Monthly Archives: December 2022

Everything That’s Happened Since Thanksgiving Break

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It’s finals season, yay…

After a very restful Thanksgiving break, it was the final countdown before finals began.

Of course, ERAU was full of support. The week before finals is called stress relief week, which has a bunch of giveaways for stress-relieving things like coloring books. I snagged one of those, and it’s actually pretty relaxing.

Stress relief week also had stress-relieving dogs, which was great. There were several dogs for students to pet and love as they walked in between classes, and I definitely took the opportunity. They stayed for a couple of hours during the peak of the day so more students could pet them.

Stress relief puppy!

That week, my classes were wrapping up and preparing for finals. Everything was due on or before the designated Friday called “study day.” At ERAU, we have classes on Monday through Thursday, Friday is a study day, and then finals are on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. This year I had four finals- one on Saturday, two on Tuesday, and one online. I had a fifth class without a final, too.

Although I don’t know my final grades yet, I’m hopeful and think I did well. It wasn’t as exciting as last year’s finals week when I got to go flying, but my finals were earlier in the day than last year. I also spent a lot more studying for finals this year. Classes are getting harder, but they’re still manageable! On Study Day, one organization hosted free tutoring for some engineering courses that a lot of people struggle with. It was definitely helpful.

The Student Government Association also had its semesterly forums around stress relief week. The senators from each college (Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering) hosted their own separate forum days where students get free food for providing feedback. They usually bring inflatables and free food, and everyone likes free food.

The best free food I’ve ever had was actually during one of the forum days- I forget which, but they brought “tornado potatoes” which were flat ovular potatoes on a stick. They were deep-fried and made fresh, and then you could apply salt if you wanted- kind of like a less-cooked Buc-ee’s beaver chip. Since there was no limit on how many we could have, I had three.

Overall, it’s been a busy time of year, but the semester is almost over and I’m due for another break. I’m excited to see what the spring will bring and what I’ll do. In the meantime, I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle!

Thanksgiving Break 2022

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Home is where my cats are.

So, this Thanksgiving I went back to Kentucky for Thanksgiving break! I didn’t end up going back last year but this year provided me with less homework to complete over the break so I could have a few days of vacation. I flew Avelo Airlines, which gave me a direct flight from Orlando (MCO) to my home airport of Lexington, Kentucky (LEX). Since Avelo is an ultra-low cost carrier, I’d stuffed my backpack full of everything I needed for the trip to avoid fees.

Avelo 737-800

The flight leaving Orlando was around 6 AM, so I ended up leaving Daytona at about 3 AM. I was too exhausted to pay attention to the flight since I was running on very little sleep, and I ended up sleeping for a good portion of the flight. After arriving on the ground and making my way out of the airport, I met my parents, who then drove me home.

It felt weird to get in around 8 AM since I still had the entire day ahead of me. When I got home, I had breakfast and then played with my cats for a few hours. It was nice to be able to relax, and I was anticipating lunch. I had already planned to go to my favorite local noodle restaurant. As always, the noodles were delicious, and I can’t wait to go back when I’m home for Christmas break!

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and of course, that was its own entity. I made a delicious chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting as my contribution to the meal, and it was enjoyed by all. It’s my favorite dessert to make, and the cake mix comes straight from the box. I usually use milk instead of water, add an extra egg, and replace the vegetable oil with butter instead. It’s delicious (and if you get the chance, I suggest you try it)!

Friday was pretty chill. Again, I spent the day at my house relaxing and doing nothing productive. It felt good to have a few days to do nothing but exist, play with my cats, and not think about schoolwork. That’s why they call it a break.

On Saturday, I packed up all of my things and prepared to head back to Orlando. I had a 2:45 PM flight this time instead of an early morning flight, which was very nice. It was a smooth ride back to Orlando and I ended up sleeping on the way back, too.

Orlando’s airport is a lot more chaotic than Daytona and it serves a lot more aircraft. There were several aircraft lined up for a runway as we taxied by with three different airlines. I love airplanes (not as much as I love spacecraft, though!) and it was fun taxiing by and watching them all sit there.

Southwest 737 MAX waiting in line.

The other fun thing about the Orlando airport is the terminal shuttle. At the TSA checkpoint, I went through, the airport separates two terminals by a shuttle, so I ended up taking the shuttle to the other terminal so I could look at planes. It was also great that the Starbucks line was considerably shorter at the other terminal.

I went back to the car and had to take a shuttle back to the parking lot the car was in, but it was much cheaper to park over there. By the time we left the airport, it was already dark. That’s one thing I don’t like about daylight savings is the lack of light in the evening.

The Orlando airport has its benefits and drawbacks. The main benefits from Orlando are (usually) cheaper flights and more food options, but it comes with the additional cost of time. The TSA line was very short when I was there at 5 AM, but when I went through at 3-4 PM for a trip, the line took me an hour. The Daytona airport is much closer, and the TSA lines are always short, but the flights are generally more expensive and there isn’t as much to choose from in terms of dining.

The other benefit of the Daytona airport is seeing Embry-Riddle flight students take off and land next to the larger commercial aircraft that come in. When I left from Daytona, I’ve always thought of the students that start at ERAU and then end up at the airlines- including a few of my friends. Maybe that will be you one day, too. I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle!