General Chit Chat Thread

dambarude

RonMexico wrote: »

By the way - Mary I forum, lets make this happen. Anyone?

YES!

Everybody is remarking on how we're much more like a 'real' college since Teamhair/Tara opened. If we got a Mary I FORUM it would be the official seal :cool:.

McSween

Many thanks MISU Office. I have seen that information already but thanks anyway. I spoke to somebody who works in the college about it yesterday but haven't heard the student view.

btw, there should be a Mary I board.

Insect Overlord

RonMexico wrote: »

By the way - Mary I forum, lets make this happen. Anyone?

MISU Office wrote: »

On a seperate note, we think a forum would be a great idea. It's certainly a lot busier on here in the last month or so. You have our backing!

dambarude wrote: »

YES!

Everybody is remarking on how we're much more like a 'real' college since Teamhair/Tara opened. If we got a Mary I FORUM it would be the official seal :cool:.

I've been in contact with one of the Admins recently about this. Haven't heard from him about it in a while (they're pretty damn busy, in fairness to them) but I can ask him for an update later if ye want. This thread has been getting too busy recently!

RonMexico

That would be great Insect! It would be handy to have it up and running by week 3 when the tutorials start. Why you say? Because start of tutorials = mass confusion week

munsterdevil

It's true, the Mary I forum had evolved some what, at the start there were calls for a separate forum, but it was decided (and in hindsight rightly so) that it was needed. Then, Mary I was made a sticky because it was getting buried into the second page on the UL forums page and not many knew it was there, and that was fine, until ........... now!

Now because it has gained more interest (most noticeably from the MISU team fair play to them) topics within this sticky are beginning to get buried, such as issues on TP, subject details, timetables, postgrads etc. There is also the issue that the link between Mary I and UL is in name only, and is kind of unintentionally insulting to MIC students (no offense to the mods or administrators;))

Thus, in my humble opinion, I believe Mary I should be granted a separate forum, even if it was just a trial run for just a year, also, I think the MISU have hinted that they would even advertise it, as they are doing so at the moment.

dambarude

munsterdevil wrote: »

Thus, in my humble opinion, I believe Mary I should be granted a separate forum,

+1

Newer users would be more likely to find it. When I was coming to Mary I I never associated it with UL, and that hasn't changed since. UL's connection to Mary I seems only to relate to the awarding of degrees, and apart from that the college seems to operate independently to the university. It wasn't always linked to UL, I believe it was part of the NUI previously.

angeldaisy

Hi I'm a first year :eek: and having a nightmare trying to register my modules online, I managed to complete the enrolment but struggling to complete the modules. Has anyone managed to do it on line? I'm a BA student

RibenaHead

angeldaisy wrote: »

Hi I'm a first year :eek: and having a nightmare trying to register my modules online, I managed to complete the enrolment but struggling to complete the modules. Has anyone managed to do it on line? I'm a BA student

Call into the computer lab and ask one of the ladies (or men) working there to help you out! There are probs with some students accounts so they have to do it manually for you!

dambarude

angeldaisy wrote: »

Hi I'm a first year :eek: and having a nightmare trying to register my modules online, I managed to complete the enrolment but struggling to complete the modules. Has anyone managed to do it on line? I'm a BA student

A lot of people are having trouble registering. Have you asked one of the ladies in the computer lab about it?

MISU Office

angeldaisy wrote: »

Hi I'm a first year :eek: and having a nightmare trying to register my modules online, I managed to complete the enrolment but struggling to complete the modules. Has anyone managed to do it on line? I'm a BA student

Hi angeldaisy, there have been problems with some students registering, in particular B.Ed & Psychs and Grad. Dips.

As RibenaHead said, it's best to call into the computer lab itself and ask one of the Computer Lab Assistants to help you register. That way you know that you have been registered correctly. There are also pages there for people to fill in if the online system isn't registering them correctly.

Make sure you call in by 5pm on Friday though because you will be fined €30 if you register after this.

sugajay

Hey, I'm a first year BA. Can I still sign up for clubs & societies, didn't get a chance to do it on Wednesday!

Insect Overlord

sugajay wrote: »

Hey, I'm a first year BA. Can I still sign up for clubs & societies, didn't get a chance to do it on Wednesday!

I missed a few Clubs & Socs days over the last 3 years too
All you need to do is show up for the early meetings of those clubs and you should be more than welcome. Also, if you ask in the S.U. they should be able to give you contact details for the presidents of each club/society.

MISU Office

Hello!

If you missed out on Clubs and Socs Day, don't worry. We have a sign up sheet in the office for anyone who wants to join a specific club or society. If you want to know whats clubs and societies we have then just have a read of that section in our diary. If you have any other questions, just pop down for a chat!

Tragedy

Why was clubs and socs day held on the wrong day anyway? First week of this year seems to have been a shambles in almost every respect

dambarude

Tragedy wrote: »

First week of this year seems to have been a shambles in almost every respect

In what respects were you thinking?

I know that registration was a bit of a disaster with so many people not being able to do it.

It was a pity that we hadn't been informed about the login,email, VLE, and LAN changes before the semester started too (that would have saved a lot of confusion). In fairness I'm guessing that the IT changes had little to do with the SU.

Apart from those things what was a disaster?

MISU Office

Tragedy wrote: »

Why was clubs and socs day held on the wrong day anyway? First week of this year seems to have been a shambles in almost every respect

The date for Clubs & Socs day was misprinted in the diary, but for the last few years Clubs & Socs day has been held during Week 1. We also had lots of posters up around the college alerting people to the date change, as well as on misu.ie and Facebook.

If you missed the day it doesn't really matter as the most important thing is that you can still sign up to any club or society if you just pop into the SU as there are sign up sheets there for you that you can sign.

In regards to other things being a shambles, I'll assume you mean in relation to IT services which, obviously, is out of our control. For data protection purposes all student log in methods had to be altered this year and yes this did cause problems but at least in the long term, it is for the betterment of the student body. The changes that were taking place were on our site for the last couple of weeks of August before everybody returned.

We were on to IT about the problems that were arsing during the week that students alerted us to and credit where credit is due, the IT dept. kept us up to date with all that was going on and the reasons for the delays/problems.

The problems with registration lie on UL's side of things as it is the UL system that we register on so that was not Mary I's fault.

Hope this clears some things up for you. Is there anything else?

RonMexico

I remember when I went into first year in U.L. to do Computer Systems when I was 17. Nothing went to plan, nobody seemed to know what they were doing or where they were going. It might seem like a disaster at the time but everything works itself out in the end. I eventually transferred to Mary I to do the BA course and experiencing first year for the second time was certainly interesting. People were complaining and panicking about the exact same things as they do every year. I knew there was no point in getting bothered about it though so I think I strolled down to the lounge to play pool instead

Looking back on it now I think the most important things a first year needs to do is the following:

1: Relax.
2: Remember everyone is in the same boat.
3: Put in an effort to make friends.
4: Buy your books from the SU or O'Mahoneys EARLY (because they can be sold out very quickly)
5: Relax some more
6: There is always the library if the book is sold out - both in Mary I & U.L.
7: Keep an eye on information alley
8: Be nice to the people in the siopa
9: Get a locker. It just makes life easier.
10: If you have a problem, ask for help, either in the SU or a tutorial or your lecturer. Nobody will bite your head off and people will be glad to help.
11: Try not to walk at a snails pace across the width of any corridor. Leave a gap:D
12: Don't ask what's in the curry. :eek:
13: Work hard and play harder. Maybe its the other way round. I'm still trying to figure it out.
14: Ignore the green roof and it will ignore you. :pac:

Insect Overlord

RonMexico wrote: »

8: Be nice to the people in the siopa

Big '+1' for this.

I was in An Siopa on Tuesday evening, and again on Thursday, and they all remembered me from the last few years and were really nice and chatty They're still getting used to the new building, and the new lay-out and equipment that come with it, but they're working hard to master the new tills.

The job they do in the college is immense.

dambarude

RonMexico wrote: »

I
11: Try not to walk at a snails pace across the width of any corridor. Leave a gap:D

I think some of the first years are still getting the hang of this one:p. Even in the wide corridors in Tara!

On the staff of An Siopa, they really are lovely. They really stand out for it, the place wouldn't be the same without them.

RibenaHead

On An Siopa front, was having a chat with one of the ladies behind the till and asked her if it was weird not being next to her colleagues at the counter. She said it was very odd that they have their backs to each other, they're very far apart and can't really have a chat.

I told her that everyone loves the 'Siopa Lady Banter' and that it's such a shame that the new layout prevents this... so I offered to start a petition. So here we go. Who's with me?!

PETITION TO CHANGE THE LAYOUT OF THE SIOPA AND INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF 'SIOPA LADY BANTER'
RibenaHead

Insect Overlord

Typical lazy B.Ed Psychs, nothing better to do with their time...


:pac:

dambarude

RibenaHead wrote: »

On An Siopa front, was having a chat with one of the ladies behind the till and asked her if it was weird not being next to her colleagues at the counter. She said it was very odd that they have their backs to each other, they're very far apart and can't really have a chat.

I told her that everyone loves the 'Siopa Lady Banter' and that it's such a shame that the new layout prevents this... so I offered to start a petition. So here we go. Who's with me?!

PETITION TO CHANGE THE LAYOUT OF THE SIOPA AND INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF 'SIOPA LADY BANTER'
RibenaHead

I agree with you, but I doubt that will happen:p.

The new Siopa is great and all, but it doesn't have the charm or cosiness (is that a word?) of the old one.

Did I notice a new An Siopa lady?

RonMexico

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Big '+1' for this.

I was in An Siopa on Tuesday evening, and again on Thursday, and they all remembered me from the last few years and were really nice and chatty They're still getting used to the new building, and the new lay-out and equipment that come with it, but they're working hard to master the new tills.

The job they do in the college is immense.

Yeah I remember when I came back after having completed the BA and walking around the college was a weird experience. It is almost like being in 1st year again. You don't really know any of the students anymore but it is great to walk into the siopa and be greeted by somebody who actually remembers you!

And where else can you get a cup of hot water for your Lemsip when you are dying with the flu in the middle of February. I think one of the siopa ladies thought I was going to keel over dead in front of her, she was so worried

Tragedy

All but one printer was out of order for the first few days too!
So registration was screwed, lan and e-mail access was very hit and miss and there was one printer for the whole of the college. That's not a few small problems, and it's hardly the first IT related problem the college has had - or the hundredth if what other people tell me is true.

New part of college is nice, but does the design remind anyone else(inside and out) of a 1980's church?

dambarude

Tragedy wrote: »

All but one printer was out of order for the first few days too!
So registration was screwed, lan and e-mail access was very hit and miss and there was one printer for the whole of the college. That's not a few small problems, and it's hardly the first IT related problem the college has had - or the hundredth if what other people tell me is true.

New part of college is nice, but does the design remind anyone else(inside and out) of a 1980's church?

I agree with you, a lot of IT related things were all over the place this week, but I'm sure the IT department were pushed to their limit with all the changes that were made at once. I got everything set up (passwords, registration etc.) on Monday at 10am before the mad rush started so I was quite lucky I suppose.

I totally disagree with your comments on the design of Teamhair/Tara though. What aspects of it make it look like a 1980s church? (I ask out of interest). There were a few problems with gaining entry to lecture halls in the building, I hope it's sorted out next week.

Tragedy

The naked blockwork and wood. Honest to god looks like 3 or 4 churches near enough my home in Dublin, all built in the 80's as suburbs here grew. I heard about the lecture halls thing, as well as some classes being smaller than expected so being turfed out into the old building.
Poor arts students :P

RonMexico

Oh that reminds me - one of the best decisions I made in first year was to buy my own printer.

Mary I or not, you can be nearly always guaranteed that when you need to use someone else's printer, it is either broken or out of ink.

You can get them fairly cheap now, look in the Argos catalogue and some of them are combined printer, copier, scanner. Very very handy to have. Just make sure to check the price of the replacement ink cartridges as some models have very pricey cartridges. Also if you do get one, there is no need to keep replacing the ink cartidges. Just take the empty ones down town to Catherine Street, there is a place there that refills them for cheap.

Also while you are at it, look in the Argos catalogue for a titanium flash stick. Get two - always handy to have and practically indestructible.

If you have your own laptop then you will rarely need to use the computer facilities in Mary I. Potential headache solved and no queus either.:D

dambarude

Tragedy wrote: »

The naked blockwork and wood.

I can see how that would remind you of a church alright. Come to think of it, there is a pretty fancy wooden crucifix in the building too:p.

dambarude

RonMexico wrote: »

Oh that reminds me - one of the best decisions I made in first year was to buy my own printer.

Mary I or not, you can be nearly always guaranteed that when you need to use someone else's printer, it is either broken or out of ink.

You can get them fairly cheap now, look in the Argos catalogue and some of them are combined printer, copier, scanner. Very very handy to have. Just make sure to check the price of the replacement ink cartridges as some models have very pricey cartridges. Also if you do get one, there is no need to keep replacing the ink cartidges. Just take the empty ones down town to Catherine Street, there is a place there that refills them for cheap.

Also while you are at it, look in the Argos catalogue for a titanium flash stick. Get two - always handy to have and practically indestructible.

If you have your own laptop then you will rarely need to use the computer facilities in Mary I. Potential headache solved and no queus either.:D

▲▲▲▲▲ Makes a lot of sense.
Especially if doing the B.Ed.

Somehow I keep managing to post at exactly the same time as somebody else!

Tragedy

Buy an Epson in Tesco at the Crescent.

They have SX115, 215 and 415 for very reasonable prices and all are printer/copiers/scanners - and replacement ink can be gotten cheaply on amazon if you're that way inclined.