Might As Well JUMP!


My friend Alex has a blog that includes jumping pictures of all her friends from all over the world. And let me tell you, she has many friends, and from many parts of the world. She also has many friends on Kwajalein who like to inundate her mailbox with large attachments of jumping pictures.

These pics are harder to coordinate than you may think. Especially when you have more than yourself in them (and even getting yourself off the ground can prove challenging). Timing is key, but the camera's timer is not always reliable (neither is counting: "Go ON three, or right after three? Or how about four? I think four is better. Ok, so four, then?"). Take 20 shots, and you might have one good one. It is nice to have some planned action for a photo, though. Much better than the obligatory peace sign or absurd gang hommage (I've been known to throw out a West Side gesture - an arthritic combo of the 'W' and snapping - always a hit).

On this particularly sunny and springy day we had a half day off from work. All the more reason to celebrate!
And celebrate we did. Repeatedly. It took a lot of celebration to get this stellar photo. See the outtakes below:







Finally! A good one!

While we were busy taking off and jumping and landing and running to check the camera in between each shot, the clouds rolled in and threatened to end our rather fun quad workout.

So we sat around for a bit, drinking and splashing and figuring out what to do with our un-sunny freedom. Well, jump more, of course!









For a time it was just us four: Anne, Josh, Kerri and me. But then Lisa happened by. Nevermind that she was on her way to run an errand, or that she was really quite sick. We demanded she join. And she obliged.



And then even more people happened by! No one was safe heading down 6th Street. The toll was a jump (or 10), and everyone paid!

Halloween, Again

Anything that's worth doing is worth doing twice. Right? I think the saying goes something like that.
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I chose to be Stephen King's Carrie for this past Halloween. I realize I was this about 5 years ago, but since no one here knew me even 5 months ago, I felt it safe to have a repeat performance. So don't tell anyone.
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Also, bear with me while I have entirely too much fun on picnik.com. It's an online photo editing site that I absolutely love but have little to no time to play around with. UNTIL NOW! BWAHAHAHA! Exhibit A: My lovely collage to the left.

This first one's called "ghostify." You can adjust the focal point and the ghostiness of the blur. Very fun. And then I stuck it in a Polaroid frame and made it askew.
The second one involved music note stickers, star stickers, and a confetti frame found in the New Year's Day section. Perfect for a man rockin' his own disco ball!

Group shot! The one in the hat is...I actually have no idea. Tweedle Dee? Then there's Quailman in the back (salute to Nickelodeon circa 1995) with half a head, an owl, Mary Kathrine Gallagher, the Dude, Carrie, and Dwight Shrute. This effect's called "Panography-ish." You can adjust the "kookiness" of the individual squares and the opacity. Woo!
Stay tuned for more picnik abuse.

Swashbucklers' Ball


Welp, for all the fun this was, not many pictures came about! Dang! Items missed: The list of home brews, the fantastic docorations, the food, the contests, and the duck race! But I did get some shots of all the pirates and wenches, so here you go! Nevermind the terrible lighting and poor-quality photos!




Here we have a cabin girl (small boy's costume purchased at one of our three fine stores in town), a wench, and...oh look, another wench. All the ladies were wenches, pretty much. And all the dudes were pirates. We had a few cabin boys. No one dressed as a parrot, though. Maybe I'll do that next year!


Here's a picture of a Micah taking a picture of Dustin. I just can't get over how awesomely amazing my camera skills are as of late. Anyway, dinner was great. We arrived kind of late (pedelling was slow in 4" heels), so we missed out on a few dishes. But they did have beef satay w/ peanut sauce, veggies, hot wings, and cheese and crackers. It was delicious! The beverages were quite tasty, too. There were 4 homebrews (blonde, pale ale, red, IPA) and rum punch! I wish I would've taken a picture of the drink menu.




Here we have a pirate with some nasty dreads, a tattered referee (?), and what's that? Another wench? No way! We're all hanging by the bar. Typical.

A thumb might've gotten in the way here. I can only tell because the cool decorations (lights, torn pieces of cloth) are blacked out. Oh well. Kerri's got her awesome Vogue-wench outfit on, and I'm a 70s wench. I'm not sure what the headband deal was. I felt it needed to go on my head for some reason.


Sure, we're smiling. But we've got our sharp (plastic) swords to each other's neck! This was taken after some awful race in which I was forced to participate. It involved panty hose, some oranges, and a tennis ball. I'd go into detail, but it was rather lewd. I didn't win, and that's OK.








Swashbucklers' Water Balloon Fight

A few weekends ago the Kwajalein Yacht Club held their (however many) annual Swashbucklers' Ball (post coming shortly). To kick off the party, the captains of the various sailboats had a naval water balloon fight during the day. My friends and I were happy to lend a hand!The throwing technique really only worked well if the boats were close. And, sometimes they were. A little too close, maybe...










Nah, our captain (and all the other boats') is a proficient sailor. He's even dressed the part!

If the boats were more than, say, 30 feet away, we had to inact the sling. We were the only boat w/ one! Sight set...

Aim... Direct hit!


I believe our boat, Down East Trader, did end up winning the battle. It's hard to say, though. In the end, I think we went through about 900 water balloons. Provisions have already been ordered for next year!