University Life

So I’ve finally moved into my dorm at the University of Waterloo … well technically I moved in yesterday, but whatever. It is one heck of a nice place, I think, despite what I’ve heard. I’ve got a single room in Village 1, West 4. There aren’t many other people moved in yet because technically we’re only supposed to move in tomorrow, but they let me check in and arrange my belongings. I still have a few boxes left to unpack because they haven’t arrived in Waterloo yet, but I am totally stoked for orientation and classes.

There is one other girl on my floor who has moved in, and she is in electrical engineering.  So far, things are doing alright. I haven’t figured out the showers yet though. That shall be a mystery.  Tonight’s variety night, and they have karaoke, so I’m going to go watch ^^ more to come tomorrow!

The Final Stretch

So we’re coming into the final week of Power… it’s been quite interesting, I must say. I’m not quite sure what to write about in particular. I guess I can start with my second cross-country.

It was from Regina – Moose Jaw – Craik – Regina. So I thought I would okay without going to the bathroom beforehand… how wrong I was.

Halfway between Craik and Regina, the longest leg of my trip… I had to go. It was not good. All I could think about was getting back to Regina as fast as possible and booking it to the nearest washroom. Not so good.

I was going to bring Yoshi, but I forgot about him. Unfortunately, he can’t have the worldly experiences that the Super Mario Bros Mushroom did.

Anyway. After that, I had my verbal exam, which I passed, which makes me half a pilot now!

Some of the girls discovered Jon Lajoie this week… so we’ll be hearing his more than off-colour songs all this week… not my type of stuff. o.o

Ciao for now!

Fly Schol: Recap and Post TC

So… I’ve been so busy in the last while studying for the TC exam, so I haven’t really updated at all during that time… so here’s what’s been happening.

First: we went to a Riders vs. Eskimos game, aka football game between Saskatchewan and Edmonton. The whole stadium was a sea of green. Oh my goodness.  These people have so much love for their team.

Most people cheered for the Riders, since we did have 4 girls from Saskatchewan, and then a bunch of others were out of province fans. Personally, as someone who doesn’t watch a lot of football, I probably could have cared less about the outcome. Then there were two of the girls  who were most definitely Eskimos fans; one who was from Edmonton, and the other from St. Albert, a smaller city/town just outside of Edmonton.

Now you have to understand that Rider fans are absolutely nuts. And if any of them try to deny it, they’re obviously not that hardcore of Rider fans. Trust me. The girls in our group decided to make hats out of watermelon rinds for the game. And the sad part was, they were not regarded as crazy because that’s how insane these fans are. There were several other people with these watermelon hats on. One guy even wore a cape and near the end of the game, he started eating his hat, since he obviously didn’t carve out all of the watermelon flesh.

There were 10 girls that wore hats, each made of half a watermelon. So we had 5 watermelons worth of watermelon carved out of the rinds. Needless, to say, we didn’t finish eating it and had to chuck it.

The rest of that week was rather uneventful until the Transport Canada exam… it consisted of a lot of stressed out girls and freaking out and other such things that people do when studying for a major exam.

In the end, everyone passed. The highest mark was a 93%. I got one mark less than a satisfactory mark for me; an 89%. But honestly, I don’t think anyone cares that much about a private pilot license compared to your commercial or airline pilot license.

To celebrate, we went out to the Regina Exhibition. I walked around with a friend of mine; I didn’t actually end up going on any of the rides because it costed 50 bucks, which is what I spent on admission to Canada’s Wonderland… not spending that kind of money for Red River Ex type rides

So we browsed through a lot of the shops in one of the buildings. There were the many jewelry shops and clothing shops to be expected, but there was also a booth for the local comic book/video game stores, where I found the Super Mario Bros mushroom, which became my solo buddy. I also found a Yoshi, two anime posters and soul candy, just like the one in Bleach. I haven’t opened it yet… and somehow, I have a suspicion that it was overpriced Pez candy. But it was totally worth it at the time. There were also stands for TV infomercial products, like Sham-wow, that hair removal kit, a vacuum packer and other such crazy things.

I think the most entertaining one was … the cadet booth. The lady there asked us if we were interested in joining cadets (we were wearing civilian clothing, so she didn’t know) when we stopped to see if we knew any of the people on their posters. Of course, we said that we were already a part of the air cadet program, and that we were actually on course for the Power Pilot Scholarship. However, a friend of mine was wearing a nose ring at the time, and the lady did not believe us at first. There was also the fact that Regina doesn’t normally take in cadets like Penhold, St. Andrews and Steinbach does; the last time being 2 years ago, and then 10 and 12 years ago.

After that, the cross-country flights started. Our large cross-country was from Regina-Yorkton-Weyburn-Regina, which was around a 4 hour trip. I first did the route with my instructor yesterday, and then I did it all by myself today. I did have a GPS onboard with me since I was in C-GCBC today while solo, but it was really old with no graphic displays and used the closest VORs… which I was not about to use, because it took too long to figure out where exactly you were, and I probably would have lost or gained 200 ft in the process. Which I still did do because I got so distracted anyway

However, I did have a handheld GPS, but I actually didn’t even use it that much, as crazy as that seems. It was more of a guide that I’d check once in a while to make sure I wasn’t heading off to Winnipeg, or Swift Current, or the US border or something. We used the wind speed and direction along with our track directions in order to find out headings to fly, which worked out quite well, and I made it to all of my checkpoints between the three major places. At most, I was probably 1-2 nm parallel to my track because the plane has a stronger left turning tendency than most… causing me to veer off while I was looking at the scenery.

Funny thing happened while I was at Yorkton. I landed, and in order to get to the fuel station, I had to backtrack on the runway, and then turn into the taxiway. Unfortunately, you really have to push on the rudder pedals of GCBC before it decides to turn around for you. Of course, I forgot this, because I was so concentrated on not getting stuck in the gravel that the runway was made of. So I ended up going into the grass before getting back on the runway and taxiing off. To add to that, in order to get to the fuel, there was a turn and then a bit of a bump to get to the hangar. Because I didn’t want another trip into the grass, I slowed down before I turned, but didn’t take into account the bump, and ended up getting stuck on the bump. Not one of my best moments.

Anyway, more to come as the week goes by. I’m here until the 21st or 22nd of August… so you can still send me a letter!

Celebrate good times Alright!!

Okay. So today, we had our last ever ground school class!! so happy!! Now all we have to do are practice exams before the TC exam… lots and lots of practice exams.

So anyway. On my second solo, I definitely went to the end of the runway instead of halfway down the runway to take off… so I had to wait behind planes that actually need the whole runway: Airliners. Two of them. It was fun time. I felt so small… had to wait for their wake turbulence to dissipate too. ^^

nothing else really happened… but we are going to a Rough Riders game… which I don’t really want to go to, but oh well. o.o gargh.

I believe that we’re meant to fly…

So. Today was crazy. I had my solo checkout today, and it was quite… windy. Oh my goodness. I was scared. Shitless. It was a nightmare… the worst flight I had ever done…

and I still passed my check.

Like holy moley. That was so intense. w00t. Watch out, Regina International…

Today was one of the girls’ birthday, so we had ice cream cake from DQ… mmm… it was so good.

wow. I thought I’d have so much more to say, but I don’t. See y’all later then ^^

There are worse things I could do…

I’m currently on my break day… I have my solo check on Monday, so let’s hope I can get everything together!! And we’ve been having awesome weather (Yay for high pressure systems!!!), and I hope it stays!! It’s kind of a good thing we’re not flying today though… planes from all over are coming in because there’s the 100 years in aviation thing, and it would be like hell in the circuit. TC exam in 12 days o.o Wish me luck!

So this title has a double meaning. The first one is: it’s the title of one of Rizzo’s songs in Grease.

Which we went to go see on Friday.

That’s right, be jealous.

Why Rizzo’s song? Why not Summer Nights? Greased Lightning? Because honestly, Rizzo was actually the BEST character in the musical. She was so into her part and it was amazing. Sandy, the main character, was actually kind of disappointing… she didn’t really seem to get into the part and put any passion into it… sort of like… I won’t say it ^^;

But actually, I kinda liked Doody (the one who sings “Those Magic Changes”) and Roger (he sings “Mooning”) too… makes me want to get the soundtrack soooo badly. They were amazing. so good.

Gee. I never like the main characters in anything. “Born to Hand-Jive” wasn’t as epic as it was in the movie. But that’s okay. I got my musical fix ^^

Today, I had my first encounter with a manicure. Almost everyone else got fake nails, but I didn’t want my nails any longer than they already were, so… fancy nail polishing it was. Couldn’t even get any colour on it though, stupid cadet standards.

Lastly, the second meaning of the song. Let’s actually look at some of the lyrics of this song:

I could flirt with all the guys,
Smile at them and bat my eyes.

Speaking of that, many of the girls in our group sat in the sweltering sun today and endured sunburns for one sole purpose:

Sitting with Italian guys that were here learning English.

Of course, I was with them for a while, just cuz everyone was there, but I left because it was getting reaaaaally hot out, and I decided that I didn’t want to watch them drool over them anymore ^^;

This verse from the same song is just to make fun of Kelsey:

I could stay home every night,
Wait around for Mr. Right.
Take cold showers every day,
And throw my life away,
On a dream that won’t come true.

I don’t actually believe that, though. I’m sure there’ll be someone out there. Over the Rainbow. But that’s enough of musical lyrics and enough of this blog entry. Before I start getting hissed at, or whatever cats do when their angry. At least it’s not purring.

Also: Happy 18th birthday, Lisa!!

Bad weather days…

So… the weather sucks in Regina. Way too much rain and low ceilings for my liking, anyhow. So I’m on my computer instead, before supper and mandatory study time. Instead of flying, we had a grand total of 6 hours of grand school, meteorology and navigation. Which are my favourite subjects, but not for 6 hours. My goodness.

But that’s not really what I’m typing about right now. I don’t think many of you know this, but I’m not very good with keeping in touch with people. Even now, I can feel myself pulling away from my friends back home… I feel like I’m missing out on things that are happening. Even if they say “it’s nothing”, I still feel a little left out of the normal swing of things. It happens every time I quit an activity, switch schools, or leave the province. I can’t even relate to some of my old friends anymore sometimes, and it makes me feel like a terrible friend. And it’s always because I haven’t seen them for an extended amount of time.

Example: I was watching the Worlds swimming trials a couple days ago, and I saw someone I used to swim with 5 years ago. It made me think about what life might have been like if I didn’t quit swimming all those years ago. I certainly wouldn’t have been in the physical condition I’m in now (which is completely out of shape), but then I wouldn’t be in cadets, I would have quit band and would’ve never joined jazz band to allow myself to commit to swimming, and maybe I wouldn’t even have finished piano. There’s so many what ifs.

Anyway… that’s all for today. ^^

Life after High school: Part 1

So… I just graduated a couple weeks ago. It feels kind of weird, in a way. Things aren’t going to be the same anymore… now I actually have to figure out what to do with my life o.o On Saturday, I chilled with most of my friends for an early 18th birthday party… I’m gonna miss them; I won’t see them mostly likely until December. I’m also gonna miss everyone else that I didn’t manage to see that day too… now why did I decide to leave Winnipeg? Well, I need to grow up. It needs to happen. And because I want to go to a university a province away. So what am I doing right now?

Currently, I’m in Regina, spending the government’s money in frivolous ways. In other words, I’m learning how to fly a single-engine airplane this summer, even though I’m too poor financially and in eye sight to continue and have a career in flying. Going into the military and becoming a pilot is out of the question because I wear glasses, and unless I decide to get laser eye surgery, I am disqualified from entering as a pilot. woo hoo.

So, after this thing, I’m going to University of Waterloo instead, and getting a degree in Computer Science and Pure Math … if everything goes well After that… is uncertain. Software developer/engineer? Programmer? Grad studies? Or maybe opera stage director? That’d suck though, considering I would have spent my degree on something unrelated.

So anyway, back to the present. I’m currently in the common area of Luther College, a place which is attached to the University of Regina. We’re learning how to fly from the Regina Flying Club by the airport. I’ve only completed my first flight due to crappy weather, but I hope it clears up tomorrow so I can actually get onto stalls, spins and spiral dives. Actually, now that I typed that… I’m not so excited.

The learning curve is a lot steeper here than at glider, and the flights are waaaay longer, because now we have gas to keep us in the air, rather than… well, nothing We compressed what most people would’ve learned in 5 flights into one: the first flight consisted of most upper air-work, including all different types of turns, slow flight, climbing, and descending. Next flight, we’re onto a bunch of maneuvers that will probably make my stomach sick. More so than the first flight… well, the only reason why I was sick on the first flight was because I ate a little too much at lunch (the pasta was soooooo good, and I couldn’t resist). I also learned that eating too much ice cream is NOT good for your stomach.

I’m having a pretty good time otherwise. I know almost everyone except for one person from glider scholarship, and things are going splendidly. The dorms are nice, we wear more civvies than at most other camps (don’t tell anyone at Penhold!!!), and we just got our flight suits!! It’s so exciting!

We also have some cool hangar pets. There are 3 cats named Pokey (?), Radar, and Charlie. And an adorable dog named Freddie. And there’s a Code Geass plane. well, not really. the registration markings are C-GEAS though

Well, gotta go for supper, then. Will say more later next week.

University narrow down.

So after some thoughtful consideration and discussion with many people about their university life experiences, opinions of friends, opinions of parents and multiple emails to prospective undergrad officers (who are probably sick of me by now), I have narrowed down my choices.

I don’t think I’m going to consider Waterloo anymore. Which sucks, because I always wanted to go there. However, I made a stupid choice by not applying into their engineering department, which IMO, I had a very good chance of getting into. After some self-reflecting, I don’t think I could go into something like math or physics and do research in it. I like to be able to solve problems with my knowledge in math and physics, not theorize and research. That’s why I always do those math contests that some people (*ahem* Andre) gag about and like problem solving and such. I also love computer science, which was my other Waterloo choice, and I’m still a little hesitant to give it up, but let’s face it: computer science is a very competitive field. There are a lot a good people in it, and I’m not really one of them. At best, I’m mediocre at coding and algorithms and other such things.

So what does that leave me with? Engineering and Science. My plan is to wait for scholarship decisions to roll in. I’m going to continue to keep Waterloo as an option in case I change my mind. I’m also keeping Carleton, and letting the Western offer expire. If I happen to get a scholarship to Carleton (which I highly doubt), I’ll go. If not, I’m going to stay at U of M and either do an engineering or science (leading to some other field like medicine or optometry) degree.

I’ve come to realize that what my parents have been trying to tell me was right. The grass always looks greener somewhere else. If I went to Carleton, I would accumulate a considerable debt for a degree that’s not a world of difference than one I would get from U of M. And in the end, it doesn’t really matter where you get an undergrad degree from. For example, say you get a mechanical engineering degree from say, U of Toronto, and someone else gets one from U of Manitoba. Now let’s suppose that both of you get a job at Bristol Aerospace. You’re going to get paid the same amount of money regardless of what university you went to.

I have also realized that if I really want that brand-name university education, there’s always grad school. They (or some external source) grant funding to grad students, so there isn’t the same money problem.

Ah well. that’s the way it goes I guess. We’ll see what happens in the end.

Math, Science, History…

So, a couple of friends of mine introduced me to this sitcom called “The Big Bang Theory”. It’s actually a great show that revolves around the lives of a group of scientists.

So, from what it seems, Leonard is the main character. His room-mate is Sheldon, and they have two friends named Rajesh Koothrapali (spelling?) and Howard Wallowitz.

They’re all really smart, but none of them really have any social skills or any knowledge about the world beyond what they live and work in. For example, Leonard tries to hard to be normal, but usually ends up failing. Sheldon cannot distinguish sarcasm, has a hard time grasping social situations, and often says things that are offensive to others, but doesn’t realize it himself. Rajesh can’t even speak to girls, or even “feminine males” unless he has alcohol in his system. Howard is a pervert who takes advantage of emotionally unstable women and designs spacecraft for NASA.

Combine the gang with Penny, an aspiring actress but otherwise a normal girl, and there is hilarity to be had. While the guys seem to be described in somewhat of a negative fashion, it’s really these traits that make the show an absolute joy to watch.

Unfortunately, I’m not very good at describing TV shows (never done it before), so the best way to find out what it’s like is to watch the first episode yourself. You can find it on Youtube. Happy watching!