Return from 4 200 metres at 200km/h…
Today was the big day that I had been waiting for a couple of weeks now. I had signed up for a parachute jump at work that a corworker was organizing. I had been thinking about it, a little obsessively at times, and looking forward to the moment when I would look down and jump into, well, nothing! It finally happened and I am totally thrilled. When I landed, if it had been just a question of going back in a queue like at an amusement park, I would have jumped minutes after!
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- My fancy suit even had puffy sleeves!
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- Lorien landing on his ass (ok so everyone did)
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- a lone parachute in the cloudy sky
I stressed all week long, and had some fleeting moments of sheer utter abject terror and panic throughout the day, but when I got my suit and followed the mini formation I became surprisingly serene. I thought it was the trance-like feeling someone had told me about, but it just kept with me even in the plane. The only moment I got scared was when I had to kneel in front of the door of the plane, tilt my head completly back (into the banana position!) and just lean forward. I knew the tip of my knees were floating in the air but I couldn’t see anything!
So yes, I screamed during the free fall at the start, but it was so exhilarating to see the world under me, and the sky, and to hear the noise of the air. I could also feel my face flapping around with the speed. It was so cold too. Eventually the instructor opened the parachute and I barely felt it. There was no big tug or shake, we just stopped falling so fast. I that point I realized how warm the air was and how beautiful the countryside looked when you have more than a tiny plane window to look at it.
Eventually I got to drive a little and I think turning is the BEST THING EVER. It goes woooosh by and I felt like squeeing 
So yeah, I will definitly jump again. It was so much easier and smooth than I thought the laws of physics could warrant. The free fall part is just so intense and yet so soothing. Best Sport Ever. It just made my day when I got home and saw that former President Bush had jumped for his 85th birthday. I hope I can jump like him when I get old too.
Tags: awesomeness, parachute
This entry was posted on Saturday, June 13th, 2009 at 7:57 pm and is filed under All about me!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
8:52 am on June 14th, 2009
It’s really awesome to hear that you did a skydive!!! It is one of the most awesome things to do, isn’t it? I’m surprised that you said the parachute deploying wasn’t unpleasant – I remember it as a hugely painful jolt. I’m also jealous that you didn’t get any motion sickness and so you actually got to enjoy the bit after the free fall. I was seconds from puking when I landed when I did it…
One thing I can’t figure out about people in general though, not just you: Why stress be scared about it beforehand when you know it’s done thousands and thousands of times a day completely safely? You know you’ll be fine…
11:17 am on June 14th, 2009
Because I would be looking down the hole in the plane from 4kms in the air? I knew I was going to be fine. I was just anxious I was going to panic and refuse to jump once the time came.
Didn’t happen at all, I was looking forward to it the entire ride in the plane
6:22 pm on June 15th, 2009
S’il te plait, pas trop souvent les parallèles avec la famille Bush !!!