Hey readers!!!!..Hope all of you out there are doing well. I sure am! The reason is because I am OH so close to doing my solo!!!!!! It should be on this Friday the 17th, so wish me luck!!!!

Remember I had to change instructors? Well, it turns out that my new instructor is not that bad! He’s a really cool, kicked-back and fun guy, so YAY!

Ok, so..school!

How has school been going for me? Well, let’s just say the work never stops; but it has significantly reduced within the last week, so I’m pretty happy about that because I’ve been finding more time to go hang out with my friends. I’m also pretty satisfied with my grades in all my classes, because I’m pulling nothing lower than a B! YAY haha

So, I had to do a speech for my speech class the other day and I did it on airliner fleets. I got two words to describe the audience’s reaction: LOVED IT! Also, I had my Info Tech test today – now, THAT was LONG and TIRING! WHEW!..but I am SO glad it’s over with and I should be expecting an A in it! YAY!

Ok, so this weekend MARDI GRAS AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS!!! YES! So, my friend Matt walked into my room while I was sleeping around..eh, 1pm (yes, I’m a late sleeper after partying on Friday night, don’t laugh; you know you do the same!). Anyway, he picked me off my LOFTED bed and made me get ready to go to Universal Studios. Well, I thought it was just me and him, but little did I know when I got outside, it was like 2 cars filled up with my friends, so of course I was like YAAAY! We ended up getting into Orlando around 3pm and stayed there until 10pm. SO much fun! We did the rides, then watched the parade and got a lot of beads! Music, people, everything was exciting; the atmosphere so active and fun! After the parade finished, we went out into ‘Citywalk’- which is like a little boulevard connecting Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure that’s filled with clubs, restaurants, and so much more! I would love to go back on the 24th of March to see Sean Paul perform live, but that brings me to the topic of SPRING BREAK!

In less than a week (Saturday), I will be boarding and MD-88 from Daytona Beach to Atlanta, then connecting onto a B738 to Port of Spain, Trinidad then as soon as I get there at 8:05pm I have to board the 9pm commuter express from Trinidad to our sister tourist island of Tobago- where I will be basking in the beautiful Caribbean sun on the beach. CANNOT wait..Be jealous! Haha just kidding!

Anyway..so, I’m about to go deal with my roommate because he’s being a little skeez to me these days. Haha, just kidding. I love him with all my life; best guy I could ever have to be my roomie! Love ya lots, Jeremy!

Stay good, ya’ll..don’t do anything I wouldn’t do..out of the club haha!

Fly high!

Quote of the week: “YOU JUST HAVE T0 GO AFTER WHAT YOU WANT AND IF IT DOESN`T WANT YOU BACK, THEN SO BE IT. — IT DOESN’T DESERVE YOU ANYWAYS!” -Nicole Richie

Hey Folks.

The End is in sight. We are about to leave for Spring Break, which is a real reality check as to how close we are to the end of the semester. This is the last week before we get a nice break from our routine lives. When we get back, there are only fives weeks left and then we are done. It is going to fly by. With this in mind though, I must note that these last two weeks have been a little bit tiring because of all the midterms I have been taking. I have had exams in almost every single class. And two weeks after we get back, I have more exams. It is really pushing but it keeps me on my toes. All those exams returned good results and I have set myself up for a good end to the semester.

Looking ahead academically, I have registered for summer session courses, which I did mention last journal. I have a little advice for those of you who ever decide to take summer session courses. If you register for courses, keep an eye on the capacity of the class. I learned from my advisor that the courses have to have around 10 students for the class to run. If not, that section is closed. I am beginning to realize I may have to rearrange my summer schedule because one of the courses I am registered for is most likely going to close for this very reason. Other than that, everything in that department is going well. I am waiting to see information about registering for the fall semester. This next year is going to be really exciting because I am approaching the higher level courses for the aerospace engineering degree and that makes me, being the dork that I am, very excited. Also, look sharp for news about Riddle switching to a 4-day school week. I have heard rumors about the university switching to this format for various reasons. It would be nice to always have 3-day weekends.

For those of you who don’t know, Bike Week just ended here in Daytona. It was cool to see a lot of awesome bikes, but the constant traffic and change in atmosphere around town was a pain. Not much to say about Bike Week except that you need to be careful both as an automobile driver or a motorcycle rider. I am sad to report that a Riddle student was involved in a motorcycle accident this past Sunday and he passed away. It is a tragedy and our hearts go out to his loved ones. Today, I also watched an accident unfold right in front of me. A motorcycle was cruising down Clyde Morris, just north of the campus, and a car pulled out right in front of him. He could not react in time and struck the back of the car flipping his bike and his body over the top and down the street. I have not heard anything on his current condition but he was fortunate enough that this occurred right in front of Halifax Medical Center and an ambulance, EVAC vehicle, and nurse just happened to be behind him headed toward the hospital. These situations are terrible and I can only hope that you heed my warning. Be Careful while driving and riding. Your life, along with the lives of everyone around you, hangs in the balance.

That was a sad note. On to something more cheerful. I went to the beach today for the first time since the beginning of the semester and it was beautiful outside. It was literally the perfect day to say hello to the ocean again. Random news, I have started working out again. I used to go to the gym every night back in California. I have been slacking so much since I got here and I am beginning to not like the way I look. So, I am finally getting back into shape. To go along with this, I got a sweet new case for my ipod and new earplugs to listen to music while running. The earplugs are sweet because they cancel out noise and enhance bass, just trust me on this one guys, its rockin’.

Most recently I have just been focusing on course work and there has been a lot of it. Keep sending me your emails with questions. I am glad that I can respond to your concerns and answer any questions you may have. Again, I apologize if I take a long time to respond. Give me some time, I try and answer as many as possible in between classes and homework and you can always post your questions on the discussion board. I hope everything is well with everyone and your families. Make sure to stop by in two weeks for my next journal.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and enjoy your Spring Break, whenever that may be.

Until next time

Peace Easy

Last weekend was fairly uneventful, but it did mark the beginning of bike week. I’m not that into bikes, but some of my friends seem to like them. All I know was that traffic was horrible, so getting anywhere was a real chore. I spent most of my weekend inside.

The week was kind of busy. I had a few tests, went to the gym, worked some, etc. Not really too much else to say about that.

I worked an evening shift Friday, and then that night we went to see 300- the new movie about the Spartan warriors and some crap (I got kind of lost in the details). It was really good. All the men were very hunky.

Parking was a nightmare, though. Saturday I woke up somewhere around noon – which is so nice when you have to wake up early every other day. And Wood 5 decided that we should have a cookout and make hotdogs and smores.

So we bought wood, hotdogs, chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers, pokers to put the hotdogs/smores on, huge matches, and Steve bought some camping chairs. Then we went to Daytona Beach to this little fire pit, and there was a number that said we needed to make a reservation, even though nobody was using it. So I asked a Beach Patrol guy if we could use it and he was really mean to me.

We were still trying to meet up with my friend Kim, so we decided we would go to New Smyrna Beach to meet her at the airport.

When we met up at the airport, we both didn’t know how to get to the New Smyrna beaches, so we decided we would go inside and ask someone. One of the flight instructors gave us directions which turned out to be bad. We did end up at some park, and we asked some locals for directions, which turned out to be bad. Eventually we found the New Smyrna beaches on our own and when we got there it was dark. But then one of the boys saw a sign that said “No open fires.” We had already dug a hole, so a few of us sat around it and ate cold smores. It was kind of bleak.

We were next to the cars getting ready to leave when I realized that I had lost Ryan’s (my boyfriend) ring when I took it off to dig in the sand. He gave it to me for our one year anniversary, so it’s kind of important. I checked the pocket I had put it in and realized it wasn’t in there and proceeded to freak out. I seriously could not breathe and I felt like I was going to throw up. So Kim and Steve were coaching me to breathe and calm down and the search commenced. After about five minutes of searching, Kim found the ring in the sand – it was a one in a thousand type thing. I burst into tears, and the day was saved.

You guys don’t lose valuable stuff at the beach.

Then we went back to the dorms. I set my alarm for 6:30, because I use my cell phone and it corrects itself for daylight savings. But it also pushed my alarm time forward, so I woke up at 7:30, which is when I was supposed to be at work.

I got to work at 8. Thankfully, it was really foggy, so no one showed up for the morning flights. And then I worked for eleven hours straight, but I’m not complaining!!! As much as I don’t like being at work ALL day on a weekend, I REALLY don’t like not having money for the rest of the week.

Monday was a typical Monday, I suppose. It was a very long day. Classes until 3:30, and then I took an absurdly long nap in the afternoon. That’s the thing about college – you learn to sleep when you can. In the evening I went to the gym (which I’ve been doing a lot lately), and then drove ALL the way past Orlando to pick up one of Boris’ Bulgarian friends who is staying in the dorms with us.

We didn’t get back to Daytona until around 12:30 or 1 am. But that’s okay.

Plans for Spring Break include going home, hopefully flying some, visiting family in Pennsylvania, And we’ll see.

Shoot me an email if you have any questions – I respond to all of them!

– CAT rumbebb5@erau.edu

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
aim: wasteofsoap
videos: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=blakeguiles

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

For the last couple of weeks, I have been working hard on my school work. I did horrible on my first two tests of the semester. I was disappointed in myself. In my other two tests, I did awesome. I aced my fire protection test. I thought I was going to do badly since I had so much going on the night before. I studied with someone else for about an hour. I know that helped me out because there were some terms and questions I still had that my friend was able to answer.

The Daytona 500 was crazy. I arrived to Daytona from Miami when there were three laps left in the race. I am so happy I saw the ending of the race because I had never seen anything like it. In the end, I did not work during race week because my job was cancelled. I went to the University of Miami with another ERAU student for a conference. The conference was on how to end global poverty and what we can do to help people. There were many different ideas; of course some of them were very controversial; while others were acceptable and doable. People are trying to help out the poor and we also need to keep in mind that people that are homeless were not always poor. One of the speakers was earning six figures in a year and because of his wife, he ended up living in the streets because he could not support her habit. Now he lives in one of the homes that help homeless people. He is currently trying to get his life together. There are also other places like the food bank that try to give people food. They feel bad because they have to turn people away because they don’t have enough food to distribute.

The one statement that hit home is the fact that many kids (in the thousands) go to sleep hungry every night. It reminded me why I enjoy helping people. I am philanthropy chair for my sorority. Helping children is our priority. I am currently working on a couple of projects so we can interact with children. I am excited about that.

This week is Greek Week. We had a Xi man BBQ on Sunday so we can meet all the contestants. So far we haven’t won in any of the events for Greek Week. We had a Chariot Race and a Soap Box Derby. Our Soap Box derby didn’t even finish the race. I knew we were going to be racing on grass, but we weren’t anticipating on sand. So our little Soap Box got stuck in the sand. I helped in finding the parts for it, but Isadora built the whole thing. I fell asleep with my contacts on and the next day I woke up with a red eye. My eye still hurts. I don’t drive at night or anything just because my eye is sensitive and I have people driving me around to places.

I saw a motorcycle accident today on my way to school. He flew a couple of yards. He did not have a motorcycle helmet on. He was not conscious. He was just laying there. I really hope he’s ok.

My apartment is starting to get full of people coming down for Spring Break. Dave had his ex-girlfriend down here for a couple of days from PA. Now we have two of Amy’s friends from MN staying at our place for a couple of days. I love meeting new people even though I am shy.

For the rest of the week for Greek week, we have a pyramid contest, tug of war and a powder puff game. Our sorority is having a semi formal with a Mardi Gras theme to it. Next week is also Relay for Life followed by a Car Wash.

Hey hey hey, readers!!!!

WOW, well, those last 2 weeks have gone be SO quickly, I didn’t even realize it! Well, it’s been a fun 2 weeks; much better than before!

Ok, so first thing, I am now medically ungrounded!!! Which means, I am flying once again! YAY! But like the ying-yang sign, there is always some bad in good things. Mine is that even though I resumed flying, my flight instructor may be leaving soon! I really don’t want him to leave because he has to be one of the greatest and most genuine guys I have ever met! I definitely will miss him, but all the best to who I believe is the best flight instructor EVER and in turn, one of my good friends..Patrick Tuttle!

PROJECTS, TESTS, DEADLINES!!! Most of which have been overcome! YES! WOO HOO! I am now finding some time to relax a little bit! Thank god! But I am sure things will be picking up soon (if not, then I’m not in college..hehe).

So, because a lot of pressure is off my back and I can see the light after all that work, I decided to kinda pamper myself this past weekend. So, my friend Matt S., (who I absolutely love and respect), and I went to the mall and did a little shopping. Then, we both went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants that has the BEST desert to me in Daytona Beach – Adobe Gilas!!! So, I had a very fun and fulfilling Saturday afternoon with my good buddy Matt. So, here’s to Matt, thanks a lot for taking that afternoon off and taking me out for a great time!

Well, on a more productive note, I have been contemplating returning to Embry Riddle for summer B term and knock some classes out of the way a bit early before the harsh workload comes on and log some flight hours! I mean, I don’t know if I would be doing it yet, but I believe that it’ll be a good thing for me to do. And plus, I think 4 months is wayyy too long to me to stay away from Riddle over the summer! Haha, I will miss this place like crazy!

On the topic of vacation, what do you guys out there have planned for spring break 2007? Well, I will be heading home back to Trinidad and Tobago for that week and probably bask in the tropical Caribbean sun while sipping on a margarita (since the drinking age down there is 18..haha) on the beachside! Ok, I didn’t mean to rub it into your face if you’re stuck up north, but hey, I’ll tell ya, if you can come down to Daytona Beach for your spring break, then I would suggest you do it! This place is sooo beautiful and exciting! You can be doing the same thing I would be doing on the beach..well, except for sipping on a margarita! Haha. Oh, and you’d also get an opportunity to visit the campus if you have an extra weekday or two to spare. I would love to stay here, but it’s time to be back home with my friends and family.

Well, I think that’s all I gotta say about my past 2 weeks. Hope ya’ll enjoyed it! I’m sure when you guys get here, you would have lots of fun too.

All the best to each and every one of you out there!

Quote of the Week: “don’t settle for the one you can live with…wait for the one you cant live without” -Me..

Bye world!

Greetings.

My trip home last weekend went rather well. The boys of Wood 5 stayed in Daytona and suffered through the Daytona 500. They worked at the race. I’m sure they had fun, but I’m kind of glad I wasn’t here.

Over the past week I have been ridiculously sick. Apparently (according to my mom) there is something going around Virginia that I picked up and brought back to Daytona with me. I had two days of barely being able to get out of bed, and I even went to the hospital at one point. So, needless to say, this was not Cat’s Best Week Ever. Luckily, the hospital is right across the street, and I discovered that some medicine I was taking was giving me some weird symptoms.

I missed a few days of class, but if you email professors ahead of time and are legitimately ill (like if you have an E.R. bracelette), they are fairly lenient about letting you make up what you miss.

And although the dorms make it easy for illnesses to spread (which, I’m happy to say, was not the case with my plague), the good thing is – there is always someone there to check up on you and get you anything you may need. Like ginger ale. Or a bucket.

My dad flew in on Friday and parked his plane at New Smyrna (where I work). I took him to Woody’s Barbecue – which, by the way, EVERYONE should visit. It’s at Nova and Dunlawton and they have THE BEST barbecue ever. We also went to a LASER LIGHT SHOW!!!! I know, it’s so 80s. But it was the Beatles and the Beatles are awesome, so I didn’t feel too dorky.

Last night we went on a casino cruise, which seemed like a good idea, until the boat started heading out to sea and rocking back and forth and to and from and… ugh. Many of our party were not feeling well. It was kind of miserable until the bartender made us an anti-sick concoction which worked very well. Everyone lost money except Steve, who won a lot. I guess he’s just lucky.

Today my dad accompanied me to all of my classes. He seemed to enjoy most of them. And since he’s a pilot, he was interested in all of the subjects.

And that’s about it! Email me if you have questions/comments!

– Cat

HELLO TO EVERYONE! I HOPE EVERYONE IS HAVING A TERRIFIC WEEK SO FAR! I KNOW I HAVE! UH-OH, I have been typing in all caps. My apologizes. Well, I am here at Riddle (obviously) and I am having a wonderful time! I have been very busy the past two weeks and I don’t think that I am going to be slowing down anytime soon! I’ll start with my classes and then let you in on all the details of life outside of Riddle here at Daytona!

TTh – Physics 104 – Nothing too exiting going on in physics. We’re learning some new stuff and we will have a test in a week or so, which means I’ll do some studying and hopefully get another good grade. That’s pretty much it for physics. Oh, there is one thing: An 8:15 class is very very early.

TTh – Basic Aeronautics II – We took our first test last week and it went pretty well. I ended up with a 90 and I’m not sure if there is going to be a curve or anything like that. But without a curve, a 90 is pretty good, especially in my aeronautics class. We have finished talking about everything I need to know for my private pilot’s license, and now we are moving on to the topic of multiengine systems. We covered all the basic stuff last semester and up till this point and now it is time for some multiengine knowledge.

MWF – Air Traffic Control I – The class average for the recent test we just took wasn’t the best, so our professor decided to give us a quiz on some of the stuff on the test and give us bonus points. I’m not sure how I did on the quiz, but I know I did pretty well so I should be getting some bonus points. That’s what I like about college, if a professor gives a test and a lot of people miss the same questions, they take it into consideration and give you opportunities to make up the points.

MWF – Intro to Psychology – I have to admit that psych is becoming one of my favorite classes. Not only do I enjoy the subject, but I honestly believe that I have one of the best professors to teach the course. I have Dr. Kring and he makes the class very fun. He is always cracking jokes and he has a very funny personality. He is also a huge fan of star wars and he knows anything you could imagine. He challenged our class to think of a star wars question that he would know, and if we could stump him, he would let us out 45 minutes early. Well a couple people had their laptops and began typing away furiously and we shot him 5 or 6 totally random questions. We didn’t think he would get any of them right, but sure enough every question was answered correctly and he even gave extra details about it. It was kind of scary to be honest, but I thought it was pretty funny. So if you are coming here next year and you like star wars, get in Dr. Kring’s class. Or even if you just want a fun class and a cool professor, choose Kring.

Flight – I have been progressing quite nicely in my flying and I am on my way to getting my private pilot’s license. In order to get your license as a private pilot, you need to complete 3 tests: A written test, an oral test, and a practical test. The written test consists of 60 questions chosen from a bank of over 700 which might sound really difficult, but you are given all 700 somethin’ questions and answers so you know what to study. I haven’t taken the written yet, but I took several practice tests already so I will be taking the actual one soon. The oral test is right before the practical test and that consists of talking to a certified instructor (not your instructor, a different one) and he/she will ask you questions covering every aspect of flying to make sure you know what you are doing. I am studying for this constantly; I have been studying pretty much since I started learning how to fly. It isn’t a test that you cram for the night before; rather, you need to study a lot over time. Finally, you take the practical test also referred to as the check ride. The check ride is flying with an FAA instructor and they test you on everything you know; anything from maneuvers to landings. This last test is to make sure that you are safe in the skies and you know how to handle an airplane. So, as of now I am going to take my written soon, I am studying for my oral, and I am still learning things that I will need to know for my check ride. One thing that I did a couple weeks ago was my first night flight. My instructor and I took off around 8:00pm and we flew around and did some night landings. Flying at night is similar to day flying in some aspects, but then in some ways it is completely different. For example, flying into the ocean in the day time is easier to do visually because you can see the horizon to base your wings off of, but at night it is all black and you can’t tell if your wings are level. Overall though, it is pretty fun because it is such a different experience. You can’t see all the details of the ground, but rather just a sea of lights. It’s pretty wild. Also, I went on my first cross-country flight this past week. A cross-country flight is a flight where you leave your home airport with a distance of more than 50 nautical miles. Normally, we just fly around in our practice areas and go no more than 40 and usually less than 30 nm away. So we flew to Gainesville which was about 130 nm round trip if I remember correctly. We took off in Daytona and flew over 2 airports on the way there. It was pretty fun because usually you just fly around in any direction, but now we have specific headings to follow and checkpoints to go through. You have to file a flight plan which lets the airport know when you are leaving and arriving and what path you will follow in case you don’t make it there on time. If they haven’t heard from you when you are suppose to land they will send out a search and rescue until you are found. So anyway, we filed a flight plan, got in the plane and flew to Gainesville. It was really fun, but challenging. There is so much going on at certain times, and then it is completely calm at other times, so you have to manage your time in a reasonable manner. I think that I did pretty well for my first cross-country and I am looking forward to doing some more. I am already planning my next cross-countries which I will fly to Melbourne (over by Cape Canaveral), an airport right out side of Jacksonville, and St. Petersburg (over by Tampa). I’ll let you know how those go as I do them. I’m scheduled for one later this week so wish me luck!

I have to admit, these past two weeks have been so busy, and school was only 20% of it! On the 19th, the Daytona 500 took place (and I was there), my grandparents came to see the Riddle campus, I saw Ron White in concert, I saw the Blue Man Group (again!!!), and I have been doing some wakeboarding and racquetball playing. So it has been pretty busy.

All my life I have lived near Daytona and I have always been told be the people around me that come mid-February, I should stay far, far away from Daytona. I have always known that hundreds of thousands of race fans flock from any place you can imagine to Daytona to see the 500, and that’s why I have always stayed far away. Well, since this year I am living in Daytona, I decided that instead of fleeing and seeking shelter somewhere I should submerse myself in such a rich cultural environment. So, I went to the Daytona 500, and as it turns out, I had a blast! A week before the race you could already tell a major difference in the traffic and the amount of people, and it only got worse. If you have the choice to drive or not drive during race weekend, choose not to drive, unless you don’t mind getting to your destination in triple the time. But traffic aside, it is pretty wild just to see hundreds of thousands of people walking around all of Daytona. There are people everywhere, and they’re all just walking around; some this way and others that way. It gets pretty hectic but it definitely is a fun experience. Three of my friends bought tickets and their dads came down to watch the race, but they ended up having 2 extra tickets, so my roommate and I said why not. Our seats weren’t the best, but it still was incredible. We were 13 rows back or something like that so we were pretty close to the track and just hearing the loudness of all the cars was amazing. There were some pretty big wrecks, but nothing to crazy happened in front of us. We were right in the middle on the backside so we saw one wreck but nothing real remarkable. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I’m glad that I did it, but I’m still debating on whether or not I should go again next year. Well at least I have some time to make up my mind. Make sure to check out the videos and pictures website for some great shots of the 500 along with other things.

This past Thursday I went with my girlfriend and her mom and step-dad to see the Blue Man Group once again! I have to admit that even though I saw them just a couple of months ago, and the show wasn’t very different from then, it was still utterly mind-blowing! The show that those guys put on is astounding and it doesn’t get old. I would definitely go see them again if they were playing next week. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any pictures or videos of them playing, but just take my word when I say that they put on an awesome show!

I’m not sure if there are any Ron White fans out there, but he is one of my favorite comedians. I remember listening to him years and years ago and then he got his big break with the blue collar comedy tour. His comedy isn’t for everyone, and he can definitely be on the edge with a lot of his material, but I laughed so hard at Tater Salad and all of his other jokes. If you haven’t heard his stuff before, you should check it out, as long as you aren’t easily offended and have an open mind. Because if you don’t, you probably shouldn’t listen!

This past weekend was parent’s weekend here at Riddle and I’m not sure what happened exactly, but I did see lots of parents around. I guess parents were invited to come see their kids and go to class with them and stuff like that, but I’m not really sure. By coincidence, my grandparents were in town to visit my dad so they came down to Daytona to check out Riddle. I took them on a tour of campus and showed them a whole bunch of stuff like our flight line, some flight simulators, my dorm, food facilities, some classrooms, and things of that nature. It was nice to get to see them and show them where I have been for the past 6 months.

One thing I like about being a student at Riddle is all the stuff that is happening outside of class, such as flying (well obviously), skydiving, wakeboarding, racquetballing (not really a word), golfing, and many other things. These are just some things that I do, but there is so much to offer here at Riddle. Anything from a swing dance club to writing for our school newspaper the Avion, a full list can be found here http://www.erau.edu/db/studentlife/clubs.html. I personally have been doing a lot of wakeboarding lately, well kind of. I got a wakeboard for my birthday 3 or 4 years ago, right when my dad sold his boat. So I haven’t really gotten a chance to take it out, but now that has changed. I joined the water sports club and we have a boat that we take out to a lake about 30 minutes away and wakeboard, ski, and anything that anyone wants to do. I know you are asking yourself right now, “Hey, wait a second, it is February and freezing, how can you be wakeboarding?” Well, it is cold in a lot of places, but Florida isn’t one of them right now. As I type this it is 80 degrees outside. Yes, 80. As much as that pains me to type 80, it is a good temperature for water sports. The only bad thing is that the water is a nice cool 65. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. So hopefully the water temperature will rise soon, but until then I guess I am going to be wakeboarding and freezing at the same time. Also, my roommate has a jet ski that we take out and we go wakeboarding behind that. I have only been about 3 times now, but I have managed to get up and go in and out of the wake, but once I try to jump, I fall, hard. So I’m no where near good at wakeboarding, but someday, maybe I won’t fall all the time. So anyway, the point is, Riddle has so many things to offer to many different types of students so get excited about that!

Racquetball has become quite fun for me in the past couple days because I have started winning games! I am use to playing some of my friends and losing, which doesn’t bother me because I wasn’t that good, but I am getting better. I played doubles with my friend against our other friend and our RA and we won 3 of 4 games or something like that, so that’s always fun. I found that it generally doesn’t matter if I win or lose as long as I’m sweating and out of breath at the end of the game, then I’ll be happy. But just for the record, winning is fun and more preferable than losing.

So I guess that pretty much wraps up my journal for this week. Over the next two weeks, I should be doing some more cross-countries, taking 3 tests, seeing G. Love and Pepper in two different concerts, work on my wakeboarding skills, hopefully play some golf and racquetball (not at the same time, I already tried that, very difficult), and loads of other things! Such as not hitting bikers on the road because of bike week! Yes, life is getting crazy around here, and I love it! If life is getting pretty dull for you readers out there and you want it to be more exciting, try emailing me with some questions and I will respond as quick as I can and make your life very exciting with my humor and knowledge!!!!!!! Or you could just go rent a movie (such as The Departed which is a very good movie and has won some Oscars and things). Anyways, the point is go out and enjoy life and make the best of it. Also, if you have a dollar, put it in an envelope and mail it to someone you know. They will be very happy to receive a one dollar bill in an envelope from you!!!! I know I would!!!! See ya next time!!!!! Sorry for all the exclamation points!!!!!

P.S. Check out all the cool videos and pictures that I have posted! Also, if you want to request any pictures or videos of something, just let me know!

-Blake
email: wasteofsoap@yahoo.com
aim: wasteofsoap
videos: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=blakeguiles