt to play more, and I have never looked back.

I try to limit playing to a few times a week, but its really addictive. What makes it more addictive for me in particular, was my first and only cash in a decent sized tournament. I managed 9th place in a R75 000 guaranteed tournament of 73 players last week and cashed in R3750, on a buy-in of R350. I was overjoyed with my win, and it certainly added to my confidence.

The only other cashing I have had was a 2nd place finish in a live tournament late last year, it was only a 16 player tournament but I managed 2nd and walked away with R1500.

Now, back to my 9th place finish, which has been the highlight of my poker experience so far. I had very mediocre to terrible starting hands for the first hour and a half of the tournament. This portion of the tournament was my worst though, for another reason. Rebuys were allowed for the first 90 minutes, and late registration was allowed up until 60 mins. Which meant new people joining constantly, as well as crazy all-in moves by mediocre to terrible players with large bankrolls. Now I know some of them were probably very adept. And they were just looking to double their stacks early on to take a early chip lead, ensuring their deep lie in the field. But these constant all-in calls really frustrated us poor lowly souls who didn’t have thousands of rands to throw into the competition. Needless to say, I managed to last through this rebuy period, and immediately as this ended, everyone started playing super tight. Which suited my game.

Along with the super tight play following the end of the rebuy period, came some really awful cards for me. Somehow I managed to find cards when I needed them, but nothing better than small pocket pairs or at best a suited A 10. As soon as the bubble approached I became nervous, as I was sitting with about 5 big blinds worth of chips. Somehow I managed to last through 11th place getting knocked out and immediately I felt relieved and excited, as this meant I was in the money.

Now, I didn’t play any looser following this, but as I was probably 9th or 10th in chip count, and was at one of two 4 seated table, I moved all in with the next decent hand, A J and was called with K 7. And of course, as fate would have it, he hit his king on the river.

So that was that. And I was well chuffed with my cash in despite being a little disappointed with not making it further up the leaderboard and further into the cash. But this win certainly helped me feel better about the R700 or so I had put into poker of the past few months, I was now up, almost R3000! So the first thing I did was deposit some of it in my bank to feel even better, and I left a little over a thousand in there for future gambling.

Fast forward to last night, when I confidentally decided to enter the R100 000 guaranteed R400 buy in tournament, with first place being around R22 000. Directly prior to this, I decided to get some practice, which consisted of losing 3 tables of R100 buy, single table tournaments. This was due to a combination of tiredness, over-confidence and impatience for the tournament to start. I should have taken this as a sign.

Anyway, onto the tournament. It started slowly, far better than the previous one, with very few all-in calls early on. I wrongly decided to get involved in a hand with pocket jacks against a well known strong local player, despite two overcards hitting on the flop. I got out relatively unscathed but was down a fifth of my stack. From there, all my big starting hands, which I raised with, ended up being beat by unfavourable flops and before I knew it, I was making big bluff calls to stay in the game. Then came miracle pocket 10’s, which I pre-flop raise and I’m called. I put in a big bet with an overpair on the flop, which had 2 hearts, I get re-raised, I move all-in, and he hits his heart flush on the river. Its over.

I made an agreement with myself before the tournament started. I usually don’t rebuy. It hardly ever works out for me, and if I play a game knowing I am going to rebuy, I tend to play looser than I should. But my only exception to that rule was if I lose with a bad beat. This was one such instance. So I rebuy. Trying to regain some momentum I bet a few big hands, trying to catch up in chips. Within about half an hour I am out. And I resign myself to the fact that this is not my competition. And you can’t expect to cash in all of them.

So my first big win, and my first big loss, the latter taking about a grand of my winnings. But I am stronger for it, and I have learnt and grown and been humbled by the experience. To fight another day. Another flop.

Treadmills

I have been going to the gym, fairly consistently, for about 4 years now. Its usually been about weight training with as little as possible cardio – its just easier that way. The infrequent cardio has usually consisted of the exercise bike. And thats about it.

Until last week. Last week, I tried, for the very first time, a treadmill. Now, I am not scared of the treadmill. I have just never seen the point of it. Aside from the fact that they usually never face them at the televisions in the gym, there is the added risk of falling off.

Nothing could be more embarassing that falling off one of these moving walkways as they are usually strategically positioned near lots of other treadmills, i.e. lots of people. At least if you drop a weight on your toe, it can be in a corner, a dark, faraway corner.

So, I hopped on one of these things. It was easy. Started walking, slowly moving up to a jog. The thing that was hard, was doing anything or thinking anything else whilst on the treadmill. It was damn near impossible. I found myself either staring at my feet to make sure they were running straight, silly I suppose, but not given the alternative. Or I was looking at the screens lights displaying my static journey. The embarassment as you step half your foot on the side rails, and it proceeds to shoot you off the back into the crowd of waiting enthusiasts was enough to keep my eyes down and forward.

The biggest challenge was trying to move your eyes onto something that wasn’t in a direct line in front of you. I challenge any first time treadmill-er (I hope thats a word) to try that. Try and give the pretty girl next to you a smile while you are running. And maintain your balance. I have now been on one of those things 4 times and I still haven’t mastered it. Although I have reached a point where I am staring at objects at eye level and not directly down in front of me. Progress I am claiming.

Then you get off the treadmill. And the world is moving slower than you. You are speeding around. Its like walking on those travelators at the airport – the ones for people in a hurry. And as you walk on them, you look next to you at an averagely paced walker and you feel you are winning some sort of race.

This subsides after a while. Fortunately, usually when you have reached your car. And then you must return to the slow pace of everyday life.

Lets try that again.

So, its been almost a month since my first (and only) post. But there is a valid reason for that.

My internet stopped working. Well it didn’t stop, but I previously had mobile internet via a 3G card, and the signal got so bad it reached the point where it wouldn’t connect at all. So, next stop was a fixed line connection, ADSL to be specific. This took the better part of a month to set up.

Property developers. That should explain it all in a nutshell, but in case its not too obvious, allow me to elaborate. Developers like to take the cheapest route when building. I live in a high rise, brand new, security development with a supposed “state-of-the-art” design. So well designed in fact, that the company they contracted to lay the electricity, filled the pipes meant to carry the telephone line, and hence ADSL, with cement. Cement. Now that was bright.

So I have had the people responsible digging up the floor outside trying to find the point where the cement stopped and the pipe began. They dug for four days. But all they found was more cement.

So now the cable is run via the tv aerial pipe. And, while that carries risk of interference, I am just glad it works. Well for now at least.

Its about time..

The faces on the walls and behind the glass now stared at me, waiting, waiting for me to write something. The stone men with their banjos and bongo drums, the motorcycle ensemble, witchdoctor leading, as they zig zag across the canvas.

Its about time I started a blog. Its not that I have something interesting to share with the world. Its that I think I desperately need to get at least a fraction of the thoughts that cross my mind, out of it. This can then help me fill my mind with other, more important, well presumably more important things.

Perhaps I can start with who I am. Where I come from.

I would probably best be described as a cynic. But its just a mask I wear, I’m really an optimist at heart. I look for the best in people and situations, as I think every cynic does. Its just, when I am wrong, I get to pretend I’m right. Its a win-win really.

I live on the southern most tip of Africa in arguably one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Now, I haven’t been to all the cities in the world, but I have met people who have collectively been to a lot of them, and I have convinced myself they would all live here if they could (this helps me justify my move, ok).

I moved here. From a lesser known city a bit further up the tip of Africa. I have been living here for almost a year now. I chose to move here for the beauty, the beauty thats always been here, as well as the beauty I discovered here. More on that in another post.

I live in a country with a questionable integrity (surprise, surprise, this is Africa). The reason I mention this now, is because as of today we have been removed from Amazon.com’s list of countries they will post stuff to. We are the only African country that has been excluded. Even Nigeria can get stuff posted from Amazon, albeit expedited. We have reached an all time low.

The reason for this exclusion is understandable. We have one of the most crime ridden postal services. Actually we have probably the highest crime rate, across all ranges of atrocities, not just theft. And its obviously reached a point where Amazon are losing money sending goods here. Now it will cost us the equivalent of $50 to get a DVD to our door. Thats upwards of 250% more than the DVD will cost.

Its about time, someone, somewhere in the hierarchical corruptness that is the government, do something. We can barely receive a postcard from a relative, without a postal worker, feeling they are owed something, pilfering through the packaging it came in.

Now we are left to buy our CDs and DVDs from local retailers. This means we have to actually set foot in a retail outlet. With the prospect of a hijacking at the traffic lights on the way there, coupled with the possibility of being caught in the crossfire of a cash in transit heist as you walk in the door. Lets not forget the armed robbery whilst at the till, and then the realisation when you arrive home that you have been burgled. And they stole the DVD player.

Its about time.