I’ve been wanting to experience skydiving since I learned about that such a thing exist and that people actually try it. Cool!
Ok, I’m kidding…
Honestly, at first, I never even bothered because I knew I wouldn’t try such an extreme sport. I’m not even sporty to begin with, let alone doing a daredevil one. I wonder a tiny bit why are there people who do it; risking their lives for JUST a thrill.
Yeah, I swallowed my words HAHAHA
Not until few years ago, I decided to put together a list of things I want to do just because. It has random things, both imaginable and unimaginable.. It depends on the person haha I’m not sharing it though. But somewhere there, I listed ‘Do Skydiving’. ~goosebumps~
I didn’t exactly know when I would do it, but at least I knew that I wanted to do it before I turn 30. (and that’s not very far in the future… Darn.. I’m getting old!!!) We’ve been going back and forth…back and forth… planning and cancelling… going on circles…until July 3rd. It was really my friend Tony, who pushed me to do it earlier as I intended to. All thanks to him. (Tony, I know you are reading this, thank you!!!)
Ok, before I tell you about the experience of the actual skydiving, let’s go back a little bit further…
3 days before jump: I would describe myself as calm and ‘normal’. I was not worried whatsoever. Ordinary day.
2 days before the jump: I was excited and thrilled. I even watched videos of skydiving...
1 day before the jump: I was okay or at least I thought I was. I thought about the jump almost every hour. I didn’t know what to feel. Mixed emotions. Excited then paranoid…anxious and thrilled.
Night before the jump: This is cool. I was cool. I wasn’t having anxiety or whatnot. I said to myself, “Wow, this is great. I’m fine. I can do it” I honestly thought so, just one thing though, I COULD. NOT. SLEEP!!! Gosh! let me sleep!
July 3rd at 2AM: Finally, slept… Gotta get those snooze.
July 3rd at 6AM: Holy crap! I woke up… it’s too early… How would I be able to go back to sleep? I imagined the jump. I was getting a little nervous…
July 3rd at 7AM: Got a message that our schedule is moved to an hour later. (We were supposed to jump at 11AM. They need to move it to 12nn because of weather conditions. O, great)
July 3rd at 8AM: I was able to sleep for a little bit more…
July 3rd at10AM: I was ready to go…
Fast-forward…
We arrived at Camarillo airport a little earlier than the expected traffic, but it’s fine… no worries..
We got inside the Skydive Coastal California office, where we got our skydiving reservation.
The first thing I noticed was that, there’s no other people but us and the staff. No other customers. Hmm.. okay, we are early, I guess.
Then I noticed that there was this old man on his phone, talking. (gibberish language, I mean I didn’t pay attention). But when I said old, I mean old. Like gramps old. I thought that maybe he’s the owner or manager or someone from there. What shocked and inspired me at the same time was that he’s jumping too, like us. He’s prolly the first customer of the day. WOW! (high five, grandpa!)
He didn’t have any trace of anxiety or nervousness what so ever. Brave heart!
So, the receptionist then told us to watch a video first.
The video, basically, explained the risks, safety, what to expect, the waiver, why there’s a need to sign a waiver, and etc etc… After that we proceeded to sign the actual waiver. And boy, there’s a lot of pages. Well, I guess they just have to be sure.
Next thing, we were greeted by Jacob and Dan. Our professional skydiver tandems. I was gonna fly with Jacob. He helped me up with the harness. And Dan did the same with Tony. Ok, we’re all set. My hands were starting to get cold.
I try to keep my composure well in place. I can do it!
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| Here, I'm trying to not look that nervous :)) |
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| The smallest plane I've been in. Barely fit 5... |
We hopped on this very little airplane. Jacob and I went first because Tony and Dan were the first to jump. haha I volunteered Tony lols (Sorry, I just can’t be the first one)…
Side note: Honestly, as I’m writing this blog post, I’m getting nervous haha… I feel the same… the anticipation…
The plane barely fit 5 people (Me and Jacob, Tony and Dan, and our pilot). Before I knew it, we were taking off already… Up up and away!
1000 feet… 2000 feet… 3000 feet… 4000 feet off the ground…
5000 feet…
Jacob: Ok guys, we’re half way through.. Are you okay, lloyd?
Lloyd: Never better… Can’t wait! (Char) haha
Tony and Dan: (Gibberish language) I can’t hear them haha it’s too noisy up there with the sound of the engine… or prolly my mind was just not functioning as it should :P
What was I thinking when I was in the plane:
I was looking at my feet stretched out… I wasn’t really looking at anything…
“Ok, I’m really doing this.. You’ve waited for it right? Now, don’t be scared. Everything is going to be awesome…”
“Don’t be paranoid.. Ok, you can be nervous… But it’s normal… Right? Yes.. Of course..”
“but it’s going to be fun..”
“I know right..”
Talking to myself is not the sanest thing to do but it surely is the perfect way to not let go of my sanity HAHAHA
10,000 feet…
Door opens…
O God, O goodness, gracious… It’s cold!
I uttered “Oh, wow…” (poker face)
Dan: Okay, Tony, we’re going first. Can you please put your feet outside the door…
Me: Say no.. (Just kidding)
Tony: ***did as Dan said***
The next thing I saw, they were off the plane rotating AF…
Jacob: Alright, Lloyd… If you may…
Lloyd: Ok.
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| Look at that face of disbelief... I"m really doing this omg! |
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| OK... No turning back... Breathe in... Breathe out... Repeat! |
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| :O |
I extended my feet outside the small plane door. We were hanging… (it's the best time to pray)
Side note: As I’m writing this, I swear my feet are also now very cold haha I can imagine the scenario over and over again…
Jacob: On 3…
I didn’t hear him count…
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We are rotating… very fast.. faster and faster…
I don’t know how many rotations… My stomach flipped… My heart was in my mouth… My brain was cloudy…
I can feel the cold breeze… It's hugging me...it feels great… Where am I? (JK char lang :P)
We stabilized. Jacob asked me to spread my arms…
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| Look ma, no hands! hehe |
And in that point in time… I swear it’s out of this world! UNREAL!!!
I AM F*CKING FLYING…
I’m an airplane… I’m a shooting star… free falling…
As, Will Smith put it into words, "It's BLISS"
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!!!
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| OK, it's so windy up there hahaha my face is all distorted lol |
All the anxiety.. GONE. I’m not nervous or afraid. I let go…
For less than a minute, I accomplished my dream to fly. And this is one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done. It felt great. Satisfying… No. More than satisfying…
ECSTATIC… HIGH… ADDICTING… I can’t stressed this enough!
This is when I’ve felt most alive. The irony of the possibility of dying (not that it’s not safe, but definitely not the safest thing to try) is feeling more alive than ever…
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.
.
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| Ma, I'm safe. Don't worry too much! :P |
I did it!!!
We did it! :D
Parachuting is another whole new experience. It’s calmer.
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| Almost there... |
Then little by little we went down… until we smoothly landed on the ground… PERFECTO!
I felt my blood circulated back to my legs. I felt the ground and the safety if offers. :)
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| Thank God, I'm safe! |
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| Here, I was explaining my favorite part of the jump haha |
AWESOME EXPERIENCE you guys!
I’m glad I did it. As for the question of “Am I gonna do it again?”… probably… but not anytime soon…HAHA I’m still hung over. But yeah! Maybe.. Sure... i dunno :)
So after that, I knew that you should try it at least once in your lifetime. At least, once.
I hope you enjoyed my story time :)
Let me know what you think about skydiving!
’Til my next adventure!!!
Love,
Lloyd xoxo
[Photo and Video: Lloyd Chan]
[Music: http://www.purple-planet.com]
