A Quickie for the night
I've just arrived in The University of Nottingham, you can all stop worrying now. And no, I didn't get lost-in-transit from London. Although the journey was mighty complicated.
About 4 days ago, I booked for a cab to take us to Victoria Coach Station. Over the phone, I distinctively asked for an Estate car to arrive at 8am. SHARP. Well guess what, at 8.10 am I was arguing with the operator of WestEnd Car Services. I'm most likely to be blacklisted off the black cab list now. Pun intended. The driver did finally find his way to our doorsteps at 20 past 8. Hallelujah. But surprise, surprise, he came in a 8-seater Volkswagen, that will cost us 31 pounds, instead of the Estate car that would've just cost us 23.74 pounds. How ridiculous is that? Since it's too late to change, we decided to load as much as we can, make the best out of the mess. True blue Malaysian, eh?
Over the phone, I was also told than it would take about an hour to get to Victoria Coach Station. It took us one and A HALF hours. Great. And we still have to tip our Ethiopian-with-Italian-heritage driver. (I make it a habit to get to know my drivers, in case they want to rob me or anything) Thankfully, he was burly, and we made damn sure our tips went a looooong way. It's all about value for money isn't it? There were 4 x 20kg suitcases, 2 x duvets, 2 x laptop backpacks, 1 x bag of books. There's no way we could've managed them alone.
The passenger-to-be-s in Victoria were terribly unfriendly, and ignorant of others. Fortunately for us, there were 3 gems amongst the rotten apples, who were kind enough to offer their big strong English arm *swoon*, to help the Malaysian Ah Moi-s in distress. I must say I've been very lucky to have met so many bless-worthy souls since my arrival. God must be watching over me, I'm sure. Promise I'll squash less bugs. After all, they're God's creation.
From then on, it was a smooth, albeit stuffy and rainy, ride ahead to Nottingham's Broadmarsh Bus Station, where Lulu and Elaine was there to meet us. So pleased I was to see them!!! They're probably not as pleased because they ended having to help us EXTENSIVELY with our luggage. In the RAIN. WITHOUT an umbrella. I owe them, BIG TIME. Thank you so much my darlings...!
It was a cab that I took from the bus station to Lenton and Wortley Hall, with a cab driver who is equally as lost as I am. Sigh, he found his way eventually. Thank goodness. Should he hadn't, I would be paying through the roof for the taxi ride. Fortunately for me, tipping is unnecessary in Nottingham, for every journey starts with a 2 pounds price tag. It came up to a hefty 8.50 pounds anyway. Sigh. I'm so broke now you have no idea. Gonna work myself to the bones to get it back then.
So yeah, at Lenton and Wortley Hall, I shivered as I struggled with 40kgs worth of luggage. No one was at the office, and there was no shade as well. To say I felt like a miserable wet chicken would be a serious understatement. By the time an officer did arrive, they came in pair. And I made them lug my heaviest luggages all the way into my room, muahahahaha.
By then, I was soaked to my skin, despite several layers of clothes. The cold was then quickly overcomed by an overjoyed me seeing Juli after so many months! That girl even taught me how to walk through the maze of roads in Nottingham. I feel so proud that she has managed to adapt so well in just a few days =) We made our way to Dunkirk (after I have had a nice warm bath of course) to Lulu and Elaine's temporary residence, where we had a smashing dinner consisting of Lulu's special chicken curry, and Elaine branded stir fried chicken, and cabbages! With RICE. Holy Moly, that was good, especially when it was followed by a long catching up session with the girls. And that reversed all that negative psychological effects that accumulated over the past 2 months. I'm not going to say that I'm lonely anymore. In fact, I'm surrounded by the most wonderful human beings over.
With that in mind (and the radiator on) , I shall sleep blissfully tonight.
I've just arrived in The University of Nottingham, you can all stop worrying now. And no, I didn't get lost-in-transit from London. Although the journey was mighty complicated.
About 4 days ago, I booked for a cab to take us to Victoria Coach Station. Over the phone, I distinctively asked for an Estate car to arrive at 8am. SHARP. Well guess what, at 8.10 am I was arguing with the operator of WestEnd Car Services. I'm most likely to be blacklisted off the black cab list now. Pun intended. The driver did finally find his way to our doorsteps at 20 past 8. Hallelujah. But surprise, surprise, he came in a 8-seater Volkswagen, that will cost us 31 pounds, instead of the Estate car that would've just cost us 23.74 pounds. How ridiculous is that? Since it's too late to change, we decided to load as much as we can, make the best out of the mess. True blue Malaysian, eh?
Over the phone, I was also told than it would take about an hour to get to Victoria Coach Station. It took us one and A HALF hours. Great. And we still have to tip our Ethiopian-with-Italian-heritage driver. (I make it a habit to get to know my drivers, in case they want to rob me or anything) Thankfully, he was burly, and we made damn sure our tips went a looooong way. It's all about value for money isn't it? There were 4 x 20kg suitcases, 2 x duvets, 2 x laptop backpacks, 1 x bag of books. There's no way we could've managed them alone.
The passenger-to-be-s in Victoria were terribly unfriendly, and ignorant of others. Fortunately for us, there were 3 gems amongst the rotten apples, who were kind enough to offer their big strong English arm *swoon*, to help the Malaysian Ah Moi-s in distress. I must say I've been very lucky to have met so many bless-worthy souls since my arrival. God must be watching over me, I'm sure. Promise I'll squash less bugs. After all, they're God's creation.
From then on, it was a smooth, albeit stuffy and rainy, ride ahead to Nottingham's Broadmarsh Bus Station, where Lulu and Elaine was there to meet us. So pleased I was to see them!!! They're probably not as pleased because they ended having to help us EXTENSIVELY with our luggage. In the RAIN. WITHOUT an umbrella. I owe them, BIG TIME. Thank you so much my darlings...!
It was a cab that I took from the bus station to Lenton and Wortley Hall, with a cab driver who is equally as lost as I am. Sigh, he found his way eventually. Thank goodness. Should he hadn't, I would be paying through the roof for the taxi ride. Fortunately for me, tipping is unnecessary in Nottingham, for every journey starts with a 2 pounds price tag. It came up to a hefty 8.50 pounds anyway. Sigh. I'm so broke now you have no idea. Gonna work myself to the bones to get it back then.
So yeah, at Lenton and Wortley Hall, I shivered as I struggled with 40kgs worth of luggage. No one was at the office, and there was no shade as well. To say I felt like a miserable wet chicken would be a serious understatement. By the time an officer did arrive, they came in pair. And I made them lug my heaviest luggages all the way into my room, muahahahaha.
By then, I was soaked to my skin, despite several layers of clothes. The cold was then quickly overcomed by an overjoyed me seeing Juli after so many months! That girl even taught me how to walk through the maze of roads in Nottingham. I feel so proud that she has managed to adapt so well in just a few days =) We made our way to Dunkirk (after I have had a nice warm bath of course) to Lulu and Elaine's temporary residence, where we had a smashing dinner consisting of Lulu's special chicken curry, and Elaine branded stir fried chicken, and cabbages! With RICE. Holy Moly, that was good, especially when it was followed by a long catching up session with the girls. And that reversed all that negative psychological effects that accumulated over the past 2 months. I'm not going to say that I'm lonely anymore. In fact, I'm surrounded by the most wonderful human beings over.
With that in mind (and the radiator on) , I shall sleep blissfully tonight.
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