Sydney Life

You've made it. You've got your offer. You've enrolled. Now you're ready to start uni. There is a simple list of to do's to get ready for uni.

Oh, and by the way, welcome to the University of Sydney!

In high school (how many blogs have I started with this phrase?!) we were able to borrow textbooks from the school each year, but at uni you have to have access to your own copy. Sometimes it's enough to go and read the library's copy whenever you need it (though "whenever you need it" may also turn out to be "whenever everyone else needs it" too and you may find the library stripped of copies), but usually you will end up buying several expensive textbooks each semester.

A cheaper alternative is to buy second hand textbooks, and you will see many ads on the back of toilet doors advertising cheap "barely used" (often true) textbooks but you have to get in FAST - I'm often too slow, but...

Here's a fun story about The First Time Asako Actually Got In Early Enough To Snag A Textbook Second Hand, and wow.

Talk about an adventure.

First year is over!

I know, I know, Keren, Lauren and Cath have dibs on “aaaaahgrhagrhagrhg/%^&@($* uni is over!” but I am still quite shocked at how quickly that went by. So I’m making a little comparison of what I’m doing now, and what I was doing this time last year...

Despite the fact that I’m a serial procrastinator, I always get excited about preparing before each academic year by buying and covering books, getting my pencil case ready and organising my pens, notes, textbooks. In fact all this may be a cleverly disguised form of procrastination in itself.

The only problem this year was that I didn’t know what to bring to uni! So here’s what I’ve found to be the best options for the newbies.

Sydney Uni LIVE! A fun filled day of frollicking amongst the sandstone. It's actually the only day of the year where I don't feel a twinge of guilt walking on the grass in the Main Quad. Then again, I am mildly obsessive compulsive.

I think the one month break I had was the perfect length: I was able to go away for a bit with my family without feeling like I had missed out on too much in Sydney; there was enough time to cool off and forget about exams before results came out; and also to watch two seasons of Scrubs - enough to be (almost) sick of it.

No, I’m not referring to anything indecent involving a higher than PG rating, but rather the unnerving thought that I have to pack my bags tonight and head off to live on Campus in the Women’s College tomorrow morning for the next 5 years of my life…

Every year in high school my friends and I would moan about how old we were getting, and how close we were to having the whole safety bubble of secondary education popping from around us, forcing us to stumble blindly towards the mysterious world of “real” life.

The last few weeks of these holidays I’ve been enjoying my last vestiges of freedom; seeing crappy and overpriced movies (why oh why didn’t I read Cath’s post on Just Friends?), making money any way I can, having staring competitions with my bedroom wall… the usual.

If you're like me and you:

- are about to move to Sydney for Uni
- don't know anyone in Sydney
- don't know Coogee from Cronulla, and can't even find your way around the CBD...

then first things first, DON'T PANIC! Although it might seem a little redundant having a newbie write a guide for other newbies, let’s establish one thing: we interstate first years are of one breed and, at least during O-week, we’ve got to stick together...

I don't mean to alarm anyone, but there i sless than three weeks until the start of semester. The good news? It's less than two weeks to O-week!

I actually think that packing your bag for uni is a bit of an art, so here is what is in my bag of tricks on any given day

Ah, textbooks. They're keeping your chiropractor in business, but how do you actually get your hands on the damn things? Look no further, I've got it all in my little black book!

Ever wondered what it's like to go to Sydney Uni, or any uni, for that matter? Here is my unofficial, unsubstantiated guide to getting ready for uni vicariously.

Righto, track 19, lets put together a list of songs to get your offer to.

If you're up early on a Sunday to watch the lovely Jana Wendt, no doubt you've heard of VSU. Love it or hate it, it's here now. And before you lads and ladies grace the campus in March, it's a good idea to get a heads-up. Here goes...

Next year is going to be a new and exciting experience. For those of you who like to be prepared to take the bull by the horns, here are a few ideas to help you get ready.

Uni will sneak up on you before you know it, so it is best to get a head start on the preparations sooner rather then later!