Stand Up For Your Beliefs

If you believe in something, don’t just sit back and listen to a talk show host, thinking “you tell ‘em!”. Go out and stand up for your beliefs. Tell people how you think. Be vocal.

Today I learned about a Spanish “version” of The Star-Spangled Banner. Here is my own version:

Jose can you see, by the dawn’s early light
That border we crossed at the twilight’s last gleaming
Get those services and great jobs, thus our perilous flight
O’er the fence we jumped, into a free land streaming!
Call us criminals you dare, to make us legal’s only fair!
No proof should we give, that we can work here.
Let no fair wages for our jobs be paid
For legals might want them, in the home of the brave.

On the border, hardly watched, hardly a moat
Where American leaders seek the almighty vote
They pander and they please, they want to be
Helping the illegals, in the Land of the Free
To the head of the line! Why should we wait?
For those following the rules, better to come late!
Let no fair wages for our jobs be paid
For legals might want them, in the home of the brave.

And where are those who so vauntingly swore
Through the havoc of politics and moral confusion
To protect our country from shore to shore?
Their actions now just ethical pollution!
No refuge should save those who our law break
O’ can’t you see, how much is at stake?
Let no fair wages for our jobs be paid
For legals might want them, in the home of the brave.

Oh! Thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and illegal’s desolation!
Blest with prosperity and peace, may our free land
We must now work to preserve us a nation.
Then stand tall we must, when our cause, it is just,
And in the rule of law let us all trust.
Let no fair wages for our jobs be paid
For legals might want them, in the home of the brave.

Legal immigrants rock! Illegals are… illegal.

Just in case you don’t know all of the original words by heart:

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause, it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Stand Up For Your Beliefs

If you believe in something, don’t just sit back and listen to a talk show host, thinking “you tell ‘em!”. Go out and stand up for your beliefs. Tell people how you think. Be vocal.

Today I learned about a Spanish “version” of The Star-Spangled Banner. Here is my own version:

Jose can you see, by the dawn’s early light
That border we crossed at the twilight’s last gleaming
Get those services and great jobs, thus our perilous flight
O’er the fence we jumped, into a free land streaming!
Call us criminals you dare, to make us legal’s only fair!
No proof should we give, that we can work here.
Let no fair wages for our jobs be paid
For legals might want them, in the home of the brave.

On the border, hardly watched, hardly a moat
Where American leaders seek the almighty vote
They pander and they please, they want to be
Helping the illegals, in the Land of the Free
To the head of the line, why should we wait?
For those following the rules, better to come late!
Let no fair wages for our jobs be paid
For legals might want them, in the home of the brave.

And where are those who so vauntingly swore
Through the havoc of politics and moral confusion
To protect our country from shore to shore?
Their actions now just ethical pollution!
No refuge should save those who our law break
O’ can’t you see, how much is at stake?
Let no fair wages for our jobs be paid
For legals might want them, in the home of the brave.

Oh! Thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and illegal’s desolation!
Blest with prosperity and peace, may our free land
We must now work to preserve us a nation.
Then stand tall we must, when our cause, it is just,
And in the rule of law let us all trust.
Let no fair wages for our jobs be paid
For legals might want them, in the home of the brave.

Legal immigrants rock! Illegals are… illegal.

Just in case you don’t know all of the original words by heart:

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause, it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Skydive

Pilots say there's no reason to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I disagree.

Few acts push the edge of human existance more than hurling yourself out of an airplane thousands of feet above the ground, with just some cloth and string (i.e. your parachute) to arrest your fall and bring you to a safe stop on terra firma. Few acts are more thrilling, few will make you feel so alive.

Skydiving is inherently not a safe thing to do, but according to the United States Parachute Organization safety in skydiving usually depends on the good preparation and judgement of the individual. Equipment failures or bad luck rarely cause mishaps.

In order to skydive, you must be 18 years of age (minors 16 and up may be allowed under some circumstances) and be in good health. You should not be taking any medication that impairs your judgement. You should not jump if you have been SCUBA diving within the last 24-48 hours. This is because you build up excess nitrogen in your blood while SCUBAing, and the lower pressures at altitude can cause a case of the bends (you also should not take a commercial airplane or drive into mountains shortly after SCUBA activity). If you recently gave blood, you may also want to wait a day or two, because you will have less blood to transport oxygen through your body. Combined with the fact that there's less oxygen at altitude, this could impair your performance.

If you decide to take the plunge, sign up for a tandem jump at a reputable school. In a tandem jump, you and an instructor share a harness and parachute. Basically you ride down attached to the instructor's front side. For help in locating a school in the USA, use the USPA group member web page.

If you're not quite ready to jump out of a perfectly good airplane but still want to enjoy some of the experience of parachuting, you may want to consider a vertical wind tunnel such as the ones at Perris Valley Skydiving (Perris, CA) or SkyVenture (Orlando, FL). You will not get the rush of freefall - the initial acceleration as you first jump out of the plane - but you will experience the sensation of weightlessness as the pull of gravity is balanced by 100+mph wind pushing you upward.

Life is short. Live well.

Diving

Tax day is soon upon those of us living in the United States. If you are like the majority, you gave Uncle Sam too much money up front, and you will be getting a refund check in a few weeks. Why not put some of that money to use to expand your horizons and do something with your life that will be memorable? You only live once (unless the reincarnation believers are right after all). Find something that flies in the face of your bland routine. That's what this blog is all about.

Today's suggestion is to explore diving. Not just the mask-and-snorkel variety you get at tropical hotels. Go out and get certified in diving. Become a SCUBA diver. It's not hard.

It is tremendiously rewarding to float weightlessly underwater, seeing a new world from a perspective that few people ever enjoy. If you have snorkeled before, you know the frustration of running out of breath and returning to the surface just as you're beginning to enjoy the underwater landscape. SCUBA offers escape into a new world and the enjoyment of exploration.

There are countless SCUBA schools around he world. Many of them run specials if you keep your eyes open, especially during the slow months.

When selecting a school, look for one that will meet your needs - not theirs. First of all, the school's instructors should be certified by one of the major dive organizations: PADI, NAUI or NASDS (Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Japan). Make sure they will teach you at your pace and allow you to repeat lessons or dives if you don't feel you have mastered what was taught during that session. Make sure the school will have one primary instructor for the class who will always be there. Avoid schools where a team of instructors takes turns teaching the classes and dive sessions. Make sure the instructor is first aid and CPR certified. If you have an opportunity to speak with former students of a school, do so. Ask them what the pace was like, how well concept were explained, and how well the instructors helped them overcome difficulties.

Once certified, you will find that divers form a fun, closely knit community. Your local dive club puts on regular events where you can meet other divers and dive together. It's a great way to spend free time - much better than watching reruns of Friends.

What if you're already a certified diver? Get an advanced certification! That's a great way to meet new divers, learn new skills and see things you have never seen before. Stop surfing the net, get outside and do something unusual with your life (just remember to check back here regularly :-)

Enjoy!

PS - Interesting fact: SCUBA is an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

Live Among Strangers

Wherever you live, people have established ways of doing things, established things they do, and established attitudes. This is part of what we call our culture. If you really want to experience an entirely new side of life, REALLY get off your sofa and move to a foreign country. Go ahead, leave your comfort zone. You will have to figure out lots of things all over again (some as simple as how to buy milk), but you will learn so much in the process. I'm not talking about a 2 week vacation somewhere exotic. To make it worth the experience, you need to pull up your roots and get out of dodge for at least three months. A year is even better.

Where do you get started? That depends on your current situation. If you're a student, great. You're in luck. Take advantage of one of the well-established student exchange organizations such as AFS. Other organizations such as Rotary International also run great programs.

If you're already out of school, you also have options. If your job skills are in demand, check with the local embassy or consulate of the country you want to live in. Doctors, computer programmers and other professionals stand the best chance of getting a work permit. While traveling abroad, I came across many Americans working without a work permit. This is risky. Be sure you know what you're getting into if you go that route.

If your job isn't so in demand that they will just give you a work permit, consider going to school. A popular choice is language school. Google the web for "language school abroad" and you will find lots of offerings. If you at least graduated High School, it is not too hard to enroll in a foreign university directly (without going through any kind of exchange program). Some countries have very inexpensive or even free education.

If all else fails (or if it's really your thing), consider getting abroad by volunteering for a religious or humanitarian organization.

Get off the sofa! I mean it. Life is too short. Figure out what you really want to do with your life and just do it.

Soar Above the Rest

Some people love the idea of flying. We dream of soaring above the world, looking at everything from a bird's perspective. We dream of mastering flight.

Why dream? Flying is not hard. I know. I'm a pilot.

You don't have to be a superhuman to take control of an airplane. It just takes the motivation to get up off the couch, go to your local airport, and begin.

Not sure if you would REALLY enjoy flying? Go try it out! Local flight schools and clubs will be happy to arrange an introductory flight. They will tell you what to expect, and put you behind the controls (don't worry, the instructor has his or her own set of controls, too :-) Find your introductory flight on the Be a Pilot industry website.

You might also want to check out this blog about becoming a pilot. One pilot shares his experience learning to fly. You can save time, money and frustration by reading it.

If you have ever dreamt about flying, get off of your couch and go do it. Today. Don't let your life fly by without living your dreams.

Life on the Edge

Many of us lead a mundane existence, working our 9-5 jobs, coming home after work to watch TV, and catching the game on the weekend. A few of us live on The Edge, exploring all that life has to offer. Sometimes, The Edge catches up to someone leading an otherwise ordinary life.

I like The Edge. I don't know the meaning of life, but I'm pretty darn sure it's not to spend my free time watching scripted events play out in a little box in my living room. If you like The Edge, you will feel at home here. Please share your experiences! If you feel that life is somehow bland and you are searching for inspiration, you may find it here. Finally if you really are happy living through other people's experiences, this blog might be more interesting than what you find on TV (and just maybe you'll realize you want to walk The Edge yourself).

Each post will explore a new, different way to explore The Edge.

Life is not safe. Living on the edge less so. You need to decide what your personal risk profile is. No one can make that decision for you. If you don't agree, click here.

That being said, welcome to Life on the Edge!