livendive

1 - University of Washington football 2 - Seattle Mariners baseball 3 - Seattle Seahawks football 3.5 - New York Yankees baseball (if they're losing) 4 - Seattle Supersonics basketball 5 - Skateboarding/Snowboarding 6 - University of Washington basketball (men or women) 7 - University of Washington softball/baseball 8 - Other college athletics 9 - Boxing ... ... ... 314 - Car races 315 - Professional wrestling ... ... ... 1322 - New York Yankees baseball (if they're winning) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I vary back and forth between a little smaller than you and a little bigger, I'm 6' and run between 205 and 215 (nekkid). Understand that your jumpsuit can be snug and still do it's job if it's got plenty of fabric in the right areas, i.e. calves and forearms. In addition to making these areas a bit floppy, having the fabric double layered with at least one of the layers being a bit more "rigid" than most jumpsuit fabrics can help. If you're trying to get a form-fitting suit that helps slow you down, you probably should have held off a bit, as booties can also assist in this regard, but it doesn't sound like you're quite ready for them (they do substantially affect your flight in freefall). Anyhow, I wouldn't worry about it. You're not *that* big, and if the instructors at your dz have a problem with your fallrate in your own suit, you can wear one of the DZ's until you're licensed. Of course if those I's have a problem with your fallrate, you're probably going to struggle with the transition into RW and may want to consider buying a second suit that's a bit slower. Personally, I have three suits, including a floppy freefly suit for slowfall, my "normal" RW suit for average rates, and a spandex/thin fabric thing for when I need to smoke it. Note the fast one was the first suit I bought off student status and I spent a couple hundred jumps occasionally going low with it before I wised up. So all this to make the point that "no, you didn't make a $185" mistake. :-) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Just a guess, but that might qualify as an "office job." Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I have my female tandem students sit on my lap...I also have my male tandem students sit on my lap. It's just the easiest way to get them hooked up, cinched down, and ready to exit. I touch all of my students chest straps and leg straps, be they tandems or "continuing" students. Even if someone else gears them up for me, I feel more comfortable actually touching each thing I check, including buckles, handles, and excess strap stowage. Comments when gearing a student up should certainly be restricted to the productive, non-threatening variety, especially when faced with having to mention breasts or balls. I offer a one-arm friendly hug/backpat thing to every tandem student after landing. While this may not be "professional", it affords a last moment of comradery, and is at least better than those TM's who request a hug only from their female students. I did date a gal once who went through our student program, but I waited until she was off student status. I think it would be perfectly reasonable to establish a dropzone policy like this. We also ran off a JM we had who was bothering a female student. Of course in addition to making inappropriate comments and contact, he started showing up at her work, so now he's a couple thousand miles away. Probably the most controversial thing I do is kisspass every novice (off-student status) that I take on their first two-way (male or female), as a means of introducing fun/goofiness into skydiving as opposed to all the learning objective stuff they've been working on up to this point. If I ever have one complain, I'll stop doing this. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

No option for "I would aim for the peas"? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

LOL Roy. I said the exact same thing to the same guy here.

I'm a far cry from hot, but these are me here and attached. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

About 70% office work, 30% hands-on. "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

0:4:0 "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Umm...you know the other 3 weeks of the month smell and taste a lot better.

I absolutely suck, at least most of the time. "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I haven't experienced customer service comparable to L&B's anywhere. Not from other skydiving businesses, nor from non-skydiving businesses. They simply put themselves 110% behind their products and do everything they can to keep their customers happy. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Yeah! What he said!

They make funny rednecks? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

You must be insane A perfectly good airplane Oh shut up whuffo Last out. Dive, Dive, Brakes. Shit! I'm low...hug the beachball Gotta lose some weight Ready....Set..(I'm gone)..Go Arms back, track up to the base Kid playing airplane. Sky is blue and pink Cool air, horizon on fire Peacefull flight. Day ends. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Barely related, and I'm certainly not a big fan of the PC movement, but I noticed something while running stairs at the local high school stadium last night. I live and work right next to the Hanford reservation which was formed as part of the Manhattan project and which produced the plutonium that helped demolish Nagasaki. About 7 miles away from the site is Richland High School, home to the Richland "Bombers" who have the attached logo. Does anyone else think this is pretty "non-PC"? (Not that I really care, I just thought it was odd that it took 10 years of living and working here for me to make the connection.) Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Of course staying together has its advantages too... Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I thought it was pretty obvious about a year and a half ago that at least some of the measures approved for use in the "war on terror" would find their way into the "war on drugs". Sometimes being right sucks. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Presumably this is NSFW? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Yeah, I have short and long term disability insurance. The short term pays 100% of my salary for up to 20 days, and 60% of my salary for up to 110 days after that. The long term kicks in when I've been disabled for 6 months and pays 50% of my salary by itself, or supplements any social security/pension payments for a (combined) maximum of 60% of my salary. Of course these leave a 3-month hole between the period of 3-6 months after the accident. Phree - When you mentioned the power of attorney, are you referring to an ongoing in-force power? Or is there some way of wording one so it triggers into force only if necessary? Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Group policies work nicely with this problem. My medical has thrown about $40,000 at my shoulder in the last 3 years due to skydiving injuries, and I specifically asked about coverage while skydiving with regard to my various life/death/loss of limb policies. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

OK, I've got plenty of life insurance and know that in the event I die, my family will be taken care of. However I was reading a thread on someone who was badly injured recently and it suddenly occurred to me that I have no idea how people prepare for this possibility. Is there some sort of standing power-of-attorney one can get that triggers in the event of a critical-care accident? My bills are pretty easy to keep track of, but who would be able to cash any outstanding paychecks and subsequent disability checks in order to pay them? For those of you with a bunch of credit cards/student loans/etc, who would even know who to pay and how much (or, in the event your disability pays like 50% of your salary, who not to pay)? For those with lesser benefits (minimal medical/no disability insurance), what's the typical response to an extended ICU stay with multiple surgeries that triggers hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills and no work for several months? Is it pretty well accepted that such an accident will ruin one economically (lose cars that still have payments owing, etc)? I'm really curious if and how any of you have prepared for massive injuries that only come close to killing you. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Reward for what?! How about he gets the same thing she gets? If you approach relationships with the attitude of "what's it going to cost me," you're going about it all wrong. He's not giving up his freedom, economic security, autonomy, or livelihood any more than she is, regardless of how "modern, mature, and thoughtful" he might be. Even if he does sacrifice a thing or two, it's not like it's a "gift" she's taken from him to use for her own purposes. What if, instead of children, she's got a more promising career than his that dictates they stay put? Would you have the same issues? Is that all she gets? Will he be the same? That gets at the primary purpose of dating, i.e. exploring what one likes and doesn't like about a person. Nobody is "the perfect mate", they'll all have aspects we dislike. The burden in dating is determining which of those negatives are (and will remain) tolerable, and which are unacceptable. A person's approach to children may well be the deal-killer, but again, that could be on either side. Rest assured that if I was dating a woman who treated my daughter like crap, I'd ensure they didn't have to see each other anymore, and it wouldn't be my daughter who got "kicked to the curb." What are you talking about? Dating/marrying a person who has children from a previous relationship is a hell of a lot closer to the norm now than it was say 50 years ago. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

I think the new ones come in different colors or something. I haven't heard of any substantive changes. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)

Softie?! Hey, dogs are "man's best friend", which means a guy showing off his dogs is a REAL MAN or something like that...right? (Hmm...I guess I'd wonder about a guy who pulled out his wallet & showed off pictures of his poker buddies) Umm...I'm gonna go work on the car or watch football or something. Blues, Dave "I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew)