debussyschild

here's your sign......... "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

In reference to the radio guys, props to them. This doesn't have a lot to do with that guys mistake, but I thought I'd make a funny admission about my first jump. I was the ONLY AFF student on the load, mkay? And while under canopy I heard the DZO guiding me to make a safe landing, but I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or not... I'm the only student... gee... I wonder... This hit me after about 10 seconds of ?HUH? Clearly I was preoccupied with the view. To my credit, however, he was calling me Bethany and I got a little confused. His words "I can't remember your name... Bethany? Whatever your damn name is, under the bright orange and yellow canopy [I looked up and what did I see? Orange and yellow... DURHHHH!]: 90 LEFT!!!!!" I landed nice and safely, on heading, and exactly where I was supposed to land. I just thought that that was perhaps one of my most noteworthy blonde moments and still something I give myself shit for it. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!! Listen to your instructor, do what they tell you to do, relax, and hang on for the ride! It's a blast!!!!!!

I third that one! Unless the person wearing the hat is wearing a full-faced helmet, it should be a matter of minutes before it is plucked off of their head in one fashion or another. A full faced helmet might take a little more work, but that just means you'd have to be more vigorous, no? This could be a plus to wearing a full faced helmet during sex, only leave the face mask up so you can breathe... "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I love how divided the votes are on this one. I say why not! Only I would avoid trying to kiss the other person if you are the one wearing the helmet... only face mask up could work, though a little straining on the neck. Be progressive people! "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

If ever there was a silver lining on a very dark cloud, that would be it. Let's all just go jump!!!!!!! That's seems like a much better (and safer) prospect at the moment. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I could use quite a few very cold beers and maybe a few shots of vodka to deal with this shit. Thank God I'm still a college student and I'm not going to have the rug completely torn out from underneath me. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Yup, pretty soon we're going to be the People's Republic of the US. You wanted socialism, now you've got it. Hugo Chavez is calling for his close up with Obama... "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Please make clicky? HAHAHAHA. Will Do. So that's just... uh... insert hyperlink, right? jk "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Wow, this just hit a nerve with me. I'm finishing up my bachelor's in music education and certainly know what the financial situation looks like for teachers. Standardized testing is the bain of our existence. How do you quantitatively evaluate musical performance skills? This is very difficult and often what they resort to is keeping the numbers of superior ratings and students making successful district and state level auditions. This does very little to motivate people to continue with music after secondary school, as there are no more competitions or cool trips. Plainly put, success is the performing and visual arts is very difficult to measure without being subjective. After all, a good performance is a good performance, and that's hard to quantify. But here's the rub: does the fact that the arts are difficult to measure on paper to provide meaningless statistics on overall progress in schools undermine the justification for the study of the arts in schools? All too often this is the case. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

baaaaahahahahahahahaha, too funny. some truth to it, but not a whole lot. refer to the portion from Dane Cook's Vicious Circle HBO special when be begins talking about why women win 99.9% of all fights. HILARIOUS! guaranteed side-splitter. check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z468B8vV6XU "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Two words: ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!!! Blue skies and many awesome jumps for you!!!! "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Not much can stop you if you put your mind to it. I have no real advice, but I'm sure others do. Just a few weekends ago at Bridge Day 2008 in Fayetteville, WV (USA) I saw a man paralyzed from the waist down make his first BASE JUMP from 876 feet with the help of some friends (he actually wasn't attached to them). Needless to say, it was a very successful jump!! Anything is possible

Wow, a blind skydive. Incredible! Glad it was a success. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

hahahaha, flatulence is a problem for some divers, so i hear. one of my instructors busted ass on the way up in the CASA at the halloween boogie... that was my very first jump. it made that jump, nevertheless, THAT much more memorable. and hilarious, because apparently this instructor has quite the track record to farting on the way to altitude. LOL "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

tweet tweet! http://www.myspace.com/hija_del_cangri welcome!!! "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

So much to keep track of! Thanks for laying that out straight for me (and the rest) Cat B is tomorrow! "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Ah ha, then that does make sense. Heck, I'll buy beer regardless. I can hand out cans and practice my emergency procedures. That static line jump should be fun "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!! I've got no advice for you other than keep jumping. Oh, and don't forget that case of beer. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Doing my cat B this weekend at West Point. YEEEEEEE HAWWWW!!!!!!!! "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Yes, I owe beer, I know! But not three cases worth. Technically speaking, if more than one "first" occurs in a single jump, only one case of beer is owed. "Firsts" from jump #1: First JUMP First jump out of a CASA First time pulling high ... first time saving my life?? I don't think that really counts. I think you save your life by remembering to PULL each time. Although, I did have a slight malfunction: line twists. So maybe it does sort of count, but I didn't have to act to correct the problem, because it corrected itself. Bah, I'm splitting hairs now. I'm going to the DZ this weekend and I will buy a case of beer AFTER jump #2. Who knows? I might have a first on THAT jump and end up owing another case. I think I'll save my trip to the store. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

thank you all! i am thoroughly convinced i'm making the right decision and probably one of the best decisions of my life. the first one was deciding to attend Virginia Tech, and without that, i don't think i would have considered skydiving. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

hmmmm, I see myself as more of a freeflyer later on, but I think swooping is awesome... we shall see thanks, guys, i officially have no doubt in my mind that this is for me

""Have you ever noticed it's always the best that go in first? I strive for mediocrity" El Wise BASE jumper Of The Forest. " I vote this the best-quote-to-include-in-your-post-signature. BTW, that is definitely animal in that picture. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I totally love this response!!!! Very good point in mentioning that if your instructors didn't think you could do it, for the sake of safety (theirs, other skydivers, and your own) they would not let you jump. "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return."