Russ finally called around noon and swung by my place to pick me up.  We ran around doing some errands while we have the car on the road.  The butterflies in my tummy are starting to grow as we head off to Russ' place to start poking holes in me.  I’m nervous as hell about getting pierced... as I always am.  The first three hooks aren't that bad... but the last one isn’t the nicest. 

We get me all rigged up... toss a hoodie over the hooks in my back and head out on a 15min drive down the road to a park on the Fraser River.

We get out there at around 3.30pm... scope the whole place out and find the archway Russ had initially told me about.  There are a few people in the park when we go back to grab gear... but the spot we picked is pretty far away from the road and sight from a lot of the park.

Russ monkies himself up a couple ropes to set the rigging up then it's hoodie off me and I'm locked into the gear with my headphones in and my music cued up.  I'm pretty nervous and it all feels really weird... this tight tension on my back.  I ask Russ if I can pull myself up and he hands me the rope.  I take a few slow pulls... a little apprehensive... until I get onto the tips of my toes and I sort of start walking and weaving back n forth trying to get used to the feeling.  Russ tells me to relax and loosen my legs... I close my eyes... head against the rope... take a deep breath and just start pulling like crazy… and I'm up!

I open my eyes and Russ is standing before me shocked at how fast I did it... he's beaming at me and all I can do is grin right back.  He takes hold of the rope for a minute but I'm too scared to let go... worried that somehow I'll fall... he tells me to trust him and with another deep breath I let go.  He swings me a little back and forth as I start to really get a feeling for what it's like.  I take the rope back and start hoisting myself up more... trying to get as high as possible... giggling once I reach the top.

I give Russ back the rope and he lowers me a bit so I can swing more freely.  As if on cue Bjork's "All is Full of Love - Plaid Remix" comes on and I'm lost in it swinging and spinning around... holding my feet behind me... smiling without a care in the world... watching the green of the park zoom past me... I'm totally absorbed in the moment.

The music fades in and out for the rest of the half hour I'm up there.  I swing and run along the ground to get more speed... I scrunch up into a little canon ball with my face rested against my knees.  Russ and I are just feeding off each other's energy.  We're smiling and laughing as I feel almost like a little kid again.

After a while I start to get tired... a little light headed and dizzy... I want to stay up longer but I know I shouldn't overdo it.  My music runs out and I ask Russ to bring me back down.  He lowers me close enough to the ground so that when I stand up I feel the full weight of my body all at once... such an odd sensation.

He takes the rigging off of me and starts packing up all the gear.  Barely anyone walked by us during the whole event.  A couple of women who seemed less than impressed... a few people before and after we were done... and that was about it.  With everything packed away we head back to his place to get me cleaned up.

It's about 5pm when we get back and I get my hooks out... they're feeling pretty stiff having been in there for almost two hours.  I get cleaned up n get the worst back massage of my life while Russ is trying to get the air out then its a couple tegaderms on my back and I'm good to go.

My shoulders are feeling pretty sore right now... and I'm not exactly looking forward to setting up for an event at work tomorrow but I'm a trooper and I'll get it done.  All in all it was a lot of fun and a good experience that I got to share with someone very important to me.