Repetitio

University. It is that period of time again. It starts off the same as every other day. You bump into your high school friends at your local train station and sit there realising how everyone has grown up as you share your life stories. Then you bid your goodbyes as you get off at your stop and join the solemn march of tired students up the stairs of the station. As you walk out, you're greeted by a homeless person with a cup of silver coins clasped between two hands, who has now become a part of the city tapestry, camouflaged into the walls because you're so used to his presence. A pang of pity hits you and leaves as fast as the lingering smell of cigarettes at the café you've just passed.

You face your first challenge of the day - The three sets of stairs that leads you to the main campus. By the time you reach the top, you take quick glances to your left and right hoping the people around you notice you're out of breath and panting. For the next and most difficult challenge for the socially awkward, you strategically choose your seating arrangements in your first lecture to sit right in the middle so you don't seem too eager at the front or too badass at the back, leaving one seat on either side of you to leave room for friendship.

Yeah, it's all been thought out carefully for me because I do not know how to initiate conversations. SOMEONE JUST BE MY FRIEND AND MAKE THIS NEW SEMESTER LESS MISERABLE. And did I really just word vomit all of that?

Schola

Guys, hold onto the reins of your horses (or your power cord - whichever is readily available) because I have the most ridiculous news to tell. Okay, so you know how this is my second year of uni? I actually have been enjoying the past two weeks of it. UM WHAT WHO SAID THAT? The impossible has occurred. May this be written in the history books.

So in between slipping into deep comas during my lectures, I've been having a good balance between studying and a social life. I still need to work in decent hours of sleep (and maybe a job) into my invisible pie graph.

After an entire year of being accosted by Christians, I finally gave in and decided to see what a Catholic society was like since Teresa runs it, and it seemed like the good mannered thing to do by going. I walked into a room full of Catholics with a Buddhist charm around my neck then had a panic attack from awkwardness. The next two hours was just awkwardly pretending to be a social butterfly and fake laughing. And then I came home with the most relieving ranting session. (Although I don't think we've "purified" our souls after all that bitching.)

I also met the nicest bunch of people through a really hipster friend I've recently met. I barely knew any of them, but they were all so welcoming and being their mental selves rather than pretending to be normal.

"How would you describe your last poop using a movie title?"
"Fast and Furious."
"The Hulk."
"The Longest Yard."
"Blood Diamond."

So far, it looks like it's going to be a good semester. My future self is probably going to punch my present self in the face for saying this.

Finito

I've finished my exams and a whole year of uni. I have learnt so much this year about myself. Like how I become a compulsive liar around strangers when they ask, "How old are you?" and I'd immediately say I'm 17 before they can launch into their speech of saving the world by trying to get us to sign up for their causes. Most of them need you to be a legal adult so they just tell me to think about it till I'm "18". I've also learnt how to meet new people and seem slightly less like a snob due to my introverted nature. I'm getting better at introducing myself too.

Julie: Oh, have you guys met? This is Bec and this is Patrick. He's really popular.
Me: Is that how you introduce people? "He's really popular." Um, yeah, hi I'm Rebecca and I'm unpopular.
Patrick: Hi I'm Patrick and I'm going to major in physics because chicks dig physics.

I don't think I won that one. I had lunch with the physics group before meeting up with Amy to eat at Pie Tin. We're going to make it a tradition now to celebrate through food/photo adventures after whoever is the last to finish their exams.

We thought we could easily eat three slices of sweet cakes rather than get one savoury pie and two sweet cakes. We were wrong. I felt like my teeth were going to start eating itself away from the sugar overdose.

Nutrimens

The thing I like about going to uni is that it's in the city. The thing I hate about uni is that it's in the city. So conflicting. If I was a robot I'd explode from feelings within a minute of trying to be human. I guess I like being near the city because I have more options for things I can do and places to eat on the rare occasions that I finish uni early. The thing I hate about being in the city five days a week is how far it is from home. I have to get up two hours earlier than my first class (compared to high school where I just rolled out of bed looking like a prisoner of Azkaban then was at school within 5 minutes) then there's the cost of train tickets. Like paying gazillion dollars per year just to be educated isn't enough!

Today's city adventure was to Hyde Park where the night noodle markets are held. Junyssa (who is officially my impulse eating uni buddy) and I had it all planned out that we were going to stay at uni to study for two hours before heading off but we completely ditched that idea and ended up shopping at Paddy's market, eating at Town Hall then pretended to be rich by sitting at a chair, refusing to leave because we were too comfortable lying there, amongst all the designer shops at Westfield Centrepoint Tower.

As lame as it was, I think that was the highlight of my day. We looked like homeless people amongst the classy ladies with their fancy hats and elegant dresses and the business men sporting those cases that looks like it has the contents of a $500, 000 winner on that TV show, Deal or No Deal. We then realised that we were probably doing the complete opposite of getting rich by lazying around and not studying.

The food at night noodle markets wasn't that great and plus, I'm Asian so the food there were all ordinary to me and I've had much better.

The only thing I liked were the decorated tables and the guy who was performing there. Good music always lifts up the mood and makes up for the lack of good food!

Friends For Dummies

As we grow older, we find it much more difficult to make friends. When we are 5, friends are the people who share toys with you. When we are 10, friends are the people who don't have cooties. When we are 15, friends are the people who hates the same person as you. See how much more difficult it gets? Well, thank goodness there's me to help you out on the journey of friendship for those struggling to find friends in environments, such as uni, with the world's biggest pretentious people.

Friends For Dummies by Rebecca Tran.

1. Be confident with who you are. A good method is to practise saying your name in front of a mirror until you're confident that you won't forget it. Being the nervous person I am around unfamiliar people, I almost introduced myself as Tessa to a fellow lab group member. I honestly have no idea where that came from and I hope none of you will ever make that mistake after following my advice because it is downright embarrassing and the biggest brain fart you'll ever experience. If you want to go a step further, it's a good idea to remember what course you do and why you're doing it as well.
2. Equip yourself with knowledge (or lack of). One of my earliest uni friends I've made was by wondering around lost with the map of my uni opened on my phone. A girl asked me for directions and by coincidence, she was in the same tutorial as me. Through our shared fear of being lost in one of the creepiest buildings and getting in trouble for arriving late to our first class, we somehow became friends. By another great coincidence, we have a mutual love for fictional characters and tendency to leave assignments till the night before it was due. So either being lost or being a know it all will get you somewhere! You're either lost together or a know it all helping out a lostie.
3. Get to know the people from your group work. Rants of my friends' uni woes mostly comprises of bad experiences to do with group work. In your group, there will almost always be someone being a control freak and/or someone who does not contribute to anything and never turns up to meetings. Bonding with others over mutual hatred works a charm. Thank God I don't have group work yet. However, there might be those rare occasions that everyone in your group does what they're supposed to and you enjoy your time together so you might even spend time outside of uni together.
4. Electrocute them. There's nothing like beginning a friendship with a spark. Speaking from experience, it hurts but it's worth the pain. When put in those situations, it brings out their real personalities by how they deal with things. For example, I met two guys in my physics tutorial and it was so silent and awkward. One of the questions that we had to answer involved using a van de Graaff. Since I had long hair, I used it to try make my hair radiate out. One of them came too close to me and the electrons jumped and passed onto him causing us to experience an electric shock. I found that he is dramatic and likes to swear when things get tough and the other guy is still immature ("YOU GOT HIT BY A GIRL!") and would rather laugh than ask if we're okay. After that, it was less awkward.

Good luck and may you find that special someone to make cherished memories with!

Nitrogen

N2 Extreme Gelato opened recently so I went with Amy to try the ice creams that are made in front of you using liquid nitrogen. The whole store had a laboratory theme to it, which is pretty cool.

My second semester of uni has started and it's time to put my imaginary serious hat on. Remember how Pepito from Madeline once showed his entire hat collection that he has for almost every occasion? His infamous one is the bad hat. I need a stop blogging and write study notes hat.

Somewhat interesting things this so far:

• One of my lecturers introduced herself as Dale - Flashback to over a month ago when I emailed my unit coordinator with "Hi sir" and "Thank you, sir" only to realise three emails later that Dale is actually a woman. You can imagine my shock and how much I freaked out. She never replied to my apology (I sounded so desperate and made it a million times more awkward) so I'm hoping she'll never work out who this Rebecca is.
• Received my first ever parcel from buying online at Book Depository. Everything is so much more exciting when it's all wrapped up! I've been living like I'm from the 19th century.
• Random meet up with all the Usyd people in the group for froyo. The stories we all shared ended up with us dying (or crying) from laughter - Amy: "I have a know it all in my class." Vivienne: "Yeah, me too! I don't know anyone in class!" Also Vivienne was telling us about how you can unplug magnesium out of your head and the scientific thinkers of the group just.. yeah, we just exchanged looks.
• Vivienne being upgraded: "Everyone always gives me their rubbish so it's like I'm a rubbish bag! Now you're telling me to buy things so I'm like a shopping bag!"
• Saw quite a few train commuters reading 50 Shades of Grey. I failed to impress a lady with my superior book - I Am A Cat by Natsume Sōseki. She didn't even look up! HOW COULD YOU NOT? IT'S LIFE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A CAT. A CAT.
• Nearly stacking it on the train. This happens a lot but I don't understand why Jellee is always the one there to witness it. I technically never fall, which makes me a genius in the art of not toppling over completely!
• Made an observation that sounded racist but I swear I'm not. I OFFICIALLY HAVE A BAD REPUTATION AMONGST THE FUTURE PHARMACISTS THAT WERE THERE AND IF I END UP MAJORING IN PHARMACOLOGY, NO ONE THERE WILL BUY DRUGS OFF ME. That ended up with Jellee, Jason and I laughing over things we shouldn't be laughing about. Anyone notice how good it feels to laugh when you have a blocked nose? Laughing overall, feels good.

I found out that a first year girl from my uni got a silver medal for canoeing in the Olympics. It just made me wonder, what have I achieved in life? I didn't think for long because there honestly isn't much I can reflect on my life. Not to brag or anything but this one time I had 7 hours of sleep altogether in 5 days. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS.

Solus

Because (look at me start a post with a conjunction) I went to uni today despite it being a weekend, I decided to take my camera out and hoped I wouldn't look like a tourist at my own uni with less people around. Although I still act like one because I don't know over half the buildings that exists at uni. So this is what my typical Monday to Friday consists of:

WOW YOU'RE ALL FASCINATED AND MUST BE IN COMPLETE AWE IF YOU'VE SCROLLED DOWN TO HERE. BUT I ASSURE YOU UNI ISN'T THAT GREAT.

I went to see Vivid after, which is a light show display in Sydney. It's not as fun being a tourist by myself. I felt a bit lonely and preferred the company of my family since it's kind of our thing to go to the city at night.

University

If I had to draw a mind map wtih the word "university" in a big bubble in the middle of the page, minus all the colourful pens and fancy arrows and clouds I used to do in primary school, it'll look like this:

DRAINING. DISAPPOINTING. FRIENDLESS. SHITTYRAIL. PEAK HOURS. MONEY CONSUMING. EXHAUSTING. FLYERS. LONELY BREAKS. MACBOOK PRO. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. LECTURES. BORING. CAMPUS. TIMETABLES. FREE WI-FI. TWITTER. CONFUSING. TECH LOUNGE. SUBWAY. OVER PRICED TEXTBOOKS. BLACKBOARD. EMAILS. SLEEP DEPRIVED. ASSESSMENTS. LOST AND DIRECTIONLESS FIRST YEAR STUDENT.

So yes, I'm that friendless and broke first year student who is an international student magnet and spends too much time updating my status on Twitter during my lonely breaks while being approached by opinionated and (not so) radical uni students handing out flyers (and a Chinese bible in one case) in their attempts of brainwashing us to make a change in this world. It was awkward when I was trying to shove my lab coat in a plastic bag then this guy came up to me to sign a petition to make the government ban the use of plastic bags. I ended up signing it to avoid looking less like an environmentally damaging person than I already did.

Out of the two weeks of uni, I think my fondest memories would be the mini high school "reunion" we had when we all happened to bump into each other, going to the arcade after uni with a few of the group and taking ugly photos and buying the ugliest friendship bracelet ever that costs 20 tickets each and the feeling of walking out of a lecture. Twice. I know it's really rude but words cannot describe how horrible those lectures were. Also, I mustn't forget how Christine stayed back two hours to go home with me and waiting outside my class with an Easy Way. Who needs a boyfriend when you have friends like her?

Something I've learnt: NEVER wear shorts/skirts/dresses on the days you have lab work. It makes you look like you're wearing nothing underneath your lab coat. This guy in my lab group was wearing gym shorts. My other lab partner and I ended up dying of laughter. Thank goodness for another immature person at uni!

I hope I settle in soon and there will be a day where I'll wake up looking forward to uni. Otherwise I'll just threaten the principal (do universities even have principals?) that I'll just drop out and join a Buddhist community because this website told me to. Although I doubt he/she will care. I'm just one tiny drop amongst the ocean.

A Series Of Unfortunate Events

A Series Of Unfortunate Events by Rebecca Tran.

Chapter 1 - CREATURE OF THE NIGHT
With my MacBook Pro rested on my lap and earphones plugged in, I obsessively refreshed a band's YouTube page that I should not mention out of shame because I've spiralled into the hole of admiration rather than shaking my head at the thousands of fans who stayed up till 2am waiting for a new music video to be uploaded. The more I replayed it, the more catchy it became. I cursed myself silently for every time I clicked on the play button. Before I knew it, it was 4am. This ended up with me getting three hours of sleep and a painful wake up call to attend Orientation Week at university.

Chapter 2 - PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION
Taking an almost full train, I decided to sit on an empty seat across a couple. After a few bites into my cheese and bacon, the couple in front of me began touching each other and giggling. If that wasn't bad enough, they did this for the entire forty five minutes of the commute. All I could hear was giggling, tickling and the girl using a baby voice. I was pretending to eat my cheese and bacon the entire time to avoid looking at them. Forty five minutes to eat a $1.80 cheese and bacon. I hope they look back on this day in five years and mentally apologise to that girl who sat across them and had to let her cheese and bacon go cold.

Chapter 3 - CLASH OF THE TIMETABLES
The timetable staff could not fix my timetabling problems and told me to go Faculty of Science. Upon getting there, I was told they couldn't fix my timetable and directed me to the Faculty of Arts. After lining up for half an hour to talk to a staff, they told me in half a minute that they couldn't do anything about it either. Over an hour of my life was gone running around a huge campus I wasn't familiar with. All I want is permission from the Department of Mysteries to borrow a time turner so I can attend all my classes. Also within the span of fifteen minutes, I was approached by three different people in green shirts that says JESUS IS LORD to try get me to join their club.

Chapter 4 - IDENTITY CRISIS
A man approached me to join another club that involves bettering children in third world countries. He went on for minutes before finally asking what nationality I was. Out of impulsiveness, I replied, "Sri Lankan," hoping he'd get off my tail and let me off as I was in a rush. Instead, I got the opposite response I was hoping for and he exclaimed, "OH, EVEN BETTER. YOU'RE BILINGUAL!" Not to be rude, but if I'm Sri Lankan, then why am I so white?

If you enjoyed my preview of my new book of misadventures, buy it in stores next month for only $48!