We all have highs and lows in our lives but this week they all seemed to come on top of each other for me. I had some wonderful events during the week along with some sad ond disappointing ones.
THIS WEEK’S UPS
Control Data reunion
Back in my working days, I spent seven wonderful years working for Control Data Corporation, a large Minneapolis based IT company. I think I fell on my feet in that company where I was responsible for Management Development and Training. It offered me leading edge experience and the opportunity to work, not only in Australia and New Zealand, but also in a number of countries around the world to implement management and employee development programs.
It was a very good start to my week last Saturday when I attended an annual reunion of the peple with whom I worked nearly forty years ago. If I could turn back time, that would be the one company that I would go back to work in.
My birthday
Last Sunday was my birthday. It wasn’t a special birthday – just one on which I woke up in the morning to find myself a whole year older than when I went to bed at night. I celebrated with Jill at Rochford Winery in the Yarra Valley with a very nice lunch. It became an extra special day when I received a phone call from my family in Perth which opened with my gandson Orin serenading me with the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’ on the piano.
Yesterday,I was joined by my Melbourne Family for lunch at the nearby Box Hill RSL. It was a lovely day having us all together and I really enjoyed it.
Cathy, Audrey and Kai gave me a new cook book as a gift for my birthday. It has some delicious recipes that I will enjoy cooking. This book is especailly notable as it includes the exact same recipe for Beef Wellington that ‘Mushroom Lady’, Erin Patterson cooked for a family lunch in the town of Korumburra. Her meal allegedly contained poisoned fungi and three of her family members died from eating the meal. She is currently on trial in the Supreme Court on three counts of murder. I’ll be very careful to choose my mushrooms carefully if I ever cook that dish.
A new Kiva record
For many years, I have been an active lender to Kiva, a non-profit organisation and the world’s first online lending platform that connects lenders to small entrepreneurs around the world. It was founded in 2005 with the mission to expand financial access to underserved communities so they can thrive. It is is the world’s first and largest crowdfunding loan platform for social good. It allows individuals to lend as little as $25 to entrepreneurs in various countries. Borrowers apply for loans, and if they meet the qualifications, their projects are posted on Kiva’s website. Lenders like me can then browse the website and choose projects to support with contributions.
This weeek, I reached a milestone in which my rotating pool of funds has enabled me to have lent over $US 50,000 in loans to 1700 people in 73 countries. My contributions have helped people in developing countries to buy, for example, another cow or goat, stock their shop with more products, buy supplies for their hairdressing salon or purchase fertiliser for their farm.
If you think that contributing to a Micro-Financing fund can make a difference, I encourage you to look up kiva.org. You can start with a loan of just $25 from your credit card and when it has been repaid, you can then lend it to another borrower who can raise their standard of living with a small loan. The loan default rate on Kival is exceptionally low.
Now for the DOWNS
The weather has turned cold
We are well into Autumn after a long stretch of ‘Indian Summer’. All of a sudden (and probably long before time) the weather has changed to cool days. It is getting dark late in the afternoon and the nights are chilly. I really prefer warmer weather when I can be out in the garden in the evenings and I don’t like the days when I need to sit by the heater in the house in the evenings.
My battle with rats
My vegetable garden is fully planted with winter vegetables – cabbages, onions, kale, broccoli and garlic. I’ve been having a battle with rats that have been eating my seedlings. They seem to be fussy buggers that only like the taste of broccoli. However, I seem to have been succesful in that they are now eating the rat bait, not the plants. If this keeps going, we’ll have some good vegetables to eat in a few months.
Bendigo Gallery Exhibition
During the week, we popped up to Bendigo and its gallery for an overnight visit to see an ‘outstanding international exhibition’ by Mexican artist – Frida Karlo.
Perhaps my expectations were wrong, or may be I’m just a Phillistine when it comes to art. I had expected to see an interesting genre of paintings but, instead, the exibition was all about her life, clothing and jewelry. I didn’t see much that was special in the items on display – it just seemed to be a lot of self portraits and a story about her life with her fat husband. I didn’t enjoy this exhibition nearly as much as others that have seen presented in the same gallery.
Returning my new car to the dealer
Five weeks ago, I took delivery of a new BMW X3 30e – a hybrid version of a new BMW model that I orderd many months ago. It is a beatiful car – one of the nicest that I have ever owned.
However, this 2025 model is larger and higher than my last car of the same model and it has been very difficult and uncomfortable for Jill to sit in. Over the last month, we have tried every way that we could imagine to make it work for us but last Monday, we gave up and went back to the dealer to work out a way that we could sell it back and swap it for a different model. I was really excited to get that car with its advanced technology and although the X1 model that we will get as a replacement in the next week is not quite as prestigious it will still be very comfortable and good to drive.
We are heading off on a long distance driving trip in July and there is no way that Jill could do it comfortably in the X3, let alone live with that car for another few years. No doubt, you will be able to read about our travels once they begin in July.
Sad News from my long term Probus Friend
While we were in Bendigo during the week, on Wednesday, I received a sad and shocking phone call from Ralph, my long term Probus Club friend. I feel very honoured that he chose to tell me about his circumstances but I was so shocked at his news that I didn’t ask so many more questions that I couldn’t think of at the time.
Essentially, Ralph called me to say that he was dying. His heart was failing, he was fatigued after the slightest movement and he was breathless. He was expecting his family to come on the next day to say their goodbyes and he was being admitted to Palliative Care last Thursday. His instructions are all about the “f’s” – no fuss, no funeral, no flowers.
On the next occasion when I and a few fellow Probus Club members are together, we will certainly raise a glass to Ralph. Vale Ralph.
