Selamat Hari Merdeka yang ke 49

Today is Malaysia's Independence Day. We have come a long way to get to where we are today. I remember when I was in Austin some years back when I was an undergraduate student. I was waiting for the bus in front of the co-op on Guadalupe (a.k.a. the Drag) and I could hear the university's clock tower chiming Negaraku. I felt proud, happy, sad, homesick, all at the same time..... Some people question the meaning of independence. What does Merdeka celebration mean? Does it have any meaning nowadays especially for the youngsters? What do independence mean to you?

I finally got my student ID two days ago, thus able to get the concession fare for riding the bus/train. So today I went to the train station and got a monthly pass, which saves you a few dollars if you ride the bus or the train or even the ferry regularly. Went to Indooroopilly to find fluorescent light for my room, which is currently quite dim. I find it hard to read if the light is not bright enough. Unfortunately, I didn't find one. Well, actually I did. I saw some at K-Mart but the problem is, they sell the actual bulb. How am I gonna fix it in my room? Where do people go to buy these lights?????

It's Monday again...

I can't believe that it's been a week since I arrived in Brisbane. Time flies... (when you are having fun?) Am I having fun? I don' t know... I like it so far living in Brisbane but I've only been here for a week and I do miss my hubby and my family very much :( ... Will discuss with my supervisor if I'll be able to go home at the end of the year. That very much depends on my work progress.

It rained this afternoon. A light shower though, not as heavy like in Malaysia. I went to the school today and did some 'work'. Yeah, I know that I'm not working as hard as I should and this worries me. Talked to my friends in Malaysia and they said that this is normal. They said that our motivation and concentration can go up or down. I need to keep reminding myself of my purpose of coming to UQ. Sometimes I feel a bit down, like I don't belong. At other times, I feel like I want to achieve the best. I'm worried about writing my proposal and making sure that my research is very sound.

Collected my ATM card at the bank. Got lost on my way to the bank from the bus stop ehehehe. I saw two girls dressed up like Malaysians, so I went over to ask them. They told me their from Brunei, takpelah kira jiran la tu ... Unfortunately, they were also new here and so weren't sure where the bank was. Anyway, I went on walking and at last I saw it. Phew... I thought it wasn't that far when Khairie brought me to open up an account last week. Ok, ok it wasn't far but you know, I guess I've been too used to driving and not walking too much when I was working.

Have lots of journal articles to read and write reviews on....

My first few days in Brisbane

On Tuesday (Aug 22), I went to see my Research Coordinator. Since I was staying at Shikin's, which was on the other side of the river, I had to take the ferry across to get me to UQ. Hehehe, fancy taking a ferry to get to campus! Shikin was kind enough to 'escort' me on my first journey as a student trying to get to campus using the ferry :P.

My first day as a student went very well indeed. I received a warm welcome from my Research Coordinator. She showed me around the school and my desk at the Postgraduate Students office. Met with some nice people that day. Still had to wait a couple of days till I'm officially enrolled.

That evening I moved in to a house in Taringa. I'll be sharing a 3-room house with two lovely girls from Oman. Looks like this is going to be my home for the next few months (or more).

The next day (Aug 23) I met with my supervisor for the first time. I was very nervous. That morning was the first time I took the bus, but one of my housemates was with me. When I was in the states, bus rides were free, you just had to show your student ID. But here you only get concession, a 50% discount. Anyway, that's better than no discounts at all. Since I don't have an ID yet, I had to pay full price.

We missed the first bus because it was full. So, I was a few minutes late to see my supervisor. What a way to meet your supervisor for the first time.... :( . He was ok with me though and bought coffee for me while we chatted about study plans and expectations. After that, I attended a class about examiners'/readers' expectations. Later that afternoon, I attended a Work in Progress session. In WIP's , students make presentations of their proposals or work progress.

Hmm, will I get there...?

hello from brisbane...

I just arrived in Brisbane on Monday Aug 21, 2006. Am originally from Malaysia, working in Universiti Utara Malaysia in Sintok, Kedah. I've lived in the US a couple of times before as a student but this is my first time in Australia. I will be attending the University of Queensland (or UQ). Didn't thought that I'll get this far but alhamdulillah, God has been great and kind.

Had an "exciting" experience at the airport. Reached the Brisbane International Airport at 8.40 am. Going through immigration process went well (I was told to read the custom declaration form to see if I understood what I read and ticked, for security purposes I guess) . Then, we (me and the other passengers) were waiting for our luggages after that. We waited for nearly an hour when the conveyor belt stopped moving. A staff came by and announced that they were trying to find out where our bags were. Huh? Are they kidding? More waiting after that. Finally, they announced that we needed to fill out some sort of a luggage search form and they promised that they will send our bags to our homes/hotels/etc... after they found out what happened to our bags.

Anyway, I was met by Khairie, his wife Azelin (fancy meeting another person with the same name as yours :) ) and one of their cute sons. They brought me to Shikin's house, where I'd be staying temporarily. I was told that there are 2 other azlins in Brisbane. Wow, now it's getting confusing... They decided that they should call me ima (from my middle name). Ima pun ima la... Anyway, these kindhearted people have been helping me a lot since I arrived. Thanks a bunch guys! That afternoon, I got a call from Qantas saying that they'd be sending my bag to Khairie's house. Yeay...alhamdulillah.

Hello world...

An attempt at creating my own blog... Please bare with me as this is my first attempt :)