Birthday

The big 40! I should be feeling old but I must say I am content and feel very blessed. We started the day off by watching Hope do a gymnastics exhibition in Claremont, coinsedentley their was a wonderful bakery right next door so coffee and bacon and egg toasties helped full the belly aftewhich we went home for a rest. The aftenoon brought tea and milk tart (my favourite), followed by diner at quay 4 on the docks at the V&A waterfront. You cant beat beer and prawns!

My lovely wife and girls got me 2 music DVD's as pressies, Mumford and sons at Redrock and Lady Antebellum - Thanks all, I had a great day.
Here is a short summary of my life.

1973 - Born in Durban at Addington hospital
1980 - Moved to Richards bay with parents as dad took up a job with Triomf which is a fetilizer company.
1981 - Moved to Cape Town with parents as dad took up a jub with Caltex oil again (granddad was some hot shot there)
1982 - Parents divorced and we moved back with my mom to Durban and dad moved to Jhb and hooked up with Sonya
1983 - 86 - Primary school in Durban at Penzance. Mom managed to buy a house in this time right next door to Jack and Norma who were my grand parents. I had ashma in those years which affected my self asteem and as a result I never partcipated in sport at primary school (marbels was a different story). I started gym at the berea gym in about standard 4 and ever since then have absolutley loved it. Well growing up at 58 Nicolson rd in those years was great, I had Norma who was a second mother to me, miss her so much and it was her with her mince meat men and avocodo ritz meals who inspired my love for cooking. Jack was a tyrant who dint have many nice things to say about anyone and was prity much the most condenscending man I have known but you know I remember him not for this or the piles of presents or money he would slip us when we visited but for the time he spent with us. Time is the most valuable commodity you can give someone! he would take us to the beach, Tessererri swimming baths, mitchells park to feed the ducks and dont forget the smorgesboard which Ja and I would use as a platform for the ultimate roast potatoe eat off!
In this time ma had married Colin and Dad had married Sonya and I met my best friend in the world, Glyn Huckley Buckley ( his mom had been married so many times that Jack could not remember all the surnames so adopted the surname Huckley Buckley for him, the naughtiest kid around that got me into heaps of trouble!
1986 - Confusion, I was headed for high school and when Glenwood boys high application forms came around, I hid mine from Ma as I wanted to move to Westville to be with Dad.A boy needs his dad at this stage. Guilt about leaving mom, boetie!!!!
1987 - Westville boys high school, Latin, 7th team rugby, good friend - Darryl Burger, G class, back to Durban on weekends, out of place!
1989 - Back to Durban and Glenwood boys high school. Clash with Colin, Sonya, but Love them as parents and it must be difficult for them.
1990 - Learner licence
1991 - Got my drivers licence 2nd time around and tasted freedom. met Shirley the love of my life while doing some painting at Sonya,s playschool and tookher to my matric dance in the VW bug. She was wearing the orange number which is now famous.
1992 - Army in Ladysmith, second to last intake but probably one of the most important experiances in my life.
1993 - Back in Sivilife, I have a woman who I know will be my wife, what do I do. I dont have a clue! Tried out with a buddy of mine for fire and rescue and almost got in. Passed all the tests exhept for the health check, I suffeed from asthma which I had grown out of by now but it was a big black mark against my application, thank God I dint get in, it was so close that Dad had actually bought me the bar one choc already. I was absolutley devastated -it was my ticket to freedom, I needed to get out of the house urgently as I had been bouncing around from Westville toDurban. Jackpot, my ma gave me a heads up on an trainee managers job at Buxtons spar in Glenwood and that was the start of 5 years in FMCG retail. I bouced around between Glenwood, Westville, Durban North and Umthlanga Spar.
1994 - Married to my wondeful wife Shirley by her Dad - Roy Hall who was a Presbi minister. freedom at last and a rented flat in Glenwood.
1995 - Visit Dad and Sonya in Ameica and undetook a 3000mile road trip with Shirley and Ja from Dallas, down to San Antonio, Galverston, New Orleans, uptoWashington and New York. Left Spar and Joined Boxer Cash and carry. Moved to Queenstown to assist in openimg a new Boxer.
1996 -Shock, issolation, boredome, good friends in Clinton and Bianca, Argus cycle race migration, open the shop inthe morning which was in a taxi rank with a shot gun.
1997 - Move back to Durban and Umbilo spar.
1998 - Armed robbery, weekend work, Lived at the Ascots in Musgrave area, walks around Graville race cource and plan our future, decision made to study computers and move to Cape Town.
1999 - The big move, Microsoft MCSE qualification, live in Dad's caravan, Shirley worked at a Montessori school in Stellenbosch, save for a house and eventually build a plot and plan house at - 22 Vancouver Close, Capri, Cape Town. Fist IT job at Faritec. Bruno and Bryce, our first 2 Weimerama dogs.
2000 - Work, work, work and our beutiful first girl Talor was born.
2001 - Join Enterprise connection, sued by Faritec for restraint of trade breach and won, studied Compaq storage Works in Slovenia and visit boet who is now working in London.
2002 - work, work, work
2003 - Join Eclipse networks, mistake that turned into blessing. Second darling born, Hope Jhenn Hunt, start an IT business on the side called contact works, fired  because of business, dispair!
2004 - contract at Pep stores, then Lewis with UCS, IT administrator.
2006 - Buyer to start new IT cataogory at Lewis
2007 - travel, travel, travel
2008 - 2010 - travel to China, Malaysia, Japan, Korea
2010 - Soccer World cup, take family to England for boeties wedding.
2011 - buy the Nissan X trail
2012 - hardest work year ever (3trips to China),loose 10 Kg, Bruno died, Hope doing vey well with gymnastics and learning the violin. Talor is a graceful ballet dancer and learning piano. Shirley finally doing what she does best -  art.
2013 - Shirley stars running, girls getting big now, replace Bruno with Troy.

40's - here I come! What do I still want to achieve in the next 10 years.

Take wife to Paris for anaversary, read more to kids, better Christian example to family then others, give more, pay off house in at most 5 years, no debt, keep weight below 90, fit, marathon and Argus again, learn guitar, learn Mandarin, make at least R10k per month in Forex trading, invest more, have more fun with family, buy a second property (for the girls).