“There's a race of men that don't fit in, A race that can't sit still; So they break the hearts of kith and kin, And they roam the world at will. They range the field and rove the flood, And they climb the mountain's crest; Their's is the curse of the gypsy blood, And they don't know how to rest.”
- Robert Service

Monday 15 September 2014

It's Just a Swing, Right?

I Have been meaning to share this video with you for a while. I keep thinking about it, and then giggling to myself. It's an inside joke that nobody knows about except for me....which makes it just a lame inside joke. But now you will see!!

Here's the backstory:

While we were in Queenstown, New Zealand, Mike and I knew that we  had to get in on the action that brings people to town - the insane adventure sports! We tried Canyoning again. We took a trip on a jet boat up river. Both easy-peasy on the "WTF have I gotten myself into?" scale. But I knew something bigger was coming. Mike had suggested it weeks earlier, and every day that I woke up in the campervan, I remembered we were one day closer to the thing that I was flipping out about. BUNGEE.

uuugh. Bungee. I flip-flopped endlessly about whether I should have done it. If you don't do it, you'll regret it forever. If you do decide to do it, you might literally shit your pants as they push you off....and the ride back up to the platform won't be pretty. I was having heart palpatations about the whole deal, all the while conflicted because I acknowledged that I already have a weird predilection for thinking about jumping off of high places (but that's another story, better saved for the shrink, I think....)

Anyway, on Go-Day I was faced with the choice. If I paid up (and a steep fee, indeed) but didn't jump I'd be both embarrassed and without a refund. 

And lo, option C came down upon me - The Nevis Swing! Peace of cake! I thought. No free fall, so it'll feel far less dangerous! I assumed.

Oh God. Please just watch the video and see just how "Peace of Cake-y" it was for me. Mike, on the other hand, decided to combo his thrills and tandem with me in addition to jumping off the bungee. He was so chill about it, he nonchalently asked if he could do the swing upside down. Showoff. Transcription below.
00:40 "Why am I doing this?"
00:49 "I can't believe you're doing this upside down"
01:03 "omigod"
01:08 Michael says something about how this should be easy.
01:09 "Shutup"
01:10 Bungee guy (BG) tells me to look at the camera and act like I'm not scared witless
01:19 BG "Come on now, give us a brave face"
01:20 F*%k
01:26 BG gives explanation about how I'm supposed to sit down and let my feet dangle over the edge
01:30 BG: "you can't go anywhere yet, love" Me: "WAIT!"
01:35 BG: "You can do it, just find your way down"
01:38 Me: "Holy F*&k!"
01:40 BG: "You can do it, you're still not going to go anywhere"
01:42 ME: "Sweetie, look at me. Am I going to live?" Mike:" Yes you are....nobody's died yet"
01:55 ME: "Don't say that last word!"
02:00 - explanation of how Mike is going to ride this beast upside down...
03:07 Me: BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

I have never screamed so genuinely in my life. I'm pretty sure I was still screaming as we passed the river. We have legit free-fall for FAR longer than I was expecting, and with the weight balanced so high, I went down almost face first.

Mike later said that he'd never seen me so frighetened in his life. I second that.

But watching this video again, I laugh every time I see myself do this. Well worth the loss of a pair of clean pants!

 




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