Talk about luck!!!

I have done it twice- first time was due to having a party with my ROTC room mate and ending up saying "lets jump out of a plane tomorrow".... And YES alcohol was involved...

I was so stressed over midterms that I couldnt sleep, I think it was a saturday... we drove to Temple Texas and signed up for lessons. we were given a few pointers and shown a video of a lawyer explaining that I or my family could not sue them if I was injured or killed...

We were then taken out to watch a jump from the ground- one of the jumpers had his main chute tangle up and become a streamer... he cut to the secondary barely in time and landed alive and way off target.

I still went up as scheduled... we went to 12,000 feet- my body accepted that my brain was going to make it jump so a odd sort of calm settled in. The instructors told me to step out on the wing.... I just nodded and stepped out (I have a mild fear of heights, I get a little jittery walking on the nasmyth deck of keck... ) 12000 feet is so high it bypasses fear of heights.

The suit i had on had handles sewn into it for the instructors to hold onto, it wasnt really a tandem dive- we jumped and I remember vividly seeing the plane fly away....

then I saw the earth coming up to greet me....
after I was stable the instruictors let loose, and it was free fall...

It was amazing! I pulled the cord at (I think) 2000 feet, and enjoyed the fact my chute opened, the view was amazing!

when i landed it was as gentle as stepping off a chair, the tuck and roll practice was unused...

After that I realized midterms were not that big a deal.... and slept wonderfully.

The next time i jumped I went thru a cloud- it was a blast!

Alas there isnt a skydive school on my island, There is one on Oahu, and a coworker signed up for a jump there only to have it cancelled the day before his jump because 2 people died in a tandem jump gone wrong... The instructor that died would have been his instructor...

I reccomend skydiving as a relaxation therapy...it gives you perspective on what really matters.