I think there are too many activities in ICC. In as much as I appreciate being busy – keeps me from mischief and lets me feel good – I just can’t see the recent activities helping anyone in particular. It is almost we are just keeping ourselves busy for our own good.

On Sunday morning as we drove to church in a glorious sunny and cool morning, I mentioned to Tress that if we weren’t church goers I would just as soon pack up for a drive somewhere. It could be to the beach, to the wine region, or even to nowhere in particular. It would be great to simply enjoy the great outdoors.

We’re Christians, so going to church is a duty so instead of heading out to the great outdoors on a gorgeous day, we head for church. Relatively speaking, it is an old, drab building with poor lighting and it is certainly not a very warm building. It is bad enough to be indoors on a day like Sunday, it was much worse to be in a building that ICC is. But at least we were fulfilling a religious duty so there was a reason to forego pleasant, wholesome activities. We were “giving to Caesar…”

On Saturday however I wasn’t so sure. There was a “Missions Training”. It went on for over 3 hours. It was supposed to be for just 3 hours but true to form, it started late, it dragged on and by the time it was done it was almost 1pm. It was scheduled to start at 9.30am. To get there in time but to also make breakfast for kiddo and ourselves and drop the dry cleaning off before that, there was just no sense of being at rest for a weekend. It was rush-rush-rush, only to arrive just a couple of minutes after 9.30am and wait around for others to show up. It started close to 10am. At the end of the session, I made some noises, and was the first to rush out of church, feeling befuddled at our choice of weekend activities.

Kiddo had a class at 1.15pm. After dropping her we went to do some quick shopping, to avoid going back and forth between her class and our home. We had to pick up some stuff to cook for a dinner party that night at a mate’s home.

I think the worst part of it all was that activities like that don’t benefit anyone except ourselves and for those who aren’t going for any mission trip and have heard stuff like that a number of times before it was all just pointless. Maybe it helped the organiser and the speaker by avoiding a miniscule turnout and if that was the case, then perhaps it was just a tad too high a price to pay for that kind of return. I was there mostly because I felt obliged to. I think I wouldn’t feel that way anymore and would only show up when I absolutely have to.

There was always something on. The previous Saturday the stage in church needed fixing. The Saturday before that there was a “wider leadership” meeting. Next Saturday there would be a Board Meeting. And, for each of those Saturdays, there would always a late Friday night preceding – one where Tress and I would rush home after work to prepare the home, fix dinner for kiddo and then send her for her youth meeting, then attend to others’ needs. Frankly, I don’t enjoy Friday night cell groups. It feels like work. I can’t wait for it to finish, send one of the members home some 30 minutes away and get back home to hit the sauce and then the sack.

Maybe Tress and I are just tired. And we cant get away on a long weekend like the Easter weekend coming up, because Kiddo was rostered to play the keyboard. We cant talk her out of it once she is rostered.

The thought of next weekend is itself tiring. Apart from the Board meeting it is my mate’s turn to host a senior citizens’ lunch. He had asked me to co-host this with him and I had agreed a few weeks ago. So the only time I have is Saturday morning, likely to be completely filled up with house cleaning and like chores.

The following weekend is the long Easter Weekend. I just hope to have a little breather then.

Last Friday I rushed out of the office to get home as early as I could. Kiddo was going to play the keyboard for the pre-bible study worship and she had to get to church by 7pm.

I got home on time, and after dropping her off, Tress and I went for dinner at the Proud Peacock in Glen Waverley. Kiddo had been fed the teenage staple of Hungry Jacks earlier – Tress stopped to get “something healthy” from there on way home.

We went back to church just a bit after 8pm. I was coming down with a slight headache which came about from an unhappy Regional HR head just before I left office. That has since been resolved of course but at that time it sat uncomfortably with me. I thought he was just shooting the messenger when he had a go at me. Sometimes I wonder if I should challenge the message I am asked to deliver, if I half suspect I was going to be shot for delivering it. Maybe not.

Anyway the headache subsided in the course of the evening and thankfully it ended not too late. We had to drop someone off on the way home but again thankfully, that was only a short distance away from the church. We got home in pretty good time, to catch an old flick.

Kurt Russell in Executive Decision was a perfect tonic for a mindless escapade and Tress and I settled down in the couch to enjoy it. We didn’t finish it though, as the totally predictable outcome didn’t have enough to keep us out of bed.

After Tress put in a full load of laundry the next morning, she and I went to our usual coffee place. After that Tress went home to tidy up the garden and I went to church to do some work to fix the stage we had helped build a few weeks ago. The new parts of the stage needed some levelling work. Tim showed me what needed to be done, and a bit after that Brian showed up and the 3 of us got started. Tim had to go and once we settled down and sort of knew what to do, he left. I found out later that he had his own engagement party to prepare for. Poor guy – he didn’t even get a congratulatory handshake from me! Anyway a little while later David showed up and all 3 of us buckled down to get the work done.

We finished in the early part of the arvo and I went home to do some vacuuming. Meantime Tress dropped kiddo off for her class. After I finished at home we picked her up and went to do some grocery shopping. We came back home, Tress warmed up some fried rice and we settled down for that. I had to do some preparation for the communion, so I went into the study for a while. When all of that was done we settled down to just have a chat, dinner and television. I used the fried rice Tress cooked to be wrapped up in a thin omelette and kiddo enjoyed that.

We watched tele and played cards for the rest of the evening.

After church on Sunday, a few families went to the new house of David and LL. They bought a tenanted property and the tenants recently moved out and they just got the keys. We all went to offer our unsolicited opinions on how to renovate the place and after about an hour busying ourselves there Jason prayed (yes, a “house blessing”). We then adjourned to Sofia’s in Wheelers Hill – there were maybe 20 of us so that spacious, cheap and quick restaurant seemed the logical choice. Alex and I had couple of Crownies. We left after 3 and Tress and I went for some grocery shopping again to cook dinner.

I fried some noodles, froze less than half of it, refrigerated less than half, and Tress divvied up the remainder between lunch at work the next day (for her) and a little bowl for a small bite. Kiddo and I weren’t hungry and I had been sipping Chinese tea (West Lake brew) while cooking and didn’t feel like eating.

A bit after 6 we went out for a good walk, first in the cricket oval and then just around the neighbourhood. The weather had become cooler and it was a great walk.

We came back, watched 60 minutes while I made my own lunch after which Kiddo watched “So you think you can dance”. We went to bed early – just before 10 and that did heaps of good for me this morning. My 7.7km was relatively breezy and I have not felt this comfortable for a 40 minute run (with 5 mins cool down) at this pace for a long time now. I hope it wouldn’t be too long before I get back in the groove of doing my regular 45 minute runs getting in 8k without the cooling down minutes. When that happens, I can seriously work at eating less and reduce weight.

About mid morning today, our boss called us in to her room for a bit of an update. This has been happening quite a bit recently so it was not big matter. After all, AIG continues to be a lightning rod for unpleasant events and I thought this would be another briefing or update session to let us know the latest initiatives from the region.

It wasn’t to be.

Our managing director has resigned and moved on to a higher role with a competitor. SH would be missed by many. His has been a positive, calming and when necessary, forceful voice which often steadies but drives at the same time. In these turbulent times for the company, he has been the near perfect captain. Not to mention the ice creams and cold drinks on very hot summer days.

I think everyone in the company would miss him. Certainly everyone in the Legal Department will.

That wasn’t the only shattering event for the today. About 4.30 this arvo we felt a tremor and it turned out we had another earthquake here in Melbourne. I think this time the epicentre is probably a lot closer to the city as we all felt it in the office and Tress called to say she felt it too and she was in the CBD. Kiddo felt it at home too. It was a bit frightening. Someone in office jumped on the web and found out it was 4.6 on the Richter scale.

Work continues to be taking up the bulk of our (Tress and I) time and energy. On most days, we come home drained. Tress has had to pick up the dinner duties and she also does some laundry as well, especially if the weekend has been a wet one, as was the last one.

I really want to crash out early on most weeknights to unless it is a good day and I get home by 7, I have at best, 2 hours a night after work of which I have to spend about 45 minutes getting ready for the next day (pack lunch, get stuff ready). The little time I have is spent either on preparing some church stuff or catching up on happenings via facebook or watching the tele. Often I’d do all 3, alternating from one activity to another.

Last Saturday was glorious. It rained all day. On Sunday it continued to rain intermittently and later that evening as I stood at the lounge room and looked out the window at the parks across the road, it was enlivening to see slightly luscious shades of green. Our lawns too have taken on a healthier green compared to a month or so ago, when the drought browned out the landscape.

She is still hovering and poking at general references without addressing the specifics, much like what Najib her husband has done. Human being? So was Hitler and Mao. What counts is what sort of human being one is and how she is viewed and perceived by the public. So many Malaysians surely cant ALL be wrong.

Following is the story from Malaysiakini last night

Rosmah: I’m a human being too

Mar 15, 09 7:37pm

Malaysia’s next first lady Rosmah Mansor has said she was “shocked” by attacks from political opponents who have attempted to link her and her husband to a sensational murder. But the wife of deputy premier Najib Razak, who is to be installed as prime minister later this month, dismissed suggestions the accusations could overshadow his premiership and said the experience had made them stronger. “When I heard these unpleasant things it shocked me, I can’t imagine that somebody like that could exist on this earth and not feel guilty about making other people’s lives miserable,” she told AFP in a recent interview. “But as far as I’m concerned, I’m not affected by all this because I know they will do anything to stop my husband from being (leader), and they chose the wrong way.” Najib was last year forced to deny having an affair with 28-year-old Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was murdered in 2006. Her remains were blown up with military-grade explosives in a jungle clearing. The deputy premier’s close adviser, who admitted having a relationship with the woman, was charged with abetting the murder but was later acquitted. Two policemen from an elite unit that guards the prime minister and deputy prime minister are accused of carrying out the grisly slaying and are currently on trial. Rosmah, who was herself linked to the crime by a prominent blogger who was slapped with sedition and defamation charges over the allegations, said the furore was part and parcel of political life. “If they cannot get my husband, they get me, if they cannot get me they even go to the children… they will resort to anything at all,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter, it makes us much wiser, it makes us much stronger, closer as a family, and more mature.” “What’s important is your conscience, that when you wake up in the morning and you look in the mirror, are you able to look at yourself and love yourself, and ask yourself whether you’ve done the right thing.” Reputation of being formidable The new first lady, who has a reputation for being formidable and outspoken and is a subject of fascination for many Malaysians, portrayed her relationship with her husband as close and affectionate. In a country where the mainstream media is tightly controlled, and where news websites and blogs are a popular source of information, she is one of Malaysia’s most-discussed identities. “Like it or not, when you are the wife of a prominent leader, you will be watched, talked about, assessed and analysed all the time. But they fail to realise I am also a human being,” she said. Political analysts have said that Najib, who the opposition has also accused of corruption over massive military purchases, could be burdened by the Altantuya saga and that there should be an official probe to clear the air. As part of the effort, Rosmah has given interviews to the media in recent days.

So now the BN wants to destroy the fledgling true democratic movement by having a go at the “pokok demokrasi”. This sounds extremely like the Communist Party of China in the 50’s. Well done, UMNO and BN. UMNO and BN is now no different to the Communist Party of China in the 50’s. Good progress, UMNO and BN.

We attended a wedding on 8 Mar (Sunday). Tress’ cousin Adrian finally married Rachel, his long time partner. Kiddo didn’t want to go. In a previous wedding, she didn’t enjoy herself. The food (a kiddies menu different to everyone else’s) was totally forgettable and it was a night planned for adults. So this time around she got a few of her friends together for a sleepover. After all, the next day was a public holiday in Melbourne.

 

Tress and I left home about a quarter to 3 that afternoon and drove to the St Mary of the Seas church in West Melbourne. It was a beautiful church – much warmer than St Patrick’s in East Melbourne, with gorgeous lighting. After the wedding service and the usual photo taking we drove the couple of kilometers south of the city to the Crown for the dinner reception.

 

Tress’ cousin and his partner flew in from Malaysia for the wedding and we gave them a lift from the church to the Crown. It actually turned out to be a favour to us because they were staying at the Crown so enjoyed special free valet service. That removed our parking problems. With drinks starting at 6pm we didn’t have much time to kill.

 

A bit into the drinks just before dinner, as I was finishing my beer and starting on my first glass of red for the night, we were asked if we could provide transport back to the eastern suburbs after the dinner – namely Mt Waverly.  That put paid to my drinks so that glass of red was the last for the evening and I drank mainly water after that.

 

The dinner finished a bit after 12am, and by the time we organized transport, given someone a lift etc, we got home just before 2am. Kiddo and her friends were sprawled on the sofa and in the study, watching movies and playing computer games. The whole house was filled with teenage pastime paraphernalia. Tress and I just changed and went to sleep. Or tried to – activities in the house didn’t wind down till don’t know when.

 

We slept in the next day and didn’t crawl out of bed till after 9. After a quick brekkie I vacuumed and tidied up the place, finishing only close to 1pm. We went yum cha after that, with our friends David and Lee Leng and of course kiddo and her sleepy friends.

 

Later that arvo kiddo played tennis with those previously sleepy friends, after which she went to their house. When we went to pick her up, we were asked by this very generous, always cooking family to join them for a “simple meal”. That simple meal comprised of maybe 4 dishes, and chicken soup, finished with red bean soup. This family knows no bounds when it comes to cooking and eating.

 

We went home later that night filled and contented. It was a very good weekend.

 

In the midst of all these merry making (wedding, sleepover, yum cha and dinner with friends) we are constantly reminded about the turmoil around us, financially as well as from Mother Nature. I like to quickly scan through the Business Spectator page (http://www.businessspectator.com.au) and in recent months, the prevailing news has been negative and gloomy.

 

After months of reading lay off news abroad, local companies have begun the cull. Pacific Brand, the company owning popular brands like Hole Proof and Bonds, have been the most unpopular one and bear the brunt of public discontent. Scores of companies have also discarded more employees. This morning NAB said it was going to shed hundreds of jobs. A couple of days ago an old friend from Sydney emailed saying his wife lost her job. They are really moving closer to home now.

 

This new gym is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I feel fantastic about the extra time I have. I have been able to get back to 45 minute runs and am slowly inching toward a 8k mark in that time. All this extra weight I managed to pile on has made it all the more tricky, but like the black man in the white house says, Yes I can. I have also managed to sneak in a couple of 50min ones sneaking in just under 9k so I think I can just about get back to business soon. I hope.
On the other hand, to take a stab at ensuring I keep my working hours nice and early, I have stuck to the same start time in the gym. This means I have to catch the 5.30 every morning I’m in the gym. Guess what time I have to crawl out of bed to make that train…
It has been about a month now and I am still feeling the effects of it. I guess I really have to hit the sack before 10pm.
So on most days by the time it draws close to 6pm, I feel like my tank is really drying out and I cant go on. And, on Fridays, I really feel zonked out. Like now. Just before 6pm on a Friday. I am so gone. Hence this piece. Thank God for the long weekend ahead (Labour Day)

This new gym is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I feel fantastic about the extra time I have. I have been able to get back to 45 minute runs and am slowly inching toward a 8k mark in that time. All this extra weight I managed to pile on has made it all the more tricky, but like the black man in the white house says, Yes I can. I have also managed to sneak in a couple of 50min ones sneaking in just under 9k so I think I can just about get back to business soon. I hope.
On the other hand, to take a stab at ensuring I keep my working hours nice and early, I have stuck to the same start time in the gym. This means I have to catch the 5.30 every morning I’m in the gym. Guess what time I have to crawl out of bed to make that train…
It has been about a month now and I am still feeling the effects of it. I guess I really have to hit the sack before 10pm.
So on most days by the time it draws close to 6pm, I feel like my tank is really drying out and I cant go on. And, on Fridays, I really feel zonked out. Like now. Just before 6pm on a Friday. I am so gone. Hence this piece. Thank God for the long weekend ahead (Labour Day)

Tress and I took a little walk around our neighbourhood afterdinner tonight. The drought in Melbourne has really started to show all over. The park in front of our home has browned out, with large tracts of dead grass. It is sad. It is ugly. When would this drought be over?