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rsmn17

Non-skydiving friends

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Anybody have problems with non skydiving friends?? I have one really close friend that I'm going through my training with and I realize that I'm very lucky for that seeing as how so many go through it alone. But my problem is...i'm finding myself not even wanting to talk to my friends because all I want to talk about is skydiving. I've heard that will eventually go away but it's like we have nothing in common anymore. I catch myself turning any conversation into a skydiving conversation and all I get is this look that says, "you are crazy". Then they tell me i'm crazy and ask questions like...aren't you scared your chute won't open?? I even try to "convert" some of them thinking if they try a tandem they will want to do it solo like I did. I guess I'm just starting to realize that skydiving isn't just something fun to do but it's a way of life. I don't even think I could ever be happy if I were to quit. Am I asking too much of my friends to put up with me right now? Is it even possible to have whuffo friends? If so, how on earth do you start to explain something like this to them?

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i'm finding myself not even wanting to talk to my friends because all I want to talk about is skydiving. I've heard that will eventually go away but it's like we have nothing in common anymore



Im still waiting for it to go away... you have little in common with your old friends, stop wasting your time... joking , I have one wuffo friend, she liked the first ohhh 5 or 6 jump stories, then when I started learning the actual terms, and started talking about things she couldnt understand, we made an agreement, no more skydiving talk, it bores the shit out of her...

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I catch myself turning any conversation into a skydiving conversation



You say this like its a bad thing :D

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it's a way of life



YUP DZ.com is a good example... look at the people with the really high jump numbers...they are surronded by other skydivers, they still talk skydiving all the time... That will be us in a decade...

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Am I asking too much of my friends to put up with me right now?



Nahhhh they werent friends if it doesnt survive your new addiction... join the ADHD crowd

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Is it even possible to have whuffo friends? If so, how on earth do you start to explain something like this to them



Id say yes, and you dont, I made my point clear before to my friend "You wont understand...blah blah blah , most free feeling blah blah blah , just you and the sky blah blah blah" guess what she hears? "Im trying to kill myself, the plane must be on fire cause I jumped out of it, they need to up my medication" etc....
Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

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The "I can't talk about anything but skydiving" phase seems to last 50-100 jumps.

It's definitely possible to keep wuffo friends - you just need to ensure you don't bore them with skydiving talk. It also helps if they prefer meeting up on weeknights, 'coz on weekends you'll often be at the DZ.

Welcome :)

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Like others have said, generally it's a phase you'll go through where all you want to talk about is jumping. I had that for the first few months, then you realise that your friends really don't care about skydiving like you do and they'll get annoyed pretty quickly with your one-track mind.

When I stared jumping everyone told me to prepare for losing all my whuffo friends but I honestly haven't lost any of the really close ones in the long run. Life is about balance, although you've found a new and fun hobby it doesn't mean you can't still enjoy all the things you used to enjoy previously. I think i'd be really disapointed if I lost all my good friends because my passtime was getting in the way. Sure at the beginning it's tough to make time for everything and I had a few fights with my mates because I was always at the dz, but if these people have been in your life for a while there is a reason you're still friends and that should be motivation for you to hold onto their friendship... if you make no effort they'll probably think you've replaced them with a sport and that wouldn't wash with even the nicest person if they really care about you.

You'll make heaps of new friends and no doubt you will drift from a few of your old friends but the ones that you care about should stick around if you curb your addiction slightly in front of them. Don't bother trying to convert them, ask them once and then if they don't have an interest then don't push it. It's not for everyone and some people will never understand why you'd want to do it, it doesn't make them any less important or any less valuable a friend just because they don't 'get' skydiving. Skydiving is your life and although you like to share things with people you have to realise that skydiving isn't 'their' life. As much as you want to talk about you and your hobby, they might want to share with you their life and their passions, and when communication is only one way the other party can get really tired really quickly.

Anyway, in my opinion just give it time, try to hold onto your old friends through your first year if they are good friends, as much as you 'have no interest in talking to them' now, you may find you've lost something later that you can't get back when you realise skydiving isn't everything in life.

Then again, I do know people who have given up everything and everyone they knew before jumping and they're completely happy that way... I guess it depends on the kind of person you (and your friends) are and how often you want to jump. I'm merely saying it's definately possible to have a balance in life, have whuffo friends and jumper friends and still be happy. :)

And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free - Death Cab For Cutie

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I agree wholeheartedly with Lainey (Hi Lainey!). When I first started jumping I felt like I had no time for my friends and all I cared about was jumping, but then as time goes on you realise firstly that skydiving isn't everything, and secondly that your friends just arent interested in all the minor details of what you did at the dz. I didn't lose any of my whuffo friends when I started jumping and I made a whole lot of new friends at the dz.

Good friends don't come along too often, turning your back on them just because of a sport isnt such a clever idea. When you want to spend a weekend away from the dz (heaven forbid) who are you gonna hang out with? - all your skydiving friends will be jumping.

In short, you're experienceing a phase, it'll pass.
www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

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I even try to "convert" some of them


'
Holy water and a crucifix dude, only thing for it :D

Seriously though, this sport has ruined friendships, marriages and many a relationship. That being said i believe it's all about balance. Try not to alienate your whuffo friends, they might not understand your passion for the sport now but it is cool to be able to get away from the dz now and then and you're gonna want people to hang with.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

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It's very normal to want to talk about skydiving all the time, but you WILL bore the shit out of your whuffo friends if you do, so you have to learn to keep it in check when you're with them. You'll also find that YOU will benefit by not discussing skydiving around whuffos, because that will reduce the same, old, f%@#ng whuffo questions you'll be getting over & over & over again. Believe me, it won't be long before you get sick of hearing those, and giving the same answers, and basically having to have the same conversation over & over again, just with a new person each time. Because of that, I almost never mention to whuffo acquaintances that I skydive. Trust me, most of the time whuffos ask you to explain the sport, what they're really doing is asking you to explain yourself ("Whuffo you do that?"). After a while, it gets pretty old.

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Yeah.

I'm paying for mine to do AFF but - get this - it's going to be my birthday present!

*sigh*

Still, at least I get to dress her up in matching jumpsuits, right?

OK, maybe not.
--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

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My non-jumping best friend and I have combined our interests. She's way into scrapbooking, so is in the process of creating a skydiving scrapbook for me. She asks me to save as much stuff as I can to put in the book. I'm not sure which one of us has the greater addiction!:D
Mrs. WaltAppel

All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

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cutaway all whuffo friends They serve no purpose. Thay will drag you down to their level. Sooner or later you will miss week-end boogies for the sake of going to stupid shit that is no fun..Saying that, i missed going on some scuba trips this year due to my skydiving friends bastards
http://www.skydivethefarm.com

do you realize that when you critisize people you dont know over the internet, you become part of a growing society of twats? ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

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You still have friends that don't jump? I used to have those. Actually, I still have some, but I consider it foreign relations. It's just good for my ego, to make me feel like I'm not so one-dimensional. Well, I guess I still have SCUBA friends, but that's only because I work in that industry too.
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

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Since I started jumping a little over two and a half years ago I have not really lost any of my nonjumping friends. I may not see them as often as I once did but I do talk to them just as much.
At this point I find it refreshing to have a good group of non jumping friends. While I am very passionate about skydiving it is fun to spend time with folks where it never even comes up in conversation. My other passion is off road motorcycles and I feel the same way about that. It's nice to step away from that every once in a while and I get to do that at the DZ. It's all about finding the balance.
I can certainly relate to the first year of jumping though, it was hard to get me to shutup about it.:ph34r:

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I have a couple of whuffo friends who have done tandems...but they viewed the tandem experience as more of a ride, not realizing the flying skills that were involved in the jump by the TM and vidiot.

They just can't figure out what I'm doing over and over and over on all these skydives.
Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

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My non-jumping best friend and I have combined our interests. She's way into scrapbooking, so is in the process of creating a skydiving scrapbook for me. She asks me to save as much stuff as I can to put in the book.




If your not careful you may get caught up in the rush of scrapbooking yourself and then you will find yourself addicted to http://www.twopeasinabucket.com I hear some pretty wild things go on over there with those freaks. :P :ph34r:

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Please don't take this the wrong way, but "get over yourself." Stop thinking about only your needs. If you want to keep any kind of friendship with anyone, don't be so selfish to talk about "you, you, you."

There is more to life then skydiving. Balance in your life is good, and if you don't learn it now, you will be a very lonely skydiver.
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

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I know what you're saying, I want to talk about skydiving all the time! :)
But as the majority of people here have said, there IS more to life than skydiving.
Just try and get your fix at the dz, and hook up w. your friends later:)


Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

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I invited my husband to jump. He did two tandoms and loved them. He went through the AFF training and did his first jump. He hated it. He lost an instructor, could not understand the other and deployed at 10,000 feet. He had a nice ride but was upset to be alone (scared) and the instructor kept telling him (by radio) that he could not see him. He should "head for the drop zone". I think if he had had a good first jump I would have a jump buddy.

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Anybody have problems with non skydiving friends??


Yep, all the time. Whuffos ARE problems.;)

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I have one really close friend that I'm going through my training with and I realize that I'm very lucky for that seeing as how so many go through it alone.



Time will tell whether or not this is a good thing. Chances are one of you will drop out.

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I've heard that will eventually go away but it's like we have nothing in common anymore.



Red flag here. You are probably finding out for the first time that you really have nothing in common with these people except history. Again, time will tell.

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Am I asking too much of my friends to put up with me right now? Is it even possible to have whuffo friends?



The short answer is "yes". Your whuffo friends don't , and can't, understand jumping and what it means to you. More than likely as you stay with the sport you will trade your whuffo friends for new friends you find at the DZ and the boogies you will be attending shortly.

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If so, how on earth do you start to explain something like this to them?



It's not possible. Don't even try. All you can do is put out a line or two and see if they react. If they don't, drop it .:|
Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

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Dude, most whuffos bore the shit out of me with their sports talk / television/ news/and other bs talk.
If they are really good at something, I'll listen to learn something, but i really don't like the average whuffo attitude. I feel at home among skydivers and out of place in a large group of whuffos. Normal people scare me.
But also take others advice here. Especially Lainey's words. She's a young angel of wisdom.


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I can't believe your post did not contain boobies women or any remark like your normal self..I am beginning to think your becomming a whuffo you pussy.....:P
http://www.skydivethefarm.com

do you realize that when you critisize people you dont know over the internet, you become part of a growing society of twats? ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?

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