Molo ma-peeps...

You know i have absolutely nothing to say to you all this week. Hope all is well with all of you. I did however receive an email that i feel the need to share with you...

This message below I think can be applied to all things in life.... read it and hope it at least makes you think!!
There was once a builder who after a long and successful career was looking forward to his retirement. As soon as his current project was finished that was it, no more work. However as the project finished his employer called him in and said "You, are our best builder and I have one last request. There is a special house to be built and you are the only one that we trust to do it." Reluctantly the builder agreed to do the job, but his heart was not in it. It was unfair, he should have been on retirement not building another house. He became even more resentful when he discovered the site for the house. It was a piece of ground, over looking a lake, where he had often said that he would like to build his own house.
Because he was resentful, he did not build with his usual care. He cut corners and used second grade material. He just wanted to get it finished and he reasoned "Who cares how I build this house, it is the last one" Anyway soon he was finished and his commitment to the company complete. Now he could retire at last.
To thank him for his years of loyal service his employer held a farewell party for him and at the party handed him a farewell gift. When he unwrapped his gift he found inside the keys to the house he had just built. His instant feeling was one or remorse "If only I had taken more care in building this house. if only I had known it was for me" To avoid that regret "Do everything that you do as if it were for you."

Birthdays

4th May Gareth 'Piel' Mountain, happy b-day coussy, we know what we have to do ;-), and i think it may well be carnage, but its all good!!

Quote
"if at first you dont succeed, skydiving is not for u"

Have a pleasant week. 3 days for some of us, with yesterday being the public holiday in favour of 27th April, which is freedom (re-independence) day in SA, and thursday, 1 May, being workers day!! But after that, thats it for a long while. I guess it was fun!

Respek to the masses

"when i'm alone in my room sometimes i stare at the wall and at the back of my mind i hear my conscience call telling me i need a girl who's as sweet as a dove and for the first time in my life i see i need love there i was gigling about the games that i had played with many hearts and i aint saying no names...." LL Cool J,... Degs, Fiifi that one was for u boys, I was just remembering the days we spent trodding up and down Sissons street, s curls, zooted pants, skate boards...ey the good ol days!!


Heee--ey!

Ladies..fellas....

Trust u all had a great long weekend, and for us living in SA another awaits us next week, goodie gumdrops!! So how u all feelin today, well i am feelin with my hands..a ha ha ha soo unnecesary.

I must say i was pretty impressed with the response i got from last weeks emails, some were posted on the website and others were spoken to me, there is hope yet for this country, very promising. Those pea brains will sooner or later realise that there is no place for such in this society we are trying to build. What was even more promising was the fact that this year, for the first time the history and the whole thinking and execution of apartheid is going to be taught and examined at schools and i say its about time. We need to know and the youth need to know and understand what it was like back in the day and why it is like it is today, Bartholomew Diaz, Christopher Columbus, 1820 settlers, Anglo Boer war, thats all good and all, but tell me about Verwoed, Mandela, u know the the not so distant history that has resulted in people staying in shacks with no electricity, no running water, and then accross the highway, we have guys living on acres of land, driving Lex Coups, Beemers and the Benz, taking their kids to Private Schools that charge like R30k or so p.a. (more than varsity).

Tell me why Vusi has to wake up walk 5 ks to go fetch water so he can wash, then walk another few k's to catch a taxi, get to school with another 40/50 other kids, get a crappy excuse for an education and hope to come out of it with an equal opportunity in life... hmmmm. I hate politics, I do, but i think that we have to face the facts.

Crime in this country is terrible, and I am in no way condoning it, and it is definately unacceptable, but we have to understand from whence it stems. We have to look at how we can help turn this situation around, its not somebody else's problem it is all of our problems, I unfortunately dont have all the solutions, all I can do is highlight the fact that other than perhaps one or 2 of us on this list, no one knows. None of us really knows what a hard life is all about. And no I am not saying feel guilty about having life easy, I am saying we were priveleged, fortunate, and we are all in a postition to make a difference, albeit a small one, we can make a difference.

This Lent really taught me that little things mean a lot and i for one am going to try and keep helping someone out when and where i can. U might ask how i know u can make a difference, well imagin a beggar standing in the same place day in day out, millions of cars pass him/her by, and yet a week later s/he can come to u at the traffic light and show u the shoes/t-shirt u gave them with a beaming smile on their face, u definately have made a difference in that persons life.

I'll say it again..we know nothing...ur car got dented...u r fortunate to have a car! U are going through a bad patch at work...you are fortunate enough to have a job! Your family and u dont see eye to eye at the moment...thank God that you have been blessed with siblings and parents! I can go on but i am sure u get the picture...

"When upon life bellows you a temptest toss(i think) when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings name them one by one and it will surprise u what ur maker has done..."

Birthdays

24th Tas, happy b-day, f what anyone says u dont look a day over 18, just the way i like it ;-)

If its your birthday this week...well in the words of 50cents, go go go go go shorty its your birthday...

Quote

All the flowers, of all the tomorrows, are in the seeds of today.
Heres one for today...When we do things out of great love, rather than great expectation, more comes back to us than we have ever imagined.
Dream what you want to dream;go where you want to go; be what you want to be; because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to
Life is like rushing rapids with rocks. You may fall, and either be hurt by the rocks or you can use them as stepping stones. We often tend to forget that when you hit rock bottom, the only way to go...is back up

-the authors of all these quotes are unknown.

The prophet hath spoken, now off on your merry ways you go, but do bear in mind that YOU CAN MAKE A CHANGE!!!

Respek

Really love mid April, public holidays galore!!!

How u guys doing, take it well, no news is good news and all...If this is your first time receiving this mail, welcome (Carl and Alani....if i have left anyones name out ooops, but welcome nonetheless). If u want to leave any comments use the site http://mondaymail.blogspot.com or u could send a response to me and i will post it on the site.

Winter is slowly but surely making its way to this nick of the woods, sun goes down a tad earlier than normal, leaves are turning brown, mans waking up with frosted car windows a bit of a cold chill, but its all good...my kinda weather.

Just when you think this country is heading in the right direction you hear a story that makes you wonder when it will all end??!! Here is the story i heard. A friend of mines cousin and his girlfriend, went to this restaurant/bar in Melville, Johannesburg called 24/7 (now for those of you who dont know, Melville is Jo'burgs equivalent of Observetory in Cape Town..well so I thought, u know the very chilled out vibe etc etc, which makes this story that much more dissapointing). Well anyway when they got there, a great burly figure was at the door to meet them. When they tried to enter, they got told sorry for you, but there is a private party, in disbelief they turned to walk away, just then a lady from inside, came and told them the party is in the back and they could come in. So in they stepped, they ordered drinks and the guy went to the bathroom, a few seconds later, there was a loud bang on the door, and a voice sounded, 'Kaf fir'(that is the South African version if Nigga) didnt i tell u not to come here, followed by more verbal abuse, like hurry up u K's just smell up our toilets...As u can imagine the man was terrified, next thing the door is kicked open and there are 2/3 big boneheads, and they panel him nicely. His lady friend who was with him tried to help him out and guess what, yip thats right she felt the wrath of their racist anger too.

They then called my mate Lebo to come help them out, so he drove there with a friend, now during this time the big baffoons are chasing them all over Melville and hurling racial abuse in their direction. On the way there Lebo and his mate saw a lone Metro Police officer and they alerted him of the situation, and they told him to call for back up. When they finally located them, they too(Lebo, his mate and teh Metro Police officers, were confronted with the same abuse coupled by spitting, the guys then started to phyically abuse them again including the one cop, they sought refuge in Lebo's car which till today(unless its been fied) shows evidence of the violence, the side pannel was kicked in, window smashed.

The cops were asked y they didnt arrest them, the cop answered we get sworn at daily now imagine if we had to arrest everyone who swears at us??! How much faith do you have in cops now, anyway so they sped off to the nearest police station to lay a charge these insane f**ks followed them to the police station, beat one of them unconcious carried on expelling racial slurs etc, at the police station.

I mean what the kcuf???When will it all end? I think the story is on the front page of Sunday Times Metro, so for more details go take a look at it. Gimme your take on this please, either send it to me and i will forward it to all or place your comments on http://mondaymail.blogspot.com

Very contrasting to the story above, but below I have attached an email that you should try bear in mind every day:

How do you start your day? Do you wake up grateful for your life? Do you take the time to count your blessings or do you just leap out of bed and rush into your busy day thinking about how much you have to do, feeling sorry for yourself that you have to work so hard? How does that make you feel? Does that put a glow on your day or does that kill the excitement before you start?
Develop a sense of gratitude, remember it is not your circumstances that determine your attitude but how you interpret, how you feel about, your circumstances that will determine your attitude. It is so easy to complain and gripe about how tough life is. How you would rather be doing something else, be somewhere else.
When you are having this little pity party how can you possibly get any enjoyment or sense of satisfaction from what you are doing. Remember this, it is more important to love what you are doing, than to do what you love for when you learn to love what you are doing you will be doing what you love.
Understand, that when I say this I do not mean all circumstances, certain things you cannot and should not tolerate much less learn to love. I am talking about life in general, the socially acceptable and socially expected things of life.
Like the young man who served me at a café yesterday. As I was leaving he wished me a pleasant afternoon. I said that I was going to have just that and wished him the same. His reply was "Unfortunately I have to work" My reply to that was, be grateful, imagine if you did not have the job. How enthusiastic, how committed, can you be with an attitude like that?
Develop a sense of gratitude by changing the way you talk to yourself instead of complaining ask yourself "What is great about this? How can I get this done and have fun at the same time? How can I make this more exciting and get a sense of achievement doing it?"
Whatever you do, do it the best that you can and you will make the most of your life, because "Life is a 'do it to yourself' process"

I have no birthdays recorded in my diary nor memory, but if it is, well...go shorty its your birthday, we gonna party cos its your birthday....

Happy Easter, happy Pesach and happy Feast of Ridvan be safe and take care, till next we e-speak which i hope is soon maximum respek...and u know this.

Top of the mornin to ya...

Hogs I have added u, without waiting for ur response, my bad, but if u want out, just drop me a line.

Its been a tough week of rehab, AA meetings....i'd like to thank all my friends and family for their support...I made it through the whole week without a drop, but unfortunately on friday and saturday i went into relapse and i hit it hard...it was fun!!! oh my life is just in tatters, what am i to dooooo.

K enuff of the bull, pretty decent week, no one was on my case other than someone throwng in their 2 cents about me gettin kakked on and then another calling me a chauvenist cos i like to sit in a corner and watch rugby with the boys...whatever


More important things....yes u guessed it the war. I wanted to stay away from this topic, but its so in your face even if i make a conscious effort not to watch it on the telly, it finds its way to my eyes or ears. Those allied goons are really screwing up the country, and plenty people are losing their lives unnecesarily, then we have Bush and his pet Blair, sitting in No 10 or the White house or Camp David, strategising on how Iraq willl be run after the war. There are contracts being handed out to US companies to rebuild Iraq. Very smart hey?? We'll screw it up and u rebuild it, but instead of the people who screwed it up, paying for its replacement, we'll rape Iraq some more by using their resources to pay for the damage. Where is the justice in that??? I know u will have plenty to say about that Charl ;-)

The funniest thing about the war for me, k funny might not be an appropriate word in this context (war and all), but those 'Human Shields', ya whatever....what did they think they were actually gonna do, i mean honestly, firstly the coalition forces sidestepped the UN, then next thing most of their missiles are sent from remote areas. These missiles are programmed with the co-ordinates of the desired targets, if in the unfortunate case, someone gets it wrong and the missile deviates from the co-ordinates of the desired target and heads straight for a civilian area, what are u gonna do?? Shout at the missile and say, hey look i am a human shield...shooo shooo go away...somehow i doubt that would work.

Watched the movie Chicago yesterday, good movie, got 2 messages out of it, Last guys finish last and well the other has a close resemlance to this passage below, really worth the read:

So often we complain that "Life" is just not fair. We complain about our circumstances and our situation, constantly wanting someone to do something to help. You have to change your attitude to your problems. Instead of using all your energy complaining about them use your energy and your intelligence to look for solutions to them. Instead of letting problems weigh you down use them to build yourself up.
Realise that you can only grow if there are problems to solve. If you had no problems then there would be no possibility of improving yourself. Your ability to solve problems will determine your success in life. Every successful person is successful, not because he had no problems but because he used his problems as stepping stones.
This story of the donkey that fell into an old well should illustrate this.
One day an old donkey fell into a disused well on his owners farm. Of course he put up a tremendous row, he did not like being in this hole and he wanted out. When the farmer heard the noise he went to investigate, and found the donkey in the well. However no matter what he tried he could not get the donkey out of the well. The well was too deep and the donkey too heavy. So he gave up. It's no use and the donkey is old anyway and not worth the effort. (how often have you done that, started a project then given up and looked for an excuse to justify your actions?)
Since the donkey was already in a hole he decided to bury the donkey by filling in the hole. (how cruel I hear you cry! Really, is this any different to the time you kicked someone when they were down, to the time that you stole someone's dream by scorning their ideas.) So he gathered all of his neighbours around and got them to help him fill in the hole. (isn't it amazing how easy it is to get people to do the wrong thing and how difficult it is to get them to do the right thing.)
As they started to throw soil into the hole the donkey just stood there all dejected. Well what could he do? But then someone threw in a big stone which hit the donkey, well that spurred him to action. The load of soft soil had just got heavier, and he could bear it, but that stone hurt. (so often that is what we do, just accept "our lot" until some traumatic event happens to shake us out of our daze) So he shook himself and moved to the side of the well. As he did that he looked around and saw that the soil was filling up the hole and if he climbed onto the mound of soil he would be closer to the top.
When the people saw this, they suddenly saw how to help and instead of throwing the soil onto the donkey they threw it next to him. (how often have you seen that, people will dump on a loser but support a winner. They often won't help you when you need it most but as soon as it looks like you are going to make it, then their attitudes change.) And the donkey merely stepped from one pile to another until he was able to walk out of the now filled in hole.
Take the time to become aware of your surroundings. Look for the opportunities in your circumstances. Instead of complaining about your situation ask yourself "How can I change this for the better? How can I use this to my advantage? How can I benefit from this? What can I learn from this? Realise that on your journey through life it is the bumps that you climb on. Your progress is determined by the problems that you face and solve so be grateful for the problems that you have, see them as opportunities to grow because "The more life dumps on you the higher you can climb"
Birthdays
13th The lovely and always bubbly Deborah Marlene, happy b-day girl, hope u have a blast in Perth, no worries about the car thing, shaite happens

Quotes(thanks to Garrin)
"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning,
that's as good as they're going to feel all day. "~Frank Sinatra

"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his
fools." ~Ernest Hemingway

Well i guess its about time to call time on this weeks email, started off having nothing to write, yet i still managed to give u all an eyefull, talent boys and girls talent ;-)
Comment on http://mondaymail.blogspot.com

Respect..