[jQuery] .load not always working

[HiddenPhoenix]

i have a sidebar menu where users can click to load new data into the
main part of the screen. it works most of the time but after a few
clicks in the menu, the whole page just freezes and the loader stops
working. it doesnt load any more data. its not specific to any page or
link. it just stops after a few clicks.

this is my jquery code:

<script type="text/javascript">
        $(function(){

                //load profile main as default
                $('#mainContentArea').load('profile.cfm?id=123&type=main');

                //onClick load new page into main content area
                $('.sideBarMenu a').click(function(){
                        var thisPage = $(this).attr('href');
                        loader(thisPage);
                        return false;
                });

                //show loading message and call loadContent()
                function loader(thisPage) {
                        $('#mainContentArea').load('/common/
loading.cfm','',loadContent(thisPage));
                }

                // show content
                function loadContent(thisPage) {
                        $('#mainContentArea').load(thisPage)
                }

        });
        </script>

any ideas why my page would just freeze and load() would stop working?