Nataly

Meh - I'm not big on birthdays - I've forgotten it myself once!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I am of the opinion that if you can afford to skydive, you can afford to show your gratitude every once in a while (yes, in the form of beer). As someone rightly pointed out, beer is a relatively cheap way to share, to bond, and to show people you appreciate everything (and everyone) that has gone into making your day so awesome. I think it's a little bit of paying it forward. Because you will eventually run out of firsts and realise it's you drinking the free beer and enjoying the dumb look of sheer joy on the newbie's face... You will be the one cringing at the utter wrecklessness/idiocy of this stupid kid and forgetting that you, once, probably made a far worse ass of yourself when you were new to the sport. You will dish out (moderately) good advice - advice the newbie won't follow... But hey, you don't care - you have a nice cool (and free!) beer in your hand - life is good!!

Ahhhhh Meccano... Best toy EVER! I had to look that up. Turns out it's what we Yanks call an Erector Set. I think every family in America had a set when I was growing up. Lincoln logs, too! Erector set!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Maybe.... it was the best birthday present you ever got???? You just don't know it yet. In a way it was a gift... At least it's decisive and final. Haven't heard from him since, nor have I tried to contact him. Am not ruling out the possibility that he left me for someone else - he had been pretty sneaky and I do strongly suspect I caught him lying a few times... I can't be sure and anyway it's irrelevant to me. Because it does not change the fact that we *were* wrong for each other. Anyway it's been nearly a month now and sure I've had some ups and downs (because I'm not a heartless bitch!)... But overall I'm ok

Ahhhhh Meccano... Best toy EVER! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Leaving the sport isn't really a decision you have to make because you can come back to it pretty much whenever you want... Sure, the sport evolves and you lose currency, but the sky will always be there, my friend

Pffff... I'm still trying to get my refund from stuff I returned in 2011 (yes, within the legal delays)... Anyway this wasn't bought in France (so I probably *could* get a refund even though I'm not "entitled" to it!!!) I bought some leather goods from Saddleback Leather (US). It's sitting at the post office and should be delivered to me on Friday. As far as useless shit is concerned, at least this stuff should look pretty and outlive me (100 yr warrantee)!! I also bought a piano from Thomann (Germany). Because who doesn't need a piano?? I'm like Lisa - HATE shopping. I think I just feel sad and I wanted to "treat myself" to cheer myself up. Didn't work. Should have just had another beer. Thanks for the invite John - even just the thought made me smile a little

That is the one thing that *would* have been useful... But my left hand still hurts and my right one hasn't been operated on yet... Much as it pains me to admit it, it's probably best that I don't have a bike. At least not at this very moment. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

So I just bought a bunch of shit. Shit I don't even need. And now I feel like sending it all back and saying "I'm sorry - there is nothing wrong with your merchandise but there is something wrong with me and I've just realised this stuff isn't going to fix it... Can we just forget the whole thing and pretend I never ordered it?? I already have too much stuff..." Don't we all have too much stuff really?? God I'm depressed. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Finding something annoying/unlikeable about someone doesn't make that person ugly... I get a knee-jerk reaction to Scarlett Johansson... I want to find her ugly/stupid/bimbo-y, but even I have to recognise that since I don't know her AT ALL, this says more about my prejudices/insecurities/envy than about what she is really like as a person (physically or personality-wise). I share your knee-jerk "dislike" of Taylor Swift (for some stupid reason), but I wouldn't go so far as to call her ugly. She isn't. Maybe that's what makes her even more "annoying"?! I agree with whoever said it that your comment (and mine) shows more about yourself (or myself) than about whomever you are talking about. Jealousy/envy/whatever... Denying it by claiming it is just your opinion doesn't show a great deal of self-awareness... In my opinion "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Maybe you got turned away because instead of listening to your instructor (who probably told you to relax, arch, et cetera) you insisted on blaming your shoulder injury?? Just a thought... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Bump. 10 years... RIP Pete. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Sorry I missed this - happy belated birthday

Meh - shit happens... Me

Crap N@, I'm sorry. You deserve much better. If I can put a spin on it, I'm thankful to every woman that dumped me, 'cause I'd never be with Vskydiver if they hadn't. I hope your life turns out the same It's not like it was a "bad" relationship - we had a lot of good times over the past (almost) three years. And I don't really feel like I "deserve better" but I do think that there are people out there who are more compatible/suitable for me (and vice-versa for him). This may sound strange but to me it was clear from the start it was never going to work... I think we simply both saw qualities we liked in one another and we therefore stayed together *despite* not being right for each other... You know, like a really great/comfortable pair of jeans you can't bare to throw away even though they don't really fit and/or look good on you!! But yeah... Sooner or later it's better to face reality, isn't it? The past year has been pretty tough on us and truth be told neither one of us has been very good at supporting the other... It's of course sad that it's over, but I must admit it's also kind of a relief. We tried - it didn't work... That's life. Anyway, thanks for the kind words everyone - I'm a little upset but I'll be just fine

Neat idea!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

You know, I'm not sure there is a great way to break-up with someone... I don't think he knew it was going to go to voicemail when he called - I just happened not to be near my phone when it rang. I also don't think he knows it's my birthday today... And even if he does, there is no "perfect timing" for this kind of thing. Hell, only last month he vacated the appartment he was renting (which is likely already rented out to someone else now) and moved everything here, so after all that hard work it's certainly not terribly great timing for him to finally come to the conclusion that we're better off going our separate ways... What can you do... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Back about ten years ago I went from a very small DZ to ZHills and it was a wonderful experience. It was also a great experience to visit other DZ's in Florida (including Deland) because they are not retardedly far from one another and each one has it's unique vibe, et cetera. Not only this but each dropzone tends to be particularly good at certain disciplines and this depends a lot on who is there and what the landscape is like, et cetera. Some will have great swoopers and others will have particularly skilled belly fliers and others are more free-fly-friendly and some have fantastic canopy people et cetera et cetera. and since no two dropzones are exactly the same, the vibe and culture also varies quite a lot from place to place - some will suit you better than others (some dz's have more "fun" jumpers and some have more team-oriented/"serious" fliers)... Some are really in the middle of nowhere so there is no night-life outside the dz (but a rather active bonfire to compensate!!)... Looks like you may not have time to go anywhere other than Deland (which was and aparently still is an amazing DZ)... So my advice would be: start saving up for a longer trip to FL!!!!! Oh, and ask the local people where is best to stay before you book your accommodations... Some hotels can be real dumps and not so handy for getting to the dz. Some people rent out their trailors, et cetera so worth asking around (in my opinion). "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Yep... Happy birthday to me. Wasn't a nasty message or anything... Just said he wasn't coming home, he took all his things, he left the keys in the mailbox, he's sorry it didn't work out. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Do you water your Xmas Tree? (Please select "other" if you don't have one, have a plastic one, et cetera.) OK, so today we were talking about Xmas trees, and I said I wouldn't get a real one - too much hassle, getting one, hauling it up to the house, then caring for it, watering it, disposing of it, et cetera. And everyone looked at me like I was INSANE... *WATERING* A XMAS TREE??? A CUT TREE??? WTF??? I swear I didn't make this up - am I the only one who grew up in a household that watered the Xmas Tree?? It's just like a cut flower - it needs water otherwise it dries up and loses its wonderful fragrance and all the needles fall off and nevermind how much MORE of a fire hasard the thing becomes!! Seriously... I can't be the only one... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Having seen both sides of unreasonable parents fighting with their exes... Yes, the courts heavily side with the mother, but on the flip side, many, many, MANY women find themselves without child support and with dead-beat exes who cause nothing but trouble. The number one profile of person living below the poverty line in north america: single moms. Sad but true. Again, having witnessed BOTH sides, I feel for what you are going through. A friend of mine fought for years to have his RIGHT to see his son recognised... Very, very sad indeed and especially sad for his son who was constantly being used as a weapon against him. Kids are not stupid and they eventually figure out when they have been lied to but there is no denying that depriving a child of his/her father is not a good thing (unless the guy is actually a scumbag - usually this is not really the case). Keep fighting and don't give up. Even the mere fact that you are doing everything you can for your son counts. Bigtime. He will realise this - no matter what she says you will always be able to demonstrate the truth. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I honestly don't want to even think about the other wrist at this point - just not being able to use the left hand is proving to be more annoying than I had expected... As for the cat, he is adjusting well - better than we are!! We miss the old place but once our stuff is unpacked and whatnot this place will be pretty great

(Sorry - I think I accidentally marked your message as spam!) Surgery went well... Still a bit sore and numb at this point, but overall pretty much as expected. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

- traded my R6 for a Street Triple - Street Triple got stolen 2 days later - sold my appartment - bought a house - got carpal tunnel release surgery - moved (from the appartment to the house) - lost a work colleague to cancer A lot of ups and downs in just one month... I feel lucky and grateful and also very tired and sad. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

'Fraid not But it's kind of you to ask. Just how big an o'l boy is this seller? I gots me a 55 gallon drum o' whoop ass. Just how big a boy is he? I'm sure *I* could take him but there are three reasons why I won't: 1. I'm not even certain it's him 2. Even if it is, he could be part of a big network 3. He knows where *I* live "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss