Hello, hello! Sorry about that weird awkward gap thing that happened. One of my posts got posted a bit latter than expected and it threw off my whole posting cycle.
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Anyway, since the rocket launch, things are starting to pick up since we’re at that point in the semester where everyone’s trying to cram everything into the last few days of class. I can’t believe we’ve come so far since August!
Me: “What’s the most interesting thing that’s happened to you on the job?” Her: “I can’t answer that!”
SPIN.
SMALLPOOLS?
On The Avion front, aside from covering the Atlas V launch that happened last month, I was able to cover another volleyball game, a fantastic Presidential Speaker Series with former CIA agent Valerie Plame, and Embry-Riddle’s annual homecoming carnival.
Embry-Riddle held a candlelight vigil for the victims of the November 13th attacks in Paris.
In terms of school and classes, I have never seen so many group projects and tests crammed into one month. It actually got to the point where I had to deliver two team presentations in one day, one of which had to last for a full 50-minutes, so that was fun.
As usual, Physics II is kicking my butt and so is Calculus II, but I’m slowly gaining traction in both subjects. I guess I’ll be living in the library for the next couple of days so I can study for finals.
I swear Deland’s Amtrak station isn’t a creepy place.
Thanksgiving Break has been really interesting to say the least. For starters, my and my roommate took a 20-hour train ride up the Northeast Corridor via Amtrak. At the time, taking the train was definitely cheap and with my roommate’s destination being Virginia and mine being New Jersey, we were together for a majority of the train ride so it was not too, too bad.
Because of my travel accommodations last year, I missed my high school’s annual Thanksgiving football game against our rival high school. I’m glad I was able to see it this year because it’s been about two years since I’ve been to a high school football game. It was nice to see all my friends and former classmates after so many months of studying. It was also nice to be welcomed back by the cheer team after not being on the team for so long.
Ah, New Jersey. Home of pork roll sandwiches and gas station attendants.
Flash forward a few days later, I’m back on the Amtrak train headed to Florida. It’s always a somber moment whenever I leave home, but thankfully I’ll be back in two weeks time.
Looking back at the beginning of this semester, I definitely noticed that I changed as a person. I was able to overcome a lot of the obstacles thrown my way, and for the ones that I couldn’t conquer, I used those as a learning experience.
With only a few days left in the semester, it’s time to apply what I learned as Finals Week approaches ever so quickly. I feel some-what confident in my self which is a first. So on that bombshell, happy holidays everyone. I look forward to telling you about my winter in the Spring of 2016!
Hello everyone! I hope November is treating everyone well. November has been fun around ERAU. Last weekend was homecoming on campus, and there was so much going on. On Friday Touch-N-Go held the tailgate party before the basketball game. Luke Bryan held a concert right on our parking lot and food from Bubba Gump’s and WingZone was served. After the tailgate, we went inside and watched our Eagles beat up on the opponent. Saturday, we had a comedy show on campus featuring Greg Giraldo. It was tons of fun and I laughed A LOT. Also that weekend, I attended the parade and the air show put on by the Student Activities office on campus. By the end of the weekend I was worn out, and I thoroughly enjoyed the extra day off on Tuesday (Veterans Days)! Earlier this week Wood Hall had some fire alarm issues. The alarms and sprinkler systems went off on the fifth floor and water went everywhere. About 8 hours later, the same thing happened on the third floor, and water came creeping into my room on the second floor. Currently my carpet is still damp and my room smells a bit moldy, but maintenance is promising to fix all the problems. Although this incident was difficult to deal with, we all were laughing and got a break from our homework and studying. No one on my floor lost anything to the water, so we could all relax and try to embrace the situation. Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen again…
I got to go to Titusville this weekend and experience a space shuttle launch first-hand. I have always wanted to do this, and I had a good time. It only took about an hour to get there, and the weather was perfect for the launch. We found a place on one of the causeways where we had a great view of the launch pad. At exactly 7:55, the shuttle took off and lit up the whole town. I was so relieved to see everything go off without a problem. I got to shoot a video of the launch, and I took a few pictures. None of them turned out perfect, but I’ll try to get the video posted for you. The whole experience was unique and I think everyone should experience this at least once in their lifetime. My friends and I went to the beach yesterday and got to play volleyball on my favorite court. We enjoyed what may be our last day on the beach for a while, as it is only supposed to be in the sixties this week. I know that may not sound bad to some Northerners, but that’s rough for us. As usual when we were playing volleyball, we found some other Riddle kids and they joined our game. There are so many people to meet and I have found some really good friends here. It is so much fun to be able to hang out with a group of friends who come from all walks of life. My close friends are from Georgia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Germany, New Jersey, New York, and everywhere in between. That is one great thing about ERAU: you meet people from everywhere. Having such a variety of friends has opened my mind and I enjoy being around all of them. These next two weeks are going to be a blast for me. I get to go back to MISSOURI thanksgiving week!!! I never thought I would be so excited to say that. It is funny how you react when you move away from home. I really miss my friends and my mom’s cooking, but I may very well miss my dog the most and I can’t wait to cuddle with my 150 lb Bloodhound again! I am going to be so cold, but I am sure I will enjoy my 5 days back home. When I return to campus, I have 4 days of class and then finals. This semester is almost over and it seems like it just began. Wow! I hope everyone has a GREAT Thanksgiving! I know I will!
It is already November. That is unbelievable. Classes have been very demanding recently, as projects, homework, and tests are piling up. Last week I took a test over Microsoft Excel in IT109 and a test over the Depression (1929)-Martin Luther King (1960’s) in SS120. I studied hard and pulled an A on BOTH tests. I was very excited that my hard work paid off, and these scores will certainly help my overall grades! However, those small victories are short-lived as I have 2 major papers and 2 major tests this coming week. I am studying and writing my butt off, but hopefully I will be able to get it all done and do well.
On Sunday, October 26, I was lucky enough to attend the NAS Jacksonville Air Show. The event and parking were free, and the displays were amazing. I got to see the Blue Angels for the first time, and they lived up to every expectation! Some of their maneuvers are simply jaw-dropping. There were also many other military planes, along with a bunch of aerobatic planes and pilots. They even did an air combat simulation with explosions and all! Because I love commercial aviation, I really liked some of the static displays on hand, including a Craig Air BE1900 and a FedEx Boeing 727. It was in the seventies and sunny, with hardly any wind: the most beautiful day anyone could ask for. It is so nice being close to Jacksonville, Orlando, and the Space Center, because there is ALWAYS something going on, and Riddle students can enjoy the best of each city.
Recently I have shown my school spirit at many Riddle sporting events. The club hockey team has played home games against FAU and Georgia Tech that I have attended. These games are one of the greatest things to do on the weekend, and hundreds of students go to each one. The crowd is obnoxious, and some of our chants are hilarious! I truly believe the other team must get annoyed, because our fans are ridiculous (which makes it a lot of fun). Yesterday I also went to a Volleyball and Soccer game on campus. Both teams played against SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) and won. The volleyball game went to the 5th set and ERAU won by 2 points. It was intense!
My mother and sister came to visit this past weekend from Missouri. They visited campus and my dorm room and met a few of my new friends. Although I am not homesick, it was very nice to see some familiar faces again. We had a lot of fun, and they enjoyed their tour I gave them of Daytona Beach. Also, I finally had someone to cheer with me for the Mizzou Tigers football game!
I thought I would give another update on our toilet situation. After writing my last journal, the toilet proceeded to break down the next day. After A LOT of laughs, we sent in our maintenance request and the toilet was fixed the next day. Two days later, and the toilet goes out of service AGAIN. At this point we know the maintenance workers and they know exactly what has happened when they see our room number. Once again it was promptly fixed the next morning. Since then, our toilet has been running for almost 10 days! How great! The positives of this situation: we know exactly how to fill out a maintenance request and we are in close contact with our Resident Assistant.
Although I didn’t mention it, my friends and I went spotting in Orlando a few weeks ago and I thought I would include a few pictures for the airplane lovers (like myself) to enjoy. The weather is still great in Daytona and I am still very happy at Embry-Riddle. Let me know if there are any questions I can answer.