metacomet

Congratulations on completing AFF!

I'm a complete newbie, so take this with a grain of salt. I honestly wasn't scared before my first jump, I had some nerves, but they were the good kind. I think this is just because my mind had kind of shut itself off from thinking about what was actually going to happen. When I got to the door I felt slightly disconnected from the situation. I'm much more nervous about my second jump! I think this has been made worse by things delaying it. I know if I could just spend more time at the DZ and in the air some of those nerves would be soothed. Not all of them of course, afterall we are preparing to chuck ourselves out of a plane. It's normal to feel nervous and to even be dead scared. It's normal to have some 'digestive system distress' as well. But it is definitely worth it. :) Blue skies! Enjoy your first jump!

"For all intensive purposes" "Ect" instead of "Etc." - how people get "ect" out of et cetera boggles the mind. "Women" when referring to a single woman. I have no idea how this came about, but it seems to be a pretty common problem.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm glad to know the leg kicking isn't uncommon. I'm jumping again this weekend (I hope, the weather is looking iffy) and doing another tandem. I've been reading and practicing body position a lot - of course I did that before the first jump too but now I know my problem areas so hopefully I'll keep them in mind during the jump. Congrats on your AFF progress! Blue skies!

Let us know when you do your tandem how it went. I'm sure you'll love it. :)

Thanks guys, hearing these sorts of things helps. Of course getting back up on the horse soon will help even more, I'm sure.

I did it, and it was, of course amazing. Intense, exciting, and so completely different from anything my mind could have even imagined. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all week, and it's taking a hell of a lot of effort to keep from calling the DZ right now to schedule another jump this weekend. I do plan to jump again very soon. (I'd also like to say the people at Jumptown were great and I felt very comfortable there.) That being said, some things happened during the jump that bothered me. Not the jump itself, but my reactions during, reactions that surprised me. First of all, while most of my mind was thrilled at what was going on, there was a small part that was less than sure. And at times it seemed like the experience was so overwhelming my mind would 'disconnect' from what was going on. I was able to regain focus towards the end of the freefall, but this bothers me. I expected to feel some fear, and even perhaps not like some of the stuff I was experiencing, but the numb/disconnected feeling was a surprise. When I saw my video I got another shock. Despite having gone over proper posture in my mind for weeks and weeks, I spent the first part of the freefall with my legs in less than stellar position. I just wasn't thinking about them, and they did their own thing, I guess. I guess what I am looking for is reassurance that this kind of thing isn't too unusual for newbies and can be overcome. I want to defeat that part of my mind that was thinking negatively during the jump, and I want to defeat the part of my mind that allowed me to space out (and do the leg thing). I'm generally a very focused person, and feeling myself flake-out during a jump was surprising and worrying. Blue skies!

I haven't made my reservation yet, but I'd like to jump at Jumptown (Orange, MA). Thanks for the welcome. :)

Although I'm really excited about it, I'm going to force myself to wait until my birthday. I figure it'll make it even sweeter (hopefully!). Plus the weather in this area is so bad right now (and not expected to get better anytime soon) I probably don't have much choice in the matter anyhow. Have a good time on your jump! Blue skies, Liz

Hi! Just like the title says, I'm a blue sky virgin - haven't even gone up yet. :) I've always wanted to try skydiving. I've longed to do it, to feel the experience of a freefall, to float under the canopy. Videos of jumps, the equipment, military paratroopers - all these things have fascinated me since I was a little girl. I've always told people "Skydiving is at the top of my 'things to do before I die' list." But recently I realized I'm not getting any younger, or any healthier, so why keep saying "someday..."? So I decided for my birthday I'm going to treat myself to a tandem jump. I've been doing lots and lots of reading, lots of research, picked out a DZ and I truly cannot wait. I've got over a month until my birthday and I wish I could speed up time. I don't know if this jump will be the beginning of something, but I know at the very least it will be something special I'll always have with me. One thing I have noticed in my reading is the wonderful sense of community and comraderie that exists between those who enjoy the sport. I hope you guys don't mind having a curious newbie around. :) Thanks and blue skies, Liz