PROGRESS REPORT

OK, I've got to admit that there hasn't been an awful lot of progress so far, either as far as my preparations for the parachute jump goes, or fundraising. Fundraising's the biggest concern - I'm aiming to raise £1,000 (if I'm throwing myself out of a plane I want it to be for a worthwhile amount) and so far I've raise £60 through my Justgiving page and £70 in person. Having said that, I've just started a new job and this weekend marked the first payday for me and my workmates - I've already got commitments from some of them, so I'll hopefully be able to tap them for funds tomorrow.

One other possible problem is getting the time off work. At the moment, the training day is set for Saturda 15th September, with the jump being either at the end of that day or the following morning. The shift I'm on in my new job (a callcentre job working for a utility company) has me working on Saturdays. So I asked the team manager if I could have that Saturday off, and she said OK. Unfortunately, last thing on Friday she said that her boss had told her there was no availability that day, which was obviously an annoyance for me, but she is going to talk to him again tomorrow and see if anything can be done. If worst comes to worst, I may have to contact the parachute centre and ask them to change the date of my jump - but if it's a later date, not only will the weather be worse (most likely), but I'll have more time to lose my nerve.

Oh well, one way or the other I plan to do the jump - any obstacles will be overcome, by hook or by crook.