April 28, 2005
OH MY GOSH!!! It's down to the last little bit. Nothing but finals to do right?
NOPE! As usual, we're left taking a test in every class, and finishing up like
two or three chapters of homework. And then start finals (from what I hear)
on the 30th!!!! AHHH!!! I've got two programs to write, well, make that one;
I just finished the other one. And, on top of that I have to learn an eight
page spiel for the Boat Ride at EPCOT, before May 1st, that's my assessment
after 4 days or so of training. Wish me luck on that y'all. I'm working on
my comp sci II project. It's crucial. And of course I started working on it
WAYYYY late!! We had about 3 months to do it. I've started 2 days before it's
due. Let us hope that this turns out well, haha. And it's not like I procrastinated,
it's been a crazy couple of months around here. School and recent work and
everything else, bahhH!! It probably won't calm down until August for me, work
and all, but that's cool.
I went to the American Hi-Fi/Bowling for Soup concert. It was pretty good.
I must say that the first two warm-up bands, I think, weren't all that great.
The first guy really stunk. People in the crowd were yelling for him to get
off the stage. And when he announced it was his last song, everyone cheered.
It was just funny. I won't talk much about that though, I'm sure that everyone
else will.
We had a recent cold snap here, got down about 50 or so at nights for a day
or two, but now it's back to normal. Hot-ish. I was thinking about going to
the beach or something, but who knows. I haven't been there in a long while
I don't think. At least this year is ending better than it started. I must
say that Florida in the winter time is nice, but I definitely like it better
in the summer.
Now, on my off time, I like to go to the Disney Parks, especially since it's
free for me again. I went to Disney/MGM Studios the other day. I had a need
to ride Tower of Terror for some reason, then finished it off with Illuminations:
Reflections of Earth fireworks show back at EPCOT. Next week, probably a day
at Magic Kingdom, then maybe some time at Animal Kingdom, who knows. It's the "happiest
celebration" going on soon, so there's some different stuff going on all
around the 'world'. May 5th is the actual day so if anyone wants to take a
trip to see Riddle, come on down and stop by Disney while you're in the Central
Florida area.
Anyways, I had better get back to work on my project and the 15 other things
that I need to get done today. Later yens (felt like getting REALLY southern
on that one, haha).
-Darryl
April 14, 2005
MAN OH man! Y'all have no idea. It's been a crazy week or two for me. First
of all, I'm going on a cruise! Hooray. I'm going to the Bahamas, I've been
there twice before, but hey, what's another time, hehe. Ya gotta love it. It's
only a four day cruise, but it will still be tons of fun and I can't wait.
I'm spending a few days in the sun instead of class, but I talked to my teachers
and they're pretty cool with it, so long as I turn in everything ahead of time.
Which means it's been a lot of work lately to do. Anyways, that's only news
number one.
News number two, I have gotten a job. That's right. I haven't worked since
last summer when I did a College Program Internship with Disney, but I've gone
down to Disney and gotten a job again, yEaH! If you all remember, (which you
probably don't) I worked at Test Track at EPCOT. This time I'm not going to
be working at Track, but somewhere in Future World West, which includes The
Living Seas, The Land, and the new Soarin' Attraction. I'll probably be cast
at Soarin', but who knows. I hope to be cross trained back to Test Track because
it was the most fun ever, but I bet Future World West would be pretty cool
too. I know everyone is so much fun to work with no matter what we're doing.
Today I did a Traditions class, which is 8 hours worth of teaching. You learn
the Traditions and safety and legal information that is needed in the workplace.
Next Saturday is my Discovery Day at EPCOT, which becomes another 8 hours of
walking and playing in the park. Anyways, gotta go pack for the cruise. I'm
leaving tomorrow. Later Guys, I'll fill you in on it when I get back.
-Darryl
March 31, 2005
Well, the great glorious spring break is over. I officially did not do one
single bit of homework while I was off. It was wonderful, haha. So what else
did I do you might ask? I sat in front of the TV, worked some here and there,
and just chilled too. After working so hard so far this semester I just needed
to relax for a little while. Plus, it either rained a bunch or it was just
generally overcast most of Spring Break in Daytona. This past Sunday was the
only day that was actually warm and sunny. I went out in the garage and worked
on my car a little bit. Went out and washed it, then it rained later that day.
Oh well, it happens.
Of course, this past week went by so fast it didn't even feel like it was
a week off. Soon school will totally be out and then summer will be filled
with working and relaxing. I'm hoping I can work this summer enough to pay
some on my mounting student debt, or just use the money to pay some of the
tuition for next semester. I think I could work for a year and never make enough
money to pay for all of tuition, haha. Anyways, that's what happens when you
go to a good school I guess.
So, this semester is about half or so over, but it feels like it's almost
totally over. I'm ready for it to be, that's for sure. Our official last day
of classes is in about a month. YEAH! I'm so excited. Thank goodness it's almost
here. This summer will be fun, it has to be. Last summer working at Disney
was a blast. This summer has to top that. I don't know how it can though, working
at Disney was the most fun place to work EVER!
Well, I'll have to stew about where to work this summer and for now do some
homework while I'm at it. I'll talk to yall later.
-Darryl
March 17, 2005
Hey! It's journal time again, hehe. Well, let's see what all has happened
around here the past few days. First of all, BIKE WEEK! Ahhhh (That's all I
can say). Loud motorcycles zooming all over the place all crazy like. Thankfully
it's over now, but man they were insane this past week or so. I don't mind
the fact that they are motorcycles; it's just that they are so DANG LOUD. Never
mind trying to go anywhere north or east of Riddle. You pretty much are confined
by traffic to South Daytona or Port Orange to actually get anything done. Riddle
seemed to be the borderline between the motorcycles and the rest of the world.
So that all happened, plus my parents came down for a couple days. We went
to check out the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. Let me tell ya. If anyone tries to
get you to go up that blasted lighthouse, FORGET IT! 200+ spiraling steps that
go 175 feet up I think. It's not the height or anything that's the problem.
It's the fact that the steps go nearly straight up, which is a pain in the
butt when you try to go back down. Better start working out if you ever plan
on going up that thing.
It's starting to warm up again and get all up in the 80's. But, it's almost
spring so it had better get warmer. Other than that, there's not much going
on this week. Spring Break is pretty close, can't wait. It's gonna be nothing
but sitting around here watching tv. Loads of fun. Anyways, I'll check yall
later.
March 3, 2005
Hello all, what's up? There are still races and such going on down here. Trying
to get to and from school on certain days can be trying, but at least most
of the busy traffic days are on the weekends. There's not really much going
on other than that. Just kinda, sitting around, wearing out my TV and computer.
School's going pretty good. The homework level has decreased slightly the
past week or two. I think that is only because it's coming up spring break,
so it's going to be LOADS of HW during that time. We had all of our first tests
these last few weeks. I've done pretty well on them. I aced my AeroSci and
Physics tests. I'm pretty excited about that. I've got another Physics test
coming up in about a week. Should do pretty good on that too.
Other than that not a whole lot going on. It's been a pretty boring couple
of days. I've been working with my computer a lot. Trying to get Linux updated
and everything. Not as simple as downloading and installing like in Windows,
takes some compiling and make files and lots of other stuff sometimes. So I
spent some hours working on that. Finally got KDE 3.3 working right. Next is
updating Open Office. Not cool trying to download stuff on a dial-up connection
since I live off-campus, let me tell ya. I'm hoping to get some of my programs
that are due done before mid-week, but we'll see how well that goes. Anyways,
going back to some downloads and stuff. I'll talk to you all later.
-Darryl
February 17, 2005
Well everyone, It's happening!!! NASCAR is coming. The Bud shootout was held
this weekend, and 3 Doors Down played at the event. In a weekend or two (not
totally sure, don't remember) is the Daytona 500. Which can only mean one thing,
everyone hide in your dorms, stay in your apartments, cause OH MAN is it going
to be exciting and loud around here. The Daytona 500 coming to town also means
lots of people from my home state, Tennessee, will be making a pilgrimage to
Daytona. I'm looking forward to hearing that good ole southern twang of an
accent again. It just doesn't feel like you're in the south when you live in
Florida. That'll be good news to all of you that live in the north, but for
those of us who grew up in TN, GA, SC, AL, MS, it's totally not living in the
south here.
Anyways, it's the middle of winter, more or less, and let me tell ya, It DOES
get cold in Florida, but thankfully not too cold. Actually it's only cold when
the sun goes down. Since there have been a few cold fronts move through the
past few weeks, it's getting to around upper 50's to 60's in the daytime. But
in a week it's going to be back to near 80!! yEaH!!! Back in TN it was snowing
the other day. Boo is all I can say about that.
School is going pretty good this semester. Way better than last semester.
I've been doing a BUNCH of programs lately. It's sorta like when I'm not at
school, I'm on my computer typing away punching out the next homework assignment
or doing Math or Physics homework. After being in Daytona for my second semester
now, I'm getting more used to everything around town and school and all. I
can't wait for spring break time because; not one, but TWO car shows are going
to be the week before spring break! I'm used to going up to Pigeon Forge, TN
for some of the best car shows in the country, but these down here are supposed
to be pretty good. We'll see. I know for sure in the summer time I'm going
back up to Tennessee for the Camaro nationals. Well, I'm out for now; I think
I'm going to make a run to Taco Bell. It's a shame that the nearest Sonic is
20-30 miles away in New Smyrna Beach. Sonic is the BEST! Haha. Talk to yall
later.
-Darryl
February 3, 2005
Hey Everyone!! How is the rest of the world out there? I'm doing pretty good
here. It's getting colder now that it's deeper into winter time. It's getting
down to like mid 40's at night and mid 60's to 70's in the daytime. Well what
else has been going on you may ask? Not a whole lot. This past weekend did
a little shopping, and all. Also this past week I did a little maintenance
on my car. New brakes/tires/all that good stuff. I always love workin' on the
car. It's always fun to put so much work into something and then see how it
pays off in the end with performance and such.
I've been programming a lot lately. CS225 has a lot of programs to do. We
do at least one per homework, sometimes more. The rest of you CS majors will
never have to take CS125 and CS225. They are getting rid of them and calling
it engineering something or another. I don't know why. They're apparently taking
java 1 and java 2 and cramming it all into a 1 semester class. Physics is a
lot of studying too. Along with every other class, haha. Anyways, I've not
done a whole lot lately. Just kinda hung out and chilled in front of the TV.
It's always something good to do when there is nothing else to. We've had a
little bit more rain lately too. It's been like 2 weeks or so since it's rained
last, but it only sprinkled a little bit so that's no big deal. Anyways, I
don't know much else, but I'll talk to yall later.
January 20, 2005
Hello everybody!! How's it going? It's pretty good on this side. School's
starting again. BOOO, haha. Seriously, school starting is always good. They
made some minor aesthetic improvements to campus. They've been working on putting
some trees and bushes in around the place to spruce it up a bit. They apparently
re-did the cafeteria, but I haven't seen it yet so I don't know what all was
done for sure.
Well, let me tell you what all I did during my break. Not much, just a good
ole time here and there. The day after finals last semester I packed up my
stuff and I took a week off back home in Tennessee. One problem, it was WAY
cold, and it started to SNOW!!! Snow is no vacation, but I got to see the family
and hang out with my friends, so it was all good.
Then I came back down to Daytona for Christmas and everything. That was fun.
It was the first time I've ever worn shorts and a t-shirt on Christmas Day!
Gotta love Florida.
Then just the other day I took a little short vacation to Manhattan. It was
my first time to NYC, so it was an experience, let me tell ya. One of the best
times ever, it's so much fun around New York. Lastly I came back to Daytona
once again and started class just a couple days ago.
Daytona doesn't have much going on right now, but one of my favorite races
is coming to the speedway; The Rolex 24 at Daytona. It's a 24-hour endurance
race with some of the greatest drivers in the world for those who don't know.
This isn't NASCAR; these guys actually make turns. Anyways, you can hear
them testing at the track from campus. Two days ago it sounded like either
the Corvette C5-R's or the Saleen S7-R's out running. Whatever it was, it
had a V-8. Today it sounded like a prototype car, maybe the Championship
Team Audi or Bentley or something like it. Anyways, that's coming in early
February, so I'm going to that for SURE! Catch ya'll later.
-Darryl
December 9, 2004
Hello again. How is everyone? (I ask as if anyone would let me know, haha).
Anyways, Thanksgiving came and passed. I stayed down here like most everyone
else. My parents made the near 700 mile trip down here and chilled at my apartment
for the holiday. We didn't do a whole lot. After all, it's still a small town
atmosphere here. I haven't done anything this past week really. I finally got
cable service in my apartment so I just sat around. Monday I'm going to Disney.
More than likely we will go to EPCOT, but we've got hopper passes that are
good for all four parks, so we'll see. Another good thing about going to school
in Florida, you're automatically considered a Florida resident. This gives
you great discounts to lots of places, including the theme parks. So anyways,
we'll check out the Christmas scenes over there and of course have fun doing
it.
On the home front I have to have maintenance come and fix the water in my
apartment. All the faucets are backwards and the toilet flushes hot water!??!?
Crazy huh?! And before you ask how I know that it uses hot water, I'll just
let you know that sometimes it steams after you flush it!! It cracks me up.
That's for sure. Man! Finals, booo. Anyways, I've got three finals on Monday
the 13th and one on the 16th. Isn't that always fun. At least the final I have
on the 16th is my hardest class, so I'll have a few days to study for that
one. It is kinda crazy that the semester is almost over. It doesn't feel like
a full semester, I guess those hurricanes just screw everything up. Well, I
am off to go cruise around. It's one thing to do when there is nothing else
to do. See you guys later.
November 25, 2004
Hey guys!!! How's it going out there in Journal land? Well, it's that time
of year again. Thanksgiving time. Time for turkey and sleep (you know that's
all you're going to do, hehe). We're all finishing up some work before we go
on break. Not that we aren't going to have anything to do over break, because
I have two fairly decent projects and LOTS of homework. I'm not kidding, hours
upon hours of homework. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if we didn't have
those blasted hurricanes to begin the semester with. But, then again it probably
would be just as bad, haha. We've all been registering for classes also. I
always feel like the semester is a long way from being over until you have
to register for the next semester, then you know there's not much more left.
It's definitely a good feeling.
Well we only have a little less than a month left of classes. Which means
it's that last push for the end. There's plenty of stuff to do around here,
that's for sure. I'm looking forward to next semester. I've only been in Florida
during spring semester months once for Spring Break. I'm hoping that it stays
warm here in Daytona. It has been about 75-80 during the days and chilly, 50-60,
at night. Kinda stinks because when you're out late you don't want to have
to wear a jacket, but it's a good idea. I am so not used to being in FL still.
I keep thinking, it's late November, it should be a lot colder than this. Where
are the 30 degree mornings?? Where are the leaves blowing around on the roadways??
Tennessee is very different. I'm staying in Daytona for Thanksgiving, but at
least I'll get that good ole feeling of wintertime back in Knoxville when I
go home for Christmas. My friends and I haven't been doing much around here.
Once it gets too cold to go to the beach, we can't find a whole lot to do that
doesn't take money. After all, we're all broke college students. I blame the
tuition! But, ERAU is pretty much the best place to get a high paying job from,
and after all, isn't that why we're going to college anyways?! Anyways guys,
I'm outta here for now. I'll talk to you all before Christmas. Later folks.
November 11, 2004
Hey out there! How are you all? I'm ok. School's wearing down on me. Staying
up late nights doing physics homework that looks as though it's never getting
done. Or maybe it's writing those lovely Java programs that of course just
want to keep having errors. No matter how much gets done, there is still a
load of junk left to do. I like the good old days of High School. There was
a little bit of homework, and a lot of time to socialize. Those were the good
old days.
Man, it has started getting "cold" here. When I went back home to
TN a few weeks ago it was mid 50's in the middle of the day (ewww). When you're
used to that kind of weather it's no big deal. But when you've been in Florida
since last May you kinda get used to much, much warmer weather. We just had
a cold front come through and our low temps are in the lower 60's / upper 50's
with daytime temps in the upper 70's to mid 80's. During the day it's nice,
but those volleyball games at night can kinda get chilly when you're ready
to go home.
It's homecoming time around Riddle. There's all kinds of things to do. Comedy
shows with some people from "Whose Line is it Anyway," parades, parties,
movies (well, those are every week), and lots of other stuff. What all did
I do you might ask? Well, none of it really. I went to Orlando and chilled
with the Walt Disney World College Program. It's always fun at the happiest
place on earth. "Have a Magical Day!" (I said that a lot when I worked
there). I still have some complementary passes to Disney (park hoppers) and
I think I'm going to go on Wednesday and check out the Epcot: International
Food and Wine Festival. Well, at least the food part of it :-) Plus, you always
have to go to Magic Kingdom and Disney/MGM Studios. I miss working in hospitality/tourism.
It's a lot of fun. I didn't think it would be before I worked there, but it
really is.
Anyways (I got off on a side tangent). The semester is coming down towards
the end. We still have quite a while to go, but all the teachers are already
starting to talk about what is going to be on the final exams and what we should
do to prepare for them. I don't like the sound of that. Not too fun if you
ask me. I don't enjoy finals, but it's a necessary evil. I've noticed that
teachers here seem to give like one, maybe two tests during the semester which
is just wrong. On the outside this may seem like a good idea. But when implemented,
it is really bad because if you don't do too well on one test you are pretty
much screwed when it comes to your grade. The finals are of course harder so
there's a pretty good chance there that they will lower your grade even more.
Also, registration for classes for spring has started. That'll be loads of
fun to try to figure out what to take. BOooo! OH well. What can I say? Later!
October 28, 2004
Hello all, and welcome to another installment of Darryl's Journal, haha. What's
up guys? Well, I actually have something going on this week!!! I FINALLY got
moved into my new apartment. It's pretty sweet, garage and solid wood cabinets
and everything. I am so excited to finally have a place to live. It's not the
first time that I have lived in an apartment. I had a place in Orlando over
the summer before I came to Riddle. OOOoohh, I haven't told you guys about
that yet!! Well, this past summer I got an internship with Walt Disney World
(technically called the "College Program") where I was able to work
in the park with all the guests and everything, and it was AWESOME. You interviewed
under the possibility of working different sectors of any of the four parks
and numerous resorts. You could choose anything from housekeeping, to custodial,
to attractions, to food and beverage, to quick service food and beverage (kinda
like fast food). It was the best. I was able to get into attractions, which
meant that I actually worked on the rides getting people on and off and through
and everything. I worked at my favorite theme park, EPCOT (Experimental Prototype
Community Of Tomorrow), which means that I worked with people from around the
world. Japan, Italy, China, Germany, Mexico, Canada, UK, Norway, France are
the countries that are represented around World Showcase (plus America). I
worked at Test Track. Yup that's right, Disney and GM's huge project which
turned out great. If anyone would like to hear more about it send me an email
some time. I have hundreds of stories.
School is going ok. It always gets thicker around this time of year. Back
home it's getting cold, but in Daytona still feels like August. Biketoberfest
is going on right now. There are WAY too many motorcycles here right now. They
are all of course way too loud, but what can ya do. I've got some new friends.
I generally keep to myself and talk to everyone from home more, but Jon and
I have had to do some Tech Writing homework group style so we've had to come
after school and chill in the computer lab and do a little work. Other than
that, all is well. It's getting late here and its Friday night so I'm gonna
get offline for a little bit and hit the bed. Later to all of you folks out
there, night guys.
October 14, 2004
Hey yall! What's up? Well, it has been crazy around here with all of the work
that has to be done. Since the hurricanes killed the school schedule all of
the teachers are pressed for time and have to either cut out some work or cram
it all in. My teachers have decided to do a little of both. I've been working
non-stop on all this homework and stuff. Other than that school is going pretty
good. My apartment which is supposed to be finished is still being built. It's
difficult moving from hotel to hotel while trying to do homework and everything
else associated with college. It leaves you hoping that you will have a place
to stay when you check-out. Not much has been happening in Daytona. Biketoberfest
is coming up and the end of October so I guess everyone's waiting for that.
I'll probably leave town for Orlando or go back to Tennessee when it comes
around. I'm not really into Harleys and big motorcycles like that. But who
knows, maybe it'll be ok. I'm used to Gatlinburg, TN. When they have a motorcycle
show it becomes quite a spectacle. Mostly it's just loud and annoying. But
we'll see. My apartment was supposed to be finished September 16th, but now
they're saying it will be the middle of October. Let's hope it's done soon.
Well, off to do more work. Later guys.
September 30, 2004
What's up guys? My name is Darryl. I am 21 years old and have
been in college now for three years. However, I am an incoming junior and Computer
Science major to Embry-Riddle at Daytona Beach. I previously attended Pellissippi
State Technical Community College (yeah, I know the name is too long) back
home in Tennessee. I am from Oak Ridge, a small city just outside of Knoxville.
For those of you who aren't familiar with TN (which is probably most of you)
it's in the east part of the state between the Smokey Mountains to the east
and the Cumberland Plateau to the west. I received 86 credit hours and an Associates
degree before coming to Embry-Riddle. I always wanted a bachelor's degree but
it was cheaper to get my core classes done at a community college before going
to a university. There was only one problem. Of my 86 credits, ERAU took only
30 and the rest were electives. That's the problem with transferring between
schools.
Well, how is school going so far you might ask? Let me tell ya! It's been
one crazy day after another. First of all, for those of you who might be turning
21 before school starts, I would suggest that you just forget on campus housing
and start looking for an apartment now. I paid my housing deposit and turned
all the papers in early so I could get a room. Everything is good right? Well,
not really. I got a letter saying that there was no room for me and because
I was 21 I wasn't guaranteed housing. So, with my deposit refunded and some
money from my summer job I set out to find an apartment. Much to my dismay
nearly every apartment was already filled to capacity. The apartments that
weren't filled up didn't look like they would be the safest of places to live
in. I won't lie; parts of Daytona Beach can be kinda scary. But really, what
city isn't? The school is in a good neighborhood, but there are a few areas
between the school and the river (not the ocean, just the river) that could
use a little revitalization and a much better economy. But, I did find one
apartment in Port Orange (just south of Daytona) which is awesome. One problem
there it's in the process of being built. They are brand new apartments, but
I am still waiting for my building to be completed so I can move in. I have
been living in an extended stay hotel since late August waiting for them to
complete it. I am really anxious to move into my apartment when it's finished
mostly because it will be cheaper than a hotel every night. But that's not
the only crazy thing around here.
Daytona has something else to watch out for. Hurricanes! I arrived in Daytona
after Hurricane Charley did all its damage, then had to evacuate like everyone
else for Hurricane Frances, and then they kept school closed since Hurricane
Ivan was approaching, but then of course it didn't hit. So anyways, we had
the first three days of school and then it was closed for two and a half weeks!!
Weíre just now getting back to school and getting everything back to normal.
School is good though. It's really nice here, always warm outside. ERAU has
a lot of activities to keep you busy (when they're open and there's not a hurricane
nearby). They have movies and pool parties and all kinds of different things.
The classes are relatively small. It depends on the class, if it's a basic
class that everyone needs you might have 30 or so people in there. The upper
level classes have many less. It's a lot of work already. I'm taking Physics
150. LOTS of hw. But, life goes on. That's just how college is. Well, I am
going to do some homework (I say that a lot now, haha). Later guys.
|
Name: Darryl 