Maaking ’n plan and all that jazz

SAFFERS are renowned for their “maak ’n plan” mentality.

Generations of us have been forced to find workarounds because the governments of the day – from apartheid to the ANC – have put road spikes in the way of us getting on with our lives as best we can.

External hurdles like Covid also made us adjust, particularly when the Covid War Room sent us into hard lockdown for aeons.

The dumbfounding regulations that halted sales on random items of clothing, booze and tobacco products, among other items, had us tearing our hair out. And maaking ’n plan.

People started side hustles which, for many, became their livelihood or second income post-pandemic.

The economic calamity of people losing work, or taking pay cuts to keep their jobs and help businesses cling to life, and slashing their budgets is still being felt today.

A case in point: prime time television.

One of the first luxuries to be drastically downsized in our house was cable TV. Bye-bye to the latest series, much of the international news and other regulars. We had to keep the wi-fi for work, which we were lucky enough to do remotely. It was a bit slow, though, before fibre came in. The buffering was a drag.

The loss of some series caused near-physical pain. Bosch, with the brilliant Titus Welliver in the title role of LAPD detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch, was one of them.

Based on the books by Michael Connelly, the series is my all-time fave. I adore Harry. Read every book twice (at least). It’s a bit of an obsession.

Last week I decided I could die fulfilled because I posted a tweet about the latest book, Desert Star, and Mr Connelly (or at least a staff member or PR person) liked my tweet. Nothing left to achieve. So it was with a very sad heart I had to quit.

And then, the nightmare of load shedding.

But we have made a plan and millions of others appear to have done the same.

Among the hundreds of emails that cross my “desk” daily, this one caught my eye. Leslie Adams, sales director of video on demand platform Reach Africa, said drastic load shedding had knocked TV viewership down by about 34%. People are now, er, streaming to other devices to watch what they want, when they want it.

They’re all charged up, it seems, and finding the workaround.

It took me a couple of years, first because initial attempts were too slow and bumpy. The loading circle was frustrating enough to throw in the towel. But the lure of Bosch and fibre bossed me into the new age.

Now, I have watched every season twice, and am about to hit Bosch: Legacy season 1 for the second time while waiting for season 2 to drop.

The series has encouraged me to learn about jazz too, with a little help from my musically knowledgeable friend Frank. There’s a whole world out there of talent and history to catch up on. Score all round.

Now I just need to “maak ’n plan” to jam in the hours required to stream all the music and other stuff I missed.

Don’t call me, my ears are busy.