makumaro.net

Road Trip

It’s been a good few days, with plenty to eat that you think there’s too much to eat at times. Went out with friends to have dinner for Christmas Eve at the James Squire Brewhouse at Docklands. Food was okay, but the beer they serve is always fantastic.

On Christmas day morning, the same lot of friends came over for a barbecue. Had the usual assortment of meats (including some exotic kangaroo meat) and vegetables and I was just happy grilling stuff and feeding people. It was a nice hot day, so we positioned the barbecue pit strategically under the shade while slowing drinking various beers.

At night, there was more food with a different group of friends and I was just tired out by the end of it all.

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Making a trip to Adelaide tomorrow. Not terribly keen on driving 8 hours to reach there (it is about 800km away from Melbourne), but it’s probably the cheapest way to get there (even if it isn’t the most time efficient). Booked the hotels for this trip only yesterday and the Internet really helps with these things as you can just process online transactions quickly to get everything prepared.

The last time I went was with Jerome about 4 years ago. Heh, can’t believe my friend drove us all the way there without flinching.

Just getting the last bits ready now. Heh, I heard that Kangaroo Island is interesting, although I haven’t been there myself. Would be a good time to explore it as once work resumes, Vyanne and I wouldn’t have much time to travel together.

Pensive

Went to the Red Hill Cherry Farm on Mornington Peninsula to pick cherries over the weekend. The weather was great for once with sunshine throughout. Plugged the address into the GPS and we reached there without missing a beat. My uncle thought I had been to the place before but it was my first time, heh, the wonders of technology.

The cherries were sweet by the way.

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The Winter Solstice was yesterday. Had dinner with my housemate’s relatives, and tang yuen after that. I have always known it to be a significant event, and in China, it is more important than Chinese New Year. I suppose that making it into the winter with ample amounts of stored food is reason enough to celebrate with your family. That’s the only reason I can think of for celebrating.

I wonder at times, having spent time with different people and their families. Everyone is so different. I was pretty single minded about things growing up, thinking that everyone would have the same experience. Heh, that isn’t quite true, and you do get a bit of a culture shock listening to people describe their families. I was never quite comfortable in my own skin. It’s been a while since I’ve felt being the odd one out, although I’ve absorbed enough experiences from others to feel like I fit in some how.

I wonder about steady incomes, how some of my colleagues need each pay check to get by. Expenses that I may find trivial at times, like travelling home to visit family, some would rather not spend it as it is too expensive. My argument is that I don’t see my family often enough, and even if it’s a bit pricey, I’d forgo other things to do it. Some find that it eats into their daily expenses, and would rather use it for something with a higher priority.

There is also the difference in opinion on life in Australia. To some it seems expensive here, the higher taxes, the relative price of food. Is it really that expensive if you work and spend here? I haven’t found it to be so, and there are hidden costs that people do not consider when they try to price a bowl of noodles. You’d go into the entire argument about the relative comfort of your surroundings, labour costs and equality among people. It’s not simply the dollar amount that you slap onto the item, but also the ease of mind on other things.

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Just one more day at work, and I get to take my mind off things. Feeling a little detached from everything. Want to be nice to everyone but somehow I feel I always fall short of expectations. Wishing for simpler days at times. Ideally, I’d just want to be happy.

These days there is the burden of worrying about what to do next in life. There’s so much interesting to do in life, but a jack of all trades is a master of none. I’d really like to learn everything, yet I’m also keen to improve significantly in one of the areas I’m interested in, and there’s only time to accomplish one task at a time.

I’ll just keep pondering about it.

No Title in Particular

Vyanne made this wicked lamb with cous cous for dinner. Heh, as usual, I only provided help with prepping the vegies. Coated with bread crumbs and herbs, the lamb was so juicy and tender.

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Sitting in the dark again typing out a post. Finally got Ubuntu on my Eee PC. It’s a fascinating operating system and so versatile, you could just pop it on an SD card and you have a full powered operating system without even needing to flip Windows off it (which was what I originally intended to do, but decided to keep it on just in case I needed it for whatever reason.)

I’ve played with Ubuntu so many times (running Intrepid Ibex) that I’m now pretty comfortable navigating around it and using it as a day to day operating system. Switching in between operating systems now to get the best of both worlds. There are so many Linux applications that I’m interested in dabbling with, and what better way than to install an operating system that I can directly tinker with.

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Work goes in cycles, with all the month end stuff and reporting, it keeps me busy for a bit. I like the last third of the month, where you can slow down and do your own things. It’s amazing how over a couple of weeks, just sitting down in meetings discussing things with people gives you more insight into the business.

I am still very keen to learn and an IT perspective on process improvement is always a good thing to have. Heh, some tips when at work, always be proactive about what your boss wants. Try and anticipate things, and don’t just do what you are told. It took me four or five months into my first job to figure that out. I’m moving myself along faster these days, trying to be proactive in asking questions and doing things. It helps to keep the job interesting.

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Heh, so much to do, so little time. Need to turn in soon. Just waiting for the holidays to come. It’s been kind of chilly for summer, with 36 hour rain over the weekend. Melbourne weather, truly unpredictable.