Month: January 2012

Telling moments


A mate of mine in church was back in Melbourne after his holidays in Malaysia and we caught up yesterday. He’s a politics buff so we spoke about it a bit.

Today’s an important day for Malaysian politics. The absolute farce that has been Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial (Mark II) has turned me off Malaysian politics completely and I have not been following it for a while now. The verdict is due out today and although his defence lawyer Karpal Singh remains confident of an acquittal many in Malaysia are expecting him to go to jail, again.

Najib Razak and his regime has been a putrid joke on Malaysia and the tragedy is that there is nothing in sight that would suggest Malaysia will be able to crawl out of this Aegean’s stable, anytime soon.

Anwar Ibrahim unfortunately, was part of the problem and his current mob was also from the old fold. Even is the next general elections in Malaysia brings about a new government, there is no real prospect for change for the better.

On the home front…

Tress took part of the arvo off on Friday to be at Docklands for her parents’ farewell dinner, on time. So when I got home she was already home. She was sitting on the couch with Kiddo.

I walked in and realised a bit of a momentous occasion was unfolding. I saw a letter from the UAC with an early offer for Kiddo to do the Philosophy Bachelor (PhB) course at the Australian National University. I was very happy for her but knew instantly that it would mean she would indeed leave home very soon.

Chances are she would also secure an offer to do the Arts/Law (BA/LLB) course in Monash University but it is very unlikely she would prefer this course to the ANU PhB one.
We have about 4 – 5 weeks to plan whatever she needs and then it would be just Tress and I here in Melbourne. I need to think about what I want to do with my time here…

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Sachin’s 100th


Tendulkar is looking good for his 100th 100…

What a Test Match this will turn out to be if the Little Master gets it.

image

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3-ton Clarke powers on


Some of us in the building have been nipping in and out of the kitchen, where there’s a television set, to catch the cricket.

Ponting and Clarke racing towards 100, Clarke racing first past 100, then 150, 200, 250, 300 and now aiming for records held by Don Bradman, Mark Taylor and Mattie Hayden.

It has been a great couple of days for Aussie cricket (although for United it has been a miserable week). 329 n. o. now… with Hussey on 150…

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Post and Pre


Kiddo has wanted to do a course at the ANU called the PhB. Philosophy Bachelor is like a junior PhD program and she wants to do it with an eye on an academic career of sorts.

Earlier this morning she found out that someone has received an early offer via email. The usual offers are made mid Jan – 18th in this case – but apparently the PhB program works differently to other courses in ANU.

I sincerely hope she is provided with the option to do this course. It would surely make her very happy.

Sometimes serendipity takes its course and what someone ends up doing with his life really is for the better and what he thought he had missed out on was really for a good reason. Many Christians would say it is providence or special favour and I have no doubt God is in control but it happens to all sorts of people so I guess it is perfectly ok to view the phenomenon as simply a fact of life. One only has to work and do the best he can.

Personally, I would have loved for her to do a course in Melbourne – possibly in Monash University – and continue to live at home with us. I know however that she wants this ANU program. I just hope she either gets an offer eventually. I don’t deal with setbacks too well it pains me to think she might also have to travel the same path. I hope she never has to experience the pain of such setbacks.

Many would not see the alternative of doing a course in Monash University as a setback, especially a BA/LLB. Many have worked hard but missed out on this opportunity. There are some amongst her peers however, who have created a de facto elitist environment which views a Monash University law course as something for the masses. The bourgeoisie of the ANU PhB mob can be negative that way.

It is my sincere hope that if she does end up doing the PhB course in ANU, it would not drag her down that path. I hope she gets the course but even more, I hope she would maintain or acquire a sense of equanimity about it all and be happy and grateful to be given an opportunity to pursue the career she wants and not wear any sense of superiority for opting for and travelling that path.

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Sporting Day


The English Premier League are on all 3 Fox Sports channels this morning, with Zman City v Liverpool the main feature. Pity I have an 8am meeting…

The Aus v India test will see Clarke and Ponting hoping to build a solid first innings lead however, so the day is sumptuous indeed…

Warhorse


The ploughing scene. Nicholls the cavalry officer reassuring young Albert. Joey showing his mate Tophorn the way with the harness. Joey charging up the slope to take Tophorn’s place to pull the huge gun, thus again saving Tophorn. The English and German soldiers coming together to free Joey from the mangled mess of barb wires. Emile’s grandfather giving Joey back to Albert, after realising from the flags, that Albert was indeed the original owner. These were just some of the more memorable scenes, all woven and carried by a wonderful score by – who else – John Williams and it looked beautiful. Whoever the cinematographer was, will surely be in the run for an Oscar. It was a great first movie to start the year.

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Early Days, Choppy Start


We’re into 2012 now. I had wanted to stay at home and do a barbie or something like that for new year’s eve, or just organise a dinner with some friends – at home.

I really did not want to be in a restaurant on that day, least of all a restaurant anywhere in the city. Tress’ cousin has a restaurant in Docklands, which they just opened a few months ago. Naturally the lives of that cousin, his family and his parents would revolve around that business so Tress’ parents’ visit sort of has that restaurant as a hub of sorts, around which their activities revolve. Including the New Year’s Eve event.

That there will be more than 500,000 people flocking into the city that night was something the cousin was going to have to deal with regardless, albeit happily so. I think my refusal to drive into the city on that night with septuagenarian passengers and wards was not very well received. Anyway, mark that down as another of my regrets, which are slowly mounting anyway. Perhaps my new year resolution should be to minimise regrets.

We ended up going to a restaurant – a Chinese one – and had an ordinary dinner, came home for a couple of hours, before driving to the airport to drop off Tress’ sister who was heading back to Malaysia ahead of the rest. I was a bit non-plus why we had to wait there – I was at the Macca’s parking lot for about an hour, getting in and out of ¼ hour parking spaces – I cannot remember the last time we had to wait at the airport for a drop off, when an adult able bodied passenger was travelling.

The heat and the waiting at the parking lot on a New Year’s Eve sort of got to me and I just got real quiet on the drive back home. Yet another regret, I guess.

New Year’s Day was Sunday so we trooped to church. It was a hot day, and the Dockland revellers of the night before weren’t going to be there. My father in law was the only one staying with us – he was uncomfortable staying with Tress’ uncle in Point Cook for a number of reasons – so he was in church with us.

Yesterday Tress drove her dad to Point Cook again. The mob was going to play mahjong at home all day, so Kiddo and I decided to just stay home. It was going to be a 40 degree day so we decided to go for a movie. Spielberg’s “Warhorse” was thoroughly enjoyable. The cycles of adversity and triumph and all the emotional in-filling through different countries and phases of the First World War could have been a cheesy tear-jerker but movie buff critiques notwithstanding, it was sheer pleasure for 2+ hours for me and Kiddo. Kiddo made the observation that it was an equine Forest Gump equivalent and I couldn’t agree more.

It has been a choppy and unsettling holiday period. The arrangement of Tress’ parents’ holiday is sort of messy and I have not handled it well. Sometimes episodes like this sort of reveal fault lines in relationships – give things a bit of a shake up to reveal the state of play. I’m not sure how this year will unfold.

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2011 in review


The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.