Peanuts

Warning: If you are allergic to nuts, or anything nut based, it is highly advisable that you do not continue to read this post as it might contain peanuts. The blogger shall not be liable to any damage that might be caused to the reader of this post. If you expericence discomfort while reading this post, please cease reading and see a qualified doctor immediately.

I just realized, I never posted any pictures of my 'awesome, spacious' room I currently renting here in Melbourne. Here are some hard facts of my room:

1. It is 10 sqm in size.

2. It has a small sink that requires you to bend down to half your height to use it.

3. Originally, it has no air-cond and fan.

4. My room's window faces the hostel's BBQ courtyard, where people gather to talk, drink and sing loudly every night.

5. The afternoon/evening sun shines directly into my room. So if you want to be tanner, just let me know. No service charge included.

Contrary to the tone I used earlier, I actually like my room. It's small, but its easier to clean and manage, so I try to keep it tidy, although my mum would argue that it is still in a mess. I don't really need an air-conditioner, because now it's not too warm. But I would say the table is too small, at least for me anyway.

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The two above pictures are taken in one of the many rooms located within the State Library here in Melbourne. The library is HUGE, and it's not too crowded. And they even provide chess sets, and there's a single Chinese Chess (Jong Guo Xiang Chee) set, too. Credits to Jason Lim, who introduce me to the place. Yeah, I totally destroyed you in chess (:

Peanuts! The last Malaysian Airlines kacang that was in my room before I gobbled it up. I really miss cheap Malaysian food. Here, one bowl of curry mee can cost up to 9.90 dollars ><

Australian food = BBQ

Why is the above equation true? It's because the Aussies, or the poeple here love BBQ. BBQ here, BBQ there. Just got back from the MoMu Welcome BBQ, and this Thursday got another BBQ at my place. Wow. I lost count the number of BBQs I have attended.

I don't much free time to burn actually. I was busy the whole Saturday buying grocery and cooking for the week ahead. Today I promised myself to hit the books, but I haven't been making much progress. Really no mood to study weih. To those people who are still bumming around and complaining of boredom, appreciate it while you can.

Week 3 starting this week!! The workload isn't easing up. I got accounting assignment to complete!

Hailstorm Baby!

Just this afternoon, Melbourne experienced a rainstorm and a hailstorm at the same time. This is the first time I actually seen a hailstorm. Basically, its just pieces of ice dropping down from the sky. Okay, the pictures don't help much (sorry la, I don't have a chun camera), but in the picture below, you can see the ice as the little white stuff. Look closely enough and you will see it. The two photos above are taken when water and ice are dropping down from the heavens at the same time. Luckily, I got back from grocery shopping 15 minutes before the hail started, or I would be drenched from the rain and hit by the ice.

Anyway, I finished Week 1 of uni. On Monday, my subjects finally got approved and I got my complete timetable at last. In short, I arranged my timetable in such a way that I will be busy on Monday and Tuesday but relatively free on Thursday and Friday. In this case, I believe in sien koo ho tian (now bitter, later sweet). OMG, I feel like I got so much to do. Throw in uni reading, tutorials, cooking, shopping, laundry,paying bills etc and I don't have much time left. Since this is the very first time I am taking business subjects, I certainly hope that I will be able to cope. Haiz.

Surprisingly, I continue to find cooking more and more enjoyable. I guess because for cooking, I am not under-pressure to produce wonderful results (like tasty food), unlike academic work (><). I can experiment and it's okay not to get the desired end product. Not trying to sound boastful, but the first time I prepared dark soya pork (above dish), it actually tasted good. The same goes for my fried rice. Hmm, maybe I should start selling my food and get some money (: I just marinated some chicken in char siew sauce, so later this week I can sink my teeth in some char siew, er, chicken.

At my place, I have cough up 4 bucks just to use the washing machine. To use the dryer, I need to pay a further 3 dollars. So, not wanting to make Unilodge any richer, I use nature's free dryer, by hanging my laundry in my room, and hope that the weather is warm enough for my clothes to dry quickly.

Socially, I haven't been making much progress in Melbourne. I dislike attending social events, as I feel awkward, and this certainly doesn't help my social life. Come on Jeric, this is Melbourne!

Like a sickness that won't go away even if you tried all the medication in the world, I still feel homesick. By doing stuff, I don't feel so homesick, but its just like eating painkillers, the sickness won't be cured. Fortunately, its not the super serious 'homesick' feeling that makes you want to pack your bags and go home.

Just a random photo. Even Coles support the red half of Manchester :)

Of Nasi Lemak, Wan Tan Mee & Pan Mee

The picture was taken before my family went back to Malaysia. Hey, why my eyes are closed? It's been one week since they went back. Orientation has passed and ended. Now, I am a member of AIESEC, S.A.L.T.S, MoMu, A.S.S and put my name down for futsal trials. Ok, the clubs I join are not as dodgy as they sound. For AIESEC, I quote, "AIESEC is the international platform for young people to discover and develop their full potential. Present in over 1,100 universities and with over 23,000 members, AIESEC offers an unparalleled leadership development experience. Join a global network of change agents that aims to make a positive impact on society.".

S.A.L.T.S is a sort of a community club and stands for Students Arising Learning To Serve. MoMu is a Malaysian Club for Malaysian students at the Uni of Melb. And A.S.S. is the Actuarial Students Societ. Apparently, for sports club, you have to cough up like a lot of money just to become a member. For example, to join the Table Tennis Club, membership fees are around 50 Aussie dollars. Wow, I can't imagine for futsal, how the price would be like.

Guess what, until now, not all my subjects are approved yet. This past week, especially Thursday and Friday, have been 'traumatizing' for me. Long story. Let's just say the Commerce Student Commerce is really inefficient and misleading. Oh yeah, even with my 17/20 for my SACE Spec. Maths, its not enough for me to get into Accelerated Maths. I had to sit for a test, and yes, I failed badly. Like duh, the test was on Fri, but I was only told on Thurs nite, and I didn't have any of my Maths books with me to study. So, obviously, I failed, and can't take Accelerated Maths.

So, on Tuesday (23 Feb), I went down to Bourke Street in the city to exchange my faulty printer. So, after swapping the printer, I wanted to catch a tram back to my room since I am carrying the bulky printer, but the tram service on was stopped because of some huge demonstration moving down Swanston Street. Instead, I had to walk 25 minutes back to my place, carrying the printer at the same time. Below are two pictures I took of the demo. The theme was 'Don't kill live music'. Wow, now I want a demo entitled 'Don't kill my arms' coz' my arms died that day after struggling with the printer all the way back.

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I really miss Malaysian food. Here, Malaysian food don’t feel quite the same, and it’s so expensive. Is there such a word as food-sick? I really crave for Malaysian food. Ah, I really miss Nasi Lemak, Wan Tan Mee, Pan Mee, Roti Canai, Curry Mee. And I have been here for less than a month. Some might wonder how I will survive the rest of the year.

Gosh, I am drooling over the pics!! I can't wait to go back to Malaysia, for the food!!

Bittersweet

My parents and my two siblings went back to PJ today. So here I am in Melbourne, alone without the physical presence of my family around. Yes, I admit I am scared. I am afraid of the unknown, afraid of not being able to settle in and make friends, afraid of not doing well, afraid of letting my parents down. I realized I am so lucky, to be able to receive my parents' backing, to be able to study in Melbourne, something they never had a chance to do so. I really appreciate my family. People say you will only miss those you love once they are not there. How true. It's not so much of the homesickness that is plaguing me, it's that empty and hollow feeling when my family is not here.

Yeah, I sound like someone wallowing in self-pity, but hey, the blog is my refuge sometimes. I feel that here, I can speak my mind.

I know I will get over my homesickness eventually. When I have things to do, I probably will not brood so much and just try to enjoy life here. Besides, now we have something we call the internet and phone. Family and friends are just an email/call/msn/skype away, which 'reduces' the distances between everyone. It's bittersweet here because I am excited to study at the University of Melbourne, but I am missing my family and home.

Anyway, if anyone is coming down to Melbourne, whether its for holiday or studies, just let me know. I can show you around the city, bring you to makan places etc.

Orientation starts this Tuesday. I hope by then my subjects for my first year are settled by then. Apparently the Commerce Student Centre system broke down. What the heck, of all times.

Sh!t, not only the food in Melbourne is expensive, so is the Internet here. There is no such thing as unlimited use of the internet here. The Aussie way of counting your internet bill is by how much stuff you download from the web. So, that's the end of my online gaming here, bye bye Sudden Attack, Left 4 Dead 2 ==

Down Under

Thanks to my mum who is working in MAS, she managed to secure business class tickets (at a scaled-down price of course) for me and my family to fly to Melbourne, Australia. So yeah, after days of packing and planning, I finally stepped into flight MH129 at KLIA and exited at Terminal 2, Melbourne Airport at 9pm local time.

On the Saturday before I left, there was a party at my house organized by the CG members. It was basically a send-off party for me and Jeremy, who was leaving for Macquerie University. It was nice, and I really appreciate everyone for their well wishes and gifts (: (I got a t-shirt and MP3 recorder!!) Unfortunately, I couldn’t see my E3 buddies before I flew off...what happen guys?? Really, like no response at all...you know what I mean...honestly, I am kinda disappointed. Oh yeah, Pou is actually going to Melbourne!! Lol, he is going to study at RMIT, and I only found out days before I left. What-lah Pou? Never tell anyone wan...

Surprisingly, the weather was quite cool in Melbourne even though it is still summer. Just yesterday, it rained!! Apparently, it hardly rains in Melbourne, especially during the summer. So it seems that we brought the rain from Malaysia (:

Another thing, Internet in Australia is pretty cacat. Yes, I was pretty surprised when I heard the rates and speed. Its quite expensive, and these no such thing as unlimited use, unless you are ready to cough up. So, in Malaysia, at least the Internet is cheap, if slow and keep dc-ing.

I saw my room at Unilodge @ Melbourne, and it is small. (Fact: I will be staying there for the next 6 months) But I thought its not too bad, the only downside is that I have to fork out additional money to use the washing machine and dryer. Furthermore, I am kinda scared of putting food in the common fridge. What if my stuff mysteriously disappears?

In short, I opened a bank account at the Commonwealth Bank, and got the $29 cap on 3 Mobile too. When I got some pictures, I will post it up.

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Yeah! Chelsea lost to Everton, downed by two goals by ex-Man Utd striker Louis Saha!! But Man Utd threw away the chance to go top of the EPL table by drawing at Aston Villa...ah well, at least Liverpool lost to Arsenal (: sorry Liverpool fans.

Transition Period

Yup, I will be going off to Melbourne soon to study. I will be at the University of Melbourne, doing Bachelor of Commerce, possibly majoring in actuarial studies. Yes, I am making a switch from science to business subjects. Risky, since I never studied stuff like microeconomics and financial maths before, but hey, if I graduate to become an actuary, it will be worth it.

So, Melbourne, new place, new life. This is the phase of my life where I have to be fully independent. Cooking for myself, working part-time, studying without the nagging presence of parents (whoops), these are the things I will face once I will be in Melbourne. You could say this is a transition coz' at home, pretty much everything is provided.

I suppose the packing is the hardest. There's a lot of stuff I need to bring, but sometimes I feel at loss at what exactly to bring. Clothes, toiletries, some cutlery, stationary, shoes, bed linen, laptop, and oh yeah, more clothes. Hmm, what else? And to make more difficult is the presence of parents who constantly badger me not only to pack, but to completely clean out my stuff in my room. Hey, the stuff I am leaving behind is not junk you know, its more of something sentimental to me.

On the 9 Feb, I got a Maxis scholarship interview at Menara Maxis (where esle?). Darn, this is one scholarship I have to get. Studying in Australia is dead expensive. My rent at Unilodge@Melbourne alone is AUD$255 per week and that does not include food!!

Alright, I will stop right here as I suddenly lost my mood for blogging >< (I have an unwelcome visitor). And oh yeah, I hope Arsenal beat Chelsea, for Man Utd's sake of course!!

About Driving and the Dutch

For the last few days, Malaysian road users have been giving me the 'experience' of a lifetime in driving. Banished to the road with only the car as company, I have to act as a chauffeur for my siblings and an office boy for my parents. Thus, it is inevitable that I will stumble upon drivers of various, how should I put it, attitudes.

One thing about taxi drivers, they are either going excruciatingly slow trying to catch the attention of potential suckers (Erm, I mean customers) while being totally unaware that they are slowly down traffic behind them, or they are happily ignoring the gasp of other motorists when they suddenly cut into your lane to try to reach their destination ASAP.

It is amazing how traffic jams can easily influence people's emotions' on the road. Sometimes, even though you have the right of way, other kiasu drivers will swerve into your lane without a second thought just because they can't wait for another 5 seconds. If you challenge them, all you get is mouthful of 'f**k you!' and a middle finger. Yes, it happened to me so many times that just this afternoon, I got so pissed and returned the van driver the gesture. Luckily, none of my siblings were there. Immediately after that, I was like 'Damn, this isn't like me..I shud control myself better..'.

At least they are still kind drivers out there who give way to you when you have been waiting at the intersection hoping to turn to the other side for ages. These are the drivers other people should learn from. It isn't that hard to give in once in a while right? After all, we can't just always think of ourselves.

Lol, this is how the Dutch test their people in driving?? I have to say, this is a difficult question.

On a different issue, I am really undecided on where to study. Should I go to ANU, which is located at the Putrajaya-like city of Canberra, or should I go to the University of Melbourne? Should I take actuarial studies or not? It is too tough for me? So many questions, but no answers..

Good luck Zyoung, I hope you will do well in Melbourne. I will definitely miss having you around.