Part3 (ZaBoozers Thread)
 

last part here:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...thread-20.html

D

Hiya Zab :D

Hope you are busy with your Twitter site etc , looking forward to seeing you check in xx

Hey all,

Thanks for all the kind posts. I have been absent for a while partly due to the work situation and partly due to the work I am putting in with the new business venture.

I still have a job, although I don't think I will survive much longer. We have just been through the first wave of retrenchments. All in all, there were twenty two people laid off. That is almost twenty five per cent of our staff. It has been rather sad as I have lost some good friends. It is hard to just say goodbye to people you have looked after for eight years.

The really sad thing is that there is no work out there. Well, not here in SA anyways. It has been hard to try and motivate people and to give them new ideas or to get them to look at new ventures in life. I have one ex-colleague who is about to lose his properties; his restaurant business is about to be fore-closed and he has no chance of getting a job like he had in the near future. His plan is now to work on the oil rigs. This is the desperation I have been facing for the last while.

On the wife front - well, nothing. It adds to the melancholy, but I just have to grin and bear it.

On the booze front - well I am staying sober. There is no need to compound the issues at hand with a hangover. It is hard enough to think straight as it is, God forbid trying to do this with a hangover.

On the business front - well I have managed to sort out all the little teething problems like face book, web pages and twitter. I think I finally have a grasp on what I think social media should be. We have been getting a lot of interest and the surprising thing is that it is from people that I do not know and have never tasted our product. Another interesting thing is that the other commercial breweries here in SA seem to be very interested in what we are doing. This is great for me. It is a great feeling when they bring samples for you to judge, and you give them your own samples - they are blown away.

I still think the majority of the guys here are too far behind the guys in the UK, States and Oz. High alcohol, knock your socks of types of beers are not what people are looking for now. People are becoming more aware of the stigma that is attached to being smashed and making a fool of oneself. They want lower alcohol and quality product. I have also been watching with interest what has happened in the states with Lagunitas and their sell out to Heinekin as well as the proposed merger with SAB and AB InBev. They all seem to think that they are losing ground to craft. Unbelievable.

I have finished perfecting the recipes and beer types we will have. They have been a big hit wherever we have had a show. So I am chuffed with that. One of my co-conspirators in this is busy finalising the menu. She is a fantastic cook. I am just wondering how she is going to do this on a restaurant level. Mind you, I am not complaining as I have not had to cook in a while.

Other than all this, I still have ten fingers and ten toes. I am still hanging in there. There is still so much to do and so much to plan for.

Be safe and be strong.

Cheers,

ZAB

Wonderful to hear from you again Mr Z and know that all is well!

Glad to hear that you have a co-conspirator too! ;)

I love the 'not had to cook in a while' comment... :)

I sympathise with the work situation Mr Z...but I am suspecting there might be someone who might be helping you cope? ;)

Your loving friend M ! :)

Don't leave it so bloody long next time Zab! Lol! Was a bit concerned (and denied a chance to be sarcastic about the Rugby)

Haha M,

There is no-one. Co-conspirator is married and her husband did my kitchen for me. After all - I did make that vow and am quite good at sticking to things.

Cheers,

ZAB

Hey Saout, sorry about that mate.

We did **** up the rugby a bit there. I am not too sure they are going to do much better. I don't know much about it, but the guys at work reckon our team are a bunch of geriatrics.

Cheers,

ZAB

Early days

England have home advantage but we're not great either (I should say i'm no expert when it comes to Rugby)

I'm really glad the N/A L/A beer idea is progressing so well. I think there is a cultural change going on, maybe (say it quietly) more amongst young men that says you don't have to get blootered to be one of the lads anymore.

I notice it with my daughters (who are both in their 20's) and their friends, male and female - they don't cane it like me and my friends did at their age.

good to hear from you ZaB :)

D

Tomorrow will tell us more. If we stuff up against Samoa, well then - we know.

I think you are right - today's young prowl are much more connected and aware. I also think that they have more options than what we did.

Ta Dee, much appreciated mate.

Hi Zab! Was so happy to see your name. So great to hear from you and know you are well. :)

Right, that's it, no more Rugby talk

Yay ZaB! Nice to hear from you!

I beg to differ :) I am Welsh with Welsh rugby players in my family and I am oh so proud at the moment :) sorry to hijack your thread ZaB!!!

Sorry to hear about the SA team though...maybe you could join me and support Wales instead ;)

Congratulations on a great result Martina

Hi all,

Well it has been a while since I have been here. So much has happened.

The work front is terrible. We have passed the first stage of job cuts, and things have got worse. I suspect that we are going to start the second wave of retrenchments very soon. There is a rumour going around that our sister company is going to be shedding about 75% of their staff shortly. So things are not to rosy this side.

On the business front. Well things are moving along smartly. The web site is up and running, I have the social media thing in hand now (I cant believe that we have followers from all around the world). We even have the local breweries that are following us. This is surprising, well maybe not as they all want to know where and when we are going to pop up.

We have a blog that is up and running. It has taken me a while to get into my stride. Those of you that know me, know I have a mischievous sense of humour, so the first articles were rather bland. With a bit of encouragement I have managed to infuse that naughtiness back into my writing. I cant post a link here, for obvious reasons, but I can give you the link in a PM if you're interested. From there you can navigate back to the main site and through everything that is going on in that front.

In my personal life, well, not good. After seven months of not hearing anything, I have been given divorce papers to complete. Of course, it hurts like hell, and that is part of the reason I have been away, but it allows me to end this stage of my life and move on. I cannot say that I had the nicest things to say, but then again, I am only human. M, if you're still here, it is better than being kept in the dark.

On the booze front, well I am staying sober, apart from the occasional beer tasting. There is just too much to concentrate on and the fight to hold onto my sanity just takes too much out of me.

Be safe and be strong.

Cheers,

ZAB

P.S. Let's not talk about the rugby too loudly. ;)

I'm sorry things are rough ZAB.

Not sure what the deal is with the beer tasting, but I think tough times are all the more reason to fight for your sobriety - I could never have gotten through some stuff I have had I been drinking.

D

How wonderful to hear from you my friend :)

Sounds like you are getting on with life and that is good :)

Work is work that is all it is? work? :)

I am glad that you have signed in with us matey...yes I love your mischievous sense of humour ;)

Personal life...well congratulations you have the divorce papers :)

My ex has disappeared into the wilds....

Let us know how it goes my friend as we do really care about you?
love M

Ta Dee, much appreciated.

Beer tasting - not like you think mate. Think like beer judging - very small samples.

Cheers,

ZAB