It's only the midsemester. Now, if you're lucky, you don't have one. If you're not-so-lucky, you may be graced with one or *cringe* two. If you're the type of person who manages to get caught in a typhoon on the one day you forgot to bring your umbrella, then you will most likely have midsem exams for all your subjects. This is highly unlikely though, unless you've picked out subjects specifically for the masochistic purpose of studying during the two-week grace period we have in lieu of "school holidays". *insert whipcracking sound here*

Lesson is, pick your subjects carefully. Generally after your first year (when we get all the prerequisites out of the way), you will have the flexibility to pick up subjects according to your capability and schedule. Make sure you know what you're getting into before you hit that "Continue" button on My Student Admin > My Enrolment. A good tip is to ask people who have done it before you.

Now, if you're about to bravely venture where no batchmate of yours has ever gone before, it would help to go to the UTS Engineering Faculty Handbook and do a bit of reconnaissance before heaping, say Machine Dynamics, Mechanics of Solids, Electronics and Circuits and Thermodynamics, all on one plate. (Sample subjects only)

Remember, it's good to get one or two days off a week at uni. But if you're taking really hard and time-consuming subjects just because their lectures/tutes suit your schedule, think again! You might just end up not having free time at all because of the demands of the subjects! As a general rule of thumb, if you're doing full-time (4 subjects) study, pick 2 subjects you're fairly confident in and pair them up with 2 other "harder" subjects. That way, you try to even out your work throughout the semester, exams or no exams!

End of the day... no one can tell you how to take your degree. However, it's good to understand that life is way bigger than you think it is and it can't be confined to just studying for that extra HD mark. Most of the things that engineers learn, they learn from experience; they learn from REAL life. So do take my advice for this one, and take time to stop and smell the flowers*.

Cheers!

*It has been physically proven through highly regarded scientific experiments that one needs to stick their nose out of a book to actually experience the nasal delight of environmental flora.

Posted by Louella on April 14, 2008 9:58 AM | Comments (0)

The harbour cruise was awesome!

Pirates and Ninjas went head to head to conquer the not-so-high "seas" of the Sydney Harbour. I, of course, went as a scurvy-free pirate complete with sword and head gear! YAAAR!! Even then, there was still reason for me to feel a bit under-dressed for the occasion. Heaps of other adventurous people dressed up as pirates; eyepatch, hook, tattoos, scabard and all! Of course, there was the imminent appearance of the "UTS Ninja Society" founding members and a couple of other independent ninjas for hire. Mention ENGSOC, and you just might get a discount on that next "job" of yours! I kid, I kid! Oooh and not to mention, some lovely ladies turned up in full gypsy/pirate wench attire and they were looking absolutely gorgeous!

Free-flowing drinks* (local beer, wine, champagne and pseudo-sangria) , gourmet-style pizza (a surprise I say, I was expecting Dominos!) and the company of good friends on and off the dance floor. All this against the beautiful backdrop of Sydney's famous harbour... of course I had a good night! It didn't stop there though, the party went off and in to Cargo Bar for a proper afterparty! Aye, this was defintely a wild night, and worth doing all over again, in a heartbeat! (Or before you can say YARRR!)

If you want to get involved in the UTS Engineering Society, contact us at enquiries@secsme.org.au
We hold excellent events for students of all levels and ages. So don't be shy, ye landlubbin' critter ya!

*All UTS Engineering Society Functions are held in accordance to RSA rules.

Posted by Louella on April 14, 2008 9:30 AM | Comments (0)

YAAAAARRRR!! Clubs day was awesome. The EngSoc team, aptly named "Pirates Vs Ninjas", came in 2nd for the UTS Union Amazing Race. It was well worth running around in a pirate costume with steel cap boots on! (You have NO idea how heavy my Hard Yakka boots are... it was like sprinting with ankle weights on! I was in pain the next morning!) We were aiming for Best Dressed, with 3 pirates (complete with swords, hats, eye patches and hooks, mind you) and 2 superninjas -- but 2nd place overall is SO much better.

Pirates FTW!

I'm not even going to defend myself on this one and I may regret saying this... but somehow, I find that there is something quite liberating about behaving in the manner of a loud, obnoxious, stinky pirate. You can, of course, challenge me mates and I to a throw-down on this one!

The reason we were all dressed up was because we were promoting the 2008 ENGINEERING SOCIETY HARBOUR CRUISE with the theme Pirates vs. Ninjas. Now there's a chance for everyone to come down and fight for their side! Come dressed as either a Pirate or a Ninja and enjoy a wild night cruising the Sydney waters! Believe me, this is very much a part of university life (for engineering at least)...as much as Casio scientific calculators are, anyway.

There are posters everywhere but be quick and get in on your tickets before April 4. The cruise itself is FRIDAY April 11, 2008. 6:30pm departure. See posters and print ads for details ;) For more info, you can email exec@engsoc.org.au

It's a pirates life for me! YARRRRRRRRR :)

Posted by Louella on March 29, 2008 3:04 PM | Comments (0)

Whoa. I haven't blogged in ages! I did tell you I was busy at uni. It's quite ironic that when a blog is bare, people assume that one has nothing to blog about... but in my case, I just ran out of time to blog!

Here's a monthly break down of the antics that my mates and I got up to over the past few months of my blogging absence:

November 2007 - Attended the MASQUERADE Engineering Society Ball of 2007.
December 2007 - Went down with the UTS Motorsports Team to the Formula SAE Event down at Werribee. (No we didn't do spectacularly well, but we had one hell of a ball down there!)
January 2008 - Started Marketing work for UTS Motorsports.
Febuary 2008 - Engineering Orientation Camp!
March 2008 - Beer and Prawn Night and planning for other EngSoc activities. Yay!

Now, for me to blog about all these equally relevant events in just one entry would probably make my fingers numb and your eyes bleed reminiscent of a few B-grade horror movies. Not a pretty sight I reckon! Sordidness aside, I plan to update this blog with the backlog of events in a semi-chronological order beginning from way back in the 'ber months of 07. Watch out, my next few blogs will be a mix of current updates and 4x4 trips down semi-short-term memory lane!

***************

Piece of advice guys and girls, when starting uni, never bite off more than you can chew! Your studies always come first in uni and everything else can wait. Sure, it may be fun getting involved in extra-curricular activities such as sporting teams, clubs and societies but make sure you know what you're getting into and you can balance both fun and study. A good extra-curricular team/society is one that still allows you to cope with your academic load and allows you to rely on them for help as well!

Study hard, party harder.

Posted by Louella on March 11, 2008 8:32 AM | Comments (0)

Hey, I'm Louella. Louie, for those who prefer the two syllable name calling. I'm a Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering student currently in my first year of studies. So far, so good! The year is actually coming to an end and it's been awesome thus far. I've involved myself in quite a few things, including the UTS Engineering Society, UTS Motorsports Team and I've dabbled a bit in Women In Engineering. And these are just the things I do inside the Uni! Oh yeah, and I study as well, or at least, I try to! My course is a BEng, DipEngPrac, which means that I'm looking into doing 12 months worth of engineering work experience in my field of study as part of my course. Fantastic stuff, I'm looking forward to my first 6 month internship sometime next year!

For the record, university life has been both a challenge and sort of a privilege at the same time. You get so much freedom, yet so much more is expected of you. I've spent a good part of my life in the Philippines, but completed a term of Year 11 and all of Year 12 in Australia. I've just cleared through HSC almost exactly a year ago and I've realised that studying for finals is *gasp* even tougher than studying for the HSC. This isn't about how tough your subjects are, but mostly about how you balance your load and still enjoy university life at the same time. I mean come on, everyone knows it wasn't mandatory to have a life in Year 12! Haha, I kid, I kid!

Seriously though, there's not much 'about me' at the moment. I'm generally a social person who can't be locked down to pure academics. (Oh, the horror!) I find it pretty cool that UTS offers other such outlets for people to expand their knowledge and be more active in their fields of study. I genuinely enjoy engineering and am having an awesome long term learning experience through my course.

Speaking of learning experiences, I'm just about to "experience" another round of finals. I gotta go get "learning" soon! :p Catch ya later!

Posted by Eddie on November 7, 2007 12:24 PM | Comments (3)