Tag: Friday

Sweaty weekend


There was a corporate team building event last Friday afternoon, as part of year end/Christmas thing for the corporate services team. Since a new executive general manager came in earlier this year (end March I think) a bit of reorganisation has come about and the legal department has moved from being part of commercial services (reporting to the CFO) to this new “CST” team, which also comprise internal audit, risk and compliance and some parts of project management.

The event was an “Amazing Race” type of chasing around the city. The company, Uplift Events, was the same joint which organised the same event while I was at AIA. To complete the trifecta, I had helped the company when it was setting up and I had helped with stuff like the shareholders’ agreement, web terms and disclaimers and participation forms and disclaimers and the like. To see the company grow and keep going has been a little pleasing.

So Friday I went home tired… but when I got home, the sight of a mound of mulch greeted me. 3+ cubic meters of stuff to be shovelled/raked/ barrowed was horrifying, especially after crisscrossing the city for a couple of hours earlier in the day.

Tress, Kiddo and I decided to just go out for dinner, and when we came back, we worked for about an hour, until it turned dark close to 9pm. I was glad we started as not only we did some work we managed to create a work system and momentum which we could then just pick up on the next day.

And so early on Sat Tress and I woke, had our coffee and toasts and then went to work by about 7am. Tim, who had provided us with the mulch, had also loaned us a large wheel barrow and a couple of shovels. One was a pitch fork which was certainly the right tool for the job. Before long, Kiddo joined us and after a few hours we managed to clear the mounds and spread the mulch through the areas which needed it. Around noon, after cleaning up, we went to Madam K and then off to the city to catch the King Kong musical at the Princess Theatre on Collin Street.

Unfortunately, I fell asleep momentarily a couple of times – the show was a spectacular one mechanical wise as the animation was surprisingly smooth and natural considering it was given effect primarily through cables and pulleys, worked by maybe half a dozen athletes. The music and acting was so so…but it was entertaining all the same.

On Sunday we went to church, went back to Madam K for lunch after that, and then off to some grocery shopping. Then after returning the tools to Tim we went to the Whitehorse Carols at the Whitehorse Civic Centre on Whitehorse Road. When we got home it was nearly 9pm and we had time to fix my lunch and I was so tired I could barely wake up this morning.

Christmas is only just over a week away and it was a busy weekend but best of all, it was loads of activities for the whole family right through the weekend.

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Friday … Will Sunday Come?


I once heard Tony Campolo preach a sermon titled “Friday’s here but Sunday’s Coming”. It’s supposed to be an uplifting thing, so that those affected by the sufferings of Christ and the eventual crucifixion on Friday, may look forward to the hope of Easter on Sunday.

Well I’ve had my “Fridays” for a while now. Not in the sense that there has been suffering or anything like that. Just an overall sense of being really underwhelmed and deflated. I need Sunday to arrive, and soon.

The Worst Ever (Black Saturday bushfires)


Victoria is in shock, I think. From the Premier John Brumby to my colleague across my desk, no one could believe what happened. The bushfires which raged through last Saturday would etch an indelible mark on those of us who lived through the day in this State.

We all waited in trepidation for last Saturday. The forecast had said the maximum temperature would be 44 deg. The actual maximum was 46.4 deg. It was also going to be very dry and windy.

A few of us visited a friend in Kew on Friday night and didn’t get back till late. At home, I couldn’t sleep straight away so I stayed up, had a few drinks and watched tele. 

As a result, I was up late – just after 7.30 – on Sat. Tress and I went to our usual coffee place, in the Chase. Just before 10 we got home and Tress and Kiddo both went to church for some practice and other meetings. I stayed at home and tried to do some work. By about 12 it had got up to about 40 deg so I gave up.

I also decided against attending the church Board meeting which was going ahead that afternoon. I thought if I did I would simply struggle through the 2-3 hour session and neither make any meaningful contribution nor feel any wiser or better for it. It would in fact, send me down a very bad path.

Tress and Kiddo came back just after noon and we decided to hide out in the Chase. They waited in the car and the moment I opened the house door to join them, I felt the heat hit me like the breath of a might dragon. The heat was intense and I never felt anything like it. It must have been at least 45 deg then.

We got to the Chase and I took the opportunity to look for a new pair of runners. My old ones are overdue for replacements. I used to change one every year (at the most).

Admittedly I run less these days but one reason for this has been my runners have been causing me problems. My right sole has been hurting and by all accounts, the shoe is the main culprit. So away with the old and in with the new. Problem was –they didn’t have my size. I use the New Balance 766, meaning it was a 2006 version of the 76x series. The New Balance 769 is the current one but they didn’t have a size 4E, which I need.

So the “shopping” activities went on. Only, we weren’t really shopping – more a case of just whiling away the time to hide from the oppressive heat. We took in some sushi and ice cream.

After about a couple of hours we thought conditions may have improved. We went home, were confronted with the continuing heat and went back to the Chase after less than 20 minutes!

This time, we just sat at the food court. Sharon our neighbour walked past and much to my shame I had to look at her a couple of times before being sure it was her. I think many modern neighbours don’t interact very much and sometimes we aren’t even sure what they look like! Anyway, I was sure it was her so I called out to her and we chatted for a bit.

It was soon just after 6pm and I stepped out of the Chase a bit to check out the conditions. It was cool again…

We went straight home, opened up the doors and windows, turned out the cooler and waited in anticipation for the house to cool down, quickly. I hit the showers and felt, just before 7pm that my weekend had only just started. Little did I know that for many, the nightmare of this enormous disaster has already begun.

 

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