Willing Change

roast pork and mash

Vyanne was inspired to cook over the weekend. She prepared roast pork topped with a layer of smashing crackling, on top of a bed of sliced green apple and brussel sprouts, a drizzle of chacuterie sauce and mash potatoes on the side.

Enjoyed dinner with a bottle of 2008 Gembrook Hill Pinot Noir. The wine is fairly light drinking, slightly floral with some berry notes, and was pretty good with the pork.

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Heh, find I should write more. There’s a sense of deja vu mentioning this, as it feels like I’ve posted this on my blog before, but can’t seem to recall if it really happened. Sometimes thoughts just glaze through my mind but it doesn’t really occur to me what I’m thinking until I actually put word to paper (or in my case, typed out text on a giant screen).

Too caught up with the new place, looking at reviews for items to buy, organising time to do the stuff but everything is just trickling along. I like progress to be continuous but only the weekends are available and even then, I’ve been busy during those times with prior commitments, not to mention the weekly trip to the market for groceries. Things are moving along like a car in the wrong gear now. Heh, will not even start to talk about work, but with the things going on, it’s as settled as a dust cloud.

Have set aside some money for purchasing furniture, and I’ve told myself over the last 8 or so years that I’d buy it when I move out. Now that I am moving out, I’m not quite reluctant to spend, but I still want to stick to a budget. I don’t need to be lavish with house fittings, but then again, having experienced buying odds and ends over the last few years, you don’t want to skimp too much that you buy something that breaks after little use.

It’s the time of the year again when I’m questioning everything I’m doing. I’ve spent less than 2 years at my current work place, and even with all the benefits, I feel a longing to move on to find something more challenging. As you progress forward with work, you start to notice that not only do you need to be impeccable at your work, you also need to know how to manage people and their expectations. It’s good when you have senior people to refer to for guidance, but sometimes you wonder if the same experience will hold you back when you dismiss an idea because it’s been tried before and it wasn’t successful.

I’ve told myself that after moving to the new place and settling in it, I’d like to start hunting for a new job. Melbourne is a horrible place to look for work (apparently it’s one of the hardest states in Australia to land a job because it’s so competitive) but you always keep trying and something will come your way.

It’s strange that I actively want change these days as I find myself stagnating to routine. People find comfort in it while I find it absolutely terrifying that the lack of change and progress will make me become obsolete sooner rather than later. Heh, there’s that feeling of deja vu again. I really need to push that sense of problem solving, that of worry out into the open again. At least I feel that would be good for me.

The Next Hurdle Up

candlelight

Something from the archives. Haven’t had time to take photos, or do anything of a personal recreational manner other than playing computer games at the moment. So much I’d like to get through and so little time.

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It’s been a busy few days. Vyanne wanted to have a birthday party but having quite a few friends and relatives, it proved to be a challenge so we broke down the parties into two separate events on Saturday and Sunday. Was just busy shopping and preparing stuff on both days. Had a little time to do other things but the weekend just came and went quickly.

After 4 months of waiting, the house we purchased has finally settled. Heh, went to take a look and it looks so bare now with all the furniture and decorations gone. Wanted to sand and revarnish the floor boards, but they still look to be in excellent condition, so I’ve decided to give that a miss. Just thinking about all the upcoming expenditure to make the house a home makes me wince a little, heh.

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Probably just need some time out, I’m just a little tired out from having to constantly worry about stuff. Had to put in the hours to study before this, worried if I had sufficient understanding of the syllabus, and if I could pass it. There were some last minute worries with the home loan that needed to be sorted out. Now that the house has settled, there’s worry about all the other things that need to be arranged, like utilities, painting, furniture, logistics etc.

Heh, now that I’m typing this out I guess I shouldn’t be worrying so hard on these things. Part of me has always dealt with things as come what may. I’ve been a bag of mixed feelings of late, so I just need to pull myself together.

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Wanted to blog early to get all these pent up thoughts out of the way. Will need to prepare a list of things to do, and I’ll feel more comfortable once I can start ticking things off the list.

One Hurdle Down

quail terrine and foie gras cigar

This is my first ‘think outside the box’ shot for food at a restaurant. I usually take a shot straight up overhanging the dish. Restaurants are dark and sometimes if your food is dark, you bump up the ISO and you get a muddle of colours and maybe the outline of the food.

From a side angle, you get a different perspective on the food. Shown here is a quail terrine with foie gras cigar. The bright light in the background is the kitchen that pumps out the food.

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Went to Cutler and Co to celebrate Vyanne’s birthday. Heh, had my CPA exam on the same day so I was preoccupied with that and couldn’t really plan much of a party, other than having dinner at a place we’ve been meaning to try. The ambience there is quite relaxing, and even on a weekday, it was packed so it was good that I made a booking.

The food was pretty tasty. Fresh, bright flavours, I quite enjoyed it as a fine dining experience. We had the selection of appetizers, chose our own mains and then dessert. We even had the sommelier pick a couple of wines for us, the white was a nice bottle from Spain near Portugal that was in between dry and fruity, but had plenty of character. The other bottle of red was probably a bit bland (it was supposed to bring out some flavour when you had it with your main course) but overall not too bad, with slight tannins, tasting a little bit of vanilla (or so my senses tell me).

Dessert was just right, not too heavy and rich, but I found that there were many elements on the plate, so got a little confused trying to meld them together to be eaten in a spoonful. Overall, still a very satisfying dinner.

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Also sat through 3 hours of the CPA exam. Unlike university, where you had semester long assignments to get you familiar with the topic material, they also contributed to your overall mark, so you could still do poorly in the exam and pass. I feel I did alright, and it was an open book exam, so I could check the answers before committing to an answer. Heh, ran out of time at the very end and missed a question or two. Results are out next month and I hope I pass, so I can sign up for the next subject.

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A little exhausted from the exam and all that preparation. At least I’m free now and can concentrate about the house now, and all my other side projects that I’ve previously deferred. Want to catch up with some reading and do things just to unwind. Feels good to have things back to normal again. Heh, will enjoy it while it lasts.