Business and Pleasure

The past three days have been long, under-the-pump days at the client site. Normally under this kind of circumstance, I will be more than keen to go straight home and to my bed at the end of the day. However, being interstate for work this week kind of makes one want to have an outside exploration more than just going back and crashing in the lonely hotel room. Nevermind the king-sized bed and the jacuzzi / spa, my colleague and myself have obviously made the decision to ignore the physical and mental exhaustion and just go all out to try some restaurants.

And ahhh... it does give a bit of an incentive that South Australia has some good wineries... and of course it will be an utter waste not to indulge in SA wine while we are here. Shame that we don't have the weekend in Adelaide, else we would have planned a trip to the Barossa Valley. But well oh well, I wouldn't be complaining because for the past few dinners, we've had some pretty good South Australian wines.

One of the reasons why I'm putting this down on the blog is to ensure that I remember the type and year of the wine we've had - as I am surely going to want to stock up on those. Last night we had dinner in the hotel, had lovely seafood entrees, and I had a very nice mandarin-glazed duck with dates and lychees. Oh yum. But topping that meal was the wine that we had. I normally would go for a merlot, but that choice of cab sav was pretty awesome. It is quite rich in flavour, yet very smooth. The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Ebenezer from the Barossa Valley, SA. will definitely go into my stock. To digress from SA, but still on wine... one of the recently discovered favourites of ours is the 2003 merlot from Punt Road at Yarra Valley. The winery ran out of stock! And we've kind of given our last bottle of that vintage away... not knowing that they wouldn't have any stock left. Have to check out Dan Murphy's. That's a mental note, by the way.

This evening saw us on a bit of a hike to find this restaurant suggested by the hotel concierge. Not paying attention is quite worrying when venturing out to search for a place one has not been to - and in an unfamiliar city at that. Finally we found Lago's, an Italian restaurant situated by the river and which has a nice water and city view. I must say that the antipasto and herb focaccia were excellent, more so than the main. My colleague H made the right choice in wine. Something we've never had before, but giving it a shot was definitely a good call. We had the 2006 Chapel Hill Unwooded Chardonnay from McLaren Vale, SA. Pretty young wine, I personally didn't have very high expectations of it (not that I'm qualified to critique nor would claim to have a seasoned palate), but I know what I like and what I don't, and this one turned out to be quite nice - still fruity and easy to drink... and yes, without that often not-too-pleasant oaky taste. With just us two girls sharing a bottle - we were quite content. I wouldn't mind more if only we didn't have to wake up early for work tomorrow. Oh well...

A reason to go back for a real tour of South Australia may be on the list, some time... perhaps when they have their local festivals when food and wine are abundant... =) Other than those, I've no real desire to be in the city of Adelaide for holiday - a bit of a contrast to Melby's pace.

The Past Week...

"A" once mentioned that when one does things consistently, regularly, for 22 times, then it becomes a habit. Don't ask why it is the number 22 - apparently he read it somewhere, or he's just pulling my leg. Anyway, so I have been trying that out...sorta stick to some proper routine. I am not a "routine" kind of person; if there's one thing I find utterly boring, that would be doing the same thing, at the same time, in the same way, every single day. But according to A, my personal psychologist and motivator, that's how you build up habits that you want to see in yourself. Arrgggh whatever. See, I'm not so good at sitting down with a textbook or a learning module, especially if the font is quite small and in black print. And oh, especially if there are no pictures. Classics and literature are a different thing. One doesn't always get to just do the things he's good at. Sometimes he's forced into something he doesn't want to do, nor have the patience to, but will be beneficial for him. I had no choice but to grudgingly put into my schedule the "study hour" for the past week and a half - normally from 10 - 12 in the evening. It hasn't quite reached 22 days but I don't reckon I would last any longer doing that. So what if I can't sit still? The past weeks have been exhausting.

The simple habit I stick with are my early morning coffee - making sure that I sit down in peace and quiet with a large steaming mug for at least 15 minutes. But even that, I need a variety of taste in beans and strength in the coffee - Brazil, Colombian, Goroka, or Jamaican - never to plan what I am having.

And what's this thing about not going out on a week night because it is a week night, or a Sunday night because there is work tomorrow? Doh! I must admit, I have at one point dangled dangerously, close to falling into that queue. Then snapped back. Some times getting out to have a bit of air (and yes, a glass of wine, beer, or whatever) on a non-weekend evening does so much for one's spirits. Same goes for a retail quick fix, nothing beats the silly excitement of an impulse buy.

One of the main things I like about my job is that it is not desk-bound, well yeah I still use a desk, but not necessarily the same desk every day, and not necessarily in the same office all the time. Most importantly, the people I have to work / deal / rub shoulders with today, may not necessarily be the same people I see the next week. Work is always changing, and the approach is always different. I like that. No routine, not 100% predictable. At the start of a new assignment, it could be like stepping on unfamiliar grounds, but that's even more exciting. It doesn't really give me much of a thrill to know that I'll be able to do something because I already knew the drill, that my results are what they are because the work is already my standard familiar one. It just loses its spark for me, if it's that way.

"A" has been away overseas for 2.5 weeks now - I suppose he is the only constant one that I do not mind having.