Michele

[best Cyndi Lauper voice] "I see your true colors, shining through...[/best Cyndi Lauper voice. "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

A group of naked men, walking away from a successful jump. Sigh. Wish I was there........perfect for the veteran manbutt watcher. (And yes, pawguy's bottom was cute, but I figure Clay has already claimed him......) HAHAHAhahahahaaaaaa. ahem....... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Morning, Grumpy- I just got off the phone with my favorite lender, and he said that there is no reason you can't buy under a TN-1 Visa, except the general protocol for the funding of the loan is the conservative/traditional 20% down. I'll pm you with his name and number, and he'll give you all the info you could want. He can't do the loan, but he's willing to talk to you (and he's from Canada, as well!). Let me know how it goes! and... Morning, Speedy! You haven't bought yet? I recall you talking abot buying way back in like August. Just a few comments; . Sorry you thought I was complaining, and perhaps I was. It's hard to be totally upbeat and optimistic when you haven't had a check since August, and are worried about paying your rent and other bills. But you're right, this ain't Afghanistan! That is NOT the typical buyer, though, Speedy. Although I am thrilled for you that you can put down that kind of money, most people can't. "Seller's" market. Yes, it is. Which means it is harder for buyers to find equitably priced homes, and make the deal which fits them and their pockets. With Sellers pricing their homes right out of reach for most first time buyers, it is truly a Sellers market. As for opportunities, last year at this time the market took it's cyclical drop (holiday buying generally does not include houses), and I still put three deals through escrow between Thanksgiving and New Year's eve. The market softens to the tune of about 30% (in terms of inventory) and about 10% as to pricing. This year, I have seen a significant drop of inventory (about 45%) since September 11 (I get the monthly stats and have compared them to last year's stats), as well as a price freeze (no real drop in prices - perhaps about 3%). What seems to be happening is that the Sellers are still asking huge prices (in my market, /- $240 per sq. foot), and now, the inventory is sitting on the market instead of selling. Buyers are not buying, and sellers are deciding to not sell. This is my first hand experience, from within and without my company. It shouldn't mean selling your rig, and giving up skydiving for a while. If it does, your load ratio is out of whack. Look for a better loan. With 100K down, you should be able to not have to sell your rig for extra $$. Not going to get into financials, because that is not what I do best. But I would be willing to hook you up with a mortgage broker who can find you a better deal (and I don't get a damn thing for it, either!) I suppose what I am trying to get at with this (typically) longwinded post is that the market does not favor buyers at this time. The only benefit at this point to buying (aside from taxes and general homeownership) is that you have a lower mortgage rate, which, in the end, compensates for the inflated sales prices. The interest rate cuts are not being passed in full to the mortgage market, though, so when the feds slice the prime lending rate 1/2%, the mortgage market responds by 1/16-1/8%, if at all. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

I am a realtor in one of the hottest real estate msrkets in the country -Southern CA - specifically the San Fernando Valley/San Gabriel Valley. On September 10, I had nearly 800K worht of transactions in escrow - and on the morning of September 12, I had received cancellation requests for the entire lot. Nothing else has come my way, and doesn't look like it will anytime soon. One September 10, I had several listing appointments. By September 18, they had all decided to hold on to their properties until future notice. One lease, but that's all. On Spetember 10, I was working with 4 active buyers - good, qualified, money in the bank type buyers. I am now working with one, and I doubt she'll ever get off her ass and commit to buying. Let's see. No escrows=no checks. No checks=no cash. No cash=no jumping (or food, utilities, gas, clothes, paid bills, etc. - no Christmas or holidays). Yep, the job market sucks, even if you have one! Now, you were talking about a spot at the DZ. How big would you like that tent?!? Hey - anyone need a realtor? I can give good referrals if you're not in my area.... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Can't be Michele with one "l", not according to my stats..............damnit! Ah well, at least Michelle beat out one name! (BTW, Rebecca was the name of my grandmother....brrruugghh...what a thought.....) Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

WWWWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO! Good for you, Nelson. Now, get out there and jump! But geeze, remember to.... nevermind. I doubt you'll forget! Can't wait to see you back out in the sky! Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Geez, Perris pilots initiate go-rounds. I have been learning all about the little green light, see, and the pilot will shut it off. I'm learning to check, get to the door, check again, and then go. I have forgotten once or twice, but have been pulled back by friends on the load (thank god for them.). Also, on my first solo, the pilot told me he was gonna do a go-round, as I was last off the plane. That plane was so big sitting there by myself, waiting for the whole go-round. Perris pilot Rob is good....... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Hi, Richard. Don't be dismayed at the lack of responses. I think that no-one should ever drink and jump, either. The Bomb Shelter, though, at Perris serves all day, and any and all alcohol must be consumed on the patio. However, there are many eyes there, as well, and we all watch out for each other. And Jack Gamley, the S&TA, has eyes in the back of his head. I have seen him spot a drinker from the other side of the runway, walk directly over, and get the errent drinker back to the patio. HOWEVER, Richard, that's not how I read the original post. It wasn't about Beer drinking enforcement, as in not drinking and jumping, but rather, enforcing beers owed "policies". As to the original post: Well, I ran a search, and nothing came up. If there is one, they're too busy taste-testing to create a website... How do they do this? Check which beers are drunk, or whose paid the beers they owe, or who owes beer? Is there a "small, foreign faction" who has created the super secret, men-in-black beer police? And if you get cited, do you owe more beer? And is there an unacceptable beer confiscation quota (quite possibly a scam, there...they might just take them "out back" and drink them, calling them unacceptable....). And what do their badges look like? A shiny beer bottle? Not that I can tell...... Nah........more regulation is not needed..... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

And if you wanted to use any of the photos you took of me, feel free - but I want to see it....... BTW - when can I have the print of my landing that I ordered? I thought you were coming up to the Chicks boogie, but you...weren't...there...... I want to use it in some advertising in the beginning of the year, along with some other skydiving shots. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

It's been raining the last two days here. And that's NOT typical November weather..... and I want to jump soooooooooooooo badly! I hope to get out there in a few weeks (2 at the most) like maybe Thanksgiving weekend.... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Why don't you have a gear shop hold the money (like an escrow account), and have a rigger check it out thoroughly? And yes, post this over on Gear - you should get lots of answers there..... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

(Times are PST...they may be different where you jump, err, live...) 10:30, Spammeister wrote the following: 10:50: Put up NEW post... 10:52: Michele writes: lisa, sorry, hate to do this, but I vote that harsher measures be considered. he is not only spamming, he is totally disrespectful to you and your requests. And he's not even a jumper yet!!!! (Can you imagine his problem when he tries to jump a Stilleto 120 just of AFF????) Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

It's up on the front page...... "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Well, I am not a rich-assed whatever it was you said. I wish I were (the rich part, at least).... I pack. I had to to get signed off so I could get my A license. But I don't pack well. I am struggling for two hours to get the stupid chute into the stupid bag, and then I wonder what I forgot, so I get too scared to jump it. And if I do jump it, it opens in like 1200 feet (NOT an exaggeration - that happened once)......I happen to be renting gear at the moment, because a) I haven't decided what gear I want, and b) I can't afford gear just yet. I am also still renting a huge 210 Spectre, and I swear they give me the wrong bag (too small) every time. So, it is worth it to me to pay a packer (that I trust, and that knows what they're doing), and once I am more confident in my skydiving skills and malfunction recognition and correction facilities, then I will practice packing faster, better, and so forth. But until then, I will pay for a good pack job, and after a good, safe day, I will also tip my packer (never had a reason to not tip him, btw). I know how hard they work. I watch them. And I know how some people treat them. And I respect and appreciate them (and you, too!) for being able to pack for me, so I can get my ass in the air, and go flying, even though I am a weenie packer...... Just my .02, though. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Hey, Alphons! What we did was fill two ice chests, put them on the wheelchair access ramp of the school, and take over the patio next to the school. We just sat there and drank. The rule is liquor in the patio only, so we made do as best we could, without rubbing someone's nose in it.... I think on of the reasons we got away with handing out beer (and we were handing it out) was because there was a party going on for Tanya and Craig O'Brien (that's their names, right?) who had just come home from the World Competition and there was about 300 people milling about. The Bombshelter made a lot of money from alot of people that night, and was too busy to even be aware of what was happening on the patio. And I made sure that some of the beer I brought was not what the Bombshelter sold, etc. I even gave one to the DZManager (Jack Gamley). Other than that, there is no "California" beer law that I know of (Oh yeah, this one: don't drive drunk). PVSD is not a public space, so the public laws don't apply. Hope that helps - just don't walk into the bar with beer, and drink it on the patio, and you should be o.k.! Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Beyond these walls is the Sky Rain drips steadily down, clammy and cold. Down the picture window rolls streams and rivulets of rain, distorting my view, making everything somewhat Picasso-esque. I stare out the window, and look at the street - oilslick and vaguely threatening. The flowers in my garden droop, heavy with water caught in their cupped blooms. But I don't see this - I see the sky instead, the sky beyond the clouds, the sky beyond the walls I have around me. I know it's there, this bright blue, startlingly huge expanse. I know it's there, I feel it. I feel it's crispness and it's depth, sunkissed and sweetly pure. I know it's there, even if I can't see it, even if I can only imagine it for now. My eyes close, and I am free again. I am in the sky above the wet grayness, through the dense rain that has futilely tried to pen me into these four walls. I am in the sky again. And so I play, dancing and soaring through the sky, even though my body is here on the couch. I feel myself twist and turn, feel the pressure distorting my skin, streaming past and somehow through me. In my mind, I sail through the shafts of liquid gold, into the depths of the sky they reach, and I follow them toward their ends. And there is no end. In my mind, I am free, flying, reaching the sky, part of all this grandness. A feather on the wind, no more, and for now, that is all I need or want. I breathe, ever so deep, taking into me the simple air, not fouled with fumes, nor sullied with discordant noise. I hear the rush of the sky as I cut through it, the freefall scream of a body in flight, such a perfect noise to compliment the silence that must be there when I am not. This contrast - the noise against the silence, this stark difference, is perfectly balanced, and I long for this balance in the rest of my world; this simple, natural, easy balance. I see the earth below me as I fly, terrain moving past. I see the silver sliver of river, sparkling, shooting up reflections of the sun I soar in. I see the mountains, the glorious hills, shades of browns and greens, dotted here and there with little buildings and homes. I see the desert, stretching out and away, seemingly as vast as the sky. I see all this with my eyes closed. I see this with my heart, and I feel it with my soul. I see the blending, the great puzzle, the whole picture, the completeness of the land. I cannot see this perfection from the ground - I am mired in the daily chore of career, family, home, this so-called life. But now I know that the world is more than I had ever known, more than I had ever allowed myself to imagine until one late spring day this year. And now I know there is more to me than I had ever thought possible. And in this knowledge, I know that I am different; that I am made whole, by my time in the sky. I know that there is more to the world than I had been taught, because I have been there, and seen that which isn't taught. I carry a piece of the sky with me through my day, knowing that it is there, not far. I just look up and remember. I know it's there, this sky. I know it in my heart and with my soul, I know it is, and I can go there, even if only in my mind. I shut my eyes, and I can go there to be free. Beyond these walls is the sky. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

THHHAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNKKKKKK YOU!!!!!!! Now, if I can get it on the cd player, it might just get out of my head! And then to get some new, non-aff footage and overdub that onto it.......Quade, LTDiver, SBS, any other Perris/Elsinore vidiot, available to go play????? Sometime in the next two weeks I should get back in the air.............. Jason, you're my hero!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! (And while it only took you five minutes, it would have taken me three years. I am computer stupid.....I didn't know about Napster until the lawsuit came out........) Ciels- and I owe you a beer, Jason! Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Thanks, Brandon. Really appreciated. It's one of those songs that stay in my head, and after I have heard it, I walk around singing it. If someone can't tell me the name, I am just gonna go and sing it to the guys at the music store. That'll make them all have headaches and utterly embarrass me, so any help before I resort to that would be totally grand. Says Scott: I love to sing, but I can't sing to save my life. It would NOT help, it would only make you laugh long and hard at me. I give y'all enough excuses to laugh at me, this one I think I'll avoid! And thanks to you, too, Scott. That quote was on a card my mother sent me, congratulating me on my graduation from AFF, and telling me how proud (and scared) of me she was that I still jumped after my cut away. I have that card posted on my board, so that I can't forget about the dreams that stay; no matter how hard life is, those dreams stay. And there they are, where we can go visit them......in the sky, at the end, turn left......

Male singer. Sounds like some of the new top 40 bands. Definitely *not* teeny booper, rap, r/b/, country, jazz. Not hard rock, more like late '90's rock (still can't remember). Not metal. Sorry I can't name the exact type of music - I am having a wine-induced brain lock. And thanks! I appreicate it very much.....I even went to Applied materials website, to see if there is a commercial I could link, but no luck..... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Hi, all. There is a commercal for Applied Materials that has the refrain/chorus of a song. I don't know who the song is by, and I don't know what the title is. The refrain goes something like this: Sweet, I'm in the middle of something Sweet, No one can take this away from me. Dreams, And it's gonna be something Sweet, No one can take that away from me. Any way, it's alright.... Hope that's enough for you music detectives to id the song. It's something I would love on a skydiving vid..... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Brandon- If you took my comment in any way other than teasing you, you took it the wrong way. Sorry about that - not meant in any way other than in fun. "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Hey, MM, I got into it "rather late" (says the old, decrepit, woman....hahahaha), and I am having a glorious ball. So don't knock age nor wisdom, duderoonie . The sky is there for everyone, not just the young cuties..... Ahem.... As to BigCountry, one of the best things I did was to buy a copy of "The Skydiver's Handbook", and read it cover to cover between my first and 2nd jumps. I wish I had bought and read it before I jumped, but jumping was a spur of the moment thing for me..... It's written by Dan Poynter and Mike Turoff, and is very clear, concise, and easy to understand. I bought mine at the dropzone's gear shop, but I have heard you can get them from Amazon. Also, prepared to be addicted and challenged, and find absolute joy in the sky. I had a bit of a rough time early on, but have loved every minute of it nonetheless (with the exception of about 2 minutes there...). Come here, chat, post gear and safety questions, ask them all. Then, when you get into the sky, come back and tell us all about it. Ciel Bleu- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

More information coming - just got off the phone w/ the ST&A from Skydive Sebastian. Have to write it up, but it will be up w/in the next 24 hours. And my sincere condolences to the family and to his child. Blue skies, Craig. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Lessee.....I pay my debts..... On July 28th, the day I graduated, I brought Heineken (2.5 c-bottles), Corona (2c), Corona lite (1c) Bass(1c), Sam Adams (1c), Smirnoff Ice (6pack), Mike's Hard Lemonade (1c), a bottle of Myer's Rum (for Ed), a bottle of Tequila, and a bottle of Southern Comfort (was requested by someone else - can't remember). And a good time was had by all....... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

....safe house to show them what "real men" do while drunk. Once inside, there were rooms and rooms full of....... "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~