shannonlucas

Hey, you're in Virginia. How far is your DZ from D.C.? I'm going to be in D.C. for a conference in March, and I've been thinking I might try to get in a jump at one of the DZs in the area there.

I expect I'll be letting paragliding go. It's fun, but doing it in Texas is a pain. Cycling is my main outdoor exercise; I do charity rides, but I don't race. I'm only in the level 1 class right now. I'm not expected to be ready to perform in front of an audience until I finish level 3. No one says I can't before then, but I don't think I'm quite ready for that just yet.

My experience in the IT industry, both as an interviewee and and interviewer has been that it is a good thing to mention if it comes up in the conversation. Don't just interject it with no logical segue though. When I go to interviews, one of the questions I ask the interviewer(s) is what they do outside of work. This answers two questions: 1) does this job give them enough time for outside activities, and 2) will I be able to relate to these people. Ideally, they'll mirror this question back to you or leave an opening in the conversation for you to talk about what you do. When I'm conducting an interview, I will ask the question even though it's probably skirting the line with HR law. I consider it a good thing when someone engages in team activities where they have to depend on other people and can be depended on by other people. I also want to give the interviewee an opportunity to talk about something they're passionate about even if it isn't related to the job. If nothing in the discussion lights a fire in their eyes, even something they bring up, I'm not likely to hire that person. I'm rambling. What I've found in my experience in the IT industry is that skydiving is a well respected sport even among those who aren't willing to try it. I don't know how true that holds for other industries. It's also a useful mnemonic if you can drop it in conversation at networking events. People are more likely to remember meeting you if you've associated yourself with skydiving in their mind. That's my two cents, but ugh - I'm starting to sound like a marketing guy. ;-p

Saturday, I finally got back with it - 9 years after my first 7 jumps (4 static line and 3 AFF). A bunch of dot coms, graduate school, and a couple of years of paragliding later, I decided it's time to come back to skydiving. I've missed the sport, both the activity and the community of people around it. In the time between, I haven't found anything that really compared. I'm now jumping at Skydive Temple in Salado, TX. I really like this drop zone. It's just the right size, I thought the instruction was great, and I get a great vibe from the people there. This was the first time I wasn't nervous about jumping. Outside of skydiving, I'm a web developer. I do a lot of cycling, still paraglide on occasion, and have been taking improv classes lately. I also dabble with photography which I hope to eventually combine with skydiving. It's good to be back.