I completely forgot to post about the events that happened before the much needed Spring Break. My friends Emily and Rachel came up to visit me from Tucson and wanted to explore Prescott and especially Whiskey Row now that we are all 21 years of age! Following a rather ridiculous stressful week of school and ROTC the girls came up in the afternoon and I showed them my new and much-improved awesome living arrangement. I showed them around the school and although I feared it would only take 15 minutes because it is not that big, it took awhile because I gave them the whole tour of everything our campus has to offer. Admissions would have been proud because I was able to show them all the major sites of ERAU except the Ops Lab (which is the best part) because it was closed. We see ACI, the Library, and our Student Union everyday but when you show these buildings off to incoming students or friends/family they seem much cooler than we actually perceive them because we see them everyday. After I showed them the campus I drove them around the city to get a premature look of what Prescott basically has to offer. We ended up eating dinner at the newest and most delicious site Prescott has to offer, Chipotle, and I got free chips. This may be because I had two beautiful girls with me, which is a rare site in Prescott, and even rarer for a Riddle guy to be hanging out with, except of course for the Queen of blogging Ms. Liesl Hall and our friend Lauren.
We came back to campus in time for casino night where we met up with Liesl, Lauren and our crazy friend Anna and joined a blackjack table. We didn’t leave that table the entire night and had some fun faux-gambling these colorful chips away (I didn’t know what each of them was worth at first so I just bet whatever chips seemed best at the time). I didn’t win anything, as usual, and Liesl didn’t win an iPad like she did last year, so we left before the crowds rushed the exits and went back to my dorm where we had a mini-smorgasbord with the Party Pack of Lime Eegee’s that the girls brought up. Ahh Lime Eegee’s is the 2nd best flavor, second only to Watermelon. Peach & Berries comes 3rd now. The school hosted an event called Spring Fling and it was held in the Student Union. It was packed and a lot of students came. I hope the school provides the dance floor, beverages and fun that it did this year because it was really a good idea.
The next day I took the girls to Chartwells and for them it was a new experience but for me it was another day in the Dolldrums. Chartwells is great, but like any dining facility you can’t help but get used to it after awhile. We went into Prescott again and explored downtown taking pictures everywhere and touring Whiskey Row. There was this shop inside Whiskey Row that lets groups of friends or family take silly picutres of Western times in which they dress up in costumes and pose for these ridiculous and in some cases, lewd, shots. I dressed as an outlaw, Rachel dressed as a cowgirl and Emily of course dressed as a loose saloon girl. We took tons of shots and had a blast doing so but only could keep a few. We eventually chose a few and took them home. That was by far one of the most enjoyable moments I have had in Prescott.
Every time people come to visit in Prescott I take them to Zeke’s because its the best restaurant here. The food was awesome and then we dared to eat The Brownie. It was massive but we did it after dying through a mountain of chocolate, a moat of hot fudge and a whole avalanche of whipped cream. We visited Buddy’s Casino right after just to look around and since we had just seen Contagion we, at least I, were afraid to touch anything. We met up with some of our other 21 year old friends and eventually went to Whiskey Row. Our friend Soren met us there and we had a really good time checking out Whiskey Row for the first time and just hanging out. The girls left the next day but it was by far one of the best weekends ever.

At Casino Night with the infamous Liesl Hall

The Zeke's Brownie

Prescott Shenanigans

Best ever

So fun!

I went to France for spring break to visit my little brother Michael that lives there. The week and a half that I spent there was a lot of fun and filled with French pastries, cheese and wine along with the sights of France. My Mom brother and I visited all the normal tourist haunts such as Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, Parisian Catacombs and the Arc d’Triomphe, as well as Normandy where Michael lived. We saw several historical cities and the American Military Cemetary by Omaha beach. Unfortunately we had to return to the States to come back from Spring break and the semester kept going as if nothing had happened.
The first week back was already filled with presentations, papers and book reports that were due. It seems like the work all piled up because the weeks prior to Spring Break were filled with fun and a rather relaxed attitude. The first day that I was back Prescott was covered in snow that fell for about a day straight. It was funny watching some guy from the school shovel the paths and lay them with salt and then not 30 minutes after he was gone the snow would already have covered the paths he just cleaned.
Right now I am taking a break (actually procrastinating reading another book) and dreading writing yet another book report. Oh well, better get back to work, but hopefully I’ll find another moment to procrastinate very soon.

American Military Cemetery

The clubs here at Embry-Riddle put so much effort into making sure the students have fun activities to attend. One of these clubs is the Zumba Club. Last night, the Zumba Club put on a “Blacklight Zumba” night, open to anyone and everyone who enjoys a good dance workout! The Lower Hangar was temporarily transformed into a dance party, with blacklights, upbeat music, and neon EVERYWHERE! It was so much fun! Students came with neon clothes and tennis shoes ready to get down!

It was such a good workout! I didn’t realize just HOW good until I tried to get out of bed this morning… and couldn’t move!

Aaaand this pretty much explains everyone. The whole night. It was pretty awesome!

I love the cool clubs at ERAU!

“Fun. It’s this crazy thing where people smile and laugh and are generally pleased.”

-Aggy Bird

This past Spring Break was without a doubt my favorite one so far! Our GSIS program puts on a trip to Washington, DC every Spring Break so that students can have the opportunity to go talk to people who actually work in the intelligence agencies. This past week, my fellow students and I went to briefings all over the IC (intel community) and we learned so much about our career field that we have chosen. On Sunday, Lauren and I explored the city.

It was the 100th Anniversary of the gift of the Cherry Blossom trees from Japan!

At the Smithsonian Castle!

On Monday we went to briefings at INSCOM (the Army Intelligence and Security Command) and NGA (the National Geo-spatial Intelligence Agency). The new NGA building is AMAZING. It is all glass and brand new. There’s even a gym and restaurants on the bottom floor! We weren’t allowed to bring any electronics or else I would post a picture. After dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, my group walked around downtown DC and got to see a ton of cool old buildings. They were so amazing.

The Hard Rock Cafe where we ate was right next to Ford’s Theatre, where Abraham Lincoln was shot! SO COOL!

Tuesday, we went to the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency. We visited the Cryptological Museum and even got to play with an Enigma machine from WWII! That night, we got to visit the Navy Memorial.

Wednesday was a day of sightseeing and having meals with Professor Austin’s contacts from the DOE and the MDA. First we went to the International Spy Museum, which was so fun! We got to see cool spy gadgets and pretend that we were spies undercover. There were so many cool things to look at. Even better was the fact that a lot of what we saw, we have already learned about in our classes! I also learned so much from the lunch and dinner appointments. It was great to actually be able to talk to analysts and people who know the intelligence business. We had some great discussions.

St. Patrick’s Church! How fitting for St. Patty’s Day!

We walked all the way to the Jefferson Memorial! It was definitely farther than it looked. Good thing I brought my tennis shoes!

Thursday we got to listen to a Foreign Policy class held at the Department of State. It was all about US/Chinese relations. We were there with students from other universities, and there was a question and answer session which was really interesting. In the afternoon we got to go to the J. Edgar Hoover building, or FBI Headquarters. It is so huge! And… it kind of looks like a big mushroom. But it was still super cool.

And of course, that night we celebrated St. Patty’s day listening to an Irish band in an Irish restaurant. The Rogues helped us celebrate Professor Austin’s birthday, and she was so embarrassed! But we all had a great time.

Friday we got briefed by AFOSI (Air Force Office of Special Investigations) and NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Services), after which we got to visit the FBI Academy! I don’t have any pictures of that day because I didn’t bring my camera, but it was absolutely amazing! Here are just a few tidbits of information that I collected over the week:

1. A good, strong resume is a MUST in order to even get considered for a job in the IC.

2. Relevant experience is so important.

3. Taking Chinese is a very good idea! They loved that I was taking Chinese classes!

4. Networking is crucial! It’s all about who you know and the contacts that you have.

5. Washington, DC is the place to go!

Overall I had such a fantastic time and I can’t WAIT to put my degree to use and go back to DC someday!

“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.”

-William Allen White

Whelp, this semester truly is a roller coaster! It’s been so much fun but so stressful at the same time. Midterms are coming up this next week, and I am so nervous! I have so much schoolwork and volleyball stuff to do, and on top of it all, my good old car that I’ve had since I got my license decided to go crazy on me! I have called the whole overall experience “The Adventure in the Saturn Wagon,” (partly because it reminds me of Indiana Jones and partly because it has a nice ring to it). :] I was driving down I-17 on my way to Pinetop, and right otuside of Flagstaff, my car emits a loud BANG and smoke comes out the back end. I, of course, pull over to the side of the road. Prescott was an hour behind me, so I couldn’t call my roommate to come pick me up. I was thirty miles outside of Flagstaff, and I didn’t know what to do. Luckily my grandparents were going to Pinetop that weekend from the valley anyway, so they were able to make a detour (that took about 7 hours!) through Flagstaff to rescue me. I LOVE my grandparents! They are sooooo nice to me! I LOVE YOU, GRANDMA MARILYN AND GRANDPA JOE!! Almost equally as lucky was the fact that I was on the phone with my grandpa about fifteen minutes after I stopped, and a tow truck pulled behind me and asked if I needed a tow! What should have been a three hour wait turned into a trip right into Flagstaff, where I hung out with my grandpa’s brother Tony, his wife Wista, and their huge boxer, Samson. I say that the experience definitely qualifies for an adventure! Although my poor car is still dead, at least my grandma let me borrow hers! Thanks Grandma!

Flashback moment: here’s a picture from my first trip to Prescott for college in my trusty station wagon, almost three years ago! I sure hope my car can be fixed… a lot of great memories go along with that car! We bonded over the years! (Okay, kinda corny, but I grew attached okay?)

And if I can’t get it fixed, then I guess I’ll move on and start a whole new (car) chapter of my life! I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, but for now, I’m glad that I was lucky and safe and things turned out the way they did! Like my former coach and great friend Tom Cannon said (after I recounted to him the tale of my poor car), “Bad luck isn’t so bad when it’s followed by lots of good luck!” True statement! And now I’m back at Embry-Riddle safe, with a temporary car, and I’m able to focus on school and volleyball and have a grand old time doing what I love! Let the adventures continue…

“An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.”

-Gilbert K. Chesterton