Sunday, June 30, 2024
27.6.2024 Thursday - seeing BW
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| while Sam had dinner with her Assunta friends, I sat at a ice cream parlour nearby and read about the Sydney Opera House |
One of the highlights of this trip is to see BW again, after more than a year - I have always preferred to see him on his own so that we can talk without the distraction of his active young son. He picked a place in Brickfields, perhaps I have been looking forward too much, because the food is mediocre (for the first time, I cannot finish my lunch).
He seems physically fit, but as we talk it appears that he has a lot on his plate; mostly in dealing with his son, and his wife taking the opposite side. It is a stress on the marriage, he says - and as a result perhaps we sense that he has also grown a bit more cynical and withdrawn. He has sold his family plot - hundreds of square kilometres, so he is a very rich man. We jokingly suggest that he should return to Kuching where we first met him (through squash, etc). He muses about travelling to Europe with us. But later on, when Sam and I think about it, he has no contacts in Kuching anymore. He does not make friends easily and has such a rigid way of looking at things which makes it hard for him to accept new situations.
He seems alone, this quest to bring up his son. But trying to impose discipline single-handedly is no easy task.
26.6.2024 Wednesday
I'm at the gym. Going to office soon. I hv lunch wTay n his taiwanese friend. I might tennis if the weather is good otherwise I'll go home 5 plus
25.6.2024 Tuesday
I left early for the office, I have an 11 am meeting w Teck (Freddie will drive) then a lunch at 1pm with SY and SL followed by meeting with Swinburne about the Design Forum next year.
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Monday, June 17, 2024
Friday, June 14, 2024
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Thursday, June 13, 2024
10.6.2024 Monday - 2 Plan Bs
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There are 2 highlights today - one involves misplaced keys which sees me drinking kopi while waiting for someone to come to open the office doors. I spent the hour looking through the looking through the week's deadlines and appointments.
The other 'misplacement' is our lunch booking at a Thai restaurant. They confirmed our reservation but decided not to inform us that the restaurant is closed on Monday. No matter - we walk over to have pizzas nearby, we are celebrating SML's recent success at the PAM Awards; they won a commendation for their Northbank Club House.
One must also be prepared with a Plan B.
Monday, June 10, 2024
9.6.204 Sunday - a packed day no wonder I am tired
6:45a.m. Tennis - quite unsatisfying as Ni is not hitting well. Actually she is not hitting at all, simply pushing back so when I hit softer shots to her, she struggles to generate her own power.
9:00 a.m. GBI session, I estimated two hours but we finish after almost 4 hours. Making me late for my lunch appointment, the food was bought but it is not the highlight. I will stop eating this for lunch after this, I don't even look at what I am consuming.
2:30 p.m. I walk home and baby sit mom while working on Sean's little renovation exercise for Dyan. Mom is chatty today and refuses to have a nap.
4:00 p.m. Sam returns from her trip and cooks dinner to share with the Lims at No.40. Sean heads off first to host, and to chat with Adrian and Dyan about the house plans. When we arrive, they are all there so I serve soup and we get started with dinner. Casual and easy - and a nice number of people - I feel in control.
8.6.2024 Saturday - 7 km happy
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| you know that it is an uneventful day when a run is the highlight of your day |
7 a.m. run out for a 5km and finish 7km instead feeling quite fresh. Sam leaves for Mantop longhouse with Ivy, AnQi, Irene and Louise. I work on the GBI assignment wile babysitting mom. Sean and I have a late dinner at the Yakitori bar - I have an early night, in time for early tennis on Sunday
Friday, June 7, 2024
7.6.2024 Friday - taking about retirement
On the way back to the office, we talk about the various ways people perceive retirement. For some, it's not having to work so they can be home to do as they please, for others it's not stopping completely but selecting which projects they do. She suggests that perhaps for me it's doing a detached house now and then. I tell her maybe it is doing selective parts of a large project (assuming that the office is still the 10 or so people, and need medium sized projects to sustain it). And being selective can be about what new clients you work with, rather than what type of projects you undertake.
I tell her I'm still the happiest when I'm drawing by hand; sketch plans, perspective views (and my favourite) construction details.
Thursday, June 6, 2024
6.6.2024 Thursday - a quiet chat early in the morning
We were meant to meet up and have a coffee, but it kept getting postponed. So, this morning we sit down, she makes a coffee for me and herself and we talk; about work and income, about degrees and employment, about Jenny and the granny flat, about medication and the gym.
She seems relaxed speaking openly, I did not feel that she is in a hurry. I end the conversation by reminding to eat at home more often; mom likes it, it is healthy and it saves money. Bring the boy, I tell her.
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| Idea for Toorak house interiors |
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