Amazon 7 #76 December 16, 2004 QuoteHeading to Alaska next month. Alaska where the odds are good but the GOODS are ODD Long winter nights.. make for interesting bedfellows... and with a night that long.. ya gotta pace yourself Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #77 December 16, 2004 Alaska? Getting your "night-jump at noon" proficiency check, eh? The kid is huge now, a lot fo fun. The wife and work are goign well. It's developing the balance between wife and work that is so troublesome. A common problem, I hear. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keith 0 #78 December 16, 2004 I've been there! I went kayaking through the ice flow of the Colombia Glacier. We camped out in Valdez the night before. What an Amazing place! Keith Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keith 0 #79 December 16, 2004 I'll be there!!! You better have champagne! - I'll have show tunes Keith Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keith 0 #80 December 16, 2004 QuoteLong winter nights.. make for interesting bedfellows... and with a night that long.. ya gotta pace yourself Stamina I have. Partners who do too. . . Keith Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vallerina 2 #81 December 16, 2004 I flirt much more in real life. I argue about the same amount (when I'm in an argumentitive mood here, I am in real life, too.) I'm more sarcastic in real life.There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hipwrddude 0 #82 December 16, 2004 Stop with that truth. What are you trying to do? Turn the lights on in the place? Yea, so one's online persona may be more of the real them then normally revealed, but why'd you have to blow the lid off that secret? Now the whole wide world's gonna know. Dag gum it. Now I gotta go somewhere else to reveal the "real" me 'cause you just blew my cover! (Walks away, blanket in tow.) You're always the starter in your own life! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peacefuljeffrey 0 #83 December 16, 2004 QuoteSomething in a recent thread made me think about this. And, I've heard from other people about people who come across here as total a-holes that they are really very sweet, nice people IRL. So, it got me to wondering, because I've been playing online much longer than most of you here have even known that there was an "online" (17 years and counting), and from my experience, I've always found that who I am online is more of a true expression of who I really am. Meaning, online there are no societal pressures, there are no worries about people judging you, etc. because you will never see most of these people and online just doesn't seem as "real" as real life. So, it frees you to be who you wish you could be in real life if you weren't so weighed down by other people's expectations of you, fears, etc. At least, that's what I've found. I started online as a very shy and introverted fifteen-year-old who never dated or made many friends. Online I was very popular, meeting and gaining the attention of all sorts of guys, and even garnering some real life dates (I met my husband this way). It just allowed me to be who I really wanted to be, but wouldn't in real life because I was too afraid of being rejected if I was myself. Someone rejecting you online is a lot less traumatic than in real life. Apparently a lot of people disagree, believing that who they are online is not a real reflection of who they really are. My contention is that you can't be something or someone online that is not in your core personality. It may not reflect the person that you show the real world, but it has to reflect the person that you really are, at least to some extent that is greater than what I've encountered people believing. Thoughts? I should start off right now by saying I can't help but suspect that I, and things I've said in another thread, might have engendered this thread. If I'm wrong, forgive me. I feel pretty confident when I say that I am not entirely like "how I come across" on dropzone.com. I am aware that I get disputatious, argumentative, abrasive, cantankerous, even offensive, here. But as a counterpoint, I have also been friendly, affectionate, generous, supportive, compassionate, encouraging... No one seems to hold that in mind when judging me here these days. You indicate that you think the "freedom" to be what one truly wants to be is what causes us to be our "truest" selves online. I don't really agree that this is what is happening. Yes, the anonymity of online interaction enables us to be as in-your-face as we feel like being, but that is not necessarily one's "true self." What IS a "true self"? How can the way we act when we are not face-to-face with people be our true selves when our REAL interactions are so much more germain to our lives? How I deal with people at work, or in my family, or at the dropzone -- that's real, and that's my truer self, because I'm dealing with real people in the standard venue of living! And what I was saying in another thread is that the people who know me in those settings find me a lot more agreeable than those who try to study my persona (inasmuch as it can be studied here) in a thread about the utility of the assault weapons ban, for example. YES, in such a thread, I GO OFF on things I think are stupid, and you're treated to an undiluted dose of how pissed off or frustrated I can get. But I don't live in that mode 24/7/365. See me on a day of skydiving, and I may have brought out some homemade food, or I may spend part of the day custom-making closing pin necklaces for friends. Which is the real me? Why would you think that the measure of a person's real persona is to be found in a cyber-environment just because there are "no restraints" (I find that to be a fallacy) as opposed to the real dealings the person has with real people in the real world? I think that's like saying a Cessna's "real performance" should not be judged in the sky, but in a wind tunnel, and that only once winds and weather are stripped away you will see how the plane can really be. My argument is, "But the plane spends most of its time IN the wind, IN the weather... that's the truer measure of the plane than when it doesn't have to contend with those things." Look, people are free to think whatever they want of each other when they're on something like this. I notice some people took some potshots at me in this very thread, but I'm not taking the bait. Maybe in time I'll have a chance to demonstrate to some of my detractors on dropzone.com that, in person, I can be a friendly, likable guy. I look forward to the opportunity, if it comes to pass. I have a tendency to bring food, and babysit/entertain people's kids at the dropzone, and buy beer for others for the silliest of reasons (like the mild collision I had with this Canadian guy Dan on a tracking dive two weeks ago, or for packer Earl for teaching me to make closing loops). I offer to jump with lonely low-timers on a regular basis. I go out to fetch lunch when I could be jumping. I share rides to the DZ. I take skydiver friends flying on my own dime... If these things don't count toward comprising the "real me," but all my rants about guns and other bullshit here DO... well, I think that's backward. -Jeffrey-Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peacefuljeffrey 0 #84 December 16, 2004 I meant to add, and forgot to, that I have a tendency to use a forum like dropzone.com as a VENT, to blow off steam and frustration. Some people have said, "Jeff, you're not 'peaceful'; you're angry." Yeah, sometimes I am angry. Sometimes the world gets to me; I'm aware of too much, see a lot of the crappy side of things, the side of things that is not as it should be, and it gets on my nerves and I have to talk it out. People see that here and think it must be the overwhelming defining aspect of my personality, but it's not. If it seems like that's the concentrated essence of what I do here (I do have my pleasant posts, you know), well, it just might be because places like Speakers Corner are cut out for that, and that's exactly what I use(d) them for! I hope I can be forgiven for having human foibles. But I really think it's unfair the way some have tarred me with being an asshole or whatever just because they don't want to do the work of imagining that I might be a good guy overall. -Jeffrey-Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,465 #85 December 16, 2004 I find that there are cliques online, those same cliques exist when you meet dz.comers in real life. Like somebody said before, some think of themselves as major players. Just proves that basic human nature doesn't change on the internet. Most people have this urge to get group approval. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slug 1 #86 December 16, 2004 If you act the same way on line as you do in the real world then i suspect you'll be treated the same way on line as your treated in the real world., and that goes both ways. Be nice on line and You won't have to be defensive, explain yourself, and tell everyone how nice you are in the real world. The choice is yours if you want to do a Dr Jekle and Mr Hyde live with the consequences. Not trying to flame you just telling you the way it looks to me. You been doing a good job of flaming yourself. R.I.P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #87 December 16, 2004 I am much taller in person. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peacefuljeffrey 0 #88 December 16, 2004 QuoteIf you act the same way on line as you do in the real world then i suspect you'll be treated the same way on line as your treated in the real world., and that goes both ways. Be nice on line and You won't have to be defensive, explain yourself, and tell everyone how nice you are in the real world. The choice is yours if you want to do a Dr Jekle and Mr Hyde live with the consequences. Not trying to flame you just telling you the way it looks to me. You been doing a good job of flaming yourself. R.I.P. I just think that if someone is nothing but sweetness and sugar-kind-comments online, they are the ones who are likely hiding the nastiness that everyone feels occasionally but only some are willing to come out and vent. And look, I'm not talking about coming here and just name-calling and being bitchy and mean. I don't do that. You all may confuse what I do -- which is be brazenly opinionated and sometimes arrogant as a result of thinking I know better than people a good portion of the time -- with being a mean-spirited jerk, but there is a difference whether you recognize it or not. -Jeffrey-Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #89 December 16, 2004 QuoteI just think that if someone is nothing but sweetness and sugar-kind-comments online, they are the ones who are likely hiding the nastiness that everyone feels occasionally but only some are willing to come out and vent. I beg to differ. Take a look at Rosa's post. And I've met her many times. I have yet to see a mean bone in her body, and can not picture her blowing up and being nasty. Each person perceives themselves different then how other people perceive them. That question of "are you different on line then in real life" can never be answered correctly by the person who is doing the posting. Again, you never perceive yourself the way other's perceive you.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron 10 #90 December 16, 2004 QuoteI beg to differ. Take a look at Rosa's post. And I've met her many times. I have yet to see a mean bone in her body, and can not picture her blowing up and being nasty. I can however picture her slightly drunk"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #91 December 16, 2004 QuoteI just think that if someone is nothing but sweetness and sugar-kind-comments online, they are the ones who are likely hiding the nastiness that everyone feels occasionally but only some are willing to come out and vent. I disagree completely. I think I'm pretty nice online and in person. (If someone disagrees with me, feel free to state it!) I just don't have that nastiness in me that you are referring to. I really don't get nasty or angry towards people because I figured out that those feelings only make me feel bad, not the person that those feelings are focused on. I let things go, shrug them off, say, "that's life" and move on. In addition, I try to live my life by the Golden Rule, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". It makes life very simple and easy to live that way.She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #92 December 16, 2004 Yup, I've met/hung out with Andrea, and there is no way I can see her getting all "bent out" on someone. Edit to add: Even when this huge rock feel on her head when we were out climbing, she was still so cool with it. It could be cause she was knocked silly.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouth 0 #93 December 16, 2004 I tried to change my post but I was too late. News Flash: I'm a bitch....online and in person. Again you know exactly what you are getting. Just ask Bytch...she told me last night I'm a bigger bitch than her. -- Hot Mama At least you know where you stand even if it is in a pile of shit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #94 December 16, 2004 QuoteI'm a bitch....online and in person. Again you know exactly what you are getting. Just ask Bytch...she told me last night I'm a bigger bitch than her. Yup, yup, yup, yup.........a big ole bitch.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouth 0 #95 December 16, 2004 QuoteQuoteI'm a bitch....online and in person. Again you know exactly what you are getting. Just ask Bytch...she told me last night I'm a bigger bitch than her. Yup, yup, yup, yup.........a big ole bitch. That's what the Bytch said. I have it on VM. -- Hot Mama At least you know where you stand even if it is in a pile of shit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #96 December 16, 2004 She and Stacy called me and told me I was a bitch too. I still have that one on my VM.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #97 December 16, 2004 Are you a bitch or a prude? Maybe a prudish bitch? I can't keep up with these threads at this time of year. Geez, I forgot all about that boulder that fell on me. I need to go make Derek feel guilty about that again. He's had it way too easy lately. She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouth 0 #98 December 16, 2004 QuoteShe and Stacy called me and told me I was a bitch too. I still have that one on my VM. Cool...I'm in good company. You drunk yet???? -- Hot Mama At least you know where you stand even if it is in a pile of shit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #99 December 16, 2004 outspoken online...shy in person...especially when someone says "hey..are you rkymtnhigh from dz.com" _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #100 December 16, 2004 Drunk yet? Hell I was at work being a PW. I just now got home. You are a few hours ahead of me. Give me some time to catch up.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
