Fall Break & The Martian

Hello all! Hope your Monday wasn’t too bad. Yeah, we all hate Mondays! I actually kind of like my Mondays. I only have on class: MA241 from 1:00p-1:50p. Now that I have a car, 🙂 it was nice to sleep in a little and relax before class and then head home right after and go back to watching Netflix. Now I know we all love Netflix! Then I do have to go back at 5:30p-8:00p for meetings, but it is not so bad.

Fall break was full of studying, packing, and yes, again, Netflix. Thursday night a few friends and I went bowling at Bellair Lanes down on A1A for 25 cent night. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday Bellair Lanes has a special. It is an $11 cover fee then its 25 cent games, hotdogs, sodas, and shoes are included. It’s pretty sweet! Between the 10 people that were there we ordered 30 hotdogs and played about 8-10 rounds of bowling. For the 4 rounds and 3 hotdogs I ate, plus the soda, it only cost $2.00 for all of that! It was a super fun and cheap night. After that on Friday, my boyfriend and I packed up the kitchen (moving this coming weekend) and then watched Netflix for the rest of the day. Not very eventful. On Saturday we had a BBQ with one of our friends and cooked Hamburgers and stuffed jalapeños. I don’t like jalapeños so I passed on those! Then, the night ended with Avatar Golf and guitar playing. Sunday was the most tedious day. From 9:00a-9:00p it was all homework and studying. Not very fun but us College Students are great and putting off homework on breaks!

— The Martian —

On another note, I forgot to write a blog about this when it happened, but like they say,  better late than never! On October 1st, I went to go see “The Martian.” Yes, I am a spaceIMG_7683 nerd, I want to be an astronaut, and I plan on being the first person to step foot on Mars, so yes, “The Martian.” Holy moly! It was the best movie of life! I am not a big reader but I read “The Martian” and I could not put the book down! It was thrilling, funny, and full of action. Best book I have ever read! The movie did have to cut some parts out that I should have been in there, but after it is Hollywood. They can only fit so much into a 2 hour time span.

The way they cast “The Martian” was absolutely perfect! They could not have cast it any better. Matt Damon had Mark Watney down pat! And Jessica Chastain, she did a phenomenal job! The movie had IMG_8035a perfect mix of comedy, action, drama, and potatoes. A lot of potatoes! Out of the space trilogy, “Gravity (2013),” “Interstellar (2014),” and “The Martian (2015),” “The Martian” is definitely my number one! As you can see I was a little obsessed with the poster. I wanted to take it home. On my social media accounts, I even changed my profile picture and I became “The Martian.” Yes, I am in love with the movie, the concept, and the execution.

My boyfriend Josh and I, had the first showing! We saw it Thursday October 1st at 8:00p! Both of us being excited, but obviously I was a little more excited because we got to the theater 2 hours early. Yep! There was no one in the theater for a good hour. It was nice listening to music and talking about the book. The movie was a nice treat after reading the book. Even12020062_885261981581812_241692151694645164_n though I already knew what was going to happen, I still was on the edge of my seat! What can I say, I love space!

I haven’t gone to the movies in a while. I have seen a lot of movies good and bad. However, “The Martian” is like no movie I have ever seen. It had the right balance, the right cast, and the perfect story. There was enough emotion, heart, and soul put into this movie and you can tell. It puts the idea of going to Mars into perspective. Things can go wrong, risks are taken, and lives are at stake. But for those who seek adventure and exploration it can become a reality.

Famous People – Anniversaries – Space – Excitement!

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Look! I found the Death Star’s superlaser!

Hello, hello! I hope everyone’s been well! Not a lot has happened so I apologize for lying in my last update.

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I’ve never seen so many people in the quad before.

I guess the biggest elephant in the room was that Embry-Riddle’s 50th birthday in Daytona Beach was last Friday. The gala, dubbed “Operation Bootstrap 2.0” (in reference to Operation Bootstrap which was the name given to Embry-Riddle’s massive move from Miami to Daytona Beach) was incredibly large and attracted many people. There were zip lines, food carts, a large “mob shot” (a group photo), and fireworks. I, unfortunately, could not stay for the whole thing, but from what I could see, it was awesome!

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It’s like I’m at Coachella…or Glastonbury…or Lollapalooza…

Ermergerd it's Amelia Rose Earhart!

Ermergerd it’s Amelia Rose Earhart!

Another highlight was that Amelia Rose Earhart recently spoke at Riddle. She was here for the Presidential Speaker Series we have on campus every week or so. I was very disappointed because not many people showed up. Considering the event was free and her contributions to the world of aviation have gone unnoticed, I’d thought the Willy Miller Center would’ve been a mad house. Anyway, Earhart’s presentation was wonderful regardless. She is very passionate about flying and I believe anyone sitting in the audience that night felt that.

 

 

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It’s hard to not look awkward in pictures.

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My friend Christopher Nguyen (no we’re not related) who’s soon to be the world’s first FAA certified suborbital flight instructor!

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Some random cosmonaut I found. (He’s not really a cosmonaut)

Recently, I was allowed the opportunity to visit PoSSUM, Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere, a team of students and faculty conducting high altitude research. I met with some really cool people and got to see not only the suborbital flight simulator and pressure suits in action, I also randomly met Patty Wagstaff!

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I’m still really confused with how Patty Wagstaff just happened to show up.

I think the last “major” thing that happened was me finding myself in a movie theater crowded with Riddle students watching The Martian. The movie was absolutely fantastic so if any of you are on the fence about it, do it. Matt Damon really nailed Mark Watney’s character and this might get him an Oscar.

That’s it for now. I think the next update might be fun since I’m in the process of getting accredited to go see ULA’s (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket launch from Cape Canaveral October 30th. Also, I’m planning on seeing Bridge of Spies with a few friends which also looks really good. 2015 really is the year for movies I’ll tell you what.

So on that bombshell (?), take care everyone, and I’ll see you on Sol 29!