WoRking At SubiaCo Oval.. the GooD and the Bad

I pretty much started getting the hang of things at work. I'm assigned to the same bar stall every time I work there.

My supervisor's pretty nice. She's like probably the same age or me or a bit older. She's cool and nice to talk to. All my colleagues are aussies, which is a good thing as I get to talk to them.
Well, some are just like acquaintences. Like this guy Alex, I noticed he practically talks to my supervisor, Brownyn and Jennifer, but he doesnt really talk to me much. I got a chance to talk to him when I was working in the tills (ie being a cashier) for the first time. My till's right next to him. He was teaching me the ropes, but we dont really talk. there were awkard silences between us. Strange.

Then came jennifer, a third year nursing student at Curtin. She's really cool. I like her a lot. We started chatting when I was working yesterday at the bar with her. And then today, she changed roles with Alex, ie she works on the till while Alex works at the bar. It was really good. We bascially chatted the whole time. We talked about alcohol, DAylight savings, footie. It was good fun.

Haha, I think everyone's kinda blur about what I do. There are basically 2 roles. Working at the bar serving beer, spirits and wine, or working at the till (cashier) which is seperate from the bar. There are 2 ppl working behind the tills (ie 2 cashiers) and usually 4 ppl at the bar. We rotate from time to time, according to Brownyn. Today's my first time working at the till. Its fun yet draining at the same time. Pressing the numbers and giving change.

Yesterday was a rubgy match, and there was a constant stream of ppl buying drinks.

Today's the first time I'm working in a footy match. Footy is the national sports of aus. Its similar to soccer, yet not so much because players are allowed to use their hands. I am not too sure of the game because I never really watch those games, but I tell you, aussies are crazy over footy. There were lots of fremantle dockers supporters today. They were clad in all sorts of purple, from hats, to scarves, to t-shirts, to socks, to purple wigs. Purple is the colour of the fremantle jersery, so everyone wears purple. YES, 90% of ppl who turned up in the matches wear freo accessories. You can buy them at shopping centres, or at subi oval.

Working at a footy match is so different. peeps come down and buy drinks during half time. The crowd is horrendously long during break times. There i was frantically pressing away at my cashier machine. I could hear simultaneous "teet teets" signalling the speed of pressing all the buttons. When match starts again, the crowd lessens, by like a lot, and sometimes we dont get a single customer.


ITs interesting meeting all sorts of people at the till. People who are v. meticulous about their money. I did make some mistakes (undercharge i think, but I'm excused cos its my first day doing this! heeeee). Some peeps who were really nice, some really cheeky ones. I remember i was working with Alex for the first half of the match and this buy brought his beer up to me and said" oh, i go to your till cos you're the more good looking one." And I'm like okie. ( I was thinking in my head, i'm the only girl there, for god's sake!) haa. I've seen the same faces at my till at least 4 times. Aussies. They can really drink.

So far, work's alright. I take the train to work. And I hate going back to work after a match. I gotta squeeze in with all the spectators. like the mad rush in mrts. It was so funny yesterday. The train was so crowded that my friend bernice was under a man's armpit and people were grabbing around for support. There was this poor guy who was stuck in the middle and he couldnt move. And then he shouted in the train "Whoever's grabbing my arse, could you please grab it a little to the left?" Bernice and I were giggling so hard. That poor dude must have felt so uncomfortable with that spot that the person is grabbing (okie, this sounds a little wrong but its what I felt anyways. Hahaha).



On a side note, I can forsee being busier with ISS stuff after a long early social meeting. But the idea of helping to organise a ball sounds enticing. Dont you think?

Kookai student night sale

Its the FIRST TIME perth ever had a student night sale where only students could enter the shop!

Initially, I was tempted by the freebies that I would get. ONe mag, one SKYBLUE VODKA, one perrier mineral water, one REDBULL, and some others which I cant remember.

Went with Angel and Joanne. It started at 6 but we arrived at 7. THe queue was freaking long. There were at least 100 people queueing in front of me, waiting to get into Kookai. The thought of getting free goodies motivated me to wait in the cold.

45 mins later, I finally got into Kookai. There was a DJ playing in the shop! cOoL!
Plus, those who were above 18 got a free SKYBLUE vodka and perrier mineral water upon entry.

It was a madhouse inside. Everyone was squashed, and we had to wait 3 mins in order to rumage through a pile of clothes on special. The things in Kookai were pretty ex, like a t-shirt would cost around $50. ITs something like MANGO in spore. Angel and I were scouting around for good bargains, but alas, NONE of the clothes in KOOKAI fitted me. Angel saw a clubbing top which was pretty nice, but she thought it was too ex to get it.

Guess who was the shopping queen of the night? None other than my slim, hot, pretty gf Joanne who bought 2 tops! All for 60 something bucks! Haha...

AND GUESS WHAT WE FOUND? The free goodie bag with the free mags and drinks and tops only comes with a purchase of at leeast $40. ANd given we came late, the only thing that was in the goodie bag was a perrier mineral water, a kookai top which was too big a size for Jo, and something else which I cant remember. No MAG FOR ME! THE ONLY GOODIE I WANTED FOR THE WHOLE NIGHT!!!

Oh WELLS, a GooD ShoPPinG ExpERienCE I muSt SAy. MORE STUDENT NIGHT SALES PLEASEE!!!!!


Oh, and please throw in freebies as well.... heeeeheeeheeeee

tempting...

everything seems tempting besides studying...

the tv shows that is played on the tv downstairs while my housemate, Jason is sleeping on his "bed" in the living room

adding background pics for everyone on my msn list

thinking of what to cook for breakfast & dinner the next day

cleaning up my room

changing my bedsheets

thinking of what to get for shopping tom (things that I need)


All the things that I had so much time to do last year but didnt appreciate doing it.

Is it the temptation after being so busy everyday?

Oh well, i'm busy but at least my time gets filled up... Loving it =)

P.S. I did cook breakfast this morning! I fried 3 eggs with tomatoes and "dong gu"
AND i made one sandwich for Jason as well!

Learn on each new day..

As groCery ShopPing beCAme easIer, I beGan To expLore Many New IdeaS For LuNcH aNd DinneR. And aFtEr thorougly looking through the oriental supermarket, I realised that Perth sells a lot Of AsiAn FooD WhiCH SpoRE doesnt sell. For eg, there's a pic of 8 diff types of Korean instant noodles which I've never tried before. Some might be seen in spore, but some I'm pretty sure that spore doesnt have them. I bought all 8 flavours to try. There's bibimen, which is the noodles version of bibimbap. There's also a korean horfun noodle soup, etc, etc. I havent opened any yet, but if I've tried them, i'll let you know how it tastes. Not only for instant noodles; there are also many diff drinks which I've found in the oriental supermarket that I've not found in spore. Like milk tea sold in a packet. Apparently, its from china/taiwan whose products have not been sold in spore. Some of them tastes pretty nice, I must admit.

I feel pretty lucky in a way to try things that I've never done in spore. Hmm.. come to think of it, coming here is a whole new exp. Meeting ppl out of my comfort zone, making friends with them, and not to say maintaining the friendship which can be pretty hard. All of us have to comprise on a comfort level. It involves sacrifise at times. For me, things change each semester, which spans for a short period of 4 months? And then after that, things change again... When things get for the better, I thank God for it... but when things take for the worst, I grumble... It can get to a point where I find it pretty hard to adapt. But I've learnt one thing: Life goes on... Deal with it, move on and accept the changes or die in the situation and feel miserable. I chose the latter for a pretty long period of time, but now i guess I'm pretty much practising the former.

Like how my life has been since I've been back to Perth. I made a promise to myself to keep myself busy at all times. Definitely my priorities will still be studying and aiming for graduation, but to also learn things each new day. Being part of ISS has definitely opened up my mind. Its like a whole new political world out there. But I love the part whereby I can learn and improve skills. Such as learning to plan an event. Posters, e-mail, dealing with unreasonable ppl, delegating tasks etc which I've never done before. Mum's impressed; she told my sis its a good thing I joined. She's been encouraging me to do this for the past 2 years. I just sat there and did nothing. Wasting and weening my time away... actually sulking my life away, when I could have done much much more... and work. Working at Kumon; its such a joy, seeing the kids at tution; them asking you qns, talking like innocent babies... they bring so much joy for that 3 hours... but the marking papers part can get quite boring... and subi oval; getting to integrate into the aussie culture... just by interaction with my colleagues, knowing how they communicate with each other, how they think... and also dealing with customers... I've learnt a great deal...

Of all, the most impt step of my life is to walk further into my faith. With years of "hardship" ( what I define it or call it.. Its a thing where nobody can understand best except yourself because u've been through it), I learnt that God never fails. Through God's people, his brothers and sisters, there is caring, sharing, love, and yes, unconditional love from Jesus. He'll be there to hold your hand. I always thought I could deal with things myself. But it comes to a point where you surrender and say" I cant do this anymore... " You try to look for someone, for a hand to hold, for a shoulder to cry on, for someone to listen. You look to your left, your right... you try to find that "someone"... but that someone is not there... Only God will be there unconditionally. And that's why I want to take a further step into faith. To have a stronger relationship with him.

And yes, hip-hop. I love every minute of my hip-hop lesson. I just love it. One hour of exercising and enjoying it! (beats going to the gym)

With all of these that I enjoy, I thank Mum. Mum gave me a gift that made all the above possible. Two things I've always known but have been dening it all along:

1) My mum is always right about me

2) My mum loves me always

3) Mum trys to improve my life in any way she can

And to that, I have to say a big thank you. (Hugs from me)

And so, from now on, I'll strive to learn every new thing. To grow, to be a better person, and to deal with things/ppl whatever better... Pray that life's fulfilment will grow each day =)

Updated!

~The ISS peeps - Love em~

~ My Housemates' graduation! - The housemates photo =) ~

~ISS Sausage Sizzle~

~Swan Valley Trip - Thanks all who came!~

Sorry for the long awaited post... My three weeks were filled with activities EVERYDAY.. Though it was busy, i have to say I have truly enjoyed the past 3 weeks. Let me update you as to what I've been BUSY with.. heee

As the social secretary of ISS, I had the opportunity to organised a trip to swan valley. We visited the chocolate factory, played supa golf, and took a tram ride. For the first 2 weeks, I had lotsa things to do. I had to set up a stall in the my uni guild for peeps to sign up for the event. Most of the comm members were busy with uni, so I had to be at the stall almost everyday from 12 to 2. I had to arrange transport, make bookings for supa golf and the tram ride. Besides that, I have to send newsletters about the trip to the guild news, the iss news, as well as design posters, get authorisation to put the posters up in uni. I received heaps of e-mails which I had to reply about the trip. Nonetheless, the trip was pretty successful!

There were also many ISS events, such as the iss sausage sizzle and the iss bookfest, which I helped out it. Yeah, ISS took up loads of time... But I learnt a lot. Planning a trip isnt easy after all. Kudos to all the great planners out there!

I recently bought my baby before school started. Perth peeps would know what i'm talking about. But I'm keeping it a secret for my spore friends. msg me online if you wanna know what my baby is! heehee... However, it has many probs. I had to take it for servicing many many times.. More than 5, if i can count. However, I love my baby. Its working pretty well now. So making sure my baby runs well took up countless hours, esp when the servicing place is far....

How could I leave out my housemates' graduation and 2 visitors who stayed at my place which added so much hype in my house for the past 3 weeks! Amanda, my ex-housemate came over to perth to stay for about 2 weeks. She had to settle some gradution stuff. She stayed over in my room during her stay. So I had much company at night. She plays O2 jam every night.. not forgetting being on the phone with .... haa.. shall not mention more... Nick, another friend of mine, is currently staying in our living room for a while. He's applying for his PR and also looking for a place to stay at the same time. So yeah, with nick, the house is definitely much more livelier!

Both of my housemates just had their graduation this week. Nick as well. Their famlies came, so the house was more lively as well. I saw all of Jasmine, Jason, and Nick's family. All of them came to the house and I had a chance to chat with all! Haa! There's a picture of my housemates, Jasmine and Jason. Sigh.. I wanna wear the regalia with them too... I attended their graduation ceremony. It was really inspiring. Their parents must be so proud of them. Like all parents of their graduant children hey?

Lastly, I just started my new job this week. I'm still working at Kumon teaching little kids on tues, but I've got a new job at subiaco oval(a stadium like our national stadium in spore), where I tend the bar at the stadium which holds aussie footie and rubgy games. Actually, I pour alcohol for customers. Cool eh? I dont get to drink any, for those who think I get free beers and wines! Hee hee, my first day of work was good. All my collagues were aussies. Had a bit of a chat here and there. Not too bad, I find. Mum says I should mingle with them and get to know them a lil bit better. After all, I'm in aussie land.

Yeah, this sums up my 3 weeks in perth. Plus uni work of cos. There are heaps of readings which are piling at this moment. From next week, all the hype will pause and I get the whole of next week to catch up with work =( ... I'm not rostered for next week for subi oval cos there are no games next week.

Till then, take care everyone! Havent really got a chance to catch up with the sporean peeps! Hope you all are doing okay! Dont get too stressed over assignments and exams yea? Good luck everyone! I'm gonna head to bed now... Gotta wake up early for a camp tom...

Sleepy Nic Signing off....

Uni

Hi guys!

Sorry for not being able to update my blog since I came back. Let me update you what I've been doing since I came back.

Been helping out at orientation in uni when everyone back home was collecting ang baos, eating Bah Kwa (My fav) and visiting relatives. It was a full on week where I helped out from Monday to Saturday. Helped Suyen (the international student services director) with her speech, joined a group of international students for orientation, showed freshies around uni, and taking the international students to fremantle for a trip (where all I had to do was to take attendence on the bus! What a waste of time...) Nonetheless, it was interesting seeing all the new faces; blur looks, helpless looks, friendly looks... Made a few friends. Nice.

Uni started out with a bang! I'm currently organising a swan valley event that will take place next saturday. Here's what I have written for the poster. Does it look exciting?

Want to have a free tasting of mouth watery chocolate??

Want to enjoy a fun and exciting Supa Golf????

Want to enjoy a beautiful, scenic tram ride???



ISS is taking you to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, Supa Golf at Swan Valley Oasis Resort, and Whiteman Park for a Tram Ride, all for a reasonable rate from $10 onwards!!!!!


Date: 10 March 2007 (Saturday)
Time: 8am to 5pm
Venue: Swan Valley
Price: $10 for Guild Members, $12 for Non-Guild Members


To sign up, visit our ISS Stall from 12 to 2pm, Mondays to Thursdays at the Guild! Alternatively, email lees46@student.uwa.edu.au or call Nicole at 0423323716 (Optus Pre-paid). Hurry Up! Places full up fast!



I've been in the stall from 12 to 2 everyday this week, unless I have lessons. I've learned how to organise a trip; call the bus company, call supa golf to book places, call whiteman park, set up a budget, how to send e-mails advertising my trip, how to print posters, how to put the posters up in uni and college (U need to get permission!)


Besides, I've been cleaning up my house. I swear to keep my house cleaner this year. My house is abuzz with ppl. Nick, an ex-college friend of mine is staying with us for the moment. He just graduated and is looking for a place to stay plus applying for his PR. Amanda, my ex-housemate is also here staying in my room. She's getting all her transcripts and applying for advanced standing credits for her units so as to apply for completion of her majors. There are at least 5 ppl in our house now, so the house feels much livlier!

I just aplied for a job yesterday and I've got a call today telling me to come down for an interview next week! I'm gonna work at subiaco Oval, where AFL is held. AFL means the australian footy league, something like the English premier league, except that the english play soccer and the australian play footie. The rules are different. I'm not sure what my job scope is, but I'll be working when there's a match, either waitressing or tending the bar or working behind the coffee machine. Anyways, I'm really excited. Hopefully I can clock in 20 hours a week. Then I'll save up enough money to go travelling! Yeay!

I'm still getting back into the lecture & tutorial mood. Its the first week but I feel that I already have a lot of things to do.. Welcome to fourth year... Kinda sick of studying but I'll press on... I need my degree!

Yeah, that's basically what I've been doing for the past 2 weeks since I've been back.

The weather in Perth has been really weird. I'm wearing a jacket to uni today because it has been raining for the past 2 days! And its summer, where the weather is supposed to be hot! Forecasts predicts the weather is gonna see about that... But in 5 years I've been here, I've never worn a sweater in Summer! It's interesting hey?

An interesting note: I was pretty full after dinner and I've decided to take a walk at matilda bay (which is about 10 mins walk away from home). The weather's really nice to take a walk. I saw a flock of birds (a white body and green wings. Yes. I'm not kidding!) flying past me. I saw the sunset and people walking dogs in the park. I walked past sommerville auditorium ( an open field in uni) and saw that there's a sunset cinema going on there. I suddenly realise how beautiful perth is, and how abuzz with activities it can be. And speaking of it, I really wanna go to the west coast blues concert in April, where acts like John Mayer, Wolfmother, Missy Higgins, and lots more artists are performing!

Yeah, that's all I have to blog for now... Lotsa more to blog about when the weeks come by, so stay tuned! If you wanna know what's happening in my aussie life..