First Obligatory Post

Hello fellow steemers (is that a thing?)

Never really been much of a blogger; I'm more of a diary type of guy but you have to stick with the times. Like everyone else, sometimes I get lost in life and I need to release. I think it's important to reflect frequently. Healthy for the mind and soul.

I got the urge to blog around April 2016, when my wife and I packed up our lives in Sydney, Australia and moved to the country and settled in Mildura - a quaint suburbia and one of the more developed country towns in regional Victoria, Australia. I was thinking of using tumblr or blogspot... but the excessive amount of NSFW content being posted. WTF... Anyway!

Mildura is famous for a few things; juice, grapes and unfortunately ice/meth (sometimes casually known as the ice capital of Australia). The epidemic is dying down.. we no longer rank #1 for ice users... but lets focus on the fruits and produce. Mildura is responsible for 80% of grapes consumed in the state of Victoria and a lesser extent the other states of Australia.

You're probably wondering 'why the move?'. Swapping the harbour bridge for a dusty grape town doesn't seem like much of a trade off. Short answer, my wife's family settled here and after we got married in January 2016 in the Philippines, we got back and she dropped the bomb. At least that's the story I like to tell. Happy Wife Happy Life.

Mildura is actually quite a beautiful town situated along the murray river.

It seems like a backward step in terms of progression and whatnot; but it really isn't. Like many city-dwellers, my thoughts immediately went to tumble-weed, tin sheds and kangaroos (ok that part is true). But we're wired to overreach aren't we? We strive for something better. Our ancestors did it to survive. Our parents did it so that we could have a life. What about us?

I was scared about the move. I have been a Sydney-sider for 23 years. But it turned out quite well. I have a job with a competitive financial-planning organisation, my wife is a teacher at a well-supported local private school, we have a house and it takes us approximately 7 minutes to get to and from work. I literally gained 2 hours of my life back. Instead of commutes on peak-hour trains and buses, I'm driving & jamming to ONE song (two is pushing it) before I get home to start dinner and binge watch Suits.

I was a creature of habit, thrown in the deep end and I couldn't be happier. I hated the idea of leaving my comfortable life in Sydney; I knew how it would all turn out. I wasn't ready for change. But the change of being in a relationship with someone I truly love provided the change which sparked a life-long challenge.. I guess through it all, I learnt more about myself and the man I wanted to become.

So many people, info-mercials, motivational talkers push you to do something that challenges you. While that is all well and good, I don't think the genesis of those challenges are truly intrinsic. Find something you are passionate about or that you love, tangible or intangible and the challenges will present themselves.

You're probably sick of reading, and if you haven't already closed this post off, thank you for taking the time. I'm not really a share-y type of person. But this won't be a regular thing albeit I'll post my thoughts occasionally.

My username is S3 for a reason; Squats, Scotch & Stogies. My 3 passions, at one point or another in my life. I love working out, I love drinking scotch and I love to celebrate events with a lovely cigar.

At this very moment, I have a few Monte Cristo and Romeo Y Julieta Cigars in a humidor that have been sitting for months for the weekend ahead. This weekend marks the first time my entire immediate family will visit my wife and I in our new home.

Before I sign off, I'd like to leave you with a thought that has played in my head.

"You'll never know where you're going, until you understand where you've been".

Cheers,
Paulie V - converted Country-Bumpkin