JOHANNESBURG, Wednesday February 9, 2011
I have been plagued by IT problems since I arrived in Johannesburg and it’s not over yet!...so I’m writing this blog in the evening and then uploading it at work. I just got connected at work yesterday and finally have a local phone plan. But my IT situation hasn’t been sorted out where I’m staying yet so still no way to Skype or email or call you when not at work so I’m hoping for a solution soon. Until then, I blog.
How to make a very long story short so that you will read all of this. Hmmm…. Probably not possible.
Being in Suzanne’s presence in London was gorgeous. I had a fab time and we had a great time shopping for lost supplies thanks to RBC Insurance. I can’t wait to go back and visit. Plus, I am craving that American diner milkshake (of all things. Dreadful, I know).
Found my red bag in the depths of the hollows of London Heathrow thanks to Wasyl’s efforts (and sweet phone voice) in Montreal. I was ESCORTED to my bag by the Air Canada agent in Terminal 1 and then had to hightail it to Terminal 3 to catch my South African Airline flight to Joburg. They obviously had been told that I had achieved my Elite Gold standing with AC in 2011! If I’ve said it once, I will say it a million times: It’s all about points. Membership has its privileges. Priority tags on my bags. Comfort dining, food and alcohol at the AC Lounge for free. Priority boarding before all other passengers. Select seats. Don’t let any pleb tell you differently. They just don’t know (and are more than likely jealous).
And if any of you slam Air Canada let me just tell you this: fly a charter sometime in the near future (or US Air) and then compare. Air Canada is King.
Flight was 60% full that night to Joburg so I was able to stretch out a bit. Got about 7 hours sleep on the 13 hour flight which was nice.
Mike (my boss) and Avril (his sister) both work at Re-Solve and picked me up at the airport. Avril is the office manager and is very helpful (although my IT problems have dragged because it’s not really her forte!). And as for Mike….well, let me just say this. I have met two men in my life where I truly felt that their hearts were made of solid gold. One of them is Clive in Komatipoort, S.A. that ran the African Children’s Choir whom I met in 2008 when I was there. And the other – and maybe this is presumptuous of me because it is very soon to say this, but I believe - is Mike. So far, I’m very very impressed.
I landed on Monday at 11am and then went to the Re-Solve offices for 6 hours of briefing with no lunch break. My head was hurting. I was driven to the B&B where I’m staying for 1 month and was too tired to unpack. I had dinner and was in bed by 8:30pm.
Next day I had my first meeting with Coca Cola S.A. who has built the first LEED certified sustainable bottling plant. I went with a colleague (Dawie – pronounced DAHvie which is Africaan for David) and will have to go to the plant to inspect it and get a tour, and then write an endorsement letter on behalf of the Alliance to Save Energy that says we believe it is environmentally sound. I met with their PR person, brand manager, and technical manager. It was very very fun! And I got to try Coca Cola’s Ginger Beer brand of soft drink. It was yummy! Doesn’t compare with yours though, Mr. and Mrs. H. J
Got back to the B&B at 5pm and decided to unpack and try my IT technology again to connect to the internet but no use. So went to bed at 9:30am (I am gaining 1 hour of getting to bed later and so must be getting accustomed to the 6,000 ft elevation and the heat and the time zone, etc , etc).
Discussed with Mike today that I may start to develop cabin fever because I go to work from 8am to 5pm and then get driven back to the B&B. I don’t have a car so can’t get out and it’s not that safe to walk around. Mike said he had a spare car he thought he could lend to me but is being repaired at the moment and would give me a GPS from work. That’s would be beyond awesome. Then at least I could get to the grocery store by myself, the gym, or visit Mark in Joburg city when he gets back from Washington. Fingers doubly crossed. Stay tuned.
Today I had another meeting with Mike at the South African National Energy Research Institute with Derek Batte and Derek offered me office space to help advance his initiative. I didn’t know at first if he was offering me a job or what?!! I kept looking at Mike for a clue! But I think we’ve secured some future business for Re-Solve with their national programme as he asked me to go online and sign a partnership agreement and start working on implementation procedures for their water efficiency project. Will have no idea how to do that, but I’ll figure out a way! Most interesting, we’ve secured a golf game with him for next Friday and have already started betting on match play result. How fun.
Now I am working on a biodiversity proposal for a water project with RAND municipal water (the local water provider) that is due on Friday. I have no frigging clue how to write a biodiversity proposal but guess what? I’m putting one together. I keep shaking my head at the things I’m getting involved in. It’s crazy. But so far, I like it.
Now I am almost at my 10:30pm mark (1 hour past last night!) and I must go to bed.
I don’t know if or when I’ll be able to Skype. But when you see that little green symbol lit up beside my name, I am online. So catch me if you can. And I’ll keep trying to get a more secure connection so I can speak to some of you in your ‘afternoon’ hours when I am in my ‘evening’ hours.
I miss you so I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the snow for me!
Hugs, Lisa
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