Organ donation should really be encouraged..

 

A topic that I feel doesn’t gets enough attention is that of organ donation.  I guess alot of us don’t really think of donating organs and i must admit i used to be someone that didn’t give it a second thought. That changed however when my younger brother got diagnosed with renal failure and got told he needed a kidney transplant or he would face a lifetime on pills and dialysis machines.  

His story does have a happy ending as he eventually found a donor that donated a kidney to him. In South Africa he is one of the lucky ones and i think that no matter where in the world you find yourself the percentage of people that are in need of organs and eventually do get them are in the single digits. 

I can’t explain the difference it has made to my brother to receive a kidney. To say it has changed his life would be an understatement. I really do think that most peoples have no idea just what a difference them donating their organs can make in someone else’s life. 

Did you know in fact that One organ donor can save up to eight lives. The same donor can also save or improve the lives of up to 50 people by donating tissues and eyes. It is really unbelievable to think you can change so many lives. 

Now I understand some people might have a fear about becoming a donor as there are several myths surrounding being an organ donor. You might think that doctors won’t try to fight for your life as hard if your lying in the hospital or you might think they’ll falsely declar you dead prematurely. The fact is, the medical staff treating someone who is an organ donor is separate from the transplant team.

Looking at organ donation I think more countries should follow that of Wales. Wales introduced a system known as a soft opt- out system from the 1st December 2015. Under the soft opt out system, if you have not registered a clear organ donation decision (opt-in or opt-out), you will be treated as having no objection to being an organ donor. This is called ‘deemed consent’. I think it would greatly help the desperate need that most countries have for organ donors if this system was introduced worldwide. 

So I greatly encourage each one of us to have a look into registering to become an organ donor. We knows it’s the right thing to do. Let’s help others where possible. Make the difference. 

Till the next time people. Ciao

* As a special mention I would just like to share a thought with a special someone. To the amazing and courageous young lady that donated to my brother : Your selfless and unbelievable act in giving one of your organs to my brother has truly left me speechless and humbled. I know all the thanks can never repay you for giving my brother a new lease on life and its something that we can never repay you even though you did it without expecting anything. You are a true inspiration to me and i can only learn from you. Thank you and I love you. 

10 facts about This Angry Teller…

So I thought instead of doing a post of my usual stuff I’d try something different. So I’ll be writing ten weird and wacky facts about myself that most people won’t know about me. Without further delay here goes. 

1■ ME AND AVOCADOS DON’T GO TOGETHER. In general,I wouldn’t describe myself as a fussy eater but when it comes to that green mush that most people seem to enjoy I’m instantly turned off. Friends and family already know that if they’re making a salad no avocado in my plate thanks. 

2■ CR7 OVER MESSI. Ask soccer fans all over the world about who the best in the world is and you are likely to hear them being divided between Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. I’m a Ronaldo fan. Maybe I’m being biased since he from Madeira (my family’s from there) and he played for Manchester United, my favourite soccer club. I think he an amazing soccer player. 

3■ I STILL WATCH WWE. Call it sports entertainment,call it fake,call it whatever you want,but even after all these years i still enjoy watching WWE. From the days of Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior, through the attitude era with The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin right up to the present day with John Cena,Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton. My favourite pro wrestler without doubt and who i consider to be the G.O.A.T is The Undertaker.

4■ BMW ALL THE WAY. When it comes to cars every person has their favourite brand. I’ve been very fortunate to drive some really awesome motor vehicles over the years but I definitely have a love affair with BMW. All cars that I’ve owned have been BMW and I can’t really see that changing in the future. Mind you, if money was not an issue my absolute dream car would be a Lamborghini .

5■ I LOVE DANCING. Now let’s just make a distinction right here. I absolutely love dancing and I’ve taken Latin American and Ballroom dance lessons on and off for the last 10 or so years but even though I’ve managed to win a comp or so it doesn’t mean I’m any good. It’s just an awesome way to relieve stress. 

6■ I HAVE YET TO WATCH A SINGLE EPISODE OF STAR WARS. Now don’t get me wrong I absolutely love going to the cinema and watching movies in general but I’ve never ever had the inclination to watch star wars. Now considering that lots of my friends are huge fans makes me a complete outsider in this aspect. 

7■ I’M A WALKING CONTRADICTION-WELL SOMETIMES. It might be down to the fact that I’m born under the start sign of Gemini but there is a definite sense of duality when it comes to me. I’m usually quite calm and relaxed most of the time but in just as quick to lose my temper. Another case is that I love doing absolutely nothing whenever I have the time but can get rather impatient on the roads or in a queue. Those are just 2 examples. 

8■ WOLVERINE IS MY FAVOURITE COMIC BOOK SUPERHERO. Maybe it’s the fact that I like Hugh Jackman  or maybe it’s because of the human element but there is something about the character of Wolverine that I really identify with. He is by far my favourite superhero character. 

9■ THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DISLIKE ME ON FIRST IMPRESSION. Now this might be a strange one but countless people have said this of me. I tend not to make the best first impression. I come across as unfriendly and somewhat unapproachable. I can’t really argue with them. 

10■ WHEN IT COMES TO ME, I’M MY OWN WORST CRITIC. The people that know me will vouch for this. I’m by far my own worst critic. I don’t really think I’m good enough in any field and I have a really low self esteem. I’d call myself a realist while everyone would call me a pessimist. 

So there we go…10 little known facts about myself that maybe you weren’t aware of. Hopefully you guys and gals enjoyed this post. Have a great Friday and weekend further. 

Till the next time peeps. Ciao

Love in our times: a necessity or not?

Love. The one thing that binds all of us as humans together. The one thing that we all crave in some form or other. Love comes in many different forms and disguises. Whether its parental,sibling,to that between husband and wife or even between best friends,love appears differently to different people.

I used to believe that each one of us were destined to find love and have love in our lives. I used to think that without love it would be impossible to live a happy and enjoyable life. I used to think love was a necessary ingredient for a well-lived life. Ask most people and i’m almost certain that they would echo that sentiment.

Well,as the years have rolled by and life has happened i’m sorry to say that i no longer feel the same way. The world is a messed up place in most cases and to be brutally honest,if you look around,love seems to be less important to a lot of people. People would rather chase money and other more selfish and self serving interests.

More and more families are breaking apart,divorce is at an all time high whilst racial and religious intolerance is also rising all the time. I guess it would be fair to say that things were meant to be used and people were meant to be loved. The only problem in our messed up society is that people are used and things are loved.

The point i’m trying to make is that love is no longer a necessity in our current times. Love is more of a luxury. Not everyone will be loved,not everyone is destined to find someone to love. Hell some wont even have family to reciprocate love. However we shouldn’t let the lack of love detract us from living life to the fullest.

Am i a cynic? Well i don’t think love is a necessity but i do believe in love. The only difference is that i don’t believe i’m meant to find someone to love. I do however have amazing friends and family that i know love me. So i’ll let you decide whether i’m a cynic or not.

Do you guys and gals think that we’re all meant to love someone and that love is a necessity for us as the human race? Please drop a comment or message as i’d love to hear from you.

Till next time peeps. Ciao

Is this all?

Life. Now,I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not quite the world’s smartest person,and i don’t know many things about alot of subjects but one thing I know for sure is that when it comes to this little thing called life I know nothing. 
I thought by the time I turned 40 i would have figured out life and my purpose on this earth. What legacy would i leave behind? How would i be remembered? I still have no idea to be brutally honest with you. Am I alone in feeling this way? Am I ever supposed to figure it out or will I simply never know? 

Are we only put on this earth to work,live unfulfilling lives and than die? There are alot of days when it feels that way. For example how many of us are stuck in jobs that we not really passionate about? I know I,for one,am. A combination of having to pay the bills and a fear of  leaving for the unknown means that days and month’s will pass and I’ll be stuck doing the same thing over and over. I really do envy those select few that have a passion for what they do. The people that wake up in the morning and actually look forward to go work.

 The same thing applies to my personal life. I’ve been single for many years now that i just accept it as the norm. Do i prefer being singled? Am i meant to be forever alone?

So this is where i find that my mind wanders and i start thinking of answers. I start thinking of exactly why I was put on this planet. 

Like i said,the simple truth is,I have yet to find an answer. Am I the only one who feels lost and confused? Am I the only one who feels worthless? Someone who feels as if his life has no purpose and no direction. I sincerely hope not. 

 If any of you have ever felt the same or feel the same please send me a message and tell me how you found your purpose. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Till next time people. Ciao

À Weekend getaway…

So it’s been almost two weeks since my last post. I can put it down to a few things but a lack of inspiration,a sudden addiction to a mobile racing game(CSR2) and lots of things to do at work(busy renovating the store) are factors that have all contributed to me being quiter than usual on my blog. 

This past weekend however has brought with it some new inspiration. I managed to organise a weekend getaway with some of the most awesome people I know. Note,a weekend isn’t usually long enough to recharge the batteries but on this little trip i sure was able to. 

Our setting for the weekend was the picturesque Rebellie Game farm situated in the quaint little town of Clarens in the Free State. The self catering lodge we stayed in was really amazing. From the cosy rooms to the fireplaces to the hot tub this place really does have it all. Best of all is the magnificent view. 

We arrived on the Friday evening but it wasn’t till sunset that we saw exactly how breathtaking the surroundings were. Saturday morning was spent having breakfast in town itself where everything is walking distance from each other. Lots of different shops make this an ideal place to browse for all types of  goodies. 

 We than took a long drive in which we went to the Golden Gate National Game Park. The scenery really does leave one in awe. We even went to the vulture restaurant where if you lucky you get to see different endangered species of vultures scavenging. 

After this,Lydia(my cousin Oscar’s awesome wife) organised that we spent part of the afternoon quad biking. This was such an unforgettable experience biking up the mountains and I had an unbelievable time. I can’t thank her enough for the treat. 

Having spent best part of the day busy with these activities we decided to head back to the lodge where we prepared food and quite simply enjoyed relaxing in the hot tub. 

Dinner under the stars waiting for the meteor showers was a brilliant way to end the evening. I spent Sunday morning packing up with a heavy heart before heading back home. The consensus was that everyone had a really great time and would most certainly come to this part of the world again. 

 There is one thing that i took away from this weekend. It doesn’t matter where you find yourself in the world that’s important. What’s important is the people that you find yourself surrounded by. This getaway simply wouldn’t have been the same with different people. 

I’m blessed to truly have amazing people in my life. To Jose,Oscar,Lydia,Felipe and Natashia thanks again for an incredible weekend. 

■ On a side note I can highly recommend staying at Rebellie Game farm. The fact that there’s no tv and mobile phone signal is almost non existent is a huge plus. For the traveler looking to get completely away from it all this is an ideal weekend getaway. Clarens is roughly 3 and a bit hours drive from Johannesburg. Having a land rover or other all terrain vehicle is a definite requirement in my opinion as lots of the roads are not tarred. 

Till next time. Ciao

Tired….

Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually. TIRED. My whole being is tired. My soul is tired. I don’t know quiet how to explain it. I might be on the way to a burnout. One thing I know for sure is that I need a break. 

I don’t know if any of you reading this has experienced something similar but all I know is that something has got to give. I guess the easiest thing to do would be to blame everything and everyone for how I’m feeling. 

The only problem with doing that is I know I would be lying to myself. The only person I can blame for finding myself in this situation is me. I’ve allowed myself to get caught up in this same old boring rut that I know as my life and have done absolutely nothing to change it. 

Do I work a lot? Let’s just say I’m at work a lot. I’m by no means the hardest working person out there but I spend a great deal of time at work. I usually spend a minimum of 6 days of the week at work and every now and then even 7. I get 1 weekend a month off. 

Do I get vacations? Sure if i wanted to. Unfortunately the last holiday i was on was in 2011 when i went to England and Madeira. Now this will sound really stupid but it’s all my own fault. I’ve had numerous chances to go on holidays but have simply chosen not to. I’m a bit of an anomaly in that, yes I am a loner, but I like to have company around me. In other words I’m not the type of person that would go on holiday alone. In that case I would prefer to stay at home and just continue working. So work is not really to blame. 

As for my personal life its not much better. Due to the amount of time spent at work I don’t spend a great deal of time at home. I spend even less time socialising. The fact that I’m a bit of a loner obviously doesn’t help when it comes to meeting new people. I’m most comfortable sitting at home doing nothing. 

Does it surprise me than that I’m single? Absolutely not. Sitting at home is going to make sure I have zero chance of meeting new people and potential partners unless she happens to be a pizza delivery lady or something similar. Again I’ve had countless opportunities to go out and meet new people but I simply don’t. I sometimes can’t even muster up the energy to go to the cinema with friends. 

I’ve ignored the warning signs of a burnout for a long time but it’s finally dawned on me why things never change in my life. 

I have to take responsibility for my actions which affect my life. Blaming my circumstances around me and the people around me will not help. We can’t just coast through life doing nothing and than expect things to go our way. You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets. 

For me it means that I have to force myself to take more time off work. I have to learn to be more comfortable being by myself. Go on holidays by myself. If i want to meet new people it means that staying home is no longer going to be good enough. The world presents us with so many opportunities each and every day but we tend to not see them. 

My negative mindset has to change. If I can do this than it will have a massive impact on my life. So I’ve taken the first step in admitting that I’m to blame for my current situation. Being content with the status quo had got to go. Hopefully I can find the courage within to keep on working on improving myself and move forward. 

Do any of you have thoughts on how I can overcome this tiredness I feel and how I can go about changing things. Please feel free to drop me a message. Life is tough. Let’s try help each other along this journey. 
Till next time. Ciao

In the end…

Friday afternoon and its quiet enough for me to start this new post. The last 2 weeks have been a bit of struggle as far as inspiration goes for new posts.  Inspiring it definitely is not but devastating news from the music industry is the source of my post for today. The death of Linkin Park lead vocalist Chester Bennington is sending shockwaves worldwide. Suspected cause of death? SUICIDE…

Now I don’t profess to be the number 1 fan of the band but I liked enough of their music to know that his death is going to leave a void. At the relatively young age of 41 I think he still had plenty to offer. 

I guess when someone passes away unexpectedly it is rather difficult to understand why it happens and in the case of suicide(as it is being reported was the cause of death) than the questions are only doubled. When it the case of someone prominent and famous its even more so. 

I for one, and I would guess alot of other people, probably think that being well known and famous is the ideal life. I mean travelling the whole world, seeing all these exotic locations, being filthy rich and being adored by thousands of people who would want anything better. Famous people couldn’t have any real problems could they? Apart from being spotted in public that is. So why would someone famous commit suicide?

I don’t really have the answer to that to be honest. I guess we tend to forget that celebrities are just like us. Each person has their own fears and doubts and some have terrible demons that they have to fight each day.

 I’m not going to debate whether suicide is a selfish act or not. All I know is till we walk in someone else’s shoes we can’t judge. What might seem like a small matter to you might be a massive crisis to the next person. 

Personally I’ve had similar thoughts  of suicide in the past. When i felt tired. My soul. My body. My entire being. TIRED. I felt alone. I felt unloved and I questioned my existence and my reason for being. Luckily I managed to get past that difficult period but I know others aren’t as lucky. 

I’m fortunate to be blessed with amazing family and friends that accept me the way I am. Far from perfect I know I am and a real pain in the ass I can be sometimes. And I guess in that sense I’m more well off than many of those celebrities. I’m thankful for my circle. For those that support me no matter what. 

So to all that are fighting some inner demons all I know is that you can get through it. I hope your support group is as amazing and wonderful as the people I have in my life. In the end our loved ones are the ones that help us during our daily battles.

To everyone else out there please show some kindness and love to the family of Chester and to the band. Now is not the time to be hurling insults or judging his actions. 

 Till next time people. Ciao. 

RIP CHESTER. MAY GOD BE WITH THE FAMILY DURING THIS DIFFICULT TIME

The INGREDIENTS that make up GREATNESS…

Conor ‘ The Notorius’ McGregor vs Floyd ‘ Money Mayweather. This fight, happening August 26 in Las Vegas, between UFC’s biggest star and one of boxing all time greats has captured the public’s imagination and is currently one of the hottest trending topics worldwide. It is being touted as the biggest ever combat sports event with both fighters rumoured to be earning in excess of $100 million each. 

These fighters are considered by many to be once in a lifetime fighters in their respective sports. ‘ONCE IN A LIFETIME’. Now that is a massive statement to make about anyone and it got me thinking about how, not just these two but in all types of sport,certain sports stars have made the leap from being talented athletes to being rated as the best ever.

Michael Jordan

Wayne Gretzky

Muhammad Ali 

Roger Federer 

Pele

Being a bit of a sports nut I know that in all sports there are usually one or two players that are regarded as being the very best in that discipline. From Michael Jordan(basketball) to Wayne Gretzky(ice hockey) to Muhammad Ali(boxing) and Roger Federer (tennis) and Pele(soccer) to name but a few,these are all stars that are synonymous with their sport and are regarded as the very best in their field.  

So what does it take to become an icon and achieve immortal greatness you may ask? In my humble opinion there are 5 key ingredients that separates the good from the great.

   1 ■ HARD WORK. Sure, a God given talent is the foundation of every athlete but as many have found out, talent alone does not make one great. Hard work, and more specifically, the ability to work harder than their nearest rivals is the key. If someone is honing their skill for 6 or 7 hours a day they got to put in 9 and 10 hours to be better. 

2 ■ SELF BELIEF. This to me is probably the most important of them all. It is believing in their ability and talent 110%. It is not allowing any naysayer or anyone that doubts them to influence their thoughts.

3 ■ VISUALISATION. This goes hand in hand with number 2. Being able to visualise themselves achieving their goals is key. I’m a firm believer in the law of attraction. In other words what you believe, what thoughts you project is what you will attract to yourself. Be negative in anyway and nothing positive will ever come your way. Visualise greatness and you’ll definitely see positive things. It is something that Conor Mcgregor,for example,has managed to do this brilliantly. How else do you explain someone,that only 5 years ago was collecting welfare cheques all of a sudden headlining the biggest ever combat sports eventin history?

4 ■ HANDLING SETBACKS. Believe it or not but even the very best experience setbacks. They’re not machines even though at times it seems like it. If I may, let me use this famous quote from the movie Rocky Balboa. ‘… You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! … ‘ This explains exactly what separates the normal from the great. 

5 ■ AMBITION & DRIVE. The very best always have a drive and ambition to be the very best. They are never satisfied with just winning. They want to completely dominate. For them being second is simply not good enough. They are self motivated to keep on achieving. It’s something that I personally think can’t be learned or taught. You’re either born with it or not.

Looking at these ingredients it is obvious to see that even though I might never become an elite athlete or sports star i can still learn some lessons from it. On the quest to become the best me I can,I know that if I’m able to incorporate these points I’ll be one step closer to my goal. 

I don’t believe that anyone of us were born to be mediocre. So let’s learn from the very best in sports and apply the same ingredients in our life so that we too can achieve greatness. 

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this and let me know whether you agree or not. I look forward to hearing from all of you. 

Till a next time. Ciao

P.S My money is on Conor Mcgregor to cause the biggest upset in sports history and beat Floyd Mayweather 

P

Technology at young age good or bad??

I recently turned 40 and boy do I sometimes feel old. The world certainly has changed since my childhood till now. I don’t know how others perceive it to be but for me it’s as if each year is going by quicker and quicker. I remember as a 6 and 7 year old how long school days used to last and it took forever for holidays, birthdays and the like to come around.

Some days i find myself reminiscing about my childhood and thinking about how different today’s children grow up compared to when I was a child. I don’t think most kids would recognise the world 30 or so years ago and whenever I find myself telling kids about my younger days you can see that they don’t know whether you are joking or telling the truth. 

Without doubt the biggest change from my childhood in comparison to today’s children has to be the rapid advancement of technology. It has completely changed how children see the world nowadays.  The birth of the internet has probably had the biggest impact. Mobile phones, computers, gaming consoles, televisions, etc are just a few more examples.

I grew up in a small town in South Africa back in the 1980’s and trust me,South Africa back than was a total different country to what it is now. I don’t just mean politically. Even though television came into the country around the time I was born I can still remember the days before my parent’s owned one. 

To be honest though,I, like most kids didn’t spend a great deal of time indoors. Unless I was sick you would find me with all the neighborhood’s kids playing outside. I suppose times were safer but parents didn’t worry about kids getting kidnapped and almost everyone knew who their neighbours were. Riding bicycles , climbing trees, playing intense games of soccer or cricket in the backyard was just some of the activities that we as kids would do. 

On rainy days you would find me,either at the library or at home,getting lost in the magical world of books or visiting friends and playing some or other board game. Writing letters to friends and family that stayed far away was also something I remember enjoying. 

Fast forward to the present day and things couldn’t be anymore different. Walk through neighbourhoods and you won’t see large gatherings of children playing in the parks or riding bicycles or being loud and active outdoors. Libraries hardly exist anymore and kids, in general,never visit them.

I know the world is a much more dangerous place so kids are rarely found outdoors nowadays. They either spend hours and hours glued in front of a TV set or on their Xboxes and PlayStations and laptops but even if you come across them all you see is heads bowed down with them all on mobile phones blissfully unaware or uninterested in their surroundings. Ironic,isn’t it,that the one thing that was designed to make socialising easier has in fact had the opposite effect.

So call me old fashioned but for all the good that technology brings with it i also think that there’s a definite downside which has the twin affect of both stifling creativity and imagination in children as well a making them less social. 

I guess the question to be asking is whether we prefer kids to be like this or not. After all the kids of today will be the adults of tomorrow. 

Shouldn’t we be encouraging kids to read more books instead of surfing the internet? Shouldn’t we let them be outside being active instead of spending hours on a couch in front of the TV?Shouldn’t they be making friends instead of spending most of the day one a mobile phone being anti social? I know what my answer is.

So drop me a comment. Should we encourage kids to be tech savvy at a young age or should we delay it?What is your take on the matter?

Till the next time. Ciao

Nice guys do INDEED finish last…

Bold statement to some,truth to others and to the rest utter bullshit. We’ve all heard this saying before and countless articles have been written on it. You’ll either agree or disagree with this statement. 

I,for one,am one of those that definitely believe that nice guys finish last. Do I consider myself to be a nice guy? Well,for the most part,I’d sure like to think so. Does this mean I’ve finished last? When it comes to relationships you can bet your last dollar I have. I mean I’m 40 years old,still single and have never really had a major long lasting relationship. 

Does this mean I’m going to sit here and moan and complain about my lack of luck with the ladies? Am I going to generalise and say that all women are exactly the same? Not quite. However,like countless guys that have found themselves in the same predicament,I have wondered about many things. 

Why is it that time after time women,in general,fall for the so-called bad boy? Why do they chase guys that tend to use and misuse them and are really only after one thing? Why,despite me showering them with attention and compliments,do I hardly get any in return? And lastly why oh why am I put in the friend zone,time after time,when they see how well I treat them and they know I’ll make a great partner?

 The easy answer would be to lay all the blame at the women’s doorstep. I could say that women have no idea what they missing out on and that they’re blind to see what we,as nice guys,have to offer.

Until recently I myself had found myself putting the blame on women where in fact the blame should be directed towards us as the guys. The truth why nice guys finish last is quite simple. 

I believe we become so completely focused on finding someone that we totally lose our true identity. We undervalue our own self-worth. We are so scared of ending up alone that in the end,we end up chasing all the wrong women. In so doing we allow ourselves to be taken advantage of because somehow it makes us feel needed. This will manifest itself over and over again. 

 Now,I’m not saying you should become a jerk or a player or the so called bad boy. I’m merely saying we should firstly be comfortable being alone. We should always know our own self-worth and never sell ourselves short. That way we won’t be chasing after the wrong women and when that happens we will have an opportunity to find that special one that deserves all you have to offer. 

Until we change the way we view ourselves and take pride with the fact that we are the so called nice guys I’m afraid to say we will indeed always finish last.

Guys do you agree or not? And ladies do you have any advice for us to help us avoid the pitfalls that most nice guys fall into? Please feel free to leave a comment
Till a next time. Ciao