Brian & I geared up & ready to go for 1st skydive, 9/2006. 150 lbs.
Brian & I geared up & ready to go for 1st skydive, 9/2006. 150 lbs.
Comments (13)
1308034 tn?1337644984
allyc27, Aug 21, 2010
I wish I was even half as brave as you! U go girl :)
1339332 tn?1329854366
skydivediva, Aug 22, 2010
Brave? LOL!!! I can't even walk close to the transparent railing they have on the second floor of the mall without becoming sweaty & faint! But it's entirely different jumping out of a plane! Besides, on my first jump, I was tied to an expert jumper with a charming British accent and a raunchy sense of humor. But thank you for the compliment! Someday I dream of jumping over one of the beautiful beaches of Australia. (I've wanted to visit ever since my Dad, a builder, was offered a job on the outback there when I was about 10 or 11. I read about the continent & the outback in particular in the Brittanica Junior---the comprehensive, multi-volume book of knowledge we relied on before the Internet. All I remember now is that there was a little girl "going to school" via radio while sitting in her pajamas in her living room; I thought that would be grand! And seeing koalas & kangaroos were on my list, too, of course!)
1339332 tn?1329854366
skydivediva, Aug 22, 2010
Unfortunately, my Grandmother said (in that slow, drawn out voice...you know the one I mean, right?): "Go ahead. Leave your poor old mother to die here alone (despite her good health, relatively young age and 3 other children living locally)." So Dad declined the job offer...and Nana (Grandma) lived another 30 years or so. (Dad declining the job was the unfortunate part; Nana living another 30 was fortunate. :) )
1308034 tn?1337644984
allyc27, Aug 24, 2010
lol Is this the charming, raunchy Brit?

Well I hope u can make it to Aus some day..there's lots to see and experience...Aww ur dad was a real mommy's boy lol cute. My father is the same. His parents moved to Australia so we followed a few years later. My mum had to leave her entire family behind in South Africa, that includes 9 sisters and 1 brother. We've been here since 86 and my mum has only been back once. She's happy here but I always think...what a sacrifice.
1339332 tn?1329854366
skydivediva, Aug 24, 2010
No, LOL. This is my "baby" brother; he just turned 40 in June. Having had a bad complexion since age 11 and having been overweight since college, I have rarely permitted anyone to photograph me. So, I have very few photos---probably fewer than 25---of myself taken as an adult. When I saw this one, I though, "oh, good, finally a good photo of Brian & I that I can display"...'til I noticed he was holding his fingers up behind my head like "devil's horns". The brat! LOL.

Yes, it must've been a sacrifice for your Mom. But, she has you and the rest of her immediate family and I'm sure she'd tell you that whereever her children are is home to her!

As for my raunchy Brit, Dave, perhaps I'll post a pic of him when I return home, too. He joked the entire day, putting me at ease about jumping 13,000 feet out of a perfectly good airplane. When jumping tandem, you are strapped with a double harness that holds your back to front of their torso. A few minutes before we were to jump, he suddenly, without warning, turned me sideways on the long bench in the airplane, straddling one of his legs on either side of me. I was still startled and feeling a bit dizzy as he pushed me forward to test the harness then pulled me quickly back between his legs several times while whispering "There's no extra charge for that, but now that I've done it, I have to make a lady out of you by jumping out of this damned aircraft."
1308034 tn?1337644984
allyc27, Aug 25, 2010
Ahaha thats ur brother oops :) lol his devils horns are hilarious! And with such a straight face too! He looks younger then his age.

Dave sounds very hot blooded indeed lol love it...u'll have to post a pic of him now :)

You have a beautiful face and now that u have lost the weight or loosing it I hope u will stop holding back from taking pics of urself.
1339332 tn?1329854366
skydivediva, Aug 26, 2010
Thank you for saying I have a pretty face. I've always been very self-conscious about my appearance. In fact, I've always considered myself hideously ugly, whether slim or fat or somewhere in between. When I look in a mirror, all I see are imperfections: thin hair, a bad complexion, a fat body, more recently yellowing & worn, uneven teeth, and now the changes that come with aging. Fellows never seemed interested in me as a date; we'd be the best of "buddies", there'd be flirting and I'd think one might be interested---then they'd request that I introduce them to my sister (blonde, blue-eyed, gregarious, athletic) or one of my two, very attractive, best friends. So, I became very shy & bookish & removed myself from the social scene. I've only had 4 date invitations and 2 dates in my entire life! That's why I was incredulous that Martin, handsome & successful as he was, might actually be attracted to me, but he was always complimenting me on my intellect, sense of humor, skill & kindness in caring for patients, wide interests, etc.. At first I resisted, not wanting to be disappointed again, but when he persisted over time, I thought, "maybe I've finally found a man smart enough to take the time to see through my physical imperfections and see a person of value inside." His best buddy told me that Martin had truly fallen for me, but that it scared him that I could "read" him so well. He said that he was insecure and afraid of someone who coould read between the lines of what he said & did and see his faults rather than just accepting the facade others believed was true. Who knows; I like to think so. Perhaps you are correct in concluding that the 29 yo caused me difficulty because she saw me as a threat; how hysterical but satisfying that little ol' 'plain-Jane" me could be a threat! But what matters is that falling for him did set me on a path to taking better care of myself/my appearance, taking more (calculated) risks and being more open to adventure & especially to the possibility that someone, someday will see & love the "real me".
1308034 tn?1337644984
allyc27, Aug 28, 2010
I think we all look in the mirror see our imperfections magnified times100! Its a delusion! Its very hard being a girl in a world of constant pressure to look a certain way..in order to feel worthy...s***s! And its really funny that its all an illusion. No one will ever be able to maintain that perfect youthful beauty..it all fades and goes down hill for each and every one of us. Its just so hard to except it when woman especially are so harshly judged by there physical. Please don't let ur perception of urself hold u back from living. How are u to meet people if u remove urself from social scenes? U dont do that anymore do u? Theres too much living to be done! I know its hard but u have to just keep reminding urself Ur gorgeous! U seem like such a lovely person and at the end of the day thats all that matters. U can tell ur very intelligent too with the way u write. I like reading ur comments :)

You were a threat to that 29 yr old! And it sounds to me that Martin did fall for u. If u can get a gorgeous doctor to fall for u..ur posibillities are endless!! :)
1339332 tn?1329854366
skydivediva, Aug 28, 2010
Thank you again. You are proof to me: true beauty comes from the inside. While I FIRMLY BELIEVE that statement intellectually, it is sometimes difficult to FEEL it emotionally. I meant it when I complimented your photo---you look like a model for goodness sakes! But your true beauty is that you are kind and insightful, that you seek/recognize the good in others & that you reach out to find common ground with someone like me who is so different (age, weight, appearance, country) from you. I'm a "collector of quotes"; I love people who can put my simple or jumbled thoughts into crisp, concise,  elegant words. When a friend here was feeling bad about herself (despite the fact she is very attractive and, based on our correspondence, a lovely young woman), I shared some of my favorite quotes about beauty. I read them when I'm feeling "down" about my appearance & need to regain my perspective. They are:

Beauty... when you look into a woman's eyes and see what is in her heart. -- Nate Dircks (I have no idea who Nate Dircks is; I'll have to "google" him one of these days. But I wish he was 45-55, single, fond of "plump" middle-aged women & living next door to me!)

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. -- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (What a beautiful thought, don't you think? When I was little, I used to go to church with my Dad. My Mom would dress me up with white gloves, a black patent leather purse with a hankie inside and matching black leather Mary Jane shoes that "clicked" when I walked. I'd put great effort into making them click even more loudly as Dad and I walked down the long center aisle; I wanted to be certain that everyone looked up to see my beautiful attire AND that I was holding the hand of the most handsome man there! There was a stained glass window in a recess high up behind the altar (about 2 to 2-1/2 stories tall). In the recess, there was a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The sun shown through the window and made beams of red, green, blue & yellow light stream from his outstretched hands onto the people & pews in the church. For years I thought that Heaven was behind that window and have been mesmerized by stained glass ever since. [Funny, though, I thought Hell was in the back of the church where they brought the screaming kids!]) continued



1339332 tn?1329854366
skydivediva, Aug 28, 2010
Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty - they merely move it from their faces into their hearts.
-- Martin Buxbaum  (I cling to this one as I get older! Isn't it a nice thought? It crosses my mind sometimes when I'm caring for an older patient who may have wrinkles but still maintains a soft, kind demeanor or has a playful, mischievous glint in their eye!)

That which is striking and beautiful is not always good, but that which is good is always beautiful. -- Ninon de L'Enclos (I think this describes the 29 year old. She was very pretty but not very nice where I have met other people who may not have been society's ideal in appearance but who were truly beautiful in their actions towards others.)

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched ... but are felt in the heart. --Helen Keller
(When I was little, I read a book about Louis Braille. It piqued my interest & I began to learn to read & write in Braille. For a period of time, I read everything about blind people and I was further intrigues when I learned that Helen Keller had attended Radcliffe [the female equivalent of Harvard back when education was separated by gender], a school in my state. THEN I learned that her teacher, Annie Sullivan, had lived in a "poor house" in a town very near to me---a building that still existed and one that I could visit! Needless to say, I went through a spell of being a Helen Keller-Annie Sullivan "groupie", reading everything I could about them. This quote struck me as profound then---and still does!)

The difference between pretty and beautiful is-pretty is temporal-whereas beautiful is eternal. -- Author Unknown
(How true. As you said, we all age and our appearance will change, but we can be forever beautiful if we choose to be kind and reach out to others.)

Well, I've already broken my promise to keep my correspondence more brief and it's 4:15 AM here, so I'll sign off.
I'll try to take your advice to heart, be more confident and "put myself out there" a bit more. Have a great week, Ally.
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