calledisrael

saw him last night in houston. and yes, i have to say his music was amazing, and he for sure might be the hottest man i have ever seen... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

seeing the scale is amazing, and just how much bigger the tank is than the SRBs. here's the size of me in front of the top stage of the booster in the VAB... and that's small compared to the tank! i love ksc. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

you can search on here for my tales of dislocation in freefall... but listen to these guys. as someone who has had my shoulder dislocate twice and i just had to pull silver with my left hand and land with almost no flare (toggles in one hand) and a good PLF... it isn't worth the risk. it can be fixed - fix it. there's never a convenient time in the progression, but the sky will always be there, and being SERIOUSLY broken is way more inconveneient. i know i CAN land myself even if i dislocated in freefall, but i would not be irresponsible enough to put myself in that position and not do everything i can to avoid that scenario. also in terms of knowing your limits, like these guys said... i did 5 months of PT, was all excited about how strong i was, and decided (like a stupid person) to go fly in the TUNNEL. very physically stressfull on a shoulder injury (which incidentally is why they have all those signs about people with shoulder injuries.) it went fine, i was just motionless for a few days afterward.... doing a tandem and turning/pulling/flaring with an instructor on my back ended up being a much safer test of how recovered my shoulder actually was. whatever you decide to do about it, good luck! and be careful out there. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

sorry to hear it, al... but be encouraged. tunnel is way harder on the shoulder than jumping. and i ended up not that afraid of dislocating in freefall - i knew i could pull silver if i had to. i jumped about 9 months post-surgery (in the brace) and never had another problem... even though the tunnel was a different story, but that is so much workout all at once. the surgery i had was called a bankart repair... is that what they are considering doing for you? i was SO glad i did it, the first six weeks or so SUCKED but after that it was all uphill, and you have proven yourself a good PT student. i rock climb too, and so i wanted to be sure i was all the way healed, and even though i think i could jump without the brace by now, it makes me feel better to have it... keep us posted. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i love rooibos. but i am addicted to tazo passion tea. the color is gorgeous... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i was definitely taught this - not in FJC itself, but within the span of my first 5 or 6 jumps. it took a similar incident - i landed off because i was scared to turn at all, and my instructor spent a good hour helping me understand how to do flat turns and what qualified as "minor corrections..." it was also the advantage of learning at a smaller dz with lots of swoopers and canopy people - when i moved there they didn't want to focus on freefall at ALL - mostly just learning to relax in freefall - but worked on canopy skill. it was a good way to learn. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i imagine you can take up half of it with questions. i got called the other day (no kidding) by a third grade class wanting to know if skydivers really said geronimo when they jump. (they were studying native american history or whatever.) i was like, um, well, usually i am having to say "up, down, airplane..." life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

oh, sidenote: the tunnel kicked my ass. or actually my shoulder. i went a year and a half post surgery, and only for 30 minutes, but holy crap my shoulder was almost immobile afterward just from the sheer exhaustion of that much work all in a row. i'm sure you'll do better than me - part of it was how inexperienced i was - but just thought i would give you the warning... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

lots of posts will tell you lots of things - there are some great guys on here who will share good experiences. for about a year after my shoulder surgery and PT, i used this for skydiving and rock climbing, and it worked great. i guess what works will depend on your type of injury, for me i was just looking for extra support and extra peace of mind (i had multiple dislocations.) but like you say - it was surgical repair and therapy that REALLY helped. :-)http://www.supports4u.com/shoulder.htm life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

when i was in western afghanistan we sort of walked over the border for a very short while and visited a refugee camp. i would go back. it would be cool. so let me know if you want company.

i had the same problem today until about 4:30 pm. frustrating. but i am glad it got fixed.. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

aggieland is pretty much the best place ever. and if it weren't for what a good instructor mark is, i would never have kept skydiving. i just wish i didn't live more than two hours away, especially on gorgeous sundays like today.. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

so, i have it all arranged to go to florida and see the shuttle launch in march... and i can't find a place to stay! i have tried everywhere in titusville and cocoa beach, and they are OF COURSE sold out. can anyone tell me another small town around there i can look in? i just hate to stay in orlando ... too tempting to be near the tunnel... and i don't want to drive that far every day! sad times... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

to slow down. (thank you, brian germain

i live in league city... it was my first thought this morning, surely the jumpers are jumping. i couldn't have gotten off work. sad times... it looked so perfect... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i went to the mission debrief monday night with some of my nasa friends and watched the crew talk through many of these on the imax. wow. what a great team, and they did good work. there was one they didn't talk to (i haven't seen if you have it posted here) that looked like making breakfast tacos on the wall :-) awesomeness... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

in two hours. i wonder if this will alter our working relationship? when i interviewed and he offered me the job on the spot, his one 'string' was "i want you to take me skydiving." we'll see how this goes. he is right now composing a dialogue that he wants to use in his video to use for a work thing. oh, AND the weather is perfect AND i am seven months uncurrent (from having a broken leg last summer.) ugh... i would go tandem just to be in the sky, but it's not so much fun after you have jumped by yourself... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

is that ilya? what is he dressed as? sorry i missed it... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

it's so worth it. i dislocated four times jumping (three times in freefall) before i had mine fixed thirteen months ago... and once i finished enough PT to jump again it felt totally great and very safe. if i ever dislocate again, it will probably be my OTHER shoulder... haha. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

As my youth group kids like to tease me all the time lately: "wow, you can jump out of a plane and land your parachute in a tree and be fine... but you just walked down the stairs and broke your leg? what's that about?"

happy birthday kim!!!! sorry that you are spending it in the hospital... and with so much sadness still all around you. but i am thankful that you are alive, and will heal, and were blessed by robert's life and his heart and the experiences you have had... your story is an amazing and moving one that i have thought so much about in the past days. many prayers for you and for your quick recovery, and hopes for your future jumping!! blue skies, girl...

yep... and it was very nice to meet you, michael. if i had a rig on the flight i would have exited with you, he he.. the video was awesome. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

it is 102 miles from my house to my preferred dropzone. i pass two others on my way, and there is probably a third which is significantly closer to me. i tried to start jumping at one very close to me, but it just didn't feel right. and they are all okay, i guess - but none of the others have shiner on tap, todd singing songs in the plane, or aggiedave keeping an eye out for all of us. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

for me the spiritual side came from: - overcoming intense fear to do something i thought i was too afraid to do (this was the major one) - learning to truly relax in an environment that i found overwhelming - figuring (first) how to truly entrust my whole life strapped to the body of another person - and then how to trust it to myself - seeing my natural and intial instincts truly get retrained. if i did what came 'naturally' i would probably die, i needed to be taught how to respond - and then to respond without too much thinking or feeling life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i did. and ended up at a dz that was a much better fit for me than the one where i started. it just depends on your situation. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)