Luna

Thanks to all for the input. I in fact do not currently have booties, and am glad to hear that it should be okay anyway. I have been told that I need to get them, but I'm still losing weight and would rather wait and get a new suit with booties if possible than to have booties added to my current suit. I do plan to learn as much as possible while I'm there, of course. I will be sure to talk to them and let them know I want to learn mantis. I clarified with my husband and it was his after hours coach who was more trying to get him into mantis (when he had no idea about mantis) during the flights, not his regular coach, so I misunderstood that a bit. But that also tells me I need to communicate well with my after hours coach, too! Anyway, he has gone over to the dark side now, so I kid him that his camp was a waste anyway! Now he's off to the new freefly camp! Rosa - were you looking for info about the camps, or wanting to share info about them? I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I am still a very new jumper, with only 25 jumps. I just signed up for an Airspeed Tunnel Camp next month and thought I'd get some advice. My husband has already been to one, so I know that they try to push you to use the mantis position, although he was not explicitly taught the mantis. For his skill level (he was still in AFF), he just ignored them and stayed in the boxman. Should I use the opportunity to try learning the mantis? Or should I just stick with what I know and concentrate only on my flying skills? My main goal is to gain more confidence in the air. Thanks for your input!

If I recall correctly it was: 5 elementary schools 3 middle schools 1 high school All were due to family moves...not military, just nomadic parents for some reason. All were somewhere in Texas, though.

http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1559251,00.html I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Biggest Congratulations!

Oh, I hope your mom wasn't too upset about her laptop! Let's try to do something in the next 2 weeks. It'll be good to see you!

Well, I sure missed you...bunches! Hope you had a very restful time!

Happy Birthday Travis!! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

OMG!!! Now I don't know which pic is cuter! I'm in puppy heaven!

OH!! That pic of both of them together has got to be one of the most adorable pics I've ever seen! Don't want to show favoritism...Andy, your dogs are totally adorable as well! I just LOVE doggie pics!!

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Well, as most of you can plainly see, these quotes were taken totally out of context, and now I have deleted the context (totally un-related to this post, despite what some might think), so there is no way to see what exactly was being referenced in most of them. That makes them pretty worthless if you ask me. Despite the case that is trying to be built against me, I have never said that I think that people should not be taking meds. I was pointing out another way, and I was in some instances pointing out some issues that I see with meds, and yes, I wish with all of my heart that nobody had to take meds. But taking meds does not make you a bad person, just like me holding my beliefs that may disagree with yours and stating them in a public forum in a discussion about depression does not make me a bad person. I also, to clarify because the quote was already mis-interpreted once by someone else, and has been deleted, but is now here for posterity, I never said that meds are the easy way out. Read it again. I didn't say that. Not to say that others haven't said that here already, but I did not, so don't think that I did. Beyond that, make your own conclusions I guess, although you don't have much to go on. I do stand behind everything that I said here. My posts were not deleted in anger or to cover anything up. I'll just leave it at that. I had my own reasons. Whatever you think they are, you are probably wrong. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Sorry, I know I said I was done, but upon reflection, Sinker, you are right. It's much easier to not know what is possible. It makes it much easier to just go on. (no, I'm not being sarcastic) I've just decided that I don't do what's easy anymore. Anyway, I apologize, and moderater, please delete all of my posts in this thread. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

You've made my point. This is why I'm done with this. I have plenty more to say, but I'm done. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Well, like it or not, I have been hurt, my views have been attacked and distorted, and that's just that. So what? What other people think about me really doesn't matter anyway. I mean, if I'm going to get told to go kill myself because I wasn't being conscious enough to use the phrase "People can kill themselves with their mind if they choose to" instead of using the all-purpose "You," then hey, I give up. That's just ridiculous. I agree that advice on how to treat depression should not be given out here in this forum. But when people start doing just that, suggesting meds (by the way, you never did address the people who take the meds and kill themselves anyway...was that not bad advice?), then I think a little balance should be offered. I know someone who read some of my posts in the Women's thread and based on that, decided that they could handle their anxiety attacks without their meds, and did so successfully. So why should I stop posting my views if they are able to help even one person? As long as the topic is being addressed, anyway. As for what Emma said, that not everyone has the ability to take control, I am sorry, but I do disagree with that. Everyone has the ability within them to overcome whatever has been done to them, whatever upbringing they have endured, whatever events in their life may have caused them pain, whatever. The ability is there. If one person has done it, then it is possible for anyone else to do it. Mostly what it comes down to is a belief that you can't. Henry Ford said "Whether you believe you can, or you believe you can't, you are right." And that is why I say, everyone is right. Whatever you believe is real is real. Change your beliefs, change your life. Beliefs, willingness, and the right tools...and ANYTHING is possible. I'm sorry if you don't believe that, but I'd appreciate it if everyone would stop telling me that I'm wrong, because I clearly have told you that whatever you believe is true for you, so let this be true for me, and for anyone else who can recieve the message, and leave it at that. I'm done here. My message has been given over and over, and will have been received by those open enough to receive it. I am a bit tired of all of the people who attack my views and then deny it, tell me go to kill myself and then twist my words to make it my fault and comes back with some nice sentiment about how they wish me all the best in my life to try to smooth it over, blame me for their bad feelings or the death of their friends, etc. Basically all people seem to want here is just an affirmation that it's okay to take meds. Let me help you with that. Yes, if meds are the right thing for you at this point in your life, then it's fine that you are taking them. Now, is everyone happy? I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

If our belief is a possibility, then why are we still debating it? Sorry, but I feel totally under attack here, and I was even more so in the Women's thread about this topic. What I have seen said is that putting out an alternative is wrong, is DANGEROUS, etc. To me, trying to keep the alternative hidden is censorship. Regardless of how Rhino's initial message was taken, I have NEVER tried to say people should NEVER take meds, and yet my views are still attacked. I have still been told that my views are harmful and that I should basically keep my mouth shut or risk being responsible for someone's death. Thanks for trying to lay all of that on me (keep in mind here, some of what I may be talking about is either in deleted threads or PM's as well). I have been told that I am making people feel bad for their decision to take meds. How is that fair to my position? People continue putting words in my mouth and blaming me for their own feelings, which I have NOTHING to do with. All I want is for people to know that there are other alternatives that might work. They might help some people get off meds. They might helps others be able to avoid going on them. They might not help other people at all. But it is possible. That's all I want to say. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Go on - prove it to me. If you're not here tomorrow I'll take that as a yes. That was really uncalled for and not funny. Am I personally attacking you? Yep, I believe that this is possible. You just need the right tools. (God, I'm a real freak if I believe that, huh? ) Yes, I have, and yes I am, and I used to barely be able to leave my house because of it, and now it doesn't bother me nearly as much. And if we use your rules for having the qualifications to talk about solutions here, most of the people on your side wouldn't be allowed to talk about it either, because most of them have not found a way to get over their depression effectively either. You don't know the changes that I have made in my life. Well thanks for that, that is obviously your perception colored by your beliefs. Meantime, has it occured to any of you that we are the ones being bullied and having our beliefs attacked? Why is it okay to talk about meds because they have worked for people, but it's not okay to talk about any other solution that has worked for people? I am right here and now calling censorship, plain and simple. Yep, I'm fat, too. I've lost 65 pounds and still have around another 50 to go. And I will be happy to get into a debate with you against having the weight-loss surgery, too if you want. Saying that you can't do it on your own is BS. Looks like we have something in common. And something to work on. I never said I was perfect, and there ain't very many people in this world that are. But at least I constantly look at my life and find things that need improvement, and then improve them. And again I say (and will keep saying until it sinks in and people stop putting words in my mouth), I'm not saying unequivocably that people shouldn't be on meds. Whatever you are doing right now is what is right for you. I'm just offering that there are other alternatives, other possibilities. And I'm trying to get my voice heard over the overwhelming majority who want to censor and insist that only saying that meds are the solution is permissible, and reach the people whose doctors may not be giving them any other options. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

You really believe that? Have you heard of free divers? They are able, using ONLY their minds, to slow their heart rate to nothing more than a few beats per minute, slow their breathing to match, and are able to dive using NO equipment to depths that boggle the mind. Rent the movie The Big Blue. It tells the story (obviously somewhat embellished) of Jacques Mayol, until recently the world-record holder in free diving. Here is a short overview: "He maintains this state by the intensity of his concentration, which keeps him in an almost constant meditative condition. In this mode, he transcends ordinary human limitations, for he becomes enabled to achieve great feats through altered physiology. The deeper he dives, the slower his heartbeat becomes, and his blood distribution concentrates almost entirely in his brain. (This also happens in porpoises.) His best friend, himself a highly evolved athlete, dies in an attempt to match Mayol's feat because he hadn't reached the level of consciousness required to transcend the normal limits of the body." This was all documented by wiring him up to check his vitals while he was diving. So, it is possible. Open your mind to the possibilities. Yes, you can even kill yourself with nothing but the power of your mind. Happens ALL the time unconsciously...and can also easily be done consciously. Try studying yoga. Try reading up on the Lamas. Just because you don't believe it doesn't make it untrue. The Truth is The Truth, and you can deny it, but that doesn't change it. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

And some people don't have the tools to take advantage of it. Not because they're lazy, or stupid, or want to take the easy way out. They don't have the tools. Try telling a blind person to just see. Try telling someone who grew up in a home with no enrichment, and in schools with no resources, to just do well. It's possible, but it's a hell of a lot harder for some people. Letting them use tools that others might not need simply makes living possible. Otherwise, all of the energy is spent existing. And even if you can eventually learn to overcome whatever makes medication necessary, maybe, just maybe, the cost of doing so in time and energy lost that could be devoted to other things just isn't worth it. For some people, it's taking the easy way out. But for others, it's taking the way that maximizes their potential. And anyway, it's their life. Wendy W. I agree. You have to have the tools, and sometimes that just means finding out that they are out there. But I see everyone denying the possibility in totality. That's BS. That's burying your head. The reality is that is IS possible. The question is, can you make it happen. Don't deny the possibility, be honest with yourself. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Chris, Obviously I don't know what you went through, so don't take this personally if it doesn't apply. What you said is just a good jumping off place to make my point. The reality is that we control our reactions to events (begrudgingly I will grant that there are very few exceptions to this, to avoid further argument on the point). Events don't control our lives, our reaction to the events does. And we DO control our reactions. For a good example, look at the Vietnam POW's, the guys who spent literally YEARS locked up in these tiny cells, being beaten and tortured on a daily basis, with barely enough food and water to survive, isolated from other people...basically one of the worst experiences that anyone could possibly go through, and it lasted for YEARS! Some of these guys didn't make it out at all. Some of them came out and killed themselves. Some of them ended up in psych wards. And some of them...I'll give two specific examples here, Gerald Coffee (spelling?) and Charlie Plumb...came back and said that it was the best thing that had ever happened to them, and went on to lead amazing lives without being adversely effected by what they went through. And Charlie at least had more to deal with when he got back because his wife had divorced him and married another guy...she was one of the reasons he made it through the torture! Nelson Mandela is another great example. He goes through all of those years of imprisonment, and when he gets out, he not only isn't angry, he tells his captors that he'd like to run the country TOGETHER with them!! Want yet another great example, one that involves a horrible childhood because perhaps as a child you wouldn't have the tools to do this, so you think it wouldn't apply? Read Oprah's story sometime. My message is simple. ANYTHING is possible. Most people vastly underestimate the true power of this greatest gift that God has given us...our mind. It has power beyond measure. Learn to use it to your benefit. Believe that it can and will create the chemicals that you need when you need them if you train it properly. Look at all of the people who have recovered from things like life-threatening cancers, paralysis, etc. when no doctor on earth would have given them a chance. How? By using their mind effectively. I will state my belief again: The minute that you say that any thing is not possible, you have handicapped yourself beyond what you can imagine. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Oh, maybe you didn't read the thread in the Women's forum then, because I definitely recall our position being called so much bullshit. DEFINITELY! And I never said that nobody should ever take meds either, because I took meds. You have to do what is right for you at the time. But as you have so expertly said, meds are WAY out of control in this country for no good reason. Again, I never tried making a blanket statement saying that you shouldn't take meds. In fact, if you go look at my original post in the Women's thread, I specifically said that everyone who had posted was right. And yet still I get yelled at for making people feel bad for doing what works for them. I can't win here. But you know what? Meds don't work for everyone either, and they can go on meds and still kill themselves. So, was advising meds in that case wrong, bad advice, or dangerous? What is the harm in ensuring that people know ALL of their options? Because far too many of them have been to see some MD or another (not necessarily a psychiatrist) who has just told them they need to be on this pill and not offered them any other solution. Like I was. Yes, I got talk therapy to go with it, but frankly, I didn't need the meds. But you know what? Despite all the talk about the stigma surrounding depression, the fact is that it's en vogue. I wanted to be diagnosed as beyond help without taking meds, because that made me feel more important and significant. So I never questioned the prescription for a second, because it validated me. (not directed at Sinker) I'll tell you one thing, though, because it's irritating me. If you want to talk about stigma, let's talk about phobias, because guys, there ain't no comparison. Depression is the buzz nowadays, and anymore you get sympathy for it and plenty of understanding. Phobias like mine people won't touch with a ten-foot pole. You don't know about shame, embarassment, pain, and ridicule until you've walked in these shoes. And no, I'm not going to publicly state what it is, because I'm not up for the shame, embarassment, pain and ridicule it would generate, despite the fact that it's one of the top ten phobias. Many therapists have never even heard of it because people are so damned afraid to admit that they have it. So, I've experienced both depression and this, so yes, I can make this comparison with authority. Depression is no longer as stigmatized as it used to be. Phobias have made NO progress in that area. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Yes, a link has been established. People with depression have been shown to have a chemical imbalance in their brains. People without do not have the same imbalance. Now, can you show me the research (I mean this sincerely, because I read research, and I need hard facts to support any assertion before I will believe it) that have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the chemical imbalance caused the depression and not that the depression (negative thoughts, whatever) caused the chemical imbalance? Barring actual research that has verified this specific link (which I doubt because the drug companies found such research), this is a fallacy of logic (post hoc) to assume that just because the imbalance is there that it is what caused the despression. Let's talk logic here, NOT get emotional. One more note on chemical imbalances and meds. My father had an extremely violent temper when I was growing up. It was spontaneous and would come on immediately at full force, not build up as normal. When he finally saw someone about it, after the symptoms supported it, they did tests on his brain chemistry and found that he had a seizure disorder and put him on dilantin (for epilepsy). The episodes stopped. Years later he made a lot of changes in his life. Among them, he decided he did not need to be held hostage to this drug. So he went off of it. And he has not had a single episode in the over 5 years since. So, yes, I believe that ANYTHING is possible, and I also believe that the minute that you tell yourself that there is any thing that is not possible, you are handicapping yourself worse than you can imagine. But what do I know? I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

This is also what I was told and read online. A civilian cannot just get one to have one. You have to have a need to know, and get your appliciation submitted by the contractor that deals with sensitive information. My secret clearance took a few months to get cleared to 'interim', while they completed a more thorough investigation. (usually takes about 5-6 months for secret, up to a year or longer for top secret). Not only do I think this is the correct policy, I also think it is the most prudent course of action. Going to the FBI is one thing for certain jobs, but like at my job (civilian military contractor), we have to have a DOD clearance. Other jobs would require a DOE clearance. Even if you knew exactly what type of clearance you needed, the DOD and DOE aren't going to let you just apply for one on your own, as stated above (FBI may be different). The fact that they stated "or the ability to qualify for one" means that they will get you the clearance, you just have to have a clear record so you won't get rejected for it. We had to let someone go after she couldn't qualify for one (was in processing for over 2 years, and no, they are not that backed up right now). I think it had to do with her credit. Of course, they prefer someone who already has a clearance because it costs them money to get one for you (yet another reason not to go get one on your own). Good luck! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Yes, it can be life threatening. It is a very serious gastro-intestinal disease. Severe vomiting and diarrhea. To get graphic (I have a friend who is a vet and we've talked about this), the lining of the stomach and intestines start coming off. It's horrible to see (I volunteered at the SPCA and saw a dog with it), and very hard to treat. Some breeds of dogs handle it much better than others. Hopefully this little guy will get through without too much suffering. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!