This was my second year in retirement. My first year was dull. Let me remind you.

After another year of that and a few other things happening I decided it might be time for a change. I'm writing this in Malaysia (in November). It's not a holiday but a look-see visit to see whether or not I should move there to retire.

There are several reasons for considering it but they're irrelevant to the annual update. Suffice to say that I might decide to return next year and make the significant financial investment required to get the Malaysian long term residence visa. Or I might not.

As usual here's a short update about the family.

In 2024 Dr Roger Gamble was able to get a 7 month contract with the Qld govt in the Land Revenue Dept. In 2025 he managed to convert that into a fulltime job with the Payroll Tax area of the Qld Treasury Dept. (The Land Dept and the Payroll Tax Dept are both a part of Qld Treasury so he effectively got a fulltime role in the same umbrella group.) This doesn't seem like a good use of his PhD in the field of psychology / neuroscience but it does represent job and financial security, which are two things he hasn't enjoyed until now. That's a good outcome for him, although it was a difficult way to get there.

Rex continued working in Boston. I didn't hear much from him during the year so I can only assume things are going well. He has mentioned that he feels a bit spooked by his H-1B status & the behavior of ICE these days but I assume he's keeping his head down with a low profile, and getting on with life.

Kung had a good year. She visited Australia for four weeks in May. She came to Cairns and we went on a road trip going along the coast to the most southern point in the state of Queensland and then back to Cairns via the inland roads. So while she visited Australia she didn't get out of the one state. It took 3 of her 4 weeks visit to cover 4,500kms (2,800 miles) and while it was a long time spent in the car she enjoyed the trip. She met some of my old friends, enjoyed their company, was impressed by their homes (much better than mine) and really enjoyed the produce available in our supermarkets. There are many examples but she says being exposed to avocados in Australia has ruined them for her in Thailand; she thought they were good there until she had them here and found the ones in Australia to be richer, creamier and more enjoyable. She also visited Malaysia with me in November to see what it's like there.

A few things happened besides watching TV, but not much.

Over the past few years I've mentioned the changes I wanted in my apt and my progress. This year I did the bathrooms and replaced the air conditioning. Wow, I left the high cost items until last :o The bathrooms were crazy expensive and the air conditioning wasn't cheap, either. Here's the list of everything I've done since buying the apt 6 years ago:

Item		Status
Wireless indoor security cameras inside the apt		Done in 2022
Replace carpets in the bedrooms with wooden floors		Done in 2023
Quite a bit of painting (walls, etc)		Done in 2023
Minor changes / improvements to the kitchen		Done in 2023
Bigger changes / improvements to the kitchen		Done in 2024
Renovate both bathrooms		Done in 2025
Replace air conditioning		Done in 2025
Curtains for living room		I decided not to do this

That means I've made changes to every room in the apt and I've finished everything on my list. It's been a big effort.

Here are before & after photos of changes I've made in the bathrooms.

Click these links if you want to see a video walkthru of the old bathroom and the new one. The "before" version was recorded approx. 3 years before any work started so I was pretty clear about what I wanted from the beginning.

You probably think I'm crazy because with all my renovations I've spent about A$100K and the only way I can afford to go to Malaysia, if I go, is to sell the apt. There's no way I'll recoup the cost so it might seem to be a waste of money. That's perhaps true but I made the changes because I wanted them for my lifestyle* so, for me, they're worth it. I guess it's just "one of those things" that it happened at the wrong time.