Taz

Sounds like a plan to me... I plan to be on at least one of those balloon jumps myself! ARE WE THERE YET?? It's the Year of the Dragon.

Excellente. I'll be coming from Boston via Atlanta, arriving at 12:29PM on Delta flight 1425. Having narrowly escaped the clutches of my family at the crack of dawn, it will be good to see another skydiver first thing in PHX! -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

Woooow, I guess I'll just have to be an early riser too! I can handle that as long as there's an early morning jump to be had. Works better than coffee for me! -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

I'm arriving on the 25th too... around noon I think. My flight leaves Boston at 6:10am (OUCH!) Thanks Priceline... PM me if you want to meet up at the airport and split costs of finding a ride -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

I suffered with packing for months before I finally worked out a system that consistently got the thing in the container with minimal fuss. One of the best things I learned was to take advice from different people--everyone has their own tricks. I learned the main steps from one person, then picked up little helpful hints along the way. I sweated like hell every single pack job until a woman at the first Chicks Rock boogie showed me how to get the canopy in the bag HER way--all the guys were like, "just wrap your hand around the whole thing and push it in" but my hands weren't big enough for the task! Keep learning. -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

Good luck with your training and when you get sent "over there"... wish you didn't have to go but I'm sure everyone on here will be pulling for you to get home safe when it's over. Blue skies--T It's the Year of the Dragon.

...and it only gets weirder and more awesome from there! Head down is blowing my mind right now. There's always a new level to reach in freeflying.

Sweet. We'll see how this weekend goes... I'm signing up for some coaching at Eloy to help me focus and figure out what's up with my backsliding bod. I fly camera too, so I can help make you famous! But only if I'm close enough to get you in the shot... Blue ones--T It's the Year of the Dragon.

That's awesome. I've been feeling really freefly-uncurrent (weather, injury, blah, blah) but finally got up in the air yesterday and tried some of the HD exercises from another thread. I think my transitions are too quick, I just keep ending up in a monster backslide and have to transition back before I end up miles off the DZ . Sunnydee, your determination on this is inspiring. Can't wait for Eloy... I'm just going to crank them out until I get it, my cash runs out, or they throw me off the DZ

Should have pulled the ads in Parachutist... hope the listing won't be in the December issue. -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

The DZ where I learned to skydive is 10540 miles (16963 km or 9160 nautical miles) from my current home DZ as the crow flies... but from where I now live to where I now skydive, it only takes an hour by car. I had to move all the way to Africa for that kind of convenience! It's the Year of the Dragon.

Tell it, sister! -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

Definitely either let them pull out your main and touch it, or bring something you don't mind little handprints all over! The video will be cool, but getting to paw a real live parachute will be even cooler. Let us know how it goes! It's the Year of the Dragon.

My mom said the same thing after I sent my parents a copy of my tandem video. "I hope you get this out of your system soon!" They have now realized that it ain't gonna happen. There are lots of ways to love skydiving and still do other stuff. Since I started I have changed jobs, continents, and general life plans, but I still jump (albeit without the same altitude and skill level I'd have if I was still living in California)... FYI, last year I climbed Kilimanjaro and the whole time I kept thinking how friendly I already was with clouds at thousands of feet above the ground. Such a good feeling. -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

YEAAAYYYY!!! It's just that easy not to feel intimidated. I can't wait. Thanks for being nice and inclusive of the enthusiastic but less experienced among us! It's the Year of the Dragon.

I agree, but still get depressed when people don't exercise their right to vote. In South Africa, unlike the US, there are still people who remember what it took to get proportional representation. Those people are all registered and ready to go to the polls, but the next generation is already too busy with consumerism in the fun new open market to get excited about something as "mundane" as voting. It's the Year of the Dragon.

Sounds awesome... I've climbed in a gym a few times and outside once, but it's been ages--I might be among the clueless in the group, but I'll bring my shoes and you can count me in for the day! -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

I agree somewhat that many people feel both parties are too similar to bother voting. To put it a different way, apathy is also easy when you live in a place where your vote isn't likely to determine whether you live or die, starve or get fed. Americans for the most part live comfortable lives relative to the rest of the world. Voter turnout is high when people feel connected to or invested in the issues of a given election. In 1994 in South Africa, a lot more people voted than they will in the upcoming elections because the issues have gone from fundamental things like freedom and the right to democracy, to policy level arguments about government spending and foreign policy. Obviously those things are important too, but they require more self-education to seem urgent. Those who read a variety of sources on policy issues, and therefore care about things like what is happening in Zimbabwe, what percentage of the US budget is going to the war in Iraq, whatever happened to Afghanistan, what the US deficit looks like, and how tax cuts are affecting people in the lowest income bracket, are fewer than you might think. It's the Year of the Dragon.

Dude, that's why I was more comfortable moving to Africa than trying to stay alive in the USA while insisting on calling the president "Monkey Boy". I like to indulge in my fair share of name calling, but I'm safer doing it in the rest of the world where almost everyone agrees with me Funny thing is, I AM patriotic: just not pro-Bush. I've had my own annoyances as an American living overseas--had my life threatened by someone who wanted to "prove a point" about innocent civilians being killed in Iraq, been told that it's nothing personal, but America should be blown up completely, been told that Bush's head should be paraded in Washington on the point of a sharp stick. Oh yeah--and have vehemently disagreed with the characterization of Bush as a successor to Hitler. Being outside of the USA when the Iraq war started sucked more than anything--I disagreed with the war, but also with the fanatics on the other end yelling about Zionist evil plots. Which brings us to the obvious question, why is there no visible, reasonable opposition? Where I stand, all I see or hear about is Bush's voice-over saying "everything's fine" with images of US soldiers being attacked, followed by knee-jerk anti-American bulls*&t. Truly, it seems like the soldiers are getting the rawest deal of all. If there's anything that makes me feel ultra-patriotic, it's the thought of Americans being killed in the line of duty because the guys who make foreign policy can't pull it together. The opposition needs to get off its fat lazy behind, grow some balls, and start telling the truth about alternatives to the senseless quest for corporate world domination. And THAT is what I really think! Viva la revolucion. -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

If only the democrats in the US could take your approach to right-wing arguments: unfortunately, had the relevant presidential candidates been on this thread, they would have all gone off to write an essay as assigned. Hence my frustration with the opposition, which should be kicking some ass but isn't. -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

Tell us what you really think!

Town where I grew up: Belmont, Massachusetts, voted "Most Boring Town" in the Boston metropolitan area. Famous for being a dry town, no alcohol allowed, and for being BORING. Town where I live now: Johannesburg, South Africa, always in the Top 5 of the "World's Most Dangerous Cities", also known as "Crime Capital of the World" and "What the hell are you doing living there voluntarily when everyone else is trying to leave?" I guess I'm just happier on the edge! -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

I didn't know either of these people, but they will both be in my thoughts. What a tough way to be separated from someone you love. I hope that Lori will know she has a strong community behind her, now and always. BSBD -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

[insert LEFTIES or RIGHTIES here] The funny but sometimes ridiculous thing about American politics is the way both sides have equal capacity to spout bulls*&t. Having recently traveled to a few places where democracy is a joke of an idea, I'm happy just to kick back at this point and enjoy the fact that we are allowed to say whatever the hell we want. I'm sure that even if you think of "lefties" as frustrated, stupid, naive, and generally clueless, you will agree that it is a good thing you're allowed to say so out loud without fear of persecution. Surely that's one thing we can find in common... Viva la revolucion. -T It's the Year of the Dragon.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me... The (unofficial) recount (undertaken by private interests such as news operations, not the government) happened after Bush became president. Bush became president because the Supreme Court made a decision that refused to allow the actual recount to be made before the declaration of a winner. And anyway, relax, dude. Are you feeling a little defensive? It's the Year of the Dragon.