Wednesday, June 28, 2006

2658km: My First Tag

I've just been exposed to a new game that seems to be popular amongst bloggers. Every once in a while we play "tag". So, I got an e-mail that I was tagged by Michelle. I checked, and she was tagged by Chitty who was tagged by Blagrag who was tagged by Vesper,and somebody even mentioned that they saw it on Chloe's blog (although I don't see it yet).

So I will try to play along as nicely as possible.

"The rules are simple: Write 10 words beginning with that letter in your journal, including an explanation what the word means to you and why, and then pass out letters to those who want to play along."

And Michelle chose the letter "G" to pass out to me.

She helped me with the first one.

1. Gomoto. A major theme on my blog. My red 125 cc Gomoto motorbike with wich I enjoy exploring the world.



2. Guts. Somebody told me this morning that I had more guts than brains. I did not have my wife's car at my disposal but urgently wanted to buy some conduit from the hardware store. I need it for a little project in which I'm trying to install a network in the dormitory where I work. So I took my Gomoto down to town, bought the 12 m of conduit (in 2m lenghts), tied them together with a rope. and put the rope over my shoulders. It was a bit of a balancing act, but I got the necessary supplies back to my office without causing any serious accidents.

3. Gatsometer. I initially thought this was only an Afrikaans word :-). But a quick check on Google, showed me that most English speaking people should also be familiar with this device that is used by traffic authorities to measure your speed. I've been quite smug in my contentment that I would not have much cause to worry about these "speed traps" while driving on my Gomoto, as it is not designed for very high speeds. But ALAS! today I was almost caught by one. Going 70km/h in a 60km zone with all the conduit (see "Guts" above) over my shoulders.

4. Gasoline. Just to brag again that my little Gomoto travels 42 kilometres on 1 litre of gasoline when I ride between 60 and 75 km/h.

5. Gun. Another reason why I don't own a car? When last have you heard of a motorcylist being hi-jacked? Or if you are like me, you won't get hi-jacked. You will just get assaulted with the gun. When I owned my own car I used to twist the little spray nozzles used to clean the windscreen to the side. I would then ride on the beach front and squirt the pedestrians and oncomming traffic with a spray of water. I once squirted the wrong vehicle, and a few minutes later found myself looking down the barrel of a gun. I am fortunately still here to tell the story. It will therefore come as no surprise that I believe that guns should be outlawed.

6. Genadendal. The next place that I intend to visit with my Gomoto. I plan to take a day off next week to drive to Genadendal. I estimate Genadendal to be approximately 160km from where I live, but I plan to drive there via Villiers, in order to fit in two mountain passes with little traffic. It should be close to a 400 km round trip. Genadendal is one of the first mission stations that was established by those evil colonialists early in South African history.

7. Greyton. A small town close to Genadendal. I am told that there is a camp site there that charges only R30 per person per night. I have not discussed this with my wife yet, but I may want to sleep over in my little two man tent before returning home from my trip to Genadendal. If this happens it will be the first time that I do an overnight trip with my Gomoto.

8. Girl. I'm the dean of a men's residence. We are quite popular amongst the girls. But below is a photo of the girl in my life. You must see her in a helmet!




This picture of my daughter was taken by a friend who does this kind of work for a living. She is busy setting up a website, and I will link to it soon.

9. Green Tea. I bought myself some last week. It has a mint flavour and I've been drinking one cup, every day at 11.00. I am not a great tea drinker, but I am really enjoying this particular flavour.

10. Get Rich Slowly. Get Rich Slowly is the blog that I've been compulsively reading in the last two weeks. I've discovered that my credit cards charge far too much interest for me to sustain the lifestyle that I am living, and my job does not pay enough. Get Rich Slowly has made me feel good about cutting down on the expenses in my life and living a more simple life. I highly recommend it.

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Well, that is the end of my assignment. I do not know enough bloggers to pass the tag on to. When I see some, I will present them with the letter X or something. I hope you enjoyed reading my responses.

3 comments:

Michelle said...

Excellent! Well done on your first tag, impressively completed - with illustrations. :)

Anonymous said...

Cool - Love it - especially the girl - your daughter

Weiers said...

Thanks Michelle... I look forward to the next one (hopefully a few months from now)

Simone, other people have also sent me personal comments that my daughter is pretty. I think I will have to invest in a shotgun soon :-)