Group Vlog

 

Hi guys, Welcome to our last post for this blog.

We hope you like the short video blog we have created for your enjoyment.

The overall objective of our blog topic was to provide fellow Mq students, teachers and visitors with some useful facts about places to visit, things to do and where to go for help on campus. As we described in our first blog post, as we are all currently Mq uni students, we felt that this particular topic was something of common interest. This short video aims to provide some guidance for viewers in regards to some of the places we have mentioned in our previous posts.

Firstly, we take you down a part of Wally's Walk - one of Macquarie University's most known walkways. After a brief introduction of our group members, our video aims to take you on a short tour around campus. From one of the many cafes where you can grab a "Cheap Eats Deal", to "MUSE/Student Connect" for all your queries and student needs, to the "Well-being Centre" for any mental health or counselling needs, to "Ubar" for a place to hang out and chill, to the "Library" where you can study, relax and read; and lastly, to the "Numeracy Centre", for all those Mathematics students who may need assistance. These are simply a few of the places mentioned in our blog and we selected the ones we thought may be most useful to our fellow students and viewers.

In regards to everyone's contributions, all the activities and places to visit mentioned in our blog posts have been individually selected by each of our group members. As the six of us are currently undertaking different degrees in varying fields, have different interests, hobbies and personalities, it was easy to come up with a broad scope of ideas for our blog. We hope you thoroughly enjoy our little video and use our blog to assist you with student life at Macquarie University.

The Music was sourced from IMovie.
Camera work by Sarah and Devon

On behalf of us all,
Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkdZlh-aGOE

Finding your space: Where to study or relax in Macquarie

-E6A: the foyer of E6A is an excellent area to study or use any kind of technological device,
with excellent wifi connection and power points with all the seats, it is perfect for long study
sessions as well as sitting around and relaxing on your own. However, it is a rather small area
and fairly popular, so getting there early is your best bet for securing your space.

-MUSE baseline: personally I prefer the basement, however the upstairs section is just as good.
with plenty of beanbags and space to relax, baseline is one of my personal favourite spots to get
away and be on my own, whether it is to study or just to procrastinate. Pick up a beanbag, get into
a corner and get comfortable. Just make sure to get in either early or late in order to get a spot.

-The fields outside campus hub: On a sunny day, there simply isnt anywhere better.
Although it is an excellent spot, issues arise when it is raining or cold or, given
the weather recently, most likely both. Bring along some friends and relax in the sun or even get
some study done with minimal distractions and beautiful surroundings.

Macquarie Sports Centre & Sports Field

Macquarie University provide students with various choices of sports and fitting programmes. The Uni has two main hubs for doing sports. 

The first one is Macquarie University Sports and Aquatic Centre, which lies northwest to the main buildings of the Uni, near Culloden Rd. Generally, it is a one-stop sport and fitness hub that can fulfil your most active need regardless of age or fitness levels. It contains a Health Club, two swimming pools(one 25m long, another 50m long), Sport Clubs and squash courts.The operating hours are 5:30am - 10:00pm from Monday to Friday, and 6:00am - 7:00pm for Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. The price is quite fair, $67.50 for 3 weeks, including unlimited swimming, Gym plus 100+ classes (inc. Zumba, Yoga, Pilates and more) New Weights Area, Touch Screen Cardio and so on.

The second one is Macquarie University Sports Fields. It is located near the junction of Culloden Rd and Talavera Rd. It is about 5 minutes to drive to there from the Uni. The main programme provided here are footy, rugby, soccer and tennis, which the Sports and Aquatic Centre could not provide due to the limit of place. It contains 3 Oval ground for footy and rugby, two square field for soccer and 12 tennis courts( including 3 Australian-Open-Standard hard courts and 4 clay courts). For the tennis courts, it costs at most $20 per hour as appropriate. For the others, they are free to use unless there're games or training programmes .

Roger

Sleep: and why you need more of it

As a very important part of life and healthy living, sleep and a proper sleep schedule is even more important during the formative years of our adulthood then anywhere else. as I sit here at 2.00AM writing this post, I was thinking, why is it that university students more than all other people have terrible sleep schedules or simply choose to live on little if any hours of sleep, it seems like a very large culture of lack of sleep and late hours study/leisure time is forming and it is not only unhealthy but also unintelligent.

As a blogger for a student lifestyle blog, my tip for today is to simply tell you to slow down, relax, and have a nap, instead of following the common student lifestyle go against the trend, be smart with your sleep and your body because setting up these trends for the future is so important. So naturally here I am, ironically, at 2am telling you all to go to sleep, the more energy you have, the easier study becomes, the easier study becomes, the closer you are to getting a degree and finishing university.

Caleb

Tips for Cycling in Sydney

There is no doubt that Sydney is a cycling-friendly city. As a cycling fan, I can feel it. From high quality roads for cycling throughout the whole city, to top-classed air conditioning.From the courtesy behavior shown by car drivers, to the large number of people who do cycling. It has been a pleasure since I started cycling in Sydney. About 6 months' experience, I have come up with some tips and suggestions that may help you cycle better here in Sydney.

1. Safety first. Make sure you are equipped with a cycling helmet every time before start riding. Also, make sure your bike is equipped with flash light when cycling in poor light conditions, so that drivers are able to distinguish your position and track. These are not just tips, but a rule every cyclist has to follow.

2.Complete components and apparels are required if you want to achieve better training effect. Cycling glasses prevent your eyes from small sand and ash, which indirectly make your riding safer. Cycling jerseys and bibs always make you cool, comfortable and aerodynamic. Cycling shoes and pedals can improve your pedaling efficiency remarkably.

3.Using software and apps to plan, analyze and improve your cycling. Personally, I recommend Google Maps, Strava and Garmin Connect when doing cycling. Google Maps provide you with road and traffic details nearby, which can be used to plan your own route. Strava gives lots of information about other cyclists' performance in the same city which is a good comparison. You can also join the Clubs in Strava to meet some cycling pals. Garmin Connect is a powerful cycling analysing system. By using Garmin cycling computer, all of your cycling data including distance, time, average speed, calorie consumption, alttitudes and every route you once rode. Fully use the functions of apps would result in a better cycling experience.

Roger

Macquarie Library

Macquarie library is built in 2011. The before one library is MUSE now. The new library contains 1 million books, magazines and reports. The library has five floors. Next, the blog will introduce the facility in the library.

On the first and second floor, students can borrow and go through the books. After the scanning books and student ID card, you can borrow the books out of the library. Besides, there are several presentation rooms which are used for students can discuss their assignments together on the first floor. Moreover, the library also offers some computers to let students use. However, sometimes too many students want to use the computers and presentation rooms, the amount of computers and presentation rooms are limited. Therefore, the library provides the booking service on the Internet for the students to make sure they can use the facility efficiently. The third and fourth floor is used for students to self-study. The fifth floor can be used by the postgraduates.

The library is not only for the students to study, it also provide some other service. Our library also offers the printing, copying and scanning service, which is convenient to students. At the front door, there is a place for students can buy some food and drink. The students can save time to study. The library opens every day time in the semester; you can enjoy the process of studying in Macquarie library.

Jackie

FAME Festival

FAME Festival: Food. Art. Music. Entertainment.

FAME Festival showcases and offers food, arts, music and entertainment at Macquarie University. It runs for two days 14 – 15 October from 10am and aims to build a community for Macquarie University students and staff.

Entry is free. Just bring some money for food and drinks and other services. FAME Festival is not restricted to just Macquarie students and staff, so you can bring family and friends to the event! Everyone is welcome!

Major events include international film screenings at the Film Fest. Sit back and enjoy your afternoon watching the movies Film Fest has to offer at the Movie Theatre in the Campus Hub Building (Level 3).

If you’re a foodie, head to the Central Courtyard and line up for food trucks to satisfy your hunger!

 If you’re looking for something more wild, put on your brightest fluro and head to the Fluro Party at Ubar, featuring headliners Joel Fletcher and Bombs Away!

These are one of many events that are offered at FAME festival. For more information, check the Macquarie University website.

Take this opportunity to participate in this event, as it’ll help take away the stress from studying in these last remaining weeks of uni!

The image is from http://http://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/get_involved/fame_festival/.
Michael