bluefingers

Do I need to incl a disclaimer? > Kerry

naaah by the time I was rescued, my sense of humour had returned ..... I think the owner was terrified ...... this creature with big baggy orange overalls, a bright yellow helmet, descends on his back yard, yelling oh F***!, destroying his tree, and then sitting on a branch giggling .... WHen he eventually came out, he looked a bit dazed. All I could muster was "sorry about your tree" .... I was the second student that day to land in a tree, that night in the pub was raucous to say the least! Kerry

I landed in a tree on my 4th jump (S/l). Had a bad exit (back loop off the step) and by the time I'd sorted out my line twists, done my canopy checks and orientated, I was already quite a way from the dz (Strong top wind!) anyway, to cut a long story short, what I should have done was look for an out, but instead I fixated on the dz, even though I was going backwards at one stage Fortunately I landed in the one garden that didn't have a dog. I actually flew right through a frangipani tree, anihilating it, and got stuck in the next tree. I managed to wiggle onto a branch, where I hung on for dear life. THe owner of the house was home, I could see the curtain twitching, but no matter how loudly I hollered, he wasn't coming out. Two guys from the dz eventually found me and helped me down. Only then did the owner venture outside No injuries, except for a few bruises .... Kerry

thanks Scratch, now I'm going to have that silly tune stuck in my head all day! Kerry

Yeeehaaaa! I passed my second 10sec this weekend - loved it even more, now cleared to 15sec. I can't wait! We weren't lucky with the weather. Went up on Saturday, got to 3500ft, it started pouring with rain, so had to land in the plane SUnday morning, tried again. It was pretty cloudy, but there were holes. I was a lot, and I mean a lot calmer in the plane. 5000ft, out you get! Climbed out on the step, hmmm clouds ..... wait, wait, wait, ok, over the hole, GO! I was more aware of the acceleration this time, picked a point on the horison, and kept my heading. Even plucked up the nerve to glance at the ground - didn't freak me out this time. On my last jump, my legs were too positive, this time they were a little too negative. Still trying to get used to what my legs are doing. I started to porpoise, but I remembered what Mark had told me. Deep breath, relax, wiggle your hands, they're in your peripheral, you're stable, you're styling, have fun! Guess what, the porpoising stopped Canopy ride was ok, but I flared a little early, PLF! Got my 15sec briefing, but the clouds closed in completely, so now I have to wait until Saturday. Kerry

I like your thinking ALthough I have to agree with what others are saying, s/l sack of potatoes - parachutist. Leave the plane on your own and pull your own ripcord .... newbie skydiver with shitloads to learn. And S/L is waaaaay cheaper. I went on and off the rope a bit but in total I have done 22 x S/L, 6 x 3sec, 2 x 5sec, 2 x10sec. (can you say perseverance!) I've still spent less than what I would have on AFF. (but AFF is quicker) I've jumped out of a plane 32 times, but in my very humble opinion, i've only skydived once. That was on sunday when I heard the wind for the first time Kerry

Hark! It's a troll in a kilt! Tank him too! Kerry

Hey, who said anything about paying attention? Besides, when I was at school our teachers used to parade around the classroom, heavy textbook in hand, so our heads were on swivels anyway, out of pure self defence! A THWACK with one of those things hurts! Kerry

Gerb! You're like that spotty little kid in junior school who always sits in the front row, right next to the teacher's desk! "Miss! Miss! Scratch and Blue are passing notes!" ....and then sit back with a smirk. Then go home crying, wondering why your head got flushed in the toilet! Kerry

Bwahaaaaahaaaaaahaaaa Ooooh yeaaah! Kerry

Can you feel the luuuurrrve! Kerry

I still blame the crotchety old bugger! Kerry

Hey everyone! A while ago I posted regarding my frustrations on the static line progression ... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=202221;search_string=static%20line%20frustrations;#202221 Anyway, I was really battling to progress, got put back on rope several times, but I have finally busted through that mental block I had. (there are a number of people on dz.com who really helped me through that - you know who you are! *hugs*)One of my issues was that I kept telling myself not to stuff up. So of course, I stuffed up. It took me a while to realise that positive thinking really does help! In total, I've done 4 S/L's, 18 DRCPs, 6 3sec delays, 2 five sec delays, and 2 10secs. I have to do two good ones before i move forward, so one more. It's been very frustrating, but I now realise a lot of my problem was currency. Jumping once a month simply doesn't work. Towards the end of last year I picked up the pace, and guess what? I started progressing. When I finally passed my 3sec it was such a liberating feeling. After passing my 5sec, even better. I did my first 10sec on Saturday, and I must be honest, I was frigging terrified. I had no idea what to expect. Deep breath, get out on the step, check in, GO! Well, who would have thought counting to 10 would be a difficult thing On about 5secs, I was still looking at the plane, suddenly thought "hang on, I'm supposed to be looking at the horison" and promptly looked down. Saw planet earth. Oh shit! Ground! Lost count, felt myself tipping, so arched hard and pulled. JM says I pulled on 7secs by his count. Also, my upper body position was spot on, but my legs were kicking. (I could have been doing the splits, for all I knew. I hadn't a clue what my legs were doing). I think that was the longest canopy ride of my life! It took forever to get down, and it was pretty choppy up there, so didn't want to do too many spirals. The second attempt went much better! I had an idea what to expect, so I wasn't quite as terrified. I slowed my count right down (I pulled on 10sec, my count, but the JM counted 12sec. He said he realised I was compensating for my tendency to rush my drills, so he said it was ok). Felt myself come off the hill, my head dipped a little, but I arched harder and popped back up (amazing!). I turned about 30 degrees off heading (requirements are no more than 90). Was stable on my pull. BUT I was porpoising. I could feel the rocking motion, but I was so awed by the sound of the wind, I didnt think about how to fix it. Had a long chat with my JM, and he said my legs were very positive, and I was tense. All in all it was absolutely amazing! 10sec doesn't sound like much, but I've suddenly realised what I'm doing this for. I am so glad I persevered. I just can't wait to get back to the DZ, and get to my 15sec ... Sorry about the long blether .... but I just had to share! Kerry

stinky cheese is yummy! I can't stand pumpkin, butternut, gem squash, cooked carrots, paw paw .... basically most orange/yellow fruits and veggies. but then, I don't like yellow. My mom used to put food colouring in my custard as a toddler, otherwise I wouldn't touch it ... Kerry

errrr.... I think you're opening yourself up to a whole lot of trouble saying that on here .... Kerry

Loopy hamsterhead here ..... Kerry

Bwaaahaaaaaahaaaaa! I've never tried to catch him - put it this way, I certainly don't have a problem with mosquitoes! And he did me a favour once. True story: My then-bf came round to visit one evening, we had a huge fight (something to do with him trying to tell me how to live my life, usual story). Anyway, he was lolling back in my beanbag, with an arrogant grin on his face, and my monster gekko happened to be directly above him .... Yup. Monster Gekko had obviously had a full meal and dropped a nice squishy load, right onto BF's forehead. Man, I laughed for about a month! Kerry

the one he had last night was just under 10cm? Or thereabouts ....... and it was a mottled black colour - ugly bugger! I've got big ones small ones, there's one really big guy who is just too smart for my cats ... he stays well out of reach. He's about 15/16 cms long ..... and fat! Kerry

Naaah, just stroked him, told him he was wonderful, picked him up, gekko and all, and put him outside. I did give my bed a thorough check in case there were any other thingymajigs lurking ..... Suprisingly, he didn't bring it back in .... Kerry

Yip. Well, Thomas, my boy, proudly woke me up just after 3 this morning. He was chasing something all over my bed .... at first I thought it was the two cats playing, so I ignored it, then I heard the tell-tale "CRUNCH". Oh shit. Switch on the light, and there he sits, dead gekko in his mouth, purring proudly .... Kerry

flush them? naaaah ...... call me weird, but I keep getting this image of dead gekkos plotting their revenge, and biting me on the butt .... and yeah, some of the gekkos in my flat resemble dragons ..... Kerry

Good point Erno, seeing as there's hardly ever any human food in my kitchen anyway. "Shame, she can't live on popcorn and ProNutro her whole life. The girl needs some protein!" Voila .... two dead gekkos .... Kerry

they bring back the same corpses .... I usually get rid of them after the third attempt, but I'm getting quite creative at hiding the bodies .... Viking, dead gekkos are revolting. All cold and squishy and half-eaten by ants ... and their eyes seem to pop out ..... Daizey are you completely freaked yet? Kerry

When I get home from work, and this is a daily occurence, I find one dead gekko on my kitchen floor, and another one in the centre of my lounge area ... I get rid of the corpses, and what do my two "darlings" do? Hunt them down and bring them straight back inside .... *shudder* Kerry

When I finally passed my 3sec! Amazing. I actually can fall stable .... and count to three slowly .... Kerry