Oh my...falling from a plane at 12000ft was so freaky. Everyone was psyched up and really hyper...
We started the day at 645 am for a ride to the Carolina Sky Sports centre. Laura, Genevieve and I were most unlucky to kena the open hood mini jeep. It was so cold (8degC) out there and the wind was whipping in our faces, literally turning us into popsicles. Not to mention that I was in the middle back seat...without the seat belt (since there wasn't one).
Reached the place at about 8am and had to watch this video (it's hilarious really. The guy in the documentary had this 3 foot long beard and we were looking at it more than listening to the video). Then we had to sign forms that basically gave us full responsibility of our safety and that if anything went wrong, we couldn't sue the sports centre. Later, we had a short briefing that calmed us down..esp when the instructor said that each of the instructors we would be harnessed to had at least 500 jumps.
I signed on in the 3rd load. We could see the first load descending and it went extremely smoothly! By then, I had to get into my body suit and helmet and met up with my instructor, Peter (this Russian guy who cannot pronounce all the "Ws"). We got on the plane first (read: I was the last to jump in my group of 4). As the plane revved up and ascended, my heart went thumping away. The barometer needle on my right wrist just kept rising and rising...till 13000feet. My instructor tightened the harness (I had to sit on his lap for that..i think worse was this guy who had to sit on the lap of a female instructor...my gosh).By then, people were disappearing from the side door of the plane and it was suddenly my turn to jump. "Are you ready" My instructor said...."jump!"
It was a moment I'd never forget. The view was absolutely breathtaking. Other than the chilly wind that was against my face, I heard and felt nothing. It was a sheer free fall of 6000 feet in one minute.You'd think my stomach would have butterflies but..no..it's not like bungee jumping or a roller coaster ride. It's something unique in itself. You feel suspended in air...for what seems like eternity. At 9000 feet (heh I actually looked at my barometer), I spun right, left, then right. It was really fun!You jus bend yourself towards the right and the air resistance will cause you to spin in the direction you are bending.Like everyone else, there was a horrible pain in my ears (but that is beside the point anyway).The view of the horizon and the feeling of suspension was more than enuff to make up for it.
At 6000 feet, the parachute opened. I stopped falling (duh) and was momentarily jerked upwards (due to inertia). It was so scary...scarier than free falling. I was standing on air...The instructor then loosened the harnesses (yeah i felt so insecure what if I just fell out of the air like that?) and taught me how to control the parachute. By then, I was feeling a bit sick though I said I was okay..the chest straps seemed too tight and were constricting my breathing.It was cold up there, my nose was running and my fingers were frozen. However, it was really quiet and calm, just sailing through the air like a bird. We executed a right spin and a left spin and my instructor prepared me for landing.
10 m from the ground, I did a slide landing by lifting up my knees then sliding on the ground. My right ankle felt the impact and it's rather painful now though I don't think its sprained.
I got up and walked back to the centre. It was such an exhilarating jump.

post skydiving group shot

Later on, Gen and Laura had their turns(they positively loved it..more than I did...so much so that they actually signed up for another jump). While waiting for transport back, Laura got stung by an irate bee. Siao one, she didn't even provoke the bee and it stung her on her ankle. The poor gal was like "ow ow it's so painful..the bee is stinging me!". We sought refuge in the centre. buey tahan.
The ride back was great! That topless mini jeep is the perfect vehicle to ride on a sunny warm day (minus the lousy stereosystem). I was so tired that I fell asleep in the front seat...
I had a 4 h nap after that and subsequently left my door keys in the lock. It left me in such panic! Luckily my resident advisor (a senior) was nice enough to leave a note on my door to tell me she had taken my keys. What relief!
This is a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggg day manz..and I gotta hit the books again, despite my apparent deafness from pressure irregularities...
Will I go skydiving again? Well...not in the near future I assure you that. IT was fun, the risk factor was high..yeah...but somehow it doesn't give me enough thrill. However, I do want to do similarly exciting stuff...perhaps pilot a helicopter, go bungee jumping, climb a mountain. I'm hooked onto risk!=)