I promised myself to write after my physiotherapy exercises and it's now already another day. Done with straight-leg raise for today: 6.5lb for 15 minutes, each leg. Was able to do six minutes on 10.5lb before I left Hong Kong. But got to be realistic with the exercsies. The pain is there real.
It was hectic yesterday. Shirley -- my host here at Gainesville, and Larry too -- and I found our way to the Department of Psychology. I was instructed to go to the Social Security Office to get the number and the card. Things were not that simple. We waited for more than one hour and the officer there gave me a letter to say that I applied. No number. No card.
We went to Burger King for lunch before going back to the Department. Well, I know, it's "hot air" and not good for my body in the view of Chinese medicine. But I simply don't think it's anywhere to find steamed dim sum here on the way. So I had a whopper -- yes, it's beef, bad for inflammation -- and milk -- OK, it's cold and no good for "air." I didn't order the french fries and that's probably the only thing that I could do to protect my health mean while.
We got back to the Department of Psychology to show them the letter from the SS office. Then we went to the International Center to register. It's a pain to drive in the campus as various routes were blocked and parking was restricted -- so very restricted.
I had two holds to clear before I could register: insurance and immunization. The insurance company officer was not there so I went to the infirmary for the immunization clearance. Well, they should have a faxed copy of my immunization record already. (Thanks Reiko!) Just don't know why on earth it is not yet cleared. Or why did they ask the immunization record to be faxed to the health care center in the first place?
Anyways, I had to walk to the infirmary because the streets were closed. Map reading is really a survival skill and I finally got my immunization hold cleared after 15 minutes in the line of only two persons.
The campus is just huge to me. My left knee began to have the clicking sound again though the sound has gone for more than a week already. Perhaps I should have a real need to panic. My right knee is now as bad as ever. Swollen, painful and beginning to lose strength.
This place, I have to say, simply doesn't give me the sense of awe that I had in London. Not sure if it's because of the architecture or whatever. Gainesville to me is OK. Clean and tidy. The university is huge but I don't find the sense of awe that I found in the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
It's about the feeling that I fall in love with a place -- architecture, the trees, the sky, the water... or the shelves of books in the library. I love London the very beginning when I was in the London streets. I was very impressed by the architecture. The campus of the London School of Economics was disappointing but I had a sense of awe when I entered the library. Will find time to get my student ID card tomorrow and go to the library and see what sort of feeling I'll get.
I passed the Department of Journalism and Communication on the way to the infirmary. A mixed feeling began to rise. Where am I? Where will I be? I didn't even have psychology in my JUPAS university admission preference list 10 years ago. Now, psychology becomes my PhD program. I'm not to be a journalist though I was trained with the basic skills.
My decision today: get the most out of here. It doesn't matter much about where I go in the coming four years. Just go ahead and get the most out. Make days count.
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