FTP_07

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Jump Profile

  • License
    A
  • Number of Jumps
    101
  • Years in Sport
    3
  • First Choice Discipline
    Freeflying
  • First Choice Discipline Jump Total
    34
  • Second Choice Discipline
    Freefall Photography

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  1. Okay. Great. Thanks! I guess I'll be spending Valentines Day at the dz then. :D
  2. Okay, so due to some unfortunate financial ordeals, I'm finally back on my feet enough to go back to the dz. HOWEVER, I just recently got my membership back up to snuff but there was a note shortly after I had confirmation that payment had been recieved. It said something about I may not recieve everything until 4 wks later. With that in mind, while I have my expired membership card, and wait for the updated one, can I go jump anyway? Or do I have to wait until I have the current card in hand? I have to take a refresher course which isn't an issue, it's more the fact of the membership card. Anyone know on this?
  3. Exactly! Which is why I'm terrified of starting up my own business for fear of it failing and then I'm out just that much more money that I can't afford to lose. Thank you all for your input.
  4. Which is why I'm trying to figure out what I want to do, and in the meantime, trying to find more work. I'm not necessarily comfortable raking in unemployment. But I can tell you, there are some that milk that for all it's worth and won't bother in finding another job until the season kicks up again. Not all of us are like that, but I have heard of a few. I managed to find some work but it is based on project to project and I could be sent home anytime now - mostly due to weather. In the meantime, I'm waiting for the spring semester to start up (Jan) so I can go back to school, since I'm going to overhaul my entire career as so many have done. I was just trying to find a way to continue doing what I enjoy and still be able to pay bills.
  5. Looking at all of this, and getting a pm from someone displaying previous posts about working as an instructor, I certainly got a better idea of things. All I could think was 'Wow.....Instructors are unsung heros of the dz and they too are underpaid....' I guess I'm just sick of not being able to jump and really need to get out and jump again. If I could just get back out there and jump a bunch of times I'd be okay again. Got all this pent up jumping frustration and noway to release it due to being a 'responsible' adult and opting to pay bills instead of soothing my needs to jump. I should have listened to the side that said 'Aw screw it....go jump! Don't pay bills!'.
  6. I was talking about during the summer months. I have no problem filing for unemployment. It's just when I'm gone and having to pay for an apartment that I'm not at, and for someone to take care of my dog, and the season is dismal, I don't stand much of a chance of accumulating any kind of savings unless we're out on plenty of fires. All fire fighters this past summer suffered due to lack of forest fires.
  7. Lol! And yeah, you're right - it is a saturday. I guess we'll see what becomes of this post. Thanks for your input. :)
  8. I should probably clarify what kind of fire fighter I am - I'm a wildland fire fighter. Which means it's seasonal. And I rely on fires to happen which this season was pretty dismal unfortunately. When the forests are burning (noone wants that to happen but hey, ff's have bills too) then money is good. When they aren't, well....I'll be lucky to at least get my bills paid. :S. By the way - I like your name; Airtwardo. Nice. ;)
  9. financially? And by 'do well financially' I don't mean, having a brand new car every year or anything like that - I mean, are you guys able to pay rent (if you rent), pay bills, ect? Or do you have to work a 2nd job (though anymore, who doesn't?). I know it depends a bit on the individual, but I've been thinking about throwing it all out the door (so to speak) and going that route. I'm just trying to get a feel for what I could be in for (I know instructors get beat up during AFF and even during tandems) and if it would be worth it to become a skydiving instructor. Thanks for any input!
  10. It was the fact that he just started handling it instead of asking around. It wasn't in the way, that's why I had it where I had it, was to ensure it was out of the way. I'm over it now but it was just such a shock.
  11. Thanks all. I managed to get it home with me. Stupid United though.....there was, on my first flight to my connecting flight, a baggage wrangler who took it from me though stating it needed to be checked. I was livid. I really don't like United anyway since they have LITTLE compartments. I could have had it in the seat next to me through that flight as there was noone in that seat! I got it back going to my connecting flight and then the connecting flight allowed me to bring it on and, once again, I couldn't get the darned thing in the compartment, but, again the seat next to me was empty. They ended up letting me keep it with me on that flight. That made my day. But the posts about people handling our rigs and whatnot brought up an incident I had at a dropzone and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. All I can say is that guy was lucky I didn't punch his lights out - I had left my rig sitting in a chair and I had my eye on it at all times. I had been waiting for the guy who ran the dz only to find out he wasn't coming in, never mind the packer as my rig needs a repack. So I was discouraged and was getting ready to leave (I was having a brief conversation with someone who worked there) when I see this guy make a beeline for my rig. I jokingly said to him don't touch or he'll lose a finger. To late - he violated my rig. I, and any decent packer, were the only ones to touch that rig. He started picking it up and looking at it and everything else. OMG. I thought my eyes were gonna fall out of my head. He set it down and then walked over and said 'Excuse me?' in which I said 'That's my rig....don't touch it!'. He said 'I didn't know who's rig that was!'. Idiot....you were the last one to handle that now. Hope you rest easy knowing that. Who's rig did he think it was? You don't just start handling someone's rig! Ask before you touch! And I informed him that I wouldn't have done that and that you don't just go handling someone elses rig. I would have asked around - especially since it was dead there anyway. Argh! It was such a shock. Maybe if I had known him I wouldn't have gotten as wound up about it....I don't know....but still....should ask before doing that.
  12. Well, that's the only thing - I don't have a gear bag and I'm leaving Sunday night. Only other thing I was planning on putting in with the rig is my helmet as there won't be any room in my suitcase for it (if I can get a gear bag or some kind of bag for it the night before). Everything else I have as far as requirements (pull up, x-ray card...er, well, it'll be a print out off the computer but I think it will serve the purpose). Well...now to find a gear bag or something similar that will get me through this.
  13. Okay....so I know some of you have said that people have in the past wondered WHY anyone would even bring a parachute on as carry on and some have even grumbled about other skydivers just wanting to show off, ect. I recently got my rig and have plans of carrying it on board on a commercial airline and am not interested in checking it (even though I got it for a steal it was still alot of money as we all know rigs are!). Shipping it home will be costly and I'm not letting my rig out of my sight now that I've gotten ahold of it (yes, I'm in love with my rig - pathetic but hey, it's my first lol). Anyway, I'm asking for advice on how to get through security with this as it has an AAD and what I can possibly expect to have happen to me when trying to go through security. Thanks all for any positive input.
  14. Crap. I was hoping for less driving than that. Sigh. Oh well....guess that's when I'll make a weekend of it then. Thanks for the responses!
  15. Mmmm....it did help me. It helped me regain my trust in humankind again. I think it was something I needed. Plus it boosted my self-confidence, gave me something to look forward to, and over time, and I stress TIME, I eventually healed. There are still times that I have aftereffects that occur but that's far and few between. I have since learned to cope. I think jumping helped me move on, to forget about the bad, even if it was just for a minute, and that I had so much more to learn and wasn't as open minded as I thought I was until I got into skydiving. I had a lot of trust issues and had to learn to trust people I didn't know in a life threatening situation - and since then, have tamed down. My tandem was just the beginning of a long road and alot of work to get where I am now. And now....now I miss it like crazy. I'm hoping things will all come together by today so I can get back to it over the summer. :).