She's On To Me

I think that the Boss knows something is up with me. I am not sure if she just knows me that well or if I am being that transparent. You see, when I don't have a "goal" in front of me, like a competition or looming test session, I get kind of lazy and disaffected with my skating. My right knee has been bothering me a bit lately and my feet were hurting pretty bad after the two hours of freestyle this afternoon - but those are just excuses to me. The Boss knows...

How do I know that she knows? Well... she told me today that she wants to clean up my program (which I have not done since April) and she wants me to test my Silver MIFs in December. She basically said she is going to throw me out there whether I like it or not. POOP! I was getting so good at being lazy.

I know that she is right though - darn her. I need to get those darn Silver moves done and just sit down in my sit-spin so I can get the Bronze test over with. I need immediate goals in order to motivate me to perform and get my act in gear. I was not feeling it today however. My 15 - 20 minutes of lesson were not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination. I am doing this weird pre-rotation on my loop now for some reason. The flip was being pesky as I can't seem to get it landed on a toe. I could not spin to save my life. I came home kind of dejected and down in the mouth.

Now I am thinking more clearly and mindfully. How lucky am I to have a coach who knows me well enough to understand what will get me to work? How fortunate am I to have the time, health, and resources to do what I love almost every day of the week? Pretty darn lucky and fortunate, I would say. So, thanks Boss for knowing me better than I know myself. Now if we can just get into Muffet's psyche! ;)

It's the Little Things

I think it is hilarious that for adult skaters it is often the smallest victories that make us so happy. Today I was able to take advantage of something that just simply made my day - skating for an hour for FIVE BUCKS! AND - there were six people on the ice! Woo hoo!

I was at El Segundo again this morning so Muffet could have her last day of skate camp and her private lesson with BeBe Liang when I ran into a dear skating friend of mine. She broke her foot awhile back and this week was her first time back on the ice since the break. It was so wonderful to see her back on skates and even more wonderful to spend some time with her. Our time together usually consists of being at a competition either for us or for our girls, so we rarely get to just skate and talk. It was so fun.

To my great surprise two other dear skating friends were on the session as well. They are both getting ready to leave for Germany to participate in the World Gay Games so they were busy perfecting their programs. SG blew me away with his program to "I'm Too Sexy" - not only is it a kick in the pants, but it is fantastic with content! I am sure he will be a true crowd pleaser.

My other friend DB is strutting out in her artistic program that suits her to a "tee"! But it was not her program that I am choosing to revel in today - oh no - I have already seen that program in competition. What I am choosing to celebrate is that she finally has a solid one foot spin! She kind of laughed at herself when she told me, but I am so proud of her. It was her small victory that reminded me why I keep strapping on my skates and getting on the ice. Sometimes I think there should be a separate division for those of us who didn't skate as kids - those of us who only stepped on the ice a few years ago and have managed to stay on our feet most of the time. Not that I begrudge adult skaters who skated as kids any of their successes, but sometimes I am amazed at what true "adult" skaters have been able to accomplish in just a few short years.

So here's to you DB - kick some ice in Cologne and one-foot spin to your heart's content! I will be cheering for you!

Skating with a Star

I signed Muffet up for a week of "Summer of Excellence" skate camp in El Segundo. This is billed as "Frank Carroll's" skate camp and the Boss thought it would be a great opportunity for Muffet to be exposed to elite coaching and other high caliber skaters. She started on Monday at 6:40AM freestyle and did not finish her skating until 1:15PM - needless to say her legs were jello that night. She had her first private lesson with Olympic Silver Medalist Henrick Walentin on Monday, had group lessons with Mr. Carroll, Tiffany Chin and Bebe Liang and all in all had a blast.

I had a wonderful surprise on Monday when I picked up her skate schedule. I had requested a lesson for Muffet with Mr. Carroll and he was not on her original schedule. Her revised schedule on Monday morning left me scrambling to change her entire skate schedule to accommodate her lesson with... Mr. Carroll! She was so excited. Being the bonehead that I am at "oh-dark-thirty" in the morning, I forgot my video camera and still camera and had nothing but my eyes to document the epic event. I felt kind of bad for her in that she had already been skating since 7:40AM and her lesson was scheduled at 4:20PM. But my oh my were they cute together! He started her out by working on presentation and then moved to jump technique. By the end of the lesson she was working on her axel and getting tips from the best coach in the business. He held her hand as they moved from element to element, skated with her on the ice and spoke to her with such kindness. She was such a big girl - listening intently and working hard. I will never forget it - I hope she doesn't!

I strongly believe in surrounding children with greatness if you want them to achieve greatness. This is why I choose to have Muffet skate where she skates as she is surrounded by elite skaters on a regular basis. It was such a joy to watch her learn from the coach of the reigning Men's Olympic and World Champion and many other up-and-coming super stars. I had to pinch myself to make sure it was all really happening! What a lucky little girl.

Old Bones

Today was a fabulous day at the rink. The 7:40AM session was virtually bare with only four or five skaters. The 8:50 was not much worse so all was good...

Muffet and I skated two hours today - all during lesson! I have had hour long lessons before, but today I think the Boss has me for a good hour and a half. Muffet has new skates and didn't choose to listen to the pro-shop folks regarding punching out the fronts of the boots, so she was kaput after about 20 minutes on one session and 20 minutes on the next one. That meant that the Boss had nothing to do but chase me around the rink.

I had my usual rocky start with only a thirty minute warm-up. Three turns were shoddy. Power pulls were less than powerful. However, by the start of the second hour I was EN FUEGO! Jumps and cross-overs were stellar - so much so that I got to lutz today! Woo hoo. Now, don't get me wrong... it wasn't really a lutz, but I think I have the general concept down.

My old bones need at least 45 minutes to warm up. Is that so much to ask? Do you think that the competition committee and the referees would allow me to just skate around on the ice for that long before I compete?

My Muse

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know. I have been AWOL for quite some time. Thankfully I have had some major changes in my work life but those changes have also been very time (and energy) consuming. I just returned from a long business trip where I spent three whirlwind days in San Francisco and four HOT days in Las Vegas. It feels good to be home and more importantly - back on the ice!

There has been quite a stir of activity around me since my friend Lexi wrote about my blog in Skating Magazine. It is kinda silly to see myself in full spiral mode in the official publication of USFSA. I had not thought a whole lot about my blogging until one of the young ladies I enjoy skating with spoke about it with me this afternoon. KH was getting ready to skate in a competition this evening and I told her that she would be my "muse" tonight as I wrote after a long absence from my blog. So here it goes...

When ever I think I have it bad in my life, I think of KH and her family. My muse has life-threatening allergies that literally could kill her if she and her family were not ever vigilant. Recently our rink did a wonderful Spring show of Alice in Wonderland on ice and KH was in the cast. Great lengths were taken to ensure that all participants knew that food could not be brought into the area in and around my friend. Unfortunately, some folks did not listen and the young lady had to be taken home in fear of her health and safety. She has been unable to do many of the things most kids take for granted - like eat anything she wants or even go to regular school. Despite all of this, she manages to smile, work hard and be such a wonderful friend to Muffet and everyone else at the rink. She makes me remember that I must be thankful for my health and the health of Muffet and my family. She inspires me to push just one more time to get that edge. She makes me smile when she says hello.

Thanks KH for being such a great kid! I will gladly NOT eat a peanut butter sandwich in your honor! PS - Hope you kicked ice at Paramount tonight! XOXO

Excuse My Absence

I realized today that I have been rather lazy about blogging lately. Sorry about that. Actually it was a post by Ryan Jahnke this week that has inspired me to take to the keyboard tonight. Ryan asked his "friends" to comment on what figure skating means to them. There were many great responses- from the hilarious to the downright heart wrenching. Mine was kind of middle of the road (I feel beautiful, graceful and can defy gravity at least for a little while every day.) It made me realize that the very reasons I love to skate are shared with so many others out there.

On the subject of my new skates... well... I skate barefoot. I know, I know, it is totally gross and makes the skates break down faster, but I can't do it any other way. I actually thought that there was something wrong with my beautifully crafted, fully custom Harlicks that Phil designed for me because I was wearing TIGHTS! I even went as far to call Phil and tell him that I was sending him my right boot to be fixed. Lo and behold, all I had to do to fix the problem was to take off the darn socks. It seems that the socks make my feet slip around like mad and make the bottoms of my feet hurt like crazy! When I don't wear socks, I can grip the bottom of the skate with my toes and feel way more in control. And... my feet don't slip! Probably because they are sticking to the sides of the boot with sweat - EEEEWWWWW! Oh well - I am glad that I don't have to send my skate in because I would have been off the ice for at least ten working days and we can't have that now!

I have decided to briefly retire from competition for a bit. I have been working on my Silver Moves and just basic skating skills. I have even been entertaining possibly taking ice dancing - I hear that it is great for edges :) I have to talk to the Boss and the handsome young man to set that all up.

Little Muffet is still chugging along. She kicked ice at her last competition and we are very proud of her. The axel is still not totally happening. We have gone away from "rewards" and now are going to set her up with an elite jump coach for a few lessons. We are hoping that the mere "scare" factor may get her to land it on her own. Keep your fingers crossed.

Well, that is all for now. Muffet and I are gearing up for Alice in Wonderland on Ice! She is a flower and I am a Black Card. Fun, fun, fun!

New Skates = Having a Baby

Yes, I know. Strange analogy. But think about it this way. If women actually remembered the kind of pain they went through after having the first child, they would never even fathom having a second! Somehow our bodies are programmed to forget the pain so that we will stupidly think that having another child is a great idea. Important for continuing the existence of the human race, I suppose.

Well, I liken this "forgetfulness" to having new skates. They are so pretty! They smell nice, like a new car. They don't feel too bad when you are doing the heat molding in the skate shop. But as soon as the blades are on and those puppies are strapped to your feet on actual ice - whoa Nelly! THESE SUCKERS HURT!!!

I had a "lesson" today - haha. Edges was all I could manage with a few poorly executed cross overs and forward cross rolls. I felt like I was skating in brand new ski boots with impossibly tight bindings. But what will I do tomorrow?

I will pay for the public session and stroke around for an hour. I will stand in my kitchen and cook dinner in them. I will do just about anything to get these darn boots broken in sooner rather than later.

In approximately two year's time, I will forget how bad this hurts now and plunk down another $850 for another pair of beautiful custom Harlicks. I will be waiting impatiently for those beautiful boots to arrive and they will be so pretty. They will feel great in the skate shop. I will step on the ice thinking that these beautiful boots can't possibly hurt as bad as I think they do. THESE SUCKERS HURT!