makumaro.net

Set Ways

This is one of the tasty meat platters we had for dinner on Friday night at La Luna, a restaurant by celebrity chef Adrian Richardson. He wrote a book called Meat, which I bought a couple of months ago and brought it in for him to autograph.

Food was pretty good, and over the years I’ve developed a taste for cured meats and the various kinds of olives. A little on the pricey side, but as a form of fine dining, it’s definitely worth it.

* * *

Things are generally moving along at a glacier’s pace these days. Not to say that time is at a stand still, as work and other commitments keeps one fairly busy and before you know it, the weekend cycle has arrived again. It’s a little short, as it’s then you do your groceries, catch up with friends. Vyanne and I have been spending more time looking at houses these days. She checks out all the various properties available online while I just look at places every now and then. We’ve been seeing more locations, so I’m getting a better idea of what the various Melbournian suburbs are like.

* * *

Back to the glacial pace of things. I still feel stagnant with what I’ve achieved over the past few months. Maybe as I progress along in life, little achievements don’t seem to bring the same sense of accomplishment as it did a few years ago.

Haven’t picked up my camera much these days. My mind is off focus thinking of other things, mainly computer and work related. Heh, on the one hand I’d like to branch off and do photography related work. Other than the limited technical ability I have, there is very little I have that would prepare for a role like that. In short, I’d most certainly fail if I tried, as there is nothing pragmatic about doing something without any form of planning. I have no business skills, no people skills and my organisational skills are half baked at best.

There is the security of doing the work I have been doing for the past 4 years. It’s all the training from university to be an accountant, an analyst, looking at the logical side of things. Photography is really more about spark and creativity than matching numbers. Sometimes, I prefer matching numbers as I can see patterns in things. Photography is more about feeling and you have to be on top of your game day in and day out. I haven’t picked up my camera very often these days and when I do pick it up, I feel out of place with it, not being confident with how I’m handling it and doing the most basic of errors taking photos. Like a knife, all skills need to be sharpened constantly to maintain their edge.

I have trouble being 100% focused all the time. I tune out at work sometimes, thinking of other things that I’d be more interested in doing. Heh, wish I was more passionate with work as I am with most of the other things I do. I go out of my way to pick up new skills, and at work, it doesn’t drive me as often to do that.

* * *

I reminisce about my youth and think about how great it is to grow up again, to try new things and discover new wonders. It’s hard not to feel that we are set in our ways when we reach a certain age. I’m feeling like a late bloomer now, always going with the flow while I was younger but now I just want to break out and fly. Heh, better late than never.

Waiting For Friday

The sun has been semi blotted out the last few days. There’s the ongoing threat of bushfires in Melbourne and it really dampens the mood at times. Australia can be a tough country to live in, with floods in Queensland and Sydney, while Victoria has been suffering from draught for the past decade or so.

* * *

Realise that all real estate agents like to drive BMWs. I guess it’s part of the glamour of being in that job, to show off to prospective clients how much money the job bring in. Just like how some business people like to wear gold chains and watches, which goes back to the old days as a symbol of respect. Heh, I dress a little too crummily at times, and my hair is a little unkempt at the moment due to the barber not snipping off the edge at the back of my head, making it jut out a little. This was back in Malaysia, where I was always more keen on the RM12 Indian barber than the AUD$13 hair stylists here.

The reference to the real estate agent is due to us going to see houses again. Went to Oak Park this time and the area we were looking at seems nice. The place is not too far from public transport, which is good. Twenty minutes by car to the city, without needing to use the toll road, another bonus.

It’s a new piece of development, where there used to be a house and they probably tore it down, reallocated the land and put 3 townhouses on it instead. Inspecting all 3 places, it was like Goldilocks and the bears, the townhouses went from big, to medium sized, to small. I kind of liked the one in the middle, but still the asking price is a bit steep (relative to my expectations anyway) as once you include stamp duty and furniture, the place will cost a lot more than I’m willing to pay for.

* * *

Semi fixated with how work is at times. It’s the case of too much going on in a short period of time or nothing happening at all for long stretches of time. I’ve been exposed to various departments so I know my way around getting information on things I need to fix. It’s an interesting mix I suppose.

* * *

Plodding along with the website redesign. Heh, would like to sit down undisturbed for a day, listening to classical music (strangely, it does stimulate my creative juices when I do listen to it, especially Beethoven’s 9th symphony) and working out a way to get the site done.

The Ever Busy Thought Processes

A lone lamp post outside my cousin’s apartment taken just after the sunset. I wonder about the composition, whether the bright colours of the sunset capture your attention, or whether the lone lamp post seems jarringly out of place.

* * *

My mind churns a lot at work. These days I’ve been kept busy, doing different things and a lot of times you ask questions about things as you are unfamiliar, and soon everything just starts to fall into place. You start to pick out patterns and you have an idea on how to proceed with a problem. It was the same with my previous job but certain habits kept me from moving on. The new environment (well, it’s not that new anymore) and a different attitude towards work pushed me forward a little more in how I approach things. Heh, I really do believe my previous colleagues will have a different impression of who I am as opposed to those I’m working with now. I would appear more chatty these days, being happy to divulge more information on various topics as well as give an opinion. Previously I’d just nod in agreement I suppose, and there’s not much else you could dig out from me.

Just an observation of the self when I do think about it. They say
people don’t change much, but I believe a person can change if they want to. Maybe fundamentally I’m the same, where the constant is that I’m always seeking to improve myself, so that keeps me on my toes and not quite content or satisfied with what I have achieved (which is very little it seems). Then there is the contradiction to the above, in the sense that I am easily contented with certain things, not really needing to compete or prove to others that I am capable of more. I like to do things at my own pace, and there is never the pressure of never being able to achieve something. I don’t mind moving like a glacier, as long as I know I’m moving and I believe, I will get there sooner or later.