Nightingale

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2562695887&category=1572 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2562966968&category=1573 I think this is the one you're looking for... its on Ebay.

http://www.miabay.com/product.asp?Category=1 http://www.miabay.com/product.asp?Category=1 hope that helps!

Flowers aren't allowed in ICU... but you can usually send a stuffed animal or something else non-aromatic. course, there's always my old standby when male friends (or certain female friends...more for the guys, tho) are in the hospital... http://www.1800flowers.com/product.asp?section_id=5&search_type=feature5&pcode=7843&cc=1001&sc=1001&body_sc=1001 Vermont Teddy Bear Co used to do a skydive bear, I think... its not on their website, tho http://www.vermontteddybear.com/

very true!

When I was getting ready for my tandem, John told me that I could request specific JMs and that the dropzone would do their best to let me jump with the JMs I request... I didn't know this... it never occurred to me to ask! LOL. so... I'm going back either friday or this weekend to do AFF 2. When I make the appointment with the school, I'm going to specifically request Shelly and John as my JMs. I think familiar faces will help a lot.

Well... I wussed. I went in, I did my half hour of training with an instructor I'd met briefly before. I was ok at this point. A little shaky, but ok. I was told that he was going to be my main jumpmaster, on the right side. Then, its a different plane. This plane, we have to go out the back, instead of the side. Ok... new exit. Then, when we're about to board the plane, I get told that no, this other guy is going to be on the right side. The first guy's gonna be second JM, on the left. I don't know this guy. I didn't even catch his name... Thing is... first AFF, I didn't pull my own ripcord. I couldn't find it. Shelly pulled it. Now, if I can't find it, I have to trust some random JM whose name I don't even know... I know in my head that they're all qualified, and that they all know what they're doing and they're all wonderful, but I just couldn't get my head around trusting someone with my life when I don't even know their name... I was getting more and more freaked... And then the door opened... and then, people started jumping out... My head was spinning and my hands were shaking, and at that point, with everything that was going on in my head, I had to make the call that at that point in time, I was not in the right headspace to make a safe skydive. So, I rode the plane back down. It was probably the hardest decision I've ever had to make. I wanted to be out there. I wanted to feel the wind on my face and reach out and grab my own little handful of sky. Having to make the decision that I wasn't ready is something I will probably never forgive myself for, because I gave in to my own fear, which is something I've never done in my life, and I hope I'll never do it again. Even now, I'm so upset at myself that I have tears running down my face. So, after we landed, I got off the plane and hugged my friends who'd just done tandems. Then, I excused myself and ducked into the ladies room to have a bit of a cry. I was angry at myself for not being able to control my own fear and for giving in to it and for taking the easy way out, even though I know it was probably the right decision for me at the time. I pulled myself together and went into the Bomb Shelter to have lunch with my friends. Well, they had lunch... I pretty much just moved food around on my plate. We talked a little bit about what had happened up there. My friend went over to the bar and bought me a beer. When I looked at that drink, I realized if I drank it, I couldn't try to skydive again today. At that point I realized that if I didn't jump out of a plane today, I would probably never do it again. If I let fear get the better of me and left the dropzone without making a jump, it would be a hundred times harder to go back. So, I handed my friend the beer and drank his gatorade instead, and marched my butt back into the school. I realized at that point that if I went up in the plane with my own parachute for level 2 again, I'd probably choke again. $400 on plane rides is a bit much for my budget, especially since the destination is the same place as the departure! (now, if I was flying to Ireland or something, $400 on plane fare would be fine... LOL). All of a sudden, I needed to learn how to trust my instructors and my gear all over again. So, I asked for a tandem and requested a specific instructor. the DZ knocked $20 off the cost of the tandem for me, which was nice, but it was still an expensive day! They tell me that no problem, John could be my tandem instructor. He did my first tandem, and I was comfortable with him. Shelly doesn't do tandems. They tell me its going to be about an hour and a half. I'm ok with that. So, I drift into the SquareOne store, and run into Keith, who asks me how it went. I admit my wussage. He asks me what it would take for me to do AFF 2 instead of a tandem. I said that I didn't want to do that, because if I choked again, I couldn't afford the extra money to do a tandem after paying for AFF 2 twice, and I knew I HAD to jump today. He said he understood my position on that one. So, I ducked back into the school to figure out how much longer the wait was going to be. I ran into Shelly, who asked me what happened up there. She'd already heard, but I told her anyway. She took me out back and introduced me to Sarah, who just finished AFF not too long ago. Sarah and I had a nice chat about the student experience, which helped me a lot. So, then its time to jump. I get in my jumpsuit, and put on the tandem harness. It felt so weird getting on that plane without my own parachute, but I knew it was what I needed at the time, because at that point there was no way John was going to let me wuss. And he didn't. We basically did a level 2 skydive, but tandem. He had me run through forward motion, practice rip cord touches, altitude awareness and everything I was supposed to do. I pulled the rip cord. He had me check for shape/spin/float and let me steer the canopy (helping out a bit because tandem canopies take more strength to steer). We landed it together. Afterwards, he took me into the back and showed me all the parts of the parachute, how they were packed, and why a parachute WANTS to open when you pull the ripcord. He explained the science behind it, and what caused the major malfunctions. Coming away with a little gear knowledge is making me a little more confident for next time... now, it doesn't feel like I have this magic backpack that will wonderously pop open when I pull the little orange handle and save my life... now, it feels like there's some good, solid scientific principles strapped to my back, and science is something I can put a whole lot of confidence in. I'm glad that I had the guts to get back up there, even if it was just a tandem, but I'm still very upset at myself for not doing what I came to do (and costing myself $200 in the process). sigh. -N-

well, on my first jump, I was scared on the ground, terrified in the plane, and as soon as my feet left the floor of the plane and I was standing on sky, I wasn't afraid of anything at all....

Call T-Mobile and tell them where you're having coverage trouble. I was having issues up by the 60/71 interchange in California... called them, and they did something, because now it works!

ok... last weekend, I did my AFF 1. I'm scheduled for AFF 2 tomorrow... and for some reason, I'm completely terrified... I was more than a little nervous before AFF 1, but when I was jumping and when I was under canopy and landing, it was wonderful! I couldn't wait to get back up there, and made my AFF 2 appointment immediately. for some reason, this week, thinking about it, I've been getting more and more worried... the fears are pretty irrational, I'm most afraid of a double mal, although I know the odds are fairly astronomical. I love skydiving. There's nothing that compares to it. I'm not real fond of freefall, but I think that's mainly because I know that I don't know what I'm doing yet, but I LOVE canopy stuff. I know if I wuss out and don't go tomorrow, I'll never forgive myself. How do I get rid of this irrational fear that's taking over my brain?? Has anyone else had a similar experience, especially as a newbie? I'm not sure what I should do. -N-

I've had some really good luck with T-Mobile... $39.99 a mo, 1000 anytime mins. www.tmobile.com

its because parents don't always teach things properly... for example... when a child is learning basic division, the larger number goes inside the sign, while the smaller number stays outside... lots of times, parents will tell children "the bigger number always goes inside" and the child internalizes this... but when they get into higher math, the bigger number doesn't always go on the inside, and the poor kid is completely messed up, because a rule they have internalized for many years is not easy to unlearn.

you're a crazy dreamer.... j/k that "magic" you feel at first is infatuation... takes six months to a year to wear off, on average... then, all those little "cute" things the other person does start to drive you nuts. real relationships, true love, and all that, take work. it's not something you just do... getting together is easy. staying together takes conversation, communication, compromise and the confidence that you are capable of working through the rough spots. people fall into a routine and forget to appreciate the other person. Time is a very precious commodity. Yes, I believe in love and romance and all that... but I also look at the realities rather than the fairy tale. Things aren't always going to be perfect, but if BOTH of you work at it enough, things can be perfect for you.

red handle is cutaway silver handle is reserve

JEEZ OH PEEZ? ASSHOLES? WTF? I did drugs for years, through teenage and early twenties. HAD A DAMN GOOD TIME NEVER EVER SLIPPED ANYONE ANYTHING!!! SHIT DAMN ASSHOLES? HOW ABOUT COMPLETE FREAKS! WOW Glad your ok, I'd kick someones ass clear around the world for dropping a surprise in on me. Damn. jack He wasn't an asshole because he did drugs. I have some good friends who use, but they're responsible about it. I don't have a problem with that... but if they offer it to me, they respect me when I say no, and don't ask again. My choices are different than theirs, and we're both okay with that. With the ex-bf, what we'd fought about wasn't so much the drugs themselves, but him putting pressure on me to use them also, and him standing me up because he was too wasted to remember to call and cancel plans, or DRIVING under the influence of LSD, or smoking pot around my eight year old cousin.

I've never cheated and would never cheat. it doesn't make any sense to me... if you want to be with someone other than the person you're with, break up and move on. I had a guy cheat on me once... he cheated during the first few weeks after we'd decided to make things exclusive, and he fessed up close to a year later... he called me at two AM (when we'd spent the entire day together... he could've just come clean then, if he really felt the need to do so, rather than wake me up in the middle of the night) and told me, and then took off on a family holiday to France for three weeks... ya see... the thing is, I'm a redhead. I have the temper to match. Had he told me in person, I probably would've slapped him one or hollered a bit and been over it, and we could've moved on. However, the bastard gave me three weeks to stew about it, which pissed me off even more... well, that, and the fact that he didn't have the courtesy to fess up in person. So, when he got home, we bumped into each other at the renaissance faire and had a rather spectacular breakup scene right in the middle of Maybower Commons, between the foodcourt and the stage... I think more people were turning around to watch our little show than were watching the show on the stage! LOL. Later on that evening, the bastard, to get his revenge, slipped LSD into my drink, which, of course, ruined any hope of reconciliation, not that there was much hope there to begin with. A mutual friend came rushing over about half an hour later and told me what the guy'd done, but by then there wasn't a lot I could do about it... so the rest of the evening made for an interesting trip, to say the least. I don't do drugs. He did. It was something we were always fighting about. sigh. why do I always end up dating assholes? live and learn, I guess. -N-

Cypress: A city in California... or a type of tree... take your pick

well, as for my credentials, I am one class away from my master's degree in Education. This is my specialty, and something I've devoted the last five years of my life to studying intensively. I have hardcopies of the studies... also, I've got all the studies online, but they're in a password protected database through my school. If I linked them, you couldn't click through. My professor says they're online in other places, so I'm going to look for them. if I can't find them or get the URLs from her, I'll scan in the documents I have and make them .pdf files, but give me a few days, k? scanning pages of articles on a flatbed scanner is a PITA. here's a few links I've found that reference some of them... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/378067.stm New research shows doing regular homework will do little to raise numeracy standards among primary school pupils. http://education.umn.edu/CAREI/Reports/Rpractice/Summer94/homework.htm According to these studies, the typical U.S. high school student, 14 to 16 years of age, in a class doing homework would outperform 69 percent of the students in a no-homework class, as measured by standardized tests or grades. In junior high school, students 11 to 13 years of age, the average homework effect was half this size. In elementary school, homework had no effect on achievement.

But you do it so well. The world according to Steel... a small compendium ....but if it walks like a duck... and quacks like a duck.... Racist comments Homophobia... OMG... This is frightening!

Homework in Kindergarten is very common. However, it has been proven in study after study that HOMEWORK DOES ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD BEFORE THE JUNIOR HIGH LEVEL. Children who have homework don't do any better than children who are not assigned homework. Teachers right now, because they think they have to cover every single little freakin standard (fyi: they don't. teachers who think this are misinterpreting their standards books) try to cram what they can't do in class into homework, thinking that their students will perform better on the standardized tests... wrong again. children perform better if the very important standards are covered in depth. I'd be happy to provide the information about the homework studies to anyone who thinks their kids have too much work. sometimes, if you have the information (and are very loud and annoying...) you can get the principal to do something about the school's homework issues (primarily just to shut you up because you're being loud and annoying... j/k)

Isn't that the wizard's prison in the Harry Potter books? No. That's Azkaban. some Ashkenazi Jews carry a gene for a disease called Tay-Sachs, which is a autosomal recessive disorder (like sickle cell, you have to inherit the gene from both parents to have the disease, otherwise, you're a carrier). Children with Tay-Sachs lack an enzyme, and without this enzyme, a fatty substance (lipid) builds up in cells, especially brain cells, causing brain and nerve damage, and eventual death. People have argued that Tay-Sachs is present outside the Ashkenazi Jewish population, but it has recently come to light that, for the most part, the disease among non-Ashkenazi Jews was actually Sandhoff disease, which is virtually unknown in the Ashkenazi Jewish population. The clinical progression of the disease is the same, but there are different genes and enzymes involved. We have only recently discovered that these are two different diseases that just happen to look the same without the appropriate testing. In both cases, the child has initial normal development... however, if the child is a descendent of Ashkenazi Jews, the doctor will probably want to test for Tay-Sachs. If the child is not a descendent of Ashkenazi Jews, the child should be tested for Sandhoff instead.

without the racial information, the state may not be able to identify that a problem even EXISTS, much less do anything about it. Take, for example, the apartment complex I worked at. If... 1. the state doesn't know how many Mexican-Americans live in the area (something like 70% of the population) 2. the state doesn't know how many Mexican-Americans live in the apartment complex (2%, or 6 apartments out of 300 or so) The state would never be able to tell that there is a discrimination issue going on... which, THERE IS! The manager directly discouraged his staff from leasing to Mexican-Americans. Its illegal. A crime is being committed... but without racial data, THERE IS NO PROOF. Without the racial data, the crime cannot be prosecuted, and therefore, goes unpunished, and is permitted to continue... get it?

I was by no means suggesting that we should not worry about an outbreak of malaria in an African American community. Of course, not all people of African descent are carriers of sickle cell... however, a great many of them are. When a baby is born, a hospital will do certain tests to make sure that the child is healthy and free of certain diseases. One out of twelve african americans is a sickle cell carrier. One out of every 375 african american newborns have sickle cell disease. ninety percent of all sickle cell disease in the US occurs in people of African descent. (source: American Red Cross) After hearing this... do you think that a doctor might want to consider advising an African American couple considering having a baby to possibly get tested for this? Perhaps the hospital needs to check the baby for this problem? Sickle cell doesn't usually become obvious until the child is between 6-12 months old. If detected at a younger age, treatment, education for parents and family, and appropriate precautions for the child can begin. if we hadn't collected the racial data about who carries this disease, we would not be able to provide appropriate medical advice to potential carriers. Consider the Canadian tuberculosis epidemic of the 1950s. All tb patients received the standard treatment: many months of triple-drug therapy, including a medication called isoniazid. It turned out that a sizeable fraction of Canadian Eskimos had a variant form of a liver enzyme that metabolized isoniazid so quickly that the drug was effectively used up before it could attack the tuberculosis bacteria. Many of the Eskimos metabolized isoniazid much faster than the general population and thus fared poorly under what was an inadvertent two-drug regimen. Many succumbed to tb and the partly treated, still-living tuberculosis bacteria themselves mutated into drug-resistant forms that went on to infect others in the general Canadian population. The significance of these results is that to ignore race under such circumstances is practically akin to withholding treatment. please see this article about why doctors find racial information helpful for diagnosis and treatment. It appeared in the New York Times http://www.sallysatelmd.com/html/a-nytimes3.html

Nope. Wasn't Jim Wallace. it was Perris Valley Skydiving School. Same DZ, different school.

see a regular doctor first to make sure your pain isn't from other causes... both heart disease and cancer (especially Hodgkins disease) can cause back pain, so can kidney trouble. if the problem has to do with the muscles or skeleton, your doctor can refer you to a reputable chiropractor.

What we were taught: look red. grab red. look silver. pull red. grab silver. pull silver. and when it is appropriate to do so. she didn't go into the mechanics of how it worked, but she made damn sure we knew how to make it work if we needed it to.