Thursday, August 28, 2008

Arrow Head Golf Club


The view off the tenth tee box

The short hole on the first nine

The view from above the club house deck over looking the back nine


This is me at the eight short hole and lipped out for the birdie - story of my game.

It is not often that you have the privilege of playing one of the most scenic golf courses in the US. Yesterday it was my turn and I got to play Arrowhead golf course just 12 miles away from our apartment. The photos speak for themselves but I must add that the fairways were fantastic, the greens even better and the layout amongst the rocks was very dramatic. On several holes the rocks do pose obstacles in play and the tips on the card are really helpful. For eg. on the tight par four the tip is: two good shots here will make this hole easier. Well I was still excited after the game and hope to play many rounds at this course again in the future, but for now it is time to make some cash!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Interviews and a taste of ski



This week, consisted of interviews and catching up on study outstanding. The highlight of the week was heading off to the retailers to pick out a pair of ski boots.

I am into the third round of interviews with one potential employer and tomorrow, That is Monday I have two interviews to attend. So wish me luck and lets hope something comes of the discussions.

Retail in this part of the world goes absolutely crazy at this time of year with summer sales on to clear all the summer gear and one last opportunity to get rid of all last years snow gear for manufacturers ahead of releasing the new ranges. So they call this silly season promotion "SNIAGRAB" which is bargains spelt backwards. They have one weekend which is this coming weekend on labour day a public holiday to try and clear all old ski stocks at up to 70% off.

And if you are like me and try to get ahead of the rush they don't penalize you, if the item you buy is promoted within thirty days of purchase you can go back in to the store and they will credit your purchase to the discounted price, how is that for aggressive retail!

Well here is to wishing you all a great week ahead and may that stock market bounce back up to the 30000 mark in SA. Sorry about the rugby!

Monday, August 18, 2008

A Week of Interviews and a Home Dinner

Sorry no photos this week, just a week of 4 interviews, a night on the town and a home dinner to report. The week was a good one and got off to a fine start being invited to 4 interviews with a diverse set of companies. The posts were entry level and three of the four turned me down during the interview citing that I was way to experienced to employ in the roles posted. Not the best predicament to be in but at least they are honest. One return interview this coming week, so lets hope that it is something that will be challenging.

I had a speech to deliver at toastmasters this week and got lucky and won the best speaker for the weeks contest. Also got invited to a Coors (local beer co) event, and it started out as an event to interview girls on stage for potential candidates for the annual bike calendar and wound up looking more like a stripping event on stage with whipped cream. Sorry no pictures were allowed, but the sights were memorable.

On Friday and Saturday we had solid rain and much needed to. Al the surrounding mountain areas were covered with snow and the roads were very wet. The Rav4 had no issues but cars were getting stuck in town. Then on Sunday we made a home roast pork with roast potatoes and veg. We had Fred and Lorraine over to join us and a scrumptious feast had by all. This week back to the grindstone to get a job!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Dillon BBQ contests and the Coors Ball Park

The BBQ contest in Dillon
Streets in Dillon bustling with tourists and locals
Stoppped on the roadside outside Frisco with the lakes behind me.
Me and my new wheels out in the mountains, does it get better than this?
The Coors ball park in Denver is a great stadium.

Hello all and welcome to yet another exciting weekend out here in Denver. What did we get up to this past 48 hrs in the mountains? Well on Saturday we headed west into the mountains to a place called Dillon. In winter this is a big ski area. The weather was a little overcast but that wont hold Lesleigh and I back from a little adventure. The drive to Dillon is on an interstate I70 and takes about 1 and a half hours out of Denver. When we arrived the town was bustling with people and we were not sure why. Sure enough there was a BBQ festival on the go with rows and rows of food stalls all braaing pork and mielies and drinking beer. Lesleigh and I joined in and sampled the food from several stalls. The BBQ styled meat will never match a real braai, but it is the idea that counts.
We drove on fro Dillon to Breckenridge and then through a small town called Frisco (just like the coffee). At the need of the afternoon we headed back to Denver through a few rain clouds and got home at around nine to watch some of the Olympics.

On Sunday I went to watch a ball game with a friend Japser who works at Coors Brewery. We watched San Diego play against the home Rockies team. It was a great day out and we had a company sponsored luncheon on the deck of a pub across the road from the stadium before entering and watching the game. We got home at about seven and relaxed on the couch watching the Olympics. Another fantastic weekend and confirmation that Denver really is a good spot to call home.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Furniture, Cars and a little Irish Luck


I may be a long way from the home base but I can still find Roodeberg and enjoy fine SA wine.

Me and my new wheels!

Last week was a very exciting week, For me I got to choose a car. Shopping for a car can be a lot of fun and you soon get the hang of the procedures as you enter a sales lot. You cannot walk ten meters on a used car lot and the sales guy emerges from behind the mirror glass, brill cream hair and making a bee line across the lot to hound any potential customer. I think by lot 15 we had the sales guys weaving between cars and walking really briskly to catch up with us and always made sure that you got him to walk the entire length of the lot. Then ask to open up the nearest car and he has to dash off to get the keys which gives you about five minutes to browse what you really want to take a look at.

after all that I found her, clean and tidy sitting on the VW lot on Colfax Avenue. I got a VW Jetta 2007, model, with a full house of extras from VW. They use the slogan tough love at VW and I should know why. I have had 5 VW’s with my last being the GTi. This Jetta is right up there with the best of VW and with all the electronic gadgets make the drive very exciting. It has on board navigation, on board computers, power jacks for normal plugs and 12 V, sun roof, full safety which includes 12 airbags ect. It is a 2.5L with plenty power and a tiptronic transmission and a sports mode. The boot is so big we can put four sets of clubs and bags into the space.

Our money finally arrived from South Africa and we went over to a store called Cost Plus World Market and ordered all our furniture for the apartment. The furniture comes part assembled and so today we collected and assembled the whole lot. It was fun and Lesleigh is over the moon. I must confess that they do have some great furniture outlets to choose from and the prices are reasonable. So the house is now home and bar another bed for the spare bedroom we have all we need for now.

Speaking of which, I had my resume (not CV) here redone into the US formatting and have shipped it off to several employers, I have even received some responses to the new resume, so there are lines in the water, lets hope for a little irish luck and maybe we get a bite or two.

Lesleigh and I have joined toast masters (public speaking not drinking) here in Greenwood village (a suburb) just down the road. We attend every wednesday morning at 07h00 to 08h00. Today Lesleigh and I had to give impromptu speeches and I think we did really well, so we are flying the flag proudly abroad.