Mental Murmurs

admin January 19th, 2010

Thanks to the ones who remembered and wished me: My family, aunt T (and family), AG, NH, KZ, NM, LS, LC, AC, KJ, EW, JH.

So many’s forgotten though.

Even though they’re regarded as “important” friends.

• Birthdays , Friends , Me
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admin January 14th, 2010

I haven’t written here in so so long! I almost forgot I had a blog! What an epic fail! ><

I’ve been really into shopping lately (uh oh!)… and since I am “resting” (read: bludging) these holidays before I start uni again, I’m constantly on clothing/accessories websites (=poor uni student!)… *sigh* I’m hoping that this habit will go away when uni starts… it’d be a miracle though!

That said, I recently made my first order on the Forever 21 website, and received my order in the post this morning. I am very hesitant when it comes to ordering clothes online (as one would)! I mean, the store had awesome pieces; the clothes/accessories looked really good, and all was at a reasonable price.

For the lucky ducks in the US, that is!

One word: shipping!

For them, it’s $USD5.95 to $USD15.95 for standard shipping, which is nowhere near as much as us internationals: $USD34.95 to $USD44.95 depending on the amount you order. Plus there’s a $1000 or 20 item limit (some custom thing), but I’m hoping I’m not THAT much of a shopaholic yet!

So anyway. I found someone in Melbourne (C) who wanted to order, and she recruited another to order so we could do a group order to save on shipping costs. So each of us would order 6 or 7 items, and pay $USD11.67 each. Not too bad… But I live in Sydney and needed C to ship it from Melbourne to Sydney… which is like $AUD11.30 for a 3 kg satchel by express post. So although it was in a group, it was still quite some bit! But decided to go ahead with it anyway, as I found more than 10 things I wanted and even had to cut down!

Next problem with online shopping: sizing!

There’s nothing more disappointing than being excited for a totally awesome dress, anticipating its arrival to find that it didn’t fit… at all (sometimes). So I started reading up on forums and websites to determine what size I would need to get. I did measure myself and tried to compare, but it’s ever so confusing! Reading up reassured myself a little. A lot of the time though, I’d get confused, and give up altogether… And then start back at square one… How I wish for standardised sizing!!

So my conclusion from the websites was that an AU Size 10 (I’m a size 8-10 but leaning more on size 10) would get a medium, depending on what was ordered… I chose my items and generally ordered in medium, and then took the plunge; I sent C my items of interest while she made the purchase.

About a week after that, the items came (today). It was very exciting.

-

Firstly, I got Water Painted Eiffel Tower Tee in a Small.

From the site:

A soft v-neck tee featuring a water-painted Eiffel Tower with metallic glitter accents. Solid colored back. Finished hem and sleeves.

• 27″ approx length from high point shoulder to hem, 14″ shoulder width, 34″ chest, 5.5″ sleeve length from shoulder ridge
• Measured from Small
• 100% cotton; Hand wash cold, lay flat to dry

Measurements from the chart (small):

• 3/4 - 5/6
• Bust: 33-34″

My thoughts:

The chart only showed the measurements for the bust, and my measurement is slightly bigger… so that didn’t help much. The description helped a little more, and it sounded close to my measurements so I got it in a small. It fitted really well actually, I was really pleased with the fitting! The material is soft and supple; feels great! =]

-

Next was the Dressy Tux Blazer in a Medium.

From site:

Sateen style blazer with a smooth, slightly glossy finish. Features decorative self-covered buttons at the front and cuffs and waist welt pockets. This item has no lining.

• 20.5″ approx length from high shoulder to hem point (front), 18″ approx length from shoulder to hem (back), 35″ chest, 31.5″ waist, 23.5″ sleeve
• Measured from Small
• 97% cotton/ 3% spandex; Dry clean only

Measurement from the chart (medium):

• 7/8 - 9/10
• Bust: 35-36″

My thoughts:

Since I saw that people who were size 10 ordered in medium, I too ordered it. Bust size is correct for me, so I went for it. It turned out to be a little tight actually, but still good - as in, I can do the buttons and it looks as it should, but I can’t wear too much under. Overall, I like the feel and look. =]

-

Then it was the Strapless Double Knit Dress in Medium.

From the site:

Strapless knit dress made of thick, double-knit jersey with a smooth, soft, dry surface. Features pleats at the waist and pockets, and elastic at the upper back.

• 25″ approx length from high bust to hem, 26.5″ chest, 25.5″ waist
• Measured from Small
• 76% polyester/ 22% rayon/ 2% spandex; Hand wash cold

Measurements from the chart (medium):

• 7/8 - 9/10
• Bust: 35-36″

My thoughts:

Actually, this was sort of confusing. From the small measurements, bust was 26.5″ (and then the measurement chart said 36″?) and the waist was 25.5″…?! Hoping it was a typo, I ignored the bust measurement. Since I was a bit bigger on the waist to the small, I got a medium. Turned out to be almost perfect! The bust was a bit big, which is a concern since it’s a strapless, but overall I am happy with the size. The fabric wasn’t as I expected. I must confess, however, that prior to ordering, I was too concerned about the sizing to notice the material. Overall, I’m happy with it. =]

-

I couldn’t resist the super cute I Only Date Nerds Tee (got in a Medium).

From the site:

An adorable cartoon-like tee featuring a couple and an “I Only Date Nerds” phrase at the bottom. Solid-colored back. Finished hem and sleeves.

• 26″ approx length from high point shoulder to hem, 13.5″ shoulder width, 34″ chest, 6.0″ sleeve length from shoulder ridge
• Measured from Small
• 50% cotton, 50% polyester; Machine wash cold, tumble dry low

Measurements (medium):

• 7/8 - 9/10
• Bust: 35-36″

My thoughts:

Couldn’t really tell from the bust measurement only, but decided to get it since the measurement was right, and the small seemed a bit small for me. However, when I tried it on, it was a bit too big. But not to worry, it’s still a cute top and I can wear tight jeans under! =]

-

Following was the Accordion Pleat Skirt in a Small.

From the site:

Love 21 - A short woven skirt featuring playful accordion pleats layered over chiffon ruffle tiers. Other features include an invisible side zipper, fully lined and accent shimmer dust.

• 29″ waist, 14.5″ length
• Measured from Small
• Shell/ contrast: 100% polyester; Hand wash cold, tumble dry

Measurements from the Love21 chart (small):

• Bust: 36″
• Waist: 28″
• Hip: 39″

My thoughts:

They had a different measurement chart for Love 21. This chart offered a more measurements, so that was good. Looking at the description, the waist was a little bigger, but the chart said 28″… that sounded like me. However, the hips measurement was a bit big… so again, I wasn’t sure whether to get XS or S. I went with S though… and when I tried it on, it was quite alright! It sat between my waist and hip, near the belly button, which gave it a good length. The material was unexpected again… but that I didn’t check out. I like the way it looks on. =]

-

Last clothing item but not least was Fab Braid Strap Knit Dress in Medium.

From the site:

Pair your favorite flip flops or sandals with our fabulous knit dress for a casual chic look. The braided shoulder straps line the v-neckline while the elastic waist trim hugs your curves. Other features include subtle ruching below the bust, a ruffle trimmed bottom, and a cut-off hem.

• 32” approx length from shoulder to hem (Small)
• 100% rayon; Dry clean only

Measurements from chart (medium):

• 7/8 - 9/10
• Bust: 35-36″

My thoughts:

The description and measurements wasn’t all too informative, I must say. I didn’t have much to go off but I read somewhere size 10 should be a medium in dresses, so I got a medium. When it came, it looked like my size. Wearing it, the V neck was a little deep, and the straps were a bit loose. I don’t know why, but all the sun dresses I own I have strap problems with. Is it just me? Do I not comply with standard upper body length? Not sure, but apart from that, the dress fitted nicely… Though there’s a few things I wonder: What can I do to reduce the straps a little? And whether I could’ve gone into a size Small instead… The dress is cute, and overall sort of happy with this one. =)

-

Also got an Eiffel tower necklace, which looks quite cool in real life. I love necklaces! They’re bound to fit!

So there’s my first online purchase for Forever 21! Overall, it was good - I must say I’m sort of hooked! Haha Especially love the Twist range - ah so cute!! But still, every time I see a dress I want, I’d think and think and think over and over about the sizing and all… *sigh* But at least now I have more of an idea than before I do know one thing though - I don’t think I will ever be game enough to buy jeans online (and I think I need some soon!)…

Anyway, off to shop some more!
Bye!

-

Images courtesy of forever21.com

• First time , Me , Shopping
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admin July 1st, 2008

A random post today. Here are some of the things I’ve been in love with recently or for a while now… some to the point where I think it’s starting to become unhealthy bug me:

1. The L word’s Shane (Katherine Moennig)
   I’ve been catching up on watching The L Word lately. Saw it on TV couple years ago, watched a bit but never really got around to it… And I fell in love with Shane; her on-screen personality, looks and style… hair, dress sense (her in the suit really does it for me).., oh so perfect! I love her!
   
2. School girl skirts (or any mini skirt will do!)
   Even before it became big, I’ve always had a massive fetish obsession with school girl skirts. Need I say more?
   
3. Demonia shoes
   Oh man, I’ve been dying to get a pair of boots (preferably knee-highs), but I went into shop after shop, and couldn’t find any that I liked. In desperation, I browsed online, and fell in love with Demonia. Only problem is that I’ve yet to find a retailer with a huge range, and not that expensive either. I don’t want to buy it online ‘cos of postage, and I’m not able to try them on… I can’t wait till I see these in real life!
   
4. Leah Dizon
   I have a huge thing for halfies - and so does half of the world (or more than that, like every other statistic, is made up on the spot)… And I think Leah Dizon is really cute! Who doesn’t mind a Chinese/Filipino/French model/actress/Japanese pop singer? (She’s even posing in school girl uniform too! See?)
   
5. Guitar pick jewelry
   I love my music heaps and heaps! And I love jewelry. So what better way to wear your favourite band than making guitar pick jewelry?! I’ve even been browsing a few picks to buy (unfortunately, some of my favourite bands don’t have picks! I still love them though)!
   Only problem is that I can’t actually make them myself, but Andrew’s mum is going to bead of something that looks like picture 3:
   
6. Gothic/punk clothing and accessories
   All the lovely things that are or go with lolita/gothic/punk fashion! *hearts*
   
7. Demotivators
   Just when things get bad, I find these little beauties… Yeah, they help heaps don’t they?
   
8. LOLCats
   SO cute and funny! >.< For when demotivators don’t help.
   
9. Pon and Zi
   Who has a bigger love than Pon, anyone?
   
10. Tattoos
    Have always wanted a tatt… I really love the tatts by the Miami Ink guys! I wish I can go there just for a tatt, free-style. I especially love their shading, their use of colour (or lack thereof)… everything they do turns out perfect! Anyway, here are some designs (not necessarily from them) that I thought were cool.
    
11. Kimono, yukata, waloli
    There’s just something about these… I never knew I’d think traditional clothing as hot! So had to buy one I like… and I think they’re mad expensive too…
    
12. Lace-ups, lacing, lace… Fishnets
    
13. Animals/pets
    I didn’t use to like animals, not at all. After moving here, one of the neighbour’s cat kept playing wth us whenever we go for our walks… and we can’t help but feel affection for it.
    I want a pet now but my dad’s right, “How can you take care of a pet when you can’t even take care of yourself?!” Sigh. Still love them though, how adorable are they!!!
    
14. Random stuff
    I love pictures - some really do tell a thousand words, so let these speak for itself
    

That’s all for now!

x

• Holidays , Me , Random thoughts
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admin June 27th, 2008

So it’s officially the holidays now for this poor old uni student… Let’s have a little recap of my whole semester.

Where to start? I guess at the uttermost beginning?

Well, it has been quite a tough semester for me (tension headaches, lack of appetite, lack of sleep, exhaustion), and I know I’m not the only one because my friends have been pretty stressed out themselves (2 threw up… stress-induced).

Ok, scratch tough, it was HELL! And that doesn’t even begin to describe it! No exaggeration. Usually I love studying, it has been hard but nowhere, nowhere, nowhere near this!!

Let’s see… let’s start with changes that occurred to the uni itself this semester:

• 14 week semester has been reduced to 12 weeks
  Implication: same amount of work in less amount of time, which is crazy mad for us… we have at least something major due or a quiz/exam/test each week! The average for me was 3 assessments a week…
  I had to miss out on a Porcupine Tree concert to study for the mid-semester exams (I had 3 that following week)… and anyone that know me well will know how important this was for me, how little I go out regardless, and how badly I broke down because I couldn’t make it! Their first tour in Australia, and they’ve been around for 20 years! But I’ve been convinced they’ll be back, someday soon.
• Cutback on our STUVAC (study vacation)
  Was initially about a week, now checking my student diary consisted of a Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - barely enough time to go through 4 full third year subjects!
• Winter sessions taken away
  Implications: overloading (below).
• BSc (Adv) and BMedSci WAM (weighted average mark) increased from 65 to 70
  A few of my friends from Bsc (Adv) and BMedSci who has a WAM below 70 received warning emails, informing them if they don’t increase their average, they will get dropped down to BSc… Ever since knowing the possibility of dropping down to BSc, I had been feeling the pressure more than ever!
  A BMedSci friend later told me that they have been told that changes have only been applied to newcomers, which relieved me for a bit before she told me that it mightn’t be the same for BSc (Adv)!! (Thanks so much.. ><)
• Examination changes
  Here’s an excerpt of the email we received. But to sum up, we are having:
  • Shorter exam period
  • 3 exams per day schedule
  • Exams on Saturday
• Mid-semester break between week 2 and 3
  After 3 months of break, having a uni break after the 2nd week of uni is rather… y’know. So after that is a period continuous studying for 10 weeks.
  BUT, this didn’t concern me as I had to attend lab 9 to 5 daily for bacteria and disease laboratory work (which I really enjoyed, don’t get me wrong! In fact, I thought it was the best part of the course!)

So that was already giving me a hard time. Ranting on, these were the things I found personally stressful for me:

• Overloading
  As if four full subjects wasn’t enough on my plate, I (stupidly) decided to overload, another half subject (3UOC general education) instead of trying to do it in the summer session in case it spots get filled up since winter session has been taken away
• My final exam timetable (5 exams in 7 days)
  • 13/06 MICR3041 (Immunology)
  • 16/06 BIOC3111 (Molecular biology of proteins)
  • 18/06 BIOC3261 (Molecular biology of nucleic acids: theory)
  • 18/06 MICR3081 (Bacteria and Disease)
  • 19/06 BIOC3261 (Molecular biology of nucleic acids: practical)
• Changes towards the end of the final exams
  Full story here - but basically, I was a victim of 2 exam rescheduling:
  • 18/06 MICR3081 moved to 19/06
  • 19/06 BIOC3261 moved to 21/06

So there you have it, a summary of what I had gone through in the past 13-14 weeks. Don’t be discouraged from third year science after reading this because rest assured, people do survive from things like this… (just barely in my case)…

Hope all students enjoy their hard earned, much needed holidays!

• Bad , Exams , Friends , Holidays , Me , Melodrama , Panic attack , Random thoughts , Uni
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admin April 30th, 2008

I’m ticked off… angry… flaming…
Listening to angry music because it helps…
Cos far out…
THIS. IS. NOT. COOL.!!!

I have a bacteria and disease mid-session exam on Thursday so I planned for the day to be spent on studying for earlier… As people who do this third year subject know, it IS a heavy course… So initially, I got frustrated because:

• I’m not understanding notes…
• there weren’t iLectures on for half the lectures… They recorded it in the wrong lecture theatre!!! I emailed but nothing was done about it…
• textbook had information on all the other organisms EXCEPT the one I was looking for…

So I decided to go online, find the journal article and print it out to make notes (because firstly, I can’t read on screen for too long and secondly, I’d be stuck on the computer if I’m on it) and got angry because:

• my printer was being a massive psychopath and was being the biggest asshole…

So I left that alone, read some of the article on the computer screen… and checked if there were any announcements on webct (uni portal) and got annoyed and really angry because:

• we (apparently) have something due on Friday AND
• the coordinator put the guidelines up YESTERDAY!

ARGH!!!

Better get back to studying because there’s a LOT to cover!!

• Bad , Exams , Me , Melodrama , Uni
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admin April 18th, 2008

To all of you who are wondering, no, I haven’t died yet. But almost.

Stress… Long hours of painful studying, assignmenting, researching, revising… Lack of sleep… Look what uni’s doing to me!! I’m sick again…

That’s right, second time in one month (last time was about 3 weeks ago)!

NOOOoooOO!!

Funnily/coincidentally enough, a friend of mine whom I haven’t seen for a while caught something a week before me last time and got it again last week! He suspects a second bug, but I’m not too sure. But whatever it is, please go awaaaaay!!

Anyway… To cheer myself up, I decided and insisted on a haircut today (I was browsing for a lot of alternative/indie/emo/punk/gothic hairstyle last night). Not feeling up for more violation, Andrew drove me to Strathfield and looked for a hairdressing place called “Zio” (opposite plaza), recommended from my friend Daph.

I walked into the place, and a man came and sat me down. Krystal, the Korean hairstylist that was going to cut my hair, came and asked me which style I wanted. So I explained it to her:

• Straight and short fringe
• Longer front bits
• Short and very layered back (similar to the last haircut)

She motioned me to the seat and started washing my hair and unlike the last lady, she didn’t rip my hair out!! So I decided to enjoy it, and she was really good/gentle!

After that, she asked if I trusted her and hearing my reply, got started on the cutting. We made small talk, and learned that she started out in Korea and has been a hairdresser for 10 years.

Some while later, she finished. And I looked at the new me.

Hilarious!!
Different!!
Non-alternative (as I had planned the night before)

But I really liked it, and Krystal looked please with herself. So I went to pay for her services: $35 - waaaaay cheaper than the one at Market City (yes, the violation one)! The man who originally served me appropriately added, “Next time, the messy hair look will be charged $45, because this is the first time, it’s $35″ and promptly handed me a loyalty card. Cool, didn’t know any hairdressing place have this system.

Feeling pleased, different and refreshed, I headed home. When dad saw me, he (sorta) flipped! And when mum saw me, the first thing she said was “Ohhh! My Korean daughter” …How did she know? O_o It seriously didn’t look like it to me… But I don’t know.

What do you think?

Back:

• Bad , Hair , Me , Melodrama , Sad , Uni
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admin March 24th, 2008

A long long time without any update, and I’m sorry it had to be a bad one.

So where should I start?

It’s about 8am on the Easter public holiday Monday, and I’ve just woken from the most horrid sleep, if I had any at all. The thing is, I think I caught something recently because I was more susceptible (stress from uni and everything),  showing symptoms of a cold/flu yesterday morning. Resting is the key, so I slept most the day away yesterday, even when I had stacks of uni stuff to do (stress tress stress panic!!!)…

Last night at about 3am when I knew I was still awake, I had a throat that bugged me endlessly and one more throat lozenge left… Thinking I’d be able to catch some sleep, I had the final lozenge and dozed off… for 10 minutes. So… more sore throat and fragmented sleep with tossing and turning and weird disjointed dreams… and I ended up like this today (zombie!!).

So not cool!

This semester started a fortnight ago, lasts for 12 weeks excluding holiday breaks (used to be 14 weeks, but they putting 14 weeks of content into the 12 = content overload!) and we were meant to be having our Easter break and mid-session break (yeah, after 2 weeks into it)… Except for one of my subjects, I have to come into lab while everyone was on “mid-session break”, Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 6pm..

So all up, I had 4 days off (Friday to Monday)… Got nothing done as planned (assignments/etc), and feeling worse than ever (because the symptoms have gotten worse), completely unprepared (not up) for the hectic 8 hour lab work starting tomorrow.

So yeah, great timing really.

Ah. *sigh*

I hope you all a merrier Easter than mine.
Surely it must be…?

• Bad , Holiday wishes , Holidays , Me , Melodrama
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admin February 20th, 2008

On a whim, I decided to drag my dad to the dentist with me today, since it’s been a while since I had my last dental checkup and I needed some in-fills (for the post-braces support thing, not my teeth, though I find out later that I did have some I needed to fill ><)… and I was in Campsie anyway.

So I went upstairs and waited until he was finished with his patient and then inquired about it.

In-fills: $70
Cleaning: $80

Okay, so $150, that’s not too bad actually.

But turned out I had to in-fill THREE of the supporting-braces things. That’s $210! Aww man… No cleaning, I thought, too much money already.

So he started removing the previous loose in-fills, splashed much water on me (thank you very much) and secured the new in-fills onto teeth. Put the chair up and told me to rinse.

And so, the chair went down again (an aura of “be afraid… be very afraid” that dentists give off) and proceeded hardening the in-fills with “the blue light” (they have the weirdest tools, I swear!).

Hurting after that, he asked whether or not I wanted to clean, to which I waved my hand at. I was already in pain! But dad told me to anyway because when uni starts, I wouldn’t have the time to go to the dentist. The dentist then told me it was advisable since my teeth were pretty dirty (thanks again).

So again, I decided “why not”.

It felt okay when he started with the bottom. And then I felt REAL pain. The pain before was merely just a warm-up, because THIS was REALLY bad!!! >_<

Throughout the ordeal, I had water splashing all over my face, I was flinching, curling my toes and gripping my dad’s hand (very tightly), and these were only part of the 20 minute process. My gums bleeding, bleeding and bleeding were the other part. It was THAT bad, no exaggeration.

Ah! And someone thought they went through “23 minutes in Hell” (cough cough Bill Wiesse)! Reminds me why I haven’t been to the dentist in 3 years.

And what made it worse was that the dentist kept complaining about:

1. Me not brushing my teeth properly (I swear it isn’t that bad!)
2. Me not coming in regularly for a cleaning
3. Me not cutting my hair (I like it the way it is, thank you very much!)
4. My eyesight (since I “wear such thick glasses” but “don’t worry, there’s always laser eye surgery when you reach -10.00″)
5. The whole hour worth of fixing up my teeth totaled $290! (Ouch!)

Sigh.

What’s with paying for services who treat you like a masochist being?!

Oh well, at least my teeth are shiny now =]

• Dentist , Me , Melodrama , Money issues
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admin January 30th, 2008

Today didn’t start off too well, actually.

I woke up slightly late, and turns out mum did as well, so hence, we both missed the early walk. Mum, having the need to walk, told me to walk with her to the chemist, so after breakfast, I got dressed nicely and headed out.

A boiling hot day again, just like yesterday, it was a hard trek for me. Perhaps going in the chemist with the air con and all will make me feel better, I thought. Couldn’t wait to get in there, I sat down while mum waited for her prescription medicine.

Then I felt dizzy. Ignoring it made me feel worse. Blood pressure acting up. Shit. I told mum, and she freaked, which made me freak, hyperventilate, heart pump faster and dizzier than ever. She called Brandon to tell dad I was fainting and to pick me up from the chemist. Due to the long wait for the people to get my mum her meds, she told me to go outside to wait for dad first, and if she took too long, she’d walk by herself.

I saw dad and followed him into the car, and we were both waiting outside for mum to finish her purchase. But after 10 minutes, still no mum. I figured she must’ve walked by herself, so I told dad what she said about going home first. Ticked off, he started telling me off for not being clear on anything, making him wait and all for no reason. And then he was telling me off for being on the computer too much that it affected my health. Too bothered (and unwell) to argue with him or anything, I stayed silent the short trip home.

Got home, went upstairs, turned the fan on, and called Andrew for comfort. I told him I thought the change in conditions (from hot hot outside to air con) was what made me feel that initial dizziness, then mum’s panicked look. So I stayed there talking to him, chilling out for a while. I wonder what I’d be doing right now if that fainting scene never happened some 2 months ago… I wonder if it was something that was to happen sooner or later, or just a one off that was to scar me for a long time… just as it had.

Feeling better, I went downstairs for lunch. After lunch, I went up again to do some stuff for mum, and then mum came in saying I had a parcel. Wow. I didn’t order anything! Excited, I opened the very protective cover. “Rock ya covers off” - I won!

So I spent the whole day chilling (more like boiling up) out to the CDs, checking out items on ebay, chatting to Lisa and talking to Andrew (only for bits, he went to the gym and then shopped for food) before dinner.

After dinner was our ritual walk. And during that walk, we saw a couple (husband + pregnant wife) with their kid (2 years old?) a few times as we completed our rounds. I didn’t pay much attention to them until the last round, where I saw the husband look at me directly. Then mum told me he’s been doing that every time we walked past. Makes me wonder why men do that sometimes. ><

• Bad , Family , Me , Melodrama , eBay
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admin January 25th, 2008

Whoa, how exhausting!

2 entries today… but what the heck!

After this phone call, the parents came back and took me to the bank where they asked for a Chinese customer service rep while I withdrew some money. A lady stood in front of the line making small talks to everyone; young, middle aged and older. This made me think, “banks are so much better than real estate agents”. Made me feel a little better you know?

So the parents were still waiting to be served. Not long after, a Chinese lady by the name of Kelly ushered us into the cubicle. We had a talk, discussing the various choices, accounts and everything. Then she required many different type of proofs of identity, making sure everything was alright… yada yada yada.

The service was really great, and she was very attentive, patient and explained everything really well, but in the end, that consultation lasted about 3 hours!

Dad bought some random stuff to eat, went home and had our lunch while I searched for agents to visit and the houses we were going to rent.

First stop, Belfield agent. We wanted to leave a deposit on the house since it was still available for rent. The lady told us we couldn’t. Apparently, under the new laws, we needed to inspect the unit before renting. New learnt #1. So we were given the official day and time of inspection for that property and an application form, and we left.

With the application form, we had a master plan of filling them out, and then going straight to the agent right after inspection, and it’s ours!

Dad wanted to see the house before all others because it seemed like a good area, and it rent was $250. So we popped by Gould street, parked the car and walked around. Outside isn’t too bad, I thought.

A person drove in at that point, and they asked if we were looking for someone in particular. Turned out he is the current tenant of the one we were looking to rent. We made small talk, looked at the unit and found out they were renting the place for $195. As we were coming out, mum made a slightly regretful remark about having to leave our place and that this place was quite very below average.

Feeling very disappointed, we went to the the next destination, the one at Marlowe street for $240 at Campsie (same one I inquired about this morning), walked around. Ok, outside isn’t too bad, I guess. A tick on our list to visit their inspection, even though the lady receptionist SUCKED.

So next stop was actually home.

Because we didn’t know about that policy (inspection before deposit), we decided to pop by the agents to grab the dates and application forms before checking out the places because we wanted to be the ones ready for this renting game.

We picked Brandon up as well, and headed off to the agent in Campsie. What? We can’t grab the application forms? Damn! New thing learnt #2. That makes things a lot worse.

Never mind, we’ll visit the place again.

We got to the one at Park street for $240. Oh no no no no. Got in the car, and drove away to Beaumont street ($235). Not too bad, another on our list. So we have 2 inspections to go to now.

Next stop, the Lakemba agent. We parked the car 10 minutes away from the actual place since we thought a few agents were it. Got there, got yet another disappointing remark.

“Gone.”
“Oh!”

Might as well pop by the other 2 agents.

“There isn’t any.”
“No, there isn’t any.”

This was harder than I thought! Definitely.

By the time we got home, it was dinner time, but no dinner. So we went out to eat at Campsie. Turned out my parents knew the owners (they started their business a month ago). They gave us a really good service, and a very very big bowl of vermicelli to me as she thought it was dad’s order. Couldn’t finish it, but the food was very good. Didn’t cost too much either!

Got home. Ah, finally!

Started making calls to various agents again, even calling the ones that are a tad more than what we hoped for.

“Hi, I’m just wondering if the $300 Campsie one is available for rent.”
“It’s taken.”
“Oh, thanks.”

“Just wondering whether the $280 unit at Campsie is available?”
“Gone.”

“It’s gone”

“No, it’s gone”

“Gone”

God…

One word: Stressed.

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