I jump out of perfectly good airplanes.
After two long years (with a 10 month hiatus in between), Bear and I have received our A licenses at last. It’s been a long journey, but completely and utterly worth it. Skydivers are a curious breed. To call us adrenaline junkies would be over-simplification; of course, we are adrenaline junkies. Not many people would [...]
Thanks to everyone who recommended books to me. I have not yet taken up everyone on their recommendations (I am totally running out and getting Catherynne Valente’s PALIMPSEST when I get the chance), although I did spend part of my birthday giftcard on two books to read on my road trip down to North Carolina. [...]
Indoor skydiving can really take it out of a girl. Especially if she’s developed a previously unknown shoulder problem that has a propensity to dislocate in the middle of a skydive. I mean, what the fuck? This has happened to me twice now and it’s never happened before. I’ve never injured my shoulder in any [...]
Has it really been a week since I’ve updated last? Yikes. As seems to be the tradition since I’ve reached “adulthood,” my natality seems to be a week-long celebration. Wednesday night I went over to Sofa’s apartment for an evening of Bones and wine coolers as we are wont to do, except she surprised me [...]
I had completely forgotten how mentally taxing skydiving can be. And I’m not talking about the possibilities of malfunctions or problems on a jump (which should be percolating at the back of the mind, of course), but just what concentration it takes. What focus. The complete and utter awareness of the body and how it [...]
Curses, the weather gods really do hate my guts. Bear and I went down to the DZ today with the hopes that we would be able to squeeze in at least three more jumps, but alas, the winds were gusting again. I managed to get one jump in, right as an A license restriction was [...]
One of the billion reasons I love my Teddy Bear: He quotes the theme song from FIREFLY on Facebook when he’s jumped out of a plane. Teddy Bear Burn the land and boil the sea, you can’t take the sky from me. Bear’s Cousin Did you get a jump in after all? No Taste WORST [...]
The weather gods relented just before sunset, so I was at least able to get my recurrency and a fun jump in before the last load. It was really lovely flying with my instructors again and it felt really good to get back in the air after a long break, especially once I got over [...]
After a 10 month hiatus and a June so soggy it made it impossible to jump, I am back at the dropzone. The skies are blue, the sun is shining, there is nary a cloud in the sky… …and the winds are gusting over 18mph. Which means I cannot skydive. I must have angered the [...]
Today in New York it is a beautiful and spring-like 65 degrees. And once the weather turns warm, my mind instantly turns to one question: When does skydiving season begin again? I know it’s bound to turn cold again soon and last year when Bear and I started to learn to jump, it was too [...]
S. Jae-Jones, but JJ, if you please. Editrix at St. Martin's Press. Writer. Artist. Avid skydiver. And she abandons her mind to obscure arts.