Snowbird

There is something about knowing that you went through it all on your own, isn't there? Although I wanted to do PFF, the option wasn't available to me and I've had to do the IAD progression. Every jump until the 10 second delay was alone, and there is a wee little voice inside that's kinda proud of having done it that way. That's not to say it isn't entirely cool having someone else there. On a jump last weekend, my jumpmaster came right up to me to stop a spin (I got control before he had to) and that was way cool! vipergts, can't wait to hear back from you, on how it went! And don't bother trying to wipe the perma-grin off your face afterwards, it just keeps coming back.

Let's see... I have a new, good job that I think will work out really well.

Robert, yes it would be great to have a friend along, have that support, but the other comments are exactly right. Your friend can't be there beside you at the door, going with you. This is an intensely personal thing. But the chances of you being the only student are so slim. There will be other people there going through exactly the same thing as you, and they will become part of your mental 'support team'. And almost every other skydiver at the dz has 'been there' and will support you. I've gone alone to the dz since day one; right now there are four of us students at about the same place and we've all got perma-grin The senior jumpers celebrate our successes and reassure us when I mess up; they've all been there! You'd be amazed at how many of those hard core skydivers coming in under kite-sized canopies were nervous wrecks when they started. They understand your nerves and anxiety, and they will support you. So now, consider yourself pushed!

//////\\\\\\//////\\\\\\Good Vibes//////\\\\\\/////\\\\\\ You'll come through with 'flying colours'! Compared to saving your own life every time you jump, this will be a cake walk.

That I don't know. Didn't ask. We were too engrossed in watching the video.

Hey, congratulations on getting through 5 seconds! As everyone says, it just keeps getting better. I'm still a student too, just finished my 20 second delays, so I understand exactly what you mean.

Oh yeah John was fine, and smiling today as he popped the '$8,000 video tape' into the VCR. I don't think I'd be smiling after that.

1(times I came even remotely close to the target):3:0 I didn't even intend on jumping but my hayfever cleared up for awhile and I just got a new job and the weather was great! How could I say no? Whoohoo! Cleared to 40 seconds! Figuring out how to *not* spin, pulling clean... I Love This Sport!

The picture was nasty, but the real thing was worse! This happened here. He was shooting a tandem, had a nasty opening, and the helmet kept on going. And going. And going. Scared the living s$%# out of the guy who heard it hit. I held the sad, twisted wreckage today... They salvaged the footage, and the video of the fall is rather spectacular.

As Michele and Steve said, thanks to everyone for sharing their stories. For us newbies who have sponge-like brains, sucking up every bit of skydiving info we can, these accounts are so valuable. And since we haven't been around long enough to read past stories, it's great that you keep on posting them. And lawndart, so glad it worked out. Don't kick yourself too hard! You walked away, and learned!

If our paths ever cross Lindsey, we'll party for sure! I've got my sights set on joining the Canadian Invasion in Arizona next winter. Ya just never know who I'll meet then! And yes, skydiving chicks are cool,

Scoby/Alistair, isn't that the truth! It's like a good dose of sanity in a crazy crazy world. But here's a question: Do we bore them by talking about skydiving, or do they bore us by not talking about skydiving?

Oh yeah! Finally got a new job today! And Job=$=jumps! This week has been awesome, everyday has been great. I'm so pumped... now the only thing in the way of my 'A' license is hayfever, and I know it's just a matter of time before that goes away. Yahoo! I'll know where I'll be every weekend this summer...

The nutty thing is, over the winter while I was waiting to jump again, (having done 5 last fall) I told myself 'I won't ever get that into it so much that it takes over my life. It'll be fun, but I won't get obsessed.' HA! First thing in the morning, I think about jumping. All day, I think about jumping. Last thing at night, I think about jumping. I leaned a mirror against the wall, at floor level, to watch myself practice my arch. I have a PIM in each bathroom for 'reading material'. I think I'm obsessed. And selling my house doesn't seem like a big deal, if it gets me in the air. (We are planning on buying again, just smaller/cheaper Like Meunkel said, minimizing payments...)

It's called 'Writer's Market 2002', a big thick book with submission guidelines for publishers across North America, including most small specialty publications. It has the general 'rules' and also the preferences for individual publishers. It's usually available at the local library. And as far as 'being a writer'; do you write? Do you enjoy writing? If those two answers were 'yup' then you are a writer. Just not a paid writer.

Well, my house is up for sale, and you can bet that some of what I get outta it is going to buy me gear and get me to my 'A'. Except, it doesn't really count. We're selling the house for other reasons, and this will just be a really nice bonus.

Michele, lots of publishers consider work posted on the internet as having already been published. I frequent a writer's chat group as well, and we are quite careful about not posting finished work that we might one day want to submit to a publisher. It sucks, but they make the rules

Jabberwocky has long been a favourite! Here's one by Tennyson, one I found recently. *** Now sleeps the crimson petal, now the white; Nor waves the cypress in the palace walk; Nor winks the gold fin in the porphory font: The fire-fly wakens: waken thou with me. Now droops the milkwhite peacock like a ghost, And like a ghost she glimmers on to me. Now lies the Earth all Danae to the stars, And all thy heart lies open unto me. Now slides the silent meteor on, and leaves A shining furrow, as thy thoughts in me. Now folds the lily all her sweetness up, And slips into the bosom of the lake: So fold thyself, my dearest, thou, and slip Into my bosom and be lost in me.

This came my way today, and I have to spread it around.

Iynx, I have that same bruise. Mine comes from reaching for my pilot chute to pull, and brushing my wrist across the container. It started during my IAD practice pulls, and keeps on growing.

Skyrose7, I don't mind at all. It was one of those great writing moments when the words came out before my thoughts and emotions had resolved themselves fully. When I read them I thought, 'That's it exactly!'

Number of times Kenny the pilot threatened to toss me out of the plane if I had a hayfever attack going up to altitude 1:0:0 I hate hayfever! Not that I could’ve jumped otherwise. Students were grounded because of wicked uppers. Still a great day to hang out at the dz asking gear questions. Jessica… you go girl! Gale, congratulations!

Let's see... my hubby (yes, whuffo) bought me my FJC last fall. I obsessed about it all winter, and started up again 6 weeks ago. In those six weeks my entire life has changed. Will the marriage survive? I think so. Thing is he's not a 'real' whuffo. The only reason he's not jumping is because he's saving his $ for his pilot's license. He's entirely supportive and doesn't care if I spend ... A LOT... of cash on this. But we've never been the typical 'married couple'. Our goal is to be happy together, not to 'please each other'. We've always done rock climbing and SCUBA diving and gone expedition camping together, so we don't exactly fit the mold. I really, really hope, though, that he does do a jump soon. His support is great, but I know that he doesn't really understand why I'm so obsessed. As far as being changed by skydiving, no longer the same person... I've been keeping a written account of my skydiving journey. The day after my first ten second delays, I wrote a two-page piece. These are the last four paragraphs. *** "And yet it is later, as I step out on that step again, that the impossible happens. A calmness spreads through me, and even my stomach does not complain. This time Koyne is my jumpmaster and tells me to, “GO!” and I nod once before opening my hands. My arms reach for the arch as my hips push out and my head looks up. Wind! Here I am! I watch Koyne follow me out, I see the sky, I feel the wind. It weaves a cocoon around me, and I relax enough to let it shape me to its ways. As my count reaches six, I’m still stable and relaxed. And right then, the impossible happens again. In the voice of the rushing wind, I am told a secret. That this is life, this is why we are here. To do things that exhilarate the soul, to speak with the world and learn its language. The wind takes away everything but the moment, removes the dust of the past and the weight of the future. I am here to stretch my wings, to find out who I am by removing that which I am not. It is a baptism of air. On the count of ten, I pull my pilot chute. Nylon blossoms, I slow down, and after I confirm my canopy is good, I want to cry. Because I’ve left someone behind, and she was me. She was the person who clung to the past for definition, who crawled cautiously through life so that no one would be disturbed by her intimidated presence. She was the person who tried to do what others expected of her and failed to do what she expected of herself. She was me, and I am no longer her."