i lived there for four years and somehow, miraculously have not suffered any food poisoning, injuries etc.. though living there for four years was my penalty enough ;)
i'm left handed and i use cheap a4 lecture pad books from food for less/some supermarket because they don't have the spiral, but they don't have staples either so you don't need to lean on the spiral and you can still rip the page out easily.
i was there for a bit, but didn't see who you're talking about.. went tonight also and it was great, fantastic music, dancing and atmosphere - most alive i've seen garema place ever!
yeah, colleges and halls have teams - they play against each other in the interhall sports competition. anu has a team too, i know some people who were on the rep team and they went to the uni games (i think).
there's heaps of different sporting clubs you can join - examples...
Last year I went with my parents since they drove me from Sydney and like me had never seen ANU first hand. There were lots of people with a parent, so you wouldn't be alone. You can always ship your mum off with the free coffee/tea voucher parents get if things get desperate :p
For anyone who's interested, the draft semester 1 timetable comes out tomorrow (12 Jan). Also listed are the dates for language placement tests (they happen during O-Week).
Timetable Website
I can't remember if it's already been mentioned, but a fan is very useful since the rooms haven't really been aired for a while and it gets quite hot in Canberra. It's also useful to buy one before you get to Canberra. Last year when I moved in my parents tried to buy one but they'd all been...
the food is edible, but after a while it starts to taste the same and you get quite sick of it and really crave something different.
most of the people i know in johns have a stash of food and snacks and funnily enough i spend lots of money on food even though i live in a catered college...
if you're on the top floor they aren't that dark. in winter it's nice to have a room on the top floor cos it's sunny.
though the lightbulbs in the lights aren't that great so you need to have all of your lights on to get good lighting at night.
johns food:
- the chocolate mousse and chocolate muffins are great
- friday night is fish and chips night
- food in general is not bad with veggie options
- you can always make your own little pizza things or toasted sandwiches
but i'd have to agree with imsooverskool - maccas really...