Getting older

So getting older means also forgetting stuff, getting things wrong that you have always got right, and other assorted similar crap!

End of last year, after another bout of no water due to incompetence of our local municipality, I decided to put in a backup water tank, (1500lt) with a booster pump.

I then ran the pump without municipal feed so that I could have an idea how long the tank would last me. Nearly 10 days! I refilled it, and redid the test. Nearly 10 days! That means my average monthly consumption, normal use, not sparingly, would be around 4.5 - 5 Kl per month.

Now I checked my monthly water bill, and the average was 10Kl. I knew it was correct due to the fact that I send them a photo of the reading every month, and they bill me on that. But I also now realized that I was 'losing' 5Kl of water every month, and that after the meter, which stood in my property (that's another story).

So I walked up to the meter, and removed the cover around the base, and lo and behold, a leak! And a proper leak, basically 5Kl a month!

I reported it, it took them nearly 6 or 8 weeks, numerous emails, SMS's, WhatsApp's, and threats, but they came out, removed the faulty meter, and put in a new on, but on the pavement this time, on my instruction! And usage dropped to around 5Kl a month. Great.

Anyway, I digress - so we have had a water problem again, been a week or so. Last week Tuesday I switched to the tank again, knowing I'll be okay for around 10 days.

Yesterday (Sunday) I checked my electricity meter (prepaid) and I know I can get a month out of R1000.00 (around 353kWh). But I only had 70kWh left. That means I won't make it to the end of the month. Couldn't figure out why...

Last night I go upstairs to get ready for bed. I hear a humming sound coming in through the window. So I go back down, and go outside to se if I can identify the cause. I've heard it a few night in a row now, and decided to see what it was.

Turns out it's the water pump! I had forgotten to close one of the circulation valves, which means the pump was running 27/7for 6 days. Basically pumping water from the tank, into the feeder pipe and back into the tank!

That little error cost me around 70kWh of electricity - and that's why I will be short this month, and will have to buy more to get me through the month.

And that's how we learn -

Be blessed everyone!

 Work?

Work life at the moment sucks - big time.

Since our new owner took over the company, our turnover had decreased to 10% of what it was. The past two months have been a bit better, but still no where near what it needs to be. It has cost him in excess of 1.8 million to keep our doors open!

Some background - This company was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Hean. I started here working 2 days a week. Then out primary client (95%+) was 3BM SA, owned by Roger Mar1in. After Mr. Hean passed away, Mrs. Hean asked me to stay on and help run the company.

For some years prior, they had been trying to sell the company to Roger, who always indicated his interest, but never made an offer. After he died, Mrs. Hean told him she really wanted to sell. He delayed and played the game till she dropped her price to a ridiculous number. He seriously "stole" the company. But no matter, now our client was also our owner, as Roger owns 3BMSA.

Then Roger sold 3BMSA and Rhombic to a BEE buyer, an African guy who got funding from the IDC or one of those institutions. He didn't get enough funds to buy out Roger completely, so bought the company, and some of the existing stock. This meant that Roger still owned a lot of stock - probably around 40 million!

Now, Roger was well off, so could float 3BMSA on a monthly basis if funds ran short, Then when the money came in, he would be refunded. This worked well, the company had an average monthly turnover of around 8 million Rand! At a 35% profit margin, good business.

So the new guy takes over. Renames the place 3BM SGT - this means that all 3EBMSA suppliers whom they had accounts with, now see this as a new company, so go COD. New owner will have to first build up his credit worthiness before they will open accounts. And as he has limited access to funds, he struggles to get raw materials. And with no raw material, we can't manufacture for him, so clients don't get their product, and many go elsewhere! 

He gets onto Rogers bad side, so Roger firms up on his credit as well, meaning that even though Roger has in stock the products 3BMSGT needs, they can't get it till they pay for it! That's what happens when you burn bridges! His GM resigns on short notice, so he has to get a new one - they don't come cheap, and as he's also an African, comes with attitude, demands a new company car as he doesn't like the nearly new Pajero the previous GM drove. And I am sure a fat salary, company petrol card, expense account, cellphone, etc.

His sales manger gets worked out - so has to employ a new one - won't just promote the person in sales who has been responsible for 80% of the turnover for the past 5 - 6 years! Nope, maybe because she's white and female!

Then he hires in 2 African lady HR consultants - who everyone agrees adds no value to the company - and they can't be disposed of as he signed them for a 12 month contract! (R50k a month is what they getting paid).

Internally, they promote a clerk (African) into the buying position - including all purchases of products from sub-contractors, like our company! He has no idea what he's doing, and has to keep referring back to his old boss for guidance and assistance!

I finally learned that the new owner comes from a corporate environment, and his plan is to turn this small / medium company into a corporate! All that means is big overheads, expensive top management, a CEO position (for him), a board, and the glory of telling your mates you are the owner, and CEO, of a corporation! Seriously?

All this spending has left him in a situation where he can no longer buy materials like the company used to, so we can't manufacture. 

So, I now have a company I run, where out of the 15  workshop employees, only about 5 are working, The rest I am trying to keep busy! We have made "stock" with material that was on our floor, and Have cleaned and repacked the 3 workshops, and I even have a guy on the roof painting!

He's now also employed a financial consultant. Go figure - a bit late for that, and he's expensive - and I can't see how he's going to add value, other than he's now looking at my job description, which I supplied him with, to re-evaluate my salary which I told him I am not happy with. I know, wrong time as the company is doing so bad, well, he needs to know what I bring to the party, before they decide they can replace me with an African manager - then they will close the doors here! 

So, here's hoping they get the top up loan from the IDC they have applied for - here's hoping the IDC manage to get Eishkom to stop importing / buying cheaper Chinese imports (they not really much cheaper, and their quality sucks, but the guy in Cape Town who imports this shit is known to hand out brown envelopes to some of the procurement staff at Eishkom!)

If only get the fuse box business back, and get awarded the current tenders which are pending, we will do a minimum of 750k a month turnover, which is much more than we need to do to keep the company afloat, and I could by employing another 8 or so people, grow that number to between 1 million and 1.5 million Rand a month!

Some names have been altered - to protect myself!

End of rant - at least I have this off my chest.

Now for my next trick - sending love and peace to the world from my blog.

 Grandchildren

I'm sitting here at my desk, finishing off the weeks reports and stuff. My cellphone is next to me on the desk, and every time my hand passes over it, the screen light up. And all I see is my screensaver, a photo of me and my 3 grandchildren, taken a few months ago. And it makes me smile.

I have been blessed with 3 beautiful, happy, loving kids, still small (4 and 2 and 1), but they have consumed me.

The joy they bring to my life when I visit them is incredible. Yes, as kids they can be testing too.

The oldest, very clever little lady, always has questions, and has mastered the use of "Why?" She wants to know everything, and needs an explanation for everything. Her dad told me one evening when he was tucking her in she asked "Do we still swallow our spit when we sleeping?" Now who has ever even given that a thought, yet she did, and wanted to know! As my first grandchild, she's always going to own the top spot in my heart, not to say the other two don't feature, they are very close behind, but like most special things in our lives, the first one is probably the most treasured. At school she's the class "madam"! Always first to offer to help the teacher, always up front when arranging games (wanting to have her own way), a real drama queen when needed. Loves drama (as in plays, acting, singing), does ballet, swims, likes to color in. Has given me loads of pages with various scribbles (from when she was little) and excitedly tells me "Look what I mad for you Nonno!", all of which I have kept. So precious.

The second one - he's a typical boy. And typically 2 yrs old. Terrible twos' is what they refer to, and he's living up to that. He's adamant he will get his way, will ignore you, and push his luck at every turn. I have worked out if I want him to do something, I tell him the opposite, and then get the result I want! He's a fast learner, with the added advantage of having a clever bigger sister who he has loved to mimic. For a long time he would just repeat whatever she said or did. Of late I have noticed that he's getting more of his own personality. He has learned much quicker to form full sentences, and is getting used to sometimes having to play alone. Probably going to school (Grade RRRRRR?????) has helped him break his dependence on his sister.

The baby, well she's just a heart breaker - the most beautiful little person. She's also learning very fast, as she has two siblings teaching her, and whom she watches all the time. She wants to be able to join them in their shenanigan's, so her development seems to be much faster.

Overall, I may have many issues in my life that affect me negatively, but one afternoon spent with these precious blessings, and my daughter (in-law), and I'm ready for whatever the next week will throw at me.

Keep safe out there

 Looking back

I was again. as usual, playing with my blog page layout - It's still not like I want it, but it's okay - for now. I read some of my very old posts (the original blog I can't find - have no clue how to find it either), but that old stuff really brought back some memories - went through some very dark times back then - and it's not that long ago.

Glad I've managed to push through it, and move on. It reminded me that anxiety, and more so, depression, are very bad spaces to be in, and if you are not careful, can be disastrous. I have learned over time to identify / recognize the symptoms, and have managed to get out of that space myself. On the few occasions I couldn't "reverse" my emotional state, I have got medical help. It works - it's worth it, and you get back control of your life.

So, the point I'm making here (and also as a reminder to myself), don't be ashamed of  feeling anxious or even depressed. It can be controlled / fixed. Too many men have been raised to think a man shouldn't show / suffer this emotion, and it's probably the primary cause for suicide among men.

Finally, if you know someone who is going through this, make time to speak to them, even better, make an effort to listen to them, no need to offer advise, other than, "Maybe it's time to see a doctor?".

Good luck out there - love your life.

 So I'm a little slow....

I only just now noticed that the blog page automatically puts in the date above the post. I have been putting the date into the heading, so as to be able to refer back, remember when I posted whatever I wrote. Sorry, I'm a little slow, but keeping track of specific dates has become important to me.

Other than that, not too much news. My current contract with my employer ends at the end of this month. I have a few options:-

1) Keep quiet, come to work as usual on 02 June, and keep working, which will automatically make me a permanent employee!

2) Raise the issue with him, and get served with a new (1 or 2) year contract, which then again had an "end date".

The problem is that June is my increase month. If I go and speak to him about my increase, he may pick up that my contract is coming to an end, and then either let me go (not likely), or get his HR ladies to draw up a new contract for me. This would open the door for renegotiation of my salary and employment terms, I suppose, but still risky. Or I wait till July, which is increase month for all the other employees, and take the minimum as per the steel industry, which isn't actually applicable to me.

So I'm not sure what to do.

Personally, I think I should go and see him, explain that it's time for my increase, and see if I can negotiate a better deal. My current salary was agreed to when the previous owner bought out my original employer. He said he would only buy the company if I agreed to stay on. The salary was what we agreed on - but probably short of what I should have asked for. I was just wanting to ensure the sale went through for the lady who had decided to sell after her husband passed away.

SO, any advise there from my brother (or anyone else who might stumble across this blog)?

 When we can help, we should - 12 May 2025

On Sunday morning, I went to church, followed by a visit t my mom. I hadn't seen her on Saturday as usual, as I went to a 1st birthday party for my last born grandchild. My sister was also visiting mom, so we had a chance to catch up. And as usual, we got into a discussion about the shenanigans going on in my extended family (read sons). She's adamant that counselling is the answer. I know that one of the party isn't interested. Anyway, we have these discussions, share information, and agree to continue to pray over the issue.

I had bought mom a cappuccino on the way, which she really enjoyed. Then the sister arrived with a small cub cake, which I fed to mom, along with a second cup of coffee. After about 45 minutes, I said my goodbyes.

As I got into the car, I saw I had a message from a very good friend, who had on Friday past left for Malta. She's there on a 3 - 5 year contract, how lucky. She's the widow of my late best friend Mike, who died a few years ago, and we have kept in touch.

Anyway, just over a week ago she contacted me about an elderly couple who live close to me. The man was their pastor many years ago, and ran the church where Mike and Erika got saved. They were always close, and kept in touch even after moving to the Cape. She told me the lady had recently got sick, and 8 weeks in hospital did nothing to help, in fact, she had walked into there, and eventually came home in a wheelchair. She said the old man wasn't coping too well. For a start he can't cook! Then, being 81 years old, he's struggling to lift her off the bed, get her to the bathroom and back. She won't eat much, usually only wants toast and jam, so he doesn't bother to buy in any ready made meals, which means he's not eating well. A couple of times she's taken a fall, and he's had to contact a neighbor to come and help get her up. She says she does not want to go back to hospital, and wont accept him getting a caregiver in to help. So he's in a bad space. I went round then to introduce myself, and told him if he needs any help, he's free to call me. I live maybe 3 minutes away. Nice old guy. We spent probably 30 minutes chatting in his driveway. I got Erika the details of Brian's, a place just 500 meters from the old peoples home, that do meals daily, and deliver, and it's good food, and R50 a plate for pensioners. She was going to try and arrange for a meal to be delivered 3 - 4 times a week.

Anyway, so I see a message from her. The old man has contacted her again, and she's worried because apart from the usual, they really not eating well. Now on my first visit I confirmed that finances are not a problem. I called her, and told her this, and said I'd go round and chat to him about Brian's, and other food delivery options in the area. She asked if I'd pick up two Sunday lunches from Brian's and deliver it. She would pay me back. No problem. Sunday lunch is a fuller meal, and costs a bit more, but still cheap. I get there, order two meals, and wait 30 minutes in my car, as all meals are prepared fresh.

I drive to their home, call, and he comes out. He's very happy to see me, and thankful for the meals. Again, he keeps me chatting in the driveway for probably another 45 minutes. I don't mind, as I can hear he needs to talk, and has some nice stories to tell, in-between updating me on the situation with his wife. My advise was that he get her back to a doctor, and ask for a referral to a proper specialist, so they can find out how she went from a walking patient with infection in her blood and kidneys, to a nearly paralyzed wheelchair patient! Also, even though she says no, if she needs to be hospitalised, do it. And if you need help, get a caregiver. It's also about him, and his ability to care for her, and his health. And, hold onto your faith, you being tested. We had a good chat, he was very thankful for my time and care.

Imagine being married for 40 years, never having to cook or clean, and suddenly being responsible, at age 81, for all that. And having to take care of the woman who always took care of you. Having to clean up after her if she does not make it to the bathroom on time. I know some of you have been doing this, and take my hat off to you. But he's an old man, old school, does it because he knows he has to, but does not have the strength to. I feel for him.

I'll see him again soon I'm sure. And we think we have problems.

Be safe out there.

 Answered prayers - 12 May 2025

Once again, in a situation where I knew I needed some help and comfort, I sent up a prayer, and He heard me and answered.

I had a situation this past Saturday, where I was worried that my anxiety would probably get the better of me. My friend DMD said he was sure I would be okay, because that's just the person I am, but I wasn't so sure.

Anyway, on the way I asked our Father just to be with me, calm my mind, and watch my mouth. And He did. And all went well.

I am blessed.... Be safe and sending much love to you.