Jody 2.0

It has been a long time since my last post…too long! A number of things have been going on in my life since last year. I had a great holiday fishing on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe with my family. Will post some of the pictures on my facebook profile soon. We also spent a week up in the Drakensberg Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal which was absolutely amazing. I didn’t know SA had such scenic places. (I guess I need to get out more huh?) I also spent a week up in Pretoria with my folks just relaxing and looking for a job. Nothing materialized. Anyway this year I’m embarking on a personal project I code named “Jody 2.0”. As the name suggests I’m sure those of you who are tech savvy have a pretty good idea what this is about. For those of you who are still in the dark…tough luck! Just kidding! I’m sure you have all seen the latest upgrades of certain software programs, the newer versions normally have a number following them like Microsoft Works 2.5, Microsoft Golf 2.0, Linux Version 5.0, etc. Of late I have been very interested in Web 2.0 which is very popular and taking the internet by storm. This involves social media such as Facebook, social networking sites, blogging etc. Anyway this year (which is still relatively new) I decided to embark on a series of drastic changes to my life which, if implemented correctly and timeously will bring me good results. This stems from a series of setbacks and challenges which occurred in the past 2 years and I thought that it was time to take stock of my situation and address it head on. I don’t know why it took me so long to get to this point but I’m glad I did. For those of you who know me personally know that I have been struggling to get a full time job since I graduated from Helderberg College in 2006. This is due in large part to the fact that I’m not South African and need a work permit to work here. (I would’ve gone home to Zimbabwe after I finished studying but that was not an option due to the terrible situation it was in and it is even worse now.) Right now I have a temporary permit which only allows me to work on a part time basis. This is what I have had for the past year. I have been for numerous interviews of which some were successful but as soon as the employers found out that I was Zimbabwean they were hesitant to employ me because I didn’t have a valid work permit. I did try explaining to them that they could help me get one if they gave me a letter of employment but it was like talking to deaf ears. Anyway, it was their loss!

The first change I am making concerns my health and fitness. I highlighted in a previous post that if one wants to make any serious changes in their lives they should begin with the physical. Over my 6 week holiday I put on 5 kg’s. It may not seem like much to some but for me it is. I say this because I’m overweight and starting to feel the effects of it on my health. During my time on holiday I didn’t hold back and indulged in all the good things (which are actually very bad) that life has to offer. Isn’t that what a holiday is about? Well, now I’m facing the consequences. In pursuit of my fitness goal I have started to train for the annual Cape Argus cycle tour which is taking place in March, only a month away. I only started training for it about 2 week s ago and that is when I realised how unfit I really was! I did a 50km ride 2 weeks ago and I was actually pretty pleased with myself that I made it. Also, I’m getting up at 5am every morning and training for an hour. So hopefully by the time the race comes I will be in good shape to complete it. By they way, I will not be racing but rather just want to make it to the finish line.

The second drastic change I will be making is to my diet. I have decided to go vegetarian. This is strictly for health reasons and from my research I’m convinced that this is the way to go in my pursuit of living life to the fullest. I will be blogging on this topic in detail in the near future.

The third drastic change I’m making is to my career. Again, after much thought and deliberation I’ve decided not to get a job but rather take the bold step and work for myself. Right now I’m working as a colporteur (book salesman). Some of you may be asking “why sales???” Well, it will take a long time for me to explain but I will blog about this very soon and explain why.

Also, I’ve decided to get back into music (piano) after 10 years of not playing. I can honestly say that the Bible is so true when it says that if you do not use your talents they will be taken away from you.

This year I’ll also focus a lot more on blogging and will be trying out some new things and blogging about it. I’ll also be posting more often so do expect a lot more content.

So this year is going to be very interesting as a lot of things are about to change in my life. I am looking forward to it and will face the challenges head on.