sgoltry853

http://www.oprah.com/own-shaniatwain/Battling-Betrayal-Episode-Clip

My father has bought into it hook, line, and sinker. He doesn't think it's going to be the end of the world, but rather the "end of an era" with some sort of major catastrophe (like an asteroid hitting the earth, shifting the poles, rearranging the continents, or something like that). He has a garage full of dried and canned foods, 5-gallon buckets filled with things like evaporated milk and rice, and an arsenal of weapons to protect his stockpile when the rest of us naysayers come try to steal his food. He and his wife also went to Vegas last year to learn combat tactics (paid something like $5000 each for the course) so that they can put the weapons to good use. Oh, and he's going to be 76 this year, and his wife is 63... I get a good laugh out of it.

My first night jump was a solo. My second night jump (an hour later) was a naked 4-way. I chose to land out in the 100+ acres of empty field adjacent to the dropzone and then walk back wearing my toga/parachute rather than land in the light where an audience awaited. Never was I so happy to have a gentle stand-up landing. The wind definitely doesn't hurt. At a 34DD, I expected some sort of discomfort, but at most it was just "different." My only complaint was that the temperature that day had been in the low 70's, and at altitude I could see my own breath. Brr! As for the OP's question, I think it would be a fun membership to have. I would throw a couple bucks in to get a number.

This time last year, I had about 15 jumps (not far ahead of you) and still managed to have my A license by Halloween. And then there's Pat (Granny)... she did her AFF in the middle of winter .If the weather cooperates, it's pretty easy to get student jumps done any day of the week. Skydive Idaho is great that way! And like Pat said... come out to the boogie in a week and a half! It is guaranteed to be a lot of fun, regardless of the weather.

Believe it or not, I'm pretty sure she's not a troll... and she's serious that she wants to jump in the dress. How do I know? She found me on facebook (presumably through one of the skydiving groups I'm a fan or member of) back in December looking for advice on how to skydive in that dress on her prom night... except back then the plan was for her and a bunch of friends to all wear their dresses on the jumps. To the OP: Like others have said here (and I'm pretty sure I said a few times before)... it's not likely that you are going to find an instructor anywhere that will let you make a jump in anything other than normal clothes or a jumpsuit, and certainly not a dress like that, simply from a safety standpoint. I still say you should give skydiving a try, though. Get that group of friends together and find a dropzone nearby (NY, if I remember correctly?). I guarantee that the experience of skydiving in a plain old jumpsuit will be more than exciting enough.

YAYYYYYY!!! Well done hun! I was going to guess Millertime24 until you said it ended with a "c." Then it turns out to be his brother instead lol.

Lots of places (probably mostly smaller DZs) do a sort of tandem progression instead of the traditional AFF course. The tandems are "working" tandems where the student works on body position, turning, and canopy control... but with the instructor right there the whole way through. After the three tandems, you go straight to AFF cat C with one jumpmaster. Although I did the regular AFF because I started my training while I was out of state for the summer, my home DZ does tandem progression... partly because it seems to help develop good canopy control right away (it's hard to ignore/not hear your instructor when he's literally talking in your ear and explaining things to you as you experience them), and partly because we only have one active AFF instructor doing student training. ...to the OP: The AFF program is one step in the direction of getting your A. It's not an either/or kind of thing. (Although you could choose to do another training method like IAD or static line instead of AFF to get to solo status.) If AFF costs $1200, the additional $1000 is probably an estimate of how much you will spend in between graduating to solo status and completing all the requirements for your A license.

I'm not much into the whole taking dreams literally thing, but I'd LOVE to hear any interpretations people come up with for this one.

I'm always amazed by how helpful skydivers are. Always looking out for others.

I've had the dreams about nearly going in and walking away from what should have been a bounce, but last night's skydiving dream was a new one. I was trying to learn to fly an airplane, gave it a bit too much gas and ended up getting left behind as the plane sped away from me in the air. At that point I started frantically trying to find my hackey, but since I had not planned on leaving the plane, I didn't have a rig on. I tumbled around totally out of control as the ground rushed up at me, all the while reaching back and hoping to find something to pull to save my own life. Finally I managed to get a hold of my underwear, gave them a yank (and gave myself one heck of a wedgie) before they inflated over my head. Those were some serious granny panties . Though I found steering to be rather difficult, they did flare nicely. Rather than the usual uneasy feeling I get after having a mal/emergency dream, I woke up laughing. Since I'm still amused by the whole thing, I thought I would share it with the rest of you.

I know what you mean. I started AFF while I was working at Los Alamos last summer, and found that it was a fantastic way to spend the weekend after five days straight at the lab. I'm at the College of Idaho... a small liberal arts school with absolutely no reputation in physics. I realize the risks of a year off turning into a lifetime off, but that's part of why I decided to do it. I want to take the time to make sure that grad school and a Ph.D. are really what I want. Heck, with the way the job market is right now, odds are that I'll be ready to go back to life as a student after a couple months of unemployment At least the funding that physics grad programs provide would give me something to live off of lol.

Hah. Another physics person!

Rich, one of the students at our dz. Is Rich planning on continuing with AFF this spring? He hasn't jumped since the end of the summer, right?

Congrats, Pat! Now get your butt back here to Idaho and continue suffering through the cold, miserable weather with the rest of us.

I'm 21 and tend to do a lot of just listening when those over 35 at the DZ are having a conversation. At the same time, though, I don't feel uncomfortable talking to anyone, regardless of how many decades younger I am. I find that as long as I'm not a pain in the ass, everyone is very willing and eager to offer me advice with whatever particular thing I'm struggling with. If your DZ has much in the way of a nightlife after the jumping has ended, stick around for the festivities. Someone is bound to do something stupid, and then at a later date when everyone is reminiscing you'll be able to contribute to the conversation. Just try not to be the one doing stupid things... or else you might end up with a nickname like "puke girl" that some just won't let go of

1. Whats your name? Sara 2. How old are you? 21 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? Always wanted to try it and was instantly hooked after my tandem. 4. Are you single or taken? Single 5. Do you have kids? Nope 6. What do you drive? 1999 Saab 9-3 Turbo 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? Yes. In fact, my former AFF instructor got that "first" out of the way for me yesterday so I would owe beer. 8. Where do you live? Idaho (hi Pat) 9. Do you have any pets? Not any more 10. How many jumps do you have? 21 11. What color eyes do you have? Blue 12. What is your nationality? French and German mostly 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? Only for one date 14. Favorite Movie? The Professional 15. What do you do when you arent skydiving? School 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? No 17. If not... do you want to? Maybe 18. Do you have siblings? 1 brother... plus 4 half-siblings that are much older than me 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? Southeast Asia 20. What's your favorite color? Purple 21. Where was the last place you flew to ( not skydiving )? Cancun

I managed to get on my back and then didn't have enough momentum to finish the roll. After a split second I twisted/kicked my legs (not what I was instructed to do to get off my back, but it was my first instinct and it worked perfectly) to get that extra umph needed to get me belly to earth again.

I wonder that myself. I'm betting her justification would be that he's "a good Christian boy," and therefore she doesn't want to let him get away. They again, I've heard of religious people rushing into marriage specifically so they can get laid without having a guilty fornicator's conscience... so there's another possible explanation.

She's 21 (so is her future husband). And yes, sheltered would be a pretty good description of her. We both graduated from a very tiny, religious school. She just took everything they taught to heart a little bit more than I did.

I really laughed out loud at your suggestion. I failed to mention how extremely conservative my friend is. 'Test driving' before marriage would definitely be out of the question, and I think she'd have a heart attack upon sight of a sex toy.

I definitely am not going to tell her I think she's an idiot. I'm just venting those feelings on here--a forum I know she'll never read. If I do voice any of my concerns, I will do it in a way that is as caring and unoffensive as possible. I'm just not sure there is an unoffensive way to tell her I think she's making a mistake. So instead I was the good friend and congratulated her and told her how happy I am for her... even though in the back of my mind I don't think she's thought things through. Edit: And I agree that two people can definitely get to know each other on a very deep level without being together '24/7'. I also think that being together in person is totally different than e-mailing or chatting on the phone. Therefore I question how well she can really know this guy (again... they have NEVER met). Maybe that's me being judgmental, but I'd tend to think it's just logical.

So I got a call tonight from one of my best friends. She's been "dating" someone she met on one of those online dating sites in July. I say "dating" because they haven't actually met in person--he's out of state in the military. It was weird enough that they considered themselves to be in a relationship without ever meeting, but tonight she announced that they're getting married . Sure, they're going to have a nice long engagement and get married next summer. The only problem is that between now and then, he will be home for a MAXIMUM of three and a half weeks. Yes, that's right, she's planning to marry someone that she'll have only been around for three weeks. She assured me, though, that she's not one of those girls to fall head over heels for someone and throw all sense of logic out the window... yeah right! How can people be that dumb? I really wanted to tell her what a horrible idea the whole thing is, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to hear the voice of reason at this point. Any thoughts on how to tell a close friend they're making a big mistake?

I had a similar experience on my first tandem. I'd venture a guess and say it might have something to do with the added weight you're carrying... or at least I'm pretty sure that's what it is in my case. I've made three AFF jumps as well, and though I still experience some leg pain on opening and during sharp turns with the student rig, it's not horrible and it's less severe than with the tandem harness. For the experience of skydiving, I'll just put up with the discomfort and bruising until I get into better shape.

Wow, so sorry to hear about this . Even though I only spent a few weekends at SDNM this summer and didn't have a chance to meet everyone there, I definitely grew attached to the DZ and all its inhabitants. My thoughts are with all of you. Sara

Hah. My TI briefed me on that plan "B" during the climb to altitude last month before my first jump