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Bet ya didn't know today starts Physician Assistant week...http://www.aapa.org/newsroom/pa-week.html...just a random gee-whiz fact.
My actual 30th B-day fell on Thursday, September 25 which was the same day as Brett and Kelly's rehearsal dinner in Austin a little over a week ago. The rehearsal was at a house off 620 in Austin's famous hill country. The view, weather, and company were unbeatable. After the rehearsal dinner everyone met at County Line off Bee Caves for some BBQ and Beer. The dinner was super duper fun. Congrats to Kelly and Brett for finally tying the knot. I hope they have a looong and memorable marriage. I know they will. They are perfect together.
After the rehearsal dinner....Carter, Geoff, Dedo, Banks, Ben and I hit downtown Austin for some shots and drinks. It was about 12:30 when we made it down there, so drinks had to go down....FAST. Needless to say, we all got drunk. Thanks fellas...I don't remember much, but I bet I had fun.
So...a little over a week passes and I get some unfortunate news that Leslee is moving back to Austin...on Sunday. I'm bummed...
Little did I know that Sister and Leslee had a little trick up their sleeve and were planning a little surprise party. Leslee played the part very well and had me going the entire time. Im usually very aware of whats going on around me and still cant put together all the clues to give the surprise away. I really thought we were just meeting Shannon and Eli for a quick dinner and then headed home or to another bar to meet Geoff and Dedo. Lately, Victor Tango's has not been on my "favorites list" because I always thought it was was a crowded claustrophobic bar with a long wait...to me, that combination is equals ANXIETY. Luckily, when we walked in it was NOT crowded at all. It was actually a little slow for a Saturday night. I quickly felt relieved. Leslee brought me to the back of the bar to say hi to Greg Cats (GM) and I hear "whats up bitches?!" from a very familiar voice. It was Geoff. Then Adam, Clark, Jeremy, Brooke, Dedo(nt), Banks, Sarah, Lizzie, and Shawn all followed out after. I was shocked. Sooo...hats off to Leslee and Lizzie for making this happen. I really had no idea that this was planned. 9 shots and god knows how many Beers and "Moscow Mules" later...we made it home. I felt surprisingly well on Sunday morning, but bummed out b/c I knew Saturday night was the last night Leslee was going to be in Dallas...
Thanks everyone for making it out. It meant a lot to me...
A few months ago I found out Mr. Brett was going to have his bachelor party in Scottsdale Arizona. Hearing this made me very excited because I knew this was going to be a perfect opportunity to leave a few days before hand and check out the largest skydiving center in the world in Eloy Arizona. Not only is it the largest dropzone in the world, but it is also home to one of the nicest wind tunnels in the world. Just to give you an idea of the massivness of this place, here is a list of airplanes they have to cater to all the crazies that enjoy leaping from...errr...not so perfectly build airplanes.
• 3- SUPER TWIN OTTERS 23 skydivers (each)
• 4- SKYVANS 23 skydivers (each)
• 1- KING AIR A100 16 skydivers
• 1- DC-3 43 skydivers
• 1- BEECH 18 10 skydivers
When I arrived, I honestly felt like I was Clark W. Griswold pulling up to Wally World for the first time. It was early in the morning and completely dead....after all it was a Wednesday morning. I headed over to the wind tunnel and purchased an hour block which is equal to about 70 skydives. If you are not familiar with wind tunnels, they are training grounds to allow people learning to fly, to practice flying or flailing for hours at a time. They are very expensive and much harder than the videos you might have seen on the internet. Shit, I couldn't even stand up in it...I heard it was hard, but I really had NO IDEA (watch the video, you shall see). When I arrived, As I arrived at the highly anticipated wind chamber, I was ready see how shitty I really am in the sky.
All the people there were really nice and I
All the folks that I drank beer with on Wednesday night were super friendly (and funny). The coaches in the Tunnel were amazing flyer's and extremely helpful....
The trip to skydive Arizona was fun. It was another one of those trips that I completely winged from beginning to end and everything worked out perfectly. I didnt know where I was staying, how I was getting there, or how long I was going to stay. It turned out everything worked out perfect. I even got to make a few jumps which was nice. I will be going back next year to redeem myself in the tunnel.
I was so excited to move into my very first "Home". Well, I lived there for about 6 Months, then realized I was moving to Dallas, so my first "Home" is gone. I only have pictures of it...
After moving to Dallas, I can honestly say I dont miss it AT ALL. I do miss my neighbors though. 
Today, I found out some very unfortunate news...
I found out that a good buddy of mine has critically injured himself in a skydiving accident. My brother broke the news to me this morning, but was unaware of the seriousness of the incident. The first thing I did was send Rob a Text. No Answer. I then called. No Answer. A few minutes later, I got a phone call from Rob's phone. It was his partner...Chuck.
I have never met Chuck, but he seems like a wonderful person.
Long story short, Rob made a low turn and hit the ground pretty hard. He shattered his pelvis, legs, foot and broke a few vertebrates. Luckily, there was no upper body or head trauma. That being said, he still has a long road to recovery and he and his family will be in my prayers. This is Rob's second serious skydiving accident and I have a feeling it might be his last. Some are saying that he will probably never be able to skydive again, but only Rob can decide that.
Rob was the first person that I met at Skydive Dallas and I feel like he took me under his "wing" and "showed me the ropes"...so to speak. He was the only person to reach out and I'm sad he will be gone.
A few months ago, we were sitting in the plane on the way to altitude. I have a natural tendency to bite my nails (been biting them since I was 3 years old). Rob caught on and smacked my hand out of my mouth and told me to quit biting them. Ever since then...I haven't touched them. He will be proud...
GodSpeed Rob...heal fast brother...see you soon...
Video of us jumping! Old, but funn....
The original reason to stop by Lake Tahoe was for the annual e-Quantum conference that is held in random locations around the USA. This year happened to be in South Lake Tahoe. Holy shit....that place is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It brought back memories from the time that I lived in Steamboat Springs Colorado. It was a small town that was controlled by the locals and the casinos.
The time there was fun and I have to say that I met some really cool people. The first night I was there, I met BetZ and her mom at Fire and Ice which lead to drinks and gambling at the Harrah's Casino. I had no idea what i was doing so BetZ lead the way to winning a hefty sum of $1600 bucks on one pull of the slot machine. How FUN! I didnt even know what happened and woke up and a bunch of hundreds in my pocket. After all the gambling, I came out ahead about 1200 dollars and threw it in my suit case so I couldnt blow it all...which almost happened (a few times). Anyway, if you read this, thanks for the luck BetZ and see you in Cinci soon!!
The recent trend that I have been following has been to mix work and pleasure when I travel. After the Conference, I decided to wing the trip, stay a few extra days, and head over to Minden (about an hour away) to make a couple of jumps and meet the folks over at Skydive Tahoe. I kept hearing and seeing pictures of how beautiful the lake looked from altitude and felt the need to experience it first hand. Ajah (DZO) was nice enough to pick me up from the hotel and drop me off at the DZ. Everyone was super nice and helpful. I was really hoping their PAC750 would be there in time for my trip, but due to gas prices and shipping methods, it was on a bit of a delay...so not PAC750. Their plane was a 206 which took FOREVER to get to a dinky 10,000 feet. There were a few things that really surprised me. One...the air is much thinner up there b/c we are already 4500 feet from sea level which means freefall and canopy ride are much quicker. Each freefall (SitFly) was only 35 seconds or so and my Sabre2 170 flew like a 135 or 150. It was INSANE! I liked the speed though. It was fun. The only thing I didn't like was the landing area. It was small and a van ride from the hanger.
A few months ago, one of the owners had a terrible spinning malfunction and hit the ground at a unsurvivable rate. I saw pictures of him and could help but feel like something was missing. Nobody spoke of his death, but pictures all over the hanger let me know that he was truly missed and the place and energy were not the same without him.
I took a few pictures. One picture is of a group that called themselves the "Flying Elvi". The "Flying Elvises" was taken and not allowed to be used because it already belonged to the guys from "Honeymoon in Vegas". There were ten guys in all matching suits jumping out of two places with smoke cans on their feet. Dunno what they did in the air, but it looked funny.
I also saw the new "Indiana Jones" movie, ate at a few really nice restaurants (Wild River" in Reno was delicious). Stayed at a strange and obscure hotel in Reno, Took a boat on Lake Tahoe for a few hours, and ran about 8 miles along the Lake Tahoe shore.
Its good to be alive.
