Petit Bonheur Simple

....oooooh, so good!! Like JBJ and Paul Walker and Alan Rickman! Check your own man here.

...drives me up the wall!!! TOO MUCH NOW!!!!!

People always rave about the great weather in South Africa compared to Europe, but I have had ENOUGH!!!
Sun, sun, sun, every morning I open my eyes an it is blue sky & sun. And guess what happened this morning? I opened my eye and there it was again: blue sky & sun! No surprises!
It is winter here now, but in the 10 month I live here I have seen rain maybe 4 times. And yes, it is cold at night, sometimes even during the day, but that does not change anything on the fact that then there is still blue sky & sun!

So when the temperature drops and I want to light a candle for a romantic stay-in while it is grey and foggy outside, slurp hot chocolate and watch a fairy-tale movie ... DREAM ON! I can't even see my candle, cause the sun burns in my eyes (and through the blinds). And forget about the movie, sun also blinds the TV...

I want the european change of season back....sniff!

...still no grey day in sight

Okay, it was a week ago, but still - it was Michael's Birthday then, and now he is a biiiiiig boy of 9!
And these are lemon-poppyseed-muffins with mascarpone-sugar-glazing - the more funny decoration on the plate-sides and the 9th are from Mr. J who felt very creative that day, the brilliant writing on the muffins is my piece of art...

Yes, even 11.000 km away we were still remembering & celebrating a little Bastille day (the proof is in the photo!) with a braai (BBQ) and stories from our good old life in Paris.
Vive la France!

Let's have a look today at the work life in SA - now that I joined in a few weeks ago.

Phone manners
Phone what? Well, not existing! The "introduce yourself when you call somebody" has obviously gone extinct in SA, so if you do not have a chance to interrupt the caller early to ask who's speaking, you have to guess. And people assume you can guess them on their voice easily, especially if you have talked to them before. (Impossible by the way!)
If you however come across a person who is willing to share his/her name, then it is mainly because the name is something along the lines of Nkululeko, Nthutuko, Tsholwane or Shwelezane...a.k.a hae? And these are only the first names...

Email-Communication manners
Another myth! You are lucky if you have discussed with the person who is sending you a file what to do with it before in some way, otherwise - guess again. Emails only contain attachments with no FYI, action or any other necessary information on what is expected from you what-so-ever. Signatures are a luxury...

Office hours
Well, finally something working well: 08:00 to 17:00 incl. 1 hour lunchbreak in most employer/employee relationships. The home office (or "working from remote location") I am busy introducing here by being a role-model in practicing it is still scowled at with doubt. Will get there eventually...

(Disclaimer: Of course these are only my humble and non representative opinions which might be revised once I am working for a longer period or in a different environment.)

Try your own - but let me know!!! http://www.myheritage.com/