I got back to Melbourne last Friday night, and got home just before 9pm. It was wonderful to be back.

The next day, Tress and I slept in a little bit and then went about our usual weekend routine. Kiddo and Mic however, had a big day lined up. Their purchase of their new home was settled the day before and they were to move on Saturday. With a bad toothache and horrible removalists, their day became a tough one but they ploughed through and have now settled into their new home. Their old home, which Tress and I bought for them to live in, is now on the market.

On Saturday night, Tress and I went to a dinner party. It was in the home of a friend Tress had made through her ethereal activities. Of the 6 of us there that night, only 2 weren’t involved in those activities but other than that, they all appeared to be regular and nice folks so it was a pleasant evening of getting to know new people.

On Sunday, I trialed a cook I hadn’t done for a while. While the cook was going, a couple of emails came through from my CEO, who is now in Abu Dhabi to continue to negotiations I had left to return to Melbourne. He had a couple of questions for me and while I responded, I took my time with them, especially the second and follow up one. I later said to Tress I was just uninterested in showing wholehearted enthusiasm, seeing how the company has been quite a laggard in showing appreciation or respect to its staff. It’s  a week out before Christmas and we are yet to receive letters advising salary review/outcome of the performance exercise etc. It’s actually ok if we dont get a review, considering how sloppy the economy and business has been, but if you’re going to get staff to go through jumping hoops from the performance review exercise, you need to show you care about communicating the outcome in a timely fashion.  To be so careless in that space shows a lot of disrespect and lack of care for staff.

This morning, I’m back to my routine of getting up in the wee hours and hopping onto the train before 6am. My usual 5.45am is now getting ever more congested. I guess no matter how ordinary I feel about my employers, as long as there is work to provide me with a routine, I’d not be unhappy. Especially with the coming Christmas holidays.

It’s 10pm local time in Abu Dhabi. I’m at this moment, still exchanging emails with my boss, the Group General Counsel. It has been about 17 hours since I started the day working on this contract we’re chasing here. I don’t recall any other time I’ve pushed harder than when I worked on the Maxis refinancing and listing deal in Malaysia, back in circa 2002/2003. I could not have imagined working like this again, nearly a couple of decades hence.

Whatever the outcome, this has been an experience to savour.

I’m sitting in a hotel room at downtown Abu Dhabi. I arrived early Monday morning, and have spent the better part of the past 30 hours or so, in the hotel.

I was asked to come here by both my boss and the CEO – they’re trying to get a big contract across the line and since Friday last week, we have been plugging away.

I stole away for a couple of hours yesterday arvo, after I knew my boss and other higher up’s in the US would likely not respond to my emails and doc until several hours later.

I jumped on a ride share and headed for the grand mosque that bears a ruler’s name. It was a magnificent building, more beautiful in many respects than even the venerable Taj Mahal. It felt however, that there was a lack of soul in this place. The Taj was the outcome of a purported romantic tale whereas this piece is a staid geopolitical showcase that demonstrated its owners’ material riches. Its grandeur cannot be denied however, and  I’m glad I took the opportunity this tiny window offered me, to see this mosque.

A rain of responses came in overnight as I woke up around 3am, still trying to get around to local time, which is 7 hours behind Melbourne. I felt a bit dejected as my hours of work were nitpicked with nary a word of appreciation of my overhauling of the docs. I had come home to Melbourne from Malaysia the week before, to a draft contract that was already in-flight. I was asked to take over and a few days later, in a misjudged call, the CEO decided to alter the structure of the contract and guess who had to do the heavy lifting… yet all that work just went seeking nitpicking comments instead.

Before I jumped in to deal with the numerous responses that came in overnight however, a thought crept into my head. I responded and just resumed my reading of Genesis. I had re-started about a few days prior, having completed the magnificent last few chapters of Revelations. As I finished reading, I asked the Lord to help me ignore my ego. Much of my annoyance had to do with my being unappreciated. Or more precisely, all that work that went unmentioned, although the whole group of SVP’s had relied on it. As always, if focus was on the task and outcome and the ego is put aside, it becomes much easier to deal with. With that behind me, I did some urgent responses, sent a note to my boss asking if he wanted to chat, and having him responded saying to ring in about an hour, I ducked down to the gym and worked up a sweat before coming back to the room to speak with my boss.

The work continues and the email exchanges, calls, and scheduling of meetings resumed. I guess the few days I’m in this ancient union of emirs’ domains will only see me stuck looking into the screen of my laptop.

 

Tress and I went back to Malaysia a couple of weeks ago. Sim, my sister who has lived in Penang since she and Daniel got married more than 20 years ago, had moved into their new home nearly 20 years ago. We hadn’t been to their new home, as they moved in around the time we came over to Melbourne. Sim has been unwell and has recently been advised to change her chemo treatments.

We got into Klang early Saturday on 16 Nov. We took a cab to Tress’ parents’ home. A couple of days later, Tress and I got on a coach and traveled up north to Penang and spent the next few days with Sim and Daniel. Isaac, their younger son who had only recently started his university course, had also come home. He had chosen a university in Hong Kong and events there meant he, like most other students on his campus, left for home.

For a few nights, Sim and Daniel and Tress and I sat around their beautiful round table with a marble top, in their “dry” kitchen, and chatted. By the second night, Daniel started opening up more and to hear him articulate the turmoils within, that are well camouflaged on the outside, was to know and connect with him and Sim, on a deeper level. The visit, which until then had  only had a theoretical reason, then made a whole lot more sense. All that flight time, coach travel, heat, noise, humidity and everything else that often stamp a trip to Malaysia, made sense for those conversations and time spent with Sim, Daniel and Isaac. Isaac too, has become a sensible, articulate and responsible adult. It was sheer joy to listen to him talk about his campus experience, even thought it had only been a short journey for him thus far.

We returned to Klang with Sim and Daniel and Isaac. They were going to help Nicole pack and clear out from her campus lodgings. She had been at Monash Sunway the past couple of years and was going to continue her medical course in another state next year. We learned that she too, had had a rough few months. A model student like her brother, she had probably not, hitherto, experienced any risks of failure in her studies. But her mum’s illness had been rough on her, particularly as her studies were on a subject that a direct relation to that illness. For the first time, she feared an adverse outcome to her finals. At this point, she is probably ok and I have continued to keep her, along with Daniel, Sim and Isaac, in my prayers every day.

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The next day after returning from Penang, the whole family on my mum’s side, celebrated a birthday. My Tua Yee had turned 80 and the whole mob got together in a local restaurant to celebrate the occasion. Enoch, my cousin who has been in Singapore for yonks, came back with his family to celebrate his mum’s big bash. It was wonderful to catch up with them and everyone else.

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The day after the big bash, Daniel and Sim were going to return to Penang. So we all – Tress and I, Sim and family, my brother David and his wife, and Mei my sister and Goh her hubby YJ, their younger son –  huddled at my mum’s and chatted for a bit. TIB, my uncle, came along too. That arvo, soon before the Penangites took off, we heard Tress’ Tua Yee, who had been unwell and had been at an intensive care unit, would not last the day. So we decided to tag along with Tress’ brother to go see her.

On the way there however (she lived a distance away, about an hour from Tress’ parent’s home) we learned she had passed on. When we got to the house, many of her family had gathered. We stayed a while.

We attended the wake service the next evening, as well the funeral on the next day. We were to return to Melbourne on a flight later that night so to be immersed in a funeral that had all the Buddhist/Taoist rites, was quite an experience that reminded me of the complex community I had grown up in.

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We came back last Thursday and after surfing on the momentum of unpacking and cleaning up, we finally had time to rest up and clear our minds on Saturday. Back in St Alf’s on Sunday, I started to feel I was home again.

Trips to Malaysia always bring mixed feelings. I like our life in Melbourne. It is now our home. It has been for the last 15 years. I never stopped missing however, the times we have with the extended family in Malaysia.

It has been drab on recent weekends. On Saturday, it rained all day, so it was indoor activities. Tress had an appointment with the hairdresser but somehow managed to squiz in some vacuuming before heading out. I have the little black jedi a bath, and clipped his nails. I had also pottered around the house, getting some WD40 into door hinges and places like that. We ended the day by getting doing a delicious barbie – throwing a whole snapper on the Weber together with some asparagus and eggplant. The wonderful meal, washed down with some uncharacteristic red, finished – along with the washing up – in time for me to settle down to watch Episode VI of the Star Wars series that have been showing on a free to air channel in recent weeks.

The night before, we caught up with Jason and Mel at our favourite local Italian. They had been on a holiday to the Mediterranean – Croatia, Greece etc. – and had only come back a few days prior. It was good to catch up with them again.

On Sunday, after St Alf’s we continued our whole fish journey from the night before, and had another whole fish in our usual local Asian place. It was again, very satisfying. Back home later in the arvo, the little black jedi had been unwell and he didn’t want his usual walk, and Tress busied herself with some weeding. So I headed out for a brisk walk/slow jog myself. I hadn’t run for just over 4 years now. I had longed to be able to run again but things have changed since I stopped running. I managed to jog just under 1km, of the 3.5km walk, before the knee felt it again. The brisk walk however, was really good and it was probably the best I felt all weekend.

Kiddo and Mic should be tying up the contract this week. Their offer for a house in Kambah had been accepted midweek last week and on Friday night, I had a call with their mortgage broker to tie up the last loose bit for a little parental advance from Tress and I. It must be exciting for them. I am too, for them. 3 years on since we bought the place they’re now living in, they’ve just bought their own home. They’ve come a long way, and it feels wonderful.

• Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Islamic State leader
• Ivan Milat, Australia’s most notorious serial killer

Both died on 27 October 2019. One killed himself when surrounded by his enemies. The other killed by disease – cancer. One killed, or is responsible for the killing of, thousands. The other killed at least 7 in national parkland in NSW. Both are despised and treated as public enemies of the highest orders. Few would mourn their deaths.

How does one descend into such evil?  How will God judge them? Will they be judged differently from all other sinners? Had either turned to Jesus like the sinner who on the cross next to Jesus did, would we have thought him unworthy of God’s grace and mercy?

It’s easier to let evil pervade.

 

 

 

 

I’ve heard it said that autumn is the best time in Melbourne, and spring is the best time in Sydney. The converse is also true, and autumn is not so nice in Sydney whereas spring is quite poor in Melbourne. And so it was over the past few days. It was very warm on Thursday and pretty average on Friday. Then on Saturday, it rained, and hailstorm struck. On late Saturday arvo, when Tress and I had just come home at our driveway, the hailstorm greeted us as we sat it out in the car. It took only a few minutes, but they were dramatic minutes.

Throughout Saturday, with the rain coming down intermittently, there was little I could do. Tress had made a remarked that she’d like us to have some barbequed fish again and I had procrastinated with the cleaning of the weber for far too long. I decided to charge head-on, rain notwithstanding, to give the weber a scrub. So, after a home cooked “big breakfast” of bacon and eggs and tomatoes and mushrooms, the work started. I checked out the gas tube, gas head, and all the connections, with the regulation soapy water rub. No bubbles in sight, I fired it up to ensure the gas ring was still being fed the fuel. Then the scrubbing and cleaning began. An hour and a half later, the weber looked ready for use again. It was however, still belting down.

We went grocery shopping after that and when after waiting out the hail, we got in and I prepped Sunday’s cook, cooked the little black jedi’s dinners, and then prepped the barbie. Salmon fillets, asparagus and egg plant went on the weber and soon Tress and I were again reminded of the rewards of home cooked meals. For the second time that day, we enjoyed good food at a fraction of what it would have cost us had we eaten out.

That night, the original “Episode VI” of Star Wars was on TV and I feasted on Mark Hamill’s first poke towards Jedi folklore.

On Sunday, it was an “all age” service at St Alf’s and the children’s ministers and the kids delivered a great service. I was again reassured that in the midst of the anti-Christian sentiments in a “western liberal democracy” such as Australia at this time, there are pockets of faith communities such as St Alf’s which remain true to the scriptures and its ways. I hope those kids stay the course.

It continued to be a dirty day as the rain continued its intermittent downpours. Somehow, Tress and I managed to sneak in our chores in between downpours. She managed to give the little guy his walk and I managed to quickly mow the lawns and sweep the driveway before the serious rains came down.

I then did the week’s cook and shared some of its outcomes with Fay, a friend of ours from the dog park oval.  With time still on our hand before the arvo ended, I did some office work before the Sunday night home renovations reality TV show started.

The rains may have been unrelenting but the weekend has somehow been productive.

They edited this article. Heavily, I thought. Then, they published it, without checking in with me prior. It might have been part of the terms and conditions for submitting a piece and/or for publication – that they would have discretionary rights to edit and to then publish without coming back to the writer.

But there it was, published. 22 years ago now. Kiddo is now fully fledged adult. Independent, working and married. Living in another city, some 700 kilometers away. With a lifestyle that is rather different to the one Tress and I lived, when this piece was written.

So many thoughts cross my mind. On so many things. Maybe one day, I will tease them all out and flesh them with the appropriate words. Maybe 24 October 2027, when the piece gets to 30 years old. Who knows.

Towards the end of last week, I felt washed up. Tired and without energy, I felt like I was just dragging myself through Friday arvo before going with Tress to an unwinding dinner at the shopping centre just behind our house. There was a loud school band performing at an open area near where we had dinner, and noisy though it was, somehow it allowed me to just unwind and recharge.

The next day after brekky, Tress and I joined a bunch of “gardeners” at a “weedathon” session at St Alf’s. It was a general garden clean up session. After a couple of hours there, we got home, cleaned up and went for our usual weekend grocery shopping. Later that day, we took the little fellow for a walk, cooked his food and prepped for the next day’s cook for our lunches.

Sunday at St Alf’s, Mike Bird provided the message. Mike Bird is great value as always, and the line “The Cross is both a means and an example …” stayed with me. An academic dean at Ridley here in Melbourne and notwithstanding being rising star of a theologian internationally, Mike said a student stumped him by asking what was the common thread across all of Paul’s letters. Apparently the answer was: Paul asking his readers to imitate him (because he imitated Christ?). The message about imitating and being imitated, resonated. Not just with me, as it turned out, when we had a chat with some folks at the foyer later that morning.

Later in the arvo, after our usual Sunday cook etc, we took the little fellow to the oval and waited out the last few overs of the cricket match that was winding up at the oval. It was chilly but I had a cold beer in hand. With all the chores done I felt unwound and the chills didn’t deter from my feeling more rested than I was on Friday arvo. It was a much needed weekend.

On Saturday, I had planned to clean up the gardens, as the James Sterling had gone crazy in recent wet months. I could see they had gone bushy and looked as though they had been put on steroids. So after a quick brekky, I got stuck into the task and attacked the hedges. Clippings from just the stretch down the western side alone, nearly filled up the green bin and I had to leave the back stretch undone – for next time – as the lawns still needed to be mowed. Tress in the meantime, cleaned up inside the house, and vacuumed before heading off to her ethereal activities’ “Community Day”. Those activities of hers have chalked up many kilometres of walking and made her numerous new friends so they have been really good for her.

I wound up the work just before 1pm, Tress came home and we headed for lunch, and then proceeded to a very interesting arvo.

St Alf’s had planned an arvo of traditional hymn singing. With our Methodist background, we didn’t need much convincing to pen the event in our diaries. So after lunch, we headed for an arvo of “lusty and courageous” singing.  Tim Dehn – a former ABC presenter – often featured prominently in St Alf’s well attended Christmas Eve services and he masterfully guided the attendees through an arvo of hymn singing. After a big week at work and a full morning of domestic work however, Tress and I were tired and we left at 4pm, just as the penultimate hymn was sung.

We got home, walked the little guy, and came home to finally settle down for some down time. I watched the “Attack of the Clones”, the second of a planned Star Wars weekly screening which started the previous Saturday, and began to sip on a very delicious Verdelho. Seeing Anakin Skywalker building up a steam of anger and bitterness to begin the journey that would, in later episodes, carry him to the dark side of the force felt like a weird way to finish the day we just had but it was nice entertainment…

On Sunday, at St Alf’s I felt slightly different. It could be we were seated at the middle section, away from the right flank where our usual seats are. It could also be that I could feel we had moved another step towards making this our home faith community. I couldn’t put my finger on it but as I sat listening to Peter MacPherson delivering his short sermon (to facilitate a healing session for that morning), my notes flowed and I felt I am starting to get this congregation and its senior minister.

After the service, we had a quick catch up over coffee, with another couple. They’re one of maybe only 3-4 Malaysian couples in St Alf’s. The conversation made me cringe, as the carrying on about detailed costs of work done etc made me (and the other – Caucasian – couple in the circle) ill at ease (my guess). Somehow, many Malaysians are prone to discussing detailed dollars and cents. It has always made me uncomfortable. “How much ah?” still makes me cringe.

After St Alf’s we had lunch in one of our usual Sunday joints and Tress met another one of her ethereal activities compadres. We also struck up a conversation with a family seated next to us. They were celebrating the visit of their son, who is working in a legal firm in Hong Kong. The young man articulately discussed his views of goings on in that troubled island city and I again wondered where many Hong Kong people would end up eventually.

Later that arvo, I did my usual cook and we walked the little guy. It was a very pleasant arvo, weather wise, and we made the most of it. I ended the arvo by applying some seasol to the front, side and back lawns and flower beds. Tress had some more of her ethereal activities, and we both settled down just before 7pm, as the building/construction work reality TV program started. Putting our feet up again as I sipped my Pinot Noir, my tired but satisfied limbs are very grateful for a weekend that promises a return of warmer days.