(minus 410)

Hey there!

Well, I’ve made it to Friday. Don’t fret, it’s not as depressing as it sounds. I have about three chapters to read over the weekend but apart from that (and, you know, work) there’s nothing demanding going on in my life.

Someone placed a hold on one of my textbooks so now I have to speed-read – something that I haven’t quite mastered yet. Actually, try, like, never had much success there at all.

Did I mention that I gave blood on Wednesday? Having just turned 18 this month, I figured I needed an outlet. Plus one donation can save three lives, and what’s a better incentive than that? I took along a friend for moral support; we were there for close to 90 minutes. Firstly they checked my BP, my iron levels (with a ‘finger prick’ – stabbing a small needle into my middle finger and squeezing my blood onto a microscope slide), my height and my weight.

Then it was into the donation area and onto a specially-designed chair, sort of like a dental patient’s chair. My vein took a bit of locating, and because it was my first time, I got given a stress ball. The donation needle is quite long and about four times thicker than your average vaccination needle, and the tip hurt. It was a case of, here we go, stab. For the first two or three seconds, the only thought going through my head was that my arm was hurting quite a bit more than I had anticipated. After that my brain adjusted my body’s response and I resigned to the fact that I’d be sitting there with a needle protruding my arm for the next ten minutes. Watching the donation bag fill up with blood was a sight in itself. There’s so much blood and it’s all so red.

When it was over, the nurse came to take the needle out. I hadn’t even contemplated this part – maybe the loss of blood was turning my senses to mush -, although she just told me that all I’d feel would be a slight tug on my skin. Here I’d like to say that it was more than a tug, it did actually hurt, though thankfully not nearly as much as when the needle went in. Bandage got slapped on, and the procedure was over.

I donated 410ml, plus a sample amount. The normal donation amount is about 470ml, but mine had to be adjusted because of my body size (if you’ve seen me around, you’d understand).  Being a person who must watch where the needle is and what it’s doing at all costs, my memory won’t be shaking away the image of the offending object anytime soon. I have to watch the needle because I absolutely hate not knowing when the pain will start. If I don’t know, then I have no time to brace myself. And that’s just not happening.

My arm looks bad at the moment, but it was much worse on Wednesday night. It looked like a war-zone for most of Thursday. You can still see the point where the needle went in, and the point where the needle stopped under my skin. If it’s any comfort, only about 3/4 of the needle actually goes into your arm.

Anyhow, this post didn’t exactly cover much about uni … so if you want more of that, you’ll have to stick with this blog!

See you all around campus.

Sherry
(And if anyone’s wondering about my avatar, yes, I’m a Federer supporter. Nadal supporters are still welcome to comment.)

Be very afraid…THE ROTATING DOORS OF ULTIMATE DOOM

I have a new fear. The rotating door at the entrance to the library scares the daylights out of me. If you are too slow, the door eats your ankles. If you are too fast, your head slams against the tornado of reinforced plastic, speeding it up, and therefore making it more likely that it will eat your ankles. Your hands could get caught if you instinctively prop them against it. It’s a bottleneck on a busy day. Put simply, it is the bane of my existence and a disincentive to go to the library. Take heed this warning, and be very very careful when approaching it. The door is alive, and it prays on the innocent… 

no political groups to speak of..

just another quick thing. i dont know if anyone else went to market day.. it was that sad almost life-ending sad gathering of tents that was handing out pamphlets and telling people to sign up for things (medieval club?) .. anyway, why are there no political groups? there’s almost 800 law students but no political group to speak of? maybe there are groups but they weren’t at market day..i hope so. Personally, I’m a liberal supporter (but they have to get their act together) and I hope there is a liberal group to speak of at QUT..

The end of my uni week already..

hi all! I’m Sam (formally samantha) and I’m studying a double degree of justice and law. Due to my natural intelligence and life inspiring time management skills (hmm..) I managed to squeeze all of my tuts and lectures into 3 days (mon to wed) so yay for me. I hope everyone else has something similar worked out so they can have a long weekend. But I have to say I feel the days are gone when I used to actually HAVE a long weekend. Now I’m working as many nights as I can – as a waitress in an Indian restaurant, which gives me great pleasure as when I get home I smell like a giant papadum (which I’ve learnt recently is a traditional Indian crispy bread) – which sucks but I cant deny the intense pleasure I get when i get paid…

btw to get everyone else into the mood of my blog (if anyone is indeed reading my ramblings) im currently listening to fav band of the moment angus & julia stone…

facts about moi: I’m 17, I am of the female gender, I’ve always lived in Brisbane, I’m a school leaver, I’m a twin and my family is HUGE – there are seven of us. I hate news programs like today tonight and extra. ONce i saw a show about a guinea pig (or some other furry nondescript creature that scurries). How can someone who has dedicated their life to the career of media broadcast such a trivial piece – whose only purpose is merely to entertain – when there are so many issues/events/people in society today that need coverage and need people to hear what they have to say.. but instead they show the dancing mutation of an animal..           pfft

on a lighter note.. so far im really enjoying being in such a different environment from school. I went to a co-ed school so thats not different for me but having to compete with people who are all at the same general academic level is going to be hard to get used to. I think the days when no studying and maximum thinking on my feet has gone and I”ll have to work hard to get at the top of something. I also have to say that today I had a lecturer who made the session personal by adding her own opinions about concepts and while I love it when people do that, it took all my strength just to listen to her and allow her opinions to sink in rather than yell out randomly like a complete lunatic… “I dont agree” or some other remark. so i think im going to have to get used to that.

anyway thats my first week so far

An Insight into the Perilous Depths of University and Learning

The name is Jacob Jones. Unfortunately I greatly enjoy writing, so I was compelled to participate in this blog. I have the time management skills of an eternally outraged gorilla (and no, they have none at all). So we shall see how this goes…

There’s not much to say on the subject of myself. It’s a crying shame that I’m only 17, I will have to wait to September until I can party myself into a raging catastrophe. I will have whole week of celebrations, and it will be called ‘Epic’. You are all invited. Aspley is my place of residence, it’s not a bad spot to reside. I am the oldest of 5 boys so I have been on the brink of insanity for quite some time. Hopefully university will give me a little time off from the general aggravations of ‘normal’ life.

Oh, I took the holidays for granted. After the excitement (and inherent blurriness) of schoolies, I found that I forgot how to write my own name, so unfortunately it’s a skill I’ve had to re-learn. I am about to enter into 5 years of mental anguish and self-implosion; I’m doing a double degree, law and media communications. Legal Studies was the only subject I excelled at during school, and I’ve always had an interest in the media. However, thus far, it seems that 2 years of legal studies appears to be redundant, as I struggled to keep up with the lightening speed of progress and learning in my tutor group on Monday. Or maybe the recovery time from the weekend took a little longer than I anticipated.

In essence, this week has been like the production set of an epic movie. I have been overwhelmed at the sheer scale of this place. It’s like starting year one all over again. However if I understood back then the onslaught of schoolwork which would come down upon me in the next 17 years, I would’ve run to the hills and lived as a hermit. At least at this stage, although I wouldn’t mind running to the hills or jumping from a great height, the prospect of an exciting career of law (hopefully intellectual property) compels me to stay.

Aware as I am that various benefits will arise from studying law, the actual transition from school to university is daunting. The first thing I noticed was the amount of females (which all guys generally do). However, coming from an all boy family and an all boy high school, it will be a strange new world for me to learn with the opposite sex. Additionally, it will be an interesting experience to learn with them, as they do so very differently to males and many are very creative indeed, (I’m as blunt as a 10 foot Incan man) so their influence could prove to be advantageous.

The speed at which we have commenced is unbelievable. Already for media, assessment is due and the law tutor groups have begun to expect questions answered and reading finished. It was shocking. I was shocked. Thankfully, my hair is still in place and not strewn over the floor from a sudden panic attack or mental rage. Hopefully I will grow used to this accelerated environment. Or else suffer in the nether-world of underachievement.

I admit I am apprehensive about the cavernous reaches of legal terminology and media analysis. I feel like an insect who has been squashed a little too many times against a windscreen. Despite being a self professed cynic, I am looking forward to various aspects of university life. My life will not be complete until QUT law school plays our UQ counterparts in rugby. Hopefully I will play flanker or reside on the wing. Oh, the world will never be the same once we annihilate whatever morale they have mustered.

And so it is, the beginning of the rest of my life. It sounds so damn terrible. Though as awful as it does sound, I take solace in the fact that if I try my best for a good 5 years, I will have a lifetime of opportunity brought before me.

Until next time, goodnight and goodluck,

Jacob Jones

A “doublie’s” first days

HI TO ALL!

About me

My name is Sherry and I am studying a Law/Business double degree, with a major in accountancy.  For those of you who are interested, I was born in Shanghai and moved to Brisbane when I was very young. I hold a crazy obsession over tennis, so if there are any tennis nuts out there, please let me know! I’m also into Star Wars, Star Gate SG-1, and I love a good Jane Austen novel. On the music side, I can’t go past Chopin, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Hayden.

Week so far

I’ve been to four lectures, three of them being law. My first tutorial will be tomorrow afternoon. Came very close to missing the train on Tuesday – 8 o’clock starts are going to take some getting used to : ) I’m getting to QUT by catching the train to Southbank and then walking the Goodwill Bridge (apparently I need the exercise).

This week hasn’t been too stressful, mainly because the lectures are very introductory. That said, there is already a tonne of law material to read. Mainly I’ve been trying to read chapters at least a day before that unit’s lecture, just so I can get my brain into gear again after the summer break, and also to make sure I don’t get too overwhelmed come the weekend. One thing I will say about lectures is that the air-conditioning is ferocious in the front row – so bring a jumper and jacket, even if you’re just there for an hour. Next week I may try the middle and/or back rows to test out the air-con in those areas, so watch this space.

Being a direct school-leaver heading into uni, I hadn’t much idea of what to expect in this environment. In these first few days, I’ve found that I have a lot more free-time to myself. Assessment is still some weeks away but I’m already a bit anxious (I’m kind of a stress-head). If you enjoy reading, then law is a great area to study because the reading lists are long and the recommended reading lists are almost as long, if not longer. I loved English back in year 12 so, as weird as it sounds, I’m really looking forward to hitting the books over the next five years.

If that wasn’t incredibly nerdy enough, here is where I must convince you to go check out the brand new law library! I don’t know what the old one was like so I have no basis for comparison, but I swear this library looks like something out of a 23rd-century novel (think Jules Verne). It’s pretty amazing; a really fantastic place in which to study.

Well, hope this insight into my first week hasn’t bored anyone to sleep. I’ll put up a more relevant avatar by next week (this one is in response to the freezing conditions in the front row). Please feel free to leave a message – share anything you’d like.

Sherry

First week

Hey welcome to my first blog post. My name is Anthony and I am studying a single degree in Law at, as the name of the blog suggests, QUT. The purpose of this post is to inform others how it feels to walk into QUT for the very first time. While many people would mark the official start as Monday I would like to go back to the orientation.

After the long bus ride, and the 10 minute walk to QUT, on the first day I finally made it in one piece. I made the decision to not bring anything with me but a bus ticket and the clothes on my back (amongst a few modern day essentials such as mobile phones, bank accounts, and everything else needed to survive in the harsh city environment). As I walked in the one thing I noticed, and that I still notice, that a poor soul had set up shop on the left of the pavement. They sold fruit and cold drinks. Why anyone would purchase fruit on orientation day I don’t know but each to his own. Although I have to say walking out of QUT today I did kind of yearn for an apple, maybe it was a smart business plan after all.

I continued up the path and dodged the many advertisers asking for money/support/who ever the hell knows. I walked around a bit and the campus seemed familiar, then I remembered in grade 12 we had a class excursion to Gardens Point.

After some aimless walking I decided I should get my ID card. With over an hour until my next orientation activity started I thought I would be safe joining the line. After being in the line for a few minutes I met a few people and we talked for an hour or so which made the long line seem quite short. I probably won’t see them again but it made the time at least somewhat exciting. I should mention I never even got my ID card that day, although killing time talking and laughing which other new uni students made the hour wait not seem so wasted.

The orientation itself was in a way informative but I could see by the end of the day many people falling asleep or walking out of the lecture room. Naturally though these house keeping tasks are quite boring. I being a patient person though didn’t mind too much. The most informative was the input from the 4^th year students. Unlike the lecturers they can drop hints and tips about how it’s really like to study at QUT.

After the orientation there was a week break before yesterday attending QUT properly for the first time. There was just a lot of information about each subject and just an introduction to assessment and what is expected and all that good stuff.

One thing that got me though about studying law at QUT is that in a number of lectures it was stated that we can’t just have our own opinions and that if we want to state opinions we should go do journalism. One would think we could state any opinion if it was backed up logically. This would be my only criticism so far. Everyone should be welcome to their own opinion, no matter how unethical or immoral it could possibly be to others, so long as it is reinforced with a strong, well reasoned, and logical argument. I think our own opinions are the essence of law. Instead of separating opinions from arguments we should be using arguments to back up opinions.

Well that’s all from me for now. Look for more next week.

And off we go…

Well, it’s started, the first day of 4 and a half years here at QUT.   Before I get into anything, I best introduce myself.  I’m Keira, I’m 18 and a first year Business/Law student here at QUT.  I have recently moved to Brisbane from the sunshine coast (well….Gympie-ish) and am attempting to settle into the hectic city life.  Before we get started, let us establish, the basics.

Name – Keira (rest withheld so that no one stalks me and stands outside my window at 3am singing Can’t Fight the Moonlight)

Age – 18 (as of January)

Location  - One of the many suburbs starting with C in East Brisbane. (haha stalk me now)

Hobbies – Dancing, Music (Clarinet, Sax etc), Reading, Generally hanging out etc. 

Interests  - The military, history, law (well duh), travel etc.

Degree – Double degree in Law and Business majoring in International Business.

Pets – One kitten.  Sergeant.  One poodle (at home) Baby.

Now. Lets get down to the nitty gritty.  Law.  At QUT.  Well.  I started today….after much too-ing and fro-ing with my insane computer skills and a little help from a multitude of sympathetic co-ordinators etc who assisted me through my computer illiterate times, I have FINALY established a time table.

 Today, I had a LWB141 Tute and a LWB 142 Lecture, both seemed alright.  Until I got that person…you know..the really scarily smart one.  Who sat next to me…had already been to the lecture…and had done 27 pages of notes….Now, normally, this person would be me ( well…the obsessive note taking anyway), however; being the busy person I am (I work part time as a waitress) I had somehow managed to omit the fact that I had to buy a case book…my bad.  However, after meeting a few people, I discovered that uni students are in fact normal (ish).  No longer did I feel quite so horribly terribly nervous.   It is certainly an odd feeling going from the top of the school as a year 12, to being newbies again.  Coming from a relatively small school, (87 in my grade 12) to suddenly have 500 people in a lecture is rather intimidating.  But anyway, after about an hour of frantic note taking, and another hour of trotting through the law library my first tute was over. 

My first lecture cleared a lot of things up, everything was simplified, explained and made clear.  Thank goodness for that.   Now knowing approximately when and what my assessment was for 2 subjects and having acquired a few friends, I felt somewhat better.  More reassured. 

Now if anyone else is feeling rather lonely, lost, etc, don’t just stand there.  Be the random kid that introduces yourself to someone else standing alone.  Chances are, they aren’t just a random loner.  They too are probably lonely and a bit scared. 

Uni itself seems good.  For some mad reason, I am excited about learning.  And must  I say, the Law Library is AMAZING.  It looks stunning and seems to be very very well equipped.  I have had a quick look at the other library and it looks great too, I just wish I had more time to wander aimlessly around the campus and explore.   I am somewhat daunted by our library task, however I am sure that the magical library ladies are able to assist…Must I also say, the first librarians I have met who actually want to help you..and don’t just look at you like you are disturbing the peace in their space. 

Anyway.  I have truly babbled on enough.    I would be interested to hear what others think of enrolling and the law library? Feel free to comment etc and let me know J  I am excited to see what the rest of the week brings and wish everyone the best of luck. 

Ciao.

Keira.

Welcome to Surviving Law @ QUT

Welcome to this blog, Surviving Law @ QUT.

This blog will be an online journal of student experiences. A team bloggers will post regular updates to keep us informed about their life as first year law students at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Here you can find information and images about the day-to-day reality of being a law student at QUT.

You’re also welcome add comments to the various posts. You can use ‘comments’ to ask questions of the bloggers or to tell us about your own similar – or different – experiences.

Our student bloggers have free rein to describe their experiences in their own authentic voices, so the posts are not moderated for grammar, spelling, or general content. However we will keep an eye out in case there are any particularly inappropriate comments and moderate them as soon as we can. If an entry is ever edited, we will say so in the entry.

Keep in mind that our focus for this blog is on the authentic student experience of university life, rather than a forum for discussion of other topics. It’s not about selling the university experience, but about letting the readers know what life as a law student is really like, as experienced by a bunch of real live first year students.

Please let us know if you wish to comment on anything on this site.

Thanks for your interest!

Finally, I should add that the inspiration for this blog comes from the very successful University of Melbourne first year blog, First_Year@UniMelb and I thank the The First_Year@UniMelb Team for their generous support and assistance in setting up this project at QUT.