Snow where it doesn't snow

Hi all. A sunny day at last. It's been quite cold the past few days. The great news is that it was the Winter Solstice last week - yippeeeeee we're officially half way through winter. Brrrrr, it is chilly for me. We've had some strange weather - it snowed in Gauteng (Johannesburg) today. That is completely & totally unheard of. I heard the rumour & thought I'd first verify it with one of my friends in Gauteng. Sure enough, Sam verified the facts. She said that she didn't know it was snowing in the night & when she woke up there it was. How absolutely strange is that. I kinda wish that would happen in Cape Town. I know that it'll be very cold - but it's just one of those things that NEVER happen - to look outside & see snow. We have to drive very far, and up into the mountains to see snow - along with the rest of Cape Town. I was emailed some photos which I'll include below for you to see (I'm told they're from a reliable source - taken in Johannesburg):

The strikes have continued....I'm not sure what exactly the current situation is but I know last week on the news ALL the schools had been shut in a particular area in Kwazulu-Natal due to striking teachers. There have been so many problems at government hospitals (where people who don't have medical-aid/insurance go to) due to the strikes & being short-staffed. People have died unnecessarily due to not being able to get the medical attention they need. The price of petrol has gone up again to R7.00 a litre. It also looks like the interest rate will be rising again.

Brad has encountered quite a lot of resistance in his job hunt - being told that the colour of his skin is wrong. Unfortunately, white men are at the bottom of the food chain. BUT I do believe that when the time is right & Brad has been guided to the position that God has planned for him that doors will be opened and that position will be his. I think that at this point in time Brad has realised that his biggest passion & most of his experience has been in radio and so now we are going to work on a new strategy to get him networking with the right people within the industry. He is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY talented in this area- listening to him do his Top 30 show every 2nd Saturday on Radio Helderberg makes me so proud - he could easily be highly successful on a commercial radio station like Kfm - he just needs to get a lucky break. Let's see what happens - I know that God has an incredible plan for him.

Things are going fine for me at work. I'm keeping very busy and have a new colleague with me in the office - so I've been training her alot. It's surprising how you realise how much you'e actually learn't when you're in a position of teaching others.

I'm still painting - busy with the last of three paintings for Brad's aunt & uncle's gueshouse. It's taking quite a bit of time due to the drying of the layers. But I'm hoping to get it finished up soon. I haven't taken too many exciting photos recently. I'm hoping to take another photography course at the end of the year - this time focusing on the digital editing of photos using Adobe Photoshop. Let's hope it all works out. If it does then I'll be busy with it Oct - Dec.

Well, time for me to get back to work....

The Strike

Hi all. Yay that it is Friday - I'm so happy. Time to relax & spend time with all my favourite people :)

Today approximately 700 000 people within the public sector are striking. It all goes around a wage increase negotiation. The government is willing to grant a 6% increase while the public sector workers (represented by their labour unions) are asking for a 12% increase. I have very mixed feelings about the whole issue. Initially I was very against the strike - I'm concerned about the cost of this to our economy as well as the potential negative publicity to our foreign investors. But at the same time my heart really does go out to them. Teachers, nurses and policemen are the cornerstone of our society and they are being undervalued. Although a 12% increase may sound like much, they haven't received much of an increase over the past years. Teachers play an integral role in educating the future leaders and generations of South Africa. The police have a really tough job and every few months you hear of policemen that have been killed on duty or who have committed suicide (and often taken their families with them) - the stress of their jobs is really hectic. The sad thing is that there is so much corruption in the government and government officials are taking liberties of filling their own pockets while the people performing essential services for our society and community suffer.

As a result of the strike, schools have shut for the day as teachers will not be there to teach. Many parents have had to take leave because there is no one to take care of their children today. You can only imagine how many companies will be feeling it. Government hospitals will also be running on minimal staff. Let's just hope that they reach some sort of agreement today so that things can get back to normal on Monday.

Well, enough of that. Just felt like sharing my thoughts... Hope you have a fantastic weekend!