cbain

Ok, so the earthquake thing, are they just little ones in that area or do they get really big? When I told my Mom about the interview in CA the first thing she said is with my luck lately the "big one" will hit if I move out there! I think I can handle little earthquakes but I'm not up for any more natural disasters! I've heard it's expensive but how much really? The manager said they give a cost of living adjustment that's substantial. I mean what is typical rent prices for 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms? Is just rent that's expensive or is it everything else too? Also, how far away would I probably have to live and what is the commute like? How hard is it to pass emissions testing because I have a crappy ol' 91 Geo prizm with 146K and a 94 Ford Ranger with 152K? 4 turbine DZ's? Forget the cost of living, do any of the DZ's have a trailer park? Christina

Hey everyone, Just found out that I have an interview in Sunnyvale, CA! No details on when yet, waiting on the HR person to call, but the hiring manager already agreed to the interview. I figured since I don't have anything to go back to in New Orleans (and I don't want to see any more hurricanes either!) I might as well explore my options! What's it like out there? What should I know? I see that Hollister, Byron, and Lodi are all pretty close dz's, what are they like? Blue skys, Christina

The reason in the letter I got from FEMA says "Applicant Withdrew Voluntarily." I'm still trying to get through to them to find out exactly what that means. Because it seems really ridiculous to me if it means that because I left during a mandatory evacuation I'm not going to get any assistance. And if it means I withdrew my application to FEMA, I most certainly did not, I have been calling them every day. Christina

In the local area there, they said the hospitals were only giving shots to rescue workers or people who were in standing water. I plan on seeing if the Red Cross here will give us anything. We've both had TB but not Hep. We were careful and wore rubber boots and gloves and showered with anti-bacterial soap afterwards. I am so glad we evacuated. We were so far inland I really didn't think we would have gotten storm surge. I do count my blessings every day, we're so much better off than a lot of others. While we've been rejected for FEMA assistance the outpouring of kindness from everyday people has been overwhelming. Christina

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Al and I just got back from cleaning out our house in Slidell. We got 3-4 feet of storm surge. I will never forget the smell. Here are some pictures I took of the damage.

Hi everyone, Al and I are trying to get down to Slidell to have the FEMA inspector come and to salvage anything we can. We're leaving here (TN) tomorrow and would like to stay someplace along the way (Meridian, Laurel, Hattiesburg) tomorrow night before heading the rest of the way on Wednesday morning. All the hotels in that area are completly booked. If anyone in that area has a little piece of floor we might be able to sleep on let me know, otherwise we plan on taking an air matress for in the back of the truck. We also may need a place on Wednesday night on our way back out. If anyone has any info on the gas situation in that area we would appreciate any info. I've heard that it's getting better but still long waits. We have 12 gallons in cans we'll be taking just in case but not sure if that will be enough. They are sold out of gas cans here. I don't know if I'm ready for this emotionally. Christina and Al

Hey everyone, Heard from our landlord this morning who was actually able to view our house yesterday. There was 5 feet of water in the house. The landlord said it was really bad, probably going to be a total loss. She's even giving me a hard time about our security deposit! Al and I are going to try and get back on Tuesday/Wednesday to have our FEMA inspector get inside and to salvage anything we can. My mom has agreed to keeping our 3 cats while we go back. Then we will head back up here until I know for sure what's going on with my work situation. We are very fortunate compared to some and I count my blessings every day. BSBD, Christina and Al

Hey Laurel, Al and I took our rigs with us when we evacuated. That's the one thing we do have. If someone who makes a living a skydiving needs a rig to borrow until they get a new one (and yes, it would be really cool if the manufacturers could help) I'm willing to lend mine out. I'll ask Al about his too when he wakes up. Christina

Being a homeless hurricane victim, you guys bring tears to my eyes! Right now we are with family and are ok. The future is just so uncertain and it's so hard to be patient and wait on news of the condition of the area we live in. It's comforting to know that our skydiving family is there for us if we need them. Any place close to jump from Clarksville, TN? I sure could use some stress relief and the one thing we brought with us was of course our rigs! Thanks again guys for the wonderful offers. Christina & Al edited to add: A very close friend (like a sister to me) and her 7 month old boy was also living with us when this happened. She is here with us but she maybe trying to get back to the Daytona area next week to be with her own family depending on whether or not we can get any info on the status of her job in slidell. Her vehicle has 210K miles on it and a flat tire right now. We're getting the tire taken care of today hopefully. She may need a place to stay along the road to get there especially if gas shortages become a real problem. I'll update you guys in a few days depending on what the situation becomes. Or if anyone knows of an open x-ray tech position she's probably going to need a new job.

Hey Laurel, Al and I are ok. We evacuated to my Mom's house in TN. But yes we fear we are pretty much homeless. Best case scenario is 5+ feet of flooding but we won't know anything for sure for a while. We don't have insurance. Good news is that I have an awesome job with Lockheed Martin and they're doing everything they can to help out. I may get an assignment to another facility until Michoud is up and running again. Al and I haven't jumped since April (finiacial and other reasons) but we saved our rigs! I sure could use a jump right now! This is so stressfull just thinking about everything we've lost and trying to call and take care of bills, it's crazy, but we're alive and safe. We have a lot of friends and neighbors and co-workers that stayed behind and we're worried about them. Keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers. Christina & Al

Everyone, Thanks so much for the concern. We left at the last second on Sunday before everything was shut down. Family in Alabama and Tennessee are helping us out for now. We got us, our rigs, a weeks worth of clothes and our cats. That's pretty much it. From the looks of it we probably won't have anything else for a long time. Our neighbors stayed and a whole bunch of other people we know. Pray for them. We'll be ok. Thanks again and I'll try to keep you posted as we learn what's left. BSBD, Christina & Al

Well, it's been a while since I posted but I'm pretty much scared shitless right now. We're in Slidell just East of New Orleans and we've decided to stay. We don't have the money to get out and the hotels are full anyways. We're in a nice sturdy brick house though and the doors are sandbagged. We don't have renters insurance. Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers. BSBD Christina & Al

Thanks everyone for the replies. I've decided that a break will be a good thing. I think I'll be taking a break from DZ.com as well. Thanks everyone, Christina

I'm mulling over taking an extended break from skydiving. My husband and I were discussing it this weekend and we're both just not having fun anymore. Have you taken a long break before? What was the reason? How long before you went back? What was it like coming back? Did you get rid of any gear or keep everything? I have more than one reason for considering a break. It just hasn't been as fun as it used to be. There's been too much "as the prop turns" lately, don't like all the drama. Plus we haven't been able to jump all that much, only making it out every 1-2 months. I think I'm at less than 50 jumps for this past year due to money and time. I'm thinking it may be better to take a break for ~1 year or so and come back when finances won't be so difficult and we'll be able to jump more. I'm positive I'll come back to it, I'm just thinking some time away may do some good. We're thinking about getting our dirt bikes running and picking that up for a while. Christina

A couple of years ago, May 2003, I went on a little 10 day adventure. I went by road-trip by myself, leaving from Houston, TX. First I went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. There I went to the main caves and then went back-packing in some of the country side for the night. The next morning I did a little more spelunking then hit the road again. Next I went to the Grand Canyon. There I hiked down to the bottom on one of the steeper trails. I packed over 5 liters of water, and wished I'd brought more. I spent the night in the bunkhouse at the bottom (call ahead as it fills up way in advance but I got lucky that they had a cancelation that day). The next morning I hiked back up to the top on the longer but less steep trail. If you've never seen the Grand Canyon it's an amazing experience. Following that I drove to Moab and spent the night in a nice little Hostel there. Also, went to Arches National Park while there. The next day I went on a 5 day white water rafting trip through Cateract canyon. It was unbelievable. I can't remember the name of the outfit I went with right now but they did an awesome job. May is also normally the best time to go white water rafting as the snow is melting and water will be high. Although the year I went snow was low and the water never did get to really high levels, this year should be awesome though. At the end of the white water rafting the outfitter had a little Cessna ride set-up for us to get back to Moab. Then I drove back home. That may be a little more than you were thinking of but I treasure my memories from that trip deeply. It was also a time of great soul searching for me and the time alone in the outdoors was perfect. If you want any more details just PM me. Christina

[off topic]Sorry, this is off-topic - but if the above is true then you're the first rigger besides my husband that charges less for a Racer repack then other rigs, that I know of at least. I think he (my husband) does it just to rib everyone that is always making fun of us for jumping Racers in the first place. [/off topic] Continue... Christina

We're going on a trip from New Orleans to Western Maryland, a little town called Kitzmiller to be exact but people might have heard of Cumberland a little better, basically the boonies. Going to visit family mostly but want to have some fun too. We're leaving New Orleans May20th and coming back on the 28th. So mostly will be there during the week. I've looked at the dz database here but was just wondering if anyone has recommendations on dropzones in that area to visit or we could potentially stop for a jump or two along the way as well. Thanks, Christina

Ok, seems like a good idea. My orginal goal was to go from 205 to 150, for 55 lb total. But I'm down 11 lb to 194, so that leaves 44 lb to go. Christina

I feel like I'm so in this "stage" right now. I'm having that debate with myself about whether or not to keep jumping. I know I will, but it sure is hard to admit. When people used to tell me, just wait until you have more time in the sport, then you'll understand, I thought, "I know the risks, I have the jumps, what difference does time in the sport make." But it's starting to make some sense now. I've realized that I've actually grown more cautious and more conservative the longer I've been in the sport because now I'm beginning to realize what can really happen. How long does this "stage" typically last? And what do people do to understand, accept and get over it? Christina

I did not read this until today, it's been one terrible week. We haven't been able to make it out to Moss Point in a while but you're both in our thoughts none the less. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. Christina & Al

I can't express the sinking feeling in my heart with words when I heard about this. When we lived in the trailer park at Deland, Gus was our nieghbor. He had a beautiful garden I often saw him working in. My cats thought the garden was their personal jungle but Gus never complained. I don't know what else to say. I wish we could be in Deland to give all our friends there a huge hug and to share their tears. You all are in our thoughts. BSBD Christina & Al

I like keepin it up. Keeps me honest. Plus I'm down -1 this week again. Christina

I went a year without shaving my legs once. I have very very sensitive skin and was constantly getting razor burn and in-grown hairs no matter how many "senstive skin" products I used during shaving. So I stopped. I'm also very fair and you can't even hardly see my leg hairs. I never got any complaints. I've started shaving again since but the in-grown hairs are starting back up again so I might stop again soon. I've heard that shaving in the US started back in the 50's after men started coming back from the war in asian countries and wanted their women to be hairless and look prepubescent like the asian women. I think that's a ridiculous reason to shave and it shouldn't be so shocking in our society that some women would choose not to shave.

Firebolt 164 at ~1.3 Christina