Jeffrey van Blerk
Bio
Retired former newspaper journalist in South Africa with 25 years of experience. Spent several years teaching English in Southeast Asia and learned more about life than what I was imparting to my young students.
It's time to share!
Stories (15/0)
Serial Seeker of Knowledge
It’s funny how in school I found learning was such a drag as was doing homework and exams. I usually battled to stay awake never mind pay attention in the afternoon session and only perked up in the last 15 minutes or so of the last class of the day knowing that the sweet sound of the final bell of the day wasn’t far off. A trick I perfected over time in the last class of the day was how to rest my elbow on the desk and then proceed with the hand-on-my-forehead-covering-my closed-eyes-catnap while sitting at my desk seemingly paying attention to the teacher. It didn’t fool all the teachers all the time. But I’m sure many of my classmates acquired the same skill and it has stood me in good stead in many situations as an adult as well.
By Jeffrey van Blerkabout a month ago in Education
About that fly on the wall…
Flies are generally regarded as repulsive little insects created solely to annoy the shit out of humans, never mind them eating it, by landing on our ready-to-be-eaten food. They also have a nasty habit of landing on various parts of our body, especially on a hot and sticky day, and seem to enjoy landing and taking a dip in your cold drink or beer just when you are about to take a sip.
By Jeffrey van Blerk4 months ago in Earth
Step, Step, Step... It's Time To Take That First One
To my subscribers and friends on Meta (facebook) excuse my five-week break from writing. As usual, I am trying to juggle three or four plates at the same time, and as usual, it is the writing plate that I drop first. I will be writing sometime about my latest project which is showing some promise and also allows one to exercise creativity in a different way than what you may be used to. It takes some work, but it can be fun as well.
By Jeffrey van Blerk8 months ago in Motivation
When the words and the numbers just don’t add up
Last year, in September 2021, I registered as a freelance writer on Medium and subsequently also on Vocal, Substack, Simily, and Ko-fi, where I also offer writing content and writing correction services and have an online store promoting and selling CBD products.
By Jeffrey van Blerk10 months ago in Lifehack
Taking the “high” out of cannabis
The most common scientific name for the recreational drug marijuana is cannabis but there are many other interesting nicknames and slang terms for it depending on what country or region you are in if you are using the stuff.
By Jeffrey van Blerk11 months ago in Potent
Ko-fi may be the lifeline Stripe(less) writers are looking for
The world is in a constant state of flux with new trends appearing regularly, some of them are here to stay, and others fade almost as quickly as they materialized as technology marches relentlessly on. The internet “born” in 1969 as we know it is becoming old hat and according to the modern-day tech prophets we are now moving into “the age of Web 3”, the “metaverse”.
By Jeffrey van Blerk11 months ago in Journal
When it’s time to bid farewell to a constant companion
We all give our pets names and they become part of the family. When your dog Groombo or your cat Ally passes on, it’s a terribly sad occasion. Especially when you hold them in your arms while the vet gives the final jab that takes them out of their pain-filled world and puts them to sleep forever. We’ve all been there.
By Jeffrey van Blerk12 months ago in Lifehack
Burning Books, Preparing For Another Uniform
For some, a career path after school has already been mapped out, either by parents or by the individuals themselves. For others, like myself, all I knew was that six months after matric exams I would be in the army. For a year. I even knew where. And the plan after that? Who knew? Certainly not me!
By Jeffrey van Blerkabout a year ago in Lifehack
It's a Squeaky Green Go-Ahead
I recently decided to dip my toe into the water and post an article on Fb and check out the response, not only in the comments on Fb but also to see how many would take up the invitation to subscribe to my brand new out of the box newsletter.
By Jeffrey van Blerkabout a year ago in Lifehack
Living the dream on Planet Problem
Problems come with the territory of being alive and as we all know they occur in a multitude of forms, shapes, and sizes and are as much part of your life as is breathing. My thought has always been that everybody on the planet has problems, some of them some of the time, more of them a lot of the time, and many of them most of the time.
By Jeffrey van Blerkabout a year ago in Humans
