Vote of Confidence

It occurred to me this morning that perhaps one of the reasons I have not been blogging as much as I'd like is that many of my draft blogs are big-ticket posts about my life and history. Yep, that is kind of the point of this blog, so it's no surprise, but those big posts are not easy to write, and I find I need to be in the right zone to do them. But my intent is not to leave the blog idle in-between those posts, but to fill it with the more mundane, quirky, or just inspiring things that happen to me in life. I think that gives the blog flavour and keeps it interesting. For me at least anyway, and perhaps for my family in due course if and when they read it.

So onto today's post. I have become a bit of a scrooge at Xmas these days, and if it wasn't for the fact I have kids and a mum who is a traditionalist, I'd likely ignore it altogether. But of course the kids love it, and Mum enjoys having us all over for lunch, so we do it. I must admit, I love the excited look on my kids' faces when they see their stocking or open their presents, and I always enjoy the time with my family - well mostly anyway. In the past we used to get the whole, extended family together for Omi's birthday on Xmas Eve (see the post on Omi & Opi about this in more detail), and most of the attendees were people I would not go out of my way to see at any other time. Anyway, I digress.

One thing I don't do anymore is write Xmas cards. Generally pointless and 99% of the time clearly just going through the motions for people - Dear X, Merry Xmas, From Y. Whoopie F'ing Doo. So with the exception of my wife, I don't write them anymore. And of course, surprise, surprise, that also means I don't receive them anymore (with the exception of my mum). So I was a tad surprised when I walked into my office yesterday to find one lying on my desk. I immediately assumed it was from one of our myriad of suppliers, who often want to grease palms to maintain goodwill, and fair enough to them too. However this card was from one of the teams at work. On the front it was a bunch of cats wearing Xmas hats, but the photo below shows what was on the back: 

I must admit, I was a little humbled to read those words. I do try to be a good leader, but these days I often find that I am compromised because of internal and external pressures and just not knowing how to deal with it all. I seem to find that almost everything I do is less than 100%, which frankly annoys the piss out of me. It's not that I am a perfectionist, it's more that I know the pressure my team work under, so it I feel I am not able to give them my all, I am letting them down. I am spread so thin these days that this outcome is inevitable. Plus I deal with this stress poorly sometimes (often), letting off steam and hating everything frankly. So knowing that others in the business still see value to what I do makes a difference, and I am grateful both for the thoughtfulness of the card, and the vote of confidence within.

Next Gen Expat

So, here we go again, perhaps. I have had the Asian carrot dangled in front of me once more, and was seriously considering the prospect of grabbing it. A role managing a contract polymetallic mining operation in Vietnam is on offer, with exceptional financial benefits, plus housing. The rest is a bit of an unknown at this point, although it would appear that most costs of living over there are very cheap by comparison to here in Australia.

The pros and cons of this decision are one thing. But what this coming up did make me think of was the changing face of being an expat in SEA over the years. If I had accepted this job, it would be the third iteration for me. This is what I'm on about;

1st Generation Expat - Well it was actually my dad who was the expat here, back in the late 70's and 1980's, when we lived in both Hong Kong and Singapore. He was working on the new underground rail systems, and generally keen on for his knowledge of coffer dams, tunnels, that kind of thing. Our family had a history in construction in Asia, both SEA and mainland China, dating back to the very early 1900's and perhaps even earlier. Being an expat in those days came with a lot of perks, at least in British colonies or ex-colonies. I don't know how Dad's salary compared, but we also got housing, school paid for, and club membership paid for. As was the case when Dad was a kid himself or when he was there with my siblings in the 60's, our club was the KCC, the Kowloon Cricket Club. It has been an institution for a century and is still going strong, but oh boy you would need to be wealthy to join these days. I visited again with my brother in 2002, and was fortunate enough to be able to visit. It really is a relic from a bygone era, with it's long bar and billiards room, which I believe in the past was off-limits to women. It had a formal restaurant, where kids were not allowed and a tie was the dress code. It had a wonderful buffet, that I still remember to this day - well at least the black bean mussels, which I remember devouring like nobody's business. It is an interesting memory, because I don't like mussels these days and generally avoid them wherever possible. 

Thanks to www.living.hongkonghomes.com for that superb shot of the grounds of the KCC. So in my expat kid years in HK from 1979 to 1985, it was a good life. I believe my parents were able to save a fair bit, and I had some great schooling at KJS and then KGV. Apart from the club membership, what really stood out was the fact that in HK, at least in the professional sectors, generally all senior positions were held by Caucasians. Not 100%, but very much the majority of them. As one of that ilk, my dad was held in high regard and really was treated like an upper-class member of society. What grounded my dad and made him very popular with the locals was the fact that he spoke Cantonese. His workforce reacted with equal amounts of mirth and admiration whenever Dad admonished them using the local vernacular, particularly the expletives.

2nd Generation Expat - In 1985, Dad received an offer from one of the partners who had built the MTR in Hong Kong, Nishimatsu, a Japanese construction company, to help them do the same in Singapore. For whatever reason, this new venture was called the MRT rather than MTR. In the Singapore version it stands for Mass Rapid Transit, whereas in HK it is Mass Transit Railway. Semantics, as I believe it is actually the same global company, just with different local versions. There are now actually a number of them all over Asia I believe.

We stayed in Singapore until 1988, when Dad was faced with another decision, either to move to the Philippines to work on the next project, or finish up, as his part of the project was done. He chose retirement, which in hindsight I feel was a bit premature, as he was only 58. Hey that is being a bit hypocritical I know, because the way I feel these days, I would retire immediately if I was financially secure enough. Dad had a bung hip, a couple of other health conditions, and not a lot of ambition to keep going. So he was ok choosing the retirement option. I wonder if he ever regretted that decision, as he was a bit of a maniac in retirement - he was never settled, often bored and seemed to have no hobbies other than doing a bit in the garden. I shouldn't criticise, but work really was his second love (Mum always being his first), so perhaps he shouldn't have given it away too easily. Anyway, that is history, and as I always say, I have no problem with anything in the past, because it has all led me here, and here is a place I am very happy with. I don't mean Mitchell St in Echuca, I mean a life where I have my lovely wife and three amazing kids, a challenging and well-paying job, and a pretty bright future. So despite what I have just written, thanks Dad for choosing the path you did, as those choices were a pretty big part of me ending up here.

Anyway I digress, this post is supposed to be about expat life. Still, the background is all very relevant, and this is my story after all, so bugger it! Expat life in the late 80's was a bit different to the 70's and early 80's, as in it was not so privileged. No club memberships as part of the deal this time around. Maybe that was because it was a Japanese employer rather than a British one, but even so, the culture overall was different too. In Singapore there was a far greater diversity of nationalities, races and religions represented in Dad's workforce. Dad worked with people from the UK, Japan, India and also some local Singaporeans. I believe this represented the first real shift from the old school mentality, and demonstrated one of the first (in my experience) environments where skilled, qualified and experienced professionals were able to compete with Caucasians for employment. 

Even so the really luxurious perks like club membership were off the menu when it came to expat contracts in the late 80's, it was still very lucrative and privileged. They paid for my school for one, which at UWC was in the order of 20 grand per year if I am not mistaken - a whopping amount, especially in those days. Plus we lived in a pretty deluxe place, Clementi Park condominium. It was a huge high-rise apartment and really lovely. Below is a photo of the clubhouse and pool, which was simply awesome to spend time in.

Now those who are reading this may well be expecting me to jump to third generation expats when it is time to reference my first foray into working and living as an expat myself, but this is not the case. In fact when I went to Malaysia in 2008, I think the culture, and packages were much the same as they were in Singapore in the late 80's. This may be due to it being Malaysia, which was kind of next can off the rank if you like. Don't get me wrong, there was still a whole lot of expats in Sing - in fact they make up more than half the population I believe - but only the very top level executives get privilege these days - it is still well paid, but not really much more than a local professional. In Malaysia though, expat life was still wonderful. Housing, car, maid, allowance for this, that and everything, decent pay and flights home. I didn't need schooling then, but that was included too for those who did. I loved this time in Malaysia, and apart from a bit of a zig-zag briefly in 2013, spent about nine years there. I have blogged about favourite homes I have had before, and a couple of the places I lived in KL feature. Link below:

My Favourite Homes

After Malaysia came another shortish stint back in Oz, then I was over to Indonesia this time. The expat perks there were along the same lines, although it was becoming more and more obvious that expat roles in Indonesia, much like Malaysia, were becoming less frequent. This was partially due to driving down costs but mainly due to these countries, much like HK and Sing before them, developing internally and producing professional locals, who could do the same job, but without the expat price-tag. This means that unless there is another boom in these countries, it is unlikely I will ever land another role like those I have had there in the past. A sad but true fact. Frankly, this is the inevitable outcome, as one of our key responsibilities as expats is always to train the locals, in order to eventually replace ourselves with them. It is not always as simple as that, but over time, that is the outcome. 

3rd Generation Expat - Vietnam, Laos etc. - This leads us to today, and what I call the third generation expat. As mentioned at the start of the post, I have recently been approached to go work in Vietnam. I have since turned them down, on the basis that while it was a reasonable commute roster, the 3-4 nights per week away from home it would entail, compared to the 1-2 I do now, is not acceptable. I am simply not willing to forgo watching my kids grow up and being a close, daily part of this family. Not for all the money in the world. So despite the incredible offer on the table, I had to say no. I toyed with the idea of local schooling, but none of it is done in English, and this would simply be too large a hurdle for my kids at this stage.

The interesting thing though, is that some years ago, when I was doing the Malaysia / Indo thing, Vietnam and Laos were not really on the table. There were roles there yes, but burgeoning ones, in new projects. These countries, while having a history of colonialism, are new to expats in my industry. So I call them third gen, as they are the new happy hunting ground for expats. Of course there have always been roles in Africa, and likely always will be, but that's a bridge I am unwilling to cross. It is good to know though, that as poorer countries develop, the generation or two, or three, of expat opportunities this creates, provide an ever-changing scene in our industry. Should I be willing to take that ride, I could continue with it. And who knows, if the right residential role comes up in the right place, with the right schooling, I would certainly consider it. Just on Friday I got a call from old John Reeve, regarding ASN and its status. He has been paying lip service to this project for years, and the likes of Ib and myself had essentially given up. But it may not be over quite yet. Should the funding arrive, an offer may land on the table for me really, really quickly. Malaysia? As I said before I thought expat roles were over there, but there are always exceptions to every rule. And it is my dream location to finish my career, raise my kids and journey into retirement. Let's see how it pans out...

My Career - Part 2 - Kalgoorlie (1995 - 1998)

I wrote the title for this post some time ago, when I was thinking about telling the story of my career. This in itself will be an interesting read, at least for those who'd like to know more about what I have done in my professional life. But more than that, I think it's a good opportunity to tell the tale of what life was like for me, during the years that I lived in Kal, and elsewhere.

I was in Southern Cross, which was the location of my birth into the mining industry, for some time before I discovered Kal. I arrived in SX in about early Nov 1994 (following my 1993 work experience posting), and stayed until about Q3 95. Sometime in Q2, SOG's took over RYGOL, who I had been working for. I was made redundant, and effectively asked to reapply for my job. The new bosses frankly came across fairly poorly to me, so I was not sure what to do. One weekend I decided to shoot up to Kal for a look (2 hours away) and by chance went to the Superpit lookout. Compared to what I was used to at Marvel Loch or Mercury, THIS was real mining. OMG. I left convinced that I needed to work in this pit. To put it in context you could have taken all mining in SX by all companies, multiplied it by 100 and thrown it in the Superpit and it still wouldn't have even filled it by 10%. Hey don't get me wrong - satellite and small-pit mining is the corner-stone of where all this came from. But from a young 20-something mining engineer's perspective, Kalgoorlie was IT mofo.

So I went back to SX and wrote to KCGM. They wrote back and said come for an interview. It turns out I had applied just before they advertised, and the boss at the time - George Hewitt - was impressed by that. As it happens, I got the job. So it was farewell SX, and hello Kalgoorlie. For the next five years! Three of which were at the Superpit itself - Fimiston to employees and old-timers, and Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines officially.

This photo is of a fellow by the name of Bruce McFadzean, or McFads as we called him. He was my first mentor, and frankly, probably the most influential of my mentors throughout my career. I picked this photo out as if you look at other posts regarding Kalgoorlie life, you'll see the more social ones there. This is an industry one. Bruce is a fucking legend. Be more like Bruce.

So I got the job. Day #1 and I turned up to the office near the security gate. There were maybe 10 of us, to do our week-long induction (the length of which I never encountered anywhere else in my career. Now as a seasoned veteran, this would be a tough grind, back then as a greenhorn, it was great). A few of us smoked, and on one such break I spoke to one of the other inductees. He introduced himself as Bruce, and as a fellow mining engineer, nothing else. He had a magnetic personality about him, and was clearly a good 20 years older than me. So of course I gravitated towards him. He told stories about working in Indonesia, about gold mining, about why this place was special, and about what his job was going to be in Strategic Planning. We became friends that week, and it was only after I had started in the mining office and went to look for him one day that I realised he was the Manager of Strategic Planning. That told me a lot about him that he wasn't interested in promoting his level, just our commonality both as engineers. As I said earlier, be more like Bruce. I certainly aspired to be in the first 10 years of my career, and frankly to this day I still do.

Ok so this is a generic gold ore photo and frankly not one likely to be seen at KCGM in my day. I think the old timers got a lot of the native (free) gold, such as shown in this photo. The gold at Fimiston was chemically mixed with massive sulphides, and as such needed serious treating to extract. It had to be roasted to burn the sulphides, then arsenic was used in flotation cells to capture the gold and create a floating slurry that could be taken off the top of big CIL tanks and then the gold extracted from there. I remember we had a slogan shown around the site everywhere - 650 / 300 / 0. This meant, target was 650,000 ounces of gold per year produced, at an average cost of US$300/oz, and with zero serious injuries. I think they have maintained the 650-750koz production, not sure about the injuries, but I know costs are now about $1,000/oz or more, not $300!!! But given where the price of gold is these days, that is not a problem. Although it might be in the future...

Gorgeous George: George was the fellow who actually offered me the job at KCGM, so I shouldn't diss him too much. But he was a muddler at best, not great at making decisions, and not very sound technically. The nickname came care of Alex, who was very adept at giving the more eccentric or nonsense members of the team their own moniker. Perhaps I sell him short, but the reality was he wasn't there for that long, and was replaced as Senior Mining Engineer by my partner in the ranks when I joined, John Battista. I still look up George on LinkedIn from time to time and he is still around in various roles in outback W.A.

JB was the other one of the production engineers when I started at KCGM, and taught me the ropes. When it came to Vulcan, blast monitors, recording and reviewing blasts, dealing with Roche and the mining contract, John was a cracker. Consummate professional and a decent guy too, he was someone really good to learn from. Here is a photo of JB, Bruce and I at a function.

Blast monitors - this was something very new to me, and in those days of the mid-90's, it was pretty cutting edge technology. Being so close to Kalgoorlie and blasting almost every day, we were required to monitor our blasts to ensure we didn't make too much noise, nor cause too much vibration. We had license limits for both, and a series of I think eight monitors right along our boundary with the town. They were essentially a concrete plinth, with the vibration monitor set in it, and a pole with the noise monitor. A solar panel and control box were attached too, and once per month, it was part of my job to go and download our data, clean the monitors, and make sure all was fine and dandy. Once in a while they were vandalised, but as they stood in small fenced compounds, they were mostly ok. 

Angelo and Greg - I was away from home over in the Goldfields, and once I broke up with Lucy, did feel pretty alone for a while there. I did make some friends at work, and also had a couple of people share with me in my first year, living on Egan St in Kal. But there were two others from RMIT over in the west too, Angelo and Greg. Angelo working for Orica, which he still does to this day, and Greg I cannot remember. Greg even stayed with me for a period. I remember cooking him pork chops basted in a Thai chilli paste and him thinking that was pretty darn good! I was also out with them pubbing one night when I met an English backpacker - Laura Squires - who also stayed with me for a few days.

Russell In The Hut - this is a post I wrote some years ago on KCGM and various aspects of it. I won't repeat all of it here, but it should be read in conjunction with this one to get a full flavour of life in Kalgoorlie for me.

Let's reflect on who from KCGM I am still in touch with, all these years later; Skinny probably more than anyone else. Coops, McFads, Innes, Hanky Panky, Batman, Alex once in a blue moon. The only people I have actually seen since then are Richo of course, as I have worked with him many times since. But on a friendly level, it's Martin and Cobby. Martin I last saw in Singapore, and Cobby in KL. Neither there to visit me, but we were in touch, so caught up nonetheless. I have seen Martin a number of times over the years, Cobby just the once. I actually thought of Martin the other day, because he liked a post on LinkedIn that was in remembrance of fire fighters on 9/11. On that fateful day he actually visited me in my little flat in Perth and we sat there and watched the events unfold together. I remember having the flu. Funny how some things stick with you.

Kal was a very social place and we were often out for company drinks, dinners and the like. I remember Jeff (the mine manager when I joined) introducing me at one such evening to someone and telling them I had an outstanding work ethic. Haha, well I didn't have a whole lot else to do and used to always come in on a Saturday morning to catch up on things. Plus I was just in love with driving around the pit, being with the legendary guys we had there, and absorbing everything I could.

So once Batman was promoted to Senior and George left, things changed a bit. Alex came into our team and I actually had to teach him how to do blast design. An example of a blast design is below. It is a logical pattern of blast holes, which are then loaded with explosives and "tied in", which means linking together so they blast in sequence and make nicely broken rock to dig. An example of a tie-in is below, as well as an actual photo I took of a drill pattern there.

I also got into what we called blastmaster design, and pit design. A good example of a pit, and one similar in scale to Fimiston is below. That picture is an overall pit. Now it is important to understand that one does not mine the whole thing out bench by bench. Instead, you would pick one part and drive down on that, to get to the ore quickly. Once you reached the ore and had a steady supply, you could then start on another part of the pit, called a cutback. KCGM had a number of cutbacks going at any one time. Scheduling this, both the cutback strategy as well as the blastmaster extraction sequence, was a pretty big deal. The thing with open cut mining is you want it to be as steady state as possible - that is, consistent production and grade, leading to consistent gold output. To not do that would result in wildly varying costs, and a loss of market confidence. So we put a lot of effort into making sure we got this right. It was great to be part of a very capable and experienced team in learning these skills. Dean and Colvin were the two planning engineers when I was there, and they both taught me a lot. When Peter McArdle was the Superintendent of the department, it was inclusive, proactive and fun. A later boss and I clashed - actually two of them. One was capable but just had a poor approach to management, and one was just a bit of an air-head. I look back at my performance under the later two with a little bit of shame, as I could have done a lot better in that period of time. I was unhappy under the latter two, so I ended up just gravitating back to where I always did - the pit.

I am flitting around a bit here, but I guess nobody knows the real sequence of events except me, so it doesn't really matter. In my first year, one of the roles I took on was as a trainee Void Technical Officer. This was a crucial role for safety and productivity. The role was to use the old plans of underground workings, dating back over 100 years, which the Superpit was mining through. What that means is that at any given time, the ground underneath you could give way into an old shaft, drive or stope, which clearly was a safety problem. So we used a drill mounted on a long-reach excavator boom to reach into suspect areas and "probe" drill. The results were recorded and digitised onto the old plans. We then issued these to our survey crews, with "black and white" tape for areas ok for heavy equipment but not people, and "red and white" tape for areas safe for no-one. An example of what can happen is shown below. A drill pattern has partially collapsed and a machine is lying at the bottom of the now open void. The safety implications are obvious.
 

I actually have a scary story about this kind of thing. The pits were run by contractors (Roche Bros), but KCGM had its own foremen, who were generally in charge of safety and grade control. Quite early on in the piece I became a relief foreman, taking shifts when one of the four main guys was on leave. So one of the jobs foremen had was to check shots after they had been fired - always the next day in order to give the ground time to settle. What we had to do was look for misfires, and check for open voids. In the case of red and white areas, we had to hammer in pegs and put up tape well outside them. Survey could then come safely onto the shot to mark up those boundaries more accurately.

So one morning, Hanky Panky (Gary Hankinson) and I were doing a shot check. It had a shaft in the middle, so we took a wide berth and starting hammering in pegs. We were talking as we did it - he on one side, me on the other. I put my next peg on the broken ground, and hit it with my mallet. To my shock, the peg simply disappeared. I looked up, wide-eyed, to Gary, and in that moment, the ground around me collapsed, as whatever it was hanging up in the old shaft gave way. Immediately I was on my back, sliding down this slope of moving rock, as it all slid into the shaft. Holy shit! I turned around and on all fours, scrabbled my way up the scree slope and onto non-moving ground on the rest of the shot. That was a bit of a close call. After the one in Southern Cross underground, it was probably the second-most dangerous incident of my career.

So that takes me more onto what I alluded to in the story above: Relief Foreman. I took to that role like a duck to water and seemed to spend half my time doing it, especially night-shift. And I LOVED night-shift! It was just great to drive around, without all the chatter on the 2-way, keeping an eye on production and safety, filling out my log, and just enjoying being at work. Ok it wasn't really engineering experience, but oh boy was it good experience. Seeing how a pit operates at night is a unique experience, and being in a supervisory role is a real privilege. Peter McAllister, Tony Nobes, Gary Hankinson, and Paul Cullen were the four KCGM foremen, and I think they all enjoyed the chance to take more leave than perhaps they normally could in the year or so that I was able to provide relief foreman services.

The boss was Bob Crewe in those days, old school, and pretty old himself by that time. So I didn't have much at all to do with him. Allan King was in charge of mining, so we saw him a bit and he was ok. Sleep, Gupta, Skinny, Sid Hall, Bob Fussell, Bob Bowie, all were people I worked with. Skinny is still a friend to this day and I caught up with him once in a while over the years (and still on Facebook). Dear old Sid was a lovely man, always keeping the drinks machine full of Diet Coke for me. Alas he passed on some years ago. The rest I don't know. Skinny tells me Bowie is still in Kal, retired now of course.

Birdy. Birdy was an arsehole. He was also the safety officer. Ask anyone in the mining industry (probably any industry) and they'll tell you that when the two things combine, they make for a painful person to deal with. I did have a beer with Birdy once in a while, but only when I was out with Alex and Skinny - I certainly never sought him out. He was cantankerous, and loved getting people into trouble. I'll give you an example. One day I was approaching an intersection. There was a truck coming behind me, which I did not want to delay. The problem was that after the right turn was a tramming drill rig, which was moving slowly. If I waited for it to clear the intersection enough, trucks behind me would have to stop, which I wanted to avoid. So instead, I still turned right, but on the wrong side of the road. No risk, as I had 200m view in all directions. I thought I had made the right call and so did many others. But Birdy saw me, stormed into the boss's office, and demanded I lose my pit license for a month. The boss didn't have a whole lot of choice, but he was sorry he had to. Birdy, on the other hand, was triumphant. 

But Birdy was the exception to the rule, in terms of camaraderie, mateship and great people at KCGM. Most were bloody awesome, and I have no doubt that my career has been as good as it has because of my foundation in good people. Two of the better ones are in the photo below. Alex and Coops. Alex was a good coworker, a good mentor, and a good friend. We enjoyed a beer and a punt from time to time, as well as sharing and cooking curries for each other. He was a good influence on me. Coops was and is a great mate too. We actually travelled to Vietnam together in 1997, which is something I need to write about sometime, because when I see footage of Vietnam now, OMFG it is SO different!

Friday beers were often had at the Piccadilly Hotel, and one other I cannot remember. We also all played golf a lot, although I soon gave it up after KCGM, as I didn't like the person I became when playing it most of the time to be honest.

There is so much more I could write about! Dave Lowe, Ed, Hanbury St - that house and that year of being together is a story in itself, and I have already started another post on it. Liesl was another co-worker I stayed with, together with Trish and Jayson. Not for long though. I did enjoy it and liked them all, but never did well in shared houses with a lot of people. During my three years at KCGM I had constant struggles with weight, took up smoking, quit smoking, drank far too much, and did what most early 20's people did I guess - lived life to the full. When Bruce left in 1998 I kind of lost my rudder though, and as mentioned earlier, I wasn't all that settled in the mine planning section. I still needed a mentor, so in the end, I followed him to Tarmoola, which is where Part 3 takes place.

Righto, there were go. We have dealt with my career from it's early beginnings in late 1993 to moving on from KCGM in mid-1998. Only five years out of more than 28 so far, and two very in-depth posts. It'll be interesting to see if I have such detailed memories and things to say going forward. For some parts, no doubt I will, for others, well see let's see shall we...

Retiring Early - Part 3 - Freelance Writing

This was put in as a draft almost as a reminder for me to research the subject. Some time ago when I was doing my initial looking into early retirement, I read an article by someone bemoaning the current trend to look for passive income. I think he's right - to really have passive income you need a huge capital base to begin with, and marginal costs. If you want to live a flashy lifestyle, then you'd need millions to provide that passive income, or be lucky enough to be getting royalties from something.

So the way I have been looking into things is multiplying my income streams. I have limited means to do this, as with three young kids, there is not a lot spare of anything in life right now. But there are still options. And as I enjoy writing, and appear to be at least reasonable at it, perhaps freelance writing is the way to go. I can do the odd article here and there, and maybe make a few bucks.

I wrote the first two paragraphs of this article either still in Malaysia or when we had just reached Australia - namely, just on two years ago! Yeah, yeah, I know my blogging leaves much to be desired in terms of getting it done. Actually, come to think of it, my blogging prowess kind of reflects my work. As in, I am full of great ideas (I think) and great at putting together the bones of a plan. Getting it done, doing the detail and actually finishing stuff? Well, that's always been a challenge for me. That's why I work well under pressure I think, not that I would be happy doing so for long periods. But fairly frequent, short, sustained bursts do seem to work for me.

The real problem I have now is that my job just takes too much of my time. It has almost double in size since I started it. Yes I do have a larger support structure in place, well I would if those roles were filled. But in due course it shouldn't be so bad. I really hope so, as right now it is just insane. Managing 18 quarries, an engineering team, a technical team, a mobile crushing and drill & blast team, and a workshop, was a pretty big ask. I have lost the technical team now, although I still need to advise and support them. The workshop in Victoria has gone across to Transport, and mobile and D&B teams have been split amongst the quarry managers in Victoria. Plus all QM's now report into Regional Managers, who themselves reports into an Operations Manager. So out of my original nine direct reports, on the Victorian side of the border, I have only two of the original ones, with an extra one added in the Sales & Marketing Manager. Problem is, our structure is pretty much mirrored now across the border, with a Mining Services group thrown in too. So I now only have five direct reports, but am in charge of 34 quarries, two mining operations, an engineering team, sales and marketing for the whole company (quarry/mining side), and all the stores and workshop facilities in NSW. Whew.

Now this would be a big enough job, should all those roles be filled and we had a settled company. But we have anything but. More than half the key leadership roles are vacant, we have covid restrictions, and we are very much in the infancy of our integration with the new company. Plus even though we had planned a controlled, low-key integration over two years, instead we jumped in feet first and decided to do it in two weeks. Ok, one could argue that we didn't have much choice in the end, given the loss of some key people in the new company, but still, it is hectic, stressful and a huge burden to bear.

Why am I writing all this in a post about retiring early? Haha, possibly because I wish to darn that I could do just that right now. Seriously, if my numbers came up, and the prize was sufficient, I would retire immediately! One of these days I need to set my model up, to figure out exactly what that number might be, and failing that (i.e. the most likely scenario), how much longer do I need to keep working to ensure my family is cared for until all the kids reach adulthood, and my wife has enough in reserve to enjoy a good retirement. Hopefully with me still around of course, but I need to plan for the worst, and expect the best. Something like that anyway.

So the thing is, retirement doesn't have to equal no income. I wrote a while ago about my genius idea to become another one of the "special projects"  ex-GM's and do my analyst work part-time from afar. I figured I might be able to make 30-50k per year doing this. The thing is, the boss thinks that WFH = not working at all, so the likelihood of this is slim. Still, you never know. Assuming I leave on good terms, I will certainly put that forward as an option. 

So the other option is what they call the digital nomad. I have also written about this before. Picture this: mid-range apartment in Penang. Quick ride down to the waterfront for a beer, or wander around the corner to the hawker stalls. My own little nook or study at home with my computer, where I sit for a couple of hours per day, either freelance writing, doing a bit of analysis on data for my current job, or any of a number of other things. I am not sure what sort of income I can expect from Super and when that might kick in, and I have no idea of the same things for the pension. But this is what I want for my future. Ideally, it would happen while I am still full-time parenting, so I can dedicate more time to that and more time to myself and my wife. But if it has to wait for retirement years - as in older years - then so be it. But these are the kinds of things I think about, and often.

Noodling5 & Metal In General

Looking at the last post (long ago now) about noodling etc., it was very disjointed and didn't say a whole lot. It was more note-taking than blogging methinks. Frankly I don't think anyone wants to read about the intricate and mundane details of my noodling experiences, but now, almost two years since I began doing it, it certainly is worth providing an update of where I'm at.

To date, I have noodled approximately $26,000 worth of coins, of all denominations. Let that sink in. 26 grand's worth. Far out, I knew it was a fair bit, but that is quite staggering. I know it is correct because I just spent an hour scouring my bank accounts and adding up all the coin deposits since late 2019. In 2020 I probably did the lion's share of this, as it was my primary hobby then. It still is to a degree, but it's just hard to get hold of coins these days - both in terms of time and places to get them. I have been growled at by surly bank tellers once too often, so now I use only the coin machines. And for me in regional Victoria, I can get them only at Shepparton, Mildura and Broken Hill (all places I travel through for work). With Covid and a lack of travel, well I just haven't had the opportunities. But we'll get there - even though a lot more people are into this hobby these days, I think most of them are in capital cities, as I always seem to find coins when I noodle.

Way back when - and I think it was in Sungai Pelek in Malaysia in mid-2019 - when I started, or decided to become more focussed on metal as a hobby in its own right, I knew that metal detecting was going to be part of it. I have watched countless videos of various people using detectors to look for coins, gold and treasure, and seen some truly amazing finds. I almost bought one in Malaysia, but am glad I didn't, as it was not a brand supported here in Australia. So once we were settled, I decided it was time. At that time, I was still in my old job, where we were going to still have to watch every penny, so I opted for a low to mid-range detector - A Garrett AT-Pro. The whole set up cost me about $900, including a pin-pointer, cap, bag, and a couple of other bits and pieces. My idea was that my noodling profit was going to pay for my detector!

The only issue for me really, has been the lack of time and opportunity to do detecting. Since early 2020 when I bought the gear, I have probably gone detecting six times - five at Thompson's Beach in Cobram, and one at a house ruin on a block the company owns at Pyramid Hill. Each and every time though, I have been successful in finding something, although the only things I ever keep are coins. An example of finds from my last beach hunt are shown below:

Beach detecting is cool, nice and easy, and no issue with creepy crawlies. Plus there is not a lot of digging, just using the scoop and pointer. I think my worst hunt was a single coin, but my best was about $15 worth! I like to go in the early mornings, when there aren't many people around. Of course Covid restrictions has meant less people than usual using the beach, so the supply of coins to be found has dried up a bit. Still, I'll go again for sure soon, if I can.

The other spot I hunted was the house site. I took my whole family with me, and we all got involved, hearing the beeps and digging the signals. Most of it was junk - OMG there was a lot of junk, and a lot of hazards in an old house site, being sharp metal, rusty bits and broken glass. Good thing I had my gloves. It was a fun day and even my wife enjoyed herself. It looked like there was going to be no luck on the hunt though, until the very last signal, when we uncovered a 1c coin! Worth nothing of course, but always great to have something to show for the effort.

So the noodling quantity and the metal detecting are only part of the story. The other, amazing part, has been the selling of coins. I have found almost 1,000 coins worth keeping out of the $26k noodled. And to put it in perspective, given that I generally get equal quantities of all denominations, apart from $1 coins, a lot of coins is $4.85 (1x$2, 2x$1, 1x50c, 1x20c, 1x10c, 1x5c). That means that roughly, I have noodled about 5,400 individual coins! So on average, about 1 in 5.4 is worth keeping - that is, worth more than face value. Now the videos I have watched suggest to me that the find rate is less than that. So I have either been really lucky, or indeed I am in an area where little noodling occurs. Or maybe it is my strategy to get coins from all over the place that works. Whatever it is, I am recovering valuable coins at a good rate. But more than that, I am also selling them! Of the ~1,000 coins I have found worth keeping, I have now sold 571 of them. Amazing! Mostly on eBay but some privately to repeat customers. The detail of this is below:

So I have now achieved my goal. As you can see, my profit is now over $1,000, which means I have paid for my metal detector out of the profits of my hobby. How awesome is that? I am really happy with that. It scratches a number of itches for me; I love coins, I love metal, I love treasure hunting, and I love putting data together in tables. Yeah yeah, I know the last one will raise an eyebrow or two...

What amazes me is that the profit margin increases, the lower the denomination. For $2 coins, I average a profit margin of 105%, which means I double my money. But for 5c coins, the margin is a whopping 5,135%!!! So that means that the 17 5c coins I have sold, worth a measly 85c in face value, I have sold for $44.50. The absolute dollars are not big, but that percentage margins certainly are!

So that's where I'm at. I'll likely only update this stream once a year or so, maybe if I score a big name coin, or find some gold or something. But know that I am enjoying my new-found set of metal-related hobbies, and am so pleased that I am doing so at no net cost to me.

My Family - Sophie

This is a letter I wrote to Lala in March 2017. I intend to stick it in her almost finished baby book. We read somewhere once that it is a wonderful gift to one's kids to write them a series of letters as they grow, as something to look back on when they (and you) are older.

"Dearest Sophie,

This is my first letter to you! Mummy and I thought it would be nice to write little letters to you as you grow, so that one day you can read about your childhood from our point of view.

Now you are four years old, soon to turn five next month! You are going to school full-time now, and have become quite a celebrity at your new school! We are so proud of you, for your intelligence, sweet nature, and your confidence to do new things. You are a very out-going little girl, and get on so well with everyone.

For me, you're a little diplomat, always wanting to make everyone happy, and look after others. It amazes me how you stick up for your brother Daniel, even when he is in trouble for hurting you! You have a gentle and beautiful nature, an inquisitive mind, and a loving heart. Still, sometimes you can be four going on 14, and behave like a petulant teenager! But those episodes are infrequent, and most of the time you are a perfect child. Haha, actually it can be hard to parent the boys using you as a template, as your behaviour is usually so good.

As your dad, I couldn't be more proud of you Sophie. I love you so very, very much, and want to be the best father to you I can be. I am sometimes torn between wanting to protect you and wanting to let you learn about the world as much as I can. I like to think I tend towards the latter these days, whereas when you were younger I was a lot more protective. But you are a smart little girl, and generally you know your boundaries and what you're comfortable with pretty well. 

I have enjoyed so many of our experiences as a family since you have been around; our trips to the beach, going to the playground in Malaysia, watching you learn to swim at such a young age and overcoming your fear. You have grown and learned so much, and the years have just flown past. Mummy and I are lucky that we still have a baby in the house right now, so we don't miss the past too much. But I do flick through our old photos once in a while, and have many, many happy memories of your first four years in this world. You are a bright and beautiful little girl Sophie, and your daddy loves you unconditionally."

It's amazing that this was written nine years, yet it still poignant and very valid today. My little girl, who is not at all little anymore, is one of the nicest people I know. 

I'm really happy that we are a little more grounded these days, here in Echuca, and that you have been able to make a great group of friends. Covid has interrupted that to a degree, but you do well playing with your friends online. I'm glad that avenue has been available to you. Sometimes Mama and I are a little concerned that you might be a bit lazy perhaps, but you are always first to volunteer for anything - be it gym, scouts, playground, anything. So rather than lazy, I think you're just a very content person Lala, and one who is happy to just be happy, doing whatever is available to you, and enjoying your life. You're a very clever girl, you grasp new ideas and activities so quickly, and I am very proud of your many achievements at school. You will go far in life my girl, and I intend to give you as many opportunities to do so as possible.

Me and B

Peas in a pod in many ways, are my eldest boy and I. 

Recently we had a bit of a stoush, where he thought I was calling him an idiot and a retard. What I actually said was that he was acting like an idiot, and perhaps a retard too. When one thinks about such things in hindsight, it doesn't sound so good. I know it is inappropriate to call anyone a retard, despite it being a socially-accepted norm, well it used to be at least anyway. Nor is it probably good parenting on my behalf. It is an interesting notion though, because I maintain that I was never calling him an idiot, I just don't want him to act like one. He sees no difference, and maybe he is right. After all it's his perception and his feelings that matter, especially seeing as it was his behaviour that I was trying to address.

Where he and I are so similar - ok one of the million ways - is that we are both quick to anger and retaliate, although he does seem to hold onto it longer than I do. It's never easy, seeing your own character and personality flaws reflected in your children, because it becomes very clear where they come from. I guess on the positive side, it does give one the opportunity to improve oneself, and I like to think I have certainly shown improvement in this area over time. The spoon no longer comes out, and I use methods other than screaming to break through the situation and get attention on me to rectify a problem. That's not to say that situations don't occur so much, nor are they problematic - but we all realise that more drastic means of breaking through and getting people to hit the reset button, are not very effective.

That's a fairly recent photo of me and B. It is true what they say, if you have one extreme then you will have the other too. B might be prone to some serious anger and "black cloud mood" issues, but he is also full of love and a very expressive and wonderful boy. Being his dad is one of the best experiences I have ever had, and it is certainly helping me grow. I just need to make sure that I try and make his experience a positive one as much as possible too. I love you B.

Days Off

 Yeah, so it has been one of those years - not much in the way of posting for a while. But I am determined to get back into it. After all, this blog is one of my life goals - to tell my story and have it there for others to read in future (when I say others, I mean my kids when they are older).

So at the moment it is Saturday. Yesterday was a public holiday (GF Friday), marking the first of two short weeks for me. This four day work-week is to be followed by an even better two day work-week next week, when I am taking three days annual leave in order to spend time with my family, rest, and take care of some projects.

Projects. OMFG. Do I have some or what. But I have made some inroads recently, and think mostly positive thoughts about them. Project-work seems to go like this for me: tick one off, add another ten to the list. I don't know why that is the case, but it seems to be that way.

Anyway, what this post is about is deciding what I want to do with the eight days I have available to me (with two work days in-between) in these two shortened weeks. I am thinking I'll try to get 16 things done - two per day - which should not be too onerous. This is what I'm thinking:

The yellow ones are things I have already managed to do, so we're off to a good start. Today I might even go for a walk, as it's nice and sunny, pick a book to start reading, and do some Lego with the kids. Wish me luck!

Footnote: So where did I end up? Well, after my eight days off, I hadn't done anything with the kids' passports, I hadn't listed any Lego and I had not managed a second walk (rainy weather). So all in all, not too bad. 

I am still here!

 Not sure why blogging seems to have just become next to impossible for me of late. It has been a long time since I have even been on the site, let alone written anything of significance. I do have over 25 posts in draft, some of which have a lot of content in there, but I have found it hard to get in the groove and find the energy to write. 

I wonder why. I guess the weight of my job is probably first and foremost why. Plus the same reason as why I haven't put a lot of effort into other parts of life that don't make much effort in return. When you take work, then family, then a tiny bit of time for personal interests, there is little left. So I am pretty choosy about where I spend that time and frankly, most of it is relaxing. We get to see Ma and V once in a while, wish it could be more often, but it's not too bad. The kids have some playdates when we're not in lockdown, and we get away once in a while. 

Other times, I spend a bit of my weekend catching up on work emails, doing a bit of cooking, watching some shows on Prime or Netflix or YouTube, playing board games with my family, mucking around with coin noodling, or just chilling out. I keep telling myself I need to get on with my blog, I need to get my photos sorted, I need to get my music sorted, all these long-term projects that just never seem to get anywhere. Oh well, at least I am here today, sending out this small missive to let my huge audience know I am still around, haha!

Hopefully I can write something of merit tonight and maybe get one of my longer-term draft blogs out there soon...

All Star Babs

There he is, my little son. This photo is the All-star Dream Team from the basketball camp recently held in Echuca, which had over 50 kids in it. The all-star team was chosen partially for excellence and performance as a player, but also for attitude, teamwork and a willingness to give it your all.

In the photo are the three coaches and the five members of the all-star team. The smallest member, on the right, is my five year old son Alex. He is so small compared to the fellow standing next to him that he could run between his legs! I know Alex can't throw the ball any more than halfway to the hoop, he's only just learning how to catch, and is not quite coordinated enough yet to dribble. But he has a great attitude, is not at all shy, and even though he didn't really want to do this camp all by himself, he not only made the best of it, he did it so well that he impressed the coaches enough to put him in the all-star team.

I'm so proud of you Alex. Yeah, sometimes you can be a real knucklehead, but then, so can we all. You do everything at 100 miles an hour, rush most things, and leave a mess generally. But you give most things your best shot, and you have a positive attitude to life. Knowing what I know now, if you keep that up, you'll put yourself in the best possible position to succeed in life, and be happy with whatever you choose to do. 

Well done son, you're a star!

Three Years

Wow. So it has been three years to the day (20th March 2018) since we flew into Kupang to begin what was then the latest chapter in our lives (my collective family that is). Three years. It's funny, it many ways it seems like only a few months ago yet in others, almost like a lifetime ago. Yeah, just a couple of weeks beyond that three years and there I was, flipping burgers, selling lotto tickets and making coffee for the denizens of Barooga. I look back on that time somewhat confused I have to say. Things in the local economy had changed in the few years before that, looking back at the shop records, resulting in a decline from ~$6k per day to about $3.5k per day when we sold. Few businesses could survive such a reduction in turnover. Yet, despite the myriad mathematical analysis skills I have, I didn't do anything about it. I guess I never really felt like it was mine, nor did I have the confidence (or desire to clash with anyone) to take charge of it all, at least financially. I probably should have got more involved. It might have made some difference, but it is worth looking again at those turnover numbers and realising that there was nothing I could do to alleviate the impact of close to a 50% reduction in income. 

So yeah, that's what I think about when I look back at that time anyway, apart from enjoying the time with my mother and sister, and giving my kids time to be close to them too. At the beginning, and after the second false start with ASN, I had hopes that perhaps my professional career might be over, and we might make this work. Again, looking back, I don't think I was ever out of love with my career, but I was sure sick of not having secure employment, and working for unreliable people. Now I am where I am, whilst I don't always have the energy I used to, I am enjoying using my brain and leading a team of people working in this industry (in many ways I consider mining and quarrying to be one and the same, although I do miss not having the geological and metallurgical connections I used to have). I am also once again slowly getting used to being in one place for a while. After the tumultuous last decade before Mawsons, a bit of stability is just what the doctor ordered. Actually, what the doctor ordered is less alcohol and more exercise, but one thing at a time ok?

Crikey, I really have fit in a lot since March 20 2018 then haven't I? Considering the amount that happened in Kupang, including two overseas holidays, another in Bali, numerous work trips for me, not to mention all the work and goings-on with GMG, thinking that this amounts to less time than I have now spent here is extraordinary. Here is a summary of that time:

Start	End	Location	Duration	% of Total
March 2018	June 2019	Kupang, Indonesia	16 months	43%
July 2019	October 2019	KL, Malaysia	4 months	11%
November 2019	March 2021	Echuca, Australia	17 months	46%

So soon, even Kupang + KL will pass into a minority component of my recent life. Haha, I wonder if anyone who reads this finds it odd that I like to break down my life into statistical component parts? That's how I work I guess, and it is one of the things that I am enjoying bringing to my current job. I really need to give myself an upper-cut sometimes. A while ago I found myself looking at job ads again, especially when something interesting came up in Malaysia. The time for that may yet come again, but not now. We have committed to at least another two years here, following the end of this year. That will see Sophie at the end of primary school, and would mean I have clocked up four years in this role. Four is not a bad number, and I guess we'll see where the world is at then, whether it makes sense to look for something anew, or if I should buckle down and do what I said I always wanted to, and stick with this job and company until I retire. Both appeal. If only I can convince John to open a KL office, haha! Anyway, I am content, and learning to be stable. I feel I am better controlling my temper now, and whilst my health still isn't perfect, it's ok, and manageable. Bring on the rest of 2021 I say!

A Miner In The Making

Ok, so this is a bit of a stretch, but to me, a miner, these picture my young boy recently drew, look like drillhole traces on cross-sections, with geology interpreted on them. I have seen similar shapes and annotations on actual orebody modelling cross-sections, so this took me aback when I saw it!

My geologist mates would be snickering at this, as it speaks to a rock-licking mind rather than a rock-breaking one (mining engineer), but that's ok - after all I have a foot firmly in both disciplines, and would be proud if any of my kids decided they wanted to enter the world of rocks and minerals too.

My Favourite Homes

 So, further to yesterday's post (although it may well be a lot longer than that by the time I finish and post this, given my recent lack of time availability to blog), what triggered my little bout of nostalgia was a memory that popped into my head about one of the places I used to live in, specifically our house in Damansara Heights in KL, where we lived from 2014 - 2016. I refer you to a post I wrote ages ago on places I have lived, and I am going to add to that and annotate it for the topic behind this post, which is homes I have had that resonated with me. Here's the old link:

https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/1373380587723815614/3646855623745055236

So now we have the table of awesome places where I have lived, updated to today, not that our current house features on this list, despite being a pretty cool home:

The first one was our magnificent condominium apartment in SG. It was situated up on a hill and had a grand view. Clementi Park also had a super pool and overall complex, and being at the end of a (long) cul-de-sac (Sunset Way) it was fairly quiet. The three years I lived here were amazing, and I would gladly return to Singapore on the basis of these memories. Of course in this day and age that is easier said than done - one would need a very healthy income and/or expat contract in order to afford that lifestyle now. The image is low-rest so apologies for the small size.

Second on the list was Lucette's family abode in Hurstbridge, on the outer suburbs of Melbourne. I spent my 4th year at university there, and loved the beautiful house and land, and the peaceful and idyllic surrounds. Actually I recently ventured through this area and even went part-way up Cherry Tree Road (where the house was), which brought back memories, although I was not all that familiar with the place. Both my memory and the passage of time have had an impact I believe. Whilst still semi-rural and lovely, urbanisation is certainly a whole lot closer to there now than it once was. I was naive and emotionally immature in those days (first serious girlfriend), and thus was majorly distracted. But I still enjoyed the lifestyle, Lucy's great family, and the peace it gave me during a hard last year at uni. I was so close to her parents actually that I went well out of my way to go visit them in Cairns many years later at their new property where they chose to retire.

Third on the list is a little iffy. Iffy because it was at a time when I had kind of lost the plot and was leading a pretty stupid lifestyle. But hey, the things we do. Despite that, I have ultra-fond memories of this small apartment, that I shared with Adam. He was and is a great friend, very generous, easy-going and an all-round good bloke. We lived on Bennett St, about 200m from the good old Fenians Irish pub. And about 500m from the WACA. It was an easy walk to get some decent food, a beer, or to watch sport. In a different time I would have loved it more, but even then, it was great and a memorable experience. More lifestyle of the day related I guess, not sure I'd love it now, but there you go.

The last two are hard to beat. At the price tag they both fetched for rent, and the city they are in, that is not surprising. Seni was a brand-new hill-top complex with a glorious view of the CBD. Even though it was ultra-modern and very stylish, being SEA, some of the handiwork of construction left a lot to be desired. We had myriad plumbing issues after we moved in, and we heard down the track that one of the large window panes fell out of an apartment window, almost killing a resident on the ground! Alas that's how things went in this part of the world. Most manual labour consisted of Bangla's, mostly unskilled. So things like plumbing and wiring, and tiling and fixtures, might look good at face glance. But of course beauty is only skin deep... 

Anyway I digress, Seni was really my first adult foray into nice living, as the other place I had stayed in KL prior was below par for obvious reasons. Both Wifey and I enjoyed being here, and it was where we lived when Lala came into the world. It had Solaris close by, with groceries and eateries, and wasn't far from Desa Sri Hartamas or the city. It was a great place to live, although the price tag would make it prohibitive these days (both it and the next one were RM8,500 per month - about AUD$635/week). Still, recent AirBnB experiences have shown that condo living can be good in older and/or simpler places too. That old Mont Kiara one and even the Sri Permasuri one we stayed at during trips from Kupang were good in many respects. As long as they are secure, comfortable enough for our family, have adequate and reasonably well-maintained facilities and good access to food etc, then all good. The wow factor is nice, but not essential by any means. Picture of Seni below.

Last place on the list was the one that prompted this epistle to begin with - our semi-detached house in Damansara Heights. Back in 2010/11, JR lived next door at iDamansara, which was just too hoity-toity for us. But our complex, Semantan Villas, was a bit older, a bit less chic, and very spacious and comfortable. It was a 3-storey house, albeit the bottom level being a one room area we converted into a kid's playroom. With a rubber mat floor we installed and a gate at the base of the stairs, along with a wall-mounted TV, it was perfect for the kids and they loved it. The only downside was the backyard, which came off this room, was dark, wet, dingy and mosquito-infested. Thus the only time anyone ever went out there was to mow the lawn.

But upstairs was spacious, with a lovely open living area, and an adjacent deck perfect for drinking and BBQ'ing. The top floor was all bedrooms and ensuites, with our room being as big as a squash court, and more than enough for all five of us to live in. The landlord was great too, and very understanding and helpful when things didn't go so well during the ASN end-days in 2016. As it happens with these things, we ended up filling the house with furniture and goods, and ended up having to get rid of a whole lot when we left. When I think of how much we have given away over the years it is mind-numbing. But all good. Our more simplistic and clutterless lives now are a direct result of those experiences. The photo below is the two big kids (small then) enjoying a "tea party" on the deck.

So that brings us to today. Here in northern Victoria. A newish abode, compact, but big enough for us. Actually only last weekend, Lala graduated to having her own room, so now our office is part of the master bedroom. She is very happy with that and it is well-deserved. As mentioned before, life is a lot simpler for us now - partly by choice and partly by necessity - but there is not much of the old expatriate lifestyle that I miss. It is more the places than the residences. Still, between our own homes over there and some of the amazing ones we visited that our friends lived in, KL had some magnificent places to stay. Given the way the world and our family has evolved, I suspect that life, however warmly remembered, is a thing of the past. Should we venture back to SEA for Round 4 at any time, I am really not sure what it would look like for us. Time will tell.