Goals:

1. Goals: So, a big warning right at the start: there’ll be little to no organisation in this document, largely because I’m writing it the day before it is due. Let’s hope I get marks for honesty. The first topic listed in the workbook is Goals, so I’ll start off with them. My biggest goal in life is to not be a bum. Plain and simple. I have to somehow earn a comfortable living. It also must be stable, so I can’t do something that has a variable pay or is on an indefinite term.

2. The only other condition is that it must involve something I have a passion for because I’m an unmotivated person and I’d quickly stop attending a job I didn’t care for. Unfortunately my passions are limited. Any job that doesn’t involve history, languages, or computer games/fantasy is out. The last one is unreliable in it’s acquisition and usually has a fluctuating pay so it’s out. That leaves me with languages , specifically dead ones, and history.

3. Note taking: Am currently using refill for taking notes. This will have to change as it is not very manageable. Each subject is all over the place, and there is not any real system going on. • Have read note taking hand out and have decided to experiment by using the method of dividing my page. In depth notes on the right hand side, and key words to reflect back on, on the left. So far, I have not found this strategy very effective. I am finding that I do not really have enough space to right my detailed notes, and that I am not using my left hand column affectively. Therefore there is no real point in me using this strategy, so I will have to come up with another way of taking notes.

4. As for taking the correct notes. I do not know if I have been writing down enough to reflect on. Will have to review this next week

5. My experience in CUP has ultimately been a good one so far. I know I’m going to have to work harder if I want to pass the course, and I’m prepared for that. I don’t know what the future holds, but I hope it to be a bright one.

6. [week 3 ] I have begun setting aside additional time every day to spend in the library filling in any gaps from time in class with work we were given and attempting to get ahead on upcoming assignments. I find the blue zone in the library an excellent area for focussed work and study and the library computers useful for accessing blackboard and printing any important documents, as I don’t have any printing facilities at home. I have found some of the algebra we’ve been doing in CUPR014 slightly difficult, but have benefited also from talking about it with one of my classmates who has an extensive knowledge on the subject.

7. Time management: I find that just allocating an hour extra a day between classes to work on assignments quite useful also as I tend to be more productive after having just been in class than when I’m at home and feeling comparatively unmotivated.

8. Budgeting: Uni skills is going well and having lectures on budgeting encouraged me to go and see a financial advisor. Although I was already good at budgeting and new where I was heading with it, I also thought that it would be great to have a second opinion on things and see if she had any advice for me. The result, I LOVED IT. Seen as I am already a budgeting freak (as my partner would say) it was cool to have someone to talk to and to get new ideas and other possible income to support my family. We established that if I asked my job to give me 6 permanent hours a week then there would be a lot less money stress. Nicky also gave me an awesome excel sheet cash flow. I have this set up at home now and use it on a regular basis.

9. Oral presentation: I felt somewhat nervous and shook like crazy which I knew would happen. I find this strange as I don’t feel shy giving my opinion in lectures, it is only when I know I’m being marked that I feel anxious. I was passionate about my subject, so I felt I delivered some good information and critical thinking, with ideas to the class to discuss.

10. Oral presentations: Some things I should work on for future presentations would be more eye contact, and to breathe slowly, taking my time to get through everything and making sure slides fit with my main points and arguments. I am looking forward to seeing the constructed criticism given by me tutor so I can work on these faults.

11. Note taking/Storage • This seemed to go a lot better this week. I made sure that I really wrote down as much detail as I could in lectures and tutorials. This has been affective, as I have found that I am understanding everything a lot more. • Storage still seems to be a bit of a mess, I think I need more clear pocket document holders

12. GoalsI can happily say that I completed most of my goals for this course. I’ve made some contacts in Wellington, met people, gotten to know the campus and have a general understanding of how the university works. Also I’ve had a look around wellington and conclude that the cost of living is high, quite high compared to other places. However, I can see that if I budget accordingly and utilise the universities financial planning and support people.

13. CUP so far has been quite the lovely and enlightening experience. I love going to University, and am apprehensive to leave it during the summer trimester. That being said, living entirely off of the Student Living Cost, it is financially a bread and water existence. I have since set up an overdraft, which was initially a very useful resource at my disposal. However, from a few loose nights out in town, and also spending $30 over-budget each week, my overdraft has been creeping ever higher. Thank God it is zero interest.

14. I’ve learnt about the university system, customs and ways of life that no amount of Victoria pamphlets could ever explain. I’ve learnt some library etiquette and discovered that most things are cut-throat. The university is a large place full of strangers. For this reason, it is best to not trust people, or ensure that trust is a reciprocal action, as is respect. 

15. I learnt some social skills, which I didn’t foresee before I joined this course. Also, I need to be very price weary and conscious as to whether I need something or not. Another thing I’ve learnt, if I want something I have to make a move for it myself and ‘grease the wheels’ my own way, because in real life, nobody cares what I want or why I want it.

16. These skills are easily ported to the real world, money and socialising are both very large parts of society today, and oddly enough there’s no point having a degree in xy or z if I can’t socialise or manage my money.

17. Time management: The only real obstacle in this course was the way I managed my own time. My apparent lack of time management means that I might end up doing an assignment slightly late, which reflects in the grading. In real life I plan to be better at time management, using the time management strategies I’ve learnt on this course, ironicly I’ll do this later, but I try to do it with each assignment. Also I find that I can write better if I’m out of my home environment. Like at the library. Sometimes I write better in my home environment, and sometimes not. It’s kinda hit and miss.