Lolie

How did you get sponsored? Are you serious? I sold my first car to buy my first rig.

Where do you get food grade silicone? -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

There should be a part of everyone's profile where they can post their age... I'm such a bad judge of age... -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

Go ladies! You can do it!

What's a cascade? -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

Welcome! I see you're from CO. Do you jump off the bridge in Twin Falls much? -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

I just moved to the Midwest from Idaho. When I tell most people I'm here from Idaho, they say, "Oh, potatoes!" But when I got to Skydive Chicago and tell people I'm from Idaho, they say, "Oh, the bridge!" -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

A little while after I did my first jump, I looked up a bunch of skydiving links online, and came across the "You Might Be a Skydiver if..." I didn't really get a lot of them, but I just re-read them a few days ago and appreciated them a WHOLE lot more. -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

I did three tandems too. It was supposed to be a one time thing, and like skymama I just sat back and enjoyed the ride (i.e. I didn't have to do any PHTs, or even wear an altimeter.). Once I got down, I knew that I wanted to keep doing it, so I did the next two ASAP, and learned things on both of them. I was really happy with the way I went about it. -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

4. Also remember to take along your A-license proficiency card with everything that you've done signed off. I had to do this when I moved across the country after my first 18 jumps. It was no problem at all. Good luck to you! -Lolie -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

I started with tandems, and loved it. I feel like I would have been too distracted with doing everything right if I had gone static line. I really liked that I got to just sort of sit back and chill on my first jump (I didn't do COA, PHT's, etc. until Tandem #2), and let the adrenaline do its work. I was expecting to only do one jump in my whole life, but the first thing I said once I got back to the ground was, "I wanna do it again!" And I did. I say go with tandem. If you doubt you'll ever do it again, *definitely* go with a tandem. It's a Practice Handle Touch. -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

Of course I just started posting today, so I can't speak for everyone, but it seems to me that this isn't a group of people that wouldn't welcome you simply because of your line of work. I personally have a great deal of respect for anyone in Law Enforcement.

The article about the toys was one of the first things I read when I found this site. Your son is too cute! -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

I don't know any of them either. I was a BIG fan of Power Rangers, though. (Am I showing my youthfulness? I think I was in 3rd grade when Power Rangers came out...) -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

My dad did a few static lines back in the 70s, and he wants to start doing it again. (He had to stop soon after because of a detatched retina from a logging accident or something... not sure the specifics.) He's an A&P mechanic, and worked on the jump planes at Kapowsin for a little while in the early 90s when my family lived in Auburn. (I see that's your home DZ!) He's really supportive of the whole thing. (When he bought me my altimeter, he gave it to me with a note that said, "Don't tell your mom. She thinks we've spent enough on this as it is...") Mom, on the other hand.... I think she hates my dad for putting the idea in my head in the first place. She definitely doesn't dig the idea of me jumping out of airplanes, but who can blame her? I am her baby after all. She says if I ever get my tandem instructor rating, she'll do a jump with me. I say BS; there's no way I'll ever get her up there. But who knows? I'd love to see her jump.

I don't have a car. I sold it after my first tandem, so I could do AFP as soon as I could.

I think that would be so cool! I wanna be on a game show! I would probably lose, too, but who cares? You get to be on TV! (You can tell that I *hate* attention, huh? ) -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

Aww... don't give the guy false hope. That's just mean. -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

So Plan A would be to turn away (obviously), but if you're too low or too close, Plan B would be to get small and hope for the best. -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

Sounds like the consensus is a Protec and some sort of face protection from the wind. (I like that that's the consensus, because it also happens to be cheapest.

Alright; I'd love to stay and chat, but homework calls me. btw- I can see how this site could get addictive. Yet another thing to draw me away from my work. Yay! I'll be back soon enough... -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

I'm definitely not an expert, but here's a direct quote from "The Skydiver's Survival Guide": "Use parachuting-quality rubber bands... it is more desirable to have the lines pulled as they release, resulting from the band's flat shape, rather than rolling off (releasing free) as they do with tubular stows. The roll off may cause line dump or hard openings. Tubular stows last longer and are more difficult to break than rubber bands. If used incorrectly, they are also more likely to cause a bag-lock malfunction. Tubular stows stretch as they age, and in order to achieve adequate line retention you must replace them or double-stow (wrap the band twice around the same bite of line). Double stowed tubular bands may be dangerous. As mentioned earlier, they may not break or release the lines, causing a bag lock malfunction. A stretched-out stow band is the equivalent of using a band that is too big. With loose stows, lines release out of sequence (line dump), which can cause hard openings. Whether you use rubber bands or tube-style bands, all stows should require a pull force of about 12 to 14 pounds to release." Again, this is just what the book says; I'm no expert. Hope that helps a little! Lolie -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

That's only mildly disturbing. And I'm glad to see you guys aren't shy around the newcomers. Yep, *definitely* not shy... -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

There are a few if you follow the link on my profile (though you can't really tell what I look like); I need to find the time to scan some *good* ones. -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.

Hm... wonder if I can do this quote thing. I'll give it a try. Yes, skydiving is a small world. Quite a few of the guys at SDC know one of the guys I jumped with back home (in Idaho). I'll now brace myself for all of the Idaho jokes; have at me. -Miranda you shall above all things be glad and young / For if you're young,whatever life you wear it will become you;and if you are glad / whatever's living will yourself become.