Shadowplay

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky. Don't tell me how it ends.

LOL!!!! You betcha!!!

So my officemate just confided in me that he had sex with one of the black women across the hall from our office. He said that she had NEVER been with a white guy before and was wondering if white guys have sex like in "Chappelle's Show" where the dude just pokes his friend through the hole in his PJ's. I can't BELIEVE anyone would actually believe that, but he must have gotten that idea from somewhere. LOL!!!

Ok my officemate was saying the same thing to me. He said, "Dude, I'm filled with such aggression for people because i think everytime I'm in a room with people they instantly don't like me". So I said "well Tom, it might have something to do with the fact that you have a tatoo of a scorpion on your eyelid". Yes you read that right. So maybe you should look at yourself and see if you have something like that. You know stuff that scares people. Oh and the ironic thing was about me saying "This is how you people to like you at work" but that it doesn't really translate well to the dropzone. Not that I think anyone hates me (well one person might, lol) but I just don't have anyone really have any tight friends there.

Because people just love to be around me. Seriously, I have no real job skills. I mean I know computers but not really that well. I suck at math and couldn't pass a calculus class if you held a gun to my head. However somehow, someway I seem to be able to get people to like me and think "well that guy doens't know a ton but we can teach him and he's just so likeable". So here are my points for getting a high paying job while not knowing anything: - Know sports. Most guys like sports so it gives you a common subject for conversation. - Speak well. Make sure you make it LOOK like you know what you're talking about even if you don't. - Stay in shape. You don't have to go overboard but people don't want to look at fat people all day long. - Always look like you're pissed. If you are trying to get something done always have a real intense look on your face. People will really think that you give a shit and they'll want to work with you. - Cut across gender and racial lines. Find issues in common with people from different backgrounds. That shows diversity. - Don't go out to lunch all the time when asked. It's simple, people who get rejected always want you more. Thus when you do decide to go to lunch with your coworkers they'll consider it a treat. - Last but not least: Don't screw up. If you don't know what you're doing, try to make it look like you do UNTIL you can figure out what you're doing. Now I don't know if all these could be translated to life at a dropzone, but frankly I wasn't really thinking about skydiving when I was writing these down. I don't think most people really like me at my DZ anyway. Isn't THAT ironic?

They were pretty good. They sounded awesome but they didn't play as long as I'd have liked. If you're a fan and you haven't seen them yet you'll probably get your chance since they are coming out with a new CD soon. I think U2 is on tap for next week...

Death is one thing, injury is another. I know it's difficult to amass but I wish there were better statistics kept on skydiving related injuries. As a student, I've accepted the fact that injuries are probably going to happen if I choose to continue my progression. Just in the past week I've seen people at my DZ talking about torn tendons in knees, bruised tailbones, face lacerations, pulled abdominal muscles, etc. So even if the question doesn't involve death, this is still a risky business. I've heard too many stories of people hurting themselves to the point where they couldn't go to work and didn't have for example suplimental insurance (AFLAC!) to take care of themselves while they healed.

Man, when I saw this thread and started reading it I had a feeling it was this guy: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005BJXD/qid=1128361774/sr=8-6/ref=pd_bbs_6/102-5452915-9063302?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846 I bought this video two years ago when I did AFF and although I haven't progressed in skydiving as much as I'd hoped I still got such joy out of watching this guy fly through the air. It was so telling that he loved what he was doing. The funniest thing I thought in this movie was when they were saying that Adrian used to be a professional wrestler! That just always made me laugh! I did a google search on his name and aside from DZ's mentioning of the incident I can't find any more information on him or what happened. I never met this guy but I'll always remember him. My heart goes out to his friends and family.

My girlfriend is a third year right now. We practically killed each other during her surgery rotation but since then i've noticed that her hours have been a lot more friendly. She still studies a lot but has time to do stuff on the weekends which is mostly when you would be jumping anyways. I'm in school as well and it helps that a lot of DZs seem to be going to WIFI access so people can be productive when they are waiting to plummet towards the earth. The only thing I worry about is if I'm worrying about my school at the dz, am I going to miss stuff that I need to learn to make me a better jumper. I guess it depends on if you can divide your time correctly.

Two weeks ago I jumped for the first time since last May. I was in Tampa on business and the weather was so good I had to at least go to Z-Hills and see how I felt. Fortunately I had brought my log book with me. My goal was just to go there and see some jumpers land and see how I felt watching them. Well after seeing that and talking to manifest I made a retrain jump. I can not tell you how nervous I was, I'm sure I was more nervous on this jump than any other time. I figured it was a combination of jumping a new place, with a different rig and not jumping for 8-9 months. My coach told me that for the first 10 seconds I was shitting my pants but after that I did fine and he cleared me for solo jumping again. Now I just need to wait until late March for my home DZ to open up and hopefully I can get my 'A' done.

This is one of the saddest days in music memory. Lollapalooza has been cancelled this year due to poor ticket sales. It seems even the likes of Sonic Youth, Morrissey and the Pixies couldn't galvanize the public. IMHO, the only goes to show how ridiculous the entire music scene in this country has become. I'm 30 and I can remember when going to this event was THE concert of the year. I'm sure there will be some that disagree but it looks to me like that the corporate blood suckers have finally won.

The log book I got when I signed up for AFF is now full. Where should I go to purchase a new one?

I'm in the same boat. After four jumps on Saturday and a Saturday night full of drinking, I thought it would be a good idea to start the pack course. Probably the dumbest thing I've done in skydiving to this point. It is a meticulous, nerve racking experience in the beginning but thankfully my rigger is patient. I'm only about 1/4 of the way there but I just have to be patient.

I did six jumps this weekend. First off it was the first time I've jumped in 3 months and it's by far the most I've ever done in a weekend. Now Monday rolls around and I feel like I've got fluid in both my ears, like I have water in them but I can't get it out. It's making all the sounds I hear coming out of my mouth a little muffled. Has anyone else experienced this and if so should I be concerned? I'd kinda like to be able to hear stuff...

I jumped at MOAB last weekend. Still being a student with no jumps under 60degress I brought a pair of Neuman knockoffs to jump with since the weather was going to be at best 40. By the time I was under canopy I noticed my hands were numb and I had trouble getting my fingers in the toggles, nothing major but it I had a little difficulty. By the time I landed, my hands were in severe pain and it took about six hours for the pain to go away. For a while I was worried about frostbite. So I was at the store the other night and I saw a pair of Burton Spring Board gloves. It made me thing THESE might be the gloves to go with, the had some padding but weren't bulky at all and seemed to feel pretty comfortable. Has anyone else seen these or jumped with them?

Isn't there some guy on the East Coast, I think his name is Scott Miller and he does canopy control classes at various DZs? Does anyone know who I'm talking about? Can I get a link to his website?

Good advice.....I've never had a twist but I'm gonna start my student training again after a lapse because of winter. I'll try to remember this when I get out.

I'm in Salt Lake for a few weeks and I would like to find someplace to the South that is jumping this part of the year. I'm still a student....I've done AFF and I've got 12 jumps, I know not much, and I need a rig. I'm also over 60 days from my last jump. Any ideas or takers?

101 miles....for some reason, the combined population of Baltimore and DC is not enough for someone to put a DZ close by. Not that I'm complaining because I love my DZ!!!

Check out Longwave "Wake Me When It's Over". The words are enough to make you think about taking your CD player with you on your next jump. THAT'S A JOKE BTW!!!!

I think it's kind of like when I used to hear all these old guys in the Navy talk about the good old days. I listened to their stories with awe, but at the same time I was glad that we had it easier and better. I think for the most part the same thing could be said about jumping. It's great to hear those stories because you repsect the people that came before you but at the same time, couldn't it be said that we have it better??

Hey is there a email list that we can sign up for to see where this guys classes are? I'm pretty sure he was at my DZ ealier this year but I was still on AFF at the time.... :(

I take mine off after we reach 1500 ft and put it back on when we hit 11K. If I kept it on during the whole flight, I'd sweat alot more. I also need to take it off to put on my goggles. If I kept the goggles on and my helmet the whole trip up, I'd be dripping with sweat and my goggles would be all fogged.

Is anyone having problems logging into para-gear.com? It didn't go out of business did it? I tried at work today and at home to access it and no dice....

There was this coach out at my DZ this summer who was Jewish....Samantha....god she had great tits