It’s been a hectic month, with two vacations and lots of travel. I’ve spent countless hours on airplanes, but sadly, not the kind you can jump out of. The end result: I’ve only logged six jumps in the past 30 days. Bummer. These are the signs of my increasingly obsessive behavior and its sad consequences: 1) I know exactly how many jumps I’ve accrued in the past 30 days. (Well, I guess that’s pretty normal for a newbie like me.) 2) I spent ten days in a tropical and exotic place (Okinawa, Japan) where I climbed a waterfall, camped on… » Read more…
Posts Tagged ‘Mary’s story’
Nine Signs of Obsession
Posted: 21st July 2010 by Mar in Mary's Skydive BlogTags: A license, Mary's story, obsession, parachuting, withdrawal
What NOT To Do
Posted: 25th June 2010 by Mar in Mary's Skydive BlogTags: camera, door of plane, Jagermeister, Mary's story
Let’s say you’re a newbie and you are trying to learn all the things you need to know to survive your first few months of drop zone life. Skydiving is all about understanding what is expected of you and doing exactly that. Here are a few VERY CRITICAL rules that you will not find in the SIM that will make your newbie status go more smoothly. I hope. (Please send pictures.) 1) Do not leave your log book unattended. Why? Because an unattended/unsecured logbook is an OPEN INVITATION for f**kery. You might as well leave it with a glowing post-it note on… » Read more…
The One Where Mar “Lands Off”
Posted: 23rd June 2010 by Mar in Mary's Skydive BlogTags: landing off, Mary's story, packing, Tracking, wind
A few weeks ago I took a day off work just to go skydiving. (Yes, I know that means that my addiction is completely in “full-on” mode. Especially if you had seen what a mess my house was and how much laundry and other stuff I needed to be doing instead. But I digress. Again.) After a lengthy conversation with the pilot about how he calculates the “spot” (the place where he turns on the green light to indicate it is the right time and place to exit the plane) and how the jumper should confirm the spot, I went… » Read more…
AFF Level 2-7: With Videographic Evidence
Posted: 21st June 2010 by Mar in Mary's Skydive BlogTags: AFF, birthday, instructor, Mary's story, video
I was thinking about all these jumps and reading my SIM (Skydivers Instruction Manual) and considering/reviewing all the tiny little critical things that I learned and experienced and then all those little details just begin to swirl around and blur together and all I can remember is that I went up in the Otter a bunch of times and jumped out and some people were with me and they were nice and fun and nobody died and I passed each level and then I was done. I do have video of two of them, so I’ll throw them up. Maybe… » Read more…
Skydiving Slang Glossary
Posted: 20th June 2010 by Mar in Mary's Skydive BlogTags: blue skies, first time, Mary's story, skygod, sunset, terminology, wuffo
All my posts so far have been lengthy stories which are generally peppered with profanities. Maybe you’re getting tired of that? Or maybe I’m going awry simply by assuming that anyone is reading this. Helloooooo (hello, hello, hello)!? It’s possible that only Adam and Mike read this, and they only do so make sure the crazy new American blogger isn’t endangering their reputation or otherwise destroying the whole project. (Also: Am I cursing too much? Heightened emotion makes me curse and skydiving really pushes those buttons. And also, I like to curse. It’s how I express my subversive side. Sorry…. » Read more…
AFF Level 1: Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Posted: 18th June 2010 by Mar in Mary's Skydive BlogTags: fail, fear, first time, Mary's story, pull
Q: How cool am I? A: Not so cool as I think I am. I failed Level 1. Nobody fails AFF Level 1. (Well, some people do, but it not typical). Not type A die-hard nut-balls like me. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s how it went down. As I previously mentioned, I had a long two week lag time (due to winds and weather holds) between my ground school training and my first AFF jump. All that waiting had a certain value but it also served to get me pretty jacked up (that’s a technical term for you… » Read more…
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