PLFXpert

Hey guys, Long time no see. I've missed you all! I've lived in our new place on the beach now for 5 weeks and just now got a phone line so here I am searching for old DZ.com friends. How has everyone been? I've been great. I've been working for some skydivers here at the beach for some good $$$, working on my tan, skydiving my brains out on the weekends, and hitting the pool bars, oyster bars and comedy bars at night since my 21rst birthday was a week ago. I'm stoked. But I didnt' get carded the whole night we went out for my birthday. Go figure! Life has been good to me recently

Sure, Joe. Just e-mail me and remind me of that weekend but BZ and I have been and will be jumping every weekend. Some PD teams in Deland are after BZ to do some video for them so we may be in Deland even more often now. I think they do something like 2 weeks they jump every day and then 2 weeks off, and so on. It's a great way for BZ to get at least 50 jumps in a week and practice his canopy swoops. He has got a Velocity on it's way soon so he's stoked. I am jealous.....50+ jumps a week!!!! I wish! Someday I hope, though

Of course, he is a great friend of mine. Did he ever do his funky dance for you??? He is leaving soon to move to the Ranch in N.Y. and work there but he will be staying a night with us on his way up sometime next week. Mike was the first person to really take me seriously when I said I wanted to compete and made me promise to let him be my video guy....ha ha ha...course, now my boyfriend will be but Mike holds a special spot in my heart, as do all the old SDB crew.

What's this about needing your liscense to jump in Deland? I still haven't applied for any of mine! It no different than anywhere else. Technically, the first jump you make there they will make you land in the student field until you're familiar with the landing area (since it's so close to the building.) I didn't have to but I know that is their policy. I am going to apply for my B liscense though soon b/c I want to be able to do night jumps but after that I won't apply again until my D. It's cheaper. I just haven't gotton around to applying for my B yet. I dread tests....ha ha ha . Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Geese you guys! Ha ha ha....you are too funny. Joe, it's been fun jumping with you in Palatka! BZ and I will be back and forth between Palatka and Deland. This past weekend was a much better experience for me in Deland though. I know a lot more people now than I did b/c Vladi and Joy are working there now and quite a few others are jumping there now as well. Some team guys I used to play with in the tunnel were there and overall I just felt more comfortable this past visit than I have in the past....maybe it had something to do with the AWESOME FREEFLY jump I had too...who knows???? Ha ha ha. But Skymama is right, you should try to come to Deland. I'm not sure where we'll be this Saturday jumping. I kinda would like to go back to Deland but Palatka is closer and we are partying back in Jax beach at Hurrican Hatties that night so Palatka would be quicker to get to and jump and then drive back to party. Then again, you almost make up for the time driving by going to Deland b/c you can get more jumps in once you get there. WHO KNOWS? If you can make it though, a lot of people will be coming to party with us Saturday night in Jax so you are more than welcome! I gotta run, I'm at work (I love this job...working for skydivers is the best!) Talk to you soon....Andrea? E-mail me....will you be in Deland this Saturday again????? Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

P.S. My b-day is Saturday (the big 21) and I bought myself with a giftcard I got to Sams, an Izone sticky film camera. If you don't have one, get one. I haven't had this much fun since skydiving on Saturday. There are currently about a hundred kooky faces pictures of me stuck to the walls of the office I work at (the owner is a skydiver i'm working for temporarily so he doesn't care), funny faces stuck to the urinals in the boys room and all over the place. Now that I've had my fun though I"m taking it to the DZ this weekend and taking tons of pics of everyone. I LOVE this camera! OH, and P.S. if you live in the Jax beach area and are looking for swimming lessons, I have just got my buisness liscense and am going into buisness for myself teaching swimming. Yippee! Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

SHE IS AN ALTITUDE ANGEL! You should see her spankin new jumpsuit. It is killer! I'm jealous, mine isn't nearly as pretty and doesn't fit me either! Ha ha ha. Andrea, I can't wait to party with you again soon. Oh, and thank you for the compliment, however, boys, something should be said about this beauty (Andrea) as well. You will eat your hearts our when you meet her! Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Hi guys, Long time no post, huh? I just wanted to say hello and say I got the chance to meet Skymama, aka. Andrea in Deland this past Saturday and she is awesome. We had lots of time to talk since there was a weather hold but I did get an AWESOME freeflying jump in just before the weather hold. I was sit-flying and my boyfriend was head down and we were transitioning around each other. I was stoked. But back to Andrea, she is a wonderful, awesome individual and if you all are lucky maybe you will have the chance to meet her too. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

NOT ALL SKYDIVERS ARE LIKE THAT! My boyfriend is the second man I've ever been with and the first was not really by choice. Yes, I love shagging every chance I get and every way possible but only WITH HIM! Not every other guy at the DZ. I know quite a few other skydivers like that as well. Not all skydivers are promiscous! Way to go FreakSis! Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

I think it also depends on where you skydive what brand of *skygods* you have. Here in Florida, although I love all my skydiving buds, I unfortunately see more of the latter than the ones I aspire to be like. At the risk of sounding hoaky, although there are a couple skydivers I would love to aspire to, the one I aspire to be most like is my boyfriend. Not just b/c of the obvious reason but b/c he can fly RW awesome, is one of the best freeflyers around, camera flys, swoops, he does it all, does it well and yet NEVER talks about himself. Even to whuffos when they ask him questions he refrains from making any references to himself. I'm the one who brags on him b/c he doesn't say anything himself. Ha ha ha. But that's okay, I'm allowed to. In my experience I have met some of the most amazing people skydiving. I think it's unfortunate that there are the few who make the sport more of an ego-boost than of a way of life.

Ha ha ha....thanks Pammi. Yea, I'd be stupid if I let this one "fly" away. We argue over who courted who but let it be known I flung myself at him like a school girl with a crush. But hey, it worked

I really like Brian Germain's videos. He is very good at intructional freeflying and the video clips are awesome. If you get a chance, attend his seminars as well. His wife Michelle also gives great skyboarding advice and coaching. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Nudity Shmudity. Honestly, is is bound to infiltrate the sport of skydiving. Skydiving is the only extreme sport that I have seen thus far whose magazines are not COVERED with it. Who cares, really? I am very into extreme sports and prior to skydiving, I was hardcore into wakeboarding and surfing. I received and still receive both magazines and both are filled with half-naked women in the Reef ads and for all kinds of things. The only nakie girl I've seen in Skydiving ads, thus far, has been the Creeper girl with the creeper covering her bare silicon tities. Honestly, I am used to it and it doesn't bother me. I haven't seen the ad with the hot dogs but I'm sure it's just as distasteful as all the other half naked girl ads. But what can you do? There's always going to be some desperate girl whining for attention who will pose naked for something. Especially if it's an extreme sport ad since naked chicks dig guys into extreme sports. Ha ha ha. I'd just like to see any of them actually try the sport they're advertising. Some girls like to play with the boys and other girls like to stand nakie idly by and watch. I'd rather play but cheers to the girls who want to show off their na-nas in magazine ads. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Ha ha ha.....not engaged......YET! We have quite a few friends getting married and been to a couple weddings recently so have talked about it. We know we want to be together forever. It's weird though....up until I met my boyfriend, I NEVER wanted to get married. I always said getting married was the surest way to divorce and if you truly loved someone you'd just stay together forever. Ha ha ha.....but that was before I ever fell in love. I guess I see the point now. It's still a BIG THING THOUGH. But like I said....I think all skydivers should marry within the skydiving community! There are just too many awesome guys and girls in this sport to have to look anywhere else!

YES! I'm not sure how much that *yes* applies to married couples in which one is not a skydiver but when both are skydivers, I say a full-hearted YES! My boyfriend has over 3,000 skydives and has been in the sport for 8 years. I just went through AFF at the end of last summer. I met my boyfriend after I graduated. We fell in love from that first day and literally have been together ever since. He has never had a girlfriend who skydives and loves every mintue of it. As do I having a skydiving boyfriend! We decided officially a few months ago we wanted to be together forever although both of us knew it from the first day we met and were too chicken to tell each other for fear it would scare the other off. Anyways.......just look at PAMMI AND MERRICK too! Skydiving with your true love is like the ultimate high. It means you can share anything with each other. You understand each other and it is awesome. In fact, I encourage it. I think all skydivers should marry within the skydiving community. Ha ha ha. I guess that is a little prejudice against whuffo's if you think about it but there's just no way for a whuffo to understand this passion fully. However, I do have to cover my ass here and say that I do have a couple friends who are very renown skydivers with whuffo wives and everything seems to be working out awesome. Even still, I think it takes an incredible woman if they don't skydive who would put up with their husbands being gone all the time and focusing their lives around skydiving. I say the man being gone skydiving b/c in the case of the 3 people I know with succesfful marriages, in all 3, it is the wife that is the whuffo. Anyways....I've gone off on a tangent. To sum it up: A definite YES if both are skydivers and a SOMETIMES if one is not a skydiver in my opinion. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Hi Chaz, I do both. I usually do 1 RW jump to every 4 freefly b/c I prefer freefly but like you, I want to be well-rounded. To me, the freeflyers that can't belly-fly are not full-on freeflyers b/c in my opinion, the definition of freeflying is to be able to fly your body in ALL POSITIONS, even if it means turning points on your belly. I think those that say you should choose are just *really* into whatever it is they're doing. You mentioned that it was the more experienced jumpers telling you to pick but if you think about it, if they're really experienced and have choosen than they have been flying however it is they choose for a long time. Obviously they are going to be biased. I know quite a few *experienced* jumpers who are very well-rounded and can fly with the best of them in either discipline. In my opinion, that is what makes an awesome skydiver; someone who can fly their body well in any position. But I'm not criticizing those who pick. Everyone has their favorite and it can be really easy to want to stick to that favorite. As I mentioned, my favorite is freeflying but I have to admit, I have had some of my most fun skydives be RW and turning really cool points. You will ultimately make the decision that fits your flying desires so no worries. One thing you have to learn about skydivers is that THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OPINION. Ha ha ha. You will hear a LOT of those opinions too and many will be conflicting so do what makes you happy. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Thanks slut, I didn't think about that. It seems obvious now though. Good call. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

That is so weird....Whenever I feel for my handles before I leave the plane, I always reach above where they actually are and have to learn that they're lower than I expect them to be. Does something change in freefall and they're higher up? Weird. I guess I'll see for myself one of these days

Yup, I meant $1450 on that last one. It's all good, I'm notorious for knowing what I mean but posting the wrong thing. That's still more than it cost to go through AFF. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Okay, I got the prices: It is similar to skydiving in that you can either pay so much for a tandem or a shitload to get certified if you want to fly by yourself. Costs: $129 tandem to 2,000 feet(700 feet above the mountain) $199 tandem to 4,000 feet $14500 to get certified to go solo I think I'll be doing a tandem and save the rest of my dough for SKYDIVING!!! I'll keep you guys posted when we decide to go. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Emma, I have never been but Airspeed hold regular training camps at the Windtunnel here and I hear they are very helpful. If you are going solo, I'm sure the tunnel would be a great place! Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Pammi, I saw that too on the Today show, although I didn't see where it happened. They said tear gas was thrown into the stands which caused the stampede. Ouch! FFF, I have my own animal at home (my boyfriend.) No need for Lions, they wouldn't stand a chance. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Hey Pammi, I'm not saying you should or should not do solo jumps to improve. In my opinion, I don't think jumping solo will help you improve any more than jumping with others. If others can watch you and you have a point of reference then that is always good. Also, when I was learning how to track I jumped with a great tracker and just tried to follow him the whole skydive. He'd go left and then I'd follow and then he'd turn right and I'd follow. We were pretty much side by side and it helped a lot to learn where to put my legs to go faster/slower and how to dip my shoulders to turn left/right and it was easier to judge b/c I had someone as a point of reference who knew what he was doing and would be able to pay attention to where we were above the landing area, ext. That is something very important when tracking, that you know where you are and where to go in reference to the landing area. Also, 2-ways and 4-ways are AWESOME for learning RW b/c there are always jumpers who'd be willing to do just some basic points with you and then progress. When learning freeflying, it is also fun to jump with someone else, possibly a camera-flyer. Don't think you are wasting their time, they LOVE trying to keep up with you and follow you b/c it actually improves their skills as well while you're getting watched by an experienced person who can tell you what you need to improve on and possibly even have a video for you so you can see what you need to do as well. All of this is in my opinion and I'm not a very experienced skydiver yet so I'm sure some will be all for solo dives and not agree with me but as someone nearer to your level, I can say that all of the above helped me get much better in fewer jumps so it is the best advice I can give. I am also very spoiled by my boyfriend who video's my every jump and teaches me freeflying and at my former home DZ, Skydive Daytona, there were also a billion RW'ers who were eager to take me on fresh off student status so I must say I am very lucky. Based on all that, the best advice I can give is JUMP WITH OTHERS!!! Also, again, the tunnel rat in me says that the tunnel is a great place to learn RW. I hope to meet you sometime and would LOVE to jump with you! Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Ohhhhh, come on, I know there are some pencil packers here. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

Wow, I'm glad you guys seem interested. I called today and left a message for some brochures to be mailed. I'm going to call again tomorrow to try to talk to someone and find out pricing. I will let you know what dates exactly my boyfriend and I will be going. We will probably get a cheap hotel for the night before or something. It would be cool if any of you could come as well. Sangrio, I would LOVE to come to Africa. I wanted to join the Peace Corps and be sent there but decided to go to college first. I still would love to. When I said nothing scares me....I didn't mean people. People DO scare me sometimes. I can't stand to watch some of the brutality that goes on in this world and the lack of compassion or heart. I have always wanted to go to Africa for a million reasons: One would be just to go on a safari and see the wildlife and camp out and rough it. Another would be to go on a mission to help stop the poaching that goes on there. Another would be to help the hungry and lend services and a helping hand for a while. There are so many reasons. Is that where you are living now??? I plan on visiting there at some point in my life. Who knows how soon. Much love and blue skies, Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/