Hey kids (and you are all kids at least in relation to my 21+ ness),
As per usual, I'm doing too many things these days - I have a new job doing research assistant work two days a week (BEST JOB EVER, for those who want to know. Unfortunately, also confidential, so I won't say much more about it.) Also new extracurriculars, because I'm taking part, on a total whim and with no experience, in the International Humanitarian Law moot jointly sponsored by the Red Cross and the Law Students' Society. Somehow my team made it to quarter finals. Oh, and my housemate started dragging me to taekwondo so now I know how to break someone's wrist. Fun stuff.
The usual book review editing for the Journal and stuff for the Music Students' Society is also taking place. The latter won't be taking place for much longer, because in two weeks time I will be handing over power. Unless nobody else wants to be President. Which is highly likely given the mess that has come out of the VCA merger. Which is depressing. Also, we're trying to find a boat for Music Cruise. Anyone know of any boats with cheap drinks deals?
ALSO, this winter break I'll be going to GENEVA for one of my subjects, which is a class on international institutions. Which is really my secret to fitting it all in for this semester, because it counts as semester 1 enrolment even though the work is all in semester 2. Unfortunately, I won't be travelling (due to $), but I'm looking forward to going to the World Bank and the Red Cross and the International Law Commission and the UN Geneva Headquarters. I have a tour of CERN booked too because that was the only free thing I could find, although I'm planning to buy tickets to the Montreux Jazz Festival as well. And I have lots of recipes for things that can be eaten straight from a can, so I won't have to spend much on food.
So I'm feeling like a bit of a sellout, actually, because as it turns out, after four years of wanting to quit law and a litany of blog posts to that effect, I'm now actually doing more of it than the music. Oh well. All of the above put together is still less time than I spent on practicing last year.
Suzanne
... makes my hellish Tuesday a bit better. Thank you Rowden White librarian. I started out the day by being the only one who has not prepared for studio class. Reason: I missed the memo. Or the email. Whatever. In any case, it was a horrible feeling.
Two big deadlines looming next week. Both on the 30th, can you imagine? SALP paperwork and most graduate programs applications will be due on that fateful day. I'll keep this post short. Having just 5 hours of sleep per night is severely affecting my ability to form sentences. Bring on the Red Bull!
Cette semaine et la semaine prochaine j'ai des aux (?) examens français. <-- is that even the correct grammar? ugghh.. only a week left of uni here! Time has gone by so, so fast!! Exams start next week and there is no swot vac (gives me greater appreciation for Melb Uni). The weather went from 0C to 26C in the space of three days and has now dropped back to a comfortable 15C causing a wave of fever to sweep over all who cares to catch it.
I'm really loving Montréal right now, and in a strange sense wish that I could stay here. When I arrived, everyone told me how beautiful this city was - and only now do I realise that under the snow and biting wind, it really is absolutely gorgeous. There are outdoor terraces for all the restaurants and cafés and people just seem so much happier and more alive.
The Easter period was perhaps one of the best weekends. A total of 12hrs sleep over the four days (see: fever) plenty of good food, good company, bad tecktonik dancing and the best news ever - Jesus has Risen!
So as I finish up my semester here at McGill I find myself becoming quite sad, already missing the place, and needing to just get through these dreaded exams (I'm convinced that each surpassing year I become less stressed but more petrified of them) before being able to say goodbyes. Shan't be saying goodbye to the libraries just yet.
What kind of person spends Saturday evening in Uni?!?
I dunno, but apparently I'm exactly that sort of person. Last week, it was Sunday afternoon in Uni, and now this. Am I getting too attached to the campus now that I'm in my final year? I don't reckon so. Two words: 'Group work'. Combine 3rd year and 4th year students in one project group and voila! you'll instantly get timetabling clashes for meetings. Hence, half of my precious Saturday was spent in a lab instead of doing those normal things Uni students do during weekends. Now that I think about it, what do Uni students normally DO on the weekend? Being a bit of a homebody, my Saturday 'agenda' usually just consists of A) household chores and/or B) work. I might do some homework, if I'm up to it (95% of the time, I'm not). If I'm feeling particularly, adventurous, I might go to the city. And that's... pretty much it. What do YOU do during the weekend?
And to add some colour to my otherwise colourless post, here's a couple of photos from the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (ending tomorrow). The first one is a bit kitsch-y, but there's this one kid at show imploring his mother 'could we go see the car made of flowers'... quite adorable. Second one... unreal-looking tulips, I don't dare insult the growers by calling these a bit GMO-ish, but it does make me wonder...
What was I thinking, Second Year has actually got a lot more on than my first year did!
Well Arts wise this seems true, though that could just be because of my subject selection, which has turned out reasonably well.. well, well enough. Considering I'll have about 6 assesments due this week (well last week plus the coming one). But all in all I don't really mind, it just seems as though time has been sucked away from me like some sorta Large Hydron Collider malfunction... hey wait a second...
In all things are ok, friends from uni and school seem to be doing fine, as we've pretty much become a tight knit group. But not clickish! I would hate that to happen! As "friends" things have progressed to such a point that whenever we want to do something, such as have lunch/hang out, things just seem to form out of just meeting up. We're meeting at south lawn? Ok. We're going ice skating on tuesday? Ok. We've got birthdays. Hell yeah!
So um yah people seem to be good and pretty chilled in the friendship side of things. University seems pretty awesome still, though with optional breadth and a dropping of IDF subjects (and using the first year arts ones instead *points to Ancient Mesopotamia*) it would be 100x as awesome as things were last year.
Ummmmmm hmmm ummm, enjoying saxophone and to a lesser extent guitar. And slowly dropping off to sleep cos of last night's party and todays early start. BUT! I have good reason to stop the post here, I have to do.... stuff....
Anyway!
Till next time
(Surely next week?
SHHHHHHH!!!)
Dan/Yoddeuss
... it's tiring, basically. Subjects are on another level again, and I find myself struggling to have the perfect, or close-to-ideal, work-study-life balance. ANYway - it seems pretty quiet over here, especially compared to the posts in the First Year Blog. Oh well. It's week 3 of the semester now, WEEK THREE! It's been, oh, 3 or 4 weeks since my last post, so I'll probably find it hard to recount what has happened during all that time. I'll try anyway:
1. I finally, FINALLY, got access to the 2nd floor computer labs in Architecture! My major is design-related, so one has to wonder why it has taken all this time for me to get access to those labs. It's probably got to do with seniority or something.
2. my timetable: After changing out of subjects twice and with a little bit of help from the Alloc8 help desk, I've gotten a pretty good timetable. Good, as in I actually have Thursdays off and have Fridays free for half if the semester.
3. student union membership: For the first (and maybe last) time, I've joined the Student Union. It has been pretty great so far. Sure, I always miss the lunch time events because of classes, but I've saved money on club memberships and textbooks. And I love, love, luurve Rowden White... and the member's lounge too - it's such a comfy place to have breakfast (never mind that there might be people sucking face close by while I'm eating).
4. post-intermediate German: It's only been 3 weeks, and I'm already struggling. It might have something to do with the fact that 2nd year students from the Post-VCE stream last year are with us. Is this another cost-cutting measure by the Arts department (considering the fact that there's actually enough people to fill separate German 2A and Post-Intermediate classes)? I dunno, but it sure makes learning German a whole lot more challenging. Spacing out in class and not doing homeworks are now officially out of the question. Oh. Mein. Gott.
5. graduate careers fair: I spent an hour shoving paper ads of this event to people, which was fun. Attending the actual event? Not so fun. While there, I just got this, er, premonition that I'm going to be so highly unemployable next year. I sort of got that impression from walking stall-after-stall of organisations looking to hire engineers, engineers, and more engineers. And don't even get me started about those looking for Commerce graduates. I steered clear from Those stalls. I got some freebies though, which serve as a sort of consolation prize.
6. mucs: That is, Melbourne University Choral Society. Now THAT has been and still is FUN. Our next concert, nay, concerts, would be in BMW Edge. For the 1st time since I joined, there'll be 2 concerts in one day: matinee and gala. We'll be performing Italian Baroque music - Vivaldi et al.
7. work: Nowadays, it's a case of 'more money, less time to spend it' kind-of-thing. In the future, I'll probably stick to the 10 hours a week recommended by the Uni.
Well, that's all for now. I hope everyone's all settled again in Uni =)
By the way, if any of you are interested in going to the annual Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show next week, here's the link. It's bound to be great!
It is no longer spring break and Oh! Canada! That hockey match was epic. Mid-terms are over and the assignments are now being asked for, spurring a last minute rush and consequently I'm sitting in the 24hr computer lab (not) writing my essay. [There is two people behind me that sound like their getting rather friendly and I'm pretty sure everyone can hear them too - we're all just too scared to turn around] Update on how uni work is going, erm... I'm failing french (shh.. don't tell the people at the scholarship office) although surprisingly I still enjoy learning it and there is precious few weeks before exams begin and catch up is inevitable.
The weather has moved on from a -2C to a crazy as 14C and we all don't know what to do with ourselves. The McGill Outdoors Club is gutted that the snow season has ended so soon, although emails have already been sent out for rock climbing and kayaking, can't wait, since I'm so hardcore and just got my belaying license.
Ciao pretties!
St. Paddy's day tomorrow! Green beer! :s
Hey there everybody, I'm officially back for seconds.
Well I have been for a while, but since this is my first uni blog post I'll treat today as something special.
So far at uni I think I've met up with everyone I ever could have possibly ever known from last year in the shortest amount of time at uni (all coincidental). Which is great! Yet very draining, especially since there seems to be hordes upon hordes of people I said hello to last year.
So in short uni is way too socially friendly, comparatively to last year where this time last year I was only starting to talk to people in lectures and tutes. Nowadays it's all, "Hello, my name is Daniel pleased to meet you," and then something interesting. Although since I am doing another first year subject (due to crazy Diploma of Languages and Bachelor of Arts fusion), Ancient Mesopotamian/Egyptian history, I'm bound to meet up with some new new people soon. Well that is if they get over their shyness/newness.
That's what really startles me about first year students, they're all NEW! and SHY! You can pick them out a mile away and listen to their conversations, that seem soooo utterly juvenile now, all the while thinking to yourself, "I hope I was never ever like that." Though to be fair they're not all bad, its just they're so young and etc! In anycase they've made me feel a tad old in my second year.
Aside from those two startling revelations about university (and turning up to the wrong tute due to waking up on the wrong side of the bed because of the wake-me-up bunyip in the wall) so far things have largely remained the same.
In short:
On the holidays I looked for work, went out with friends, went to Qld, missed out on job interviews due to long distance/no internet, worked at a vineyard and practised Saxophone/Guitar whilst learning to drive (very difficult at the same time).
In long will come some time later, which'll contain some juicy tidbits about me and a snake, and doing a handstand (that's really it). I mean there are other things that have occurred, but to list them all down on a rainy day is quite beyond me.
Well.... not completely beyond. I'll digress more about uni subjects and stuff. So far I'm doing two Japanese subjects (3A and Signs and symbols, shortened to the lovely acronym SS), Poetry and the aforementioned Ancient History. So far everything seems manageable (except for scary Japanese) but in terms of awesome lectures Poetry and Ancient History seem to dominate more in what they teach, while with Jap everything seems hung back (until your 2 hour seminar where you sit mouth drooling in a mind stupor of trying to understand all of what the teacher says and suitable responses). Though since it is supposed to be harder than last year I really shouldn't complain about it. I'm ridiculously happy about the content in the Arts lectures, it makes me forget all about the horror and boredom that were the IDF subjects of last year. Go decent subjects!
Ah the joys of learning, they're so enjoyable after a 4 month snooze of.... well pretty much snoozing. As a result of this huge lack of study this week has actually made me surprisingly drowsy after class/lectures, so much so I'm nap ready by the time I go home, or have a free. Though to get around that I've started going for runs again.
Ummmm, not sure what else I can/should be putting up right now. If there is anything that you (great unknown masses) want, just give me a shout. For now I'll content myself with writable fancies of uni life and my progress with the great wheel of industry, that is finding a good casual job.
But until then!
Adios!
Daniel/Yoddeuss
I love how I can sound all American and everything and say 'I'm on spring break now' which means I'm HALFWAY THROUGH my semester, whilst the rest of youz all are just beginning. All the best ;) Unlike the rest of my friends who are currently in (insert amazing holiday destination) Barbados, Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica... So. I'm here in Montreal, still, and enjoying the change in weather. It has gone from a -20C to a now more bearable -2C which is gorgeous! and deserves walking around in a t-shirt.
In review of my last post - I now know how to XC ski, downhill ski and ice climb - all with varying degrees of profeciency. The McGill Outdoors Club has a cabin about 2hrs north of Montreal, and my my its gorgeous. Perpetually return stinking the apartment out with the smell of wood smoke. Guitar and Salsa lessons are such fun - and I now have shiny fingertips.
Probably one of the highlights this week was buying a water bottle, going to be so hydrated now. Oh, and going to Quebec City which is a beautiful city and deserves another visit. Whilst we were there we also visted the ice hotel (Hotel de Glace). A-mazing.
Side note: Canada is going to OWN America tomorrow in the hockey. Totally caught up in Olympic fever. We've been glued to the TV/Computer. Especially hockey. Thhhats right.
Second year is looming, and I have done approximately nothing to prepare myself for it. No, wait, I lie. I have purchased new stationary and a delightful handmade quilted laptop sleeve from Etsy. Not that I am superficial or anything. Actually this afternoon I'm going to a meeting about the subject I'll be undertaking on-site in Paris (titled, beguilingly, Paris: La Ville Lumiere) in November. I'm anticipating lots of anxiety about who gets the window seat should we decide to book a group flight, and a whole lotta Zola on the booklist.
This was summer in a nutshell:
1. Holiday with the fam. I spent some quality time in the backseat of the car post-Christmas, and while six days of togetherness actually turned out to be quite a lot, it was, overall, pretty jolly. Hooray for biology!
2. Work. Cultivate a great degree of respect for people who work in the hospitality industry full-time, strange eating patterns and a general hatred for people who drink soy chai*. Work fifteen-hour days, learn the difference between duck and turkey, have arse/chesticles repeatedly squeezed by men in kitchen, feel rising Helen Garner feminist sentiments at odds with need to keep job, watch bank balance rise (despite a swift kick in the crotch thanks to car insurance and the purchase of a sleek new MacBook Pro), remember the Euro frigging owns the Australian dollar, work some more.
* A fairly safe rule to follow, like Pythagoras' Theorum for the latte-sipping crowd: Soy chai drinker = high maintenance customer. I realise this seems to be a gross generalisation; however, this long-time hypothesis has been all but confirmed by first-hand practical experience undertaken in Place of Employment No.1, a cafe in Melbourne's leafy eastern suburbs where pretension is RIFE. Additional discovery made: Chai order usually accompanied by unreasonable requests for dairy-free, gluten-free, salt-free vegan meal (but with a side of smoked salmon and eggs), or repeated rejection of requested beverage on the basis of it being 'too sweet' / 'too strong' / 'too milky' / 'too big' (actual quote).
3. Being footloose and fancy-free. Yesterday I went to the bank, took a brief shopping expedition, lolled about in the sun reading The Corrections (which I recommend - don't be fooled or put off by the Oprah's Book Club sticker with which it's anointed) and watched a cracking episode of SVU. BECAUSE I CAN on account of it being the holidays! It's like being in a wormhole. Time has about as much relevance as a can of Spaghetti-Os right now.
Also: I enjoy having the opportunity to get pleasingly trollied on any given weeknight, without having to face up to an 8 a.m. tutorial the following morning. There are plenty of people who have perfected this routine, and always appear remarkably fresh-faced and chipper. I, however, am not among them.
In other news, my beloved Scarlett is institution-hopping from a small music college in South Melbourne to RMIT, not only furthering her career prospects but also facilitating our rendezvous-es with greater ease than ever before. (There is a disturbing lack of public transport between Clarendon and Elgin Streets, save for the good ol' 96. Which is still a long way from uni when it's ten degrees and raining and your shoes are leaking.)
I did enjoy our bi-weekly coffees at the Old Paper Shop Deli, but it's always nice to have your best friend within comfortable log-rolling distance. And I am, of course, thrilled on a less selfish level for Scarlett, who obviously wowed the selection panel at interview, to which she promised to wear a candy g-string and sing 'Rock Lobster' a cappella. HONESTLY. WHO WOULDN'T WANT THIS LADY IN THEIR MUSIC INDUSTRY COURSE.
And that, my friends, is that. More debriefing to come throughout the year. Peace out yo.
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