grasshoppergirl

I wanted to send a holiday card of sorts ;-) Happy holidays everyone. XO Ski, you're funny.

+1 :)

I have an idea but I'm not sure, so I'll stay quiet. Very nice however I must say!

Thanks so much everyone :-) Squeak, you paying? JimmyTavino, my guess is that you're smart enough to figure it out. It's not difficult ;-) edited to correct the spelling of Jimmy's name.~Skymama

Hi all! I've been on dz.com for a bit (some of you know me from the 'guess the rack' thread) but finally got my A license this weekend so I finally feel legit. I'm so excited to be part of the sport and can't wait to keep learning. Special thanks to everyone at my home DZ Virginia Skydiving Center for being so ridiculously awesome. Blue skies everyone :)

I don't, but that's probably because I'm new. Who DOESN'T have a picture of it.....

Agreed re: Florida. I took two weeks there in November expecting to rock star through AFF and got hosed by the wind.

Another reason to love the Garden State. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/06/highway_left-lane_hogs_could_see_fines_double_for_failing_to_move_over.html

Ask theonlyski about his horn! When I moved to VA, a friend did this while I was a passenger in her car. She calls it 'picking her bitch' which is kind of funny and now I find myself calling it that too. I've been pulled over more times that I care to admit since moving to a more rural area, and it sucks. To that point, I started really obeying speed limits in certain areas that I know are speed traps. I'm always amazed at how many drivers who see the same posted speed limit signs that I do, are up my ass in frustration. I almost want to get a custom car magnet bumper sticker explaining that if you see me strictly following posted speed limits, there's a reason. Or this one...

This newbie has been wondering the same thing. Although I'm just a student, I've been around the sport now for a good two years and have been at several drop zones. I get that tandems are the bread and butter etc. etc. but as a AFF student, I need to get up more than 1x/day. That seems to be very difficult to accomplish (especially while you still need two instructors). Only putting two AFF's on a load also slows it down. I keep thinking that there has to be a better way. I know people cancel/don't show up, and I know it can be hard when you're short intructors etc. but should you really prioritize walk-in tandems over paid up AFF students?

Only if they give me a really good book.

I really like mine.

It was my fault for resurrecting an old thread, have been searching for AFF related threads etc. As noted above, I appreciated the advice.

Really helpful advice (re: helping train to achieve strong exit and relaxing during freefall). Thanks.

It really does make me feel better to hear it's normal... I keep reminding myself that my brain has to get used to what I'm doing. I'm not in love with the fact that I still have that 20 sec burble of anxiety/2nd guessing. I think the trick (assuming you know you want it) really is to just keep getting on loads and keep throwing yourself out of that door! I've also done 75 minutes of tunnel practice so I need to remember that I have the right to have some additional confidence in terms of my flying skills. And besides, if all goes to shit, just go back to your ARCH right? ;-)

For me, it's not a fear of the airplane or falling out (in fact it feels weird when I travel and get on a plane I can't jump out of). It's more that moment of committing to the jump in the door. There's a part of me that thinks 'what IF something goes wrong and I can't handle it'. It's more about me really trusting myself then being afraid of the door. The second I leave, that feeling is gone and I'm focused on the dive.

Lots of good input in this thread. Thanks!

This is so well said. Skydiving is the first thing that I can 100% focus on, without any other thoughts entering my brain. I love that.

haha, That would be correct.

Ha!!

You don't have to think hard on this one. I was bending over to pick something up and thought to myself "you know who would appreciate this view?" Just my simple offering to SkyGod for great weather this weekend. :) Have a great weekend everyone! Edited to add additional source of inspiration. http://m.now.msn.com/squeezing-breasts-can-stop-cancer