Yo this is awesome.
In the past when I went out I would either a) try to go somewhere close so that walking home (in a group of course) would be relatively easy b) come home early enough to be able to catch the last train at around 1ish (annoying!) c) fork out for a taxi (exxy after midnight!!)
I knew there was a Nightrider bus system, but never bothered looking into it really, because we have one here at home (Auckland) and it is the most expensive thing ever!
But I was browsing the HiFi website for upcoming gigs, and they have this handy page about transport to the venue. I decided to have a look at Metlink's Nightrider page.
NightRider is a bus service that provides a safe, cheap alternative for late night travel home on the weekends. Buses travel from the city to Melbourne's outer suburbs, departing every hour between 12.30am and 4.30am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
NightRider has more than 300 stops along nine major routes to Bayswater/Belgrave, Craigieburn, Croydon, Dandenong, Eltham, Epping, Frankston/Mornington, St Albans/Melton and Werribee, so there are plenty of places to get on or off.
Special services also operate during the year to support major events in Melbourne such as the Australian Grand Prix and New Year's Eve.
Use your Metcard on Nightrider from 2 March 2007
As of 2 March 2007, fares on the NightRider service have been slashed with the service becoming part of the Metcard ticketing system.
Customers who already have a valid Metcard ticket are able to take a NightRider bus at no extra cost.
NO EXTRA COST!!! Saweeeeeeeeeeeet!
I had a look at the map and for those of us College kids, we would wanna get the Craigieburn route which goes through Royal Parade, otherwise those who need to go through Lygon can get the Epping bus.
YUSSSSS!
What are incoming links on the admin page?
Well I finally booked in for a hair appointment at my favourite salon. I never used to have a hairdresser...because I never used to go to the hairdresser....because I never used to colour my hair.... because I only ever used to get my hair cut and that was it... because my mum always used to cut my hair for me and she did a good job.
And then in January this year I, with the help of my mum and friends, decided to colour my hair. :O But I didn't want the icky platinum blonde that so many asian girls go for. I was uhh looking for something a little more subtle. On the recommendation of my friend Jenny, I went to see Tracy at Stephen Marr a reputable hair salon. Sure, it was kinda exxy, but I was happy to pay up because of the good name they have, and the fact that Jen raves on about Tracy. Also I knew that, going to the hairdressers, for me, would be a once in a while kinda thing, not a weekly occurrence.
Well, my hair looked awesome and I was very very happy with how it all went. I could understand why Jen had such a great relationship with her hairdresser.
Somewhere before Easter, while I was in Melbourne, I started to notice a bit of regrowth. When I went home for Easter I told mum I was thinking of getting my hair redone but she told me that my regrowth was hardly visible and was probably one of those things "you notice a lot more than other people do". I didn't bother getting my hair done in Melbourne because I don't know yet where the good hairdressers are! I've been told that Rokk Ebony is a good place to go, so may look at that next time.
Anyway, so I went back to Melbourne not getting my hair done here in Auckland, and deciding to give my hair a bit more time, save a bit more money.
Well now it's mid year break and I definitely need to get rid of this regrowth so I've booked myself in for another colour appointment with Tracy next Wednesday.
On the same sort of topic, I also had to get my Auckland orthodontist to recommend a Melbourne orthodontist that I can go to in an emergency, i.e. if the wire on the back of my teeth snaps off as it sometimes does (oops). Last time this happened I waited til I came home for Easter to get it fixed, cos I had no idea who to go to hahaha.
PS From the Eds: the 'incoming links' on the admin page show you which other sites are linking to this blog. So now you can check out who's been reading your blogs and thinks they're good enough to link to!
So semester one of my first year of uni is over, and I've come to the conclusion that Uni is the most awesome thing in the world. I can't believe how good and easy and fun it is. Especially the easy part. Maybe it's because I'm studying subjects I really like, or maybe it's because arts is ridiculously easy, but semester one has been a breeze. I've had to put minimal effort in, and have managed to get H2Bs on all my essays (bar a H2A I just got back on an end of semester essay for Australia Now), and just about all of them were done the night/day before they were due. So it's nice to know I can scape out a decent essay at the last minute. But for next semester, now that I think I have settled in, I am planning to put a bit more effort in and am hoping to get mostly H2As and a few H1s - am I aiming to high?
And our holidays are awesome! I'm only at uni for 6 months of the year, and not even really that much because next semester I'll only be there Tuesday to Thursday - sweet! Not that I would even mind being there longer, it's just so awesome.
And there is so much freedom and drinking! So much drinking!
My train of thought at the moment is that I'll major in politics and history and after my BA I'll do post-grad law (hopefully). But really I wouldn't mind staying at uni for 10 years, that's how much I love it!
Note on my other blog:
My friend pointed out to me that only an Arts student would think to pick out the Sultanas from Sultana Bran rather than just buying bran. Maybe this is a good point, but in my defence, it's not that I don't like sultanas it is just that there are too too many in my sultana bran. I'm thinking I shall buy some bran and then some sultanas so I can make a prefect ratio of bran:sultanas. Brilliant, huh?!
Enjoy your holidays everyone!
1. My room has been completely renovated and most of the stuff I didn't bring to uni has been chucked out.
2. It's the middle of hot, humid, summer here. And the middle of rainy season. Dear cheese, I hate Hong Kong weather.
3. I have gained 8 pounds/4 kilograms of extra mass over the period of my stay at college.
4. This is roughly equivalent to 30,000 calories, which is roughly equivalent to 250 extra calories a day, which is roughly equivalent to afternoon tea every day.
5. Conclusion: don't eat afternoon tea; it'll make you fat.
6. Hooray for a country with decent public transport.
7. I can't read Chinese anymore. Crap.
8. Hooray for proper bubble tea, sushi that doesn't contain teriyaki chicken and avocado (I've always wondered whether that kind of thing made dead Japanese people roll in their graves), cha siu bao, and lo mei gai. Hooray also for the very cheap cost of eating out.
9. Hooray for the South China Morning Post and interesting politics. (I'm sorry, but Australian political news is pretty boring, unless it's being spoofed on the Chaser. Fight for universal suffrage, national identity crisis, and the future of democracy in China > partisan bickering over WorkChoices)
10. Unfortunately, no more ease of communication. Someday, in the very distant future, I will learn Cantonese. Really, I will.
Life is so much more beautiful when you've passed first semester of medschool!
YAY!! HIGH FIVES ALL ROUND :D
Before Easter, I ended up doing odd jobs here and there. Just one-off jobs that were pretty well paying. By the time I had figured out that I do actually have some spare time on my hands, it was a little late to look for a job in which I had to commit to since I knew I would be flying home for the holidays.
After Easter however, I really just wanted to concentrate on studying for upcoming exams. I did however join the uni gym for a month, knowing that although it wouldn't cover the whole second half of the semester, it would be good timing because by then (one week before SWOT vac) I should be well into my study anyway *hopefully*.
Now that I'm home, I'm not working, but am kinda feeling bad about it...I need this time to just relax and catch up with all my friends and family, but at the same time I know that I'm strapped for cash and I need to earn some moolah.
But what to do? I'm only here for another 2 and a half weeks, I'm not quite sure if anyone would even hire someone for such a short time period!
So mummy dearest has made me her yummy Roast Chicken as a welcoming home meal. She knows how much I miss her roasts, mainly because I tell her so all the time. Her and anyone else willing to listen.
Another thing I miss is Burgerfuel (why is everything food oriented? see this, and this, and this) 
Back home, gourmet burgers are a big thing. We have a quite a few different burger joints, and they make the yummiest burgers ever! Awesome, daily baked bread (no sugar injected buns here), fresh veges, the best dressings and real meat. Now I'm not much of a burger person (I don't do the meat in bread thing), so I am absolutely in love with Burgerfuel's "Beetnik" which is from their mini menu (these gourmet burger joints make monster burgers!!!). The beetnik is basically the chickpea pattie with beetroot, lettuce, tomato, aiolish, relish and a few other things. Even the mini burgers are bigger than your normal everyday burger.
So I was astounded to find that there are no real gourmet burger outlets in Melbourne (yes yes I know there is Grill'd which is not bad, but still not as good as Burgerfuel).
Lauren and I (another kiwi at college) always talk about how much we can't wait to have BF when we go home.
And when I'm not missing Roast chicken or gourmet burgers, I'm missing kiwi music.
Reeeeally missing it.
Especially during May when it was kiwi music month.
Thankfully for me, and for other kiwi expats in Melbourne, Melbourne-based promoters teamed up with NZ acts to present the Melbourne's first ever official programme of NZ Music Month events. This included an opening party followed by a whole month of live acts by Bulletproof, Rhombus, Shapeshifter, Solaa, Kolab, Nomad and a closing party.
I got my Shapeshifter ticket quicksmart, and just as I had anticipated, they quickly sold out.
Well what to say, the Shapeshifter gig was out of this world. A really good set (as per usual), with the Prince bandroom being decked out with a whole bunch of kiwis (SO MANY CHCH'ers!!) along with a handful of well-informed aussies. On that night especially I felt extremely proud to be a kiwi. It was an awesome gig and left me happy in the leadup to SWOT vac. As I exclaimed on my way home "I CAN NOW DO MY EXAMS A HAPPY GIRL!"
Not long after that, I saw State of Mind and the Black Seeds, two other very good kiwi bands along with my fellow shore boys The Checks.
It was, needless to say, a pretty good month!
Thank you kiwi music for keeping me sane during SWOT vac.
So the holidays officially started for me last week and it has been good so far. I feel lazy and deflated, which is a usual feeling for me after exams are completed. I have been sleeping really late and waking up really late. It’s not good and I should correct it before it becomes a habit. Meanwhile, the gloomy Melbourne weather has convinced me that a quiet, relaxing but productive holiday is the way to go.
My ‘to do’ list:
• Fitness – I reckon for every holiday break in the past 3 years I have pledged to eat healthy and exercise to improve on my fitness. I never end up fulfilling this pledge. And given the winter chill at the present, I think it’s unlikely anything will change, except for my weight.
• Photography – can’t wait to go for some shoots in the city/inner suburbs with my Dad’s old SLR. I love Melbourne and all its beauty in the winter; it’s definitely more of a winter city. Processing them in the darkroom would be fun too.
• Cook – I decided it’s time my cooking repertoire should expand from 2 minute noodles and can soup (is that even cooking?). Coincidently, my mum borrowed a cooking book – Jamie Oliver’s guide to making you a better cook. I will be digging into that and inviting some friends over to cook up a feast. Cooking skills will not only keep me healthy but will also help me get married, so I have been told.
• Reading – I have never been a massive reader but my enthusiasm is growing with age. I love staying indoors on a rainy day with a good book and a hot cup of chocolate. An open fire place would complete that experience in my opinion.
Why have a ‘to do’ list you ask? So I don’t waste oodles of time on the computer doing absolutely useless stuff. In the past, I have spent days surfing websites such as Wikipedia. Wikipedia is evil. Repeat: Wikipedia is evil. Well to be honest it’s a great innovation but it becomes evil when you spend hours after hours reading about useless stuff; well they are useless unless I happen to go on Temptation. Do I really need to know that traditional prosciutto is cured for 2 years? Not to mention all the links within one article and the irresistible ‘see also’ section towards the end. It has become an addiction and its time I got rid of it.
Along with the 6 week break I get, comes the endless of spare time to think. I am a reflective person so I think a lot and sometimes I wish I hadn’t. Thoughts about the past, thoughts about the present and thoughts about the future; mostly thoughts about the future. I am sure everyone thinks about these things but we usually keep them to ourselves. Thinking is tiresome and sometimes I just wished life was a big happy dinner party where the main objective was to get fat; life would be so simple. However, Simplicity is a far distant memory entrenched in my childhood.
On another note, I had a job interview with Luna Park on the weekend. I have been in many different jobs and interviews in the past but the Luna Park interview was simply awesome fun. As part of the process we got to go on rides and the group stuff we did was both innovative and entertaining. Unlike other places, you actually have a desire to work for them for reasons other than the monetary remuneration (which I might add is very attractive compared to other work). But I guess Luna Park is an exception because it is unique. And YAY I just got a call from them saying I got through.
Anyway, I think I should wrap up this blog before I get a sudden urge to visit Wikipedia.
Happy holidays everyone and enjoy your well earned break
Oh just one more thing: College next semester! YAY!
1. Smuggle coffee, Nutella, and vitamin pills out of the country. They're much cheaper here than in Hong Kong, and HK has no quarantine laws unless you're bringing in morphine or bioweapons.
2. Measure bed + quilt, to buy new bedsheets back home.
3. Borrow and listen to CDs from music library, borrow/read books -- library at home somewhat lacking in music and fiction in English.
4. Sit PPL exam on 19th. (Yes, I do in fact plan to study for it; this is the law subject I actually get and I'd rather not muck it up.)
5. Confirm plane tickets.
6. Shove contents of room into storage.
7. Pay off phone, internet, printing debt to college.
8. Book taxi beforehand.
9. Pack.
Isn't it such a great feeling taking all your library books back when you've finished an essay? Last Monday I filled my bag up with the nine books I'd borrowed for my Cinema Studies essay, and took them back to the library, bidding them farewell (or should that be good riddance?) as I put them through the chute.
Imagine my horror when one of them was still listed on my borrowing record.
At first I thought maybe it was just a mistake on the portal. But the library catalogue said the same thing. I started getting worried. Had I lost it somewhere between college and the library? It seemed unlikely to me, considering that the bag the books were in was packed pretty tightly. But of course, I couldn't remember putting that exact book through the return chute. I looked all over my room (which didn't take too long, as it's small) and it definitely wasn't there.
I knew it could have been a mistake on the behalf of the library, but I figured that trying to blame them was a bad idea, when it could easily have been my fault. I've never been the sort of person to lose library books, so I was beginning to freak out. Also, I wasn't sure what sort of fine I'd been facing if I had lost it, which was adding to my worries. Luckily it wasn't due until the 19th, so I hadn't gotten any yet. But how much are you fined if you lose a book? I really don't know.
I sent an email on the weekend, but didn't get a reply, so today decided to bite the bullet and go to the library in person. On the way there I retraced my steps, all the way up to the computer lab on the fourth floor of Union House and back again. No book. I'd hoped maybe the book might have somehow gotten itself stuck in the return chute, but when I checked out the set up, it looked unlikely.
I was hesitant about going up to the desk and proclaiming "I think I lost a book", so I decided just to go up and see if it was on the shelf, in case it hadn't been checked in properly. And there it was! Just sitting on the shelf next to some other books that I'd brought back. I could have fainted with relief.
So I took it down to the front desk, and was told to go and put it through the chute. I then spent the morning checking the portal obsessively to make sure that it had been checked in properly this time.
From now on I'm going to be extra careful with my library books. And count each book I put through the chute so I can be sure I've taken it back.
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