Jewels

My car is gold--"desert sand" or something, technically, I think. I love it! It's another one of those good colors for hiding dirt but it's also light enough that it's not extra-sweltering in the summer. TPM Sister #102

Dang she's cute, isn't she? Such a sweetie.

I like it! You two look great! TPM Sister #102

She's precious! Those eyes are clamped pretty firmly shut. I don't blame her. There's a lot of the world I'd like to block out, too! What a cutie. Congratulations to you both! TPM Sister #102

Oh, nasty! Putting on shoes is going to be SO much fun! TPM Sister #102

He's adorable! What a cute little addition to the family.

ARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I don't know what kind that thing was, I don't care--you should get hazard pay!!! (Yes, I'm a stereotypical girl. Snakes give me the heebie jeebies.) TPM Sister #102

Oh, Laurie, I know I'm just another dizzy.commer and you don't know me, but I'm sorry to hear it just the same. I'm glad it was peaceful and I'll be hoping that you find peace, too, even in the midst of your sadness. TPM Sister #102

serious? So if you buy 10 minutes and share it with 3 others for 4way. And the other 3 buy ten minutes each and decide to not share any of that with you. (they want to do solos or 2 ways, whatever, just not with you). then you're happy about it? it's not really complicated at all to keep track and settle up later or plan it ahead. Yeah, serious. But then, I'm usually flying with friends in the first place and I'm not a belly flyer even though I love two-way verticals and such. If I fly what I pay for, everything else I get is just icing. I suppose if I were to fly with a group of strangers who wanted to abuse it then I probably wouldn't fly with them again. But, on the whole, if I want to do something with other people in the tunnel, I'm still getting what I want out of my time even if other people are sharing my minutes. Edited to add: I have nothing against figuring it out later, but we usually pay for our own time up front, too, rather than one person paying for a block and everyone else paying them back. It's too hard to pay up front and then try to figure out the minutiae later. TPM Sister #102

I know this is hard, but you must pay attention or you won't get a good grade in class. The hand signal I was referring to is for the "shocker," not "fluffing." These are two different things. GREAT. Now I have to get coaching on hand signals, too. I just wonder whether that should come BEFORE or AFTER a good canopy course. TPM Sister #102

Interestingly, this term does not appear in the dz.com glossary--and I thought it was a pretty thorough website! TPM Sister #102

Ohhhh, I didn't know there was a hand signal, too. It only came up because they call it "tunnel fluffing" on the rare occasions when the tunnel isn't booked and the instructors get in to fly for the benefit of anyone who might be watching. It made no sense. . . . Anyway, hand signals must be for the advanced class. TPM Sister #102

You forgot to label that NSFA--Not Suitable for Anything. Now I need to seek counseling. TPM Sister #102

My tunnel coach and his wife explained to me what the function of a fluffer is, in a very clinical way, of course. (NO DEMOS. ) There are a lot of terms I had never before imagined out there. . . . All I have to do is book a lot of coached time and by this time next year, I should be bilingual! TPM Sister #102

I apparently don't hang out with the right people. No one's bringing ME any spare cabana boys--or hockey players, for that matter. So, to correct that, I think I'll start schmoozing with you people. TPM Sister #102

That's much too complicated for my taste, too. I don't have any formal tunnel time-share arrangements with anyone, but when some of us get together to fly, we usually decide how many minutes each person wants and then pay for that time accordingly. If we decide to do two-ways or three-ways or whatever-ways, the person initiating that uses their time to do it and the people they "invite" to share their time just get that as a bonus. Other people can tack on some of their own minutes if we collectively want to fly together longer. I generally think it's fair because everyone gets to use their time as they want to use it and no one gets short-changed on flying the number of minutes they've paid for. Our Thursday night league, for example, has mostly belly-flyers and so the same people get a LOT of minutes because they are flying on each other's time. It's still fair to the people who aren't doing 4-ways because they have the option of flying with someone else and getting more minutes that way if they want to. Conversely, on Tuesdays, we mostly have freeflyers. The Tuesday night people don't get NEARLY as many minutes every month as the Thursday night people get--but it's by choice and as a matter of what kind of flying people want to do. I guess my bottom line is that if I've paid for 10 minutes and I fly 10 minutes, I have nothing to complain about. If I fly more than that, it's a bonus. TPM Sister #102

Note to the_sea: Don't jump in Belgium! Only kidding. You can find people here, too, who wouldn't coun't your tandem but I figure that if it counts towards your license, it counts. A tandem is still a learning experience and it can be really useful in dealing with sensory overload. The more jumps you make, the less important it will be as to whether you count that one or not, anyway!

I am SO all over that! I have the failing part down pat. Nah--not so bad. I can come up off the net. I just need control. Little movements, strong legs, etc., etc., etc. It's just like anything else. I want it ALL, and NOW, please!

D'oh! Would you believe I was on "the other load?" Hmmmmm. Okay, so . . . um . . . uh . . . I was . . . shoot, I've got nothin'. But seriously, does it HAVE to be a yellow helmet that screams "IDIOT SKYDIVER OVER HERE!" (That's actually probably a very good idea for me--but who wants to stand out like that???) Tried to learn to stall a front flip while upside-down yesterday. WOW--that failed spectacularly! TPM Sister #102

Sleep sweetly--or I guess I will, anyway. Too funny. TPM Sister #102

ROFL! Glad to be some moral support! Okay, I was no help whatsoever. TPM Sister #102

Okay, you gotta get this thing resolved because it's past my bedtime but I don't want to miss the thrilling ending! Seriously, HOW THE HECK DID YOU END UP IN THIS SITUATION???! TPM Sister #102

MMmmm, yes, it will be so much better having WET cat hair stuck in your ear. TPM Sister #102

Maybe you should go to the vet instead. They might have something for hairballs. TPM Sister #102

If you go to the emergency room to get this removed, I want to know how you explain it to them and what they do about it once they stop laughing. TPM Sister #102