From 18,000 feet up. . . (part b)

So this was one of my other favorite pictures that didn't post to the previous one.  

Topsy turvy eh?!?

From 18,000 feet up. . .

Saturday morning I woke up and all I saw was fog out my window.  Sad right?!?  Not so, I have lived here long enough to know what happens a short time later.  It got up to 90 degrees or so.  What a beautiful day.  Which happened to work out really well due to the fact that I had made some plans with a few friends to go SKYDIVING!!

We waited around for a bit and of course had to sign some papers.   Then we went up.  Took a plane to 18,000 feet.  It only took about ten minutes to get up to altitude.  Then the door was opened and guess who was the first to go.

Yep you guessed it.  We did our front roll out of the plane and then proceeded to do a free fall for about 90 seconds.  Think about that.  If you have a watch on go ahead and look at it.  Count off 90 seconds and see how long that is.  Now imagine falling for that amount of time.  

Keep in mind some of the physics involved.  We jump out and certain things start to take effect.  Gravity has a force of about 9.8 meters per second squared at sea level.  We accelerate rather quickly.  Factor in drag and a few other elements and we reach terminal velocity which is about 120 mph.  Yeah, it gets windy.

This is my jump master John.   

This whole thing was awesome!  What a great day!

Keepin' sane.

There is always stuff to do if you are willing to enjoy the moment and in my case document it, you can!

I just thought this was a funny picture.  Several saturdays there have been a group of us that get together and play strategy board games.  We had to stop by the store afterward and get some cough medicine.  We found funny hats!  This is my friend a few may know as Gaijinmetri. 

Again with the crazy deer.  They are weird and clearly not afraid.  I haven't posted a picture with a person in it for reference.  But you do get close.  The other day I was walking through the parking lot and all I did to move out of the way (which he was actually in my way.  He was taking up the whole path.  Him and his buddy) was to just detour around the side of a car and cut back in front of him.  He did stop walking and watched me pass him.  

Volleyball!  This is one of the saturday sports day activities.  We busted out and had some fun.  I still prefer beach volleyball but this will due.  Unless of course you want to dive for the ball then the wood burns get a little ouchy.

Rock out baby, Yeah!  Here are some people from class.  We were having a pizza and Rock Band night.  Tons of fun and a great way to blow off some steam.  And for anyone wondering yes I took all of these pictures.  I have a little tripod I put the camera on.  The people playing volleyball mocked me but I think it turned out well.  Also my classmates mocked me.  But I was a lively fellow and everyone had a good time.  I am only slightly posing in this rocking pose.  I say slightly posing because I am usually standing with my arms in the air.

Some great places

2009 the first quarter has also had me visiting some great new places and doing new things.  Here are a few that I will share with you today.

The boardwalk!  We drove up north and across the bay.  You can just walk around and see stuff or hang out on the beach.  There are a ton of shops you can go into and a bunch of restaurants.  You may also notice the rides in the background.  That is right.  You can buy tickets and ride them.  We did.  It was tons of fun!  Really first rate!  That one long roller coaster there is the oldest one in California!

Ok so you may have seen the ocean but I just can't get enough of it!  This was a random saturday I just felt the urge to have a little picnic on the beach.  The sun was shining and it was a nice warm day.  I think this was the last day in January for anyone who had snow on that day =D and wanted to just compare.  I stopped at subway and then went out to this beach that is fairly secluded due to the fact you have to hike up and over a massive sand dune to get to it if you don't want to walk down the coast (or drive as you can see someone had done)

Travis Air Force Base!  This is up near San Francisco.  I had the special opportunity to get out of class for a day and take a trip up there with a bunch of folks and get to see the little museum and some old planes.  We even got to go into a couple and climb around in them.  What a real treat.  It really was something special to get out and see what it is really like out there when you don't just sit in a class all day.  There is a point to it all. 

Birthdays and Leprechauns

A couple of Holidays have recently passed.  Here is what it was like for me here.

Here is the birthday boy at his desk.  I had just had lunch and then checked the mail.  Look at the haul!  That is tons of stuff!  I had cards and magazines and presents.  Wow what a great way to spend the day.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I didn't get pinched.  I was wearing green!  And of course not to forget the green food.  And you may also note the lucky charms!

And he's back.

It's been a while.  I know.  I have been busy.  To prove it, here are a couple of pictures to capture the moments of service.

Or in this case the hours of service.  It took a little more than three hours for them to finally get me into a chair.  This is me giving blood.  Yummy cookies, the little squeeze ball I got to keep, the oh so comfortable chair and the fact that they numb the area so you don't even feel the needle made this a wonderful experience.  

Here I am assisting in the changing of a very flat tire.  This was a lot of fun.  I realized that the jack I have for my vehicle may not raise high enough due to the extra clearance of it being an SUV.  I need to get some blocks of wood.  Not just a common thing around here like it once was for me.  

The drive back home

Before I took my wonderful vehicle that I have greatly missed back home I was able to enjoy a lot of time with everyone.  I even spent some time with mother nature.  

When I went sledding with Jen, Jer, and fam I decided we needed a proper snowman to watch us sled.  This is Fredrico jr.  Long story.  I haven't made a snowman in a long time and I really liked this guy.  What a great day!  Great trip really, and it wasn't over yet.

For my drive look at what it cost me to get started.  Amazing right?!?  Not bad I must admit.  Mike and David called me often (usually when I needed it the most)  and we only spoke for a few minutes at a time but it was very nice to have.  I always had some radio which was also nice.  There were a lot of miles that needed to be melted away.  speaking of melting. . . 

I did hit some snow up in the mountains and some rain in the valleys.  I stayed the night in Reno, NV.  I turned on the TV when I got to my room as some background noise but ended up falling right to sleep.  Woke up well rested and continued on my way.  This snow was what hit me after I left Reno.  

Here I am back in sunny CA.  Back to work as normal.  Going to formation through our wooded hills.  Have I ever mentioned how pretty I think it is here?  This is my friend Garret.  His ride ditched him in San Francisco so I went there to pick him up.  I don't like driving in big cities.  There is no place to park.  And you have to pay to use the restroom at the gas station.  I just went to the airport and waited for his flight to get in.  I had company at least for the last leg of the journey.  We are actually on our way to go get drug tested in this picture the next day.  What a wonderful two weeks of fun!  Thank you to everyone who put up with me for that time.  I had fun.  Thanks a million!