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A House is Not A Home

Celebrated my cousin’s graduation and another one’s 21st birthday. Went to a teppanyaki restaurant and this is the first time I’ve actively thought through using motion in my photos. You get the feel of motion here without feeling that the picture went blurry as you can still see bits of the bean sprouts in sharp detail.

Same as this picture below, where the prawns are static, but you see the chef quickly adding sauce to the cooking prawns. You get the sense that cooking involves speed and movement. Some of the action requires a quick flick of the dials to get the correct exposure settings, and the D300 shines in this area of quick adjustments.

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Our new fridge finally arrived. The first item I stored in it was a bottle of milk. Ran to 7-11 after work to grab some milk for coffee. Was grinning ear to ear when after a few hours, I took out the milk and it felt nice and chilled.

It’s good to have housemates. My housemate’s brother is visiting and was around to take delivery of the fridge. Heh, with Vyanne and I working, plus the need to be out tomorrow, it wouldn’t have been possible to collect the fridge earlier without his help.

Even if I complain about not having my own space at times, I still feel it’s important to have people around. Coming home to an empty house is just depressing (as I felt for many months while I was in New York). Just having different people to talk to and bounce different ideas off them, is helpful to comfort the soul. I’ve been staying in this apartment for the past 7 years and it’s had many different tenants throughout the years, but it’s only been lately that I’ve contributed more towards making it a home.

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It’s a long weekend and Vyanne has planned an itinerary for us to go up north to Beechworth. Heh, it should be a picturesque and tasty trip, with plenty of opportunities to try the local wines, cheese, honey etc. It’s going to be a hectic weekend, as there are other plans before going on the trip. Time to sleep!

Additions

Was at the Scienceworks Museum last Thursday night to go see the Star Wars Exhibition. You could say most adults who went there were accompanied by kids. Heh, I guess me and my friend were just big kids there. Star Wars was a phenomenon, and every character created left a lasting impression, even the ever annoying Jar Jar Binks, who jars your memory everytime you think of him (pun intended).

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My credit card bill next month is going to be painful. Spent on the coffee machine, and just purchased a new fridge yesterday, a Fisher and Paykel E402BRX. It’s double the size of what we have in the apartment now, comes in stainless steel ($100 extra compared to the white version to satisfy the vanity) and is of the bottom, top variety. This just means that the freezer is in the unconventional location at the bottom of the fridge and the regular cooling section is up top. These types of fridges cost more, but you get extra freezer space (1/3 the space instead of 1/4 of regular fridges) and physics thought you that hot air rises and cold air sinks, hence the position of the freezer at the bottom, making it more efficient to cool.

Fisher and Paykel are sort of the luxury brand for refrigerators. Vyanne and I did research prior to visiting the store. You have Westinghouse, Samsung and LG refrigerators but after the slick salesman at Harvey Norman went through the materials and manufacturing process of the fridge, I was pretty much sold on the Fisher and Paykel brand.

I have the experience of purchasing a fridge before while I was still in uni back in 2002. As a student, and not knowing if I’d stay on after I graduated, the cheapest fridge at the shop was basically what I purchased. Fast forward 7 years and the fridge is still running, but I have to either finish my milk quickly, or throw it out before the expiry date as the fridge doesn’t cool as well as it used to. So a proper fridge is within the four digit range, and not the three digits I paid for it so long ago. You have to consider the fact that you use it 24 x 7, even if you don’t look at it like say a computer screen, so why cut corners on something that is essential for everyday life? Hence the stainless steel edition of the fridge, and if it’s 7 years before I get a new fridge, I think it’s money well spent.

Did we get the best price for it? Well, not quite. Slick salesman used some interesting tactics, asking up front if we would buy the fridge if the price was right. We quoted him an online price, so managed to knock down the fridge price quite a bit. Not as cheap as the online price, but prefer to deal with a physical store and a reputable brand (not that I’ve purchased anything from Harvey Norman before). The not so cheap part was the delivery charge and the extra warranty. Somehow we got talked into paying for the added warranty. Heh, I’m a believer of the idea that if you buy something, and if it doesn’t break down within 7 days, it’s not likely to break down at all, except due to old age. Oh well, you learn.

Fridge is currently out of stock at the store but sitting in a warehouse somewhere in Australia. Hope to get it soon so I can stop worrying about my milk turning into yogurt.

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Making coffee is like researching a PhD paper. There are so many variations to making an espresso shot that it’s almost mind boggling. Different beans from different locations have different taste profiles, suitable for different methods of making coffee. Roast them between medium and dark, and you get something different. Mix the beans together into different blends, and you get the various characteristics of each bean.

It is as much science as it is art, where you can be as specific as getting the 21g of beans required to make a double shot, or just using your senses to see, hear and smell if your coffee/milk has come out properly. I have pulled shots with varying success and the more I learn about the process, the more confusing it gets. Best to keep practicing until you can get it consistent, but I don’t make nearly enough drinks to be able to pick up the subtle differences that quickly.

One of the first coffees I made when I got the machine. Looked decent, tasted decent. Now I’m having a little more trouble trying to replicate a proper drop. My tastebuds have become confused with whether the coffee is sour or bitter, although I tend to think it’s verging on sour more often than not. Keen to learn everything but sometimes the information is overwhelming. Heh, that’s when I just go to the proper cafes nearby and for $3.30, you get a very decent drop of coffee.

Bugged

I’ve been afflicted with a probable flu bug. Have a feeling I got a slight chill when I took a long walk out on Saturday. Having this nasty sorethroat at the moment and the only thing I have available to combat the sore throat is a pack of butter menthol lozenges (no idea if they actually work) and some other medication for the flu.

My body was probably giving me subtle hints that I’ve not been feeling well over the last few days but I’ve been managing cat naps after work and still sleep as per my usual midnight schedule. Only problem is that where the body is weak, the mind is still able. I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night a lot these days but with little I can do to pass the time. Heh, the problem with sharing an apartment is that I can’t hide in another corner to do other stuff without waking the rest of the household, so all I can do is idle in bed and hope I fall asleep again but that usually means I’m in and out of sleep accompanied by strange dreams.

Work has slowed down a bit after the budget process and I’m not as mentally tired as I used to be while working at a hedge fund, so my brain is probably rusting a little. Been reading photography books and trying new things, but the shots that come out of the camera of late are either very boring or of no consequence.

So I guess everything is contributing to my frustration with life in general at the moment. Work is mundane, the hobbies seem lack luster. I don’t seem to feel like I’m doing anything useful or worthwhile at the moment. Just that when you aren’t feeling too well you start to neglect all the other daily chores and things start to fall apart.

At least Friday is here, will try to sort out my personal mess over the weekend.