Now that you’ve got your head around your schedule and where your classes are located around campus, it’s time to think about parking.
For me, the first day I came to Uni I parked in a random location, I hadn’t figured out the campus so just sort of thought ‘anywhere will be a fine place to park!’ Basically I parked in the first carpark I saw, my car was under a tree which is essential in summer weather and it actually wasn’t a very busy car park. Succeeding at parking at Uni- tick! Naturally I just kept parking in that general area (I’m a creature of habit so once I’ve found something that suits me it generally sticks…for a while).
For most of us, life at university means we’re not only juggling studies but also a social life, family, and work. Studying at university means we are giving up some of our capacity to earn money. Plus, sometimes things happen out of the blue and we find ourselves forking out money on unexpected expenses (or finding ourselves struggling to pay for them). That means that managing our money is even more important, especially if we still want to be able to have those catch ups with friends, put money towards our savings goals, or simply build up an emergency fund.
As the end of semester draws near and the stress levels rise, if you’re anything like me you’ll be holding on by the tips of your fingernails. Complacency and exhaustion set in. You may have missed lectures in order to work frantically on that essay that is due tomorrow or just catch up on some much needed zzz’s and suddenly you’re well behind and feeling very overwhelmed…
So, I had just had the best weekend ever! Why, you ask? Because my wife found a recipe for ice magic in a magazine she reads*. And the best thing about it is, it’s super simple.
All it needs is:
o 1 cup of chocolate chips
o 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
Just stir together the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwavable container then zap it on high for 30 seconds. Stir it for a bit and chuck it back in for another 15 seconds. Just keep doing this until all the chocolate has melted and mixed in and you’re done.
Chuck it on some ice-cream and enjoy!
-Damon
PS. Don’t be an idjit and store it in the fridge. It doesn’t work too well
*Sourced from http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/homemade-magic-shell/
Just last week, I learned for the first time that wearing the same outfit two days in a row is, apparently, a huge faux pas, and I still can’t really wrap my head around it. I don’t know how I managed to remain ignorant of this social taboo, but it somehow escaped my notice, and so I made it to the age of 24 still wearing the same outfit two days in a row.
Before you freak out, I change any and all undergarments and socks. I’m not that disgusting. Yeesh. And if it had been a hot or strenuous day, or if I spilt something, then that outfit wouldn’t make it into the esteemed (and apparently rebellious) ‘second day’. But if the shirt was still perfectly crisp and clean, then I’d wear it again. Those other shirts can wait their turn.
This all made perfect sense to me. It was a logical pattern. Why, after all, would I not wear the same shirt again if it was still clean? If I forfeited it for another shirt, then I’d have to do something with shirt no. 1. I can’t put it away with all the unworn stuff, but it would be a waste of a wash. Being the lazy (and generally poorly organised) person that I am, there was no way I was going to try and juggle a bunch of outfits and remember which ones I’d partly worn. So instead I’d wear an outfit for two days, throw it all in the washing pile, and move on to the next one.
So it’s fair to say that my world was thoroughly rocked when I discovered that this isn’t cool. Apparently I’d been doing it wrong for the past 24 years. I’d have to rethink my system and make some sort of futile attempt to keep track of a bunch of half-worn outfits.
“Oh my goodness. Did you wear the perfectly clean and respectable shirt yesterday?” “Yes?” “Haha! What a weirdo!”
Except I don’t really want to, because I still don’t get the ‘why’. So most people change outfits, alright. I can deal with that. If you all want to be pedantic that’s fine by me. But why do they do it? And why do they want me to do it as well? Especially when, as a student, I don’t exactly have the luxury of owning a thousand outfits. I’m pretty much limited to four. So people are going to see a repeat somewhere.
Is it borne from some sort of attempted affluence? Are we meant to all pretend that we own so many outfits we simply throw out a top after wearing it once? As if we all own butlers and wardrobes the size of a house and take our groomed poodles for walks in expensive handbags.
“Are you done for today, sir?”“Yes, Jeeves. Here is my shirt. Take it and burn it. Nobody can ever see this hideous thing again.”“Sir, it’s perfectly immaculate. There’s no reason why-““It’s filthy, Jeeves! People have seen it! It has been touched by dirty human eyes! Burn it that the flames may cleanse it!”
Where does this come from? And why do people perpetuate it?
On another note, if they don’t burn these things how on earth do these ‘single-wear-only’ people store their once-worn outfits? Am I meant to be washing everything after wearing it once? Or do these magical people have an extra ‘outfits I don’t want people to see me in again for three days at least’ wardrobe?
“But I’m still good!” “Silence, worn-once shirt! Get in this cupboard and DON’T COME OUT FOR AT LEAST THREE DAYS OR UNTIL I HAVE NO IMPORTANT EVENTS!”
So, mostly because I’m poor and lazy, but partly because I still don’t get it, I’m going to keep going with my system. I might try and convince myself it’s some rebellious action, but it’s really the ‘poor and lazy’ thing.
What do you think? Should I stop this filthy habit immediately or carry on? Do you wear the same outfit twice in a row? If not, why not? Let me know in the comments.
Hey guys, it’s been three weeks since this semester began, and I hope you’re adapting well to your university life! We’re now in the middle of Check-in Week at FedUni, from August 18th to August 22nd. There will be loads of activities on all campuses, such as PASS Sessions, Library Skills Workshop and fantastic FREE Breakfasts and Lunches! Check the timetable in case you miss out!
PASS stands for Peer Assisted Study Sessions. It is non-remedial and open to all students enrolled in the nominated courses. If you want to find friends in the same course to study together, PASS is a perfect place to go! There will be small study groups in PASS, and the sessions are really fun. A senior student leader will share his/her experience with you and that could be very useful for not only your study but also your uni experience. You can find if your course is available for PASS and the timetable of all PASS sessions online:
The Library Skills Workshops are free classes offered by the Library. The program aims to support first year students or new enrolled students making the transition from secondary school or work to university study. If you have any problem with referencing, researching or writing, enrol in a session! Timetables can be checked through the link below for all campuses:
G’day! To start with, I would like to say congratulations guys! Believe it or not, you’ve made it to Week Five! I still remember my first semester. It wasn’t that terrifying, but the main reason being that I was basically staying at home all the time. Well, that’s not recommended! It wasn’t until the second semester that I suddenly realized that outside my room there was such a wonderful world. So, now, as I have been through this, why not let me tell you something that you’d probably find quite familiar and helpful! Alright!
Communication. This is probably the first thing you do when you get here. There are a couple “rules of thumb” here:
1) Be confident. You have to believe yourself because you are good enough to pass the English test and made it all the way to Australia. There is nothing you cannot do!
2), Talk to other people in English. They could be your roommates, your friends oreven your lecturers. As you are probably aware, communication is really at least a two-man job. It could be as simple as “G’day”, “Hello” or “Morning”! I am very sure that they will wave back to ya. This is the easiest but most important one. So next time when we meet, let’s give each other a big smile. What do you reckon?
Lectures. I have to say this is the best part of my everyday life. Unlike the others, I like what I am studying (Just kidding, lol). From my experience, study at FedUni is really the sort of thing that, if you spend time on it, you will definitely get equivalent grades! No jokes. And the most significant parts of this study process are you and your lecturers. They are professionals. They are experts in their teaching areas, and they’d love to communicate with their students so that they can better improve their teaching quality. Therefore, let’s make an appointment and have a chat with your lecturers about how you get along so far and what study suggestions they can give to you!
Social Activity. This is also important. Like I mentioned before, my first semester was boring from a social point of view. Let’s just say studying 10 hours a day was not that fun. I regret that I didn’t do anything back then. If I could start university all over again, I would definitely first join the university soccer team and have some easy games every Monday (or other sports of your favorite). Then I would talk to Kate Toner, who is our International Student Support worker, to join the international student committee and get involved in all kinds of interesting social activities. Next I would probably ask my friends to watch few movies. You know, stuff like this will really fulfill your life!
Know your rights and make a difference. As an international student, it is also necessary to know your rights! Know what you can do and what you don’t want to touch. If you have anything that you are not sure of, I highly suggest that you don’t do it and ask for help. Not sure where to seek help? The ASK service is located at level 2 (the third level) of the cafeteria building (U building). You can basically ask us whatever you want to, and when I say whatever, I mean no matter what. But we can choose not to answer it. Haha, just kidding. I mean we will try our best to help you or to guide you to someone who can help. Remember, there is always someone in our uni who will be able to help you make a difference!
Uni students and money are two things that never seem to go together. It is like trying to connect two negative ends of a magnet: as hard as you try, there’s no way that they will match together. Even worse, petrol money gives uni students nightmares and send shivers down our spines. We dread the flashing light telling us that petrol is low, and flirt dangerously with the petrol monitor. How can we save money for the things that we really would like to spend our money on, but also get to uni on time and conveniently? Car pooling is the answer! You may not think that it would make much of a difference to your bank funds, but you would be suprised as to how much money you save after a year full of sharing lifts!
Car pooling is defined as “an arrangement among a group of automobile owners by which each owner in turn drives to and from a certain destination” or, quite simply, it’s a group of friends travelling together and getting to uni, whilst having great company along the way. If you are living on res and have to travel home every weekend, why not find a buddy who lives in a similar area to travel home with? It’s a fantastic way to save money and also gives you entertainment for that long, boring drive home along the highway. It may just mean that you have to only fill your car up every few weeks rather than paying $60 or so every single week! Or perhaps you just live half an hour from uni but despise driving every day, getting up at the crack of dawn for a car park and eating away at your precious petrol. Car pooling could be the perfect solution for you as well. If you are struggling to find a compatible car pooling buddy with a similar timetable, the University is rebranding and updating their free car pooling system, so keep a close eye out in the near future! It could be a great way to make new friends outside of your course who live nearby to you.
I live an hour and a half away from uni and car pooling has made my trips far more enjoyable and makes the time fly (especially driving home on a Thursday after a sociable night at Bluestone). Save petrol. Save money. And save the earth! Car pool!
We’ve all done it: come out of the hell that is enrolment with the perfect timetable only to realise in week 1 that you’ve made a horrible mistake. Some of the common culprits are early Monday and late Friday, but the worst by far is an 8:30 Thursday class. I made this mistake myself in my first semester of Uni because I enrolled without knowing what nights were Uni nights. After a shaky (for the lack of a better word) morning after colours night in week 1, I decided that changes had to be made.
If you’ve made one of these horrible mistakes, or one of your classes clashes with work, sport or other commitments, then don’t worry — Pat’s here to help. If you made it through enrolment without breaking into tears then you should be alright, because it’s pretty much the same thing, but here are the steps you will need to take to make changes to your timetable anyway:
1. Login to My Student Centre using your username and login
2. Click on ‘enrol’ and then ‘swap’
3. Choose your term (the semester in which the class will take place)
4. Under the ‘Swap This Class’ section, select the subject that you need to adjust
5. Under the ‘With This Class’ section, click on ‘search’ and search for the class selected above
6. Select the Lecture/Seminar/Lab/Tute/Prac that you would like to move into
7. If you get taken to the ‘Related Class’ section, you will need to select the lecture that accompanies the class you’re adjusting and press ‘next’. If not, then go to the next step
8. Click ‘next’ if everything looks good
9. Click ‘Finish Swapping’ to finish
10. If you need to swap more classes, go back to step 2 and repeat. If not, then move onto step 11
11. Party!
Remember to have your timetable at hand when doing this so that you don’t double-book yourself. If you run into any troubles then ask someone like your tutor, your lecturer, the ASK desk, your mentor, student support, a friend and the list goes on. Basically, anyone around the Uni may have an idea. For all the lovely people down in Gippsland, here’s a guide to changing your timetable using student allocator.
Living on Res offers many things, some of the most helpful being meeting new people and friends, having a good time and living close to University. It offers a lot of great events and activities that include trips, theme nights and unit activities. Some examples of events are compass week, dinners (such as Res Ball), sports events such as netball, kayaking, footy, and trips such as the Kokoda trek and, at the end of the year, the annual FedUni Living Awards Night is held to look back at the good times and contributing members. All these events and more can be found on the Fed Uni website. However, with all these events and parties going on it is easy to lose track of why you came to University in the first place.
It happens time and time again. First years get caught up in partying and going to nightclubs with their friends. After weeks of partying and going to Bluestone every Wednesday of their lives they realise that they have to finish three septillion assignments (trust me, that’s a big number). Your friends always call you the minute you want to start doing work (this is something I battled with while living on res) and it is harder to ignore when the people you live with in your unit are your friends. It is a natural reaction to want to hang out with your friends instead of doing work. We are social animals and it has been embedded in us with years of evolution. I think psychologists have a word for this, but I hate using this word as I am quite a stubborn man that believes that he is immune to it, so I won’t use it :). It is true to everyone, though, and you know sometimes the cool thing to say when you’re asked to go to a party is ‘no’. It proves that you are not dependent, and your friends will respect you for that.
Also please don’t misinterpret my statement above: ‘it is harder to ignore when the people you live with in your unit are your friends’. Res people are definitely not at any sort of disadvantage. They live a few footsteps away from Uni, and many of its great services, such as the Library and the 24 hour computer labs. Res is an ideal place to study and do well. And whenever you’re in any doubt or stress and think studying and living on Res is too hard, or just studying is too hard for that matter, just think about the international student that has to travel from Melbourne, work part time and hand in all of his assignments on time (me). What could he achieve if he was living on campus, and would he waste his time going to nightclubs?
I would like to emphasize that there is nothing wrong with going to a nightclub or having a good time once in a while (I keep contradicting my last paragraph). Like everyone in the whole universe said before: everything in moderation. It only damages your well-being when it’s over, with no end in sight and for no particular reason.
For most of us, life at university means we’re not only juggling studies but also a social life, family, and work. Studying at university means we are giving up some of our capacity to earn money. Plus, sometimes things happen out of the blue and we find ourselves forking out money on unexpected expenses (or finding ourselves struggling to pay for them). That means that managing our money is even more important, especially if we still want to be able to have those catch ups with friends, put money towards our savings goals, or simply build up an emergency fund.
