peregrinerose

I know it sounds sarcastic, but I really do mean this as an honest question... what makes a guy want to look like Frank or Charles? What about that body type appeals to guys, or makes them want to become that? Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Granted I'm just one girl, but YUCK!! That guy just doesn't do a darn thing for me. Of course my husband is very lean, but he can carry me all over the house without a problem (and I'm no tiny thing at 155lb) and that is all that matters ;-) Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Not at all, heck, mine wasn't religious at all, I eloped in Vegas. Only that the origins of marriage are religious and marriage is defined as a union of man and woman. So either the definition of marriage needs to change or there needs to be some term that denotes exactly the same thing but for gay couples. I do agree with using marriage for religious connotations more than civil ones though. The people in the relationship can call it whatever the heck they want to ;-) I'm sorry if my first post wasn't clear. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

At least you can know that though is body may be pumped up, his balls are shrivelled up little nothings with no wee spermies, he'll grow man boobs, and he'll drop dead sooner than you. Thus keeping his drug assisted genes out of the pool and as you buy him his first bra, you can be glad you are drug free. Plus, most girls think those huge body builder guys are truly grotesque. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Oh definitely!! The first time I went to my husband's apartment, a week after we met, first things I checked were if the seat was down and bed made (he knew well in advance I was going to be there, I just wanted to see how considerate a person he was). He passed both :-) So I let him move in with me a week later. Even now he still makes the bed most days. So he gets laid a lot. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I think that regardless of stance on gay marriage, the amendment thing is just plain stupid. Marital law is by state, not federal government, and to change that just isn't right. The reasoning behind it is silly, how does two men having relations affect the strength of my marriage with my husband in any way? (unless of course my husband decides to go have fun with another guy??). Can't say I'm crazy about the term 'marriage' since that connotates a religious sacrament (even though many are not religious), but there should be an equivalent term/legal benefits for gays. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I must respectfully disagree. If that was true, AFF or any other form of training wouldn't be necessary, we'd just strap on a chute, hop out, and hope for the best, after all, it is just god, or fate, or horoscope, or whatever you blame 'your time' on to determine if you live or die. In skydiving, from day one it is beaten in to your head that only YOU are in control of your skydive, and how it goes is in YOUR hands, not someone else's, not fate. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Women tend to be extremely judgemental and competitive with other women. They tend to pick each other apart before ever bothering to say 'hello', and I see this at the drop zone too. Did my first AFF Sunday, but spent time there before with my husband. Guys all fairly friendly and welcoming, the only woman that would have any words at all with me was the owner of the DZ (and she's so sweet), the rest just looked me over and ignored me. I'm naturally shy, so don't initiate conversations with anyone. Most women also can't figure me out. I hate makeup, jewelry, shopping, clothes, and all that other girly BS. I love home depot, anything that has 'craftsman' or 'black and decker' written on it, I play in mud (4x4 with the jeep) or work on remodelling my house on weekends, and am in general a total tomboy. I don't mind hanging out with women, I'm friends with everyone I work with (all women), but I tend to have more in common with guys. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

yes, related to a couple of millionairres (aunts/uncles/grandparents). I have not benefitted because I made the decision to leave the Catholic church and as a result my family refuses to consider me related to them in any way. I am not welcome in the family or at family events. It is kind of like the mob, the big Polish Catholic mob. I'm lucky they didn't have me bumped off..... yet... Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Heck yeah, it works. My husband was a skydiver when I met him. We've been together for almost 2 years (1.5 of them married). The entire time I knew that no matter what he always put me first, I'm the priority in his life. At the same time, I always supported his skydiving, even bought him his first rig for his birthday last year. Took me almost a year to save up for that sucker, but the look on his face was so worth it. He always went to the DZ when I worked (I work a lot of Saturdays), was almost always home by the time I was off work or close to it, and he kept Sundays for time with me. So we were both happy. I agree with some of the other posters that some people get so wrapped up in skydiving that they lose sight of all other aspects of life instead of balancing a lot of other things as well. Chad just doesn't define himself by skydiving but a lot of other things as well. Though I must admit, somehow he rubbed off on me. I did my first AFF Sunday and got hooked big time. How did that happen???

Oh hell no!! Registered republican, generally vote that way but not always. Guess I'm middle of the road leaning conservative. I just have no patience for stupidity. Of course I also think that I should be the reigning queen of vetoing reproductive rights for individuals who have litters of children and never take care of them. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I have a brain tumor that needs to get MRI'd every 6 mos. I sleep through those things, not a big deal at all. I wouldn't do an open MRI ever for any reason just because the resolution is so much lower than a regular MRI. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Yep, me. Just starting in skydiving, all of 2 jumps (one tandem, one AFF) so far, but can't wait for that number to increase. Had a seizure disorder for a couple years, either from head injury (had many of them, some severe, sure explains a lot....) or a small brain tumor that I've had cooking in there for a couple years. Hasn't changed. Feel free to email me at peregrinerose@comcast.net Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Chad probably won't brag about himself, so I'll do it for him. I leave the house at 630am, usually not home til 9pm. I come home to dinner cooked and waiting for me, laundry done, dishes done, dogs taken out, garbage taken out, lawn mowed, and often some form of home improvement done. Since I started this insane 1.5hr commute, he does almost everything and does it very well. Though it makes me feel horribly guilty for not pulling my weight with the housework, I consider him my angel, so repay him with sex Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

How about seat belt laws, or helmet laws for motorcycles? Either for or against. Personally I feel that if you are too dumb to wear a helmet/seatbelt, we don't need your genes in the pool, go right ahead and kill/maim yourself. But that is just my humble opinion. Or about eliminating 4wd areas in parks to preserve nature (either for or against)? Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I did my first AFF Sunday, one of my coaches is blind in one eye, but did a hell of a job coaching me. I'm also an eye doc with specialty in low vision rehab (working with folks who are legally blind/visually impaired). First regarding contacts and limited or no vision in one eye... be careful!! Contacts inherently have risk associated with them, corneal ulcer, corneal abrasion, permanent vision loss, so take them seriously. I will only fit monocular patients in contacts if I am comfortable with them being absolutely anal about care, never sleeping in contacts, throwing them out on schedule, etc. The best option is a one day contact lens since it is nearly impossible to have an ill effect from these lenses (and what I wear myself because I'm too lazy to clean lenses ;-) Bonus of that is that it's easy to keep plenty of spare lenses lying around on the chance that you lose them. ONLY Polycarbonate goggles should be used for jumping just for safety reasons, they will prevent an eye injury where most other materials will not. Congenital or long term vision loss in one eye isn't a big deal as you've learned to compensate for it in a million different ways that folks with binocular vision can't even begin to understand. Same with congenital vision loss in both eyes. People who recently lost vision in one eye should be more careful just because they don't have quite the same adaptations and everyone gains these at a different rate. Doesn't mean you shouldn't jump, just be more aware of the limitations, no swooping or other higher risk jumping for the first few jumps just to be sure that depth adaptation is okay. Jen Galbraith OD, MS Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I'm an eye doc and it royally pisses me off when in the middle of the exam, the cell phone rings, and the freaking patient actually answers it and starts chatting away. How do you expect to get a quality exam and appropriate patient education if you eat up all my time talking on the phone??? I typically leave the room for 5 mins or so. They get the picture. I even hate my own cell phone, and when I got a new one, I have my old one ready to very therapeutically take to the gun range and see how many holes I can put in it before there is nothing left. Guess that depends on which gun I use? Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I second Chad's post. Though I have to admit, as much as I loved the skydive, the best part was landing and looking up to see the sheer pride on Chad's face :-) I don't know if any Chambersburgers read here, but thank you SO MUCH!! To Bill #1 and Jamie for being great coaches and keeping me calm (in my head I was an anxiety attack waiting to happen!). And to Bill #2 for guiding me in for a great landing so I didn't fall on my face in front of Chad. And mostly to Chad, for never pushing me into trying this over the past year, just patiently waiting until I was ready to do it myself. And for introducing me to the sport to begin with, I never considered it before (not for lack of wanting to do it, just never popped into my head as an option) My first skydive will definitely not be my last! Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I agree completely. My concern is that nothing was said to them regarding physical fitness. If an instructor has a concern regarding a student's physical ability to perform the tasks necessary for a safe jump, they should tell the student long before getting in the plane, and have a good conversation about that concern to determine if it is indeed valid or not rather than going through the training and dive without directly approaching the subject. By not approaching the subject, there are two big problems. The first is that the instructor has prejudged the situation, sends negative vibes which any student would pick up on. This decreases confidence level of the student which creates a self fulfilling prophesy. And this is true whether there is a real problem or not. The second is if there truly is a health risk, it went unaddressed and as a result an unsafe jump was made. From a student perspective, we don't know what to expect with that first jump or exactly what kind of effort it takes from a physical stance. As instructors, you do and if there's a concern, students should be informed directly to prevent a problem from happening. I'm sorry if my first post didn't convey my thoughts all that clearly. To clarify my situation... I may look like a cow in a jumpsuit, but can run several miles without getting winded and work out daily. I ride horses, bike, run, tae bo, pilates, etc, so looks are very deceiving with me. But I would rather have a concern pointed out than hidden and just get negative vibes. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

My only point is that the instructor is not a doctor, not in the appropriate position to automatically write someone off based on appearance. at 200+ and 5'3, I was waaaay into the obese zone and fresh out of grad school and being a lump for 4 years. I'm only a year past that now, so no athlete by any stretch of any imagination. If there is doubt of physical condition, bring it up with the student directly and tell them you are concerned and why instead of waiting for a problem to happen (or going into training with a negative attitude when one is not needed). My husband earned his A yesterday and has been jumping as long as I knew him, so I had a foggy notion as to what was involved, and have spent hours on here reading over the last year. I knew in advance what kind of physical demand was needed and if I could do it or not, most students do not have this benifit, so it is up to DZs to say something if there is concern. But to say nothing and have an instructor that has already mentally giving negative vibes is setting someone up for failure. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Okay, as a new skydiver girl (did a tandem a year ago, did my first AFF yesterday and hoping like hell that next weekend's weather is nice enough for me to jump again), this paragraph really pissed me off. I did my tandem weighing damn near 200 lbs. I'm 5'3" If my instructors took one look at my flab and wrote me off instead of working with me and within my capabilities, I'd have left very discouraged. I've lost 50 lbs since then, but still an almost 30 year old who's far from petite. Again, if my instructors had looked at my size and had this attitude, it would have shown. Things like this do show, even when you try to hide it. It would definitely have affected my jump to perceive any negativity at all. As it was I went into my jump confident that I knew what I was doing and could do it reasonably well and safely, it kicked ass, and I had a near perfect free fall and landing. Just because we may not meet your qualifications as ideal does not mean we can't be good skydivers. We deserve to know what kind of potential problems might arise, and how to fix them. As an instructor, don't put mental limitations on what we can do before we have the chance to prove ourselves as students. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I have to disagree with this. Christianity (or any other religion) is a product of culture and geography. Every religion states that theirs is the only way to God and the rest are shit out of luck. Which one you believe in depends on which you are raised in and exposed to. Personally, if God is so petty as to allow those of only one faith through the pearly gates, I'm not interested. The Bible and any other religious text is written with divine inspiration, not divine dictation, so there are many contradictions and slanted perspectives, it is human nature for this to be. To follow the beliefs of other humans just because they tell me to doesn't fit well with my psyche. As others have mentioned, organized religion causes more hatred, misunderstanding, war and pain than many other things in life. To be part of any organized religion means that I tacetly give approval to these things, and that I can not do. I very strongly disagree with the person in the middle of the road analogy. Any God who is infinite, all knowing, and all powerful could not possibly be understood by any human, so to claim that one faith or perspective is right above all others could not possibly be realistic. Probably all faiths are wrong, but all also right, in their own ways. Those of us who are not Christian are just as firm and true in our own belief systems (whatever they may be) as you are in your Christianity, so to try to convert us or convince us we are wrong shows great disrespect for our belief systems which are equally valid as yours from our stances. I respect your views enough to never try to 'convert' you, have the same respect for others of different beliefs. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Where I come from 'soda' has ice cream in it. Pop is a carbonated beverage. Of course you'nz is a perfectly legitamate word there too. Must be too much Rolling Rock or something out there. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Convince my husband to put out tonight. Wait a minute, maybe that won't be all that challenging after all...... Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Went to college and grad school. Ran away at 17, no parental support at all. For undergrad, part scholarship, part working (all at the same time I was teaching clarinet/sax lessons, babysitting, teaching biology labs, managing the bio dept animal lab with 500+rats, and midnight waitressing). No debt from undergrad at a private college (westminster college). Grad school I student loaned, grad with 126K debt. Worked to pay for rent, food, etc, so loans were only tuition. I love what I do for a living, but wish I'd gone into construction instead, it's what I truly enjoy. Jen Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda