My Life Lately

(A crane near my school. Pete and I have such a fondness for cranes! We sometimes send pictures of them to each other as a pick-me-up.)

It has been a while since I have last posted. There was a time where I was just really scared about what was going to happen next.

My depression and anxiety flared up again, seemingly out of nowhere (but most probably related to nausea and stomach sickness). I missed so much school, and didn't have the "courage" to email my teachers to explain. 

Fortunately, when I did return, despite still being anxious, I managed to sort things out. I am so absolutely grateful for how incredible my teachers and coordinators are for being so forgiving. They have rearranged so much for me, and made a lot of allowances.

I do not take this granted. I look forward to the day where I can be a regular student (or worker) without worrying about these sorts of days, or weeks. While I like to think I am much better at this point in time, I have still planned ahead by applying to do roughly 85% of my course online. This means I can work from home, or at the library (just somewhere generally less hectic than the classroom!) I can also work in huge chunks as I feel better, taking days off as I start to relapse, which will be the most crucial component of my success as a student.

I also don't take it for granted that the last few months have still been above average in terms of mood. It really is getting better everyday, with the occasional short relapse. I didn't know life like this was even possible. Depression is not the be all and end all disease I thought it was.

I am so lucky to be getting better, so soon.

(My school on one of the last days. Despite the sun, it was freezing. Regardless of the weather, it is hard not to appreciate such an old, incredible looking set of buildings like this).

In other news, last last week, I got my L's (and had a little drive around in a carpark, after hours).

I finished the first semester of library studies (just barely! I really screwed up things up by having those weeks off...)

I finally went and got myself listed as a disability student, in case I go fully bipolar again (but, it is just a precaution, I am sure this semester will be far more super than the last!)

I applied to do the next semester online. I plan to use this as an excuse to go to all the libraries in Sydney I have yet to visit, for a day of study and book browsing.

I started volunteering at Hurstville Library Gallery Museum, which I plan to write more about later.

(When I went to the disabilities building, I discovered this rooftop garden for the very first time... It is the same building as the library, but you can't access them from the same point, they occupy the front and back respectively. I think I will be making a lot more use of this as time goes on... It is so tranquil, and has the most excellent views of Sydney!)

Organising Resources

School can be daunting.

As a student (not that teachers are exempt here), you are going to receive a lot of information throughout the year, for a variety of different subjects which can be further divided up into specific workloads. Arranging that inefficiently or inappropriately can often lead to trouble.

We're fortunate as modern students to see that a lot of (and sometimes all) our content is delivered through e-resources, which means that nothing can ever truly get lost, and there is always a back-up (or, there really should be!)

Before school even starts, decide on what format you will be arranging your hard copies by, and stick with it. Whether it is a folder and notepad, display folders and textbooks, have it all prepared from your very first lesson so you don't have to rearrange these things later.

Of course, there are a few simple rules that you should abide by. Use plastic sleeves on all printed work, or at the very least, for those handouts you will be referring to all throughout the term or semester. It only takes one sleepy morning of not putting your drink bottle lid on properly that has the potential to ruin things. Even if you have soft copies that you can print out the moment you get home, to have to print and rearrange things more than once is wasting valuable time that you could be revising the said information instead.

Remember that you probably aren't going to get a copy of every piece of information your teacher shows you, especially in regards to presentations, so take notes. Get down the main concepts, keywords, and links, so you also have something to further research later. Even if you do end up getting a soft or hard copy of it in the end, it is good practice to maintain your physical writing skills. It also makes sure that you are trying to comprehend the information as you receive it if you have to decipher it, and stops your mind from wandering too far from the given topic.

In regards to soft copies, it also pays to be dilligent in your organisation. If possible, have a dedicated USB for your course. At the end of every day, copy it to your private drive at school, your home computer, and a general storage external hard-drive. It also doesn't hurt to store copies online or in the cloud, i.e. in your email, or through a program like Dropbox. This makes sure that all your files are current, and that you will always have a back up in case of malfunctiong or lost hardware, not to mention damage of your home or school.

Create and label a folder with the name of your over-all course, and further make a folder for each unit. From there, I have found it best to arrange information in folders that are labelled according to the week, and the possible topic of that week, for example, "Week 7 MARC introduction". When you receive e-copies of some information, make sure that the file name is labelled accordingly. Teachers will often give you PDFs with a title like, "Introduction", so edit it to make sure it includes either the basic unit name or the specific topic or concept, where you can easily associate it with the over-all course unit.

It is also quite handy to rename the file including a brief status of what you have had or are going to do, i.e. "Introduction to cataloguing (print)", "Web Page Timetable (printed)", "Learning Presentation (summarised)".

Depending on how you learn, you won't necessarily have to print everything, but some people find it easier based on their learning styles. If you have found success with the VARK learning style analysis of yourself, then you'll be very aware of how you best learn. For read-writer learners and visual learners, it is often best to have a hard-copy of the work that you can interact with. However, if you have the money, it may be worth investing in a good tablet. Many programs allow you to highlight, mark, and scribble in the margins.

Revision is the act of going over your unit notes, and it excludes homework. Try to spend at least an hour a week revising each subject, and it is best if that isn't done in a huge chunk. Aim to revise at least six days a week, at least ten minutes a day. There are exceptions to this, of course, but this should be your basic weekly outline. If Monday is too hectic because you run from school to work, then try and make Tuesday a more intensive revision night.

Do your revision first, which can be as simple as rereading the latest handouts. After your allocated time for that unit is up, tackle the corresponding homework, weekly exercises, or assessment, which should hopefully enforce everything that you have just read through.

Best of luck for the new school year! To look at my resource format for this year, click here.

Binders & Notebooks

This is my current organisation format for this school year.

Binders With Plastic Sleeves For Finished Print-Outs

I've got binders for every individual unit (with the exception of those that are integrated), plus an extra binder for a specific print-out book. I use plastic sleeves for every individual sheet, with the exception of certain exercises that share a sleeve when similar. I keep one solid example face-up.

I also printed cover pages for each of the books. Check out here for some great print-outs.

Small Workbooks For Note-Taking

At the back of the binder, I have a slip that holds a small workbook, which I use to take down all my notes. I find having a notebook easier than just holed pages, as this way I can be as messy and clumsy as I want and close it up at the end of the day, then sort through the important stuff later. I type up my notes at the end of every day, print them out, and transfer them to the binder.

Top & Side-Clamp Folders For Workbooks & Manuals

Rather than textbooks, we have manuals and workbooks, which we were advised to print out. Because of the interactive nature of workbooks, I decided to leave them in an open format so they are easy to access.

USB (Backed-Up) For Soft Copies

I have a USB which I take between home and school, but it is backed up in four places, which includes my personal drive on the school computer (called the U Drive), my home laptop, my general external hard-drive, and Dropbox (link here.)

 

 

Happy schooling for 2014!

 

Burwood Library & Ultimo TAFE Library

Burwood Library re-opened last week, and I finally got to check it out on Tuesday. It looks pretty fantastic, if still a little loud due to the large amount of students, who often socialise more than they seem to study. I wish they'd gotten a room in the same way as the children did.

Regardless of my personal complaint, they have used to the space really well. Everything has room to breathe compared to the cluttered old library. They seem to have more books than before, which is absolutely amazing! (Or maybe everyone suddenly returned books I haven't come across).

The view from the second floor, which is mainly for adult fiction, is my favourite. You can see the bridge that goes over the train tracks, where we park just right on the other side.

I found some great books to borrow, and I also managed to lengthen my to-read list.

 

This is another post about Ultimo Library. Picture 1 is their amazing science section, which I was drooling over a little (erm, again). Pictures 2 & 3 are purely about computers and programming, and what is pictured here only goes up to 5.7, as the collection continues onto the other side. I am amazed. This is the biggest programming section I have seen in my life.

There are so many library books (books about libraries, I should say), that I want to check out, and I pictured a few of them below, including the stack that I ended up borrowing.

I also want to comment on the puzzle that they have set up. A communal puzzle in an adult environment is amazing, and I think they are awesome for making this available.

 

Burwood Library Is About To Re-Open

Burwood has become a bit of a dull place since the library closed down. It's left me feeling rather empty and limited in my choice of books.
Despite being small previously, they were jam-packed with interesting reads that I hadn't come across anywhere else. Often World Cat will tell me I can pick up that book at 1) Burwood, and 2) Melbourne or possibly London. I love World Cat.
However, I am very pleased to announce that they are opening up again tomorrow at the crack of dawn (I wish). 9am.
Here's a sneak peak of the glorious outside. Isn't it big?! I am glad they are working with a bigger premises.
Burwood Library previously had the problem of limited seating. During busy months, like the lead up to the HSC, it is impossible to get a seat. Half the time I could sit on an inobtrusive part of the floor, but stusents usually clsim these places too.
It looks like that has been solved, and then-some.
I eagerly await to visit sometime soon for a nice look-around.

Library Studies Update

One week until school starts!

To prepare, I am finishing off my little Dewey Decimal study notes (as of writing this, I am up to 710, which is Civic & Landscape Art. I am learning something new every single day!) I've been using a mixture of Wikipedia, the page here, and this site, as reference.

Our printer has a little bit of a temperment... It will print 100 pages fine for me, as long as I don't ask for colour or anything fancy, and for Peter, it will print barely half. I think it is a little bit spiteful. I am full of praise for it, and Pete prints something expecting it to fail. I think it is a living thing that doesn't want to be disrespected. (Magic Toaster, anyone?)

I was also browsing library books (that is, books ON libraries) on the web, somewhat disappointed that we don't actually have textbooks for this course. Don't worry though. I found something to amuse myself. Added to my order were these two books, links in order here and here. And I added this one to my wishlist.

 

Orientation

Today was finally orientation for the diploma course. I got there exactly one hour early, and hung around the library.

Orientation took quite a while, as we got a basic introduction to the course and its units before being divided up into groups based on type of study and timetables. There was some flexibility to the timetabling, but they were all pretty early starts, regardless, so I just took whatever was available. I'm in the Yellow group!

I was "last but not least" again, but all the time in the world makes up for the sight that greeted me when I left the elevator.

FREE BOOKS(!)(!!!!!!!)

I grabbed a stack of them, everything concerning the opera, economics, poetry, and interesting sounding fiction.

With my newly acquired books, I headed off to Student Association, were I signed up for a whole year at the gym, which works out amazingly cheap. It'll be the perfect thing to fill up one hour breaks, and early finishes. 

I am so excited for this school year!