FallingAngel

I work in East Hartford (5 min from Hartford) and live about 15-20 minutes from Hartford. Unfortunately, there really isn't too much to do here. But somehow I manage to make do and have fun

Central CT has had 8 consecutive days of rain as well! The river is flooding But, we did have a lot of nice weather up until now, more than our fair share I suppose... This reminds me of Scotland...when I lived there it seemed like it rained for about 26 days each month! And when it wasn't raining, it was cloudy. But a very beautiful, and green country!

It's me with a sticker on my chest that says "Are you getting it weekly?" - the slogan of the Hartford Advocate. Went to a brewfest one day after work and things got a lil crazy. Very fun evening though. The picture's blurry b/c it was taken with a camera phone.

No, actually I really dislike the Cards well poop on you and your blurry avatar! just kidding. Well, poop on you and your creepy avatar!

No, actually I really dislike the Cards

While I like the Yankees, I don't feel too bad that they're not in the race for the WS anymore. Just becasue they've won it so many times over the past 30 years... I myself will be cheering for Chicago. It was interesting when the W Sox were playing the R Sox...I just moved to central CT from the Chicago area and a lot of the people in my office, incl. my supervisor, are RSox fans...

Yeah, it is a pretty sweet deal...I don't know what I was thinking taking this job in Connecticut and not moving to AZ. It is a pretty awesome job though nice enough to where I think I can handle the cold for a few months.

You can live in the house my parents and I have in AZ, its about 20 min. from Skydive AZ. No one is living there right now, but depending on how fed up I get with the CT winter, I might move there. And, my dad will probably show up a few times over the winter to escape the cold in IL and get some jumps or tunnel time in...But, there are 5 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, plenty of room. All you'd have to do is keep it clean and pay utilities. No fake husband necessary

Hum, I'm gonna go with Skydive Chicago overall...They have the VIP room, the Tiki Bar, and the bonfire. So depending on the weather and vibe, you have plenty of options! Plus, I can stumble back to my trailer. Any good DZ bars in the Northeast? Like, MA or NY??? I'd be up for a longer roadtrip if the bar was good, good freefly scene and cool people...

Having done recruiting and all, I think honesty in an interview is good. You don't have to volunteer information that's not asked, but be honest enough in your answers so that you can get a good gague if you'd be a good fit for the company. Don't be someone you're not just to get the job (unless you really really really need one, but even then...) because you'll probably end up hating it. Good luck in your job search! It sure can suck. Oh, and speaking of Office Space, today at work, we had cake. And all I could think of was the scene where they had cake, and Milton didn't get any! Luckily, I got some

If you can go to this, I'd def. recommend it. I had a great time last year! I'd be going again this year if I didn't just start a new job and so have zero vacation time after I use it all to go to Nationals...

Ok, so I've been reading this post since it started and I'm just wondering, Jimmy, if someone approaches you and asks you to teach them how to BASE, what influences if you say yes or no? How do you decide who to take on as a student?

Oh, and there's this the Cirque du Soleil in Toronto now until Sept 11... http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/default.htm#?pop=1

Mmmm, I love poutine...Maybe sometime soon I'll have to make a trip to Canada just for that since I live fairly close to the Canada/US border...

At this point in my skydiving career I would not let a manufacturer assemble and pack my gear considering the fact that I am a rigger and qualified to do it myself. In the end, I am responsible for the gear and in this sport it doesn't hurt to double check things. Stuff happens, manufacturers can be busy and unfortunately might miss something and it takes nothing but my time to assemble it myself, and I like doing it, and then I have an extra sense of security. But even if I wasn't a rigger, I would still want one more check before it was all assembled. A side note, after I got my canopy relined from someone I trust, I still checked it myself before I packed it and jumped it. IMO, while you should have trust in your rigger or the manufacturer since they are supposed to be the professionals and experts, you should still ask questions if something doesn't seem right to you. If asked in a constructive way, the rigger will mostlikely not mind explaining. If you don't ask, at best, nothing was wrong and now you're a little more educated, at worst, you might get hurt.

Nice, I like that. Makes sense. and what about instead of "Just because I slept with you last night doesn't mean I'll jump with you in the morning." ---- "Just because I jumped with you today, doesn't mean I'll sleep with you tonight." I had (still have?? up in the air at the moment) a skydiving and BASE jumping bf. Trust me, if we want space at the DZ, we can have it...Not only because he's a tandem master and I train on a 4 way team, so we can both be pretty busy during the day, but because the DZ we jump at is so big. Dating a skydiver has its pros and cons like anything else, its really comes down more to what badenhop said. When you find someone you really love, priorities can and do change... Anyway, my BASE jumping boy has no problem with my desire to BASE, we talked and agreeded that he wouldn't be the one to teach me, but he would support me if that's what I wanted to do as long as I understood the risks and did the homework and that I wasn't doing it because he did, that I was doing it for me. Make sure you want to BASE for you, and do your homework.

This will be my first summer not going back to school as I just graduated in May...it's starting to get a little wierd because normally around this time I'm finishing up my internship and getting ready to go back to school, if not already back. Instead, I'm gearing up to start a big project that will last until the end of the year or so.

Very true.

i'll play today: 5. Its friday 4. Its nice out 3. CT womens state RW record tomorrow and party

I like to swim laps...although unfortunately I haven't been good about finding an indoor pool since I moved. Running, weights, or sports in general are good too. I also like to keep some paper and a pen handy and write things down. I usually end up tossing it later, but I like just getting it out of my head. Sometimes I'll have a beer or a glass of wine, take a deep breath, and try and clear my mind for awhile and just think about what I'm going to do right at this exact moment, what can I do to make myself happy right now. Like, rent a movie, make something specific for dinner, run, nap, read a book, go shopping, go for a drive... Calling good friends just to talk sometimes help. Or just doing something different, like a short vacation.

I suppose I don't understand how someone can not be allowed to get a student loan? Maybe I'm missing something? Anyway, I would mostly suggest being financially able to stay current with the sport and realize that it is expensive. It can be hard to stay current while in school, more so than when working. I guess, for me, not knowing the whole situation, its hard to make a good suggestion. Just a side note, there are lots of ways besides skydiving to have fun in school, enjoy it while you're there. I just graduated, and while I'm very happy with my job and being a "big girl", there are many aspects of school that I had and were so much fun, but really can't do anymore. IMO, if your parents are paying for school, and you're free to spend your money on anything but skydiving, I would recommend enjoy being a college student. Yes, you're an adult, but again, my own opinion is that the fun you have being in college is different than that of being done and out of college, both are great, but you only get 4 or so years of college fun, and many more years of "adult" fun.

I agree with what most other people said. If skydiving is something you really love, keep talking to your parents about it and get a job to support it. If they're still really against it, either wait to jump until after school (which sounds hard) or take out student loans (which I'd try and avoid). But over all, I'd recommend waiting until you're financially able to get all your training and stay current. As for my parents, I was (am) very lucky. My dad's been jumping since I was little and I made my first jump in highschool, my parents even helped pay for my skydiving for a while (in the form of birthday, Christmas, and graduation presents, but really really nice). I happen to share the same passion as my father, so I'm not lacking support. By the time I started jumping, my mom had gotten over any fears or issues she had with skydiving.

That shot makes me miss Illinois a lot...Even though I'm back everyother weekend at least until October to train and compete in 4way...Its a great shot of an amazing person I just met before I left home by an amazing friend who I miss, reminding me of a place I love and all the other great people there. I just saw both of them this past weekend, and can't wait to see them, and everyone else, again next weekend.

Wasn't there just a leapfest in March? I keep forgetting how often they do this stuff...Oh well.

I'll be making my bi-monthly journey back to SDC that weekend. I'll probably be training most of the time though, so not much time to really party or "fun jump"...But at least I'll be there! I don't know what I'm going to do with myself this weekend! That's it, I'm moving back to IL!