Other forums like this/what do you guys do in your spare time? + Girl advice

[BasicAcid]

Hey guys,

All I've been doing these holidays is working all day, then I come home at like 7pm and I either go out with my friends or stay up on the computer surfing the internet/watching TV shows until like 2 am.

ATARnotes has been the only forum I've frequented recently (I used to also frequent gaming forums but those days are long gone) and I also recently discovered reddit which has eaten up a lot of time for me.

Are there any other forums or even subreddits you guys would recommend to me that's similar to this forum?

By similar to this forum I don't mean it has to be related to education, but rather a forum whose general audience is similar to people our age where we can talk about basically anything (gym/fitness, well being, getting jobs, direction of life, girl advice, etc.)


Also, what do you guys do in your spare time at home these days?
I try to leave the house as much as possible because when I stay at home, all I do is surf the internet/watch TV shows/movies.

I recently learnt how to solve a rubiks cube but that only took a day to learn, and you only need to practice like 10 minutes a day once you've learnt the steps. What other recommendations do you guys have?

It'd be awesome if everyone suggestion one thing that took a bit of time to do, then I could have a whole collection of things to do for the rest of my holidays!

Cheers


EDIT: Extra question - Is asking a girl out you like just so you have something to do a good idea? (I don't really want a girlfriend though... Too many of my friends changed when they got a girlfriend lmao)

Deep down I don't think it's a good idea, but a lot of my friends are telling me to (cause they reckon we'd be a good couple lol)

[brenden]

There's no reason not to just date someone (ie, not be in a relationship). If you each enjoy the company of the other then go for it (but I wouldn't rnter into a rship obviously).

Chess.com - best for burning time in a productive way lol.

[odeaa]

Learn an instrument if you have one, my sister plays piano and one day I decided to try and teach myself and really enjoyed it. Now whenever I'm studying, I take quick piano breaks so that my brain is still being used and doesn't switch off , but it gives me a break from study (well that's what I was told at one of those stupid study skills lectures). Otherwise, learn to draw, or maybe take up calligraphy- sounds lame but can help neaten up your handwriting a lot. If you have the resources, you could learn woodwork and metalworking skills such as woodcarving. I just try to spend as little time as I can on my computer and as much time as possible doing productive things that I enjoy, which usually fails as I end up lurking AN lol.

[spectroscopy]

if you wanna suss out another forum have a look at whirlpool if you havent already. the jobs and education sections usually have some pretty interesting discussions, but take what you hear over there with a grain of salt because there are alot of shit talkers on there lmao

there are so many subreddits too that its ridiculous. if you keep looking hard enough, and searching reddit for certain things, eventually youll find a few that 100% match your interests. look through http://redditlist.com/ and you might see one that catches your eye

i cant think of anything else semi productive to do right now in the same league of solving a rubiks cube, but if you ask that girl out you probably wont be bored for the rest of the holidays LMAO you said you dont think its a good idea deep down + you dont want a relationship, and if thats the case its better not to muck around with her feelings. but if you just hang out with her and make it clear that you guys arent a thing then go for it. maybe your mind will change HAHA

[anna.xo]

As far as what I do in my spare time..well, I don't do too much tbh. Normally I end up lazing around my house reading some book or other. There's a few things I really want ti learn, so hopefully I can di that. I've also actually started a few things I've always wanted to do and found some new interests for myself
Like you though, I try to leave my house as much as I can. For some reason, I find if I plan my weeks in advance a little, and I have places to be even if it's just have coffee @ location x by myself, it gives me some sort of structure in my day which helps me not to waste it.

As for the girl situation..coming from a girl, if you honestly have no feelings for her whatsoever don't embark on the girlfriend thing. It's really wrong to mess with her feelings like that and is pretty unfair to her as well. I think being friends is a good thing at this stage and the girlfriend thing has the potential to come together when the time is right

[vobinhood]

About a month ago, I signed up for the gym and have been working out 5-6 days a week for 1.5 hours each time. It's a great way to get out there and keep fit.
It's best to sign up for a local gym (if you haven't already) just so you can commute by walking. (sustainable AND you will reduce ceebs levels. Trust me.)
Gymming gives you energy, makes you happy and makes you look goood So it's a good way to kill time over these holidays!
You could also ask a friend to sign up with you so you guys can catch up and be gym buddies. I've brought 2 friends to the gym so far and it's great because you can also catch up with each other while on the treadmill or something.

[Bruzzix]

So far these holidays I've been:

• Reading books on quantum mechanics, string theory, astrophysics, math and atheism
• Doing holiday homework + extra work to get ahead
• Expanding my lexicon
• Learning how to cook
• Gaming

As for asking out girls, why bother? Year 12 is important and at least for me I wouldn't want to risk that getting in the way and I generally don't like people, but sure, go ahead, if you want to.

[keltingmeith]

As for asking out girls, why bother? Year 12 is important and at least for me I wouldn't want to risk that getting in the way and I generally don't like people, but sure, go ahead, if you want to.

Actually, a couple from my school (both getting around about the same score) were top 5/6th out of 300 when ATARs came out, and I can promise you that they wouldn't have done that well without the other to support themselves - and yes, the relationship did form in year 12. Our second highest scorer also admitted her boyfriend was a big help in her achievement.

If you don't want a relationship, that's one thing - but using an excuse like "I just have too much in my life" is pretty poor IMO. If you don't want a relationship, just tell yourself you don't want one, it's a lot healthier.

[IndefatigableLover]

Actually, a couple from my school (both getting around about the same score) were top 5/6th out of 300 when ATARs came out, and I can promise you that they wouldn't have done that well without the other to support themselves - and yes, the relationship did form in year 12. Our second highest scorer also admitted her boyfriend was a big help in her achievement.

If you don't want a relationship, that's one thing - but using an excuse like "I just have too much in my life" is pretty poor IMO. If you don't want a relationship, just tell yourself you don't want one, it's a lot healthier.

Yeah definitely agreed with EulerFan101 here. In general (not particularly targetting Bruzzix here) but personally if you do use that excuse now saying 'VCE is the biggest priority' etc, then how will you deal with having a relationship later on in life when you're juggling university, work and other commitments and whatnot? Sure Year 12 is important but so is every other year after that and I'd vouch that most people here would consider their penultimate year to be of far more important to them than Year 12 or any high school years for that matter .

[Bruzzix]

Actually, a couple from my school (both getting around about the same score) were top 5/6th out of 300 when ATARs came out, and I can promise you that they wouldn't have done that well without the other to support themselves - and yes, the relationship did form in year 12. Our second highest scorer also admitted her boyfriend was a big help in her achievement.

Yeah definitely agreed with EulerFan101 here. In general (not particularly targetting Bruzzix here) but personally if you do use that excuse now saying 'VCE is the biggest priority' etc, then how will you deal with having a relationship later on in life when you're juggling university, work and other commitments and whatnot? Sure Year 12 is important but so is every other year after that and I'd vouch that most people here would consider their penultimate year to be of far more important to them than Year 12 or any high school years for that matter .

Yes, evidence that a relationship can be benevolent during VCE. It's good as long as it isn't circumscribing your performance.

[Adequace]

I usually just find subreddits on things I like or find interesting. I'd avoid /r/teenagers though.

[pi]

Study in your spare time! Learning shouldn't be bound by semester or term dates!!!

[Special At Specialist]

I've been playing a lot of online chess these holidays. And coincidentally, I watched a few Youtube videos 2 days ago about how to solve a Rubik's Cube. I am planning to buy one someday soon...

Other things I've been doing these holidays are:
- Working (it is a bit quiet during the holidays, unfortunately, so I don't get that many shifts)
- Seeing my girlfriend
- Hanging out with other friends (I live in student accommodation now so it's easy to meet people in the building and sometimes we have movie nights or poker nights together)
- Watching random Youtube videos
- Asking random questions on Yahoo Answers
- Reading my actuarial studies textbook
- Worrying about whether or not I'll get accepted into Melbourne Uni
- Going out to get food (mostly because I get bored staying at home, so I find whatever excuse I can to go out)
- Practicing cooking my own food
- Dealing with Centrelink problems (like when they decide to reduce my pay for no apparent reason)
- Reading news articles, especially anything finance/economics related
- Cleaning my room and trying to keep it clean

But if anyone wants a game of chess, let me know

[spectroscopy]

oh also i just remembered something
if you are really bored and want to be productive, pick up learning a language.
you can do it at a slow pace but still really visibly see results !
ive been doing this book http://www.dk.com/uk/9781409377580-15minute-spanish/ for months now and its a good way to spend 15 minutes on the train or something. and how much you learn also really creeps up on you and looking back it is probably one of the most fulfilling things you can do because it takes up barely any time (note: you wont get fluent in 12 weeks LMAO). if you dont like that series (it has cds too) you could try downloading a copy of pimsleurs audiobooks, theyre pretty neat too.

[brenden]

lol stuff that spectroscopy; I did chinese from year 7-11 and now I know basically 0 chinese

Yeah I can relate to you with that list S@S, particularly watching random youtube videos and going out to get food lol
I ordered a rubiks cube off ebay that cost $3.29 with free shipping. Took 2 weeks to get here from Shanghai, but definitely worth it.

Man those speed cubes are frikking amazing. Standard solver could get down to like 35 seconds with those things easy.