calledisrael

yeah, i am probably too ambitious and it won't happen this soon... but i am trying to be prepared. i am 27 and pretty healthy... he doesn't think it was terribly badly dislocated, and it came back on the ground shortly after landing (when the ground crew was trying very gently to pick up my rig off my back so i could take it off, i felt that sideways thunk through my whole body as we rolled it back in...) the doctor said that based on what he saw i had a lower than normal chance of re-dislocation if i would work on upper body strength and getting more muscle to help... will order the brace and look into it. but i want to jump long-term, not short term, and if that means waiting another month or even more, then i will do that for sure. thanks for sharing your experience. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

thanks.

yep.. the doctor has made me quite aware of the possibility of going out again... that's why i am so interested in what other jumpers have done, since i know lots of people have had this problem before... and thanks, tami, that brace looks great, i will definitely look into it! life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

greek, latin, and a little hebrew. all dead languages. although i have been picking up a little arabic lately in my travels. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

just out of curiosity, wanted to see if anyone had experience with jumping after a dislocated right shoulder. i dislocated it in my level 7 aff freefall (and landed fine because my instructor was a star.) i have applied myself faithfully to physical therapy and am improving alot, thinking about trying to go for it in 2 more weeks (4 weeks post injury.) focusing now on just strengthening shoulder and upper body in general. doctor thinks he will give me green light to do "normal activities" at that point, although he has expressed his opinion about me (or anyone) jumping. and i am confident that my instructors who will have to recurrency me anyway will make me prove alot... but i wondered if anyone else had done this and how long they waited. thanks. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i read it this morning and linked to it on my own blog... nicely written! you succeeded in making me (13 jumps from A) very antsy on this cloudy wednesday morning at work... congratulations. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

don't know if i think i jinxed myself... but when i was on aff it did occur to me more than once, wow, i wish i would have my first mal while i still have an instructor with me. how scary it will be to have to do your EPs all alone... and then i became one of the few creatures to graduate aff with two reserve rides. one because i was stupid and did totally the wrong thing. then the second when i dislocated my right shoulder in freefall on level 7 and had to pull silver. should have kept my mouth closed. but hey, i know i can do it now, and i am ready for the next 5000 jumps on my main... no more reserve for me, i hope. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

my aff-i kicked me in freefall when i wasn't tracking straight enough...oh no, just kidding. i hurt it pretty bad on a crash landing several weeks ago but thought it was fine now... somehow i managed to strain/tear/dislocate it in freefall. you know, those barrell rolls can be wild sometimes... i could not pull at all and had to go silver, and then try to land it on my left hand - but i still had a radio and they talked me down. saw the doctor this morning, who put me on vicodin and referred me to the orthopedist on monday morning. the guys at the dz recommended one that tends to help our peeps. it's getting more painful and difficult to move as time goes on. maybe we need to start a shoulder injury thread. but hey, i graduated. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i graduated aff yesterday. and i am not jumping because i have seriously hurt my shoulder, am on vicodin and waiting for an MRI. rotator cuff tear, they think. i may have graduated on my reserve... but hey, i finished. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

can i ask a dumb question? (yes, i am a student) and i know it may just be local tradition. on our plane, we don't touch 'hands' but touch two fingers to everyone within reach. is there a reason for that? do most people? it's very ceremonial - i like it alot. just curious. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

great job, guys. i am so proud!

i've taken mine up to the highest floor of an open-centered mall, calling down altitude to a friend on the lower floors. we made a game of it, and it was hilarious. a commercial plane might be next.... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

(note:i am an aff student about to do my level 7.) with the approval of my oh-so-wise instructors, i am about to go down and try out a little tunnel time this weekend. my main problem is being able to regain/maintain heading control, especially coming out of tracking or rolls/flips. in other words, i can get stable on my belly - i just sometimes slowly spin and can't stop it and just stay on heading. i know there will be a tunnel coach to help me, but i wondered if anyone else had any thoughts for me to dwell on about this before i went out. i am a little dubious about flying inside rather than in the sky... but we'll see. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

thank you. i failed 7 yesterday because i couldn't stop my turns. glad to hear i am not the only one. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

here's a story - you can click here and read my original journal posting about my first tandem. i am now most of the way through aff. one of those girls who went with me went back with me a month ago where i jumped aff 6 and she did her second (working) tandem. it was fun. it makes me laugh, even now, to go back and see what i wrote. i can't imagine how much i will laugh at it when i have 100 and 1000 and however many more jumps... life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i didn't realize how great my dz was until i watched the instructors debriefing some jumps - you can really see it then - and watched them respond to some errant students (like myself.) this has been where i have really begun to understand how great they are. the life of the dz was a little chaotic and messy looking to me at first because i didn't know what to really look for or why. now, i am really glad i stuck it out. my instructors are *incredibly* good at what they do. and they are going above and beyond to make me a good skydiver. you are pretty much going to be fine with a tandem, going anyplace in the uspa and with a good rep. i mean, they are responsible for your life but also for their own, like my first TI said to me - "you are between me and the outside, and i am going out, and i am going to land beautifully, and you are going to land with me." go have a great time. don't think too much. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

1. Whats your name? ali 2. How old are you? 27 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? the first time, to prove that i wasn't too afraid. after that, because i had dreamed about it every damn night since then. 4. Are you single or taken? Married? single 5. Do you have kids? No 6. What do you drive? 2000 toyota corolla 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? not yet 8. Where do you live? central texas 9. Do you have any pets? no... although my roommate has a malamute and a guinea pig 10. How many jumps do you have? 8 11. What color eyes do you have? hazel 12. What is your nationality? american (welsh) 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? i have gone on one date with such a person 14. Favorite Movie? the red violin 15. What do you do when you arent skydiving? write books. cook. laugh alot. travel to foreign countries. 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? nope 17. If not... do you want to? not really - although maybe the idea will grow on me 18. Do you have siblings? 2 sisters and one brother 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? that i haven't been yet? um... israel. 20. What's your favorite color? Orange and red 21. Where was the last place you flew to? colorado springs life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

I probly would enjoy a tandem better but I like being in control. i think probably on your first jump, "not being in control" will be the last thing on your mind. there is plenty to see and plenty to do. do a tandem, have a good instructor if you want who will let you do a working one. it is a great way to get in, and then you can do AFF. it is much better to start AFF with some experience having been in the sky. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

yep, i feel you. "waving to the eight other licensed jumpers as they finally get out to load the plane after five hours of weather hold, patting us (the students) on the head and telling us they'll go up and check the winds for us" life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i went on the advice of my instructor to get a big yoga ball, and have been lying backwards on it to practice my arch and be relaxed. i have the same sort of issues... i like exiting, and i can arch pretty okay... i just get tense easily and it screws me up. that was my problem in 5, i did everything right, i was just so stiff that i drifted too much and ended up having to fight harder than i should have. i am doing the same jump this week... let us know how yours goes! life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

like an aggie for sure. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i did it a couple of years ago and it was great. i was so glad, could concentrate so much better, my head felt so much clearer... the worst part was getting the stitches out. weirdly, i went to my ENT yesterday to get my ears looked at (perforated an eardrum jumping last saturday) and he was admiring his handiwork from before... :) speedy recovery. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

i did tandem progression straight to AFF 2, and had two jm's for levels 2 and 3 and one jm as of level 4. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

it's not bad at all. all the guys i jump around are great, and they were super-helpful to me and made me feel right at home. those guys are committed to helping me just become a great skydiver, and treat me well. but yes, i definitely noticed. :) and yes, i am sure that you - and i - will need a SIM. i have downloaded it online and read different sections, but i have not gotten the real thing. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)

as one who recently did aff ground school... i am hoping to do my level 5 and 6 this friday... what i am glad people told me: 1. always ask your instructor and listen to him. i was not that impressed with my instructor in the classroom. when he began to debrief me after our jumps, i found out what a totally kickass skydiver and teacher he is. pay attention. that time when you both go back through the jump together will be the most valuable for learning right now. it is how i am learning what questions to ask and what to pay attention to. 2. relax. it is what i get written in my book every time and the hand signal i invariably get. we are doing this because we love it so much. 3. know your limits. i tried to do 3 jumps the last time i was out, and after 2 my instructor gently encouraged me not to, that i was getting a little muscle tired, and adapting to the environment takes a little time. so know when to push through, and when not to. i also never knew how much fun it would be, and how much i would start to like the people i jump with, or what it would be like to be the only student and the only woman on a planeload of 12 guys. ergh. oh, i would also say to read. some people would hate it, it may or may not be for you, but i am that type. i got the skydivers handbook and the brian germain canopy book (along with a very interesting book on the history of gravity.) and read them both fully. some of it will not help me at all. but i am glad for it, and when i reread after i started doing aff jumps a whole lot of the bigger picture made good sense to me. have a great time. life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. (helen keller)