What It’s Like to Skydive

Posted in my Xanga five years ago:

Wednesday, 25 January 2006

This is for Cindy who’s greedy for details.

I was in the little plane. Squished. My jump-master was to my left, the guy who would be filming me on the way down and two female professional skydivers to my right. We were all sitting on the floor. I felt like canned tuna.

I tried to keep my gaze off the CameraMan’s crotch. The harnesses gathered around the crotch and amplified a man’s area up to the point obscene. Gross.

I waited, waited, waited. It took forever to get up 10,000 feet. Jump-master tried to make small talk with me. His ex-girlfriend shared the same name as me. I wanted to bail when he said that. “Don’t unharness me to get back at your girlfriend.” Laughter. I feigned a mistrusting glare.

Altitude reached. Door opened. LOUD wind all around. The two female skydivers jumped out and they looked really cool jumping out. Movie cool. Then CameraMan stepped out on the step they had outside while holding on to the wing of the plane. He recorded me while I inched out. I scooted on my butt, the jump-master harnessed me to him, and we were at the door in no time. He shouted for me to put my foot on the step but I couldn’t. The wind kept blowing my legs like little Texan flags and I couldn’t firmly plant them. Jump-master ended up pushing us out of the plane.

I watched the DVD from this point on and I made the most unattractive and terrified face going out. The next few seconds were the most exhilarating seconds of my life. I tumbled about, spun, saw clouds every which way no matter what side was up. Everything was still loud. Windy loud. Piercingly loud. My goggles were not strapped on tightly enough so they were slipping off my face and pushing up against my eyes. Making me slantier than I already am. I’m Asian. Most of y’all are Asian [Referring to my Xanga readers]. We do not need help looking slanty. My right shoe was slipping off. I wish I didn’t have these wardrobe malfunctions because they distracted me from THE MOST EXHILARATING moment of MY LIFE.

Finally the chute opened and I get yanked up. It suddenly grew quiet. Just like Kim said. In her words, “it was very zen.” The first thing my jump-master said was, “Congratulations, you just fell 7,000 feet.” I laughed. My right shoe was now hanging on my toes.

The view wasn’t that great. Dry Texan dirt. But it was so peaceful floating. I already decided before my feet softly landed on the ground that this is something I want to do again. And possibly again.

I wanted to post this as a preamble to a post that’s in the works and also so I can have it stored on this blog.

Man, 5 years ago I was 23. Time has flown. (Get it?!)

Oh, contrary to what I wrote and thought, skydiving is not something I want to do again unless I do it at an amazingly beautiful location.

Question: What is the most exhilarating moment of your life?