Bungee Ball

Austin had been the person in New Zealand who would always be able to convince me to do outrageous adventures. It was all about the story and the experience.

    For his 21st birthday I wanted to do something crazy that was both fun and as he would say “cost effective”. I had this idea to do the bungee ball with him, because we always talked about doing it and just never did. So I told him on his birthday that I have a surprise for him which we will do on a boring night when we had nothing else to do. With our hectic schedules of work and school we could never find a good time, and then we finally found a night that worked for both of us. Unfortunately that night never happened, but I knew he would have wanted me to go on with the plan.

   Jess and I did the bungee ball a few nights before I left Auckland. For those that don’t know what a bungee ball is, it is a large ball located in the middle of Auckland city, surrounded by buildings, that is attached to bungee chords and is launched into the air with the help of the chord’s tension. When we first got to the ball we watched a bunch of videos of it soaring into the air. We were both scared, but I knew Austin was there with us, egging me on like he always would, and giving me the strength I needed to conquer this fear. Just another challenge, easily accepted, that will result in another great story. So we paid the fee, got strapped in and prepared for the launch.

Before we took off I took out a picture of a leprechaun out of my pocket. Not many people know the joke behind the leprechaun, but I will tell it now so when it appears in all my new posts people will understand the significance. This leprechaun always made me and Austin laugh because of his odd excitement and weird pose. And one day I took this St. Patricks Day decoration off the wall and put it in Austin’s bed. So that night when he climbed into bed to go to sleep, the creeper leprechaun was there and the game had begun. We hid the creeper leprechaun everywhere. In backpacks so he would appear when you were at class, in your underwear drawer, basically anywhere  you wouldn’t expect to see him, he would appear.  And the last time the leprechaun was placed anywhere was in my room. Austin pretended to come and borrow my electric razor, and he somehow hid it in my bed without me noticing and I was actually freaked out by how stealthy he hid it. So now when I go on adventures in Austin’s honor, I will try to bring the leprechaun and have him appear in random pictures.

  Here is a video of Jess and I doing the bungee ball. It is easier to just watch the video then explain exactly how it works.

Bungee Ball Video on Youtube!!

 

I couldn’t help but feel as if Austin was between Jess and I when we did this. He would have loved the rush that you got and the feeling of flying like peter pan. Once we were done, we both just felt so close to him. And that feeling is something that can not be replaced.

We love and miss Austin so much. May this be the first of many adventures to come.


          Sending positive energy and love to all,

                    Stephen and Jess