Friday, September 25, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
in pain..
I'm in pain..
Mind is super alert but it hurts to stretch my arms.. Feel so handicapped.
But I received a fruit basket that cheered me up..
Thanks everyone for your well wishes & for keeping me in your prayers!
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Monday, September 7, 2009
whirlwind thoughts..
Experiencing a myriad of emotions rite now..
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Never did I expect this..
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I wasn't prepared..
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I'm still not prepared..
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Tuesday, September 1, 2009
a recap of those memorable 18 days...
This update is gonna be real lengthy.. It's of the 18 sweet days spent with my other half.. So for those who do not want to be bothered with details of where I went, what I did, how I felt.. u can stop reading here.. =)
I am writing this for myself.. For some therapeutic relief.. To read in the distant or near future n smile a silly smile to myself, recallin some incident.. *smile* Pics have all been uploaded in facebook..
13 Aug (Thurs)
My mum took leave tat day n accompanied me to the Budget Terminal where I had to take Tiger Airways flight to Perth, Australia.. I stood in the queue for a goodly 15mins before reaching the desk n went I got there, I was told that I needed a VISA to enter Australia! As I was preparing for the trip, I'd called Tiger n was told tat there was no need for a VISA! WTH! I thought that was it.. There goes my trip.. Turns out, I could apply for a VISA on the spot at Terminal 1, row 5 where there is a Customer Service counter for Qantas. So I left my mum @ the Budget airport with my luggage and rushed to Term 1. There, the counter staff had gone for lunch and I only had 1/2 hr left before check-in counter closed.. A helpful young lady, I think her name was Bharkat Nisha, helped me by calling the staff's hp and waited patiently with me and offered me alternative solns too.. (I really have to go back n thank her!) I could apply for a VISA online too.. But that mite not be processed immeidately but if the counter staff didn't return on time, I may have to resort to that.. But there was no way I could access Internet there.. So I called my bro to help me.. But luckily the staff returned on time and helped me process my VISA immediately and on the spot. With tat, I rushed back to Budget Terminal to check-in.. Took a cab to and fro.. Sorry to those taxi drivers who would have waited a long long time in the queue to only serve a distance of 3 mins.. Finally I was on board the plane, heading to Perth. I landed at 9pm and the boys came to pick me up.. Suresh had landed at 5pm earlier tat day.. Then we headed to Sathis' place, chatted, had dinner and finally went to bed at abt 1am.. Sathis asked us to wake up at a certain time cos he had to be in Uni at a certain timing and then I asked Aunty a silly qn.. I asked if she will bathe in the mornings! I meant to ask what time she would bathe in the mornin so that I wouldn't clash with her..
14 Aug (Fri)
Since Sathis had Uni, Suresh and I accompanied him to UWA. I bought books.. :) Satti showed us ard for a while and then left us to attend class.. Suresh and I walked to sit near Swan River and chatted.. Tog after so long.. we were content to sit in silence and just hug for a while.. Then Satti finished with class, picked us up.. we went home and picked up Aunty and went to have lunch at Macs!! My fav!! :) Then we went shopping, returned home, showered and went for bhajans @ a kindergarden sch... Then we came home, changed and went to visit the sights at Fremantle.. Bought Hungry Jacks for dinner and ate in the car.. It was raining so we didnt get out of the car.. so sad.. Came home, tried to watch Dostana but everyone fell asleep in Satti's rm.. I slept next to sweetheart..
15 Aug (Sat)
We went for breakfast at a nice lil cafe in a shopping mall with Aunty and Shiva.. Sathis had Uni so he didn't join us.. Shopped at Livingston.. Followed Aunty to buy meat and groceries.. Took a pic on a security camera when we stopped by a bank too.. haha.. Then we came home and took Honey for a walk! Fed the ducks at the nearby pond.. Only 3 ducks when we were there though.. We went to Priya babe's place for dinner.. Got lost on the way there a couple of times.. even with our GPS.. haha.. bcos the guys though BAYSWATER suburb was BASEWATER.. hahha.. and they didnt even ask me! We had appanjallara for dinner.. Priya's parents were in town and Aunty had cooked for us.. Priya's rm is amazing.. A gal's rm thru and thru.. On the way back, we got pulled over by cops.. It has happened the twice that I've gone overseas on my own.. Strange coincidence? haha.. They wanted to check the registration of the car and driver's license.. tats all.. No worries peeps.. Then we headed home without any further incidences and went to bed.. Satti gave up his bed to Suresh n me though.. such a sweety.. :) But we all still slept in the same rm.. Dun think otherwise ppl.. ;P
16 Aug (Sun)
This mornin we woke up at 9am and rushed to get ready for bhajans.. Beautiful altar with candles.. Then we went to tour Sathis dorm where he had stayed for 1 semester.. It was called St George's College.. There we met Akram, Satti's best fren.. nice polite n funny fella.. We had lunch together at Saigon restaurant.. and tat was followed by ice-cream.. Then we toured Kings Park.. Scenic views aplenty.. The Whispering wall & the DNA helix tower deserve special mention.. Then we came home for dinner.. Oh yeah, as we were driving away from Kings Park, we saw a plane above us with letters trailing it.. "Will you marry me?" or sth like tat.. So sweet.. N someone commented So expensive too.. hahah.. So we dropped off Akram @ the dorm & headed home.. Watched Vel and then ate Aunty's cooking.. Then we brought Honey for a walk.. After which we drove to another park and walked ard somemore.. When we came back, we sat ard chatting as it was Suresh's and my last nite in Perth.. Aunty and Satti were complainin that the house was going to be way toooo quiet.. and Satti said he was gonna suffer mild depression, withdrawals from us u see.. haha.. Even Honey was gonna miss us even though she didnt know we were gonna leave soon.. she kept following me ard.. i was so afraid that i'd trip over her.. So anyway, as we were talkin, I let the 'Jivz' cat out of the bag.. I'm sorrie.. :( I say it was all Satti's fault.. He and Suresh had been talkin to Prabhu over the fone and when he came back to the hall, he said he had some gd news and that Prabhu's mum n the gal's mum had spoken! N I brilliantly asked 'So, was this before or after the arangetram?' cos if it was before I knew wat they had spoken u see... Haiz.. Then Aunty caught the hint! Anyway, so we all had a gd laugh abt how I couldnt keep my mouth shut.. :( Then I packed.. N we headed to bed..
There were so many frying egg jokes.. and plenty other jokes that kept crackin us up.. I cant rem them all.. But remembering how we laughed til our sides hurt is enuf to put a smile on my face now.. I truly miss all of u..
17 Aug (Mon)
We woke up at 6.30am.. in order to catch our flight.. Our Virgin Blue flights would bring us from Perth to Brisbane and then to Wellington. @ Brisbane we had to take a skytrain from the Domestic to International airport. We had checked in late at Perth so we couldnt get to sit tog.. I was sooo sad.. It was our 1st flight tog.. But the seatin arrangement from Brisbane to Wellington was fixed such that we would sit tog.. So we were very happy.. Except Suresh wasnt feelin well, so he slept thruout the trip.. Couldnt make it to the mile-high club as such.. haha.. As these were budget flights, we had to buy our dinner on board the flight and they were out of hot dinners! so we ended up eating sandwiches and a Mars bar.. I felt so sick after tat.. urgh.. Had a sorethroat after tat.. The flight to Wellington was delayed for slightly over an hr! So poor Tim and Louis who were waiting for us @ Wellington airport also had to wait longer.. It was pretty costly to leave Suresh's car parked for 4 days at the airport so he had arranged for frens to come pick us up.. Anyway, as we reached Wellington and were clearing Customs, an Immigration officer stopped us and said we'd been selected as foreigners to be surveyed by Immigration. Wa lau! Think we terrorists ah?! Haiz.. So further delay before we could leave the airport..
18 Aug (Tues)
We only left the airport at 1am.. Bought some things at the dutyfree for his housemates.. It was a gd 2 hrs drive to his place and reached at 3am.. We both slept most of the way home.. Then Su had to wake up at 9am to go Uni.. So I also woke up and brushed teeth and had breakfast with Suresh.. Then after sendin him off, I unpacked my luggage and found that I'd left my hp charger back in Perth! Haiz.. Msged Satti to pass it to me when he picks me up on my way home to SG as I'll stopover at Perth.. I also set up my laptop to check my office emails.. However, I couldn't log onto the Internet cos I didnt know the password.. So I just used Suresh's laptop to check my personal emails on Gmail and surfed Facebook.. Suresh came back during his lunch break and bought me lunch from Bean cafe.. Then he gave me the password for his Internet and left for Uni in the afternoon.. I logged onto my office emails.. cleared my emails from 180++ with abt 30 spam! Then decided to watch a Duplicity online til Suresh came home.. Then Suresh came home.. Finally, I managed to see most of the housemates and got intro-ed to them.. Then Suresh and I went to Pompeii for dinner tat nite.. really nice ambience.. Suresh liked the pretty waitress too.. ;) Then we went to watch GI-Joe at Downtown Plaza.. Then we came home and spoke to Louis and Cathy before heading to bed..
19 Aug (Wed)
I only woke up at 10am! =) Sent Suresh off to sch and went back to bed and only woke up at 11.30am when Suresh came back with lunch for me from Subway (seafood; y dun they have it in SG??!!) before heading to Uni again at 12.40am.. Paras came to give him a ride to Uni.. I ate my lunch, read my book.. kept to myself like a mouse in the rm.. haha.. Suresh returned home at 5pm.. Felt like the gd lil wife, tending to the house as the hubby goes to work and returns.. haha.. We went to grab a few things at Warehouse, Pak&Save and Countdown.. Ate dinner at home.. cooked by Louis.. amazing really.. Started to watch a movie 'Acham Undu' but got scared 10mins into the movie.. So we went to bed.. :) Watched the old movie 'Bombay' instead.. I've never seen it before so I cried when the children got lost.. Suresh refused to tell me if they would be reunited with their family! I dun understand why this movie was banned??!! They could have simply censored some portions wat.. Haiz.. Nice movie.. I liked it.. Songs especially.. Comparable to Roja..
20 Aug (Thurs)
Woke up at 10am. Followed Suresh to the clinic for his medical for his Student Visa renewal. But he didnt have the necessary forms and photos so we planned to return early the following mornin. Went to his Uni to pick up the visa forms.. On the way home, we bought bagels (wonderful, yummy treats!) and watched ducks in the pond closeby.. Bought lunch (Seafood Noodles) as well and headed home.. After lunch at home, Suresh got dressed for Uni, picked up Paras and dropped me off at The Square.. & for the next 4 hrs, I did my shopping while he was in Uni studyin.. My legs weren't tired cos I was wearin appropriate footwear but my arms were tired!! From carryin all that shopping!! I was carryin at least 5 bags and they were all bulging!! =) I also managed to do my hair at a saloon for NZD20.. Suresh came to pick me up and we headed home.. Rested a while then headed to Yatai for a Jap dinner.. Yummy food seriously.. But too much tat we couldnt finish it.. Squid, scallop, chicken, egg, rice.. Slurps... :) Came home, rested, chatted with frens.. Planned our getaway for the following week. I cleared my office emails again while Suresh did his assignment.. Then we unpacked my shopping and went to bed..
21 Aug (Fri)
Woke up at 7am! Followed Suresh for his medical appointment for his visa renewal. Bought bagels again and headed home.. I was hooked on those yummy bagels!! After that Su left for sch.. I read my book again and surfed the Internet for a while.. The housemates had planned for a bbq tonite.. After Su came back, we went to fix the lightbulb inside the car cos that had fused and we were leavin the next day for our roadtrip.. We also stopped by Pak&Save to buy drinks back for the bbq.. On the way, I saw a license plate that said 'ANU13'.. The car was infront of us, then turned in a different direction from where we were heading so I couldnt get a pic!! How cool is tat??!! Oh by the way, I was in my shorts when we went shopping.. So I braved the winter in my cool shorts and had everyone staring at me! Then we returned home for the bbq! Attendees: Lionel, Tim, Wan, Louis, Cathy, Senthil, Vijee, Suresh and myself.. Since it was sooo cold, we had the bbq in the garage! :) Brought out the dining table and chairs and all.. :) Food was enjoyable..
Company was great.. Had loads of fun.. Laughed alot.. Tim's sexy shorts! Wan's passion for Taiwan and hate for China! Cathy and Indian gals! haha.. Not to forget the Nigerian kids.. Unfortunately Joe couldnt join us.. =) Then Suresh and I retired early cos we had to pack for our trip.. We were leaving early tmr..
22 Aug (Sat)
Supposed to wake up at 4.30am! Only woke up at 10am! haha.. Just like us.. haha.. :P Showered, got dressed, prayed, put Ganesha in Su's car, loaded our things and started out.. We first went to Milson flight sch where Su does his flights.. Spoke to Brandon Peet. We had to explain to him that I had surprised Su by comin down and had arranged a holiday as a surprise for him and as such Su won't be back til next Wed.. Peet was nice enuf and said go, go.. hahha.. Suresh showed me ard his campus.. I saw the simulators that he always talks abt.. N his planes.. Got to sit in them n take pics too.. :) KOOL.. Then we went to buy bagels to eat on route and finally embarked on our roadtrip.. It was 12.30pm by the time we left Palmy (Palmerston North)! haha.. I navigated with the map as Suresh drove.. We only reached Auckland at 8.30pm! Stopping only at Taupo for lunch.. N topping up of petrol.. Haha.. Took like an hr to find Xbase, the backpackers place where we were puttin up.. Then we checked in.. Got rm 913! It took us 3 freaking times to change the card before we could access the lifts and the countless times of travelling up and down the lifts before we could get to our rm.. It wasnt funny then.. But thinking back on it now.. yes it is.. ahha.. That was when we realised that we had lost Suresh's hp.. Haiz.. I think I lost it.. Suresh thought he lost it.. We couldnt rem at all.. But Suresh was so cool abt it and said it's fine.. It was a useless fone anyway.. I felt sooo bad.. then we planned a route to Dressmart the following day. Then we took a walk down from where we were stayin.. Had dinner at Nandos, remembering Perth.. Soooo many Indians ard here! Haiz.. then we walked back to our rm and on the way back, Suresh bought Dunkin Donuts and a Wendy's burger for himself cos he was still not full. Then we came back to leave them in the rm and left again to go walk-walk.. haha.. We went to Showgirls! hahah.. It's a female stripclub.. This Indian
stripper came up to me and shook her boobs at me.. and walah! removed her bikini in MY face! haha.. we had to put some money in her pants.. these girls were terrific.. They could do splits, dance ard the poles, hang upside down on the poles and stuff.. They completely stripped too.. It was sooooo weird.. haha.. Suresh & I only stayed til I finished my 1 drink.. Then we returned to our rm to sleep.. haha.. tat was a funny nite.. hahha.. Details only revealed in personal meet-up sessions with me.. haha.. ;P
23 Aug (Sun)
Woke up at 8.15am. Showered in common toilet.. Not many souls up at that time.. Guess they must all be tired from being awake at 3am++! So annoying.. it was sooo noisy in the middle of the nite.. Anyway, we checked out at 9am and drove to Auckland Dressmart and shopped there til 2pm. Bought loads of things.. Ate our lunch there as well.. Ate Indian food.. Not nice at all!! urgh.. Maybe we shd retire there n sell prata! haha.. There are plenty of Indians there! haiz.. We left Dressmart @ 2.30pm for Rotorua. Su and I plan routes well.. cos we manage to get on track of our route pretty well.. He thinks we'll do well if we were to join Amazing Race.. haha.. No Way! I need my comforts! :P We checked into Rotorua Xbase (Rm 1). Nice cosy homey rm.. with attached toilet and kitchen even.. But Suresh wasn't happy with it.. He didnt think it was hygenic or it had a strange smell or sth.. I felt completely at home cos he was with me.. :) So then we went to check out the movies.. But the cinema's last movie started at 6.20pm and we were there at 6.50pm.. Haiz.. it was a seriously boring town! :( Our rm didnt even have a TV.. when we wanted to change rms, we were told that there were NO tvs in any of the rms.. WTH.. So we went to dinner.. Guess where?! @ Nandos.. haha.. Then we went back to the rm and KO..
24 Aug (Mon)
Woke up at 9am. Showered and checked out.. Had breakfast at Macs and then drove to Okera Falls for white water rafting.. It was brilliant!! AWESOME!! Our guides were Nick and Ryan! It was so scenic and thrilling and the rapids were beautiful.. The highest was a Grade 5 7m waterfall.. After goin thru tat, Suresh wanted somemore thrilling rapids.. haha.. We wore fleece suits and wet suits on top of those to keep warm.. We were given shoes to keep the water out.... We looked like superheroes.. ahha.. :) Then we drove to Taupo. Stopped at Rotorua and bought KFC for lunch. We reached Taupo in 1.5hrs.. Checked into Taupo Xbase (Rm 301) which was the best so far!! Cleanliness and view wise.. Rested for a while and then went walk-walk.. Bought tix for the movie 'Inglourious Basterds'. Shopped a bit (bought 2 card games) and came back to the rm. We played the 2 games.. So much fun.. haha.. Su's addicted to them now.. :) We also caught an episode of 'Friends'.. :) Then we went to Hell's Pizza for dinner.. It's a really innovative restaurant.. Will upload some of their brochures.. Took lotsa pics and souvenirs from there.. We left the dinner in our rm and went to catch the movie.. It was bloody and gory.. but the storyline and ending was worth watching.. We came back to watch TV and eat dinner.. We also planned for tmr's trip.. N hit the bed..
25 Aug (Tues)
Woke up at 8.45am. Dressed and checked out. Went to Taupo Tandem Skydiving (TTS) at 10am but were told that weather wasnt lookin gd and we had been rescheduled for a later jump. Howeva, weather didnt improve so we were rescheduled again.. We had to call 1/2 hr before the jump to confirm our jump so that we didnt have to make a wasted trip down.. :) But the whole day was overcast and cloudy and even raining so we couldnt jump. So what we did was head back to check into Xbase Taupo ( Rm 306) again. Then we went for breakfast.. Yummy Macs again. While we were queing, an old man came up to us and tapped Suresh on the shoulder and told us that we had left the carlights on. That was soooo nice. When Suresh left to switch off the lights, he saw the old man and his wife go into Burger King (next door to Macs).. If it was SG, I doubt anyone would have gone out of his way to come tell us. Such a sweet old man.. He was sooo feeble too.. Walked reallli slowly.. Then we went to buy another card game and we were sooo hooked to the previous 2 we had bought.. Then we decided to kill more time by watchin another movie.. It's not like there's much else u can do there.. So we bought tix for 'District 9'. In total, we had been like rescheduled for the jump like 5 times.. And finally for the next mornin at 8.30am. We bought lunch from Pizza Hut and ate in our rm & played games and watched TV.. It was drizzling the whole day.. Then we went to watch District 9. It was a movie abt aliens who were called 'prawns'! eekkk.. We didnt have dinner cos lunch was soooo filling.. So we went to bed at midnite..
26 Aug (Wed)
Woke up at 7am to get ready for the jump and to check out. However when we called Lisa @ 7.40am. the weather still wasnt great.. so we were rescheduled for the 10.30am jump. So we went back to sleep.. haha.. Then we got up in time to check out.. It was also time to call and confirm the jump.. It was confirmed and we were sooo excited.. so we headed to TTS which was only 10mins away.. :D Once there, we chose the package we wanted and got geared up.. It was awesome!! simply AWESOME!!! You have to see the pics to understand.. It was sooo thrilling.. Then we went to grab a bite from BK @ Taupo and then headed to Gravity Canyon.. Howeva, when we got there, we only had a chance to see the place.. we had to return home cos Suresh mite have Uni the following day.. :( But it's ok.. I'd done 2 outta 3 things on my list.. :) So we headed home to Palmy.. Oh by the way, my landing for the skydive was beautiful.. Suresh had a slightly harder landing though.. So now his ass hurts.. poor su... We reached home abt 4pm.. Rested a while before bringing in all the things we had bought from the car.. Then we unpacked my luggage and tried to rearrange everything.. Then we went to have dinner and came back and tried to watch Kandasamy but we fell asleep. Su's ass hurts badly.. so we planned to go see the doc the next day... for his ass and my nose was bleeding too.. I was a lil worried tat it was cos I had hit myself on the head with the oar while white water raftin.. By the way, I and Su were sick most of the days and actually went to bed only after taking panadol and cough mixture.
27 Aug (Thurs)
Woke up at 9am ans showered. Timothy wanted to go see the doc for his eye as well.. so Su and I were waitin for him.. N finally, he said he wanted to go see Uni doc.. so Su and I left 1st.. I was a bit sad cos I kept thinkin abt how it was my last 2 days there.. We went to see the doc who was pretty nice.. haha.. She sent Su for an xray of his ass.. haha.. N the result was that he had a sprained ass! haha.. He just needs rest to recover.. Then we went to buy lunch and bagels.. N laminate the skydiving certs.. We also bought a NXD99 Nokia fone from Harvey Norman for Suresh.. we had already purchased a replacement sim card with the same no. at Auckland at a Vodafone shop next to Dressmart.. Then we came back, watched Kandasamy and ate lunch.. As it took long to load, after 2 hrs of the movie, we went to collect the laminated certs and went to Pak&Save to buy chocz for family.. We also bought lotto.. for 13.5mil.. haha.. Then we came home and continued to watch Kandasamy and eat our bagels.. We had dinner at home that nite with most of the guys.. Enjoyed myself watchin Wan and Lionel dare each other to eat wasabi and drink a glass filled to the brim with whiskey.. After dinner, Suresh revised for his sim cos he had 1 the next mornin. So I checked my office emails.. Had abt 200++ so was clearing those.. Then we went to bed..
28 Aug (Fri)
Woke up at 9am. Su was supposed to go complete his blood test for his medical for visa renewal but decided he'll do it the following wk cos he wanted to sleep in with me.. it was the last mornin we would share tog.. :( We showered, went to Macs to buy back breakfast.. Senthil and Vijee wanted to have lunch with us.. So we agreed to meet for lunch @ Herb garden/cafe.. So Su and I finished breakfast and Su left for his simulator and I transferred pics from my camera to his comp and vice versa. Then tried my best to pack up all my things. When Su got back after his sim, we all went to lunch @ Herb cafe. Louis drove Cathy, Tim, Su and myself. Senthil was already there with Vijee. It was a wonderful lunch.. and I took lotsa pics.. Senthil and Vijee had bought me a nice farewell gift.. so sweet of them.. On our way back, we stopped for ice-cream.. I love the Hokey-Pokey flavour! Then we came home and Suresh helped me repack everything.. And we went to Palmerston airport to weigh the luggage.. it was seriously overweight.. Haiz.. serves me rite!! :( We decided that Suresh would ship the luggage to me the following week. Now we're done with the packing. We had to sleep early as we had to make an early move cos my flight from Wellington is at 7am.
29 Aug (Sat)
Woke up at 3am! Quickly showered and left at 3.30am. Drove to Wellington and reached the airport at 5.30am and checked in. Managed to get aisle seats for all the Virgin airlines flights; Wellington-Brisbane, Brisbane-Melbourne, Melbourne-Perth. Since 1st leg of flights was an international flight, I had to collect my check-in luggage to clear customs in Australia. Then be transferred to the domestic airport as the next leg was a domestic flight. Clearing customs took way too long such that I was only left with 45 mins before my next flight departed. As there was a transfer desk @ the Brisbane airport, I was to check-in my luggage there and make my way to the domestic airport via the skytrain. Howeva, as I was queing to check in my luggage there, I was told that there was very lil time and I had to go directly to the domestiv airport myself, carryin all my luggage! I was told to either take the shuttle bus or skytrain. But my things were all too heavy.. N there was no sight of the free shuttle bus. So I decided to take a cab.. lucky Suresh called at that moment and gave me some moral support.. Cos I was ready to break down n cry.. I didnt wanna miss my flight.. Then the taxi driver scolded me!! :( Used all kinda vulgarities and cursed cos the distance is very short and he wouldnt earn much after waiting so long in the queue.. but still he could at least have empathised with my situation.. I hope there'll come a day when he has to rush to catch a connectin flight and feel how I felt.. :P I was extremely close to tears but Suresh told me that I should not give the driver that satisfaction. Anyway, Suresh and I had also made a pact not to cry.. So then we reached the domestic airport and he dropped me at the very beginning when the stupid Virgin check-in counters were rite at the other end! Lucky Satti asked me to keep some AUD on my way back in case I needed it.. So I had $$$ to pay tat arsehole of a driver.. Imagine otherwise.. *shudders* As he took my luggage out of his car, (at least he helped do tat!) there was a lady standing there, waiting for some1 i guess.. As the taxi moved away and I tried to carry all my luggage, she spoke to me and said sth like "Wonder what bug he has got up his ass, doesn't seem all that frenly eh?" And I was so glad to have found a nice lady. I just smiled at her and ran away.. I was rushin for my flight after all.. Then I realised that I had to walk the entire stretch of airport.. I was on the fone on 1 hand and tryin to drag the luggage on rollers with the hand luggage on top of the other one.. My arm felt like it was gonna be pulled out of its socket.. haiz.. then I saw the trolley to push luggages.. I wanted to weep with joy.. So I just dumped my luggage and ran to grab the trolley.. but guess wat.. it was freaking RENT-A-TROLLEY!!! But anyway with determination, I pushed on and reached the check-in counter. There I removed my laptop and checked in the other 2.. I couldnt deal with it anymore.. haiz.. There was a cap weight for luggage at 23kg.. and mine after removing my 3kg lappy was 25kg.. but the counter staff closed an eye and let me off without me having to pay for the excess luggage. When I rushed up to the gate, the flight was delayed! haiz.. all that rushing for nothin!! but it made me worry abt not catchin the next connecting flight.. Well, I was late. My flight from Melbourne to Perth was to depart at 2.45pm. I only landed in Melbourne at 2.45pm!! Luckily there was no need to clear customs or luggage here so I simply ran to the next gate! The announcement before we landed was quite funny though.. It went sth like this "If you are pleased with our services, pls leave your compliments with our staff. If there's anything that you aren't happy about, pls keep those to yourself. Thank you." hahah.. And they also made an announcement to let all those who have a connecting flight to Perth disembark first.. So I basically ran from gate to gate.. Haiz.. Did I mention that that flight had also been delayed.. haha.. Thank the good lord!! So I landed a lil late in Perth at 5.30pm. Sathis and Priya were waiting to pick me up and transport me to the international airport cos I had landed at the domestic airport. There, Aunty met us as well. I was sooo glad to see familiar faces and poured out my issues with all the flights before I got there.. We even went for dinner cos I had not had anythin to eat on the flights (only 2 small Pringles packets & a cup of orange juice).. I was hungry but didnt have the appetite.. u know wat I mean?... Anyway, we ate there and I told them bits and pieces of my hols in NZ.. Then Satti and I went to check in my luggage. I had to pay soooo much for excess baggage la.. haiz.. Then I hugged all and said my goodbyes and went to board the Tiger airways flight home.. There were some students seated next to me who were super noisy and gettin on my nerves.. All thru the flight!! haiz..
30 Aug (Sun)
When I landed, Suresh's parents, chinna paati and chinna thatha came to pick me up and send me home.. Sasi came under my block and helped me with the luggage.
4 flights, 4 take-offs, 4 landings.. seats that could hardly recline, food that was barely passable, uncomfortable sleeping positions, neck pain, back pain.. despite all this, I'd safely landed in sg.. thank god for that.. However, for the 1st time in my life I felt that I wasnt home..
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I am writing this for myself.. For some therapeutic relief.. To read in the distant or near future n smile a silly smile to myself, recallin some incident.. *smile* Pics have all been uploaded in facebook..
13 Aug (Thurs)
My mum took leave tat day n accompanied me to the Budget Terminal where I had to take Tiger Airways flight to Perth, Australia.. I stood in the queue for a goodly 15mins before reaching the desk n went I got there, I was told that I needed a VISA to enter Australia! As I was preparing for the trip, I'd called Tiger n was told tat there was no need for a VISA! WTH! I thought that was it.. There goes my trip.. Turns out, I could apply for a VISA on the spot at Terminal 1, row 5 where there is a Customer Service counter for Qantas. So I left my mum @ the Budget airport with my luggage and rushed to Term 1. There, the counter staff had gone for lunch and I only had 1/2 hr left before check-in counter closed.. A helpful young lady, I think her name was Bharkat Nisha, helped me by calling the staff's hp and waited patiently with me and offered me alternative solns too.. (I really have to go back n thank her!) I could apply for a VISA online too.. But that mite not be processed immeidately but if the counter staff didn't return on time, I may have to resort to that.. But there was no way I could access Internet there.. So I called my bro to help me.. But luckily the staff returned on time and helped me process my VISA immediately and on the spot. With tat, I rushed back to Budget Terminal to check-in.. Took a cab to and fro.. Sorry to those taxi drivers who would have waited a long long time in the queue to only serve a distance of 3 mins.. Finally I was on board the plane, heading to Perth. I landed at 9pm and the boys came to pick me up.. Suresh had landed at 5pm earlier tat day.. Then we headed to Sathis' place, chatted, had dinner and finally went to bed at abt 1am.. Sathis asked us to wake up at a certain time cos he had to be in Uni at a certain timing and then I asked Aunty a silly qn.. I asked if she will bathe in the mornings! I meant to ask what time she would bathe in the mornin so that I wouldn't clash with her..
14 Aug (Fri)
Since Sathis had Uni, Suresh and I accompanied him to UWA. I bought books.. :) Satti showed us ard for a while and then left us to attend class.. Suresh and I walked to sit near Swan River and chatted.. Tog after so long.. we were content to sit in silence and just hug for a while.. Then Satti finished with class, picked us up.. we went home and picked up Aunty and went to have lunch at Macs!! My fav!! :) Then we went shopping, returned home, showered and went for bhajans @ a kindergarden sch... Then we came home, changed and went to visit the sights at Fremantle.. Bought Hungry Jacks for dinner and ate in the car.. It was raining so we didnt get out of the car.. so sad.. Came home, tried to watch Dostana but everyone fell asleep in Satti's rm.. I slept next to sweetheart..
15 Aug (Sat)
We went for breakfast at a nice lil cafe in a shopping mall with Aunty and Shiva.. Sathis had Uni so he didn't join us.. Shopped at Livingston.. Followed Aunty to buy meat and groceries.. Took a pic on a security camera when we stopped by a bank too.. haha.. Then we came home and took Honey for a walk! Fed the ducks at the nearby pond.. Only 3 ducks when we were there though.. We went to Priya babe's place for dinner.. Got lost on the way there a couple of times.. even with our GPS.. haha.. bcos the guys though BAYSWATER suburb was BASEWATER.. hahha.. and they didnt even ask me! We had appanjallara for dinner.. Priya's parents were in town and Aunty had cooked for us.. Priya's rm is amazing.. A gal's rm thru and thru.. On the way back, we got pulled over by cops.. It has happened the twice that I've gone overseas on my own.. Strange coincidence? haha.. They wanted to check the registration of the car and driver's license.. tats all.. No worries peeps.. Then we headed home without any further incidences and went to bed.. Satti gave up his bed to Suresh n me though.. such a sweety.. :) But we all still slept in the same rm.. Dun think otherwise ppl.. ;P
16 Aug (Sun)
This mornin we woke up at 9am and rushed to get ready for bhajans.. Beautiful altar with candles.. Then we went to tour Sathis dorm where he had stayed for 1 semester.. It was called St George's College.. There we met Akram, Satti's best fren.. nice polite n funny fella.. We had lunch together at Saigon restaurant.. and tat was followed by ice-cream.. Then we toured Kings Park.. Scenic views aplenty.. The Whispering wall & the DNA helix tower deserve special mention.. Then we came home for dinner.. Oh yeah, as we were driving away from Kings Park, we saw a plane above us with letters trailing it.. "Will you marry me?" or sth like tat.. So sweet.. N someone commented So expensive too.. hahah.. So we dropped off Akram @ the dorm & headed home.. Watched Vel and then ate Aunty's cooking.. Then we brought Honey for a walk.. After which we drove to another park and walked ard somemore.. When we came back, we sat ard chatting as it was Suresh's and my last nite in Perth.. Aunty and Satti were complainin that the house was going to be way toooo quiet.. and Satti said he was gonna suffer mild depression, withdrawals from us u see.. haha.. Even Honey was gonna miss us even though she didnt know we were gonna leave soon.. she kept following me ard.. i was so afraid that i'd trip over her.. So anyway, as we were talkin, I let the 'Jivz' cat out of the bag.. I'm sorrie.. :( I say it was all Satti's fault.. He and Suresh had been talkin to Prabhu over the fone and when he came back to the hall, he said he had some gd news and that Prabhu's mum n the gal's mum had spoken! N I brilliantly asked 'So, was this before or after the arangetram?' cos if it was before I knew wat they had spoken u see... Haiz.. Then Aunty caught the hint! Anyway, so we all had a gd laugh abt how I couldnt keep my mouth shut.. :( Then I packed.. N we headed to bed..
There were so many frying egg jokes.. and plenty other jokes that kept crackin us up.. I cant rem them all.. But remembering how we laughed til our sides hurt is enuf to put a smile on my face now.. I truly miss all of u..
17 Aug (Mon)
We woke up at 6.30am.. in order to catch our flight.. Our Virgin Blue flights would bring us from Perth to Brisbane and then to Wellington. @ Brisbane we had to take a skytrain from the Domestic to International airport. We had checked in late at Perth so we couldnt get to sit tog.. I was sooo sad.. It was our 1st flight tog.. But the seatin arrangement from Brisbane to Wellington was fixed such that we would sit tog.. So we were very happy.. Except Suresh wasnt feelin well, so he slept thruout the trip.. Couldnt make it to the mile-high club as such.. haha.. As these were budget flights, we had to buy our dinner on board the flight and they were out of hot dinners! so we ended up eating sandwiches and a Mars bar.. I felt so sick after tat.. urgh.. Had a sorethroat after tat.. The flight to Wellington was delayed for slightly over an hr! So poor Tim and Louis who were waiting for us @ Wellington airport also had to wait longer.. It was pretty costly to leave Suresh's car parked for 4 days at the airport so he had arranged for frens to come pick us up.. Anyway, as we reached Wellington and were clearing Customs, an Immigration officer stopped us and said we'd been selected as foreigners to be surveyed by Immigration. Wa lau! Think we terrorists ah?! Haiz.. So further delay before we could leave the airport..
18 Aug (Tues)
We only left the airport at 1am.. Bought some things at the dutyfree for his housemates.. It was a gd 2 hrs drive to his place and reached at 3am.. We both slept most of the way home.. Then Su had to wake up at 9am to go Uni.. So I also woke up and brushed teeth and had breakfast with Suresh.. Then after sendin him off, I unpacked my luggage and found that I'd left my hp charger back in Perth! Haiz.. Msged Satti to pass it to me when he picks me up on my way home to SG as I'll stopover at Perth.. I also set up my laptop to check my office emails.. However, I couldn't log onto the Internet cos I didnt know the password.. So I just used Suresh's laptop to check my personal emails on Gmail and surfed Facebook.. Suresh came back during his lunch break and bought me lunch from Bean cafe.. Then he gave me the password for his Internet and left for Uni in the afternoon.. I logged onto my office emails.. cleared my emails from 180++ with abt 30 spam! Then decided to watch a Duplicity online til Suresh came home.. Then Suresh came home.. Finally, I managed to see most of the housemates and got intro-ed to them.. Then Suresh and I went to Pompeii for dinner tat nite.. really nice ambience.. Suresh liked the pretty waitress too.. ;) Then we went to watch GI-Joe at Downtown Plaza.. Then we came home and spoke to Louis and Cathy before heading to bed..
19 Aug (Wed)
I only woke up at 10am! =) Sent Suresh off to sch and went back to bed and only woke up at 11.30am when Suresh came back with lunch for me from Subway (seafood; y dun they have it in SG??!!) before heading to Uni again at 12.40am.. Paras came to give him a ride to Uni.. I ate my lunch, read my book.. kept to myself like a mouse in the rm.. haha.. Suresh returned home at 5pm.. Felt like the gd lil wife, tending to the house as the hubby goes to work and returns.. haha.. We went to grab a few things at Warehouse, Pak&Save and Countdown.. Ate dinner at home.. cooked by Louis.. amazing really.. Started to watch a movie 'Acham Undu' but got scared 10mins into the movie.. So we went to bed.. :) Watched the old movie 'Bombay' instead.. I've never seen it before so I cried when the children got lost.. Suresh refused to tell me if they would be reunited with their family! I dun understand why this movie was banned??!! They could have simply censored some portions wat.. Haiz.. Nice movie.. I liked it.. Songs especially.. Comparable to Roja..
20 Aug (Thurs)
Woke up at 10am. Followed Suresh to the clinic for his medical for his Student Visa renewal. But he didnt have the necessary forms and photos so we planned to return early the following mornin. Went to his Uni to pick up the visa forms.. On the way home, we bought bagels (wonderful, yummy treats!) and watched ducks in the pond closeby.. Bought lunch (Seafood Noodles) as well and headed home.. After lunch at home, Suresh got dressed for Uni, picked up Paras and dropped me off at The Square.. & for the next 4 hrs, I did my shopping while he was in Uni studyin.. My legs weren't tired cos I was wearin appropriate footwear but my arms were tired!! From carryin all that shopping!! I was carryin at least 5 bags and they were all bulging!! =) I also managed to do my hair at a saloon for NZD20.. Suresh came to pick me up and we headed home.. Rested a while then headed to Yatai for a Jap dinner.. Yummy food seriously.. But too much tat we couldnt finish it.. Squid, scallop, chicken, egg, rice.. Slurps... :) Came home, rested, chatted with frens.. Planned our getaway for the following week. I cleared my office emails again while Suresh did his assignment.. Then we unpacked my shopping and went to bed..
21 Aug (Fri)
Woke up at 7am! Followed Suresh for his medical appointment for his visa renewal. Bought bagels again and headed home.. I was hooked on those yummy bagels!! After that Su left for sch.. I read my book again and surfed the Internet for a while.. The housemates had planned for a bbq tonite.. After Su came back, we went to fix the lightbulb inside the car cos that had fused and we were leavin the next day for our roadtrip.. We also stopped by Pak&Save to buy drinks back for the bbq.. On the way, I saw a license plate that said 'ANU13'.. The car was infront of us, then turned in a different direction from where we were heading so I couldnt get a pic!! How cool is tat??!! Oh by the way, I was in my shorts when we went shopping.. So I braved the winter in my cool shorts and had everyone staring at me! Then we returned home for the bbq! Attendees: Lionel, Tim, Wan, Louis, Cathy, Senthil, Vijee, Suresh and myself.. Since it was sooo cold, we had the bbq in the garage! :) Brought out the dining table and chairs and all.. :) Food was enjoyable..
Company was great.. Had loads of fun.. Laughed alot.. Tim's sexy shorts! Wan's passion for Taiwan and hate for China! Cathy and Indian gals! haha.. Not to forget the Nigerian kids.. Unfortunately Joe couldnt join us.. =) Then Suresh and I retired early cos we had to pack for our trip.. We were leaving early tmr..
22 Aug (Sat)
Supposed to wake up at 4.30am! Only woke up at 10am! haha.. Just like us.. haha.. :P Showered, got dressed, prayed, put Ganesha in Su's car, loaded our things and started out.. We first went to Milson flight sch where Su does his flights.. Spoke to Brandon Peet. We had to explain to him that I had surprised Su by comin down and had arranged a holiday as a surprise for him and as such Su won't be back til next Wed.. Peet was nice enuf and said go, go.. hahha.. Suresh showed me ard his campus.. I saw the simulators that he always talks abt.. N his planes.. Got to sit in them n take pics too.. :) KOOL.. Then we went to buy bagels to eat on route and finally embarked on our roadtrip.. It was 12.30pm by the time we left Palmy (Palmerston North)! haha.. I navigated with the map as Suresh drove.. We only reached Auckland at 8.30pm! Stopping only at Taupo for lunch.. N topping up of petrol.. Haha.. Took like an hr to find Xbase, the backpackers place where we were puttin up.. Then we checked in.. Got rm 913! It took us 3 freaking times to change the card before we could access the lifts and the countless times of travelling up and down the lifts before we could get to our rm.. It wasnt funny then.. But thinking back on it now.. yes it is.. ahha.. That was when we realised that we had lost Suresh's hp.. Haiz.. I think I lost it.. Suresh thought he lost it.. We couldnt rem at all.. But Suresh was so cool abt it and said it's fine.. It was a useless fone anyway.. I felt sooo bad.. then we planned a route to Dressmart the following day. Then we took a walk down from where we were stayin.. Had dinner at Nandos, remembering Perth.. Soooo many Indians ard here! Haiz.. then we walked back to our rm and on the way back, Suresh bought Dunkin Donuts and a Wendy's burger for himself cos he was still not full. Then we came back to leave them in the rm and left again to go walk-walk.. haha.. We went to Showgirls! hahah.. It's a female stripclub.. This Indian
stripper came up to me and shook her boobs at me.. and walah! removed her bikini in MY face! haha.. we had to put some money in her pants.. these girls were terrific.. They could do splits, dance ard the poles, hang upside down on the poles and stuff.. They completely stripped too.. It was sooooo weird.. haha.. Suresh & I only stayed til I finished my 1 drink.. Then we returned to our rm to sleep.. haha.. tat was a funny nite.. hahha.. Details only revealed in personal meet-up sessions with me.. haha.. ;P
23 Aug (Sun)
Woke up at 8.15am. Showered in common toilet.. Not many souls up at that time.. Guess they must all be tired from being awake at 3am++! So annoying.. it was sooo noisy in the middle of the nite.. Anyway, we checked out at 9am and drove to Auckland Dressmart and shopped there til 2pm. Bought loads of things.. Ate our lunch there as well.. Ate Indian food.. Not nice at all!! urgh.. Maybe we shd retire there n sell prata! haha.. There are plenty of Indians there! haiz.. We left Dressmart @ 2.30pm for Rotorua. Su and I plan routes well.. cos we manage to get on track of our route pretty well.. He thinks we'll do well if we were to join Amazing Race.. haha.. No Way! I need my comforts! :P We checked into Rotorua Xbase (Rm 1). Nice cosy homey rm.. with attached toilet and kitchen even.. But Suresh wasn't happy with it.. He didnt think it was hygenic or it had a strange smell or sth.. I felt completely at home cos he was with me.. :) So then we went to check out the movies.. But the cinema's last movie started at 6.20pm and we were there at 6.50pm.. Haiz.. it was a seriously boring town! :( Our rm didnt even have a TV.. when we wanted to change rms, we were told that there were NO tvs in any of the rms.. WTH.. So we went to dinner.. Guess where?! @ Nandos.. haha.. Then we went back to the rm and KO..
24 Aug (Mon)
Woke up at 9am. Showered and checked out.. Had breakfast at Macs and then drove to Okera Falls for white water rafting.. It was brilliant!! AWESOME!! Our guides were Nick and Ryan! It was so scenic and thrilling and the rapids were beautiful.. The highest was a Grade 5 7m waterfall.. After goin thru tat, Suresh wanted somemore thrilling rapids.. haha.. We wore fleece suits and wet suits on top of those to keep warm.. We were given shoes to keep the water out.... We looked like superheroes.. ahha.. :) Then we drove to Taupo. Stopped at Rotorua and bought KFC for lunch. We reached Taupo in 1.5hrs.. Checked into Taupo Xbase (Rm 301) which was the best so far!! Cleanliness and view wise.. Rested for a while and then went walk-walk.. Bought tix for the movie 'Inglourious Basterds'. Shopped a bit (bought 2 card games) and came back to the rm. We played the 2 games.. So much fun.. haha.. Su's addicted to them now.. :) We also caught an episode of 'Friends'.. :) Then we went to Hell's Pizza for dinner.. It's a really innovative restaurant.. Will upload some of their brochures.. Took lotsa pics and souvenirs from there.. We left the dinner in our rm and went to catch the movie.. It was bloody and gory.. but the storyline and ending was worth watching.. We came back to watch TV and eat dinner.. We also planned for tmr's trip.. N hit the bed..
25 Aug (Tues)
Woke up at 8.45am. Dressed and checked out. Went to Taupo Tandem Skydiving (TTS) at 10am but were told that weather wasnt lookin gd and we had been rescheduled for a later jump. Howeva, weather didnt improve so we were rescheduled again.. We had to call 1/2 hr before the jump to confirm our jump so that we didnt have to make a wasted trip down.. :) But the whole day was overcast and cloudy and even raining so we couldnt jump. So what we did was head back to check into Xbase Taupo ( Rm 306) again. Then we went for breakfast.. Yummy Macs again. While we were queing, an old man came up to us and tapped Suresh on the shoulder and told us that we had left the carlights on. That was soooo nice. When Suresh left to switch off the lights, he saw the old man and his wife go into Burger King (next door to Macs).. If it was SG, I doubt anyone would have gone out of his way to come tell us. Such a sweet old man.. He was sooo feeble too.. Walked reallli slowly.. Then we went to buy another card game and we were sooo hooked to the previous 2 we had bought.. Then we decided to kill more time by watchin another movie.. It's not like there's much else u can do there.. So we bought tix for 'District 9'. In total, we had been like rescheduled for the jump like 5 times.. And finally for the next mornin at 8.30am. We bought lunch from Pizza Hut and ate in our rm & played games and watched TV.. It was drizzling the whole day.. Then we went to watch District 9. It was a movie abt aliens who were called 'prawns'! eekkk.. We didnt have dinner cos lunch was soooo filling.. So we went to bed at midnite..
26 Aug (Wed)
Woke up at 7am to get ready for the jump and to check out. However when we called Lisa @ 7.40am. the weather still wasnt great.. so we were rescheduled for the 10.30am jump. So we went back to sleep.. haha.. Then we got up in time to check out.. It was also time to call and confirm the jump.. It was confirmed and we were sooo excited.. so we headed to TTS which was only 10mins away.. :D Once there, we chose the package we wanted and got geared up.. It was awesome!! simply AWESOME!!! You have to see the pics to understand.. It was sooo thrilling.. Then we went to grab a bite from BK @ Taupo and then headed to Gravity Canyon.. Howeva, when we got there, we only had a chance to see the place.. we had to return home cos Suresh mite have Uni the following day.. :( But it's ok.. I'd done 2 outta 3 things on my list.. :) So we headed home to Palmy.. Oh by the way, my landing for the skydive was beautiful.. Suresh had a slightly harder landing though.. So now his ass hurts.. poor su... We reached home abt 4pm.. Rested a while before bringing in all the things we had bought from the car.. Then we unpacked my luggage and tried to rearrange everything.. Then we went to have dinner and came back and tried to watch Kandasamy but we fell asleep. Su's ass hurts badly.. so we planned to go see the doc the next day... for his ass and my nose was bleeding too.. I was a lil worried tat it was cos I had hit myself on the head with the oar while white water raftin.. By the way, I and Su were sick most of the days and actually went to bed only after taking panadol and cough mixture.
27 Aug (Thurs)
Woke up at 9am ans showered. Timothy wanted to go see the doc for his eye as well.. so Su and I were waitin for him.. N finally, he said he wanted to go see Uni doc.. so Su and I left 1st.. I was a bit sad cos I kept thinkin abt how it was my last 2 days there.. We went to see the doc who was pretty nice.. haha.. She sent Su for an xray of his ass.. haha.. N the result was that he had a sprained ass! haha.. He just needs rest to recover.. Then we went to buy lunch and bagels.. N laminate the skydiving certs.. We also bought a NXD99 Nokia fone from Harvey Norman for Suresh.. we had already purchased a replacement sim card with the same no. at Auckland at a Vodafone shop next to Dressmart.. Then we came back, watched Kandasamy and ate lunch.. As it took long to load, after 2 hrs of the movie, we went to collect the laminated certs and went to Pak&Save to buy chocz for family.. We also bought lotto.. for 13.5mil.. haha.. Then we came home and continued to watch Kandasamy and eat our bagels.. We had dinner at home that nite with most of the guys.. Enjoyed myself watchin Wan and Lionel dare each other to eat wasabi and drink a glass filled to the brim with whiskey.. After dinner, Suresh revised for his sim cos he had 1 the next mornin. So I checked my office emails.. Had abt 200++ so was clearing those.. Then we went to bed..
28 Aug (Fri)
Woke up at 9am. Su was supposed to go complete his blood test for his medical for visa renewal but decided he'll do it the following wk cos he wanted to sleep in with me.. it was the last mornin we would share tog.. :( We showered, went to Macs to buy back breakfast.. Senthil and Vijee wanted to have lunch with us.. So we agreed to meet for lunch @ Herb garden/cafe.. So Su and I finished breakfast and Su left for his simulator and I transferred pics from my camera to his comp and vice versa. Then tried my best to pack up all my things. When Su got back after his sim, we all went to lunch @ Herb cafe. Louis drove Cathy, Tim, Su and myself. Senthil was already there with Vijee. It was a wonderful lunch.. and I took lotsa pics.. Senthil and Vijee had bought me a nice farewell gift.. so sweet of them.. On our way back, we stopped for ice-cream.. I love the Hokey-Pokey flavour! Then we came home and Suresh helped me repack everything.. And we went to Palmerston airport to weigh the luggage.. it was seriously overweight.. Haiz.. serves me rite!! :( We decided that Suresh would ship the luggage to me the following week. Now we're done with the packing. We had to sleep early as we had to make an early move cos my flight from Wellington is at 7am.
29 Aug (Sat)
Woke up at 3am! Quickly showered and left at 3.30am. Drove to Wellington and reached the airport at 5.30am and checked in. Managed to get aisle seats for all the Virgin airlines flights; Wellington-Brisbane, Brisbane-Melbourne, Melbourne-Perth. Since 1st leg of flights was an international flight, I had to collect my check-in luggage to clear customs in Australia. Then be transferred to the domestic airport as the next leg was a domestic flight. Clearing customs took way too long such that I was only left with 45 mins before my next flight departed. As there was a transfer desk @ the Brisbane airport, I was to check-in my luggage there and make my way to the domestic airport via the skytrain. Howeva, as I was queing to check in my luggage there, I was told that there was very lil time and I had to go directly to the domestiv airport myself, carryin all my luggage! I was told to either take the shuttle bus or skytrain. But my things were all too heavy.. N there was no sight of the free shuttle bus. So I decided to take a cab.. lucky Suresh called at that moment and gave me some moral support.. Cos I was ready to break down n cry.. I didnt wanna miss my flight.. Then the taxi driver scolded me!! :( Used all kinda vulgarities and cursed cos the distance is very short and he wouldnt earn much after waiting so long in the queue.. but still he could at least have empathised with my situation.. I hope there'll come a day when he has to rush to catch a connectin flight and feel how I felt.. :P I was extremely close to tears but Suresh told me that I should not give the driver that satisfaction. Anyway, Suresh and I had also made a pact not to cry.. So then we reached the domestic airport and he dropped me at the very beginning when the stupid Virgin check-in counters were rite at the other end! Lucky Satti asked me to keep some AUD on my way back in case I needed it.. So I had $$$ to pay tat arsehole of a driver.. Imagine otherwise.. *shudders* As he took my luggage out of his car, (at least he helped do tat!) there was a lady standing there, waiting for some1 i guess.. As the taxi moved away and I tried to carry all my luggage, she spoke to me and said sth like "Wonder what bug he has got up his ass, doesn't seem all that frenly eh?" And I was so glad to have found a nice lady. I just smiled at her and ran away.. I was rushin for my flight after all.. Then I realised that I had to walk the entire stretch of airport.. I was on the fone on 1 hand and tryin to drag the luggage on rollers with the hand luggage on top of the other one.. My arm felt like it was gonna be pulled out of its socket.. haiz.. then I saw the trolley to push luggages.. I wanted to weep with joy.. So I just dumped my luggage and ran to grab the trolley.. but guess wat.. it was freaking RENT-A-TROLLEY!!! But anyway with determination, I pushed on and reached the check-in counter. There I removed my laptop and checked in the other 2.. I couldnt deal with it anymore.. haiz.. There was a cap weight for luggage at 23kg.. and mine after removing my 3kg lappy was 25kg.. but the counter staff closed an eye and let me off without me having to pay for the excess luggage. When I rushed up to the gate, the flight was delayed! haiz.. all that rushing for nothin!! but it made me worry abt not catchin the next connecting flight.. Well, I was late. My flight from Melbourne to Perth was to depart at 2.45pm. I only landed in Melbourne at 2.45pm!! Luckily there was no need to clear customs or luggage here so I simply ran to the next gate! The announcement before we landed was quite funny though.. It went sth like this "If you are pleased with our services, pls leave your compliments with our staff. If there's anything that you aren't happy about, pls keep those to yourself. Thank you." hahah.. And they also made an announcement to let all those who have a connecting flight to Perth disembark first.. So I basically ran from gate to gate.. Haiz.. Did I mention that that flight had also been delayed.. haha.. Thank the good lord!! So I landed a lil late in Perth at 5.30pm. Sathis and Priya were waiting to pick me up and transport me to the international airport cos I had landed at the domestic airport. There, Aunty met us as well. I was sooo glad to see familiar faces and poured out my issues with all the flights before I got there.. We even went for dinner cos I had not had anythin to eat on the flights (only 2 small Pringles packets & a cup of orange juice).. I was hungry but didnt have the appetite.. u know wat I mean?... Anyway, we ate there and I told them bits and pieces of my hols in NZ.. Then Satti and I went to check in my luggage. I had to pay soooo much for excess baggage la.. haiz.. Then I hugged all and said my goodbyes and went to board the Tiger airways flight home.. There were some students seated next to me who were super noisy and gettin on my nerves.. All thru the flight!! haiz..
30 Aug (Sun)
When I landed, Suresh's parents, chinna paati and chinna thatha came to pick me up and send me home.. Sasi came under my block and helped me with the luggage.
4 flights, 4 take-offs, 4 landings.. seats that could hardly recline, food that was barely passable, uncomfortable sleeping positions, neck pain, back pain.. despite all this, I'd safely landed in sg.. thank god for that.. However, for the 1st time in my life I felt that I wasnt home..
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