Skydive!
13 December 2013
The breeze is warm and dry. Typical Californian weather. Perfect blue sky not a cloud in sight. The sail cloth flaps loosely in the breeze above me. Ordinarily I’d be thinking about how I could fix this problem but I’m too nervous.
I’m sitting in a the waiting area having forked over two hundred bucks to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane. This sounds slightly crazy because it is. Just minutes earlier I’d signed my life away. Five A4 pages of double sided legal disclaimers. “If you have any questions speak to your lawyer”. Yeah like I brought my lawyer with me to America. After everything was signed, I then had to read a disclaimer while looking into a video camera. I figure if I die it won’t be me suing them anyway.
Across from where I’m sitting there’s huge bar. The area is surrounded by camper trailers. It occurs to me that here is the ideal place to get drunk after a hard days diving before crawling back to your van.
Most of the people here are young … apart from the geriatric freestyle skydiving team rehearsing their moves. A mix of people. A few accents. Behind me are some egos. Cool clothes wearing baseball caps. They look like the extreme sport guys you see on TV and exude confidence. Just nearby some young French guys converse in sexy dulcet tones drawing heavily on cigarettes. Another guy meticulously packs his parachute. He is fit and tanned. Just behind me a group lying on what look like skateboards practicing free falling. It looks silly.
A shadow falls over the assembly area and all eyes are drawn upwards. One guy comes over low and fast seeming to skim the tops of the trees. He makes a perfect landing. It looks dangerous. If I wasn’t scared after watching all the videos and signing the disclaimers I am now. I visualise what it would be like to do this myself. A lump comes to my throat.
Mike is my instructor. He’s American, short and stocky in build, served in the Army. The kind of guy who inspires confidence. He explains he's jumped about 14,000 times. My mind starts to do the the calculations on that. How many years how many jumps per day. In the end I give up. I’m too nervous.
There’s another guy sitting beside me, we get chatting. Aaron is from the area and he’s decided to do a jump while waiting for his car to be serviced. One way to kill some time I guess. He seems distracted and I can see he’s eying off one of the female instructors.
We suit up and the call comes through to walk to staging area. I climb the stairs into the plane hot exhaust from the engine whooshes into my face. It’s hot and smells like a combination of aviation fuel and burnt metal. Inside the aircraft is Spartan, even the oldest Metro bus in Hobart seems positively luxurious by comparison.
The pilot doesn’t waste anytime and takes off immediately. The aircraft climbing steeply. I watch the altimeter strapped to my wrist. 1000 feet 2000, 3000. Mike leans over to me shouting over the engine noise. “ten minutes till we jump!”. I’m still very nervous.
With five minutes to go we clip up. I try to relax. Mike does everything up so tight I can feel each breath he takes. We edge down the grey benches down toward the back of the plane. We get to the door and I resolve to look at the horizon and not at the 12,000 foot drop. To be honest I'm pretty scared. He counts to three. I close my eyes and we’re falling.
I open my mouth to scream but the shear force of air pushes any scream I had back into my gut. My mouth is instantly dry and my cheeks ripple in the wind. I close my mouth quickly. The fall itself is frenetic. My brain is overloaded with a thousand sensations at once. It’s hard to think clearly, everything happens so fast. Mike yells something in my ear and I manage to smile and wave to my camera guy. I give the thumbs up.
Mike again yells in my ear that he’s going to open the chute. For the second time I close my eyes. The chute opens bringing our 180km/h free fall to an end. The harness violently tightens across my body. It feels like my arms and legs are going to be ripped off.
I open my eyes and everything is eerily quiet and totally still. The contrast to the frantic free fall just moments earlier couldn’t be greater. I look down and we’re very very high up. It feels a bit like looking out the window of a plane but without the plane part.
We glide and loop downwards toward the landing area. It’s not a bad sensation which only starts to get scary as we near the bottom of the decent. Trees and roof-tops loom just a little too close for comfort. We zoom over the top, landing smoothly.
Post jump I’m sitting once again in the bar area gradually removing my jump suit. Aaron rolls up to the female instructor with a post jump confidence high. I can just overhear their conversation. He asks her on a date. She says no. It’s absorbingly awkward. I’ve got my value for money. So much more entertaining than just a jump.
tags pictures, shameless self promotion, travel
Scene Change
01 September 2013
I went walking down South West Tassie on the weekend. It was a beautiful day, one of the best days I've ever walked on. Pictured is the 1390m Nevada Peak.
I don't own a dedicated digital camera so all my photos are taken with my iPhone 4. The snow and sun made for high contrast photos. Most of the photos I took were pretty rubbish. This one was probably the best one I took.
A bit like Hobart all grown up
03 July 2013
I've always said that San Francisco feels like a grown up version of Hobart. When I say “grown up” I mean bigger. I really liked that San Francisco’s “bigness”, hasn't come at the expense of it’s eclectic charm. Population wise it’s around eight hundred thousand... Hobart at about two hundred thousand, means we’re not really in the same league. That said, it did feel uncannily like Hobart.
I visited San Francisco three years ago and I loved it, in fact it’s my favourite big city. I’m not really sure why I fell in love with the place. Perhaps it was a welcome relief, after spending time in the characterless stink and heat of Los Angels. Perhaps it was the mix of European and American Architecture. Perhaps it was the hipster cafes, and minimal Walmart and Brittany Spears boringness. Maybe it was that I had a couple of mates to show me around, visiting the most expensive car dealerships you can think of...
...But back to the similarities. Hobart and San Francisco both have a lush cool climate. Both have lots of hills and greenness. Both are politically progressive or "left wing". Politically Hobart (or Denison) is one of the most left leaning seats in Australia. San Francisco is seen as a “Centre for Liberalism in America”, at least according to Wikipedia.
In both places the natural environment and landscape features prominently in peoples mindset. In San Francisco the beautiful whips and flow of fog surrounds the Golden Gate Bridge in early morning and evening. In Hobart we have the Bridgewater Jerry. I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the two following videos.
This video below is taken from the Marin Headland in San Francisco. I can promise you it’s as hauntingly beautiful in real life as it is in the video below, even in the mist of the traffic and tourists. Visiting it felt a little like making a pilgrimage. That said my attempt to cross the bridge on foot was thwarted by a heavily pregnant wife and young child who seemed intent on throwing a tantrum and herself off the bridge.
While watching I couldn’t help but be reminded of this video below. It’s a time-lapse taken from Hobart’s Mount Wellington looking at Ryoji Ikeda’s Spectra (part of the recent dark MOFO festival in Hobart).
I love both San Francisco and Hobart and I think you’d have to agree there are some pretty neat similarities. If you ever get to visit Americaland make sure you go to San Francisco you won’t regret it. It’s a bit like Hobart but all grown up.
tags linkage, thinking, travel, video
Strahan and back again
03 November 2008
At Mikey's suggestion Christine and I went away for a mini break on Friday and Saturday. I borrowed my old car from my brother and we drove to Strahan on the West Coast. Unfortunately I was sick with a sore throat (still?) there whole time.
The mighty Camry (Chugging since '89)
View from where we stayed. Pretty swish.
It was a really beautiful to get away and enjoy part of the State which I've called home for the last fifteen years. If you haven't been here you should come it's simple as that.
Most awesomely we picked up a hitchiker from the Czech Republic who was interested in talking about Christianity. Good stuff.
tags christine, linkage, pictures, travel, update
Paying Homage
04 September 2008
While here in Sydney it only seemed fitting that I pay homage to a number of my godless indulgences.
After all I'm a fan boy...
I thought these stairs were wonderfully designed. I just loved all the clean lines.
Latte for the Wombat
tags linkage, pictures, travel
I am on holidays...
16 June 2008
... and so is Christine till the end of this week. We're going away somewhere nice this week... Oh and we went to Bruny Island the other day. I'll post some pictures and more info once I get my camera back from Laura.
In other news yesterday was my lovely wife's birthday. I did a few different things for her birthday rather than one big "gift".
- We went out for dinner to Mojo restaurant
- I bought her a flower
- We went out to see the new Indiana Jones film (her choice).
- I bought her a nice bottle of champagne.
- Gave her lots of cuddles.
- We also had a birthday toastie evening last night which was fun. (Again the pictures are all with Laura).
tags christine, travel, update
Holidays
02 April 2008
Christine and I went on a little holiday over the Easter break. We drove up the East Coast and stayed at Swansea for a couple of nights. It was very enjoyable and great to get away and have a good rest.
tags christine, pictures, shameless self promotion, travel
YMAC Holiday Bible Club*
23 January 2008
As I mentioned below I've doing this mission to aboriginal kids for as long as I've been a Christian. The mission is held in Yamba and Maclean two small country towns on the New South Wales coast about an eight hour drive north of Sydney. Kids attending Holiday Bible Club (HBC) are all aboriginal and come from the local nearby communities. The leaders on team are drawn from a number of churches around Sydney.
While our whole team is accommodated in Maclean (at the show grounds) half of us travel to Yamba to an aboriginal community there each day. I again led the Yamba team. There were about 30 of us (another 30 running Maclean). We hold the mission in a huge stadium/hall in the community and the kids wander in from the surrounding homes. The kids attending ranged from toddlers to adults. The focus was as always on teaching the children the gospel. This was done using songs, plays skits, interactive crafts and games.
Please keep the Mission and work we did in explaining the gospel to the kids in your prayers. Please also keep Christine and I in your prayers as we think about our future in this ministry.
*Oh I chucked in some pictures from last year... to make this post a little less boring
tags christian, ministry, travel, update
No Photos from mission
From Email
Just a note to ask that any Photo's of Kids etc from Holiday Bible Club not be used on FaceBook or MySpace or any other public web site. We don't have permission to have the kids Photo's loaded on such sites and are a little concerned about Privacy implications.I myself actually didn't take a single photo the whole trip of the kids or the team. Somehow after nearly ten years doing this mission I don't really see the point. Once I get some of the team sent to me I'll post them.
It's that time of the year again
07 January 2008
I've been making a yearly pilgrimage to New South Wales to work with Aboriginal kids for a long time now. In fact so long that I've lost count of the number of times I've been there.
The mission is held in Yamba/Maclean (on the NSW coast about 8 hours north of Sydney) hence the abbreviation YMAC. This year will be Christine's second YMAC. This year I've written a series of very simple Bible studies on the first few chapters of Romans to do with the teenage aboriginal kids. Christine has been most helpful recently as we've been seeking how to implement the studies. I have high hopes and expectations for this year.
Follwing that we return to Tassie and then head off to Tasmania Leadership Convention. Following that comes the big move to Jane and associated camp. It's going to be a very busy time especially given that we'll be also planning the year for FOCUS with the Committee and our new staff member Luke Hansard.
As always keep us in your prayers and all the people and kids we'll be working with as we head off into a very busy time. To God be the glory.
tags christian, ministry, travel, update
Wedding Craziness
31 December 2007
Christine blogged about a wedding we went to over the weekend over here. Our prayers and congratulations are with Christina and Peirce.
When I say weekend I'm talking about Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was a great, if very tiering time. Anyway over to some photos... most are taken down at Port Arthur where the wedding practice was held.
tags friends, pictures, travel
Germany was...
31 July 2007
- The Eagles Nest
- Ich liebe dich
- Es tut mir leid
- Hirdy Girdy
- Ich spreche nicht Deutsch
- Summer rodelbahn
- Cable cars
- Hotel Bavaria
- Crazy leaning windows
- The salt mines
- Bertchesgarden
- Mini Cranes
- More mini cranes
- Did I mention that every town has a mini crane.
- Fast trains
- Getting married
- Bobs sermons
- Autobahns
- Frankfurt airport
- People smoking
- People smoking in the Airport
- The Sonnemann's
- My naughty brother
- Mark and Carmen
- Casey and Jiri
- Joel and my Bro
- Hanover International Bible church (HIBC)
- Lush beer (just for Laura)
And you know you’re in Germany when…
Driving at 120km/h feels slow…
And you are passed at 160km/h like you’re standing still...
And the car that passes you is a Holden Zafira diesel with kids inside.
tags shameless self promotion, travel, wedding
This was where you were sitting...
22 July 2007
For all you bloggers (and would be bloggers) might have thought you were left unrepresented at the Jolly wedding... alas you would be wrong.
Enter Meredith a blogger who has been following our relationship since day one. She came over from the UK for the wedding. You can check out her report here enjoy.
She also took the following pictures...
tags pictures, travel, wedding
Thankyou. It was a lovely wedding
07 July 2007
Thankyou to all the wonderful people who emailed messaged us for our wedding. Your thoughts and prayers were much appreciated. Thanks also for the generous cash donations for our honeymoon. We were really blessed.
Christine and I look forward to returning to Australia tomorrow. We've had a great restful and enjoyable time. In the mean time here are some pics for your enjoyment. More to follow soon.
This is why
I'll give myself a stupid award for this one.
tags stupid award, travel, wedding
Thanks to...
29 June 2007
To bring people up to speed. The wedding will take place at 5:00pm on Friday in the Garden of Hanover International Bible Church. This translates to 1:00 am Saturday morning Aussie time. And we'll be back in Aussie land on the 8th of July. This will probably be the last you'll see from us for a bit.
Thanks again to all the people all around the world who have prayed for us emailed us over the last few months. For the advice and help you have offered. Thanks heaps to all people at HIBC for all the work they have put in organising the wedding and making it run smoothly. Thanks to Christine for being the best most beautiful girl in the world and for saying yes to marrying me.
Lastly thanks to my God and saviour Jesus for all that he done for the both of us. May our marriage be for his glory.
Hannover in Germanland
28 June 2007
Mark and Carmen arrived the other day for the wedding. So we all (including Dave) went to Hanover for the day.
Crazy bratwurst cooking dude... imagine if the gas tank on his back went BOOM...
Dave and I went and did some exploring of our own....
Town hall in Hanover. We climbed it. View was awesome.
Attempted artiness at the bombed out church that was never fixed.tags christine, linkage, pictures, travel
Mixed bag
27 June 2007
Christine and I went to the VW factory on Monday. Visiting the factory is probably more like visiting a theme park on the gold coast. There are rides and a number of attractions. touring through the factory watching the cars being put together. The best bit was probably getting to drive the VW Touareg Diesel V6 on the 4WD obstacle course.
As I wind down the last few days of singledom I thought I'd give you some more serious reflections on my time so far. Things are starting to get the business end of the wedding stuff, managing logistics and the like. I miss all my freinds back home more than I thought realized I would. It was great to have Dave arrive yesterday. Being a different country has also been more difficult than I anticipated and I've found the language barrier the most difficult part. It's made me realise how much I enjoy just chatting to people and saying g'day.
Having said that Germany is a very beautiful place and Christine and her parents have been wonderful hosts. I can especially recommend the bread here. I'll probably try and pop a couple more posts out before the big day.
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