Jeth

That's awesome, congrats!!

We definitely need more chicks in the sport so keep spreading the love!

And whos hot ass would that be, Sunshine? There are so many nice ones to choose from at SDC!!

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Yesterday, you made it pretty obvious you still need to study up on it....

No, yesterday made it pretty obvious i need to quit getting distracted by hot ass!!

Well only if it was their first tandem. And then you BOTH owe beer!!!

Who was it, BTW?

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And Beth...shouldn't it be my TI buying the beers?

Ok, I can't believe I have been gone for 2 hours and I come back and I still have no suggestions. What's up, people? You got nothing! That's the best you can do??

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boat party sounds fun. If Rick will be the one stripping, i wanna come.

Oh ya, Baby! Let me call him right now... that can be his birthday present to me.

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I was the passenger!

Of course! I'm looking forward to you paying up next weekend.

Ya, that does sound pretty good now that U mention it. I didn't think of combining those 2 options.

Hmmmm....

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I don't know diddly about what's available in Chicago, but a private stripper party on a boat sounds like it would work

So next weekend is my birthday, and I want to go really big for this one. I can't travel anywhere cuz I gotta jump with my team on the weekend. So I've only got Friday night. I'm in downtown Chicago. Any suggestions??

Things I've been considering:

--bottle service (better ways to spend $500 bucks)
--strip club (been there, done that)
--Private stripper party (might be fun)
--boat party on the river (if they let me use their boat)
--skybox at the United Center (how much does that cost?)

What haven't I thought of?

Thanks.

Yes, Val, that's definitely a beerable offense.

So you were the passenger or TM?

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0:1:1 (is it a beerable offense?)

I did my first ever tandem!!!! Woo hoo!

"Cuz I hate kids, and I'm too selfish."

But I don't usually get asked why not, I get told that I "still have time". That's when I tell them that I hate kids and my husband is fixed so it ain't gonna happen.

Then they tell me how "lucky" I am to have all this free time to travel, skydive, etc. I say, "it's not luck, it's a choice I made." I still can't believe how many people have kids because they think its just a given in life. Whatever.

What my team does is the person doing the exit count gets eyes from everyone before she starts. If she can't get eyes, then the rule is don't take your last grip till you're ready to go. So if she can't see your eyes but you have your grip, she's gonna assume you're ready.

Then after she gets eyes, she gives a shake before beginning the count.

I used to get really antsy in the door, and would go before everyone was ready. Now we are trying to get relaxed and set before we go. That way we won't funnel (hopefully ).

Thanks Sunshine! Oh ya, he's smooth. Just this past weekend he bribed us with muffins, danishes and a coolerfull of water and soda. It worked. We love him.

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I had a blast jumping with my team on Saturday. We suck, but I know we're gonna get better and we are gonna have so much fun doing it.

Good attitude. Just watching you guys in the hanger laughing and having a good time cracks me up. I still dont' know how Other Bob managed to get you 3 lovely ladies on a team...he's one smoooooth operator.

Granny ~ congrats chica. when you get that A, come visit us all at SDC.

I was wondering where the weekend numbers thread was.

1 : 10 : 1

Finally some decent weather in Chicago!!! I had a blast jumping with my team on Saturday. We suck, but I know we're gonna get better and we are gonna have so much fun doing it.
Some low clouds had us grounded for a bit on Sunday. This weather is really pissing me off because if it's not rainy, it's cloudy. If it's not cloudy, it's really freakin windy! We just can't win! But I did manage to get 5 jumps in on Sunday after the weather hold. And I was pretty happy because I am getting a lot better at flying in stronger winds. I did land off a couple times, but I was able to collapse my canopy fine and didn't get dragged, so that was a wonderful thing.
It's great to finally have some decent numbers. Beer owed for our first team jumps with the whole team, woo-hoo!!! Now fingers are crossed for more good weather in 2 weeks!!

Ya, skydiving rocks.

BTW, Granny - congrats on almost having your A! It only gets better.

Yay!! I finally have jump numbers!!!!
0 : 2 : 0

Ok, so only 2 jumps on Sunday. But after 4 straight weekends of crappy weather, I'll take whatever I can get!!

Did a fun 5-way for my 200th, woo-hoo!!!

I'm really looking forward to getting going with my team this year. It's gonna be a great season!!!!

That was beautiful.

I don't know you or Eric, but I always enjoyed his thoughtful posts.

I wish you continued strength in the time ahead, and more happiness than pain.

Blue skies.

"Don't get dead. oh ya, and have fun."

"Try not to kill me on this jump."

"Don't forget to breathe." (From the early student days )

And some more useful ones...

"ALWAYS get a pin check."

"Check your 3's -- rings, buckles, handles."

"Never stop fighting"

I totally have a ritual.

At 10k I sit up and put my goggles on and then my helmet. After I put my helmet on I always press on my goggles, and pull on the chip strap to make sure it's locked. (Which of course it is cuz I just put it on LOL But hey, it's my ritual. ) Then I touch my hackey and do my EP's at least twice.

Then I ask for a pin check and give my teammates a pin check. Then I give my teammates the 'ol skydiver handshake, and also give it to anyone else in my vicinity. Then right before exit I push on my googles one more time. (I wear contacts and am totally paranoid about too much air getting in there.)

I like the whole handshake thing. It's a camraderie thing and reminds us to have fun. It especially makes rookies feel great and helps relax them. (At least it did for me.)

Congrats on graduating!

My numbers...

0 : 8 : 1

Fun times at SDC during Nationals! Chilly weather but gorgeous blue skies so we went for it. Beer owed for my first Caravan jumps. Nice plane, big door. On a few loads with the PD Factory Team - cool. Super nice guys.

All in all a good weekend. Getting closer to 200!

Ok, better late than never...

I HAD A BLAST AT SDC SUMMERFEST!!!

1 : 10 : 4

Even though the weather didn't cooperate much on Sat and Sun, I had some awesome jumps on Thurs and Fri. Beer owed for my first King Air, first CASA, first raft dive, and first JET JUMP!!!!
The Jet was insane! Like being shot out of a cannon. My favorite part was charging down the aisle as they are calling "exit, exit, exit!". What a trip! My team got together and we built our 5-way speed star, woo-hoo!! I had been on the fence about jumping the jet, but I am really glad I did. It is something every jumper must do at least once if given the opportunity. It was worth the $100 bucks. It's an experience that you will never fully appreciate until you do it.

I also had a blast chatting with some great people, hanging out at the Tiki Hut, and watching the film fest. Next year I think I'll come a little earlier so I can catch the swoop-n-chug, that looked pretty funny.

Even though I didn't get as many jumps in as planned, still an awesome time all around.

Lemme shout out to all the cool people I met and jumped with last week. Thanks for the good times!!
Ya, baby! SDC ROCKS!!!

I'm not doing so well. But hey - I'm alive, uninjured, and having fun, so I can't complain about that.
Mine were....

1. Do at least 100 jumps.
Due to crappy weather and a June vacation I've only done 42 so far this year. But I'm still hoping to get there...

2. Get on a 4-way team to improve skills and have jump buddies.
Well we did get a team together, but we haven't been able to get 2 other reliable people. We have not jumped together enough to go to any meets, which is a bummer. But I do think I have improved my skills just consistently doing 4-way or 2-way drill dives, so thats good. But I wish the team would've worked out better.

3. Go to a new dz
Not yet. But we are still saying we'll go to Hinckley one weekend this season.

4. Learn to sitfly
Not yet. But I think next time my teammates are late I will take the opportunity to go out and do a solo and give it a whirl.

I am hoping the weather for the rest of the season cooperates. And I've still got Summerfest to look forward to, woo-hoo!!!

Good job on staying alive.
I agree with someone who said it's good that now you know. I had my first chop on jump #57. Welcome to the club.

2 : 12 : 1

Woo-hoo! sweet weekend at SDC!!
Ok, good weekend doesn't necessarily mean good jumps. I think we funneled 10 of the 12 exits. But there was a hilarious moment when Tracy didn't slam on the brakes soon enough from a dive and did a spectacular flip right into me. And we did finally nail the exit after 4 tries ("nail" term used lightly ). But the skies were clear, the winds were calm, no one got hurt, and we had a ball. Ya, good times!!
Beer owed for my first jumps from a PAC750. Didn't like it much. Felt claustrophobic inside the plane and the door is way too small. Ya, what can I say -- I'm an Otter snob.

2 : 9 : 0

Yea!! Great to have numbers again after 5 weeks!!! Had a great time at SDC on the 4th and this weekend. Got 3 good jumps in on Wed, and 6 more on Sat. My whole team wasn't there so didn't do as many training jumps as I wanted. But still did some good drill dives and had fun jumping with some other people. Didn't get to do any on Sunday due to strong winds. But thats the way it goes sometimes, still a great weekend!!

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Desire Cancun

Me, too!
At least I think so. The 17 day trip to Europe that I took with my husband is right up there -- walking thru Pompeii, strolling the streets of Venice, aaaahhh, the memories. But I have never been more relaxed than I was at Desire, and I met so many awesome people, that made it the best.

Very nice weekend for me.

1 : 9 : 1

Even though we're still a 3-woman 4-way team, we did some good training jumps this weekend. Had a great sub, thanks Rick! We had some fall rate issues but improved with each dive so that was great.
It was definitely a slow day at SDC cuz next thing I know we're doing a dancing spider with Mike Wittenburg! Of course we didn't quite pull it off, but it was sure fun. Loved docking on Mike while he was on his back! I'm sure if we do it about 10 more times we'll nail it.
The winds were kinda funky but I had some great landings on most of my dives, so that felt good.

Now we just need to find a 4th!!