It’s still a couple of weeks from winter. It has been cold, however. The rains have been coming in, too. I guess creation doesn’t follow the calendar too closely.

About 10 days ago, Tress and I drove out east. We were introduced to this adorable little furball, whom we want to see grow into a lovely adult not unlike the Little Black Jedi. We spend a little time with him, before taking him home. Little Oreo has been with us since. Other than the first day, Oreo has been like a spiced up sweet little biscuit. He can be so sweet that your heart will melt when you see or cuddle him, but he can also be a little terror that darts across the room with mischief. Right now, he is cuddled up with LBJ, snoozing to provide the sweetest little picture for me as I attempt to draft various things.

I continue to work from home, and Tress has returned to the office for 3 days each week. Work has continued to be busy. Earlier this year, the big development at work was that my employer has been acquired by an American entity. Since then, work to complete the acquisition has fired on all cylinders. Last week was particularly busy for my boss, as the final shareholders’ meeting, together with a Court hearing – both to approve the scheme within which the acquisition was to happen – took place on Monday and Friday respectively.

A few of us have been wondering what would happen to our work – whether we will still have our jobs, and to a greater extent, what our work will look like – post completion of the acquisition. The predator is an American entity with no commercial presence in Asia/Australasia and a very small footprint in EMEA – in a different space at that. The only market it is in direct competition with my employer is in the US itself. From that perspective, it would appear my work will be far less at risk than others’, but one never knows. No sense paying it any more attention than that simple risk assessment warrants for now, I guess.

Finally, I’ve signed up to be part of a “Winter Shelter” program that’s run by the Whitehorse Churches Care cooperative. I was at a volunteer’s training on Saturday, where I bumped into Chin Moi, an old friend. The program runs for 3 months through the winter and it seeks to provide overnight shelter for homeless folks in the Whitehorse area. The shelter will be in 7 different churches, each hosting for a night each week. It starts at 5.30pm, where beds etc will be set up and meals provided. The next morning, after providing breakfast, the beds are packed away and venue cleaned to head to the next host venue. This will go on each week through the winter. After years of wondering what I can do towards alleviating the homelessness question, I can finally do my little bit in a practical sense.

So there’s the 3 winter warmers. Oreo the little new member of the family, continuing work amidst the apparent uncertainties, and a chance to do something that has long burn questions into my mind and heart.

It has been cold, but I guess this is how I manage this winter…

In recent weeks, I have had to work at getting stuff done. Work remains busy and I continue to get as much done as possible, but increasingly, the routine that sees me at home for much of the time, is creating a rut that I have had to work harder and harder to overcome.

It has been nearly 14 months since we started this work from home routine and I have become a bit schizophrenic about whether it has been a good thing. On the one hand, it has given me back my commute time. This has allowed me to spend more time for exercise, which has been terrific. The isolation and sense of being a bit of a hermit however, has made me a more inward looking person. Also, my reading has suffered. A lot. It has been about a year since I last read a book. I started on Tom Holland’s “Dominion” a few months back but I’ve struggled against the lower hanging fruits. Streaming a movie or other similar content, has felt like much easier outlets against the stress and pressing sensation that work has brought. I even got a new Amazon remote just to be able to better navigate the offerings available.

The weekend routine has continued, and we’ve been able to get to the physical/in-person services at St Alf’s for the past 4 weeks. Restaurants and cafes have been back in business so we’ve been eating out a few times too. Weekend before last, we caught up with Carrie and Jonathan, who used to live a few streets away, a few years ago now. We had a yum cha lunch and it was good catching up. We’ve also caught up variously with Alex and Li Har, as well as with the Hippos and Chews. I continue to do my weekend cook for the weeks’ lunches. We’ve walked LBJ on most Sat/Sun arvos where I have also been taking in the local soccer matches. Tress and I have also been to the G for Hawks’ games but Hawks have been very ordinary this year, as expected. We now sit third last and will surely end the season before September arrives. United on the other hand, appears to have offered relatively brighter days. The postponed game with the Scousers earlier today is not an unexpected blight and was surely something the Blazers could only blame themselves for. One can only hope Woodward’s replacement will be closer to who David Gill was to United.

So here’s a quick entry to plug the hole that recent weeks has created. Hopefully, I will write a little bit more frequently.

Australia Day, and its celebration, has become an ever heating hot button issue in recent years. Tress and I put that aside to simply have some time off, taking full advantage of the public holiday status Oz Day always brings. That little cynical side in me says many who attend protest rallies in the cities, were simply sore that being students or unemployed, they didn’t enjoy the day off others did…

We took a long drive, along the beautiful shores that are hugged by the Great Ocean Road, and headed to Port Fairy. We left on Saturday morning, stopped at Apollo Bay for a bite (in that well known scallop pies joint) and pushed on from there, driving through the Otways before arriving at Port Fairy late that arvo.

We stayed at the Merrijig Inn, a quaint little place just across the street from the wharf. It is a beautiful spot on the surf coast. We had stopped at this very lovely town several times, but we had never stayed. So it was a break we both had looked forward to.

On Sunday morning, we trekked through Griffiths Island. Earlier that morning, we had taken the little black jedi for a walk, and headed to the south beach to see surfers taking on the cold waters. After Griffiths, we walked through the little town, grabbed a coffee and a doughnut in a bakery, and headed home late that arvo. Later that night we went to a pizza joint that also serves Thai food. It is owned and run by an Indonesian, so the whole package was very interesting. The food was good and the Indonesian owner (Alex) was very friendly and served very good food, so he’d be a happy man.

The next day, we took a drive to Mount Eccles, some 45 minutes north, heading towards the heart of the Western District. Mount Eccles is now known as the Budj Bin. It was a bit quiet and we walked around the very old volcanic site, circling Lake Surprise to work up a sweat. When we got back to Port Fairy, we headed to a local fisherman’s cookout and bought some lobsters and prawns, and headed to a park near the wharf to have a really good lunch.

It rained later that arvo and remained wet right through the night. We had some Thai food in a super busy joint in town, and the next day, after yet another very good brekky at the Merrijig, we headed home. We got home in the arvo, and after unpacking, we headed out to do some grocery shopping. I then gave the car a wash, before doing a barbie for dinner for Tress and I. It was after all, Oz Day. I made sure I had lamb. Four years ago (so Facebook reminded me), I wrote a short note to a columnist in The Australian, Nikki Gemmel. I’d write this to any journos again today, if an occasion presents itself, that’s for sure.

The note:

Dear Nikki
I read your Australia Day article over the weekend. I have always enjoyed reading your work and thank you again for writing a thoughful piece.
I am a new Australian. My family and I came from Malaysia back in 2004. I became a citizen in 2007. A couple of years ago, I started following the struggles of the Aboriginal community. I then decided to learn more about our history. I read works by (amongst others) Manning Clark, Geoffrey Blainey, Henry Reynolds as well as Robert Hughes (Fatal Shores). I plan to also read Keneally’s numerous books on our history. I’m not sure there were any shootings or killings on 26 January 1788. I believe most of the killings happen over the course of time, both before and after 26 January 1788 as well as as by Europeans and Aboriginals alike, and Europeans and Aboriginals killed not just each other but their own too.
As a person from a minority group in my previous home, all I ever wanted was a fair go for my child and I. We couldn’t get that in Malaysia so we came here. Nothing I read so far, suggests there is systemic effort to deny any group in this country a fair go. The system we have going in this country has allowed my child and I to work where we want (geographically and vocation wise/professionally) and so every Australia Day I celebrate such opportunities. I wonder if on 26 January 1788  there were no arrivals from Europe, we’d be having the same sort of opportunities we do today. 
So no, I’m not celebrating  the day the first gunshots ploughed the aboriginals’ blood into earth. I think every single person in Australia has a chance to build a better future for himself/herself. This is a much better position than most other countries. This is what I’ll be celebrating.
Regards
Ian

No sooner had I written about how summer has truly arrived, when a weekend that more resembled autumn, enveloped us. It was very wet, cool and grey all Saturday. It had rained the night before too, so on Saturday morning, I said to Tress I wanted to go out and get a hearty breakfast. We haven’t had a weekend brekky, at a cafe here in Melbourne, for a very long time.

Tress found a place as the crow flies, and we drove there and settled down to good coffee and food. We then did some grocery shopping as we had decided to do our usual Sunday cook, on Saturday instead as we couldn’t do much else on such a wet and grey day. When we got home and prepped the cook, we received a message from the Hipo’s, asking if we’d like to join them for a hot pot dinner that night. It sounded like a great idea, given we hadn’t caught up with them (and Jason and Mel) for a little while now. The weather also made a hot pot sound like the perfect antidote. So later that day, as Tress delved into her ethereal pursuits, I ducked out to Bunnings to prep for the garden work I wanted to do on Sunday, picked up some grub for the hot pot, and picked out a bottle of sake for the Hipo’s who liked all things Korean and Japanese.

Saturday night was really nice – catching up with people who have become “old” friends over the years here in Melbourne. One of the Hipos’ girls wandered across the kitchen and I asked Jess to remind me how old that angel was going to be this year. 10 going on 11. I said to Jess, that Kiddo was 10 when we first arrived in Melbourne. Kiddo has her own family now. I remember when that angel, as well as her younger sister, were babies. They’re bright, well mannered and engaging young girls now.

We all spoke of what we did in recent weeks, shared new discoveries of cafes and restaurants, home improvement projects, work, etc. We were sharing what our lives had looked like in recent weeks. Tress and I watched the very good “Mr. Holland’s Opus” on TV yesterday arvo and we caught Mr Holland, played by the wonderful Richard Dreyfus, singing Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy“. “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans“, jumped out at me again. As I write this, what the Hipo’s, Jason and Mel and Tress and I shared as we enjoyed each others’ company on Saturday night, was sort of like that. We may be “busy making other plans”, but life happens as we did that.

On Sunday, we took St Alf’s service online again. We tried to book in an in person service but the limit had been reached. It felt like a distant second option… right after the service, I got stuck into the gardening work. The hedges, shrubs, lawn and grounds look neater now. That has to be good for our well being surely. Later that arvo, we lounged around, watched the cricket on TV and toggled between that Mr. Holland’s Opus. This Indian team has been terrific. They have brought the fight straight up to the Aussies and the resulting contest has been a treat. We also wandered across to the oval and I watched a local cricket game that was unfolding not 50 meters from our front yard. Two local Indian (or may be Sri Lankan) teams were in what looked like another keen contest. On Saturday night, as we talked about where we had been over the Christmas and New Year break, we shared how we noticed more Indians holidaying across the States. It is good to see them amongst the community. Hard working, played hard, culturally so distinct, delicious food and cricket loving. They are rarely a menace to the community and are for the most part, gracious and funny. As I watched those two teams in contest, I felt enriched for their presence and contribution.

Old friends and new, I guess, pretty much summed up the weekend.

For the first time this summer, I got to sit down to a test match on TV. I had followed the Aus v Indian series very sporadically up until now. I guess that’s because we were required to be self isolating and so stayed home pretty much the whole time.

On Saturday, Tress did some vacuuming around the house while I gave the deck and the furniture on it, a good cleaning. I’m hoping to oil it the first chance I get after this. The weber cover got a good cleaning too and it’s much less painful to look at now.

The cleaning activities only took Tress and I half a day so we had the rest of the day to unwind, and I did so by mainly watching the Aussies battling it out with the Indians. I has been a fascinating series so far. We won in Adelaide and had expected a whitewash of sorts after that, as Kohli, their superstar batsman and captain had returned to India for the birth of a child. He may have been distracted by domestic duties but his teammates were 100% focused on the task at hand. They beat us convincingly in Melbourne. With the series tied 1-1, the Sydney Test was always going to be intriguing.

As I write this, India is on a run chase with 8 wickets in hand. This is the last day of play. I wished I could continue watching but a steam of work emails had come in even over the weekend, and I had spent the better part of this morning teeing up all my tasks, to which I must return shortly. “A lot going on”, said my boss in an email a short while ago. Indeed, and I must play my role.

It will be very hot today, promising a 38 degrees maximum. Tress and I also had a couple of meals cooked on the weber over the weekend, and I’ve been working on the sprinklers too. At home with the cricket commentary on the TV as background sound, the heat, the weber firing and the sprinklers running. Summer is well and truly here.

We spent a couple of weeks with Kiddo and Mic, mainly in their home in Kambah. They were wonderful days. We left home on the Sunday before Christmas and spent the run up to Christmas just catching up and preparing for the Christmas day lunch that Kiddo and Mic had planned. We also dropped in on Mic’s parents’ home for dinner a couple of days before Christmas and shared a wonderful meal as well as the beautiful plants that SL (Mic’s mum) had kept in recent months.

On Christmas day, we prepped the food, and I cooked a turkey on their family sized Weber Q. They had also invested in their backyard, which was well landscaped with a new turf and it looked wonderful. I helped it look neat by giving it a mow so the Christmas day lunch had a neat and tidy and gorgeous new lawn. Mic’s entire family were there for the lunch, and we chatted, and got to know each other better. It was a lovely afternoon and a very nice Christmas day.

On Boxing Day, we went to the movies and watched a forgettable Wonder Woman offering. All four of us then (the next day) drove up to Orange and spent a few days in that beautiful town and its surrounds. The wineries were a bit restrictive however, as visits needed pre-booking – courtesy of the virus. We also drove up to Bathurst and drove around the famed track at Mount Panorama. The racing museum was a gem too. We had never been engrossed with the Bathurst 1000 races but I had always kept an eye on the famed Holden v Ford rivalry and names like Brock and McLaughlin and Lowndes take up so much airwaves that anyone who follows local sports would know a fair bit about them. So the Bathurst/Mount Panorama visit was almost (albeit probably a distant second) like the visit to the Bradman museum in Bowral.

We drove back from Orange to Kambah on New Year’s Eve and got home early arvo that day. As we sat around Kiddo and Mic’s home preparing to do a home barbie for New Year’s Eve, we got news that the Victorian government will shut the borders on midnight on New Year’s Day. The sledgehammer approach to managing this pandemic has reared it ugly head again so we rushed to get the border permit printed, cancelled a couple of further engagements (a lunch booking and a visit to a dog breeder in Gundaroo) and prepped the drive back to Melbourne. The New Year’s Eve became very ordinary as a result, a lovely dinner notwithstanding. Even the TV stations did not broadcast the countdown (only ABC had a program on). It was probably the most lowkey and subdued New Year’s Eve I had ever experienced.

After dinner and waiting for the countdown, I had read a plea on the St Alf’s FB page – a member who had been in Newcastle had asked for a ride back to Melbourne. We offered a ride and tried to arrange logistics on meeting points etc but it turned out she later got a plane ticket and decided to fly back.

We got up early on New Year’s Day, and had a quick brekky, loaded up the car and drove back to Melbourne. The border on Albury-Wodonga was set up with dozens of police personnel and it was about 40-45 minutes crawl before we got past. It was much better than the experiences of thousand who crossed the border the night before at different points, particularly those who did so using the Princes Highway.

We got home around 4pm, unpacked and settled down. I gave the car a wash, and we then did an online grocery shopping, as we are required to self-isolate for 14days even though we were hundred of miles from the nearest “red zone”. The sledgehammer effect, I guess. That evening, I planned an early visit to a testing site for next day. We left early the next morning and headed to Malvern East, where we joined a queue of over a hundred cars, waiting to be tested. As expected, we returned negative results. The commercial lab texted us the results that same night, whereas the DHHS, the state government department tasked with managing the pandemic, took over 36 hours (after we got home) to even tell us we needed to get tested and self-isolate. We had done both by the time we heard from DHHS.

2021 has started in a way that sort of reflects what 2020 has been like – lots of chops and changes and managing unexpected turns of events. To do this at this stage in Tress and my life, is I guess, a source of boredom killing events. I guess the bright side of this is we stay home lots and I have returned to a better level of exercise. Even when we were away in Canberra and Orange, I go for long and brisk walks/slow jogs every day (with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day). I have shed some weight.

This morning, as I returned to the usual routine that included some time at my desk reading and seeking the Lord, I asked how I may serve better this year. I’d like to think my shortcomings haven’t resulted in him abandoning any plans for me to serve him, but I need to check in to ascertain, I guess. I wonder what 2021 has in store in this, and other aspects.

At long last, it has begun feeling a lot more like summer. It was warm on Friday, and stayed that way all through the weekend.

On Saturday, we caught up for dinner with a few of my La Salle old boys. Four of us (with 3 of us along with our spouses) met up in AP’s home, out in Berwick. It was a beautiful home and we had a wonderful time of just talking, over a very delicious dinner AP’s wife had cooked. We brought along some barbequed ribs, which I had slow cooked pretty much all arvo. Alex C and his wife C live in Bayswater with their youngest child, now nearly 20, and Alex’s parents. Alex works nearhome, with a large local retailer. SH lives in Toorak and works in the city. AP and I have caught up and talked regularly as he provides consulting services to my company. That was how we reconnected, some 5 years ago now. The WhatsApp and FB messages we shared afterwards, were heart warming as well.

The next day, we were at St Alf’s again. I had logged in to the home page late Sat arvo and noticed there were still places available for the 80 people capacity that was set. Peter took the service (Mike did last week), and again, it was really good to be able to be there in person again, together with Tress of course.

Later that arvo, I did the same cook as the day before. This time however, it was for a catch up with Alex and Li Har, along with the Hipos and Jason and Mel. As always, it was wonderful to meet up with these dear friends again, in person. We had a good time of chatting, singalong even (carols, etc.) and over good food. Alex looked a bit quiet and subdued however, and I wonder if he has worries he hasn’t articulated, possibly financial ones.

We left a bit after 9pm, and I had to be in the office the next day, to get some documents signed. I’ve just done that a short while ago, but being back in office to work feels a bit good, strangely enough. It’s now just a few days before we catch up with Kiddo and Micaiah. It’d be a busy few days but I suspect they will go past relatively quickly.

On Saturday, Tress had an AGM for the community group assistance organisation she volunteers for. I spent the most part of the morning cleaning up the gardens, and trimming the hedges closest to the deck. High levels of rains in recent weeks have resulted in luscious boughs of these hedges and the trimmings filled up the green bin pretty quickly.

The highlight of the weekend however, was a return to St Alf’s. The numbers were still limited, and the Sunday morning session we attended only allowed 50 people in. We had to book in ahead of time, and it was really good to be attending the meeting in person again. It had been close to 9 months since we were last in the auditorium, and a few people welled up a little.

Later in the arvo after St Alf’s, when I’ve done the week’s cook, I wandered off to the oval across the road, and watched a few overs of the local cricket game. It had been raining intermittently throughout the whole day, and the front lawn always looked great when it had just been mowed and then the rains came pretty much immediately thereafter. Standing just outside the parameter of the oval and taking in the actions of the batsmen, bowlers and fielders, I thought how good it was that people can now come together again.

It was a memorable, and really wonderful weekend.

My late dad passed on, on this day 14 years ago. As I have done in recent years, I tried to put myself in his shoes, in the past few days. I tried to imagine if he had any inkling he was soon to pass on. I also tried to recall what my experience was, in those days. I often said, given a second chance, I’d love to just speak to him more. And listen. I still miss him.

It was, those memories notwithstanding, a good weekend. We spent a couple of hours on Sat morning doing some cleaning – Tress washed the bathrooms and I vacuumed – then we headed for the city, after a stopover in Doncaster for lunch. Tress had wanted to go to a park in the city and walk. We thought of Albert Lake Park, but ended up at the Tan, around the Myer Music Bowl and the Botanic Gardens. It was really nice, with scores of groups scattered across the grounds, having picnics and walks. We even had trouble finding a carpark, and had to circle the grounds a couple of times.

Later that evening, we headed home and took the little fellow for a walk, after which I lingered and watched the local cricket game.

It was St Alf’s annual general meeting on Sunday so after viewing the service, we logged on and “attended” the meeting. It was lovely to see all those faces at the end of the meeting, when everyone’s video was turned on. We then headed out for lunch and got some groceries. After doing the week’s cook, we took the little fellow out again and I then took in another cricket game. It has been lovely to just linger around at the parklands, in shorts and without a mask, watching bowlers, fielders, batsmen all contesting and being athletic and skillful with bat and ball.

Victoria is officially COVID free. Life has returned to normal, it seems. The circle has resumed. We all live again. For now, at least. That is wonderful in itself. I guess there is something to the mantra of living every moment, making every moment counts, after all.

The sound of constant and gentle rain can often bring a calming effect. As I type this entry, the rain that had started late yesterday arvo continues to soak the lawn that I had mowed on Saturday.

The James Sterling hedge had become unwieldy, with thick and luscious leaves and branches jutting out in all directions. So after the usual Saturday morning brekky of eggs on avo and toast that Tress whipped up, I pulled up the ladder, extension cables, ear mufflers, and the hedge sweeper. I dragged the green bin in from the front and started work. Some 4 hours later, the exterior of our home looked a bit neater. I said to Tress last night, as I looked out the front windows at the pouring rain, that a good soaking of a freshly mowed lawn always look good.

We had just returned from Woodend, having spent the arvo with Ruth my cousin and Jon her husband and little Micah, their charming 5 year old. We brought the little black jedi along with us. Their home is about 100km from from us, on the way to beautiful Daylesford and as the crow flies to the beautiful Macedon/Hanging Rock. Their 5 acre hobby farm home has always been an attraction for our visiting overseas or interstate relos. A dozen or so sheep, a few alpacas, chooks, fruit trees and vege garden keep them busy. These, on top of already busy lives. Ruth is a doctor with a geriatric practice and she told us how the virus has escalated her work in recent months. It has been a really stressful time for medical workers and it’s great to hear they will, at long last, have a break in a week’s time.

People are travelling again. It was Warburton for us last weekend and Woodend yesterday. It would be Bright and Phillip Island for the French family later this week. It feels good to be liberated again. Starting today, I no longer have to wear a mask when I go out for my daily walks.

At the same time however, some damage would not see any reversal. A cousin of Tress has had a cafe for many years and in recent weeks, I have been in contact to support them in their travails. Yesterday, they messaged me to say they will shut the business. It cannot be saved any longer. I said I would help with some legal loose ends. Ruth also spoke of patients that died. We also spoke about churches that saw people falling through the cracks. I said I have been disengaged with online services and many like me, may be cut off altogether, never to return.

The calming sounds of the rain outside can be mesmerizing. Calmingly so. Thank God for rain.