What it's like to jump out of a perfectly good plane...

A while back I went to the island of Oahu in Hawaii. One of the days we were there, we wanted to go skydiving. So we get to the place and the first thing that happens is they make you watch this short video about the dangers of skydiving. This video consisted of a man with a very long gray beard speaking very monotone about how it is very dangerous and it is very possible that you will die if you go through with it. Then it proceeded to show actual footage of the landing field right outside the place where an ambulance was pulling up to carry off someone who, to put it lightly, had a bad jump. After the video, they give you this huge contract that you have to sign every page of, that basically says that I understand that I may die or be seriously injured during the jump and that neither myself, nor my family will hold them responsible. After you sign your life away, its time to suit up. A guy comes up and gets you into the harness and then proceeds to attach himself to you and you are connected to him throughout the rest of the experience. Then you climb into this little tiny airplane with about 6 other people who are also jumping out. The plane climbs higher and higher and proceeds to get further out above the beautiful clear ocean. This was also kinda a nerve-racking part, because by now, its been so built up, and you can see that your about to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with some stranger attached to your back. Once we hit the right elevation, the door opens up and the single skydivers start disappearing out of the door. I am the last one to go. The guy attached to me says, "okay, lets go!" We move to the edge of the plane, my feet barely clinging on, and he shouts,"one, two, threeeeee!" We fly out into the air, I see the horizon flipping upside down a few times, but thinking back, I think it was us that were flipping around! I didn't even have time to be scared by this point because it was just the most amazing experience I've ever had. I felt like Mighty Mouse flying through the sky. I was screaming and I could tell my lips were flapping in the breeze from the 150mph wind hitting me. After about 45 seconds he pulls the cord and the chute comes out. And it feels like we are suddenly suspended in the air. There is nothing between my feet and the ground which is now about 3500 feet below me. The site is unbelievable, it was the perfect day to go as I could see for miles, the beautiful island of Oahu. He let me steer the chute for a minute which was pretty cool. And after another 10-15 minutes we were near the ground and I was lifting my legs up so he could land us safely on the ground. Once we hit the ground I had the immediate sensation that I wanted to do it again right away. I highly recommend skydiving to anyone who is looking for a thrill. Only the build-up is the scary part, cause the rest of the time, your so in awe of what is going on, you don't have time to be scared. Skydiving on a tropical island.......check!!!

Why do my parents keep "retiring" my pets?

Disclaimer: My parents are very loving people that have hearts of gold and would do anything for anyone, and I do not at all place any sort of blame on them for the following riff.

Now, getting that out of the way. I talked to my dad today and he casually worked into the conversation that they had just put my very last remaining pet cat, Sammy to sleep. We all know that's just a nice way of saying they took her to the vet to have her pumped full of so many drugs her little system would just shut down forever. This is not the first time this has happened.

Exhibit One:
Let's go back to when I was a little Mindy and in pre-school. My mom had picked me up as she did everyday and I was excitedly telling her my adventures of the day. Then she says, and i remember this like it was yesterday, "Mindy, I have some bad news, we had to give Oreo (my dog) away to a nice farmer who has a lot of land that he can run around and he'll be much happier there. Well, of course I was sad, despite the fact that Oreo was not the nicest dog you've ever met. He was actually kind of mean and wouldn't really let anyone get near him. But he was my dog. So of course I was sad to hear that he got taken to this magical place. But, I thought, at least he'll get to live on a farm right?! That must be every dog's dream! It was not until many many years later, that I finally learned what the "farm" really was.

Exhibit Two:
I used to have a hamster named Leroy. He only had one eye, but he was a cute little guy. My sister gave him to me, cause she had used him for some science experiment (no, that is not why he only had one eye) and when the project was over, I was the proud owner of Leroy. He was a sneaky little hamster though. He used to somehow escape during the night and when I woke up in the morning I would have to look around the house to find him. Anyway, so one morning when I woke up, Leroy was once again gone. But this time my Dad found him. He stepped on him. Poor little Leroy. He was still alive though, and seemed fine, so I wasn't sad. Until the next morning when Leroy was still in his cage, and the only reason he didn't escape, was cause he was dead.

Exhibit Three:
My favorite cat I ever had was named Nabi. (Rhymes with hobby) He was the coolest. I loved this cat. ONe day, my dad comes in the house and he's like, "well, I ran over the cat." Of course I was very concerned and asked him if he was still alive, and in fact he was, although he did have to live with a crooked head for the rest of his life. This particular story does not end in an unfortunate demise springing from my parents actions but I thought I would include it anyway. Nabi actually lived a long time after he was run over, and after getting his tail bitten off, riding in my dad's engine to work one day and getting run over, he finally used up all his lives and was fatally hit by a car.

Exhibit Four:
I had another cat named Fuki. (Rhymes with dookie) We had him for a really long time. One day my dad comes in the house and he's like, "well I ran over Fuki." Turns out that he also lived through it, although he would live out the rest of his years with his stomach dragging on the ground. Anyway, so I go to college, come back for the summer after my freshman year. My parents pick me up and my dad says, "well, you'll notice something missing around the house." I'm thinking oh, maybe they got a new couch or something. Then he says, "we put the cat to sleep." What a start to the summer.

Exhibit Five:
I had another cat named Zoli. (Rhymes with golly) He was a cool cat too and we had him for a while also. This one was pretty recent. My mom calls me up and tells me that they put him to sleep. Now I have to say, this one was a real shocker. He wasn't too old, he was really a good, nice cat, and I didn't see it coming at all. They said that he was getting fussy in his old age. I have no proof, since I only see him like twice a year now so I cannot vouch for how "fussy" he was getting.

Exhibit Six:
Sammy. My parents are moving out of the house that I grew up in. Pretty weird. They are moving to a condo so they couldn't bring the cat with them, because she was an outdoor cat. So after trying to get a few people to take her in, they resorted to putting her down.

These are all the examples I have. I'm sure that they had to do what they had to do mind you, they never asked me to take any of the animals before ending their happy existence on this planet. I'm starting to think that they probably have a frequent "putting to sleep" card at the vet. Anyway, to all that have animals, love them all you can, cause you never know when someone will put them to sleep and then wait for an in-opportune time to tell you about it.

Think Caveman Era...

Well now we have cars everywhere but think back to when we didn't have cars and everyone rode horses. Do you think that if we continued on that track instead of inventing the wheel and airbags and stuff, do you think that we would be using other animals as forms of transportation? What I mean is, do you think that we would still have SUV type things but instead of a big car, the SUV would be like, an elephant or a rhino? And sports cars would be like cheetahs or panthers and compact cars would be maybe umm.... turtles or miniature ponies. Wouldn't that be wild? Ha, wild! Okay, well at least we wouldn't be fighting about oil. Although, there might be some arguments over "curbing your animal/car."

And i was like, "uh oh"

So the other night I'm getting ready to go to sleep and as I'm peacefully emerging into my bed, i notice a big spider in the corner of my room. the corner just to the left of my bed. so i think to myself, "hmmm, should i kill it so it doesn't come and get me during the night? or should i let it be and perhaps we can enjoy a perfectly happy co-existence? well, I've heard that killing spiders is bad luck, and let's be honest i was never going to kill it, i would have probably called upon Karim to take care of our new eight legged roommate, so i let him be. i go to sleep and dream of sugar plumbs and lolly pops and the next morning when i wake up, i decide to check on my new friend. much to my dismay, he was no longer there, and i was like, "uh oh!!" did i eat him in my sleep? don't they say that you swallow like 7 spiders during your lifetime while your sleeping??? i can only hope that if that was in fact the case, that maybe he was my seventh and final spider and i have filled my quota on spider eating. but really, i hope he just moved away.

My momma always told me...

My Mom always told me that if i finished up all my dinner it would be a sunny day tommorrow. so through the years i've done my darndest to eat every last morsal of my dinner in hopes for a day full of sunshine. well, suprisingly enough, it did not always work out that way. in fact sometimes after i finished up my dinner, it rained the next day. or even snowed in some cases. so i says to mom i says, "Ma! what up with that whopper of a tale you told me about finishing dinner?" and she responded calmly saying that its not just the food on your plate that needs to be gone, its all the food on the table. so in case you were confused as was I, you must finish everything edible on the table to in fact expect a sunny day tommorrow. Thanks for clearing that one up Ma.

Just what are those birds thinking??

Well today, i wanna blog about birds pooping on people. do you think that they're up there targeting the ones that they dump on? i mean really, is it a coincidence when you feel that little tap on your head only to reach your hand up to feel a slimy soft goo? i once got pooed on. yep, me. no one is safe really. i was at the beach. my assasin.. a seagull. i never did see which one it was but i'm sure it saw me a mile away. he had a plan alright. if i remember correctly it landed on my shoulder. my mom once told me that its good luck to have a bird poop on you. my mom told me that its good luck to have a bird poop on you. i just thought i should repeat that one. well if momma knows best then, i have some pigeon chasing to do, cause i could stand some good luck.