Today I got up and realised I've only got 83 days to go before I hit 30! I've booked a parachute jump. Am I mad?

No that's a great way to mark a major milestone in your life!!

:thumbsup:

Has anyone you know done a sky-dive? I'm looking for stories to put me off or make me do it anyway. I enjoy flying in planes but I've never jumped out of one.......yet.:help:

Hiya hotdog. I'm 47 and have just done a sponsored tandem skydive with the Red Devils. I absolutely loved it :clap: I have a feeling its something I'll do again. Who with/where are you doing it? I wasn't a bit nervous all the way through it, it was everything I'd hoped for. Good Luck!

I think it is rather pointless unless it is part of a course and you intend to take it up. Doing things that appear to give a quick thrill and then stop doesn't really get you anywhere. If you want a quick thrill then try the fun fair. If you want to feel as if you have achieved something then pick something unusual and difficult that you have always fancied and really get into it.

Thanks for the reminder hotdogbird, i have 126 days until i reach the same! Not yet booked the jump though. Will the need hit me in 43 days? :D

It doesn't need to be pointless though Ken. I had always fancied it but not as a hobby just a one off. By combining the fun of it and collecting sponsor money for charity, it makes a great way to spend a day of your life. Btw, went to Alton Towers and was a bit of a wuss, much to the amusement of my family ;)

Originally posted by KenH
I think it is rather pointless unless it is part of a course and you intend to take it up. Doing things that appear to give a quick thrill and then stop doesn't really get you anywhere. If you want a quick thrill then try the fun fair. If you want to feel as if you have achieved something then pick something unusual and difficult that you have always fancied and really get into it.
You know what kenh, I think you're wrong. I seem to have spent the majority of my life doing things to please other people and not doing the things I like/want to do. Even in work situations I've forfeited opportunities that would have been fantastic careerwise, due to ex-partners talking me out of things. I use to think whats the point of doing something if it's not gonna benefit a future goal too, but not any more.

As far as being a quick thrill yes.....it will be, but hopefully i'll be raising some money for charity as well.
It is unusual to jump out of a plane, it may even be difficult too, I dunno really, but you're gonna have to try harder than that to put me off
:loopy:

Originally posted by youwhatref
Thanks for the reminder hotdogbird, i have 126 days until i reach the same! Not yet booked the jump though. Will the need hit me in 43 days? :D

yes i think it will:D

I've done a skydive. I don't agree that it's a waste KenH although they usually say that the first time doesn't seem real anyway, it goes soooo quick. Good on you though, I think you should do it! Good luck!

This thread is about a supposed midlife crisis. If you are having such a crisis then it is usually because you feel you haven't achieved something or haven't done exciting and wonderful things. There is nothing wrong with going to the funfair but it won't really help with any feelings of having missed out. A single jump justified with the rather dubious excuse that it is for charity isn't really any different to a day at the funfair. Since anyone can turn up and have a single parachute jump it simply isn't an achievement in any real sense.

If someone is having such a crisis then I recomend something difficult, different but longer lasting and something of an achievement. If you really want to sky dive then set about it in a way that means you can say "I am a skydiver" rather than "I turned up one day, 'for charity', and did a parachute jump. There are plenty of similar examples such as becoming a ballon pilot, or taking up gliding. In these examples you have to make a commitmment and put effort into it but the sense of achievement is much greater.

I know where KenH is coming from - I've been wanting to sky dive for years but I'm not doing it until I have time to do all the course and qualify. Maybe that's just me though :)

Maybe the sense of achievement for me was to fulfil an ambition as well as the great satisfaction of raising hundreds of pounds for charity. Another thing was the warm feeling I got from the many people that supported me by putting the money in. I was surprised to find out how willing they were to hand over their cash to me when they could quite easily have said no. Maybe its not a life changing experience, not a cure for mid life crisis but its certainly not pointless.
:)

KenH, you are entitled to your opinion, but i think you are wrong. A skydive is a huge achievement, a great adrenaline rush. It is also 'something to tell the grandchildren' and a milestone event in ones life. If she wants to do it then surely encouragement is what is needed rather than your rubbishing views.

"A mid-life crisis is an emotional state of doubt and anxiety in which a person becomes uncomfortable with the realization that life is halfway over. It commonly involves reflection on what the individual has done with his life up to that point, often with feelings that not enough was accomplished. The individual may feel boredom with their lives, jobs, or their partners, and may feel a strong desire to make changes in these areas. "

......sounds about right to me!

Hope this is just the start of an exciting future!

hotdogbird, you have so many things to which you can look forward, hot flushes, osteoporosis and a weakening of the bladder are just three for you to be going on with :hihi: :hihi: :hihi:

Do it and thoroughly enjoy it!

If you don't get a kodak moment every day then you're not living........



Live like you were dyin'
by Tim McGraw


He said, I was in my early 40's
with alot of life before me
when a moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days
Lookin' at the x-Rays
Talkin' 'bout the option
and talkin' bout sweet time

I asked him when it sank in
that this might really be the real end
How's it hit you
when you get that kinda news, man whatcha do?


CHORUS
-------
He said, I went skydivin'
I went rocky mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Foo Man Chu
and I love deeper
and spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness, I'd been denyin'
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying
-------

he said I was finally the husband
that most the time I wasn't

and I became a friend
a friend would like to have
and all of the sudden going fishing
wasn't such an imposition
and I went three times that year I lost my dad
well, I finally read the good book
and I took a good hard look
at what I'd do if I could do it all again

CHORUS

like tomorrow was a gift
and you got eternity
to think about
what to do with it
what could you do with it
what can I do with it
and what would I do with it

skydivin', I went rocky mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Foo Man Chu
and I love deeper
and spoke sweeter
and I watch an eagle as it was flying,
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying

Live like you were dyin'
Live like you were dyin'
Live like you were dyin'
Live like you were dyin'