FOMO – A Siren’s Call

Author: some malevolent gnome aka Mark Higgins

As warm days recede, temperatures at the DZ fall, and the westerly winds of the East Coast build for the months of May to August, jumpers wonder at how their work-free days will be spent through the winter months. Some will go skiing … that is for sure; others will enjoy that winter swell as southerlies push the bigger waves closer to shore. But for the majority winter looms as a foreboding spectre, like a mother-in-law’s lament at the choices her child has made … unless of course FOMO seizes you, and you listen to it. Let’s consider the comparative choices.

Comparative Choices

There’s the “its too expensive” reasoning or perhaps the “fiscally notable choice”; let’s call it the “FnC” choice. And then there’s the “I don’t want to miss out”; let’s call it the FOMO choice. Now, those of you who want to make FnCs, could start your day, as it always starts, with you waking in your familiar bed with the mattress you’ve been promising your partner you’ll change, and looking at that oh so familiar ceiling with its same cobwebs, its same mould, but with the pervading winter cold enveloping you … or you could choose to feel the kiss of the sunrays of a southern Californian sunrise gently caress your cheek as it reaches through your motel room window, with the promise of a day with your friends, and maybe some others you’ve never had an excuse to get to know, just waiting for you … outside your door, in the carpark of the Red Lion Hotel in Perris … to dress, grab your gear, and get in the car for the 60 second ride to the DZ.

Not convinced? Let’s compare some more…

You could of course choose packing into a bus en route to work as some tertiary student coughs in your direction covering you in that fine warm mist or the FOMO choice would swap that for stacking up in the door of an Otter, with 22 others in the plane, weight loaded on your left leg, your hands cradling the rig of the jumper in front of you … poised to move as one out that door, and feel the cool mist of the cloud through which you descend.

The FnC would choose to drive to work, merging into the left hand lane of traffic to turn left on a suburban road with some juvenile banter on commercial radio filling your head. But those of us seized by FOMO swap that for turning left as you exit the Otter, and flying under the plane to find your sector, approaching the base on your radial with 59 others.

Would you prefer racing to beat that amber traffic light as you hurry to get to work; or would you prefer to race 7 of your buddies in your 8-way tracking group, flying shoulder to shoulder and looking across at one another?

 

Not convinced?

What about coffee at your usual café compared with brewed coffee with your crew from left rear trail plane on a 150-way, looking at the formation sketch, your position in it, and that of your mates’?

Would you prefer to sit on that seat with the cameraman and look out the door of an Otter as it climbs to height, and watch a C17 on its final as it approaches March Airforce Reserve, compared to staring out the window of your office at the IT guys in the adjacent building at whom you look every day?

Perhaps parking in Coles and squeezing out of the car because you parked too close to that pillar holds more appeal than, say, moving into your slot on a 150 way, taking that breath before parking yourself in that slot, solid, immovable.

How about walking up stairs to emplane on blue shark, gypsy rose, or the grey shark in preference to walking up the stairs to your unit block?

Could I convince you that it’s more fun opening the door of an Otter, climbing out and looking over the fuselage at 9 other planes with other jumpers climbing out and looking back, than opening your back door to walk out and hang out the washing?

Stumbling over that child’s bike left outside your back door and gathering your balance just doesn’t quite measure up on the scale of personal achievement as exiting a tail exit from a skyvan, being relative to wind and engaging your core to achieve stability, all-the-while looking for the base, and moving to intercept.

Sitting in the “Bombshelter Bar n Grill” sharing a negro modelo with 4 mates laughing at one another’s travails has to be preferable to sitting at home watching MAFS!

The comparisons are endless … but the FOMO is clear.

This is likely to be the last AussieBigway attempt at a National Record for a formation in excess of 100 persons, for the foreseeable future.

You’re unlikely to get another attempt as there are absolutely no plans for a repeat of such an event; no plans in any foreseeable future! If you’ve envisaged being in those bigway events overseas, the 100 ways, 150 ways, 200 ways and bigger … you won’t get an invite unless you’ve participated in events like these. You could of course travel and do a 100-way course with P3 … but you won’t be doing it with 149 other Aussies with their peculiar sense of humour. Don’t let the chance of jumping in large formations in Russia, Poland, Germany and USA slip like mercury through your fingers. FOMO … listen to its siren call.

FnCs Caution…

FnCs will caution you against FOMO as nothing more than a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which you are absent. That’s true … we will be having rewarding experiences. The FnC will warn you that FOMO is a social anxiety characterized by a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing. They’re correct! Everyday you’ll log on to FB and see the posts from your friends in Perris of the day’s 4 plane 60 way formation load, the speedstars, beer fines, dinners out, weekends in Vegas, attractive individuals in the background looking on … and regret will whisper in your ear “if only I’d listened to my FOMO”. You’ll look around your home, hear the silence without the expectation of an opportunity for social interaction, a novel experience, a profitable investment, or any other satisfying event looming. You can imagine how things could’ve been different.

Don’t spend the winter months listening to the adventures of those who went upon their return; be a character in their narrative. Don’t wonder at whether you’re good enough to go, go to the Aussie Bigways website and contact your state mentor. It’s their role to assist you with those questions. And if you have doubts about whether you’re good enough to be on the record, remember two things: there’s 2 camps before the record camp that are designed to teach, hone and refine bigways skills in smaller formations that replicate the formation you’ll fly in the records attempts; it’s P3’s skill set to get you ready; it’s what they do. Secondly, whilst we all want to be on the record, it is possible some of us may not meet the standard required, but the experience you gain here is not capable of being experienced in Australia; we don’t have the infrastructure in the sport.

This is it; this is the last chance you’ll get to do it with just Aussies!

You won’t regret going!

Mark Higgins – NSW State Mentor