Birthday Gifting
Today is my birthday.
I want to extend a hearty thanks to my mom for all she went through 28 years ago – and since that day – to help make my life what it is today. Without you, I wouldn’t be nearly as blessed (or you know, alive) as I am!
The tradition of birthdays has always been a bit confusing to me. On the day you are born, your mom does all the work. So why is it that each year you receive gifts? Being born was the easiest thing you’ve done in your whole life and we celebrate it year after year? Mom should get gifts too, right?
But, given that it’s tradition, I’m certainly not opposed to receiving gifts!
This year, all I want for my birthday is for you to donate to a great cause: Jump for Diabetes. What that means is your donations go directly to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, earmarked for diabetes research. You can donate directly on our site via PayPal or you can email us for mailing options if you prefer to write a check: JumpForDiabetes@gmail.com.
A donation to the cause, to help find a cure for diabetes, would be the best gift you could give me, and the diabetes community, on my birthday!
Love and blue skies!
Ashley
Skydiver Priorities
A few months back I started writing a post about the skydiver sacrifice, about those elements of life that skydivers “give up” to pursue their passion, but then I thought twice about it because a) I couldn’t come to any type of conclusion on where it was going, and b) every person is different, and every path is different, so there was just no “standard” to discuss.
That said, something came to my attention today that brings up a similar topic.
For the month of May, I’m making it a goal not to spend any unnecessary money. Along with that comes not eating out unless I absolutely have to (you know, like a work event or if I’m traveling) but otherwise I’m keeping my debit card in my pocket and only spending at the grocery store. This brought something interesting to the surface: I have no social life.
First, I want to clarify that not eating out ≠ no social life. Not by any stretch.
Truthfully, if I look back at my life in general, my most social times were those where I was a broke college student / newbie careerist / young skydiver with a very shallow wallet. Going out to eat wasn’t an option as I barely had enough to sustain myself and those things that I didn’t consider optional in my life.
Even now, after 6+ years in my career where I’m doing fairly well for myself, I find that moneys are tight and I’d rather spend any funds that aren’t already allocated on experiences like traveling, skydiving and tunnel camps. And personally, I’m more social when indulging in these experiences than I am in daily life.
Granted, for anyone who knows me, you know I tend to be rather reserved until I get to know someone well, so I’m not sure how much that’s actually saying.
My point is this – regardless of the kind of life you want to lead, you only have so many resources (read: time, money) to go around to make that happen. There’s a priority list that each of us lives by, whether you’re actively aware of it or not, and in order to accomplish the goals you pursue, to keep the elements of your life that are closest to your heart in your life, it takes a sacrifice of some things that others might deem “necessary” in their lives.
It all comes down to this: not everyone walks the same path in life – after all, how boring would that be? Just because someone isn’t as open about their social life, because they don’t go out drinking on weekends or sit on patios each night after work with friends, doesn’t mean their life isn’t fulfilling, or social for that matter.
Personally, I would sacrifice a lot for the success of things like Jump for Diabetes because I know at the end of the day I’m making a difference in the world. But the truth is, thanks to things like Jump for Diabetes that tend to take up free time that would likely otherwise be spent out with friends, my time is spent with positive people who have entered my life in support of a great cause. And, when you get right down to it, I’d much rather have a handful of incredibly meaningful people in my life than dozens of people who are just there sometimes. I would say, even though on the surface it doesn’t appear to be, that my life is in fact highly social – and truthfully, amazingly fulfilling.
The choice is yours. It’s your life to live in whichever way is best for you. You only get one, so use it wisely, and be happy as much as you possibly can. Judging how others are living theirs will not get you there. Instead, be happy for them so long as they are happy, and support them when they are not. It will only serve to make your journey that much more worth while.
Love and blue skies!
Ashley
Goal Setting
Setting goals is important for progression. In a past life, I used to be a mad woman with setting and meeting my goals. I’ve found lately that my life has stagnated in certain areas where goals would be helpful (go figure, right?).
I’ve decided it’s time to get that part of me back. Now.
Today’s inspirational quote of the day (follow me on Twitter for these) came from a model in a blog post I was reading about exercise motivation: “Why not be the best version of yourself?” If I could add one thing to that, it would be now…be the best version of yourself now.
Too often people wait for things to get better, living their life in anticipation of how great things will be, someday (and yes, I fall into this group from time to time), well what the hell are you waiting for anyway? Be better now. Be who you want to be now.
The best way to get where you want to go is by setting goals. And when you’ve got somewhere big to go, rather than having this huge goal looming over you, set smaller, incremental goals so you can feel accomplished along the way.
Want to be a world-class cometitive skydiver one day? Okay great, but what’s an accomplishment you can mark on the calendar to help get you there? How about finding a team, and a coach. Getting some tunnel time. Mastering X, Y, and Z in training. All these things are check marks along the way to that big accomplishment.
Meeting goals makes you feel successful, and when you feel like you’ve accomplished something, it motivates you to continue succeeding and meeting your other goals along the way.
No need to take my word for it, start setting goals for yourself and see. Personally, I’m devoting one wall in my dining room to a framed weekly goal sheet. I’ve come to realize over the years that all or nothing isn’t my style, even though I’d like it to be. So, starting with a few attainable goals each week should help stir up that driven, motivated girl who once thrived on every challenge that came my way.
Here’s to setting, committing to, and accomplishing these goals!
Blue skies!
Ashley
That’s just plain rude
I want to talk about something completely unrelated to skydiving today, but it’s a trend that I’ve noticed more and more lately and I think something just needs to be said. Feel free to share the following sentiment with anyone you feel might need it.
Technology is making people rude. Smart phones are making people socially ignorant and downright disrespectful in their real life interactions.
As someone who works in the social space, I get paid to consume the latest technology (iPhones, iPads, apps, social media, you name it, I’ve dabbled and I typically love it), but that doesn’t change my stance on true interpersonal communication. I’ve been known to stop an email chain in it’s tracks and pick up the phone when communication is no longer crystal clear (and I’ve had clients and friends alike thank me for doing so when tone seems to get lost), I don’t respond to texts or emails when involved in a face-to-face conversation and I rarely pick up the phone when I’m preoccupied with someone else – unless I’ve been expecting the call.
So, needless to say it baffles me that so many people have their faces buried in their smart phones while in the presence of other human beings. I have a couple friends who, every time they go to dinner, when the finish eating they both push their plates aside and get out their iPhones and start checking email, playing Draw Something, or whatever they are doing. Neither of them is talking to anyone else at the table – and they both seem completely content with that. Others I know have every alert on their phone set to push – text, email, twitter, Draw Something, Words with Friends, you name it – so it comes as no surprise when they can’t make it thought a conversation without looking at their phone because it’s dinging and vibrating every 5 minutes.
Not only do I wonder how these people manage to keep their batteries charged, but sometimes I wonder how they manage to keep real life friends. Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time believing I’m the only Gen Y’er (or whatever they’re calling us these days) who finds it incredibly rude when I’m mid-sentence and the person I’m talking to picks up their phone to respond to a text that just came through on their phone. I’m not alone in this, right?
If I had one wish it would be that people would back away from their phones, lift their eyes up and look at the actual people around them. Now, I can’t deny that I haven’t used my phone as a way to get out of having to have a conversation with someone I didn’t feel like talking to, or to avoid looking like a total loser while waiting for a friend at the bar, but all in all, I’m pretty proud of my technology habits. Sure, I check in on foursquare when I enter a new location, and yes, when I’m awaiting an email from an important client I will have my email push to let me know what’s going on, but when it comes to spending quality time with someone, it’s just that – quality time.
As technology continues to expand to create more efficiencies in our life, I truly hope it doesn’t encourage us to further distance ourselves from the people around us. After all, at the end of our lives, it’s going to be the smiles, laughs and moments we comiserated with the people in our physical world that will sand out the most…not the number of twitter replies or text messages received.
My challenge to you, put down your technology and enjoy those around you this weekend. I promise, Twitter, Facebook, and email will be there on Monday.
Love and Blue Skies!
Ashley
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
No Spending January
With the holiday season closing in and my ever-growing desire to take that once-in-a-lifetime tropical honeymoon I keep talking about, finances are very much at the forefront of my mind.
But let’s be honest here, I’ve never been very good at saving. Okay, so maybe not NEVER, but at least not since skydiving came into my life – that shit’s not cheap.
Hubs and I have some major goals in the next couple of years that’s going to take a bit of restraint when it comes to spending as well. So I figure after our honeymoon it’s going to be time to hunker down and stash away all we can to make these goals a reality (it’s true, I really do want to be a home owner by age 30), and with a bit of planning, diligence, and self-control, I believe it’s all completely possible.
So with that, I’m vowing to start small with what I’m calling No Spending January. The main motivator here is that, by cutting back at the first of the year we can save enough to go on that tropical vacation and have enough left over to be comfortable (rather than charge it all and come back with debt up to our eyeballs). Secondarily, however, is the idea that if I can spend money on only what is needed for survival, then I certainly can keep that up for the long haul. And what a better month to choose than January in Chicago when dropzones are closed and everyone is recovering from the holidays.
I’m one part nervous, two parts excited about this challenge. I’m nervous because what if something comes up that forces us to spend money, unforseen circumstances that totally derail this operation? Of course, you can’t let the what-ifs get in the way of the positives, because those always exist. On the other side of the coin, I’m excited to reel in my spending (read: eating out, random trips to 7-11 for soda cravings, a pair of boots I just gotta have…) and gain back some of that spending self-control I had in college, and I know that at the end of the month it’ll feel so great to meet that goal with a little extra in my pocket.
Now, I may have to put up some temporary firewalls so I’m not tempted to head over to Amazon or other online shopping sites that tend to grab my attention during my 10 hours a day behind the computer, but I have every confidence that this will not only be a beneficial exercise, but one that shows me just how much restraint I can have – even when the shiny objects are sucking me in.
Anyone done anything similar? Advice for the online shop-aholic? Mint.com, be prepared to be amazed by the January trends.
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
Padding your logbook
Recently I heard a rumor. Apparently some folks from a dropzone where I used to be regular have taken up talking about others as a favorite past time. Whatever, we all do it. In that, it was stated that a close friend of mine padded their log book.
I’m not sure where the conversation went from there, as I didn’t inquire further because frankly, I don’t really care what people have to say (behind my or my friends backs) unless they’re saying it to my face. Not only that, but the concept is laughable, given that this friend had zero reason to do so (what, with not wanting to get ratings and having started flying camera before 200 jumps anyway…), but it did get me to thinking about the concept of inflating jump numbers.
Skydivers do this for a number of reasons – to speed up the process of getting their ratings (for some you need 100, others 500) or so they can fly a wingsuit or strap a camera to their helmet to catch all the action, both of which the USPA BSRs call for 200 jumps, and is now widely enforced at most dropzones.
That said, what’s it to you if someone does pad their logbook? I mean, say the guy in the plane next to you has 450 skydives, but says he has 500 so he can work toward his Pro rating. Is it that you feel he’s unsafe? Well, if he’s unsafe at 450 jumps then you probably shouldn’t be jumping with him anyway, right? So it’s totally your choice if you want to share the sky with this guy.
And the truth is, you’d be surprised how many people do this. Whether it’s 10 jumps or 100, it happens quite frequently. And so what, they’re only cheating themselves.
It never ceases to amaze me how people – not just in the skydiving world, but in general – can so quickly make someone else’s problem their own. If some dumb newbie wants to “go out of town” and suddenly comes back with 100 jumps to get his coach rating, he’s the one who will have to pay the price, literally, when he doesn’t pass his coach course because he’s not experienced enough.
I’m sure it’s not why you came here this Friday morning, but here’s a little advice for you: focus on yourself, your own skills and your own safety, rather than the numbers in the log books of your fellow jumpers. Worry about yourself and those closest to you, and let everyone else make their own mistakes. Trust me, you’ll be happier in the end.
Blue ones!
Ashley
Don’t be afraid to F$^% it up
…because chances are, you will.
One of my favorite sayings of one of my wingusiter friends is, “Don’t F$^% it up!” Hearing that just before a flock always puts a smile on my face.
I like to put a bit of a twist on it though, and remind myself not to be afraid to F- it up. Why? Because the fear of messing up alone is enough to make you mess up. Well, for me anyway.
I’ve come to realize this mantra translates well to other aspects of life too. This is the way I look at it, if I can visualize a skydive on the ground, going just the way I want it to, get in the airplane and jump out at 14,000 ft telling myself not to worry about F-ing up, then I can certainly do that in the rest of my life. After all, asking yourself “what’s the worst that can happen?” has a whole different meaning on the ground that in does in the sky.
In day to day life, what’s the worst that really can happen? Maybe your boss doesn’t like some aspect of the email that you sent to your client and he talks to you about it. But, you learned something right? As long as you weren’t a dumbass and leaked information or told someone where to stick it on company time, you likely didn’t do any damage that can’t be undone – and now next time you know.
With skydiving, it’s a bit different of course, because we all know what the worst that can happen is. BUT, if you look at it piece by piece, say, what’s the worst that can happen if you cork out on that head down? Maybe you’ve lost your chance to get it on that skydive, or you bump into someone, or even kick or get kicked in the face (been there) but so what, it’s all part of the sport, and similar to a work blunder, you learned something.
Here’s my point, being controlled by the fear to mess up is just as bad, if not worse sometimes, than being complacent and too overconfident. Just like in all other aspects of life, I’m a big believer in having a sense of balance. When it comes to safety, there’s no room for complacency, but overcoming challenges won’t happen if you let fear stand in your way either.
So, in the air and on the ground, be aware of the risks and acknowledge them, but don’t be afraid to take that next step to tackling challenges and conquering the fear of F-ing it up. Don’t be afraid to ask yourself, “what’s the worst that can happen?” and then be prepared for it.
Love and blue skies!
Ashley
Zen Skydiver
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself in the whirlwind that’s my 20s it’s that yoga is good for my soul. So is skydiving. These are two things that have continued to hold a spot in my heart, no matter if I’m practicing or not.
Even when I’m unable to attend yoga classes, for one reason or another, my practice hasn’t stopped. The principles of yoga seep into my daily life, and only serve in helping me improve – in all aspects of life.
Progression in a sport like skydiving has a lot to do with overcoming fear (well, for me anyway). Skydiving has this way of throwing the reality of your own mortality in your face. Each jumper has their own way of dealing with this, from acknowledging the fear and consciously leaving it in the door on the way out of the airplane, to using their self-confidence to know that they have the ability to save their own life time and time again. Some even get cocky and complacent, of course this is not the recommended path for continuing in the sport.
Others, have more difficulty acknowleding their own fear – often feeling that it’s a sign of weakness – and therefore experience mental challenges in moving past this fear. This is where, in my life, yoga has come into play. That 10 minute ride to altitude becomes a meditation session, a time to reflect on the fear, visualize your perfect skydiving, and channel the power that lives behind that into your performance – into being your best.
It’s not as easy as it sounds. One thing I’ve found is that practicing yoga on the ground, meditating on everything from skydiving to your other hopes, dreams and fears can help make this practice feel more natural – make it something you crave on the way to altitude.
Of course, being a zen skydiver is just one way to deal with the fear, the butterflies that come along with an adrenaline sport. But, it’s the one that seems to work best for me, so I thought I’d share in the knowledge just a little bit. Regardless, I can’t stress the importance of acknowledging your feelings, whatever they might be, in order to move past the mental blocks and perform your best.
Love and Blues Skies!
Ashley