Guten Morgen!
Actually it is afternoon here, but I'm guessing it is about 8am in the States. Our team rose early this morning to finish assembling the car and head to the private Audi test track. (Located near the Munich Airport). We ran into a few minor problems, but the car seems to be running pretty sound. This is surprising since we haven't seen the car since early June.
At lunch time Maddy headed back to the University to practice our marketing presentation. So here I sit writing this blog and the title of it says it all.... Tired! We are all feeling the Jet lag, but we know this testing time is crucial.
The weather has been pretty crappy. Ran mostly, with bits and pieces of sun. Our team isn't complaining though. Ran testing is very important. The countdown has begun. T-minus 4 days until we head to Austria for the first competition. We have plans to relax this evening, and drink some Augustiner beer. Augustiner is a famous brewery in Munich. Very tasty!
Anyway I must go now. Practice. Practice. Practice!
Love BennY
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
On Your Mark..... Get Set... GO!
Hey Everyone!
First off, we made it to Germany safely. One word so far, amazing. We've only been here about an hour and already drove on the Autobahn.... 125MPH. (Sorry mom)
The flight was not too bad and our German friends from The University of Munich were waiting for us at the terminal. Four of my teamates headed northwest to LUK, Buhl to pick up our rental truck and racecar. The rest of us are hanging out on Munich's campus for the remainder of the day.
Another cool perk of being in Germany is they sell beer on campus. Hmmm...to think the German Engineers are some of the brightest in the world? You can connect the dots....
Anyway thats all for now. Talk soon.
--Love Benny
Friday, May 27, 2011
Disaster & Devistation are Among us! Dig-in to serve the ones in need!
Good Morning Friends!
I want you all to pause momentarily, close your eye and relax for 5 seconds. Now that you have opened your eyes look around the room what do you see? Everything is the same, calm, and unchanged. Now imagine doing that again, but when you re-open your eyes there is nothing to be found. No walls around you, no roof over your head, and all your possessions scattered in a 1 mile radius.
I remember being about 8 years old and playing with LEGO's almost about everyday. I'd build car's, little cities, fort's, etc. As soon as I was done playing I'd ram my fist into the buildings and topple the entire city in a matter of seconds!
Next weekend I'm organizing a trip to Joplin Missouri to serve people in need. I will be leaving Thursday June 2nd around 6pm and returning Sunday June 5th around 11pm-Midnight. My plan is to get down there early Friday morning and work all day. After a hard days work, get rest and do it all over again on Saturday. Sunday morning I plan on heading to a local church before our return home. I have been in contact with a few churches trying to find shelter while we stay there.
The intent behind this trip is to love, impact, and serve those families in need. I know this trip is last minute, but please keep our fellow Americans in your hearts. At a moments notice disaster can occur and we may be called to respond!
"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."
--Love Benny!
I want you all to pause momentarily, close your eye and relax for 5 seconds. Now that you have opened your eyes look around the room what do you see? Everything is the same, calm, and unchanged. Now imagine doing that again, but when you re-open your eyes there is nothing to be found. No walls around you, no roof over your head, and all your possessions scattered in a 1 mile radius.
I remember being about 8 years old and playing with LEGO's almost about everyday. I'd build car's, little cities, fort's, etc. As soon as I was done playing I'd ram my fist into the buildings and topple the entire city in a matter of seconds!
Next weekend I'm organizing a trip to Joplin Missouri to serve people in need. I will be leaving Thursday June 2nd around 6pm and returning Sunday June 5th around 11pm-Midnight. My plan is to get down there early Friday morning and work all day. After a hard days work, get rest and do it all over again on Saturday. Sunday morning I plan on heading to a local church before our return home. I have been in contact with a few churches trying to find shelter while we stay there.
The intent behind this trip is to love, impact, and serve those families in need. I know this trip is last minute, but please keep our fellow Americans in your hearts. At a moments notice disaster can occur and we may be called to respond!
"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."
--Love Benny!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Heading Home!
Good Morning Everyone! Or should I say 'Bon-Jou!" in Creole.
Well we made it back to the states safely last night. We are currently sitting on an airplane in Miami. I was a bit bummed that I couldn't update my blog while in Haiti, but wifi access was very scarce! Our trip was amazing. So many new experiences and adventures. When I get back in Akron I'll make sure to give a detailed update. Just a quick update though... We all had a great week, no one got sick. We built 11 houses. It was a great feeling after we finished each one. The families usually looked at us and said "God Bless You!" I have so many stories and pictures to share. You all will here from me soon. Have a great Sunday everyone : )
Well we made it back to the states safely last night. We are currently sitting on an airplane in Miami. I was a bit bummed that I couldn't update my blog while in Haiti, but wifi access was very scarce! Our trip was amazing. So many new experiences and adventures. When I get back in Akron I'll make sure to give a detailed update. Just a quick update though... We all had a great week, no one got sick. We built 11 houses. It was a great feeling after we finished each one. The families usually looked at us and said "God Bless You!" I have so many stories and pictures to share. You all will here from me soon. Have a great Sunday everyone : )
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Prepare for Take-Off
Good morning everyone!
After an Interesting overnight in Miami last night we are finally preparing for take off to Haiti! I am updating this from my iPhone on the plane. We are just preparing for takeoff so this will be a short post. Everything has gone smoothly thus far. We have really been pumping the water into our systems preparing for the extreme heat once we land.
Miami airport was a bit crazy, but hey that's part of the journey! Anyway Im not too sure how much I am going to be updating but stay tuned.... The group says hi to everyone and we are sending our Love to out friends and families back home!
---Benny D
After an Interesting overnight in Miami last night we are finally preparing for take off to Haiti! I am updating this from my iPhone on the plane. We are just preparing for takeoff so this will be a short post. Everything has gone smoothly thus far. We have really been pumping the water into our systems preparing for the extreme heat once we land.
Miami airport was a bit crazy, but hey that's part of the journey! Anyway Im not too sure how much I am going to be updating but stay tuned.... The group says hi to everyone and we are sending our Love to out friends and families back home!
---Benny D
Thursday, March 10, 2011
1 - More - Day!
Hey Everyone!
Its so hard to believe our journey will begin tomorrow.
Last night we packed our bags...It took us ~3 hours to pack for all the donated 'goods'! We had so many donations from different groups and families, Thank you all so much. Just to give you a mental picture we will each have 3 bags. 1 Carry on and 2 fifty pound stow-away's. Kim Conrad, our group leader, contacted American Airlines and are able to pack-away two bags with no charge. When we were packing last night we literally had a home-scale and weighed each bag. The lightest was about 42 pounds and the heaviest was 49.5 pounds. Donations ranged from: Blankets, Sewing Machine, Tools, Kids Supplies, Clothing, Medical Supplies, Books/Journals, Money, Hygiene Supplies, and much-much more! My heart also goes out to a local girl scout troup who helped us tremendously. For the past 3 months they have been raising money, collecting donations, and making "Fleece-Tie-Blankets" I can't say it enough, but thank you to my family, friends, and colleagues for all your kind donations which helped make this trip possible : )
So anyway, 8:30am we will hop in two vehicles and drive up to Detroit to catch our 3-P.M. flight. From there we will fly to Miami and stay overnight. At 7:45-A.M. we will catch an early flight directly to Port-Au-Prince Haiti. We will be picked up and transported to Grand-Guave, Haiti. That is where we will be staying.
That's all I really have this afternoon. Need to spend some time today looking over my carry on and packing some extra snacks! (Thin-Mint Cookies) my favorite.
Have a great afternoon,
-Benny D
Its so hard to believe our journey will begin tomorrow.
Last night we packed our bags...It took us ~3 hours to pack for all the donated 'goods'! We had so many donations from different groups and families, Thank you all so much. Just to give you a mental picture we will each have 3 bags. 1 Carry on and 2 fifty pound stow-away's. Kim Conrad, our group leader, contacted American Airlines and are able to pack-away two bags with no charge. When we were packing last night we literally had a home-scale and weighed each bag. The lightest was about 42 pounds and the heaviest was 49.5 pounds. Donations ranged from: Blankets, Sewing Machine, Tools, Kids Supplies, Clothing, Medical Supplies, Books/Journals, Money, Hygiene Supplies, and much-much more! My heart also goes out to a local girl scout troup who helped us tremendously. For the past 3 months they have been raising money, collecting donations, and making "Fleece-Tie-Blankets" I can't say it enough, but thank you to my family, friends, and colleagues for all your kind donations which helped make this trip possible : )
So anyway, 8:30am we will hop in two vehicles and drive up to Detroit to catch our 3-P.M. flight. From there we will fly to Miami and stay overnight. At 7:45-A.M. we will catch an early flight directly to Port-Au-Prince Haiti. We will be picked up and transported to Grand-Guave, Haiti. That is where we will be staying.
That's all I really have this afternoon. Need to spend some time today looking over my carry on and packing some extra snacks! (Thin-Mint Cookies) my favorite.
Have a great afternoon,
-Benny D
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
First 2011 Update!
The new year feels like it has come and gone, and its only February!? It's been such a crazy couple of months for me, but everything is going well. For those of you who follow my blog I am going to work on updating it more frequently now.
As of 2 weeks ago we booked our plane tickets for Haiti. The airfare prices seemed to sky rocket after the new year...Uggh what a bummer that was : ( For those who don't know we have rescheduled our trip to Mid-March. (11th-20th). That is our spring break, but I am really looking forward to contributing to those in need! I'll make sure to provide some team information as we get closer.
Another exciting area of my life (outside school, work, church, girlfriend) is the raceteam. We have been cruising right along with the new car for 2011. I am incharge of designing the Brake System and everything is coming together. We will be competing in 3 competions this summer.
2011 has been an awesome year thus far. Some amazing things and people have impacted my life the past 12 months and I'm very excited to see what the near and distant future hold!
God Bless,
Benny D!
As of 2 weeks ago we booked our plane tickets for Haiti. The airfare prices seemed to sky rocket after the new year...Uggh what a bummer that was : ( For those who don't know we have rescheduled our trip to Mid-March. (11th-20th). That is our spring break, but I am really looking forward to contributing to those in need! I'll make sure to provide some team information as we get closer.
Another exciting area of my life (outside school, work, church, girlfriend) is the raceteam. We have been cruising right along with the new car for 2011. I am incharge of designing the Brake System and everything is coming together. We will be competing in 3 competions this summer.
- The SAE World competition in May. 120 schools from around the country. Ohio State, Texas, MIT, Michigan are examples of some bigger schools we compete against.
- We will also be competing overseas in Germany!! For 1 month!!!I'm so excited for that. This competition starts August 2nd. It is the first trip there in our school's history. Feels pretty awesome to be apart of this. http://www.formulastudent.de/
- While we are in Germany we plan to travel over to Austria for a week. Their competition is the week following the Germany Competition. Not too sure on how many teams will be competition. I am just excited to embark on this adventure with a awesome group of Guys and Girls.
2011 has been an awesome year thus far. Some amazing things and people have impacted my life the past 12 months and I'm very excited to see what the near and distant future hold!
God Bless,
Benny D!
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