My parents decided to take a trip down to Melbourne and Tasmania for a few weeks. This has never happened. I was never the kid whose parents just “went away for a while” and left them at home. Alone.
“Partyyyyyy!!!!!!!” was my initial reaction
“Bugger.... exams.....” was my subsequent reaction when I noticed the dates they would be away.
I know a lot of people are trying to decide whether to move out of home when they start uni. If you live in Sydney and are able to commute, I strongly recommend you stay put for at least the first year while you settle in. Figure out how much study your degree entails, how long you can afford to work a week, hunt for a stable job to fit this, and save up some money. If you’re still not convinced, read on for more reasons...
I admit, at first, I had tons of fun. I brought my iPod downstairs, connected it to the huge speakers and blasted music throughout the whole house. I used the bathroom as my personal karaoke box. The living room became subject to my continuous practicing until I got the perfect cartwheel. I left all my homework and readings sprawled out on the kitchen table. One of the biggest perks was being able to flounce around in my pyjamas all day during stuvac. But most importantly I took Blythe out of storage because everyone in my family thinks she’s too scary for every day viewing.
Our TV was still being repaired from when it got hit in a lightning storm some time ago, so unfortunately I couldn’t exploit that aspect of being home by myself. I got a bit lonely too so I had some friends over. All was fun.
In fact, everything was hunky dory until I needed a lift somewhere. And then the dirty clothes pile was looming ever higher and I finally had to do the washing. (Actually, it was only when I saw a reflection of myself in glass at uni and noticed an uncanny hobo-esque appearance about myself that I rendered a load of washing absolutely necessary). And then the floors started looking mighty dusty so I had to vacuum. And then everything that needed buying ran out at the same time (except the milk! I had the biggest Milo-fest the day before the use-by date). And there was absolutely no cooking or dishwashing roster since there was only me!
It’s true, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. I didn’t know how much company my parents were, or how much work there was to do around the house, until they left!
I was lonely enough to begin talking to myself on Day 1, inviting people over for beer and sleepovers by Day 3, and walking around like the living dead by Day 5.
During Stuvac I decided to go on a coffee detox. That is, no more than 1 per day. It’s going quite well, I have a coffee in the morning and I would usually have one when my energy was waning in the afternoon also but... I’ve stopped myself. The other day I went and bought some essentials - ham, diced peaches, a capsicum, lemonade (I had a $20 limit, ok? I only had cash because I moved all the money out of my keycard to stop spontaneous shopping binges) - and I discovered CHAI in TEA BAG form!!!!!!!!!! Much cheerfulness ensued and I have since been using it as my afternoon pick up.
I hadn’t even considered a situation in which something scary might happen, but on Day 8, no, Night 8, I was innocently trying to get to sleep when I heard a really weird noise outside my window. My room is upstairs, so it wasn’t as disconcerting, but my window was closed and yet I could still so very clearly hear a kind of scraping, cat-dying, repetitive noise. My first thought was to mentally check I’d locked all the doors, and then I hid my head under my doona and tried to think of a positive side. “Ok... I’ll blog about it. That means I have to describe it...” So I popped my head back out and yet no words came to me. The scariest thing of all is that I have absolutely no idea what was making the noise, nor do I have the faintest clue what COULD make that kind of noise…scary stuff!
If you don’t live at home, you not only have to worry about all of the above, but there are also the added perks of paying rent, bills, etc... Add study to the equation and your schedule may be chock-a-block before you can even pencil in a single outing...
The only reason I ever wanted to move out (because distance from uni certainly didn’t enter the spectrum) was for more freedom, but I definitely found that my parents granted me far more this year anyway. So I’ll be finishing my entire degree from the comfort of my own home. Obviously if moving out is the only choice for one reason or another, go for it, and good luck! Just read Cath’s posts on finding a house first...
Two random things I missed while my parents were away were my brown havianas (my parents decided to take them!??!) and my tube of paw paw ointment which I’d left in the car... So now I have them and my parents back - and now that they are here, our house is like a total hub of activity so I’ve decided to relocate my studies from our kitchen table to Fisher library... toodles!
Comments
I flounce around in my pj's during stu vac even when my parents are at home.
Why bother changing when pj's are the most comfortbale of clothing and no one is going to see you?
Posted by: Keren | November 6, 2006 09:52 AM
It's interesting how in Europe the majority of Uni students go away to a different town for their studies. It's almost de rigeur. I was quite surprised when I discovered that nearly all our honours students are locals.
Certainly at my college (Oxford, so maybe things are different there) there was only one local that I knew of, but even at school (Uni entrance stage) we were being persuaded to make the most of the opportunity to get out of our 'home town'. (I don't actually have a home town so again, I'm odd.)
And you can't claim that the cost is a factor; the price of living in the UK is higher than Australia as a whole, and probably on a par with Sydney — London is obviously far higher — and student debt does not seem to be putting people off.
Maybe in Australia it's because you only have one University? (ducks)
Posted by: Black Knight | November 8, 2006 01:17 PM
I think you're getting your statistics wrong there - maybe where you're from everyone moves out of their 'home town' to another because there is only university TO GO TO?
We have so many of choices of unis in Sydney alone, there's almost no reason to move out.
:)
Posted by: asako | November 9, 2006 10:12 AM
*nods* could be. After all, everyone knows there's nothing to do in London or Birmingham or anywhere else.
I was looking from *inside* the particular university at where people had come *from*. And it was all over the country, and overseas of course. Where I took my 'A' levels (18+ exams, uni entrance standard) was a dive and had no Uni at the time, so you have a point, but the theory does not hold for people from London, say, who have a choice of one or two little local colleges.
OK, so maybe Oxford is unusual, but when I visited and interviewed at other places the candidates were from all over the place, too.
Australia *is* different. It's a lot more parochial for one.
Posted by: BK | November 10, 2006 12:45 PM
to be perfectly honest blacknight, i have absolutely no idea what your last comment was trying to say.
yes, other people have different perspectives but the bottom line is i love living at home for the time being, but most importantly i LOVE sydney uni
Posted by: asako | November 10, 2006 04:11 PM