Well hello to everyone out there in internet land. Here it is 2008 and frankly, I’m not sure that it has hit me yet. I’ve finished my third semester here at Embry-Riddle which means I only have five semesters left. Time is flying by and I am having an awesome time. I had a pretty good break, but I’m ready to get back to the grind because I have some exciting classes. I’ll go into that later, but I guess I’ll tell ya about my break.
School’s out – Christmas Eve: After I finished up all my classes, I did a couple more flight activities and then ended up heading home for the break. I moved back into my old room and it felt like high school all over again. I starting working for my Dad and helping him out with different things to put some money in my bank account. This past semester I didn’t work too much, so my bank account has been slowly declining. Now I have some money in the bank though, so that makes me happy. On December 16th I drove down to West Palm Beach for my Mom’s graduation. She has been going back to school for the past couple of years and she just finished up working on her Masters. She has been doing night classes in Orlando, but the main campus is in West Palm. I drove down with my cousin and a friend, and we met up with my Mom. My Mom thought my sister couldn’t come because she still had to be in school in New York, but we arranged for her to fly down on that day to surprise her. We showed up right before she went backstage and my sister jumped out and my Mom was so shocked! She had no idea she was there. Overall it played out perfectly and I’m so glad she didn’t find out until we surprised her.
Christmas: After I finished up my shopping at 6 o’clock on Christmas Eve, there was a huge weight taken off my shoulders. And I needed that. On Christmas morning I did what I’ve been doing for years. I woke up with my Mom and sister and we opened presents. I ended up getting a lot of new clothes, some DVDs, and a PS3!!! When the PS3 first came out I wasn’t sure if I wanted one or not. Well, after playing it for a year in Walmart and Circuit City, I finally asked Santa to get me one. I’m not sure if that was a good decision because I have some pretty tough classes this semester, and a PS3 will definitely be a big distraction. Oh well, I’ll still be fine. After we opened presents, we drove to Orlando to visit with family. I got to see all my aunts, uncles, and cousins on my Mom’s side of the family. We had lunch and then I went with my sister to go see my Dad. We had dinner there and that was Christmas.
After Christmas – New Years Eve: After Christmas I just relaxed around the house and enjoyed playing some PS3 with friends. On the 28th my Dad, sister, and I flew up to Maine to visit some friends. My Dad went to high school in Maine and he kept in touch with friends, so now we visit them every year at Christmas time. It ended up snowing for a couple days, so there was snow everywhere. They have an ice rink in their back yard so we went ice skating and I tried to play hockey. I think I’m much better at watching it, rather than trying to skate and shoot the puck. I had fun, well mostly, until my friend Marissa checked me. I obviously fell and was waiting for a roughing penalty, but then I realized there wasn’t a referee and I was taunting her. So I guess I deserved it. Oh well, I’ll be training and next year I’ll be much better. On New Year’s Eve, my Dad and sister flew home but I stayed in Maine because I was going to visit my friend in New Hampshire. So I watched the ball drop with Marissa and some of her friends. We had a blast. Well, that was 2007. Now . . . 2008.
2008: On New Year’s Day I met up with my friend Alex, who I’ve talked about before. He was born in New Hampshire, moved to Florida for middle and high school, and now goes to college in Colorado. He picked me up in Maine and we drove to New Hampshire. I was up there until the 5th, and we did some snowboarding and tubing. We went in his back yard and made a small jump that we would hit while we weren’t on the slopes. We ended the trip with no broken bones or hospital visits, so it was a success. Two years ago, we weren’t so lucky. Alex ended up going down this wicked narrow trail and caught an edge on a tree trunk and broke his arm in three places. So that didn’t end too well. However, this past trip ended quite well. After I got back to the wonderful, hot state of Florida, I went on a business trip with my Dad and sister. He had to drive up to Atlanta for a trade show, so my sister and I went up with him. We helped him set up and run the show for a couple days. We ended up staying with my Aunt Wendy, who lives in Atlanta, so I got to see my cousins. I actually went to a hockey game with my oldest cousin and we saw the Atlanta Thrashers vs. the Florida Panthers. We had awesome seats, and we actually had a waiter come serve us! It was a blast, but unfortunately the next hockey game I’ll see, I’ll be in crappy seats. Oh well, I can still see the players, they’ll just look like ants. Overall, the whole Atlanta trip was fun, and it was exciting to see what my Dad does at trade shows. I look forward to the next show I get to see!
A Look Ahead: Well, this semester is going to be a tough one. I’ll tell you the classes I have, and next journal I’ll tell you about the first impressions and what-not. I am taking Air Traffic Management III, Aviation Legislation, Aerodynamics, Aircraft Engines, and Commercial Pilot Operations. These classes sound fun, but they are going to be very demanding. I guess we’ll see how it goes. Well, that was my break and I look forward to telling you about this year! As always, send any e-mails with questions if you have them. Also, be sure to check the pictures and videos, because I will be posting a lot up within the next few weeks! Stay tuned for next journal, and until then . . . go build a snowman!!!!! (Assuming you live in a snowy climate.)
