Thursday, February 16, 2006 ;
1:33 AM
10 Feb
LOOK OUT FOR PHOTO BELOW THIS ENTRY!!
Woke up feeling kinda terrible today. I had no calls about my passport and I could shudder at all the hurdles ahead. Just hoped that enrolment does not need my passport. I had three tasks today, To give my room agreement to the office, enrol myself into ANU and go to the embassy to report my passport and apply for a new one. The Ursies(Ursulaians) gathered before heading over to the Melville Hall to register. I stayed behind for Naruto, he is still in the room when everyone had left = ='
There were like 60 other people lining up when we reached the hall. We had no idea if they were waiting for their enrolment form or to get into the hall. But we just waited anyway. The coffee stall beside the line was very tempting, even for a non-coffee drinker like me. At the end of the line, we wasted out time, they were waiting for their forms!! Both of us went straight in for the Visa check. Since it is viewable from the waiting area, I've seen everyone showing both their passport and their e-visa to the officer in charge. Passport is needed!! Feeling kinda dejected, I proceeded to Task 3. Before that, I stumbled into the Information Centre if they had news of it. There was none so i searched my way to the nearest police station, with directions from that Centre. The police are very fine and helpful, everything is done by police volunteers and my report is settled in 10 minutes.
So the next thing is to take a bus at the bus interchange, another 15 mins walk again. I thought it should be Bus 34 but after some checks, I should be taking Bus 30/31. Well, a single student trip is $1.30, very expensive by Msian standards but the service is great. They are very punctual. However, I have only found that I need to stop too late, I was already on the highway and the embassy area is fast slipping behind me. The guy dropped me at a bus stop outside the canberra map i was provided!!! I was frantic when I can't find the street name on the map but the good thing i still know the general way. After walking a while, got myself back in the map and headed towards the Msian Embassy. On the way, I saw a notice stating that this site was for the Czech Republic, but there are nothing but grasses there = =''
It was a half hour walk before i reached. Got myself into the Consular section and started filling up 3 forms, all in Malay. I struggled for a while first, since there are some questions that isn't in context at all. Berlaku selama means selama, but in the context of the passport number in front of that phrase, it just doesn;y make sense. And I doubt the guy in charge understands Malay when i asked him to explain. It is only after I showed him the blank space that i got the answer i needed. A form was to apply for a new passport, another to report the loss and the last one to apply for a temporary passport. In addition to that, I need 10 other documents of 2 copies each, namely my identity card, immigration letter, police report etc etc. But the police in Canberra are paperless!! They no longer print a report. Due to that, I spent my 3 hours out of 4 hours, for Naruto to correspond for me over the phone and sms, then for the embassy to understand that it couldn't be done. Thank you Naruto!!! Finally, I was told I need a statutory declaration done at that same police station, to be done myself. So I headed back, on foot again!! I found the Protective Service patrolling the embassy zone and asked for help for the nearest bus stop to go back to the station. They said my best bet would be Commonwealth Ave. by the British Embassy. And there might be a shortcut path through the bushes. Tried that and it was blocked by an embassy halfway through. Got into a lot of spiderwebs already >.< Once i got back into that same place, I told the guy that it din worked. We chatted for a while about Malaysia, mainly about driving there. He complains about them not following rules like signalling and all those but he loved the food there. Always about the food ^ ^''
Finally found that elusive bus stop after a 30 minutes walk. In actual fact, just another 15 minutes would land me at the ANU campus but before i could decide on that, a bus came so I sat on it. At least I dun need to walk past a construction area. Had the declaration in my file, pretty fast again, and with another 45 minutes till after hours, I hope i can reach back in time to setup my internet connection.
Yea, just barely enough time before they stopped collecting money at 4pm. Lots of new students came today, and Joanne is very very busy at the desk. Poor her :(
Got the IT guy to setup my laptop but due to some other admin problems, i gotta wait till it's settled before i can go online. But for the time being, I would be able to access the ANU LAN.
My passport... please come back to me... dun wanna wait 5 months to 5 years for a new passport, neither do i want to pay $150!!
light my way ♥
