ERAU Family Weekend!

This past weekend was Family Weekend here in Daytona Beach. My mom and brother came to visit, but Chris also came to surprise me! When I pulled up at the airport to pick up my mom and brother, Chris was there!

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Ormond Beach (we got a great deal) and first began the morning by grabbing breakfast. I sent Logan (my brother) off with a friend to an engineering class since that is his interest. Chris and my mom came to meet my Professor, but instead of sitting in on the class, they went to go “officially” check-in for the weekend.

Of course my mom went to the bookstore and got all the goodies. She also met up with a friend from Castle Rock (our hometown) since her son also is a student! This is a picture of Logan and I. Can you believe he is as tall as me? I can’t!

When my family came to Family Weekend my freshman year, they were sad Logan couldn’t come too. Now that he was able to come, we were all very happy. It is huge for him to be able to see the school he hopes to attend, but also hopefully makes his first couple days at college a lot less scary, especially since he was able to sit in on a class.

After my first class, I took my family to meet some friends and faculty that I love. The folks I work with in Admissions even gave him a t-shirt!

Coolest 13 year-old I know!
Logan really wanted an energy drink and I really wanted to show him our cool deck… So here we are!

We also toured the school and then went to lunch. My mom went to my dorm and napped while Chris and Logan came to my last class of the day with me. My Professor was very sweet to them and they both really enjoyed the class. Logan now loves Aviation Business since my class was very fun and his morning Engineering class was more serious. I feel bad for tarnishing his view but… I’m also not too mad about it, haha!

There were many options for us on Friday and Saturday (like trivia night), but I just really wanted my family to see the campus and for Logan to sit in on a class with me. We decided to go to Disney since most of Saturday’s activities would not be super fun for Logan and because my mom had already been to most of the activities my freshman year. Plus… I mean it’s Disney!

After spending an arm and a leg, we went to Epcot. We decided to go to this park since we have not been in a long time. Logan is 13 (almost 14) now, so he has grown to like it a lot more than he did when he was way younger. The weather was great and the longest line we waited in was only 30 minutes!

Please enjoy some pictures from the weekend!

My adorable mom and I!
Just hanging out with my boys!
I was so happy Chris came to surprise me!
Epcot’s yummy and surprisingly affordable food!
Left: chocolate tasting Right: beef wellington

Sunday was the day scheduled by the school as “free time”, but my family left Sunday afternoon. So, instead we went to Orlando (since they were leaving out of MCO) and went to the outlet mall there!

I was sad to see everyone go, but I was also glad they came. It was honestly one of the greatest weekends of my life! When I am at school I greatly miss my family. Seeing them gives me the motivation and strength to continue to work hard on my studies!

Some restaurants we ate at (and that I highly recommend):

  • Tia Cori’s Tacos
  • Oklahoma Joe’s
  • Giuseppe’s Steel Pizza City
  • Neighbors Ice Cream Parlor
  • Blaze Pizza
  • Chicken Salad Chick

You go through life wondering what is all about but at the end of the day it’s all about family.

Rod Stewart

Until next time! ~ Maddie

Two Week Recap

These past two weeks have been pretty crazy around Embry-Riddle. Last week was Finals Week, which means all of us students were studying, not sleeping, and trying to pack up our belongings, all at the same time.

Finals run from Saturday through Wednesday (excluding Sunday). Luckily, I only had to take three exams, instead of five! I had Business Law, Marketing, and Business Quantitative Methods exams. None of them were on the same day, which was nice. Last year I had two exams on the same day, and that was not fun at all. I managed to earn all A’s on my final exams, which was such an awesome end to the semester!

Unlike last year, I also did not have to be out of my dorm room after my last exam, so I wasn’t rushing to pack my room, either. I chose to stay a bit longer in Daytona, which allowed me to pack up my room at my leisure. It also allowed me to focus on checking out my residents, for whom I am an Resident Assistant, or RA. It’s taken me about four days to get everything packed up and moved into storage. I really did not realize just how much stuff I had until I had to move it all. Word of advice: do not bring anything unnecessary to school with you!!

I stayed an extra week in Daytona so that I could help out with Summer A Orientation. It started today, and ends tomorrow. I am working with the O-Team to make sure the new students feel welcome at ERAU. I love working doing this because I get to be that first impression of ERAU for a student. I like to help other students, and the perfect way to do that is by greeting them at Orientation. Although Summer Orientation is nowhere near as crazy and hype as Fall Orientation, it is still a lot of fun getting to bond with everyone.

On my couple days off, I was working at my on-campus job, as well as taking in the last few days I had in Florida. I work at the University Development Office, so I was helping them get some projects finished up during the mornings. In the evenings, I went out to try restaurants I had always wanted to go to. I also spent one day at the beach, since I need to get some color on my skin before I go back to Washington for the summer! Of course, I also had to take in my last weekend at Disney for awhile. I spent Saturday and Sunday at Disney World. It was the perfect time to go, since there weren’t large crowds and it wasn’t too hot. It was nice to have one last mini vacation before I return home for the summer to work at my internship.

Enjoying a Dole Whip at Disney World

The next update will be from Washington, since I am leaving Florida tomorrow! I’ll keep you updated on how quickly I get acclimated to Washington, again. Let’s hope it’s not too chilly up there!

Until next time,

Lindsey

 

The Happiest Place on Earth

As an Orientation Ambassador and a Women’s Ambassador, incoming students always ask me the same question: What do you do for fun in Daytona Beach? During my freshman year here at Embry-Riddle, a lot of my weekend time was dedicated to doing homework or just lounging around campus. This year I have made a huge 180!

One day, my big (sorority) sister, Melani, and I were working in First Year Programs and discussing how much we missed going to Disney World and why we weren’t taking advantage of how close it was. Naturally, all this talk got us so excited that we spontaneously bought annual passes.

Luckily, our past two weekends haven’t been as busy as usual, so Melani and I were able to visit Epcot and Hollywood Studios, both of which made us feel like we were ten year olds again!

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Melani and I wearing our Minnie Ears!

We visited Epcot with our friends Conor and Zach and it was the best day I’ve had in a long time. The four of us got to go on Mission: Space, Epcot’s famous ride that actually makes you feel like you’re making a mission to Mars. The rest of the day we walked around and admired each country we came across. The best part was going to Japan and eating the best sushi!

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Melani, Conor, Zach, and I at Epcot!

It was Melani’s first time visiting Hollywood Studios, so she thoroughly enjoyed every ride and show that we went on. We screamed on the Tower of Terror, sang till our throats were sore at the Frozen Sing-A-Long, and even got to meet different Disney characters! The highlight of my day was meeting Kylo Ren, the villain from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

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Dream come true!

So when incoming students ask me what a Riddle kid does for fun, I am not going to hesitate suggesting going to one of the theme parks in Orlando, especially Disney World! These past two weekends have served as a great break from the engineering world and I can’t wait to spend more time at the “Happiest Place on Earth”!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Being in Florida during December, it is hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit. All of the palm trees, 80 degree days, and flip flops are not what you picture when you think of the holidays. However, I have found a few places in Florida that are full of Christmas cheer.

Over Thanksgiving break, I went to Disney World for a couple days. Of course, Disney is always decked out for the holidays! The parks have incredible Christmas trees and decorations, while Disney Springs has amazing Christmas themed merchandise. One of my favorite things to do is to go to all of the resorts to look at the gingerbread houses. They are incredible! The one at the Grand Floridian is a working sweet shop! They sell gingerbread cookies, chocolates, and gingerbread houses. I also enjoy looking at the gingerbread carousel that is at the Beach Resort. Another one of my favorites is the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios, which is where they decorate an entire street in the park with Christmas lights. All of the lights dance along with the Christmas music that is playing. The street is always packed with people wanting to get some Christmas cheer. This is my favorite holiday activity to do in Florida, as it is always a good time. Sadly, this is the last year that Disney is putting on the light display, due to the new additions to the park that are being built.

Christmas tree at the Animal Kingdom

Christmas tree at the Animal Kingdom

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Decorations in the Magic Kingdom

Decorations in the Magic Kingdom

Decorations in the Contemporary Resort

Decorations in the Contemporary Resort

Gingerbread house in the Grand Floridian Resort

Gingerbread house in the Grand Floridian Resort

Chocolate from the gingerbread house

Chocolate from the gingerbread house

Gingerbread carousel in the Beach Resort

Gingerbread carousel in the Beach Resort

Osborne Spectacle of Lights

Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Once Finals were over, I headed up to St. Augustine to see their Night of Lights. The entire historic district is decorated with Christmas lights. You can walk around the city and look at the lights, or ride on one of the trolleys. I had never been to the Night of Lights before, so it was fun to see something new. There were a lot of visitors walking around, all enjoying the Christmas music and lights. After, I had to go to the Milkshake and Waffle Bar for a Nutella and Banana milkshake. They’re delicious.

Christmas tree in St. Augustine

Christmas tree in St. Augustine

One evening I went down to the Halifax River to watch the Christmas Boat Parade. It is a parade that the Yacht Club puts on, which includes approximately 30 boats that are decorated in lights. I was amazed at the amount of people who were out by the river watching. I had never experienced a Christmas boat parade before, as I am normally in Washington during December. It was a cool experience, and a fun, free way to get in the holiday spirit!

Most recently, I traveled to Fort Myers for the weekend and saw the Edison and Ford Estates lights. Each of the houses are decorated for Christmas, as well as the entire property. It was interesting to be able to see inside of the houses, while also getting in the Christmas spirit. I learned a lot about the two inventors, who both resided in Florida just over 100 years ago.The Estate is a beautiful piece of property on the river in Fort Myers, and is decorated every year for Christmas. I would definitely recommend going!

Inside Henry Ford's house

Inside Henry Ford’s house

As of now, there are only 11 days until Christmas, and I am sure I will find even more fun things to do before then! It may be weird singing “Winter Wonderland” while driving in Daytona Beach on an 80 degree December day, but there are many ways to get into the Christmas spirit in Florida… you might just have to look at little harder to find them!

Wishing you a happy holiday season!

Lindsey

 

This is Halloween!

Finally, the weather is getting a little bit colder, which can only mean one thing! It is almost time for my favorite holiday – Halloween! Naturally during this time of year, I do whatever I can to celebrate the holiday in style. This includes getting involved in my sorority’s Halloween Fashion Show, decorating my room with skeletons and spider webs, collecting candy, and attending any special Halloween event I can find.

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Me and one of my Sigma sisters, Alissa, about to enter Magic Kingdom!

As a kind of tradition, earlier this month I drove to Orlando for Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights (HHN). HHN is Universal’s annual Halloween event, where there are a total of nine haunted houses for guests to walk through, along with different shows. Since I am from Orlando and currently a Universal employee, HHN is something I try to do every Halloween season, and this was my fourth year attending the event.

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Some of the Eta Tau sisters standing in front of Cinderella’s castle

This year I attended another theme park event that I have never gone to before – Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! My Tri Sigma chapter, Eta Tau, decided that the event would be a great way to meet our sisters from Epsilon Rho, another chapter we have at St. Leo’s University. For those of you who do not know what Mickey’s Not So Scary is, it is Disney’s annual Halloween event. Since it is a family event, it is kid-friendly and not scary at all. It even features trick-or-treating for not just the children, but for the adults too! My sisters and I got to go on all of the best rides, like Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and the Haunted Mansion (my favorite). The best part of the night for us was taking our bags and hitting all of the candy locations so we could stock up on sweets for the rest of the month.

Tonight is Tri Sigma’s 8th Annual Halloween Fashion Show! I am so excited because this will be my first time experiencing the fashion show and I even get to walk in it. This year I am going to be Cher from the 90s film Clueless, the Grumpy Carebear, and Spencer from Pretty Little Liars. Also, I am going to be in the show’s dance, which is a big deal because I am definitely not a dancer.

Happy Halloween everyone!

R&R

By the time finals week rolled around here at ERAU, the library became completely packed, Starbucks was busy at all hours of the day (and night), and all of us students were eagerly packing our bags for our journeys home for the holidays. After all of the stress of finals week, our Fall 2014 Semester was finally complete and we were free to relax for a few weeks. I spent my break at my home in Lake Tapps, WA with my family and friends. Although it was filled with rest and relaxation, I also kept a somewhat busy schedule…

Before I left Florida, it only felt fitting to go to Walt Disney World one last time. I went with my boyfriend and we enjoyed looking at all of the spectacular holiday decorations Disney puts up. We also took time to ride a few rides (although it was very busy), visit Minnie and Mickey, watch the Electrical Parade, and end our night with the fireworks show.

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Once I finally got back to the Evergreen State, I was greeted with cool, crisp air the minute I walked out of the airport. As I got used to the cold over the next week, I had the chance to go to my first NBA game, which was the Portland Trail Blazers versus the San Antonio Spurs at the Moda Center in Portland, OR. It was a really cool experience getting to actually go to a game. I also went to The Nutcracker Ballet in Seattle, as well as a Michael W. Smith Christmas Concert with my family. My friends and I spent one night driving around Seattle to find the best Christmas light decorations around. We definitely found some over-the-top decorations. 

Our view at the NBA game.

Our view at the NBA game.

The curtain at The Nutcracker.

The curtain at The Nutcracker.

The week before Christmas was spent baking cookies, wrapping presents, having the annual gingerbread house competition, and watching Christmas movies with my family. It really is the best time of the year!

David and I's entry in the Gingerbread House Competition. We definitely won!

David and I’s entry in the Gingerbread House Competition. We definitely won!

Although we did not have a White Christmas at my house like I was hoping for, we did manage to get some snow in the Cascade Mountain Range with just enough time left for me to go skiing before I departed for the Sunshine State once again.

My dad, younger sister, boyfriend, and two other friends all went up to Crystal Mountain Ski Resort one day, and we had an amazing time. The mountain had just got over 20 inches of snow that weekend, so the snow conditions were wonderful! What wasn’t so wonderful was the weather… After a few runs on the small hill, we decided to head up the chairlift to the Summit. That day it was 7 degrees and very windy, however we did manage to make it a great day full of skiing.

David, myself, and Brian waiting to ride the Gondola to the Summit at Crystal Mountain.

David, myself, and Brian waiting to ride the Gondola to the Summit at Crystal Mountain.

The drive to Crystal Mountain.

The drive to Crystal Mountain.

All in all, I would call my break a success. It was full of rest and relaxation, family time, and adventures. Now that I am back at ERAU, I do miss the feeling of being stress-free and spending time with my family and friends, but I am also ready to see what this semester has in store for me!

Until next time,

Lindsey

Give Thanks

The last few weeks have been pretty stressful for me. Between classes, homework, tests, interviews, club meetings, and a social life, I haven’t had much time to relax at all. Thankfully, Thanksgiving break came just at the right time and was a much needed break from all of the busyness that school brings. Although I did not have the privilege of going home for the five day break, I was able to spend time in Orlando.

My Thanksgiving break was not full of home cooked meals, family time, cold weather, or relaxation; instead it was filled with theme park food, driving, sunshine, and a lack of sleep, although I wouldn’t have changed it. I was able to spend the break at the Disney World Parks, at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, as well as in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Orlando.

Although I did not travel to my home in Washington State, I still felt like I was on the go a lot. The first day of break I went to Tampa and St. Petersburg just to explore the cities, since I had never been there before. It was a really awesome experience because I got to drive across central Florida and along the west coast for awhile. One of my favorite things to do is to go on adventures to places I have never been before, and because of this passion, I made it my goal to explore the whole state of Florida while I am at Embry-Riddle for four years. This Thanksgiving break seemed like the perfect opportunity to start on the path to my goal, so I did.

The next few days of break were filled with Disney magic. I had never been to Disney World while the Christmas decorations were up, so I took full advantage of every minute I had to enjoy the holiday festivities. I was so excited to see the full size gingerbread house inside the Grand Floridian Resort, as well as the Osborne Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (The Osborne Light Show is a light show that is synced with holiday music and is truly amazing to see in person. It is put on each year during the holiday season.) Each morning I woke up early so that I could make it to one of the parks right when it opened, and then I would jump between parks, Downtown Disney, and the Disney resorts throughout the day. Anytime you spend a day at Disney you are sure to have a great experience, but also end the day absolutely exhausted. I was there so much that my Thanksgiving dinner was a famous Disney turkey leg that I bought in the Hollywood Studios park!

Christmas tree at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort

Christmas tree at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

Gingerbread House that is entirely edible at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort

Gingerbread house that is entirely edible at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

Being funny and eating a famous  Disney turkey leg for Thanksgiving dinner!

Being funny and eating a famous Disney turkey leg for Thanksgiving dinner!

The Osborne Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios

The Osborne Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

In addition to my fun-filled days at Disney World, I also spent a day at the Universal theme parks. I had never been to Universal in Orlando before, so I was excited to get to experience rides that were new to me. I started the day off early at the Islands of Adventure park where I decided to ride the Hulk first. I never realized how intense the roller coasters are at Universal until I got on the Hulk, but being the adrenaline junkie that I am, I absolutely loved it! The rest of the day was spent visiting Harry Potter World, sipping on the famous Butterbeer (it’s non-alcoholic, of course), and riding more rides in the Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios parks.

Universal Globe

Hogwarts at Universal's Islands of Adventure Park

Hogwarts at Universal’s Islands of Adventure Park

Delicious frozen Butterbeer

Delicious frozen Butterbeer

 

Suess Landing in Universal's Islands of Adventures Park

Suess Landing in Universal’s Islands of Adventures Park

Although it felt like my entire Thanksgiving break was go, go, go, and I did not get to spend it with my family, I am still so thankful for the opportunities I had to experience new things while I was here in Florida over break. My advice to you is to always be thankful for the people in your life, no matter if they are near or far, the life you are living, even if it does seem to be go, go, go all the time, and the opportunities you are given.

Until next time,

Lindsey

School, Space, and Stuff

Oh man, I’ve really been neglecting my dear readers – it’s been a while since my last post! Luckily I have plenty on which to fill you in!

Beautiful shot of the new COAS and new Quad, courtesy of my friend Johanna Petrocelli.

Beautiful shot of the new COAS and new Quad, courtesy of my friend Johanna Petrocelli.

Spring semester is well under way, and I certainly understand why they call it the “semester of death” – five 300-level EP classes together aren’t easy! I’m learning things from designing camera lenses to programming microprocessors to how to design a satellite form the ground up, and boy is it a lot of material. College always has a point where it really hits you what your major is, which is usually around the third year. The first couple still feel pretty high-schooly course-wise, with general calculus and physics, maybe delving into some advanced mechanics like solids or fluids, but overall it’s very general. Once you start taking 300-level classes like Spacecraft Systems Engineering, you really start to get a look at what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life… and you better hope you love it! Which I really do.

It’s crazy to think that I’m almost done with my third year of college. My advisor has been dropping words like “thesis” and “GRE” and I’m just like, yeah but that’s way later – except it’s not anymore! I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about grad school lately, and I think I’m going to do a PhD in Planetary Science, and have even started looking at some schools – really leaning towards UC Boulder; they have a great program, and Colorado is gorgeous. Nonetheless I still have two years left here at ERAU, so I’m trying not to get too ahead of myself.

Time does fly though, we’ve already started registering for fall classes. I’ll be taking three undergrad courses: Space Physics, Electricity and Magnetism, and Senior Design, as well as two grad courses: Advanced Planetary Science (excited for this one!) and a PhD course titled Computational Atmospheric Dynamics that my advisor teaches and talked me into taking (nervous for this one!) He says that PhD classes aren’t much harder, but he already has his PhD, so how can I really trust that? 😛 Nonetheless, it’ll be good knowledge to have for when I write my thesis, which will be on computational atmospheric dynamics, so I can see why he wants me in the class.

My work in the lab is going well. I’ve been working on learning FORTRAN to make some changes to our 1D wave model (yes, people do still use FORTRAN!) The other day I was able to successfully implement a feature that allows multiple simulations to be run in a row, without having to come back and reset the parameters. For example, we can run a 1 meter wave, a 2 meter wave, and a 3 meter wave all in a row, and then just get all the results at once to compare, rather than having to go back to the lab in between just to change one number and hit start. I’m very proud that I was able to get that working – FORTRAN is a very different beast from the modern-day programming languages I’m used to working with!

My parents and I at KSC!

My parents and I at KSC on my birthday

So what else has been going on with my life in the last couple months… Well, I turned 21 in February, and celebrated by (can you guess?) a trip to KSC! My parents came down to both visit me and escape the frozen wasteland, and it was a lot of fun. We did the Cape Canaveral: Then and Now tour, which was about 3 and a half hours of bussing around to different historical buildings and launch sites. We even got to go into a couple of the intact control rooms from which they controlled some of the first manned launches! It was a very cool tour, and a very fun birthday. And totally more fun than waking up the morning after your 21st birthday and not even remembering it (though I did go at midnight on my birthday for a long island iced tea at Applebees, so I didn’t completely ignore that right of passage.)

Me with Sally the Space Hamster

Me with Sally the Space Hamster

For my birthday I got a 1/200 scale model of the Saturn V rocket from my parents, which looks gorgeous next to my 1/200 scale model of Space Shuttle Discovery. I also got a lot of birthday money in the mail, which I used to purchase a new furry hamster friend (living alone gets lonely.) Her name is Sally, named, of course, after Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and she is hilarious and adorable. I built her cage out of a plastic bin (trust me, I’m an engineer), and decorated it with lots of fun space stickers… which she keeps eating, but we’re working on that.

Some of the stickers that I have up in her cage

Some of the stickers that I have up in her cage

She likes her spaceship :)

She likes her spaceship 🙂

Teaching her to eat my homework

Teaching her to eat my homework



 

Obligatory picture of my boyfriend and I with Disney ears in front of the castle - that crane thing kinda ruined it though >:(

Obligatory picture of my boyfriend and I with Disney ears in front of the castle – that crane thing kinda ruined it though >:(

I also got to visit Magic Kingdom for the first time in February, and it’s name is well-deserved. It really is pretty magical, and very well-done. It was a super fun trip. I’ve also gotten to see a couple more launches in the last month – one from KSC, one from campus – and attended a really cool colloquium about weather on other planets. Planetary atmospheres are incredibly interesting, I could definitely see myself doing that for my PhD.

Me with Eric Whitacre! Composer extraordinaire

Me with Eric Whitacre! Composer extraordinaire

For those of you who don’t know me, beyond being a total space geek I’m also an avid musician. Well, used to be… my one dislike about ERAU is its lack of any music program. So, unfortunately, my saxophone sits neglected in my closet. Nonetheless, in high school I was in every possible band – music was my life (I even have a saxophone tattoo.) But I digress. Last week, my favorite band composer was in Orlando giving an informal Q&A at UCF, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on a ticket. Eric Whitacre! He’s unbelievably cool – and I told him that at the end when I got to meet him. His talk was both funny and inspiring; he told us stories of how he got inspiration for some of his pieces, and had a lot of advice for aspiring musicians. It was a fantastic evening, and really made me miss band. And I got him to sign one of my favorite band pieces. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: living so close to Orlando really presents a lot of opportunities! Because EVERYONE visits Orlando at one time or another. And it’s only about an hour drive.

Well, I guess that’s all I have for you guys for now – I’ll try to write more often, sorry about that! I’ve got some cool projects on my radar that you’ll definitely get to hear about once they get going. I’m still waiting to hear back about my internship applications to NASA and SETI, so maybe in my next entry I’ll have some good news to share. *fingers crossed*

Until next time!

And feel free to email me, I don’t bite. 🙂
schroel2@my.erau.edu

January 16, 2011

Hello, hello everyone! Hope you had amazing break and are ready to—for most of you—end your senior year. I’m assuming you heard of the snow storm that pounded on most of the East…well let’s just say it had a much larger impact for us Riddlers, so I suppose that’s where I should start. Most of the student body was scheduled to come back either Monday or Tuesday of this week. Needless to say, because of the storm, everyone ended up rescheduling their flights—or just coming in very late into the week! See, only two airlines fly into Daytona (U.S Airways and Delta), and these airplanes only fly into two places (Atlanta and Charlotte). Of course, they just happened to be right in the middle of one of the worst snowstorms ever! My roommate and I, for example, ended up having to fly into MCO (Orlando) after having been diverted countless times. I was one of the lucky few who actually got back to campus on time, however, after having to fly San Francisco-Philadelphia-Orlando! My room mate had to spend the night in Charlotte! It’s insanity at its worst, people. I believe some people are still stuck somewhere…

On the bright side, that news is the worst I can report about my break. Although I didn’t get to see my high school friends like most of the people here, I did get to relax (yes that’s a word us Engineers seldom use…but well deserved indeed!) I knocked down another Disney park off my list—Disneyland in southern California! After a 6-hour drive, I got to experience the original park for a good 2 days before having to head back home (boo!) It was great, to say the least. The holiday decorations were amazing. I’m really starting to consider an internship with them…thoughts? Only the ones in Asia to go!

Besides all that, not much happened. I finally got to see my new house! We bought it way back in June, but because it was still under construction, the construction company gave us the keys in September, when I was already here. My parents did a great job of decorating the whole house! I just wish I could say better about the gloomy/rainy/foggy/COLD weather I experienced in December. On the bright side, I did drive to San Francisco quite a lot! Met some family members there, too. Oh, and I found a new obsession—erasers from Chinatown!

Anywho, back to Riddle. Once all of my friends made it back, we made a few (a lot) of Walmart runs to buy food, since we had to throw it away at the end of last semester. Wednesday was our first day of classes. I’m really liking my new schedule! I don’t start classes until 10:30. For a night owl like me, it’s great. Gives me the whole morning to do homework…erm…I mean review for my tests…

I’m also very glad to only have 5 classes—tech report, which in all honesty I think it’s the class that is going to kill me, physics, math, honors, and a class on CATIA (a graphical communications program). I’m also starting to look into new clubs, or maybe even start one of my own! Disney runs a contest where students create/design a ride, restaurant, etc…The finalists are sent to Disney for 10 days, with a possibility of an internship at Walt Disney Imagineering. It’s called ImagiNations (http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/imaginations/). We’ll see where this takes me.

The very last thing I must mention is my fellow blogger/friend’s new video series, where he will be answering your questions on youtube. Look out for that on his blog! You can also always ask me specific questions too, especially all you females out there! Contact me on my e-mail (adrianaosegueda@hotmail.com or Osegueda@my.erau.edu) or facebook, where you will find all my vacation pictures (facebook.com/itsadri). Look forward to hearing from all of you as you reach the end of your high school years and start deciding on colleges! Best of luck.

November 28, 2010

Food, food galore! These past few weeks have been filled with stress and work, but as always, lots of fun. This time: Disney, a glider, and, of course, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with my family.The highlight of these past few weeks has been a trip to Disney, organized by the First Generation program. Although I myself am not, anyone is allowed to attend the meetings and trips. However, anyone who is a first generation student competes for scholarships (and come on, who doesn’t want money for college!). For $25 each, my roommate, my boyfriend and I went to the most amazing place in the world.

If you didn’t know from my earlier entries, I am the biggest Disney fanatic out there. Seriously, I know anything and everything there is to know about the parks (just ask my friends!). Of course, I was more than thrilled to go when I found out about it. Can you believe I hadn’t been there for 2 years? That’s a new record for me for sure.

Anyhow, we left at around 8 in the morning to go. I couldn’t sleep the night before! We spent our entire day in the park. I was the tour guide for my group of friends, of course. The beautiful holiday decorations Disney is known for were up around the place. The park was fairly empty because of the season, which meant smaller waiting times. Although we had to leave early (6 pm!), Jim and I still managed to buy ourselves some Mickey ears from the hat shop down Main Street. My collection is now up to about 10…

Speaking of numbers, almost half of my classes are now over! We ended our EGR-101 class (introduction to engineering) with a glider project. This has to be by far one of the easiest things we’ve had to do in this class! Over 100 pages worth of technical reports and one balsa wood glider later, I am kind of glad this was over….This week was Thanksgiving. Not only did I have the thrill of having found out that my first class is now at 10:30—which means I get to sleep in–,but I also got to spend most of the week down in Miami. Because I live so far away, I couldn’t fly home. A friend of mine lives down there, so she was kind enough to give me a ride back to my old home.

I stayed over at my great aunt Ceres’s and spent a night with my high school friends. Speaking of, I finally got my IB diploma!!! IB is an international association that allows students to receive an international diploma on top of their regular high school diploma. After having worked 2 years for it, I am so glad it is now in my hand.

When visiting high school, I also got to see some of my old teachers. Needless to say I had to speak to the class, and, well, let’s just say the girls were happy with the “Riddle Ratio”. Kudos to all you “Reefers” reading this!

What is the best part about this holiday? Why, the food, of course! My Cuban side was overjoyed when my family prepared some delicacies traditional to the island. Pan con lechon, natilla, churrasco….all really bad things for your health, but oh so good at the same time! We had American classics as well, of course, like turkey, mashed potatoes, etc…All with a Latino kick.Needless to say, next few weeks will be crazy! Computing final project due on Wednesday, finals in 2 weeks…but on the bright side, I’ll be home in 2 and a half weeks!! Wish me luck!