A few good bottles

Here are some of the wines I have enjoyed over the last 2+ months, since before Christmas 2009:

some empty bottles where wines once lived...

Some of the highlights are:

• Dopff au Moulin 2007 Riesling – quaffing Riesling from Alsace – highlight because it’s the 1st non-Oz Riesling we tried, and it was quite enjoyable. being slightly off-dry, it matched the simple Chinese food we had for dinner.
• Domaine Lucci 2008 Red Blend – an interesting blend of 4 red varieties to produce a Rhone-style red (from their website) – i enjoyed its roughness and slight edginess. their wine are made unfiltered and unfined, but this drop was nice & soft, with a good rustic feel.
• Henschke 2006 “Keyneton Estate Euphonium” – varieties thrown into the mix are Shiraz, Cab Sav, Cab Franc & Merlot – i decanted this for 1+ hour, served to accompany the cheese platter for the “dessert night” Laine hosted on Christmas day. being young, the fruit was right at the fore. the time spent breathing definitely allowed the wine to open up, as it showed vibrant fruit, underlined by soft tannins. it’s a med-full bodied wine, and pleasingly was able to hold its own even against the blue cheese that Del contributed to the platter. a really good drop – i should have bought more of it when it was on special at DM’s.
• Trevor Jones 2008 “Virgin Chardonnay” – this must be the 1st ever Chardonnay that i’m writing about! what intrigued me about this wine is that it’s totally made from free-run juice (i.e. from crushed grapes before being pressed), and i thought i’ll have a go and see if i’d like Chardonnay made this way. nice varietal nose and palate. unfortunately, still unable to woo me into liking Chardonnay (i’ll stay loyal to Riesling).
• Trevor Jones 2006 “Wild Witch” Reserve Dry Grown Shiraz – flagship of Trevor Jones’ fine wine range – flavoursome, powerful, big, bold, packs a punch… everything you’d expect from a well-made Barossa Shiraz from excellent fruit. there was plenty of tannin and good acid to balance out the generous amount of fruit, pepper & spiciness. nice beautiful long finish. i only had 1/2 glass worth of this, so i was careful to savour it… and still managed to allow Laine 1 sip (how generous of me!).

I’m looking forward to taste more nice wines, and to properly educate & develop my palate, especially now that I’m working as a winery accountant.

Drinking more wine is no longer just for personal enjoyment… it’s also a work requirement now!  :p

Jobless turned Entrepreneur

I have been writing this draft for a while now. When I started, I was jobless… as I post this now, I’m working 0.8 full-time equivalent…

The 1 month from 28-Dec-09 to 25-Jan-10, I was a full-time job-seeker… and boy, was it fun… all the time I could spend with my family… being able to spend a lot more time with Kai, and Ming even recognised that I’m his daddy! =P

More than that, the month was a time of exploring what life would be like if I dared venture out!

The fact that I quit a full-time stable job, and then went ahead to set up my own consulting business is almost too much for some. winboy13 knows me well, and his 1st line to me when we met for lunch was: “what happened to Mr Conservative?” …then, my brother, on FaceBook expressed his utter shock at my decision to start my own consulting business (not able to believe his old-fuddy-duddy elder brother is capable of being entrepreneurial)!

There… I can do it! 

Why set up my own business? Well, it was 50% a work-life balance issue for me, and 50% a what-works-for-my-working-style issue.

With my own consulting business (when it’s successful), I can choose who I work for, when I work, and how long I work. This means that I can be there for my children (participating in what people call “active parenting”), and also means that I can constantly be exposed to different challenges, which excites me.

The 1 major thing I found out about myself in my unhappy 6 months at the last job is this: I hate a routine, maintain-the-status-quo job. I need to be given the room to do things, to improve things, to turn things around, save the sinking ship etc… I realised I was a trouble-shooter, not a maintenance worker! So, I feel that the consulting business that I have set up (and hopefully will be successful) is going to give me that sort of feeling the majority of the time.

But, until that business gets into the right gear, I need some cashflow… which means I need a part-time job! A job that I can do 3-4 days a week, leaving 1-2 days to work on my business… and it’s difficult to find something like that, especially something that is interesting enough. So, I went and met with many recruitment consultants (which, not surprisingly, so far has not been successful in finding me 1 good job to look at).

Even as I plan to do things, and wait for things to happen, I continue to be encouraged by Christian brothers & sisters, who also prayed for me. And, things did happen… in God’s good timing:

In the 1 month of job-hunting, I saw many jobs that I could apply for, but I didn’t. Because, I didn’t want to get back into the workforce just for the sake of it, and then get tired and exhausted again. I was looking for one that I know I can enjoy – a vocation. Out of the 10+ jobs I short-listed on Seek.com.au, I only applied for 2 – one was a late application & they had already placed someone; for the 2nd, I decided to call and speak to the GM before putting in my application, because I wanted to know if it would be something I would enjoy. I even daringly suggested an arrangement instead of the preferred full-time employee gig. He asked me to formally apply for the job.

1 week later, I was sitting at the al fresco section of the winery’s cellar door having a chat with Mark the GM, while at the same time, taking in the million-dollar view. (I’ve never visited this winery before!) We talked about what work needed to be done to bring further success to this operation (which is reasonably successful already). We talked about little pesky things that needed sorting out, and grand plans that needed proper costing… it was a good talk.

The next working day, Mark called me to negotiate the rate, and I was asked to start the day after Australia Day! ~woohoo! The provision of manna has arrived… there ends my 1 month of joblessness…

As for my consulting business, it’s definitely on – this new gig is 4-days-a-week… so I have time to build my business.

I will continue to seek God’s blessing and direction, and patiently wait…

More of Kai-ology

Each morning, Kai tells me what he wants for breakfast, usually he asks for “bickie” (biscuit), to which I would counter-suggest with bread (with Nutella, his favourite). Other times, he asks for cereals.

This morning, I prepared bread with Nutella for him, cut it into squares, and gave Kai in his blue Ikea kiddy bowl. He was busy playing with his aeroplane toy, so I left it on the table next to the toy. (Note: the toy allows him to break the aeroplane down to various parts by removing screws from different points, using a battery-powered drill!)

When I returned 5-10 minutes later, the bread was untouched, and he was still playing. Thus came this short exchange:

Me:  Kai, how come you didn’t eat your bread?

Kai:  I’m still working!

Oh dear…

He’s carrying the slack, since his dad is not working…

That was 2009

How I spent the last 8 days of the year was a good way to end 2009…

24-Dec >>>  My last day of work at ABL. Although my official last day was 31-Dec, I was given leave to finish on Christmas eve, ensuring that I go into the final week of the year in best possible mood.

25-Dec >>>  Christmas day started with a 50-min service at church, then a picnic at a nice park with church-mates, enjoying the most Christmas-sy of food: Indian food! Hehehee… Christmas night was Laine’s well-planned “dessert night”. Although everyone turned up late, we had a fantastic night enjoying the array of sweets prepared by everyone. Precious friendship + excellent desserts = great time!

26-Dec >>>  We went to Henley Beach hoping to spend a relaxing, fun time there, only to be deterred by strong winds threatening to blow back home. Ended up in Adelaide city, lying on the banks of Torrens river, as Kai acquainted himself with the ducks, birds etc..

27-Dec >>>  Another feasting day. This time, we hosted a BBQ with friends from SiSAC (Singaporeans in South Australia Club) – check out the website. 16 adults enjoying nice food + 6 boys screaming and running around our house having fun!

28-Dec >>>  Short day trip up to Barossa Valley. Had lunch at Maggie Beer’s farm shop.  Then on to Two Hands Wines to taste everything they had to offer – nice! 3rd & final destination was Rockford Wines. Slightly disappointed with some of their wines, but loved the Black Shiraz (disgorged 2009), Shiraz VP & 09 Alicante Bouchet. Dinner was excellently prepared “hey mee” (spicy prawn noodles) by WLK.

31-Dec >>>  New year’s eve BBQ (again!) at home. Good food & great time of sharing. One of the 1st things we did in 2010 was to standing a circle, hold hands and pray – committing one another to God in the new year.

Last year on 31-Dec, Laine and I bought a Samsung full-HD LCD TV. This year’s last day purchase was a Dome 28-bottle wine fridge! Though not a fantastic brand, but at least it’s a nice place for my wines to sleep in… with this baby on board, I can now safely add to my wine collection…

Current notable labels in my stable are: Rockford Basket Press 2005, Jacobs Creek ‘Johann’ 2002 & Penfolds Bin 389 2004.

I look forward to what 2010 holds… hopefully more of the good stuffs!

Happy new year to all!

A conversation with Kai

Kai walks into our bedroom, while I was getting myself ready to go to work.

Kai:  Daddy, what doing??

Me:  I’m getting ready to go to work.

Kai (sounding like he fully understood):  Auh……

Kai walks to a corner of the room, picks up a tiny semi-circle piece of paper.

Kai:  Look! A small house!

Me:  ok…

Kai:  Daddy, I want to eat shum-thing…

He’s going to grow up to be a great communicator!  :)

A sudden decision…

A brave decision or a silly decision?

I’ve resigned from my current position. That is not a surprise to many, not even to my managers. The surprising thing is that I’m not resigning to go to another job. I’m just resigning.

There are many reasons, compounded…

It has been a long, tough 5 months…

I have not been fair to family & church…

It has been very harsh on Laine…

I have thought of doing this a few times, but never summoned enough courage to even discuss with Laine. Not because of anything else, but for fear of the unknown, of the uncertain, of the RISKS…

After the decision was made and delivered, the relief I felt was unlike any other lifting of burden I’ve felt before. It was… liberating! That day, I came home from work a happy person again… after so many months.

What lies before me, I can’t see. Maybe a brave decision or a silly one, but I know it’s the right one.

We as a family wait upon the Lord for what He has installed for me. Pray for us, if you would.

Bohemian Rhapsody – Muppets!

Here’s one for a bit of fun…

Did you know…

So, what does it all mean?

Information may lead to knowledge, but not wisdom.

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding”  Proverbs 2:6