gimpboogie

Hey Welcome Brandon ! Do you by any chance jump at my DZ PST?, maybe we will see each other in the skies this summer. I hope to get my A before the end of the summer so I can go jump in Burnaby with Lonnie (we've made plans ). Great to have more Canadian's onboard... Lets Jump! If you are PST diver, I'll be there last weekend in March to shoot some footage of my friends before the snow goes away and they stop sacrificing themselves into the snowbanks. Here's some action from PST from last month. Be well, stay safe and remain strong, -minna http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-aREJb1qi2s To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

Welcome to the DZ -SKYDIVER Bryce! 5 jumps ago you BECAME a SKYDIVER. Hope you enjoy your visits here, and may your days be filled with great jumps for years to come. Be well and remain strong, -minna To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

Projected time line: Apr. 22/23 first test of the gimp FF pants we have now. A rigger made them sort of like a hybrid between Peter Hewitt's pants and Jari Kuosma's Impact system pants. They are paraplegic friendly pants He put zippers along the sides of the legs up to the knees for ease of taking the knee braces on and off as well as for my leg bag. Now I'll be able to empty my bag under canopy This is important because as a para i do not want to be taking my pants on and off each time I want to put the leg braces on for a dive. I do not want to wear them the whole day either, for concern of skin breakdown in the summer heat. It takes me considerable amount of time to get dressed. I could propably do a dive in the time it takes. This way, I can get to my needs, while keeping the pants on. I'll try my hand at uploading a photo. My coaches, Angus and Dave will fly in the tunnel on the 24,25,26th and I might join them in there for more tunnel training since there is 30 hrs booked by a PST DZ group for the 25,26 to buy into if I need/want (more to, how much can I afford ). The AFF is tentatively planned for 3rd weekend in May, unless we find optimum conditions at the tunnel and great weather outside, we might just go do the 1st AFF the 26th of April. We hope to get some tandem refresher dives in hopefully prior to the tunnel dates, if not then early May. The AFF will have to wait till after the tunnel and the refresher tandem's. We do not want me to fly my own canopy for the first time after not having done a tandem progression dive since Nov. This is the general time line. By the end of next month I will have learned how my attitude is in FF at the tunnel, and have something to report. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

Thank you, much respect your experience. As you describe the landing on your leg, it explains what i am doing, as I view my video. Since I don't feel my butt, (not a 'pain in the butt for me ) I'm not sure where I'm landing. The grass in the shoe came from landing as you describe your style was, before the pin broke. Careful, yes.... thank you for the reminder. Im going into AFF in a month and a half to two.... and I need to remind myself just how hard the ground is, since I do not feel it unless I'm landing on my torso, head or arms. This is propably why Angus wants me to fly a bus for a canopy. I think he wants me flying around 300 sqf canopy for my AFF. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

at my DZ an instructors 14 yr old kid packs chutes,and he jumps them... among other sky divers To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

I flat pack, tiring as hell I must add, to pack 3 or more chutes in a row. and I cant stand at all... paralyzed.I plan to pack @ my DZ to jump edit: spelling To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

ok I'll go look at it. i got the web edition of this game, i had the demo, which worked fine for me, i did download it with antivirus program on... anyways I do find the game realistic in many aspects to sky diving, except the glaring fact that you can kill your person 3 times before he's really dead.. hhmm... ok, I find that it helped me with understanding lots of canopy relate stuff that didnt click in my head before,'I'm getting better at rigging related decisions, and understand the general benefits of planning your dive and diving your plan... my player has discovered the downfalls of not executing this BSR of BASE game, at the Troll wall a few times and the TV tower in Moscow. Russian site, sure maybe I didnt pay attention. Maybe I got lucky with the download....? it all went fine, demo included and the game is in english, audio is good... graphics are fine until you land, then sometimes my fellow hovers in the air a few feet off the ground or the rocks are difficult to judge in distance *but in reality, if im flying so close the rocks are difficult to judge i should not be there...* one thing i must admit as a negative for sky diving is that if I was to play it as a BASE jumper (in mind) rather then a sky diver i think i would learn some basic incorrect muscle memory issues... i.e. if i build pathways in my mind to swooping and hooking my landings in the game just because its a game and I can.... and do this 1000 times in a week, i wonder if my mind builds an imprint that this is a viable option to choose from, when im doing the real thing and i need to rely on instinctual action in an emergency. just incase there is anything to this, i decided to play the game more conservatively, and play my character more like a sky diver, even if BASE jumping, choosing some pretty simple jumps now only. i haven't killed him once, and he is only building his endurance, skills and strength as I play it this way. If I was playing it like a BASE jumper, I would be practicing what ever it is I'd be doing next in real life. Not going to to the Troll wall to kill my character.. just because I still will have 2 left, good game,i like it. too bad many are having trouble either with loading it, getting service/customer support, or even computer difficulties, in light of all that, then i would have to say i got lucky. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

hhmm good question. things happen to us as people, whether it's landing in wheelchairs, loosing limbs, or senses, whether its debilitating illness and when it first happens we often think everything is over... just about every thing we ever wanted is gone. then the mental stuff starts. in conjunction with the physical stuff, the mental gymnastics we must play really is the key to the whole 'recovery' process. As for how long it takes, it really depends on each person. Often there is the the initial shock which can turn a person's disposition one way or the other. Either we are pretty tough and seem to have no difficulties and seem to move on pretty easily, or else we really fall hard on our faces and seem to others that we may not get up. Either is typical initially. Either is not necessarily going to stay that way. The initial toughness, apparent acceptance can turn into a face we feel we must put on, or keep on, and can hide our true inner feelings. Not so good. There has to be a place, a group of people we can feel comfortable to say ;this really sucks; and cry about it when we feel like we need to. On the other side of the fence, the initial shock sending us into depression and feelings of inadequacy can linger on and become ones identity if nothing helps to pull oneself out of that space. What I've seen when people go through a life transforming event, that the acceptance comes in doses, in waves, in tides almost. Each time we enter into the realm of distress or 'non acceptance' of the reality of our situation, more often then not the rebound effect is a deeper acceptance and a deeper peace within ourselves of the situation as it is. That lasts for a while and something can trigger the emotional roller coaster to start again and we enter the realm of distress. Werther it is facing our losses, or facing new ways of dealing with our situation. Such as going back to school or work for the first time after injury. For me, the first time trying to do things i enjoyed doing and now am facing a lifelong chance in how to accomplish this activity-like hockey will be for her- was when acceptance waned again and the demons haunted once more. It does eventually grow to be the way we are, that we accept our situation, our new life as it is, and those moments of distress eventually subside. How long? It seems that the medical field has a 2 yr period they like to toss around. I hear it often that people in rehab. during the first 2 yrs really go through the toughest times. I also hear that the first two yrs generally are the times during which a person adjusts merely to their physical condition, and this 2 yr period is difficult to focus on just about anything else. Yet there are differences for all people. My rowing parther, is a former paratrooper and he was injured July 1st 2005-broke his back during a training exercise. On the 2nd yr anniversary of his accident, he had allready finished the 1st yr of his new college course, had finish rebah. a long time ago and was well into rowing for the national development program. He currently broke the Canadian record for rowers within his disability class and is quite seriously expected to excell at all he does. this is 2 1/2 yrs after his accident. On the other hand, when I had my motorcross accident, I took it very hard initially. It took me at least 4 yrs to emotionally recover and accept my physical condition. Yet, in Sept 2005 when I was diagnosed with a terminal neurological condition, it seems to have been easier for me to accept this, although on the surface it seems like a more difficult diagnosis then the motorcycle accident injuries. Acceptance comes for each, through a different avenue and seems to be a journey which is bi-directional. A Journey which brings unexpected situations our way. It's evident your sister is deeply loved, fiercely determined and smart young woman. She is as lucky to have you all, as you are to have her with you today. May you all journey together through this becoming stronger women, and remain close. Be well and remain strong as you journey to her bedside, -minna To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

Parachute School of Toronto is open,surely if those guys can jump... if we have -21C (sorry dont understand that F stuff ) PST might be around -11C but their winds might be keeping them on the ground, supposed to go up to 45km/hr for them, they should have kites ! I'll bring them one next weekend, or they may be ground launching, but the cold doesn't seem to do anything permanent to these guys, judging from the ladies flocking around them all summer To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

don't you hate that, when you hit the road before anything opens.... To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

I only needed to read that far and I already knew my answer. Those that said the team has the right to protect its investment are correct. It's a contract, and you are the product - a commodity, not unlike pork bellies. And I'm not saying that tongue-in-cheek. You want the contract? Man up, abide by their conditions, and don't whine. Welcome to the adult world. that's the problem, I don't know where the 'world' starts in this all. last yr, when they wanted me to stop the skate parks and kitewing, i did. they banned me off rowing due to the concussion i got at the training facility. so i went skydiving. their words were something about not having seen me so happy in my life -as in the sky diving photos they saw. they did not speak then of the sky diving, perhaps because i was banned off the water anyways? i went and kayaked instead_to the worlds sprint trials in Rochester for adaptive races in sacramento next summer, if i choose to train for it. now comes back to the rowing. i am under this contract currently, which iam fullfilling because im not in the skatepark, on the kitewing or even sky diving for that matter. this contract ends this month. there is a new one. my coach said i didnt need to worry about it for now, to wait until later when he gives them to us for signing. if i sign another one, i am bound by it, like i have been this yr. if i don't sing it, and do not row.. i can do as i please. there is a feeling of 'social responsibility' to do certain things, like go to kayak or go to row and train... im sort of responsible for starting these programs and clubs here and we have a strong rec program and one other paralympic rower to be coming up strong... the program will thrive without me. it has to. because i wont live long enough to do anything useful for the program now,'except perhaps try to hang in another year row one more year and kayak one more year then i do not know if i am able to move enough to do it after that.(ALS takes muscles away and eventually we all die from not being able to breathe.. ) so, the point where i have the problem is at the point of figuring out wether i should have signed on for another year (if they would have me, they could decide that last yr was my last yr of being competitive enogh in their eyes.. i have no idea what the organization eventually decides once they get the signed athlete agreements.. they decide whom they want to keep after that... ) or if i should go and live my life for myself now from now on.... and learn to sky dive like i planned before Angus has to tow my ass around the skies again. i'm deciding to go sky diving this year. and not signing another athlete agreement. not committing myself to anything that i might regret. the fact that the national rowing org. has support for the notion that a sport psych. is talking to me about finding goals for myself in life.... to finding enjoyment in sport outside of competition, speaks meaningfully. sometimes i do feel like its a tough spot to decide on, and given the circumstances of my life, i don't like rowing enough to go to my grave doing it.... yet i love competing, and training.... which i have little muscular strength for now, in comparison to last yr. last yr it was no trouble to bench press 140 lbs now i do not have the handgrip strength to bench press anything safely. it's been extremely enlightening to think of these things, via learning of others opinions, thoughts, considerations.... in the end, i do not like it that the choice is to row another yr and see what is left after that, or go with my heart follow my dreams now and if life ends before the next summer arrives' i'll be glad i went with my heart. thanks to all who wrote... and who PM'd me also. thanks, i'm going to sky dive this summer, and retire from competition for this season coming up.... i see the writing on the wall well enough now, -minna To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

I'm Canadian also... hhmm, the leg will probably be her focus for a while, since she must be worried about it and the pain keeps it in her focus. Hoping you all can keep her spirits up about playing hockey that i know she can do if she wants to keep playing. the carpentry i dont know about but i suspect there are others who will know. she has half the battle with the social and psychological stuff -if family and friends are there for that part she has the fighting spirit from what I sense in you writing of her... to make it through the rest, her career goals may change just because she has gone through a traumatic experience, and because she is young... her athletic choices shouldn't ultimately have to change much at all. that may be a relief for her to know, that something she wants, can still be there for her. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

thats the spirit buddy, get out and JUMP. if there isn't a DZ near you, jump out the window Next weekend I get to go to the DZ (it's 5 hrs away) but I wont get to jump until my instructors see me in the wind tunnel with my gimp ff pants and knee braces .... to ensure that i can keep atttitude, stability (ooh heck I have good attitude and I'm stable also, at least when Im not PMS'ing ) but yes, as my buddy here's going to JUMP, i'll jump at home. nothing that cant be accomplished with a 12 M kite, 25M lines, a mountain climbing harness, strong winds and a cliff. just JUMP its SUNDAY! get out and jump, get someone to bring in the photos, if you can;t get back.... but get out and jump!

* How do you pack a parachute? follow the instructions on the leafleft that came with it when you buy one. *What do you look for when inspecting a packed parachute? what ever the leaflet tells you,if it doesnt teach you how to use the parachute, try taking it to your closest dropzone and find an first jump course, you'll learn a couple of basic things. * How do you use weather reports and navigation maps to guide the selection of a location for jumping to a targeted jump zone? i think there's a web page for that try to check it out, and then if in doudt, to back to that dropzone with your chute, and ask the instructors to teach you those things... they do that sort of thing over there. * What methods of jumping out of the plane can be used for various situations? if your exiting a commercial plane you entered to go someplace, and its an emergency exit, and your flying with that parachute you bought in the first step, any method will do, try not to go for a head first orientation if you can help it. otherwise, if its a plane you entered with the intention of jumping out of it, go back to that dropzone, and ask that instructor,you ve propably figured out the drill by now...keep going over to that dropzone you chose, and the instructors there will have answers to anything you can think of regarding parachutes flying them jumping out of planes or landings. feet,.. hhhmm... I wouldn't know, mine are paralyzed so I just tie them up and hoist them up high. :) out of the way of my landing. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

ok, get on with it... pls. this is the best 5AM entertainment I've had (yes my life's a bore at 5AM_unless it started at the DZ the night before) but this reminds me of being at the DZ

".. I wonder if anyones ever taught a headdown aff course? " i don't know, but I'd take it, To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

wow, thats going to be a challenge for you both, hope your sister has a figthing spirit and strong friends and family. lets see,.... first thing would be to think of the long term. what kind of person she is, what she does and enjoys. that makes a difference on what type of arm she might be looking for in the future, what level of function she will have. the immediate stuff would be to make sure her financial, and other personal life has some support from a good friend or family member. I noticed when i had my accident and hospitalized for a while that having someone help with basics of banking, basic trips to the store for things i needed.... getting out to do stuff with someone i trusted, because i was going to be clumsy and wanted to be with people whom I trusted and felt comfortable with. then, for a long time i needed to re assess what i was going to do, and this may be her situation, depending on many variables. these were the things that helped most for me when i was injured. some of this might be helpful for her. if she wants to talk to others, to attend some groups etc. and wants company or to be alone to be alert and attentive to her needs in this manner is helpful/critical. as time goes on... life settles into a pattern and becomes routine again. until then, its sort of shocking at times during those times it may be helpful to have some resources to rely on. perhaps asking the war amps, they deal with all citizens with her loss... would give some thoughts, places, resources, ideas... let us know how your doing..... that is important. be well and remain strong, -minna To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

rowing WAS my passion, but i also knew that my time on this planet is limited and i am at a point where i am doing things that are important for me to get done. thus skydiving... is a time limited endeavor for me. i like to row very much, and i can row (as in know how) i am only learning sky diving. i also have to learn while i still can breathe, and move/control so i can skydive. once i cant do those things anymore, Angus will fly me around the skies as tandem then i guess its the ash dive finally. i don't think id want an ash row... though To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

how? well it was b=pretty crazy actually. I am on the adaptive team (we are wheelchair athletes) this National rowing federation brought us to their heavyweight womens trainining location. which is not wheelchair accessible. 28 athletes in wheelchairs at a non accessible day. on that first day, 4 fell out of their chairs, i was the one who did the double backflip and landed on my head. (the others falls were not so spectacular... ) regardless, apparently i was knocked out, and thus the concussion issue kept me off the water until the coaching staff had a letter from a doc to say that i had no symptoms of concussion anymore. a month later i still did not pass the sport concussion assessment tool -didn't pass the neurological sector either... so another month off the water for the national adaptive team purposes strangely the canoe/kayak did not use the same criteria and thus i was kayaking about 5 hrs/day 6 days/wk. i cant see any reason really for a rower to get a concussion either... unless your wheelchair goes flipping backwards down a path into the bush.. thankfully I didn't have the oars with me. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

actually they havent paid a penny to train me, although i have paid tons, more then i care to remember.... athletes need to find their own trainers, gyms, equiptment... the local clubs let you pay their fees touse their equiptment,but this club didnt have elite boats for paralyzed athletes, so i wrote a grant proposal to the government, they got 14,000 to get equiptment and i recruited them some rowers. then i basically hit my had and was banned off the water. i trained in another sport during that time and went to qualify for the worlds in that sport. also canada didn't qualify a single womens boat for beijing so they need to qualify for a spot in one more possibility, a world class even this spring. if i keep training, as a athlete in this program, (meaning basically they recognize my training and test scores-thats where the coach comes in. he tests me-thats what he does for me as fas as rowing goes.. actually inmy other sport, we even have winter training 3 times a week during the winter and 4 each week in the summers.. plus the other sports i do for fun, which is how i train often.. cross training.) anyways... so they did putout an investment the tickets to try outs=selection camp and any races which the selected athletes need to go to,then ofcourse to beijing. other then that,,,its 'row on your own, pay out of your own pocketk, if your injured better get if fixed fast so you can keep up with the training) does that soundlike i am feeling more like a race horse (who at least is fed for free! now im being stupid) not a human.... well this converstion HAS been helpful. because once i wrote that last sentence, where i realize that i feel more like a in animate object who can be replaced at any moment, and to which you pay attention once a month for a 4 min test... to make sure that the object stil is in high working order... tht tells me more then i wanted to know about how i feel about it. i will follow through with my offer of giving the team my equiptment /rowingmachine etc which i paid for more then i would havve for a main and a container. live and learn. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

very true, 're poor return on an investment. I think where I may be going wrong, is thinking that the investment is not much/meaningful or something of that sort, because of my 'sqewed' sense of $, and what things are worth. see, the $ they have spent, is $400 in plane tickets. the training -the coach puts his time in free he vlunteers (thats another thing about sports like this,'its not just the athletes who give freely and infact it costs them just like anything does) the coach volunteers to coach me and my partner (I row alone in a single and so does he... so we are not on a 'team' like a double, 4's or 8's. thus there is certainly the thought that the national team must find someone to replace that person in the single boat if i was to be in it, and leave it. it would in my opinion be worse if i was in a double, or 4, or 8 - i would go to the olympics even if it was my last summer to be alive. because of what it would do to the others on that boat. but because i row in my own single, i keep thinking that the investment is me workiing my butt off alone about 35 hrs/wk. my coach coming to test me once a month, (seriously that is how often i see my coach) he ofcourse volunteers his time... that is to be recognized. then repeat that for months and months.. during which i look at the winds, look at the things i like to do while i do enjoy rowing, i am training alone, all the time. many hours a day on the water and many hours off while my kids do their own stuff (they are 15 and 17) I do like this discourse, because it does help me to see others see things differently. there are 3 or 4 women who are ready and compete for, this single seat that is the womens single in the races for the national team. each spring there the national team selection, you make it and follow the rules, or you dont bother. they spent the $ of 400 to travel me to the selection camp. and if i was to be selected they fly me to Munich, or beijing or where ever we would need to go, and there the accomodations and meals so i do not know of those costs, but substantial they must be. yes, if i was to wreck myself sky diving,their faith in me in the program would be wasted while i recover just as it was last yr when i had that concussion on their training camp site and was banned off rowing for the summer so i kayaked and won the world sprint trials. to qualify for sacramento world sprints. i cannot disagree if some thing i have a scewed view and even not understand the other view well enough. i guess i do think about the fact that my terminal 'illness bs' does leave me more serious about doing what i want to do.... leaves me more aware of the temporrily existence of life. maybe thats why i am so detached from the things that i think are more trivial 9=-like money. that why we have none. i'm smart (i think) and could propably have at some ppoint made some $ but i didnt. i followed my heart, went to places iwanted to go to had the kids i wanted to have brought them to places they wanted to go to, heck once i was going to write abook travelling through canada with two kids and a fridge. because we were homeschooling and explored the country living on money practically. now that phase is over, thekids are older and do not want to travel. the want to do other things. which do not include me so much. but i still do not think of $ as that important. thus we never have any. we have tons of memories maybe i am not the right person for the national team at all then,'if i have this attitude. that what i give up, ]what i invest what i pay (I pay for therapy etc. out of my nonexistent pocket.. i do not have a job, been disable since 2005) what the kids give up for me to spend on rowing is not worth the rowing. i tink i need to apologize to the national team then, that they will have to spend the stamp to send it to the next woman in line wanting to be in the program to row in that single at the worlds. i DO feel badly for the coach. he saught me out. and i brought him a replacement so to speak. recruited steve the former paratrooper to row for him and steve just broke the canadian record, he will be my coaches star-he already is.... thus. i do feel bad for my coach because his role wil be solely on steve, and i think he feels some responsibility to do for me also.. for i was the one who started the local rowing club and found the athletes. i dont know if that makes sense? does it? To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

good questions, ok here goes: Q. Do you like to row? yes, and i like to kayak, and vert ramps, and sky diving, and laying it down on downhill tracks in a 4 wheeled mountain wheelchair .... if they ALL were an Olypic sport,I'd go for the sky diving, then the vert ramps then the dowhill cycle cross then the kayaking then the rowing. does that make any impact in the answer? it just feels to me like it does. yes, I'd LOVE to have an international level, olympic perhaps even better medal. 10 yrs ago in my early 30s and certainly in my 20' i would have given much about anything to get one. today, i feel different. i'd rather live each day. like it was possibly my last and... it in reality could be sure i've got some health complications, which play a big part in that but ultimately its true for everyone. if your getting up today to go to a job you dont like or something else you dont like then your not living and if your not living your dying that is how it feels inside of me. maybe that's not the 'norm', and most other people prioritize differently but im trying to be as honest as i can. Q. Is this rowing thing your source of income? NO --> Quit No its not. in a sense i really don't have income... sure it helped to get a check for $250 (that performance bonus) and have expenses paid as I did things i needed to do. to go races i needed to go to.. but ultimtely i spent $, massage therapy twice a month, athletic therapy for an injury from over use from rowing, that cost me $600 in therapy fees to get better, which nags me now, if i smash myself in any of those other sports i like i either do not have to go to therapy, no pressure to be ready for another race, train etc.so if and no costs or else i get treated in the hospital for free (I hate ) I'd have more prospects to get my E license, jump into the 2012 opening ceremonies and land in my wheelchair then making $ rowing. as soon as you make $ infact, then you cannot row for the national team. hockey players are really the only ones who are true pros on the olympics. the rest are like anyone passionate about their sport. train like a madman, spend all your time for it, and race for 4 minutes or more to see if you need to do it for another 4 yrs, for another chance at that medal. i really feel like it was/is a big job, i love the sport' i get up at 4:30 am to row on the rowing machine because i want to, not because they tell me to (because they dont expect us to start till 530 in the morning ) but i do not feel ok with giving up my self it feels like its not just the sky diving i would still have to stay out of the vert ramps, the skate parks, the kites, heck i should get a granny wheel chair and turn this titanium sport chair into a hood ornament until race time,,, just tke the bus to go train it feels not like LIFE. or living. living feels like sitting on the edge of something, looking and feeling every hair on your body every heart beat and hearing nothing but silence in your mind as you are ready to step into the arena in which you feel alivce. if one is passionate about playing dominos, or knitting.. great hope they get to do it daily! i just don't feel tht passionate about rowing that i would want to give up everything i gave up last yr and more.. this yr. for rowing. call me crazy... i've heard it before, along with being stubborn. i just hate the fact that i cant row for fun even withut the boat which is at the club to which i need to belong to use it. i kayak, race sprint kayaks and our clubs are in the same building i will see my boat every time it is out. The Minna the rowing club called it (they said it was because i got them the $ from a grant, to get them the boat and other stuff needed) i love to kayak and will go kayak in the world championships in outrigger canoe next summer which is fine enough for me athletic wise. but, there is.. this underlying feeling of unease. i wouldl like to row and i would like to row in a fast racing boat as i was supposed to, this summer but IF i have to choose, the choice is not hard to make i just feel its shitty it has to be made on the basis of the danger, considering their giving medals out to the guy who has the least amount of fear and skill to stay on their feet down a hill in speeds slightly slower then i FF, and certainly faster then under canopy. maybe I'm naive, but I feel more comfortable (as in safe) under that canopy then i ever did racing a bike down mountain roads, cyclecross, motorcross, downhill skiing or even hockey. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

that's Aaron, I do 360's, 720's and generally play in vert ramps or on water or snow and ice with 12 M kites ooh and I'm not a guy To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works

very good question, had I been a Black Knights member (respected I am sure.... if I was an Olympic team member of any sport) had I been on many national teams perhaps that snowcross (?) or slalom downhill, thats pretty 'hard core' inmy eyes, those guys gals got balls 100mph wearing tights and sharp poles in your hands! propably the hockey players knock themselves silly more often then skydivers do.....is the difference because you have a 'real bad day' if you hit your head on the tail on the way out rather then on the boards on the way out of the box quite honestly, on my first day at the rowing national team camp i received a concussion which left me with concussion syndrome for weeks,worst injury i ve ever had outside of any body parts that had to be removed or reattached. i hate what is happening and wish i had the energy to fight it for the principle but i'd honestly spend minutes of my life in FF then on such a fight, rowing, I don't think it can put up with sky diving either I think the last I looked, my alti doesn't even move no matter how fast I row, in fact when i bought an alti with my 'performance bonus'(thats what I call it, but i think they have a fancy word that doesn't sound like their paying any athletes anything) they said what the heck did i need that? (in a water sport) luckily I was able to convince them that the barometer it is, and the compass that it is (after all, if I can't jump through cloud cover, I'm always going know where North is is always a good tool to have on any element, air, earth wind or water in seriousness... the more I think about it, it is more controlled to be on a nationsl team then out on parole. i think if i was on parole i could just do what ever as long as i see my parole officer and obey the law etc. but now as it stands WADA (world anti doping association) has a tight hold on all athletes we are to record like in a larger date book then ive ever used in my life (i dont write down the exact address of any loction i will ever be at, the times and if anything changes be constantly in touch with my laptop to change the info to my current location-what a relief to not have to report to WADA the sky dives... i cant imagine in FF with my laptop frantically writing the altitudes and coordiantes of my most present location... it would make a good reserve ADD commercial.. wear my national team uniform, have Omar do the stunt double and in FF he is typing in the laptop his WADA requirements, not paying attention to this altitude, and have a reserve ride down... commenced by his ADD while he lands perfectly and you see him deleting his last location of 14,000f to .."as he walks away tied to his reporting device) is it obvious that i feel partly quite bitter' at this moment about this. my team is very happy to accept my donation of my rowing machine, my everything in relation to training... i do not care for the value of money, but some do... they do. i only use it to watch and see how far they will go,to happily take from me...... coaching is where they would like me to direct my energies.. so i guess as a coach it's ok to skydive just not if i sit in the boat and row, rather yell into a microphone. damn them anyways. rowing is something i like to do,and love the feeling of the early morning on a calm lake.. but im not going to pay $340 for a membership so i can row recreationally for that morning calm ness. i could get a lot of jumps with that! I could get the morning fuel odour at the DZ and learn to like it just the same... more importantly, i could now go sky dive more often and not be worried of how many training sessions im missing. i just hate that something someone else dictates what is dangerous risky etc. it is my life thats what i like about sky divers certainly we care about each other certainly we have BSR's but we allow each individual to assess the risk for themselves. we do not either push them out the plane door against their will, nor do we keep them in BASE jumpers are a respected for their skills as a freefaller, or a swooper, if a person is genuine, is caring and giving to our sport,'if they are the kind of people who

I have signed an athletec ontract with a national sport organization with the national adaptive rowing team program. for me, it meant last yr when they found out i play in the skateboarding parks, and jump off cliffs with the kites, that they were 'concerned' about my 'risk taking behaviour'. apparently this does not work with national teams whose athletes are groomed' for the international competition. i stopped doing both, skate parks and kite flights. for them, so i could compete. now, on the eve on Paralympics 08, they know i sky dive, yes on one hand the word from some of them is 'it makes me feel good to see you so happy' when viewing my skydiving photos. but when it is coming time to sign the athlete agreement..... its not about the skate parks and kiteflights (snowkiting with a 12M takoon or balancing on a surfboard in the summer with the kite) its about sky diving. apparently it also thus is risk taking behaviour ..... what kind of world is this? re: agreement for this yr. i have to discontinue rowing competatively or stop skydiving. to me strange, but the claim is that this is a risky behaviour and national team athletes have a code of conduct to adhere to. taking 'excessive' risks is not fullfilling that code so in the end, either i adhere to the code of conduct not take 'excessive risks' or i quit rowing. i told them that i heard the Troll wall is beautiful 3, 2, 1 see yah! I guess im not too far off in thinking that i'll be doing very little rowing this summer and a lot more jumping. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works