my random ramblingsan infrequent (and these days, mostly Mira related…) blog

7 am flight out, but delayed for various reasons and left 3 hours late. eventually got to Phoenix and made the 1 hour drive down to Eloy. was -30 with the wind chill in Jackson when i left, got to AZ and it’s in the mid 60s. insane DZ, biggest one in the world, the level of activity here is hard to imagine. people here from everywhere, training or on vacation. have heard a number of languages, met all sorts of Europeans, even including 50 or 60 Dutch paratroopers, along with folks from every other continent. only a single jump today, but expecting a busy day tomorrow. staying in the “bunkhouse”, which is worse than a hostel. Thanksgiving dinner at the Bent Prop – the DZ bar / restaurant.

first time out this winter, up on Teton Pass. climbed Mt. Glory which sits about 1600′ above the top of the Pass. coverage was pretty good up high and decent all of the way down to Old Pass Road. nice to be able to hitchhike from my driveway to the top of the Pass, and snowboard all of the way home. 🙂

got a CD in the mail from Лена with all the pictures from her camera. nice to now have 500+ pictures and videos in total from the trip, plus it gives me an excuse to post one last picture. time to start planning the next vacation…

got back from Thailand and nice to see the new construction painted. paint isn’t the best match (and will now repaint the whole thing), and there are still a couple of small items outstanding, but i can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

been snowing a lot in the surrounding mountains, but this is the first in the valley (at least since i’ve been home to witness it). not exactly ready for it, as my mind is at the beach. does that make me half-way there already?

typical long day at work, but the day ended well courtesy of another indoor soccer game with Koullis and the Greek crew. had a message from Jeff while playing that Sequoia was euthanized today – sad day for sure. 🙁 would be satisfyingly delusional to think that there is an afterlife, and you’re playing with Omen again.

bit harder to roll out of bed this morning, but got on the first load anyway. 2 more great jumps, and am now up to 78 for the summer. said my goodbyes and left early so that Mike could make a speed wing flight outside of Boise. long drive home and didn’t arrive until about midnight, but stayed up to start processing the videos from the weekend.

rolled out of the tent earlier than most, and signed up for the second load. got in 4 jumps throughout the day, and was pleased with their results. switched helmets with Mike on one of the loads and ran video for the first time. great day spent outside, and the party that night was a lot larger and more festive compared to Friday night.

picked up Mike and left early morning for the boogie in Star, ID with the trailer in tow. swung by Twin Falls on the way to take a look at the Perrine Bridge and get a better feel for its 486 feet. looks like it’ll have to wait until the spring though, along with my FJC. got to the boogie and met some great people at the DZ. did 2 jumps during the day, then hung out at the bonfire that night until eventually climbing into the trailer for bed.

was invited to play indoor soccer with a coworker and some friends from his church. enjoyed getting the rust out of my legs, but was a little weird not hearing a word of English during the games. great group of guys, even was asked if i wanted to join their Greek Olympic Society. traveling with work certainly has its upsides, as it’s pretty cool to get exposed to so many slices of life with each new client and city.