My last post was in December 2022, and here it is March 2025. I know… it’s been a while. But the good news is that I’m still around, and everything’s fine. Wife is great, daughter is great – she turns 5 next month. Five years old. Damn.
A lot has happened over the past few years. I figure it’s probably a good idea to catch you up.
In 2023 Amelia went into child care and we needed a second car. I wanted best value for money and was originally looking at petrol cars, but it turned out with the new Labor government and their EV (Electric Vehicle) benefits, that the best value for money was going to be a new EV. So I got a Tesla Model 3 (sedan) to go with the BMW.
But then I calculated that the cost of ownership for the 8 year old BMW was actually higher than for a new Tesla… so I bought a second Tesla, a Model Y (SUV) and sold the BMW.
The 3 was supposed to be for me, and the Y was supposed to be for my wife, but it turned out we each preferred the other vehicle, so I drive the Y now, and she drives the 3.
I last wrote about Teslas back in 2018: Thinking about getting a Tesla and 5 years later I got two of them. I never thought that would happen!
Anyway, they’re a lot of fun. And the best thing – the value for money. There’s no petrol, oil, maintenance, etc. In 2 years, I’ve spent about $90 on servicing – and that’s the total cost for both of them. It’s amazing!
Late 2023 we finally bought a house, our own 3 bedroom, 2 garage place in the suburbs. It’s close to a preferred school, which is convenient, ‘cause now she’s going there for kindergarten.
A month ago I got solar installed, along with a Tesla battery, and I signed up to an energy wholesaler that allows me to buy and sell electricity – I use solar most of the time, which also charges up the battery. Occasionally I use the grid, but I’m also selling energy back into the grid.
After a month, I’m not just at 0 energy cost – I’m at -$40, which means I’m going to be paid by the electricity company for the energy I’m providing back into the grid.
It’s all very exciting!
As for work… I changed careers last year. My contract as a Business Analyst ended, and two things influenced the change.
- I’d been a Business Analyst since 2008, about 16 years. I decided it was time for a change! That was long enough.
- Australia’s cost of living was pretty high and a lot of people were experiencing financial stress. We were ok, but I wanted to be better. That mortgage needed to be paid, the daughter needed schooling, and we still wanted holidays too…
So I became an Enterprise Architect with my first gig supporting cybersecurity, and I gave myself quite a considerable pay rise in the process.
It’s been awesome. A bit of a learning curve to get myself up to speed on the approach needed to get the job, and then also actually doing the job. And doing it successfully too. I’m already in a leadership team supporting cybersecurity management, and I’m looking at developing other opportunities this year. I’m thinking that becoming a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) isn’t unrealistic or unachievable, and this is already underway.
If you’ve been around this blog a while, you might know I’m very very good at creating the reality I want. Just work out what you want, and then do what it takes to get what you want. It’s really quite easy!
Anyway…
Writing in this blog has always been on my mind, almost every single day. It’s just that I couldn’t find anything I wanted to write about.
Tonight, I decided to just sit down and write. Whatever comes out of my fingers, so to speak. Get it out, then hit Publish.
Ok, now that’s done.
And what about you? How are YOU doing? I hope you’re doing well. I’d love you to leave a comment and say hi, and maybe give me an update on your own life this past few years. I’d love you hear how things have been going with you.
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