Well, it has been pretty crazy around here in Daytona, and it’s not slowing down any time soon. I have been keeping myself pretty busy with concerts, Bike Week, classes, and flying. As usual, I’ll start with the classes and then tell you about experiencing Bike Week first hand! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TTh – Physics 104 – Well, two tests down, two to go! I managed to get another A so I am pretty happy with that. Other than that, not to much going on in physics. It’s still very early in the morning and it is difficult to convince myself that I need to go. But somehow, I manage to get up and I haven’t missed a class yet. One thing that I have noticed is that a class can be very different depending on the professor. For example, last semester my physics teacher would assign homework very frequently, but this year I haven’t had a single homework assignment. So depending on who your professor is, your experience will be very different.

TTh – Basic Aeronautics II – Well I just got done with my last test in this class, and it’s already time for Round 2. We have been discussing multi-engine systems and we are going to have our first test covering multi stuff on this coming Thursday. On the last test, I had to study for quite a bit of time which is kind of unusual for me. Whenever I have a test coming up, I will study, just not for hours on end. Well, for my aeronautics test, that’s just what I did. I studied and studied and studied, so that means I’m going to have to do that again for this upcoming test. I’m looking forward to that.

MWF – Air Traffic Control I – We took our 2nd test in this class as well, and he still hasn’t posted the grades on-line yet. I’m not sure how I did, and to be honest I can barely remember taking the test. We took it a week ago so I have no idea how I did. Other than that, nothing too exciting going on in here.

MWF – Intro to Psychology – I also had a test in my psych class last week and I did pretty well. The test went over states of consciousness, learning, and memory. Psychology still seems to be one of my favorite classes and almost everything I learn I find very fascinating. Not to knock on my other classes, but the ideal gas law that we went over in Physics isn’t as exciting as learning about learning. So I’m still pretty happy with my psych class and I’ve been thinking about taking other psych classes over the next couple of years.

Flight – As much as I enjoy some of my other classes (such as psychology) I still think flying is hands down the best part of Riddle! If you read last journal, I talked about the three tests that you must pass in order to get your private pilot’s license: written, oral, and practical test. I took my written test last week and I passed with an 83%. I took tons and tons and tons and tons of practice tests and on average I got a 93%, but when it was time to take the actual test, the pressure is on and the environment is completely different. In order to pass the test, you need a 70%, so I’m in the clear with an 83%! Since I have finished my written, I am now studying for my oral test. I have also been doing some cross-country flights; I have done a total of 4 cross-countries, one of which was at night. Now, my next activity is a local solo which is like a normal flight, but I never see my instructor. Before when I soloed I was with my instructor and we flew to an airport, my instructor hopped out, I did some solo take-offs and landings and picked her back up and flew back to Daytona. Now I am 100% alone and on my own! I am pretty excited and I’ll be sure to let everyone know how it goes.

Well, Bike Week 2007 was a success! This past week bikers from all over the world came to Daytona to celebrate bikes. Surprisingly, I have never been to Bike Week in the past because traffic is usually horrible and there are way too many people. Well, this year I have been trying new things so my friends and I decided to go check it out. But we didn’t want to just drive over there and walk around like everyone else; we wanted to submerge ourselves in the culture. . . . So we rented scooters. We went to a local place right near the beach and paid $30 for two hours on these pretty nice scooters. I went with my friends Zach and Aaron and we had a blast. We were riding right next to the bikers and we kept up for the most part. Over by the beach, the speed limit never goes beyond 40mph and the scooters topped out at around 45mph, so we weren’t blocking traffic too bad. We were just cruising down A1A right next to the beach and just drove around for 2 hours. We ended up going down Main Street which is where the street is 100% lined up with bikes all along the sides and where everyone goes to check out all the cool bikes. You could walk down Main Street and see live music, choppers, all sorts of custom bikes, and three college kids on scooters. We drove right down Main Street and we definitely got some funny looks! It was fun to see bike week from a biker’s perspective . . . well almost.

Other than cruising around the beach on scooters, I went to a couple of concerts as well. I went and saw G. Love and Special Sauce and then I saw Pepper. If you are a fan of good music, I recommend checking out these two bands. A band called Redeye opened for G. Love and the Suppervillans and Mad Caddy opened for Pepper. Overall, every band I saw at both concerts put on one heck of a show. I hope that I will be able to check these guys out next time they make it to Orlando.

Well, Spring Break is right around the corner and I still have so much I need to do before it starts, so I am signing out! I don’t want to give anything away for my spring break, but I will tell you that I will be snowboarding . . . a lot of snowboarding. So I am pretty excited about that. Well, as always be sure to check out the pictures and videos website to see all the crazy antics of life down here in Daytona! I’ll be putting up some pictures of Bike Week and of the Scooter Boys (that’s what we heard someone yell as we went down Main Street and they also asked us to ‘pop a wheelie,’ but I would have fallen, so I didn’t). So be sure to check that out. I hope everyone is having a good year so far and continues to do so and I will see ya in 2 weeks! Adios!

-Blake
email: wasteofsoap@yahoo.com
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Hey everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. My past two weeks have been busy with events. The Sigma Chis won all the events for the week and they even won the contest for Relay for Life. They raised over $2000 for it. It’s exciting all the Greek organizations getting together and hanging out for fun and games.

On Saturday night, I went to Orlando to pick up Hilda’s friend from the airport. We then went to Club Paris in downtown Orlando. It was my first time in downtown Orlando. I had a great time. It was $5 for 21 and over and $ 10 for under 21. It felt good to be away from Daytona for a bit. I also forgot about the time change so I got home late.

All of last week, I have been spoiling my little sister with presents. I am so excited when she finds out who I am on Saturday. I was also late for Relay for Life because I had been working on my presents of the day for her. At the Relay for Life, they presented all the people that were survivors and their caregivers. I was surprised to see that half the people on stage were in my sorority. It was encouraging to see some people I recognized there to support the survivors. I walked for a couple of hours and then went home. After Relay for Life, we had a bike wash for a fundraiser.

On Sunday, we had the girls play flag football. The Powder Puff game was brutal. It reminded me of how rough girls can get. The gold team won this year’s game. One of the girls on that team messed up her knee and now she’s on crutches for awhile now. I had a great time playing because it gave me the opportunity to meet other girls that I don’t normally interact with.

On Saturday, I went to my semi-formal. I brought one of my friends, Dan with me. It was at the Museum of Arts and Sciences here in Daytona. I had heard about this museum but I wasn’t sure where it was. I was pretty impressed with what I saw. I am planning on going some day when it is open just because they had some nice paintings that I would like to learn about.

On Friday, there was a homerun derby with each of the presidents from each Greek organization. I also found out who my Lil for the sorority is going to be. I am so excited because I get to spoil her for a week with presents.

On Thursday, we had a Greek speaker come in and talk to us. He is well-known and travels around the country giving speeches. He had valuable lessons for us to learn. He was telling us how we should focus on our academics and to do something we really want to do in life. He also explained to us that if we were going to drink that we should do it responsibly. He said it’s not worth it to drink and drive and he hates going to funerals when those types of fatalities have occurred. No one would hire us if we had an alcohol-related incident especially the pilot world, it’s true. No one would hire you because they might see you as a liability. He also told us that if we had any problems, he would be willing to talk to us and that we can e-mail or call him anytime we needed to.

SPRING BREAK!

Spring Break was fun.  I had to work the Friday night before, so I didn’t fly out until Saturday.  I got to VA around noon.  I spent some time with my best friend (whose birthday is today), some other friends, my family, and my boyfriend.

I also got to fly, which was nice.  I flew to the airport where I got my training for my private pilot’s license.  It is currently being redesigned and renovated.  So far, I don’t like it much, since it is very different from what I’m used to, and it’s still all plywood and nails.  I’ll probably warm up to it when it’s finished.

Steve had a birthday over Spring Break (he’s 21 ooooooh), and I missed it.  But prior to Spring Break Cassie and I gave him his gift, which was a teddy bear named Sampson Von Kriegenbergh that we made at the mall.  It sings the most annoying version of “Happy Birthday” that I have ever heard.

APARTMENT!!!  Steve and I signed up for our apartment – we finally got all of our paperwork filled out and turned in, and we picked out which apartment we wanted.  We chose a second story apartment facing the woods.  There’s also plenty of lawn behind it for my dog (Sophie, pictured below) to run around in.  We’re both very excited about it.  We’re also excited about adopting a kitten once we move in.  Everybody loves kittens.

Over Spring Break I also got a chance to hang out with another good friend of mine and play with her new son.  He was so sweet, and although prior to his birth, I really disliked children, I think I’m warming up to them now.  He’s also pictured below, isn’t he cute?

The return home was relatively stress free.  In fact, this week has gone by very quickly, and all of a sudden… I have two tests tomorrow and one on Friday.  So I’m off to study.

Email me with questions/comments!

– Cat