Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Livin' On the Edge

So...how'd I get on with that job interview you may be asking?

Just dandy!

After bidding a fond farewell to our fellow inmates the morning after my birthday, Jay and I busted out of the clink for the last time and ran down Bluff Hill (bags attached to our back and front!) and caught the Naked Bus, again, back up to Auckland.

I had my interview the next day, on June 21. I was asked the usual questions: Where are you from? How'd you end up in New Zealand? What the heck were you doing in prison? Etc. etc. ... and then finally, at the end of the interview, one of the lovely interviewees, Amy, turns to me and says, "So, we're going to get you to do a jump now." And this is what happened.





(Click the image to watch the video.)


That afternoon, I got a call back and was offered the job, which I quickly accepted.

The next day, I got another call asking me to come by the office to sign some forms and to try out the company's other "product" - and the best part was that they invited Jay along for the ride. He was a bit hesitant at first, but, being the good sport he is (and after a bit of prodding from me) he went for it - and I think he's pretty happy that he did.










Good ting dis floor's some tick 'n' tough, 'by! 



Now, what the hell is this "job" you might ask?

Well, I'm what they call a groundie and I'm the lucky person who gets to suit people up so that they can fling themselves off Auckland's iconic Sky Tower - 192 metres straight down to the ground! You might've seen the Sky Tower featured last year in an episode of The Biggest Loser - and if you're ever in Auckland, you can't help but not see the tower. At 328 metres, it's actually the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand and the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere.

I first learned about SkyJump back home in Newfoundland. I had already tried skydiving and zip-lining, so when I found out that people could actually jump right off this big honkin' hunk of steel, I made a mental note to check it off my list. SkyJump is best described as "base jumping by wire" and you fall for 11 seconds, at 85 km/h, landing directly on your feet on the platform below. When we actually arrived in New Zealand back in January, I was very tempted to do the deed then - but I'm so glad I waited!



Jay snapped my picture on my first day of work, just like a proud dad taking a pic of his kid on their first day of school, haha...


So basically, my job consists of greeting clients; ensuring that they've emptied their pockets and stashed their belongings; making sure their shoes are tied tightly (we wouldn't want them to go flying off their feet and hitting someone in the noggin' down below!); and getting them into their jump suits and fitting them with a harness (along with quelling their nerves if they seem really scared or knockin' 'em down a notch or two if they seem too brave. : ) And last but not least, I wait below on the landing platform and catch them after they've taken their giant leap of faith.

I've suited up and caught kids as young as 10, senior citizens (SkyJump's oldest jumper to date is a 91-year-old woman!) and entire families. I've seen people overcome their fears, a guy come in blindfolded, not having a sweet clue as to what was going on (his "friends" bought him the jump as a birthday gift!) and pretty much every emotion under the sun.

But the most fun part of the job? When it's a bit slow-going, I have to do demonstration jumps throughout the day (hence why I was made to do one during the interview). And lucky for me, since it's winter here now, there are lots of slow days. One day I jumped 10 times and pretty much went up the elevator, came straight down again, went up, came down, etc. etc. etc. for the entire afternoon. For some people, this may seem like a nightmare, but for me, it really is a dream come true. Jumping off a building every day...and getting paid for it? It feels like I've won a contest!

Most of my days at work look pretty much the same, but there is one day in particular that really sticks out in my mind. On this particular day Jen, the manager, called our regular morning meeting to order and informed us that "the Biebs" was coming. Because of her Kiwi accent, and the fact that she was going to have her baby any day, I thought she had said that the "babe" was coming. Silly me! Once that was cleared up, we went on with our day, waiting for Bieber to rear his perfectly coiffed head. In the end, Bieber never made it - but that didn't matter to the gaggle of teenage girls who had gathered around the platform outside. They got wind that Bieber was coming and they were not leaving their post - which they were stationed at the entire day. Funny thing was, that same day, there was a huge protest going on just outside (something to do with the National Party annual conference and a speech that Prime Minister John Key was to give at Sky City that weekend), so the place was crawling with cops, whom I think the Beliebers thought were there to guard their hero. And, to make matters worse, we were also visited by a Japanese film crew who was filming one of their own (the host perhaps?) doing the jump for a segment for a Japanese morning show, so there were cameras everywhere as well. (As it turns out, I'm the one who ended up catching the host while a cameraman filmed it, so I guess I made an appearance on the Japanese morning show as well!) I also made it onto some paparazzi pics, as there was a guy across the street with a big ass long-focus lenes snapping pics of me as I jumped that afternoon. Guess he was also pretty disappointed that I wasn't the Biebs!

My absolute favourite time at work though, was when the fog rolled in. On some days, it was so heavy that whenever I reached the top of the tower and gazed out the window, I could've sworn I was high up in the clouds, as all I could see just below me was a thick blanket of fog. Jumping through that fog was an otherworldly experience. I will never forget it.

About a month into work, to mark the milestone of my 50th jump, I (along with my co-workers Bruno and Jared) had a bit of fun...and look what I brought along for the ride!




Why is it that after every time I jump, I crave burritos? : )

Guess I should explain a little. You see, I used to write for Downhome magazine. Downhome regularly prints photos of people posing with the magazine in far-flung and exotic locations all over the world. So, I thought my old workmates would get a bit of a kick out of it if I brought the Downhome with me as I took my 50th flying leap.

I did this jump backwards because I was demonstrating for a jumper who was watching at the window and who was going to do the same. I jumped four more times directly after this, bringing my grand total to 54. (That must be some kind of Newfie record!) Click the image to see the video.

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