Friday, March 30, 2007

Confessions, Complaints and Crap

Confessions

Chose Monash Peninsula instead of Monash Caulfied/Clayton cuz i don't wanna fly all the way here to end up mixing with Malaysians. Guess what. I end up mixing mostly with Malaysians and Singaporeans here. Love them but dissapointed in myself.

Also. I miss my maid back home in Malaysia. Peeled pears, cut into neat slices appear on the dining table even before dinner is finished. I have to peel my own damned pears here (thats why they remain in the fridge 2 weeks after buying them from Springvale...)

And i get very irritated seeing dirty dishes in the sink. Normally, i just dump my supper dishes there and when i wake up in the morning, its all gone, cleared, washed and dried, nicely where it belongs, as if they marched to respective cabinets on their own.

I bloody have to personally carry them.

And the toilet is flooding! The princessy me (yes, i admit), picked up the hair that collected in the shower. I NEVER have to do such a thing at home. One month's worth of hair... neither one of us bothered clearing it before it started flooding. And now it won't stop flooding no matter what.


Complaints

Who knew grass grows? The stupid grass in the backyard is so damned long. Its just been one month. Landlord said there's supposed to be a gardner... where is our Desperate Housewives-like-hot-gardner?

Why is it that my jeans get looser at the thighs but the tummy stays big and prominent? Nevermind. Just thankful my thighs are better. Somwhow, i'm exactly the same weight. 54kg

Simple things in life back home's taken for granted. U get bread vendors on motobikes in housing estates back home. Fresh bread at your door step in Malaysia. I have to walk 15 minutes to the shops tomorrow to get my bread.

Everytime i walk home after doing groceries, i have to go through a carpark... hallucinations of a little white Kancil play before my eyes. My baby, where are u?

Right pocket, where carkeys should be, contain only my house keys.

Anyhoo, when E is over at Frankston he helps me carry my stuff. Wahahaha, so thankful =) Love ya.

Oh! E brought the little cards and handicrafts i gave him throughout our 2 and a half years together to Australia. So damned sweet!

I only brought the diary he gave me and the necklace from our 1st month anniversary. He even brought the matching vday t-shirt! I forgot to bring mine! Damn you food poisoning! =(


Crap

Our wireless network is called Little Pigs. So cute! Hahaha. We're 3 Little Pigs!

Went for a swim in the beach after class last Thursday. It was a hot day. Nice. Also had a mocha frappe and relaxed on the sand till almost sunset.

We are so addicted to playing chor tai tee. And housemate CT bought the board game Cluedo and we played that for hours as if we are on holiday. I'm such a big piece of dead meat when assignments barge in April.



Sweet Escape

Check this out! Something for me to look forward to! Thanks Sassy Gurl! =)

Monday, March 26, 2007

20 Pictures, 2000 Words

17th Feb

Hopped on a train to get to Frankston, the suburb my campus is in. Supposed to change trains at Caulfield. When we got to Caulfield, we realized that none of the doors nearby were opened. We panicked! And tried to run to the nearest open door. But it was too faraway, we didn't make it. The train started to move.

I was told that people in Aust are very nice, you can ask anyone anything. So i asked this guy why didn't the doors open. Guess what i found out?

YOU HAD TO OPEN THE DOORS BY YOURSELF!

Weird! Its not like that in Malaysia and its not like that in Singapore or anywhere else i've taken a train...

We weren't sure how to get to campus so we looked around for the least scary person to ask for directions. I saw this 40something yr old guy carrying a plastic bag with carrots in it and asked for directions...

He offered us a lift! =)

Despite the luck and kindness we had we were too late to view the property. We hung out on the dead campus for a bit and decided to call a cab (cuz the weather is hotter than Malaysia that day). Stupid cab fare came up to $7.00!!! Its just one point something km away! If not for the punishing weather, we would have walked to Frankston town.

In town we went into almost all the real estate agents there were (there were SO MANY of them). But none of them had any suitable property available for viewing that Saturday. I felt so much regret, i should have done more research, it was so hot and i just felt like crying cuz even if we found a place we would have to buy furniture...

It was like a miracle when i received an sms. It's from this landlord i found on the Monash portal. From my corresponded with him, i didn't want his property as it was overpriced (though still cheaper than staying on campus) and also because he only had 2 rooms available and there was three of us.

We decided to view his property anyway since he offered to pick us up. His place seemed like magic and we were more than eager to move in... despite the fact that 5 girls would be sharing one bathroom!

We moved in on Sunday but didn't sign any agreement. Landlord was nice enough to let us see how it goes first. I was so relieved after that i couldn't stop smiling! Finally we started to enjoy being in Melbourne.


Beautiful touristy Frankston

Seeeeee? Peninsula campus ain't as ulu as u think.

Since we purchased an all day Metcard that day, i wanted to go visit E at Footscray. It would have been damned funny that the toilet closed at 6.30pm if i didn't need to shit (food poisoning).


18th February Sunday

Moved in. Unpacked a bit. Met up with E and his friend at Flinders street. HS and i shopped till the shops started closing at freaking 5pm! We took the train back to Frankston and since it was evening we decided to walk from the station to our house.

For 20minutes we walked the wrong way! It started to get dark, the path was pitch black... and it started to rain. What a way to spend the first day of Chinese New Year.


19th February

Got our registration done... got lunch, did some grocery shopping and we took some pictures of our


Okayyyy... our campus does look a bit like a forest reserve...

Me! In front of my faculty- Bachelor of Business and Commerce. Don't ask me why the building says business and economics.


We had our first eat-in dinner that day!

Only $2.50 for the meatloaf! =) “Yummy” to quote HS and it was really filling that we had enough leftover for breakfast!

Did i mention we had two Swedish girls as housemates? They're really nice and they cook and eat in a lot and they ALWAYS wash their dishes... We spent the night watching Borat together!


20th February

I took a train to Clayton just to visit bestfriend who just arrived in Melbourne. It was her birthday that day. So i popped into a shop to get her something.

I couldn't believe my luck. I went into super cheap cheap shop. Its like $5.50 for a top... and on top of that, many items are on half price! $2.75 for a top??? I went crazy and bought $17.75 worth of stuff including bestfriend's present.

I soon found out that i was shopping at Salvation Army! So i donated RM50 to charity! Whoa...


21st February

There was some opening ceremony for orientation and i got what i wanted. By choosing Monash Peninsula, i found myself in a campus where 2700 students or 90% were locals and only 300 were international students.

But somehow HS and i bumped into 4 other Malaysians and the 6 of us stuck in a group for the day. Which wasn't all bad cuz ST told me about this website with off campus student accommodation. HS and i saw a lovely place at a reasonable price. I called up and made an appointment to view the place the very same day.
Camwhore and Photoslut taking pictures cuz we were early for our property viewing appointment.


The place was as beautiful as the add!

Everything was either brand new or retro pieces!




Look at our kitchen! Trendy!




Our toilet looks like a hotel's! There is a bathtub! (Which currently remains unused till today)


All three rooms had double beds! And they gave us a discount! $94 per week instead of $99 for the small rooms, $115 instead of $125 for the big room cuz the floor was dusty and half the lights in the kitchen is not working and the wife's pregnant and due in 3 weeks...

They were nice enough to let me take pictures of the house cuz our 3rd housemate would only be arriving the next day and i wanted to show her pictures before we make a decision


The Next Day
3rd housemate, CT loves the pictures! Called landlady Holly and told her we'd take the place!
I asked if they could help us move. At first the said NO, they would not help us!!
That's cuz they thought we had huge items such as COUCHES!
Did i speak like i've lived here long? Do i seem like a pro at viewing property?
Cool! Wahahaha. We paid the bond and landlord Dean helped us move in!

And we've moved in! =) The three of us then had steamboat dinner with CT's friends, Malaysian B and Singaporean D. Good food, gtreat people!


23rd February
Whole day of grocery/necessity shopping! From buying heaters to lamps, throw rugs, food, milo and detergent... we walked to town twice and took a cab back twice. That many stuff!



24th February
I walked to town to pick up E, who came to visit for the weekend! It was pretty much a day in for me, just lazing around...


...and being in each other's arms. Look at how he sits, as if he owns MY place! He helped me with the laundry too (cleaned the washing machine for me as well, hehe).


Man, can u believe i've never used the washing machine before in my life? When it started making noises i started to panic for the live of my very few clothes but E said that the machine at his home is louder so i calmed down.


Dinner was spaghetti (cooked by CT) and a whole chicken purchased for 6 bucks. S came over at night to help finish the spaghetti and we played Uno cards while watching Ali G in the House on tv.


Pretty nice day. Its the day when i finally relaxed (period came after being 2 weeks late and its the second time i shitted since arriving in Aust, aside diarrhea. Sorry my blog is too personal).
I finally unpacked and i found a little something my sister sneaked into my huge luggage. She put her hand print with paint on a piece of art block and wrote a little goodbye note. I cried reading it.

When i get back to Malaysia next year her hand wouldn't be the same size.



25th February


Trip to the city thanks for Sunday Savers. $12.60 tickets become $2.50 on Sundays. Walk around Victoria Market and... i have no idea where else. We camwhored too

Housemates. I dun care if i spoiled the picture by being in it, i still love this pic.

I bought 30 packets of Maggi noodles from this Asian grocery store. It taste much better than the Australian Maggie Chicken flavour.



26th February


Nothing earth shattering happened on this Monday except that ST, S, T, CT, HS and i went to the beach for the first time! Don't have the group picture with me but i have another one of me and my beloved housemates.

Lots of laughter together.

And here's a scenery shot


27th February
We ordered Malaysian food!!! There was rendang! And we cooked rice. No pictures cuz we wolfed down everything the minute the veggie's cooked.


28th February
1st class. Oh my god i could hardly relate to anything! So scary, employment law is so not what i was expecting! It's... more of history and sooo much about the past Australian governments...



2nd March



Did laundry on my own. Made me late for class! I didn't know how 2 turn on the thing! Had to call E! Wahahaha... but at least i don't burn pizzas with the microwave like HS does! Hahaha.
6th March - Instant noodle day.



Beautiful! Cost me less than $2.00! =) So proud of myself, able to make such a good looking meal, ahahaha. But my telor mata kerbau tutup mata sikit. Whoops




8th March
First time eating at the cafeteria.

Just CT and i, HS was too lazy to go to university since she has no classes that day and although we live 5 minutes away from campus...







11th March






Sunday Savers are my savior. Went to the city again. E and i just walked along the river bank near Flinders Street. There was this Mumba festival going on, a carnival too but rides and games were really expensive, we just strolled and comment on the odds of winning each games and such. I took pictures

I kinda love the way the sun shines through the clouds. And there's a waterskiing contest going on.




There was supposed to be fireworks at 9.30 but due to “high unpredictable winds, the fireworks has been canceled.” Sheeshhh. CT, E and I just sat there and freezed our buts off watching people walk past us for a bit before we hopped on a tram to Melbourne Central for Max Brenner.

I was fascinated with the mug. No handles. I asked CT how are u supposed to drink it?
Wanted to take a pic of her but she insisted on taking a pic of us.




Thats how you drink from Max Brenner। Keeps your hands warm. But not for long though.




I hate this post, it was really hard putting it up! Glad i'm done, i just dunno why technology hates me

Monday, March 19, 2007

Without Internet

Been without for a whole month now! Really gotten used to it!

Forgot the convenience it brings... was talking to M over the phone last Thursday and she mentioned checking the weather.
I thought "ok, i'll go to the lib and check tomorrow."

The next minute she gave me the forecasts! I was astounded, i was like, "huh, how did she do that?"

Haha... And u know what's stupid? Internet's coming tomorrow but we haven't bought our wireless modem router! And i don't have a cable!

I'll go out and buy a cable i guess. And i did try posting a very long post TWICE last week but blogger hated me!!! =(

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Time Consuming

Kinda REALLY miss breakfast and lunch at Sunway. Damn cheap and damn good.

Here gotta make my own breakfast and lunch, mafan betul. Wanna stay online longer to catch up on Blogs but i gotta go home 2 make lunch... Maggi mee...

Good thing the beautiful lovely house i call home is nearby.

Thats our landlord's car in the driveway. Wish my Kancil was there. Miss having my car keys in my right pocket.

I have to cross railway tracks. Frankston is such a country-side-place! Haha!

Want to add another picture but technology really hates me. I don't know when or when or how am i going to post my long post. Internet connection's coming on the 20th March.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Thick Skin Bargain Bitch

I'm the kind of shopaholic that is attracted to bargains. I can't resist cheap stuff. I end up buying 2 or 3 of the same thing if its cheap. 20% discounts never fool me.

So i call myself a Bargain Bitch. I love shopping but i don't buy unless its cheap...

I need a chair... or two. To dump my laptop bag and stuff on in my room. Stupid chairs here are expensive. Like 39 dollars for a good one. The stupid stool, the plastic kind u sit on when u are at the pasar malam costs 5 dollars. =

One fine day as i was walking back from class, there at the trash area were two perfectly good blue (matches my room) chairs with armrests! There was also a blue computer chair with wheels!!! I want them all!!!!

I started to pull the computer chair away... and my friend told me to better not do that... I turned around and saw "Under survelience" (forgive my spelling, i seem to have forgotten how to spell everything).

Scared, i put back the chair and decided to go ask someone if i could recycle the trash. So i went to the closest building and asked. I was told to ask the works department. And so i did. And they said "Why not?"!!!! =) =) =)

But it wasn't meant to be. By the time i went back to the trash area... my chairs were all gone... =(

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Embarassing

Why do i keep doing this!?

Whenever i see an Asian here in Australia, my brain would automatically think he/she's Malaysian and i would automatically speak with my beloved Malaysian slang. You know, the broken English, with shortened pronounciations and all the "wan", "ma", "la" and "arrrrr".

And since the people in Aust are from all over the world, Asians might be from China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Japan or wherever. Embarassing when i speak to them as if they were Malaysian or Singaporean! They cant understand me

Guess what i did this morning? The security guard at the bookshop is tanned... looks like a Malay. In Malaysia whenever i see a Malay security guard, i would immediately start talking in Malay.

Absentmindedly, thats what i did here in Aust!

Soooooo embarassing. My friends kept laughing at me! The security guard joked at me: asked if i sweared at him. Oh my godddddd