College.

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Original post by Yosh Anyway, things like cooking every meal for myself every day, washing clothes, generally keeping things tidy, grocery shopping...

Boy, do you have a lot to learn. You're looking at like forty-five minutes a week, tops.

CM

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Original post by Conner McCloud Quote: Original post by Yosh Anyway, things like cooking every meal for myself every day, washing clothes, generally keeping things tidy, grocery shopping... Boy, do you have a lot to learn. You're looking at like forty-five minutes a week, tops. CM

My brother had a friend who dropped out of college and went to work at some lab to develop plasma or something like that (he was incredibly smart), but he decided that cooking and stuff like that took to much work so he moved back here to live with his parents, the pleasures of being born wealthy. What a jackass.

I still live with my parents and not having to cook gives me a lot of free-time, which I spend hitting refreshing on GD.net, waiting for responses in the lounge. I wish I just lost Internet access so I could be productive.

School isn't really tough at all. Sure, at some schools getting a 4.0 might be a challenge, but most people can skip lectures the entire semester (and not study) and still pass.
It looks like your program will be more hands on, less theory. Which means it will take up a lot of time.

Women, friends, and partying is probably what you will spend the most time with your first semester. After failing all of your classes you will spend more time with school.

Don't take your course work too hard. I mean, leave time to study and do study, but join some clubs on the side. That way you will never be bored and your grades will still be good.

Don't leave your drink unattended.

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Original post by SKATIN_HARD Don't take your course work too hard. I mean, leave time to study and do study, but join some clubs on the side. That way you will never be bored and your grades will still be good.

Listen to the man.

The reason that I've been mostly absent from GDNet for the last two years is because I took a very, very relaxing trip through my first two years of college. I tried things I never would have dreamed of trying back in the homeland. I played a lot of games in the effort to just relax, did absolutely horrible in my first year of classes (2.1 GPA, fuck yeah rock on and shit). Met a lot of people, had a lot of late-night hangouts (in a dorm, every night is a late night hang-out, really). At the end of my first year, though, I really don't think I had really grown up all that much; if anything, I had probably immatured.

It was during my second year that I noticed a lot of changes in the way I conduct myself, the person I want to grow up (?) to be. I also did a lot better in my classes once I realized that I had to start putting a bit more work into them than I had before. I also tried things that I greatly regret (marijuana is a very, very bad thing), and things that I really don't like doing all that much (I'm not much of a drinker). I ended up having a lot of really great friends that I met in my time in the dorm though, and despite having an absolutely miserable second year, I still like the friends I made.

Also, you may find that your interests may change a bit after your first year in college. I had a short spurt as a Creative Writing major, after vowing to do nothing but Computer Science for the six-seven years prior. Then eventually (my second semester of my sophomore year) I began to realize that Computer Science really was my "true calling" and decided to get back on that course. I did greatly enjoy my time taking a series of Creative Writing-centric classes though, and eventually planned to dual-major both that and CompSci (which ended up not working out, as I really, really don't want to spend more than four years at school).

College is an entirely different experience than you're most likely used to. I think you may miss out a bit by not living in dorms, as that's just "part of the experience" (although it can be a detrimental one). Good luck.

I still hate you though. So, you know, don't have actually have good luck. That's just my being polite. Moral - with a mastiff. Manners may prevail, and all.

Buying in bulk is very good. It saves money in the long run, and most of the things that I buy can be microwaved in about two minutes. Bread, fruit, lettuce, and chicken are cheap enough and will cover just about all your bases for nutrition requirements.

From my own personal perspective, it is not hard at all - just utilize some common sense and if you have not, use a planner. Buy a planner not only for writing down school work, but activites, clothes cleaning day, work, appointments and so on.

Take an alarm clock with you since no one will be there to wake you up if you are taking morning classes or have to attend something. If you like to turn off the clock and go back to sleep, consider placing it far away from you. As you ambulate towards it in the morning, you will be further more conscience of your surrounds and remember why you have to wake up early.

Try, when you wake up and if you have one, to open a window and let that provide light instead of turning on a light -- it wakes you up, well to me, faster and smoother than a blinding electric light.

Hey, thanks to everybody for all of the help!

Anyway, mittens, what made you believe marijuana is a very, very bad thing? It's not physically addicitve, it doesn't cause brain damage, nobody has ever died from using it... Yeah. And it's non toxic, in fact - literally. You cannot die from smoking pot. Anyway, I'm sure what happened was that either:

1) You smoked up with people you didn't know or didn't trust whole heartedly.
2) You smoked up alone.
3) You smoked up in a dorm and become incredibly paranoid about getting caught.
4) You had no idea it would effect you so much.

Anyway, please keep giving me advice, because I really do need it. And when I said I appreciated the advice, I truly meant it.

EDIT - And sleeping in is a huge issue for me. I'm a bit of a night owl, so I'll have to have an alarm clock regardless of what time my classes are at. :P

EDIT2 - AND I in NO way condone usage of marijuana. You + pot + party + parents + cops = shitty deal. Do it at your own risk.

I had a very relaxed view when I moved away from home.. cleaning happened as and when I had enuff of the mess, cooking was a case of 'throw pizza in oven and wait' or 'put burgers under grill and try not to burn the place down' as such took very little time.

Clothes washing took the longest time, however as all my clothes are the same it was just a matter of 'throw in washing machine, wait, throw into dryer, wait' and I had a good mate to play cards with while we waited for stuff to clean (this was in halls, once we got into a house we got a washer/dryer so it all became alot easier, heh).

Oh, and before I moved away from home my mum did everything for me, but the need to eat and be clean soon overides any dependancies you might have [wink]

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Original post by phantom I had a very relaxed view when I moved away from home.. cleaning happened as and when I had enuff of the mess, cooking was a case of 'throw pizza in oven and wait' or 'put burgers under grill and try not to burn the place down' as such took very little time. Clothes washing took the longest time, however as all my clothes are the same it was just a matter of 'throw in washing machine, wait, throw into dryer, wait' and I had a good mate to play cards with while we waited for stuff to clean (this was in halls, once we got into a house we got a washer/dryer so it all became alot easier, heh). Oh, and before I moved away from home my mum did everything for me, but the need to eat and be clean soon overides any dependancies you might have [wink]

That last point is a very good point - a very good point indeed. [lol]

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Original post by Yosh Hey, thanks to everybody for all of the help! Anyway, mittens, what made you believe marijuana is a very, very bad thing? It's not physically addicitve, it doesn't cause brain damage, nobody has ever died from using it... Yeah. And it's non toxic, in fact - literally. You cannot die from smoking pot. Anyway, I'm sure what happened was that either: 1) You smoked up with people you didn't know or didn't trust whole heartedly. 2) You smoked up alone. 3) You smoked up in a dorm and become incredibly paranoid about getting caught. 4) You had no idea it would effect you so much.

No A, but B, C, and D hold true (keep in mind that I didn't just try it once and give up, I tried it a number of times under varying conditions).

And you can list stats all you want, but I can tell you the overall effect both on and off the shit is bad. I've seen it personally and watching how it affects my friends. That's all I really want to say on the issue. You want more, just PM me. My final stance here is that it's just no good.

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Original post by Yosh So, give me pointers! Pointers on college life!

*shrugs* Well, I'm not an expert but here's a couple of things I've learned :

• As stated previously, an alarm clock is an essential item to have.


• Besides having food enough for meals, make sure to have plenty of random snacks. When you're in crunch mode, Chips Ahoy are your best friend.[grin]


• College coursework (on the whole) isn't really that hard. It's the responsibility of doing it that is, because truly no one gives a shit if you don't. It's an awesome power - don't abuse it (even though we all do).


• A refrigerator is a must.


• Make sure you have access to the internet at your dorm/apartment. Your computer - no matter how bad - will be far superior to whatever your college allows you to use at 12:00 a.m. Besides, you'll look like a freak.


• If you feel like the course you are taking is too difficult, or not hard enough, or something else do not hesitate to talk to someone (instructor, academic advisor, ect) about it. Do it immediately, the longer you wait the less the chance of you getting your request. And never ask someone in Administration - always find someone who's more relevant to the situation. That goes for any other problems you have.


• If they don't respond, keep bugging them.


• Using the shower to do your laundry isn't a good idea.


• Everybody else feels the same way you do. Don't worry too much about it and have fun.

On Laundry:
Do your laundry - before you run out. Dont be "that guy who smells funny".

On Waking Up Before Noon:
Own two alarm clocks. Use them both. As far apart as you can make them. Preferably one of them needs to be somewhere where you have to get out of bed to get to it.
If youre not on the ground floor, sleep with the window blinds open - the light coming in might stand a chance of waking you up and minimizing the number of classes you miss.

On Drinking and Partying
Know your limits, be responsible and choose carefully who you do such things with and where, failure to do so may result in many regrets and embarassing pictures of you.

On Food
You're going to be living in an apartment, take advantage of it. Eat decent. If you dont know how to cook, learn. Its a useful skill, and the ability to cook decent food may help prevent severe weight gains and budget breakingly frequent visits to restaraunts when used properly.

Many people find George Foremans to be a good investment. I would also state that a waffle maker is an excellent investment. Waffles are not complex to create or cook, and yet they taste most excellent as breakfast lunch or dinner.

If you have a deck or patio, a propane grill may be in order (if you have the $$). Cooking outside is a nice way to get away from the evils of the inside life, not to mention it avoids heating your apartment in the summer and having people over for BBQs can be a nice diversion.

On Classes
Classes are classes. For the most part, you'll get what you give. As previous posters have said, if you have questions or problems, talk to the instructors right away, most of them dont bite, and the few that do, dont bite hard usually. For the most part, what the guys above me here have said is all very good advice.

mittens, that's cool, I'll catch up with you on that soon enough.

Thanks for adding a nice list of tips, stormrunner. My apartment is actually fully furnished with a bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. The kitchen is pretty small, but the bedroom and (especially) the bathroom are pretty big. In fact, the bathroom is... enormous. Although, there's a good reason for that, I snagged a handicapped single dorm. Why? Because there weren't any regular singles left. How did I do it? Well.. visual impairment. :P

Anysuch, my apartment is very nice. I'm deffinately going to enjoy living there.

It comes with a stove, fridge, 20" TV w/ remote (new TV it seems, too - may have component and S-Video), electric kettle (or coffee maker, not sure - it wasn't there), microwave (essential), lots of cupboards, decent counter space, little crappy table with two chairs suited for people with entirely unnaturally small asses (a fatty is me), walk in shower (handicapped, yeah), lots of railings in the bathroom for handicapped people (sure those will come in handy when I'm plastered or otherwise), bathroom sink, toilet (omfg yay), niiice two person bed (w00t), desk (which already has a cable modem set up AND turned on, last I checked), nice new office chair, two big closets (one in kitchen, one in bedroom), some windows... flooring... :P

Anyway, the building itself is pretty airtight with the security. They give you a keycard that is unique to your door, which is pretty neat. Also, the keycard is needed to let you into the building. How someome gets in the building without a keycard is pretty simple: walk up to panel, press room number and enter or star or something, then I hear a buzzing noise in my room, turn to channel 76 (I believe that's the proper channel), and I can then see through the camera which is watching the doorway. If I don't like them, they don't get in. [wink]

w00t. Pumped.

EDIT - Thanks to xanin as well, much appreciated. Keep it coming people. [smile]

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Original post by Yosh Hey, thanks to everybody for all of the help! Anyway, mittens, what made you believe marijuana is a very, very bad thing? It's not physically addicitve, it doesn't cause brain damage, nobody has ever died from using it... Yeah. And it's non toxic, in fact - literally.

You're kidding, right? Smoking is by definition toxic. Humans cannot breathe smoke and survive. The byproducts of plant combustion (which will almost certainly include carbon monoxide) are invariably not healthy. Why do you think firefighters have to treat so many people for smoke inhalation?

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Original post by kSquared Quote: Original post by Yosh Hey, thanks to everybody for all of the help! Anyway, mittens, what made you believe marijuana is a very, very bad thing? It's not physically addicitve, it doesn't cause brain damage, nobody has ever died from using it... Yeah. And it's non toxic, in fact - literally. You're kidding, right? Smoking is by definition toxic. Humans cannot breathe smoke and survive. The byproducts of plant combustion (which will almost certainly include carbon monoxide) are invariably not healthy. Why do you think firefighters have to treat so many people for smoke inhalation?

But most people don't smoke pot as much as they smoke cigrretes. If you do however, your a fucking dumbass.

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Original post by kSquared Quote: Original post by Yosh Hey, thanks to everybody for all of the help! Anyway, mittens, what made you believe marijuana is a very, very bad thing? It's not physically addicitve, it doesn't cause brain damage, nobody has ever died from using it... Yeah. And it's non toxic, in fact - literally. You're kidding, right? Smoking is by definition toxic. Humans cannot breathe smoke and survive. The byproducts of plant combustion (which will almost certainly include carbon monoxide) are invariably not healthy. Why do you think firefighters have to treat so many people for smoke inhalation?

There's Ainokea's point, which, well... holds a lot of merit, basically. You don't have to smoke nearly as much pot to be satisfied - in fact, a fraction. And, since it's not addictive, you won't ever be compelled to smoke, say, an ounce in a sitting (28 grams, quite a bit).

Anyway, if you were to use a smoking device which forced all smoke entering the device to first pass through a chamber (or what have you) with water in it, then you're set. Water bongs, as these devices are more commonly known as (or bubblers [pipes with a water chamber], or whatever) filter out many of the carcinagenic chemicals found in marijuana smoke. Very little of the THC contained within the smoke actually gets disolved into the water, so this is another bonus.

Anyhow, vaporisers are the way to go - no smoke is involved.

EDIT - ANYWAY, back on topic. :P

As far as drinking goes, NEVER do show off drinking. This means don't drink hard alcohol straight from the bottle, don't do too many shots, don't prove you can drink a case of beer by yourself.

Take an empty Mt. Dew box (24 pack, doesn't have to be Mt. Dew of course), put in a small trash bag, presto, "free" trash can for in the bathroom or something.

Life is what you make it. Everybody knows this because everybody is told this. But I don't think most people understand it until it's too late (or just later than prefered). Don't just do your same routine and think "well, after [insert whatever stage of school/whatever here] is over, things will be better/different/more fun". Actually be the person you want to be in a couple years, life doesn't usually just "show up" sometime. Like was mentioned, join clubs, meet new people.

Actually I could down a case (six pack) of beer and probably not even have problem walking. A 12 pack and I might feel a bit lighter for my weight, but my speach would be quite fine. Hard liquor, as long as it's a 750 ml, I can down no problem and still talk perfectly coherently (in fact, I talk BETTER than I do because I tend to overcompensate). Although, I know exactly what you mean - but never? Could you at least give me a funny anacdote as to why you say "never"? [wink]

Anyway, thanks for the "life is what you make it" pep talk - I know this is very true and all, but I think I'll try and make an effort to change how I act and maybe even how I look. To mix things up a bit and perhaps get a piercing (weird how I've never gotten one, actually).

What I find nice is that it's a new environment and a fresh start. I see myself changing a lot in the next two years, really. In fact, I see myself changing a lot in the next month.