Walk away

Take a chance on me
you will get hurt
take a chance on me
i will get hurt

play the game
we both get hurt
why play?
better to just walk away

is life just a series of tests,
see how much you can take
until you break
and give up for a rest?

troubled is what i feel
lonely and sad
insane and mad
struggling to deal

walk away from what hurts
walk away from what heals
after everything you gain
pain and sorrow is all i feel

Anzac Day

Well life update. Got a job in a medium sized, successful law firm, Hall and Wilcox Lawyers. That was one of my biggest goals this year and I got it, just need to work my best to keep it. Pay isn't great, but the opportunity presented is fantastic. Jack's my mate there, the only source of sanity in my day, surrounded by girls, sometimes you just need a guy to bounce thoughts and ideas off.

For Anzac day I was the Guard commander at Marybough, central Victoria. There were about 1000 people there, so it was kinda scary, but it went ok, a few small mistakes. The after party was huge. Lots of cheap drinks at the barracks before a night out in Ballarat, I can barely remember any of it, but its taken me 2 days to recover, so it must have been great.

Life is good, back on track. Need to see my friends more.

John West Beware

My Apologies
Ok, I know I haven't written in some time, let me explain. I took an Army promotion course in NSW for a few weeks, it was fun, small holiday in Taree half way between Sydney and Brisbane on the coast. And since I've been back Centrelink have been making me do 'job search training', rolls eyes.

Happy Easter Everyone

I got back in time to go camping with some of my Vietnamese buddies over the easter long weekend. We headed down to Lakes Entrance, which is about 3-4 hours west of Melbourne on the coast. The highlight of the trip was catching my first ever fish, a 20cm + Brim. My mate Huy told me today was the day I would catch one after I told him I had never caught one after numerous attempts. Watch out John West, Wayne is coming! I was stoked about it. I still am just quietly. All up we caught at least 15 large fish and boy did they taste nice.

The Teamwork
We needed firewood, but there where no big trees around, hence small rotten wood that wouldn't last the night no matter how much we find. We decided to have a crack at chopping up a huge tree that had fallen over some time ago. Over 2 hours of chopping with a blunt axe. We managed to cut it 3 times to make two decent sized logs. We are talking about some serious 'fire power' here haha, excuse the pun.

We tried to carry it, but we could barely take it 15 meters, yet our campsite was 100m away. We tied the log up with rope to the back of a car and towed it, or at least we tried to. The rope broke like a shoelace, even though we tied it many times to make the rope stronger. It appeared our quest to burn this log was doomed. However, using my Army training, I remembered I just happened to have a stretcher in the car and we could use it to lift the wood easier. With 6 people, we were able to carry that huge log back to camp, which sustained us for 2 days. Great effort to everyone.

Lesson Learned
Don''t take a front wheel drive car over sand. With a few hands and a bit of digging we managed to recover dad's car relatively quickly, despite it not looking too good at the time.

I had a good time drinking and driving, not at the same time. Fishing, cooking, eating, chopping fire wood with my friends and cant wait for the next camping trip.

PS. John West, time to sell up because when I'm through, there ain't gonna be any fish for John West to reject. Peace.

Steak with Mushroom Sauce and Potatoes

Back in the kitchen again. Can you believe my friend let me cook in his kitchen. Not only that his mum let me use all the good pots and knives that even he isn't allowed to use. Todays dish was a delicious rump steak covered in mushroom sauce with roast potatoes.

The Potatoes

These take the longest to make. Wash potatoes first then boil until soft, like really soft to the point the skin peels. Put on a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Add a sprinkle of rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper and rub it in...thats right, get those hands dirty and let it bake until it starts to crisp.

The Steak

Need a hot pan and add oil. It doesn't need oil, but we need that for later ;) Test with a chop stick for the sizzle...then add the steak. Let the blood rise to the top, turn it over and wait for it to reach a firm consistency. Take the steak off and place on a plate for a minute. Watch out for the oil! After one minute place back in the pan and sprinkle a dash of rosemary over the top and wait for your preferred style. We went for a medium rare, so it wasn't on for long.

The Sauce

Using the residue from the steak, add a diced onion. I got shown a technique to ensure i have eight fingers and two thumbs after chopping, that is to pinch with the tips of your fingers so they curl in. It worked for me, so I might keep it up. Mix in the onion until it browns. Add a decent amount of thick cream and stir through. Add as much sliced mushroom as you can fit in the pan and let simmer with occasional stirring.

The Review

This was a fun dish to make. Using the juices from the steak really made the sauce. Rosemary and thyme made a huge difference. The potatoes were fantastic. I wondered if I could use the base of the mushroom sauce for another sauce. You would only need to change the last ingredient. Any suggestions?

I want to make steak a signature dish of mine. With so many cuts and sauces I will have my hands full, my tummy too =P

If anyone has any suggestions, recipes or wants to experience "Cooking with Wayne" let me know.

Lessons of the day:

Use a sharp knife to slice onions in order to stop bruising and the tears
Watch a pot of boiling water, evaporation can be very quick
Adding herbs and spices make an ordinary meal great
Let steak breath

Moto of the day:
Fresh is best

Valentines Day

Yay, woo hoo, Valentines day, I have been looking forward to it so much. I almost forgot it, but thank you to all the stores for advertising it and thrusting guilt onto passers by for not spending up big on that significant other and for rubbing it in to those that are trying to go about there lives who don't.

I met up with my mate Tam. We were going to go see a movie, Jumper, but ended up having dinner with some of his friends, followed by Max Brenner aka the fat house! Tam decided to order a chocolate pizza, that i agreed to 'help' him out with. By the time we finished eating and drinking all the chocolate our tummy's could handle it was time to roll each other out of the store.

About to head home and i blew the fan off my engine, which proceeded to take out my radiator as well. Shakes head. I have spent 2k on it since Christmas, now i expect another 1500-2k to put it back together. Maybe it was my fat ass from eating all that chocolate. I'm having such terrible luck at the moment. Seems like whatever I touch in life crumbles before my eyes. I'm at the point of no surprise. Just keep taking the knocks and pushing through. As long as I can still breath I can make it through whatever challenges life throws at me. Take nothing for granted.

City Festival

I met up with a friend yesterday for dinner in the city having no idea the Chinese new year festival was still going. It just happened to be at the exact corner I told my friend to meet me at. She was late. At least she called me, so that was fine, but I spent one hour watching random fobs singing karaoke to the city. A crowd of a few hundred, but the prize of $200 wasn't the real draw card for some contestants. For one girl declaring she was single had hopes of meeting guys. I suddenly realised I enjoy watching strangers singing and dancing in front of such a big audience. Some were good, some were not. That's where I fit in, knew I shouldn't try, spare everyone's ears. Had I have tried I would have sang in Viet, since that's what I mostly sing, but usually after having a few shots before.

My friend finally came. We ate those crab claws that I love at Asian weddings. They weren't as good, but what can you expect from a roadside store. Finished it off with some delicious dumplings at the Shanghai Dumpling restaurant in Tattersalls Lane off Little Bourke Street. I highly recommend eating there. If you ever need someone to go with you, I'm always happy to escort you there...mmm...dumplings...droolz...

I checked out my apartment today for the first time ever, despite buying it over a year ago. It looks so good there and the view is great. Can see the city off the balcony, fully self contained + lounge/games areas too. I would have liked living in it, but I have to find someone to rent it. Very impressed, I was a little worried but I like what I see. If anyone is interested ask me!! Still wish I lived there. Maybe in another lifetime.

AIRN Weekend

Well it was the first Army weekend of the year, a chance to clear all our admin in preparation for the big year ahead. We kicked it off with a BFA (Basic Fitness Assessment). For me I need 40 push ups, 70 sit ups and run 2.4km in 11.18. I did the mandatory 40 push ups, saving myself for the run, definitely my weakest part, and pushed through 100 sit ups. On the run I ran close to a personal best, 10.27 on an unfamiliar track. I was ecstatic about it. The last time I was close to that time I was 16kg lighter! All my running this year has really been paying off.

Next on the list was an ID card. I have been getting away with my old rank on it for ages and saw an opportunity to change it over without doing all the paperwork that goes with it. The Army loves it's paperwork. After taking the photo and about to walk out the door with my lovely new ID I gave one final check to realise I had been promoted. Lieutenant Colonel Wayne Beales!!! I was so tempted to walk out with a smile on my face, but my conscience got the better of me, so I handed it back in. My commanding officer, a Lieutenant Colonel himself heard about it and 'congratulated' me on my newfound promotion. I can only dream of ever reaching that far.

Medical checkup. Apparently I need to eat more regularly according to the medical staff, which made me feel less guilty when I kept making sauce sandwiches while waiting at the Army hospital. We need to have a dental check up every 5 years. It's due in a year, but we hardly get the opportunity to do it. I tried to have it done the same day but was denied. During my medical I got questioned why I didn't get a check up last year, and was told I need to get one done. I couldn't believe it. My teeth are fine, I look after them, if there's a problem I will check it out myself. I even asked them to give me one, I was there anyway and wanted it but my pleads were overlooked. Army double standards.

I then had to go and do my bi-annual shoot at an indoor simulation range. I shot one of my worst scores ever, 158mm. A pass for the Army is under 200mm, but it use to be under 150mm for infantry, which is what I still aim for, although I'm usually around 110-120mm. I did manage to shoot a 60mm group, which is pretty good.

At the end of the night I felt like going for a run. I headed off not knowing where or how far I was going for, but I ran for an hour, I think about 10kms, insane.

Lots of mandatory lectures aka death by light pro. First up, suicide awareness, how appropriate. Good weekend admin wise, but good to be home.

Dodging the Law

It's been a month since I rode a motorbike, so I decided to get back on tonight and get a feel for it again. My mate and I headed down to a local shopping center car park. It was a really good place to learn to ride. It's smooth, no cars and has turns. Suddenly, out of the darkness rolls a police van with no headlights on. All I could see was the blue and white squares on the side. Wow, I started to panic. You see, my friends bike recently got a canary, so it's unroadworthy. I'm still on my learners, but the bike is high powered, way out of my range. I also didn't have 'L' plates on. If I got stopped I was a goner.

After rolling past in the next isle I headed straight for the exit. If they wanted they could have turned around right then and busted me. Meanwhile, my mate is standing at the car. I headed out through the back streets expecting to see blue and red lights flashing behind me and sirens. There were none. I started to think about my friend back at the car. They must be interrogating him. My conscience got the better of me, so I decided to face the music and returned to the car park. This was it. I couldn't leave my mate back there while I did a runner. To my surprise, the police had left. My mate was standing there. I was shocked, but we were out of trouble. They took his details and asked him questions like, 'Where's your mate going?' his reply, 'I dunno, he goes where he wants to'. I couldn't believe our luck. We were so lucky today.

I feel like a criminal. Does that count as running from the law?

The thrill of the ride just increased ever so slightly.

Wedding of the Year

Congratulations to Ky and Phuong. A wedding I have been waiting years for. The bride and groom looked stunning. The food, was delicious. I love asian weddings because of the food. Crab claw and lobster were to die for...droolz...not a fan of abalone or fish though. So how long until I'm an uncle?

Went to see the golden compass after dinner with friends on Monday. I highly advise skipping this one. It has a good concept, but it goes into such detail in some parts then rushes to the next scene. The lines are so corny and the end, well I'm still waiting for it. I give it 2/10.

I decided to go for a second run last night. I was on such a roll I couldn't stop, so I pushed out another 1/2km which is a huge effort when you have reached the end. The only thing stopping me going on is I know the strain my body is going through and I want to be able to run every day without injury. By far the best run I have ever had. My daily total was almost 13kms. Watch out Craig Mottram, here comes Wayne.

Back In Uniform

It felt great to be back in uniform. I really missed it. I spent the last week learning how to drive a 6 wheel off road vehicle. Driving was fun. We took them through an obstacle course, which is one of my best experiences in the Army. I would even pay to do it, except I can do it and get paid, which is even better. We also went for a road trip to Apollo Bay along the great ocean road. Mountains on the right, cliffs and ocean on the left with tight winding roads in between. Every guy's dream road.

This is the first course I have attended since my promotion, which made me feel a little weird. I was more senior than most of my instructors. I even had to tell them to stop formally addressing me. I made some good friends on course, Jie and Mick in particular. Without those guys I would have died from boredom.

The course was good, but the final night really troubled me. The Army is very stringent about its non-fraternization policy and I strongly support this. At the end of each course we have a drink up and let our hair down. It kind of got out of control though. Instructors mixing with students, senior and junior ranks getting very close in the bar. I felt like I really shouldn't be there.

I left with a couple of mates, but decided to go for a run before bed. I got another 6km's up, before bumping into someone from another course being run at the same time. Over the space of an hour chatting we easily saw five cars come back to the car park at around 3am where a male and female got out. As we went back to our rooms, we could hear them in buildings that were declared off limits because of asbestos. It's so wrong. With my rank it makes it even harder. I even know some of these people have family's, kids, soldiers with partners in the military. If there is anyone that knows the demands the Army has on relationships it should be those that also serve. I was very disillusioned at the end of it all.

I managed to get away yesterday in time for my friends engagement. My friends fiance is also in the Army. They look so sweet together and I truly hope they succeed. It was comforting to see that someone in the Army can have such a good relationship. Perhaps something I can aspire for one day.

If it ain't raining, it ain't training

I decided to take up Bobby's offer of going for a run yesterday. We ended up heading down to Footscray Park to run along the Maribyrnong river. There was no set distance, but we knew neither of us wanted to stop first.

We did about 5km's to start with. From Footscray Park to the Anglers Tavern. For the record I stopped first, but I'm sure we were both feeling it as much as the other. We power walked for about another 2km and came back on the other side of the river and began running again.

It started to rain and very quickly began to pour down monsoon like. For a moment I felt like I was back in the jungles of Malaysia. The rain made our clothes and especially our shoes much heavier. Running really was a challenge at this point. We used this difficulty to our advantage, as motivation. We had to push our limits but the feeling of reaching our target through adversity was terrific. Doing it with a mate was a very satisfying feeling.

Over the last 2 weeks I have been watching what I eat and trying to run everyday. When I started this I weight 85kg's. The most in my life. Over 2 weeks I have dropped to 79kg's. I lost 6kg's! My pants no longer fit me and my belts have become mere fashion accessories. Pat on the back.

I will be away with the Army for the next week or so. Will post again then. Cheers.

Cooking with Wayne

Being home alone today, I decided to jump into the vacant kitchen and have a go at cooking. It pays to know how to make at least a couple of meals and it's something I am interested in developing. There are many people out there who don't believe I should even set foot in the kitchen and sometimes I agree with them, but that doesn't mean I can't give it a go every now and then. As I said before, it pays to know at least a few meals for times like today. Today's meal was Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry. I didn't know exactly what to add, so I checked online and pinched a few ideas from a few recipes and had a go at making my own.


Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry

Ingredients used:
Beef Steak
Red Capsicum
Onion
Garlic
Coriander
Baby Corn
Snow Peas
Soy Sauce
Hoi Sin Sauce
Hokkien Noodles


The beef was difficult to slice. I could have bought it pre-sliced, but thought it would be fun to do it myself. I didn't realise we have no sharp knives at home, so I had to cut it with scissors. This took much longer than I expected, which was a problem since I already started browning the onion. I decided to use a combination of soy and hoi sin sauces. Hoi sin sauce is commonly used as a dipping sauce for rice paper rolls, I love it. I was a little tired of using soy by itself, so I mixed it together. A little big strong at the end, but not too bad. Perhaps I will leave the hoi sin sauce for the rice paper rolls next time. I added crushed garlic, red capsicum, baby corn, snow peas and coriander once the meat was cooked, but only for a short amount of time, in order to retain the fresh crisp taste. Boil the hokkien noodles for a minute to warm them up and wha-la, beef stir fry on hokkien noodles.

Lessons learned:

Prepare your food before you begin cooking.

Have sharp knives in the kitchen.

Tip:
Clean as you go. It lets you enjoy eating without worrying about cleaning the dishes afterwards.

Mystery Event

Today was a Mystery day, organised by Phuoc for uni people to catch up before school starts again. We went to the Melbourne Zoo and had dinner at Mambo's. It was supposed to be a surprise, except 5 of the 6 people who went knew what we were doing. Sorry Ben.

Positives of the day:

One cheeky monkey in particular who hangs from the window ledge and puts his feet on the window where the public are for over 5 mins. Such an attention seeker, but oh so cute too.

AJ getting half of his face painted like a tiger with glitter. He had to where it all day, even when we left the zoo and went to dinner. Looking at him, no-one could take him serious. Even the waitress (Maria Maria...you remind me of a westside story).

Negatives of the day:

Busted the screen on my 1 month old phone =(

Animals in cages should be forbidden to sleep during the zoo's open hours.

Mambo's
I have to recommend the the Mambo Ceaser. Grilled chicken on a ceaser salad...delicious.

Beach BBQ

Here's the deal. I get a message to meet up for a beach bbq at 3pm with Bobby and the boys. Today's destination was sunny St. Kilda beach, one of the more popular beaches in Melbourne. With the expectation of others to meet, Bobby, David, Thien (Mikey) and I headed down to the beach with enough food to feed an army. The view, superb. Wind surfers and boats with a sun set behind it was incredible. There was also play equipment directly behind us. This is where it got interesting.

What do a bunch of bored guys do when waiting for a there food to cook with a playground behind them? Try to recapture there youth!!!

The Spinning Wheel of Death

Description: It's a circle, about 50cm above the ground, fits about 3 people laying down around it and it spins and spins and spins.

We took turns trying to scare the life out of each other, pushing it faster and faster, it was fun. but it didn't really quite do it though. However, when Bobby made the fatal mistake to stand on the Spinning Wheel of Death, I saw an opportunity, a chance to get one up on him and so gave an all mighty thrust on the wheel. He looked like he was balancing, at least for a moment. That moment he was king of the wheel, until his life flashed before his eyes and he jumped/fell (open to debate) and crashed into the ground. Not only a laugh, I got one up on him.

The mini Spinning Wheel of Death

Description: a 2 meter pole in the ground with a small platform 40cm above the ground.

It looked innocent. How could anything happen to me on such a simple piece of play equipment? Not knowing what it was I stood on the platform trying to find out what it does. It spins. It spins at such a fast rate that before I knew it I was revolving to the point of not being able to hold on anymore with my hands, I was 100% reliant on my 1 leg that I struggled to wrap around the pole until it stopped. That was my payback, with interest! Karma.

Superman Swing

I decided to give David a 'helping hand' as he swung on the swing. It looked so wrong, a guy in his 20's being pushed by a guy in his 20's. So so wrong. Wanting to make sure David enjoyed the swing I pushed it higher and higher until he couldn't go any further, I was ready to stop, but for some reason he decided to become superman and leaped off in mid air, landing 6-8 meters away. I never knew my friend could fly. David, your my hero.

It was a great afternoon with great mates. The food was good and no-one got injured. Two out of two in my book.

My first party with the parents gone

Ok, so it wasn't exactly a party, more a gathering of several close friends for movies with food and drink. It doesn't sound like much, but no-one visits me at home, I live far away, so last night felt really special, I had to make it go well.

It was a 'movie night', but really an excuse to catch up and send our friend Linh off before she goes on holidays. I want a rice hat gorgeous.

Fel had a few drinks and well girls + skin + pens = Fel having numerous artistic designs on his arms and back, lol.

Lisa, still on her p's couldn't drink, but made up for it by eating all the food - Lisa, what am I going to eat today? =P
Let's not mention the pins and needles incident aye Lisa =P

Xil and Linh opened a mind game that Linh got me for my 21st. I had no idea how to do it so i left it neatly in its little box for a year and a half. Xil opened it without looking how it's meant to go, Linh and Fel try to put it together for the next 2 minutes but to no avail. Lets just say it was time to let the mind game rest in peace.

Well I had fun hosting, it felt good preparing the food and drinks for everyone, I intend to do it another time, hopefully before I have my own house. Thank you to everyone that came, I know Phouc wished he could come, but next time wont be far away. By the way, we watched the Born Identity, never made it to the second movie.