University Life 101

Well guys, sadly ULife classes are coming to a close.

I had my last class this week. Blogs must also be coming to a close, I'm guessing this will be my last one, maybe the last one in general. Everyone must be pretty bogged down with homework and assignments right now, I know I am.

I just wanted to throw in one last post here to say that I really appreciated the ULife experience. My students were all fantastic, and it's really cool to see them make it through the semester and to see the relationships develop. I really hope that I see them around, although I know that will be slightly more difficult with the Royal West thing.

Anyway, I wish everyone a successful December. We can all see some light at the end of the tunnel at this point. See you guys at grad (hopefully), and have a great University experience!

Mike O.

Posted by mto925 at 09:02 AM | Permalink

….and 3 weeks!

Was anyone clever enough to catch the dual purpose of the title and first line? It’s pretty obvious when you look at it and think about it.

Is anyone counting down the days in the first semester yet? I’m only sort of to that point, but I know some people must be getting excited to have their most dreadful class(es) finishing up. In just one short month to the day, that will be happening, minus of course any inherent final exams. Hence, the one month title…

In addition, if that isn’t good enough, what happens just 3 short weeks after that?? ‘Tis the season to be jolly, that’s what.

What a wonderful time of year this is. The stress and tension will build as finals approach, and then it culminates when you get up to hand in your last one, breathe that huge sigh of relief, and walk out of the room for a nice 2 or 3 week break from homework/stress/etc. Of course, some will have shorter or longer breaks depending on their exam schedule layout (need I remind that all of my finals in education for this semester are take home? Man, am I looking forward to December).

*PLOT TWIST* But wait! The fun doesn’t end there. That leaves us with the *small* task of shopping for Christmas gifts. I applaud anyone who goes out and buys their gifts super early (I’ve already had family members asking me what I want so they can get started). That’s definitely one habit that I have never considered seriously enough to try, although I certainly should. There’s nothing quite like going out and getting caught up in the December 23rd mall traffic.

How about budgeting? In my ULife class this week, I ran a little activity that gauged where people were at with their budgeting/planning/etc, and I have to say that I was impressed. I would be lying if I said that I was completely on the ball in terms of monetary organization when I was a first year student. Thank heavens for awesome, generous parents….on that note, for anyone that reads this, make sure and get your parents something real nice this year. I know you were already planning on doing so, right? Just a reminder, that’s all…

I think I’m starting to ramble here. I just wanted to post to proclaim my excitement for the time of year coming up, partly for the upcoming “extended” holidays, and partly to be moving on to new classes and such. My recommendation for this week is to keep an extra close eye on your bank account; it’s pretty easy to drain it right down to nothing in a hurry. Also, have fun and relax :)

You know, on a closing note, I just realized that my blog was somewhat lacking in humour this week. I apologize for that, and hope that I did not leave anyone saying, “Stupid monitor….be more funny!” (That was of course a reference to Homer saying the same thing, only about his TV…I know you all love The Simpsons, right? I shouldn’t have needed to clarify that, but I did anyway.)

Mike O.

Posted by mto925 at 09:06 AM | Permalink

Sorry guys, no exciting topic for me this week…nothing unique and thrilling. Just a simple “blah” blog as the title implies.

First year ed classes are going fairly well. I have another “group paper” coming up in the same class as my last one (you may remember from my last blog…if you read my last blog…then again, if anyone reads any of my blogs at all). Here goes another 35% of my mark in 5 pages! Outside of that, it’s been more of the same. Homework hasn’t been keeping me quite as busy as maybe some other years, but extra curr stuff and sports certainly is.

Time for a musical comment! I doubt anyone knows this about me, but I am absolutely fixated on Chris Cornell as an artist. Without a doubt, he is arguably one of if not the best rock singers ever, and the same can be said about his songwriting. His career has seen several big stops along the way, all of which have been extremely successful. Whether or not you know it, I’m sure you have heard him at some point (I say “whether or not you know it” because many…let’s just say “less informed” people don’t know that he was the singer for Audioslave, let alone Soundgarden and much else). Anyway, on with the blog here…whether or not you know him or agree with what I said is not the point. I was recently listening to a band that was recommended to me called Operator. I don’t know if anyone has actually listened to this band or not, but it is simply shocking how much the singer sounds like Cornell. Saying that is in my opinion a massive compliment to him, to get a comparison like that, but it really is shocking. If you like Cornell and the type of music he made with Soundgarden, check out Operator (first single was Soulcrusher).

Now, I was going to say that while it is impressive to be able to imitate someone who pioneered a sound in rock music with a unique voice, it’s not very original. I kinda changed my mind on that though, since it’s not really fair for me to assume that the singer from Operator wouldn’t sound like that even if it wasn’t for Cornell. Either way, there’s something to be said for originality. Including that statement into a “lesson”, let’s just say that it’s always a great idea to try to create your own path and be original. With that being said, if you are going to follow anyone, following someone who is successful is definitely the way to go :)

Besides, they may sound similar, but he just can’t match Chris’ vocal power in the end ;)

What’s that? Am I too far off topic for a ULife blog? Procrastination, time management, social life, university, classes, midterms, stressed, exams, essays, sleeping in, tired, campus, professors. There, hopefully that makes up for it :D

Cornell4life

Mike O.

Posted by mto925 at 09:31 AM | Permalink

Talk about some common themes, words that are being thrown around left and right this month. How many people are getting all too familiar with those terms, especially around this time of year? I, for one, am not.

Well, that’s only a half truth I suppose. I am fairly exhausted these days, usually mostly on the days that require me to get up at stupidly early hours….which is actually turning out to be quite a bit of the time now. Playing sports, which I’m sure many people that read this do, will of course add to the exhaustedness (did I just make up a new word there? Microsoft Word seems to think so…I could have used exhaustion, but what fun is that?). Floor hockey, for example, is an absolute heap of fun, but is also a cardio nightmare/heaven, depending on how you view it.

As an aside, I would like to state right off the bat that I am in no way bashing my college or the university in any way, I would never do something so silly as that….in fact, I find it incredibly refreshing that I literally have ZERO midterms this fall. I also find it refreshing that in one of my classes, we are doing a group paper of 5 pages double spaced, which we have been given significant amount of time to work on in class….or maybe also that any final exams that I actually have to write are all take home exams, and a couple of classes have “interviews” at the end rather than an exam. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that everything here is easy, people in this field know exactly how challenging education can be/is. With that being said, I did however want to voice my pleasure about not having to stress about midterms. Having gone through it for several years at university, I know what it’s like.

For that reason, I can totally empathize with those of you that are in the heat of midterm season, and all of the mental strain that comes along with it…not to mention the “exhaustion” (nowhere NEAR as fun as “exhaustedness”). In this way, there is a link between my two subjects. Exercise really is an absolutely fantastic way to deal with stress. I have a friend who was saying that he had a ton of homework tonight, and may not be able to make it to our volleyball game….while I understand the situation, I also encourage avoiding having this happen. The break from working to go and do something physical (absolutely anything to get you moving) is just a miracle worker in terms of making you feel great (even if that does mean you’ll be a bit tired the next day). Whatever you decide to do, just be sure not to sacrifice sleep…or at least to sacrifice as little as possible. Otherwise, you may end up sleeping until 1 in the afternoon on a Sunday and sacrificing half the day (which I did this weekend…I can’t remember the last time I slept that late before then).

Anyway, that’s a lot of rambling about something that some people might think is boring. Summary: midterms get everyone stressed, don’t let it bother you. Deal with it in your own way, although I personally encourage physical activity. Of course, if you’re looking for classes without exams, you know they exist in the college of education, but we all know that no one should be going into education strictly for the personal benefits, AM I RIGHT?? Do people actually do that? Not possible…

That’s all for me this week. Hey, I actually remembered to blog this week! See what organization can do? Until next week, I’m now off to my 10 a.m. class again, where I am almost certain we will be working on our group paper today.

Mike O.

Posted by mto925 at 10:04 AM | Permalink

I was beginning to think that I had them. I’m not so sure any more.

Growing up, I was never one to bother organizing myself much. I relied solely on my memory to remember things such as homework, assignments, deadlines, and events; anything you can think of. Of course a high school student doesn’t have nearly as much on their plate as a university student, but that’s beside the point. Even once I entered the realm of university studies and (shudder) “adult” responsibilities, I continued with my habits of organization, or perhaps I should say lack thereof. At first it wasn’t quite such a big deal, but seeing organization in my girlfriend (now wife) and having experienced some flustered moments after forgetting things, I soon realized it was time for a change.

I have to say that it does feel absolutely fantastic to use organization tools once you get yourself into it. Google calendar has become one of my best friends in the world. It syncs with my Blackberry calendar automatically, so no matter where I am I can edit and view my schedule. I have also begun using other organizational tools for things such as my class notes, and being a prospective teacher, keeping organized is absolutely paramount to success…it kind of goes without saying. In fact, I can already say with certainty that since life has gotten a heck of a lot busier, there have already been a few things that I may in fact have missed out on if it wasn’t for a calendar and reminders. Coming from a guy who just laughed when people recommended planners, you know it has got to have at least SOME meaning.

Anyway, it is at this point that you may be wondering where I am going with this whole spiel. However, anyone who is sharp is not in fact wondering where I am going with this. As my first blog posting THREE weeks ago clearly states, we have a blogging schedule to follow with alternating days, and each coach posting every two weeks. Yes, TWO weeks. Sigh. I even sort of remembered last week too, and what did I do??? I MENTALLY reminded myself that I needed to blog on Wednesday. You see?? This is why I changed in the first place! Yeesh.

On the bright side, I am still getting it done, despite the fact that it’s a week late. Also on that note, it did give me a chance to re-emphasize a very important topic to university students. Thankfully, this time it didn’t end up costing me too much (unless there are repercussions….Stephanie, please be gentle :p). Seriously though, learn from my small mistake. I really can’t emphasize properly how much better using an organizational calendar has made things.

Now I am off to my 10 a.m. class….which clearly appears on my schedule. Until next week, enjoy your lives in an organized way if at all possible!

Er, wait…that is if I remember to blog next week. Perhaps I will add it to my calendar during class or something…..

Mike O.

Posted by mto925 at 09:29 AM | Permalink

Greetings to all!

My name is Michael Olfert, and I have the pleasure of introducing everyone to the ULife blogs, new to this year of ULife. The blogs are a great way for some of us ULife coaches to share our own experiences on campus. Due to the fact that we just discussed our blogging setup at this morning's ULife meeting, and it is my duty to blog every second Wednesday, we figured I would kick us off with something very simple to get us going today, and from here we can go into our schedule of blogging, which will be as follows:

Week 1:
Monday - Megan (Transition Coach)
Wednesday - Mike (Transition Coach)
Friday - Ryan (Engineering Coach)

Week 2:
Tuesday - Ian (Engineering Coach)
Thursday - Gillian (Ag Coach)

Today will be Wednesday of week 1, so from here on out, Ryan will be blogging this Friday, and then into the week 2 bloggers, etc.

I would like to briefly introduce myself to begin with, and the other coaches will do the same in their first blogs. My name is Mike Olfert, and I am a first year student in the college of education. I graduated a couple years back with a B. Sc. majoring in biochemistry, and after a couple years in field crop research have decided that I wanted to do something different. I am extremely excited about my new career path, and I am quite happy with the way it is starting out. I have already met several great people in my first few days of classes, and I'm sure I will meet many more to come. This Thursday I will be meeting my hosts at Aden Bowman, which is where I will be taking part in my student teaching.

Aside from my interest in education, I absolutely love sports, both playing and coaching. Although my coaching experience isn't as extensive as I would like it to be as of yet, I plan to continue to work on it. I am also quite fond of a good movie, and a good video game, especially the Guitar Hero series. Despite once thinking it to be impossible, perseverance paid off as I brought myself to be able to beat Through the Fire and Flames on expert, and have since upped my score on it to 4 stars. So there you go, as long as you put your mind to something, you really CAN achieve anything! I hope that didn't come off as bragging.... :(

That's about all I have to say about myself without going into dreadful detail, so I will leave it off there and allow the other coaches to take over from here.... I have an ed class to be at in 10 minutes anyway :) Other than that, I would like to wish everyone a successful year, and hope to see you all around as much as possible. See you next blog!

Mike O.

Posted by mto925 at 09:33 AM | Permalink