nimbus

Michele, I wish I could give you a big hug, but as I'm so far away I'll send you one in spirit.... nnnffffmmmmm!! You would have to be one of the nicest, most uplifting and supportive people I've ever met, and I'll be sending you lots of good vibes across the Pacific. Tell those cats of yours to look after you and give you hugs and help you navigate the house when it's dark. And don't forget to laugh. Wasn't there something about sandwiches?

The Harry Potter movie is fantastic - especially the Quidditch scene... I wanna flying broomstick! Can't wait to see Lord of the Rings.... cute Hobbit!

Yeah, with only 3 skydives under my belt (incl. a tandem), I'm going to take flying lessons as soon as I can afford them! I'd go even further and be an astronaut if I could! Larissa

it's soooo hard to remember all favourite movies... the ones I think of first are: 2001: A Space Odyssey Bladerunner Fifth Element Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (esp. the psychedelic boat scene! and the burping lemonade scene) The Right Stuff (mmm Sam Shepard as Chuck Yeager!) The Professional Trip to the Moon (1902 movie) Jean Cocteau and Jean Luc Goddard movies Flight of the Doves Kes (v.sad) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon The Exorcist Monty Python movies Ingmar Bergman movies (in winter!) Clay Pigeons well I think that's enough for now... Larissa

Well done E150.... it's good to know the emergency procedures stay in your head, probably because you go over them before your jumps.... a good reminder to everyone to do the same. And fantastic of you to go right back up there

I used to go to raves (dance parties) regularly, and loved them, esp. when they were illegal & flourescent or outside in forests and national parks.... loved them for the music, and, um.... the "stuff".... the good thing about the rave scene was that it wasn't about picking up, it was about the music (mmm, and the "stuff")... immersed in music all night dancing in my own world... but now I usually hang out at pubs & bars or home with friends, beer in the sun, martinis after dark.

Hope everything goes okay with them, Viking. Larissa

Hi Lawrence, welcome and congratulations! I'm stuck on Lvl 2 (no money & scaredy-cat blah blah) but I keep having skydiving dreams at least once a week... it's a fantastic feeling, isn't it? Good luck with the rest of your AFF and beyond... I'm hoping to do Lvl 3 in 2 weeks!! Larissa

Des I cannot begin to tell you what I find disgusting about your reply... so I won't Nathan ... don't despair, I think everyone has copped shit from someone at sometime in the romance department... just keep being yourself and you will meet someone who appreciates you, who you can like back too... good luck! Larissa

No, the most embarrassing thing about being Australian right now is John Howard and his cronies being re-elected!! Rugby sucks!

Hey westcoastchica, do you get the Daily Darwins? If not, here's where you subscribe... [email protected] Larissa

I think Australia last qualified in 1974... but we still have one game to go, playing Uruguay @ their home....

well, we call it soccer 'cos our football is something else.... woo hoo! Australia just scored a goal off a penalty shot against Uruguay in the World Cup Qualifier! of course, it usually doesn't take 80 minutes for a first scoring shot in Aussie rules football... Larissa

The universe is a wonderful thing, is it not? I only saw two Leonids, due to cloud cover, but they will stay in my mind forever. I sat out in my courtyard, wrapped up, the wire door closed on the cats who wailed at me to let them out into the night too, and turned my face to the sky. I sit out there sometimes and just watch the stars & planets. Sometimes I'll see a shooting star or a wandering satellite or piece of space junk, but last night I saw two Leonids, just two, but they were beautiful. Big and bright and burning. I had a dream about the Leonid shower before I woke up at 3.30am, and the wine-dark sky was dotted with tiny silver streaks, but the two I saw above my house were even more beautiful. Damn those clouds. Still, it was great to see the meteors even through the light-haze of a capital city... all of our progress couldn't dim them. "My god, it's full of stars..." p.s. Michele, I should have some cute pictures of your kitty-cats in a day or two!

I got up (after having a dream about seeing the Leonids!) and saw two - yes, only two! (I live 10 minutes from Melbourne so too much light).... then the clouds rolled in and stayed until dawn :-(.... but the two I saw were magnificent - huge and bright and with wide, long tails. Larissa

Hey there Alvk, Nagambie is one and a half hours drive north of Melbourne and is where I'm learning. It's one of the biggest dzs here (although small compared to US ones!)... we have a Cessna caravan that goes to 14 000 ft for AFF. The AFF course is 9 levels, with the 9th level a) and b) hop'n'pops. Level 1 is one whole day's training, then jump the next day: here are the jump prices: The AFF Body flight program. Stage 1 $468 »6 or more people $450 »10 or more people $435 Stage 2,3 $220 Stage 4,5,6,7,8 $175 Stage 9 (Two Jumps) $72 each Video (Optional) $75 Video and Stills (Optional) $105 I think you also get a discount if you pay for all the levels up front. These prices include all gear. It's also a really friendly place to go. They will sometimes do week long courses or have week day jumping depending on pilot availabilityb. The website is at: http://www.skydivenagambie.com.au/ ..... they have bunks for accommodation, which is free if you're doing AFF, and the countryside around Nagambie is really nice. Also, if you come over the summer months it will (usually!) be very warm, esp. towards the end of summer here. Good luck with your searching, let me know if you decide on Nagambie! Larissa p.s. just read that you're going to Brisbane... I've heard a lot about Ramblers... they share Caravans with Nagambie (and the pilot Pete from Toogoolawah was at Nagambie over our winter...) so they sound good.

There's been a drop of Dutch Sandwiches off the Mexican coast... all American Express Customer Service officers are on full stand-by. Of course the Bush cabal has a stash of embargoed Dominican sugar.... (please do not attempt to understand this message unless you are Michele!) I'm getting the photos taken at Elsinore developed today... when I get back to work I can scan them and show them here! Crumbled blue cheese to you, Larissa

I just got home on Monday after 2 weeks in New York visiting friends.... 2 weeks in New York is just not enough time! I also spend a few days in southern California on either end of my trip and wanted to tell everyone how fantastic Michele is! (She'll hate me for doing this... :-p ) She picked me up and drove me to the airport, made me scrumptious dinners, wouldn't let me pay for anything, gave me a comfy couch to sleep on and let me play with the cats. We also discovered we are similarly insane! I also wanted to say hello to everyone from here I met out at Elsinore at the Chicks Rock Boogie. I had a great day and you were all so friendly. It was my second boogie in 2 weeks (my first was at my home dz Nagambie in Aus.) and I was very impressed, much bigger than at home of course, and especially loved the 2-plane fly over and the night swoops. I was a bit apprehensive about travelling overseas at this time, esp. to New York but it turned out to be fantastic, and I feel like I contributed in a small way by going to NY as a visitor. Now of course I've spent all my money - Aussie dollar only half of US!! :-( - and will have to wait a month or two before I can jump again, but it was worth it. So thanks again to Michele and hello to all the dz.comers I met out there. Larissa

Hi Zennie, I just got home to Australia from 2 weeks in New York. Before I boarded my plane in Melbourne I almost worked myself into a state of panic and almost didn't get on the plane. But the security at Tullamarine (Melbourne's airport) was extremely noticable and, I thought, vigilant. Sniffer dogs at the check in counter, calling out of passengers for LA (the Qantas route I was on was New York via LA) and checking their baggage while in the check in queue, 2 lots of x-ray machines and metal detectors and then a full (I mean completely full) check of carry on luggage before boarding the plane. This calmed my nerves. In the US, going from LA to NYC I was concerned at the lack of security at LA. Just an x-ray/metal detecting check and a lady who asked me to take a sip from my water bottle. On the way back though the security seemed more vigilant. From JFK airport to LA, 2 xray machines & a good look at the passport picture, and from LA back to Melbourne also a thorough look at the passport picture, 2 xray machine & metal detector checks and also at the very point of going down the passage into the plane people (mainly men I noticed) were pulled aside and given a metal detector and sort of body search. The people at the x-ray machines seemed to be really looking at what was inside the bags. I also felt safe as Qantas has a really good safety record, and I don't mind paying a bit more to feel better. I thought it a bit strange though, that the security at Melbourne airport was the highest of all the airports I went through! My vegetarian meal was pretty scary! (mmm... vegetable patties....) It's a hard decision to make though, have a good trip whatever you decide. Larissa

Well I'm coming out, as long as my flight from Australia doesn't get cancelled between now and this Friday! Maybe I'll get to meet some of you out there if I make it! Larissa

Hey Skystorm, good luck with your jump, I'm sure you'll be fine.. I'm hoping to do my Lvl 3 this weekend. I did Lvl 2 about 2 months ago, so am a bit nervous myself! Everyone says it's not bad to be nervous, so I'll just have to go with that! blue skies and safe jumps to you, Larissa

Hi Viking, hope everything's going well with school etc... have you taken any interesting photos lately? Good luck staying awake... it's bedtime for bonzo here in the southern hemisphere.... hope your mum & dad have a good weekend.. Larissa

Just found this report on the ABC website: (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/nat/newsnat-23sep2001-84.htm)... Twisted parachutes blamed for skydiving deaths Police have released the names of the two experienced skydivers who died in separate incidents near Picton, south of Sydney yesterday. Brendan Cook, 35, from Griffith in the ACT initially survived his fall, but died later in hospital, while 24-year old Jethro Thornton from Ermington, near Parramatta, died on impact. Lee Shepard, from the Australian Parachute Federation, says Mr Cook's primary and secondary parachutes twisted. Mr Shepard says twists are a routine opening problem and parachuters can usually correct the situation. "They're taught drills on their initial training on how to get out of the twists but the more and more experienced you get the more likely you are to jump smaller and more high performance canopy," he said. "So as the parachute is twisting you are loosing height at a greater rate of knots so you have less time to react." again, thoughts to the families, friends and dz... larissa

There were some more details on the ABC (Ch. 2) news at 7pm tonight, about the accidents and the investigation. I can't get into the article on the ABC website.... I think the name was Jethro I was trying to get into the website article to see if they had that name too...

Hi FreeflyPlaymate, the other skydiver was a 24 year old from Sydney, called Jethro. Larissa