DOING LIFE

GENERAL TIT BITS ON LIFE IN SA - Saturday, 26 April 2008

How do you test whether a light bulb works or not? Firstly, if you put the switch on and the bulb lights up, it works. Secondly, if you put the switch on and the light bulb does not light up, it does not work. Thirdly, if the light bulb did light up and it goes off, call Eskom and find out when load shedding will be over.

As all of us SA citizens know by now, having no electricity for 12 to 16 hours a week, has catastrophic impact on the productivity and economic well being of the country.

For instance, after just recently having had air conditioning installed in our main bedroom and study, the unit in our main bedroom is not cooling at all – just blows air and again we just had to accept that nothing works perfectly first time in SA. We reported the problem with the Air Conditioning Superstore and their team promptly arrived the next day to come and fix the problem, but their hands were tied with load shedding in action. I had to phone again to report the problem and request that the service team must please first phone before just pitching, to ensure that there is no load shedding. So what happens, they once again pitch without phoning first, and again load shedding is in action. So I have to phone again (for the third time) to request that they come and resolve the problem, but have to phone first. Just this small incident must have had a negative financial impact on this company, having sent out a 2-man team twice without having resolved the client’s problem. So just imagine how many times this happens daily in SA. All because Eskom could not plan a decade and more ahead and now are fighting fire with fire.

The odds are seriously stacking up against the ‘poor’ SA man in the street. Apart from load shedding, fuel prices are reaching new record highs nearly on a weekly basis, resulting in food prices going through the roof and the general standard of living plummeting fast ... and SA citizens becoming more and more frustrated. A good example of the frustration starting to surface is the recent incident Joost van der Westhuizen had at our neighbouring secure estate, Dainfern.

Joost has been a Dainfern resident in the past and upon revisiting Dainfern to bring his son to a soccer practice within the estate (ye, I know what you keen rugby fans are thinking ... a rugby hero’s son ... playing soccer?), the estate’s security asked for his driver’s licence which Joost did not have with him at the time. Instead Joost furnished his ID book and cell phone number should they need to contact him. But, as the by now ‘urban legend’ goes, the security insisted on viewing his driver’s licence. This was probably because Joost was driving a new Audi with no registration plates, but had the permit fixed in his back window. Joost got hot under the collar, alighted from his vehicle and ripped the boom off with his bare hands and drove through.

Joost’s argument, as surfaced during an interview Radio Jakaranda had with him on Friday morning (25 April 2008), was that his ID book should have been sufficient to give him security clearance (and the fact that the security most know who is by now) and all he could think was, is that it was a post-apartheid mentality where the security employees at all these secure estates was misusing their power. Joost was fined R15,000 for the damaged boom and said that he does not think that the boom is worth this amount and that the Dainfern probably grabbed the opportunity to obtain some finance to refurbish the estate’s entrance i.e. painting the roof of the entrance, etc.

With us choosing to live in a secure estate ourselves, our take on this is that our safety are totally in the hands of who the security personnel at the entrance gate lets in or not and are there to protect us from especially people like Joost van der Westhuizen himself. If everyone start taking law in their own hands ... just imagine what chaos there will then be in our beautiful country South Africa.

On a lighter note, Michelle, I made your lemon meringue pie for Conroy’s coaching meeting with a colleague here at our home this morning. The two men totally indulged themselves and could not believe I made it myself, but I did mention that it is your delicious recipe (your ears were probably burning) and Sheila your fruit squares has been baked again and is a hit every time. It is such an easy and quick recipe with and extremely delicious result.

Van Acht at last straightened the inside door handle of our new Van Acht front door and at last we can approach our front door without angling our heads. But, this also only happened after Van Acht’s third visit and it was not load shedding’s fault, but incompetency on their part ... another instance of poor SA productivity.

Otherwise life is generally peaceful and creative.

- Estate security supporter signing off.