Shydi

Just reiterating what has been said already, but congrats and can't wait for the record breaking next year! Hope to see you Saturday! Di

Just voted; it's up to 27%!

There are no words to describe... Great links by the way! Love the pics. Di PMS#223

That sounds like something my cousin would say... GO MEAT!!!!!!!!! Dianna PMS#223

I think what you said about wanting to change is the big key. Someone can only change his/her life to the way it should be only if there is the motivation to do so (job, relationship, etc..) Trying to make someone change is bad and doesn't get you anywhere. You just sit back and hope the green light comes on and a new chapter begins. Dianna PMS#223

On my check out dive, I got into a nice spin after recovering from my barrel roll. If I had done it 20 jumps earlier, I would've freaked out. But, I dropped my shoulder in the opposite direction and it took a bit, but worked. Relax and arch too. Talk to your instructors first. This time, I didn't have to think about what to do in terms of correcting the spin. It happens... Dianna PMS#223

At least I can look forward to next year's!!! Dianna PMS#223

I lived in Italy for three months...In general, Italians were warm, very outgoing, and friendly. In friendly, I mean that their culture is based on contact with people - Americans are so worried about their space and someone getting too close. Whatever. I loved that aspect of Italy where everything that they did was alive with emotion. I definitely think that American tourists that I ran into give us back home a bad name. When in Rome...I witnessed several exchanges where the Americans wanted it their way, not the Italian way. UGH! I do know that the Italian men (I hope I don't offend anyone) were very arrogant. I heard so many things before going over about avoiding them - oh man, I was missing American men! I think that if I could sum it up, embrace the culture that you are surrounded by and that won't ruin a trip for the rest of us! Dianna PMS #223

1. Whats your name? Dianna 2. How old are you? 26 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? SeaKev was always at the dropzone - finally got my birthday present in the way of a tandem and I was hooked. 4. Are you single or taken? Married? Taken 5. Do you have kids? No 6. What do you drive? 1992 Ford Eddie Bauer Explorer 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? No 8. Where do you live? Seattle 9. Do you have any pets? No, but wish I did. 10. How many jumps do you have? 25 11. What color eyes do you have? Brown 12. What is your nationality? American! 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? No 14. Favorite Movie? I hate these questions because it is so hard to narrow it down to one...But, To Catch A Thief (gotta love Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, and Mr. Hitchcock) 15. What do you do when you arent skydiving? Work and work at finding a job 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? No 17. If not... do you want to? Not sure yet 18. Do you have siblings? 1 sister 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? Italy 20. What's your favorite color? Blue 21. Where was the last place you flew to ( not skydiving )? Dominican Republic

Nice pic there James!

Thanks Scott, Look forward to seeing them and jumping with you again!

Aim to please my sista!

Well, since everyone is discussing a cutaway situation, I had to chop my main on my last jump at LP on Sunday. I have to say that it was the hardest thing to do. Not only did we have a bad spot and have to work our asses back to the dz, but once my main opened, it went into a downward spiral that could only be stopped with a steady hold of the left toggle; it was a brake line over. The pumping of the toggles did absolutely no good. I made my decision and the reserve opened up so quick and nicely. I had to fight like hell to get back to the dz and plf. Hey, I am walking, what more can I ask for? I want to shout-out to Ty for packing the reserve that saved my life and look forward to paying my debt next year! Di

I just finished up with my grad program for my Master's and I am dreading standardized test days. In WA, they have the WASL - basically sounds like the same thing in Florida. Here though, a student will ideally take it three times before graduating - once in 4th, 7th, and 10th. As it stands now, the test 'grades' a specific school and then accordingly is allocated money. But, what they want to do is make the test a graduation requirement for the 10th grade test. One horrible outcome to the pressure of this test is that schools are forced to adopt a teaching to the test policy. Not all schools are doing it, but the pressure is immense and it takes out almost a month of school curriculum (includes preparation for the test and actual test days). I am not a fan of it. It is wrong to take away from the classroom time for a test that could literally make or break your school. Another downside is that if a school does well, how can you base a judgment call on sending your kids there when you don't know if there are good teachers or not? The teachers might just be reviewing verbatum what's on the test; how is that any different from teaching straight from the book? Anyways, off the soapbox. I think that education (public at least) is in dire straits in our country in general. What to do? No clue, but teaching to a test and hoping to make a school better by supplying teachers who are good at one school (who might not be good at another) just makes their jobs harder. Dianna

Enormous is all relative right there Jeanne? Thanks for all the jumps! Di