I recently started work with a state statutory authority as a solicitor. It is unlike any other legal work I had ever undertaken. The Melbourne Market Authority manages the wholesale produce trade and is landlord to thousands of produce growers and wholesalers trading at the Melbourne Markets, on Footscray Road in West Melbourne. It is about 30 km from our home if I use the Monash Freeway, and about 40 km if I use the Eastern Freeway. Time wise, it is about 30 minutes on the Monash and about 45 minutes on the Eastern. I guess where commuting to work is concerned, I’m back to my old ways. I used to drive 25-30 minutes on the Federal Highway from our home in Klang to my office in KL (a distance of also 30km). I take 45-60 minutes on the Plus Highway (a distance of 40km). The difference here is that if I used the shorter and quicker route I pay toll whereas in Malaysia the shorter route took longer and I pay toll either way, but cheaper on the shorter-but-takes-longer route.
In many ways, Melburnians drive very differently from Malaysians. In at least one particular aspect however, both are infuriatingly similar. Both tend to slow down to watch if there’s an accident. This morning, soon after hitting the Monash from Blackburn Road, traffic snarled along at approximately 60km per hour. It was only after Warrigal that it zipped along at the limit of 100km per hour. The reason? A motorcycle appeared to have skidded and was on a roadside with a few other pesons. The “jam” built up for no other reason than that most drivers slowed down to look! Déjà vu…just like KL! The saving grace is that in relatively congested conditions, motorists here take their time, do not zip in and out of lanes as much as in KL and don’t squeeze in front of you whenever you blink and leave anything more than 2 feet between your car and the car in front of you.
Of course, radio here is much more entertaining than in KL, so the drive here is also more pleasant for that reason. My favourite is Ross Stevenson and John Byrnes on 3AW. Quick and sharp-as-nail wit with very finely struck level of irreverence, there is nothing like it in Malaysia. This morning, at various parts of the show, they played back recordings of John Howard’s laughs. They termed the different levels of laughs as “mildly amused”, “beside himself” and the most extreme version, which was just a little chuckle but by John Howard’s standards was a ROTFLOL laugh, was termed “when John Howard wet his pants”. Can you imagine someone saying something remotely like that on Malaysian radio? He would be taken off the airwaves and micro-waved so fast you’d blink and he would be gone. Driving back is slightly different as Darren Hinch would be on 3AW and quite often, he’s a bit of a pain (in my opinion). There’s a lady on ABC Radio (774) whichI forget – Terri something, maybe. She’s often a better alternative. Actually ABC Radio 774 is a good alternative in the morning as well. “Red” Simmons is monotonous but he’s a fine example of how you can be funny and monotonous at the same time. Anyway, back to the homeward drive – if Darren gets to me and Terri is aimless, I turn to a music channel on FM and Vega is great. Like the ad says: This channel does not play “Doop-Doop Doop-Doop” music. It plays real music. Anyway, quite frankly, I don’t care what I listen to when I’m driving home. My mind is always on spending time with Kiddo and Theresa again after a day’s work and that is always a stress reliever.
“So, I commend the enjoyment of life.” (From the Bible – really. Eccl 8:15)
Ante 