Hello again readers. I’m back to keep you updated on the jive down here in Daytona Beach. Let me tell you. This semester is really starting to roll. September is long gone and Halloween is fast approaching. My second set of exams are coming up toward the end of this month, which means the semester is just about half over. There has not been much going on in my life except for a few big events so I will talk about the general week and then talk about those events.

The past two weeks have been pretty ordinary as far as school goes. The weeks become really routine after a while and you kind of get set on autopilot. I have to remind myself to stay focused all the time just so that I won’t slack off. That doesn’t mean the classes are boring because I really like all my classes. Repetition can just get boring sometimes. I have not been working as much lately either. It has been a nice break from having to go from work to class, back to work and then class one final time. I actually get to have a rest period between classes where I can sleep or get some homework done. The other nice thing about not having work everyday means I have time go to the beach before or between classes which, believe me, is the coolest thing ever.

As far as the evenings go, I have found my little group of friends that I really connect with and we hang out all the time. We are now all big fans of LOST (Watch it, I swear you wont regret it), and we watch Heroes, which is turning out to be an awesome show. Other nights we rent movies and watch those together. We also go out to dinner all the time and that is always fun because it is not Sodexho food. We have our home base at Outback Steakhouse, but we have been branching out to Mexican food at El Azteca and Italian food at Buca di Beppo. Oh yea, and Touch N’ Go productions put on the movie Thank You For Smoking which was an awesome movie.

Now for the bigger and not so ordinary events. The first, and the one that I thought was the most fun, was the Eagles hockey game. The game I went to was versus Tulane. To start out, the game seemed slightly awkward because we had at least 4 lines on the ice and the other team barely had 2. They were a little out numbered which eventually would lead to their defeat. However, we learned later that part of their team was injured in a car accident during their trip down to the match. Hopefully they are okay and I wish them the very best. Going back to the game, when you get here you have to go to sporting events. In high school, sports are fun and entertaining, but in college it is just insane. There is constant cheering and yelling and everybody is united in the fight for your team to win the game. You will see that everyone participates and there are cheers for every different event that happens at the hockey games. To top it off, I was so proud at the beginning of the game. I was not expecting what happened at the start of the match. Usually you go to a professional game and some random celebrity gets up and sings the National Anthem. At our small college games, we can’t get the celebrities for the obvious reasons. So, we make it work ourselves. The pep band starts playing the anthem and EVERY SINGLE PERSON sings. A big percentage of students attending Riddle are ROTC students and it shows when everybody shows their pride for country during the anthem. It really solidified to me that I am definitely at the right school. To top off the night, we won the game and were greeted outside with a terrible, yet terrific surprise. It was pouring rain outside. Big deal you may say. Who cares because you are driving home, not walking? Well my friends, we arrived at the game with something like 7 people riding in the bed of a truck. After contemplating what to do we said to hell with it and a couple of us ran to the truck to bring it back to pick up the others. That was the most fun I have had in a long time. We got soaking wet and everybody was laughing the entire way. A couple of lessons for you future Riddle students: First, wet cigarettes don’t light at high speeds as my friend Carl found out. Second, small rain drops moving past your head and hands at high speeds are going to feel like needles against your skin. That was definitely a great night.

We also went to the range with my rifle this past week. I took one guy that had come with me before and three guys who had never fired with me before. It was a lot of fun even though one guy almost jammed up my rifle by loading too many rounds in the chamber. We had a great time together and it really relieves a lot of stress to just squeeze off a few rounds. We made the trip to the range a little more interesting by placing a wager on the last rounds. Each person took one shot at the same target to see who could get closer to center from 50 yards out. The person who was closest to the center received dinner for free and the person who was farthest from the target had to pay for that free dinner. I went last and made a stupid choice. The range master blew his whistle and called for a cold line. I hesitated and then rushed to take my shot anyway. I was way off to say the least and ended up losing the wager. I would just like to add I was the only one the whole day that had any bullseyes and should have won that game.

Anyway, the last main event of the past week happened just this past weekend. As you may or may not know, I am a member of ERRSA, the student governing board of the Residence Halls. We went on a retreat this past weekend and it was a blast. I had so much fun and learned a lot about all my fellow members. We spent the first night doing a team builder by exploring and sharing with everybody a little bit about ourselves. It was awesome to see that I shared a lot of morals and qualities with everybody in the room. Following the team builders we broke down into some fun. We played mafia, which is one of the most fun mind games to play with a group. If you want to know how to play then e-mail me. The night ended with the majority of people just hanging out and talking to get to know each other. The next day was filled with tons of team building and games. It was more fun than I initially thought it would be and I have come out with a lot more friends that I’m glad I got to know.

Sorry, but I have no pictures this time. I haven’t had the time to upload my most recent photos from my camera. Hopefully I will be able to get those on for my next journal. Also, stay tuned for a possible housing change. I received a letter that I might be moved from one location to another due to a ìdetripleî process. Unfortunately, I do not want to be moved from my current location. I love my hall mates and my room. I am going to try and work something out with housing. If you have any questions or want to know anything particular about my daily life or schedule, feel free to e-mail me at vonkr497@erau.edu. I really enjoy reading and responding to your e-mail and appreciate that people are actually reading my journals.

Until next time, may the force be with you and Godspeed . . . Sorry, the SciFi dork in my had to come out eventually.

Moving Right Along

I realized that it’s been a while since I last wrote a journal, so I have a lot to talk about:

I took a trip back to Virginia to attend a wedding. It was kind of weird to go home, everything was the same, and yet different. I sort of felt like a stranger, probably because I was running around visiting the whole time, and didn’t get much of a chance to relax in my old environment. The foreigner feeling wore off just in time for me to leave and come back to Daytona.

I have a credit card, Credit cards are really very useful if you use them appropriately. But one of the best ways to use it appropriately is to barely use it, and since I don’t have much money anyway, it’s not too difficult to keep up with a credit card. Unless you use Esurance.

Do not use Esurance to insure your vehicle whether or not you are going to Riddle. They doubled my payment without telling me. Do not trust them.

A few weeks ago I experienced my first helicopter ride at Epic Aviation at the New Smyrna airport, I have a new obsession. And if I wasn’t so broke I would learn to fly helicopters in a heartbeat. But I am broke, so there goes that idea out the window. Perhaps it should be a life goal? Maybe. I’ll think about it.

Rush happened in a rush. I kind of wanted to participate in some rush activities, but I rarely knew when they were happening, and I don’t think I had time to do them anyway. My suitemates are pledging two different sororities, and they are thoroughly enjoying the experience so far.

I have to admit that I’ve done some partying (UH OH). I confess. And it was fun. And I’m not going to do it again for a while.

The last week has been really REALLY stressful. Lots of stuff has been happening, I had a test, a speech (on the Rubik’s cube), a project, and all of my normal homework and duties still piled on as well. My boyfriend is visiting this weekend, so I’ve been trying to plan out some stuff for us to do. Furthermore, I have another test on Monday, and a term-project outline due as well. The good news is although I’m busy and a little stressed, I’m coping with it well. I got a 95 on my last Aero Safety test (which is SOOO much better than the grade I got on the one before), and my speech went well.

And now a post about grades from my other online journal:

Hey everyone!

Well, another 2 weeks has passed here in sunny, breezy, beautiful Daytona Beach, Florida. I must admit, I have settled down considerably within the last few days since I now have a WHOLE lot of work to do..imagine college being easy? Think again!..and again..and again!!! It’s a non-stop flight of homework and studying that does not cease! Yet, I digress.

I manage to work it out and get over it and have time to have fun with my friends.

Well, last week was a lot..flight kept me very occupied, there are so much stuff that had to be learned out of books! But, it’s really cool when you actually do the maneuvers in the air for real!

So, totally drifting from flight stuff, business class hasn’t been treating me well lately. I had another mid-term test accompanied with a few take-home tests and projects. Thank God that’s over with! Although, I’m not so sure how well I did..hmm..I should look into that soon. Oh well.

Once again diverting to another subject, physics is…physics is..physics is..well, physics, it just is! It’s just there lagging along mainly because I’ve done the course so many times in secondary school and physics doesn’t appeal to me a lot but, it’s mandatory for AS degree, so..oh, and mid-term for that is coming up soon!! (yay me..*says sarcastically*)

OK, so now to the fun part of this journal entry, the weekend! What you’ve all been waiting to hear about what I did this past weekend.

Friday night was just chill. Went to the beach at like 11pm and hung out around the town for a while. It was mm..a bit scary!..but fun with friends none-the-less. Saturday night, movie night at my friend Dan’s room down my hall, yeah, we watched 2 horror movies (Hostel and Saw which were soo funny!) late at night then the girls couldn’t sleep (cause they were scared!), so we all went to Wal-mart like around 3 am and just messed around for a while.

Then, the next day, we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure in Orlando. Did all the roller coasters, then we headed to Halloween Horror Nights in the other theme park. Wow, THAT was awesome! The girls who were with us screamed their lungs off while us the guys laughed so hard at them, it was hilarious. All in all, we all lost our voices and got home at 3 am Monday morning..yep..just in time for physics at 8am! Haha..that’s college for ya!

Overall, life’s been good so far, oh, and this weekend, the biggest most funnest (ok, so my English isn’t perfect!) Hindu festival is coming up! DIVALI! Sad thing is that it’s not celebrated here in the US and I won’t be going back home to Trinidad to celebrate it. So, for everyone out there..Happy Divali!..

I hope all of you enjoyed this little piece today and now, I am off to math112.

Take care everyone, and keep safe

Till next time,

Vick

(quote of the week: “I sh*t you not!”)

Well here it is in mid-October and I’m already nearly half way through the year. As more time goes by, the more I get into a routine and the more normal college feels. The first couple of weeks went by and it was somewhat surreal. Everything just felt weird, but now I am getting use to it and I definitely think that it is a positive change. College is certainly a fun experience, at least so far.

I guess I’ll start with my classes as usual:

Speech- I am finished with my 3rd speech which is an “informative speech.” It is about skydiving, and I can’t wait to present it. A lot of people’s speeches are usually serious and not very exciting. But I can’t do that. No matter what I do, I always try to incorporate some sort of humor in it. I don’t like to be monotone and boring; I like to be funny and exciting. For my first speech I made fun of myself for 3 minutes and for my second I read a couple pages of George Carlin’s book. As more time goes by, I tend to open up and be my usual goofy self. So I can’t wait for my next speech.

Physics- I did good on my first exam, but my second exam that is coming up is getting me kinda worried. So I’m going to make sure that I study extra hard to keep my A in the class.

Business- The hardest part of this class is to convince people in my group to show up to every class. I have yet to miss a class, but some of my group only shows up about half the time. So that can be a pain sometimes, but hopefully my group will get that worked out.

Basic Aeronautics- This class is still one of my favorites because it’s all about planes. Being a flight student at Embry-Riddle, planes fascinate me. I never knew that so much work went into designing and operating a plane. I definitely have a lot of respect for the pilots who make it seem so easy.

College Success- Nothing new in this class really. I took a mid-term a couple of days ago. 100/100. Yep.

Meteorology- My professor is definitely pretty crazy. I enjoy his corny jokes and totally random comments. This class keeps me entertained to say the least.

Flight- I now have over 12 hours as a pilot, so I’m pretty much official. If I were on a 747 and the pilot fell asleep, I would so be able to navigate and land safely. Well almost. Actually, I wouldn’t want to put myself in that situation yet. Maybe when I break 25 hours. I flew on Friday the 13th which was pretty exciting, but I didn’t go far. I am currently learning traffic patterns, so I just flew in and out of the airport. I did a total of about 6 or 7 landings and take-offs. Not the most fun thing to do in a plane, but I like the fact that I can see myself progressing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still not anywhere near the best, but I am getting better. So that’s pretty exciting.

So as far as school goes, that’s pretty much it. I find myself with very little free time, but I’m staying busy and having fun.

Just recently I drove down to Tampa with my girlfriend and two friends to see the Tampa Bay Lightning, and it was awesome! They played the Florida Panthers and won 4-1. Like I said before, I’m not a real big sports guy, but being in that arena and watching Vincent Lecavalier score the first goal 5 minutes into the game is incredible! I was so pumped all through the game and I was so glad to see them win. I’ll post some pictures up on the website so be sure to check those out soon.

Speaking of sports, my intramural volleyball team is off to a rocky start. So far we are 0-2 with only 2 more games before playoffs. I know that our team isn’t the best in terms of winning, but we definitely have the most fun. We constantly make our own players and other teams laugh because we have such a good time. Other teams tend to yell at their players but we just laugh and have a good time. We may not be the champions at the end of the season, but I can guarantee we have the most fun, and that’s all that matters (aside from winning).

Other than that, I haven’t really done anything else too exciting this past 2 weeks. I have been keeping myself very busy though, but the load is getting lighter so I will hopefully be doing some more fun things soon. I’ll be sure to keep you all posted if anything happens over the next 2 weeks. Until then, hopefully this weather is going to get a little colder in Florida and hope all is going well with all of you out there. If you enjoy reading this, let me know, and if you don’t, make sure you keep that to yourself! Later

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

I drove with Adrianna to the annual SAE’s camping trip at Ginnie Springs. I had a great time. I met a couple of new people. We went floating down the river which is something I had always wanted to know and never got a chance to do.

Adrianna had told me that she had gotten a two person tent and she said that I didn’t need to bring a tent. Well when Peter helped us build the tent (actually I think we were useless), the tent was very small. It could barely fit one person. It was a 5×6 Junior Tent. It was funny to see the tent because it was surrounded by huge tents around it. Of course people were making fun of it because of its size.

I ended sleeping in Izzy’s truck because there was no way I could have fit in the tent with her. I am glad I did because it got really cold at night and I wasn’t that prepared.

I would recommend this trip to anyone that comes next year. I met so many people in this trip. Also Big/Lil week is this week which means I start getting presents from my Big tomorrow. I am excited to find out who it is.

Oh yeah if you have e-mailed me I will apologize if I have not responded to you. I am currently trying to find the answers to your questions. Have a great night and if you have any questions feel free to e-mail.

I had a lot of sorority stuff to do this week. I also had a psychology test to study for. One of my professors assigned a last minute homework assignment. I was furious getting it at 10 at night when I have the class at 11 the next day. I wrote him an e-mail and asked him if he can give the homework a little bit earlier. He did give an extension but I could have worked on the homework on Sunday night. My study hours for my psychology test were just cut short because I had to do this homework assignment.

I went to the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) meeting. They have a couple of events, but I don’t think I can go to any of them. Their homecoming theme is Jimmy Buffet(?).

I also went to a Creating Resumes/Cover Letters presentation. I learned a couple of pointers on how to improve my resume. We have a two day career fair coming up during Homecoming week. There is a list of companies coming on the ERAU careers website. I am planning on attending to see what kind of careers I may have with my Safety Science major. Also I would to see if any of them would offer internships for the summer.

On Friday, all my professors gave me a study day. A break is what I have been wanting for the last couple of weeks. I definitely picked up my room and unpacked three huge boxes. Also I did a little bit of homework and researched some of the companies that were on the career website. I also did a DVD work out video which my roommate (Amy) took to her friend’s sleepover. Cheese and I were supposed to go to the Hockey Game but he took too long (he says it was because he thought I was going to take long (they are always blaming the girls), so we just decided to drop by my friend, Adrien’s house who was having people over because her best friend was visiting her.

On Friday, Dave (Cheese) and I just watched the movie Munich. I wanted to catch up on sleep and unpack for a bit but what can I do, I am a slacker.

On Saturday, we left to Vero Beach to hang out with some of my friends who live there. I hadn’t seen them since May. Mikey and Rachael took us to Captain Hiram’s which is a restaurant and a Sand Bar.

We then went back to their house and watched Chappelle’s Show while we waited for the rest of the people to be ready to go to West Palm Beach. While we were waiting we decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory and then we were going to go bar hopping.

West Palm Beach is a different experience from Daytona Beach. Most of the cars we saw were BMWs, Jaguars, Porsches, limos, and classic cars to name a few. It’s a high end area. We walked around while we waited for our table at Cheesecake Factory to be ready. There was a concert in the middle of the area. The town was full of people. After we ate, we proceeded to go to the bars.

The bars were empty. I don’t know where the people were. Apparently, there is usually a cover charge and a dress code but they weren’t enforcing it that night in any of the bars. I am not sure what the age requirement is to get in. We were all over the age of 21. The drinks were very expensive. Advise: If you ever go to West Palm Beach make sure you were nice clothes/ dress to impress (no flip flops or tennis shoes) and bring tons of money if you want to drink and eat.

We left Sunday afternoon. I did some homework and read for my psychology test on Wednesday. I also hung out with some of the sisters and had Cheese Fondue and watched TV.

I finally got my parking pass. Woohoo!!! They were nice enough to give me one. My registration card is still in process but I finally had proof that I had one. The girls that were helping me were actually really nice.

Also I got a card from Vicki. I was surprised to receive mail. It was so nice of her to send me a card. She has been very helpful in trying to make sure I am calm and not freaking out about my tests. It is very hard for me to be going through this by myself. I am in a place where I don’t know anyone and everything is new to me. I don’t have close friends yet that I talk to every day. (Hence, the reason why I highly encourage people to live on campus.) Her letter made my day because even though I may not know her well, she is willing to help me out in any way she can. I find strength in people’s willingness to help me.

I am finally free!!! I actually don’t have anything due tomorrow. My next test is on Wednesday. I am happy to know that I can breathe and take some time to relax. I went to the Alpha Phi Omega meeting and then went to Uno’s and hung out with the APO brothers for a bit. We played Trivia games and ate food. They have half priced appetizers at night. It is good that I finally get to talk to someone other than myself.

I hope everyone has a great night.

Hey everyone!..

I have returned to grace you with a recent portion of my life here at Embry Riddle.

Well, there is one word that sums up the past two weeks— TIRING! I have had no more than 5 hours sleep each night within the last few days. With homework, classes, social events, club meetings and so many other things that needed to be done, I haven’t found any time for myself just yet. But the surprising thing about it all is that I don’t mind it. I mean, the workload from classes increased significantly but at the same time, so did the fun and excitement with my friends here. I have met a ton of new people and still counting. Everyone here is very social and open to anyone and anything, so it’s all real. All in all, it’s getting better and worse simultaneously!

It’s amazing that 4 weeks have already gone by so quickly, I can barely remember everything that happened—everything but the fact that I had tests for all my classes already! I mean, I haven’t gotten a chance to settle down properly in classes yet, but the professors are already giving tests! However, I wouldn’t complain too much considering that I got all A’s so far (emphasis on “so far”).

Ah, one thing that I am soooo glad about is that I have finally been assigned to my flight instructor. He is really a cool, down-to-earth guy and he makes the stuff easy, so I’m pretty happy about flying.

This past weekend was the best weekend ever since I got here. It all started from Friday night when I went to see a play with members from the “Riddle Players” club. Yes, I am in “Riddle Players” and for most of you who don’t know what that is, it is the school’s acting club. Yes, I am in the school play and I have yet to memorize my lines (don’t worry, I’ll get around it soon). After that, ERAU ice hockey team had a game on against USF in the local ice skating rink. Let me me tell ya, you have seen NO school spirit like Embry-Riddle’s until you have gone to an ice hockey or soccer game. I mean, we had sooo much fun and the place was packed with Riddle students AND teachers! Even though we lost, we still fought hard and had fun until 1:30am at the rink.

The next day, my friends and I decided that we wanted to go TRY ice skating too. Ya know, see if we can join the ice hockey team. Well, let’s just say we can’t no matter how much we tried. Well, at least I can’t! I have NEVER gone ice skating before, and I fell down SOOO many times, it’s unbelievable! (isn’t that right, angelica?!) But as sore and hurt as I was, that was one of the most fun things I have ever done and most likely we will be doing it again this weekend. After that, a fraternity hosted a party at a local restaurant, so, of course, all of Embry-Riddle was there having blast!

One thing after the next, it was amazing!

Then “Sunday, bloody Sunday” came around when sleep was needed and homework was to be done. As a Riddle student, you’re automatically installed with a program where you can actually sleep and do homework at the same time! (don’t worry, the cost of for that is included in the tuition and fees…haha). So, Sunday was relaxing and recuperating day and then later on, a couple of us headed out just to chill somewhere for a little bit, then back to the Adams 5th floor where no one sleeps!

Ok, so I think that basically wraps up my past two-week life here at ERAU..

I hope everyone enjoys reading my entries and if there’s anything you would like to know, just shoot me an e-mail, and I’ll see what I can do.

Till next time, Vick

(quote of the week: “huh?! I didn’t know lipstick could do that!”)

I presented my speech today. I was so nervous at first that all that was coming out of my mouth was “ummm ummm.” One of my classmates that was sitting in front of me whispered “Wow! She’s nervous.” I just grabbed my outline and just started giving an informative speech about the St. Louis Arch. Towards the end of my speech, I was feeling a little bit more comfortable and I think the ending was great. I just need to focus on the beginning of the speech.

I also went to Orlando last minute to pick up a dresser I bought from craigslist. I had a lot of meetings to go to but I need this dresser so I can finally unpack my boxes. I realized that I have more clothes than what I actually thought and there was no way I was going to unpack it. My room is messy as it is right now. I am working on it. The reason why I didn’t go to Walmart or Target to buy one is because I didn’t want to have to build it. I just want to get an already made one. This dresser is real wood and it’s really nice too. I personally believe I got a good deal out of it.

I unfortunately missed all my meetings. The trip was longer than I thought and Cheese’s truck doesn’t really go that fast. Also the area where we (Amy and I) went to pick it up was called Avalon Park. I thought I was in Lala Land. The houses were gorgeous and some of them had Halloween decorations put up. Actually the person I bought the dresser from went to one of the Embry-Riddle Extended Campus somewhere in Europe. It gave me hope that someday I’ll have a beautiful house.

Amy and I finally got home. She actually had to leave for a night flight. Cheese and I unloaded the dresser from the car and put it in the living room. I had meteorology homework to do and school gets priority over the dresser.