Snowbird

Hey Roger, happy birthday! Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Aaaawwwwww! Such a sweetie! Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

All the info is Here This is gonna be sooo good! Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

me! me! me! Can't wait to jump an Otter again

That was SOME pizza! Let's see. Dreamed about flying all my life? Yup. Watched parasailing on the lake and wanted to do it on the highest rope, but was only 12 and couldn't? Yup. Thought the best superpower Superman had was flying? Yup. But I wasn't athletic or a risk taker or 'cool', and I worked a typical J.O.B. that barely made ends meet. The itch to do something WOW was always there though. I tried SCUBA, not my thing. I like rockclimbing, but only occasionally. Got into jiu-jitsu, loved it and dedicated myself to it for several years but when the local dojo closed I was left high and dry. Life was a rut, I needed to shake things up. My dad had died and left me with many questions about life. Work sucked. I felt under-educated. I was even questioning my marriage. So what's a girl to do as her 30th birthday approaches? Tell everyone that all she wants is to go skydiving. September 14th, 2001. I have the option of a tandem or the FJC. But a little voice tells me that this isn't a one-time deal so I take the FJC to avoid paying the big bucks twice. Little did I know... FJC $170 Student progression $ don't ask I repeated a lot of paper pulls... My own gear $3000 The best 17 months (and counting) of my life? priceless. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Yes, during the Invasion at Eloy, with Jason Peters. It was two days of mostly hop-n-pops. It was tailored to all levels, and I worried before hand that it was a waste of my newbie time, but it was great. While there was no air-to-air coaching, he videod all of our landings, and both nights had an extensive debrief. I learned as much from the debriefs as from the jumps. I would love to take a more extensive course, that covers more of the physics, and has air-to-air coaching. I've never had the chance to fly my canopy with a coach nearby. Will it happen soon? Doubtful, since my home dz is small and doesn't have such options. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Feelin' your pain. I can't wait for June, when the hot sun dries up all the d#$% grass. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

I read her post to say that her SO is becoming self-employed, and that will affect the realiability of his income. Wise to think ahead, it's hard enough to become self-employed without added financial stress. BUT as a skydiving addict myself, I know the pain you're in at the thought of abstaining. Is taking a second job an option? The only way I can keep jumping is by doing an extra 10-15 hours a week at a part-time job. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

My poor kitty can't deal with laser lights. She gets all panicked and starts twitching, then she runs and hides from it. Then she's paranoid for hours. Much fun to softly touch the hair in her ears while she's sleeping, though. She goes bonkers. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Congrats! A great feeling, eh? Wooohoo! Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Hugs for you Michele (((((((YOU)))))))) Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Yeah, $30 Canadian. The great thing is, now that I have the pattern, I can make a new jumpsuit whenever. Getting the pattern right took some doing, though. I made a 'dummy' suit to get the fit right and fix my screwups, then used that as the pattern for the final. Maybe when I get the pattern just right, I'll post it somewhere for other sew-people. The next challenge will be freefly pants... Anyone have a pattern for those? Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

I made my own, and had to 'examine' a few jumpsuits and make my own pattern. A bit of a pain, but my jumpsuits cost me $30 each. Now I'm refining it with a few of my own changes and trying to add booties. I never found an actual pattern. Good luck. If you find a pattern, send me the link, 'kay? Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Yup, a good one. My hubby got me GOOD a few years back. The water pressure was so strong that it soaked the photos on the fridge 6 feet behind me. I always used to change the sugar and salt around on my dad. For work... get in early enough, and you can tie the chairs to the desks with fishing line. Silly I know. Best one I've done was at a coffee shop I worked at. Put a fake mouse in the dessert cooler, rigged to jump out when the door was opened. Worked like a charm Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Thank you Michele, I needed a good chuckle. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Yup! Isn't it the most bizarre thing, to want something SO much, and yet be freaked out by it at the same time? From the things I've read in here and the people I've talked to, it's totally normal, but bizarre all the same. And then, when you think you've got past it, you'll find yourself somewhere doing something new, and your gut will seize up again. Once you push through, all will be awesome. You shoulda seen me at Skydive Arizona in January! 60 jumps under my newbie belt, from a Cessna dz, suddenly finding myself in skydiving paradise. I used every possible excuse in the book to delay my first jump there, until Kiwi - my first and bestest jumpmaster - pushed me over to manifest. I was SO nervous, but all was awesome once I got my butterflies flying in formation. And you can expect altitude withdrawl to be a common malady. Sucks to be out of the sky too long. (like a week or more ) Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Taking my cue from Jessica... fuck:the:weather! Finally had the entire weekend off, and it blustered and blew and rained all weekend. Woke up this morning to perfect blue skies. Doh! Murphy hard at work yet again. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Congrats! Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Went to my 10 year. It was fun, good to see some of the people and learn what they did. Oddly enough, I had nothing in common with the people who were friends during high school, and really enjoyed some of the people I used to dislike. But all in all, I won't go to my 20th, I don't think. I didn't enjoy most of high school, so revisting it isn't big on my life priority list. It was interesting to see all the bald guys with beer guts who thought they were studs back then, though. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Chris, that's up close and personal! I was hiking in a local park about 3 years back, about this time of year. The trail was about 30 feet up the bank from the lake, and trees grew from the shore upwards. Sitting in one of the ponderosa trees were three bald eagles, 1 adult and 2 juveniles. We looked at each other for at least 10 minutes. Because of the angle of the bank and trail we were eye level, with the birds about 20 feet away. Wow We have red-tailed hawks that hang out over the dz. Good hunting in all that grass! I haven't been in the air with one, but the visuals are great even from the ground. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Way to go! Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

There's nothing like exiting! OH yeah. That first step... I didn't realise that it was such a potent moment for so many other people. And then when it's time to pull, I love that moment, it's exquisite. The rest is just buttery cream-cheese real vanilla flavoured icing. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Cyber-slack? Me? Never!!!! Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Last fall I sewed up my own jumpsuit. I visited the local fabric stores, talking to assistants about what they had available. They would of course ask what I was sewing, and every single assistant at every fabric store assumed that I was sewing it for my husband. They were shocked that it wasn't. Makes me laugh at how limited some people's views are. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein

Not a question but a comment... of sorts. A customer overheard me talking to another customer who knows I skydive. He looked at me dumfounded and said, "Voluntarily, for fun?" and then laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. My mom asked me if my stomach gets queasy from being jerked back up when the canopy opens. Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein