VanillaSkyGirl

High --- Able to drive out to DZ to make a few jumps in the afternoon... Low --- Not being able to jump due to high, gusty winds/turbulence (and my 24 jump status & light weight) High --- Having a stranger "look out" after me and warn me of the situation High ---Being able to make the good decision to be safe and to take myself OFF the manifest list when (deep down) I really wanted to jump High --- Seeing my guy's loving smile and having a fabulous Italian dinner with him after feeling his warm hugs/kisses LOW --- Driving away from him after dinner to my apartment on the other side of town...for tonight

Hey Vanilla Sky Girl, can we see a pic of the suit or at least half of it? Sherry really wants to have a picture of it, too! I will try to take a picture of it, and (if I am not feeling too shy) I will post it. Sherry has done such a beautiful job that she deserves the praise.

Yes, we live near each other, and I would adore meeting you and hanging out...let's get together via pm's and figure out a time! Hello Miss Michele! Did you receive my PM from a couple of days ago regarding getting together for lunch or dinner soon? Let me know...

Yes, it's for the ladies. I went by today for a fitting as I am her smallest client (5 ft. tall & petite)! I heard that it looks amazing, but I couldn't see it on me as there were no mirrors. I will have it by Friday. (She is moving next week, so Friday is her last day working out here.) My guy had his new one-piece ready, and it looks HOT! Sherry has done a beautiful job, again, as always!

So far, I have 24 jumps and 3 jumpsuits! They are all super-"fast" as I weigh (at most) 100 lbs. 2 are used RW jumpsuits. One RW suit has booties, and the other has tracking "vents" on the legs (older design). Then, the last suit is a 2-piece freefly from Firefly that is the 1st 2-piece of Sherry's newest design. It's a custom-made suit as I sketched out on my computer what I wanted. Picky, huh? I will probably end up with many more suits. My excuse...I design clothes for a living.

I am new (24 jumps) to jumping, and I am so glad to have read this as I am considering pursuing both RW and FF, if I can afford it. Thanks for the tips, everyone! Eventually, if I prefer one over the other, then I will spend more time and money on that specific discipline. My true love will probably be Birdwoman (waaaay in the future).

Congrats on your 'A'. Thank you sooo much, Lady! I couldn't sleep, so I logged on to see this wonderful support from you and the others. Thank you JohnnyD, Robskydiv, Beemertec, Skymedic and everyone else! To: San Diego RW Were you at Elsinore on Sunday? I was wondering if you ever made it. I was there wearing many thick (easily cold) layers & full jeans under a used RW jumpsuit (Could I look any chunkier?) that I purchased at Ground Zero. I was there with the old Taft crew on the right side of the grassy area. I jumped three 2-ways and one solo, which for me was a lot. It was wonderful! I hope that you also had a great time! :)

Here's to spinsterhood! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Woo Hoo! "Woo Hoo!!!" for spinsterhood from me, too. I looove calling myself that! Maaayybe, I will consider marriage when I am 40 (almost 8 years to go). You know, I had fallen asleep, and I woke up and realized that I hadn't wished you a happy birthday! So, I am online, wishing you a "Happy Birthday, Lisa!" Many people, including myself, were thinking about you this weekend and today. I talked with Sherri at Firefly, and it was also her birthday. (I hope that she doesn;t mind that I wrote that online.:O) It is a great month for skydivers. Have a beautiful week! ROSA

Thanks so much for the birthday wishes and the smiles...had a great time yesterday (no jumping - weather was bizarre) and also had a wonderful time with family tonight.... Hello Michele, I am sooo glad that you had a good time on your special day. My boyfriend told me that he read that you were sent a container a few days back. He told me that it was a thread that is "classic Michele", which means that it is a wonderful piece to read. I am writing in case, you didn't see my reply written to you after you replied to my thread, where I wished you a "Happy Birthday!" I am now wishing you a "Happy Belated Birthday!!!" I hope that you have many more beautiful days to come this week!

Wow! I somehow just discovered this thread, and I would like to revive it as it is one of the best that I have read. I also wanted to add that I think that having a great three-hole punch at work rocks! I love, love, love three-hole punches!!! I am "in-between" design work. However, I would love to someday have a three-hole punch like yours. (I have to work on being more careful as to where those circles that are punched out fall.) Anyway, you're right in believing that the others are jealous. Guard it well, my friend.

Hey Kelli!!! Funny running into you here (Finally, huh?) My guy saw my video of Jump 20, yesterday, and he claims that I was very good! Of course, he is not biased. btw...you still need to tell me who the skygod instructor was so I can kick him in the shins when I'm out at the end of the month. Oh, I'd rather never say who he is (hint...think Napoleon complex). I actually LOVED most of the instructors at "that" dropzone, so I hope that no one is offended. It was just one person (who is normally quite outgoing and fun) that said that he felt that I will not be able to cope with high stress situations well. He felt that I couldn't possibly enjoy skydiving and that maybe I am doing this for the wrong reasons.WTF!?! I think that he found out that my guy skydives. People tend to think that a woman couldn't possibly decide to do this on her own! In reality, I began skydiving on my own, and my boyfriend & I began dating after I was going through the AFF progression. It is such a sexist view that some people have about us girlie girls skydiving. Don't they know that women skydivers ROCK!!!

Hey everyone...there's no competition, none at all! Zero. Zip! Zilch, nada! Thank you, Michelle! (I am not competitive with women because I am too busy being proud of them.) I would love to meet you soon, but I am not going to be there today, Saturday. (I guess that I read your post too late.) I have a doctor's appointment, and the weather is a disappointment for us all. However, happy birthday!!! If you are still there tomorrow, then we will meet!

Well I might not be driving to Elsinore after all tomorrow. It's such a long drive just to get a buzz. I hear ya, buddy! that sounds like a wise decision. I probably will not go tomorrow, either, but I am sure that we will jump someday soon! Sunday, I may still go there if all is well with Mother Nature. Anyway, thank you again for the offer.~

Could VanillaSkyGirl be on her way to becoming a post-whore? Time will tell ... Gosh, it's quite possible that I could go from post-virgin to whore overnight. I was not kidding about that obsessive comment about myself. I hope that this posting doesn't prevent me from going to my interviews. I do not want to drop out of life and become an avatar. It's truly hard to tear myself away, though. I have tried before when I was a lurker, but the sweet promises of reading sassy comebacks between regulars or seeing NSWF pics (and comments on NSFW pics) kept me coming back for more. I need to just turn off my computer... OK, here it goes... OK, once more... No, really, this time, it's for real...

Hey Crazy! Sending you my vibes all weekend long.

Heh... first times I showed up at both Perris and Elsinore I had several hundred jumps but didn't jump once at either one - just kinda looked around at all the gods and goddesses, got majorly intimidated, then got back in my car and went away... LMFAO!!! You are too cool, Bytch! Thanks for sharing that with us all. You really made my day. I love it!

Hi Kenny! I will definitely be there at some point on the weekend, so I'm sure that we will meet. I hope to see many of you there.

Hee, hee... I knew that you'd figure it out, Bytch. However, since you are one of my favorites DZ.commers (shhh...don't tell the others), I was hoping that you would understand my experience at the "other" DZ. I know that it is a well-loved home to many. Anyway, I would love to do a 2-way there with you soon. I just have to slowly work my way up to it mentally. Thanks for the support, girl!

You can do it "Hooked" and "Andy2"! I am sending my positive, loving thoughts and will be excited to hear about you two also getting your "A"'s.

Thank you, CrazyIvan, Rendezvous, Andy2, CanuckINUSA, Hooked, Casch and everyone else that enjoyed reading this story! I have enjoyed and learned so much from reading all of your threads/posts for a while now. I truly thank you for your support. Yes, I feel that our skydiving instructors can truly impact our lives in ways that they may not be aware of, so I hope that they can remember what it was like to be nervous and new in a not-so-gentle environment. What a compliment to mention me in the same sentence as Michelle as she truly has a gift with words! I wish you all the best weekend, and i hope to meet you all one day. (Sorry, I only put 1/2 of my pic up as I am self-conscious.) However, today, I am being bold and participating in the forums! This is a big week for me. I have confronted two fears!

This is my first time posting (BEER!) after lurking due to shyness. I wanted to share my experiences with other skydivers, instead of only with my whuffo friends and family (whom I love anyway ). Yesterday, I completed 20 jumps, and I passed all my requirements for my "A" license! I am sooo proud as I tend to be hard on myself and my skills. Like many new jumpers, I have had a hard time with the mental part of skydiving. I have had many episodes on the plane ride to altitude when I mentally told myself that if I survived this jump that this would be my last time as there was just no rational reason for doing this to myself, to my pocket book and to those that love me. It always revolved around my anxiety of having to "perform" for the instructor. The fear of not having the proper skills and the lack of confidence of possessing the proper judgment to jump safely were other obstacles of confidence that I had to overcome. Of course, once out the door, an inner peace and freedom always rushed back to greet me on the other side. What I mistakenly thought was surely death reaching out to yank me out of the sky was in reality life in its most affirming form. It is where the busy, superficial world as I know it stops, and my luring dance with the harsh realities of the violence of our earths elements begin. I have to say that I now feel that the elements are not dominant, but an aid to my physical desires. (I am ready to tango wind, come and embrace me once again.) Each jump is truly a humbling experience that has made me respect the earth and myself on a higher level. For someone that is as analytical (almost obsessive, at times) as I can be, I am at peace knowing that each time that I jump, I have to "give in" to living only within the moment. One of the most heavily impacting feelings that I experience when jumping is one of my soul, body and mind "giving in" to an undeniable emotional, mental and physical freedom, while simultaneously realizing that I still have control over my fate within the skydive...and within my life. It is the feeling of wonder at the sight of what a beautiful, celestial horizon looks like while shooting your body across towards the endlessness of its circumference. It is just...heavenly and so miraculous a vision to behold the swirling colors of light and beauty dangling before our eyes. Thinking back to the first time that I jumped (AFF 1), I always well up with tears at the remembrance of the emotions that poured out of me for weeks afterwards. I was like a pinata bursting open, and I was able to claim revelations of feelings that I had about life, work and relationships that I never knew existed inside of me. I was in shock for a few days afterwards, but then the dam broke, and I cried easily and heavily after that for silly reasons that existed in my life as I knew it. Then, the fog lifted from my eyes and from my heart, and certain things in my life seemed so clear. The wind seemed to be whispering in my ear that anything is possible. Life has endless possibilities. I almost stopped jumping at my 17th jump (a few weeks ago). I had strange experiences that left me feeling so low at a large, well-known dropzone that I had gone to after my old one had closed down. I was made to feel (by a certain "skygod" instructor at the larger dropzone) that I had no business jumping at his dropzone, after being trained in a non-USPA dropzone. (However, I silently forgive him as he probably didn't mean to hurt me so deeply with his judgments/words.) I was in tears questioning my skills and not-jumping for weeks, but the reality is that there were no issues with my skills. I just had 2 (out of 3) not-too-great, rushed skydives at this new dropzone that I have to chalk up to nervousness at being made to feel that my skills could not be too good (before we even went up) and to being away from home/supportive jumpers. I have had many prior experiences (cutaway, landing out, etc.) that I had handled very well and which had not made me emotional or upset. Anyway, as I stated previously, I am so hard on myself that I need support from others, especially my instructors. Walking in by myself to a huge, new dropzone filled with skygods as a small, shy, not too confident (I'm working on this) woman is extremely difficult to do. I am so glad that I decided to go to a third dropzone. It is the best of both worlds as it is a more laid-back, welcoming dropzone, but also USPA-recognized with experienced, talented staff. Yesterday, I went in at almost 2 p.m. thinking that I may jump once, and with no expectations. This may have been my last jump ever if I didn't feel that I enjoyed it anymore. I met my instructor, and we quickly reviewed and went up on loads 6, 7,and 9 (last load). He was so supportive and made me feel that I did a great job every time. My skydives with him were so much fun, and my landings were so well-done that my confidence in my abilities is now where it should be. I passed all my requirements, finished my 20th jump and received my stamp for my "A" license. I woke up this morning with a huge smile on my face. It is the first thing that I thought of, and the last when I finally went to sleep at 3 a.m. I owe so much to this new dropzone (Elsinore) and to my instructor (Mauro a.k.a.Yoyo).