parachutes, legs, and pigs feet

Parachutes

some would say there are two kinds of people in the army...you can be airborne, or a leg (somebody who can't jump and therefore has to walk to get to his destination) last weekend was my first jump since Airborne School. that was 3 and a half years ago. i wouldn't call myself a leg seeing as how im not, but i sure felt like it. not only had i not jumped in 3 and a half years, i had never jumped ramp (out the back, which turned out to be quite easy actually), i have never jumped night, (in jump school you do, but its not really that dark and they light the ground up a bit. not last weekend, it was pitch black), and i jumped a chute i hadn't seen or used before (not much different, but when it was still in the back of my mind) all that to say, it was a bit of a rush.

like everything else in the military, there is some type of tradition that goes way back to ancient times that must be upheld or the army gods just might have to intervene or something. well on your first jump out of school you're considered a "cherry jumper" for obvious reasons. well to make sure you and EVERYBODY ELSE around you knows, they do something like this to your helmet. this was actually one of the other PVTs but you get the point.

well lucky me, not only did i get my helmet

taped up in red, but just before getting on the

bird to go jump, chief (the guy who's been

jumping forever and knows anything and

everything there is to know about falling out

of a plane) walks up to me and says,

"hey Krishnan, take this, a cherry candy. if you make it to the drop zone alive, open it up and eat it in celebration." he walks off...

gotta love chief.

in typical army style, somebody's three Ps of planning left us without dinner. (a 19 hour day, 12 of which we went hungry.) but i guess if its not a good time, its a good story so starving probably just added to the memories. either way, after spending 6 hours sitting on the runway freezing and hungry we got on the plane.

as far as the jump, i guess i couldn't have been that nervous because all i remember was taking off and i was out like a light. i woke up to my friend knocking on my helmet as the first chalk was about to jump. right as i woke up the ramp dropped and i all the sudden i started to think, "i really hope i remember to do it all right and that i don't get my head stuck in a static line or something stupid" i'm pretty good at dealing with stuff like this, i just don't think, i just do. and usually by the time you should be getting scared, you're already done. but i couldn't do that because you can't exactly just up and go. so i just sat there bouncing my legs like i usually do to release energy when i'm not allowed to move. well the time came soon enough and all i remember was running out the door yelling "what the hell am i doing?!" to my SGT.

I came out like a top and by the time i got all un-spun, i was a little disoriented and didn't know which way to go so i just sat back and enjoyed the ride. as far as rides go, it was the most relaxing and peaceful thing i've done in a LONG time. its so quiet its almost eerie. and you can't really see much except lights off in the distance and the plane trailing off. the parachutes blend in with the black ground so the only people i could see were the two behind me. it was a pretty cool jump. and my landing was actually really smooth. if it weren't for the fact that i already bruised my butt on my practice jumps off the tailgate of a truck, it would have been a painless landing! i also landed about 2 and a half miles from the check in point. but i didn't mind. the walk was nice. so all in all, not too bad for my cherry jump.

and for those of you who want to live the airborne dream through youtube,

here are some good ones for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9J7cHt3X2E&feature=related

and this is just another funny one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTCkfgmijGA

for those of you who know, this is like the hangover after a good party. and they were nasty. the DZ was covered in stickers, tumble weeds, goat heads, and every other plague weed you can think of.

in other news, a couple of our medics taught a couple

of us how to suture. we went out and bought some

pig feet, cut the open, and practiced putting them back

together.

this is a shout out to you pete. next time you slice

your foot open, i got your back.

sometimes i wake up just wanting to punch somebody in the face

So we went at it!

and after round one...

But a little bloody nose never hurt anybody...

so we went at it again.

but after the first one, anything that touched

my nose pretty much ended like this.

next time i'm just gonna not get hit in the face.

thats the plan.

back from the dead!

bon voyage!

peace out America! see you soon

Tattoos!

sorry for how unorganized i've been, but i got behind from being gone so much and the only way to catch up is to just throw these up here. again, they are not in any specific order, and you probably won't get much background on them, but here they are. enjoy

tattoos. what couldn't be fun about this?

and i'll try to post more soon but its summer and

its hot and the lake sounds really good so this is

it for right now.

this is why i never get things done.

and i love it.

more from the AK. in no real order.

clams cont.

i had no video for this next step. here you go.

after boiling clam. drop into cold water.

remove clam from shell.

discard shells and keep clams.

which look more like the 12th evolutionary

stage of a fetus. just sayin

next. find and remove guts, things that don't

look like good eating, and as stated by the pro

on youtube, the "clear reproductive noodle"

which definitely fits into the "not good to eat"

category.

and you thought the kill-bar wouldn't show up.

wrong!

jess found it...and screamed like a wee child

as she dropped the knife on the ground

and almost tipped our pot of clam guts all

over the floor.

clam meat saved. guts and

clear reproductive noodles

not saved. let the cooking

begin

we ended up with linguine with red sauce and

clams as well as deep fried breaded clams with

homemade horseraddis horseradish h sauce.

a little terribly overcooked broccoli, my bad,

a glass of wine, and there you go.

WINNER WINNER CLAM DINNER!

this production was made possible by brad.

a lot of random things on random days i don't remember in a random order

random day i can't remember 1.

im a criminal. this was my criminal activity...

its no grand theft auto but illegal none the less.

random day i don't recall 2.

this day we went clamming. im not the biggest

fan of clams. but pulling out of the sand and

turning it into dinner is quite fun i have to say.

thanks to youtube and an old man on the beach

we figured it out.

didn't get that one. but we did this time.

another day.

driving. stopped at a lake because the water

is so pretty. a nice tealish color from the

glacier melt.

stay tuned. more to come soon...

may5-7. getting lost. airplanes, and saving lives. its what i do

wake up. eat. walk. get lost. walk more. get

wet. walk more. still lost. walk more. oriented.

walk more. walk more. walk more. get home.

here are a few videos from the plane ride to

McKinnley. enjoy the scenery. i wish a camera

could do this justice.

wherever we go this happens.

rach took it like a champ. camera. waterproof

phone's good. ipod....not so much.

damn electronics.

may4. more fun in the kitchen

and yes. it turned out quite nicely. however, i

still need to find the perfect zucchini bread. the

banana is good, but its not exactly what i was

looking for. but for now, i'm starting to get tired

of eating this stuff...so i must wait to continue

my search.

homeschool

apr30. on baking

Here is a picture of the pear bread that i made

a few days ago. i was bored and was inspired

to attempt baking...because i hate it and suck

at it. well this bread turned out great!

today i decided to step up my

game with some zucchini bread.

and here is the final product. not too bad huh?

not too bad for carrot, zucchini, cucumber bread

apr27. on food

i guess they don't include the user's manual in

the displayed price. you gotta buy it separate.

lucky for me, corrie knows how to eat these

things so i'm going over for lessons when they

get home.

i don't know why i can't wait. i just can't. i don't

remember the last time i just let the cookies

cool and eat them. i like them right out of the

oven. just be careful of burns. both on the hands and

mouth. i know because when you pick up a

piece of cookie that's too hot, you have to put

it somewhere and well, the mouth is where its

going anyway. well then you get both your

fingers and your mouth burned. spoon.

apr27. another day in paradise...turns bad

its getting warm here. and so is the ice.

a lot of places are this soft so i thought nothing

of it. wrong.

and thats when it happens. when you least

expect it. yes it was cold. no my phone didn't

die. and lucky for me it was only a little over

waste deep.

jk

apr22 nothing goes as planned.

im starting to think there is a specific kind of

rush you get from getting somebody else's

property stuck or damaged. that "oh ___!

this isn't mine!" feeling. i may have done

this a few times.

sorry to talk for that long with food in my

mouth... that stuff was just hard to eat!

apr18-19. flying solo!

The trip out here was by plane thanks to Jake.

it was a 15 minute flight. the drive, not so much.

No i never had to turn around. I did check my

GPS a few times. 2 hours later i am seriously

contemplating an aircraft license.

i guess the dogs like to run home.

ok little miss sadie, im in a full size truck. you

were made to heard sheep, not me. whatev.

did i mention how much i love driving dirt roads?

a lot.

im getting used to the ice now. that was a bit

sketchy for me being on the 6 wheeler. i just

floored it and it was fine.

here are my new friends. my dog gang.

there's not much to say about this one.

so judge me

apr16 last day in utah

this may not have been the best way to

start the summer...but it was so worth it!

apr13,14,15. SLCWafflesSmithandEdds

apr 13. im starting to think that

every good trip to SLC involves

a stop here. Bruges Waffles and Frites.

why i chose to take a picture of this?

who knows. its a replica of the most

photographed statue in...wherever

the real one is. why let it stop there?

apr15. Smith and Edwards

apr10,11,12

Here are some of the last videos i have taken

I wish i was quick enough to get a picture/video

of the finger when it was actually out of joint.

it was bad! but the second i saw the look in Tay's

eyes and heard him saying "FIX IT!!!!" i knew

i should probably just do it. just know it was sick!

Thanks Mat and Lanie for everything! this

was at the BBQ and i had a blast. and

thanks to all of you who came out.

DW is not my gf for the record...i don't know

what kind of lies aimee has been spreading.

but its NOT TRUE!

apr10. im gonna do what im gonna do...try and stop me

The original

after some custom work.

i always had an idea of some final touches

that would make this bike rock.

some day people will learn, when i make up my

mind about stuff like this

its going to happen

and here is the final product of my saturday morning

there are still a few things to be done. but they will happen soon enough

count on it

this has nothing to do with motorcycles.

it just scared the $*#) out of me.

before stopping that care in the middle of the street (2nd of two cars), this person just popped up at my door which was open and in a very loud voice asked me for money. it may not have scared me so bad if i saw her coming but it was out of nowhere! ask mat. he was there

apr8

I have no movie for apr7. so here's you quick

update.

took truck out to play.

hit snow bank.

hard.

pulled alignment out.

messed up torsion bar setting.

it tasted so good...but what a terrible idea.

i felt like your favorite 4 letter

word afterward. which was not much

different than how i was feeing before.

so i take it back. it was a good idea.

apr6

she makes a bomb scone! oh jesse jean.

I didn't video this, but that rash...shingles.

after finding that out, i decided to go ahead

and just treat myself to dinner.

and no, this is not the vitamix vlog. it just so

happens to be something i use every day

and it works its way into everything. ok im

done advertising.

maybe i should have used the vitamix for the

falafel...it probably would have tasted better.

apr4. easter

im pulling the bandage off where my port was.

this one is probably a little gross for some of you.

just throwin that out there. and sorry about

missing half the video. its hard to focus on what

im doing and watch the camera in the mirror.

this was one of the most rewarding things

to happen since cancer. in my mind,

this really marked the end of treatment.

you have no idea how happy i am to

have this little bastard out of my chest.

yesterday i had an epic defeat in my

battle against foods i can't have.

sorry you can't see in this video, just know its bad

my body may be falling apart as fast as

my stuff, but at least i can still eat

chocolate!

the key to my heart may be through new socks... maybe

3apr. what a day.

breakfast in 10 seconds.

sorry about the music. i had headphones

running music and turns

out the video records the music at full volume.

technical difficulty. im learning how it all works

recap on my eventful saturday.

"thank you mat" it cut that part out.

this is what happens when you try to

be smart and buy nice things. you find

out the break just like old things.

that said, that truck is FUN! if it were

not such a gas suck, i might decide to

keep it.

apr2. proof that you can go 0 for 7 even after the breakfast of champions

today's actually tasted quite good.

I really enjoy the bike commute, i just wish it was warm.

20 long minutes later...

I can't believe i used to ride this thing so much.

borrowed a car and went looking for some parts i need to finish my truck tomorrow

this is turning into a treasure hunt.

after 7 tries...

yeah..the part i finally did get will not work. either i get the rusted one off tomorrow or its new shocks. i guess we'll see, tomorrow.

apr1. it starts