emmiwy

I was on a mediocre first date, trying to give it a lasting chance, so agree to go to the guy's place after dinner. I try to make conversation in between the awkward silences until he says "Oh there they go again", and the sounds of his neighbors' evening merriment escalate through the thin walls of his apartment. I had never wanted to get out of a place so fast.

Thanks Spot! :D

Uh.. that bowling ball thing has been done.... it was not pretty.. even from 7500' What about water balloons? A non-skydiving guy I know thinks paintballs would be cool. You wouldn't even need a gun.

Does anyone know this guy? I can't imagine doing this, top speed of 690mph? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/science/16tier.html?src=me&ref=general Best of luck to Felix :)

So what are the benefits? :)

Yes all true! the hardest part is figuring out who you can trust. Just because someone has 200 jumps doesn't mean they can fly very well...at any rate, I'll try to be cautious and just keep jumping and focus on improving my skills instead of whether other people are good enough and what not. I'd rather just keep in mind that I need to save my butt in the air in the event something screws up.

Does anyone else not find it funny that the mascot can't yell through the big helmet head? He looks really happy and is jumping up and down but he can't vocalize his reaction. :) Anyway...back to this being a serious thread.

I'm typically a timid person and skydiving is the solution I've found to overcome my general fear for leaving my comfort zone. So I do agree with both points of view. With leaving your safe zone you do accept the fact that there is some risk involved with trying something new for the first time, as with everything...

Thanks for the responses and support everyone. In my mind I know that there is still much to learn, am on my own, but always have instructors to talk to. But certain things you just have to learn by doing/trying. Yesterday I jumped my first rental/sport rig and only realized when I deployed I couldn't pull one of the toggles all the way out, and as a result the canopy started spinning really fast [canopy diving is not quite my thing]. I was about to reach to cutaway but pulled on the toggle really hard, I flattened out, and was fine. I just wanted to get these feelings off my chest, as it was on my mind quite a bit. When I was on the ride up to altitude before my 4-way, I hadn't felt that stressed out since my FJC. But I'm feeling much better and confident that I was able to handle a "situation". A lot of this sport I am realizing is trusting yourself and other skydivers who are experienced, completely my issue :)

I wanted to ask for people's advice/thoughts about their experience with transitioning off student status because I feel I'm having the same level of anxiety/fear when I was going through AFF. It is the same feeling of separation anxiety I had when I no longer had a coach flying beside you in the solo jumps post AFF level 8. But now there is a whole different level of trust I need to re-gain with people I may not know very well, who all have more jumps with me but are not instructors/coaches. Over the weekend I did 2/3/4-ways with experienced people [the least experienced had over 60 jumps], but I still felt very anxious and scared about messing up my slot, the exit, etc. Is there a better way to go about progressing as a new skydiver? I have a feeling it would be silly to be jumping with coaches for the next few jumps to get comfortable. In the end, it probably won't help overcome that fear of jumping with others who may not have that same level of experience.

Thanks Carl! Keep up those belly skills in the tunnel you're going to make an awesome bellyflier at the rate you're going. :) We'll have to fly together one day!

Hi Rosa! Thanks so much :) Elsinore is amazing yes you have no idea how much I miss it during the week. Awesome, I'll be there for Excel camp yes and I look forward to meeting you ! Dustin: thanks, I was beaming yesterday. And I did a very stupid dance but it felt friggin awesome :) Lisa: I wish you could have been there too--I would have loved a hug from you especially, you've always been so supportive everytime I'm at the DZ. It was a very pleasant surprise to hear my name announced over the loudspeaker :)

awww you guys are sweet! I didn't know when that party was going to get started, I would've stayed if it started earlier but alas I missed out yet again. :( I have to resort to re-joining Facebook to keep in touch with y'all that I miss during the week.

I just wanted to share in this small space of the cyberworld that today I'm officially an A licensed skydiver, and honest to goodness was one of the happiest days of my life. Ever since New Years Eve 2009, when I did my first tandem jump I have not only challenged myself to overcome inhibition and fears of making the right decisions in my life and accepting the fact that bad things can happen, BUT I have the ability to handle the consequences with my best judgment. Skydiving has become in this way a spiritual and emotionally liberating and empowering experience, from learning to pull on my own, looking down at the Earth, losing stability but regaining it. I have truly developed my own self-reliance and confidence as a direct result of applying what I have learned in the sky. In the end, its only me and the rig on my back that has gotten me safely on the ground every time. I would not have gotten to where I am in terms of the sport, and how this experience has changed my outlook on life, without the amazing support, encouragement, and faith that my instructors have had in me. I love every one of these people and have the utmost respect and admiration for their passion and passing on their love for this amazing sport to the rest of us. Many many many thanks to: -Lob (school would not be functioning without you!) -Mel (cheerleader and Elsinore mascot, your enthusiasm and energy are infectious sista) -Mike (I'm glad I have someone to relate to about Elsinore as the place where we both escape from real life and just have a good time) -Mark (your hilarity is astounding and never fails to put a smile on my face) -Aaron (you know what it takes to be a good skydiver, thanks for passing on your thoughts so openly) -Nik (you taught me how to pull! your natural teaching ability and patience make me a better skydiver every time) -Spot (your continued support, encouragement and advice keep me safe and focused. Thanks for looking out for me always) -Tickle (my mentor/second dad. Thank you for keeping me in this sport, your support inspired me to pass my level 2 after two tries. Your continual faith in me keeps me going) -Misha (for a world-class skydiver, quiet, unassuming, humble but such an amazing skydiver I feel so privileged flying with you. Flying is so comfortable knowing you're around) - and Lelo (for whom I would never have begun skydiving in the first place, doing my tandem with you. You put the idea in my head that I could fly. Your light-heartedness and enthusiasm make you a kickass instructor and skydiver. My boy all the way) There are tons of people at Elsinore who have made this experience so rewarding and fulfilling, that I also cannot forget. I only look forward to more fun, more happiness, and new friendships with you all. I love you Skydive Elsinore, second home away from home. Peace, love and blue skies.

You met him?? Wow!! (poking fun at emily) Haha thanks Andy, I almost didn't catch it. Hey, at least I don't ogle movie stars at movie premiers like everyone else in LA. :)

Dude, I just ordered a BevSuit and am very very impatient for mine to come. I want to get a LS in the future but it was recommended I stick to the traditional Bev RW suit, before going to the FF suit. Ok my post was not at all helpful to you, but I just wanted to share that same giddiness with you. :) Can you post a pic of a mockup of your design?

Thanks, glad I could be inspiring. :) ZigZag: RW seems to be the typical path for those of us just off student status and with the license, which is what I'll start with to get good on belly. But I'm actually more interested in freefly :)

Suddenly so many people from Elsinore on DZ.com! But I don't know who you are.... :)

He missed it at our DZ--we had ours a week early. CMiller: It was the first Safety Day I've been to, so pretty much everything was useful. You can find some of the printouts at the USPA website here: http://www.uspa.org/USPAMembers/Safety/SafetyDay/tabid/79/Default.aspx [Look for the downloads section on the lower right side of the page.] In general I would say some of the more advanced stuff the speakers were talking about [i.e. freeflying, track dives, CRW] was less pertinent to me as a student, but in the future still stuff I will be keeping in mind and can apply to general skydiving safety. Mainly, look out for your fellow man--be observant of fellow skydivers, look out for people who may be new or if you see something wrong, tell them. Protect yourself by doing thorough gear checks; this sport can't afford us to be too lax.

Yes the beer will be flowing when I get the license its gonna be sweeeeet Yes Jay seemed pretty laid back and very easy going--I only learned over the weekend that my DZ has world class skydivers who have won world competitions and what not, but are all VERY down to earth, sincere, hard working people. I have a long list of people I want to jump with once I get the license. I'm soo stoked, this little birdy is ready to fly! :)

Well, I should not be so harsh, and say instead that any instructor a student may have doubts about should evaluate how they are doing their job and whether it is negatively impacting students in a way they do not intend. Some instructors do not carry themselves with the same professionalism, in terms of both how they behave towards their students, how they may regard themselves as instructors, and how they interact with others around the DZ. I feel they should stop to think about why they became instructors/coaches to begin with. On the other hand, I do like that my instructors are easy to talk to, listen, and are respectful without needing to be militaristic or rigid; in fact the instructors I have the best chemistry with is what helps me relax and fly better. But someone who may regard his student as his paycheck, or cares more about being their student's best friend, as opposed to keeping them safe in the sky, is what I was specifically referring to. It's the good instructors I have that also motivate me to become an instructor someday, like you. Good luck with your coach course, keep us posted on how it goes I'm also interested :)

Oh I forgot! Jumped my FIRST pack job, thanks for the reminder Doug. :) I'll bring the beer next time. Aww man I would've had dinner with him, though I don't know how I would've gone about asking him out hahaha Coach course?! that will be a while. :)

I agree completely--he knows what he's doing that's for sure. I think I was just really impressed with how down to earth he is, that he'd take the time to sign the A card for a newbie student when he was in the middle of his coaching course.

Haha point taken. Just thought I'd share the moment. I guess it would have been cooler if I said I jumped with him. Definitely a man I'd trust my life with :)

+1 There are some young instructors who I think should not be teaching at all...