On Friday, I went to Zeba’s with the boys and I brought Adrianna with me. I had a great time hanging out with my friends. There were a lot more people that I recognized. My friend, Susie was in town so I left the club to see her for a bit and met her at someone’s house. There were so many people that I didn’t know that I just left. I ended up back at Zeba’s. At this rate, it looks like I’ll be single for the rest of my life.

On Saturday, I went to the Welcome Back to School Party. We showed up late because Adrianna locked herself out of her apartment. We called Safe Ride to give us a ride to El Azteca. For Safe Ride, you have to pay them $8 if you are asking them to give you a ride to another place. If live within the area covered, then your ride is free. I am glad we have that program here at school. I asked Susie to give Adrianna and me a ride back to my place. She said Yes, but she left the club early. One of my sorority sisters gave me a ride home.

On Sunday, Adrianna decided that she wanted to make dinner. She wanted to make chicken tenders. I go to the store and buy the ingredients for her. I had to do laundry so I told my roommate, Cheese to keep an eye out for her. Adrianna is learning how to cook so I don’t trust her in my kitchen by herself. I have cooked with her before and she’s hilarious. I don’t want to be mean because I know she’s trying and I think she’s doing a good job. Well apparently while I was gone, Cheese went to his room and when he came out, he noticed that the whole living room and kitchen area was full of smoke. Oh Adrianna, she blames it on the oil. I believe that could have been one of the factors, but then again its Adrianna. By the time, I came back everything was fixed and the food was ready to eat. All I hear Adrianna talk about is how she wants to make this again. I’ll trust her in my kitchen the second time around.

Well, I am back in sunny Florida and classes have started up again.  Unfortunately, right now it’s not too sunny because we are having one of those rainy and gray days.  Also, for the past few days it has been cold for Florida and I wish the temperature could be 80 degrees and sunny like it was the day after I came back.  I got back to Florida late on January 7th and I had a whole day to unpack and get organized before classes started.  The past week hasn’t been too busy since the clubs haven’t gotten started yet and I haven’t done all that much.

On January 9th classes started, and I realized that nothing had changed from last semester because I still have a project or paper to do in each class.  My Honors class requirement is to write one paper this time which is better than last semester and we never have tests or quizzes.  In my Computers class we are going to learn how to design our own webpage, I am excited about that!  Microeconomics seems a lot like Macroeconomics so far, and I hope that as we get deeper into the material it will start to differ.  All in all, I am pretty happy with my classes and my schedule.  I almost forgot to mention that they finished the College of Business building and I posted pictures so don’t forget to check them out.

The spring semester is similar to the fall semester in the fact that it usually takes about two weeks for the clubs to start up again.  On January 12th, I went with a friend to the Christian Fellowship Club meeting and I had a wonderful time meeting a bunch of new people.  One of my favorite things about ERAU is how it’s small enough that you see a lot of people you recognize everyday but there are always new people to meet.  After the meeting, most of the people went to this pizza place (I can’t remember the name of it) and we got an enormous pizza.  The pizza was so big that it took up an entire table and contained 60 slices!  Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me or I would have taken a picture of it.  Silver Wings and the Airport Management Club both have meetings in the upcoming week and I am looking forward to doing some exciting things.  Maybe at the activities fair I will look to see if there are any other clubs to join!

Air Force ROTC started back up on the first day of classes and we got our new flight assignments.  This semester I am in Echo Flight and no one from my old flight is with me, which means more new people to meet!  Also, this semester I only wear my uniform once a week instead of twice a week because of the way PT is scheduled.  The NASCAR drivers have already started practicing for the races because on the sunny days you can hear the cars driving around the speedway.  Pretty cool!!

Until next time,

Kaleigh

e-mail:sidesk@erau.edu

Hey everyone welcome to the New Year. I hope everyone had a safe and great break.

I have a couple of goals this semester. I would like to travel and see more of Florida. I also would like to go to Orlando and visit some of the tourist places. I would also like to hang out with more people and have friends. The most important ones are that I want to keep up with my grades and find an internship or a good paying job over the summer.

It’s the first week of classes and so far all my classes seem to be very interesting. I am taking fire protection, safety management programs, human factors in aviation, technical writing and introduction to aeronautical science. One thing I have learned about safety is that you also need to have a better idea of how the business world works. Most companies always talk in money terms. If any of you decide to go for safety, I would suggest you get a minor in business. During lecture my professor made it sound that you would have an advantage in the working world.

I am also working at the office at least 20 hours each week. Since it’s the first week, things tend to be pretty hectic. People are trying to get into closed sections so you try to tell them where to go. Professors are trying to get their papers copied so it can be ready for the students.

Also because of the tornado, rooms have been moved around. What used to be the testing center and the mail room are now offices for professors from the physical science dept.

In the midst of all the chaos, I have been trying to work on my journal and so far it seems that I am not typing fast enough or can’t seem to find a computer when I can use it. My computer wasn’t working properly so I have taken it to the Geek Squad to have it fixed. I haven’t had access to a computer until late last night.

Woohoo! I just signed myself up for free food. It’s actually an etiquette dinner and they serve you a 5 course meal. Also I am going to the Red Hot Chili Pepper Concert in Tampa Bay with a guy named Matt. Another thing I did was I sign up to work during Race Week. I am looking forward to the next upcoming weeks and see where my next adventure takes me.

If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me at campo085@erau.edu or any of the messengers: meblue81. Have a great night.

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to Embry-Riddle for the Spring 2007 Semester. We are finally back after an extended Winter Break. What an amazing break it was. However, I do have some sad news. For those of you who don’t know, the Daytona Beach campus was struck by a tornado on Christmas Morning. The path of the tornado cut straight through the center of campus causing extensive damage to many structures including Spruance Hall, ICI center, an entire fleet of aircraft and one totaled maintenance hangar. It was unfortunate occurrence that damaged many buildings, but also so very fortunate that classes were not in session. The results of a tornado striking while students and faculty on campus would be devastating. There is something to be said, however, about the coordination and excellence in the faculty of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Shortly after the damage was done, the university administration started work to recover the losses the campus sustained. It is my understanding that emergency plans were in place for such an occasion including insurance, relocation possibilities, and recovery procedures. Companies were contacted, contractors were called in, and the staff was alerted. After pushing back the start of the semester one week to allow for extra time to prepare for the arrival of students, the campus was cleaned up, buildings and offices were restored or relocated, and staff prepared for the loss of a few days of instruction. It is also my understanding that 55 of the 57 aircraft lost to the weather were quickly replaced before the semester began to allow for flight training to continue. The amount of work that was accomplished in the short amount of allotted time is just amazing and is definitely applauded.

So, as unfortunate as it was to see the campus sustain a heavy loss, it did mean one very important thing to the students: One extra week of vacation. We ended up getting a little more time at home with friends and family before returning back to school. That was especially nice because it was time I got to spend relaxing and recovering from all the fun I had before trying to focus on my classes. If you read my earlier journals, you might remember that one of my hall mates, Boris from Bulgaria, returned to California with me. So, while he was staying with my family, I did my best to show him as much of Cali as I possibly could. There were some interesting adventures to be shared, but I will try and point out some of the major events.

First of all, we had to see the one of the keystones of Southern California and more specifically Hollywood. So, the first thing we did was visit the Hollywood sign. Actually, that’s a lie. The first thing we did was fall asleep for almost 18 hours straight. One of the things you might find in college life is that your body miraculously pushes through many long nights and days with very little sleep. However, that sleep depravation usually catches up with you at about the moment your butt touches that comfortable bed or sofa at home. Your mind finally relaxes, unless you had borderline grades, and your body just lets go. Probably some of the best sleep you will ever get. Then we woke up and ate a wonderful home-cooked meal (thank you mommy), and just hung out the rest of the evening. Then, the next day we went to see the Hollywood sign. A staple in the outside world’s view of Hollywood and the movie business. I give a word of caution to all those who intend to see the Hollywood sign at least once in their lives. You know how in the movies, sometimes they show the sign at night and it is all lit up. Yea, not true. If you try and see it at night, you are going to be looking at a very dark hillside. Go during the day. Trust me. By the way, we considered trying to transport the W of the sign to Riddle to place on top of Wood Hall, but we thought better to just leave it where it was. But, if you were thinking of getting out to the West Coast to see it, you better do it soon because you never know when it might just spring up in Florida.

We visited a lot of the other icons of LA and Hollywood as well. We stopped by the Mann’s Chinese Theater and the courtyard where the celebrities put their hands in the cement. Another note, the size of that place is very deceiving. On television, it appears that the courtyard is huge but I can cross from the sidewalk to the entrance in about 15 to 20 normal steps. We saw the Walk of Fame, the Kodak Theater the Two giant elephant statues in the Hollywood and Highland Plaza. Rodeo Drive (where that jerk Ron Jeremy cut me off in traffic), the Sunset Strip, and many celebrity homes.

We also tried to visit as many of the beach cities as possible. This way my friend could say he had seen both the Pacific and Atlantic in one month. We visited many of the locations frequently used for filming including Paramount studios, Disney Studios, Universal Studios, and many of the locations where that show The OC is filmed. We also took the time to go to Universal Studios Theme Park, which was awesome because I haven’t been there in a long time. The rides were awesome and the tour is really sweet because you get to see a lot of the buildings used in movies.

Then there was Christmas. What to say about Christmas . . . ? Such an interesting holiday with my family. First of all, we celebrate Christmas differently on different sides of the family. On my Dad’s side, we celebrate on Christmas Eve. We get together in the evening, stuff our faces with food, socialize and then open some presents. It is definitely an interesting encounter. I am not trying to put my family down at all. I actually quite enjoy the time specifically because of my Grandfather. One, because I don’t see him that often. Two, because conversations with him are awesome. When you talk with my Grandpa, you know it is going to be fun. Sometimes you get a war story or a story about my father when he was young. Other times he wants to know all about your life. The typical questions: How are you doing? How is school? Are you working? When are you going to get married and give me some grandchildren? That’s the best one I think. But seriously, my grandfather is awesome. My family would not be here if it weren’t for him. Then on my mother’s side, it was a small Christmas this year. We celebrate on Christmas day. This year however, my aunt and her family were in Denmark with her husband’s family. So, it was just my family, my uncle and my grandmother. That is also an interesting evening. The schedule is typically the same. Eating, socializing and a few gifts, but that is not the most fun. The most fun comes during two parts of the evening. Jeopardy and conversations between my Mom and Grandmother. First of all, Jeopardy is just awesome so don’t even try and put it down. If you don’t like it, it’s because you can’t keep up with us smart people, ha-ha. The other fun is listening to my Mother and Grandmother converse and seeing how much of the conversation you can understand because they go back and forth between Spanish and English. Now, my siblings and I aren’t dumb, but we never took to learning other languages very well. So, it’s always fun to listen in on the conversations and see which of us could survive best in Mexico were we to be abandoned there. The holidays are totally awesome with my family and like I said, interesting.

After the holidays, we took to a much more leisurely lifestyle. We went to a Kings hockey game that was awesome. Sports don’t get much better than fighting, coming back from behind and evening the game, and then winning in a shootout. Hockey rules. A couple of days later we headed to the mountains for some snowboarding. It was Boris’ first time and he actually did really well. That’s another reason California rules. It’s one of the only places I know of that you can go snowboarding for the first half of the day and two hours later go surfing for the second half of the day. Nothing beats that deal.

Ummm . . . . . New Year . . . . . it was cool . . . . . I had a lot of fun with all my friends . . . . . let’s just leave it at that.

A couple of hockey games and movies later and it was time to leave. We packed up all of our stuff and then some. Loaded the cars and headed for the airport. It really was an awesome break. I loved spending time with my family and hanging out at home with friends again. At the same time, I missed my friends and this university. I was definitely ready to come home. Yea, Riddle is my home. I spend two thirds of the year here so it counts as home. One day of recovery time and it was back to classes. I had two today and it was awesome to get back. Then I realized all the work ahead of me and it wasn’t so awesome anymore. I have tons of friends and support though so it should be just fine.

We have a lot to look forward to this semester. Speed Week, another scheduled shuttle launch, Spring Break and good times with friends. It is definitely going to be interesting to experience the spring semester on the East Coast and I hope you come back to experience it with me.

Oh yea, a note I forgot up top. When you have to change your flight in an emergency like a tornado. They will try and charge obscene amounts of money to change the day. Fight them until the death about it. They may charge you just because ticket prices have gone up, but don’t give in to the $50 change date fee. Beg, worship, kiss ass, cry or do whatever it takes. Trust me, they give up eventually. Not because they feel you deserve the waiver for the fee. They just want you to shut up, but it works.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and I look forward to sharing a successful semester with you. Until next time, don’t take any wooden nickels and never pay too much for gas.

Respectfully,

Steve

Well..

Riddle survived the tornado.

Looking around campus, I can barely tell that anything happened at all. The grounds are completely clean – the clean-up crews have done a truly remarkable job, and I feel like it’s important to acknowledge all that they have accomplished in these very few weeks. All of the buildings that were damaged have been patched up and people relocated, and classes are going on as scheduled.

My break went well. Quite well. I had a good, long visit at home which didn’t involve too much rushing around. I spent some quality time with my best friend, and with my boyfriend, who accompanied me to visit my extended family in Pennsylvania, and of course I spent lots of time with my family.

And got presents. And gave presents.

Anyway, the return to Riddle was stress-free. I was worried things might be a little mixed up with the tornado damage, re-located offices and such things. But they weren’t. A few of my hallmates arranged rides from the airports (thanks).

TIP: ALWAYS arrange rides and get details straight BEFORE your trips. It just makes things easier. Be sure to have everyone’s phone numbers, too, because you will want to arrange rides and talk to your friends over winter break. Especially if they are as great as Wood 5 friends.

So we were all back in Wood 5 soon enough. A bunch of us watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and did that whole hallway-bonding thing.

First day of classes, for me, was great. I had one class in the morning, and then NOTHING all day, because my professor had cancelled my afternoon class. So what did I do? I spent six hours at the beach. I love Daytona. I brought my roomie with me, and drove her back to Riddle for her afternoon class, then picked up Steve, Boris, and Matt and took them back to the beach with me, since they were done with classes. It was a good day. We tried to watch a movie last night, but we were all too tired to stay awake.

Today (second day of classes) went just as well. I thought that four classes in a row would be really difficult, but since they only last an hour each, they actually aren’t bad. So when you are scheduling classes and are worried about having a lot in one day, keep in mind that the length of these classes is much shorter than what you are probably used to. In high school, my classes were always about an hour and 45 minutes. And that’s not cool at all.

That’s all that’s going on today. Next time, for those who are interested in the Air Traffic major, I’ll be posting some details about my first AT class. Hopefully that should prove interesting. And if not, I’ll…I don’t know. Maybe I’ll write a poem about Riddle. Let me know what you think about that.

Rumbebb5@erau.edu

– Cat

PS- Andrea T., I can’t respond to your email! Please send me a different address, the one you sent your email from isn’t working.

Happy 2007 Readers!!!!

Wow, what an end to last semester/beginning to this semester! There’s so much that has happened to the school. By now, you all know of the tornado that did quite a lot of damage to the school on Christmas Day. I guess I have to start with that.

I got home Christmas night after dinner with my family to the questions from friends, “Did you hear what happened at school?” I hadn’t and was stunned to hear that a tornado tore up the buildings and the planes on campus that afternoon. It is truly a testament to the information age that this information and hundreds of pictures had traveled global in the small number of hours since the disaster. But what could be deemed a disaster area, quickly turned into a recovery area. Within days, a large amount of debris had been cleaned up, and the school was posting daily updates on erau.edu, and Associate Dean of Students Paul Bell was keeping the students updated with more detail on the social network Facebook.com.

Classes were pushed back to January 16, 2007, and students were encouraged not to return to campus for as long as possible. Though classes were delayed, the residence halls reopened as scheduled, meaning that I, as an RA, came back to Daytona Beach as scheduled for spring training.

I must digress to the end of the fall semester. Classes ended wonderfully, and my grades were ok. I’m gonna try and put forth that extra effort in some of the more boring classes this semester, but I don’t really have many boring classes this spring. Last semester, I got so much accomplished as an RA, and I’m beginning to work on a huge project for student government. EagleBay stalled, and I am going to choose to let our IT department focus on other important aspects this semester, because things are definitely hectic over there while they are helping with the relocation of many offices that were in the now defunct Spruance Hall. So I’m formulating a project this semester to make our newly adopted Honor Code into something tangible. That’s going to be a lot of work, and a lot of typing at my computer.

Just a quick mention of this year’s Task Force One. They did an amazing job at their fall event, Winterpalooza. They have the manpower to do amazing things this year, and their event was very well attended and I had a ton of fun. Hopefully you will join TFO in your first year here. They do great things.

Ok, let’s move to the present. My classes this semester are, Microeconomics (EC210), Business Information Systems (BA320), Managerial Accounting (BA312), Air Cargo Management (BA410) and continuing my Aviation Safety minor with Human Factors in Aviation (SF320). The Air Cargo Management class really excites me because it is the first course in my area of concentration, Airline Management. I’m finally going to be learning something that I’m not just going to use the skills in the future, but everything that I learn will be directly applicable to my career. Classes may be tough this semester, but I am going to thrive on them.

My life as a resident advisor is going well. I had quite a number of residents graduate last semester, and some left for other reasons, so about a fifth of my residents are new to the hall. One thing I tried to do a lot last semester was go crazy on decorations for my hall. Our holiday light display was amazing according to other halls. This semester, one of my residents, Corinne, helped me come up with a theme for the hallway, along with a crazy, extravagant, design. Though I have been keeping the theme a secret from other halls, I trust that none of you will tell them, so the theme is “Under the Sea.” Pictures will come. I guarantee it. I can do that because I have a nice new 10 mega pixel camera that I got over break. It is amazing. The only drawback is that each picture is about 3 megabytes. That makes them very hard to email.

I took a lot of pictures and video over winter break and pretty soon, I am going to make a video of all the pictures and footage and post it on YouTube. I think that site is a really good sign of where our world is going and how much it’s changed in recent years. When Time Magazine’s person of the year is “You” you know how much technology, mainly uploading, has helped to flatten the world for our generation (Read The World Is Flat, by Thomas Friedman, especially all the future Aviation Business Majors.)

To close out winter break, I want to say hi to all my friends from home who made this the best break ever. I know some of them read this, and I like to acknowledge people in these journals (free of charge, shoot me an email.) so thanks to all of them for being so supportive of me and caring so much about the state of my school.

As we preview my next entry, there are things I am looking forward to. In less than two weeks, I will be attending the Florida Resident Advisor Seminar, on the campus of the University of Central Florida. It is going to be so cool to represent Embry-Riddle’s RA staff, and I really hope that above all the cheering that will be done that weekend, our cheers are the loudest, and our school spirit shows through. I mean, we had a tornado hit our school, and we only sacrificed three class days. Embry-Riddle is an amazing place to be.

In closing, I want to note something I learned from Dr. Thomas Connolly, chancellor of the Daytona Beach Campus. Through all the turmoil and destruction that occurred during the 60 seconds of the tornado’s trip across campus, and the minutes, hours, days and weeks following in the cleanup, no one has been hurt. I think we are all thankful for that.

Until Next Time Guys and Gals,
Carlos

P.S. If you emailed me in December and I didn’t get back to you, I’m really sorry. I was so busy with projects and papers, and if you email me again, I will be more than happy to send you a reply!

Well here it is, 2 weeks into the new year and I still can’t believe that the break is already over. It was suppose to be over a week ago but, the Christmas tornado that traveled through Embry-Riddle delayed us one week. If you haven’t heard about the tornado yet, I’ll go into more detail later. Anyways, I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks that I need to tell everyone about so let’s start with December.

December 12th to 24th:
After I finished my classes, most of my friends went back home but I stuck around campus a couple extra days to fly. I did some more activities and then I accomplished my first milestone in flying. I soloed! My instructor and I flew from Daytona to New Smyrna and flew in the traffic pattern a couple of times. Everything was going good and nothing was out of the ordinary. After a little while we landed and she told me to taxi to the hangar. So we taxied over to the hangar and she told me to shut down the engine, and I did, then she hopped out, turned around and said, “Go do three traffic patterns with full stops. Have fun!” And just like that, I was alone in the plane. I started the engine, finished all my checklists, and proceeded to the runway. I called the tower when I was ready to take off, then he cleared me for takeoff, and then I took off. I did everything as usual, except when I looked over to where my instructor usually sits, there was no one there. Just me and the plane. It was an incredible experience. Just to think that I was the sole operator of that aircraft and that no one was there to help me kinda freaks me out, but at the same time I absolutely love it. That experience is one thing that I will remember for the rest of my life. Also, it really makes me glad that I am at Embry-Riddle and that someday I will be flying planes for a living!

After my solo, I was done flying for the remainder of the year and I went back home. I went to work some for my dad to get some extra money because my bank account was getting pretty low. In high school I worked a lot and I had some money saved up, but then I got to college, and now, not so much. I didn’t have a job last semester because I wanted to stay focused on school and try to have as much fun as possible. Well, I did just that, but now I don’t have money. So I was glad I got the chance to work and save up some extra money. I worked up until Christmas and then I got to do some fun stuff. Not to say that working isn’t fun, but I did funner stuff. Or “stuff that is more fun” if you want to be correct, but that is longer.

Christmas to New Years Eve:
On Christmas Eve I went to bed pretty late because I still had some wrapping to do. I woke up around 7:30 and my sister and I went to see what Santa brought us. I ended up getting some new clothes, a lot of gift certificates, a lot of DVDs, and a new iPod. I got some smaller stuff too, and overall I was very happy. My sister and I got our parents pictures of us because we thought what would someone want from us and we decided it was pictures of us. Our parents actually really liked them which is good. After opening presents we headed to our family’s house and had some delicious food. It’s always good to see family because I don’t get to see them too much. Some of my family had to drive from Gainesville and they said it was some of the worst weather they have every seen. We all met in Orlando and there was a monsoon outside. It was raining pretty hard and it was even harder in Daytona at Embry-Riddle. I’m sure most of you have heard that a tornado came through Riddle and did quite a bit of damage. I’m still not sure of all the specifics, but I do know that we lost quite a few planes. Some buildings were damaged while others weren’t touched. Unfortunately, many of you might know more than I do so I won’t be of much help. I do know that you can go to this website http://www.erau.edu/db/rebuilding/ and see some pictures of the damage.

When I heard about the tornado, I was in the Orlando Airport getting ready to fly to New Hampshire. I was pretty bummed about it, but everything turned out to be okay. I flew into New Hampshire late Christmas night to go snowboarding with my friend. He went to high school with me, but he use to live in New Hampshire so he goes up there every now and then. I flew up and stayed there for a couple days and I got to snowboard twice which is good. Living in Florida, I don’t really have a chance to snowboard all the time, so when I get to I enjoy that much more. I busted out some tricks and did quite a bit of falling over, but no broken bones or black eyes. Overall, it was a success. My friends and I are thinking about planning a trip over spring break to go snowboarding somewhere. It should be fun if we decide to do that. When I got back to Florida, my girlfriend and I went to see the comedian Lewis Black, which was amazing. That was my Christmas present from her and we went and had a great time. Lewis Black is one of my favorite comedians and I was so excited about seeing him live.

After the Lewis Black show, I just hung out with some friends from high school and was more or less a slacker. I got to sleep in and just relax which is very nice. Nothing really crazy happened so I guess I’ll move on. For New Year’s Eve, a couple of my friends went to New York to watch the ball drop but I just sat on my couch and watched it instead. I turned on the TV and saw the ball 2 minutes before it dropped. My friends were there for 8ish hours before the ball dropped. They said it was pretty crazy, but I enjoyed not having a million people around me. But next year I might head out there just to see the infamous ball in person. We’ll see.

New Years Day to Present:
On January 2nd my mom and I flew over to Los Angeles to see the one and only Price Is Right with Bob Barker!!! I don’t know if there is any one out there reading this that doesn’t know who Bob Barker is, but if there is, I suggest you immediately find out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Barker The man is a legend and so is the show. My graduation present from my mom was to see Bob Barker and The Price Is Right so we flew out to L.A. and we actually got to be in the Price Is Right audience. The show airs on February 12th on CBS at 11:00am Eastern. If you happen to watch it or TiVo it, I am in the third row a couple seats left of the 1st contestant’s podium. When the far left person bids, you can see me to the left. Also, one of the last people to get “called on down” is an old lady and she was in the row right behind me and she walked by and I patted her on the head. Seriously, watch on 2/12/07 and see my “pat an old lady on the head.”

If you are unfamiliar with the PIR process, at 6:00am you get a priority number and come back at 8:00am and get a permanent number. Well, we tried on the first day and got there around 5:30am. We were there a half-hour before they opened the gates and we got number 365. The studio holds 325 people. So needless to say we didn’t quite make it. They sent us home and we found out that even though the gates open at 6:00am, people get there much earlier. So, in order not to make the same mistake, I camped out on the street from about 10:00pm the night before. I had a blanket, chair, and a pillow; I was set. I had my iPod and some Sudoku puzzles and I took a couple of 15 min naps. Eight hours later, I was number 21! We were pretty much guaranteed to get into the audience. So we got a number at 6:00 and then again at 8:00 and then went back again at about 10:00am. We sat in line for a long, long, long time. They had to process everyone and that took a lot of time. So as we sat there, we started to make friends with others and played games like UNO. Well, a couple seats down from me there was a guy doing magic tricks and some of them were pretty cool so I wanted to show off my skills as well. I have always loved magic and I know a couple of cool tricks so I thought . . . what the heck? How is a crowd of 40 strangers different than my mom and in front of a mirror? So I walked over and awkwardly introduced myself and told everyone to kneel down and put there hand on the ground. I told them to twist there arms until they couldn’t anymore and I did the same, but then I did it one more full rotation. Some of the people started screaming and freaking out and I started to laugh. They thought it was pretty cool though so I borrowed a deck of cards and did some more tricks. Everyone seemed to like them and I didn’t mess them up too bad so that’s good.

After some tricks, there was a short interview with potential contestants and the producers to see who gets picked. I guess they didn’t like my mom and me too much because we didn’t get picked, but we still had a blast. So after the interview, we moved to a different sitting area and there was quite a bit of people crammed together. The group of people that I showed the trick to earlier sat next to an old lady and they wanted me to show her those tricks. Well a magician isn’t suppose to do the same trick twice to a group so I hesitated showing it again. Well I had my name tag on so everyone knew my name and they all started to yell “Blake! Blake! Blake!” trying to get me to do the trick, so I finally gave in and showed Francis (the old lady) the trick. It did the trick where I give the person the Queen of spades and switched it with the Queen of clubs and kept switching back and forth. I pretty much confuse the person and then tell them to flip the cards over and there two red aces. So I did this trick to Francis and she turned the cards over, had a brief moment of disbelief, then she threw the cards in my face! It was pretty funny! So if anyone would like to see some magic tricks when they’re in Daytona, just give me a call.

Anyway, back to the PIR. After waiting and waiting we finally were let into the studio around 3 or so. We all walked in and sat down and there right in front of us was the stage that hasn’t been changed in like 40 years! The producers came out and talked to us for a little bit and then eventually we started the show. They called four people down and then Bob Barker walked out and everyone went crazy! It was actually Bob Barker! The show started and when we went to commercial and while in a commercial, Bob talks to the audience and answers questions. Some questions were serious and others were like when he was going to have a rematch with Adam Sandler in Happy Gillemore 2. Bob answered all questions and was actually very funny. The whole audience laughed at pretty much everything that he said. All in all it was amazing. Unfortunately Bob is retiring later this year so not to many more people will be able to experience the PIR. But if you get the chance, it is one of the best things I have ever done!

After we saw the PIR we were tourists and did a whole bunch of touristy things like pull of the side of the road to take pictures of the Hollywood sign. We also went on the Warner Brothers Studio tour which was very entertaining. The whole trip was so much fun, even the traffic. I have never seen a traffic light telling you whether to get on the interstate or not before L.A. There were so many cars ever where and everyone was going slow, it was fun. The whole trip was a blast and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Once I got back from California, I became a slacker for a couple days again . . . then the Florida Gators won the championship. My dad’s business is mostly collegiate items so when the Gators won, business was booming. I went in for a couple days and they were pretty much going 24/7 getting stuff done for the Gators. If there are any Gator fans out there and you want a license plate for your car or some decals, just let me know.

After I was done working, I went back to Skydive DeLand and did some more jumps. My friend Adam has wanted to get certified for a while now and he finally started the process because that was his Christmas present. We went and while he was in the ground school, I did some more jumps and I am definitely in love with skydiving! I did 5 more jumps over 2 days and I am pretty much a professional now. I just completed my lucky 13th jump and it was amazing just like the previous 12 jumps. I took some pictures and videos and hopefully I’ll have them online soon. I hope to make jumping a regular activity, something like a couple times a week. I enjoy it so much and I recommend trying it if you get a chance! Or if you are somewhat hesitant about jumping out of a plane at 13,500ft, you can go to SkyVenture in Orlando. SkyVenture is a wind tunnel where you jump in and two or three large fans blow 120mph wind and you can skydive safely just a couple feet off the ground. You can check it out here http://www.skyventureorlando.com/. I took some pictures and videos of that as well and I will hopefully have those online in the next week.

Now I am moved into Riddle and I have a new roommate and we revamped our room in a very good way. The new room design is much better than before and my old roommate moved back home and my friend Adam is my roommate now. Once again, I took some pictures of the new room setup and I’ll put them online soon. Also, I got a haircut, so I might put some pictures of that as well.

So now the break is done and school is about to start so the next journal will be all about my classes and my first reactions to them. If anyone has any questions about my break or anything else, just let me know! My break was good and I am looking forward to another semester and telling you guys all about it. This semester should be good and I’ll tell you all about my classes next journal so you will have to stay tuned! Hope everyone had a safe and happy new year and be sure to check for pictures in the next couple of days! See ya later!!!

-Blake
email: wasteofsoap@yahoo.com
aim: wasteofsoap

Happy New Year 2007 Readers!!!…

I do hope every one of you out there had a wonderful Christmas break and Santa brought you everything you asked for! haha..

Well, I am here to update you on my life within the last few weeks. Overall it was very fun but had it’s saddening moments..like that one which I am sure all of you have heard about the tornado that passed through Embry Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus.

On Christmas day around 2pm, I got a call from one of my friends here in Port Orange and she said that there was a tornado in Daytona Beach. At first I didn’t want to believe her until I got home when I saw the pictures she sent me and all the notices on the university’s website. Well, that totally saddened my holidays back home in Trinidad. I felt useless because I couldn’t have flown up to Daytona Beach immediately to assist in the clean up and whatever. But, as time passed by, the school kept us actively updated with damages and repairs. The recovery process has been tremendous, simply fantastic! I had returned to school on the 7th to see the campus all cleaned up and new airplanes already lined up on the ramp ready to go! The best thing about it to me was that none of the residence halls were even touched and no one was on campus so there were NO injuries! YAY

We were all pretty excited and relieved to know that we can now resume classes as usual without many changes, except for Spruance Hall which is going to be torn down sometime since the tornado passed directly through that building and left no hope for repair. Oh well, it will be missed.

Ok, so moving on, when I arrived in Daytona Beach! Well, some of my friends and I got in a bit early before classes started, so we decided to go out and have some fun before the dreadful full day classes start! Haha Most of the residents on my floor (Adams 5th floor north) were already back, so we all decided to head to Universal Studios in Orlando on Tuesday (again!..yes, I know we go often!) Always a fun time with them!

Then on Friday and Saturday night we went clubbing in Daytona!!! Yeah, that was awesome! For all of you who are coming here soon, I am sure you will all have great time if you are into the club scene!

Well, the fun time is almost over. Classes officially begin tomorrow and to be honest, I can’t wait to start! Haha..may sound stupid, but hey I get to share classes with some of good friends and also meet new people!

I guess we’ll see how things go. Be patient, you’ll find out in 2 weeks..haha

Until then, I bid you all adieu!

See you in two weeks!

Oh, and thanks for all of you who have contacted me with your questions and stuff!..and all those of you who haven’t don’t hesitate ..it’s my job to help you!

BYE Folks!

I came back from California on the 7th. My roommate, Cheese, picked me up from the airport at about 11:30. We got home and I just slept for a ridiculous amount of time.

I met Vick, Guillermo, and other random people on Monday night. We walked around campus just to see the damages that were done by the tornado. We also had a new student meet with us. Apparently, Vick was staying in touch with someone that was going to be a new student for the Spring semester and he was supposed to meet us in front of the flight line. We finally found Rafael and we took him with us to eat at Denny’s.

The next day, I went to the financial aid office but I didn’t find it. I went to the student center to ask, but they weren’t sure because the rooms in Canaveral hall were not ready just yet. A lady told me that they were temporarily in the 2nd floor but they close at 4pm. I finally made it there the next day and managed to fix everything. I was quite sad that I had to give up going to Universal Studios with the other kids since I had never been to the one here and I have not been to Orlando.

The weekend was a new experience for me. On Friday, I went to an alternative lifestyle club called Zeba with a bunch of guys. I had a great time. I also met a lot of friendly boys. A person from a group competed in a dance off competition and won.

On Saturday, I went to Angelica’s house because she was having a Pink clothes gathering, but first we had to pick up Amanda from the airport. I met many of Angelica’s friends but left early because my carpool had told their friends they were going to go to Zeba’s. There were a lot more people I knew. I also wasn’t even dressed to go clubbing so I felt a little bit out of place because I thought we were just going to hang out at Angelica’s and then I was going to go home.

On Sunday, I went to Orlando for the first time. I went to the Parliament House, which is also a gay club. It is a lot bigger than Zeba’s. Also there’s a lot more of a variety of people. I didn’t like it as much because I lost the group of people I was with. Sometimes I just felt a little bit uncomfortable. Also a girl that was smoking burned my shirt and my hand because her cigarette bumped into me.

Overall my weekend was great. It had been awhile since I have had fun with random people. I also felt that I met a lot of genuine and unique people. Also, if need be the boys take care of me and make sure I am not standing there by myself.

Hi readers!!!

.. Well, as you all may realize, this is my final journal submission for this semester until next semester in January.

Classes are over, most of everyone’s final exams are over, everyone’s in the Christmas spirit packing up to head back home. I must say, watching everyone leave was very saddening. For some reason, I will miss this place terribly for the short 3 weeks I will be gone…but first, let me talk about the end of classes and final exams; and there’s a little surprise about me at the end of this journal.

All classes were completed on December 7th and finals were to begin on the 9th. I must say, I was very sad that some of my classes were over because they were so much fun and I will miss seeing all my friends that I have made more often than I used to; but some other classes, I am extremely elated that I don’t have to go to anymore! But overall, they were all good classes.

Ok, now let’s talk about finals. All of mine are done (YES!) but they weren’t that difficult, which was surprising considering I didn’t do much of this material before. I managed to pull all A’s and B’s and NO C’s! YAY!

But one thing is for sure, I studied really hard to get the grades, and the occasional distraction by going downstairs to grab a sandwich, friends spontaneously taking me out, get-togethers at my friends’ houses. All this put together had officially made me nocturnal; I no longer slept at night and I slept most of the day, woke up to go do my exam, then back to sleep for the rest of the day, then study and stuff all night again. It threw me off my regular scheduled life here at Riddle, but most of the upperclassmen said that that happens only at finals period, so I should be back on track soon….hopefully! haha.

So now you know what to expect when you have to do final exams here! But don’t worry, it’s not only you- the rest of the school does it too. I am anxiously anticipating next semester because since I now am familiar with most of how this place works, I will be more settled in and I have new people and activities to look forward to.

For instance, my roommate is moving out (*sad face*) because he found a cheaper place off campus, so I will be getting a new roommate..exciting! But I will miss my roommate a lot when he leaves. Also, the spring term freshmen will be coming in and I know a few that I get to meet for the first time, so that’s something to look forward to as well. Oh, and I managed to get all my classes that I wanted next semester. So, I am excited to return here in January.

Well, some of my friends have already started to leave Daytona Beach destined for home in different directions. It may seem silly to be sad about them leaving just for 3 weeks, but I will miss all of them for the Christmas holidays. But all of them will be in my heart and thoughts throughout the season. We all exchanged Christmas cards and bid each other adieu (goodbye) until next semester. I had a blast with all of you guys this semester and I love each and every one of you guys!

Anyway, moving on to the end of this one. Well, I had a lot of fun sharing my life with all of you around the world this semester and I can’t wait to continue next semester. I bet all of you just can’t wait to know how my holidays were (haha). Also, thanks to all of you out there who contacted me. I will see you soon!

So, I wish all of you out there a WONDERFUL Christmas 2006 and New Year 2007 and thanks for reading! God’s blessings to you and your family and friends! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Goodbye!..hope you all get what you wished for this season!

OH wait, my surprise…ok, so it’s not that big to you guys, but it is to me.. I changed my major from Aeronautical Science to Aviation Business Administration! YAY!

Ok, I’m really gonna leave now (hehe)