So here is a Spurt.
The balloon has burst.
The balloon has burst.
Lately, a lot of things have been happening within the short span of three weeks since my return from Melbourne. Hence, the title Spurt Part 1. Interesting, nonetheless.
Friday 24th August.
My luck hit rock bottom at around 3:15pm.
I immediately gave the cue to my friend and told him I would be back once I sort out the problem. Like how sometimes Brendan Tong used to say it in a indirect way, "I got something important to attend to." Which eventually became cliched. (Joking, Brendan! XD ) I rushed over to the phone shop and allowed the attendant to assess the damage. However, she said that I had to go over to the 'main' Three shop with my receipt before anything could be done. They gave me a set of simple directions, however being disorientated and still quite new to brisbane, I couldn't pin point the location and decided to just head back to the pool place and finishing off the game.
After the game, my friends decided to head to Hungry Jacks for ice cream. I was, however, lacking the mood to have ice cream and went straight home to see if my sim card would work on any of my spare phones. Tough luck, none of them worked. My hypothesis was because I was using a registered sim card, I couldn't use it on any of the other phones I have. I jumped onto the computer and located the 'main' Three shop, took my receipt and off I went to an evening of hopeless adventure.
The Test of My Patience
Already exhausted from sleep deprivation from the previous night, I walked over to the main Three shop in hope that there weren't many people so I could be served as quickly as possible. To my surprise, it was crowded. Queuing up was inevitable. The start of testing my patience soon began. Soon enough, it was my turned to be served. I asked the shop attendant what can be done to salvage my phone. However the reply wasn't very pleasing. He told me I had to go to the Nokia center at Fortitude Valley and allow the technician to assess the extent of the damage and consider if my phone was liable to be repaired under warranty. I then asked if my phone could be fixed there, he said it wouldn't be then repaired under warranty. Fine, he then gave me the directions to the Nokia Center. I was reluctant to go to the 'Valley'.
Fortitute Valley is where China Town is located in Brisbane. Though, it's only 10-15 minutes walk away. I deem it as the dark side of the city, shrouded with evil and darkness that lurks at every corner. Demons breeding beneath the sewers and gypsies kidnappers pouncing on any unsuspecting victim. Yes, it's that scary people. Lively during the day bustling with life, haunted by the lost wondering souls by night.
Given the desperation at the very end of my subconscious mind, I headed to the train station and took the next train to the "Valley". Again, when I arrived I was disorientated although the directions were simple and clear. I made a big round before realising it. Very much hopeless after I found the shop closed, I headed back to the train station for the long journey back home. Condemning the quality of the Nokia 6288 and my irresponsibility for not doing my research before choosing it. I even had to buy chocolates to help me relax. I was drained both physically and mentally.
When I arrived home, I searched through MSN and pondered who was able to lend me a 3G phone and wouldn't really mind at all. John Lee came top on the list. I phoned him up with my house phone and he agreed without much thinking. We set a time and place to meet up and Plan B in case Plan A comes to no avail. I then set off once again from home to where hope lies. After arriving in the city, I walked around the library to try and locate my friend. Plan A obviously didn't work out, I couldn't find him. So I switched to Plan B and waited infront of the casino entrance. Remember the phrase that goes, "Wait here, no matter what" I believe so strongly in that phrase that I waited for 1 hour and concluded that the glimmering hope would never come. Extremely frustrated at my current situation, I took the bus home.
I logged into MSN once again and found John online, I asked him where he was. He told me he was still waiting at the library. I almost wanted to cut myself. I was there, circled around the library and couldn't find him. Then I asked him which library? was it the state library (which I mistakenly though it was in the city) or the QUT Gardens Point library. He told me it was state library. Then I asked him, isn't the state library in front of the casino? The obvious, it was not. State library was opposite side of the river next to the cultural center. All along I was circling the city library, smart of me. To make plan C work out this time, I decided to meet at a very safe location where all freshman and newbies would know when they come to Brisbane, Queen Street, Hungry Jacks.
AGAIN, I headed out of my place and went to the city in hope the plan would tick like clock work. I was so wretched even though plan C worked out, that I decided not to cook for the night since it was already 10pm and needed something to lift the mood. Like all miserable people, food was the only thing that could cure this misery. I went to Nandos with John and tried out my sim card on John's phone. Delighted, the damn thing worked.
Monday 27th August
Phone Repairs
After a chat with Jelly and Hamster on Sunday night, I found out I wasn't the only one with a rain cloud following me over the weekend. Turns out, all their appliances in their apartment broke down over the weekend. Fridge, microwave and washing machine. Knowing somebody was sharing my misfortune was good enough to consider myself 'luckier' than them. Mine was just a phone. So I woke up and first thing I did was head to the 'Valley' to get my phone fixed. They told me that it would take at least 3-5 days before they could return my phone, and if there was need for me to fork out money for repairs, they would call me up to for the next course of action. Around 3 pm, I received a SMS notifying me my phone was ready for pick up. In disbelieve, I called them up to reassure their claim. My mind partially had the intention to skip classes and collect the phone. But what's the use, I could collect it the next day and I did.
I was going to give them a long list of excuses and complains if they could not service my phone under warranty, therefore not going to choose Nokia ever again. However, their excellent customer support baited and reeled me back to the fine line of a satisfied customer. Me thinks is one of them marketing ploys...
Conclusion
To everything there is a balance of Ying and Yang. You have a streak of bad luck now, things would get better later. Is how you interpret your misfortune that would enable you to pull yourself through difficult times. I told myself that it was a lesson from God, He is testing me. As much frustration was felt on the 24th of August, I never vented my anger. I was too drained to express any of my emotions. Trust me, on that day, I had the slightest idea of just killing myself or just get ran over by a truck literally, just to run away from me problems because I was just too drained to care. Nonetheless I pulled myself through. This is the second time I have proven to myself that once you hit bad luck, your luck would change for the better in different ways.
That's all for August's spurt. Tune in for Spurt part 2 which covers 1st week of September!
Friday 24th August.
The Pool Game
After handing up the essay outline, the invitation for a round of pool in the city was definitely welcoming. I headed off to the city nonetheless with my mind free from worrying about school work. I was looking forward to a blasting afternoon at the Korean pool place. However, my luck started to run dry.Beaten fair and square, I was unable to aim accurately, misjudging the angels and was defeated over and over again. My luck took a further plunge when I accidentally bumped into the corner of the pool table, resulting in the screen of my phone cracking.My luck hit rock bottom at around 3:15pm.
I immediately gave the cue to my friend and told him I would be back once I sort out the problem. Like how sometimes Brendan Tong used to say it in a indirect way, "I got something important to attend to." Which eventually became cliched. (Joking, Brendan! XD ) I rushed over to the phone shop and allowed the attendant to assess the damage. However, she said that I had to go over to the 'main' Three shop with my receipt before anything could be done. They gave me a set of simple directions, however being disorientated and still quite new to brisbane, I couldn't pin point the location and decided to just head back to the pool place and finishing off the game.
After the game, my friends decided to head to Hungry Jacks for ice cream. I was, however, lacking the mood to have ice cream and went straight home to see if my sim card would work on any of my spare phones. Tough luck, none of them worked. My hypothesis was because I was using a registered sim card, I couldn't use it on any of the other phones I have. I jumped onto the computer and located the 'main' Three shop, took my receipt and off I went to an evening of hopeless adventure.
The Test of My Patience
Already exhausted from sleep deprivation from the previous night, I walked over to the main Three shop in hope that there weren't many people so I could be served as quickly as possible. To my surprise, it was crowded. Queuing up was inevitable. The start of testing my patience soon began. Soon enough, it was my turned to be served. I asked the shop attendant what can be done to salvage my phone. However the reply wasn't very pleasing. He told me I had to go to the Nokia center at Fortitude Valley and allow the technician to assess the extent of the damage and consider if my phone was liable to be repaired under warranty. I then asked if my phone could be fixed there, he said it wouldn't be then repaired under warranty. Fine, he then gave me the directions to the Nokia Center. I was reluctant to go to the 'Valley'.
Fortitute Valley is where China Town is located in Brisbane. Though, it's only 10-15 minutes walk away. I deem it as the dark side of the city, shrouded with evil and darkness that lurks at every corner. Demons breeding beneath the sewers and gypsies kidnappers pouncing on any unsuspecting victim. Yes, it's that scary people. Lively during the day bustling with life, haunted by the lost wondering souls by night.
Given the desperation at the very end of my subconscious mind, I headed to the train station and took the next train to the "Valley". Again, when I arrived I was disorientated although the directions were simple and clear. I made a big round before realising it. Very much hopeless after I found the shop closed, I headed back to the train station for the long journey back home. Condemning the quality of the Nokia 6288 and my irresponsibility for not doing my research before choosing it. I even had to buy chocolates to help me relax. I was drained both physically and mentally.
When I arrived home, I searched through MSN and pondered who was able to lend me a 3G phone and wouldn't really mind at all. John Lee came top on the list. I phoned him up with my house phone and he agreed without much thinking. We set a time and place to meet up and Plan B in case Plan A comes to no avail. I then set off once again from home to where hope lies. After arriving in the city, I walked around the library to try and locate my friend. Plan A obviously didn't work out, I couldn't find him. So I switched to Plan B and waited infront of the casino entrance. Remember the phrase that goes, "Wait here, no matter what" I believe so strongly in that phrase that I waited for 1 hour and concluded that the glimmering hope would never come. Extremely frustrated at my current situation, I took the bus home.
I logged into MSN once again and found John online, I asked him where he was. He told me he was still waiting at the library. I almost wanted to cut myself. I was there, circled around the library and couldn't find him. Then I asked him which library? was it the state library (which I mistakenly though it was in the city) or the QUT Gardens Point library. He told me it was state library. Then I asked him, isn't the state library in front of the casino? The obvious, it was not. State library was opposite side of the river next to the cultural center. All along I was circling the city library, smart of me. To make plan C work out this time, I decided to meet at a very safe location where all freshman and newbies would know when they come to Brisbane, Queen Street, Hungry Jacks.
AGAIN, I headed out of my place and went to the city in hope the plan would tick like clock work. I was so wretched even though plan C worked out, that I decided not to cook for the night since it was already 10pm and needed something to lift the mood. Like all miserable people, food was the only thing that could cure this misery. I went to Nandos with John and tried out my sim card on John's phone. Delighted, the damn thing worked.
Monday 27th August
Phone Repairs
After a chat with Jelly and Hamster on Sunday night, I found out I wasn't the only one with a rain cloud following me over the weekend. Turns out, all their appliances in their apartment broke down over the weekend. Fridge, microwave and washing machine. Knowing somebody was sharing my misfortune was good enough to consider myself 'luckier' than them. Mine was just a phone. So I woke up and first thing I did was head to the 'Valley' to get my phone fixed. They told me that it would take at least 3-5 days before they could return my phone, and if there was need for me to fork out money for repairs, they would call me up to for the next course of action. Around 3 pm, I received a SMS notifying me my phone was ready for pick up. In disbelieve, I called them up to reassure their claim. My mind partially had the intention to skip classes and collect the phone. But what's the use, I could collect it the next day and I did.
I was going to give them a long list of excuses and complains if they could not service my phone under warranty, therefore not going to choose Nokia ever again. However, their excellent customer support baited and reeled me back to the fine line of a satisfied customer. Me thinks is one of them marketing ploys...
Conclusion
To everything there is a balance of Ying and Yang. You have a streak of bad luck now, things would get better later. Is how you interpret your misfortune that would enable you to pull yourself through difficult times. I told myself that it was a lesson from God, He is testing me. As much frustration was felt on the 24th of August, I never vented my anger. I was too drained to express any of my emotions. Trust me, on that day, I had the slightest idea of just killing myself or just get ran over by a truck literally, just to run away from me problems because I was just too drained to care. Nonetheless I pulled myself through. This is the second time I have proven to myself that once you hit bad luck, your luck would change for the better in different ways.
That's all for August's spurt. Tune in for Spurt part 2 which covers 1st week of September!
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