Batting Advise for the Rookie!

“In less than 15 days I will be going off to college for the first time. Unfortunatly I will be living at home for the first semester, but my buddy is dorming there so I forsee me sleeping on his floor often. What general advise do you all have for me?

Topics can be:
Academics
Finacial
Parties
Social
Sexual
Activities
Class
and what ever else comes to mind”

“My "advise" is to spell advice with a "c".”

“chili - Aren't you still on your honeymoon?”

“Phil, I am on my honeymoon in Indianapolis (where my company sent me on short notice).

My wife, however, is spending her honeymoon back in West Memphis, Arkansas (where my company expects her to show up for work in Memphis).”

“Attend all your classes. Profs like that.

Parties are good things, but try not to go to them when you have a test coming up.

Can't help with the social stuff, man, sorry. I am really bad at it. Oh wait, one good piece of advice. When you are thinking something about someone, don't say it unless you think they would enjoy hearing it. The other stuff, never ever say, or even tell anyone about. Keep it to yourself. This can be really subtle, so be careful. Here's an example:

Wrong: Wow, nice melons!

Right: Wow, that blouse really looks good on you.

Do not add, "...and it would look even better crumpled up on the floor of my bedroom." to the above response.

Get my drift?

Financial advice, well, it's like this. Learn to shop for cheap food.

Activities. Damn, isn't backpacking enough, son?

I'll let the others handle some of the other issues.”

“if you will be sleeping on a dorm floor..., (yikes, she might lose a few nights sleep worrying that you are not comfortable ...till she realizes her baby is havin fun!)...and.. take your thermarest or whatever sleeping pad you use while backpacking because what i remember about dorm floors is that they are hard and cold :)
have fun kiddo~~~”

“Remember Tea, you can't soar with the eagles in the morning if you hoot with the owls all night.

I wouldn't over load with classes right off the bat. This is a fatal error that many frosh fledglings have commited.

Remain ' undecided' ,,if possible,, until you have found something that will keep you interested for the next several yrs. There is a plethora of chit amongst other things to learn in college that you may have never encountered in H.S..
Be leary of your 'Guidance Counselor', and 2 yr programs.

Once,,, you seemingly have everything under control, and have dicovered possible 'free time',, maybe look into a 'outdoor' club or cruise the quad for Betty's.”

“School work first THEN party! Good luck.”

“Academics Tea, you are exited, you're in college, and an adult. College offers so many experiences and choices as to what you can do in life, it's rare that someone knows exactly what they want to do right off. Briar hit the nail on the head. Broaded your class selection your first year, learn what you like, and what you dislike, and then adjust for next year.

Finacial - Money is always tough, at that age and when going to school, but there are many routes you can take; inherit $ from a rich aunt/uncle, or date a rich girl (not very feasible), obtain a scholarship in spelling (we are both screwed here); obtain a scholarship in anything (there are plenty of scholaraships availible that have nothing to do with sports or academics that could help., work several crappy jobs (this will not only give you funds, but will condition you to appreciate hard work for no money, and drive you to study harder and value your education)., or a combo of the above.

Parties - Join a fraternity, or other social club on campus. I think you'd make an excellent fraternity member (SHUT UP PLEDGE AND GET ME A BEER!) Seriously, it's a great social and educational tool, and the parties never stop.

Social - Be yourself. You are a nice guy, an interseting person, and full of life, cool people will want to hang around you, and chicks (the ones that are worth it) will want to hang with you.

Sexual - I'm a virgin, so it's kinda hard for me to give you advice....... but from what I've learned from Hooters and the HMWH Club.....
a.) be sure to bag it.
b.) be sure to include foreplay.
c.) always respect the girl.
d.) never kiss and tell.
e.) if you get two girls in bed with you at once, email me and artex immediately (and include pics).

Activities - Intramurals is a great place to start, and every college had a plethora of groups/clubs that cover your interests. You could also start your own HMWH Club Chapter at college, but chicks are still to young to dig something like that at that age.

Class - Don't miss any. Try to pay attention no matter how lame the professor or the subject. Try to relate every lecture/subject to something that interests you; i.e. you can relate backpacking to almost any subject.

and what ever else comes to mind - Learn from everything, and know that whatever you learn, you most likely wont use it in the real world. What you will use is the thought and learning process, and it's invaluable.

Good luck Tea, we all know that you'll do well.”

“My little bit of advice is... treat it like a job. WORK from 8am - 6pm, six days a week. If not in class, be in the library reading or writing. Do NOT post to TT between 8am and 6pm. This place can be a terrible "time-suck" for the weak. Go to class. Do your assignments. Use spell check. Wear sunscreen. Do not, under any circumstances, get "fall-down drunk." Be discerning in the gals you pursue. The most innocent looking babe may have something you don't wish to share. You can't tell by looking.”

“Sexual - One of the best dating strategies I’ve ever seen was to minor in women’s studies. Practice the ‘sensitive’ look. I know someone who did that quite successfully. Believe it or not, he was working for Gary Hart’s campaign.”

“Here's a good piece of advice: Don't go here!”

“Pay VERY close attention to what some Ohio State Alum and students do...and then do the opposite.

Q: How do you get an OSU alum off your front porch?






A: Pay him for the pizza!”

“NO FRATS...ice you don't seem like the frat type unless the east coast ones are allllllot different that the ones in the south. GDI 4 life!!!!
Take a few geology classes..you'll always fine 1-2 interesting cute outdoorsy type girls in there...or hot clueless sorority girls that you can dazzle out of their pants. err *looks around*

parties start on Thursday...this is mainly just a rule for the ones that actually finished partying on sunday.

If your in the dorms..don't try to sleep too sound before 4am (bars close, loud drunks come home then)

Try not to drive drunk no matter how much you practice..long walks home are alot more fun...you end up waking up in strange places!

by your 2nd year you should be trying your hardest to beat your schedule into having classes only on Tuesday and Thursday and all after 11am and get out before 4pm
Maybe with a wednesday long class or lab...you'll thank me later if you can get your fridays and mondays off...long binges, and long weekend trips with new friends”

“

”

“so...what exactly are you trying to say here, Violin?
;-)

does advice about college ever work? i'd say the fun and valuable part is figuring it out yourself!”

“Tea,

Lyra's advice is probably the best. Each of us is different, and our approach to school will be different.

I tried to arrange my classes to be done by noon every day. That meant I started at 8 and took classes straight through. If I needed an afternoon class, I tried to make sure it was not on Friday (especially during ski season).

I was not a late night party person. I sought out "quiet" dorms after my first year (no such thing at the school I started at).

For studying, I'd recommend setting aside a dedicated to studying. The idea of looking at school as a job is good. But it can be a job you structure to fit your time needs. Just be sure since you are putting forth the appropriate effort.

Social: Be honest in all your dealings with people. Don't mislead in any circumstance. Be conscious of how what you say/do can affect people's feelings, and tempter your words and actions for that, but don't sacrifice honesty. Treat people with courtesy (always) and respect. Don't say ANYTHING about someone that you wouldn't say to his or her face. It will come back to haunt you sometime.

Don't worry about the sex thing except these couple of things: 1) wear a condom and 2) before doing anything be prepared for the consequences, emotional, financial, and otherwisw. If you, Tea, are not prepared to deal with the emotions (either yours or hers) that accompany sex or are not prepared to deal with a pregnancy (it happens, condoms break, you forget to use one, et.) keep it in your pants, or at least away from certain regions on her body.”

“My two daughters were conceived during a period of time when we were using condoms consistently and carefully.

Do not count on them.”

“Your story makes me glad I got snipped, Fritz...”

“Me too, bit, after five, and I am a better man for it. :)”

“Consistently and carefully yes...

However...



”

“Maybe that's why my wife seems so much more relaxed now...lol...”

“Dude, best of luck with the college life!

Don't fall behind studying, and at the same time, go out and have fun!

As for the ladies, see the "You see, woman are like fruit" thread for a refresher on networking out with the chicks. :-)”

“I have been out of college now for 2 years. The 2nd time back was for my master's so I really cannot give you any advice on those 2 years. However, my 4 years of college were probably the best of my life. I had more friends in clooege than high school. People tend to not care how fat or in my case, skinny you are. No real cliques, or at least where I went. Yourfirst semester will be difficult, trying to find your way around all that jive.

Very important! When scheduling classes, do it early and start off taking all of your CORE classes. You need to get these out of the way first.

As far as dating, sex, parties and everything else, make sure to do it often. You will remember these years for the rest of your life. Make sure you enjoy them!”

“Fritz, I agree. However, it is the one thing that Tea can do (aside from abstain or a vasectomy) that is his control as far as birth control, and his only option (again aside from abstinance) for prophylaxis.”

“I dunno if they still sell this stuff, but they used to make this spermicidal foam. By itself, it was only about 70% effective (!), but combining it with a condom resulted in a phenomenal effectivity rate, like 99.99%.

The biggest problem with the stuff is that it absolutely destroys spontaneity.

Why am I talking about this on Trail Talk?

Tea, here's some good advice: Stick to doing it with older female profs who have had tubal ligations. No pregnancy issues to worry about, and who knows, it might help your GPA.”

“NUN:
Let the Pagan spill theirs
O'er mountain, hill, and plain.
HOLY STATUES:
God shall strike them down for
Each sperm that's spilt in vain.
EVERYONE:
Every sperm is sacred.


Every sperm is good.
Every sperm is needed
In your neighbourhood.
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite iraaaaaate!”

“be sure to tell us all about it when you get some, Tea! i'm pretty sure a chick would dig knowing that you discuss her on the internet. just tell her, "you'll be famous!" LOL!!!”

“Don't forget the pictures...”

“Oh, to be in college again!”

“A web cam linked back here would be a romantic touch.”

“Tea - Believe it or not, your Scouting experience will help you a lot to adjust to college life.

Regarding studying, I have a website devoted to it. It is entirely too boring for an 18 year old to read. However, if you ever get insomnia, you can check it out.

Several life and study tips are worth mentioning and may have been stated already:

1. Don't take too many classes your first semester. 12 units is safe. 16 units if you have already had some of the subjects before. You need time to adjust. However, I say jump into a major right away. How else will you really know if you like it? If it doesn't work out...then switch.

2. Always go to class and always turn in your homework. My "How to Study..." site talks a lot about how to take notes and what to do with them.

3. Fraternities can be great. It is an individual thing. Fraternities are different on every campus. I joined Sigma Chi and it was one of the best things I ever did. (I must admit I did a few things I regreted as well...but overall, very positive).

4. If you are easily distracted, you need to plan to study in a cubicle in the library every day or something like that.

5. I have lived in dorms, a fraternity house, apartments, with relatives, and rented rooms. For me they ranked as follows: (1) Fraternity house, (2) Dorm, (3) Apartment, (4) Relatives, (5) Rented room.

6. Sex - Abstain until marriage (third point of the Scout Law). I didn't date at all in high school and spent my undergraduate years learning how to date and developing my "Dear John" letter collection. Concentrate on making lots of friends. Some of them you will know all your life.

7. Money - Fast food will suck your wallet dry. If you have a meal ticket with your dorm arrangement, use it. Fix your own food to save a lot of money. I remember eating chicken pot pies every night for a week ($.10 each on sale back then) to get by. I don't like them to this day.

8. Remember, if you are not having fun in school most of the time, you are probably doing something wrong.

I will add to the list as I think of things.”

“"6. Sex - Abstain until marriage (third point of the Scout Law)."
Phil


Helpful???”

“Maybe he'll post it in "Trip Report" format, like his famous trip to the ice cream parlor, was it?”

“romantic, indeed!”

“study hard and have fun, it'll go by VERY quickly.

social: i was in a "frat", they're not all the same and can be a lot of fun. i was in one, fortunately, that was relaxed, open-minded, and fun. i'm still friends with a lot of the guys. don't feel the need to join one, but if it feels right, give it a try.

think about getting involved in an outdoors club, or start one yourself.

sexual: always wear a condom, don't brag and tell everone about your sex life, be respectful, wear a condom, wear a condom, etc.

(if you have fritz's super sperm, then don't have sex at all!)

academics: study hard, the day will come when college will end and you have to find a job or go to grad school. grades count. try to find internships related to your academic field.

take it a day at a time and enjoy yourself.”

“limpy - Abstinence is a viable option.”

“Phil, I absolutely agree.”

“Phil, Oh, I get it now. YOU were being HELPFUL by suggesting abstainance.”

“"Your story makes me glad I got snipped, Fritz..."

bitpusher
12:39:33 PM
08/19/03

did you type this in a HIGH PITCHED voice?”

“Uh, no.”

“Phil meant the Scout Oath.

Morally Straight.”

“Now that is being HELPFUL!”

“Do not, under any circumstances take up spades, euchre or hearts.”

“what is he, 75 years old, Sass?
;-)”

“Credit Cards, avoid them or at the very least handle them with care.

At every school function or fair there will be ten bazilion card card companies pushing their cards on you. They don't care that you don't ahve a job to support the credit limit.

If you decide to accept one be very careful that you don't start a cycle of using the card like an easy loan. Use the card ONLY when you have the cash in the bank and forgot to bring your checkbook. Pay if off in full every month.

Getting a card will help you build credit but the card issuier is hoping that you run up a nice debt and then end up giving them a permanent stream of revenue off of the interest payments.

Don't get caught in that trap.”

“HPM has a great point there! One that I try to forget. Definitely throw away those offers for credit cards. Building credit is a good thing, and at 18 you are in a position to begin doing so. IF you need a credit card (you're close to home, so you may not need it for "emergencies" as you may if you were across the country), talk to the bank or credit union where you have your savings or checking account. See about getting a low-limit card.”