Of knees and fire alarms...

As I'm a little short on time, I shall make this short as well...

News #1
On Sunday night, I went dancing with the other Basserians and suddenly, I felt a weird sensation in my right knee. My patella (kneecap) got dislocated and laterally twisted 45 degrees... It felt like a bottlecap that was screwed off too quickly that it went flying across the room... Yup, that was what I felt. I remembered clutching my knee with both hands, calling out "My knee! My knee!" while stumbling backwards. Luckily, Hannah was alert enough to catch hold of me before I collapsed down. Cam (1 of the Baxter med tutors) was alerted and he helped support my knee and cooled off the pain with an ice pack while someone else brought a beanbag for me to lay my head. The ambulance came 15 minutes later (I think!) and strapped me to this special chair with wheels (no, it's not a wheelchair). But as they transferred me from the chair to the ambulance bed, my patella got twisted again but snapped back into its original position. When I reached the Prince of Wales hospital, I was sent for an x-ray and was later left in the Procedures Room. Good old Hannah and John Frew (1 of the med tutors in Basser) a.k.a. John the Baptist (he has long hair and looks like a biblical character) were there to accompany me. I remember being whisked off at 10PM but was only visited by the intern doctors at 5AM the following day... Gosh, 7 hours of an excruciating wait... Got strapped to a splint and went to the fractures clinic today to be told it could happen again and if it does, I may need a reconstruction surgery. Oh no! I don't want a 2nd time! Lord, help me! Well, hopefully there's better news next Tuesday when my 2nd appointment's due...
*The lyrics "I'm never gonna dance again..." from Careless Whisper plays itself over and over again in my ears...*

News #2
The stupid fire alarm went off again last night! Apparently, according to Mitch (the acturial tutor in Basser who helped sent me for my hospital appointment today), it's the rainy season and sometimes the rain water just disrupts the electric circuit causing the alarm to go off... But still! I'm trying to catch up on some precious sleep (especially when the O-Week leaders blared out cowboy songs through the PA system as O-Week's theme is Wild Wild West and started banging on everyone's door to wake us up in the wee hours of the morning; I wasn't spared when I tried hitting the sack after I came back from the hospital)... Ah well... What more can I say?

Life hasn't been treating me too kind ever since I arrived in Sydney but who am I to complain? Care to comment, anyone?

The Alarm

This is the 1st time I'm posting 2 entries in a day but then again, the more the merrier... Here's a short poem depicting last night's incident of 2 separate fire alarms that disrupted my beauty sleep...

Krring! It's the fire alarm!
So much for the good night sleep charm!
Students file out of beds
With crazy ideas running through their heads

Some thought it was a picnic
Brought blankets, beers and even breadsticks!
Others were just plainly annoyed
Wondering with the smoke detector, which culprit has toyed?

The fire engine came blaring through
Probably to them it's nothing new
"No fire!" someone said
"Up you go and into bed!"

Everyone thought it was over
And time to hit the sleepy cover
But just an hour later
It's back to usual clatter

Krring! Oh no, not again!
I think I'm gonna get a migraine!
Claire filed out in just a towel
Came out fresh from her shower!

Again, the firemen did come
And fire, they found none
So back to bed we all headed
And thankfully our sleep went unshattered...

There you go... My 1st 2 fire alarms in a night in Sydney! :p

Of The Little Wonders In Life...

Sometimes, we lead such fast-paced lives that we never pause for a moment to "absorb" the little signs of "miracles" happening around us. Ever heard of the phrase, "Stop and smell the roses"? That's what I'm talking about...

Yesterday evening, I joined a shopping trip to Moore Park's Homemakers Supacentre organized by the International Student Services (ISS). The weather was fine when we first set out but as we were walking along Anzac Parade, raindrops began pelting at us.

Oh no! I forgot to bring my umbrella! And to think I watched last night's news reporting a slight thunder storm!

Thankfully, another friend had an umbrella in her bag so she kindly shared it with me. The shopping trip was ok but this post ain't gonna focus on it.

On our way back, the rain stopped and as I peered out the bus window, I suddenly noticed a beautiful rainbow. The 2 girls sitting behind me noticed it as well and were gushing at the sight when 1 of the seniors jokingly asked, "Never seen a rainbow in your entire life before?"

That question got me wondering and to me, I think the fussing was because it was and will always be our very 1st rainbow in Sydney. Or Australia. And to top that up, I've to admit I've never seen a rainbow more beautiful than yesterday's. Too bad I didn't have a camera to snap up a photo of it to post it in my blog...

You may now ask, "What's the big fuss then? What's so miraculous about this rainbow?"

The answer is pretty simple.

The rainbow is a beautiful creation of God. It's a promise from Him to Noah that he'll never destroy the world again with a flood. For all of us, it's a sign of hope in bad times. It teaches us to seek out the positive things in life and not brood over the negative.

It's a sign of LIFE.

If ever there's a moment that I could freeze in life to rewind and view again in the future, THIS could be the MOMENT.

And I wouldn't regret it...

Homesick...

Before I left for Sydney, I've always joked around with my family and friends, saying that I'll be the last one in the entire world to ever get homesick. Nobody disagreed with me as they knew I was pretty much looking forward to this new journey of venturing abroad on my own and nothing's going to spoil the excitement. I didn't even shed a tear when I stepped into the departure hall.

Boy, was everyone wrong.

Sure, I didn't really miss home that much the 1st 2 days as compared to others but come the 3rd day when I fell ill, that's when I suffered yet another disease.

Homesickness.

I missed those convenient home-cooked meals that Mummy used to prepare for me, which I took for granted. The steaming chicken porridge that tasted so good even when you've practically lost your tastebuds. Or what about Daddy joking around to cheer me up so that I don't stay gloomy? Now all that remains is their voices through a mere device called a telephone.

Ah, suddenly, crazy thoughts ran through my mind like "Shih Ying, why didn't you just apply for IMU and stay at home where you can forgo all these troubles?"

Thing is, the mind conjures strange ideas when you're sick.

It wasn't until this morning when I was unpacking (I've been busy the past few days if not sick) that I began to feel the 1st symptom of homesickness kicking in. As I stacked my shirts into the drawers, I suddenly broke down and wept. Yup, you got it right. Surprised? So was I. I wept uncontrollably and couldn't stop even when I told myself to. I couldn't explain why either. Guess I'll just point the finger at that miserable thing called homesickness.

But I'm well and rational now.

And I asked myself, "What could have led me to be homesick? Maybe it was because I was ill and missed all the pampering back home?"

If so, it was a blessing in disguise. It hasn't been a week yet but I've learnt a lot. To be a little more independent. To be a little more grateful. Not to take things for granted. And to remember that I'll always have my beloved parents' support whom I shall not disappoint and let down.

If so, me falling ill isn't that bad after all. As they say, there's a silver lining in every cloud.

And I've found mine.

Life at UNSW...

Finally, it's touchdown at Sydney! Here's a sneak peek into my life at UNSW so far:

1st day (Friday, 10 Feb 2006):
Arrived at Sydney Airport around 8AM. A little exhausted since I didn't catch a good sleep on plane (ended up watching movies e.g. Just Like Heaven)... The lines for immigration and customs were crazily long. Luckily for me, I was not requested to open up my humoungously heavy baggage, probably because I've declared my personal medications beforehand. Some JPA seniors were present to fetch us. Had to wait about an extra hour because one of us got quarantined due to either food or a wooden pencil; up to now, we still ain't sure what it was or who the person is... Headed to Malaysian Hall (heck, maybe I shouldn't have applied for Basser College) which is so "homely" and practically everyone's staying in there for the time being... Oh well... Hendra (a 3rd year JPA student) and his gang finally whisked me off to my Basser College which reminds me of a dorm with shared unisex bathrooms and my room's quite small, about 8 square metres, little walking space... Since dining hall is only open for breakfast for the whole summer break, I ended up walking 1-2km to buy myself a packet of bbq rice crackers at a vending machine, costing AUD3.20...

2nd day
Woke up early to walk to Malaysian Hall (at Alison Road) for JPA briefing. Ended up at the wrong junction (leading to Royal Randwick), so called Hendra who sent Fariz to come get me... Spent the rest of the afternoon sight-seeing with the others in Sydney City. Finally got to see the Harbour Bridge and Opera House; the view's breathtaking! Weather is Sydney's so unpredictable; it's hot at one moment and chilly at another; there's no telling... Went to Chinatown for dinner... Ordered fried rice which come up to be a double Malaysian portion! Even the guys couldn't finish it! We should have been informed beforehand and could have just ordered 2 portions to be shared out between 4 of us... Wai King complaint of a sore throat, which probably led to my hellish 3rd day...

3rd day
I went through a living hell, starting from the moment I woke up... Caught the flu, fever, headache and yes, Wai King's sore throat... Vomited 3 times (especially every time I tried to eat some food)... Parents called a couple of times and were really worried. Gosh, I don't think I was ever this sick and lonely! All of a sudden, life seemed so gloomy and I yearned for home and yes, the pampering I get when I'm sick! Could barely get up at all (slept in my room the whole day, which was stuffy and hot without any fan) and ended up calling Hendra (gosh, I must have been a pain in the ass) to help take-away some porridge which he ain't sure if it's up for sale. An hour or so later, Hendra and Fariz arrived with home-cooked chicken porridge which Kak Ina has kindly cooked, FOC! How kind of them! Went to sleep after popping in some pills...

4th day (today)
Got up feeling so much better today. Encik Zainal (the Malaysian attache in Sydney) even called up and wanted to pay me a visit (he heard that I fell sick) which I kindly thanked him and stated that there was no need for all the trouble. Went to get my Student ID processed and criminal check clearing at the Medical Faculty. Walked all the way to Malaysian Hall, hoping to meet some people which unfortunately weren't in and ended up in the computer room, typing this!

Phew! Quite a long story for a short 3 1/2 day period but oh well, Sydney and UNSW, here I come! ^_^