Running Second?

So I am pretty sure I'm running second for the job I posted about recently, and interviewed for.

It was a decent interview, although I was a little nervous and talked too much. Nevertheless I think I did well. In fact I think they were a little afraid that I was over-qualified for the job. Still, they promised feedback by the end of that week, if not early the following week.

It is now early the following week following the following week, if that makes sense. I did try to call the HR guy last week but could not get through to him. My application is still open online, so I can only draw one conclusion....

I'm in second place.

In other words, they have a preferred candidate, and are going through the hoops with that person (medical, aptitude test etc) and then finally offer, to make sure they get that person, all the while keeping me on the back-burner in case their preferred choice doesn't either stack up or accept the role.

Either that or they are a fucked up company, at least in their HR department. Time will tell.

On a more positive note I have another interview (second round) on Thursday for an Operations Manager role, west of Canberra. It sounds like a challenging and bigger job, and frankly I am looking forward to exploring where it might go. Will keep you posted.

I'm pretty much the only one who reads this blog though so that means I am keeping myself posted. Whatever.

Back In The Hunt

So I've decided it's time to get back in the mining game.

The shop has been good to me, but as our book-keeper pointed out, it's too small a business to sustain two families. I know there are other issues there, but the amount of cash we need to get by is simply too much from half the business. If we ran it outright, perhaps, but that's not an option for now.

In any event, after 18 months or more - actually let's look back at my ASN timesheet to see the last time I did any meaningful work...

Wow, even though I did a few hours here and there up until March 2016, the last month I did a decent amount of work - specifically technical work - was August 2015. That's over TWO YEARS AGO!!!

So I have been out of the saddle for a while. And I have come to the conclusion that I still have something to offer mining, and that the fire still burns within. I think it was a combination of ASN, short-term jobs, and a distasteful finish to Penjom that tainted mining for me back then. Now it doesn't seem so bad after all!

And I have an interview. Somewhere not so far away. The money is not grand, but certainly a lot better than it is now. Plus it is with a reputable company with opportunity for growth. I'm quite excited and intend to put my best foot forward for sure.

The absolute best part is that we could stay here, in Barooga. Imagine that. I never thought it possible that I could have a mining job, live in Barooga for family and lifestyle reasons, and be home every night.

Wow.

Here's hoping...

Top 40 Songs Of All Time #2

Holy snapping duckshit.

This is going to be far, far harder than I originally thought. Just ranking the first 10 songs was a challenge enough. Then ranking the next 10 was equally vexing. Now I am faced with trying to integrate the two lists of 10 to commence the overall ranking. Gee whiz. How la?

Well, one thing that springs to mind is that out of the first two lists of 10, each one had five songs that ranked a 5/5, as in songs I would never pass on a playlist. So assuming I get at least a few per list, I won't have to worry about ranking anything less than 5 stars. That is a small saving grace at least. Plus, at the risk of posting every YouTube music video in existence on my page, I am now only going to post the 5 star songs' video links. I will mention the others though, for anyone who might be interested.

So here we go for round two...

1) Do You See What I See - Hunters & Collectors - 1987

2) New Sensation - INXS - 1987

3) DAVID - Gusgus - 2003

4) Just A Girl - No Doubt - 1995

5) One Night In Bangkok - Vinyl Shakerz - 2006

The other 5 are as follows; The Power (Snap), Give It Away (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), Want You Bad (Offspring), Who Let The Dogs Out (Baha Men), Cold Hard Bitch (Jet).

The 5 videos I posted are in order as I ranked them for this 10 songs. Coalescing them with the first 10 however (or first 5, as there were 5 five star songs in the first bunch) is another matter entirely.

So after much deliberation, here is the Top 10 as it stands....

1	When I Grow Up	Garbage	1998
2	Do You See What I See	Hunters & Collectors	1987
3	Are You Still Having Fun	Eagle Eye Cherry	2000
4	Don't You Forget About Me	Simple Minds	1985
5	New Sensation	INXS	1987
6	DAVID	Gusgus	2003
7	Just A Girl	No Doubt	1995
8	Rock Your Body, Rock	Ferry Corsten	2003
9	One Night In Bangkok	Vinyl Shakerz	2006
10	Galvanise	The Chemical Brothers	2005

There are a couple in there that I expect to stand the test of time, but many of them will be pushed further down the list no doubt, some likely even out of the Top 40.

Top 40 Songs of All Time - #1

Ok, so it's time to include this into my repertoire. Taste in music and a discussion and ranking of all of my favourite songs. I have an eclectic taste in music, so it will be interesting to see how they rank against each other, or even if it is possible to do this. Of course it is subjective - not just because it is my own personal taste, but also because depending on mood, circumstance, etc, how I feel about a song can and will change.

So here we go. On my iTunes I have about 1,500 songs at the moment, and am sure I am missing many that have just slipped my mind. My iTunes journey started back in Gladstone QLD in 2004 when I bought a PC there and installed it. I spend a long time downloading my many CD's, and was frankly glad not to have to cart them around with me everywhere anymore (I ended up donating them all to charity). I have also since moved to digital purchasing, although this is not without issue, as there are a number of songs in my library that I cannot currently access. More about that another time. For now, onto the first batch of songs.

What I intend to do is randomly select songs from my library and rank them in order of how much I like them. As new songs are selected, they will be compared to the existing list to find out where they slot in. So here we go with the first 10 songs....

1) Gonna Make You Sweat - C&C Music Factory - 1990

2) Rip It Up - 28 Days - 2000

3) Are You Still Having Fun - Eagle Eye Cherry - 2000

4) When I Grow Up - Garbage - 1998

5) Bustin' Surfboards - The Tornados - 1962

6) Galvanise - The Chemical Brothers - 2005

7) San Francisco - Scott McKenzie - 1967

8) Rock Your Body, Rock - Ferry Corsten - 2003

9) Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds - 1985

10) Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani - 2004

Ok so that's the first 10 songs! Quite a mix, encompassing 43 years. What I intend to do is listen to each one and then rank them. As new lots of 10 come into the mix, they will be ranked against previous iterations, and we'll see how we go from there. Given I have well over 1000 songs to look at, this may take some time!

Wow, some serious nostalgia there listening to those songs. So I came up with a basic ranking system from 1-5, with 5 being something I would never hit the pass button on and 1 wondering why it is in my collection to begin with.

For these first 10 songs, 5 hit top marks and 5 came in with 4/5 stars. Fuck my brown dog this is hard. But, after much deliberation, a few bourbons and numerous playing of the various clips, here is my initial order....

1	When I Grow Up	Garbage	1998
2	Are You Still Having Fun	Eagle Eye Cherry	2000
3	Don't You Forget About Me	Simple Minds	1985
4	Rock Your Body, Rock	Ferry Corsten	2003
5	Galvanise	The Chemical Brothers	2005
6	Rip It Up	28 Days	2000
7	Gonna Make You Sweat	C&C Music Factory	1990
8	San Francisco	Scott McKenzie	1967
9	Hollaback Girl	Gwen Stefani	2004
10	Bustin' Surfboards	The Tornadoes	1962

As I go through the next sets of songs, I'll decide where they fit on this list. Once I get to 40 overall, if a new song fits outside the Top 40, I won't bother ranking it, to save time if nothing else. After all, this is about an all-time Top 40 for me, not a Top 1500. Even though I am a complete-ist, that would be insane.

So, onto the next iteration....

Trip Advisor - My Top 5 Reviews

Little bit pissed this evening. Tough week. Easter weekend was pure madness at work, but damn good for the business. Have been enjoying it, both at work and at home, with the kids all doing really well, even with a few behavioral hiccups here and there. But hey, for 1,3 and now 5 yo's, they are doing just fine.

Anyhow, this post came about because I have just had a tiny inkling that I haven't been anywhere or done anything new of late. TripAdvisor https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ is a wonderful site and as well as contributing to it, it has been a source of useful info for me for a long, long time. I did realise today though, that I have not written a review in 2017 so far, and that's after doing over 200 in the few years before that, across many cities and countries. Such is our existence these days though. And you know what, it's not that "new and interesting" hasn't been happening to us, it's just that it has been happening in our own kitchen at home, which is pretty damn good I think.

Still, seeing that I had not posted a review in 2017, this prompted me to come up with this post, which is to sift through the 233 reviews I have done to date, and come up with my favourite 5! Wow, I just realised the first one goes back to mid-2012! So here goes with the Top 5!

Ok so I have now narrowed it down to 14 entries.

1) Westin Hotel KL****

2) Hong Kong Stadium*****

3) Le Meridien Jakarta***

4) BATS Jakarta***

5) Healy Mac's KL***

6) Club Motel Inverell NSW*

7) Hard Rock Hotel Penang****

8) French Hotel Ipoh**

9) WACA Perth****

10) Universal Bar Northbridge***

11) Gridiron Bangsar**

12) Cobba Paddleboat Cobram*

13) Zinc Kuching**

14) Highgate Cemetary, London*****

Interesting mix. So I reckon to narrow this down, and make it personal, let's rank these according to fame. Those most famous get 5 stars, down to 1 for unknowns. Bear with me, as I will be annotating the list above as I go rather than reproducing it....

Far out, this is interesting. I figured I would rank these in terms of fame, which I guess I kind of did. But rather than talk about the most famous ones, I think this post is going to be about the 5 least-known favourite posts of mine, which makes for more interesting reading rather than places 100 million people have been to. So here goes:

1) Club Motel, Inverell NSW

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g504252-d2008563-Reviews-Club_Motel-Inverell_New_South_Wales.html

This place deserves a mention as during our time in Texas QLD, whenever we went away, which was most weekends, this was our favourite place by far. Seriously, we had a couple of crazy experiences on our trips, one of which - in Toowoomba - scared the shit out of us. For many people, Inverell NSW is probably not on your bucket list of places to visit, but if you ever do happen to pass through there, this is the place to stay. An absolutely superb motel, professionally run, clean, excellent service, good parking, etc, etc, etc. It seems silly now, to put this on a "best of" list, but from my experience at many different hotels and motels over the years, this place sticks out, and deserves its spot.

2) French Hotel, Ipoh Malaysia

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_Review-g298298-d1220782-Reviews-Ipoh_French_Hotel-Ipoh_Kinta_District_Perak.html

This hotel deserves its mention for similar reasons to the Club above. Those who have ventured outside KL (and Penang and Langkawi) in Malaysia will know that "boutique" doesn't necessarily mean comfortable. In fact many of the hotels in smaller places in Malaysia are simply appaling, if not frightening! But the French exudes class, cleanliness, all while being housed in an historic part of Ipoh. I loved all my stays here, and it was a short walk to some of the best night spots Ipoh has to offer, which was even better!

3) Gridiron, Bangsar Malaysia

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g298570-d2551539-r266145456-GridIron_Sports_Cafe_Lounge-Kuala_Lumpur_Wilayah_Persekutuan.html

Ok I just realised I probably didn't use the right links to go to my specific review above, but oh well. Let's talk about Gridiron though. Sports Bars, at least those that don't just go for bloody soccer and perhaps a sprinkling of rugby and AFL on weekends, are few and far between in KL. So finding this place was a huge bonus for me during the last World Cup of cricket. The review says it all, but if you're in this part of KL of an evening (it doesn't really open during the day), this bar is the bomb.

4) Cobba Paddleboat, Cobram VIC

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g552152-d7915187-r317864772-Cobba_Paddleboat-Cobram_Moira_Shire_Victoria.html

Honestly there is not a lot to do as a tourist in my hometown, at least in terms of specific destinations. Yes the river and forest are the main attractions, but many of the other places are a little too tired and over-rated in my opinion. The Cobba however, is not. It is a fully refurbished and modernly appointed paddle steamer, with a wonderful top deck and also a heated cabin for those cold blustery days. They even have a small cafe on board. The trip lasts about an hour or so, and is a wonderful way to see the mighty Murray. We even spotted some koalas on our trip! If you're not going to the home of the steamer in Australia (Echuca) but want a similar experience, I can thoroughly recommend the Cobba!

5) Zinc Bar & Restaurant, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g298309-d7162248-r328124096-Zinc_Restaurant_and_Bar-Kuching_Sarawak.html

I went to Malaysian Borneo for the one and only visit of my 8 year stay in Malaysia only about 8 months before coming back to Australia for good. In hindsight I wish I had spent more time in this part of the world, particularly as my wife is from KK in Sabah. Kuching is a very cool city, with great character, and reminds me more of old town Ipoh than any other Malaysian city I can think of. There are numerous good eateries and bars in Kuching, but Zn is close to top of them all in my opinion. The pizza there was absolutely superb, as was the sangria, and they have a wonderfully diverse menu of both food and drinks, as well as live music. Really great atmosphere, and a wonderful place to spend a few hours.

Give Me Wodka

I was swapping a few messages with my old mate Subra today, and he was shocked to find out what happened to a couple of key members of the team that we worked for at the same project in Indo a couple of years ago.

Subra and I were both there as consultants / contract professionals. We were both offered permanent roles but both had to decline for family reasons. Different ones, but largely because whilst we gratefully accepted the short-term work and good rates, we couldn't do the 4:2 roster full-time. Frankly I will never go back to FIFO again. I would consider a few short-term one-off contracts, but not on a permanent basis. It's too important for me to watch my kids grow up, and for me to be with my beautiful wife. Anyway, I digress, this post was for different reasons.

Nostalgia first. Wetar was an interesting project to be involved with. At the time it was a bloody hard place to get to. I lived in KL, and had to fly to Bali, then Kupang, and then take a 12-24 hour boat trip to the island. It is a small island to the north of Timor, and on the boat one often got East Timor mobile reception. It felt odd being so close to Australia relatively, yet so far logistically from anywhere. If shit happened, well good luck. It was a throw-back in those days really, and perhaps still is. The pic below shows the topography of the island with the project happening amongst it.

But this post is about Subra. He has been a good friend and colleague for all of my time in Malaysia. I always found him honest, professional, witty, and a good bloke. I remember our month in Jakarta doing evaluations on Wetar while we were waiting for our kitas to be approved (Indo work permit).

We were staying at the Bellagio apartments in Mega Kuningan in Jakarta, with the office either a 10 minute cab ride or 15 min walk away. We frequently opted to walk. We were also pretty much the only people in the office apart from the admin staff, so spent most of our time together. It was kind of odd really, as we only had documents to go by (shitty too, as most of them were), with infrequent contact with the guys on site. So we spent a bit of time twiddling thumbs in-between phone calls, emails, etc.

Most evenings we would go for a walk around the circle that the apartments were in, and end up either at Jimi's Sports Bar or another small bar inside the little mall, whose name escapes me and I cannot find it online either. Perhaps it no longer exists. That would not surprise me, as it was tiny, deadly quiet, and because of those reasons, suited us perfectly.

I could watch the IPL or Big Bash on the tv, or whatever cricket was being played. One morning I even watched some Aussie test cricket (albeit at Jimi's rather than this place). But I remember Subra and I ending up in this little bar for a couple prior to heading to the supermarket and buying some supplies for dinner before heading to bed. Subra was always good for a couple of beers, but after that he would switch to vodka. I remember clearly the way he used to ask - "give me wodka". It must be an Indian thing, substituting w's for v's. It's a silly thing to remember really, but it sticks with me.

Subra also sticks with me because of how he has lead his life. His work has lead him to most parts of the world, in all forms of mining, drilling and engineering, and he has a damn good name. He does it all for his family. I am not sure how many kids he has, but I know of at least 3, and he has put them all through university overseas. On a Malaysian salary, even when working for expat companies, this is no mean feat. It is a huge investment, and one he does freely. He even spends most of his spare time visiting his kids, be it in the US or UK, and making sure they are all good. Subra must have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his kids, and they are doing bloody well because of it.

I admire you Subra. You are a good friend and colleague. But you are an incredible father, at least in terms of your sacrifice, and what you are willing to do to give your kids a chance in this crazy modern world.

This last pic shows Subra himself, with my mate JR, at the Avocet Chirstmas Party in 2010, in KL. My wife and I bailed early that night - I had had a huge few days with the boys in Bali just prior and the Mrs went hard on the night and paid for it. I might write another post about Avocet social life sometime, as the series of photos I have of this night bring back a lot of memories.

KL 3 Day Trip - A Visualisation - Day 1 (evening)

Boy oh boy.

Ok, so here I am. Midnight. Pissed. Probably the best placed to do this post, given it was going to be about drinking!

If you have any idea how hard it was to get that first sentence done then you know where I'm at.

Addendum. Ok, actually the main post. I did well to get a coherent sentence out the other night. But wisely I left it at that. Funnily enough I was doing a bit of KL reminiscing at the time too; with my old workmates and drinking partners: Dean, Russ and JR.

So back to business. And apologies to anyone who has found these posts thinking they might get some tourist insights into what to do in KL - believe me what I am proposing would be fun, but it is very personal in nature, and not written from the point of view of a visitor looking for a fun-filled first trip to KL. Anyhow, that said, onto my musings...

I figure there are two nights out to be had on the three day trip as the last one would best be a quiet one, given a likely early morning flight the next day. I am trying not to be too cliched in my approach, but frankly there is only one place that is a standout must visit for an evening out to me, especially within a restricted timeframe. That place is Changkat Bukit Bintang!

I posted about Changkat as we call it during my series of KL Bucket List items last year. I reckon if I were to go this time I'd probably start much the same way - find someone that's open early to chill, muck around on my phone, people watch and have a bite to eat with a few beers while figuring out my next move. One place I tried a couple of times and enjoyed as a one off place was Black Forest.

They have a nice porky snack menu, good beer selection, and a nice spot on the strip to people watch. I sometimes came to town early when meeting friends to avoid the traffic jam, and spent the hour or so here, or a similar place, chilling out and getting in the swing of things.

We had a few staples in Changkat, one of which has improved markedly in recent years since the old grumpy alcoholic owner buggered off, and that is Green Man.

Green Man is fabulous if you are a cricket fan, as it is one of the few places that will show it all day. Given that they open for breakfast, as an Aussie in KL it was simply wonderful to come down on a morning off, settle in for the first session of a test, and enjoy the day. As a drinking bar it is probably not one of the best, but for sports, decent snacks, and daytime boozing, you can't really go wrong.

My next option is actually next door to it and also shown in the photo above, and that is Healy Macs. This place is commonly regarded as the best pub in KL, and it has good reason to deserve this accolade. It is not cheap, but the variety of televised sport, the live music, the food and the drinks are just superb, as are the staff.

This dish is one of their signatures, the pork knuckle. We are talking superb here, and definitely a two person order!

So there are a few other places on the strip, some of which are worth a shot once in a while, and others - such as Front Page, while enjoyable, are suffering from lack of maintenance and cleanliness and have lost their lustre. My mate JR used to favour Locos because of its price, and while not bad, I have to say it wasn't my choice. He also loved the Whisky Bar, which is high end, but not the sort of comfortable place for chilling and sport watching that I tend towards.

I couldn't finish this without an honourable mention to Gypsy. This place was my first intoduction to CBB, back in 2009 when I started coming here both with friends and on my own. It was at Gypsy that I met JR the very first night he came to KL prior to starting at Penjom. It has reinvented itself over the years and it looking a lot nicer than it used to. But it still had the same core, and is still a fun place for late night drinks, or perhaps even to hook up, as I did on a couple of occasions back in those days.

So a night out for me in Changkat now would likely be a combination of all these places, for a bit of a trip down memory lane, perhaps the chance to spot a familiar face, watch a bit of sport, enjoy a bite to eat, and consume some icy Tigers while watching the world go by!

To finish off, I don't suggest hailing a cab in the street, as these are often the guys who will rip you off, not use the meter, and not be very helpful. I use either the grabcab app, which is superb, or walk up the hill at the non-Bukit Bintang end of the street, and hail a cab there.

I've had some wonderful nights on this street, and love the idea of going back for another go at some point!

Anniversary

Haha, I am not sure what prompted me, but this morning I decided to flick through my old Avocet files and found my 2010 timesheet.

It isn't a typo - Mac is actually March in Malay. As you can see, I had two five day breaks. Not entirely sure why, but that's irrelevant. What matters is that the Thursday night of my first break marked one of the most key events in my life.

That was the night I first met my wife.

I am not a believer in fate, but it is interesting how we met. We were both looking for a relationship, but let's just say, not love. However, as much as I don't like to espouse sentimental gibberish, life-changing love is exactly what we found.

We met online, with my wife responding to an ad I had placed. A few emails, texts and false starts later, we arranged to meet at Uncle Chili's bar/restaurant at the PJ Hilton in KL.

It was the first time I had been to the place, and it soon became a common port of call for us. It was either here or the Westin for many of our weekends in KL. It was an older hotel, but that generally means bigger rooms than is the norm these days, and the breakfast buffet was pretty darn good (the lunch one was just spectacular - we had Lala's 100 day feast here!).

I was flicking through photos online and found one that shows exactly where we were sitting.

It was the small round table with stools on the very left-hand side of the pic, half-way up. That's where I was sitting when my baby strolled into my life, wearing a beautiful flowing full-length dress and that amazing smile.

So 7 years ago yesterday. Incredible! I still remember having a little kiss in the carpark when we called it a night, and hanging out for our next date, which was to a halal cafe where musicians got up and played their own stuff. Very cool.

Anyway, more on that and subsequent events in another post!

Weight Loss

Wow, I have just been doing a bit of a project of mine, and going through our photos, arranging them, getting rid of many duplicate copies, etc. And looking at myself in 2012, boy oh boy. I have lost a LOT of weight since then! I knew I had slimmed down some, but seriously, I have lost a lot of weight! HAPPY ABOUT THAT!

Will get onto the evening version of KL A Visualisation Day 1 soon....

KL 3 Day Trip - A Visualisation! - Day 1 (daytime)

I have been thinking about travelling recently - quite whimsically, as I can't see us affording an overseas trip anytime soon, but hey that's just life - for now.

So of course, with KL being my most recent port of call (and abode) and with some of my friends now departing KL for new jobs, a trip back there has been on my mind. I wondered what I would do if I had three days there, and thought it would make an interesting post. Both for reasons of nostalgia, and of interest, to see what would push further up the priority list compared to other things.

I thought this might be the subject of an interesting series of posts - I am thinking Singapore, Hong Kong, London, to name a few. Plus perhaps cities I have either never visited, or have not been to in ages. It would take some research, travel planning, and frankly a whole lot of fun thinking about travelling! So here goes with the first one - 3 days in Kuala Lumpur!

Day 1

I've been wondering how to approach these posts from the point of view of whether or not I would be travelling solo. These days travel is done as a family unless it is for work, and frankly I can't see too many work trips to exotic overseas destinations in my near future! However, for this post, there is some small chance that my previous employer would gain enough traction with their current due diligence interest to get some funds, pay me what they owe me, and perhaps need me to finalise any queries regarding the mine or the deposit. Still, I think I am going to write all these posts as if they are family trips, with perhaps some leeway for adult excursions after hours. They are all going on purely in my head after all!

So where would we undoubtedly stay in KL would be at our old haunt, The Westin, in Bukit Bintang. As I wrote in a previous post, my wife and I (and me on my own during my single days of 09/10) stayed here probably twice per month, racking up over 100 nights over a two year period.

We would probably arrive late evening and head to the hotel. We generally don't favour overnight flights these days, as they can be a nightmare with kids, but again for the sake of the post, I'll stick with that as a plan, so the trip can be planned around three full days in KL.

We're all early risers, so I reckon we'd start the day probably heading down to the breakfast buffet at Westin. I know my wife would likely be clamouring for mamak food (street hawker stalls) but I have a plan for that for later, and Westin has a wonderful buffet, which suits every palate.

The photo doesn't really do it justice, but gives an idea of the array of food - there would be easily a dozen different areas like this with various Asian options, Western staples, a bakery, fruits, you name it. Yum! I used to love it! Expensive, but not if included with your room, as is frequently the case in Asian hotels.

So that probably takes us to say 8am on Day 1. After breakfast I reckon we would wander across the road to Pavilion, my favourite mall in KL, grab a copy of Timeout magazine to peruse the latest places to eat, drink, shop and party, and perhaps a coffee at The Pressroom, which is in the open arcade area on the ground floor. Pricey, but superb, and a wonderful spot to sit and watch the world go by. When meeting friends at nearby La Boca or Malones for a drink, I would often arrive early, simply to enjoy a coffee and relax here. Great Spot!

From then (kids and wife willing!) it would be the start of our first little adventure. I used to love walking around KL (see many of my older blog posts), and I fancy the idea of walking from Pavilion, down Jalan Bukit Bintang, across Jalan Tun Razak, and up Jalan Ampang Hilir. This is our old stomping ground: firstly in Ampang itself, where I used to live in the old days during my initial year in KL in 08/09, and then at the start of our second stint in 13/14 at Mutiara Upper East condo in Desa Pandan, just a few minutes of Ampang Hilir. The walk would likely involve a refreshment stop at Great Eastern Mall, which is frankly a fairly average mall, but was very convenient for us when we lived in the area, and did have some good food (the beef noodle soup in the Japanese restaurant upstairs is a must try!).

The real goal though, is the hawker centre at the end of Ampang Hilir. It is here where the best pork noodle soup we ever found in KL was located. When we were in Desa Pandan we used to go there at least twice per week, sometimes more often! The photo below shows the outside of the food court. The stall we visited is visible in the pic, but hard to make out. I hope she is still there, as it would be marvelous to go check it out again one day. The food court was pretty good overall too, with a great bakery, good chee cheong fan, excellent pork ball noodle, and top notch Cantonese BBQ.

This would probably see us through until about 1pm I reckon. By now no doubt everyone would have had a gutful of walking, so I reckon we'd adjourn next door to the hawker centre to the Brussels Beer Cafe for a couple of cool drinks. When I looked on Google Maps, the picture of this area was taken basically when we lived there in 2013, so I have no idea if it is still there - check that, I just googled them and yes they are! I have some fond memories of that place. One in particular is going there for a couple the night my son Daniel was born. It's across the road from old Ampang Grocers, a staple of shopping for expats from the days before the western supermarkets came into being. It's still a decent place to shop even now.

So assuming we're looking at 2pm-ish, it'd be a blue cab ride back to the Westin for a rest. From there, I reckon I'd leave the clan to chill at the hotel, and wander down to Cathy's (again from a previous post) to catch up with Michael and have a few icy-cold and very well-priced Tigers. Then it'd be a quick wander through the elevated, enclosed walkway (a brilliant feature in KL, linking Bukit Bintang and KLCC, enclosed and partly air-conditioned, and a wonderful way to traverse the area), back to the hotel to decide on how to spend the evening!

Hong Asian Grocery Shop

I thought it was time to give the local guy a plug. We moved to Barooga NSW about 8 months ago, after living in the bustling megalopolis that is KL, in Malaysia (for my wife, for her entire life, for me, for the last 8 years).

For both of us (her being Chinese it is ingrained, and me being a Brown, well all the more so too!) good food, and access to a good variety of food, is an essential part of life. A big part of that is Asian food. We are not all that specific about which cuisine we go for: in fact we go for them all! Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Japanese, you name it really!

So moving to a small Australian country town of only 5,500 people, one would think that having access to Asian groceries - both fresh and spices/sauces etc, would be challenging. Well think again! Enter - Hong Asian Grocery Shop (http://www.bigozdirectory.com/hong-asian-grocery-shop-cobram)

The web page isn't much, but gives the address and phone number at least. These guys are open 7 days, and will also bring stuff back from Melbourne for you - even freshly roasted duck, which is simply fabulous!

The array of sauces and spices is largely SE Asian influenced, so not a lot of Indian options, but they are still there. Anyway, what is there is magnificent, including all the pork, fish balls, frozen dim sum (superb quality) and Asian snacks we loved living in KL. I love this shop and am SO glad we have it close to us!

Mum's Birthday Dinner

Mum turns 79 today. She's doing so well for her age. Physically she has had her share of ailments, even crises once or twice, but she looks a lot younger than 79. We put it down to her calm and loving disposition. Mum is simply the nicest person I know.

So I decided to do something special for her birthday, although perhaps I should have waited until the big 8-0. Not to worry, I can always try to top it next year.

We've had a few family issues throughout 2016, largely health-related and largely to do with my two brothers. They're both in an ok place at the moment though, and will be joining us tonight, along with my sister, so Mum will be thrilled to have us all together. Here's a look at what I'm putting together...

A little ambitious perhaps? Well not really, I did the BKT yesterday and my wife prepared the chicken and Hakka Mee, while my brother is doing the prawn dish. The duck is bought cooked, so I really only have three dishes - all stir-fried - to do today.

OK, so that was yesterday. Chilling out this morning, feeling the effects of a late night and too much booze/smokes. Had a good one though, the meal was fantastic. Far too much food, particularly as not everyone ate. Not mentioning names, but won't be inviting certain people back to my table again in a hurry. But everyone else thoroughly enjoyed it, and there was enough leftover to feed us for a good few days.

My personal favourite was the bah kut teh. Rich and fatty, but utterly delicious. Beautiful blend of pork, garlic, dark soy, Chinese herbs and veggies. God it was good. All the other dishes were too, but that one was a stand-out. Thanks to everyone who contributed, family get-togethers are precious.

Pissed Post

Ok, so here's one for me.

Sitting here, a little later than normal. Been a crazy few weeks, with Xmas and NY being insane for the business, which means little time off. But tonight I sit here on the eve of 3 days off! Woohoo!

Life is good to me, I must admit. But at the same time it is tough. Never before have I had to watch my pennies like this. Never before have I had to pay one bill this week in favour of another, with only the potential prospect of coming good on the other bill the next week. WTF. This is tough. We play a bit of Lotto each week, in the hope of easing our burden. But life is here to tell me that it ain't gonna be that simple.

Maybe one day. But not just yet.

But. I am loving my family life. I love my wife more and more each day, and I absolutely adore my kids. The rest may be tough, but I am home each day, and being a dad and husband each day, and I love it.

Screw the problems. I deal with them, but in my own time.