Name: Blanca

Major: Safety Science

Age: 25

Home: Los Angeles, CA

March

March 23 - March 25

This weekend, I decided to have the weekend to myself. I did not hang out with anyone. I wanted to start unpacking some boxes and see what was in them since I hadn't gotten a chance to look at them. I also wanted to start packing up stuff and throwing away things I did not use or need. It was sort of a Spring cleaning.

I also started working on homework since my projects are due within the next couple of weeks. And I had 3 group projects due for my technical communications class. I stayed up until 1 a.m. on Sunday night because one of the group members hadn't finished his part of the project and we had to tally up the votes and do some calculations and graphs.

Also my roommate, Cheese, had more people coming into town for Spring Break. I was nervous because I wanted to sleep and I know what happens when his friends come to town. I was glad they were only staying until Monday and for the rest of the week they were going to be staying in Orlando. They did wake me up on Sunday night, but this time it didn't go all night long. I even woke up because I got confused because it was so quiet at 4 am.

I forgot to mention that I got a call on Thurs by my career counselor. She was informing me that one of the internships was interested in me and that they were interviewing students on Monday for internships. This internship is in Dallas/Ft. Worth. I have not lived here, but I have visited and driven through here.

I may go Skydiving on Friday. I am supporting Hilda who has paid 3 times to go, but has not been able to actually do it because of her fear. There is also a concealed weapons course that I want to take, but I am not sure if I have time. There is also an Up Til' Dawn Finale, which is a dance marathon, looking forward to that.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

March 19 - 23

On Monday, I prepared myself for my internship interview. I did some research on the company and their history. I wanted to know what they stood for. I had gone to the career center and found someone that had done the internship had applied for a couple of years ago. I noticed that some people that did the internships I had applied for were pilots. I enjoyed reading about the different positions the interns have had in the past. The one I am being interviewed for sounded interesting. You are in charge of emergencies. You would have to make sure that the response to those emergencies are being executed correctly and then you look at the glitches your program may have. After you do the simulation, you would have to evaluate the exercise and look for areas of improvement. It is an unpaid internship though, but it's in Seattle. I just can't pass this opportunity.

I did my interview on Tuesday and I think it went all right. I feel that I need to work on my interviewing skills though. I kept saying "and stuff" a lot. We covered that in my speech class. I'll be working on staying quiet instead of trying to fill in the silence. Later on that night, I went to Flip Its with Holly and hung out with Matt and friends. We went to a guy named Adam's place and played Wii for the rest of the night. I managed to beat Matt in the boxing game, but couldn't beat him in anything else.

On Wednesday, Holly and I went to the beach and ate at Johnny Rockets. Matt also joined us for dinner. We watched a movie and talked for a bit.

On Thursday, I met up with Holly and Lisa and went to Razzle's. The cover charge was $15. No, I do not think it's worth it. I think they also increased the price because of the Spring Breakers. It was so packed in there, I couldn't dance in peace without someone hitting me or pushing me. I might give it a try another time, but I'd rather go to Aqua.

March 16 - 18

I was finally happy because Friday finally arrived. I got my test scores for my Aero Sci class and it was a low B. I wanted to get a high B or a low A, but given the circumstances I think I did well. :-)

I also went to Ocean Deck with a couple of people. It was my first time going there so it was quite fun. It is a Spring Break hot spot here in Daytona. There was a $ 10 cover charge, but because I was an ERAU student I got in for free. I love free stuff. I also dropped off my roommate's friends at the airport at 5 in the morning. They were having a hard time getting a taxi and of course my roommate was sleeping. I really liked them. Overall they were nice. I just wanted to make sure I had all the rest I needed to keep up with classes and all the work I had to get done.

On Saturday, I drove to Orlando to see my friends from my old school. They were coming from a cruise and I wanted to see some familiar faces. We ate at Benningan's in Orlando. Four of them were driving back to St. Louis, while my friend, Andy, stayed for the night to catch a flight to NM. I brought Andy back to Daytona and we ate at Adobe Gila's. Then we walked on the beach for a bit. It was a beautiful day. I was sad to say good-bye to them because I miss them so much. We have been friends for four years. Most of us did AFROTC together. We also had classes and worked on group projects together.

This is what college is all about: Going through good and bad and learning how to deal with it. College is where you meet you lifetime friends and your future co-workers. I know I am going to see most of my classmates here at ERAU in the future. We all have one common interest and that is safety. :-)

Mach 12 - 16

My roommate, Cheese, had some friends from PA traveling to visit him for Spring Break. You can say it was a week of being woken up by drunk people. It was stressful for me because I had two tests that week. I wanted to do well on my Human Factors in Aviation class and my Intro. to Aeronautical Science class. I passed both of my tests which was a good thing. Instead of studying though, I spent most of my time falling asleep. I am not the type of person to take naps. One night I pulled him aside and told him that he needed to keep it down because I had to be up early and had a test the next day. He tells me that it was Spring Break for him and that I was being inconsiderate. He's so lucky he had guests in the house. He moved his little party to his room which I was happy but by then it was 4 am and I had to be up by 7 in the morning. After my 8 o'clock class, I went to work and fell asleep on the couch. I was quite embarrassed because the Department Chair kept walking in, but I couldn't keep my eyes opened to do my work. I thought I was going to get in trouble, but I didn't. My boss knew that I was having a hard time at home because of my roommate.

On Wednesday, the sorority had an event called Xi Man. In this event, we choose our sweetheart. It is also one of our Philanthropy events. The boys put on an exciting and fun show. I would recommend you to watch it next year.

I also had a study session for my Intro. to Aero Sci class. My professor sets up a study session the day before the test to make sure we don't have any questions and we understand all the material we covered. He asks a student that has some of flying experience to run the study session and help the non-pilots. For me, it's a difficult class. I think I mentioned this before, but you must have a passion for flying.

I am glad when Friday came around. I went to my room and caught up on sleep.

Oh and I did a call back for one of the internships I had applied for. :-)

March 12

Hey everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. My past two weeks have been busy with events. The Sigma Chis won all the events for the week and they even won the contest for Relay for Life. They raised over $2000 for it. It's exciting all the Greek organizations getting together and hanging out for fun and games.

On Saturday night, I went to Orlando to pick up Hilda's friend from the airport. We then went to Club Paris in downtown Orlando. It was my first time in downtown Orlando. I had a great time. It was $5 for 21 and over and $ 10 for under 21. It felt good to be away from Daytona for a bit. I also forgot about the time change so I got home late.

All of last week, I have been spoiling my little sister with presents. I am so excited when she finds out who I am on Saturday. I was also late for Relay for Life because I had been working on my presents of the day for her. At the Relay for Life, they presented all the people that were survivors and their caregivers. I was surprised to see that half the people on stage were in my sorority. It was encouraging to see some people I recognized there to support the survivors. I walked for a couple of hours and then went home. After Relay for Life, we had a bike wash for a fundraiser.

On Sunday, we had the girls play flag football. The Powder Puff game was brutal. It reminded me of how rough girls can get. The gold team won this year's game. One of the girls on that team messed up her knee and now she's on crutches for awhile now. I had a great time playing because it gave me the opportunity to meet other girls that I don't normally interact with.

On Saturday, I went to my semi-formal. I brought one of my friends, Dan with me. It was at the Museum of Arts and Sciences here in Daytona. I had heard about this museum but I wasn't sure where it was. I was pretty impressed with what I saw. I am planning on going some day when it is open just because they had some nice paintings that I would like to learn about.

On Friday, there was a homerun derby with each of the presidents from each Greek organization. I also found out who my Lil for the sorority is going to be. I am so excited because I get to spoil her for a week with presents.

On Thursday, we had a Greek speaker come in and talk to us. He is well-known and travels around the country giving speeches. He had valuable lessons for us to learn. He was telling us how we should focus on our academics and to do something we really want to do in life. He also explained to us that if we were going to drink that we should do it responsibly. He said it's not worth it to drink and drive and he hates going to funerals when those types of fatalities have occurred. No one would hire us if we had an alcohol-related incident especially the pilot world, it's true. No one would hire you because they might see you as a liability. He also told us that if we had any problems, he would be willing to talk to us and that we can e-mail or call him anytime we needed to.

February

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February 28

For the last couple of weeks, I have been working hard on my school work. I did horrible on my first two tests of the semester. I was disappointed in myself. In my other two tests, I did awesome. I aced my fire protection test. I thought I was going to do badly since I had so much going on the night before. I studied with someone else for about an hour. I know that helped me out because there were some terms and questions I still had that my friend was able to answer.

The Daytona 500 was crazy. I arrived to Daytona from Miami when there were three laps left in the race. I am so happy I saw the ending of the race because I had never seen anything like it. In the end, I did not work during race week because my job was cancelled. I went to the University of Miami with another ERAU student for a conference. The conference was on how to end global poverty and what we can do to help people. There were many different ideas; of course some of them were very controversial; while others were acceptable and doable. People are trying to help out the poor and we also need to keep in mind that people that are homeless were not always poor. One of the speakers was earning six figures in a year and because of his wife, he ended up living in the streets because he could not support her habit. Now he lives in one of the homes that help homeless people. He is currently trying to get his life together. There are also other places like the food bank that try to give people food. They feel bad because they have to turn people away because they don't have enough food to distribute.

The one statement that hit home is the fact that many kids (in the thousands) go to sleep hungry every night. It reminded me why I enjoy helping people. I am philanthropy chair for my sorority. Helping children is our priority. I am currently working on a couple of projects so we can interact with children. I am excited about that.

This week is Greek Week. We had a Xi man BBQ on Sunday so we can meet all the contestants. So far we haven't won in any of the events for Greek Week. We had a Chariot Race and a Soap Box Derby. Our Soap Box derby didn't even finish the race. I knew we were going to be racing on grass, but we weren't anticipating on sand. So our little Soap Box got stuck in the sand. I helped in finding the parts for it, but Isadora built the whole thing. I fell asleep with my contacts on and the next day I woke up with a red eye. My eye still hurts. I don't drive at night or anything just because my eye is sensitive and I have people driving me around to places.

I saw a motorcycle accident today on my way to school. He flew a couple of yards. He did not have a motorcycle helmet on. He was not conscious. He was just laying there. I really hope he's ok.

My apartment is starting to get full of people coming down for Spring Break. Dave had his ex-girlfriend down here for a couple of days from PA. Now we have two of Amy's friends from MN staying at our place for a couple of days. I love meeting new people even though I am shy.

For the rest of the week for Greek week, we have a pyramid contest, tug of war and a powder puff game. Our sorority is having a semi formal with a Mardi Gras theme to it. Next week is also Relay for Life followed by a Car Wash.

February 12

I haven't done much around campus. I have been pretty much consumed in work, school, and Greek life. We've been holding events were we meet girls and I have been trying to set up fundraisers for Relay for Life. Also, Xi Man and Relay for Life are in March.

Most of my tests are this week or next week. I am not confident in the tests I had today. Right now, I am hoping I just pass. I feel that I should have been more prepared. I have another test in my AS 120 class. There's a lot of new information that I need to learn. If you want to fly for a living, you have to have a true passion for doing it. What I do like in the class is the videos that my professor shows us. In class for the first 5-10 minutes, he shows us a video about flying. It can be a jet fighter flying low, a plane landing, or an aircraft that didn't work. The professor is having a study session on Wednesday to prepare us for the test and make sure all of our questions are answered.

An interesting experience I had during work hours was that I had to proctor a quiz. I am really shy and don't really like to speak in public, but I had to give them instructions. It's a nice exposure to what professors or any public speakers go through every day.

On Saturday, I am going to be working the races. I am going to be working as one of the gatekeepers on the actual racetrack. I have to make sure the people have the correct tag on them before I can let them into the area. The traffic (both pedestrian and car) is congested. The speedway is on my way to campus so I get the opportunity to see all the traffic and mobile homes parked around on the area where I live. I am not sure how I am going to get to the speedway. I can park on campus because it is so close or I can try to walk it. I guess I'll find out on Saturday.

If you have any questions, just ask. I hope everyone is having a great day.

February 4

Today I went to the shooting range for the very first time in my life with the Firearms Club. I was very nervous just because I had never shot a gun in my life. The closest experience was when I did the Firearms Training System (FATS) at a local community college in Los Angeles. I did laser shooting through a simulation program that would put me in certain events and I would have to decide on whether to shoot or not. It was very addicting. The guns I shot were a Glock 26, an 1851 Colt Revolver, an HK 47, and a Kimber 45. All the guys I was training with were friendly. They felt that knowing how to handle a gun is very important. It helps prevent accidents if a person knows what they are doing. Chad and Ryan were saying that girls get intimidated easily when they see a gun. I would have to agree.

The first time while the president of the organization was telling me all the components of the gun and teaching me how to use it, I hesitated and put the gun down a couple of times. Even though I know there wasn't a magazine in the gun, I was scared to use it. The idea of having something in my hands that can cause so much harm petrified me. He made me point the gun at a target and pretend to aim and shoot until I felt comfortable. He then taught me how to load the gun along with some safety measures you need to take while having a loaded gun. By the end of the afternoon, I was feeling more comfortable in handling guns.

Keep in mind the school doesn't tolerate having weapons at school. If you are going to live in the dorms, there are storage lockers off campus that you can rent and store your weapons. Campus safety is working with the Firearms Club in ensuring that the necessary safety precautions are being taken.

January

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January 31

So far I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed with everything I have this semester. My classes are not going to be easy. I have 4 different groups that I have to meet with on a weekly basis. My technical report writing class requires us to meet a couple of times a week outside of class. The rest of my group projects are 20 page and 1 hour presentations. I am also finding myself only sleeping about 2-5 hours a night.

My computer is not helping me. My programs are not working properly and I installed the new version of Windows Explorer and now I don't have internet because of a firewall. Good thing my roommate is a member of the Geek Squad and he knows what he is doing.This week is Greek Week. We have a couple of events that we are having and we are meeting girls who want to be a part of the Greek life.If some of this doesn't make sense, pardon me. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. I hope you all have a great day.

January 28

On Sunday, Matt, three of his friends and I went to Tampa Bay for the Red Hot Chili Peppers Concert. It was about a 3 hour drive. We left early so we can get some dinner over there. We ate at a place called Splitsville. I really liked the environment. It was a restaurant/bar/bowling alley. I wish there was a place like that here in Daytona.

Gnarls Barkley was the opening band. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were awesome. I am glad I went. They played some of my favorite songs. If you ever get the opportunity to see them, take it. On the way back from the concert, we stopped at the Hard Rock Casino. I lost $5 on the slot machines. Matt won $26 on the slots. We (except Matt) fell asleep on the way back. We didn't get home until about 2:30 am. I stayed up for a bit and did some of my homework and realized that my MS Word program wasn't working. I had forgotten to ask my roommate to fix it for me when I got my laptop back from the Geek Squad.

January 27

Today we had a social with the Pikes (Pike Kappa Alpha). We went Go Karting at a place on Nova Rd. We got bracelets where we can ride for an unlimited amount of time for an hour. I managed to ride about 6 times. I love Go Karting. I know that cars don't go that fast, but it's still fun.

The Rolex 24 started at noon. I heard it was a lot of fun. I missed it. I was told it was free from midnight to 5 am but apparently they were still charging people to get in and since I didn't want to spend money to go in for about an hour, we just went back and I hung out in Vick's room.

I spent my night hanging out with Angelica and Hilda at Aqua. It had been awhile since I had been to a regular club. The boys I came with left for Zeba's and I refused to go back there. I am glad all the girls stayed behind. I actually met a couple of interesting people that night. We ended up in the VIP lounge hanging out with awesome people. Apparently, they also were students at Embry-Riddle. It's nice to have the opportunity to meet people you wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to get to know.

January 22 - January 26

On Tues, I went to the activities fair for a couple of minutes. I wanted to see what clubs we had. Also, I wasn't sure if ASSE was doing anything for it. I really would like it if the president starts delegating some work or we start meeting on a regular basis. I want to get this club going because it is one of the best places for networking and they are helpful when it comes to scholarships and internships.

Later on that day, I also went to the CO-OP Seminar. There was a lot of information in there that I didn't know about. The career services personnel do their best to let you know about all the internships and jobs available in all majors. They give you interview tips and resume tips. I actually need to go there sometime so I can work on proofreading my resume and start working on a cover letter.

On Wed, I went to the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) meeting. They have many interesting events going on this semester. I am excited to be a part of this club. They are planning on having some speakers come in to talk about aircraft accident investigations. Also, the Prescott campus has an accident lab that, of course, the Daytona campus is jealous of. :-P I really want to see it because people from all over the U.S. come in and get trained in aircraft investigations. They are planning on sending a couple of people from the club during Spring Break to see it.

I also went to the Firearms Club meeting. I saw it on the activities fair and it caught my attention. So far there are only 3 girls in the club and many guys. I was one of the few that had never shot a gun. One of the main priorities of the club is safety. They laid down all the rules for us. They want us to get certificates. I am not sure what they are since I am not that familiar with them. Also, never bring a weapon to campus. I really hate to admit this, but I am looking forward to being a part of this club.

On Thurs, I went to work and my task was to show a video for two classes. The professor was out of town on a school business. The video is called the Atomic Cafe. I would recommend you see it. I thought it was funny. After the class ended, I tried to rewind the tape and the VCR ate the brand new tape. I had to call IT because the tape was stuck in the VCR. In the end, I felt bad because I just ruined this professor's tape. Although, I am glad it happened after the last class because then I wouldn't have known what to do if it happened in between those two classes.

On a lighter note, the school is doing Relay for Life. I am a captain for one of the Alpha Xi Delta teams. We have a lot of fundraising to do. We are also planning on sleeping there so I need to reserve a spot for us. I also need to come up with ideas on a fundraiser to do during the Relay for Life.

This semester I have four group projects. These are semester long projects where I have to meet people on a weekly basis to get my part of the project done. I have one problem. They all want to meet on the same day. Also I have so much to do that it's hard for me to meet and then go home after midnight and work on my homework. I am thinking of cutting down my work hours. I am working twice as many hours and I know it's affecting my school work and sleep. I am sleeping about 3-5 hours a night. I'll see how many I am going to cut down.

On Friday, I went to the Etiquette Dinner. I mentioned it earlier because it was free food. I love free food. I went to eat with my friend at a Chinese Buffet on Nova and International Speedway. It was pretty good. Of course I ate like 5 or 6 plates. He was pretty much laughing at me. After work, I went to Friendly's to eat ice cream with Adrianna. I got ready for my etiquette dinner because it was business attire. They served brie as our appetizer. They served shrimp bisque which I thought was delicious. The only problem is that I am allergic to shrimp. I had a couple of bites of it because I was curious how it tasted. I did get a little rash break out. They also served some salad with raspberry vinaigrette. For the entree they gave me a chicken plate with no crab meat. It was all so good. They also served Napoleons. I was so stuffed by the end of my eating binge.

After the dinner, I went home and went to sleep since I wasn't feeling well. My rash was still bothering me and I had a huge headache. I am surprised I didn't have a tummy ache. I was planning on going to two parties that night and I missed both them. I needed the sleep anyway.

January 19 - January 21

On Friday, I went to Zeba's with the boys and I brought Adrianna with me. I had a great time hanging out with my friends. There were a lot more people that I recognized. My friend, Susie was in town so I left the club to see her for a bit and met her at someone's house. There were so many people that I didn't know that I just left. I ended up back at Zeba's. At this rate, it looks like I'll be single for the rest of my life.

On Saturday, I went to the Welcome Back to School Party. We showed up late because Adrianna locked herself out of her apartment. We called Safe Ride to give us a ride to El Azteca. For Safe Ride, you have to pay them $8 if you are asking them to give you a ride to another place. If live within the area covered, then your ride is free. I am glad we have that program here at school. I asked Susie to give Adrianna and me a ride back to my place. She said Yes, but she left the club early. One of my sorority sisters gave me a ride home.

On Sunday, Adrianna decided that she wanted to make dinner. She wanted to make chicken tenders. I go to the store and buy the ingredients for her. I had to do laundry so I told my roommate, Cheese to keep an eye out for her. Adrianna is learning how to cook so I don't trust her in my kitchen by herself. I have cooked with her before and she's hilarious. I don't want to be mean because I know she's trying and I think she's doing a good job. Well apparently while I was gone, Cheese went to his room and when he came out, he noticed that the whole living room and kitchen area was full of smoke. Oh Adrianna, she blames it on the oil. I believe that could have been one of the factors, but then again its Adrianna. By the time, I came back everything was fixed and the food was ready to eat. All I hear Adrianna talk about is how she wants to make this again. I'll trust her in my kitchen the second time around.

January 16 - January 18

Hey everyone welcome to the New Year. I hope everyone had a safe and great break.

I have a couple of goals this semester. I would like to travel and see more of Florida. I also would like to go to Orlando and visit some of the tourist places. I would also like to hang out with more people and have friends. The most important ones are that I want to keep up with my grades and find an internship or a good paying job over the summer.

It's the first week of classes and so far all my classes seem to be very interesting. I am taking fire protection, safety management programs, human factors in aviation, technical writing and introduction to aeronautical science. One thing I have learned about safety is that you also need to have a better idea of how the business world works. Most companies always talk in money terms. If any of you decide to go for safety, I would suggest you get a minor in business. During lecture my professor made it sound that you would have an advantage in the working world.

I am also working at the office at least 20 hours each week. Since it's the first week, things tend to be pretty hectic. People are trying to get into closed sections so you try to tell them where to go. Professors are trying to get their papers copied so it can be ready for the students.

Also because of the tornado, rooms have been moved around. What used to be the testing center and the mail room are now offices for professors from the physical science dept.

In the midst of all the chaos, I have been trying to work on my journal and so far it seems that I am not typing fast enough or can't seem to find a computer when I can use it. My computer wasn't working properly so I have taken it to the Geek Squad to have it fixed. I haven't had access to a computer until late last night.

Woohoo! I just signed myself up for free food. It's actually an etiquette dinner and they serve you a 5 course meal. Also I am going to the Red Hot Chili Pepper Concert in Tampa Bay with a guy named Matt. Another thing I did was I sign up to work during Race Week. I am looking forward to the next upcoming weeks and see where my next adventure takes me.

If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me at campo085@erau.edu or any of the messengers: meblue81. Have a great night.

January 7 - January 15

I came back from California on the 7th. My roommate, Cheese, picked me up from the airport at about 11:30. We got home and I just slept for a ridiculous amount of time.

I met Vick, Guillermo, and other random people on Monday night. We walked around campus just to see the damages that were done by the tornado. We also had a new student meet with us. Apparently, Vick was staying in touch with someone that was going to be a new student for the Spring semester and he was supposed to meet us in front of the flight line. We finally found Rafael and we took him with us to eat at Denny's.

The next day, I went to the financial aid office but I didn't find it. I went to the student center to ask, but they weren't sure because the rooms in Canaveral hall were not ready just yet. A lady told me that they were temporarily in the 2nd floor but they close at 4pm. I finally made it there the next day and managed to fix everything. I was quite sad that I had to give up going to Universal Studios with the other kids since I had never been to the one here and I have not been to Orlando.

The weekend was a new experience for me. On Friday, I went to an alternative lifestyle club called Zeba with a bunch of guys. I had a great time. I also met a lot of friendly boys. A person from a group competed in a dance off competition and won.

On Saturday, I went to Angelica's house because she was having a Pink clothes gathering, but first we had to pick up Amanda from the airport. I met many of Angelica's friends but left early because my carpool had told their friends they were going to go to Zeba's. There were a lot more people I knew. I also wasn't even dressed to go clubbing so I felt a little bit out of place because I thought we were just going to hang out at Angelica's and then I was going to go home.

On Sunday, I went to Orlando for the first time. I went to the Parliament House, which is also a gay club. It is a lot bigger than Zeba's. Also there's a lot more of a variety of people. I didn't like it as much because I lost the group of people I was with. Sometimes I just felt a little bit uncomfortable. Also a girl that was smoking burned my shirt and my hand because her cigarette bumped into me.

Overall my weekend was great. It had been awhile since I have had fun with random people. I also felt that I met a lot of genuine and unique people. Also, if need be the boys take care of me and make sure I am not standing there by myself.

December

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December 11

It has been brought to my attention (thanks Carlos) that I have been neglecting my journal. I will apologize for that.

I got Philanthropy Chair in the sorority. I am pleased that I got that position. I love working with children. It will also help me become familiar with what is in and around Daytona Beach. So far the only thing I have lined up is Relay for Life in March. I wanted to do some sort of egg hunt for the children, but we will see because apparently someone else might do it and we don’t want to take their event away from them.

Health wise (sp?) I am much better. I went to the doctor last week and she gave me more medicine. She said that if the cough still persists that I may have to have a chest x-ray. I am hoping I get better within the next couple of days.

School has been on the hectic side. Everything seems to be on the same day. I have been trying to keep up with everything but at the same time I feel that I am falling behind. I have managed so far to stay on top for the most part.

I had a test, a paper and two presentations due on Monday. I also had a test last Tuesday and 3 tests and a paper on Wednesday. I also missed 3 days of work because of the schoolwork I had. So far, I have gotten 2 A’s in Psychology and Business Management. I took a final in Meteorology and I need a high B/low A to get an A in the class. He’s planning on posting the grades tomorrow. I have to be patient and see what I got on my final. I have one more final to go and that is in my Safety Science class. After I finish this journal, I get the privilege of studying for this final.

I have been going out even though I have had exams, finals, and projects due. I just make sure I study for a certain amount of time. Also I am the type of person that goes out at midnight instead of going out at like ten. I have also been meeting many people here at ERAU. It’s good to give your brain a break.

Currently, I do not like work. I am doing teacher evaluations, but the machine keeps on breaking. Also some people don’t follow directions. Some people do it in pen, don’t bubble it correctly, etc. So I have to start the class evaluation a couple of times before I can even get anywhere. Today the papers were also getting stuck. So hopefully we get another little machine soon because we have a lot of names to go through. I never realized how many classes our department offered until now.

Also, apparently, the school is raising their minimum wage. I’ll be getting paid more next semester.

Oh yes, congrats to everyone planning on attending ERAU this spring.

HOTELS There are a couple of hotels around campus. The ones I can think of right now are
the Courtyard Marriot,
the Residence Inn,
Hampton Inn,
Studio Plus and there are a couple more.

APARTMENTS Some apartment names that I can think of right now are
Forrest Lake
Lake Forest
Indigo Pines
Indigo Plantation
Carolina Club
Sun Pointe
Sutton Place
Misty Springs
Island Club
Indigo Lakes
The Anatole
Here are some of them. Also keep in mind that some apartments only accept low income. I am not sure which ones are those but just try to find places on the internet to give them a call. I hope this information helps. I hope you have a great couple of weeks and happy holidays.

If you have any questions, I’ll try to answer them.

November

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November 22 - November 26

I drove up to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. I went to meet Mo's family. Mo has been my friend since I first started college back in 2000. :-P His mom made tons of food for Thanksgiving. She made turkey, ham, chicken, and goat. I tried goat and ham for the first time in my life. They were pretty good.

We also watched two movies, Borat and Deja Vu. Both of them were entertaining. We also went to the Aquarium. Tickets are expensive and you can only go in at a certain time. Our ticket times were 5:00 pm. We hung out at Centennial Park for 4 hours until we were able to go to the Aquarium. By then, we were frustrated and tired. I think if we would have known or made better plans our day would have been better. Next time when I go back to Atlanta, I am going to plan out my day so I know what is going on around the city.

November 20 - November 21

I got in trouble at work today. I was working at the front desk and one of the guys that works for one of the professors sits in front of the desk and starts speaking loudly. My other coworker, Drew, told him to speak with his inner voice. Steve said no and continues to speak loudly. The department chair can't concentrate and the secretary tells me to leave the desk.

November 19

I slept in today. I gave my roommate a ride to work and then headed to cook for the Sigma Chi. For Penny Wars, the sorority was going to cook dinner for the winner. This year the Sigma Chi fraternity won the competition. We cooked pasta and brought salads and desserts. I hope they were satisfied.

I also worked on a paper today. It is a speech critique for my communications class.

November 18

Today is a special day. I officially became a sister of AXiD.

Afterwards we went to eat at Moe's. Moe's is like Chipotle, Quodoba, and Salsarita's if you have heard of any of those restaurants. They sell burritos, tacos, and salads.

I also went to all you can drink at Cancun Lagoon. For the first time in a long time I was not the designated driver. It was a fun night. I started talking to other people. After that we went over to Adrianna's friend house and they played games. We got home at around 4 am.

November 13 - November 17

I have just been going through the motions. I just work, school, work, school etc. I have also been sick so I have been late to work for the last couple of weeks. I feel bad but I am trying to get as much of the little sleep I am getting. I am so glad Thanksgiving break is coming because I feel that I really need it. This week is busy with sorority stuff since we are getting initiated on Saturday. I also have a couple of homework assignments that I need to finish.

I completely forgot that I had a group project. I didn't forget I just read the due date wrong. I thought it was due on the 16th when it was due on the 14th. My partner called me at 9 at night and was wondering where I was. I called my professor and e-mailed him because I felt bad. Well he worked on the presentation. He sent me the presentation and I finished doing the rest. I typed up some notes and worked on the last couple of slides. I was up until 4:30 am. I was glad when it was done. The second part of the assignment was that we had to present it in front of the class. Of course right before I have to present, I go on a coughing spree. I didn't finish giving my part of the presentation because I couldn't stop coughing and also there was a guy in class that kept interrupting us. Our presentation was on motorcycle safety and he was the only person in the class that owns and rides a motorcycle.

Another homework assignment I have to do for psychology is that I have to break a norm. Good thing this is due on Dec. 1st but I have no clue what to do. We'll see what I come up with when the date is closer.

I went out with my roommate, Cheese, on Tuesday. His friends from Best Buy are crazy. Instead I hung out with Adrien, who is also an AXiD new member. For the first time since I have been at Embry-Riddle, I felt a little bit more comfortable. Usually I walk into a place and I am pretty much glued to my roommate because I don't know anyone else.

November 11 - November 12

We had a sorority brunch today. We set up the whole room with decorations and we made the food for our bigs.

I also got ready to go to formal. I took my roommate with me as my date. It was at the Daytona Speedway. It was a nice time. Also some of the alumni came into town for this event. I had a great time. Afterwards we went to Mai Tai's to meet Cheese's friend.

This week we are entering Initiation week so I'll be busy for the rest of the week. I am excited to officially become a sister. I have been working on a couple of projects for the sorority. I am also working on my Bigs present.

November 5 - November 10

This week I have a test every day except for Thursday. I have to make sure I do well on all my classes and pass all my tests. I went to the Doctor on Monday and on Tuesday. He gave me prescription which cost me $75 to fill. I have been looking at insurance companies, but I have no idea what to get. I have to see which one is going to accept me first.

I have been trying to go to work, but since I am sick, it's been hard showing up. I hardly get sleep because I spent half the night coughing my lungs out. I feel like a slacker since I have been missing everything.

My professor accidentally put in the wrong grade on blackboard. So when I checked it, all I saw was that I failed it. I was so devastated because I didn't know what to do with myself. I was just trying not to freak out and was trying to figure out how I had failed the test. I knew I hadn't studied that much the night before because I had been working on getting some couches for the apartment. I also had gone to Matt's apartment around midnight to study for the test. Finally, I decided to go talk to the Professor but checked my information once again and it said that I had actually passed the test. My week ended on a good note.

I also had a sleep over with my big (MC), my twin (Ashell) and my lil niece (Isadora). It was so much fun playing a joke on MC's boyfriend.

November 2 - November 4

We flew to St. Louis on Thursday morning. We didn't get into St. Louis until the evening. We were all tired of flying all day. We went to the hotel and went to the welcome reception. We met a couple of people from different chapters.

On Friday, we were at sessions all day. It was actually pretty exhausting, but interesting. The sessions covered many different areas such as membership, graduation, taking the ASP and CSP tests. They also talked about many different areas that you can do with a degree in Safety Science. The people in this organization are willing to help you out in anything you need.

On Saturday we had more session to go. We had an open forum and played a game which tested our knowledge. I am just in my introduction class so I didn't know much. Some of the questions were specific to certain courses like fire protection etc. We managed to get contact information from other chapters because they heard that we just got our student section running again.

If any of you want to join ASSE or want to know more about it let me know. I would definitely recommend joining this organization.

October 30 - November 1

I am still sick and I went to the health center. They gave me some meds to see if they make me feel better. I have two tests that I will be missing this week (Business Management and Meteorology). I have already talked to my professors about it and I will be making them up next week.

I took a Safety Science test on Tuesday. I passed.

The reason I am going to be missing my tests is because I am going to the ASSE Leadership Conference in St. Louis, MO.

October

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October 27 - October 29

Unfortunately I am finally sick. I have a very sore throat. Currently, my voice is gone. I have a presentation to give for the sorority and I have a speech presentation to give. I am thinking of going to the Dr. tomorrow and hopefully she gives me something that will work.

On Friday, I was tired because my roommate, Dave (Cheese) and his friends were being obnoxiously noisy. I was going to say something but of course one of his friends convinced me to go to Denny's. Even though I wasn't hungry, I ordered a meal and his friend paid for me. Since I was still mad, I decided to join Amy (my other roommate) and some of the APO brothers at that Teeter Totterthon. Alpha Phi Omega and Tri Sigmas do it as a fundraiser to give money to help children. It was good to see Amy, since we have opposite schedules we don't get to see each other often. I caught up with her for a bit and caught up with the other APO brothers that were awake at 4 am.

After talking to Cheese, we made a deal to hang out that night. I left the house and got ready for the parade. Our float theme was firefighters. We teamed up with the EMS club. It was fun. We did a dance and threw candy at people. I think we won something, but I am not sure what.

I hung out at the Tailgate Party and they had tons of food. They were giving out corn dogs, chicken kabobs, corn on the cob, and fries. They also had games such as rock climbing and bungee jumping except you jump on a trampoline and do flips.

Afterwards, Isadora and I went to the Basketball game. We, of course, won. The Homecoming King was Izzy. The Homecoming Queen was Kerri. She is a nontraditional student like me. I personally think that's awesome.

I hung out with my roommate at one of his friend's place. The next night, we went dancing at Aqua. Vick needs to turn 18 so he can get into the clubs. I was really looking forward to hanging out with him.

Now I have to study for my tests that are coming up. I have Safety Science on Tuesday, Speech presentation on Wednesday, Meteorology on Thurs, and Business Management on Friday. I'll be in St. Louis on Thurs and Friday for the ASSE conference. (ASSE = American Society of Safety Engineers) I guess I have to make up the tests either on Wed or next week. As of right now, I don't feel ready for any of the tests. I just want to sleep and hope I feel better.

Hopefully, none of you are getting sick. If you are, get well soon. Have a great two weeks and get lots of candy.

October 23 - October 26

School has kept me busy. Most of my tests are coming up within the next two weeks. I was supposed to give a presentation but we ran out of time. So I don't give my presentation until Nov 1st. I just hope I remember what I was going to say.

I went to the job fair for a bit. I need someone to look at my resume. I missed the Career Center's resume critique times because I was either in class or working. One of the Boeing interns critiqued my resume and said it was more like business instead of engineering. Her comment made me think about what field of safety science I want to work in. I am still exploring and trying to figure it out.

We also did the sorority sleepover and got a lot of the work done. The only thing I would like more than anything in the world is sleep. I have been sleeping four hours each night and I am pretty tired. I would like to be able to sleep more than that. There's a lot going on this weekend, but I might just sleep. I don't want to get sick because I have been pushing myself.

October 21 - October 22

I went to the Chapter Retreat and I had a great time. I found out who my Big sis was. My Big Sis is MC. I have been curious this whole time who my Big sister was.

I went to the Phi Delta Theta Camping trip. This time I slept in a tent with Isadora. We got the tent from the ICI center. It was exciting to meet a whole new set of people. Isadora had never had a smore so one of the boys made her one. She liked it.

October 16 - October 20

This week is the week I have been waiting for since it is the week I get to find out who my Big sister is. Each day this week, I'll be getting presents and clues from my Big sis in the sorority. I am excited to get my clues.

My Big sis gave me so many exciting presents on the first day. I got chocolate candy, a picture frame, a disposable camera, and a photo album. Of course I didn't know who I had at first. I think I am going to figure it out though. Isadora told me whose handwriting it was. The Bigs are sneaky and they have other people write the notes for them. Other presents I got were flowers, more candy, a CD, a candle, t-shirt, Channel Chance perfume, and a blanket.

I went to MC's house to watch the ending of Project Runway. While I was at the house I was looking around her apartment for clues to see if she was my Big sis. I just wasn't sure.

It's weird but I also never get flowers and this week I got flowers twice. One set of flowers came from my Big sis. The other set came from a girl named, Joy. She was thanking me for finding her ID card and credit card.

October 14 - October 15

I drove with Adrianna to the annual SAE's camping trip at Ginnie Springs. I had a great time. I met a couple of new people. We went floating down the river which is something I had always wanted to know and never got a chance to do.

Adrianna had told me that she had gotten a two person tent and she said that I didn't need to bring a tent. Well when Peter helped us build the tent (actually I think we were useless), the tent was very small. It could barely fit one person. It was a 5x6 Junior Tent. It was funny to see the tent because it was surrounded by huge tents around it. Of course people were making fun of it because of its size.

I ended sleeping in Izzy's truck because there was no way I could have fit in the tent with her. I am glad I did because it got really cold at night and I wasn't that prepared.

I would recommend this trip to anyone that comes next year. I met so many people in this trip. Also Big/Lil week is this week which means I start getting presents from my Big tomorrow. I am excited to find out who it is.

Oh yeah if you have e-mailed me I will apologize if I have not responded to you. I am currently trying to find the answers to your questions. Have a great night and if you have any questions feel free to e-mail.

October 9 - October 13

I had a lot of sorority stuff to do this week. I also had a psychology test to study for. One of my professors assigned a last minute homework assignment. I was furious getting it at 10 at night when I have the class at 11 the next day. I wrote him an e-mail and asked him if he can give the homework a little bit earlier. He did give an extension but I could have worked on the homework on Sunday night. My study hours for my psychology test were just cut short because I had to do this homework assignment.

I went to the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI) meeting. They have a couple of events, but I don't think I can go to any of them. Their homecoming theme is Jimmy Buffet(?).

I also went to a Creating Resumes/Cover Letters presentation. I learned a couple of pointers on how to improve my resume. We have a two day career fair coming up during Homecoming week. There is a list of companies coming on the ERAU careers website. I am planning on attending to see what kind of careers I may have with my Safety Science major. Also I would to see if any of them would offer internships for the summer.

On Friday, all my professors gave me a study day. A break is what I have been wanting for the last couple of weeks. I definitely picked up my room and unpacked three huge boxes. Also I did a little bit of homework and researched some of the companies that were on the career website. I also did a DVD work out video which my roommate (Amy) took to her friend's sleepover. Cheese and I were supposed to go to the Hockey Game but he took too long (he says it was because he thought I was going to take long (they are always blaming the girls), so we just decided to drop by my friend, Adrien's house who was having people over because her best friend was visiting her.

October 6 - October 8

On Friday, Dave (Cheese) and I just watched the movie Munich. I wanted to catch up on sleep and unpack for a bit but what can I do, I am a slacker.

On Saturday, we left to Vero Beach to hang out with some of my friends who live there. I hadn't seen them since May. Mikey and Rachael took us to Captain Hiram's which is a restaurant and a Sand Bar.

We then went back to their house and watched Chappelle's Show while we waited for the rest of the people to be ready to go to West Palm Beach. While we were waiting we decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory and then we were going to go bar hopping.

West Palm Beach is a different experience from Daytona Beach. Most of the cars we saw were BMWs, Jaguars, Porsches, limos, and classic cars to name a few. It's a high end area. We walked around while we waited for our table at Cheesecake Factory to be ready. There was a concert in the middle of the area. The town was full of people. After we ate, we proceeded to go to the bars.

The bars were empty. I don't know where the people were. Apparently, there is usually a cover charge and a dress code but they weren't enforcing it that night in any of the bars. I am not sure what the age requirement is to get in. We were all over the age of 21. The drinks were very expensive. Advise: If you ever go to West Palm Beach make sure you were nice clothes/ dress to impress (no flip flops or tennis shoes) and bring tons of money if you want to drink and eat.

We left Sunday afternoon. I did some homework and read for my psychology test on Wednesday. I also hung out with some of the sisters and had Cheese Fondue and watched TV.

October 5

I finally got my parking pass. Woohoo!!! They were nice enough to give me one. My registration card is still in process but I finally had proof that I had one. The girls that were helping me were actually really nice.

Also I got a card from Vicki. I was surprised to receive mail. It was so nice of her to send me a card. She has been very helpful in trying to make sure I am calm and not freaking out about my tests. It is very hard for me to be going through this by myself. I am in a place where I don't know anyone and everything is new to me. I don't have close friends yet that I talk to every day. (Hence, the reason why I highly encourage people to live on campus.) Her letter made my day because even though I may not know her well, she is willing to help me out in any way she can. I find strength in people's willingness to help me.

I am finally free!!! I actually don't have anything due tomorrow. My next test is on Wednesday. I am happy to know that I can breathe and take some time to relax. I went to the Alpha Phi Omega meeting and then went to Uno's and hung out with the APO brothers for a bit. We played Trivia games and ate food. They have half priced appetizers at night. It is good that I finally get to talk to someone other than myself.

I hope everyone has a great night.

October 4

I presented my speech today. I was so nervous at first that all that was coming out of my mouth was "ummm ummm." One of my classmates that was sitting in front of me whispered "Wow! She's nervous." I just grabbed my outline and just started giving an informative speech about the St. Louis Arch. Towards the end of my speech, I was feeling a little bit more comfortable and I think the ending was great. I just need to focus on the beginning of the speech.

I also went to Orlando last minute to pick up a dresser I bought from craigslist. I had a lot of meetings to go to but I need this dresser so I can finally unpack my boxes. I realized that I have more clothes than what I actually thought and there was no way I was going to unpack it. My room is messy as it is right now. I am working on it. The reason why I didn't go to Walmart or Target to buy one is because I didn't want to have to build it. I just want to get an already made one. This dresser is real wood and it's really nice too. I personally believe I got a good deal out of it.

I unfortunately missed all my meetings. The trip was longer than I thought and Cheese's truck doesn't really go that fast. Also the area where we (Amy and I) went to pick it up was called Avalon Park. I thought I was in Lala Land. The houses were gorgeous and some of them had Halloween decorations put up. Actually the person I bought the dresser from went to one of the Embry-Riddle Extended Campus somewhere in Europe. It gave me hope that someday I'll have a beautiful house.

Amy and I finally got home. She actually had to leave for a night flight. Cheese and I unloaded the dresser from the car and put it in the living room. I had meteorology homework to do and school gets priority over the dresser.

October 3

I studied for a little bit for my meteorology test. I actually still have a big headache. I know I at least got half of them right. I am hoping I get more than half of them correct.

Now I have to focus on my speech presentation I have due tomorrow. I am not sure exactly how I am going to say everything. I have a little bit of a problem with transitions. I don't really like giving speeches. I get so nervous that I feel that I am never going to be prepared. I also hope the people find the St. Louis Arch interesting. I think the one thing about this class that is different from the rest of my classes is that we are a unique group of people.

We are not necessarily friends but we feel comfortable around each other in class. We talk about the most random things. Of course the boys always complain how there aren't enough girls in the school and they think of creative majors that they think would attract girls to come to Embry-Riddle. One of them was actually Aviation Nursing. Another one is that one of the guys showed up wearing his Spongebob Squarepants pajamas. We just started talking about Spongebob and how they had a show where they questioned his sexuality. Yes I know; it's random.

As much, as I don't like my Speech class because I don't like speaking in front of people I really enjoy this class. Also the professor has a sense of humor too. She wants to make sure we learn the material she teaches us plus she wants us to improve in our speaking skills. She reminds us that we will be giving presentations once we get into the work force and I agree.

October 2

After going to bed late on Sunday night and waking up early to catch my flight back to Orlando, I rush back to Daytona Beach to make sure I arrive to my Introduction to Psychology class on time. After my Psychology class, I have a test to make up in my business management class. I asked the professor if I can grab something to drink because I hadn't eaten anything yet. I just grab a drink because the rest of the snack machines require you to have money in your Eagle Card. I haven't put money on it, but as soon as I get some, I am going to put at least $100 on it. I took my test and she graded it on the spot. I did really well on it.

Also I became an official pledge of Alpha Xi Delta. I went to their meeting and they had someone from one of the other fraternities speak about Up Until Dawn. They do fundraisers to help children with cancer. One of the guys started showing a video about a little boy with brain tumor and I just started crying. I had to leave the room. Normally I don't act like that but my test is coming up. Many of my family members on my mom's side have cancer. My uncle and my grandpa both died from cancer. Two of my uncles and my aunt are currently fighting their cancer battles. I am scared to receive bad news when I do take the test.

Vicki is definitely being supportive. She said she was willing to go with me or have some of the other sisters come with me to take the test. I will have to wait and see how I am feeling that day.

I am pretty much crushed for the rest of the night and I have a huge meteorology test tomorrow. I have read all the chapters but the study guide questions seem pretty hard. I guess I'll wake up early to study for it.

September

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September 29 - October 2

St. Louis has been exciting. I am so tired and drained though. I have been really busy with everything that I am trying to just make sure I am holding on. The first thing I did in St. Louis was go to the arch. I didn't go all the way to the top because it was raining. I bought some books about the arch and took pictures of it so I can use it for my project. I have an informative speech due on Wednesday.

I went to the Homecoming game at my old college on Saturday and that was exciting. I met up with an Embry-Riddle graduate, Will who just moved there and is working for the government. We watched the game and fireworks and then I showed him a little bit of the city. I also went shopping for a white dress and white shoes. I basically spent $18 for a dress and shoes. I love bargain shopping. I have my Pledge-In on Monday for Alpha Xi Delta.

If you have any questions, let me know.

September 25 - September 28

This week has been busy. I have been basically working on homework and studying for upcoming tests. I have a business management, meteorology, and safety sciences tests coming up within a week. I also have had quizzes in psychology and homework in meteorology to do. I also have an informative speech to write. I am planning on talking about the St. Louis Arch. I haven't found any information in the library about it so I am worried about it. Good thing I am going to St. Louis this weekend.

September 24

I am going to be an Alpha Xi Delta!!! I am so excited. My roommate is going to be a Sigma Sigma Sigma. I am happy for everyone. We went out for ice cream and got to know each other.

September 18 - September 23

I had my first exam of the semester. It was in my Intro to Psychology class. I think I passed it. I am just hoping I got a B. Some of the questions definitely stumped me.

This week was sorority recruitment week. I actually never pictured myself as a sorority girl, actually neither do my friends. I decided to try it out and see if I like it and I dragged my roommate to come with me. I was excited to be meeting girls. The three sororities had different themes and you would go into different locations to interact with them. They are all unique and fun. I would rather do this at least once a week for the rest of the school year. I love girls' night out. I know I took them for granted for the last couple of decades but now I treasure every moment.

Yes, the boys (the ones I interact with) at school are nice. They don't give me any problems for the most part. :-P

September 19

Today I found out a got a scholarship. I am so happy. They are going to be sending a check to the school so that's going to help me out with the other school expenses and I will finally be able to have health insurance. For now, I am going to go with the one that the school recommended since I have to do my yearly check up. I am going to be shopping around for an insurance company that would be willing to insure me with my previous medical conditions. Hopefully it works out in the end.

I encourage you to apply for all the scholarships you qualify for, even if you think you are not going to get it. When I was in high school, I applied for many scholarships. I was always at the counselor's office asking for letters of recommendations and trying to get my transcripts sent to different places. Now, I am going to start over so when I get my final grades in for the semester, I am going to start applying for scholarships. I am also going to start applying for internships for the summer.

I also went to the SAE meeting. They have a couple of teams working on different competitions. They have an Aero Team, 2 (1 Co-ed, 1 female Mini Baja teams, and a Hybrid group.

September 18

Today in my speech class, one of my classmates forgot to turn off the phone. The phone started ringing in the middle of the classroom and the professor asked if that was his phone ringing. He said it was his mom. She picked up the phone and talked to his mom. Everyone in class was laughing because you hear the professor say "No. This is not Papi. This is his teacher. Can you hear the students laughing? Can you please call back after 4:30."

Lesson of the day: Make sure you have your cell phone off or the ring mode on silent.

I also went to the TFO meeting with Vick. I think it stands for Task Force One but I am not sure. It's for first year students who want to be more involved with the Student Government.

I bought my business management book online and never received it. I filed a claim with the company and my credit card company. I also bought the book from someone else online, hopefully I get it soon.

September 18

Hey Everyone! My name is Blanca and I am a transfer/freshman at Embry-Riddle. I am seeking a degree in Safety Science. I am also a nontraditional and a commuter student (I am too old to be on campus).

Where should I start? I am not sure. I guess I can start on my last day in Seattle.

August

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August 20

After saying goodbye to my friends in Seattle and eating some of my favorite Salvadorean food. I start my destination to Daytona Beach, FL. I leave Seattle late in the evening to St. Louis, MO. My friend, Matt picks me up at the airport around midnight. I pretty much stayed up all night talking to him and catching up. I hadnít seen him since late January.

August 21 - August 22

I woke up in the morning and got ready to pick up Jason from the airport. Jason is a friend that I met through the first year student discussion board on Blackboard. He just got out of the military and was going to be starting Embry-Riddle as a freshman. My friend from St. Louis backed out last minute and I was talking to Jason about it and he volunteered. I don't feel comfortable going on long drives by myself.

We loaded up my car and I said goodbye to a couple of friends. After staying in St. Louis longer than expected, we started our trip to Daytona Beach, FL. We drove for about 4 hours or so and stopped over at his uncle's place in Marion, KY whom he hadn't seen in a couple of years. We ate some dinner and we were chatting away and realized that it was very late to continue our driving. We spent the night at his uncle's house and started at noon on Tuesday.

The rest of the trip was frustrating. Jason started dating a girl after he decided he was going to come help me out. His girlfriend kept calling and making all these obnoxious and very inappropriate comments. This girl definitely has an imagination. You get the picture. I don't want to deal with that again.

August 23

We finally made it to Daytona Beach, FL on Wed morning (4 am). Thank God. I dropped him off at his place and I went to my apartment. I was so aggravated that I couldn't sleep. I started unloading my car at 6:30 and I was hoping I was in the right apartment. Vick called me in the morning to tell me that I needed to be at school at 8 am to go through the check-in process.

I went to school and met Vick and Luis. I checked in, got my orientation packet, and got my id picture taken. You need a state id so they know who you are. Also I saw other people I recognized. I said hi to Guillermo, Amanda, and Anita.

I finally met my roommates later on that day. I live off campus in a 3 bedroom apartment with Amy and David (Cheese). I also met them through the ERAU discussion board. We found out we didn't get onto campus in July so the quest for finding an apartment began. After many obstacles we finally got our hands on one on the 21st of August. Actually none of us saw the apartment until we got here. Amy is from the Twin Cities, MN and Cheese is from Lancaster, PA. They are both nice.

We all went back to school and I tried to finish doing the rest of my school errands. I dropped off my medical sheet and I tried to buy a parking pass. If you want a parking pass, you need insurance and your car registration. I unfortunately have lost mine after moving around so much. I thought I had it in the car but my old one was there. When I switched the registration card, I must have taken out the wrong one. I have requested a copy of my registration card and hopefully I get it soon. I got a temporary commuter pass.

August 24

Today I went back to school. My roommate, Cheese, took too long to get ready so we missed the box lunches. I went to the orientation group meeting. We got an overview of what school was going to be about. We had to watch a video and got a "tour." Our leader took us to the flight line, talked about Propellers, and took us to the Student Center.

I also went to the College of Aviation where I met some of the professors. Actually one of the meteorology professors thought I was a parent. It was a definitely awkward way to start a conversation, but he was nice and so were the rest of the faculty. I did talk to two Safety Science professors. There were so many professors I lost track of which ones were in Safety Science. I am definitely excited to start taking Safety Science courses.

I also went back to campus and met up with Vick and his friends. There are too many to list. We went to see Better Grades in Less Time with Gary Tuerak. He was trying to teach us how to speed read. It was a lot longer than expected. We left in the middle of the presentation. We just hung out in the dorms and I went back home a little too late but it was worth it.

August 25

Ha! now I am definitely paying the consequence for leaving campus too late. I was supposed to be on campus at 8 am for Transfer Student Advisement, but yeah definitely woke up at 10 a.m. I met with the department chair, Dr. Rodrigues and he was very helpful. He actually gave me an overview about the program and explained to me the air transportation track and the occupational health track. He wanted to know where I was from and how I chose that major. He helped me sign of for my classes and got them approved by each of the colleges. I did get to pick my classes. The intro to safety science course was closed, but he said to check up with him on Monday to see if a space opens up. So far my classes are Chemistry, Meteorology, Psychology, Business Management, and Speech. They all seem to be random classes. Oh yeah my chemistry class is at 8 am. I don't think that's going to work. I was already late for the Transfer Advisement meeting.

I then attended the Women Only program. It was definitely exciting to see other girls on campus. A couple of the upper classmen spoke about their experiences at Embry-Riddle. Also some of the professors spoke about how they are willing to help us if we need anything.

I then attended the reception where I met my big sister, Danielle. She has been very helpful. She has introduced me to a lot of girls around campus. I am glad I have a big sister.

Later that evening, Cheese (my roommate) and I went to the LUAU. Vick, Luis, and Cheese all wanted to throw me in the water but good thing I had the phone on me. Cheese said he was going to throw me in and I said I'll go in if he went in. As soon as I said it, I wanted to take it back, but it was too late. Cheese jumped into the pool and I went in with my clothes on. There was a belly flop contest. Most of them were fakes, but there were some painful ones. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. We (Luis, Cheese, Anita, and I) ended the night by going to Wendy's and going to our place to eat it. We watched half a season of the Chapelle show.

August 26

I went to Sundaes on Saturday. I can't reject ice cream. You know if something is wrong with me if I don't want ice cream. I love ice cream. I drove all the way to campus to have ice cream. Vick didn't pick up the phone and Anita wasn't available so I didn't see them. I enjoyed my ice cream and went back home.

I definitely wish I was living on campus. I went back to campus in the evening to go to the Greek BBQ. College students love free food, well at least I do. The girls here seem different than the typical sorority picture I have in my head. Overall, the girls here are approachable and friendly.

Later on in the night, Cheese and I went to SAE back to school party at El Azteca. I was the designated driver. My roommate signed us up for play beer pong. Woohoo!! It was my first time playing the game. We won the first game and lost the second one. We had people routing for us. I met a lot of people that night. The bad thing about meeting too many people in a night is that you don't remember their names.

August 27

Today my roommates and I went to the beach. Amy's boyfriend, Jeff, was in town for the launch because he had tickets to watch it up close. We played water Frisbee. The sand is different than the beach sand in California. Also you can go really far into the water and the water would only reach your waist (for me it would be shoulders, I tend to be vertically challenged).

After the beach, we changed quickly and went to the soccer game. There was a BBQ (Free) which was paid for by one of the fraternities. Luis also joined us. The soccer team won their match.

August 28 - September 1

Today is my first day of classes. Also after talking to Danielle, I figured out that my first class is actually in the Student Village. After class, I had a break so I went to see Dr. Rodrigues to see if there was a spot open for the Intro to Safety Science course. There was an opening in the class and of course I dropped my 8 am Chemistry class.

Classes were cancelled on Wednesday because of the Tropical Depression Ernesto. It didn't really rain that much. According to my meteorology professor we were on the South side of it so it doesn't affect us that much.

Overall my classes are interesting. Some of my classes are going to get harder than others, but I'll do my best. I have three female professors which is rare. Commuting to school is new to me. I actually carpool with my roommate. It's a good thing because it keeps me from being late to my classes.

I also got a job in the humanities department as an office assistant. It was very easy. She basically just gave me the job. I officially started working on Tuesday.

September 8 - September 9

My roommates and I went to a Toga Party at El Azteca. We went to Wal-Mart to buy some fabric. We actually met other people that were going to the party and we were helping each other choose the fabric. Amy bought a plaid one, Cheese bought a cow pattern, and I bought one that had butterflies. It was definitely a great time. I also met a lot of people that night. Again I was the designated driver. This time I gave a ride back home to Nate and Andrew since they didn't have a ride home. I had met them the week before through my friend Susie.

The next day we got ready to go to Daytona Lagoon which was being hosted by two fraternities. I had heard it was dead through Vick and other people. We get to the front door and we were told we had to pay. One of them told my roommate that she can get in for free and that Cheese and I still had to pay. We ended up leaving and hanging out for the rest of the night. I don't believe women should pay to go to fraternity events and I don't believe men should pay to go to sorority events (unless it's a fundraiser).

September 10 - September 18

This week was a very busy week for me. I was assigned two group projects that were due on Friday. I was on campus Wed until 1 in the morning and Thurs I was on campus until past midnight.

Also we had the activities fair. There are so many clubs and organizations on campus and not all of them were displayed. I also found out that I am the new Vice President of ASSE. The organization has been inactive for a couple of semesters and now we are working on having it active.

I promised I would spend time with Vick on Friday. I hung out with him for a bit and then I went home early because I was really tired for running around the whole week.

On Saturday, I went out with Cheese. It was our first time hanging out at Seabreeze. We were trying to figure out of places we can go for free. We went to Upstairs and then went to 550. I was trying to teach Cheese how to dance. (He has the mentality that if he's white, he can't dance. He was even more self conscious because he was the designated driver). We are taking baby steps. I am determined to have him dancing by the end of the semester or year.

I went to the Kennedy Space Center with some friends from Alpha Phi Omega (Co-ed service fraternity). If you like space and astronauts, I would definitely recommend going there. The entrance is close to $20. I spent a lot of time reading about the history of space. In the end, there is a room where you can play with the toys. They also have a G-force machine.

I know I wrote a lot. I have done so many things the past few weeks and I know I have forgotten many things. The next one hopefully won't be as long (unless of course you object). If you have any questions, feel free to contact me on the discussion board. Overall, I am enjoying my time here at Embry-Riddle. I hope you have a great day.