My humble abode

It's been 16 days since I arrived in Sydney, and I know I haven't posted up any pictures of my room, so this post will focus on my humble abode (at least for the rest of this year), and hopefully the pictures provide a visual explanation where a written one might fail.

Let me just clarify straight up that the room I'm currently in isn't the room I'd originally requested for. To cut a potentially long story short, they ran out of the catered rooms and the only room left was a non-catered one-bedroom unit (which is the one I'm currently in). I'm glad I had the foresight to take pictures before I unpacked most of my stuff (I literally took out my camera and started snapping pictures the minute I closed the door), as now it's all mess(ier) than when I first arrived.

I like my bedroom. It's small, but cosy and comfortable. I've got a wardrobe where I can hang some of my clothes (it's a small wardrobe, so I can't hang up all my clothes), and there are some drawers where I've put some of my cosmetics and my foldable clothes and stuff. There are a couple of bedside tables with lamps on them on either side of my bed, and I have a ceiling fan (no air-conditioning for the whole year, gasp!), which is alright I suppose seeing how it can get quite cool at night. I leave my fan on at the lowest speed because it gets scarily noisy when it's on the medium or high settings. I've also got a window in my bedroom, and here's the interesting part - it also serves as a fire exit, so I suppose I don't have to worry if a fire happens and all. Just a matter of sliding the window up and climbing out.

I also have a little area tucked behind a wall that serves as my kitchen (my room's a non-catered room, which means I'm supposed to cook for myself, but I'm paying a little extra to have my lunch and dinner in the dining hall). I'm not sure if you can see it clearly from the picture, but I have sink (hot and cold water), an electric stove (4 burners and an oven), a microwave oven, a bread toaster, an electric kettle, and best of all, a fridge! I was so happy when I arrived and realised there was a fridge, because I like cold drinks and this way I get to keep any leftovers (if I decide to cook, which I'll have to during winter break when the dining hall is closed or something). They've also kindly provided me with several pots, pans, plates, bowls, knives, cooking and eating utensils, and even an egg-beater! And oh, I haven't figured out how to use the oven or toaster or microwave oven yet, so don't ask me to whip you up a meal with those.

What's really funny (or scary, depending on how you see it) is the number of warning/caution signs they have in the kitchen area. It's like, rather insulting (you'll know what I mean if you check out the following pictures), especially as it's as if they're implying I'm such a bad cook I'm gonna end up burning my food or something. There's even a fire extinguisher (an actual one, y'know, the big red canister?) for just-in-case moments (gee, thanks for believing in my cooking skills)!

My bathroom's nothing special, it's just a typical 5 feet by 5 feet room with a sink (with hot and cold water), a toilet, a shower (with hot and cold water), and a cabinet with a mirror, behind which there's storage space for the typical bottles and tubes and cases of stuff that's supposed to keep you clean and fresh.

My living room aka seating area is pretty comfy too. The whole room (excluding the kitchen and bathroom) is fully carpeted, and I even have a little rug in the centre of the living room, which also has a nice big blue couch with 3 arm pillows, a coffee table (where I can rest my feet!), a working table and 2 chairs, an upright fan (which I never turn on because it's so noisy!), a telephone table thingy (with accompanying telephone), and best of all, a television set!!!! Cheered me up no end, heehee! It's one of those thin, swivelly types, so I can turn the telly left and right to suit where I'm sitting (either on the couch or at my table).

There are several windows around, and some of the other residents have pretty interesting views of the city and the park and all, especially those on the higher levels of the building. Me, however, well, I guess you can say I've got it great: my room looks out at the parking lot, where there's a beautiful trash area with pretty bins, and if you're lucky enough you get to see giant white birds (the ibis, I think) swarming around fighting for food from the bin. And the best part is when the garbage truck comes around like real early in the morning, and you can hear the beeping of the trucks and stuff.

So yup, there you have it, a 'short' summary of my room and its fine (and not-so-fine) points. But you know what, I actually like my room very very very very much. It's got everything I want, and I'm comfortable here. I don't think my pictures do much justice to this little room of mine, but I hope you can at least picture it and have a rough idea of what my humble abode looks like... Cheers!