katiebeth

Uh, wha??? I'm not familiar with that vernacular. :) I'll work on posting a pic...AFTER I review a suitable one first. :)

Thank goodness it's not THAT cold here in CA, or holding to my plans to make a bikini skydive to celebrate my 23rd birthday may have been far more difficult. Unfortunately, all the other girls on my dz had "something else" to do that day, so it was just me and the boys all afternoon...ah, well. It was a lot of fun, and luckily everything stayed in place...well, all my clothes at least. Skin really isn't cute in freefall no matter how fit you are. :) What a great way to celebrate my initial birthday as a skydiver!

Was very fearful today! Don't know why. Did jumps 13-15. One unsuccessful swoop & dock, one solid 2-way exit to 4-way, one sort of sit fly! Got stable for a few seconds in the sit, which was really a cool feeling. Too bad I'm better in freefall than I am with landings. Seems like taking even two weeks off puts me back at square one with canopy control. I know it takes time, but I'm getting tired of skinned body parts! :) Blue skies...hoping to jump again soon & get that A card filled out ASAP! -km

Haha. This is a great thread. I'm right there with y'all...tonight I ran into my bedroom door on the way in because I THOUGHT it was open. Yeah, not so much. Definitely closed. (To my credit, it was dark...) I'm also a rock climber and have started a bruise gallery/contest with some of my online climber friends and it's a total hoot. We're just a little gathering of total klutzes and I love it. -km

Sorry to drag up an old post, but thought an update was in order! Still working on the A, hoping to have it by the bikini jump that's planned for my birthday in a couple months. Yes, I know it will be cold, and yes, I know I will look funny. :) Packing finally clicked a few pack jobs ago and now it makes total sense to me how everything's organized. Let's see...what else. There was the 2nd jump on the new-to-me rig that left me with a couple of scraped knees cause I was riding my brakes in...have since learned not to do that! And then had some fun with a 4-way horny gorilla...even pretended to pick my nose in freefall. Had to ham it up for the camera a little. :) So overall, jumps are going well and my only complaint is that with classes starting back up, as a grad student I'm going to have to fight for jump weekends this semester. Can someone say study groups at the dz? :) -km

You all were right! :) it was a really really fun jump and 8 was a breeze. Made my first jump off-student today, and finally on a rig that isn't HUGE. It's so nice to fly something smaller! Onward to my A!

Level 7 on Saturday and I am terribly nervous! Any words of wisdom/encouragement? :) -km

shoot me an email if and when you fly down to CA! there's lots of dzs here, too, and I have friends all over the SF bay area...and who knows, maybe some of the Madera crew would be up for some tunnel time sometime...:) -katiebeth

Levels 5 & 6 today & jumped a self-packed rig! Planning my level 7 for next weekend...having a hard time settling back into the world outside my little dz family! I'm finding it really easy to head up first thing in the morning and not get home until long after the sun has gone to sleep. :) Anyone else? -km

I'm still learning...my instructor let me finish packing his wingsuit rig on Saturday (with HEAVY supervision) and it was so difficult! He threatened me with the rest of my AFF if he has to cutaway (he won't...I understand a pack job well enough to understand that I didn't botch the job) and ruin his almost 20 year record. :) -katiebeth

You're right about where I'm at. I'm hoping to do my level 5 this weekend. What were your objectives for level 4? We had to do turns and flying forward for a dock for level 4, & I found that not getting too hung up and just going with it, following my instructor even if I messed up...my right turn I had a lot of problems with my legs and was trying to make up for it with my arm movements, but my instructor reminded me it's all legs, which is what my body ended up learning on the second turn. I don't know if that helps at all. If anything, make sure you breathe! You'll get through it. Don't think about whether you'll pass or fail, just get out there and be where you are! :) -km

Oh yeah, doing my AFF in Madera. Sorry 'bout that! -km

Yep. I was up there May 23rd...spent all day watching Brook & Jimmy's puppy. Lodi's only about 40 minutes from my parents' place, so it makes for a convenient visit! I'd love to jump with you sometime soon. Have friends who I'd like to meet up with and jump with there as it is, so it's definitely on my radar. :) Will keep you posted for SURE. Blue Skies! -km

Haha. I JUST posted the same sentiment on the thread I started last month on here. Guess it's pretty universal. Congrats on your A!!! That's exciting. I'm still getting thru AFF, but jumping is jumping and we're learning a lot. Hope to hear more outta ya as you jump more! Is nice to have someone a few steps ahead of me to look out for. -katiebeth

We have a little cessna so the climb to 10k is about 20 mins...plenty of time to think. I guess it seems the two most beneficial things I've learned to do are to visualize my jump once or twice from start to finish and to BREATHEEEEE. I don't even realize how tense I'm getting until I purposely relax. And I haven't even started spotting yet! Maybe that'll help. JohnDeere & Skymama: thanks for the encouraging words. More than anything else I'm excited to fly, more than the fear and the nervous, so I'm okay with those other things being there. :) No one told me that skydiving would make NOT spending money on other things so much easier. :P -km

Knocked out levels 3 & 4 this afternoon. Made mistakes, fixed 'em, good landings...looking forward to the next level. So far, so good. Still nervous before every jump. :) -km

Passed AFF Level 2! On to level three...you can read about it on my blog if you want...:) momenti-bei.blogspot.com Not a day goes by I don't think about jumping. -km

How do you mean "what are you willing to do next?"?? :) -km

Hi! So, about me...I'm 22 (23 in November) and a CA native. I guess I always just thought I had to keep big dreams a little bit more "in the future"...that, and I knew once I started that would be it. No halfway, no putting off...I would be in it for good. And I knew that would require a lot from me financially/mentally/etc so I needed to be prepared to go all in. You know? I don't ever ever believe in regrets, and thus I don't regret waiting until now. I am learning I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Haha...a little philosophical there, sorry... Anyways, if there's ANYTHING you wanna know about me, I'm an open book. I'll also be sure to post as I progress! -km

Well, I passed level 1 with "flying" colors last weekend and I'm anxious for level 2...and so on and so forth. Was nervous, but I did just fine, & had no trouble with control in freefall! :D

Tentatively scheduled my Level 1... -km

isn't that the truth? it's nice to know that's "normal". -Katie

Sounds about right...I just finished up my first semester of grad school and I'm pretty sure this'll help keep me grounded (er, maybe that's not the right term? ) I really loved Lodi and everyone I met there--I can see how it's more of a fun jumper's dz than a first timer's, though. Lodi's not too far from where my parents live, so I'm sure they'll have mixed feelings about my visits home...:) I will absolutely keep y'all posted on my AFF...I'm still navigating decisions as to where/when since I'm actually a lot closer to Madera than Lodi. Thanks so much! -Katie

Any tips for making people less tired of me talking almost exclusively about jumping? I can't look at the sky the same anymore and nothing is making this go away! :) -Katie

Thanks! It depends on how patient I can be. If I wait a few months, I might be able to save the $$ to do it all at once...more realistically, I'll do level 1 sometime late this month or early next, then 2/3, 4/5, etc with the goal of A license by my birthday! (november) and my C license by the time I finish grad school. -Katie