Hello everybody,

The past two weeks have been full of excitement, anguish and new experiences. The best and worst parts of college have shown their faces to me. All I can do is take it in stride because there is no way to avoid these things.

There is one big disadvantage to having 60 people live on one floor. If one person gets sick, it just spreads around. I currently have a really bad cold, and it’s the third time I’ve been sick since arriving in August. This is nothing compared to the weekend I had last week. One of my friends caught scarlet fever, which surprised us all, but a couple of us took him to the hospital and within a few days he recovered. It definitely is hard being sick for the first time with no real parental figure in your life because you now have to seek health care for yourself. We have a health clinic right in the center of campus, so it is not too far but they aren’t open 24 hours so the occasional trip to the hospital a block and a half away may be necessary. Overall, people are typically healthy and going about their daily activities.

My biggest news from this past week is that I spent the week at our Student Government Association fall retreat. Although we retreated to the ICI center, (our athletic center) which is only a block from where I live, it was full of fun and learning how to be a successful leader. I was one of four first-year students there being that the only way first year students can get involved in the SGA is through Task Force One, which you should all get information about if you are accepted. The retreat was an amazing experience, though it did involve a short night on the hard gymnasium floor. It culminated with a trip to Orlando for dinner and a show Saturday night. I was really grateful the SGA invited the executive board of TFO to the retreat, because they didn’t have to and I think we really benefited as a group from the things we learned.

On the fraternity front, unfortunately I had to withdraw from pledging Pi Kappa Alpha for financial reasons. In college you need to prioritize how you spend your money, and I chose to be able to fly home for Thanksgiving. I feel appreciative to the brothers of Pike for giving me the opportunity to try and join them and in a heartbeat I would attempt to pledge again if the situation ever became right.

School is getting tough. It’s that blunt. I am fighting the urge to lose focus and not go to class, because it is setting in now that no one is forcing me to. I make it to almost all of my classes every day and I am working on making that 100% attendance. These days, I have several papers and presentations I am working on so that does take a little more time than homework was taking in the beginning of the semester.

The moral for these two weeks is that Embry-Riddle is a BUSY place to be. But without chaos and lots of things to do, I’d be very, very bored. So a hectic life makes me happy.

I am going to lie back down now, because I am still not feeling that well, so I hope you all stay healthy and keep your grades up.

Until next time,
Carlos

Greetings from the beyond! How are ye all doing? Hope the past fortnight has been good to y’all, as it has been to meeee……

But before I begin this edition of Junior’s Jiving Journals, I’d like to remember herein Vinay’s dad, who died a few weeks ago of cancer. May his soul rest in peace. Vinay was a classmate of mine back in India, and let’s all hope he’s on his way to recovering from that loss.

Right. So what have I been doing this last week? Hmmm…well, let’s begin with the military. Unfortunately, I fell ill because of something I ate – fever, cramps, puking – the whole gross nine yards. It figures that the next day I would have to take the PFD for AFROTC – that’s the Physical Fitness Diagnostic, in prep for the very important PFT – Phy Fit Test. You have to do a minimum of 33 pushups, 40 situps and run a mile and a half in about 12.5 minutes at the crack of dawn.

Okay. Got up at 5 AM and puked. On an empty stomach. Ever tried that? Jogged over to the PT field and felt the sensation of Deja Fu (The feeling that somehow, somewhere, you’ve been kicked in the nuts like this before). As you can probably guess, I didn’t do my best. But considering how I felt, I did alright – I passed everything except the pushups – and missed the cutoff by just two. Just recently I took the PFT, and got a score of 90.5 out of a 100.

Which is not bad at all.

As for studies, things are settling down now. the trick is to stay ahead of your homework, then there’s plenty of time left for study and ROTC…and if you procrastinate, a bit of fun. But dates on the calendar are still closer than they appear!

I’m working on a design project for one of my classes – we design a payload of photography equipment and a rocket to take it into space. And when I say design, I mean design. Right from the CCD material to the rocket pad and fuel ejection systems, we design every nitty gritty detail and chalk our rocket together. It’s not easy – there’s a sh**load of calculations, parameters, integrations and factors that have to be taken into consideration.

Last weekend I saw a coupla movies, including BATMAN BEGINS in the Student Center and FLIGHTPLAN, which was not bad. I’d recommend it. Dan Ahdoot, a comedian, performed in the Student Center this Friday. I went to the beach a few times and chilled. Also my Air Force instructor has arranged visits to two Air Force Bases in November – Shaw and Charleston. We get to fly in Air Force planes on the way, so that promises to be a lot of fun.

I also went to DJ training this week but I wasn’t able to follow it up with the required three hours of training with another DJ while he’s doing a show – my schedule always conflicts…oh well, I’ll manage it sometime soon.

BiketoberFest is coming up soon, next weekend. People who were here last year say that if you can get out of Daytona, do – or buy yourself very expensive earphones to drown out the bikes! Gas prices will shoot up, Main Street will be snarled in traffic jams, motorbikes will be stolen…Homecoming is on October 28th, so there should be something fun to report there!

Also, as an Honors student, I have priority registration, which begins next Monday, so I ‘ll get first dibs on whichever class I want to take…no standing in line, no finding that a class I really want is full, no having to settle for classes at inconvenient times…I’m really bummed about my schedule this semester, so I intend to have all my classes in blocks that’ll allow me to sleep the hot afternoon away. Dont ask me what made them schedule a class from 4:45 to 5:45 PM – all I can say is that while some people drink at the fountain of knowledge – others only gargle.

Well, I think I have to study now (on a Saturday night!), so I’m gonna sign off with my motto and say goodnight. Keep those questions coming, and I’ll help out best I can… nayak48c@erau.edu, vedajr@gmail.com or AIM me at vedanayakjr. Goodnight, everyone…peace out!

VJ

MOTTO FOR THE FORTNIGHT: Show me a man with both feet planted firmly on the ground and I’ll show you a man who can’t get his pants off.

Hey, readers! I don’t even know where to begin today, this past week was so crazy. Most people had mid-terms last week, which is stressful enough, but in AMS we had our actual finals. On the one hand it’s good to know that Tuesday I can start over on a clean slate, but the finality was pretty hard to deal with, especially since I almost failed one of my classes. Being sick for a week definitely screwed me over in a lot of ways. Since we don’t really get homework in my program, everything is really based on quizzes and tests, which until last week, I was convinced we’d had more of, so the fact that I had kind of messed a few up wouldn’t really matter, but it did. Anyway, the important part is that I did pass.

What sucks is that I really need more money for school, and my GPA right now isn’t all that good. I still have another term to raise it, but I don’t know if I can get it high enough to be very competitive for an ROTC scholarship. Fortunately, I did pretty well on the AFOQT, surprisingly my verbal section was really strong and was actually better than my math. Hopefully that will at least help me out a little in the selection process in the future. Since I was a junior in high school last year, apparently I wasn’t eligible for the 4-year scholarship, so I’m just gonna keep on trying until hopefully I get one, one of these days. If you are considering doing ROTC and you are a senior, I highly recommend applying for the 4 year scholarship as you are under no obligation to the Air Force your freshman year.

On that note, the whole bronchitis thing didn’t mix too well with ROTC. I haven’t missed any ROTC stuff since Lead Lab, but I got totally screwed over for PT. My lungs got really weak from all that coughing, so now I can’t even run a quarter mile until I start wheezing. We had our PFTs (Physical Fitness Test) this week and I had to get a waiver for it because I absolutely could not run. This pissed me off for a couple reasons, one, that I feel like a total quitter, two, I know I could have passed all the events before I got sick and three, I might have to do remedial PT (basically an extra morning of PT every week if you didn’t pass all the events), but I’m still waiting for my flight commander to get back to me on that one.

With all the things I have to do for school and no one to remind me to do them, I’ve gotten way stressed out. I even had a dream the other night that I forgot to go to Lead Lab, and then I got so confused that I also almost forgot to go to my Air Force GMC class. (That class is basically where we learn about military standards and the history of the Air Force, and all that other basic stuff.) It was a pretty bad scene, so I’m gonna make pretty sure that I show up for Lead Lab today.

I know a lot of you will probably be wondering about dorm life and spending so much time with other people that you don’t know. I can be pretty introverted myself, so I understand those of you who require alone time. The first six weeks or so of being here, I hardly had any time to myself. Oddly enough though, I didn’t really feel like I needed it. I used to need some kind of time to myself like once a day, but that need sort of fell away for a while. Plus, your friends really do become like your family. But with more work piling on me, I felt a much greater need to be on my own, but when I was doing a million things at once, it was kinda hard to get people to leave me alone, or to find a quiet place to study. This weekend I basically spent in bed recovering from all the stress. I even spent 15 hours sleeping on Friday night, I was that tired. All I did was read my book, sleep and listen to music. Eventually, I want to start back up learning my languages, too, but I think that’s going to require some more separation from other people.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, ROTC is doing a base visit to Shaw AFB in Charleston, SC. Since it’s all free, I’m strongly considering going. That’s another on the perks of ROTC, free vacations. After that I think I might actually end up going home for a week instead of staying here as planned. It’s going to be really expensive but my mom said she’d pay for it so I guess that’s all good. It’s hard to explain, I’m not homesick, but I still really want to go home. I think it’s basically all the stress of school that makes me want to go somewhere where I can forget about it. Plus, after graduation I won’t have that many opportunities to go home anymore, so I might as well go back while I can.

My goal for the rest of the term is to make a lot more time for productive studying, to have more time to read, because I like reading a lot and it should help me unwind from school stress, and to be more involved in ROTC. Since I got sick I started slacking off with all the optional stuff we do, and I’m not cool with that. I have to keep reminding myself that being in ROTC is a privilegeand I should treat it as such. So we’ll see how all that goes, and if I can actually make time for everything. The main thing in college, like everyone says, is time management. In two weeks, I’ll update you on whether or not I’ve actually had enough discipline to do everything I’m supposed to.

I’d best be going now. With some luck, I’ll have more interesting things to report on next entry. Any questions- you know the drill: kenyonj@erau.edu

‘Til next time!

Hello all you journal readers,

I hope everyone is doing good!! things are getting better here in Daytona Beach. School is going good, my grades are up and all is well! The past 2 weeks have been VERY exciting down here. Not much has happened here around school other than sports events! I went to the Riddle vs FSU hockey game last friday, IT WAS INCREDIBLE!! the place was packed with wild and crazy fans, we beat them 5-1! Riddle is awesome at sports, anyway, we were hitting them REAL hard, no fights though. My favorite saying of the night came around when there was about 2 minutes left in the game. Everyone was like “warm up the bus, warm up the bus, it’s time go hooommmeee” and everyone whips out their keys and shakes them. it was REALLY fun!! I recommend anyone who hasn’t gone to a hockey game before. .. GOO!! there are incredible. I went to visit my older brother in Melbourne last weekend, he took me out with his friends then we went to a bar and listened to local bands. (there are some gooodd garage bands out there) I helped him move into his new place. I was really sore and all, and his g/f runs her own massage clinic, so i got hooked up with FREE PAMPERING!! I worked yesterday and it was the best work day i’ve had since i’ve worked there! all we did was mess around and take pictures all day, it was great.

The weather around here is FINALLY clearing up, it kept raining day in and day out, but it hasn’t been raining that much at all!!! It’s been really nice, it’s not too hot either. Like 2 or 3 days out of the week it’s typical hot florida, but any other time it’s actually kind of cool, and I’m from up north, but I’m beginning to become a Floridian, so cool to me now is like 75 or so. At night it drops down to about 68 or so i’m guessing, I had to wear a hoodie last night. I was loaded with homework the past week, i felt like i had too much to do EVERY NIGHT, air space and flight planning worksheets, plotting, writing essays, studying for test/quizzes, reading books, studying things i wasn’t quite sure of. I’m sure EVERYONE has had one of those weeks where you’re just like “PLEASE JUST GIVE US A BREAK!” but it’s weird how every teacher/professor loads you with stuff all at once. Things have settled down now that we’re into the new chapters and things.

I have had lots of people add me to their AIM list and ask me questions, I’d be glad to answer ANY questions that ANYONE has about ANYTHING. I know a lil bit more than most freshman around here, where to go for what, who to call to know this, ways around different things, etc. once again for those who haven’t been reading or haven’t read my journal and what not, my AIM screen name is gibso2j . . so yeah, i’m usually up rrreeeaaalllll llate all the time, I’m an insomniac, which means I can’t sleep or have problems getting to sleep, and the cool thing is, it doesn’t affect me at all, until the weekends when I WANT to stay up. Anyway, you guys can contact me at anytime. Questions about housing, where is the best place to live, meal plans, car or no car?, things like that.

Things are starting to get a little hectic here in Daytona because of Biketoberfest this upcoming weekend! I was out and about Saturday night and it took me 10 minute to move one block on A1A, bikers are EVERYWHERE and things have BARELY BARELY heated up yet, I hear that you can’t get ANYWHERE once it all starts up , the best thing to do is walk, but my friends and I have some cheap rooms along the beach that we’ve reserved for this wknd, I don’t know if I’m going or not because my McKay hall friends invited me to an NHL game on the 22, but bike week is bike WEEK so i’ll have plenty of time to check out all the sweet street bikes..THE FOOD IS GREAT! I had about 7 meal plans left and went over to the cafateria EARLY (or else all the good drinks and snacks are gone ) and used up all my meal plans and stocked up my room with food, drinks, and snacks!! I had Sobes, chocolate milk, subs, pizza, chicken wraps, starbucks coffee, cookies, pies, just EVERYTHING, . ’twas good. Anyway, basically I’ve just been having fun ever since I got here, but the downside is I miss my girl, she knows who she is. Relationships can get tough during college, but anywho..

I got bored early on today and decided to make up a scavenger hunt list, and I got about like 12 guys and 3 girls to join, and we’re going in teams of 3 and doing EVERYTHING on the list, we have to record it so we have proof, and see who gets done first, .. my list of things is CRAZY!! So I’m off to do that here pretty quick, the hunt should take about 5 hrs or so, maybe longer, I just wanted to see how everyone was doing and let everyone know that Riddle is an OOKKKK place! hehe. well, if anyone wuld like to know about anythig else or my experiences thus far, just let me know by AIM, or post your thoughts/requests up on the message board, thanks guys!! c-ya!

Well, today is Friday, Oct. 14.. tomorrow is my 18th birthday!! That’s right, I’m a young one, here on campus. Actually, I’ve met another person or two who are even younger than LiL me. So, I’d say there are a fair share of younger students at Riddle.

Anyway, things are going alright. They sure have been better. I’ve had some CRaZzZie things going on, but.. despite them.. I’m doing just fine. I had a mini-breakdown, last night. I had this HUGE project due, this morning, in my IT 109 (Intro. to Computers) class. I started it MUCH earlier than I usually begin projects, but it wasn’t quite early enough. Luckily, I found some awesome friends who could help me out with it. So, I got it turned in on time. However, I was a wreck in the process. Procrastination is NOT the key to being a successful student, here. Trust me!!

As far as the birthday is coming along, my boyfriend is here!! He flew in on Wed. He’s staying until next Tuesday. So, I’ve still got him for a few more days!! This weekend, we’re going with my best friend from Riddle, Beth, to her place in Clearwater. She misses her friends, and I could use a break from the dorms for a bit. I got a HUGE package in the mail, yesterday. I got a TON of gifts from the family and from Monty. It was great I love presents.. especially the opening them part.

As far as my other classes, things aren’t going too bad. I’m feeling MUCH more confident in CaLC.. AS 120 should be getting better.. and World History isn’t ToOo bad despite the teacher.

I hate to write this early, but I figured I’ll be busy, this weekend. If I can, I’ll write another entry within the next two weeks and post the birthday pictures.. and maybe a picture or two from my experiences with the Alpha Xi Delta sorority Have a great one, guys!!

Hi again everybody.

There has been so much going on here lately in the area. This week is BiketoberFest and there are motorcycles everywhere. Traffic is not too bad on the mainland side but beachside it is, the noise from the bikes is kind of getting a bit annoying. I have seen some crazy/weird people I don’t think I would have ever imagined seeing, but they all ride ridiculously awesome motorcycles. These bikers definitely do carry the ‘stereotype’ of being hard partiers from what I have seen at night, but they all share a fun time together. Daytona Beach is like nothing I ever imagined.

I am officially a member now of the Riddle-Surf club. I went to the surf trip this Sunday and it was a lot of fun. Basically everyone from the club goes to the beach together and surfs, the more experienced surfers usually ended up teaching the beginners. If any of you ever want to learn how to surf, I definitely recommend joining the surf club.

Since I’m on the topic of clubs, a good amount of you have been e-mailing me questions about my Fraternity. Now that I am about half-way through pledging, it is beginning to get a bit more challenging. Luckily all of my pledge brothers are really fun to be with. Pledging is not ‘too’ bad, we give each other support when needed. Greek life is definitely not for everyone, but if it is for you, I guarantee it will be the most fun and greatest experience you will ever have. Most Fraternities promote scholarship so grades are always number one priority; at least with Sigma Pi the concern is pretty high up there. It seems like every weekend is getting better than the last and I can see a noticeable bond forming between us pledges and the Brothers. I definitely feel proud and privileged to be pledging Sigma Pi Fraternity.

As far as my academics are going, I am doing pretty well. I am approaching another hell week of tests every day, but I feel very prepared for them now that I know how the tests are structured. My ATC classes are getting a lot more interesting too. We are finally going over stuff that we will definitely use every day in our controlling careers. This past Thursday I went to an ATC club meeting where the supervisor of Daytona Beach Intl Control Tower gave us a great lecture on the career as well as his own personal experiences. A lot of people showed up and the topics/ questions were very good. It made me proud to be an Embry-Riddle student.

One major point I have to say for all you interested in becoming a controller is don’t just do it for the money because the job will defeat you if your heart isn’t in it. Also, things are looking very good for the future in ATC. I am so anxious to graduate ERAU and get called to the FAA academy, but at the same time I am loving my Fraternity and never want to leave this school.

Many of you have been e-mailing me questions so keep it up! I enjoy getting back to you with my own opinions. My e-mail for those of you who don’t know, beim582@erau.edu .

Well, I got to go so that is it for this entry. Do good in school and for all of you future FAA controllers out there, STAY OUT OF TROUBLE and good luck!

School is the same, but I think that is probably a good thing. I love that time in the semester when you finally get comfortable with the professors’ teaching and testing styles. I also just got over a nasty cold and I am back to normal- or as close as I can get!

Well, as far as news goes, my volleyball team (the Doolittle Pigeons), is currently undefeated!! The competition is tough because there are about 30 other teams in the league. Crew is also going well. The other day we had enough girls to take out a full boat with NO guys and we had a blast! A dolphin swam near our boat and I got really excited. I just love it here in Florida. I am still walking around in shorts and tank tops, when back home in Minnesota my mom and boyfriend tell me that it’s like 20 degrees and snowing. This Halloween is actually going to be my first Halloween with no snow. It’s going to feel so weird. When I was little I had to wear warm clothes to go trick-or-treating, so if I wanted to be a ballerina I had to wear snow pants under my tutu! I’m really excited for Halloween this year because elementary students from Daytona Beach are going to be trick-or-treating in our dorms, and we are planning on decorating the entire hallway for it! Well, I’m going home on Monday, December 12th, right after my last exam. I can’t believe how fast the time is going by. It feels like I just got here and now I will be home in less than two months! I can’t wait to see my family and friends, and especially Dougie. I miss him so much. For any of you out there who are considering a long distance relationship, my best advice for you is to remember that if both people want to make it work, it will. It also takes a great deal of trust from both sides. A cell phone with good reception and a ton of minutes to talk is also a must. In fact, I think distance can actually make a relationship stronger. Sometimes we don’t realize how much we really care about someone until they’re not around every day. That’s just my 2 cents. I hope it helps someone.

Have a great day!
~Sara~

Hi Guys,

School is coming quite OKAY. I must admit that the first year, like everyone else says is very difficult because of your new surroundings. I had exams in pretty much every class except Speech. In Speech I am doing the best because there are no exams. I do pretty bad on exams. But I catch up quickly. In Chemistry, I am currently doing worst because I rushed my test. When we reviewed it, I knew like 33/40 questions. Quite Embarrassed I am. But I got just over half of it. The final exam replaces the lowest score so I will be fine.

In Speech, we perform speeches on Videotapes. Not to scare you, it really is not bad because you get to know your classmates and so that builds you up. I have a major speech coming up next week with a group which is all nicely organized and planned. We have to individually perform speeches about a certain topic we picked that is controversial. We chose Youth Crime. A lot of research that can be done!

We have Chemistry class and Chemistry Lab. Chemistry class I already mentioned at the beginning. The lab is much harder. We have about 70 minutes to complete each lab with about 10 questions to fill out. So if you don¹t finish, you have until 2 pm that day and 10 points will be taken off. It¹s pretty hard but I am averaging a C or better hopefully because I am catching up like I said.

My Math test I got a 82 so I am not doing bad in that class. The only ones that worry me is Chemistry. I was never good in those subjects but College does it for ya ! All the other ones I am doing okay also. My main goal is however to strive for 3.0+ But I do not know if that is going to happen. Maybe close. Which is still good for first year college I think.

After classes, there is a lot of freedom which many students do not use to study, including me! But of course I use the time wisely and do study when its necessary. Now I know this is a short journal and I¹m sorry!! The next one will be much longer I promise as my speech approaches, Wish me luck !!!

AIM : Mafia6663

-Dinko

Hello again everybody.
Since last time, it has been amazingly busy here in Daytona Beach. Now that I am into my fourth week of classes, I can accurately say I have a pretty good routine going. The work load is definitely starting to pick up and is becoming a lot more challenging, but nothing overwhelming.

I am taking two air traffic classes and I absolutely love them. They are very interesting and I enjoy going to them every day. In my one class, we just learned all about the history of ATC and now we are starting on the ATC system as a whole. In the other, we finished the teamwork, documents, and communications section and are just starting the aircraft identification section. Each of these classes is structured around the FAA’s demands. Everything we learn will most likely be seen again if we get accepted to the FAA training academy in Oklahoma City.

I am also taking a meteorology class and a human factors class. My meteorology professor is actually the weatherman for central Florida’s Channel 13 news station. It is kind of strange to see him in the classroom, and then 4 hours later on my TV, but the class is very interesting. This past week, I had been bombarded with tests, just about every day of the week I had a test in each one of my classes, a lot of studying and work, but I pulled through..

So that is how my academic life is going. Now on to my social life.

Embry-Riddle has so many clubs and organizations to pick from! About two weeks back I ended up joining the scuba diving club and the surf club when they held the activities fair. There are hundreds of activities to choose from, whatever interests you they probably have here.

The University also held a Greek night where you go around to the Fraternities/Sororities table and decide which one you like enough to rush and possibly join. In my personal opinion, Sigma Pi here at Embry-Riddle has the most to offer and is probably the best Fraternity on campus. After going around and seeing/ hearing what all the others had to offer, nothing could compare to Sigma Pi, I had to rush them.

Rush week is when all of the interested students hang out with the Brother’s and decide if they like the organization enough and want to pledge. It also gives the Brothers a chance to determine if they like you enough and think you are worthy of pledging their organization. At the end of rush week, if everything worked out, they give you a bid and invite you to pledge the Fraternity. I was lucky enough to get a bid from Sigma Pi and of course I accepted it. So now I am a pledge and have to go through the new member education process.

My pledge brothers are really cool and I enjoy hanging out with them, so things aren’t too bad yet. This past week they assigned me to my ‘Big Brother,’ Chad. He is like a mentor to me and will help guide me through my pledging process. Every day I am developing more and more respect towards the Brothers. They are all really cool and know how to have a good time. Yesterday we cleaned up Clyde Morris, the highway in front of the University. Sigma Pi actually adopted that entire road. It was so hot out, but the Brothers made it into a fun time. Out of all the Fraternities on campus, Sigma Pi by far is the best one in my opinion.

On another note, I am really glad I chose to live off campus since I was eligible because I am a transfer student. I have a huge apartment, my own bathroom, and no RA looking after my every move. On the other hand I have to drive to class every day, make my own meals, and most of the friends I met live on campus, so I’m kind of out of the loop. Either way you look at it, there are definitely pros and cons with off-campus living.

In these upcoming weeks, there is going to be a lot to look forward to in the Daytona Beach area and also the University. Homecoming is coming up and from what I hear; things get crazy on campus during it. Also, Biketober Fest is just around the corner. It is when bikers from all around the country come to Daytona to show off their stuff, sell things, and party. It should be interesting once they all come. People say that the area gets so loud and the roadways get clogged with motorcycles. I am looking forward to Sky Fest most of all for the upcoming month. It is a huge air show over the airport with all kinds of stunt pilots and vendors from every where all relating to aviation, it definitely sounds like fun.

To wrap things up, I am really enjoying it here, from the new friends to the new experiences, everything is going really well for me. If any of you ever have any questions regarding academics or the social scene here, email me at beim582@erau.edu. It would probably be best though if you continue to ask me questions through the discussion board. If you see me on campus, let me know if you read my entries. Until next time, do good in school and stay out of trouble.

Whaaaaaaaaazaaaaa,

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mine was alright. I had a chemistry exam and Psychology. I¹ll let you know what I got on them when you contact me J . By the way ..only one person contacted me and read my entire journal, I found that pretty unique.

I was supposed to go home this weekend to St.Petersburg, Florida where my parents live and spend the weekend there but I have a Math Exam on Tuesday so I chose to stay here because its harder to focus at home with all those distractions going on around you. My classes are still going pretty well except chemistry, I was not happy what I got on my exam. I rushed it and didn¹t do too well. Over the weekend I got in touch with several of my friends back from home in St.Petersburg, Florida too bad not Europe, its expensive over my cell phone. But it was nice, I talked to my friends and told them that I will probably be going home in 2 weeks for the weekend unless another Exam interrupts me.

So my friend Justin broke his collar bone playing Ultimate Frisbee down near the ICI Center (sport complex). It is funny how people imagine that sport as being so innocent. Well, he jumped to dive to get the Frisbee, he succeeded but fell on his shoulder as if someone dropped him upside down to the ground. So I drove in his car and took care of him for like two days and felt very bad for him. Since the collar bone is one of the most sensitive bones in the body required for movement, it is very hard for him to move such as taking showers, dressings.etc. I helped him with the best I can. A few days ago he had to go back to the hospital and they put a cast around his shoulders and armpits. At least he looks buff now with his whole shoulders being placed back and straight up. I wish him well.

A car here at Embry-Riddle is not really THAT important. If you need to go shopping or such, there are always people around that have a car and that will drive you. If you just want to kill money and time + gas, then go for it. I personally don¹t believe you need a car unless you are planning on getting an OFF-Campus job. Many students work on campus and have a flexible schedule. Here at Embry-Riddle, many people understand the need for your work to be done, so if you needed to leave your job or something they would understand. Now off campus, I would say it would probably be different.

If anybody is considering a visit, I encourage you to do so and so does probably everyone else here. When you visit your University you are planning to attend you just feel different. You can ask questions from people who are NOT trying to take your money, but to help you. Our Financial Aid Office is beyond exceptional, they do all the work for you with the lenders.

I know its been a short journal, so I haven¹t done pretty much anything over the weekend. I pulled another ALL-Nighter on Saturday (for no reason) with my buddy and now I am tired. So guyss let me know if there is anything I can answer for you. I already did for one person, and thanks for reading it ALL!! – Dinko R.