2008-08-12 -> 2008-09-13
HOUSE
As of today, the house is still not sold 
I so badly want to get to JBay but I have told N that if the house is not sold by the time we go on holiday in December, I will not be returning in January 2009. I will then return once he tells me the house is sold and the money is in the bank. Then I will come back up and start packing. Naturally he was not a happy chappy 
GYM
Seeing as I no longer work and I have so much available time on my hands, I decided to take up a few things which I have always wanted to do but never had the time or energy to do them.
I started Gym on the 15th August 2008. Yes I was totally out of shape and still am, but definitely improving. I had to pay a Personal Trainer otherwise there is just no way I could see myself go along to a gym and watch these “skinny girls” gymming. I would feel totally out.
Anyway, I went along to Virgin Active which is the closest to me. I chatted to the Manager there and told him what I wanted to achieve and that I needed him to recommend a personal trainer for me as there were a few to select from. Each one had their own speciality. He made his recommendations.
The young gentleman who he suggested was not present but he did undertake to get him to phone me. The next day I received a call from him. His name is Jay. What a pleasant young fellow. We made an appointment for the following day.
I went to see Jay. I laid all my cards on the table and I told him I wanted to lose 15kg in 2 months, maximum 3 months. I also wanted toning. NO, I did not want muscles. I just wanted to feel better about myself.
Ever since I stopped smoking approximately 5 years ago, I put on 15kg’s and thats what I wanted to get rid of.
We agreed that I would attend 3 times a week. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. At my first session, we did the weigh-in thing and checked the BMI. Yes well, I nearly died LOL.
I was to have my first gym session on Friday 15th August. It was awesome. I battled like hell to breathe after a few minutes, every now and again, I could feel my heart about to pump out of my throat, but I’m not a quitter. There were times when I thought….”oh hell, what and why am I doing this?”
The weekend was hell, I could hardly walk. I had to meet a friend of mine and I genuinely was walking like I had a carrot where it shouldn’t be. Every step was agony!!! Believe me when I tell you that I could very easily have quitted there and then but I am glad I didn’t.
One month down the line and I have lost almost 7% body fat, as well as 4.7kg. I am very proud of myself. As tough as it was in the beginning and still is as Jay keeps pushing me to my limits, I can honestly say that I am enjoying it.
Sadly Jay was involved in a car accident on Wednesday night so yesterday I did not have a session. My gym will resume on Monday.
Just to give you an example of my daily routine:
First thing when I wake up, I have to drink 250ml’s of water
Then 20-25m cardiac excercise (treadmill)
Low GI breakfast with fruit
3hrs later, protein
3hrs later, veggies + protein
3hrs later, protein
3hrs later, salad + protein
Latest eating time is 19h00
PLUS 2L to 3L’s of liquid (water) per day which I keep track of as it is very easy for me to go through a day without drinking any water.
And that is all it takes. Food for me is not a problem because if I don’t eat carbo, I don’t crave chocolate and I can actually see it and ignore it. But the moment I eat carbo, I’m buggered, then I can eat a whole slab of chocolate without feeling guilty
PHOTOGRAPHY
Another hobby of mine as you might know, is photography. N gave me a camera for my birthday last year, a CANON EOS 400D. I have been using it on AUTO since I got it as I do not have a clue on how to use it in MANUAL mode.
So yes, I decided to go to an intermediate course on photography. I am now into my second week and I can proudly tell you that I now know a little more about “aperture” and “shutter speed” and “white balance” and “light meter” etc. This course is 6 weeks long and takes place on Saturday mornings from 09h00 to 12h00.
GENERAL
I received an sms earlier this month inviting me out to dinner. None other than my ex-boss (M). He was back in the country 
I was delighted. Was an awesome evening and was great catching up. As I have said before, he was the only person who could’ve persuaded me to stay behind in the company (not necessarily in the same position) if it was what I really wanted to do, but I had to fulfil a goal N and I set 7 years ago and there is no turning back for me now. N would have loved to see M as well but my beloved N went on a camping trip with his brother. Judging from the photos and what they went through, they had an awesome time. Is it something I would ever consider doing? No way!!! LOL. Sleeping in a tent where spiders can easily crawl in or on or next to you while you sleep….*shudder*. No, no, not for me Thats a BOY thing
After leaving the company I worked for, I thought I could move on with my life and forget about the people who made my life somewhat unpleasant as I had spent enough years bearing a grudge against certain people and it didn’t do me any good. Lets just say for various reasons I was more than happy to leave, as there were many factors at play in my decision.
I received a call from an ex colleague and friend, who wanted to know how I handled my financial affairs with the company. Naturally, after a lengthy discussion I started to think….wait a minute….whats happened to my pension? After speaking to my friend, I phoned my financial adviser to find out whats happening. I was told 2 things, viz: firstly that she had been told by HR that MY money could not be disinvested before the end of August and when she followed up again, she was told that HR was busy with month end. WHY oh WHY could the money not be disinvested by the end of June when I left? WHY end-August??
Now here are the facts and subsequent questions:
1. I gave them 6 months advance notice (yes ……..6 MONTHS)
2. My expectation is that if anyone had to wait, it is them waiting for me and not the other way round
3. Month-end on the 9th of a month? Have they forgotten that I worked there before??????
4. Everything should have been resolved by the time I left which was en June 2008
While I was in their employ, it was general perception and personal experience, that there was gross inefficiency in that department and yet it never ceased to amaze me that they (one person actually) more often than not, walked away with awards for supposedly doing their job, albeit not that exceptional to warrant awards. Oh yes, if you were considered a “yes-person” (whether you were a good or bad worker), you progressed got awards.
But then again everyone I speak to from different companies complain about their HR so I guess this lot fits in just fine.
Once I heard this, I was LIVID. I put an email together to the HR Head and explained the situation. She undertook to investigate and get back to me. I have always hated the fact that they had a hold on MY money. In fact I hate this whole pension story about not being able to touch MY pension money before I reach pensionable age. I can think of better ways of investing it than it sitting in some account potentially being badly invested without me having any control over it. But at least this time I will do it MY way, once I get MY money out of the company that is.
Now I play the waiting game. After playing a pawn for a number of years, I think I rather prefer being on the waiting end.
Until next time. Hopefully I get a response this week still.