NWFlyer

I'm fortunate in that I'm in a position financially and professionally to be able to set myself up pretty well - from a financial perspective, anyway - to handle a serious injury. I have no dependents, so I don't need to worry about anyone else's financial needs but my own. I get both long-term disability insurance and health insurance through work; I know I'm fortunate to have those as options through my work (not all my jobs have had disability as an option). So I'm fairly confident that should the shit hit the fan, I probably wouldn't need help financially; really, all I'd need would be the non-financial support that I know this community provides all the time. Of course, I jump a big canopy, don't do high-performance landings, and do my best to mitigate my risk, because regardless of whether I can afford to get hurt or not, I really don't like pain. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Well, the reality is that for most people, it is a phase. I'm not saying you'll be one of those, but the non-jumper ranks are littered with skydivers who came in with ginormous amounts of enthusiasm in their first year or two or five and who thought they'd skydive forever, who, for various reasons stopped skydiving somewhere in that first year or two or five, after racking up 50 or 100 or 500 jumps. Lots of things change - finances, availability of time, family demands, work demands, competing interests, loss of interest, discovering that skydivers don't poop rainbows all the time, getting caught up in DZ politics, etc., etc., etc. And there's nothing wrong with that - things change, people change, life changes. But for an awful lot of people, skydiving is a temporary thing, whether it be a few months or a few years. If you take the number of A licenses to D licenses as a very rough approximation of the number of people in the sport who last 25 jumps vs. those who last 500 jumps, you'll see that there are more than twice as many people with A licenses than with D licenses. Even accounting for the chunk of people who stay in the sport for a long time but for whatever reason don't get a D license, that's a big attrition in the first years of jumping. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

My parents had a tough time with it when I first started jumping, I think partly because I was having a tough time with it and they were worried for me. But I stuck with it and settled in, and they've come to realize how important it is to me, though I may not be quite as obsessive about it as I was when I first started jumping. I was 33 when I made my first jump; I'm 40 now, so it was never about "permission." I made my first jump in August 2004; I didn't have my parents come out to a dropzone with me until December 2008. Mostly that was just timing; when I visited for Christmas it was typically a terrible time of year to skydive where they live in Virginia; and when they visited me, I planned other things for us to do rather than dragging them out to the dropzone to hang out all day. Finally, in 2008 we decided to go to ZHills for the holiday boogie and talked my parents into driving down to meet up with us in Florida for a few days, after which they'd go off to visit some family in the area, and we'd spend a few days at ZHills. At the end of our time together, they came out to ZHills for part of a day to see what this skydiving thing was really all about. So, they finally got to see a dropzone, and ZHills is a nice place to bring guests because there's good amenities/comforts, and plenty of great spectator space. My dad (who's always been an aviation buff) was fascinated and I think he could have sat out there all day watching landings; Mom was a little more easily bored, but she was a good sport and enjoyed seeing us jump, and we took them for a tour of an Otter on the ground (no interest in going on a tandem for either of them). I got to introduce them to a bunch of friends, and they got to see the diverse crowd that is the skydiving community. Just so happens there was a fatality that day; fortunately we'd left the dropzone by then, and decided not to mention it (and I'm not sure that one got too much press). Not that they don't know about deaths in the sport - I've mentioned deaths and memorial services of friends, and of course they read the news. But I was glad that we didn't have to deal with it firsthand that day; I'd hate for that to be what they saw at the end of their first day on a dropzone. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Definitely check them all out to find the one that's right for you (you can also search the forums here - there have been a lot of threads about the various DZs in Northern California). Your profile indicates you're interested in RW - definitely check out the calendar at SkyDance in Davis - about twice a month there are organized RW events for all skill levels. It's a good way to get to know the locals and get some fun, well-organized jumps in, too. Scrambles & Halloween party on the 29th would be a great way to meet folks. http://skydanceskydiving.com/ "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

She's a front desk person at a dropzone, not a porn chick. Maybe a wannabe porn chick, but apparently not one yet. And after that unconvincing performance, she may never be one either (regardless of whether or not she gets some store bought boobs). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Nope, no guilt. Nothing to feel guilty about.

Well, I've never received either of those when I've been unemployed. I have, however, collected on the unemployment insurance that I paid into (indirectly, through my employer). But, y'know, go right ahead and imply that you feel I'm a lazy drain on society. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I only know the dates because LP is finally the following week after Summerfest rather than the same week so that people can attend both if they can get enough time off. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I was going to suggest both of those, especially since next year they're not overlapping, but getting from one to another in time on a bike might be a challenge. Might need to hitch a ride with someone to cover the 1700+ miles between the two dropzones in order to hit both of them. (Note I'm assuming that the OP means bicycle when he says "cycle.") "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Yep, I'm probably no more or less qualified than people who just sent their resume in to be put on the pile, but I was able to get someone to pay attention to my resume because I took the time to find a personal connection. It's a benefit to the hiring manager because they have more of a "known quantity" and it's a benefit to the job seeker because they can get more specific intelligence about a job rather than just relying on the "marketing spin" they get from the hiring manager or HR. I think a lot of people believe that networking is all about having "friends in high places." It's not. It's using everyone you know to get you to the right person who can make a decision about whether to consider you as a hire. That's especially important in a brutal economy like this. I'm fortunate in that I got my current job in 2008, literally days before the bottom dropped out of the economy, and just a couple months before my department responded with a hiring freeze. I've been on the market in bad economic times and I don't wish it on anyone - the constant application/rejection cycle can be really awful on your sense of self-esteem and self-worth; even this last job search of mine took me 5+ months; I've had unemployment cycles that have lasted longer than that and it's a major stressor for sure. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Jump there long enough and it gets to the point where you don't even notice the gunfire under canopy. It's like living next to train tracks - eventually it just becomes background noise. Every so often when I'm on the ground, a gunshot will penetrate my consciousness and it's like "Oh yeah, the gun club!" "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Imagine that you're trying to pick up a high school girl. Think about what you'd bring her. Then bring that for monkycndo. If it's sweet and /or comes with an umbrella, he'll be happy. Another Skydance regular here. See ya around. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Sure, try the larger gear stores that do online sales, ParaGear, Chuting Star, Square 1, etc. But ask at your dropzone - they often sell them as it's an easy thing to keep in stock. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Depends on the weather. Even in the hottest of weather I like to have at least a tank top on because I'd rather have a cotton shirt sticking to my back than the spandex on the back of my jumpsuit. Winter I wear several thin layers - I don't want to bulk out my jumpsuit too much but I do like to be warm. I have a great winter hoodie from Sugoi that makes me look like a speed skater (albeit much more clumsy and much less fit ) that is thin, warm, and warms my head and neck nicely. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I tell my students that the Relax signal means "let your hands go limp. Let the air blow by you smoothly." Wavy wrist signal? Limp wristed? Get it? Funny watching students sometimes actually shaking their hands in freefall like they are trying to get a booger off their fingers. When I was a stiff noob, one of the longtime jumpers told me to wiggle my fingers in freefall. For quite a while that was my "chill myself out" action. Amazing what it does to relax a tense body. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Nope, I just sold a reserve and bought another reserve, also bought a used main; used PayPal for all transactions and had no trouble as buyer or seller. As for alternatives, I've also recently done two other transactions where I was the buyer using a personal check in both cases. One's for a small enough amount that even though I don't know the buyer, I'm not too worried - I'm comfortable enough that the guy's legit, but if it goes south it won't be a massive deal. The other was for a very large transaction, but since the seller and I know each other and he's got a pretty major rep to uphold within the industry, a personal check worked for both of us (and in fact I just got the gear today, exactly as promised). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I don't go out of my way to be an asshole, but I don't stress too much about whether people like me. I just try to be a respectful and likable person, if they like me or not is their decision. Anything I do to try to make people like me ultimately makes me untrue to myself because I'm trying to be something they want me to be, not who I am. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

There's that, too. I have all the licenses/ratings I'll probably ever get (though never say never), and I still log. I LOVE looking back at my early log books, and at the logs of the more memorable recent jumps. Heck, I even included a photo of my logbook entry for the Blue Hole jump in my article for Blue Skies Mag on the jump. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

*This.* I don't do the same type of work that you do, but we're in generally the same category - mid-career folks in professional positions, the kind that require specialized expertise and/or education, blah blah blah. Of my last 5 jobs, only one of them was a "cold" submission, and that was to a small start-up company, so their hiring process was necessarily a bit different than a bigger entity that's inundated with applicants and has a full HR gauntlet to get through. Job #5 (Current): I was not only unemployed, I was looking to change cities. NOT an easy situation, but I called everyone I knew in the new city - friends from college, grad school, skydiving, old jobs, etc. I put the word out to everyone I knew that I was looking for a job, and what I was looking for. Every single interview I got (and there were maybe 10 or 12) I had a personal connection of some sort helping me out. Sometimes the connection would help me identify the job, in other cases, I'd found the job and found a connection through someone I knew (or someone they knew). In the case of the job I ultimately took (and still have 3 years later), I called a friend from college whose profession is fairly different from mine. He said "Hey, let me get you in touch with my friend who works at [large employer in your industry]. He works for the VP of IT there." Five minute conversation with the friend of a friend, and my resume is on the desk of the VP of IT, and within about a week I get a call for a job that's pretty much a perfect fit for my background. The other two jobs I was considering when I took this one were also through personal connections - one from a vendor I used to work with at an old job, and one where I found the job, but also found out a business school classmate went there. Job #4 -this is the ONLY one that was "cold." Fun opportunity at a startup, but business was bad and I ultimately got laid off. Job #3 - after a 6-month sabbatical, I got hired by a vendor that I'd worked with at a previous employer. I don't even recall much of a formal interview process for this one; I was a known quantity and they were happy to have me. Job #2 - got my resume in the door through someone I used to work with, her endorsement was strong enough to get me an interview. Job #1 - this was a large company that I really really wanted to work for; called up a business school friend who worked there. He put me in touch with the exec in charge of my area, but also invited me to breakfast with another exec when they were in town. So, my friend (who was a fairly junior person) set me up to make a good impression on someone who could directly influence the hiring exec. He did, and I got the interview and ultimately the job. Point is, that job fairs and job boards, and networking events put you out there with everyone else. You need to figure out your angle - your personal connection, someone who can/will go to bat for you, get your foot in the door, introduce you to the right people, etc. It's how a vast majority of jobs are filled these days, like it or not. I'm looking for an internal transfer right now. Every time I find a listing that looks interesting, I try to figure out who I know (or can get to) in that group. And I'm also carefully asking around with folks that I already work with; it helps that my boss knows that I am keeping my eye out for other opportunities (and understands my reasons, as he's unable to give me what I want to meet my career goals in his department), so while I'm discreet in my inquiries, I don't have to be totally skunkworks about it either. (Edited to add: as others have said, a lot of times you see a job listed on the company's web site solely because their HR policy says they have to, even though they've already identified an internal candidate. That's SOP at my own company, which is one of the reasons I ask around to learn more about the "open" positions to find out if they are truly "open.") "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

The reality is that although there are lots of more modern ways of logging jumps (such as the many varieties of logging altimeters that are out there), the fact remains that for certain things such as applying for USPA licenses & ratings, and for showing up at certain dropzones, a signed paper logbook is required. There's been many a tale of jumpers with thousands of jumps showing up at a certain large Southern California dropzone for the first time with no logbook and being told they couldn't manifest until they produced one. Same goes for USPA stuff (licenses and ratings). If you expect someone to sign you off for that, you'd better have documented proof. The question remains, does a smartphone-based logbook count? I'm not sure if anyone's tested the waters with that (for either licenses/ratings, or for visiting another dropzone). There are a lot of dropzones out there that won't even look at your logbook, or won't look at it after you reach a certain license level, but others absolutely require one. Their dropzone, their rules. As for your licenses, for your A license progression, there is a specific card that needs to be filled out to log that you've met all the skill requirements for the license, so you could probably get away with just using that rather than a paper logbook. However, after you get the A, the logbook becomes where you track everything for subsequent licenses, till you transfer the information over to the license application (but the person signing the license application may want to look at your logbook to validate the information). So, ultimately it's up to you, I suppose, but know that not having a paper logbook with actual signatures could come back to bite you in the ass depending on what you want to do. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2462516 There's a lot of good stuff in that thread. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Yes. Get yourself a logbook (ask at your dropzone - often a logbook is included with your AFF package) and get those jumps logged and signed, then add your AFF and subsequent jumps to the logbook as you go. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Multiple choice questions with three fairly obviously incorrect answers (and one obviously correct) for a good majority of the questions (at least if you've read the sections and/or have been paying a reasonable amount of attention during your time in the sport). Where you may get tripped up is on topics like breakoff and deployment altitude recommendations for various disciplines (e.g., CRW), where all four possible responses are numbers that all seem within the realm of reasonable answers. Or some of the aircraft operation-related stuff where again, all (or at least more than one) of the responses seem reasonable on the face. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I didn't turn into a pro but I think I've turned out okay. It took me 20+ jumps to get cleared for solo status, 37 to get my A license. Stable exits were the worst for me - I really struggled with hop & pops in particular. Seven years later, this past Saturday, as a USPA Coach, I took two students out for their first hop & pops. I can totally relate to their anxiety about the jump, and I can also tell them that even if you have a tough time you'll eventually get there. As someone who's now working with newer skydivers, I wouldn't trade my student struggles for anything - I feel like it helps me to really relate to the students who aren't "naturals." We all have our own pace in this sport. Mine, in general, has been on the slow side, and I'm okay with that.

Illegal? Only if you're confusing USPA BSRs with something that has the force of law. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke