Scotty’s Neighborhood

The elementary school I attended in 1962 had a playground that, at the time, was littered with rose rocks.  I've had this one with me all these years.  Side note:  The Rose Rock is the official state rock of Oklahoma. 

Rose Rock

It’s simply astonishing how reliant we have become on technology and communications. Years ago when mobile phones first came out I didn’t have the need to have one and a telephone line was sufficient – if I wasn’t available, leave a message.

The Internet was fun and interesting, and a trip to the internet café every now and again was enough to soothe the cravings for information on just about everything imaginable and sometimes unimaginable!

Today, I can’t leave the house without my mobile. What if I get stuck on the side of the road? What if there is an emergency where I’m needed?

The Internet is now the digital lifeline between work, friends and family. I obsessively check email, respond to work queries, pop onto Facebook almost daily.

That said, I’ve been incommunicado since the 24 December 2007 – with my mobile the only mechanism to briefly check emails, send work through or respond to queries – a rather expensive way of being in touch and my monthly mobile bill is running close to R800.

Damn thieves stole the copper cables down by the weir in the village, which was really a crappy Christmas present and a bleak new year if lines were not immediately restored. Additionally, a friend in Scotland needed to email me new flight details when he landed in South Africa – it just caused major panic.

My livelihood depends on communications to get things done. I am a technology-reliant home office freelance writer and this had a tremendous impact on my writing business.

Research, interviews and general communications has become an absolute nightmare as I rush between friends’ telephone lines and internet cafes to get the work done.  I am basically chasing my own tail, missing deadlines and providing substandard copy.

Somehow I have survived thus far but the pace has been incredibly slow and it had a massive impact on my business at a time were things were just starting to pick up - one year later which is the time it takes to set up a sustainable business.

Telkom (our only fixed line service provider at the moment) commissioned a contractor to dig trenches to bury the copper lines down our road for a month now, and I was briefly online but got disconnected again because the contractors got the lines all mixed up, which means I was surfing on someone else’s bill :)

I’ve investigated DSL and now need to get a modem and then I’ll be styling.

Things can only look up. I was about ready to give up this month. The publication that I write for commissioned me two stories that were simply impossible or unfeasible to complete, which was subsequently dropped, and meant that a large part of my monthly income is now missing. It really started to feel that I am peeing against the wind.

Thankfully more work has come in that does not require a lot of online research and hopefully my communication problems will get ironed out soon, or else I’ll have to move my business back to Johannesburg – the opposite of my intensions just over a year ago.

Deleted all the posts.... Planning to start afresh, so over the next couple of days I'll be fiddling...

Question Mark Concept

So just as I seem to be settling in, there's a potential spanner in the works. A good spanner, but one nonetheless. There is an opportunity for me as a deputy editor of another publication. Now the question is whether I should accept the offer or stay put...My gut tells me to move but logic dictates I stay.

I have some time at least to figure things out...

Pounding Headache

While not pleasant, it is good to know that some of my ex-work mates are struggling just as I am to cope with their new environments. Two of the major points are the incredible change of pace and the professionalism of our new employers. This is not to say we loafed around all day at the previous job, but just that there is so much more work to do now. What is especially surprising is the level of professionalism.

I cannot speak for the other two, but I am still being surprised on a daily basis at just how much more seriously things are being taken at my new job. Compliance, IT support, and HR issues are dealt with as swiftly as they appear. However, I am still struggling to see how long I will be able to last in this environment. The pressure is immense (and I'm used to pressure), the expectations are on a completely different level (and my previous boss was pedantic to the extreme), and I am really battling to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

But at least I am not alone in all of this....good luck Scotty and Reason Wreck...

Calendar

So my first full week at the company has been a strange one. Monday was an okay day, Tuesday fairly shit, and the rest of the week becoming increasingly positive.

On a positive note, I'm getting into the "strategic" swing of things. So much so, that my boss has already sent me an e-mail congratulating me and the rest of the people on the team on how good a job we're doing. She has also placed me on two task teams for a new tender.

I have also been commended by two senior directors of the company whose account we're managing. So much so that the one told me this morning they need to send me to London to attend an important event there and that I should view myself as part of their division now. This is no small praise from this large multinational company...

I'm still not enjoying the writing but that should change soon as we will be getting a senior account manager to take up the writing responsibilies leaving me time to work on strategy.

Jigsaw Puzzle

On my second day as "media specialist", I attended a strategy meeting. Definitely very different to what I'm used to but things are starting to make more sense in where I have to go with my life. Obviously, I still have much to learn but I feel the next few months will be devoted to sucking up (ja, ja) as much information as possible...the plot thickens.

What is your current obsession(s)?
Submitted by eijsr.

Wall Street

Sick and tired of the status quo in South Africa, I'm planning my own thing in terms of publishing. No big surprise really as everyone and their dog fancies themselves as publishers but I've got the benefit of knowing experts in their fields and having a unique hook (aren't they always?) to be different from the others...Of course, the challenge is trying to get things up and running without risking standing on a street corner and begging for food. Volunteers?

P1010071

Yes, I know it's been a long time coming, but here is a picture of the latest (and final) addition to our family - Alexander. He's a healthy 5.2kg and just over a month old...