The heater is frigging small and to serve the damn big studio room warm, it’s nearly impossible! I actually moved my bed to where the heater is located. Even after I took the hot shower I shivered so badly. Anyway the bathroom looks pretty decent and dirt-free (Oh yeah, of course, I almost forgot telling you that they let me checking into a completely new room because the room that I was supposed to check in apparently was still occupied).
I was advised by other friends studying in ANU to purchase an extra heater in case I need it. There are various types of heaters available: fan heater, radiant heater, oil heater etc. Yan Liang said radiant heater is a good option because fan heater makes your skin dry. The radiant heater that I bought is inexpensive, and it’s portable. So I get to bring to kitchen when I cook, to the bathroom when I take a shower, to my bedside when I sleep, to the study area when I read. SO VERSATILE. Anyway it’s illegal to use your own heater in the room and in the case you get caught, you ought to pay the penalty. I also heard that if you don’t use it properly the heater might trigger the smoke alarm as well.
As guided by Yan Liang, I bought the Concession Faresaver 10 bus ticket (which allows you 10 rides at a discounted price) and tried catching a bus to the ANU campus. The bus service provider in Canberra is called ACTION. There’s a bus stop right in front of UniGardens but the bus passing by this route does not operate on a high frequency. So most people would walk to College St. and catch a bus from there. From Hennessy St. walking to College St. it would only take about 5-8 minutes. My first bus ride in Canberra was free as the bus driver told me that the ticket machine wasn’t functioning. The bus driver and one of the passengers were also kind enough to tell me which station to alight.
I got down at Barry Drive, and I had no idea where was I (or perhaps, which part of campus I was at). A campus of 145 hectares can be pretty intimidating. Lucky that I have the campus map, and thanks to the kind pedestrian who was willing to bring me to Union Court. The cheapest food on campus is perhaps Subway sandwich, about A$7.50 for foot-long sandwich and A$5.50 for half foot-long sandwich. My lunch. I met up with Gary after that for a campus tour. Checked out the Fitness Centre (they cut down on the membership price! I’m so gonna sign-up), The Manning Clark Centre, Copland Building and a lot other buildings which I forgot the name and the purpose . First time visit, what do you expect?
Met up with Yan Liang after the campus tour, introduced among themselves, and went to Civic Centre. My main purpose of going to Civic Centre was to sign up a cap plan at Vodafone and get a free HTC Legend (the mission was a failure on the first day). The agent asked me lot of interrogative and awkward questions such as my work number despite I told her I’m a student who just got here one day ago. And she said every information column cannot be left blank. In Australia, to sign up a cap plan you need 100 points to verify your identity. Eg. a passport of 60 points, a bank statement of 30 points, and credit card/student ID of 10 points. And you need to pass a credit check.
You may guess it right. The credit check was declined. *heartbroken* And they can’t tell me the reason as the credit check is operated by another company. I had no choice but to purchase a temporary prepaid card at A$9.95 with no credit amount included, a A$29 Flexi Cap Recharge which gives me A$150 credit calling to other mobile numbers (3, Optus, Telstra, virginmobile), and A$150 credit calling to Vodafone users. It may seem awkward to you at first because you recharge A$29 and get A$300 credit in return, but let me tell you, the call rate in Australia is expensive. About 89cc per minute and 45cc per text message.
Went to Belconnen Mall for the second time to buy more home stuffs and to replenish food supply. Woolworths and Coles are pretty same like Kmart, just that Kmart doesn’t sell fresh and frozen foods.
- Woolworths Homebrand Dishwashing liquid 1 litre (lemon fragrance): A$0.99
- Microfibre Kitchen Cloth: A$3.99
- Woolworths Homebrand Toilet paper 6 pack: A$2.79
- LUX Tahitian escape Exfoliating Body Wash 400ml: A$5.39
- Woolworths 5 Banana Bread Slices: A$5.98
- Woolworths Red Delicious apple 1 kg: A$2.98
- Kmart Peeler: A$2
- Kmart Laundry Wash Bag: A$4.50
- 16 pcs Cutlery Set: A$8
- Kmart Homemaker Radiant Heater: A$14
- Coles Banana (1.567 kg @ A$1.98/kg): A$3.10
- Scotch Brite Sponge 2 pack: A$2.65
- Arnott’s Butternut Snap Cookie 250g: A$2.65
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