wonderment

I’m so sleepy now after such a hectic weekend that I’m just going to leave you with some photos of what we did ….

After my dad left on Friday, I bawled my eyes out at the airport and somehow coming back to my room and finding his reading glasses on the floor triggered off another round of tears. All of a sudden, the reality that I’d be away from the people I love for a whole year hit me like the cold Melbourne chill. I positively HAD to find something to do, otherwise I’d be in a silly depressed funk for goodness knows how long.

Thankfully, a friend allowed me to call him that night and cry on the phone … he made me laugh and see the brighter side of things so for that I’m grateful!

Then on Saturday, I met up with Sihan who brought her housemate Lionel(M’sian) and Rupah - an Indian girl she met at enrolment … who in turn brought her friend Dajes. I brought Simon, this Singaporean guy who’s doing his post grad studies.

We spent the WHOLE day out grocery shopping and then having Thai food at East Brunswick and then yet another round of gelare!

Today, I went to try out a church Joanne and Ann recommended to me and it ain’t too bad. Lots of Asians this time round and the service was very different from St Judes (whom Germaine kindly set up an introduction).

After church, I met up with Sihan, Lionel, Rupah, Dajes, Simon (who brought his hostel mate Wang Hua) to buy stuff for an improvised steamboat session.

None of us had a steam boat thing so we ended up at my place, around the stove, cooking, laughing, and basically having a good time.

I’ve just got home … well okay, not quite just, hanging out with Pearline who came by much later.

One lesson I’ve learnt about living alone overseas?

You need a heck lot of friends to support you, not only to help you move house when all you’ve got is your dad and yourself, but to have meals with, to go grocery shopping with, to go for International student activities with, to ask for lobangs for a roof over your head …

Good stuff … looking forward to school … and more friends!

God was really gracious to me … at least He kept me so occupied with new people that I had time to recover from all that missing …

But not that I’ve forgotten you guys totally … I still miss you very much!

I spent the most (apparently) romantic day of the year with my dad …. *awwww*

We had pizza, a good Porterhouse steak, and pumpkin soup at this little old Italian eatery called Toto’s. It’s at the beginning of Lygon, just next to RMIT and there were just families and non-Vday type couples there. He thought we should have gone to a classier restaurant, but when you’re on lygon, any Italian eatery is good. Besides, the rest of Lygon street was chock full with the loveiest, doviest couples you could find in little Italy. Nahh … I want to eat my meal in peace without the goose bumps.

We didn’t stay for dessert, instead, we walked down Lygon all the way to Fed Square, getting icecream along the way and eating it while people tried peddling roses and candies to us.

We walked back from Flinders to my new place and then back to Drummond. I couldn’t blog anything because I was so tired … Went to sleep promptly with the assurance I had a place to stay in, I’m properly enrolled in the right course, and my dad reached Melbourne safely ….

Happy belated V day to one and all! Thanks for the e-card and tulips … hahah well, photos work too!

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Earlier today, Pearline, Dad and I went to the night market at Queen Victoria Market … It’s got a fantastic night scene which you should really check out if you’re in Melbourne on a Wednesday night.

Enjoy the Video! I’m going to sleep now. I have to wake early for a learning skills workshop, some enrolment stuff and then I’m going to move! Good night!

Eunice was meeting me at 9am on Little Lonsdale. I managed to shower, check my mail, put on makeup and do QT before tumbling out of the house. Mr Oswald Chambers challenged us to think about what God is saying to us today. I prayed, “Lord please help me hear you.”

Some people say it’s easy to hear God in the quietness of the Australian Outback but I say, it’s not THAT easy.

Honestly, today started out awful. Like outright awful. I’ve really got to get used to taking things easy, but this whole housing thing was driving me up the wall. I nearly cried when none of the properties we looked at were decent at all, I called so many property agents and I couldn’t get anybody and those who called back were rude.

If things couldn’t get worse, I even travelled 30 minutes out of the city to get keys to visit a property in the city and which meant I had to travel back out to return the keys to get my $50 deposit back. I didn’t even bother taking the keys once I realised that flat was totally unfurnished - and for that rate ($170pw) too! Travel out to some quiet suburb twice in a day for nothing? No way!

By noon, hungry, pissed with the entire world, and tired … I get a call from D telling me that WM’s friend’s mother has locked herself in the house and can’t get out. I had no idea how someone can lock herself in the house but since they just got here, there was that possiblity. Too tired to get into a silly argument about who was nearer home to get them out, I trammed home. As I walked back to my house, I saw D’s friend and the auntie walking down the street! It was actually D’s friend who didn’t have the keys to lock the house when he left and the auntie let him out! I hopped around quite angry actually, but D’s friend is this super PR guy who offered to buy me drinks for coming back all the way to get him out. Haha, how to angry with such a guy?

I was quite miserable when I got back to town. Sihan had introed me to her accomodation owner and we were going to see his property at 1pm. No matter what, I was determined to get it.

And I did!

It’s a place behind Queen Vic Market called Swinnerton House. A student accomodation, very much like UniLodge but on a smaller, cosier, less claustrophobic scale. The rooms are actually big. Communal everything, rent’s $165pw, utilities included except the phone and internet. The bad thing is you only have one window facing the corridor and a rather dim white light but that all can be fixed with a little mindset change. (After all the crap I’ve seen, the corridor window and communal living is nothing compared to it.)

So I’m moving on Thursday!! YAY!!

I visited Sihan’s place which is similar, just at another location and got to talk to her other housies ( a guy from Msia and a gal from NZ) over dinner.

It’s going to be interesting meeting people from all over the world … I’m like the only Singaporean there … Yayness!

I went by another friend’s place yesterday to see the room she’s renting out. It’s a swanky new place with a tram stop right in front, a balcony with a view, fully furnished and security to boot. I loved everything about it (including the rent) and was ready to put down the bond and 1 month rent except I wouldn’t pay for it until I knew what was going to happen to my present place.

{{{What’s happening to my present place? I’m not sure really. D went away for the weekend and left his 3 friends to stay in his room. I hope my mother doesn’t read this post because she’ll kill me if she knows that I’m home alone with 3 strangers. Anyway, I know one of them because he’s been staying over all week and he’s friendlier than D. He gave me D’s mobile number to call and when I did, he gave didn’t give me any real answers. Like ??? I’m going to call D tonight to ask for Michael’s number because if he still wants to sell the house and I can move out before Feb 26, with the rent pro-rated, I’m going to do so. }}}

Anyway, I was so sure I was going to get that swanky new place. I prayed to God that He’d give me the house that would be the best for my needs but if He really so wished, to give me this room that I so want. Although it was not mine yet, I was already dreaming about what I’d do to the room.

Well, that was until … my friend SMSed me today and told me someone else already paid up for it and would move in tomorrow. Suddenly, the funky strains of the roadside buskers I’d been listening to got swallowed up by the buzzing silence you only hear in disappointment.

It’s a hard thing to swallow especially when you like something so much. This place is along Swanston St, just a 5 minute roll to Pearline’s and another hop and a skip to RMIT. There’s a room with a fantastic view, a housemate that I can trust and a clean new environment that’s rare for the price and location.

However, a grown up girl doesn’t cry over something that wasn’t meant to be hers. There’s that part of me that believes that if this particular house were to be mine, it’d be mine somehow. I wanted my dad to see it before lopping down more money that I already had done. Besides, I liked Drummond so much I paid for it when I was still in Singapore, but see what happened to it just before I got here?

Oh yes, what happened to the $100p.w house? Mmm… after some consideration, I still want some more options to my housing. Maybe I’ll stay there after all? Who knows?

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So there … It’s my first weekend in Melbourne, so far so good, the food’s been great, I’ve only eaten Western food twice in my entire stay here and once I settle down in my permanent place, I’ll be able to start cooking!
I can’t wait for school to start. Remember I went down to RMIT to check out the lecturers? Apparently, nobody’s back yet from their annual holidays so I’ve got to go down again on Monday. However, I did meet one lecturer who advised me about taking electives within the school. I did consider about taking electives outside the school but she looked straight at me and said, “Why come to the school of Applied Communication if you don’t want to experience all there is here?”

True.

She wasn’t able to assist me in all my other questions about the Com/Bus/Politics major I wanted to take but at least on my electives, she’s pretty much set me on the right road.

HOoo kay, I’ve got to get on out of here. It’s 6pm now but the sun won’t set for another 2 hours.

A birthday shout out to :

Valerie (10 FEB)
Joy (Today)
Joyce (12 FEB)

Happy Birthday! May each and every single day bring you joy and peace. God bless.

I’ve been slow in blogging and I guess that’s what happens when you suddenly have a different twist in lifestyle.

I’m beginning to recognise certain landmarks so I now don’t need a map and neither do I need to go by the same route I’ve been taking. I’m aiming to find all the shortest ways to town (in populated areas, don’t you worry) so that I know how to go home even if I end up in a different place I’m not too familiar with.

The weather has also been utterly fickle - as predicted. What an irony, I know how predictably fickle the weather is. The day I got here was cool and nice but in the evening, temperatures plunged till I had to wrap my shawl around my body and face to keep the wind from freezing them off. My second day was hot hot hot. It was sooooo hot I was sweating while having dinner in one of Lygon’s al fresco steak places. Earlier today, Melbourne woke up to a cold, rainy, windy morning and it stayed 20 degrees cold ever since.

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Later this morning, I’ll be going to check out the Applied Communication department at RMIT. Enrolment’s on Tuesday but I haven’t had the slightest idea how articulating students like me are supposed to choose our majors. Well, I’ll find out how exactly later, but if I’m not wrong, I think I know what I want to take as a major already. For some very odd reason, I’m more inclined towards the Communication, Business and Politics major.

Hahah.

You have to realise, a bunch of my friends have a running joke that I can’t multiply. I once proudly declared … 17×3 = 21. I can’t do accounts to save my life and … I scraped by with a pass on all my business modules in Poly - marketing, public relations, advertising, org comm …

Yes, I’ve got to admit that I’m scared of the area of business. I wouldn’t even touch it with a 1o-foot pole, but after my stint in FEBA, it’s become so apparent that for Christian radio to take off in Singapore, we need to learn how to run a station properly. And for that matter, even if I don’t go back to Christian radio, a business background is going to be quite important anywhere. Of course it’ll be nice to take Cinema studies or Asian studies or Literature & Philosophy - anyone of them will make me look like this really cool artsyfartsy Comms student, but hey, I’m past all that. Right now, my dreams are a little more practical, I want to get past my fears of dealing with the real world of biz-nehsss.

So yes, I’ll also be finding some lecturers to talk to, to see if I really am suited for this major and another area I want to try in this course. A couple of friends raised eyebrows at the sudden change when I said I wanted to go into TV because I’ve been in radio all this while. We don’t have to take TV/Radio again in my course but we have this integrated production project that takes one semester to plan (graded) and one semester to execute (graded). I’m planning to do a TV project.

Well, I guess I can talk like this because I know what I lack and what I need to get to fill up the knowledge gap. I don’t think I would have been so sure if I went straight to study after getting my diploma.

If you’re a student who’s contemplating on further studies but want to make sure that you know exactly what you want to study - go work a year or 2. Try getting exposure jobs within the industry you want to pursue your lifelong goals in, even if it means starting from scratch as an assistant to some small-time manager. At least, it’s a start. In fact, I’d suggest getting a little less salary for a job that allows you to see things (read: small/new/non-profit companies). Come to think of it, my “bao kah liao” experience at the radio station was more valuable than anything I’ve done in school.

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The house is still in limbo but a friend who is also coming back to Singapore is asking me to take over her $100p.w lease. It’s one street away from my old place, but the good thing is that there’s a tram stop right in front of the house. It’s this estate-y like place with a lot of Melb Uni students staying there.

I’m presently at Drummond. It’s a nice quaint little place and I quite like it. In fact, if we can come to some kind of agreement with the landlord, I might consider staying on.

Well, we’ll see how it goes later today.

Today is the day.

My first post in Melbourne!

I never knew so many things could happen in one day. It’s nuts I tell you.

While we were still in Singapore
- yes, yes, everyone warned me not to overpack. Don’t bring the kitchen sink. But noooo I didn’t listen. My luggage weighed in at 42kg. I still thought I could get away with having 42kg. I’ve actually heard stories of friends with 50kg worth of luggage managing to get away with it. At the most, I flash a great, charming smile at the counter person, lor.

There were tons of people lining up. Time was running out fast. Finally, it came to our turn at the counter. We prayed and hoped the girl would close one eye to the excess. We weighed in. 15kg over the limit. The counter girl absolutely refused to let us go without paying the fine.

Guess how much?

$sixfreakinghundredareyouseriousdollars.

She told us point blank, “You either repack and queue again or pay the $600″.

So in the middle of Changi Airport, in fullview of all my friends and my father’s friends and people looking on, I repacked.

Maniacally. Frantically. Frustratingly.

My sister helped us re-queue meanwhile …

And by the time my sis was about there, we flew to the counter and weighed in.

We lost 15kg. My final count? 27.5 kg.

Hee hee.

I think I pack better under pressure.

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In the plane

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Our first day in Melbourne whizzed by.

Walked into the city from Drummond St and it’s a 30 minute walk from my place to school. I’ve gone to see Daph’s place which is bigger, cheaper and more accessible than Drummond St and is highly likely I’d move there once the landlord comes back with a decision. Have to wait till Dad comes next week.

Other activities today: bought some necessities, food, set up my Aus mobile line, met up with my poly mates for dinner and spent some time playing Uno at Jess’ place. Got home about 12 after Daph sent me home from her place.

An eventful day! So much walking!

Time for bed. It’s nearly 2am. Good night!

It’s time to go.

I weigh in at 42kg *crosses fingers*

See you in a bit.

I spent some time with my cousins today and we had a blast looking at our old IC photos. Nothing much to post about today except before after photos.

Born on the same day, 6 years apart!

Will miss my cousins.

The outcome of the Drummond St saga is still a question - I asked WM to ask Michael if we get some of our Feb rent back if we move out before Feb 26 but she’s trying to get him to let us stay if we up our rent to $160p.w each. And no renovations at all. I’m okay with that.

She was supposed to get back to me on Thursday, but still no news. So all we can do is to wait.

Funny thing is that just the day before the bomb dropped, Val actually mentioned that her best friend was looking for a housemate. I didn’t really go anywhere with that because I still thought I had a house. Now, I know how God clicks things into place! Things may or may not work out, but weird how it did happen.

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My secondary 4 class met up for dinner today. I sat in the middle of everyone and it seemed as if we never left our Sec 4 mentality. Besides the more grown up talk, I still had to sit through F-bombs dropped every single second in every single sentence. Although it was certainly unpleasant to hear, it had a weird nostalgic feel to it.

4E was and still is a motley crew of people - guys who were still stuck in army, a girl who used to be so playful, now having finished her thesis and getting honors in engineering, another who stayed back in Sec 3, now a Literature major at NUS, one of the guys who used to tip the scales for our obesity rate went from 100+kg to a cool hunky 70+, and a wh0le bunch of us that the teachers never really had very high hopes on who’ve all walked on and made some kind of difference in life.

Yet for some, they’ve stayed in their pasts and never really walked out of it. Some still live in the darkness of their pasts under the facade of having already left it. They nurse broken hearts/shattered lives/deflated dreams and find ways to mask it.

Amongst the laughter and enthusiasm of those who’ve made it in life, they try to sound like they’re having fun, but I wonder what they’re really thinking inside.

Hmm ….

WM turned out to be this really nice gregarious girl who was freaking out so much over our impending “eviction” that she was chainsmoking through out dinner.

For me, it’s not so much of an issue because I haven’t set up home there yet, but for WM and D, they have tons of things there and for WM, it’s even more desperate because
1) She has her all her things there and her friends who’ve borrowed her room for storage till they get back to Melb.
2) She’s got a redemption ticket and can’t change her date of arrival. When’s that? Feb 25! When do we have to move out? Feb 26! When does school start? Feb 27! Woot!

Furthermore, the landlord wants to begin renovations on the house before Feb 26. We’re not quite sure what his “renovations” mean but he’s starting with my room first and we all know that any form of reno will mean the room’s unlivable. So should I pay rent then?

We sat there for nearly 3 hours coming up with some sort of argument for her to call the landlord today and sort things out.

Michael’s the landlord who’s supposedly an easy-going bo chup Aussie fellow who has dropped in to inspect the house only once in a very long while.

Nobody has any idea why the landlord suddenly broke faith with us and he has a verbal agreement binding him too! ( I have now realised that knowing a bit of Media Law actually is useful.)

The bad part is nobody expected him to break the verbal contract so there was no black and white contract with clauses to protect the tenants.

WM banged out an email to D early this morning and here’s an excerpt from D’s reply

To be continued …