Dream*Inspire

Florida or Michigan?

2010-09-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

This blog is just a copy of what I wrote in my College Program blog, but I felt it should be in this place too. It is basically what I thought about living in Florida and comparing it to Michigan.

So May, June, July and August were the hottest months by far in Florida, and the hottest weather I have ever had to live in. Every day it was 90's, humid with a chance of storms. No change to the weather really at all. And that was the one thing I hated most about living down there was the heat. And of course everything else I hated about Florida had to do with the heat in some way. Let me just remind you again that I had the best time of my life down there and it was a great experience, I recommend it to anyone. It's just not a place I would consider living permanently. I also came up with a list of reasons why Michigan is a better place to live than Florida, however, I'm not saying Michigan is the best place to live, just that it beats Florida in my opinion.

Here is why. First of all the weather. Because every day in Florida has pretty much the same exact weather forcast, it gets boring quick. It will be in the 90s daily, then eventually in the fall it will turn into the 80s daily. Now while this may seem like nice weather, it's not really. The humidity is so high you can't do anything outside without sweating a storm. Going for a walk is impossible because after 10 minutes you are sweating through your clothes (in the summer). And because of that I'd be afraid of going for a jog or run, or even riding my bike. Swimming is another thing. The water temperature is about as warm as the air, so jumping in the pool is like taking a bath. So much for cooling off?

You can't swim in any of the lakes because of the amount of wildlife and other things unexplained that could be in the water. So you are basically stuck in the AC all day. Now you are probably thinking, well in Michigan we are stuck in the heat all day in the winter. While this is true, it's not as bad as you think. It's not like every day is below 20 degrees, it varies. In Florida, it doesn't vary, except if it rains. I hoped for rain every day down there for that reason.

The beach is another thing. While Miami Beach and Clearwater are pretty with palm trees and tall buildings, the beaches of Lake Michigan win in my opinion. The sand is so much softer here in Michigan, and the coastline overall looks better. The water is more clear in the lakes, and it's freshwater!

So what kind of a place was Orlando? Well, it's too much work to go for a walk, there were no good sunsets, you could never find cold water, you can't swim in the lakes, there were no rivers, no hills, swampy, too much unfinished development, everything was too far away, wouldn't go camping in that heat, the weather is boring, the actual beaches suck, can't lay out in the sun without practically dying, there was too much traffic every day, and there were a lot of strange bugs and creatures. I could continue but I think you get the idea.

So what was good about Orlando? They do know entertainment. Every night there was always something going on and it was definitely a lot of fun. From the bars and clubs downtown to dinner shows and themeparks, the place was definitely alive. That is the reason why it was the time of my life, because I enjoy entertainment. And theme parks especially, with Disney and Universal in the same city. I have also met an amazing group of people who I've become close friends with that I truly miss.

But as of today I am in Michigan going back to MSU now, and the opposite of everything I stated in a couple paragraphs above I have definitely missed about this state. Am I saying I want to live in Michigan forever? no, but there is still that chance. Is there a chance I will move to Florida to live? Little to none. Like I said I have people down there that I hate to live far from, but again the actual 'living' part of Florida disappointed me. If only they had that kind of entertainment here in the north, and everyone moves back up here, then I'd be satisfied. Because if you didn't already know, the majority of people in Florida have migrated to that state at some point in their life.

Disney Trip has Begun!

2010-01-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

Check The Disney Life blog for all the latest updates on my roadtrip to Orlando, including my seven months at Disney!

A New Year's Eve Party - Grand Rapids

2010-01-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well it's that time of year again... the new year. And the other night was probably the best new year's eve's I've ever had. Why well it was at downtown Grand Rapids at Rosa Parks Circle. It started just after 5pm with performances by Priscilla Renea, Uncle Kracker, and Boys Like Girls. We arrived in Grand Rapids around 1pm and had McDonalds, checked into our room at Motel 6 (hey it's cheap), and eventually parked near downtown around 3:30. We get there just before 4 and there really isn't anyone there which I was suprised.. so we went to Quiznos for a little bit. We get back out there and there was probably aobut 30 people already in front of the stage so we just went out there and stood for about an hour, before they did the ball lighting at 5:20. It really wasn't that bad. Because last year on new years eve, I went to Times Square with Samantha and another friend (because she lives in eastern Pennsylvania) and we waited outside for 5+ hours!! Freezing cold too! It got down to 5 degrees. Not worth it because we were about 5 blocks from actual Times Square, and they were lined up 20 blocks of people on two different streets, so there were about one million people there.

Grand Rapids was so much better though. We were right up next to the stage, so practically front row. And the performances were done by 10, so we had time to leave for a bit get something to eat (went to McDonalds again haha) and then come back later before they did the ball drop. Well from 10-Midnight, they had a DJ on playing all kinds of music having fun with the crowd. We got back down there at around 11:15pm, and still had a pretty good time with the dance party they seemed to have going on... there were an estimated 30,000 people there by that time. So they dropped the ball by midnight did the little celebration and then it was done. It was a pretty good night though. If you're considering going to Times Square for new years eve, I wouldn't. It's really not worth the trouble standing out there for that long, and you can't even see anything either (unless you wait out there for more than 10 hours). So in my opinion, don't waste your time in Times Square, find something local instead, you are guaranteed to have a better time. Below is a video I created from the event. Pictures here.

Fall 2009 In Review

2009-12-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

This past fall was probably one of the busiest semesters I've had here at State. Not necessarily busy with school, but I've just been gone a lot of weekends. I'll go over four of the trips I went on, that includes Mackinaw City, Silver Lake, Chicago and Cedar Point. I arrived back home from Cedar Point around August 30th, shortly before school started. I left with the idea that I'd be returning to Cedar Point to work one weekend during Halloweekends, October 2nd - 4th. School started Sept. 2nd, which was a wednesday.

The first weekend in September we made a trip up to Mackinaw City and St. Ignace for Labor Day weekend. Me, my sister, my parents, and another family camped at a campground about 3 miles west of St. Ignace, Friday - Monday. It was a pretty small campground with Lake Michigan right across the road. And suprisingly it had free wi-fi. We had two sites next to each other with our pop up campers.. shopped around the area, St. Ignace on saturday and Mackinaw City on sunday, went to some museums too. Sunday night me, Rachelle, Janelle, and Melissa drove a few miles west down the highway to the beach for sunset, where I recorded this random video. Monday we walked the bridge, as tradition every labor day in Michigan. Photos from the trip can be seen here.

Not a week later Samantha and I took a trip up to the Silver Lake area camping, Sept. 11 - 13. We left friday morning and stayed two nights at the Yogi Bear's Jellystone park campground in a tent. This is actually a really nice campground with very large sites and a heated pool! We actually went up there for the Apple & BBQ cookoff festival. Friday and Saturday there were all these food stands with bbq ribs, pork, and lots of deep fried stuff. They also had a big craft show in the streets. We watched the sunset friday night over Silver Lake, and the sunset Saturday night over Lake Michigan. Oh yeah and on Saturday night, I decided to drive down this dirt road, didn't know where it went. It was getting darker, and then it turned into this seasonal road way back in the woods, there was a sign that said it doesn't get plowed in the winter either and whatever, and then all of a sudden it was dark and we were on this one lane dirt road way in the middle of nowhere in the woods, in the dark! There was also this car parked just down the road. So I turned around, which wasn't the easiest thing to do..how do you turn around on a one lane road with trees on both sides of you? Drive backwards! Well that was an adventure. I actually put up a photo of what it kind of looked like, below! We left Sunday early afternoon. Photos Here.

Finally, its the 3rd week in September and I finally have a weekend off. Well, change of plans because my grandma just passed away over the weekend. I ended up going home during the week for the funeral.

4th week in September. Me, Samantha, Kyrsten and Yahkeema took a trip to Chicago with one of their friends, Linda chu, who drove. We left Saturday morning, and stayed the night at a Best Western right by Chicago O'Hare, which was pretty cheap actually. And, it was only a couple blocks away from the Allstate Arena, where we went to watch Pink in concert. So we just walked there from the hotel. This was actually the best concert I have ever been to...I put together some videos that can be seen here. Sunday we spent the day shopping around Lakeview, on the north side of Chicago.

It's the first weekend in October only a week later and this was the weekend I went back to Cedar Point to work. I ended up riding down with one of my friends from Jackson that I worked with over the summer. Arrived Friday early afternoon and started work around 4pm, and worked until midnight. Easy 8 hours. Saturday I worked from 10am until Midnight, easy 14 hours. I actually worked the front gate and guest services that day, which ended up being pretty fun. Sunday I worked 8am until 8pm, so another 12 hours right there. And then it was time to leave...but it was probably one of the best weekends I've had there all summer.

3rd weekend in October and it's my brothers wedding. It took place in Hubbardston, MI which is a really nice small town about 30 miles northwest of Lansing, or 40 miles northeast of Grand Rapids. It's actually one of my favorite small towns in Michigan. Photos from this can be seen here.

The last weekend in october was Halloween, and I was originally planning on taking another trip to Cedar Point but it never happened. I actually ended up working that Saturday and went a couple places afterward, but didn't really dress up either. The rest of the semester I spent focusing more on classes, my grades weren't the greatest to start off with. It went by pretty quick, I did a lot of thinking about what I'd be doing in the next few semesters and that was when I decided to apply for Disney. More on that will be posted in The Disney Life section of my site. Next thing I knew it was Thanksgiving and here it was Christmas. My next blog will be on New Years Eve in Grand Rapids in a few days, and I'll also recap a little of New Years Eve of last year at NYC Times Square.

I'm Going to Disney!

2009-12-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

First post, and I'm about to be spending the next seven months at Disney in Orlando. I just accepted the job offer a few weeks ago and it's all new to me. I've never even been to Disney, or Florida. Actually, I have never gone south of Ohio! Talk about a major climate shift! Back in late November, I applied, did my interview, and accepted the offer all within the same week, crazy! I'll be working as a Hospitality Cast member, which includes working in a "front of house" position at one of the resorts in Disney.

I still have a lot of planning to do, but here's the latest. I'll be taking a two week road trip to Orlando by myself, making at least six stops along the way visiting friends. Plan is to leave around January 16th from Portland, and stay the first few nights around Detroit. Over the next few days after, I'll be making a stop in Toledo and then Columbus. Then I should arrive in Lexington, KY on January 22nd. It's already been a week and I'm not even half way there!! On the 24th, I'll make my way to Atlanta to stay the night with another friend. I should then arrive in Orlando on the 25th or 26th and stay the next few nights with more friends, before I check in on February 1st. You can follow my roadtrip to Orlando via twitter.

I will also be posting the latest on my adventure at Disney World in "The Disney Life" section, which will include an updated blog, pictures, videos, and more!

Working at Cedar Point - Summer Recap

2009-09-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

I'll start in 2009, with the past summer. I worked at Cedar Point again for my 2nd season. I didn't create a long blog for this season because I really didn't feel the need to.. however it was the best summer yet so far. It was also far better than working there in 2007. I worked in admissions again, this time I was a team leader, and spent the first half of the summer working at the resort entrance gate and guest services. I also spent more time getting to know the employees in my department and got along with everyone great. Once again I loved my job and the new adventures it created. Every day was something different, people were always demanding different things, so it just made each day so much different and that's what I loved the most.

And then of course what's working at Cedar Point without a little fun? It was one thing being out until 2 or 3 am, but getting up at 7am for work every day wasn't always the greatest. There were two nights of the week where CP employees almost had to go out. Here, it's friday and saturday night. At Cedar Point, it was thursday and sunday nights. Why? well for one thing saturdays were the busiest days of the week, so thats pretty much like working a normal monday around here. Everyone worked. And since most people worked until 11pm or 12am, everyone was too exhausted to go out. Sunday night it was. And Louies was the place. It's a bar where a lot of employees went after work. It's pretty small and a little dirty, but those nights were fun anyway. And then there was Lyman Harbor, a newer entertainment complex on the Sandusky Bay. This was the place to be on Thursday nights.

I met a lot of great friends over the summer and I miss everyone so much. You meet all these people from all across the country and world, and when its over, half of them you may never see again. It was definitely an experience, and I'm ready for an even greater experience in the next few weeks when I go to Disney.

Here are two videos I created using many random video clips from throughout the summer.. hope you enjoy! Photos from the summer can be seen here.

Summer Has Passed in the Blink of an Eye - 2008 Review

2008-10-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well another summer has gone by, and it's already half way through fall semester. I saw some of the first snowflakes yesterday, so I'm sure winter is just around the corner! I'm actually excited for winter, well kind of, because it's something different. Something other than hot and humid every day.. just as long as we get a lot of snow..

Summer 2008. Samantha and I lived in Milford Arms Apartments, located just behind Qdoba Mexican Grill. It was actually a great location just a block or 2 from campus, and you couldn't beat the price. For a 2 bedroom apartment, we paid only $208 / month each. That included all our utilities except electric. Now that's cheap. You really can't find a better deal than that, so if you and a friend are looking for a place for the summer with your own bedroom, stay there, it's definitely worth it. It was also quiet the whole summer, everyone was gone pretty much, and there was always parking available. Now fall and spring semesters are a different story, I have no idea what it is like then.

I ended up getting a job at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center as a banquet cook. I basically cook and prepare food for hundreds of people. The one thing I do like about it though is I get to eat free! I will be trying to move departments within the hotel however to get more experience, instead of just being stuck in the kitchen. It gets really boring back there.

I also took classes at LCC over the summer, Accounting and Statistics, for 8 weeks during June and July. I won't be taking summer classes again, 4 hours of accounting in one day 2 days a week at 8am did it for me. They went good though, I managed to hold a good GPA though. Samantha took classes at MSU, so she had a couple for the first half of summer and one the second half.

It was my first time living in an apartment, and I remember it being so much better than the dorms, well it is now too. The only thing I didn't like as much about that apartment though was the rooms were really small, they could only fit a twin size bed, a dresser and computer desk, and thats it. There wasn't much room in them. My room in my apartment now is more than double the size of my last one.

We really didn't take any major trips over the summer, although I did get to go back with her to Pennsylvania for almost a whole week. I got to visit most of Samantha's family as well. It was my first time to that state, and really it's the furthest I've stayed away from home other than Europe. I don't get to travel much, if I had more to spend I would love to. But anyway I'm so used to the flat/glacial land here, I forgot that this country actually had hills. I was just so amazed the whole time, and I could always feel the pressure changing in my ears wherever we went. She showed me different towns, one including Intercourse, which is actually a nice area. One thing I loved about the part where she lived (near Lancaster county) was that it was all farm land and hills with little towns here and there. Some of the views were amazing, well to me anyway because of the hills, which I'm not used to. There are also a lot of Amish that live in this area which was also cool to see. I have a whole album of pictures from Pennsylvania, which can be seen here. One of the days we spent at Hersheypark, which was also fun knowing how much I love theme parks. The other day we drove to Baltimore, MD and we went to the National Aquarium, saw a couple shows and toured the museum. So that was fun, we also walked the boardwalk and went to a few shops, ate at Hard Rock Cafe too. But that trip was the highlight of the summer, which took place in early May. I would definitely go back again if I had the chance.

We didn't really take any other trips in May, except going to the mall a few times, or the more than usual trips to meijer and wal mart. At the end of may though we did go to this free country concert (B-93 birthday bash in Ionia) for the day. Not a big country fan myself but it was something to do anyway. Also toward the last part of June I did manage to make a one day trip to Cedar Point with a couple people I had just met in person when they picked me up. Sounds creepy but they were park fans like myself so it was a good time actually. Anyway most of June I spent at class and working, we didn't have much free time, especially with classes taking up a lot of it.

Our next trip was to Muskegon during fourth of July weekend. I ended up making reservations at Muskegon State park just a week or so in advance. I was lucky enough to find a site so we brought the tent and went camping for a couple days. We got there thursday night and left saturday. All day friday we went to Lake Michigan, and later on went to the Muskegon Summer Celebration thing they had going on. We did get to hear Staind and Hinder perform on stage, but even though we were out of the concert area it was still fun. We also watched the fireworks they had over there that night. Not a bad weekend, kind of like a break half way through summer classes. Pictures from that trip can be seen here.

Another highlight of the summer was the Seether / Finger Eleven concert at Common Ground festival. This took place the friday after 4th of July, and it was really the best concert I have ever been to, well the Seether part anyway. Seether lasted well over an hour, the best part was when it got dark. But It was a good time, we were close to the front also. But like I said best concert ever, and one of the only ones I have ever been to.

After that, we really didn't go anywhere else. I had already started moving some stuff into my new apartment right at the start of August. Well it was now the second weekend in August, and my family decides to take a camping vacation up to the Silver Lake area. It was just both my parents and my sister and I. We went Monday - Tuesday, and pretty much had the campground to ourselves almost. We spent a couple days in the pop up camper, went to the lake a few times, sand dunes, and shopping. It was a relaxing weekend and a good time to spend with the family away from home, something I don't get to do very much anymore.

It was now the third weekend in August, and I ended up going to Cedar Point again, this time with my sister, a couple friends and their family. They camped there for a couple nights so we all slept in their pop up camper. We got there on a Sunday, went to the park Monday, and left on Tuesday. So that was fun like usual, nothing more to say really after describing my past trips to the park in previous blogs. I remember we also went miniature golfing that sunday night, and to the beach too. But overall that was a fun weekend anyway. Pictures Here.

School started August 25th, so that was pretty much the end of summer. Although, my family did end up making another vacation to Mackinaw City during Labor day weekend. We walked the Mackinac Bridge, something we have done a couple times in the past. We went shopping some in the area, saw the laser show, and got to watch the sunset over the lake. This was yet another great relaxing weekend away from home, and the last vacation we took this summer. Pictures

Well that was my summer of 2008, I probably left out a lot of other things but I tried to get the major things that happened in anyway. Now I just have to get through this school year and look foward to a new summer, where I will be I don't know, but I'm sure it will be another great experience!

Google: Worst State

2008-08-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

A recent study by me was made to see what everyone thinks is the worst state in this country**. 50 quoted searches were made to determine which people thought which states sucked. For example, "Michigan Sucks" returned 35,600 results. Michigan ranks #2 as of today, Florida is #1 with over 47,000 hits. I would guess it's because of the recent tropical storm causing many feet of rain. So where's the best place to live? Rhode Island of course! Here's a chart of all 50 States:

Full Chart

Full Chart

**As of August 2008

Today Was My Birthday Last Year

2008-02-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well it's that time of year again.. my birthday. I figured I would write something about it since tomorrow I actually have a birthday this year. But I'll be 5 anyway!

Today was a little strange though, because it actually was my birthday last year, but not this year, so it felt like it should be today, but instead it's tomorrow. It almost gives me a headache thinking about it. I don't think I'll ever get used to this.

Halloween: Cedar Point! (07)

2007-11-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

It's September and I decided to make a trip to Cedar Point with some friends from school. So, I planned it. We are to go on October 27th and 28th, which is Saturday and Sunday. I don't think anyone was more excited to go than me. You would think I would be sick of the place from working there all summer.. wrong!! I really miss it. Didn't I mention how much I loved my job in the previous blog?
It was four of us that went. Me, Sam, Heather, and Ashley. I drove of coarse. We ended up leaving early Saturday morning, so I drove from Portland to pick them up at MSU. They were actually ready!! Anyway, the drive there wasn't too bad, although it was a little rainy, which kinda sucked. We only made one stop on the way there, at the service place along the Turnpike. Then we get there, and was excited to show Heather and Sam what it looked like, because they have never been there! So I'm driving along and not as excited as I used to be. It has to be from working there all summer.

The plan was to stay in Hotel Breakers that night, but check-in wasn't until 4:00. But we just parked in the HB parking lot, and went in the park with early entry. It was around 11:20am by this time so we went over to Maverick. Sam didn't ride it though :( but me Heather and Ashley did. It did close for a few minutes due to rain, it only rained a little bit the whole day. It was a good first ride though! Oh that was my 26th ride! After that met up with Sam and we all rode Skyhawk, after almost forcing Sam to go on! She wasn't going to ride. But we did that and then rode some other things like Magnum, Iron Dragon (which Sam did ride!!), and Wildcat. Hmm what else did we do that day. Went over to ride Disaster Transport of coarse! Then it was Blue Streak (such a long line, but we had fun!).

By that time we had to go back to the hotel to check in, well not that we had to but yeah. It was already almost 6:00 and we were there for a little while to rest. We were going to eat at TGIF but wait was too long. So we just decided to eat in the park, we went back around 8:00 after we got everything situated in the Hotel. It was dark now, and thats when it got scary. Well, for some people anyway (Ashley!!!) She doesn't like Halloween. But after we got in the park we got something to eat and went over near Maverick, but we went in the haunted house next to it, called Undertaker U. We got Ashley to go in it, it was one of her first real Haunted Houses shes ever been in! That was fun, also waiting in line was fun too!. And the spinning room was there again, it was funny.

Heather was complaining we weren't going on any roller coasters. Well, we will after we see some of the Halloween stuff since we are there during "Halloweekends"! But then we all walked through frontier trail, or at the time "Freight Zone". It's a haunted walk-thru attraction where people scare you. It wasn't that good though, because no one actually scared us. After that we then went over to see how long Raptor's line was, but too long. So we just went in "Fear Faire" which is another haunted walk-thru attraction. I don't think Ashley was having very much fun going through these.

We get out of Fear Faire and go to Wicked Twister area, so Heather and Sam rode the Giant Wheel while Ashley and I rode Wicked Twister! That was fun, I miss that ride. Well it was about 11:15pm, and Sam and Ashley decided to go back to the hotel while me and Heather rode Millennium Force. Finally, we can go on whatever we want! We get to that ride, not a long wait at all, probably 15 or 20 minutes. We were going to ride in front, but they didn't let us. But after we rode that, we decided we were going to ride again, but Heather decided lets ride something else. What else could we ride, the park closes in 10 minutes. Top Thrill Dragster! We almost are running to this ride, and get in line before it closed. The line wasn't that long, maybe 20 or 30 minutes. It was a great ride in the dark, as usual. Afterwards we just went back to the hotel room and to bed shortly after that.

Well now it's Sunday Morning and I really need to be up for early entry. I get Heather and Ashley to come with me, so we decide to ride Raptor after going in through the beach gate, at 9:00am. Well we get to Raptor to see it closed to weather conditions. It was a Sunny day though, but it must have been too cold. Now what, well we go to Millennium Force, which was also closed but only for a little while. So we wait outside the line for that about 20 minutes until they finally opened the line. We rode that, after convincing Ashley it's really not that bad, which it wasn't. Well then after that we go to Maverick, since we still have enough time. But in line for that and it closed for some reason, and was closed for 10 minutes but couldn't really wait longer, I had to go back to the hotel to check out by noon.

We get back to the Hotel and the room is still a mess. But we ended up packing everything and went back in the park around 12:30, and went toward the front of the park. Took Skyride to the other end and got something to eat for a little while. Sam didn't really want to ride much, that was no fun. So me, Heather, and Ashley decided to ride Raptor, in the front seat. That was also fun, I love the front seat of that ride. Well then we met up with Sam again and walked to some shops, and she decided she would go on Corkscrew. That day we also rode Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Gemini, and Magnum. We got Sam on these three, and we had a lot of fun riding them, because I sat next to her! We were crazy. We bought our on-ride photo from Magnum, it's funny!

After that we went back to the car, and then drove around to the front of the park. It was about 5:00pm now. We get in the park and convince Sam to ride Raptor. We all rode that, then went over to Wicked Twister and she rode that too! Finally she would ride some roller coasters. Well that was fun, so I tried convincing her to go on Top Thrill Dragster. She wouldn't, but we got Ashley to! So me, Heather and Ashley rode that, Ashley was really nervous, but at the end I think she liked it. She can now tell everyone she rode that, not just that but also went in all this Haunted stuff! After Dragster we met up with Sam and headed to Maverick for our last ride. We all rode that, it was fun riding in the dark.

Wow 9:00pm already and we still have a long drive home! We didn't end up leaving the parking lot until about 9:30 pm, but we also had to stop to get something quick to eat, and get gas. Well we did that and ended up leaving Sandusky just after 10:00pm. We arrived at MSU just before 1:00am, so that wasn't bad. We were all tired. It was fun though, it was my first trip I actually planned, and it went good! Here are Pictures from Halloweekends!

Cedar Point Summer Job - 2007

2007-08-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well I'm about to be spending my whole summer at this place, and I've already been here almost 3 weeks. I work in Park Admissions, mainly at Group Sales near the front gate. Either that or any other entrance gate if I need more hours. I'm going to talk about the job first, because really the job I have isn't all that bad. It's actually really easy. People come up to the window, I fill out some paperwork and give the tickets to them. That only lasts a few hours, the rest of the time is a lot of sitting around and talking and cashing out.

Update May 29:

But I found out I have one of the better jobs in the park for being a first year, because I basically work in A/C all day, from about 8:30am - 5:30pm, 6 days a week. And it doesn't even involve a lot of work. The last couple days, it was in the 80s and people were already complaining of how hot it was. Im just like well its a good thing I work in air conditioning all day! I dont know how the ride operators will last in the heat this summer. Every day after work, I pretty much walk around the park for an hour or so, and do whatever. I'm there every day though. Yesterday on my day off me and my friend went to soak city for the day, so that was fun. They also have ride nights for employees all the time for different rides, tonight there is one for Top Thrill Dragster. Millennium Force was a couple weeks ago, that was fun too. Theres always different things going on every night, so I'm always busy.

The housing isn't the greatest. I'm living in the dorms now, but those aren't so bad. It is a lot different than college, well kind of. Let's just say theres a lot of weird people who work here, and sometimes scary. It's not as bad as I thought it would be though. I'm lucky to have cool roomates though. But so far these first few weeks have been going good, and I still plan on working here all summer. The job is not as fun most people would think. It's just another job. But really, you will only like it if you are as obsessed with the place as I am. Even though it does get the same and boring day after day, I still just like being at the park, it's so fun.

Last weekend, me, Janelle and Georgia went to this Rock n' Country show thing at the red garter saloon, and it was good. I took Janelle because I thought she would like it, and she did. after that we just went on some rides around the park, including Raptor in the front seat. Let me just say Raptop front seat at night is amazing. I cant remember what night it was but sometime last week when the park closed at 8, me and Georgia got to go on a lot of rides after work, I mean the park was completely empty so everything was just a walk on.

Maverick opened May 26th, and I went on it opening day with Janelle and Georgia and waited about an hour. It was worth it, I really like this ride. Yesterday, which was my day off, me, Georgia and Mike went to ride Maverick to be the first 3,000 riders of the day. Well we were probably the 20th that day, because we got in line for the ride at 8:45 and they started running it at 8:55am. So that was fun, we got a free t-shirt for that, I'm excited!

Update: June 6

Well today is my day off, the last one I had was when I wrote the last part. I'll start off from TTD ride night from last tuesday. That was fun, me and a couple other friends got to ride it 3 times with about a 10 minute wait, and it was my first time riding it at night. But work is still the same, I start at 8:30am and am getting out around 5 or 6pm. By now, a lot of the weird people moved to live in the on point dorms and more people are starting after they just finished high school, so its not too bad. I'm starting to get used to living here, and its really not that bad.

Lately I have been getting rides to and from work from Michael, who also has a car here. It would be a lot easier if I had one. Pretty much every night I go to the park, it really never gets boring. Last sunday night, I decided to go at around 9pm and told Janelle that shes coming also. well, it had been storming a lot of the day, and it didnt even stop raining until around 9. So me and Janelle get to the park and walk in, and there is literally no one there. At first I thought they closed everything at 9. well we started walking by Millennium Force and we were still the only ones there besides some employees, and one goes "Maverick is still open so go ride it". so we get over there and got in line, and walk right on it. Actually, there were probably 30 people riding it, and we got to ride it four times in a row. It was so cool, and also got to ride front seat which is the best, at night again. That made my Maverick ride count to 7. After that, I ended up going to steak n shake with Mike and some of his work crew.

Last Monday night, I decided to go to the park again. This time to meet with Georgia, who's on crutches. I ended up going there with this other person I met who was moving out of Cedars, and wow I'm glad I dont live there, so creepy. But Georgia has been working Millennium force entrance, so I decided to get in line for that, around 9:45. It was a walk on, so I rode it and then just talked with her and some other kid working there and waited to be the last rider. So I was, and once again that was fun. But yesterday, I got out around 2pm and me, Mike and Janelle walked around the park some then went to wal mart. I've been there a lot it seems like. but later on me and Mike went back to the park to ride some rides, rode Maverick again and then Millennium force around 10pm. So we were the last riders for that too. That was also fun.

But today was my day off, so I mostly did laundry and just sitting around. I love going to the park every night and walking around. Tonight is 'Games night' at the park for employees, so I'll probably go and play some games, I dont know. But I'll be going to the park again tonight anyway, dont know with who.

Update: June 11

So games night was last wednesday night, and it wasn't bad. Me, Georgia and Janelle went and they had 5 games open, and had to play each 3 times, and they marked if you won or lost. I lost most of them, but it was still fun. I would never pay that much to play those dumb games, they are too hard! Thursday night, Janelle me and Georgia got to ride raptor again in the front seat around 10pm, which was amazing as usual.

On Friday, all four of us went to ride some rides around the park again but this time we were trying to get Janelle to try the test seat for Millennium Force. We were so excited, Janelle actually got to ride after the help of the ride ops, it was her first time on it so she had fun. Saturday was a busy day at work, all day groups kept coming up and I just wanted to leave. But I ended up having to work at front gate for a couple hours extra which I hated, it was getting hot in the sun. But Georgia had the whole day off, so her and a friend went on rides all day, since she had a wheelchair and special access. After I got out of work, walked around with them and Janelle and rode some smaller rides. Then me and Georgia got to ride Millennium Force, front seat no wait. It was awesome, but kinda felt weird cutting in front of everyone. It was fun though.

Well yesterday was sunday and it was a slow day at work. Didn't do much but sit around all day pretty much. Got out around 5 though as usual. Later at night, Me and Janelle went back to the park to meet with Mike and Georgia but were going to ride Maverick first, which we found out was closed, so me and Janelle just rode Skyhawk. We always ride that together, hahhah. But we eventually met up with them, nad rode back with Georgia and Michael to his house, and am still there now, on our day off Monday. Its nice to be somewhere else thats not Cedar Point, its actually relaxing. Probably going back to the point tonight, and back to work tomorrow as usual.

Update: June 20

Well its been another long week at work, but once again I had another day off, which was yesterday. I can't really remember everything I have done by day, but I'll just talk about the last week. I ended up meeting this other girl Stephanie who I used to talk to on AIM, and we have been working in the same place. She lives in the dorms on Cedar Point, which really I don't think are that good, but we ended up going to wal-mart one night to get and air conditioner for her room.

One night me, Janelle and Stephanie went to buffalo wild wings, and I think I've been there 4 times since I have been working here. I think its good anyway. Once again most of the nights I have been at the park, usually riding rides or whatever. So me and Stephanie went to the park one night for a little while, rode demon drop and then took her on Maverick. That was fun, since it was here first time on it. I remember the next night we went on a couple more rides, wicked twister and skyhawk.

So last Friday was 'Coaster Mania' at Cedar Point, so there were a lot of roller coaster freaks at the park. Actually, I had to be to work at 4:30am so that wasn't really fun at all, handing out everyone's tags and cup things. It was a long day. But afterward, me, Stephanie, and her roommate Beth went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday (which is expensive), walked around the mall for a little and got cookies and sat in the massage chairs. Then at night we went back to the park again and rode Maverick, which was Beth's first time riding it, so that was fun too. Then, after the park was closed we went on power tower with the coaster people, because we had those tag things that I got earlier, hah. But I took Stephanie on the dragster for the first time, and really liked it after we got off it. Later I ended up taking the bus back to the dorms, I was awake for about 22 hours that day.

Well Saturday was a busy day as usual, and the parking lot was pretty much full. Didn't really do much that day, but me, Michael and Megan went to wal-mart to get a few things. That night we ended up drinking some and just being crazy. Sunday was fathers day, which meant that there were a lot of gay people at the park. There were a lot of guy couples there, some strange ones, and lesbians too. But pretty much that day I sat around at work with nothing to do, and afterward me and Michael walked around the park and rode some roller coasters in the front seat, including Iron Dragon, cedar creek mine ride, magnum, and Maverick at night. That was also fun, it was my 11th ride on Maverick so far.

Monday night was ride night for Millennium Force. I pretty much worked Monday and then after work walked around the park and rode some rides with Stephanie, Beth, and another person Michael I work with. Later at night, we rode Millennium Force and I met up with my roommate Michael. I ended up getting three rides on that. Tuesday morning, me and Michael decided to ride Maverick first thing in the morning, so we did that and were the first riders in the front seat that day, so it was cool. Then after that it started to rain, and rained for a lot of the day. Me, him and Janelle went to soak city a little later also to swim some also.

After soak city, Michael wanted to rent the jet skis for an hour, so we did that since employees get half off. That was really fun, especially seeing the park from the lake. So he drove and me and Janelle took a couple rides on it. Afterward, we met up with Stephanie and Beth and went to TGI Fridays on the beach to eat, it actually wasn't too expensive. But then after that, Me Janelle and Mike decided to ride Maverick again, so we rode in the front seat again at night, making it the 13th ride. Well Today (Wednesday) I got out of work early because they are cutting back hours I guess, they have too many people working too many hours. Well that's all for now, I'm getting my hair cut.

Update: June 29

Well I finally get my hair cut, and its definitely a lot better. That same day, I ended up going back to the park and rode some rides with Stephanie, her roommate Beth, and friend Ally. This included Wicked Twister, Chaos, Maxair and front row Raptor. I remember last friday I worked a split shift, basically worked until 1:30pm and went back to work at the marina gate at 6. Mike and his friend Meagan also had one, so we went to soak city for a few hours, which was fun. After closing marina gate, I met up with him and Meagan again and a couple others and went to McDonalds, which had a forever wait.

Saturday was a busy day, as usual. After work in Group Sales, I just went back to the dorms, ate and went on the computer for a little bit. It wasnt a very good day for me either. I ended up going back to the park around 9pm, and seen Mike then rode skyhawk, and later on met Georgia while at work. Sunday was a slow day though, again as usual. I ended up going to the donut time cafe to use my laptop, then met Janelle at Hotel Breakers lobby to use it there, to purchase our bus tickets home. That night, went back to the dorms then I came back around 9pm, met with Stephanie and Beth to ride Gemini and then Maverick, for my 14th time. We acted crazy that night.

On Monday, I started working in the Season Pass Center to take pictures and what not. I worked open to 3pm, and went to donut time to use my laptop again. At around 6:30pm, Me, Mike, Georgia and Janelle left and went to town, Old Navy and then Ryan's Restaurant to eat. Later on we went back to the park, were going to ride Millennium but went over to Maverick and got in line for that around 10:20, and met with Georgia's sister. After that, Me Mike and Janelle went over to Gemini, rode that a couple times, it was ride night for it. On tuesday after work, I did laundry and then went to town with Stephanie and Beth. We went to the mall, then Applebees to eat dinner. We got back to the park around 9pm, and got in line for Maverick again, and it was really hot, all day actually. Took bus back to dorms around 11:30pm.

Wednesday was another hot day. I came to park around 12pm, went to cafeteria with mike on his break. Then I used the internet at donut time around 1:30, and worked season passes 3 – 10pm. Then rode back to dorms with Mike.Thursday, I worked 8:30- 3pm, and went to hotel breakers to use my laptop with Stephanie. Met with Mike around 6. got on the train near maverick, then met Georgia by millennium force entrance, then me mike and Janelle rode mantis. After, went to pagoda gift shop. Then we took skyride to front of park, left and went back to dorms. Mike left for home that night, his graduation party was today (Friday).

Well its Friday June 29th and its the day me and Janelle came home for vacation. Yes, this is actually like a vacation from that place, just being home. We took buses from Sandusky to East Lansing and returned around 2:45pm. Its so much quieter over here, much more relaxing too.

Update: July 10

Its been over a week since the last update and I can't really remember everything that went on. Most of this one will be about work, and since I really haven't gone to the park much on my free time the past week. All last week they had me working at the entrance gates and the front cashiers selling tickets or a little bit. But pretty much me and Michael had similar schedules which worked out good. Last week Monday and Tuesday, July 2nd and 3rd were actually busy days. I started working on front gate in the morning, then got moved to cashiering a little later. Its nice to start doing something different than working in group sales all the time.

But anyway there are four entrance gates in the park: Front, Marina, Resort, and Beach. I think I liked working front gate best, only because it's the very front of the park and most people use it, so theres always something to do. At the other gates, theres a lot of sitting around and it gets boring really fast. Monday was a split shift, I worked front gate in the morning and the resort gate at night to close. Tuesday was similar but worked resort gate right after I was done with front, got out around 6pm.

And then it was the fourth of July. No one was allowed to drive to work that day, because apparently the park was going to be packed. Well it wasn't. in fact, the last couple days were busier than this day. I had worked 9am-2pm at front gate, cashiering, and marina gate, and then beach gate from 8pm-midnight, which was when the park closed. So the park wasn't bad all day, not too crowded. The fireworks were at 10pm on the beach, so pretty much everyone from the park decided to come out the beach gate to watch them, on the beach. It was so crowded, I've never seen so many people coming in that gate after the fireworks, it was a mess. But the fireworks weren't too bad, though they could have been better.

Thursday I didn't do much, besides work six hours, 4-10pm, at beach gate, which was so boring. Then I had to work there again on friday for four hours, 1-5pm, which really wasn't even worth it. Friday night after work, me and Janelle decided to clean her room, pretty much cleaned up all of Georgia's stuff and did her laundry. It looks a lot better now anyway. Saturday I got stuck working in group sales for a few hours, but was supposed to get out by 1pm, but didn't until 2. I ended up going to soak city for a few hours, got burnt slightly. And then it was Saturday evening (July 7th), Michael called me earlier to see if I wanted to go to buffalo, NY to see his grandpa. I didn't know if I wanted to at first but I'm glad I did. Sunday was my day off, and so was Tuesday, since it was the next week anyway. The only thing I had to do was take off Monday, which I had a hard time doing, so I ended up having to call it off and now probably have points against me.

Saturday night we took a four hour drive to Grand Island, NY, which is north of Buffalo, and stayed the night at one of his aunts house. We left around 8:45pm and got there just before 1am, and just went to bed shortly after. Then on Sunday, me and Mike got to use their jet ski for a little bit but it was a little rainy all day. Sunday evening, he had called some of his family and they all met at his grandparents house for dinner, so I got to meet a lot of his family which was cool. They live in Tonawanda which is just east of Grand Island. Later Sunday night me, Michael, his cousin Nicole and her friend Adam went to do laser tag at Lasertron in North Tonawanda. Laser tag is so expensive, it was $14 for a half hour and 4 different games, but it was fun anyway. Afterward, we went to Tim Hortons, which is a place like starbucks and honestly I have never heard of it before, but apparently they are all over the place. But after that we just went back to Nicole's place then me and Mike came back to his grandma's. And then it was Monday. We ended up leaving their house early afternoon, and just drove around for a while. Then made it to target to get a few things, and went out to eat at this Mexican type of restaurant which was good.

After that, I said I wanted to go to Niagara Falls because I never been there, so Mike took me. We drove around for a while trying to find the road to get there, and eventually got there. I was so excited. It was awesome with the Niagara Falls Ontario skyline in the background, and seeing the actual Niagara Falls with all the mist in the air. Its something I have never seen before in person, it was just amazing. It was so relaxing walking around there too, especially being away from Cedar Point. I took a lot of pictures. It was just so cool being right up near the falls, right over the edge. Its such a cool area, Buffalo, Tonawanda, Grand Island and Niagara Falls in western New York. I think it would be cool to live somewhere over here, right along the river. Afterward, we ended up leaving and went south to Grand Island, where we drove around for a little while. Then we were on our way to his other aunt's house, but first stopped to eat at Applebees for half off appetizers. Then we finally made it to her house and stayed the night again. That was the third place we stayed, so its been pretty much like a vacation for me.

Then Tuesday, or today actually, we basically just stayed at his aunts really nice house for most of the day. I don't know what time we are leaving or where else we are going, but eventually we will make it back to the point tonight. I had fun, I think it was a nice vacation away from Cedar Point anyway.

Update: July 20

A couple weeks after the last update, and again I am in New York. I'm here with Michael for four days, visiting pretty much all of his family, during the family reunion. I ended up getting four days off of work pretty much at the last minute, after asking the past week.

Work was pretty much the same since the last update, but I was back in Group Sales. Some of the days they had me doing surveys around the park, basically just going around to random people and asking them questions about the park. I thought I could handle it but realized it was way too much walking, and very boring too. I ended up doing them on that Thursday and Friday after working in Group Sales.

So on Thursday (July 12th), a couple friends came to cedar point from MSU, but they ended up leaving the park early so didn't really get to spend any time with them. That night, me, Georgia and her sister ended up riding Maverick, then Millennium Force with her special access pass thing. Front car of Millennium was really bad, there were tons of bugs so by the time we got off we were covered in them. Maverick ride night was also that night. Me, Michael, Janelle and other people he works with ended up riding that a couple times, which ended up making it my 19th ride on Maverick.

Friday I ended up going to donut time to use my laptop at night with Janelle, and didn't really do much other than that. Saturday after work, I was so tired but went to East of Chicago with Mandy (one of Georgia's friends) and ate dinner there. I came back and pretty much slept and did laundy. Sunday, I ended up going with Michael to Target, then to eat at Applebee's. Afterwards, he took me to see the new Harry Potter movie at 10pm. I didn't really understand a lot of it since I hadn't read any of the books or anything.

Tuesday (july 16) I didn't do anything really, but I remember learning how to close the Resort entrance gate so I could do it myself the next day. Well my first time working an open to close (8:30am – 10pm) was on Wednesday, where I closed resort gate. Basically I worked in group sales from 8:30 – 4pm, then went to the gate until close. It wasn't bad actually. I think I did it all right anyway. Then it was Thursday, I spent a little time with Stephanie after work (I got out at 1pm) so we rode Top Thrill Dragster. After that we went to Taco Bell to eat, then got back to the park and rode Disaster Transport. Shortly after, I found out I got the next 4 days off, which is when I went to New York with Michael.

Thursday night, we made the 4 hour trip to Tonawanda, NY and arrived at his grandparents house around midnight. (continued)

Update: July 26

Friday morning, I went with him and his mom, sisters, and a couple of his aunts to the mall over there and ate at Cheesecake Factory. Its an expensive place but really nice. At the mall we went to Old Navy and I bought a hooded sweatshirt. Later in the day I met a couple more of his cousins, Erin and her brother Lenny. At night we ended up going to the canal-fest, which basically was just a festival in the city with some rides, games and stuff like that. we drove to his cousins house, Nicole, and walked from there. But it was a little different; there were a lot of weird people there. But it was really crowded anyway. We did end up going on one of the rides, and also the ferris wheel. Then they played a game where you win fish, and won about 6 goldfish. We went back to his grandparents house and dropped the girls off at one of his aunts house.

Saturday was the family reunion. In the morning, me and Michael went to pick up his sisters and Erin and drove around some looking for a place to buy something to put the fish in. The reunion thing started at 1pm, but we didn't get there until around 2. So we were there pretty much the whole day until about 10:30pm. I already knew most of the people there from when I met them a couple weekends ago. It wasn't bad actually, they had a few activities including this prize auction. That night we ended up taking his sisters back to his aunts and went back to his grandparents house again.

Sunday morning, we went to Mike's other aunts house to ride the jet ski again with his sisters and Erin and his other cousin. We did that for most of the day and swam in the river, and had pizza in the afternoon. We all left there around 4pm and made it back to his grandma's house again to meet his parents. From there, we were on our way back to Detroit, or Riverview back to his house. We stayed there for the night. But we drove through Canada which was cool. It was his family and Erin that came back, drove 2 vehicles. So that night Mike wanted to meet with a couple of his friends so we did that and went to dairy queen. Then made it back to his house later and his friend victor stayed the night, because we planned to go to cedar point the next day (Monday) which we did.

Monday, we got up early and drove to Cedar Point and got there around 8am. It was me, Mike, his sister Erica, Erin and his friend Victor. We were in the park the whole day and it was Erica and Erin's first time to the park so that was fun. We took them on the best rides there, well most of them. It's so much different going to the park with friends than working there. It's a lot better anyway.

Well its Thursday today, and not really my day off but I just typed up this whole update and the last one, so it was behind a lot. This week I didn't really do much, Tuesday I went back to work and yeah boring as usual. I did close resort gate Tuesday and Wednesday night which wasn't bad. I actually like closing it, its better than working at group sales I think. Today I was working in season passes from open until 3pm, then I just came back and did laundry. Well that's the update, I don't know when the next will be.

Update: August 9

It's now less than 2 weeks from my last day here, and I'm actually ready to leave. I think I've had enough of Cedar Point all summer. I could definitely work here again next summer, but the pay just isn't worth it. I also need a job that has to do more with my major. I really am going to miss this place, but I'm probably the only one to say that out of all the other employees. I had a good summer so far, and got pretty lucky too with where I worked. Working in A/C all day and doing little or easy work pretty much describes what I did all summer. Most people cant say that, especially ride operators and just about all the other seasonal employees.

The last couple weeks I have been working a lot more hours, and my last couple checks should be my largest ones. I've also been working at the resort entrance gate more now, and all next week I have to open and close it myself and pretty much just be the one in charge. But that's pretty much what I have been doing the past week anyway, just mostly had split shifts. My last two days off were Thursday, august 2nd and then just yesterday, which was Wednesday. I'm not even going to try to think of what I did since my last update, because I really don't remember most of it other than the last few days.

But I do know the last few days have been really hot, and again so glad I work in A/C. The other night me and Janelle rode Maverick, so we waited for about 40 minutes and it was my ride number 21. I really expected to ride it at least 50 times this summer, but I guess that didn't happen. But its been hot all week it seems like, even waiting in line for maverick was bad, and it was around 9:30pm. Maverick is definitely my favorite ride in the park.

Oh and the past few days have been rainy. Last Tuesday was the worst though. I had to open and close the resort entrance gate, so I was there all day. Well I got pretty much soaked on my way up there in the pouring rain, it was bad. Then for early entry, there was hardly anyone to come through the gate. Normally we have hundreds of people, but that day there was less than 50 all hour. The whole day it pretty much rained, and most things were closed all day, so that wasn't the day to be in the park. And like I said yesterday (Wednesday) I had off so I came to the park for a little while and went to see the Rock n' Country show, which I've seen probably 10 times already. I like it anyway. It was so hot that day too, and very very humid.

Well its Thursday now and I have a split, so I go back to work from 5pm until 10. and once again, it is raining. Sometimes it's a good thing because then no one comes in the park. So good, its raining, hopefully closing tonight will be easy. That way no one comes during starlight.

Update: August 24 (last update)

I'm a little late typing this one, but it's going to be from the 24th, which was Friday. So I have been working at the Resort gate the last few weeks of work, and it has been the best part of summer working at the park. I wished I could have worked there the whole summer, but it doesn't matter it was still fun at Group Sales and the other places I been at. Besides it's kind of better working at different areas instead of the same place, I'm sure it would get boring.

I met a lot of people working there, and while at Resort Gate I started getting used to working with the people there. It started to feel like home for a while, it ended too quick. A couple of them I got to know well, Ruby and Lay. Well those are their names for Cedar Point, their actual names (in letters) are Poon Tsz Man (Ruby) and Pit Siang Lay. Me and Ruby got to hang out a couple times, went to the park to ride some rides and watched some shows. I pretty much knew her from being at Resort Gate although she ended up leaving on Monday the 20th. I most likely will never see her again since she's from Hong Kong. It's the same thing with Lay, since she is from Malaysia. I only worked with her the last four or five days of working at Resort Gate, but it was still a lot of fun. A lot of my pictures are of Lay, and theres also a lot of me and Ruby. I miss them a lot, I wished I could have worked over there more over the summer.

There was also others I got to know while being at that gate, including Erhan from Turkey, Tchapo from Benin (Africa), and also Marceia and Neece from Michigan. Before I was the team leader over there, it was Brandon, who was the one in charge of that gate for most of the summer. After I started getting used to working with them, it was about time for me to leave. I miss everyone there and I miss working there too, I would definitely work there again next summer but I won't be able to. It's probably time I find a real job, one that can relate to my major and pays more.

Sunday, August 19th and the 20th were the two least busiest days at the park the whole summer. And it was because of the rain. It pretty much rained the whole day, both days. The first half of both days there were less than 1,000 people in the whole park, and that's bad. Because of the rain, all the roller coasters were closed pretty much all day. But towards the end of the day people did start coming to the park, mostly just the resort guests because they pretty much had to if it was their only trip to the park. Those two days we did almost nothing all day.

But then came wednesday August 22nd, my last day of work. That day, I worked until 2pm and went to get my paper to process out that day also. It was a sad day. The very last day I could say I worked at Cedar Point. It's my favorite place. Everyone said I would be sick of the place by the end of the summer, but I wasn't. I still like it as much as I did before. I really am going to miss dealing with all the guests, that was what made it fun, just interacting with new people every day.

On Wednesday night, my family came to the campground at the park. It was also the night I moved out of Cedar Point housing. Finally I wouldn't have to live there again. It wasn't that bad though, we got air conditioning (unlike MSU). I had good roommates though too.

On Thursday the 23rd, I went to the park with my family, well actually with my sister Rachelle and Janelle's sister Melissa. I ended up staying at the campground Wednesday night. Thursday all day was spent at the park, I was mostly with my parents. Janelle's family also came to the park that day but they stayed in a hotel off Cedar Point. I went to shows with them, and I took my mom and Janelle's mom on Millennium Force and Maverick. I was surprised I got them to go on those, it was their first time. The park closed at 8pm, which was too early I thought. But it's been closing at that time all week. I didn't get to go see everyone I wanted to before I left, because of that. I wanted to spend the day with my family before I moved in at MSU on Saturday.

Friday was the day I left the park for good, and it was sad. I was leaving the place I spent all summer. We packed up the camper Friday morning and left around 11:30am. And that ends my summer at Cedar Point, I would say it was my best summer ever.

I would also like to say that I got to ride Maverick 25 times all summer, which is exactly half of what my goal was--50! Click here to view Photos from the summer of 2007.

Rules of a Leap Year

2007-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

The vernal equinox year is currently about 365.242375 days long.
The Gregorian leap year rule gives an average year length of 365.2425 days...
In order to get a closer approximation, it was decided to have a leap day 97 years out of 400 rather than once every 4 years.

To implement the model, it was provided that years divisible by 100 would be leap years only if they were divisible by 400 as well. So, in the last millennium, 1600 and 2000 were leap years, but years 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not. In this millennium, 2100, 2200, 2300, 2500, 2600, 2700, 2900 and 3000 will not be leap years, but 2400 and 2800 will be. The years that are divisible by 100 but not 400 are known as "exceptional common years". By this rule, the average number of days per year will be 365 + 1/4 - 1/100 + 1/400 = 365.2425.

This difference of a little over 0.0001 days means that in around 8,000 years, the calendar will be about one day behind where it should be. But in 8,000 years' time the length of the vernal equinox year will have changed by an amount which can't be accurately predicted. So the Gregorian leap year rule does a good enough job.

Who's Best for our State's Future?

2006-11-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

--Opinion from the Detroit Free Press--

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Two things in particular bother me about the upcoming election. First is the accusation that Gov. Jennifer Granholm is responsible for the loss of jobs in Michigan, and the second is the idea that somehow Dick DeVos is going to create jobs.

The loss of jobs in this state is the fault of the automobile companies, not the governor. She has no control over those job losses.

On the other hand, how is DeVos going to create jobs? He hasn't answered that question. He just "promises" to do it. And let's not forget that the job losses are going to continue into 2007, regardless of who becomes the next governor.
---------------------------

One thing I am proud of is the fact that she takes time to help out these smaller communities such as Portland. This city was given both the 'Cool Cities' and 'Main Street' programs a few years ago, money to help rebuild and expand downtown to bring in more people. In my opinion, Devos bought his way into the election.

Cedar Point Halloweekends: The 28th

2006-10-30T12:00:00.001-08:00

So last Saturday, I went to Cedar Point again. I was to go with my roomate and people from his church group. But turns out only two went (that drove) and 4 of us were from our hall, so there was room for more people but I didnt know.

So we get there around 1pm, and I expect it to be a little crowded. But its not, actually there were not a whole lot of people there. This is my first time going during Halloweekends, and it was really cool. The whole place is halloween themed. ...
We decide to go on Millennium Force first thing, and it was only about 20 minute wait. This day was really windy, and a little rainy. actually, it hailed a couple times and even when we were in line for Millennium, but luckily it didnt when we rode. We got in line a second time, again about 20 minute wait. But wow going down that hill with the wind blowing against you at 20mph, its quite windy. After the 2nd ride, we walked to this haunted house in the building where Disaster trasport is. That was fun. It was pretty much done raining for the rest of the day now. Then went on Power Tower, and it was really windy at the top.

That day we also went on Magnum, Corkscrew, Wicked Twister, and Mantis, all were short lines. We could have went on more but we did a lot of walking around. We also went to this other haunted house near Maverick, which was really cool actually we thought it was so funny. But that was fun.

When it was 8:00pm, other haunted things opened such as Freight Zone, (path between Millennium Force and Thunder Canyon) which they have all foggy with these lights, and 'monsters' scaring people. There was also Werewolf Canyon (Thunder Canyon without the water) where you walk through and its all haunted, but didnt go in that, too long of a wait. But yea there was CarnEvil, where they had different side show things set up near Wicked Twister Midway. But we went in Fear Faire, which is similar to Freight Zone which was near Raptor, in the Pavallion area.

At around 9:30pm, we noticed Top Thrill Dragster running.. with people on it. It hadn't been running all day, it was too windy. Actually, they were testing it around 6:00 but wasn't making it over, even at 127mph launch, or would barely make it. But we get in line, and notice only 4 people at a time were being launched up, using up the first two rows (because of the wind, or it wouldn't make it over). The line was so short, but it would have been over an hour wait from where we were, so they all didn't want to go on it then had to get out of line. I was actually really mad, I expect to go on Dragster at least once during my trips there but didn't get to this time. So we go in Fear Fair, then walk out of the park. Raptor was also closed all day because of the wind.

I wasn't really in a good mood after that. But I guess I had fun, at least I got my two rides in for Millennium Force. It was a little cold that day, but its not so cold when you aren't thinking about it. On Millennium Force, the wind hits you so hard but you dont really feel it, It is actually colder standing in line than riding it. I wasn't cold at all after I got off any roller coaster.

Sometimes I think that if I was with different people, I could have went on 3 times the amount of things I did when we were there. The lines were a lot shorter than usual, we just didnt use that to our advantage. Just the atmosphere, being there in the cold, with a cold breeze just made it different, exciting in a way, and something I wasnt used to. But it was fun anyway. Any day to Cedar Point is fun and exciting for me.

View Photos Here

Facebook or Myspace?

2006-10-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

I have never had a facebook account, until I came here. It appears everyone has one, so I had no choice but to create one, just to say that I had one. Now that I have one, I realize it is much easier to keep track of friends than in myspace. It also appears to be more organized and you don't get distracted from weird myspace layouts.

But what exactly is a "myspace layout"? Well the answer to that is HTML. But isn't that just another way websites are created? Most myspace users do not know what they are doing when creating layouts. Just fill out a form, copy this "code" and paste it. And thats the layout. But there are some people who can create more advanced layouts, ones that change the whole look of myspace. In fact, you can create a layout that completely covers the original layout to make it look however you want.

So is it still myspace? Well you still have your 'friends', but basically its just a web page that you have created, covering myspace. Of coarse only people who know HTML will be able to do this, or at least smart enough to figure out how to change certain 'pre-made' layouts.

Is facebook better? well if you want to keep in touch with friends and stay up to date with events, then it might be. But for if you want more 'customization' then maybe myspace is better. I like myspace better for now, only because of the layout I created. If you look at it, basically I covered the old layout with something of my own, making it my own web page, for now.

***UPDATE 02/23/08***
Myspace is losing its popularity, for me anyway. I have given up on my myspace site, and no longer use it as my webpage. A lot has changed in the last few years, including better customization within the site and it has become closer related to facebook. I hardly ever use it anymore, and anything I change in facebook will go into my myspace. You really can't compare these two sites, because most people only have one or the other. College students don't really use myspace anymore.

***Update 9/1/10**
My myspace page still exists but is no longer updated. I no longer know anyone who actively uses myspace.

A Cedar Point Trip Report (06)

2006-09-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

So I finally decide to type this blog, about 2 weeks AFTER I come back from Cedar Point (the best place in the world). hah. yeah. I been busy with MSU, which is the best college in the world lol its so fun and its only been a week. anyway... I'll try to remember what I can from August 19th--22nd (can't be too hard, I have a good memory!)
My family (Mom, Dad, Sister and Me) went with the Pohls (Betsy, Mel, Corey, Kelsey, Janelle, and Melissa)

Well we arrived in the afternoon with the camper, and so excited to see the skyline of the park. Amazing (as usual). I remember a lot from last year, bringing back a lot of memories. we pass Millennium Force, and once again I just had to take a pic its just so tall lol.

It was rainy the whole day on our way there (as you can see in the pic), but strange enough, a half hour after we got there the sun came out. After we drove past that, I seen the new coaster (assumed to be called Maverick) on the right. And I was thinking oh how exciting to see it in person (since I have been following up on it online, and only seen pics, so it was cool.

So we get to the campground, set up the camper and eat. A little while later, we (me, my sister, kelsey, melissa, janelle) decide to go play some tennis at the tennis court by the hotel. Took some pics of Magnum (which was right next to where we were), and then went swimming in the pool at the hotel. (it was sunny by now).

It was still Saturday, and we all went for a walk along the boardwalk. After swimming and all that.

Then at night, we went miniature golfing. That was fun, it was actually dark outside when we went.

After we got back to the camper, me and Kelsey went for a walk along the boardwalk. We ended up down by Wicked Twister, and noticed the gates were open (since it was 5 minutes after closing). So, I was like well lets just go in and walk around, and watch Top Thrill Dragster. I dont know, but I was just so exciting to enter the park without even paying! hah. We walked to TTD and watched that for a half hour.

We went in the actual park all day Sunday. I made sure to wake up early, so I wouldn't miss the "early entrance" thing, and get AT LEAST two rides on Millennium Force. I could already tell that this was going to be busier than last year. But we did end up getting two rides on Millennium, which is the best roller coaster in the world (it's true).

After riding that twice, me and Kelsey ended up riding Skyhawk two times, Gemini twice, Magnum twice, Mantis, Iron Dragon twice, and then Demon Drop, before heading back to the camper.

Skyhawk- new in 2006

Demon Drop- one of the parks oldest rides (for sale in 2006, sold in 2009)

Camper Village

After lunch, Rachelle and Melissa decided to stay at the camper. So me, Kelsey and Janelle went to the park. But me and Kelsey went on Top Thrill Dragster (amazing). I might as well not try to describe the feeling, because words just aren't the same! After that met up with Janelle and Corey.

Other rides we went on included Corkscrew, Power Tower, MaXair, Raptor, and Wicked Twister.

Power Tower

Raptor

Wicked Twister

Shortly after, we met up with our parents, then all went on Disaster Transport, an indoor coaster. Then, I took my mom on Wicked Twister. I told her it wasn't bad (which isn't really) but she didn't like it. But I do, I think its fun! Then, the parents went back and we rode Power Tower, then all met up at the "Hot Summer Lights" show. And after that, once again me and Kelsey ended up watching the rest of Top Thrill Dragster, as they finished giving rides to the people in line.

On Monday, we all went in Soak City, the water park (except the parents). It's actually bigger than it looks, and lot to do in there (Michigans adventure waterpark is better). Ended up leaving that around 3:00pm.

At 5:00pm, Me, my sister, Janelle, Kelsey, and Corey went in the park again for Starlight admission (5pm-closing). With that, we ended up getting a few more rides in, which included the Sky Ride, Wicked Twister, Power Tower, Skyhawk, and Iron Dragon.

I also decided to check out the construction site again as we were over by skyhawk, so I took some pics and they turned out really good with the sunset.

But the night wasn't over yet. I had a plan. Get in line for Millennium force at 9:50 at night (the park closed at 10) and then you would only be wasting 10 minutes in the park, the rest doesn't matter. So me and Kelsey got in line for that, and it actually seemed to go fast. We were thinking ok might as well wait for the front, we have all night. But wasn't able to, so we did end up riding 2nd seat from the front. This was the best ride of the whole trip. It was so cool riding it at night, just amazing again. If anyone goes there again just remember, get in line for it right before the park closes. it is worth it. don't waste your time in line in the middle of the day when you could be riding other stuff!

We were close to the last coaster of the day. That had to of been the best part of the trip, riding that and having it be my last ride of the day. It was my first ride Sunday, and last ride Monday. On Tuesday, we ended up packing up and headed home.

Well that's pretty much a summary of my trip. Its been fun. Cedar Point 2006.

MSU (The First Week)

2006-08-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well I finally moved in MSU, and so far it's been fun. I have been meeting a lot of new people and going to all the activities during "welcome week". But I'm sure it will take some time to be getting used to this campus. I'm in Bailey hall, which is where the "ROSES" program is, so its mostly all engineers. Last night (wednesday), we basically got to meet people on our floor and do some activities. I went bowling with a few people, since it was free :) even though I was really bad at it, since I didn't have my own bowling ball! oh well it was still fun.

Today (thursday) was kind of busy for me, did a lot actually. First there was the university welcome thing in the wharton center, with Jeannette walls, the writer of this really good book "The Glass Castle" that we had to read. Afterward, it was downpouring so had to walk in that to get to the bus (got soaked, but I have an umbrella now hhaaa). But then I met up with Beth Kenyon and her roomate which I happened to see, and we ate some lunch. Came back to the room and went to some "Student Engagement Sessions". Then I had dinner around 5:30pm. Their food is actually not too bad, at least so far anyway. Afterward, went to the "Spartan Spirit" pep rally thing and introduced lot of people and teams. The band also played.

Got back around 8:30 and took the CATA bus with a group of people to Meijer, during the "Midnight Madness" thing they had going on, for MSU students. there were a lot of people there, the whole Meijer store was packed. they had free food, karaoke, video games, and they were throwing out t-shirts at different times. its was funny, when the students were all screaming and was like "go green! go white!" in the store. I got a few things, there were actually a lot of good deals.

But here I am now, at my laptop in the dorm room typing this. College seems fun so far.. but school starts on monday so that sucks. I cant wait for an exciting first year of college! It should be fun.

Europe Trip 2006

2006-07-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

It was June 19th and I had been waiting over a year for the day to come. We left for Europe (Spain and France) in the morning, and I had never been on a plane before. We left from Grand Rapids to Chicago, to NYC to London then to Paris. But we finally got there on the 20th in the early afternoon (since they are 6 hours ahead). The next 10 days would be the best vacation ever for me. Each day, we had breakfast at the hotel, and dinner at different restaurants around the area. We also had free time where we could go shopping, eat lunch, or walk around and see different places on our own. ...
We first stayed in Paris for 2 nights. There, we went on city tours, and seen the Eiffle tower. The best part of that was going to the top of it at night (would of been better during the day), but it was cool anyway since I like tall structures. We also went to other places in the city, such as the Louvre, where we seen Mona Lisa. It was also cool to see the style and architecture on many of the buildings and churches.

On the 22nd, we traveled to Nice, France by train (TGV, fastest in world). I found that interesting, and the air pressure kept changing rapidly from the speed it went. But we stayed there for 2 nights and got to go on tours and got to go to the Mediterranean Sea. We also traveled to Monaco, which is very beautiful I must say. It's pretty much on the mountains and along the Sea. I wouldn't mind living there someday and getting a mansion on the mountain.

Then saturday the 24th, we took a bus from Nice to Avignon, where we stayed one night. The day was almost all on the bus, since we stopped at 3 different places along the way. We seen a small village in Provence in the mountains, and also in Nimes we visted the Amphitheatre and Roman Aquaduct. Finally arrived at the hotel around 6pm and went to dinner. The second day (25th) was similar, we left by bus again and made 3 stops. One place was Collioure, France, a small town sitting between the mountains and the Sea, where we had lunch.

Our 2-day bus ride to Barcelona was finally over. We actually arrived in Barcelona, Spain around 7:30pm on the 25th. It was cool driving through the montains from France to Spain with all the scenery. But we stayed in Barcelona for 2 nights. On the 26th we went on a tour and stopped at different places including the old 1992 olympics site and different cathedrals. We also split into groups for our free time, where we went to the beach (me, Taylor and Kelsey. John and Amanda went to the Aquarium). I don't really care for swimming in the Mediterranean, because of the salt water and rocky beaches.

Tuesday, the 27th we left on bus again toward Madrid. Another long day on bus, where we stopped 3 times, one was at Zaragoza, Spain. While there, we went through a cathedral and ate lunch. Finally arrived in Madrid around 7:45pm. By the time we got back to the hotel after dinner, it was time for the big game (France vs. Spain) in the world cup. Madrid was crowded with people, our hotel was down the road from the main gathering area where they watched the soccer (futbol) game.

We ended up staying in Madrid for 3 nights. On the 28th, we did a city tour and had some free time to go shopping. We also went on a bus tour later on where we stopped at different places around the city including a museum. After dinner at night we went for a walk to see this palace at night, took pictures and went to get ice cream. That day I decided to hang around Megan, Anne, Travis and Bobbi for a while, so I could talk to other people in the group for something different. Janelle was also with us (very annoying).

It was now the last full day we had in Spain (the 29th) where we visited Spains old capital, Toledo. We got back and I decided to hang around Brittany, Jessica, Lauren, and Olivia this time. This time Janelle was with us again. Went to KFC (in Madrid), then went shopping some, and were trying to find Janelle a nice outfit to wear, but she acts like a 10 year old and wouldn't try on things until she was forced to, and doesn't like any "girl" things. I ended up buying a cool shirt but it costed £47. Later on we went to dinner, then to watch a Flamenco dance for an hour, which was good.

It was now the 30th, our last day in Europe. We left around 10am to the airport, where we split into 2 groups. I was in the second group, we flew to Frankfurt Germany from Madrid then to NYC. From Germany to NYC it was an 8 hour flight, but I got to sit with Beth and Elle, so it wasn't that bad. We ended up getting to NYC around 6pm (left Germany at 4pm), and had to take a bus to Newark. It was cool to see the Manhattan Skyline at night, I want to go there some day. Ended up arriving at the hotel to meet the rest of the group around 11pm, and got 3 hours of sleep before leaving the hotel at 4:15am to the airport.

It was the last day together and ended up leaving Newark toward Chicago, then had 2 hours at that airport to walk around and whatever. Finally arrived to Grand Rapids at 12:30pm where we met our families.

It has been the best vacation I ever been on and I would do it again if I could. It was also fun being with the group and going places together. Something I will never forget.

Cities Visited: [France] -- Paris, Versailles, Nice, Monoco, Nimes, Avignon, Collioure. [Spain] -- Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo.

So how does it compare to Michigan? Well the first thing I noticed when I arrived back here is that the land is very flat here, and boring. Not much to see here anyway. One thing I was glad about was being able to talk to people in english and understanding them once I got back. The traffic laws are a lot different over there, not as strict as over here. There were no stop signs (except one I seen by the highway), and I didn't see any speed limit signs. Lots of cars running red lights (I guess its ok to go through a red light if its been that for 5 seconds). But I don't know. Lots of small cars (2-seat ones), and I did not see one truck or SUV or anything like that over there. The police/ambulance/fire truck sirens are also different, really loud though. I miss hearing that sound:( lol. But also, They don't use screens in their windows, and leave doors open (I really didn't see many bugs when I was there, which was nice, no mosquitos). The weather was pretty much the same as here, except the sun felt very hot at times. Actually didn't even rain once (except on the bus ride to a city) which was good. That's all I can think of for now.

Photos from Europe HERE!

Michigan's Adventure

2006-06-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well last monday, me, Rachelle, Heather B., Kaitlin S., and janelle and kelsey pohl went to michigans adventure. There was not very many people there at all, so everything was pretty much a walk on and even shivering timbers. So we stayed there all day from 11am-7pm, went to waterpark and yea so it was fun. I got a little sunburnt also. But I took some pics also, located here.

High School Graduation

2006-06-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last night we had our graduation in the gym, and it actually didn't take that long. But it was hot in the gym as it is every year. There weren't as many people who walked this year either, about 112 which is really low for our school.

Then after that was over, the seniors going on the overnight trip ate in a classroom, and went on a bus to the YMCA in Lansing. When we got there at around 11pm, I went swimming until about 12:45am. They had a waterslide also so that was fun. We were also playing volleyball or 'hitting the ball back and forth' in the water. After swimming I went rollerblading. I haven't been on rollerblades in a long time. But I got used to it. Then went to get something to eat and drink because I was very hot. They then started Karaoke, but I didn't sing. But I do have to say that Beverly Milboune is a good singer. Then after that I went to bug Janelle some, with Heather S. and Amber.

By the time we were about to leave mostly everyone was tired. We got back to the school and it was just getting light outside, where we picked up our prizes we won. I got a chair, alarm clock and $20 gas card. Well it's been fun, my last 4 years of High School. I won't be seeing most of my classmates again, or at least not until class reunion (if we have one). Time to start all over again at Michigan State University.

My High School Bowling Season

2006-03-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

I have been bowling all my life. During High School, I decided to go out for the bowling team as a freshman. I hardly knew anyone on the team, and I was the only fresman. There were no seniors on the team then either. I remember Mr. Novara was our coach, who knew little or nothing about bowling, he is a football coach. In order to make the team, he took the top 10 bowlers at tryouts. Each match, there would be 5 starters, 2 subs. and 3 people who sat out, which all got rotated during each game. We had districts also, and I remember not making it to regionals individually. It wasn't a MHSAA sport back then either. As for the girls team, there were only 5 or 6 on the team.

Then, sophomore year we got a new coach, Dewey who works at the bowling alley. There were 10 on the team, and we also went to states as a team. I also remember Amy Channel was the only one to make it to states individually. Our team was actually looking better as we started improving.

Junior year. I actually thought our team wasn't going to be as good, because we lost three good bowlers who were seniors. But what I didn't know is that it would be my best season of bowling. I ended up with high average (206) and high game (260) of the league. I was the best bowler on the team. Then regionals came. First it was the individual tournament, where about 95 bowlers had competed. In order to make it to states, you had to make the top 7. I actually started out good, and threw a good ball each time. By the end of the tournament, I felt confident that I was going to states. I ended up with a 1314 out of six games, which is a 219 average. When they started announcing awards, they started with 7th place. My name was announced, and everyone was all cheering loud for me I remember. It was great, I felt very honored. I was the only one going to states individually from Portland. During my last game, I picked up a split (5-7) and it was a good thing I did, or I wouldn't have made it. Every pin counted, because everyone in the top 7 were very close in total pins. By the next day, we had the team tournament and everyone did good. We actually ended up 2nd at regionals which was good. At states, we ended up losing the first round against a team that had a baker game of 300. I was also out the first round at states, after averaging about a 203 which wasn't good enough. But all together it was the best year for me. I ended up with the coaches award, along with Athlete of the Month award for February (2005). A new girls team was also made, with six freshman and a sophomore. They also made it to states as a team, which was a good comeback for the Portland girls team.

And then came senior year. For this year, I had planned on making it further in states and being even better than last year. But for some reason, I started out not bowling like I used to, I was doing worse. I just figured I would get better as the season goes by. However, week after week I was showing no improvement. I was getting more upset, because I knew I wouldn't get high average or anything like that. My only chance left was regionals. I figured if I bowl good there and make it to states, then it will be fine. Regionals were in Bay City at Washington lanes. The first day was individuals. Maybe I was just too overconfident, but I felt as if I was going to states. Until I realized how hard the shot was on the lanes. My first game was really bad.. and I was so mad. I later realized that most everyone bowling there was not doing so good, so I probably have a chance. Well I was wrong, and I ended up finishing with a bad score. I finished 27th out of 95 which was really bad.. which also says that most everyone else did bad. I thought, what a way to end my last year of bowling, not even going to states. All I needed was about a 175 average to qualify, and I couldn't even do that. How easy it was to get, but I just could not do it. Team event was the next day, and that wasn't any better. Although the lanes were much easier, our team couldn't bowl as a team, either that or our coach messed it up for us. This was my worst year of bowling. I really didn't have that much fun, probably because of the way the team acted.. mostly immature. I felt like I was bowling for the fun of it and not competition, which could be a reason I didn't do so good in the first place. I'm glad to be done with bowling this year, because I'm sure I wouldn't want to be on the team again. I think our coach would agree we would of done a lot better if there was less messing around. Oh well.. so that's the end of my bowling season.. pretty much opposite last year.

The girls team though has improved more from last year. With 8 sophomores, they ended up league champs as well as regional champs. They were also ranked number 1 in the division. For being regional champs, the team bowled in states. While at states, they advanced past the first round making it into quarter-finals. Although they lost in this round with a close score, they did really good overall, better than the guys team. This was the best bowling season ever for the Portland girls team. As for individuals, 3 of the 7 girls selected at regionals to go to states were from Portland. At states, 2 of them made it past the first round but lost the next one. Also, one of the girls, Megan Hoppes, bowled a 300 game at one of our matches. She is the first person at the Portland High School to do that, and it is a new high game record. The girls did really well and should be proud for what they have done. With the best bowlers on the team being sophomores, next year should be an even better year for them. I can also see them taking first at states either next year or the year after. From being a small unknown team just a few years ago, the girls team has come way up in rankings and will be a challenge to beat next year. I hope they do well as a team in the next couple years and have great seasons. As for the guys team.. I don't really care.