This Is Nice

I had a different title for this entry, but I'll get into that later.

Lately, things have been going really, really well on the ice. And I am pleasantly surprised.

I've been listening to a self-hypnosis cd about confidence while I drift off to sleep. I've been told that because it's a cd to listen to while you sleep, it taps into your subconscious. Don't know if that's true or not, but boy have I been getting some really good sleep. Plus, my skating has been off the chart. Of course, there are the elements that still seem to allude me (the right outside mohawk pattern and the right forward inside 3 turn) but I'm sure they'll come around soon. I hope so; I want to take this stinking MIF test and get it over with!

But the free skating is off the chart. I've landed every jump I've done on the first try. The first try!! And every try after that! And I returned to doing a jump I've been unable to do due to injury and (drum roll please) it didn't hurt that much. I jumped and spun like I had "back in the day". And it was wonderful!!

I wish I could say I had the chance to practice on Sunday, but the schedule changed and all hell broke loose. I was on the ice 5 1/2 minutes (yes, you read that correctly) during Sunday's session before monitoring duties took over. It was a good 5 1/2 minutes though... Don't expect this Sunday to be much better; people are still confused about the new session.

This brings us to this Wednesday where things were still going well. And, I fell down. I fell down!!! If you skate, you understand how great it is when you're working and you fall down. It means you are close, so close to whatever it is you're working on. I was so happy to fall.

Until this morning, when I woke up and asked myself, "Who kicked me?" and "Why is there an elephant lying on me?" Two hot showers, some asprin, and some brandy later and I'm good.

This brings us to what I was originally going to call this blog: Ice Network Wants to Give Me a Stroke. Two weeks ago, I wanted to see the live feed of Ice Network on my computer. I sat down and turned it on. But what happened? It seemed that Ice Network no longer supports AOL, which is what I have. I called Customer Service and they were about as helpful as a feather duster during a dust storm. 45 minutes later and I was boiling. I was so angry I wanted to jump through the screen and strangle someone. I downloaded not one, not two, not three but four, yes four programs at the suggestion of the customer service rep and it still didn't work.

I wrote some of the most scathing emails to their customer service department. I demanded my money back, I stated that I would contact the FCC and the state attorney general's offices of both the state they were in and my state. My blood pressure rose to heights I had never seen (at least not while on medication).

Funny how if you complain enough, people actually take notice.

I received a call from Texas on a day I was home because of the snow. Together, we got Ice Network to work. I have been trying to send an email to the company telling them how great this particular rep was, but the email won't go through. I'll keep trying though.

Final thoughts: Skating is going really well. And, I still need a vacation.