Happy Anniversary

Today marks my very first anniversary in Melbourne. Unbelievable. It's been one whole year and it seems like just yesterday when I flew here with Joshua and Joanne.

Nothing much has happened. I haven't even seen much of Melbourne and only attended my very first "formal" dinner 3 nights ago - Alex's company-cum-Christmas dinner. Well, that was quite something - to be surrounded, hugged and pecked on the cheek by people I barely knew. And the dinner dragged on for hours until after midnight. No joke. If you think Chinese dinners are bad, this Gwai Loh style dinner is even more long-winded. Still, it was good fun, and the food was glorious. Plus, we were entertained by Hot Stuff the clown-cum-magician.

Well, that was pretty much the highlight of my ENTIRE year here. But at least we are enjoying a better quality of life here. Water restrictions and costly charges from tradesmen notwithstanding, everything else is great. Cleaner air, less traffic, fantastic schools, excellent healthcare services, efficient public services, helpful civil servants, friendly people, safe environments, the list goes on. No complaints there, really.

And the kids love it here too. They've adapted to life here so well I don't think they can survive life in KL anymore. Even I would find going back to KL difficult. The atrocious public service in Malaysia is enough to serve as a deterrent for me! Not to mention some other unmentionables back in Malaysia. Sad but true.

Yep, I'll stick around here. With both kids at school next year, I'll have more time to myself. Maybe I'll be able to explore Melbourne on my own in my free time. That should be fun. Can't wait.