Safety Debate
Last night at my bocce ball league – yes, I know, it’s not nearly as adrenaline pumping as hucking yourself from a plane at 14K, but girls gotta do somethin’ while on this injury time out – I participated in a debate on safety, skydiving vs. bungee jumping.
As it usually does when meeting new people, the topic of skydiving came up. You know, when people ask you where you hang out on the weekends, it’s kinda hard to avoid the truth without sounding totally lame. Anyway, a couple of the guys in the group had been skydiving fairly recently, one did a tandem in New Zealand. He also mentioned that he went bungee jumping there and, as I typically do when the subject comes up, I visibly cringed. And, as usual, most people were taken aback by my reaction.
“Wait, you’ll skydive hundreds of times but you’ll never bungee jump?”
Yes friends, this is correct. My argument is always the same – I have two parachutes on my back, one of which is packed by a skilled, licensed professional. When bungee jumping, your life is in the hands of a rubber band (now before everyone goes jumping down my throat here, I know this isn’t exactly factual, but people get the point), I prefer my odds.
Last night’s debate included a new point of view that I’d never heard before: many more non-professionals bungee jump than skydive. So, in other words, you can be an average joe and jump off a bridge alone, but to skydive you need more skills. Not sure how that alludes to the bungee being a safer sport, but it was an interesting POV. Of course, my retort was that with so many more skydivers out there having official training and licenses, safety is a big focus in the sport.
In the end, the majority who joined the conversation took the side of skydiving ultimately being the safer option (of course, this is all without actual stats, so for any who want to prove me wrong with numbers or whatever, go ahead). And, I think I convinced a few people who were on the fence about trying it to get out there and give it a shot.
How many of you have participated in this debate before? How many skydivers out there are sticking to the never bungee jumping rule like I am?
Blue skies!
Ashley
Injury Overload
Right around this time last year I had a self-inflicted (read: no-flare landing) injury that I was going through physical therapy and 3x/week chiropractor appointments.
During that time, I got to see an x-ray of my spine – I have more permanent problems than just the hip injury I was there to fix – and therefore continued with my chiro appointments on a monthly basis as a way to maintain my health.
After moving I was a bit lazy in finding a new chiropractor, but I did my research and found a guy. He’s good. He took x-rays to asses my latest shoulder injury (that I was REALLY hoping could be fixed by chiropractic and rehab rather than the proposed cortisone shots and potential surgery that traditional medicine was tossing my way), and I have to admit that I was absolutely stunned to see what my spine looked like, compared with a year ago.
Aside from the scary sight that was my shoulder, my spine looked almost normal. Last year at this time, it looked like someone’s fist had impacted my spine, the scoliosis was so severe in my lower/mid back. This year, it looks like a minor ripple in my spine. I’ll take a minor ripple here people!
Chiropractic is amazing stuff. For people who think it’s a bunch of quacky shit, well, sometimes it is. You have to do your research, find the right guy. Growing up I went to a family friend who was an MD first, then pursued his chiropractic certification. He was very good. My chiro in Chicago was amazing. He was in an office where they did massage therapy (not the frilly kind, but the kind where you’d be in complete pain the whole time but would walk out feeling like a million bucks) and his wife was the physical therapist on staff. Very much rehab focused.
Same with my new doc. No quack talk, just down to business. I do wish he had massage therapists on staff, but I get electro stim on my shoulder and lower back along with a weekly adjustment. I’ve only been twice, but so far so good. I can already tell a difference.
So this blog post about injuries turned out to be more of a promotion for chiropractic, which totally wasn’t my point.
What the hell was my point? It’s this…
Being injured and grounded totally sucks. The blue skies and warm southern weather have been calling my name, and I’ve yet to have the chance since moving over a month ago to get out and make even a single jump, but keeping my fingers crossed that the opportunity will come soon. In the meantime, I’m trying to remind myself that being on the ground is for the best, and finding other activities I love like yoga, hiking and my bocce ball league are keeping me busy and sane. But that doesn’t make my cravings for freefall any weaker, I must admit.
With time off comes improvement in health. I’m a firm believer in the RICE treatment, I’ve got the rest, ice and compression down, now it’s just time to get a little elevation to make my experience that much better.
Blue skies my friends!
Ashley
Moving Update
It’s been a while, mostly due to the fact that I’m still in transition due to the move to Atlanta, and things seem to be in shambles a bit.
I have a love/hate relationship with moving. Packing up all your stuff sucks. Like, sucks huge. But unpacking into a new spot and starting off on a new adventure, I look forward to.
I’m a girl who thrives on change. That’s good, because in life, change is inevitable. I like the idea of starting a new chapter of my life, wiping the slate clean (so to speak) and moving helps set the tone for this new chapter.
Getting everything set up in my new house is actually enjoyable. I have no timeline, so I can move in at my leisure, put everything in it’s place and make a home for myself.
Atlanta has treated me well so far. I’ve got a great network of peeps both at the office and in the outside world who have reached out and helped the settling in process. The weather is much warmer than in Chicago – which is great for now, though come July I might feel differently – and the pace of life isn’t so hectic.
So far, the change has been good – and much needed. I can’t wait to see what else the South has to offer. It’s great to be back.
Cheers!
Ashley
Reflecting and resolving – part 2
In an effort to keep my posts quick and easy to read, I broke up this posts into two part. Part 1 was posted yesterday, and I discussed 2011, took a look at the goals I set at the beginning of the year and where I netted out.
This year, my goals are a little more concrete – either they’ll be successes or failures. But, like this year, I have no doubt that regardless of the outcome, I’ll walk away with plenty of knowledge to reflect upon.
Let’s get onto these resolutions!
Pay off all credit card debt. This is number one on my list for a reason. I finally feel like I’m at a comfortable place to do this, and start building a savings, both for emergencies and to have enough for a down payment on a house. Hello adulthood!
Earn SCUBA certification. This is something that hubs and I have been wanting to do for quite some time. I’m pretty sure this came up within the first few weeks of us dating, as something we both want to accomplish in the near future.
Add to and continue selling prints on my Etsy shop. I’m proud to say that I launched my Etsy shop during the holidays and you can now purchase prints, matted and framed or on canvas right here. This year I intend to make great progress with my photography and editing skills so I can keep my shop fresh.
Recommit to yoga and meditation. Health and fitness has always been important to me, but in the recent past I’ve been slipping. I’ve begun a running routine that I plan to stick with, but on my off days, I’m planning to get back into yoga. It just makes me happier. It also helps that my amazing husband bought me yoga paws as a stocking stuffer this year, so I have no excuse, even when I’m on the road.
Teach my dog how to run with me. This is the main reason that I started running again. I’d like to be able to take the dog out a few times a week after work and run her. I tried when we first got her, but now that she’s more obedient I definitely want to get this routine started – it’ll be good for her and me.
Get some tunnel time. This one speaks for itself. I normally don’t like to put goals around my skydiving, as it’s my leisure activity, but a I consider “tunnel time” to be a bit vague. It’s about time I sync up with a coach and get on my head.
Volunteer. Yes, I already coordinate Jump for Diabetes at Skydive Chicago each year (p.s., if you haven’t heard it’s on 4th of July weekend this year), but I want to do more. I’ve always had the desire to help out at a food bank or serve dinner at a soup kitchen during the holidays. Ideally, I’d like to commit to 1 act of volunteerism a month. I think I’m up to that challenge!
So those are my 7 resolutions for the year. Next year at this time, hopefully I can paste this list into a new blog post with success written after each.
What are your goals, commitments and resolutions for 2012?
Cheers!
Ashley
My life as a television show
Do you ever feel like you’re watching your life unfold as if it’s a television show?
That’s how my life feels right now.
And I don’t like it. Not. One. Bit.
Not so much because of what’s happening, though I could do without a few of these situations, honestly, but more that I feel so out of control. Let’s be honest, I’m about as type A as they come. I’m not one to sit around and let my life fall into whatever place it’s going to fall. I prefer to be at the drivers seat – to know I at least have some sense of control over my destiny.
Right now, control seems to have slipped from my grasp. And it’s terrifying. I wish I were skydiving…that’s much less terrifying of a ride.
I want nothing more than to gain even the tiniest bit of control back – give me a wheel to turn, a button to push to make it all go away, or at least a break so I can slow this train down for a minute.
Yes, I’m fully aware that this is sometimes how life unfolds, there’s just enough surprise to keep you on your toes and let you know that you’re not always in control, but this feeling of being outside my own life, looking in, isn’t flying with me.
The surprising thing is, even though this blog post, after re-reading it sounds a bit alarming, I’m actually handling it pretty well. Normally, I’d be a basket case, with constant worry over what’s happening, what’s not, what’s going to happen next, how to deal with it, etc. But the truth is, I’m not really worried.
Maybe it’s because I’ve spent countless hours worrying and it doesn’t do any good. Maybe I finally learned that lesson? Doubtful. I think a lot of it has to do with my marriage, dumb as it sounds. I have never been this happy in my entire life, and having someone to share your life with, also means having someone with whom to share the burdens of life. He’s keeping me sane, keeping me grounded, supporting every decision I need to make along the way. As a single person I used to scoff at my married friends who would say “I just don’t know what I would do without him,” but now that I’m here, I truly don’t know what I would do without him.
Looking at our wedding photos is something I’m really enjoying lately. Not sure if it has anything to do with the craziness going on around me, but it’s comforting and, I gotta say, we look damn good in them. Check ‘em out for yourself here.
Aside from that, I’m doing everything in my power to keep my hands firmly grasped on my career. Lack of control will not be an issue here, if I have anything to say about it.
So tell me, am I alone here? Has anyone else ever felt like they were watching their life on TV?
Blue ones!
Ashley
My Favorite Things
For the last month or so I’ve been using Pintrest to tag everything from home decor to tattoo ideas that I love. It’s a great social networking tool to give you ideas for just about anything you can think up. See a shirt you like online, pin it and put it on your “fashion” board to remind you to pick something similar up the next time you go shopping.
It’s addicting, to say the least.
It is also what inspired me to write this post today. As I mentioned before, time is limited right now between moving, business travel and my wedding in a week, so anything that does transpire here on the blog is pretty much a direct brain dump – not that I have much of a filter anyhow.
So Pintrest got me thinking about things that I love. It also made me realize that simpler is better. I’ve never been one to love clutter, though I sometimes find myself surrounded by it. I guess I could say it’s helping me figure out how to simplify a bit, too.
Below is a list, because that’s easiest, of a few things I’ve learned that I really appreciate in life:
1. Big, bold pieces of art
2. Uncomplicated relationships
3. Basic colors with a splash of brightness (read: black, white, grey and teal)
4. Classic clothing with a hint of delicate detail
5. Yogi tea with a hint of natural honey
6. Trader Joe’s sweet red win ($4.99 bitches)
8. Writing with a dog at your feet.
9. Reading quietly
10. Sunshine and skydiving
I think number 10 goes without saying here, but I wanted to have a round 10 – is that a little OCD of me?
Anyhow, there’s not much purpose here other than finding joy in the simple things in life. I’m not sure I’d classify skydiving as “simple” but I would say it’s pure, raw emotion that’s generated through natural body responses – and for most of us, it’s an incredibly freeing experience.
What are some of your favorite things?
Love and blue skies!
Ashley
Falling off the map
As much as I hate to say it, I’m going to be falling of the grid for the next few weeks. So, there’s a chance you won’t see many, if any, posts from me until the end of October.
Here’s why:
1) I’m getting married. Yes, I’m already married, but we didn’t have a wedding. So I guess I should say, I’m having a wedding here very soon.
2) I’m moving. Not out of state (again), just to a different ‘burb. And in all honesty, it’s pretty logistically hands off for me as my incredible husband is doing the majority of the heavy lifting on this one (literally and figuratively here). But there’s still lots of little loose ends to tie up along the way.
3) Travel – unfortunately, not so much for fun. My company is sending me on a couple trips in the next month so my blogging time will be limited.
So as you can see, any free time I do have is spent preparing for one of these three things. But, the good news is that I will have plenty of experiences to share when I do get back into the swing of blogging.
If anyone is interested in guest posting, let me know. I’m sure the audience would love to hear from someone else for a change.
Until next time -
Love and Blue Skies!
Ashley
Unintentional time off
A long weekend spent away from the dropzone was not what was intended for the Labor Day holiday, but sometimes life has a way of taking over.
The past two years, this weekend has been spent at the Work Stinks! Boogie in Ohio. Between our move to Chicago and upcoming wedding festivities, there just weren’t enough resources to make the trip this year. But I can’t say it didn’t turn out to be a fabulous weekend.
Each day I woke up with the intention of “we’ll head to the dropzone today,” but it never seemed to pan out that way. After spinning class on Saturday I had just enough time to come home and shower before some serious rain moved in. Definitely no jumping for us that day. Sunday included an impromptu trip to Wisconsin to visit a buddy of Rick’s and cook out. The weather turned cold and rainy in the afternoon, with gusty wind all day. So, we didn’t feel so bad about another day spent on the ground with good company.
Monday morning blew in with more gusts, so we spent the day running errands, making pizza and just thoroughly enjoying our last day of the long weekend. In hindsight, I couldn’t be happier with the weekend we had. Sure, it’d have been nice to get in a skydive or two, but sometimes it’s nice when life shows you a different path for a change.
What did you do with your Labor Day weekend?
Blue ones!
Ashley
Changes Afoot
Posts have been spotty lately, at best. I do realize that I haven’t been the best blogger lately, and I apologize for that. Hopefully most of you just assumed it had to do with my being out due to injury and not jumping, but that’s actually not the case.
I have a damn good reason for the lack of posts lately – it’s because there’s a lot of change happening right now.
Normally when I mention change in my life it has zero impact on you, my readers. This time, however, the changes will have some affect on your SkydiveChick blog reading pleasure.
That’s all I’m going to say for now. There’s still a bit of work ahead, so I’ll do my best to stay on top of updates, but until all my ducks are in a row this is going to be a bit of a hush hush situation.
“Secrets secrets are no fun…” but I promise you, this one is.
Stay tuned!
Love and blue ones, y’all!
Ashley
Skydiving and Injury
I have a hard time speaking from experience on this one, as I am only in my first few days of injury to have gone through all the phases of grief that one might expect when it comes to being injured to the point of being grounded during the skydiving season, so I’m just going to shoot from the hip (pun intended) a bit and see how this turns out.
So far my skydiving season has started out a bit on the rough side. Between having the nice weather fall on days I’m hunkered down at the office and this hip/back injury that has me couch surfing for a few weeks, I’ve really only had one solid weekend of skydiving.
That said, I’m struggling a bit. With the type of injury I’m enduring (since, I can really only speak from experience here) I have good days and bad. Some days I wake up feeling amazing and then I’ll push myself and then come 6pm I’m laid up on the couch with this burning, tingling sensation all down my left leg. Other days I wake up with pain, rest a while, take some Advil then I’m good to go around lunch time. Still others, are just plain bad.
(Unfortunately, since the diagnosis, I’ve yet to have a completely good day…)
In a situation like this, the better days are tempting – especially when the weather is nice. I mean, I’ve had minimal opportunity to jump this season, so why wouldn’t I just risk it on days where I feel better to get in a little freefall?
Luckily, so far, I’ve been strong enough to remind myself that if I stick with PT for a few weeks and stay out of the sky I’ll have a much better chance of continuing my skydiving career for years to come than if I take one risk and one wrong step on landing to put me 4 giant steps back, or worse.
As someone who tries to be practical, that’s the best advice I can give to anyone who might have a minor injury this season, or in seasons to come. Take a deep breath, enjoy the time with your fellow jumpers (or even off the dropzone) on the ground, knowing that recovery is your first priority so that in seasons to come, jumping can be priority 1 again.
Talk to me again in a few weeks to see if my tune has changed…but for now, that’s the best advice I can give myself, or anyone like me.
Love and blue skies!
Ashley