cbain

Well, don't have pics but I have three in my ears, my nose and both nipples. Used to have the belly button done too but after waiting a year and it still wasn't healed I said forget that. I didn't think the nipples hurt that bad but I did have two piercers do them at the same time though so I couldn't back out on the second one. They ache though when ever they get really cold. And even after 9 months they are super sensitive to touch. I've thought about taking them out but I've put so much time and effort into them I really want to keep them. Christina

Thanks for the tips Wendy. If it was just me traveling I'd go to a grocery store and eat in but when traveling with a group (and sharing a rental car) you're pretty much expected to go out with everyone. It's also difficult because I'm going to a vendor I won't be able to keep healthy snacks at my desk like I usually do so by the time a meal comes around I feel like I'm starving. I also hardly ever eat out except when traveling so it's hard not choose the really delicious stuff that I never get to eat any other time. I'm going to really try this time though to eat better and I think the hotel I'm staying in has a work-out room. I'm going to try and work out eveyrday. Thanks again, Christina

No change for me this week, either. I had a really tough week and was only able to work out 1 day. For example, yesterday started out with me breaking down on the way to work, getting towed back home. Then hubby starts working on the car and slices his finger open then we spend the next 4 hours in the ER for him to get 5 stiches. This is the way things have been going lately. Next week I'm traveling for work and I have a terrible time eating healthy and excerising while traveling. So expect things not to be good next week either. Oh well, just keep on trying I guess. Christina

Hey everyone, I know safety day is this weekend but I've recently started jumping at a small dz (1 cessna 182) near my house that opened recently. It's a 10 minute drive instead of 2 hours and since they just opened I've been kind of helping out getting things started. There's pretty much 1-3 tandem masters, 1 video guy, 1 packer/rigger and me. So the DZO isn't planning anything for safety day but that just doesn't "feel" right to me. I want to do something even if it's only for a few people as a reminder about all those safety issues. I mean I know I've been a little uncurrent this winter with only about 10-15 jumps since November so even for no one else but myself I feel it would be worthwhile. I've printed out a bunch of the safety articles off of here to take with me, especially ones that I thought were really relevant to this particular DZ. (For example - not a lot of outs so printed an article on spotting, etc, etc). What else can I do to bring safety day to this tiny new dz without scareing the tandems all day? Thanks, Christina

Thanks Wendy, I'll look into the football gloves. I've tried mechanics gloves and motorcycle gloves but wan't able to find anything small enough. Christina

I went back this weekend and was looking at some video of me right off student status when I first got that rig that was too big for me. The rig normally sat a full 6 inches off my back and the yoke would bump me in the back of the head! I sold that container to someone almost 6' tall and it fits them well. I've been trying to bring up this issue more often with shorter, especially women, since no one told me my rig was too big and I had to find out the hard way. I think it's over looked a lot, I mean we all jumped student gear that was most likely huge on us. I can see where that would cause a similar effect but if the gear only has 100 jumps on it, it seems strange (at least to me) that the friction adapters would loosen that much in freefall, assuming they were tightened before the jump. Might have a rigger check the wear on the webbing and the hardware just to be sure. I've never had an issue with leg straps loosening in the air, at least not enough to notice. Maybe talk to your rigger about it and have them look over your gear. Oh, and if you find good gloves let me know. I've been searching for a pair for a while but being down here in the south I've just been not using gloves at all. Good luck. Christina

I was in Martial Arts for 3+ years. I had a black belt in Taekwondo and was also studying JuJitsu. When first starting out is does feel weird hitting other people when sparring. But you're wearing gear and they're wearing gear and you're not trying to hurt them. As you get better then you have better control and can keep the contact as light or as heavy as you want. There was also a few women at the same level or slightly higher than me so often times we were paired up. Then I got to the point where I was pretty good and wanted more of challenge and would pair myself up more with anyone I thought was better than me and gender didn't matter. I didn't get into any grappling until much later and I was already friends with everyone in the class and was more comfortable with them. For me I started out in it to get in shape and boy did I ever! But then I let it get to the point where that's the only thing I was ever doing. I'd go straight to the dojo from work, teach a class or two and then take 2-3 more classes then go home and work out or rollerblade more and I was doing that everyday. It was the physical and mental training/challenge that I liked, pushing myself to limits I thought I would never reach. Then I started skydiving. I've thought about getting back into it as I've moved a few times and it's been a few years but who I am has changed so much that it doesn't appeal to me like it used to. Christina

Here's mine. I'm also currently designing my full sleeve, which will also be skydiving related. I plan to start at the shoulder with sky and airplanes then upper arm to the elbow will be different groups in freefall, probably in silihoutte as well but not sure yet, then the lower arm will be under canopy. And the background will be changing color and patterns going down the arm. Unfortunately I can't afford to get it done right now. Christina

My Mom, Dad, Step-Mom and Step Dad have all done tandems. They're only in their late 40's to mid 50's though. They all loved it! And they no longer ask me why I do it. I think they'd all go again except for the money. I have to really thank the tandem master who took my dad without weighing him. He was probably +250 lb at the time and the tandem master looks scared to death in all the pics. He also had a lineover it appears from the video but it cleared quickly. They all still talk about it to me and they watch their videos every now and then too. I didn't have enough jumps at the time to go with them but it was still pretty cool. Christina

Just wanted to say that I spent part of my Saturday helping pack 5000 USO care packages for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. While I don't think we should've gotten into this war in the first place and it really upsets me that over 1500 servicemen have died I still support our troops and want them home safe. My Dad was in the Army for 20 years and I know it isn't easy. So, everyone even if you don't think the war is right do something to show that you care about our people over there. Christina

Was the harness custom made for you or off the rack/second hand? Do you think the harness sizing contributed at all to being able pull the cutaway? I had an unstowed brake that I failed to recognize (mistake #1) and went to cutaway and couldn't due to the handles moving so far. (You can read the about it here http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=993216;search_string=reserve;#993216) The container had been bought off the rack and had a 17 inch main lift web (mistake #2, or the other way around). I'm only 5'0" and my new custom made gear is a Small -1 (I think that correspondes to a 13" MLW). I never realized how much of difference it could make. I wasn't wearing gloves on that jump and I can only imagine how that could've compounded the situation even worse. Glad you're ok.

Well, I was worried about you there for a second! I'll repeat myself since it was good news. Down 2 more this week! For a total of 10lb lost! Still 45 more to go to reach my goal but at least I'm seeing some progress. And I've noticed my pants starting to feel a little looser this week too! Yahoo! My Stats: 205/195/150/10 Christina

Hey MNealTX, where are you this morning????? I've been dieing to post my weight loss for the week this morning so hope you don't mind if we get started! I'm down 2 more this week!! That's 10 lb total for me! Still a long ways to go but getting there slowly. And I've started to notice that some of pants are fitting a little looser! yahoo! Christina

Instead of giving the government a way to track our every move and every purchase even easier why not this. Don't tax essentials like food and water. But tax more heavily things like 56" TV's that only "rich" people who can afford more taxes should be buying to begin with. Christina

I have ~35-40 jumps on my 164 loaded at ~1.3. I don't swoop (except maybe a little double fronts now and then) so can't say anything about that aspect of it. But I do want to start learning more about it eventually. Just as a reference my past experience includes ~300 jumps on a Sabre2 190. And ~25 jumps on a Spectre 170. The openings on the Firebolt are great. I've never had anything but smooth openings on mine. It is elliptical so I've actually learned how to fly the opening so to speak more than I had to on previous canopies. I think the openings (at least thus far) are better than what I got on the Sabre2 by far. I also find the glide to be longer on the Firebolt. Front riser pressure is a lot less but I'm also loading the FB higher than the Sabre2. The flare is very strong and it's pretty easy to get the canopy to "pop" back up when needed. It does have double brake lines but once you learn how to set them you don't even notice. I've also read all about the F-111 and it wearing out but as has been pointed out and after talking to Nancy and John I feel that since it's the bottom skin it won't wear enough to make a difference in the life span of the canopy. But that's just my opinion. You may talk to Nancy about it if it concerns you. Overall, it's been a nice transition to an elliptical for me and it's enough to keep me busy for many many jumps to come. It's fun using all inputs but not overly agressive either. I don't think it's appropriate for students as much as it is a middle-of-the-road canopy. I've also seen others getting some nice swoops on thiers but nothing I would think of as "competetion level" swooping. I put 10 jumps on a demo before deciding to purchase. If you give them a call I'm sure they'd be willing to hook you up with a demo and then you can see if it fits what you want or not. Christina

Because there has to be some form of SS. We would have people dying in the streets if we did not. There's no way I'm going to get SS by the time I get old enough. Why not make it optional for all. Then if you think you need SS because you can't be bothered to save for yourself and you want the government to do it, then you can donate. But if I want to take the risk and invest some other way, why not let me. If I end up blowing it all away and not saving then it'll be me dying on the streets but that was my risk to take. Christina

My wedding ring cost less than $100. And I don't have an engagement ring. But it means more to me than any huge diamond ever could. So not ALL women want a big diamond or expensivce ring. Christina

I was on a jump once with 2 other people. One guy was wearing a still camera. He neglected to tell me that he was going to follow my track and try to get my opening on camera. So, he tracked behind me and I never saw him. He also didn't account for the differences in opening rates of our canopies, mine opened slow, his fast. When I opened we were heading right at each other. We both turned and avoided the collision but we were really close. I was wearing video camera with a wide angle lens and he still looked really close on the video. I was freaked and started dry heaving under canopy. Needless to say he got talked to on the ground by a lot of people. We can joke around about it now. Christina

It's been done in other countries for a long time so it's not that uncommon really. I proposed to my husband and gave him his ring when I did. He wore it before the wedding. But it's his wedding ring so it wasn't really a seperate "engagement" ring. He then bought me a matching one. The are engraved on the inside with "Blue skies, Black death" Christina

What about the ability to fly a pattern? dealing with traffic? Christina

10, packing for myself. Haven't had the money since to try and do any more than that. Christina

Jumping more this year than last. And since I'm mostly jumping at a small Cessna DZ now I plan on working a lot more on spotting and canopy control. If possible I also want to get my coach rating current again since I let it slip last year.

So if I had to pick one....It would be SL. This is a hot topic, and now I will be yelled at by a bunch of folks that think AFF is better...Most of them learned AFF and have never seen a SL jump made. I'd have to agree with Ron even though I did AFF and have never seen a SL jump made. But my husband went through SL (and did a lot of subsequent H&P's) and he has better canopy skills then me. I used to be better than him in the air but he's catching up to me in jump #'s and skills there too. Of course, I could just be slow too. Christina

This is one of those things that sucks (no pun intended) but is the way the law is set up in most places. Here in Cali, the law is pretty clear - if you father a child, you'll support it. That's really the key inquiry - is the child yours. If not, you don't support it. You can take DNA tests to prove you aren't, but that wouldn't have helped this guy. This is a situation where two things have occurred: 1) the lawmakers probably didn't ask this question; and 2) lawmakers wouldn't care - you make it, you pay. This thoroughly sucks, but in most states the laws would support it. I DO, however, believe that the emotional distress claim is valid. Also, found out that they can wait until the child is the day before it's 18th b-day and then file for back support all the way up to when it was born, even if the father never knew about the child. But that's the way the laws are set up. The father (in most cases) has no rights. If the father doesn't pay, he can end up in jail but see what happens when the father tries to find out what the mother is spending the money on. The father always ends up being the "bad guy." And it's getting worse in most states. Christina

Ok, So I'm totally out of shape right now but there was one time I trained to do a 5K in 10 minute miles. I finished the 5K in 34 minutes. If you're training hard right up to the event then Don't train for a couple days before the event. That'll give you're body time to heal and you'll be surprised at your performance after 2 days rest. Also, I know it's only 1.5 miles but if you're out of shape you still have to remember to pace yourself. It's really easy to get caught up in the moment on the "big day" and start of too fast and not have enough umph left to finish it at that pace. Have friends there to cheer you on at the event, that really helped me knowing that I didn't want to disappoint them or myself. Eat a couple hours before the event but nothing too close to start time because you're likely to get sick. Plan a big celebration for afterwards! And work on your breathing, when I finally learned how to breath I finally learned how to run/jog. PS I hate running and will never do it again. I immediately quit after I accomplished my goal. Don't do that, I got fat again afterwards. Christina