Happy Valentines Day!!!!!

Here it is half way through February and it is getting pretty crazy around Daytona Beach! The races are coming up, Bike week is right around the corner, and Spring Break is not too far behind that. At Embry-Riddle things are getting hectic as well because we had our first set of tests this past week. I called last week test week because everybody I know has had a test in more than 75% of there classes. I personally have had 3 tests one on each day, Wednesday Thursday and Friday. Overall I think it went quite well, but I am still waiting for my grades on one more test. I guess now would be a good time to start with my classes:

TTh – Physics 104 – Since it was test week, I took my first physics 104 test. I already went over how I didn’t get the professor I wanted and I am stuck with a class at 8:15am every Tuesday Thursday, so I wasn’t too excited about having a test. I think that the reason I did so well last semester was due to the professor. I really enjoyed that professor and the way he presented the material. This semester, I can’t really relate to my professor’s teaching style. I find that I have to take notes, try not to listen, and then review the notes on my own time and understand the material. My professor is nice, but she just gets side tracked real easy and it’s hard to focus on multiple things at 8:15 in the morning, especially when she doesn’t take attendance. When you have a professor who doesn’t take attendance, you are tempted with sleeping in other options rather than attending class, so you really have to want to be there. Anyways, back to the test . . . I studied quite a bit and I thought that I was prepared, and I was. The test had 5 points extra credit and I ended up getting a 105. So . . . I like physics.

TTh – Basic Aeronautics II – This class still proves to be challenging. We are assigned to read a chapter for every class and we have a quiz on the chapter at the beginning of every class. So far I have been doing alright. I’m not acing (Ace-ing) every quiz, but I’m not failing them either. We are scheduled for our first test coming up this week, so I’ll let you know how that goes.

TTh – Intro to Safety – Well, as it turns out, I wasn’t that interested in safety. I went to class the first two weeks, but then I dropped the course. Even though I had more classes last semester, I was getting overwhelmed this semester, even in the first two weeks. Also, I don’t need a safety course for my major or minor so I decided that it wasn’t a good idea to over stress myself just for the heck of it.

MWF – Air Traffic Control I – We took our first test and I got a 92% on it. The class is a little dry at times, but the professor knows what he is talking about so it’s not too bad. Right now, I am just learning all the basics, so I won’t get to go into a simulator until my junior year-ish. Once I learn all the basics I will be able to go into a simulator and get first hand experience on what it is like to be in a tower and direct traffic. I can’t wait for that.

MWF – Intro to Psychology – I also took my first test in Psych this past week and I have to admit that I am a little scared. He still hasn’t posted the test scores and I am getting pretty anxious. I studied so much for this test, much more than for some of my other classes, and I’m not sure how I did. Right before the test I felt very confident and I thought that I was ready, but then he handed out the tests. I looked it over rather quickly and my confidence slowly disintegrated. Some of the stuff I knew right off the bat, but for a lot of questions I narrowed it down to 2 choices. So I could have done well, or I might not be very happy with the score. I guess we’ll see. ***Special note, I found out that I got a 92 after the curve!!!

As you know if you read my last journal (which I’m sure all of you have) it was my birthday a couple weeks ago and I received golf clubs as one of my presents. I used to golf a little bit back in the day with my dad. We live on a golf course, so I would hit around a ball every now and then, but my favorite part was driving the golf cart. So many moons later, I decided it would be a good idea to learn how to golf. I have heard from many people that golfing can be a good way to get to know someone such as coworkers and or a new/potential boss. I also have heard that golfing is much more fun if you know what you are doing rather than smacking the crap out of it. So I decided that I needed to get lessons rather than develop bad habits. As it turns out, my friend Cris has been golfing for quite some time so I got a whole bunch of pointers from him. I could already tell my improvement from swinging the club once with no idea what I was doing compared to after his tips. I think that with some practice it will be a fun thing to do on the weekends.

This past weekend I did a single skydive, except this one wasn’t like the others. Usually you jump out of the side of the aircraft and begin your freefall, but I did a jump out of the SkyVan this past weekend. The SkyVan looks like a giant, boxy van with wings. I’m not sure how it produces lift, but it does somehow. The cool thing about the SkyVan is that instead of jumping out the side, you jump out the back. This allows you to get a running start and jump rather than a standing jump. I was about 4ft away from the back and I did a running start and jumped out with my arms and legs straight (like a giant X) and then pushed my head back so I did a back flip. It was the coolest exit that I have ever done, even though I have only done 19. I hope they use the SkyVan more often because it is by far my aircraft of choice for jumping out of. Also, this past jump is the first time that I beat the plane to the ground. Usually, I’ll jump out and then pull my chute at a fairly high altitude (5,000ft) and slowly float down. Well this time I pulled at a lower altitude and had a smaller parachute so I floated down quicker and managed to beat the SkyVan. After all the skydivers exit, the plane dives back toward the ground at a very fast rate so I usually watch it land while I’m still 2,000ft in the air. But not this time though.

Two weekends ago I made a trip up to Gainesville to the University of Florida to see some friends. I went with my two friends Aaron and Adam and my girlfriend Becca. We had a blast and we already have some memories that we won’t forget anytime soon. We are already planning our next trip up there, so hopefully we can do that soon. That’s what I like about Embry-Riddle, we are pretty close to a lot of different universities all around Florida. Like UF, FSU, UNF, USF, and a whole bunch of others.

This past weekend I celebrated my two year anniversary with my girlfriend Becca. We started dating in our junior year of high school and here it is two years later and I can’t believe how quick time went by! I’ll spare all the mushy stuff, but she goes to Stetson which is right up the road and I love her to death. If she’s reading this . . . Hi Becca!!!!

I found this story recently and I thought that I would share it with all of you guys. The story is about a recent graduate of Riddle and how he is one of the project manager for a company based in Hong Kong. He created a remote control dragonfly that flies by flapping wings. You can read about the story here http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/technology/08toys.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin and there is also a video on youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz0XNGJ-ep8

I thought that it was pretty cool that a graduate from Riddle went on to become the project manager of a company and design something completely different than traditional remote control aircrafts.

So all in all life is going pretty good down here in Florida and I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Hopefully everybody is having a good start in 2007 and staying warm. I know it’s been pretty cold around other parts of the U.S. but it is still very warm in Florida. I’m not trying to rub it in because I love the cold and I am mad that Florida is always so hot. I don’t like it when I skate to class in mid-February and start sweating. I view the warmth as a curse rather than a blessing. But if you don’t like the cold and you like to sweat 11.9 months out of the year, Florida is the place for you! It’s not too bad, just sometimes I wish it would snow, just for a day.

If anyone has any questions or comments feel free to drop me a line and I’ll do my best to answer anyone’s questions. Also, if you want me to cover a certain subject in my journal, just let me know. I am here for you!!!!! Later.

-Blake

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

I haven’t done much around campus. I have been pretty much consumed in work, school, and Greek life. We’ve been holding events were we meet girls and I have been trying to set up fundraisers for Relay for Life. Also, Xi Man and Relay for Life are in March.

Most of my tests are this week or next week. I am not confident in the tests I had today. Right now, I am hoping I just pass. I feel that I should have been more prepared. I have another test in my AS 120 class. There’s a lot of new information that I need to learn. If you want to fly for a living, you have to have a true passion for doing it. What I do like in the class is the videos that my professor shows us. In class for the first 5-10 minutes, he shows us a video about flying. It can be a jet fighter flying low, a plane landing, or an aircraft that didn’t work. The professor is having a study session on Wednesday to prepare us for the test and make sure all of our questions are answered.

An interesting experience I had during work hours was that I had to proctor a quiz. I am really shy and don’t really like to speak in public, but I had to give them instructions. It’s a nice exposure to what professors or any public speakers go through every day.

On Saturday, I am going to be working the races. I am going to be working as one of the gatekeepers on the actual racetrack. I have to make sure the people have the correct tag on them before I can let them into the area. The traffic (both pedestrian and car) is congested. The speedway is on my way to campus so I get the opportunity to see all the traffic and mobile homes parked around on the area where I live. I am not sure how I am going to get to the speedway. I can park on campus because it is so close or I can try to walk it. I guess I’ll find out on Saturday.

If you have any questions, just ask. I hope everyone is having a great day.

Today I went to the shooting range for the very first time in my life with the Firearms Club. I was very nervous just because I had never shot a gun in my life. The closest experience was when I did the Firearms Training System (FATS) at a local community college in Los Angeles. I did laser shooting through a simulation program that would put me in certain events and I would have to decide on whether to shoot or not. It was very addicting. The guns I shot were a Glock 26, an 1851 Colt Revolver, an HK 47, and a Kimber 45. All the guys I was training with were friendly. They felt that knowing how to handle a gun is very important. It helps prevent accidents if a person knows what they are doing. Chad and Ryan were saying that girls get intimidated easily when they see a gun. I would have to agree.

The first time while the president of the organization was telling me all the components of the gun and teaching me how to use it, I hesitated and put the gun down a couple of times. Even though I know there wasn’t a magazine in the gun, I was scared to use it. The idea of having something in my hands that can cause so much harm petrified me. He made me point the gun at a target and pretend to aim and shoot until I felt comfortable. He then taught me how to load the gun along with some safety measures you need to take while having a loaded gun. By the end of the afternoon, I was feeling more comfortable in handling guns.

Keep in mind the school doesn’t tolerate having weapons at school. If you are going to live in the dorms, there are storage lockers off campus that you can rent and store your weapons. Campus safety is working with the Firearms Club in ensuring that the necessary safety precautions are being taken.

One semester down, a lot more to go! And I’m still just as excited and enthusiastic to fly as I was from day one. Sure last semester had its ups and downs, but that comes with any new job in the aviation industry. And you know what keeps me going, the students! Once you realize that, you begin to really love your job. It’s not about the flying, it’s about the dedicated men and women in the cockpit that I am mentoring. I could not be more proud to say that I am part of this organization. Watching your student solo for the first time draws emotion that is usually reserved for parents watching their children accomplish a major milestone in their life. All at once, you are nervous, anxious, and proud. Overall, this semester has started off better than the last. However, 2 months ago, it didn’t appear that this was going to be the case.

On 25 December, 2006, I was home in New Jersey with my family. It was good to be home because I haven’t seen them in about a year. I was on my way out when one of my friends called me and told me that a tornado had hit the campus. Not really thinking there was that much damage, I asked him a few questions, but didn’t really pay too much attention to the topic. Then, one by one, over a 1 hour time span, my students called me to ask me questions about the damage. I finally got on the Internet and began looking at pictures that my friends had put online. The damage was the type of damage you normally see on the news in Iraq. Most of our fleet of airplanes were damaged or destroyed. Aircraft were thrown all over the west side of campus. We no longer had a maintenance hanger. The Simulation Center, Spruance Hall, the ICI Center, the maintenance student’s classrooms, Natalie Irrlitz and Michael Ponso’s cars, were all severely damaged. Not to mention broken windows in the College of Aviation, the Flight Line, and the Student Center. After seeing this damage, I began to worry, will I have a job? What’s going to happen to the students? Was anyone hurt? Thank God no one was hurt. If this had happened 10 days earlier there would have been fatalities.

What followed the tornados was, in my opinion, the greatest single recovery effort ever undertaken by a university. The upper level administration in the flight department were all on scene within a few hours of the tornado. Before the word was given for instructors to return to school, pilots were already cutting their vacations short and returning to Daytona to help. I was not planning on returning until January 8th. Instead, I left my ski trip in the Poconos, and my girlfriend, to get to work by January 3rd. The pure grit and determination by the flight department was something that I envy as a soldier in the Army. Aircraft were located from around the U.S. to replace the ones we lost. Within a few days, instructors were on their way to places as far away as Arizona and North Dakota, to pick up replacement aircraft. I was tasked to go pick up an airplane on the west coast of Florida.

By January 16th the Flight Line was up and running at full strength and classes began. Twenty-one days prior, there were less than a dozen flyable airplanes, nowhere to conduct aircraft maintenance, and no building to have simulator training in. The tireless efforts of the ERAU flight, safety, and maintenance departments did an outstanding job in recovering from this disaster. The overwhelming support the University received will never be forgotten. As I said in the beginning, I could not be more proud to be a part of this organization!

So far I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed with everything I have this semester. My classes are not going to be easy. I have 4 different groups that I have to meet with on a weekly basis. My technical report writing class requires us to meet a couple of times a week outside of class. The rest of my group projects are 20 page and 1 hour presentations. I am also finding myself only sleeping about 2-5 hours a night.

My computer is not helping me. My programs are not working properly and I installed the new version of Windows Explorer and now I don’t have internet because of a firewall. Good thing my roommate is a member of the Geek Squad and he knows what he is doing.This week is Greek Week. We have a couple of events that we are having and we are meeting girls who want to be a part of the Greek life.If some of this doesn’t make sense, pardon me. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask. I hope you all have a great day.

Well, hello again to all my fans out there!..I love you all!
*applause for my entrance*…
Ok ok, fine!..I’m not a celebrity..yet!

Alrighty, so Riddle life is back on track with respect to classes and stuff. Let me tell you guys a bit about my class schedule: M.W.F:Flight 8am-12pm, Basic Aeronautics 133 1pm-2pm, Info. Tech. 109 4:45pm-6pm T.TH: Speech 219 11:15am-12:30pm, Financial Accounting 2:15pm-3:30pm, Physics 104 3:45pm-5pm. So, if you ever need to stalk me, you now know my schedule..haha!

I worked out my class schedule to fit around the professors I wanted, so I am very contented! Some of my good friends are in the same classes with me and I’ve also met some really nice new people. I am expecting this semester to be very interesting and even better than last! Oh, and I’d also like to acknowledge my new, incredibly awesome flight instructor, Patrick Tuttle!!! I could never ask for someone who is as cool and skilled as him! YAY!

Ok, so hmm let’s see…the last two weeks here at Riddle were more intense in many aspects; mostly socially and academically. Classes have become slightly more challenging and in depth. However, I don’t mind that too much since I am confident that the professors that I selected this semester would allow me to do well. Simultaneously, social life around here has become way better and way worse in many different ways. To be more specific, there are a lot more people in my life and a lot more things to do such as parties, clubs. However, there is a lot more drama and issues between friends. Of course this is college, so obviously there will be problems arising between friends and acquaintances. So, a little bit of advice and warning to those of you who are coming here..expect drama with people here but learn how to deal with it well!

Ok, so enough about that…let’s get into more fun stuff! Like YAY my parents came to visit me last week! They flew up from Trinidad last week Saturday to visit some family in Melbourne (about 1 hour south of Daytona Beach), so I was also in Melbourne over last weekend. I visited some friends in Florida Tech while I was there, and we all hung out over there. On Monday, my parents and I headed up to Daytona Beach until Wednesday when they had left for Miami. The best part of their visit was Wednesday morning when my mom went flying with me that morning! Well, let’s just say she’s scared already to get into a car with me; imagine how she was when she had to go in a Cessna 172 with me flying! Haha! Thank god my flight instructor was there..hehe.

Overall, these past 2 weeks had huge ups and downs but with the help of my close friends, we all managed to handle it and at the same time, have tons of fun!

Oh, one word of advice to all those new students coming in the fall- be sure to have all your documents such as high school transcripts, SAT scores, recommendation letters and financial sent to admissions soon if you haven’t gotten around that yet. We don’t want you guys to be missing out on the excitement of finding out that you have been accepted into the best aviation college in the U.S.

Take care everyone and keep safe!

Once again, thank you for choosing Vick Airways! We enjoyed your company and we hope that you will fly with us soon again in 2 weeks for another great flight into Daytona Beach! Please keep your seatbelts fastened until the aircraft has come to a complete stop at the gate, then you may disembark the aircraft.

Have a wonderful day!

C YA!

Quote of the week: “I’m so bored! LET ME GO!” –random guy says to ATC on 3rd place for take off on runway 16 in DAB.

Vick

. . . And the ball is rolling.

We are moving into a normal routine here at Riddle and everything is starting to settle down. We have been in classes for two weeks total and I am starting to get a feel for how much time I am going to have to allocate to each of my classes. Actually, I am quite surprised about how I am handling it so far. I am taking 18 credit hours this semester which is slightly over a full load. I thought that I was going to be weighted down really badly and already crying in a corner by now, but so far it seems like I will be okay. I have a lot of great professors, along with some interesting ones. For the most part, my classes should be awesome. It is really exciting to go to classes and, instead of just working through general ideas and concepts, get to work on real world application problems. When you finally get to apply all this knowledge to a real wing or aircraft problem, it makes you think that maybe the fifty million headaches you had in physics were worth it

Besides having good classes, I actually have fallen into a funk (funk is good in my dictionary) with lots of friends. When I first got here to Riddle I was tentatively moving into a freshman dorm since I already had two year of college under my belt and I was two years older then anyone living next to me. But I have soon come to find that these friends I couldn’t do without. We hang out on the weekends, eat together throughout the day, study together, play poker on the weekends and get together during the week to watch out favorite television shows. It has definitely become an environment I love. The other great aspect at Riddle regarding friends is that there are tons of people around you that share your same interests. What I am getting at is that outside my hall I also have some buddies that have been crucial to my education. I first met them in ERRSA (Embry-Riddle Resident Student Association) last semester where we realized we all had the same classes. So along with studying and doing homework together all the time, they are a great bunch of guys to hang around with on and off campus.

We just had the student activities fair last week and that is definitely an important part of your college experience. When I attended the California State University, Long Beach, then University President Dr. Robert Maxon told me that “If all you do is go to class, you aren’t getting a full education.” I learned very quickly how true that is and I will do everything I can to express to each new student I meet how incredibly important it is to get involved around campus. You meet tons of people, learn how to socialize in professional and casual scenarios, and most of the time you are participating in an activity you love. We have everything here and I promise you will find something you love. Take me for example. I just joined up with ERFSEDS (Embry-Riddle Future Space Explorers and Developers Society), the firearms enthusiasts club, and the skydiving club. All completely different interests yet all totally awesome organizations. Tell you what, if you are nervous about it when you get here, find me and I will gladly go around with you to look at the organizations.

What else has been going on . . . Super Bowl Sunday is coming up! Woohoo, even though the Saints won’t be there. I am totally excited for the launch scheduled for March this year. Daytona 500 is also coming up which is sweet. The Rolex 24 hour race just happened this weekend which was really fun and the Daytona 500 is coming up and it will be the first time I have ever attended. I’m really stoked about that. The only other thing is that Spring Break is quickly approaching. I know what you are thinking, it’s only January and I am thinking about spring break already. Hey, it comes up fast and I want to have an awesome time. Hopefully, if I can find a cheap trip, I want to head to Germany and the Netherlands to get in touch with some of my ancestry. I also have tons of friends who have coincidently decided to come to Daytona Beach this year for Spring Break. I wonder why? But that will be awesome because I will get to see my friends.

Other than that, classes aren’t too crazy yet and I am enjoying the material. Friends are great and I have a couple of great weekends coming up. Oh yea, I just was thinking about the weekend when all prospective students are invited to the campus. I believe it is called Preview Day, at it will be held April 14. If you read this and are planning on attending, make sure to stop me and say hello if you notice me. It would be great to see that my journals are read and see that they actually have helped some future Riddle students.

That’s all for now. Time to get some math homework done. As always, if you have any questions, comments or just want to here about some aspect of Riddle that I haven’t mentioned, shoot me an email at vonkr497@erau.edu <mailto:vonkr497@erau.edu> .

Until next time, stay cool.

Before I get started (which doesn’t really make sense because I am getting started right now) . . . While I get started, I have a new website on youtube which has some videos of random things. So check it out at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=blakeguiles. Now back to the journal . . .

I have a good feeling about this year . . . I think it’s gonna be pretty fun. I like (more or less) all my classes and most of the professors are cool. I’ll go through my initial reactions and what we’ve done this past two weeks. I’ll start with Tuesday Thursday classes because I didn’t start until Tuesday.

TTh 8:15am-9:30am Physics 104 – Last semester I had a professor that I really liked for physics 103 and I saw that he had a class for 104. The only bad thing was that it was at 8:15 in the morning, which is pretty early in college. In high school I woke up at 6:00am every morning and I didn’t have a problem. But now in college getting up before 9:00 isn’t fun. I decided to suck it up though and take his class because I like his teaching style. So I go to the room printed on my schedule and I sit there until 8:30am and watch people walk in and out. There was suppose to be 35ish people and there were only 4 in the class room. I figured something going on so I went online to view my schedule and sure enough they switched the room . . . and the professor. I showed up at the proper room at 9:15am, just in time to catch the last 15 minutes of class. Apparently we didn’t really cover anything important, but I’m bummed that I didn’t get the professor I wanted. He switched schedules and now his class is already full, so now I’m stuck with another professor. I guess we’ll see how it goes.

TTh 9:45am-11:00am Basic Aeronautics II – Right off the bat, I can tell that this class is going to help me out in the long run. I have found out that there are two distinctive types of professors in college. There is the easy professor that teaches (kind of) and even though you got an A, you don’t really remember much. And there is the hard teacher that you have to work your butt off to get an A or a B, but you will remember the information for years to come. My basic aero teacher is going to be a harder teacher and have a harder class, or at least I think.

TTh 11:15am-12:30pm Intro to Safety – I’m not actually sure why I chose to take this class, but I think it will be fun. I don’t know if I want to have a minor in Safety, but if I do, I guess I’m on the right track. The first two days we just talked about ourselves and our professor gave his background. My professor has 4 or 5 degrees of various levels, speaks 4 languages, is the head of the Safety Department here at Riddle, and co-authored the text book we use in class. So he is pretty qualified. He has held a ton of positions in various large companies, but he is also down to earth. He always says that the students are paying clients of his and he will do everything he can to help us. He doesn’t think he is better than everyone and that his time is more important. He also makes jokes in class and some of them are pretty funny. I’m not sure how much I am going to like the subject of safety, but I think I will enjoy the professor.

MWF 1:00pm-2:00pm Air Traffic Control I – I am pretty sure I want to minor in ATC and this is the first class you need to do that, so I figured I’d try it and we would see what happens. I think that I am going to like it for a couple different reasons. For one, if I fully understand what is happening in the tower, I think it will make me a better pilot. Also, if something were to happen to me that would restrict me from being a pilot, I think being an ATC would be something worth pursuing. I can already tell that I am going to like the course and the professor seems to know what he is talking about, so that’s always good. Also, one of my fellow journal writers is in my class. I’m sure you guys have read about Cat and if you haven’t you can do that here http://www.erau.edu/db/journals/st3.html. She is an AT major and I just saw her today in class. Small world, kind of.

MWF 2:15pm-3:15pm Intro to Psychology – I’m not going to lie when I tell you that I was not looking forward to this class at all. I really dreaded taking this and was upset when I found out that as an Aeronautical Science major I was required to take it. My sister is a senior in high school and she is taking psychology and both my mother and girlfriend are taking tons of psychology classes in college. So I figured I could at least take one. To be honest, I’m not sure why I didn’t want to take psychology because I can already tell it is going to be one of my favorite classes. I think it has something largely to do with the professor because I have Dr. Kring and he is one of the coolest teachers I have ever had. He seems like a really nice guy and I think he is hilarious. He takes the boring parts of psychology and makes them a lot more fun. I hope this class will be as fun and entertaining as I think it is.

So those are all my classes! I think I got a pretty good schedule except for not getting some of the teachers I wanted, but it’s all good. In other news, the Rolex 24 just took place for all those race fans. For those of you who don’t know what the Rolex 24 was, it was a 24 hour race that took place at the speedway where the Daytona 500 is raced. I didn’t go, but a couple of my friends went and they had a lot of fun. It is pretty cool living near the race track because for the past 3 weeks, you could walk outside and hear the cars running laps. And then when the race started, it got real loud. Not anything to keep you awake at night, but if I opened my window, I could faintly hear the roar of all the engines. That race was just one more thing that Daytona has to offer! The traffic wasn’t too bad, but when the Daytona 500 rolls around, the traffic will be pretty crazy. Something to look forward to, I guess.

It has been kind of difficult getting back into the school rhythm. Getting up early and going to classes isn’t the problem; it’s more of studying and doing h/w outside of class. There is so much to do around here, and there is always something going on. The Rolex 24 was just one thing that happened this weekend that distracted a lot of students from studying. I went with my friend Adam and we went jet skiing because the high was 71 in Daytona, so we figured why not go jet skiing. We went in the Inter-Coastal and headed south to the Inlet which separates Daytona Beach from New Smyrna Beach. We went next to the jetties which is where I use to always go with my friends in high school to surf. After 2 or 3 years of going there, it was not uncommon to see different kinds of sea life, especially sharks. Almost all of my friends and me have been bumped by a shark at that location, so we wanted to get a closer look on a jet ski. I’m not sure why; it seemed like a good idea at the time. So we headed out that way and hit some monstrous waves. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty scary. So we quickly turned around and headed back in. By the end of the day, it was in the low 60s both in the air and probably in the water. The sun disappeared behind the clouds and it got even colder. Only in Daytona can you go jet skiing in the end of January! Before we went in the water, we went skydiving in Deland and that was a blast as usual. Adam and I jumped out at the same time and connected in the air for a couple seconds. It was pretty wild! I try to make two jumps per week, as long as my budget allows it. I still get such a rush every time I jump. It’s unlike anything that I have ever done!

This past Wednesday on the 24th, I celebrated my 19th birthday! 18 is a big birthday for obvious reasons, but I was not as excited about 19. The only thing I can think of is that it is the last year you are a teenager, which I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing. Unfortunately, I got pretty sick right around my birthday but I have been getting much better. But now my girlfriend and roommate are sick. Woops. However, on the bright side, I am feeling much better! On my birthday I went to Carrabba’s with my mom, dad, sister, and girlfriend and I had a lot of fun. I can’t wait until next year; I’ll be 20 which is better than 19 because it is even. I’m not sure of my logic there, but I think that makes sense.

So I guess I am doing pretty darn well here at Riddle. I have been having lots of fun and I am enjoying my life in college. To all you high schoolers out there, hope your year is going well and make sure to stay focused because you definitely don’t want to miss going to Daytona for the next four years. Not only will you miss all the stuff I have already talked about, but you will miss unscheduled, sometimes sad events like this one where a humpback whale got washed ashore in Daytona. It is sad to see events like this happen, but if it happens, it is interesting to see it first hand (like some of my friends) rather than just on a website.

Now I must go do some work so I don’t fall behind, but stay tuned until next time when I will talk more in-depth about my classes. Also, I’ll cover how I pick up new hobbies because I don’t want to do school work. I love to procrastinate and now I have found fun ways to do that. For example, I am learning how to play racquetball and I taught myself how to juggle yesterday! The fun things you learn when you don’t want to do school work. And be sure to keep checking the videos website http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=blakeguiles because I upload stuff on there on random days. Some stuff useful and other stuff just random. Also, feel free to shoot me an email if you get a chance. I have gotten probably around 6 or 7 so far and I hope there is more people reading these than 6 or 7! I am here for you guys so if you have any questions or if you just want to tell me how awesome my journals are [which I already know 😉 ] send me an email! Good Bye ! ! !

P.S. Something interesting that I found online is quite intriguing and I thought that I would share it with you. It is a video from Spain that shows a Non-Newtonian fluid which in essence is a fluid that has characteristics of a liquid when there is no stress on it, but behaves like a solid when a force is applied. In a nutshell, you can put a spoon in it and see it is a liquid, but when you can also run across it! Just like walking on water!!! I thought it was pretty cool. You can see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2XQ97XHjVw. It may take a minute to load, but it is well worth it!!!

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

I think last Wednesday was probably my most difficult day of college yet. It started off with my four classes, and I found out that I have tests in three of them next week. I didn’t get much sleep the night before, so I was drinking lots of tea just to get me through to 3:15. After my last class let out, I rushed to my car and went to work.

At work, the computers had been down all day, so they had to hand-write everything that was supposed to go into the computer. The computers came up when I got there, so I had to put all of the written stuff into the computer, as well as maintain some level of organization to the current transactions that needed to be put in. It took roughly four hours of me standing on my feet. Usually, I would have been glad that I was keeping busy, but after six hours of classes, an additional four hours on my feet didn’t feel really great.

I was also bummed as I realized that I would repeat this same routine Friday, Saturday (all day), and Sunday. But you know, I handled it. I got through. I think a key part of college is finding your limits, and then handling them well, even when it’s difficult.

My mom expressed a lot of concern about me working so much while I’m at school. This week was rough, I admit. I worked a lot more this week than I’ve ever been required to work before. Usually I don’t have so many hours. And I think that if this was the norm, I’d probably have to tell my boss that it’s too much.

When you work yourself too much (whether it’s actual work, school work, too many clubs and activities, etc), you don’t perform your best. And how are you supposed to do well in school if you aren’t at your best? So when you’re in college, it’s fine to be involved on campus, and it’s fine to have a job or two. But remember, that’s not why you’re here.

I don’t know if I mentioned this, but at the beginning of last semester I was having some money issues, which I think happens a lot to college students. I had two jobs, and was considering getting a third, because I just wasn’t making ends meet. Asking my parents to send me money weekly or whatever was out of the question. It’s college, I’m supposed to be independent now.

I brought up that I was considering getting a third job, maybe another airport job, to my boyfriend, and he brought up a good point: My objective is not to get a steady job at an FBO. My objective is not to be completely independent and work my butt off to survive. I’m here to go to college and to learn and all that fun stuff. You can’t let tons of other things into your life that are going to impede that goal.

So I asked my dad if he would pay for my car insurance, since that was a big payment that I wasn’t going to be able to make. I mean, I was frantic and stressed out about cell phone bills, credit cards, gas. So I asked for help, and he agreed.

And that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Sure, this is college, and you are on your own, and part of that responsibility is making your own money, doing things you want to do, and taking care of yourself. But don’t do too much. Don’t burn yourself out and forget that you are also supposed to have some fun while you’re here. Remember that you can always drop a few activities, ask for fewer hours, or call someone back home. Email me if you have any questions. rumbebb5@erau.edu

– Cat

On Sunday, Matt, three of his friends and I went to Tampa Bay for the Red Hot Chili Peppers Concert. It was about a 3 hour drive. We left early so we can get some dinner over there. We ate at a place called Splitsville. I really liked the environment. It was a restaurant/bar/bowling alley. I wish there was a place like that here in Daytona.

Gnarls Barkley was the opening band. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were awesome. I am glad I went. They played some of my favorite songs. If you ever get the opportunity to see them, take it. On the way back from the concert, we stopped at the Hard Rock Casino. I lost $5 on the slot machines. Matt won $26 on the slots. We (except Matt) fell asleep on the way back. We didn’t get home until about 2:30 am. I stayed up for a bit and did some of my homework and realized that my MS Word program wasn’t working. I had forgotten to ask my roommate to fix it for me when I got my laptop back from the Geek Squad.