Song: "Hysteria" by Muse
April 30th
I went to optics class in the morning. I also found out that my roommates were having a barbecue from people other than my roommates. No worries. I went to Trafalgar and got some chips and salsa for our party guests. After this I did homework with Jay for eternity. We decided that in future weeks we would start doing homework earlier to avoid this problem.
Oh and three of Jay's housemates locked themselves out of their room this evening. Incredibly entertaining. We were up until 2am doing the assignment. This made Friday interesting.
Showing posts with label classes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classes. Show all posts
Monday, May 25, 2009
Don't want to be your monkey wrench...
Song: "Monkey Wrench" by Foo Fighters
April 28th
Nicole's Birthday
Went to class, nothing terribly interesting happened. I had caught up on some of my missed philosophy lectures yesterday so I was in shape for class. I also had a presentation today on material we were supposed to have covered before we left. This didn't exactly happen. I spent a lot of last night and today reading Schopenhauer straight. The saddest thing was that my presentation, despite me knowing the material, was terrible. Luckily, it's philosophy, and my version of terrible is actual quite decent.
After class, I came home and through some form or another got a hold of Tara M. She told me that folks were going out to Scruffy's to celebrate our Australian friend Alex's 18th birthday (which happened over break). I was thrilled to be getting back into Sydney again. We had a great time with Alex, Lindsey, Chloe and everyone else, minus a few shoe problems, and got home via taxi. Excellent night.
April 28th
Nicole's Birthday
Went to class, nothing terribly interesting happened. I had caught up on some of my missed philosophy lectures yesterday so I was in shape for class. I also had a presentation today on material we were supposed to have covered before we left. This didn't exactly happen. I spent a lot of last night and today reading Schopenhauer straight. The saddest thing was that my presentation, despite me knowing the material, was terrible. Luckily, it's philosophy, and my version of terrible is actual quite decent.
After class, I came home and through some form or another got a hold of Tara M. She told me that folks were going out to Scruffy's to celebrate our Australian friend Alex's 18th birthday (which happened over break). I was thrilled to be getting back into Sydney again. We had a great time with Alex, Lindsey, Chloe and everyone else, minus a few shoe problems, and got home via taxi. Excellent night.
Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed...
Song: "Ocean Breathes Salty" by Modest Mouse
April 27th
Monday. Lab report day. Day o' optics.
I went to class today, and then finished my lab - in true Becky fashion, minutes before it was due. I got to lab and I had no lab partner. :(
Rowan was out sick, so it was just me that day. The lab, while being relatively easy, still managed to take me a full three hours. This was likely because our lab facilitator truly enjoys experiments and getting them accomplished correctly, even if that means suggesting improvements to the lab manual as the experiment is going on. Basically, I saw how heat (even so little as the amount from my hand when placed close to the fiber) affects optical fibers of certain kinds. It's also affected by temperature, but I'll save you the details. Anyway, that went well.
I had my first day back at the gym. I watched an episode of 30 Rock at its regularly scheduled time. Then I slept. Today made me want to jump out of planes again.
April 27th
Monday. Lab report day. Day o' optics.
I went to class today, and then finished my lab - in true Becky fashion, minutes before it was due. I got to lab and I had no lab partner. :(
Rowan was out sick, so it was just me that day. The lab, while being relatively easy, still managed to take me a full three hours. This was likely because our lab facilitator truly enjoys experiments and getting them accomplished correctly, even if that means suggesting improvements to the lab manual as the experiment is going on. Basically, I saw how heat (even so little as the amount from my hand when placed close to the fiber) affects optical fibers of certain kinds. It's also affected by temperature, but I'll save you the details. Anyway, that went well.
I had my first day back at the gym. I watched an episode of 30 Rock at its regularly scheduled time. Then I slept. Today made me want to jump out of planes again.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
That is why we'll always make it...
Song: "My Favourite Book" by Stars
March 20th
Successfully made it to Optics, albeit not quite on time. With four people in the class I actually am starting to feel guilty about this, so I made a pact with myself to start being punctual. We'll see how that goes.
I wrapped up my homework and got it stapled at the library, then went with my homework to Physics. I was incredibly on time; I beat my professor to class. I must have really felt bad about being late to Optics this morning. I felt pretty confident about the assignment on the whole, and felt even better as soon as it was turned in. It always feels so nice to have the burden of an assignment of your back, until you remember the next one's due on the 31st. Blergh.
After class, I went back to my apartment. I went to the gym for the third of my tri-weekly trips there, then went home, cleaned up and ended up at 52: house of awesome. We had some wine(s) and I had absolutely nothing to do the next day, so I turned to Bernie, creator of excellent ideas, and asked what she was up to. We decided we were going to the zoo. We watched some rugby (I think it was rugby...) which I couldn't stay interested in, and then Christian and Alex, two of our Australian friends came over and wanted to see if anyone wanted to watch Friday the 13th (the new one, released this year on Feb 13th at home, and March 13th here). Christian had somehow gotten a hold of it. Now I normally hate scary movies. Really do. I flinch and cower and cringe and jump and generally do not enjoy watching them at all. However, with enough wine in me and a growing sense of ennui with that rugby game, I quickly agreed to join them. Alex is really cool; she's 17 and lives in the Gold Coast of Australia, which is far north of here. Christian is really cool too; he lives fairly far south of here around where our surf camp was. They were excellent company for this movie.
The movie had Jared Padalecki - or as Alex and I kept calling him, "Dean" (from Gilmore Girls) - and several other actors I didn't really care about. The plot isn't worth explaining here, but I do remember them playing "My Favorite Book" by Stars. I really like that song, and I've played it on my radio show back home for sure. This made me smile.
After the movie, which was fairly entertaining given my condition, we played some wrestling game on Christian's gaming console. I beat Alex, but Christian destroyed me. After awhile, Christian walked Alex and I home. It was definitely an enjoyable evening. Yes, it was an enjoyable evening involving a horror movie; I never thought I'd say that.
March 20th
Successfully made it to Optics, albeit not quite on time. With four people in the class I actually am starting to feel guilty about this, so I made a pact with myself to start being punctual. We'll see how that goes.
I wrapped up my homework and got it stapled at the library, then went with my homework to Physics. I was incredibly on time; I beat my professor to class. I must have really felt bad about being late to Optics this morning. I felt pretty confident about the assignment on the whole, and felt even better as soon as it was turned in. It always feels so nice to have the burden of an assignment of your back, until you remember the next one's due on the 31st. Blergh.
After class, I went back to my apartment. I went to the gym for the third of my tri-weekly trips there, then went home, cleaned up and ended up at 52: house of awesome. We had some wine(s) and I had absolutely nothing to do the next day, so I turned to Bernie, creator of excellent ideas, and asked what she was up to. We decided we were going to the zoo. We watched some rugby (I think it was rugby...) which I couldn't stay interested in, and then Christian and Alex, two of our Australian friends came over and wanted to see if anyone wanted to watch Friday the 13th (the new one, released this year on Feb 13th at home, and March 13th here). Christian had somehow gotten a hold of it. Now I normally hate scary movies. Really do. I flinch and cower and cringe and jump and generally do not enjoy watching them at all. However, with enough wine in me and a growing sense of ennui with that rugby game, I quickly agreed to join them. Alex is really cool; she's 17 and lives in the Gold Coast of Australia, which is far north of here. Christian is really cool too; he lives fairly far south of here around where our surf camp was. They were excellent company for this movie.
The movie had Jared Padalecki - or as Alex and I kept calling him, "Dean" (from Gilmore Girls) - and several other actors I didn't really care about. The plot isn't worth explaining here, but I do remember them playing "My Favorite Book" by Stars. I really like that song, and I've played it on my radio show back home for sure. This made me smile.
After the movie, which was fairly entertaining given my condition, we played some wrestling game on Christian's gaming console. I beat Alex, but Christian destroyed me. After awhile, Christian walked Alex and I home. It was definitely an enjoyable evening. Yes, it was an enjoyable evening involving a horror movie; I never thought I'd say that.
Monday, March 16, 2009
I got my head checked by a jumbo jet...
Song: "Song 2" by Blur
March 10th
Today is my sister's birthday. Well, at least it was over here. I found it funny that on the same day I got packages from my lovely mother and grandmother with St. Patrick's Day wishes and goodies. This was amazing. I took a picture of some of it because I was so excited. (Thanks Mom and Grandma! It made my day!)
I still had to go to class. Physics was entertaining, and aesthetics was a good time. I had decided earlier that I would be going with the crew to Scruffy Murphy's this evening, and thought I'd tag along with my roommates whenever they left. Turns out this was way earlier than I planned, so after a quick cleaning up, I left with them. Since their friend from school was still in town, we were going to meet him down in the city and go to Sydney tower to do the SkyWalk. I thought there were going to be more people coming, but it ended up just being four of us.
You had to have a certain low blood alcohol concentration before going on the walk, and the tour guides messed with Bryce by making him do his test in the malfunctioning one. It was toward the end of the night and I think the guides were getting bored. They were hysterical.
The SkyWalk and the tower were both phenomenal. Our tour guide said it was the best night she had ever been out there. It was a full moon, and it wasn't too cloudy. Here are some pictures:
Those were mine. Now for the pictures of us on the tower. Check out our awesome suits!
The guys solo:
Them making the Andy face:
It was a lot of fun and the whole thing was gorgeous. We left there and went to Scruffy's and got a killer kebab down the street before we went in. Delicious. We had a lot of fun and danced all night and got home late. Totally worth it.
March 10th
Today is my sister's birthday. Well, at least it was over here. I found it funny that on the same day I got packages from my lovely mother and grandmother with St. Patrick's Day wishes and goodies. This was amazing. I took a picture of some of it because I was so excited. (Thanks Mom and Grandma! It made my day!)
 |
| From Shots around Macquarie |
I still had to go to class. Physics was entertaining, and aesthetics was a good time. I had decided earlier that I would be going with the crew to Scruffy Murphy's this evening, and thought I'd tag along with my roommates whenever they left. Turns out this was way earlier than I planned, so after a quick cleaning up, I left with them. Since their friend from school was still in town, we were going to meet him down in the city and go to Sydney tower to do the SkyWalk. I thought there were going to be more people coming, but it ended up just being four of us.
You had to have a certain low blood alcohol concentration before going on the walk, and the tour guides messed with Bryce by making him do his test in the malfunctioning one. It was toward the end of the night and I think the guides were getting bored. They were hysterical.
The SkyWalk and the tower were both phenomenal. Our tour guide said it was the best night she had ever been out there. It was a full moon, and it wasn't too cloudy. Here are some pictures:
 |
| From Skywalk at Sydney Tower and Scruffy's |
 |
| From Skywalk at Sydney Tower and Scruffy's |
 |
| From Skywalk at Sydney Tower and Scruffy's |
Those were mine. Now for the pictures of us on the tower. Check out our awesome suits!
 |
| From SkyWalk |
 |
| From SkyWalk |
 |
| From SkyWalk |
The guys solo:
 |
| From SkyWalk |
Them making the Andy face:
 |
| From SkyWalk |
It was a lot of fun and the whole thing was gorgeous. We left there and went to Scruffy's and got a killer kebab down the street before we went in. Delicious. We had a lot of fun and danced all night and got home late. Totally worth it.
Monday, March 9, 2009
I'm going faster, you're going backwards...
Song: "Faster" by Rachael Yamagata
March 6th
Today started out well. I had optics at 10, then a short break where I ran home for lunch, physics at 12, and then not much of anything. In my short break, my roommate Bethany let me know that a group of folks were going shopping at Macquarie Centre for Mardi Gras accessories and outfits and I told her I'd call her when I got out of class to meet up.
I found the girls (Cam and Andy had split off from the group. Probably too much estrogen for them) and we went around all over the place looking at all sorts of excellent pieces of ridiculous clothing. Erin got the greatest pants ever which were shiny and gold. They were bold. I know that I'm incredibly picky when it comes to buying things, so I mainly just window shopped while the rest of the group bought things. I did get a mask kit at the craft store with everyone else, but I waited until the end of the day to grab all the clothes I wanted. I eventually ended up getting a blue dress, orange ribbon, and a pink headband and $5 leggings to go under the dress. I was incredibly proud of myself.
The rest of the girls were gluing their masks together at the same time my class at the gym was, so I decided I'd put mine together afterward. Unfortunately, they ran out of glue, but I got resourceful and got some tack at the grocery store, which I think worked out even better. I figured I could use the rest of it to hang posters in my room, which is currently barren minus my 30 Rock calendar. At my grocery store trip, I also invested in my own bottle of sweet chili sauce. It will be the death of me.
I got home and ended up at a BBQ at Becca's apartment. I was a bit late, so I missed out on the food, but I had a good time regardless. I played guitar with Dan and Christian, and hung out with Hilde, Vilde, and a bunch more people outside. Suddenly, I looked up and half the house had left, and Bernie told me that everyone was shifting to her place, so I walked with her and Ben over to her apartment, and continued to have a good time. I like living on the east side of the village because everyone who lives here is great and we can just walk to the next person's house and it's never far.
I stayed up until I can't quite remember when, and had just enough wine to know that I was done for the night, and ambled home a few doors down. East side. So convenient. Note: The Australian slang word for cheap boxed wine is Goon. Also, my circle of friends jokingly refers to wine as "wines." As in, "I have to get me some more wines from the store" or "can I get you a glass of wines?" I think Bernie started this, but I like it.
When I got home five seconds later, I was feeling mildly homesick so I wrote on a ton of people's Facebook walls. Then I went to bed and slept incredibly well.
March 6th
Today started out well. I had optics at 10, then a short break where I ran home for lunch, physics at 12, and then not much of anything. In my short break, my roommate Bethany let me know that a group of folks were going shopping at Macquarie Centre for Mardi Gras accessories and outfits and I told her I'd call her when I got out of class to meet up.
I found the girls (Cam and Andy had split off from the group. Probably too much estrogen for them) and we went around all over the place looking at all sorts of excellent pieces of ridiculous clothing. Erin got the greatest pants ever which were shiny and gold. They were bold. I know that I'm incredibly picky when it comes to buying things, so I mainly just window shopped while the rest of the group bought things. I did get a mask kit at the craft store with everyone else, but I waited until the end of the day to grab all the clothes I wanted. I eventually ended up getting a blue dress, orange ribbon, and a pink headband and $5 leggings to go under the dress. I was incredibly proud of myself.
The rest of the girls were gluing their masks together at the same time my class at the gym was, so I decided I'd put mine together afterward. Unfortunately, they ran out of glue, but I got resourceful and got some tack at the grocery store, which I think worked out even better. I figured I could use the rest of it to hang posters in my room, which is currently barren minus my 30 Rock calendar. At my grocery store trip, I also invested in my own bottle of sweet chili sauce. It will be the death of me.
I got home and ended up at a BBQ at Becca's apartment. I was a bit late, so I missed out on the food, but I had a good time regardless. I played guitar with Dan and Christian, and hung out with Hilde, Vilde, and a bunch more people outside. Suddenly, I looked up and half the house had left, and Bernie told me that everyone was shifting to her place, so I walked with her and Ben over to her apartment, and continued to have a good time. I like living on the east side of the village because everyone who lives here is great and we can just walk to the next person's house and it's never far.
I stayed up until I can't quite remember when, and had just enough wine to know that I was done for the night, and ambled home a few doors down. East side. So convenient. Note: The Australian slang word for cheap boxed wine is Goon. Also, my circle of friends jokingly refers to wine as "wines." As in, "I have to get me some more wines from the store" or "can I get you a glass of wines?" I think Bernie started this, but I like it.
When I got home five seconds later, I was feeling mildly homesick so I wrote on a ton of people's Facebook walls. Then I went to bed and slept incredibly well.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Take time to live the way you gotta live your life...
Song: "Untouched" by The Veronicas
March 3rd
I went to class this morning. Physics for breakfast. Yummy. I didn't fall asleep because I got to bed at a reasonable hour because I gave up doing the tutorial problems, which at the time I thought were homework problems that were due the next day. After looking at the study guide (syllabus), I saw that our first assignment wasn't due until the 11th, so I quickly gave that up and went back to playing guitar last night.
My physics tutorial was amazing. It was like being back in AP Physics, using arms for vectors and actually feeling like I knew what I was talking about. I spoke up in class and answered questions. You know, the ones that are normally answered with deadening silence until the professor gives up and moves on.
I had some reading to do for Aesthetics so I did that during my three hour break between my physics tut(orial) - pronounced like "toot", these Aussies really like to shorten words - and my Aesthetics lecture. It was Plato, and strangely, I don't think I've read any Plato as a Philosophy minor before this.
I will give Plato one thing: it was easy to read and almost poetic. WHICH IS STUPID because he hates poets and wants to kick them out of his society. Basically, Plato and I would disagree on most everything related to the arts, and since I was so furious with everything he was saying, I read all of it passionately. Apparently I read better when I passionately hate the author's opinions than when I'm impartial to them. I guess this makes sense.
I wrapped up my reading before class and met up with Sean, my roommate, and Ryan from the shuttle bus. I was completely unaware that Ryan was in the class last week. Strange.
It was a good class, and I enjoyed the tutorial ("tut", whatever). We talked about Jackson Pollock and Damien Hirst, whose artwork I had used for my "What is Art?" GEMS 100 class that I taught back at Maryland.
Hirst's "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living":
Pollock's "Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952":
Class was great. I got home and got in one of my cleaning fits where I must clean everything. This was highly productive. While I was mid-vacuuming, Justin called me up asking to borrow my hard drive to back up his files from his poor, broken computer. I got the message a few hours later. Anyway, eventually he put all the files he wanted to keep on there, and then we watched some TV at his apartment. There was this ridiculous show on called Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Also, I don't know what the censorship laws are in Australia, but there can't be many. We also watched Ellen, Late Show with David Letterman and a little bit of Will and Grace. Then I went home and went to bed.
March 3rd
I went to class this morning. Physics for breakfast. Yummy. I didn't fall asleep because I got to bed at a reasonable hour because I gave up doing the tutorial problems, which at the time I thought were homework problems that were due the next day. After looking at the study guide (syllabus), I saw that our first assignment wasn't due until the 11th, so I quickly gave that up and went back to playing guitar last night.
My physics tutorial was amazing. It was like being back in AP Physics, using arms for vectors and actually feeling like I knew what I was talking about. I spoke up in class and answered questions. You know, the ones that are normally answered with deadening silence until the professor gives up and moves on.
I had some reading to do for Aesthetics so I did that during my three hour break between my physics tut(orial) - pronounced like "toot", these Aussies really like to shorten words - and my Aesthetics lecture. It was Plato, and strangely, I don't think I've read any Plato as a Philosophy minor before this.
I will give Plato one thing: it was easy to read and almost poetic. WHICH IS STUPID because he hates poets and wants to kick them out of his society. Basically, Plato and I would disagree on most everything related to the arts, and since I was so furious with everything he was saying, I read all of it passionately. Apparently I read better when I passionately hate the author's opinions than when I'm impartial to them. I guess this makes sense.
I wrapped up my reading before class and met up with Sean, my roommate, and Ryan from the shuttle bus. I was completely unaware that Ryan was in the class last week. Strange.
It was a good class, and I enjoyed the tutorial ("tut", whatever). We talked about Jackson Pollock and Damien Hirst, whose artwork I had used for my "What is Art?" GEMS 100 class that I taught back at Maryland.
Hirst's "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living":
Pollock's "Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952":
Class was great. I got home and got in one of my cleaning fits where I must clean everything. This was highly productive. While I was mid-vacuuming, Justin called me up asking to borrow my hard drive to back up his files from his poor, broken computer. I got the message a few hours later. Anyway, eventually he put all the files he wanted to keep on there, and then we watched some TV at his apartment. There was this ridiculous show on called Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Also, I don't know what the censorship laws are in Australia, but there can't be many. We also watched Ellen, Late Show with David Letterman and a little bit of Will and Grace. Then I went home and went to bed.
Friday, February 27, 2009
My heart's in overdrive and you're behind the steering wheel...
Song: "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" by The Darkness
February 25th
Ash Wednesday
First of all, I decided to give up sweets for Lent, excepting one biscuit at mid-lab tea time at each lab each week. So I get two butter cookies a week.
I am not even going to try to express the longing I have for every ice cream bar, bag of Tim Tam cookies, and giant chocolate Easter egg that seems to fill aisle after aisle at the grocery store.
I'm trying something different to see if I can do it, so why not try it here, where almost everything is something different?
On another note, the song was stuck in my head from the night before at Scruffy Murphy's. I could not get it out of my head all day.
Anyway, today started off with more Physics, which was more review (again, I cannot thank you enough professor). I had a fairly large break in between class and my first Physics lab, so I decided to go to Macquarie Centre to get school supplies and hair ties. (I remembered this shopping list because it rhymed.) On my way, I ran into Justin, one of my new friends here, and we went shopping for quite a while looking for a fan of any kind. We never found it, but we had fun on the way. We explored The Rejects Shop (kind of like an expensive dollar store) and it was definitely full of rejects. We tried Big W (the Australian Wal-Mart), Myer (the Australian Sears), and Target (the Australian Target), all with no luck. Stupid Australian stores don't restock quite as fast as America. Anyway, Justin and I ate lunch, then headed back. Along the way we met a girl who was lost and looking for the Village, which was conveniently where we were headed. She was very nice, and since I had to go to the Administration building anyway, I walked with her.
I'm not sure how I went shopping for two hours, but regardless I got to lab on time, and met my lab partner Shaheen. She was so helpful. I have no idea how physics labs work here and she really cleared up some of the muddy spots for me. We were on the noise lab and were playing with EM noise in a circuit system. Pretty fun. Luckily the lab reports for this class are due every three weeks instead of every week like optics.
After lab, I went to the gym, and after the gym, I went to do laundry, where I ran into Justin again. Turns out I didn't have quite enough change, so I went to the Trafalgar Square store (the local convenience store) to get some change. I may not have mentioned this by now, but I was carrying my laundry around in my suitcase, and the lady at the store asked me if I was moving out. I laughed. I am looking into a better system for transporting dirty clothes to the laundry as we speak. Over the course of the laundry evening I ran into Julie, Lauren and Lindsay, and a few other people I didn't know at the laundry place. It was a very productive night.
February 25th
Ash Wednesday
First of all, I decided to give up sweets for Lent, excepting one biscuit at mid-lab tea time at each lab each week. So I get two butter cookies a week.
I am not even going to try to express the longing I have for every ice cream bar, bag of Tim Tam cookies, and giant chocolate Easter egg that seems to fill aisle after aisle at the grocery store.
I'm trying something different to see if I can do it, so why not try it here, where almost everything is something different?
On another note, the song was stuck in my head from the night before at Scruffy Murphy's. I could not get it out of my head all day.
Anyway, today started off with more Physics, which was more review (again, I cannot thank you enough professor). I had a fairly large break in between class and my first Physics lab, so I decided to go to Macquarie Centre to get school supplies and hair ties. (I remembered this shopping list because it rhymed.) On my way, I ran into Justin, one of my new friends here, and we went shopping for quite a while looking for a fan of any kind. We never found it, but we had fun on the way. We explored The Rejects Shop (kind of like an expensive dollar store) and it was definitely full of rejects. We tried Big W (the Australian Wal-Mart), Myer (the Australian Sears), and Target (the Australian Target), all with no luck. Stupid Australian stores don't restock quite as fast as America. Anyway, Justin and I ate lunch, then headed back. Along the way we met a girl who was lost and looking for the Village, which was conveniently where we were headed. She was very nice, and since I had to go to the Administration building anyway, I walked with her.
I'm not sure how I went shopping for two hours, but regardless I got to lab on time, and met my lab partner Shaheen. She was so helpful. I have no idea how physics labs work here and she really cleared up some of the muddy spots for me. We were on the noise lab and were playing with EM noise in a circuit system. Pretty fun. Luckily the lab reports for this class are due every three weeks instead of every week like optics.
After lab, I went to the gym, and after the gym, I went to do laundry, where I ran into Justin again. Turns out I didn't have quite enough change, so I went to the Trafalgar Square store (the local convenience store) to get some change. I may not have mentioned this by now, but I was carrying my laundry around in my suitcase, and the lady at the store asked me if I was moving out. I laughed. I am looking into a better system for transporting dirty clothes to the laundry as we speak. Over the course of the laundry evening I ran into Julie, Lauren and Lindsay, and a few other people I didn't know at the laundry place. It was a very productive night.
Climbing on, climbing on board, giving it a little bit more...
Song: "On Board" by Friendly Fires
February 24th
(Fat Tuesday)
I had my Physics class at 10 am, and I was a bit early to class. I brought my iPod and while playing on shuffle, "On Board" by Friendly Fires came on. I swore I had never heard it before, but by the end I was convinced I had. Turns out it was in a Nintendo Wii commercial. And it all makes sense!
Anyway, Physics class was interesting. We're reviewing vector calculus (THANK YOU PROFESSOR, I NEED IT) this week. I had a decent sized break between Physics and Aesthetics, where I ate lunch at my apartment. Aesthetics is already turning out to be a great class. The professor made the point that anesthetic is the opposite of aesthetic, and how I never made that connection before boggles me. Our professor has a way of using words that has lots of flow and rhythm which I love. While talking in regards to television and movies, he calls them "imitations of life that we get enchanted and seduced by."
Also, if I haven't ranted about this yet, I find this as good a time as any: American television is just not here. I can't get it online, the television we get at best has "Two and a Half Men" and I miss TV from home. Upside: I will have more time to live my life. I guess that works. I still miss being "enchanted and seduced" by my television shows of choice.
After class, I came home and a group of us decided to go to Scruffy Murphy's again in Sydney. We got there fine and danced until way too late. The music was great, well most of it. Luckily I wasn't the only one who wanted to get back home for class the next day, so four of us got our way into a taxi and went back to the Village. All in all, it was quite an eventful night.
February 24th
(Fat Tuesday)
I had my Physics class at 10 am, and I was a bit early to class. I brought my iPod and while playing on shuffle, "On Board" by Friendly Fires came on. I swore I had never heard it before, but by the end I was convinced I had. Turns out it was in a Nintendo Wii commercial. And it all makes sense!
Anyway, Physics class was interesting. We're reviewing vector calculus (THANK YOU PROFESSOR, I NEED IT) this week. I had a decent sized break between Physics and Aesthetics, where I ate lunch at my apartment. Aesthetics is already turning out to be a great class. The professor made the point that anesthetic is the opposite of aesthetic, and how I never made that connection before boggles me. Our professor has a way of using words that has lots of flow and rhythm which I love. While talking in regards to television and movies, he calls them "imitations of life that we get enchanted and seduced by."
Also, if I haven't ranted about this yet, I find this as good a time as any: American television is just not here. I can't get it online, the television we get at best has "Two and a Half Men" and I miss TV from home. Upside: I will have more time to live my life. I guess that works. I still miss being "enchanted and seduced" by my television shows of choice.
After class, I came home and a group of us decided to go to Scruffy Murphy's again in Sydney. We got there fine and danced until way too late. The music was great, well most of it. Luckily I wasn't the only one who wanted to get back home for class the next day, so four of us got our way into a taxi and went back to the Village. All in all, it was quite an eventful night.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
It was a good start.
Song: "A Good Start" by Maria Taylor
February 23rd
Classes started today. Whee!
I had Optics lecture at 11 am, and when I got there, it was me and two guys in the class. That's it. I was shocked; I've never been in a class this small in my life.
The other two guys in the class were nice, and I certainly paid attention in lecture, so that's good.
I had a break in between, and looked around the O-week (orientation week) tables. I joined the Macquarie Musical Society and that's it. I'm so proud of myself. They're performing "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog." I couldn't not join. I also got information about volunteering at 2ser, the radio station here. (ser for Sydney Educational Radio)
My next class was Optics lab for three hours. We were joined by another student, a girl. 50% ratio of guys to girls and four people in the class. The lab was difficult, and things kept breaking, but my lab partner (Rowan) and I got everything figured out eventually.
I went to the gym after I got home and made myself some dinner.
February 23rd
Classes started today. Whee!
I had Optics lecture at 11 am, and when I got there, it was me and two guys in the class. That's it. I was shocked; I've never been in a class this small in my life.
The other two guys in the class were nice, and I certainly paid attention in lecture, so that's good.
I had a break in between, and looked around the O-week (orientation week) tables. I joined the Macquarie Musical Society and that's it. I'm so proud of myself. They're performing "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog." I couldn't not join. I also got information about volunteering at 2ser, the radio station here. (ser for Sydney Educational Radio)
My next class was Optics lab for three hours. We were joined by another student, a girl. 50% ratio of guys to girls and four people in the class. The lab was difficult, and things kept breaking, but my lab partner (Rowan) and I got everything figured out eventually.
I went to the gym after I got home and made myself some dinner.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Control yourself, take only what you need from it...
Song: "Kids" by MGMT
February 19th (still my birthday in the states)
We had orientation at 9:30 am. Several of us met up outside of our apartment and walked over together. Our introduction to the university was made by "Uncle Greg" who told us that we should respect our elders and that the men always look prettier than the women for a reason in nature and that he really really wanted a grandson because there are things that men can do that women just can't.
Uncle Greg...
After this lovely introduction, we got bundles of information thrown our way, which no one was paying attention to. Two members of our crew participated in the Vegemite challenge, which was eating way too much Vegemite spread on bread with a cup of water the fastest. They were troopers.
Lunch was some native Australia sandwich I'd never heard of from this sub chain called Subway. There were free cookies, so I can't complain.
We had way too long for lunch and our herd was visited by this and that organization trying to get us to go on their expensive spring break package. The one guy pushing the New Zealand trip was insane. Also, there were several bits of slang in the information packets that we're still not really sure was or wasn't inappropriate. It was funny to imagine nonetheless.
When we returned to orientation, we sat through more information about classes and I found out that I wasn't registered for either of the classes I needed to take abroad. Fantastic! Even though I was mildly frustrated with this, I took care of business and met some nice people in the physics department who re-approved my classes for this semester. Thanks very much Carol; you were a giant help. I got my ID card, figured out I didn't qualify for 50% off concessions for public transport, and got my classes straight, all before 5 pm.
At orientation we got tickets for a free (enough) Sydney Harbour cruise. The only condition is that we had to be there by 7 pm. We left at 5:30 pm and we just had enough time, but luckily they weren't as stringent with the time thing as they let on. I don't think I mentioned this before, but it was 80's themed. Yeah.
There were a ton of international students on the cruise, many who I knew from Surf Camp and AustraLearn, which I didn't go on, but it feels like I did.
I had a hard time staying in one place. I had several moments where I felt crazy alone in a sea of people, but I tried to not let it get to me. There were periods of time where I would just disappear to another deck. I danced to "Let It Rock" and "Kids" on the DJ deck but that was it. I left pretty immediately after that. Overall, I had a great time on the cruise and got some great pictures. The harbour is gorgeous in all facets. I hope I have time to explore more of them over the next few months.
Everyone had amazing costumes and it was a blast to just people watch.
Also, Luna Park is horrifying and I want to go there.
After the cruise, making our way back to campus was much more difficult than I thought it would be. We went to several wrong bus stops and eventually caught one of the last buses back to campus. Here's a picture of the crew waiting at the bus stop:
February 19th (still my birthday in the states)
We had orientation at 9:30 am. Several of us met up outside of our apartment and walked over together. Our introduction to the university was made by "Uncle Greg" who told us that we should respect our elders and that the men always look prettier than the women for a reason in nature and that he really really wanted a grandson because there are things that men can do that women just can't.
Uncle Greg...
 |
| From Shots around Macquarie |
After this lovely introduction, we got bundles of information thrown our way, which no one was paying attention to. Two members of our crew participated in the Vegemite challenge, which was eating way too much Vegemite spread on bread with a cup of water the fastest. They were troopers.
 |
| From Shots around Macquarie |
Lunch was some native Australia sandwich I'd never heard of from this sub chain called Subway. There were free cookies, so I can't complain.
We had way too long for lunch and our herd was visited by this and that organization trying to get us to go on their expensive spring break package. The one guy pushing the New Zealand trip was insane. Also, there were several bits of slang in the information packets that we're still not really sure was or wasn't inappropriate. It was funny to imagine nonetheless.
When we returned to orientation, we sat through more information about classes and I found out that I wasn't registered for either of the classes I needed to take abroad. Fantastic! Even though I was mildly frustrated with this, I took care of business and met some nice people in the physics department who re-approved my classes for this semester. Thanks very much Carol; you were a giant help. I got my ID card, figured out I didn't qualify for 50% off concessions for public transport, and got my classes straight, all before 5 pm.
At orientation we got tickets for a free (enough) Sydney Harbour cruise. The only condition is that we had to be there by 7 pm. We left at 5:30 pm and we just had enough time, but luckily they weren't as stringent with the time thing as they let on. I don't think I mentioned this before, but it was 80's themed. Yeah.
There were a ton of international students on the cruise, many who I knew from Surf Camp and AustraLearn, which I didn't go on, but it feels like I did.
 |
| From Sydney Harbor Cruise - Stuck in the Eighties |
I had a hard time staying in one place. I had several moments where I felt crazy alone in a sea of people, but I tried to not let it get to me. There were periods of time where I would just disappear to another deck. I danced to "Let It Rock" and "Kids" on the DJ deck but that was it. I left pretty immediately after that. Overall, I had a great time on the cruise and got some great pictures. The harbour is gorgeous in all facets. I hope I have time to explore more of them over the next few months.
 |
| From Sydney Harbor Cruise - Stuck in the Eighties |
 |
| From Sydney Harbor Cruise - Stuck in the Eighties |
 |
| From Sydney Harbor Cruise - Stuck in the Eighties |
 |
| From Sydney Harbor Cruise - Stuck in the Eighties |
 |
| From Sydney Harbor Cruise - Stuck in the Eighties |
Everyone had amazing costumes and it was a blast to just people watch.
Also, Luna Park is horrifying and I want to go there.
 |
| From Sydney Harbor Cruise - Stuck in the Eighties |
After the cruise, making our way back to campus was much more difficult than I thought it would be. We went to several wrong bus stops and eventually caught one of the last buses back to campus. Here's a picture of the crew waiting at the bus stop:
 |
| From Sydney Harbor Cruise - Stuck in the Eighties |
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