NWFlyer

I know, right? It totally sucks when people take the time to write a thoughtful response to get you to perhaps think about something a little differently. Those grumpy old fart skydivers are such a bunch of assholes. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Well, any further discussion on the "options" part would probably get this kicked to SC, and we're losing the spirit of AggieDave's original post anyway, which is to appreciate the folks who are doing the work that truly can't or doesn't wait until after the holiday is over. People can decide whether to shop and stores can decide whether to be open, but unfortunately fires, accidents, illnesses, injuries, etc., don't care what date's on the calendar and the folks who "keep the lights on" to help those affected are definitely deserving of our gratitude. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

First, the "I've been doing it for 98 jumps and nothing has gone wrong" argument doesn't necessarily make it a good idea. Second, you demoed that PDR 176? Or jumped it for reals? Because 1.5 on a reserve is serious business, and I'm definitely more than a little worried about someone with just over 100 jumps being under a canopy that is 1) two sizes smaller than what he normally jumps and 2) one size smaller than he's ever jumped ... when the shit has just hit the fan. Reserve landings are sometimes routine, meaning you're right over the landing area, and you get to bring it into the same nice, smooth, flat spot that you'd have landed your main. But a lot of times, they're not ... you pitched at a good spot to get you safely back to the landing area under your main... but then you had to deal with a malfunction and you're now under your reserve quite a bit lower than you would have been under your main. You've just gone from a flat, gliding, lighter-loaded 9 cell (I fly a Pulse, I know how incredible they are at getting you back), to a more steeply-trimmed 7-cell that's loaded quite a bit heaver. Now you've got to find yourself a landing area that may not be your main landing area, and that just might suck. And you might, just might be a little pumped with adrenaline what with the whole malfunction excitement. Sure you wanna be under that 176? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Because for many people in many locations there are not other options. Walking out the door means walking away from your only opportunity for a paycheck. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Who did your measurements for you? Were you wearing your regular jump shoes when you got measured? How about when you tried the suit on? Did you try the suit on with your rig? Did you have an experienced belly flyer or two check out the fit before you sent it back? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Download, or purchase (or put the app on your phone) the USPA Skydiver's Information Manual (SIM) and start reading it. I can't promise it'll be fun, but it's important reading and you can get ahead of your student reading. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

https://www.facebook.com/IndependentSkydiveCompany I haven't actually gone there and verified it, but I did sell some gear to the owner a couple years ago, so I'm pretty sure it's legit. Looks like they're using a different business name now. Sounds like the site just got hacked. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Congrats! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Based on typical weather in May, and all else of what you're looking for, I'd recommend Southern California over the other areas in your list. Northern California could fit the bill as well, but the DZs around here don't have LOs anywhere near as regularly as in Southern California. Texas has bigger and better tunnels (plural) at the moment than California or Florida. You might also look into Chicago, though I'd defer to a local to comment on the weather that time of year. They've got two recently-opened tunnels and two big dropzones . "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Well, unless the Times is making up quotes, Hayhurst was involved in certifying the record. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Halloween is 10/31. Why would anyone have a pic in costume right now? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Facebook has basically replaced Bonfire. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Beautiful co-pilot. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

So I haven't had a tib/fib but I've had a lower-extremity injury (torn MCL) where I had to work with my doctor and physical therapist to figure out when I was "ready" to go back. If you haven't already, I'd suggest that you explain things in terms that will be more understandable and familiar to your care team. Such as "I need to be able to jump off of a moderate height (say a table) and land safely without increased risk of injury" and "I need to be able to run out a landing safely" and "I want to be able to make sharp lateral moves without increased risk of injury." "Skydiving" is really abstract to them. Running and jumping are things that they can understand, and they'll understand the forces that will be on your body. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Awww... "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Hannah, long time no post - hope things are still going well for you! I've been watching an interesting show recently that may have some parallels to your experience - it's called Transparent and it's on Amazon Prime video. It follows all the members of a fairly dysfunctional (but funny and loving) family - the older (divorced) parents, and the three adult kids, each going through their own personal dramas. Much of the story revolves around the patriarch (Mort/Maura) who is, at age 70, finally living openly transgender (though we see through flashbacks that she has flirted with it throughout her adult life). The show deals with the responses of Maura's children, and how they come around to acceptance of their father's changes (or struggle with acceptance) and how Maura navigates her new life. Although I can't comment from personal experience how well it represents the experience of a trans person, it does seem to be getting good reviews for addressing it in an open, sensitive, and funny manner. For me, though, the coolest thing is that a show like this exists, and is getting largely positive media attention. Amazon.com is just really starting to branch out into developing their own shows, and several of this year's new shows are really good and may put Amazon up against Netflix in terms of quality shows that are only available on streaming networks. Anyway, not sure if you can get the show where you are, but it seems like something you might really enjoy/relate well to. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3502262/ http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-HD/dp/B00I3MNF6S http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparent_(TV_series) http://www.metacritic.com/tv/transparent "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

For pork belly, I'd recommend reheating it in a pan rather than in the microwave. It's funny; I never ever cooked pork belly before I started buying meat in bulk (I get a 1/4 cow and 1/2 hog at a time). I'm on my 3rd 1/2 hog, and I've gotten pretty adept with belly since you get a fair amount of it... it's awesome stuff! I like it so much that this last order I asked for all my belly fresh (vs. cured into bacon). (Not to worry I still got lots of bacon as well, I just did it as a separate order from the same rancher). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Oh yeah? I have 4 kids. I know you guys got way more practice than that. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Dude. You've got 11 jumps. Cut yourself some slack! Most of us aren't very good at something we've only done for a grand total of a few minutes. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Yes. I'd add "somewhere not overly humid," too. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

On my hundredth jump someoone punched mine and it did a full 360. And then went back to a 180 and stuck there in that position. I have a nice video of my feet on landing. It didn't come off. No clue how hard your friends got punched in the face, but all GoPro mounts are capable of getting ripped off? oh oh. you just admitted you had a camera on you for your 100th. bold move. Not really. The mad skillz are already well-documented. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4678217;#4678217 "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

It's pretty ironic that this is your signature. No irony that I can see. You're learning the consequences of continuing to whine about camera recommendations. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

"You don't ask, you don't get." Expecting people to know what you want in your career, to know that you wanted to be considered for that promotion or that open position or that special project... well, that's setting yourself up for disappointment. Yes, the best bosses are on the lookout for growth opportunities for their people, but it really helps if you say "Hey, I'm interested in developing [this skill] - can you help me find an opportunity to work on that?" Then when someone says "Hey, I need some help on this project, can one of your people join the team?" I already know what you're looking for. I just hired someone today, and although I said no for a whole host of reasons, he asked for a higher salary than what I'd offered. He had done his homework and knew the salary range for the position and that the offer that we gave him was below the midpoint for that position (appropriately so, since he's on the most junior end of the experience requirements for the job and we're already giving him a 10% bump from his current role). But he had done his homework (to know what the salary range was), and he asked respectfully, and I was impressed with his approach. It just confirmed what I learned throughout the interview process - this guy is not just smart, but also savvy. I'm really looking forward to having him on my team because I have no doubt, as a manager, that I'll know where he stands and what he wants to do to grow. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I'd rather not have my Facebook feed clogged up with lame-ass POV GoPro screen grabs. But that seems unlikely to happen. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Winner! Maybe we can make it a sticky. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke