Note to self: Lemon and Cracked Pepper Tuna does not go with this quick noodle…

It was the first week back for Tress and we had both been at work the whole time, so when Friday arrived, we did our usual thing to just go into a quiet little spot for a “TGIF” feed. We went to Yaring Thai, the little hole-in-the-wall joint as the crow flies, and ate our hearts out, gorging on the delicious whole fried barra, massaman beef curry and a somtham salad.

On Saturday, we walked the little fellow, and then trekked into the city for a bit of a wander. We hadn’t been into the city (other than for the football at the MCG) for a little while now and when Tress said we should do something fun for that day, we decided to do lunch downtown. The trains at Blackburn were being replaced by buses so we detoured and headed to Syndal for the Glen line instead, and trekked into Flinders Street.

We ended up at the Roti Bar joint on LIttle Collins street. When we got there, a short queue had built up and while waiting to get a table, we saw how the place was just buzzing. The special of the day was a banana leaf spread. Back when we were in KL, my colleagues and I would do a weekly banana leaf lunch at Jalan Ampang (or it could have been Leboh Ampang). We’d feed ourselves crazy and it was known as “pukul mati” – loosely translated to say food coma I guess.

I had the banana leaf at Roti Bar, with a spiced yoghurt drink that was a bit out there. Tress had a roti and a teh tarik – safer options. The roti and the banana leaf were delicious. They were very generous with the curries and veges and we particularly enjoyed the fried bitter gourd. A minor case of food coma followed, and we then walked through various laneways in the city, including the always popular Degraves. It was good to see the city buzzing again. The beautiful autumn day must have helped. We walked towards the Alexandria Garden, past the Fed Square where a Buddhist celebration event was on. We then went into the NGV, before heading back to Flinders Station to get home.

We stopped at The Glen to pick up something from the butcher and the Asian grocer, before heading back to again walk the fellow at the oval. Later that night, we put our feet up and watched the Demons v Cats game. That trickled goal by Fritsch at the dead won it for the Demons, by just a goal. The two relative sitters that were missed by the usually brilliant and dependable Cameron, the champion Cats goal kicker, didn’t help…

At St Alf’s on Sunday, it was Peter’s closing chapter. Helen Petering presented him with the “seat of honour” and there were enthusiastic applause. He’d be missed when he leaves in a couple of weeks. After the service we headed to our usual lunch place at Donvale, and I felt it was a bit underwhelming. Maybe it was time to try a different place…

Back home, we walked the little fellow, did the usual Sunday cook (a pork rib congee) and then walked him again as I followed the Doggies v Hawks game on the footy app. The Doggies started in a blitz, kicking 3 quick goals and I thought “here we go again” but my dear Hawks showed fight. We ended up leading the Doggies for much of the game, ending with a 7 point win. What a win. Hard fought but so very satisfying. It was a Doggies home game at the Marvel at Docklands and I had said to Tress earlier, that we hadn’t been informed if it was a “replacement game” so we could watch it, but following it on the AFL app was nearly as good, given the win. It was great to hear the team song again.

The news on the domestic front has been bleak, with reports of fights, stabbings, and the likes. I have been on an escapade mode for a little while now, preferring to either not read or watch such news, or letting them quickly wash over me. It doesn’t take away the depressing effect. We live in ever messier times, with depravity mounting around us. My reading is through the Gospels now, with Luke telling us how Jesus went about righting wrongs around him. We said the Lord’s Prayer as always, at St Alf’s and as we did, I wondered if and how His will can be done on earth as in heaven again. How we need Jesus to right the mounting wrongs around us. Even as I live my little (cloistered, head in the sand?) life.

Tress came back late Saturday night. I was just chilling at home, and watching an absorbing film with Mark Ruffalo in it that is called “Dark Waters”. It is about the DuPont’s Teflon saga and how it affected the community of a town in West Virginia. It has made me wonder how and why and what now… Teflon, C-8, PFOA – all these man made chemicals are so pervasive, with unknown effects on our health, I wonder how is it that DuPont thought it was ok to have the masses consume this product. Mammon has a lot to do with it, obviously but what now? It may be easier to sweep it all under the carpet and let life go on, or is it?

Tress and I were on the train to the G yesterday arvo when I mentioned the film’s story to her. We kind of shrugged, recognising there was little we could do other than writing a mental note and becoming a touch more judicious in buying and using stuff.

The worries and pains that came with watching the appalling performance of the Hawks, were much more real. For the second consecutive home game, we witnessed an insipid and totally ineffective Hawks team. We were there to also, and maybe mainly, see Buddy Franklin do his thing at half time. We played the Sydney Swans yesterday and Buddy played for both clubs. He made his name at Hawthorn, with unbelievable and unforgettable performances. He then made hi millions at the Swans, where he kicked his 1000th goal. At half time, his best mate Jordan Lewis interviewed him and we had an almost front row seat. It was pretty special.

As was the rather emotional experience of watching and listening to the last pope and The Ode, followed by the National Anthem. I don’t remember the last time we were at an Anzac Day weekend game and it too was rather special.

After Buddy did his thing at half time, Tress and I decided to leave and come home. We had worried about the little fellow and wanted to come home to him quicker, and that terrible Hawks performance made it much easier to leave early.

We came home, fed and played with him, and then watched the first elimination episode of the Masterchef. Tress had missed the first few episode and it was good to watch a TV show with her at home again.

It has started to get a bit colder now. This morning as I went out for my run, it was about 4deg. I could feel the chill, especially on the legs, and wondered if I could persist with just running shorts for much longer.

It has been just over a week of me being all alone. Tress looked like she is having a great family time with her parents and brothers and their families. That has been wonderful to see.

Last Friday night, nothing much happened. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to have anything nice as we normally do on Friday nights, so I just picked a movie that was streaming, and munched on nuts. “The Lighthorsemen” was a coincidental choice – with Anzac Day around the corner. It was a slow going, old fashioned film but the Aussie ensemble was a fun experience. Numerous hitherto unknown actors (to me) proved such delight I wondered why I wasn’t watching more stuff with them in it. The only guy I could recognise was Gary Sweet and after the movie finished, I had to google the cast to find out more about them. “The Lighthorsemen” turned out to be quite topical not just because of Anzac Day either. The battle scene was in Beersheba and talk about how Gaza was also to a potential hotspot with the Germans/Turks made it all sound like it was quite current. Well, the charge of the Aussie mounted infantry to capture the German/Turk controlled Beersheba was a victory that is supposedly etched in Aussie military history. I should have known this better. Better late than never, it was a wonderful way to spend a quiet Friday evening at home.

On Saturday, I slept in a touch, walked that little fellow, then went around on some errands. I picked up a couple of toys nearby (from a FB page that gives stuff away for free). Tress had contacted that young mum who had wanted to part with a few items and I drove , as the crow flies, to that home in Blackburn for the pick up. I then went and picked up the mower from the mower shop on Springvale Road. They fixed the height adjusting locking pin for $44 – that saved me a bundle from having to explore other options, including picking up a new mower which can cost an arm and a leg these days. Just from browsing in that mower repair shop, I saw that mowers were starting at about $750…I was so grateful they could repair the locking lever instead.

I got home, did some clearing on the back eastern end of the garden and removed all the old and dying tomato plants and cleared up that little patch to put in some flowers instead. Tress thinks we should put in the hydrangeas we also have in the front yard and I thought that was a great idea. When I was done with all the work and tidying up, I got cleaned up and headed out for some lunch and grocery shopping, before coming back to walk the little fellow again. I also dropped into The Glen to pick up the HDMI splitter I bought from JB online. Only the outlet at The Glen had it so I had to get there, instead of that trusty FHC outlet I normally visit.

Later that night I searched for something else to watch and I landed on LA Confidential. It was such a treat and seeing another Aussie ensemble (Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and James Cromwell) along with that genius that is Kevin Spacey, was to revive that wonderful experience of a really good film. Kim Basinger was a bonus. It was also a wonderful way to spend a quiet Saturday evening at home.

At St Alf’s on Sunday, Shannon Hood preached and Peter lead the service. I wondered if that was going to be the last one Peter lead, before he finishes up mid May. Tress and I have booked ourselves in for a farewell dinner for him in a few weeks. After St Alfs’s, I went to that Chinese noodle and dumpling place at FHC, and had a wonderful bowl of “jiajiang” noodle. I had wanted to just go and get a ban mih at FHC but that shop (“Baowie”) looked empty with only 2-3 customers in there (read: quiet, no waiting) and sitting down to a bowl of noodle in a quiet spot sounded pretty good so there I was, slurping away at the mixture of shredded cucumber and carrots, minced pork and whole soy bead kernels, mixed into very nice noodles. I poured in some chilli oil and voila – super yum.

Later that arvo, I went into Bunnings and got a shower caddy to replace the one that had come off. Decent shower caddies are harder to come by now. I wondered if that’s because newer showers now have recessed space in the wall to house all those bottles of washing liquids. Back home, I got that caddy fixed, and also installed the HDMI splitter on my work desk (at home).

As I settled down to watch that mindless but entertaining “I’m a celebrity…” and exchanged messages with Tress who was having a wonderful dinner with her family in Klang, I realised how much I was missing her. It has been just over a week, and it’d be just under another week before this house welcomes a touch of warmth again…

As an Aussie, I’m bound to knock and mock the English, but just occasionally we should pay attention. During the same week as England banned puberty …

England’s Ban should lead to rethink in Australia

On Friday, Tress and I came back from a catch-up dinner with Nic and Jon in a Chinese joint as the crow flies, and after Nic and Jon left our home (they came back with us to chill for a bit, watching a bit of the Korean “Physical 100”), we snoozed a little bit.

Tress than woke me up just after 1am, and we left home a bit after 1.15am, to head out to Tulla. We got there just before 2am, parked and walked to the Air Asia counter, where the queues were starting to snake out. I could not believe that so many were happy to cop Air Asia’s disgraceful flight time. Taking off at 5am meant check ins at 2am, and yet many are happy to do this. I guess the alternative is just very unattractive. MAS (Malaysian Airlines) has been a bad experience for many for a long time. They also cost almost twice as much. So, unearthly hour notwithstanding, AA must have thought they could flog their customers because the competition is hopeless.

As we were the first half dozen or so customers at the bag drop off counters, it didn’t take us too long before Tress was able to complete her queuing. I said goodbye to her a short while later, and drove home, getting back close to 4am. I climbed into bed a short while later, before Tress even took off. The little guy kept sitting up, waiting to hear some noises to say Tress is at home too…

The next morning, after waking up around 9.30am, I had a quick brekky and then walked the little fellow. I had first thrown a load of clothes in for laundry, and when the little fellow and I got home, I put the laundry on the hills hoist before taking the mower to the mower shop to have the height adjuster lever looked at. The locking pin had sheared off and I was wondering if this was something that can be fixed, or I’d have to keep using my improvisation make-do/stop-gap (literally…) to keep using it. Thankfully, the young fellow at “Mower Power” said he could fix that, so I left the mower with them. I then got back, showered, and headed out to the FHC. Someone had agreed to take the Supernote A6X off me for a reasonble price. It has been a great note taker for me but the inability to work with One Note and other MS/Office tools make the switch to the iPad mini as a note taker, unavoidable for me. I had gotten the Mini 6 to replace the older one as apparently it is a much better tool for all sorts of work stuff.

At FHC, I met the buyer, completed the deal, dropped off an old winter coat at the Salvos, did some grocery shopping, had lunch and then came back home before taking the little guy out again for a walk at the oval. Tress had pinged me at 2pm, just as I was having my bite to eat, saying she had landed in KL. This was some 12 hours after I left her at Tulla, and did a whole morning’s errands. That sort of affirmed my aversion to overseas travel – all that hullabaloo surrounding transport transfers, immigration, customs, flight pains and time zones, all add up to make overseas travel an unnecessary pain – in most cases – that is to be avoided whenever possible. The consolation is the thought that Tress’ parents will get to spend a couple of weeks with her, and vice versa.

Getting the new iPad mini meant I got 3 months AppleTV free subscription, so I jumped on to catch Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon”. I then also caught Martin Scorcese’s “Killer of the Flower Moon”. These long movies were interspersed with that celebrity-in-the-jungle reality show and the Hawks’ awful awful show against Gold Coast (that ended up with a 0-5 season starter).

At St Alf’s I warded off the usual queries of “where’s Theresa” with a well rehearsed response. I didn’t do our usual lunch at Donvale, going instead to the FHC for a Vietnamese Banh Mi which was very good. I then went home, played with the little fellow for a bit, and then did the week’s cook. Then it was off to the oval again – all trying to keep to the usual routine that Tress and I kept. It just makes it easier to cope.

It’d be another 12 days before this lonely sojourn ends. At least it’s still only mid autumn, so it isn’t quite that cold yet. Makes it easier to be alone, albeit only for a while…

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Kiddo and Mic, along with little Abby, are away in Fiji. They are celebrating Kiddo’s 30th. I cannot believe this milestone is here. That’s life I guess, and it’s wonderful.

It has been a wet few days. Sydney had it worse so I’m grateful, not least because of all those extra drinks for the farms and gardens. We managed to do some housekeeping stuff on Saturday morning anyway so that was comforting. After sleeping in a touch, we walked the little fellow for a bit before I started to do some sections of the James Sterling as well as do some edging along the new wooden bits that were laid recently. When I was finishing with the mowing however, the mower’s lever lock that keeps the blades in a certain height, gave way. The pin that locks into the holes appear to have been shared away. I rummaged through some boxes in the shed and found something to hold the elevation at the height I wanted. It kept slipping off but I managed to wrangle it into position long enough to finish the job. The mower needs to go into a repair shop again or I’d have to look for a new mower. This is frustrating as I had just replaced the pole trimmer, but I guess this is what happens to tools after nearly 20 years…

Thankfully, the Dyson that Tress worked on inside the house while I nursed my frustration outside with the gardening tools, help up and the house was fresh and clean when I came back in close to 2pm.

The night before, Tress and I went to the Lebanese place on the top floor of the FHC. It’s the last of the Mohicans – the sole surviving joint of all the food businesses on that floor of the FHC that is christened “The Lodge”. We enjoyed the delicious Lebanese fare, soaked in the busy atmosphere, and had a doggy bag of leftovers when we came home for the Gather Round of the footy.

At St Alf’s on Sunday, I was a bit flat. This church thing – God in general – sometimes feels like a mechanical routine. Him being God and real can feel very head-knowledge, with little to no impact on my emotions and those more tangible senses. I know our emotions and need for the senses can fluctuate so I just went along, knowing the ebb itself will ebb. Hopefully.

Peter spoke about 2 Cor 9 – money – not a common topic for sermons in Anglican circles. The Youth Minister, while giving the Kids Talk, made the point that we don’t skip over difficult or uncomfortable parts of the scriptures, hence the topic for that morning. I guess that helped in more ways than one, as I too, said to myself I can’t just skip over those flat and “is this all real/relevant” emotions. Maybe I need to ask myself if there were underlying reasons why they creep in every now and then.

After St Alf’s we went to Donvale again, then came back to walk the little fellow before the rains came back. I then put the week’s cook into a slow cooker, Tress cooked some long cook red rice, and we headed to The Glen for a bit of window shopping. Tress will be heading to Klang soon and we wanted to see if there were anything we can/wanted to to get for her trip.

We came back just a bit after 4pm, took the little fellow to the oval, and then came back home to pack away the cooked food. As I was cleaning up after, I thought about how flat I will continue to feel, particularly when Tress goes away. I need to deal with that a bit more in the next few days.

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Kiddo will hit a milestone birthday soon. I got her an RM Williams voucher and suggested she got those iconic boots. Those boots are so iconic that Aussie PMs wore them when they see US Presidents in the White House, so there you go… She received the voucher and they went shopping, and did pick up those boots. I hope she likes them and will cherish them in the years ahead.