Tragedy struck again the next day, on the 18th, exactly one month after I arrived in Melbourne (and lost my Ipod). I LOST MY PHONE!
My beloved reads-out-my-text-messages-all-the-time phone! Boo hoo! It dropped out of my pocket during my Micro lecture. I realised it on the way out, so left my bags at my tutorial and CROSSED THE ENTIRE CAMPUS AGAIN to the lecture theatre, only to realise another class had gone in.
I didn't want to walk back to my tute cause by the time I reached there it would be time to leave again. So I just wandered around outside the theatre drawing suspicious glances from this girl who was sitting outside studying. Finally, 20 minutes into the lecture I mustered up my courage and entered the 200 odd capacity hall.
Heads swivelled around as I made my way to the front row and proceeded to check under people's legs and stuff. No phone. I retreated back up and waited for the lecture to finish.
Meanwhile, I had a HIMBO moment.
I asked that girl if I could borrow her mobile to text Ching Ching (cause I wanted her to jaga my stuff in the tutorial). I typed out the message, and then I realised I didn't know Ching Ching's number by heart "=.=
Me : Err...it's OK, I forgot her number...so yeah...
S.G. : Er. oh. ok. no problem.
So now I had another worry on my head. But I waited and entered the theatre as everyone was leaving, and searched for 5 minutes - it was gone. I decided to go get my books from tutorial, when suddenly I noticed Ching Ching struggling with two bags and lugging my stuff walking towards me. Phew. I then went to Three to get my new sim and cancel my old one. Don't worry, I still have the same number.
Oh, and it was obviously stolen, cause inside the theatre you dont get reception. So at first all the calls were bounced back, but then it STARTED RINGING! And after 15 minutes, it got turned off. Stupid idiot. WAIT TILL I BLOCK MY PHONE THEN YOU CAN'T USE IT AT ALL!
Three gave me this replacement phone to use for a month. As soon as I exited the uni though, the battery died "=.= And I was supposed to be meeting Sara and Nick for lunch! I went to Ching's house to charge it, but then realised they hadn't given me the charger. So I had to go all the way back, and get it.
Then I went home, and after 5 minutes realised the charger didn't work. SO I HAD TO GO BACK AGAIN! Finally I got another phone, and it worked OK.
And by the time I rang my parents, they had already found out I lost my phone from Ching. Hahaha. Such a kill joy. I wanted to rant!
But anyway, now I'm using my malaysian phone which is relatively new anyway...I bought it in September. It's also offered free on the cap, so I guess it's as good as my lost one EXCEPT WITHOUT READING-TEXT-MESSAGES-CAPABILITIES!
So anyway, yeah, I ffk-ed Nick and Sara. My first ffk :D Sigh. So I still haven't tried Nando's - it's supposed to be better here. Anyone wanna teman me? :)
Monday, March 31
Sunday, March 30
Koko
Note : I am only 8 posts behind! Woo hoo to clearing backlog! And happy belated's to Harvey and Gregory.
After some cajouling, Harvey joined us midway as well.
Later I got back to Sara's place to print out some stuff, and then headed back home :)
Fun fun :)
A day before I fully recovered, I was feeling a lot better and so I met up with Sara for lunch at Cafe Crema. My gosh, that lady is scary! Everytime I got up to do something she would scream at me to sit down - cause apparently I needed to rest. Hahah :) So thanks Sars!
We also bumped into Daniel, who we both haven't seen for almost 2 years.
Everyday without fail, I tune in to Deal or no Deal, Friends, Ten News, and The Biggest Loser. On some days there are weekly shows like How I Met Your Mother, and Brothers & Sisters. And every Wednesday (or was it Thursday?) I tune in to Rules of Engagement and Back to You. So Free TV is slightly better than expected.
BUT I SO MISS TIVO! Or rather Astro Max. Stupid advertisements :(
On the 16th, Natalie invited me for dinner with her cousin. I accepted, but on the way, we ended up getting off at the wrong tram stop - in front of Federation Square. Instead of catching one back, we decided to spend the day there. The gaming festival was in town, so we spent almost an hour playing Ratatouille, Spongebob and Tetris!
We then went exploring a bit, and headed back up to Lygon Street to have dinner at Universal. After a short trip back down to Safeway QV, we headed home.
On the 17th, Sara and I met up with Vyn - we ended up having lunch at Universal again. I was so full after lunch, but somehow they managed to cohorse me into going to Koko Black.
It was good, but it made me even fuller - I couldnt even finish the chocolate in front of me, which was a first!
We had Iced Chocolate (it was a hot hot day), and Belgian Spoil.
After some cajouling, Harvey joined us midway as well.
Later I got back to Sara's place to print out some stuff, and then headed back home :)Fun fun :)
Saturday, March 29
Musings
Before I start...the cab driver in the story below, was this middle aged Lebanese man, who was giving us advice in his broken English on how to stay well etc. (and also adding helpful comments like "You don't look a bit sick...you look VERY sick!") and then he asked me where I was studying. When I told him I was studying Commerce at Melbourne U he turned around with this big beaming smile and said "Very good boy!".
My friends and I got a similar reaction at Victoria Market by this Russian salesman who commended us for getting into Melbourne Uni for Commerce.
Everyone thinks this is a big deal except for me. At A.S2's dinner, I told the congratulatory table that I didn't really think it was a big deal because I scraped the bottom of the barrel. I'm surrounded by utterly amazing individuals in my course, and I'm going "What the hell am I doing in this place?". In the Dean's message to the first years, she said that the Commerce degree in Melbourne Uni was one of the hardest to get into in Australia. So again, what were they thinking letting me in?
I know it was all I was aiming for, and all my eggs were in this basket. But...do I deserve this?
____________________________________________________________________
When my mom left for Sydney on the 8th, I thought it would be a pretty simple departure.
Instead, I fell sick! I couldn't even swallow properly, cause my throat hurt so much! At 10am we bundled into a cab and headed to Footscray which was 20 minutes away. My mom's transport arrived at noon, so we were a bit pressed for time.
I was given a prescription for antibiotics and at 11.20, we left the clinic, reaching Arrow at 11.45 since the cab driver hit the gas, and did what no Aussy had ever done before : break the speed limit!
I wanted to stay with my mom till her transport arrived, but I was feeling too weak so we said goodbye at my apartment. At 12.10 I forced myself out of bed to go back down, but I saw her bus just leaving. Since I was down already, I decided to take a tram to Melbourne Central to get my medicine, and on the way back, I saw her bus again - this time leaving QV.
The following days my throat got better, but I started developing a fever. I had to stay home from Uni for a week, but I forced myself to tutorials since I didn't want to lose attendance.
Once, I woke up at 3am to let off a huge sneeze, and immediately I thought "Uh oh, I would have waken Mummy and so she'll come to check on me now."
I lay awake waiting hopefully, and then it hit me.
She was gone.
Being sick really put a damper on things, because it made me feel a bit depressed, and I feared that I would think of going back to Kl (my dad suggested it). I had nothing to do except watch Free TV! But I managed to supress those feelings by sleeping them off. At least I got sick now instead of April, when my mom really leaves for KL. Once I got better - largely by self medication - I was fine.
Also, thanks to Ching Ching and Seok for being so caring and kind. Ching voluntarily dropped by with dinner on the first night I fell sick, and even made me lemon and honey to sip. Seok came all the way 2 days later, to take me to Safeway incase I needed help. I really appreciate it :)
Everyday I drank Crema Chai which I bought downstairs. I drank lemon and honey mixed once a day, drank 2 Apple Juices, 6 glasses of water, steered clear of chocolate, coffee and oil, and ate only pasta. Phew. I steamed myself twice a day - once with normal vapour, once with Vix vapour. I took steam showers, and changed my linen every day.
I did everything! So in a week, I was ready and well, and thank goodness - I had to leave for Sydney in a few days time.
So thank you to God and friends :)
I SURVIVED MAN!!!!
My friends and I got a similar reaction at Victoria Market by this Russian salesman who commended us for getting into Melbourne Uni for Commerce.
Everyone thinks this is a big deal except for me. At A.S2's dinner, I told the congratulatory table that I didn't really think it was a big deal because I scraped the bottom of the barrel. I'm surrounded by utterly amazing individuals in my course, and I'm going "What the hell am I doing in this place?". In the Dean's message to the first years, she said that the Commerce degree in Melbourne Uni was one of the hardest to get into in Australia. So again, what were they thinking letting me in?
I know it was all I was aiming for, and all my eggs were in this basket. But...do I deserve this?
____________________________________________________________________
When my mom left for Sydney on the 8th, I thought it would be a pretty simple departure.
Instead, I fell sick! I couldn't even swallow properly, cause my throat hurt so much! At 10am we bundled into a cab and headed to Footscray which was 20 minutes away. My mom's transport arrived at noon, so we were a bit pressed for time.
I was given a prescription for antibiotics and at 11.20, we left the clinic, reaching Arrow at 11.45 since the cab driver hit the gas, and did what no Aussy had ever done before : break the speed limit!
I wanted to stay with my mom till her transport arrived, but I was feeling too weak so we said goodbye at my apartment. At 12.10 I forced myself out of bed to go back down, but I saw her bus just leaving. Since I was down already, I decided to take a tram to Melbourne Central to get my medicine, and on the way back, I saw her bus again - this time leaving QV.
The following days my throat got better, but I started developing a fever. I had to stay home from Uni for a week, but I forced myself to tutorials since I didn't want to lose attendance.
Once, I woke up at 3am to let off a huge sneeze, and immediately I thought "Uh oh, I would have waken Mummy and so she'll come to check on me now."
I lay awake waiting hopefully, and then it hit me.
She was gone.
Being sick really put a damper on things, because it made me feel a bit depressed, and I feared that I would think of going back to Kl (my dad suggested it). I had nothing to do except watch Free TV! But I managed to supress those feelings by sleeping them off. At least I got sick now instead of April, when my mom really leaves for KL. Once I got better - largely by self medication - I was fine.
Also, thanks to Ching Ching and Seok for being so caring and kind. Ching voluntarily dropped by with dinner on the first night I fell sick, and even made me lemon and honey to sip. Seok came all the way 2 days later, to take me to Safeway incase I needed help. I really appreciate it :)
Everyday I drank Crema Chai which I bought downstairs. I drank lemon and honey mixed once a day, drank 2 Apple Juices, 6 glasses of water, steered clear of chocolate, coffee and oil, and ate only pasta. Phew. I steamed myself twice a day - once with normal vapour, once with Vix vapour. I took steam showers, and changed my linen every day.
I did everything! So in a week, I was ready and well, and thank goodness - I had to leave for Sydney in a few days time.
So thank you to God and friends :)
I SURVIVED MAN!!!!
Friday, March 28
Gegarkan Bumi
2 posts in a day! Woot!
Note : My mom leaves for KL on the 6th of April. She was with me from 18th Feb to 8th March, and then headed to Sydney. She came back with me from Sydney on the 28th, and is now staying with me for these 9 days – she’s been away from home for almost 2 months! Nick's jealous :P
Note : My mom leaves for KL on the 6th of April. She was with me from 18th Feb to 8th March, and then headed to Sydney. She came back with me from Sydney on the 28th, and is now staying with me for these 9 days – she’s been away from home for almost 2 months! Nick's jealous :P
I've always wanted to go to Planetshakers, so I was quite happy when Wei Xiong invited me to join him on the 2nd. Unfortunately I only woke up at noon, and he was leaving at 2.30 for the church. He told me to hurry up though, so I made it just in the nick of time – we arrived 10 minutes late or so.
He met me at Town Hall. I didn't take the camera with me, so here's a Googled shot!
Me : Huh?!
Halfway there, he felt guilty about skipping his church duties, and so decided to head back to help for a while, so I (poor thing) headed on to Tse Han's on my own, stopping on the way to buy brownies from Starbucks. I actually wanted to get myself a Caramel Hot Chocolate (it's been so long!) but they ran out of – can you believe it? - chocolate!
I headed to College Square and dropped in on Sara, where I finally met the elusive Keat and met Sara's mom after 6 years! After sharing my brownie, I went down to Tse Han's where he and Ching Ching were waiting patiently with Tse Han's roommate Justin. Justin ended up selling his friend's textbooks to me. I tried to cheat them since they didn't know the actual book prices, but they ended up selling at the average second hand book price. Grr.
Tse Han made broth! It was quite appetising even after my brownie. Later Wei Xiong and I headed back at around 10.
On the first day of uni, I got homework! Seriously. We hadn't even learnt anything, and I had a 1% assignment. And 1% is a lot for uni ok? My lecturers and tutors are all pretty good, except for my QM teacher. I can't keep my eyes open for his class! Once, I didn't even realise I fell asleep until I heard the rustling of people packing up around me. That was the first time I've ever fallen asleep in any class or lecture! He's old and slow, and doesn't know how to use the computer eventhough he's supposed to teach us Excel!
I made dinner for the first two days of uni! Omelette, baked beans, apple, lettuce and bread! Simple simple only la. Second day I made hot dogs, potatos and carrots with apple.
I also bought myself the Lindt Easter Bunny – the must have bunny this season. So good! I got the dark chocolate one. Isn't it just so yummy looking?!
Next up, disaster strikes.
Activities in Melbourne
This post was written on the 22nd, at the airport. :)
I'm at the Melbourne Airport right now, sipping my yummy Belgian Chocolate with Marshmallows and eating my Apple Crumble at Hudsons Coffee. I'm watching planes leaving and going, and all I can think is : WHY CAN'T 10.45 COME SOONER?!
The airport charges $4 per 15 minutes of wireless internet “=.=
On the 27th, my family friends invited us over for dinner at their home in Cauffield. It's so nice and cosy, and it's built in such a way that it keeps the warmth in during winter and the cold in during summer! I wanted to wrap myself with the bazillions of cushions strewn across the floor and just lie down and sleep.
After that, they all headed to College Square to prepare their lunch, while I went to tapau from KFC. We then met up to eat our food at Christine & Fiona's place. It's pretty cool cause it's a duplex. Then, we trammed down to the Duty Free shop and to check out a bookstore to try get our textbooks. We ended up leaving empty handed – until we decided to go to Crumpler, where Christine bought a $150 bag. Ahh. I want this one : One of a kind!
Tse Han, Ching and I then hit Big W at my haunt, QV. I decided I would spend some money too that day, so they grudgingly followed me down to Gloria Jeans for a hot choc. Wei Xiong joined us but we left barely 15 minutes later.
I then went to A.S2 (remember her?)'s for dinner. She also invited S3 and N and their families. She served her famous chocolate brownies again too! Omg. You guys really should try them - they're out of this world! On the way to her house though, we found out that the train line was under service, and so we had to go to Jolimont. N had to come all the way from the party house, pick us up, and take us back there. But at least I got to see Melbourne Cricket Ground!
I'm actually on the plane typing this right now. I was actually just underweight, so that dispelled my worries – I brought all my heavy textbooks with me and I insisted on using the large luggage bag I had picked out for myself in KL. I was pretty satisfied when I left my room this morning cause it looked so neat and tidy. But anyway, I digress.
The next post is pretty outing-packed, so I'll sign off here. Hope you guys have a great Easter, and I'll see you in the blogosphere once I'm back in Melbourne on the 28th. I might sneak in an update or two inbetween assignments though, so keep an eye out!
Looking forward to meeting Manpreet and Rezza :) See you all!
HAPPY EASTER!
6 days later : I'm at the Sydney Airport leaving for Melbourne. So sorry I didn't get to post during the week! :D
I'm at the Melbourne Airport right now, sipping my yummy Belgian Chocolate with Marshmallows and eating my Apple Crumble at Hudsons Coffee. I'm watching planes leaving and going, and all I can think is : WHY CAN'T 10.45 COME SOONER?!
The airport charges $4 per 15 minutes of wireless internet “=.=
On the 27th, my family friends invited us over for dinner at their home in Cauffield. It's so nice and cosy, and it's built in such a way that it keeps the warmth in during winter and the cold in during summer! I wanted to wrap myself with the bazillions of cushions strewn across the floor and just lie down and sleep.
Earlier that day was the Course Welcome BBQ. The Engineering department's lunch started earlier than most of the other department's, so we decided to crash theirs. They served patties and hot dogs. - the queue was quite long, as they had to BBQ it right then and there.
I ate with Shing Yun, Tse Han, Ben from Melbourne and Sabrina from China. I also bumped into Shun Jing and Edmund. After that I attended some short courses on my subjects, after which I finally met up with Seok. Seok then FORCED me into joining her to learn the Bush Dance – which admittedly was quite fun, but I was wearing double layers and so was sweating terribly after that. We were also treated to a performance of whip lashing. It was quite cool!
On the 1st, Tse Han and I joined Ching Ching, Christine and Fiona to go to the famous Victoria Market.
I ate with Shing Yun, Tse Han, Ben from Melbourne and Sabrina from China. I also bumped into Shun Jing and Edmund. After that I attended some short courses on my subjects, after which I finally met up with Seok. Seok then FORCED me into joining her to learn the Bush Dance – which admittedly was quite fun, but I was wearing double layers and so was sweating terribly after that. We were also treated to a performance of whip lashing. It was quite cool!
On the 1st, Tse Han and I joined Ching Ching, Christine and Fiona to go to the famous Victoria Market.
After the ladies bought their supplies, we hit the flea market. Ching and Christine each bought a $100 half-cashmere coat and a mink ruglet. We also saw these :
After that, they all headed to College Square to prepare their lunch, while I went to tapau from KFC. We then met up to eat our food at Christine & Fiona's place. It's pretty cool cause it's a duplex. Then, we trammed down to the Duty Free shop and to check out a bookstore to try get our textbooks. We ended up leaving empty handed – until we decided to go to Crumpler, where Christine bought a $150 bag. Ahh. I want this one : One of a kind!
Tse Han, Ching and I then hit Big W at my haunt, QV. I decided I would spend some money too that day, so they grudgingly followed me down to Gloria Jeans for a hot choc. Wei Xiong joined us but we left barely 15 minutes later.
I then went to A.S2 (remember her?)'s for dinner. She also invited S3 and N and their families. She served her famous chocolate brownies again too! Omg. You guys really should try them - they're out of this world! On the way to her house though, we found out that the train line was under service, and so we had to go to Jolimont. N had to come all the way from the party house, pick us up, and take us back there. But at least I got to see Melbourne Cricket Ground!
I'm actually on the plane typing this right now. I was actually just underweight, so that dispelled my worries – I brought all my heavy textbooks with me and I insisted on using the large luggage bag I had picked out for myself in KL. I was pretty satisfied when I left my room this morning cause it looked so neat and tidy. But anyway, I digress.
The next post is pretty outing-packed, so I'll sign off here. Hope you guys have a great Easter, and I'll see you in the blogosphere once I'm back in Melbourne on the 28th. I might sneak in an update or two inbetween assignments though, so keep an eye out!
Looking forward to meeting Manpreet and Rezza :) See you all!
HAPPY EASTER!
6 days later : I'm at the Sydney Airport leaving for Melbourne. So sorry I didn't get to post during the week! :D
Friday, March 21
O-Week
I leave for Sydney tomorrow! Am having something on today, which you will read about after 13 more updates! I doubt I'll be able to blog much in Sydney - maybe just one update. I'll be back on the 28th though! So wish me luck with my luggage since I don't have a weighing scale and am taking all my textbooks. But, enough chat. Here's the update!
Orientation day was packed with activities. It started out with the host group tour. Our guide took us around the two campuses, and showed us the best places to get/us stuff, and where to go for different facilities. We even found out that Mel Gibson filmed Mad Max in one of the car parks in Melb U!
In my group there were 2 girls from KL, 1 from Sri Lanka, 2 aussy-chinese guys and 1 aussy-chinese girl from Adelaide, and 1 girl from Germany. They were quite friendly, so it made the whole tour fun.
The German girl thought I had an American accent "=.=
After the tour, we went exploring the carnival. There was a mini-band that went around playing jazzy tunes. Also, there was this oldish lady in a bunny costume who was pushing around a cart - sort of like Alice in Wonderland. She would swerve the cart to block peoples way, and make the plates fall off it. She would then pick up the plate, wipe it vigorously with a cloth and stare angrily around. She also danced while pushing the cart! So cool! Hahah!
There were also clowns, and a woman in a dinosaur costume - the dinosaur gave out free hugs!
After bidding goodbye to my new found friends, I met Tse Han and we explored somemore, and loaded our bags with freebies. We then decided to find Seok at her College and drag her out for coffee.
The moment I stepped into the courtyard I thought I was at the Von Trapp family's residence in the Sound of Music. Seok wasn't answering her phone, so we headed over to Tse Han's place.
SO INCREDIBLY VAIN! He was staring at the self-potrait he had gotten at the carnival for such a long time! After a while we grabbed Ching from her unit, rang up Wei Xiong, and then headed to Big Ma Ma's.
Ching really liked the salad dressing at Big Mama's, and so she asked the waitress to ask the chef for the ingredients. The waitress said she would get back to her. 10 minutes later...
Ching : I thought you were supposed to ask the chef for the recipe?
Waitress : hah?
Me : *embarrased* Did you get the recipe from the chef?
Waitress : Oh. He said it was a home recipe.
Ching : Sniff.
After that they all trooped up to see my apartment. After humouring my mom for about half an hour, being lectured and having some short bread, they headed back home - honestly quite a waste of travel time for Wei Xiong!
Obviously O-Week did not stop there, but that's where my pictures end. The other pictures are in my camera which is with my mom in Sydney. So will update once I get back :)
Orientation day was packed with activities. It started out with the host group tour. Our guide took us around the two campuses, and showed us the best places to get/us stuff, and where to go for different facilities. We even found out that Mel Gibson filmed Mad Max in one of the car parks in Melb U!
In my group there were 2 girls from KL, 1 from Sri Lanka, 2 aussy-chinese guys and 1 aussy-chinese girl from Adelaide, and 1 girl from Germany. They were quite friendly, so it made the whole tour fun.
The German girl thought I had an American accent "=.=
After the tour, we went exploring the carnival. There was a mini-band that went around playing jazzy tunes. Also, there was this oldish lady in a bunny costume who was pushing around a cart - sort of like Alice in Wonderland. She would swerve the cart to block peoples way, and make the plates fall off it. She would then pick up the plate, wipe it vigorously with a cloth and stare angrily around. She also danced while pushing the cart! So cool! Hahah!
There were also clowns, and a woman in a dinosaur costume - the dinosaur gave out free hugs!
After bidding goodbye to my new found friends, I met Tse Han and we explored somemore, and loaded our bags with freebies. We then decided to find Seok at her College and drag her out for coffee.
The moment I stepped into the courtyard I thought I was at the Von Trapp family's residence in the Sound of Music. Seok wasn't answering her phone, so we headed over to Tse Han's place.
SO INCREDIBLY VAIN! He was staring at the self-potrait he had gotten at the carnival for such a long time! After a while we grabbed Ching from her unit, rang up Wei Xiong, and then headed to Big Ma Ma's.
Ching really liked the salad dressing at Big Mama's, and so she asked the waitress to ask the chef for the ingredients. The waitress said she would get back to her. 10 minutes later...
Ching : I thought you were supposed to ask the chef for the recipe?
Waitress : hah?
Me : *embarrased* Did you get the recipe from the chef?
Waitress : Oh. He said it was a home recipe.
Ching : Sniff.
After that they all trooped up to see my apartment. After humouring my mom for about half an hour, being lectured and having some short bread, they headed back home - honestly quite a waste of travel time for Wei Xiong!
Obviously O-Week did not stop there, but that's where my pictures end. The other pictures are in my camera which is with my mom in Sydney. So will update once I get back :)
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