Happy Valentines

I took the photo of the cat, Nerium added the rose. Nice touch!

Cremorne Point walk with Neri

Jackson

Hi took some photos of Jackson to be framed and presented to his owner for her 40th birthday.  What a cutie he is to be sure...

Correspondence with Nerium

 Hi there Nerium

Hey, what a lovely name.  I studied 10 years of Latin at school (maybe I shouldn't be admitting this so soon!!) as well as a year of Botany at university, so not only can I admire your name, but I can also conjugate it! From what I know of the Oleander, it may be very poisonous and all over the place, but it does also have a beautiful flower :)

From your profile and email, it looks like we have a lot in common.

Let see, now...

You've lived in a lot of different places.  I have too, but not quite as many as you. I've lived in Cape Town, Pretoria, London, Cambridge and now Sydney.  I've also spent large amounts of time in Gothenberg and Tel Aviv with work.  I love settling into and getting to know new places, which also explains my addiction to travel.  I've been living in Sydney now since late 2006 and am happy to call it home.  However, that doesnít mean Iím shouting for the Aussies in the world cup rugby ñ Iím still South African in that regard !

You like animals and so do I. In Cape Town, I did voluntary work for an animal rescue organisation which was often very hard emotionally but also extremely fulfilling. Currently, the love of my life is Mack, my adorable Jack Russell. He takes me for walks every day to the park and introduces me to all the local dogs and their owners.  He's ball mad and the sweetest natured dog you can imagine.   

You are involved in developing Internet sites for a living.  Me too!!  I do freelance work for an interactive web agency helping clients to use the internet through online marketing etc. It sounds like you've got some very interesting clients and your sites look great. Like you, I get quite attached to my clients.  My most recent project has been for an online fitness community site - www.springday.com.au. 

My freelance consulting I do part time and it pays my bills. The rest of the time I teach English to a class of young adult students from all over the world.  It doesn't pay much but it really fulfills me and makes me feel young. English is a passport to so many opportunities for my students and it's wonderful to be able to play a role in helping them to move towards their goals.  

You like Eckhart Tolle.  I'm a tremendous fan of his as well. He has so much to teach about living in the moment and "mindful" living.  Partly thanks to him, I became very interested in meditation and it helps me greatly to "let go" of things.  Other spiritual authors that have made a big impact on me are Deepak Chopra, Neale Walsch and John Kehoe. 

Interesting too that you mentioned Buddhism.  I went to some Buddhist meetings earlier this year and it's something I'm keen to pursue again. When I was hiking in Nepal, I came into contact with some wonderful Buddhist monks and meditated in some beautiful remote temples in the Himalayas. It's a wonderful philosophy with a lot to teach.

You like the outdoors.  I can very much relate to that too. I'm at my happiest when I'm out in nature, the more remote the better.  Being in nature is a powerful spiritual outlet for me and a big reason why I enjoy hiking so much.  Another of my spiritual outlets is taking photos and capturing the beauty of things.  I've been taking photos for a few years now and enjoy it immensely. You can see some of my photos at http://g-trovephotos.com

You like prawns and picnics. Me too! Especially prawns.  Yum!  And I live right on a beautiful park here in Waverton which is perfect for picnics. 

So, we have lots in common. I must admit, however, to not knowing anything at all about Woolclassing, architectural drafting, V8s or WWE!!  However, I'm always fascinated to find out about new things :)  

By the way, I must also admit to not knowing what a "bitzer" is - is that a local expression??  I tried to Google it but it didn't help!!  You'll have to enlighten me!

Anyway, hope that's given you a bit more info about me. I'm totally new to RSVP and the online dating world so you'll have to guide me through any protocols.

Cheers 

Graeme

Hi there Neri

My mum also writes me long emails every few weeks and I love getting them. They give me a wonderful sense of the everyday life of my family in Cape Town, including my sister and beloved nephew and niece (aged 7 and 11) who I miss very much.  My mum would love it if I recipricated in  kind, but I prefer to keep in contact through Skype.  Having said that, I do keep a blog that keeps everyone updated with my life, but these days it consists more of photographs than detailed written ramblings. The blog is at www.graemex.blogspot.com

Talking of writing, you write beautifully.  I definitely think you've got some excellent novels in you. Your varied life experiences and interests will provide rich pickings. Have you decided yet on the theme of your trilogy? Interesting too that you write poetry. Do you ever share it?  I also like to write poetry once in a while, but haven't in ages. Maybe it's time to start again. 

It doesn't freak me out that you haven't been out of Australia. It certainly might have a couple of years ago, but not now.  When I was younger, I went through a compulsive stint of wanting to travel everywhere I hadn't been and see everything I hadn't seen. It was an addiction and I felt I was losing out when I wasn't "on the road", especially when I was bogged down in the daily grind of work.  But since I arrived in Australia, I've become more grounded and sedentary. I read once that the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. It resonated.  I've been focussing a lot more on deepening my appreciation of where I'm at and not longing so much after new places.  And let's face it, there is a lot to appreciate and experience and explore in Sydney. I've really loved getting to know her really well.  That's the great thing about photography too.  You can visit exactly the same place over and over but the subtle differences in light give you different results every time.  It helps me see with new eyes. 

Wow, it must have been hard to lose both Holly and Tate so close together, especially at such a difficult time with your break up. Are you thinking of getting any new pets?  Pet's are so enriching, but they are also a big responsibility and they can tie you down a bit. I'm very lucky with Mack. He escaped from my house when I was at work last year (my pescy housemate left the gate open.)  Mack decided to search me out and ran straight for the Pacific Highway. He was rescued by a local woman who totally fell in love with him.  Now she looks after Mack during the day while I'm at work.  And she has him two to three nights a week so I can enjoy a guilt free social life.  And if I want to go away for the weekend to a national park, or to South Africa for a few weeks to see my family, she looks after him too.  So I'm not tied down at all. And Mack loves it - he's hardly ever alone and never has to go to the kennels.  It's a wonderful concept - dog share.  Maybe there's a business idea there, facilitating it...   

Your CEO friend sounds like a really amazing guy.  To keep the spirit strong through an ordeal as traumatic and exhausting as cancer is an amazing thing. I've been following the journey of Kristian at http://howthelightgetsin.net and he too really inspires me.  It's amazing how faith can be so nourishing. The power of believing that things happen for a reason and embracing it.

Wow, that music site of yours is huge! It looks like an interesting business.  Do you play the guitar?  Handcoding certainly does provide extra flexibility and I like your values - it's good to know what you stand for when running your own business. Very important in fact.  When I was in London, I worked for a branding company and I spent my days helping businesses to understand what made them unique and special and then getting them to articulate that through everything they did. I enjoyed that a lot - it was a very creative process.

Thanks for some of your insights around RSVP. This dating thing is a little intimidating to me right now as I haven't done formal dating in well over a decade and a half!!! My relationship ended in late 2009 after 17 years - 10 years of which I was married. I had a relationship after the split with someone I met at the park through Mack (he's a great match maker) but it was a little disastrous - she unexpectedly turned out to be not just a little bit crazy and not in a good way. My radar is obvioulsy not as finely tuned as yours! So, I was scared off a bit and only now dabling my toe back in the sea.  One of my aims with RSVP is to increase my circle of single friends - most of my old friends are married couples with young kids.  I love them all, but I do find the conversation evolves around the kids 90% of the time and it get's a little bit much.

Anyway, over and out.  It's my birthday today and I've got a busy but fun day ahead.  Work, then drinks and dinner out with friends.  

Cheers for now

G

Hi Neri

Ah, Beauty and the Geek.  I saw the trailer for that a while back and it looked like a lot of fun - nice to see Geeks getting the girls for a change.  I hardly watch any TV (mainly because I hate all the advertising, every 5 minutes) but I'm hesitant to admit I did get a little bit hooked on Australia's Got Talent a little while ago. 

ABC is my favourite channel when I do watch, and I do have a bit of a thing for documentaries of any kind, but especially wildlife ones.  I'm a great David Attenborough fan and I own all his series. 

I'm addicted to movies and sometimes go through phases of watching several a week.  The cinema has no boundary, it is a ribbon of dream.  My favourite web site is The Internet Movie Database and when I was living in London, I watched all the movies on their top 250 list (http://www.imdb.com/chart/top)   Very sad, I know, and I really need to get out more - but what else is one supposed to do during a foul English winter?  The New York Times has a Top 1000 list but I've managed to abstain from that for the time being!  

My taste in movies is extremely varied - I'll watch anything as long as it's decent, including extremely obscure, foreign ones.  And old ones too.  While my friends lust after the likes of Angelina Jolie, I dream of Audrey Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman.  

Talking of lists, I do seem to have a bit of a strange penchant for chasing them and ticking them off...   For example, I've also been making my way through the BBC's Top 100 reads.  It's exposed to many of the classics I might not normally would have read. I also have a list of things I want to do before I die which influences my decisions and choices, especially when it comes to travel.  And I'm a birder and I love ticking off new species on my bird list when I'm out in nature. It was my goal to see over 1000 different species of birds in the world and that pursuit has taken me to mosquito infested rainforests all over the place. 

Wow, your breakup must have been realy awful.  It sounds like you were treated really badly and it must have been a tremendous shock.  It's a real testament to you that you didn't let it beat you and make you cynical and negative - but used it as a catalyst for personal and spiritual growth.

My breakup was tough too but a lot less traumatic than yours.  Ally and I had been together since she was 19 and I was 22.  We had a great relationship for many years and she was a wonderful partner.  However, we drifted apart, especially after coming to Sydney and I was to blame quite a bit for that as I took her for granted.  The decision to split was more hers than mine and it hurt, but I accepted it and didn't fight it.  In retrospect, I should have done more to save the marriage.  Very shortly after the split, she met someone else and they are now engaged and have bought a house together.  Ally and I still talk on the phone every so often and we remain friends.  I'll always love her as we were kindred spirits but in a pure way without any attachments or expectations that she'll ever come back. The Buddhist class I went to had a lot to teach about that kind of love.  It really helped.

I also hardly drink at all, at most a shandy if I go to a pub which is rarely. I don't really like beer that much, when I was much younger I much preferred cider to beer - to my father's immense horror, because in South Africa real men only drink beer. Wine gives me heartburn and I only drink it very occasionally.  I also really don't like noisy pubs at all.  I went to watch the rugby with work mates at a pub last night and in the background, there was never ending thumping music so we all had to shout to be heard and it became really irritating.

Like you, I also love the ocean but I'm not a particulalry huge beach fan either, except to do paddleskiing which I really enjoy. I prefer the forest, river and mountain to the beach, although I absolutely adore rocky coaslines where the ocean pounds onto the shore.  I can watch that for hours and hours.  There is a particular place in South Africa (Storm's River) where this happens and it's my favourite place on earth. I also adore high sea cliffs where you can slide on your tummy and look down at the ocean far below.  The Royal National Park has some cliffs like that and I love it.

Anyway, enough for now.  I'm off to have a barbecue with some friends. Lots of couples and kids, but it should be fun. The kiddies like to throw the ball for Mack and it keeps both them and Mack entertained for hours.

Bye for now

Graeme