sgoltry853

http://www.oprah.com/own-shaniatwain/Battling-Betrayal-Episode-Clip

My father has bought into it hook, line, and sinker. He doesn't think it's going to be the end of the world, but rather the "end of an era" with some sort of major catastrophe (like an asteroid hitting the earth, shifting the poles, rearranging the continents, or something like that). He has a garage full of dried and canned foods, 5-gallon buckets filled with things like evaporated milk and rice, and an arsenal of weapons to protect his stockpile when the rest of us naysayers come try to steal his food. He and his wife also went to Vegas last year to learn combat tactics (paid something like $5000 each for the course) so that they can put the weapons to good use. Oh, and he's going to be 76 this year, and his wife is 63... I get a good laugh out of it.

My first night jump was a solo. My second night jump (an hour later) was a naked 4-way. I chose to land out in the 100+ acres of empty field adjacent to the dropzone and then walk back wearing my toga/parachute rather than land in the light where an audience awaited. Never was I so happy to have a gentle stand-up landing. The wind definitely doesn't hurt. At a 34DD, I expected some sort of discomfort, but at most it was just "different." My only complaint was that the temperature that day had been in the low 70's, and at altitude I could see my own breath. Brr! As for the OP's question, I think it would be a fun membership to have. I would throw a couple bucks in to get a number.

This time last year, I had about 15 jumps (not far ahead of you) and still managed to have my A license by Halloween. And then there's Pat (Granny)... she did her AFF in the middle of winter .If the weather cooperates, it's pretty easy to get student jumps done any day of the week. Skydive Idaho is great that way! And like Pat said... come out to the boogie in a week and a half! It is guaranteed to be a lot of fun, regardless of the weather.

Believe it or not, I'm pretty sure she's not a troll... and she's serious that she wants to jump in the dress. How do I know? She found me on facebook (presumably through one of the skydiving groups I'm a fan or member of) back in December looking for advice on how to skydive in that dress on her prom night... except back then the plan was for her and a bunch of friends to all wear their dresses on the jumps. To the OP: Like others have said here (and I'm pretty sure I said a few times before)... it's not likely that you are going to find an instructor anywhere that will let you make a jump in anything other than normal clothes or a jumpsuit, and certainly not a dress like that, simply from a safety standpoint. I still say you should give skydiving a try, though. Get that group of friends together and find a dropzone nearby (NY, if I remember correctly?). I guarantee that the experience of skydiving in a plain old jumpsuit will be more than exciting enough.

YAYYYYYY!!! Well done hun! I was going to guess Millertime24 until you said it ended with a "c." Then it turns out to be his brother instead lol.

Lots of places (probably mostly smaller DZs) do a sort of tandem progression instead of the traditional AFF course. The tandems are "working" tandems where the student works on body position, turning, and canopy control... but with the instructor right there the whole way through. After the three tandems, you go straight to AFF cat C with one jumpmaster. Although I did the regular AFF because I started my training while I was out of state for the summer, my home DZ does tandem progression... partly because it seems to help develop good canopy control right away (it's hard to ignore/not hear your instructor when he's literally talking in your ear and explaining things to you as you experience them), and partly because we only have one active AFF instructor doing student training. ...to the OP: The AFF program is one step in the direction of getting your A. It's not an either/or kind of thing. (Although you could choose to do another training method like IAD or static line instead of AFF to get to solo status.) If AFF costs $1200, the additional $1000 is probably an estimate of how much you will spend in between graduating to solo status and completing all the requirements for your A license.

I'm not much into the whole taking dreams literally thing, but I'd LOVE to hear any interpretations people come up with for this one.

I'm always amazed by how helpful skydivers are. Always looking out for others.

I've had the dreams about nearly going in and walking away from what should have been a bounce, but last night's skydiving dream was a new one. I was trying to learn to fly an airplane, gave it a bit too much gas and ended up getting left behind as the plane sped away from me in the air. At that point I started frantically trying to find my hackey, but since I had not planned on leaving the plane, I didn't have a rig on. I tumbled around totally out of control as the ground rushed up at me, all the while reaching back and hoping to find something to pull to save my own life. Finally I managed to get a hold of my underwear, gave them a yank (and gave myself one heck of a wedgie) before they inflated over my head. Those were some serious granny panties . Though I found steering to be rather difficult, they did flare nicely. Rather than the usual uneasy feeling I get after having a mal/emergency dream, I woke up laughing. Since I'm still amused by the whole thing, I thought I would share it with the rest of you.

I know what you mean. I started AFF while I was working at Los Alamos last summer, and found that it was a fantastic way to spend the weekend after five days straight at the lab. I'm at the College of Idaho... a small liberal arts school with absolutely no reputation in physics. I realize the risks of a year off turning into a lifetime off, but that's part of why I decided to do it. I want to take the time to make sure that grad school and a Ph.D. are really what I want. Heck, with the way the job market is right now, odds are that I'll be ready to go back to life as a student after a couple months of unemployment At least the funding that physics grad programs provide would give me something to live off of lol.

Hah. Another physics person!

Rich, one of the students at our dz. Is Rich planning on continuing with AFF this spring? He hasn't jumped since the end of the summer, right?

Congrats, Pat! Now get your butt back here to Idaho and continue suffering through the cold, miserable weather with the rest of us.

I'm 21 and tend to do a lot of just listening when those over 35 at the DZ are having a conversation. At the same time, though, I don't feel uncomfortable talking to anyone, regardless of how many decades younger I am. I find that as long as I'm not a pain in the ass, everyone is very willing and eager to offer me advice with whatever particular thing I'm struggling with. If your DZ has much in the way of a nightlife after the jumping has ended, stick around for the festivities. Someone is bound to do something stupid, and then at a later date when everyone is reminiscing you'll be able to contribute to the conversation. Just try not to be the one doing stupid things... or else you might end up with a nickname like "puke girl" that some just won't let go of