April 25, 2005
Hola, hope all finds you well. I got into some trouble with housing and
campus safety this week and one of my best friends got kicked out of school,
so I am most definitely anticipating the end of this semester. Most of this
semester ran pretty smoothly, so I'm afraid I'm making up for lost time now,
but as long as I can make it through to the end, I should be set.
I'm pleasantly surprised to find that many of my classes are ending early.
All of the content has been covered prior to the last week of classes (and
we get Friday off!), so many of my finals are this week as opposed to during
"finals week" next week. I've also decided that 9:15 classes and 3:30
classes are equally bad. Same goes for anything before or after these time
blocks..either I can't wake up or I can't sit still. Hopefully I'll take
advantage of this finding and plan my classes better in the future. You'll
figure out what works and doesn't work for you pretty early on.
Daytona Beach has been crazy lately. Between speed week, bike week,
perpetual spring break, cheerleading competitions, and BCR, this semester
has been a giant tourist attraction. It can get pretty annoying when it
takes 4x as long to drive anywhere, roads are conveniently blocked off, and
waiting in line at your favorite ice cream store takes an hour. The beaches
have been pretty packed, but we've all figured out less-traveled roads to
get there in hopes of keeping our sanity.
I was talking with a friend today, it's just really weird to sit back and
think about how this year is really over. It still feels sort of unnatural
to say that I'm a college student, and here I am 1/4 of the way finished.
"College", for me, has always involved living in Wood Hall, and that's going
to change soon. I won't be able to run next door or upstairs to visit my
friends at 2 in the morning, in fact, a few of them won't be here at all
:-(. I'm pretty settled into my routine now, and it's going to be uprooted
very shortly. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for summer and taking it
easy..but I'm having a good time here. It doesn't help that everyone is
going home for the summer and "home" is NJ, but my parents moved down here,
so I'm stuck. I'm definitely heading up to visit my friends and catch some
shows though. I'm going to see Finch in the city in May and check out Skate
and Surf Fest and Warped Tour in Jersey. There's a definite shortage of
shows in FL and it's killing me. Bowling for Soup did come to campus on Sat
night (with MC Lars, Riddlin Kids, and American Hi-Fi)..was a really good
time. It's been months since I've crowd surfed, and it reminded me of old
times. :-)
Take care of yourselves, keep pushing through those awful last few weeks of
the school year, and I'll let you know how finals go. As always, any ?'s:
pugh754@erau.edu
Melanie
April 14, 2005
Hey guys, looks like it's time for another one of these biweekly
installments. I just realized that we only have two left, which means school
is almost out for the year. It's hard to believe...at times, the year has
gone really slow, but it's weird to think that I'll be liberated in a few
weeks with a year of college under my belt. I'm also looking forward to the
extra month of summer vacation that comes along with not being in high
school anymore.
The workload this last couple of weeks hasn't been incredibly taxing, which
has been helpful because it was an incredibly rough week otherwise. It's
really tempting to take off for the beach instead of going to class in this
weather, but I've done pretty well thus far. I ended up dropping math..I
didn't want to risk failing because any failed class while on AFROTC
scholarship results in a conditional..and 3 conditionals gets one
disenrolled from the program entirely. I think I'm going to end up auditing
the class because I'll have to take it next semester anyhow, but it frees up
my M/W/F schedule and allows me plenty of free time/nap time.
I just found out that my dad, who teaches AFJROTC over at DeLand HS is going
to let people from S.O. come over and run their last PT session of the
semester. As of now, their PT program is run on more or less of a voluntary
basis, so we want to head over there and give them a bit of a wakeup call
before they head off for summer, so if you go to DeLand HS...head's up! :-)
All of my classes are going fairly well..I lucked out this semester with my
lack of papers to write, but I'm sure I'll pay for it a few semesters down
the line. I really enjoy PSY 220 (take Bradshaw), and I'm actually learning
a lot in my NROTC class.. and for the record, because I keep getting asked,
I have no intention of switching. I thought that I'd dive right into the ATC
program with the first course, but it's mostly history for now, so I guess
I'll have to wait until next fall to get to the fun stuff.
I've also realized that I've got some really good friends here lately. I
guess it takes tough times to bring out the best in everyone, but I hadn't
realized how close I've gotten to some of the people here in knowing them a
relatively short amount of time. S.O. is like a family to me, as well as
some incredible people I've met along the way. My best friend Katie from
home also came to visit me this week which definitely put me in a much
better mood. It was nice to introduce her to the people she's heard so much
about and have her experience my life at Riddle. It was also a well deserved
break from monotony on both ends, and ended up keeping me sane when I ended
up needing it most..thanks Kate!
Keep the questions coming, I know you incoming freshmen are getting anxious;
you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.. Keep up the hard work and
finish strong, don't let senioritis get the best of you.
Later,
Melanie
March 31, 2005
Hey all. Let me apologize in advance for being a little out of it..while
spring break was amazing, it was definitely very draining. I think I need
another spring break just to recover from this one, but Riddle isn't very
sympathetic to such things. I drove up to Jersey again with some friends and
this trip was much more eventful than Thanksgiving or Christmas. We had a
lot of fun, but we were always on the go so there was no time to kick back
and take a breather. I did enjoy getting to experience some 'real' weather,
eating a cheese steak, and heading back up to NYC again. All in all, very
fun. Except for the drive home. To make a long story short, a drive that
should have taken us about 14-16 hrs (which is quite long enough to begin
with), took 26 hrs. We left at 7 pm and got in at 9 pm, just in time for me
to drive to Orlando and back to pick up a friend at the airport.
Anticlimactic endings suck. And here I am..running on empty.
I'm not very excited for classes to pick up again, but we only have a month
left in the semester, which is a beautiful thing to think about. I got lucky
in that I had absolutely no homework over break, but I'm paying for it now
with a test nearly every day this week. I also still have a lot of catch up
work to do in statistics, which is no fun at all. I just received a
tentative schedule for my Summer B study abroad in London/Paris, so I'm
getting excited about the trip. There are so many field trips that we spend
very few days in actual class, but we often have class for 9 hours a day and
we have a 20 page paper due at the end, so that accounts for all the fun
we'll be having on the other days.
I don't think I ever mentioned it, but my old roomie transfered out last
January and I got a new one a month or so ago. Her name is Libby and we get
along pretty well, but neither of us are every really in the room. I always
feel bad though because I have to wake up early for ROTC and such and
usually end up making noise, so my advice is: if you're in ROTC, room with
another ROTC kid..and if not, avoid it at all costs.
Not much news, as I haven't actually been on campus, but feel free to ask
any questions or say hi!
Melanie
March 17, 2005
Hey guys- I can count the days left until spring break on one hand, and that
excites me to no end. It looks like I'm headed back to Jersey, once again.
My best friend Katie and I are going to hang out a bit and hopefully get up
to NYC for a few days since our trip didn't work out over Christmas break. We
hoped to go to California over break, but we procrastinated too much and
we'll just go over summer. I've been a little stressed lately and I'm in
need of a few days off. I was sick all last week with the flu. I didn't even
get out of bed for a few days, so I get to play catch-up this week in all my
classes which isn't fun when I'm still feeling a bit under the weather. I'm
not all that thrilled that my parents decided to move so close, but it was
nice when my mom drove out here to bring me soup and medicine...
ROTC has been a little hectic lately. We had another beach run last Friday.
They're a little early but a nice change of pace to regular PT. Usually, SO
goes into the water afterwards for some static PT, but I think we're going
to wait until the second one. That works for me because the water was
freezing and I was sick anyway. Monday's LLAB was what we call "big week".
It happens every year before spring break..all the sophomores find out who is
going to field training and all the juniors find out who gets pilot/nav/abm
slots. Congrats to all those who got good news! Freshmen were supposed ot
find out about PDTs, which are various summer programs that we can get
selected for. I applied for a couple different options and my class ranking
is pretty good, so I'm hoping that works out. The catch is, that we don't
get to pick when or where we go..and if we get selected, we have to attend.
I got in to the summer abroad program for summer B in London/Paris, so I'm
hoping I find out about PDTs soon and hoping it doesn't conflict with Europe. I
also passed my PFT this morning and improved upon all my scores, which means
I get to activate my scholarship in the fall :-) I was a little worried
about it.. I passed last fall, but they changed the tests and it screwed me
up a bit, but all is good now.
As for Special Operations, we have once again earned the right to be called
"team", and we went through a lot to get there so it feels pretty good to
have it back. If there's any kind of miracle to be had, I'll make staff next
semester and won't ever have to do this again, but I've got to get my act
together and work harder if I want to have any sort of chance at that.
If you're coming here in the fall [or summer], get on the discussion boards
and meet some people before you get here. I felt a lot better coming here
when I was able to put names and faces to "all the new people I'm going to
meet". You'll also find out that everyone is in the same position as you and
eager/anxious all at the same time.
Lunch time. Take it easy.
Melanie
March 3, 2005
Hey guys! Thanks for all of the responses I've been getting; it's nice to
know someone actually reads these things :) Keep the questions coming!
Classes have been calming down again. I made it through the big test week,
but I'm sure another one is just around the corner. Only 2 months of school
left though...and a few weeks until spring break, so I think I'll manage.
This semester, I didn't take any writing intensive courses so, while I have
had plenty of homework, the lack of papers to write has been awesome.
I officially survived my first speed week. True to legend, it was impossible
to go anywhere in Daytona for about 5 days. Some of the roads were
converted into 1 way roads during certain hours, so even in trying to get
away from the speedway, I couldn't get to the beach. I worked parking on
Saturday with S.O., just camped out on campus and waved cars in the right
direction. This proved to be a much better option than working the actual
races. For the 500 on Sunday, I worked with S.O. again, but this time at the
track, handing papers out at the gate for Crown Royal. Being from the North
and keeping a running count of mullets, drunks, bad pickup lines, and
individuals of questionable gender made the time pass a little more easily.
It was definitely an experience.
The deadline for housing contracts has come and gone and I got my apartment!
It'll be weird to not be able to run upstairs to visit friends, and while finding
a parking spot in the AM is not on my list of favorite things to do, it
should be worth it.
I applied to be an orientation team leader,which ended up not working out
(maybe next year?), but the interview process was pretty intense. Each
applicant had to run a mock orientation group with current team leaders
acting as new students. We had to come up with ice breakers, take questions,
and maintain some sense of control. It was a lot of fun but they gave me a
hard time and came up with some pretty oddball questions. It's a tough job,
so all of you who will be attending orientation next fall, be nice to your
orientation team leaders!
There has been a bit more to do lately to break up the monotony of sitting
at a desk on campus. I went to Disney World last weekend with a couple of
friends and had a good time. The park hopper pass (gives you access to all
of the parks) is only $60 for FL residents, Riddle students included. It's
worth it if you go for the whole day. The weather (until a couple of days
ago) has also been pretty nice so my friend John and I can get back into our
routine of going to the beach, which I'd have to say is my favorite part
about Daytona.
Duty calls. Enjoy your day.
Melanie
February 17, 2005
Hey guys! It's been a rough week, so you may not get a novel out of me
today. Lots of tests, midterms are even fast approaching (WTF?! we just
started) and I've been overbooking myself a lot lately between volunteering
commitments, family and friends, rotc, clubs, etc. I don't recommend it. I'm
not doing as well as I would like in PSY 220 (intro to psych). I genuinely
enjoy the class and the professor, but it's not as easy as it seems. Still
doing pretty decently though. I got an 82 on my first ATC test and scored
well over the class average on the first Seapower (NROTC) test...not bad for
the only Air Force cadet in the Navy class. So, it isn't all bad news.
Housing contracts are coming around again, and due on 2/25, so everyone is
in a frenzy to choose roomies, room sizes, find apartments, etc. More
stress. I think I've decided on a nearby apartment with some friends from
school.. A bunch of my friends live in the complex, so it should be a good
time. I look forward to being off-campus and having my own room, but I'll
miss the convenience.
I've also realized lately that my circle of friends has changed a lot since
last semester. No real fallouts or fights or anything..just conflicting
schedules, meeting new people, and changing interests. There's always that
initial group you cling to when you get to orientation..your roommate,
people from your hall... Eventually you meet people on other floors, in your
classes/teams/clubs. I guess I got lucky on both ends, I've got some awesome
friends now, but the group I hung out with last fall definitely eased the
transition, and we do still talk. I just got to thinking about it the other
day and found it sort of odd how things worked out..
Spec. Ops is now in full swing. I got the spade again because I won Cadet
of
the Month in AFROTC. (: Team took a trip to Patrick AFB to get uniforms for
the newbies. Flashbacks of last semester with my priors helping me out; it
feels good to be in that kind of position and take on some responsibility
and leadership. At the same time, though, it's a little daunting to now be
the people to look up to, that should always have the right answers and lead
the team in the right direction. I screwed up that aspect pretty badly
lately, and realized just how much that group of people means to me. (So if
you're reading, I'm sorry) We got off to a pretty good start as a team and
I'm confidant we'll get right back on track, so I hope to see some of you
incoming freshman coming out next semester. It's most definitely worth
everything you put into it (and get out of it).
Later guys- pt, work, and meteorology test tomorrow.
February 3, 2005
Hope you all are all doing well. Seems like January has flown by, granted we
were only in school for half of it. Classes are getting harder and the
weather has been cold, but we just have to make it through the spring
break..and I think we've got another 3 day weekend coming up in February,
wooh! I don't think we'll be lucky enough to get another hurricane break
this semester.
I had a bit of fun over Christmas break...went to visit my friends in Jersey
and then took a cruise to the Bahamas with my friend Katie. I had an awesome
time but my debit card isn't very pleased with me. So it seems I'll be stuck
with school food for awhile. ): I'm glad to be back though..I'm settling
into a routine again, which always helps. Some people decided to transfer
this semester. I knew the drop-out/transfer rate was part of the whole
college scene, but I didn't really have any major problems first semester so
it's a little baffling. Guess it's all subjective..
I had Special Ops tryouts again Jan 30th. You have to try out every semester
to be on team and be on for at least 2 semesters before you can apply to be
on staff. Going from 8:45 AM to 5:30 PM covered in water, sand, and mud
definitely motivated me to try and step it up a notch this semester so I can
make staff and never have to go through it again. 'Twas definitely an
experience though.. I thought the watered-down tryouts last semester were
hard but this time around, tryouts kicked my ass! Definitely the most
physically demanding thing I have ever done in my life. I woke up the next
day all bruised, scraped, and unable to move, so I just laid in bed for half
the day. The only things I could reach without having to get up or roll over
were my cell phone and my water bottle so I just made phone calls all day
and whined a bit. And this is what ROTC kids call fun...?! Hrmm.. But it's
so worth it.
I started work again..taking on a few more hours this semester (still in the
Career Services office). I fixed my Tues/Thurs schedule so that my first
class isn't until 2:15. This works nicely, because I can roll out of bed
late, go to work at 11...and take it easy before heading off to class in the
afternoon. I guess it's a personal preference but using trial and error,
I've found that anything before 10:30 and anything after 3:30 just doesn't
work well for me. Lucky for me I've got a 9:15-10:15 and a 3:30-4:30 on
M/W/F and I go til 5 on Tues/Thurs. Freshmen register last so hopefully I'll
get some of my first choices next semester. I'm also hoping to do summer
abroad for the 2nd half of the summer in Paris/London. If that works out,
I'll get 6 credits for the price of 3..not to mention knocking out some
Physical Science credits and getting to travel Europe. If all goes well,
I'll have 48 credits when I start my sophomore year (between classes, AP
credits, and study abroad). Then I'll be able to take a light schedule next
spring when I'm going through field training prep (FTP) for AFROTC.
Later guys..any questions, you know the drill. Melanie
January 20, 2005
Hope everyone had a nice break and all that fun stuff...I'm sorry it's been
so long, but now it seems it's time to get back to business. I'm taking a
pretty light schedule this semester with plenty of nap breaks, so it
shouldn't be too bad at all. I've got 16 credits, which is more than last
semester, but I think I'm taking 'Intro to' everything..and I'm thinking of
taking a Navy ROTC course to mix things up a little. We've only had a few
days of classes back, but I'm already much more impressed with this round of
professors than the last. Ratemyprofessors.com is your friend.
ROTC started up again on day 1..I have a really cool flight commander and a
bunch of good people so should be a good semester in that regard, too. We
had our first PT session back from break on Friday, and I worked out quite a
bit over break, but it was a wakeup call nonetheless. Since S.O. hasn't
started for the spring yet, I've been hitting the gym at least a couple of
times a week. It's really been helping out, so I think I'm going to have to
keep that in the routine.
I found out my last final is going to be May 4, 2005, so with spring break in
there somewhere in the middle, hopefully it'll come soon enough. Getting
through all the distractions is going to be interesting though.. races, bike
week, and perpetual spring break here in Daytona.
I decided not to go for a fall 05 RA spot.. the candidate meetings are going
to be on Wednesdays which conflict with S.O., so there goes that. Maybe
later? But I'm seriously considering moving off campus next fall anyhow.
Hoping to get a house or an apartment with a few friends from school. The
dorms have been fun and good for the transition and such, but they're
getting a bit old. Too many rules... But I will miss the convenience factor.
I know acceptance letters are going out now so if you got in, congrats and
I'll see you next fall, if I don't party myself stupid between now and then. (:
December 9, 2004
Thanksgiving break is over :-(...but Christmas break is almost here. I drove
back to Jersey with some of my friends from here (Thanks, Joe!) and it was
a very long trip. What should have taken about 14 hours ended up taking about
20 after traffic and stops. We drove all through the night and I ended up only
sleeping for about two hours-- we were supposed to take turns keeping the driver
awake but everyone else passed out a few hours into it. So that was interesting...
It was the first time I'd been back since school started and it was really
good to see my friends. I was kinda worried that everything would change and
it would be a little awkward but that wasn't the case. Hopefully, I'll get
to spend a little time there over break.. Senses Fail and my Chemical Romance
both have shows..
Finals start next week. The work load hasn't really lightened and I've been
running on empty and no sleep for a week or so. My UNIV101 class ended and
I just gave my last speech in COM219 so that's been winding down, but my other
classes are definitely making up for it. Going straight through from 6:30 AM
to 4:30 PM on M/W/F has been killing me but at least on Tues/Thurs I get to
sleep in a little bit and take it easy. I partied especially hard this weekend
for the new S.O. commander's 21st birthday, and I've been sick, so the past
few days have been a little rough, and now we have PIR and finals review. We
don't have PT this week though, so that makes it a bit better.
We have our last practice of the semester for Special Ops on Weds. Sounds
like it's going to be a fun one. Then we have a couple of colorguards and camp-out
left. It kinda sucks though, because we have to start all over again next semester,
which looks like it'll be a lot harder. Two semesters on team though and we're
eligible for staff, so we're half-way through. We did color-guard on ice last
weekend at the hockey game. It was interesting to say the least, but it went
pretty well all things considered.
The guys in my hall woke me up in the middle of the night right before break
after they broke the sprinkler system in the hallway, which ended up making
a huge mess and flooding all the rooms in the area, so I wouldn't recommend
testing out the validity of your RA's warnings about it next year. I'm going
through the process to try to become an RA for next year, so if all goes well,
maybe some of you will get lucky enough to be one of my residents.
It's time now for me to go find a 30 min block in which to take a nap today
between ROTC, class, and ROTC..and then some more ROTC.
November 25, 2004
We leave for Thanksgiving break in two days, which means I only have to get
through two days of classes this week, and no PT (: I'm heading home to Jersey
and cannot wait to see all of my friends.. but the cold weather might be a
bit of a wakeup call. I've been cranking out a paper a day for the last
two weeks and I'm ready for some good food and a change of pace.
Special Ops. is making ROTC ridiculously easy, but still feel like I'm perpetually
ironing, starching, shining, etc. We have Pass In Review coming up at the end
of the semester for ROTC.. and another early morning beach run, so finals are
fast approaching. As is Christmas break! As for S.O., I'm really glad I stuck
with it.. it continues to be an amazing experience and the staff members have
turned out to be some really cool people and it's changed me a lot..hopefully
for the better.
As with the end of the semester, comes registration. As a freshman, we choose
our classes last. The process went relatively smoothly, but many courses were
already filled. I didn't get my first choice of everything, but I think I found
a schedule that works.. and I get to start my ATC classes in
January, so I'm excited about that.
In Jersey, I went to a show almost every weekend, and the Florida scene just
isn't the same. The House of Blues in Orlando typically has a lot of good
shows, but it's a bit of a drive and the dates usually conflict with practice.
I did go to my first show down here though, and it was awesome. I went with
a guy from S.O. to Jacksonville to see Yellowcard and The Starting Line. I've
seen both before but it was a really good show..Yellowcard is from Jacksonville
so they went all out. All in all, a good time, and I have renewed faith in
the entertainment factor down here.
I took a trip with ROTC this week to Patrick AFB and Cape Canaveral, which
was a good time. We got briefed by a helicopter rescue squadron, then took
a pretty in-depth tour of one of Boeing's launch facilities. We were supposed
to see a Delta-2 Launch..it got weathered, but we did get to check out the
Delta-4 Heavy. Good stuff.
Time for sleep. 'Twas a very good weekend, save for the fact that I only got
about two hours of sleep total. But it was worth it.
*By the way, sorry Azdren! I spelled your name wrong last time.*
November 11, 2004
This has been a fast couple of weeks...hectic to say the least! The work
load has been piling up and it seems like I can never take just a few
minutes to relax. After my last entry, I had Cord Night for S.O. It was one
crazy night, can't say much about it, but you should check it out for yourself.
It was probably the toughest thing I've ever been through but it was well worth
it, and the end result made up for the rest. But I did eventually earn my white
shoulder cord (and later the privilege to wear it..don't get me started...),
and it definitely gives me a sense of feeling and looking Sierra Hotel ( ask
a ROTC kid)! We had a couple of parades and presented the colors at the homecoming
game, with many more to do coming up, including Colin Powell possibly...huzzah!
My
President Won..My President Won...just had to throw that in here somewhere.
I had my second speech in COM219 today...which was, hopefully, better than
the last. Cross your fingers for me. I think I have about 3,521,635 papers
due this week, so I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. All Freshmen have to take
a College Success class their first semester, which is nice because it
lightens the load and ends a few weeks early...so when I come back from
Thanksgiving, I'll only have one class Tues/Thurs. I'm thinking of going
home to NJ..I haven't been back yet and I really miss it. I want to take a
road trip with my friends from here, but when I get there, it looks like a
lot of my friends won't be home so I haven't decided yet.
I spent the weekend of Halloween volunteering for the Bush campaign. I got
paid to walk around and hand out Republican voter guides, so that was pretty
cool. I ended up getting roped into volunteering outside the polls on 11/2,
but at least I finished out my ROTC volunteer hours. I also worked the
Career Expo and the new student Open House this week. Then we had homecoming
and a 3-day weekend with an awesome comedy show by some of the Whose Line is
it Anyway? guys. A lot of alumni and parents showed up, along with a big
group of prospective students, so it was kinda odd to have all these extra
people around while everyone here was trying to get their party on. I hope
they didn't get the wrong impression.. I had a lot of fun Thursday and
Friday night, but then I ended up falling off a roof, so I took it easy
Saturday night. As you can see, Riddle has been a pretty busy little slice
of Florida.
The weather is getting a bit cooler, which means it's almost time for spring
registration, and I'll actually get to start on my ATM minor. I hope to
start flying soon, but I haven't found the time..so maybe over Christmas?
My friend Aztrand down the hall reads this, and he brought me some macaroni
and cheese, so he is currently my hero, and I'd like to tell him hello.
October 28, 2004
Hola! I hope all of you are doing well...and at least getting started on
your ERAU applications (if that applies to you). Today (10/24) is my
birthday...woot!...which means only 2 more years to go ;-) Things around
ERAU have been pretty busy lately, and I'm proud to say we've been hurricane
free for about a month now. Homecoming weekend is coming up November 5-7, there
will be a lot of airplane static displays and all that fun stuff, so if anyone
is looking at making a campus visit, now's a good time + the weather is cooling
down a bit and is perfect. Look for me in the color-guard. Hooah Special Operations!
This week is Biketoberfest...it's impossible to get around Daytona. My
friends and I left the dorms yesterday around 1:30 in a futile attempt to go
to the beach. It took over an hour to make what should have been a 10 minute
drive down International Speedway, then we drove around trying to find a
parking spot that wasn't filled with bikes, rather unsuccessfully. We gave
up around 4 and made our way through the traffic again. Maybe next weekend.
Seeing all of these bikes makes me want to get one of my own..better start
saving now if I want to get one before Bike Week.
There is certainly always something to do around here. Ocean Deck is my
current favorite. I'm not really a fan of clubbing all that much, so Ocean
Deck is a nice relaxed atmosphere right on the beach with lots of live
music. We went to Pleasure Island (part of Downtown Disney in Orlando),
which was fun, but half the clubs are limited to over 21.
Classes are good. Remembering to go/waking up on time is another story, but
I'm doing pretty well. I had my first speech in COM219, and I was completely
unprepared for it. I walked in late because Lead Lab ran late..and walked
in just as the person before me was finishing up. Not fun. But mid-terms
are over (they were easy, no worries), so everything is a lot more relaxed
now, and I really feel like I'm getting to know my professors. Same goes
for my advisor, we've met quite a few times and she's awesome. **Ask for
Mary
Theokas** I'm trying to work in a semester of study abroad, while still
keeping my ROTC scholarship and she's been very helpful in finding the right
people for me to talk to and get this thing done. Working in Career Services
is also proving to be pretty helpful. I've gotten to know all the program managers,
so when it comes time for my Senior Co-op/internship, I think I'll be pretty
set! The people here are absolutely amazing. I was really hesitant about coming
here. I had planned to attend The George Washington University in DC and
changed my mind...the decision became even harder when my best friend
decided on UMD, and I didn't want to give that up, but I have met some
awesome people down here. We're all in the same boat and I consider myself
lucky to call them my friends. It's a little awkward at first, but living
with these people 24/7 certainly helps break through those barriers..
Special Operations is still intense. I think I talked my neighbor into
trying out in the spring. We divided up into rifle team and colorguard.. and
I'm part of the latter so between homecoming and Veteran's Day coming up...
we should be pretty busy. I definitely feel like I'm improving on the team,
and it has made me so much more prepared for everyday ROTC in terms of uniform
wear, core knowledge, drill, and confidence. We did a Group
Leadership Project (GLP) the other night. It was so much fun..we had to get
from 1 point in the woods..pick up a package...and drop it off at another
point...without getting captured by the 'enemy'. It was all about escape and
evasion so we had to memorize the code of conduct for POW's. I was the last
to get caught and put up a pretty good fight, but if you want to know what
really goes on, you'll just have to come out for the team at some point.
President Bush came to town last weekend. I got to go through the College
Republicans and hear him speak, which was awesome. We're going next weekend
to rally support throughout Volusia County. Those of you that are old enough
to vote, you know what you need to do..
As always, melcg2004 on AIM, pugh754@erau.edu, Have a lovely day.
October 14, 2004
Hello again. Things seem to be settling down from all of this hurricane business.
I'm kinda sick of them, so hopefully Daytona has met the quota for the next
four years.
The activities fair was a couple weeks ago, definitely check it out when you
come here. All of the organizations have been getting in full swing. I
joined the Special Operations drill team, which has turned out to be pretty
challenging. Three nights a week of some hard-core physical training is
tough, but we also get to spin rifles and drill. The guys on the team and
staff are fun though, so it should be a good time. AFROTC has been time
consuming, to say the least. It's a good program, and I'm enjoying it, but
it should definitely be worth more than one credit. I also signed up to be
one of the drum majors for the cadet band. The cadet in charge is starting
it from scratch and not getting much support, so if you're in DB and AFROTC
next fall, I better see you with your instrument in tow.
After all the interruptions, classes are just now getting into quizzes and
presentations and such. There's a definite switch from high school..there is
a lot of reading to be done outside of class, and you're responsible for
knowing it whether it's covered by your professor or not. All my teachers
seem to be pretty laid-back though, and I haven't had to do any intense
writing or anything as of yet.
Going to the beach at night is a new favorite past time for the people on
my floor. We usually just check out Ocean Walk or the pier but it's nice to
just walk along the water. Makes for a cheap date too! :-) We also checked
out the clubs on Seabreeze. Razzles was pretty lame, Fuel gets good reviews,
and the guys are big fans of Molly Brown's. It's always fun when you run into
nameless professors downtown at 2:00 in the morning, who are partying just
as hard (or harder) as you. I'm having a lot more fun than I was at the time
of my last post...I've made some really good friends and there is always something
fun going on, especially at 3 AM when I have PT for ROTC at 6:30...
I got a job on campus, and I definitely recommend it. Very simple stuff, a
convenient location, and a relaxed atmosphere make it worthwhile. I work in
career services, but I wouldn't really call it work. If you like the movie
Office Space, you can definitely handle an on-campus job.
You know where to find me. Later on.
September 30, 2004
Hey guys! My name is Melanie Pugh, and I'm a military brat that
moved to DB from NJ. I'm a freshman majoring in Aerospace Studies and I'm on
scholarship so I'm doing the whole Air Force ROTC thing. My brother attended
Embry-Riddle and recently graduated and was commissioned into the Air Force.
Let's see... I want a pilot slot in ROTC [like everyone else], and if that
doesn't work out I hope to get OSI or JAG. I figure I'll do that for awhile,
find some political gig after that, and be President in 2036. I'm seeing Ann
Coulter tomorrow, so maybe she can get a head start on helping me out with
my campaign...
Coming to Daytona from NJ was a big transition for me. I've visited my brother
here several times, which prompted me to choose Embry-Riddle, but it didn't
quite prepare me for living here. The humidity, along with the heat, here is
killer..especially for afternoon runs. I went to a lot of punk/emo shows in
NJ, but the scene here isn't very big, but there is plenty to do. Move-in day
was August 25th, and my mom and I drove down and stayed the night before. I
checked into my dorm pretty early to avoid the rush and ended up in Wood Hall-
very nice. The student village dorms are a bit of a walk from the main part
of campus, but worth the hassle. All the frats, sororities, and athletes were
outside with shopping carts to help, much thanks to them!
After that, all the check-in lines and paperwork were pretty lame but nonetheless
organized. After a few days, everyone seemed to be settling in and meeting
people on their floor so it was a good time. My roommate never showed up, so
for now at least, I have a single. It can get a little lonely, but it definitely
has its perks. All the welcome week stuff is definitely worth going to. The
luau (including musical chairs..with the guys as the chairs) was probably the
best- and a good place to meet people. I went to the beach with a bunch of
people one day, and got a chance to get out on the town a couple times before
classes started.
Classes started the 30th, and for the most part I like my professors an the
class sizes were typically pretty small. The first day was pretty informal..we
got a syllabus and left early..did icebreakers in some classes. All the AFROTC
kids had lead lab at 0530 on the first day, so that was fun. We had been challenged
to paint the 'spirit rock' on campus before our PT session that day, so a group
of us woke up before lead lab and went painting at 3:30 AM. Of course, the
rock had been repainted about 5 times by the time we met for our PT session,
but it was Air Force, so all was good in the Land of Oz. The first week was
supposed to be NSOP in ROTC, early morning yelling and marching, I guess to
weed people out who didn't want to be there. But nothing too bad at all..
|
Name: Melanie
