saligia

That's what I sort of presumed. From my understanding, there's supposed to be a large tandem event being co-hosted by a fellow motorcycle rider on May 7th. (SDC's his home DZ.) He invited the rest of the crew to tag along if we were interested.

Thanks for the info! I thought that might be the case regarding the 2 required jumps (and I'm sorely tempted to do an extra while I'm there next month with my group for the heck of it anyway, but we'll see how the cash flow is at the time!). This may be more of personal preference and/or ability to pay, but do you have any thoughts as to whether it is better to complete the AFP in a week if possible or at one's own pace? I could potentially see the benefits of receiving one's training within one week but not sure if there might be something I'm overlooking either way... Thanks for responding!

To clarify the pain, it wasn't nearly the same intensity as I experienced in the past and only lasted for those few hours much later in the day of the jump--more like a deep soreness, if that makes any sense; until that jump, I've not had ANY issues for YEARS, and no further problems since the jump. Just not sure if it will be a reoccurring problem, which of course I suspect no one is really going to be able to answer for me. In the meantime, think I will start frequenting the gym more regularly again, as I was previously instructed that I *technically* should lift on a regular basis anyway. Then, I will see how the next tandem jump goes (definitely plan on keeping the instructors apprised of the shoulder just in case!), and hope that I simply need to restrengthen my shoulder area as I've lost some muscle mass, especially in that area, in the past 6-12 months. Thanks for the response! This is something I have always wanted to do and something I have every intention of pursuing, but I have no desire to frak my body up even further (er, at least too much!) in the process.

As I only have 1 tandem jump to my name thus far, I'm not yet sure whether it was a good or bad idea to read through this entire thread. Definitely gives me an even better idea of what I'm getting myself into!

I screwed my right shoulder up many, many moons ago in taekwondo and the doc told me I had a nasty case of both capsulitis and bursitis. It got so bad at the time that I had absolutely no range of motion, couldn't move my arm at all, and couldn't pick up anything for a while... Surgery was a possibility but as they couldn't guarantee anything with that, I went through therapy instead, and then a few years later eventually hit the gym to build up the muscles in that area (extra bonus as I was trying to pack on some weight!). Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I made my first jump (tandem). We were instructed to notify them of any health conditions, of which I have a few, and I really hadn't thought about my shoulder as it doesn't give quite as many problems present day. The DZ informed us that we should notify them of any old injuries and gave us an example of a guy who had recently jumped without telling them of a history of dislocating his shoulder.... He dislocated his shoulder during the jump. Reportedly, they told us not to scare us but so they could make appropriate adjustments to the gear so that it would be less likely to occur if we had similar past injuries. IS THIS TRUE? Can one make "adjustments" to one's gear so that there's not as much pressure on one's shoulder? I ask because my shoulder was fine immediately after my jump (I also admittedly was still on quite the high!), but later in the day, I started experiencing the same pains/issues in my shoulder that I recall having from years ago. As I have another tandem scheduled in not quite a month and I'm hoping to start an AFP course soon, I'm hoping that this isn't going to be a constant complaint. (Granted, I suspect I may need to simply drag my ass back to the gym for more regular time again as I've been slacking...) Just not sure if this will be adequate, or if there are other things that I can do to help? Anyone had issues with these particular shoulder issues (capsulitis/bursitis)? I used the search function but most of the results seem to be either general shoulder pain or dislocated shoulders. Suggestions welcome! Cheers, saligia

Same here. I never wanted to get married, and I never wanted children. I receive the range of responses. Thought I had it made when I met someone who had been told by his doc that it was highly unlikely for him to ever have kids because of a childhood illness and b/c he didn't want kids to boot anyway. Surprise, surprise! It was an EXTREMELY difficult decision as to whether the shrimp was going to be kept. I love the kid to death. I would do anything for him, and I would likely kill anyone who harmed him. However, I still do not want kids. In the meantime, his father and I have been separated for several years for various reasons, including his decision that he wanted at least another child after all. He started pressuring with all the same crap that everyone else used to give me (e.g., you'll change your mind when you get older, when you have another, etc.). Hell, he once even told me that I could just pop another one out and he would take care of it. No problem! Guess he didn't listen the first umpteen million times I mentioned that I had no desire to bear children. Since then, I reentered the dating game simply for "casual" fun (again, that whole I have no interest in marriage/children thing). I am a fairly direct, upfront individual, but the number of gents & ladies who ran off after professing to desire the same thing once the "no children" issue was raised in one manner or another was simply astonishing (which made no sense due to the circumstances of said relationships). I dislike people who lie in general, so I'm going to reiterate all the posters above DO NOT LIE. Even if it's only a "half-truth/lie" or clever, witticism that serves to manipulate the individual to believe as she wishes. If she's not bright enough to figure it out, then do you really want to be with her anyway?

I've tried searching the forums. I've tried emailing various addresses on their site (they keep bouncing!). I've yet to call (b/c I keep bizarre hours! and my cell phone service sucks the last few days! ), so I'm hoping that perhaps someone familiar with SDC's AFP program *may* be able to assist me, although I'm not being too overly optimistic at this point, and I suspect it is going to require direct contact with them. I am learning towards enrollment in SDC's AFP program. In review of their accelerated one week course, their information indicates that 2 tandem jumps are required. Question 1: Are 2 tandem jumps ONLY required for the accelerated one week course, or for enrollment in the AFP program in general? It's been my understanding in the review of other AFP programs that they're required even if you complete the course at your own pace, so I'm wondering if the placement of the information is just off and I'm misinterpreting. Question 2: Must one complete both tandem jumps at SDC? I have a tandem jump at another location, and I am wondering whether SDC would credit it as long as I have evidence that I completed the jump. I do plan to complete a tandem jump there with a group of folks early next month. And I certainly do not have an aversion to jumping as much as possible, but my pocketbook may question paying for even more tandem jumps if I can skip one and go for the next step in the AFP sequence . . . Unless I'm missing something vital to my education here, in which case, please feel free to enlighten me! Cheers!

Greetings Ladies & Gents, I recently made a tandem jump at Skydive Las Vegas (in Boulder City, NV) and returned to Chicagoland itching to enroll in a program so that I can be well on my way to earning my USPA license. Prior to my trip to LV, some folks I know had already planned a group outing at SDC for early next month, so I hope to make that my next tandem jump. I've been researching AFF/AFP programs within the Chicagoland area and narrowed it down to two, although I *think* I've basically made my decision already. I simply need to come to terms with throwing lots of money at something other than my motorcycle, which means delaying my upgrade. Ah, well! I think I can deal with being an even more broke graduate student for a while longer... It seems to be a way of life! Cheers!