NOT my Niche

Maybe I should rather try and figure out whats not my niche. If I eleminate the the possibilities one by one it might bring me closer to finding my niche.

eg. Keeping an up to date Blog is obviously NOT my niche!

I have a couple diaries at home. Those with the pre-printed dates where you can add appointments etc. Most of them doesn't make it past February. That's partly why I love "the idea" of a Blog. Altough it shows the dates, it doesn't show the months or even the years of open space when it lay dormant. It just looks better...

..and you get the feeling it's never too late to get back in the game. This is what inspired me to Blog this with confidence.

Safety Officer Jac Viljoen. Reporting!

Hi there to all my fans. (I know it's just the two of us mom!)

In my search of finding my niche, I have tried my hand at various trades and professions. From construction to painting, from making plastic teeth to working in the UK's Big Brother house.

I search high and low for that thing. That thing I refer to as my niche. Will I ever find it?

Recently I started working as a safety officer. In countries like South Africa and Pappa New Guinea, people would probably not even know what this job is all about. I mean in SA a piece of red-and-white banner tape, one end tied to a tree, the other tied to a empty Zamalek (that's a beer bottle for all my international readers) would be sufficient warning for a 20 meter drop into a pit of hungry sharks. In the UK things work differently...

First you'll see some people in bright yellow or orange (called high-viz) warning you of more people on your chosen route. The "more" people would then use their arms to cordon of a area where "more-more" people are busy fixing some sort of highly visible and impenetrable barrier to keep you away from a puddle of water which leaked out of some pipe or something. After the barrier has been set up, someone would warn the public that the safety team is now ready to leave and could even block them of while the "more" and "more-more" people are leaving. Even though you'd need a Olifant tank to penetrate the barrier at least one person would remain at all times to monitor the situation as well as answer any further questions from public.

I believe you could drink a litre of tequila, be blindfolded and be sent into Oxford street during rush hour, and you'd still survive. There are so many safety precautions in England that each precaution has his own precautions!

This is where my latest job comes in. I'm a safety officer at mayor events and exhibitions across Britain. I have to think for all the idiots out there.

"Don't run with scissors!"
"Don't stand on that three-legged chair!"
"Don't park in front of the fire exit!"

I just wander around these events, warning and reporting. If I see a trip hazard, and this could be anything that I feel is unsafe, I report it and a whole network of people rush to my location. They get some of the more and more-more people in, build the barriers, get the contractors in, fix the hazard (sometimes they even bring in a crane), get the all clear from me, remove the barriers, all the people and leave the site. This process could take from 15 minutes to 24 hours to complete.

It gives one some sort of a power trip to know that all these people, lets say 3 to 15 people have to react to one's insecurities. Obviously, if you overdo it, they become less likely to respond. Although as long as you're employed, by law they have to respond...as long as you are employed..

Anyway. I must admit that I'm enjoying this job because of the many people I meet. At the previous event there were 150 people from all nationalities doing this job. It's sounds like a lot but considering we had 162 000 visitors at a flower show (flower shows = old people) we had our hands full.

I also realised that I really love to help people. Just giving some information and having a quick chat with some members of public gives me a rush..

I feel I'm one step closer to finding me niche.

My online Albums...

please goto
The Blikalbums
to see my online albums.

More to follow soon...I hope!

Snowing in London!

Here is a early morning attempt at skiing without ski's...

Stepping in it...

Dear Diary

This is Tuesday, more or less 16 August 2006. I sitting in the lounge area at the Barcelona Mar Youth Hostel in Barcelona, Spain. I had a bottle of wine with me and I had to wait a while to get a turn on the PC. The wine is now almost epmty so excuse my spelling...

After a bit of a rough start, Barcelona is starting to get a bit of shape now. It's warming up to me as some might say. After spending a night on the pavement outside the train station Sants and walking around yesterday like a zombie, I had a good night's rest and I did the touristy thing today. We took a hop-on-hop-off tour of Barcelona. Saw all the famous tourist spots. An in depth journey of the works of Antonio Gaudi and the effect what the international money towards an olympic host can do to a city. Extravagent displays of a big budget.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by the authentic Spanish city, Granada where everyone owns a dog and little teashops are welcoming you on every corner. Barcelona is like Cape Town or London with a beach. You'll see a Starbucks or MacDonalds and everything is rediculously expensive. Even more expensive than London. There is also dogshit everywhere and more human statues than you'll ever knock over (my comment about the statues comes from Lonely Planet Travel guides just in case someone things I'm trying to rip them off!).

Tommorrow we'll go the the town Fugueres to see the works of Salvador Dali. This was a big movitation to visit Spain after I was told at the end of my tour in the Dali Universe in London, that all the great works are still in Spain.

I'm pressed for time now, by other semi-drunk surfers so please check later to see my visual highlights.

Regards
El Blikman

P.S. I might have eaten some form of meat today but my spanish is to bad to tell for certain...

London on a Sunday

What is the typical Sunday like in London..



First of all... sleep late.





Then go do some sightseeing...





Have a burger in the park or strole down the River Thames..






Go for a swim in the fountain at Trafalgar Square...



End it like all good sundays with some nice desert.
Belgian Waffles and Cappacino in this case.

A Night on the Dorp

dorp
noun

(now S Afr)
1. A small town or village.

Etymology: 15c: Dutch.

This is also the name of a incredible South African band.

About a week ago, I had the privilege to go see them. I was a bit drunk during the event so I didn't get all the information required to produce a proper publish quality article. I can however describe the memories I have concerning the whole evening.

At first, I must admit, the name sounded familiar but the perception I had of them was more of a type of Indie rock band like Watershed or so many other South African bands. Maybe even a accordion or something, to give them a unique angle...like everyone else.

Me and my friend Mart set of to the Clapham Grand, at Clapham Junction in London, to go and see them. My previous visit to this venue was a bit of a let down. The bands were a bit boring and there weren’t as many people. (Also I didn't have half a bottle of tequila before going.)

The first band was called The Colonies. I was impressed with the image and overall quality of the music. It reminded me a bit of Radiohead. Their music was accompanied by trumpet and at one stage a melodica played by a simple girl dressed in white. Lovely.

When Dorp came on stage the crowd (maybe hundred and fifty people but more than my previous visit) roared and they made a excellent entrance. Black stage turned blue and the electronic sounds of a synth-playing Frenchman filled the air. The lights went on and the front man named Piet (I might be wrong) grabbed the microphone. His voice had that edge that can make a good band great and the lead guitarist's knees bent as he hit the bottom strings. The drummer was staring over the drum kit like a young boy learning to drive but the sounds were like these of a professional racecar driver!

They have an excellent stage personality and the one hit after the other just spilled of the edge of the stage.

After I closed my mouth and stopped staring, I hit the dance floor. Spinning and bouncing all over the place. Everywhere you could see people following the trend and soon we were painting the "town" red!

Afterwards, I mingled a bit with the town members and their huge entourage of groupies. All, dressed in full Dorp paraphernalia. The council.

I would really encourage anyone who's up for a good time, to join these artists whenever they can.

Dorp! Dorp! Dorp!

The dictionary insert was taken from the site http://www.sleepycreek.net/ Thanks

British Motor Show 2006

I recently visited the British Motor Show at the Excel Exhibition Centre in London, UK.

I was a fun day at a great venue where anyone could quickly see that no exspense was spared in order to maintain a shiny public image. Most of the "main" car-manufacturer's had their latest and greatest on show. It was mostly the companies supplying cars to the mainstream car-market like Ford, Mazda, Toyota, Renault, Peugeot and Honda but there was also a few up market companies like Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls Royce.

BMW had a separate display outside the main halls and took show completely. They displayed their fabulous M6 Convertible in a pleasantly air-conditioned outdoor area! You could also get some of that adrenaline boosting sounds in special little booths, simulating each model's engine noises.

Another interesting attraction was the "celebrity" cars like Austin Power's "Shaguar" and Lara Croft's Land Rover amongst others.

All lot of attention also went to the latest trend in the market, the environmentally conscience vehicles. From bio-fuel to hybrid power vehicles, even cars powered by electric motors build into each individual wheel.

Although there were lots of eye catching specimens of the female form, it was more of a father-son experience. Everywhere children could be found popping there heads out from under the hood and fathers clenching the steering wheels of the favorite rides while vroom-vrooooming through their teeth. I guess there's a little boy in all of us.

Here is some of my favourites pictures.

What do you want to become when you grow up?

What do you want to become when you grow up? This annoying question that everyone has to answer at some stage in their life, have once again come back to haunt me. I'm only 30 years old but people are pressing me for the answer to this question more and more.

Maybe it is time to grow up but I really enjoy being a kid too much. I'm not ready to start worrying about things like insurance and life policies and a family just yet. I've been involved with so many different projects in life that I truly qualify as a "jack-of-all-trades" but at the same time I'm definitely also a "master-of-none".

I'm ready to head into a career. Something that I feel I could do for the rest of my life. Big words, but I just don't want to have dreams where I see myself walking through the office with a 12 gauge shotgun (which I really had with one of my previous jobs), blasting my colleagues into oblivion.

I feel like heading into a writing career as this is something I like and respect but might also have some future in. With all these online development and hundreds of thousands of students struggling to find their feet in today's virtual world, I feel that creative writing isn't all academic. There is at least some creative talent required. Something that not everyone can be taught. I ultimately want to be a travel writer. See the world and report back, combining my writing skills with photography, which is currently one of my favorite hobbies.

I recently decided to start developing my writing skills a bit by keeping a journal. I decided to go online so I could get some feedback on my ideas. When I did some research I found that you have to find your niche and write about that. Great now I have more questions.

This is my inspiration to start this blog. Basically just to squeeze my melon a bit and to see what comes out. Expect a collage of various different aspects. From travel reviews to conspiracy theories. From frantic brainstorm to skillful reasoning.

Feel free to share any thoughts as nothing would be frowned upon, as we are after all, professionals.

Blikman
2006