Vallerina

MARDI GRAS!!! I went to New Orleans for it last year, but I went with a bunch of whuffo friends so I didn't get to jump. (It kicked ass anyways!) This year: screw my friends! I can't wait to go to the boogie!!!!!!!!! "You laugh at me because I am different, and I just laugh at you."

"And the next time anyone out there runs into Val, ask her for help in matching the naked womens body part game.... she was doing so much better then any of the guys! " That's not true! The guys were usually shouting "Bush!" or "Boob!" much quicker than I was! We better be seeing you at Skydive Indiana real soon! "You laugh at me because I am different, and I just laugh at you."

"I was in the silvery blue freefly suit. I could have been sitting right next to you and not even known it!" Your jumpsuit rocked!!!! Actually, I was sitting on the plane pretty close to you. I was the tall blond girl who always wore the Harry's t-shirts that either said "Go Ugly Early" or "Drink 'Em Cute" "You laugh at me because I am different, and I just laugh at you."

Even though my Purdue team didn't receive any medals or certificates at the banquet, we went for the food, expensive drinks, and the chance at winning some awesome prizes they were giving away. Bret was the lucky winner of an old-fashioned calculator, I had won 35% off of a PD canopy, and "Fry" had given me his winning raffle ticket for the jump out of the Casa in an ATV!!! Needless to say, I couldn't sleep much that night from the anticipation of this kick ass jump which only 8 other Americans have done. But when I did wake up, I saw some scattered clouds, but nothing that looked unjumpable. After the sun had rose, my instructor arrived and began my briefing on how the hell you drive an ATV out of a Casa. More clouds rolled in, but they were at 10,000. We only needed 9,000, so it wasn't a big deal. They rolled the ATV into the Casa, and even more, lower clouds had rolled in. That present day and the day after were the only two possible jump dates. Unfortunately, the forecast claimed nothing but crappy weather for both. I only had one shot of trying to make this jump. I decided to give it a try right then, knewing I may not be able to hit a hole and not get to exit the plane. We strapped ourselves in, anyways, and took off. As we hit the altitude we needed, they lowered the tailgate. We flew around in circles for at least 20 mins searching for holes. There were big holes far away and little tiny holes over the airport. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to jump. It's no fun riding the plane down, but I didn't do much to win. I still had a huge adrenaline rush from being a foot away from the Casa tailgate, revving up an ATV. As for the rest of collegiates, it rocked!!! I got 7th out of 24 people in Sport Accuracy (which is great, considering what a horrible canopy pilot I used to be.) I also got 4th out of 7 teams for freeflying (thanks to my partner Mike from North Dakota.) The freefly event needed some work. I know I received points that I shouldn't have, and that the other team from Purdue definately should have beaten me. As for everything else, what happens at collegiates should just stay at collegiates . But, I will post my pictures of my unfortunate non-existent ATV jump and other random pictures. "You laugh at me because I am different, and I just laugh at you."

Mmmm....Miller High Life. I can only afford to drink on "Quarter Pitcher" night. My method of surviving warm pitchers: the faster you drink, the better it tastes. The best treat I ever had was visiting friends at a nearby dz, and they had large amounts of Killian's at the bon fire. "You laugh at me because I am different, and I just laugh at you."

Which is why I had my grandma get me a Pro-Track for Christmas (I've got the best grams...) I've also heard that you can put your altimeter on top of your shoe. I'm afraid that if I biffed it in, however, I'd have to spend another $100 on an altimeter. "...and all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be..." Pink Floyd

I've crossed over to the dark side just a couple of times, and I'm curious about how to check your altimeter. I've tried just glancing over at my altimeter, but then I start spinning. I've tried bringing my arms in to look at it, but that's just not happening either. It's easier in rw dives just to glance at other people's altimeters, but since I rarely see anyone in my sitfly jumps, I can't do that either. Any suggestions? "...and all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be..." Pink Floyd

# of jumps in the past year: 80-90 Highest: 15000 Lowest: 4000 Most memorable: All of Quincy, first night jump, first jump with my collegiate team (I paid a lot of beer this year!) Quote of the year "It's okay, you can touch it." Landing of the year: With all the open corn fields, I still managed to hit the runway (and it cost me $300 in damaged gear) Aims for next year: Try not to embarass myself as much when I'm trying to freefly Homer:No tv and no beer make Homer something something. Marge:Go crazy? Homer:Don't mind if I do!

I've heard that a type of scuba diving gloves also works extremely well for skydiving in cold weather. I forgot what they're called, so i guess I'm not much help! Homer:No tv and no beer make Homer something something. Marge:Go crazy? Homer:Don't mind if I do!

The list for bad movies is endless, but to narrow it down: Naked Lunch (just too weird...) 20 Dates (about some guy who wonders why he can't get any when he walks around sticking a camera in every girl's face.) Both movies are worse than even Cutaway! Homer:No tv and no beer make Homer something something. Marge:Go crazy? Homer:Don't mind if I do!

"A Christmas Story" is by far my favorite Christmas movie. Did anybody else try to make their friends stick their tongues to a frozen pole after seeing this movie? Homer:No tv and no beer make Homer something something. Marge:Go crazy? Homer:Don't mind if I do!

Hey Mountainman! I'm definately coming down to Richmond this summer (when my course load is light and when I actually have cash!) It's one of the few dropzones (or the only dropzone) in Indiana that has demo gear available (which may be handy since I plan on downsizing soon.) If you ever get a chance, head up to Skydive Indiana-it's a friendly, safe dz that I enjoy calling my home. Hopefully this awesome weather we've been having keeps up and I can go there this weekend (I don't really need to study for finals...right?) Homer:No tv and no beer make Homer something something. Marge:Go crazy? Homer:Don't mind if I do!

I have to agree with Mountainman on how awesome the people at Richmond are! I've only been there once, and I didn't even get to jump while I was there because of the terrorist attacks, but everyone still had positive attitudes, and I had a great time. Too bad it's a 2 1/2 hr drive....but my home dz still rocks, especially since I've made some great friends there. "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

Swingers!!! My other favorites have to be Chasing Amy and Fight Club. I just watched Fight Club the other day, and it's one of the few movies that actually lived up to all the hype I've kept hearing. "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

Yeah, I'm a little nervous about flying with my rig with Pan Am. When I called them, they informed me I'll have to check my rig in a box-a big cardboard box! Hmmm...I guess I can try to stuff it in my small suitcase and bring as many clothes that can fit in my backpack! "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

That would rock if I could get picked up from Orlando, but if not any references to shuttles and what not would be great! I fly in on the 27th. My team has a 2-way, and at least 1 freefly group (I might try to, but that would be a VERY scary sight to see!) We may have a 4-way team, but one girl has a non-skydiving related injury that may keep her from jumping. It's supposed to turn 40 degrees here in a couple of days, so I'm waiting impatiently for some Florida heat.... "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

Who else plans on going to collegiates? Yeah, I know it's over a month away, but I can't wait for some sun, beer and free jumps (paid for by our club!) Does anybody know if there's a shuttle that runs from Orlando to Lake Wales? (Otherwise, I may have to hitchhike....) "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

It's my last year of college, so I'm going all out: Marilyn Monroe!!! Unfortunately, I think I have to adjust my skirt to shorts to make my costume freefall friendly! "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

I'm under a similar situation (except my mom's cool with everything; my dad is the one who is still hates me jumping.) My dad asks me for any major event (birthday, Christmas, President's Day...) to quit jumping. The first time he came to watch me, he saw me walking back covered in mud from my first corn landing (we've got a lot of it in Indiana...it's bound to happen.) The second time, him and my mom pulled up just in time to see the CASA take off; and a few minutes later, they saw some dude in my canopy and my first cutaway. He kept asking me all day long "Are you sure you want to jump again?" I basically advised him not to watch me jump anymore (he is also uneasy since everybody at my dz makes sexual innuendos and invite me out to drink.) Oh well; I just figure that the dz is my place to get away from the over-protective parent thing. Let me know how it goes with your mom! "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

Rachel's pregnant, but she won't say who the father is. It was an okay episode; but, you didn't miss much! "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

Hey, you went to Purdue? That's where I'm at! Go Boilers! "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

Hey, this post's about me!!! How fun! Thanks again, Bill, for all the work you did to help me skydive right! I just got my double falcon in the mail today, actually (thanks, freaksister, for letting me borrow your Parachutist!) I wish I could've taken all of Tent 4 home with me; I met many wonderful people there who went out of their way for me. Us low-timers have heard all the Quincy stories before we actually got there, but I found my little niche at tent 4 and felt safe and comfortable the entire time at the WFFC. I'm lucky I got to jump with such knowledgeable organizers like Bill, DJan, Winsor and Mary. I learned so much from them in such a little amount of time. It's great meeting so many awesome skydivers with thousands of jumps who want to be there to help you learn. I can't wait to go to the WFFC and hang out in tent 4 again next year! "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

I'll be there Friday, early morning/afternoon (depending on if my prof. cancels class!) I'll be the tall blond haired girl (probably in braids, Pippi Longstocking style), who will be looking really confused! "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

So, I got my little pamphlet in the mail about Richmond, and it mentioned tons of fun fun organizers. Are there many organizers for low-time skydivers such as myself? Also, is it really starting this Sunday? That would rock if it did! I could go Sunday, go back to school during the week, and then go back for more fun stuff Friday! "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson

I can't wait to go! This is my pre-second time going and I'm hoping to hit my 100th jump there! "To alcohol! The cause of-and solution to-all of life's problems!" -Homer Simpson