I met Kathy on Orkut where Kathy found me in September of 2005. We kept lightly in touch for a while, trading the odd email about favourite authours or random things, and then chance (or design) conspired for us meet in person in Calgary and it was love immediately.
I’ve always wanted to do sky-dive and this weekend I finally did it. I jumped out of a small Cesna from 4500ft on a static line and was followed a few minutes later by none other than Elaine. We took about 6hrs of ground school and then up we went.
It was really freaky flying in a small plain with the side door open the entire time. I was right next to the open space (kneeling behind the pilot’s seat) and the entire time there was nothing but air a few inches to my left. We reached altitude and I was the first one to jump. When the jumpmaster called “Go”, I turned and grabbed the doorframe right next to me and placed a foot outside the plane on the step. I turned and grabbed the wing strut with my other hand and was fully outside the plane. Next came my right hand moved to the strut and the (supposedly slow) hand-over-hand hanging from the wing until you get to the end of the strut (so you don’t hit the tail when you let go). I was so wired that I did all this so quickly that the jumpmaster hadn’t even left her seat before I was at the end of the wing.
I hung there by my hands for 20secs while she got outside with me and checked my line. It’s amazing how strong you are when you’re life depends on it; I was supporting my whole weight and the drag from the wind with only my fingers… She finally yelled “Jump!” and I let go.
It was… the oddest physical experience of my life. I was completely disoriented and remember with crystal clarity looking straight up and thinking I was falling the wrong way; trying to fall upwards is difficult at the best of times and no matter how hard I tried for those 4secs before my chute started to open, I couldn’t go up.
Then it was a 3min serene glide to the ground. It was amazing.. The world opened up and I could see the curvature of the Earth as I hung there, a point in space. It forced the reality of three dimensions into my mind like nothing had before ( Scuba Diving is similar in this way for me). I loved it!!! I felt powerless and yet free.
I landed with a perfect landing; it was like stepping of a step, no jolt, just a soft step out of the air. I decided then that I had to do this at least once more in my life.