We should become more adventurous

Hi there! So Re: Comments on the last post:
We transported the weta out of the bathroom (where "we" is totally Simon, because at one point he seemed about to hand it to me and I was like, "Oh, you want...me...to do that") in a large pint glass (it says like "33% extra!" on the glass, so larger than normal) and at one point, when he was lowering the glass around the weta (oh! fun side note! I was informed that you need to get behind the wetas because they will jump if they see it coming. THEY CAN JUMP) I thought that there was no way the opening in the glass was big enough for the creature. Like I said, scary. Every time I enter the bathroom, I'm afraid there will be another one.

And Grace asked about skydiving, which I never went into (well, I did with Nich, at least, over IM) so I guess I could talk about that now.

Well! First of all, it was kind of a split decision. I was hanging out with Kira one day, sitting on the counter eating pizza, when everyone else came home from whitewater rafting (we hadn't gone because we have jobs). And we had some visitors, and they were like, "When are we going skydiving?" and Kira said that she had the next day off and had already booked for herself. Anyone want to come? So our visitors were all for it, and I figured, what the hell, I want to go with people I'm friends with, sure. So I didn't really have a lot of time to agonize over the decision.

Then the next day, I woke up at around 9:45am because we were to jump at 11, and it was very windy and cloudy. Windy and cloudy = no skydiving. But then Reno got called in to work, and Reno is a skydiving instructor, so we were optimistic. then they called at like 10:45 all, "We're on our way to pick you up!" which was fun, as we were all still in pajamas. We got ready and got out there and filled out the teensy form that you need to fill out in New Zealand if you're doing things where you could possibly die (So! Who would have gotten the phone call if I'd died? Well, as tempting as it always is to list BVS as my emergency contact, the fact that I could die and he could get a horrible, horrible phone call made me not do that. Because it's only funny if he finds out about it, and then it's really not funny. So for the curious, I put down Mom and Vicki. You'd think Dad, but I decided that it would suck for any family member to have to tell Mom, so I opted for a stranger). Then we got to watch some stranger's skydiving video to psych us up for it. Also, the video viewing room involved walking through a door that was surrounded in a fake police box. So naturally, when we entered, I was all, "It's bigger on the inside." People laughed, and now they know that I'm kind of a loser. Anyway!

We picked out our packages (how high you jump - 12,000 or 15,000ft, we all went with 15 - and whether you want a DVD or anything) and then the people who'd been in our limo (they pick you up in a limo, which is actually like the world's crappiest limo, so don't be jealous) went immediately, but then clouds and rain and wind rolled in, so we hung out for like an hour (for future reference: We got there at 11 and we jumped around 3:30. I'm going to say "like an hour" a lot, but I have no idea what the actual passage of time was) and watched some cool skydiving DVD. I should also mention there will be tons of run-ons here. Then they called in Mo, Euan, and Tam, who were jumping together because there were 5 of us in total and they can't fit 5 in the plane at once, so we split up into 3 and 2. So they jumped and while they were getting ready, Kira and I got all suited up. Reno was my little jumping buddy, which was cool because I know him. And could be like, "Hey, I'm weirdly calm now, but if I get up there and freak out and say no, I want you to push me out of the plane anyway." And Reno was all, "Oh. I'm jumping." So then we watched them fly away and then land and they were all psyched about how awesome it was, which made us even more anxious, but we had to wait for another like-an-hour because of the weather. But then in we went! Into the pink plane! The plane is pink. And effing TINY. I mean, people always say it's tiny, but HOT DAMN, TINY. For real. So we squeezed in there and took off! I started to get nervous, but still not really. Up, up, above the clouds, looking for a break. When you get up that high: 1. It is very cold and 2. You need to have oxygen pumped in because the oxygen's really low up there. So I was glad I had gloves. And oxygen. But we had to fly around and around waiting for an opening in the weather and then waiting for skydivers who'd been up before us to go first. So then we ran out of oxygen. And the jumpmasters told the pilot that we needed to go within 4 minutes or go back down. I wanted to jump, dammit.

So finally we were clear, and some guy I didn't know went. Then Kira went. This was the scariest bit, I think, watching her just fall on out of a plane. Then we scooted forward. And I looked down and was like, "OH GOD OK. Head back. Hold onto shoulder straps. Feet under the plane. Wait to get pushed, because OK THIS IS SCARY." At that point, it is scary. So I waited, and then he pushed us out. Holy shit, it's freaking amazing. It's like....they tell you 60 seconds of freefall, and 60 seconds is a long time. But it goes by so fast. You're just falling and falling and it is so cool. Reno did some crazy spins which were, what's the word, terrifying, but I try to act brave so I let us keep doing them. Also, it was sort of awesome. Then after what seems like a millisecond he tapped me to pull my arms back in so that he could pull up the parachute. And then you just drift on down. Taupo is beautiful, and we were right over the lake (less scary than you'd think) and it was just gorgeous. And sometimes he would do...something...I don't know, parachutey, which would make us drop really quickly, that was awesome. And then we were done! We landed and everyone hugged and was happy and I was like, "OK, now I might vomit and/or pass out." You're suddenly exhausted! Later it hits you and you're exhilarated, but immediately afterwards, I like passed out on the couch. It took all my energy just to text Allie and Nich about it.

Oh, and I got a sweet t-shirt.