The Ring of Fire | Solar Eclipse 2023

I slept in until about 10:30 a.m. and woke up to my fiance jiggling me saying “Hey, isn’t there a solar eclipse you wanted to see today?” I jolted awake remembering it started around 11:00 a.m. but I knew we weren’t able to see the whole thing from Florida. I made some coffee, got dressed, and my fiance and I hopped in the car to go run to a few stores for our weekend errands. When we got to Perrine’s Market in Port Orange, I got a call from one of my best friends in Jacksonville, Liz. She said “you have to look at the eclipse, you can see it now!” Luckily the car windows were tinted, so I pulled out my iPhone, pointed it aimlessly at the Sun, and when I checked my phone screen, I realized I just accidentally got some of the best photos of the eclipse!

It was amazing to see a crescent Sun and so clearly too! We didn’t need those fancy glasses and we didn’t need to look directly at it either. The cloud cover came at the best time! It blocked the glare from the Sun just enough to still see it on a digital image. I was so bummed thinking that because it was cloudy, we wouldn’t be able to see much of it… Boy was I wrong!

We also ended up going to the Apple store to check out the new Airpods Max, and well, we ended up walking out with two pairs. Happy early Anniversary!

I got this palm green color and they are just so sleek and beautiful. No more ear buds falling out of my ears at the gym when I am running or working out. As much as I love my Airpods Pro, they always fall out of my ears when I am working out. I am excited to use these over-the-ear headphones now!

So, I love the Fall season. The decor, the food, the outfits. I also love crafting and using coupons. Around this time of year I like to make a huge Michael’s Craft Store trip, and create (and sell) custom pumpkins! They are lightweight, totally customizable, and cute! I made 10 so far this season and am seriously thinking about turning it into a business. Maybe I can even get on QVC one of these days! I can dream…

I went to Port Orange Family Days over the weekend and it was perfect weather for it! I ended up getting these cotton handmade headbands from Lauren of Crafty Little Witch Creations. I got a Jacksonville Jaguars design, a sunflower design, and a pumpkin design!

We also got some Gran Arepa corn cakes. These are my favorite food truck treat.

I love going to the Port Orange City Center to walk when Family Days isn’t in town as well. There is a large lake with a sort of nature trail. Also, there are so many turtles that live in the lake! I found this baby sun bathing on Sunday at the festival, and I think this is the smallest turtle I have ever seen in this lake. They are usually huge! Can you spot it?

I also made my way to Sugar Mill Botanical Gardens. This is another spot in Port Orange that is a must-see if you have a love for nature, plants, and flowers. All you need is some sneakers and a good camera, and you have yourself a beautiful day ahead of you. I used to volunteer here when I was in High School and I loved gardening and tending to the nature trails. It is so peaceful and it gives you a nice break from the hustle and bustle of life.

Is it fall break yet? Ciao for now!

-Christine

Life Updates & Lab

Happy November everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida, the weather is getting colder, Thanksgiving is approaching, and finals are about a month away! To say the least, I’ve been BUSY! School, work, working out, and life in general has been jam packed lately. With Thanksgiving around the corner I’ve been having a lot of tests lately, and a lot of upcoming project deadlines before the late November break is here. Right before Thanksgiving I also have my Fitness Assessment for Air Force ROTC! I’m excited and very much ready to fast forward to spending time with my family and eating all the nostalgic cozy comfort foods that Thanksgiving has to offer. Bring me all the pie!

One of my favorite aspects of the weather getting colder is that running outside is so pleasant, especially during the transition period from hot to cold with temperatures of about 60 degrees. The humidity is low, and on good days when there’s not a lot of wind running is perfect. It’s also officially hoodie season! I recently had my birthday and got to spend a few hours at the beach which was so much fun and very relaxing.

October beach picture!

My current To-Do list for this weekend includes a lab report for my Aerospace Structures and Instrumentation Lab on vibration testing of beams and aircraft structural components of choice (my group chose a front spar of the leading edge portion of a wing from a Boeing 777 airliner to test and observe). This particular lab was one of my favorites thus far, as it investigated the phenomenon of flutter and looked at how forcing vibrations to excite frequencies near resonance can be dangerous in real world scenarios, and thus needs to be understood and prepared for. Our lab group also recently investigated some Nondestructive Evaluation techniques in lab, including thermography which uses thermal heat differentials to display an image with warmer areas displaying brighter and cooler areas displaying darker colors.

Thermal imagery is a useful technique commonly implemented in the aerospace industry to inspect planes and ensure that there is no structural damage. Inspections usually happen about once a year where planes are observed shortly after landing with a thermal detecting camera. The heat detecting technology shows areas that water may have infiltrated cracks in the structure as the water will be a cooler temperature than that of the aircraft’s body.

Thermal image of myself and my lab group!

We only have about three more lab sessions left until the end of the semester and I am looking forward to being done with writing lab reports during finals and over Winter break! Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!

Work/Life Balance and Little Joys

Happy almost Halloween everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, at the end of Fall Break, and half way through the semester! 

I spent my fall break doing entirely too much homework everyday, and sleeping. My break didn’t really seem like a break, but generally, doing your homework is always a better option than not! Until the semester ends there is never a time where I don’t have assignments to do. Thus, it is all the more important to find time for what makes you happy in order to create a sustainable routine and work/life balance. My life tends to be 99% work, but I am looking forward to having more time for rest and fun during Winter Break!

My go-to for finding small happy breaks in my busy days has been centered a lot on finding joy in my routine. Sometimes my workouts are too similar and I get bored with the same monotonous schedule that is school, studying, working, etc. Don’t get me wrong, college is extremely challenging and I am never at a loss for things to do. I am practically swimming in homework, papers, projects, and presentation assignments, on top of meetings, and ROTC obligations, but I’ve reached a point where the busy-ness isn’t exactly new or exciting. There’s always new assignments, but even they fall into a rhythm of similar challenges and stresses. Lately I’ve been thinking how interesting it is that despite everything new, such as different classes, new people in group projects, new friends, the flow of school is the same.

Something I’ve focused more on this semester is making time for things that make me happy on the day to day, even when I’m busy. For me, this looks like painting my nails every few weeks because it makes me feel more put together during the busy days. 

This week’s nail color of choice!

Small joys of everyday life also looks like trying new tea flavors when I’m studying, lately in the evenings I’m liking Peppermint and Chamomile! I’ve also been enjoying FaceTiming my mom once a week, texting my sister, my family, and my friends who I don’t see everyday more, and Peppermint Hot Chocolate mix. This also includes new plants! Recently I was in charge of organizing a team builder during our RA staff meetings, so we planted little cups of basil and cilantro, mine just began sprouting!

My new basil plant babies!

When I’m stressed I also tend to focus on everything that I need to do, rather than everything I’ve done, it’s SO important to recognize yourself for all the hard work you do! I’ve been trying to do face masks a few evenings every week to decompress before I go to sleep, and help my skin stay hydrated, which always helps me wake up feeling more refreshed and happy – even on the early PT mornings.

A BIG event that I am very excited for is graduation and commissioning in spring, but it’s easy sometimes to lose sight of the shining end goals when you’re in the middle of a sea of work. Keep your goals in mind constantly, and let them help motivate you when the routine gets boring. Trying new snacks or drinks helps spice up everyday life, and new music, workout routines, and self care that you wouldn’t regularly do is so much fun too! Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon.

Finals & Fall/Winter Break

Happy November folks! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida and Thanksgiving is so close I can almost taste it (the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie of course).

The fall semester has rapidly been coming to a close and with about a week left until Winter Break starts its hard to see past all the assignments and even fathom a break that is, despite what my stressors persuade me, going to be upon us very shortly. I don’t typically doubt myself, but I do surprise myself because sometimes my schedule is so busy it’s hard to picture being able to accomplish so many tasks in one day, much less a week! 

A plot from my Aerospace Structures Homework that I’m currently working on via Femap/Nastran

In the spirit of being thankful (Thanksgiving vibes) I am grateful that I have the amazing opportunities to continually challenge myself in academics, professional relations, physical fitness, and leadership skills. Cue the teleprompter voice, this is all made possible in part by… time management skills I didn’t realize I had, setting daily reminders via Siri on my phone and laptop throughout the day, many To-Do lists, calendar notifications, alarms, and most importantly – my tried and true Go-To… coffee! Kidding, I am very thankful to have a support system of friends and family and I am so excited to go back to Virginia in about a week to see them!

Final exams are just around the corner, right after Thanksgiving, and the semester is truly so close to coming to an end. My motivations are good food, sleep, and quality time watching Christmas movies at home.

Over the winter break, post finals, I plan to work on Scholarship and Study Abroad opportunity applications, practice my Arabic by exploring further into the world of Arabic music, TV, and movies, and of course, rest!

Upon reflecting on the past few months, the hardest part of this Fall Semester, that I foresee will be a challenge in the Spring as well, is not having breaks or time to rest and recover between classes and assignments. Having long weekends and breaks canceled means that professors continuously assign homework, tests, quizzes, and projects until finals. This is especially disheartening considering my current Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings are filled with due dates, in addition to every weekday. I go directly from one subject and assignment to the other and it’s sometimes hard to see the light that the end of the semester brings when you’re in the thick of it.

College extensively exceeds the typical 40 hours a week “full time” work schedule, which is something I couldn’t have prepared for beforehand and is not something I am 100% sure I am prepared for now, despite taking part in it weekly. On the bright side, time never stops, and we get through it. My advice is to keep a positive attitude and keep pushing, one week, day, or task at a time. Progress is progress. Finals are quickly approaching and so is the rest and relaxation that follows! Will report back soon folks. Keep on keeping on!

Recharging & Responsibilities

Happy October folks! I’m classically blogging from Daytona Beach, currently camped out at the ROTC building on a Sunday afternoon doing homework. Fall break was this past week and it was definitely well needed. I stayed local for the break hitting up coffee shops, catching up on sleep, and doing large quantities of homework.

As midterm time is among us, I had most of my tests before fall break, but midterms also mean RA deadlines! This means new hall door decorations, new bulletin boards, and more biweekly hall traditions! This also means time for the Fitness Assessment in AFROTC which consists of one minute of push-ups, one minute of sit-ups, and a 1.5 mile run for time.

At a local coffee shop close to campus drinking lavender chamomile tea and doing incompressible aerodynamics homework.

Something surprising that I realized over the break was… that I miss my friends! I know, this may not seem like an out of ordinary thing, but I almost don’t realize how inter-connected my everyday life is with the people around me. Now, if we zoom out a bit and look at the big picture four days is not a lot of time, but when you consider that I see my friends multiple times a day in different settings it feels off when they’re not around.

To put it in perspective: I wake up early and go to PT or to Leadership Laboratory (LLAB) with my AFROTC family, go to class until about 2pm, usually find myself back at the ROTC building a few more times for various meetings, paperwork, or presentations, then I workout with my ROTC friends, typically have an RA duty shift in the evenings or a staff meeting, then I go to sleep and copy paste and repeat Monday-Friday. 

I tend to not view myself as a very social person, because of how much I value my alone time to rest and recharge by doing yoga, meditating, or sleeping, but in reality I spend the majority of my days being social. The main point I’m getting out of this, is that I’m pretty much an introverted extrovert. Once I’m recharged after a day or two I thrive in the busy hustle of everyday life hopping between my friends from AFROTC, O team, RA, classes, etc.

Before the break I had a math test, a compressible aerodynamics test, and an incompressible test, a technical report document due, in addition to arabic homework and other meetings, presentations, and responsibilities. When I study, unless I’m doing practice problems in a group, I typically prefer to be in my room or reserve a study room in the library.

But in particular, when studying for my compressible aerodynamics test recently I found myself outgrowing my desk with my spread of papers so I migrated to my floor to go over material. After a few hours when I finished I got up and realized that my creative learning process may be a little unconventional, but it works… 

My post studying floor space before my compressible aerodynamics test.

I hope everyone bounces back to find your post Fall Break groove and keep pushing until Thanksgiving Break and finals. Will report back soon. Keep on keeping on!

Fall Break & Breeze

Happy October everyone! October is my favorite month, and therefore it is appropriate to wish you all a Happy October. I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida.

I spent my fall break on campus working duty day shifts for my RA position, doing physics, statics, and calculus homework, and running! Although the last part may not sound like the best part for some people, the running was actually my favorite part of every day. Also fear not, as per usual I drank lots of coffee and tea.

My fall break didn’t feel like much of a break, but I am extremely thankful that I got to sleep in, or in other words have the luxury of waking up when the sun has already woken up. I must say I do enjoy being awake as the sun rises, but when I don’t get back to my room until it’s dark outside as per a typical school day, by the time I do homework, study, and get ready for bed I’m absolutely exhausted.

Even on my days off I usually wake up with the sun.

Aside from all of my responsibilities, my plants are thriving and deserve to be highlighted this week. I highly encourage succulents or cacti for dorm plants because even if you don’t have enough time to water them (me), they still do great with a little sunlight and a lot of positive energy (also me).

Some of my dorm plants!

As it is still hot in Florida, even though it’s late October, we’ve had great weather that’s been perfect for early morning beach PTs with AFROTC, which is always nice. It’s becoming the time of year when the weather is almost perfect for working out. I gauge the prime temperature for running to be when the air is cool enough that you aren’t sweating before you start working out, but not too cold that it stings your lungs. If it is cold enough that you are able to see your breathe when you exhale, I would prefer the temperature to increase slightly. Thankfully, in Florida, the weather ranges between extremely hot, mildly hot, temperate, and cool, but the cool doesn’t happen until about mid-winter, so lately the fall breeze had been extremely lavish!

Post beach PT with some of my favorite wingmen!

Currently we’re about half way through the fall semester and everyone around campus is extremely busy. Course loads are heavy, there’s lots of homework to be done, tests, quizzes, projects, presentations, and not a lot of time. In my personal experience I’m still on the journey to figuring out how to balance everything. I’ve heard so many times from professors that they encourage students to prioritize school work and really focus on their time management, and while this is true, I must counter this from the perspective of a college student- realistically there are not enough hours in a day. All we can do is try our best and hope for the best. Just keep swimming folks, will report back soon!

Why Riddle is More Lit than I Thought

I’ve been hearing about going to college my whole life – talk about freaking out my senior year in high school, everybody was freaking out. Will there be really hard classes and tons of homework? I hate trying to fit in when I don’t know anybody. I’ve been told this is what I’m supposed to do since elementary school. Really? And then, it is the end of August. I am so not ready for this.

Embry-Riddle is near my home and my dad works there. Ugggg! Guess where I am going… Everybody knows its rep as nerd school central. You know, pilots, engineers, science geeks and pocket protectors. Students all so laser-focused that they have already decided what they are doing after they graduate. Professors and Resident Assistants all uptight and straight-laced. Fun dies here, right?

Guess what? It is not like that at all! The people I have met know how to let loose and have fun. They are smart, funny, and interesting. Yes, you have to study, but it is not all cooped up in a dorm room and staring at a computer. It is way more Lit than I thought.

Orientation week eased all us nervous freshman into the process. O-Week was cool. No upperclassmen! This made the first few days of settling in, wandering around, meeting new people and finding the best places to eat much less scary. With the O-Team, everything felt like a judgment-free zone. Everybody started making friends right away.

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What a fantastic October it has been! Between my birthday, many Halloween movie marathons, Stetson’s Opera Showcase, fall break at Halloween Horror Nights, the Tri Sigma fashion show, Jessica Lynn speaking, Screamageddon, Kennedy Space Center and the biggest (and most spooktacular) party of the year! Now all that’s left is to decorate the house, carve some pumpkins and celebrate my favorite holiday!

O-Week evening events helped me meet even more people as everyone has to know each other. It started feeling like home, meeting people in your dorm–Doolittle Upper Shaft Rules!–and leaving your door open and playing music to let everyone know to come by and visit. All of a sudden, you have the chance to learn about so many different cultures and customs because everyone at Riddle is from somewhere else.

O-week was like summer camp–a familiar and fun place for any kid away from home for the first time. The week kept going–O-team meetings, pep rallies, information sessions and campus tours. At night, they had all sorts of fun stuff for us to do. We created memories with the people we had met that day. I made awesome friendships.

When O-Week is over and the upperclassmen start arriving, Embry-Riddle still worked hard to keep us entertained and occupied. The activities fair had so many different clubs and organizations. I signed up for SCUBA club, Touch N’ Go Productions, and P.R.I.D.E. Then Rush Week lets you check out Greek life. There are Thursday movie nights, intramural sports teams (I signed up for volleyball), comedy shows, pool parties, cookouts, paint rave, speakers series, and astronomy open houses. The Eagles men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams have games at night. These are all great ways to mingle and get to know new people. Do I have to go to class?
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Speaking of… classes are so different in college, everyone is much more engaged and the professors have a passion for what they are teaching that you never see in high school. My major is communications because I’ve always loved English and Psych, but I also might major in Meteorology. Homework is a lot less stressful than I expected, though studying for tests is way more important. However, you can study with a group of friends–which is so different from high school – and keep each other focused and help with questions.

Enough of that. I’m off to the Kennedy Space Center with friends this weekend. I was at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios last week with a freshman friend I know from Portland, and nighttime on the beach with a full moon and new friends is… well, it’s all way more Lit than I thought.
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sarah-at-ksc-with-rocket

My Favorite Moments of October

The month of October is almost over and we are now beginning the last phase of the fall semester. Not counting the three days off for Thanksgiving, students have about a month left of actual classes. I will conclude my last blog of the month by saying why it is one of my favorite month of the year.

Industry Career/Expo
Even though the event did not occur due to reasons we all know, it has been in the past an event with great excitement. I like to go hunt for jobs and internships. I enjoy talking with employers about what they have to offer. The career fair is now reported to the spring semester on March 1, 2017 from 09:00 to 16:00 at the ICI Center. Check the Career Services website for updates on company information sessions and the list of employers.

Fall Break
During the four days break including the weekend, I usually go back home to Canada to see my family and friends. I like to see the leaves in the trees change colors. It’s just beautiful! This is something that does not happen in Florida.

algonquin-park-autumnNHL Start of the Season (Hockey)
The 2016-17 hockey season started during the first week of the month. During fall break, I had the chance to attend the second home game of the Montreal Canadiens. We defeated the Arizona Coyotes 5-2. Last year, we did not clinched for the playoffs but hopefully this year we will go far. I look forward to this new season!

MLS Playoffs (Soccer)
The end of the month of October marks the end of the MLS regular season, which means that the playoffs start! My team (Montreal Impact) finished 5th place of the Eastern Conference during the 2016 season. They are playing a knockout round against D.C. United tomorrow (10/27). Hockey has always been the most popular sport in Montreal, but  soccer is catching up slowly beating football.

Until next time!

Nicolas

One Last Push

keep-calm-it-s-almost-fall-break-3Next week marks the median of the semester, but I feel like we just came back to ERAU from summer. I know you guys have to go through midterms, tests, quizzes, assignments, homework and/or projects next week. Keep up the good work because Fall Break is around the corner!

Due to Hurricane Matthew, a total of three days of classes were cancelled. During that time, many of the students and faculty did not have power. It was a bit of a challenge to work on some assignments during the hurricane and professors know it. Many of my professors adapted the course schedule since we missed a few days of classes. My Supply Chain Management midterm that was supposed to be this week is pushed to next week. My professor in Technical Report Writing delayed the due date of our assignments by close to two weeks. Instead of rescheduling the quiz in The Joy of Science, the professor just decided to cancel it to the joy of the students. No pun intended.

Professors are here to help, so if you feel you didn’t have time to work on something or you were simply unable to work due to the power outage, just ask your professor. They might give you more days to complete your assignment. I’m taking an online class and I definitely need my computer to work. I emailed my professor to ask if I could get an extension on my homework because of Hurricane Matthew. The instructor totally understood the circumstances and gave me an additional week to turn in the work.

Enjoy your weekend!

Nicolas

A Quick Update and Some Study Tips

I cannot believe that in just a few days it’ll be November; time sure flies when you’re having fun. Yes despite two tests last week and two this week as well as a speech due, it is still possible to have fun!

It’s time for a (very quick) update:

Two weeks ago, I was on Fall Break; it was nice to enjoy some R&R in Daytona. I had another interview and used the time to get caught up on some homework and projects that were coming up; apparently, I really enjoying being a week ahead or so when it comes to school work. 🙂 Better ahead than behind, I guess.

Since the Industry/Career Expo, it seems like everything is a lot calmer at the moment. I aced both of my tests last week and have two more tests to go this week. I remember the thought of having to take tests and write essays in college scared me as I thought they would be extremely difficult. Although, I was quite surprised that it can be the opposite since I followed the tips below that I got from other students before classes started.

  • Try not to get behind, but if you do, be sure that you communicate with your professor and work hard to catch up.
  • Don’t procrastinate!
  • Try to complete homework as soon as its assigned.
  • Don’t start studying for a test the night before.
  • Lastly, don’t stress too much! Make sure that you enjoy some downtime.

Well, time to go study for Economics.

Blue skies,

Jack