Just when you think that your life has found a certain balance or routine, one decision completely throws life off kelter. That decision is making a dream of mine come true. To sing with a band in front of crowds of people has become a reality. I didn't think I would be singing to crowds who don't really have an appreciation for all the music I sing but it is a start.
Bob, the keyboard and guitar player and the person who is the sound technician and production manager. Faz, the percussion king and otherwise known as a drummer. These two people are just the most amazingly patient and understanding guys on the planet. I can't honestly remember the last time I did a gig but they are making it as seamless a process as possible.
I'm working hard. My circle of friends has grown and full of the most magic people ever. What more could a guy want? The perfect relationship - or is that just expecting too much? Maybe. So, let me not push my luck and just be happy with things the way they are.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Saturday, 17 January 2009
New year nearly old...
Finally, some time to sit and just let you know where I am, what I am doing and how this year is going to be the best ever. As usual, you will see that I have added two songs for you. The first is for the 70's disco lovers and the second is the same song but for the jazz lovers out there. The sentiment is the same and at least you will know that I think about you all.
Watson has grown to full size and has settled himself down and that is more likely as a result of him claiming his kingdom and realising that he can manipulate me to doing nearly anything he want me to.
January started with a bang. By the end of this month, I must have completed all my staff's appraisals and have to set the sales team their sales targets which look, at this point, like a 20% increase from 2008. My renewals staff have got a similar target but there are a lot of anomilies with how Finance have worked out their corporate plan, so we are in deliberations at this point. I have had a trip down to Manchester to visit with one of our insurers who are trying to rebuild, what has been a tenuous relationship. I have also attended the launch of another insurers product which is always interesting. Between this, I have to manage my own clients and ensure that I am bringing home the bacon and dealing with the day-to-day matters which always go hand in hand with managing staff. I do love it and although I was asked to apply for a Corporate Manager position, I turned it down as I don't feel that I have done all I set out to do with the team I have.
I returned to gym in the last week after a long absence. I also joined a meditation class run by a Buddhist order. It was really interesting and I felt very relaxed when I walked out. That should go hand-in-hand with my yoga classes on either Saturday or Sundays. The choice of which day to go on depends on the amount of punishment I can take. The Saturday class is very calming and gentle, whereas the Sunday class is fitness yoga and stretches you to the limit.
I have not been walking in a while but my intentions are good. With the cold weather, I tend to enjoy reading and cooking. With my constitution I don't seem to suffer as many others do where my weight is concerned. I do like to keep it healthy but in saying that, I do love my full fat, lard-induced, stogy and stew-ie foods. For those of you who know me well, will recall that I am a chocaholic and that vice seems to be on a steady course to an addiction. For those of you who have not been witness to this disgraceful sight, I get these unbelievable cravings and when they strike, nothing gets in the way of me eating two slabs of chocolate and finish that off with two or three Aeoros. It isn't a pretty sight and you may think that I finish that off in a few hours, which would be ideal. I finish that off in 30 minutes flat. My absolute dread is that I reach 35 and my motabolism changes and I am left holding the love handles.
This years travel plans are: A Scotland trip in July. A possible trip to Sweden and a trip to Thailand to see my friend Lieke. Thailand will be a return trip to meet up with the person I went with the first time. If there is time...and money...maybe a long weekend break here or there would be ideal.
That is about all my news. Take it easy and remember;
I must dash but I'll be back in a flash!
Watson has grown to full size and has settled himself down and that is more likely as a result of him claiming his kingdom and realising that he can manipulate me to doing nearly anything he want me to.
January started with a bang. By the end of this month, I must have completed all my staff's appraisals and have to set the sales team their sales targets which look, at this point, like a 20% increase from 2008. My renewals staff have got a similar target but there are a lot of anomilies with how Finance have worked out their corporate plan, so we are in deliberations at this point. I have had a trip down to Manchester to visit with one of our insurers who are trying to rebuild, what has been a tenuous relationship. I have also attended the launch of another insurers product which is always interesting. Between this, I have to manage my own clients and ensure that I am bringing home the bacon and dealing with the day-to-day matters which always go hand in hand with managing staff. I do love it and although I was asked to apply for a Corporate Manager position, I turned it down as I don't feel that I have done all I set out to do with the team I have.
I returned to gym in the last week after a long absence. I also joined a meditation class run by a Buddhist order. It was really interesting and I felt very relaxed when I walked out. That should go hand-in-hand with my yoga classes on either Saturday or Sundays. The choice of which day to go on depends on the amount of punishment I can take. The Saturday class is very calming and gentle, whereas the Sunday class is fitness yoga and stretches you to the limit.
I have not been walking in a while but my intentions are good. With the cold weather, I tend to enjoy reading and cooking. With my constitution I don't seem to suffer as many others do where my weight is concerned. I do like to keep it healthy but in saying that, I do love my full fat, lard-induced, stogy and stew-ie foods. For those of you who know me well, will recall that I am a chocaholic and that vice seems to be on a steady course to an addiction. For those of you who have not been witness to this disgraceful sight, I get these unbelievable cravings and when they strike, nothing gets in the way of me eating two slabs of chocolate and finish that off with two or three Aeoros. It isn't a pretty sight and you may think that I finish that off in a few hours, which would be ideal. I finish that off in 30 minutes flat. My absolute dread is that I reach 35 and my motabolism changes and I am left holding the love handles.
This years travel plans are: A Scotland trip in July. A possible trip to Sweden and a trip to Thailand to see my friend Lieke. Thailand will be a return trip to meet up with the person I went with the first time. If there is time...and money...maybe a long weekend break here or there would be ideal.
That is about all my news. Take it easy and remember;
I must dash but I'll be back in a flash!
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Head first into Winter
For those of you who live in the southern hemisphere or on the equator, you won't quite appreciate just how cold things in the north can get and for those of us in the north, we are still waiting for the cold to really hit us. We have now been told by the weather channel that the ARCTIC WIND will start to set in. All I hear is, "it is going to be bloody cold".
It dawned on me over the weekend that I have not updated my blog for so long that my last entry probably made mention of last winter...either that or we just had a crappy summer. I am going to opt for the latter. I apologise but in my defense, I have not exactly been inundated by all your emails either, so let's call it even.
Watson is now fully grown and has calmed down dramatically. He still has a tendency to push the odd temper button with me but he knows just what to do to get the attention from his daddy. I had to put him on a diet as his daily routine goes something like this: Wake daddy up (with incessant purring and jumping all over him), run down for food, wait for dad to leave, run upstairs and go to sleep. Wake up, go down to greet dad when he gets home and then eat dinner and stay awake late into the night being a little tyrant (a lovable one) and then crawl back into bed with dad at about 1am. He is now on a diet and doing well.
I am now a permanent staff member of The Private Health Partnership. I am also the Manager of the Personal Lines team - both for new business and retention. This is a wonderful way to see the year out.
Home is going well and we have two fantastic new additions - a tumble drier and a dishwasher. For those of you who don't possess a dishwasher (I refer to you from this point on as plebs); Dear Plebs, GET ONE!!! This is probably the best addition to a kitchen you could have. We also don't know how we have survived without a tumble drier - it has changed the way I live.
Christmas is right around the corner - please keep in touch and know that my warm thoughts (in this cold climate) are with you and your families through the festive season. To those of you who are travelling abroad - I am jealous but wish you a safe and enjoyable trip. For those of you driving near or far - don't drink and drive. My gift to you all this year is LAUGHTER...a lot of it...you can have as much of it as you need and it is in endless supply...all you need to do is find it in the places I have hidden it. EVERYWHERE.
It dawned on me over the weekend that I have not updated my blog for so long that my last entry probably made mention of last winter...either that or we just had a crappy summer. I am going to opt for the latter. I apologise but in my defense, I have not exactly been inundated by all your emails either, so let's call it even.
Watson is now fully grown and has calmed down dramatically. He still has a tendency to push the odd temper button with me but he knows just what to do to get the attention from his daddy. I had to put him on a diet as his daily routine goes something like this: Wake daddy up (with incessant purring and jumping all over him), run down for food, wait for dad to leave, run upstairs and go to sleep. Wake up, go down to greet dad when he gets home and then eat dinner and stay awake late into the night being a little tyrant (a lovable one) and then crawl back into bed with dad at about 1am. He is now on a diet and doing well.
I am now a permanent staff member of The Private Health Partnership. I am also the Manager of the Personal Lines team - both for new business and retention. This is a wonderful way to see the year out.
Home is going well and we have two fantastic new additions - a tumble drier and a dishwasher. For those of you who don't possess a dishwasher (I refer to you from this point on as plebs); Dear Plebs, GET ONE!!! This is probably the best addition to a kitchen you could have. We also don't know how we have survived without a tumble drier - it has changed the way I live.
Christmas is right around the corner - please keep in touch and know that my warm thoughts (in this cold climate) are with you and your families through the festive season. To those of you who are travelling abroad - I am jealous but wish you a safe and enjoyable trip. For those of you driving near or far - don't drink and drive. My gift to you all this year is LAUGHTER...a lot of it...you can have as much of it as you need and it is in endless supply...all you need to do is find it in the places I have hidden it. EVERYWHERE.
Saturday, 26 July 2008
The day before tomorrow
I guess you are wondering where the hell I have been. There may also be that nagging feeling that "Charl is terribly inconsistent" and you would be right. I seem to live my life from fire to fire. More accurately, I am a fully fledged fire fighter.
For those of you who have read How to make friends and influence people you may remember the one chapter suggesting that you don't criticise, condemn or complain - so I will, in true ME fashion, try to stick to it...but before I do...hahaha. Just kidding, I have a little more willpower and dedication than that however, my patience has been pushed to the limits this month. In explaining this, you may also see why I haven't been that good with keeping in touch.
On my birthday I spent the day in York. When I got home, I couldn't find my credit card anywhere, so I did the usual...PANIC!!!!! After running around the house, tugging at my, by this stage, white hair I contacted the bank and put a stop on the card. I then had to cancel my camping trip to the Lake District. So, the disappointment started to mount. Anyway, I took the knock on the chin and decided to make the best of the situation. The Friday that I was supposed to leave for the camping trip I ended up going to a work BBQ. While sitting and chatting to my colleagues I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out...you guessed it...my credit card. My banking woes don't end there. The Monday following that, I started getting letters from my various service providers (water, electricity, gas, council tax...you name it) to say that my bank has cancelled my direct debit and I need to make alternate arrangements. This is as a result of bad service that I received and completed a telephone survey and indicated that, "I INTEND leaving HSBC". They made the decision for me and closed my account. Anyway, this meant I had to activate my Barclays account, move all my direct debits over and have my salary moved too. If any of you have followed this course of action, you will know the amount of work involved in this. It also meant that many of my service providers wanted to change my payment terms and as a show of good faith, some wanted the annual payment as opposed to the usual monthly one.
Anyway, that is enough of the harp playing section. I have nearly completed my Management Development Programme. It has been extremely welcome and useful. It has pointed out areas for improvement and places where I can manage better and has also suggested ways to tackle those hard to reach areas...hahahaha. Doesn't that sound like I am trying to sell you all some Toilet Duck. Needless to say, I feel far more confident in my job, my staff seem more reciprocal in their approach. In two months, I will be made permanent and a few days later I will be flying to Singapore to visit my mum as they have moved there from Jakarta. There is an element of relief about the move as Singapore is more of a first world country.
Watson is nearly fully grown now, still causing all kinds of havoc, still a little terrorist but the light of my life. He is there when I get home in the afternoons. He is very talkative too. He wakes me up in the morning but at least he gives me till 7am on the weekends - lucky me. I had him neutered at the beginning of July - so the poor boy is a boy no more. He doesn't seem to notice and still walks around like a mini John Wayne. He is much smaller than the neighbourhood cats and is often bullied (poor thing). I allow him the freedom of going out when I am home. He just loves to investigate and he is always in a neighbours yard or sitting around the corner sniffing some bush, weed, leaf or wind blown paper.
Well, let me publish this. I bet you are as bored as hell now. Just to let you know that I do think of each of you and although I am the world's worst at communicating, I haven't forgotten you. I love hearing from you and promise to email back if you email me. Oh, my email has changed. I now have an email for life. It works like a router and doesn't matter how many times I change service providers (ie. yahoo.gmail, hotmail etc.) this email address remains the same...charl.uys@bigfoot.com
Got to dash - be back in a flash.
For those of you who have read How to make friends and influence people you may remember the one chapter suggesting that you don't criticise, condemn or complain - so I will, in true ME fashion, try to stick to it...but before I do...hahaha. Just kidding, I have a little more willpower and dedication than that however, my patience has been pushed to the limits this month. In explaining this, you may also see why I haven't been that good with keeping in touch.
On my birthday I spent the day in York. When I got home, I couldn't find my credit card anywhere, so I did the usual...PANIC!!!!! After running around the house, tugging at my, by this stage, white hair I contacted the bank and put a stop on the card. I then had to cancel my camping trip to the Lake District. So, the disappointment started to mount. Anyway, I took the knock on the chin and decided to make the best of the situation. The Friday that I was supposed to leave for the camping trip I ended up going to a work BBQ. While sitting and chatting to my colleagues I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out...you guessed it...my credit card. My banking woes don't end there. The Monday following that, I started getting letters from my various service providers (water, electricity, gas, council tax...you name it) to say that my bank has cancelled my direct debit and I need to make alternate arrangements. This is as a result of bad service that I received and completed a telephone survey and indicated that, "I INTEND leaving HSBC". They made the decision for me and closed my account. Anyway, this meant I had to activate my Barclays account, move all my direct debits over and have my salary moved too. If any of you have followed this course of action, you will know the amount of work involved in this. It also meant that many of my service providers wanted to change my payment terms and as a show of good faith, some wanted the annual payment as opposed to the usual monthly one.
Anyway, that is enough of the harp playing section. I have nearly completed my Management Development Programme. It has been extremely welcome and useful. It has pointed out areas for improvement and places where I can manage better and has also suggested ways to tackle those hard to reach areas...hahahaha. Doesn't that sound like I am trying to sell you all some Toilet Duck. Needless to say, I feel far more confident in my job, my staff seem more reciprocal in their approach. In two months, I will be made permanent and a few days later I will be flying to Singapore to visit my mum as they have moved there from Jakarta. There is an element of relief about the move as Singapore is more of a first world country.
Watson is nearly fully grown now, still causing all kinds of havoc, still a little terrorist but the light of my life. He is there when I get home in the afternoons. He is very talkative too. He wakes me up in the morning but at least he gives me till 7am on the weekends - lucky me. I had him neutered at the beginning of July - so the poor boy is a boy no more. He doesn't seem to notice and still walks around like a mini John Wayne. He is much smaller than the neighbourhood cats and is often bullied (poor thing). I allow him the freedom of going out when I am home. He just loves to investigate and he is always in a neighbours yard or sitting around the corner sniffing some bush, weed, leaf or wind blown paper.
Well, let me publish this. I bet you are as bored as hell now. Just to let you know that I do think of each of you and although I am the world's worst at communicating, I haven't forgotten you. I love hearing from you and promise to email back if you email me. Oh, my email has changed. I now have an email for life. It works like a router and doesn't matter how many times I change service providers (ie. yahoo.gmail, hotmail etc.) this email address remains the same...charl.uys@bigfoot.com
Got to dash - be back in a flash.
Saturday, 21 June 2008
Am I busy?...incredibly...
Where do you start to explain just how busy you are? There are quite a few irons in the fire at the moment with a ton of plans.
June is nearly at an end and I did another walk around Howarth's Bronte Village. The Bronte sisters are well known writers. Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights and died at the age of 30 and Charlotte's books have become set reading material in the secondary schools across Britain.
In July, I am going camping in the Lake District which is one of the UK's most beautiful places. I am also going to see one of my favourite jass performers, Clare Teal, at the Harrogate Music Festival. I have nearly got one camp a month until November. I am camping in The Pennines in August at a Big Summer Camp. September will be a quiet month as Carla is going to visit her family and friends in SA, so I will be home looking after the brat! I do have plans to go and see the stage performance of The Witches of Eastwick with Marti Pellows (the lead singer of Wet Wet Wet). In October I have plans to go to Singapore and then Thailand. I went to Koh Samui last time and am still grappling with the idea of going back there for a few days or going to Cambodia or Vietnam. When I get back I have a camping weekend for Halloween. November will see Winter in full swing, so instead of a camping weekend, I will be going on a Hostel Weekend which is pretty much the same but you don't camp and it is indoors.
December is Christmas month and I have about a week off between Christmas and New Year. Hopefully, if all plans go...well...to plan...I want to do a trip to Europe for Christmas. That is subject to a trip to London to get a Schengen visa sorted out.
As you can see, I have a lot planned. I am also considering trading my car in. It is now going to be three years old and I think it would be good to exchange it for another 2 year old one. That will have to wait until I can get to the place I bought it.
There is a Credit Crunch, fuel prices are through the roof, knife crime is up and yet, through it all...I am still happy to be here. I miss so many people and hope that this blog does justice to closing the gap - even if only by a little.
I get back and then have
June is nearly at an end and I did another walk around Howarth's Bronte Village. The Bronte sisters are well known writers. Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights and died at the age of 30 and Charlotte's books have become set reading material in the secondary schools across Britain.
In July, I am going camping in the Lake District which is one of the UK's most beautiful places. I am also going to see one of my favourite jass performers, Clare Teal, at the Harrogate Music Festival. I have nearly got one camp a month until November. I am camping in The Pennines in August at a Big Summer Camp. September will be a quiet month as Carla is going to visit her family and friends in SA, so I will be home looking after the brat! I do have plans to go and see the stage performance of The Witches of Eastwick with Marti Pellows (the lead singer of Wet Wet Wet). In October I have plans to go to Singapore and then Thailand. I went to Koh Samui last time and am still grappling with the idea of going back there for a few days or going to Cambodia or Vietnam. When I get back I have a camping weekend for Halloween. November will see Winter in full swing, so instead of a camping weekend, I will be going on a Hostel Weekend which is pretty much the same but you don't camp and it is indoors.
December is Christmas month and I have about a week off between Christmas and New Year. Hopefully, if all plans go...well...to plan...I want to do a trip to Europe for Christmas. That is subject to a trip to London to get a Schengen visa sorted out.
As you can see, I have a lot planned. I am also considering trading my car in. It is now going to be three years old and I think it would be good to exchange it for another 2 year old one. That will have to wait until I can get to the place I bought it.
There is a Credit Crunch, fuel prices are through the roof, knife crime is up and yet, through it all...I am still happy to be here. I miss so many people and hope that this blog does justice to closing the gap - even if only by a little.
I get back and then have
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Passing time
Here I sit on a Saturday afternoon/evening after just having seen the new Indiana Jones movie. It was great but going to the cinema has really made me realise that I am so out of touch with movies I am more like an ethipian seeing a rice grain on a beach of rice. Anyhow, I will have to see what time allows and whether I can go and see Mamma Mia (the film), Sex and the City, Batman, Iron Man and the list goes on.
Tomorrow is my routine of Sunday Yoga. That and Body Pump, Pilates, circuit and Ab Crunch classes seem to be helping me reach my goal of looking more like a toned swimmer than a stick. I have also gone to DefCon 5 where the pale skin is concerned and taken action. There is nothing like the sun kissed look and I am looking mightily fine and sun kissed at the moment. Nothing like some instant tan to get things going. With summer here and walking and hiking taking me outdoors, I am hoping to replace the fake stuff for the true blue stuff.
For those of you who have wanted to put money into my account but didn't have my old banking details...well done!!! I have changed my bank from HSBC to Barclays as HSBC decided to give me a run around and treat me like some common customer. They were obviously not informed who I am!!! (not that they can pronounce it if they are told anyway). Anyway, I have taken my business and handed it over to Barclays who were more than happy to bring my business into their fold and treat me like the number one Ace I am.
Our sunshine is lasting from about 5am to 10pm in the evening - so long days and short nights. In my case I get to see sunrise every morning because I have a little terror who wants me up when the sun peeps over the roof tops. He has been taking some flying lessons but doesn't seem to be learning from them. And that is all I have to say about that.
Tomorrow is my routine of Sunday Yoga. That and Body Pump, Pilates, circuit and Ab Crunch classes seem to be helping me reach my goal of looking more like a toned swimmer than a stick. I have also gone to DefCon 5 where the pale skin is concerned and taken action. There is nothing like the sun kissed look and I am looking mightily fine and sun kissed at the moment. Nothing like some instant tan to get things going. With summer here and walking and hiking taking me outdoors, I am hoping to replace the fake stuff for the true blue stuff.
For those of you who have wanted to put money into my account but didn't have my old banking details...well done!!! I have changed my bank from HSBC to Barclays as HSBC decided to give me a run around and treat me like some common customer. They were obviously not informed who I am!!! (not that they can pronounce it if they are told anyway). Anyway, I have taken my business and handed it over to Barclays who were more than happy to bring my business into their fold and treat me like the number one Ace I am.
Our sunshine is lasting from about 5am to 10pm in the evening - so long days and short nights. In my case I get to see sunrise every morning because I have a little terror who wants me up when the sun peeps over the roof tops. He has been taking some flying lessons but doesn't seem to be learning from them. And that is all I have to say about that.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
Finally something to say
After such a long time of no news, I have finally found the time and inclination to write about the goings on here in the UK.
Firstly, Watson Watch is over. He has arrived and has laid claim to the house. He is probably the most beautiful kitten ever. He has a very BIG personality. He is cheeky as ever and is a very independent little soul. He is also very playful and rough - my hands look like I shoved them into a wood chipper. My chest has traction claw marks where he jumps over me to get to anywhere but my lap. Also, he has the personality of a dog - he plays fetch. I throw his mice and he fetches them, brings them back, drops them on my lap and waits for me to throw them again. So, he is exactly what I wanted. His full name is Watson Jinnomni. His parents are George and Cadenza (Deni) Jinnomni.
Work is going well. As usual the people management side is a trial. I am taking over for someone during their maternity leave with a very high chance that I will permanently take on the Manager role. This means that the staff feel it necessary to test my abilities, try my patience and bend the rules to see my reaction - needless to say...I love it. To say it plainly, they have been prodding the lion for four weeks and finally got a rise out of me...I am sure they will think twice before trying my patience again.
Today, I went to buy some hiking boots, a walking pole and some gaiters. I can now proceed on more hikes and walks with the big boys. You know what they say, "If you want to run with the pack...don't p*** with the puppies." So I can now limp behind the pack because I need to get some more experience and get my physical fitness up.
I do Body Pump twice a week, Box Fit on Fridays and Yoga on Sunday morning. With the gym right next to work I can go at lunchtime.
Other than that...life goes on and the normal trials continue. The great thing is that about two weeks ago, I suddenly felt at home. I feel like I have a small circle of friends, a great job, healthy lifestyle and a lovely home life - what more can I ask for...
Firstly, Watson Watch is over. He has arrived and has laid claim to the house. He is probably the most beautiful kitten ever. He has a very BIG personality. He is cheeky as ever and is a very independent little soul. He is also very playful and rough - my hands look like I shoved them into a wood chipper. My chest has traction claw marks where he jumps over me to get to anywhere but my lap. Also, he has the personality of a dog - he plays fetch. I throw his mice and he fetches them, brings them back, drops them on my lap and waits for me to throw them again. So, he is exactly what I wanted. His full name is Watson Jinnomni. His parents are George and Cadenza (Deni) Jinnomni.
Work is going well. As usual the people management side is a trial. I am taking over for someone during their maternity leave with a very high chance that I will permanently take on the Manager role. This means that the staff feel it necessary to test my abilities, try my patience and bend the rules to see my reaction - needless to say...I love it. To say it plainly, they have been prodding the lion for four weeks and finally got a rise out of me...I am sure they will think twice before trying my patience again.
Today, I went to buy some hiking boots, a walking pole and some gaiters. I can now proceed on more hikes and walks with the big boys. You know what they say, "If you want to run with the pack...don't p*** with the puppies." So I can now limp behind the pack because I need to get some more experience and get my physical fitness up.
I do Body Pump twice a week, Box Fit on Fridays and Yoga on Sunday morning. With the gym right next to work I can go at lunchtime.
Other than that...life goes on and the normal trials continue. The great thing is that about two weeks ago, I suddenly felt at home. I feel like I have a small circle of friends, a great job, healthy lifestyle and a lovely home life - what more can I ask for...
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