One of the things I like about collecting postcards is its messages on the back! 🙂 The message on this postcard sent by a friend of mine, Yaqing, is by far my favorite one! Thanks Yaqing. Oh I hope I can visit Andalusia one day!
My bike’s tire was and is still completely flat. I obviously didn’t have any backup bikes. I used to have one, but its tire needed to be changed too! And I hadn’t done that, til now. I guess, procrastinating had a price to pay, right?
So, as a result of this nonsense, I had to walk to the Uni. I could take a bus, but I didn’t want to wait for another 30 minutes plus 10 more minutes walking from the station. So I thought, yeah, let’s try walking. It didn’t seem too far, at least by bike! LOL. It actually took me 45 minutes to reach the Uni, complete with back pain as I had to carry my heavy laptop and a book. It was tiring! I should have taken a bus. Seriously.
But my effort wasn’t worthless at all. I studied with my friend, Vanessa and we finished one chapter. Yay. Very happy about that 🙂
Tomorrow, she’s going to teach me how to patch my bike’s tire. Not sure if it can be done, but if it can’t, then I have to bring it to the bike shop so that its tire can be changed. Ah, my poor bike!
Don’t pretend to know something you haven’t experienced…
Very little grows on jagged rock.
Be ground.
Be crumbled, so wildflowers come up where you are.
You’ve been stony for too many years.
Try something different.
Surrender.
— Jalal ad-Din Rumi
I can’t believe I was complaining about the rain today, while thousands of people in Queensland have to go through one of the worst flood disasters in decades! I feel so selfish! 🙁
I want to share with you a great reporting video, showing how Brisbane was transformed into a sea. This is filmed mostly in Coronation Drive, a long road along the Brisbane River. You can see how high the water was. My alma mater, the University of Queensland, is seen badly flooded. It’s sad to see this video :(.
One of the comments on the video cracked me up!!!
johan: Great video! But where are the kangaroos?
xblghasm: they’ve become obselete because you can’t ride a kangaroo to work now because of the floods. We’re all riding sharks.
Steer clear of the stereotypes.
LOL!!!! 😀
The first three pictures below are the neighborhoods I frequently visited/passed by during my 4 years in Brisbane. And they were all completely under water! This picture was taken when the water hadn’t got to its peak of 5.5 meters yet! So, I’m bracing for more awful pictures first thing in midnight (or morning – Brisbane time).
It’s hard breaking to see these pictures! I can’t explain how sad it is to see the news every single day.
Of course, this is my favorite picture ever. The statue of Wally Lewis, nicknamed The King, who was ready to go under! I love how the Aussies still have their sense of humor alive during this devastating moment!
The statue is located in front of the Suncorp Stadium, which is already flooded. The whole rugby stadium was filled with water.
Photos was taken from here. The photo of King Wally was taken from here.
Our street in Warren Street St Lucia in the Western Suburb of Brisbane is under water, we have been forced to evacuate to designated care centre..thank God we alive.
— WamaMy place is in the yellow zone so water will pass through a corner of my block but I am on the second floor so should be alright. and 1/4 of UQ either is or will be flooded soon.
— JustinI live in Indooroopilly, which is like a little hill next to St. Lucia, but I am just a bit surprised even Indooroopilly and some other suburbs on higher ground still get flooded. Like Toowoomba which is on top of the Toowoomba ranges (like on top of a mountain).
Went out for a walk last night, there are not many cars on the road, the news told us to stay at home and avoid unecessary travel.
And at the end of the day, went to woolies*, nearly all the bread and toilet paper were gone, apparently there won’t be any trucks resupplying them for a while… maybe I need to get some bread because most of my food is in the fridge, and if the power cuts off… oops…
I’ve seen some photos from St Lucia, like the whole Sir Fred Drive is under water… And the water is to rise further until it peaks on Thursday. So I am still waiting anxiously for the water to come. Oh, and the whole Brisbane is shut down till Friday.
— Justin
The floods in 1893 (bigger than 1974 flood) didn’t even reach this property apparently, so it should be okay unless it gets worse than them. We have packed stuff just in case. If something bad happens, we can run away anytime :)
— MayuI’m at my parents’ house now in Kenmore, which is an unaffected suburb. I just have my fingers crossed for my apartment in Toowong which is not far from the Regatta hotel opposite the river! And my contents are uninsured 🙁
— GeorginaAlhamdulillah gw ga kena sih. Tapi daerah sekitar gw udah evakuasi. Insya allah ga papa lah ya..
— Kiki
Still waiting for updates from more friends…
The bottom line is: THE WORST IS YET TO HAPPEN! 🙁
(*) Note: "woolies" is short for Woolworths, a supermarket chain in Australia.
I can’t believe some people are still too ignorant to know about the situation on the other side of the world!!!
Actually, it wasn’t even the other side of the world. It’s our neighbor!
And it didn’t happen only today. Or yesterday.
It happened during the three disasters in Indonesia at the end of last year too! Somebody came up to me (by the way, he was an Indonesian): where’s Wasior? What happened over there?
I felt like bursting in anger. I could have stroke at that time. Seriously. Too shocking. How could you be THAT ignorant???
😐
At least, empathize! Put yourself into other people’s shoes and imagine the worst thing that could happen to you.
Geez. Just go to Pluto.
Best of luck with your thesis Amalia!!! I know how stressful it is but I managed to get through (juuuust thou lol). So can you!!!
Don’t forget that you have no choice but finish on time coz my Maid of Honour cannot be replaced 😉
— Mayu
I seriously couldn’t sleep well today. I was too worried with the floods in Queensland. As expected, when I woke up, Brisbane was flooded already. The city (CBD) was closed and people were evacuated in some areas. The worst is yet to come. People are saying that the flood will be worse than the 1974 floods. The combined capacity of dams in Queensland is 100% and is overflowing.
It shocks me. I couldn’t stand looking at those pictures. I was there. I knew the area. The good thing is that Brisbane is not a flat city. There are some high-lying areas so if people can evacuate on time, they’ll be alright. And I have to say, I’m impressed by how the government is handling the disaster. Maps of low-lying areas were published so that people would stay alert. Authorities are ready to evacuate people before the floods reached the area. But as the flood now covers the area the size of France and Germany combines, I fear the worst un-imaginable situations could happen.
Thankfully, my friends have been sending me updates and they are okay. Those who haven’t sent me any news, I can just pray for them :(. If you have time, please pray for those in Queensland!
It’s been a devastated month for Queensland (actually, MONTHS!). I watched the videos in shock!!! The flood has hit Towoomba, a city very near to Brisbane! The water will reach Brisbane soon :(. I’ve been so worried about my friends over there. I have a good friend of mine whose family is in Rockhampton, one of the hardest hit area in Queensland. I’ve been trying to contact him with no success. I hope he and his family are okay.
I pray that all of my friends in Queensland are going to be alright. Hope the situation is getting better soon. Amin.