So on Monday, I scheduled a meeting with the physical plant to inspect a spot in my room (where the top of the window meets the ceiling) because it had some very minor mold in it. It turned out that they just needed to recalk the spot and that would do the job. Anyway, in the process, Mr. EJ Johnson (right) and Mr. Yevgeniy Stepanenko took the liberty to repaint a wall and my air conditioner... both of which I am very thankful for. The wall looks brand new and so does the air conditioner.

As they were painting the wall, we had some fun talking about other dorms etc, so I thank The Paint Shop and Mr. Johnson and Stepanenko for spending a portion of my morning with me! It was very enjoyable, thanks guys!

So yea, the physical plant rocks, too... :)

Here's a picture for y'all... (click on it to see it bigger!!!)

Posted by Mark aka Bob at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, this semester is awesome. Mainly because I love my classes, and my professors. I am still undecided for my major, either Computer Science or Urban Studies. I know they sound like two completely different academia, but apparently, the CS and US departments work together and have some sort of summer program or internship. I'll find more information on that later!

Anyway, my classes are: Discrete Structures (CS), Principles of Algorithm Design (CS), Writing Workshop, Modern European History, and Philosophy.

Yea, those are some fairly diverse classes, but I love them all. My Modern Europe class will probably be the most demanding because of the memorization of the history of Europe from 1800-present, BUT, the Computer Science classes are going to be WAY hard. Additionally, Philosophy is challenging in of itself because it teaches you to think different than you normally would. Lastly, writing workshop will be fun because I enjoy writing. So that is good!

The weather here is so nice, I like it at least... it is overcast and cold and kind of rainy. But come on! It's winter! It's supposed to be like that! Honestly, it is so much easier to sit down in the library with some java and read a book in this weather. My IQ will definitely increase if the weather stays like this! ha

Golf season has more or less began. I have practiced a little, but am feeling under the weather (a lot of us are... :{ ) So as soon as I start to feel better, I'll be out at the golf course!

One last thing before I go... I am rejoining the Civil Air Patrol here in San Antonio. Now that I have my pilot's license, I think more opportunities will be available while enrolled in CAP. That will be fun. I'm still awaiting a call back from them to see where I am to go, and all that good jazz. So when I find out, I'll post it!

That's all for now! brb.. ha

Posted by Mark aka Bob at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Oh my... well first off, happy holidays to everyone! Break is almost over, I have one more week until I fly back to San Antonio... I have mixed feelings about going back: I want to get the semester started, and I want to enjoy spending time with my friends, but by the same token, Arizona is amazing and I want to continue to be with my family. Nevertheless, Sunday is fast approaching!

Now, what have I been up to over the break? Well, I have been studying. Studying, and more studying. Oh yea, and waking up really early (like before sunrise... while I'm on break. Yea, weird, I know). But for whattt...!??! Ha.. for my private pilot's license of course! My dad is a pilot and he and my flight instructor (a family friend of ours) own a plane. So I train on that, and have been since I was probably 10 years old. But I finally decided that I would spend the break to finally obtain my license. The first thing I had to accomplish was to complete ground school (all knowledge pertaining to flight, navigation, flying, airplanes, ratings, regulations, maps, etc, etc...) So that took me about two weeks, I read a few study guides (like those AP Barron's books, but for the PPL test) and I also watched a DVD ground school course. Finally, it was time to take the test. On the 2nd of January, at 7:00AM at Deer Valley Airport in Phoenix, I took the Knowledge/Written test for the Private Pilot's License. So the next step was to continue my training and solo. On the 5th of January, I soloed the aircraft and I made three nice soft landings. For most student pilots, their aircraft is considered standard, the one I train in, a R182, is classified as High Performance (over 200 HP) and Complex (retractable landing gear). So when I was calling the Ground Controller for clearance, the controller somewhat sarcastically told me 'good luck'... but I showed them.. hehe

In any event, I flew today, did 18 landings, and if weather permits, I will fly again tomorrow. Strange, Arizona usually warrants 330 days of good flying weather a year, and when it counts the most, it rains.... =( Oh well. Hopefully, later this week, I will go on my checkride with an FAA Examiner and pass the Practical and Oral tests (the checkride).

Here's a picture from the cockpit in-flight enjoy! (Click on it to make it larger, come on, you know you want to!!!)

I'll post back soon!!!

PS. I passed the written test, in case you were wondering. :D

Posted by Mark aka Bob at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)