The clouds that follow me

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Bo

Our camera club theme for the month of January was clouds. What an awesome theme, right? Who hasn’t taken that shot of the breathtaking sunset after work or the majestic sun rise on an early morning drive to work? That perfect pic just before the storm or the incredible view of the clouds over a calm sea.

It was hard to decide which of my photos to submit for camera club. Everyone’s submissions were incredible and it was really tough to choose our top 3 photos.

Since then, not a day goes by without me looking up to the sky to notice the clouds. Not once have I been disappointed either. Sometimes I gasp at the beauty. Other days, they speak to me and match my mood of the day, be it stressed, anxious or happy. They’re there. Bold, loud or calming.

Here’s a selection of some of my favourite ones.

Make sure you look up and marvel at the clouds that follow you around. You won’t regret it. Tag me in some of those pics you share on social media!

My right foot aches

Posted on February 5, 2017 by Bo

Plantar fasciitis. It sounds like some sort of fungal disease. An itch of some sort. When I say the words, people give me the look as if I’ve sworn at them. But it’s simply a foot injury which sends shivers up the spines of most runners.

My foot is sore. Again. I had plantar a few years back. It sent me into recovery and rehab for a good few months. No running, no walking, just rest. I recovered but here we are again. I’m miserable and irritated.

I’ve Googled the hell out of this one, as one does. I know which exercises to do – the foot stretches, the calf stretching and the rolling of a ball under my foot. But in the back of my mind, I remember how long it took to get rid of plantar last time and I’m gutted.

The last stretch of Bobbies.

Today’s Bobbies 10km race wasn’t pleasant. My foot was sore from the minute I put my running shoe on. I thought the pain would go away, as it has for the last couple of weeks, even through Johnson Crane 10km, but not today. I struggled while the dude carrying a tog bag on his back passed me, I ached as the two speed walkers marched right passed me and I nearly passed out up that last dreadful hill as the 80-minute bus sang it’s way to the finish.

I have the Pick ‘n Pay half marathon next weekend. That’s twice the distance I ran today. It’a going to be a very long week ahead deciding what to do. Any advice? Send it my way!

Are we really sharing? Like sharing sharing?

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Bo

In a world where sharing and even oversharing has become the norm, are we really sure that what we’re sharing is the real deal?

I sat in a workshop where the ideal scenario for our new corporate Intranet was being painted. Employees would collaborate with one another. They’d log in to various platforms and ask complex questions. Their colleagues from across the continent would reach out and solve these problems in unison. We’d become this super-savvy, agile organization and the answers would be available at our fingertips as long as we’d remember to tag and label stuff.

Although it sounds easy, it isn’t. It’s actually damn hard. And with the increase in the most amazing technology available to us, and the speed at which development and upgrades take place, you’d wonder why people in the workplace are still stuck on using email, still including a fax number on their business cards and still talking about disruption technologies which are now old news, to be honest. Stop showing us that Uber slide!

The suggested theory is that the more you share and engage online, the more intelligent these social platforms become in knowing who you are and are therefore able to offer up better and more relevant content to you. I find this quite funny that Facebook “knows” me.

Yeah, I follow all the running groups, a couple of dog shelters here and there. But if Facebook thinks it truly knows me, it would have realized that writing has been on my mind for ages now. Writing a book, writing blogs, writing anything! And the fact that my organization is paying for me to do a business writing course next week is the best thing to happen to me in a long time! That the fire inside me has been lit and the thought of where this could take me is all consuming.

Did I share this feeling at work? Did I jump out of my seat with joy when my boss approved the course. Meh. I carried on reading emails. Because as much as we think we share our lives with people… we really don’t. We share even less of ourselves at work. We put on that mask and smile and get on with what needs to be done. Like I said, sharing and collaboration is hard. Even for an oversharing blogger like me.