Grand Final Week.

Notwithstanding the social norms surrounding the looming “One Day In September“, there’s this to contend with. And so what some term WWIII commenced, with aerial attacks by US and its allies, on the Islamic rogues in Syria and Iraq. Some argue it is necessary military action. Some warn against the danger. Whether inaction is equivalent to appeasement in the days leading up to Nazi Germany’s WWII is something to be seen I guess. The atrocities committed by these Islamic rogues certainly seem to be driven by the same agenda of self aggrandizement albeit based religious instead of racial grounds and the systematically dealing of others unlike the perpetrators.

Then there’s the announcement by the management today, that the company has been sold. The new owners may or may not re-employ everyone, according to an FAQ issued by management. The art of corporate speak – saying nothing with a lot of words – is as infuriating as political talk. What can they do I guess.

Internal and external turmoil and the uncertainties they bring… such is life, so said Ned Kelly…

Climbing up the stairs from the underbellies of the Parliament station this morning, it was great to be greeted with light. The days are starting earlier now. It makes such a difference to once’s state of mind. The photo on the left was taken a few days earlier, the one on the right was taken this morning.

Not that I needed a positive state of mind. The weekend we just had has provided ample ammunition for that.

Tress and I got busy on Sat morning. After brekky at home we shopped quickly and then returned to cook the week’s soup dinners. With 3 dinners done and ready for the freezer, we headed to Madam K’s before coming home again for some gardening. All done at a frantic pace. We wanted these chores out of the way before we headed into the city.

Just before 4pm, he got into the G to soak in the pre-match atmosphere. The second prelim final between the Hawks and Power was about to get under way and we were seated in a section which was sandwiched between 2 Power fan infested sections. They were loud and well organised. We got walloped early on, and they ran us around in the first quarter. We edged them in the second quarter to go into half time with a 10 point lead but steamed ahead at the 3rd. It was the 4th quarter however which gave many of us near heart attacks. In the last 10 mins or so they kicked 4 goals to edge towards a near Hawks elimination but we held on (thanks to a brilliant Hodgey smother) to earn a 3rd consecutive Grand Final.

It was a happy train ride home from Richmond and we got home to again watch the game on tele – and realised what sort of drama the last few minutes provided. Being in situ was priceless however and I’d do it all over again in a heart beat. GF tickets would be hard to come by however…

After church on Sunday, it was lunch at MK’s again before we headed into the city again, but for a very different sort of entertainment. Les Miserables provided culture on the other side of the spectrum which this wonderful city offers (although geographically both the G and Her Majesty’s Theater are on the east). It was a brilliant display of a different genre altogether. It was mesmerising all the same and I was transfixed for the entire duration – all 3 hours of it.

We got home around 7, and settled down for another week at work. It is Grand Final week however… United’s overnight capitulation (losing 3-5 to Leicester City) was hard to take but I’ve had a wonderful weekend to amply cushion that pain. I’m sure Van Gaal will take us out of the underbellies of this transition into a new dawn before too long. Short dark days dont last forever. Neither do long light days granted, but it’s good to know light will almost always return.

I walked the little fellow around 6.30 last night and there was still light.
This morning as I got off the Parliament station and walked towards the gym I again noticed the day has started to break.
Warmer and longer days are approaching. Yay. ..

We watched both semifinal matches on the plush (but kind of old) couch in the B&B on Logan’s Beach in Warrnambool. They were very good games and the weekend was wonderful.

We left home early on Friday morning and drove through rush hour traffic to get on to the Princess Highway, headed out of town towards first Geelong and then Lorne. We had coffee and a quick brekky in Lorne, walked around the town for a bit and then pushed on along the coast past Apollo Bay and then stopped at Port Campbell, having taken the long way around the Otway National Park.

The 12 Apostles were as magnificent as when we first saw them, maybe in 2005. We had Kiddo with us that time. This time we had with us, the little black jedi instead. It would have been brilliant to have Kiddo with us again as well but he’d have to do for now.

After Port Campbell we pushed along and headed to Warrnambool, stopping only at the Loch Arc Gorge.

We got there around 3pm, checked into our B&B and then went into town to get some money, before heading back to our B&B which was right next to Logan’s Beach whale viewing platform. It was only about 100m walk for us. That evening we had dinner in town, at the Logan Café and Restaurant. Then it was back to watch the first game, when the Roos overcame the Cats – first upset of the semi finals.

The next day after a quick brekky at “home” we headed out to the platforms. I took the little fellow for a walk along the beach, then went up to the platforms to try and catch some whale sightings. We were there for a couple of hours but saw nothing despite some reported sightings.

At noon we headed into town, had some coffee and then drove around, stopping first at the Fletcher Jones building which has been turned into an odds and ends shop, selling memorabilia’s from all angles. We then went to the Proudfoots Historical Boathouse and had a late lunch there. The ambience was wonderful. The food was again good and the environment was lively.

After lunch we drove up to Richie’s Point, then went back to get the little fellow and drove across town to the Breakwater Walls and walked through the Promenade on the foreshores. We stopped by the viewing platforms again to see if anything was sighted but were not in luck. Back home, we caught the second semi-finals, which was another exciting game of footy. This time, Port came back to overhaul a big Fremantle lead and won the game. The Hawks await them at The G on Saturday arvo. I got the tickets and can’t wait.

The next morning, after another quick brekky at home we packed up to leave. Just before pushing off however we went to the viewing platforms again. This time we were in luck. We caught sight of the baby which was only less than a week old, having been born just 3-4 days before we got there on Friday. Satisfied, we left and headed back to Melbourne, reaching in time to get to Madam Kwong’s just before they closed.

When we got home we quickly did some shopping before going to cook (soup again), wash (Tress did the laundry) and get ready for the working week again.

We took quite a few photos and in one of them, I had felt really good. The weather was great, the sights gorgeous and we were really relaxed. I thought, not for the first nor last time, how I missed kiddo. We’ve had a number of good excursions into different parts of Victoria this year.

In January after dropping Kiddo off in Sydney we drove down the coast to Gippsland and stayed a the Lakes Entrance. In March we spent a weekend in Dromana in Mornington and in April we drove to the high countries and stayed at Bright. We went to Singapore in July and in August we spent a weekend in Flowerdale near Strath Creek. Then it was the Great Ocean Road and Warrnambool this past weekend. Each trip was special because the geography, food, air and season were all different. The constant was Tress. The constant missing peg was Kiddo, but ironically it is precisely because with her away I felt the need to spend more time with Tress and wanted to see more of Victoria with her. It would have been so much better to have had Kiddo with us, although I know her time now is in the far east, in such different surroundings. I want to see even more of Victoria but hopefully when we make the next trip, I’d have one added constant.

My lunch time walk has been interrupted by all sorts of events lately. This arvo it’s the very strong winds blowing since last night. September is proving to be indeed the windiest month for Melbourne…

The legal team has had a few lunches in a laksa place about a block away from the office. Earlier last week someone suggested another visit for Friday. I suggested a ramen place instead. I had stumbled onto Fukuryu Ramen in Chinatown several weeks ago and liked it. The team had a go and really liked it too so my taste isn’t too far off the mark then. Good to know.

A couple of them had the large bowl and were absolutely stuffed so the arvo was a bit slow. Just after 4 the boss suggested drinks and so at about 4.30 we adjourned to “The Fringe” at the northern end of Madam Brussel Lane and finished the working week there.

I later came back to the office, to wait for Tress who was making her way back to the city. We were heading to the MCG for the big game to kick off footy finals. Hawks v Geelong is always a highlight but a place in the preliminary final with all the advantages it offers, was high stakes footy. I had gotten the tickets pretty early and had been looking forward to the game all week.

Hawks won, the walk to Richmond Station and platforms 9&10 were shoulder to shoulder and when we got home just after 11pm it felt like a ripper weekend had well and truly started.

Next morning Tress and I tried out a new joint on South Parade in Blackburn. Urban Zinc is a keeper and we would likely return whenever we felt like a treat on a Saturday morning. After brekky we went back home and I worked the garden, Tress vacuumed and did other errands and Scruff had the groomer visit. The day was so gorgeous I didn’t want to come into the house.

Our lemon tree stopped fruiting about a year ago and I had slowly pruned the tree back. We’ve now decided to get rid of it so on Saturday I started on the larger branches. The old tree had thick branches and trunks and the pruning saw felt inadequate but we don’t have many trees so investing in a chainsaw felt a bit over the top. It was a really nice day anyway – sunny, about 20deg – so I worked away slowly. It was well past 1pm when Tress reminded me we had to start getting ready to be at Gerry and Jesslyn’s place for the birthday party of their younger daughter.

After Sheryl’s party we came home and walked Scruff before catching up with the Hippos again, together with the Chews. They wanted dinner so we caught up at Pancake Parlour – a joint all of us haven’t been to for the longest time. We came home and saw North Melbourne overturn a big deficit to defeat Essendon. Sydney had won earlier, leaving Fremantle to battle it out with North next week. The Tigers got mauled by the Powers last night and so Geelong would meet Port Adelaide. Or maybe I got the cross over wrong…

So no footy for us this weekend – we’d be heading to Warrnambool.

Sunday at church we had Stephen and Ruth Devenish give a quick introduction to the work they would do in Thailand next year. Ruth worked in the same building as me when I was at Steer but we didn’t talk very much but I knew she had wanted to do work in Thailand, where she grew up. Tress and I talked about helping them in our tiny way so we’ll see how that pans out.

After church we headed to Madam Kwong and after lunch we did some grocery shopping but this time in the Burwood One location. I had wanted to look for a new dry cleaner as our regular dry cleaner had been sold to a Chinese owner who was rather unpleasant to deal with. I might still return to them – maybe give them a second chance…

We then walked the little fellow again – the day was as good as the day before and it was far too gorgeous to just stay at home. When we finally got home and stayed home, I did my usual weekend cooking but Tress couldn’t resist going outside again to potter around the front garden.

We ended the weekend with a DVD Tress borrowed from the new public library in Docklands. “True Grit” with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon turned out to be thoroughly enjoyable. The main character was a 14 year old girl, played so very effectively by someone whose name I need to find out. It was a wonderful movie. The end credits explained why – the Coen brothers made it, with Steven Spielberg as the Executive Producer.

It was raining when I headed out for my usual lunch hour walk. It was a little strange perhaps, for a first day of spring. The rain made the walk a short-burst sort of a walk. It was a bit of a contrast with the moods over the weekend. Friday night we had dinner at the HD Café with Jason and Mel, where we whiled the evening away with good conversations. Likewise on Saturday night there was no sense of rush as we spent the evening at Pat Sie and Joo Kuan’s home, catching up with a bunch of ex-OCFers (from Sydney). Ken and Jenny were visiting from Canberra and also there were Ing Tung and Chin Moi, Margaret Ruhl, Chui Boon and Catherine. We lingered the night away in reminiscence and also updating each other on what our kids were up to, occasionally comparing our respective tragedies that are out mid-drifts. There wasn’t any sense of rush. Unlike my walk.

Then on Sunday night we caught up with Caleb my cousin from Sydney, who came down for a work conference. Dinner in the New Shanghai at the Emporium, followed by a walk along the Yarra outside the Crown. No rush, unlike my walk.

The shortened and rushed walk covered only a couple of blocks and lasted only 10 or so minutes. In that very short window, I walked past 2 homeless men. Both were sleeping. Curled up in nooks between buildings, seeking a cleft to hide from the wind and rain. It wasn’t cold but that was me. They looked cold. At HD Café sipping alternately between a Rose and a Shiraz, I wasn’t cold. Unlike those men. In the dining room in that large house on Saturday night the warm company kept any trace of cold well away. The atmosphere was very warm. I doubt those two men experienced any such warmth.

The food. All of it. That was the only thing wrong with it. There was too much. HD Café, Pat Sie’s home and last night at New Shanghai. We had to tread carefully and not eat too much. I don’t think either of those two men were starving but abundance of food wasn’t a problem they had to deal with.

The company. The sense of belonging in a community of sorts. Friends or you can call on to have a chat. To check out how they’re doing. To keep them in prayers. The company which makes you feel in some ways, purposeful or meaningful. That’s probably the biggest hitting issue against those 2 men. I wanted to stop and alleviate that a little bit. They were asleep. They looked like they had wanted to shut the world out. I don’t know what they want or need.

A couple of blocks, a couple of homeless men. I notice them more these days.

Earlier last week Tress and I decided to catch up with relos. So I sent A Hooi and U Seng a text message to see if they could do dinner. They could and we caught up on Friday night. We met up in Jazz Ria in Balwyn (second Friday in a row) and had dinner and talked till closing time. I decided to shout – we have been recipients of their generosity over the years and we haven’t really reciprocated very much. Almost every year at Christmas time, there’d be a dinner in their home with many from the family showing up and Auntie Anne would invariably lay a spread guaranteed to warrant weeks to work off.

The next day we had our usual lazy morning of coffee and quick and light brekky, but a bit earlier than usual. For one reason of another I was up very early and didn’t go back to sleep. We then went to pick up a dishwasher from the Good Guys at Nunawading – it was for unit at Edinburgh Road. The agent had contacted us earlier in the week to say the old one had broken down.

Dishwasher bought, we went and did our usual errands and after lunch at Madam K’s went home and did some gardening. The weather was magnificent and we wanted to max out the time we spent outdoor. Being out on the lawn without woollies and in a pair of shorts, under the sun and at temperature of 18/19, it was gorgeous. We spent a few hours pottering around. We removed the flex plant outside our bedroom. That plant has become larger and is not optically invigorating. We’re now looking for a more functional replacement –to either our olfactory or visual senses but preferably both. Tress also did the vacuuming and the whole house looked and felt cleaner and fresher.

After we got cleaned up, there was still time to get to the library. I discovered Robert Hughes’ “The Fatal Shores” and Tress picked up a few DVD’s.

I suspect stumbling over Hughes in a suburban library on a late Saturday afternoon is going to be a little eureka moment for me. I read the introduction and first few pages and thought what a great writer this was. So I googled him and found out he was yet another one of those literary greats whose earlier years were partly captured by Clive James in his memoir series. Hughes was the brother of Tom Hughes, a one-time Attorney General who is in turn Lucy Turnbull’s father. Lucy is Malcolm’s wife. It appears unfair how all these smart people are connected to each other in such tight circles north of the border. Connecting the dots was a rewarding google exercise. I later watched bits of the BBC series “Shock of the new” and I must include him as a favourite now.

So Hawks had a ripper of a game against Geelong that night (Sat) but we watched the DVD’s Tress took home from the library instead. My following of the Hawks has now reached a stage where for a big and important game – one where I expect we’d lose – I’d have trouble watching. It’d be different if we were in the MCG watching it live. Somehow the tension is less, possibly swallowed up by the excitement live action and crowd atmosphere. The tension of watching the battles on television is different and harder to deal with for the absence of those elements.

It’s the same with United games. I have become so tensed watching these games I have opted not to watch instead. Especially lately, when even under Van Gaal, we still appear to be struggling to play winning football. Well at least Hawks won (having trailed by 5 goals at one stage) and United drew so that’s not a complete disaster.

Sunday we had a soon to retire bishop give the sermon. Bishop Barbara Darling looked like a lovely mum type of person – probably really kind. Her sermon was relatively straight forward. It dealt with the message of letting God lead and not to direct God to do what we’d like instead. Simple but important lesson. We left straight after the service, to have lunch with Chews, Hipos and the Burgers at Westfield. I’m a reluctant diner in yum cha places these days, because the customer has to fit into the restaurant’s profit driven model of splitting the dining into two separate seatings. This means you either show up on time or you’re left with a small window to quickly finish your meal and leave. It’s not the sort of place I’d want to go to. I’d rather pay a fraction of the cost and go through a drive in instead, if I wanted lunch that way. Anyway the company was good and since we were the last ones to arrive, I didn’t feel the unpleasantness of the experience.

We ended the weekend with the usual cooking – another couple of days’ supply of soup neatly tucked away… the rhythm rocks on.

I got this message from my boss in the middle of reviewing and drafting some stuff:

“Do you have a few minutes free now? I have your salary review letter to give you and wanted to suggest we catch up nearby in 19.10 now?”

He’s seated some 5 feet away from me, separated by an 18 in partition. He’s a bit over 6 foot and while I’m not tall, I am no pigmy either so for the most part during a work day, when he and I both stare into our respective screens while working, we can see each other out of the corner of our eyes.

In short, he could have (and often does) said what he typed out, verbally and directly to me. Only when there is a sensitive or P&C matter will he message me via the internal office messaging system.

Of course I looked up straight away when that message popped up and I said yeah sure.

Well, I still have a job and I’m grateful. I said to him after yet another internal company wide communication yesterday about more lost jobs, I am grateful there is a salary review letter for me. He said well if you still think that after opening the letter… I wondered for a while but that meeting was swift and lasted only a few minutes.

I am not unhappy with the letter, and while the pay is mid-level (50 percentile) at least I’m going to work and earning this pay.

I was thinking this morning, about Jesus saying what father would give his son a snake when he asked for a fish. I thought often, we complain about getting a snapper day in and day out. We want some other fish. A coral trout perhaps. Or a lobster even. But if not worrying about where my food is coming from was also Jesus’ message, a fish would do. Any fish. He didn’t give me a snake when I asked for a fish. As the farmer said to Pig in the movie “Babe”:

“That will do.”

It was hard work in the gym this morning. Blame it on the eating spree of a weekend we just had.

In fact it started even before the weekend started. Tress and I had lunch in a Japanese ramen shop in Chinatown (not far from my office). There were office drinks later that arvo and so the usual chips and nuts and stuff were consumed together with the white wine I helped myself to.

Tress and I then caught up with Jason and Mel in a Malaysian restaurant in Balwyn (Jazz Ria on Whitehorse Road). It was a lovely little place with pretty decent Malaysian food with many twists and we (or at least I) felt relaxed over dinner and good hearty conversations.

On Saturday the indulgence continued. After brekky at home of toasts, avocado and lots of coffee, we went about the usual routines including heading to Madam Kwong for lunch. They had as one of the day’s special the wonton mee, which was one of my several favourite dishes there but they also had a new dish – a fish head noodle type of dish but they used fish fillet instead. Tress had that while I had my wonton mee. After stuffing ourselves there, we went to a Blackburn coffee place known as “Nuts about Coffee”. The coffee was delicious, cheap and served in a wonderfully homey place.

We decided to take LBJ for a walk after all that eating. Psychologically we “walked some of it off” but really, a 45 minuter stroll like pace wasn’t going to do any serious dent to the calorie count. We got home, I gave LBJ a bath and we then did some cooking for the dinner party at Alex’s later that night.

Yet more eating took place at Alex’s as Jermel had his 5^th birthday party. I tried to keep to the roast pumpkin and spinach salad we brought there but the spread was too attractive to ignore. We got home relatively early and watched Robin Williams’ “Good Will Hunting”. RW’s sad departure a few days earlier had many TV stations screening his movies and even Apple TV featured his movies on the home page.

Sunday was pretty much the same. We had planned to get a couple of curry puffs from Madam Kwong’s after church and come home to have them for lunch together with some of the leftover salad from the night before. We stayed back however to attend the “Faith Effect” session to listen to a few people talk about disability. Somewhere between where St Alf’s stands on the corner of Springfield and Koonung roads in Blackburn North and Court Street in Box Hill, our plans for lunch got dumped. I had my fish fillet noodles, Tress had her “Sar Hor Fun” and we came back absolutely stuffed again. The walk with LBJ helped a little bit but thankfully dinner was just a little bit of nibbles.

The weekend ended the way our recent weekends did. We cooked. With a couple of days’ dinner (soups) safely tucked away in the fridge, we watched a bit of TV and then went to bed. Our bellies still full from a weekend of weakly succumbing to our voracious appetites.