skydivermom

Hey babe! It was a pleasure to meet and hang out with you. Come to Texas some time and I'll run into you without your gear on this time Oh, and thanks for comforting me after I scared the crap out of myself. Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

I had my first high speed malfunction this weekend...at my first out of state boogie. Pretty scary. It was a combination hard pull....possible pilot chute hesitation. I had been pulling higher than normal (4-4500) all weekend, and I'm very glad of that. On this jump, I began deployment around 4500 or so. I had my hand on the pilot chute handle, but it would not come out. I took my hand off of it to regain some stability, and went for it again. At that point it was still in the pouch, so I tried again. When nothing happened, I went straight for the reserve, because I was going so fast. I had the handle out of the velcro when my main inflated. Obviously, I did get it out the second time but it may have been stuck behind my back (So if I had looked over my shoulder I would have seen it). Anyway, once I got back to the packing area, a very nice guy offered to pack for me because I was shaking so badly, and he found that there was a ring missing from the pulot chute mechanism....so when I got it out on the second attempt, it wasn't cocked. Someone replaced the ring for me, and I did jump again at sunset with no problem. Anyway, we are going to check my gear out completely at my home dropzone and I'll probably have more info. after that. One of the things I know I should have done was look over my shoulder after my second attempt. And I wonder if going for my reserve is what got the air behind me to extract the main, because I had both hands on my reserve handle. I remember being taught to drop a shoulder if there is a pilot chute hesitation. Since there is a pending gear analysis, maybe some of you can give me suggestions on what to look for. I was pretty shaken up. Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Mine is the video featuring the skysurfer who looks EXACTLY LIKE ME! Oh man......there's some red tape for ya! Everything's brain surgery now-a-days isn't it? Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Well, thanks to Rosa, I got my revenge on you at the same time! You thought you were gonna get me good! Joke is on you sweetie! Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Of course you're welcome! You are one handsome dude. Jen and I BOTH think so! Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Um....I'm Skydivermom silly.....Rosa is Vanilla Skygirl! Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

That's really funny....Jen and I were chatting at the airport in Ontario while waiting to board our planes, and she saw someone whom she thought was you. The resemblance was startlilng. And before you say it.....YES....he was very handsome. But he was too young Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

I had the utmost pleasure (thanks to JENNR8R) of attending my FIRST out of state boogie at Skydive Elsinore this weekend. To say that I had an absolute blast would not do it justice. I was finally pied for my 100th (JENNR8R AND LisaH), met some awesome folks (DZ and non DZ.commers alike), and had one of the most spectacular views yet under canopy! What really stood out for me was the way I was taken care of there. I had a very frightening high speed mal (almost had my first reserve ride), and everyone took me under their wings. Determined that that jump was NOT going to be my last experience at Elsinore, I got on a sunset tracking dive led by Mel. She was incredible!!! Very calm, capable and compassionate. I had a wonderful sunset jump, and I'm glad THAT was my last skydiving experience at Chicks Rock of 2007! Oh, and I also met Sherminator, Redwing, and made a cool rodeo dive with Gonzo! I hope there are a lot of pics posted soon and very soon. Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Way cool weekend! Chicks really do rock, but so does SKYDIVE ELSINORE! Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

***Kathleen finally got pied for her 100th. I set both of them up good. __________________________________________________ You EVIL, EVIL woman! (at least it didn't have dog food or something equally gross in it) Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Hey Jenn!

I'm California bound today!!!

Do you mean WORK or are you working at the boogie as a packer/organizer? Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Hey honey! Happy Birthday

Who's ready to ROCK?!!! Anyone?.......Anyone? Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

It was pretty hilarious that Mark, Willy and Mickey were barfing their guts out while Walt was casually packing his parachute. Of course it didn't surprise me at all. I went with all of them to the store before the barf-fest, and realized I was the only one buying food who actually planned on keeping it down Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Geez...I think I'll just forget the whole thing Um....anymore creative pumpkins out there? Anyone? Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Ah, therein lies the problem. I don't think anyone in government thinks as us as customers, we just bother them! Yep....BINGO! Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Okay, I know I'm going to regret this......but....what in the sam hill is that supposed to be? Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

We do have packing tape at home, but on that particular day, and as is often the case, I buy the gift I'm shipping, and then just mail it while I'm already out. Doesn't make sense to drive all the way home (I live in the boonies), tape up a the box, and then drive all the way back to the post office. It wasn't really about the supplies, it was about the lack of professionalism and customer service. I hate feeling like I'm a "bother" as a customer. Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Yes, I have felt like that a time or two at the Post Office. Just recently, I took a package there to be mailed. I've done this many times, and they always tape it up for me and I only pay for postage. This particular time, he handed me a roll of tape, and waited until I had taped up my package before informing me that I had to buy the whole roll of tape . I asked, very nicely, why he didn't tell me this before I used the tape. He sighed, put his hands on his hips and basically told me I should have figured it out for myself. Well, maybe I should have put two and two together, but I certainly didn't appreciate the lack of professionalism on his part. I very quietly peeled the tape off of my package, handed him the roll of tape, and walked out. The money wasn't the issue, it was the quality, or lack thereof, of service. Now when I want to mail a package, I go to the independant mailing centers. I never have a problem there. Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

I do believe this one gets the most disgusting award Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

I'm still a low-timer, and have been very confused in the short two-year time span I've spent jumping. I guess statistically, more people die every year in car accidents than skydiving, but as someone pointed out, there are a LOT more folks driving on a daily basis than skydiving. If there were as many people jumping as driving, it would probably change. In both driving and skydiving (and other things as well), we do have a certain degree of control over our safety. We can chose to not drive/jump in certain conditions, not drive/jump recklessly, etc., etc. I will not swoop, jump wingsuits, or go on large formation jumps, or jump in high winds. And I recently refused to go on a jump where everyone was getting out at 3K. I do not believe for a moment that this guarantees I will never have an accident or even die while skydiving. But it probably makes it less likely. I could say the same thing for driving. As I said at the beginning of this post, I don't have a lot of jumps or a lot of time in the sport, but I do accept the risks and possibilities every time I go up in an airplane. BTW, I'm actually more nervous about the first couple thousand feet of the plane ride than the jumping. Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

I know all of us wanted to hear something a lot different I'm so sorry. Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28

Hey Lisa WUZZUP! Mrs. WaltAppel All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28