Emma

Guys, there's not much point getting all philosophical and worked up about this...the bottom line is (I think), if you are a skydiver it's a LOT easier if your partner is too.... Which leads on to the happy (for girls, heh heh) statistic relating to gender distribution in skydiving - i.e., lots of blokes, not many birds! Ah, sometimes it IS good to be a woman in this male-dominated sport.....even if we're just looking at the scenery..... On the friends-first thing, I recommend it, I was friends first with my man and am still with him 10 years later. We even de-whuffoed ourselves at around the same time. Bonus! e x ps, anyone out there in England today? It's bloody hot eh? And yet AGAIN am in the office when there is literally acres and acres of blue sky above me! Evil evil world!

Anyone out there been to Lapalisse in France? I've heard it's pretty cool, probably heading down there around 18th August for a few days....allegedly they have a TAILGATE (Yee-hah!) Cheers, Emma

Pete, why don't you get involved in some sort of tandem charity jump sponsorship thing? We have thousands of tandem passengers in the UK who jump for free every year because they do it through a charity...Your voting system sounds like a long-winded pain in the arse; plus,you could actually raise some money for a good cause doing it through charity. Good luck whatever you do. E

I am no expert but I would imagine that it's well nigh impossible, given that in BASE you start with 0 relative wind, and from a plane you always have some to work with, even from a Cessna. Get yo ass to Norway! E Edited by Emma on 6/15/01 05:19 AM.

My boobies are on my back! Is there some sort of problem with that? What kind of GOD.DAMN.FASCIST.STATE are you livin' in brother?!!! Geez.....

I know just what u mean, JT.....sometimes I just think, God, I'm doing this thing that I always wanted to do! Fantastic! And it just GETS BETTER!

Oh GODDDDDDD!!!!! I have lost the plot! Just talking to a client who was pissing me off, and his whining suddenly seemed so petty and pointless that I basically took the piss out if him! And THEN I accidentally 'sent' and email I was still working on to another client..with loads of confidential stuff on it that I hadn't taken out yet! AAARGGHHHHHH! Even my boss said I'd better go and jump out of a plane, or something.....sheeeeeit, I am close to the edge this afternoon.....Get me OUTTA HERE!!! oh heeelp me....pleeeease.....

LOL@ Pammi - ah so true!!!! Bloody double standards, that's what it is girls! I'm sure one arse is pretty much the same as another, irrespective of gender! Remi: Have you not been on the new Turbolet? It's vastly more buzzy than last year's...don't know why...In fact, it wsan't me that pointed it out, it was some depraved skydiving BOY...and I was rather put out that the secret was revealed to all..... I like the seats anyway....if I forget to put my booties on and I'm sitting on the floor it's always a case of 'Nngh...urgh....'scuse me...could you just...ouch! etc etc' 'Cept it puts your head closer to fart level cos they all rise to the top...euch. Em

I think they all do the job but I favour the ones nearer the front as i've always found they take my mind off the FEAR!!!!! em

Hey Skreamer, Not wanting to start a 'My DZ's better than yours' type of war, but we have a great new TurboLet 410 which seats 17 (yes, actual SEATS! It rocks!)... We also have lots of WARP coaches here who never charge for anything but their own slot, and will do you a video free as a matter of course. We do have a few world record holders of our own too.... ...and a jacuzzi, hot air balloon, 14,000 foot high dome to keep out the rain and..... Well ok, everything except the last bit. I know what you mean about going to the States...the weather is probably better there though, and they are pretty up-to-date on techniques and stuff...not that i've been but that's what they say. Hope the sun shines wherever you are anyway! Em

Yeh, I saw it...didn't notice the T-shirts though. But did you check out the spot for the prize drop? Crap, landed in the sea! Ah, it's true when they saying spotting for rounds is a dying art.... I was glad that Adrian guy got voted off though...what a twat! Defnitely shagging Charlotte I reckon.... Emma ps god what a sad, sad individual I am!

SKREAMER: Hinton is close to London, maybe an hour or so depending on a/ where you're starting from and b/ if you speed . It's off Junction 10 on the M40, if that's any help - I chose to start jumping there cos I live in Lonodn...so it's pretty close. I'll be there from tomorrow but there's bound to be jumping/ boozin' etc this afternoon and evening if you wend your way up there! One day I hope to encounter this loud and onnoxious South Efrican ! Emma

I am 789 years old. But then again, I am a vampire, hence one of the undead and thus immortal. Only wish I could arsing well fly properly! e

Wow...multi-point double-digit ways.....I'd be happy with a 2 point 4-way at the moment.....man... Do you know Skreamer then? We met some blokes from Langar when we were at Empuria at Xmas...some cool -looking 8-way team...at least, I think it was Langar... Anyways, 'slong as you're still having fun! Em

LOL @ SKYMAMA! Know what you mean about the logbook thing...You're kind of thinking, 'Hmmm, I must be a PROPER, ADULT skydiver now..someone takes MY WORD for it that this jump occurred...' I felt I'd made it when I fell asleep on the way to altitude...Usually I'm shitting myself a wee bit, no chance of sleep! But this time we were s-o-o-o-o knackered after 7 jumps, the next thing I knew I was jerking awake thinking 'Argh! I was asleep!' Felt I'd lost some sort of skydiving virginity, cos I always used to see these cool jumpers drift off and I'd think, 'Wow, they are so relaxed!' When, in fact, they were just exhauseted by adrenaline! PAMMI: Nice one chick, congrats! Emma

Ok Ben, I hope this has become non-boring enough for ya .... Goodness me, had no idea such a topic could be so controversial! Surely it is the case that MOST 'extreme' (what an over-used word!) sports are male-dominated? Personally, I find this to be something of a plus, heh heh....but anyway, I digress...The mostly male environment nearly always creates a pack-mentality or 'culture' which tends to abhor male homosexuality and ...er...drool over female homosexuality. I think it's just the way skydiving is. It's very similar in large, male-dominated corporates. I don't mind myself, one of the over-riding elements of skydiving culture, I reckon, is piss-taking. My DZ is somewhere where people call a spade, a spade...if you know what I mean. Most skydivers I've met have been kind, welcoming, accepting, non-prejudiced...pretty cool. Taking the piss out of anything that's different isn't the same as creating a Nazi regime of hatred! I agree that there are sometimes insidious knock-on effects of allowing sexist, racism, ginger-ism or whatever to remain an intrinsic part of our daily language and behaviour; but I like to think the piss-taking/ mock homophobia I occasionally see at the DZ is ironic and kind of post-modern...Hmmm - perhaps that's taking it a bit far! On any given day there will be French, Japanese, Germans and Norwegians (sp) and Belgians etc....

Speed: I think it depends on: * The guy * The pants If the guy is a bit of a bloater, it's better not to have 'em too tight. I DO like baggy (ish) combats, and I do NOT like tight, tight jeans....Simlarly, I hate speedos and Y-fronts - boxers rule! However, there are advantages to tight trews, you can kind of....look at the menu before you decide to order, if you get my drift.... As long as he doesn't look like he's tried too hard (either to be cool n baggy, or to be fashionable and 'smart' - eeewww!) then it works for me. the arse is the deciding factor anywayzzz. (And Speed, 'pants' are what you wear UNDER your trousers, yeh?) Yours, fashion guru (not) Emma

Small and cosy though.....probably the equivalent of trying to do it in the bath....painful, undignified, messy and tiring..... Em

fnarr fnarrr... fascinating to all who behold them, I reckon! Em

Really? No way! Mind you, with the vibrations on our new Turbolet, it's bound to happen sooner or later... em

Ha ha ha...you fell for it!!!! Not really...now get on with some work you sex-obsessed skydiving addicts!

It's purple helmets that really fascinate though..... Emma

Jessica and I want to know why there aren't any gay skydivers. Are there any? Helloooooo????? Anyone out there like same-sex sex? Come on everyone, out of the closet! I know the lovely BenW has a purple pimp suit for relly work...likes to give his skydiving partners something purple and pretty to grab on to in the air ...Does this tell us anything, I wonder? Not very hetero is it? Unburthen thyselves gay sky-brethren! Emma (not a lesbian, not that there's anything wrong with being a lesbian...I'm just not one....or is sexuality just a sliding scale? Hmmm...rant rant rant...)

Why? Probably some latent homosexuality or something. All that relly work, bunch of pansies holding hands in the air while they do the aerial equivalent of the YMCA (Y, Meeker, phalanx, zigzag...or summink)... Why do you think they like to do the 'zipper', eh? Nudge nudge, say no more...and all this obsession with 'donuts'...yeh, we know what donuts YOU'RE into boys.... Food for thought...... emma ps. RE 'I do know one, I think, but besides him being extremely camp, i am not 100% sure he is... not that it mathers, very good skydiver! Remi' Is he the same one I know? he showed me how to pack my pilot chute when i convereted to throwaways.....not sure if he's gay or just not fussy, as long as it has a pulse....or maybe we're talking about someone different? Edited by emma on 6/7/01 08:08 AM.

Remi: you know which DZ I jump at - haven't you seen 'Stuntcock: The Movie'? Apparently it was a big hit last summer..... Although I hasten to add I have never fluffed ANYTHING at that place! Emma