oldnewbie

Your definition is basically what mine is *when given multiple choices ....... and accept the consequences of my actions, NO MATTER what they are*. Its sad I know, but I didn't understand what personal responsibility was until I started skydiving at age 45. Now I know, and its made me a better person who makes wiser choices for MYSELF. I'm also a school teacher, and I use the skydiving video in the classroom so that my students can learn what responsibility is. I use the "Who is responsible to pull etc", of course its ME, and ONLY ME!! Obviously when asked who is responsible for their education, the only answer can be *ME* . They hate that!!!

Yeah, i was just joking about my long 20 minute drive!!! I used to have an hour and a half drive to work, that sucked so bad, I quit that job for the one i have now, and took a large paycut. It was worth it, now I only put 5000 miles on my car each year, instead of 35,000 miles Sorry, gotta get back to drinking my coffee!!!

You should be worried since you are NOT drinking enough coffee!!! I wake up at 5:30, make a 12 cup pot of coffee, and drink 10 cups by 6:30 when i leave for work. I have a long drive to work, 20 minutes. I get there and make a 6 cup pot (smaller coffee maker) in my office. I finish this up at 8. AT 8:30 i make another one, and finish that off by 10:30. Then i make another pot for lunch at noon. I stay off coffee until 1:30, and make another pot. That is done by 2:30. I usually pour more water into the pot after half the pots are gone. that way i get more coffee. I can leave work at 3, so i make the big drive home, 20 minutes, and walk in the house, feed the mutt, then make another 12 cup pot. It is all done by 5, so its time for dinner. As I'm sitting here watching the red wings game, I put on a pot at 7:30, my last 12 cups for the day. This one if finished by 9. NO, this coffee doesn't keep me from sleeping, although i do have to visit the john usually once a night. Lets see, thats 58 cups a day!!! Do they have one of those 12 step programs for me and my coffee problem??

YOu very well could be correct!!! When i go out there in December and February, I feel so much better as soon as I arrive. Its sunny (usually) and in the 50's or 60's (which I think is nice and warm compared to here). These cloudy skies month after month do grow on you!! And being a teacher, if its too hot for me in the summer, I'll drive north until it gets cooler!

Hi Ray, I am a teacher in Michigan, not Arizona, however............. When I first got into teaching, I thought about moving to Arizona, Florida, and several others in the south/southwest. I decided against teaching in Arizona for several reasons. Some of the reasons I'll list, but they are not in any particular order. I looked up wages, and it took 20 or 25 years to get to top pay, and when you finally got to that top pay, it was about the same pay as what I had started at here. I also had read that the school systems were underfunded. This may or may not have changed since I was checking out Arizona. There were several other reasons that I decided not to make the move to Arizona. Now, my parents did move to Arizona for the winters. I am glad they did. It takes me five minutes to drive from their place, to Eloy. Yeah, the winters kinda suck up here in the northern areas (although, it was 52 today here). I'm not sure if the summers in sunny Arizona are that great either!!! 130 degrees is very very hot! Now if your planning on going up north during the summers, Arizona weather might be just what your looking for!! Just my opinion, hope it helps!!!

A little over a year ago, i had this same problem. I went back to the same dropzone that I had started at. They had me redo the groundcourse (which was a good idea, and I learned a lot more than before even though it was a shortened version) and had me do a checkdive with an instructor. Evidently I did good enough on the checkdive, they allowed me to jumpmaster myself, and 10 jumps later, I had my A. Total cost was something like $120 for the jump for the check dive, which included rental eqiupment, and 10 jump tickets for $17 each, plus $10 per jump for equipment, I packed my own, so it cost me a 12 pack to have the rigger check my work. Total cost was about $390 and a couple nights in the bar buying a 12 pack which was priceless since they taught me more about skydiving than I had learned in the previous times I had been there!!! Welcome back, and have fun!

Hi Jimbo What does the law say about a packer?? Since most are not riggers, are they not legally supposed to be under the supervision of a rigger?? So, who is responsible for the packer??

I bought one last year, and I bought one this year! I have about 65 jumps. I bought it because its winter here, and with all the snow I can only sit by the fireplace reading something! It was either this, or another one of those Tom Clancy books! Being a beginner, I feel this the Sim has lots of important information for ME to put into my little brain so that I'm a safer skydiver!!

I'm a teacher at a local high school. I'm also a semi-active (only 40 jumps last year) skydiver. I'm in the Northern Hemispere though. I assume that I don't win the prize either!

Sometimes dogs are so weird!!! The other day I let my black lab out for a few minutes. He got done and I went out to open the door for him and he looked at me (like i was crazy) and just laid down!! I called him and he just ignored me!! I went out and pulled on his collar, and he just put his head down and refused to budge!! Three hours later with an inch of snow on him, he finally got up and barked, demanding that I let him in right now! (dinner time) Aren't dogs smart enough to know that they are supposed to be cold?? And just how warm are their fur coats!!

Mine was a 69 Z-28! White with black go-fast stripes and cowl induction hood. Its amazing what you could buy back in 1974 for $500. I got this car the day I turned 16. What a gift i bought myself!! I should have kept that car!

I actually felt pathetic today and was going to go grocery shopping. After seeing and reading what most of you have /don't have in your fridge, i don't feel bad at all now, and i'm not going shopping either. I now have Ketchup Mustard Paul Newmans dressing Half stick of butter 14 bottles of water that i froze last summer when the electricty went off for a week and we couldn't drink the water Since I feel so normal compared to most of you, I ordered two pizzas and a salad and put them in there also. Now i have food for at least 5 days.

Yep, and he sent me a video which was great!!!

Dang, and my estimate was $1179.43. I was off a little. Wait, does this include new anti-freeze, you might still be able to meet my estimate!!

I'd guess $1173.49. Assuming of course that you don't have to replace the head!

I came here when I had just completed my "A" last year at Christmas time at Eloy. During the boogie last year, I was completing my A and one of my instructors said that I should go to dropzone.com. All of YOU looked like you were having so much fun last year at Eloy that I decided to see what was going on here. I could find information here that I had a difficult time finding anywhere else during the winter time. So I decided to join all of you!!!

I made my first jump two years ago at age 45. I have my A now, so hopefully I can start jumping a lot more!!! Your not the only one!!

Hi!!! I live 7 miles from work!! I haven't missed any days yet this year!!! yet! I get 12 personal days, which can be used anytime i want, as long as it isn't the day before, or the day after a holiday!!! Its nice not having sick days. I always hated lying to the boss!! We can save up to 70 personal days. I only have 65 days saved up. I don't think i will be running out of them anytime soon. But they would be nice if i had a long term illness. Gosh, I hope you don't miss that many more days!!

Magnum P.I. i think thats the 80's, maybe the 70's, its hard , but it was always exciting!

Although i haven't registered yet, I'll be there from the 19th (late) until the 4th. Since I'm just a newbie, i'll probably be doing lots of listening/learning and watching!!!

Its about 6 hours for me each way!!! One hour to the major airport, a 4 hour flight, and one hour to the dropzone!!! Or in miles, about 2100 miles away!!! I havn't figured out yet why I don't jump more often!!! I really need to find a closer dropzone that I can call my own!!! (I would have a dropzone 22 miles away from me, but I have had ear/sinus infections now for nine months, so I didn't start jumping there, maybe next summer)

Yeah, last year we let OSU win, since the games were starting to become boring. Not to mention all the whining that OSU was doing!!! This years its all MICHIGAN!!!! M go BLUE!!!!!!

I guess i shouldn't complain then!!!

I also teach school, and have often thought about what would happen in this situation. Usually my students just take a swing at their teachers. Mine are high school. I decided a long time ago that if a student ever hits/throws something at me, before i call the office, i will call *911* . Then i will call the office. I know it may be hard to press charges, but when your small students become my big/high school students, I hope that they realize what happens when you do something like this!! I think the only way that they will learn this is to get punished when they act out!!!